Historians have often disagreed about the causation of significant events, especially if there are many underlying factors involved as there are many different interpretations of historical facts, which explains the number of differing opinions surrounding the question of the largest threat to the reign of Elizabeth 1st. Namely, was Mary Queen of Scots the greatest threat to Elizabeth’s security? It is often debated on whether this was the case, or if Mary fell below the Catholics or the Spanish on the list of dangers to Elizabeth’s security. These differences could be down to looking at different evidence, or simply different perceptions of the same evidence based upon personal opinion and previous knowledge, but it is also important to
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Simply by existing and being alive, Mary posed a threat as a legitimate Catholic heir to the English throne as she gave hope to Catholics that they may be able to regain the country if they put Mary in power. It is known that he 1571 Ridolfi plot which was concocted by a European Catholic and the Duke of Norfolk centred on removing Elizabeth from the throne and replacing her with Mary, Queen of Scots who would marry Norfolk. The 1583 Throgmorton plot also involved replacing Elizabeth with Mary and was devised by Francis Throgmorton, a Catholic who acted as a messenger between Mary, Spain and Mary’s advisor Thomas …show more content…
Ridley dedicates each main threat (Mary Queen of Scots, Spain, Ireland and the Jesuits of the Catholic Church) a chapter within his book and carefully analyses the level of threat they posed as well as how each group or person interlinked with the others. Ridley’s book takes a rather sympathetic view to Mary, stating that she was ‘cultured, intelligent and brave’, the same description he then uses for Elizabeth, drawing parallels between the two queens. His main distinction between the two is that ‘Elizabeth was Queen of a prosperous, powerful and disciplined kingdom, and Mary was Queen of a poor, weak and lawless one. Elizabeth had loyal counsellors, and Mary’s counsellors were traitors.’ This description of Mary seems to imply that Ridley places her on a similar level to Elizabeth; she was simply seen as less impressive and more dangerous as a result of weak government and a poor
Simply by existing and being alive, Mary posed a threat as a legitimate Catholic heir to the English throne as she gave hope to Catholics that they may be able to regain the country if they put Mary in power. It is known that he 1571 Ridolfi plot which was concocted by a European Catholic and the Duke of Norfolk centred on removing Elizabeth from the throne and replacing her with Mary, Queen of Scots who would marry Norfolk. The 1583 Throgmorton plot also involved replacing Elizabeth with Mary and was devised by Francis Throgmorton, a Catholic who acted as a messenger between Mary, Spain and Mary’s advisor Thomas …show more content…
Ridley dedicates each main threat (Mary Queen of Scots, Spain, Ireland and the Jesuits of the Catholic Church) a chapter within his book and carefully analyses the level of threat they posed as well as how each group or person interlinked with the others. Ridley’s book takes a rather sympathetic view to Mary, stating that she was ‘cultured, intelligent and brave’, the same description he then uses for Elizabeth, drawing parallels between the two queens. His main distinction between the two is that ‘Elizabeth was Queen of a prosperous, powerful and disciplined kingdom, and Mary was Queen of a poor, weak and lawless one. Elizabeth had loyal counsellors, and Mary’s counsellors were traitors.’ This description of Mary seems to imply that Ridley places her on a similar level to Elizabeth; she was simply seen as less impressive and more dangerous as a result of weak government and a poor