Primary Source Analysis: The Act Of Supremacy (1534)

The Challenges to Henry VII Security Between 1487 and the end of 1499 Henry VII faced many challenges to his throne from 1487 to the end of 1499. These included many rebellions and pretenders to his throne. To what extent was the success he dealt with them differs although the overriding answer is that by the end of his reign he had secured his throne and set up a dynasty, with all challengers removed. Lambert Simnel challenged Henry’s security when Richard Symonds passed him off as Warwick. Simnel was taken to Ireland, which had become the centre of Yorkist plotting.

Henry had no intention of giving the nobles back power so another strength he had was that he was an all-powerful figure. Prof. Ronald Hutton says "he managed the nobility by honouring and flattering them". Henry went through Parliament to get reforms when he wanted them. By doing this he increased power of democracy as well as for himself. The early years of Henry's reign saw great rivalry amongst the noblemen to secure Henry's favour and to try to regain power, which Henry VII had taken away.

However, Protestantism continued to spread to areas in Europe. Other types of churches were made that was similar to Lutherism but different in ways of their own. For example, the Calvinists believed that no matter what people do, God has already decided their fate. One of the churches of Protestantism is the Anglican church. It was made by King Henry VIII, after the pope refused annulment from his wife. In the Act of Supremacy, English Parliament in 1534, Parliament, influenced by the monarchy and declared, “...that the king, our sovereign lord, his heir and successors, kings of this realm, shall be taken, accepted and reputed the only supreme head in earth of the Church of England, called Anglicans

More is told by King Henry VIII to sign the Act of Supremacy. The Act gives Henry VIII full

Following the Reformation, there was a great division within the Church between the Catholics and Protestants. This tension was eased during the reign of Queen Elizabeth with the passing of the Act of Supremacy in 1559, which created the Church of England and consequently the Anglican Church. Eventually Anglicanism became known as the “New Catholicism”. While the pope was no longer recognized, bishops, and many aspects of medieval heritage was retained under the Anglican Church. It was highly supported by many elites due to its powerful expression of culture. In Voltaire’s letters, he acknowledges that even though everyone is allowed to practice their own religion, the “true religion that in which a man makes his fortune” is the Church of England. It was very difficult for people to obtain jobs in England and Ireland unless they were proclaimed followers. This especially depicted

Elizabeth I of England was able to act as a "fox" by preventing England from being torn apart over matters of religion. By repealing The Catholic Legislation of Mary Tudor 's reign, she was able to make the New Act of Supremacy which dsignated her as the supreme govenor of spritual and temporal affairs. Also she restored the church service of the Book

This to an extent is true as the Treason Act and Henry’s Royal Supremacy were all seen as clear examples of Cromwell’s policies. Moreover, Henry VIII had said ‘’like traitors and rebels have attempted, and not like true subjects, as ye name yourselves’’ which illustrates that Henry VIII felt they were a threat as they were questioning his judgement as king. As well as this, the Yorkshire rebellion had political connotations as there was resentment in Yorkshire of a Lancastrian monarch when a Yorkist has been overthrown. Moreover, the revolt involving Perkin Warbeck, had the support of James IV and Charles VIII as well as the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilan, threatening Henry VII’s position as ruler as there was a possible danger than he may have been overthrown. However, the support from these influential figures wasn’t strong and Warbeck had little support south of the border. In addition, the Wyatt’s rebellion was also a political threat, questioning the security of the Tudor State. This was due to the proposed marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to Philip of Spain. Nevertheless, this revolt didn’t have the support

Rulers of European countries during the 17th century had almost unlimited autonomy over their respective countries. They were the head of government in all respects, and all decisions were eventually made by them. However, along with this autonomy came responsibility in the form of the people. If the decisions of these rulers did not improve the country, the possibility existed that their power would be either curbed or taken away by the people. As ruler of England in the early 17th century, Charles Stuart believed strongly in absolute power and a king’s divine right to rule. He believed that a king was given his power by God and therefore had no reason to answer to the people. The Parliament in England at the time

Furthermore, in England, King Henry VIII considered himself a worthy Catholic king. He had “enthusiastically attacked the outbreak of Protestant heresy when it began, and the papacy gave him the title Defender of the Faith as a result”. This did not matter when Henry wanted to divorce from Catherine of Aragon. When the church would not grant the divorce he wanted, Henry’s resulting decision to create the Church of England set the standards for more than a century of religious conflict/isues in England. The Act of Supremacy in 1534 essentially “took power away from the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.” Henry VIII made an entirely new church which he made himself head of, because he was the king. This demonstrates the actions that politics affected Europe and that they were not always necessarily for religious purposes but for power and personal

Rulers opposed papal power because the canon laws that restricted things the rulers were allowed to do with churches within their kingdom. They would have to get approval from the pope before they did certain things. This forced them to have to make compromises where secular and religious claims coincide.

