English Protestant Reformation (jan 1, 1534 – jan 1, 1558)

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Before this time, Catholic Spain and Catholic England were allies to each other and alas, England did not have much interest in establishing colonies in the New World and competing with Spain. However, in 1534, King Henry VIII of England took control of the English Church and launched the English Protestant Reformation, which lasted until 1558 when Protestant Queen Elizabeth I took the throne and Protestantism was the dominant religion in England. As to be expected, this conversion to Protestantism caused tension between Spain and England that hadn't previously existed. It also elicited resistance from Catholic Ireland, which, in the 1570's and 1580's, launched a series of rebellions against England. Yet these rebellions were brutally crushed by the English monarchy, inciting century-old religious conflict in Ireland and hostility between the English and the Irish that was transferred to the New World. The Irish also enlisted Spanish help, which further alienated Spain and England and encouraged English buccaneers to seize Spanish ships and pillage Spanish settlements.