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THE BLACK DEATH The Black Death, or bubonic plague, ravaged England several times, the first being in June 1348. Originating in China, it spread quickly and virulently : it reached London by the summer of 1349, and by the time it receded in December it had killed half of the population. It returned twelve years later, killing 20 percent of the already hugely diminished population and then intermittently until the Great Plague of London in 1665–1666. James I, a Protestant like Elizabeth, hoped to improve relations with Cath- olics, but the divide became worse after an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic extremists to blow up the Houses of Parliament. James’s successor, Charles I, was keen to unify Britain and Ireland, but his handling of Parliament actually led to the English Civil War (1642–1651), between supporters of Parliament and the monarchy. The monarchy was replaced with the Protectorate under the

dictatorial rule of Oliver Cromwell, one of the main commanders of the Parlia- mentarian army. Two years after his death in 1658, the monarchy was restored. Through his Portuguese wife, Charles II (the “Merry Monarch”) acquired Tang- iers in northern Africa and Bombay in India, thus laying the foundations of the British Empire. India and parts of the empire would be held by Britain until the middle of the twentieth century. While the Black Death is believed to have killed around 80,000 people, it is suggested that the Great Fire of London in September of 1666 actually saved lives by burning down unsanitary buildings in which rats and fleas transmitted the plague.

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MAJOR NATIONS IN A GLOBAL WORLD: UNITED KINGDOM