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LONDON INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2017
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Joint Cabinet Crisis
London International Model United Nations
18th Session | 2017
Table of Content
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LONDON INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2017
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction
3
II.
General Context
4
III.
Religious Dynamics
6
IV.
Political Dynamics
18
V.
Territorial Dynamics
21
VI.
The French Court
27
VII.
The English Court
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VIII.
The Scottish Court
39
IX.
The House of Hapsburgs 46
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WELCOME TO CRISIS
We are thrilled to welcome you this year’s Crisis at LIMUN 2017! Great things are lying ahead of
you; namely, a Historical Crisis recreating the dynamics between Scotland, England, Habsburg
Spain and France, starting 1557. But before we let you delve into depths of medieval courts and
courtships, here is a few words about us.
Our names are Camille, Roberta and Dorota and we like to think of ourselves as a Dynamic Crisis
Trio. Coming from three different corners of Europe (although currently all of us are conveniently
stationed close to London), we’re united by our love for crisis, MUN and female empowerment.
You might see a fair bit of the last one in our crisis, as the two young queens hopefully rise to
power… Or will they? Their destiny is in your hands! Now onto specifics about the team (and yes,
we’re all very experienced).
Camille Bigot is a graduate student at the University of Cambridge. As your Crisis Director, she
looks forward to meeting all of you. She currently undertaking a Master in Criminology having
previously read two other masters in International Relations & Anthropology and Gender Studies.
She was Secretary General of CUIMUN XXII and she has been to over 30 conferences all over the
world. She also has a lot of experience within crisis having directed a lot before, chaired and been a
backroom staff at several conferences. She enjoys champagne, massages and men.
Roberta Maggi is a third year undergraduate reading International Relations at King’s College
London, originally from Italy. She is the Assistant Director of the Crisis at LIMUN 2017, and has
attended 11 Crises since she started University in 2014. She is truly looking forward to welcoming
you to her second home during LIMUN 2017. Aside from the traditional MUN experience, she was
also an intern in the International Political Office at the Italian Embassy in London. She loves binge
watching all sorts of TV shows, and whenever it has alcohol in it, she’s in.
Dorota Saitzova is a graduate student at Sciences Po Paris, finishing the second year of her Master’s
in International Security. She has previously directed crisis in several conferences, chaired
numerous committees all around Europe and was a part of secretariat of two different MUNs. Aside
from her MUN experience, she has equally worked as a trainee at the EU Mission to ASEAN in
Jakarta and has interned in the Czech Embassy in Paris. She likes any sort of food that can be eaten
with chopsticks, and has a lot of trouble saying no to a nice cold G&T.
Camille BIGOT
Director
Roberta MAGGI and Dorota SAITZOVA
Assistant Directors
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I.
Introduction
In the year 1557, young Mary Stuart travels to be wedded to French dauphin Francis in Paris. Meanwhile,
succession is at the order of the day in most European Courts. In London, Queen Mary is gravely ill, and
while the whole kingdom awaits her death, the imminent succession of her half-sister Elisabeth is
questioned due to her illegitimate birth. In Spain and in Austria, successors to Charles V. have only recently
gained their thrones, and still have to establish themselves as rulers. Finally, in Scotland, the regents await
the return of Mary Stuart, the rightful heir to the throne.
Europe is divided by religious disputes, family ties and alliances. Most royal families have mutual
connections - however, some ties are stronger than others, and even blood alliances can be broken. Mary
Stuart is at the heart of courtly politics; her wedding to Francis should ensure the Scottish alliance with
France, but her protestant cousin Elisabeth hardly wishes to have a catholic stronghold so close to her own
country.
The four courts; Scottish Court, French Court, Spanish Court and English Court all have her priorities and
inner politics, whilst they compete for dominance at the European Continent. Court intrigues, marriages,
affairs and religious devotion all shape the new face of Europe, too. Starting from 1557, the delegates in all
four cabinets will have the chance to change the course of history, and gain as much power as they can for
their land and for themselves. Will Mary become the Queen of Scots, and will her reign last long enough?
How will the alliances change, which wars will be waged, for religion, for succession, for land?
II.
General Context
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The world stands on the precipice of change. Europe has emerged from the Dark Ages, the horrors
and decline of the Bubonic plague are finally overcome. The Renaissance has spread northwards from Italy
and has brought with it a new thirst for knowledge both recovered and discovered. New ideas are
permeating society and invigorating artists, rulers, philosophers, explorers, traders, humanists and occultists
alike. Scholarly people all over Europe are heralding a new Age of Reason. Scientific curiosity is about to
replace mediaeval scholasticism as an ideal in the universities. For the first time in centuries, some seem to
entertain thoughts of possible alternatives to the predominant feudal and clerical order. It is the age of
Michelangelo, Suleyman, Calvin, Timofeyevich, Fugger, Montaigne and Nostradamus.
In the year of our Lord 1557, Europe stands as divided as ever. It has been 40 years since a German monk,
appalled at the worldliness and moral bankruptcy of the hierarchical papal church, nailed the Ninety-five
theses he proposed for its reformation on the door of his local university chapel. This seemingly
inconspicuous event was to alter the dynamics of Christendom profoundly and permanently. Princes
seeking to curb the rival authority of the church, upcoming burghers and oppressed peasants alike flocked
to the banner of The Reformation.
The papacy has been unsuccessful in addressing this divide and has had to come to terms with the fact that
heresy has become more or less accepted in the Empire.1 In the meanwhile, in the eyes of many
Christendom faces an unprecedented danger in the form of the ascendant Islamic Ottoman Empire. The
Sultan’s attempt to conquer the Empire was only narrowly repelled.2 ‘The Turk’ has become a staple
bogeyman of many a child’s bedtime stories.
But the world is also coming closer together, if not in harmony yet in conflict and trade. European thirst for
the goods of Asia has been the driving force behind explorations and the establishment of outposts in far
removed corners of the world. Courtiers dress themselves in silk, smoke tobacco and drink chocolate out of
china cups to demonstrate their splendour and affluence. Meanwhile, Mediterranean conflicts spill over to
the Indian ocean, where daring Portuguese and Ottoman captains fight out their Holy (Trade) War to the
bafflement of the locals.
The accumulation of wealth through trading and the systems of banking developed in Renaissance Italy
have also enabled the rise of a confident class of patricians in the cities, counterweight to the aristocracy
holding sway over the political sphere.3 The first semblances of a non-agricultural economy are emerging in
Flanders and Northern Italy.
With the spread of trade comes, as ever, the spread of ideas. Levels of literacy and education are rising
slowly but steadily. The milestone invention of the printing press has most famously backed the
dissemination of translations of the Holy Bible, but also made secular publications accessible to broader
audiences and thereby stimulated the exchange of ideas. Travelogues, treatises, discourses and
commentaries are becoming increasingly popular and less exclusive to Latin-versed scholarly circles.4
Two years ago (1555), the Treaty of Augsburg acknowledged every independent prince’s right to choose his (and
thereby his subjects’) confession without ramifications - cuius regio eius religio. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
traded off religious for political unity after being unsuccessful in enforcing both.
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Siege of Vienna (1529), the Empire’s administrative capital.
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Some of them going as far as becoming lenders to monarchs themselves, as the Fuggers of Augsburg who act as the
Habsburg Empire’s personal financiers.
4
Raising, to name a few, questions about the ideal ruler (Macchiavelli’s Il Principe), the perfect society (More’s
eponymous Utopia) or the cosmological place of the earth (Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelesticum).
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The dynamism of European societies has in part been possible due to a recent leap in population
growth. Many thirdborn sons with no prospects of inheritance have become soldiers of fortune, as
mercenaries, sailors, colonists or common vagrants. They constitute a pool of manpower available to
everyone who is able to afford it (or can pretend to be) that uproots the previously rather static feudal
system based on a chain of personal allegiances. The professionalisation of mercenary warfare, propagated
first by Italian condottieri and Swiss reislaufer, has made conflicts more unpredictable and especially prone
to escalation.5
The methods of warfare have also been changed by the spread of scientific discoveries, most notably
repeated improvements to durability, accuracy and handiness of gunpowder weapons6 and Roman-inspired
elaborate tactical formations relying on polearms. 7 These are becoming the weapon of choice for
professional mercenaries and soldiers. Heavy cavalry on its own is not decisive for the outcome of battles
any longer. This has a profound impact on society in turn: the importance of the old knightly aristocracy is
dwindling, while rulers are able to amass more power into their own hands.
All these portents of modernity, though, should not lead one to forget that the world of the 16th century is
still steeped in tradition and mystery. With all rational thought there is no clear distinction between science
and occultism.8 The vast majority of peasants continue to live their lives just as their forefathers ‘always’
have. But there pervades an overarching sense of new beginnings through the legacy of antiquity.
III.
Religious Dynamics
By the middle of the 16th century, Europe was firmly in the grip of the Protestant Reformation. Questions of
faith and theology were generally inseparable from their worldly, political implications. This section
provides an overview of the religious dynamics of the period. It is divided into three subsections: the first
provides a timeline and summary of the major religious events and actors in the first half of the century;
the second, an overview of Europe’s spiritual landscape in 1557, organised by geographical region; and the
third, a concise theological summary of the doctrines of the principal Christian denominations and
movements at that time.
A: Timeline of the Reformation
At the end of the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church’s dominance over Western and Central Europe
appeared unassailable. It was a vast supra-territorial organisation, whose clergy and monastics enjoyed
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As demonstrated by the Sacco di Roma (1527), when mercenaries hired by the Habsburgs (ostensibly allies of the Pope)
took charge of ensuring their due payment themselves and plundered Rome, sending a wave of outrage throughout the
Christian world.
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At the Battle of Mohacs (1526), the Turks demonstrated to the world what it meant to try and oppose a professional
army relying on discipline and firearms with feudal methods of warfare, killing the young Hungarian king Louis and
most of his feudatories, virtually annihilating his realm as a state in one sweep.
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Spanish mercenary tercios have achieved similar victories against traditional French cavalry.
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In fact, alchemists like Paracelsus are seen as the most prolific scientists of all.
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immense social and political privileges ubiquitously, and whose head, the Roman Pontiff, claimed
supremacy not only in spiritual matters, but de jure authority over every crowned head in Christendom. Yet
beneath this apparent veneer of triumph, many cracks were growing and propagating through the body
politic of the Church. For, despite having achieved Papal supremacy over the Holy Roman Emperors in the
12th century, and successfully instigated a number of Crusades, the Church was both beset by bitter political
factionalism and internal schisms in the 1300s, and actively challenged by heretical movements, such as the
Albigenses and Waldenses in France, the Lollards in England, and the Hussites in Bohemia. All of these
were eventually suppressed to varying degrees, but the task was made difficult owing to the
aforementioned political divisions in the Church, arising out of a renewed desire of secular rulers to assert
their control over the clergy.
Several principal factors converged at the start of the 16th century to make Europe ripe for the
Reformation. Firstly, there was an increasing centralisation of royal power, prompted by both the initial
developments of what would later be known as a national consciousness, and especially by the increasingly
rapid growth of the size, wealth, and power of the urban commercial class. Throughout Europe, these
merchants and bankers sought to empower the crown at the expense of the traditional landed aristocracy
and the clergy, and that involved ‘nationalising’ the Church to some degree. For instance, in France, years
before the appearance of a Protestant movement of any appreciable size, a prolonged campaign had been
led by the crown to wrest de facto control over the appointment of senior clergy and the government of
the Church from Rome, finally succeeding with the Concordat of Bologna (1516). Moreover, this same
pattern of secular power trying to nationalise the Church, quite separate from any deep theological and
doctrinal concerns, was later repeated in many of the countries which were first to embrace Protestantism.
Secondly, the Renaissance, with its re-discovery of the heritage of classical Greece and Rome, produced a
generation of learned scholars, who though in a new paradigm, different from the rigid scholasticism of the
Middle Ages, and who therefore subjected the latter to a ruthless criticism. The greatest of these new
humanists was doubtless Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536).
Finally, there was the undeniable fact that large numbers of the Catholic clergy had systematically abused
their powers and privileges for a long period of time. While many of these abuses have been subsequently
exaggerated by the countless anti-Papist tracts and pamphlets produced by the Reformation, yet it cannot
be denied that discontent among almost all the secular classes had reached a zenith. A bill of grievances
presented to the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire denounced the Catholic clergy as ‘public
fornicators, keepers of concubines, ruffians, pimps, and sinners in various other respects’. Besides their
personal moral misconduct, the clergy was attacked for the way they used their position as ministers of the
Church’s sacraments to advance themselves and their superiors financially. This involved the collection of
extortionate special taxes and fees, the open practice of usury (illegal under canon law), and, above all, the
sale of indulgences—special dispensations of grace by the Church, which were said to free the one on
whose name they were purchased from the punishment that they had to suffer in Purgatory for their sins.
Of course, there were many within the Church conscious of these problems, and seeking to remedy them
without any major doctrinal changes, but their efforts were too late and far too limited in scope to be
effective.
The spark which set off this veritable powder-keg of social tension and institutional crisis came when
Martin Luther (1483–1546) famously nailed a list of 95 Theses on the door of the castle church at
Wittenberg on 31 October 1517. These included the familiar complaints against the moral and financial
abuses of the clergy, especially the sale of indulgences, but Luther went further and attacked the very
theology underlying the Church’s practices. Catholic doctrine held that one was justified (i.e. achieved
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salvation) through a combination of both faith in Christ and good works of charity—and giving
money to the Church was held to be such an act of charity, effectively allowing the purchase of one’s place
in Heaven. Luther advanced an entirely new doctrine, that one was justified by faith alone (sola fide), i.e.
salvation is freely given by God, and no works or acts of man can ‘merit’ it. Thus, the sale of indulgences,
relics, and sacraments was a great swindle, as none of these could, in the end, assure the buyer’s salvation.
He claimed his doctrine was entirely based on the Bible, whereas the current practice of the Church had no
scriptural sanction, and to this end he upheld the supremacy of Scripture in adjudicating matters of
doctrine, denying the legitimacy of the Church’s extra-scriptural traditions or the dogmatic right of the
Pope to arbitrate such questions.
