WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.039 Hello and Welcome to Western sev Episode three hundred and twelve, 2 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:32.359 The Tragical Execution. In late February fifteen eighty, Elizabeth complained 3 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:37.079 to cecil that she was between Scylla and Charybdis. She 4 00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:41.240 did not want to marry, but literally everyone on her 5 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:45.159 council pushed her too. She tried to let everyone know 6 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:48.799 just how much in love with the Duke of Anjou 7 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:52.479 she remained. She kept a pair of his riding gloves 8 00:00:52.719 --> 00:00:56.359 with her throughout the day and ostentatiously took them out 9 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:01.359 and kissed them in public whenever possible. And she needed 10 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:03.240 to do this because she needed to keep the French 11 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.560 strong along at least. In fifteen eighty, the Pope reissued 12 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:14.599 his predecessor's bull excommunicating Elizabeth from the church. This was 13 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.879 also during the same period when Jesuit priests began arriving 14 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.400 in England in large numbers in the hopes of instigating 15 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:28.280 a Catholic rebellion. The political situation was hardly encouraging. Mary 16 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.439 Stuart had embarked on a fresh round of plots against Elizabeth, 17 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:35.760 this time in league with the Spanish ambassador Mendoza, a 18 00:01:35.840 --> 00:01:40.959 dangerous association that would last the next three years. Relations 19 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:45.359 with Scotland had cooled since James the sixth assumption of power. 20 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:49.560 The young king had become increasingly involved with his mother's 21 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:53.159 Geese relations for a time, and there were fears that 22 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.159 Philip the Second would appropriate the Portuguese throne. With its 23 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:01.959 strong navy and wealthy foreign territories, Portugal would only further 24 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:06.040 strengthen his empire and make him the richest monarch in 25 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:10.319 history in France, as we know, the wars of religion 26 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:14.960 continued to break out, preventing Elizabeth from looking to her 27 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.479 ally for support, and England, of course, was vulnerable in 28 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:24.759 its isolation. Then in August, news arrived that Philip had 29 00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:31.360 annexed Portugal and have been proclaimed its monarch. Elizabeth commented, quote, 30 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.439 it will be hard to withstand the King of Spain now. 31 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.919 To counteract this new threat, she threw the weight of 32 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:44.520 her support behind Don Antonio, the illegitimate Portuguese claimant, whose 33 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:49.680 claim was far less sound than Philip's own. To further 34 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:54.520 try to put him off course, Elizabeth offered her support 35 00:02:54.680 --> 00:02:58.080 to Anjou in the Netherlands and invited the French to 36 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:01.639 send marriage commissioners to England. As a matter of urgency. 37 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:08.479 Unfortunately for her, the French did not respond. It seems 38 00:03:08.520 --> 00:03:11.560 that the Duke's interest in Elizabeth was waning, and, as 39 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:16.719 we know, it will very soon become a non issue. 40 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:21.400 On September twenty sixth, fifteen eighty, Francis Drake and his ship, 41 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:25.960 the Pelican, now renamed the Golden Hind, dropped anchor at 42 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.400 Southampton after a three year voyage in which he had 43 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.680 circumnavigated the world, the first person to do so since 44 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:36.840 Ferdinand Magellan, which recovered in this show about sixty years 45 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:41.439 earlier fifteen nineteen to fifteen twenty two. As he disembarked, 46 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.240 he inquired whether the Queen was still alive, and showed 47 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:46.719 relief when he found that she was, for he needed 48 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.960 her protection against the Wrath of Spain, whose king would 49 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:53.400 be demanding his head as a punishment for wrecking Spanish 50 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:58.879 trade and seizing eight hundred thousand pounds of Spanish treasure. 51 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.439 That's a lot far from treating Drake as a criminal. 52 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:08.599 Elizabeth promptly invited him to Richmond Palace, where he entertained 53 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:11.680 her for six happy hours with tales of his adventures. 54 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:14.919 Amongst the treasures he had brought with him on pack 55 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:19.000 horses was a crown set with five huge emeralds, which 56 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:22.160 she would then wear in public on New Year's Day 57 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:26.720 fifteen eighty one. She was so pleased with the massive 58 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:30.079 amount of war booty that Drake had captured she allowed 59 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:32.439 him to keep a sizeable portion of it for himself. 