Tudor portraits: global connections
Learning objectives
- Investigate how Tudor portraits projected an image of wealth and global ambition.
- Identify ways in which portraits demonstrated a connection between the Tudors and wider trade networks of the 1500s.
- Question what people and stories are missing from Tudor portraits, including how the exploitation of people and resources contributed to Tudor wealth and power.
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At the start of the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). period, in 1485, Tudor Britain England and Wales from 1485 to 1603, when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled. had very little wealth or power beyond its borders. The Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). were a new Dynasty A series of leaders of a country who all belong to the same family. who wanted to make the country – and themselves, as rulers – stronger and more secure.
To become more wealthy and powerful, the Tudors needed to make connections with the wider world. They had ambitions to do this through:
- trade
- diplomatic and military Alliance An agreement between countries, political parties, or other groups to work together in order to achieve something that they all want. with other nations
- Colonise To take control of an area or a country that is not your own, especially using force, and send people from your own country to live there. land.
By the end of the period, in 1603, the Tudors had greatly increased their wealth and were beginning to compete with powerful European states, such as Portugal and Spain, for trade deals, land and other resources around the world. This marked the beginning of what would become one of the most powerful Empire A group of countries or states that are controlled by one leader or government. in the world, with ongoing and difficult legacies that still affect us today.
Global connections: trade networks
Look carefully at these portraits. What can they tell us about Tudor Britain England and Wales from 1485 to 1603, when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled. ’s connection to global trade?
Notice the clothes, accessories, textiles and other objects. Think also about the materials used to make the portraits. List all the goods that might come from different countries around the world.
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Look closer
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- The portraits show gold accessories inlaid with precious stones such as pearls, diamonds (painted in black) and red rubies. These were very expensive and highly prized. Jewels can also be seen on some of the clothes.
- Diamonds came from India and rubies from what is now Myanmar in Southeast Asia. Pearls were gathered by highly skilled divers, often from the seabed in South America and the Caribbean.
- Feathers, like those in Elizabeth’s fan, came from Africa.
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- Furs, like the trim on Edward’s cloak, came from the Baltic region in northern Europe.
- Raw silk used to make fine fabrics came from China or other parts of Asia, which often arrived in Europe via Venice, in Italy. By the mid 1500s, silk weavers in London were producing fabrics made of silk.
- Fine lace, used to make Elizabeth’s Ruff A wide stiff white collar with many folds in it, worn especially in the 1500s and 1600s. , was imported from Brussels (in what is now Belgium).
- Red clothes and other textiles such as carpets and wall hangings would have been coloured using cochineal. This was an expensive red dye made from drying and grinding insects that lived on cactuses in Central America.
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- The Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). made links with the Ottomans (now Turkey), Persians (Iran), and Mughals (India). Items such as carpets and wall hangings from these areas became highly fashionable.
- They were sometimes given as gifts by diplomats from these countries, to help build relationships with Tudor Britain England and Wales from 1485 to 1603, when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled. .
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- Oak from the Baltic region in northern Europe was often used to make portraits. This was more suitable than English oak for cutting into regular-sized boards for painting.
- Gold items such as jewellery were coloured using real Gold leaf Gold that has been made into a very thin sheet and is used for decoration. . Gold came to Europe mainly from the Americas. It was very rare which made it particularly expensive. Unlike silver and other metals, gold does not tarnish – it keeps its distinctive colour and shine. It was seen as pure and true, and worthy of being worn by a ruler.
- The portrait of William Butts uses indigo pigment for the background (it has faded but the original deep colour can be seen at the edges). Indigo came from plants grown in India or North Africa. The process of extracting the pigment was very dangerous, because of the poisonous fumes it produced, but it was highly sought after for its rich, deep colour. Today indigo is probably best known for its use in dying denim.
- Other pigments from around the world were also used in Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). portraits, including ultramarine (deep blue) which was the most expensive paint pigment at this time. It was made by grinding lapis lazuli stones found in northeastern Afghanistan.
- What do you think these portraits say about the Tudors?
- Why do you think they were made?
During the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). period, portraits became an important tool for communication. They were used to give the people in England, and other nations, messages about the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). ’ ambitions for wealth, status and power.