Luther’s teachings immediately drew the attention and condemnation of the Church; he was asked to
recant them several times, which he refused, and a disputation held in Leipzig in 1519 ostensibly meant to
discredit him in fact furthered his cause and popularity. In 1520, the Pope finally condemned Luther’s
teachings in the bull Exsurge Domine, which the latter publicly burned in December of that year. Having
been assured the protection of Frederick, the Elector of Saxony, Luther responded with a Letter to the
Christian Nobility of the German Nation, and several other pamphlets, arguing his cause; he found support
among many theologians in Germany, the foremost being his colleague at Wittenberg Philip Melanchthon.
The following year the Imperial Diet at Worms publicly excommunicated Luther and initiated a campaign of
persecution of his followers, but his ideas kept spreading, and they profoundly destabilised the German
lands of the Empire. Revolt against the Church and Emperor followed, by the free imperial knights in 1522,
and mass sections of the peasantry in 1524. During this crisis, Luther took a firm stand on the side of the
German princes who had already accepted his religion, legitimising their brutal suppression of the
peasants, and ensuring even further support for the Reformation amongst those princes who wanted
greater control over their own realms.
By this point the Protestant faction had started to fracture. Certain radical sects such as the Anabaptists
took the side of the peasants in the rebellion, as their interpretation of the Scripture led them to reject the
earthly authority of both the Church and the princes. Moreover, the leader of the reformation in
Switzerland, Huldrych Zwingli, broke off from the Lutherans in 1529 in a dispute over whether Christ’s flesh
and blood were really present in the sacrament of Communion. Though Zwingli himself was killed in battle
in 1531, his new Reformed church continued to grow even beyond Switzerland; the ranks of his supporters
were soon bolstered by the influential French reformer John Calvin, who subsequently lent his name to the
movement. Despite the multiplication of factions, Protestantism continued growing unchecked in all
directions, spreading northwards into Scandinavia, and east into Bohemia and Poland. Calvinist ideas found
particularly fertile ground in Scotland, where they were spread by one of his greatest disciples, the ardent
preacher John Knox. In 1534, Henry VIII separated the Church of England from communion with Rome
after repeatedly failing to obtain an annulment of his first marriage; what started as a merely dynastic
matter soon gained a profound theological dimension. The new Church did not embrace Lutheranism,
however, preferring instead to follow its own course between the two extremes. Several smaller rulers in
the Empire attempted to follow a similar middle way between Wittenberg and Rome, but they were
eventually forced to choose a side.
There were of course, continued attempts by both the Church and Emperor Charles V to stem the rising
Protestant tide. Initially these were not very successful. Pope Clement VII was indecisive and overwhelmed
by internal ecclesiastical factionalism, whereas the Emperor was preoccupied with nearly constant wars
against France and the Ottomans. Thus, in 1526 the Imperial Diet attempted to institute a Recess, which
temporarily suspended anti-Protestant efforts. The revocation of this measure by the Diet in 1529
provoked a note of Protest by the now significant number of Lutheran princes (the term ‘Protestant’ was
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born from this). In 1530, Luther, Melanchthon, and several other leading Protestant theologians
promulgated the Augsburg Confession, a systematised statement of their beliefs, which repudiated both
Catholic and Calvinist doctrines. The Schmalkaldic League was instituted in 1531 by the Protestant princes
of the Empire for their mutual protection against interference by the Emperor. Initially led by Saxony and
Hesse, other territories and Free Cities gradually joined over the next decade.
The Papacy eventually regained enough of its strength to launch a concerted effort against the evergrowing Protestant factions, the Counter-Reformation. Clement VII’s successor, Pope Paul III, approved the
foundation of the Society of Jesus by Ignatius of Loyola in 1540. Also known as the Jesuits, these were
clergymen fanatically devoted to Catholicism; many of them were Spaniards with much experience
combatting heresy as part of the Inquisition. Over the next several decades, Jesuit missions would be sent
openly or secretly throughout Europe, in an attempt to uproot and destroy the new faith. Moreover, Paul
III convened the Council of Trent in 1545, which was supposed to settle the theological disputes of the last
quarter-century once and for all.
By the time of Luther’s death in 1546, the Schmalkaldic League had become a formidable force in the
Empire. That year war broke out between the League and the Emperor, when several Imperial Cities
associated with the League invaded territory belonging to the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg in Swabia. Charles
V’s elite Spanish forces under the Duke of Alba eventually defeated the Protestants, forcing the Elector of
Saxony to capitulate at Wittenberg in May 1547. However, his subsequent attempt to restore Catholicism
throughout the Empire at the Augsburg Diet in 1548 provoked another uprising of the Protestant princes in
1551. They received the support of France, which was leading its own war against the Emperor, and by
1552, the Pope was forced to prorogue the Council of Trent indefinitely, as the Protestant armies were
advancing towards Tirol. Completely overwhelmed on several fronts, Charles V signed an armistice in 1553,
which eventually became the Peace of Augsburg, signed at the Diet in 1555. This finally put an end to open
conflict within the Holy Roman Empire; however, it was an uneasy peace which ultimately satisfied neither
party. The efforts of the Protestants and Counter-Reformers continue, the Council of Trent remains
prorogued, no final settlement having been declared, and the conflict has spread far beyond the borders of
the Empire. The next section considers the religious state of the continent, and the many continuing crises.
B: Europe’s Spiritual Landscape, 1557
Fig. 2.1: The Religious Situation in Europe in the middle of the 16th century9
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Source: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/europe_rel_situation_1560.jpg
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The British Isles
Under the Catholic Queen Mary, there has been as serious anti-Protestant reaction in England. Henry VIII’s
Reforming Acts have been repealed by Parliament (except for the confiscation of ecclesiastical lands), and
the old heresy laws have been restored and applied with special brutality to those leading Protestants who
have refused to recant. Of the principal theologians of the new Anglican Church, Latimer and Ridley were
burnt at the stake on 16 October 1555; Cranmer followed on 21 March 1556. These brutal executions,
though few in absolute number, have nevertheless been so prominently publicised as to greatly arouse the
anger of the (chiefly urban) Protestant populace. Several riots have followed in London, and several public
incidents of mockery of the Mass by dressing up cats and dogs in clerical vestments have been observed.
With the exception of some holdouts in the north of the country amongst the nobility, Protestantism has
captured the hearts and minds of large parts of the ruling and moneyed classes, especially the merchants
and seafarers. Many peasants remain nominally Catholic, but have not resisted the Reformation this far,
and are unlikely to in the future. The people have grown to detest their tyrannical monarch, and the
prospect of her reign ending soon is perhaps the only thing presently preventing full scale rebellion.
The religious situation is even more dire in Scotland, where the country remains nominally Catholic, yet
Calvinism continues to spread at an alarming rate. It is particularly appealing to the nobility and landed
aristocracy, who are much more powerful than their English counterparts, and who fear that Queen Mary’s
upcoming marriage to the Dauphin Francis will reduce their country to little more than a French
dependency. John Knox’s brief return from his exile in Geneva in August 1555 has added even more fuel to
the fires of Calvinist enthusiasm, and though he had to flee the country and was sentenced to death in
absentia by the Queen Regent, the people now clamour for his return. His return is desired by the growing
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faction of Calvinist nobility too. The country is close to insurrection, with frequent outbursts of
iconoclastic violence.
Ireland has remained far from most religious developments due to its isolation and relative backwardness.
The Anglican Reformation was accepted practically with no resistance by the Church hierarchy in the small
English Pale around Dublin, but the majority of the country’s impoverished, largely peasant population
remains staunchly Catholic. No attempts have been made yet to impose the new faith beyond the Pale,
mainly because such an operation would first require the establishment of effective authority amongst the
semi-independent and bellicose local minor leaders.
The Low Countries
This is one of the potential flash-points for a new religious conflict. The Dutch-speaking provinces in the
north are dominated by Calvinism, whereas the majority of the population in the more urbanised,
francophone south remains Catholic. Despite this, the reformed faith is making gains there, especially given
that the population there can read Calvin’s works in the original. More than 1,500 nobles have already been
converted, but the new faith’s greatest popularity remains with the increasingly wealth merchant class.
These developments have naturally provoked a Catholic counter-reaction: in 1556, Philip II invited the
Jesuits to enter the Low Countries. This region is also home to the University of Louvain, one of the centres
of the Counter-reformation and leaders in the push for censorship of the press, having published the first
extensive Catholic indices of forbidden books in 1546 and 1550. Philip has stated his determination to
either return the Low Countries to the fold of Rome or ‘so waste their land that neither the natives could
live there nor should any thereafter desire the place for habitation’.
France
Though a majority Catholic country, Calvin’s motherland has nonetheless experienced much of his
influence, as his works are easily disseminated from Geneva given the proximity and lack of a language
barrier. Protestants have been persecuted in France since the start of the Reformation; their doctrines
were initially condemned by the University of Paris and other leading theological institutions, and
subsequently, a special court was established in 1547 to deal with heresy. It modelled itself on the Spanish
Inquisition, and discharged its duties with great zeal, sentencing more than 500 people to be burnt at the
stake in the first two years of its existence alone! Yet in spite of this prosecution, Protestant numbers have
kept increasing, and are believed to currently comprise a little below one-sixth of the entire population,
the majority being Calvinists. There are forty fully-organised open Calvinist churches, and more than 2,000
secret congregations; moreover, an increasing number of influential members of the nobility, such as
Anthony of Bourbon, have embraced the new faith—most secretly, but some publicly.
The extent of the present Protestant influence, as well as the exigencies of the ongoing war against the
Holy Roman Empire in Italy (since 1551) have forced the king into a tacit toleration of Protestant activities,
at least among the nobility. Moreover, the recent devastation caused in Germany by religious war, and its
failure to root out Protestantism have raised the question of whether toleration may not be the more
expedient policy. Yet there can be no doubt that the growth of Calvinism in France presents a potentially
fatal challenge to the existing order. The question of France’s spiritual future will have to be solved soon.
The Iberian Peninsula
Spain and Portugal remain Catholic strongholds, the only Protestants being a minority of foreign
missionaries and spies, who are usually swiftly detected and executed. The latter is predominantly focused
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on its global trade and New World colonies, and generally holds aloof from the problems of the
Continent. Spain, on the other hand, has become the primary executor of the Counter-reformation. Its
notorious Inquisition, developed under the exigencies of last century’s Reconquista, and its experience in
spreading the faith through its vast American conquests, have equipped it with an ecclesiastical apparatus
and expertise perfectly suited to the task of extirpating heresy. It is thus not surprising, that most of the
founders of the Jesuits were Spaniards, and that the majority of the new order’s recruits cone from there.
Italy
Despite some early voices of dissent in the north, it should come as no surprise that the centre of the
Catholic world remains overwhelmingly loyal to the Mother Church. Even those princes who have
legitimate grievances about the abuses of the clergy, are nonetheless forced to recognise the immense
benefits in terms of revenues and prestige that they accrue from the proximity of the Papacy.
Central Europe
The 1555 Peace of Ausburg has temporarily stabilised the situation in the German lands, with its
compromise of ‘cuius regio, eius religio’. While this has satisfied the Protestant princes in the north for
now, and given the Imperial armies and coffers a welcome respite, the religious tensions that have been
pulling the Empire apart since Luther’s first act of defiance are far from over. For one, the treaty only
provides for the toleration of Lutherans—Calvinists, Anabaptists, and other Reformed factions still face
persecution in both Catholic and Lutheran realms. Moreover, Protestantism continues to spread beyond
the boundaries that have been drawn for it in the agreement. Many Protestant princes are confident that
the Emperor has not finally abandoned his ambitions to restore Catholicism, and it is only a matter of time
before he gathers enough strength to make another attempt by the sword.
Amidst this chaos, Switzerland stands as an impregnable fortress of Reformed Christianity; in Zurich,
Zwingli’s disciples have continued his legacy, whereas in Geneva, Calvin has established his ideal of a
Christian republic—a state directly subordinated to the church, in which the celebration of the Catholic
Mass is punished in the same manner as high treason. Thousands of his followers, persecuted in their own
lands, flock to his city every year. Though some cantons of the Confederation remain Catholic, this has not
resulted in major frictions due to the extremely decentralised system of government.
Austria remains majority Catholic as the seat of Imperial power, though to its north both Lutheranism and
Calvinism have made inroads into Bohemia, no doubt facilitated by the existing earlier schismatic sects. The
result is a tacit three-way compromise of relative mutual toleration. Protestantism has also advanced into
Hungary, badly broken by the Turks’ invasions and hence unable to offer meaningful resistance, as well as
into Transylvania, nominally an Ottoman dependency with a Christian population.
Scandinavia
In contrast to the revolts of the 1520s and the devastation of the Schmalkaldic War, the Reformation in the
Scandinavian kingdoms occurred relatively early and bloodlessly. In each case the new religion was
deliberately imported by the kings in order to given them a pretext to seize control of and ‘nationalise’ the
Church and its property. The new Lutheran state Churches enjoy the open protection of their secular rules;
consequently, Calvinism and the other Reformed sects have been kept out of Scandinavia.
Eastern Europe
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Of the eastern realms, Poland is closest to the Reformation, and has therefore experienced an
influx of Lutheranism; it still remains the easternmost major Catholic power. In the Baltic, the conversion of
the Teutonic Order to Lutheranism has transformed their territory into the secular Duchy of Prussia. The
Duchy of Lithuania, ruled by a Catholic nobility and under the suzerainty of Poland, controls a majority
Orthodox population.
Further south in the Balkans, Orthodox Christianity’s erstwhile strongholds have long been effectively
conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Church has been incorporated into the apparatus of state, and
carries out the taxation of the empire’s Christians. There was an attempt by several Lutheran theologians in
the 1540s to have Luther’s new Catechism translated into Greek and sent to the Patriarch of
Constantinople, with the hope of establishing doctrinal unity on the basis thereof and potentially opening a
new front against the Catholic Church. The exercise ended in embarrassment when the Patriarch sent back
a diplomatic yet firm repudiation of Luther’s doctrines, especially his invective against the Church’s
traditions.
The ever-increasing realm of Muscovy, whose present ruler Ivan IV has begun to style himself ‘Tsar of all
the Russias’, remains the only independent major Orthodox power. The rulers of Russia are conscious of
this (Moscow has been declared the Third Rome, the first having ‘fallen’ to Catholicism, and the second,
Constantinople, having been conquered by Islam), and have for more than a century interpreted it as a
Divine mandate to safeguard the doctrinal and liturgical purity of their Church by aggrandising the ‘Holy
Rus’’. While it is not difficult to foresee that the new Russian state will be eventually forced to turn
westwards for its expansion, its present preoccupation is with subjugating the remnant Mongol states to
the east, their former suzerains. Hence, the present religious cataclysms in the rest of Europe pass largely
unnoticed here.
