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Period: Apr 21, 1509 to Jan 28, 1547
The reign of Henry VIII (April 21rst, 1509 – January 28th, 1547)
After the death of his brother, Henry VIII becomes the king of England. His reign is marked by the Reformation and the schism between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, but it is still “Catholicism without the Pope”. -
Oct 31, 1517
The Ninety-Five Theses : 1517
The Ninety-Five Theses, written by a German monk named Martin Luther, was a devastating critic of the system of Indulgences and denounced the avarice of churchmen. It was printed and spread throughout Europe. Luther's position was that salvation is free and Indulgences were the "indignation" of God, it reflected the corruption of the Church. This text triggered the European Reformation and the challenge of the ideas and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. -
1526
Tyndale Bible : 1526
The core of Protestantism is the direct relationship between individuals/believers and God, through private prayers. As a result, in 1526, for the first time, the Bible was translated into English (by William Tyndale). -
Nov 3, 1534
Act of Supremacy : 1534
To divorce his wife (Catherine of Aragon) and marry her lady-in-waiting (Anne Boleyn) the king, Henry VIII, passed an act named "Act of Supremacy" that made him the “Supreme Head of the Church of England”. It diminished the authority and powers of the Pope and the clergy and strengthened the king's powers. This created a schism between England and the Roman Catholic Church. -
1536
Pilgrimage of Grace : 1536-1537
Monasteries played a crucial role in the social fabric of communities. Therefore, after the dissolution of monasteries ("bastions of popery") and the confiscation of the clergy's valuables, rebellions broke out. These rebellions in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire lasted 6 months and were the greatest rebellions ever faced by a Tudor. They demanded the Pope's restoration and Mary Tudor as the royal heir. The insurgents were the common people, the gentry, and the clergy. -
Period: Jan 28, 1547 to Jun 6, 1553
The reign of Edward VI (January 28th, 1547 – July 6th, 1553)
Edward VI, son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, becomes king at 9 years old. His uncle Edward Seymour becomes Lord Proctor. His reign is marked by the reinforcement of Protestantism in England. -
1549
Book of Common Prayer : 1549
Publication of the Book of Common Prayer, which is the result of the revision of the mass book. The imposition of the Book of Common Prayer (which replaced Latin services with English) led to
rebellions in Cornwall and Devon. -
Period: Jun 6, 1553 to Nov 17, 1558
The reign of Mary I (July 6th, 1553 – November 17th, 1558)
Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon becomes the first Queen regnant, at 37 years old. Her reign is marked by the restoration of Catholicism in England in 18 months and a very violent oppression of Protestantism (stakes). -
1555
Violent repression of Protestantism : 1555-1558
After the repeal of the Protestant legislation and the restoration of Catholicism in 18 months, Protestants had to face a very violent and brutal. In only 3 years around 200 Protestants went to the stake and were burnt alive. Other Protestants were either confined to secrecy or fled to other countries (Switzerland, The Netherlands, etc.) -
Period: Nov 17, 1558 to
The reign of Elizabeth I (November 17th, 1558 - March 24th, 1603)
Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, restored and imposed Protestantism in England and she strengthened the position of England in the world. -
1559
Act of Supremacy : 1559
One year after Mary I's death, Elizabeth I passed new legislation. This act of Supremacy abolished the authority of the Pope, restored the authority of the Queen over the Church and she became “Supreme Governor of the Church of England”. She also passed the Act of Uniformity the same year, which forced every parish to use the Book of Common Prayer, and people who did not attend an Anglican service were fined. -
Apr 27, 1570
Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I : 1570
Before 1570, the numerous small secret communities of Catholics were tolerated. However, in 1570, Pope Pius V issued a papal bull. It called Elizabeth a “so-called queen”, “a heretic favoring heretics” and he excommunicated her. He was almost giving Catholics license to kill her with the certainty that it would not be seen as a crime by Rome. As a coçnsequence, after 1570, Catholics were persecuted. -
The execution of Mary Queen of Scots : 1587
