TheGreatCoursesPlus - A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

TheGreatCoursesPlus - A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

Learn how England transformed itself from a medieval backwater into the first modern state in this sweeping course on one of the most interesting periods in history.

https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/a-history-of-england

1: England 1485-1714, the First Modern Country

A look at the scope of the course, the significance of English history, and why this Early-Modern period was crucial not only to the development of England, but to transatlantic civilization itself.

2: The Land and Its People in 1485-I

This lecture examines England's so-called "island mentality" and its complicated relationship to both Europe and the Celtic lands of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.

3: The Land and Its People in 1485-II

The discussion of the physical world of the English people in 1485 continues with this look at the material and social topography of the English town, manor, and village, from the wealthiest residents to the poorest.

4: The Land and Its People in 1485-III

The focus switches to the mental landscape of the English people, and especially to the concept of the "Great Chain of Being" and the unyielding social hierarchy it implied....

5: Medieval Prelude-1377-1455

Beginning with the end of the reign of Edward III, the English monarchy and constitution undergoes more than a century of instability prior to the accession of the Tudors. This lecture begins the explanation of why this happened.

6: Medieval Prelude-1455-85

Over a 30-year period, the Lancastrian and Yorkist claimants to the throne fight three different Wars of the Roses and produce a short-lived line of Yorkist kings, including Richard III, whose reign ends in the successful rebellion that begins the Tudor Dynasty.

7: Establishing the Tudor Dynasty-1485-97

This lecture examines the steps taken by Henry VII to secure the crown after his victory over Richard III, the failed Yorkist rebellions that follow, and Henry's subsequent efforts to secure alliances that will deprive future rebels of allies or secure bases.

8: Establishing the Tudor Dynasty-1497-1509

This lecture examines Henry's efforts to make England's government more efficient, less expensive, and more responsive to his wishes by following three old principles of medieval kingship: the king must be strong, he must govern with consent, and he must live "of his own" (within a budget).

9: Young King Hal-1509-27

A look at the larger-than-life personality of Henry VIII and the early years of his reign, years dominated by Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, one of the most hated government officials in English history.

10: The King's Great Matter-1527-30

This lecture examines Henry VIII's attempts to secure from the Roman Catholic Church a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the complex implications that surround it.

11: The Break from Rome-1529-36

With the Catholic Church weak and divided at the top, Henry and his new leading minister, Thomas Cromwell, are able to break England's allegiance to the Pope, secure the king's divorce, and initiate the Reformation in England.

12: A Tudor Revolution-1536-47

An examination of what some historians have seen as a Tudor plan to increase the power and efficiency of the monarchy, not only in religion, but in all areas of English life.

13: The Last Years of Henry VIII-1540-47

An aging king attempts to avoid invasion by the Catholic powers, balancing the demands of Protestant reformers with his own desire for a traditional Church-under his command-that would retain many Catholic practices....

14: Edward VI-1547-53

Two successive advisors to the boy-king (only nine when he takes the throne) increasingly push the country toward Protestantism, including an attempt to alter the succession. But when Edward dies, the country still rallies to the Catholic heir, Mary Tudor.

15: Mary I-1553-58

Failing to realize that her people have rallied to her only because she is the rightful heir and not because she is Catholic, "Bloody Mary" attempts to ally with the Spanish Empire and undo the Reformation-at tremendous human cost.

16: Young Elizabeth-1558

As Queen, Elizabeth uses her superb political skills to balance off both competing court factions and potential suitors. Rejecting marriage, she cultivates the image of "Gloriana," the Virgin Queen symbolically wed to the people of England.

17: The Elizabethan Settlement-1558-68

Bitter religious divisions are tearing at England as Elizabeth takes the throne. This lecture examines those divisions and how the Scottish Reformation, the rebellion against Mary Queen of Scots, and Mary's flight into Elizabeth's protection place in grave peril not only both women, but also the prospects for peace in the British Isles.

18: Set in a Dangerous World-1568-88

Increasing tensions between England and Spain over trade and the Protestant Revolt in the Netherlands mark a period of plots against Elizabeth, the assembling of the Spanish Armada, the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and the defeat of the Armada by a newly strengthened Royal Navy.

19: Heart and Stomach of a Queen-1588-1603

The beginning of a world war with Spain has a devastating effect on England's economy and makes for a stormy relationship with Parliament. In the end, it is the cult of "Gloriana" that keeps Parliament and the people loyal and allows the smooth succession of the Stuarts to the throne.

20: The Land and Its People in 1603

The start of an eight-lecture intermission from the political narrative to address the economic and social changes experienced by the English people since 1485-beginning with unprecedented stresses on the Great Chain of Being.

21: Private Life-The Elite

An examination of how members of the landed aristocracy (i.e., nobles and gentry) lived their lives circa 1603....

22: Private Life-The Commoners

The same topics dealt with in the previous lecture-education, courtship, marriage and day-to-day living-are dealt with as they are experienced at the other end of the "Chain."

23: The Ties that Bound

A look at the institutions, habits, and attitudes designed to promote meaning and community in England, including popular religion, paternalism, extended family ties, and the support of one's neighbors.

24: Order and Disorder

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, English men and women are convinced that disorder, poverty, and crime are on the rise. This lecture examines whether they were right and how the system functioned to address these issues.

25: Towns, Trade, and Colonization

England begins its movement out of the countryside-not only into towns, but to fledgling colonies that form an alternative for those who cannot make a go of it in England or conform to its rigid religious and social structure.