C: A Theological Summary of the Reformation
The following summaries juxtapose the principal differences in doctrine of the principal Churches in
Western Christendom at the middle of the 16th century. Several caveats should be observed. Firstly, this
was an age of much theological innovation, debate, and scholarship (most editions of Luther or Calvin’s
complete works regularly exceed 50 volumes), and hence much detail and nuance is lost here. Secondly,
these doctrinal concerns were principally the province of the educated elites, and only of marginal concern
to the uneducated masses.
Catholicism
‘thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church’—Mat. 16:18
Apostolic Succession: Only ordained priests
and bishops can ordain others; clergy must be
Synergism: God creates saving Grace, and celibate;
Christians can receive it by carrying out ‘good
works: giving alms, going on pilgrimages, Papal Supremacy: The Pope, as Christ’s Vicar
on Earth, has ultimate authority in all questions
venerating the Relics of Saints, etc.;
of Faith;
Purgatory: the souls of the dead have to spend
Doctrines
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a period of painful ‘purgation’ to be cleansed of The Magisterium: the inherited traditions of
the consequences of sin before admission to the Church have the same authority as Holy
Heaven;
Scripture.
Treasury of Merits: Christ’s sacrifice and the
lives of the Saints have produced more than
enough Grace for their own salvation, so this Eminent Figures
‘extra’ Grace is given to the Church, to be Pope Paul III (1468-1549)
apportioned by the Pope as he sees fit (e.g. by
Pope Pius V (1504-1572)
selling indulgences);
Sacramental Grace: Divine Grace is also Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556)
received by participating in the 7 Sacraments
Francis Xavier (1506-1552)
(Baptism,
Confirmation,
Communion,
Confession, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and Final
Unction), which can only be imparted by
Prominent Works
ordained priests;
Transubstantiation: during the Mass, the Aquinas’s Summa Theologica
sacramental bread and wine become the actual
Benedictus Deus (Papal bull, 1564)
Blood and Body of Christ by Divine Grace
channelled through the priest;
Tridentine Catechism (1566)
Regnans in excelsis (Papal bull, 1570)
Anglicanism
‘the powers that be are ordained of God’—Rom. 13:1
Doctrines
Royal Supremacy: the English Crown is Head of Eminent Figures
the Church of England as well, with full
authority in the administration of the Church King Henry VIII (1491-1547)
and the appointment of bishops;
Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556)
Sola Fide: the Lutheran doctrine of justification Hugh Latimer (1487-1555)
by faith is accepted
Nicholas Ridley (1500-1555)
Sufficiency of Scripture: a compromise position
stating that while everything necessary for
one’s salvation is found in Scripture, tradition
Prominent Works
can be of additional use;
The Book of Common Prayer (1547)
Sacramental Grace: The Catholic teaching on
the sacraments is partially retained, but their Act of Supremacy (1534)
number is reduced to two, Baptism and the
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Eucharist;
The Forty-Two Articles (1552)
Ambiguity on Eucharist: there is a consensus Apologia ecclesiae Anglicanae (1562)
on the Real Presence of Christ in the sacrament,
but neither the Catholic nor the Lutheran
position is affirmed in full;
Via Media: in general, Anglican doctrine selfconsciously strives to occupy the middle ground
between Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed
teachings
Lutheranism
‘no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for the just shall live by faith’—Gal.
3:11
Priesthood of All Believers: no special
ordination is necessary for a man sufficiently
Monergism: the ‘work’ of salvation is done by learned in the faith to become a priest;
God alone; no act or work of man can ‘merit’
saving Grace, which is given freely to believers; Priestly Matrimony: the clergy are allowed to
marry and have families.
Sola fide: Christians are saved by faith in Christ
alone, by which they freely receive Divine
Grace;
Eminent Figures
Sola Scriptura: the Holy Scriptures are the only
authority on the teachings of the faith; they are Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Divinely inspired and infallible;
Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560)
Doctrines
Solus Christus: Christ is the only mediator of Andreas Osiander (1498-1552)
Grace between man and God; there is thus no
need for a specially ordained priest;
Consubstantiation: whilst the sacramental Prominent Works
bread and wine do not actually become flesh
The Ninety-Five Theses (1517)
and blood, Christ is nevertheless present ‘in,
over, and under’ the Eucharistic elements;
Address to the Christian Nobility (1520)
Episcopal Structure: the organisation of the The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)
Church is retained; however, bishops now
answer to their secular rulers, rather than On the Freedom of a Christian (1520)
Rome;
The Large and Smaller Catechisms (1529)
The Augsburg Confession (1530)
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Treatise on the Power of the Pope (1537)
Calvinism/Reformed
‘for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son’—
Rom. 8:29
Priesthood of all Believers: not only may
anyone learned and inspired by the Holy Spirit
Total Depravity: man is so deeply mired in sin, preach the Gospel, but the institution of
that no act or belief of his own will can turn him
bishops is rejected outright;
towards God and salvation;
Sola Scriptura: the Holy Scriptures are the only
Double Predestination: before creating the authority on the teachings of the faith; they are
world, God foreknew and Himself chose which Divinely inspired and infallible;
people would be saved (the elect), and which
damned to Hell (the reprobate); note: implies
monergism;
Eminent Figures
Unconditional Election: man has no free will;
the elect have been chosen for salvation with Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531)
no expectation of any merit or achievement by John Calvin (1509-1564)
their efforts;
John Knox (1513-1572)
Spiritual Perseverance: if one is of the elect,
one will receive the impetus and faith to grow
in holiness by the action of the Holy Spirit;
Prominent Works
increasing personal piety can therefore be seen
as a sign of one’s election; (an extreme version Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536)
of sola fide)
A Vindication of the Doctrine that the Sacrifice
Divine Sovereignty: God’s Will is sovereign over of the Mass is Idolatry (1550)
all things; in more practical terms, this implies
all earthly works, including government, ought The First Blast of the Trumpet against the
Monstrous Regiment of Women (1558)
to be directed to God’s service;
Doctrines
Memorialism: the Communion bread and wine The Form of Prayers and Ministrations Used in
are just bread and wine, and convey no Grace the Congregation at Geneva (1556)
in of themselves; rather, they are supposed to
remind the believer of Christ’s sacrifice on the
Cross;
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IV.
Political Dynamics
In the 16th century, religious and political affairs are not easily separable. Political alliances (especially
marital ones) are still largely, though not exclusively, determined by common religious denomination.
Recently though, this has become less of an absolute: the Habsburg-Valois rivalry between the two
strongest catholic monarchies has proven more durable than their common interest in containing the
Reformation. Not only has France supported the insurgent German princes despite internally persecuting
their Protestant brethren, recently the French king has even sent envoys to the Ottoman Sublime Porte,
striking a bargain with the very Enemy of Christendom himself. Despite the protests and dismay of Catholics,
Barbary corsairs preying on Spanish traders are now welcomed at the ports of the French Riviera. And even
the popes themselves have, for instance, tolerated the English king Henry VIII’s many escapades, seeing in
him a counterweight against both French and Habsburg threat to their temporal interests in Italy.
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Although the knightly age of warfare is over, the chevalier ideal nonetheless has reached a height
of popularity in courtly life.10 Highly formalised tournaments are major spectacles that attract the creme de
la creme and the country squire alike. They serve as setting for backdoor diplomacy (including, as malicious
word has it, assassinations conveniently concealable as accidents), personal feuds, peace negotiations and
lavish display of prestige, whereas the city patriciate has developed its own methods of representation, in
some manners emulating the aristocracy and in others consciously eschewing it. The urban bourgeoisie
tends to favour the authority of the sovereign over that of feudal princes, constituting an important ally to
monarchs in their struggle for political centralisation of power in their hands and receiving more civil
liberties in return.
At the heart of European politics lie dynasties. Blood is thicker than water, but not always thick enough to
withstand ambition. Disputes of inheritance are as common as marital alliances, and the plethora of
different customary laws of succession makes for ample opportunity. The most accepted of these is
primogeniture, but not every latter-born son contents himself with a life in the shadows and not every royal
house embraces a solution as radical for this problem as the Ottomans do.11 Other rulers, like the Holy
Roman Emperor or the Polish King, are elected by an assembly of their most powerful vassals. The
possibility for women to be considered as heirs or at least as being able to pass on the right of inheritance
to their descendants is a highly contested issue.12 In theory, to be able to inherit, a child also has to be born
legitimate, i.e. to properly married parents, but popes have often been willing to legitimise a bastard child
in exchange for certain favours. This principle has been further eroded with the loss of papal authority over
what constitutes a proper marriage during the Reformation, most evident in the previous English king Henry
VIII’s rotation of no less than 6 wives.
This means that a shrewd marriage policy and some luck can bring about more gain than conquest; and,
most importantly, legitimately so. The Kingdoms of Spain were unified by the wedding of their sovereigns.
The Tudors of England managed to bring an end to the War of the Roses and themselves into power by
marriage. But the most successful example of dynastic policy are the Habsburgs: having risen from being
emperors only in name with a small power base in Austria to ruling an empire ‘in which the sun never sets’
under Charles V, through diplomacy and successive inheritance of the Burgundian, Hungarian and Spanish
crowns.13
Charles V, arguably the most powerful man the century has yet seen, came closer to realising the old
imperial dream of Europe than any Holy Roman Emperor before him: the restoration of the Roman Empire
by bringing all lands of Christendom into the fold of one universal monarchy. But ultimately his vision
proved too grand: Simultaneously managing the Holy War against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean and
Hungary, the defence of imperial integrity against the spreading Reformation, the squabble against his
French rival Francis I over Italy and the administration of the growing Spanish overseas possessions evolved
into a Sisyphean task. Recently, eventually having grown tired of his futile efforts, Charles V has abdicated in
favour of his son and brother, Philip II (for the Spanish crown) and Ferdinand I (for the German Imperial).14
10
Arguably even more so than during the Middle Ages. Habsburg Emperor Maximilian I, who set the standard for
jousting while at the same time reforming his army, is commonly romanticised as ‘the last knight and first cannoneer’.
11
Whose Sultans are infamous for, upon ascending the throne, maiming or killing all their surviving brothers, a tradition
inherited from the Byzantines.
12
While the most prevalent Salic Law of inheritance is excluding females (agnatic), cognatic primogeniture has
occasionally been practiced in the Iberian kingdoms.
13
Their less lucky hand when having a try at war has been famously ridiculed: Bella gerant alii [...] Tu felix Austria
nube! (Wars shall be left to others [...] you, favoured Austria, marry!)
14
Both acts, abdication and division of inheritance, are highly unusual at this time.
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Both united in a dynastic alliance still command over a vast number of holdings and loyalties, and
their shared interest is to preserve the unsteady peace and prevent further religious unrest, but it is only a
matter of time until conflicts of interests will emerge...
The ambition of the House of Habsburg is built not only upon the prestige of the ancient title of Emperor,
but has come to increasingly rely on the seemingly neverending shipments of silver the Spanish Crown has
been receiving from its colonies. In the half-century since the voyages of Cristobal Colon, fanciful tales of
adventure and conquest have been spreading about Spanish West India.15 There, they say, a determined
and fortunate man can come upon more gold than his hands could ever carry away, and daredevil bands of
few dozens are rumoured to have seized whole empires in a matter of months. This New World remains, for
now, the exclusive domain of the Iberian Conquistadores.16
The most formidable contenders to Habsburg supremacy are the French royal House of Valois, whose
Francis I had been relentless in pursuing his sworn enmity with Charles V over Italy even after having been
captured and ransomed repeatedly. His successor Henri II continues his father’s feud against the Habsburgs
in another attempt to break the ‘encirclement’ of French by Habsburg territories and conquer Italy. The war
has been waged with varying tides in Italy, Flanders and the Mediterranean, but the maintenance of large
mercenary contingents is draining the treasuries of both houses and a stalemate has become apparent.
Internally, Francis I and Henri II have pursued a policy of increasing royal power and set out to transform
France from a fractured conglomeration of feudatories into a centralised state. Despite their efforts, the
Valois hold on France is still destabilised by strong lordly houses like the Catholic Ducs de Guise and rivaling
cadet branches like the Bourbons, by marriage elevated to sovereign Kings of Navarra. Additionally, many
claim the king’s mistress, the much older Diane de Poitiers, to wield unseemly influence over the affairs of
state, providing enemies of the crown (like the Protestant Huguenots, whose numbers are growing among
the aristocracy in secret, despite cruel persecution) with a convenient scapegoat for rumours of witchcraft.
Lying on the western fringes of Europe, the kingdom of England, on the other hand, is seemingly in decline.
Having lost the Hundred Years’ War and with it its possessions in France in all but name, its ruling Tudor
dynasty has now, just when the divides of the War of the Roses seemed to have healed, plunged the
country into religious turmoil. Henry VIII, though a bold and energetic promoter of the Renaissance in his
realm, was more apt at making enemies than friends, alienating the pope by declaring himself Head of
Church, routinely executing advisors that did not keep pace with his changes of mind and multiply changing
his preferred successor at will. His daughter Mary I, despite his attempts to disinherit her now first Queen
Regnant of England, has seized power with popular catholic support and restored England to the papacy for
now, but Protestant dissenters are still influential especially in London. Mary’s ruthless persecution of them
has earned her the unfavourable epithet ‘Bloody Mary’. To stabilise her rule, Mary has married her earlywidowed maternal cousin Philip of Habsburg, thus allying England with Spain. But the marriage is highly
unpopular with the English public who do not wish for England to become a province in the vast Habsburg
empire or fear Catholic persecution. To make matters worse, Mary is childless as of yet and her nearest kin,
Princess Elisabeth, a known protestant. Philip has been demanding for some time that England enter the
ongoing war with France on his side, but so far his demands have been unheeded. Yet there are those in
15
Also known as the New World, since Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci has claimed that the lands discovered at
the other side of the Atlantic were, in fact, a hitherto unknown continent and not, as previously assumed, a part of the
Asian Far East.
16
Although the voyages of Cartier (for France) and Talbot (for England) have recently been sponsored to open up
similar possibilities for their rulers.
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England who hope that such a war against France could recover the lost Angevin possessions on
the continent, of which presently only the bridgehead of Calais remains with England.
