Henry VIII Severs Ties with the Church

Religious Reformation in England

After Henry VIII’s chief adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, failed to get enough support from the Vatican so that Henry could divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, Wolsey was charged with treason and replaced. Thomas Cromwell was Henry’s new adviser, and it wasn’t long before Henry took Cromwell’s advice to heart in a manner that would change history: Cromwell proposed that Henry VIII make himself the head of the Church in England. Henry brought together the Parliament in 1529 to discuss the matters of the Church. Henry believed that if he threatened with reforming the Church, then the Pope would be more inclined to listen to Henry and allow him to divorce his wife.

As of this point in time, Catholicism was the only religion in England that was legalized

Because it was the only religion, it was very important in the everyday lives of the English people. It helped the king’s subjects to cope with life and death, and Catholic schools were the only form of education in England. Monasteries also provided people with health care, and Christianity provided the people with a sense of a moral compass that would prevent them from adultery, drinking, and gambling. If a person publicaly disagreed with the Church, it was grounds for capital punishment that mostly meant burning at the stake. The threat of this punishment forced most people to be devout in their beliefs and following the Church and its teachings faithfully despite many not fully understanding the doctrines, as the Bible was written in Latin.

Martin Luther was off-put by the increasing corruption among the high leaders in the Church, including the increasing political and financial power they had. Luther, a German monk, believed that people should be following the scripture that the Bible teaches instead of the authorities in the Church gaining in power. Martin Luther believed in the teachings of John Wycliff, the founding member of the Lollards who argued that believing in the Church should be based off of the scripture that needed to be accessible to everyone. Martin Luther believed that it was faith, not the abundance of good works, that determined the salvation of one’s soul. Luther attacked the Church in 1516 because they offered “indulgences”, or taking bribes as a form of good works, which Luther saw as financial corruption of the Church.

These reforming ideas rubbed off on Thomas Cromwell as he made his way around Europe before becoming the adviser of Henry VIII. His attacks on the Church’s corruption is what brought him to the attention of the king in 1529, and Cromwell asked Parliament in 1532 to issue “The Commons Supplication against the Ordinaries”, which was a list of abuses by the clergy and the church in England. This empowered King Henry, who became more powerful as the head of the Church of England. Because Henry had argued that his marriage to Catherine was invalid, and now that he was breaking away from the Catholic Church, he married a pregnant Anne Boleyn in 1533. Henry and Catherine were announced to be null and void and in the summer of that year Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England. Their first child was a girl, Elizabeth, much to the dismay of Henry.

In 1536, Henry VIII began to dissolve the monasteries around England, bringing about a religious revolution that was not largely opposed by the English people. Most people complied with this reformation, but two men who did not comply were Sir Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher. To deal with these two men, they were convicted of treason and executed. Though the people themselves did not protest, most of the clergymen did. Henry VIII was forced to give in some to a rebellion known as the Pilgrimage of Grace in Northern England. Henry only gave in for a short amount of time before he raised enough money to have an army squash the rebellion. With the rebellion crushed, the reformation in England was free to take hold at the will of Henry VIII and the Tudor line.

A Timeline of Britain

From the battle of Britain to today the housing styles of the uk have certainly changed, expert mortgage brokers at Get Me My Mortgage have put together a great piece of content identifying the most iconic housing styles of the last 100 years.

Tudor – 1485 – 1603

The Tudor house was defined by its Tudor arch and oriel windows. The Tudor period was the first period to move away from the medieval style houses and was more like a timber framed country house. Today Tudor houses are all listed building and highly sought after due to there location and the amount of space and history involved. Tudor houses are an expensive housing option so be prepared for the financial layout and upkeep costs. If that doesn’t put you off then buying a Tudor house could be a great investment and opportunity to keep English heritage alive.

Elizabethan – 1550 -1625

Elizabethan houses can be recognised by their large vertical timber frames that are often supported by diagonal beams. The Elizabethan style houses were similar to medieval style houses. These houses were built sturdy to last through the age. The houses were built by the middle class are are today listed building.

Jacobean – 1603 – 1625

The Jacobean style gets its name from King James 1 of England who reigned at the time. The Jacobean style in England follows the Elizabethan style and is the second phase of Renaissance architecture. May Jacobean houses were very large both inside and out with large rooms for family living.  Common features included columns and pilasters, arches and archades. These features were to create a sense of grandeur. There are many Jacobean style houses on the market today if your lucky enough to be able to afford one.

