13 January 1559 - Elizabeth crowned Queen of England 

April 23 1564 - William Shakespeare was born

1568 - The Flight to England - The Catholic Mary Queen of Scots is imprisoned by Elizabeth I at Fotheringay Castle

2 January 1571 - marriage negotiations between Elizabeth and Henry, Duke of Anjou

 
1577 - Francis Drake sails around the world ( and returns in 1580) renaming his ship the Pelican to  the Golden Hind

1585-1604 Elizabethan War with Spain exploded due to various conflicts surrounding the wealth and power to be gained from trade from the New World and the differences in religion.

1586 - The Babington Plot - Sir Francis Walsingham discovers plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots. The leader of the plot was Anthony Babington

25 October 1586 - Mary Queen of Scots is convicted of involvement in the Babington plot

8 February 1587 - Execution of Mary Queen of Scots

 
8 August 1588 - The Spanish Armada of 132 ships is defeated by the English fleet of  34 ships and 163 armed merchant vessels under Lord Howard of Effingham, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins (war between Spain and England continues)

1593 - London Theatres close due to the Bubonic Plague (The Black Death)

 
Queen Elizabeth tells Parliament that she has the right to assent or dissent from anything they do

Penalties are proposed for people who refuse to attend Church of England services and to make it a crime to attend Catholic services

1597 - King Philip II sends a second armada against England - a storm scatters his ships

1599 - The Globe Theatre is built on Bankside 

 
17 December 1601 - the Elizabethan 'Poor Law' is passed. Elizabethan Poor Law charges the parishes by providing for the needy

24 March 1603 - Queen Elizabeth I dies and the Tudor dynasty ends. 
James I of England, James VI of Scotland (great-great-grandson of Henry VII) is proclaimed King.