Despite his outward enthusiasm for Christianity and its powerful God, he didn't close many pagan temples during his reign. He did, however, strip them of their former wealth, which was then shifted to various Christian churches. This produced the result that many of the fledgling churches were put on a very firm financial footing and many of their members enjoyed great prosperity. The persecution of Christianity had stopped, perhaps, but its co-opting had just begun.

Early Christianity had no official hierarchies and functioned best as a series of small church groups worshipping with and caring for their own members while spreading the Gospel in their local areas. Constantine's move created a top-heavy structure that would quickly depart from its original purity; a church beholden to the state, out of touch with the needs of its adherents and concerned only with its own comfort. Eusebius, the early Christian historian, has given us some additional insights into the motivations of the Emperor Constantine in his "Ecclesiastical History"

337 - Constantine received "Christian" baptism on his deathbed. Joint rule of Constantine's three sons: Constantine II (to 340); Constans (to 350); Constantius (to 361)

360's - Series of attacks on Britain from the north by the Picts, the Attacotti and the Irish (Scots), requiring the intervention of Roman generals leading special legions.

369 - Roman general Theodosius drives the Picts and Scots out of Roman Britain

383 - Magnus Maximus (Macsen Wledig), a Spaniard, was proclaimed Emperor in Britain by the island's Roman garrison. With an army of British volunteers, he quickly conquered Gaul, Spain and Italy.

388 - Maximus occupied Rome itself. Theodosius, the eastern Emperor, defeated him in battle and beheaded him in July, 388, with many of the remnant of Maximus' troops settling in Armorica. The net result to Britain was the loss of many valuable troops needed for the island's defense (the "first migration").

395 - Theodosius, the last emperor to rule an undivided empire, died, leaving his one son, Arcadius, emperor in the East and his other son, the young Honorius, emperor in the West. At this point the office of Roman Emperor changed from a position of absolute power to one of being merely a head of state.

396 - The Roman general, Stilicho, acting as regent in the western empire during Honorius' minority, reorganized British defenses decimated by the Magnus Maximus debacle. Began transfer of military authority from Roman commanders to local British chieftains.

397 - The Roman commander, Stilicho, comes to Britain and repels an attack by Picts, Irish and Saxons.

402 - Events on the continent force Stilicho to recall one of the two British legions to assist with the defense of Italy against Alaric and the Visigoths. The recalled legion, known as the Sixth Victrix, was said by Claudian (in "De Bello Gallico," 416) to be "that legion which is stretched before the remoter Britons, which curbs the Scot, and gazes on the tattoo-marks on the pale face of the dying Pict." The barbarians were defeated, this time, at battle of Pollentia.

403 - Victricius, Bishop of Rouen, visited Britain for the purpose of bringing peace to the island's clergy, who were in the midst of a dispute, possibly over the Pelagian heresy.

405 - The British troops, which had been recalled to assist Stilicho, were never returned to Britain as they had to stay in Italy to fight off another, deeper penetration by the barbarian chieftain, Radagaisus.

406 - In early January, 406, a combined barbarian force (Suevi, Alans, Vandals & Burgundians) swept into central Gaul, severing contact between Rome and Britain. In autumn 406, the remaining Roman army in Britain decided to mutiny. One Marcus was proclaimed emperor in Britain, but was immediately assassinated.

407 - In place of the assassinated Marcus, Gratian was elevated "to the purple," but lasted only four months. Constantine III was hailed as the new emperor by Roman garrison in Britian. He proceeded to follow the example of Magnus Maximus by withdrawing the remaining Roman legion, the Second Augusta, and crossing over into Gaul to rally support for his cause. Constantine's departure could be what Nennius called "the end of the Roman Empire in Britain. . ."

408 - With both Roman legions withdrawn, Britain endures devastating attacks by the Picts, Scots and Saxons.

409 - Prosper, in his chronicle, says, "in the fifteenth year of Honorius and Arcadius (409), on account of the languishing state of the Romans, the strength of the Britons was brought to a desperate pass." Under enormous pressure, Britons take matters into their own hands, expelling weak Roman officials and fighting for themselves.

410 - Britain gains "independence" from Rome. The Goths, under Alaric, sack Rome.

413 - Pelagian heresy said to have begun, by Prosper (Tiro) of Aquitaine in his "Chronicle."

420-30 - Pelagian heresy outlawed in Rome (418), but in Britain, enjoys much support from "pro-Celtic" faction. Traditionalists (pro-Romans) support Roman church. During this time, according to Prosper, Britain is ruled by petty "tyrants."

421 - Honorius issued a decree forbidding any Pelagians to come nearer to Rome than the one-hundredth mile marker.

429 - At the request of Palladius, a British deacon, Pope Celestine I dispatches bishops Germanus of Auxerre and Lupus of Troyes to Britain to combat Pelagian heresy. While in Britain, Germanus, a former military man, leads Britons to "Hallelujah" victory in Wales.

c.432 - Traditional dating for the beginning of St. Patrick's mission to Ireland

c.438 - Probable birth of Ambrosius Aurelianus, scion of the leading Romano-British family on the island.

c.440-50 - Period of civil war and famine in Britain, caused by ruling council's weakness and inability to deal with Pictish invasions; situation aggravated by tensions between Pelagian/Roman factions. Vacated towns and cities in ruin. Migration of pro-Roman citizens toward west. Country beginning to be divided, geographically, along factional lines.

c.441 - Gallic Chronicle records, prematurely, that "Britain, abandoned by the Romans, passed into the power of the Saxons."

c.445 - Vortigern comes to power in Britain.

446 - Britons (probably the pro-Roman party) appeal to Aetius, Roman governor of Gaul, for military assistance in their struggle against the Picts and the Irish (Scots). No help could be sent, at this time, as Aetius had his hands full with Attila the Hun.

c.446 - Vortigern authorizes the use of Saxon mercenaries, known as foederati, for the defense of the northern parts against barbarian attack. To guard against further Irish incursions, Cunedda and his sons are moved from Manau Gododdin in northern Britain to northwest Wales.

