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Why Do We Associate Turkey With Thanksgiving?
When we think of the modern American Thanksgiving, we often think of football. But nothing defines the holiday’s tradition like family gatherings around stuffed turkey. But what ties this meat so strongly to Thanksgiving?
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Native American Population Estimates When Columbus Arrived In 1492
Pre-Columbian population estimates range from eight million to Henry Dobyns’s high count of 142 million, with the average estimate of Native American demographers over the past century remaining steady at about 40 million.[2] The high estimates can easily be discounted as exaggerations, considering that the Aztec Empire—one of the most densely populated regions in the Americas—had only about six million on the eve of European contact.
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The Cause Behind the Glorious Revolution: The Overthrew of James II
Hollland's William of Orange and English opposition leaders dethroned England’s King James II in 1689, in what became known as the Glorious Revolution and the beginning of modern constitutional monarchy. But why did the English join foreigners to overthrow their monarch?
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Why did Monarchy and Parliament Become Estranged in the 1620s?
The English Monarchy and Parliament became estranged in the 1620s because of disputes about the role of king and parliament, Christian doctrine, financing a war with Spain, and a general lack of trust. This eventually led to Charles I’s autocratic rule in the 1630s, civil war, and the king’s beheading two decades later.
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How Successful was James I?
He maintained Protestant rule and retained the loyalty of most of his subjects by pursuing an ecumenical policy among the various factions. This ecumenical spirit produced his greatest legacy, the King James Bible, which continues to carry his fame today.
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Reformation without the People: How the English Became Protestant
The Protestant Reformation did not come to England because of a religious revival or a sudden change of heart by the English people. King Henry VIII created the Church of England for personal reasons, and he never truly became Protestant in belief and practice. The schism with Rome did, however, allow for the political and ecclesiastic infiltration of Protestants that set in motion a thorough reformation under Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
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Was the Tudor Dynasty Illegitimate?
In medieval England, claims to a strong genealogy dating deep into time provided desired legitimacy to authority regardless of the substance of the claims. In order to validate the Tudors’ legitimacy to the throne, that dynasty’s historians have made such claims of lineage dating back to legendary kings like Arthur.
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Why Did Henry VIII Turn England Protestant?
England’s King Henry VIII founded the Church of England—not from Protestant conviction—but because he needed to assert his autonomy from the Roman Catholic Church to divorce his queen, Catherine of Aragon, and marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. But a king in the 16th century needed the people to view his actions as sanctioned by God and the church.
