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Period: 1509 to 1547
HENRY VIII'S REIGN
Henry VIII is known for his six marriages and for his efforts to cancel his first marriage to Catherine d'Aragon. -
1534
Act of supremacy
Henry VIII's disagreement with Pope Clement VII over his divorce led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority. He appointed himself « Supreme Head of the Church of England » and dissolved the convents and monasteries from which he had been excommunicated by the pope. -
1536
Act of Union
Wales was legally incorporated into England with English as its official language -
Period: 1536 to 1541
Dissolution of the monasteries
Because of the act of Supremacy, every monastery in England had disappeared, their goods had been confiscated and their income was expropriated. -
1537
English bible
An English bible is produced and made mandatory in churches. -
1537
Pilgrimage of Grace
A popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England. Considered as the most serious rebellions of all the Tudor period, it was a protest against Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church, the dissolution of the lesser monasteries, and the policies of the King's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell. -
Period: 1547 to 1553
EDWARD VI'S REIGN
He was crowned at the age of nine and was the first English monarch to be raised as a Protestant. During his reign, the kingdom was governed by a regency council because he never reached maturity. -
Jan 28, 1547
Death of Henry VIII
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1549
Publication of the Book of Common Prayer
Since Edward was Protestant, he tried to make the Church of England more Protestant by replacing every latin mass books in every churches. -
Period: 1553 to 1558
MARY I'S REIGN
Mary I was the first regnant Queen. She wanted to restore Catholicism and made an alliance with the Habsburgs empire. She has long been known as “Bloody Mary.” This nickname was due to her persecution of Protestant heretics, which she burned at the stake by the hundred. -
Jul 6, 1553
Death of Edward VI
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Period: 1558 to
ELIZABETH I'S REIGN
The reign of Elizabeth I was often nicknamed "Golden Age"; mostly because of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the consolidation of the Anglican Church and the premises of colonial expansion. During a speech in 1559 she declared herself "married to the Kingdom of England" and was seen as the "mother of all the subjects". She then got the nickname of the "Virgin Queen" -
Nov 17, 1558
Death of Mary I
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1559
Act of Uniformity
Every parish had to use the Book of common prayer, and people who did not attend an Anglican service were fined. -
1559
Act of Supremacy
Elizabeth reaffirmed the authority of the Queen over the Church, she became the “Supreme Governor of the Church of England”. -
1563
The 39th article of faith
Stated the doctrine of the Church, a revised and tamed version of Edward VI's 42 articles. -
1568
Civil war in Scotland
Mary Queen of Scots had to escape in England, where she was imprisoned for 19 years. -
1569
Northern Rebellion
Even though Catholics represented only 1% of the population, they still had a huge impact on political life since a lot of them were aristocrrats.
Animated by the Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland, they were back by 6000 insurgents. Their aim was to replace Elizabeth by Mary Queen of Scots, which was Catholic and next heir in line. The rebellion was crushed. -
1570
The excommunication of Elizabeth
The Pope Pius V issued a Papal Bull, talking about Queen Elizabeth and treating her of a heretic and a "so-call queen". He then decides to excommunicate her. -
Period: 1577 to
Repression of Catholics
163 persons were killed during that period of time. -
1581
Act of 1581
Act to retain the Queen’s subjects in obedience : death penalty for converts and Catholic mass forbidden. -
Execution of Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Stuart, daughter of Mary de Guise and King James V of Scotland, was executed by her cousin Queen Elizabeth after 19 years of imprisonment because she was a threat. Indeed, she was often involved in many plots, such as the Babington plot, with Catholics in order to put her on the throne instead of Queen Elizabeth. For many Catholics she was the legitimate heir. -
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
The King of Spain, Philipp II, sent the Spanish Armada to invade Britain. Due to a good naval strategy, the “invincible” armada was defeated. -
The Poor Laws
Harsh laws against beggars and vagrants. Indeed, it established a crucial difference between the "deserving poor" and the "undeserving poor". It also established the idea that the government has the responsibility to help those people. -
Period: to
JAMES I'S REIGN
Son of Mary Queen of Scots, he was also known as King James VI of Scotland since 1567. He has publicly professed his support for Puritanism while sitting on the Scottish throne but english Catholics expected him to be more tolerant than the former Queen and especially because he was the son of a late Catholic Queen. However, King James I continued the Elizabethan program of Catholic suppression. -
Death of Elizabeth I
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The Gunpowder Plot
A conspiracy that intended to kill the King James I and blow up the Parliament, led by a small group of Catholics. -
Settlement in Virginia
Named after the Queen Elizabeth's nickname "the Virgin Queen", Virginia was one the first English settlement in North America. It's marked the beginning of the colonial empire of the 17th and 18th centuries. -
The Great contract
An attempt to increase the Crown income and rid it of debts, this plan was submitted to James I and Parliament by Robert Cecil. -
King James' Bible
The new English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was sponsored of King James I. -
Period: to
The Thirty Years' War
A war led by England against Spain and France. England had some defeats which had consequences on the local population as well as the finances of the Crown. -
The Parliament of 1624
The Parliament agreed to finance war to Spain -
Period: to
CHARLES I'S REIGN
The second son of King James I and the grand-son Mary Queen of Scots, he embraced a particular form of Anglican faith : Arminianism. He also was an amateur of the arts. -
Death of King James I
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Petition of Rights
Considering the illegality of extra-parliamentary taxation, billeting, martial law and imprisonment without trial that the King Charles I did, the members of the Parliament wanted him to recognize the limits of his power.
