Changes

*The end of the dynastic struggles known as the [[Wars of the Roses]] and the development of a strong central government in an age when the prosperity of a nation relied heavily on the ability of its ruler.

*The end of the dynastic struggles known as the [[Wars of the Roses]] and the development of a strong central government in an age when the prosperity of a nation relied heavily on the ability of its ruler.

*England’s first tentative moves towards the [[New World]].

*England’s first tentative moves towards the [[New World]].

*The [[protestant]] [[reformation]] in England, brought about initially by [[Henry VIII]]’s desire for a male heir; but only allowed to gain momentum through the will of the people and their desire for a genuinely English church. This was accompanied by the deaths of great men – notably [[Sir John More]], unfortunate women [[Anne Boleyn]] – and the beginnings of truly autocratic rule in England.

*The [[protestant]] [[reformation]] in England, brought about initially by [[Henry VIII]]’s desire for a male heir; but only allowed to gain momentum through the will of the people and their desire for a genuinely English church. This was accompanied by the deaths of great men – notably Sir [[Thomas More]], unfortunate women [[Anne Boleyn]] – and the beginnings of truly autocratic rule in England.

*The rule of the staunchly [[catholic]] [[Mary I]] (Bloody Mary), the enforced reversion to Catholicism, her marriage to the hated [[Philip II]] of [[Spain]], and the loss of England’s last bastion in [[France]] ([[Calais]]) in 1558.

*The rule of the staunchly [[catholic]] [[Mary I]] (Bloody Mary), the enforced reversion to Catholicism, her marriage to the hated [[Philip II]] of [[Spain]], and the loss of England’s last bastion in [[France]] ([[Calais]]) in 1558.

*The reign of [[Elizabeth I]] when England became an international power, not just through the daring of its commanders but the excellence of its quill on page or music score. Whilst her reign is famous for the deeds of her mariners, for the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]] and the imprisonment and execution of the very romantic [[Mary Queen of Scots]] (pretty inevitable under the circumstances); just as notable and more lasting are the names of [[Shakespeare]], and [[Thomas Tallis]], [[Christopher Marlow]],  and [[John Dowland]] and others who brought the [[English Renaissance]] to its climax after her death in 1603.

*The reign of [[Elizabeth I]] when England became an international power, not just through the daring of its commanders but the excellence of its quill on page or music score. Whilst her reign is famous for the deeds of her mariners, for the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]] and the imprisonment and execution of the very romantic [[Mary Queen of Scots]] (pretty inevitable under the circumstances); just as notable and more lasting are the names of [[Shakespeare]], and [[Thomas Tallis]], [[Christopher Marlow]],  and [[John Dowland]] and others who brought the [[English Renaissance]] to its climax after her death in 1603.