648 



ENGLAND. 



. 



I..J al- 



1SOO. 







,| .].<. 



1W3. 



Arrival of 

 ihc king of 

 'ti)c in 

 KngUnd, 

 1.506. 



Sickness of 

 the long. 



Hit death, 

 ?2d April, 

 1509. 



HU chanc- 

 ier. 



land ; but as the royal bride was only in the eleventh 

 year of her age, the marriage was not consummated till 

 three years afterwards. A similar connection, which 

 had long been negotiating between Arthur, Prince of 

 Wales, and the Princess Catherine, third daughter of 

 Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, was concluded about 

 the same time, and the marriage celebrated with great 

 pomp about the end of the year 1501. These two 

 matches were afterwards productive of the most import- 

 ant cvuits ; the former laying the foundation for the fu- 

 ture union of the English and Scottish crowns ; and the 

 latter proving a remote occasion of the reformation of 

 religion in Christendom. Prince Arthur sickened and 

 in 1 1 a few months after his marriage; but his father, 

 still desirous to continue his alliance with the royal fa- 

 mily of Sp.un, after procuring the pope's dispensation, 

 obliged his second son Henry, whom he created Prince 

 . i U ales, to be contracted to the infanta. During these 

 more prosperous incidents, the queen died in childbed, 

 and the child survived her only a few days ; but, as she 

 had never gained the affections of her husband, though 

 deservedly the favourite of the nation, it was not suppo- 

 sed that her death made much impression upon the 

 king j and he soon after began to lay plans for a second 

 marriage. He first turned his thoughts to the Queen 

 Dowager of Naples ; but, hearing that her dower was 

 diminished, he abandoned all further pursuit. In 1506, 

 Philip, Archduke of Austria, who had married Joan, 

 heiress of Castile, having embarked with his consort for 

 Spain, was driven by a storm into the port of Wey- 

 mouth, and was received by Henry with every possible 

 demonstration of respect. Ever watchful how to draw 

 advantage from every incident, he first prevailed upon 

 Philip to conclude a more favourable commercial trea- 

 ty, than that which hitherto existed between the Eng- 

 lish and the Low Countries, and next negociated a lu- 

 crative matrimonial alliance between himself and Philip's 

 sister, Margaret, Duchess Dowager of Savoy. But the 

 accomplishment of this intended connection was prevent- 

 ed by Henry's declining health, and by the commence- 

 ment of a disease which soon terminated in his dissolu- 

 tion. In the view of approaching death, the king ap- 

 plied himself with much earnestness to acts of justice, 

 piety, and mercy; and had recourse to many of those 

 superstitious practices, which were then held most effi- 

 cacious for conciliating the favour of heaven. He paid 

 the debts of all persons in London who were imprisoned 

 for small sums ; and, with the exception of a few of the 

 more aggravated cases, issued a general pardon to all 

 criminals. He directed 2000 masses to be said for his 

 soul within a month after his decease ; distributed alms 

 to paupers and prisoners, upon condition that they pray- 

 ed fervently for his future felicity ; and constituted com- 

 missioners, to make restitution to all whom he had inju- 

 red or oppressed. He expired in his favourite palace at 

 Richmond, in the 54th year of his age, and the 24th 

 of his rei^n. 



Henry VII. was, in stature, above the middle size, 

 and though of a slender form, yet strong and active. His 

 deportment was grave and stately ; but when any great 

 point was to be gained, he was capable of displaying the 

 most insinualiag address. Though not defective in per- 

 fconal courage, and always collected in seasons of danger, 

 he was rather cautious than enterprising in the field. 

 He was indefatigable in public business, and descended 

 to the most minute details; kept his views impenetrably 



iind only prescribed to his ministers the piirtj H. >.-/. 

 which they wcie to art. His understanding, though not V "~"V"" 

 remarkable for mautmeu, was sure in its deliberations, 

 and the geneial success of his measures procured lain .1 



iii;-!i reputation for political wisdom. He was 

 more deficient in the feelings of the heart than in the 

 faculties of the mind ; and was little susceptible of the 

 social and generous affections. An inordinate love of 

 money, and an unrelenting hatred to the house of York, 



liis ruling passions, and the chief sources of his 

 During the latter part of his 



life, in paiticular, his strict economy degenerated into 

 absolute avarice, which broke through all restraints ; and 

 with the assistance of two rapacious ministers, Empson 

 :ind Dudley, he committed the most arbitrary exaction - 

 upon his subjects. By his frugality and extortions, he 

 accumulated immense wealth, and is said to have possess- 

 ed, at his death, in ready money, the mm of 1*1,800,000. 

 But the royal coffers being then the only treasury of the 

 staK', he may be said to have saved tor the public ; :md 

 though :t few individuals may have suffered from hi- 



, he left the nation wealthy and flourishing. His 

 reien, in :i genera! view , was prosperous at home and 

 honourable abroad ; and though not personally the I' 

 he was politically the most useful prince, next to 1 

 Alfred, that had hitherto filled the throne of England. 

 He loved peace, without fearing war ; and extended hi-: 

 power by wise treaties, rather than expensive victories. 

 It was the uniform tendency of his measures to depress 

 the nobility and clergy, and to raise up and humanise 

 the people. By a law, empowering the nobles to break 

 their entails and alienate their possessions, the overgrown 

 authority and estates of the barons were gradually dimi- 

 nished, while the property and influence of the commons 

 were proportionally increased. By repented statutes, and 

 a rigorous enforcement of the laws, he pi evented the 

 great families from giving liveries or badges to their de- 

 pendants and retainers ; and thus effectually supprc 

 those armed bands, maintained around the castle of every 

 baron, and ready for every act of violence or insurrection. 

 He was not so successful in his attempts to abolish the 

 privileges exercised by monasteries, in affording refuge to 

 the most notorious offenders ; and all that he was able to 

 accomplish by his influence with the pope, was to procure 

 a regulation, that if any, who were once registered a 

 sanctuary-men, should again sally forth to commit fresh 

 offences, they might be dragged from the place of their 

 refuge, and delivered up to justice. His great efforts 

 were uniformly directed to promote a spirit of industry, 

 and to extend the benefits of commerce among his sub- 

 jects. In these views he repealed various statutes, which 

 acted as restraints upon manufacturing and mechanical 

 trades ; endeavoured to draw the towns from the neigh- 

 bourhood of strongholds to more commercial situations ; 

 and never tailed, in his treaties with foreign powers, to 

 secure the commercial interests of the kingdom. He ex- 

 pended fourteen thousand pounds in building one ship, 

 which WHS called " the Great Harry," and which may 

 be considered as, in fact, the beginning of the English 

 navy; since the government, before this period, had no 

 other mode of raising a fleet than by hiring or pics-sing 

 the vessels of merchants. By his prudence and p 

 verance, in short, he effected a great and beneficial <!>. 

 upon the state of the kingdom ; enacted many w ise and 

 salutary laws; restored, or rather established commerce; 

 reduced to just subordination a factious and insolent axis- 



