PROANDCON

HENRY VIII: PRO AND CON

PRO
Good eye for talent: Wolsey, More, Cromwell
Survived pretenders, excommunication, rebellions, threat of invasion.
Earned the title Defender of the Faith.
First English king to publish a book.
Fought three wars in France, cut imposing figure in Europe.
Defied Pope and Emperor to create national church under royal control.
Set new standards for royal pageantry, display, and representation.
Brought the English bible to his subjects.
Allowed his kingdom to be directed towards the continental Reformation.
A great builder: Whitehall, Nonsuch, St. James, King's College, Cambridge.
The English realm emerged with new administrative "wholeness": incorporation of Wales into the kingdom of England.
Emergence of Privy Council as supreme omni-competent governing institution.
No English king achieved such a quantum leap in state power as Henry VIII.

CON
Routinely disposed of good talent: Wolsey, More, Cromwell.
Two great fortunes lost: Henry died in debt with a debased coinage.
Relations with Scotland were left in a bloody mess when Henry died.
Ignored new world possibilities for unrealistic dreams of conquest in France.
Efforts to secure the Tudor succession were very costly for the end result!
Henry’s “Reformation” bequeathed an unrivaled religious discord, bitter and complex.
The Royal Supremacy of the Church was more onerous than papacy- The English Church paid three times the taxes
to the “Supreme head” than to the Pope!
The Dissolution of Monasteries: countless works of medieval architecture, essential social services, and priceless
works of Catholic art, lost forever!
The depletion of monastic educational foundations not made up until the 19th century!
Henry failed to use monastic wealth for social, educational, and charitable purposes as promised!
Henry was a lousy husband and father!

ELIZABETH I: PRO AND CON
PRO
Good eye for talent: William Cecil (Lord Burghley), Walsingham, Christopher Hatton, Sir Thomas Smith.
Kept herself well informed, encouraged diversity of opinion.
Guy: Elizabethan court was characterized by homogeneity.
Elizabeth (and brother Edward VI) best educated monarch to ever occupy English throne: a true Renaissance prince!
Unlike sister Mary, who was dogmatic in religion, Elizabeth kept her religious beliefs to herself, was pragmatic in
regards to religion.
Elizabethan religious settlement, the creation of Anglican Church, Elizabeth's most enduring achievement.
Like her grandfather Henry VII, Elizabeth was a sound financial manager, kept budgets balanced until 1585, left debt
of only 300,000.
Elizabeth co-opted gendered functions of kingship, represented herself as king and queen.
Elizabeth was the most skillful diplomat of 16th century Europe.
Good public relations: Elizabeth knew how to package herself for public consumption, in dress, comportment, and
interactions with subjects.
Elizabeth's reign saw a flowering in Tudor arts, particularly literature, which we call the Elizabethan age.
Elizabeth was lucky, avoiding Spanish invasion of 1588, living long enough to ensure a peaceful succession to James
I.

CON
Elizabeth was vain, deceitful, and possessed a bad temper, often employed for political purposes.
Her refusal to marry or name an heir caused great anxiety to her Privy Council and parliaments from 1558 to 1580s.
Her sexual jealousy made the lives of her ladies in waiting miserable.
Elizabeth chose some ministers because she was sexually attracted to them: Leicester, Christopher Hatton, the Earl
of Essex.
Elizabeth drove her ministers crazy with procrastination, especially concerning weighty matters.
Elizabeth did not seek to carve out a new world empire.
Elizabeth encouraged piracy.
Elizabeth was a reluctant commander-in-chief. Raleigh: "she did everything in halves".
Elizabeth failed to innovate her tax structure, remained within traditional bounds of finance.
Elizabeth "winked" at official corruption in her government.
Elizabeth bequeathed significant structural problems in religion and government to her Stuart successors.

John Guy: Whether Elizabethan government is judged 'brittle' or 'durable' is a matter for legitimate debate. The
simple fact is: while Elizabeth lived, it worked.