ENGLAND 



2046 



ENGLAND 



that meant another step in the direction of 

 constitutional liberty. 



Wars of the Roses. Henry VI, who came to 

 the throne in 1422, was a feeble ruler, utterly 

 incapable mentally, and other claimants to the 

 throne arose. Out of the opposing claims grew 

 a long factional struggle known as the Wars 

 of the Roses (see ROSES, WARS OF THE)^ in 

 which Henry VI was several times dethroned, 

 only to be again placed on the throne by the 

 next victory of his adherents.. In the end, how- 

 ever, the Duke of York gained the upper hand, 

 and in 1461 was made king as Edward IV, and 

 in 1483 his young son succeeded him as Edward 

 V. Richard III usurped the power almost im- 

 mediately, but after a very short reign was 

 overthrown on Bosworth Field in 1485, while 

 the Earl of Richmond, who united in him- 

 self the claims of the houses of Lancaster and 

 York, was crowned king as Henry VII. The 

 long wars had had a profound effect on the 

 country. Most of the barons, the old question- 

 ers of the king's authority, had been killed off 

 in the conflict, and their powers had been taken 

 over by the king. Henry VII was strong enough 

 to make the most of this advantage, and Henry 

 VIII, when he came to the throne in 1509, 

 found himself in possession of great power. 



The Religious Struggle. The Tudors, of 

 whom Henry VII was the first, were distin- 

 guished for their absolute rule, but though they 

 were despotic they were not unpopular, for 

 they made England glorious in the eyes of the 

 world (see TUDOR). It was during the reign 

 of Henry VIII that the Reformation had its 

 beginnings in England, not because Henry 

 was intensely interested in religion or desired 

 to found a new system, but because the Pope 

 would not grant him a divorce from his wife, 

 Catharine of Aragon. As a result he had him- 

 self declared supreme head of the Church in 

 England, and enriched himself by seizing the 

 riches of the monasteries. 



Henry's son, Edward VI, carried on the work 

 of the Reformation during his short reign, but 

 under the unfortunate "Bloody Mary," who has 

 been more hated than she really deserves, 

 there was a reaction, and many illustrious 

 Protestants fell victims to her fervor for the 

 Catholic faith. Her work was undone, how- 

 ever, by her great sister, Elizabeth, who had 

 herself proclaimed head of the Church, but 

 kept herself and her government free from 

 religious fanaticism. The long reign of Eliza- 

 beth was one of the most glorious in all Eng- 

 land's history. In literature, in science, in dis- 



covery, the period was noteworthy, while an 

 intense feeling of nationality was developed 

 by the defeat of the Great Armada. It was 

 during her reign that Ireland was reduced to 

 dependence on England. 



The Stuarts and the "Divine Right." Eliz- 

 abeth had never married, and the House of 

 Tudor died with her. Her successor was 

 James VI of Scotland, son of the ill-starred 

 Mary, Queen of Scots, who became king of 

 England as James I. The two countries, 

 though now under one sovereign, were not 

 completely united, however, for over a hundred 

 years. James was a firm believer in. the "divine 

 right of kings" (which see), and this doctrine 

 brought him into constant conflict with Parlia- 

 ment and marked the beginning of that struggle 

 which ended so disastrously for Charles I. 

 This reign is a starting-point in the history of 

 America, for during it were founded the James- 

 town and Plymouth colonies. 



The reign of Charles I was almost entirely 

 taken up with a conflict with Parliament which 

 finally resulted in open war. Forced to assent 

 to the Petition of Right, another of those mile- 

 stones which mark the Englishman's march 

 toward constitutional liberty, he disregarded 

 it, dismissed Parliament and for eleven years 

 ruled arbitrarily, without assembling another. 

 Then followed the Long Parliament, the Civil 

 War, the execution of the king in 1649 and the 

 gradual emergence of Cromwell as the strongest 

 man in Parliament and in the army. Under the 

 Commonwealth, with Cromwell at its head, the 

 country held a position of respect in the eyes 

 of the world, but Cromwell's son Richard 

 proved a weak successor, and in 1660 the roy- 

 alists brought about the restoration of Charles 

 II. All the arbitrary powers which their prede- 

 cessors had fought to keep Charles I from 

 gaining, a complacent Parliament almost thrust 

 into the hands of Charles II, who showed him- 

 self willing enough to make use of them. It 

 was one of the reigns upon which no English- 

 man can look with pride. As concerned its 

 foreign policy, England was little more than 

 a dependency of France, which was the insti- 

 gator of two wars with Holland which cost 

 England much and gained for it nothing; in 

 character it was licentious, the literature of 

 the period reflecting with painful clearness the 

 immorality of the court and of society; but all 

 of this the people submitted to because of their 

 pleasure that the severities of Cromwell's, time 

 were over, and that a king of the royal line 

 was again on the throne. 



