Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex
Created | Updated Jul 29, 2003
Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex (c. 1485-1540).
English statesman and adviser to Henry VIII. Cromwell was born of humble parentage in Putney, near London. After leaving England as a youth, he visited Italy and the Netherlands and the served as a solider in the French army, as a trader, and as a messenger. Returning to England about 1510, he worked in the textile bisiness and as a moneylender. Soon he became a confidential agent od several notables, including Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who helped him become a member of the House of Commons in 15x years, until Wolsey fell from power, Cromwell was on of his Principal agents.
Thereafter Cromwell was a loyal adviser and agent of Henry VIII, quickly attaining a position of great power. He was a privy counsellor in 1531, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1533, secretary to the king in 1534, Vicar-General in 1535, Lord Privy Seal in 1536, and Lord Great Chamberlain in 1939. He was created a Baron in 1936 and Earl of Essex in 1540.
Cromwell was chiefly responsible for the execution of royal policies in the 1530's. He controlled the Reformation Parlimen of 1529-1936, which made the Church of England independent of the pope, confirmed Henry as Supreme Head of the Church and introduced a small measure of Protestant doctrine. He reoganized royal fianances, and substantially increased income from 1536 from the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as the Criwn sold off the land it had obtained from the dissolved houses. He lose favour with the king, partly because the king's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which Cromwell had arranged, proved unsuccessful. After that Cromwell's enemies accused him of treason, and his fall was swift. Shortly after being made Earl of Essex in the spring of 1540, he was arrested and executed without trial on Henry's orders.
English statesman and adviser to Henry VIII. Cromwell was born of humble parentage in Putney, near London. After leaving England as a youth, he visited Italy and the Netherlands and the served as a solider in the French army, as a trader, and as a messenger. Returning to England about 1510, he worked in the textile bisiness and as a moneylender. Soon he became a confidential agent od several notables, including Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who helped him become a member of the House of Commons in 15x years, until Wolsey fell from power, Cromwell was on of his Principal agents.
Thereafter Cromwell was a loyal adviser and agent of Henry VIII, quickly attaining a position of great power. He was a privy counsellor in 1531, Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1533, secretary to the king in 1534, Vicar-General in 1535, Lord Privy Seal in 1536, and Lord Great Chamberlain in 1939. He was created a Baron in 1936 and Earl of Essex in 1540.
Cromwell was chiefly responsible for the execution of royal policies in the 1530's. He controlled the Reformation Parlimen of 1529-1936, which made the Church of England independent of the pope, confirmed Henry as Supreme Head of the Church and introduced a small measure of Protestant doctrine. He reoganized royal fianances, and substantially increased income from 1536 from the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as the Criwn sold off the land it had obtained from the dissolved houses. He lose favour with the king, partly because the king's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which Cromwell had arranged, proved unsuccessful. After that Cromwell's enemies accused him of treason, and his fall was swift. Shortly after being made Earl of Essex in the spring of 1540, he was arrested and executed without trial on Henry's orders.
