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1564
The baptism of ‘Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere
The baptism of ‘Gulielmus filius Johannes
Shakspere, celebrated on 23 April (Saint
George’s Day), there’s no concrete evidence that he
was born on that date -
1567
Forced to abdicate the throne
Mary, Queen of Scots, (pictured left) is forced to abdicate the throne, and nobles in the north of England attempt to overthrow Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne. -
1570
Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth from the Catholic Church
The following year, the Duke of Norfolk plots to murder Elizabeth and marry her rival, Mary, after installing her on the throne. He is arrested and executed in 1572. -
1571
Shakespeare secures a place at the King’s New School
The curriculum includes a great deal of Latin literature and history, and Shakespeare probably encounters a range of sources that he later uses for his plays, such as Livy, Cicero, and, above all, Ovid
– his favorite poet. -
1571
The Royal Exchange is built
center of commerce for the City of London. Officially opened by Queen Elizabeth on 23 January, it is the first specialist commercial building in Britain. -
1577
First English circumnavigation of the globe.
probably planned as a raid on Spanish ships and ports. By October 1578, just one of his five ships is left: The Pelican, which Drake renames the Golden Hind. -
1582
Anne Hathaway is pregnant with their child
Twins Hamnet and Judith follow in 1585. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 145 puns on his wife’s maiden name: “‘I hate’ from hate away she threw.” -
Elizabeth signs the Treaty of Nonsuch
Her support is self-interested: The Netherlands provides an excellent base from which Philip II could launch an invasion of England. The treaty is considered by Philip to be a declaration of
war by England. -
there is evidence of Mary’s involvement, and she is convicted of treason.
Under intense pressure from her council, Elizabeth signs her cousin’s death warrant on 1 February 1587; Mary is executed at Fotheringay a week later. -
Philip II launches an armada to invade England and avenge Mary’s death
England had confronted since the Norman invasion of 1066. Thanks to her skillful sailors – and the English weather – Elizabeth triumphs. But the Spanish threat never goes away, and Philip launches two
further invasion attempts during the following decade. -
Shakespeare has moved to London and is also working as an actor.
The first reference to Shakespeare as a playwright is
made by writer Robert Greene, who publishes a bitter
denunciation of “an upstart crow… with his tiger’s heart
wrapped in a player’s hide”. -
Christopher Marlowe is murdered in a tavern brawl
His influence on Shakespeare’s writing has long been debated, with some arguing that Marlowe was the true author of the works attributed to Shakespeare. -
the foremost company in London
based at The Theatre in Shoreditch. This is one of Shakespeare’s
most prolific periods of writing, during which he pens A Comedy of Errors, Love’s Labours Lost, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. -
Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins embark from Plymouth
The voyage will end in disaster. The two commanders bicker from the start, and Hawkins, who is in poor health, dies on 11 November. Two months later, a deadly fever sweeps through the fleet; Drake succumbs on 27 January -
Shakespeare’s son Hamnet dies at the age of 11.
inspired by this tragic event, which may also have sown the seeds
for the playwright’s most famous hero, Hamlet, whose name was remarkably similar to that of his dead son -
Shakespeare buys a substantial property, New Plac
reputed to be the second-largest private house in Stratford-upon-Avon, for the sum of £120. In the same year, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men give a private performance of Love’s Labours Lost for
Queen Elizabeth -
Act for the Relief of the Poor is passed
Overseers of the Poor are designated to distribute money, food and clothing to the needy. The Act is amended by the Elizabethan Poor
Law of 1601, which forms the basis of poor relief for the next two centuries. -
They open the Globe theatre in Southwark
Henry V and Julius Caesar are among the first plays to be performed on the company’s new stage. It’s probably during this year that
Shakespeare begins work on what will be arguably his greatest achievement: Hamlet. -
Earl of Essex (pictured below), leads a rebellion against her regime
The rebellion is easily defeated by the royal forces, and Essex and his fellow conspirators are executed. -
throws Shakespeare’s future into doubt
Shakespeare writes several plays, notably Measure for Measure (1604) and Macbeth (1606), that complement the king’s interests
in justice, religion and witchcraft. -
Elizabeth I dies childless
The three separate kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland are now united for the first time under a single monarch. -
End the long war with Spain.
The two countries will remain at peace for the next 20 years. -
Hatches a plot to blow up the king and parliament
The plot is discovered just in the nick of time in November 1605.
Conspirators including Guy Fawkes are condemned to traitors’ executions. -
King Lear premieres at the royal court in Whitehall
reflecting the tense atmosphere at court following the shocking discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in November 1605. -
Inspires James to seek gold and riches from the New World
the company founds Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
A well-appointed indoor playhouse
This intimate space inspires Shakespeare to write a final run of plays: Pericles (c1609), Cymbeline (c1610), The Winter’s Tale (c1611), and The Tempest (c1611). Also in 1609, Shakespeare’s
sonnets are published for the first time. -
James commissions the first ‘Authorised Version’ of the Bible
In the years before James came to the throne – the religious turmoil of the Tudor period, with its bewildering succession of reforms – there had been several different English bibles in circulation -
The Globe burns to the ground
His company quickly rebuilds the theatre, but the event seems
to hasten Shakespeare’s retirement. His contribution to English literature, drama, and language has been phenomenal,
with at least 37 plays and 154 sonnets to his credit. -
Marries Frederick V, Elector Palatine of the Rhine
The King’s Men perform some 20 plays to mark the occasion.
A century later, Elizabeth’s descendants in the House of Hanover will ascend to the English throne -
Shakespeare and his lawyers begin to draw up his will
One later anecdote attributes his death on 23 April to a “merry meeting” with Ben Johnson, during which the two playwrights
“drank too hard”.