Name: edHelper King Henry VII

King Henry VII ruled England from 1485 to 1509. During his reign, he made important decisions that helped to modernize England, or to bring it into what we call the Renaissance today. He made improvements in government and education. He also sponsored important voyages of exploration.

Henry Tudor became king through a dramatic event in 1485. He defeated the reigning king, Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth. As soon as the old king was killed, the soldiers on the battlefield proclaimed Henry the new king of England. He became King Henry VII.

Later, back in London, his coronation was made official in a ceremony full of kingly pageantry and splendor.

In 1486, Henry married Elizabeth of York. This was an important move for the English monarchy, because it united Henry's family, known as Lancaster, to Elizabeth's family, known as York. At that time, royal marriages were often arranged to unite countries or parts of countries.

Some of the first problems that Henry had to deal with as king were conflicts that continued to arise among the lords of his kingdom. King Henry set up a court, known as the Star Chamber. This court had the power to take nobles to court if they got out of hand. Then, the court would decide who was right.

There were still conflicts going on between England and France too. Early in his reign, Henry decided to try an invasion of France. His invasion was not successful. After a while, Henry and the French king sat down at a peace conference. There they decided to settle the problem with money instead of with more battles. England withdrew its forces from French territory, and France paid a large sum of money to England.

With all of this money, King Henry's government was in a good position to take on other projects.

Henry spent some of England's money on education. He brought in scholars from France who could pass on their knowledge to people in England. In his court, scholars from Italy and other countries were welcome too. Through these scholars, the Renaissance began to spread to England.

King Henry was also interested in exploration. Everyone had heard about Christopher Columbus's voyage in 1492. Columbus had sailed for Spain, but Henry thought that it would be a good idea for England to get in on some explorations too. After all, England had excellent ships and was known as a seafaring nation.

Then, King Henry heard that John Cabot was looking for someone to sponsor a voyage of exploration. Cabot was Name: edHelper from Italy; his real name was Giovanni Cabotto. His home country had not been interested in sending him on an exploration. So Cabot had gone to Spain, the country of Christopher Columbus, but Spain was not interested in his plan either. Finally, Cabot went to England. There, King Henry was happy to see the explorer, and signed him on to sail for England. Cabot set sail on his famous voyage to North America flying the English flag.

King Henry VII was the first king of the Tudor dynasty. Throughout the following years, the reign of the Tudor dynasty also became known as the time of the Renaissance in England.

King Henry VII Questions

1. Henry VII became king in ______. A. 1485 B. 1486 C. 1885 D. 1509 2. Henry VII succeeded King Henry VI. A. false B. true 3. King Henry VII defeated King Richard III in the Star Chamber. A. true B. false 4. King Henry's marriage to Elizabeth was ______. A. good for the country B. a mistake C. a secret D. not allowed

5. The conflict over land between England and France was settled when ______. A. England gave land to France B. France gave money to England C. France gave land to England D. England gave money to France 6. King Henry VII sponsored the voyage of exploration of ______. A. Christopher Columbus B. Queen Elizabeth C. John Cabot D. Richard III 7. Cabot sailed to ______under the flag of ______. A. North America, England B. North America, Spain C. South America, England D. South America, Spain Name: edHelper 8. The Renaissance in England occurred during the ______dynasty. A. York B. Lancaster C. Stuart D. Tudor edHelper Name: How many of these can you write about? Think! Write! Check all the ones you answered. When King Henry VII set up the Star Chamber, some people thought that he was taking on too much power. Others were glad that he was ending the feuds between the lords. What do you think? Do you think King Henry did a good thing by setting up the Star Chamber? Do you think he should have done something differently? Explain how the Renaissance came to England.

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