| 1 | <html>
|
|---|
| 2 |
|
|---|
| 3 | <head>
|
|---|
| 4 | <meta name="content" content="biography of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892">
|
|---|
| 5 | <meta name="page_topic" content="biography of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892">
|
|---|
| 6 | <meta name="author" content="Marilee Mongello">
|
|---|
| 7 | <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
|
|---|
| 8 | <meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
|
|---|
| 9 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
|
|---|
| 10 | <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us">
|
|---|
| 11 | <title>Secondary Sources: Queen Elizabeth by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892:
|
|---|
| 12 | Chapter III</title>
|
|---|
| 13 | <style>
|
|---|
| 14 | </style>
|
|---|
| 15 | <style fprolloverstyle>A:hover {color: #0000FF; font-weight: bold}
|
|---|
| 16 | .3text {font-size: 12 px;}
|
|---|
| 17 | </style>
|
|---|
| 18 | </head>
|
|---|
| 19 |
|
|---|
| 20 | <body link="#0000FF" vlink="#0000FF" alink="#0000FF">
|
|---|
| 21 |
|
|---|
| 22 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
|
|---|
| 23 | <tr>
|
|---|
| 24 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
|
|---|
| 25 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"> </td>
|
|---|
| 26 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
|
|---|
| 27 | </tr>
|
|---|
| 28 | <tr>
|
|---|
| 29 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
|
|---|
| 30 | <td width="50%" height="3"><font size="3"></font></td>
|
|---|
| 31 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
|
|---|
| 32 | </tr>
|
|---|
| 33 | <tr>
|
|---|
| 34 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
|
|---|
| 35 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
|
|---|
| 36 | <p align="center"><b><font size="7">Queen Elizabeth<br></font></b>
|
|---|
| 37 | <font size="4">by Edward Spencer Beesly, 1892</font></p>
|
|---|
| 38 | <p align="center">
|
|---|
| 39 | <img border="2" src="eliz1-ermine.jpg" width="400" height="478" alt="'The Ermine Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1585, by Nicholas Hilliard"><p align="center">
|
|---|
| 40 | <i><font size="2">'The Ermine Portrait' of Elizabeth I, c1585, by Nicholas
|
|---|
| 41 | Hilliard;<br>from the <a href="http://www.marileecody.com/eliz1-images.html">Portraits of Queen Elizabeth I</a> website</font></i></td>
|
|---|
| 42 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
|
|---|
| 43 | </tr>
|
|---|
| 44 | </table>
|
|---|
| 45 | <blockquote>
|
|---|
| 46 | <blockquote>
|
|---|
| 47 | <font style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
|
|---|
| 48 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
|
|---|
| 49 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman"></font>
|
|---|
| 50 | <font style="font-family: Times New Roman">
|
|---|
| 51 | <div align="left">
|
|---|
| 52 | <b>CHAPTER III<br>FOREIGN RELATIONS: 1559-1563</b></div>
|
|---|
| 53 | <p align="left">THE successful wars waged by Edward III and Henry V are
|
|---|
| 54 | apt to cause an exaggerated estimate of the strength of England under the
|
|---|
| 55 | Tudors. The population--Wales included--was probably not much more than four
|
|---|
| 56 | millions. That of France was perhaps four times as large, and the
|
|---|
| 57 | superiority in wealth was even greater. Before the reign of Louis XI.,
|
|---|
| 58 | France, weakened by feudal disunion, had been an easy prey to her smaller
|
|---|
| 59 | but better-organised neighbour. The work of concentration effected by the
|
|---|
| 60 | greatest of French kings towards the close of the fifteenth century, and the
|
|---|
| 61 | simultaneous rise of the great Spanish empire, caused England to fall at
|
|---|
| 62 | once into the rank of a second-rate power. Such she really was under Henry
|
|---|
| 63 | VIII., notwithstanding the rather showy figure he managed to make by
|
|---|
| 64 | adhering alternately to Charles v. and Francis I. Under the bad government
|
|---|
| 65 | of Edward and Mary the fighting strength of England declined not only
|
|---|
| 66 | relatively, but absolutely, until in the last year of Mary it touched the
|
|---|
| 67 | lowest point in our history. Although we were at war with France, there were
|
|---|
| 68 | no soldiers, no officers, no arms, no fortresses that could resist
|
|---|
| 69 | artillery, few ships, a heavy debt, and deep discouragement. The loss of
|
|---|
| 70 | Calais, which had been held for 200 years, was the simple and natural
|
|---|
| 71 | consequence of this prostration. Justice will not be done to the great
|
|---|
| 72 | recovery under Elizabeth unless we understand how low the country had sunk
|
|---|
| 73 | when she came to the throne. </p>
|
|---|
| 74 | <p align="left">During the early years of her reign, it was the universal
|
|---|
| 75 | opinion at home and abroad that without Spanish protection she could not
|
|---|
| 76 | preserve her throne against a French invasion in the interests of Mary
|
|---|
| 77 | Stuart. Henry II. meant that, by the marriage of the Dauphin Francis with
