Historical Events in The United Kingdom - Part I

Roman General Julius Caesar invades Great Britain for the first time, gaining a beachhead on the coast of Kent.

55 BCE

Caesar's invasions of Britain

54 BCE

Caesar invades for the second time, gaining a third of the country. These two invasions are known as Caesar's invasions of Britain.

The Roman conquest of Britain

43

Aulus Plautius leads an army of forty thousand to invade Great Britain. Emperor Claudius makes Britain a part of the Roman Empire. This is known as the Roman conquest of Britain.

London is founded.

50

Boudica's organised rebellion against the Romans is defeated.

61

Emperor Hadrian orders a wall to be built to mark Roman territory of Britain in the north.

122

Britain is divided into two parts - Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior.

197

Britain is divided into the seven kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex and Kent.

450

The Anglo-Saxons conquer all of Britain and divide it into 30 kingdoms.

613

Cnut the Great is crowned king of England in London.

1017

Malcolm II of Scotland dies at Glamis. He is succeeded as king of Scotland by his grandson Duncan I the Diseased of Scotland.

Nov 25, 1034

Cnut dies. He is succeeded as king of England, Denmark and Norway by his son Harthacnut.

Nov 12, 1035

Harold Harefoot dies at Oxford. Harthacnut, his brother, succeeds him as king of England.

Mar 17, 1040

Duncan the Diseased is killed in action at Elgin.

Aug 14, 1040

Duncan the Diseased is killed in action at Elgin, Moray attempting to suppress a rebellion by Macbeth, King of Scotland, Mormaer of Moray, who replaces him as king of Scotland.

Harthacnut dies

Jun 8, 1042

Harthacnut dies, probably due to a stroke after excessive drinking at a wedding in Lambeth. He is succeeded as king of England by his brother Edward the Confessor.

Battle of Lumphanan

Aug 15, 1057

Macbeth is killed in battle at Lumphanan by Duncan the Diseased's son Malcolm III of Scotland. He is succeeded as king of Scotland by his stepson Lulach.

Lulach is assassinated by Malcolm III, who succeeds him as king of Kingdom of Scotland.

Mar 17, 1058

Edward the Confessor dies.

Jan 5, 1066

Edward the Confessor dies, probably after a series of strokes. He is succeeded as king of England by his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson.

Norman conquest of England

Sep 28, 1066

Norman conquest of England: William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, lands with an army at Pevensey.

Battle of Hastings

Oct 14, 1066

Battle of Hastings: Harold Godwinson is killed in battle against the forces of William the Conqueror at Battle, East Sussex, causing the collapse of his army.

William the Conqueror is crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey.

Dec 25, 1066

William the Conqueror dies at Rouen. He is succeeded by one son, Robert Curthose, as duke of Normandy and by another, William II of England, as king of England.

Sep 9, 1087

Battle of Alnwick

Nov 13, 1093

Malcolm III and his eldest son are ambushed and killed at Alnwick by an army of knights led by Robert de Mowbray, earl of Northumbria.

William II is killed.

Aug 2, 1100

William II is killed by an arrow through the lung while hunting in the New Forest. He is succeeded by his brother Henry I of England.

The Anarchy

Period: 1135 to 1153

Henry I dies of illness.

Dec 1, 1135

Stephen, King of England is crowned king of England at Westminster Abbey.

Dec 22, 1135

Gruffudd ap Cynan, king of Gynedd, dies. He is succeeded by his son Owain Gwynedd.

1137

The Anarchy: Stephen enters Normandy in an attempt to conquer it from Empress Matilda, his rival for the succession in Normandy and England.

1137

Stephen dies of a stomach disease.

Oct 24, 1154

Stephen dies of a stomach disease. He is succeeded as king of England by Henry II of England, grandson of Henry I.

Henry II issues the Constitutions of Clarendon

1164

Henry II issues the Constitutions of Clarendon, which provided that members of the Catholic Church accused of serious crimes would be tried and sentenced in secular courts.

Owain dies

Nov 28, 1170

Thomas Becket is murdered.

Dec 29, 1170

Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by followers of Henry II.

Henry II dies of illness at Château de Chinon. He is succeeded as king of England by his son Richard I of England.

Jul 6, 1189

Richard I is captured.

1192

Richard is captured near Vienna on the orders of Leopold V, Duke of Austria, duke of Austria, while returning from the Crusades.

Battle of Aberconwy

1194

Battle of Aberconwy: Llywelyn the Great defeats his uncle Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd, one of two princes of Kingdom of Gwynedd, in battle.

Richard I is released following the payment of fifty tons of silver to Austria.

Feb 4, 1194

Richard dies of a crossbow wound sustained two weeks earlier during a siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol.

Apr 6, 1199

Richard dies of a crossbow wound sustained two weeks earlier during a siege of Château de Châlus-Chabrol. He was succeeded as king of England by his brother John, King of England.

The pope Pope Innocent III excommunicates John

1209

John agrees to Magna Carta.

Jun 15, 1215

John agrees to Magna Carta, granting political rights including the right to a fair trial to his barons.

John dies of illness. He is succeeded as king of England by his son Henry III of England.

Oct 19, 1216

Henry III and Alexander II of Scotland sign the Treaty of York.

Sep 25, 1237

Henry III and Alexander II of Scotland sign the Treaty of York, under which the latter renounced his claims on English territory in Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland.

