Tudors and Stuarts

This page is about religion and power. The main question running through the period is: who has authority, the monarch, the Church, or Parliament?

Timeline anchors

The story in order

The Tudors start after the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII made the monarchy more secure. Henry VIII then changed religion in England by breaking with Rome and establishing the Church of England.

Elizabeth I tried to hold a religious balance. Her reign is linked with the defeat of the Spanish Armada, exploration and Shakespeare.

When Elizabeth died, James VI of Scotland became James I of England. The crowns were held by one person, but Scotland remained a separate country.

The Stuarts fought with Parliament over religion, money and royal power. That conflict led to Civil War, the execution of Charles I, Cromwell’s republic, the Restoration and finally the Glorious Revolution.

Test facts to know

• Henry VII strengthened central government after the Wars of the Roses.
• Henry VIII ruled from 1509 to 1547, broke with Rome and had six wives.
• Henry VIII established the Church of England when the Pope would not approve his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.
• Wales was formally united with England during Henry VIII’s reign.
• Edward VI supported Protestant reform and the Book of Common Prayer was written during his reign.
• Mary I was Catholic and persecuted Protestants.
• Elizabeth I restored the Church of England and sought a religious balance.
• England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
• The Scottish Parliament rejected papal authority in 1560 and Scotland established a Protestant Church of Scotland.
• Mary, Queen of Scots was Catholic, gave up the Scottish throne to James VI and was later executed in England.
• Francis Drake helped defeat the Spanish Armada and circumnavigated the world in the Golden Hind.
• William Shakespeare wrote plays and poems that remain central to English literature.
• James VI of Scotland became James I of England, Wales and Ireland in 1603, but Scotland stayed separate.
• The King James Bible is an English translation associated with James I.
• Plantations in Ulster brought Scottish and English Protestants into northern Ireland and had long-term consequences.
• James I and Charles I believed in the Divine Right of Kings and clashed with Parliament.
• The English Civil War began after disputes about religion, money, Parliament and control of armed forces.
• Charles I was executed and England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell.
• The monarchy was restored in 1660 under Charles II.
• The Glorious Revolution replaced James II with William and Mary and strengthened limits on royal power.

How questions may test it

• Match Henry VIII with six wives, the Church of England and the break with Rome.
• Match Elizabeth I with the Spanish Armada and a Protestant settlement.
• Identify Mary, Queen of Scots and James VI and I.
• Recognise Shakespeare, Drake and the King James Bible.
• Explain the Divine Right of Kings as a cause of conflict with Parliament.
• Place Civil War, republic, Restoration and Glorious Revolution in order.

Key terms

Henry VII, Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr, Church of England, Reformation, Book of Common Prayer, Mary I, Elizabeth I, Spanish Armada, Mary, Queen of Scots, Francis Drake, Golden Hind, William Shakespeare, James VI and I, King James Bible, Ulster plantations, Divine Right of Kings, English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell, Restoration, Glorious Revolution.