The Revolutionary Policies of Henry VIII

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The Revolutionary Policies of Henry VIII

Henry was a supreme egotist. He advanced personal desires under the

guise of public policy or moral right, forced his ministers to pay

extreme penalties for his own mistakes, and summarily executed many

with little excuse. In his later years he became grossly fat,

paranoid, and unpredictable. Nonetheless he possessed considerable

political insight, and he provided England with a visible and active

national leader.

Although Henry seemed to dominate his Parliaments, the importance of

that institution increased significantly during his reign. Other

advances made during his reign were the institution of an effective

navy and the beginnings of social and religious reform. The navy was

organized for the first time as a permanent force. Wales was

officially incorporated into England in 1536 with a great improvement

in government administration there.

In 1521, Henry had been given the title "Defender of the Faith" by the

pope for a treatise against Martin Luther, and he remained orthodox in

his personal doctrinal views throughout his reign. Even though the

rest of Europe was going through a reformation/renaissance Henry VIII

kept a traditional yet modern monarchy. When looking at the question,

was Henry VIII a conservative is a difficult task as modern politics

are different, so the meaning is a contrast. A conservative is a

person who in general opposes social change. This definition is true

to some extent in modern politics but due to rapid growth in the

nation, some meaning has been lost.

In Henry's early life was not unusual, he enjoyed many of the popular

sports including jousting,...

... middle of paper ...

... was revolutionary due to major changes in European policy and English

policy. Once separated from Rome, Henry could see his sovereignty over

the people. Which brought back sovereignty, which is party of a

conservative monarchy re-instating power over the masses. Elton's

theory is not one that should be ignored as it does prove to be

significant when studying a mixed view subject. I believe that is some

elements of Henry's reign his ministers were more powerful than

himself and perhaps his ministers were controlling the country at one

point, but overall Henry disposed of the powerful ministers, Wolsey,

was used as a scapegoat when Henry wanted a divorce, this caused

ex-communication from Rome and Cromwell abused his position and was

punished for it. Henry, once again showing Sovereignty and diminishing

Elton's theory.

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