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British Institutions

ISTI 2013
Dr. Antoinette De Vos
Engish Institutions
What did the early Tudors bring?
Hint: think thematically

Church and Crown

HENRY VII
1485. Recognition of the Title of Henry VII
1485. An Act against bringing in of Gascony Wine except
in English, Irish, or Welshmens Ships
1487. Establishment of the Court of Star Chamber
1495. Allegiance to a De Facto King not Treason
1503-1504. An Act against Unlawful Retainers and
Liveries
1503-1504. Reversal of Attainders
1503-1504. Grant of Two Aids

A portrait of Henry Tudor (1457-
1509), who reigned as Henry VII
(1485-1509). Henry's seizure of
the throne in 1485 brought order
to England after 85 years of civil
war. His rule saw a
strengthening of the
monarchy and the
introduction of important
changes in how the
government was organised.
He created the Committee of
the Privy Council, a forerunner
of the modern cabinet, as an
executive advisory board and
established the Court of the
Star Chamber to increase royal
involvement in civil and criminal
cases. Henry also encouraged
trade and commerce by
subsidizing ship building and
entering into lucrative trade
agreements, thereby increasing
the wealth of both crown and
nation. He also extended the
Palace of Placentia at
Greenwich as a retreat from the
busy city of London.
The Tudor Rose, white (York) on red
(Lancaster)

Henry VII 1485-1509
Henry VII, son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret Beaufort, was
born in 1457. He married Elizabeth of York in 1486, who bore
him seven children of whom four survived infancy: Arthur, Henry,
Margaret and Mary. Henry descended from John of Gaunt and
his mistress, later wife, Catherine Swynford (sister-in-law of
Chaucer); although he was a Lancastrian, he gained the throne
through personal battle. The Lancastrian victory at the Battle of
Bosworth in 1485 left Richard III slain in the field, York ambitions
routed and Henry proclaimed king. From the onset of his reign,
Henry was determined to bring order to England after 85 years of
civil war. His marriage to Elizabeth of York combined both the
Lancaster and York factions within the Tudor line, eliminating
further discord in regards to succession. He faced 2 insurrections
during his reign, each centered around "pretenders" who claimed
a closer dynastic link to the Plantagenets than Henry. Lambert
Simnel posed as the Earl of Warwick, but his army was defeated
and he was eventually pardoned and forced to work in the king's
kitchen. Perkin Warbeck posed as Richard of York, Edward V's
younger brother (and co-prisoner in the Tower of London);
Warbeck's support came from the continent, and after repeated
invasion attempts, Henry had him imprisoned and executed.

Henry failed to appeal to the general populace: he
maintained a distance between king and subject. He
brought the nobility to heel out of necessity to transform
the medieval government that he inherited into an
efficient tool for conducting royal business. Law and
trade replaced feudal obligation as the Middle Ages
began evolving into the modern world. Francis Bacon, in
his history of Henry VII, described the king as such: "He
was of a high mind, and loved his own will and his own
way; as one that revered himself, and would reign
indeed. Had he been a private man he would have been
termed proud: But in a wise Prince, it was but keeping of
distance; which indeed he did towards all; not admitting
any near or full approach either to his power or to his
secrets. For he was governed by none."

Henry greatly strengthened the monarchy by employing many political
innovations to outmaneuver the nobility. The household staff rose beyond
mere servitude: Henry eschewed public appearances, therefore, staff
members were the few persons Henry saw on a regular basis. He created the
Committee of the Privy Council ,a forerunner of the modern cabinet) as an
executive advisory board; he established the Court of the Star Chamber to
increase royal involvement in civil and criminal cases; and as an alternative to
a revenue tax disbursement from Parliament, he imposed forced loans and
grants on the nobility. Henry's mistrust of the nobility derived from his
experiences in the Wars of the Roses - a majority remained dangerously
neutral until the very end. His skill at by-passing Parliament (and thus, the will
of the nobility) played a crucial role in his success at renovating government.

Henry's political acumen was also evident in his handling of foreign affairs. He
played Spain off of France by arranging the marriage of his eldest son, Arthur,
to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Arthur died within
months and Henry secured a papal dispensation for Catherine to marry
Arthur's brother, the future Henry VIII ; this single event had the widest-
ranging effect of all Henry's actions: Henry VIII's annulment from Catherine
was the impetus for the separation of the Church of England from the body of
Roman Catholicism. The marriage of Henry's daughter, Margaret, to James IV
of Scotland would also have later repercussions, as the marriage connected
the royal families of both England and Scotland, leading the Stuarts to the
throne after the extinction of the Tudor dynasty. Henry encouraged trade
and commerce by subsidizing ship building and entering into lucrative
trade agreements, thereby increasing the wealth of both crown and nation.

Patron of the arts
Bust of Henry
VII by Pietro
Torrigiano
Funeral effigies of Henry VII and Elizabeth of
York, Westminster Abbey, by Pietro Torrigiano

Henry VIIs achievements
He found England poor and left it rich,
He put an end to 85 years of civil strife,
His son, Henry VIII, acceded without a civil war,
He faced down several plots and secured acceptance as
monarch from the Heads of Royal houses throughout
Europe,
He tamed the nobles, improved the machinery of
government, conducted royal alliances to his advantage
(with Spain and Scotland), launched England on the
imperial route.
Encouraged the arts, inviting Italians to England who
introduced the Renaissance.
The military power of the
crown itself was greatly
weakened by the Hundred
Years War (13371453), and
the Wars of the Roses
(145585). A parliament was
created, which mostly sat in
Drogheda, until the Tudors
took greater interest in Irish
affairs from 1485 and moved
it back to Dublin. The Pale
generally consisted of fertile
lowlands, which were easier
for the garrison to defend
from ambush than hilly or
wooded ground. For reasons
of trade and administration, a
version of English became
the official and common
language.
The two most influential families in Ireland were the
Butlers (who lived in Tipperary) and the FitzGeralds (who
lived in south-west Ireland). Although they were
descended from Norman settlers, they had lived in
Ireland so long that they regarded themselves as Irish.
The FitzGeralds hated the English more than any other
family in Ireland, while the Butlers tended to support the
English king. For this reason, the two families were often
at war with each other. When one of the FitzGerald Earls
co-operated with the English in 1463, he was seized and
murdered by his relatives in 1468. After this, the English
began to co-operate with the relatively weak Earl Garrett
Mr of Kildare (on the western border of the Pale) in
order to gain some control outside the Pale. The people
who lived in the Pale had their own Parliament and
because Garrett Mr supported the King, it had
jurisdiction over his kingdom too. Garrett Mr became
very powerful and influential in Ireland through the Dublin
parliament.
Henry and Ireland
In 1485, Henry 7th came to the throne in England, aided in a small
way by the Butlers of Tipperary. However his coronation was
opposed by many Irish Lords, including Garrett Mr despite the fact
that he had supported the previous King. When Henry looked at
Ireland he did not like what he saw. For one thing, his predecessor
had allowed Garrett Mr of the Kildares to gain so much power that
he was now becoming a threat to the English control of the Pale
itself. He also decided that English control in Ireland was pathetic
and resolved to restore control to the level that the Normans had
enjoyed 250 years before and decided he had to take some action in
Ireland. The situation worsened in 1487, when Henry's opponent to
the throne, Edward, arrived in Dublin and received the support of the
Kildares, who crowned him the rightful King of England. Henry had
Garrett Mr kidnapped and sent to the Tower of London for treason.
He then passed a law removing the independence of the Irish
parliament in the Pale, and ordered that Ireland was to be instead
ruled directly from London. However, Henry soon realised that he
could not hope to control the other Lords in Ireland without the
influence of the Kildares, and so grudgingly reinstated Garrett Mr as
his Deputy in Ireland in 1496 . He knew that if he controlled Garrett,
then he would have much more chance of spreading the Pale's
control all over Ireland. Garrett was succeeded by his son Garrett g
in 1513 who continued to rule the Pale in the name of the King, now
Henry VIII. However his influence started to diminish, partly because
Henry married Anne Boleyn, who was from the rival Butler family. His
favour with Henry began to diminish too.
Built the first dry dock in 1495
(Portsmouth)
Encouraged the Cabot brothers in their
expeditions to discover the NW passage
way to the Orient; they discovered the rich
fishing grounds off Newfoundland.
Diplomacy and trade went hand in hand,
and in Henry's reign England's prosperity
was assured. He made an advantageous
treaty with Denmark for fishing rights and
an agreement with Florence for the sale of
English wool there; he was also able, in
1496, to extract excellent terms from the
Archduke Phillip for English trade with
the Netherlands, a pact formulated in the
Intercursus Magnus. (Trading on his own
account, the King made a profit of some
15,000 on deals in alum in 1505-1506.)
Yeomen and the Queen: Henry VII created
the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of
the Guard in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth

There are 73 Yeomen of the Guard, all of whom
are former officers and sergeants of the British
Services.
The Yeomen of the Guard are not the same as
the Yeomen Warders - who are affectionately
known as Beefeaters - who guard the Tower of
London, although their uniforms are almost
identical.
The Yeomen of the Guard can be distinguished
by their cross belts, worn from the left shoulder.
They carry a sword, which is not drawn, and a
halberd known as a partisan. The uniform and
kit weighs nearly 24lb (11kg).
Replica of the Matthew in Bristol, 2004


1503 Henry VIIs
daughter Margaret
marries King James IV of
Scotland, of their 6
children only one
survived infancy. Her
great-grandson James VI
became James I of
England on Elizabeths
death
Henry VIII as a
young man
The court life initiated by his father evolved into a
cornerstone of Tudor government in the reign of
Henry VIII. After his father's staunch, stolid rule, the
energetic, youthful and handsome king avoided
governing in person, much preferring to journey the
countryside hunting and reviewing his subjects.
Matters of state were left in the hands of others, most
notably Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York.
Cardinal Wolsey virtually ruled England until his
failure to secure the papal annulment that Henry
needed to marry Anne Boleyn in 1533. Wolsey was
quite capable as Lord Chancellor, but his own
interests were served more than that of the king: as
powerful as he was, he still was subject to Henry's
favour - losing Henry's confidence proved to be his
downfall. The early part of Henry's reign, however,
saw the young king invade France, defeat Scottish
forces at the Battle of Foldden Field (in which
James IV of Scotland was slain), and write a
treatise denouncing Martin Luther's Reformist
ideals, for which the pope awarded Henry the title
"Defender of the Faith".

Studio of H. Holbein
Around his neck, he wears
a pendant depicting
George and the dragon - a
nationalistic motif. The
king is shown with a
shaven head and beard,
innovations he adopted in
May 1535 in imitation of
Francis I of France. The
careful and elaborate
painting of the gemmed
costume and jewellery
underscores Henry's
passions for such
ornaments, and
demonstrates Henry's
status and power.
Henry VIII wore out eight horses a day while hunting, and also
engaged regularly in dancing, jousting and wrestling. This
lifestyle began to go badly wrong from the age of forty-four, when
his horse rolled on him in a tournament, crippling one leg and
leaving him a chronic invalid. The accident deprived him of his
ability to take exercise, while his eating habits did not diminish.
He was quite a good musician, and possessed a library of almost
a thousand books, which he certainly read as he scribbled all
over them. He had a real understanding of fortification, ballistics
and shipping, and could discuss mathematics and astronomy on
equal terms with experts. His court was a model of decorum
compared with most others in contemporary Europe, those who
frequented it being forbidden to brawl, duel or appear in public
with their mistresses. His only conventional vices were gluttony,
ostentation and gambling: in two years he lost 3,250 on cards
and by his death he owned a record 50 palaces. His one book,
against Martin Luther's religious opinions, piled up quotations on
the points at issue without ever answering Luther's arguments
He was genuinely charming, being boisterously affectionate,
having a desperate desire to please, and taking a real interest in
other people. The king's negative qualities were the other faces of
his positive attributes. If he was demonstrative in his affections, so
was he in his rages, abusing courtiers verbally and physically. His
flamboyance could lead him into scenes which embarrassed all
observers, such as the weeks of public blubbering which followed
the revelation that his fifth queen, Catherine Howard, had been
unfaithful to him. One has the impression that his courtiers often
felt that they were dealing with a huge child; and a lethally
dangerous one. His craving for admiration and success led him to
throw tantrums each time his policies were checked or failed, and
to turn furiously against both who had advised them and those
who had resisted them. His reign probably contained more
political executions than any other of comparable length in English
history - 330 in the years 1532-40 alone - and the king took a
personal interest in increasing the physical suffering and
humiliation of some of those condemned.

Henry never showed any capacity as a general, and his
foreign policy was a failure. He repeatedly attempted to
reconquer parts of France, and ended up with Boulogne, a
third-rate port that was subsequently handed back to the
French after over a million pounds had been spent trying to
keep it. He tried to conquer Scotland, and only forced the
Scots to become allies of his enemies the French. Two
real successes of his reign - the assimilation of Wales and
the pacification of Ireland - were not matters in which he
displayed personal interest. The splendid string of
fortresses which he built to guard the English coast were a
sign of panic, at having united all the strongest powers in
Western Europe against himself by rejecting Catholicism.
The overhaul of governmental structures and taxation
undertaken by his ministers was driven by the need to
raise money for his wars, where it was spent to little result.

The Yeoman Warders, royal
bodyguard, 1509

HENRY VIII
1512. Benefit of Clergy denied to Murderers
1512. Act in Strodes Case
1514-1515. Resumption of Royal Grants
1532. The Conditional Restraint of Annates
1533. Act in Restraint of Appeals
1534. Ecclesiastical Appointments Act
1534. The First Act of Succession
1534. Act of Supremacy of Henry VIII
1534. The Treasons Act
1536. Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries
1536. The King at Twenty-four may repeal Acts of Parliament
passed during his Minority
1539. The Lex Regia
1539. Act for the Dissolution of the Greater Monasteries
1539. The Six Articles Act
1542. The Attainder of Queen Katherine Howard
1543. Ferrers Case
1544. Act fixing the Succession
1544. Act concerning Treasons committed out of the Realm


Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, was Henry VIII's closest
friend. Brandon's father was Henry VII's standard-bearer at
the Battle of Bosworth Field and died defending the future
king. Henry VII repaid his loyalty by educating young Charles
with his own children, and from the beginning Charles and the
future Henry VIII were devoted friends. But their friendship
was sorely tested when Brandon secretly married Henry's
favourite sister, the beautiful Princess Mary Tudor, widow of
the King of France.
In 1513 a meeting was also a diplomatic
necessity since, in 1508, his father had
entered into a formal contract of marriage
between his youngest daughter, Mary, and
Maximilian's son, Charles of Castile. But
over the next few years, little mention had
been made of the contract. Henry used the
visit to broach the subject; the end result
was an agreement that Princess Mary and
Charles would wed in 1514, after Charles
had reached his 14th birthday.
In 1514 as well, the usual tangle of European diplomacy had made Henry
distrustful of the Hapsburgs. Also, the deadline for Charles of Castile's
marriage to Princess Mary had come and passed with only dismissive
explanations from the emperor. So when Louis XII of France offered a peace
treaty to England, Henry was eager to accept it. Louis considerably
sweetened the offer by offering to wed the Princess Mary. For Henry, this was
a diplomatic coup. For his sister, of course, it was considerably different. Mary
Tudor, born 18 March 1495, was the baby of the Tudor family and widely
considered the most beautiful princess of her time. She shared her brother
Henry's exuberance for spectacle and was the star of his court. Like him, she
loved dancing, masques, and parties; they were also close emotionally. So
when Henry told her that she would marry the widowed King of France, a man
in his fifties with gout and a pock-marked face, she poured out her heart.
Certainly she would do her duty as a Princess, she told Henry, but when the
marriage was over, she wanted to choose her next spouse - and choose him
for love alone. It was an extraordinary demand for any woman of that time but
Henry VIII loved his sister and he agreed. Why? Partly because he loved her
but also because he wanted her to leave for France peacefully and willingly;
and also, perhaps more troubling, because she had confessed her secret love
to him. It was none other than his best friend, Charles Brandon.

Mary believed her brother's promise and married the aged
Louis XII at Greenwich Palace on 13 August 1514. The Duc
de Longueville acted as the king's proxy in every respect; he
even lay down on a bed with Mary and touched her body
with his naked leg, thus 'consummating' the marriage.
Mary enjoyed herself at her wedding festivities and its
attendant celebrations. It would have been impossible to
feel otherwise. She had a splendid trousseau, marvellous
jewels sent over from France, and all the honours due to the
queen of France. All contemporary accounts remark on her
great beauty, particularly her clear complexion and long red-
gold hair, the Tudor trademark. Her husband was eager to
see her, telling the English ambassador that he had many
gifts for his bride and expected a kiss for each one.

Mary Rose, Queen of France, then Duchess of Suffolk
Born in 1496 she was five years younger than her brother, the future Henry VIII.
Her education included French and Latin, music and dancing. Marriages and
promises of future marriage could be contracted even when the people
concerned were infants. The first offer for Mary came in 1498 from Ludovico
Sforza, he thought his son would make a suitable future husband for the
princess. This offer was rejected. Mary's happiness was shattered with the
deaths of her oldest brother, Arthur, in 1502 and her mother, Elizabeth, in 1503.
After the death of her mother, Mary joined the household of Arthur's widow,
Katherine of Aragon, the future wife of Henry VIII. In 1508 Mary was married for
the first time. This marriage was by proxy to Charles, the son of Philip of Austria
and Joan of Castile. She was showered with extravagant gifts of jewellery and
given the title "Princess Mary of Castile". The year after, her father died and her
brother Henry became King, marrying Katherine of Aragon. The proxy marriage
dragged on, and it may have been about this time that Mary became attracted to
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, a man roughly fifteen years her senior.
Charles Brandon had already been married twice, returning to his first wife when
he conveniently discovered that his marriage to a wealthy widow, who's fortune
he had spent, was not valid. It would have been extremely dangerous for
Charles Brandon if Henry had suspected any form of liaison between him and
Mary. A good friend of the King he may have been, but Henry would have had
little compunction in having him executed for presuming to get involved with his
sister. In 1513 Brandon's wife died, leaving him free to become engaged to Lady
Lisle, and take the title Baron Lisle, even though he was not yet married. In the
same year, Henry called off the proxy marriage of Mary and Charles, he was
furious that his ally Ferdinand of Aragon had made a separate peace with
France. Mary was free to be hawked around the courts of Europe again.
The marriage lasted for eighty-two days. On 31
December 1514, Louis died quite abruptly. Despite his
ill health, he had been notably active during his
marriage. This may have contributed to his demise; he
boasted that on their wedding night, he had 'crossed
the river' three times. Before his death, he was visited
by the duke of Suffolk on a diplomatic trip and Charles
wrote to Henry that his sister was discreet and
dignified. This undoubtedly relieved both men; they
had perhaps wondered how Mary would greet her true
love. Mary, however, was aware of her position as
Queen of France and, during her brief marriage,
conducted herself with aplomb.