447 - Second visit of St. Germanus (this time accompanied by Severus, Bishop of Trier) to Britain. Was this visit spiritually motivated, to combat a revived Pelagian threat or was Germanus sent in Aetius' stead, to do whatever he could to help the desperate Britons?

c.447 - Britons, aroused to heroic effort, "inflicted a massacre" on their enemies, the Picts and Irish, and were left in peace, for a brief time. Could this heroic effort have been led, again, by St. Germanus?

c.448 - Death of St. Germanus in Ravenna. Civil war and plague ravage Britain.

c.450 - In the first year of Marcian and Valentinian, Hengest arrives on shores of Britain with "3 keels" of warriors, and are welcomed by Vortigern. This event is known in Latin as the "adventus Saxonum," the coming of the Saxons.

c.452 - Increasing Saxon settlement in Britain. Hengest invites his son, Octha, from Germany with "16 keels" of warriors, who occupy the northern lands, to defend against the Picts. Picts never heard from, again.

c.453 - Increasing Saxon unrest. Raids on British towns and cities becoming more frequent.

c.456 - Probably fictitious, but entirely believable event in which Saxons massacre 300 leading British noblemen at phony "peace" conference. Ambrosius' father, who may have been the leader of the pro-Roman faction, was probably killed either during the Saxon uprising or this massacre.

c.457 - Death of Vortigern. Vitalinus (Guitolinus) new leader of pro-Celtic Pelagian faction. Battle of Aylesford (Kent) in which Ambrosius, along with sons of Vortigern, Vortimer and Cateyrn, defeat Hengest for the first time.

c.458 - Saxon uprising in full-swing. Hengest finally conquers Kent, in southeastern Britain.

c.458-60 - Full-scale migration of British aristocrats and city-dwellers across the English Channel to Brittany, in northwestern Gaul (the "second migration"). British contingent led by Riothamus (perhaps a title, not a name), thought by some to be the original figure behind the legends of Arthur.

c.460-70 - Ambrosius Aurelianus takes full control of pro-Roman faction and British resistance effort; leads Britons in years of back-and-forth fighting with Saxons. British strategy seems to have been to allow Saxon landings and to then contain them, there.

c.465 - Arthur probably born around this time.

c.466 - Battle of Wippedesfleot, in which Saxons defeat Britons, but with great slaughter on both sides. Mutual "disgust and sorrow" results in a respite from fighting "for a long time."

c.466-73 - Period of minimal Saxon activity. Refortification of ancient hillforts and construction of the Wansdyke possibly takes place during this time.

c.469 - Roman emperor, Anthemius, appeals to Britons for military help against Visigoths. Reliable accounts by Sidonius Apolonaris and Jordanes name the leader of the 12,000 man British force, Riothamus. The bulk of the British force was wiped out in battle against Euric, the Visigothic king, and the survivors, including Riothamus, vanished and were never heard from, again.

c.470 - Battle of Wallop (Hampshire) where Ambrosius defeats Vitalinus, head of the opposing faction. Ambrosius assumes High-kingship of Britain.

473 - Men of Kent, under Hengest, move westward, driving Britons back before them "as one flees fire."

477 - Saxon chieftain, Aelle, lands on Sussex coast with his sons. Britons engage him upon landing but his superior force drives them into the forest (Weald). Over next nine years, Saxon coastal holdings are gradually expanded in Sussex.

c.480 - Vita Germani, the Life of St. Germanus, written by a continental biographer, Constantius.

c.485-96 - Period of Arthur's "twelve battles" during which he gains reputation for invincibility.

486 - Aelle and his sons overreach their normal territory and are engaged by Britons at battle of Mercredesburne. Battle is bloody, but indecisive, and ends with both sides pledging friendship.

c.490 - Hengest dies. His son, Aesc, takes over and rules for 34 years.

c.495 - Cerdic and Cynric, his son, land somewhere on the south coast, probably near the Hampshire-Dorset border.

c.496 - Britons, under overall command of Ambrosius and battlefield command of the "war leader" Arthur, defeat Saxons at the Siege of Mount Badon.

c.496-550 - Following the victory at Mt. Badon, the Saxon advance is halted with the invaders returning to their own enclaves. A generation of peace ensues. Corrupt leadership, more civil turmoil, public forgetfulness and individual apathy further erode Romano-British culture over next fifty years, making Britain ripe for final Saxon "picking."

c.500-50 - Spread of Celtic monasticism throughout Europe

c.501 - The Battle of Llongborth (probably Portsmouth), where a great British chieftain, Geraint, King of Dumnonia, was killed. Arthur is mentioned in a Welsh poem commemorating the battle.

508 - Cerdic begins to move inland and defeats British king Natanleod near present-day Southampton.

c.515 - Death of Aelle. Kingdom of Sussex passed to his son, Cissa and his descendents, but over time, diminished into insignificance.

519 - Kingdom of the West Saxons (Wessex) founded with Cerdic its first ruler.

c.530-40 - Mass migration of Celtic monks to Brittany (the "third migration").

534 - Death of Cerdic. Cynric takes kingship.

c.540 - Probable writing of Gildas' "De Excidio Britanniae."

c.542 - Battle of Camlann, according to Annales Cambriae. Death (or unspecified other demise) of Arthur (according to Geoffrey of Monmouth).

550 - St. David takes Christianity to Wales

563 - Irish monk, St. Columba founds a monastery on island of Iona and begins conversion of the Picts to Christianity

c.570 - Probable death of Gildas.

584 - Foundation of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia in England

597 - The Roman brand of Christianity is brought to Britain for the first time by St. Augustine, the missionary sent from Pope Gregory to convert the Saxons. Augustine founded a monastery and the first church at Canterbury, and was proclaimed its first Archbishop.
633 - Mercians under Penda defeat Northumbrians

642 - Mercians under Penda again defeat the Northumbrians

655 - Oswy, king of Northumbria, defeats and kills Penda of Mercia

664 - Synod of Whitby; Oswy abandons the Celtic Christian Church and accepts the faith of Rome: decline of the Celtic Church

731 - Venerable Bede, British monk, completes his history of the Church in England

735 - Death of the Venerable Bede

757 - Offa, King of Mercia (to796): he builds Offa's Dyke to keep out the Welsh

779 - Offa, King of Mercia, becomes King of all England

782 - Charlemagne summons the monk and scholar Alcuin of York to head the palace school at Aachen: revival of learning in Europe

793 - Vikings invade Britain for the first time in a surprise attack on the monastic community at Lindisfarne (Holy Island).

