conf. univ. dr.

Amalia Mrescu
Curs Opional Istoria Angliei
Curs nr. 6
The Tudors (3)
On the other hand, the Tudors did their best to bring Wales, Ireland and Scotland
under English control.
Henry VII was half Welsh. He brought many Welshmen to his court and named
his oldest son Arthur, in honour of the legendary Welsh king to whom he suggested he
was somehow connected. Arthur died early and Henry VIIs second son became Henry
VIII. He did not love Wales, but only wanted to control it and wanted the Welsh to
become English. He forced them to adopt family names by preventing Welsh names from
being used in law courts and on official papers. Between 1536 and 1543 Wales became
joined to England under one administration. The country was organized in the English
manner (into shires), English became the official language, Welshmen entered the
English parliament.
Henry VIII also wanted to bring Ireland under his authority, but he did not
manage because he tried to make the Irish accept his English Church Reformation. But
the Irish nobility refused to take monastic land and remained Catholic. The Tudors might
have given up trying to control the Irish, but they were afraid of a possible alliance
between them and the Catholic countries in Europe. The Tudors fought 4 wars to make
the Irish accept their authority and their religion. In the end, Ireland became Englands
first important colony. The best Irish lands were sold to English and Scottish merchants.
This colonization did not make English richer, but it destroyed much of Irelands society
and economy, laying also the foundations of war between Protestants and Catholics.
[Ireland was Celtic and was not invaded by Romans or Anglo-Saxons, only by the
Vikings and Normans.]
Henry VIII also fought some wars with the Scots, defeating them. The Scottish
economy was weak, the country was lawless, and the monarchs had to fight both the
English and the disobedient Highland clans in the north. They accepted Protestantism
because it meant that they could take over the wealth of the Church. But the Scottish
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noblemen were careful not to give the monarch authority over the new Protestant Scottish
Church. When Mary returned to Scotland from France as queen, she was careful not to
give the Church any reason for actually opposing her. But she made several mistakes (she
got married to a Scottish noble, then agreed to his murder, then married the murderer, was
imprisoned, left for England, etc.). Marys son, James VI, started to rule at the age of 12,
in 1578. He showed great skill from an early age, managing to remain friendly both with
the Catholic countries (France and Spain) and with the Protestant England. He was a
clever diplomat and brought the nobles and the church under his royal control. When
Elizabeth I died in 1603 (at 70), James VI of Scotland became also James I, king of
England, as her closest relative. He was accepted by Elizabeths statesmen.
At the beginning of the 16th century, most towns were actually large villages,
with their own fields and farms. But this began to change rapidly. The population
increased, and large areas of forest were cut down to provide wood for the shipbuilding
industry. The price of food and other goods rose steeply, while the wages fell. The
problem was that there were too many people and too little food, so living conditions got
worse and fewer people married. The people who did best were the farmers who had at
least 100 acres of land, but these were very few. Many had to steal in order to eat and
crime became an important problem. The fact that thieves (as well as homeless people)
were hanged did not solve it. There were many riots, but they were repressed. However,
in 1601 Parliament passed the first Poor Law, which made local people responsible for
the poor in their own area.
By using coal fires (instead of wood fires), the people of the period made greatly
improved steel, from which they produced weapons (muskets), but also knives, forks,
clocks, watches, nails and pins. Birmingham became an important industrial city. But the
smoke produced by the coal fires darkened the sky, and made the towns filthy and stinky.
Women in England had greater freedom than anywhere else in Europe. They had
to obey their husbands, but they were not kept hidden in their homes and were allowed
free and easy ways with strangers. Most women gave birth to 8 to 15 children, and many
women died in childbirth. Most of the children died at a young age. Marriage was often
an economic arrangement, so the emotional ties were often absent. When a wife died, the
husband looked for another. The unmarried women suffered particularly badly. They
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could no longer become nuns, so they could only hope to become servants in someone
elses house or to be kept by their own family. Many became beggars. Few people were
over 60.
But the living conditions became better with the development of the chimneys,
which made cooking and heating easier and more comfortable. For the first time, more
than one room could be used in winter.
Literacy increased greatly throughout the 16th century. Thus, by the 17th century,
about half the population could read and write. London English became accepted as
standard English, but the uneducated people continued to speak the local dialect.
The 16th century was the century of Renaissance, of great development in music,
painting and literature, of Shakespeare, Marlowe and Ben Jonson.

What was Henry VIIs connection with Wales?

How did Henry VIII come to control Wales?
Why did he fail in Ireland?
What was the reason why the Tudors wanted to control Ireland?
How did the colonization of Ireland affect the English and the Irish?
Present Scotlands situation in the period and the relation between Scotland and England.
What were the consequences of the increase in population?
What was the Poor Law?
What were the consequences of the use of coal fires? What about those of the
development of chimneys?
Comment on womens condition in the period.