Stuart – 1603 – 1714

One of the most common period property types for country houses. This period house boasted elegant exteriors with sash windows, high ceiling and spacious rooms. The outside was commonly bare brick and flat fronted.

English Baroque – 1702 – 1714

During this period houses were decorated with arches, columns and sculptures and took many features and characteristics from the continent. The interiors were very exuberant with artwork and ornaments in all rooms main rooms

Palladian – 1715 -1770

The Palladian era started in 1715 and these types of houses are characterised by symmetry and classic forms, more plain than other eras however on the inside houses were lavish and often had elaborate decorations

Georgian – 1714 – 1837

The Georgian house was styled with rigid symmetry, the most common Georgian house was built with brick with window decorative headers and hip roofs. The Georgian house period started and got its name due to the 4 successive kings being named George.

Regency – 1811 – 1820

The Regency housing style was common among the upper and middle classes from 1811 to 1820 the houses were typically built in brick and then covered in painted plaster. The plaster was carefully moulded to produce elegant decorative touches to give the exterior of the house more elegance.

Victorian – 1837 – 1910

Very common even today especially in London. A Victorian house in general refers to any house build during the reign of Queen Victoria. The main features of a Victoria house are roofs made of slate with sash windows and patters in the brick work that are made using different colour bricks. Stained Glass windows and doors were also a common feature as were bay windows

Edwardian – 1901 -1910

Edwardian architecture got its name during the reign of King Edward from 1901 – 1910. These types of houses were generally built in a straight line with red brick. Edwardian houses typically had wooden frame porches and wide hallways. The rooms inside were wider and brighter moving away from the older style houses that were more gothic. Parquet wood floors and simple internal decoration was common also.

Reasons for the Post-World War II Decolonization of Great…

Up until 1945 Great Britain ruled over one-fourth of the world

1945 was a critical year! The Allied Forces had just won World War II, defeating the Axis Powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from the heat of battle as world superpowers, while Britain struggled with debt from back to back World Wars and widespread structural damage from the German Luftwaffe. The Great War or World War I, had marked the end of The Age of Imperialism (1815-1914) and by the mid-twentieth century, Great Britain would become the welfare state.

Britain could no longer afford its empire

One of the major costs of maintaining empire was paying the salaries of civil servants. Among other problems, crime rose as living conditions in commonwealth countries faltered, and the resources of the world’s once great Navy were ravished by war so no one could police the colonies effectively during wartime. Pressure from the superpowers is the second reason why Britain decolonized. Decolonization was a condition of the Lend-Lease Act of 1941, in which the United States loaned Britain money, weapons, and food over a period of years.

The United States, the first independent former commonwealth of Britain (1776/1783), had sensibilities towards countries that wanted to be free of British rule. According to historians Alan Sked and Chris Cook, the motives of the Roosevelt-led U.S. Government were not completely altruistic. In their book, Post-War Britain, they quipped, “the United States had the luxury of keeping its material interests in line with its ideology”. Whereas Stalin’s Soviet Union motivation for pressuring Britain to decolonize came from its hatred of the economic implications of imperialism; the irony therein lies in the fact that communism and socialist dictatorships are the most detrimental forms of imperialism to any state. Alas, I digress.

A wave of vibrant independence movements met with decolonization

The most successful occurred in India under the guidance of Jawaharlal Nehru (who would go on to be the first Indian Prime Minister), Muhammad Ali Jinnah (campaigned for the Islamic state of Pakistan to be created out of India), and Mohandas Gandhi (a Hindu political and ideological leader). Britain made a pact with India during World War II that if the Royal Indian Army fought the Japanese, India would be granted independence.

The process of decolonization occurred over a 15 to 20 year period. The countries that were released from British governance after 1945 include Jordan (1946), India (1947), Burma and Sri Lanka (1948), Egypt (1954), Sudan (1956), Ghana and Malaysia (1957), Iraq (1958), Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya, Cameroon and Cyprus (1960), Sierra Leone and Kuwait (1961), Trinidad and Tobago and Uganda (1962), Belize (1964), Papua and New Guinea (1975) and many more. All handovers included a ceremony in which the Union Jack was lowered and the flag of the new sovereign state was raised in tune to its new national anthem.

