Distribution of seats

By the 18th century the distribution of House of Commons seats did not reflect the real distribution of population and wealth across the country.

Growing industrial towns like Birmingham and Manchester had no representation, but tiny villages sometimes had two Members of Parliament. The system was notoriously corrupt and bribery was common.

The Hundred Years' War: NOTE: large sections of this text are adapted from http://www.ehistory.com. See it for more details. What was it? The Hundred Years' War was a long struggle between England and France over succession to the French throne. It lasted from 1337 to 1453, so it might more accurately be called the "116 Years' War." The war starts off with several stunning successes on Britain's part, and the English forces dominate France for decades. Then, the struggle see-saws back and forth. In the 1360s, the French are winning. From 1415-1422, the English are winning. After 1415, King Henry V of England revives the campaign and he conquers large portions of France, winning extraordinary political concessions. From 1422 onward, however, the French crown strikes back. The teenage girl Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), a remarkable young mystic, leads the French troops to reclaim their lands. Here's the brief outline of events, with major battles put in bold red color: (1337-1360) King Edward the III of England, provoked by French attacks on lands he owns in France, decides upon a desparate gamble. He declares himself King of France, arguing that he can legally claim the French throne through line of descent via his mother, Isabella of France. In the French Salic law, possession and property can only be inherited through the paternal line. This means that only males descended from the sons on the king's side of the family can inherit the throne, land, or titles. However, under English law, possession and property can also descend to male children through the maternal bloodline. This means that males descended from the king's sons OR male children descended from the king's daughters have a claim to the throne. All that matters in English law is that the "the blood of kings" runs in the firstborn male child's veins, even if that blood does not come directly through the father's sons. (This tricky legal situation is what King Henry V and his counselors are talking about in Shakespeare's Henry V.) (1340) The Battle of Sluys. The young King Edward personally "jousts" with Spanish ships allied to France. (He rams the enemy ships with his own). He successfully sinks several boats (including the one he is riding in), but he does win control of the waterways between France and England, opening up the opportunity for landing ships on the French coast. (1346) The Battle of Crécy (the first major engagement of the Hundred Years' War): After the battle of Sluys, Edward III landed in Normandy in July 1346 with about 10,000 men. The French pursued. Edward III decided to halt near Crecy in Normandy and to prepare for battle the next day. However, the French vanguard made contact and started to attack without the benefit of a plan. The French made as many as 15 attacks and the English checked each one in turn mainly because of the English longbowmen. At the end, the French were decimated and the English had a decisive victory. (1347) The Battle of Calais. After the victory at Crecy, the English forces marched to Calais and began a successful siege that was to last a year. The French army tried to relieve Calais but retreated after finding the English position too strong. The English turned Calais into a operations base for further forays into France. It remained in English hands until 1558. (1348) The arrival of the Black Plague in Europe and England effectively puts a damper on hostile activities. England loses approximately one-third of its population; France loses approximately one-fourth of its population. (1356) The Battle of Poitiers (the second major engagement of the Hundred Years' War): After a break of six years, warfare erupts again when Edward the Black Prince, son of King Edward III, raids France in 1356. King John II of France pursued Edward. Outside of Poiters the forces met and the French dismounted and attacked. The attack almost succeeded but Edward was able to counterattack and break the French line. It was a disastrous battle for France--the King of France (Jean II) is captured along with about 2,000 members of the French aristocracy during the initial stages of the battle, and taken back to England. The English demand an enormous ransom for his return--equivalent to about one third of France's GNP. France is paralyzed without a king, and cannot mount an adequate counter-offensive until the 1370s. By 1360, Edward has won the naval victory of Sluys (1340) and both the early land battles at Crecy and Poitiers. France, overwhelmed, cedes a large part of its northern territories and shoreline to England in the Treaty of Brétigny (1360). In exchange, Edward gives up his claim to the French throne. (1360-1396) The French gradually regain most of France after England loses its two best generals, King Edward III and his son Edward the Black Prince. The two sides sign a truce in 1389, and extend the treaty in 1396 for 28 years. (1364) The Battle of Auray: The battle of Auray centered around control of the duchy of Brittany. English forces under John Chandos besieged the town or Auray. French troops were sent to break the siege. On September 29, 1364 the French counter-attacked. The attack was repulsed and the town surrendered. The leader of the French army, Bertrand du Guesclin, was captured and later ransomed. After the French King Jean II dies in British captivity, his son Charles V, the Wise, becomes King of France. He rules to 1380. Under his command, France regains much of its lost territory. (1372) French troops regain Poitou and Brittany. (1372) Battle of La Rochelle. Fierce naval battle. The French regain control of the English Channel, making it impossible for England to ferry reinforcements to Calais. (1382) The Scots, reinforced and equipped by the French, attack England. (1389) The Scots sign a truce with England, preventing further French agitation in the north for several years. (1392) Charles VI of France goes insane. (1396) Richard II marries the seven-year old Princess Isabella of France as part of peace treaty. (1405) French soldiers land in Wales to support the Welsh warlord Owain Glendwr's claim to the Princedom of Wales. They are initially successful. (1412) Jeanne d'Arc born. (1415-1422) Henry V again takes up Edward III's claim, and asserts that he is rightful king of France. The French are under the rule of the partly mad ruler King Charles VI and seem ripe for the picking under his disorganized regime. In a swift campaign, he takes Harfleur and various coastal regions, and defeats a French army several times his army's size. He forces King Charles VI to make him his heir. Henry marries Charles' daughter Catherine. Henry V dies in 1422, leaving a baby as heir to the English throne. (1415) Battle of Harfleur: Henry V landed in France with about 10,000 men in the summer of 1415. His first objective was Harfleur, a port town on northwestern France. The siege lasted for about a month and Henry marched into the town victorious but with his army severly depleted--mainly from illness. His next stop was to be Calais, but the French army intercepted him at Agincourt. (1415) Battle of Agincourt. After the successful siege at Harfleur, Henry marched his force of about 6000 knights, archers and men-at-arms towards Calais. During his march the French army of 20,000 was able to position itself between Henry and Calais. Henry used a narrow front channeled by woodland to give his heavily outnumbered force a chance. The French deployed in three lines. The first line of French knights attacked only to be repulsed by the English longbowmen. The second line attacked and was beaten back, their charge bogged down by the mud on the field. The third line moved to engage but lost heart when they crossed the field covered with French dead; they soon retreated. Henry was left with control of the battlefield and a decisive victory. He soon resumed his march to Calais. (1421) Battle of Beauge: Beauge was one of the first defeats for the English during the Hundred Years War. French and Scottish forces combine to raid the English possessions in Normandy. Thomas, the duke of Clarence, (Henry V's brother) attempted to intercept the allied forces. During the interception Thomas' cavalry outdistanced his infantry. The French and Scottish forces decimated the English and Thomas was killed. (1424) Battle of Verneuil: In one last attempt to dislodge the English from Normandy, about 15,000 French and Scottish forces attacked the English army of 9,000 commanded by John, duke of Bedford. The attack took place at Verneuil, about 50 miles west of Paris. The French and Scottish forces charged, but the English longbowmen cut them down quickly. About half the of the French/Scottish army were lost; the rest retreated. The result of the battle was that the Scots were removed as a major aid to the French cause. (1422-1453) War flares again. The English initially win numerous victories, but the peasant girl Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) appears, claiming to have had a vision from God. She puts new faith in the French armies and leads them to repeated victories against the English. By 1453, the coast of Calais is the only English possession left in France. (1428-1429) Siege of Orleans The siege of Orleans was the turning point of the Hundred Years' War. After over 80 years of warfare the French finally gained the upper hand with the decisive victory at Orleans. Thomas de Montacute and 5,000 English troops begin the siege of Orleans, the largest fortified position held by Charles of France, on October 23, 1428. William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, succeeded Montecute in November after he was slain by a cannon ball. The siege lasted months. At around this same time, Joan of Arc appears at the court of Charles. Charles allows Joan to lead a relief force in April. In May, Joan attacks the English in unison with a force from Orleans and she drives the English from their positions. The next day they abandon the siege; military advantage now lies with the French. (early 1430) Jeanne d'Arc(Joan of Arc) attempts to lift the siege of Paris. (late 1430) Burgundians (English sympathizers in Northern France) capture Jeanne d'Arc and deliver her to English courts. (1431) Jeanne d'Arc burns as a witch at Rouen. (late 1431) Henry VI of England crowned as king of France in Paris. Under his incompetent rule, France whittles away at English holdings in France. (1450) Battle of Formigny: After French victory at Rouen in October 1449, Charles VII continues the French offensive and presses the English back into the town of Formigny. French artillary blasts away at most of the English army and the English are badly defeated losing more than 4,000 men out of a force of 5,000. Formigny marks the end of the fighting in northern France. (1453) Battle of Castillon: Castillon is the final engagement of the Hundred Years War. After being driven out of Northern France the previous few years, Henry VI sends a new army to Bordeaux in Southwestern France He seeks to maintain at least some territory in France. In July 1453 the English forces attack a French force that was besieging the town of Castillon. The attacked is repulsed, the English are routed, and Shrewsbury is killed. Bordeaux becomes French territory and the final English survivors sail for home. (late 1453) Henry VI goes insane. By 1453, the coast of Calais is the only English possession left in France. It will remain in English possession until the mid-1500s.

