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Period: 1509 to 1547
The Reign of Henry VIII
Son of Henry VII, the first Tudor King -
1534
Schism with the Act of Supremacy
the King was made “the Supreme Head of the Church of England”. It had led England to break with the Roman Catholic Church. -
1536
Pilgrimage of Grace
Rebellions in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire that dured 6 months. -
Period: 1536 to 1541
the disband of Monasteries
Henry decided that the monasteries were bastions of “popery”. The valuables were confiscated and melted down.
Huge impact on the nuns and monks who lived there, on the social fabric of communities and on the clergy’s finances. -
Period: 1547 to 1553
The Reign of Edward VI
He was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour; he was only 9 when his father died.
He pushed England towards Protestantism.
Edward VI was 15 when he died from tuberculosis -
1549
The Book of Common Prayer
Roman Catholic practices (including statues and stained glass) were eradicated. The marriage of clergy was allowed.
The imposition of the Prayer Book (which replaced Latin services with English) led to rebellions in Cornwall and Devon. -
Period: 1553 to 1558
The Reign of Mary I
She was the daughter of Henri VIII and Catherine of Aragon, the first Queen regnant at 37 years old.
She was married to the very catholic Philip II of Spain. -
Period: 1555 to 1558
"Bloody Mary"
Protestantism was confined to secrecy as heretics were burned, over 200 Protestants went to the stake.
Protestants were forced to leave the country and fled to the Continent (“Marian exiles”) -
Period: 1558 to
The Reign of Elizabeth I
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1559
The Act of Supremacy
this Act abolished the authority of the Pope and restored the authority of the Queen over the Church.
She became “supreme governor of the Church of England”. -
1559
The Act of Uniformity
Every parish had to use the Book of Common Prayer.
People who did not attend an Anglican service were fined. -
1563
The 39 articles of Faith
This law was enforced until 1571 (it's still used today) and stated the doctrine of the Church. There were 3 important changes: a new conception of the Church (ecclesiology), a new doctrine of Salvation and a new definition of sacraments and mass. -
1569
The Northern Rebellion
The Rebellion of 6000 insurgents against religious reforms, led by the Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland was an attempt to replace Queen Elizabeth by Mary, Queen of Scots. -
1570
The papal bull “Regnans in Excelsis”
The papal bull issued by the Pope Pius V, called Elizabeth “The so-called queen”, “a heretic favouring heretics”. It almost was giving the licence to kill the Queen without being seen as a crime by Rome. -
1571
The 1571 Treason Acts
This Actmade it treason for anyone to say that Elizabeth was not the true Queen of England and Wales. -
1581
the 1581 Act
“Act to retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their due Obedience"
This Act was part of the repression of Catholics: it provided for the death penalty for any person converting, or already converted to Catholicism.
It was now forbidden to participate or celebrate the Catholic Mass
Anglican services were compulsory: £20 per month fine. -
The Babington Plot
The Babington Plot was a strategy to replace Elizabeth by Marie Stuart, Queen of Scots, by killing the Queen. But Francis Walsingham discovered Catholics strategies by managing to decipher a coded letter between Marie Stuart and the group. -
The execution of Mary Stuart
She was executed for complicity in Fotheringham Castle. She was wearing a bright red dress, the colour of Catholic martyrs. -
The failed invasion of the Spanish Armada
There was a rivalry between Philip II, king of Spain (that supported plot against her) and the Queen (that supported the Dutch Revolt against Spain). Spain attempted to invade England but failed because of the material and human advantage of England (new fleet, new strategy - the line battle, recruiting efforts). This event acted as a proof of the extraordinary quality of Elizabeth and reaffirmation of the English national cohesion and insularity. -
The Poor Laws
The Poor Laws were passed in 1553, 1597 and 1601 and the governements had a responsability for helping poor people. But it also put a distinct line between the deserving poor and the undeserving poor so they were harsh against vagrants and beggars. -
Period: to
The Reign of King James I of England and James VI of Scotland
Son of Mary Queen of Scots, he was proclaimed King of Scotland in 1567 and crowned King of England in 1603 on Elizabeth’s death.
He was a strong believer in the divine rights of kings. -
The Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot was a conspiracy devised by a small group of Catholics to blow up Parliament and kill James I. -
The establishment of Jamestown
The establishment of Jamestown in Vigirnia was the first permanent settlement, named after James I. -
Period: to
The Thirty Years War
England was at war with Spain and France which had a huge strain on finances and on the local population (raising of troops). In this period, the king and the Lord Buckingham were distrusted. -
Period: to
The Reign of Charles I
Firmly believed in the divine right of Kings and married to the French princess Henrietta Maria, Charles I favoured a minority wing of Anglicans: the ARMINIANS. He interpreted all criticism as a challenge to his authority. -
Petition of Rights
MPs’ requested the King to recognise the illegality of extra-parliamentary taxation, billeting, martial law, imprisonment without trial and wanted to get Charles to recognise that there were limits to his powers. -
Three Resolutions
The MPs passed 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 collect custom duties without Parliament’s consent.
