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Period: 1509 to 1547
Henry VIII (1509-1547)
Henry VIII was the successor of Henry VII (or Henry Tudor) and the second member of the House of Tudor. He is most known for slowly seperating the Church of England from the papal authority troughout his reign, by forcing his divorce with Catherine of Aragon (in disagreement with the Pope) and making himself the head of the Church of England. He was also considered as a "warrior king" as he was involved in several international conflicts. -
1533
Act in Restraint of Appeals
The Act in Restraint of Appeals was established in 1533 to forbid all appeals to the Pope, establishing the sovereignty of England and making King Charles I the only authority of the Kingdom. This Act was very impactful on the gradual break with Rome and the papal authority. -
1534
Act of Supremacy
The Act of Supremacy was established by Henry VIII in 1534. It defined the right of the King of England to be supreme Head of the Church of England, therefore slowly breaking with Rome and the papal authority. -
Period: 1534 to
Histoire Britannique (1534-1801) L1
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1539
The Great Bible
Ordered in 1538 by Henry VIII, The Great Bible was the first authorised edition of the Bible (of the Church of England) in the English language. It was meant to be accessible to anyone (who would know how to read!) and was based on Myles Converdale's translation (inspired by Tyndale's banned translation).
It was published in 1539 and placed in every parish church of England. -
Period: 1547 to 1553
Edward VI (1547-1553)
Edward VI was the only surviving son and successor of Henry VIII. He was raised as a Protestant and instored Protestant values into the Church of England. Under his (rather short) reign, he made Protestantism grow in the kingdom and the Church of England but he unfortunately died at a very young age (15 years old) and could not pursue the Reformation. -
1549
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer was published in 1549 under Edward VI's reign. It is the first Book of Common Prayer to be published, and it was meant to describe the common acts of worship and practice of religion. Mostly written by Thomas Cranmer, this Book of Common Prayer encouraged the growth of Protestantism in the kingdom. Although revised 3 years later in 1552 in a more radical (and protestant) way, it was followed by The Forty-Two Articles of Faith meant to describe the beliefs of the CoE. -
1553
Lady Jane Grey (1553)
Lady Jane Grey was the cousin and successor of Edward VI. She was named queen after the death of Edward VI because she was also a committed Protestant but her reign only lasted 9 days as Mary I managed to depose her and eventually beheaded her. -
Period: 1553 to 1558
Mary I "Bloody Mary" (1553-1558)
Mary I also known as "Bloody Mary" was the successor of the "Nine Days Queen" Lady Jane Grey whom she managed to depose. Her reign is known for being chaotic and "bloody", as she tried to counter the Reformation and get back to a Catholic and conservative Church by persecuting Protestants and executing anyone who would oppose to her politics. She was married to King Philip II of Spain (an unpopular opinion) but they did not get any heir and Mary eventually succumbed to illness in 1558. -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
Elizabeth I was the half-sister and successor of Mary I. She is the last and longest monarch of the House of Tudor to reign, and she was brought up a Protestant. When she came to the throne, there were lots of domestic and international tensions, but Elizabeth was a very skilled politician as she tried to find agreements and compromises to calm the tensions. She established new acts and principles that did not favor any side while continuously aiming for a Protestant future. She had no children. -
1559
Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity - the Queen is made Head of the Church of England - the doctrine of the CoE is explained and a new Prayer Book is published
After the disastrous reign of Mary Tudor, Elizabeth I (brought up a Protestant) had to soothe all the tensions in the kingdom, thus, she had to roll back on all of what Mary Tudor did. In order to make her the Head of the CoE, she established the Act of Supremacy in 1559 and in the same year, she established the Act of Uniformity to regularise prayer, divine worship and to unify the church. Along with this Act, a new Prayer Book was published, then in 1563, the Thirty-Nine Articles werepublished -
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Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)
In 1585, Elizabeth I decided to ally with Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) in France against Spain. Philip II King of Spain was a threat to Elizabeth, as he initially considered taking the power of England's kingdom thanks to his marriage to Mary Tudor. After severe battles and significant economic and human costs, the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588. Raids on Spain had also been organised in the same year, but eventually, after nineteen years of conflict, a peace treaty was signed in 1604. -
Period: to
James I (and James VI of Scotland) (1603-1625)
