The Tudors, James I

1. Performer - Culture & Literature
Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella,
Margaret Layton © 2012
The English Renaissance
The Tudors and James I

2. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
1. The Tudor Dynasty
• Henry VII (1485-1509)
• Henry VIII (1509-1547)
• Mary I (1547-1553)
• Edward VI (1553-1558)
• Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

3. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
2. Henry VII (1485-1509)
• Came to the English throne when the Wars of the Roses
ended.
• Had to deal with frequent conspiracies.
• Tried to consolidate his position through:
- a treaty with France, giving him recognition;
- a trade treaty with the Netherlands;
- the dynastic marriage, in 1501, between his
son Arthur and the Spanish princess,
Catherine of Aragon.

4. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
2. Henry VII (1485-1509)
• Strengthened the monarchy and turned
England into a modern State.
• Aimed at increasing and reinforcing England’s
trading position.
• Laid the foundations of English naval power
by increased spending on shipbuilding
England had its own merchant fleet
and extended its military power.

5. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
3. Henry VIII (1509-1547)
• Henry VII’s second son.
• A natural sportsman, popular both with the English elite and the
English public.
• Called the ‘Golden Prince’ both for his
natural good looks and his chivalry and
education.
• Granted the title of ‘Defender of the Faith’
by the Pope in 1521 for his Latin treatise
defending the sacraments.

6. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
3. Henry VIII (1509-1547)
• Married Catherine of Aragon who bore him a daughter, Mary.
• Asked the Pope for a divorce to marry his pregnant mistress Anne
Boleyn.
• Broke with Rome when the Pope refused and
declared himself ‘Supreme Head of the
Church of England’ with the Act of Supremacy
(1534).
• Dissolved the monasteries, taking their wealth.
• Ireland remained a Catholic country.Beginning of the Irish
question.

7. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
3. Henry VIII (1509-1547)
• Anne Boleyn gave him a second daughter, Elizabeth.
• She was tried and executed for treason in 1536.
• Henry went on to have
four more wives and
one son, Edward, later
Edward VI, from Jane
Seymour.

8. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
4. Edward VI (1547-1553)
• The son of Jane Seymour and Henry VIII.
• Made Protestant doctrine more fully accepted.
• Used some of the confiscated wealth
of convents to build schools.
• Replaced the old Latin with The Book
of Common Prayer in English.

9. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
5. Mary I (1547-1553)
• The daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine
of Aragon.
• Refused to abandon the Catholic faith.
• Tried to restore England to papal
obedience.
• Married the Catholic Philip of Spain.
• The burning of Protestants earned her the nickname
‘Bloody Mary’ and alienated public opinion.
• Died without an heir.

10. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
6. Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
• Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s daughter.
• Became queen of a divided nation, the majority of which
was anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish.
• She was twenty-five and had a strong
personality, a lively intelligence and a
passionate character.
• She had received an excellent
education: she could speak French,
Latin and Italian.

11. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
6. Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
• Her Church of England restored the country firmly to
Protestantism, yet she granted Catholics freedom of
worship.
• Was unmarried and used this as
a political weapon.
• Said that ‘the Queen was married
to her people’ and became the
‘Virgin Queen’.

12. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
6. Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
• Went on royal progresses to be seen and to get
to know her people.
• Inspired literature, music, drama and
poetry.
• Recognised Spain as her main trade
rival and enemy.
• Expanded exploration and overseas
trade.

13. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
6. Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
• Encouraged sea-captains Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh
in their piracy against Spanish ships and took a share of the
profits.
• Defeated the Spanish Armada in
1588.
• Laid the basis of England’s empire
chartering seven companies – including
the East India Company – to colonise in
the name of trade.

14. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
7. James I (1603-1625)
• Elizabeth died in 1603 without heirs.
• James VI of Scotland became the first Stuart king in
England with the title of James I.
• Was a Protestant.
• Summoned Parliament only to ask for money.
• Interested in witchcraft.
• In his treatise Daemonologie (1597) he
declared his belief in black magic.
• Based his rule on the theory of the
‘divine right of kings’.

15. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
8. James I and the Puritans
• Religion was the most urgent problem of his
reign.
• Catholics barred from public life and fined if
they refused to attend the Church of England.
• Extreme Protestants, called Puritans,
disapproved of the rites and bishops of the Church
of England.

16. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
8. James I and the Puritans
• Puritans had a high sense of duty and morality
• A hundred of them – the Pilgrim Fathers – applied for a
government patent to colonise New England
• In 1620 they left
England for America on
the Mayflower and
founded New
Plymouth.

17. The English Renaissance: The Tudors and James I
Performer - Culture & Literature
8. The Gunpowder Plot
• James I authorised a new translation of the Bible in 1604.
• In 1605 some radical Catholics plotted to blow up the king
in the Houses of Parliament.