Give a description of England in the first half of the 17th century.

England in the first half of the 17th century was not yet the leading European country. She began a decisive path to this status from the navigation act of 1651.

Prior to that, she was inferior in sea trade to the Netherlands, and in terms of the land army – to most European states, and Spain – in terms of colonies and general wealth.

The features were as follows:
The king was the head of the church (Anglicanism).
King James I was also both King of England and Scotland.
The country was ruled by kings from the new Stuart dynasty, the last representative of the Tudor dynasty died in 1603 (Queen Elizabeth).
In foreign policy, England supported the Protestants against Spain.
In the first half of the 17th century, the first British colonies appeared in North America and the Caribbean.
In 1642-1652, a revolution and civil war took place in the country.