The English Renaissance

(1485-1660)


The Tudors 

(more than just an HBO show)


The Royal Lineage

1485: Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII

  • His son, Henry VIII, married Catherine of Aragon (Spanish princess) in 1509
  • Things were fine until it became apparent that Catherine wasn't going to give birth to a son
  • Henry VIII petitioned the Pope for an annulment to his marriage, but the Pope refused

1534: Henry VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church and began the Church of England



Meanwhile . . .

Dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church was creating a new offshoot of Christianity (Protestantism)

  •  1517: Martin Luther composed his 95 theses and nailed them to the door of a church
  •  Luther took issue with two major features of the Catholic Church:
  1. The wealth of cardinals, bishops, priests, and monks
  2. The selling of indulgences 

Puritanism was a "radical" branch of Protestantism 


The Church of England

Finally fed up with Rome and the Pope's refusing to grant him an annulment, Henry VIII started his own church: The Church of England.  We now refer to it as The Anglican Church

  • Henry VIII divorced Catherine and married her court attendant, Ann Boleyn
  • He went through 6 wives (and ordered many of them beheaded) but only produced a single male heir: Edward VI
  • Edward VI became king at the age of 9, but died of illness at the age of 15


Bloody Mary

After Edward died, Catherine's daughter, Mary, became queen

  • Mary was extraordinarily unfriendly to Protestants; she oversaw the persecution and execution of thousands of Protestants (hence her nickname, Bloody Mary)

Queen Elizabeth

Elizabeth (daughter of Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn) assumed the throne in 1558 after "Bloody Mary" died

  • The Virgin Queen--she was named thus because she never took a husband
  • Encouraged and oversaw Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe and Sir Walter Raleigh's attempt to establish a colony in Virginia
  • Had her cousin (Mary, Queen of the Scots) executed for fear she might be conspiring to overthrow her
  • As a result, went to war against Philip II of Spain.  The British Navy defeated the Spanish Armada

Speech to the Troops at Tilbury



The End of the Tudors

After Elizabeth died in 1603, James Stuart took of control of the British crown and became James I

  • James I was a prolific (if somewhat untalented) writer, who was obsessed with witches and demons
  • He commissioned the "King James Bible" (a very popular English translation of the Bible)
  • His son, Charles I, succeeded him in 1625.  Charles was very unpopular.  His power-tripping caused him to abolish Parliament in 1629 (think Mohamed Morsi in Egypt) 


Civil War

Charles' actions caused Britain to be plunged into civil war

  • Two warring factions: The Royalists (composed of Catholics, Anglicans, and the nobility) and the supporters of Parliament (composed of Puritans, small landowners, and the middle class)
  • Led by Oliver Cromwell, the supporters of Parliament eventually won.  Charles I was executed.  Cromwell was raised up to the newly created position of "Lord Protector"
  • After Cromwell died in 1658, Charles II (son of Charles I) was invited by Parliament to be king, ushering in a period of English history called "The Restoration"
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