21H.912 UK 5.2 Handout Henry VIII (1509-1547)—Early on in his reign, Henry had been a fighter of Protestantism and earned the title “defender of the faith”. He came to the throne after his brother’s death and received a papal dispensation to marry his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. He was very interested in foreign affairs, and this marriage would maintain an alliance with the powerful Spanish monarchy. Things got sticky for Henry when Catherine produced no male heir, and a courtesan named Ann Boleyn caught his fancy. He called on his buddy the Pope to annul his marriage, but the Pope was busy dealing with Charles V, who dominated much of Italy. It would be pretty hard to diss the Aunt of Charles V, so the Pope procrastinated, and Henry created the Church of England. Despite the power gained from seizing Church lands and becoming head of the Anglican Church, parliament accepted all of this and grew somewhat more powerful as well. Henry wed the already pregnant Ann Boleyn, but later ends up having her executed. He marries four more times, but only produces three kids, two of whom are sickly. His only son Edward succeeds him but dies a few years later. Edward was succeeded by his sickly half sister Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon. Mary married a son of her cousin Charles V—Philip II of Spain. Mary tried to bring Catholicism back to England in a brutal and repressive manner, hence the nickname, “bloody Mary”. After Mary’s death, Elizabeth, the daughter of Ann Boleyn, came to the throne in 1558. This was difficult since she had been declared illegitimate when her mother fell out of favor with her father. Elizabeth I (1558-1603)—Elizabeth had seen quite a bit in her lifetime before coming to the throne, and in particular saw the devastating consequences of her half sister’s religious fanaticism. Elizabeth was a politique who placed political objectives above religious ones. Religion would nonetheless feed into her many problems, the most significant of which was succession. Elizabeth never marries. She was first offered the hand of her half brother-in-law Philip II, which she firmly refused. Postponing marriage could always be a diplomatic tool—why use it right away?. Her closest blood relative was Mary Stuart, the Catholic Queen of Scotland [Grandmother is Henry VIII’s sister and her father is James V of Scotland and mother is a French noble woman] who was married to Francis II of France. When Mary was widowed, she returned to a Scotland thoroughly enmeshed in the Protestant Reformation. She continued to rule but was forced to abdicate [huge scandal involving her lover killing her husband] and seek refuge with cousin Mary in England. Having Mary around was bothersome because English Catholics were trying to pit her against Elizabeth—since in their eyes Elizabeth was not even legitimate. Mary also became involved in treasonous plots with Elizabeth’s jilted suitor Philip II. Religious, political, and dynastic issues come into play as parliament urges Elizabeth to marry. Elizabeth decides not to marry and to execute Mary (1587), thus solidifying her power—these actions did not earn her any points with England’s then Catholic majority. This is why Philip II decided to hit her when she was weak. He sent the Spanish armada to conquer England in 1588, but bad weather and failure to pick up extra men in Flanders cost Philip this famous battle. Thus, it is a triumph for Elizabeth and for Protestantism. While Elizabeth’s actions worked for Protestantism, toleration, and power of the monarchy, she did end up with no children. The English imported a king from Scotland, the son of Mary Stuart, James I (in Scotland he was James VI). James I (1603-25)—Transition to English kingship was not easy for the Scottish king. He was a firm believer in the divine right of kings, and he was not accustomed to dealing with a force like the English parliament. He had to work with Parliament since Elizabeth left a huge war debt. Religious tensions are also running high. James was Protestant, and unlike his Catholic mother he was not an extremist. There were elements in England that wanted the reformation carried further—Puritans, but James liked the organization of the Anglican Church. He felt a strong church and a strong monarchy worked well together. It is during his reign that the Puritan separatists founded the Plymouth Colony (1620). He sought an alliance with Spain, whichwreaked of pro-Catholic leanings—although by the end of his reign he was at war with Spain. If this weren’t enough, he also had some personal issues—extravagant court life and homosexual leanings, neither of which earned him any points with the Puritans. James needed to pay off Elizabeth’s war debts, so he looked for new ways to raise revenues: selling titles, selling royal land, new loans, and new taxes. He used the royal courts to fight his parliamentary opponents, whom he routinely had arrested without cause. Charles I (1625-49)—succeeded his father James, and while he was more likeable on a personal level, he was also a bit more stupid. He too was a firm believer in absolute monarchy and the divine right of Kings. He also stirred up Protestants by marrying a Catholic French princess. He had to fund war with Spain, as well as France. He had to pull the same tricks as his Dad to do this—esp. new taxes which he used his army to enforce, an army which could be put up in people’s homes. After achieving peace with Spain and France in 1629 and 1630, resp., he continued to stir trouble by forcing the Anglican Church upon Scotland (Presbyterians). The Scots invade in 1640, and guess what, Charles needs money. By 1642 Civil War broke out. The aristocracy supported the king, while the gentry was split. Many Anglicans sided with the King (Cavaliers) and Calvinists against him. The parliamentary opposition members were known as the Roundheads. By 1645 the Roundheads were victorious—some disagreement amongst the victors about what to do next. Finally, the group headed by Oliver Cromwell had its way in 1648—when the King was tried. Cromwell carries out the Puritan Revolution by abolishing the House of Lords and the Anglican Church, and later disbanding parliament. He carried out an aggressive foreign policy based on mercantilism and a domestic campaign of morality. Cromwell’s authoritarianism and strict Puritanism created such resentment that by his death in 1658, the English