Mary I “Mary demonstrated that a woman could rule in her own right” people (including two of his own wives) during immediately with her first parliament in October his reign, according to Holinshed’s Chronicles It deeming the marriage of her late parents valid while passing the First Statute of Repeal (which was more the stark violence of Mary’s executions essentially negated all the religious legislation during a time when Reformist and Counterenacted during Edward VI’s reign) Her father’s Reformist propaganda was flying around Europe Act of Supremacy was also rejected, with that gave her actions such a lasting infamy religious authority removed from the Mary’s reign only lasted five years crown and returned to Rome and while it was marred by the The annual These changes were largely a mass burnings of Protestants and cost of the Great popular move since England the largely disastrous alliance Wardrobe shot had only been a Protestant with Spain (which even led to nation for six years, but such the loss of Calais to France in through the roof in the legislative restoration also one of the Tudor dynasty’s early part of her reign came with a sting in the tail: most embarrassing military due to her taste for the revival of the Heresy Acts debacles), Mary did attempt lavish materials These acts deemed anyone to make some changes that practising any faith other than ultimately benefited the kingdom and dresses Roman Catholicism a heretic by Financial reforms included changing proxy, leading to the voluntary exile of the way the government collected over 800 nobles who refused to renounce taxes, including the normalisation of import their new faith The Heresy Acts decreed that tax She even used Philip’s reluctance to include heretics should be put to death by beheading or by England in Spain’s grip on the lucrative trade with being hanged, drawn and quartered; however the the New World to create new trade opportunities use of burning was also adopted During Mary’s with the east coast of Africa reign, around 290 Protestants were executed – By the time of her death on 17 November many of them burnt at the stake – for heresy, 1558, Mary’s attempts to restore England to its creating an air of aggressive persecution Catholic roots had left the country in religious So was Mary really the bloodiest monarch of and political turmoil However, for all her violent the Tudor line? Despite her dramatic nickname, acts of religious reform, and her poor choice of a Mary’s brief Protestant purge was a single drop marital alliance with Spain, Mary appears to have compared to the oceans of blood spilled by loved her country deeply She also demonstrated her predecessors Edward VI had 5,500 rebels that a woman could rule in her own right, setting a murdered in the Prayer Book Rebellion in 1549, precedent upon which her half-sister and successor while Henry VIII executed a staggering 72,000 Elizabeth I would build Defining moment O Marriage to Prince Philip Less than a week after dealing with the conspiracy to place Lady Jane Grey on the English throne, Mary marries Prince Philip, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Such a marriage blocks her Protestant halfsister’s position as heir 25 July 1554 O Mary is crowned After riding into London in August with her half-sister Elizabeth and 800 supporting nobles, Mary releases the imprisoned Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, whom she makes lord chancellor She is crowned by Gardiner at Westminster Abbey October 1553 England drawn into war March 1557 In January 1556, Prince Philip’s father Charles V abdicates from the throne, effectively making Philip the new king Often absent from Mary’s side for great periods, the new Spanish monarch finally returns to England in March 1557 Philip has reignited the war with France (following a very brittle peace treaty between the two nations) and is keen to use his alliance with England to bolster his forces War is officially declared in June, but the conflict causes strain with the papacy as Rome has political ties to the French king The war is a political and economic disaster for England and even leads to the loss of Calais in January 1558 O The false pregnancy Around September 1554 Mary’s menstruation cycle stops – she then begins gaining weight as well as dealing with bouts of nausea Mary takes this as a sign of pregnancy, but her belly recedes more than a year later It was a phantom pregnancy Sep 1554 – Oct 1555 O Burning Protestants At the beginning of 1555, the restoration of Roman Catholicism in England leads to the return of the Heresy Acts With religious doctrine on her side, Mary starts executing Protestant nobles Burning at the stake is the most prevalent method and around 290 are executed in the purge February 1555 vk.com/englishlibrary Mary I often indulged herself by buying expensive dresses from the continent Life in the time of Mary I Irish settlement During her reign, Mary continued the Tudor conquest of Ireland by establishing a number of English settlements These were placed in the Irish Midlands, effectively creating the King and Queen’s counties The two main towns were named Maryborough and Philipstown Rainy season The five years of Mary’s rule were uncharacteristically rainy Persistent rain for months on end led to oversaturated soil, which in turn ruined entire crops This, and damage from flooding, plunged the country into famine A strained economy Poor weather conditions and harvests contributed to an already strained economic climate Despite the alliance between England and Spain, trade between them was brittle at best Spain refused to include England in its lucrative hold on the New World Mary and money Mary made attempts to implement changes to the state of English currency and taxation Prior to her reign, sheriffs had failed to adequately enforce and collect import taxes, so the queen had new legislation drawn up that clearly defined new rules for efficiently taking incoming resources Monastic restoration While the lands confiscated in Henry VIII’s Reformation were not relinquished by the crown, Mary was determined to help rebuild the monasteries that were torn apart decades before She even used her own finances to restore a number of sites across the nation Defining moment 1702 The queen is dead 17 November 1558 As 1557 draws to a close, Mary appears to fall pregnant yet again Sadly it proves to be another phantom term and the queen is forced to make the defining decision of her reign In 1558 she names Elizabeth as her lawful successor Mary falls ill during an influenza pandemic that is gripping London It’s not known whether it was the influenza that took her life or ongoing complications with ovarian cysts and uterine cancer vk.com/bastau 97