THE RENAISSANCE Historical Context 1485-1625 HENRY VII With his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, Henry Tudor (crowned King Henry VII) ushered in a new dynasty and a new period of prosperity and stability for England. The Wars of the Roses were at an end and Henry was able to build a new nation-state on the ruins of the old nobility which had practically wiped itself out during the wars. He remains rather a shadowy figure and has not caught the popular imagination like Henry VIII or Elizabeth I but he certainly laid the foundations for one of the most fruitful periods in English history. His diplomatic skill in avoiding quarrels with his neighbours (Scotland, France), his careful handling of state finances and the building of a powerful merchant fleet, thanks to which, England was able to dominate international trade in the future, were all important steps in the establishment of England as a world power. HENRY VIII His son Henry VIII was a completely different individual: though a brilliant scholar and ambitious in European politics, he was self—centred and extravagant, and quickly dissipated his father’s carefully accumulated savings. His efforts to make England politically important in Europe as the balance of power between Spain and France came to nothing.

THE REFORMATIONHenry VIII was always looking for quick ways to raise money. The Church was very rich and monasteries were no longer an important factor in the economic growth of the country. The power of the Church in England as an international organization, was resented.

Hampton Court

Henry, although he had been nominated ‘Defender of the Faith’ for his theological work as a young man, had little influence on the Pope, and the Church could work against his authority. These problems came to a head when Catherine of Aragon, his first wife, failed to supply him with a male heir (giving birth only to Mary Tudor). Henry sought a divorce but a Papal dispensation was not forthcoming because Charles V of Spain, who was Catherine’s nephew, had great influence with the Pope. Henry became very angry with Cardinal Wolsey, his chief minister, who would almost certainly have been executed if he had not died on the way to court. Henry persuaded the English bishops to make him head of the Church in England (Act of Supremacy 1534). Henry was now free to divorce Catherine and marry Anne Boleyn. This break was only political: Henry VIII did not approve of Continental Protestantism (as expressed by Luther or Calvin); and was still a Catholic. Henry gradually severed all links with Rome, and England became politically Protestant, although the popular religion was still Catholic. With his new minister, Cromwell, Henry carried out a survey of all the property of the Church in England, and the so-called ‘Dissolution of the monasteries’ took place between 1536 and 1539: Henry closed these religious institutions and confiscated their riches, distributing their lands among other landowners and merchants. Thus, at a stroke, Henry had solved some of his financial problems and also ensured his popularity with a large and increasingly influential section of the population. Henry died in 1547 after six marriages and left three heirs: Edward, Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.

RELIGIOUS CONFLICTEdward VI was too young to reign when Henry died so the country was governed by a council, composed of members of the new nobility created by the Tudors, and therefore in favour of Protestant reform (mainly because they had benefited from the dissolution of the monasteries). Public opinion was not too happy with the new religious principles (in particular a new prayer book introduced in 1552 sought to ensure that the Protestant religion was followed by all churches). Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary), the Catholic daughter of Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, became Queen on Edward’s death at the age of 16 in 1553. Mary was inflexible and imprudent: although her Catholicism was approved of by the people, she mishandled her marriage to Philip of Spain and the common people rebelled against this, thinking that it gave too much influence to foreign powers. Religious tension reached fever pitch, and Mary burnt hundreds of Protestants at the stake, which led to greater unpopularity. She died in 1558, succeeded by Elizabeth (who had wisely been very discreet during Mary’s reign to avoid execution).

Mary Tudor

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ELIZABETH I

Elizabeth was a force for peace, for reconciliation, and for prosperity. She made the Church part of the state regime and tried to avoid open quarrels with Spain or France (both Catholic countries), or marriages with their kings (so as not to disturb the delicate equilibrium of power in Europe). There was even a possibility that the Pope might persuade them to attack England. Other dangers focussed on Mary Queen of Scots, who was the (Catholic) heir to the English throne. Elizabeth kept her prisoner for 20 years and was then forced to have her killed to avoid Catholic plots and invasions. Philip of Spain decided to attack and conquer England in 1587 as part of an overall strategy to defeat rebels in the Netherlands. He built one of the largest fleets ever known to move his troops across the English Channel. Although the English were outnumbered, their ships were faster and more agile than the Spanish troop ships and a combination of bad weather and military skill inflicted a humiliating defeat on Philip.

