Protestant Reformation
In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation transformed religion in Europe.
The Catholic Church, long Europe's strongest force, was challenged by Martin Luther. Next came John Calvin, who advocated casting off the Catholic Church entirely and set forth a unique dogma. Followers of his creed included the Huguenots in France and the Puritans in England.
| 1509 | Praise of Folly Published | |
| 1517 | Luther's 95 Theses | |
| 1521 | Diet of Worms | |
| 1524-5 | German Peasants' Revolt | |
| 1533 | Henry VIII Marries Anne Boleyn | |
| 1540 | Society of Jesus (Jesuits) approved by Pope Paul III (founded 1534). | |
| 1541 | Theocracy established in Geneva under Calvin. | |
| 1545-63 | Council of Trent | |
| 1553-8 | Restoration of Catholicism in England under Mary. | |
| 1555 | Peace of Augsburg | |
| 1588 | Defeat of the Spanish Armada. | |
| 1618 | Beginning of Thirty Years' War | |
| 1648 | Peace of Westphalia |
English Reformation
In 1529, amid the Protestant Reformation's upheavals, English king Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church.
English king Henry VIII bristled against the Pope's refusal to grant him a divorce. This culminated in 1529, when he formed the Church of England, led by the himself the king, and replaced the Catholic institution in England with this new Anglican Church.
Henry VIII's successor was his Catholic daughter Mary, who sought to resurrect Catholicism's supremacy over England. But when her Anglican half-sister Elizabeth I assumed the throne, the severance from the Catholic Church was final.