Early Elizabethan England, 1559-85: The Catholic and Puritan Challenges
The Catholic and Puritan challenges in early Elizabethan England grew from the Religious Settlement of 1559, which did not end religious tension: Elizabeth faced pressure from both Puritans, who thought the Church of England had not been reformed enough, and Catholics, who rejected it altogether. Puritans objected to remaining Catholic-style features such as clerical vestments, a dispute that flared into the Vestments Controversy of 1566, and some, following the preacher Thomas Cartwright, argued for a Presbyterian system run by elected elders instead of bishops; Archbishop John Whitgift, appointed in 1583, used the Church court known as the Court of High Commission to enforce conformity and suppress Puritan nonconformity. Catholics who refused to attend Church of England services, known as recusants, faced fines under the Settlement, and the threat grew as the seminary at Douai, founded by William Allen in 1568, and the Jesuit mission that began in 1580 with priests such as Edmund Campion, sent Catholic missionaries into England to keep the old faith alive. Parliament responded with harsher laws, including an Act of 1581 that sharply increased recusancy fines and made it treason to convert someone to Catholicism, and an Act of 1585 that made it treason for a Catholic priest trained abroad simply to be present in England.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the Puritan challenge as a distinct case: their objection to vestments (the Vestments Controversy, 1566), Thomas Cartwright's Presbyterian argument for replacing bishops with elected elders, and Archbishop Whitgift's use of the Court of High Commission from 1583 to enforce conformity.
- Learn the Catholic challenge as a distinct case: recusancy (refusal to attend Church of England services) and its fines, the Douai seminary founded by William Allen in 1568, and the Jesuit mission that began in 1580, bringing missionary priests such as Edmund Campion into England.
- Learn how the law hardened over time: the 1581 Act increased recusancy fines and made converting someone to Catholicism treason; the 1585 Act made the mere presence in England of a Catholic priest trained abroad an act of treason.
- For 'describe two features of' questions, keep Puritan and Catholic challenges separate unless the question asks for both, and choose two specific, nameable features (e.g. the Vestments Controversy; the Jesuit mission) rather than a vague description of 'religious unrest'.
- For 'explain why' questions on why Elizabeth's government treated Catholics or Puritans as a threat, distinguish a religious reason (nonconformity undermined the Settlement) from a political/security reason (Catholic missionaries were linked, in the government's eyes, to the risk of plots and foreign invasion).
- For 16-mark judgement questions comparing the Puritan and Catholic threats, weigh scale (how many people were involved) against danger (whether the threat carried a risk of rebellion, assassination or invasion) before reaching a supported judgement.
Worked example
Explain why the government came to see Catholic missionary priests as a serious threat between 1568 and 1585. You may use the following in your answer: the Douai seminary, and the Jesuit mission. You must also use information of your own.
- Plan the two given factors plus one of your own: the Douai seminary, the Jesuit mission, and a third point such as the harsher laws of 1581 and 1585.
- Develop the Douai point: William Allen founded the seminary at Douai in 1568 specifically to train English Catholic priests abroad and send them back into England to keep Catholicism alive in secret.
- Develop the Jesuit mission point: from 1580, Jesuit priests such as Edmund Campion entered England to say Mass and support Catholic households, working in secret and moving between sympathetic families, which made them very difficult for the authorities to track down.
- Add the own-knowledge point: Parliament's response shows how seriously the threat was taken, since the 1585 Act made it treason merely for a priest trained abroad to be in England, regardless of any specific plot.
- Conclude by linking the points: because missionary priests operated secretly and were linked in the government's mind to the wider danger of Catholic plots and foreign invasion, they came to be treated as a security threat as well as a religious one.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What was the Vestments Controversy of 1566 about?Show answer
Answer: A dispute in which Puritans objected to clergy being required to wear certain traditional vestments, which they saw as too close to Catholic practice.
Q2What system of church government did Thomas Cartwright argue for instead of bishops?Show answer
Answer: A Presbyterian system, run by elected elders rather than bishops.
Q3Who was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1583, and what did he use to enforce conformity?Show answer
Answer: John Whitgift, who used the Church court known as the Court of High Commission.
Q4What is a 'recusant'?Show answer
Answer: A Catholic who refused to attend Church of England services, and so faced fines under the Religious Settlement.
Q5Who founded the seminary at Douai in 1568, and what was its purpose?Show answer
Answer: William Allen; it trained English Catholic priests abroad to be sent back into England as missionaries.
Q6What did the 1585 Act make treasonable?Show answer
Answer: The mere presence in England of a Catholic priest who had been trained abroad.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE History exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Describe two features of the Puritan challenge to the Religious Settlement between 1559 and 1585.
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Explain why the government came to see Catholic missionary priests as a serious threat between 1568 and 1585. You may use the following in your answer: the Douai seminary, and the Jesuit mission. You must also use information of your own.
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'The Puritan challenge was more dangerous to Elizabeth than the Catholic challenge, 1559-85.' How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: the Vestments Controversy, and the Jesuit mission. You must also use information of your own.
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See real GCSE History past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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