The weakness of the House of Tudor has propelled ambitious advisors at the Scottish Stuart court at
Linlithgow to entertain the thought of pressing Princess Mary Stuart’s claim to the throne of England, as a
possible Catholic successor that might be preferable in the deeply Catholic queen of England’s eyes to even
her own sister. But Scotland itself is ridden with religious strife, the majority of lords having converted to
Protestantism. They have repeatedly challenged the regency of Marie de Guise, Queen Mary’s French
mother, who has been conducting all government affairs for the 15-year-old heiress and just recently had to
fend off Henry VIII’s attempt to force her daughter into marriage and Scotland into subjugation in a war that
has become known as the ‘Rough Wooing’. The kings of Scotland have for long been bound to the Kings of
France in the time-honoured Auld Alliance, a guarantee against such English attempts at domination, which
is now to be renewed and strengthened by the arranged wedding of Queen Mary to the French Dauphin. All
Europe waits with bated breath for the fulfillment of this betrothal...
V.
Territorial Dynamics
This short section gives an overview of the geopolitical situation of mid-16th century Europe. Problems of
trade and the implications of recent geographical discoveries are discussed in the first subsection, whereas
the second addresses politically contested and strategic territories within Europe.
A: Trade and Exploration
Fig. 4.1: The Discoveries of Spain and Portugal17
17
Source:
https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/ward_1912/spanish_portuguese_discovery.jpg
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The 16th century saw the beginning of the Age of Discovery and the initial conquest of the Americas, both of
which had significant economic and strategic implications for Europe. The discoveries by Portugal to the
east and Spain to the west (Fig. 4.1) have not only increased the wealth of the two countries, but
fundamentally reset the patterns of global trade. In particular, the new route to the Far East has diminished
the commercial value of the Middle East as a crossroads. The Ottomans have suffered from this, as has
Venice, which used to be Europe’s prime port to the east in previous centuries.
The new trade routes have resulted in the proliferation of a great many new luxury goods, such as spices
and dyes, as well as a great influx of gold and silver from the Americas. In additions to the obvious benefits
to the Iberian Peninsula, these new patterns of trade have greatly increased the importance and influence
of the Atlantic ports, especially London, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. The Protestant merchants of England
and the Low Countries have become increasingly powerful challengers to Spain’s supremacy on the seas.
The search continues for a fabled ice-free North-West Passage to the East, a discovery of which could allow
merchants to circumvent Spain and Portugal’s trade routes.
Fig. 4.2: The Principal Land and Sea Trade Routes of Europe18
18
Source:
https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/colbeck/commerce_of_christendom_16_century.jpg
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Fig. 4.2 provides a closer view of the commerce of Europe, as well as its principal manufacturing areas for
wool (blue), linen (green), and silk (yellow). The growth of the textile industries is the result of both
population growth and increased urbanisation, as well as demand from the rising merchant class—textiles
being Europe’s principal export to the East. A reorganisation of English agriculture towards increased sheep
farming (helped, in part, by the confiscation of ecclesiastical lands) has recently given the lead to England
over
their
rivals
in
the
Low
Countries.
Another development, which is not clearly indicated on the map, is the decline of the importance of the
Baltic trade, and with it, of the power of the Hanseatic League, consisting chiefly of commercial cities in
lower Germany. While the Baltic coast remains a major supplier of grain to the rest of the continent, this
supremacy is being challenged by the Burgundian region. Moreover, the first half of the century has seen a
rise in the fortunes and influence of the major Imperial Free Cities inland. Great trading cities such as
Nuremberg, Frankfurt, and Strasburg have grown vastly in wealth as the fortunes of the Hansa have
declined, becoming the fulcrum of trade within the Holy Roman Empire.
A recent development has been the discovery of a Northeast Passage to the Russian port of Arkhangelsk on
the White Sea by an English expedition in 1555. Access to trade with Russia potentially provides further
overland access to the markets of Asia via the Caspian. Thus far, only England has been able to negotiate a
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trade agreement with Ivan IV, but in theory North Sea power with a sufficiently strong merchant
navy could take advantage of this new route.
B: Potential Conflicts and Strategic Areas
Several regions of Europe have recently been the objects of continuous conflict and contention. In each
case, tactical and political concerns are combined with economic and confessional questions. While an
exhaustive summary of all such potential flashpoints is unpracticable, this section provides an overview of
those regions that are presently experiencing open war or severe unrest.
The Low Countries
Here the religious question (see section II, subsection B) is heavily entangled with the political problems
facing the region. Though legally part of the Holy Roman Empire, the Low Countries were inherited by Philip
II’s Spanish kingdom after Charles V’s abdication. Philip’s new subjects, even the Catholic ones, have
resented this change, as they consider themselves culturally distinct, and rightfully belonging to the Empire.
His attempt to summon the local Estates General in 1556 in order to raise taxes was met with fierce
protests and a refusal by the local princes to cooperate until the occupying Spanish troops are removed.
The standoff between Philip and William of Orange, the foremost of the local leaders, continues.
Fig. 4.3: The Provinces of the Low Countries19
19
Source: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/netherlands_1559-1608.jpg
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The French-Imperial Frontier
France and the Holy Roman Empire have been at war intermittently since the 1520s. Fig. 4.4 below shows
the area of the conflict. The latest war was started by Henri II in 1551 over the Emperor’s Italian
possessions. Conquest of the wealthy cities of northern Italy would be a serious blow to the Empire,
severely weakening its economic and strategic position in the Mediterranean. Moreover, France has been
aiming to push its border eastward to the Rhine, and eventually to gain control over the francophone parts
of the Low Countries. Despite initial French success, the Emperor’s armies under the Duke of Alba have
managed to turn the tide after supressing the Protestant uprising in Germany. The war has been presently
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winding down, both sides being exhausted and starved of funds; unless one side can find a fresh
source of support, an equal peace preserving much of the status quo is likely to result.
Fig. 4.4: The French-Imperial Frontier20
The Ottoman Front and the Mediterranean
Under Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire has made great gains in Eastern Europe and North
Africa, partly due to his effective leadership and army reforms, and partly due to his alliance with France in
1536. Though the ‘sacrilegious union of the lily and the crescent’ has been a scandal throughout
Christendom, it is also characteristic of the increasing secularisation of diplomatic affairs. After subjugating
Hungary in the 1540s, Suleiman’s efforts have focused on gaining supremacy in the Mediterranean. The
fortified island of Malta, controlled by the Knights of St. John, stands in the way of Ottoman expansion, and
continually frustrates their attempts to access the Western Mediterranean. An invasion attempt in 1551
was repulsed by the Knights; however, it is only a matter of time before another attempt is made.
Fig. 4.5: The Expansion of the Ottomans21
20
21
Source: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/ward_1912/france_frontier_1521.jpg
Source: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/ottoman_empire_1481-1683.jpg
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VI.
The French Court
The General Context
In 1557, Henry II of Valois is the King of France, he is married to Catherine of Medici of whom he has 4
children : Margaret (Wife of Henry of Navarre), Francis, Charles and Henry.
He is a King of the Valois house, son of Francis I and Claude of France (daughter and heir of King Louis XII
and Anne of Brittany). However, Henry II was not the first in line for the throne, his brother Francis having
been the Dauphin until his untimely death in 1536.
King Francis I was not the best father and consequently the relationship between the famous king and his
son Henry was complicated. To secure his freedom from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V when he was a
prisoner after the defeat of Pavia on Febuary 24th 1525, Francis I gave his 2 first born sons, Francis and
Henry, to be held hostage by Charles V in march 1526. They were well treated until Francis I made public
his intentions to violate the treaty of Madrid (signed in January 1526) which secured not only his freedom
in exchange for his sons, but also forced him to remove his claims in Italy and concede the Duchy of
Burgundy to the Habsburgs. The two children were only granted freedom thanks to the joint efforts of
Louise of Savoie (mother of Francis I) and Margaret of Austria (aunt of Charles V) leading to the ratification
in August 1529 of the Peace of the Ladies.
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The Peace of the Ladies is part of a bigger historic rivalry between the Habsburg's and the rulings
families of France and even England. A game of power that lead to the Italian Wars between 1494 and
1559. Having a Claim over the Italian city of Milan, Francis continued the war lead by his predecessor to
secure his claim over Milan, the victory of Marignano got him that but Francis was forced to abandon Milan
faced with revolts and the advancing of the imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire. The fact that Francis
tried and failed to become the holly Roman Emperor probably counted a lot in the rivalry between Charles
V and Francis I. This lead to no less than four wars, including the Defeat of Pavia and the humiliation of
Francis I that came as a result.
Unsurprisingly, the tendency of Francis I to proclaim war left the country in debt. All the more so that he
was a luxurious man and surrounded himself with the most renown philosophers and artists, such as
Leonardo Da Vinci. It was no surprise that Francis planned to marry one of his younger sons, Henry to the
wealthy Catherine de Medici who was furthermore under the protection of the Pope.
France was traditionally a Catholic nation, and Francis I was a good catholic: he often prayed, if not as much
as his sister Margaret, and pilgrimed in 1516 to the alleged tomb of Mary-Magdalen. Nevertheless, France
and the Papal court were not necessarily in good terms, but things change under Francis's reign following
the signature of the Concordat of Bologna in 1516 with the Pope Leon X following the Marignano victory.
This agreement gave the kings of France powers on the church in their country unlike any other catholic
King and was not revoked during Francis's reign.
While the idea of Protestantism made it's way in Europe, Francis remained quite tolerant notably under the
influence of his sister Margaret of Navarre. However, in 1528, under the council of the cardinals Antoine
Duprat and Francis of Tournon, the Church of France starts to react to the reformists by giving them the
choice between abjuration or punishment. From then on Francis's attitude towards protestants become
less and less tolerant, punishing harshly any offence on the the Catholic Cult.
The scandal of the placards in 1534 enhance this religious orientation and put a final stop to Francis's
tolerance towards Lutherans. Anti-papist writing had been placarded in public spaces all over Paris, and
Francis took offence of it, not so much because on the basis of it being anti-papist thematic, but rather on
the basis that it was a direct flouting of the Royal Authority. This had the effect of accelerating the
persecutions against protestants in France.
These persecutions are not only rooted in the masses, but also play in the political games and rivalries
between the most powerful families. The Guise family, deeply catholic becomes French through Claude de
Guise and is assigned to a French Duchy by Francis I. Claude de Guise is the father of Marie de Guise whom
marries Jacques V of Scotland, and is hence, Mary Stuart's grandfather. The Guise Family gains power
during the reign of Francis I, but it is the Bourbon Family that represents most dangerous internal political
threat for Francis I. Indeed, his mother is the cousin of Charles III of Bourbon and she had the ambition to
inherit his lands at the death of Suzan of Bourbon in 1521. Out of spite and because he disliked his cousin,
Francis I pronounces the sequestration of his riches. This ultimately lead to Charles joining forces with Henri
VIII of England and the Holly Roman Emperor Charles V, and leading the imperial armies in the Italian wars
against the French.
When Henri II takes the throne after his father in 1547, he inherits debts, rivalries and the reputation of the
French court. France holds in Europe a status fitted to the renaissance image, refinement, arts and
humanities. France is nonetheless confronted with the imminent threats surrounding it : the holly roman
empire and the English, still being the most important of them. England is even more a threat to France
than under king Francis I's reign, as it is now a protestant country. The alliance with scotland offers a good
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solution to the English threat, and is all the more easy to secure since the marriage of the Marie
de Guise to Jacques V. The alliance between the two countries is to be secured by the marriage of Mary
Stuart to the Dauphin of France, Henri's first born child, Francis, and should reset the balance in the
European political game in France's favour.
The Dynamics of the Cabinet
Social
France and its court are a powder keg. The suppression of the Huguenot Protestants by the Catholic
majority has caused substantial civil unrest and in some cases open rebellion. A major uprising by
Protestant factions may be imminent and the decentralised medieval French state will likely struggle to
respond. Though much progress has been made in strengthening the hand of the French king over his
nobles, Henry II still has many issues to concern himself with regarding the social dynamics of the realm.
Peasants in the south resent economic reforms and the court itself is fractured between different social
groups.
Political
Two major factions exist within the French court; the first is the Montmorency faction led by Anne de
Montmorency, Constable of France. As the theoretical second-in-command to Henry II he outranks every
noble at court and leads a powerful faction that has long held the King’s favour. Although Catholics, they
hold ties to prominent Protestants including the Prince of Condé. They make the most of the illegitimate
children of the French royal family and relatively distant ties to the House of Bourbon. They have grown to
prominence through these links and more, tied to many of the competing factions in France.
They are rivalled by the Guise faction led by the Duke of Guise and his brother the Cardinal of Lorraine. The
House of Guise has positioned itself as champions of the Catholic faith and claim descent from
Charlemagne, first of the French kings. They have old and often strong links to the Royal Houses of Europe
and a more varied and impressive number of titles and holdings than their Montmorency rivals. Whilst the
Montmorencys age the Guise inject new blood into the French court, including the 20-year-old François
who has provided a much needed military mind to the realm.
As France fights the Italian Wars against the Habsburgs and schemes to secure the Scottish throne, both
these factions manoeuvre for control over the realm. Whilst the Montmorency are currently dominant, the
Guise are in the ascendancy. The upcoming marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Dauphin has
strengthened the Guise hand, as they hold substantial influence over both the Scottish royals and the
young Dauphin.
Economic
France has grown into an economic powerhouse with the various reforms conducted under Valois rule.
10,000 civil servants now manage the realm and substantial administrative progress has been made.
However, the national debt currently stands at 43 million livres, three times the national budget, with high
interest rates and a variety of debtors. Should France default, it would have a disastrous impact on the
economy and the French international position as debtors seek to regain their funds by supporting French
rivals. Though France was able to bankrupt Spain in 1557, it has hardly fared better after 70 years of wars
against the Habsburgs.
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The French nobility has hardly been more successful. They also are in substantial debt and despite
increasingly wealthy and prosperous holdings must contend with their overspending and internal power
struggles that have left them in dire straits.
Important People
Henri II
Born in 1519, Henry II ruled France from 1547. He is married to Catherine De Medici. He had a troubled
childhood having been held captive for four years in Spain. During his reign, he therefore was pretty
adamant to fight the House of Habsburg. He also engaged in the War of Religions by sustaining a Protestant
Repression. He is a very proud and dominant character. He has a mistress whom he loves and trust called
Diane de Poitiers. He had many children with Francis I being his Dauphin.