Tudor Monarch A person who rules a country, for example a king or a queen. and other high-status people used portraits like these to show they were well-connected to global trade. They were painted with expensive clothes, jewels and other luxury goods, that could only be accessed via international trade networks. Although the Tudors did begin to develop trading relationships with other nations (such as Morocco, or some of the West African nations) most of these goods came to Tudor Britain England and Wales from 1485 to 1603, when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled. via major European cities such as Venice, in Italy, or Antwerp in what is now Belgium. This began to change after the founding of the East India Company in 1600, allowing the English to conduct their own voyages to places including Indonesia.
Parts of these trade networks were controlled by other, more powerful European nations such as Spain and Portugal, who had large Empire A group of countries or states that are controlled by one leader or government. . The Tudors had ambitions to tap into these global networks and secure trade deals and Colony A country or an area that is governed by people from another, more powerful, country. of their own.
Global connections: making alliances
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King Henry VII was the first Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). Monarch A person who rules a country, for example a king or a queen. . He spent his reign building wealth and protecting his new Dynasty A series of leaders of a country who all belong to the same family. . By the end of his reign Henry’s wealth was well-known across Europe.
A useful way for the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). to build relationships with other nations was through marriage. This is a marriage portrait. It was painted to show the Habsburgs – a powerful European family – what Henry looked like, to help with negotiations.
- What are your first impressions of Henry from this portrait?
Look closer
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- Henry is wearing a robe made of cloth-of-gold, an expensive, heavy, velvet-like fabric with loops of gold. This was only worn by royalty.
- His robe is edged with Ermine The white winter fur of the stoat, used especially to decorate the formal clothes of important officials such as judges and kings. – the white winter fur of a small animal called a stoat, used to decorate the formal clothes of kings and queens.
- Henry is also wearing a black cap and Doublet A short, tightly fitting jacket worn by men from the 1300s to the 1600s. . Black was an expensive and difficult colour to make.
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- Henry is holding a flower that looks like a red rose. It is thought this is to show his identity as a Lancastrian. Henry had unified the House of Lancaster The English royal family which ruled England from 1399 to 1461. The kings were Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI. and the House of York The English royal family which ruled England between 1461 and 1485. The kings were Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III. to form the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). Dynasty A series of leaders of a country who all belong to the same family. .
- He is wearing a chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece was a symbol that is connected to the powerful Hapsburg family. It shows Henry in a way that would impress them.
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- The portrait does not appear to Flatter To make somebody appear more attractive, more powerful or better than they are in reality. the king.
- He is shown with deep-set eyes and prominent cheekbones.
- He has been represented as an older man rather than a young king.
When the portrait of King Henry VII was created, Henry was a widower. He was looking to build relationships with European royalty through marriage, to help protect and build the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). Dynasty A series of leaders of a country who all belong to the same family. . Although he was unsuccessful (he never remarried), Henry did become known for creating relationships with foreign countries. This included arranging marriages for his children.
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Henry’s eldest son (and heir to the throne) Arthur, was married to Katherine of Aragon in 1501. Katherine was a princess in the Spanish royal family. She would go on to become Henry VIII’s first wife, after Arthur died in 1509. Katherine brought status and wealth to the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). through her connections to the powerful Spanish Empire A group of countries or states that are controlled by one leader or government. and its vast trade networks.
Building powerful relationships through marriage continued into the next generation. In 1554, Henry VIII’s daughter, Mary I, married Philip II, King of Spain.
Elizabethan exploration
Queen Elizabeth I became queen after her sister, Mary I, died in 1558. She reigned until 1603 and was the last Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). Monarch A person who rules a country, for example a king or a queen. . During her reign, the nation’s wealth and global connections increased in ways never seen before.
Ships and seafaring were an essential part of the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). ’ increasing wealth, and key to their ambitions for global connections and power. Ships were needed to explore the world, to transport goods, and to bring supplies and people to their new Colony A country or an area that is governed by people from another, more powerful, country. . Ships were also needed to protect the country from invasion.
Three seafarers are remembered as being particularly central to these ambitions: Francis Drake, Walter Ralegh and John Hawkins.
