When Pope Clement VII refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, which had produced no male heir, Henry VIII had Parliament pass a series of acts breaking with Rome. The Act of Supremacy, passed in November 1534, declared the king the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Thomas More and John Fisher were executed for refusing to accept it. From 1536 to 1541 Henry dissolved the monasteries, seizing their land and wealth. The English Reformation began as a political act, and doctrinal change followed under Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
Before and after
- from 1533 to 1929Yaqui Wars
- 28 February 1533Birth of Michel de Montaigne
- 7 September 1533Birth of Elizabeth I of England
- from 1534 to 1980French colonial empire
- 1534Henry VIII becomes head of the Church of England
- 18 January 1535Founding of Lima
- 2 June 1535Birth of Leo XI
- from 16 June 1535 to 21 July 1535Conquest of Tunis
- from 1536 to 1953Danish colonial empire
More in Wars, politics & history
- 25 September 1555Peace of Augsburg
- from 1683 to 1699Great Turkish War
- from September 1688 to September 1697Nine Years' War
- 26 January 1699Treaty of Karlowitz
- 1713Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
- from 28 May 1754 to 7 October 1763French and Indian War
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.