[1] In the last Parliament before the Wars of the Roses (1454) there were fifty-three temporal peers; at the beginning of the reign of Henry VII (1485) there were only twenty-nine. [2] Out of a total of barely ninety peers, Henry VIII, by the suppression of the monasteries, removed upwards of thirty-six abbots and priors.  He, however, added five new bishops, which made the House of Lords number about fifty-nine.

Under Henry VII and Elizabeth the courts of Star Chamber and High Commission exercised arbitrary power, and often inflicted cruel punishments for offenses against the government, and for heresy or the denial of the religious supremacy of the sovereign.

Henry VII established a treaty of free trade, called the “Great Intercourse,” between England and the Netherlands.  Under Elizabeth the first postmaster-general entered upon his duties, though the post office was nott fully established until the reign of her successor.

II.  Religion

407.  Establishment of the Protestant Church of England.

Henry VIII suppressed the Roman Catholic monasteries, seized their property, and ended by declaring the Church of England independent of the Pope.  Thenceforth he assumed the title of Supreme Head of the National Church.  Under Edward VI Protestantism was established by law.  Mary led a reaction in favor of Roman Catholicism, but her successor, Elizabeth, reinstated the Protestant form of worship.  Under Elizabeth the Puritans demanded that the National Church be completely “purified” from all Catholic forms and doctrines.  Severe laws were passed under Elizabeth for the punishment of both Catholics and Puritans who failed to conform to the Church of England.

III.  Military Affairs

408.  Arms and Armor; the Navy.

Though gunpowder had been in use for two centuries, yet full suits of armor were still worn during a great part of the period.  An improved matchlock gun, with the pistol, an Italian invention, and heavy cannon were introduced.  Until the death of Henry VIII foot soldiers continued to be armed with the long bow; but under Edward VI that weapon was superseded by firearms.  The principal wars of the period were with Scotland, France, and Spain, the last being by far the most important, and ending with the destruction of the Armada.

Henry VIII established a permanent navy, and built several vessels of upwards of one thousand tons register.  The largest men-of-war under Elizabeth carried forty cannon and a crew of several hundred men.

IV.  Literature, Learning, and Art

409.  Schools.  The revival of learning gave a great impetus to education.  The money which had once been given to monasteries was now spent in building schools, colleges, and hospitals.  Dean Colet established the free grammar school of St. Paul’s, several colleges were endowed at Oxford and Cambridge, and Edward VI opened upwards of forty charity schools in different parts of the country, of which the Christ’s Hospital or “Blue-Coat School,” originally established in London, is one of the best known.  Improved textbooks were rpepared for the schools, and Lily’s “Latin Grammar,” first published in 1513 for the use of Dean Colet’s school, continued a standard work for over three hundred years.