The Puritans And English Revolution

30 Pages 7461 Words

Catholic and, like Henry IV, had a predilection for burning Protestants en masse. She also married Philip II of Spain, a move that was against the wishes of both the Protestant nobility and the Catholic but patriotic people, since this made Philip king of both Spain and England, though only for Mary's lifetime. She was thus fairly successful in priming the nation for the advent of Elizabeth I, nominally a Catholic but also a Protestant reformer.
When Elizabeth became queen in 1558 some sort of religious settlement was needed, and a final one at that. The nation had had its fill of religious change, and whichever course the new queen chose it had to be a wise one. A number of considerations went into the Elizabethan Settlement of Church and State of 1559:
* The Settlement must be politically sound - in fact this was a major consideration of Elizabeth's since she was not very religious.
* After Bloody Mary's excesses Catholicism was unpopular in Parliament and amongst the nobility.
* A number of influential Protestant exiles were returning f...