Austria, the Netherlands, and Spain. Ferdinand married another daughter to the King of Portugal, and on her death the pope allowed a younger sister to take her place. Ferdinand had only one more daughter, Katharine. Ferdinand and Philip both wished that Henry VII. would ally with them against France, and for that end a marriage was arranged in 1501 between Arthur, Prince of Wales, Marriage of and Katharine of Aragon. Soon after his marriage Prince Arthur. Arthur died, and as Ferdinand had no more daughters, it was arranged that, by a dispensation from the pope, Katharine should be married to Henry, the only other son of Henry VII., so that the alliance might remain as it was. In 1502 Henry VII., to bring Scotland into the league, married his daughter Margaret to James IV., King of Scotland, hoping that this would detach the Scots from their old friendship with the French. In this way almost the whole of Europe was leagued together against France, and shortly after this had been accomplished Henry died in 1509. Death of Henry. The reign of Henry VII. is remarkable for having witnessed some of the greatest events in modern history. In 1492 Columbus discovered the West Indian Islands; in 1497 John Cabot, an Italian, with a Bristol ship and Bristol sailors, reached the mainland of America; and before Henry died the greater part of the eastern coast of North and South America had been examined by Englishmen, Portuguese, or Spaniards. In 1497 Vasco de Gama, sailing from Lisbon, had doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and made his way to India by sea. These discoveries were due indirectly to the conquest of the eastern shores of the Mediterranean by the Turks, who took Constantinople in 1453. Their cruelty and extortion prevented merchants from following the overland route to India. This forced traders to seek for a road to India by sea, and it was in pursuit of this that the voyages of Columbus and Vasco de Gama were made. These discoveries had the greatest effect upon the history of Europe. Hitherto the countries which lay round the Mediterranean Sea had been most important; they now began to be outstripped by those which lay on or near the Atlantic and Spain, Portugal, England, and Holland became the chief trading nations of the world. N During the same reign a great revival of learning occurred in England. This spread from Italy, which was then the most learned and civilized nation in Europe, and a great stimulus had been given to it by the study of Greek and Roman writers, while the invention by Gutenberg of Mainz in 1442, of the art of printing by movable types, had made it cheaper to copy books. The invention of gunpowder, which had been coming into use since the middle of the fourteenth century, gradually changed the art of war, and destroyed the power of the old armoured knights, and of the archers with their bows and arrows. The discovery of America and the new route to India, the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, the revival of learning, and the inventions of printing and gunpowder, are the great events which mark the change from mediæval to modern Europe, and their influence began to make itself felt in England in the reign of Henry VII. Born 1491; married, 1509, Katharine of Aragon, d. 1536. 1540, Anne of Cleves, divorced 1540. 1543, Katharine Parr, survived her husband, Chief Characters of the Reign.-Cardinal Wolsey; Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk; Sir Thomas More; Fisher, Bishop of Rochester; Thomas Cromwell; Robert Aske; Edward Seymour, Lord Hertford; Henry Howard, Lord Surrey; Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. Chief Contemporary Princes. Scotland. France. Spain. Henry follows his father's policy. HENRY VIII. was only eighteen when he came to the throne, and his accession made little difference in the general course of events. He followed his father's foreign policy by completing his marriage with Katharine, and his domestic policy by executing the Earl of Suffolk, nephew of Edward IV., who had been surrendered by Philip of Burgundy; while he tried to win popularity by having Empson and Dudley executed on an absurd charge of high treason, and by making a lavish display of his father's treasure. In accordance with the views of the league, Henry in 1513 invaded Battle of GuineFrance, besieged Therouenne, and won the battle of gaste, 1513. Guinegaste, which the French laughingly called the "Battle of the Spurs," because they used their spurs more than their swords. The same year, in spite of the marriage between James IV. and Margaret of England, the Scots invaded England after their usual manner, as allies of France. The Scots posted themselves on Flodden Edge, a strong position overlooking the deep river Till, which flows almost due north from the Cheviot Hills to fall into the Tweed. The English general, Lord Surrey, finding the Scots too securely posted to be attacked 180 1492 The Tudors. [1515 with success, marched past them, and crossing the Till at Twizell Mill near its junction with the Tweed, placed himself between the Scots and Scotland. The Scots were thus forced to fight at great disadvantage, and, in spite of all their bravery, they were surrounded by the English host, Battle of Flodden, Sept. 1513. and few survivors made their way to Scotland. Among those who perished were James IV. himself, and the flower of the Scottish nobility. James was succeeded by his infant son, under the care of Margaret of England, and for many years Scotland was too weak to be a danger to England. Peace with Neither Henry VIII. nor his subjects were prepared to undertake the conquest of France. Maximilian and Ferdinand did little to help, and so, in 1514, Henry made peace, and married his youngest sister Mary to the French concluded. king, Louis XII. Unfortunately, Louis died three months after his marriage, and Mary then married Charles Brandon, created Duke of Suffolk, by whom she became the ancestress of Lady Jane Grey. Louis was succeeded in 1515 by his young cousin Francis I., who inherited all his ambitious schemes. During the first twenty years of this reign, the most striking figure in England was Thomas Wolsey. This statesman was born at Ipswich, in 1471. His father, though not a man of rank, gave him the best education in his Thomas power, and sent him to Magdalen College, Oxford. He arrived there at the moment when the English universities were beginning to catch some of the enthusiasm for learning for which Italy was then famous. He became a Bachelor of Arts at fourteen, and was afterwards made fellow and tutor of Magdalen College. It was in his time that the beautiful tower of that college was built. His post of tutor gained him the friendship of the Marquess of Dorset, whose sons were at the college. By him Wolsey was presented to a living, and was brought to the notice of Henry VII., under whom his rise was rapid. His ability for business was very great; he was hard working, and he knew no scruple in forwarding the views of the king. Under Henry VIII he advanced to greater favour, and in 1515 he was made Chancellor. The next year the pope made him cardinal, and in 1517, by the special request of Henry, papal legate. It ought to be noticed that the chief power, both in ecclesiastical and civil matters, was thus united in the hands of the first minister of the crown, and as this went on for fourteen years, people became accustomed to look to the king's leading minister as chief man both in Church and State. Wolsey's schemes. Wolsey had in view three objects: (1) to increase the power of the crown, as Henry VII. had done; (2) to improve the state of the Church of England, by abolishing some of the smaller monasteries, and applying their revenues to the foundation of colleges and schools, where the new learning could be taught; (3) to become, if possible, pope, and so to gain control over the general reformation of the Church which he saw was impending, and which began under Luther in Germany in 1517. We may call these plans ambitious if we like; but they were certainly the views of a great man, and had they been carried into effect, both England and Europe might have had a very different history. Wolsey saw that he might make his third scheme fit in with Henry's desire to play an active part on the Continent, and so he furthered the king's wishes in this respect. In 1519 the Emperor Maximilian died, and a new election followed. The emperor was elected by seven persons-the Archbishops of Mainz, Köln, and Trier,1 and 1 The French spelling of these towns is Mayence, Cologne, and Trèves. Wolsey's foreign schemes. |