England’s lengthy history of hereditary monarchs and abusive absolutists has led to the system of constitutionalism in 17th century English government. The encouragement of these absolutism practices triggered the need to search for a new way to govern. The reigns of the Stuart monarchy led to the shift from absolutism to constitutionalism during 17th century England. After witnessing the success of Louis XIV's of France establishment of absolutism, England would soon see that James I, and his son Charles I, will fail at establishing absolutism in England and see a constitutional government established.

Queen Elizabeth had to be harsh and strict with Catholics, more than she would have preferred in order to maintain peace in England (Elizabeth R). Although Queen Elizabeth was nice, she could also be very strict. When Catholics rebelled she reacted quickly, she had them killed, took away their properties, or imprisoned them. After years of rebellion and fighting, England became a Protestant Country in the early 1600’s (Pitchard 103). “The significance of the Elizabethan religious settlement is that it was able to hold the vast majority of the people together, despite being a compromise few would have chosen” (Elizabeth I).

In 1559 Elizabeth I (1533-1603) was crowned Queen. Elizabeth sought to find a middle ground during her rein (1558-1603) in England, by allowing both Catholics and Protestants to worship without fear of any repercussions. However, Gilbert (1976) that ‘Elizabeth I and her successors had legislated to make Anglican worship compulsory’ (p. 4). By introducing the Act of Uniformity of 1559 it laid out the rules of worship that both religions were to follow and reissued the Book of Common Prayer for use in worship. The Thirty-Nine Articles of 1563 also set to define the doctrine of the Church of England which set out a middle path between the beliefs and practices of the Catholic Church and the Protestants (Wolffe, 2008). By the end of Elizabeth’s I forty five year reign, the majority of people in English society were Protestant. As the older, mainly Catholic members of society had died through old age (Christianity in Britain, 2011). Knight and Mason (2006) describe a dissenter during

Henry VIII was the King that would change England’s religious system and make it his legacy. The religious system would carry on after his reign and become the predominant religion of England. The question is: How did events connected to key historical figures during Henry VIII’s reign cause for a permanent shift in the religious system of England? This question will be answered by analyzing events related to key historical figures during Henry VIII’s reign. These events will not be a biographical representation of any one historical figure, but relayed in connection to the topic of this paper in order to provide an answer for the essay question. This method is being utilized because it provides an analytical perspective, while also providing a personal appeal by tying the facts in with historical figures. History is not just facts, it is a story, and like any good story it should pull a reader in and make them interested. The historical figures utilized will be Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Thomas Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell, and Thomas Cranmer due to their direct correlation to the change in the religious system of England. The sources utilized were chosen and implemented in relation to how they encompassed concepts related to historical

This writer focuses on two parts of the question ‘The Tudor Reformation was a method of strengthening absolute monarchy in England.’. The first focus is the word ‘method’ and the second focus is the word ‘strengthening’. The word ‘method’ means a planned way of doing something. In this case, the question can be interpreted as ‘The Tudor Reformation was a planned and intentional affair to achieve strenghtened absolute monarchy. Also, this writer is going to put emphasis on the comparison meaning of the word ’strengthen’. Then this essay has to show how the Tudor Reformation made aboslute monarchy stronger than before and what changes did the Tudor Reformation bring out in comparison with the past. According to these focuses, the question can be understood as ‘The Tudor Reformation was a calculated event and it was to accomplish more powerful abosolute monarchy than before in England.’ However, this writer disagrees with the sentence and thinks that the Tudor Reformation was not an affair that had an intention to reinforce abosolute monarchy. Therefore, in the main body, the essay is going to concentrate on whether it was an intentional or unintentional matter that is related to strengthen absolute royal authority. Moreover, figuring out whether the absolute monarchy was consolidated than before. Finally, this essay will examine how the politics was at that time. At the end, in the conclusion part, it puts this issue aside