How far do you agree that the main reason that Henry VIII...

How far do you agree that the main reason that Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in England between 1536 and 1539 was that they were corrupt? At the beginning of Henry VIII’s reign in 1509, there were over 800 monasteries in England, but by 1540 the majority of these ceased to exist and all that was left of most of them was a ruin. The monasteries were rich and powerful institutions which were loyal to the Pope. From 1536 to 1539, Henry VIII, and his advisor, Thomas Cromwell wanted to close down the monasteries. There were two real reasons why Henry VIII wanted to get rid of the monasteries, firstly because he wanted access to the wealth of the monastery and he wanted the treasures of the land owned by the Church. Secondly Henry VIII†¦show more content†¦Many monasteries still believed in Catholic ways and Henry didn’t want that, he wanted the Church to be Protestant. Source B tells us that even some Protestant people were convinced the monasteries still had Catholic ways, it says, â€Å"To convinced Protestants, the monasteries were a clear reminder of the survival of catholic ideals. One of their main functions was to pray for the souls of the dead- an act that was thought unnecessary by Protestants† This suggests that Protestants thought they were praying unnecessarily. Henry VIII also wanted to change the religion in the monasteries because some of the monks and nuns were behaving so badly it was embarrassing to henry VII. This is backed up by the evidence of Source G, an extract from the Act of the Dissolution of the Lesser [smaller] Monasteries, where it reports â€Å"Manifest sin, vicious, carnel and abominable living is daily used ad committed among the little and small abbeys, priories and other religious hoses of monks, canons and nuns, and causes great (embarrassment) to the King’s highness and the realm.† I do not believe the only reason that Henry VIII wanted to dissolve the monasteries in England between 1536 and 1539 was because they were corrupt. I think Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries because of his financial and religious motives, he needed more money so he used the wealth of the monasteries and he wanted everyone in the