Today in 1545 Henry VIII’s flagship The Mary Rose sank while engaged with the French in the Battle of the Solent. Henry VIII is credited for building up a modern English Navy. While his father started building a modern fleet, Henry took it to the next level. Within a century the English navy went from less than 10 ships, to being a modern fleet that could fight off the mighty Spanish Armada.
The French fleet that attacked in 1545 was huge, and Henry VIII was actually watching the battle from the shore. The English moved out to engage the French, and a wind sprung up creating havoc. Henry watched as the Mary Rose sunk. After 437 years she was brought back up to the surface, and the objects that are still in the ship have provided amazing insights into what life was like for sailors on board in the 16th century.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com
Suggested link:
Episode 36: Henry VIII and the Tudor Navy
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop. She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.