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Period: 1509 to 1547
Henry VIII's Reign
He was the King of England, Scotland and Ireland. -
1517
The Ninety Five Theses by Martin Luther
He was a German monk and a professor of theology who wrote this famous text that marked the start of the European Reformation and which protested against the sale of Indulgences. -
1517
Doctrine of Purgatory and the Indulgences
It took place under the order of the Pope Leo X and allowed to the faithful to get a remission of their sins in exchange of money.
The Indulgences was a document issued by the Church and was under the Pope's authority, it reduced the time to spent in the Purgatory. -
1526
The Tyndale Bible
The Tyndale Bible (The New Testament translated into English by William Tyndale) -
1533
Act in Restraint of Appeals
It gave the King the legal power to cancel
marriages and will allow to Henry VIII to do it with Catherine of Aragon, his new wife will be Anne Boleyn -
1534
Act of Supremacy
Act of Supremacy driving the foundation of the Anglican Church and the King Henry VIII became the supreme chief of the Church of England. -
1534
Act of Succession
It made Anne Boleyn a legitimate Queen since she get married 1 year before. She was the "lady in waiting" of Catherine of Aragon. -
Period: 1534 to
The Early Modern Period
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1536
Act of Union between England and Wales
England and Wales form the England Kingdom -
Period: 1536 to 1537
The Pilgrimage of Grace under Henry VIII
These greatest rebellions never faced by a Tudor monarch are the consequences of the dissolution of all the smaller monasteries and the Reformation in 1536 which caused a lot of religious and economical's damages. -
Period: 1545 to 1563
The Council of Trent
The Roman Catholic Church attempted to correct the abuses/errors of the Church, condemned protestant heresies and the Pope asserted to English Catholics not to attend Anglican church services. -
1547
The end of the Henry VIII's Reign
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Period: 1547 to 1553
Edward VI's Reign: the young king
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1549
The Book of Common Prayer
It is one of the Protestant measures under Edward VI's reign. As a fiercely Protestant he made a revision of the mass-book which led to the publication of the Book of Common Prayer in 1549. -
1553
The Poor Laws in Elizabethan England
The Poor laws were also passed in 1553, 1597 and 1601, but this system continued until the 19th century. Central and local governments had to help the poor, distinguishing between the "deserving" and "undeserving poor", while beggars and vagrants were targeted by harsh laws. -
Period: 1553 to 1558
Mary I 's Reign and the Catholic Restoration
Married to the very Catholic Philip II of Spain, she was very unpopular and not appreciated. She was also called "Bloody Mary" because under her reign, over 200 Protestants went to the stake, they were burnt alive and some were forced to leave the country and were called the "Marian exiles". -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I's Reign
Also called the "Elizabethan era", Elizabeth I was the last Tudor monarch. She was also called, "The Virgin Queen". But, she was a Protestant, and it is true that she had to make some compromises between the 2 religions : Catholicism and Protestantism, a kind of "Middle Way". Then, James I of England became her successor. -
1559
The Second Act of Suprmacy
1 year later after the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, the organisation of the Church changed as the authority of the Pope was abolished, consequently Elizabeth I became the supreme governor of the Church of England. -
May 8, 1559
The Act of Uniformity
All Parish (paroisses) had to use the Book of
Common Prayer and people who didn't follow an Anglican services were fined. -
Period: 1563 to 1571
The 39 articles of Faith
It started the doctrine of the Church and theses articles are mostly known because of a new doctrine of Salvation with other changes still used today. -
Period: 1568 to 1573
The Marian Civil War
The Marian civil war in Scotland was marked with the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots. She fled to England where she stayed in jail during 19 years. -
1569
The Northern Rebellion
The rebellion was agaisnt religious reforms and 6000 insurgents
wanted to replace the Queen Elizabeth I with Mary Queen of Scots. In addition to that, Westmorland and Northumberland were crushed. -
1570
Regnans in Excelsis
Pope Pius V issued an important text, a “papal bull “ qualifying
the Queen Elizabeth I, which has been excommunicated, as "the pretended Queen of England and the servant of crime". He almost gave to Catholics a licence to kill her since it will certaintly not be seen as a crime for Rome. -
1571
The Treason Act
In response to the papal bull, the Treason act was made for anyone saying that Elizabeth I wasn't the true and legimitate Queen of England and Wales. They could be judged and executed as high traitor. -
1581
Repression of Catholics -The 1581 Act
Also called “Act to retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their due Obedience”. It's a repression against Catholics in which people could risk death penalty if they reverted to Catholicism or already converted to Catholicism after this date. It was also forbidden to celebrate and particpate to Catholic mass.
