Henry VII

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As a king, Henry VII was known for his love of money and
lack of interest in military glory. His successful foreign
policy was based on staying friends with everyone,
renouncing ambitions on the Continent, and even avoiding
to meddle in Scotland. He has reinforced the ties next year
by the marriage of Henry’s daughter Margaret (1489–1541)
to James IV, a marriage that after a century would bring a
Scottish dynasty to the English throne.
 Henry VII
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Henry VII reasserted domestic royal power, which had weakened in the
15th century. He inaugurated a long and eventually successful struggle
against “over-mighty” magnates who employed private armies and
gangs of followers in uniform.
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He also began to change the English relationship with Wales. On his
landing from France, Henry had appealed for Welsh support with
promises to redress their grievances. He employed Welshmen in his
administration; named his eldest son Arthur, and created a council for
Wales.
 Henry VII
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As the authority of the law had been almost completely
destroyed by the lawless behaviour of nobles and their
armed men, Henry VII used the "Court of Star Chamber",
traditionally the king's council chamber, to deal with lawless
nobles. Local justice that had broken down during the wars
slowly began to operate again . Henry encouraged the use
of heavy fines as punishment because this gave the Crown
money.
 Henry VII
Henry was unusually interested in financial transactions, inspecting
books and receiving cash, highly unusual behavior in a medieval or
early modern king. He did not increase taxes, which would have
involved calling Parliament, but strictly enforced routine duties.

He set up a more efficient system of handling the king’s guardianship

of the districts of feudal tenants who had died leaving children who
were still minors.
 Henry VII
He also made extensive use of forced loans, requiring
wealthy Englishmen to lend money to the king. These loans
were referred to euphemistically as benevolences. Henry’s
materialism was unpopular and considered unkingly. There
was a popular story that he repented his greediness on his
deathbed. Henry actually died leaving a surplus in the
treasury.
 Henry VIII becomes king
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The 17-year-old Henry VIII succeeds to the throne on the
death of his father, Henry VII. His older brother Arthur had
died seven years earlier.
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The Pope gives a special dispensation for the young king to
marry his late brother’s wife Catherine of Aragon. Three
years later Henry invades France in pursuit of an ancient
claim to the throne. He is aided and supported by his advisor
Thomas Wolsey, whom he appoints Lord Chancellor in 1514.
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In the first years of his reign Henry VIII effectively relied on
Thomas Wolsey to rule for him, and by 1515 Henry had
elevated him to the highest role in government: Lord
Chancellor.
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In 1521 Pope Leo X conferred the title of Defender of the Faith
(Fidei Defensor) on Henry for his book 'Assertio Septem
Sacramentorum', which affirmed the supremacy of the Pope in
the face of the reforming ideals of the German theologian,
Martin Luther.
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Henry VIII's early military campaigns began when he joined
Pope Julius II's Holy League against France in 1511.
Wolsey proved himself to be an outstanding minister in his
organisation of the first French campaign and while the
Scots saw this war as an opportunity to invade England,
they were defeated at Flodden in 1513. However war with
France ultimately proved expensive and unsuccessful.
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Henry VIII is known as the «father of the Royal
Navy.» When he became king there were five royal
warships. By his death he had built up a navy of
around 50 ships. He refitted several vessels with the
latest guns including the Mary Rose, which sank in
1545.
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Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at
Portsmouth and in 1546 he established the Navy
Board. This set up the administrative machinery for
the control of the fleet.
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After Wolsey's downfall, Thomas Cromwell became
Henry's chief minister and earned the confidence of the
King by helping him to break with Rome and establish
Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. This act also
brought him much needed wealth through the dissolution
of the well-funded monasteries. Over four years Cromwell
ordered that 800 monasteries be disbanded and their
lands and treasures taken for the crown.
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The cultural and social impact was significant,
as much of the land was sold to the gentry and
churches and monasteries were gutted and
destroyed. Henry's personal religious beliefs
remained Catholic, despite the growing
number of people at court and in the nation
who had adopted Protestantism.
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This was achieved through The Act of
Supremacy (1534) which confirmed the
break from Rome, declaring Henry to be
the Supreme Head of the Church of
England.
