Henry VII: A Tudor Monarch's Power Struggle

Contention plagued the English monarchy for several decades. The struggle for power was relentless. The War of Roses ran rampant for many years as the Houses of York and Lancaster collided. This all came to an end when Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle on Bosworth Field. In order to further solidify himself as King, Henry married Elizabeth of York. This ended a long raging conflict between the two houses, and established the first Tudor monarch. The end of war did not mean that the fight was over. Following his victory, Henry was faced with many issues. The strength of the monarchy, faith from his citizens, and the much depleted treasury. Henry VII, in order to strengthen his kingdom completely overhauled his government. The strongest course of action taken was decreasing power amongst nobility. Henry appointed important government officials based on merit despite their birthright. Decreasing power

within the nobility, strengthened his power against other claimants to the English throne.
Restoring and sustaining balance to his throne was one of the few major issues that Henry VII was left to deal with. Financially the English monarch was essentially bankrupt. Henry restored the Chamber in place of the Exchequer for financial administration. Henry’s success in rebuilding the treasury was partially accredited to Sir Reginald Bray. Bray was well renowned for his ability to administer royal estates. Sir John Heron was also employed as a part of Henry’s Privy Chamber. Bray and Heron had a well-established working relationship. Their goal entirely was to efficiently manage the king’s estates and wealth. The well depleted fortunes of the English monarch was rebuilt by Henry VII through his forms of revenue such as tax by Parliament, custom dues, feudal taxes, and crown lands. By the time of his death, Henry had rebuilt the practically bankrupt English monarchy and left a well secured throne filled of wealth for his successor Henry VIII.
It is hard to conclude that Henry VII is a good king, but it is very apparent that he was a successful king. He ended a three decade conflict of powers, replenished a dying treasury, and established the Tudor dynasty. Fundamentally, Henry VII rebuilt a broken kingdom.
Henry VIII was the successor of his father’s throne once his older brother Arthur died. Henry VIII is perhaps one of the more controversial Tudor of the five Tudor monarchs. Henry VIII succeeded as well as failed in certain aspects of his life and reign. When Henry become crowned king after his father’s death, he had inherited a problem free throne. In analyzing the reign of Henry VIII it is important to separate personal opinions on him as a person. What did Henry VIII take from or contribute to England while in power? Henry is most notable for his many marriages and executed wives, but in this scandal Henry also had many accomplishments. His accomplishments ranged from Political, Religious, and Military. Much like his father Henry sought to decrease the power of the nobles. He effectively increased the power of Parliament and the monarchy. Under The Act of Appeals in 1533, Henry managed to transfer a majority of power from Church to himself and his court. This would later contributed to England’s constitutional development. Although his marriages is remembered for their negative impacts, the foundation lead to great political gain such as alliance with Spain and Germany.
Henry’s military accomplishment was equally as impressive as his political accomplishments. One of the biggest invasion of France took place under Henry VIII’s reign. The defeat of Scotland in 1514 also takes place under Henry VIII’s reign. Henry would eventually gain the title, “Father of the English Navy.” The title was given to him as he effectively increased the English Navy from a mere handful of ships to nearly 60 ships. However, his military conquest was not without problems. It costed the English treasury immensely to fund Henry’s wars and military advancement. The Mary Rose, known as the first English gunship hosted a very sophisticated amount of materials. Henry also built an impressive fortress amongst the coast to ward off potential threats to England. His military feat although great were costly.
The large sum of money that Henry VIII gained in his reign could be attributed to one of the biggest Religious reformation to ever take place. The break from the Roman Catholic Church, and founding of The Church of England. Once hailed as, “Defender of Faith.” Henry would turn on the church when The Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Under the influence of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII would transform England from a Catholic country to a Protestant one. Albeit a very contentious action had many benefits for England as a country. The dissolution of church and monasteries would free up and land and other wealth, which fell to the English treasury. Financially, the dissolution of churches and monasteries doubled the wealth of England for many years.
Admittedly, Henry’s course of actions were unpopular with many. Nonetheless, his actions gave England its own identity apart from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry’s successor Edward VI would continue Henry’s Protestant ideology.
It is debatable whether Edward VI was a Protestant by his own choice. His upbringing is filled with Protestant influence. Edward continued to weave his father’s web of a Protestant country by punishing Catholic bishops and followers. Under his reign a new prayer book is introduced to England, and Church services were held in the English language. Edward was very young and susceptible to influences by his mother and uncle. Edward VI due to his age and lack thereof experience would make him vulnerable to poor decisions such as naming Jane Grey as his heir. Unfortunately, after Edward’s death Jane was beheaded and the rightful heir Mary would become the rightful queen of England.
Mary, much like her father is one of the most controversial monarchs of the five Tudors. Mary completely overhauled her father’s religious ideas and attempted to salvage the Catholic faith. Mary restored The Pope as head of church, reverted church services back to Latin, and burned 300 Protestants to death at the stake. This would earn her the title of, “Bloody Mary.” During this time many Protestants would flee England. Mary had completely usurped the changes her father and brother made towards Protestantism.
Mary would however accomplish many economical feats for England such as trade routes to Africa. Under Mary’s reign The Book of Rates was introduced. This was a moot accomplishment in Mary’s reign, but would immensely benefit Elizabeth.
Unlike her predecessors, Elizabeth I accomplished more within her reign.

Like her father Elizabeth took England into a different direction. She would be attributed for many advancements in the English kingdom. Under Elizabeth Arts flourished, exploration heightened, literature increased, and foreign trade succeeded. Elizabeth like her grandfather won the hearts of her subjects. Perhaps one of the more outstanding accomplishments in Elizabeth’s reign is peace. Although she was raised Protestant, unlike her brother she did not condemn and punish Catholics. She took a more peaceful approached and tried to bridge a barrier amongst Protestant and Catholics that allowed them to live in peace. Elizabeth may have had many intelligent advisors, but she did not allow herself to be dominated and repressed. Equally intelligent, Elizabeth was able to further support the suffering of her kingdom. She failed to supply proper income to fund her wars, but she was able to sustain the wealth within her own kingdom. This alone made Elizabeth the final Tudor, a successful

queen.