James VI King of Scotland, then James I King of England and Ireland was the cousin and successor of Elizabeth I. He was the first monarch of the House of Stuart as well as the first King to govern all three Kingdoms simultaneously (in separate kingdoms). James I and VI was a theorist of absolute monarchy and an author of many works, he tried to rule without the Parliament to fully exercise his monarch rights. During his reign, he also had to deal with Armenians and Puritans' dispute. -
The Gunpowder Plot
Led by Robert Catesby, The Gunpowder Plot was an attempt to blow the House of Lords on November 5th, 1605 against the King James I and VI. This attempt to attack with gunpowder barrels was conducted by a group of convinced Catholics who demanded a regime change because Catholicism was not considered enough and was being persecuted for too long. The arrival of James I on the throne gave hope to the Catholics, but largely disappointed, they plotted against the King but the attack was unsuccessful. -
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Charles I (1625-1642)
Charles I was the son and successor of James I. Like his father, he believed in absolute monarchy and he tried to rule without the Parliament. However, unlike his father, Charles I was not a very skilled politician as his decisions/acts did not please everyone. He favoured Arminianism as the religious conflicts were still ongoing which caused rebellions and more religious tensions over the kingdom. Charles' policy was also opposed by the Parliament because he only summoned when he was forced to. -
Petition of Right
The Petition of Right is a constitutional document imposed in 1628 by the Parliament under Charles I's reign and against his ruling politics. During his reign, Charles I was avoiding as much as possible to summon the Parliament. After imprisoning people without trials, imposing taxes without permission, a list of laws that the King had broken was drawn by the Parliament to demand more power and a recommitment of the crown. This partially contributed to the war between the King and the Parliament -
Bishops' War (1639-1640)
Following the tensions due to the new Book of Common Prayer of 1637 for the Kirk and after the abolition of episcopacy in the Kirk in 1639, the Covenanters rebelled against the King Charles I and his supporters during the Bishops' War. This war only lasted for a year (from 1639 to 1640) but it was the first significant conflict of the War of the Three Kingdoms. -
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The War of the Three Kingdoms
The War of the Three Kingdoms is a series of intertwined conflicts in the kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland, which included Civil Wars and wars between the three Kingdoms, all ruled by Charles I. This series of conflicts began with the Bishops' War in 1639 and ended when the conflicts between England and Scotland were calmed, in 1653. -
The Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 is the second significant conflict of the War of the Three Kingdoms. It opposed the King Charles I against the Old English elite and the Irish Gaelic elite after Charles’ attempt to develop a religious uniformity and a political obedience. The goal of this "war" was to stop the anti-catholic discriminations against the Old English elite, the Irish Gaelic and the New English elite. It eventually caused the massacres of English protestants and more religious tensions. -
Breakdown of relations between Charles I and the Parliament
After the personal rule of Charles I from 1629 to 1640, the King was forced to summon the Parliament in 1640. Unhappy with his policy, the Parliament tried to get concessions from Charles I by presenting a list of demands and complaints to the King known as the "Grand Remonstrance" in 1641. Affirming himself as legitimate in his decisions and policies, Charles I raised his standards at Nottingham in 1642, declaring the war to the Parliament. This event triggered the Civil War in England. -
The Second Civil War
In 1647, the King Charles I made secret negociations called the "Engagement" with scottish lords in order to invade England to restore the monarch power, as the New Model Army (the Parliament's army) had taken over the Kingdom. This attempt to restore the King's power caused a Second Civil War (Feb-Aug 1648) to emerge, thus encouraging the dethronement and execution of the King Charles I in 1649. -
Period: to
The Commonwealth
The Commonwealth was the republic regime that followed Charles I's reign which could also be qualified as an "interregnum". This new regime faced several problems as it was considered an unpopular choice for many reasons: after King Charles I's execution, his popularity increased which placed the Commonwealth as not legitimate to power. Furthermore, this was a more puritan regime: a religious minority that was not representative of the population and was mostly disapproved. -
Execution of King Charles I and abolition of the House of the Lords
After several conflicts throughout the Three Kingdoms between 1642-46, Charles I was still unwilling to make concessions. Along with multiple tensions with civilians and other people opposing to their policy, the Parliament decided to sue the King. Convinced of his legitimate power, Charles I refused to plead and eventually got executed on the 30th of January 1649.
A week after the King's execution, the House of Lords was abolished, putting and end to the monarchy and the House of Stuart. -
Act of Union with Ireland
