Important Tudor events
1485
The
War of the Roses
Two
branches of the royal family were fighting for thirty years over who was
to be king of England. The rivals were called the House of Lancaster who
had a red rose badge or emblem and the House of York which had a white
rose emblem. This war was called The War of the Roses.
Richard
III was the leader of the House of York and Henry was the leader of the
House of Lancaster.The last battle took place at Bosworth Field in 1485.
Henry defeated Richard and became King of England .
He married
Elizabeth of York to unite the two sides.The two houses were merged to
form an alliance with the Tudor rose as a symbol of unity. Henry VII became
the first Tudor king.
1492
Columbus
Discovers the West Indies
A man called Christopher Columbus
was convinced the world was round but most people thought it was flat and
ships would fall off the edge if they went too far. Columbus said that
he could sail to the Spice Islands by going round the world, westwards
instead of east. He set off in 1492 and landed on some islands. He thought
he had reached Asia but he had found America. He did not know that you
could sail westwards to Asia but America was in the way and you had to
go round it. He brought back gold, cotton plants and "Indians" to Portugal.
1497
John Cabot reaches Nova
Scotia, North America.
1508 -
1553
Henry
VIII
1520
The Field Of the Cloth of
Gold
In 1520 a grand meeting was
arranged between Henry VIII and Francis I, king of France, to make peace.
It took place near Calais, and was called "The Field of the Cloth of Gold"
because of all the rich materials used for the tents and decorations. Both
kings were in competition to look the best and have the best things. They
became friends for three years but later were at war again.
1533
The Break With Rome
Henry wanted to divorce his
Spanish wife, Catherine of Aragon, and marry Anne Boleyn. So he sent Wolsey
to Rome to ask the pope for permission. The pope said no because he didn't
want to upset Charles V of Spain. This made Henry angry he divorced Catherine
anyway and made himself the head of the Church of England breaking off
all connections to Rome.
1539
The end of the monasteries
Henry was bankrupt and needed
to find money. He ordered Thomas Cromwell to shut down all of the monasteries
and take their land and wealth. Parliament passed an act "dissolving" or
getting rid of the monasteries. They sent the priests away, seized the
money and treasures and destroyed the buildings.
1547-1553
Edward
VI
When Henry died in 1547 his
nine year old son became king of England.
1553-1558
Mary
I
Mary I was a Catholic and she
tried to bring back the Catholic religion but she died in 1554.
1558-1603
Elizabeth
I
During the reign of Elizabeth
England became greater than it had ever been before.
1580
Drake
completes his voyage around the world in the Golden Hind.
1587
Execution
of Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Stuart was a cousin to
Elizabeth and a rival to the throne. Mary was queen of Scotland and catholics
thought she should be queen of England as well. There was a rebellion in
Scotland in 1567 and Mary fled to England. She became the centre of attempts
to kill Elizabeth. Elizabeth imprisoned her in England. A letter was found
that was about a plot to kill Elizabeth and make Mary queen. Mary was found
guilty of treason and executed at Fotheringay Castle in February 1987.
1588
The
Spanish Armada
England defeats a great
Spanish fleet and prevents an invasion.
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