163 persons were killed during repression in 26 years (1577-1603). -
The Execution of Mary (Stuart) Queen of Scots and The Babington Plot
She was sentenced to death because Francis Walsingham discovered in a coded letter that she was part of the Babington Plot with a group of Young Catholics to kill the Queen Elizabeth I in order to ascend to the throne. She was executed in Fotheringham Castle, with a red dress, the colour of Catholic martyrs. -
The Defeat of the Spanish Armada
Phillip II, King of Spain and Catholics, supported several plots against Elizabeth I. Consequently in order to defend herself and the protestant cause, a war had started. England's ships and strategies (line battle and Dutch strategies) were more powerful and bigger than Spain, thus Spain lost the "Invincible Armada" in the attempted invasion of England. -
Tilbury's speech of Queen Elizabeth I to the Troops
Pronounced in Essex before the Spanish Armada invasion to her troops, this speech reinforced her legitimacy and is considered as the most inspiring speech in the English History. Besides, she declared "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too". -
The creation of The East India Company
It was founded by Elizabeth I's charter. -
The King James I
He became King of Scotland in 1567 and of England in1603. He is a strong believer concerning the diving rights of the King. However, he is a Protestant and not a Catholic like his mother. -
King James I and the Millenary Petition
The Millenary Petition (so called because it bore the signatures of a thousand church ministers) consists in a moderate request for changes in certain practices within the Church of England and was presented to King James I of England in April 1603 by Puritan ministers. -
Period: to
King James I Reign in England
He also reigned the Kingdom of Scotland, after his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, from 1567 until his death in 1625. -
Queen Elizabeth I Death
The Queen died at the age of 69 in England and has left the throne to James VI of Scotland who became James I of England. -
The GunPowder Plot
Leaded by Guy Fawkes, this Catholic conspiracy was aimed to destroy the British Parliament and to kill the Protestant King, James I but it will be a failure.
Besides, the mask of the Anonymous represents the face of Guy Fawkes. -
Establishment of Jamestown in Virginia
After Francis Drake travel around the world, Walter Raleigh fail to set up the first two colonies in America in Virginia (named after Virgin Queen) in the 1580s and become the 1st permanent English settlement in North America in 1607. -
Period: to
The Starving Time
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The Great Contract
The Great Contract was meant to have put the chaotic finances of James I on an even keel but also to an attempt to increase Crown income and ultimately rid it of debt. In return for an annual sum of money in each year of the king’s reign, the Great Contract stated that James would abandon his traditional feudal rights as king of England.
After the House of Commnons' refusal, James dismissed Parliament. -
The King James' Bible
After have maintained the compromise of Elizabeth I, the only change he made was a new English translation of the Bible, (the King James' Bible), completed in 1611. -
Period: to
Thirty Years' War
One of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history in which England was in war with Spain and France. The Thirty Years' War implies military defeats, a huge of strain on finances or the raising of the troops that had an important impact on the local population. -
Period: to
King Charles I Reign
He became the King of England and Scotland in 1625 until his execution in 1649 for high treason. His son, Charles II, will succeed him in 1660 until his death in 1685.
During Charles' I reign, the King favoured a minority wing of Anglicans, the Arminians. -
King James I death
The King died from a stroke at Theobalds House, in Hertfordshire in England. He was succeeded by his second son, Charles I who will be confronted with the Thirty Years' War. -
The Petition of Rights
It asked for a settlement of Parliament's complaints against the King's non-parliamentary taxation and imprisonments without trial and the martial law. It also wanted to get Charles to recognise that there were limits to his powers.
He suspended Parliament seating. -
Three Resolutions
It denounced Popery and Arminianism, and anyone who were advising the King to collect custom duties without Parliament's consent were considered as enemies to the Kingdom and betrayers of the liberties of England.
The speaker of the House can suspend/adjurn the Parliament discussion but when he wanted to, other MPs kept him in his chair, an act of open defiance that led them to imprisonment. It's the beginning of the "Personal Rule", as James I didn't want Parliament anymore. -
Period: to
The Personal Rule
Whig historians called it "The Eleven Years Tyranny" and it refers to the period when the king ruled without calling a Parliament. -
The New Prayer Book (Book of Common Prayer)
Charles I and his advisors drew up a modified version of the English Book of Common Prayer for use across Scotland (new position of the altar, kneeling). Despite, the implement of the book in July 1637, violent riot, known as "the Bishops' Wars", occurred in St Giles's Cathedral in Edinburgh, upon the first reading of the book. -
Period: to
The Scottish crisis
The end of the Personal Rule and the outbreak of the Civil War were caused by crises in Scotland as well. -
The Scottish National Covenant
A petition opposing the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (religious policy) by King Charles I. -
The Short Parliament
Charles I called the Parliament for the first time in 11 years in order to have money for fighting the Scots. But, he dissolved it after only 3 weeks since the MPs demanded him to address their grievances first. -
Treaty of Ripon
A Peace Treaty that ended the Second Bishop's War between Charles I of England and the Scots in which they emerged victorious against England. The King was forced to pay the cost of the Scots' army, it was a humiliation for him. -
The Long Parliament
The Treaty of Ripon between the King and the Scottish Covenanters resulted in calling "The Long Parliament", since Charles I had to call the Parliament again and would not be dissolved until 1660. -
The Irish Rebellion