The Wars of the Roses: NOTE: large sections of this text are adapted from http://www.ehistory.com. See it for more details. What Was It? The term to refers to a civil war or series of conflicts in England that lasted from 1455-1487. These thirty years of warfare were even more destructive to England than the Hundred Years War had been in the previous century. Most of the fighting in the Hundred Years War took place in France, which meant most of the military damage affected the French peasantry rather than the English. In the Wars of the Roses, most of the fighting occurred in England, and thus the loss of life and property was much greater for English citizens. It was a struggle to claim the throne between the families descended from Edward III and the families descended from Henry IV. The last Angevin ruler, King Richard II, died without an heir. He had been overthrown and murdered by Henry IV (i.e., Henry Bolingbroke, who was of the House of Lancaster through his father John of Gaunt). Henry IV's descendants and their supporters were the Lancastrian faction. The other branch, descended from Edward IV, were associated with families in the North of England, particularly the House of York and Richard of York. They are called the Yorkist faction. What's All This Stuff About Flowers? The exact image of warring flowers was a late invention, and the general idea of each rose being a factional symbol originates in Shakespeare’s day. In Renaissance literature, writers linked the House of York with a white rose and the House of Lancaster with a red rose. For instance, in Henry VI, Part One, Act II, scene iv, lines 25-135, Shakespeare depicts the minor lords as choosing their factions symbolically by plucking either white or red roses from a garden. The play dates back to 1592 or so. For instance, in lines 124-128, we read the following: Warwick: And here I prophesy: this brawl today, Grown to this faction in the Temple garden, Shall send, between the Red Rose and the White,A thousand souls to death and deadly night. Mind you, Shakespeare is being anachronistic. He’s following chroniclers like Holinshed and such who popularized the image of warring roses for Renaissance readers. In actual point of fact, during the late medieval Wars of the Roses, neither faction cared much about the roses. The red and white roses were only insignia worn as part of the household servants for the Houses of Lancaster and York. They were not part of the official coat-of-arms for either aristocratic house. The servants of each house wore emblems with these flowers on their liveries (servant uniforms). The phrase "Wars of the Roses" is even later. How Did It Start? The conflict began in 1455 when Richard, Duke of York challenged the current king's right to the throne. (This was not the same Richard as Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who becomes King Richard III later.) Richard, Duke of York, descended ultimately from the same family as King Richard II, whom Henry Bolingbroke (Henry IV) deposed. The king at the time was the Lancastrian Henry VI, a pious but weak ruler prone to bouts of insanity. He descended from Henry IV, our "hero" in Shakespeare's play Richard II. Richard, Duke of York, argued that Henry IV's descendants have no right to the throne because Henry IV usurped the position unlawfully. Richard's son Edward becomes King Edward IV in 1461 and Henry VI flees the country for nine years. What Happened in a Nutshell? Edward IV ruled for nine years without too much trouble until 1470, when Henry VI returned with an army. Henry VI briefly regained the throne in 1470, but Edward IV ultimately wrestled power away from him again. On Edward IV's death in 1483, his son Edward V was the next Yorkist ruler slated to ascend to the throne. However, though Edward was unusually precocious and capable, he was still a child. His uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester (the guy who later becomes King Richard III) set himself up as regent (temporary ruler) until the boy Edward reached adulthood. After doing this, Richard declared martial law under his "protectorate government." Richard of Gloucester sent young Edward and Edward's younger brother into the Tower of London ("for the princes' protection"). There, the two child-princes mysteriously vanished, presumably murdered. Richard then declared himself King Richard III as the next Yorkist in line for the throne. After all, he was brother to Edward IV, and all the male offspring of Edward were now out of the way. However, King Richard III's rule was troubled by rebellion on the part of the Lancastrian faction. While he had strong support in the northern regions of England, many southerners were outraged by the (presumed) murders of the fine young princes in the tower. The house of Lancaster continued its warfare against Richard III. The struggle ended abruptly at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 when the Lancastrian faction won a decisive victory. Henry Tudor, an obscure Welsh prince, raised an army to fight Richard III. The Tudors had blood-ties to the House of Lancaster, and Henry Tudor had a strong claim to the throne since most of the major Lancastrian and Yorkist candidates had killed each other during the thirty years of warfare. Henry Tudor declared himself King Henry VII. In the first few years of his reign, he eliminated all his rivals. He then married Edward IV's daughter Elizabeth to strengthen his descendant's claim to the throne. The marriage was a brilliant move politically; Elizabeth carried matrilineally the Yorkist claim to the throne, and Henry carried patrilineally the Lancastrian claim to the throne. Thus, Henry VII's children would have both Yorkist and Lancastrian blood. Their son became Henry VIII, and he in turn fathered Queen Elizabeth I, the illustrious monarch who ruled during Shakespeare's early career. Outline of Major Events: This bit is primarily interesting to military buffs and historians. It contains the outline of events, with the two major