|
|---|
| 78 | Mary, the kingdoms of England and Scotland should be united to one another
|
|---|
| 79 | and eventually to France. Philip would thus lose the command of the sea
|
|---|
| 80 | route to the Netherlands, and the hereditary duel with the House of Austria
|
|---|
| 81 | would be decided. This scheme could not seem fantastic in a century which
|
|---|
| 82 | had seen such immense agglomerations of territory effected by political
|
|---|
| 83 | marriages. Philip, on the other hand, made sure that the danger from France
|
|---|
| 84 | must necessarily throw Elizabeth and England into his arms. Notwithstanding
|
|---|
| 85 | the warnings he received from his ambassador Feria that Elizabeth was a
|
|---|
| 86 | heretic, he felt certain that she would not venture to alter religion at the
|
|---|
| 87 | risk of offending him. The only question with him was whether he should
|
|---|
| 88 | marry her himself or bestow her on some sure friend of his house. That she
|
|---|
| 89 | would refuse both himself and his nominee was a contingency he never
|
|---|
| 90 | contemplated. </p>
|
|---|
| 91 | <p align="left">Elizabeth, from the first, made up her mind that the cards
|
|---|
| 92 | in her hand could be played to more advantage than Philip supposed. England,
|
|---|
| 93 | no doubt, needed his protection for the present. But could he please himself
|
|---|
| 94 | about granting it? Her bold calculation was that his own interests would
|
|---|
| 95 | compel him, in any case, to prevent the execution of the Stuart-Valois
|
|---|
| 96 | scheme, and that consequently she might settle religion without reference to
|
|---|
| 97 | his wishes. </p>
|
|---|
| 98 | <p align="left">The offer of marriage came in January 1559. In his letter to
|
|---|
| 99 | Feria, Philip spoke as if Elizabeth would of course jump at it. After
|
|---|
| 100 | dwelling on its many inconveniences, he said he had decided to make the
|
|---|
| 101 | sacrifice on condition that Elizabeth would uphold the Catholic religion;
|
|---|
| 102 | but she must not expect him to remain long with her; he would visit England
|
|---|
| 103 | occasionally. Feria foolishly allowed this letter to be seen, and the
|
|---|
| 104 | contents were reported to Elizabeth. She was as much amused as piqued. Their
|
|---|
| 105 | ages were not unsuitable. Philip was thirty-two, and Elizabeth was
|
|---|
| 106 | twenty-five. But she was as fastidious about men as her father was about
|
|---|
| 107 | women; and for no political consideration would she have tied herself to her
|
|---|
| 108 | ugly, disagreeable, little brother-in-law. After some fencing, she replied
|
|---|
| 109 | that she did not mean to marry, and that she was not afraid of France. </p>
|
|---|
| 110 | <p align="left">Before the death of Mary, negotiations for a peace between
|
|---|
| 111 | France, Spain, and England had already begun. Calais was almost the only
|
|---|
| 112 | difficulty remaining to be settled. Our countrymen have never been able </p>
|
|---|
| 113 | <p align="left">to understand how their possession of a fortress within the
|
|---|
| 114 | natural boundaries of another country can be disagreeable to its
|
|---|
| 115 | inhabitants. Elizabeth shared the national feeling, and she wanted Philip to
|
|---|
| 116 | insist on the restitution of Calais. He would have done so if she had
|
|---|
| 117 | pleased him as to other matters. Even as it was, the presence of a French
|
|---|
| 118 | garrison in Calais was so inconvenient to the master of the Netherlands that
|
|---|
| 119 | he was ready to fight on if England would do her part. But Elizabeth would
|
|---|
| 120 | only promise to fight Scotland--a very indirect and, indeed, useless way of
|
|---|
| 121 | supporting Philip. When once this point was made clear, peace was soon
|
|---|
| 122 | concluded between the three powers at Câteau, near Cambray (March 1559);
|
|---|
| 123 | appearances being saved by a stipulation that Calais should be restored in
|
|---|
| 124 | eight years, or half a million of crowns be forfeited. </p>
|
|---|
| 125 | <p align="left">In thus giving way Elizabeth showed her good sense. To have
|
|---|
| 126 | fought on would have meant deeper debt, terrible exhaustion, and, what was
|
|---|
| 127 | worse, dependence on Philip. Moreover, Calais could only have been recovered
|
|---|
| 128 | by reducing France to helplessness, which would have been fatal to the
|
|---|
| 129 | balance of power on which Elizabeth relied to make herself independent of
|
|---|
| 130 | both her great neighbours. The peace of Câteau Cambresis was attended with a
|
|---|
| 131 | secret compact between Philip II. and Henry II., that each monarch should
|
|---|
| 132 | suppress heresy in his own dominions and not encourage it in those of his
|
|---|
| 133 | neighbour. By the accession of Elizabeth, and the Scotch Reformation which
|
|---|
| 134 | immediately followed, Protestantism reached its highwater mark in Europe.
|
|---|
| 135 | The long wars of Charles V with France had enabled it to spread. Francis I.
