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1450
Invention of the printing press.
Gutemberg invented the printing press, which led to the Ninety-Five thesis spreading faster. -
1491
Birth of Henry VIII.
Son of Henry VII the first Tudor King. -
Period: Nov 14, 1501 to Apr 2, 1502
Marriage between Arthur Tudor and Catherine of Aragon.
They were married for 6 months until Arthur Tudor passed away because of tuberculosis. -
Apr 2, 1502
Arthur Tudor passed away.
He died of tuberculosis after only 6 months of marriage with Catherine of Aragon. -
1509
Henry VIII became King.
Henry VIII became King at 17 after his brother passed. -
Period: Jun 11, 1509 to May 23, 1533
Marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
Henry VIII married his brother's wife after he passed and asked for a divorce 18 years later which was refused. He divorced her 5 years later thanks to the Act in Restraint of Appeal which gave Henry VIII the legal power to annul marriages. -
1516
Birth of Mary I.
She was second heir to the throne. -
1517
Pope Leo X sold indulgences.
To rebuild St Peter's Basilica in Rome, he sold indulgences but kept 50% of commissions. -
Oct 31, 1517
The Ninety-Five Thesis.
Written by a German monk, Martin Luther, to denounce the indulgences that were sold: this marks the start of the European Reformation. -
1518
The Bible is translated in German.
Martin Luther translates the Bible into German. -
1521
Excomunication of Martin Luther.
He was expelled from the Catholic Church and called an heretic. -
1522
The New Testament is published.
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1526
The Tyndale Bible was published.
William Tyndale translates the New Testament into English. -
1527
Henry VIII asked to divorce Catherine of Aragon.
Henry VIII wanted to divorce for 3 reasons:
His wife’s failure to bear a son (only one surviving daughter: Mary Tudor), her support of the Habsburgs, when Henry wanted an alliance with France, he was in love with Anne Boleyn.
The official reason Henry gave to annul his marriage:
according to him, this marriage was doomed.
Because Catherine of Aragon had first been married to his brother, the book of Leviticus (Old Testament) forbade man's marriage with his brother’s wife. -
1529
The Pope rejected the divorce.
Henry VIII can't divorce his wife under the Catholic Church. -
Period: 1532 to 1537
The whole body of legislation.
The whole body of legislation passed from 1532 to 1537 diminished the authority and powers of the Pope and the clergy and transferred powers to the King. -
1533
Act in Restraint of Appeals.
This act gave the King legal power to annul marriages. -
1533
Birth of Elizabeth I.
She was third heir to the throne. -
Period: May 28, 1533 to May 17, 1536
Marriage between Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn.
They married earlier that year during a private gathering but only became official once Henry VIII divorced his previous wife. Their marriage ended a few days before Ann Boleyn's execution. -
1534
Act of Supremacy.
The king was made “Supreme Head of the Church of England. -
1534
The Schism.
The Church of England is separated from the Roman Catholic Church under the reign of Henry VIII. -
Period: 1535 to 1537
Marriage between Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.
The marriage ended because Jane passed away after giving birth. -
Period: 1536 to 1541
Catholic Churches torn apart.
The Catholic Churches were disbanded and the Crown appropriated their income and land (and at the time, the Church owned 25% of the land!) -
Period: 1536 to 1537
Pilgrimage of Grace.
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1537
Permission for an English Bible.
In 1537 permission was given for an English Bible and not a Latin one. They were soon made mandatory in every church. -
1537
Birth of Edward VI.
He was first heir to the throne. -
Period: 1540 to 1540
Marriage between Henry VIII and Anna of Cleves.
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Period: 1540 to 1542
Marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine Howard.
The marriage ended because Catherine was executed. -
Period: 1543 to 1547
Marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine Parr.
The marriage ended because Henry VIII passed away. -
Jan 28, 1547
Henry VIII passed away.
Henry VIII passed away at 55 due to his obesity. -
1549
Publication of the Book of Common Prayer.
Roman Catholic practices (including statues and stained glass) were eradicated. The marriage of clergy was allowed. The imposition of the Prayer Book (which replaced Latin services with English) led to rebellions in Cornwall and Devon -
1553
Death of Ewdard VI.
Edward VI was 15 when he died from tuberculosis.
