REIGN OF EDWARD VI, 1547-1553. War with Scotland, 1547. REIGN OF MARY, 1553-1558. Marriage with Philip, 1554. REIGN OF ELIZABETH, 1558-1603. Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, 1559. Foundation of the United Netherlands, 1572. Massacre of St. Bartholomew, 1572. Arrival of Jesuits, 1580. Execution of Mary Stuart, 1587. Defeat of the Armada, 1588. Henry VII, d. 1509. Louis XII, d. 1515. Ferdinand, d. 1516, Chief Contemporaries Columbus, d. 1506. Albuquerque, d. 1515. Leonardo da Vinci, d. 1519. Vasco da Gama, d. 1524. Ariosto, d. 1533. Copernicus, d. 1543. Luther, d. 1546. Loyola, d. 1556. Michael Angelo, d. 1563. Calvin, d. 1564. Ivan the Terrible, d. 1584. Mary Stuart, d. 1587. William the Silent, d. 1584. Spenser, d. 1599. Shakespeare, d. 1616. Cervantes, d. 1616. and Charles V, abdicated 1556. Philip II, d. 1598. Elizabeth, d. 1603. Henry IV, d. 1610. 267 CHAPTER IX ENGLAND OF THE TUDORS Books for Consultation SOURCES Hall, Chronicle of England. Holinshed, Chronicles. Harrison, Description of England. More, Utopia. Discourse of the Common Weal of this Realm of England. Latimer, Sermons. Hakluyt, Collection of Voyages of the English Nation. Harrisse, Discovery of North America. SPECIAL AUTHORITIES Cunningham, Alien Immigrants to England. Thorold Rogers, Six Centuries of Work and Wages. Cunningham and MacArthur, Outlines of English Industrial History. Hewins, English Trade and Finance. Ashley, Economic History. Froude, History of England, Vol. I, Ch. I; English Seamen. Seeley, Expansion of England. Traill, Social England. Corbett, Drake. Creighton, Sir Walter Raleigh. IMAGINATIVE LITERATURE Kingsley, Westward Ho! The Transformation of England. Modern England, a great maritime, commercial, and industrial power, began to take shape under the Tudors. Social and economic conditions were changing, the old mediæval industrial system was breaking up, and trade and commerce, animated by a keener and bolder spirit, sought out new channels of enter The Transformation of England 269 prise. In the fifteenth century England was still in the main an agricultural country; wheat and wool were her staple crops, and she bore to Flanders the relation that Australia now bears to the mother country. By 1600 wool was no longer sent abroad, and woollen cloth had become an important article of export.1 When the first Tudor ascended the throne, a royal navy scarcely existed, and much of England's carrying trade was in the hands of foreigners. The defeat of the Armada in the reign of Elizabeth paved the way for the ultimate maritime and commercial supremacy of England. Fore- Causes for most amongst the causes for these changes was the discovery change. of the New World. Trade with America was important, and England's position to the west of Europe gave her at once a superiority over all rivals. The religious conflicts. of the continent, resulting as they did in the disturbance of trade and industry there, redounded greatly to England's advantage. It was the destruction of Antwerp by Alva that made possible the development of London into the leading mart of Europe. The order and peace of England under Tudor rule attracted capital, and the greater liberty of worship brought to her shores religious refugees, who enriched the kingdom with their industry and skill. Nor should the effect of the policy of the crown be overlooked. The Tudor rule was despotic, but it was at least paternal. The statute books of the century testify to the unwearying interest of the government in the welfare of the people and in the development of national wealth. No aspect of industry was overlooked. Agriculture, commerce, manufacture, each received attention. Encouragement was given to new enterprises, efforts were made to stimulate decaying industries. Exports and imports were regulated, prices were fixed, and the character and quality of goods to be manufactured were prescribed. Wages were determined by law and the conditions of service settled by the govern 1 Exportation of woollen cloth amounted to 5000 pieces in 1354, to 120,000 pieces in 1547. ment in minute detail. The records of the first session of Elizabeth's second Parliament illustrate the all-pervading activity of the State. On the same page stand acts for the maintenance of tillage, for the regulation of artificers, laborers, and apprentices, for the maintenance of the navy and fisheries, for the exclusion of divers foreign wares, and against the carrying of sheepskins and pelts out of the king Traill, II, 544-550; III, 114-118, 239-241, 351-359, 533-535 OLD LONDON BRIDGE Marck, Königin Elizabeth dom. Everywhere the State interfered to direct individual enterprise. The Agricultural Revolution. In the latter part of the fifteenth century sheep-raising had become very profitable, because of the great demand for English wool and the high prices paid for it. There resulted a strong tendency to the formation of great sheep farms, and estates were rapidly converted from tillage to pasture. As land became increasingly valuable the commons were enclosed, and the |