Religion greatly affected people in power, as well as the people in general. The Catholic versus Protestant conflict lead to many changes of what religion was in power. For instance, Henry, a Catholic, wanted to divorce his wife. Catholic law did not permit divorce so Henry asked the Pope to annul his marriage. The pope refused and Henry was no longer a part of the Catholic Church because he decided to break from it. In doing so, he set up a Protestant church called the Church of England. Another example is when Elizabeth I took the throne. She was a Protestant who had replaced the former queen, who was Catholic. This ¨renewed the rivalry with Roman Catholic Spain¨ (page 51). King Phillip assembled a fleet of warships in hopes of forcing Elizabeth from the throne. English ships sank Phillips fleet called the Spanish Armada. England and France could now found colonies in America because the defeat of the Armada changed …show more content…
the balance of power in Europe. Religion also caused conflicts between leaders which lead to wars.
Because wars were common, alliances shifted and made rulers uncertain of who they could trust for security. This caused economic problems. ¨Spain was unwilling to depend on Italian or Portuguese traders. As a result, the Spanish monarchs eagerly supported Columbus´s search for a new trade route to Asia¨ (page 50). They thought that they could start colonies in Asia and become powerful and wealthy from the goods there. Europeans needed gold to strengthen their armies and pay for wars. Spain created a system of mercantilism that required any gold found to be sent to the king. This system of mercantilism was formed because of religious conflicts.
The search for the northwest passage allowed culture to spread.
Explorers found new land which spread their culture. They also found new sea routes. Page 51 states, “Verranzo explored the Atlantic coastal region from North Carolina to Newfoundland...he discovered the mouth of the Hudson River and New York Bay…[Cartier] discovered the St. Lawrence River and explored it as far as present-day Montreal.” Explorers found many resources from other cultures and land they found. When explorers reported back to their homeland about the places they found, Europeans began to look at the Newfoundland as a profitable place instead of an
obstacle.
People in America and Europe were affected by many things. Religious conflicts created economic problems. These economic problems lead to new systems, such as mercantilism. The search for the northwest passage changed European’s views on America and spread culture. Many of these factors changed Europeans and their lifestyle.