The Burden of War: operations and developments, 1558–c.1572

Abstract

Elizabeth I came to the throne in November 1558 accompanied by a bow-wave of adulation and relief, but her realm remained demoralised by the effects of war and anxious about the prospects of further conflict. Although fighting had been suspended and peace talks had begun, England was still technically at war with France. Its relationship with Philip II of Spain — the realm’s king-consort until Mary’s death and sovereign of a vast agglomeration of Habsburg territories in Spain, Italy, the Low Countries and the New World — was also distinctly uncertain. It was a sign of how far English perspectives had changed since the giddy optimism of 1544 that one observer likened the kingdom and its unmarried new queen to ‘a bone thrown between two dogs’ — the object of contention between western Europe’s two superpowers whose ultimate reward would be the toothy embrace of the victor.¹ In fact, this may have exaggerated England’s importance, especially to Philip, who had more urgent concerns in the Mediterranean. The most immediate danger to England emanated from France, which retained its hold on Scotland and had a direct interest in Elizabeth’s crown after Mary Queen of Scots — Elizabeth’s cousin and heir apparent — married Henri II’s heir, Francis, in April 1558. If Elizabeth died or was toppled from power, France now had both motive and means to intervene.