Look closely at their portraits. Explore what these tell us about the global ambitions of the Tudors, and investigate some of the hidden stories behind them.
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- What are your first impressions of Drake, Ralegh and Hawkins?
- Why do you think that?
- What do you think their portraits are trying to say about them?
Look closer
Now look again at each portrait and read the information about each person by clicking on the image.
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Queen Elizabeth I
This portrait shows Queen Elizabeth I at the height of her powers. It was painted to celebrate the defeat of the Spanish Armada, when Spain tried to invade England in 1588, and to inspire awe and wonder in the people who viewed it.
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- Elizabeth’s clothes are made from fine materials. They are covered in jewels – especially pearls. Her hair is also decorated with pearls and topped with feathers. She is showing her wealth, her international connections and possibly also showing her plans for more international trade.
- Her padded dress makes her arms and shoulders appear much broader than they really are. Her waist looks impossibly small. She is showing her strength as a woman and as a powerful ruler.
- Elizabeth often combined black and white. Pure black represented being long lasting and faithful. Pure white represented virginity. Together they represent her lifetime commitment to her country.
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- The background of the portrait shows a fleet of ships sailing on calm seas. This is a reminder of Elizabeth’s power, drawn from her strong Navy The part of a country’s armed forces that fights at sea, and the ships that it uses. and Protestant Belonging to or connected with the part of the Western Christian Church that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500s. faith. It also suggests her ambitions to take control of the seas and expand her Empire A group of countries or states that are controlled by one leader or government. .
- Elizabeth is turned towards calm weather. Behind her are the stormy seas that wrecked the Spanish ships. Perhaps she is showing that she is a calming force, or maybe even that she has the power to bring storms like these.
- Other versions of this portrait also show a jewelled crown and Elizabeth’s right hand resting on a globe – a powerful queen with the world in the palm of her hand, perhaps.
Elizabeth died in 1603. She left no heirs to the throne. This marked the end of the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). period.
James VI of Scotland was next in line and was crowned James I of England.
As the Tudor period came to an end, the nation was poised and ready to become one of the most powerful in the world.
- In 1607, the first permanent English Colony A country or an area that is governed by people from another, more powerful, country. was established in Jamestown, North America. Over the next 30 years, around 50,000 British people would migrate to new Colony A country or an area that is governed by people from another, more powerful, country. in North America and the Caribbean.
- From the mid 1600s, Britain showed renewed interest in West Africa and slavery. It would go on to become one of the biggest slaving nations in the world, trading in millions of enslaved African people and bringing untold wealth to the nation.
- The East India Company, established in 1600, would also bring the nation enormous wealth through trade in spices, textiles, tea and opium, and lead to almost 100 years of British rule in India between 1858 and 1947.
At its height, it was claimed that the British Empire The countries ruled by Britain starting in the late 1400s and peaking around 1920 when the British Empire included around a quarter of the world's population. covered a quarter of the Earth. But its development was not straightforward. There were many failures and setbacks along the way. Captured, enslaved, and invaded peoples fought British power and held on to their own customs and beliefs against incredible odds. Britain also had to compete with other powerful European countries such as France, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. Establishing and maintaining the British Empire involved brutality, the exploitation of people and resources. It leaves a legacy that still affects our lives today.
Find out more
These portraits show us just some aspects of the Tudor Connected with the time when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled England (1485–1603). ’ global ambitions.
But what might they not show us? What questions do they raise?
You could use these questions to research an aspect of this history that interests you.
- You could focus on a particular commodity such as feathers or indigo and trace its connections to Tudor Britain England and Wales from 1485 to 1603, when kings and queens from the Tudor family ruled. during this period – and beyond.
- You could find out more about the lives of the people who are not shown in these portraits, such as ships’ crews or silk weavers, or the artists who made these portraits, who often came from other countries.
- You could investigate Drake’s Circumnavigation The act of sailing all the way around something, especially all the way around the world. of the world and its impact on Tudor Britain and other countries.
- Or you could trace Britain’s increasing colonisation of different areas of the world and its growing Empire A group of countries or states that are controlled by one leader or government. .