Mary Stuart had to flee to England and she became Elizabeth's prisoner for 19 years. She was a threat to Elizabeth because she was her legitimate heir and to Catholics, she represented hope for a return to Catholicism. Therefore, Elizabeth was the victim of numerous plots by the Catholic nobility, who wanted to replace her with Mary. Everything changed after The Babington plot (1586), where Elizabeth's master spy caught Mary plotting to kill the Queen with Young Catholics. -
The Defeat of the Spanish Armada against England : 1588
Philip II, King of Spain, supported several plots against Elizabeth so in retaliation, and to support the cause of Protestantism, Elizabeth supported the Dutch Revolt against Spain. Thus, Spain attempted to invade England, it lasted 2 months. However, it was a complete defeat, England was victorious. This shocking victory against the "Invincible Armada" reinforced Elizabeth's legitimacy, strengthened national cohesion, the insularity of the English nation, and Protestantism. -
Speech to the troops at Tilbury : 1588
The biggest challenge to the Queen’s legitimacy was the fact that she was a woman. As a result, she would make important theoretical efforts, the speech she gave at Tilbury is a perfect example of that. Elizabeth would have "two bodies": one natural body ("weak and feeble woman") and a political body (divine authority). Moreover, she was not an ordinary woman, she was the Virgin Queen, a Goddess and she used masculine analogies ("stomach of a king a king of England") -
Millenary Petition : April 1603
A thousand church ministers asked for the Church of England to be purified of the last traces of Catholic doctrines and rites. However, James refused and an important change was made: a new English translation of the Bible (the King James’ Bible) was completed in 1611. A minority of Puritans left England, amongst them, some boarded the Mayflower and would create the first New England colony). -
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The reign of James I (March 24th, 1603 – March 27th, 1625)
The reign of king James is marked by tensions between him and the Parliament, which led to the Civil War (1642-1649). Under his rule, there were four key factors that led to the Civil War: religious divisions, his relation with the Parliament, financial problems, and the governance of three kingdoms. -
Gunpowder Plot : (November 5th, 1605)
When James became King of England in 1603, Catholics
placed high hopes on him because he was Queen Mary’s son. However, James continued Elizabeth’s harsh repressive laws, which led to the Gunpowder Plot.
It was a conspiracy devised by a small group of Catholics to blow up the Parliament and kill James I. -
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The reign of Charles I (March 27th, 1625 – January 30th, 1649)
Charles I's reign is marked by his favoritism of a minority wing of Anglicans: the Arminians (close to Catholics), by his unpopularity, his troubled relationship with the Parliament, numerous crises, the Civil War, his execution, and by the abolition of the monarchy. -
The Thirty Years’ War (1618 - 1648)
James I' daughter married a Protestant prince of a part of Germany. He was invited to take the throne of Bohemia instead of Ferdinand Habsburg. The latter sent his army and was supported by Spain. James's son-in-law was supported by German princes, Scandinavia, France, and the Dutch Republic. James I wanted to intervene so he summoned a parliament in 1621 to ask for money for war. The Parliament discussed foreign policy, however, it was the prerogative of the King: angered, he dissolved it. -
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Personal Rule (1629-1640)
Charles considered that the Three Resolutions (1629) was an act of open defiance. He imprisoned the MPs,
dissolved parliament and declared there would be no more parliaments which marks the start of the “Personal Rule”. The King ruled without calling a parliament for 11 years. -
Petition of Rights (1628)
Usually, the King had the right to collect customs duties for life. But MPs only did so for a year because of the lack of trust in the king’s adviser. Parliament threatened to impeach him so Charles dissolved Parliament. Charles continued to collect customs duties by resorting to forced loans (those who refused to pay were imprisoned). This led to the Petition of Rights. And Charles had to recognize the limits to his powers. He signed it but suspended Parliament. -
Three Resolutions (1629)
MPs were increasingly suspicious of the King’s religious support of Arminians and attitude towards Parliament.