60 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:37.439 Her own share, amounting to one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, 61 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:42.360 was placed in the tower. None, and I mean none 62 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:47.560 was returned to Spain, nor would Drake be punished, despite 63 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:54.040 Ambassador Mendozes near hysterical protests and demands. Instead, by the 64 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:57.959 Queen's own command, the Golden Hind was moored on the 65 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:01.680 Thames and exhibited to the public as a memorial to 66 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:08.040 Drake's heroic voyage. Thereafter, Sir Francis Drake was always welcome 67 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:12.360 at court and became a frequent visitor. Elizabeth always received 68 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:16.199 him affectionately and delighted talking to him about his voyages 69 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:20.639 around the world. He brought her costly gifts, among them 70 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:27.160 an exquisite diamond cross, but otherwise Elizabeth's position in the 71 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:33.879 world was growing increasingly endangered. From fifteen eighty onward, Philip 72 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:39.000 began planning a military and naval offensive against England, and 73 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:43.639 made no secret about it. At the same time, the 74 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:47.000 Pope issued a public response to a question posed by 75 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.160 two anonymous English Catholic lords as to whether or not 76 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:55.360 it was lawful to kill Elizabeth. His response was that 77 00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:59.920 such a murder quote not only is not a saying, 78 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:07.120 but gains merit end quote. This response was soon common 79 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:13.079 knowledge throughout all of Europe. Cecil was dismayed. He knew 80 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.639 that only Elizabeth kept Rome from returning to England. If 81 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:22.600 she died, all was lost, and so in response, Parliament 82 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:27.639 passed a new statute of recusancy in March fifteen eighty one. 83 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:31.319 It raised the fine for failing to attend Anglican services, 84 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:36.600 imposed a prison sentence for anyone attending a Catholic Mass, 85 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:43.639 and classified anyone who converted to Catholicism as a traitor. Finally, though, 86 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:48.360 Elizabeth did get some good news. In January fifteen eighty one, 87 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:50.839 the French declared that they would send a set of 88 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:56.079 commissioners to England. Elizabeth had no intention of marrying anjous, 89 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:58.879 but she did want a treaty of friendship with France. 90 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:03.680 When the commissioners arrived in April, the Queen told them 91 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:08.759 such rather bluntly. The French were shocked. They indicated they 92 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:10.839 had no authority to do anything other than discuss the 93 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:15.279 terms of a marriage. In June, Elizabeth told the same 94 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:19.279 commissioners she might still consider a marriage to Anjou, but 95 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.600 only if he came in person and negotiated it himself. 96 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:29.439 The French left despondent. In November, Elizabeth declared firmly that 97 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:32.879 she could not marry Anjou, but desired a treaty of 98 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:36.920 friendship with France. This firmly shut the door on any 99 00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:39.720 prospects of marriage for good, but it did force Philip 100 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:44.279 the Second to extend an olive branch. Philip declared he 101 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:48.519 would forgive Elizabeth's prior misdeeds. He was mostly referencing English 102 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:52.839 piracy if England instead entered into a treaty of alliance 103 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:58.519 with Spain. In May fifteen eighty two, a Catholic conspiracy 104 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:02.800 against Elizabeth, involving the Geese family, the Pope Philip of 105 00:08:02.800 --> 00:08:06.800 Spain and the Jesuits, was hatched in Paris, its objective 106 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:10.160 being to place Mary Stuart on the English throne. It 107 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.199 was apparent by now to the government how successful the 108 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:17.480 Jesuit missions to England had been yet the Queen would 109 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:22.480 still not sanction more stern measures against her Catholic subjects. 110 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:27.959 Dudley commented, quote, her Majesty is slow to believe that 111 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.120 the great increase of papists is a danger to the realm. 112 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:36.440 The Lord of his mercy open her eyes end quote. 