The broad topic which I would like to explore is that of the English reformation and the significant characters and events related to the time. I have always found this time period fascinating in that King Henry VIII married and seperated from (though through different means) six different wives. He ruled in a time where the church played a significant role in everday life in both the royal schedule and in the daily life of townsmen, and yet church and politics were still able to function as seperate entities. When the church stood in the way of Henry VIII however he decided to make himself both head of state and head of church.

I would like to more specifically explore how the events of the reformation unfolded due to Henry VIII, and how much of it was due to the influences of other significant actors in the royal court. Was the break with the church more for personal reasons, for power, or for family? The problem is putting these different ideas and aspects of the reformation into one question that is narrow enough to be explored in only 6-8 pages. At the present time, the question which I would like my research paper to answer is as follows: “Was Henry’s desire to annul his marriage with Catharine of Aragon the prime motivating factor in the establishment of the Anglican church?” 
This allows me to explore:
1. How his family life and need to produce a male heir effected his decision.
2. Henry VIII’s personal religious convictions and the role it plays in his decision.
3. How other significant people in Henry’s court (such as Wolsey or Cromwell for example) effected his decision.
and will allow me to conclude whether or not the desire for an annulment was the most significan motivating factor in the break with Rome, or whether it was due more significantly to a culmination of these factors.