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Jan 1, 1485
The War of the Roses ends at the Battle of Bosworth. Henry Vll crowned king.
The beginning of the British Renaissance. -
Period: Jan 1, 1485 to
The British Renaissance
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May 2, 1497
John Cabot sails from Bristol aboard the 'Matthew' and discovers North America
The Matthew was a caravel sailed by John Cabot in 1497 from Bristol to North America, presumably Newfoundland. After a voyage which had got no further than Iceland, Cabot left again with only one vessel, the Matthew, a small ship (50 tons), but fast and able. The crew consisted of only 18 people. The Matthew departed either 2 May or 20 May 1497. -
Jan 1, 1509
Henry Vlll succeeds to the throne
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was king of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was lord, and later king, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. -
Apr 4, 1513
English defeat the Scots at the Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton ( Brainston Moor ) was a conflict between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. The battle was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey. -
Apr 4, 1534
Henry VIII forms the 'Church of England'. Henry is confirmed as 'Supreme Head of the Church of England 'following a parliamentary Act of Supremacy
The English Reformation was initially driven by the dynastic goals of Henry VIII, who, in his quest for a consort who would bear him a male heir, found it expedient to replace papal authority with the supremacy of the English crown. The early legislation focused primarily on questions of temporal and spiritual supremacy.This simultaneously removed the greatest centres of loyalty to the pope and created vested interests which made a powerful material incentive to support a separate Christian chur -
Apr 4, 1536
Act of Union joins England and Wales
The Act of Union with Wales came about between the years 1536 and 1543 as a result of a series of laws passed in the English Parliament. Wales had been under the control of the English Kings since the conquests of Edward I and had been ruled as a principality. The Act of Union, in reality a series of laws, meant that Wales was to be represented in English parliaments. It also meant that English, not Welsh, was to be the first language of the country. -
May 15, 1536
Destruction or closure of 560 monasteries and religious houses
After his divorce, Henry VIII needed to reduce the Church's power in England, find money to fund his fruitless and expensive wars against France and Scotland. Henry put Thomas Cromwell in charge of getting rid of the monasteries. Cromwell started by sending royal commissioners to all the monasteries in 1535 - 1536 to find out what exactly is going on and to report on what is happening inside the monasteries.The report stated that the monks and nuns are seriously breaking the rules they live by. -
Dec 26, 1542
Mary, Queen of Scots lays claim to the English throne
Mary, Queen of Scots ( December 1542 – 8 February 1587) -
Apr 4, 1558
Elizabeth I begins her 45 year reign
Elizabeth I of England (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was the Queen of England, Ireland, and nominal claimant to Queen of France from 17 November 1558 until she died in 1603. She has also been called The Virgin Queen or Good Queen Bess -
Apr 4, 1570
Sir Francis Drake sets sail for his first voyage to the West Indies
In 1570 and 1571, sir Francis Drake made successful trading voyages to the West Indies of which little is known. -
Christopher Marlowe writes Dido; Queen of Carthage
possibly with Thomas Nashe -
Queen Elizabeth I executes Mary, Queen of Scots
n October of 1586, Mary Queen of Scots was found guilty of complicity in the Babington Plot to overthrow the Queen. Elizabeth signed Mary's death warrant, and Walsingham and Burleigh rushed her execution through without waiting to hear more from Elizabeth. On February 8, 1587, stoically facing her death, Mary Queen of Scots was executed. -
C. Marlowe writes both parts of Tamburlaine
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The English defeat the Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada was a fleet assembled and dispatched by King Phillip II of Spain in attempt to invade England in 1588. His attempt was unsuccessful. Queen Elizabeth I of England held the defeat of the armada as one of her greatest achievements, assisting the decline of the Spanish Empire. The armada had a mission of both political and religious aims. -
C. Marlowe writes Dr Faustus
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First performance of a play by William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare strarts writing plays
Shakespeare in London. Has begun writing plays: Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, King John, Henry VI parts 1-3, Richard III written about this time
Shakespeare's Henry VI pts II and III -
Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors
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Shakespeare starts writing sonnets
Probably begins writing his sonnets
Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, The Taming of the Shrew probably written.
Shakespeare publishes his poem Venus and Adonis.
Performances of Shakespeare's Richard III The Two Gentlemen of Verona -
C. Marlowe writes Hero and Leander
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Shakepeare writes Romeo and Juliet
Writes Love's Labour's Lost and Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare publishes poem The Rape of Lucrece.
Leading member of Lord Chamberlain's Men -
Shakespeare's Hamlet
Shakespeare's As You Like It, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Henry V -
First British involvement in the Indian continent - East India Company formed.Population of Britain just over 4 million
English chartered company formed for trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated in 1600. It began as a monopolistic trading body, establishing early trading stations at Surat, Madras (now Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai), and Calcutta (Kolkata). Trade in spices was its original focus; this broadened to include cotton, silk, and other goods. -
James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England uniting the two kingdoms
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Guy Fawkes is thwarted when he tries to blow up Parliament.
Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was tortured and questioned about the other plotters. To start with he didn't tell the soldiers anything about the plot. But, eventually he started to tell the truth. -
The Gunpowder Plot
Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was tortured and questioned about the other plotters. To start with he didn't tell the soldiers anything about the plot. But, eventually he started to tell the truth. -
Shakespeare's Macbeth and Anthony and Cleopatra
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The Union Flag adopted as the National Flag
On 12 April 1606, the National Flags of Scotland and England were united for use at sea, thus making the first Union 'Jack'. Ashore however, the old flags of England and Scotland continued to be used by their respective countries. On 28th July, 1707, during the reign of Queen Anne, this flag was by royal proclamation made the National flag of Great Britain, for use ashore and afloat. -
John Donne's Divine Poems
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John Donne's First Anniversarie printed
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John Donne's Of the Progress of the Soul
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The Pilgrim Fathers set sail for New England from Plymouth, aboard the 'Mayflower'
Pilgrims (US), or Pilgrim Fathers (UK), is a name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Land was sighted on November 9, 1620. The passengers who had endured miserable conditions for about sixty-five days were led by William Brewster in Psalm 100 as a prayer of thanksgiving. -
John Donne's Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
