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55 BCE
Julius Caesar and the Celts
Julius Caesar conquered the Celts about fifty years befor the birth of Christ. The Romans launched a military attack against the Celts. The Romans killed thousands of Celts and also killed their culture as well in a lot of the mainland in Europe. -
871
Alfred the Great!
Alfred the Great was the first great king of England. He obliged all able-bodied men to help/serve in the national army. He also laid the foundations of the great English navy. -
1016
Canute the Dane
Canute the Dane became king of England in 1016. Canute ruled England, Norway, and Denmark as a great empire. He is often known as Cnut the Dane as well. Canute the Dane became surprisingly popular during his reign with most of the Englishmen. -
1066
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hasting was when William, duke of Normandy, and Harold Godwin's forces met.William won the battle and beat Harold's army, and even Harold himself was killed. It was then that the Battle of Hastings became known as the Norman Conquest. -
1086
Domesday Book
King William created the Domesday Book. During this time, he acted as if everything in the kingdom belonged to him. He ordered his assistants to take a census and the results were inserted in the Domesday Book. Everything was entered in this book. Nothing was left out, which included people, animals, and land. This book was completed in the year 1086. -
Period: 1337 to 1453
Hundred Years' War
There was a dispute over the French throne which provided a reason for war. Let's back up... the kings of France regularly clashed with the kings of England. The English kings wanted the lands in France that King John had lost. The French kings insisted on keeping what they had taken and take more of the French lands that were claimed by the English. That's when the dispute over the throne happened, and the Hundred Years' War had begun (with a few interruptions) -
Period: 1455 to 1485
Wars of the Roses
The Lancastrian king Henry IV, was up against Richard, duke of York. Richard was the most powerful man in England and began to rule on Henry's behalf. The Yorks and Lancatrians started the Wars for the Roses. It is called this because the Yorks used a white rose as their symbol and the Lancasters used a red rose as theirs. The Wars of the Roses ended with Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII, defeating Richard III. -
1485
Henry VII
Henry VII was the first Tudor king of England and united the Houses of Lancaster and York. He did this by uniting them by marriage in 1486. -
1509
Henry VIII
Henry VIII reigned from 1509 to 1547. By the time he had gotten to the throne, Tudor absolutism gripped England. Tudor absolutism was the absolute, unlimited rule of the Tudor monarchs. Henry VIII became king when he was 18 years old. -
1531
The Convocation
The Convocation was a large group of people. Henry forced the English clergy to assemble the Convocation. Henry made the recognize him as "the single protector, the only supreme lord, and as far as is permitted by the law of Christ even supreme head". -
1542
Mary, Queen of Scots
Only a week after she was born, Mary's father died. This made her queen of Scotland. She was destined to be queen when the Reformation began to influence Scotland. It was agreed that she was going to marry Henry VIII, but her mother, who was Catholic, and her associate wanted to keep the country Catholic. They also wanted the country closely allied with France, so they sent Mary to France. When she got to France, she went to court and was prepared for the marriage to Francis. heir to the throne. -
1547
Edward VI
Edward VI was Henry's male heir. He was a child of nine when he came to the throne. His mother was a Protestant, therefore the regents who ruled for him were Protestants. -
1558
Mary I
Mary I was the first daughter of Henry VIII. She became queen of England in 1553 and ended her reign in 1558. She was Catholic like her mother, so she was firm when she resolved to return the English nation to the Roman church. She was later known as Bloody Mary. She killed 300 people for refusing to obey her. -
1558
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was another one of Henry VIII's daughters and was queen at 25 years old. Her half sister (Queen Mary) had been urged to have killed her, so she had a difficult and dangerous childhood. Having her remarkable character and amazing performance as queen of England, she earned the nickname Good Queen Bess. She never ended up marrying, so she earned another nickname that was The Virgin Queen. -
The Spanish Armada Defeat
Philip's fleet had 130 ships, 2,500 guns, and around 30,000 men. His plan was to pick up more troops from the Netherlands and invade England to conquer it, but the troops were never picked up. Elizabeth's fleet was smaller, but it had a better design. After 10 days of fighting, the English completely destroyed the Armada and many ships. They remaining ships retreated, but were destroyed by rocks and waves by Scotland and Ireland. Only about half of those ship sailed safely home. -
James I
James I was the first Stuart monarch of England. He wanted to rule both religions of England. The reason why was because if he didn't, his divine right would be limited. By this time the Puritans had grown stronger than ever. James I was reigning when one group of Separatists, the Pilgrims, sailed to Holland and America. He and the Puritans only agreed on one thing: a new English translation of the Bible was needed. Then the Puritans turned to Parliament, which didn't give James money he needed. -
Charles I
Charles I was James I son. He inherited the stubborn belief of divine right, but wars between France and Spain made him so dependent on it even though he despised it. He needed money and to get money, he needed Parliament, but Parliament didn't give him much. Instead of joining Parliament, he forced citizens to give him "loans" to get by. Parliament drew up the Petition of Right, and Charles grudgingly assented. He started the "Eleven Years' Tyranny" and under him, were the Puritans persecuted. -
Period: to
English Civil War
The arguments between king and Parliament grew and each were preparing for a civil war. The people who were against the king were called Roundheads because they wore their hair short and a bowl shape. Those with the king were called Cavaliers because they wore their hair long in ringlets after French fashion. Many Roundheads fought for the principle of government by consent. The Puritans sided with a military genius by the name of Oliver Cromwell. The king surrendered and fled the country. -
1662
By the year 1662, the monarchy was fully restored and the nation rejoiced. King Charles II, who was the son of Charles I, was now king. While the nation was rejoicing, he just had to go off and create more problems for the country. Charles II secretly signed the Treaty of Dover with King Louis XIV of France in 1670. So Charles II could get money from the French king to carry on his foreign policy, he agreed to obtain toleration for the English Catholics. He also agreed to join the Roman church! -
The Plague
The Plague was a deadly, infectious disease that would spread by the rat flea. The disease was spreading widely throughout Europe, but in London, it was the worst. In 1665, the Plague killed more than half the population in London. Those with the Plague were inside and on their home was, in red chalk, a cross and the words "Lord, have mercy on us". The dead would be thrown into a large trench that served as a collective grave. Nearly 100,000 people perished in London. In winter, it subsided. -
The Great fire of London
The Great Fire of London was when the Plague had hardly ceased. The fire lasted 3 days. After the fire, the city was decreased to ruins. But the fire was not all bad. It cleaned the buildings of the nasty, filthy plague that was there. The fire cleansed the plague-infested dwellings as well. After the city was rebuilt, London was never affected by the Plague again. -
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution later became known as the Bloodless Revolution. The English Bill of Rights was established as well. The Glorious Revolution established once and for all in England the principle of government by consent. In the future, the kings and queens of England would be chosen in accordance with the rules set by Parliament.
