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

The Bible

提示Priests had mostly read it in Latin until now.

为什么The 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

提示The name counts the beliefs it set out.

为什么It 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

提示Services were now in English, not Latin.

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

Bloody Mary

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

为什么Many 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

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

为什么The 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

提示Think of everyone doing the same thing.

为什么Those 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

提示He was a nobleman with little naval experience.

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

Calais

提示It is the French port closest to England across the Channel.

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

Guy Fawkes

提示He is the one whose name is remembered on Bonfire Night.

为什么He used the name John Johnson. Fawkes was not the leader; he was the explosives expert.

Robert Catesby

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

为什么Catesby was a Catholic gentleman angered by James I's refusal to ease laws against Catholics.

Ship Money

提示It was supposed to pay for the navy.

为什么Charles 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

提示Think of who was in charge, instead of Parliament.

为什么Charles 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

提示He believed his power came from God.

为什么Charles 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

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

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

Drogheda

提示It lies on the River Boyne.

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

1658

提示He died nine years after the king's execution.

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

His son was born

提示Until then his heirs were his Protestant daughters.

为什么James'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

提示It was the year after the Glorious Revolution.

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

The Darien scheme

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

为什么Many 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

提示The union did not merge everything.

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