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Period: 1509 to 1547
Henry VIII’s reign
Henry VIII reigned since he was 17 and died in 1547. it's during his reign that the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church.
He also had 6 wives, two were divorced, two beheaded, one died and the last died after him; and three of his children reigned after him: Edward, Mary and Elizabeth. -
1517
The Ninety-Five Thesis
It is a famous text written by Martin Luther, a German monk and professor of theology. It is considered the starting point of the European Reformation. In it, he criticizes the Indulgences and the Church's corruption. It was spread through Europe, mainly thanks to the printing press, alongside cheap pamphlets also criticizing the Church. -
1526
The Tyndale Bible
The Tyndale Bible was the first Bible translated in vernacular English, thus allowing Protestantism to spread through England. Its name comes from the translator, William Tyndale, who was after executed on the 6th of October 1536 for translating it. -
1534
Act of Supremacy
In 1929, the Pope rejected Henry VIII request for a divorce. Thus, the King created the Act in Restraints of Appeals, which gave him the power to annul marriages, and he married Anne Boleyn in 1533. For that, the Pope excommunicated the King and proclaimed Anne Boleyn as an illegitimate wife. Then, Henry VIII created the Act of Supremacy, making him the "Supreme Head of the Church of England". This marks the schism between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. -
1536
The Pilgrimage of Grace
In 1536, Henry VIII decided that monasteries were bastions of popery and disbanded them. But, the dissolution process was interrupted by rebellions in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. They were the greatest rebellions faced by a Tudor monarch. They lasted 6 months and were called "The Pilgrimage of Grace". All social classes participated in it: common people, gentry and the clergy. The repression was brutal, with exemplary public hangings. -
Period: 1547 to 1553
Edward VI’s reign
Edward VI was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. He was only 9 when his father died and Edward Seymour, the Earl of Herford and soon Duke of Somerset, became Lord Protector. During this reign, a series of measures pushed England towards Protestantism. He died at 15 of tuberculosis, leaving the country virtually bankrupt. -
1549
Book of Common Prayer
It is a new mass prayer book introduced by Edward VI, and it eradicated Roman Catholic practices, allowed the marriage of clergy and was imposed in all Churches, replacing the Latin services with English, which led to rebellions in Cornwall and Devon. -
Period: 1553 to 1558
Mary I’s Reign
Mary was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and of Catherine of Aragon, she was the first Queen regnant and was 37 y-o when she became Queen. She managed to restore Catholicism in 18 months and repealed the Protestant legislations of her father and half-brother. She was called "Bloody Mary" because, under her reign, over 200 protestants went to the stake. At the end of her life, she had turned all the nation against her. -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I's Reign
The Reign of Elizabeth I is still today associated with the Golden Age of England: she stabilized the Church of England by giving it principles that still exist. She stayed in power 45 years without ever getting married, which led to her being called the "Virgin Queen". -
1559
The Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity
Elizabeth I was in a tricky position, she wanted to go back to Protestantism, but she needed a Via Media to appease everyone. She then passed new legislation: the Act of Supremacy of 1559 which focuses on the Church organization, abolishing the Pope's authority while restoring the Queen's one as the Supreme Governor of the Church of England; but also the Act of Uniformity of 1559, imposing the Book of Common Prayer and people who did not attend Anglican services were fined. -
1569
The Northern Rebellion
Even though Elizabeth opted for a Middle way, trying to appease everyone, some were not happy with the new legislations. The Catholics were part of the Northern Rebellion. It was rebellions against religious reforms, which included 6000 insurgents. They attempted to replace the Queen by Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. This rebellion was crushed and led to persecution of Catholics, among other things. -
1570
Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I
At first, the Pope Pius V believed that Elizabeth, by choosing a Via Media would go back to Catholicism. By seeing that she didn't, he issued a papal bull called "Regnans in Excelsis" in which he called Elizabeth the "So-Called Queen" and "a heretic favouring heretics". He also excommunicated her and gave Catholics licence to kill her by giving them the certainty that it would not be considered a crime by Rome. -