The Brandon
marriage
portrait
As an alternative to the Common Law
courts, Wolsey re-established the position
of the prerogative courts of the Star
Chamber and the Court of Chancery. The
system in both courts concentrated on
simple, inexpensive cases, and promised
impartial justice. He also established the
Court of Requests for the poor, where no
fees were required
John Wyclif, an Oxford academic, anticipated
the arguments of Martin Luther over a century
later, and also produced the first English Bible.
Piers Plowman, a popular poetic satire, attacked
abuses in the entire church, from Pope to priest.
But nothing happened. Wyclif's supporters, the
Lollards, were driven underground after their
failed rebellion of 1414, and remained a
persecuted minority for another hundred years.
The church carried on unabashed and proud,
selling offices and indulgences, a political
plaything for princes and a useful source of
income for second sons and men on the make.
And forget celibacy - following the example of
Renaissance Popes, many cardinals had
mistresses and illegitimate children.
The roots of the Reformation
The Great Schism of Avignon saw two, even
three individuals claiming to be the Pope, and
the Council of Constance in the early fifteenth
century saw a power struggle between Bishops
and Pope. Combined, they hindered Papal
government and harmed the reputation of the
Church in the eyes of the laity. They led early
sixteenth century popes to resist reform and
bolster their own position by using their spiritual
power, along with war and diplomacy, to
become territorial princes in Italy, building their
bank accounts on the way Thus they sold
indulgences to finance the rebuilding of the
Petrine Basilica in Rome.
His damage to traditional Christianity in England is
obvious: his policies resulted in the destruction of
hundreds of beautiful buildings and works of art,
incalculable damage to libraries, and the execution of the
Englishmen mostly widely respected in Europe for their
godliness. In place of all this he instituted not a Protestant
Church (that was the work of his children), but a decaying
Catholic one. It is easy to make the case that he was far
more interested in his control of English religion than in
the quality of it.

For Henry the best way of managing people was through
fear; statements which testify to his innate insecurity. As
well as savagely punishing ministers for failure, he
constantly encouraged them to watch each other for signs
of incompetence or disloyalty and to inform the king
privately of such signs. This led to an atmosphere of
chronic suspicion and rivalry at court, which worsened as
the king grew older. Only two of his leading advisers,
Archbishop Cranmer and Edward Seymour, escaped
either disgrace or execution. In two major respects,
however, his mixture of caution and flamboyance paid off.
He managed the nobility by honouring and flattering them
and, by carefully seeking the endorsement of Parliament
for all his reforms, he increased both the power of the
Crown and of representative democracy. These two
techniques combined to make his rule effective.

As an alternative to the Common Law
courts, Wolsey re-established the position
of the prerogative courts of the Star
Chamber and the Court of Chancery. The
system in both courts concentrated on
simple, inexpensive cases, and promised
impartial justice. He also established the
Court of Requests for the poor, where no
fees were required
Desiderius
Erasmus
(1466-1536),
by Hans
Holbein
Priest, man of
letters, the
most influential
humanist of the
Northern
Renaissance
Erasmus, scholar and monk, taught at Oxford,
where he agitated for reform within the church.
In his In Praise of Folly he lambasted the clergy
for "observing with punctilious scrupulosity a lot
of silly ceremonies and paltry traditional rules."
Sir Thomas More, later Chancellor, wrote
Utopia, a vision of an ideal society with no
church at all to get in the way of spiritual
understanding.

Henry himself, despite his later break with
Rome, was not a religious reformer. He was
fairly orthodox in his own beliefs, and he passed
measures against Lutheranism and upheld
many traditional Catholic rites from attack by
reformers.

Sir Thomas More, Chancellor and Saint, 1478-
1535
Sir Thomas More
opposed the
divorce and was
reluctantly
executed by Henry.
At the foot of the
scaffold More is
reported to have
said, "I pray you,
Master Lieutenant,
see me safely up,
and for my coming
down, let me shift
for myself".

Hampton Court Palace was England's most significant palace of the
Tudor age. From 1515-c.1521, the Lord Chancellor of England and
soon-to-be Cardinal, Thomas Wolsey, transformed a medieval manor
(situated 13 miles southwest of London on the north bank of the River
Thames) into a palace deemed superlative by contemporary
observers. By 1529, the king had begun a process of rebuilding and
remodelling which lasted at least ten years. As the Cardinal fell from
favour and died, Henry transformed Wolsey's palace beyond
recognition. Then William III and Mary II managed to rebuild half of the
Tudor palace from 1689-94. Consequently, throughout the almost 500
years since Wolsey's occupation, it has enjoyed a long history of
development which has heavily obscured its original form.



By the time Henry finished his building
works at Hampton Court Palace in
about 1540, the palace was one of the
most modern, sophisticated and
magnificent in England.
There were tennis courts, bowling
alleys and pleasure gardens for
recreation, a hunting park of more
than 1,100 acres, kitchens covering
36,000 square feet, a fine chapel, a
vast communal dining room (the
Great Hall) and a multiple garderobe
(or lavatory) - known as the Great
House of Easement - which could sit
28 people at a time. Water flowed to
the palace from Coombe Hill in
Kingston, three miles away, through
lead pipes.
The first buildings at Hampton Court belonged to the Knights
Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, a religious order founded in
the 11th century.

By the 14th century, the Hampton estates of the
Knights Hospitallers sat rather conveniently
between royal palaces at Sheen and Byfleet.
The grange was a perfect staging post for royal
visitors. And new building works at Hampton Court
reflected its new use as a high-status guest house.
Byfleet was dismantled in the early 1400s, and the
importance of Hampton Court declined at the
same time.
The Knights Hospitallers already rented out a lot of
their other estates and it seems that Hampton
Court first became a tenanted property at about
this time.
1514 was a very important date in the
history of Hampton Court
This was the year that a new 99-year
lease on the property was given, by the
Knights Hostpitallers, to Thomas Wolsey
(c1470-1530), the Archbishop of York.

Wolsey was a man on a rapid rise up the Tudor equivalent of
the corporate ladder. He was soon to become a Cardinal and
Lord Chancellor of England. He also held a host of other
influential posts.
Crucially, though, he was also a close friend of the new king,
Henry VIII (r 1509-1547) and would serve as his chief minister
for over a decade.
Wolseys works
Wolsey built a vast palace complex at Hampton Court,
immeasurably transforming a grand private house into a
magnificent Bishops palace.
Wolsey added new sumptuous private chambers for his own
use, as well as three suites for the new royal family: one each
for King Henry VIII, Queen Katherine of Aragon and their
daughter Princess Mary.
A grand processional route led from all these grand apartments
to an imposing double-height chapel.

Thomas Wolsey also owned York Place in London, the official
residence in the capital of the Archbishop of York. However, he
needed Hampton Court as an appropriately splendid country
house for entertaining and for hosting important state diplomatic
visits.
Throughout the 1520s, Hampton Court hosted important
European delegations. These were occasions for ostentatious
displays of wealth and conspicuous consumption, but also
and the two purposes were not mutually exclusive for doing
deals and signing treaties that would help improve Englands
position in Europe.
But though Wolseys great house was intended as a
compliment to Henry VIII (just as Wolseys magnificence
merely, according to him at least, reflected the glory of Henry)
others didnt see it that way.

The fall of Wolsey
Why come you not to Court ?
To which court ?
To the kings court ?
Or to Hampton Court ?
Nay, to the kings court !
The kings court
Should have the excellence
But Hampton Court
Hath the pre-eminence !
So wrote Wolseys contemporary, John Skelton, a poet and
sometime tutor to Henry VIII. Wolsey was thus criticised by
many of his peers for his extravagant lifestyle, epitomised by
his ostentatious palace at Hampton Court. But this was not
what brought Wolseys fall from grace.
By the late 1520s, Henry was desperate to obtain a divorce
from his first wife. Katherine had failed (in Henrys eyes) to
provide Henry with a male heir, despite numerous pregnancies.
Catherine of Aragon

Katherine was 40 in 1525, and the object of
Henrys desire was now the much younger
Anne Boleyn. But after years of political
manoeuvring and discussions, Katherine still
refused to comply, the Pope didnt grant the
divorce and in 1528 Wolsey lost both
Hampton Court and York Place to the
King.

The Tudor King transforms his favourite
property
In just ten years Henry VIII spent more
than 62,000 rebuilding and extending
Hampton Court. This vast sum would be
worth approximately 18 million today.

When he died in 1547 the King had more
than 60 houses, but in the second half of
his reign none were more important to
him, nor more sumptuously decorated, than
Hampton Court Palace.
By the time Henry finished his building works at Hampton Court Palace in about
1540, the palace was one of the most modern, sophisticated and magnificent in
England.
There were tennis courts, bowling alleys and pleasure gardens for recreation, a
hunting park of more than 1,100 acres, kitchens covering 36,000 square feet, a
fine chapel, a vast communal dining room (the Great Hall) and a multiple
garderobe (or lavatory) - known as the Great House of Easement - which could
sit 28 people at a time. Water flowed to the palace from Coombe Hill in
Kingston, three miles away, through lead pipes.


A year later, Henry was dead, with three surviving
children the 9-year old Prince Edward and his
older sisters Mary and Elizabeth. Each would rule
England, and Hampton Court would continue to
play an important part in the lives of the Tudor
monarchs.
All of Henrys six wives came to the palace and most had new
and lavish lodgings. The King rebuilt his own rooms at least
half a dozen times. The palace also provided accommodation
for each of the King's children and for a large number of
courtiers, visitors and servants.
And he used Hampton Court to impress. Most famously in
August 1546 Henry feasted and fted the French ambassador
and his entourage of two hundred gentlemen as well as
1,300 members of his own court for six days. An
encampment of gold and velvet tents surrounded the palace
for the occasion.
A year later, Henry was dead, with three surviving children
the 9-year old Prince Edward and his older sisters Mary and
Elizabeth. Each would rule England, and Hampton Court
would continue to play an important part in the lives of the
Tudor monarchs.

1531 Henry stood up in parliament and
demanded that all members of the Church in
England recognise him as Supreme Head and
Sole Protector of the Church in England.
Although there was much resistance, an Act
was passed confirming the King's status as
Supreme Head of the Church of England.
The King's new title was proclaimed to the
people.

1534 The Act of Supremacy was passed. This
Act declared England as a sovereign state with
the King as Head of both the country and the
Church. It gave Henry the power to reform the
church as he saw fit and also to appoint
churchmen of his own choosing. This Act
removed the last traces of Papal power in
England, including the Pope's right to decide
disputed points of Scripture. the passing of this
Act, together with the Act in Restraint of Appeals
(1533) and the Act of Supremacy (1534) made it
unacceptable for monastic communities, who
owed allegiance to parent institutions outside
England, to remain. In 1536 all monasteries
were closed
The real beneficiary of the Dissolution was not
the king, but the new class of gentry who bought
the lands.
The suppression of the monasteries and places
of pilgrimages was devastating for those
pilgrimage centres that had no other economic
base. Income for people on the pilgrim routes
dropped, with no way to recover it. The other
great loser of the Dissolution was culture;
many monastic libraries full of priceless
illuminated manuscripts were destroyed, with
little or no regard for their value.

Henry VIII commissioned 8000 Bibles for
each of the parishes in his Kingdom in
English so that all parishioners could
understand the Holy Scriptures.
Printing presses could publish 15 pages
per second.
Whereas Parliament stipulated who should vote in county
constituencies, each town was allowed to decide for itself how
its MPs should be selected. Voting qualifications varied
enormously. In Preston every man over the age of 21 could
vote. However, in most boroughs only a small number were
allowed to take part in elections. In some constituencies, MPs
were elected by less than ten people.

Henry VIII enhanced the importance of Parliament by his use of
it during the English Reformation. In 1547 the king gave
permission for members of the commons to meet at St.
Stephen's Chapel, in the Palace of Westminster. In the 15th
century the House of Lords was the Upper House and the
House of Commons the Lower House. However, since that
date, the balance of power has shifted in favour of the
Commons.
Anne Boleyn,
executed
1536
1534 Act of Supremacy.
This act effectively declared England as a
sovereign state with the King as Head of both
the country and the Church. The act stated that
the king was to become Supreme Head of the
Church of England and would have the power
to visit, redress, reform, correct or amend all
errors,heresies and enormities which would
previously have been dealt with by another
spiritual authority. The King could define the faith
in parliament. The King also had the power to
appoint men of his choosing to the most
important ecclesiastical posts. The passing of
this act gave Henry more power than ever for
within his own realm he was superior to the
Pope and all taxes formerly paid to Rome
would now be paid to the King.
During the 1512-1513 war against France,
gunpowder played an important role in the
English fleet
During the 1530s Thomas Audley the Fighting
Instructions at the Kings command. Note this
was the same period when the Emperor Charles
V established a lectureship in Navigation at
Seville University.
By 1543 the Royal fleet constituted the first line
of defence when war broke out with France,
England had the most powerful squadron in
Europe, its ships armed with the latest bronze
and iron guns

Royal Docks at Deptford, topograchical view
by Joseph Farrington, late 18
th
c.

Anne Boleyn, unknown artist
Born 1501/1502 or 1507, niece
of Duke of Norfolk
Young Lady-in-Waiting to Mary
Tudor, wife of King of France,
accompanied her to French
court, on her return became
Lady-in-Waiting to Queen
Katherine.
she had been a maid of
honour to Queen
Claude at the French
court
Secretly married Henry VIII in
January 1533, crowned Queen
in June, gave birth to Elizabeth
in September 1533. Miscarried
2 sons,
Accused of adultery, witchcraft,
and incest.
Beheaded in the Tower of
London 15th May 1536, ten
days later Henry married for the
third time to one of her ladies-
in-waiting.


Jane Seymour,
miniature by Lucas
Horenbout
Born between 1504-1509
Lay-in-Waiting to Anne Boylen
Married Henry 1536
sought pardons for those
involved in the Pilgrimage of
Grace revolt in 1536.
Gave birth to a son, Edward, in
1537, died of puerpural fever.
Given a solemn state funeral.
Henry waited two years before
remarrying.

The MARY ROSE sank on 19
th
July 1545 with the
loss of more than 400 lives, after 34 years of
service

Built between 1509 and 1511,
she was one of the first ships
able to fire a broadside, and
was a firm favourite of King
Henry VIII who watched her
sinking in a squall.
After a long and successful
career, she sank accidentally
during an engagement with the
French fleet in 1545.
Battle of the Solent, 1545

Anne of Cleves, miniature by Hans Holbein the
younger
This German princess, whom
Henry called a Flanders mare,
was neither an intellectual nor
flirtatious, she had no musical
skills either. Henry married her
nonetheless in 1540 but both
were repulsed by each other,
the marriage was not
consummated. Divorced, she
remained in England, an
independently wealthy woman
Died in 1557..
Catherine Howard, miniature by
Hans Holbein the younger
Date of birth unknown
(probably 1521), cousin of
Anne Boleyn, niece of Duke of
Norfolk, Catherine was
Catholic, lady-in-waiting to
Anne of Cleves, this silly, but
vivacious girl caught the Kings
roving eye. Married in 1540,
soon accused of adultery,
beheaded in 1542.
Katherine Parr, miniature by Lucas Horenbout
Born 1520
Twice-widowed and childless, in love with Thomas
Seymour, the brother of Henry's third queen Jane.
But the king's will was law and Katharine bowed to
his demands with grace, married in July 1543. She
was an admirable wife to Henry and a loving
stepmother to his two youngest children, Elizabeth
and Edward. She was also the most intellectual of
Henry's wives, caught up in the turbulent religious
climate of the times. Later in life, she would
undertake the difficult task of learning Greek and
Latin; this was indicative of her genuine love and
respect for scholarship, particularly with regard to
women. It was Katharine Parr who encouraged
Elizabeth I's education, thus creating the most
learned monarch in English history. She also made
John Cheke and Roger Ascham tutors to young
Prince Edward; the influence of these Cambridge
'reformers' upon both Elizabeth and Edward was
profound. Katharine was dangerously attracted to
evangelical Protestantism. Henry VIII died 28th January
1547. Katherine married Thomas Seymour, gave birth to
a daughter, Mary, but died of puerpural fever.


Ruins of Glastonbury and Fountains Abbeys

1538 Dissolution of the monasteries
Philosophical concepts of the power of the king over
church may have played a part in Henry's decision to
suppress the monasteries, but so did greed. The
monasteries were rich, and a lot of that wealth found
its way directly or indirectly to the royal treasury. Some
of the monastery buildings were sold to wealthy gentry
for use as country estates. Many others became
sources of cheap building materials for local
inhabitants. One of the results of the Dissolution of the
Monasteries is that those who bought the old monastic
lands were inclined to support Henry in his break with
Rome, purely from self interest.
Thus the newly created Tudor aristocrats were firmly
in support of the Reformation.
Lacock Abbey, founded in 13th c. Sold to Sir William
Sharington in 1539 who demolished the Abbey church

Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536, rising of Roman Catholics in N
England. It was a protest against the government's abolition of
papal supremacy (1534) and confiscation (1536) of the smaller
monastic properties, intensified by grievances against enclosures
and high rents and taxes. The Catholics protested their loyalty to
Henry VIII, citing as their great grudge the position and influence
of Thomas Cromwell. In Oct., 1536, several thousand men
occupied the city of Lincoln, but dispersed after receiving a sharp
rebuke from the king. Almost immediately, another rally occurred
in Yorkshire. The movement, which rapidly gathered strength in N
England, was led by Robert Aske, a Yorkshire lawyer. Aske and
his followers occupied York and then moved on to Doncaster.
Thomas Howard, 3d duke of Norfolk, promised from the king a
general pardon and a Parliament to be held at York within a year.
The men dispersed. Aske was well received by the king in
London. In Jan., 1537, Sir Francis Bigod of Settrington, Yorkshire,
led an uprising at Beverley. Although Aske and other leaders of
the Pilgrimage of Grace tried to prevent this new disorder, they
were arrested, tried in London, and executed in June, 1537. The
northern counties were placed under martial law, and many
people were hanged on mere suspicion of disaffection. The
repression in N England after the Pilgrimage of Grace put an end
to open opposition to the government's religious policy.
The fate of the monks and nuns. The monks
and nuns were treated quite well as a rule. Only
a few who resisted were summarily executed.
The others, including 5000 monks, 1600 friars,
and 2000 nuns, were given reasonable
pensions. Many of the monks and friars went
into regular church office, so they could not be
said to have suffered. Those who did suffer were
the thousands of servants attached to the
monasteries. They numbered more than the
monks, but there was no pension for them, no
golden handshake.
A number of clergy under Elizabeth were in fact
previously Catholic monks.

