Henry VIII and the Church

 

King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) is famous for his six wives and his ambitions. He married Catherine of Aragon, niece of Emperor Charles V, who was ruler of most of Europe and the Americas. They had a daughter but not the son and heir Henry wanted. Henry asked the Pope for a divorce from Catherine, when his mistress, Anne Boleyn, became pregnant. The Pope did not answer, so Henry made the Archbishop of Canterbury give him a divorce. Henry made the Catholic Church in England independent of Rome. Parliament's Act of Supremacy in 1534 made the king Head of the Church of England, which became Protestant. This was popular with many English people who were already Protestant.

 

The Pope had given the title Fidei Defensor, Defender of Faith, to King Henry VIII. Henry kept this title, when he created the Church of England.

 

Henry's second daughter, Elizabeth I, became one of England's greatest monarchs. During her reign (1558 - 1603), England's sailors captured many Spanish ships bringing treasure from the Americas. King Philip of Spain, encouraged by the Pope, who wanted to restore Catholicism to England, sent the Spanish Armada. This fleet of 130 ships went to invade England in 1588, but it was defeated. England became the most important Protestant power in Europe.

 

Read the text to find out about the following:

a  Why Britain is a Protestant country.

b  The move towards parliamentary democracy.

c  The rise and fall of the British Empire.

 

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain. 21st Century Edition, Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 10