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1517
Martin Luther writing "Ninety-Five Theses"
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1526
The Tyndale Bible
The New Testament translated into English by William Tyndale -
1533
Henry VIII married Ann Boleyn
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1534
Act of Supremacy
The King was made “Supreme Head of the Church of England”. -
1558
Elizabeth became Queen of England
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1559
The Act of Supremacy
- Abolished the authority of the Pope
- Restored the authority of the Queen over the Church
- She became “Supreme Governor of the Church of England”
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1559
The Act of Uniformity
- Every parish had to use the Book of Common Prayer
- People who did not attend the Anglican service were fined
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Period: 1563 to 1571
The 39 articles of faith
- Stated the doctrine (religious belief) to the Church
- 3 important changes: o new ecclesiology (conception of the Church) o New doctrine of Salvation o New definition of sacraments and of the mass still in use today
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The execution of Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Queen of Scots was convicted for complicity and was executed in 1587 in Fotheringham Castle, wearing a bright red dress, the color of Catholic martyrs. -
Elizabeth's death and coronation of James I
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Period: to
The Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years’ War:
Military defeats (Lord Buckingham, the King’s advisor became very unpopular)
England at war with Spain and France o Consequences of the war:
A huge strain on finances
The raising of troops (50000) had important impacts on the local population -
James I's death and Charles I's coronation
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Petition of Rights
It was MP's complaints
They requested the King to recognize the illegality of extra-parliamentary taxation, billeting, martial law, imprisonment without trial.
They wanted to get Charles to recognize 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
The MPs passed the Three Resolutions (1629)
- 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. = 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
11 years when the King ruled without calling a parliament
- Whig historians called it “The Eleven Years Tyranny” -
The Irish Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion was an armed revolt that broke out in England
James I (Charles’ father) had implanted a plantation = sending English and Scottish protestant colonists to Ireland, taking the lands of Irish Catholics
- In Oct 1641, Irish Catholics rebels rose up against Protestant settlers
--> Massacre of 3 000/4 000 protestants -
The Grand Remonstrance
An important document voted by Parliament after heated debates. It summarized all the wrongdoing of Charles I and concluded on “revolutionary” demands:
- The right of the House of common 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 -
Charles I declared war on Parliament
This war lasted 4 years and on May 1646, the King and the Royalists surrendered -
England was declared a Commonwealth and was ruled as a Republic
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Charles I was executed and his son Charles II beacame King of Scotland
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The Instrument of Government
It is England's first and only written Constitution -
End of the Commonwealth and start of the Protectorate
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The Restoration
Charles II was restored to the throne of England -
Charles II died and was succeded by his brother James II
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The Glorious Revolution
in 1668, James’ second wife gave birth to a son --> crisis.
A Catholic heir was a threat to Protestantism and Parliament’s powers.
Parliament invited the King’s son in law William of Orange to invade England and seize the crown.
William of Orange landed with an army of 15 000 men and met no resistance.
James’s army was disintegrated, officers deserted. James II fled to France and William became King William III. -
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights:
- Lists King James’ misdeeds
- Fixed limitations on the sovereign’s power
- Set out the rights of Parliament
- Set out basic civil rights
- A key political text -
Act of Settlement
The Act of Settlement:
- Ensured a Protestant succession, ignoring dozens of Catholics heirs
- Successor --> Hanoverian descendants of James I
- Key role in the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain
---> Put an end to the 16th and 17th quarrel between King and Parliament. A new balance of powers in favor of Parliament -
William III died and was succeded by Anne and then by George in 1741
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Act of Union between England and Scotland
The Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain: England, Wales and Scotland -
Second Act of Union
The Second Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain (England and Scotland) and Ireland