King Henry Viii Cause And Effect Essay

In 1533 Henry VIII, King of England, divorced his wife Catherine of Aragon. This event in European history is seen as a scandalous and altering incident, which had many repercussions that stemmed from it over time. The divorce was a turning point in European history because it caused was a defining moment in the English Reformation, when the power shifted to the king over the pope, the religion of England was completely changed resulting in an era of religious turmoil.

Leading up to the divorce a number of things occurred to cause Henry to want to end his marriage with Catherine. First, Catherine had been unable to produce a male heir for Henry, which meant the crown would not stay in Henry’s direct line. Henry had also had many mistresses

that he had enjoyed throughout the years, but none like Anne Boleyn, who came to English court around 1523. Anne proved to be much different than the other mistresses of Henry and she also had an ulterior motive that would change England.
Anne, unlike the other mistresses, captured Henry’s eye and made him become obsessed with desire to be with her.

She did this by refusing the king’s sexual advances, unlike the other mistresses who had become pregnant after the king had his way with them, which led him to end their affairs. By resisting the king, Anne won over the king’s heart. One can see this through a letter from Reginald Pole, who opposed the king’s decision to divorce in the 1530s and eventually was exiled for his opposition. In his letter he states, “…miserably burning with passion for the love of a girl. …And in this passionate longing you responded mutually. In fact you surpassed her so that you thought it would be the greatest achievement of your fortunes, the height of your happiness.” This quote from the time period shows not only that the king was so obsessed with Anne he thought that he would be at his highest happiness if he was to be with her, it also shows that people from the time period did not agree with the king’s divorce, which made the divorce a very controversial event in English and European

history.
The opposition and controversy did not stop the king from divorcing Catherine in order to marry Anne.

Even though it was against the English religion and church at the time, Catholicism and the Roman Catholic Church, Henry divorce Catherine anyway. The path to divorce was tough for Henry. Problems started when Henry appealed to Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage. His stated that the marriage should be annulled on the grounds of Leviticus 20:31, “If a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an impurity; he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.” The pope had was indecisive about this issue for some time, as he kept procrastinating a decision Henry became more impatient.

After waiting for the pope to resolve Henry’s issue, he decided that he should not have to answer to the pope. In 1531 Henry had an assembly of English clergy declare him “protector and only supreme head” of the Church of England. This action made Henry more powerful than the pope and started the loosening the ties with the Catholic

Church.
After Henry was declared the supreme head, he married a pregnant Anne, in January 1533, even though he had not had his marriage to Catherin annulled. Thomas Cranmer then had Henry’s marriage to Catherine annulled in May, after he had been appointed archbishop. In Henry marrying Anne, regardless of his marriage to Catherin showed that Henry answered to none, especially not the church.
The divorce went through, and Henry married Anne as he wanted. After Anne came to power, she and her family started making major pushes for Protestantism. Anne’s brother, George, and father, Thomas had been well known at court for being Protestant pupils. Her father was even called, more “Lutheran than Luther himself” by Imperial diplomat Eustace Chapuys. By having a protestant family, Anne was influenced to help Henry make some major reforms in England and ignite the English Reformation.
An example of major reforms from Anne, through Henry, was the dissolution of the monasteries. Anne helped Henry create a policy that dissolved monasteries in England, she also wanted to annex the property from the dissolution for the relief of the destitute. The nobles were angered by this because they were originally supposed to gain lands from the dissolution. This is seen as the beginning of Anne’s dislike and downfall, by claims of incest and treason, to some. Anne and her brother were eventually executed by claims of incest and treason in 1536.
The divorce of Henry VII and Catherine of Argon was a turning point in English history as well as European History. Two very important events took place because of the divorce; the Act of Supremacy and the English Reformation. Both of these events impacted the people of England and the people of Europe forever.
With the Act of Supremacy, Henry proved that he was the sole power of England and the church did not have power above him. This shows England and Europeans who they were to answer to. No longer was the church the most important power, the King now was and later on in history, the state. The Act of Supremacy had a long term impact on governments of the world, one can see this today with governments striving to be as secular as possible.
The English Reformation was another important repercussion of the divorce. By Henry breaking from the church, the people of England were subjective to different religions, other than Catholicism. It also arose the question of, “what is our religious identity?” This religious question would haunt England until the Act of Toleration of 1689, which allowed Protestant rebels the right to worship freely. The English Reformation, effected England, but it also effected Europe because it questioned the Roman Church and added to the religious instability in Europe at this time.
The divorce of Henry VII and Catherine of Aragon was important turning point in the history of England and Europe. The divorce caused the Roman Catholic Church to lose power in England and be further questioned in Europe. The Supremacy of the King also was ensured because of this divorce. Overall, this divorce was key in the reforming of the Church of England and the monarchal power.