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Catherine of Aragon
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Married Henry: June 1509
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Ages: Henry was 17; Catherine was 23
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How they met: Catherine, Henry’s first wife, was the
widow of his brother Arthur. Henry married her partly out
of a sense of duty and partly for political reasons
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Children: Mary, born 1516
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How did the marriage end? Henry divorced her – the
marriage was annulled in 1533 by the Archbishop of
Canterbury. Catherine fought him all the way.
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Anne Boleyn
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Married Henry: January 1533
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Ages: Henry was 41; Anne was about 32
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How they met: Anne, Henry’s second wife, was originally
maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon. Her sister Mary
was also one of Henry’s mistresses. Henry divorced
Catherine to be with Anne
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Children: Elizabeth, born 1533
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How did the marriage end? Anne was beheaded in
1536
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Jane Seymour
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Married Henry: May 1536
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Ages: Henry was 44; Jane was about 27
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How they met: Jane was a maid of honour to Catherine of
Aragon and Anne Boleyn, although Henry may have noticed
his third wife-to-be whilst visiting the Seymour family. They
were betrothed the day after Anne’s execution in 1536
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Children: Edward, born 1537
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How did the marriage end? Jane died 12 days after the birth
of their son
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Anne of Cleves
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Married Henry: January 1540
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Ages: Henry was 48; Anne was 24
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How they met: Henry’s fourth marriage was a political
arrangement. He was looking to strengthen his alliances
with the German Protestant powers against Catholic
France and Spain
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Children: None
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How did the marriage end? It was annulled after seven
months
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Catherine Howard
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Married Henry: July 1540
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Ages: Henry was 49; Catherine was about 19
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How they met: Catherine was Anne of Cleves’ maid of
honour and she quickly attracted the king’s attention. She
became wife number five soon after Henry’s marriage to
Anne was annulled
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Children: None
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How did the marriage end? Catherine was beheaded in
1542
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Catherine Parr
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Married Henry: July 1543
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Ages: Henry was 52; Catherine was about 30
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How they met: Catherine was a widow who caught
Henry’s eye when she joined his daughter Mary’s
household. She was his sixth and final wife
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Children: None
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How did the marriage end? Henry died in 1547, leaving
Catherine a widow once again. She went on to marry Sir
Thomas Seymour six months later.
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England becomes Protestant under
Edward VI
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Henry dies and his son Edward, aged
nine, becomes king. Edward’s uncle
Edward Seymour seizes power by
establishing himself as protector.
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In order to make England a truly
Protestant state, the Book of Common
Prayer is introduced and religious
imagery in churches is destroyed.
Seymour is arrested and later executed
after he fails to solve England's near
bankruptcy. The king dies aged fifteen,
never ruling in his own right. The cause of
his death is not certain.
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In 1553, Edward’s half-sister Mary takes
the throne, after a power struggle with
Edward’s advisers who want his cousin
Lady Jane Grey to be queen.
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At first Mary I enjoys widespread popular
support. But many oppose her decision to
marry Catholic Phillip II of Spain and reconcile
with Rome. She attempts to take England back
to Catholicism. During her reign nearly 300
Protestants are burned for refusing to
reconvert, earning her the nickname «Bloody
Mary».
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In 1558, when Mary dies, her Protestant half-sister
Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn, becomes queen.
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Elizabeth returns England to Protestantism, but she
does not enforce strict religious conformity and
declares she does not want to ‘make windows into
men’s souls’. Elizabeth chooses never to marry as
she wants England free from the influence of foreign
princes and the dissent and infighting a marriage to a
fellow countryman might bring.
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The old aristocracy lost most of its wealth
and power in the Wars of the Roses, so
Henry VIII in the 16 th century, began
giving titles to people from the middle
class, making the new aristocracy, faithful
to the king above all else.
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The middle class was growing richer and
more powerful. The communications
revolution, started with the printing press,
resulted in the fact that in 1600 nearly
half of the population had some kind of
minimal literacy.
