History of England  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Revision as of 14:35, 20 February 2010

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This timeline outlines the main events in English history.

To AD 999

• 55 BC Julius Caesar makes first visit to England
• 54 BC Julius Caesar makes second visit to England
• 43 Roman invasion ordered by Claudius, who dispatched Aulus Plautius and an army of some 40,000 men.
• 60 Revolt against the Roman occupation, led by Boudica of the Iceni, begins.
• c.122 Construction of Hadrian's Wall begins
• c.383 Beginning of Roman withdrawal
• 410 Last Roman leaves
• 449 Hengest, Saxon leader, arrives in England
• c.466 Battle of Wippedesfleot
• 597 Arrival of St. Augustine
• 793 Viking raid on Lindisfarne
• 878 Battle of Ethandun, defeat of Viking forces, results in the Treaty of Wedmore and the establishment of the Danelaw
• 895 Danish fleet captured by Alfred the Great

11th Century

• 1035 Death of Cnut
• 1040 Death of Harold Harefoot, his brother Harthacnut accedes to the English throne
• 1042 Death of Harthacnut, Edward the Confessor accedes to the English throne
• 1066 Death of Edward the Confessor in January, Harold II accedes to the English throne. Norman invasion and conquest of England, Harold II is killed and William the Conqueror becomes King of England
• 1086 Work commences on the Domesday Book
• 1087 Death of William the Conqueror
• 1093 Death of Malcolm III of Scotland in battle against the English
• 1100 Death of William II, Henry I accedes to the throne of England

12th Century

• 1135 Death of Henry I, accession of King Stephen to English throne
• 1137 Beginning of a civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda over the succession to the English throne
• 1154 Death of King Stephen, accession of Henry II to English throne
• 1164 Constitutions of Clarendon, a set of laws which governs the trial of members of the Church in England
• 1170 Assassination of Thomas a Becket
• 1189 Death of Henry II, Richard I accedes to the English throne.
• 1192 Richard is captured by Duke Leopold of Austria whilst returning from the Crusades
• 1194 Richard is ransomed and returns to England; accession of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth to the throne of Gwynedd
• 1199 Death of Richard I, King John accedes to the English throne

13th Century

• 1209 King John excommunicated by Pope Innocent III
• 1215 Signing of the Magna Carta
• 1216 Death of King John, Henry III accedes to the throne of England
• 1237 Border between Scotland and England established by the Treaty of York
• 1264 Simon de Montfort leads rebel English barons to defeat Henry III at the Battle of Lewes
• 1267 Henry III recognises the authority of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in Wales
• 1272 Death of Henry III, Edward I accedes to the English throne
• 1277 England annexes Wales, a state of affairs which lasted until 1283
• 1279 Statute of Mortmain
• 1282 Death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, prince of Wales; Dafydd ap Gruffudd accedes to the throne of Gwynedd
• 1283 Death of Dafydd ap Gruffudd; English conquest of Wales
• 1287 Revolt of Rhys ap Maredudd in Wales
• 1294 Revolt of Madog ap Llywelyn in Wales
• 1297 William Wallace and the Scots defeat the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge

14th Century

• 1305 Capture and execution of Scottish resistance fighter William Wallace by the English on a charge of treason
• 1307 Death of Edward I, Edward II accedes to the English throne
• 1314 Decisive victory for Scotland over England at the Battle of Bannockburn
• 1327 Edward III usurps the English throne in January, Edward II is killed in September
• 1328 England recognises Scotland's independence in the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton
• 1338 Edward III claims the throne of France, initiating the Hundred Years' War
• 1348 The Black Death first arrives in England and ultimately kills c. one third of the population
• 1356 Battle of Poitiers
• 1377 Death of Edward III, his Grandson Richard II accedes to the English throne
• 1381 Peasants' Revolt of 1381
• 1392 Great Act of Praemunire
• 1399 Henry Bolingbroke usurps the English throne becoming Henry IV

15th Century

• 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury
• 1413 Death of Henry IV, Henry V accedes to the throne
• 1415 Battle of Agincourt
• 1422 Death of Henry V, Henry VI accedes to the English and French thrones
• 1461 Edward IV usurps the English throne, Henry VI continues his fight
• 1470 Henry VI is restored to his throne in October
• 1471 Henry VI is murdered and Edward IV is restored to the English throne
• 1483 Death of Edward IV, Edward V accedes to the throne. However, in June Edward V is declared illegitimate and disappears. Richard III accedes to the throne
• 1485 The Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22 ends the Yorkist reign of Richard III and ushers in Tudor reign, with the reign of Henry VII.
• 1487 The Battle of Stoke is fought between Henry VII and Lambert Simnel a Yorkist claimant to the throne. It is the last battle of the Wars of the Roses

16th Century

• 1509 Henry VIII crowned and married to Catherine of Aragon
• 1513 James IV and thousands of Scots killed in defeat by English at Flodden.
• 1521 Lutheran writings begin to circulate.
• 1525 Henry VIII seeks an annulment of his marriage, which is refused.
• 1526 Cardinal Wolsey orders the burning of Lutheran books.
• 1529 Henry VIII severs ties with Rome and declares himself head of the English church.
• 1534 Act of Supremacy passed by Henry VIII
• 1534 Treasons Act 1534
• 1535 Execution of Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher.
• 1536 Execution of William Tindale in Antwerp
• 1547 Edward VI crowned King
• 1549 Prayer Book rebellion in south-west.
• 1553 Act Against Sectaries 1553
• 1558 Queen Elizabeth I accedes to the throne
• 1559 Act of Supremacy 1559
• 1571 Treasons Act 1571
• 1571 Act Prohibiting Papal Bulls from Rome 1571
• 1587 Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire on February 8
• 1588 Spanish Armada destroyed on August 8
• 1593 Act Against Papists 1593

17th Century

• 1603 Death of Queen Elizabeth I on March 24
• 1603 James VI of Scotland crowned King of England (as James I of England)
• 1603 Plague
• 1605 OnNovember 5, the Gunpowder plot is uncovered, in which Guy Fawkes and other catholic associates attempted to blow up the king, James VI and I and the Parliament of England.
• 1618 Execution of Sir Walter Raleigh
• 1625 Death of James VI and I on March 27
• 1639 War with Scotland until 1640 in what become known as the Bishops' Wars
• 1640 The Long Parliament summoned.
• 1642 English Civil War begins (see Timeline of the English Civil War)
• 1666 The Great Fire of London ravages the city from September 2 - September 6.
• 1688 The Glorious Revolution replaces James II with William III

18th century

• 1701 Act of Settlement 1701 requires the monarch to be Protestant
• 1702 King William III dies on March 19 and is succeeded by his sister-in-law Queen Anne.
• 1704 Gibraltar captured on August 4 by the combined Dutch and British fleet under the command of Admiral George Rooke
• 1704 An English and Dutch army under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeats the army of Louis XIV of France at Battle of Blenheim in Bavaria
• 1706 The Treaty of Union is agreed, on July 22, between representatives of England's and Scotland's parliamemts
• 1707 Acts of Union are passed by the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland to ratify Treaty of Union.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain comes into being on May 1, 1707.

• 1714 Queen Anne dies and is succeeded by King George I; start of the Hanoverian dynasty
• 1719 Attempted Spanish invasion in support of Jacobites - fleet sailing for England dispersed by storms, troops land in Scotland, defeated at Battle of Glen Shiel
• 1744 large-scale French invasion attempt on southern England with Charles Edward Stuart stopped by storms, France declares war
• 1755 Dr Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary of the English Language