In Europe, church and state were merely separated, while in England it was the king's power that completely triumphed over the clerical power.
To achieve such success, henry VIII's role was decisive, and it was also inseparable from his courtiers: Thomas Wolsey, and Thomas Cromwell, both loyal assistants.
Henry VIII was the second king of the Tudor dynasty, which was the result of the Competition between the York family and the Lancastrian family in the Wars of the Roses, and finally the Lancastrian family won a crushing victory, so that Henry VII, who had an illegitimate bloodline, that is, Henry VIII's father, dramatically ascended the throne, leaving the other nobles mixed. So the Tudor kings were keen to suppress the nobility, and there were three ways to do it:
First of all, the king designed many positions in the court, let the nobles take up them, and put the nobles around to manage.
In addition, because the Western people, including the king, believe in Christianity, the king also has only one wife, and the daughters-in-law and daughters brought by the nobles become the king's harem.
Another way, Henry VIII had to parade every year, consuming the wealth of the nobles, and which nobleman had the strength and money, he ate this one poor and went to the next one. Even if the nobles came to the palace as guards, the daughter-in-law and daughter spent a lot of money in the palace, and it was not long before they could not make ends meet.
The third way is to let people from low births hold real power, the major affairs of the country will not let the nobles participate, Henry VIII reuses thomas Wolsey, who is not born well, and entrusts him with state affairs, which makes the nobles angry.
Wolsey was particularly intelligent, graduating from Oxford at the age of 15 and becoming a royal priest in 1507. The commoners were able to ascend to high positions, which for the nobility negated their values, and the acceptance of high positions by lowly people was a bad conscience, a violation of the rules of nature and human morality.
Cromwell, who had returned from Rome in 1518 and had become Wolsey's assistant, was particularly good at dealing with property rights, and Wolsey was very pleased with him, appointing him as chief adviser, having the opportunity to see the king on important matters, and learning to obtain a large amount of property by tossing the church and selling it to the nobles for cash, and he not only made enough money for his master Wolsey, but also made a good fortune among the nobles.
Wolsey also taught Cromwell to use power, and Wolsey was able to trust the king for a long time, and there were three secrets:
First of all, be by the king's side at all times, and do not allow anyone else to speak between him and the king.
Second, it is the greatest politics to make the king's entertainment the most important thing and make the king happy.
Third, repeat loyalty and loyalty to the king repeatedly.
How did the Reformation in England come about? It originated from the divorce of Henry VIII and the Queen.
Henry VIII fell in love with Anne Boleyn, a maid under Queen Catherine, for which Wolsey fell.
Anne spent many years in the French court, so she dressed and talked very fashionably, Henry loved it very much, but Anne asked to become a formal wife, no way, in 1527, Henry gave Wolsey an order that he wanted to divorce Queen Catherine, but the Catholic Church would not let divorce ah! This killed Wolsey, so he sent someone to the Pope and asked him to allow them to divorce.
But when Germany defeated France, the Pope fled to the wilderness in fear, the Pope was afraid of the German Emperor, and Queen Catherine was the aunt of the German Emperor, who dared to approve this, not only did not agree, but also forbade Henry and Catherine to divorce, and ordered Anne Boleyn to leave the court.
Wolsey was bishop of the Church of England, the pope's spokesman, and in 1529, Wolsey was accused of contempt for the crown, arrested for treason, and died of illness on the way to the Tower of London.
Then Cromwell came on, how did he solve the king's divorce puzzle?