Henry VIII's Reformation - Revision history

Pberetich: /* Abstract */

2017-06-22T10:53:56Z

‎Abstract

Pberetich: /* Conclusion */

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‎Conclusion

Pberetich: /* Comparisons to other Regimes */

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‎Comparisons to other Regimes

Pberetich: /* Section 2: Deliverable */

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‎Section 2: Deliverable

Pberetich: /* Censorship of St. Thomas Becket */

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‎Censorship of St. Thomas Becket

Pberetich: /* Section 1: Background */

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‎Section 1: Background

Pberetich at 14:39, 21 June 2017

2017-06-21T14:39:34Z

Pberetich: /* Conclusion */

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‎Conclusion

Pberetich: /* Section 2: Deliverable */

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‎Section 2: Deliverable

Pberetich: /* Section 2: Deliverable */

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‎Section 2: Deliverable

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 My aim was to analyse King Henry VIII's personal agenda behind initiating the English Reformation in the mid-16th century. Starting out as a devout Catholic who would consistently defend the Pope and the Vatican, it is curious how he changed his mind so quickly when he wanted to divorce or annul his marriages. His greed and extravagant expenditure indicate ulterior motives when taking over the land owned by monasteries and appropriating their resources.
-By forcefully exerting his will on many pre-existing institutions, Henry was able to bend the people to his will and quell even the thought of violence against him. By executing his enemies with limited evidence, he showed them as well as his allies that he was not afraid to kill in order to pursue his agenda, and he had the power to do so. Not even those who had been loyal to him for years were safe if they committed any mistake.
+Through my deliverable, I analyzed how by forcefully exerting his will on many pre-existing institutions, Henry was able to bend the people to his will and quell even the thought of violence against him. By executing his enemies with limited evidence, he showed them as well as his allies that he was not afraid to kill in order to pursue his agenda, and he had the power to do so. Not even those who had been loyal to him for years were safe if they committed any mistake. Henry's successful power grab is comparable to those of modern history, specifically Stalin and his government during the 20th century.
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 =Conclusion=
-The English Reformation was not just Henry VIII's opportunity to divorce his wives, but a way for him to increase his power and wealth. By setting himself to a God-like level by professing himself to be head of the Church, his people feared disagreement with him should they lose their opportunity to go to Heaven. Dissolving the monasteries allowed Henry to quickly produce a large sum of wealth for his military campaigns, while removing any disloyal clergyman from power. And in order to really strike fear in his enemies, he needed to show that he was not afraid to bend the power of parliament to his will. He did this by drafting acts that furthered his agenda, and backed it up through fear of death. Should someone disagree with them, he could charge them with treason and execute them, so through this fear, parliament or his enemies remained quiet and submissive.
+The English Reformation was not just Henry VIII's opportunity to divorce his wives, but a way for him to increase his power and wealth. By setting himself to a God-like level by professing himself to be head of the Church, his people feared disagreement with him should they lose their opportunity to go to Heaven. Dissolving the monasteries allowed Henry to quickly produce a large sum of wealth for his military campaigns, while removing any disloyal clergyman from power. And in order to really strike fear in his enemies, he needed to show that he was not afraid to bend the power of parliament to his will. He did this by drafting acts that furthered his agenda, and backed it up through fear of death. Should someone disagree with them, he could charge them with treason and execute them, so through this fear, parliament or his enemies remained quiet and submissive. Henry was so successful in doing this that similarly successful military takeovers, even in modern history, were analogous to his.
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 ===Comparisons to other Regimes===
-Many of the actions taken by Henry are eerily similar to those of more modern regimes, that many consider tyrannical. One regime in particular that mirrors Henry's in multiple angles is the United Soviet Socialist Republic under Stalin. Even though Henry was religious and Stalin was atheist, they each had vital roles in shaping the religious future of their nations. The USSR under Stalin developed anti-religious propaganda and atheistic education in schools,<ref>Pospielovsky, D. V. (1988). History Of Soviet Atheism In Theory And Practice And The Believer. Springer.</ref> and was responsible for the execution of thousands of religious figures.<ref>Yakovlev, A. M. (2002). A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia, trans. Anthony Austin.</ref>