There were in excess of 800 religious
houses in England with 10,000 monks,
nuns and friars.

A Cirencester wool merchant, John Coxwell
(1516-1614), a self-made man who made his
money from the wool trade rising from the ranks
of the lower middle class to that of gentry. In the
14th and 15th centuries the trade in Cotswold
wool was on an international scale. Francesco
Datini, an Italian merchant, stated: "the best wool
in Europe came from the Cotswolds and the best
wool in the Cotswolds came from Cirencester."
John was in his early 20s when Cirencester
Abbey was dissolved but 20 years later, when
Elizabeth I sold off the Abbey lands he was able
to purchase a significant portion. Eventually he
owned over 40 properties in Cirencester. In 1563
he bought part of the manor of Siddington, 10
years later he bought the manor of Ablington. At
his death in 1614, aged 101 after a fall from his
horse; he held lands throughout England.
There were still large forests in parts of Kent. Henry
also chose Woolwich and Deptford as they were
near his palace at Greenwich.
Henry VIII further enhanced London's national
significance and widened the range of its activities
by setting up the Royal Dockyards at Deptford and
Woolwich on the south bank of the Thames. This
strengthened London's important links with the sea
and particularly with the newly created Royal Navy.
The dockyards soon became major centres of
industry in their own right with a far-reaching impact
on the local communities.
Royal dockyards, Woolwich (1514) (& Deptford
1513), John Cleevly the Younger, 1772

By 1547 Deptford was the most important yard
in the country. The earliest dry dock there had a
wall of mud blocking the end nearest the
Thames.
Every time a ship was ready to be launched it
took 20 men one month of digging to remove the
wall so that the dock could fill with water.
Launching ships became easier after floodgates
were built at one end of the dry dock. As well as
space for building the ships, storehouses were
needed for masts, rigging and cooperage
(making storage barrels).
In 1570, privately owned rope works were set up
in Woolwich and Deptford to supply rope for
rigging. Each dockyard was a self-contained
community of skilled craftsmen.
Until the time of the Great Fire of 1666, London
had spread out along the Thames. The streets
were narrow, poorly paved and of little use for
traffic. Because of this, the river was used as
the main highway for people and goods, as the
limits of the City were within easy reach of one
or other of the waterside stairs.
1616 Map Southwark Cathedral A cold series of winters led to the Thames freezing
over above London Bridge, and this led to the first Frost Fair in 1607, complete with a
tent city set up on the river itself and offering a number of amusements, including ice
bowling. In good conditions barges travelled daily from Oxford to London carrying timber
and wool, foodstuffs and livestock, battling with the millers on the way.

In the Middle Ages the Crown exercised general jurisdiction
over the Thames, one of the four royal rivers, and appointed
water bailiffs to oversee the river upstream of Staines. The City
of London exercised jurisdiction over the tidal Thames.
However, navigation was increasingly impeded by weirs and
mills, and in the 14th century the river probably ceased to be
navigable for heavy traffic between Henley and Oxford. In the
late 16th century the river seems to have been reopened for
navigation from Henley to Burcot.
The first commission concerned with the management of the
river was the Oxford-Burcot Commission, formed in 1605 to
make the river navigable between Burcot and Oxford.


For many centuries the Thames was the principle thoroughfare through
London. The Thames estuary was also Londons main gateway to and
from Europe, linking the capital city with the rest of the world. It was also the
arrival and departure point for royalty who frequently intermarried with the royal
households of Europe. Throughout the centuries the Thames was also the
setting for numerous ceremonial events, particularly royal occasions, such as
arrivals, departures, visits, coronations, marriages, funerals, processions and
pageantry. Sovereigns travelled on the Thames in elaborately decorated royal
yachts, barges and shallops. This tradition was centuries old and even in
1214 King John travelled to the signing of Magna Carta, near Runnymede
in a royal shallop. Royal processions on the Thames often involved music and
royal celebrations such as coronations or weddings had displays of fireworks. In
1717 George I progressed in the royal barge along the Thames from Whitehall
to Chelsea. George was accompanied by musicians in a city company barge,
playing the 'Water Music' by Handel. City company barges were frequently
used to accompany royal processions and the companies also processed on the
river. Richly adorned, these barges were draped with different coloured awnings
according to the ceremonial event, red for royal ceremonial and blue for civic
celebrations. Wealthy and powerful individuals used their boats to display their
status, by draping a tapestry carpet on the boat, ornate gilt carving or fine
liveried crews. The river offered the ideal backdrop for demonstrations of royal
hegemony. Royal yachts and barges were not only conveyances, but also
symbols of status and display. They were used to reinforce status and proclaim
the monarch and his or her purpose to the nation. Passing amid the people, the
yachts and barges displayed power and obvious splendour with their fluttering
flags and banners, sounding trumpets and saluting canons. Positioned on deck
the monarch could see his or her subjects and appear to be seen without being
closely scrutinised.
Although there were many cold winters in the past, the
Thames froze over only because of the old London
Bridge. Completed in 1176, this was the first stone
bridge across the Thames in London. Its 19 narrow
arches slowed the flow of the river and made it more
likely that the water could freeze during long and severe
winters. The river froze over here more than 20 times
up to 1814.
The 1547 Injunctions against images were a more
tightly drawn version of those of 1538 but they were
more fiercely enforced, at first informally, and then by
instruction. All images in churches were to be
dismantled; stained glass, shrines, statues were defaced
or destroyed; roods and often their lofts and screens
were cut down, bells were taken down; vestments were
prohibited and either burned or sold; church plate was to
be melted down or sold and the requirement of the
clergy to be celibate was lifted; processions were
banned; ashes and palms were prohibited. Chantries,
means by which the saying of masses for the dead were
endowed, were abolished completely
English Institutions
Early Tudors
- improved government, using Parliament
- strong Navy
- exploration overseas
- Reformation
- some social mobility

Upon Henrys
death in 1547,
his sickly son
Edward, aged
9, acceded to
the throne, his
uncles became
regents in turn.
The Protestant
Reformation
seemed
unshakeable.
EDWARD VI
1547. Act for the Dissolution of Chantries
1549. First Act of Uniformity
1550. First Mention of Lords Lieutenant
1552. Second Act of Uniformity

During the reign of Edward VI, the
Anglican liturgy had been established in
the Book of Common Prayer and the
confession of 42 Articles of faith
composed by Archbishop Cranmer (who
had granted the divorce of Catherine of
Aragon and Henry VIII) and Bishop Ridley
in 1552.
A council was appointed by his father to rule during his
minority. But Edward's uncle, the Edward Seymour,
lord Hertford (Jane Seymour's brother), wanted to be
Protector of the country and the King.
On 17 Feb 1547 Edward VI was knighted by Hertford,
who was himself created Duke of Somerset and Earl
Marshall (an office vacant as a result of the Duke of
Norfolk imprisonment).
Somerset's brother, Lord High Admiral Thomas
Seymour, was jealous of Somerset and schemed to put
himself in power. But he shot the Kings favourite dog
which put an end to his hopes.
The Duke of Somerset (The Lord
Protector) acted as regent. Somerset
introduced Protestant reforms to the
English church. Uniformity of service was
ensured by an act of Parliament. In 1551
Archbishop Cranmer's Forty Two
Articles of religion laid the foundation
for Anglicanism.

The Admiral was arrested and charged with
treason. Somerset hesitated to sign his
brother's death warrant, so Edward gave the
council permission to have his uncle beheaded.
Somerset himself later fell from the king's favor
and lost his role as Protector. John Dudley,
Earl of Warwick, took control of the King and
council, and eventually Somerset, like his
brother, was arrested and charged with treason.
Under pressure from Dudley, now Duke of
Northumberland, fourteen-year-old Edward
signed Somerset's death warrant. Somerset
was executed in 1552. From the entries in his
Journal, Edward VI uncles' deaths was merely
Royal business as usual.
Lady Jane Grey
When the Edward died at the age of
sixteen the Duke of Northumberland tried
to put a reluctant Lady Jane Grey, great
grand-daughter of Henry VII, on the throne
ahead of Edward's sister Mary. There was
no real public support for the move and it
fizzled after only nine days. The Duke, the
unfortunate Jane Grey, and all her major
supporters were executed at the Tower of
London

Mary Tudor, 1553-58
Upon Edwards death age 15 his fervently
Catholic elder half-sister, Mary Tudor, daughter
of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII, became
Queen in 1553. She and her advisers tried to
restore England to the Catholic faith. Her
marriage to the Catholic Philip of Spain, later
King Philip II led many to fear she would
succeed. But her persecution of Protestants,
which included the burning at the stake of
Archbishop Cranmer and others, gave
legitimacy to the Reform through its first martyrs.
MARY I
1553. First Act of Repeal
1554. Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary
to Philip of Spain
1554. Revival of the Heresy Acts
1554. Second Act of Repeal

The reign of Queen Mary (1553-58) was marked
by religious upheaval and dissension. She had
been raised as a Catholic, and she sought to
undo the Protestant changes of the past several
years. Protestants were suppressed and burned
in the hundreds, an act which earned Mary the
nickname "Bloody Mary".

Mary entered into an extremely unpopular
marriage with Philip, heir to the throne of Spain.
Parliament refused to accept Philip as co-ruler,
and after much wrangling he took his place as
Mary's consort only, with no right to inherit the
throne. Mary seems to have doted on Philip, but
he regarded the marriage as an affair of political
convenience.

Philip II of Spain, 1527-1598, made a purely political second marriage in 1554 to
his older cousin, Mary Tudor. He became jure uxoris King of England, although
the couple was apart more than together as they ruled their respective countries.
The English Parliament refused to crown him jointly with Mary.
Philip II married four times to a) Maria Manuela of Portugal b) Mary Tudor of
England c) Elizabeth of Valois (in France) and d) to Anne of Austria.

The Catholic
restoration under
Mary Tudor, 1553-8
Nearly 300 Protestants
were burnt at the stake
including the Protestant
churchmen Latimer and
Ridley on 16
th
October
1555, shortly followed by
Thomas Cranmer,
former Archbishop of
Canterbury on 21 March
1556.
Bloody Bonner, c. 1500-1569
According to Foxe in his "Book of Martyrs" Bishop Bonner
tortured prisoners in the great hall of Fulham Palace:
"This cannibal in three years space three hundred martyrs slew
They were his food, he loved so blood, he spard none he
knew."

The military power of the
crown itself was greatly
weakened by the Hundred
Years War (13371453), and
the Wars of the Roses
(145585). A parliament was
created, which mostly sat in
Drogheda, until the Tudors
took greater interest in Irish
affairs from 1485 and moved
it back to Dublin. The Pale
generally consisted of fertile
lowlands, which were easier
for the garrison to defend
from ambush than hilly or
wooded ground. For reasons
of trade and administration, a
version of English became
the official and common
language.
Mary encouraged English settlers to
colonise Munster, a policy that her half-
sister Elizabeth also promoted, with the
difference that her colonists were
Protestants, most of whom settled in
Ulster.
ELIZABETH
1559. The Act of Supremacy
1559. The Act of Uniformity
1559. Act of Recognition of the Queens Title
1559. Treason Act
1559. Grant of Tonnage and Poundage
1559. Establishment of the Court of High Commission
1566. Ordinance of the Star Chamber for the Censorship of
the Press
1571. Act against bringing Decrees of the Pope into
England
1571. The Oath of a Privy Councillor
1574. Commission for the Manumission of Villeins
1579. The Commission of a justice of the Peace
1581. The Oath of a Justice of the Peace
1586. Resolutions on the Norfolk Election Case
1601. The Queens Message with Regard to Monopolies


Elizabeth holds a sceptre in her
right hand and, seated on a red
throne, she is set against a
background of green tiles with a
gold decoration. The 45 years of
her reign that followed were a
period of national resurgence and
of maritime adventures and
discovery. In this portrait, the
importance Elizabeth attached to
her public image is expressed in
the sumptuous clothes and rich
setting, and is emphasized by
holding the sceptre as a symbol
of office and power. The portrait
functions as a regal icon rather
than a human portrait, intended
primarily to convey a sense of
courtly magnificence and
authority, telling more about the
image cultivated around her, than
about her true physical
appearance.

Tension with Spain was constant during Elizabeth's
reign. Philip, who had once been touted as a possible
husband for Elizabeth, was now king of Spain. Spain had
tremendous wealth pouring into its treasury from its
territories in the New World, and English sailors had a
habit of capturing Spanish ships on the high seas. This
"piracy" was officially reprimanded by Elizabeth and
unofficially praised. Sir Francis Drake and Sir John
Hawkins were two captains who made their reputations
and fortunes playing at piracy.
Elizabeth herself invested in several of their expeditions
and gave them letters patent as privateers, that is
officially sanctioning piracy against Spain.
As a Protestant Queen, Elizabeth was forced to
live with the threat of assassination from
Catholics throughout her reign. But there was an
army of men working in secret to protect the
Queen. These were her spies, her secret
service, and they were overseen by the most
ruthless spy master of them all: Francis
Walsingham. The efficiency of this network
unearthed a series of plots to overthrow
Elizabeth and replace her with the Catholic Mary
Queen of Scots. It is a testament to the success
of this secret service that Elizabeth died
peacefully of old age and not at the hands of an
assassin.


Elizabeths reign saw changes in or the
creation of:
- the use of Parliament
- the Church of England
- the Navy
- exploration and the beginnings of
Empire
- spying : a new governmental department
- the arts with the flowering of the
Renaissance in music, poetry, literature,
architecture, painting, garden design, etc.
A regal icon of a Queen who ruled through
a stuble manner, not through brute force as
her father had

As one might expect under Elizabeth I, the articles are
couched in ambiguous language, allowing for a broad
definition of faith that excluded Roman Catholics and
Anabaptists, yet included a spectrum of Protestant
beliefs. Elizabeth sought to draw together the people of
her realm under one umbrella of faith that allowed for
individual variation, yet firmly established the primacy of
the Anglican church, with her at its head.
The articles repudiate Catholic beliefs such as
transubstantiation and the sacrifice of the Mass, and
affirm the supremacy of scripture. They allow clergy to
marry, and affirm the right of the monarch to influence
church policy. Parliament passed a law in 1571 requiring
an oath be taken to these Articles.
The 'Golden Hind' was launched at the Royal Dockyard at Deptford in 1577.
In this vessel Sir Francis Drake undertook one of the most historic and
exciting voyages of all time. Between 1577 and 1580 the 'Golden Hind'
circumnavigated the world making vital discoveries before returning home
with amazing treasures.

Elizabeth Tudor is considered by
many to be the greatest monarch
in English history. When she
became queen in 1558, she was
twenty-five years old, a survivor
of scandal and danger, and
considered illegitimate by most
Europeans. She inherited a
bankrupt nation, torn by religious
discord, a weakened pawn
between the great powers of
France and Spain. She was only
the third queen to rule England
in her own right; the other two
examples, her cousin Lady Jane
Grey and half-sister Mary I, were
disastrous. Even her supporters
believed her position dangerous
and uncertain. Her only hope,
they counseled, was to marry
quickly and lean upon her
husband for support. But
Elizabeth had other ideas.
Made
1560,
printed
1572

Nicholas Hilliard


The Peace Portrait
1580-5, by Marcus
Gheeraerts the
Elder. In this
portrait, the queen is
the harbinger of
peace. She holds an
olive branch in her
left hand and a
sheathed sword lies
at her feet. She is
possibly wearing the
same headdress,
collar and girdle
from the 'Ermine
Portrait'..
The Ermine Portrait, 1585, by
Nicholas Hilliard. This portrait can be
viewed at Hatfield House. Why is
Elizabeth seated with an ermine? It
was the symbol of royalty; and, if you
look closely at the animal, you can
see the gold crown it wears. The
crown symbolizes majesty and
purity. As for the bejeweled black
gown and background - black and
white were the queen's favorite
colours. Also, the deep, dark color
reinforces the symbolic gravity of the
painting.
In this portrait, Elizabeth wears the
famous 'Three Brothers' jewel - a
gem made of three diamonds set in a
triangle around a pointed diamond. It
was one of her most treasured
jewels. The sword of state rests on
the table beside the queen and
symbolizes justice; she also holds an
olive branch to symbolize peace
The 39 Articles of Religion are the essential
beliefs of the Anglican church codified. The
articles were established by a Convocation of
the Church in 1563, using as a basis the 42
Articles written under the direction of Thomas
Cranmer in 1553. The 42 Articles were
overturned under the fervently Catholic Mary I,
but under Elizabeth I the pendulum swung back
in favour of reform.
But what flavour of reform should Elizabeth
adopt? There were extremists on both hands,
some calling hopefully for a return to more
Catholic forms of worship, and others
clamouring for various extreme reformist views
to be advanced.
Under Elizabeth the Church of England was
officially established (1563) with Protestant
dogma, but a liturgy, rites, and church
organization which were essentially Catholic in
form.There were many non-conforming
Protestant sects at this time, most of which were
tolerated under Elizabeth's policies. Life was not
easy for Catholics, though. There were as many
executions of Catholics under Elizabeth as there
were Protestants under Mary, though over a
reign nine times as long.
1533 Born and christened at Greenwich, she was the
second daughter of King Henry VIII.
1558 Became Queen after the death of her sister
Mary.
1585 Elizabeth sides with the Netherlands against
Spain.
1587 The English successfully attack a Spanish fleet
at Cadiz.
1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada.
1595 Spanish land in Cornwall and burn Penzance.
1597 Essex leads an unsuccessful expedition against
the Spanish, but bad weather defeats the second
Spanish Armada.
1603 Elizabeth dies and is succeeded by James VI of
Scotland, who becomes James
Walsingham had studied as a lawyer and was intelligent, serious
and disciplined. He held strong Protestant beliefs, and had gone
to live abroad during the reign of the Catholic Mary I. But when
Protestantism was re-established under Elizabeth I, he returned
to England and became Secretary of State in 1568. Quick-witted
and ruthless, he was soon playing a critical role in intelligence-
gathering operations. Without the other commitments which had
taken up much of Cecil's time, Walsingham could devote himself
to overseeing Elizabeth's secret service which he did with zeal.
He was strict, almost Puritan in his religious beliefs, and
passionate about protecting the country from Catholic threat.
Spies were posted to live abroad who could supply him with
intelligence on the politics and attitudes of Catholic countries
towards England. This information enabled Walsingham to piece
together, for example, the policy of the Pope towards Elizabeth.
Armed also with information from spies based in this country,
Walsingham could trace lines of communication between
Catholics here and abroad, and keep track of any plots.

