Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bethan Age”) brings a renaissance of theater, literature, science, discovery,
and manners to the city.
1577-1580
Explorer Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the globe.
1585
Playwright William Shakespeare moves from Stratford-upon-Avon to Lon-
don, beginning a remarkable career as the earth's greatest playwright.
1588
England's navy defeats the powerful Spanish Armada and starts to rule
the waves. Overseas trade brings the world's wealth directly to London's
wharves.
1594
Explorer Sir Walter Raleigh searches, unsuccessfully, for the legendary El
Dorado (“City of Gold”) in South America.
Related Sights
• Shakespeare's Globe
• Shakespeare folios (British Library)
• Tower of London execution site
• Chapel of Henry VII and Elizabeth I's tomb in Westminster Abbey
• Kings College Chapel in Cambridge
The “Virgin Queen” Elizabeth dies without heirs, and the Crown passes to the Stuart fam-
ily. Their arrogant, divine-right management style sparks a civil war, led by the commoner
Oliver Cromwell, who beheads the king and briefly establishes a republic called the Com-
monwealth of England. The monarchy returns, along with back-to-back disasters—first
the Great Plague (1665) and then the Great Fire (1666), which levels London.
