1640
In need of funds, Charles summons parliament but his demands are denied. Parliament is dismissed in a matter of weeks.
1640
After the Scottish Covenanters capture Newcastle and Durham, Charles I summons another parliament.
1640
Parliament begins impeachment proceedings against Charles' key counsellors, leading to their exile or execution.
1641
Charles I assents to a series of Acts of Parliament which limit his power to dismiss parliament and rule independently.
1641
Rebellion breaks out in Ireland.
1641
The House of Commons issues the Grand Remonstrance, a list of grievances against Charles' reign.
1642
Charles I enters the House of Commons in a failed attempt to arrest five members accused of high treason.
1642
A confederate government is established in Ireland.
1642
Charles I and his family leave London, which is under control of Parliament.
1642
Charles I and Parliament each begin to raise armies.
1642
Charles I raises the royal standard at Nottingham.
1642
Parliamentarian and Royalist armies clash in the battle of Edgehill.
1642
A Royalist advance on London is repelled at Turnham Green.
1643
Royalist forces find success at Adwalton Moor and Bristol.
1643
Parliamentarian and Royalist armies clash in the battle of Newbury.
1644
Scottish forces invade England in support of Parliament.
1644
Charles I's nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, is defeated by a joint Parliamentary and Scottish force at Marston Moor, breaking Royalist power in the north.
1644
The Earl of Essex is defeated at Lostwithiel, the last major Royalist victory of the war.
1645
The Self-denying Ordinance reforms the Parliamentarian military leadership.
1645
The Parliamentarian New Model Army is created.
1645
Parliamentarian forces win decisive victories at the battles of Naseby and Langport.
1646
As it becomes clear that the Royalist cause is lost, Charles I surrenders himself to Scottish forces at Newark.
1647
Charles I is delivered to parliamentary commissioners and placed under house arrest.
1647
The New Model Army holds debates on the future form of government.
1647
Charles I negotiates in secret for Scottish support.
1648
A series of Royalist uprisings, and an invasion of northern England by Scottish forces, are defeated.
1648
Colonel Thomas Pride stations soldiers outside Parliament, blocking entry to opponents of the army.
1649
Charles I is placed on trial, convicted of treason, and executed.
1649
Parliament declares England a Commonwealth.
1649
Oliver Cromwell invades Ireland, committing massacres at Drogheda and Wexford.
1650
Charles II, previously exiled in the Hague, lands in Scotland and is crowned at Scone.
1650
The first British coffee house opens in Oxford.
1650
Oliver Cromwell launches an invasion of Scotland to forestall Scottish support for Charles II, and achieves a victory at Dunbar.
1651
Charles II is defeated at Worcester and forced to return to exile.
1652 - 1654
First Anglo-Dutch War.
1653
Cromwell dismisses the Rump Parliament and installs himself as Lord Protector.
1654
Anglo-Spanish War.
1655
Cromwell dissolves the Protectorate Parliament in favour of direct military rule.
1656
Cromwell initiates the readmission of Jews to Britain.
1657
Britain's first Chocolate House is advertised in Bishopsgate Street, London.
1658
Oliver Cromwell dies and is succeeded as Lord Protector by his son, Richard.
1659
Richard Cromwell is deposed by the army and the Rump Parliament is reinstated, ending the protectorate.
1659
Competition between the Rump Parliament and the military leadership causes a political crisis in England.
1660
George Monck, the commander of English forces in Scotland, marches south and reinstates the Long Parliament.
1660
The Long Parliament dissolves itself and calls for the election of a new assembly, the Convention Parliament.
1660
Charles II issues the Declaration of Breda, promising a general pardon for crimes committed during the Civil War and Interregnum for those who recognised him as the lawful king.
1660
The Convention Parliament restores Charles II to the throne.
1660
The Royal Society is founded.
1660 - 1669
Samuel Pepys keeps a diary.
1661
The Corporation Act requires all municipal officials to take the Anglican communion.
1662
The Act of Uniformity makes the Book of Common Prayer compulsory in religious services.