|
|---|
| 136 | had intrigued with the Protestant princes of the Empire, and Charles had
|
|---|
| 137 | been obliged to humour them. Protestantism was victorious in Britain,
|
|---|
| 138 | Scandinavia, North Germany, the Palatinate, and Swabia. It had spread widely
|
|---|
| 139 | in Poland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and France. This rapid growth was now
|
|---|
| 140 | about to be checked. In some of these countries the new religion was
|
|---|
| 141 | destined to succumb; in some entirely to disappear. Men who could remember
|
|---|
| 142 | the first preachings of Luther lived to see not only the high-water, but the
|
|---|
| 143 | ebb, of the Protestant tide. The revolutionary tendencies inherent in
|
|---|
| 144 | Protestantism began to alarm the sovereigns; and all the more because the
|
|---|
| 145 | Church in Catholic, hardly less than in Protestant, countries was becoming a
|
|---|
| 146 | department of the State. Kings had been jealous of the spiritual power when
|
|---|
| 147 | it belonged to the Popes. They became jealous for it when it was annexed to
|
|---|
| 148 | the throne. </p>
|
|---|
| 149 | <p align="left">Notwithstanding its secret stipulations, the peace of Câteau
|
|---|
| 150 | Cambresis relieved England from the most pressing and immediate perils by
|
|---|
| 151 | which she was threatened. Neither French nor Spanish troops had made their
|
|---|
| 152 | appearance on our soil. A breathing-time at least had been gained, during
|
|---|
| 153 | which something might be done towards putting the country in a state of
|
|---|
| 154 | defence, and restoring the finances. </p>
|
|---|
| 155 | <p align="left">But the danger from France was by no means at an end. In the
|
|---|
| 156 | treaty with England, the title of Elizabeth had been acknowledged. But in
|
|---|
| 157 | that with Spain, the Dauphin had styled himself "King of Scotland, England,
|
|---|
| 158 | and Ireland." He and Mary had also assumed the English arms. If a French
|
|---|
| 159 | army invaded England, it would come by way of Scotland. The English
|
|---|
| 160 | Catholics, who had for the most part frankly accepted the succession of
|
|---|
| 161 | Elizabeth, were disappointed and irritated by the change of religion. If
|
|---|
| 162 | Mary should go to Scotland with a French force, it was to be apprehended
|
|---|
| 163 | that a rebellion would immediately break out in the northern counties.
|
|---|
| 164 | Philip, no doubt, would land in the south to drive out the Dauphiness. But
|
|---|
| 165 | the remedy would be worse than the disease. For he was deeply discontented
|
|---|
| 166 | with the conduct of Elizabeth, and would probably take the opportunity of
|
|---|
| 167 | deposing her. To establish, therefore, her independence of both her powerful
|
|---|
| 168 | neighbours, Elizabeth had to begin by destroying French influence in
|
|---|
| 169 | Scotland. </p>
|
|---|
| 170 | <p align="left">The wisest heads in Scotland had long seen the advantage of
|
|---|
| 171 | uniting their country to England by marriage. The blundering and bullying
|
|---|
| 172 | policy of the Protector Somerset had driven the Scotch to renew their
|
|---|
| 173 | ancient alliance with France. But the attempts of the Regent Mary of Guise
|
|---|
| 174 | to increase French influence, and to establish a small standing army, in
|
|---|
| 175 | order at once to strengthen her authority, and to serve the designs of Henry
|
|---|
| 176 | II. against England, had again made the French connection unpopular, and
|
|---|
| 177 | caused a corresponding revival of friendly feeling towards England. </p>
|
|---|
| 178 | <p align="left">Nowhere was the Church so wealthy, relatively to the other
|
|---|
| 179 | estates, as in Scotland. It was supposed to possess half the property of the
|
|---|
| 180 | country. Nowhere were the clergy so immoral. Nowhere was superstition so
|
|---|
| 181 | gross. But the doctrines of the Reformation were spreading among the common
|
|---|
| 182 | people, and in 1557 some of the nobles, hungering for the wealth of the
|
|---|
| 183 | Church, put themselves at the head of the Protestant movement. They were
|
|---|
| 184 | known as the "Lords of the Congregation." </p>
|
|---|
| 185 | <p align="left">The Scotch Reformation began not from the Government, as in
|
|---|
| 186 | England, but from the people. Hence, while change of supremacy was the main
|
|---|
| 187 | question in England, change of doctrine and worship took the lead in
|
|---|
| 188 | Scotland. The two parties were about equal in numbers, the Protestants being
|
|---|
| 189 | strongest in the Lowlands. But, with the exception of the murder of Beaton
|
|---|
| 190 | in 1546, there had, as yet, been no appeal to force, nor any attempt to
|
|---|
| 191 | procure a public change of religion. The accession of Elizabeth emboldened
|
|---|
| 192 | the Protestants. At Perth they took possession of the churches and burnt a
|
|---|
| 193 | monastery. On the other hand, after the peace of Câteau Cambresis, Henry II.
