The Northern Rebellion

What was the Northern Rebellion?

The Northern Rebellion was an attempt by Catholic nobles to overthrow Queen Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.

What was the Northern Rebellion known as?

This rebellion is also known as Norfolk's Rebellion and the Revolt of the Northern Earls.

When was the Northern Rebellion?

It happened in November 1569 after Mary, Queen of Scots, arrived in England.

Why did the Northern Rebellion happen?

After Elizabeth's coronation, she faced a lot of opposition from Catholics who didn't believe she had the right to be queen.

• ❖ Many believed her father's marriage to Anne Boleyn, her mother, was illegal because it broke the sacred laws of marriage due to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
• ❖ Mary's presence in the north of England, which was a hotbed of Catholic support, encouraged the Catholic nobles to attempt to take power through physical force.
• ❖ The Duke of Norfolk resented William Cecil's influence on the monarchy and was intent on increasing Catholic influence in the royal court.
• ❖ Previously influential northern Catholic nobles had lost power in the royal court under Elizabeth. They saw the restoration of Catholicism as a way to regain power.
• ❖ James Pilkington, a Protestant, was appointed Archbishop of Durham in 1561, and aimed to stamp out Catholicism in the north. His harsh treatment of Catholics increased support for a rebellion.

What happened during the Northern Rebellion?

There were many stages to this rebellion.

• ❖ Elizabeth prevented Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, from marrying Mary, Queen of Scots. Norfolk left the royal court without permission and headed north.
• ❖ Taking this as a sign, a group of northern lords led by Westmorland and Northumberland began the rebellion by holding an illegal Catholic mass in Durham Cathedral.
• ❖ Afterwards, they began to march south with around 4,600 men. Elizabeth struggled to raise an army to resist them.
• ❖ Eventually one of her loyal lords, the Earl of Sussex, raised an army and the rebels fled.

What were the results of the Northern Rebellion?

There were four important consequences of the revolt.

• ❖ The Revolt of the Northern Earls led to increased oppression of Catholics and greater government control in the north.
• ❖ Elizabeth quickly put Mary, Queen of Scots, under house arrest and sent her to Coventry to secure her imprisonment.
• ❖ There were more than 450 executions of Catholics who had been involved in the revolt, including the Earl of Northumberland in 1572.
• ❖ The lack of support for the revolt reflected Elizabeth's popularity. However, because of this threat, Elizabeth passed treason laws that made any further Catholic threat to the monarch punishable by death.