Of course, it’s rather . . .interesting. . .that Robert Cecil knew so much about the plot so early. . .
Especially when one considers that James himself was sympathetic to Catholics in the early part of his reign.
But Cecil was afraid that if James advocated any type of Catholic toleration that his own personal fortune and power might ultimately suffer. After all, France had by this time achieved a ‘balance’ with its Hugenots which would last another 70 years. Spain was not about to send another Armada so there was no threat of invasion. Germany had likewise achieved balance with Catholic south and Protestant north.
England was still at least half Catholic at the turn of the 17th century. If not for this. . .timely. . .‘proof’ of the evil popish empire, James may well have come around to Catholicism himself (as later his grandsons, Charles and James the 2nd and 7th, did) and England would not have suffered a bloody Civil War among other evils. Europe would have become mostly Catholic by the end of the 17th century, and possibly as a unified entity would have been able to achieve unity with the Orthodox as well. The Muslim empire might have finally been totally defeated. Many bloody wars, including those of the 20th century, might never have been fought.
But we’ll never know.