|
|---|
| 194 | directed the Regent to put down Protestantism, both in pursuance of the
|
|---|
| 195 | agreement with Philip, and in order to prepare for the Franco-Scottish
|
|---|
| 196 | invasion of England. The result was that the Protestants rose in open
|
|---|
| 197 | rebellion (June 1559). The Lords of the Congregation occupied Perth,
|
|---|
| 198 | Stirling, and Edinburgh. All over the Lowlands abbeys were wrecked, monks
|
|---|
| 199 | harried, churches cleared of images, the Mass abolished, and King Edward's
|
|---|
| 200 | service established in its place. In England the various changes of religion
|
|---|
| 201 | in the last thirty years had always been effected legally by King and
|
|---|
| 202 | Parliament. In Scotland the Catholic Church was overthrown by a simultaneous
|
|---|
| 203 | popular outbreak. </p>
|
|---|
| 204 | <p align="left">The catastrophe came later than in England; but popular
|
|---|
| 205 | feeling was more prepared for it; and what was now cast down was never set
|
|---|
| 206 | up again. </p>
|
|---|
| 207 | <p align="left">It seemed at first as if the Regent and her handful of
|
|---|
| 208 | regular troops, commanded by d'Oysel, would be swept away. But d'Oysel had
|
|---|
| 209 | fortified Leith, and was even able to take the field. A French army was
|
|---|
| 210 | expected. The tumultuary forces of the needy Scotch nobles could not be kept
|
|---|
| 211 | together long, and it became clear that, unless supported by Elizabeth, the
|
|---|
| 212 | rebellion would be crushed as soon as the French reinforcements should
|
|---|
| 213 | arrive, if not sooner. </p>
|
|---|
| 214 | <p align="left">Thus early did Elizabeth find herself confronted by the
|
|---|
| 215 | Scottish difficulty, which was to cause her so much anxiety throughout the
|
|---|
| 216 | greater part of her reign. The problem, though varying in minor details, was
|
|---|
| 217 | always essentially the same. There was a Protestant faction looking for
|
|---|
| 218 | support to England, and a Catholic faction looking to France. Two or three
|
|---|
| 219 | of the Protestant leaders--Moray, Glencairn, Kirkaldy--did really care
|
|---|
| 220 | something about a religious reformation. The rest thought more of getting
|
|---|
| 221 | hold of Church lands and pursuing old family feuds. In the experience of
|
|---|
| 222 | Elizabeth, they were a needy, greedy, treacherous crew, always sponging on
|
|---|
| 223 | her treasury, and giving her very little service in return for her money.
|
|---|
| 224 | Besides, the whole Scotch nation was so touchy in its patriotism, so jealous
|
|---|
| 225 | of foreign interference, that foreign soldiers present on its soil were sure
|
|---|
| 226 | to be regarded with an evil eye, no matter for what purpose they had come,
|
|---|
| 227 | or by whom they had been invited. </p>
|
|---|
| 228 | <p align="left">The Lords of the Congregation invoked the protection of
|
|---|
| 229 | Elizabeth. They suggested that she should marry the Earl of Arran, and that
|
|---|
| 230 | he and she should be King and Queen of Great Britain. Arran was the eldest
|
|---|
| 231 | son of the Duke of Chatelherault, who, Mary being as yet childless, was
|
|---|
| 232 | heir-presumptive to the Scottish crown. There were many reasons why
|
|---|
| 233 | Elizabeth should decline interference. It was throwing down the glove to
|
|---|
| 234 | France. Interference in Scotland had always been disastrous. It might drive
|
|---|
| 235 | the English Catholics to despair, as cutting off the hope of Mary's
|
|---|
| 236 | succession to the English crown. To make a Protestant match would irritate
|
|---|
| 237 | Philip. He might invade England to forestall the French. Almost all her
|
|---|
| 238 | Council--even Bacon--advised her to leave Scotland alone, marry the Archduke
|
|---|
| 239 | Charles, and trust to the Spanish alliance for the defence of England. </p>
|
|---|
| 240 | <p align="left">These were serious considerations; and to them was to be
|
|---|
| 241 | joined another which with Elizabeth always had great weight--more,
|
|---|
| 242 | naturally, than it had with any of her advisers. She shrank from doing
|
|---|
| 243 | anything which might have the practical effect of weakening the common cause
|
|---|
| 244 | of monarchs. She felt instinctively that with Protestants reverence for the
|
|---|
| 245 | religious basis of kingship must tend to become weaker than with Catholics.
|
|---|
| 246 | She did not desire to encourage this tendency or to familiarise her own
|
|---|
| 247 | subjects with it. Knox <i>First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous
|
|---|
| 248 | Regimen of Women</i> had been directed against Mary. The Blasts that were to
|
|---|
| 249 | follow had been dropped; but the first could not be treated as unblown. And
|
|---|
| 250 | the arrogant preacher did not mend matters by writing to Elizabeth that she
|
|---|
| 251 | was to consider her case as an exception "contrary to nature," allowed by
|
|---|
| 252 | God "for the comfort of His kirk," but that if she based her title on her
|
|---|
| 253 | birth or on law, "her felicity would be short." </p>
|
|---|
| 254 | <p align="left">Nevertheless Elizabeth adopted the bolder course. The Lords
|
|---|
| 255 | of the Congregation were assured that England would not see them crushed by
|
|---|
| 256 | French arms. A small supply of money was sent to them. As to the marriage
|
|---|
| 257 | with Arran, no positive answer was given; but he was sent for to be looked
|
|---|
| 258 | at. When he came, he was found to be even a poorer creature than his father;
|
|---|
| 259 | at times, indeed, not quite right in his mind. It was hard upon the
|
|---|
| 260 | Hamiltons, among whom were so many able and daring men, that, with the crown
|
|---|
| 261 | almost in their grasp, their chiefs should be such incapables. To Elizabeth
|
|---|
| 262 | it was no doubt a relief to find that Arran was an impossible husband. </p>
|
|---|
| 263 | <p align="left">In the meantime 2000 French had arrived, and the Lords were
|
|---|
| 264 | urgent in their demands for help. But Elizabeth determined, and rightly,
|
|---|
| 265 | that they must do their own work if they could. She was willing to give them
|
|---|
| 266 | such pecuniary help as was necessary. But the demand for troops was
|
|---|
| 267 | unreasonable. Fighting men abounded in Scotland. Why should English troops
|
|---|
| 268 | be sent to do their fighting for them, with the certainty of earning black
|
|---|
| 269 | looks rather than thanks? If a large army was despatched from France, she
|
|---|
| 270 | would attack it with her fleet. If it landed, she would send an English
|
|---|
| 271 | army. But if the Lords of the Congregation did not beat the handful of
|
|---|
| 272 | Frenchmen at Leith it must be because they were either weak or treacherous.
