Ridolfi plot: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:24, 30 May 2007

Revision as of 04:30, 8 June 2007

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The Duke of Norfolk, a cousin to the Queen and wealthiest landowner in the country, had been proposed as a possible husband for Mary ever since her imprisonment in 1568. This suited Norfolk who had greater ambitions and felt Elizabeth persistently undervalued him.<ref>Williams, Neville, ''The Life and Times of Elizabeth I'', (Book Club Associates, 1972), pg 91.</ref> In pursuit of this, he agreed to support the [[Northern Rebellion]], though quickly lost his nerve and tried to call it off. However, the rebellion was not under his control and went ahead anyway, with the Northern earls trying to foment rebellion among their Catholic subjects to prepare for a Catholic Spanish invasion by the [[Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba|Duke of Alba]], governor of the [[Netherlands]].<ref>Starkey, David, ''Elizabeth I: Apprenticeship'', (Vintage, 2001), pg 322.</ref>

After the rebellion failed, the leaders were executed and a purge of Catholic sympathisers in the priesthood carried out. Norfolk was imprisoned in the [[Tower of London]] for nine months and only freed under house arrest when he confessed all and begged for mercy.<ref>Williams, ''Life and Times'', pg 101-2.</ref> Pope [[Pius V]] issued [[Regnans in Excelsis]], a [[papal bull]] excommunicating Elizabeth, shortly afterwards, which commanded all faithful Catholics to do all they could to depose her, though the majority of Engish Catholics ignored the bull.<ref>Dures, Alan, ''English Catholicism, partly due to the banning of imported Catholic literature, which made the Pull somewhat of a rarety in England 1558-1642'', (Longman, 1983), pg 17.</ref> In response, Elizabeth became much harsher to Catholics and their sympathisers.<ref>Starkey, ''Elizabeth I'', pg 322.</ref>

== Plot ==

[[Roberto Ridolfi]], a Florentine banker and ardent Catholic, had been involved in the planning of the Northern rebellion, had been plotting to overthrow Elizabeth as early as 1569.<ref>Elton G.R., ''England under the Tudors'', (University Paperback, 1978), pg 297.</ref> Observing the failure of the rebellion, he came to the conclusion that only foreign intervention could restore Catholicism and bring Mary to the throne, and began to contact potential conspirators. Mary's advisor, [[John Lesley]], the [[Bishop of Ross]], gave his assent to the plot as the only way to free Mary.<ref>Williams, ''Life and Times'', pg 102-3.</ref> The plan was to have the Duke of Alba invade from the Netherlands with 10,000 men, foment a rebellion of the northern English nobility, murder Elizabeth, and marry Mary to [[Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk]]. However, this did not include a plot to assasinate Elizabeth as this would have been too risky. Mary Stuart only sought her freedom as did the Pope and all faithful Catholic, because Mary was the true heir and successor. Ridolfi optimistically estimated half of all English peers were Catholic, and could muster in excess of 39,000 men.<ref>Williams, ''Life and Times'', pg 102.</ref> Norfolk gave verbal assurances to Ridolfi that he was Catholic, though as a pupil of [[John Foxe]], he hadremained previously beena Protestant all his life.<ref>Dures, ''English Catholicism'', pg 17.</ref><ref>Lockyer, Roger, ''Tudor and Stuart Britain, 1417-1714'', (Longman, 1964), pg 186.</ref> Both Mary and Norfolk, desperate to remedy their respective situations, agreed to the plot.<ref>Jenkins, Elizabeth, ''Elizabeth the Great'', (Phoenix Press, 1958), pg 176.</ref> With their blessing, Ridolfi set off to the continent to gain Alba, Pius V and King Philip II's support.

However, the Duke of Alba feared that if the plot should be successful, it would lead to Mary, Queen of Scots, a former Queen of France whose mother was a member of the prominent [[Guise]] family, occupying the throne of England. The consequence of this would be an England wedded to Mary's beloved France, an outcome which the Spanish feared.

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