ABSTRACT
Henry VII served England well in two important ways: He brought peace, which allowed commerce to thrive, and he repaired the fabric of the English monarchy, which under Henry VI had fallen apart. Henry VII knew as well as did Edward IV that no king could be powerful who was financially dependent upon Parliament. Though Henry VII did not bring order to England, he did begin the long struggle by which the Tudors made England one of the most orderly kingdoms in Europe. While the Tudor kings strove to bring order to England, the scholars were busy propagating the new learning of the Italian Renaissance. Henry VII did not create a new monarchy, but forces over which he had no control were creating a New England. Seventy years ago historians divided medieval from modern English history with the accession of Henry VII in 1485.