796 - Death of Offa: end of Mercian supremacy in England

802 - Egbert, King of Wessex (to839)

828 - Egbert of Wessex is recognized as overlord of other English kings

839 - AEthelwulf, son of Egbert, King of Wessex (to 858)

844 - Kenneth MacAlpine, King of the Scots, conquers the Picts; founds a unified Scotland

858 - AEthelbald, eldest son of AEthelwulf, King of Wessex (to 860)

860 - AEthelbert, second son of AEthelwulf, King of Wessex (to 865)

865 - AEthelred I, third son of AEthelwulf, King of Wessex (to 871)

871 - The Danes attack Wessex; are defeated by AEthelred at Ashdown

878 - Alfred decisively defeats the Danes at Edington; by the Peace of Wedmore, England is divided between Wessex in the south and the Danes in the north, the Danelaw

886 - Alfred captures London from the Danes

899 - Edward the Elder, King of Wessex (to 924)

901 - Edward the Elder takes the title "King of the Angles and Saxons"

913 - Edward the Elder recaptures Essex from the Danes

924 - Athelstan, son of Edward the Elder, becomes king of Wessex and effective ruler of most of England (to 939)

926 - Athelstan annexes Northumbria, and forces the kings of Wales, Strathclyde, the Picts, and the Scots to submit to him

937 - Battle of Brunanburh: Athelstan defeats alliance of Scots, Celts, Danes, and Vikings, and takes the title of "King of all Britain"

939 - Edmund, brother of Athelstan, King of England (to 946)

945 - Dunstan becomes abbot of Glastonbury

946 - Edred, younger brother of Edmund, King of England (to 955); Dunstan is named his chief minister

955 - Edwy, son of Edmund, King of England (to 959)

956 - Dunstan sent into exile by Edwy

957 - Mercians and Northumbrians rebel against Edwy

959 - Edgar the Peaceful, younger brother of Edwy, King of England (to 975)

975 - Edward the Martyr, son of Edgar, King of England (to 978)

978 - Edward the Martyr murdered at Corfe Castle; AEthelred II, the Unready (ill-counselled), younger brother of Edward the Martyr, King of England (to 1016)

980 - The Danes renew their raids on England attacking Chester and Southampton

991 - Battle of Maldon: Byrhtnoth of Essex defeated by Danish invaders; AEthelred II buys off the Danes with 10,000 pounds of silver (Danegeld)

992 - AEthelred makes a truce with Duke Richard I of Normandy

994 - Danes under Sweyn and Norwegians under Olaf Trygvesson sail up river Thames and besiege London; bought off by AEthelred

1003 - Sweyn and an army of Norsemen land in England and wreak a terrible vengeance

1007 - AEthelred buys two years' peace from the Danes for 36,000 pounds of silver

1012 - The Danes sack Canterbury: bought off for 48,000 pounds of silver

1013 - Sweyn lands in England and is proclaimed king; AEthelred flees to
Normandy

1014 - The English recall AEthelred II as King on the death of Sweyn; Canute retreats to Denmark

1015 - Canute again invades England; war between Danes and Saxons

1016 - Edmund Ironside, son of AEthelred II, King of England: he and Canute divide the kingdom, Canute holds the north and Edmund Wessex; Edmund is assassinated; Canute, King of England (to 1035)

1017 - Canute divides England into four earldoms

1019 - Canute marries Emma of Normandy, widow of AEthelred II

1035 - Death of Canute: his possessions are divided; Harold I, Harefoot, becomes King of England (to 1040)

1040 - Hardicanute, King of England (to 1042); he dies of drink

1042 - Edward the Confessor, son of AEthelred II, King of England (to 1066)

1051 - Earl Godwin exiled (until 1052): he returns with a fleet and wins back his power

1052 - Edward the Confessor founds Westminster Abbey, near London

1053 - Death of Godwin: his son Harold succeeds him as Earl of Wessex

1055 - Harold's brother Tostig becomes Earl of Northumbria

1063 - Harold and Tostig subdue Wales

1064 - Harold is shipwrecked in Normandy; while there, he swears a solemn oath to support William of Normandy's claim to England

1065 - Northumbria rebels against Tostig, who is exiled
1066 - Harold II is crowned king the day after Edward the Confessor dies. Tostig and Harold Hardraada of Norway invade England: Harold defeats them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, killing both; Battle of Hastings: 19 days after battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normandy lands at Pevensey, defeats and kills Harold; William I, the Conqueror, first Norman King of England (to 1087)

1067 - Work is begun on building the Tower of London.

1068 - The Norman Conquest continues until 1069: William subdues the north of England (the "Harrying of the North" ): the region is laid waste

1070 - Hereward the Wake begins a Saxon revolt in the Fens of eastern England; Lanfranc, an Italian lawyer, becomes William's formidable Archbishop of Canterbury. Lanfranc rebuilds Canterbury Cathedral and establishes the primacy of the see of Canterbury over York, but does not enforce clerical celibacy.

1072 - William invades Scotland, and also receives the submission of Hereward
the Wake.

1080 - William, in a letter, reminds the bishop of Rome that the King of England owes him no allegiance.

1086 - Domesday Book is completed in England

1087 - William II, Rufus, King of England (to 1100); his elder brother, Robert, is Duke of Normandy

1093 - Donald Bane, King of Scots (to 1097), following the death of his brother, Malcolm III, in battle against the English

1097 - Edgar, second son of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland (to 1107); he defeats Donald Bane with the assistance of William II of England

1099 - Crusaders capture Jerusalem; Godfrey of Bouillon is elected King of Jerusalem

1100 - Henry I, youngest son of William the Conqueror, King of England (to 1135), following assassination of William Rufus

1106 - Henry I defeats his brother Rober, Duke of Normandy, at battle of Tinchebrai: Robert remains captive for life

1113 - Founding of the Order of St. John is formally acknowledged by the papacy

1114 - Matilda (Maud), daughter of Henry I of England marries Emperor Henry V

1118 - Hugues de Payens founds the order of Knights of Templars

1120 - William, heir of Henry I of England, is drowned in wreck of the "White Ship"

1129 - Empress Matilda, widow of Henry V, marries Geoffrey the Handsome, Count of Anjou, nicknamed " Plantagenet "

1139 - Matilda lands in England

1141 - Matilda captures Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, and reigns disastrously as queen; she is driven out by a popular rising and Stephen restored

1148 - Matilda leaves England for the last time

1152 - Marriage of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine is annulled on grounds of blood relationship; Eleanor marries Henry of Anjou, allying Aquitaine to his lands of Anjou and Normandy, two months after her divorce

1153 - Henry of Anjou, son of Matilda, invades England and forces Stephen to make him heir to the English throne

