In March 1605 the group took out a lease on a ground-floor cellar close by the house they had rented from John Whynniard. Although most Catholics were horrified, all were tainted by the threat of treason. The discovery in July 1603 of two small Catholic plots did not help. Trying to juggle different religious demands, James was displeased at their increasing strength. This relaxation led to considerable growth in the number of visible Catholics. Upon his accession as James I of England (VI of Scotland), the new king ended recusancy fines and awarded important posts to the Earl of Northumberland and Henry Howard, another Catholic sympathiser. Percy's reports back optimistically suggested that Catholics might enjoy protection in James' England. The crypto-Catholic Earl of Northumberland sent one of his staff, Thomas Percy, to act as his agent in Scotland. His wife, Queen Anne of Denmark, was a Catholic, and James himself was making sympathetic noises. Yet rumours suggested James was more warmly disposed to Catholics than the dying Queen Elizabeth. They were forbidden to hear Mass, forced instead to attend Anglican services, with steep fines for those recusants who persistently refused. To the Tudor State, all Catholics were potential traitors. The Spanish Armada of 1588 had made matters worse. They had suffered severe persecution since 1570, when the Pope had excommunicated Elizabeth, releasing her subjects from their allegiance to her. All signs suggested her successor would be James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary Queen of Scots - the queen who had been executed in 1587 on Elizabeth's orders.Įnglish Catholics were very excited. After 45 years on the English throne, Elizabeth I was dying. Why were Catholics so bitter, and what did they hope to achieve?
Spying and shoot-outs, treachery and torture, not to mention gruesome deaths.
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