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Impact of the Renaissance

The Renaissance refers to the changes that took place throughout Europe from the 14th through the 16th centuries (Annenberg/CPB). It was an age during which artistic, scientific, social, and political thought turned in new directions. The huge population decrease caused by the spread of bubonic plague in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance period caused an economic depression for merchants and tradespeople. In England, the recovery was slower than in the rest of Europe, and in the 100 or so years before the Tudor reign began with Henry VII, England was underpopulated, underdeveloped, and more isolated than other Western countries (Morgan 224). The population remained stagnant in number until the 1520s, but rapidly accelerated after 1525.

As the population recovered from the effects of the plague, a new middle-class emerged made up of bankers, merchants, and tradespeople, because the market for goods and services grew with the ensuing population increase (Annenberg/CPB). The 16th century saw the birth of the British pre-industrial political economy, balancing population against resources, economics against politics, and ambitions against rationality (Morgan 229-230). The 30-years War of the Roses came to an end in 1485, with Henry VIIÆs victory at Bosworth Field, and his marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV. This stabilized the British throne, re-establishing its power over the nation, and beginning the Tudor dynasty. The splendors of the court of Henry VIII, the renowned Tudor style of architecture, monarchs such as Elizabeth 1 and Mary Stuart, the development of Parliament, the printing of the English Bible and the Prayer Book, the establishment of the Anglican Church, and the tribulations of Sir Thomas Moore, are all a legacy of the Tudor era in EnglandÆs Renaissance period (Morgan 223). After a short reign by Edward VI, followed by that of Mary I, Elizabeth I took the throne, and ruled for 44 ...

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Impact of the Renaissance. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:22, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1701483.html