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The spirit of the Renaissance began to
show in England. The rising middle class
had access to education, could read and
write in their mother tongue, instead of
Latin, and was becoming aware of
endless possibilities for wealth and
success that lay in trade and the New
World.
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In the 1530s, Henry VIII broke with
Rome. So in the 16th century, there
happened 3 influential historical
developments: the Renaissance, the
Reformation, and the emergence of
England as a maritime power.
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The reign of Elizabeth I was also a
turbulent period, but she successfully
coped with all the difficulties. England
was threatened by the superpowers of
the age – France and Spain. Elizabeth
was excommunicated by the Pope in
1570. She was in constant fear for her
life.
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Nevertheless, English ships beat the Spanish
Armada in 1588. Elizabeth managed to
maintain a relative peace between the
protestants and the Catholics. She tried to
unite her people, by insisting that they are all
English. This worked well most of the time,
and the people developed a sense of national
pride.
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Elizabeth looks beyond Europe for opportunities
to expand trade and increase the nation’s wealth.
Her reign sees many voyages of discovery.
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In 1580 Francis Drake becomes the first
Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. In 1585
Sir Walter Raleigh sets up a colony of about 100
men on the east coast of North America, which he
names Virginia after Elizabeth I, ‘the Virgin
Queen’.
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England also began selling West African
slaves to work for the Spanish in America.
John Hawkins carried his first slave cargo in
1562. By 1650 slavery had become an
important trade, bringing wealth particularly to
Bristol in southwest England. It took until the
end of the 18th century for this trade to be
ended.
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During Elizabeth's reign "chartered"
companies were established. A "charter" gave
a company the right to all the business in its
particular trade or region. In return for this
important advantage the chartered company
gave some of its profits to the Crown.
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A number of these companies were established during
Elizabeth's reign:
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the Eastland Company to trade with Scandinavia and
the Baltic in 1579;
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the Levant Company to trade with the Ottoman Empire
in 1581;
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the Africa Company to trade in slaves, in 1588;
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and the East India Company to trade with India in 1600.
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Only two things persuaded Tudor monarchs not
to get rid of Parliament altogether: they needed
money and they needed the support of the
merchants and landowners.
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In 1566 Queen Elizabeth told the French
ambassador that the three parliaments she had
already held were enough for any reign and she
would have no more.
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Until the end of the Tudor period
Parliament was supposed to do three
things: (1) agree to the taxes needed;
(2) make the laws which the Crown
suggested; (3) advise the Crown , but
only when asked to do so.
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In order for Parliament to be able to do
these things, MPs were given important
rights: freedom of speech (that is
freedom to speak their thoughts freely
without fear), freedom from fear of
arrest, and freedom to meet and speak
to the monarch.
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When the parliament refused to give money Elizabeth I had
to find new resources. She sold "monopolies", which gave a
particular person or company total control over a trade.
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In 1601, the last parliament of Elizabeth's reign complained
to her about the bad effect on free trade that these
monopolies had .
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She and her chief adviser, Lord Burghley, sold official
positions in government. Burghley was paid about £860 a
year, but he actually made at least £4,000 by selling official
positions.
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Elizabeth's Catholic cousin Mary, Queen
of Scots is under house arrest in Chartley
Hall, Stafford as she poses a threat to
Elizabeth. Elizabeth builds up an
extensive network of spies headed by
Francis Walsingham to help protect her.
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He accuses Mary in a plot to depose
Elizabeth and she is tried and convicted
of treason. Elizabeth is reluctant to
execute her cousin. After months of
thinking, she finally has Mary beheaded
at Fotheringhay Castle.
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Elizabeth I dies aged 69. Known forever as
'the Virgin Queen', she remains unmarried and
childless until the end.
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In her final years Elizabeth's reign is beset by
problems in Ireland and her failing health.
However, the mourning which follows her
death is unprecedented.
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Many ordinary Londoners take to the streets to
watch Elizabeth’s journey to her final resting
place in Westminster Abbey. As Elizabeth
leaves no direct Tudor heir, James VI of
Scotland – the son of Mary, Queen of Scots –
is named king. The Tudor dynasty that has
ruled England for 118 years comes to an end.