Tudor Lives: Success & Failure Of An Age - Plot & Excerpts
The final and successful acts in this progression were taken by Henry VII when he united a fractious land after the Wars of the Roses, and the particular colour that Henry gave to the English state lasted throughout the Tudor age. The Tudors are rightly called despots, and each reign bore the personal mark of the sovereign. But Henry VII was no political philosopher; he was a cautious, practical administrator who learnt his lessons from experience. During the English civil wars he had spent some time in France and the advantages of Louis’s centralized power had impressed him. The powerful French state was founded on nationalism and on the strong control that the king maintained over all parts of the national life, and when Henry came to the throne of England in 1485 he determined to govern his new land in the French manner. Ayala, the Spanish ambassador, noted Henry’s intention to rule ‘in the French fashion’, but added that he was not able to do so. What was possible in France was naturally not always practical in England; and perhaps this was to the good of the country.
What do You think about Tudor Lives: Success & Failure Of An Age?
