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1530 CE
1540 CE
1550 CE
1560 CE
1570 CE
1580 CE
1590 CE
1600 CE
1533 CE: Birth of Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII of England and Anne Boleyn. She is the future Elizabeth I of England.
1554 CE: Mary I of England detains her half-sister Princess Elizabeth (future Elizabeth I of England) in the Tower of London on suspicion of treason.
1556 CE - 1598 CE: Reign of Philip II of Spain.
1558 CE - 1572 CE: William Cecil, Lord Burghley is the Secretary of State for Elizabeth I of England.
1558 CE - 1603 CE: Reign of Elizabeth I of England.
1558 CE: Death from cancer of Mary I of England.
1559 CE - 1563 CE: The Elizabethan Religious Settlement, a set of acts and decisions which continue the English Reformation.
1559 CE: Elizabeth I of England introduces a new compromise Book of Common Prayer.
1559 CE: Robert Dudley is appointed Master of the Horse by Elizabeth I of England.
1559 CE: Parliament formally asks Elizabeth I of England to marry.
1559 CE: Elizabeth I of England rejects the marriage proposal of Philip II of Spain.
1559 CE: Coronation of Elizabeth I of England in Westminster Abbey.
1559 CE: Elizabeth I of England reinstates the Act of Supremacy.
1559 CE: The Act of Uniformity which bans the Mass service and sets out what the interiors of English churches should look like.
1559 CE: The Royal Injunctions - 57 regulations on Church matters which continue the English Reformation.
1560 CE: Rumours begin that Elizabeth I of England is in a relationship with Robert Dudley.
1560 CE: Robert Dudley’s wife Amy Robsart is found dead lying at the bottom of a flight of stairs.
1562 CE - 1563 CE: John Hawkins' first expedition to transport slaves from West Africa to the Americas.
1562 CE: Robert Dudley is made a member of the Privy Council of Elizabeth I of England.
1562 CE: Elizabeth I of England suffers an attack of smallpox.
1563 CE: The 39 Articles define English Protestantism.
1563 CE: For a second time, Parliament formally asks Elizabeth I of England to marry.
1563 CE: Elizabeth I of England bans the production of unofficial portraits of the royal person.
1564 CE - 1565 CE: John Hawkins' second expedition to transport slaves from West Africa to the Americas.
1564 CE: Robert Dudley is made the 1st Earl of Leicester by Elizabeth I of England.
1567 CE - 1568 CE: John Hawkins and Francis Drake lead an expedition to transport slaves from west Africa to the Spanish West Indies. The fleet is attacked at San Juan de Ulúa.
1568 CE: Elizabeth I of England confines the exiled Mary, Queen of Scots.
1568 CE: Mary, Queen of Scots flees Scotland and seeks sanctuary in England.
1569 CE: There is a rebellion in the north of England against Elizabeth I of England and stirred up by the earls of Northumberland and Westmorland.
1570 CE: The Pope excommunicates Elizabeth I of England.
1571 CE: The Duke of Norfolk plots with Spain to mount an invasion of England and crown Mary, Queen of Scots the queen of England (the Ridolfi plot).
1572 CE - 1598 CE: William Cecil, Lord Burghley is the Lord Treasurer of Elizabeth I of England's government.
1572 CE - 1573 CE: Francis Drake explores Panama and seizes a Spanish silver mule train.
1576 CE: The first purpose-built and permanent theatre in England is built in London, the Theatre.
1576 CE: London receives its first playhouse, founded by James Burbage and simply known as The Theatre.
1576 CE - 1578 CE: Martin Frobisher explores Labrador in search of the fabled North-West Passage.
1577 CE - 1580 CE: Francis Drake circumnavigates the world in his ship the Golden Hind.
1581 CE: Elizabeth I of England knights Francis Drake after his circumnavigation of the globe.
1584 CE: The Throckmorton Plot sees a Spanish ambassador work with Mary, Queen of Scots to try and replace Elizabeth I of England.
1585 CE: Rober Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester leads an expeditionary force to help Protestant rebels in the Netherlands.
1585 CE - 1587 CE: Sir Francis Drake attacks Spanish vessels and ports in the Spanish Main.
1585 CE: Settlers sail to Virginia in North America to create England's first colony on Roanoke Island.
1586 CE: The Babington Plot sees Mary, Queen of Scots embroiled in a plot with Anthony Babington to oust Elizabeth I of England.
1586 CE - 1588 CE: Thomas Cavendish circumnavigates the globe, only the third man to do so.
1586 CE: The Treaty of Berwick, a peace treaty, is signed between England and Scotland.
1586 CE: Mary, Queen of Scots is tried and, found guilty of plotting against Elizabeth I of England, is condemned to death.
1587 CE: Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester returns to the Netherlands to assist Protestant rebels there.
1587 CE: Elizabeth I of England signs the death warrant of Mary, Queen of Scots.
1587 CE: Mary, Queen of Scots, guilty of plotting against Elizabeth I of England, is executed.
1587 CE: Sir Francis Drake attacks Cadiz.
1587 CE: A second wave of settlers arrives to form the Roanoke Colony in Virginia, North America.
1588 CE: The Spanish Armada of Philip II of Spain leaves Lisbon.
1588 CE: The Spanish Armada of Philip II of Spain is defeated in its attempt to invade England.
1588 CE: Elizabeth I of England visits her land army at Tilbury which was assembled to repel the invasion of the Spanish Armada of Philip II of Spain.
1589 CE: William Shakespeare writes his first play, 'Henry VI Part I'.
1589 CE: The Drake-Norris Expedition (aka English Armada or Don Antonio Expedition) attacks Lisbon and ships of Philip II of Spain. It is not successful.
1590 CE: Edmund Spenser writes his poem 'The Fairie Queen' with its central figure of 'Gloriana', identified with Elizabeth I of England.
1592 CE: A wave of Black Death plague closes all theatres in London for one year.
1592 CE: Sir Walter Raleigh is imprisoned in the Tower of London for marrying in secret a lady-in-waiting of Elizabeth I of England.
1592 CE: A fleet of English ships funded by Sir Walter Raleigh captures the Portuguese treasure ship, the carrack Madre de Deus.
1593 CE: William Shakespeare writes his play 'Romeo and Juliet'.
1595 CE: John Hawkins and Francis Drake lead an unsuccessful expedition against Spanish ships and settlements in Panama and the Caribbean.
1596 CE: A large English fleet lands and captures the Spanish port of Cadiz.
1597 CE: Elizabeth I passes the first of her Poor Laws.
1598 CE: William Cecil, Lord Burghley dies.
1599 CE: Opening of the Globe Theatre in London.
1600 CE: The East India Company is given a charter to trade in India and the Indian Ocean by Elizabeth I of England.
1601 CE: Elizabeth I of England passes the second batch of Poor Laws.
1603 CE: Elizabeth I of England, aged 69, dies of ill health at Richmond Palace.
1603 CE: Coronation of James VI of Scotland as King James I of England in Westminster Abbey.