Interesting cases – Hong Kong and Falkland

The people of Hong Kong refused Britain’s offer to liberate the island for fear of invasion from China. Hong Kong remained under British rule until 1997 when China signed a treaty stating that Hong Kong would be governed differently from mainland China; the island was allowed to keep its laws and so fourth until the year 2047 at least. In 1982, Argentina’s brutal military regime invaded the Falkland Islands, a British territory off the coast of Argentina, in an attempt to “liberate it” but the citizens of the Falklands wanted to British, and thanks to the success of a military campaign against the regime (under the behest of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher), they still are.

Margaret Thatcher: Britain’s Iron Lady

Margaret Hilda Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979, and again in 1983 and 1989. During her reign she healed economic wounds caused by the policies of Edward Heath (Prime Minister from 1970 to 1974), vowed to end the culture of dependency created by entitlement programs, embraced free enterprise, held a hard-line against communism, and boosted British nationalism during the Falklands War.

In her first term, Thatcher had a role in deceasing inflation of the Pound Sterling and enacted many policies to stimulate Britain’s economy. One of the most popular things she did was decrease the income tax rate in Britain from 98 percent to 40 percent for the top earners, 83 percent to 60 percent for the middle class, and 33 percent to 25 percent for low wage earners. Folks like Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney could stand to live in Britain then, and two million people who made next to nothing did not have to pay income taxes at all. Thatcher kept money in the pockets of her constituents by keeping less government hands out of them.

Thatcher wanted British businesses to create jobs and flourish. She encouraged free enterprise by directing the privatization of under-performing government owned enterprises. She gave ordinary people the chance to buy stock in those companies, cementing the London Stock Exchange as the most powerful stock market in Europe.

Thatcher’s toughness against communism during the Cold War signaled to the public that she would help in any way she could to prevent a nuclear holocaust; an assurance that must have meant much to the people of Britain who were mercilessly bombed by the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Thatcher was a formidable ally with Ronald Reagan, the President of the United States at the time. Together, they exerted considerable pressure on the Soviet Union to bring about the end of the Cold War.

Thatcher’s success with the Falklands War campaign gave a much needed boost to British nationalism after the embarrassing Suez Crisis under Prime Minister Anthony Eden. The Falklands War showed that no matter where you were in the world, if you flew the flag of the British Commonwealth, you would be protected.

Although Thatcher is probably second to Sir William Churchill as the most iconic British political leader in modern times, she was considered a controversial figure, and even survived an assassination attempt. However, absence makes the heart grow fonder. In recent years, publication after publication has evaluated her legacy, and in the words of a recent National Post article, deemed “Margaret Thatcher was right”.

Guy Fawkes Day

Guy Fawkes was born on April 13th, 1570 in Yorkshire and he died on January 31st 1606 in the Old Palace Yard at Westminster. He is famous because of his plot to kill King James, that plot is called the Gunpowder Plot. Let’s note though that Fawkes was born in a prestigious family, so this wasn’t a peasant riot. This was part of the court members.

The Gunpowder Plot was a plot to blow up Parliament with King James, mainly because of the treatment tours the Catholics during James rule. Basically the conspirators wanted an uprising of the Catholic people. During that time, there were increased penal laws against the practice of Catholicism.

What these men did was they put 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords, but they were caught because of a mysterious letter, telling a Member of Parliament to not go, that day. It’s never been prove but that letter went to Lord Monteagle and he was the brother-in-law of a conspirator whom was named Francis Tresham. He was said to have written this letter. Luckily for that because there was probably around 2 tons of gunpowder under the house of Parliament.

Since their plan was found out, all the conspirators were killed. Guy Fawkes on January 31st with Thomas Wintour, Ambrose Rookwood, and Robert Keyes, were all taken to the Old Palace Yard of Westminster and hanged, drawn, and quartered. It is said that Guy was so sick and weak from torture that he could barely walk up the ladder, that the hangman had to help him.

It’s your own opinion if you think he is a criminal or not. To some he is an extremist but to others he was just a man fighting for his religion because in that time, being a Protestant was kind of the law, it started with Queen Elizabeth, and then James was also that religion. Before Elizabeth though, Catholicism was the countries religion because of her Sister Queen Mary. Anyway Fawkes act didn’t help too much and the laws got harsher but he will always be remembered in history.

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Why they celebrate, will one reason it is said that when the plot was overtaken, people in London celebrated with lighting fires and street festivals. So now it’s a tradition. Till this day, the people in Great Britain (besides Northern Ireland) celebrate with fireworks, and other festivities. Even in the states, they celebrated mostly in New England as late as the 18 Century, which was called Pope Day. Other countries like New Zealand and New Foundland on this day celebrate too.

