From the Tudors to the Stuarts

​​In a nutshell

The Tudors were a Welsh-English dynasty that ruled England from 1485 to 1603. During their reign, many important events took place, such as the English Reformation. After the bloodline of the Tudors ended, King James VI of Scotland became also King James I of England, merging two thrones for the first time in history.

The Tudors

The Tudors were an English royal dynasty with Welsh origins that ruled England for many years. During their reign, England advanced in many aspects such as literature, foreign trade, and economics.

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HENRY VII (1485 - 1509)

The first king of the Tudor dynasty, Henry Tudor, or King Henry VII got the throne by defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. Right after the Wars of the Roses ended, he started his reign and tried to build a solid position by making treaties with the Netherlands and France. Furthermore, he invested in shipbuilding so that England could own a merchant fleet and extend his military power. In general, he was good at administrating England's wealth and making business.

HENRY VIII (1509 - 1547)

Second Henry VII's son, Henry VIII was the second king of the Tudor dynasty. He was called the "Golden Prince" due to his attractive looks and good manners. Also, he was given the title 'Defender of the Faith' by the Pope in awareness of his Latin treatise defending the sacraments. 

After his brother Arthur's death, he married his widow, Catherine of Aragon. Unfortunately, in twenty years of marriage, his wife only gave birth to a daughter, Mary. So, as Henry wished to continue the male Tudor legacy, he started to consider the idea of getting married to his pregnant mistress, Anne Boleyn, and he asked the Pope for a divorce to be able to marry her.

Henry tried to negotiate with the Vatican for a divorce, however, the Pope would not invalidate his marriage under any circumstance. Thus, Henry decided to separate from the Catholic Church and declared himself 'Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England'. After this event, the king broke down monasteries and took their wealth and social charities.

In 1533, Henry got married to Anne Boleyn, and she gave birth to a second daughter, Elizabeth. However, Boleyn was later executed for marital infidelity, so King Henry VIII was free to marry again. He had other four wives, of which his third wife, Jane Seymour gave him a son named Edward.

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EDWARD VI (1547 - 1553)

Edward VI took the throne when he was nine years old after his father's death in 1547. He was known as "The Boy King" and unfortunately his reign did not last long, he died in 1553 aged fifteen.

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MARY I (1553 - 1558)

Born in 1516, Mary grew up in an environment of rejection and cruel treatment from her parents, as a consequence she was full of resentment when she started her reign in 1553. She was against abandoning her Catholic faith, so she was part of the Counter-Reformation, a movement that tried to oppose the Protestant Reformation. She married the Catholic Philip of Spain and was known under the name Bloody Mary for burning several Protestants. Queen Mary I died in 1558 without an heir.

ELIZABETH I (1558 - 1603)

After Mary I's death, her sister Elizabeth I became queen of a divided Nation between the anti-Spanish and the anti-Catholic. Queen Elizabeth I was very talented and intelligent, she spoke several languages and had a great education in politics, commerce, and arts. During her reign, she restored the country to a solid Protestantism status, however, she allowed Catholic freedom of worship. 

Spain was her main adversary, there was an open war between England and Spain where English sea captains captured Spanish ships with tobacco, precious metals, and slaves from Africa and America. In 1588, the Spanish armada invaded England, but the English defeated them. As a result of this victory, Queen Elizabeth I was able to set strong foundations for the English empire. Elizabeth I never got married and did not have children, she died in 1603 and was the last of the Tudor dynasty.

The Stuarts

When Elizabeth I died in 1603 the Tudor monarchy came to an end and James VI of Scotland was the first king from the Stuarts' bloodline. He was a Protestant and had the belief of being God's representation on earth. He only called for the Parliament when he needed money, however, the Parliament only increased taxes if it was strictly necessary for war. 

James VI was into witchcraft and supernatural practices, he expressed his belief in black magic in his treatise Daemonologie (1597). During his rule, religion was the most relevant problem to be dealt with, Catholics were excluded from public life and fined if they refused to go to the Church of England. On the other hand, Puritans did not approve of bishops and ceremonies of the Church of England. 

Most Puritans did not want to live in a country that did not match their beliefs. So, the Pilgrim Fathers applied for a government patent to colonize New England and in 1620 they went to America on the Mayflower and founded New Plymouth.

In 1604, James VI allowed a new translation of the Bible. For several years scholars and Humanists with different backgrounds translated a new version that later would be used for the Church of England for more than three hundred years. In 1605, Guy Fawkes plotted with a group of Catholics to blow up the king in the Houses of Parliament, to this day this event is commemorated in England on the 5th of November as the failure of the 'Gunpowder Plot'.