The Tudor Dynasty

arsa · #1 Friday, August 22, 2008

Kings and Queens of the Tudor Dynasty:
Henry VII (1485-1509 AD)
Henry VIII (1509-1547 AD)
Edward VI (1547-1553 AD)
Queen Mary (1553-1558 AD)
Elizabeth I (1558-1603 AD)
In his book England under Tudors and Stuarts, Robert Raynes remarks that, "the advent of the Tudors marked the sunset of the Middle Ages and the sunrise of Modern times." Actually the reconstruction of the English society and civilization took place under the Tudors. The modern age started in England from the mid-fifteenth century. Some such changes took place from 1483, which had a lasting effect on the history of England as well as on the whole of Europe.
The Intellectual revolution hit London during the reign of Henry VII. The scholars that he sent to Italy learned Greek and Latin languages, which they taught in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Henry’s family was also devoted to the cause of learning and spreading modern thought. Books were made available throughout the country, which brought about the Renaissance in England, encouraging the study of sciences, arts, philosophy and literature. Thus, the rise of the Tudors in England and the Renaissance all over opened a new chapter of "Modern Age" in the History of England.
Development in England
During the Renaissance period many positive developments took place in Europe, especially in England. The spirit of Nationalism started to gain hold over the English psyche. The Roman Church started to loosen its grip over the people. The English people now became more united and trusted their own Church. A spirit of nationalism spread all over England. The English language, literature and people were now becoming more distinctive.
As far the Religious field was concerned, it was during the reign of the Tudors that the country was divided between the Catholics and the Protestants. The foundation of national religion was laid. As the ‘Holy Bible’ was translated into many languages, people read it and became aware of the facts in religion. People could gather courage and strength to talk about the deeds of Pope and Church.
Petty feudal lords ruled England before the Tudors took over the English throne. Henry VII took some major steps by which the power of the traditional feudal lords came to an end. Henry supported upcoming lawyers, small merchants, clerks, educated class, writers, small businessmen, etc. Common people thus started gaining prominence. Henry made his schemes so well and arranged finances from the parliament for their proper execution.
Marriage alliances were another form by which Henry kept up the balance of power and also managed to make England a very powerful country. He married his son to the princess of Spain, Catherine and daughter to the King of Scotland, James IV. This policy helped in maintaining peace and security for England.

After Henry VII ascended the English throne he had to face lot of problems like that of law and order, financial difficulties, feudal lords, etc. He married the Yorkist heiress, Elizabeth and came to the English throne. The Yorkist faction was easily defeated by Henry and after that the dynastic issue was settled. He now became powerful and acquired the moral support of the 'people of England' with whose help he ruled efficiently.
The everyday administration was given to those countrymen who were unpaid but ready to help the King in his administration. Henry VII successfully carried out the administration. He gave secondary position to the parliament. But he never desired to reduce its legal powers. Somehow the roots of despotism were laid.
The English parliament was very reluctant to grant money to the King. To raise huge funds, Henry used many methods. He began ‘benevolence’ which were the gifts to the monarch which were in reality forced gifts or loans. The financial councilors of Henry VII were empowered with ‘Morton Fork,’ this tax was forced on rich and poor for the uplift of the State. Although these two tax devices earned a huge amount for the first Tudor King they also gave him bad name. Henry also forced the Kings who were defeated in the wars he fought to pay for the war losses from their treasury. In this way the cost of war was recovered. Besides this, he increased the tax on the crown lands by which the income was raised from 52,000 Sterling Pounds to 1,42,000 Sterling Pounds. He raised money from some other sources like confiscation of estates of barons who were destroyed in war times. He imposed heavy fines on the one who broke any of his laws.
This apart, he was economical and avoided wars and ran the administration with proper balance of income and expenses. Economic development was very essential for him, and so he paid special attention to it. He founded a Merchant Navy and encouraged shipbuilding for the commercial development of the country. Development of industry was his special interest. Due to his policy relating to commerce the country could become more prosperous and economically developed.
Main domestic policy of Henry VII
The major objectives of Henry were
- to quell all the revolts so that his position could be secured and so he could concentrate on the proper administration of the country.
- As ‘money’ and economic stability was essential for the proper and efficient implementation of his policies, his major concentration was on accumulation of finances.
- For ending the power of the barons the King established a new monarchy. He established a special court of the Stuart Chamber. He reduced the power of the feudal lords. He imposed heavy fines on nobles who were found disobeying the regulations of the King.
- He increased the foreign trade of the country so that the wealth and prosperity of the country could be increased.
Foreign Policy of Henry Tudor
It was after Henry VII Tudor took over as the King of England that it became a powerful nation. With his foolproof policy towards his neighbors England created an important place for itself in the family of European nations.
