160. Managing power, coping with weakness

You may have noticed that religion has been a pretty significant factor in the happenings of the first few chapters, as it will be in quite a few of the ones ahead. So it makes sense to pause a moment and take a look at the role of God in the evolution of England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Illustration: The ceiling fresco Glory of Holy Trinity in church Santuario del Santissimo Crocifisso by Gersam Turri (1927-1929). ©sedmak/123RF.COM Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

14 Dec 20209min

An exciting moment! Anne Boleyn's daughter, bright as her mother, in sharpness of mind as well as redness of hair, has made it to the throne. She's sick of all those quarrels between Protestants and Catholics, and decides that there's no need to pick fights with any Catholic subject who's discreet about his beliefs and remains loyal to the throne. The trouble is that the Pope keeps making life difficult for her, by denying her legitimacy and therefore her right to the throne. Can she therefore count on Catholic subjects who owe allegiance to the Pope as well as to herself? And what about her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots? She's openly Catholic. And, with French connections herself, she's Queen in a nation that sees itself as close to England's enemy France. When she falls out with her own people and has to take refuge in England, how should Elizabeth react? Episode 5 will tell you. The illustration is a later engraving of her chief adviser William Cecil urging Elizabeth to take action against Mary Queen of Scots. ©petervick167/123RF.COM Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

9 Dec 202010min

A Bloody Mary may be a fine drink, but Bloody Mary was hardly the most desirable of Queens. As the nickname rather suggests. She was England's last Catholic monarch, and she set out to undo her brother's Protestant work (though without giving any of the money back). Apart from that, she lost England's last Continental possession, Calais, and she married the man who would become King Philip II of Spain. His great contribution as King of England? To sort out the Navy, a high-minded action but one unintended consequences for which he'd pay heavily later. The illustration is a portrait of Mary Tudor, who became Queen as Mary I, but is best known as Bloody Mary. © juangarcia/123RF.COM Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

4 Dec 20208min

At last, Henry VIII's wish could be fulfilled. He left the throne to his son. A male heir, just what he'd always wanted. Well, it wasn't that simple, First of all, Edward VI was only 9 when he came to the throne. Real power was exercised by a Regency Council that was - and this may shock you - not massively competent and rather more concerned with its own interests than with the nation's. What's more, Edward was England's first definitively Protestant monarch. A second shock for you will be to discover that a zealot for the oher side could be just much of a vandal as his enemies on the other. The illustration is a 19th century engraving of Edward VI, ©Georgios Kollidas/123RF.COM

29 Nov 20207min

We got to know Henry VIII a bit in chapter 1. We also talked a little about his wives, and it seems only right that we think about them a bit more now, especially since having a lot of wives is what Henry's best known for. So chapter 2 takes a look at their stories, at why Henry married them (well, the other reasons, apart from his attraction to young women), and to what extent he hit his objective. And, to surprise and amuse us all, we end with an unusual example of foresight and enlightened thinking from a monarch generally better known for self-serving authoritarianism. The picture is a detail of a British stamp showing the face of Catherine Howard, the wife who was rather too free with her charms for the taste of of her husband. ©Andy Lidstone/123RF.COM Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

24 Nov 202013min

21 Nov 202036s

Welcome to A History of England. As well as the podcast, there's a series of accompanying booklets, available as a paperback or a Kindle download. The first, covering episodes 1-35, is available on Amazon now. Just look for David Beeson A History of England. We can't get started without taking a moment to acknowledge the Spanish journalist and novelist, Arturo Perez Reverte. It was his Una Historia d'España, A History of Spain that inspired me to make this series. I like the idea of really short chapters, which I've imitated. I like the use of a normal sort of language,  and not fine, carefully modulated diction. But above all, what I liked was the idea of A history and not The history of the nation. I make no pretence at writing some academic tome. I make no pretence of academic detachment. I do make a pretence, or rather the attempt, to get the facts as right as possible. However, it's a particular view. Above all, it's less about discovering what England did at any particular point over the last few centuries, as about understanding how, by doing it, England got Britain to where it is today.  Let's get started. With, sensibly enough, Chapter One. It's dedicated to Henry VIII or, as I think of him, Bloody Henry. Picture: ©Satori/123RF.COM Music: Bach Partita #2c by J Bu licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

19 Nov 202012min