Henry VII and Henry VIII
- Henry VII won the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, ending the Wars of the Roses and starting the Tudor dynasty.
- Henry VIII (1509 to 1547) married six times: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr ("divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived").
- He wanted a son. When the Pope wouldn't let him divorce Catherine of Aragon, he broke with Rome: the Act of Supremacy (1534) made him head of the Church of England.
- The Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 to 1541) closed the monasteries and gave their land and wealth to the Crown.
Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey and Mary I
- Edward VI (1547 to 1553), the son of Jane Seymour, made England more Protestant.
- Lady Jane Grey was queen for about nine days in 1553.
- Mary I (1553 to 1558) brought back the Catholic Church. About 280 Protestants were burned as heretics, earning her the name "Bloody Mary".
Elizabeth I
- Elizabeth I (1558 to 1603) set up a "middle way" Protestant Church in her Religious Settlement of 1559.
- Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic, was involved in plots against Elizabeth and was executed in 1587.
- The Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588.
- It was an age of exploration (Francis Drake sailed around the world from 1577 to 1580) and theatre (Shakespeare). Elizabeth never married, perhaps to keep her power and avoid foreign control.
Key terms
- Tudors
- The royal family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603.
- Wars of the Roses
- Civil wars between the houses of Lancaster and York.
- Break with Rome
- Henry VIII separating the English Church from the Pope.
- Act of Supremacy
- The 1534 law that made Henry VIII head of the Church of England.
- Dissolution of the Monasteries
- Henry VIII closing the monasteries and taking their wealth.
- Protestant
- A Christian who doesn't accept the authority of the Pope.
- Catholic
- A Christian who accepts the authority of the Pope.
- Heretic
- Someone whose religious beliefs go against the official Church.
- Religious Settlement
- Elizabeth I's "middle way" Church of 1559.
- Spanish Armada
- The Spanish invasion fleet defeated in 1588.