The Tudor Kings
Historical Note
THE most momentous result of the Wars of the Roses was
the destruction of the old nobility and the great
increase in the power of the Crown, which grew so
wealthy on the plunder of confiscated estates that
Parliament could safely be ignored. This condition of
affairs enabled the Tudor monarchs to turn the English
sovereignty into a despotism that endured for a
century.
Henry VII (1485-1509), the first of the Tudors,
strengthened his claim to the throne by marrying
Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV; and thus
united the two Houses of York and Lancaster. He passed
many useful laws, promoted commerce and industry, and
lessened the power of the nobles. He was succeeded by
Henry VIII (1509-1547), and never did prince ascend the
throne under more favorable circumstances. He was
eighteen years of age, handsome, accomplished, and
beloved by his people. He developed, however, into a
merciless tyrant; but Parliament and people submitted
to the powerful Tudor will with hardly a protest. The
most important event of his reign was the separation of
England from the Church of Rome, a separation
occasioned by the refusal of the Pope, Clement VII, to
annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, aunt of
the Emperor Charles V of Spain. By the Act of
Supremacy, passed by Parliament in 1534, the king was
made the "Protector and only Supreme Head" of the
Church of England. Soon after the monasteries were
suppressed and their wide domains scattered among the
king's favorites, creating a new aristocracy.
One notable characteristic of the eighth Henry was his
variability. Of his three great ministers, Wolsey,
More, and Thomas Cromwell, the first died in disgrace,
the last two were executed. Henry was six times
married: to Catherine of Aragon (divorced), Anne Boleyn
(beheaded), Jane Seymour (died), Anne of Cleves
(divorced), Catherine Howard (beheaded), and Catherine
Parr, who outlived him.
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