England in the Age of Exploration
Summary
TLDRThis video explores why England, despite being a powerful imperial nation, was late to colonialism compared to Spain. It discusses England's internal religious conflicts, particularly the establishment of the Protestant Church of England by Henry VIII and the subsequent struggles between Catholics and Protestants. The video also highlights England's focus on subduing Ireland, economic depression, and the strategic use of privateers like Sir Francis Drake to plunder Spanish ships, which provided an alternative to establishing colonies. The instructor sets the stage for the next video, which will delve into the factors that eventually led England to join the colonization of the New World.
Takeaways
- 🏰 England was a latecomer to imperialism, with its first successful colony in the New World, Jamestown, established over a century after Spain's initial ventures.
- 👑 The religious upheaval following Henry VIII's establishment of the Church of England and the subsequent conflicts between Catholics and Protestants consumed England's attention.
- 🤝 England's focus was divided by internal colonial issues, particularly the subjugation of Ireland, which was seen as a more immediate concern than overseas expansion.
- 💰 Economic depression in the 1500s left the English Crown with limited funds, impacting their ability to sponsor colonial expeditions like those of Spain.
- 🛡️ England's strategic approach involved using privateers, like Sir Francis Drake, to plunder Spanish ships rather than investing in costly colonial infrastructure.
- 🚢 The English navy's strength was a strategic asset, enabling them to intercept and capture wealth from Spanish ships without the need for extensive colonization.
- 🏴 The Irish conflict showcased England's willingness to use force to assert control, a tactic that would later be mirrored in their approach to colonization in North America.
- 👥 The English viewed the Irish population as 'barbarians' in need of English rule and Protestantism, reflecting a colonial mindset that would influence their interactions with indigenous populations in the New World.
- 🌐 England's late entry into colonization was influenced by a combination of internal religious strife, colonial distractions, and economic constraints.
- 🔮 The video suggests that future discussions will explore the factors that eventually led England to join the race for New World colonies, hinting at a shift in priorities and strategies.
Q & A
What is the main argument presented in the video script about England's imperial history?
-The main argument is that despite England being one of the most powerful and successful imperial nations of all time, it was quite late in starting its colonial ventures compared to other European nations like Spain.
When did Christopher Columbus, backed by Spain, establish a colony in the New World?
-Christopher Columbus established a colony in Hispaniola in the New World in 1492.
When did England have its first successful colonial venture in the New World?
-England had its first successful colonial venture in the New World with the establishment of Jamestown in 1607.
What significant internal conflict in England during the 1500s is mentioned as a reason for its late start in colonization?
-The ongoing conflict between Catholics and Protestants in England, which started with Henry VIII's break from the Catholic Church and the establishment of the Church of England, is mentioned as a reason for England's late start in colonization.
Why did England's religious conflicts impact its ability to engage in colonial ventures?
-England's religious conflicts impacted its ability to engage in colonial ventures because it was dealing with a crisis of succession and internal strife, which diverted its attention and resources away from overseas expansion.
What was England's colonial issue closer to home that it was dealing with during the 1500s?
-England was dealing with colonial issues in Ireland, where it was undertaking a bloody and costly war to subdue the island and impose English rule and Protestantism.
How did England's view of the Irish population influence its approach to colonization?
-England viewed the Catholic Irish population as barbarian savages who needed English rule and Protestantism for their own good, which influenced its approach to colonization by using brutal tactics and prioritizing control over self-determination.
What economic issue was England facing during the 1500s that affected its colonial ambitions?
-England was facing economic depression during the 1500s, characterized by a lack of funds for the Crown, widespread crime, and poverty, which limited its ability to sponsor colonial exploits.
How did England benefit from the New World without establishing colonies there?
-England benefited from the New World by issuing licenses to ship captains, known as privateers, to plunder Spanish ships returning with riches, thus acquiring wealth without the need to establish and maintain colonies.
Who was the most famous privateer that England used to acquire wealth from the New World?
-Sir Francis Drake was the most famous privateer that England used to acquire wealth from the New World by plundering Spanish ships.
What was the strategy behind England's use of privateers instead of establishing colonies?
-The strategy was to avoid the labor and risks associated with establishing and maintaining colonies by instead relying on the Spanish to do the work and then using England's growing navy to steal the riches from Spanish ships.
Outlines
🏰 England's Late Start in Colonialism
The video discusses why England was a latecomer to the Age of Exploration and colonization. Despite Spain's early colonization in 1492 with Christopher Columbus's arrival in Hispaniola, England did not establish a successful colony until 1607 with Jamestown. The video attributes England's delay to several internal issues: religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants, which began with Henry VIII's establishment of the Church of England and continued through the reigns of his daughters, Elizabeth I (Protestant) and Mary (Catholic); colonial problems in Ireland, where England was engaged in a brutal war to subdue the Irish; and economic depression, which limited the Crown's ability to fund colonial ventures. Instead of establishing colonies, England resorted to privateering, allowing ship captains like Sir Francis Drake to plunder Spanish ships returning from the New World, capitalizing on England's growing naval strength.
