by Chris James
(published August 2015)
A fellow undergraduate once asked if I could name the one individual who was most influential in bringing mankind to the state that it found itself in modern times. Easy: The first Australopithecine to walk upright. He contemptuously disqualified my answer on the grounds that he meant in the modern era, which he defined as beginning with the 14th Century Italian Renaissance. Weirdly, in 2015, this question has returned to haunt me; equally weirdly, I eureka-ed the answer: Henry VIII, King of England (1509-1547). Here's why.
Occasioned by the Renaissance, the horse-syringe sized injection of "learning" into European civilization's derriere did little to alter the structural momentum in place at the time. Beneath this new, fancy cream on the surface, the bulk liquid looked pretty much as it did before: petty wars, poverty, disease, elite ruling classes, feudal systems, low rates of technological advancement, etc. Over this somewhat dreary landscape towered the Catholic Church hegemony, so politically powerful that kings and queens were at its beck and call---being justifiably apprehensive about getting on the wrong side of God.
Enter the young Henry with his new wife. Under the pretext that she was unable to provide him with a son and heir, Henry asks the Pope for an annulment (in truth to enable Henry to pick the forbidden fruit known as Anne Boleyn). The Pope refuses Henry's request. So Henry dumps his wife anyway and gets excommunicated in the process. He reacts by declaring the establishment of a new Church of England, separate from Catholicism. Naturally, the Pope is pretty ticked off by this potentially cataclysmic insubordination, and presses the two most powerful Catholic countries in Europe, France and Spain, to gang-tackle England back into the bosom of the Holy See.
Henry's lust-catalyzed move against Rome was a global turning-point of galactic significance for two reasons. First, by replacing a monolithic religious totalitarianism with a secular---albeit royal---one, Henry achieved a spectacular, geopolitical breakthrough. Second, by expanding its already out-sized fleet of armed, experienced merchant-men in response to the Pope's invasion threat, England became, indisputably, the world's dominant sea-power. These two factors alone set the stage for a chain of game-changing events that, like an arterial network, flowed seamlessly through to today.
Partial consolidation of Protestantism occurred during the subsequent reign of Henry's daughter, Elizabeth I. It took the British mid-17th Century Civil Wars---pitting supporters of Royalty (largely Catholic) against those of Parliament (largely Protestant)---and a win by the latter to determine forever that England's top dog could now only rule at the will of the people, and that a robust separation of Church and State was finally achieved.
However, since wars, battles, and skirmishes were not a full-time occupation, the mighty English fleet was now ripe for mischief. This included legitimized piracy, trading with---and stealing resources from---many locations around the world and supporting the British military's rather predatory actions on many distant shores. All of these factors led to a build-up of wealth and power in the mother country, spurring Britain to become the perfect breeding ground for its stunning Industrial Revolution of around 1750. And, dare I say it, the rest is history.
Of particular note: In 1776, a naughty British colony rebelled against its parent and uniquely re-made itself with its own (non-royal) top dog, a "parliament" to hold it in check and, brilliantly, a referee (the judiciary) to sort it all out. Emulating its erstwhile parent, the new nation eschewed totalitarianism and cleanly separated Church from State, thereby helping to create a climate for the fermentation and distillation of a mystery stimulant called "freedom." Thus, technology, invention and business thrived; wealth and power generation was the inevitable result. And, over the long haul, this upstart country eventually became the world's super-power.
You have our everlasting gratitude, Your Majesty.
