Early modern Britain 1509–1745, Year 8: more practice

The Bible

HintPriests had mostly read it in Latin until now.

The whyThe Great Bible followed in 1539. Ordinary people could now hear Scripture in their own language, though Henry later limited who could read it.

The Act of Six Articles

HintThe name counts the beliefs it set out.

The whyIt shows the English church was not yet Protestant under Henry. Those who denied key Catholic beliefs, such as the Mass, could be punished severely.

The Book of Common Prayer

HintServices were now in English, not Latin.

The whyA revised edition followed in 1552 with more Protestant wording. The Prayer Book shaped English church worship for centuries.

Bloody Mary

HintThe nickname refers to what she did to those who would not return to Catholicism.

The whyMany Protestants, including Archbishop Cranmer, died at the stake. John Foxe's Book of Martyrs later kept the memory alive and shaped her reputation.

Supreme Governor

HintIt kept her authority but did not claim a spiritual role that would upset Catholics and some Protestants.

The whyThe 1559 Act of Supremacy used this wording, partly because some Protestants thought a woman could not be head of the church.

The Act of Uniformity

HintThink of everyone doing the same thing.

The whyThose who stayed away could be fined a small sum for each absence. It was meant to make everyone worship together.

The Duke of Medina Sidonia

HintHe was a nobleman with little naval experience.

The whyThe original commander died, and Medina Sidonia took over reluctantly. He did not think he was suited to the job.

Calais

HintIt is the French port closest to England across the Channel.

The whyThe panic broke the Armada's formation. The next day the English attacked at Gravelines, and the Spanish were driven north.

Guy Fawkes

HintHe is the one whose name is remembered on Bonfire Night.

The whyHe used the name John Johnson. Fawkes was not the leader; he was the explosives expert.

Robert Catesby

HintHe was killed in a shoot-out with sheriff's men a few days after the discovery.

The whyCatesby was a Catholic gentleman angered by James I's refusal to ease laws against Catholics.

Ship Money

HintIt was supposed to pay for the navy.

The whyCharles I said it was for defence. John Hampden's refusal to pay in 1637 became a famous test of the king's power.

The Personal Rule

HintThink of who was in charge, instead of Parliament.

The whyCharles needed money without Parliament, so he used ways of raising money such as Ship Money. It is also sometimes called the Eleven Years' Tyranny.

He said the court had no authority to try a king

HintHe believed his power came from God.

The whyCharles claimed no court could judge a king. He was found guilty anyway, and the court condemned him as a tyrant and traitor.

The Banqueting House

HintIt had been built for his father, James I, in the 1620s.

The whyCharles walked through the building to the scaffold in January 1649. He wore extra shirts so the crowd would not see him shiver.

Drogheda

HintIt lies on the River Boyne.

The whyCromwell's army also stormed Wexford. His actions in Ireland are why many Irish people still remember him bitterly.

1658

HintHe died nine years after the king's execution.

The whyHis son Richard succeeded him as Lord Protector but lacked authority. The monarchy returned in 1660 with Charles II.

His son was born

HintUntil then his heirs were his Protestant daughters.

The whyJames's baby son would be raised as a Catholic and take precedence over his older half-sisters, so seven leaders invited William of Orange.

1689

HintIt was the year after the Glorious Revolution.

The whyThe Bill of Rights confirmed that kings could not make laws or raise taxes without Parliament.

The Darien scheme

HintIt was a bold attempt to build a trading colony in Central America.

The whyMany Scots invested in it, and its collapse hurt Scotland's finances. Some historians see this as a reason Scotland agreed to the union.

The Church of Scotland

HintThe union did not merge everything.

The whyThe Act of Union left Scotland's church, legal system and schools in place, even though the two countries shared a parliament and a monarch.