UNIT 4: THE TUDOR AGE (1485 1602)

The Tudor dynasty began a process that redefined the limits of English monarchy and launched the English Reformation, which transformed the religious and cultural experiences of the people of Britain and Ireland. This period coincided with the beginning of a long age of economic and social change and a steady growth in the population. The new geopolitics helped to further the development of a more fully integrates economy.

4.1. THE TUDORS AND THE CHURCH

4.1.1. The Age of Reformation. The 16th century witnessed many changes, backwards and forwards, in the public faith and private devotion of the inhabitants of Britain and Ireland. During that time the British Isles ceased to be a part of the Catholic Church. This disintegration went hand in hand with a revived sense of nationalism and a reassertion of the ancient idea that subjects should unquestionably accept and adopt the religious beliefs and practices currently preferred by their ruler. Failure to comply was a crime. Conscience counted for little. The majority, faced with fluctuations or royal mood and policy, believed what they were told. In return, the monarchy did not pry into an individuals actual conviction, unless they were politically threatening. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation were government driven. The catalyst for change in England was Henry VIIIs need for a male heir. The Pope would not grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, thus precipitating a rupture between the Pope and the king. In 1534 Henry was named supreme head of the Church in England, confirming the break with Rome and introducing Protestantism. After introducing it to England and Wales, Scotland soon followed, but the Irish clung to Catholicism to protect their national identity from the English. Resistance to change was suppressed. This initial phase of the Reformation under Henry VIII had few doctrinal changes. Henry died in 1547. In Scotland there was an overall lack of direction in government and susceptibility to English and continental religious ideas. In these conditions, Protestantism became widespread, especially among nobility, even while the countrys rulers remained Catholic. A Protestant rebellion in 1559 was followed by an English supported Reformation the following year. Calvinism won a large following and it became the established church in Scotland in 1690. The adoption of the vernacular language in preference to Latin made Christianity more accessible for many. 4.1.2. The Counter-Reformation: Queen Mary (1553-1558). Henrys son Edward VI reigned shortly (1547-1553), and was followed by Mary (1553-1558), who restored Catholicism. She is also known as Bloody Mary, because she had almost 300 religious dissenters burnt at the stake. Elizabeth succeeded Mary, restoring once again Protestantism, and had to find a comprehensive religious settlement for England, which was essentially a compromise and represents the true foundation of the Anglican Church. The Puritans pressured her to purge all traces of Catholicism. 4.1.3. The Dissolution of the Monasteries. The dissolution of the monasteries in England came to an end in 1540 with the surrender of Waltham Abbey in Essex. Many houses were demolished; some were converted to domestic dwellings. The friaries were also suppressed, as were later the collegiate churches, chantries, hospitals, almshouses, and schools,

which until then had largely been run by the Church. Much of this land passed into the hands of the Crown or of other influential people, confirming the ruling elite in its control of the government. Scottish church lands were also confiscated with the introduction of Protestantism. 4.1.4. Elizabeths Golden Age: A Fortress of Protestantism. General acceptance of superimposed change could not be taken for granted. There were frequent uprisings. This led Elizabethan opponents to turn increasingly to Catholicism as an expression of dissent, especially in Ireland. The Elizabethan regime turned to a policy of plantation, to replace disloyal Catholic subjects in Ireland with loyal English settlers. Foreign powers attempted to reclaim the British Isles for Catholicism, and the English Crown endeavored to promote Gods cause. In the late 16 th century the English came to see their country as a precious stone set in a silver sea, a fortress protected by nature and God from their enemies. A shared Protestantism helped heal ancient divisions between England and Scotland. Their inhabitants came to view any national disloyalty with suspicion. Catholicism survived, however, especially in regions furthest from the capital. 4.1.4.1. The Spanish Armada, 1588. Phillip IIs most serious attempt to overthrow Elizabeth, sent with the Spanish Armada, came to nothing. The English believed that victory was evidence that God was on their side, but logistical difficulties and severe weather played a big part.

4.2. THE TUDOR COURT

4.2.1. The Royal Palaces. In both England and Scotland, the monarchies inherited a remarkable stock of royal houses from the Middle Ages. These buildings were mostly fortresses dominating their localities. The 16th century brought a widening of potential choice for royal accommodation; up-to-date castles were less desirable as residences. The Protestant Reformation produced a new stock of buildings available to the monarchs, leading to an increase in the number of royal palaces. In both England and Scotland, the monarch conspicuously lacked a major residence in the capital. The main houses were situated in the agriculturally rich parts of the kingdom: in England, restricted to the Thames Valley; in Scotland, mostly confined to the neck of land between the Firth of Forth and the river Clyde. There were none in Wales. Henry VIII possessed a series of houses that outshone those of all his contemporaries on the Continent. His houses had all the main houses on one level, an innovatory feature. English and Scottish royal houses were characterized by a picturesque disposition of mass and blocks. Spectacular gardens were a feature from Henry VIII onwards. Royal palaces became treasure houses filled with magnificent pictures and sculptures. 4.2.2. The Decline of Court and Palace. From the 17th century, many houses became redundant and were converted to other uses. The ones that survived regular use were the ones that acted not only as residences but also as political centers. The reduction in the number of royal houses was due to the tendency for the court to become settled because of the improvement of communication. The union of crowns in 1603 further reduced the number. Wars and fires cut the

number as well. Some were sold; others were put to different uses. The process of disposing of unwanted palaces dated back to the mid-Tudor period with Edward VI.

