During the Renaissance the spirit of adventure drove English travelers all around the world: Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe (1577-1580), bringing back gold and silver and unknown spices; new companies sprang up, included the East Indian Company and the Africa Company. When Henry VIII had the power of Great Britain, upper classes enjoyed great wealth but poverty was widespread in countryside because of famine, high prices and enclosure. The effects of enclosure create a serious unemployment problem and because of this the Parliament passed a “Poor Law” (1601): the State should assume part of the responsibility for looking after people who could not care for themselves. During this period come out the Puritans. They were hostile to official Church Authorities and symbols. They were against all innovations. Elizabeth kept them under control but they became a powerful force that would change the destiny of the monarchy. On Elizabeth’s death James I (or James Stuart VI of Scotland) became king. He was a serious, learned and pedantic prince. He tried to rule without the help of the Parliament and this attitude aroused the hostility of Parliament towards the monarchy. There came also great hostility from the Catholics because they hoped that the new king would have helped them. As soon as they understand that there will have been no help, they organized a plot on 5^th November 1605, that failed. When James I died in 1625 Charles I became the king. He wanted to be an absolute monarch causing great hostility in Parliament. This period of reign became strongly affected by religious differences: Anglicans practiced the religion of the Church of England, and the Catholics tended to intrigue. In 1625 Charles imposed taxation without parliamentary consent. Because of that in 1628 there was the Petition of Rights whose two principal points said that no taxes should be levied without Parliament’s approval.

During this period poetry was both secular and religious: George Herbert delighted his poems in wit, logical argumentation and conceits; Cavalier poets celebrated the courtly ideal of a good life; Andrew Marvell and John Milton celebrated the triumphs of the Commonwealth. Andrew Marvell deal with the themes of love and transience, while Milton’s major literary source was the epic tradition. Also this period is characterized by the masque, an allegorical theatrical form in which the spectacular and musical elements predominated over plot and characters and also its complicated symbolism was intended to glorify the court. Then comes out the Restoration drama: William Congreve, George Etherege and William Wycherley wrote comedies that highlighted sex, sexual attraction and sexual intrigue. During the 17^th century Charles II chartered the Royal Society of London that let philosophy and science grow up. The leading figure of this revolution was Francis Bacon that promoted a new way to study events based on experiment and direct observation of nature.