1. HENRY VIII AND PROTESTANTISM

2. The Boleyn family encouraged Henry to take control of the Church in England
Henry did not believe in the various doctrinal ideas of Protestantism.
He was attracted to the idea of taking control of the Church in England, getting the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Council of Bishops to grant him a divorce, and marrying Ann Boleyn
He also liked the idea of seizing Church lands and selling them off to make money for him.

3. Henry did not want England as a Protestant country
Henry wanted England to be Catholic in terms of belief and Protestant in terms of structure
This would give him control of the Church in England and thus his divorce
He disapproved of most of the things the Protestants believed

4. He called for a great 'Reformation' of the Church in England.
He declared himself to be Head of the Church of England, with the Pope no more important than just being the 'Bishop of Rome'.
The Act of Supremacy 1534 required everyone to recognise and accept that the English Monarch was Head of the English Church. To deny this was treason. To deny the King’s divorce was treason

5. To drive this Reformation he appointed Thomas Cromwell as his Secretary
Cromwell had worked in Wolsey's household
He was not noble, but was the son of a successful tradesman. He therefore relied on the King for power and protection.
He was a confirmed Protestant and wanted to move England into being a Protestant country.

6. Cromwell realised that Henry wanted a divorce and money
He understood that the Reformation could give him both.
He set about collecting evidence that the Church in England was corrupt, especially the monasteries
Closing the monasteries would give the Crown money and land

7. Thomas More
Believed what Henry was doing both in terms of divorcing the Queen and challenging the Pope's authority was wrong.
Rather than be disloyal to the King he gave up his position as Chancellor and retired
The hard-line Protestants in Henry's court saw him as too much of a threat to be allowed to live.

8. More was accused of treason
He refused to recognise the Act of Supremacy, although he was clear that this was up to each person's own conscience
In the end his enemies invented evidence to get him convicted
He was imprisoned in the Tower and beheaded in July 1535
He died 'The King's good servant, but God's good servant first'

9. Conclusion
Henry divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn secretly in 1533 with her coronation shortly after.
In 1535 the dissolution of the monasteries began.