The document summarizes the history of the Tudor dynasty in England from Henry VII to Elizabeth I. It describes how Henry VII established the Tudor line and consolidated power. Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church after the Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, establishing himself as head of the Church of England. His daughters Mary I and Elizabeth I succeeded him, with Mary attempting to restore Catholicism and Elizabeth establishing the Church of England and defending against foreign threats as an unmarried queen. The document also briefly discusses the origins of Thanksgiving in the US.

1. TUDORS

2. HENRY VII
Henry VII (1457-1509) who
came to the English throne
when the Wars of the Roses
ended , was the first king of
the Tudor dynasty. He tried
to consolidate his position
through: a treaty with
France, a trade treaty with
the Netherlands; and the
dynastic marriage between
his son Arthur and the
Spanish princess, Catherine
of Aragon.

3. During his reign he turned
England into a modern
state which he
administered like a
businessman. He also laid
the foundations of English
naval power.

4. HENRY VIIII
Henry VIIII (1491-1547)
was Henry VII's second
son. From an early age
he was a known figure
at court , he was a
natural sportsman. He
was called the "Golden
Prince" both for his
natural good looks and
for his chivalry and
education. in 1521 he
was granted the title of
"Defender of the Faith"
by the pope.

5. After the death of his brother Arthur, Henry
married his widow, Catherine of Aragon.

6. In twenty years of
marriage Catherine only
produced a daughter,
Mary, and Henry
desperately wanted a
male. He began to consider
marriage to his pregnant
mistress Anne Boleyn, and
asked the pope for a
divorce in order to marry
her. when it was clear
Henry broke with Rome
and declared himself
"Supreme Head on Earth
of the Church of England".

7. This meant that he had the
right to appoint bishops,
decide on articles of faith and
impose his will on the
monasteries. The king soon
dissolved the monasteries,
taking their wealth, and social
charities -such as schools and
hospitals for
the poor.
Henry married Anne Boleyn in
1533, and she gave him a
second daughter, elizabeth.
Henry went on to have four
more wives in quick succession
and one son, Edward , from his
third wife, jane Seymour.

8. MARY I
Mary I (1516-58) was born in
1516, the only surviving
child of Henry VIII and
Catherine of Aragon.
Rejection by her father and
the cruel treatment of her
mother were to have a
fundamental influence on
her life . She refused to
abandon her own traditional
faith, and when she became
queen in 1553, she believed
herself to be the agent of a
Counter-Reformation.

9. This attempt to restore
England to papal
obedience, her marriage
to the Catholic Philip of
Spain and the burning of
Protestants, earned her
the nickname "Bloody
Mary". Mary's end was
tragic: deserted by her
husband ,without an
heir, her foreign and
domestic policies were a
failure, and her country
was still divided over
religion when she died.

10. Elizabeth I
In 1558 Elizabeth (1533-
1603), Henry VIII and
Anne Boleyn's daughter ,
became queen of a
divided nation. She was
twenty-five and had a
strong personality, a lively
intelligence and a
passionate character. She
had received an excellent
education and could
speak French, Latin and
Italian with ease, but
above all she was a
political genius.

11. As queen she faced the problems of marriage and
succession, religious division, domestic discontent
and foreign threats. Her Church of England
restored the country firmly to Protestantism, yet
she granted Catholics freedom of worship. She was
unmarried and used this as a political weapon. She
recognized Spain as her main trade rival and
enemy. At first ,open war was avoided and
exploration and overseas trade expanded, making
England a commercial and sea power.

12. English sea captains, like Francis Drake were
secretly encouraged by the queen in their piracy
against. They captured ships carrying. The English
Channel, but the English defeated the Spanish
Armada. Supremacy at sea enable Elizabeth to lay
the basis of England's empire.

13. With the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the Tudor line died out
and James VI (1566-1625) of Scotland became the first Stuart
king in England, with the title of James I. He was a Protestant,
and instead of bashing his rule on "the love of his people", he
based it on the theory of the "divine right of kings".

14. He believed that, as a monarch, he was the
representative of God on earth. He summoned
Parliament only to ask for money. He was
interested in witchcraft and the supernatural. As
in the early days of Elizabeth I, religion was the
most urgent problem of the new reign. Catholics
were barred from public life and were fined if
they refused to attend the Church of England,
extreme Protestants, called Puritans, disapproved
of both the rites and the bishops of the Church of
England.

15. These Puritans had a high sense of
duty and morality. So a hundred of
them, the Pilgrim Fathers, applied for
a government patent to colonies New
England. in 1620 they left England for
America on the Mayflower and
founded New Plymouth. King James
authorized a new translation of the
Bible in 1604.
This version would be heard and read
by laymen. the Protestant religion
actively encouraged personal
knowledge of the Bible, and this
version, the King would be used by
the Church of England for more than
three hundred years. in 1605, some
radical Catholics , led by Guy Fawkes ,
plotted to blow up the king in the
Houses of Parliament.

16. The origin of Thanksgiving Day
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by
the Pilgrim Fathers (early settlers of
America) in 1621 to thank God for their
first good harvest. They celebrated it with
the local Wampanoag Indians. Who had
helped them survive and taught them how
to plant their crops. That first feast lasted
three days and included a wide variety of
animals as well as fruits and vegetables
from the autumn harvest. Americans did
not all celebrate Thanksgiving at the same
time until 1863, when President Abraham
Lincoln declared the last Thursday in
November a day of thanksgiving.

18. Today Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the
fourth Thursday of November. There is no school and
most businesses close. Families and friends join
together to eat roast turkey with cranberry sauce,
potatoes, pumpkin pie and apple pie.