Why Did Henry VIII Make a Break With Rome?

(Notes-)
Also, he was in love with his mistress Anne of Boleyn, who was a Protestant and much younger than the Catholic Katherine. He figured with Anne that he could produce a male heir. Finally, Henry VIII embraced the new Protestant religion and declared himself head of the English church so that he could get this divorce. Imagine your ruler suddenly declaring that you had to change your religion. Henry's decision caused a lot of bloodshed over the centuries

MONEYHenry basically was in deep money trouble at the time. A split from the Church meant he got to ransack the Catholic monasteries, where monks lived. These were places of great riches and Henry got millions from the destruction of the monasteries.

POWER1535 Act of Supremacy - made Henry the supreme head of the church of England, this showed Henry's intentions were to increase his power -Act of privilege - prevented the pope controlling religious matters in England, so they were in Henry's control -Henry broke with Rome as he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn and have a son, which would provide a male heir to the throne of England which sealed the Tudor dynasty's power. All the people had to choose which religion they supported, even the Dukes and nobles. Previous Catholic men of the Church and nobles (Dukes, Earls, Barons etc.,) had to promise their loyalty to Henry. Those that didn't were either sent to the Tower of London and be headed or killed in some other brutal way. These became martyrs - Thomas More a great friend of Henry, was beheaded - so no one was safe. - (Use the Term Sovereignty It Means Power but Gets More Marks)

LOVE-

- Henry decided he didnt love Catharine of Aragon because she was not able to give him a son to take over when he died. -Divorce was the only way he could marry someone else and have more chance of being given a boy. - He thought it was gods punishment because he had married his elder brothers widow. - So he used the excuse and said it was an illegal marriage and for that reason he insisted a withdrawal from the Pope so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, who he had been having a useless affair with for 3 years.

RELIGION-

At this point in time, In Europe, a new religion (Protestantism) was out to confront the power of the Church of Rome and its belief. He then followed the new faith 'Protestantism' and became Head of the Church of England and also Defender of the new faith.

Consequences- (What Happened After)

After Mary died Elizabeth took to the throne - the "protestant princess" as supposed to guide in an age of acceptance. This is not exactly what happened. The country was technically Protestant and the so-called "good queen Bess" and her lifelong advisor Cecil managed to create an unbelievably effective set-up of spies around the country ensuring a defence against Roman Catholics to the throne. Elizabeth herself had a decidedly insecure claim to the throne - Henry had disowned her, and Elizabeth came to throne and ruled without ever changing it but she was also very careful - she locked up the sister of Lady Jane Grey in the tower for not asking for permission to marry, she also beheaded Mary Queen of Scots having offered her refuge after Mary was run out of Scotland. She then proceeded to keep Mary prisoner and finally behead her. Elizabeth put her name to the Book of Common Prayer but her own religious advice is unknown - she'd been protestant for Edward, catholic for Mary and Cecils hate for the Roman Catholics (Papists) probably kept her protestant for her own reign. Elizabeth was supposed to be a hopeless, short tempered woman who was quite hard and

very arrogant although she did forgive her assumed lover Robert Dudley everything he did to irritate her. She never married and died childless in 1603.

After Mary dies her sister Elizabeth took the throne. She was a Protestant and originally vowed that although the true faith was Protestant she would not kill anyone who was Catholic like Mary. Elizabeth was badly treated by Mary and that was part down to her religion as the protestant wanted her on the throne over Mary. But eventually even Elizabeth had to be stricter on religion as other kings and queens and there was always someone trying to take it. That's the simplest version of events Mary I died of cancer of the womb, having produced no heirs by her husband Philip of Spain, so her half-sister Elizabeth, daughter of the disgraced Anne Boleyn succeeded. During her reign Mary alienated most of the country and burnt protestants as heretics including three bishops at Oxford, she lost Calais and is generally considered to be an all round disaster. The alliance in Spain would eventually bring Britain and Spain on a collision course which Elizabeth would make capital out of, with a great victory in defeating the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth (Good Queen Bess) practiced religious tolerance which came as a relief after the Catholic tyranny of Mary and is fondly remembered as having ruled over a Golden Age. We have to overlook that she was directly responsible for the death of the catholic Mary Queen of Scots, although rather poetically when Elizabeth eventually died childless, its would be Mary's son James VI of Scotland who would succeed to the English throne (as James I).
(Mary tried to return England to Catholic rule, but was a failure. Her marriage to Philip II was

unpopular, especially after he did nothing to protect England when France successfully attacked Calais, which undermined the whole political rationale for the marriage. Mary's younger sister Elizabeth became Queen and set England permanently in a Protestant direction.