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55 BCE
Julius Caesar Conquers the Celts
Julius Caesar conquered the Celts around 55 B.C. Britain became the westernmost province in Rome. Christianity reached Britain during the Roman occupation. -
871
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was known for being the first great king of England. He came to the throne at the age of twenty-four. After many years he conquered the Viking invaders. He built up the navy and army, and had all important books translated into Anglo-Saxon language. -
1016
Canute the Dane
England fell to Viking invaders and Canute the Dane became king of England. He provided internal peace and increased foreign trade. Even though Alfred was Danish, he became very popular with most Englishmen. -
1066
Battle of Hastings
At the Battle of Hastings William the Conqueror defeated Harold Godwin, the most powerful English noble, at the time. William sailed to England with an army of 10,000 or more men. He defeated Harold and Harold was killed. -
1086
Domesday Book
King William took a census of everything in the kingdom, because he believed he owned everything. He had his assistants to take census of all the people and their property. The results were put into a book called the Domesday Book. Not anything was left out the book. It was finally completed in 1086. -
1337
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a war between France and England.
English kings wanted the land in France they had lost because of King John. France wanted to gain more land and to keep what they already had. The Hundred Years' War lasted from 1337 and 1453, with some interruptions. At first the English were winning then a young maiden named Joan of Arc inspired the french patriotism. With a revived war effort the French turned the tide of the War and England lost the war. -
1455
Wars of Roses
The War of Roses was a war between two houses. They were fighting for the crown of England. When the last Lancastrian king went insane, Henry VI, Richard of York started ruling on behalf of Henry. The other members of the Lancaster family weren't happy with this new arrangement so the houses went to war. It was called War of Roses because the York emblem was a white rose and the the Lancaster emblem was a red rose. The Lancaster's won the war and took the crown. -
1485
Henry VII
Henry VII was the first Tudor king of England. He defeated Richard, duke of York in the War of Roses. During his reign Columbus discovered America, Vasco da Gama found a sea route, and John Cabot claimed territory in North America for England. -
1509
Henry VIII
Henry VIII was called "Defender of the Faith". He defended the Roman Church when Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to a Roman Church. He wrote a book defended his faith. Henry's first wife was Catherine of Aragon. She couldn't give him what he wanted so he wanted her gone. When the pope denied divorcing them, Henry broke with the church. When he did this he ignited the English Reformation. England made Henry "supreme head of the Church". He now had all political and religious power. -
1531
The Convocation
The Convocation was a meeting of the English clergy in which recognized King Henry VIII as "the single protector, the only supreme lord, and as far as is permitted by the law of Christ even supreme head". By 1534 Henry was declared "supreme head of the Church". He now had the power of the pope and the king. -
1542
Mary Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots, was only a week old when she was made queen of Scotland. She was supposed to marry Edward VI, but her mother had other ideas. Instead, she was married to Francis II. After her husband died she returned to Scotland only to find herself a Catholic queen of a Protestant country. After many years she was forced to abdicate the throne. She fled to her cousin, Elizabeth, queen of England. Then Mary was caught in a plan to kill the Queen. She was then executed by Elizabeth. -
1549
Edward VI
Edward was the only male heir to Henry VIII. He was too young to rule so the regents ruled for him. Because his mother was protestant these men were also protestant. They turned England into a Protestant country. The worship services became more Protestant because of the Book of Common Prayer. -
1553
Mary I
Mary, was the first daughter of Henry VIII. She was Catholic, like her mother. She wanted to return England to a Catholic country. To return it to a Catholic country she resolved to killing or banishing all the Protestant clergyman. She killed around three-hundred people who refused to obey her. She was named Bloody Mary for all the blood she shed. The historian John Foxe wrote a book called the Book of Matyrs. Mary died in 1558 and England was even more Protestant than before. -
1558
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was known as Good Queen Bess. She was much like her father in the way that she conducted her self. She was a cunning and loyal queen. She loved her country as if it were a man. She never married and always had the best intentions for her country. She took no pleasure in doing what she had to do when her cousin was found conspiring Elizabeth's death. She took compassion on her people and loved them with her whole heart. -
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
The Armada was going to go up the English Channel, pick up more troops from the Netherlands and then invade England. Queen Elizabeth had been preparing for Phillip’s troops. She had a smaller, well designed, and able seamen. The Armada fleet missed a chance to trap the English fleet. The commander wanted to follow orders and kept going to pick up the soldiers from the Netherlands; however, the troops never showed up. After ten days of fighting the Armada, the English fleet defeated the Armada. -
James I
James I was the first Stuart monarch. He had very strong ideas about what a king should be able to do. He and the Parliament fought over money, law, and their opinions. He held himself above the law and commanded that the judges obey him without question. It was under his reign that we see the original pilgrims go to America. Eventually the Puritans and Parliament sided against the king. James dissolved Parliament; by the time his son, Charles, came to the throne, he was in need of Parliament. -
Charles I
Charles I, like his father, didn't like Parliament but needed it. He forced the people to pay and house soldiers. If you didn't comply he imprisoned or drafted you. The Parliament felt the same as the people. In 1628 Parliament came up with Petition of Right. It stated all the liberties and right the Englishmen had. By now there were many Puritans in Parliament. Charles also dissolved Parliament in 1629. That began the "Eleven Years' Tyranny". During this time the Puritans suffered persecution. -
English Civil War
As the tension grew between the king and the Parliament, the people began to separate themselves. At first the war was fought by armies from the Parliament and the king. The Puritan's were lead by military genius, Oliver Cromwell. By June 1646 the king had surrounded and Cromwell had won. Many people soon became afraid that Cromwell was a threat to the rule of law. They tried to fight him but by the end of the Civil Wars Cromwell had defeated them all. -
1662
This was the year that the monarchy was fully restored. Charles II was the son of Charles I and was made king. -
The Plague
The Plague was an incurable disease that spread around London. The rich left the city and the poor were left to suffer. Travel slowed and trade stopped. By the time the Plague was over over half the population was gone. About 100,000 people died in London alone. It was a tragic time in history. -
The Great Fire of London
In 1666 a huge fire broke out in London. It burned for three full days. Thousands of people had to relocate to the open fields. Even though Charles II tried to stop it, London was burned to ash. It was blessing in disguise because it cleansed London of the Plague. Whatever was left was burned and London was refreshed. London was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren. London was rebuilt with strong materials such as brick and stone. Even though the fire was devastating it ridded London of the Plague. -
Glorious Revolution of 1688
The Glorious Revolution was another civil war in England. The people were restless and no longer wished to have James as their king. Some of the Parliament decided to get a new king so they sent a letter to the great-grandson of William the Silent, William the Orange, offering the throne to him. He was the ruler of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. He then came to London with his army. James tried to fight but stood no chance, and he lost his throne. He fled to France and never returned.
