Eliz. Naval Expeditions , &c of the English, Book
Camden.
Rapin.
L- Mary'rDeath con-cealed.
The Resolu-tion of bothHouses ofF aril ame fit.
Queen Eli-zabeth pro-claimed,
*SS 9 -
And crown-ed.
fntroduSlionto Camden.
and the Liberties of England, she wassucceeded by that glorious Princess,Queen Elizabeth.
The late Queen’s Counsellors andMinisters were all of the Roman Catho-lics Religion, and had advised, or atleast approved, the Persecution whichthe Protestants so lately groaned under.They knew the Tendency of Elizabeth,and concluded, if she came to the Crown,theProtestants would, in all Probability,govern in their Turn. They, therefore,concealed Mary's Death for some Hours,which they spent in consulting whatwas best to be done. The Result oftheir Consultation was, however, nomore, than, as the Parliament was thenfitting, a Message to inform that AugustAssembly of the Queen’s Death. TheHouse or Lords, to whom the Messagewas sent, after some Debates, and weigh-ing the Rights of the several Pretendersto the Crown, declared for Elizabeth.The greatest Difficulty was there, as inthe Council, her Religion : But theybelieved she would not find it easy,should she attempt it, to change theestablished Religion: And, besides,the Bishops especially thought her of aTemper so complying, that she wouldrather conform to the Romish Rites,than hazard Disturbances that might befatal to her. (a) The House of Lords,having thus declared for Elizabeth, sentfor the Commons, and the Chancellour,having acquainted them with the Queen’sDeath, and the Resolution os thatHouse, they readily and unanimouslyconcurred in the same Resolution. TheQu,een was thereupon proclaimed thesame Day, in the usual Places.
Elizabeth, being informed of theResolution of both Houses in her Fa-vour, left Hatjield on the nineteenth ofNovember, and came to London. She cal-led a Parliament to meet the three andtwentieth of January, made her Pub-lick Entry, thro’ London, on the four-teenth (b) and was crowned the fifteenthof that Month, (c) The Alterations theQueen made in her Council and Mini-stry ; the Steps she took from the very
(a) If we may give Credit to Camden ,Elizabeth made no Scruple to declare herself 3 .Catbolick, during the Reign of her Sister. “ The" Lady Elizabeth , (says this Author) now guid-" ing herself as a Ship in tempestuous Weather," both heard Divine Service after the Romi/h“ Manner, and was frequently confeffed, and at" the pressing Instances and Menaces of Cardinal
Beginning of her Reign towards reviv- 1 $ 59 'ing and prorrioting the Reformation ; theTransactions of this first Parliament;
Philip, King of Spain's asking the Queen , ^in Marriage, and her Kefufab,Elizabeth'sTreaties with France and Scotland, and p .*505,^^other Concerns, she had with those two and,51 6 -Kingdoms, as well as with Spain andIreland, being all Events foreign tomy Purpose, I pass them by ; And shallonly observe, that the Treaties withFrance and Scotland subsisted but a veryshort Time, and Queen Elizabeth soonfound herself under a Necessity of tak-ing a Resolution to support the Prote-stants in Scotland, and to deliver themfroqi the Oppressions of the French.
As a Proof of this Necessity is a ma-terial Point towards a right Understand-ing of the History of this Queen’s Reign,and as it was upon the Knowledge shehad of the Designs contriving against herRepose, that she formed her Conduct,the Testimony of this Truth, even froma French Historian, who cannot be sus-pected of speaking in her Favour, maynot be amiss. " I took Notice, (fays . <
" F. D miel) that before the Breaking F '
" out of the Conspiracy of Amboise,
" John du Barri , Lord of la Renaudie,
" had been sent by the Admiral intoF-ngland, to engage Queen Elizabethto favour the Revolt of the Calvinislsin France, by making a Diversion inScotland-, And she was too well ac-quainted with her own Interest,not toembrace so favourable an Opportu-nity of stirring up and fomenting aCivil War in the two Kingdoms. Tho’she had been very sollicitous to keepunder the Catholicks of her ownKingdom, she was ever in Fear, thata Party was forming against her inFavour of the Queen of France, whopretended an hereditary Right to theCrown of England, and had quarter-ed the English Arms with those ofScotland, when she was only Queen-Hauphinefs ; And if France and Scot-land had remained in Tranquility,
England was in Peril of being invadedfrom two Quarters, at one and the
" fame
F Pof-> thro’ pear of Death, a Roman Catho-,“ lick.
.(f
{b) Stow fays the fourteenth, and Holinfhead Stos' n.,the five and twentieth, but the Faedera shew it ,was on the fifteenth.
(e) See a particular Account of the Queen's dertn ,solemn and magnificent Entry thro' the City in p. 4P*Holinfhead, r