1662
Charles II marries Catharine of Braganza, securing Tangier and Bombay for England as part of her dowry.
1662
Parliament institutes the hearth tax to support the royal household.
1662
The Settlement Act gives each person a place of 'settlement', clarifying which parish is responsible for their relief.
1664
The Conventicle Act forbids nonconformist worship for groups of five or more.
1665
The Five Mile Act forbids nonconformist ministers from coming closer than five miles to towns where they have ministered.
1665
Plague strikes London.
1665 - 1667
Second Anglo-Dutch War.
1666
The Great Fire of London causes the destruction of around 13,000 homes and many public buildings. A special fire court is established to help destitute tenants rebuild their homes.
1667
Paradise Lost is published.
1667
A Dutch fleet sails up the Thames and launches a devastating raid on the English navy.
1667
The Treaty of Breda. Britain cedes its interests in Sumatra and the Spice Islands to the Netherlands in return for New Amsterdam.
1668
The English East India Company establishes a trading base in Bombay.
1668
England, Sweden and the Netherlands form an alliance to oppose France in the War of Devolution.
1669
Charles II's brother and heir to the throne, the future James II, converts to Catholicism.
1670
In the Treaty of Dover, Charles II promises to support French policy in Europe and convert to Catholicism in exchange for a yearly pension, though he never converts.
1674
Third Anglo-Dutch War.
1672
Charles II issues a Declaration of Indulgence, suspending the penal laws against Catholics and other religious nonconformists.
1673
Parliament passes the Test Act, excluding Catholics and nonconformists from public office.
1675
Work begins on the new St Paul's Cathedral.
1677
Charles II's niece, Mary, marries William of Orange.
1677
The Monument, a commemoration of the Great Fire of London, is completed.
1678
A fictitious conspiracy, the Popish Plot, leads to anti-Catholic hysteria in England and Scotland.
1678
The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, is published.
1679
Members of Parliament introduce the Exclusion Bill in an attempt to exclude the Duke of York, the future James II, from the line of succession.
1681
Louis XIV of France renews persecution of Huguenots, causing many to flee to England.
1682
Edmond Halley charts and describes the orbit of a comet which is named after him.
1683
The Rye House Plot, a conspiracy to assassinate Charles II and the Duke of York, is uncovered.
1684
The Thames freezes over and fairs are held on the ice.
1685
On the death of Charles II, his brother James II accedes to the throne.
1685
Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, leads an unsuccessful rebellion against James II.
1687
Isaac Newton publishes Principia Mathematica, in which he formulates his laws on gravity.
1687
James II issues a Declaration of Indulgence, suspending penal laws against Catholics and other religious nonconformists.
1688
A son is born to James II, ushering in the prospect of a permanent Catholic dynasty in Britain.
1688
Leading Protestant noblemen invite William of Orange to invade England.
1688
When William of Orange lands in England, James II flees the country.
1688 - 1691
Conflict between supporters of James II and William of Orange in Ireland.
1689
Parliament installs William III and Mary II as joint rulers.
1689 - 1690
War between supporters of James II and William III in Scotland.
1689 - 1697
England enters the Grand Alliance against France, leading to nine years of war on the continent.
1690
William III wins a decisive victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne.
1691
James II's French and Irish supporters are defeated at Aughrim, leading to a collapse of Jacobite support in Ireland.
1694
The Bank of England is formed to raise funds for the war against France.
1694
On the death of Mary II, William III becomes sole monarch.
1697
The Treaty of Rijswijk marks the end of the Nine Years War.
1698
The steam engine is invented by Thomas Savery.
1698
Scotland makes a disastrous attempt to establish a colony at Darien in Panama.
1701
James II dies in exile.
1701
The Act of Settlement disqualifies Roman Catholics from inheriting the throne.
1701 - 1714
War of the Spanish Succession.
1702
On the death of William III, Queen Anne accedes to the throne.
1702 - 1713
Queen Anne's War. Britain and France fight in Canada, New England, the Carolinas and Florida for control of the Americas.
1707
The Act of Union merges the kingdoms of England and Scotland.