Elective Course No. 4

British Monarchy: From the Anglo-Saxon Kings to the Twenty-first Century House of Windsor (2)

The TudorsHenry VII (1485-1509):He united the Houses of Lancaster and York by his marriage in 1486 with Elizabeth of York (Edward IVs daughter), restored the centralised power of the state and managed to keep the nobles under control. He protected the interests of the rising bourgeoisie and of the new nobility and created the merchant fleet. Literacy extended among the people at large. (1476 William Caxton set his printing press at Westminster.)He used dynastic royal marriages to establish his dynasty in England and help maintain peace.Henry VIII (1509-47):Henry VIIs second son, he succeeded to the throne after his elder brothers death and married his former sister-in-law Catherine of Aragon.He built an effective fleet of royal fighting ships and interfered, more or less successfully, in European politics (Spain, Germany, France and Scotland).The Reformation: 1. political reasons: breaking with Rome and putting an end to papal interference in English affairs; 2. personal reasons: his wish to divorce Catherine of Aragon (whose only surviving child was Princess Mary) in order to marry Anne Boleyn (who, the king hoped, could give him a son and heir, but who gave birth to another daughter, Elizabeth). The Pope refused to grant the divorce and excommunicated Henry, who broke with Rome and married Anne. By the Act of Supremacy (1531), approved of by the Parliament, Henry VIII became the only supreme head of the Anglican Church of England, and all those who refused to take the Oath of Supremacy were charged with treason and executed. Henrys reformation produced dangerous Protestant-Roman Catholic differences in the kingdom.Henry VIII finally got his male heir (Edward) after the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536 (allegedly for adultery) and his marriage with Jane Seymour. See William Shakespeares Henry VIII (1613).

The TudorsEdward VI (1547-53):Intellectually precocious, but physically weak, he became king at the age of 9 and his short reign was dominated by nobles (e.g. Edward Seymour, his eldest uncle, and the Duke of Northumberland) using the Regency to strengthen their own positions. During his reign, the Church of England became more explicitly Protestant.Literary representations: e.g. Mark Twains novel The Prince and the Pauper (1881).Mary I (1553-58):Declared illegitimate and removed from the succession to the throne by an Act of Parliament during her fathers lifetime, she nonetheless benefited from public support as Henry VIIIs daughter against the claimant Jane Grey, named as heir by the dying Edward VI.A fervent Catholic, she restored papal supremacy in England and began the conversion of the country back to Catholicism, even at the expense of turning it into a blood bath. (Bloody Mary) Her decision of marrying a Catholic prince, Philip of Spain, made her even more unpopular. Literary representations: e.g. the plays Marie Tudor (1833) by Victor Hugo and Queen Mary (1875) by Alfred Tennyson.

The TudorsElizabeth I (1558-1603):Home policy:As she had been declared illegitimate, Elizabeths right to the throne had to be recognised by the Treaty of Edinburgh on July 6, 1560.1559: She reinforced the Act of Supremacy and re-established the Anglican Church. She showed political ability in solving religious problems accepting neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the Calvinist variant of European Protestantism, but relying mostly on the Protestant clergy and wisely keeping England away from the religious wars tearing France apart.Suspicious of the old aristocracy, she relied on new men like Sir William Cecil and Francis Walsingham and defended her position on the throne cold-mindedly. Her long reign was marked by spectacular executions, chief among which those of: the Duke of Norfolk (1572), Babbington (1586) and Mary Stuart of the Scots (1587), the Earl of Essex (1601).Foreign policy:England launched into the contest for commercial and naval leadership against Spain and France. Though officially denying it, the queen supported the privateers (e.g. Martin Frobisher, Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh) who roamed the seas in search of new maritime ways but also of treasure-laden ships to maraud. Furthermore, new trading companies were founded encompassing a vast area from Venice, the Greek islands and the Mohammedan Empire to the Indian seas. Thus, the way was paved for the great British colonial empire in the centuries to come. The queen carefully kept England away from open conflagration. The only serious attempt at invading England by the Spanish Armada ended up in defeat on July 26, 1588.Literary representations: e.g. the epic poem The Fairie Queene (1590-96) by Edmund Spenser; the novels The Recess, or a Tale of Other Times (1783) by Sophia Lee and Kenilworth (1821) by Walter Scott, etc.

