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The barons rebelled against King John because of his by taxes and abuse of power, which ,led to the Magna Carta in 1215. This document regulated feudal obligations, limited the king’s authority by requiring him to seek advice, especially in taxes and protected individuals from imprisonment without trial. -
King Henry VIII broke with the Pope after his request to divorce Catherine of Aragon was refused, the Act of Supremacy made him head of the Church of England. He became one of England’s most famous and emblematic kings.
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Indulgences were strongly criticized by Protestants reformers, especially Martin Luther, a German Monk and professor of theology. In 1517, he published «The Ninety Five Theses», in which he criticize the Doctrine of Purgatory and the Indulgences, and in 1521, he was excommunicated and declared a heretic. -
Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church, by declaring himself head of the Church of England. The king rejected the Pope’s authority and created a separate national church under royal control thanks to the Act of Supremacy. -
In the late 13th century, King Edward I of England conquered Wales. Between 1536 and 1543, the Act of Union under Henry VIII extended English laws to Wales, gave it representation in the English Parliament, and made English the official language of courts and administration.
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Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Cathrine of Aragon, became queen at the age of 37. Married to the very Catholic Philip II of Spain, she restored Catholicism in England within 18 months and repealed the Protestant laws of her father and half-brother.
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Mary I forced Protestantism underground, executing over 200 Protestants by burning them at the stake between 1555 and 1558. Protestants who refused to recant and convert back to Catholicism were burned as « heretics » and because of that, she was called « Bloody Mary ».
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Before 1570, small secret Catholic communities in England were largely tolerated. But after they faced persecution because Protestantism had become linked with English patriotism, the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth I and several Catholic plots against the Queen emerged. -
Great Britain was heavily involved in it.
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The Union of the Crowns occurred under James I of England. In 1707, the parliament Union with Scotland, imposed by England during Queen Anne’s reign, created the United Kingdom of Great Britain. -
The Civil War happened between the Royalists (led by Charles I) and the Parliamentarians (led by y Oliver Cromwell). It was caused by Charles I illegal taxes, his ignorance of the Petition of Right and his governance without Parliament. This led to his Regicide in 1649.
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The Commonwealth of England was a Parliamentarian government created after the execution of Charles I. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector, and after his death in 1558, he was briefly succeeded by his son, before the Stuart Monarchy was restored in 1660.
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In 1655, the English instead Jamaica,which had previously been a Spanish colony. It was considered a strategic colony due to its location and importance in Caribbean trade. -
In 1660, the English monarchy was restored after the Republican period established by Oliver Cromwell. Charles I, ascended the throne, marking the end of the commonwealth and the return of the Stuart dynasty. -
James II didn’t listen to the Parliament’s protests. The Parliament invited his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange to overthrow James the II, in which they succeeded. It is a « bloodless » overthrown called The Glorious Revolution. -
The Bill of Rights limited the king’s powers, excluded Catholics from the throne and established Parliament’s supremacy. As a result, England became a constitutional monarchy, based on a social contract, serving as a model for other European countries. -
By 1783, the British Empire included colonie in North America and the West Indies, territories in the Pacific such as New Zealand, trading posts in India and naval bases in the Mediterranean like Gibraltar and Minorca. However Britain lost its Americans colonies following defeat in the American War of Independence. -
After several rebellions, including Wolfe Tone’s in 1798, the Anglo-Irish Union of 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Southern Ireland became independent in 1922, following the War of independence, while Northern Ireland remain part of the UK, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. -
Devolution in Northern Ireland was established by the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It created a 108 members Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast based on power-sharing between unionists and nationalists, bringing an end to the thirty years of sectarian violence known as the Troubles. -
Brexit divided the UK, with Scotland and Northern Ireland largely voting to rama in in the EU while England and Wales voted to live. This division has fueled political tensions and raised questions about the future unity of the country.