Catherine De Medici
She was born in 1519 to Lorenzo II de’ Medici and Madeleine de la Tour D’Auvergne. He was an Italian
noblewoman and her mother used to be married to a King of France. She married King Henri II in 1533. She
was known to be very jealous of Henri’s Mistress due to the fact Henri excluded her from the state’s affairs.
Her oldest son, Frances, is the Prince Regent of the kingdom. She was known to be manipulative, hotblooded and good at scheming for her own personal gain.
Francis I, Dauphin de France
He was born in 1544 to Catherine and Henri from the House of Valois. He was due to marry Queen Mary of
Scots as a strategic alliance to Scotland. He has a close relationship with his father. There was some worry
that he was young for the throne.
Queen Mary of Scots
Queen Mary travels to the French Court at the start of our Historical Crisis to marry Frances. She was born
in 1542to Mary Stuart and James V of Scotland. She was his only surviving legitimate child. She grew up in
the French Court where an early deal had be sealed for her to marry Frances when she came of age. Her
traveling to France would allow this to happen and both kingdom to be united.
Strategies of the Cabinet
 Alliance between Scotland and France to take over England
 You have just welcome Queen Mary of Scots within your Court. She is supposed to marry the Dauphin
Frances whom she grew up with
 Struggle between the Bourbons and the Valois
 Religious disparities between Protestants and Catholics
 Emissaries in the cabinets help diplomacy between kingdoms
 Witchcraft and Paganism as illegal
 Want to defeat the Hapsburgs
 Pope is the higher authority and any religious decisions must be blessed by him
 See Mary of England’s illness as a weakness in England
 After the wedding, promises to help Scotland keep its borders by sending troops there
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VII.
The English Court
Background and historical context pre 1557
The Tudor Dynasty, a family descending from Welsh nobility, has been ruling England for generations, and
they have established control over the Kingdom of Ireland. The legacy of Henry VIII in a country divided by
Protestants and Catholics has bought further tension as consequences of his decisions for England to break
away from the Roman Catholic Church impact society. Further reforms were carried on by his son, King
Edward VI, who ruled from 1547 till 1553, and who further established the Anglican Church in its isolation.
Henry VIII ruled from 1509-1547, and is notorious for marrying multiple wives and his belief in the Divine
Right of Kings, asserting himself as the supreme head of the Church of England to annul his previous
marriages.
His successor, Edward VI. was his only male heir to the throne. Lady Jane Grey, his first cousin, was selected
to fulfil Edward’s reign. This decision was heavily disputed and contested by Mary I, who detained and
executed Lady Grey and assumed the throne and the support of the Privy Council in 1553. Mary sought to
reinstate the national spiritual connection to Rome since her Catholic beliefs greatly differed from her
recent predecessors. The rising suspicion of her half-sister Elizabeth’s support for Protestant rebels greatly
alarms her, as well as their support for Elizabeth. The legacy of Henry VIII remains one of the most
influential in determining the fate of the monarchy’s future generations and it has sowed divisions in the
highest chambers of power.
In this era, England, Wales and Scotland are ultimately divided between Protestants and the Catholics,
while the Protestants are facing internal divisions within their midst. Many believers of both faiths were
martyred at the hands of the crown (at different heads at the time) as a result of difference in their divine
politics, especially those radical in their rejection of the Roman Catholic Church. Even those positioned high
in the Church were not safe, as proven by the case of the Bishop of London, Nicholas Ridley, one of the
Oxford Martyrs who stood with Lady Jane Grey against Mary I and her ascension to the throne.
The Oxford martyrs’ opposition to her succession was seen as heresy by Elizabeth, especially after Edward’s
work during his reign. The confusion at the time of Mary’s attempt to re-establish spiritual ties with Rome
was an expression of England’s internal power-struggle divisions. However, this was not the only part of a
wider web of relations between the European powers and the conflict between the ruling families.
On the strategic front, England faces threats on two sides; from its imminent neighbours on its border with
Scotland and from the French across the channel in the South. Henry II of France aims to take back any part
of the territory reigned by Mary I. on the European mainland. To achieve this, he has even collaborated
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with Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire, to counter her interests in the
Mediterranean. Mary is married to Phillip II, the King of Habsburg Spain, which makes her the Queen
Consort of his country from 1556 (Parliament, however, refused acknowledge Phillip II as King of England).
The Franco-Ottoman military alliance threatens them as they seek to challenge the Austrian and Spanish
navies.
This is part of a larger conflict between the houses of Habsburg and Valois, for Henry II has declared war
against the Holy Roman Empire. As the Spanish Empire and the Kingdom of England remain allied to Rome,
anyone who is an enemy of the Habsburgs is an enemy of England (while Mary I holds the throne, that is).
The dynamics of imperial power rests largely upon faith and royalty, stretching the political struggle from St
Andrews to Jerusalem. Under Stuart rule, Mary, Queen of Scots sits in power while her mother-regent rules
Scotland. The Habsburgs are in control of the Holy Roman Empire under Charles V. Charles has installed his
son Phillip II in Spain to improve his holding in the South but Henry II. (of France) is determined to take
control of the Cote d’Azur at whatever cost. Henry has set his sights on conquering any English assets in
France and be the dominant naval power in Europe against English and Spanish forces.
Political situation
In order to give a clear understanding of the country’s context in 1557, we will be exposing the political
situation since Queen Mary I accession to the throne in 1555.
Henry VIII stated in his will that any of his three children, Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, could succeed him
to the throne, even though his daughters had earlier been declared illegitimate when he divorced their
mothers. Despite his young age (ten years old) Edward Tudor, as a male, had the strongest claim to be
ruler, and was from 1547 to his death in 1553.
Although Henri VIII separated the Church from Rome, he never renounced the Catholic doctrine or
ceremony. King Edward VI, who has been tutored by Protestants, establishes the Reformation of the
Church of England initiated by his father, effectively transforming its body, with the Duke of Somerset and
then the Earl of Warwick leading the Regency Council towards this aim; the abolition of the Mass and
clerical celibacy, as well as the imposition of compulsory services in English were some major points in
furthering the reform.
King Edward nominated Lady Jane Grey as his successor, but she remained in power only for nine days as
shortly after his death, Thomas White, Lord Mayor of London of the time (who is accorded precedence over
all individuals except the sovereign) proclaimed Mary Tudor the rightful Queen on July 19th.
On August 3rd 1553, Queen Mary I of England and Ireland made a triumphant entry in London, in a
procession of over 800 nobles and gentlemen, welcomed by a cheerful crowd of both Catholics and
Anglicans. Her first actions were imbued with moderation, as she proclaimed a general amnesty, but she
rapidly shifted her policy.
Religious context
The central theme of Mary’s reign is the restoration of England as a Catholic kingdom.
Even though she proclaimed that she would not compel any of her subjects to follow her religion a month
after her accession, as early as September, Protestant bishops in England were arrested and Roman
Catholic bishops were restored. Indeed, Mary was not wanted on the throne by the other members of the
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Royal family and most of the Privy Council because she was catholic. Nonetheless, she had
widespread popular support, and she immediately began undoing the Reformation. She restored the
Catholic Mass in 1553 and keeps issuing legislation through her Parliamentary sessions. But it is really the
arrival of Cardinal Reginald Pole, the Queen's cousin, as the Pope's legate, in November 1554, that signals
the formal return of England to the papal fold, with the repealing of Henri VIII’s Act of Supremacy
(establishing English monarchs as the supreme head of the Church of England instead of the Pope of the
Roman Catholic Church). Together with Mary, they launched an effective propaganda campaign through
pulpit and press, and Pole embarked on a comprehensive plan of counter-reform. Inspired by the values of
the European Counter-Reformation in the spirit of the Council of Trent, which had been in session since
1545. Church doctrine was restored to the form it had taken in the 1539 Six Articles. A month later, married
clergy were ordered to leave their wives or lose their posts, and England sees the Revival of the Heresy
Acts. The investigation of heresy started immediately, in what was called the Marian Persecutions. In
February 1555, first prominent Protestants were burnt at stake, marking a beginning of a wide spread
phenomenon. This method of punishment, was introduced by the Inquisition (an official Catholic Church
court charged with finding heretics) as it supposedly drove evil spirits out of the sinners.
A controversial marriage
Mary I continually turned to her maternal cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, for advice and support.
She announced in November 1553 that she will marry Charles’ son, Philip. An uprising follows starting in
Kent, rising against this unpopular marriage with a Spanish Catholic prince. Led by Sir Thomas Wyatt, it was
only narrowly defeated in London by Mary’s supporters, and approximately 90 rebels are executed as a
result. The Queen’s Protestant half-sister Elizabeth was confined to the Tower of London, a prison for
members of royalty and the nobility, from 1554 on.
The marriage was unpopular due to patriotic and protestant concerns, even though those the merchants
were less concerned, as part of the inheritance of Philip of Spain was the Netherlands; a marriage would, in
their eyes, present far more commercial opportunities for them and even greater wealth. The real concern
for the government was that under the English common law doctrine of jure uxoris, the property and titles
belonging to a woman become her husband's upon marriage. As England's first Queen Regnant, Queen
Mary created a precedent with the passing of her Act of Marriage by the Parliament. Following the wedding
in 1554, Philip was to be named "King of England", all official documents were to be dated with both
names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple for the lifetime of the
Queen. However, Philip of Spain was given no lands in England, nor was he allowed to make any
appointments for fear of upsetting the populace. England would not be obliged to provide military support
to Philip's father in any war, and Philip could not act without his wife's consent or appoint foreigners to
office in England. It was stipulated that if there are no children, Philip's interest in the realm would cease
with Mary's death.
A few months after her marriage, the Queen, believing herself to be pregnant, ordered thanksgiving
services to be held. She was desperate to give birth to an heir who would precede in order of inheritance
her Protestant sister Elizabeth. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a false pregnancy. Soon after, Philip left
England to command his armies against France in Flanders. Mary was heartbroken and fell into a deep
depression, and considered the failed pregnancy to be "God's punishment" for her having "tolerated
heretics" in her realm, a failure she would have encountered multiple times. In spite of her situation,
Queen Mary is determined in saving her kingdom.
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Foreign policy
Mary’s foreign policy brought little to England. She relied too much on her Spanish advisors, who worked to
better the position of Spain as opposed to England. Furthering the Tudor conquest of Ireland, English
colons settled in the Irish Midlands under Mary's reign. Regarding Scotland, equally weakened by its
religious divide in 1557 and the absence of Queen Mary of Scots, English troops are positioned at the
border, in a continuation Henry VIII’s policy. The late king spent vast amounts of money on fortifications
and on renewed wars against France and Scotland. This was done in fear of catholic attempt to invade
England; in case of Mary I.’s, the goal is quite the opposite.
In January 1556, Mary's father-in-law Charles Quint abdicated and Philip became King of Spain, with Mary
as his consort. The following summer, a conspiracy against Queen Mary is discovered and abandoned.
Soldier Sir Henry Dudley, from France, plotted with the French ambassador in England, Antoine de Noailles,
to raise an invasion force, planned to land on the Isle of Wight and march on London, remove the Queen
and place the Protestant Elizabeth on the throne.
Philip returned to England from March to July 1557 in an attempt to persuade Mary to support Spain in the
Italian war against France. The Privy Council knew that England could not afford a foreign war, as a bad
economic legacy from Edward VI's reign and a series of poor harvests meant England lacked supplies and
finances. They opposed the war stating it would be jeopardising French trade, contravening the marriage
treaty, and only reluctantly agreed to declare war on France in June. Two years earlier to that, Pope Jules III
had died and was succeeded by Paul IV who, since he was allied with Henry II of France, declared war on
the King of Spain. He called Cardinal Pole back to Rome to try him for heresy, but Queen Mary refused to
let him go, and the support she was expecting from an appreciative Pope vanished.
The war went well for the Earl of Pembroke, who led the English army with the Spanish in a decisive battle
against the French at St. Quentin on August tenth. Nevertheless, a battle was to come in Calais,
endangering the English possession. Indeed, England had maintained its hold onto Calais since the end of
the Hundred Years War in 1453. The city became a major port and trade place, its wool customs duty being
one of the fairest revenue of the Crown.
Economic situation
At the start of the Tudor regime, England was a backward area compared with the more developed
neighbouring economies and cultures on the continent. The population remained predominantly rural with
90 percent living in villages and scattered farmsteads and agriculture laid at the heart of the economy. As
for industry, wool trade was the major one ever since the 11th century and the country exported wool to
Europe. Many market towns and ports grew rich with the wool trade; other industries, however, were
either underdeveloped or non-existent.
Massive population losses in the middle of the fourteenth century due the ravages of epidemic disease
kept the population at around two million during the fifteenth century. This was to double during the
following century; therefore the amount of cultivated land grew. The birth rate remained relatively high
and bubonic plague was diminishing, confined mainly to the towns and especially to London.
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The increase of population was accompanied by inflation; industrial prices rose less
than agricultural prices, and rent rose more steeply than the wage rates. In 1556 the prices of many basic
commodities doubled in twelve months and complaints about the inability to subsist on the wages
allocated by government legislation started to arise. Many people were unemployed or partially employed,
developing a wide range of grassroots industry to eke out their earnings; such as the manufacturing of
stockings, buttons, ribbons, lace, pins and nails, knives and other tools, vinegar and strong spirits. Also in
the late 1550s, the population was cut back by a severe bout of influenza and famine: a harvest crisis
followed a period of persistent rain and subsequent flooding. In the same years, the Antwerp cloth trade
was declining, and despite Mary's marriage to Philip, England did not benefit from the overseas trade of the
Spanish, who guarded its routes jealously. Mary, of course, could not condone piracy against her husband.
Indeed, the North Sea and Channel were regularly infested by a couple of hundreds of pirates, fostered by
poverty, unemployment and chronic underemployment within the maritime community. But despite some
issues with this, England developed a navy of quality.
In an attempt to increase trade and rescue the English economy, Mary's counsellors continued the previous
policy of seeking out new commercial opportunities. A commercial treaty was signed with Russia early
1557, two years after the Muscovy Company (or Russian Company) was chartered, the first major English
joint stock company to be created.