battles in bold red print. The most important part for Shakespeare students is the Battle of Bosworth Field (see below at year 1485), which is central to Shakespeare's Richard III. (1454) Richard, Duke of York, is appointed regent during Henry VI's insanity. (1455) Henry VI recovers his sanity. He fears Richard of York has grown too powerful, and he puts the Duke of Somerset in Richard of York's government position, and he excludes Richard from the Royal Council--at once limiting Richard's political power, but also alienating him from the king. (1455) The First Battle of St. Albans: This is the opening battle in the Wars of the Roses. Richard of York leads a force of about 3,000 on a march toward London. Henry VI moves from London to intercept the Yorkist army. Henry halts his march in the town of Saint Albans and waits. Richard attacks and defeats Henry inflicting about 300 casualties. The Queen and her young son Edward flee into exile. The Yorkist faction also kills the Lancastrian ally Somerset, the primary supporter of Henry VI. (1459) Battle of Blore Heath: After four years of uneasy peace, combat flares up again at the battle of Blore Heath. Over the past three years, Margaret of Anjou has maintained pressure to end Yorkist claims to the throne. Finally, Richard, duke of York decides it is time to act before his forces lose their momentum. He centralizes his forces around Ludlow and then attacks the Lancastrian forces. During the march to the concentration point, a Lancastrian general (Lord Audley) intercepts him; Margaret ordered him to attack the Yorkist army. The Yorkists win a victory. (1459) Battle of Ludford: After the losing the battle of Blore Heath, the Yorkist faction regroups at Ludford bridge at the town of Ludlow and starts to advance towards Worcester. They quickly fall back when they encounter a larger enemy force led by Henry VI. The Lancastrians take a position opposite the Yorkists across the Teme river. That night, a significant number of the Yorkist army deserts, leading to a full scale retreat the next morning. The catalyst of the defections is Andrew Trollope, captain of the Calais troops. Trollope switches sides after accepting the king's pardon. After the engagement, Richard returns to Ireland and the earl of Salisbury flees back to Calais in France. (Early 1460) Battle of Northampton: In June 1460, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, his father (Earl of Salisbury), and Edward, Earl of March (the future Edward IV) sail from Calais and land at Sandwich on their way to London. After waiting a few weeks to establish a siege force around a small Lancastrian army defending the Tower of London, Warwick marches north to attack the Lancastrian army that marches south from Coventry. The Lancastrian army learns of the Yorkist plans. They stop at the town of Northampton to build a defensive position. When Warwick arrives, he spends hours trying to contact the King and negotiate a settlement. Finally, around 2:00 p.m., the Yorkist force attacks. During the middle of the battle, Lord Grey, who commands a wing of the King's army, switches sides to the Yorkist cause. This is the deciding action; the Yorkist sweep away the Lancastrians. The king is now under Yorkist control, and in November he agrees that the Yorks are the rightful heirs to the crown. Many think this capitulation would end the civil wars; however, the queen is busily assembling an army in Wales to continue the struggle. The Earl of Warwick (known as Warwick the Kingmaker) captures London and turns it over to the Yorkist faction. (Early 1460) Battle of Wakefield (sometimes erroneously listed as "Westfield" in modern sources): Richard, Duke of York, travels north with Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury, to meet the threat of a large Lancastrian force assembling near the city of York. Upon reaching the area, Richard takes up a defensive position at Sandal Castle. For some unknown reason, Richard leaves his stronghold and directly attacks the Lancastrian force even though it is twice the size of his army. While Richard holds out for some time, he is eventually overwhelmed and his forces take a sound a thumping. Richard dies during the battle. The Earl of Salisbury along with York's son are captured and executed, marking the beginning of a less chivalrous form of warfare that lasted until the end of the wars. (1461)Battle of Mortimor's Cross: When Edward, Earl of March, hears of the disaster at Wakefield he decides to move east to link-up with Warwick in London. During his movement, he learns of a Lancastrian force located in central Wales. Edward decides to change direction and engage the enemy. His army of mostly Welshmen routes the Lancastrian army of mercenaries from France and Ireland and Wales. After the battle, Edward continues his march eastward to join Warwick near London; within two months he would be crowned king. (1461) Second Battle of St. Albans: On February 17, 1461, Warrick "the Kingmaker" positions his army at St. Albans (about 20 miles northwest of London). Here he waits for Edward's army, victorious at Mortimer's Cross, to join him. Before the Yorkists can unite, the Lancastrians attack. Warrick flees and leaves his hostage, King Henry VI, under a tree. (1461) Battle of Ferrybridge and Towton: On March 28, 1461, Ferrybridge is a small engagement before the larger battle of Towton. After proclaiming himself king, Edward IV gathers together a large force and marches north toward the Lancastrian position behind the Aire River. On March 28, the forces engage and the Yorkist army is pushed back; during the fight, their leader, Lord Fitzwalter, is killed. However, more Yorkist forces arrive later on in the day and beat back the Lancastrians. On March 29, 1461, the day after the battle of Ferrybridge, the Yorkist forces attack the Lancastrians in a driving snowstorm up a sloping hill at Towton. Using the snow and the wind direction as an aid, the Yorkist archers are able to shoot farther than their adversaries. The