1154 - Henry II, King of England (to 1189); he also rules more than half of France; Pope Adrian IV (to 1159) (Nicholas Breakspear, the only English pope)

1155 - Henry II appoints the Archdeacon of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket, as Chancellor

1159 - Henry II levies scutage, payment in cash instead of military service

1162 - Becket is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and at once quarrels with Henry II over the Church's rights

1164 - Constitutions of Clarendon; restatement of laws governing trial of ecclesiastics in England; Becket is forced to flee to France

1170 - Becket is reconciled with Henry II, returns to Canterbury; is murdered by four knights after Henry's hasty words against him

1173 - Rebellion of Henry's eldest sons, Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey, supported by their mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine; Thomas a Becket canonized

1189 - Richard I, Coeur de Lion, eldest surviving son of Henry II, King of England (to 1199)

1191 - The bodies of King Arthur and Guinevere were reported to have been exhumed from a grave at Glastonbury Abbey; Richard I conquers Cyprus and captures the city of Acre

1192 - Richard I captures Jaffa, makes peace with Saladin; on the way home he is captured by his enemy, Duke Leopold of Austria

1193 - Leopold hands Richard over to Emperor Henry VI, who demands ransom

1194 - Richard is ransomed and returned to England

1199 - John Lackland, youngest son of Henry II, King of England (to 1216)

1203 - John of England orders the murder of his nephew Arthur, Duke of Brittany

1207 - Pope Innocent III appoints Stephen Langton Archbishop of Canterbury (Langton is the man who divided the books of the Bible into chapters); John refuses to let him take office

1208 - Innocent III lays England under interdict

1209 - Cambridge University is founded in England; Innocent III excommunicates John for attacks on Church property

1213 - Innocent III declares John deposed; John resigns his kingship to the pope and receives it back as a holding from the Roman legate, thereby ending the interdict.

1215 - Signing of Magna Carta; English barons force John to agree to a statement of their rights

1216 - Henry III becomes king of England at age nine (to 1272)

1227 - Henry III begins personal rule in England

1256 - Prince Llewellyn sweeps English from Wales

1264 - Simon de Montfort and other English barons defeat Henry III at battle of Lewes

1265 - De Montfort's Parliament: burgesses from major towns summoned to Parliament for the first time; Henry III's son Edward defeats and kills Simon de Montfort at battle of Evesham

1269 - Rebuilding of Westminster Abbey begun by Henry III.

1272 - Edward I, King of England (to 1307)

1283 - Edward I defeats and kills Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, and executes Llewellyn's brother David; conquest of Wales complete

1290 - Edward I expells all Jews from England

1291 - Scots acknowledge Edward I of England as suzerain; he arbitrates in succession dispute

1295 - Model Parliament of Edward I : knights and burgesses from English shires and towns summoned. First representative parliament

1296 - Edward I of England deposes John Balliol from Scottish throne

1297 - Battle of Cambuskenneth: Scottish patriot William Wallace defeats English army

1298 - Edward I defeats Wallace at battle of Falkirk and reconquers Scotland

1301 - Edward I of England invests his baby son Edward as Prince of Wales

1305 - The English capture and execute William Wallace

1306 - New Scottish rebellion against English rule led by Robert Bruce. Robert I, the Bruce crowned King of Scotland (to 1329) at Scone

1307 - Edward I dies on march north to crush Robert Bruce. Edward II, King of England (to 1327)

1310 - English barons appoint 21 peers, the Lords Ordainers, to manage Edward II's household

1312 - Order of Knights Templar abolished

1314 - Battle of Bannockburn: Robert Bruce defeats Edward II and makes Scotland independent

1326 - Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer sail from France with an army to rebel against Edward II of England

1327 - Parliament declares Edward II deposed, and his son accedes to the throne as Edward III. Edward II is hideously murdered, nine months later

1328 - Charles IV dies, ending the Capetian dynasty. Philip of Valois succeeds him as Philip VI.

1329 - Edward III of England does simple homage for Aquitaine (Guienne), but refuses to do liege homage.

1333 - Edward III invades Scotland on Balliol's behalf and defeats the Scots at battle of Halidon Hill

1336 - Edward places an embargo on English exports of wool to Flanders.

1337 - Philip declares Edward's fiefs forfeit and begins harassing the frontiers of Aquitaine; Edward III, provoked by these attacks on his territories in France, declares himself king of France; "The Hundred Years' War " begins (ends 1453)

1338 - Treaty of Koblenz: alliance between England and the Holy Roman Empire; Edward III formally claims the French crown.

1340 - Naval victory at Sluys gives England the command of the English Channel; English Parliament passes four statues providing that taxation shall be imposed only by Parliament

1346 - Edward III of England invades France with a large army and defeats an even bigger army under Philip VI at the Battle of Crecy

1347 - The English capture Calais

1348 - Edward III establishes the Order of the Garter; Black Death (bubonic plague) reaches England

1351 - The English remove the Pope's power to give English benefices to foreigners

1353 - Statue of Praemunire: English Parliament forbids appeals to Pope

1356 - Edward the Black Prince, son of Edward III, defeats the French at the battle of Poitiers, capturing King John II

1358 - The Jacquerie

1360 - Peace of Bretigny ends the first stage of the Hundred Years' War. Edward III gives up claim to French throne

1369 - Second stage of war between England and France begins

1370 - French troops commanded by Bertrand du Guesclin; Edward, the Black Prince, sacks Limoges

1372 - French troops recapture Poitou and Brittany; Naval battle of La Rochelle: French regain control of English Channel

1373 - John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III, leads new English invasion of France

1374 - John of Gaunt returns to England and takes charge of the government; Edward III in his dotage, the Black Prince is ill

1375 - Truce of Bruges ends hostilities between England and France

1376 - The Good Parliament in England, called by Edward the Black Prince, introduces many reforms of government; Death of Edward the Black Prince, aged 45; The Civil Dominion of John Wyclif, an Oxford don, calling for Church reforms

1377 - Richard II, son of the Black Prince, King of England (to 1399)

1381 - Peasants' Revolt in England; John Wyclif, an Oxford theologian, publishes his "Confession", denying that the "substance" of bread and wine are miraculously changed during the Eucharist.

