A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

The Rise of England 179

The Rise of England

The consolidation and then the extension of the authority of the Tudor
monarchy facilitated England’s emergence as a power late in the sixteenth
century. From the reign of Henry VII to that of Elizabeth I, the Tudor mon­
archs held in check the great landed magnates, putting down rebellions and
extending the reach and prestige of royal government. During the same
period, the English state expanded its control over Wales and Ireland while
holding at bay Scottish threats to the Tudor dynasty.

The House of Tudor

Victorious in the long War of the Roses between the Lancaster and York

families, Henry Tudor, the last claimant to the throne of the Lancasters,

became the first Tudor monarch as Henry VII (ruled 1485-1509). Like

Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, the ambitious Henry VII set

out to make the Tudor state so powerful that it could resist any challenge

from noble factions and “overmighty subjects.’’

Thomas Wolsey, who was archbishop of York and adviser to the king,

brought to the Kings Council loyal officials drawn from the ranks of the

nobility and high clergy. These men met in a room known as the Star Cham­

ber because its blue ceiling, like the night sky, was spangled with stars. The

Star Chamber became one of the highest courts in the land.

Henry VII strengthened royal authority in England. He imposed tariffs

protecting the cloth and wool industries, decreed acts unifying weights and

measures, and put forth edicts punishing vagabondage and begging. He

reduced expenses by disbanding his army, while filling royal coffers by sell­

ing monopolies (the exclusive right to import and market foodstuffs or com­

modities). Monopolies were extremely unpopular, however, among the

middle and lower classes because they kept the prices of some products arti­

ficially high.

The king won the loyalty of most nobles. When selling offices failed as a

means of assuring compliance, he resorted to the sheer coercive power of

the throne. The Star Chamber enforced compliance, exacting fines and

sometimes arresting the recalcitrant for real or imagined offenses. Henry

obtained from Parliament writs of attainder and forfeiture, by which he

could declare anyone guilty of treason, order their execution, and seize their

property.

Henry VII depended not only upon the personal loyalty of local elites

but also on the efficiency and prestige of about 600 unpaid justices of the

peace. These men, largely drawn from prosperous landed families, dis­

pensed justice, collected taxes, enforced troop levies, and maintained

order. Their judicial authority covered every criminal offense except trea­

son. While maintaining a strong tradition of decentralized government in

England, the justices of the peace also strengthened the efficiency and