The last years of Henrys reign was dominated by conservative and reformist factions . In this essay I will assess the extent of the threat created due to the rivalry of factions that had affected the stability of the government. The execution of Cromwell (1940) was a success for conservatives as was also Henrys marriage to Catharine Haword. The marriage was a gateway to influencing Henry by carving out a new royal policy via Catharine H. This increased tension between the Reformists and conservatives and so the reformists took action to destroy the reputations of Cahrine H , Duke of Norfolk and Gardiner. On the contrary this shows that the disputes between these factions may imply that the King was weak and not in control thus significantly threatening the stability of government .
How far were the ambitions of Richard Duke of York responsible for the instability in England in the years 1455 to 1460? (30 Marks) In the years following the first battle of St Albans and leading up to the death of Richard Duke of York, his ambitions changed through time. This ranged from him wanting to be heir to King Henry’s throne to him wanting to get rid of Henry’s son Edward so that he could claim the throne for himself. In the battles between these two time periods, we see that Richard’s ambitions not only changed but were partially to blame for the breakdown of the structure within England. At this time Henry was experiencing mental fluctuations, his wife Margaret of Anjou was influencing his decisions and the division within the nobility all contributed to the instability of England economically, socially and politically.
Source 3 shows a clear disagreement though, as it states Callaghan “struggled to rule effectively until a vote of no-confidence” was called upon. Throughout his government, Callaghan biggest concern was to maintain economic stability but in doing so had destroyed Britain’s industry. As a result of this Callaghan will forever be associated with the Winter of Discontent incident which is exactly what source 3 is suggesting. James, Callaghan is a man of experience is partially why he suited the role of Prime Minister. Source 2 states “The political skills he had perfected in his previous posts were just what was needed” which supports the view that indeed, James Callaghan was a man of experience.
Wolsey and Henry’s campaign for the annulment of his and Catherine of Aragon’s marriage failed in 1929, resultantly of the Pope’s resistance despite Wolsey’s different approaches. It is shown in source 4 that ‘in October 1529, Wolsey was stripped of his authority’. The two events occurred the same year suggesting that his failure to dissolve Henry’s marriage played a big part in his downfall, or at least acted as the final trigger. The idea that his failure to secure annulment played the part as a trigger is backed up in source 5 when Historian David Loades explains that ‘after 1525 the King’s confidence in him became increasingly uncertain’, which can lead us to infer that the annulment crisis could’ve been the last straw. However, from Loades book focusing on Henry VIII’s experiences with ‘Court, Church
These were people who protested against the Catholic church. They felt the Pope had too much power and control over England. They also complained that the Catholic church was corrupt - shown by the wealthy monasteries. Henry did not really agree with all the complaints against the Catholic church, but was determined to have a male heir. Henry used Parliament to push through his changes.
There are several reasons and causes for the wars, including growing religious tensions, weak monarchs, foreign intervention, the role of Catherine de Medici and the existence of weak Kings coupled with strong Nobles. These factors provided shaky foundations, which, when confronted with a collapsing economy, led to rebellion and civil war. One of the most important reasons for war in the second half of the century was the existence of weak kings. During the first half of the century, France was led by domineering Monarchs, who kept control with an authoritarian style. In addition, the wars only ended when a strong King returned to the Throne; Henry IV after the ninth war.
Namely Cromwell and Cranmer played important roles, and overall I agree with the view that the decisive influence in shaping the reformation was Thomas Cromwell due to his closeness to the king and willingness to entirely devote his time and resources into the reformation. The feeling in Source 7 is that Cromwell played an important role in swaying the mind of the king against the clergy, and into reformation. In his ‘supplication against the ordinaries’ Cromwell attacks the clergy saying they make laws without Henry, some of which “clash with the laws off your kingdom”. Here Cromwell might be referring to the law of preamunire, which forbade the following of a foreign law over that of the kings. His influence over the king on this matter could then be shown to have an effect where in the early 1530’s Henry went on to charge all the Clergy with preamunire, and threatened a few with death.
How important was the Duke of Buckingham to the breakdown in relations between Crown and Parliament in the years of 1625-1629? Charles’ main advisor and partner in foreign policy was the Duke of Buckingham. Due to Buckingham being a wicked advisor led Charles to a disastrous foreign policy. This propelled him into confrontation with parliament. Buckingham had too much influence with the King; this meant he was seen as one of the main causes to the break down in parliament.
Task: “Luther was both a revolutionary and a conservative.” Evaluate this statement with the respect to Luther’s responses to the political and social questions of his day. During the 16th century, the Catholic Church was seen as corrupt because of certain practices such as indulgences. This corruption, lead many people to stand up against the Church, and this began The Protestant Reformation. One of the most influential people of this time was Martin Luther. Martin Luther’s responses to political and social questions during this time were often either revolutionary or conservative.
Trotsky underestimated Stalin and what he was capable of (creating a triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev, using this alliance to defeat him). He lost respect by not turning up to Lenin’s funeral, allowing Stalin to act as though he was closest to Lenin. Yet, the biggest mistake which Trotsky made was when he agreed not to publish Lenin’s