In order to complete this essay I am going to explain below in detail why the monasteries were closed by Henry V111 between 1536 and 1539 and I am going to evaluate the evidence about the stage of the monasteries at the time of their decision.
Henry V111 and Cromwell had sent around people to report that the monks are not following the rules, for example: that the monks are playing dice and spent much money on gambling, monks are not answering the door and the prior of the crossed friar’s monastery in London in bed with a woman. When Henry V111 had the evidence that the monks were not following the rules, he felt he could close the monasteries.
This evidence may not have been reliable because inspectors were employed by Cromwell who wanted to please Henry V111 and look for negative thing about monks; Cromwell was protestant (probably employed protestant inspectors) so likely to be used against catholic monastery and might be good reason for women to be there (for example: sick) monastery might really be poor.
Modern historian can use the benefit of hindsight to help them by looking at all the evidence and have a less biased opinion, they can look at all the evidence together, and compare and pick out the parts that they think could be true and they can see where people agree and disagree.
Henry V111 closed the monasteries because monks and nuns were a threat to his king Authority after he had argued with the pope, gold, silver, jewels, bells, lead roof and even the stonework were taken to sell and king made money from them to defend the country, Henry V111 was not himself a protestant but wanted to control the church in England so the people obeyed him not the pope and Henry V111 income was £100,000 a year in 1536 but in 1536 and 1547 he received an extra £140,000 a year from the money made by selling the lands and buildings of the monasteries.
(Henry V111 calculated what he could get away with by closing smaller monasteries, ‘inspectors’ were carried out too quickly to be done properly, for example: 2 men visiting 15 monasteries in a week, they lived 10 miles away from the monastery, the inspectors were all hand – picked by Cromwell and they knew what to say to keep Cromwell happy.
They could be more reliable because they have more evidence to look at. They have nothing to fear because Henry V111 cannot hurt them now.
I think Henry V111 close the monasteries because he want money to defend the country, divorce his wife and marry new wife to have a son but the pope would not give divorce to Henry V111 and his wife, Henry V111 wanted to control the church so that people would obey him and not the pope, that why Henry V111 close the monasteries. Henry V111 wanted to control the church in England so the people obeyed him not the pope. Henry V111 made excuses that the monks are bad and not corrupt. Henry V111 real reason was he wanted a divorce; he wanted the money to defend the country and he, he wanted to control the church so people would obey him and not the pope.