+Many of the actions taken by Henry are eerily similar to those of more modern regimes, that many consider tyrannical. One regime in particular that mirrors Henry's in multiple angles is the United Soviet Socialist Republic under Stalin. Even though Henry was religious and Stalin was atheist, they each had vital roles in shaping the religious future of their nations. The USSR under Stalin developed anti-religious propaganda and atheistic education in schools,<ref>Pospielovsky, D. V. (1988). History Of Soviet Atheism In Theory And Practice And The Believer. Springer.</ref> and was responsible for the execution of thousands of religious figures.<ref>Yakovlev, A. M. (2002). A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia, trans. Anthony Austin.</ref> The Dissolution of the Monasteries bears obvious similarities to Stalin's gutting of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also to Stalin's first five year plan, which involved the collectivization of USSR agriculture. This involved land-owning peasants giving up their land to the Soviet government. In an event akin to the Pilgrimage of Grace, these peasants began revolting against the Soviet government.<ref>Fitzpatrick, S. (1996). Stalin's peasants: Resistance and survival in the Russian village after collectivization. Oxford University Press, USA.</ref> This was likely a factor in the Soviet famine of 1932-33, where millions of peasants died of starvation.
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 <br><br>
 ===Comparisons to other Regimes===
-Many of the actions taken by Henry are eerily similar to those of more modern regimes, that many consider tyrannical. One regime in particular that mirrors Henry's in multiple angles is the United Soviet Socialist Republic under Stalin.
+Many of the actions taken by Henry are eerily similar to those of more modern regimes, that many consider tyrannical. One regime in particular that mirrors Henry's in multiple angles is the United Soviet Socialist Republic under Stalin. Even though Henry was religious and Stalin was atheist, they each had vital roles in shaping the religious future of their nations. The USSR under Stalin developed anti-religious propaganda and atheistic education in schools,<ref>Pospielovsky, D. V. (1988). History Of Soviet Atheism In Theory And Practice And The Believer. Springer.</ref> and was responsible for the execution of thousands of religious figures.<ref>Yakovlev, A. M. (2002). A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia, trans. Anthony Austin.</ref>
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 ===Censorship of St. Thomas Becket===
 Thomas Becket's removal from churches and literature also shows Henry's attempts to maintain the power of the King. Becket is known as a Saint to Roman Catholics, for his defiance against King Henry II in the 12th century. During the English Reformation, Henry had the excuse of his removal with the movement of iconoclasm invoked by him. However, he had a particularly strong motivation to remove St. Becket from manuscripts and the names of churches. He issued a Royal Proclamation demanding that Thomas Becket should "no longer be named a saint," and that "his pictures throughout the realm are to be plucked down and his festival shall no longer be kept, and the services in his name shall be razed out of all books."<ref>'Henry VIII: November 1538 16-20', in Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 13 Part 2, August-December 1538, ed. James Gairdner (London, 1893), pp. 353-369. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol13/no2/pp353-369 [accessed 19 June 2017].</ref>
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 =Section 1: Background=
 ==Introduction==
 ===Reformation’s sweep across Europe===

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-by [[User:pberetich|Peter Beretich]]<br><br>
+by [[User:pberetich|Peter Beretich]]
 {{Infobox
 |title = Henry VIII's Reformation

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 =Section 2: Deliverable=
-As a component of my deliverable, I also created a video profiling several monasteries during the time of the dissolution and what became of them. That can be seen [[Henry_VIII%27s_Reformation#Dissolution_of_the_Monasteries|here]].
+As a component of my deliverable, I also created a video profiling several monasteries during the time of the dissolution and what became of them. That can be viewed [[Henry_VIII%27s_Reformation#Dissolution_of_the_Monasteries|here]].
 ==Alternative Reasons for the English Reformation==
 While many historians enjoy analyzing Henry's scandalous divorces and women, there has been less talk about other advantages he may have considered during his reformation and takeover of the English Church. Admittedly Henry's sexual endeavors read like an HBO show, but some of his more horrible actions had little to do with his wives, namely the killing of monks, the executions of Roman Catholic protesters, and the diminishing of the rights of the people. All of these play as acts of suppression and tyranny, and were ways Henry could strengthen his grip over England.