British History 1550-1650

During the time of Shakespeare, a lot of major events happened before, during , and after his life in Britain. Britain has faced many conflicts, many monarchs , and a civil War during this time period

1547-1553

The son of King Henry viii (Edward VI) becomes king in 1547 at the age of 9. When he was crowned king, he never really ruled because of his uncle. His uncle formally named Edward Seymour ruled as a interim King because Edward VI was too young to be king. Under Edward's rule as "King" England became a protestant state under him. Later on, Seymour was put under arrest and later was executed for failing to solve England's bankruptcy that it was facing. At the tender age of fifteen, King Edward died for a unknown reason and his half sister , Mary I , became the new monarch.

1553-1558

Mary the First became the new queen of England in 1553 because she was the closest by bloodline to King Edward. She face many problems becoming Queen because King Edward's advisers wanted his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, to become the next monarch. At first during her rule she was supported by all until she chose to marry Philippe II which angered everyone because he was catholic. The reason why was because everyone had the fear that England would become a catholic state. As thought, Queen Mary wanted to make England catholic again and executed many who opposed her. By executing many she became known as "Bloody Mary".

1571

The Royal Exchange was established in London by Sir Thomas Gresham. He got the approval money lending by the parliament to legal that helped the crown raise loans in the country than abroad. Soon it became Europe's finhugal capital.

1588

England went to war with Spain when Philip ll sent the Spanish armada (130 ships) to attack England. The English Navy launches fireships against the Spanish Armada in July 1588. The painting, by an unknown artist, is at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, and change the religion to Catholicism by overthrowing Queen Elizabeth.