How did Catherine of Aragon influence England's separation from Rome?

Answer 1

Allison, You can find that out easily enough in any encyclopedia. And it is probably in your textbook as well. The short answer is that because Henry VIII and Catherine had no sons who lived Henry decided to annul the marriage in the hopes that a new wife would bear him a son. Ordinarily this would have been no problem but Catherine's brother was the King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor and had an army in Rome at the time. Thus the Pope was not going to antagonise him in any way, such as declaring his sister's marriage invalid. Since the Pope would not give him what he wanted, Henry had himself declared the supreme head of the church in England and did it himself. This is often presented as Henry merely engaging in a foolish and overweening pride but that is not really fair to him. Although he undoubtedly had a normal desire for a son there were vital political considerations at stake. Henry was the first King of England to come to the throne without bloodshed in over 100 years. Without a male heir who could lay an undisputable claim to the throne there was every possibility of the country once again falling into civil war as rival claimants vied for the crown. This was Henry's major motivation in this matter. Michael Montagne