John Lock travelled to Guinea in 1554-55 and brought home, aside gold, Guinea pepper and elephants’
tusks, five Africans to act as interpreters on future trading voyages. This opened the door to the slave trade
in England. On another note, Mary had to reconcile a form of government with higher spending, with a
traditional system of collecting taxation and dues. In 1557, the Lord High Treasurer was working on
developing a key source of revenue by applying new tariffs to new forms of imports, as well as drafting a
reform of currency.
Military power
Local government underwent significant developments throughout the century, with an increasing
population and inflation, along with the dislocations resulting from economic development, the religious
evolution leading to the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1540s, and the need of a new type of military
preparedness. There were two basic units of local administration; the rural shires (or counties) and the
towns.
Most of the work in the communities was undertaken by local individuals rather than by “professionals”
imposed by central government. However, most local appointments of importance were made centrally.
This resulted in a mutual familiarity between central and local government. The dialogue increased along
with the development of administration.
Great magnates, whose territories could cut across more than one country, interposed an important layer
of influence between the two; the long-term aim of the Tudors was to contain the independent power of
these powerful Lords.
At the beginning of the Tudor era, the Church owned as much as one-fourth of all land in England. Henry
VIII confiscated the extensive properties of the monasteries. He dissolved them in two stages, the small
ones in 1536 and the larger ones in 1538. The former monastic possessions were managed by a new
financial bureau, the Court of Augmentations. Much of the wealth seized from the religious houses was
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spent on warfare, but the income thus derived was also used in educational foundations and the
founding of five new dioceses. He also paid a number of his supporters by allowing them to purchase
monastic land at modest prices. This created a gentry class with an interest in making certain, the old order
would not be restored, and this class was to form the backbone of support for the Reformation. Indeed,
when the Parliament approved the return of Roman Catholicism under Mary I, it was not without the
provision that no layman will be expected to hand back church property acquired under Henry VIII.
Social and cultural context
Under Edward’s reign, the protestants were faced with profound difficulty. Though supported by the
Crown, they were still a minority, concerned that the faith has not taken enough root among the people,
and that those with wealth and power were misusing the Reformation for their own ends. They wouldn’t,
or couldn’t react, as various personal positions divided them, when the main concern was to maintain
order. Indeed, the destruction or sale of icons definitely changed the churches according to their view. The
unpopular seizing’s and the general dissatisfaction toward the Reformation allowed Mary to be proclaimed
Queen with the acclamations of the People.
Repairs to the neglected churches began and after almost a decade, recruitment to the English clergy began
to rise again. News bells were bought in the parishes and churches’ ales reappeared. Cardinal Pole was
determined to do more than a return to the previous situation and insisted on teaching and education as
well as improving the clergy's moral standards. However, benefactors did not return significantly, which
raises question about Roman Catholic devotion.
The great monastic libraries, which have been great centres of learning and the arts, were divided and sent
to other locations, but the setting of Latin texts by no means ceased when the Reformation started. Print
technology also gave new life to Greek and Roman writers as part of the Renaissance recovery of classical
literature. In June 1557, the Tottel’s Miscellany (or Songes and Sonettes), the first anthology of English
poetry to be printed, is published in London. Mary I commissioned a world atlas from Diogo Homem. The
work of the early English humanists and the encouragement of the crown resulted in an efflorescence of
classical medical learning. Later the same year, a Royal Artillery Band was first recorded at the battle of St.
Quentin.
Many people supported Mary's restoration of the Catholic faith, believing that Edward's reign had gone too
far in abolishing cherished ceremonies and beliefs, but the Protestants who supported her soon regretted
it. Many who refused to reject their beliefs continued to worship in underground churches or fled to
countries on the European continent (those were called the Marian Exiles). Others became involved in a
series of plots against Mary's government. Protestant leaders looked to the Queen's half-sister, Elizabeth,
as a possible Protestant replacement. Under Mary I, the previous doubts of the Protestants were confirmed
but at the same time, the persecutions strengthened their faith.
In fact, under Queen Mary’s reign, alongside a minority of distinguished clerics, most of the steady
procession to the stake was composed of ordinary men and women. Londoners attended executions en
masse, emotions were high and the stakes must be lit at night to avoid rebellions. When the heroism of
some of them could have been an example for the witnesses, in many places, the stakes contributed in
turning the people against the system.
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Her marriage to Philip of Spain, as well as her inability to give birth to an heir to appease the
people and secure her legacy, added to religious unrest and definitely exacerbated anti-Catholic and antiSpanish feeling among the English people. Actually, many English Catholics joined the Protestants in
distrust of Spain and Spanish Catholicism.
Now, despite the religious turmoil, the Tudor period sees the emergence of England as a political and
maritime power, the debuts of English colonial expansion.
Important people to note
- John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland.
- Elizabeth
- Mary I
- Phillip II
- The Catholic and Protestant church respectively
Bibliography:

<http://gale.cengage.co.uk/images/Rex%20Henry's%20Break%20with%20Rome%20Essay.pdf>

<http://www.cpp.edu/~zywang/conger300paper.pdf>

<http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/151567/1/AHunt_MonarchicalRepublic.pdf>

<http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ref-rev/07-1/7-1_clark.pdf>

<https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/workingpapers/2016/twerp_1105_bec
ker.pdf>

<http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/eBooks/HISTORY_OF_THE_REFORMATION.pdf>

<http://shora.tabriz.ir/Uploads/83/cms/user/File/657/E_Book/History/The%20Ottoman%20Empire
.pdf>

<http://slantchev.ucsd.edu/courses/ps143a/10%20France,%201654-1789.pdf>


<https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/1208/17081_A16.pdf?sequence=1>
The Rise of Monarchies: France, England, and Spain, Renaissance and Reformation Reference
Library, 2002, The Gale Group, Inc.
A Religion of the Word: The Defence of the Reformation in the Reign of Edward VI, by Catharine
Davies
Tudor England: An Encyclopedia, by Arthur F Kinney and Thomas W Copeland
<http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsBritain/EnglandKings.htm>
<http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=huh>




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VIII. The Scottish Court
The Scottish Court is home to a great many deal of important and interesting historical figures that have
shaped the British island we know today and have had lasting effects.
- Background & Historical Context before 1557
The following bullet points recap the important actors and the important treaties mentioned in the
explanation below. A timeline of these events is also provided.
Key Treaties and Documents:




Treaty of Greenwich, 1st July 1543: engages Mary, Queen of Scots, to Edward VI, heir to the English
throne
The Secret Bond, 24th July 1543: Document signed by Catholics in which they pledge to resist the
Treaty of Greenwich
Treaty of Haddington, 1548: Engages Mary, Queen of Scots to Dauphin Francis, heir to the French
throne
First Band, December 1557: Document signed by the Lords of the Congregation in which they
pledge to work for a Protestant Scotland. The death of James V, King of Scotland on December
12th, 1542 set the scene for the 15 years of unrest that precede the beginning of our crisis. James, a
Catholic, had vehemently resisted the rise of Protestantism in Scotland, much to the displeasure of
the King of England, Henry VIII. When James died, Mary was just six days old, so the kingdom was
handed over to her regents. Taking advantage of the lack of a strong figure in power, the Protestant
faction, led by John Knox and James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, advanced their claim for a Protestant
Scotland, while the Catholics, led by David Beaton and Mary of Guise, tried to resist them.
International actors were involved as well, with England supporting the Protestant faction while
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France rallied behind the Catholic faction. This tension between Protestants and Catholics
continued throughout the 15 years that precede the beginning of our crisis.
From the outset, there were two claims to the regency: both Arran and Beaton, respectively protestant
and Catholic, claimed it. Initially, it was the former that came to power following the death of James V. He
immediately jailed Beaton and started implementing religious reform in favour of Protestants, and he also
negotiated the Treaty of Greenwich, signed in July 1543 between him and the England of Henry VIII.
According to it, Mary Queen of Scots was to marry Edward, heir to the English throne (and future Edward
VI) – this was a bid by Henry VIII to unite England and Scotland under a single, protestant Kingdom.
However, the validity of the Treaty was short lived. Its ratification led to a huge backlash in Scotland,
where many preferred to keep the alliance with France in place instead of uniting with England. As a result
of it, Beaton was released from prison soon after, taken account of his growing popularity. Two weeks after
the treaty was signed, the Catholics signed what is known to history as The Secret Bond, a document drawn
up by Beaton by which a significant part of the Scottish nobility agreed to resist the marriage stipulated in
the Treaty of Greenwich and the entailing union with England. In late 1543, Beaton gained power through a
coup and started reversing the reforms of Arran; his most prominent act was to force the Scottish
Parliament to reject the Treaty of Greenwich on December 11th, 1543, leading to the Rough Wooing. Just
after Beaton had gained power however, a very important event occurred: on September 3rd, 1543 Arran
reconciled himself with Beaton and became Catholic, joining the pro-French faction.
To recap, at the start of the Rough Wooing in 1543, Beaton was Regent, Arran switched factions and
became Catholic, and the Treaty of Greenwich was rejected by the Scottish Parliament.
The Rough Wooing was a war fought between England and Scotland from December 20th 1543 to
March 1551, caused by the rejection of the Treaty of Greenwich by the Scottish Parliament. Henry VIII
started the war in order to forcefully implement the Treaty of Greenwich and unite England and Scotland
under a single Protestant crown. Initially, it was a success, with England occupying the south-east of
Scotland and, in the process, actively promoting Protestantism in the area. However, once the French were
drawn into the war supporting Scotland in 1548, England was finally defeated, and peace was declared at
the Treaty of Norham in 1551. However, three events which are worth mentioning occurred during this
period.
The first of these events occurred in 1546, when a group of Protestants, protesting against the burning
of a prominent preacher ordered by Beaton, assassinated the Cardinal and occupied St Andrew’s Castle. As
a result of the assassination, Arran, now Catholic, was reinstalled as Regent. The Castle was liberated with
the help of French forces, and the occupiers, led by Chaplin John Knox, were condemned to slavery, an act
which, in the long run, helped create resentment for the French occupation and depicted the occupiers as
martyrs for the Protestant cause.
The second event is the death of Henry VIII of England in 1547, and the succession to the throne of his
son, Edward VI, whose regents continued the Rough Wooing
The third event is perhaps the most important one. In 1548, in order to obtain French help, the Scottish
required a counterpart to offer the French. This counterpart was formalised in the Treaty of Haddington,
according to which, in return for French assistance, Mary Queen of Scots was to marry the heir to the
French throne, Dauphin Francis, thus formalising the status of Scotland as a French province when Francis
succeeded his father to the throne in France. As a result of the treaty, Mary travelled to France to be
educated there.
When the Rough Wooing ended in 1551, Scotland had stabilised the situation in terms of external
affairs: France was acting as its guarantor under pretty much every aspect. Domestically however, the
situation was different. Growing resentment of the French presence, combined with the occupation of
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south-east Scotland by the British, resulted in a silent spread of Protestantism throughout the
country. Thus, by the end of the Rough Wooing, support for the protestant reformation had risen, but it
wasn’t yet widespread to the point that its leaders could challenge the Catholics.
In 1554, the Earl of Arran is replaced by Mary of Guise as Regent, who is also Catholic. A year earlier,
Bloody Mary, a Catholic, came to power in England. Under the rule of Mary of Guise, the French were given
ample influence in Scottish internal affairs, and French officials were positioned in key offices, such as the
Treasury. She tolerated Protestants to a certain extent: John Knox, the leader of the occupiers of St
Andrew’s castle, was able to preach freely throughout Scotland, even in Edinburgh. This allowed
Protestantism to spread even more throughout Scotland. Our crisis starts three years into her regency, just
before the Lords of the Congregation, a group of Scottish nobles, unites to oppose the now imminent
marriage of 15-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots to the French heir Francis. Upon uniting, the nobles signed
the First Band, in which they pledged to work to make Scotland Protestant. By now, tensions between the
Protestant and Catholic factions in Scotland had reached boiling point.
Sources and bibliography
The account above was based on the following books:


Lang, Andrew (1900-1907): Chapters 1 and 2 in A history of Scotland from the Roman Occupation,
Volume 2, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh: 1907
Jane E.A. Dawson (2007): Scotland re-formed 1488-1587, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh:
2007
The Dynamics at play in 1550s Scotland
1. Politics: Lang Syne to the “Auld Alliance”?
Having no sons, Mary Stuart was the only heir of King James V at the time of his death in 1542. Her
mother, Mary of Guise, became regent of Scotland on 12 April 1554. Mary of Guise was herself French and
epitomised the “Auld Alliance” between France and Scotland. During her regency, Scotland was under clear
French influence if not virtually under the control of Henry II. Indeed, Mary regularly consulted with
relatives who held government positions in France and allowed for France's ambassador to Scotland to take
charge of the country during her absence. The numerous appointments of Frenchmen to Scottish
governmental positions were, however, what angered the Scottish nobility the most. This is all the more
salient given the divisions (regarding the alliance with France) within Scotland following the “Rough
Wooing”. Efforts were made to rally Scottish lords around her regency via coercion and diplomacy. These
efforts included shows of force, arrests, and arbitrations. The tide, however, seemed to have already
turned against Mary of Guise and many Protestant Scottish nobles perceived England, their Southern
Protestant neighbour, as their ally. Despite her daughter's imminent marriage to Francis II, Dauphin of
France, France was caught up with the ongoing Habsburg-Valois War, particularly with the Flanders
campaign, which resulted in a heavy French defeat at the Battle of Saint Quentin in August 1557.
2. Economics: Trade and Subsistence
Scotland's economy in the 1550s was based on trade with North European countries (mostly
Scandinavian and Baltic countries) as well as with France. Trade with Scotland was facilitated by the fact
that Scotland imposed virtually no tariffs until the late 16th century. With regards to volume, after having
slumped following the English invasions of the 1540s (with the Rough Wooing), trade rose during the
subsequent decade. Exports mainly consisted of wool, fish, woollen cloth and hides. On the other hand,
Scotland imported manufactured goods and luxury items from France (French and Scottish traders
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benefitting from a no-tariffs policy thanks to the Auld Alliance), and timber, iron, tar, hemp, pitch
and flax from Norway and the Baltic countries. It should be noted, however that agriculture, mining and
some industrial activities existed in Scotland at the time, but were mainly oriented towards exportation and
self-sufficiency.