The StuartsThe first kings of the United Kingdom, combining the thrones of England and Scotland for the first time. James I (1603-25):Queen Elizabeth Is nephew and son of Mary, Queen of the Scots; he had been king of Scotland (James VI) for 36 years when he became King of England.a theologian and an arts patron the new translation of the Bible known as the Authorised King Jamess version of the Bible; the flourishing of the theatre. He mismanaged, on the one hand, the Roman Catholic question, and, on the other hand, the relation with the Parliament.1. The Gunpowder Plot (November 5, 1605): an attempt of a group of Catholic gentlemen of the Jesuit Party to blow up the king and the Houses of Parliament. The leader, Guy Fawkes, was arrested on November 4. (His effigy is still merrily burnt by the English each November 4.) the reimposition of strict penalties on Roman Catholics.2. Strongly believing, like Elizabeth I, in the divine right of kings, he tried to rule without the Parliament as much as possible. To cover the huge debt he inherited from Elizabeth I, he had to ask the Parliament to raise a tax, which the Parliament agreed with on condition James would discuss his home and foreign policy with the Parliament. James insisted that he alone had the divine right to make these decisions. He managed to rule successfully without the Parliament as long as England was at peace, i.e. between 1611 and 1621. But when England got involved in the Thirty Years War in Europe (1618-48), James could not afford the costs of an army and disagreed with the Parliament who wished to go against the Catholics. Until his death in 1625, James continued to quarrel with the Parliament over money and over its desire to play a part in his foreign policy.

The StuartsHe neglected the navy and deprived England of her naval power for 30 years. Yet, England continued her international trade in wool, cotton and silk and the ships of the East India Company were sailing as far as Persia and India.James I versus the Puritans: The latter denounced the extravagances and dissolute living at the kings court, and attacked the theatre on account of its being the favourite amusement of an immoral aristocracy. 1. Some Puritans fled across the Atlantic in 1620 to escape prosecution and founded the Massachusetts Colony. (The Pilgrim Fathers celebrated by the American people on Thanksgiving Day)2. The Puritans remaining in England became the focal point for resistance against the Stuarts, known as the Roundheads and the extremists. (See the Puritan Parliament Members Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, John Hampden and John Pym) Charles I (1625-49): An art lover, like his father, he spent a lot inviting artists like Van Dyck and Rubens to work in England and buying a great collection of paintings by Raphael and Titian, thus increasing the crowns debts.He married Henrietta Maria of France, a fervent Catholic. He quarreled with the Parliament especially with the House of Commons - even more bitterly, mainly over money. He tried to rule without the Parliament, but, when he needed to have new taxes and loans voted, he had to re-summon it. The violent debate over Charless financial devices and the reform of the Church along Puritan lines eventually led to the kings attempt to arrest the leaders of the Parliament. (The Great Remonstrance 1641) The Civil Wars (1642-46; 1648-49)

The StuartsJames I and the Cavaliers/ versus/ The House of Commons, Oliver Cromwell and his Ironsides The Army, concluding that permanent peace was impossible whilst Charles lived, decided that the King must be put on trial and executed. In December 1648, Parliament was purged, leaving a small rump totally dependent on the Army, and the Rump Parliament established a High Court of Justice in the first week of January 1649. On 20 January, Charles was charged with high treason. Charles refused to plead, saying that he did not recognise the legality of the High Court. He was sentenced to death on 27 January. Three days later, on January 30, 1649, Charles was beheaded on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London. The Commonwealth or Republic (1649-60) was proclaimed, in fact a military dictatorship in which the main power was exerted by Oliver Cromwell. Literary representations: e.g. Andrew Marvells poem An Horatian Ode. Upon Cromwells Return from Ireland (1650); Alexandre Dumass novel Twenty Years After (1845).Charles II (1660-85):To prevent the anarchy after Cromwells death, the Convention Parliament elected in 1660 called back Charles II from his exile in Holland. (The Restoration) The Declaration of Breda (1660) promised pardons, arrears of Army pay, confirmation of land purchases during the Interregnum and liberty of tender consciences in religious matters, yet a number of repressive measures were taken (e.g. the Act of Conformity which required all clergy, college fellows and schoolmasters to belong to the Anglican Church). The early years of Charles IIs reign were also marked by the persecution of the prominent figures of the Commonwealth, the growing unpopularity of the restoration of extravagant frivolity at the court, and the growing concern of the Parliament with Charles IIs attraction to the Catholic Church (The Test Act 1673, which prevented any Catholic from holding public office) and with monarchy becoming again too powerful.