For reasons of security Mary, Queen of Scots was regularly
moved from one residence to another. She still had her
entourage and spent her days sewing, reading or hunting,
but in reality Mary was a prisoner. She did not, however,
realise the level of scrutiny she was under. Walsingham
loathed Mary and everything she stood for, and vowed to
bring her down. It was to take him almost 20 years. But
when he discovered in 1586 that she was corresponding
with a group of Catholics led by the young Anthony
Babington, he seized his chance. For the first stage of his
plan, Walsingham used a spy named Gifford to act as a
double agent.

Mary,
Queen of
Scots
Having outlined his plans to Mary, Babington now
tried to secure her participation in the plot. This
was the moment Walsingham had been waiting
for. When the vital letter from Mary asking for
details was intercepted, a postscript was forged in
her hand asking for the identities of the plotters.
The names were duly supplied, and their fate was
sealed. Mary's involvement in the plot had been
proven, and a gallows was drawn on the page by
the decoding expert. Walsingham could now
move in for the kill.
By now Babington and the others, realising
something was wrong, had gone into hiding. But
Walsingham was one step ahead and they were
quickly captured and tried. Elizabeth, keen to
signal a warning against further plots, ordered that
their executions be public and brutal. The men
were hung, drawn and quartered. Mary was also
beheaded.

Buckland Abbey,bought by Drake in 1581

Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) was a courtier, politician,
soldier, seaman, explorer, businessman, philosopher,
historian and poet. He organised and financed exploration in
North America with the aim of finding and mining gold and
increasing trade. In 1585, Raleigh sent a party of colonists
to found a settlement on the east coast of North America.
They landed in North Carolina, which Raleigh later named
'Virginia' in honour of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. In May
1553, Sir Hugh Willoughby sailed from Ratcliffe with a fleet
of three ships to find a north east trade route to the east. He,
along with the crews of two of the ships, were shipwrecked
off Lapland and died. The third vessel sailed onwards and
reached Russia. The crew travelled overland to Moscow
and met the Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible. Their meeting
led to trade between England and Russia. Captain John
Smith Smith led the 1606 expedition to Virginia from
Blackwall. He was responsible for the establishment of a
trading settlement at Jamestown. During his stay in Virginia
his life was saved by the Indian Pocahontas. Legend has it
that Pocahontas fell in love with Smith and, when he was
due to be clubbed to death by the Algonquians, put her
head over his, so that no blows would fall on him.
To share the risks, merchants with similar
interests joined together in a joint stock
company. This could raise capital from
landowners and other investors.
Examples included the Turkey Company,
established in 1581, and the Venice Company
in 1583. The government promised such
companies a monopoly if they opened up trade
with new countries. The East India Company
received its letters patent in 1600
During the 16th century London's world-wide
trading links grew because of the activities of the
joint stock companies
Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard
Chancellor sailed from Deptford in 1553 in
charge of a venture arranged by London
merchants. Its aim was to find a north-
east passage to the Far East.
They did not find a route to the East and
Willoughby and his men died in the frozen
wastes of Lapland.
Chancellor, however, landed in Russia and
began trading in Moscow with Ivan the
Terrible. This led to the founding of the Russia
Company in 1555, one of the most
successful early maritime companies.
It imported furs, tar, iron and copper to London.
Queen Elizabeth herself was one of the
shareholders.
Sebastian Cabot, son of John Cabot, who had
sailed to North America in 1498, headed the
company.
The most important of the new companies
was the East India Company.
For many years, the Dutch had monopolised the
spice trade and in 1599 they raised the price of
pepper from 3 shillings (15p) a pound to 8
shillings (40p) a pound.
Exasperated London merchants called a
meeting, chaired by the Lord Mayor. As a result,
in 1600, Queen Elizabeth I signed the
Charter creating the English East India
Company.

A Portuguese
carrack before the
wind
In 1601, Sir James Lancaster sailed
from Woolwich for the East Indies with
a fleet of five ships. The fleet sailed for
the Banda Islands off Indonesia, which
were the centre of eastern spice
growing. Lancaster found it hard to
exchange his English cloth for spices in
the East Indies. However, after he
captured a Portuguese carrack full of
Indian cottons, he was able to trade
these instead.
Two and a half years later, he returned
with a cargo of pepper. Soon
afterwards the Company developed its
own shipbuilding yards and
warehouses on the west side of
Deptford Creek. The Company
prospered and later played a key role
in the growth of the British Empire
The rise in London's global trade meant new facilities
were needed to load and unload ships. The Crown
was the first to build new quays because its customs
revenue was less than satisfactory. When Henry VIII
came to the throne in 1509, the population of the city
of London was about 75,000. By 1600 that figure had
risen to 200,000. London under the Tudors was a
prosperous, bustling city with global trading
connections. It was a gateway to the markets and
products of the world.
Elizabeth I set up a Commission in 1588 to choose
'legal quays' at which all foreign goods were to be
landed. All 20 quays with these privileges
were located in the short distance between London
Bridge and the Tower.
These eventually became inadequate and merchants
were at the mercy of the legal quays' owners.
To reduce congestion 'sufferance wharves' were
introduced with fewer privileges.
Other events helped the growth of London's
commerce during the 16th century. Early on in
the century Antwerp had become the great
storehouse of Europe, but it was destroyed in
1576 when the people of the Low Countries rose
up against the Spanish.
London merchants and financiers took
advantage of this to make London the new
commercial and financial centre of Europe. The
greatest of these was Sir Thomas Gresham
(1517/1879), advisor to Elizabeth I.
Gresham was chiefly responsible for
establishing the Royal Exchange in 1565. It
soon became a symbol of London's wealth and
power.
The Royal Exchange was built in 1565 at the
junction of Cornhill and Threadneedle Street in
the City. It was a meeting place for merchants
and brokers and became the centre of London's
business life.
Space was
also provided
for over 100
shops within its
courtyard. The
original
building was
destroyed in
the Great Fire
of 1666.
The expedition finally reached
Virginia after four months at
sea. The leader of the
Blackwall party was Captain
John Smith, who helped to set
up a trading settlement at
Jamestown.
At this time, the life
expectancy of settlers in the
Americas was only two years.
Life was almost impossible for
the merchant adventurers
because of:
the harsh winter climate
the lack of fresh water
the spread of disease
attacks by the Native
Americans.

In 1609 the Virginia
Company was established.
The company traders
exchanged woollens and
weapons for furs with the
Native Americans.
Virginia has a warm, fertile
climate, perfect for growing
tobacco. Sir Francis Drake
(1540-96) introduced the
tobacco leaf to England in
1585 and smoking
became popular in England,
especially among the
wealthier classes.
By the 1640s the English
colonists in Virginia
dominated the Atlantic
tobacco trade. They were
sending huge quantities to
London.
Map of Virginia, 1615
The excommunication of Elizabeth by
Pope Pius V in 1570 led to increased
tension with Philip II of Spain, who
championed the Catholic Mary Queen of
Scots as the legitimate heir of his late wife
Mary I. This tension played out over the
next decades in the seas of the New
World as well as in Europe, and
culminated in the invasion attempt of the
Spanish Armada.

In 1588 Philip assembled a great fleet of warships to
invade England. He should have succeeded, as the
Spanish Armada had far more fire-power than the
English.
The Armada was sighted off Plymouth, where the
English commander, Drake, was enjoying a game of
bowls on the common, or Hoe. In one of those delightful
scenes which become legends, Drake calmly insisted on
finishing his game before taking ship to meet his foe. In
reality his bravado was based on good knowledge of the
weather and the tides; he knew full well that he had
plenty of time.
The English used their lighter, more manoeuverable
vessels to great advantage against the larger, heavier
Spanish. They sent fire-ships into the midst of the
Armada to spread panic and disperse the fleet. All might
well have been lost, however, but a heavy storm came
up and scattered the Spanish vessels. A combination of
tactics, luck, and weather sent a tattered Spanish
Armada limping around Scotland, down the west coast of
Ireland
24 Spanish ships were wrecked on a rocky
coastline spanning 500 km, from Antrim in
the north to Kerry in the south, and the
threat to Crown authority was readily
defeated. Most of the survivors of the
multiple wrecks were put to death, and the
remainder fled across the sea to Scotland.
It is estimated that 5,000 members of the
fleet perished in Ireland.
In 1571 Parliament made adherence to the 39
Articles a legal requirement, and though that
statute no longer holds, they remain the basis of
Anglican faith in England to this day.
The far-reaching influence of the 39 Articles in
Protestant faith cannot be underestimated. The
Articles form the basis of creeds espoused by
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the US, and
other Protestant churches around the globe.
Though they have been widely adapted
depending on local circumstances, they still form
the basis of many Anglican and Protestant
churches today.
The Spanish Barn at Torquay held 397 Spanish
Prisoners of war

In England the victory was greeted as a sign of
divine approval for the Protestant cause. The
storms that scattered the Armada were seen as
intervention by God. Services of thanks were
held throughout the country, and a
commemorative medal struck, with the words,
"God blew and they were scattered" inscribed on
it.
The term "Invincible Armada" was not a Spanish
one. It was a sarcastic phrase employed by later
English commentators.
On Monday, July 29, the two fleets met in battle off
Gravelines. The English emerged victorious, although
the Spanish losses were not great; only three ships were
reported sunk, one captured, and four more ran aground.
Nevertheless, the Duke of Medina Sedonia determined
that the Armada must return to Spain. The English
blocked the Channel, so the only route open was north
around the tip of Scotland, and down the coast of
Ireland.
It was then that the unpredictable English weather took a
hand in the proceedings. A succession of storms
scattered the Spanish ships, resulting in heavy losses.
By the time the tattered Armada regained Spain, it had
lost half its ships and three-quarters of its men.Many
Spanish ships foundered on the rocky coasts of Scotland
and Ireland. Occasionally some lucky shipwrecked
sailors managed to get ashore.
5,000 men died, whether by drowning and starvation or
by slaughter at the hands of English forces after they
were driven ashore in Ireland; only half of the Spanish
Armada fleet returned back home to Spain
The Battle. The Spanish sailed up the Channel
in a crescent formation, with the troop transports
in the centre. When the Spanish finally reached
Calais, they were met by a collection of English
vessels under the command of Howard. Each
fleet numbered about 60 warships, but the
advantage of artillery and maneuverability was
with the English.
Under cover of darkness the English set 8
fireships adrift, using the tide to carry the blazing
vessels into the massed Spanish fleet. Although
the Spanish were prepared for this tactic and
quickly slipped anchor, there were some losses
and inevitable confusion.
Sir Francis Drake

The Spanish Fleet. Philip began preparing his invasion
force as early as 1584. His first choice as commander
was the Marquis of Santa Cruz, but when Santa Cruz
died Philip ordered the Duke of Medina Sedonia to take
command of the fleet. The Duke was an experienced
warrior - on land. He had no naval background, and no
interest in leading the Armada, as the invasion fleet
came to be called. He begged to be dismissed, but Philip
ignored the request.
Cadiz. Despite Spanish precautions, the English were
well aware of the Spanish preparations. In a bold move
that was apparently against Elizabeth's wishes, Sir
Francis Drake sailed a small English fleet to Cadiz,
where they surprised a large number of Spanish
warships in the harbour. Drake burned and sunk a
number of ships and slipped away before the Spanish
could rally. Although the blow at Cadiz was more an
annoyance than a major setback, the English took heart
from this "singeing of the King of Spain's beard".
Mary Queen of Scots, executed in 1587
Mary was born in Linlithgow Palace,
Scotland, on the 7 of December 1542. She
was the only daughter of King James V of
Scotland, and his French wife, Mary of
Guise. Her father died only days after her
birth, and the week old Mary became
Queen of Scotland on the 14 of December
1542. She was crowned on the 9 of
September the following year at
Stirling. Her grandmother was Margaret
Tudor, Henry VIII's older sister. Margaret
Tudor had married King James V of
Scotland, and her son was Mary's father,
James V. Henry VIII was thus her great
Uncle, and she and Elizabeth were
cousins. Henry VIII wished to have baby
Mary as a future bride for his infant son,
Edward, and in 1544, his forces invaded
Scotland in an attempt to force this matter,
but he failed. Mary was sent to France to
marry the Dauphin, Francis, the eldest son
of the king of France, later Francis II. Her
mother, Mary of Guise, acted as regent in
Scotland. In 1559, the King of France was
killed in a jousting accident, and at only
seventeen years of age, Mary became
Queen of France.
This alarmed Elizabeth, who had only just become Queen herself, as she and
her government feared that the French would now try and claim the English
throne as well. however. Mary of Guise's position in Scotland was weak, and
she was fighting for survival in a country that was now Protestant. The French
could not contemplate attacking England when French rule in the country via
Mary and her French mother was so fragile. For this reason, Elizabeth's
ministers urged her to aid the Scots against their Catholic government.
Elizabeth was reluctant to aid rebels, but in the name of self preservation,
agreed to some aid. English involvement was rather disastrous, however, with
the English forces suffering humiliating defeat. William Cecil was sent to
Scotland to negotiate peace with the Scots, and he played a prominent part in
drawing up a treaty with the Scottish government, which guaranteed peace
between the two realms. The treaty of Edinburgh was never ratified by Mary, as
she refused to relinquish her claim to the English throne. Mary was always
seen as a considerable threat to Elizabeth. Many Catholics did not recognize
Elizabeth as the true Queen of the realm. They did not recognize the marriage
of her mother, Anne Boleyn, to her father, and so believed that she was
illegitimate. And Elizabeth was also a Protestant, but Mary a Catholic. For many
years Catholics plotted to depose and kill Elizabeth to put Mary on her
throne. Mary herself did not recognize Elizabeth as the true Queen, and
believed that she herself was the rightful Queen of England

Not long after, Francis died. No longer really
welcome in France, Mary soon returned to
Scotland. Her return was much needed as her
mother, Mary of Guise, had died in the June of
1560. In the August of 1561 Mary arrived at the
port of Leith, and as only a few people knew of
her coming, she was greeted by only a few of
her lords. Because she was still refusing to sign
the Treaty of Edinburgh, Elizabeth denied her
cousin passage through England, and so Mary
had bravely sailed the distance from Calais to
Leith directly. But the news of her arrival soon
reached her people, and they gathered in
crowds to welcome the return of their long
absent sovereign.
Scotland was very different to France, and Mary
found her native country rather disappointing.
She had been away most of her life, and had
been brought up in the wealth and splendor in
France. Scotland lacked France's wealth and
glory, and it was also much colder. The country
was also Protestant. Mary tried her best to
govern Scotland well, and initially was
successful. She was tolerant of Protestants,
listened to the advice given to her by her various
ministers, and kept at peace with her influential
Protestant half-brother, James Stewart, later
Earl of Murray, illegitimate son of her father,
James V.
As with Elizabeth, her marriage was of immense political
importance. It concerned the English government
greatly. Elizabeth feared that she would marry a very
powerful prince who could help her raise an army to
invade England. Elizabeth wanted Mary to marry a man
with very little power or influence, so that her Scottish
cousin would be less of a threat. Perhaps with this in
mind, Elizabeth offered her Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester. This was laughed at as he was widely thought
to be Elizabeth's lover and a wife-murderer. Mary
perceived it as an insult, although it is unlikely that
Elizabeth meant it to be. Elizabeth believed that a
marriage between them would guarantee the peace of
both realms. She believed that Dudley would never
conspire against her because of his affection for her, that
he would fulfill his ambitions, and Mary would have a
husband, and eventually with Elizabeth's blessing, be
recognized as the heir to her throne.
Lord Henry Darnley, an English Catholic cousin to Mary
who also had a claim to the English crown, was
permitted by Elizabeth to travel with his father to
Scotland, and Mary, attracted by his person and position,
decided to marry him. Elizabeth was outraged. With their
joint claim to her throne, Elizabeth feared that they would
have substantial support for trying to depose her. It also
emerged that Darnley's mother, Lady Lennox, had been
involved in secret negotiations to have Mary and Darnley
placed upon the English throne. There was very little
Elizabeth could do, however, as Mary and Darnley were
legally married, and she had to accept him as Prince
consort. Elizabeth's consolation was the fact that matters
could have been much worse had Mary married a
powerful European prince, and Darnley in fact posed
very little threat to her safety.
It was Mary's life that Darnley made more miserable.
Their marriage was certainly not a happy one. Perhaps
the only good thing to have come from it was the birth of
Mary's only son, James, in 1564. Darnley was
possessive, jealous, and a drunkard. He did not aid in
the government of the country at all, or make Mary's
political life easier - he only made it worse. Mary began
to rely heavily on her Italian Private Secretary, David
Rizzio, who she liked and admired, and Darnley grew
jealous and angry. With a group of friends he planned to
murder him. One March night, 1566, while Rizzio, who
was a talented musician, was playing for Mary and her
ladies, Darnley and his men forced their way into the
room. Rizzio clung to Mary, but was dragged away, and
murdered outside the door. Mary, understandably, never
forgave Darnley for this.
Mary now turned more and more to one of her
noble men, James Hepburn, Fourth Earl of
Bothwell. It was probably Bothwell who was
largely responsible for the eventual murder of
Darnley. Darnley had been ill with the small pox
and was resting at The House at Kirk O'Field.
This house was blown to pieces, and Darnley's
dead body was soon found. But he did not die
from the explosion, it was found that he had
actually been strangled. It was widely thought
that she had connived with Bothwell to murder
her husband. Bothwell and Mary had been close
for some time, and despite the public outcry
against him following Darnley's death, Mary
married him very soon after.
This was the beginning of the end of her reign in
Scotland. Her people were outraged that she had
married the man suspected of murdering her husband. In
the streets they called her all sorts of names, and soon
people were calling for her abdication as monarch.
Mary's army met that of her enemies at Carberry Hill, but
when she saw the magnitude of the opposition, she
surrendered without even putting up a fight. She was
taken as a prisoner to Loch Leven Castle. Against her
will she was coerced to sign the abdication papers. From
that moment onwards, her infant son was King James
VI of Scotland. Her half-brother James Stewart, Earl of
Murray, became regent. He did not long survive,
however, as he was assassinated in 1570 by one of
Mary's supporters.
After a few months, a careful plan was made to
free Mary from captivity. She was guided out of
the castle by a sixteen year old page, Willie
Douglas, and they secretly made their way to the
lake. She was rowed across the lake, and on the
other side, friends waited to meet her. Mary was
provided with a horse, and rode for her life and
freedom. She then rose another army, but was
defeated at the Battle of Langside. Mary
helplessly fled to England. She had few
friends and many enemies, and even her
European supporters had turned against her.
She beseeched Elizabeth to help her