113 00:08:36.519 --> 00:08:40.720 In October, Wolsingham's spies seized a cipher letter written by 114 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:43.759 the Queen of Scots which indicated that she was involved 115 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:48.120 in some new conspiracy. From then on, her correspondence was 116 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:52.759 carefully vetted and her servants watched more closely. By the 117 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:55.840 spring of fifteen eighty three, Mary Stuart and her Catholic 118 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.799 allies had conceived of a plan whereby she would be 119 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:02.080 reinstated in Scotland as a joint ruler with her son, 120 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:06.159 James the sixth. The plan was doomed to failure because 121 00:09:06.200 --> 00:09:10.759 Mary herself was insisting that sovereign power devolved chiefly upon her, 122 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.840 which would of course be resisted by James. Nor would 123 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:19.720 the Scots be likely to welcome a Catholic queen. However, Elizabeth, 124 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.600 who was aware of what had been proposed, toyed with 125 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:26.799 the idea, anxious to reach a settlement whereby this problem 126 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:29.559 of the Queen of Scots could be solved without a 127 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:34.960 recourse to bloodshed. Mary herself believed that James's loyalty to 128 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:39.120 her as his mother he had not seen since babyhood, 129 00:09:39.240 --> 00:09:42.720 would ensure his cooperation in the plan. But although the 130 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:45.200 young king declared he desired his mother to be set 131 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.879 at liberty, his chief concern was to preserve his own 132 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:54.840 interest and position. Walsingham was still hot on Mary's trail 133 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.519 at this time. He found out that Sir Nicholas Throckmorton's 134 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:04.440 nephew Francis, a Catholic, was paying secret nocturnal visits to 135 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:08.279 the French embassy. As he was known to be sympathetic 136 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:11.679 to Mary's cause, the conclusion was correctly drawn that he 137 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:15.559 was working as her agent. In fact, he was communicating 138 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:19.120 with the Duke of Geese and the Jesuits. However, Walsingham 139 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:21.919 had little idea of what the object of this activity 140 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.200 was at the time, and therefore had throck Morton and 141 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:29.720 the French ambassador watched over the next six months. In 142 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:34.440 September fifteen eighty three, Elizabeth celebrated her fiftieth birthday. She 143 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:39.159 had now reigned for twenty five years. In October fifteen 144 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:44.080 eighty three, an insane young Catholic, John Somerville, swayed by 145 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:48.000 Jesuit propaganda, was arrested for bragging that he intended to 146 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.240 march on London and shoot the queen with a pistol 147 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:53.080 and quote hoped to see her head on a poll, 148 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.200 for she was a serpent and a viper end quote. 149 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:59.360 He was thrown into Newgate Prison and condemned to death, 150 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:03.440 but himself before they had a chance to take his head. 151 00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.120 The publicity that was given to this event provoked an 152 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:11.279 upsurge of national affection towards Elizabeth, and in November, the 153 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:14.679 French ambassador reported that when she traveled to Hampton Court, 154 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:18.440 huge crowds of people knelt by the wayside wishing her 155 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:22.559 quote a thousand blessings and that the evil disposed who 156 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:24.960 meant to harm her be discovered and punished as they 157 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.399 deserved end quote. The Queen made frequent stomps to thank 158 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:32.799 them for their loyalty, and told the ambassador quote she 159 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:55.639 saw clearly she was not disliked by all. In November 160 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:59.600 fifteen eighty three, Nicholas Throckmorton was arrested at his house 161 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:04.120 in Lundon, the premises were searched, revealing lists of Catholic 162 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:08.519 English lords and harbors where Spanish ships might safely land. 163 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:13.840 It was, in other words, evidence of assigned and sealed insurrection. 164 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:20.200 Walsingham was surprised at the discovery. He knew something was afoot, 165 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.399 but not anything to this scale, and he believed that 166 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:26.519 the French ambassador to have been behind it all. Under 167 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:31.200 torture in the tower, Rockmorton gave nothing away, but after 168 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.039 the Queen authorized him to be racked a second time, 169 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:39.279 his courage failed him. He would later sign a confession quote, 170 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.600 now I have disclosed the secrets of her, who was 171 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.639 the dearest thing to me in the world. End quote. 