This led to the Three Resolutions which 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 customs duties without Parliament’s consent. -
The Scottish crisis (1637-1640)
Under The Personal Rule, Archbishop Laud (Arminian) imposed uniformity in church practice (importance of the sacraments, sign of the cross, bowing at the name of Jesus, changes to the location of the altar). Many Protestants saw this as a return to Catholicism. Scotland was Calvinist. In 1637, the introduction of the
New Prayer Book set Scotland aflame. Laud's changes were deemed unacceptable. The riot would turn into a widespread rebellion known as the Bishops’ Wars. -
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The First Civil War and the victory of Parliament (1642-1646)
It opposed the Royalists(called “Cavaliers”)who believed in the Divine Right of Kings and right to take taxes, and supported the bishops and Laud’s reforms, against the Parliamentarians(called “Roundheads”)who believed that Parliament should make the laws, no taxation without its agreement, wanted Puritan reforms. The June 1645 Battle of Naseby was a turning point and in May 1646 the King and the Royalists surrendered. The First civil cost the lives of 190000 Englishmen. -
The Short Parliament (1640)
Because of the petition opposing Charles’ religious policy: the “Scottish National Covenant” (1638) which was to Charles an act of open rebellion; Scotland and England both started to form an army.
Needing money to fight the Scots, Charles called a parliament for the first time in 11 years “The Short Parliament”. However, the MPs demanded the King to address their grievances first, so Charles dissolved it after 3 weeks. -
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“The Long Parliament" (1640-1660)
The Scots successfully invaded England so Charles was forced to pay the cost of the Scots’ army and had to call parliament again. This resulted in the creation of “The Long Parliament”. The Parliament wanted to ensure regular parliaments. They passed two acts: parliament should meet at least every 3 years and the dissolution of Parliament required its consent. Parliament also executed Earl Stafford, one of the King’s most powerful advisers. -
The Irish Rebellion (October 1641)
James I had implemented a plantation policy sending English and Scottish Protestants to Ireland to take the lands of Irish Catholics. In October 1641, an armed revolt broke out. Irish Catholics rose up against Protestant settlers.
As a result, between 3000-4000 Protestants were massacred. But rumors started to spread: on the Irish atrocities, the number of protestants massacred. This fuelled the anti-Catholic sentiment in England and created the need for an army. -
The Grand Remonstrance of 1641
The Grand Remonstrance was a document voted by Parliament. It summarized all the wrongdoings of Charles I and concluded on revolutionary demands(the right of the House of Commons to choose the King’s ministers,for Parliament to control any army sent to Ireland,for Parliament to reform the Church) The text divided Parliament into 2 groups: the Parliamentarians (believed that reform was necessary)and the Royalists (thought that the demands were too extreme, wanted a settlement) -
Charles I marched into the House of Commons (January 1642)
Charles I believed that five MPs were plotting against
the Queen. He wanted to impeach them, but Parliament refused. Charles I marched into the House of Commons with troops and attempted to arrest the five MPs.
As a result, Parliament presented the 19 Propositions to the King (which was quite extreme: it made Charles rule as a constitutional monarch).
On August 22nd, 1642, Charles formally declared war on
Parliament. -
The New Model Army
The only thing the Royalists had was unity behind the King. The Parliamentarians' victory was the result of better war finances, alliance, and army. In 1644, a new army was created by the Parliamentarians. This was a national, centralized army, controlled and paid from Westminster rather than the counties. It was composed of 22 000 men wearing the redcoat, armed with swords, pistols, and pikes and convinced that the army was acting on God’s behalf. -
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The Commonwealth (1649-1653)
The regicide was welcomed with shock and dismay in England and Europe (reinforced by Royalist propaganda describing the King as a martyr). In 1649: a law abolished the monarchy, the House of Lords was abolished, and the House of Commons had supreme authority. England was declared a Commonwealth. And this period was marked by incertitude and violent repressions. The Army was getting increasingly irritated by the Rump Parliament so on April 20th, 1653 Cromwell dissolved it. -
Consequences at the end of the war (1646)
In May 1646, Charles surrendered to the Scots, who handed him to Parliament. However, the House of Commons decided to disband the New Model Army without paying the soldiers. This led to mutiny. In June 1647, the New Model Army seized the King. One of the consequences of the war was the encouragement of groups with radical ideas, which made a peace settlement more difficult to achieve. The New Model Army became a vehicle for the emergence of radical ideas. -
The Second Civil War (January-Autumn 1648)
In November 1647, the King escaped and allied himself with the Scots (to invade England and restore his power). This led to the Second Civil War: a series of revolts. However, the Royalists were easily defeated by Cromwell. The Army wanted the King to be tried but conservative MPs wanted to negotiate. This led to Pride's Purge (December 1648): the arrest of 45 conservative MPs. The remainder MPs (the Rump Parliament)** put the King on trial for high treason**. -
Revolts in Ireland and Scotland (1649-1651)
Royalist revolts (in support of monarchy) in Ireland and Scotland were brutally repressed by Cromwell. The Irish Rebellion led by Irish Catholics was crushed by Cromwell and his troops. They massacred the Irish Royalist troops and civilians. Charles II was proclaimed king of Scotland after his father’s execution. He raised a Scottish Army to invade England but Cromwell defeated them and crushed the uprising of the Scots Royalist force in 1651. However, Charles II escaped -
The execution of King Charles I (January 30th, 1649)
After his trial, King Charles I was executed on January 30th, 1649. And in March 1649, the monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished. As a result, England was declared a Commonwealth.. -
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The Cromwellian Protectorate (1654-1658)
The Protectorate was a military dictatorship, similar to a monarchy without a King. Cromwell was appointed Lord Protector and had executive power, controlled the military, diplomacy, and ruled with the legislative power.