Lancastrians believe their best strategy is to charge like the knights of old. After many hours of intense fighting, the Yorkist line shows signs of strain. Fortunately, the Duke of Norfolk, John Mowbray, arrives with reinforcements and the Yorkist army defeats the Lancastrians. King Henry VI, the Queen, and their son flee to Scotland for nine years. Edward IV, Richard's son, marches into the city of York. On June 28, he is formally crowned king at Westminster. Edward IV rules England to 1483. (1464) To offset the political power of the unhappy Lancastrians, Edward IV marries Elizabeth Woodville, whose wealth and family connections make a new powerful alliance--however, his connection to the moneygrubbing Woodvilles also upsets some of his other allies. (1464) Battle of Hedgeley Moor (April 25, 1464) On his way to the border of Scotland to meet a group of envoys to discuss peace, John Neville (Lord Montague), brother of Warwick, clashes with a Lancastrian force of similar size. During the battle, the Lancastrian wings commanded by Lords Hungerford and Roos flee, leaving Sir Ralph Percy with the only holding force. Percy's troops are crushed miserably. Montague continues north and the Duke of Somerset leads the remaining Lancastrian army south to Hexham. (1464) Battle of Hexham: On May 15, after completing his mission at the border of Scotland, Lord Montague marches south and engages the Lancastrian forces at Hexham. His army rapidly charges downhill and crushes the Lancastrian forces. The Lancastrian leaders are executed, ending most of the Lancastrian resistance. (1465) Edward IV imprisons Henry VI. (1466) The Earl of Warwick begins to quarrel with Edward IV. Warwick feels the king "owes him," especially since Warwick was pivotal in helping him to the throne. He basically wants a puppet king under his own control. When King Edward refuses to obey, Warwick forms a traitorous alliance with Louis XI of France. (1467) Charles the Bold becomes duke of Burgundy. He is the chief rival to Louis XI. (Louis XI is alllied with Warwick, and Warwick is now enemies with the Yorkist faction, becoming a de facto supporter of the Lancastrians.) (1468) Margaret of York marries Charles the Bold. (1469) Battle of Edgecote Moor: After eight years of rule, Edward IV alienates many of the nobles including Warwick because of his marriage to Elizabeth Woodville and his alliances with Burgundy. In 1469, Edward rallies an army to put down an uprising in Yorkshire. A Lancastrian force intercepts him and swiftly defeats his army on July 26 of 1469 on the plains of Edgecoate. Meanwhile Warwick and Edward's brother, George duke of Clarence, have already landed from Calais and are on their way to join forces with Robin of Redesdale, the field leader of the Lancastrian force. After the battle, Warwick orders his brother, George Neville, the archbishop of York, to intercept and capture King Edward. (1470) Warwick switches his alliance again. He allies himself with the Lancastrian faction and wages war against the Yorkist faction. He defeats Edward IV, and he restores Henry VI to the throne. Edward IV retreats and begins rallying troops. Battle of Losecote Field: At the defeat of his forces at the battle of Edgecote Moor, Edward waits for another opportunity to strike. In early 1470, under the guise of putting down an uprising, Edward raises a new army and attacks the rebels at Empingham. On March 12, 1470, the king's forces win and the defeated rebels shed their coats to flee more quickly (hence the name of the battle). Edward was back in control and Warwick and George flee to France to make an alliance with Margaret of Anjou. (1471) Battle of Barnet. Edward IV defeats and kills Warwick. Henry VI dies, probably murdered.. (1474) In a tangled web of alliances, Louis XI of France (who was allied with Warwick previously and still has connections to the Yorkists) declares war against Charles the Bold in France. The Yorkist faction under Edward IV allies itself with Charles the Bold. (1475) Edward IV invades France to protect Charles the Bold, the one ally in France who acts as a check on the Lancastrian faction's allies there. (1483) Death of Edward IV. The child-king, Edward V, is deposed by his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Richard becomes King Richard III, rules until 1485. Edward V and his brother are murdered in the Tower of London. (1485) Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry Tudor (soon to be King Henry VII), Earl of Richmond, lands in Wales on August 7, 1485 to challenge Richard III for the crown. Richard moves to meet Henry's army south of the village of Market Bosworth. After the armies engage, Lord Thomas Stanley and his brother Sir William switch sides and fight for Henry. Henry defeats the Yorkist forces, Richard is killed, and Henry ushers in the rule of the house of Tudor effectively ending the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII spends the next two years wiping out any other claimants to the throne. (1487) Battle of Stoke: Many historians consider Stoke the final conflict in the Wars of the Roses, even though the 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field is the crushing blow against the Yorkists. A group of Yorkist loyalists concoct a scheme in a last-gasp attempt to regain the crown. Richard Simons, a priest, and others instruct a commoner by the name of Lambert Simnel to impersonate the earl of Warwick, grandson of the late Warwick the Kingmaker. Lambert claims he escaped from the Tower of London where the real Warwick is imprisoned. Upon his "escape," he is crowned king in Dublin, Ireland, on May 24, 1487. The new Yorkist group lands in England in June 4 and begins to collect an army of English soldiers and German and Irish mercenaries. Henry VII moves to intercept the force at East Stoke on June 16. He crushes the rebel army. King Henry's forces capture Simon, imprison him, and make him a servant of the king. King Henry's army ruthlessly kills all soldiers who fought for the Yorkist faction.

