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30 years war
War between Catholics nations and Protestants ones. -
Westphalia´s peace
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Charles I overthrown
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Charles II
Became king of England. -
Tomas Hobbes
Wrote "Leviathan" wich propose amsingle intimidating ruler. -
Catholic James II overthrown
Protestants William and Mary became monarchs. -
The glorious Revolution
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English Bill of Rights
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John Locke
Wrote "Two treatises of goverment". He proposed a representative goverment. -
Central Bank
First central bank stablished in Enland. -
Spanish Succession
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Thomas Newcomen
Inventor of the first productive steam engine. -
John Lombe
Silk´s factory -
Jhon Kay
Invented flying shuttle -
Dharles VI Death
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James Hargreaves
Invented the spinning jenny -
James Watt
Patented his revision of the steam engine. -
Samuel Crompton
Invented the spinning mule. -
Adam Smith
Wrote "The Wealth of Nations". -
Edmund Cartwright
Invented the power loom. -
Henry Cort
Invented succesful iron refining tecniques. -
Richard arkwright
Invented the water frame. -
Combination acts
Make it illegal in England for workers to unionize in order to bargain for higher pay or better working conditions. -
Coal
10 million tons of coal mined in Great Britain. -
Richard Trevithick
Drove the cornish "puffer" steam powered locomotive down the street of Camborne, England. -
Luddite Rebellion
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Parliament
Parliament passes law making it illegal by penalty of death to destroy industrial machines. -
George Stephenson
Patented a steam engine locomotive that ran on rails. -
Railroad
Stephenson commissioned to construct a 30-mile railway from Liverpool to Manchester. -
Stephenson’s Rocket
Wins the speed contest on the new Liverpool to Manchester railroad. 51 miles of railroad track in Great Britain and the entire world. -
Sadler Committee investigates
Child labor in factories and issues report to Parliament. -
Factory Act
The first Factory Act provides first small regulation of child labor in textile factories -
"Poor houses Law"
Poor Law created “poorhouses” for the destitute. -
Power looms
106,000 power looms operating in Great Britain. -
Friedrick Engels
Publishes his observations of the negative effects of industrialization in The Condition of the Working-Class in England. -
General Board of Health
The British Government sets up the General Board of Health to investigate sanitary conditions, setting up local boards to ensure safe water in cities. -
The Communist Manifesto
Published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels -
Cholera epidemic
10,000 people die in three months in London from Cholera epidemic. -
Public Health Act
Gives government responsibility to ensure public health for housing and sewage. -
Education Act
Made school compulsory for children up to age 10. -
Ships
90% of all ships in the world are built in Great Britain. -
Factory Act
Raised the minimum work age to 12 years old. -
WWI
- Outbreak of First World War. UK enters hostilities against Germany. Gruelling trench warfare in Belgium and France.
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End of WWI
War ends in November with armistice. The number of UK war dead runs to several hundred thousand. -
Irish free State
UK agrees to the foundation of the Irish Free State. Northern Ireland remains part of the UK. -
Labour party leadership
First UK government led by the Labour party under Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald -
Coal Strike
General Strike arising from coal dispute. -
Unemployment
World stock market crash. Unemployment begins to rise in UK. -
Economic crisis
Economic crisis. Millions are unemployed. National Government coalition formed. -
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
Meets the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, in Munich. Chamberlain says he has averted war with Germany. -
World War II
Germany invades Poland. UK declares war on Germany. -
Winston Churchill
Becomes prime minister. British fighter pilots repel German air attacks in the Battle of Britain. London and other cities badly damaged in German bombing raids. -
Education
English government mandates and funds compulsory education for all citizens through age 18. -
Allied troops
Invade France from Britain on D-Day (6th June) and begin to fight their way towards Germany. -
UN Security Council
The UK becomes a permanent member of the UN Security Council. -
Germany surrender
Germany surrenders on 8 May. Labour leader Clement Atlee is elected prime minister to replace Winston Churchill. The new Labour government introduces the welfare state. -
Health Service
National Health Service is established. -
Nato
The UK becomes a founder member of Nato. -
Queen Elizabeth II
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. -
Suez canal zone
UK intervenes in Suez Canal Zone, but withdraws under pressure from the US. -
European Economic Community
UK application to join European Economic Community vetoed by Charles de Gaulle.French President -
British troops
British troops sent to quell unrest in Northern Ireland. -
The UK joins the European Economic Community.
Industry is on a three-day week because of strike by power workers and miners. -
EEC membership
EEC membership is endorsed in a referendum. North Sea oil begins to be pumped ashore. -
Margaret Thatcher
The Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher becomes prime minister. She begins to introduce free-market policies. -
Privatisation programme
Thatcher government begins programme of privatisation of state-run industries. -
Falklands Invasion
Argentina invades the Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic. The UK dispatches a task force, which re-takes them. -
Unemployment
High unemployment, unrest in UK inner cities, continuing violence in Northern Ireland.
