Tudor tree. English kings of the 16th century. Tudor dynasty

By the beginning of the XVI century. England was a relatively small state on the western outskirts of Europe. She then occupied only part of the British Isles. Scotland remained an independent kingdom, often hostile to England, and Ireland had yet to be conquered.

England at the beginning of the Tudor era

The population of England at the beginning of the century was about 3 million people, while in Spain there were about 10 million, and in France - 15 million people.

In England, the supreme power belonged to "the king and parliament", that is, the sovereign with the assembly of estates.

A feature of the political structure of England was the development of local self-government. On the ground, in the counties, justices of the peace and officials representing the interests of the crown with broad powers - sheriffs - played a large role. Both were elected from among the large local landowners. Another feature of England was the developed judicial system. The English have been brought up for centuries in the habit of solving controversial problems with the help of law. The island position of the state also predetermined the absence of a standing army and increased attention to the navy. The famous Royal Navy appeared during the Tudor times.

Features of the socio-economic development of England

The leading branch of the English economy was the manufacture of cloth, and sheep breeding provided raw materials for it. The development of these interrelated industries determined the course of transformations in economic life, and at the same time, changes in the structure of English society. It is noteworthy that the new capitalist structure was formed in the countryside, and not in the city, as in most other European countries. Among the nobles, enterprising people stood out, whose economy was market-oriented. Such entrepreneurs began to be called new nobles. Wealthy citizens also bought land, turning into landowners. On this basis, there was a rapprochement between the new nobility and the urban elite. In agriculture, the prerequisites for an agrarian revolution were created - the process of eliminating peasant land ownership and the peasant community, and the formation of capitalist relations in the countryside.

The development of sheep breeding required the expansion of pastures, for which the landowners carried out mass fencing, capturing peasant lands under various pretexts and surrounding them with fences. First, communal lands were fenced, then it was the turn of arable land.

In the Tudor era, enclosures took on such proportions that they became a truly national disaster. The law adopted in 1489 forbade the fencing and destruction of large peasant estates. Thanks to this, the independent economy of the most prosperous peasants in England was preserved. By the 16th century the entire English peasantry had personal freedom, but the fencing deprived many peasants of their land. The result was mass begging, the emergence of a whole layer of the poor, deprived of any means of subsistence of people - paupers. Already in 1495, the first law on the punishment of vagabonds and beggars appeared. In the future, several more laws were adopted that strengthened the punishment for vagrancy.

In addition to cloth-making, mining also developed in England from ancient times, in the 16th century. new branches of production arose - the manufacture of glass, paper, sugar. It was here that the first form of production of a new, capitalist type appeared, which was called manufactory (from the Latin words "hand" and "manufacturing").

Manufactory was still based on manual labor, but already differed from the medieval craft workshop, in which the whole thing was made - from the preparation of raw materials to the finishing of the finished product - by the same people. In manufacturing production, a single labor process was divided into separate operations, which led, firstly, to an increase in labor productivity and, secondly, to the improvement of special professional skills in each narrow area of ​​​​specialization. For example, merchants who bought wool from sheep breeders distributed it to impoverished peasants and artisans to make yarn for a predetermined fee. Then the yarn was handed over to the weavers, who wove cloth from it, after which the cloth was taken to the dyers. The end result was a product that could be sold.

Under such a system, former peasants and artisans turned from independent producers into employees and the merchants who hired them became capitalist entrepreneurs. At the same time, manufactory goods were much cheaper than handicrafts, due to the mass nature of their production. Since the hired workers worked at home, such a manufactory is called scattered, in contrast to the centralized one, in which all the masters worked in one place.

Many goods were produced in England for which there was a demand abroad. This, in turn, contributed to the development of foreign trade. Great geographical discoveries. Thanks to this, the country, located on the outskirts of Europe, suddenly found itself at the crossroads of new ways of international trade and was actively involved in its process.

Reign of Henry VIII

The most important changes in the history of England are connected with the name of the second king from the Tudor dynasty.

Henry VIII inherited from his father a strong centralized state capable of successfully solving both domestic and foreign policy problems. The royal power was strong as never before, the state treasury was full.

However, fencing remained a serious problem. Laws passed under Henry VIII forbade the conversion of arable land into pastures and limited the number of sheep for one owner. But even these measures could not stop the seizure of peasant lands.

In connection with the spread of begging, a law was passed, according to which able-bodied beggars were punished and only those unable to work received the right to collect alms with written permission.

Henry VIII reformed the English church, driven by the idea of ​​bringing it under his control.

In 1541, Henry VIII proclaimed himself King of Ireland, which served as a signal to intensify its colonization. The conquest of the Emerald Isle now took place under the slogan of the Reformation, since the Irish remained faithful to the Catholic faith. The national conflict has since turned into a religious one, which has made the gulf between the two peoples unbridgeable. The conflict with Scotland also deepened, which traditionally relied on the help of France in the fight against England.

At the same time, Henry VIII pursued an active foreign policy in Europe, which involved England in the war with France. Three times during his reign he fought with this country, and twice the Scots used this advantageous situation, trying to defend their interests. Both times they suffered heavy defeats, which ended in the death of the Scottish kings. These tragic events brought the young Mary Stuart (1542-1567) to the throne in Scotland.

Henry VIII, among other things, is known for having married six times. With two of his wives, who were foreigners, he divorced, two were executed on charges of treason, one died at the birth of their only son, Henry VIII. He had daughters from his first two wives. Each of the three children of Henry VIII visited the English throne and left his mark on the history of the state.

Elizabethan England

In the reign of the last of the Tudors, Elizabeth I (1558-1603), England was completely transformed. First of all, Anglicanism finally established itself as the state religion. The Parliamentary "Act of Supremacy" obliged the entire population of England to worship in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Church. Parliament also confirmed the supremacy of the crown in the affairs of the church. The queen was proclaimed "supreme ruler of this kingdom and all other possessions and countries of Her Majesty, equally in spiritual and ecclesiastical affairs, and secular."

Elizabeth paid great attention Everyday life their subjects, the development of the economy and trade, as well as numerous social problems, the unresolved nature of which threatened to turn into serious shocks.

In the context of the "price revolution" there was a strong drop in the wages of employees. A law passed in 1563 gave justices of the peace the right to fix salaries in every district of England, depending on the time of year and the price of goods. The law encouraged agricultural work: only those who were not taken in training in agriculture could enter the apprenticeship of an artisan. It was forbidden to transfer to work in another county or city without special permission. Every Englishman was obliged to have some specific occupation or job. The length of the working day was set at 12 hours. The collection of special donations for the maintenance of the poor was introduced.

According to the law of 1572 “On the Punishment of Tramps and Assistance to the Poor”, beggars over 14 years old were subjected to scourging and branding for the first time, they were declared state criminals for the second time, and they were subject to execution for the third time. Under a different law, "houses of correction" were opened in each county for the poor and vagabonds. London landlords were prohibited from renting out premises. A special law established that only one family could live in each house.

The change in the structure of English society was accompanied by a change in the composition of Parliament and its political significance. At the end of the XVI century. the role of the House of Commons is strengthened, in which new nobles and entrepreneurs began to predominate. A serious conflict was brewing in relations between the queen and the changed composition of parliament. The first clash occurred over the issue of trade monopolies, which restricted the freedom of activity of those entrepreneurs who were not part of the monopoly companies. The Queen was forced to cancel some of her grants. However, this only temporarily muted the conflict. The further development of this crisis will become one of the most important causes of the violent upheavals of the 17th century.

The foreign policy of Elizabeth I and the transformation of England into a sea power

Queen Elizabeth encouraged in every possible way the creation of her own companies in England to trade with various parts of the world, while at the same time ousting Italian and German merchants from her country. An important episode of this policy was the expulsion of German merchants from the country in 1598. The slave trade played an important role in the development of England as a trading power. For his "deeds" the first English slave trader was knighted. In 1600, the English East India Company was created, which received a monopoly on trade from all over East Asia. In the East Indies, England had to enter into fierce competition not so much with the weakened Spain and Portugal, who could no longer protect their possessions from the invasion of other powers, but with the growing strength of the Netherlands, where a similar company was established in 1602.

Thanks to a massive increase in the turnover of foreign trade, London entered its heyday. In 1571, the queen's financial adviser, the outstanding economist T. Gresham, nicknamed the "king of merchants", founded the London Stock Exchange - one of the first institutions of its kind in the world. The rise of the Port of London was largely facilitated by the defeat of Antwerp by the Spaniards during the Dutch War of Independence. Along with the Dutch Amsterdam, the capital of England began to quickly turn into one of the largest centers of world trade and finance.

The rapid development of foreign trade and navigation, as well as the desire to seize colonies, led England to clash with Spain. It was Spain, which had the largest colonial empire and a powerful fleet, that turned out to be the main obstacle to the development of English merchant shipping.

The contradictions between the two powers intensified due to religious differences. Elizabeth I sought to strengthen the national Anglican Church, and Philip II supported the English Catholics. Both monarchs helped their co-religionists abroad, so their interests clashed wherever religious conflicts took place - in the Netherlands, France, Germany. The king of Spain was dissatisfied with the actions of the "royal pirates", as well as the support that Elizabeth I provided to the Dutch rebels. The result of the accumulated contradictions was the first Anglo-Spanish war, which lasted almost 20 years (1585-160S).