In 1653, the Instrument of Government, England’s first and only written constitution was created.
Cromwell died in 1658 and his son became Lord Protector but resigned. This led to a period of anarchy. People's need for order increased support for the monarchy. -
Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda (1660)
Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda. It promised: a general amnesty, to continue religious toleration, and to share power with Parliament, in return for the restoration of the monarchy. It was approved and the King restored on May 29th, 1660 monarchy. This marked the Restoration -
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Early Restoration (1660-1671)
The people who had signed Charles I’s death warrant were executed. Cromwell’s corpse was dismembered, and his head stayed on a spike for 25 years. There were tensions between the King and the Parliament and even repressive religious legislation. The Clarendon Code: a series of laws (repressive towards non-conformists and dissenters) were passed. Charles II was unpopular and faced domestic and foreign disasters: the 1665 outbreak of Plague and the 1666 Great Fire of London. -
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Political crisis : 1678-1681
The Popish Plot (1678) was a rumor of a plot organized by the French to murder Charles II and replace him with his Catholic brother James II.
This resulted in the fear of the implementation of pro-Catholic politics and the restoration of absolute monarchy. Parliament attempted to debar James II from the succession to the English throne, which angered Charles so he dissolved the Parliament.
Charles II died in 1685 and was succeeded by his brother James II. -
The Bill of Rights (December 16th, 1689)
The Glorious Revolution led to Britain’s transformation from an Absolute Monarchy to a Constitutional Monarchy: the King acts as head of state but his powers are limited.The Bill of Rights is an essential document: it lists King James’ misdeeds, fixed limitations on the sovereign’s powers, Parliament had to consent to new laws and gained control over finances and over the army, and no Catholic was to inherit the throne. It set out the rights of Parliament and basic civil rights. -
The Glorious Revolution (1688)
With James II on the throne, there was a deep-seated fear of Catholic absolutism. It was reinforced by the fact that James tried to enforce toleration of Catholic worship. Many feared a civil war. In 1688, James’ second wife gave birth to a son, which meant a Catholic Heir was born. It was a threat to Protestantism and to Parliament’s powers. So Parliament invited the King’s son-in-law to invade England and seize the crown.
He landed with an army and met no resistance. -
The Act of Settlement (1701)
King William III and Mary II had no surviving children and all the potential Stuart successors were Catholic. The 1701 Act of Settlement ensured a Protestant succession, ignoring dozens of Catholic heirs. It put an end to the 16th and 17th quarrel between King and Parliament. A new balance of powers in favour of Parliament -
Act of Union between England and Scotland : 1707
Creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain: England (and Wales) and Scotland.
Scotland had been occupied under Cromwell, under Restoration it regained control of its own Parliament but the King of England was Scotland’s Monarch. Under Queen Anne, ratification of the Act of Union: it meant a single kingdom, Scotland lost its parliament but gained 45 seats in the House of Commons + 16 seats in the House of Lords, and Scotland kept its Presbyterian church and own laws.
