The Tudors and Early Colonisation

The Tudor period (1485--1603) saw the beginning of England's transformation from a medium-sized European kingdom into a global maritime power. Exploration, colonisation, and growing contact with Africa, Asia, and the Americas laid the foundations for the British Empire. At the same time, religious upheaval drove new waves of migration both into and out of England.

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Exploration and the New World

The late 15th and 16th centuries were an age of European exploration, driven by the desire for new trade routes, wealth, and territorial expansion.