The five sovereigns of the Tudor dynasty are among the most well-known figures in Royal history. Of Welsh origin, Henry VII succeeded in ending the Wars of the Roses between the houses of Lancaster and York to found the highly successful Tudor house. Henry VII, his son Henry VIII and his three children Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I ruled for 118 eventful years.

During this period, England developed into one of the leading European colonial powers, with men such as Sir Walter Raleigh taking part in the conquest of the New World. Nearer to home, campaigns in Ireland brought the country under strict English control.

Culturally and socially, the Tudor period saw many changes. The Tudor court played a prominent part in the cultural Renaissance taking place in Europe, nurturing all-round individuals such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser and Cardinal Wolsey.

The Tudor period also saw the turbulence of two changes of official religion, resulting in the martyrdom of many innocent believers of both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. The fear of Roman Catholicism induced by the Reformation was to last for several centuries and to play an influential role in the history of the Succession.

The battle was over. On a stretch of high ground in the midland heart of the kingdom twenty thousand men had met in fierce, clumsy combat, and the day had ended in the decisive defeat of the stonger army. Its leader, the King, had been killed fighting heroically, and men had seen his naked corpse slung across his horse's back and borne away to an obscure grave. His captains were dead, captured, or in flight, his troops broken and demoralized. But in the victor's army all was rejoicing. In following the claimant to the throne his supporters had chosen the winning side, and when they saw the golden circlet which had fallen from the King's head placed upon their leader's, their lingering doubts fled before the conviction that God had blessed his cause, and they hailed him joyously as their sovereign.

The day was 22 August 1485; the battlefield was to be named after the small neighboring town of Market Bosworth; the fallen King was the third and ablest of English monarchs who bore the name Richard; and the man whom the battle made a king was to be the seventh and perhaps the greatest of those who bore the name Henry.

S.T. Bindoff Tudor England PROLOGUE: 1485

The very fact that Henry Tudor became King of England at all is somewhat of a miracle. His claim to the English throne was tenuous at best. His father was Edmund Tudor, a Welshman of Welsh royal lineage, but that was not too important as far as his claim to the English throne went. What was important though was his heritage through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, a descendant of Edward III. This descent from King Edward was through his third son, John of Gaunt. John's third wife, Katherine Swynford had borne him several children as his mistress before he married her. The children born before the marriage were later legitmized, but barred from the succession. Margaret Beaufort was descended from one of the children born before the marriage of John and Katherine.

By 1485 the Wars of the Roses had been raging in England for many years between the Houses of York and Lancaster. The Lancastrian Henry later took for his bride Elizabeth of York thereby uniting the houses.

The real matter was decided on the battlefield, at the Battle of Bosworth Field. It was here that Henry and his forces met with Richard III and Henry won the crown. (see quotation above) It was truly through the defeat of Richard and the 'right of conquest' that Henry claimed the throne. It was solidified however, by his marriage to Elizabeth of York, the eldest child of the late king, Edward IV.

The main problem facing Henry was restoring faith and strength in the monarchy. He also had to deal with other claimants, with some of them having a far stronger claim than his own. To deal with this, Henry strengthened the government and his own power, at the expense of the nobles. Henry also had to deal with a treasury that was nearly bankrupt. The English monarchy had never been one of the wealthiest of Europe and even more so after the War of the Roses. Through his monetary strategy, Henry managed to steadily accumulate wealth during his reign, so that by the time he died, he left a considerable fortune to his son, Henry VIII.

