The Renaissance as an epoch of social and cultural development embraced all WesternEurope. It is the term given to the revival of interest in the Greek and Latin culture whichbegan in Italy in the late fourteenth century and gradually spread throughout Europe. Theinfluence of this movement was not confined to literature, music and the fine arts, butaffected the whole development of civilization, so that the Renaissance became a broaddividing line between the Middle Ages and the Modern Ages. The Renaissance came to aflowering in the fifteenth century and then in the sixteenth century it spread to France,and thence to Germany and England and Spain and the Low Countries （i. e. Holland andBelgium）.<br>During the period of the English Renaissance, England enjoyed stability andprosperity. The English Renaissance didn't really begin until the reign of Henry VIII（1509-1547）. It was Henry VIII who started the Protestant Reformation. He wanted hismarriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled because she had not given him a male heir.When the Pope in Rome refused, Henry broke with the Roman Catholic Church,established the Anglican Church and made himself its powerful head in 1534. Besides,Henry VIII's policy was supported by the rich merchants and handicraftsmen in townswho were developing into a new class——the class of bourgeoisie. With the development ofthe wool trade, the moneyed classes seized more and more land out of the hands of thepeasants, and the peasants had to earn their living in towns as laborers. This is known asthe Enclosure Movement.<br>During the reign of Elizabeth I （reigned 1558-1603）, absolute monarchy in Englandreached its summit and England became one of the great sea powers of the world. In 1588Philip II, king of Spain and the most powerful ruler on the Continent, sent his SpanishInvincible Armada to fight England's small navy. But the English navy won an amazingvictory, aided by the inhospitable climate of the English seas. After this victory, Englandbecame a great sea power. On December 31, 1599, the East India Company waschartered~ world trade and colonization had begun.
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