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Jan 1, 1215
Magna Carta Issued
Limited power of the king, led to the rule of constitutional law -
Period: Jan 1, 1532 to Jan 1, 1536
Henry VIII excommunicated. Act of Supremacy
Act of Supremacy declared Henry VIII Head of Church of England -
Period: to
Imperialism/Colonial Mercantilism
1612- The East India Company est. 1st permanent factory in Bengal
1628- The Petition of Right
1689- "Bill of Rights" helped to establish the constitutional monarchy and political order that Britain has today.
1707- England and Scotland unite
1775-1783- American Revolution
1783- Treaty of Versailles: Britain accepts American independence but retains W.Indies and Canadian colonies
1806- Britain acquires Cape Colony and Boer population -
Period: to
Charles I rejects Parliament's 19 Propositions--> Civil War (Cavaliers vs. Roundheads), Cromwell suppresses Catholic rebellion, Charles II proclaimed king
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Period: to
Glorious Revolution, Bill of Rights, Toleration Act
Glorious Revolution = bloodless ousting of James II, William and Mary ascend to the throne
Toleration Act- (1689)= granted freedom of worship to Protestant dissenters like Quakers, Presbyterians, and Baptists (but NOT Catholics or Unitarians) -
Period: to
Act of Settlement passed. Anne becomes Queen
Act of Settlement said that if William III and Queen Anne died w/o heirs, the succession to the throne would pass to Sophia -
Reform Act passed
Redistributed power on basis of population -
Reform Act
Gave urban working class males in England and Wales the right to vote -
Suffragettes Storm Parliament
Suffragettes storm Parliament in London and when arrested chose to go to jail. -
Coal Strike
Strike arising from disputes in the coal industry. Miners try to get better working conditions. -
Stock Market Crash
UK market crashes 4 days after the US crash -
Percival Surrenders in Singapore
Surrender of 80,000 troops, the largest in British history. Called Black Sunday. -
Operation Torch Begins
Allied invasion of Northern Africa. -
Period: to
Labour Party,
1) The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after which it formed a majority government under Clement Attlee. Labour was also in government from 1964 to 1970 under Harold Wilson. 2) 1958- More changes to the House of Lords: Life Peers are introduced. For the first time, women were appointed to the House of Lords. The Life Peerages Act changed the law so that membership of the House of Lords was not based on birth alone. 3) 1969- The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. -
Nationality Act
Created the status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" (CUKC) as the national citizenship of U.K. and all its colonies -
Votes at 18
The voting age at which men and women could vote is lowered from 21 to 18. -
Margaret Thatcher becomes first female Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first female prime minister and serves three consecutive terms in office. She plays one of the dominant political figures of 20th century Britain. -
Labour wins the general election, with Tony Blair as prime minister
Blair becomes leader of the Labour Party in 1994 after sudden death of John Smith. Blair continued the modernization of the party begun by Smith. Voters responded to 'New Labour' in the 1997 election, giving the party a huge majority of 179 seats. -
Tony Blair steps down
Blair asks Labour's National Executive Committee to seek a new party leader and announces he will step down as Prime Minister of the UK on June 27th. -
Coalition govt formed between Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats
With David Cameron as Prime Minister
Coalition's aim is to introduce widespread reform, and a program of budget cuts in public spending as a response to the large budget deficit