172 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:49.320 It would be pretty clear in a moment who her was. 173 00:12:50.240 --> 00:12:53.679 He revealed that the conspiracy's aim had been to prepare 174 00:12:53.720 --> 00:12:57.240 for King Phillip's enterprise of England, the object of which 175 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:01.080 was to set Mary on the English throne. The Pope, 176 00:13:01.320 --> 00:13:05.399 the Geeses, the Jesuits, everyone was involved, and there were 177 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:10.679 to be four separate invasions, one centering upon Scotland, another Ireland, 178 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:14.720 a third Sussex, and a final Norfolk, all coordinated by 179 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:19.120 Catholic activities at home. And abroad. Plans were so far 180 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.879 advanced that all that remained to be done was to 181 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:26.159 stir up rebellion in England. Both Mary and Mendoza had 182 00:13:26.200 --> 00:13:29.799 been fully involved at every stage, but Walsingham had already 183 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:33.159 guessed at Mary's complicity, for she had given herself away 184 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:36.440 in several previous letters that had come under his scrutiny. 185 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:42.200 Many of the Catholic lords implicated in Throckmorton's papers were arrested, 186 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:47.759 but several had already fled the kingdom. Mendoza found himself 187 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:52.320 expelled in disgrace. In fact, the Spanish would never send 188 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:56.519 another ambassador to England for the remainder of Elizabeth's reign. 189 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:01.159 Brock Morton, I guess it goes out saying was condemned 190 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:09.519 to die. Parliament was apoplectic. Everyone wanted Mary's head, everyone, 191 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:14.600 it seemed, other than Elizabeth. She still preferred to keep 192 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:18.840 her clearly treason his cousin in some form of captivity. 193 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:24.159 On June the tenth, fifteen eighty four, news reached England 194 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.720 that Catherine de Metici's youngest son, the Duke of Anjou, 195 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:32.240 had died. This meant now that unless Henry the third 196 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:34.559 had a child. This would be the end of the 197 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:38.480 line for the Valois house that had ruled France since 198 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:44.960 the late thirteenth century. If Henri died now, then Henry, 199 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:49.480 King of Navarre, a Protestant, would be the only French 200 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:53.000 noble in line for the throne. Henry, as we know, 201 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:57.720 was a Huguenot. Elizabeth put on a massive show of 202 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:02.440 grieving when she received news of Anjou's death. Some of 203 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:07.639 it might have been genuine to Catherine herself. Elizabeth wrote 204 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:12.200 the following, your sorrow cannot exceed mine. Although you are 205 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:15.759 his mother, you have several other children. But for myself 206 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:20.279 I find I have no consolation if it be not death, 207 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:24.360 in which I hope we shall be reunited. Madame, if 208 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:26.639 you could see the image of my heart, you would 209 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:28.840 see there a picture of a body without a soul. 210 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:32.320 But I will not trouble you with sorrows, for I 211 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:38.960 have too many of my own. Worst news arrived shortly thereafter, William, 212 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:42.679 the Duke of Orange was assassinated on the tenth of July. 213 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:48.279 Everyone assumed that Philip had been behind it. It seemed 214 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:52.919 certain now that with Henri the Third consumed by domestic issues, 215 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:57.200 and with Anjou and William both dead that the Spanish 216 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:01.879 enterprise to retake the Netherlands would succeed. If this happened, 217 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:05.080 then Spain would be able to turn its full attention 218 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:10.679 toward England for good. This made the Mary Stuart situation 219 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:15.200 ever more dire, and it had been dire to begin with. 220 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:19.960 Mary Stuart was now forty two and sixteen years of 221 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.159 captivity had had their effect on her. Her hair was gray. 222 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:27.279 She should put on wait. She was plagued by rheumatism 223 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:30.200 and a chronic pain in her side. Although she had 224 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:33.440 been allowed to go to healing waters several times, this 225 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:38.759 hadn't improved her situation. In fifteen eighty four, Mary's principal 226 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:42.480 residence was Sheffield Castle, where she still lived under the 227 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:46.080 guardianship of the Earl of Shrewsbury. From time to time 228 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:50.240 