In 1588, the Spanish king sent a huge fleet to conquer England - the "Invincible Armada". Its defeat was the central event of the war. The defeat of the "Invincible Armada" meant a turning point in the history of relations between the two states and had a great impact on the entire international situation. From this moment begins a gradual decline in the naval power of Spain and, conversely, the strengthening of England's position as a maritime power.

It is noteworthy that the equipment of many English ships was made of Russian materials - timber, hemp, linen, iron. This gave rise to one of the directors of the Moscow Company, created in England specifically for trade with the Russian state, to declare that the Armada was defeated thanks to her.

Another the most important goal foreign policy Elizabeth I had a settlement with Scotland. This eventually led to the unification of the two states and to the change of dynasties on the English throne. Catholic Mary Stuart did not find support from her Protestant subjects, was forced to abdicate in favor of her son James and leave Scotland. Close ties with Catholic Spain and certain rights to the English throne made her a dangerous rival to Elizabeth I. Therefore, in England she was arrested and executed after twenty years of imprisonment. Following the childless Elizabeth, James Stuart ascended the English throne under the name of James I. In England, the Stuart dynasty was established for more than a century.

Culture of Tudor England

In the XVI century. England has ceased to be the backyard of Europe, which is clearly reflected in its culture. The beginning of the century was the heyday of English humanism, the central figure of which was the author of the famous "Utopia" Thomas More. Both the book and its author gained European fame.

In England, a national tradition of painting appeared, mainly portraiture. A peculiar Tudor style was formed in architecture. Changes in architecture were dictated by the needs of the times.

The new nobility preferred to build cozy estates instead of the gloomy castles of the old nobility. Citizens needed more spacious and comfortable housing. A freer layout now distinguished rural settlements. Each family sought to acquire a separate house with a garden plot - a cottage.

A distinctive feature of the English culture of the time of Elizabeth I was the flourishing of dramatic art. England was the birthplace of the modern theatre. Instead of the usual wandering troupes of artists moving from place to place, in London in 1576 the first theater with a permanent premises was opened, which was called “Theatre”. By the beginning of the XVII century. there were already 20 of them - much more than in any other country.

The most famous among them was the Globe, in which the talent of the greatest English playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) flourished. Shakespeare began with historical chronicles and comedies, many of which are still staged (The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Twelfth Night "). But his genius was most fully expressed in the genre of tragedy. Shakespeare created unsurpassed masterpieces in this area - Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. With unprecedented power, he showed the complex spiritual world of man. Shakespeare's images still occupy an honorable place in the world classics of dramatic art. The names of his heroes have become household names. With his sonnets, written in the early period of his work, Shakespeare also enriched world poetry.

During the reign of Elizabeth I, the great English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) began his work. son of a big politician, he also dealt mainly with politics. At the same time, Bacon became the founder of the empirical (from the Latin "empirio" - "experience"), that is, the philosophy of modern times verified by experience. His thought most clearly reflected the advent of new times. Own search, certified by practical experiment, and not blind adherence to authority, turned from now on into main way knowledge of truth. Since that time, the practical orientation has become a distinctive feature of English philosophy.

Act Against the Destruction of Villages, 1489 (statute of Henry VII)

“The king, our sovereign and sovereign, especially and most of all, wants such abnormalities and abuses to be eliminated that are harmful and dangerous for the common good of his country and his subjects living in it; he remembers that great hardships are increasing day by day due to the devastation, demolition and deliberate destruction of houses and villages in this kingdom of his, and due to the conversion to pasture of lands that used to be arable. In consequence of this, idleness, the basis and beginning of all evils, increases every day ... agriculture, one of the most profitable occupations in this kingdom, is falling into great decline, churches are being destroyed, worship is ceasing ... the defense of this country against our external enemies is weakened and worsened to the great displeasure of God, to the overthrow of the politics and good government of this country, and against this no hasty measures are taken.

References:
V.V. Noskov, T.P. Andreevskaya / History from the end of the 15th to the end of the 18th century

The royal title was born on the shores of Foggy Albion in the 9th century. Since then, representatives of various English dynasties have occupied the highest throne of the state. However, the blood relationship of the kings and queens of England was continuous.

This was due to the fact that each new royal dynasty arose from the marriage of its founder with a representative of the previous one. is a state where for 12 centuries women became the head of the country six times.

History carefully preserves the names of Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anna, Victoria and the now living Elizabeth II.

Normans

The first kings of England were representatives of the House of Normandy. Moreover, it is interesting that at first Normandy was just a special duchy, and only then - a French province. It began with Norman raids on this northern part of France, and the invaders found refuge between their predatory attacks at the mouth of the Seine River.

In the 9th century, the ranks of the invaders were led by the son of Rognvald - Rolf (Rollon), who had previously been expelled by the Norwegian king. After winning several major battles, Rollo took root in the lands that were called the Norman Country or Normandy.

Seeing that the enemy turned out to be worthy in order to hold power, King Charles of France met with the invader and offered him a coastal part of the state on his own terms: Rollo had to recognize himself as a royal vassal and be baptized. The ambitious exile from the Norwegian kingdom not only accepted the rite of baptism, but also took Gisella, the daughter of Karl, as his wife.

Thus, the beginning of the Dukes of Normandy was laid. Rollo's great-granddaughter became the wife of King Æthelred of England (House of Saxony) and thus the Norman dukes received the official right to claim the throne of Britain. Wilhelm II did an excellent job with this task, from which the royal roots of the Normans began.

This wise leader began his reign by distributing the lands of England to his friends in arms.

And since more and more Norman detachments continued to arrive from the north, there was no shortage of replenishment of the army of associates of William II. The new rulers of England adopted Christianity and began to speak English, retaining, however, traces of the Scandinavian beginning in the Norman dialect. The nature of the Normans was seen in their desire to travel and conquer new countries.

After the death of William "Long Sword", the young Richard became the heir to the Norman duchy. This served as the claims of the French king, which, despite numerous intrigues, ended in nothing, and after the accession to the throne of Richard II, Normandy began to draw closer to England.

This process, not without help, ended with the installation of the new King William on the English throne. Since then, the dynasties of British kings have made repeated attempts to connect England with Normandy, but each time the matter ends only with a new strengthening of family ties.

During the reign of Henry I, new claims to the throne of England began. This time the initiative came from his daughter Matilda, who was then recognized as the legitimate heiress.

After the death of the English king Henry I, Stephen of Blois and Matilda entered into an open war. Matilda was then married for the second time, her husband was Gottfried Plantagenet of Anjou. The latter captures Normandy in 1141, and then King Louis VII recognizes his son Henry as the head of the Norman duchy.

Plantagenets

Since that time, the Plantagenet dynasty originated. They ruled England from 1154-1399. The ancestor of this royal family, Gottfried, got his nickname for the habit of attaching to his military helmet a branch of gorse, the yellow flowers of which were pronounced like planta genista.

He became the husband of Matilda, from their marriage Henry was born (1133), who became, after the death of Stephen of Blois, the founder of the dynasty, that is, the man who ascended the throne of England.

This dynasty lasted for the reign of eight kings. These were Henry II, Richard I, John Landless, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III and Richard II. Edward III became the ancestor of the next dynasty - the Lancasters.

Lancasters

This branch comes from the same house as the Plantagenets.

The first representative of the Lancastrian branch to officially ascend the royal throne was Henry IV.

And his father - John of Ghent - was the son of King Edward III. However, the genealogy introduced its reading into this alignment: John of Ghent was the third son of King Edward III, and his second son was Lionel of Clarensky, whose descendant in the person of Edmond Mortimer had more preferable chances for the royal crown.

From the same very prolific King Edward III, another royal branch of England, the York dynasty, also originates. She comes from Edmund, the fourth son of King Edward III.

Lancasters were holders of the titles of earls and dukes. Henry III Plantagenet became the parent of Edmund, he was the youngest son of the king and he bore the modest title of count. His grandson Henry became, through the efforts of Edward III, who ascended the throne in those days, a duke.

Henry's daughter, Blanca, became the wife of Edward III's son, John Plantagenet, who was later elevated to the Duke of Lancaster. The eldest son of John and Blanca became the founder of the dynasty, it was Henry IV.

This royal house stood from 1399 to 1461, not for long. And all because the grandson of Henry IV - Henry VI - died on the battlefield, just like the son of Henry VI - Edward. Twenty-four years after this surname representing the dynasties of England died out, the throne was headed by Henry from the Tudor family - relatives of the Lancasters in the female line.

Tudors

The history of this royal house is very interesting. It originates from Wales, it is a branch of the Coilchen family, and any member of this family automatically has the right to own England. Owen Tudor's son, Maredud, married Henry V's widow, Catherine of France.

The sons of these Tudors, named Edmund and Jasper, were half-brothers of Henry IV. Having ascended the throne, this king of England granted earls to the sons of the Tudor family.

Thus Edmund became Earl of Richmon and Jasper became Earl of Pembroke. After this, the family ties of Lancaster and Tudor were sealed once more. Edmund took to wife Marguerite Beaufort.

She was the great granddaughter of the founder of the Lancastrian branch, John of Gaunt Plantagenet. Moreover, this happened thanks to the legitimized line, which included the descendants of John's mistress - Katherine Swynford, who could not previously claim the highest throne of England. From the marriage of Edmund and Margaret Beaufort, the future King of England, Henry VII, was born.