1382 - John Wyclif is expelled from Oxford because of his opposition to certain Church doctrines

1386 - John of Gaunt leads an expedition to Castile, which he claims in his wife's name; fails 1388

1387 - Geoffrey Chaucer begins work on The Canterbury Tales

1389 - Richard II, aged 22, assumes power

1394 - Richard II leads expedition to subdue Ireland; returns to England 1395

1396 - Richard II marries the seven-year old Princess Isabella of France

1399 - Death of John of Gaunt; Gaunt's eldest son, Henry of Bolingbroke, lands in Yorkshire with 40 followers, and soon has 60,000 supporters: Richard II is deposed; Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV, King of England (to 1413)

1400 - Richard II murdered at Pontefract Castle; Owen Glendower proclaims himself Prince of Wales and begins rebellion

1401 - Persecution of Lollards for revolting against clergy.

1402 - Henry IV enters Wales in pursuit of Glendower

1403 - Battle of Shrewsbury; rebellion by the Percy family: Henry IV defeats and kills Harry "Hotspur" Percy

1406 - Henry, Prince of Wales, defeats Welsh

1413 - Henry V, King of England (to 1422)

1415 - Henry V invades France, and defeats the French at Agincourt

1416 - Death of Owen Glendower

1420 - Treaty of Troyes

1422 - Deaths of Henry V of England and Charles VI of France; Henry VI, King of England (to 1461)

1424 - John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, defeats the French at Cravant

1428 - Henry VI begins siege of Orleans

1429 - A French force, led by military commander Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc), relieves the siege of Orleans; Charles VII crowned king of France at Rheims

1430 - Burgundians capture Jeanne d'Arc and hand her over to the English

1431 - Jeanne d'Arc burned as a witch at Rouen; Henry VI of England crowned king of France in Paris

1453 - Bordeaux falls to the French, Hundred Years' War ends; England's only French possession is Calais; In England, Henry VI becomes insane

1454 - Richard, Duke of York, is regent of England while Henry VI is insane; Printing with movable type is perfected in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg

1455 - Henry VI recovers. Richard of York is replaced by Somerset and excluded from the Royal Council; War of the Roses - civil wars in England between royal houses of York and Lancaster (until 1485); Battle of St. Albans. Somerset defeated and killed

1460 - Battle of Wakefield. Richard of York is defeated and killed; Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) captures London for the Yorkists; Battle of Northampton: Henry VI is captured by Yorkists

1461 - Battles of Mortimer's Cross and Towton: Richard's son, Edward of York, defeats Lancastrians and becomes king; Edward IV, King of England (to 1483)

1465 - Henry VI imprisoned by Edward IV

1466 - Warwick's quarrels with Edward IV begin; forms alliance with Louis XI

1470 - Warwick turns Lancastrian: he defeats Edward IV and restores Henry VI

1471 - Battle of Barnet. Edward IV defeats and kills Warwick; Henry VI dies, probably murdered in the Tower of London

1475 - Edward IV invades France; Peace of Piequigny between England and France

1476 - William Caxton sets up printing press at Westminster

1483 - Death of Edward IV; Edward V, King of England; he is deposed by his uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester; Richard III, King of England (to 1485); Edward V and his brother are murdered in the Tower of London

1484 - Caxton prints Morte D'Arthur, the poetic collection of legends about King Arthur compiled by Sir Thomas Malory

1485 - Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry Tudor, with men, money and arms provided by Charles VIII of France, defeats and kills Richard III in the decisive (but not final) battle of the Wars of the Roses. 1486 - Henry VII (Tudor) married Elizabeth of York uniting houses of York and Lancaster.

1487 - Battle of Stoke Field: In final engagement of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII, defeats Yorkist army "led" by Lambert Simnel (who was impersonating Edward, the nephew of Edward IV, the only plausible royal alternative to Henry, who was confined in the Tower of London).

1496 - Henry VII joins the Holy League; commercial treaty between England and Netherlands.

1497 - John Cabot discovers Newfoundland

1502 - Margaret, daughter of Henry VII, marries James IV of Scotland.

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.

1515 - Thomas Wolsey, Archbisop of York, is made Lord Chancellor of England and Cardinal

1517 - The Protestant Reformation begins; Martin Luther nails his "95 Theses" against the Catholic practice of selling indulgences, on the church door at Wittenberg

1520 - Field of Cloth of Gold: Francois I of France meets Henry VIII but fails to gain his support against Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V

1521 - Henry VIII receives the title "Defender of the Faith" from Pope Leo X for his opposition to Luther

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

1530 - Thomas Wolsey dies

1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns over the question of Henry VIII's divorce

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

1535 - Sir Thomas More is beheaded in Tower of London for failing to take the Oath of Supremacy

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

1539 - Dissolution of Glastonbury Abbey; buildings torched and looted by king's men; Abbot Richard Whiting is executed by hanging atop Glastonbury Tor.

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

1549 - Introduction of uniform Protestant service in England based on Edward VI's Book of Common Prayer

1550 - Fall of Duke of Somerset:; Duke of Northumberland succeeds as Protector

1551 -Archbishop Cranmer publishes Forty-two Articles of religion

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

1563 - The Thirty-nine Articles, which complete establishment of the Anglican Church

1564 - Peace of Troyes between England and France

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

1577 - Alliance between England and Netherlands; Francis Drake sails around the world (to 1580)

1584 - William of Orange is murdered and England sends aid to the Netherlands; 1586 Expedition of Sir Francis Drake to the West Indies; Conspiracy against Elizabeth I involving Mary Queen of Scots

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

1597 - Irish rebellion under Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (finally put down 1601)

1600 - Elizabeth I grants charter to East India Company

1601 - Elizabethan Poor Law charges the parishes with providing for the needy; Essex attempts rebellion, and is executed

1603 - Elizabeth dies; James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England

1604 - Hampton Court Conference: no relaxation by the Church towards Puritans; James bans Jesuits; England and Spain make peace

1605 - Gunpowder Plot; Guy Fawkes and other Roman Catholic conspirators fail in attempt to blow up Parliament and James I.

1607 - Parliament rejects proposals for union between England and Scotland; colony of Virginia is founded at Jamestown by John Smith; Henry Hudson begins voyage to eastern Greenland and Hudson River

1610 - Hudson Bay discovered

1611 - James I's authorized version (King James Version) of the Bible is completed; English and Scottish Protestant colonists settle in Ulster

1614 - James I dissolves the "Addled Parliament" which has failed to pass any legislation

1618 - Thirty Years' War begins, lasts until 1648

1620 - Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the "Mayflower"; found New Plymouth

1622 - James I dissolves Parliament for asserting its right to debate foreign affairs

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

1628 - Petition of Right; Charles I forced to accept Parliament's statement of civil rights in return for finances

1629 - Charles I dissolves Parliament and rules personally until 1640

1630 - England makes peace with France and Spain

1639 - First Bishops' War between Charles I and the Scottish Church; ends with Pacification of Dunse

1640 - Charles I summons the "Short " Parliament ; dissolved for refusal to grant money; Second Bishops' War; ends with Treaty of Ripon; The Long Parliament begins.