With France, its ancient enemy England adopted an intellectual policy. When the King of France attacked Spain, Henry VII also declared war on France. To settle this situation the French decided to make peace with Henry by offering large sums of money. He also joined the League of Venice to maintain the balance of power in Europe. With Spain he entered into a matrimonial alliance with Ireland. He passed all such laws put forth in the English parliament that would be compulsorily imposed on Ireland. He also saw to it that laws could not be passed by Irish parliament without the sanction of the English parliament.
Henry VII was a farsighted ruler. His policies, both domestic and foreign brought prestige to England and credit to Tudors.
Henry VIII (1509 - 1547)
Henry VIII became the King of England after the death of his father Henry VII. He was just 18 years of the age at that time. He was a man of great qualities. He had learned administration from his father. Apart from being a good administrator he was also a man of letters and interested in music and art. His father handed over a strong kingdom to him. Henry VIII was one of the greatest statesmen that England had. He offered great services to the nation. He established law and order when it was much required. He also boldly separated the Pope from his administration.
Thus, he also brought about the reformation in England. As peace prevailed, Trade, Commerce and Industry flourished and the economic status of English people improved greatly. Henry also worked for the development of the naval authority of England. He encouraged the building of modern ships for navigation.
The relations of Henry VIII with his parliament were unique. He took great interest in the progress of the parliament. Even though he kept the parliament under his full control, he called repeated sessions of the parliament to take major decisions. He himself never acted against the will of the Parliament.
Major Domestic Policy of Henry VIII
Although Henry VIII was a despotic king his people supported him greatly. His decisions were mostly according to the desire of the people. His strong army protected the people from frequent civil wars in England. Like his father he also made many forced loans. Due to this he could acquire a lot of money for his treasury, which he used for the implementation of his policies.
The Navy was the real strength of England. Foreigners were always cautious of this English strength. The credit for it goes to Henry VIII who made special efforts towards the building of ships.
Foreign Policy of Henry VIII
The aims of Henry VIII’s foreign policy were:
- To maintain the balance of power in Europe.
- To resist the power of the enemies of England.
- To dominate European politics.
Henry joined the Holy League with the intention of driving France out of Italy. He made peace with France through the marriage alliance of his sister Mary with Louis XII of France. But after the terms of his alliance with Spain expired, Henry declared war with France. By doing this he also checked the increase in the power of Charles V of Spain.
When the Scots refused to accept the marriage proposal of Henry’s son for their daughter, he invaded and burned Edinburgh. He also crushed an Irish revolt against the supremacy of England and acquired the title ‘King of Ireland.’ He also divided the country into many provinces and included Wales with England.
England began to be looked upon as the most important political nation of Europe in the then politics when Henry VIII broke his relations with the Pope and paved a way for the reformation movement. As a result, the English church was separated from the Roman Church. He reduced the importance of Spain and France and due to his shrewdness, England gained in political importance.
Reformation during the Reign of Henry VIII
The reformation in England was the religious revolution that had lasting effects on the life of the people. The condition of the Church had deteriorated and its representatives had become worldly, corrupt and immoral. The most religious and Orthodox Church people also desired a reformation. The power of the Papacy was used for personal advantage and benefit. Besides, the higher clergy had a wealthy and pleasurable life whereas the lower clergy led a life of misery and poverty. This amounted to a feeling of resentment against the church.
Henry VIII took bold and major steps during his reign to put an end to growing power of the church. He took measures to curtail the power of the clergy in the English church by destroying monasteries and passing laws that were to be followed by the church authorities. The gist of these laws stated that a priest could be associated with a single church only. Another act stated that Pope was to be elected by the clergy who were nominated by the King. Due to the reformation, the English church was separated from the Roman church. The community of Christians was split into two camps: the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. Many wars occurred due to religion. The Counter Reformation was the most important effect of reformation though it had started much earlier.
The Reign of Edward VI (1547 - 1553)
Edward came to the throne of England by the act of succession passed by Henry VIII. As he was a minor he was to be guided by the ‘Council of Regency’ in carrying out the day-to-day administration. Henry VIII appointed a well-balanced council. As the opinion of the members of Council changed the plans of Henry VIII suffered. The Duke of Somerset, the king’s uncle was a member of the Council of Regency. He held strong opinions. He became the protector of the new King. He practically ruled England from 1547 - 1549. It was he who declared war against Scotland as they refused the marriage proposal of Edward with Mary of Scotland. Mary was married to the French Prince, resulting in bad relations between England and Scotland.
The Duke of Somerset was a Protestant who supported the Reformation movement. During this time, Catholicism was greatly criticized. However, in 1552, the Duke of Somerset was executed under charges of conspiracy. After the execution of the Duke of Somerset, the Duke of Northumberland started gaining power. He started to rule the country on behalf of Edward VI from 1549 - 1533. Northumberland (Warwick) was a cunning man. He was a staunch Protestant. He encouraged reformation in England. He forced Edward VI to declare Jane Grey, granddaughter of Henry VIII’s youngest sister to be the heiress to the throne of England after Edward VI whose health was failing.