The fading branch of the Lancasters provided significant assistance to the Tudor dynasty, supporting Henry Tudor, despite the fact that the notorious Duke of Buckingham was also among the Beaufort relatives.

Power in England was seized by Richard III, but he could not hold it, and then Henry ascended the throne, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV and initiating the unification of the Lancaster dynasty with the Yorks.

The royal Tudor dynasty after the death of Henry VII continued with the reign of Henry VIII. He had three children. It was they who headed the high throne of England after his death. These were representatives of the Tudor branch, King Edward VI and queens - Mary I "Bloody" and Elizabeth I.

After the death of Elizabeth I, the Tudor dynasty died out. The closest of the surviving relatives was the Scottish King James VI, who was the son of Mary Stuart, the daughter of James V. He, in turn, was born into the world of Margaret Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII. Thus began a new royal dynasty - the Stuarts.

Stuarts

The Stuart dynasty came to the throne in 1603. This surname belongs to the descendants of Walter, who rose to prominence under Malcolm III (XI century). Since then, the glorious dynasty has known many heroes, victories and downfalls.

There is a lot of French blood in the Stuart branch (Magdalene of Valois, Mary of Guise and other royal names).

Mary Stuart, mother of James V, was an orphan and ended up entirely in the hands of Elizabeth I. She deposed the Scottish heiress from the throne and executed her in England. The surviving son of Mary - James VI - united England, Scotland and Ireland, although he ruled for only 22 years.

In general, historians speak of the rule of the Stuarts unfriendly. Representatives of this dynasty are Charles I, James II, Mary Stuart, Anna Stuart and James III. This branch died out with the death of Henry Benedict, who was the grandson of James II.

Hanover

These royal dynasty ruled England from 1714-1901. They originate from the German Welfs. They ascended the throne due to the fact that Catholics, close in kinship to the Tudors, were cut off from the opportunity to take control of the country in their own hands.

The first Hanoverian king did not speak English at all. Historians believe that we are talking about the Regency, which was replaced by the Victorian era. Ruling persons: George III, George IV, William IV and Victoria. Another branch of this dynasty is the Dukes of Cambridge.

Yorks, Windsors and other dynasties

The list of royal dynasties would not be complete without the Yorks, whose reigns were minimal (Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III), the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty (Edward VII and George V), and the reigning Windsor dynasty (George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II).

The Tudor Age (1485-1603) is often considered the best period English history. Henry VII laid the foundations of a wealthy state and a powerful monarchy. His son, Henry VIII, maintained a magnificent court and separated the Anglican Church from Rome. Finally, his daughter Elizabeth defeated the strongest Spanish flotilla at that time.

However, there is another side to the coin: Henry VIII spent the wealth his father had accumulated. Elizabeth weakened the government by selling government posts and positions in order not to ask Parliament for money. And while her government tried to help the poor and homeless at a time when prices rose faster than wages, its actions were often merciless.

NEW MONARCHY

Henry VII is less famous than Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. But he played a much more important role in creating a new type of monarchy than either of them. He shared the views of the growing class of merchants and landowners and based his kingship on a sense of business acumen.

Henry VIII firmly believed that wars harmed trade and production, and trade and production were favorable for the state, so he avoided military conflicts with both Scotland and France.

During the Wars of the Roses, England's trading position was seriously shaken. Germany took over trade with the Baltic and northern Europe, while ties with Italy and France, although they remained, were very weak compared to the pre-war period. The only way to Europe was through the Netherlands and Belgium.

Henry was lucky: most of the old nobility died in recent wars, and their lands went to the king. To establish the exclusive power of the king, Henry forbade anyone but himself from keeping an army.

The power of the law was greatly shaken by the disobedience of the nobility and soldiers. Henry tried the guilty and encouraged fines as punishment, because it brought money to the treasury.

Henry's goal was a financially independent monarchy. In this he was helped by the lands inherited from the deceased nobles, and the taxes that he levied for the needs of non-existent wars. He never spent money unnecessarily. The only thing he enjoyed spending them on was building a merchant fleet. After his death, £2 million was left, approximately 15 years of annual income.

However, his son, Henry VIII, was unlike his father. He was cruel, vicious and wasteful. He wanted to become an influential person in Europe, but did not succeed, because during the years of wars in England, much had changed: France and Spain were now much stronger states, and Spain was united with the Roman Empire, which at that time owned for the most part Europe. Henry VIII wanted England to oppose these two powers in strength. He tried to make an alliance with Spain, but was not successful; then he united with France, but when he got nothing there, he again began to negotiate with Spain.

Henry's disappointment knew no bounds. He spent all the money saved by his father on the creation and maintenance of the royal court and unnecessary wars. Gold and silver from the newly discovered America added heat to the fire. Henry reduced the amount of silver in coins and money depreciated so quickly that in a quarter of a century the pound fell seven times in value.

REFORMATION

Henry VIII was always looking for new sources of income. His father became rich by taking the lands of the nobles, but the lands belonging to the Church and monasteries were not touched. The church, meanwhile, owned vast amounts of land, and monasteries were no longer as important to the country's economy as they were two centuries ago. In addition, the monasteries were unpopular, because many monks adhered to a far from ascetic lifestyle.

Henry did not like the taxes and fees that the Church charged. It was an international organization that the king could not fully control, and the money went to Rome, which reduced the income brought to the treasury. Henry was not the only ruler in Europe who wanted to "centralize" state power and control the Church, but he had additional reasons for wanting to do so.

In 1510, Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his older brother Arthur, but by 1526 he had no heir or chance of having one. Henry tried to persuade the pope to divorce them from Catherine, however, he did not divorce them, being under the influence of Charles V, King of Spain and a relative of Catherine.

Then Henry took a different path: in 1531 he convinced the bishops to recognize him as the head of the English Church. This was enshrined in a law passed in 1534. Now Henry was able to divorce Catherine and marry his new passion, Anne Boleyn.

Henry's break with Rome was political, not religious. Henry did not approve of the ideas of the Reformation expressed by Martin Luther in Germany and John Calvin in Geneva. He still adhered to the Catholic faith.

Like his father, Henry ruled the country with the help of his advisers, but he decided to formalize the break with Rome through parliament. A series of laws passed in 1532-36 made England a Protestant country, although the majority of the population was still Catholic.

But the Reformation of Henry VIII did not stop there. After the people accepted secession from Rome, Henry went one step further: together with his new chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, he conducted a census of church property. In 1536-39, 560 monasteries were closed. Henry gave away or sold the land thus acquired to a new class of landowners and merchants.

Henry proved that the break with Rome was neither a diplomatic nor a religious disaster. He remained faithful to Catholicism and even executed Protestants who refused to accept him. He died in 1547 leaving three children. Mary, the eldest, was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII's second wife, and nine-year-old Edward was the son of Jane Seymour, Henry's only truly loved wife.

THE OPPOSITION OF CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS

Edward VI, son of Henry VIII, was a child when he took the throne, so the country was governed by a council. All members of the council belonged to the new Protestant nobility created by the Tudors.

Most of the English, meanwhile, adhered to the Catholic faith. Less than half the population of England were Protestants, who were allowed to dominate matters of religion. In 1552 a new prayer book was published and sent to all parish churches. Most people weren't particularly forced to change their faith, however, they were happy to get rid of things like "indulgences" that absolved some of their sins.

After the death of Edward in 1553, power passed to the Catholic Mary, daughter of the first wife of Henry VIII. A group of Protestant nobles attempted to place Lady Jane Grey, a Protestant, on the throne, but their attempt was unsuccessful.

Mary was not sufficiently astute and flexible in her beliefs and policies. She could not marry an Englishman who would inevitably be inferior to her, and marriage to a foreigner could cause England to come under the control of another country.

Mary chose the king of Spain, Philip, as her husband. It was not the best choice: a Catholic and a foreigner. However, Mary took the unusual step of asking Parliament's permission for this marriage. Parliament, although reluctantly, approved the marriage, but recognized King Philip as their king only until the death of Mary.

The short-sighted Mary burned about three hundred Protestants during the five-year period of her reign. The discontent of the people increased, and only her own death saved Mary from the inevitable uprising.

Elizabeth became Queen of England in 1558. She wanted to find a peaceful solution to the problems of the English Reformation. She wanted to unite England in one faith and make it a prosperous country. The variant of Protestantism finally arrived at in 1559 was closer to Catholicism than to other Protestant denominations, but the Church was still under state control.

The administrative unit of England now became a parish, usually a village, and the village priest became almost the most powerful person in the parish.

The confrontation between Catholics and Protestants continued to threaten the position of Elizabeth I for the next three decades. Powerful France and Spain, as well as other Catholic countries, could attack England at any moment. Inside England itself, Elizabeth was threatened by her own Catholic nobles who wanted to overthrow the queen and enthrone Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a Catholic.

Elizabeth held Mary captive for almost twenty years, and when she openly named the Spanish king Philip as her heir to the English throne, Elizabeth had to cut off the head of the Queen of Scots. This decision was approved by the people. By 1585, most English people believed that being a Catholic meant being an enemy of England. This rejection of everything Catholic became an important political force.

