Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547), one of his biographers wrote, “changed the heart, mind, and face of Britain more than anything between the coming of the Normans and the coming of the factory,” not least by giving Protestantism its powerful purchase in the English-speaking world.
And given Britain’s later significance in world history—made possible in part by Henry himself—he must be accounted a towering figure of history.
Henry VIII ruled an island kingdom about the size of Pennsylvania inhabited by fewer than 3 million people nearly 500 years ago. This course examines this volcanic man, his turbulent reign, and the influence and limits of personality in shaping history.