World-System (12 October 1537) Wolf Hall, Henry VIII's first Son, and the Death of Jane Seymour

 

In prior posts (here and here) I introduced a real character (John Dee) who was not in Wolf Hall but gave me the opportunity to speculate on what kinds of "future forecasts" might have been given to Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell during the time of Wolf Hall. In this Sunday's episode of the TV Series (and in the book) Hilary Mantel  introduces a fictional character, Jenneke (pictured above) who is presented as Cromwell's illegitimate daughter (a daughter Cromwell may or may not have had). Jenneke is introduced by Hilary Mantel, at the end of Season 2, Episode 3, to probe deeper into Cromwell's personal  life and character right before his fall.

From the perspective of World-System history, the interesting events in Episode 4 are: (1) Jane Seymore finally delivers Henry VIII an heir who will become Edward VI and ensure survival of the dynasty. At the same time, Jane Seymore's death after childbirth has opened the possibility of Henry remarrying and forming new Geoplitical alliances to counter the alliance forming between France and Spain. The search for a suitable marriage partner and powerful alliance begins Cromwell's downfall.

John Dee's future forecasts for Spain (here) and France (here) don't look particularly good (I'll discuss them in a later post) and you have already seen the forecast for England (here) and the best future doesn't have anything to do with Spain or France. Keep these in mind when you are watching Episode 4: Jenneke tomorrow night.

18 April 1536: Italian Ambassador Eustace Chapuys, Ann Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell.

 

What was so important about Catherine of Aragon's marriage to Henry VIII? The marriage is typically presented as a failure due to Catherine's inability to provide Henry VIII with a son, Pope Clement VII's  unwillingness to grant  Henry VIII a divorce to find a queen who could give him an heir, the resulting English Reformation (breakaway from the Catholic Church), Catherine of Aragon's unwillingness to enter a convent, and Henry VIII's ultimate execution of the Queen. Maybe all that is enough for a TV Drama, but there were deeper issues that had to do with Geopolitical Alliances.

In the video above, Eustace Chapuys (France's ambassador England) is set up to encounter Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's new Queen. Chapuys is reluctant to acknowledge Anne because he wants England to return to the Roman Catholic Church and become aligned with France.

 

The conflict here is that recently executed Catherine of Aragon is part of the Spanish Branch of the Habsburg Monarchy (graphic above, double click to enlarge).  Anne Boleyn, on the other hand, was English (educated in the Netherlands and France) and offered (1) no opportunity for Geopolitical Alliances and (2) was the daughter of Thomas Boleyn (later Earl of Wiltshire) that created favorites among the English Nobility. But Henry was in love with Anne Boleyn and alliances be damned.

Eventually, Chapuys and Thomas Cromwell became friends (as a result of a long discussion presented after Chapuys acknowledges Anne Boleyn). But much is potentially lost here to include the Spanish Habsburg foothold in the New World (graphic above--I live in what was once the Habsburg-Spanish Empire in the US--favored by John Dee) and Henry and Catherine's daughter, Mary I, who would go on to be Mary I Queen of England.

We know so much about Eustace Chapuys because he carried on extensive correspondence with France (one of the major attributes of a good ambassador) and he is a great character in Wolf Hall! John Dee's future forecasts for Spain (here) and France (here) don't look particularly good and you have already seen the forecast for England (here) and the best future doesn't have anything to do with Spain or France.