FOREIGN POLICY

During the reign of the Tudors, from 1485 to 1603, the foreign policy of England changed several times, but by the end of the sixteenth century some basic principles had been worked out. Like Henry VII, Elizabeth I considered trade to be the most important business of foreign policy. For them, any country that was a rival in international trade became a bitter enemy of England. This idea remained the basis of English foreign policy until the nineteenth century.

Elizabeth continued the work of her grandfather, Henry VII. She considered her main rival, and, accordingly, the enemy, Spain, which in those years was at war with the Netherlands, which protested against the power of the Spaniards. Spanish troops could only reach the Netherlands by sea, which meant passing through the English Channel. Elizabeth allowed the Danes to enter the English bays, from which they could attack the Spanish ships. When the Danes began to lose the war, England helped them with both money and troops.

In addition, the English ships attacked the Spanish when they returned from the Spanish colonies in America, loaded with gold and silver, because Spain denied England the right to trade with their colonies. Although these ships were pirate ships, part of their booty ended up in the treasury. Elizabeth apologized to the Spanish king, but left her share in the treasury. Philip, of course, knew that Elizabeth encouraged the actions of the "sea wolves", the most famous of which were Francis Drake, Don Hawkins and Martin Vorbischer.

Philip decided to take over England in 1587 because without it, he believed, he would not have been able to crush resistance in the Netherlands. He built a huge flotilla, "Armada", and sent it to the shores of England. Francis Drake attacked and destroyed part of the flotilla, forcing the Spaniards to get out.

However, the Spanish king built a new flotilla, most of whose ships were designed for the transport of soldiers, and not for naval combat. In 1588, this flotilla was defeated by English warships, greatly aided by bad weather, which drove most of the ships onto the rocky coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Be that as it may, this was not the end of the war between England and Spain, which ended only with the death of Elizabeth.

In the meantime, trade was going very well. By the end of the sixteenth century, England was trading with the Scandinavian countries, the Ottoman Empire, Africa, India and, of course, America. Elizabeth encouraged the English to move to new lands and form colonies.

WALES, IRELAND AND SCOTLAND

However, the Tudors also sought to restore order and control the lands immediately surrounding England.

Wales

Unlike Henry VII, who was half Welsh, his son, Henry VIII, did not share his father's love for the country. He wanted to completely control Wales and turn its inhabitants into Englishmen.

He reformed the name change of the Welsh, who, unlike the English, did not use surnames. In 1536-43 Wales became part of England, united by a central authority. English law now applied to Wales, and Wales itself was divided according to the system of English counties. Welsh representatives served in the English Parliament, and English became the official language. The Welsh language survived only because of the Welsh Bible and the small population that still used it in everyday speech.

Ireland

In Ireland, things were much worse. Henry VIII sought to seize power in Ireland, as he did in Wales, and persuaded the Irish parliament to recognize him as king. Henry's mistake was that he tried to impose the Reformation on the Irish, however, unlike England, the monasteries and the church in Ireland were still important social and economic objects, and the Irish nobles were afraid to take away church lands.

Ireland was a sweet spot for other Catholic countries, and England could not afford to leave her alone. England fought Ireland four times during the Tudor period and eventually won and brought Ireland under the control of the English Parliament. The effect of the British power was especially strong in the north of Ireland, in Ulster, where the Irish tribes fought especially desperately. Here, after the victory, the land was sold to the British, and the Irish were forced to move or work for new owners. This marked the beginning of the war between Catholics and Protestants in the second half of the twentieth century.

Scotland

The Scottish kings tried to create the same centralized monarchy that existed in England, but it was not so easy, because Scotland was poorer, and the Scottish-English border and the mountains were practically not controlled by the government.

The Scots, aware of their weakness, avoided conflicts with England, but Henry VIII was relentless in his desire to conquer Scotland. In 1513, the English troops defeated the Scottish, but King James V, like many Scots, still wanted to be on the Catholic, more powerful side of Europe.

Henry VIII sent a new army to Scotland to force James V to accept the authority of the English king. Scotland suffered heavy losses, and its king soon died. Henry wanted to marry his son Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots, but the Scottish Parliament did not approve of this marriage and Mary was married to the French king in 1558.

SCOTTISH REFORMATION

Mary, Queen of Scots returned as a widow to her kingdom in 1561. She was a Catholic, but during her time in France, Scotland became officially and popularly Protestant.

The Scottish nobles, who supported the idea of ​​union with England, approved of Protestantism for both political and economic reasons. The new religion brought Scotland closer to England and further away from France. The Scottish monarch could take the property of the Church, which was twice the size of his own. In addition, he could give part of the land to the nobles. Unlike the English, the Scots did not give the monarch full control of the Church after the Reformation. This was possible because Mary was not in Scotland at the time of the Scottish Reformation and could not intervene. The New Scottish Church was a much more democratic organization than the one in England because it lacked bishops. The church taught the importance of personal faith and Bible study, which led to the spread of literacy in Scotland. As a result, the Scots were the most educated nation in Europe until the end of the nineteenth century.

Mary was a Catholic, but did not try to bring Catholicism back into power. She soon remarried Lord Darnley, a Scottish Catholic. When she got tired of him, she agreed to kill him and married the killer, Bothwell. Scottish society was shocked and Mary was forced to flee to England, where she remained a prisoner for almost twenty years before she was finally executed.

KING OF SCOTS ON THE ENGLISH THRONE

Mary's son, James VI, became king in 1578 at the age of twelve. He was highly intelligent with early age. He knew that, as the only relative of Elizabeth, he could inherit the English throne after her death. He was also aware that an alliance between Catholic France and Spain might lead to their invasion of England, so he had to remain friendly with them as well. He managed to keep the peace both there and there, while remaining officially a Protestant ally of England.

James VI is remembered as a weak and inscrutable ruler. However, he was not so when he ruled only over Scotland. He more or less dealt with both Protestants and Catholics and began to partially check the power of the Church. Like the Tudors, he believed in the sole rule of the king, so he made his decisions with the help of his close advisers, and not parliament. But he did not possess the wealth and military power of the Tudors.

James VI's greatest victory was his ascension to the English throne after the death of Elizabeth I in 1603. Few people in England were enthusiastic about the idea of ​​a king who came from a wild northern province. The fact that he was accepted proves that no one doubted his abilities as a diplomat and ruler.

PARLIAMENT

The Tudors did not like to rule the country with the help of Parliament. Henry VII used parliament only to make new laws. He seldom called it, and only when he had business for him. Henry VIII used Parliament first to raise money for his wars and then for the war with Rome. He wanted to be sure that the powerful representatives of the cities and villages supported him, because they, in turn, controlled public opinion.

Perhaps Henry did not realize that by calling Parliament to create the laws of the Reformation, he gave him more power than any other of the monarchs. The Tudors, of course, were no more democratic than earlier kings, but by using parliament to enforce their decisions, they actually increased parliament's political influence.

Only two circumstances forced the Tudors to endure parliament: they needed money and the support of landowners and merchants. In 1566, Queen Elizabeth told the French ambassador that the three parliaments she had already called were sufficient for any government and she would not call them again.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, parliament met only by order of the monarch. Sometimes it met twice a year, and sometimes six years passed from session to session. In the first forty-four years of Tudor rule, Parliament met only twenty-two times. Henry VIII convened Parliament more frequently to create a legal basis for the Reformation of the Church. But Elizabeth, like her grandfather Henry VII, tried not to use parliament in state affairs and from 1559 to 1603 convened it only thirteen times.

During the century of Tudor rule, power within Parliament shifted from the House of Lords to the House of Commons. The reason for this was simple: the members of the House of Commons represented the richer and more powerful classes of society than the members of the House of Lords. The House of Commons became much more numerous, partly due to more cities in England, partly due to the addition of Wales. A speaker appeared in both chambers, who controlled and directed the discussion in the right direction, and also ensured that parliament came to the desired decision for the monarchy.

Parliament did not really represent the people. Very few members of parliament lived in the area they represented, so power and its representatives were concentrated mainly in London.

Until the end of Tudor rule, parliament was charged with the following duties: to recognize new taxes, to create laws proposed by the monarch, and to advise the monarch, but only if he so desired. To enable MPs to do this, they were given important rights: freedom of speech, freedom from arrest, and the opportunity to meet with the monarch.

The Tudors did their best to avoid asking Parliament for money, so they tried to find new sources of income that were not always far-sighted. Elizabeth sold "monopolies", which gave the exclusive right to trade certain goods with a certain country, as well as government posts. These measures led to the weakening of the state apparatus and the trade position of England.

There was also no answer to the question of the limits of parliamentary power. Both the Tudors and the members of Parliament thought that it was the monarchs who decided what was in the power of Parliament and what exactly it needed to discuss. However, in the sixteenth century, monarchs consulted parliament on almost any issue, which led parliament to believe that it had the right to discuss and decide on matters of government. This led to an inevitable war between the monarchy and parliament.

