Henry's Greatest Heist: Dissolution of the Monasteries

The King needed money. The King needed a son. And an entire civilization, built by monks over a thousand years, stood in his way. 👑 This is the **forgotten history of the Dissolution of the Monasteries**, a religious and political upheaval that was nothing less than the greatest act of cultural destruction in English history. In just four years, King Henry VIII and his ruthless chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, wiped out over 800 monasteries, seizing their immense wealth and transforming England forever.
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CHAPTERS

0:00 1. The Holy Heist
1:36 2. What Was Lost
3:07 3. Rumblings on the Continent
06:24 4. The Irish Question
11:05 5. The King's ‘Great Matter’
12:23 6. Cromwell Ascending
16:40 7. The Abbot's Last Stand
20:38 8. The Pilgrimage of Grace
25:18 9. Crush the Resistance
27:40 10. Aftermath and Legacy
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But this wasn't just a simple act of royal greed. The monasteries were the hospitals, schools, and social safety net of medieval England. Their destruction was a move with devastating consequences.

We'll explore:

The real reasons behind Henry's desperate actions.
The cunning plan of Thomas Cromwell, a blacksmith's son who orchestrated a "death warrant disguised as an audit" to seize unimaginable wealth.
The heroic, last stand of Abbot Richard Whiting of Glastonbury, and his brutal execution on Glastonbury Tor, a chilling warning to anyone who would resist.
The **Pilgrimage of Grace**, a massive rebellion of 40,000 people who rose up to save the monasteries, only to be betrayed and crushed by the King's brutal revenge.
The shocking, long-term legacy that left England a more stratified society, where social mobility plummeted and the poor were left with nothing.

Join us as we uncover a story of faith, betrayal, and power—and discover the true cost of an act that changed England forever, from a country of pious monks to one of "romantic ruins".