ABSTRACT
By 1600 the dawn of a new age had broken over Western Europe or, indeed, a multiplicity of new ages. There had been a revival of learning, the Renaissance. There had been a new religious upheaval, the Reformation. There had been a series of exploratory voyages which were opening a new world far beyond Europe in the Age of Discovery. And there had been the beginnings of the Commercial Revolution with its radical capitalistic change in production and trade, initially under the label of mercantilism. All of these had the effect of moving Britain from the periphery of Europe to the center of the new Atlantic world in which England, in particular, was to be one of the most important actors. In the preceding chapters there has been ample opportunity to go into the effects on society and on the English language of both the Renaissance and the numerous religious movements, including the Reformation. There has, however, been only a hint at the effects of the Age of Discovery and the new economic forces.