Henry VIII and church reforms. Episcopal Church. Mary Tudor. Etzabeth and Mary Stuart. Reformation in Scotland. The fate of Mary Stuart. Shakespeare and Bacon. Great English Revolution. James I. Charles I. The Long Parliament. Internecine war. Cromwell. Republic. The last Stuarts and the 16SS revolution. Charles II. Whigs and Tories. Jacob II. Wilhelm III. Culture of England. Morals. Milton. newton

HENRY VIII AND CHURCH REFORM

Henry (1485-1509), the first Tudor king, managed to calm England after the long wars of the Scarlet and White Roses. The feudal aristocracy, weakened and ruined by these wars, had to humble itself under his firm rule. By his frugality and the confiscation of the property of the delinquent nobles, Henry had accumulated considerable sums, so that he did not need new taxes, which required the consent of Parliament; therefore, the parliament itself met quite rarely in his presence. He thus left to his son Henry kingship, strengthened to a degree that had not been achieved in England for a long time. Henry VIII (1509-1547), distinguished by his handsome appearance and friendly manner, acquired a sincere popular disposition in the first years of his reign. He also showed himself at the beginning of his reign as a zealous Catholic and wrote a book against the teachings of Luther in defense of the seven sacraments; for this book, Pope Leo X gave him the title of "defender of the faith." But then Henry himself led the Reformation in England. The reason for this change of views was the following circumstance.

Henry VIII was married to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II the Catholic. She had previously been married to his elder brother; and when the latter died, Henry succeeded to the throne and with him - the hand of Catherine. For about twenty years they lived peacefully. Meanwhile, Catherine grew old, became even more pious than before; Heinrich, on the contrary, loved a distracted lifestyle and pleasure. He liked the lively, lovely Anne Boleyn, the queen's maid of honor. And then he remembered that their marriage with Catherine, according to the rules of the Church, was illegal, since she was formerly the wife of his brother. Henry began to petition in Rome for a divorce. But Pope Clement VII, fearing to offend the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the nephew of Catherine of Aragon, hesitated to make a decision. Then Henry VIII arbitrarily divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn (1532). At the same time, he, with the consent of Parliament, declared the Anglican Church independent of the pope, and himself its head. The pope wrote to him about the excommunication, but the message had no effect; Henry responded to papal curses by destroying Catholic monasteries, whose vast wealth and lands he took away for his own benefit or distributed to courtiers.

The Anglican Church did not accept the teachings of either Luther or Calvin, but revealed its own special kind Reformation. She rejected the power of the pope, monasticism, the celibacy of priests; accepted worship in English and communion under both types, but retained the rank of bishop and most of the Catholic rites in worship. Therefore, the Anglican Church is otherwise called the Episcopal Church. The Reformation in England did not meet with great opposition from the people: the power of the pope here was much weaker than in the South-West

Europe, and among the people, various opinions that disagree with Catholicism have long been circulating (for example, the teachings of Wyclif and the ideas of the humanists).

From the time of the English Reformation, throughout the second half of his reign, Henry VIII acts as a tyrant. He, without flinching, executed the nobles, incurring royal displeasure, his wives did not escape the same fate. Anne Boleyn died on the chopping block for her frivolous behavior. After her, Heinrich was married four more times.

The death of Henry VIII, as one would expect, brought England a troubled time. His son from his third wife, Jenny Seymour, sickly Edward VI, reigned for about six years. Edward was succeeded by Henry's eldest daughter by Catherine of Aragon, Mary I Tudor (1553-1558). After the death of Edward VI, the most powerful of the English nobles, the Duke of Northumberland, enthroned a relative of the royal house, Jenny Gray, who was the wife of his son. This young and well-educated woman became queen against her will and reigned for only ten days. Mary overthrew her, and Jenny paid with her head along with her husband and the Duke of Northumberland. Mary tried to restore Catholicism and began to execute Protestants; her marriage to Philip II of Spain brought England into the war with France. During this war, the British lost the city of Calais, the last remnant of their possessions across the English Channel. But the reign of Mary (nicknamed Bloody for her cruelty) lasted no more than five years.

ELIZABETH AND MARY STUART

The second daughter of Henry VIII (from Anne Boleyn) Eshzaeeta / Tudor (1558-1603) came to the throne. Almost rejected by her father (after the execution of her mother), Elizabeth spent most of her youth in seclusion and deprivation; during this time she became accustomed to firmness and frugality, and by reading books she developed her mind. Elizabeth knew how to choose her assistants - talented statesmen; William Cecil, who received the title of Lord Burley, was her first minister for forty years. But she did not give her favorites much power and knew how to protect her supreme rights. (The Earl of Leicester enjoyed her greatest favor.) She achieved the final approval of the Anglican Church, like her own father, equally crowding out both Catholics and "dissidents" (that is, Protestants who do not belong to the Episcopal Church). England in her time achieved prosperity in industry and commerce. Many of the Netherlands, fleeing the religious persecution of Philip II, settled in England and contributed to the improvement of go local manufactories (especially linen, woolen and metal products).The English sea trade spread to almost all known seas. whole line glorious expeditions, looking for new ways and founding colonies (Forbisher, John Davis, Francis Drake, who traveled around the world, and Walter Raleigh. The latter founded a colony in North America, which he named Virginia in honor of his queen, since Elizabeth forever refused marriage and was considered maiden, in Latin virgo).

The relationship between Elizabeth I and the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart became the property of the theatrical scene.

Mary Stuart remained a child after the death of her father, James V; her mother, having become the ruler of the state, sent Mary to the French court, in the care of her brothers Guise. Here she received a brilliant upbringing for that time. Maria loved poetry, she composed poetry herself, spoke several languages, among other things, in Latin, her beauty, grace and liveliness of character did not leave anyone around her indifferent. She became the wife of Francis II; but he, as is known, reigned for a little over a year. After his death, eighteen-year-old Mary Stuart retired to her hereditary kingdom of Scotland.

“Farewell to the country where Maria spent her happiest years was touching. For five whole hours the queen remained on the deck of the ship, leaning against the stern, with her eyes full of tears and turned to the receding shore, repeating incessantly: "Farewell, France!" Night has come; the queen did not want to leave the deck and ordered her bed to be made in the same place. When dawn broke, the coast of France was still visible on the horizon, Maria exclaimed: “Adieu chere France! je ne vous verrai jamais plus!" - "Farewell, beautiful France!"

The ship docked in the harbor of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The wild northern nature, the poverty of the inhabitants and their stern faces made a heavy impression on the young queen. The riding horses prepared on the shore for her retinue were so ugly and poorly dressed that Mary involuntarily remembered the luxury and splendor with which she was surrounded in France, and burst into tears. She stayed at the royal castle of Golirood. The people greeted her warmly. At night, several hundred citizens gathered under her windows - and sang a long serenade to her; but they played bad violins and so clumsily that they only prevented the poor queen, tired of the journey, from falling asleep ”(Brantome’s memoirs).

Brought up in devotion to Catholicism, Mary saw her calling in the fight against the Reformation, which took hold in Scotland during the short regency of her mother. The Scottish nobility was one of the most recalcitrant; it constantly came into conflict with the royal power for its feudal rights; most of the nobles adopted Protestantism, which spread here in the form of severe Calvinism, more suitable than other teachings to the Scottish character. The main preacher of the Reformation was the bold, eloquent John //oke, a student of Calvin. Scottish Protestants constituted the so-called Presbyterian Church, because they recognized only one spiritual order - the priest (presbyter); the most severe of them became known as the Puritans. The Catholic party received support from France, but the Protestant barons entered into an alliance with Elizabeth I Tudor and, with her help, defeated the Catholics even before the arrival of Mary Stuart in Scotland.

The “invincible armada”, equipped by Philip II the following year, was supposed to take revenge on Elizabeth for helping the Dutch Protestants and for the death of Mary Stuart. The defeat of the "Armada" dealt a strong blow to the power of the Spaniards at sea; England since then began to acquire the degree of the first sea power. Elizabeth's last years were poisoned by the execution of her favorite, the Earl of Essex. This young nobleman began to abuse the confidence of the queen, clearly disobeyed her and even started a rebellion, for which he laid down his head on the chopping block. Elizabeth was distinguished by great thrift and therefore little depended on Parliament in financial matters. She led a modest, moderate lifestyle, her court was more enlightened and stricter in morals than other European courts, and therefore had a more beneficial effect on the people.

SHAKESPEARE AND BACON

The revival of sciences and arts in Italy spread to England. The study of ancient languages ​​became so fashionable that here, as in France, many ladies of the highest circle spoke Latin and even Greek. At the same time, the birth of secular English literature, especially dramatic literature, began. Under Elizabeth I, the first permanent theaters were built in London. (Until then, performances took place only on temporary stages by itinerant actors.) The great William Shakespeare (1564-1616) also lived in her time. He was born in the town of Strafford on Avon, the son of an artisan. In his youth, Shakespeare did not escape various excesses and hobbies. He married early; then he left his wife and children and went to London, where he became an actor. Then he himself began to compose plays for the theater; plays were successful, won him the favor of the queen and noble persons. His main patron was the Earl of Southampton (a friend of the unfortunate Earl of Essex). IN last years life Shakespeare retired to his native Strafford and here, among the family, peacefully ended his earthly inheritance. The most famous of his tragedies are "Macbeth", "Othello" and "Hamlet" *, the content of which is taken from folk traditions. His brilliant art of revealing the innermost movements of the human soul and depicting the development of any passion has received worldwide recognition. In "Macbeth" we see how ambition and the desire for power little help lead the hero to terrible crimes. In Othello, a gradual development of jealousy is presented, which completely blinds the hero and ends with the murder of his innocent wife. In Hamlet, he portrays a man richly gifted by nature, but who is tormented by doubts and indecision. (This tragedy was written under the obvious influence of the classical myth about the fate of Agamemnon.) In general, Shakespeare's tragedies abound in bloody scenes; this corresponded to the taste of his contemporaries, when manners were still rather rough and the audience loved strong sensations. In addition to tragedies from ancient times, he wrote wonderful dramas borrowed from recent events: the Wars of the Scarlet and White Roses.

