tudor's dynasty

« Religion and royal power under the Tudors. (1485-1603) The house of the Tudors initially started with Henry VII and ended with Elisabeth I, from 1485 to 1603, after his victory in the battle of Bosworth Field, decisive battle of the war of the roses against Richard III.

During their dynasty, many religious transformations as well as successions led England to different phases through the years.

Undergoing these changes allowed England to become a powerful, wealthy and ambitious country but also a more united one during Elisabeth reign.

The Tudors’ dynasty is generally considered as the most influent one, especially with the most famous king Henry VIII and his tumultuous reign.

The interests of this dynasty consisted in the construction of the nation, the creation of a modern state and the quest for political stability.

Leading us to wonder whether or not the Tudor ’s dynasty was beneficial for England in the matter of religion and royal power.

My first part will focus on Henry VII: his rule as a king of transition then I will concentrate on the religion seen as a roller coaster throughout the entire dynasty which will lead me to the less glorious view of the Tudors. Henry VII whole rule was about political stability since he came after 30 years of war.

Despite the war, England was in a good economic state.

He based royal power on good business sense.

He had more power and money than the earlier kings due to the death of many nobles during the many wars.

Henry VII was considered like the first king of England who managed his reign just like his fortune; indeed, he was the best businessman to ever sat in the English throne.

Unlike many of the previous kings, henry was clever enough not to over-patronize the noble. Instead of doing this, he did not give them big pensions; therefore, they depended on him even more. Furthermore, he changed the system of pension, which was not based on social rent anymore but on loyalty to the king.

On top of that, he started to reward commoners and including them into the royal life.

However, the only pleasure he had when it comes to spend money was the building of ships for a merchant fleet. During the war, aristocracy was in a disastrous situation since the nobles killed each other, hence the decision of henry VII to proclaim that the monarch should not only reign but also rule.

He made an important decision regarding the maintain of his full authority, so he decided to prohibit armed men.

In the days of the war of the roses England’s trading position had been badly damaged thus, a year after his famous victory in the battle of Bosworth Field, he decided to made a trade agreement with Netherlands.

This agreement allowed English trade to increase.

Henry was careful enough to keep his friendship with the merchant as well as the neighboring countries. During this dynasty, the religion matter was very important.

From 1509 to 1603, it never stopped changing direction through henry VIII himself and his children’s reign.. »