The Duchess of Parma, writing to Philip II. in 1567, informed him
that in a few days above 100,000 men had already left the country
with their money and goods, and that more were following every
day. They fled to Germany, to Holland, and above all to England,
which they hailed as Asylum Christi. The emigrants settled in
the decayed cities and towns of Canterbury, Norwich, Sandwich,
Colchester, Maidstone, Southampton, and many other places, where
they carried on their manufactures of woollen, linen, and silk,
and established many new branches of industry.[10]
Five years later, in 1572, the massacre of St. Bartholomew took
place in France, during which the Roman Catholic Bishop Perefixe
alleges that 100,000 persons were put to death because of their
religions opinions. All this persecution, carried on so near the
English shores, rapidly increased the number of foreign fugitives
into England, which was followed by the rapid advancement of the
industrial arts in this country.
The asylum which Queen Elizabeth gave to the persecuted
foreigners brought down upon her the hatred of Philip II. and
Charles IX. When they found that they could not prevent her
furnishing them with an asylum, they proceeded to compass her
death. She was excommunicated by the Pope, and Vitelli was hired
to assassinate her. Philip also proceeded to prepare the Sacred
Armada for the subjugation of the English nation, and he was
master of the most powerful army and navy in the world.
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