It could be debated whether or not Henry VII was a great king, but he was clearly a successful king. He had several goals that he had accomplished by the end of his reign. He had established a new dynasty after 30 years of struggle, he had strengthened the judicial system as well as the treasury and had successfully denied all the other claimants to his throne. The monarchy that he left to his son was a fairly secure one and most definitely a wealthy one.

Henry had seven children by Elizabeth of York, four of whom survived infancy: Arthur, who died shortly after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (a point of some importance during "The Divorce"), Henry, Margaret and Mary.

Henry VIII

If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for
any man to hold him.
- Sir Thomas More of Henry VIII

Prince Henry

Henry Tudor, named after his father, Henry VII, was born by Elizabeth of York June 28, 1491 in Greenwich Palace. Since he was the second son, and not expected to become king, we know little of his childhood until the death of his older brother Arthur, Prince of Wales. We know that Henry attended the wedding celebrations of Arthur and his bride, Catherine of Aragon, in November 1501 when he was 10 years old.

Shortly after the wedding, Arthur and Catherine went to live in Wales, as was tradition for the heir to the throne. But, four months after the marriage began, it ended, with Arthur's death.

A treaty was signed that would allow Catherine to marry the next heir to the throne -- Prince Henry. Until then, Catherine's parents,Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain would send over 100,000 crowns worth of plate and gold as a wedding gift and Henry would pay the agreed upon dowry.

It was deemed necessary for a papal dispensation to be issued allowing Henry to marry Catherine, as she was his dead brother's wife, and this marriage was prohibited in Leviticus. At the time, and throughout her life, Catherine denied that her marriage to Arthur had even been consummated (and given the boy's health, that is most likely the case) so no dispensation was needed. However, both the parties in Spain and England wanted to be sure of the legitimacy of the marriage, so permission from the pope was sought and received. This issue would be very important during the Divorce and the Break with Rome.

The marriage still did not take place however. Henry VII had been slow to pay his part of the arrangement and her parents were refusing to send the marriage portion of plate and gold. The stalemate continued until Henry VII died on April 22, 1509 and his son became Henry VIII.

Henry was just shy of 18 years old when he became king, and had been preparing for it from the time of his older brother Arthur's death. At this age, he was not the image that we usually call to mind when we hear the name Henry VIII. He was not the overweight and ill man of his later years. In his youth, he was handsome and athletic. He was tall and had a bright red-gold cap of hair and beard, a far cry from the fat, balding and unhealthy man that is often remembered

Henry's marital career is probably the thing that he is most known for. The story of Henry's wives is told on their own pages.

The Young King

Shortly after becoming king, Henry VIII took Catherine of Aragon as his bride on 11 June 1509. He inherited £1.5 million pounds from his father and succeeded in the first peaceful transition of power after the Wars of the Roses. Henry brought a youth and vigor to the Court that had long been lacking and Henry dreamed of glory beyond the hunt and joust.

Catherine of Aragon gave birth to their first child, a son named Henry after his father, in January 1511. The child died two months later, and was destined to be the first of many unhappy births the couple would suffer. Henry consoled himself by going to war against France, hoping to emulate his ancestors Edward III and Henry V.

Henry met with some success in France, but while he was distracted on the Continent, his Scottish brother-in-law James IV used the opportunity to attack. Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey led the English forces against James and defeated the Scots army at the Battle of Flodden Field. James was killed, leaving his infant son as the new king James V and Henry VIII's sister Margaret a widow.

By 1514, Thomas Wolsey had risen to power in Henry's court and was to eventually rival Henry himself in wealth and opulance. He builtHampton Court Palace, which he eventually "gave" to Henry as a gift as he began to fall from power in the 1520s.

[To be continued... eventually. Yes, I know I keep promising that, but Henry is proving difficult to write about!]

Edward VI

Henry VIII died in 1547, secure in the knowledge that he had left behind the male heir to the throne that he had longed for. Unfortunately, the boy was young, not even 10 years old, when he became king. His uncle, Edward Seymour became Lord Protector, and through Edward, sought to control England. Seymour's brother, Thomas, was made Lord Admiral and was an early influence on the life of the King's sister, the Princess Elizabeth.

Protector Somerset was later overthrown by John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who then took control as Edward's chief advisor.

Protestants in England were happy for the young king's ascension to the throne, but feared what might happen if the boy died. It was common knowledge that Mary, Henry's eldest daughter and heir after Edward (according to Henry VIII's will), would return the country to Roman Catholicism. To prevent this from happening, several of the nobles plotted to bring another woman to the throne in her place. Some rallied behind the other heir of Henry VIII: Elizabeth. Others looked to the descendants of of Henry VIII's sister Mary. The oldest of these descendants was the Lady Jane Grey.

Lady Jane Grey

It could be debated whether or not Jane should be included as a "Tudor Monarch" but her story is such a fascinating one that it bears telling.

The true tragedy of Jane Grey is that her death was through no fault of her own, but of the unfortunate fact of her heritage and of her religion. She most likely never really wanted to be Queen, but it was not something that was under her control. Her ambitious parents (Frances Brandon and Henry Grey), along with John Dudley, father of her husband, Guilford Dudley, sought to keep a Protestant monarch on the throne if Edward were to die without an heir of his body and to have that monarch under their thumbs. The best way to do that was to make their own children King and Queen.

