THE TUDORS 1485-1603

The Tudor Dynasty

Henry VII (1485 – 1509)
Henry VIII (1509 - 1547)
Edward VI (1547 – 1553)
Mary (1553 – 1558)
Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603)
 The Tudor Dynasty
Beginning of Tudors: England a second rate power
England a strongly Roman Catholic Country
Never ruled by a woman

End of Tudors: England ready to build an Empire

Anglican Church of England dominates
Gloriana: Golden Age of Elizabeth I
Henry VII
1485 – 1509
 Tudor Dynasty Ends 150 Years of War
Hundred Years War: 1337-1453
War of the Roses: 1455-1487
150 Years of War leave England weak. Loss of all territory in France

April 1483: Edward IV dies

Brother Richard: Protector of Edward V and Richard
Princes of the Tower
25 June Richard crowned King
Battle of Bosworth 22 August 1485: Henry Tudor defeats Richard III
Henry dates his reign from 21 August ??????
 Consolidation of Power

End War of the Roses

Marries Elizabeth of York

Coat of Arms: White and Red Roases

Retaining: Feudal System: Nobility retaining personal armies

Recognisance: Law of Livery -- limits size of personal armies and fines for violations.

King’s Council: Nobility prevented from attending More educated, commercially-minded

men, appointed to Star Chamber. Councils of Wales and North: extended control where
Henry lacked support.
Challengers to the Throne
Lambert Simnel: fake Earl of Warwick with claim to Throne

Crowned Edward VI in Ireland in 1486 and invades with army of Yorkists

16 June 1487: defeated at Battle of East Stoke. Pardoned by Henry

Perkin Warbeck: fake Richard of York (younger of murdered princes)

1491: acclaimed Richard IV in Ireland. 1492-95 gains support in Europe.

1495: marries into Scot royal family 1497: captured in Cornwall

1499: Plots with real Earl of Warwick in Tower and both executed.
SECURING THE COUNTRY-- FOREIGN POLICY
1489: Treaty of Medina del Campo -- son Arthur marries Catherine of Aragon

1501: marriage occurs but Arthur dies in 1502

1492: Treaty of Etaples -- Charles VIII abandons Perkins Warbeck

England had invaded France to capture Warbeck

1502: Treaty of Perpetual Peace with Scotland

James IV of Scotland marries Henry’s daughter, Margaret

1502: Great Intercourse with Netherlands: secures wool exports

 Legacy of Henry VII
● Henry VII rebuilt the royal finances by avoiding war,
promoting trade and enforcing royal taxes to the point of
ruthlessness. This meant he was able to leave a fortune to
his son, the future Henry VIII.
● Henry VII began the work of building a modern
administration. The Royal Council was reborn as the Court
of Star Chamber, set up to deal with judicial matters.
● Arrangements were made to promote better order in Wales
and the north through the creation of special councils and
more powers were entrusted to the justices of the peace.
 Legacy of Henry VII
● The combined impact of Henry VII's reforms would
increase significantly the power of the King and open the
way for medieval rule, with its local law and customs, to be
gradually supplanted by a more centralized Tudor state.
● The Theory of Divine Right, was practiced under the
Tudor dynasty.
● The theory of divine right, absolute monarchy entails
creation of a single, established church practicing a single
ceremonial and teaching a single religious belief system.
HENRY VIII -- 1509 -- 1547
Not expected to be King. Henry VII planned a career in the Church. Henry VIII
becomes focused on religion.

1509: marries Catherine, Arthur’s widow. Pope had granted dispensation.

11 October 1521: Defender of the Faith by Pope Leo X.

Thomas Wolsey: early advisor to Henry -- becomes Lord Chancellor and

Archbishop of York.

Known as “alter rex” the other King

Thomas Wolsey
Finances: Subsidies -- payments based on assessed wealth; Benevolences-- payments from nobility
to secure land and titles.

Foreign policy: make England as strong as France, Spain, and HRE.