Thatcher re-elected. -
IRA
The IRA attempts to assassinate Margaret Thatcher in her hotel in Brighton. Several killed and injured by a bomb blast, but the prime minister escapes unhurt. -
Thatcher reelection
Thatcher re-elected with a slightly reduced majority. -
Flight Accident
Flight Pan Am 103 explodes in mid-air over Scotland and plunges onto the town of Lockerbie. All 259 people on board as well as a further 11 on the ground are killed. -
Thatcher Resignes
Thatcher resigns as prime minister after she fails to defeat a challenge to her leadership of the Conservative party. John Major becomes prime minister. -
Kuwait´s Liberation
UK takes part in US-led military campaign to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation -
John Major
Re-elected as prime minister. Labour party chooses John Smith as its leader. -
Downing Street declaration on northern Ireland
Peace proposal issued jointly with the Irish government. -
John Smith death
Tony Blair becomes Labour leader. -
´Mad cow disease´
Government announces that BSE, or 'mad cow disease', can be transmitted to humans. Crisis for beef industry follows, with mass slaughtering of animals, collapse of markets and export bans. Many beef farmers face financial ruin. -
Labour landslide
Labour under Blair wins landslide election victory. -
A car accident
Diana, Princess of Wales, is killed in a car crash in Paris. -
Scotland and Wales Referendums
Referendums in Scotland and Wales back the creation of separate assemblies in Edinburgh and Cardiff. -
Friday Agreement
Good Friday Agreement on a political settlement for Northern Ireland is approved by voters in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. -
Air War in Yugoslavia
UK forces take part in the air war with Yugoslavia and the consequent multinational force in Kosovo. -
Parliaments Inaguration
Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly inaugurated. -
Sierra Leona Intervention
UK forces intervene in Sierra Leone to protect and evacuate foreign citizens caught up in the civil war. They subsequently stay on to help train the government army. -
Agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi
Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is found guilty of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and sentenced at a court in the Netherlands for life in prison which he will serve in Scotland. His co-accused is found not guilty. -
Political Election Postpone
Blair postpones country-wide municipal elections due in May as an outbreak of foot and mouth disease amongst cattle, sheep and pigs continues to spread. -
Labour Party Reelection
Blair's Labour party wins a second successive general election victory. -
Blair´s Support
Following September 11 attacks on targets in the US, PM Tony Blair offers strong support for US-led campaign against international terrorism. British forces take part in air strikes on targets in Afghanistan. -
UK and US
UK joins US-led military campaign against Iraq after UN-based diplomatic efforts to ensure Baghdad has no weapons of mass destruction are perceived to have failed. -
Testifications On Hutton Inquiry
Prime minister, defence secretary, government officials and aides, BBC managers and journalists testify at Hutton inquiry into death of government scientist at centre of row over claims government embellished case for Iraq war. -
Period: to
Iraq Inquiries
Lord Hutton delivers findings from inquiry into death of government scientist.
Iraq Survey Group concludes that Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction in run-up to US-led invasion.
Controversial anti-terrorism bill passed after marathon debate, which includes longest-ever sitting of House of Lords. Bill provides for control orders for suspects, including placing them under what is effectively house arrest. -
Period: to
London Bombings
52 people are killed and around 700 are injured in four suicide bomb attacks on London's transport network. Two weeks later, would-be bombers fail to detonate four devices on London's transport network.
Tony Blair suffers his first House of Commons defeat as primer.
- Gordon Brown succeeds Tony Blair as premier.
Church of England votes by 2-1 majority to allow the ordination of women bishops. -
Period: to
Financia Crisis Hits
The government part-nationalises three leading UK banks with a 37 billion pound rescue package. It also pumps billions into the UK financial system after record stock market falls precipitated by the global "credit crunch".
The UK economy comes out of recession, after figures show it grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009, following six consecutive quarters of economic contraction - the longest such period since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955. -
Period: to
Government Coalition
- General election: Conservative Party wins most seats but fails to gain an absolute majority. Conservative leader David Cameron becomes PM at the head of a coalition with the third-placed Liberal Democrats.
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Period: to
Scotish, EU Referendums
Conservative Party confounds opinion polls by winning majority in general election for first time since 1992. Liberal Democrat coalition partners lose all but eight seats. UK Independence Party wins nearly four million votes.
Scottish National Party wins all but three seats in Scotland, becoming third largest party in parliament and dealing heavy blow to opposition Labour Party.
- Political crisis after voters in a referendum opt to quit the European Union.
