The Tudor Dynasty (1485 – 1603)

 

The Tudor Dynasty

(1485 – 1603)

 

In 1485 the reigning King Richard III of the House of York was killed in the Battle of Bosworth and the victor Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster was crowned Henry VII of England establishing a new dynasty, the House of Tudor.

 

Key features of the Tudor England

·        Rise in population

·        Growth of new towns like London, Newcastle, Bristol, Norwich, York

·        Most people (90% of the population) lived in the countryside

·        Countryside was heavily forested

·        Farming was the main occupation

·        Field enclosure - method used by the farmers during this period made farming efficient. This yielded bigger harvests where they started selling the excess in growing towns.

·        Growth of industries such as woolen cloth, ship building, coal and tine mining, iron smelting, cannon manufacturing

·        Gunpowder was used in warfare in addition to bows and arrows

·        Increase in trade (import and export). Especially with the Spanish colonies.

·        English Reformation in which  England became Protestant

·        Rise in prices of essential goods

·        Voyages  that found new countries during Renaissance

·        Emergence of new ideas and scientific discoveries

 

Though not related to England, several other European nations discovered foreign land during the period in which the Tudors ruled England.

Some of the famous voyagers were: Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Magellan, Drake etc.