The Tudors and Stuarts

This section runs from the start of Henry VIII's reign in the early 16th century through the Tudor and Stuart monarchs, the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell's republic, the Restoration, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Henry VIII and Religious Conflict

After winning the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII centralised royal power and built up the monarchy's finances. His son Henry VIII continued this, but is best remembered for breaking from the Church of Rome and marrying six times.

To divorce Catherine of Aragon, Henry needed the Pope's approval. When it was refused, he established the Church of England, giving the king — not the Pope — power over bishops and worship. This coincided with the Reformation across Europe, as Protestants broke from Catholic authority, read the Bible in their own languages, and emphasised a personal relationship with God over submission to the Church. In Ireland, attempts to impose Protestantism led to rebellion and prolonged fighting. During Henry's reign, Wales was formally united with England by the Act for the Government of Wales.

Edward VI, strongly Protestant, introduced the Book of Common Prayer but died young. His half-sister Mary, a devout Catholic, persecuted Protestants and became known as "Bloody Mary." She was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth.

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I re-established the Church of England but avoided probing people's private beliefs, finding a balance between Catholics and Protestants that kept England largely free of religious conflict. She became one of England's most popular monarchs, particularly after the 1588 defeat of the Spanish Armada, sent by Spain to conquer England and restore Catholicism.

In Scotland, the Protestant Scottish Parliament abolished papal authority in 1560 and Roman Catholic services became illegal, though the new Church of Scotland was never a state church. Mary, Queen of Scots — a Catholic and Elizabeth's cousin — became embroiled in a power struggle after her husband's murder, fled to England, and was eventually executed after being suspected of plotting against Elizabeth.

The Elizabethan era was one of growing patriotism, exploration (Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe) and early colonisation of North America — as well as a flowering of poetry and drama, above all through William Shakespeare.

James I and Ireland

Elizabeth I died childless in 1603, and her heir was James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, Wales and Ireland (Scotland remained a separate country). His reign produced the King James Bible, still used in many Protestant churches today.

English control in Ireland expanded under Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth and James. Many Irish opposed Protestant rule, and rebellions followed. The English encouraged Scottish and English Protestant settlers into Ulster — known as "plantations" — with long-term consequences for the history of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The English Civil War

James I and his son Charles I believed in the "Divine Right of Kings" — that the monarch answered to God alone, not Parliament. Charles tried to rule without Parliament for 11 years, but trouble in Scotland forced him to recall it in 1640. Puritans in Parliament clashed with Charles over religion and money; when Charles tried to arrest five parliamentary leaders in the Commons, civil war became unavoidable, breaking out in 1642 between Royalists ("Cavaliers") and Parliamentarians ("Roundheads").

Parliament's forces defeated the king's army; Charles I was held prisoner and executed in 1649. England became a republic, the Commonwealth. Oliver Cromwell suppressed continued resistance in Ireland — a campaign that remains controversial there — and defeated a Scottish army loyal to Charles II at Dunbar and Worcester. Cromwell became Lord Protector until his death in 1658; his son Richard could not hold the role, and the country, tired of instability, began to want a king again.

The Restoration

In 1660, Parliament invited Charles II back from exile; he ruled with a more cooperative relationship with Parliament than his father. His reign saw the Great Plague of London (1665), the Great Fire of London (1666, after which St Paul's Cathedral was rebuilt by Christopher Wren), and the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 — guaranteeing that no one could be imprisoned unlawfully without a court hearing. Charles II also founded the Royal Society to promote scientific knowledge, whose early members included Isaac Newton.

The Glorious Revolution

Charles II's brother James II, a Roman Catholic, favoured Catholics for army positions and clashed with Parliament, worrying many that England might become Catholic again. When his wife had a son, raising the prospect of a Catholic succession, Protestant leaders invited James's Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange to invade. James fled to France without a fight, and William and Mary took the throne jointly — an event known as the "Glorious Revolution" because it happened without bloodshed in England and cemented Parliament's power over the monarchy.

James tried to regain the throne via Ireland but was defeated by William at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 — still commemorated by some in Northern Ireland today. In Scotland, an armed rebellion in support of James was defeated at Killiecrankie; supporters of James became known as Jacobites.

Check That You Understand

• How and why religion changed during this period
• The importance of poetry and drama in the Elizabethan period
• Britain's involvement in Ireland during this era
• The development of Parliament and England's only period as a republic
• Why there was a restoration of the monarchy
• How the Glorious Revolution happened