Four days after Edward's death on July 6, 1553, Jane was proclaimed Queen of England. However, Mary, who was the rightful heir to the throne according to Henry VIII's will, was gathering support in Suffolk. She and her followers rode into London nine days later and imprisoned Jane and her supporters. Mary was the next Queen of England.

Jane and her husband were held in the Tower of London but were not executed until after a second ill-fated uprising in their name.

Mary I

Princess Mary by Master John More Images

Born: 18 February 1516 Greenwich Palace Proclaimed Queen: 19 July 1553 St. Paul's Cathedral, London Coronation: 1 October 1553 Westminster Abbey Died: 17 November 1558 St. James's Palace Buried: 14 December 1558 Westminster Abbey

MARY IN HENRY VIII'S REIGN

Mary Tudor was the only child born to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon to survive childhood. Had she been born a boy, it is likely that the whole of English history would have been different (but probably less interesting!).

Mary had a good childhood as a young princess, and was the center of court attention in her earliest years. But, as the years progressed and no little brothers followed, Mary's father began to look into the alternatives. Eventually, Henry sought an annulment from Catherine, and married his second Queen: Anne Boleyn. Mary was declared illegitimate and was to no longer be called "princess", but rather "The Lady Mary".

When Anne Boleyn gave birth to Elizabeth, Mary was sent to attend the new young Princess in her household. Soon Elizabeth would be declared a bastard as well, since her mother also failed to produce a male heir for Henry.

Shortly after the death of Anne Boleyn, Henry wed Jane Seymour, who sought to reconcile the King with his two daughters. Henry and Jane visited Mary and after, she wrote letters to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (her cousin) and the Pope stating that her parent's marriage had not been valid. [Mary was able to get an additional message to them, in secret, saying that she wrote the letters under duress.] After that, she returned to court, although her title of Princess still had not been restored.

In October 1537, Queen Jane gave birth to Edward, Henry's longed for son and Mary stood as the young Prince's godmother at the christening. The court was soon plunged into mourning as Jane died two weeks after Edward's birth.

In January 1540, Mary gained yet another stepmother: Anne of Cleves. Although they shared different religions (Mary was Catholic, Anne a Lutheran), the two women became fast friends and would remain so until Anne's death in 1557. Unfortunately Anne's marriage to Henry wasn't so long-lived and she was divorced in July of the same year.

Shortly after the annulment of his marriage to Anne of Cleves,Henry took another wife [now his 5th], Kathryn Howard. Kathryn was probably 18 years old, making Mary six years older than her new stepmother. Mary was apparently appalled at her father's action and there were come quarrels between Mary and Kathryn during the young Queen's reign. That reign turned out to be all too short, as she was arrested, tried and executed for adultery in 1542.

At this time of emotional upheaval, Mary fell seriously ill and may have been in danger of losing her life. Her father was concerned enough to send his own doctors to look after her.

Henry's last Queen was Katherine Parr, who was about four years older than Mary. They were married in 1543, and she survived Henry at his death in 1547. All three of Henry's children attended the wedding at Hampton Court. Mary was friends with her last stepmother, although they too had religious differences, as Katherine was a strong supporter of the Reformed Church.

When Henry VIII began to fall ill, he drafted his will declaring that Edward would be his heir and Mary was to follow him if the young Prince were to die childless. Elizabeth was also included, and she would take the throne if Mary were to die without an heir. As we know in hindsight, this is exactly what was to happen.

MARY IN EDWARD VI'S REIGN

Henry VIII died January 28, 1547, leaving his 9 year-old son as King. The young Edward was a supporter of the Protestant faith, although Mary seems to have hoped at one point he would see the error of his ways and return England to the Church of Rome.

Alas, this was not to be. She defied Edward's Act of Uniformity and openly celebrated Mass, which had been abolished. Edward and Mary struggled with this issue through the rest of the King's short reign.

Some time in 1552, Edward began to show signs of the illness that would eventually claim his life. He was reported to have a hacking cough that eventually resulted in him spitting up blood and tissue. Medical historians generally agree that he had tuberculosis.

Fearing Mary would return the country to the Catholic faith, powerful men in the realm, such as John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland andHenry Grey, Duke of Suffolk began to make their plans. Although they made moves to court Mary's favor, they worked secretly with their own agenda. Northumberland married his son Guildford to Suffolk's daughter Jane Grey, who would be in line for the throne after Mary and Elizabeth. By placing Jane on the throne in Edward's wake, they thought they would have a puppet they could control [although Jane seems to have had other ideas about that!].

Northumberland put his plans into action and convinced Edward to leave his crown to his cousin Jane.

MARY AND 'THE NINE DAYS QUEEN'

Mary realized that a plot was being hatched to place Jane on the throne. She had been urged by some friends to flee the country since they feared her life would be in danger. Mary knew that if she fled, she would forfeit all chances of becoming Queen and returning England to Catholicism, so she chose to remain and make a stand for her crown.

Edward died on July 6, 1553. Shortly afterwards, Northumberland informed Jane at Syon house that Edward had left the crown to her and that she was now Queen of England. Mary, meanwhile, was in East Anglia. Northumberland and three of his sons went to take Mary into custody. Mary was at this time moving around with a growing army of supporters. She knew that he must have confirmation of her brother's death, because it would be treason to declare herself Queen otherwise. She received news from a reliable source that Edward was indeed dead, and promptly sent proclamations throughout the country announcing her accession to the throne.

Mary went to Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, which was better fortified. Her number of supporters was increasing and Mary took time to inspect her troops personally. The people of Suffolk were flocking to Mary and many of the leaders who were supposed to take her into custody instead went and begged for her pardon.