The StuartsThe disastrous years of Charles IIs reign:1665: 1. the plague epidemic in London; 2. the second Dutch war (caused by English and Dutch commercial and colonial rivalry, it ended in 1667 in a humiliating defeat of the English.)1666: 1. The Great Fire which virtually destroyed the London of the Middle Ages and of Shakespeares plays. It changed the architectural aspect of London and Christopher Wren designed the plan for the rebuilding of London by replacing neoclassic marble and stone for the medieval brick and timber. (E.g. magnificent buildings in classic Baroque like St. Pauls Cathedral; other buildings by Wren: the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford and Pembroke College Chapel in Cambridge) 2. the Covenanters uprising (a Covenant was signed all over Scotland for the defense of the Protestant religion and against the government of the Church by bishops). James II (1685-88):Charles IIs Roman Catholic brother, he had a troubled reign marked by the rebellion in 1685 led by Charles IIs illegitimate son and champion of Protestantism, the Duke of Monmouth, supported by the Earl of Shaftesbury. The defeat of the rebels was followed by Jamess cruel revenge: he embarked upon a rapid Romanizing of the country, claimed the royal prerogative to suspend the laws of the land, and, in general, pursued with ever increasing violence and illegality the policy to prepare the forcible reconversion of England to Roman Catholicism. 1685: The Kings Declaration of Indulgence put on trial several bishops + the birth of a Catholic heir to the throne the Tories and the Whigs offered the crown to the first couple of joint monarchs in the English history.

The StuartsWilliam (1689-1702) and Mary (1689-94) of Orange:The Glorious Revolution: On November 5, 1688, William of Orange, the husband of James IIs Protestant daughter Mary, landed at Torbay. James II was deprived of the crown on account of his deserting his kingdom and the crown was offered to William and Mary. This bloodless Revolution decided the balance between Parliamentary and royal power in favour of the former and, in accordance with the Declaration/ Bill of Rights, no king ever attempted to govern without Parliament or contrary to the votes of the House of Commons. The Act of Settlement (1701): It secured the Protestant succession to the throne, and strengthened the guarantees for ensuring the parliamentary system of government. According to it, if Mary had no children, the crown would pass to her sister Anne; if she also died without children, the crown would go to a granddaughter of James I, who had married the German elector of Hanover and her children. Even today, if a son or daughter of a monarch becomes a Catholic, (s)he cannot inherit the throne.Queen Ann (1702-14):The War for the Spanish Succession (1702-13) ended with the recognition by Louis XIV of France of Protestant succession in Great Britain and turned John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, into a national hero. Further disagreement over the succession to the throne between the English and the Scottish Parliaments allowed the exiled Roman Catholic son of James II, James Edward Stuart, to land in Scotland in 1708, but he was forced to withdraw to France. (The scene was set for the later uprisings in Scotland led by the Stuart Pretenders against the Hanoverian kings.) 1707: Scotland and England were formally united under the name of Great Britain and the flags of the two nations (St. Andrews Cross for Scotland and St. Georges Cross for England) were combined to form the present Union Jack. (St. Patricks Cross would be added in 1801 after Ireland would be united with Great Britain.) literary representations: e.g. Alexander Popes Windsor Forest (1713); Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels (1726).