This was a very difficult time for Elizabeth. She
had always feared Mary's power and influence,
but the deposition and disgrace of a fellow
monarch frightened her more. If they could treat
one Queen like this, then they could so easily
treat another one that way too. Elizabeth took
Mary under her protection, but in reality she was
little more than a prisoner. For the rest of her life,
this is what she became. Mary was kept in
various Castles in England for nineteen
years - including Sheffield for fourteen years,
Bolton, Wakefield, and Tutbury. In 1570, she
obtained a divorce from Bothwell, and he died
insane in a prison in the Netherlands in 1578.
For the next twenty years there were attempts to release Mary from her
prison and make her Queen of England. Elizabeth's councillors
continued to urge her to have the Scottish Queen executed, but
Elizabeth resisted them.
It was not until the Babington plot of 1586 that she finally relented, and
only then because there was proof of Mary's complicity. Elizabeth was
hurt and angry that Mary had personally endorsed her murder, when for
almost twenty years, she had protected Mary's life. She wrote a letter to
Mary to this effect. It was the plan of Sir Anthony Babington and his co-
conspirators to release Mary from the House at Chartely where she was
kept, and to depose and kill Elizabeth. Their plans failed, however, as
Sir Francis Walsingham, one of Elizabeth's most influential
ministers, had created a very effective spy-network, that monitored
the actions of English Catholics by using double agents and spies.
Anthony Babington and his supporters were tortured and put to death,
and Mary was put on trial. She was found guilty of treason, and
condemned to death. But despite this judgment by Elizabeth's judges,
Elizabeth could not bring herself to sign her cousin's death warrant. The
very thought of executing a crowned sovereign terrified her, and the
whole matter effected her health profoundly. In the end she reluctantly
signed the warrant. Her ministers secretly rushed through the execution,
and Elizabeth was not told until it was over. Mary was executed at
Fotheringay Castle in the February of 1587.
One of the main thorn's in Elizabeth's side was
Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, a Catholic, fled
from Scotland after managing to offend nearly
everyone there, and took refuge in England. The
trouble was that Mary became the centre of
numerous Catholic plots to regain power in
England. Elizabeth might have been able to
overlook that, but Mary had the gift of
indiscretion, and was discovered once too often
corresponding with Elizabeth's enemies.
Reluctantly, Elizabeth had Mary executed for
treason in 1587.
But it was Marys only son, James VI of Scotland
who became King James I of England upon
Elizabeths death.


Perhaps worst of all the problems faced by the Armada
was Philip himself. The king insisted on controlling the
details of the Armada's mission. He issued a steady
stream of commands from his palace of the Escorial, yet
he seldom met with his commanders, and never allowed
his experienced military leaders to evolve their own
tactics. He did not listen to advice, which was a shame,
for Philip had little military training and a poor grasp of
naval matters. He firmly believed that God guided him,
and that therefore his mission would succeed.
The English were not idle while the Spanish Armada
prepared to sail. A series of signal beacons atop hills
along the English and Welsh coasts were manned.
When the Spanish ships were at last sighted of The
Lizard on July 19, 1588, the beacons were lit, speeding
the news throughout the realm. The English ships
slipped out of their harbour at Plymouth and, under cover
of darkness, managed to get behind the Spanish fleet.
Naval tactics were evolving; it was still common for ships to
come alongside each other and allow fighting men to engage in
hand to hand combat. Advances in artillery were only beginning
to allow for more complex strategies and confrontations at sea.
At this stage the English were far more adept at artillery and
naval tactics than the Spanish, who were regarded as the best
soldiers in Europe.
The Spanish plans called for the fleet to sail up the English
Channel and rendezvous off Dover with the Duke of Parma,
who headed the Spanish forces in the Netherlands. This in
itself presented huge problems. Communications were slow,
and the logistical problems of a rendezvous at sea were
immense.
Also, the Duke of Parma was a very proud man, and resented
the fact that Medina Sedonia had been given command of the
operation. Throughout the whole Armada affair Parma, while
not openly obstructionist, did a poor job of cooperating with his
titular commander, Medina Sedonia. He did not believe the
enterprise could succeed, and he did the absolute minimum
possible to help.
The Armada sets sail. By May of 1588, however, the
Armada was finally ready to sail. The fleet numbered
over 130 ships, making it by far the greatest naval fleet
of its age. According to Spanish records, 30,493 men
sailed with the Armada, the vast majority of them
soldiers. A closer look, however, reveals that this
"Invincible Armada" was not quite so well armed as it
might seem.
Many of the Spanish vessels were converted merchant
ships, better suited to carrying cargo than engaging in
warfare at sea. They were broad and heavy, and could
not maneuver quickly under sail.
This might not at first glance have seemed a problem to
the Spanish. They did not intend to engage the English
in a sea battle. The ships of the Armada were
primarily troop transport. Their major task was
simply to carry armed men to a designated landing
point and unload them.
Tilbury speech
My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that we
are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit
ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do
assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and
loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved
myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and
safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and,
therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not
for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst
and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all to lay down
for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my
honour and my blood even in the dust. I know I have the body
of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and
stomach of a king and of a King of England too, and
think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of
Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to
which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself
will take up arms I myself will be your general, judge, and
rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know
already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and
crowns, and, we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they
shall be duly paid you."
Route of the Armada 1588
The fleet was composed of
151 ships, 8,000 sailors and
18,000 soldiers, and bore
1,500 brass guns and 1,000
iron guns. The full body of the
fleet took two days to leave
port. It contained 28 purpose-
built warships: twenty
galleons, four galleys and four
(Neapolitan) galleasses. The
remainder of the heavy
vessels consisted mostly of
armed carracks and hulks;
there were also 34 light ships
present.

In 1592, Elizabeth's former
champion, Sir Henry Lee, sought to
regain her favour with lavish
entertainment at his home in
Ditchley, Oxfordshire. He had retired
from court 2 years earlier, having
offended the queen by living openly
with his mistress. He commissioned
this portrait to commemorate
Elizabeth's visit and forgiveness. The
queen stands upon a map of
England, with one foot resting near
Ditchley.
It celebrates Elizabeth's divine
powers; a jeweled celestial sphere
hangs from the queen's left ear,
signifying her command over nature
itself. The sphere had been Lee's
emblem when he fought as
Elizabeth's champion in the annual
Accession Day tilts. The background
of this portrait is split between blue
and sunny sky on the left, and black
and stormy sky on the right:.


To present this image, in which realism played no part, symbols, and emblems
were used stolen from biblical, classical, and mythological sources. The
Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I in particular, painted by George Gower in 1590,
uses symbols, notably pearls and a globe. With the help of fine clothes, jewels,
and cosmetics, the vain queen maintained a glamorous image despite her
advancing age. Pearls, said to be Queen Elizabeth's favorite jewel, were also a
symbol of virginity and are used here to show her purity. Her jewelry collection
was vast and portraits often depict her covered in chains, pendants, pearls,
rings, brooches, and bracelets. She is often seen wearing enormous rubies and
the famous black pearls that had belonged to her cousin, Mary Queen of
Scots, the colour of which was described like that of Muscat grapes. Perhaps
Elizabeth hoped to deter notice of her advancing age with the glitter of her
jewels.In the background view on the left, English fireships threaten the Spanish
fleet, and on the right the ships are driven onto a rocky coast amid stormy seas
by the "Protestant Wind". On a secondary level, these images show Elizabeth
turning her back on storm and darkness while sunlight shines where she gazes,
The queen's hand rests on a globe below the crown of England, "her fingers
covering the Americas, indicating England's dominion of the seas and plans for
imperialist expansion in the New World . The Queen is flanked by two columns
behind, probably a reference to the famous impresa of the Holy Roman
Emperor, Charles V, Philip's father, which represented the pillars of Hercules.
Andrew Belsey and Catherine Belsey have pointed out the striking geometry of
the painting, with the repeating patterns of circles and arches described by the
crown, the globe, and the sleeves, ruff, and gown worn by the queen. They also
contrast the imperial figure of the Virgin Queen wearing the large pearl
symbolizing chastity suspended from her bodice and the mermaid carved on the
chair of state, representing female wiles luring sailors to their doom. The crown
also symbolises the English monarch




Elizabeth and
her counsellors,
William Cecil,
1st Baron
Burghley and Sir
Francis
Walsingham
The Hardwick
portrait, c. 1599 by
Nicholas Hilliard
and workshop. It
was comissioned
by the legendary
Bess of Hardwick,
who also
embroidered the
queen's skirt. The
skirt is amazing -
sea serpents,
dragons, she truely
ruled the waves




Unusual studio
portrait of
Elizabeth I in
her old age
(1595) from
studio of
Marcus
Gheeraerts
the Younger

The rainbow portrait c1600, by Isaac Oliver. Oliver was a pupil
of Elizabeth's favorite court painter, Nicholas Hilliard, and the
brother-in-law of Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. Elizabeth's
gown is embroidered with English wildflowers, thus allowing
the queen to pose in the guise of Astraea, the virginal heroine
of classical literature. Her cloak is decorated with eyes and
ears, implying that she sees and hears all. Her headdress is
an incredible design decorated lavishly with pearls and rubies
and supports her royal crown. The pearls symbolize her
virginity; the crown, of course, symbolizes her royalty. Pearls
also adorn the transparent veil which hangs over her
shoulders. Above her crown is a crescent-shaped jewel which
alludes to Cynthia, the goddess of the moon.
A jeweled serpent is entwined along her left arm, and holds
from its mouth a heart-shaped ruby. Above its head is a
celestial sphere. The serpent symbolizes wisdom; it has
captured the ruby, which in turn symbolizes the queen's heart.
In other words, the queen's passions are controlled by her
wisdom. The celestial sphere echoes this theme; it symbolizes
wisdom and the queen's royal command over nature.
Elizabeth's right hand holds a rainbow with the Latin
inscription 'Non sine sole iris' ('No rainbow without the sun').
The rainbow symbolizes peace, and the inscription reminds
viewers that only the queen's wisdom can ensure peace and
prosperity.
Elizabeth was in her late sixties when this portrait was made,
but for iconographic purposes she is portrayed as young and
beautiful, more than mortal. In this portrait, she is ageless.


The Stuarts
James I (VI of Scotland), 1603-1625
Charles I, 1625-49
Interregnum 1649-60
Oliver Cromwell 1649-58
Richard Cromwell 1658-59
Charles II (1649) 1660-1685
James II 1685-88
{William III 1689-1702 &
{Mary II 1689-94
Anne 1702-1714


James I, 1566-
1625 by John de
Critz, circa 1610
Anne of
Denmark,
1574-1619,
attributed to
John de Critz,
c.1605
England, Scotland and Ireland were very
different countries, with very different
histories, and the memories of past conflict
between those countries - and indeed, of
past conflict between different ethnic groups
within those countries - ran deep.
To make matters trickier still, each kingdom
favoured a different form of religion. Most
Scots were Calvinists, most English favoured
a more moderate form of Protestantism and
most Irish remained stoutly Catholic. Yet
each kingdom also contained strong
religious minorities.

In England, the chief such group were the
Catholics, who initially believed that James
would prove less severe to them than
Elizabeth had been.
When these expectations were disappointed,
Catholic conspirators hatched a plot to blow
both the new king and his parliament sky-
high.
The discovery of the Gunpowder Plot
served as a warning to James, if any were
needed, of the very grave dangers religious
divisions could pose, both to his own person
and to the stability of his triple crown.

Greenwich, a royal pleasure place, later
palace, by the Thames, since 1427
Queen Anne Boleyn gave birth to
Elizabeth here. Popular with Tudor and
Stuart monarchs.
The Queen's House is nowadays part of the National
Maritime Museum. It was originally part of the Royal
Palace of Placentia. It was meant by King James I to be
the home of his consort, Anne of Denmark. Inigo Jones
was the architect, and construction started in 1616. The
Queen died in 1619, and work was stopped until ten
years later, when King Charles I gave it to his new
Queen, Henrietta Maria. Inigo Jones was recalled and
the exterior work was completed some six years later.
The Queen stayed there briefly.
La Reine
Elisabeth
donne une
charte la
Compagnie
anglaise des
Indes
orientales
(British East
India
Company)
31/12/1600.
During the 17th century,
London's merchant
adventurers continued to
seek out new commercial
opportunities.
In December 1606, three
small ships - the Susan
Constant, Godspeed and
Discovery - sailed from
Blackwall with the backing of
a Company of Merchant
Adventurers. They founded
the state of Virginia in
North America.

Replica of Godspeed, 1985
Authorized King
J ames Version of
the Holy Bible,
1611
In 1604, King James I of England authorized
that a new translation of the Bible into English
be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years
after the first translation of the New Testament
into English appeared (Tyndale, 1526). The
Authorized Version, or King James Version,
quickly became the standard for English-
speaking Protestants. Its flowing language
and prose rhythm has had a profound
influence on the literature of the past 400
years. The King James Version was translated
by 47 biblical scholars, working in six
committees.
the salt of the earth
The Authorized Version has been called "the
most influential version of the most influential
book in the world, in what is now its most
influential language", "the most important book
in English religion and culture", and "the most
celebrated book in the English-speaking
world". It has contributed 257 idioms to
English, more than any other single source,
including Shakespeare; examples include feet
of clay and reap the whirlwind
A broken heart; A cross to bear
A drop in the bucket, A fly in the ointment
A wolf in sheep's clothing , All things must pass; All things to all
men; Am I my brother's keeper? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth
As old as the hills; as white as snow; As you sow so shall you
reap; Ashes to ashes dust to dust; At his wits end
Baptism of fire; Beat swords into ploughshares
Bite the dust; Blessed are the peacemakers
Born again; By the skin of your teeth; By the sweat of your
brow; Can a leopard change its spots? Cast bread upon the
waters; Cast the first stone; Coat of many colours; Don't cast
your pearls before swine
Eye to eye; Fall from grace; Fat of the land; Feet of clay
Flesh and blood; For everything there is a season
Forbidden fruit; From strength to strength
Get thee behind me Satan

The King James Version of the Bible has
been enormously influential in the
development of the English language. It
ranks with the complete works of
Shakespeare and the Oxford English
Dictionary as one of the cornerstones of the
recorded language. After Shakespeare, the
King James, or Authorized, Version of the
Bible is the most common source of phrases
in English.
In perpetual need of money, James I set about selling
off a new category of nobility, the baronetcy this
encountered a lot of favour since it was a title that
would be passed on to the eldest son. Nominally this
was for the upkeep of military forces in Ireland, hence
the badge of the Red Hand of Ulster featuring as a
baronet's device (except in the case of Nova Scotia
creations, where the saltire of Ulster was used
instead). At the same time the Red Hand is not
invariably shown in a baronet's coat of arms. It was
made clear at the time that no order should henceforth
be called into existence that was of equal or higher
degree than the baronetage yet beneath the lowest
rank of peerage.
The baronetage of England dates from 22 May
1611, that of Ireland from the following 30
September, that of Nova Scotia or Scotland (so
called in the former case because the moneys
raised were supposed to go towards
establishing the colony of Nova Scotia in North
America and applicants received a land grant
there; the grants were stopped in 1638) from 28
May 1625, that of Great Britain following the
Union of English and Scottish Parliaments in
1707 and that of the United Kingdom following
the Union of Parliaments of Great Britain and
Ireland in 1801. Nearly all baronetcies are
heritable by and through males only.

The shift in London's trade from European
to global destinations had important
effects on the capital's shipbuilders.
In the 1560s the Merchant Adventurers
used about 30 ships, totalling perhaps
1500 tons, in their Antwerp trade. No
merchant ships of over 100 tons were built
on the Thames.
Between 1591 and 1618, 317 such ships,
totalling over 90,000 tons were built in
East London. Many of them came from the
yards at Deptford and Blackwall.

John Nordens map of London 1593

At the start of the 17th century the
large vessels of the East India
Company often anchored off
Blackwall. Their cargoes could
then be transferred by barges to
the legal quays in the Pool of
London. In 1614 the company
constructed a wet dock at
Blackwall for fitting out their
vessels after launching from the
nearby shipyards. The dock was
not used for handling goods.
Merchant ships continued to
unload on the river.
It was the first dock on the Thames
to be fitted with gates. The dock
was later incorporated into the
Brunswick Dock, which in turn
became part of the East India
Dock.
Two views of East Indiamen at the
time of William III that traded with
Calcutta
JAMES I
181. 1604. Act of Recognition of the Kings Title
182. 1604. Commission for negotiating a Union with
Scotland
183. 1604. Act in Shirleys Case
184. 1606. Opinions of the Court of Exchequer in Bates
Case
185. 1607. The Case of Prohibitions
186. 1608. Judgment in the Case of the Post-nati, or
Calvins Case
187. 1610. The Case of Proclamations
188. 1624. Act against Monopolies

James I was resolved to keep his kingdoms
out of foreign entanglements if he could.
However - following the marriage of his
daughter Elizabeth to Frederick V, elector
of the Rhineland Palatinate; Frederick's
crowning as king of Bohemia; and the
forcible ejection of the young couple from
their new kingdom by Catholic forces soon
afterwards - James found himself being
dragged into the continental Thirty Years'
War (1618-48).

