- Throckmorton Plot
The Throckmorton Plot was an attempt by Catholics in 1582 to murder
Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary Stuart. The plot is named after the key conspirator, SirFrancis Throckmorton , who confessed to the plot under torture.Aims
The key aim was the assassination of Elizabeth I. The Catholics wished to free
Mary Queen of Scots who, at that time, was under house arrest in England and place her on the throne of England to restore Catholicism. This assassination and installation of Mary Stuart as Queen was designed to coincide with an invasion of England led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, financed by Spain and the Pope, and a revolt of the Catholics in the country, involving both the Jesuits and William Allen.Sir Francis Throckmorton was a Spanish ambassador. He was arrested as a go-between Mary and Mendoza. What he wanted was Mary Queen of Scots to be put back on the Scottish throne and also be put on the English throne (as Elizabeth's cousin, she was her heir). With help from his foreign troops, part of Throckmorton’s plot was to use Henri Duc De Guise's French troops to invade England.
Events
The plot was unsuccessful. After discovering incriminating evidence in his house,
Francis Walsingham tortured Throckmorton into a confession.Result
The plot itself resulted in the creation of the
Bond of Association , a document drafted byFrancis Walsingham andWilliam Cecil ,Lord Burghley , which obliged all signatories to execute anyone who attempted to usurp the throne or assassinate (successfully or not) Elizabeth.Punishment
Thorckmorton was convicted of high treason and executed in 1584.
References
cite book
last = O'Day
first = Rosemary
title = The Tudor Age
publisher = Longman Group Limited
date = 1995
location = Englandcite book
last = Warren
first = John
title = Elizabeth I: Religion and Foreign Affairs
publisher = Hodder Murray
date = 2002
location = Singaporecite book
last = Lotherington
first = John (ed.)
title = The Tudor Years
publisher = Hodder and Stoughton
date = 1994
ISBN = 0-340-53794-9
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