|
|---|
| 273 | In either case Elizabeth might have to give up the policy she preferred,
|
|---|
| 274 | leave Scotland alone, and fall back upon an alliance with Philip. </p>
|
|---|
| 275 | <p align="left">In order therefore to preserve this second string to her
|
|---|
| 276 | bow, and to let the Scotch Anglophiles see that she possessed it, she
|
|---|
| 277 | reopened negotiations for the Austrian marriage. Charles, in his turn, was
|
|---|
| 278 | invited to come and be looked at. Much as she disliked the idea of marriage,
|
|---|
| 279 | she knew that political reasons might make it necessary. But, come what
|
|---|
| 280 | would, she would never marry a man who was not to her fancy as a man. She
|
|---|
| 281 | would take no one on the strength of his picture. She had heard that Charles
|
|---|
| 282 | was not overwise, and that he had an extraordinarily big head, "bigger than
|
|---|
| 283 | the Earl of Bedford's." </p>
|
|---|
| 284 | <p align="left">The Scotch Lords, finding that Elizabeth was determined to
|
|---|
| 285 | have some solid return for her money, went to work with more vigour. They
|
|---|
| 286 | proclaimed the deposition of the Regent, drove her from Edinburgh, and
|
|---|
| 287 | besieged her and her French garrison in Leith. But this burst of energy was
|
|---|
| 288 | soon over. The Protestants were more ready to pull down images and harry
|
|---|
| 289 | monks than make campaigns. Leith was not to be taken. In three weeks their
|
|---|
| 290 | army dwindled away, and the little disciplined force of Frenchmen re-entered
|
|---|
| 291 | Edinburgh. </p>
|
|---|
| 292 | <p align="left">The position had become very critical for Elizabeth. A
|
|---|
| 293 | French army of 15,000 men was daily expected at Leith. If once it landed,
|
|---|
| 294 | the Congregation would be crushed; the Hamiltons would make their peace; and
|
|---|
| 295 | the disciplined army of d'Elbuf, swelled by hordes of hungry Scotchmen,
|
|---|
| 296 | would pour over the Border, and proclaim Mary in the midst of the Catholic
|
|---|
| 297 | population which ten years later rose in rebellion under the northern Earls.
|
|---|
| 298 | </p>
|
|---|
| 299 | <p align="left">In this difficulty the Spanish Ministers in the Netherlands
|
|---|
| 300 | were consulted. If Elizabeth expelled the garrison at Leith, and so brought
|
|---|
| 301 | upon herself a war with France, could she depend on Philip's assistance? The
|
|---|
| 302 | reply was menacing. Their master, for his own interest, could not allow the
|
|---|
| 303 | Queen of France and Scotland to enforce her title to the throne of England.
|
|---|
| 304 | But he would oppose it in his own way. If a French army entered England from
|
|---|
| 305 | the north, a Spanish army would land on the south coast. Turning to her own
|
|---|
| 306 | Council for advice, Elizabeth found no encouragement. They recommended her
|
|---|
| 307 | to take Philip's advice, and even to retrace some of her steps in the matter
|
|---|
| 308 | of religion in order to propitiate him. She made a personal appeal to the
|
|---|
| 309 | Duke of Norfolk to take the command of the forces on the Border. But he
|
|---|
| 310 | declined to be the instrument of a policy which he disapproved. </p>
|
|---|
| 311 | <p align="left">We need not wonder if Elizabeth hesitated for a while. Some
|
|---|
| 312 | of these councillors were not too well affected to her. But most of them
|
|---|
| 313 | were thoroughly loyal, and there was really much to be said for the more
|
|---|
| 314 | cautious policy. She herself was an eminently cautious politician, inclined
|
|---|
| 315 | by nature to shrink from risky courses. Never, therefore, in her whole
|
|---|
| 316 | career did she give greater proof of her large-minded comprehension of the
|
|---|
| 317 | main lines of policy which it behoved her to follow than when she determined
|
|---|
| 318 | to override the opinions of so many prudent advisers, and expel the French
|
|---|
| 319 | force from the northern kingdom. </p>
|
|---|
| 320 | <p align="left">England was not quite in the helpless, disabled position
|
|---|
| 321 | that it pleased the Spaniards to believe. Twelve months of careful and
|
|---|
| 322 | energetic administration had already done wonders. There had been wise
|
|---|
| 323 | economy and wise expenditure. Money had been scraped together, and, though
|
|---|
| 324 | there was still a heavy debt, the legacy of three wasteful reigns, the
|
|---|
| 325 | confidence of the Antwerp money-lenders had revived, and they were willing
|
|---|
| 326 | to advance considerable sums. A fleet had been equipped and manned;
|
|---|
| 327 | shiploads of arms had been imported; forces had been collected on the south
|
|---|
| 328 | coasts. The Border garrisons had been quietly raised in strength till they
|
|---|
| 329 | were able to furnish an expeditionary force at a moment's notice. </p>
|
|---|
| 330 | <p align="left">The smallest energy on the part of the Congregation might
|
|---|
| 331 | have finished the war without the presence of an English force. Elizabeth
|
|---|
| 332 | had a right to be angry. The Scotch Protestants expected to have the hardest
|
|---|
| 333 | part of the work done for them, and to be paid for executing their own share
|
|---|
| 334 | of it. Lord James and a few of the leaders were in earnest, but others were
|
|---|
| 335 | selfish time-servers. As for the lower class, their Calvinism was still new.