So now you know a little bit about the Gunpowder Plot, and maybe you’ll celebrate it just for it’s historical aspect because it is quite interesting..

Sealand – the History and Future of the World’s…

In the wake of World War II, strategic defensive structures all over the world became decommissioned and fell into disuse. Nowhere was this trend more prevalent than along the coasts of two of the war’s key players: Germany and the United Kingdom. One type of defense built by the British was an oceanic tower equipped with armaments intended to shoot down Axis planes before they reached Great Britain. Following the war, many of these fortresses were torn down.

One tower, originally called Fort Rough Tower, simply fell into disuse. In 1967, a former member of the English military settled in the tower, claiming it as his sovereign territory. He proclaimed himself Prince Roy of the Principality of Sealand. At a distance of seven nautical miles (11 kilometers) from the English coast, the tower was technically outside of British territorial waters (3 nautical miles).

Over the years, Prince Roy has made many attempts at establishing true sovereignty. He released coins (Sealand dollars), a national anthem, stamps and a flag. Thus far, however, sovereignty has yet to be recognized by any national or international governing body. With the 1987 extension of British territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, it seems unlikely that sovereignty will ever be recognized.

Sealand’s national Web page announces a number of important events mark the history of Sealand. A year after Prince Roy’s declaration of independence, the British Navy came to the tower to investigate. Prince Roy declared defensive action, shooting on the boats of the Navy. Then, in 1978, German and Dutch businessmen came to the island in order to undertake business negotiations and were briefly held captive by Prince Roy and his family. In the early 2000’s, an internet hosting company, HavenCo, was based in Sealand. It offered internet hosting that could circumscribe many of the regulations of traditional onshore internet hosting. The company has since folded.

The future of Sealand is looking dim. Prince Roy’s health has declined with his age, and power has been shifted to his son, Prince Michael. BBC News reports the micro (or pseudo) state is currently for sale for 750 million euros, or just more than $1 billion (U.S.).

British Government Evacuation During WW2

Why Did the British Government Decided to Evacuate Children from Britain’s Major Towns and Cities?

During the early years of World War 2 children were evacuated from the major cities to the countryside. This was because the government was fearful that if Germany started bombing Britain nearly a whole generation could be killed and wiped out. This would be a terrible event as generations after may be hindered because the men are away fighting. Therefore it was necessary to protect children from this.

On the 31 of August, 1939, Britain’s government announced the first evacuations. Many mothers were reluctant to let their children go, but most let them.

The evacuation was removing children from major towns and cities. This was so if the city was bombed the children would not be killed. The children were evacuated to the countryside because if Germany were to bomb Britain they would bomb the cities and factories because most of the war effort would be going on there.

The evacuees had to go on trains to get to the countryside, this was because trains were the fastest was to get lots of children around the country. At the train stations the children lined up reading to go on the train. The evacuees had a gas mask with them and a small suitcase with belongings, around the neck was a name tag identifying each individual child. Once they arrived in the countryside they gathered in village or school halls where they were chosen by foster families. This was a nerve-racking experience for some or a chance of adventure for others.

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As Britain thought the bombing would start immediately children were evacuated quickly. Time passed and nothing happened. This period of time became known as the ‘Phoney War’. During this period of time barrage balloons were deployed to force the German air force to fly higher, some places in public view were painted yellow with a gas sensitive paint – this was to act as a warning signal to easily show if there was gas or not from the bombs, 400 million sand bags were distributed and 38 million gas masks were distributed. As nothing happened mothers wanted to bring their children home, with some doing so. As a result the government were forced to produce propaganda which tried to persuade mothers to keep the children at the country side because if you bring them home you are helping the Germans, because if the children were in the cities they could be bombed and wiped out. This campaign had little success with lots of children returning home.

Not only did the government have problems with mothers wanting to bring their children home but they also had a hard time organising the evacuations. For example a village which was expecting young children received hundreds of pregnant women. The evacuees and hosts had to adapt to a new life quickly, this was because most of the hosts were rich middle-class people where as the evacuees were from working class backgrounds – it was the first time they had ever met, let alone lived with.

