English King Henry VIII became famous not for the simple fact of being a king, but for his controversial marriages in search of the long-awaited heir. Born June 28, 1491, he was the sixth child of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The second monarch of the Tudor dynasty exercised extensive political power, among the main measures of his government, the break with the Catholic Church and the creation of a new religion, the Anglicanism.
The beginning of the controversy with Catholicism came in his first marriage to the Spanish Catherine of Aragon. The English king wanted a boy to be his successor to the throne, however, his first wife gave birth to a girl whose name was Mary. This led the English king to look for a new wife to marry again and achieve his goal of an heir. However, for Henry to be able to divorce, he would have to obtain permission from Pope Clement VII. This moment was known as the “Real Question”.
The main reason, historians say, why the pope did not allow divorce from the king was the fact that Catherine was the aunt of Emperor Charles V, who supported the Church in fighting the Lutherans. Even not obtaining the pope's permission, Henry VIII took the initiative and, in 1534, the parliament proclaimed the act of supremacy in which the English king created the Anglican religion under his power. That done, Henry VIII obtained a divorce and married Anne Boleyn, with whom he hoped to have an heir. However, she, like his first wife, gave him a daughter whose name was
Elizabeth. As he had not yet managed to have a boy, Henry VIII, in the pursuit of his goal, accused Ana of adultery and she was eventually killed on that charge, giving Henry the opportunity to marry again. Thus, the king married Jane Seymour, who even dying after childbirth, generated Edward I, the long-awaited son and successor to the throne.When Elizabeth turned 13 years old, Henry VIII died and as expected, her son Edward I assumed the throne at just nine years of age. However, the new king's health was vulnerable, and in 1553 he died of tuberculosis. In this case, the rightful successor was Mary, Henry's first daughter by Catherine. Assuming the throne amid controversy for being Catholic, Mary married Philip II, King of Spain, in 1554, and had those who were against his government chased and burned at the stake.
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Several countries in Europe have faced real crises in relation to the religious reforms that are taking place. spread across the old continent, among them, we can highlight Lutheranism, in Germany, and Calvinism, in Switzerland. Amidst this scene of struggle between Catholics and reformers, the current English queen suspected that her sister, Elizabeth, was encouraging revolts against her government and therefore gave the order to arrest her in the tower of London. However, Mary died in 1558 and the right to the throne remained with Elizabeth. Surprising in her government, the new queen adopted measures to improve the English economy and also to prevent possible invasions by enemy countries.
Among the important characteristics of Elizabeth's government, investments in English industry, economic expansion through the Companhia das Índias and the development in the field of Arts and Literature, such as the publication of novels by some authors, including William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser and Christopher Marlowe. With these attitudes, the English queen inaugurated a golden moment for her nation.
In addition, the reign of Queen Elizabeth (1533 – 1603) she stood out for the support she received from her subjects and for complementing the reformist work of her father Henry VIII, demanding that the Anglicanism was taken again as the official religion of England, as its predecessor had placed Catholicism at the forefront. religion. In addition, she took pragmatic measures trying to assimilate characteristics also of Calvinism so as not to divide the kingdom for reasons of belief, established agreements to avoid possible conflicts and gave a voice to Catholics in parliament so that there would not be a war civil. Even so, there were religious clashes with Catholics, such as the one in 1569, which was violently punished. Queen Elizabeth, in addition to facing a delicate relationship with the Catholic Church, had a tough confrontation imposed by the Spanish King Felipe II, who ended up losing the war. The conflict was known by the British government as “protestant punishment” to the Spaniards.
Also known as the virgin queen, Elizabeth, who never married or left heirs, remained in power until her death in 1603, ending the Tudor dynasty. During her period of government, the Catholic Church adopted a series of counter-reformist measures, such as the Council of Trent elaborated by Pope Paul III. These Catholic measures were a way to combat the advance of religions such as Calvinism and Anglicanism.
By Fabricio Santos
Graduated in History
