Historical background - The Elizabeth age and the Jacobean age

By chiarabenedetto
  • 1485

    Henry VII

    Henry VII
    Henry Tudor becomes King Henry VII of England after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth. This battle saw the end of the Wars of the Roses. The Wars of the Roses had been a constant battle between two of England's most powerful families - the families of York and Lancaster. Henry was a member of the Lancaster family. To bring the two families closer together he married Elizabeth of York (the niece of the man he had killed to become king).
  • 1509

    Henry VIII

    Henry VIII
    Son of Henry VII. He succeeded to the throne after his father's death on 21 April 1509. He was 17 years old when he became king. He had six wives: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr.
  • 1533

    Anne Boleyn

    Anne Boleyn
    Was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that marked the start of the English Reformation.
  • 1547

    Edward VI

    Edward VI
    Edward was the only son of Henry VIII.
    Edward VI became king at the age of nine upon the death of his father, Henry Vlll. He was known as 'The Boy King'. His mother was Jane Seymour, Henry Vlll's third wife.
  • 1553

    Mary I

    Mary I
    Mary I was the first Queen Regnant. Mary was the eldest daughter of Henry Vlll by his first wife Katherine of Aragon. She was named after Henry's favourite sister, Mary Tudor (the 'Tudor Rose').
  • 1558

    Elizabeth I

    Elizabeth I
    The last Tudor monarch - was the youngest daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn.
    When Elizabeth came to the throne, she was 25. She succeeded to the throne on her half-sister's death in November 1558. She was the Tudor monarch to reign the longest: for 45 years!
  • 1566

    Mary Stuart

    Mary Stuart
    Was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. Mary married Lord Darnley, in 1565, and in 1566, they had a son, James. Mary had once claimed Elizabeth's throne and Elizabeth had her confined in various castles. After being found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth, was beheaded in 1586.

  • The Spanish Armada

    The Spanish Armada
    A Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from Lisbon under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, with the purpose of invading England. English ships sailed from Plymouth to attack the Armada. They were faster and more manoeuvrable than the larger Spanish galleons, enabling them to fire on the Armada without loss as the Armada sailed east off the south coast of England.

  • James I of England

    James I of England
    James was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a great-great-grandson of Henry VII, King of England and Lord of Ireland.

  • The Gunpowder plot

    The Gunpowder plot
    The Gunpowder Plot was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sought to restore the Catholic monarchy after decades of persecution against Catholics.

  • The Mayflower

    The Mayflower
    Mayflower was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620.