1641 - Triennial Act requires Parliament to be summoned every three years; Star Chamber and High Commission abolished by Parliament; Catholics in Ireland revolt; some 30,000 Protestants massacred; Grand Remonstrance of Parliament to Charles I

1642 - Charles I fails in attempt to arrest five members of Parliament and rejects Parliament's Nineteen Propositions; Civil War (until 1645) begins with battle of Edgehill between Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians)

1643 - Solemn League and Covenant is signed by Parliament

1644 - Battle of Marston Moor; Oliver Cromwell defeats Prince Rupert

1645 - Formation of Cromwell's New Model Army; Battle of Naseby; Charles I defeated by Parliamentary forces

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

1653 - Oliver Cromwell dissolves the "Rump" and becomes Lord Protector

1654 - Treaty of Westminster between England and Dutch Republic

1655 - England divided into 12 military districts by Cromwell; seizes Jamaica from Spain

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

1659 - Richard Cromwellforced to resign by the army; "Rump" Parliament restored

1660 - Convention Parliament restores Charles II to throne

1661 - Clarendon Code; "Cavalier" Parliament of Charles II passes series of repressive laws against Nonconformists; English acquire Bombay

1662 - Act of Uniformity passed in England

1664 - England siezes New Amsterdam from the Dutch, change name to New York

1665 - Great Plague in London

1666 - Great Fire of London

1667 - Dutch fleet defeats the English in Medway river; treaties of Breda among Netherlands, England, France, and Denmark

1668 - Triple Alliance of England, Netherlands, and Sweden against France

1670 - Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to restore Roman Catholicism to England; Hudson's Bay Company founded

1672 - Third Anglo-Dutch war (until 1674); William III (of Orange) becomes ruler of Netherlands

1673 - Test Act aims to deprive English Roman Catholics and Nonconformists of public office

1674 - Treaty of Westminster between England and the Netherlands

1677 - William III, ruler of the Netherlands, marries Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the English throne

1678 - 'Popish Plot' in England; Titus Oates falsely alleges a Catholic plot to murder Charles II

1679 - Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial; Parliament's Bill of Exclusion against the Roman Catholic Duke of York blocked by Charles II; Parliament dismissed; Charles II rejects petitions calling for a new Parliament; petitioners become known as Whigs; their opponents (royalists) known as Tories

1681 - Whigs reintroduce Exclusion Bill; Charles II dissolves Parliament

1685 - James II of England and VII of Scotland (to 1688); rebellion by Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, against James II is put down

1686 - James II disregards Test Act; Roman Catholics appointed to public office

1687 - James II issues Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, extends toleration to all religions

1688 - England's 'Glorious Revolution'; William III of Orange is invited to save England from Roman Catholicism, lands in England, James II flees to France

1689 - Parliament draws up the document detailing the unconstitutional acts of King James II. James' daughter and her husband, his nephew, become joint sovereigns of Britain as King William III and Queen Mary II. The Bill of Rights; establishes a constitutional monarchy in Britain; bars Roman Catholics from the throne; William III and Mary II become joint monarchs of England and Scotland (to 1694), Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to dissenters in England; Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, England, and the Netherlands. Catholic forces loyal to James II land in Ireland from France and lay siege to Londonderry

1690 - King William defeats the Irish and French armies of his father-in-law at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland

1691 - The Treaty of Limerick allows Cathloics in Ireland to exercise their religion freely, but severe penal laws soon follow. The French War begins

1692 - The Glencoe Massacre occurs

1694 - Death of Queen Mary; King William now rules alone. Foundation of the Bank of England. Triennial Act sets the maximum duration of a parliament to three years

1695 - Lapse of the Licensing Act

1697 - Peace of Ryswick between the allied powers of the League of Augsburg and France ends the French War. Civil List Act votes funds for the maintenance of the Royal Household

1701 - The Act of Settlement settles the Royal Succession on the Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover. Death of the former King James II in exile in France. The French king recognizes James II's son as "King James III". King William forms a grand alliance between England, Holland and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns. The War of the Spanish Succession breaks out in Europe over the vacant throne

1702 - Death of King William III in a riding accident. He is succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Anne. England declares war on France as part of the War of the Spanish Succession

1704 - British, Dutch, German and Austrian troops, under the Duke of Marlborough, defeat the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. British, Bavarian and Austrian troops under Marlborough defeat the French at the Battle of Ramillies, and expel the French from the Netherlands. The British capture Gibraltar from Spain

1707 - The Act of Union unites the kingdoms of England and Scotland and transfers the seat of Scottish Government to London

1708 - The Duke of Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Oudenarede. The French incur heavy losses. Queen Anne vetoes a parliamentary bill to recognise the Scottish militia. This is the last time a bill is vetoed by the sovereign

1709 - Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Malplaquet

1710 - A Tory ministry is formed, under Harley, with the impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell and the fall of the Whig government

1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht is signed by Britain and France, thus concluding the War of the Spanish Succession

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

1715 - The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland with the aim of overthrowing the Hanovarian succession and placing the "Old Pretender" - James II's son - on the throne. The rebellion is easily defeated

1716 - The Septennial Act sets General Elections to be held every seven years

1717 - Townshend is dismissed from government by George I, causing Walpole to resign. The Whig party is split. Convocation is suspended

1719 - South Sea Bubble bursts, leaving many investors ruined after speculating with stock of the 'South Sea Company'

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

1722 - Death of the Duke of Marlborough. The Jacobite 'Atterbury Plot' is hatched

1726 - First circulating library in Britain opens in Edinburgh. Jonathan Swift publishes his 'Gulliver's Travels'

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

1729 - Alexander Pope publishes his ' Dunciad'

1730 - A split occurs between Walpole and Townshend

1732 - A royal charter is granted for the founding of Georgia in America

1733 - The 'Excise Crisis' occurs and Walpole is forced to abandon his plans to reorganise the customs and excise