A contemporary of Shakespeare was the brilliant scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon (Y56\-1626). He is considered the father of the so-called experimental (empirical) philosophy, which recognizes the only way to achieve truth through observation of nature, the study of reality. Scientific merits brought Bacon the deep respect of his contemporaries; Elizabeth's successor elevated him to the rank of Chancellor of State. But with all his talents and knowledge, Bacon was not distinguished by high morality: he loved honors and money and even decided to trade in justice. Parliament appointed a commission to investigate the state of the judiciary in England. The commission reported that there was no truth in the courts of England, that justice could be bought, and that the chancellor himself was the main promoter of abuses. Over Bacon

instituted an investigation. He was sentenced to imprisonment and a large monetary fine; the king granted him a pardon. The rest of the years Bacon spent in retirement, under the burden of his shame, and died a victim of curiosity. Moving from his estate to London in the winter, Bacon took it into his head to get out of the carriage and stuff a freshly killed bird with snow to see how long it could survive when exposed to cold. This experience cost him a fatal cold.

THE GREAT ENGLISH REVOLUTION

With the death of Elizabeth I, the Tudor dynasty ended. She appointed as her successor the son of Mary Stuart, James, who thus peacefully united both neighboring states, England and Scotland, under one crown. Jacob / (1603-1625) was a sovereign of a close mind, a timid character, and meanwhile claiming the most unlimited royal power. The English Catholics expected that he, as the son of Mary Stuart, would ease their situation, but they were mistaken. The dissidents (Puritans, Independents, and other sects) were also deceived in their calculations of James as a king brought up in Scotland, where Puritanism dominated. He showed himself to be a zealous champion of the Episcopal Church, persecuted Puritans as well as Catholics, and even tried to introduce the Episcopal Church into Scotland itself. At the same time, with his extravagance and desire for unlimited power, James set the English Parliament against him. Only the death of the king extinguished the discontent that was already beginning to flare up among the people.

The son of Jacob Karl / (1625-1649) was distinguished by the virtues of a family man and knew how to behave with truly royal dignity; the people met his reign with joy and hopes. But it soon turned out that Charles I did not surpass his father in foresight. He started wars with Spain and France and, in need of money, several times convened Parliament, so that, according to custom, he approved taxes for the entire period of his reign. But parliament did not want to approve them until the king canceled his abuses of power, since Charles arbitrarily dissolved parliament, made money without his consent and threw many citizens into prison without trial. The persecution of dissident sects continued as before. Thus, the dissension between the government and the people increased more and more. Ever since the time of James, many Scots and Englishmen, persecuted for their political and religious beliefs, began to leave their fatherland and move to North America. The government of Charles I finally paid attention to these migrations and banned them by decree. There were several ships on the Thames at that time, ready to sail for America, and among the settlers was Oliver Cromwell. It was only thanks to this prohibition that he remained in England and soon took an active part in the overthrow of Charles L.

The first to rebel against the king were the Scots, in whom he tried to introduce episcopal worship. Then in Ireland, oppressed by the British, resentment of Catholics broke out. In order to receive funds for the maintenance of the troops, Charles was forced to convene parliament again. But this parliament began to act decisively. Relying on the common people of London, Parliament seized the supreme power and decided not to disperse against the will of the king. In history, it was called the Long Parliament. Lacking a standing army, Charles left London and called under his banner all the vassals loyal to him (1642). Most of the noble nobility joined him, who looked with displeasure at the claims of the townspeople and feared for their privileges. The royal party, or royalists, was called the Cavaliers, and the parliamentary party - round-headed (due to short-cropped hair). At the beginning of the internecine war, the advantage was on the side of the cavaliers, as they were more accustomed to weapons, but Karl failed to take advantage of the first successes. Meanwhile, the parliamentary troops, which consisted mainly of townspeople and petty nobility, gradually increased in strength, gaining experience in military affairs. The victory finally passed to the side of Parliament, when the Independents became the head of its army. (That was the name of the Protestant sect, which did not recognize any clergy and aspired to a republican form of government.) Cromwell was the leader of the Independents.

CROMWELL

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) came from an humble noble family, he spent his youth violently, indulging in all sorts of excesses. But then a change took place in him: he became pious, began to lead a moderate way of life and became a good father of a family. Being elected to the lower house, Cromwell did not excel as an orator; his voice was hoarse and monotonous, his speech drawn out and confused, his features coarse, and he dressed casually. But under this unattractive appearance, the talent of the organizer and the iron will were hidden. During the internecine war, he received permission from Parliament to recruit his own special cavalry regiment. Cromwell realized that the courage of the cavaliers and their sense of honor could only be countered by religious enthusiasm. He recruited his detachment mainly from people of pious, strong character and introduced the strictest discipline. His warriors spent time in the camp reading the Bible and singing psalms, and in battle they showed reckless courage. Thanks to Cromwell and his detachment, the Parliamentary army won a decisive victory at Merstonmoor; since then, Kro\tvel has attracted everyone's attention. Charles I was again defeated (at Nasby) and, dressed in peasant dress, fled to Scotland. But the Scots handed him over to the British for £400,000. At the request of the Independents, the king was put on trial, sentenced to death as a traitor and beheaded in London in front of the royal palace of Whitehall (1649). Corrected by misfortunes, Charles 1 showed true courage in the last minutes - his death produced a deep

impressed the people and aroused regret in many.

England was declared a republic, but in essence it did not cease to be a monarchy, because Cromwell, who bore the title of Protector, had almost unlimited power. Since the Long Parliament (actually, the rest of it, or the so-called rultfparlamenpg) did not want to completely obey the protector, Cromwell one day appeared with three hundred musketeers, dispersed the meeting and ordered the building to be locked. Then he convened a new parliament of people devoted to him, from independents, who spent a significant part of their meetings in prayer and in their speeches they constantly inserted texts from the Old Testament. Cromwell's military actions were accompanied by constant good fortune. In 1649-1652, he pacified the uprising of the Irish and Scots (who called Charles II, son of Charles I, as king). Then he started a war with the Dutch Republic. The reason for it was the "Navigation Act" issued by Parliament, which allowed foreign merchants to bring to England on their own ships only goods produced in their country, all other goods had to be imported on English ships; this act greatly undermined Dutch trade and favored the development of the English merchant fleet. The Dutch were defeated and had to recognize the "Act of Navigation" (1654). Thus England regained the glory of the first maritime power, which she had acquired under Elizabeth I and lost under the Stuarts.

Under Cromwell, the internal government of the country was distinguished by activity and strict order. Everyone feared him, but did not like him. The most resolute republicans openly murmured against his despotism; and when they noticed in him a desire to appropriate the royal title, they organized assassination attempts on him. Although these attempts were unsuccessful, they were the main cause of his death. Cromwell became very restless, always wary of secret assassins and took all sorts of precautions: he surrounded himself with guards, wore armor under his clothes, rarely slept in the same room, traveled extremely fast and did not return back the same way. Constant stress led him to a debilitating fever, from which he died (1658).

THE LAST STUARTS AND THE REVOLUTION OF 1688

The people, tired of long turmoil, longed for peace. The royalist party, therefore, soon gained the upper hand over the other parties, with the help of old General Monk. The new parliament, convened through his influence, entered into relations with Charles II, then living in Holland, and finally solemnly proclaimed him king. Thus the Great English Revolution ended with the restoration of the Stuarts.

Karl //(1660-1685) was greeted with enthusiasm in England, but did not justify the hopes placed on him by the state. He was frivolous, indulged in pleasures, inclined towards Catholicism and surrounded himself with bad advisers. In his reign, the struggle between parliament and royalty resumed. At that time, two main political parties were formed in England: the Tories and the Whigs, which continued the division into cavaliers and roundheads that had already arisen in the country. The Tories stood for monarchical power; part of the aristocracy and most of the rural nobles belonged to them. And the Whigs defended the rights of the people and tried to limit the power of the king in favor of parliament; on their side was another part of the aristocracy and the population big cities. Otherwise, the Tory party can be called conservative, and the Whigs - progressive. Thanks to the efforts of the Whigs, a famous law was issued in this reign, which approved the personal immunity of English citizens. (It is known as Habeas corpus.) By virtue of this law, an Englishman could not be arrested without a written order from the authorities, and after arrest must be presented to the court no later than three days.

Charles II was succeeded by his brother.^AW 7/(1685-1688), a stubborn and zealous Catholic. Despising the displeasure of the English, he instituted the Catholic mass in his palace, and submitted to the influence of Louis XIV to such an extent that he could be considered his vassal.

