CHST final paper I. Paper Instructions You are to pick an element, or theme, from the readings, and trace its development through time until the end of the course (approx. mid-1600s). How did it...

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TITLE OF THE PAPER: THE POLITICAL CLIMATE OF 16TH CENTURY ENGLAND
STUDENT’S NAME: ____________________
DATE: ____________________
PROFESSOR’S NAME: ____________________
COURSE NAME: ____________________
Table of Contents
Introduction    3
Religious Reformation and the Values of Freedom    3
Criteria of Political Governance and Freedom    4
The Consensus of Elizabeth I    5
The Post Impacts    6
The Status of Catholic Church in Tudor Reign and Aftermath    7
The Contemporary Influence    8
Summative Assessment    9
Bibliography    10
Introduction
Political governance is one of the major subjects that historians prefer to analyze with regard to understand the social and economic contexts of a particular society in a specific timeframe. The period of reformation in Western societies in 6th century was one of the significant changes in terms of politics and governing people in the best manner possible[footnoteRef:1]. During this whole century, if the focus is kept over the main nation as England, the changes were revolutionary and they were guided by the principle of expanding the influence of England over the rest of the world. The reign, of King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, is marked by the strong presence of England over the global societies[footnoteRef:2]. The religious reformative values, distribution of the powers and authority of control as well as the expectations of common people from the government altogether shaped the new identity of England and the impressions of the same were visible in the colonial settlement in America as well. [1: Suzanne M. Wilson, and Samuel S. Wineburg. "Wrinkles in time and place: Using performance assessments to understand the knowledge of history teachers." American Educational Research Journal 30, no. 4 (1993): 729-769] [2: Fredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist, Andrea Seim, and Heli Huhtamaa. "Climate and society in European history." Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 12, no. 2 (2021): e691]
Religious Reformation and the Values of Freedom
At first, it significant to note here that the political transformation of England was stable and conventional during the 16th century; the process of ruling was monarchial, centralizing the power of ruling in the hands of the king and queen. The royal dynasty of King Henry I continued to rule over England, however, the impacts of renaissance were growing at a moderate pace among the common people[footnoteRef:3]. They were now recognizing their rights and duties towards the nation as well as towards the state, in which they were living. At the same time, this era is referred as the religious evolution of the mindset of people due to the puritan spirit existing with the Christian system. The Catholic tradition had already inspired people to see Bishop as the medium between them and god. The power of Pope, however, was not only sovereign in the religious criteria but also in the political galleries of England. [3: Robert G. Ingram, Reformation without end: Religion, politics and the past in post-revolutionary England. Manchester University Press, 2018]
One of the main sources of this power centralization in the hands of Pope was the religious belief of people and their perception that only Pope would bring salvation in their lives. Thus, the essence of the religious practices was to believe in what Pope would say to the common people and the English senate was well aware of these powers. Thus, political interventions of the powers of Pope were likely possible.[footnoteRef:4] There were very much significant aspects of the Pope having direct intervention in the process of structuring policies of the public wellbeing. The Pope would also take decisions through congregation organized in the church, which would be influential enough to grab the attention of the King. One of the main reasons behind the political differences of the Pope and the King was the conflict for the autonomous authority over people; the King—and no matter, to which dynasty he or she would belong—perceived that it was his or her birth right to rule people and take decisions of his or her choice. On the other hand, due to the influence of Pope over people, he would reckon his position much stronger than the King would in the context of setting up the policies of general good[footnoteRef:5]. These ideological differences structured the religious evolution of people because people were obedient to both, the king and the pope with equal intensity. However, the political advantage that the two authorities—the pope and the king—sough to get over each other was simply traditional and conflicting. [4: Suzanne M. Wilson and Samuel S. Wineburg. "Wrinkles in time and place: Using performance assessments to understand the knowledge of history teachers." American Educational Research Journal 30, no. 4 (1993): 729-769] [5: Alexandra Walsham. "Reformed folklore?: Cautionary tales and oral tradition in early modern England." In The spoken word. Manchester University Press, 2018]
Criteria of Political Governance and Freedom
In the context of the above, the reign of Henry Tudor (and his house of Tudor as well) known as King Henry VIII, is the peaceful one till the outbreak of Civil War in 1642. Tudor took over the throne peacefully and he literally had no intentions to change the authorities of the church because he was no longer in the position to take the allegation of becoming a dictator upfront. Thus, he enthroned himself peacefully and tried to collaborate with the authorities of the churches with a view to build religious harmony in nation. He was aware of the facts that individuals like Martin Luther and Calvin were approaching the populace massively and they had gained significant influence among them. It was his opinion to trace the impacts of these people but at the same time, he was not...