1517:Martin Luther -- 95 Theses

1518:Treaty for Mary to marry Louis, son of Francis I of France

1519:Maximillian, HRE dies and both Henry and Francis covet position.

Charles I of Spain declared HRE

1520:Field of Gold Cloth: Henry and Francis meet in Calais. War 1523-26.
 Securing his legacy: quest for a son
1509-29: married to Catherine. 1516:Mary is born.

1529:Henry needs a son, and Catherine is too old.

Believes lack of son is a punishment from God for marrying Catherine

Instructs Thomas Wolsey to seek annulment from Pope. Papal court convened in London, but fails to
reach a decision. Clement VII controlled by HRE Charles V, Catherine’s nephew, who didn’t want
Catherine removed from English monarchy.

Wolsey blamed, and arrested for treason. He dies in 1530 before trial.

Thomas Cranmer-- Archbishop of Canterbury. Sympathetic to Protestant views. Anne becomes pregnant
in Nov. 1532. Secretly marries Henry and Anne Boleyn in Jan. 1533. Grants annulment in May 1533.
English Reformation: Cromwell and Reformation
Parliament
Move to break power of church actually starts before the Boleyn affair.

Thomas Cromwell--Protestant sympathies -- Exchequer, King’s Secretary, Lord Privy Seal

Reformation Parliament Acts: 1532: Annates-suspends payments to Rome.

1533: Restraint of Appeals-- forbids appeals to Rome (Catherine impacted).

1533: Succession-- marriage to Catherine illegal, Mary is illegitimate. Children of H-A heirs to throne.

1534: Supremacy -- Henry head of English Church

1534: Treason Act -- illegal to challenge Henry’s leadership of Church

1534: First Fruits and Tenth: financial wealth of Church secured fro Henry.
Casualties of English Reformation

Thomas More: Patron Saint of Lawyers

Monasteries: Pope cultivating Francis I and Charles V to invade England as an enemy of church.

Cromwell realizes England needs funding to defend itself. Turns to Monasteries (502 abbeys, 136
nunneries and 187 friaries). Cromwell had assisted Wolsey investigate corruption in church in 1520.

Cromwell commissions investigate corruption and wealth of monasteries as a pretext.

1536:Parliament authorizes liquidation of smaller facilities. Cromwell has broad definition of “small”

1539: Parliament authorizes liquidation of all monasteries.

Pilgrimage of Grace 1536: northern rebellion in York and Lincoln. Shocks Henry but nothing comes of it
England becomes a Protestant Country

Articles of 1536: Cranmer and Cromwell introduce limited form of Protestantism-- only 3 sacraments
recognized as holy: Baptism, penance and Eucharist -- confirmation, ordination, marriage and last rites
continue, but not holy.

English language bible. Priest can marry

Ban on display of relics, prohibited pilgrimages, destruction of tomb of Thomas Becket@Canterbury

and shrine of Virgin Mary @Walsingham.

6 Articles of 1539: Henry was really an English Catholic: believed in catholicism just didn’t obey Pope.

Commitment to catholic principles: transubstantiation, celibacy, confession, communion (priests)

1543: Kings book -- prevents reading English bible.

6 Wives of Henry VIII

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

Catherine (1509-1533) -- Mary’s mother

Anne Boleyn(1533-36) -- Elizabeth’s mother

Jane Seymour(1536-37) -- Edward’s mother-- died in childbirth

Anne of Cleves -- 1540 -- Duke of Cleves potential allie against France and Spain

Catherine Howard (1540-42) -- beheaded

Catherine Parr (1543-47) -- convinced Henry to recognize Mary and Liz (will 1546)
6 Wives of Henry VIII
Execution of Anne Boleyn
Edward VI 1547 -- 1553

Becomes king at 9. Never really ruled. Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and
Duke of Northumberland serve as Regency Council.

Entrenching Protestantism 1549

Act of Uniformity: single form of worship; anti-catholic -- English not latin.