FOREIGN POLICYThe work begun by Henry VII on England’s domination at sea was carried on by Henry VIII, who spent money on warships and guns. Elizabeth considered trade the most important matter and much of her energy was spent on frustrating Spanish designs on the Netherlands. The looting of Spanish ships returning from the Americas (which was encouraged by Elizabeth in secret to repay Spain’s refusal to allow free trade with the colonies) was carried out by famous ‘sea dogs’ such as Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher.

Elizabeth also encouraged the creation of colonies abroad, a first step on the way to the colonial empire in later centuries. The area of Virginia in America was named after Elizabeth (known as the Virgin Queen since she never married). The slave trade began, and the port of Bristol in the West of England became very important in this respect. Chartered companies were formed to exploit trading opportunities with Scandinavia, and the Far East (the famous East India company was formed to counterbalance the Dutch

monopoly of the spice trade). The Tudor monarchs also did much to attempt to unite the various areas of what is now the United Kingdom. Henry VIII wanted the Welsh to become English and in fact forced them to exist under one administration from 1536-1543 onwards. English became the official language. Henry also wanted to be King of Ireland, but failed to have the Reformation accepted: Irish nobles would not touch Church lands, resulting in a combination of nationalist and Catholic feeling against England. There were rebellions in the 1580s (aided by Catholic Spain and France) which were put down with great cruelty. Ireland was England’s first important colony: and the English presence was particularly strong in Ulster where the Irish tribes had resisted longest. Settlers from England and Scotland took over, seizing the best land for themselves. The seeds of the future religious conflict were already sown. As regards Scotland, Henry VII signed a peace treaty with them, but his son wanted to have authority over Scotland and humiliated the Scots army at Flodden in 1513. He wanted to unite the two countries by a marriage agreement between Mary Queen of Scots and his son Edward, but the Scots sent Mary away to France where she married a Frenchman. By this time Scotland had become protestant, too, and Mary soon fell into disagreement with her opponents and was imprisoned... She escaped to England and was later executed by Elizabeth I. Her son James VI was to become the future James I of England.

PARLIAMENT The role of Parliament during the Tudor period was quite limited: the Tudor monarchs did not hold it in high esteem and called it seldom. The authority of Parliament however increased, although there were only two reasons why the Tudors made use of Parliament: to obtain money and win the support of merchants and yeomen. Elizabeth I called only 13 Parliaments in 44 years. There was a shift of power to the House of Commons because it was richer and more influential although it was still not really representative. Tudor monarchs tried to get money in other ways, (rather than summoning Parliament), for example, the sale of official positions in the reign of Elizabeth. JAMES I James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603. He tried to rule without Parliament as much as possible and was a firm believer in the Divine Right of Kings. Although when younger he had ruled Scotland astutely, he became rather tactless on his succession to the English throne and in fact the French King called him the ‘wisest fool in Christendom’. He narrowly escaped death in the celebrated ‘Gunpowder Plot’ in 1605 when some Catholic conspirators, including the Guy Fawkes commemorated every 5th November on Bonfire Night, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the opening ceremony. The plot was discovered in time and the conspirators executed. Elizabeth had left huge debts, so the new King needed to raise money with a new tax; Parliament on the other hand wanted new rights on home and foreign policy in return, but James refused. When the Thirty Years War broke out in Europe in 1618 Parliament wanted to declare war against the Catholics, but James did not agree. These quarrels about money continued until his death in 1625.

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English Parliament, 1648

RICH AND POOR At the beginning of the Tudor period England was still largely rural, consisting of small villages scattered across the country, although the largest city, London, had 60,000 inhabitants by 1500. During the sixteenth century the population more than doubled (to over 4 million), and changing agricultural habits (growth of sheep farming, deforestation) led to social and economic problems. Inflation was also a problem: prices rose steeply and wages fell, and the government’s solution to the problem (debasing the coinage) only made things worse. Some classes thrived, as for example the larger landowners or yeomen, but times were hard for the poor. The enclosure of common land in order to keep sheep for the profitable cloth trade led to further suffering: peasants were now deprived of land which they had relied on to make ends meet. The government failed to control the situation. By the middle of the century there were probably more than 10,000 homeless people on the roads. The first Poor Law was passed in 1601, and this meant that local people became responsible for the poor in their area: the local authorities could raise money to provide food, accommodation and work for the poor from their parish. The rise of capitalism was also an important factor, in particular in the cloth trade which reached its apex in the sixteenth century. The fine Tudor mansions and churches built bear witness to the arrival of an important new class.

