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 Crécy
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 - Convention Parliament issues 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 (to1694), Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to dissenters in England; Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, England, and the Netherlands.
1689 - Parliament draws up the Declaration of Right 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. Parliament passes the Bill of Rights. Toleration Act grants rights to Trinitarian Protestant dissenters. 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