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A narrative history of England (1603-1642)
1633 Intent on turning Ireland into a profitable enterprise, Charles selects a new Lord Deputy - Thomas Wentworth, his top man in the north...
1633 The newly elevated Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, puts his distinctive stamp on the English Church. Key Characters William Lau...
1630-1633 Having determined to work without parliament, Charles gets creative in extracting revenue from his subjects. Key Characters Richar...
1632 As the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus, re-draws the map of Germany, Charles contemplates calling a parliament and re-joining the Prote...
1630-1631 The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus overturns a decade of Catholic dominance in Germany, opening new diplomatic opportunities for E...
Winter 1631 In the wake of widespread social unrest in 1629, England's property owning elites and the central government co-operate on the r...
1630 Squeezed out by William Laud's anti-Calvinist Church, the Calvinists of England struggle to adapt to their new circumstances. Some look...
1630 Rival pro-French and pro-Spanish factions race to make peace with England's enemies. In doing so, they establish the main division at c...
1629 As Charles turns away from parliaments, political influence shifts to a small group of people surrounding the King at court. These pers...
1629 Facing insurrection in parliament, and riots throughout the kingdom, Charles suspects a co-ordinated conspiracy against his regime. A l...
Spring 1629 As Charles deals with disorder on the floor of the House of Commons, unemployment and poor harvests spark riots and unrest throu...
Winter 1629 Parliament reconvenes, in the hopes that the removal of Buckingham will solve the political problems of the past decade. However...
1625-1628 In an effort to provide for the war-time defence of Ireland, Charles enters into negotiations with the Old English Catholics. A se...
1625-1628 Charles learns to rule Scotland through trial and error. But the land of his birth is now a foreign nation that he struggles to un...
Summer 1628 With parliamentary subsidies in hand, and favourable diplomatic circumstances in Europe, Charles and Buckingham finally see ligh...
Spring 1628 Charles comes to a tentative agreement with his subjects. Parliament agrees to provide war funding in exchange for the King's ac...
Spring 1628 The moderates on the Privy Council attempt to reconcile King and parliament, through a bill clarifying the rights of English sub...
1627 While the Duke of Buckingham wages war in France, the Forced Loan has its day in court. A group of 5 loan refusers dispute the King's r...
1627 The Duke of Buckingham exploits the burgeoning news industry to promote his military expedition to the Isle of Rhe in France. But despi...
1626-1627 Charles implements his "new counsels" and raises money outside of parliament. Within the Privy Council, a debate rages over whethe...
1626 Without any parliamentary subsidies, England is forced to sit on the sidelines during the campaigning season of 1626. However, Buckingh...
Summer 1626 After a disastrous parliament, Charles forges an alliance with the ceremonial, anti-Calvinist wing of the Church. His hope is th...
Spring 1626 New accusations against Buckingham raise the stakes at Westminster. Charles is faced with either saving his chief minister, or s...
Spring 1626 After a disastrous first 11 months of his reign, Charles opens his second parliament. As he prepares to swallow his pride and as...
Winter 1626 Across the kingdom elections to the House of Commons mark the beginning of a new parliament. Charles and Buckingham do their bes...
Winter 1626 The Calvinist members of the Patriot Coalition give Charles and Buckingham one last chance to prove their dedication to the Prot...
Fall 1625 Delayed and underfunded due to the failed parliament, an English fleet sets sail for Cadiz. Their goal is to either raid the port,...
Summer 1625 The Charles and Buckingham partnership take control of the kingdom after the death of James. However, their popular war program...
Spring 1625 Ernst von Mansfeld's mercenary army is paralyzed by conflicting orders from England. James directs Mansfeld to the Palatine, whi...
Autumn 1624 After using parliamentary pressure to get James to break off negotiations with Spain, Charles and Buckingham prepare for England...
Spring 1624 Charles and Buckingham attempt to navigate their way through a parliament. They have to convince James to adopt a war policy wit...
1623-1624 Charles and Buckingham are met with popular celebrations upon their return to England. They immediately begin work assembling a po...
Summer 1623 Charles and Buckingham plot to return home from Madrid, by any means necessary. In the mean time, Buckingham plans a diplomatic...
Spring 1623 Charles and Buckingham arrive in Madrid, where they find themselves in over their heads in a world of geo-political intrigue. Th...
Winter 1622/1623 The Earl of Buckingham and Prince Charles embark on a secret voyage to Madrid to complete the marriage treaty between Charl...
1622 After the failure of the 1621 parliament, James turns to a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Europe. He hopes to use a royal marriag...
1622 The Earl of Buckingham and Lionel Cranfield (Earl of Middlesex) battle for supremacy in Ireland. After Cranfield managed to convince Ja...
Autumn 1621 After receiving the support of his subjects in the spring session of parliament, James tries one last time to solve the European...
Early 1621 As England faces war in Europe and an economic crisis at home, parliament meets for the first time in seven years. Francis Bacon...
1620 Just as England is about to be sucked into the war in Europe, a mysterious trade recession strikes the kingdom. The Privy Council scram...
1619-1620 Pushed out of mainstream politics because of their anti-Spanish views, a group of hard-line Calvinists take to international comme...
1620 James scrambles to contain the Bohemian crisis despite the best efforts of his son-in-law Frederick. However, the Thirty Years' War bec...
1618-1619 A rebellion in Bohemia sends the Holy Roman Empire into religious and political turmoil. At the centre of events is James' son-in-...
1618-1619 With a religious and political civil war brewing in the Netherlands, James intervenes to broker a settlement. Key Characters Johan...
1618-1619 Buckingham's reform team takes on their greatest challenge yet - cleaning up the navy. In doing so, Buckingham finds the identity...
1618 Thomas Howard, the Earl of Suffolk, tries to beat Buckingham at his own game by placing a young, attractive man close to the King. Buck...
1607-1617 In the years since the Flight of the Earls, Ireland becomes a hot bed of corruption for court figures in England. This process onl...
1603-1617 Despite his absence in England, James continues to pursue his project of reforming the Scottish Church. In the summer of 1617 he r...
1617 George Villiers, now Earl of Buckingham, begins creating a political network. In exchange for royal offices, Buckingham demands marriag...
1615-1616 23 year old George Villiers supplants the disgraced earl of Somerset as King James' favourite. However, the young man quickly prov...