Travels Through Time [From the archives] Diarmaid MacCulloch: Thomas Cromwell (1536)
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Jan 10, 2023 
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Oxford professor and prize-winning historian, discusses Thomas Cromwell in 1536. He explores Cromwell’s political rise, his role in Anne Boleyn’s fall, and the intelligence and interrogation methods that shaped Tudor court life. The conversation also covers the Lincolnshire Rising, the Pilgrimage of Grace, and how Cromwell navigated triumph and crisis.
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Cromwell Engineered Anne Boleyn's Fall
- Thomas Cromwell engineered Anne Boleyn's downfall despite their shared Protestantism.
- Diarmaid MacCulloch links Cromwell's motive to revenge for Cardinal Wolsey's humiliation, which Anne had championed against Wolsey.
Alesius Saw The Royal Row Through A Window
- Alexander Alesius, a Scottish witness, claimed Cromwell was central from January to Anne's death.
- Alesius wrote in 1559 to Queen Elizabeth describing a scene where Henry and Anne argue visibly at Greenwich before her arrest.
Cromwell Constructed Cases Through Intelligence
- Cromwell built cases by gathering intelligence and pressuring witnesses to produce a pre-decided outcome.
- Mark Smeaton likely faced psychological coercion rather than extreme physical torture to extract confessions linking Anne to treasonous sex.
