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Summary AQA A Level History - Mary I Revision Notes
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AQA A Level History Mary I Notes. Made using a range of textbooks and sources. Included practice essay questions and historiography.
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Mary I Royal authority under Mary I
Problems of succession
Relations with foreign powers
Key questions:
In what ways and how effectively was England governed during this period?
How did relations with foreign powers change and how was the succession secured?
How important was the role of key individuals and groups and how were they affected by developments?
Exam questions:
‘The period between 1540 and 1558 was marked mainly by a crisis in government’. Assess the validity of this
view.
‘The most important reason for Mary Tudor’s unpopularity was her weakness of character.’ How far do you
agree or disagree with this statement?
‘The weakness of Mid-Tudor government in the years 1547-58 is explained by widespread religious discontent
rather than the inability of the rulers – Somerset, Northumberland and Mary – to govern effectively’. Assess the
validity of this view.
‘Mary was more effective in conducting England’s foreign affairs’. How far do you agree or disagree with this
view?
‘Mary was successful in her attempt to restore Catholicism in England by 1558’. Assess the validity of this view.
‘In 1553, Mary seized a power rightfully hers for the exercise of which she was utterly unsuited’. Assess the
validity of this view.
‘The monarchy was in crisis in the reigns of Edward VI and Mary because the political and religious divisions in
mid-Tudor England were so serious’. Explain how far you agree or disagree with this statement.
How successful was English foreign policy in the years 1529 to 1558?
‘Religious change in the years 1532 to 1558 enjoyed little support.’ Assess the validity of this view.
‘The main cause of rebellions in the years 1536 to 1558 was religious disagreements.’ Assess the validity of this
view.
Mary had a mixed record as queen.
In foreign policy she must be accounted a failure, as both she and the country felt the humiliation of the loss of
Calais.
Her marriage failed in its most basic requirement – the production of a Catholic heir to the throne. This left Mary
unable to prevent the succession of her despised half-sister Elizabeth, whom she knew would overturn the
religious changes which she had been so anxious to introduce.
She showed her character and determination when seizing the throne and later when facing down rebellion.
He main failure was dying after just over 5 years on the throne.
Historiography:
G.R. Elton – ‘Positive achievements there were none’, ‘all her good qualities went for nought because she lacked
the essentials.’, ‘two things dominated her mind – her religion and her Spanish descent’.
C. Erickson – ‘Mary Tudor has no monument in England’, ‘she ruled with a full measure of the Tudor majesty,
and met the challenges of severe economic crises, rebellion and religious upheaval capably and with courage’.
R. Tittler – ‘Mary and her government faced a larger than usual task of political transition’.
P. Williams – ‘she is displayed as the arch opponent of true religion and as the friend of England’s enemy, Spain’,
‘scorned as a legacy of hatred both for her faith and for the country of her husband’.
D. Loades – ‘The marriage was as unpopular in Spain as it was in England’, ‘chilly land of barbarous heretics’.
D. Loades – Philip ‘involved himself actively, but discreetly, in English internal affairs, working mainly through
those councillors in whom he had confidence’.
Royal authority under Mary I
,Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen in 1553, but popular support for Mary was quick to appear. According to Haigh,
‘to the surprise and embarrassment of those politicians and local leaders who had supposed that there was no choice
but to obey Northumberland, Mary was swept to power by a revolution’.
The failure of Northumberland’s Devyse:
On learning of Northumberland’s intentions to proclaim Lady Jane Grey queen, Mary had gathered together
Catholic supporters, including members of the nobility, in Norfolk.
Northumberland immediately summoned troops and sent naval squadron to wait off the coast by Great
Yarmouth to intercept Mary should she try to set sail.
However, there was little love for Northumberland in Norfolk because of the cruelty with which he had put
down Kett’s Rebellion and the ships he sent proved disloyal to him and declared allegiance to Mary.
At this, other members of the Council decided to proclaim Mary as queen on 19 th July 1553.
Northumberland realised his plan had failed and proclaimed Mary as queen in the marketplace at Cambridge on
20th July.
