King Henry VIII

King Henry was born

Jun 28, 1491

King Henry VIII is born in Greenwich, England where he was raised to become a king himself after his father, King Henry VII. His early childhood experiences later affect his royal decisions in life. Being exposed to royalty at an early life made Henry a frugal king and benefitted him in the end. (Tyle 880)

King Henry VIII's lifespan

Period: Jun 28, 1491 to Jan 28, 1547

Christopher Columbus arrived in the West Indies

Oct 12, 1492

Christopher Columbus reaches the West Indies in search of a westward route to India. He was sent by Queen Isabel and King Fernando of Spain. This sparked much more thorough exploration and settlement of the Americas. Nowadays, people reference new explorations to Columbus' first lourney to America. (www.ibiblio.org and www.endmemo.com)

First African slaves arrive in America

Jan 1, 1502

The first African slaves arrive to America via slave ships. Juan de Córdoba sent several of his black slaves from Spain to Hispaniola. This later led to more slaves being captured from Africa and forcefully put into manual labor all over the Americas. Slavery would continue in America until 1865 when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation which set free all slaves. (www.endmemo.com and www.nationalhumanitiescenter.org)

Mona Lisa was painted

Jan 1, 1506

Leonardo DaVinci finished painting his masterpiece called the Mona Lisa. This painting would become the most famous piece of Leonardo's art in history. It had taken 3 years to paint, but its significance would later make up for the time spent. Leonardo would become so famous from this one single work that whenever anyone looked at the painting, they would immmediately reference Leonardo to it. (www.endmemo.com and www.neohumanism.org)

Assumed throne after King Henry VII dies

Apr 21, 1509

King Henry becomes king of England when his father dies. Henry is only 17 when a huge responsibility is burdened on his shoulders. This early experience with royal workings helped shape his later decisions in life. Henry was the son of Henry VII and was the Lord of Ireland and when his older brother died, he was the oldest male heir and got the throne. (Tyle 881)

King Henry VIII marries Catherine of Aragon

Jun 11, 1509

King Henry VIII's first marriage comes with Catherine of Aragon. A dispensation from Pope Julius II was necessary in order to allow him to marry his brother's widow, Arthur. It was his first relationship and gave him some experience on royal woman and wives. This would affect his later attempt of marriage annulment because Catherine would not bear a male heir to the throne like Henry wanted. (Tyle 881)

King Henry VIII made peace with France

Jan 1, 1514

Henry decided to make peace with France after much battling and his sister Mary married the French king. It helped him retrogress back into a peaceful state of mind and allowed him not to think about politics or war. This political security gave Henry some time to think about life and not war all the time. (Canning 390)

Spanish conquered Mexico

Jan 1, 1521

Hernando Cortez brought 550 soldiers by boat and defeated the Aztec Empire and their leader, Moctezuma II. This paved the way for more violence and conquering by more conquistadors. Eventually the Aztecs were totally wiped out from diseases brought over to South America from the Spanish and they took over all of their land and money.
(www.endmemo.com and www.mexconnect.com)

Mughal Empire founded in India

Jan 1, 1526

The Mughals conquered India and started their own empire which allowed India to flourish in the arts, architecture and language. Babur was their first leader and set forth some generations of rulers of the Mughal Empire. The Mughals would eventually lead a great vast empire controlling all of India and became an imposing threat to any other Asian force. (www.endmemo.com)

Incan Civil War

Jan 1, 1532

The Spanish conquistadors had waited strategically for the Incan civil war and attacked the Incans while they were weak and busy with their own problems. Francisco Pizzaro finished the Incans off violently and settlements led to vast plagues. Eventually, after the Incas fell, all of South America had become Spanish land and missionaries tried to convert the rest of the people residing there who weren't diseased. (www.endmemo.com)

King Henry VIII divorces Catherine and marries Anne Boleyn

Jan 25, 1533

King Henry VIII divorces his first wife and marries a second one, Anne Boleyn. He tried to make a divorce happen without the proper consent of the papacy in Rome. This gave him a cunning quality to do any desperate thing to have a male heir. This would later affect his decision of breaking away from the Church of Rome and starting a new Church of England.
(Tyle 882)

King Henry VIII broke with Church of Rome

Jan 1, 1534

King Henry VIII breaks away from the Church of Rome yet still continues religious practices initially. This is a sign of frustration from Henry, making him angry at the Church for the divorce case. Henry later passes the Act of Supremacy which states him as the head of the Church of England and separate from the pope and the Church of Rome. (Tyle 882)

King Henry VIII rejected all religious ideas

Jan 1, 1538

King Henry VIII rejected all religious ideas and theology in politics. This was a last sign of hatred of the Church of Rome and the papacy. This aggressiveness gets Henry into much trouble with wars and politics.
(Canning 387)

King Henry VIII faces a French invasion

Jan 1, 1545

King Henry VIII faced a strong French invasion of the Isle of Wight alone and fended them off. This attack proved abortive, and peace between England and France was made later. This was Henry VIII's last stand and he was not going down without a fight though he later dies after peace is made another time. (Canning 386)

King Henry VIII makes final peace with France

Jan 1, 1546

King Henry VIII makes peace with France one last time before his death and gives his descendants some comfort with the French. He is a sense of boldness with decisions of treaties because he has faced an entire invasion alone. This shows that Henry is an understanding man and is willing to make peace with an enemy twice for the safety of his people. (Canning 388)

King Henry VIII dies

Jan 28, 1547

King Henry VIII creates a great legacy to be followed by his offspring. He would be a good and role model for his future generations of the Tudor family. He had contributed greatly in changes of marriage annulments, European economic problems, English naval issues and separation from the Church of Rome. (Canning 392)