The illegitimate son of Charles II, the Duke of Monmouth, who then lived in Holland, decided to take advantage of the popular unrest; with a small detachment he landed on the coast of England to take the crown from his uncle. But he did not succeed. Monmouth was defeated and captured; in vain this handsome, brilliant prince on his knees asked for mercy from the king - he laid his head on the scaffold. Yakov opened emergency courts to punish all involved in the uprising. Chief Justice Jeffreys, who with his executioners traveled around England and carried out executions on the spot, was especially ferocious. As a reward for such jealousy, Jacob made him a great chancellor. Thinking that the people were completely intimidated by these measures, he began to clearly strive to establish unlimited royal power and restore Catholicism in England: contrary to the previous charters, public posts were distributed exclusively to Catholics.

The people still remained calm in the hope that the death of Jacob would stop the policy he had begun: since he had no male offspring, the throne was to pass to his eldest daughter Mary or, in fact, to her husband, the Dutch stadtholder William of Orange, an zealous Protestant. And suddenly the news spread that King James had a son, who immediately after birth received the title of Duke of Welsh, or heir to the throne; there was no doubt that he would be raised a Catholic. Discontent in the country has increased to an extreme degree. The leaders of the Whigs, who had long been in secret relations with William of Orange, invited him to England. Wilhelm landed with a Dutch detachment and went to London. Jacob was left alone; the army also betrayed him, even another daughter, Anna, with her husband, a Danish prince, took the side of her sister. Yakov completely lost his head, threw

state seal to the Thames and, in disguise, fled the capital. William and Mary solemnly entered London. William was recognized as king and signed the Bill of Rights. The bill consolidated all the main rights acquired by the English parliament and people during the revolution, namely: the king promised to convene parliament periodically, at certain times, not to keep a standing army in peacetime, not to collect taxes that were not approved by parliament.

Thus the Stuart dynasty was overthrown forever. This coup is known as the Revolution of 168S; however, it had a peaceful character, because it took place without the shedding of blood. From that time begins a new period of English history, the period of constitutional or parliamentary government. Wilhelm III (1688-1702) conscientiously carried out the conditions he signed; therefore, despite his unattractive manner and dry, uncommunicative character, he managed to win the loyalty of the people. Among the Tories, the so-called Jacobites existed for a long time, who did not abandon the hope of the return of the heirs of Jacob Stuart to England.

CULTURE OF ENGLAND

The development of education and art in England slowed down due to the protracted unrest. The Long Parliament, which was predominantly Puritan, enacted Puritan customs and banned even theatrical performances. Republican monotony of life and lack of entertainment bored the English, and when the restoration of the Stuarts took place, the desire for pleasure showed itself with particular force. Theaters were reopened, but instead of Shakespeare, the British turned to French models and their shortcomings were taken to the extreme. Theatrical performances, especially comedies, went beyond all limits of decency and fell into gross cynicism, although female roles at this time for the first time in England began to be performed not by men, but by women. A decent lady did not dare to go to the theater without knowing in advance about the content of the play, and if curiosity overcame modesty, then, going to the theater, women put on a mask. The 17th century brought to England the remarkable poets John Milton (160S-1674) and John Doyne (1572-1631). Milton was a zealous supporter of the republic and the Puritan party. Under Cromwell, he served as secretary of state, but lost his sight and was forced to leave the service. Then he turned to his favorite pastime, poetry, and dictated his works to his daughters.

He left behind the majestic religious poem "Paradise Lost", the content of which was the biblical story about the fall of the first people. The poem appeared during the restoration of the Stuarts, when purism was ridiculed, and therefore was received rather coldly by contemporaries.

John Donne also wrote the mystical poem "The Path of the Soul", but his poetry, cheerful, going to the human heart (elegies, satires, epigrams), opening up new paths for English Baroque poetry, did not leave contemporaries indifferent either.

However, scientists and thinkers followed mainly the practical direction of Bacon, that is, experiments and observations on the external world came to the fore; This trend has contributed greatly to the success natural sciences. The first place here belongs to Isaac Newton (1643-1727). He studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was later a professor of mathematics, and became the founder of classical physics; William III made him head of the mint (he died at the age of eighty-five, president of the Royal Society of London). Newton is credited with postcarding the law of universal gravitation. Tradition tells that once an apple that fell from a tree led Newton to the idea of ​​the gravitation of all bodies towards the center of the Earth. (From the same law, the structure of the planetary system was also explained: smaller celestial bodies tend to be big. Moon to Earth, and Earth and other planets to the Sun.)

Of the other English thinkers who developed Bacon's ideas, John Locke deserves special mention. His main work is "Experience about human mind”, in which Locke proves that people do not have any innate concepts, and all their knowledge and concepts are obtained through external impressions, through experience and observation. At the same time, a school of philosophers was formed in English literature, known as deists (Shaftesbury, Bolingbroke): they went to extremes and fell into atheism. Of the new Protestant sects that appeared in England in the 17th century, the Quakers, who still exist today, are noteworthy. They deny church rites and gather for prayer in a simple hall. Here the Quakers sit with their heads covered, eyes downcast, and wait for one of them, man or woman, to be inspired from above to deliver a sermon. If no one has been inspired, they silently disperse. In ordinary life, Quakers are distinguished by strict, simple morals and removal from secular pleasures (like the German Mennonites).

Annotation. The article is devoted to a brief history of the Tudor dynasty (1485-1603)The age of the Tudor dynasty is considered the best period in the history of England,HenryVIIlaid the foundations of a rich and prosperous state, his son HeinrichVIIIseparated the Church of England from Rome and proclaimed himself Head of the Church of England, reign of his daughter ElizabethIcalled the "golden age".
Keywords: England, Tudors, history.

The founder of the Tudor dynasty in England is considered to be Henry VII, from birth to accession to the throne, he bore the name Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. On his father's side, the ruler belonged to an ancient Welsh family that adopted the surname Tudor in honor of Henry's great-great-grandfather, Tudur ap Goronwy.

He received power in 1485, on August 22, 1485, at the Battle of Bosworth, King Richard's army was defeated, the latter died. Henry was proclaimed King of England right on the site of the battlefield.

The beginning of the reign of Henry VII was accompanied by the first outbreak of a mysterious disease (presumably brought by his mercenaries from France) with a high mortality rate - the so-called "sweating fever", which was perceived by the people as a bad omen. After the coronation, in fulfillment of this promise, Henry married the niece of Richard III and the daughter of Edward IV, Elizabeth of York, announcing the unification of the previously warring houses. Previously, she was predicted to be the wife of her uncle, Richard III, but the marriage was not concluded: Richard had to publicly refute rumors about his involvement in the death of Queen Anne Neville in order to marry Elizabeth, in addition, it would be difficult to obtain church permission for such a closely related marriage .

Immediately after accession to the throne, Henry carried through parliament the repeal of the Titulus Regius act adopted under Richard, which declared Elizabeth and other children of Edward IV illegitimate; the act was ordered “to be removed from the archives of parliament, burned and consigned to eternal oblivion” (one list of it still survived). Although marriage to Elizabeth was a condition for Henry's support from parliament, it is known that he hesitated to conclude it until January 1486, and crowned his wife only at the end of 1487, when her son was born. As an emblem (badge) of the Tudor dynasty, a combined scarlet and white rose (which is still present on the British coat of arms) was adopted. By naming his eldest son Arthur after the legendary Celtic king Arthur, Henry emphasized both the Welsh origin of his family and the desire to start an era of greatness in England with a new dynasty.

Henry VII was a very frugal king, and he very skillfully strengthened the budget of England, which was devastated during the War of the Scarlet and White Roses.

Among the memorable events of the reign of Henry VII is also supported by him the expedition of the Italian in the English service of Giovanni Caboto to America and the discovery of Newfoundland. Also, at the request of Henry, the famous historian Polydorus Virgil began to write the History of England. The beginning of the Tudor era is often considered in historiography to be both the end of the medieval period and the beginning of the English Renaissance.

Henry VII had 4 children, sons Arthur and Henry, and daughters Margaret and Mary, he strengthened the position of England by marrying his eldest son Arthur to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, and by marrying Margaret to King James 6 of Scotland, this step was taken in order to neutralize hostile relations between the two British lands.

But soon, due to certain circumstances, Arthur died. His brother Henry VIII married Catherine, only Princess Mary of all the children survived in marriage with her, Henry tried to marry his daughter to the French Dauphin, but he soon found himself a mistress, Anne Boleyn. The girl insisted on the king's divorce from his wife, and he succumbed, he used the church, but she recognized the legality of the marriage of Catherine and Henry, and refused to divorce. The young king still found a way to divorce Catherine of Aragon. On May 23, 1533, the new government recognized the marriage of Catherine and Henry as illegal, and their daughter Mary was declared a bastard, now Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, became the heir to the throne.

Divorce from Catherine caused England to break with Rome, in 1534 Henry was declared head of the Church of England. The king cheated on Anna, and once, being a pregnant queen, she caught him cheating, premature birth began from experiences, and a dead child was born.

Soon Anna got bored with the king and he found himself a new passion, the queen's maid of honor known as Jane Seymour. The king suspected Anna of treason and sentenced her to death, executed her and her brother, Anna's father was released depriving her of all titles and privileges. Soon, Henry married Jane Seymour, they did not live long in marriage, after the birth of Edward's princes, the queen fell ill and died of the so-called postpartum fever. While Jane was queen, she was able to return Princess Mary to the court, and Princess Elizabeth, the king accepted his daughters, whom he had once rejected. After Jane's death on October 24, 1537, the king could not come to his senses for a long time, he loved his wife very much, which is why before his death he bequeathed to bury him next to her.

