British History Timeline

  • Period: 1509 to 1547

    Henry VIII's reign

  • The Ninety-Five Theses by Martin Luther
    1517

    The Ninety-Five Theses by Martin Luther

  • Tyndale bible
    1526

    Tyndale bible

    the New Testament translated into English by William Tyndale
  • Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn
    1533

    Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn

    this union wasn't well received by the pope as Henry had just divorced from Catherine of Aragon and divorce wasn't allowed at this time by the religion
  • Henry VIII's Act Of Supremacy
    1534

    Henry VIII's Act Of Supremacy

    The king was made supreme head of the church of England
  • 1534

    Schism between the Church and the Roman Catholic Church

  • Period: 1536 to 1537

    Pilgrimage of Grace

    Rebellions in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire interrupting the dissolution of the monasteries
  • Period: 1536 to 1541

    The Dissolution

    Impact on the clergy's finances
    Disappearance of the monasteries (impacting nuns and monks)
  • Period: 1547 to 1553

    Edward VI's reign

    Son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
    He became Lord Protector
    A series of measures pushed England towards Protestantism during his reign
  • Publication of the Book of Common Prayer
    1549

    Publication of the Book of Common Prayer

    it was a protestant measure
  • Period: 1553 to 1558

    Mary I's reign (Bloody Mary)

    Daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
    First Queen of England
    She restored Catholicism in 18 months
    Over 200 protestants were burnt alive under her reign
  • The Act of Uniformity
    1559

    The Act of Uniformity

    New legislation put in place by Elizabeth I
    - every parish had to use the book of common prayer
    - people who did not attend the Anglican service were fined
  • 1559

    Elizabeth I's Act of Supremacy

    • Abolished the authority of the Pope
    • restored the authority of the Queen over the Church
    • Queen became "supreme governor of the Church of England"
  • Period: 1559 to

    Elizabeth I's reign

    • She was an unmarried woman (and only 25 when she became Queen)
    • She needed to prove her legitimacy as Queen.
    • Stabilised the Church of England with the "religious settlement
    • Expanded England’s influence on her neighbours
    • Her reign is famously associated with the idea of a golden age for the country.
  • 1563

    The 39 articles of Faith

    New legislation by Elizabeth I
    - stated the doctrine of the Church
    - 3 important changes: a new ecclesiology, a new doctrine of salvation, and a new definition of sacraments and of the mass
    - still in use today
  • The Northern Rebellion
    1569

    The Northern Rebellion

    • Rebellion against religious reforms
    • 6000 insurgents
    • An attempt to replace Queen Elizabeth by Mary queen of Scots
    • The revolt was led by the Earls of Westmorland and Northumberland
    • It was crushed
  • 1570

    Pope Pius V issued the papal bull “regnans in excelsis”

    • the Pope excommunicated the Queen (= Almost giving catholics licence to kill her with the certainty that it would not be seen as a crime by Rome) - Catholics were prosecuted - Protestantism increasingly associated with patriotism in England - Many catholics plots against the Queen - The Northern Rebellion of 1559
    • It called Elizabeth “the so-called queen” “a heretic favouring heretics”
  • The 1571 Treasons Act
    1571

    The 1571 Treasons Act

    • Made it illegal/a treason for anyone to say that Elizabeth I was not the true Queen of England and Wales
    • Made in response of the excommunication of the Queen by the Pope
  • 1581

    1581 Act (“Act to retain the Queen’s Majesty’s Subjects in their due Obedience”)

    • It provided for the death penalty for any person converting or already converted to Catholicism
    • It was now forbidden to participate or celebrate the Catholic mass
    • Anglican services were compulsory 20 pounds per month fine -> 163 persons killed during repression in 26 years (1577-1603)
  • The Babington plot

    Young Catholics wanted to kill Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the throne
  • The Execution of the Queen of Scots

    The Execution of the Queen of Scots

    • Daughter of King James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise - She was raised in France as a Catholic
    • Widow of the French King Francis II
    • In 1568, Mary was involved in a civil war in Scotland and had to flee to England
    • Elizabeth kept her imprisoned for 19 years - she was a threat to Elizabeth because of her being a legitimate heir, especially to Catholics, who plotted to replace Elizabeth by Mary - her closeness to France and Spain endangered the English Kingdom
  • The Defeat of the Spanish Armada

    The Defeat of the Spanish Armada

    • the victory of England allowed material and human avantages on the side of England -> new inventions and more recruiting
    • Acted as reaffirmation of the English national cohesion
    • Believed that the storm which had helped defeat the Armada was God sent - Divine protection
  • James I of England and VI of Scotland was crowned King of England

    James I of England and VI of Scotland was crowned King of England

    He was the son of Mary Queen of Scots
  • The Gunpowder Plot

    The Gunpowder Plot

    A conspiracy devised by a small group of Catholics to blow up Parliament and kill James I.
  • Period: to

    The Thirty Years' War

    • Military defeats (Lord Buckingham, the King’s advisor became very unpopular)
    • England at war with Spain and France Consequences:
    • Huge strain on finances
    • The raising of troops had important impacts on the local population
  • Death of King James I of England and VI of Scotland

  • Charles I became King

    Charles I became King

    • also King of Ireland and Scotland
    • Second son of James I England and VI of Scotland
  • Petition of Rights

