Name Date

King Henry VIIBy Sharon Fabian

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

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

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

In 1486, Henry married Elizabeth of York. This was an important move for the Englishmonarchy, 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 orparts of countries.

Some of the first problems that Henry had to deal with as king were conflicts that continued to arise among thelords of his kingdom. King Henry set up a court, known as the Star Chamber. This court had the power to takenobles 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 aninvasion of France. His invasion was not successful. After a while, Henry and the French king sat down at a peaceconference. There they decided to settle the problem with money instead of with more battles. England withdrewits 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 theirknowledge to people in England. In his court, scholars from Italy and other countries were welcome too. Throughthese 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 someexplorations 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 wasfrom Italy; his real name was Giovanni Cabotto. His home country had not been interested in sending him on anexploration. So Cabot had gone to Spain, the country of Christopher Columbus, but Spain was not interested in hisplan either. Finally, Cabot went to England. There, King Henry was happy to see the explorer, and signed him onto 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 Tudordynasty also became known as the time of the Renaissance in England.

Name Date

King Henry VII

Questions

1. Henry VII became king in ______.

A. 1885B. 1486C. 1509D. 1485

2. Henry VII succeeded King Henry VI.

A. trueB. false

3. King Henry VII defeated King Richard III in the Star Chamber.

A. falseB. true

4. King Henry's marriage to Elizabeth was ______.

A. good for the countryB. not allowedC. a secretD. a mistake

5. The conflict over land between England and France was settled when ______.

A. France gave land to EnglandB. England gave land to FranceC. England gave money to FranceD. France gave money to England

6. King Henry VII sponsored the voyage of exploration of ______.

A. Richard IIIB. Christopher ColumbusC. Queen ElizabethD. John Cabot

7. Cabot sailed to ______ under the flag of ______.

A. North America, EnglandB. South America, EnglandC. South America, SpainD. North America, Spain

8. The Renaissance in England occurred during the ______ dynasty.

A. LancasterB. YorkC. StuartD. Tudor