Elizabethan England / 1583-1584
Elizabethan England: Throckmorton Plot
The Throckmorton Plot showed how Catholic conspirators were still looking for foreign help to remove Elizabeth.
What To Remember
- The plot planned an uprising in the North with foreign help from France and Spain.
- It aimed to free Mary, Queen of Scots and may even have involved Elizabeth's murder.
- The government discovered the plot before it could gain public support.
The plan
Francis Throckmorton, a young English Catholic, was linked to a scheme in 1583 that would trigger an uprising in the North at the same time as a French invasion led by the Duke of Guise.
Spanish and French ambassadors were involved in the wider network, and Mary, Queen of Scots was central because the conspiracy wanted to free her and restore Catholicism.
The government believed the conspiracy could even end in Elizabeth's murder.
Discovery and consequences
Walsingham's spies had watched Throckmorton from April 1583, and when his house was searched in June the papers exposed leading Catholics and the invasion plan.
Throckmorton said the plot had not gone ahead because Philip II's money and support had not arrived, but under torture he also admitted Mary knew about it before trying to withdraw the statement.
Elizabeth expelled the Spanish ambassador Mendoza, Throckmorton was executed in July 1584, and Henry Howard and Henry Percy were arrested.
Revision Prompt
How did the Throckmorton Plot raise fears about Catholics?