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Queen Elizabeth Dies
Elizabeth dies as a "virgin queen," meaning she has no heir to the throne. -
James Stuart succeeds Elizabeth as ruler of England
James Stuart succeeds Elizabeth as James I - King James lacked the majesty of monarchy as Elizabeth, and he was a poor judge of character. He was unpopular with the population, especially with his Scottish accent. He was a huge proponent of “the divine right of kings.” -
Charles 1 succeeds James as the King of England
Charles' reign, as well as the other Stuart reigns, are in great need of the pocketbook held by the House of Commons, due to the debt left by Elizabeth. Essentially, the Commons utlilized their financial positions to allow soverignty. -
Charles 1 dissolves Parliament
After arguing over his right to collect custom duties on wine and wool and over what the Commons perceived as religious innovations, Charles dissolves Parliament and attempts to rule without it until 1640 -
Laud of Canteburry imposes church on Scotland
Laud tries to impose two elements of church organizaiton on Scotland: a new prayer book and bishoprics. The Scots revolted, which required King Charles to summor Parliament to finance an army. -
Charles calls Parliament back into session
With the Scotish revolt, Charles was forced to summon Parliament to finance the war. This ended his rule without parliament from 1629-1640, and marked the begining of "Long Parliament," which ruled from 1640-1660. -
Triennial Act
Passd by the Commons, the Triennial Act compelled the king to summon Parliament every three years. It was a major component in limiting the power of the monarch -
Catholic Uprising
Since Henry II conquered Ireland, the English have mercilessly ruled the land. Especially with the English Reformation leading to religious division, there was massive division between the two states. In 1641, the Catholic gentry led an uprising in reponse to fafeared invation by the Long Parliament. This put pressure on Charles I to listen to Parliament, which controlled the army. -
Start of the English Civil War
The English Civil War tested whether soveriegnty in England was to reside in the king or in Parliament. Eventaully, Parliament, under the command of Oliver Cromwell, would win. -
Battle of Nasbey and Langport
This war marked the turning point of the English Civil War. After three years of inconclusive fighting, this victory over Charles appeared to be Parliament prevailing. -
Formation of the New Model Army
In response to the English Civil War, Parliament organized its forced into a New Model Army under the leadership of Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. They were a purtian based army. They defeated the king's armies, and allowed Cromwell to maintain power. -
Cromwell's forces capture the king
Upon capturing the king in a decisive battle, Cromwell dismissed members of teh Parliament who opposed his actions. This marked the victory of Parliament over the king -
King Charles' Trial
After being captured by Cromwell, Charles is put on trial by the "Rump Parliament." This wa sa huge blow to the idea of divine right monarchy. Charles was found guilty and beheaded, sending shockwaves across Europe -
Cromwell crushes rebellion at Drogheda
While Cromwell accepted a degree of toleration, he characterized Irish Catholisicm with sedition and heresy. His army crushed the a rebellion at Drogheda and massacred the garrison, leading to a lasting schism between the Irish and English -
Navigation Act is Enforced
Enforced by Cromwell and his "Rump parliament," the Navigation Act required that English goods be tranported on English ships. It acted as a great boost to the development of English merchant marines. -
The Instrument of Government is prepared
The Instrument of Government was a written document issuing an executive power in a lord protector and a council of state. The protector in this case is Cromwell. It provided for triennial parliaments and gave Parliament the sole power to raise taxes -
Cromwell is established as Protectorate
Under the Instrument of Government, Cromwell is established as England's Lord Protector. Essentially, Cromwell was a military dictator. -
Cromwell dies
Oliver Cromwell dies, leading tot he collapse of military government. Under poor military rule of Cromwell's son, civilians begin calling for a return to civilian government. -
Restoration of 1660
The Restoration of 1660 re-established the monarchy in the person of Charles II. Charles, who returned form exile, was restored along with both houses of Parliament, the courts of law, and the system of local government. -
Charles' agreement to Catholicize England
With Charles II not receiving adequate income, he entered a secret agreement with Louis XIV of France in which France would give Charles 200000 pounds annually and Charles would re-Catholicize England, support the French over the Dutch, and Charles to convert to Catholicism himself. When news of the agreement was released, anti-Catholic feelings swept across England -
Test Act of 1673
Enacted by Parliament, those who refused to receive the Eucharist of the CHurch of England coult not vote, hold public office, preach, teach, attend the universities, or even assemble for meetings. -
James II succeeds Charles II as King of England
James II replaces his brother Charles II as King; worst possible occurrences for anti-Catholics. He violated the Test Act by appointing Roman Catholics as high positions in army, universities and local government, when people challenged him his appointed judges sided with him. -
Church of England petition the King
Believing that is was illegal for the king to force them to read the declaration of indulgence, 7 bishops were imprisoned in the Tower of London. However, due to public enthusiasm, they were quickly released. This encouraged the Glorious Revolution. -
James's second wife produces a male heir
With a male heir, it seemed sure a Catholic dynasty would follow. This led to a group of eminent persons to offer the throne to William and Mary -
William of Orange and Mary are crowned king and queen of England
In what is called the "Glorious Revolution," Protestant Williams of Orange and Mary are instated as rulers of England. The revolution is noted for the lack of bloodshed
