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55 BCE
Julius Caesar conquers the Celts
Britain became the westernmost province of the Roman Empire -
871
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was the first great king of England. He was crowned king at age 24 and was already known for his wisdom and loving character. He obliged all fit men to serve in the military, and also urged to have many books (including the gospels) to be translated into the Anglo-Saxon language. Alfred the Great also wrote the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a book of all the current events that would still be written in for hundreds of years. -
1016
Canute the Dane
Canute the Dane ruled England, Denmark, and Norway as a great empire in 1016. He was very caring towards the people, causing peace throughout England and promoted trade. This Englishmen was very popular in the English culture. -
1066
Battle of Hastings
William, duke of Normandy, set sail with a force of about 10,000 men to fight Harold Godwin, king of England. William defeated Harold Godwin's army and Harold himself was lost on the battle . William then became known as William the Conquerer. This battle is now known as Norman Conquest. -
1086
Domesday Book Completed.
King William put the count of the people and their possessions in the Domesday Book for taxes. Domesday actually means doomsday or day of judgement. Everything must be written down, so King William may force the people to pay taxes. -
1337
Hundred Years' War
The English kings longed for the land that the retched King John had lost to France, while the French insisted on keeping their land. When an argument of the French throne came into play, the Hundred Years' War commenced. England began with many won battles such as Crecy, Potiers, and Agincourt, but they could not stand up to the great French army, including Joan of Arc. England lost the war and land in France. -
1455
War of the Roses
This war was fought between the Yorks and the Lancasters and between the middle class who grew exasperated by the selfish, envious nobles who wanted nothing but vengeance and ambition. The War of the Roses is called this because the Yorks wore a white rose as their emblem and the Lancasters a red rose. The final Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) ended the war with Henry Tudor of Lancaster became the victor over Richard III. -
1485
Henry the VII
Henry the VII was the very first of many Tudor kings of England. During his reign, Columbus sailed the ocean and found America, Vasco da Gama found the route on the sea to the East Indies in 1497, and John Cabot claimed territory in this new land. -
1509
Henry the VIII
(1509-1547) About eight years into Henry's reign is when Martin Luther announced the Ninety-Five Thesis to the world. Henry then wrote a book called Defense of the Seven Sacraments, giving him the name "Defender of the Faith". Catherine of Aragon married Henry VIII, but only bore a daughter, and all the other children were lost. Because of this, Henry sparked the English Reformation against the pope, so he could marry Anne Boleyn. -
1531
The Convocation
Henry VIII forced the clergymen to promote him as "the single protector, the only supreme lord, and as far as is permitted by the law of Christ even supreme head" One person held both political and religious power absolutely. In 1534 it became official that any king would have absolute power. -
1542
Edward VI
Edward VI was supposed to be the king of Scotland, but his future bride married into a French family in to keep alliances. When he grew up, he eventually became king of England and helped the leader of the Scottish Reformation, John Knox, out of captivity. -
1542
Queen of the Scots
Mary Stuart legally became Queen of Scotland when she was just one week old due to her father's death. She was to be the Queen of the Scots. Mary was going marry Edward VI, but her mother and Cardinal David Beaton arranged for her to marry Francis II to keep an alliance. After her husband died in 1561, she, a Catholic, was the queen of a Protestant country. Eventually, she was imprisoned and had to abdicate the throne to James VI. -
1553
Mary I
During Bloody Mary's reign, all citizens had to choose Roman Catholicism or death, giving her this name. Almost three hundred brave people died for standing up to Mary, two-thirds of which were Protestant believers. Many of these martyrs are recorded in the Book of Martyrs, written by John Foxe. Bloody Mary died in 1558, relieving all of England of her violent hand. -
1558
Elizabeth I
Also know as Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I was kind, passionate in everything that she did, and loved by her citizens. In Every problem that she faced, she conquered them with her extreme intelligence. -
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
Even thought the Spanish had a smaller fleet and navy, they were extremely avid seamen with much experience. They had a fighting chance at the Plymouth harbor on July 19th, but the winds made it hard to sail. After ten days of fighting, Elizabeth I and the English navy defeated the Spanish Armada. This pushed Spain on a downhill spiral from there. Their pride and reputation were gone. -
James I
James I was the first king to rule over England and Scotland as one. Although this was a big accomplishment, there were a few problems. First, James was always asking for money from the Parliament, and when they could not meet his needs, he would criticize and blame them, and sentenced criminals to death himself. He even wrote his own version of Bible. In the end, James found himself in need of money, but he could not get it without the Parliament. -
Charles I
Charles kicked off his reign broke and in need of the unwanted Parliament. Instead of using Parliament, Charles forced citizens to give him loans. If they do not lend him the money, they would be drafted into military services. Eventually, all this loaning did not work, and the Parliament wrote the Petition of Right, which Charles reluctantly agreed to. However Charles gave himself power over any and every law. This started the "Eleven Years' Tyranny", attacking Parliament and the Puritans. -
The English Civil War
This war was fought between the English king and Parliament. Oliver Cromwell proved to be a key component in this war when he came up with 22,000 troops called Ironsides. This proved to much for the king's troops, who eventually surrendered in June 1646. For second stage of the war, the Ironsides on Cromwell's side, stood against the Scots and the royalists Englishmen. This would be much more difficult than the the king's men, but they pulled through and won the war in 1648, ruling England. -
1662
At last, the monarchy was fully restored during the reign of Charles II, but without the help of the Parliament, he signed the Treaty of Dover without the knowledge of his people. Charles agreed to obtain toleration for English Catholics and to join the Roman church himself. -
The Plague
The Plague began in the East, but moved swiftly all over Europe, but London proved to get the worst of it when half of the population died. Men with carts would come down the streets with carts, calling out for the dead so that they may put them in a mass grave. Some of the rich fled to other cities in hopes of avoiding the disease, leaving the poor with no food or anything to trade for. Around 100,000 people died in London, but the Plague retreated come winter time. -
Glorious Revolution of 1688
Just when they thought that another piece of civil war was going to break out, seven members of Parliament wrote a letter to William of Orange to help their cause. William arrived with his army and forced James to give up his throne, making William III and Mary II King and Queen of England. They came up with the English Bill of Rights, springing forth the Bloodless Revolution.
