Final answer:
Henry VIII's request for an annulment from Catherine of Aragon in 1527 marks the beginning of the English Reformation, leading to the creation of The Church of England and the Act of Supremacy in 1534 after Pope Clement VII's refusal.
Step-by-step explanation:
The period in England during which Henry VIII sought the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon marks the beginning of the English Reformation. This pivotal moment can be traced back to 1527 when Henry, unable to sire a male heir with Catherine and desiring to marry Anne Boleyn, requested an annulment from Pope Clement VII.
The Pope's refusal, due largely to political pressures and the implication of papal fallibility, led Henry to ultimately separate from the Catholic Church and establish the Church of England with himself as its head.
Henry's annulment was controversial and complex. It involved both religious and governmental transformations—highlighted by the passage of the Act of Supremacy in 1534, which declared the king as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, a reformer sympathetic to Protestant ideas, granted the annulment, allowing Henry to marry Anne Boleyn and fathering Elizabeth I in the same-year.