Was Henry VIII a man or a monster?

Was Henry VIII a man or a monster?

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later assumed the Kingship. Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Henry VIII was a person who aspired for perfection, however in his pursuit towards glory and greatness he got lost inside the pleasures of being King. During his reign many suffered and the consequences for England have had a repercussion until these days. The decisions he once made have changed the course of England's history. On one hand Henry was viewed as a King who was capable enough to rule a country with success, nonetheless this point can be criticized from different perspectives, since he used his intelligence for the doom and death of most of his people.

By studying Henry’s life we can appreciate that he was interested on things that gave him pleasure such as hunting and women; evidence has been proven that he went on annual trips to hunt and that he misjudged women by their appearances. This, in my opinion says a lot about a King since a person with power always needs to maintain a neutral opinion towards people and consider a country’s decisions for the greater good. From source number 2 and 3 we can learn that during many cases Henry was proven to mistreat women and act with violence towards their rights; he was not in love with Anne of Cleves but instead with her painting. This perspective can further be proven when we can see how he executed most of his wives for his own convenience, without considering the consequences of his actions.

On the other hand, a reason that makes me believe that Henry was a man with human flaws is source number 10 because it describes how Henry was a fan of culture and how he used to be passionate about knowledge. Furthermore, he was intelligent and a strategist since he knew how to rule a country with pride and success. His personality reflected power and control, given that he knew to perfection how to manage England’s Church. Fortunately I think the source is reliable since the person who said it was an English Bishop who used to be respected, in addition at the end of the day it was confirmed that Henry was truly Protestant by believing and fighting for his own thoughts and causes.

Notwithstanding, based on the facts that source number 6 and 15 contain, Henry can be seen as a monster because he killed and murdered people without mercy. His actions were unjustified since no civilized society has ever permitted a human to take the life of another and my point is even more valid when we understand that most of his behaviors were caused by his moody personality. Henry was described as a very violent and strict man whose ideas were correct and his opinion was all it mattered. Furthermore he was characterized as cruel given

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