U.S. History I: United States History 1607-1865 ... - Textbook Equity

Edward VI became king at age nine and never reached majority. Toward the end of his
reign, as his health deteriorated, the question of his successor was a source of considerable
conflict. Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry and Catherine and still a strong Catholic, had a
claim to the throne which was supported by the Catholic monarchs of Spain and France and
her nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The Pope naturally desired to see Catholicism
restored to England as a bulwark against the further spread of Protestantism.
Factions in England who wanted to see the Protestant religion continued advanced other
claimants to the throne, including Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII’s sister
Mary. The events surrounding Edward’s demise are clouded with mystery, but his death was
concealed for a time in order to install Jane Grey, a Protestant who was barely seventeen
years old, on the throne in order to block the accession of Mary. Lady Jane’s supporters
planned to have Mary arrested and placed in the Tower of London, but Mary got wind of the
plot and foiled it. Nine days into Lady Jane’s reign, Mary became the monarch with a great
deal of popular support among the English people. Lady Jane was imprisoned and later executed,
as were many of her supporters, on charges of treason, even though Queen Mary
had promised clemency to young Queen Jane.
Queen Mary, who became known as “Bloody Mary,” ordered many imprisoned Catholics to
be released and had a number of Protestants opponents executed, since practicing the
wrong faith was considered treason. In hopes of having an heir to thwart the accession of
her Protestant sister Elizabeth, Mary married Prince
Philip of Spain, who eventually became King Philip II.
Because of long-standing animosity between England
and Spain, Mary’s marriage was very unpopular with
the people. She never had a child.
Elizabeth I, “The Great”
Upon Mary’s death, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth became
Queen according to the Act of Succession of
1544. The issue of Elizabeth’s potential marriage had
enormous political import and dominated the first decades
of her reign. The matter of a suitable husband
was heavily debated among Elizabeth’s councilors. The
fact that many of her suitors were Catholics made the
search for a possible husband politically explosive.
Elizabeth remained, however, the “Virgin Queen” and
never married. When it became apparent that she
would not have an heir, the issue of succession again
became critical. One claimant to the throne was Elizabeth’s
first cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, but the fact
that she was Catholic led to Elizabeth’s having her executed.
The struggle between Catholics and Protestants left a
long and bloody trail through English and European history. Heretics 10 —those who professed
the wrong faith—were burned at the stake, and the number of executions on religious
grounds can only be estimated. The Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648, one of the bloodiest and
most brutal in European history, was but one of many conflicts with religious overtones. The
horrors of the Spanish Inquisition, the burning of witches, and depredations against Jews
and others whose faith was in question are all part of the long and violent history of religious
conflict in the western world. Lingering animosities have persisted into modern times,
10 The word “heretic” comes from a Greek root meaning to choose.
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