By that time, the country was virtually bankrupt. In 1553, Mary I (Tudor) became the first Queen of England. -
Period: 1555 to 1558
Bloody Mary.
Protestantism was confined to secrecy as heretics were burned between 1555 and 1558. Under Mary’s brief reign, over 200 Protestants went to the stake. Protestants were forced to leave the country and fled to the Continent (Switzerland where they were taught the teachings of Calvin) -
1558
Death of Mary I.
Elizabeth I became Queen. -
1559
The Act of Uniformity.
Religious belief
every parish had to use the Book of Common Prayer
people who did not attend an Anglican service were fined. -
1559
The Act of Supremacy
Church organisation
abolished the authority of the Pope
restored the authority of the Queen over the Church
She became “Supreme Governor of the Church of England”. -
1559
1559 speech
Elizabeth “married to the Kingdom of England”. Her subjects being “all my husbands, my good people”. -
Period: 1563 to 1571
The 39 articles of faith
stated the doctrine (religious belief) of the Church
3 important changes : a new ecclesiology (conception of the Church) / a new doctrine of Salvation (doctrine du salut) / a new definition of sacraments and of the mass
still in use today -
1567
James was proclaimed King of Scotland
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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 excommunicated Elizabeth I
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1571
The 1571 Treasons Act
The 1571 Treasons Act made it treason for anyone to say that Elizabeth was not the true Queen of England and Wales -
Period: 1577 to 1580
Francis Drake's voyage around the world
Walter Raleigh set up the first two colonies in America in Virginia in the 1580s (failure). Area named after the Virgin Queen
Virginia became the 1st permanent English settlement in North America in 1607
This initiative resulted in the colonial empire of the 17th and 18th centuries -
1581
the 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 per month fine. -
The Babington plot (1586)
Young Catholics had sworn to kill Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart on the throne but their strategies were discovered by Francis Walsingham, when he managed to decipher a coded letter between Marie Stuart and this group -
The execution of Mary Queen of Scots
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Speech to the troops at Tilbury
The queen made this speech in Tilbury, Essex, in order to rally the troops who were preparing to repel the invasion of the Spanish Armada:
“I know I have the body of a weak woman but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a King of England too”. -
The Defeat of the Spanish Armada
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Union of the Crowns
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Death of Elizabeth I
When Elizabeth died at the age of 69
She had secured the position of England in the world
She had imposed Protestantism Her heir was the son of her cousin Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart) James VI of Scotland: became James I of England. -
The GUNPOWDER PLOT
A conspiracy devised by a small group of Catholics to blow up Parliament and kill James I. -
establishment of Jamestown in Virginia
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the King James’ Bible
a new English translation of the Bible (the King James’ Bible) completed in 1611 -
Period: to
The Starving Time
Period of starvation, only 60 of the 500 colonists survived! -
“Great Contract”
The King would receive a fixed sum. But some MPs feared the King would not need to call up parliaments anymore to get money (the king would be financially independent!)
The House of Commons refused to vote in favour of the Great Contract James dismissed Parliament -
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 of the war:
A huge strain on finances
The raising of troops (50 000!) had important impacts on the local population -
Plymouth colony
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James summoned a parliament to ask for money for war
Parliament did not favour a direct military attack on the Spanish forces, it wanted to wage war at sea Parliament discussing foreign policy (the prerogative of the King)!
This angered James
Parliament answered with a Protestation, asserting that Parliament’s privilege existed by right, and not by gift of the monarch
James tore the Commons’ Protestation and dissolved Parliament. -
Parliment agrees to fund the war
The 1624 Parliament agreed to finance the war on Spain but it would mostly be a war for the next king (Charles I) to lead. -
Death of James I
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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. -
Three Resolutions
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 -
Period: to
The Personal Rule
11 years when the King ruled without calling a parliament Whig historians called it “The Eleven Years Tyranny” -
Maryland (Catholics)
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Period: to
The Scottish crisis
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The Grand Remonstrance of 1641
= an important document voted by Parliament after heated debates.