|
|---|
| 336 | It had not yet bred that fierce spirit of independence which before long was
|
|---|
| 337 | to outweigh the force of nobles and gentry. But if the weakness of the
|
|---|
| 338 | Anglophile party was disappointing, it had at all events shown that
|
|---|
| 339 | Elizabeth must depend upon herself to ward off danger on that side; and
|
|---|
| 340 | after some reasonable hesitation she decided to put through the work she had
|
|---|
| 341 | begun. </p>
|
|---|
| 342 | <p align="left">It says much for the patriotism of Elizabeth's Council that
|
|---|
| 343 | when they found she had made up her mind they did not stand sulkily aloof,
|
|---|
| 344 | but co-operated heartily and vigorously in carrying out the policy they had
|
|---|
| 345 | opposed. Norfolk himself accepted the command of the Border army, and acted
|
|---|
| 346 | throughout the affair with fidelity and diligence. He was not a man
|
|---|
| 347 | distinguished by ability of any kind, and the actual fighting was to be done
|
|---|
| 348 | by Lord Grey, a firm and experienced, though not brilliant, commander. But
|
|---|
| 349 | that the natural leader of the Conservative nobility should be seen at the
|
|---|
| 350 | head of Elizabeth's army was a useful lesson to traitors at home and enemies
|
|---|
| 351 | abroad, who were telling each other that her throne was insecure. </p>
|
|---|
| 352 | <p align="left">An agreement between the English Queen and the Lords of the
|
|---|
| 353 | Congregation was drawn up (27 February), with scrupulous care to avoid the
|
|---|
| 354 | appearance of dictation and encroachment which had gathered all Scotland to
|
|---|
| 355 | Pinkie Cleugh eleven years before. It set forth that the English troops were
|
|---|
| 356 | entering Scotland for no other object than to assist the Duke of
|
|---|
| 357 | Chatelherault, the heir-presumptive to the throne, and the other nobles, to
|
|---|
| 358 | drive out the foreign invaders. They would build no fortress. There was no
|
|---|
| 359 | intention to prejudice Mary's lawful authority. Cecil appears to have wanted
|
|---|
| 360 | to add something about "Christ's true religion;" but Elizabeth struck it
|
|---|
| 361 | out. Circumstances might compel her to be the protector of foreign
|
|---|
| 362 | Protestants; but neither then nor at any other time did she desire to pose
|
|---|
| 363 | in that character. </p>
|
|---|
| 364 | <p align="left">A month later (28 March) Lord Grey crossed the Border, and
|
|---|
| 365 | marched to Leith. The siege of that place proved to be tedious. The Lords of
|
|---|
| 366 | the Congregation gave very insufficient assistance; and, when an assault had
|
|---|
| 367 | been repulsed with heavy loss, the citizens of Edinburgh would not receive
|
|---|
| 368 | the wounded into their houses. At last, when food was running short in the
|
|---|
| 369 | town, an envoy from France arrived with power to treat on behalf of the
|
|---|
| 370 | Queen of Scots. Her mother, the Regent, had died during the siege. After
|
|---|
| 371 | much haggling a treaty was signed. No French troops were in future to be
|
|---|
| 372 | kept in Scotland. Offices of State were to be held only by natives. The
|
|---|
| 373 | government during Mary's absence was to be vested in a Council of twelve
|
|---|
| 374 | noblemen; seven nominated by her and five by the Estates. Elizabeth's title
|
|---|
| 375 | to the kingdoms of England and Ireland was recognised (July 1560). </p>
|
|---|
| 376 | <p align="left">Such was the Treaty of Edinburgh, or of Leith, as it is
|
|---|
| 377 | sometimes called, one of the most successful achievements of a successful
|
|---|
| 378 | reign. It was gained by wise counsel and bold resolve; and its fruits,
|
|---|
| 379 | though not completely fulfilling its promise, were solid and valuable. It
|
|---|
| 380 | was not ratified by Mary. But her nonratification in the long-run injured no
|
|---|
| 381 | one but herself, besides putting her in the wrong, and giving Elizabeth a
|
|---|
| 382 | standing excuse for treating her as an enemy. England was permanently free
|
|---|
| 383 | from the menace of a disciplined French army in the northern kingdom.