    Petition of Rights

    • They requested the King to recognise the illegality of extra-parliamentary taxation, billeting, martial law imprisonment without trial.
    • Wanted to get Charles to recognise that there were limits to his powers
    • Charles reluctantly signed it but was furious, and as MPs were discussing impeaching Lord Buckingham again, he suspended parliament seating.
  • The Three Resolutions

    • Passed by the MPs
    • Declared that whoever tried to bring in “Popery or Arminianism” or to alter the protestant forms of the Church of England was an enemy of the Kingdom
    • as well as anyone advising the King to collect custom duties without Parliament’s consent = considered an act of open defiance!
    • Charles imprisoned these MPs and dissolved parliament.
    • He declared there would be no more parliaments = start of the “Personal Rule”
  • Period: to

    The Personal Rule

    • The King ruled without calling a Parliament for 11 years
    • Whig historians called it "The Eleven Years Tyranny"
  • Period: to

    The Scottish crisis

    • Scottish opposition came to the boil when Charles I attempted to impose a New Prayer Book (Book of Common Prayer)
    • Charles I’s leading opponents in Scotland signed the “Scottish National Covenant” (1638) : it was a petition opposing Charles’ religious policy, it called for the spiritual independence of the Scottish Church to be maintained.
    • To Charles, this was an act of open rebellion. → Scotland and England both started to form an army ↳ The Bishops’ Wars
  • The Grand Remonstrance

    The Grand Remonstrance

    It summarized all the wrong doing of Charles I and concluded on “revolutionary” demands:
    • the right of the House of commons to choose the King’s ministers
    • the right for Parliament to control any army sent to Ireland
    • the right for Parliament to reform the Church It divided Parliament into 2 groups:
    - The Parliamentarians
    - The Royalists
  • Period: to

    English Civil Wars

    Those Civil Wars were driven by :
    - religious divisions
    - financial problems
    - relations between King and Parliament
    - governing three kingdoms
  • Charles I formally declared war on Parliament

    Charles I formally declared war on Parliament

    After Charles I and troops attempted to arrest the 5 MPs in the House of Commons in January 1642
  • The June 1645 Battle of Naseby

    Marked a turning point and saw the Royalist forces weaken
  • The King and Royalists surrendered

  • Pride's Purge

    Colonel Pride (Army) entered the House of Commons, stopped the vote and arrested the 45 conservative leader MPs.
    - The remainder MPs (named the Rump Parliament = le Parlement Croupion) put the King on trial for high treason
  • Regicide : execution of King Charles I

    Regicide : execution of King Charles I

  • The Monarchy and House of Lords are abolished

    Aftermath of the execution of King Charles I
    - House of Commons has supreme authority
    - England is declared a Commonwealth and is ruled as a republic
  • Charles II proclaimed King of Scotland after the death of his father Charles I

    • He raised a Scottish Army to invade England, Cromwell defeated the Scots Army in 1650 and crushed the uprising of the Scots Royalist force led by Charles II in 1651. So Charles II escaped
  • Period: to

    The Interregnum

    a period between 2 reigns, 2 kings:
    - England declared a "Commonwealth" = governed by its people without a King
    - but failure to reach stability and creation of a military protectorate ruled by Cromwell
  • Blasphemy Act

    Blasphemy Act

    • The Levellers (they were in favour of equality, wanted men over 21 to have the right to vote, and religious freedom) who criticised Cromwell were imprisoned
    • The Quaker James Nayler was harshly punished for imitating Christ's entry into Jerusalem
  • The Instrument of Government

    The Instrument of Government

    England’s first and only written constitution
  • Cromwell dissolved the Rump

    He ordered the MPs to leave
  • End of the Commonwealth and start of the Protectorate

  • Cromwell's death

    • His son Richard became Lord Protector but resigned after 6 months
    • This led to a period of Anarchy → 7 governments in less than a year! People longed for a return to order, increasing support for monarchy
  • The end of Protectorate

    Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda
    Which promised:
    - A general amnesty (pardon)
    - To continue religious toleration
    - To share power with Parliament in return for the restoration of monarchy.
  • The Restoration (of monarchy)

  • Outbreak of Plague

    Outbreak of Plague

  • Great Fire of London

    Great Fire of London

  • The Popish Plot

    Rumour of a plot organised by the French to murder Charles II and replace him by his Catholic brother James II
  • Period: to

    The Exclusion crisis

    • Parliament attempted to debar James II from the succession to the English throne
    • Charles’ reaction: dissolving the Parliament.
  • Death of Charles II

    Succeeded by his brother James II
  • Toleration Act 1689

    established religious pluralism,
 and freedom of worship for all Protestants
  • The Bill of Rights

    The Bill of Rights

    • Lists King James’ misdeeds
    • Fixed limitations on the sovereign’s powers
    • Set out the rights of Parliament
    • Set out basic civil rights
    • A key political text
  • The 1701 Act of Settlement

    The 1701 Act of Settlement

    • Settled the order of succession and ensured a Protestant succession, ignoring dozens of Catholic heirs
    • Successor: Hanoverian descendants of James I
    • Key role in the formation of the Kingdom 
of Great Britain
  • Act of Union between England and Scotland

    Act of Union between England and Scotland

    Creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain: England (and Wales) and Scotland
  • Union Act of the Kingdom of Great Britain