THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE 1485 - 1620 Christopher Marlowe The Earl of Surrey John Donne William Shakespeare Thomas Wyatt

Main historical events 1485-1509 Henry VII is the first Tudor King The Tudor Rose: a combination of the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York

Main historical events 1492 Christopher Columbus arrives in the West Indies

Main historical events Henry VIII 1509-1547 Henry VIII’s reign Henry’s six wives Divorced – beheaded - died Divorced – beheaded - survived

Main historical events 1517 Martin Luther nails his “ 95 Theses” to the door of the cathedral in Wittenberg (Protestant Reform)

Main historical events 1534 With the Act of Supremacy Henry VIII declares himself Head of the Church of England

Main historical events 1547-1553 Edward VI’s reign 1549 The Book of the Common Prayer underlines the split with Rome by using English instead of Latin for the Liturgy

Main historical events 1553-1558 Mary Tudor’s reign. Counter-reformation. Persecution of the Protestants. 284 protestants were executed under Mary I Plaque in Maidstone, Kent, commemorating those burnt nearby Mary Tudor «Bloody Mary»

Main historical events 1558-1603 Elizabeth I’s reign (the Golden Age)

Main historical events 1559 Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity. The Church of England is restored. The Act of Supremacy confirmed Elizabeth as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity set the order of prayer to be used in the English Book of Common Prayer

Main historical events 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh reaches Virginia, in the West Indies (North America) The name Virginia was first applied by Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen) in 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh

Main historical events The scene of the execution 1587 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth’s cousin, is executed for treason. The scene of the execution Mary Stuart

Main historical events 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada The Spanish fleet sailed against England in 1588.  The defensive efforts of the English and their Dutch allies prevailed The Armada was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic

Main historical events 1599 The East India Company is chartered, signalling the beginning of trade on global scale. Queen Elizabeth I granted a company of over 200 merchants a monopoly of trade to the east of Cape of Good Hope. This first company laid the foundation of the British Empire

Main historical events The Stuarts (1603 – 1714) 1603-1625 James I’s reign. Beginning of the Stuart dynasty.

Main historical events 1605 The Gunpowder Plot It was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics The plan was to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England's Parliament on 5 November 1605  Prompted by the receipt of an anonymous letter, the authorities searched Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and found Guy Fawkes guarding the explosives. Part of a confession by Guy Fawkes. His weak signature, made soon after his torture, is faintly visible under the word "good" (lower right).

Main historical events 1620 The Pilgrim Fathers land in New England The Pilgrims held Calvinist religious beliefs and maintained that their congregations needed to be separated from the English state church.