The Reformation: the Original Brexit

 by Sophie H

Traditionally, the British Isles have been tied politically, economically or religiously to the European Continent for a good deal of our collective histories. This was especially true for our relationship with France; for centuries, English monarchs held Calais, parts of Normandy, and Gascony, and Henry VI was even crowned King of France in 1431. The complex melange of European dynasties was fully inclusive of the various English lines (such as the Plantagenets) and continued to involve English lineage despite the religious isolation caused by the break from Rome during the Tudor period, which removed them from the inner workings of the Catholic theatre. When Britain made its first steps into the wider European Union half a millennia later in 1973, we again reinforced our links to the continent. Both tenuous unions notoriously ceased, with Brexit aiming to remove Britain from the European sphere of influence, in a more political sense whilst the Reformation marked religious independence. It is clear that both breaks from the continent were not as definite as they may have seemed, but the two processes share fundamental similarities and repercussions. With such historic parallels to draw, to what extent can it be argued that Brexit is a second iteration of the English Reformation?

Religion in 16th century Britain was politically very important: the Pope wielded a huge amount of political power over western Catholic nations. This authority was rarely disputed, as the Pope, like Kings, was deemed to be anointed by God and therefore was deemed to possess legitimate political and religious jurisdiction. Because of this consensus on papal authority, when King Henry VIII wished to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he sought papal permission, firstly, for a divorce, then subsequently for an annulment. Pope Clement VII himself (despite his great religious authority) was under great coercion from Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (from the famous Hapsburg dynasty) to refuse such a request, as Charles was Catherine’s nephew, and at one point, engaged to marry her daughter, Mary (the 1st). It was thus unsurprising that in 1527 Henry VIII was refused an annulment of the marriage, but the wider ramifications were less predictable. The ordeal raised an irreversibly damaging question of autonomy and authority in England, and as to whether the King of England could really be controlled by a Catholic over 1000 miles away. Similarly, some Britons harboured a degree of resentment over the authority of the European Union over the British Parliament, frustration demonstrated by the Factortame case, where EU law took precedence over British law for the first time. Such grievances played an integral role in the Brexit campaign; ‘Take back control’ was flaunted on buses, with UKIP’s official slogan being ‘We want our country back’. It is in this way that similarities can be drawn between the two, with mounting frustrations over lack of national (and individual) autonomy helping to trigger the respective breaks from Europe. 

In both instances, this break from Europe was a legislative process, as opposed to a definitive moment. Henry VIII started his break with the 1532 Ecclesiastical Appeals Act, forbidding appeals to the Pope on any matters and making the King the definitive authority in England and Wales, establishing praemunire - the total rejection of papal authority. This was followed by the 1534 Act of Supremacy which declared the King the ‘Supreme Head on Earth of the Church of England’ and was enforced by the Treasons Act, which deemed noncompliance a treasonous act, punishable by death. These acts cemented Henry’s authority and supremacy over the Pope on English soil. Similarly, nearly five centuries later, Brexit was achieved as an amalgamation of Parliamentary legislation, although far less efficient and more drawn-out as a process. This can be attributed to the increased importance of the modern UK Parliament and parliamentary procedure, as opposed to singular monarchical authority, which made it far easier to make decisions without prolonged bureaucratic processes, despite its other drawbacks. It is notable that to simplify the nation’s passage through the Brexit procedures, measures to streamline legislative abilities for the governing party were introduced, dubbed the ‘Henry VIII measures’. This succinctly demonstrates the significant links between the two events.

Both the break from Rome and the break from the EU were somewhat inspired by economic propositions. Just as we saw promises about significant fiscal benefits from Brexit (i.e. the pledges of £350 million/week on the red buses) so too did Henry see the reformation as a chance to take advantage of diverted income: tax money that had previously been destined for Rome could now stay with the crown, and the subsequent dissolution of the monasteries was a tempting economic proposition. It was estimated that the Catholic church had an annual income of £181 million per annum (in today’s money), a literal wealth of opportunity for Henry’s aims as a monarch, most prominently the continuation of English military endeavours in France. Therefore the Reformation was a multi-faceted tool for the Tudor potentate, one which not only helped to continue his lineage with the crucial male heir, but also cement his own rule. After all, his father had usurped Richard III to the throne during the War of the Roses. The role of the supposed fiscal benefits in motivating both splits should not be ignored. However, the degree to which these forecasted benefits were actually endowed on the country differs massively. The dissolution of the monasteries considerably bulked up the Crown’s finances, whilst, despite promising enormous financial gains from Brexit, in actuality, little materialised. The £350 million per week pledge was proved to be drawn from inflated figures, and Britain’s gains from the process were disappointingly low, with the withdrawal costing billions. Despite the discrepancy in outcome, it is interesting to note the way in which both the Reformation and Brexit were heavily influenced in part by economic motivations.

However, though being officially severed from European authorities, there is doubt as to how much of a social change either event truly enacted. There is consensus amongst historians that Henry VIII was a devout Catholic throughout his life. Despite his break from Rome, he continued to attend daily mass and was initially reluctant to introduce an English language bible, preferring the traditional latin bibles, as used by the Catholic church. England even temporarily reverted back to Catholicism under Mary I, arguably a more significant and brutal change for the public than if Britain were to rejoin the EU. It is clear that formal (political) changes cannot immediately transform generational beliefs within society. Even though Henry VIII was the orchestrator of these changes, he too found it difficult to accept Protestantism. Henry was in a way forced into the break from Rome by his impending succession crisis without a male heir. However, more confusing was his indecisiveness over papal authority; following Martin Luther’s 95 theses in 1517, Henry had re-committed himself to Catholiscm by defending the Pope, to the extent that he was officially awarded the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith) - a title still present on British coinage and part of King Charles III’s official title. To then go on, later in his reign, to denounce papal authority and separate from the church posed a significant deviation from his prior actions. This contradictory position was reflected in the 21st century under the leadership of Boris Johnson. Viewed similarly as the one of the orchestrators of Brexit, Johnson has reflected this internal conflict contemporarily. It was discovered that just a week prior to endorsing (and subsequently heading up) the Vote Leave campaign, Johnson had written two columns, one in favour of Brexit and the other in favour of remaining in the EU, with only the former published. Though this may be more of a case of hedging one's bets rather than actual internal conflict, it does demonstrate the decisive and complex nature of both the Reformation and Brexit for those who led the nation through them.

Fundamentally, the Reformation changed the British psyche. From the 16th century, Britain was the ‘odd-one-out’ in Europe, the non-Catholic nation. It forged a separate English identity, which would, 500 years later, come back in the form of fervent Euroscepticism and culminate in Brexit. It can be argued that it was Henry VIII’s decision to split from Rome that prevented Britain from ever fully integrating into the EU as other nation states have, demonstrating not just the way in which the two events are linked, but the significant impact the Reformation had and continues to have on our country. Would Brexit have happened without the Reformation? In a typical historian manner, it is hard to provide a definitive answer. But, as I have demonstrated, the similarities between the two are striking, and Brexit certainly builds upon the ideas of the Reformation epoch. Will Brexit end up being as influential on the political, economic and social geography of the UK as the Reformation? Watch this space.

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