The execution of Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Stuart or Mary Queen of Scots was the cousin of Elizabeth and a pious Catholic. In 1568, she was involved in a Civil War and had to flee to England, where she was imprisoned for 19 years because she was a threat to Elizabeth, as she was of royal blood, close to France and Spain, but also the legitimate heir in Catholic's eyes. After the Babington Plot in 1586, which had for goal to replace Elizabeth by Mary, she was beheaded in 1587 wearing a red dress, symbol of Catholic martyrs. -
The Defeat of Spanish Armada
Because of political and religious reasons, Philipp II, the King of Spain attempted to invade England, but his armada, which, at the time, was nicknamed the Invincible Armada, was crushed for multiple reasons. This defeat acted as proof of the extraordinary qualities of Elizabeth and as a reaffirmation of the English naval power. It also acted as national cohesion and enhanced the idea of a divine protection, reaffirming Elizabeth political and religious power. -
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James I's reign
James I was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and as such, seen as hope for Catholics, and was already King of Scotland when he became King of England. His reign marks the origins of a conflict between the king and Parliament because of religious and financial problems. In fact, he was famous for his extravagance and at the end of his reign, the £100 000 debt he inherited grew into a £1 million debt. -
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Charles I's reign
He firmly believed in the divine rights of Kings and interpreted all criticism as challenges to his authority. He was also favouring a minority wing of Anglicanism: the Arminians and was seen as a tyrannical king and a catholic in disguise. Under his reign, the conflict between King and Parliament did nothing but grew. -
Petition of Rights
After many financial decisions that the Parliament didn’t like, they stopped the King from collecting custom duties for life. But the King implemented forced loans and continued to collect custom duties without the approval of the Parliament. Furious, the Parliament published the Petition of Rights for the King to recognise the illegality of his acts. The King reluctantly signed but suspended Parliament seating. -
The Three Resolutions
The Members of Parliament, furious that Charles I adjourned and stopped many parliamentary sessions, they did not let the Speaker of the House put an end to the discussion and passed the Three Resolutions, which declared that whoever tried to bring in “Popery or Arminianism” or to alter the Protestant forms of the Church of England was an enemy of the kingdom, as well as anyone advising the King to do so. So it basically was an act of open defiance! -
Period: to
The Personal Rule
In response to the Three Resolutions, the King imprisoned these Members of Parliament and declared that there would be no more parliamentary sessions. It lasted 11 years during which the King didn’t call for the Parliament. Some historians called it “the Eleven Years Tyranny” -
The Bishop’s War
Charles I, being King of England and Scotland, tried to merge the two Churches. However, the Church of Scotland was Calvinist and the religious measures adopted by the King generated a widespread public discontent. It’s in 1637 that in Edinburgh, an elderly woman threw her stool at the preacher who tried to read the New Book of Common Prayer. This riot rapidly turned into a widespread rebellion which lead to Charles I needing to stop the Personal Rule, needing the Parliament to create an army. -
War on Parliament
In 1641, the Parliament having been called again, decided to pass The Grand Remonstrance, a text which summarised all the wrong doing of the King and concluded on some “revolutionary” demands. This text divided the Parliament in two groups: the Parliamentarians for the reform; and the Royalists who thought them too harsh. This led Charles to believe that some MP were plotting, and in 1642 he arrested these MPs. Fearing for the repercussions, Charles left London and declared war on Parliament. -
Period: to
The First Civil War
This war costed the life of 190 000 Englishmen. A new army was created in 1644 by the Parliamentarians and unlike the earlier regional armies, this was a national, centralised army. It was a really religious army and was a vehicle for new radical ideas (democracy…). In may 1646, the King and Royalists surrendered. However, the Parliament didn’t pay the army and in retaliation, in June 1647, the New Model Army seized the King. -
The Second Civil War
In November 1647, the King escaped from custody and allied himself with the Scots, promising them to introduce Calvinism or Presbyterianism in England. It was made of a series of revolts in the South of England, Wales and Scotland. The Royalists were easily defeated by Cromwell and the war was indeed very short: only from January to Autumn 1648. -
Period: to
The Commonwealth
