who could recall him at any time. This meant that the King effectively controlled the Church in England and could affect its direction (Bainton, Reformation, 184).
The tremendous independence of the English Church was not a problem for Rome until the Vatican fell under the control of Spain. Charles V of Spain, the Holy Roman Emperor, sacked Rome in 1527 during his war against the French king and thereafter controlled the Vatican. This could only lead to conflict between the Vatican and England over issues involving Spain. Under the spell of its new nationalistic mood, it was natural for the English to resist anything resembling Spanish influence being exerted through the Vatican. As it stood, there was little for the English to fear from the Spanish because England already curtailed foreign judicial and encroachments (Bainton, Reformation, 184-85; Scarisbrick 198-202).
The triggering event was the attempt by Henry VIII to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon, who had not born him any male heirs and was unlikely to be fertile much longer. Katherine, the aunt of Spain's Charles V, had initially wed Henry's older brother, Prince Arthur. After Arthur's death, Pope Julius II granted a dis
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