The English Renaissance is a period from 1485 to 1660 and it is a time of rebirth divided in two periods:
the first, called "The Elizabethan" (1485-1603) and the second called "The Jacobean" (1603-1660).
In the Elizabethan Period there have been five monarchs:
Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509-1547), Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558) and Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
The term "Elizabethan Period" ruled longer than any other monarch during the Renaissance and attained new height in world affairs in art, literature and music, while, the term "Jacobean Period" left no heirs and was succeeded by son of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots: James IV of Scotland and it is the period were James I of England became king from 1603 to 1625.
The Humanism was a new way of looking at the world that questionating the figure of authority and faith and the rise of nationalism and skepticism and the emphasis from religious to secular matters.
It has been a period of great thinkers like Erasmus and more.
The Renaissance began in Italy in fourteenth century and has been a time of rebirth of intellectual and artistic energies that characterized ancient Greek and Roman civilization.
This period is represented by famous Italians like Petrarch and Boccaccio who were writers, Giotto who was a painter, Brunelleschi who was an architect, Donatello who was a sculptor and the artists Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Lorenzo De Medici, nicknamed Lorenzo the Magnificent encouraged intellectual trends, artistic accomplishments and the goals of Renaissance Humanism.
He also emphasized the capacities of the human mind and the achievement of human culture.
Other Renaissance accomplishments in the world has been the territorial exploration and discovery, the discovery of America by Colombus in 1492, Sir Thomas More, the center of an active and brilliant circle of English Humanists.
Very important was "More's Utopia (1516) because it has been the first literary masterpiece of the English Renaissance.
Copernicus and Galileo were forerunners of modern astronomy.
The Protestant Reformation was characterized by Martin Luther and his Ninety-five Theses and by King Henry VIII that didn't get the permission for the divorce from his wife by the Pope and the presence of the Anglican Church.
After Henry VIII, succeeded his nine-year-old son and after he, reigned his half-sister Mary, daughter of Henry and Catherine of Aragon, a half-spanish woman and devout Catholic.
Her reign was a reign of terror, indeed she was nicknamed "Bloody Mary".
After Mary, succeeded Elizabeth, Mary's half-sister and daughter of Henry and Anne Boleyn, a twenty-five woman that was an accomplished linguist, poetess, a clever diplomat and a shrewd politician.
She defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 because she controlled smaller and more maneuvrable ships and the control of the seas.
Another important things of this Elizabethan Period has been the theatre opened in London in 1576 and closed because of the Plague in 1593-1594.
They reopened because of the public outcry.
In the Jacobean Era (1603-1625) are important King James I and his version of the Bible and the Puritans.
The end of the Jacobean Era was caused by the death of the King James I in 1625.
After that, his son ascended in England and conduced civil wars.
Another important figure was Olivet Cromwell the commander of the Parliamentary forces (named Ironsides and Roundheads). He issued a military dictactorship from 1653 to 1658, the date of his death.
The Restoration of the monarchy was caused by the return of Charles II as a king in 1660 and the election of Parliament.
It was the beginning of new era.