The King signed the petition, but was not pleased with it and responded by suspending the parliament seating. -
Three Resolutions
They were passed by Parliament, and from that time on no one could alter the Protestant forms of the Church of England (Popery, Arminianism) and the king could not collect, without Parliament’s consent, customary duties.
But Charles then decided to dissolve the Parliament and imprisoned it's members because, from his point of view, it was a provocation. He then declared that there would no longer be a Parliament which marked the beginning of the "Personal Rule". -
Period: to
Personal Rule
Also called "The Eleven Years of Tyranny", during this period of time, King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland ruled without the Parliament. -
Period: to
Scottish Crisis
Also known as the Bishops Wars, several rebellions took place after the introduction of the new Book of the Common Prayer.
After a petition opposing the religious policy of King Charles I appeared, he made a recall to the Parliament twice, which ended the period of "Personal Rule". -
The Grand Remonstrance
A document voted by Parliament summarizing the wrong doing of King Charles I, and with demands qualified as "revolutionary": the Parliament had now the right to control the army sent to Ireland, to reform the Church and the House of commons to choose the King’s ministers. This ended up creating a separation between the members of the Parliament between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. -
Irish Rebellion
An armed revolt took place from Irish Catholics against the Protestant settlers. This massacre resulted in 4 000 Protestants who died. After that, the Parliament passed the Militia Act which put the army under the control of a general that the Parliament itself would decide of. -
Period: to
English Civil Wars
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Period: to
First Civil War
190 000 English people died in the first civil war who was between royalists and parliamentarians. It ended with the surrender of the royalists and the king. -
King Charles I's evasion
Charles escaped from the custody of the army, and searched to ally himself with the Scots. He asked the Scottish army to invade England and to restore his power. In return, he promised to introduce Presbyterianism into England. This led to the Second Civil War. -
Pride's Purge
While the army wanted the King to be tried, conservative Parliament members wanted to negotiate with him.
