Letteratura inglese II - Timeline English History

The Great Civil War and Its Aftermath

1642-1649: The Great Civil War

Charles I (Stuart; Anglican) was captured. Queen Henrietta Maria and Charles, Prince of Wales, escaped to France in 1642.

In 1649, Charles I was beheaded, marking the end of his reign.

1649-1660: The Commonwealth and the Interregnum

The Interregnum period began in 1649, with the establishment of the Commonwealth.

In 1653, Oliver Cromwell (Puritan) became the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.

Following Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658, his son Richard attempted to succeed him.

The Restoration occurred in 1660, when Charles II (Anglican) returned from France to take the throne.

1681-1688: Shifts in Power

From 1681 to 1685, Parliament did not meet, and the Court held power.

In 1685, Charles died and his brother James II (Roman Catholic) succeeded him, raising the threat of "popery."

The birth of James, Prince of Wales, indicated that the crown would pass to a Roman Catholic, rather than to the King's Anglican siblings.

1688: The Glorious Revolution

The Glorious Revolution, a bloodless event, occurred when James fled to France and was deposed. His daughter Mary and her husband William, Prince of Orange, were invited by Parliament to share the crown. Executive power was lodged with William, shifting the balance of power finally from Court to Parliament.

For 100 years, until the death of Bonnie Prince Charlie, England faced the threat of an invasion from France that would restore Stuart (Jacobite), and thus Roman Catholic, rule.

Jacobite risings occurred twice during this period, in 1715 and 1745.

1694-1715: Dynastic Changes and Rebellions

Mary died in 1694, leaving William III as the sole ruler.

James II died in France. The Act of Settlement directed succession, should Anne die childless, to the Protestant House of Hanover—unless "the Old Pretender," James (son of James II), or later, Bonnie Prince Charlie, "the Young Pretender," would abjure Roman Catholicism.

In 1702, William died, and Anne (Mary's Anglican sister) succeeded.

1707-1721: Union and Political Developments

The Act of Union between Scotland and England was established in 1707.

The War of the Spanish Succession occurred from 1702 to 1713, ending with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713.

Anne died in 1714, leading to a dynastic crisis. George I of Hanover succeeded unopposed.

The Jacobite rebellion of 1715 was in support of the Stuart claim to the throne.

Charles Edward Stuart, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the Young Pretender, was born in France in 1720 to James, the Old Pretender.

1721-1763: Political and Industrial Changes

The South Sea Bubble burst, leading to economic turmoil, and Robert Walpole became Prime Minister from 1721 to 1724.

George I died in 1727, and George II was crowned.

In 1733, John Kay invented the flying shuttle, revolutionizing the textile industry.

In 1745, another Jacobite rising occurred in support of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The Anglo-French war began in North America in 1754.

1755-1764: Natural Disasters and Technological Advances

The Lisbon earthquake occurred in 1755.

The Seven Years' War spanned from 1756 to 1763. In 1757, Clive captured India from the French.

The first threshing machine was invented in 1758.

The British Museum opened in 1759.

George II died in 1760, and his grandson was crowned George III. The French surrendered Montreal to the British the same year.

Wedgwood opened pottery works, and the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven Years' War in 1763. France ceded Canada and the Mississippi Valley to Britain.

In 1764, James Hargreaves was instrumental in the development of the spinning jenny, further advancing the textile industry.