James I had implemented a plantation policy in order to take the lands of Irish Catholics. Thus, a revolt between Catholics rebels and Protestants occurred, leading to a massacre of protestants and a raise of army. -
The Militia Act
The necessary to raise an army during the Irish Rebellion implied the control of army by a general appointed by Parliament. -
The Grand Remonstrance of 1641
One of the chief events that precipated the English Civil War which was a list of grievances presented to King Charles I by Parliament. Thus, it concluded on “revolutionary” demands and divided the Parliament into 2 groups, the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. -
Period: to
The English Civil War
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King Charles' war declaration on Parliament
After Charles I marched into the House of Commons to arrest the 5 MPs that were "plotting" against the Queen (January 1642), Parliament presented the 19 Propositions to the King but he declared war on Parliament on August 1642. -
Battle of Naseby
This battle is considered as the one of the most important battles in the English Civil War. It opposed the victorious Parliamentarian New Model Army and the Royalist, army of King Charles I. -
The Agreement of the People
Issued by the New Model Army, the Agreement was the subject of the Putney Debates but there were no agreement. It released some demands like there was no authority above Parliament. -
Period: to
The Second English Civil War
Also, called the "Three Kingdoms War" because of a series of revolts in the South of England, Wales and Scotland, this war was very short. It happened because of the King's escape from army custody and his alliance with the Scots (November 1647). Thus, it led to the Second Civil War in which the Royalists were easily defeated by Cromwell. -
The Pride's Purge
The conservative MPs wanted to negotiate with the King regarding his fate but then what we called, the Pride's Purge took place. The Colonel Pride (Army) entered the House of Commons, stopped everything and arrested the 45 conservative leader MPs. Then, the Rump Parliament put the King on trial for high treason. -
The Commonwealth of England
Monarchy and House of Lords are abolished and England was declared a Commonwealth/ a republic with Oliver Cromwell who was crowned as Lord Protector. -
Period: to
The Interregnum
It means between 2 reigns, between 2 kings -
Period: to
The Commonwealth
The end of the Commonwealth was caused because of the brutal repression of Cromwell against Charles II Royalist troops in Scotland and Ireland but also because of the increasing of the Rump Parliament's repression on internal critics and radical sects.
The 20th April 1653 Cromwell dissolved the Rump. -
The execution of King Charles I
During his reign, his actions frustrated his Parliament and resulted in the wars of the English Civil War (1642-1649), eventually leading to his execution. Charles I was convicted of treason and executed on 30th January 1649 in front of the Banqueting House in Whitehall. -
The Blasphemy Act
When someone attacks on God, the person was punished. For instance, James Nayler was put on the pillory and had the letter "B" marked with a red hot iron on his forehead as "blasphemer". There were the consequences of Christ's imitation entry in Jerusalem. -
The Instrument of Government
England’s first and only written constitution proposed by John Lambert. -
Period: to
The Cromwellian Protectorate
Ruled as a military dictatorship under the Lord General and
a Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell from 1653 to his death in 1658, after the Commonwealth. -
English invasion in Jamaica
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Declaration of Breda
Issued by Charles II after the death of Cromwell in return for a restoration of monarchy. -
Period: to
The Early Restoration
The period during the restoration of monarchy with Charles II. -
Period: to
King Charles II reign
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The Restoration
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Period: to
The Clarendon Code
A series of laws passed during the first years of Restoration to suspend the power of the Nonconformists/Dissenters. -
Act of Uniformity
All the ministers had to follow the Book of Common Prayer. -
The Five Miles Act
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The Plague/ The Great Plague of London
The outbreak of Plague started in China and spread through Europe. -
The Great Fire of London
Associated with the solution to the end of the Plague. -
The Popish Plot
Rumour of a plot by the French to murder Charles II and thus his Catholic brohter James II can ascend the throne. -
Period: to
The Political crisis
The Parliament attempted to modifiy the rule of succession to the English throne to avoid James II a Catholic, as a King. It led to the dissolution of Parliament by Charles II. -
Period: to
King James II reign
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The Glorious Revolution
The Parliament wanted to seized the crown and invade England, thus they asked it to the Dutsch husband of James II's daughter, Mary. He became the King William III while James II fled to France. -
Toleration Act
It established religious pluralism and freedom of worship for all Protestants. -
Period: to
King William III reign
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The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights was a key political text presented to
William and Mary that listed the King James’ misdeeds, fixed limitations on the sovereign’s powers, set out the rights of Parliament and also basic civil rights. -
The Act of Settlement
It ensured a Protestant succession because William III and Mary II didn't have a surviving children and there were potential Stuart successors who were only Catholics. -
Period: to
Anne, Queen of Great Britain reign
The last Stuart monarch, she was also the Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702 to 1707 and became the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as well from 1707 until her death in 1714. -
Act of Union
Act of Union between England and Scotland that implies the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). It was ratified by the Queen Anne. -
Period: to
George I of Great Britain reign
He was from the Hanoverian dynasty. -
Act of Union with Great Britain and Ireland