It is also interesting to note that despite the global rise in prices in Europe during the 1550s,
Scotland remained one of the only countries to have real wages untouched by the ubiquitous inflation crisis
in the beginning 1550s. This, however, was only a lull in the impact of the crisis on prices in Scotland. In the
1540s and from the late 1550s onwards, prices rose. This hit the poorest the hardest because of the high
cost of subsistence agriculture and the deflationary impact upon luxury items which the rich purchased.
3. Social Environment: Transition and Reform
The monarchy having allowed for Protestant preachers to operate in their lands, magnates of
Scotland progressively converted away from Catholicism. Though large parts of the population remained
faithful to Rome, a growing part of the nobility and notables came to demand the end of the Auld Alliance
and the start of a new union with Protestant England. Protestantism's lack of popularity among the masses
might be explained by the small number of Protestant orators and martyrs at the time. Despite their small
numbers, Protestant Scots were organised, penetrated Scottish nobility and had considerable influence in
important circles.
As mentioned before, the mid-1550s marked a turning point in the economic life of Scottish
masses. The combination of bad harvests, rising prices, falling real wages and high taxation contributed to
widespread poverty and dysentery, which were only exacerbated with outbreaks of plague. It should also
be noted that despite an urbanisation period on the cusp of occurring, Scotland's population was strongly
rural. In 1550, only 1.4% of all Scots lived in towns of over 10,000 inhabitants (the capital Edinburgh being
the only such town at the time). Similarly, only 2.5% of Scotland's entire population lived in towns of over
2,000 inhabitants.
Important people of the Scottish Cabinet22
a) Mary Stuart, heir to the Scottish Throne
Mary was the daughter of King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise, a descendent of the Duke of
Lorraine. Born in Scotland, she became queen when she was only 6 days old. It was first proposed that she
marry Prince Edward (son of Henry VIII) but due to the “Rough Wooings” this engagement never took
place. The French King, Henry II, offered his son, Francis, to Mary in exchange for stationing troops in
Scotland to protect her. At age 6 and due to the instabilities in Scotland, Mary was sent to France where
she would grow up with Francis and his siblings. Her uncles were charged with her care and made sure that
that she became educated. Due to her French upbringing, she was regarded as French rather than Scottish.
Because she was a Catholic and born outside of England, she was debarred from becoming an English
queen due to King Henry VIII’s will.
b) James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran and Duke of Châtelherault
James Hamilton was the oldest son of the 1st Earl of Arran, James Hamilton, and his second wife Janet
Bethune who was regent of Scotland from 1546 to 1554. The Hamilton family were one of the main noble
families in Scotland that held broad territories in southern Scotland. With the death of James V, he became
the presumptive heir to the Scottish throne after Mary, as he was the great-grandson of James II of
Scotland. However, the Lennox family – headed by Matthew Stewart, the 4th Earl of Lennox – contested
22
As adapted from http://www.maryqueenofscots.net/people/.
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legitimacy, claiming that his father’s divorce was invalid and consequently, his marriage to his
mother was invalid. He was appointed regent by Queen Mary of Guise. Initially, the 2nd Earl of Arran was a
Protestant that favoured an English alliance, desiring that Mary marry Edward VI, who was still an infant.
However, when Henry VIII questioned his loyalty and wanted to unseat him, the 2nd Earl of Arran fled and
became a Catholic and supported a French alliance through the marrying of Mary and Francis and was
rewarded with the Dukedom of Châtellerault. He eventually surrendered the regency to Mary of Guise.
c) James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran
As the son of the 2nd Earl of Arran, the 3rd Earl of Arran was too in line for the Scottish throne. He
accompanied Mary Stuart to France but upon his return to Scotland, he led the Protestant faction against
Mary and her continental supporters.
d) The Lennox Clan & Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart was the son of Matthew Stuart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Lady Margaret Douglas. His mother was
the niece of Henry VIII, who had been recognised by Mary Tudor as heir to the English throne after her
death. After his father (Lennox) was arrested for supporting the French party in Scotland, Henry Stuart was
sent to France. Lady Margaret, also a staunch Catholic, was debarred because on the one hand she was
Catholic and on the other, Henry VIII had regarded her parent’s marriage as illegimate as he hat not
approved it pursuant to the Royal Marriage Act of 1536. Yet she still believed that she and ultimately her
sons were next in line dynastically.
At the request of Queen Elizabeth, Lennox was allowed to return to Scotland and to Mary’s nobles’ dismay,
was restored his estates. In essence, due to his ancestry, Henry Stuart would make for a good match.
e) Lord James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray
Lord James Stewart was Mary’s half brother and illegitimate child of James V and his mistress Margaret
Erskine. He went with Mary to France and upon his return to Scotland, he became a Presbyterian and went
on to become the military commander of a Presbyterian faction. Finding himself with more power, he no
longer desired to become Mary of Guise’s deputy – until then he had supported her regency – but had his
heart set on the Scottish throne. He was supported by the English Secretary of State, William Cecil, who
looked favourably upon a Protestant Scottish king. While he had powerful supporters, he feared that
deposing Mary Stuart would only allow the 2nd Earl of Arran to assume the throne as the dynastic heir. An
ambitious man, he would strive to gain as much power as possible, as either head of a government, regent
or king and would be prepared to do anything to achieve his goal. In addition, the Lord James would always
look to England – and Protestants – for support.
f) James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
The Bothwell family was an influential family due to their high standing in the navy, as they were the
hereditary Lord High Admirals of Scotland and keepers of Liddesdale. The first meant that they had a high
source of revenue, as they could claim all treasure troves along the Scottish coast and because of the latter,
they controlled most of the eastern Scottish border. James Hepburn himself was known to be a ladies’ man
and on occasion enjoyed relations with other men. He was an enemy of the Lord James Stewart, who would
repeatedly try to get rid of him through various means, which ultimately made them rivals.
g) David Rizzio
David Rizzio was an Italian artist (singer and lute player) who was employed by the Scottish court and
would eventually become her (informal, as he was never appointed) secretary. He would use this newly
found access for his own personal gain, accepting bribes. Rizzio was a confident of Mary’s and became good
friends with Darnley, as they both needed each other. He needed Darnley and the Lennox family to support
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his position at court and in return he would support Darnley as Mary’s husband. He was also
known for being “assiduous in sowing seeds of discord between Darnley and Moray”23 and using the
absence of appointed secretaries for his own gain. It is rumoured that he had homosexual tendencies, as
well as conflicting rumours that he had an affair with Mary, to the detriment of her marriage.
h) Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was the second French wife of James V. After her husbands death, she became the Regent
Queen of Scotland (1554 - 1560) for Mary as she was only 6 days old. Due to her heritage, she had been
trained well in government, which led her to defend her daughter’s kingdom. She pushed for a betrothal
with a French prince in order to secure troops to defend Scotland.
For more information regarding the important people in the Scottish court, please refer here:
http://www.maryqueenofscots.net/people/
Strategies of the committee
The aim of Mary, Queen of Scots is to secure her throne during the duration of the crisis, as she faces
several obstacles. On the one hand, her own throne is contested by a series of potential heirs from not only
her own family (Lord James Stewart) but also from other rival noble families (most notably, the Lennoxes
and Hamiltons). In addition, she faces threats regarding her own person: since many viewed Elizabeth I as
illegitimate – as she was Protestant and her parents’ marriage was deemed illegal by several – Mary was
perceived as the rightful heir of the English throne, as she was a Catholic.
In order to secure her throne, she faces several options. In order to secure her Scottish throne, she could
marry one of the heirs in order to appease them. However, this could upset certain families who could in
turn form an alliance in an attempt to oust her. Another option would be to marry a (foreign) nobleman of
great power that would support her throne financially in Scotland.
With regards to her survival, Mary would have to undermine Elizabeth’s power. This could be done by
either instigating a Catholic Revolution, which would overthrow Elizabeth, or Mary could agree to an
alliance with either France, Spain or the Hapsburg Monarchy.
The Protestants in Scotland, for obvious reasons, did not support Mary’s accession to the throne and would
try to have a Protestant (such as the Lord James Stewart) assume the throne.
The Catholics, on the other hand, were keen to revert Scotland to Catholicism and hence strongly
supported Mary Stuart’s ascension to the throne. At the same time, the English could never become their
allies due to Queen Elizabeth being Anglican.
The Lord James Stewart will try to assume as much power by any means possible other than changing
religion.
23
http://www.maryqueenofscots.net/people/david-riccio-rizzio/
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I.
The House of Hapsburgs
In the year 1557, King Philip II sits as ruler of what is widely regarded as the most powerful Empire in the
world, the Habsburg Spanish Empire. As a result, the nature of problems faced by the Spanish court are
expected to be of an equally challenging nature. A large Spanish Empires sees economic problems of a
different scale, rivals and foes that have joined together to shift the balance of power and, religious & social
uprisings seek to threaten the status quo.
History and Origins of the Habsburgs
Origins
The name Habsburg is said to be derived from castle of Habichtsburg (“Hawks Castle”) built in 1020 by
Werner the of Strasbourg in what is now Switzerland. The House of Habsburg origins are considered to
start with Guntram the Rich a man who with Count Guntram were noted for their rebellion against the
German King Otto the 1st in 950 AD, however the first documented mention of the name Habsburg is in
1108. The Habsburgs expanded their power and influence primarily through a number of well arranged
marriages. As well as by profiting from the deaths of other families within nobility.
Rise to Power
By the late 1200s the Habsburg’s had gained enough power and influence that Albert the fourth’s son
Rudolf the Fourth was elected as the King Rudolf I of Germany as the first in line of King of the Romans
from the Habsburgs and he later bestowed Austria and Styria upon his sons. From 1282 onwards the
relationship between Austria and the Habsburgs began. This was formalized in the Privilegium Maius at the
direction of Duke Rudolf IV of Austria in 1358-1359. This document declared Austria an archduchy endowed
with rights similar to that of the Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1440 Frederik III was chosen to succeed Albert II as the King on 19th of March 1452 Pope Nicholas V
crowned Frederik III as Holy Roman Emperor. He later married Eleanor of Portugal. This allowed for the
Habsburgs to extend their influence in both western and south-eastern Europe. In 1493 Frederik III died
and his son succeeded him. Under the rule of Emperor Maximillian, the Habsburgs once again expanded
mainly through well arranged marriages. It was the grandson of Maximilian, Charles V, who would end up
creating the first Empire upon which the Sun never set in 1519.
History of Charles V of House Habsburg
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Born to Phillip the Handsome or Phillip I of Castile, Charles V heir to three of the most powerful
dynasties in Europe, namely, the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg and Trastámara. In 1519, Charles V
assumed the title of King of the Romans and simultaneously ruled over the Spanish Empire thereby
becoming the most powerful man in Europe.
Being inspired by the counsel of Cardinal Gattinara,
Charles V sought to conquer the world and become the
leader of a universal empire. However, he faced three
main problems, namely, the Protestant Reformation in
the Holy Roman Empire, his conflict with Francis I –
especially in Italy – and seemingly unstoppable advance of
the Ottomans under Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
Shortly after his election Charles V began his lifelong
struggle with France, which required immense
expenditures. In 1521 he invaded Northern Italy, which
was then controlled by France. The financial burden for
the war rested on Spain and provoked violent reaction,
particularly in Castile, which resented Charles's highhandedness in obtaining funds from the Castilian Cortes.
Toledo, Segovia, and other Castilian cities revolted in the brief war of the comuneros. Initially aimed at
limiting the royal power, the uprising was later marked by violent class warfare. It was put down at the
Battle of Villalar in 1521. Juan de Padilla and the other rebel leaders were executed. Charles V won the
loyalty of his Spanish subjects and cemented his authority as an absolute monarch.
In the Holy Roman Empire, at the Diet of Worms in 1521, Charles V secured a satisfactory compromise
regarding the Imperial Government but vehemently opposed the doctrines of the radical reformer, Martin
Luther. In his written opinion, Charles V declared himself ready to stake his dominions, friends, blood, life,
and soul on the extinction of heresy and signed the Edict of Worms which outlawed Luther and his
followers. However, Charles V's preoccupation with the war with France prevented him from checking the
spread of Luther's doctrines. Also, Charles V was not always supported by the Pope, who was concerned
with the threat to his power and independence as a result of the imperial domination of Italy.
After the French defeat at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 and the capture of Francis I, Charles V appeared
triumphant in Italy; Francis I signed the humiliating Treaty of Madrid in 1526 renouncing his claims to Italy
and ceding Burgundy to Charles V. On his release, Francis I betrayed Charles V and repudiated the treaty
and organized the anti-imperial League of Cognac. Pope Clement VII, Venice, Milan, and Florence joined the
League. Charles V immediately sent the Imperial Army to Italy. Led first by Georg von Frundsberg and then
by Charles de Bourbon, Charles V’s Imperial Army defeated the League and then marched on and sacked
Rome in 1527 where Pope Clement VII was besieged and effectively held hostage. Charles V profited
immensely from extorting large amounts of money from the Pope. Later in 1529, Charles V signed The
Treaty of Cambrai with Francis I and the Peace of Barcelona with Pope Clement VII which consolidated
Charles V's position in Italy and secured his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor at Bologna in 1530.
Charles V began to realise that his Empire was becoming too large to rule and as a result delegated power
to his brother Ferdinand, who was elected King of the Romans in 1531.
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Germany was beginning to show signs of religious and social problems. During Charles V’s absence
from Germany, Lutheranism spread and the rebel Schmalkaldic League was formed by Philip of Hesse and
John-Frederick of Saxony which protected Lutherans from Imperial persecution.
Before dealing with the religious problem in Germany, Charles V faced an even bigger external threat from
abroad. The Ottoman advances in Austria, Hungary and along the Mediterranean coast posed a serious
threat to Charles V. In 1535, Charles V launched a successful expedition against the Ottomans in Tunis while
Ferdinand attempted to halt Ottoman advances in Eastern Europe. However, in 1536, Francis I seized this
opportunity and declared war on Charles V over the succession to Milan. Intent on conquering Italy at all
costs, Francis I allied himself with Suleiman the Magnificent and caught Charles V completely by surprise.
This was a move which was regarded as being incomprehensible at the time because an alliance between
Muslim and Christian Empires was previously unprecedented.
