Mary Queen Of Scots Essay, Research Paper
It can be argued that a member of persons contributed to decease of
Mary Queen Scots ; Elizabeth, her advisors, foreign powers and Mary
herself. To what extent was Mary responsible for her ain decease?
In 1567 Scotland rebelled against their Catholic Queen, Mary. She was imprisoned at Loch Leven palace where she remained until her flight in May 1568 when she fled to England. This was the action which triggered a series of events taking to her eventual executing on February 8th 1587.
Before her reaching in England, Mary s repute had already been tarnished by allegations of her engagement in the slaying of her hubby, Lord Darnley. This, coupled with the fact that she was Elizabeth s cousin and inheritor to the throne made her arrival potentially debatable. Her faith besides posed a menace to Elizabeth. Catholics regarded Mary as the rightful Queen ( [ we ] accept her for the true and right Heir apparent of this Realm of England ) and were ready to function her.
After taking these points into careful consideration the Privy Council advised Elizabeth to maintain her as a captive until she could explicate why she had antecedently claimed to be Queen of England and history for the decease of Darnley. Elizabeth agreed and Mary was kept at assorted topographic points such as Carlisle, Bolton and Sheffield. However, it was obvious that imprisonment could non be a long term solution and so Elizabeth and her authorities evaluated their options carefully.
Foreign powers and influences limited Elizabeth s options ; Mary could non be allowed to return to France because of the danger that she might raise support for her earlier claim to be Queen. She could non be sent back to Scotland, either, because any effort Mary made reassert herself was doomed to failure and consequence in the Protestant Lords put to deathing her. This efficaciously forced Elizabeth to let Mary to stay in England either under imprisonment or as at citizen.
In 1569 rumor of an ideal chance to do Mary s stay in England more acceptable to the authorities spread ; a program to get married her to the Duke of Norfolk. This would hold been an ideal solution to the turning job as the people of England would hold been happy to see her married to a greatly respecte
vitamin D, Protestant noble instead than a foreign prince. Besides, members of the Privy Council felt strongly that the lift of Norfolk as Mary s bridegroom a good manner of equilibrating the laterality of Cecil. However, the Queen was non officially consulted about the program and when she found out she was annoyed and called the Duke instantly to her gallery to state she would non allow the matrimony. These actions seem to be typical of Elizabeth who by and large wanted complete authorization in province and authorities affairs. She may hold resented her deficiency of control and dismissed the thought before gaining that it could hold been a perfect manner to settle the fortunes. However the prostration of this agreement may besides be blamed on Elizabeth s advisers who should hold discussed the program with her to get down with.
Shortly after this several northern Lords including the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland attempted a rebellion. Their purposes were to force out Elizabeth, replacing her with Mary and to reconstruct Catholicism to England. However, Elizabeth s army rapidly defeated the Rebels. Mary so proceeded to unplug herself from the incident every bit much as possible, stating that she disapproved of it on the evidences that she hated force and regarded Elizabeth as the rightful queen. These were likely the right actions for Mary to take as any grounds of her engagement could hold led to her executing. Although this did non give the authorities a good plenty ground to take such drastic steps the rebellion did demo that Mary was functioning as a accelerator for Elizabeth s disaffected topics.
Elizabeth s ejection from the Catholic Church by the Pope in 1570 encouraged Catholic secret plans against Elizabeth and was another warning for her and her authorities to take some action against Mary. Possibly if Elizabeth had taken some decisive action at this point, the more serious rebellion which was to follow could hold been avoided.
In 1571 the job of Mary Queen of Scots reached its flood tide. The Florentine, Ridolfi plotted to convey Mary to the throne with the Duke of Norfolk as her consort. This proved that Elizabeth s earlier reaction to this relationship had been the right 1. Again, the rebellion failed but this clip the Duke of Walsingham managed to stop a missive turn outing that both Mary and Norfolk were cardinal figures in the secret plan.
