Tudor London
Under the Tudor royal family , London's population, which had remained constant at around 50,000 since the Black Death, increased dramatically, trebling in size during the course of the century. The most crucial development of the sixteenth century was the English Reformation , the separation of the English Church from Rome. A far-reaching consequence of this split was Henry's Dissolution of the Monasteries , begun in 1536 in order to bump up the royal coffers. The Dissolution changed the entire fabric of the city: previously dominated by its religious institutions, London's property market was suddenly flooded with confiscated estates, which were quickly snapped up and redeveloped by the Tudor nobility. Henry VIII may have kickstarted the English Reformation, but he was a religious conservative, and in the last ten years of his reign he executed as many Protestants as Catholics. Henry's sickly son, Edward VI (1547-53), however, pursued an even more staunchly anti-Catholic policy. By the end of his reign, London's churches had lost their altars, their paintings, their relics and virtually all their statuary. Following Edward's death, the religious pendulum swung the other way with the accession of " Bloody Mary " (1553-58). This time, it was Protestants who were martyred with abandon at Tyburn and Smithfield. Despite all the religious strife, the Tudor economy remained in good health, reaching its height in the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). London's commercial success was epitomized by the millionaire merchant Thomas Gresham, who erected the Royal Exchange in 1572, establishing London as the premier world trade market. The 45 years of Elizabeth's reign also witnessed the efflorescence of a specifically English Renaissance , especially in the field of literature, which reached its apogee in the brilliant careers of Christopher Marlowe , Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare , whose plays were performed in the theatres of Southwark, the city's entertainment district.
massage therapy London thai medicine salonMassage London UK Thai Medicine Therapy Salon Bowen Centre Lymph Studio says "massage therapy London UK Salon +44 7957 473617
www. massagelondon.org"
Your Tip for London
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to London - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to London - visit the main London forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the London webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