New Prayer Book by Archbishop Cranmer: ambiguous on C/P debate

1552: Common Prayer Book and 42 Articles

Firmly establishes Protestantism

Edward VI
Who was Lady Jane Grey

Under Henry VIII’s will, Mary -- devout catholic -- was successor to Edward VII

Northumberland feared a return of a Catholic monarch, has Edward VII declare

Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate and name Lady Jane Grey (age 15) his heir.

Planned to have Grey marry his son, and have protestant heirs.

When Edward dies, Grey reluctantly called to London and proclaimed Queen

Mary triumphantly enters London 9 days later and Grey to Tower.

Execution of Lady Jane Gray
Bloody Mary (37) 1553 -- 1558 A Return to Roman Catholic Church

Determined to reverse her father and brother, and return England to the Roman Catholic Church.

Marries cousin Philip of Spain, who becomes Philip II, King of Spain. Their children will be catholic and
the monarch of both Spain and England. Mary invites him to London in 1554.

Wyatt’s Rebellion 1554: fears of England becoming Roman Catholic and a spanish vassal state. Plan
was to have Protestant Elizabeth Queen and marry a Protestant to produce Protestant heirs.

Rebellion fails: Elizabeth imprisoned. Lady Jane Grey beheaded to eliminate threats to Mary.

Mary uses this as a pretext to fully embrace the Roman Catholic Church

Turn or Burn Policy: renounce Protestant teachings or die (284) at the stake (including Thomas Cranmer)
Elizabeth I -- 1558 -- 1603 The Virgin Queen

Problems facing Elizabeth

1. Threat of Invasion: Francis II claimed his wife, Mary Queen of Scots, as

closest descendant of Henry VII, should be Queen.

2. Religious division: ping pong between Catholic and Protestant

3. Succession: was Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn legal ? If not, Liz should
not be Queen.

4. Finances: needed money to protect against invasion.

The Elizabethan Settlement 1559: Birth of the Anglican Church

Act of Supremacy: Liz becomes Supreme Governor of Church of England. NOT the head.

Liz does not believe in looking into a man’s soul; religious tolerance

Act of Uniformity: Common Prayer Book of 1552 reinstated. A moderate form of Protestantism.

1563: The 39 Articles: further move towards Protestantism

Extremists from both religions DID NOT support Settlement

Puritans: extreme Protestants that will play large role into 1600s.

Key Advisors help make Elizabeth one of the greatest English monarchs.

William Cecil -- advisor and Francis Walsingham-- protector against spies

Who was Mary Queen of Scots

Descendant of Henry VII, Queen of Scotland, Catholic, married to King of France (1558).

A credible threat to Elizabeth’s claim to the Throne of England when she returns in 1561 after Francis dies

Will become the focal point of numerous catholic plots against Elizabeth

Northern rebellion (1569): Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland want Liz to name Mary as
her successor, take control of Yorkshire and north-east of England. Defeated by Duke of Sussex. Mary
imprisoned.

Ridolfi (1571); Italian banker plots to free Mary have her marry Duke of Norfolk, and replace Liz.

Throckmorton (1583): Catholic captured with letters from Mary to Spanish ambassador for help.
Mary spared again.
Babington Plot (1586): catholic plotting to kill Liz and replace her with Mary.

Mary tried for treason and found guilty.

Elizabeth is reluctant to order execution of another queen.

8 February 1587: Mary Queen of Scots executed. Elizabeth claim death warrant was signed under
duress by Cecil.

Papal Bull of 1570: Pius V: excommunicates Liz, declares her a servant of crime and releasing English
people of allegiance to her.

Determined to undermine Liz. Cause a roll back of her religious toleration.

War with Spain

Religious rivalry: Protestant England v Catholic Spain: interfere in each other

countries religious fights.

Political rivalry: Liz establishes relationships with Spanish enemies in France,

Turks and Portugal.

Imperial rivalry: England threatens Spain in South and Central America. Sir
Francis Drake, early explorer, attacks Spain in New World,

Execution of Mary Queen of Scots provides excuse for Spain to declare war.