"england4" - 1 õppematerjal

ASPECTS OF BRITISH HISTORY

Henry VII built the foundations of a wealthy nation state and a powerful monarchy. He sent his seamen to explore the Atlantic coast of North America soon after Columbus’s great discovery. But England did not start colonizing the new continent until the early seventeenth century when in had become strong enough. A Truly English Church In the 1530s, Henry VIII, wasteful and ambitious, broke away from Rome, and Parliament made him head of the Church of England4. An English Bible was placed in every church for people to read. After a careful survey of Church property Henry VIII closed 560 monasteries and took over their land and wealth. He sold much of their lands to the rising classes of landowners and merchants – to boost his popularity with them. England became politically a Protestant country, even though the religion was in fact still Catholic. Nevertheless, Henry made the Church in England truly English.