Timeline 1500 - 1750
| 1509 | Henry VIII, becomes king. |
| 1513 | Battle of Flodden Field (fought at Flodden Edge, Northumberland) in which invading Scots are defeated by the English under their commander, 70 year old Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey; James IV of Scotland is killed. |
| 1529 | Henry VIII dismisses Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey for failing to obtain the Pope's consent to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon; Sir Thomas More appointed Lord Chancellor; Henry VIII summons the "Reformation Parliament" and begins to cut the ties with the Church of Rome |
| 1533 | Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn and is excommunicated by Pope Clement VII; Thomas Cranmer appointed Archbishop of Canterbury |
| 1534 | Act of Supremacy: Henry VIII declared supreme head of the Church of England |
| 1536 | Anne Boleyn is beheaded; Henry VIII marries Jane Seymour; dissolution of monasteries in England begins under the direction of Thomas Cromwell, completed in 1539. |
| 1537 | Jane Seymour dies after the birth of a son, the future Edward VI |
| 1540 | Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves following negotiations by Thomas Cromwell; Henry divorces Anne of Cleves and marries Catherine Howard; Thomas Cromwell executed on charge of treason |
| 1542 | Catherine Howard is executed |
| 1543 | Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr; alliance between Henry and Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) against Scotland and France |
| 1544 | Henry VIII and Charles V invade France |
| 1547 | Edward VI, King of England: Duke of Somerset acts as Protector |
| 1553 | On death of Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey proclaimed queen of England by Duke of Northumberland, her reign lasts nine days; Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Queen of England (to 1558); Restoration of Roman Catholic bishops in England |
| 1554 | Execution of Lady Jane Grey |
| 1555 | England returns to Roman Catholicism: Protestants are persecuted and about 300, including Cranmer, are burned at the stake |
| 1558 | England loses Calais, last English possession in France; Death of Mary I; Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, becomes Queen; Repeal of Catholic legislation in England |
| 1560 | Treaty of Berwick between Elizabeth I and Scottish reformers; Treaty of Edinburgh among England, France, and Scotland |
| 1567 | Murder of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, probably by Earl of Bothwell; Mary Queen of Scots marries Bothwell, is imprisoned, and forced to abdicate; James VI, King of Scotland |
| 1568 | Mary Queen of Scots escapes to England and is imprisoned by Elizabeth I at Fotheringay Castle |
| 1587 | Execution of Mary Queen of Scots; England at war with Spain; Drake destroys Spanish fleet at Cadiz |
| 1588 | The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English fleet under Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins: war between Spain and England continues until 1603 |
| 1603 | Elizabeth dies; James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England |
| 1605 | Gunpowder Plot; Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators fail in attempt to blow up Parliament and James I. |
| 1624 | Alliance between James I and France; Parliament votes for war against Spain; Virginia becomes crown colony |
| 1625 | Charles I, King of England (to 1649); Charles I marries Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII of France; dissolves Parliament which fails to vote him money |
| 1630 | England makes peace with France and Spain |
| 1646 | Charles I surrenders to the Scots |
| 1647 | Scots surrender Charles I to Parliament; he escapes to the Isle of Wright; makes secret treaty with Scots. |
| 1648 | Scots invade England and are defeated by Cromwell at battle of Preston Pride's Purge: Presbyterians expelled from Parliament (known as the Rump Parliament); Treaty of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War |
| 1649 | Charles I is tried and executed; The Commonwealth, in which ; England is governed as a republic, is established and lasts until 1660; Cromwell harshly suppresses Catholic rebellions in Ireland |
| 1650 | Charles II lands in Scotland; is proclaimed king. |
| 1651 | Charles II invades England and is defeated at Battle of Worcester; Charles escapes to France; First Navigation Act, England gains virtual monopoly of foreign trade |
| 1656 | War with Spain (until 1659) |
| 1658 | Oliver Cromwell dies; succeeded as Lord Protector by son Richard; Battle of the Dunes, England and France defeat Spain; England gains Dunkirk |
| 1660 | Convention Parliament restores Charles II to throne |
| 1665 | Great Plague in London |
| 1666 | Great Fire of London |
| 1668 | Triple Alliance of England, Netherlands, and Sweden against France |
| 1677 | William III, ruler of the Netherlands, marries Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the English throne |
| 1681 | Whigs reintroduce Exclusion Bill; Charles II dissolves Parliament |
| 1694 | Death of Queen Mary; King William now rules alone. |
| 1702 | Death of King William III in a riding accident. He is succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Anne. |
| 1714 | Death of Queen Anne at Kensington Palace. She is succeeded by her distant cousin, the Elector George of Hanover, as King George I. A new parliament is elected with a strong Whig majority, led by Charles Townshend and Robert Walpole |
| 1721 | Sir Robert Walpole returns to government as First Lord of the Treasury. He remains in office until 1742 and effectively becomes Britain's first Prime Minister |
| 1727 | Death of great British scientist, Sir Isaac Newton and of King George I (in Hanover). The latter is succeeded by his son as King George II |
| 1737 | Death of King George II's wife, Queen Caroline |
| 1739 | Britain goes to war with Spain in the 'War of Jenkins' Ear'. The cause: Captain Jenkins' ear was claimed to have been cut off during a Naval Skirmish |
| 1743 | George II leads British troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria |
| 1746 | The Duke of Cumberland crushes the Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden |
| 1748 |
The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle brings the War of Austrian Succession to a close |