Henry VIII

Henry VIII was quite unlike his father. He was cruel and wasteful with money. He spent so much on maintaining a rich court and on wars, that his father's carefully saved money was soon gone.

Henry VIII wanted to have an important influence on European politics. But much had happened in Europe since England had lost its lands in France in the Hundred Years' War. France was now more powerful than England. Spain was even more powerful, because it was united with the Holy Roman Empire (which included much of central Europe). Henry VIII tried to ally himself with Spain against France, then he changed sides. When friendship with France did not bring him anything, Henry started talking again to Charles V of Spain.

Problems with the Catholic Church. Henry disliked the power of the Church in England: it was an international organization, so he could not completely control it. The power of the Catholic Church in England could work against Henry's authority. Besides, Henry had another reason for opposing to the authority of the Church.

In 1510 Henry had married Catherine of Aragon. But by 1526 she had still not had a son who could be the heir to the throne after Henry's death. Henry asked the Pope to allow him to divorce Catherine. But the Pope was controlled by Charles V, who was Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, and also Catherine's nephew. For both political and family reasons he wanted Henry to stay married to Catherine. The Pope did not wish to anger Charles V, and he forbade Henry's divorce.

Henry was extremely angry. He persuaded the English bishops to break away from the Catholic Church and establish a Church in England, the head of which would be the English monarch. In 1531 the Church of England was established in the country, and this became law after Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534. Now Henry was free to divorce Catherine and marry his new love, Anne Boleyn. He hoped Anne would give him a son to follow him on the throne.

The Reformation. Henry's break with Rome was purely political. He simply wanted to control the Church and to keep its wealth in his own kingdom. He did not approve of the new ideas of Reformation Protestantism introduced by Martin Luther in Germany and John Calvin in Geneva. He still believed in the Catholic faith. But when he broke with Rome, he wanted to make the break legal. Between 1532 and 1536 Parliament passed several Acts, by which England officially became a Protestant country, even though the popular religion was still Catholic.