she stated his other houses while Sheffield was cleaned. The 229 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.799 Earl scrutinized all of her correspondents, and whenever she went 230 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:56.399 out to take the air she was permitted to do so, 231 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.679 he and a troop of guards accompanied her. In fact, 232 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.039 there were guards everywhere, both inside and outside the castle, 233 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:05.880 while at night a watch was set in the surrounding 234 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.720 towns and villages. Every traveler to the region was questioned 235 00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.039 as to his business in the district, and no one 236 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:14.559 was allowed to enter the castle or communicate with Mary 237 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.680 without written authorization from the council. She might only receive 238 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:26.240 visitors under direct supervision. Mary bitterly resented these restrictions, but 239 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:30.000 she was nevertheless treated with honor and deference as befitting 240 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.200 a queen. She maintained a household of forty eight people, 241 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.920 selected her own servants and paid their wages. Elizabeth to 242 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.200 frad her food bills, which often amounted to about one 243 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:44.000 thousand pounds per year. She was allowed to indulge her 244 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.000 passion for hunting, but rheumatism often prevented her from doing so. Instead, 245 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:52.720 she worked with her ladies on embroidery and played with 246 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:56.880 her numerous lap dogs and caged birds. She would never 247 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:59.359 leave her prison, she told her friends, unless it was 248 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:03.160 as Queen of England, and despite the risks, she continually 249 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:07.960 intrigued totain that intention. Over the years, it had become 250 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:10.079 more and more difficult for her to correspond with her 251 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:13.279 friends abroad, and now she had to rely on those 252 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:15.559 members of her household who might be able to evade 253 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:20.880 Walsingham's vigilance. In August of fifteen eighty four, Walsingham decided 254 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:24.920 to tighten the security nets surrounding Mary. Shrewsbury had borne 255 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.000 the burden of guarding her for so many years and 256 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:32.079 was inclined to be too lenient with her, so now 257 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:35.440 she was transferred into the temporary care of Sir Ralph Sadler. 258 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.240 The following month, after Walsinghen had shown Elizabeth a letter 259 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:42.119 which proved her cousin was still plotting to depose her, 260 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:47.119 Mary was removed from Sheffield to Wingfield in Staffordshire, and 261 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.400 then in January fifteen eighty four she was moved to 262 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:55.039 a large fortress of Tutbury. There would be fewer hunting 263 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:58.400 johns there and it would be far more difficult for 264 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:01.680 her to smuggle out letters. However, she'd still be able 265 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:04.640 to retain her household, and although she protested the move 266 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:07.799 and complained that the castle was damp and cold, the 267 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:11.960 accounts showed that she was plentifully provided with both food 268 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.759 and fuel. Nor, it was pointed out to her had 269 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:18.759 she been quote so well entertained when she lived her 270 00:19:18.759 --> 00:19:21.079 own will in her own country end quote where the 271 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:24.519 standards of living were honestly a lot lower than they 272 00:19:24.519 --> 00:19:28.240 were in England at the time, but all this was 273 00:19:28.279 --> 00:19:32.119 still not enough to ensure Elizabeth's safety. A fresh wave 274 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:34.759 of panic h England in the fall of fifteen eighty 275 00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:39.279 four when evidence of another plot, this one again supported 276 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:43.640 by Philip, surfaced. The level of detail in the plot 277 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:46.839 this time, which was high, was enough to force Dudley 278 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.319 and other members of the nobility to take members into 279 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:54.519 their own hands. Many of these men formed what became 280 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:59.960 known as the Bond of Association. Essentially, these men swore 281 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:04.599 oath that the moment credible evidence was discovered that Mary 282 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:08.039 Stuart had engaged in a plot, I guess a new 283 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:12.519 one to kill Elizabeth, they would all immediately descend upon 284 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:18.119 Mary's jail and kill her with their own bare hands. Mary, 285 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.759 when she found out about the bond, also