OH! Maybe even a slight bit further back with the diggers and levelers not emerging?
But what would be the origin of the diverging timeline? Henry VIII gets his annulment from Catherine of Aragon, and never breaks with Rome? I think it’s worth considering how much of the enlightenment movement (at least in the English speaking world) goes back to the English break with the church in the first place. As England legitimately started to become a world power in the 18th and 19th centuries, much of what they did was propelled by their conflict with Catholic southern Europe (and colonization of Ireland, which itself was propelled by the privatization of land and the need to feed their own population).
Maybe we should start a new thread for this! LOL!
[ETA] Okay, I made a new thread so we can stop derailing this one! Please speculate wildly there and enjoy!