|
|---|
| 384 | Nothing was settled in the treaty about religion. But this was equivalent to
|
|---|
| 385 | a confirmation of the violent change that had recently taken place; in
|
|---|
| 386 | itself a guarantee of security to England. </p>
|
|---|
| 387 | <p align="left">The moral effect of this success was even greater than its
|
|---|
| 388 | more tangible results. It had been very generally believed, at all events
|
|---|
| 389 | abroad, that Elizabeth was tottering on her throne; that the large majority
|
|---|
| 390 | were on the point of rising to depose her; that, wriggle as she might, she
|
|---|
| 391 | would find she was a mere <i>protégée</i> of Philip, with no option but to
|
|---|
| 392 | follow his directions and square her policy to his. Whatever small basis of
|
|---|
| 393 | fact underlay this delusive estimate had been ridiculously exaggerated in
|
|---|
| 394 | the reports sent to Philip by his ambassador De Quadra, a man who evidently
|
|---|
| 395 | paid more attention to hole-and-corner tattle than to the broad forces of
|
|---|
| 396 | English politics. </p>
|
|---|
| 397 | <p align="left">All these imaginings were now proved to be vain. Elizabeth
|
|---|
| 398 | had shown that she could protect herself by her own strength and in her own
|
|---|
| 399 | way. She had civilly ignored Philip's advice, or rather his injunctions. She
|
|---|
| 400 | had thrown down the glove to France, and France had not taken it up. She had
|
|---|
| 401 | placed in command of her armies the very man whom she was supposed to fear,
|
|---|
| 402 | and he had done her bidding, and done it well. England once more stood
|
|---|
| 403 | before Europe as an independent power, able to take care of itself, aid its
|
|---|
| 404 | friends, and annoy its enemies. </p>
|
|---|
| 405 | <p align="left">It is true that, as far as Elizabeth personally is
|
|---|
| 406 | concerned, her Scotch policy had not always in its execution been as prompt
|
|---|
| 407 | and firm as could be desired. Those who follow it in greater detail than is
|
|---|
| 408 | possible here will find much in it that is irresolute and even vacillating.
|
|---|
| 409 | This defect appears throughout Elizabeth's career, though it will always be
|
|---|
| 410 | ignored, as it ought to be ignored, by those who reserve their attention for
|
|---|
| 411 | what is worth observing in the course of human affairs. </p>
|
|---|
| 412 | <p align="left">In her intellectual grasp of European politics as a whole,
|
|---|
| 413 | and of the interests of her own kingdom, Elizabeth was probably superior to
|
|---|
| 414 | any of her counsellors.</p>
|
|---|
| 415 | <p align="left">No one could better than she think out the general idea of a
|
|---|
| 416 | political campaign. But theoretical and practical qualifications are seldom,
|
|---|
| 417 | if ever, combined in equal excellence. Not only are the qualities themselves
|
|---|
| 418 | naturally opposed, but the constant exercise of either increases the
|
|---|
| 419 | disparity. Her sex obliged Elizabeth to leave the large field of execution
|
|---|
| 420 | to others. Her practical gifts therefore, whatever they were, deteriorated
|
|---|
| 421 | rather than advanced as she grew older. In men, who every day and every hour
|
|---|
| 422 | of the day are engaged in action, the habit of prompt decision and
|
|---|
| 423 | persistence in a course once adopted, even if it be not quite the best, is
|
|---|
| 424 | naturally formed and strengthened. It is a habit so valuable, so
|
|---|
| 425 | indispensable to continued success, that in practice it largely compensates
|
|---|
| 426 | for some inferiority in conception and design. Elizabeth's irresolution and
|
|---|
| 427 | vacillation were therefore a consequence of her position--that of an
|
|---|
| 428 | extremely able and well-informed woman called upon to conduct a government
|
|---|
| 429 | in which so much had to be decided by the sovereign at her own discretion.
|
|---|
| 430 | The abler she was, the more disposed to make her will felt, the less
|
|---|
| 431 | steadiness and consistency in action were to be expected from her. As the
|
|---|
| 432 | wife of a king, upon whom the final responsibility would have rested--her
|
|---|
| 433 | inferior perhaps in intellect and knowledge, but with the masculine habit of
|
|---|
| 434 | making up his mind once for all, and then steering a straight course--she
|
|---|
| 435 | would have been a wise and enlightened adviser, not afraid of consistently
|
|---|
| 436 | maintaining principles, when the time, mode, and degree of their application
|
|---|
| 437 | rested with another. As it was, Cecil and other able statesmen who served
|
|---|
| 438 | her No one could better than she think out the general idea of a political
|
|---|
| 439 | campaign. But theoretical and practical qualifications are seldom, if ever,
|
|---|
| 440 | combined in equal excellence. Not only are the qualities themselves
|
|---|
| 441 | naturally opposed, but the constant exercise of either increases the
|
|---|
| 442 | disparity. Her sex obliged Elizabeth to leave the large field of execution
|
|---|
| 443 | to others. Her practical gifts therefore, whatever they were, deteriorated
|
|---|
| 444 | rather than advanced as she grew older. In men, who every day and every hour
|
|---|
| 445 | of the day are engaged in action, the habit of prompt decision and
|
|---|
| 446 | persistence in a course once adopted, even if it be not quite the best, is
|
|---|
| 447 | naturally formed and strengthened. It is a habit so valuable, so
|
|---|
| 448 | indispensable to continued success, that in practice it largely compensates
|
|---|
| 449 | for some inferiority in conception and design. Elizabeth's irresolution and
|
|---|
| 450 | vacillation were therefore a consequence of her position--that of an
|
|---|
| 451 | extremely able and well-informed woman called upon to conduct a government
|
|---|
| 452 | in which so much had to be decided by the sovereign at her own discretion.
