Ch. 2.4. The Tudor Dynasty, 1485-1603

The English Renaissance: The period during which the Tudors ruled England saw rapid economic growth, increased use of the printing press (invented in 1455), the beginning of the Age of European Exploration, and the spread from northern Italy of the elite cultural movement known as the Renaissance (a renewed interest in ancient Greco-Roman culture, new styles in art, etc.) throughout Europe.

Towards Absolutism? The Prerogative Royal Courts. Like other western European countries in this period, England emerged from the crises of the later Middle Ages with a stronger, more centralized government. The Tudor monarchs became so powerful that they were often able to act in very arbitrary ways. For example, they established new ‘prerogative’ royal courts, including the Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes and the Court of Star Chamber, which dispensed with juries and other protections of due process. Originally set up as courts of appeal for difficult cases involving religious dissenters or powerful nobles, these courts soon began using such arbitrary methods as secret indictments, closed hearings, forced confessions, and cruel punishments.

The Habeas Corpus Act of the seventeenth century would be enacted in part to outlaw these practices (see below); the U.S. Fifth Amendment also had these kinds of abuses in mind. However, the Tudors’ efforts to follow the kings of France and Spain in trying to create an “absolutist” monarchy never fully overrode England’s strong traditions of rule under law and of representative government through Parliament. Thus the Tudors continued to depend on Parliament for most of their financial resources.

The Protestant Reformation: The Anglican Church: The Tudors are also important for their role in the Protestant Reformation, a movement begun by Martin Luther in Germany in 1517 that led many regions and countries to break away from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1534 Henry VIII (1509-47) began England’s Protestant Reformation by renouncing the Roman Catholic Church and creating the Church of England, or the Anglican Church, with himself as its head.

Under his daughter Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), England became more fully Protestant, emerged as a maritime power (marked by the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588), and became more involved with the exploration of America.

Elizabeth I’s death without any direct heir caused the crown to pass to James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, the first of the Stuart Dynasty.