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Looking West

England took up the ideas of the Renaissance and Reformation during the 16th century, and these started to help shape the country’s interaction with the rest of the world. There was still a strong sense of competition with other peoples, but this started to be more than just dynastic; it was also about religion and ideas of exploration:

Renaissance

The new ideas of science, the arts and philosophy which emerged in the awakening of the Renaissance encouraged English thinkers to consider much wider interaction with the rest of the world. John Dee was one of the key philosophers and he encouraged Queen Elizabeth I and her ministers to venture out into the Atlantic and ‘go west’ to the Americas for new lands and riches. This may have influenced men like Walter Raleigh and Francis Drake to undertake their voyages and it certainly helped to develop knowledge of navigation that would be needed in such voyages.

Protestantism

The changes in the Christian Church in the Reformation of the 16th century affected England dramatically. In the years following the reformation, at different times many Catholics, Protestants and Puritans fled religious persecution to settle in North America. After a struggle of several decades, England emerged as a Protestant nation under Queen Elizabeth I after 1558. This meant that English security was going to be threatened by the major Catholic countries of Europe, mainly Spain and France.

Security

1. Ireland: English soldiers went to Ireland to conquer the Irish nobles who were Catholic and potential allies for European powers like Spain. The Nine Years’ War (1594-1603) finally ended with English victory over the Irish Earls. King James I, King of England and Scotland, introduced the Ulster Plantations to try to make Ireland a Protestant country, however this wasn’t successful.
2. Spanish treasure: English sailors, known as ‘sea-dogs’ were encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to attack Spanish treasure ships bringing gold and silver back from the Americas to Spain. This was official piracy that was designed to weaken the Catholic power. This led to involvement of English adventurers in the Americas themselves and the establishment of colonies like Virginia.

Liberty

1. Pilgrim Fathers: Some English Christians wanted more freedom to worship and organise their church life than they could have under the Church of England, which was the official church that English people were legally obliged to attend. Many of these were strict Christians called Puritans. A particular group of these believers were known as Pilgrims, and they emigrated to escape the restrictions of the Church of England. This led to the establishment of the colony of Plymouth in America in 1620. The journey of the Pilgrim Fathers encouraged more English colonists and the area became known as New England by the end of the century.
2. Bill of Rights: The struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism also led to upheaval in the British nation in 1688. The Protestant Parliament opposed the Catholic King James II so they removed him from the throne and invited the Protestant William of Orange to become king with his wife Mary, James’ daughter, as queen. This was termed the Glorious Revolution, and as part of the settlement, Britain passed a Bill of Rights in 1689. This guaranteed the rights of individuals as well as the Protestant succession of the monarchy. The English people who settled in the American colonies firmly believed that this Bill of Rights guaranteed their liberty in the new lands.