ALAMY/GETTY^ IMAGES/TOPFOTOThe Elizabethans / Timeline
1576
Martin Frobisher sets out to find
a north-west passage to the
Pacific Ocean and China. He
reaches Baffin Island, enters the
bay now named after him, and
brings back to England an Inuit man
and a piece of ore that is believed
to be gold. Lured by the promise
of riches, he sets out on a second
Arctic expedition in 1577 and a third
in 1578. He suffers disgrace when it
is discovered the ore is not gold.1579
Elizabeth’s negotiations for a
marriage with the Duke of Anjou
create a political storm. The
majority of her privy council is
against her marrying a Catholic, and
pamphlets and verse stir up public
opinion against the marriage. An
anti-Anjou pamphlet, The Discoverie
of a Gaping Gulf, is published. When
the author, John Stubbs, and
distributor, William Page, are
publicly punished – their right hands
amputated with a cleaver – the
crowd are ominously resentful.Negotiations for the marriage of
Elizabeth to the Duke of Anjou,
depicted in a 16th-century paintingEnglish Catholic
cardinal
William Allen,
who founded
a seminary in
Douai, then in
the Spanish
Netherlands,
in 1568François Dubois’ painting of the massacre in Paris of
Huguenots on St Bartholomew’s Day, 24 August 15721574
Four Catholic priests arrive
from the English seminary at
Douai in the Spanish Nether-
lands (now in northern France)
established by William Allen in
1568 to train missionary priests.
Though their purpose is
ostensibly to administer the
sacraments to Catholics, the
government believes them to be
seditious, and their arrival stokes
fears of a Catholic threat.1571
Anglo-Spanish
relations deteriorate
further when Cecil
uncovers a plot
involving the Spanish
ambassador,
Norfolk, Mary and a
Florentine merchant
named Roberto
Ridolfi. The plotters
aim to use Spanish
troops and
Catholic rebels to
depose Elizabeth
in favour of Mary.
The revelation
stokes anti-Catholic
sentiment, and
parliament calls for
the execution of
Norfolk and Mary.
Elizabeth protects
Mary, but Norfolk is
executed the
following year.1572
As protection against Spain, in April Elizabeth signs
a defensive treaty with France, but the entente is put
in jeopardy when the French royal family is involved in
the massacre of Huguenots on St Bartholomew’s Day.Martin Frobisher
and his men battle Inuit
in a painting of 1577