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Oct 31, 1517
Criticism of the Indulgences by Protestants
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1526
The Tyndale Bible
The New Testament translated into English by William Tyndale -
1529
Pope rejects Henry VIII's divorce with Catherine of Aragon
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1533
Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn
Act of Succession : made Anne Boleyn a legitimate Queen -
1534
Act of Supremacy
The king was made "Supreme Head of the Church of England" -
1537
Pilgrimage of Grace
The dissolution process was interrupted by rebellions in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
These were the greatest rebellions ever faced by a Tudor monarch. They lasted 6 months and were called the "Pilgrimage of Grace". -
1549
Book of Common Prayer
Revision of the mass-book, led to the publication of the Book of Common Prayer in 1549. Roman Catholic practices were eradicated. The marriage of clergy was allowed. The imposition of the Prayer Book led to rebellions in Cornwall and Devon. -
1553
The Coronation of Mary I
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1555
Bloody Mary
Protestantism was confined to secrecy as heretics were burned between 1555 and 1558. Under Mary’s brief reign, over 200 Protestants were burnt alive.
Protestants were forced to leave the country and fled to the Continent = they were the "Marian exiles". -
1558
Mary I died of illness
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1559
The Act of Supremacy : Church organisation
Abolished the authority of the Pope.
Restored the authority of the Queen over the Church.
She became “Supreme Governor of the Church of England”. -
1559
The Act of Uniformity : Religious
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 : Doctrine
- stated the doctrine of the Church
- 3 important changes : a new ecclesiology / a new doctrine of Salvation / a new definition of sacraments and of the mass
- still in use today
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1569
The Northern Rebellion
- Rebellion against religious reforms.
- 6000 insurgents.
- An attempt to replace Queen Elizabeth by Mary, Queen of Scots.
- The revolt was led by the Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland.
- It was crushed.
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1570
The excommunication of Elizabeth
Pope Pius V issued the papal bull "Regnans in Excelsis" : It called Elizabeth "The so-called queen" (!), "a heretic favouring heretics".
It excommunicated Elizabeth = almost giving Catholics licence to kill her with the certainty that it would not be seen as a crime by Rome. -
1571
The Treasons Act
The 1571 Treasons Act made it treason for anyone to say that Elizabeth was not the true Queen of England and Wales. -
1572
The execution of Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Queen of Scots was convicted for complicity and sentenced to death. She was executed in 1587 in Fotheringham Castle, wearing a bright red dress, the color of Catholic martyrs. -
1581
The 1581 Act
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
Young Catholics had sworn to kill Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the throne but their strategies were discovered by Francis Walsingham, when he managed to decipher a coded letter between Marie Stuart and this group. -
The defeat of the Spanish Armada
Philip II, the Catholic King of Spain supported several plots against Elizabeth. In retaliation, and to support the cause of Protestantism, Elizabeth supported the Dutch Revolt against Spain. As a result, the King of Spain attempted to invade England. A complete defeat, England was victorious. -
The Gunpowder Plot
A conspiracy devised by a small group of Catholics to blow up Parliament and kill James I. -
Great Contract
The King would receive a fixed sum. But some MPs feared the King would not need to call up parliaments anymore to get money (the king would be financially independent!) -
The King James' Bible
James was presented with the MILLENARY PETITION (so called because it bore the signatures of a thousand church ministers).
Asked for the Church of England to be purified of the last traces of Catholic doctrines and rites (ex the use of clerical vestments, bowing at the name of Jesus).
But James refused and confirmed the Elizabethan status quo.
The only important change: a new English translation of the Bible (the King James’ Bible) completed in 1611. -
The Thirty Years' War
Military defeats (Lord Buckingham, the King’s advisor became very unpopular)
England at war with Spain and France
Consequences of the war:
A huge strain on finances
The raising of troops (50 000!) had important impacts on the local population. -
Petition of Rights
They requested the King to recognise the illegality of extra-parliamentary taxation, billeting, martial law, imprisonment without trial.
