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Period: 1509 to 1547
King Henry VIII's reign
Son of Henry VII (the first King Tudor), Henry VIII reigned at the age of 17 in 1509 and died in 1547. Following the steps of his mother, Elizabeth York, he was a Catholic. Under his reign, there had been a division between the Church of Enlgand and the Roman Church, also known as Schism, which led to several issues. -
1517
The Ninety-Five Theses by Martin Luther
As a German monk professor of theology, Martin Luther protested against the sales of Indulgences. It is for this specific reason that he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. -
Period: 1517 to 1521
Lutheranism
During Lutheranism, those who followed the ideas of Martin Luther all believed that paying their way through good deeds wasn't the right way. But rather through the belief in God and through faith. Luther's Ninety-Five Theses text was spread all accross Europe. -
1521
The execution of Martin Luther.
Luther was later excommunicated by the Church in 1521. -
1532
Schism
The Schism was when the division between the Church of England and the Roman Church. This break with Roman was gradual but political matter as King Henry VIII didn't support Protestant ideas. Therefor by 1532, the Pope's power had transfered to the king, and in 1537, the English translated Bible was permissive in every Church. -
1534
The Act of Supremacy
The king was given the name of the 'Supreme Head of the Church of England'. -
1536
The Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace, known as the rebellions of Yorkishre and Lincolnshire who arrived as they were against the dissolution of monasteries and reforms.Unsatisfied, they demanded the restoration of the Pope and of Mary Tudor to the Royal Succession. The Pilgirmage of Grace was classified as the greatest rebellions faced by the king yet, and lasted about six months (1536-1537). -
Period: 1547 to 1553
Edward VI's reign
Son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward VI reigned at the age of 9 after the death of his father in 1547. As a Protestant, he pushed England towards Protestantism. However, his reign didn't last very long as he died when he was 15 years old in 1553 due to an illness, also known as tuberculosis. -
1549
The Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer was established in 1549 by Edward VI, replacing Latin services with English. In order to follow Protestantism, the Roman Catholic practices were eradicated and the marriage of clergy was not allowed. -
Period: 1553 to 1558
Mary I's (Tudor) reign
Daughter of henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, and married to King Philip II of Spain, Mary Tudor became Queen at the age of 37. During her reign, she was able to restore Catholicism in 18 months, anulling the Protestant legislation of her late brother, Edward VI. -
1555
"Bloody Mary"
The nickname "Bloody Mary" was given to the queen after she decided to confine Protestantism to secrecy where about 200 Protestants went to stake. Some of the Protestants ("Marian Exiles") were forced to flee to Switzerland where they were taught the teachings of Calvinism. -
1558
The death of Mary I
The queen's death in 1558, due to ilness, was greeted as she turned the nation against her to the point where her husband, Philip II, even declared "I feel a reasonable regret at her death”. But before dying on her death bed, she asked her heir, Elizabeth I, to swear that she would carry on with the Catholic reforms, to which she answered that she will "follow God's will". -
Period: 1558 to
Elizabeth I's reign
Born as the daughter of King Henry VIII and of Queen Ann Boleyn, Elizabeth I’s reign started after the death of her half sister, Mary I (Tudor). While Elizabeth I’s predecessor held Catholicism, she had a different way of ruling, introducing the Anglican compromise (Elizabethan Settlement), joining both Catholic and Protestant ideas together as she believed that it would help fill in the gap between the Catholics and Puritans. However, the conflicts between the two religions worsened. -
1559
The Act of Supremacy
The Act of Supremacy took place in 1559. It abolished the authority of the Pope and restored the authority of the Queen over the Church when the name of “Supreme Governor of the Church of England” was established to her. -
1559
Th Act of Uniformity
The Act of Uniformity was abolished during the same year as the Act of Supremacy. It demanded that every parish had to use the Book of Common Prayer and that those who didn’t attend the Anglican services were fined. -
1563
The 39 Articles of Faith
The 39 Articles of Faith was a doctrine that took place in 1563 and is still in use today. It stated three different and important changes such as a new ecclesiology, a new doctrine of Salvation and a new definition of sacraments and of the mass. -
The Babington Plot
During her years of ruling, the queen had to avoid several plots that were devised by some of the unsatisfied Catholics. There were at least 8 plots, also known as the Babington Plot in 1586, where it consisted of different ways of killing then replacing the current queen with Mary Stuart. However, these plans were later discovered by Francis Walsigham when he deciphered code letters between Mary and the Catholic subjetcs. -
