Two centuries on one timeline

Historians study this period as one long story of change. Keep this timeline in your head — every screen fits somewhere on it.

Skill tip: knowing the order of events lets you explain why one thing led to another — that is what historians call causation.

Henry VIII breaks with Rome

Before the 1530s, England was a Catholic country and the Pope in Rome was head of the Church. Then Henry VIII wanted to end his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn — but the Pope refused to grant a divorce.

With help from his chief minister Thomas Cromwell, Henry made Parliament pass the Act of Supremacy (1534), making the monarch — not the Pope — Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Watch out — a common myth: people often say the Reformation "was just about a divorce". It was political (Henry wanted control and a male heir) and religious — many people genuinely wanted Church reform, and ideas from the European Reformation (Luther, the printing press, Bibles in English) were spreading fast.

Closing the monasteries

From 1536, Cromwell organised the dissolution of the monasteries — shutting down England's abbeys and convents and taking their land and wealth for the Crown.

• Religious reason: monasteries were seen by reformers as symbols of old Catholic practice.
• Political & money reason: they were hugely rich — their land made Henry far wealthier and rewarded loyal nobles.
• Consequence: monks and nuns lost their homes; the poor lost places that gave charity; some people rebelled (the Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536).

Causation in action: one event (the break with Rome) made the next possible (dissolution), which caused further consequences (rebellion, richer Crown). This chain is exactly how you should explain history.

Why the break with Rome?

Religion swings back and forth

When Henry died the country's religion changed with each new monarch — this is why the period felt so unstable:

• Edward VI (Protestant) pushed England further towards Protestantism.
• Mary I (Catholic) tried to return England to Rome — the Counter-Reformation — and had many Protestants executed, earning the nickname "Bloody Mary".
• Elizabeth I then had to find a way to calm a divided country.

Key idea: for ordinary people, changing your religion by law every few years was frightening and confusing. Religion and politics were completely tangled together.

Elizabeth's middle way — and the Spanish threat

Elizabeth I created the Religious Settlement: a Protestant Church of England, but with some familiar features, hoping most people could accept it. Still, conflict with Catholics continued — including plots involving Mary, Queen of Scots (Scotland) and war with Catholic Spain.

Also in this age England founded its first colony in America and made first contact with India — the beginnings of overseas trade and empire.

1588

Match the date to the event

Tap a date on the left, then tap the event it belongs to on the right.

Why did civil war break out?

By the 1640s, King Charles I and Parliament could not agree. Several causes built up until war broke out across Britain in 1642:

Bust a myth: the Civil War was king vs Parliament, not "rich vs poor". Both sides — Royalists (Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) — had rich and poor supporters. It was mainly about who should hold power and religion.

The trigger

A country with no king

Parliament's New Model Army, led by figures like Oliver Cromwell, won the wars (1642–51). In 1649 Charles I was put on trial and executed — an astonishing event, the first time a British king had been legally killed by his own people.

Britain then became a republic called the Commonwealth. This kingless period is called the Interregnum ("between reigns"). Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector — powerful, but never a king.

Careful: Oliver Cromwell (the Civil War general, 1600s) is a different person from Thomas Cromwell (Henry VIII's minister, 1500s). Same surname, different century.

Name the ruler

The monarchy returns

The republic did not last. After Oliver Cromwell died, many people wanted the monarchy back. In 1660, Charles I's son was invited to return as Charles II — this is the Restoration.

• Theatres reopened and culture flourished (some had been closed under Cromwell).
• But tension over religion did not disappear — especially the fear of a Catholic king returning.

Change vs continuity: the king was back, but Parliament had learned it could remove a monarch. Power was never quite the same again.

Parliament takes control

Charles II's brother, James II, was Catholic — and many feared he wanted absolute, Catholic royal power. In 1688, Parliament invited the Protestant William of Orange and Mary to take the throne. James fled. This near-bloodless change is called the Glorious Revolution.

In return, William and Mary agreed to the Bill of Rights (1689): the monarch could no longer rule without Parliament, raise taxes alone, or keep an army in peacetime without consent.

Bust a myth: the Glorious Revolution didn't make England a democracy — most people still couldn't vote. But it permanently shifted power to Parliament, creating a constitutional monarchy where the king rules with Parliament, not above it.

The result of 1688

England and Scotland join

England and Scotland had shared a monarch since 1603, but stayed separate countries. In 1707, the Act of Union joined the two parliaments into one — creating the Kingdom of Great Britain, governed from Westminster.

• Reasons included trade, security, and Scotland's financial problems.
• It was controversial — many Scots opposed losing their own parliament.

Consequence: "Britain" as a single political unit — the state whose Parliament now held real power — was taking the shape we still recognise today.

Put the events in order

Tap the events in the order they happened — earliest first.

Life across the period

It wasn't only kings and battles. Ordinary life changed too:

• Society: most people were poor and worked in farming; towns slowly grew.
• Religion & superstition: shaped daily life — including witch trials, when people were accused of witchcraft.
• Culture: a golden age of theatre (Shakespeare), plus new art, music and literature.
• Economy: growing overseas trade (America, India) began to change what people bought and ate.

Evidence skill: to know about ordinary lives, historians use sources — church records, diaries, court papers and objects. Always ask: who made this source, when, and why?

Using evidence

Name the union

Cause and consequence

Three myths to avoid

Spot the mistake

The dates to know

You've travelled from a Catholic England ruled by a strong king to a Protestant Britain where Parliament held real power. Press Finish to see your score.