Wanted to get Charles to recognise that there were limits to his powers
Charles reluctantly signed it but was furious, and as MPs were discussing impeaching Lord Buckingham again, he suspended parliament seating. -
James I died
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The Personal Rule
- 11 years when the King ruled without calling a parliament
- Whig historians called it “The Eleven Years Tyranny”
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The Three Resolutions
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 = an act of open defiance!
Charles imprisoned these MPs and dissolved parliament.
He declared there would be no more parliaments = start of the “Personal Rule” -
The Scottish crisis
The end of the Personal Rule and the outbreak of the Civil war were caused by crises not just in England but in Scotland and Ireland. -
The Grand Remonstrance
- the right of the House of commons to choose the King’s ministers
- the right for Parliament to control any army sent to Ireland
- the right for Parliament to reform the Church The PARLIAMENTARIANS: who believed that reform was necessary to safeguard the liberties of subjects, the rights of Parliament and Protestant Church The ROYALISTS: who thought that the Grand Remonstrance’s demands were too extreme and who wanted a negotiated settlement with the King
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The Irish Rebellion
In October 1641, an armed revolt broke out in Ireland: The Irish Rebellion James I (Charles’ father) had implemented a plantation policy = sending English and Scottish protestant colonists to Ireland, taking the lands of Irish Catholics
In Oct 1641, Irish Catholic rebels rose up against Protestant settlers
➔ Massacre of 3 000/4 000 protestants
False rumours: Irish atrocities, 200 000 protestants massacred (fuelled the anti-Catholic sentiment in England) -
Militia Act
Parliament passed the Militia Act (1641): the army should be placed under the control of a general appointed by Parliament - taking away the King’s ability to appoint whoever he wanted ! -
Execution of King Charles I
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The Interregnum
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Blasphemy Act
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The Declaration of Breda
1660: Charles II (the son of Charles I who had been executed in 1649) issued the Declaration of Breda. -
The Instrument of Government
England’s first and only written constitution -
End of the Commonwealth
➔ 16 Dec 1653: end of the Commonwealth and start of the Cromwellian Protectorate (or Military Protectorate) -
The Restoration
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The Act of Uniformity
All ministers had to swear to conform to the Book of Common Prayer -
Outbreak of Prague
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Great Fire of London
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The Popish Plot
Rumour of a plot organised by the French to murder Charles II and replace him by his Catholic brother James II
Fear: James as king would implement pro-Catholic politics + might try to restore absolute monarchy, threatening Parliament (Just look at Louis XIV: absolute monarch + persecution of protestants!) -
The Exclusion crisis
Parliament attempted to debar James II from the succession to the English throne (!! Parliament trying to modify the rules of succession? Divine Right of Kings?)
Charles’ reaction: dissolving the Parliament. -
The Bill of Rights
Fixed limitations on the sovereign’s powers
Parliament had to consent to new laws
Parliament gained control over finances and over the army
No Catholic was to inherit the throne
Set out the rights of Parliament
Regular parliaments
Free elections
Freedom of speech in Parliament
Set out basic civil rights
A key political text
Essential document of the uncodified British constitution
Model for the US Bill of rights
Influenced by John Locke -
The Act of Settlement
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Declaration of Independence
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Treaty of Paris
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The shape of the British Empire
By 1783, Britain had established an empire which comprised of:
• colonies in North America including the West Indies, and the Pacific including New Zealand (which became a British Colony following an expedition by James Cook in 1769)
• trading posts in India
• naval bases in the Mediterranean - Gibraltar and Minorca But
• Britain's defeat in the American War of Independence meant the loss of the American colonies -
Outbreak of the French Revolution
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The Irish Rebellion of 1798
an uprising against British rule in Ireland
Influenced by the ideas of the American and French revolutions
Presbyterian radicals + Catholics
Rebels defeated (/atrocities) -
Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo (1815) End of the Napoleonic Wars Napoléon Bonaparte defeated by Wellington’s Army