Dbq Sample Essay

It can be argued that Mary’s rightful claim to the throne was on some levels a more important factor to religion, in determining whether people supported her or Lady Jane as their future queen, because of the sense of continuity, between the conflict which triggered the start of recent war of the roses, and the situation of the succession crisis in 1553. This similarity means that the memory of the brutal civil war would not only be very present during the decision-making process, but also the ‘solution’ to this conflict- social unity/ loyalty unto the ‘true’ monarch, would also be in recent memory. This means that Mary’s claim would gain in popularity above Jane’s due to her being legally recognised by the previous king Henry VIII as the legitimate heir, causing the ‘commons’ to side with her,
even if holding firmly protestant beliefs, as a desperate measure to avoid an extended violent conflict. Where religious belief had caused a state of schism, or a country deeply divided in opinion, a common uniting factor between all people must have been an urgency to protect the social and economic infrastructure of the nation, from being absolutely crippled due to civil war, therefore this is a more important factor in determining whether people supported Mary or Jane than religion because the urgency to uphold ‘civil peace’ must have been shared amongst all, this having precedence would have overridden any religious barriers between people, and predictably result in a diverse following of Mary.
Therefore as Source D implies, the violent response from Jane Grey’s party (Northumberland) to Mary’s ‘army’ must have increased anxieties further, as this fear would have seen to become a reality, and antagonised Jane Grey and her followers further also: “He (Northumberland) has raised a force against the Queen and is hated by the commons for doing so”. The comment on the feelings of the “commons” seems absurd from the author- Lady Jane Grey herself, because it was seen to be improper for a leader or a person of a high status to be concerned with the welfare of the ‘common
people’. This means that as the collective hatred of the people was strong enough to cause government to change dramatically, “(Northumberland) had undergone a sudden conversion”, then popular opinion must be an issue of high concern in government, as to secure a large support from the people, was to almost automatically secure the persons accession. Therefore Mary’s right to the throne is more important on some levels than religion, in a factor to determine whether people supported Lady Mary or Jane, because where religion is hinted as a controversial obstacle to Mary’s accession which must have divided popular opinion, “I did not love Catholicism” (Source B), it cannot be seen as a reason for her ultimate reign, but rather the shared conviction to preserve the nation from collapse by civil war.