The Tudor period in English history refers to the period between 1485 C.E. and 1603 C.E. that coincides with the rule of the Tudor dynasty. The five monarchs who ruled England during this period were Henry VII (1485 C.E. to 1509 C.E.), Henry VIII (1509 C.E. to 1547 C.E.), Edward VI (1547 C.E. to 1553 C.E.), Mary I (1553 C.E. to 1558 C.E.) and Elizabeth I (1558 C.E. to 1603 C.E.). Among these kings, the reigns of the first two Tudor kings - Henry VII and Henry VIII is the era when England started its process of political consolidation, assertiveness and economic development, which soon paved way for England to emerge as one of the most powerful countries of the world.Henry VII was born in 1457 C.E. as the only son of Edmund Tudor, the Earl of Richmond. At this time, England was in the midst of the civil war known as the war of the Roses, between the House of York and Lancaster. Young Henry took the side of Lancaster, and as such when the Yorkist Edward IV ascended the throne in 1471 C.E., he fled to Brittany and stayed there for the next 14 years under the patronage of the Duke of Brittany. The throne of England, in the meantime passed on to the highly unpopular Edward III.
[...] Soon afterwards, he issued an Act of Succession 1536 that declared Henry's children by Queen Jane to be next in the line of succession and declared both Lady Mary and Lady Elizabeth illegitimate and excluded from the throne. The parliament further granted the king power to determine the line of succession in his will. Jane gave birth to a son, the future king Edward VI, in 1537 C.E. However she died soon after, on 24 October 1537 C.E. from an infection. [...]
[...] This treaty gave a boost to England's export of wool, and filled King Henry VII's treasury and heralded an economic upturn in England that paved way for the dominance of Britain that followed during the 16th Century. The decline of agriculture combined with the stimulus given to trade led to the breakdown of feudal ties, and more and more cities started to migrate to cities and ports in search of opportunities. Henry VII thus played a part in the ending of feudalism and the establishment of mercantilism in England. [...]
[...] Henry thus became one of the many contenders to the throne of England, and by 1483 C.E., his mother started actively promoting Henry as an alternative to the unpopular Richard III. Henry made an unsuccessful bid to land in England for the throne. Richard III attempted to extradite Henry through an arrangement with the Breton authorities, but Henry managed to escape to France, where he was welcomed and supplied with troops and equipment to invade a rival nation. Battle of Bosworth Field Henry soon landed in England with his French mercenaries, and gathered supporters as he made his way through his father's native Wales. [...]
[...] In response to the excommunications, the Peter's Pence Act was passed in and it reiterated that England had "no superior under God, but only your Grace" and that Henry's "imperial crown" had been diminished by "the unreasonable and uncharitable usurpations and exactions" of the Pope. The process of breaking off with the Catholic Church continued throughout Henry's reign. In 1540 C.E., Henry sanctioned the destruction of shrines to saints. Henry succeeded in dissolving all of England's monasteries by 1542 C.E., and transferring their property to the Crown. [...]
[...] Star Chambers and Justices of Peace Henry revived the Court of Star Chamber, a small trusted group of the Privy Council that supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters. The purpose of this court was to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against prominent people, those so powerful that ordinary courts could never convict them of their crimes. Such court sessions held in secret, with no indictments, no right of appeal, no juries and no witnesses. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