🚢 England's Reluctance to Colonize and the Role of Privateering
This paragraph further elaborates on England's hesitance to colonize and its preference for privateering. The video explains that England did not have a strong incentive to engage in the labor-intensive process of colonization when they could simply steal from Spanish ships. The strategy was to let Spain do the work of extracting wealth from the New World and then use England's formidable navy to intercept and plunder these riches. The video concludes by setting the stage for the next installment, which will explore the factors that eventually led England to join the race for New World colonies.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Imperial Nation
💡Age of Exploration
💡Jamestown
💡Religious Conflict
💡Catholic Church
💡Elizabeth I
💡Ireland
💡Economic Depression
💡Privateers
💡Sir Francis Drake
Highlights
England was not the first to colonize the New World, with Spain's colonization predating England's by over 100 years.
Christopher Columbus, backed by Spain, established a colony in Hispaniola in 1492.
England's first successful colonial venture in the New World was Jamestown in 1607.
England's late entry into colonization can be attributed to internal and external challenges.
Religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in England were a significant distraction.
Henry VIII's establishment of the Church of England marked a shift from Catholicism to Protestantism.
The struggle for power between Elizabeth I, a Protestant, and Mary, a Catholic, influenced England's focus.
England was preoccupied with subduing Ireland, viewing the Irish as 'barbarian savages'.
England faced economic depression, limiting the Crown's ability to fund colonial ventures.
The English Crown couldn't afford colonial exploits like Spain's sponsorship of Columbus.
England turned to privateering, allowing ship captains to plunder Spanish ships returning from the New World.
Sir Francis Drake was a famous privateer, essentially a pirate sanctioned by the English Crown.
England's developing navy was used to intercept and steal from Spanish ships, reducing the need for direct colonization.
The video will explore in the next part the factors that eventually led England to establish colonies in the New World.
Transcripts
- [Instructor] I think there's a strong argument
to be made that England was the most
powerful and successful imperial nation
of all time, but when you look back to the
Age of Exploration, it becomes clear that England
was actually pretty late to the imperial game.
As we know, Christopher Columbus,
backed by Spain, had arrived in
Hispaniola in the New World in 1492.
He was the first European to start
a colony in the New World.
England, by contrast, didn't actually have
a successful colonial venture in the
New World until 1607 with Jamestown.
Now from this distance it doesn't look
that far behind, but this is more than 100 years
later than Spain's first colonial ventures.
So what was England up to?
Why were they so late in the colonial game?
That's what I'd like to take a closer look at
in this video, and I'll also talk
a little bit more about what conditions
in England led that nation to start New World colonies.
Now I think the biggest reason why England
waited another 100 years to have a
New World colony is that England had
its own problems, and it had a number
of problems in this time period,
and we're talking about the 1500s here.
And the first of these was ongoing conflict
between Catholics and Protestants in England.
Now this is a very long story.
I don't have time to do justice to it here,
but suffice it to say that the trouble started
with Henry VIII, who we know from his
many wives and many beheadings,
and Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church
in Rome to start his own church,
the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church.
Now this is a Protestant religion.
I'm gonna put P here for Protestant.
Now Henry had two daughters, Elizabeth
who like him was a Protestant,
and Mary, who was a Catholic, and Mary occupied
the throne for a number of years,
but Elizabeth managed to wrest it away from her
and once Elizabeth was on the throne
as Elizabeth I, England became a Protestant nation.
So it's hard to be involved in world affairs
when you've got kind of a crisis of succession
going on, so one factor here is religious conflict.
Another reason why England is not headed
over to the New World is that they have
colonial problems closer to home in Ireland.
England is trying to, and will succeed at,
subduing Ireland as one of its colonies,
and they're undertaking a very bloody
and costly war, and they think of this
Catholic Irish population almost as
barbarian savages who don't know
what's good for them and in the opinion of the English,
what's good for them is English rule
and Protestantism, when of course
what the Irish really want is self rule
and to be left alone, but they use
very brutal tactics against the Irish,
and we'll kind of see that again
when they're met with another hostile
colonial population in North America.
Another issue England is dealing with
is economic depression.
The Crown doesn't have a lot of money
and there's a great deal of crime
and poverty throughout the nation,
so while the Crown can't actually afford
to sponsor colonial exploits the way
that Spain sponsored Columbus, they still
managed to get some riches out
of the New World by giving ship captains
license to plunder Spanish ships
coming back with New World riches,
and these were called privateers,
the most famous of them here is this man,
Sir Francis Drake, and really, privateers are
just pirates with a fancy name,
but the logic here was, why bother
trying to set up a colony here in Mexico
or South America, the West Indies,
and do all the work of setting up housing
and trying to tame laborers and mining,
when instead you could just let the
Spanish do all of that and then put that
gold on a ship and then use your awesome navy,
'cause England is growing a very awesome navy,
to steal those riches.
So England doesn't have a strong incentive
to do all the labor when they can
just steal it from the ships along the way.
Alright, those are some of the reasons
why it took England so long to start
colonization in North America.
In the next video I'll talk about
the factors that led England to finally
join the race for New World colonies.
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