However, the plans of the Edward VI under the influence of Northumberland failed. Edward VI died in 1553 and the crown went to Mary Tudor.
Mary Tudor (1553 - 1558)
Although Edward had wished that Jane Grey be made the Queen of England, the people were not ready to accept her as queen. So, Northumberland had to declare Mary as the Queen of England. The people looked towards her as the daughter of Henry VIII, who had brought peace in England.
Mary was a staunch Catholic. She renewed the faith and once again introduced mass. In her parliament, she refuted the acts of Edward VI as immature. She tried to swerve England towards Catholicism.
The Tudors generally had a flair for understanding people, but unfortunately Mary lacked this quality. In spite of the fact that her people did not want Mary to have a marriage alliance with the Spanish Prince, Philip II, she insisted on it. Her Catholic leanings made her unpopular.
Roman Catholicism during the reign of Mary
Being a staunch Catholic Mary did away with all the measures which Henry VIII and Edward VI took to restrict the activities of Catholics. She also annulled the divorce of Catherine and her strength was increased. The Latin Bible was reinstated in the English churches. Mary apologized to the Pope and requested him to accept England in the folds of the Roman church.
Mary was clearly against Protestantism. Many Protestants were burnt alive and several were severely punished during her reign. This distanced her from the common people in England. They began hating her. They called her "Bloody Mary." These were serious political mistakes on the part of Mary, which caused her unpopularity. England lost many scholars and learned people due to Mary’s persecution. An ironical outcome of Mary’s cruel policies was that Protestantism became stronger as the people boldly faced the cruelties of Mary.
When Spain and France were at war, England was dragged into the skirmish due to the relationship of Philip II. The French took over Calais. This was a great blow to England. Mary, however, did not recover from the shock of the event and she died in 1558.
Although she became popular for a small time, the English public hated her for her religious intolerance. Perhaps Mary desired to revenge for her mother’s fate due to her father’s tilt towards Protestantism. Thus it is evident that religion, politics and even personal lives could not be separated in the politics of England during that time.
Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
Elizabeth’s reign is considered the Golden Age in the History of England. For she ushered in political stability and with it trade, commerce and the fine arts flourished. The English language was also polished and tempered at this time.
Elizabeth was not in a hurry to solve the question of religion. She wanted to solve this very delicate problem with the help of the Parliament who represented the people. She took the advantage of the popular public feeling and acted accordingly. With suave diplomacy, she adopted the policy of ecclesiastical compromise. She founded a National Church i.e. the "Anglican Church," which borrowed principles from both the Roman Catholic and the Protestant faiths. Thus, she won the hearts of the followers of both faiths.
The religious policy of England (Elizabeth) was not liked by Philip of Spain. He attempted to murder the Queen, but could not succeed in it. With the financial help of Pope Sixtus V, he decided to invade England, but was badly defeated. This event established the supremacy of England and its trade and commerce also flourished. It checked the progress of Catholicism. England also became a major naval power in Europe.
On the fine arts front, Elizabeth invited talented artists from various parts of Europe to settle in England and spread their skill and knowledge. In the field of agriculture too, there was improvement. People were encouraged to grow more food grains in the country. This ensured self-sufficiency as regards food. Besides, she was very popular among the poorer classes because of the generous provisions of her poor laws.
For Elizabeth inculcated in the people love for the country. Popular poets and playwrights were also largely responsible for the development of this patriotic fervor. Thus, Nationalism brought the English people closer together.
The English Parliament acquired a special place during the reign of Elizabeth. The Parliament acquired the right to vote and the right against unwarranted arrest of its members. The Parliament also acquired the power to punish those who gave bribes during elections.
Elizabeth had special love for music and literature. According to Trevelyan, "Europe recognized Elizabethan England as the country of music par excellence." Besides instrumental and vocal music, people were interested in architecture, theater, dance, acting etc. All forms of art and literature attained great heights during the time of Elizabeth.
Foreign Relations of Elizabeth
Elizabeth was a true politician. She framed her foreign policy with the intense ambition that England emerge as an important nation, socially, politically, religiously and even economically. She encouraged internal differences and revolts in Spain, France etc. By this the neighboring countries would remain occupied with their own national problems. This would give England room to grow powerful in the community of European nations.
Philip of Spain desired to help England to win back some of the territory she had lost in France, but on the conditions that he marry Elizabeth and dominate her foreign policy.
Elizabeth refused to compromise on these terms so the issue remained unresolved.
The Anglo-Spanish relations had already deteriorated but Elizabeth did not desire to have the same quality of relations with France at this moment of time. So Elizabeth decided to remain neutral when the Protestants of Scotland requested her to help them. Later on she did help them against France, but very secretly. This way she could maintain relations with both, France and Scotland.
A revolt broke out in Ireland during the time of Elizabeth after the Pope ex-communicated her. At this time she sent the Earl of Essex etc. to suppress the revolt. After this Ireland completely came under the control of England.

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