Wars of Religion England

Sins of the Father  Henry VIII was never meant to have the throne. But when his older brother died the crown passed to him. With this also came his brother’s wife.  Ferdinand and Isabella had sent their daughter Catherine to England to marry the heir. In order to keep the Spanish allied to them (and not supporting France) Henry agreed to marry his brother’s widow.

The Merry Wives  For the rest of his life Henry sought a male heir. He changed wives 6 times. 1.Catherine = baby girl Mary 2.Anne = baby girl Elizabeth 3.Jane = baby boy Edward 4.Anne (Cleves) 5.Kathryn (Howard) 6.Katherine (Parr)

Religious Problems  Henry wanted a divorce but could not get one from the Pope directly. Previous Pope had given him permission to marry Catherine. With the church refusing to grant his wish he turned to Parliament.  The politicians ruled away the Pope’s authority 1532 Henry selected a new Arch – Bishop of Cantebury  Thomas Cranmer gave him a divorce

 The Pope responded by threatening Henry with excommunication.  The English Parliament named Henry the head of the English Church (Anglican). Act of Supremacy (1534)  With this power Henry shut the monestaries down between 1534 and  While Henry was willing to accept the title of the head of the church He did not use it to enact Protestant theology.

Right Behind you Dad!  In 1547, Henry VIII died and his young son Edward took over.  He had been raised and educated by convinced Protestants.  Once on the throne he declared that all subjects must use the Common Book of Prayer (not a RC sanctioned book!)  This began to divide the nation Catholic = anti – king Protestant = anti - pope

 Edward declared that stain glass and statues must be removed from all churches.  Clergy were free to marry.  This was the extent of his reforms as he fell ill and died within 6 years of his father.  For the English nobility this was a real problem. Who should they support as the heir  A woman! – the Catholic version (Mary)  A woman! – the Protestant version (Elizabeth)

Bloody Mary  As the oldest heir the throne first went to her.  She eradicated all vestige of Protestantism in the realm.  She burned at the stake 300 people in three years.  Even worse, she wanted to give land back to the monks – the land the nobles had bought from her father.  This was too much!  She made it even worse when she ran off and married the King of Spain Phillip.  This raised the spectre of becoming a “Spanish” colony.  Mary pledged the English to fight wars with France on Spain’s behalf.

The Virgin Queen  In 1558, the last remnant of the Plantangent hold on France fell (Calais)  The same year Mary died passing the crown (reluctantly) to her half sister – Elizabeth.  Elizabeth knew she would only last if she could keep the nobles on her side. They were bitter over the revival of Catholicism. They were even more so xenophobic – they saw Spanish spies and Jesuits everywhere.  Phillip of Spain still talked like he had a right to the throne There was talk that he might do something about it.

Peace – for a while  Elizabeth was a confirmed Protestant but she was reluctant to attack the Catholic Church.  She upheld the reforms of her father and brother and finally brokered an uneasy peace between the two religious factions in Articles allowed Catholics freedom to worship. Pope in 1570 declared any oath to the Queen null and void.  Not treason to attack her This pushed her to look for more support from the Protestant Nobles.  They expelled the Jesuits and consolidated power  England was to be Protestant and any one wanting the crown had to acknowledge that.

To Rule the Waves