Explore how the archipelago of islands that make up the nations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland underwent a series of dramatic transformations in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Focus on politics, religious upheaval, and the beginnings of "British empire," a phrase first coined in this period. Only one of the following may be counted: European Studies 346 (Topic 54), History 366N (Topic: History of Britain, 1500-1700), 375N. Three lecture hours a week for one semester.