Wyatt’s Rebellion
Causes of the Rebellion:
- Wyatt’s revolt, spring 1554, followed the announcement of Mary’s marriage treaty to Philip
- Didn’t want Mary to marry a foreigner
- Fear the Government would be taken over by a foreigner and English interests would become
subservient to those of Spain
- Some took part because of religious reasons as they did not want a Catholic restoration
- Economic hardships in Kent due to the decline in cloth trade made people less tolerant
- Younger gentry feared that Philip’s presence at court might adversely affect their career
opportunities
- Some wanted to depose Mary and have a Protestant succession
What were the motives behind the rebellion?
- Some gentry discussed the possibility of engineering a Protestant succession; Mary would be
deposed, Courtenay would marry Elizabeth
- People were worried that a Anglo-Spanish alliance would not be in English interests
What failures were there?
- Didn’t get enough support
- Renard, Spanish ambassador got wind of the rebellion from the nobility at court and Courtenay
was made to confess all he knew
How do you view Mary’s reaction?
Considering that Wyatt managed to raise 2,500 troops in Kent and only 90 people were executed
shows that she was dealing with it as diplomatically as she could. It would have been a chance to
get rid of her sister for allegedly being part of the rebellion, however Mary found Elizabeth to be
innocent.
Overall how dangerous do you think the rebellion was?
It was fairly dangerous in the sense that troops were raised and suggested potential violence.
However, those who were participating in the rebellion because they did not want an Anglo-
Spanish alliance were not dangerous in terms of taking the life of the monarch. They were trying to
air their grievances not depose the queen. Nonetheless, there were some rebels like Courtenay
who were using the rebellion to raise support for deposing the queen for a Protestant succession,
which would have been a danger to Mary.
What impact did Philip have on English affairs between 1553 and 1558?
He did not have a direct influence over the government and he could not use his sovereign powers.
however, his presence in England caused fear amongst the English people that their interests
would become subordinate to that of Spain. In essence, their marriage did have an impact on
English affairs as Mary was persuaded into involving England in the Habsburg-Valois war. Not only
did it cause the loss of Calais but showed that Philip was not protecting English interests, as he did
not try to regain Calais for Mary.
Causes of the Rebellion:
- Wyatt’s revolt, spring 1554, followed the announcement of Mary’s marriage treaty to Philip
- Didn’t want Mary to marry a foreigner
- Fear the Government would be taken over by a foreigner and English interests would become
subservient to those of Spain
- Some took part because of religious reasons as they did not want a Catholic restoration
- Economic hardships in Kent due to the decline in cloth trade made people less tolerant
- Younger gentry feared that Philip’s presence at court might adversely affect their career
opportunities
- Some wanted to depose Mary and have a Protestant succession
What were the motives behind the rebellion?
- Some gentry discussed the possibility of engineering a Protestant succession; Mary would be
deposed, Courtenay would marry Elizabeth
- People were worried that a Anglo-Spanish alliance would not be in English interests
What failures were there?
- Didn’t get enough support
- Renard, Spanish ambassador got wind of the rebellion from the nobility at court and Courtenay
was made to confess all he knew
How do you view Mary’s reaction?
Considering that Wyatt managed to raise 2,500 troops in Kent and only 90 people were executed
shows that she was dealing with it as diplomatically as she could. It would have been a chance to
get rid of her sister for allegedly being part of the rebellion, however Mary found Elizabeth to be
innocent.
Overall how dangerous do you think the rebellion was?
It was fairly dangerous in the sense that troops were raised and suggested potential violence.
However, those who were participating in the rebellion because they did not want an Anglo-
Spanish alliance were not dangerous in terms of taking the life of the monarch. They were trying to
air their grievances not depose the queen. Nonetheless, there were some rebels like Courtenay
who were using the rebellion to raise support for deposing the queen for a Protestant succession,
which would have been a danger to Mary.
What impact did Philip have on English affairs between 1553 and 1558?
He did not have a direct influence over the government and he could not use his sovereign powers.
however, his presence in England caused fear amongst the English people that their interests
would become subordinate to that of Spain. In essence, their marriage did have an impact on
English affairs as Mary was persuaded into involving England in the Habsburg-Valois war. Not only
did it cause the loss of Calais but showed that Philip was not protecting English interests, as he did
not try to regain Calais for Mary.
