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alicehoffmans:

alicehoffmans:

Henry VIII wasn’t as widely-hated in England as pop. history genre claims. 

The Reformation, of course, wasn’t universally popular by any means. He was certainly hated and there were definitely dissenters, but to claim he himself was “widely-hated” by the English people during his reign is erroneous, and it probably actually slides farther on the other side of the spectrum.

Actually, considering the religious upheaval, and considering the excommunication of the Pope (which allowed any Englishmen to rebel and depose him, said it was not treason to do so, and that those that did so would still go to Heaven) it’s incredible that they’re weren’t more rebellions than there were. 

His reign was nearly 40 decades, and all in all there were only four rebellions. For roughly the first 16 years, there were none. None of the rebellions were aimed at deposing Henry. 

The first was in 1525, against a high tax. The ringleaders of this one were pardoned after Wolsey interceded for them. There was also the Kildare Rebellion, the Pilgrimage of Grace, and Bigod’s rebellion. 

In contrast, Henry VII had six rebellions during his reign, some calling for his deposition, within the span of 11 years. Edward VI had three rebellions within the same year. Mary I had one rebellion with the aim of her deposition within her reign of five years. Elizabeth I had seven rebellions, some with the aim of her deposition, within the 45 years of her reign. 

So, doing the ratio of years vs. rebellions/uprisings, Henry VIII actually had the least among the Tudors, and none for his deposition. 

That is rather remarkable, and the question of why exactly this was (despite the costly wars, despite how the Reformation hit those in poverty the hardest, despite the alleged extremely high number of executions– 72000 seems very unlikely) is a matter that deserves further examination and attention. 

@maximumphilosopheranchor

Right….I still believe Ireland should be counted. It’s very convenient to ignore Irish rebellions during Elizabeth’s reign (considering that most of the rebellions were Irish ones), but they were her subjects and their complaints and grievances were just as legitimate as those of her English subjects. 

Hypothetically, if I were to discount Ireland, that means I’d have to discount the Kildare rebellion during Henry VIII’s reign as well (which I did include above), as that was an Irish one. Bigod’s is considered by some scholars to be an extension of the Pilgrimage of Grace, but I still included it as its own. 

I’m also specifically focusing on the difference of rebellions that call for the deposition of their monarch vs. those that do not, and are just looking for reforms to laws, taxes, fines and fees, treatment of subjects etc. In regards to rebellions that called for the deposition of the monarch, Henry VIII had none while Elizabeth I did–  and so my point still stands in comparison, even if we do disregard Ireland (which I still don’t think is fair to do). 

*I do realize that I made the point above as being “as widely hated in England”, which is somewhat misleading. I should have reworded to “as widely-hated by his subjects”, as his English subjects were certaintly not his only ones.