The Colonel Pride entered the House of Commons, stopped the vote and arrested the 45 conservative Parliament members. The remaining members, named the Rump Parliament, put the King on trial for high treason -
Period: to
Second Civil War
The Second Civil War was a series of revolts in the South of England, Wales and Scotland ; rhe Royalists were defeated. -
The Commonwealth of England
After the abolution of the House of Lord and the Monarchy, England was ruled as a republic. -
Period: to
The Interregnum
The period of gap between two Kings. During this period of time, many forms of government were experimented, especially republican. -
Period: to
COMMONWEALTH
Period of time where Cromwell was the Lord Protector. -
The execution of King Charles I
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The Government of the Commonwealth
The first and only written constitution of England. -
Period: to
Cromwellian Protectorate
Period of military dictatorship close to a monarchy led by Oliver Cromwell. One of the biggest successes of that time was the war against Catholic Spain. -
Dissolution of the Rump Parliament
Cromwell led an armed force into the Commons Chamber (as Charles I had done in 1642) and dissolved the Rump Parliament. He said : "You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately. In the name of God, go!". -
Death of Oliver Cromwell
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Period: to
CHARLES II'S REIGN
Son of the former King Charles I, Charles II had to flee England after his defeat to Oliver Cromwell in 1651. After the death of Cromwell in 1658, a political crisis takes place in England, which lead to the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II as the King. -
Declaration of Breda
The Declaration of Breda was made by Charles II of England in which he promised a general pardon amnesty, the continuaton of religious toleration and the share of the power with Parliament in return of the restauration of monarchy. -
The Popish Plot
A rumor of a French plot organised to assassinate Charles II and replace him by his Catholic brother James II. This plot, invented by Titus Oates, led the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in an anti-Catholic hysteria. -
Exclusion crisis
Since James II was a Catholic, the Parliament attempted to debar him from the succession to the English Throne. The King then dissolved the Parliament. -
Period: to
JAMES II'S REIGN
James Stuart was King of England and Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II. He also was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Nowadays, his reign is remembered for conflicts over religious tolerance, but also for the struggles over the principles of absolutism and the divine right of kings. -
Death of Charles II
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The Glorious Revolution
Since King James II did not have any male heir, the Parliament invited the husband of his daughter Mary, the Dutch prince William of Orange, to invade England and take the throne. He landed with an army of 20 000 men, but haven't met any resistance. That peace gave the name of a Glorious revolution to this event. After that, William became King William III and James II fled to France. -
Period: to
WILLIAM III'S AND MARY II'S REIGN
King James II didn't have any male heir, so his Protestant daughter Mary's husband, the Dutch prince William of Orange, who was Protestant too, was invited by "The Immortal Seven", 7 English noblemen, to invade England. However, the real reason of why he was invited was because the only son of the King James II, that he had with his second wife, was Catholic and Parliamentarians were afraid of the possible installation of a Catholic restoration. -
The Bill of Rights
Mary and William undertook to defend The Bill of Rights, which definitively limited the power of the king to that of the English Parliament. The Constitutional Monarchy now replaces the Absolute Monarchy. -
Death of Mary II
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Act of Settlement
The main aim of this legislation was to ensure a Protestant succession to the English throne and reinforced the Bill of Rights. -
Period: to
ANNE'S REIGN
William and Mary had no children. After Mary's death in, William reigned alone until his own death when Anne, sister of Mary and last monarch of the House of Stuart, succeeded him. During her reign, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession, until 1710 when Anne dismissed many of them from office. -
Death of William III
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Act of Union between
Act of Union between England and Scotland : the Kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. -
Period: to
The Georgian Era
The period of time where several Kings from the House of Brunswick ruled. -
Period: to
GEORGE I'S REIGN
George I was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover. During his reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual political power was held by Robert Walpole, now recognised as Britain's first prime minister. -
Death of Anne
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Jacobite rising
The Jacobite rebellion, sometimes referred to as The Fifteen, was an attempt by James Edward Stuart to regain the British throne in favour of the exiled Stuart dynasty. -
Period: to
First Prime Minister
Robert Walpole, a Whig, was the first Prime Minister of Britain. -
Period: to
GEORGE II'S REIGN
During his reign, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. -
Death of George I
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Jacobite rising
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion, was led by the “Young Pretender”, Bonnie Prince Charlie (the grandson of James II). It was the last one since they were defeated. -
Period: to
Seven Years' War
It's an important war for the settlement of English colonies : Britain gained Florida over the Spanish and parts of Canada over the French. -
Period: to
GEORGE III'S REIGN
He was a monarch of the House of Hanover but, unlike his two predecessors, he was born in Great Britain and spoke English as his first language. His reign was marked by a series of military conflicts -
Death of George II
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Period: to
American War of Independance
The British nation lost within that war a great part of the colonies. It signed the end of the First English Empire. -
Declaration of Independance
The United States declared their independance -
Treaty of Paris
After several years of war, in the Treaty of Paris, Britain officially recognized the independence of the United States. -
The French Revolution
Britain fought the revolutionary forces and later the Napoleonic forces. -
The failed Irish Rebellion
Influenced by the Americans and the French revolutions, an Irish uprising took place against the British rules in Ireland. They were defeated but very brutal actions took place. -
Acts of Union
Creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Parliament of Ireland was integrated to London’s Parliament
