Henry VII The Wars of Religion had taken an enormous toll on France, so Henry’s immediate goal was reconstruction Rather than exhaust the treasury with more wars, Henry paid off the nobles who disagreed with him He systemized finances and soon created a reserve of 18 million livres Henry’s marriage to Marguerite of Valois was annulled by Pope Clement VIII (1536–1605) in 1599 Henry married Marie de Médicis (1573–1642) on December 17, 1600 They had six children, the first of whom would become Louis XIII The couple welcomed Marguerite of Valois into their family; she helped rear the children and was very popular with the French people Henry also had eight more illegitimate children with various other mistresses Henry sent Samuel de Champlain, Pierre Dugua, sieur de Monts to the New World to claim it for France Henry’s foreign policy was meant to bring France to the forefront of power He made alliances with Italy, the Swiss, and some Protestant German princes He was assassinated on May 14, 1610, by a religious fanatic He was buried at the Saint Denis Basilica, the burial place of French monarchs His legal son and heir, the future Louis XIII, was only nine years old, so Marie de Médicis served as regent until 1617 See also Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation) in Europe; Medici family; Reformation, the; voyages of discovery Further reading: Chamberlin, E R Marguerite of Navarre New York: The Dial Press, 1974; De Vaissière, Pierre Henry IV Paris: A Fayard, 1928; Love, Ronald S Blood and Religion: The Conscience of Henry IV, 1553–1593 Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2001; Mousnier, R The Assassination of Henry IV New York: Scribner, 1973; Rothrock, George A The Huguenots: A Biography of a Minority Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall, 1979; Wolfe, Michael The Conversion of Henri IV: Politics, Power, and Religious Belief in Early Modern France Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993 Annette Richardson Henry VII (1457–1509) Tudor king of England Henry Tudor was born to Margaret Beaufort of the House of Lancaster—the “red roses” in 15th century England’s War of the Roses—and Edmund Tudor, the earl of Richmond, who died in Henry’s infancy The War of the Roses came to a lull in 1471 when Edward IV (of the House of York, the opposing “white roses”) 161 was restored to the throne—but his death 12 years later returned turmoil to England Encouraged by his Lancastrian maternal family, Henry contested the claim to the throne made by Richard III, the duke of Gloucester and Edward’s brother and most powerful general It took two years, but Henry’s eventual victory ended the War of the Roses decisively and established the House of Tudor in the monarchy of England Peace and prosperity were Henry’s watchwords as king of England Though his taxes were often high, they aimed not to line pockets but to restore the coffers depleted by civil war, and a treaty with the French that granted to them much of the territory they had gained during previous reigns brought substantial money to the royal treasury and spared the kingdom further fighting over matters now generations in the past Economic reforms presaged the weakening of the nobility’s financial power compared to that of the merchant class, which under Tudor rule would become more and more significant up through the English Renais sance (both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were Tudor monarchs) Henry also turned the Star Chamber—a court that had developed from the royal council—into a special tribunal whose sessions were closed to the public, which made them available to commoners who sought to make complaints against the nobility Although the Star Chamber could examine and overturn the decisions of lower courts, it was explicitly used by Henry to ensure the power to prosecute individuals considered untouchable by ordinary courts It was not a new concept—similar courts had been used across Europe for centuries—but Henry’s application of it at the end of the War of Roses helped to turn the chaos of that period into the opportunity for a new order Though it was his son and successor, Henry VIII, who would split the Church of England off from the diocese of Rome, Henry VII in a sense got the ball rolling: When his oldest son died, he sought to marry his daughter-in-law, Catherine of Aragon, to Henry VIII, his younger son A papal dispensation was necessary, and although it was granted, the necessity lent a tense tenor to European affairs for most of a year Eventually, Henry decided against the marriage, and the dispensation was not required—but this betrothal was instrumental in influencing young Henry VIII’s opinion of the pope’s influence in royal matters Further reading: Bevan, Bryan Henry VII: The First Tudor King London: Rubicon Press, 2000; Weir, Alison The War of the Roses New York: Ballantine, 1996; Williams,