Anglais juridique.

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IMPORTANT CHANGES UNDER HENRY VIII

- Wales and England became a single legal unity

- The Act of Union 1534

- The Privy Council was established

- Like cabinet today

- Headed by the king’s secreatary

* Played a very influential rôle

* See Thomas Cromwell

- Nobles continued to lose power while merchants and the landed gentry continued to gain power

- The increased power of the monarch

- The Statute of Proclamations 1539

HENRY VIII- ABSOLUTISM AND REFORMATION – THE BACKGROUND

- Henry VIII (1491-1547)

- Thirsty for power and greatness

- Money spender (more revenues?)

- Concerned with succession (no male heir)

- seceded from Roman Catholic Church (Pope (pape) refused to grant him divorce) and put himself as head of the Anglican Church

=> Spiritual and Temporal king

THE POWER OF THE CHURCH

- Extremely powerful

- 1/5 of English land owned by monasteries

- Exempt from taxation

- Took their orders from the Pope in Rome

- Above the law :

- Clergy immune from prosecution

- Churches sanctuaries for people escaping arrest

HENRY’S TAKEOVER OF THE CHURCH

- In love with Anne Boleyn and desperate to have a son

- Need to have the Pope annul his marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon (mother of his daughter Mary) => Pope refused

=> secession

- 1534 Act of Supremacy : Church of England under King of England

- Significant for Parliament

* The first time it had properly legislated

* The first time it had got involved in religious doctrine

- He also dissolved the monasteries and took over their possessions

THE RISE OF PROTESTANTISM IN EUROPE

- It emerged from discontent with the Church

- Led by Martin Luther

- Challenged the church’s position

- Proposed a certain number of reforms to improve it

- The abolition of « buying salvation »

- The introduction of national langages as the langage of the church, rather than Latin

- Emphasis on reading the bible

- Less dependence on Rome and on priests

- Priests should be allowed to marry

HENRY VIII’S BRAND OF PROTESTANTISM

- It was « Protestantism Light »

- A lot of Catholic doctrine was retained

- Henry’s reformation has mainly political motives

- But it a process (processus) whereby religion became an important issue

-1534 Treason Act – made it an offence not to recognise Henry as head of the church in England

- It left England a divided country

- Orthodox Catholics were unhappy

- Orthodox Protestants were unhappy

HENRY’S SUCCESSORS

- Edward VI (1547-53)

- Pursued the reform of the church

- Mary I (1553-58) « Bloody Mary »

- Reversed the process by trying to reestablis the Catholic Church

- Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

- A prosperous period

- A period of religioud stability

- Act of Uniformity 1559

- Imposed Anglicanism

THE STUART KINGS AND THE BATTLE WITH PARLIAMENT- THE BACKGROUUND

- James I wrote about being a King

- divinely anointed

- absolutist monarchy

- The social classes that elected the H of C were becoming more powerful, wanting

- More power to the Parliament

- The two sides seemed destined to clash

WHAT DID PARLIAMENT AND THE KING EACH WANT ?

- King : new taxes

- Parliament :

- More anti Catholic laws

- Alliances with Protestant countries

- Control over how taxes were spent

-Limits on royal prerogatives

-The Selling of monopolies

CHARLES I (1625-1649) AND PARLIAMENT

- 1625 Parliament refuses to vote taxes

=> The King dissolves Parliament

- Tried to rule without Parliament through « forced loans »