Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Timeline
1600
London, population 200,000, is Europe's largest city, expanding beyond the
medieval walls, stretching westward along the river to Charing Cross.
1642-1648
A civil war wracks England, pitting a Catholic aristocracy against a Protest-
ant Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell.
1649
King Charles I is beheaded outside Whitehall as London backs the Protest-
ant Parliament in England's Civil War.
1649-1653
Cromwell heads a democratic, Parliament-run commonwealth.
1653-1658
Cromwell—formerly an outspoken critic of royalty—becomes Lord Pro-
tector, a virtually “royal” lifelong title that compels others to refer to him as
“Your Highness.”
1658
Cromwell dies, passing the title of Lord Protector to his son; within a few
years, the Protectorate is history, the king is back in power (see next), and
Cromwell's corpse has been exhumed and posthumously beheaded.