There were also a series of important technological advances, such as improvements in the manufacture of steel (hence better weapons, cutlery etc.) and the increasing use of coal. Although times were hard, homes increased in size, and cooking and heating facilities improved for rich and poor. The condition of women in England was one of the best in Europe, although of course the strain of bearing enormous families and the high proportion of death in childbirth and the risk of infant mortality ensured that life was short and fraught with dangers. The invention of printing at the beginning of the period led to ever-increasing standardization of the English language (based largely on London English) and the decline of dialect, at least among the upper classes. There was a boom in literacy: by the end of the period, it is estimated that half the population could read and write. This is one factor in the extraordinary flowering of artistic talent in the Age of Shakespeare.

ENTERTAINMENT Entertainment in Tudor times was very varied. Traditional activities such as hunting (and poaching for the poor!) continued to thrive in what was still a predominantly rural population (even at the end of the period, in 1603, over 80% of the population lived in small villages). There was a great sense of community: local life centered around the manor house and the lord often entertained both his rich friends and the local poor at Christmas and other religious festivals. Organized games were also in existence: a primitive kind of football (usually an excuse for a massive fight between two villages) was popular, although Elizabeth tried to prohibit it, since it was considered to distract the people’s attention from archery (shooting with bow and arrow) which was an essential part of training for the defence of the country (it should be remembered that there was a very real threat of invasion by Spain). Other forms of entertainment at local fairs or markets were actors, ballad singers, jugglers, acrobats and wrestlers. Rich people were gradually beginning to seek more refined forms of entertainment: new games, such as chess and tennis, as well as reading the newly printed books which had become available recently. There was also a great musical renaissance in England (names such as John Dowland or Thomas Tallis come to mind), and many families had their own permanent group of musicians. Dancing was also highly popular, from the poorest in the realm to the monarchs and their glamorous courtiers, and Elizabeth I was particularly fond of this pastime. The theatre also blossomed during the second half of the sixteenth century.

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EDUCATION Education in Medieval times had been almost exclusively the province of the Church, but the change in the intellectual climate brought about by Humanism and the new scientific and geographical discoveries generated new interest in the problems of the best education for children. Another institution which still survives in modern England (although in a totally different form) is the grammar school. These schools were either attached to religious institutions, such as monasteries or cathedrals, or founded by groups of merchants (schools like St. Paul’s, Merchant Taylors and Haberdashers), especially after the reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries. The curriculum consisted of Latin, Greek, ancient history, religion, and, increasingly, English. Typically, all the 50 or so students in a school would be taught together in the same class by the same teacher. Discipline was grim and the school day started at six in the morning and ended as late as six in the evening if there was enough light to study. The students were the sons of the local middle class: merchants, farmers, lawyers and shopkeepers.At a lower level there were other schools: ‘dame’ schools usually run by an old lady in the village who gave an extremely elementary education: the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic.Girls were not normally sent to school, however, since the only education which was considered to be appropriate for them was to learn how to run the home, to sew and to embroider and perhaps to play a musical instrument. These skills were best learnt in the service of some other rich men. (Sir Thomas more provided for the formal education of his daughters by means of private tutors).

Children in school

THE TUDORS Henry VII (1485-1509)

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more

commonly known as the Tower of London, was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison since at least 1100, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.

The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. In the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period. In the late 15th century the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle its defences lagged behind developments to deal with artillery.

The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen,

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Henry VIII (1509-1547)Edward VI (1547-1553)Mary I, Tudor (1533-1558) (Bloody Mary)Elizabeth I (1558-1603)THE STUARTSJames I Stuart, (James VI, king of Scotland) (1603-1625)Charles I (1625-1649) Revolution and restoration, Oliver CromwellCharles II (1660-1685)James II (1685-1688)William and Mary II (1689-1702)Anne (1702-1714)

were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower". Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, popularised by 16th-century religious propagandists and 19th-century writers, only seven people were executed within the Tower before the World Wars of the 20th century. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period

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