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Sample History Essay: The Transformative Legacy of Tudor-Stuart Britain
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Introduction to the Tudor-Stuart Era: A Defining Period in British History
The Tudor-Stuart times are characterized with British monarchs whose reigns spanned beyond 200 years (Morrill, 2000). These monarchs brought significant changes in Britain in the 16th and 17th century. During their reigns, Britain had unprecedented growth in population, superiority in agriculture, and considerable development of towns, which are still popular globally (Trimble, 1950). This discussion covers the Tudor-Stuart times to establish their contribution to Great Britain. Courtesy of the various developments initiated during the Tudor-Stuart times, Britain took a significantly distinct path in later history.
Historical Context: Growth, Governance, and Society Under Tudor-Stuart Monarchs
As Tudor-Stuart times began, Britain faced a series of distinct circumstances. Increased demand for food and resources was a critical task that the Tudor and Stuart dealt with, especially for the poor people. They developed tax payment mechanisms for locals to contribute to programs. Tudor-Stuart regimes oversaw the development of agricultural sector, processing of the farm output, and growth in commerce and trading activities. Consequently, these changes led to the growth of towns and their surroundings. During the reigns, there was a diverse establishment of different independent kingdoms centrally controlled by the respective kings and queens with varied effectiveness (Morrill, 2000).
Due to the growth of the population, the responsibilities of the supreme power increased, and there was a need to appoint leaders to help in the governance. Due to this, the Tudor-Stuart regimes introduced a method of paying these governing personnel by introducing taxes. From the huge demographic rise, the successive monarchs had to define their stand on religion and various forces were strengthened to ensure adherence to religious rituals.
The Tudor Parliament was the central location where the urban and rural leaders maintained the royal kingdom by enacting rules for the subjects, determining those to be paid, and training local militias to secure the kingdom. During this period, the boys could attend schools, which were divided into junior and grammar classes. Girls were not admitted to schools. Instead, they worked on the farms and earned money for the family, or they would be married.
Art in Britain began during this era since plays were available which spearheaded the emergence of play writers such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.
Cultural Development
In the late 16th century, advances in printing eased the spread the religious gospel and encouraged innovations that arose in the following eras (Mullet, 1967). Following these developments, news and decrees from the Monarchs would reach people more quickly diurnally. This increased the spread of knowledge and people could access information about the economy, which led to the change in the ways people behaved.
During the Tudor-Stuart times, there was a chance for the people to elect their members of parliament to present people’s issues to the Great Council. The practiced democracy led to the civil war in 1640s when the Monarchs split. However, his paved way for the establishment of the new kingdom in Britain (Morrill, 2000).
The British Empire quickly grew and saw the establishment of major trading posts worldwide. British militias managed, guarded, and organized the posts. These trading regions were located in the West Africa, Indian Ocean, East Asia, the Caribbean and in colonies in North America.
Agriculture and Innovation: Foundations of Economic Development
The poet Cowper, in his work, illustrated that God created the country and man grew the towns. Scholars who came after his work argued that this was incorrect as any change in the landscape in Britain is courtesy of the intense work done by men and women in Britain. They further explained that the development of the landscape would impact heavily on the development of towns.
As a result of improved population, agricultural activities increased in an organized way. The same was the case with the growth of industries and factories that processed the farm produce. The emergence of urban areas was the stepping-stone for more sophisticated development. Landscaping efforts grew to conserve the deteriorated land, which had been cultivated for long periods.
Notably, human population changes significantly took place in the 16th century after the depletion from the plague that devastated Britain in the 14th century. The population doubled during the 16th century period. However, in the 17th century, there was intense migration from Britain with over 300,000 people moving due to poor harvests (Morrill, 2000).
Reclamation and Colonization
During the reign of Tudor-Stuart times, Britain developed advanced drainage systems. Despite efforts by the previous monarchs, they could not manage rising sea levels, which flooded a large portion of the kingdom. Britain managed to reclaim land and convert it into agricultural land. Due to enhanced nutrient concentration, the monarchy achieved impressive harvests (Elton, 1985). This produce fed the rising population, which would only rely on the agricultural output. At the same time, Britain increased its forest coverage, which had been depleted previously.
Agricultural Innovation
Initially, agricultural practices mainly depended on the number of livestock to produce compost manure used in arable land to increase the harvest. Tudor-Stuart times saw the development of agriculture through the innovation of the water meadow with sufficient water and where plants grew (Morrill, 2000). These meadows facilitated early maturation of plants since the water was readily available for the crops.
The 17th century also saw concrete innovations that improved cultivation processes by providing new planting methods and fertilizers to improve prior efforts. New planting methods involved growing crops together with trees to maximize output. In addition, intercropping became common and some crops had mutual benefits of fertilization and nutrients exchange. Fertilization methods included the application of lime in the farming fields and burning of carbonated stones like limestone to reduce acidity in farming lands.
Urbanization and Industrial Beginnings in 16th–17th Century Britain
Industrialization
Industrialization started during the Tudor-Stuart times. Initially, focus was mainly on agriculture, which was the major social economic activity to provide room for industrialization. People sought employment from these industries to supplement what they obtained from the fields (Patterson, 1993). Most of the industries manufactured clothes from wools, which were more durable. However, during the 16th century, there was a change in the production as manufacturers started to produce cheap, lighter, less durable, and more colorful clothes. These industries were located in areas where there was sufficient supply of wool from the farms. From the start of the 16th century, there were more developments of industries that extracted metal ores and coal, which fueled some of the sectors. The locations of the industries depended on the availability of water and wood.
Urbanization
Tudor-Stuart times witnessed the growth of agriculture and industrialization, which characterized the landscaping of British Towns with major transformation and transition in output. The aspect of urbanization is extensive as Morrill (2000), in his work, posed the question over the period when the level of particular settlements became urbanized vis-à-vis the circumstances in the 16th century with lower demographic values which contrast those of the 20th-century categorization of a town. Nevertheless, Britain gained a new identity during the period in urban setup for economic activities and religious functions.
Conclusion
The Tudor-Stuart times set the foundation upon which later economic, religious, and cultural developments took place in Britain. The prevailing political environment can trace its origin to these past Monarchs in the past era. The connections may be rudimentary but the impacts are undeniable. The associated cultural changes, agricultural innovation, landscaping, industrialization, urbanization, and reclamation significantly enabled Britain wield influence globally in the later centuries.
References
Elton, G. R. (1985). Recent views on British history: Essays on historical writing since 1966. Rutgers University Press. The American Historical Review, 90(1), 126-127.
Morrill, J. (2000). The Oxford illustrated history of Tudor and Stuart Britain. Oxford University Press.
Patterson, A. (1993). Rethinking Tudor Historiography. South Atlantic Quarterly, 92(2), 185-208.
Trimble, W. R. (1950). Early Tudor Historiography, 1485-1548. Journal of the History of Ideas, 30-41.
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