Death of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, prince of Wales; Dafydd ap Llywelyn succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd.

Apr 11, 1240

Death of Dafydd ap Llywelyn.

Feb 25, 1246

Death of Dafydd ap Llywelyn; Llywelyn ap Gruffudd succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd (he does not claim the title of prince of Wales until 1258).

Death of Alexander II, king of Scots; Alexander III succeeds to the throne of Scotland.

Jul 6, 1249

Battle of Largs, an inconclusive battle.

Oct 2, 1263

Battle of Largs, an inconclusive battle, is fought between Haakon IV of Norway and the Scots.

Simon de Montfort leads rebel English barons to defeat Henry III at the Battle of Lewes.

May 14, 1264

Scotland and Norway sign the Treaty of Perth.

Jul 2, 1266

Scotland and Norway sign the Treaty of Perth under which Scottish control of the Western Isles is acknowledged.

Henry III of England recognises the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Wales.

1267

Death of Henry III, Edward I succeeds to the English throne.

Nov 16, 1272

England annexes Wales, a state of affairs which lasted until 1283.

Period: 1277 to 1283

Statute of Mortmain.

1279

Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales; Dafydd ap Gruffudd succeeds to the throne of Gwynedd.

Dec 11, 1282

Death of Dafydd ap Gruffudd; English conquest of Wales.

Oct 3, 1283

Revolt of Rhys ap Maredudd in Wales.

1287

Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn in Wales.

Sep 29, 1294

William Wallace and the Scots defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge.

Sep 11, 1297

Capture and execution of Scottish resistance fighter William Wallace by the English on a charge of treason.

Aug 23, 1305

Death of Edward I, Edward II accedes to the English throne.

Jul 7, 1307

Decisive victory for Scotland over England at the Battle of Bannockburn.

Jun 24, 1314

Revolt of Llywelyn Bren in South Wales.

Jan 28, 1316

Edward II defeats a rebellious baronial faction at Battle of Boroughbridge.

Mar 16, 1322

Edward III usurps the English throne.

Jan 25, 1327

England recognises Scotland's independence in the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton

1328

Edward III claims the throne of France, initiating the Hundred Years' War.

1338

The Black Death first arrives in England and ultimately kills c. one third of the population.

1348

Battle of Poitiers.

Sep 19, 1356

Death of Edward III, his grandson Richard II accedes to the English throne.

Jun 21, 1377

Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

May 30, 1381

Statute of Praemunire.

1392

Henry Bolingbroke usurps the English throne becoming Henry IV.

Sep 30, 1399

Henry IV dies and is succeeded by his son, Henry V.

Mar 20, 1413

Henry V is welcomed back to England after a major victory at the Battle of Agincourt, France.

Oct 25, 1415

Henry V dies and is succeeded by his son, Henry VI.

Aug 31, 1422

Henry VI is murdered and Edward IV is restored to the English throne.

May 21, 1471

Death of Edward IV, Edward V accedes to the throne.

Apr 9, 1483

The Battle of Bosworth Field ends the Yorkist

Aug 22, 1485

The Battle of Bosworth Field ends the Yorkist reign of Richard III and ushers in Tudor reign, with the reign of Henry VII.

The Battle of Stoke is fought

Jun 16, 1487

The Battle of Stoke is fought between Henry VII and Lambert Simnel a Yorkist claimant to the throne. It is the last battle of the Wars of the Roses.

England – Henry VIII crowned and married to Catherine of Aragon.

Apr 22, 1509

James IV and thousands of Scots killed in defeat at Flodden.

Sep 9, 1513

England – Lutheran writings begin to circulate.

1521

England – Cardinal Wolsey orders the burning of Lutheran books.

1526

Scotland – Creation of the College of Justice and the Court of Session.

1532

England – Treasons Act 1534.

1534

Act of Supremacy passed by Henry VIII

Nov 3, 1534

England – Execution of Cardinal John Fisher.

1535

England – Execution of Thomas More.

Jul 6, 1535

England – Execution of William Tindale in Antwerp.

Oct 6, 1536

Scotland – Mary, Queen of Scots, accedes to the Scottish throne.

Dec 14, 1542

Edward VI crowned King.

Jan 28, 1547

Mary I accedes to the throne.

1553

England – Elizabeth I accedes to the throne.

Nov 17, 1558

England – Act of Supremacy 1559.

1559

cotland – Parliament legislates protestant reformation of the Church of Scotland.

Aug 1, 1560

Scotland – The Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicates and flees Scotland.

Jul 24, 1567

Scotland – The Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, abdicates and flees Scotland after an uprising by Protestant lords

England – Treasons Act 1571.

1571

England and Scotland – Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Feb 8, 1587

England and Scotland – Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire.

England – Spanish Armada destroyed.

Aug 8, 1588

Scotland – James VI enacts the "Golden Act"

1592

Scotland – James VI enacts the "Golden Act" recognising the power of Presbyterianism within the Scottish church.

England – Death of Queen Elizabeth I. James VI of Scotland crowned King of England (as James I of England).

Mar 24, 1603

The Gunpowder plot is uncovered.

Nov 5, 1605

England and Scotland – The Gunpowder plot is uncovered, in which Guy Fawkes and others attempted to blow up the king, James VI and I and the Parliament of England.

England – Execution of Sir Walter Raleigh

Oct 29, 1618