1737 - Death of King George II's wife, Queen Caroline

1738 - John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in Britain

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

1740 - Commencement of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe

1742 - Walpole resigns as Prime Minister

1743 - George II leads British troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria

1744 - Ministry of Pelham

1745 - Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. There is a Scottish victory at Prestonpans

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

1751 - Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. His son, Prince George, becomes heir to the throne

1752 - Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Britain

1753 - Parliament passes the Jewish Naturalization Bill

1754 - The ministry of Newcastle

1756 - Britain, allied with Prussia, declares war against France and her allies, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years' War begins

1757 - The Pitt-Newcastle ministry. Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey and secures the Indian province of Bengal for Britain. William Pitt becomes Prime Minister

1759 - Wolfe captures Quebec and expels the French from Canada

1760 - Death of King George II. He is succeeded by his grandson as George III

1761 - Laurence Sterne publishes his 'Tristram Shandy'

1762 - The Earl of Bute is appointed Prime Minister. He becomes very unpopular and employs a bodyguard

1763 - Peace of Paris ends the Seven Years' War. Grenville ministry.

1765 - Rockingham ministry. The American Stamp Act raises taxes in the colonies in an attempt to make their defence self-financing

1766 - Chatham ministry. Repeal of the American Stamp Act

1768 - Grafton ministry. The Middlesex Election Crisis occurs

1769 - James Watt patents the Steam Engine

1769-70 - Captain James Cook's first voyage to explore the Pacific

1770 - Lord North begins service as Prime Minister. The Falkland Island Crisis occurs. Edmund Burke publishes his 'Thoughts on the Present Discontents'

1771 - The Encyclopedia Britannica is first published

1773 - American colonists protest at the East India Company's monopoly over tea exports to the colonies, at the so-called 'Boston Tea Party'. The World's first cast-iron bridge is constructed over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale

1774 - Parliament passes the Coercive Acts in retaliation for the 'Boston Tea Party'

1775 - American War of Independence begins when colonists fight British troops at Lexington. James Watt further develops his steam engine

1776 - On 4th July, the American Congress passes their Declaration of Independence from Britain. Edward Gibbons' publishes his 'Decline and Fall' and Adam Smith, his 'Wealth if Nations'

1779 - The rise of Wyvill's Association Movement

1780 - The Gordon Riots develop from a procession to petition parliament against the Catholic Relief Act

1781 - The Americans obtain a great victory of British troops at the surrender of Yorktown

1782 - End of Lord North's time as Prime Minister. He is succeeded by Rockingham in his second ministry. Ireland obtains short-lived parliament

1783 - Shelburne's ministry, followed by that of William Pitt the Younger. Britain recognises American independence at the Peace of Versailles. Fox-North coalition established

1784 - Parliament passes the East India Act

1785 - Pitt's motion for Parliamentary Reform is defeated

1786 - The Eden commercial treaty with France is drawn up

1788 - George III suffers his first attack of 'madness' (caused by porphyria)

1789 - Outbreak of the French Revolution

1790 - Edmund Burke publishes his 'Reflections on the Revolution in France'

1791 - James Boswell publishes his 'Life of Johnson' an Thomas Paine, his 'Rights of Man'

1792 - Coal gas is used for lighting for the first time. Mary Wollstonecraft publishes her 'Vindication of the Rights of Women'

1793 - Outbreak of War between Britain and France. The voluntary Board of Agriculture is set up. Commercial depression throughout Britain

1795 - The 'Speenhamland' system of outdoor relief is adopted, making wages up to equal the cost of subsistence

1796 - Vaccination against smallpox is introduced

1798 - Introduction of a tax of ten percent on incomes over £200. T.R. Malthus publishes his 'Essay on Population'

1799 - Trade Unions are suppressed. Napoleon is appointed First Consul in France

1799-1801 - Commercial boom in Britain

1800 - Act of Union with Ireland unites Parliaments of England and Ireland

1801 - Close of Pitt the Younger's Ministry. The first British Census is undertaken

1802 - Peace with France is established. Peel introduces the first factory legislation

1803 - Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. Britain declares war on France. Parliament passes the General Enclosure Act, simplifying the process of enclosing common land

1805 - Nelson destroys the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar, but is killed in the process

1808-14 - Peninsular War to drive the French out of Spain

1809-10 - Commercial boom in Britain

1810 - Final illness of George III begins

1811 - Depression caused by Orders of Council. There are Luddite disturbances in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. The King's illness leads to his son, the Prince of Wales, becoming Regent

1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated in the House of Commons by a disgruntled bankrupt

1813 - Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' is published. The monopolies of the East India Company are abolished

1815 - The defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Peace is established in Europe at the Congress of Vienna. The Corn Laws are passed by Parliament to protect British agriculture from cheap imports

1815-17 - Commercial boom in Britain

1817- Economic slimp in Britain leads to the 'Blanketeers' March' and other disturbances

1818 - Death of the King's wife, Queen Caroline. Mary Shelley's publishes her 'Frankenstein'

1819 - Troops intervene at a mass political reform meeting in Manchester, killing and wounding four hundred people at the 'Peterloo Massacre'

1820 - Death of the blind and deranged King George III. He is succeeded by his son, the Prince Regent, who becomes King George IV. A radical plot to murder the Cabinet, known as the Cato Street Conspiracy, fails. Trial of Queen Caroline, in which George IV attempts to divorce her for adultery

1821 - Queen Caroline is excluded from the coronation

1821-23 - Famine in Ireland

1823 - The Royal Academy of Music is established in London. The British Museum is extended and extensively rebuilt to house an expanding collection

1824 - The National Gallery is established. Commercial boom in Britain

1825 - Nash reconstructs Buckingham Palace. The World's first railway service, the Stockton and Darlington Railway opens. Trade Unions are legalized. Commercial depression in Britain

1828 - The Duke of Wellington becomes British Prime Minister

1829 - The Metropolitan Police Force is set up by Robert Peel. Parliament passes the Catholic Relief Act, ending most restrictions on Catholic Civil Rights. They are allowed to own property and run for public office, including parliament

1830 - Death of King George IV at Windsor. He is succeeded by his brother, William IV. Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Rise of the Whigs, under Grey

1830-32 - First major cholera epidemic in Britain

1831 - 'Swing' Riots in rural areas against the mechanization of agricultural activities. The new London Bridge is opened over the River Thames

1832 - The first or great Reform Act is passed. This climax of a period of political reform extends the vote to a further 500,000 people and redistributes Parliamentary seats on a more equitable basis

1833 - Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Empire. Parliament passes the Factory Act, prohibiting children aged less than nine from working in factories, and reducing the working hours of women and older children. Start of the Oxford Movement in the Anglican Church

1834 - Parliament passes the Poor Law Act, establishing workhouses for the poor. Robert Owen founds the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union. The government acts against 'illegal oaths' in such unionism, rsulting in the Tolpuddle Martyrs being transported to Australia. Fire destroys the Palace of Westminster

1835 - Parliament passes the Municipal Reform Act, requiring members of town councils to be elected by ratepayers and councils to publish their financial accounts

1835-36 - Commercial boom with 'little' railway mania across Britain

1837 - Death of King William IV at Windsor. He is succeeded by his niece, Victoria. Births, deaths and marriages must be registered by law. Charles Dickens publishes 'Oliver Twist,' drawing attention to Britain's poor.

