During the period between the death of Henry VIII and the point, under Elizabeth, at which Protestantism became well established in both Guernsey and Jersey, the islands became a focus for intrigue and plotting. The mid-Tudor polity was, of course, affected by divisions over religion. This was seen in the islands, not simply as a reflection of a larger struggle in England, but as a manifestation of political and religious issues that were international and involved still open issues of allegiance, whether to England, France or Normandy.

In many ways, the islands were at the vanguard of wider Protestant and Catholic ambitions (the emergence of Presbyterianism being one example). This is seen most acutely in this period in the impact of the accession of Elizabeth and initial enthusiasm for the alliance with Protestantism on the continent evident in the Newhaven expedition in 1562–63. These developments produced pressures to regularise political and religious relationships, including attempts to finalise the association of the islands with the diocese of Winchester in 1569. These are too often caricatured as centralisation – in fact, they helped formalise local arrangements which ensured the continuation of insular custom, closing down some of the potential routes to central control and uniformity that had started to open under Henry VIII and helping nurture the confidence of the local political elite.

Cliff Davies has argued that the establishment of Protestantism in the islands was natural given the influence of émigré Huguenot ministers and laypeople who shared so much of the culture of those amongst whom they sought refuge.