26: London

A guided walk through what is, by far, the largest city in the realm, as well as its capital, greatest port, and center of culture and fashion.

27: The Elizabethan and Jacobean Age

A look at the tremendous flowering of English culture at the turn into the seventeenth century, including what is possibly the greatest achievement of the age-the development of the English language itself-and the reaction of authorities to this powerful and thus dangerous tool.

28: Establishing the Stuart Dynasty-1603-25

The problems that James I inherits from the Tudors will eventually overwhelm the early Stuart state and produce the British Civil Wars. This lecture introduces five enduring areas of tension-sovereignty, financing the government, war and foreign policy, religion, and local control-with a focus on the first two.

29: The Ascendancy of Buckingham-1614-28

A look at the 14-year dominance over English politics and government of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who rises to be the principal favorite of both James I and his son, Charles I.

30: Religion and Local Control-1628-37

This lecture examines the impact of the different and problematic religious settlements reached in each of the three kingdoms ruled by the Stuarts: England, Scotland, and Ireland.

31: Crisis of the Three Kingdoms-1637-42

In 1637, Charles I attempts to impose an Anglican liturgy on Presbyterian Scotland, unleashing a chain of crises that ultimately leads to the complete breakdown of understanding between king and Parliament and a resulting declaration of civil war in England.

32: The Civil Wars-1642-49

A look at how the wealth controlled by Parliament eventually wears away Charles I's advantage in experienced fighting men and leads to an event unprecedented in English history: the execution of a king on a charge of high treason against the people of England....

33: The Search for a Settlement-1649-53

This lecture examines the first part of England's 11-year period without a king, including the flowering of a period of relative political, social, and religious freedom, and the conquests of Ireland and Scotland.

34: Cromwellian England-1653-60

Parliament and the army ask Cromwell to administer England as Lord Protector of the realm. But after five years of effective rule, Cromwell dies-unleashing a period of instability that leads to the negotiated restoration of the Stuart monarchy.

35: The Restoration Settlement-1660-70

The restoration settlements in Church and State seem to turn the clock back, with the king dependent on Parliament, the Church of England reestablished and Puritans made outlaws, and defeat at the hands of the Dutch plunging the nation into crisis.

36: The Failure of the Restoration-1670-78

Charles II and his new ministry-the Cabal-begin a bold attempt to solve all of his problems by signing the Treaty of Dover with France, England's ancestral enemy.

37: The Popish Plot and Exclusion-1678-85

An alleged "Popish plot" to kill the king and establish his Catholic brother, James, Duke of York, on the throne leads to the rise of the Whig and Tory parties, a failed effort to bar James, and the pursuit by Charles of what comes to be known as the Tory Revenge. The Revenge culminates in a deathbed conversion to Catholicism and the peaceful succession of James.

38: A Catholic Restoration? 1685-88

A look at the short and unpopular reign of James II and his attempts to restore toleration for Catholics. Unpopular though he is, no one contemplates rebellion, until the surprise birth of a Catholic heir leads seven prominent noblemen to invite invasion by the Protestant William, Prince of Orange....

39: The Glorious Revolution-1688-89

James flees in the face of William's invasion, and a compromising Parliament declares his abdication, placing William on the throne and marking England's final break with the Great Chain and her entry into the modern world.

40: King William's War-1689-92

The necessities of the war with France bring about a fundamental shift in the respective roles of England's two political parties, and irrevocably extend the reach of Parliament's power and role in the constitution.

41: King William's War-1692-1702

An examination of the economic strategy that enabled victory over France; the Act of Settlement that solved England's succession question-at least on paper-and moved the nation closer to constitutional monarchy, and the two royal deaths that brought England to the brink of yet another war with France. It is a war that will have to be fought by a new ruler after a hunting accident claims William's ...

42: Queen Anne and the Rage of Party-1702

A close look at a Queen greatly underestimated in both her own time and by historians, yet whose strong common sense and identification with her people's hopes and dreams would make her the most successful of the Stuarts.

43: Queen Anne's War-1702-10

The War of the Spanish Succession decides the thrones of Spain and Britain and settles the balance of power in Europe and North America for a generation. But even after a series of major victories, it is the queen's subtle political maneuvering that paves the way for peace.

44: Queen Anne's Peace-1710-14

Though the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ends the war and lays the groundwork for the British Empire and England's commercial and military dominance of Europe for the rest of the century, issues of religion and succession are still in play when Queen Anne's lifelong fragile health finally fails, and the last of the Stuart monarchs dies.

45: Hanoverian Epilogue-1714-30

A look at how the peaceful accession of George I, combined with Britain's victory in the War of the Spanish Succession, solves or pacifies most of the tensions that have wracked England under the Stuarts, and allows Great Britain to become the richest and most powerful country in Europe during the eighteenth century.

46: The Land and Its People in 1714-I

An examination of the social and economic state of the country as the reign of the Stuarts ends.

47: The Land and Its People in 1714-II

As England turns into the eighteenth century, the face of artistic and intellectual life is changing as primary patronage of the arts passes from the Church and court, replaced by noble and popular sponsorship of architecture, literature, music, and painting.

48: The Meaning of English History-1485-1714

A summary of what twenty-first-century Americans should take from English history under the Tudors and Stuarts: a time when ideas and concepts that still lie at the heart of our notion of democratic civilization were pioneered.