|
|---|
| 453 | The abler she was, the more disposed to make her will felt, the less
|
|---|
| 454 | steadiness and consistency in action were to be expected from her. As the
|
|---|
| 455 | wife of a king, upon whom the final responsibility would have rested--her
|
|---|
| 456 | inferior perhaps in intellect and knowledge, but with the masculine habit of
|
|---|
| 457 | making up his mind once for all, and then steering a straight course--she
|
|---|
| 458 | would have been a wise and enlightened adviser, not afraid of consistently
|
|---|
| 459 | maintaining principles, when the time, mode, and degree of their application
|
|---|
| 460 | rested with another. As it was, Cecil and other able statesmen who served
|
|---|
| 461 | her against the heretics of all countries. To this appeal he replied by
|
|---|
| 462 | formally summoning Catherine to put down heresy in France. An accidential
|
|---|
| 463 | collision at Vassy, in which a number of Huguenots were slain, brought on
|
|---|
| 464 | the first of those wars of religion which were to desolate France for the
|
|---|
| 465 | next thirty years (March 1562). Both factions, equally dead to patriotism,
|
|---|
| 466 | opened their country to foreigners. The Guises called in the forces of Spain
|
|---|
| 467 | and the Pope. Condé applied to Elizabeth and the Protestant princes of
|
|---|
| 468 | Germany. </p>
|
|---|
| 469 | <p align="left">It was necessary to give the Huguenots just so much help as
|
|---|
| 470 | would prevent them from being crushed. Aggressive in appearance, such
|
|---|
| 471 | interference was in reality legitimate self-defence. But unfortunately
|
|---|
| 472 | neither Elizabeth nor her Council had forgotten Calais, and they extorted
|
|---|
| 473 | from Condé the surrender of Havre as a pledge for its restoration. In the
|
|---|
| 474 | case of Scotland they had come, as we have seen, to recognise that to
|
|---|
| 475 | establish a permanent raw by holding fortified posts on the territory of
|
|---|
| 476 | another nation is poor statesmanship. The possession of Calais was of little
|
|---|
| 477 | military value as against France. It is true that it would enable England to
|
|---|
| 478 | make sea communication between Spain and the Netherlands very insecure, and
|
|---|
| 479 | would thus give Philip a powerful motive for desiring to stand well with
|
|---|
| 480 | this country. But such a calculation had less weight with Englishmen at that
|
|---|
| 481 | moment than pure Jingoism--the longing to be again able to crow over their
|
|---|
| 482 | French enemy. </p>
|
|---|
| 483 | <p align="left">The occupation of Havre (October 1562) gave to the Huguenot
|
|---|
| 484 | cause the minimum of assistance, and brought upon it the maximum of odium. A
|
|---|
| 485 | hollow reconciliation was soon patched up between the rival factions (March
|
|---|
| 486 | 1563), and Elizabeth was summoned to evacuate Havre. She refused, loudly
|
|---|
| 487 | complaining of the Huguenots for deserting her. She "had come to the quiet
|
|---|
| 488 | possession of Havre without force or any other unlawful means, and she had
|
|---|
| 489 | good reason to keep it." Up to this time the fiction of peace between the
|
|---|
| 490 | two nations had been maintained. It was now open war. It is only fair to
|
|---|
| 491 | Elizabeth to say that all her Council and the whole nation were even hotter
|
|---|
| 492 | than she was. The garrison of Havre, with their commander Warwick, were
|
|---|
| 493 | eager for the fray. They would "make the French cock cry Cuck," they would
|
|---|
| 494 | "spend the last drop of their blood before the French should fasten a foot
|
|---|
| 495 | in the town." The inhabitants were all expelled, and the siege began, Condé
|
|---|
| 496 | as well as the Catholics appearing in the Queen-mother's army. After a
|
|---|
| 497 | valiant defence the English, reduced to a handful of men by typhus, sailed
|
|---|
| 498 | away (28 July 1563). Peace was concluded early in the next year (April
|
|---|
| 499 | 1564). Elizabeth did not repeat her mistake. Thenceforward to the end of her
|
|---|
| 500 | reign we shall find her carefully cultivating friendly relations with every
|
|---|
| 501 | ruler of France. </p>
|
|---|
| 502 | </font>
|
|---|
| 503 | <hr>
|
|---|
| 504 | <p align="left"><font style="font-family: Times New Roman" size="2">From <i>
|
|---|
| 505 | Queen Elizabeth</i> by Edward Spencer Beesly. Published in London by
|
|---|
| 506 | Macmillan and Co., 1892.</font></p>
|
|---|
| 507 | </font>
|
|---|
| 508 | <font face="Times New Roman" size="2">
|
|---|
| 509 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 510 | </blockquote>
|
|---|
| 511 |
|
|---|
| 512 | <p align="center">
|
|---|
| 513 | <a href="beeslychapterfour.html">to Chapter
|
|---|
| 514 | IV: Elizabeth and Mary Stuart: 1559-1568</a></p>
|
|---|
| 515 | <p align="center">
|
|---|
| 516 | <a href="monarchs/eliz1.html">to the Queen
|
|---|
| 517 | Elizabeth I website</a> /
|
|---|
| 518 | <a href="relative/maryqos.html">to the Mary,
|
|---|
| 519 | queen of Scots website</a></p>
|
|---|
| 520 | <p align="center"><a href="secondary.html">
|
|---|
| 521 | to Secondary Sources</a></p>
|
|---|
| 522 | </font>
|
|---|
| 523 |
|
|---|
| 524 | </body>
|
|---|
| 525 |
|
|---|
| 526 | </html><!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="http://hostingprod.com/js_source/geov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082622" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
|
|---|
| 527 | <IMG SRC="http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=76001524&t=1108082622" ALT=1 WIDTH=1 HEIGHT=1>
|
|---|
