Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/115

* ENGLAND. 93 ENGLAND. control. Chief of these acts was the Act of Suprem- acy, in L535, appointing the King 'Protector and only Supreme Head' of the Church of England. In 1536, the smaller monasteries were suppressed and n translation of the P,il>l<' was authorized; in 1538 relics and images were destroyed and in 1539 the greater monasteries were suppressed. Nevertheless, the Six Articles of !",:!!! enforced conformity with the chief doctrines of the Catho lie Church. Henry VIII. 's ecclesiastical policy was intimately connected with his numerous mar riases, and resulted in changes farheyond what he or his advisers contemplated. His own motives 'were mainly selfish and sensual. He squan- dered his father's enormous hoard, plundered the Church, debased coinage, and left the kingdom poor. The confiscated Church property he be- stowed on favorites, founding a new aristocracy and gentry, who were the later mainstay of the Tudor dynasty. But these were harder masters than the conservative monasteries, and inclosed the common pasture and arable lands into sheep- walks, turning out the peasantry, and other- wise disregarding their time-honored customs. This made the Reformation unpopular with the masses. Under Henry's successor, Edward VI. (1547- 53), a minor, the reformation of doctrine fol- lowed. The Book of Common Prayer ( 1549, 1553) established a uniform service in the English language, and the Forty-two Articles (1551) were even Calvinistie in tone'. The un- scrupulous ministers and courtiers, who used the Reformation only for private gains, made it still more unpopular. Two great rebellions were sub- dued by the aid of foreign mercenaries — Jack Kett's rebellion against the inelosure of the com- mon lands in Norfolk, and another in Cornwall and Devon against the Reformation itself. Under Mary (1553-58). a devout Catholic, the reaction came. The Parliament of 1553 restored Catholic worship, but was unwilling to return confiscated Church property, to tolerate the subordination of England to Spain by Mary's proposed marriage to Philip. An attempted rebellion under Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Duke of Suffolk was suppressed, and the Queen married Philip of Spain. In 1555 Parliament repealed the laws of Henry VIII., re- uniting the Church of England with Rome. In the persecution of the Protestants that followed, nearly 300 victims are said to have been burned. Bishops P,idley and Latimer and Archbishop < in inner among them. The political character of (lie religious strife of the times did much to enhance its bitterness. The policy of Elizabeth (1558-1603) was a compromise between the radical tendencies of her predecessors. By the Act of Uniformity the use of a new prayer book, based on that of Edward VI., was established, and the Act of Supremacy gave her the virtual headship of the Church. The Thirty-nine Articles fixed the final constitution of the Anglican Church, with Protestant dogmas, but with a retention of the hierarchy, and in part of the cult, of the Catholics. But above all else the Church was national. Archbishop Parker was the chief instrument in bringing about this desired result. The advice of her able minister, William Cecil, enabled Elizabeth to handle po- litical questions with equal success. On the Continent she aided the Protestants in their struggles against the overwhelming power of Spain, especially in the Netherlands. The In- vincible Armada, scut in 1 .",s,7 to subdue England, was defeated by Howard and Drake, and Eliza- beth became t In- acknowledged lead <>t tin Prot- estants id Europe. At home sice was equally cessful, ruling in harmony with her people, though nut always agreeing with Parliament. The ccci lie legislation c,i her reign was bo well founded that it lasted nigh two centuries. Navi gation laws built up a marine, corn laws aided agriculture, and the gnat, trading companies, like the Muscovy, Eastland, Levant, and East India companies, exported English industries and brought wealth to England. The Renaissance bore fruit in the most brilliant of English liter- ary epochs. See English LitkbatUBE. On the death of Elizabeth the House of Tudor was succeeded by that of Stuart, the crowns of England and Scotland being united under .lames, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. With the sup- pression of Tyrone's rebellion at, the close of Elizabeth's reign, the subjugation of Ireland may be said to have been achieved, a It he. ugh it was not until the time of Cromwell that the hold of England upon the whole of the island was firmly fastened. In striking contrast to the preceding reign, that of James I. (1603-25) presents con- stant quarrels with the people at home and inca- pacity abroad. Great enterprises were indeed undertaken, such as the planting of the Colony of Virginia, but the King had little part in them. His ministers were unworthy favorites, chosen mainly for their good looks. He believed in the 'divine right' of kings, and his ideas of the duties of subjects were at variance with those held in England. In the Great Protestation of 1621 Par- liament asserted its right to debate on State af- fairs and advise the King concerning them. Al- though the authorized translation of the Bible was made in his reign (1604-11), he thwarted the general desire for greater liberty of Protestant practice in the Church, and favored the hierarchy. 'No bishop, no king,' was his motto. He forced an unpopular episcopacy on Scotland. His unwise attempt to obtain a Spanish marriage for his son brought on a useless and expensive war. The inglorious conduct of this war. and of another against France, waged by his favorite Bucking- ham, by draining the royal coffers, helped to bring on the Puritan Revolution. Unable to obtain supplies without redressing the grievances of Parliament, James's son, Charles I. (1625-49). raised forced loans, im- prisoning those who refused. In May, 1628. Par- liament passed the so-called Petition of Right. in which all forms of taxation without con- sent of Parliament were prohibited : there should be no martial law in time of peace, and no one should be imprisoned except on specific charges. Charles was obliged to assent, but on the re- monstrance against his levying tunnage and poundage, prorogued Parliament. After the- stormy session of the following year, he ruled for eleven years without Parliament, raising taxes by illegal methods. His chief ministers were Thomas Wentworth, a very able man. who re- duced Ireland to order ind obedience, and Arch- bishop Laud, who attempted to enforce Church uniformity by the observance of a high ritual distasteful to the people. The King's instru- ment of judicial oppression was the Star C'ham- ber i q.v. i. composed of the Privy Council and two justices, while the ecclesiastical commission attended to the Puritans. An attempt to force a