After Jane, the king had 3 more wives. On January 6, 1540, the king married Anna of Cleves, the king did not want this marriage, the next morning after the wedding night, the king said: “She is not Mila at all and she smells bad. I left her the same as she was before I laid with her."

Anna was a Lutheran by faith, and many people who adhered to Catholicism did not trust Anna and wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. Nevertheless, she really liked life in the English court, she fell in love with music and dancing, gradually mastered English language, became a wonderful stepmother for Prince Edward, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Mary, who at first disliked her stepmother, gradually they became very friends, but the queen could not help but notice the coldness towards her husband, remembering the previous wives of the king, she was afraid that she might to comprehend the fate of Anne Boleyn. In June 1540, the king sent Anna to Richmond, allegedly because of the approaching plague, in Parliament they resolved the issue of dissolution of the marriage, no claims were made against Anna herself, the only plan of the king was the desire to divorce Anna in order to marry Catherine Howard .

When, on July 6, 1540, Charles Brandon and Stephen Gardiner came to Anne to persuade her to agree to an annulment, she gave in unconditionally to all demands. In gratitude, the king “gladly recognized her as his beloved sister”, assigned her a substantial annual income of four thousand pounds and granted her several rich estates, including Hever Castle, which once belonged to the family of Anne Boleyn, on the condition that she remain in England. . On July 9, 1540, the marriage of Henry VIII and Anna of Cleves was declared invalid.

After the divorce, the king left Anna in his family. Now she, as his "beloved sister", was one of the first ladies at court after Queen Catherine and Henry's daughters. In addition, the "loving brother" allowed her to remarry if she wished. Anna, in response, allowed him to control her correspondence with her family. At his request, she sent a letter to Duke William, saying that she was completely happy and satisfied with her status as "the king's relative".

Anna celebrated New Year 1541 with her newfound family at Hampton Court. Heinrich, who until recently could not bear Anna as a wife, now warmly welcomed her as a "sister". The courtiers fell in love with her for her good nature, and after the execution of Catherine Howard, many hoped that the king would marry Anna again. The envoys of the Duke of Cleves, who turned to the king with a request to "take her back", Archbishop Thomas Cranmer replied that this was out of the question.

Despite royal permission to marry anyone, Anna neglected this privilege. She was quite satisfied with her position in society and the fact that she did not depend on anyone except Heinrich, with whom she developed friendly relations. For a woman of that era, she had unprecedented freedom and was clearly not going to give it up.

Soon she had enemies, more enemies were not the queen herself, but her very influential uncle the duke, there were rumors that the wife was not faithful to the king, it was even said that Catherine Howard and Francis Derem were engaged if the queen had informed the king about it , then their marriage under English law would be declared invalid.

The last marriage of the king took place to Catherine Parr, by that time the woman already had a second husband, after his death, Henry began to persistently look after Katrina. Lady Latimer's first reaction to the King's offer to be his "comfort in old age" was fright. However, Heinrich did not abandon his intention to marry Catherine and, ultimately, she gave her consent.

On July 12, 1543, the wedding took place in the royal chapel of Hampton Court. The wedding was played at Windsor, where the royal court remained until August.

From the very first days of her life together with Heinrich, Catherine tried to create conditions for a normal family life for him. Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of the executed Anne Boleyn, enjoyed her special disposition.

A strong friendship developed between the stepmother and stepdaughter - they corresponded actively and often had philosophical conversations. With Henry's other daughter, Princess Mary, the queen had a less friendly relationship. The reason for this was the religious intolerance of the Catholic Mary towards the Protestant Catherine Parr. Prince Edward was not immediately imbued with love for her stepmother, however, she managed to attract him to her side. In addition, the queen closely followed the training of the heir to the throne.

In 1545-1546, the king's health deteriorated so much that he could no longer fully engage in solving state problems. However, the suspiciousness and suspicion of the king, on the contrary, began to acquire a threatening character. Catherine was several times, as they say, on the verge of death: the queen had influential enemies, and, in the end, the king could believe them, and not his wife. At that time, the execution of queens in England was no longer surprising. The king several times decided to arrest Catherine, and each time he refused this step. The reason for the royal disfavor was mainly the radical Protestantism of Catherine, who was carried away by the ideas of Luther. January 28, 1547, at two o'clock in the morning, Henry VIII died. And already in May of the same year, the Dowager Queen married Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour's brother.

Thomas Seymour was a far-sighted man and, having made an offer to Lady Catherine, he expected to become the husband of the regent. However, his hopes were not realized. In addition, Henry's daughters - Princesses Elizabeth and Mary - reacted to the marriage very hostilely. Edward, on the contrary, expressed his admiration that his beloved uncle and no less beloved stepmother started a family.

The family life of Lord Seymour and the former queen was not happy. Catherine, already middle-aged and faded, was jealous of her attractive husband for all the young beauties. There is a version that the young Princess Elizabeth also felt love for Thomas Seymour, and the latter reciprocated her. However, this assumption does not have serious evidence.

True, when Catherine became pregnant, Thomas Seymour again turned into a devoted spouse. At the end of August 1548, their daughter Mary was born. Catherine Parr herself died on September 5, 1548 from puerperal fever, sharing the fate of many women of her era.

Although Parr was married four times, Mary Seymour was her only child. Almost nothing is known about her further fate; when her father was executed and his estate confiscated, she was left an orphan in the care of a close friend of the Queen, the Duchess of Suffolk. She was last mentioned in 1550 at the age of two; she may have died in childhood or lived a life of obscurity (about which there are a number of conjectures based on ambiguous arguments).

After the death of Henry VIII, the throne was inherited by his only heir, Prince Edward, but the boy died at the age of 15, it was considered in the will that he appointed Jane Gray as the successor, the new queen, but 9 days after the reign, she was overthrown from the throne by the rightful heiress Mary Tudor.

During the succession crisis, Mary managed to escape the massacre and fled to East Anglia. The military operation against Mary was unsuccessful. Jane Gray did not have wide support in the English elite and managed to stay on the throne for only 9 days, after which the crown passed to Mary.

After the reign of Henry VIII, who declared himself the head of the Church and was excommunicated by the Pope, more than half of the churches and monasteries in the country were destroyed. After Edward, whose associates plundered the treasury, a difficult task fell to Mary. She got a poor country that needed to be revived from poverty.

During her first six months on the throne, Mary executed the 16-year-old Jane Grey, her husband Gilford Dudley, and her father-in-law, John Dudley. Being by nature not prone to cruelty, Maria for a long time could not decide to send her relative to the chopping block. Maria understood that Jane was just a pawn in the hands of others and did not at all strive to become a queen. At first, the trial of Jane Gray and her husband was planned as an empty formality - Maria expected to immediately pardon the young couple. But the fate of the “Queen of Nine Days” was decided by the rebellion of Thomas Wyatt that began in January 1554. Jane Gray and Guildford Dudley were beheaded in the Tower on February 12, 1554.

She again brought close to her those people who had recently been against her, knowing that they were able to help her in governing the country. She began the restoration of the Catholic faith in the state, the reconstruction of monasteries. However, during her reign there were a large number of executions of Protestants.

From February 1555 bonfires blazed in England. In total, about three hundred people were burned, among them ardent Protestants, church hierarchs - Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer and others, on whose conscience there was both the Reformation in England and the split within the country. It was ordered not to spare even those who, facing the fire, agreed to accept Catholicism. Subsequently, during the reign of Elizabeth I, her sister's nickname, Mary the Bloody, was coined.

In the summer of 1554, Mary married Philip, the son of Charles V. He was twelve years younger than his wife. Under the marriage contract, Philip had no right to interfere in the administration of the state; children born from this marriage became heirs to the English throne. In the event of the queen's premature death, Philip had to return to Spain.

The people disliked the Queen's new husband. Although the queen tried to pass through parliament a decision to consider Philip the king of England, but parliament refused her this.

The Spanish king was pompous and arrogant; the retinue that came with him behaved defiantly. Bloody skirmishes began to take place on the streets between the British and the Spaniards. In early November 1558, Queen Mary felt that her days were numbered. The council insisted that she officially appoint her sister as heiress, but the queen resisted: she knew that Elizabeth would return Protestantism, hated by Mary, to England. Only under pressure from Philip did Mary yield to the demand of her advisers, realizing that otherwise the country could plunge into the chaos of civil war.

The queen died on November 17, 1558, remaining in history as Bloody Mary (or Bloody Mary). Elizabeth, having received the news of the death of her sister, said: “The Lord has decided so. Wonderful are His works in our eyes.”

So, the last representative of the genus Elizabeth Tudor, she had a difficult family, at 2 years 8 months the future queen lost her mother, Anna Boleyn was executed on May 19, 1536, the girl was recognized as illegitimate, but despite this, the best teachers of Cambridge were engaged in her upbringing and education. Elizabeth's sister Mary stayed in the Tower for 2 months, and resisted very much and did not want to give the throne to the rightful heiress.

After analyzing the features of the reign of this legendary English dynasty, only one thing can be understood: the Tudors keep many secrets and questions, far from everything can be answered, all this is covered with a layer of time, a layer of history...

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