The Reign of Mary

Accession

Jul 6, 1553

When Edward fell ill he named Northumberland's daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, his heir. Hoak says this was his idea not Northumberland's. Mary was summoned to London to visit her dying brother. She was warned that the summons was a pretext on which to capture her, so instead she fled to East Anglia, the location of the Kett Rebellion, and rallied up supporters. Mary rode triumphantly into London on 3 August 1553 on a wave of popular support. LJG was imprisoned, Northumberland executed

Lady Jane Grey's reign

Jul 10, 1553

Edward named LJG his heir because she was a protestant, and great grandaughter of Henry VII. During her 'reign' she resided in the Tower with her husband, who she refused to name King, offering him Duke of Clarence instead. On 14th July Northumberland left court to face off with Mary, during his absence the Privy Council switched to Mary's side. LJG was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Her reign lasted 9 days

Mary's reign

Period: Jul 19, 1553 to Nov 17, 1558

Coronation

Oct 1, 1553

Religious reforms (1)

Oct 2, 1553

In 1553, Parliament passed an Act of Repeal which undid all of the Edwardian Reformation, revived the Mass, ritual worship and clerical celibacy, and implicitly reaffirmed the traditional doctrine of the Lord’s Supper (transubstantiation). This restored the Church to what it had been under Henry's Act of Six Articles.

Wyatt Rebellion

Jan 26, 1554

Causes: xenophobia, cloth trade and factionalism (religion?)
Wanted to marry Courtenay to Elizabeth and depose Mary. Plans included risings, but plans were brought forward on the announcement of the marriage treaty. The plot was discovered and Courtenay confessed all he knew. Kent was only rising, raising 2,500 armed men. Norfolk was sent to stop them but his forces joined with Wyatt's. Mary fortified London and made a speech to the masses. Offered rebels pardoned if they left, split his troops.

Wyatt Rebellion Consequences

Feb 5, 1554

Wyatt and 90 other rebels were executed, but unlike her predecessors she did not send their body parts around the country as a warning.
Lady Jane Grey and her husband were executed despite their innocence because they posed a threat to her position
Courtenay was exiled
Elizabeth was interrogated and remained imprisoned because no link could be proved
Showed Mary's personal strength, the rebebllion was out down by her actions

The Spanish Marriage

Jul 25, 1554

Philip was to be styled "King of England", all official documents were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple, for Mary's lifetime only. 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. The terms were so much in England's favour that Mary had them published, hoping to calm public opinion

Religious reforms (2)

Nov 1, 1554

Philip persuaded Parliament to repeal the Protestant religious laws passed by Mary's father, thus returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction. Reaching an agreement took many months, and Mary and Pope Julius III had to make a major concession: the monastery lands confiscated under Henry were not returned to the church but remained in the hands of the new landowners, who were very influential. By the end of 1554, the pope had approved the deal, and the Heresy Acts were revived.

Burnings begin

Feb 4, 1555

John Rogers was the first heretic to be burned.

Cranmer's execution

Mar 21, 1556

Archbishop of Canterbury for Henry, Edward and briefly Mary. He helped put together the case for the annulment of Mary's parents' marriage. When rumours spread that he authorised the use of the mass in Canterbury Cathedral, he declared them to be false and said Edward's laws were the most correct England had ever had. Not surprisingly, the government regarded Cranmer's comments to be seditious and he was tried and convicted of treason. He was burned months later in a large spectacle.

War with France

Jul 1, 1557

Philip returned to England from March to July 1557 to persuade Mary to support Spain in a renewed war against France. Mary was in favour of declaring war, but it was unpopular because French trade would be jeopardised, it contravened the marriage treaty, and a bad economic legacy from Edward VI's reign meant England lacked supplies and finances. War was only declared after Pole's nephew, invaded England and seized Scarborough Castle in a bid to deeose Mary with French forces.

Loss of Calais

Jan 1, 1558

French forces took Calais, England's sole remaining possession on the European mainland. Although the territory was financially burdensome, it was an ideological loss that damaged Mary's prestige, and lead to problems in Elizabeth's foreign policy. Mary later lamented, "When I am dead and opened, you shall find 'Calais' lying in my heart".

New Book of Rates

May 20, 1558

By fostering good relations with merchants, Mary's government was able to increase customs rates and to add commodities in a new Book of Rates. (Since this was only introduced in 1558, it was Elizabeth who benefited rather than Mary). It raised customs revenue drammatically
Also, Mary drafted plans for currency reform but they were not implemented until after her death

Last of the burnings

Nov 15, 1558

In all, about 300 people were burned during Mary’s reign. This is often viewed as being an ineffective policy, however this may not be the case. It created martyrs and gave Mary her bloody reputation (due to Elizabeth and Foxe). However, burning heretics was generally accepted as the correct punishment, the issue was that the Protestants didn't like being the heretics. Far more Protestants were burned in other countries, it may just be that in Mary's case she ran out of time, Lingard

Mary's death

Nov 17, 1558

She died as part of an influenza epidemic, which also killed Pole on the same day.
She was 42 and childless, Elizabeth succeeded her.