Watch A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

Get a summary of what 21st-century Americans should take from English history under the Tudors and Stuarts: a time when ideas and concepts that still lie at the heart of our notion of democratic civilization were pioneered.

Here, as England moves into the eighteenth century, the face of artistic and intellectual life changes as primary patronage of the arts passes from the Church and court, replaced by noble and popular sponsorship of architecture, literature, music, and painting.

Look at how the peaceful accession of George I, combined with Britain's victory in the War of the Spanish Succession, solves or pacifies most of the tensions that have wracked England under the Stuarts, and allows Great Britain to become the richest and most powerful country in Europe during the eighteenth century.

Though the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ends the war and lays the groundwork for the British Empire and England's commercial and military dominance of Europe for the rest of the century, issues of religion and succession are still in play when Queen Anne's lifelong fragile health finally fails, and the last of the Stuart monarchs dies.

Here, the War of the Spanish Succession decides the thrones of Spain and Britain and settles the balance of power in Europe and North America for a generation. But even after a series of major victories, it is the queen's subtle political maneuvering that paves the way for peace.

Take a close look at a queen greatly underestimated in both her own time and by historians, yet whose strong common sense and identification with her people's hopes and dreams would make her the most successful of the Stuarts.

Examine the economic strategy that enabled victory over France, the Act of Settlement that solved England's succession question (at least on paper) and moved the nation closer to constitutional monarchy, and the two royal deaths that brought England to the brink of yet another war with France. It is a war that will have to be fought by a new ruler after a hunting accident claims William's life.

Here, James flees in the face of William's invasion, and a compromising Parliament declares his abdication, placing William on the throne and marking England's final break with the Great Chain and her entry into the modern world.

Examine the short and unpopular reign of James II and his attempts to restore toleration for Catholics. Unpopular though he is, no one contemplates rebellion, until the surprise birth of a Catholic heir leads seven prominent noblemen to invite invasion by the Protestant William, Prince of Orange.

In this episode, an alleged "Popish plot" to kill the king and establish his Catholic brother, James, Duke of York, on the throne leads to the rise of the Whig and Tory parties, a failed effort to bar James, and the pursuit by Charles of what comes to be known as the Tory Revenge. The Revenge culminates in a deathbed conversion to Catholicism and the peaceful succession of James.

Here, Charles II and his new ministry (the Cabal) begin a bold attempt to solve all of his problems by signing the Treaty of Dover with France, England's ancestral enemy.

In this episode, the restoration settlements in Church and State seem to turn the clock back, with the king dependent on Parliament, the Church of England reestablished and Puritans made outlaws, and defeat at the hands of the Dutch plunging the nation into crisis.

Parliament and the army ask Cromwell to administer England as Lord Protector of the realm. But after five years of effective rule, Cromwell dies, unleashing a period of instability that leads to the negotiated restoration of the Stuart monarchy.

This episode examines the first part of England's 11-year period without a king, including the flowering of a period of relative political, social, and religious freedom, and the conquests of Ireland and Scotland.

Investigate how the wealth controlled by Parliament eventually wears away Charles I's advantage in experienced fighting men and leads to an event unprecedented in English history: the execution of a king on a charge of high treason against the people of England.

In 1637, Charles I attempts to impose an Anglican liturgy on Presbyterian Scotland, unleashing a chain of crises that ultimately leads to the complete breakdown of understanding between king and Parliament and a resulting declaration of civil war in England.

This episode examines the impact of the different and problematic religious settlements reached in each of the three kingdoms ruled by the Stuarts: England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Explore the 14-year dominance over English politics and government of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who rises to be the principal favorite of both James I and his son, Charles I.

The problems that James I inherits from the Tudors will eventually overwhelm the early Stuart state and produce the British Civil Wars. This episode introduces five enduring areas of tension (sovereignty, financing the government, war and foreign policy, religion, and local control) with a focus on the first two.

Study the tremendous flowering of English culture at the turn of the seventeenth century, including what is possibly the greatest achievement of the age: the development of the English language itself (and the reaction of authorities to this powerful and thus dangerous tool).

Take a guided walk through what is, by far, the largest city in the realm, as well as its capital, greatest port, and center of culture and fashion.

Here, England begins its movement out of the countryside to towns and fledgling colonies that form an alternative for those who cannot make a go of it in England, or who cannot conform to its rigid religious and social structure.

Toward the end of the sixteenth century, English men and women are convinced that disorder, poverty, and crime are on the rise. This episode examines whether they were right and how the system functioned to address these issues.

Take a look at the institutions, habits, and attitudes designed to promote meaning and community in England, including popular religion, paternalism, extended family ties, and the support of one's neighbors.

Here, the same topics dealt with in the previous episode (education, courtship, marriage, and day-to-day living) are dealt with as they are experienced at the other end of the Great Chain.

Embark on an examination of how members of the landed aristocracy (i.e., nobles and gentry) lived their lives circa 1603.

The beginning of a world war with Spain has a devastating effect on England's economy and makes for a stormy relationship with Parliament. In the end, it is the cult of "Gloriana" that keeps Parliament and the people loyal and allows the smooth succession of the Stuarts to the throne.

Increasing tensions between England and Spain over trade and the Protestant Revolt in the Netherlands mark a period of plots against Elizabeth, the assembling of the Spanish Armada, the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, and the defeat of the Armada by a newly strengthened Royal Navy.

Bitter religious divisions are tearing at England as Elizabeth takes the throne. This episode examines those divisions and how the Scottish Reformation, the rebellion against Mary Queen of Scots, and Mary's flight into Elizabeth's protection place in grave peril not only both women, but also the prospects for peace in the British Isles.

In this episode, Queen Elizabeth uses her superb political skills to fend off both competing court factions and potential suitors. Rejecting marriage, she cultivates the image of "Gloriana," the Virgin Queen symbolically wed to the people of England.

Failing to realize that her people have rallied to her only because she is the rightful heir and not because she is Catholic, "Bloody Mary" attempts to ally with the Spanish Empire and undo the Reformation at tremendous human cost.

In this episode, two successive advisors to the boy-king (only nine when he takes the throne) increasingly push the country toward Protestantism, including an attempt to alter the succession. But when Edward dies, the country still rallies to the Catholic heir, Mary Tudor.

Follow an aging king as he attempts to avoid invasion by the Catholic powers, and to balance the demands of Protestant reformers with his own desire for a traditional Church (under his command) that would retain many Catholic practices.

Consider what some historians have seen as a Tudor plan to increase the power and efficiency of the monarchy, not only in religion, but in all areas of English life.

Learn how, with the Catholic Church weak and divided at the top, Henry and his new leading minister, Thomas Cromwell, break England's allegiance to the Pope, secure the king's divorce, and initiate the Reformation in England.

This episode explores Henry VIII's attempts to secure from the Roman Catholic Church a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and the complex implications that surround it.

Look at the larger-than-life personality of Henry VIII and the early years of his reign, years dominated by Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, one of the most hated government officials in English history.

This episode examines Henry's efforts to make England's government more efficient, less expensive, and more responsive to his wishes by following three old principles of medieval kingship: The king must be strong, he must govern with consent, and he must live "of his own" (within a budget).

Follow the 30-year period in which the Lancastrian and Yorkist claimants to the throne fight three different Wars of the Roses and produce a short-lived line of Yorkist kings, including Richard III, whose reign ends in the successful rebellion that begins the Tudor Dynasty.

Take a look at the scope of the series, the significance of English history, and why this Early-Modern period was crucial not only to the development of England, but to transatlantic civilization itself.