The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh

History of the Reign of King Henry VII is a 1622 work by the English writer Francis Bacon. It charts the reign of the first Tudor monarch Henry VII who took the throne from his rival Richard III in 1485. At the time of writing Bacon had recently fallen from political power, and completed the work in late 1621 and sent a copy to James I. It was published the following year. The book remains his only completed work of history. At the request of Charles, Prince of Wales he began work on a follow-up account of the reign of Henry VIII, but only completed a brief introduction. Bacon's portrayal of Henry was extremely influential for the following three centuries. Background Francis Bacon's History of the Reign of King Henry VII was published in November 1621 during the reign of James I. Francis Bacon was an English historian and philosopher who was enjoyed a rich political career as Lord Chancellor. In the year 1621, Bacon suffered a public and political fall from grace resulting in political exile during the reign of King James I and was confined within the Tower of London for a few days. Much of Bacon's work focused on British empiricism, scientific enquiry, philosophy, and history. History was written during Bacon's exile from James I's royal court and is a well-known example of the type of historical writing commonly employed in the Tudor-Stuart period of history.