1600s in England

Events from the 1600s in England. This decade marks the end of the Elizabethan era with the beginning of the Jacobean era and the Stuart period. Monarch – Elizabeth I (until 24 March 1603), then James I Parliament – 10th of Queen Elizabeth I (starting 27 October, until 19 December 1601), Blessed (starting 19 March 1604) 1600 January – in Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, renews the Nine Years' War against England with an invasion of Munster. 11 February–March – clown William Kempe ("Will Kemp") morris dances from London to Norwich. c. April – publication of Ben Jonson's play Every Man out of His Humour; it goes through three editions this year. 26 July – the original Banbury Cross is demolished on the orders of a Puritan local corporation. 31 December – East India Company granted a Royal Charter. William Shakespeare's plays Henry IV, Part 2, Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing are published in London. William Gilbert publishes De Magnete, discussing Earth's magnetic field, one of the first important scientific works to be published in England. Caister Castle falls into ruin. 1601 7–8 January – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, stages a short-lived rebellion against Elizabeth I. 25 February – Essex executed for treason, becoming the last person beheaded on Tower Green in the Tower of London, the sword being wielded by Thomas Derrick. 22 April – the first expedition of the East India Company, having set out from Woolwich on 13 February, sets sail from Torbay for the Spice Islands with John Davis as pilot-major. Spring – possible first performance of Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. 2 October–3 January 1602 – the Siege of Kinsale ends the Nine Years' War. November – Elizabeth I addresses her final parliament with the Golden Speech. An Act for the Relief of the Poor codifies the English Poor Laws. 1602 2 February (Candlemas night) – first recorded performance of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night, in Middle Temple Hall, London.