FROM THE TUDOR PERIOD TO THE END OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

Exercise:

1.- Complete this table

THE RULER OR PERIOD IMPORTANT EVENTS

1. Henry VII (1485-1509) The absolute monarchy is established. Trade, manufacturing and
overseas expeditions are encouraged
2. Henry VIII The power of the feudal period that hampered the development of
parliamentary government was removed and Henry VIII was
acknowledged Head of the Church of England.
3. Elizabeth I With the Elizabethan Settlement, the English church became the
official Church of England and its doctrine was clearly formulated.
4. Charles I Charles´s policy dissolved Parliament because of necessity for
money. Then, he recall the parliament, but each time he did so, he
quarreled with it.
5. 1649-1654 /1654-1659 The Commonwealth and the Protectorate are established.
6. 1660-1714 The restoration of the monarchy and the end of the Stuart era.
7. 1714-1815 The wars with France, the building of a colonial empire and the
Industrial Revolution.

2. What helped Henry VII to create an absolute monarchy, and why can it be called
“absolutism by consent”?

When the war of roses happened, this event helped Henry VII to create the absolute monarchy
because many of the old nobility had died or been defeated in the recent wars. This meant that
Henry had more power and more money than earlier kings. And from the upper middle class the
new noblemen were entrusted with state offices, especially in the Privy Council, the predecessor of
the modern Cabinet, and in the prerogative courts Henry had set up.

3. What were the chief economic problems of 16th-century England?

The galloping inflation aggravated by a rise in population and the Vagrancy resulting from
intensified enclosures.

4. What led to:

a. the 17th-century civil war in England, and what was its main issue?
b. the “Glorious Revolution”, and why was it important for England?

5. What helped Britain to become a great world power at the beginning of the 19th century?
In which spheres did it lead the world?

With the industrial revolution , ninereenth-centurv Britain was the "workshop" of the world after
that, until the last quarter of the century British factories were producing more than any other
country in the world.

6. How did the Cabinet government develop?

7. How and when was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland formed?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707, by the Union of Scotland and England.
Ireland was treated as a cruelly exploited colony after William defeated James II at the Battle of the
Boyne in 1690; in 1800, it was incorporated into the UK of Great Britain and Ireland.
8. What was the character of:
a. the 17th-century Commonwealth and Protectorate?
b. the Tory and Whig factions in 17th-century Parliament?
c. the Industrial Revolution?

9. What were the consequences of:

a. the defeat of the Spanish Armada?
b. the Industrial Revolution?

10. Questions for reflection:

a. Who do you think sat in the Privy Council?
b. Why did Cromwell’s regime collapse after his death?
c. How do you think the 17th-century Tory and Whig factions differed from modern political
parties?