Charles I, born 1600, King 1619-49
Charles inherited the persistent financial problems of his
father, King James I (James VI of Scotland): the refusal of
Parliament to grant funds to a king who refused to address the
grievances of the nobility. His authority as King, Charles I held
the view that all his subjects should obey him as God's
Lieutenant on earth - the ancient doctrine of Divine Right. He
had little regard for Parliaments, using them as mere
instruments of royal will, summoned to give their assent to
royal decisions and to grant money the government needed
for the administration of the realm.

More and more insistently Parliamentarians were claiming the
right to be consulted on important affairs of state, not to direct
policy but to at least have their say on its formulation. His
expenditure on his court and his picture collection greatly
increased the crown's debts causing a crippling lack of money.
In 1275 Edward I called a meeting of Parliament. As well as his
tenants-in-chief, Edward invited representatives from every shire
and town in England. These men were elected as representatives
by the people living in the locality. When the representatives
arrived they met in five different groups: (1) the prelates (bishops
and abbots); (2) the magnates (earls and barons); (3) the inferior
clergy; (4) the knights from the shires; (5) the citizens from the
towns. At these meetings Edward explained about his need for
money. Eventually the representatives agreed that people should
pay the king a tax that amounted to a fifteenth of all their
movable property. It was also agreed that a custom duty of 6s.
8d. should be paid on every sack of wool exported. As soon as
agreement was reached about taxes, groups 3, 4 and 5 (the
commons) were sent home. The representatives then had the job
of persuading the people in their area to pay these taxes. The king
then discussed issues such as new laws with his bishops, abbots,
earls and barons (the lords). After this date, whenever the king
needed money, he called another Parliament. In 1430 an Act of
Parliament divided constituencies (voting districts) into two groups:
counties and boroughs. Only males who owned property worth 40
shillings were allowed to vote in county constituencies. You had to
be fairly wealthy to be a MP. Not only were MPs not paid a wage,
they also had to have an annual income of 600 (300 for borough
MPs).

Charles I
Charles I was a conscientious and principled
ruler, but he was also stubborn, reserved and
politically maladroit. From the moment that he
first assumed the crown, uneasy murmurs about
his style of government began to be heard. Over
the next 15 years, many of Charles's English
subjects became alienated by his religious
policies and by his apparent determination to
rule without parliaments.
Some, especially the more zealous Protestants,
or 'puritans', came to believe in the existence of
a sinister royal plot - one which aimed at the
restoration of the Catholic faith in England and
the destruction of the people's liberties.

Similar fears were abroad in Scotland, and when Charles
attempted to introduce a new prayer book to that country in
1637 he provoked furious resistance. Charles's subsequent
attempts to crush the Scots by force went disastrously wrong,
forcing him to summon an English parliament in October 1640.
Once this assembly had begun to sit, Charles was assailed by
angry complaints about his policies.
At first, the king seemed to have practically no supporters. But
as puritan members of parliament began to push for wholesale
reform of the church and religious traditionalists became
alarmed, Charles found himself at the head of a swelling
political constituency.
Then, in 1641, the Catholics of Ireland rose up in arms, killing
many hundreds of the English and Scottish Protestants who
had settled in their country. The rebellion caused panic in
England, and made it harder than ever for a political
compromise to be reached. Charles I and parliament could not
agree and England began to divide into two armed camps.

Springhill, plantation home in NI. Built in the 17
th
c. by
the Conyngham family, who had been granted lands
under James I in County Armagh

Queen Henrietta Maria, a Catholic



13th June
1625
King Charles
Marries
King Charles I married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV of France
at St Augustine's Church, Canterbury, Kent. The marriage was not
popular because she was a Catholic.
May 1626 Parliament
Dismissed
Parliament were unhappy with the activities of Charles' chief minister,
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham had led a failed
mission to Cadiz and it appeared that he was planning to help the
French to put down the Protestant Huguenot uprising. Parliament
moved to have Buckingham dismissed from office. Charles retaliated
by dismissing parliament.
13th March Parliament
Recalled
Charles needed money to finance the war with France and Spain and
reluctantly recalled Parliament.
1628

Thirty-Nine
Articles
Charles re-issued the Thirty Nine Articles into the Church of England.
This was seen as a move towards Rome and evidence of the King's
Catholic leanings.

7th June
1628
Petition of
Right
Parliament formed a committee of grievances and prepared a
Petition of Right which was presented to the King. The Petition
was designed to protect subjects from any further taxation
unauthorised by Parliament.
Charles signed the document reluctantly.
22nd
August
1628
Buckingham
Assassinated
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, was stabbed to death by
naval lieutenant John Felton.
March
1629


The Three
Resolutions
There were outbursts in Parliament when the Petition of Right
was debated and the doors were locked to keep royal guards
out. The Speaker, who wanted to adjourn the proceedings, was held
in his chair. Parliament passed three resolutions:
1.That they would condemn any move to change religion.
2. That they would condemn any taxation levied without Parliament's
authority.
3. That any merchant who paid 'illegal' taxes betrayed the liberty of
England.
Charles dismissed Parliament.
March
1629

MPs Arrested

Charles arrested nine members of the Commons for offences
against the state. Three were imprisoned. This action by the King
made him more unpopular. The King, defended his action by stating
his belief in his own divine right saying that 'Princes are not bound to
give account of their actions, but to God alone.'
1632 Thomas Wentworth Known as 'Black Tom Tyrant' by the Irish, Thomas Wentworth, Lord Deputy of
Ireland, ruled Ireland with a firm hand. However, his rule alienated the planters of
Ulster and antagonised the landowners of Connaught.
August 1633 Archbishop Laud Charles appointed William Laud as Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud was known to
have Catholic leanings and Charles hoped that his appointment would help to stop
the rise of the Puritans.
18 June 1633 King of Scotland Charles was crowned King of Scotland at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh.
1634 - 1636 Ship Money This tax was paid by coastal towns to pay for the upkeep of the Royal Navy. In a bid
to raise more money, Charles now imposed the tax on inland towns as well.
June 1638 Ship Money John Hampden, challenged the King's right to impose such a tax but he lost
the case and the court ruled that the King was the only authority that could impose
such a tax.
February
1638
National Covenant
and Book of
Common Prayer
Charles demanded that the Book of Common Prayer be used in the Scottish Kirk.
The Calvinist-dominated Scottish church resisted the move. There were riots and a
National Covenant was formed which protested against any religious interference in
Scotland by England. The Scottish Kirk was so incensed that it expelled the Bishops
installed in Scotland by James I.
1639 Pacification of
Berwick
Thomas Wentworth's had led a scratch army against the Scots
but had been defeated on the border and had been forced to
sign a temporary truce at Berwick. Wentworth told the King
that in order to raise an efficient army he must recall
Parliament. Charles, who had enjoyed his eleven years
tyranny, was forced to recall Parliament.
13th April
1640
Short
Parliament
The new Parliament refused to authorise any new taxes until
the King agreed to abandon 'ship money'. The King said that
he would only abandon ship money if Parliament would grant
him enough money to re-open the war with Scotland.
Parliament refused and was dismissed after three weeks.
1640 Oliver
Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was elected to Parliament for the second
time. He openly criticised Charles taxes and the level of
corruption in the Church of England.
Oct 1640 Scotland Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, set out for the Scottish
border with a makeshift army. However, the army mutinied and
the Scots seized English land. The Scots demanded a daily
rate be paid until a satisfactory treaty was put in place.
21 Oct
1640
Treaty of
Ripon
This treaty between Scotland and England allowed the Scots
to stay in Durham and Northumberland until a final settlement
was concluded.
Nov 1640 Long
Parliament
Charles had to have money to pay for an efficient army with
which to defeat the Scots. However, he couldn't have the
money until he agreed to Parliament's demands which included
an Act which stated that parliament should meet once every
five years and the arrest for treason of Strafford. Charles had
no choice but to comply.
20 May
1641
Wentworth
Beheaded
Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, was executed on Tower
Hill.
Summer
1641
Triennial Act

This act allowed Parliament to be summoned without royal
command and declared 'ship money' to be illegal.
Late
Summer
1641
Revolt in
Ireland

A revolt broke out in Ireland. Parliament critical of the King's
handling of matters in both Ireland and Scotland, passed
propositions that the Parliament and not the King should be
responsible for the country's defence.
22 Oct
1641

Catholic
Rebellion in
Ireland
A Catholic rebellion broke out in Ulster and quickly spread
across the country. Many Protestant settlers were driven from
their homes and the rebellion became war.
November
1641
Grand
Remonstrance

This document, put together by Pym, listed parliament's
grievances against the King since his reign began.

4 Jan 1642 Charles Arrests five MPs
Charles instructed his attorney-general to issue a
charge of treason against one peer and five
members of the Commons including Pym and
Hampden. When Parliament refused to
recognise the charge, Charles sent a troop of
horsemen to make the arrests. However,
Parliament had been warned and the five men
had fled. this move by Charles was extremely
unpopular and across the country people
declared themselves for Parliament and against
Popery. Charles removed himself and his family
from Whitehall to Hampton Court.

Jan
1642
Preparations
for War
Charles sent his wife Henrietta Maria to the Continent
to enlist Catholic support for his cause against
Parliament. She was also to pawn the crown jewels to
buy arms. Although both sides were now preparing for
war, negotiations continued.
March
1642
Militia
Ordinance
This allowed Parliament to take control of the Militia,
virtually the only armed body in the country.
April
1642

Charles -
Hull

Charles tried to secure an arsenal of equipment left in
Hull from his Scottish campaign. He was blocked by
Sir John Hotham, with parliamentary and naval
support and was forced to retire to York. Charles made
his headquarters in York.
June
1642

Nineteen
Propositions

The Nineteen Propositions were issued by Parliament
in the hopes of reaching a settlement with the King.
They called for a new constitution recognising their
own supremacy; demanded that ministers and judges
should be appointed by parliament not by the King and
also that all Church and military matters should come
under the control of Parliament.
22 Aug
1642
Civil War -
Standard
raised

Charles raised his standard at Nottingham formally
declaring war. However, both sides hoped that either
war could be averted or that one decisive battle would
put an end to the matter.
Members, of what was to be known as the Long Parliament,
assembled at Westminster. A whole series of measures were
introduced by parliament limiting the authority of the Crown
while increasing its own. These passed without undue difficulty,
but further disagreements and plans for transferring military
command from the Crown to Parliament (Militia Bill) and radical
religious changes curbing the power of the bishops and
replacement of the Kings council with parliamentary ministers,
proved too much for Charles.

Leading a party of swordsmen, Charles marched to
Westminster, entering the Commons in a failed attempt to
arrest five Members of Parliament, who had fled before his
arrival. This struggle for supremacy brought matters to a head
and war was now inevitable.

Finally, on 22 August 1642 at Nottingham, Charles raised the
Royal Standard calling for loyal subjects to support him (Oxford
was to be the King's capital during the war). The Civil War,
called by some 'this war without an enemy', had begun.
First Civil
War
battles

1628. The Petition of Right The Remonstrance against Tonnage and Poundage
1628. The Kings Speech proroguing Parliament
1628-1629. Protest of the House of Commons
1634. First Writ of Ship-money
1637. The Answer of the judges in the Matter of Ship-money
1640/1. The Triennial Act
1641. The Protestation
1641. Act for the Attainder of Strafford
1641. Act against dissolving the Long Parliament without its own Consent
1641. Act for the Abolition of the Court of Star Chamber
1641. Act for the Abolition of the Court of High Commission
1641. Act declaring the Illegality of Ship-money
1641. Act for the Limitation of Forests
1641. Act prohibiting the Exaction of Knighthood Fines
1641. The Grand Remonstrance, with the Petition accompanying it
1641. The Kings Answer to the Petition accompanying the Grand Remonstrance
1641/2. The Clerical Disabilities Act
1643. The Solemn League and Covenant
1643/4. Ordinance appointing the First Committee of Both Kingdoms
1645. The Self-denying Ordinance
1648/9. Act erecting a High Court of Justice for the Trial of Charles I
1648/9. Sentence of the High Court of Justice upon the King
1648/9. The Death Warrant of Charles I
Three times summoned and three times dissolved through 1625-
1629, Parliament went the next 11 years without being
summoned. Charles financed his reign by selling commercial
monopolies, peerages and baronetcies and extracting monies
through various taxes, threatening those who refused to pay with
imprisonment. However, this period was not without some
advances for the nobility, in 1628 Charles was forced to accept a
Petition of Right which forbade the levying of taxes without
parliamentary consent. Charles was also deeply religious. He
favoured the high Anglican form of worship, with much ritual, while
many of his subjects, particularly in Scotland, wanted plainer
forms. In 1640, Charles attempted to force his High Church
practices and a new prayer book on the Scots. This resulted in a
rebellion bringing an abrupt end to Charles' years of personal rule.
As a Scottish army marched into England, another parliament was
essential as Charles' forces were ill prepared due to lack of proper
funds.

The civil war which broke out in 1642 saw a broadly
Royalist north and west ranged against a broadly
Parliamentarian south and east. Charles derived
particular advantage from the support of the Welsh and
the Cornish, who supplied him with many of his foot
soldiers, while parliament derived still more advantage
from its possession of London. In mid-1643, it looked
as if the king might be about to defeat his opponents,
but later that year the Parliamentarians concluded a
military alliance with the Scots. Following the
intervention of a powerful Scottish army and the defeat
of the king's forces at Marston Moor in 1644, Charles
lost control of the north of Britain.
The following year, Charles was defeated by
parliament's New Model Army at Naseby and it
became clear that the Royalist cause was lost.

The following year, Charles was defeated
by parliament's New Model Army at
Naseby and it became clear that the
Royalist cause was lost.

The main battles of
the First Civil War
Unwilling to surrender to the Parliamentarians, the king gave
himself up to the Scots instead, but when they finally left
England, the Scots handed Charles over to their
parliamentary allies.
Still determined not to compromise with his enemies, the
captive king managed to stir up a new bout of violence
known as the Second Civil War.
Realising that the kingdom could never be settled in peace
while Charles I remained alive, a number of radical MPs and
officers in the New Model Army eventually decided that the
king had to be charged with high treason. Charles was
accordingly tried, found guilty, and beheaded in January
1649.
In the wake of the king's execution, a republican regime was
established in England, a regime which was chiefly
underpinned by the stark military power of the New Model
Army.

6th May
1646
Surrender to
the Scots
Charles I surrendered to the Scots
24th June
1646
Surrender Oxford, Charles I's capital surrendered to Parliament
30th
January
1647
Charles I
Imprisoned
The Scots handed Charles over to parliament. He was imprisoned
in Holdenby House, Northamptonshire
November
1647
Putney
Debates
This was a series of debates held by different Parliamentarian
forces to try to decide on a new constitution.
November
1647
Charles
Escaped
Charles I escaped imprisonment and fled to Carisbrooke Castle,
Isle of Wight
December
1648
Charles
Recaptured
Charles was recaptured and sent to Windsor Castle
1648 battle
of Preston
Second
Civil War
In the radicals' mode of thought two strands are twisted. One is
belief in the evolution of truth, continuous revelation. John
Robinson preached the doctrine in his farewell sermon to the
Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 so it is fitting that the belief is often related
to the discovery of the New World. Thus John Goodwin in 1642
argued that 'if so great and considerable a part of the world as
America is ... was yet unknown to all the world besides for so
many generations together : well may it be conceived, not only
that some but many truths, yea and those of main concernment
and importance, may yet be unknown.' [...]
This was a great argument for religious toleration, in Areopagitica
and in the anonymous The Ancient Bounds (1645), which insisted
that truth 'cannot be so easily brought forth' without liberty of
conscience; 'better many errors of some kind suffered than one
useful truth be obstructed or destroyed'. 'The daily progress of the
light of truth,' said Milton, 'is productive far less of disturbance to
the church, than of illumination and edification.' Through
revelation of new truths to believers, traditional Christianity could
be adapted to the needs of a new age; the everlasting gospel
within responded more easily and swiftly to the pressures of the
environment than did traditions of the church or the literal text.
History is a gradual progress towards total revelation of truth.

As the completeness of the radicals' defeat became
evident, Erbery and Salmon deliberately sought refuge in
silence, Coppe recanted, Lilburne turned Quaker,
Clarkson Muggletonian. The conclusion of Winstanley's
last pamphlet acknowledges defeat:
Truth appears in light, falsehood rules in power;
To see these things to be is cause of grief each hour.
Knowledge, why didst thou come, to wound and not to
cure? ...
O power, where art thou, that must mend things amiss?
Come, change the heart of man, and make him truth to
kiss.
His last words were a call to death to reunite him with the
material creation:
O death, where art thou? Wilt thou not tidings send?
I fear thee not, thou art my loving friend.
Come take this body, and scatter it in the Four,
That I may dwell in One, and rest in peace once more.
Nayler's entry into Bristol
In October 1656, James Nayler rode into
Bristol on a donkey, dramatizing the spirit of
Christ that dwelt in him, as in everyone. For
this act, in December 1656, he was tried and
convicted for blasphemy by Parliament. At the
time, many in Parliament regarded Nayler as
the "chief" of the Quakers.

