Utopia and the Tudors

Ira Shor came up with four basic ideas that he believes define Utopia, futurism. questioning the status quo, social engineering, and decision-making. At first none of these things make any sense, but if you're like me, you'll start to get those wheels turning in your head and begin to make connections that only make sense to you. Everyone else thinks you're crazy. What did my over active, yet simultaneously lazy mind come up with this time? What is most likely the weirdest thing you'll ever read.

Heck yeah I'm about to go there

Yes! This is it! How the Tudors compare to the four points! Who here is excited?😄 Nobody, okay. I'm still going to write this though so bear with me. Lets start with futurism. Shor describes it as being, "hope, innovation, experimentation,imagining and designing a better way to run society in the future, launching experimental projects and attitudes." Although the Tudors are not known for being accepting, they lived in a time period of great societal change. In 1485 England was a country disrupted by civil war between the ruling classes. A man named Henry Tudor put an end to this when his army killed the Yorkist king Richard III. Henry VII changed the way money was handled in England. He was stingy and was seen as a dower old man by his people. When Henry VIII became king the people saw this as a new beginning, where fun and light would be back in their lives. They saw the future in the 17 year old king and his bride, the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. Henry had great ideas for England. He wanted to be as great as his ancestor Henry V. Henry VIII is known for many things, having six wives and for changing the course of history by bringing the Reformation to England. His son Edward VI "experimented" with Protestantism. And by "experimented" I mean he changed the official religion of England to Protestantism and killed anyone who disagreed with him. Same with his older sister Mary, but with Catholicism and returning into the Papal fold. Now that I think about it the only Tudor who fits this  ideal of futurism is Elizabeth,also known as; Good Queen Bess, Queen Liz, the Virgin Queen and the greatest monarch in British history. Under her art and literature flourished. New lands were explored. The first British colony in the New World was founded. Liz kind of created her own Utopia if you think about it.

Moving onto "Questioning the Status Quo" I think I can honestly say the whole dynasty did this. Henry VII questioned whether a blood line that descends from illegitimacy can become the ruling power. Henry VIII questioned the Pope so he could get his coveted son. Mary I,Catherine of Aragon, Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn all questioned why a woman could not become queen. And boy did Mary and Elizabeth show everyone, that women can rule, and they can rule well.

"Elizabeth shall be a greater queen than any king of yours!" tell 'em Anne

Social Engineering is one I've been looking most forward to, because it reminds me of one person in particular, Mary I. Mary was only eleven years old when  she was separated from her mother. She was seventeen when she was stripped of her legitimacy and her titles. She was then forced to be servant to her baby half sister, Elizabeth in a house where she was beaten and mentally abused until she was twenty and finally gave into her father's wishes. Which put her at odds with her own conscience. She was thirty-two when her father died and thirty-seven when she finally became queen. Shor's definition  of Social Engineering has a line in it that say, "individuals are the results of their social experience," The situation and pain of her life made her go from and sweet young girl into a woman who suffered from multiple mental health issues and some serious daddy issues. The aspects of a patriarchal society directly caused Mary to become embittered and sad in her adult life, which in turn lead to a woman who is (unfairly) called "Bloody Mary"

if you look closely you can see evilness in her eyes

Now we've come to the last one (finally) and I'm sure that if anyone actually read this you're bored as heck right now, but hold on just a little bit longer. Decision-making, who made the rules in Tudor England. It's easy, the king/queen. They told you how to worship and in the case of Elizabeth I, when you had to wear a woolly hat.

I'd never say that Tudor England was a Utopia. With Sweating Sickness around every corner and Henry VIII's axe happy ways, it was more like a dystopia. All I wanted to do is to compare the tumultuous world of the Tudor's to Ira Shor's Utopian Ideas, mainly because I love the Tudors. This whole thing might make no sense, but hey, I tried.

Hannah R, 819

 Citations: "Some Basic Utopian Ideas" by Ira Shor