1838 - The Anti-Corn Law League is established. Publication of the People's Charter. The start of Chartism

1839 - Chartist Riots take place

1840 - Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The penny post is instituted

1841 - The first British Census recording the names of the populace is undertaken. The Tories come to power. Sir Robert Peel becomes Prime Minister

1844 - Parliament passes the Bank Charter Act. Foundation of the Rochdale Co-Operative Society and the Royal Commission on the Health of Towns

1844-45 - Railways mania explodes across Britain. Massive investment and speculation leads to the laying of 5,000 miles of track

1845-49 - Irish Potato Famine kills more than a million people

1846 - End of Sir Robert Peel's Ministry. Whigs come to Power. Repeal of the Corn Laws

1848 - Major Chartist demonstration in London. Revolutions in Europe. Parliament passes the Public Health Act

1851 - The Great Exhibition is staged in Hyde Park. Thanks to Prince Albert, it is a great success

1852 - Death of the Duke of Wellington. Derby's first minority Conservative government. Aberdeen's coalition government is established

1853 - Vaccination against smallpox is made compulsory. Queen Victoria uses chloroform during birth of Prince Leopold. Gladstone presents his first budget

1854 - The Northcote-Trevelyan civil service report is published The Crimean War begins, as Britain and France attempt to defend European interests in the Middle East against Russia

1855 - End of Aberdeen's coalition government. Palmerston's first government comes to power

1856 - Crimean War comes to an end. The Victoria Cross is instituted for military bravery

1857-58 - The Second Opium War opens China to European trade. The Indian Mutiny erupts against British Rule on the sub-continent

1858 - Derby establishes his second minority government. Parliament passes the India Act

1859 - End of Derby's second minority government. Palmerston brings his second Liberal government to power. Charles Darwin publishes his 'The Origin of the Species'

1860 - Gladstone's budget and the Anglo-French Cobden Treaty codifies and extends the principles of free trade

1861 - Death of Prince Albert, Prince Consort

1862 - Parliament passes the Limited Liability Act in order to provide vital stimulus to accumulation of capital in shares

1863 - Edward, Prince of Wales, marries Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The Salvation Army is founded

1865 - Death of Palmerston. Russell establishes his second Liberal government

1866 - Russell and Gladstone fail to have their moderate Reform Bill passed in parliament. Derby takes power in his third minority Conservative government

1867 - Derby and Disraeli's Second Reform Bill doubles the franchise to two million. Canada becomes the first independent dominion in the British Empire under the Dominion of Canada Act

1868 - Disraeli succeeds Derby as Prime Minister. Gladstone becomes Prime Minister for the first time

1869 - The Irish Church is disestablished. The Suez Canal is opened

1870 - Primary education becomes compulsory in Britain through the Forster-Ripon English Elementary Education Act. Parliament also passes the Women's Property Act, extending the rights of married women, and the Irish Land Act

1871 - Trade Unions are legalized

1872 - Secret voting is introduced for elections. Parliament passes the Scottish Education Act

1873 - Gladstone's government resigns after the defeat of their Irish Universities Bill. Disraeli declines to take up office instead

1874 - Disraeli becomes Conservative Prime Minister for the second time

1875 - Disraeli purchases a controlling interest for Britain in the Suez Canal. Agricultural depression increases

1875-76 - Parliament passes R.A. Cross's Conservative social reforms

1876 - Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India. The massacre of Christians in Turkish Bulgaria leads to anti-Turkish campaigns in Britain, led by Gladstone

1877 - Confederation of British and Boer states established in South Africa

1878 - The Congress of Berlin is held. Disraeli announces 'peace with honour'

1879 - A trade depression emerges in Britain. The Zulu War is fought in South Africa. The British are defeated at Isandhlwana, but are victorious at Ulundi

1879-80 - Gladstone's Midlothian campaign denounces imperialism in South Africa and Afghanistan

1880 - Gladstone establishes his second Liberal government

1880-81 - The first Anglo-Boer War is fought

1881 - Parliament passes the Irish Land and Coercion Acts

1882 - Britain occupies Egypt. A triple alliance is established between Germany, Austria and Italy

1884 - Parliament passes the third Reform Act which further extends the franchise

1885 - Death of General Gordon at Khartoum. Burma is annexed. Salisbury succeeds Gladstone with his first minority Conservative government. Parliament passes the Redistribution Act

1886 - Gladstone's third Liberal government fails to pass its first Irish Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons. Gladstone resigns as Prime Minister. Split in the Liberal Party. Salisbury establishes his second Conservative-Liberal-Unionist government. The Royal Niger Company is chartered. Gold is discovered in the Transvaal

1887 - Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee. The Independent Labour Party is founded. The British East Africa Company is chartered

1888 - The County Councils' Act establishes representative county based authorities

1889 - London Dockers' Strike. The British South Africa Company is chartered

1892 - Gladstone forms his fourth Liberal government

1893 - Second Irish Home Rule Bill fails to pass the House of Lords

1894 - Rosebery takes power with his minority Liberal government

1895 - Salisbury forms his third Unionist ministry

1896 - The British conquest of the Sudan begins

1897 - Queen Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee

1898 - British rule over Sudan fully established. German Naval expansion begins

1899 - British disasters in South Africa

1899-1902 - Boer War in South Africa

1900 - Salisbury wins the Khaki election. The Labour Representation Committee is formed. Parliament passes the Commonwealth of Australia Act

1901 - Death of Queen Victoria. She is succeeded by her son, Prince Albert, as King Edward VII