Even though the regicide wasn’t really warmly welcomed, England became a Commonwealth as the House of Commons had supreme authority. In Ireland and Scotland, religious revolts arose and were brutally repressed by Cromwell, and the Rump Parliament increased repression of internal critics and radical sects and some people (the Levellers, partisans of equality and religious freedom) were imprisoned for criticising Cromwell. The Parliament was dissolved by Cromwell in April 1653. -
Charles I’s execution
In 1648, Colonel Pride entered the House of Commons and arrested the 45 conservative Members of Parliament named the Pride’s Purge. The remainder Members of Parliament (the Rump Parliament) put the King on trial for high treason. On 30 January 1649, King Charles I was executed and monarchy was abolished. England was thus declared a Commonwealth. -
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The Cromwellian Protectorate
Cromwell was appointed as Lord Protector: he had the executive power, he controlled the army and ruled with the help of the legislative power. The Parliament was composed of 460 MPs and they had to have at least £200 of personal property to vote. A Council of State composed of 13 to 21 members served for life. It was basically a monarchy without a King. -
Cromwell’s death
Cromwell died in 1658. His son became Lord Protector but resigned after 6 months which led to a period of anarchy: about 7 governments in less than a year. People were longing for a return to order. -
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Charles II's reign
Charles II faced many difficulties during his reign, such as the second Anglo-Dutch War, an outbreak of the Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666. Hostility also increased against him and his court because of drunkenness and mistresses, and he was nicknamed "the merry monarch". However, it's during his reign that the Parliament became an institution and not a meeting held every three year. -
The Restoration
In 1660, Charles II (the son of Charles I) issued the Declaration of Breda which promised a general amnesty and a continuity for religious toleration. He also promised to share power with the Parliament in return for the restoration of the monarchy, and it worked! The 29th of May 1660, the King was restored. But the King lied! He executed the people who issued Charles I’s death warrant and Cromwell’s head was on a spike for 25 years. -
Clarendon Code and Act of Uniformity
The Clarendon Code was a series of laws passed during the first 5 years of the Restoration: it was repressive towards everyone who didn't belong to the Anglican Church, and the Five Miles Act implemented fines for anyone attending non-conformist events. The Act of Uniformity of 1662 declared that all ministers had to swear to conform to the Book of Common Prayer. -
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James II's reign and the Glorious Revolution
James II sat on the throne after the death of his brother Charles II, but he was a Catholic and the Parliament feared that he would bring Catholic absolutism to the country, but as he didn't have any male heir and was old, they thought his Protestant daughter Mary would succeed him. But his wife gave birth to a prince, and the Parliament invited the King's son-in-law to invade England and seize the crown. James' army was crushed, and he fled to France. This was nicknamed The Glorious Revolution. -
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William III and Mary II's reign
William and Mary became joint monarchs, but they promised to accept Parliament's authority and their reign put many limits to the monarch's power. In fact, William was quite compliant to new laws such as the Act of Settlement of 1701, ensuring a Protestant succession regardless of the dozens of Catholic heirs, or the Toleration Act of 1689 establishing religious pluralism and freedom of worship for all Protestants. -
The Bill of Rights
It first listed King James II's misdeeds and fixed limitations on the sovereign's powers. Parliament had now to consent to new laws and gained more power over finances and the army. It also set out the rights of the Parliament with free elections and freedom of speech in it, but also basic civil rights: freedom from the cruel and excessive punishment, freedom to bear arms. It was the first text to limit the monarch's power and was the model for the US Bill of Rights. -
Period: to
Anne's reign
Queen Anne was the daughter of King James II and the sister of Queen Mary II. She oversaw key victories in the War of the Spanish Succession, boosting Britain’s global power. Her reign faced political struggles between Tories and Whigs, and she strongly supported the Church of England. Tragically, she lost all her children, leaving no heir, leading to the Hanoverian succession. -
The Act of Union
It created the United Kingdom of Great Britain, thus including England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, as the old dream of James I. This act not only created a single kingdom, but it also made Scotland lost its Parliament in favour of 45 seats in the House of Commons and 16 seats in the House of Lords. It also maintained its Presbyterian Church and its own law.