The document summarizes the key events of the English Renaissance period under the Tudor and Stuart dynasties from 1485-1625. It outlines the succession of monarchs from Henry VII to James I, highlighting some of their major accomplishments and challenges. Key events included Henry VIII breaking with Rome and establishing the Church of England, Elizabeth I's defeat of the Spanish Armada and expansion of the British Empire, and religious tensions that arose under James I between Catholics, the Church of England, and more extreme Protestants like the Pilgrim Fathers who fled to America.

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
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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
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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.