swore the oath, 286 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:26.799 which makes absolutely no sense. But then again, a mere 287 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:30.839 two days later, Mary was months more writing to Philip 288 00:20:30.960 --> 00:20:35.640 urging him to invade England, depose Elizabeth, and execute her. 289 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:38.160 So I guess she should have taken her own life 290 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:40.240 at that point based on the bond that she swore 291 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:43.400 the oaths to, but she didn't. At the end of 292 00:20:43.400 --> 00:20:47.200 the year, yet another plot against Elizabeth was uncovered, this 293 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:52.240 one involving a Welsh member of Parliament, William Powry. Still, 294 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:56.039 to this day historians aren't precisely sure why Parry would 295 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:00.400 conspire against his queen, but he did. Elizabeth send him 296 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.240 to the gallows, but once more refused to move against 297 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:06.599 Mary Stewart, who had once more been implicated in the plot. 298 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.559 Parliament responded to all this by giving any secret Catholic 299 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:15.200 priest in England forty days to get out. If they 300 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:17.519 were uncovered after that time, they would be executed, plain 301 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:22.200 and simple. In March fifteen eighty five, James the sixth 302 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.519 of Scotland wrote to his mother. He informed Mary that 303 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:28.960 he could do nothing to save her. Worse still, he 304 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:33.200 went on to say that neither would he. She was 305 00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:37.279 and his words quote, captive in a desert. There was 306 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:41.440 nothing to be done. Abandoned by her only child, Mary 307 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:46.920 flew into further spirals of despair. That same year, Mary's 308 00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:51.640 jailor was changed for the final time. Her new warden, 309 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:57.960 a Mayas Pollet, was a staunch Puritan and disciplinarian. He 310 00:21:58.119 --> 00:22:04.799 tolerated nothing. Mary was now firmly isolated from the outside world, 311 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:09.799 Paulett would permit her no visitors. He read every single 312 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:14.599 piece of her correspondence himself, most of it then ending 313 00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:21.440 up directly on Wolsingham's desk. During fifteen eighty five, relations 314 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:26.559 between England and Spain deteriorated rapidly. In May, in retaliation 315 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:30.839 against English attacks on his ships, Philip ordered all English 316 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.920 vessels in his ports to be seized and added to 317 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:36.839 his own fleet at Lisbon, which he was preparing for 318 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.119 a war he did not want, which he felt was 319 00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:43.640 his sacred duty to prosecute. Three months later, but none such. 320 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:46.319 Elizabeth made a treaty with the Dutch, who were now 321 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:52.119 basically England's only allies, and in September she appointed Sir 322 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.680 Francis Drake and Admiral, providing him with a fleet of 323 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:59.119 twenty two ships and two thousand men, and dispatching him 324 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:02.039 on a voyage to capture several of Spain's greatest naval 325 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:07.559 bases in the Caribbean. Drake's mission was successful. He occupied 326 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:10.880 Vigo on the coast of Spain, and then sailed to 327 00:23:10.920 --> 00:23:16.079 the Indies and sacked Santa Domingo, Habana and Cuba and Cartagena, 328 00:23:16.359 --> 00:23:20.400 the capital of the Spanish main Philip was deeply humiliated, 329 00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:23.640 but Elizabeth behaved as all this had nothing to do 330 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:27.680 with her. Drake, she said, quote, careth not if I 331 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:31.559 disavow him end quote. Her objectives in this campaign of 332 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:36.039 harassment were to keep Philip fully occupied elsewhere, and at 333 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:39.000 the same time demonstrate to him the might of England's 334 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:45.240 naval power. Nonetheless, on December the eighth, Dudley set out 335 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:48.799 for the Netherlands, hoping to rid England of the Spanish 336 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:53.200 menace once and for all. Dudley had hoped to take 337 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:57.279 the offensive against Parma, it was not to be. Elizabeth 338 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:01.480 never gave her general sufficient financial support that, in the end, 339 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:05.359 disappointing that Elizabeth was still refusing to accept a Dutch crown, 340 00:24:05.839 --> 00:24:09.640 Dudley's new countryman treated him as a prince. Instead of 341 00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:13.160 advancing on the Spanish position. Dudley quickly found himself on 342 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:17.480 what amounted to a royal progress, much to elizabeth chagrin. 