Tudor Dinasty (2)

Henry Tudor defeated the last Yorkist in the Wars of two Roses and became King Henry VII. He wasn’t a member of the royal family, so he needed to justify his dynasty and he did that whit propaganda like Shakespeare’s play Richard III. This dynasty lasted only three generation. Henry VII restored the reputation of the monarch as one who rules, not merely reigns. He encouraged the trade and the cloth industry; He expensed money for the building of ships and sponsored the voyage which led to the discovery of The North American mainland. Henry VII was succeeded by his son Henry VII; he was a typical Renaissance Prince that lived in a splendid court. The second half of his reign was dominated by the Reformation. He had six wives. After Henry VIII, Mary I became Queen; she was determined to restore the Catholicism. She earned the nickname “bloody Mary” because of the number of Protestants that she killed. Elizabeth I succeeded Mary and became England’s most popular ruler; her main achievement was the settlement of the religious question. She was well educated and cultured and her court was more brilliant than her father’s. She did and won a war with Spain. Meanwhile, explorations and overseas trade expanded, making England a commercial and seafaring power. Parliament had increased its role in the government because of the laws to create the Reformation.