Tudor period Tudor period The Tudor period is the period between 1485 and 1603 in England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England whose first monarch was Henry VII (14571509). In terms of the entire span, the historian John Guy (1988) argues that "England was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the Tudors" than at any time in a thousand years. Following the Black Death and the agricultural depression of the late 15th century, the population began to
House of Tudor is verified by the Tudor family tree which appears later in this article. Henry Tudor had, however, one thing that the others did not. He had an army which had defeated and killed the last Yorkist King, Richard III and therefore the support of powerful nobles. His son Henry VIII made sure there were no other claimants to the Throne when he wiped out all the remaining Plantagenet heirs including the Countess of Salisbury and her family the Poles. One Pole alone survived but he was a cardinal in the Catholic Church. He later became Archbishop of Canterbury under the