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Why Did Western Europe Explore and Colonize?
Western Europe—beginning in the 15th century—succeeded in spreading its peoples, languages, and cultures across a greater expanse of the globe than any region in world history. But why exactly did Western Europeans explore and colonize to such an extent? Simply having the capability to explore and colonize doesn’t adequately explain why nations do it. Neither the Romans nor the Chinese felt the need to devote their resources to sea exploration as the Western Europeans did in the 15th and 16th centuries.
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Was Henry VIII a Renaissance Monarch?
England made significant literary, political, and cultural strides during Henry VIII's reign. This came largely thanks to the influence of the Renaissance, which Henry and those in his administration adapted to English culture and religiosity.
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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.