4.3. PARLIAMENT AND POLITICS

Between the 15th and 16th century, the Parliament was the political forum where, under the Crown, the ruling elite met to discuss their grievances and promote remedies in the form of law. It also met to grant money to fund the routine business of the monarch and the royal household, the administration of the realm and the defense of the nation. In England it was comprised of the House of Lords, the most powerful magnates of the realm, and the rest of the governing classes, the House of Commons, which elected their own representatives. These were leading members of the local elite. The counties each elected two members, returned by boroughs, which also returned two members each. The right to vote remained firmly in the hands of independent and prosperous men. The function of parliament evolved considerably over time. Initially, the monarch remained firmly in control. By the end of the 17 th century, Parliament had secured for itself a central position in government and had a decisive voice in all major fields of state policy. 4.3.1. Institutional Variations. In Ireland, the English model was closely followed. In Scotland, however, the Estates were the nobility, the Commons and the judiciary. Until the Protestant Reformation, the different Houses of Lords included the abbots of the leading monasteries. In England, bishops continued to sit in the Lords after the Reformation, but in Scotland they were excluded after 1638. Various institutional changes occurred. Initially they met where the monarch deemed convenient, but then first London, then Edinburgh and finally Dublin acquired purpose-built Parliament houses. Rules on procedure, previously transmitted by word of mouth, were regularized and written down in books by mid 16th century. There was a growing esteem for Parliament, enabling it to pursue independent course of action. Over the years, political parliament became concentrated in London. In 1542, members from Wales entered the English Parliament on a permanent basis. Union with Scotland in 1707, and with Ireland in 1801, completed this process. It was a time of a lot of constitutional experimentation. 4.3.2. Corruption and Reform. Englands union with Scotland and Ireland resulted in the peripheries of Britain being relatively over-represented. Electoral corruption was rife, especially in the Scottish constituencies. Bribery of electors was standard practice. As Parliament evolved, it met more often and for longer periods. Originally, 17 years was the prolonged existence. Further Acts stipulated that future assemblies could not last longer than three and later seven, years without a general election. This prevented stagnation and ensured that Parliament continued to reflect changing public opinion. Another important change took place in what was expected of a Member of Parliament. Throughout, his duty remained the preservation and promotion of the common good. They had to decide based on their own judgment rather than on the instructions put forth by the voters. 4.3.3. Representation in Practice.

Cornwall has the reputation of being the county most heavily over-represented in parliament before the Reform Act of 1832. At the opening of the 16th century, Cornwalls parliamentary representation consisted of two knights of the shire sitting for the county and 12 burgesses for six towns. However, in 5 decades, the number of boroughs rose to 21. This growth reflected a number of considerations (important tin production, vulnerability to invasions, etc.). This expansion was not seen at the time permanent, but the House of Commons under James I and subsequently, refused to allow the disenfranchisement of boroughs. Cornish boroughs reflected the full range of electoral diversity to be found elsewhere in England and Wales. As elsewhere, over the period, the size of the electorate declined. Members from the Cornish boroughs were often more democratically elected than those of the rest of the country. Still, there were disputes and corruption still existed.

4.4 THE ABSORPTION OF WALES INTO THE ENGLISH KINGDOM

4.4.1. The Act of Union of 1536. The Act of Union of 1536 completed the long process of absorption of Wales, with its marches, into the English Kingdom. The marcher lordships were abolished and Wales was made subject to the same legal system as England, divided into counties and given parliamentary representation. English became the language of administration, but the majority of the people remained Welsh-speakers. The Protestant Reformation took root in Wales as well, and more effort was made to make texts available in the native language, so the Welsh people enthusiastically embraced Protestantism, but later Nonconformity and Methodism became more popular than Anglicanism. A measure of Catholicism did survive. 4.4.2. Literacy and Culture. Though it was excluded from administration, the position Welsh gained as the language of religion did much to ensure its survival. Welsh became widespread in the 18th century. Although the language survived, some Celtic traditions were discontinued. The Welsh elite took enthusiastically to the Renaissance. In the late 18th century, Celtomania had particular resonance in Wales: identification with the Celtic past became an important way for the Welsh to assert their different identity from the English. Interest in bardic traditions and druidism reawakened. Throughout the early modern period, Wales remained predominantly agrarian. Later on, coal-mining and iron-casting were to become important.