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Protestant Reformation Dbq

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Ever since its founding in the 1st century C.E., Christianity has caused political and religious controversy in countries all over the world. From the original split between Christians and the Jews, to the fracturing of the Catholic Church in Germany, religion has been a vital tool for social and political change, especially in England. Although the Protestant Reformation was a dividing force in Europe, the dominant English monarchs of the 16th century used it to their advantage. King Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I used religion to pursue their agenda, solidify their reign and unify England.
Prior to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church was a unified body with the Pope at its head. However, when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, …show more content…
Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII, the first monarch of the House of Tudor. While Henry’s older brother Arthur was being groomed for the throne, Henry spent his childhood invested in learning. When Arthur died less than four months into his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in 1502, and Henry VII died in 1509, Henry VIII inherited the throne. Although Henry had never been groomed in the ways of politics and government, he quickly established his dominance and gained absolute control on most matters of the English state. He then married his brother’s wife due to a technicality and had his first child, Mary. Over the next 31 years, Henry divorced his first wife Catherine and executed or divorced his next five wives. The only exception being his last wife, Katherine, who outlived him. Of his six wives, only three bore him surviving heirs: Catherine of Aragon (Mary), Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth), and Jane Seymour (Edward). After Henry’s death in 1547 and Edward’s death in 1552, England fell into the hands of Jane Grey for nine days before Mary I took the throne and earned herself the name ‘Bloody Mary’. Mary then ruled for five years before she became ill and died, passing the throne to Elizabeth. Elizabeth then ruled for forty-five years as one of the greatest English Monarchs before her eventual death in

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