Why Did Henry Viii Break with Rome

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Why did Henry VIII break from Rome? Henry VIII broke from Rome because of five main reasons: love, money, control and power, religion and succession. Some of the five main reasons are linked together as one is important for the other; one example is succession which is linked to power. By having a son he thought it would maintain his power at the throne when he was no longer ruler. I think that power was the most important reason. I think this because if he broke away from the Church of Rome, he could take control of the church. This meant that he could unlock the riches that the church held. By doing this he could pay for the wars he fought and the power he had over his people. He also would have more money to leave in the treasury, not only for himself but future generations. The money would lead to power; his greatest desire. To carry this power on he wanted it to be entrusted in a son. All of the reasons link together to show his need for power as king. One of the reasons why Henry broke from the Roman Church was because he had fallen in love with Anne Boleyn but was married to Catherine of Aragon. The Catholic Church would not allow him to divorce her, so Henry had to think of how to divorce her without the Pope’s help. He decided that so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon he would have to make himself the head of the Catholic Church. An act of Parliament was passed in 1534 explaining why he should be Head of the Church of England rather than the current Pope. Henry also came to believe that the Kings of England should have always been head of the Church rather than the Pope because England was an Empire. Another one of the reasons why Henry broke from the Roman Church was because he needed and wanted money. The Catholic Church owned a lot of land because of the monasteries. If Henry had power over this land it would make him a lot wealthier and
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