A few courageous Army officers defended Nayler,
together with one or two members of the government
whose policy of toleration was under attack. [...] But
the consciences of many M.P.s, especially those who
were just about to offer the crown to Cromwell, could
not be reconciled to allowing Nayler to live. It was
doubtful whether Parliament had any right to punish
Nayler at all, and after nearly a month of debate this
consideration among others helped to produce a more
merciful sentence. And what was it? To be flogged
through the streets of London, his tongue to be bored
with a hot iron, his forehead branded; then to be sent
to Bristol for a second flogging: and to be kept in
prison until Parliament decided otherwise. [...] Nayler
underwent his ordeal with fortitude, but physically he
never recovered from it; he died three years later [in
1659, shortly after his release] at the age of 43.
Yet nothing ever wholly dies. Great Britain no doubt fared the worse in
some respects for rejecting the truths of the radicals in the seventeenth
century, but they were not utterly lost. Just as a surviving Lollard
tradition contributed to the English Reformation over a century after the
defeat of Lollardy, just as a surviving radical protestant tradition
contributed to the English Revolution, and both have still to be
rediscovered by historical research, so the radicals of the English
Revolution perhaps gave more to posterity than is immediately obvious.
The broadside ballad of 1646, The World is Turned Upside Down (14),
may well have been the old song of that name which was popular in the
eighteenth century. It is said to have been played, appropriately enough,
when Cornwallis surrendered to the American revolutionaries at
Yorktown in 1781. [...] The phrase is used by the Shakers, a Lancashire
group who were 'commissioned of the Almighty God to preach the
everlasting gospel to America' in 1774. Their membership was drawn
from artisans, labourers and servants; they believed that they had
actually risen with Christ and could live without sin; they danced, sang
and smoked at their meetings. (15) [...] John Wesley in 1746, talking to
Antinomians in Birmingham, reports one whose views were virtually
indistinguishable from those of the Ranters. He lived by faith and so was
not under the law. Wesley asked him, 'May you then take anything you
will anywhere? Suppose out of a shop, without the consent or
knowledge of the owner?' 'I may if I want it; for it is mine: only I will not
give offence.' Wesley's next question was predictable:- 'Have you also a
right to all the women in the world?' The answer showed that the man in
question was not just trying to annoy, but was describing a thought-out
position: it was 'Yes, if they consent.
sectaries
Members of a particular sect, especially adherents of
a religious body regarded as heretical or schismatic.
This term serves generically for all religiously inspired
dissidents during the English Civil War period.
William Dell
Chaplain in Cromwell's New Model Army, becoming
in the process a radical anti-cleric.
Gerrard Winstanley
A spokesman for the Diggers, otherwise known as the
'True Levellers.' The most clearminded and
thoroughly radical of the English Revolution. It has
been argued that his religious framework closely
maps out against that of the early Quakers and,
indeed, that he had close associations with them.

Ranters
Strongly individualist religious dissidents, who
believed that with the grace of God, they
could do no wrong (antinomianism). They
were among the most theatrical, often
swearing and cursing in public, aiming their
invective especially at the pompous and
hypocritical well-to-do. If pressed by
authorities, they might recant and vow their
adherance to established Church doctrines,
etc., believing that they could go back to their
previous ways without any religious difficulty.
(Quakers, on the other hand, chose never to
swear, and instead faced the retribution of
authorities.)

Edward Burrough
An early Quaker who, along with James
Nayler, was prominent enough that he might
have eventually led the movement, if he had
lived and Fox had not taken and kept the
lead.
Sense of the meeting
Method by which Quakers find agreement,
even today. This form of consensus
presupposes that there's always a way
forward, a function of the holy Truth, which
may be found though worshipful seeking and
respect for all who deliberate together.

Nicholas Culpeper
An apothecary and avowed republican who
campaigned against the monopoly of the
College of Physicians. He translated the
College's sacred text, the Pharmacoepia
Londinensis, into English.

John Bunyan
Parliamentary soldier and Baptist preacher.
Arrested in 1660 for unlicensed preaching, he
spent 12 years in prison. Most noted as
author of Pilgrims Progress from This World to
That Which Is to Come, one of the two or
three books, including the Bible, most often
found in the homes of English settlers in the
colonies.
It is also read by Muslims who appreciate it.

Levellers
A radical faction of the New Model Army, who
pressed for the goals they understood to be the
purpose of the civil war (See The Bloody
Project). After the first round of this war, they
organized meetings in drilling fields in and
around London, for instance in Putney Common,
where many of the principles of democracy were
first articulated (See the Agreement of the
People). In 1649, Cromwell ordered several of
the most radical units to go to Ireland to war
against the Catholics (thus getting them out of
the way). When they refused, they were attacked
and demobilized, and Levellers throughout the
Army were purged out.

Starchamber"
By the time of the English Civil Wars, the
starchamber was widely discredited but was
continuing as a principle method of
suppressing religious dissent. People were
arrested and hauled in to testify. They were
required to swear before the court. If they
wouldn't they were tortured publicly and
imprisoned, and if they would, they were
required to testify against themselves and
their friends.

"Grandee Factions"
The Grandees were the top officers, including
Fairfax and Cromwell, in the army of
Parliament, which during the period described
here, took power for themselves and went on
to execute the king and rule England for more
than a decade.

God was no longer served by the extravagent gesture, whether
Nayler's entry into Bristol or the blasphemy of the Ranters.
Once the group decided this way, all the pressures were in the
direction of accepting modes of expression not too shocking to
the society in which men had to live and earn their living. The
radicals were so effectively silenced that we do not know
whether many held out in isolation with Milton. We do not even
know about Winstanley. But what looked in the Ranter heyday
as though it might become a counter-culture became a corner
of the bourgeois culture whose occupants asked only to be left
alone. The inner light which formerly spoke of the perfectibility
of the saints now came to reemphasize sin. We should not
attribute this to the skill, inspiration or wickedness of George
Fox or of anyone else. Fox was only the agent: Nayler or
Burrough in his place would no doubt have had to act similarly.
The openness of the religion of the heard, of the inner voice, to
changes in mass moods, to social pressures, to waves of
feeling, had made it the vehicle of revolutionary transformations
of thought: now it had the opposite effect. The 'sense of the
meeting' accepted the 'common sense' of the dominant classes
in society. 'Inspiration,' said Davenant, was 'a dangerous word
which many have of late successfully used.' (7) It was to cease
to be an ideal to be aimed at for a century or more, till the
romantic revival.
The inner light, then, was not for the sectaries mere
absolute individualism, any more than the appeal to private
interpretation of the Bible was. The appeal to texts and
traditions was not merely antiquarian: the past was called
into existence to redress the balance of the present. Printing
and the protestant emphasis on education had made
available translations not only of the Scriptures but also of
other hitherto arcane documents. Nicholas Culpeper
translated the Pharmacoepia Londinensis out of Latin into
English so that poor men and women could cure
themselves. Just as the Levellers elevated the jury over
the judge, so the radical sectaries no longer looked up to
the specialized, educated priest as the arbiter of precedent.
For them the verdict lay with the congregation of believers,
each member of which respected the spirit within all his
fellow priests. The ideal was a society of all-round non-
specialists helping each other to arrive at truth through
the community
Quakers
Religious movement that emerged in the
north of England in the first years after the
defeat of the Levellers and Diggers, absorbing
these and other elements and giving them a
more spiritual cast. By 1652 they pooled their
resources and began a concerted campaign
to spread their views into central and southern
England, and later to other parts of the world.

Henry Niclaes
Familist. The Family of Love spread from northern
Germany into Holland and from there into England in
the mid-16th century. They believed that men and
women might recapture on earth the state of
innocence which existed before the Fall: their
enemies said they claimed to attain the perfection of
Christ. They held their property in common, believed
that all things come by nature, and that only the spirit
of God within the believer can properly understand
Scripture. In England there were Familists by the
1570s. They were particularly difficult for the
ecclesiastical authorities to root out because -- like
many Lollards before them -- they were ready to
recant when caught, but not to give up their opinions.
Of Quaker scholars, Rufus Jones (1863-1948) is best
known for his view that mystical movements
elsewhere in Europe, especially the Familists,
provided the basis for Quaker beliefs.

John Lilburne
Leveller writer and activist, tried by Parliament in 1649
and imprisoned during the final suppression of that
movement. In 1638, he refused to tell his interrogators
about books that had been smuggled in from Holland,
which led to his brutal punishment. In the course of this,
however, while he was whipped and publicly pilloried, the
crowd sustained him through the ordeal, making this
incident an early manifestation of the revolutionary spirit
that carried into the Civil War.
Among Levellers, Lilburne may be regarded as a
moderate. He was the main author of the Agreement of
the People. In 1655, well after the Levellers had been
defeated, Lilburne joined the Quakers and, when he died
in 1657, was buried in care of the Quakers in London, in
a service that included a public procession of thousands,
many wearing the sea-green ribbon that was the emblem
of the Levellers.

Shakers
Started in England as the "Shaking Quakers"
in 1747. Under the leadership of Ann Lee,
many moved to the American colonies. They
established themselves first in New York
State, in 1774, and expanded into other
areas.

For ~ten years Charles I had ruled England
without a sitting Parliament. After getting into a
war that stretched the budget beyond his current
fundraising abilities, in 1641(?) he allowed
elections and a new Parliament, which then took
it upon themselves to challenge him and his
supporters over various issues. This led to the
Civil Wars.
The same Parliament, later called the "Long"
Parliament, sat throughout the war, though more
and more depleted by purges and absenteeism.
The "rump" of the Long Parliament was sent
home in 1653 by Cromwell, but they were
returned to England in 1659-60 when General
Monk took power and set about to restore
monarchy to England.

Charles I was found guilty of high treason, as a
"tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy". He
was beheaded on a scaffold in front of the
Banqueting House of the Palace of Whitehall on
January 30, 1649.
6th
January
1649
Rump
Parliament
The Rump Parliament began. All members of Parliament
who were in favour of negotiating with the King had been
expelled. The Rump Parliament gave parliament the right to
make new Acts of Parliament without the king's approval
20th
January
1649
Trial of King
Charles
began
King Charles was tried for treason by a High Court of Justice
specially set up for the trial. The court found Charles guilty
and sentenced him to death.
30 Jan
1649
Execution

King Charles I was executed by beheading, outside
Whitehall Palace, London. He was buried in St George's
Chapel, Windsor.
Banqueting House, by Inigo Jones

"The last scene of the tragedy happened on a very
cold day - a day melancholy and dismal beyond any
that England had ever yet beheld..Charles looked
round upon the vast throngs of people, who with
bleeding hearts and weeping eyes pressed to behold
this dismal spectaclehis head was at one blow
severed from his body..none of the kings of
England ever left the world with more open marks of
sorrow and affection.

The venerable Archbishop Usher, from a window,
swooned at the sight of the fatal blow, as at a
prodigy too great for Heaven to permit, or the Earth
to behold. And as the rumour of his death spread
throughout the kingdom, women miscarried, many of
both sexes fell into palpitations, swoonings and
melancholy and some, with sudden consternation,
expired."



The first Civil war (1642 - 1645) On 22 August 1642 at Nottingham, Charles
raised the Royal Standard calling for loyal subjects to support him. The Battle
of Edgehill in October 1642 showed that early on the fighting was even.
Broadly speaking, Charles retained the north, west and south-west of the
country, and Parliament had London, East Anglia and the south-east, although
there were pockets of resistance everywhere, ranging from solitary garrisons to
whole cities. However, the Navy sided with Parliament (which made
continental aid difficult), and Charles lacked the resources to hire substantial
mercenary help. Parliament had entered an armed alliance with the
predominant Scottish Presbyterian group under the Solemn League and
Covenant of 1643, and from 1644 onwards Parliament's armies gained the
upper hand - particularly with the improved training and discipline of the New
Model Army.

The Self-Denying Ordinance was passed to exclude Members of Parliament
from holding army commands, thereby getting rid of vacillating or incompetent
earlier Parliamentary generals. Under strong generals like Sir Thomas Fairfax
and Oliver Cromwell, Parliament won victories at Marston Moor (1644) and
Naseby (1645).
The capture of the King's secret correspondence after Naseby showed the
extent to which he had been seeking help from Ireland and from the Continent,
which alienated many moderate supporters. Ended in defeat for Charles at the
battles of Naseby in Northamptonshire and Langport in Somerset. After their
victory the parliamentarians represented by Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton,
Colonel Rainborough and other officers attempted to negotiate a settlement
with Charles, in which they expected him to accept their demands for a
constitutional monarchy. Although defeated and a prisoner he would not
accept this, instead, he remained defiant provoking the Second Civil War.
Second Civil War (1648 - 1649).
Although nearly all the Royalists who had fought in the First
Civil War had given their parole not to bear arms against the
Parliament, a series of Royalist uprisings throughout England
and a Scottish invasion occurred in the summer of 1648.
Forces loyal to Parliament put down most of the uprisings in
England after little more than skirmishes, but uprisings in Kent,
Essex and Cumberland, the rebellion in Wales and the Scottish
invasion involved the fighting of pitched battles and prolonged
sieges.
The victory at the battle of Preston in Cumbria by the troops
of Cromwell over the Royalists and Scots marked the end of the
Second English Civil War.
The betrayal by Charles, who showed himself incorrigible,
dishonourable, and responsible for unjustifiable bloodshed,
caused Parliament to debate whether to return the King to
power at all. Those who still supported Charles's place on the
throne tried once more to negotiate with him. Furious that
Parliament continued to countenance Charles as a ruler, the
army marched on Parliament and ordered them to try Charles
for treason in the name of the people of England.

Third civil war (1649 - 1651) & the Commonwealth of
England (1649 - 1653)
With the monarchy overthrown, power was assumed by a
Council of State, which included Oliver Cromwell, then Lord
General of the Parliamentary Army.
At the same time, however, Scotland recognized Charles II as
his father's successor and proved unwilling to allow the English
to decide the fate of their monarchy. Consequently, on 5
February 1649, Charles II was proclaimed King of Scots in
Edinburgh. Charles himself soon came to despise his Scottish
hosts. Nevertheless, the Scots remained Charles's best hope of
restoration, and he was crowned King of Scots at Scone on 1
January 1651.
With Cromwell's forces now threatening Charles's position in
Scotland, it was decided to mount an attack on England. With
many of the Scots refusing to participate, and with few English
royalists joining the force as it moved south into England, the
invasion ended in defeat at the Battle of Worcester on 3
September 1651, following which Charles is said to have
hidden in the Royal Oak at Boscobel House, subsequently
escaping to France in disguise.
Woodcut depicting trial
of Charles I,
4
th
January and
execution 30
th
January
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was born in
Huntingdon in 1599. Educated at
Huntingdon Grammar School and
Sydney Sussex College,
Cambridge, he studied law in
London.
Sponsored by the Montagu family
he was elected to the House of
Commons in 1628. When
Parliament was dissolved in 1629
he took up farming in Huntingdon.
Soon afterwards he was converted
to Puritanism.
In 1640 Cromwell returned to
Parliament when he was elected to
represent Cambridge. Cromwell
was a strong critic of Charles II and
on the outbreak of the Civil War he
joined the Parliamentary forces and
served under Edward Montagu,
Duke of Manchester.
Although Cromwell had no military training, his experience
as a large landowner gave him a good knowledge of horses.
Cromwell became convinced that if he could produce a well-
disciplined army he could defeat Prince Rupert and his
Cavaliers. He knew that pikemen, armed with sixteen-foot-
long pikes, who stood their ground during a cavalry attack,
could do a tremendous amount of damage.
Cromwell also noticed that Prince Rupert's cavalry were not
very well disciplined. After they charged the enemy they
went in pursuit of individual targets. At the first major battle
of the civil war at Edgehill, most of Prince Rupert's
cavalrymen did not return to the battlefield until over an hour
after the initial charge. By this time the horses were so tired
they were unable to mount another attack against the
Roundheads.
Cromwell trained his cavalry to keep together after a charge.
In this way his men could repeatedly charge the Cavaliers.
Cromwell's new cavalry took part in its first major battle at
Marston Moor in Yorkshire in July 1644. The king's soldiers
were heavily defeated in the battle. Cromwell's soldiers
became known as the Ironsides because of the way they
cut through the Cavaliers on the battlefield.
The second principle of the radicals -- reliance
on the holy spirit within one, on one's own
experienced truth as against traditional truths
handed down by others. How else can revelation
be continuous? This emphasis was common to
Milton, Dell, Winstanley, Bunyan, Ranters and
Quakers. [...] One consequence of the stress on
continuous revelation and on experienced truths
was that the idea of novelty, or originality, cease
to be shocking and become in a sense
desirable. 'All that I have writ concerning the
matter of digging,' Winstanley wrote in
December 1649, 'I never read it in any book, nor
received it from any mouth ... before I saw the
light of it rise within myself.'
COMMONWEALTH
213. 1648/9. Act appointing a Council of State
214. 1648/9. Act abolishing the Office of King
215. 1648/9. Act abolishing the House of Lords
216. 1649. Act declaring England to be a
Commonwealth
217. 1650. Act declaring what Offences shall he
adjudged Treason under the Commonwealth
218. 1653. Declaration by Oliver Cromwell and
the Council of Officers after putting an End to the
Long Parliament

Republic (1653 1659)
Parliament continued to exist until Cromwell
forcibly disbanded it in 1653. England and
subsequently Scotland and Ireland became a
united republic under Oliver Cromwell, the
Lord Protector; a monarch in all but name: he
was even "invested" on the royal coronation
chair.
Upon his death in 1658, Cromwell was briefly
succeeded by his son, Richard Cromwell as
Lord Protector. However, the new Lord
Protector, with no power base in either
Parliament or the New Model Army, was forced
to abdicate in 1659. The Protectorate of England
was abolished, and the Commonwealth of
England re-established.
PROTECTORATE
1653. The Instrument of Government
1654. An Ordinance by the Protector for
the Union of England and Scotland

In June 1668, the ketches Nonsuch and
Eaglet left the Thames to explore the
territory around Hudson Bay in Canada.
Only the Nonsuch reached her goal and
returned four months later with a cargo of
beaver furs.
Charles II realised that important results
would follow from this first expedition. He
sealed the Charter of the Hudson's Bay
Company in 1670. The flag alongside
carries the company's coat-of-arms.
The company was to
prove valuable to the
commerce of London and
it played an important role in
the extension of the British
Empire.
The area the
company controlled was
known as Rupert's Land. It
comprised nearly 40 per
cent of modern Canada.
The Kings cousin, Prince
Rupert, was its first Governor.
He had fought on land for his
uncle throughout the Civil War
(1642-49) principally as a
cavalry commander, and
became commander-in-chief
of the Royalist land forces in
1644.
What began as a simple fur trading enterprise
evolved into a huge trading and exploration
company. Its interests stretched:
to the west coast of Canada
south to Oregon
north to the Arctic
east to Ungava Bay, in northern Quebec.
The company had agents in Chile, Hawaii,
California and Siberia. Its interests eventually
included:
land development (it owned vast areas of the North
American prairies)
merchandising and natural resources
real estate development

At the beginning of the Civil War, Parliament relied on
soldiers recruited by large landowners who supported their
cause. In February 1645, Parliament decided to form a new
army of professional soldiers. This army of 22,000 men
became known as the New Model Army. Its commander-in-
chief was General Thomas Fairfax, while Cromwell was put
in charge of its cavalry.
Members of the New Model Army received proper military
training and by the time they went into battle they were very
well-disciplined. In the past, people became officers
because they came from powerful and wealthy families. In
the New Model Army men were promoted when they
showed themselves to be good soldiers. For the first time it
became possible for working-class men to become army
officers. Cromwell thought it was very important that soldiers
in the New Model Army believed strongly in what they were
fighting for. Where possible he recruited men who, like him,
held strong Puritan views and the New Model Army went
into battle singing psalms, convinced that God was on
their side.
After the Act of Union in 1800 the number of members in the
House of Commons increased from 558 to 658. There were
465 MPs from England, 48 from Wales, 45 from Scotland and
100 from Ireland. This created problems of space as St.
Stephen's Chapel only had 427 seats.

