THE TUDORS

The Birth of the Nation State The century of Tudor rule (1485-1603) is thought of as the most glorious period in English history Henry VII built the foundations of a wealthy nation state and a powerful monarchy Henry VIII kept a magnificent court and broke the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church Elisabeth I defeated the powerful Spanish navy England experienced one of the greatest artistic periods in its history

Less Glorious Facts Henry VIII wasted the wealth saved by his father Elisabeth I weakened the quality of government by selling official posts in order to avoid asking Parliament for money Her government tried to deal with the problem of poor and homeless but its laws and actions were cruel in effect

The New Monarchy Henry VII – was far more important in establishing the new monarchy - he had the same ideas as the growing classes of merchants and gentlemen farmers - he based royal power on good business sense - he believed that war and glory were bad for business and that business was good for the state -therefore he avoided quarrels with Scotland and France

During the War of the Roses, England’s trading position had been badly damaged The strong German Hanseatic League, a closed trading society, had destroyed the English trade with the Baltic and northern Europe Only after the victory of Bosworth in 1485 Henry VII made an important trade agreement with the Netherlands which allowed English trade to grow again Many of the old nobility had died or had been defeated in the wars and their lands had gone to the king – Henry had more power and more money

The authority of the law had been almost completely destroyed by the lawless behaviour of the nobles and local justice had been broken down Henry’s aim was to make the Crown financially independent – the land and fines he took from the nobility helped him do this He was careful to keep the friendship of the merchant and lesser gentry classes and they wanted peace and prosperity When he died in 1509 he left 2 million pounds as he spent money only on building of ships for the merchant fleet

Henry VIII - was cruel, wasteful with money and interested in pleasing himself - he wanted to become an important influence in European politics - he wanted to hold the balance of power between France and Spain – he allied himself with Spain and then changed sides - he spent money on maintaining a magnificent court and on useless wars and soon his father’s money was gone - he reduced the quantity of silver used in coins – lead to a rise in prices and to a reduction of the English coinage to a 7th of its value in 25 years

The Reformation Henry disliked the power of the Church who was a huge landowner He wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon but the Pope didn’t agree In 1531 he persuaded his bishops to make him the head of Church – it became law after the Act of Supremacy in 1534 It was a political act, Henry remained in the Catholic faith Fidei Defensor 1536-1539 he closed 560 monasteries and religious houses and sold their land – the greatest act of official destruction in the history of Britain

Elisabeth I - she wanted to bring together those parts of English society which were in religious disagreement - she wanted to make England prosperous - she made the Church a part of the state machine – the parish became the unit of state administration, she arranged for a book of sermons to be used in church - she carried Henry VII’s policy much further encouraging merchant expansion - she recognized Spain as her main trade rival and enemy

- she helped the Dutch Protestants by allowing their ships to use English harbours from which they could attack Spanish ships, then helped them with money and soldiers - English ships attacked Spanish ships on their return from America and the treasure was shared with the queen - in 1587 Philip decided to conquer England, built a great fleet “Armada” to move his army across the English Channel – destroyed by Francis Drake - in 1588 Philip started again but was defeated, mostly by weather

A New Empire Elisabeth followed two policies: 1. encouraged English sailors to attack and destroy Spanish ships 2. encouraged English traders to settle abroad and to create colonies – this lead to Britain’s colonial empire The first colonists sailed to America at the end of the century Sir Walter Raleigh brought tobacco back to England

The settlers tried to start profitable colonies in Virginia England began selling West African slaves for the Spanish in America More “chartered” companies were established – the right to all the business in its particular trade or region – they had to give part of the profits to the Crown: the Eastland Company, the Levant Company, the Africa Company Competition with the Dutch for the spice trade with East Indies – lead to three wars before the end of the 17th century

Government and Society A period of far reaching changes, mostly in ideas as a result of the rebirth of intellectual attitudes known as the Renaissance Tudor parliaments - the kings didn’t like to govern through Parliament, they seldom called it together -Henry VIII invited Parliament to make laws, thus giving it an authority it never had before Parliament strengthened its position during Edward’s reign by ordering the new prayer book to be used in all churches

2 things which persuaded the Tudor kings not to get rid of the Parliament: they needed money and the support of the merchants and landowners Parliament only met when the monarch ordered it – in the first 44 years of Tudor reign it met only 20 times During the century the power moved from the House of Lords to the House of Commons because they represented richer and more influential classes The size of the Commons doubled as a result of the inclusion of Welsh boroughs and counties and the inclusion of more English boroughs

Parliament did not really represent the people – monarchy used its influence to make sure that many MPs support royal policy In order to control discussion in Parliament the Crown appointed a Speaker Parliament was supposed to do 3 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 The kings tried to obtain money in different ways: Elisabeth sold monopolies – her Parliament complained about its bad effect on free trade