How did Henry VIII make the break with Rome?
Since the question asks “how”, not “why”, it is worth concentrating on the actual actions he took to break away from Rome. The Catholic Church in England held considerable amounts of land, properties and wealth at the time Henry VIII came to the throne. Since Henry had made the decision to break away completely from the Catholic faith in this country and intended to prevent it from operating ever again, the obvious advantage was that he could seize all of this land, property and wealth for himself in a quasi-legal blitz. He first appointed commisioners (that is, gangs of armed thugs) and then instructed them to visit every single Catholic monastery, hospital, shrine and church in the country during the years 1537 – 39. The shrines were defiled and the Holy relics buried in secret or destroyed. The gold, silver and precious stones were stolen and taken to Henry’s treasury in the Tower of London – the country’s most important shrine, St Thomas Becket at Canterbury, was completely obliter
