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Sep 7, 1533
Birth of Elizabeth Tudor
Elizabeth Tudor is born at the Greenwich Palace in England on September 7th, 1533. King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, were Elizabeth's parents. At the time she was the princess of England (Howell 565). -
Dec 16, 1533
Francisco Pizarro and the Incan Empire in Peru
The Incan Empire was taken over by Francisco Pizarro in 1533. Because there was a problem among the Incas, it allowed Pizarro to take over the empire and claim it for Spain. This was significant because it later brought many riches and goods from the Incas to Spain, which showed a growth in the economy (Banks 154). -
May 16, 1535
Jacques Cartier's Second Voyage
Jacques Cartier's second voyage, sent by King Francis I of France, was to find the St. Lawrence River. They found out that the North West Passage never existed, but the significance of this event was that they actually did find the St. Lawrence River and Montreal. His voyages in general helped explore Canada for France (cbc.ca 1) -
May 19, 1536
Elizabeth I's Mother was Beheaded
Elizabeth I's mother, Anne Boleyn, was ordered to be beheaded only because she did not produce a male heir. Boleyn was beheaded because she was falsely charged with "incest and adultery" (elizabethi.org 1)and because of that, Elizabeth and her sister, Mary, were thought to be illegitimate. This was significant because many people believed that she had no right to the throne, which caused some problems later on (elizabethi.org 1). -
Dec 16, 1543
Nicolaus Copernicus and His Heliocentric Theory
Nicolaus Copernicus came up with his Heliocentric Theory, which stated that the sun was the center of the universe, and published his book, "Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies." This is significant because it challenged the Geocentric Theory (the earth is the center of the universe) and Aristotle's ideas. It was starting to question the church and was the beginning to the Scientific Revolution (Leveillee 1). -
Mar 18, 1554
Wyatt's Rebellion and Imprisonment in the Tower of London
Elizabeth I participated in the Wyatt's Rebellion, which took place in 1554, because she wanted to overthrow her sister, Queen Mary of England, before she could restore Roman Catholicism back in England, since Elizabeth I was Protestant. This was significant because it shows how Elizabeth had a strong belief strong part Protestant because Elizabeth was caught trying to help the Protestants, Queen Mary had locked her up in the Tower of London for two months (Eve 1). -
Jan 15, 1559
Elizabeth I Becomes Queen of England
When Queen Mary dies, Elizabeth I on January 15th, 1559, at the age of 25, is declared queen. This was very significant at the time because she had to deal with many problems, especially with religion and she did. Her ruling his often referred to as "The Golden Age." Mary was trying to restore Roman Catholic back into England and along the way, she had killed many Protestants. Elizabeth I had to then fix all those problems, which had included a war with Spain and French (Howell 565-68). -
Feb 24, 1559
Elizabeth I Refused to Marry King Philip II's and Many Other Rulers
Queen Elizabeth never excepted anybody's marriage proposal. This is significant because that way, she would never have to share her power with anybody or let other nations take over England. One reason the Spain attacked England was because she did not except King Philip II of Spain's proposal, which mean that he would not get to have power in England. She wanted to seem interested only because it kept other nations and their rulers from trying to engage war with England (Eding 43-45). -
May 8, 1559
Act of Supremacy and Uniform
Her ultimate goal for solving religious problems was to have a stable nation. The Act of Supremacy stated that Elizabeth became the "Supreme Governor of the Church of England" (elizabeth.org 1). The Act of Uniformity brought back the old prayer book and declared England a Protestant country once again. Elizabeth I had believed in religious tolerance and because of these events, they did achieve her goal and brought the people of England to an agreement (elizabethi.org 1). -
Dec 16, 1581
Galileo Galilei's Discovery of the Law of Pendulum
Galileo's Law of the Pendulum states that "each swing of the pendulum took exactly the same amount of time" (Beck 546). Aristotle's idea was that each swing would get slower and slower as time went by. The significance of this was that Galileo used science to prove Aristotle's idea wrong. -
Roanoke
Sir Walter Raleigh wanted to start a colony in Virginia. He got Queen Elizabeth I's permission to settle in Virginia and brought 108 men to start the colony. Even though the colony mysteriously disappears, it is still significant because it was the first attempt by the English to settle in North America (Banks 174). -
Defeat of the Spanish Armada
Spain and England were alliances under Mary, but when Elizabeth I declared England Protestant, it made Philip II of Spain furious. Spain declared war on England and the Spanish Armada was the most powerful navel force, but the English navel force ended up defeating them because they were more prepared and the weather conditions for the Spanish Armada was not good. This was significant because then England had the most powerful fleet and got rid of any future threats from Spain (Felder 58-61). -
Shakespeare Began to Write Literature
William Shakespeare was a writer that wrote over 37 plays. His writings were significant to the world because they introduced new style and emotions of writing. His literature also brought more than 1,000 new words to the English language. -
Elizabeth I Chartered the British East India Company
Elizabeth granted a Royal Charter to the British East India Company. This was a trade with Spain and Portugal, until the defeat to the Spanish Armada. Since then, England became the monopoly, along with the Dutch, and would get goods like cotton, silk, and especially spices from India.This event was significant because, not only did it boost the economy, it also led to England acquiring more land from India (Thomas 116) (Wild 1) (Dean 1). -
Essex Rebellion
Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, wanted to take control over the wine trade, but she said no, which made Essex insult the Queen in front of the whole council. The Essex was fired, so he did not have enough money to keep up with taxes. He decided that he should become the successor instead and held a rebellion to gain supporters, but he only got 200 soldiers. The significance was that the rebellion was immediately put down, which proves that Elizabeth I's government was strong (Eding 82-85). -
Death of Elizabeth I
The death of Queen Elizabeth I meant the death of the Golden Age. She was getting incredibly ill and was at the point that in which she could not even speak because of the soars in her throat. All the reforms she had made helped the economy, acquired more lands, and even influenced the arts in the Elizabethan Age. The new successor was James VI, which meant that it was the end of the Tudor line. She proved her father wrong and turned out to have a successful reign of 44 years (Eding 87-91).