Northumberland’s plans failed for a number of reasons:
He had attempted to interfere with the legitimate succession and had compounded this by promoting the claims
of his son’s wife, thus leading many people to draw the conclusion that the whole business was simply a sordid
attempt to hold on to power.
His behavior was, moreover, illegal and upset even some of his more committed supporters on the Council.
Although Northumberland had generated less enmity than Somerset among his colleagues, he had little positive
support. Mary, on the other hand, had acted bravely, decisively and quickly, gathering support from nobility,
gentry and ordinary folk.
Royal government under Mary
Mary’s succession was generally greeted favourably by the English people, though it has been debated whether
this was primarily because the English people supported the legitimate succession or because they welcomed
England’s probably return to the Catholic faith.
From Mary’s point of view, the restoration of the Catholic faith took priority over all other issues of government.
The popular acclaim for Mary obscured some considerable problems:
She inherited a kingdom that had fundamental religious divisions.
She was Catholic in a kingdom which had a substantial protestant minority.
She hadn’t been brought up to rule, and had little in the way of political instinct to help her cope with the
challenges with which she was confronted.
Her loyal and trusted supporters, such as Robert Rochester, Edward Waldegrave, Sir Henry Jeringham and Sir
Henry Bedingford, had no serious experience in government.
Mary would have to rely on those who had served her half-brother and were therefore implicated in the
introduction of religious reforms that were distasteful to her.
Councillors:
New councillors included Bishop Stephen Gardiner. Who had been her father’s secretary and had been a
steadfast upholder of religious conservatism during Edward’s reign in which he had suffered imprisonment.
Other churchmen, who had been exiled from influence during Edward’s reign.
Some of the more conservative councillors who had at various times served Edward, most importantly Lord
Paget.
She appointed 50 councillors during her reign. This has led to some historians to assert that such a large number
of councillors inevitably led to inefficient and faction-ridden government.
Mary seems to have regarded ‘councillor’ as an honorary title; the working council board was much smaller and
was dominated by such experienced figures as Gardiner, Marquis of Winchester and Paget.
, Mary was never quite at ease with her key councillors. She lost confidence in Paget on account of his opposition
to her religious programme, and she never fully trusted Gardiner, who had failed to support her mother,
Catherine, at the time of the break with Rome. She did however, regard him as indispensable, and his death in
1555 left a gap in government that was never satisfactorily filled, particularly as Cardinal Pole distanced himself
from secular issues. As a consequence Mary was thrown back on to the advice of the two foreigners whose
judgement she trusted implicitly: her husband from 1554 and Simon Renard, the ambassador of her cousin and
father-in-law, Charles V.
Parliament:
The relationship between was usually one of cautious cooperation.
A substantial minority of MPs (about 80) opposed the reversal of the Edwardian religious legislation, and there
were other examples of opposition to Crown policies. Concern for property rights, doubtless motivated by self-
interest in many cases, ensured that ex-monastic property would not be restored to the Church, and Mary didn’t
press the point.
A bill in 1555 to allow the seizure of property of Protestant exiles was defeated.
Mary quarreled with Parliament over the issue of the succession.
Priorities that were most vital as far as Mary was concerned:
The restoration of the Catholic religion – Mary was a pious Catholic who saw it as her God-given duty to save the
souls of the English people, who had been hijacked by Protestantism. Mary was determined to bring England
back to the papal fold, by restoring the Pope as the head of the Church, rather than the monarch.
The succession – the necessity of achieving a smooth uncontroversial succession was given added importance by
her desire to consolidate the Catholic revival after her death.
War with France – she became embroiled in a war against England’s traditional enemy when she didn’t really
need to.
How much support did Mary have for her policies?
Threw away the genuine wave of support that carried her to the throne because she failed to realise that the
country had undergone significant change, and that altering direction in any of these areas had to be done
slowly and cautiously.
Mary appeared to be impatient to make changes.
She interpreted the popularity which greeted her succession as a sign that her subjects were welcoming the
return of Catholicism rather than as a reaction against Northumberland and Lady Jane Grey.
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