Most evil King Henry VIII
To those saying that Mary I Tudor was a bloody Queen, I remember that Henry VIII killed almost 60.000 persons during his long reign! Also Elizabeth I was cruel.
shareAlso Elizabeth I was as evil as his father.
As it is evident that English is not your first language, I suppose one should not be surprised at your lack of knowledge about English history. share
As it is evident that English is not your first language, I suppose one should not be surprised at your lack of knowledge about English history.
Yeah i'm not English but i know Henry VIII was cruel. share
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Thanks for this article, finally someone is saying the truth about the fat King Henry VIII and his daughter the virgin Queen Elizabeth I. We know this story about bloody Mary I is just propaganda against catholics.
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Agree totally!!! I specifically studied Tudor history n University.
There is still bigotry against Catholics in the UK. It seems that they are tolerating Islam with Sharia Law, amazing.
"A stitch in time, saves your embarrassment." (RIP Ms. Penny LoBello)
First, consider the source from these articles. One link is to a religious website; and the other is from a conservative leaning website...considering Mary I was a staunch Catholic, it surprises me not at all that articles, such as these two (that you offered up to back-up YOUR opinion of Mary I), twist, sugar-coat and whitewash facts and figures to make her come out smelling like Roses.
But anyway, there is no definitive number of the executions Henry VIII had ordered and completed, and is therefore only a suggestion. In fact, the estimated range lies somewhere between 57,000 and 72,000 (because historians can't agree on an exact number..go figure.). I am willing to bet that even those "suggested" amounts are exaggerated. Also, keep in mind that Henry VIII reigned for 37 years, compared to Mary I's mere 5 year reign. Since England was largely Protestant, had she lived and ruled longer, perhaps she would have annihilated every Protestant in England, far surpassing Henry's alleged 72,000 executions.
Start by counting all the people Henry VIII executed -- within his inner circle / the larger court, and multiply out from there.
Include Thomas More, Bishop Fisher, Lord Dudley, Thomas Cromwell, the Duke of Buckingham, Margaret Pole and her son and grandson, Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Jane Rochford, George Boleyn, etc, etc. There is not a single family in and or around court that Henry did not systematically murder his way through, including some of his childhood "friends," his mentors, his governesses, and his wives. At least Mary had the good grace not to slaughter her courtiers, apart from the Howard/Dudley faction that tried to take her throne.
(Once you get depressed with that fun little jaunt through Henry VIII's history, then count in the thousands of executions that followed the Pilgrimage of Grace. :P)
I suspect Elizabeth's revisionist historians did a number on Mary after her death. The true tragedy of it is that we'll never know for sure, since most sources are polluted. The biggest slander of her comes from Fox's Book of Martyrs, and he had an agenda; there are few contemporary accounts outside England itself, and a lot of the information dates during Elizabeth's reign, where it was popular for historians to demonize the previous monarchy in an attempt to legitimize the current one.
Since burnings and other brutal methods of public execution were common long before Mary came to the throne, I suspect if the people did turn against her, it was not for executing 283 Protestants, and had more to do with unpopular policies inside her government. (Having to do with the Spanish marriage, perhaps? Though even that seems a bit unlikely, given her mother's incredible popularity.)
I have a hunch Mary has been maligned. It's the only thing that makes sense, given the tremendous gaps in the narrative and the nonsensical accounts of her reign.
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I suspect if the people did turn against her, it was not for executing 283 Protestants, and had more to do with unpopular policies inside her government. (Having to do with the Spanish marriage, perhaps? Though even that seems a bit unlikely, given her mother's incredible popularity.)
Philip's unpopularity was more to do with his perceived intention to become King Regnant, rather than Consort to the monarch. The English people loved Catharine of Aragon as Queen Consort, and even as Regent, but they had no wish to be permanently ruled by a Spaniard of either sex. share