AD 1500-1750 Early modern

This period saw the British Isles become a single state, with England as the leading element. Wales was integrated with England in AD 1536 and in 1603 the English throne was inherited by James VI of Scotland. This became a full political union in 1707. In Ireland, the balance between Irish and English influence was upset by religious change and political disruption. The power of native Catholic leaders was progressively reduced both by military action and the importation of English and Scottish settlers.

During the 16th century, Protestant reformers challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) broke with papal authority and established the Church of England with himself as its head in 1533. Religious dissension and political unrest reached a peak during the Civil Wars (1642-51). Scotland established its own Presbyterian church in 1646, but Catholic uprisings only ended when the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 was crushed.

By the beginning of the 18th century, a stable relationship had evolved between monarch and parliament. The office of Prime Minister became the main director of national policy. Britain had become an international power whose armies challenged French supremacy in Europe and whose merchants traded from the Americas to the Far East.