The execution of Mary Stuart
It was in 1587 that the queen Mary Stuart was executed in Fotheringham Castle. Although she was guilty for plotting the murder of Queen Elizabeth I, this wasn't the only reason behind her death. Mary Stuart was considered a threat to the queen as she was her cousin, which meant she was her heir. In addition, Mary's closeness to Spain and France was a danger to the English kingdom and she was also seen as the legitimate heir to Catholics as she was their hope to restore Roman Catholicism. -
The Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada took place in 1588 as King Philip II supported some of the plots against the queen. Although he attempted to invade her country, this war led to the defeat of the Spanish Aramada. England came in victorious with the helpd of the Dutch revolt against Spain that Queen Elizabeth I supported and with some material and human advantages. -
Empire in Asia
In 1600, East India Company was founded and began to build trading posts in the country where the main ones were settled in Bombay, Calicut and Madras. The company allowed England to control the trade of spices, cotton, silk and tea from India and China, which were considered as luxury goods. -
Period: to
James I's reign
Not only did James I reign Soctland, but he was also King of Enlgand in 1603 after the death of his mother Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Both Catholics and Puritans hoped they would have an easier time under James I's rule than Elizabeth's. -
The Gunpowder Plot
When James I became King of Enlgand, Catholics placed high hopes in him as he was the son of a Catholic woman. However, the king held Calvinist visions (Protestant) and continued Elizabeth's harsh repressive laws which meant that the Catholics remained unsatisfied. It is for this reason that the Gunpowder Plot was held on November 5th 1605 by Guy Fawkes. It was devised by some of the Catholics who attempted to assasinate the king and destroy the Parliament. -
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Slavery and Empire
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The Starving Time
After the establishment of Jamestown in 1607, between 1609 and 1610, a period of starvation took place where only 60 out of 500 colonists survived due to shortage of drinkable water, the insufficient growth of crops and the conflicts with the Native Powhatan tribe. However, John Rolfe discovered tobacco and learnt Indian techniques of cultivation from his wife. The discovery saved Jamestown as the first brand of tobacco was successfully sold in England in 1614. -
Financial issues
The Thirty Years' War occured between 1618 and 1648 when England was at war with Spain and France. However, this war had several consequences such as financial problems. As the Parliament threatened to impeach Lord Buckingham because of their distrust in him, the King dissolved the Parliament to protect his advisor by collecting custom duties and resorting to forced loans. Those who refused to pay were imprisoned. Complaints were then raised. -
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Charles I's reign
After King James I reign, Charles I took over and became king. He married the French princess Henrietta Marua who was a catholic and absolutist. King Charles I favoured the Armanians who happened to be a minority of the Anglicans. They were known to be Protestants but closer to Catholic beliefs. The Crown wished to restore traditional ceremoonies and increase the authority of bishops as well as the clergy's. -
The Personal Rule
The "Personal Rule" or "the Eleven Years yranny", began when the king ruled the kingdom without a Parliament for 11 years. Shortly after the king was suspected to support Arminians, Archbishop Laud wished to impose uniformity in Church practice (importance of the sacraments, bowing at the name of Jesus, sign of the cross...). This led many Protestants to fear that it was a sign of return to Catholicism. -
The Scottish Crisis
The Scottish crisis (1637-1640) took place when Charles I, who ruled England and Scotland, attempted to impose the Book Of Common Prayer to the Church of Scotland, leading to a widespread in the country. As many of the Scots signed the "Scottish National Convenant" in 1633 expressing their discontentment, The Bishops' War began. By 1640, the king called upon the Parliament for the first time in 11 years in need of help. But the Scots invaded England and became victorious. -
The First Civil War
The First Civil War took place in 1642 when two sides with complete different beliefs opposed each other. The Royalists ("Cavaliers") believed in the Divine Right of Kings while the Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") believed that the Parliament should make the laws. However the Parliamentarians became victorious. -
The Second Civil War