By this time, the Privy Council in London realized their error in going along with Northumberland's plot and declared Mary the true Queen of England. She left Framlingham for London on July 24.

Elitzbeth I

Elizabeth I as Princess attributed to William Scrots More Images

Born: 7 September 1533 Greenwich Palace Became Queen: 17 November 1558 Coronation: 15 January 1559 Westminster Abbey Died: 24 March 1603 Richmond Palace Buried: 28 April 1603 Westminster Abbey

Elizabeth's life was troubled from the moment she was born. Henry VIII had changed the course of his country's history in order to marryAnne Boleyn, hoping that she would bear him the strong and healthy son that Catherine of Aragon never did. But, on September 7, 1533 inGreenwich Palace, Anne bore Elizabeth instead.

Anne did eventually conceive a son, but he was stillborn. By that point, Henry had begun to grow tired of Anne and began to orchestrate her downfall. Most, if not all, historians agree that Henry's charges of incest and adultery against Anne were false, but they were all he needed to sign her execution warrant. She was beheaded on the Tower Green on May 19, 1536, before Elizabeth was even three years old.

Elizabeth was probably at the royal manor at Hunsdon when her mother was arrested and executed after being at court for Christmas (and likely the last time she saw her mother). Henry had remarried and was eagerly awaiting the son he hoped Jane Seymour was carrying. As it turned out, she was indeed to bear Henry a son, Edward (future Edward VI). Jane died shortly after her son was born.

Elizabeth's last stepmother was Katherine Parr, the sixth queen to Henry VIII. Katherine had hoped to marry Thomas Seymour (brother to the late Queen Jane), but she caught Henry's eye. She brought both Elizabeth and her half-sister Mary back to court. When Henry died, she became the Dowager Queen and took her household from Court. Because of the young age of Edward VI, Edward Seymour (another brother of Jane's and therefore the young King's uncle) became Lord Protector of England.

Elizabeth went to live with the Queen Dowager Katherine, but left her household after an incident with the Lord Admiral, Thomas Seymour, who was now Katherine's husband. Just what occurred between Elizabeth and Thomas will never be known for sure, but rumors at the time suggested that Katherine had caught them kissing or perhaps even in bed together. Katherine was pregnant at the time of the incident. She later gave birth to a daughter named Mary. Katherine died not too long afterwards and was buried at Sudeley Castle. This left Thomas Seymour as an eligible bachelor once again.

Because Elizabeth was a daughter of the late King Henry VIII, she was in line to the throne (despite several attempts to remove her from the chain, she was in Henry's will as an heir) and was therefore a most sought-after bride. During the reign of Edward VI, Thomas Seymour asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, which she refused. From this incident, both Thomas and Elizabeth were suspected of plotting against the king. Elizabeth was questioned, but was never charged. Seymour however, after an attempt to kidnap the boy king, was arrested and eventually executed for treason. Elizabeth was reported to have said, upon hearing of the Lord Admiral's death (although it is probably apocryphal): "Today died a man of much wit, and very little judgment."

Edward may have contracted what was then called consumption (possibly tuberculosis) or had a severe respiratory infection. When it looked inevitable that the teenager would die without an heir of his own body, the plots for his crown began. Reports of the young King's declining health spurred on those who did not want the crown to fall to the Catholic Mary. It was during this time that Guilford Dudleymarried Lady Jane Grey, who was a descendant of Henry VIII's sister Mary, and was therefore also an heir to the throne. When Edward VI died in 1553, Jane was proclaimed Queen by her father Henry Grey and her father-in-law John Dudley, who rallied armies to support her. However, many more supported the rightful heir: Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Nine days after Jane was proclaimed Queen, Mary rode into London with her sister Elizabeth. Jane Grey and her husband Guilford were imprisoned in the Tower.

Shortly after becoming Queen, Mary was wed to Prince Philip of Spain, which made the Catholic Queen quite unpopular. The persecuted Protestants saw Elizabeth as their savior, since she was seen as an icon of "the new faith". After all, it was to marry her mother Anne Boleyn that Henry instituted the break with Rome. Because of this, several rebellions and uprisings were made in Elizabeth's name, although she herself probably had little or no knowledge of them. However, Mary sensed the danger from her younger sister, and imprisoned her in the Tower.

The story, possibly apocryphal, of Elizabeth's entry into the Tower is an interesting one. She was deathly (pun intended) afraid of the Tower, probably thinking of her mother's fate in that place, and when she was told she would be entering through Traitor's Gate, she refused to move. She had been secreted to the Tower in the dark so as not to raise the sympathy of supporters. That night was cold and rainy, and the Princess Elizabeth sat, soaking wet, on the stairs from the river to the gate. After her governess finally persuaded Elizabeth to enter, she did so and became yet another famous prisoner of the Tower of London.

Elizabeth was released from the Tower after a few months of imprisonment and was sent to Woodstock where she stayed for just under a year. When it appeared that Mary had become pregnant, Elizabeth was no longer seen as a significant threat and the Queen let her return to her residence at Hatfield, under semi- house arrest. Mary Tudor was nearly 40 years old when the news of her "pregnancy" came. After a few months, her belly began to swell, but no baby was ever forthcoming. Some modern historians think that she had a large ovarian cyst, and this is also what lead to her failing health and eventual death.

News of Mary's death on November 17, 1558 reached Elizabeth at Hatfield, where she was said to be out in the park, sitting under an oak tree. Upon hearing that she was Queen, legend has it that Elizabeth quoted the 118th Psalm's twenty-third line, in Latin: " A Dominum factum est illud, et est mirabile in oculis notris " -- "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."

Elizabeth had survived and was finally Queen of England.