Textuality » 4LSCA InteractingNRoncara - Homework 09/02/21
by 2021-04-25)
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Henry VIII founded the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy in 1534 and proclaimed himself the Head of it, in such a way that he can appropriate of the treasures hidden in monasteries and to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. All Englishmen who refused to take an oath, known as Oath of Supremacy, by which they accepted the rejection of the Pope’s authority and recognized the marriage with Anne Boleyn as lawful, were condemned to death on charge of high treason. Internal peace and stability was achieved when Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558. She re-established the Anglican Church. A second Act of Supremacy in 1559 restated the independence of the Church of England and the Act of Uniformity made the use of the Book of Common Prayer compulsory. When Elizabeth died, the throne went to James VI of Scotland. James I made many heavy mistakes: the country he inherited from Elizabeth was very difficult to be ruled because of the internal tensions in the final period of Elizabeth’s reign. Severe laws and restrictive measures were passed against all dissenters. Puritans, too, were persecuted. A group of them, known as “The Pilgrim Fathers”, to escape persecution, sailed on the “Mayflower” and landed in North America, starting the beginning of the future United States. During Charles I’s (James I’s son) reign, there was The first Civil war (1642) between Cavaliers and Parliamentarians. It ended with Puritan’s victory: Charles I was beheaded and the Commonwealth was ruled for some years by the Commons. But Puritan rule was brief. Charles II came back to the throne and he restored the Church of England. |