The Second Civil War began in various parts of England and Scotland. However, under Cornwell's leadership, the Parliament suppressed the Royalist uprisings by Jnauray 1648. The King was put on trial for high treason and on March 30th 1649, he was executed. -
The Commonwealth
In 1649, England was declared as a Commonwealth and ruled as a Republic. During that time, Charles II was proclaimed King of Scotland. He raised a Scottish Army to invade England once again but the Irish Rebellion, led by Catholics, was defeated by Oliver Cromwell of England. After the war, Cromwell decided to forbid Catholicism, arrest Irish priests and confiscate the lands of the Irish Catholics. In 1653, Cromwell dissolved the Rump. By December, The Commonwealth ended. -
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The Interregnum
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The transatlantic slave trade
After the discovery of tobacco, the setllers of Virginia needed cheap labour in the intensive agriculture which slowly developped slavery and was soon followed by other colonies. Enslaved Africans were traded with goods between North America, Britain and Europe by ships, also known as the "Middle Passage", which took at best 6 weeks. With time, slavery grew faster between the 17th and 18th century and was established by law in the Thirteen colonies. -
The Cromwellian Protectorate
The Protectorate was a military dictatorship when Cromwell became Lord Protector as he owned power to control and rule the monarchy. During his rule, England won in a war against Catholic Spain. However, Cromwell's rule ended with his death in 1658, as his son Richard took his place but shortly after that, he resigned. There were about 7 governments in less than a year which led people to support the return of monarchy. -
The Early restoration
When the restoration of the monarchy worked, the poeple who had signed Charles I's death warrnt were executed and Cromwell's corspe was dismembered. On a spike, his had remained in Westminster for 25 years. In addition, the parliament became a permanent institution representing the people and the King was a royal prerogative. -
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The last Stuarts and the Glorious Revolution
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Restoration of monarchy
In 1660, King Charles II issued the Decleration of Breda in order to restore monarchy as it contained several promises such as a general amnesty, the continuity of religious toleration and to share power with the Parliament. -
The Great Plague
The Great Plague in 1665 was a major outbreak in England when there was a widespread of a disease that was believed to be trasnmitted by fleas that infested rats. The disease first began in China that spread all across Europe through trades. The English population was affected by the pandemic as the victims, mostly the poor, died catching the ilness as they couldn't afford any treatment. On the other hand, the rich such as the King, the Parliament and doctors fled the city. -
The Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was held by the French when they organised the murder of King Charles II and replace him by his Catholic brother James II. However, they feared that James II would implement pro-Catholic politics and restore absolute monarchy which would be a threat to the Parliament.
In 1681, Charles II died and was then succeeded by his brother. -
Period: to
Political crisis
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The Glorious Revolution
In 1688, the King's son in law, William of Orange, invaded England with 15 000 men and didn't meet any resistance. William disintegrated James II's army and arrested the officers when he fled to France. William became King William III of England. -
Global Wars in the Atlantic World
Between 1710 and 1763, Britain had gained several territories over countries such as French and Spain. However, in the years 1775 and 1783, the nation lost a massive amount of its empire in the American War of Independance, which marked the end of the "First British Empire". -
Period: to
The Georgian Britain
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The Jacobitism
The Jacobites were the ones who were loyal to the Stuarts. The Jacobite Rising in 1715 was led by the "Old pretender" James Francis Edward Stuart who was the son of James II. The second Jacobite Rising was in 1745 when it was led by the "Young Pretender" Bonnie Prince Charlie who was the grandson of James II. But in 1746, held the final defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden. -
The American Revolution
Throughout the years, there had been the American Revolutionary War where the independence was declared in 1776 with the grievances agaisnt George III. In 1783, thanks to the Treaty of Paris, Britain recognized the independence of the United States. -
The Outbreak of the French Revolution
During the French Revolution, Britain was at war with France as they were combatting revolutionary ideology as well as maritime, colonial and economic motives between 1793 and 1802. -
The Irish Rebellion
In 1798, the Irish Rebellion opposed against British rule in Ireland as they were influenced by the ideas of the American and French Revolutions.