1534, EnglandHenry VIII and Parliament break away from the Roman Catholic Church
1554, EnglandMary I of England marries Phillip II of Spain and England restores papal jurisdiction.
1559, EnglandThe Acts of Supremacy and Allegiance declare Elizabeth Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
1571, EnglandThe Thirty-Nine Articles approved by Parliament as the doctrinal creed of the Church of England.
1604, England The Hampton Court Conference meets to discuss Puritan demands for changes in the government of the Church of England and a new translation of the Bible (Millenary Petition, 1603). Requests for changes in episcopacy are denied.
1611, England King James Bible published.
1620, England On September 16th, the Mayflower departs Southampton England.
1620, New EnglandSigning of the Mayflower Compact on November 21st; Mayflower drops anchor at Cape Cod.
1620, New EnglandThe Mayflower drops anchor at Plymouth Harbor on December 17th.
1620, New EnglandLanding party from the Mayflower arrives on shore at Plymouth Harbor on December 21st.
1621, New EnglandFormal peace treaty negotiated between the Wampanoag tribe and the pilgrims on March 22nd.
1623, New EnglandWilliam Bradford declares a day of Thanksgiving.
1633, EnglandWilliam Laud becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.
1636, New EnglandRoger Williams flees to Rhode Island and founds Providence.
1637, New England Pequot War and founding of New Haven colony
1636, New England Harvard College established for the formal education of ordained ministers.
1636, New England On October 4th, General Court of the Plymouth Colony institutes first legal code in North America.
1642, England English Civil War begins.
1645, England Archbishop Laud executed after being tried by Parliament in 1644.
1649, England Charles I executed by order of Parliament.
1662, England The Great Ejection or Uniformity Act, in which 2,400 priests are ejected from Anglican church because of their insufficiently conformist views.
1688, England Glorious Revolution occurs, wherein William of Orange invades England and James II flees to France.
1689, England In England, the Act of Toleration gives Conformists and Nonconformists some freedom to worship as they please. The Act excludes Catholics and atheists.
1691, New England Plymouth Colony annexed to Massachusetts Bay Colony on October 17th.
1691, New England Salem witch trials begin on March 1st.
1699, New England Brattle Street Manifesto published shortly after the Church in Brattle Square begins meeting. The congregation represents a more liberal branch of New England Puritanism.
1701, New England Yale College established to train future leaders for a godly society.