WI: England reverted to Catholicism after Henry VIII?

So the POD here is that Mary Tudor reigns for significantly longer than IOTL, meaning that English Catholicism has longer to get itself re-established and that consequently England remains Catholic after her death. How would history pan out differently in such a scenario? I'm particularly interested in the nation's culture and politics: presumably these would differ from IOTL, although I'm not sure by how much. Would we still see the rise of Parliamentary democracy in such a situation? How would the country view the rest of Europe, if it still followed the same religion as most of the continent? And, assuming that England still colonised the eastern seaboard of America, would we see anything like OTL's American Revolution and United States of America?
 
I don't know enough to predict what would be the exact future of this Catholic England. Presumably Scotland is still Protestant?

I imagine Ireland would be much more closely linked to England, more happily too.

My main point would be in regards to the USA question though - it's impossible to know exactly how things would go with that, but it'd definitely be far from OTL. Think about how Brazil or Peru or Argentina got independence, all from Catholic masters.

In fact, I imagine that, assuming Philip still ends up as king of England, any English colonies in the New World would be transferred to Spain, since Spain saw it as their God-given right to colonize the New World.
 
In fact, I imagine that, assuming Philip still ends up as king of England, any English colonies in the New World would be transferred to Spain, since Spain saw it as their God-given right to colonize the New World.

Well, England didn't have any colony in the Americas during Philip's life, so it wouldn't be an issue here. :)

But even if the English had colonial territories, it wouldn't mean they would go to Spain. Portugal was during 60 years under an union of crowns with Habsburg Spain, but all the colonies remained under Portuguese control during this period (only Ceuta sided with the Spanish in 1640).
 
Well, England didn't have any colony in the Americas during Philip's life, so it wouldn't be an issue here. :)

But even if the English had colonial territories, it wouldn't mean they would go to Spain. Portugal was during 60 years under an union of crowns with Habsburg Spain, but all the colonies remained under Portuguese control during this period (only Ceuta sided with the Spanish in 1640).

Woops, I thought Bermuda belonged to the British in the 16th century but it was 1612, my mistake.

But Portugal's colonies in the New World were granted by a Papal bull, whilst England's (future) colonies were of course not, and so in the eyes of the Spanish, surely they'd be illegitimate?
 
I don't know enough to predict what would be the exact future of this Catholic England. Presumably Scotland is still Protestant?

I imagine Ireland would be much more closely linked to England, more happily too.

My main point would be in regards to the USA question though - it's impossible to know exactly how things would go with that, but it'd definitely be far from OTL. Think about how Brazil or Peru or Argentina got independence, all from Catholic masters.

In fact, I imagine that, assuming Philip still ends up as king of England, any English colonies in the New World would be transferred to Spain, since Spain saw it as their God-given right to colonize the New World.

In re: Scotland, IOTL Elizabeth sent troops north to support the Protestants, which helped to tip the scales in their favour. Assuming a still-regnant Mary would send troops to help the Catholics instead, we might see Scotland remain part of the Catholic fold.

I seem to recall that IOTL the marriage treaty between Mary and Philip contained a clause stating that England was to remain legally separate and independent from Spain, so colony transfer probably wouldn't have been on the table. Not that it would have made much difference, IMHO: English colonialism didn't really get going in the New World until the 17th century, by which time Mary and Philip would both be dead and the union between the countries would have been dissolved anyway.
 
By the time Henry VIII died and Edward took the throne, there were just too many protestants :)) if you include Anglicans) for the clock to be rolled back.

Could you have a Catholic monarch, and a nominally Catholic nation? Maybe. But there had darned well be tolerance for Protestantism or the whole country's going to go down the tubes. The merchant class was largely protestant, for instance, and a massive persecution of protestants would destroy Britain's economy, certainly for generations.

OTL, the aristocracy who remained RC (like the Dukes of Norfolk) were not executed or anything, although they were watched closely.

That sort of tolerance (for protestants) would be an absolute minimum needed if an RC England were to survive.
 
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