1485 CE: Thomas Cromwell, future first minister to Henry VIII of England is born.

1503 CE: Thomas Cromwell travels to Italy where he fights as a mercenary and then learns banking.

1520 CE: Thomas Cromwell establishes his own legal practice in London.

1523 CE: Thomas Cromwell becomes a Member of Parliament.

1524 CE: Thomas Cromwell joins the household of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

1530 CE: Thomas Cromwell becomes a member of the King's Council.

1532 CE: Thomas Cromwell pushes through Parliament the Act in Restraint of Annates which limits funds paid to the Papacy.

1532 CE - 1540 CE: Thomas Cromwell is chief minister to Henry VIII of England.

1533 CE: Thomas Cromwell is made Master of the Rolls.

1533 CE: Thomas Cromwell pushes through Parliament the Act in Restraint of Appeals which declares that the English monarch is now the highest authority on all legal matters.

1533 CE: Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury formally annuls Henry VIII of England’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.

1534 CE: Thomas Cromwell pushes through Parliament the Treason Act which forbids people to speak out and criticise their king or his policies.

1534 CE: Parliament passes the Act of Succession which declares Henry VIII of England's daughter Mary (with Catherine of Aragon) illegitimate.

1534 CE: The Act of Supremacy declares Henry VIII of England the head of the Church in England and not the Pope.

1535 CE: Thomas Cromwell and a team of inspectors compile the Valor Ecclesiasticus, a record of all the wealth and income of monastic institutions in England and Wales.

1535 CE: Thomas Cromwell is made vicar-general by Henry VIII of England.

1535 CE: Sir Thomas More is executed for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII of England as the head of the Church in England.

1536 CE: Henry VIII of England and Thomas Cromwell push a bill through Parliament which begins the Dissolution of the Monasteries in England and Wales.

1536 CE: Thomas Cromwell is made Lord Privy Seal.

1536 CE: Thomas Cromwell's Ten Articles rejects four of the Seven Sacraments of Catholicism.

1536 CE: Thomas Cromwell issues The Injunctions, a set of recommendations for the clergy.

1536 CE: The Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular uprising against religious changes made by Henry VIII of England, marches in the north of England.

1537 CE: Thomas Cromwell publishes The Bishop’s Book.

1538 CE: Thomas Cromwell issues a more radical version of The Injunctions.

1539 CE: Henry VIII of England approves the translation of the Bible into English.

1539 CE: Parliament passes an act to close all monasteries in England and Wales regardless of size.

1539 CE: Thomas Cromwell is made Earl of Essex and Lord Great Chamberlain.

1540 CE: Henry VIII of England marries his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.

1540 CE: Thomas Cromwell is arrested on charges of treason and heresy.

1540 CE: Henry VIII of England and Anne of Cleves divorce by mutual consent. Thomas Cromwell is blamed for the mismatch.

1540 CE: Thomas Cromwell is executed for treason and heresy.