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1533
Birth of Queen Elizabeth |
Elizabeth | was born to Henry V||| and Anne Boleyn in Greenwich, England on September 7. Henry's first wife was Catherine of Aragon who gave him Mary |. Catherine had become ill and wasn't able to produce children, so Henry married Boleyn in 1533. Henry ordered for her execution in 1536 because she couldn't provide him a son. Henry then married Jane Seymour and together they had Edward V|, who would be his father's heir. Henry V||| married three more times but had no more children(Greenblatt). -
1536
Founding of Buenos Aires
Pedro de Mendoza brought 1,600 men with him to the banks of the Salado River in South America. After 4 years of struggling with little food, the inhabitants retreat to Asunción and Mendoza passes away. People moved back 40 years later and it eventually became the capital of Argentina(Grun 239) -
1554
Mary | Imprisons Elizabeth |
Elizabeth |'s sister, Mary |, took the throne after Edward V|'s death in 1553. Mary was Roman Catholic, unlike her Protestant half siblings. She thought that Elizabeth | was trying to take the throne from her and turn England back into a Protestant country, so she put her in prison in the Bell Tower at the Tower of England on March 18. She was released on May 19 and put under house arrest(Farmer 71) -
1556
Shaanxi Earthquake
An earthquake hit Shaanxi, China at a magnitude of about 8.0. Shaanxi was a highly populated area at the time with poorly constructed buildings. These factors and the occurrence of landslides led to the death of 830,000 people, making it the deadliest earthquake ever(Grun 245). -
1558
From Prisoner to Queen
Mary | dies and Elizabeth, being the last of Henry V|||'s children, is next in line for the throne. She is released from jail and becomes the queen at 25 years old. Many didn't believe she should become queen because her marriage to Henry V||| was illegitimate due to the fact that it occurred while Henry V||| was still married to Catherine of Aragon(Felder 59). -
1559
Act of Supremacy and Act of Unity
One of the first things Elizabeth did in her reign was call for the passage of the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Unity. The Act of Supremacy re-established the church of England because England was converted to be Protestant under Mary |'s rule. The Act of Unity created a common prayer book for the church of England. These acts organized some of the religious chaos at the time(biography.com editors). -
1564
Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles is the first book to be printed in Russia. The book is about Jesus' apostles spreading his message after he is resurrected and is said to be written about 1,500 years before its printing. Russia was one of the first countries to print books and it was one of their first technological advances(Grun 248). -
1568
Imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots, is Elizabeth |'s cousin and some believed she was the rightful owner of the throne. She attempted to kill Elizabeth several times and started rebellions against her. She was imprisoned at Carlisle Castle and Bolton Castle until her execution on February 8, 1587(biography.com editors). -
1570
Regnans in Excelsis
Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth from the Catholic Church for not accepting their religious works and articles in the Regnans in Excelis. The pope thought that England's leader should be Catholic. People were also forbidden from obeying Elizabeth | in the document. Luckily for her, most people were loyal to her and not the church(biography.com editors). -
1576
First Theatre in London
James Burbage finishes building the Great Theatre after a year. The theatre began theatrical entertainment in London. Many of Shakespeare's plays were performed here until its closing in 1597.(Grun 254). -
Patent for Virginia Voyage Given
Elizabeth | gave a patent to Sir Walter Raleigh to sail to the Americas. English ships landed in the New World for the first time in July and Raleigh named the land "Virginia". He does this in honor of "The Virgin Queen", Elizabeth |. The first attempt at a colony was completely wiped out in just a few years but it gave the English hope that founding a colony was possible. -
Spanish Armada Launched and Defeated
Phillip || of Spain launched the his Armada to dethrone Elizabeth | and convert England back to Roman Catholic. Phillip || had been married to Mary | until her death and at first, had a good relationship with Elizabeth |. He even proposed to her before she encouraged English pirates to plunder Spanish ships and supported people rebelling against him in the Netherlands. The attack included 130 vessels and 22,000 soldiers. The English defeated them in 8 days so Elizabeth kept the throne(Felder 59) -
Mysterium Cosmographicum
Johannes Kepler develops his mysterium cosmographicum theory. He discovers that the ratios among the planets' orbits could match the ratio among the spheres' radii. This set up the discovery of 5 new solids and that orbits of planets are ellipses, not circles(Grun 265). -
Shakespeare Writes Hamlet
William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous playwright of all time and Hamlet is arguably his most famous play. The play is about the son of a dead king ,named Hamlet, figuring out the cause of his father's death. The play was first performed in 1607 on a ship but later performed in actual theaters(Grun 267). -
Golden Speech
The Golden Speech is the most famous of Queen Elizabeth |'s speeches. She reflects on her long reign in front of the Speaker and 140 members of the Commons, as she knows her reign and life are coming to an end. It is a farewell speech where she thanks Parliament, instead of talking about financial issues like she was supposed to(biography.com editors) -
Queen Elizabeth |'s Death
Elizabeth | dies of natural causes at Richmond Palace in Surrey, England on March 24. She passes the throne on to her cousin, James V|, the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. Her death ends the Tudor rule and begins the Stuart dynasty(Greenblatt).