When the Blitz began another evacuation had to take place, although not on the same scale as the one in 1939. The government supplied Anderson air-raid shelters which were sunk into the ground in the back garden. They have enough room to house up to six people. By 1940 2,300,000 Anderson Shelters were given to families. A lesser known bomb shelter used was the Morrison Shelter. The Morrison Shelter was designed for people without a garden. It was similar to a table but in the event of an air raid people had to lie underneath it. As there were not enough shelters to go around, and they were not effective against high explosive bombs deeper, safer, shelters were needed. So in 1940 the London Underground was used as a shelter. At its peak 170,000 people were on it’s platforms sheltering. Everyone had to carry a gas mask with them at all times, even the evacuees in the countryside. This could be seen as propaganda as it can raise morale showing that the Government cares and the families will be safe in the shelter if an air raid happens.

Regardless of the fact the countryside was deemed safer on the 1st of September a ‘Blackout’ was put into force. This was a country wide rule which forced everyone to have thick black curtains put on their windows which stopped light from houses being seen outside by enemy bombers. This was to make the German pilots job harder to navigate and find good targets as they could only bomb in the night as it was safer for them. The German pilots also had to fly higher than they usually would have to because as an attempt to make the pilots life more difficult barrage balloons were deployed. It was a large balloon that floated in the air, it was attached to thick ropes, this meant if a plane crashed into the ropes or the balloon itself it would be damaged and crash.

After all this has been considered the British government thought that an evacuation was the best way to protect the younger generation, as a fail safe method to protect the generation would be to remove them from the threat which would ensure that morale in Britain would remain high continuing the war effort against Germany.

Best Educational Movies for Thanksgiving Lessons

Thanksgiving, as a holiday has some urban legends clinging to it. Historical inaccuracies distort our perceptions of Thanksgiving, the pilgrims (more accurately puritans), native Americans and 17th century life in New England. I’m not going to make an attempt to lay these inaccuracies to rest, because I’ll be the first to admit, I wasn’t there and I don’t know (even though I may look old enough to have sailed on the Mayflower and some days I feel old enough). Also, many able authors have explained the Thanksgiving myths much better than I ever could. What I would like to present are some films and movies which give what I believe based on research, to be a more accurate depiction of life in the early 1600’s. These movies, most of which are based upon works of literature will help students of history to form a clearer understanding of the era we refer to in American history as the ‘colonial period’.

The Scarlet Letter 1995:

Nathaniel Hawthorne was the most haunted of the transcendentalist authors. He grieved over his puritan ancestors harsh cruelty and rigid intolerance. This is one of his best works. Gary Oldham and Robert Duvall both give tour de force performances as Rev. Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. There are two steamy scenes and one nude male rump scene, so preview before showing in class.

The Last of the Mohicans:

(James Fenimore Cooper-book)Good book to movie adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s classic story of the French and Indian War.

Desperate Crossing:

The True Story of the Mayflower (2006) Highly rated historical drama. Available from local lending libraries.

Revolution:

(1985- Al Pacino, Dexter Fletcher) This movie has a low IMDB rating, but my husband and I found it one of the best movies to show what the American Revolution was like for the common man,not blinded by red,white and blue fever.

The Crucible -1996:

While not completely accurate historically, The Crucible does give a reasonable view of the Salem witch trials from the inside out. Stellar performances, also.

Light in the Forest (Conrad Richter):

Lovely story about a white boy raised by Native Americans and returned to his family as a young man. He must choose between duty to family and his love and loyalty as True Son, to his tribe. The movie is dated and Disney-fied. The book is more credible.

Squanto:

A Warrior’s Tale (1994) Another Disney- fied movie, it’s still a good story about native Americans and colonial interaction. Adam Beach is an amazing actor.

Amistad:

Not strictly about the native Americans and colonials, this is an important movie to help us never forget the atrocities that was wrought in this country through slavery. We must never forget the inhumanity that some of those ‘founding fathers’ whom we ceaselessly hail, were capable of wreaking on their fellow man. Very graphic scenes of brutality.

Sleepy Hollow:

(Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Walken) Now don’t laugh. The reason that I include this film in my list of Thanksgiving movies, is that the novelist Washington Irving gave us one of the best birds-eye views of life in 17th century Hudson Valley area. This movie contains elements of the supernatural and while it may seem that these are just cheap Hollywood theatrics, they actually reflect the superstitious nature of many New Englanders. North America was a wild untamed land and puritans brought with them many fears which they wove into their eerie tales. (see also Leather-stocking Tales of Hawthorne and Rip VanWinkle)

These films will help students form a better rounded view of the historical background surrounding Thanksgiving.