343 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:22.160 When on February the fifth, Elizabeth learned from one of 344 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:24.559 her ladies who had heard in a private letter that 345 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:27.519 Dudley had accepted the office of Supreme Governor of the 346 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:32.200 Netherlands and had been inaugurated into the highest and supreme commandment. 347 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:34.759 At a solemn ceremony at the Hague on the fifteenth 348 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:38.680 of January, she exploded with so much fury that her 349 00:24:38.680 --> 00:24:43.319 courtiers didn't know it to do. She raged, quote, it 350 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:47.319 is sufficient to make me infamous to all princes. We 351 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:50.519 could never have imagined, had we not seen it fall out, 352 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:54.559 that a man raised up by ourselves, and extraordinarily favored 353 00:24:54.599 --> 00:24:57.359 by us above any other subject of this land, would 354 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:00.720 have in so contemptible a sort broken our commandment, and 355 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:04.039 a cause that so greatly touched our honor. Our express 356 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:07.839 pleasure and commandment is that all delays and excuses laid apart. 357 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.920 You do presently upon the allegiance of your allegiance. She's 358 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:15.079 talking to deadly here, Obey and fulfill whatsoever the Bearer 359 00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:18.559 shall direct you to do in our name, whereof fail 360 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:22.200 you not, as you will answer the contrary at your 361 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:26.440 uttermost peril end quote. Now, Dudley believed that he had 362 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:29.920 done all of this in England and Elizabeth's best interest, 363 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:34.799 and he was personally hurt by her response. Cecil, for 364 00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:38.599 his part, was desperate to calm Elizabeth down. He did 365 00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:42.559 not want England to appear divided, especially not now with 366 00:25:42.680 --> 00:25:46.920 Spain on the verge of an aggressive action. In March 367 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.599 fifteen eighty six, Philip received the Pope's blessing for the 368 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.759 invasion of England, which was to be treated as though 369 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:58.319 it were effectively a crusade. Philip did not intend to 370 00:25:58.359 --> 00:26:01.640 add England to his already vast aines. However, his plan 371 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:05.480 was to place his daughter Sabella on the English throne. 372 00:26:05.720 --> 00:26:09.000 Back in England, Walsingham found the final piece of the 373 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:14.079 puzzle when Novice Priest Gilbert Gifford flipped upon his arrival 374 00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:17.880 in England and subsequent arrest. He had been sent to 375 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:21.000 England from France by Mary Stuart's friends, who were keen 376 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:24.880 to re establish contact with her. But now with Gifford 377 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:29.839 having flipped sides, all information would be directly passed to Walsingham. 378 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:34.319 Every letter that Mary Stuart believed she was writing to 379 00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:42.079 France wound up on his desk Instead. Gifford was now 380 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:45.279 to inform Mary that he had organized a secret route 381 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:48.759 whereby letters might be smuggled in and out of her prison. 382 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:54.559 Walsingham had discovered that Master Burton, the local brewer in Buxton, 383 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:58.640 nearby supplied the house regularly with beer and large barrels. 384 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:02.680 It was Gifford's task to persuade the brewer, with the 385 00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:07.400 promise of substantial payment, to convey Mary's letters in a 386 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:11.000 waterproof wooden box that was small enough to be slipped 387 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:14.880 through the hole of a barrel. The brewer, an honest 388 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:18.039 man who was sympathetic to Mary, agreed, thinking he was 389 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:21.039 doing her a service. He didn't find out until it 390 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:25.240 was too late that he had been used, and when Paulette, 391 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:28.039 Mary's jailer let him in on the secret, he merely 392 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:31.119 raised his prices, knowing that too much was at stake 393 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:35.440 for his customer to protest. Mary, for her part, never 394 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:38.599 knew she had been duped. When she got a packet 395 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:44.119 of letters from France through Gifford's clandestine brewer messenger, she 396 00:27:44.279 --> 00:27:48.480 busily set to work answering them, never realizing she was 397 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:51.720 effectively digging her own grave. None of these letters were 398 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:57.119 actually coming from France. Only three major people other than assistants, 399 00:27:57.559 --> 00:28:03.640 knew about the framing of Mary Walsingham, Dudley and Elizabeth Laid. 400 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:06.880 In May, Gifford sent Walsingham two letters from Mary Stewart. 401 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:11.359