This led to the Italian Wars of 1542-1546. Suleiman assaulted the Spanish in the Mediterranean and placed
an entire fleet of over a hundred Ottoman Galleys, led by Hayreddin Barbarossa, under the command of
Francis. Meanwhile Charles V managed to successfully negotiate an alliance with Henry VIII in 1543 to
invade France with no less than 35,000 men-at-arms and 7,000 cavalries. The battles between Francis I and
Charles V ended in stalemates whilst the English and the Ottomans were making successful gains. Facing
bankruptcy, Francis I and Charles V quickly decided to end the conflict and signed the Treaty of Crépy
where the status quo was restored to 1536. Charles V gave up Burgundy whilst Francis renounced his
claims in Italy among other things. Henry VIII and Suleiman the Magnificent felt betrayed and were furious
– it is reported the Sultan even threatened to have the French ambassador impaled!
Finally, the way opened for the Counter Reformation, ardently desired by Charles V and forwarded by St.
Ignatius of Loyola when the Council of Trent convened in 1545. Turning on the Protestant princes of
Germany, Charles V split their ranks by bribing Maurice of Saxony and amongst others and the Imperial
Army decimated the Schmalkaldic League at the Battle of Mühlberg being commanded by Fernando Alvarez
de Toledo, the Duke of Alba in 1547. John-Frederick I of Saxony was defeated and Philip of Hesse was
imprisoned. John-Frederick was stripped of his role as elector and lost his titles. To bring this matter to an
end, Charles V called the Diet of Augsburg in 1547/48 where at first he tried to impose Catholic troops upon
the Protestants in Germany but found that this was not well received among the princes of Germany who
demanded the release of Philip of Hesse and John-Frederick. Charles V made one final attempt to end the
religious strife in his Empire by making Maurice of Saxony an elector at the Diet of Augsburg 1548 and then
commanding him to seize the rebellious Lutheran city of Magdeburg.
Maurice raised an army but he betrayed Charles V and signed the anti-Imperial Treaty of Chambord with
Francis II’s successor, Henry II of France in January 1552. Maurice promised the King money and weapons
to assist him in his campaign against Charles V. In return, Henry was able to take four Imperial cities (Metz,
Toul, Verdun and Cambrai) as well as their bishoprics, even though Maurice had no right to them. In March
1552 the rebels overran the southern German states, including parts of Austria, forcing the Emperor to flee
and release Philip of Hesse. While Henry advanced up to the Rhine and occupied the promised Imperial
lands, the Emperor surprised by the attack fled over the Alps to Villach in the Austrian Duchy of Carinthia.
In view of this success, Maurice betrayed Henry II and negotiated a treaty with Charles V's brother
Ferdinand I. When the Peace of Passau, was signed in August 1552, the Lutheran position was provisionally
guaranteed. As part of the Peace, his former opponents from the Schmalkaldic War, John Frederick I of
Saxony and the Philip of Hesse were released.
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Humiliated, Charles V, sent his brother to act on his behalf at the Diet Augsburg in 1555 and it is
there that Ferdinand heard Philipp Melanchthon and finally decided to recognise Lutheranism as a religion
and gave the princes power to recognise the religion of their subjects – cuius egio, euius religio. In January
1556, Charles V was exhausted and finally decided to abdicate.
Political, Social and Economic Dynamics of Habsburg Spain in 1557
Politics
The Habsburg realm has been divided in half in following the abdication of Emperor Charles V. He has given
to his son Philip, heir to the major branch of the dynasty, the Spanish Empire, while he has given the Holy
Roman Empire to his brother Ferdinand. By 1557, Philip II rules over the Spanish Empire which is widely
regarded as being the most powerful in the world. Philip II’s Empire includes the Spanish Netherlands,
Spain’s colonies, the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily and the Duchy of Milan. Philip II is married to the Queen
Mary I of England through whom he is also King of England.
The Spanish Empire is governed similarly to a federation of separate regions, some of which have a
tendency to jealously guard their rights and privileges against the further centralisation of power by the
House of Habsburg. Problems are particularly being faced in Navarre, the newest constituent of Philip II’s
empire. Conquered by Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Kingdom of Navarre has yet to properly integrate within
the Empire. Both Charles V and Philip II in the first year of his rule failed to abide by the elective nature of
the Crown of Navarre, thus creating tension between the imperial and local nobilities.n terms of foreign
policy, Philip II’s directives are characterised by his Catholic fervour. He sees himself as the chief defender
of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman Turks, the Muslim and Jewish communities living in Spain and the
Lutheran and Calvinist forces of the Protestant Reformation. Philip II’s arch-rival thus far is the same as his
father’s and he is Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire. The Habsburgs have been at
war with the Ottomans for the large part of the 16th century and Philip II continues to be involved in
conflicts with them in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean. The dynastic conflict between France and
the Habsburgs is also well underway, as Philip II has aggressively waged war against King Henry II of France.
Philip II crushed a French army at the Battle of St. Quentin in Picardy in 1557, and the war is decisively
going in Spain’s direction.
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Map detailing the Empires of Spain and the Ottomans in 1557 Europe
Finally, the Spanish Empire is growing in the Americas: conquistadors such as Hernan Cortés and Francisco
Pizarro have conquered rich Aztec and Inca Empires in South America. Mexico City was established in 1524
and it acts as the primary centre of administration in the new world; Buenos Aires was founded in 1536,
and New Granada was colonised in the 1530s. Don Luís de Velasco rules as Viceroy of New Spain where the
old Aztec Empire stood and Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza rules as Viceroy of Peru.
The Economy
Charles V has left Philip II with a debt of about 36 million ducats and an annual deficit of 1 million ducats.
Due to the structure of the Spanish Empire, economic reform is hard to implement. Spain is subject to
different assemblies: The Cortes in Castile along with the assembly in Navarre and one each for the three
regions of Aragon, which preserve traditional rights and laws from the time when they were separate
kingdoms. This makes Spain and its possessions difficult to rule, unlike France which, while divided into
regional states, had a single Estates-General. The lack of a viable supreme assembly leads to power
defaulting into Philip II's hands, especially as manager and final arbiter of the constant conflict between
different authorities. To deal with the difficulties arising from this situation, authority was administered by
local agents appointed by the crown and viceroys carrying out crown instructions. Moreover, the benefits
of economic reform are insufficient to balance the high costs: The Spanish population is too sparse to yield
significant tax returns, and higher taxation in the Spanish Netherlands could give rise to a rebellion based
on religious and economic discontent.
As a result, the Spain relies on her Empire abroad in South America as a source of its wealth and power in
Europe. Newer resources such as rubber, chocolate, corn, tomatoes and potatoes – among other things –
are being introduced by the Spanish to Europe along with Incan and Aztec gold and silver. However, the
European economy is showing signs of rising inflation as a result of precious metals such as gold and silver
being rapidly poured from South America to the rest of Europe by the Spanish. Furthermore, the Spanish
economy as a result of its vast deposits of American gold and silver is becoming dependent on buying most
of its raw materials and manufactured goods from foreign regions such as the city state of Venice. Despite
of immense wealth coming in from South America, Spain is on the brink of bankruptcy; a default on loans
appears as the most practical short-term solution, as the lenders have no power over Philip II to force him
to reply his loans.
Religion and Society
Social dynamics under the late Charles V and the early Philip II were mainly influenced by religious
affiliations. Indeed, the Spanish Inquisition that had been set up by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of
Castile in 1480 remains in service with Fernando de Valdés in place as the Grand Inquisitor. In the early
1500s, Islam was gradually outlawed by the constituent kingdoms of the Spanish Empire: by the Crown of
Castile in 1502, and the Crown of Aragon in 1526. This resulted in the forced – and not necessarily genuine
– conversion of Muslims to Catholicism, therefrom known as Moriscos. Many Moriscos were suspected of
practising Islam in secret. Initially they were not severely persecuted by the Inquisition, but experienced a
policy of evangelization without torture: a large number of the Moriscos were under the jurisdiction of the
nobility, and persecution would have been viewed as a frontal assault on the economic interests of this
powerful social class.
On the other hand, forced conversion and persecution of the Jewish community was more strongly
implemented. The Alhambra Decree of January 1492 ordered the expulsion of all Jewish communities. Tens
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of thousands of Jews were baptised in the three months before the deadline for expulsion, and
the rest fled to more tolerant neighbouring lands: The Jews of the Kingdom of Castile fled mainly to
Portugal and North Africa, whereas most of the Jews of the Kingdom of Aragon fled to Italy and the
Ottoman Empire. The conversos that remained in Spain were the principal concern of the Inquisition; being
suspected of continuing to practice Judaism put them at risk of denunciation and trial. The most intense
period of persecution lasted until 1530; the percentage of conversos among the Inquisition trials dropped
significantly in the following 30 years.
The Spanish Inquisition has dealt with very few cases involving actual Protestants, as there are very few in
Spain. In fact, the “Lutheran” label has acted as a tool to act against all those that offended the Church, in
one way or another. However, after the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, Lutheranism is the only recognised
form of Protestantism which been permitted to be practiced within the Empire to the dismay of Charles V.
As a result, it is important to note the political and instrumental aspect of the Spanish Inquisition, which
goes beyond its purely religious persecutions. As a devout Catholic, Philip II is still dedicated to identifying
and persecuting the few Protestant groups that exist in Spain and her Empire. The other actions of the
Inquisition include censorship and trials for witchcraft, blasphemy, and bigamy.
The Spanish Inquisition has been extended to the Spanish Netherlands during the reign of Charles V. The
Netherlands were mainly Catholic before the abdication and death of Charles V. However, Calvinism is
showing signs of spreading and as a result, the Inquisition has been brought to expand into the
Netherlands. In order to reduce tensions with the local nobility, Philip II has included and promoted the
local population within the Inquisition in the Netherlands. Notably, Peter Titelmann, who was raised to the
rank of Inquisitor in 1546, is a fearless and merciless man who regularly exterminates heretics in the name
of God and the King.
The Composition of the Court of Philip II
The Royal Spanish Habsburg Court is located in the Spanish Capital of
Valladolid. The Court is led by King Phillip II the Prudent of House
Habsburg, the newly crowned ruler of the Spanish Empire following
the abdication of his father, Emperor Charles V, on the 16th of
January 1556. Aside from being the head of the Habsburgs, Philip II is
also the King of England through his marriage with Mary I of England.
Philip II is a devout Catholic and a firm believer in the divine right of
kings to rule as an absolute monarch. Philip II also has strong family
ties with his uncle, the newly crowned Emperor Ferdinand I of the
Holy Roman Empire whom he is prepared to aid in wars against the
Ottomans.
The King is further joined by his two sisters and, Joanna of Austria,
Princess of Portugal, Margaret of Parma. Don John of Austria. Joanna
of Austria has recently been ruling Philip II’s stead as regent of Spain during his absence in England.
Margaret of Parma is an illegitimate daughter of Charles V and has recently left Italy to be appointed
Governor and co-Regent in the Spanish Netherlands by Phillip II. It has come to the attention of Philip II that
he has a younger 10-year-old half-brother called Jeromín, whom Charles V seems to be seeing with great
joy lately. Jeromín is yet to meet Phillip; nor is he yet aware of the fact that Charles V is his father.
Philip II is served by Antonio Pérez, the Secretary of State and his trusted right-hand man, Fernando
Álvarez de Toledo, the Duke of Alba who currently serves as Mayordormo mayor (High Steward) of the
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court. The Secretary of State is a valuable advisor to Philip II and he is primarily in charge of
reporting to the King about Spain’s foreign affairs. The Duke of Alba also leads Philip II’s armies and he is
widely regarded as one of the most ruthless and best generals alive through his victories in the Ottoman
and Schmalkaldic Wars. The Duke of Alba is accompanied by his cousin, García Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio,
the Marquis of Villafranca who is a distinguished General of the Spanish naval fleets within the
Mediterranean as a result of his accomplishments against the Hayreddin Barbarossa and the Ottomans.
Philip II likes to see himself as a defender of Christianity and as a result, there is a strong presence of the
clergy in the Habsburg court. The Church is represented by Fernando de Valdés, the Grand Inquisitor of
the Spanish Inquisition and Archbishop of Seville along with Antione Perrenot de Granvelle, the Bishop of
Arras who has proven himself a very capable politician as he and Simon Renard – the Spanish ambassador
to France and England – were pivotal in negotiating Philip II’s marriage with Queen Mary I of England.
Also in the court are some of Philip’s nobles from the Spanish Netherlands. They include William the Silent,
Prince of Orange; Lamoral, Count of Egmont and Prince of Gavere and Philip de Montmorency, Count of
Hoorn. William of Orange is a Lutheran and has a reputation of being a rising star within the ranks of the
Habsburg armies through his success in commanding the Siege of Bayonne in 1555 and is regarded as being
one of Charles V’s dearest friends. Lamoral of Egmont is a devout Catholic and is currently the head of the
powerful Egmont family from the lowlands of the Spanish Netherlands. Lamoral of Egmont has recently
arrived back to the Spanish Court after a decisive victory against the French in the Battle of St. Quentin.
Lastly, Philip de Montmorency is also a Catholic and is the stadtholder of Guelders and an Admiral of the
Spanish naval fleet in Flanders. Through his success and loyalty to the crown, Philip de Montmerency has
recently been knighted under the prestigious chivalric Order of the Golden Fleece in 1556.
Conclusion, Goals and Strategy for the Royal Spanish Court
The Royal Spanish Court must ensure that Spain manages repel invasions from the Ottoman Empire and
prevent it from making significant gains in mainland Europe and the Mediterranean. This may include
sending Spanish Armies beyond the Empire into the Mediterranean and into the Holy Roman Empire to aid
Ferdinand. Spanish colonies in North Africa must also be protected.
The Inquisition must ensure that the rise of Calvinism is halted in the Spanish Netherlands and that any
remaining Jews or Muslims are expelled from Spanish territories.
Philip II must ensure that he has an heir to continue the Habsburg dynasty. He is yet to have a child with
Mary I of England who appears to be ill. If illness is to mean the death of Mary I, the Court must ensure that
Philip II finds a suitable wife who is tactically important and capable of continuing the Habsburg line.
The Court must also address the economic crisis of a debt of 36 million ducats facing the Empire. Three
broad paths are available to the court when attempting to solve the financial crisis: economic reform at the
cost of political stability and social peace; further dependence on the resources of the New World; or
defaulting on loans, a practical short-term solution that fails to address the longer-term structural
economic issues faced by the Spanish Empire.
Governing an Empire means that the court must seek to expand the territories of Spain otherwise the Philip
II will risk looking much weaker in comparison to the illustrious military career of his father.
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