It was seen as an act of open defiance and the King dissolved the parliament. -
Period: to
The Personal Rule
Called "The Eleven Years Tyranny" by Whig historians, these 11 years were ruled without a parliament by the King. -
The Scottish National Covenant
It was a petition opposing Charles’ religious policy which led to the Bishops' War that dured 2 years (1639-1640).
Scotland and England both started to form an army. -
The Short Parliament
Needing money to fight the Scots, Charles called a parliament for the first time in 11 years but dissolved it after only 3 weeks. -
The Long Parliament
This Parliament on the contrary of the other, dured twenty years.
The Long Parliament passed two acts: the Parliament should meet at least every 3 years and its dissolution required its consent.
Parliament also executed Earl Stafford, one of the King’s most powerful advisers. -
Militia Act
The army should be placed under the control of a general appointed by Parliament. -
The Grand Remonstrance
It was an important document voted by Parliament that summarized all the wrong doing of Charles I and concluded on “revolutionary” demands. It divided the Parliament in two groups: the parliamentarians and the royalists. -
The Irish Rebellion
Irish Catholics rebels rose up against Protestant settlers.
It was a massacre of 3 000/4 0000 protestants. -
The First Civil War
The First civil war had cost the lives of 190 000 Englishmen (in combat/from diseases) and last until May 1646 when the King and the Royalists surrendered. -
Mutiny of the New Model Army
The New Model Army seized the King because they hadn't been paid by the House of Commons. -
The Second Civil War
The Second Civil War was the result of the Parliament's fear when the King escaped from army custody and allied himself with the Scots (Nov 1647).
It was made of a series of revolts in the South of England, Wales and Scotland. The Royalists were easily defeated by Cromwell. -
Period: to
The Commonwealth
England was declared a Commonwealth (ruled as a Republic), because the monarchy and House of Lords were abolished.
The House of Commons had supreme authority.
But on 20 April 1653 Cromwell dissolved the Rump by ordering the MPs to leave. -
Period: to
The Cromwellian Protectorate
The Protectorate was a military dictatorship which was similar to a monarchy without a King. Cromwell appointed a Lord Protector, a Parliaments of 460 MPs elected every 3 years (to be allowed to vote, a man had to own £200 of personal property) and a Council of State composed of 13 to 21 members who served for life. It ended when Cromwell died which led to a period of chaos. -
Period: to
The Reign of Charles II
Nicknamed the “merry monarch”, he was the son of Charles I and Henriette Marie of France. He was the one who restore the monarchy after the Interregnum. -
The Restoration of Monarchy
Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda that promised: a general amnesty, a continuation of the religious toleration and share power with Parliament for a return of the monarchy. -
The Clarendon Code
This was a series of laws passed during the first 5 years of Restoration: repressive towards non conformists and dissenters (=different faith from the Anglican church, except Catholics), required to swear an oath of non resistance to the King, restoration of bishops to the House of Lords and to their place in the Church and the Five Miles Act. -
Outbreak of Plague
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The Great Fire of London
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The Popish Plot
It was the rumour of a plot organised by the French to murder Charles II and replace him by his Catholic brother James II. -
Period: to
The Reign of James II
He was the brother of Charles II and tried to enforce toleration of Catholic worship. -
The Glorious Revolution
Parliament invited the King’s son in law (William of Orange) to invade England and seize the crown.
He landed with an army of 15 000 men and met no resistance because James’ army disintegrated and officers deserted.
James II fled to France and William became King William III. -
the Toleration Act
This act established religious pluralism and freedom of worship for all Protestants. -
Period: to
The Reign of William III
He was the son in law of James II and the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, in the Dutch Republic and then the King of England, Ireland and Scotland. -
The Bill of Rights
This key political text listed King James’ misdeeds, fixed limitations on the sovereign’s powers, set out the rights of Parliament and basic civil rights. -
The 1701 Act of Settlement
This Act settled the order of succession and ensured a Protestant succession, ignoring dozens of Catholic heirs, which became a key role in the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain. -
Period: to
The Reign of Anne
She was the last Stuart Monarch. -
Act of Union between England and Scotland
The union of England (and Wales) and Scotland (old dream of James I) created the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Ratification made under Queen Anne: a single kingdom, Scotland lost its parliament but gained 45 seats in the House of Commons and 16 seats in the House of Lords and Scotland kept its Presbyterian church and own laws. -
Period: to
The War of the Spanish Succession
Under Queen Anne's reign, Britain gained Acadia over France. -
Period: to
The Reign of George I
He was the first on the throne as a Hanoverian descendant of James I. -
Period: to
The Reign of George II
He was the son of George I. -
Period: to
The Seven Years' War
Britain gained Florida over the Spanish and most of Canada over the French. -
Period: to
The Reign of George III
He was the grandson of George II. -
Period: to
American War of Independence
Because of this war, Britain lost a huge part of its empire. This marked the end of what is now called the "First British Empire". -
Declaration of Independence
This political text was grievances against George III. -
Treaty of Paris
Britain formally recognized the independence of the United States. -
Irish Rebellion of 1798
Influenced by the ideas of the American and French revolutions, there was an uprising against British rule in Ireland but the rebels were defeated. -
The Second Act of Union
This second Act created the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England and Scotland) and Ireland.