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 -
The Irish Rebellion
In October 1641, an armed revolt broke out in Ireland: The Irish Rebellion James I (Charles’ father) had implemented a plantation policy = sending English and Scottish protestant colonists to Ireland, taking the lands of Irish Catholics
In Oct 1641, Irish Catholic rebels rose up against Protestant settlers
Massacre of 3 000/4 000 protestants
False rumours: Irish atrocities, 200 000 protestants massacred (fuelled the anti-Catholic sentiment in England) -
Militia Act
the army should be placed under the control of a general appointed by Parliament taking away the King’s ability to appoint whoever he wanted ! -
Period: to
English Civil Wars
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Charles formally declared war on Parliament.
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Period: to
The First Civil War and the victory of Parliament
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The new model army
A new army created in 1644 by the Parliamentarians
Unlike the earlier regional armies, this was a national, centralized army, controlled and paid from Westminster rather than the counties Strong of 22 000 men
Armed with swords, pistols, pikes.
Wearing the redcoat
Religious fervour (nicknamed the “praying army”, soldiers carried Bibles in their breast pockets), convinced that the army was acting on God’s behalf -
Battle of Naseby
The June 1645 Battle of Naseby was a turning point and saw the Royalist forces weaken. -
the King and the Royalists surrendered
In May 1646 the King and the Royalists surrendered -
the New Model Army seized the King
In June 1647, the New Model Army seized the King. -
the King escaped from army custody and allied himself with the Scots
the King escaped from army custody and allied himself with the Scots (he promised to introduce Presbyterianism/Calvinism into England, in return the Scottish army would invade England and restore him to power)
Horrified Parliament (using a foreign army to wage war on his own people!) and led to the Second Civil War -
Period: to
The Second Civil War
The Second Civil War was made of a series of revolts in the South of England, Wales and Scotland
The Royalists were easily defeated by Cromwell
Very short : January-Autumn 1648 -
Death of Charles I
King Charles I executed in 1649 -
England becomes a republic
March 1649: Monarchy and House of Lords abolished, England was declared a Commonwealth (a republic). -
Period: to
The Commonwealth
-
Period: to
The Interregnum
= between 2 reigns, between 2 kings
England declared a “Commonwealth” = governed by its people without a King
But failure to reach stability led to the creation of a “Military Protectorate” ruled by Cromwell During the interregnum, many experiments with republican forms of government.
But main problem: any republican regime needed the support of both
The propertied classes who wanted stability and order
The army who wanted religious toleration and reforms -
Cromwell defeated the Scots Army
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Blasphemy Act
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Period: to
Cromwellian Protectorate
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Cromwell dissolved the Parliament.
Riding through the House of Commons with soldiers, Cromwell ordered the MPs to leave. -
end of the Commonwealth and start of the Cromwellian Protectorate
end of the Commonwealth and start of the Cromwellian Protectorate (or Military Protectorate) -
the English invaded Jamaica
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Death of Cormwell
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Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda.
It promised:
A general amnesty (pardon)
To continue religious toleration
To share power with Parliament
…in return for the restoration of monarchy. -
Period: to
Early Restoration
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Restoration of the King
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The Act of uniformity
all ministers had to swear to conform to the Book of Common Prayer -
The English took over the Dutch colony of New Netherland
which included the state of New Amsterdam. The English renamed this New York. -
outbreak of Plague
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Great Fire of London
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Period: to
The Exclusion crisis
Parliament attempted to debar James II from the succession to the English throne (!! Parliament trying to modify the rules of succession? Divine Right of Kings?)
Charles’ reaction: dissolving the Parliament. -
Pennsylvania
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James’ second wife gave birth to a son
CRISIS! A Catholic Heir! A threat to Protestantism and to Parliament’s powers ! -
Parliament invited William of Orange to invade England and seize the crown
He landed with an army of 15 000 men and met no resistance
James’ army disintegrated, officers deserted.
James II fled to France and William became King William III -
The Bill of Rights
limited the monarch’s power for the first time -
Toleration Act
established religious pluralism, and freedom of worship for all Protestants -
The 1701 Act of Settlement
Ensured a Protestant succession, ignoring dozens of Catholic heirs -
Period: to
War of the Spanish Succession
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The Popish Plot
Rumour of a plot organised by the French to murder Charles II and replace him by his Catholic brother James II
Fear: James as king would implement pro-Catholic politics + might try to restore absolute monarchy, threatening Parliament (Just look at Louis XIV: absolute monarch + persecution of protestants!)