In 1834 the chapel and most of the Old Palace of Westminster
was destroyed by fire. The new Palace of Westminster was
designed by Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin. The
seats to the right of the Speaker's Chair are traditionally used
by the Government and its supporters, and those to the left are
used by the opposition and other parties. Senior members of
the Government and the Opposition sit on the front benchers.
The gangway separating them is known as the Floor of the
House, which was designed to be "two sword lengths apart".
The House of Commons meet Monday to Thursday from 2.30
pm. to 10.30 pm. and on Fridays from 9.30 am to 3.00 pm.
However, sometimes debates went on all night.
CHARLES II
1660. The Declaration of Breda
1660. Act abolishing Relics of Feudalism and fixing an
Excise
1661. Corporation Act
1662. Last Act of Uniformity
1664. First Conventicle Act
1665. Five Mile Act
1673. Declaration of Indulgence
1673. Test Act
1679. Resolution concerning the Royal Pardon in Bar of
Danbys Impeachment
1679. Exclusion Bill
1679. Habeas Corpus Act
1682. Forfeiture of Charter of London

JAMES II
1686. Hales Case: The Dispensing Power
1687. Declaration of Indulgence

WILLIAM III AND MARY II
1688/9. Confirmation of the Convention Parliament
1689. The Civil List
1689. First Mutiny Act
1689. The Toleration Act
1689. The Bill of Rights
1690. Act restoring the Charter of London
1694. The Triennial Act

WILLIAM III
1696. Treason Trials Act
1701. The Act of Settlement

Restoration of the Monarchy (1660)
During the civil and military unrest which
followed, George Monck, the Governor of
Scotland, was concerned that the nation would
descend into anarchy. Monck and his army
marched into the City of London and forced the
Parliament to dissolve itself. For the first time in
almost twenty years, the members of Parliament
faced a general election.
A year later in 1660, the election of a
predominantly Royalists House of Commons,
restored the monarchy and Charles I's son
Charles II, became King. However,
constitutionally, the wars established a
precedent that British monarchs could not
govern without the consent of Parliament.
The business of Parliament takes place in two
Houses: the House of Commons and the
House of Lords. Their work is similar: making
laws (legislation), checking the work of the
government (scrutiny), and debating current
issues. The House of Commons is also
responsible for granting money to the
government through approving Bills that raise
taxes.

The Commons is publicly elected. The party
with the largest number of members in the
Commons forms the government. Members of
the Commons (MPs) debate the big political
issues of the day and proposals for new laws.

It is one of the key places where government
ministers, like the Prime Minister and the
Chancellor, and the principal figures of the main
political parties, work. The Commons alone is
responsible for making decisions on
financial Bills, such as proposed new taxes.
The Lords can consider these Bills but cannot
block or amend them.

The Lords are mostly appointed by the Queen,
a fixed number are elected internally and a
limited number of Church of England
archbishops and bishops sit in the House of
Lords. The Lords acts as a revising chamber
for legislation and its work complements the
business of the Commons. The House of Lords
was also the highest court in the land: the
supreme court of appeal.

Winstanley himself was a Lancashire man; his father was a clothier in Wigan, quite a significant
figure in his town, and Winstanley himself, Gerard, was apprenticed to a London clothier, which
suggests that his father had ambitions for him to get out of the backward north. And it looked as
though he was going to follow in his father's trade. He married the daughter of a London surgeon,
quite classy, who owned some property in Cobham parish, which we shall come back to later. And
Winstanley had set himself up in business before the civil war started. He had possibilities of trade
with his native Lancashire I think, which he presumably was relying on. But the civil war disrupted
trade links between London and Lancashire and like many other people, Winstanley was ruined in
the early 40s and he left London for Cobham where he presumably lived on property belonging to
his wife. And the only job that he could get was herding other men's cows as a hired labourer, not a
good start. He was very horrified by the poverty which he found around him and by his own poverty
and the powerlessness of the poor in face of eviction by landlords or speculative land purchasers.
The law gave no protection once one lost one's holding in the land and became dependent on wage
labour, and he had a thing against wage labour, which I shall come back to later on, he kept on
about it. So Winstanley took the initiative in the early 1640s in the movement by landless peasants
to squat on waste and common land, something that is perhaps more common today than it was a
generation or two ago, and cultivate them collectively. He started off at St Georges Hill in the parish
of Walton on Thames and later moved to Cobham Heath. He was attacked by local landlords who
set the locals against him and he was beaten up. A court case was brought against him and he was
tried at Kingston which, since Charles I's Charter of 1628 had cognizance of legal actions in
Elmbridge and three other hundreds. One of the phrases that he uses about this period is, the old
world is running up like parchment in the fire', and he saw the collapse of the sort of civilization he
had been used to. He hadn't done very well out of it, but he was used to it and like very many others
he reflected deeply on what was happening. All 17th century thinking about politics of course took
religious forms and Winstanley was deeply concerned about how the helpless poverty of the
masses could be explained in terms of a loving and all-powerful God. He was dissatisfied with the
explanations of most preachers, whether established Church of England preachers or sectarians.
Whether they believed in the beauty of holiness, ceremonies, or had the puritan emphasis on
preaching and preaching and more preaching, neither seemed to help the poor. It was no use,
Winstanley came to decide, repeating conventional clichs, new remedies were called for. Men must
think for themselves, not repeat other people's thoughts, a point that keeps recurring, you must think
for yourself. His own ideas crystallized in what he called a trance, which I think we should call a
period of deep meditation, which perhaps sounds a little less mysterious, and he concluded that until
everybody had food to eat and some security of livelihood, it was no good preaching pie in the sky
to them. He received messages in this trance, if it was a trance, and the messages he received
were, 'work together', 'eat bread together', 'let Israel go free'. 'Israel shall neither give nor take hire'
and in his written works for 'Israel shall not take hire' he referred to the Epistle of James Chapter 5,
verse 4. 'We must go forth and declare it in action, calling upon us that are called the common
people to manure and work upon the common lands.' I'm quoting again, I won't repeat that every
time. 'True religion and undefiled is to make restitution of the earth', which hath been taken and held
from the common people by the power of conquests formerly' and so set the oppressed free. And in
another rather similar phrase he said, 'true religion and undefiled is to give everyone land freely to
manure co-operatively.' 'Manure' is of course a 17th century word for cultivate but I think he
intended to use rather a vulgar word so as to contrast true religion with the religion of ceremonies
and/or preaching. True religion and undefiled is to give everyone land freely to manure co-
operatively, and he quoted the Bible to the effect that the poor shall inherit the earth and said this is
really and immediately to be fulfilled. So he and a handful of poor men established a colony on St
Georges Hill to take symbolic ownership of uncultivated common and waste land and came under a
great deal of attack.
Levellers thought that Parliament's victory over
the King in the civil war ought to lead to the
establishment of political democracy.
Winstanley saw no point in this without a
restoration of economic equality. 'Everyone upon
the recovery of the Norman conquest ought to
return to freedom again without respect of
persons. Surely all sorts, both gentry in their
enclosures, and the communalty in their
commons, ought to have their freedom, not
compelling one to work for another for wages.
The laws that were made in the days of the
kings give freedom to the gentry and clergy, all
the rest are left servants and bondsmen to those
taskmasters.'
Winstanley was also very down to earth
when it came to practical things. He
advocated a state monopoly of foreign
trade because there would be no private
property and common land would
belong to the commonwealth so he
realised there would have to be a state
monopoly of foreign trade.
Interestingly enough, that's one of the first
things that Lenin established after the
Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, a
Commissariat of foreign trade.
John Wesley
English evangelical preacher and founder of
Methodism. He was deeply influenced by
Moravian missionaries during his visit to
Georgia in 1735, and in 1738 he experienced
an assurance of salvation through faith in
Christ alone, leading to his repudiation of the
Calvinist doctrine of election/predestination.

Thomas Paine
English pamphleteer, who emigrated to the
American colonies and participated in the
Revolution, contributing the widely influential
pamphlet Common Sense. Returning to
England to continue the revolution there, he
wrote the Rights of Man. Fled to France to
escape prosecution, and later returned to
America.

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this
England.


Gerrard Winstanley and the Diggers, a
short-lived radical movement that emerged
during the British Civil Wars/Revolution in
the late 1640s
in April 1649 (just months after the execution of
Charles I) Winstanley led a band of Diggers (aka True
Levellers) in cultivating unused common land on Saint
Georges Hill in Cobham, Surrey according to the
principles of his own writing: all should be equal in
status and labour, all property to be shared
according to needs. They aroused crushing hostility:
physical attacks, law-suits, prosecutions; the tiny
community lasted only a year, although it did not
perish without planting other seeds around the
country. But none of the Digger communities survived
for long, and they were forgotten until the twentieth
century.
The Levellers were a group of civilians, mainly business men and
skilled craftsmen, who formed the first political group based on a
democratic basis. Their 'movement'' was based on a set of common
ideas and demands on the ruling classes rather than an organised
political party.

They met in small groups on regular basis in various London Inns,
drawing up petitions against parliamentary actions and collecting
subscriptions, amounts paid my members were according to
income, to fund their propaganda. Petitions could have up to 30,000
signatures and in 1647, after a bad harvest and increasing
starvation throughout the country, petitioned Parliament for poor
relief.

They also inspired many of the demands of the more radical
elements of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. These elements
were typically from the Cavalry regiments who had 'elected'
spokesmen (who become known as the Agitators) to represent
them. At this point the Levellers became very influential and had to
be listened too.

Even now, some 360 years later, some of our current politicians are
said to have 'leveller' ideas and are still fighting for the same
democratic changes originally proposed by Overton.
The Putney Debates of 1647 - The Conception of British
Democracy

From the 28th October to 9th November 1647, soldiers and
officers of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army, including civilian
representation, held discussions on the constitution and future
of England.

Should they continue to negotiate a settlement with the
defeated King Charles I? Should there even be a King or
Lords? Should suffrage (a civil right to vote, known as the
franchise) be limited to property-holders? Would democratic
changes lead to anarchy?

This historic event saw ordinary soldiers take on their generals
to argue for greater democracy and provided a platform for
'common people' to make their voices heard. These debates,
forced by the Levellers, paved the way for many of the civil
liberties we value today.

HENRY VI 1422 - deposed 1461 Beginning of
the Wars of the Roses
Gentle and retiring, he came to the throne as a baby
and inherited a losing war with France, the Hundred
Years War finally ending in 1453 with the loss of
all French lands except for Calais. The king had an
attack of mental illness that was hereditary in his
mother's family in 1454 and Richard Duke of York was
made Protector of the Realm. The House of York
challenged Henry VI's right to the throne and England
was plunged into civil war. The battle of St Albans in
1455 was won by the Yorkists. Henry was restored to
the throne briefly in 1470. Henry's son, Edward, Prince
of Wales was killed at the battle of Tewkesbury one
day before Henry was murdered in the Tower of
London in 1471. Henry founded both Eton College
and King's College, Cambridge, and every year the
Provosts of Eton and King's College lay roses and
lilies on the altar which now stands where he died.
Oxford, Divinity School 1427-1483

King's College Chapel is one of
the most iconic buildings in the
world, and is a splendid example of
late Gothic (Perpendicular)
architecture. It was started in 1446
by Henry VI (1421-71) and took
over a century to build. It has the
largest fan vault ceiling in the world
and some of the finest medieval
stained glass.


Kings College Chapel, Cambridge
Gothic Perpendicular


Bath
Abbey,
began in
1499 -
1530


The Princes in The Tower
Traditional history, written by later Tudor historians
seeking to legitimize their masters' past, has painted
Richard as the archetypal wicked uncle. The truth may not be
so clear cut. Some things are known, or assumed, to be true.
Edward and his younger brother were put in the Tower of
London, ostensibly for their own protection. Richard had the
"Princes in the Tower" declared illegitimate, which may possibly
have been true. He then got himself declared king. He may
have been in the right, and certainly England needed a strong
and able king. But he was undone when the princes
disappeared and were rumoured to have been murdered by his
orders. In the 17th century workmen repairing a stairwell at the
Tower found the bones of two boys of about the right ages.
Were these the Princes in the Tower, and were they killed by
their wicked uncle? The person with the most to gain by killing
the princes was not Richard, however, but Henry, Earl of
Richmond. Henry also claimed the throne, seeking
"legitimacy" through descent from John of Gaunt and his
mistress.
1485 end of the Yorkists, beginning
of a new era
The Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry defeated
and killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field
(1485). The crown is said to have been found
hanging upon a bush, and it was placed on
Henry's head there on the field of battle.
Bosworth marked the end of the Wars of the
Roses. There was no one else left to fight. It also
marked the end of the feudal period of English
history. With the death of Richard III the crown
passed from the Plantagenet line to the new
House of Tudor, and a new era of history began
In 1495 John Cabot went to London, as news of
Columbus' success in the New World had spread, to
suggest to Henry VII a voyage should be made to "the
Indies". Spain protested, as this would be in violation of
the Tordisellas Line declared by the Pope in 1494. But
Cabot and his three sons, Sebastian, Lewis and
Sancius had already gained a patent from the King to
go "to all places, east, west and north", but not south in
Spanish waters.
By this public document, Henry VII indicated his official,
royal support for Cabot's enterprise. As an agent of the
English Crown, Cabot was empowered to investigate,
claim and possess lands "which before this time were
unknown to all Christians" - which meant he could not
intrude on Spanish and Portuguese discoveries. The
King would receive one fifth of the value of merchandise
brought back to Bristol, though he had invested no
money of his own. Maybe Lewis and Sancius did not
sail, but John took his son Sebastian on Matthew
leaving Bristol on 2 May 1497, and would sail to the sea
off Newfoundland, "full of fish".

The Reformation in England
In 1527 Henry VIII wrote a book entitled Fidei Defensor. The book
criticised Martin Luther and confirmed the status of the Pope.
However, just six years later in 1533, Henry had passed
legislation that removed the Pope's influence in England and had
made himself the Head of the Church of England.
In 1527 Henry VIII began to have doubts about the validity of his
marriage to Catherine of Aragon. In the 18 years that they had
been married she had given birth to eight children but only one
had survived, a girl, Mary. Henry believed that his lack of male
heir to the throne was God's way of punishing him for having
married his brother's wife. Henry had found a passage in the Bible
that supported his belief. By this time Henry had also become
infatuated with Anne Boleyn. He asked Catherine to grant him a
divorce but she refused. According to the law in England only the
Pope could grant a King a divorce and as the Pope got on very
well with Catherine's nephew, Charles V of Spain, he delayed
making a decision. After five years of waiting Henry began to take
matters into his own hands:
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded,
survived : the six wives of Henry VIII

Katherine of Aragon by Michael Sittow, c. 1502
Born 1485
Married Arthur, Prince of Wales
in 1501
Widowed a year later, betrothed
to Henry, Arthurs younger
brother,
1509 Married Henry, crowned
Queen, various miscarriages, 1
still-birth, 2 sons died as babies,
one daughter Mary survived,
Divorced in 1533 'If a man shall
take his brother's wife it is an
unclean thing..... they shall be
childless.'(Leviticus, XX, 21)
Died in 1536.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, c. 1470-1530
Son of a Suffolk wool merchant killed at
Bosworth Field, who entered the church
and became a cardinal in 1515. He was
Henry VIIIs Lord Chancellor from 1515-
1529. Lost favour with Henry when he
failed to get the annulment of the King's
marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Died on
his way to imprisonment in the Tower of
London, 30th November 1530.
In 1514, in the parish of Hampton, Thomas Wolsey,
Archbishop of York began building a magnificent palace
on the north bank of the River Thames. Wolsey had
water for his new palace running from Coobe Hill in
Surrey through lead pipes which traveled through
Surbiton to get to Hampton Court.
Enclosures
The single greatest social issue of the
reigns of the first three Tudors was the
enclosure movement and the attendant
woes to the lower classes who were
displaced or had their common grazing
privileges denied by the new enclosures.
Simply put, enclosure was the fencing or
hedging of open farmland for the purpose
of raising sheep. As a landowner it made
far more economic sense to raise sheep
than to rely on traditional feudal
arrangements of mutual obligation.


In 1533 Garrett g was summoned to meet the King in London.
A false rumour was started that Garrett g had been executed,
and Garrett g's son immediately declared that he would no
longer be the King's deputy in Ireland. Although the rumour
may have been deliberately started to cause the mutiny, it was
quickly and ruthlessly put down. The Kildares were murdered
and their castle destroyed. The Pale was expanded to include
the Kildare's former kingdom (today county Kildare). From then
on, the Pale was ruled by Englishmen and not Irish lords. Then
Henry changed tactics. With almost no loyal supporters left
amongst Irish Lords, he was forced to adopt a more peaceful
policy. He held talks with many Irish Lords and most signed
peace treaties that recognised Henry as their King and agreed
to accept English law. In return they were allowed to live free of
threats from the English. Most of the Irish lords became Earls of
parts of Ireland. By using this tactic, Henry managed to gain
control of most of Ireland in a very short time and with
practically no violence.
In 1541, Henry went against the expressed wishes of the Pope
and made himself the King of Ireland as well as England. This
resulted in an increase in English immigration and
(Protestant) settlement in Ireland which would greatly
increase under Elizabeth.

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