Basic information about possible contributing factors to Shakespearean writings.

1. William Shakespeare

2. Henry VIII 1509-47 AD -Obsessed with producing a male heir -Married: Six wives -Created Church of England when Catholic Pope in Rome would not grant him a divorce from first wife. Wife 1- Catherine of Aragon (widow of his brother, Arthur) in 1509, divorcing her in 1533; the union produced one daughter, Mary . Wife 2-Henry married the pregnant Anne Boleyn in 1533; she gave him another daughter, Elizabeth , but was executed for infidelity (a treasonous charge in the king's consort) in May 1536. 1491-1547

3. (1533-1603) -More relaxed reign than Mary, her (Catholic) half sister’s four year reign ENTERTAINMENTS: -Plays -Bear baiting or cock-fighting -Brothels A Bishop regulated the industry and made himself a tidy profit

4. Gaps between teeth were expected Queen Elizabeth I filled the holes in her mouth with cloth to improve her appearance in public Some who could not afford sugar, blacked out their teeth to make them look rotten -Peasants had boring, meager diet -Wealthy people had more variety -Mostly meat (even Peacocks) -Sir Walter Raleigh recently brought potatoes from his travels -Tomatoes (Love Apples) recently brought from Mexico -People were suspicious of most vegetables and fruits -Fancy sugar desserts popular -Obesity a sign of wealth

5. -Shakespeare had terrible fear of the deadly disease and its consequences - The population of Wooster, Ohio was 24,811 at the 2000 census -In 1563, in London alone, over 20,000 people died of the disease (80,000 in England) 1593 , 1603 and 1608 -3 very serious outbreaks of the disease Led to the closure of all places of Elizabethan entertainment, including Globe Theater Black Death / Bubonic Plague

6. April 23, 1564 Will Shakespeare born April 26, 1564 Will's baptism recorded in the register of the Holy Trinity Parish Church in Stratford-upon-Avon: "Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere"

7. November 27, 1582 Will Shakespeare (18 years old) Marries Anne Hathaway (26 years old) May 26, 1583 Susanna, Will's first child, is baptized (Susanna lives to be 66 years old)

8. 1584 English Expedition claims North Carolina for England; Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen" names the land Virginia February 2, 1585 -Will's wife gives birth to twins, who are baptized. Judith (girl) and Hamnet (boy) – (Judith lives to be 77 years old Hamnet dies at the young age of 11)

9. August 11, 1596 Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, dies October 20, 1596 John Shakespeare (Shakespeare’s father) granted Coat of Arms The motto read: "Non sans droict" or "Not without right"

10. 1599 Globe Theatre built March 24, 1603 Queen Elizabeth dies 1603 James VI of Scotland is crowned King James I, King of England , upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I

11. Byrd Song Plainsong Byrd Mass for 4 Voices Byrd La Volta Rufty Tufty dance Street Cries-Orlando Gibbons Morris Dance- Shephards Hey The clown Richard Tarlton Music

12. June 5, 1607 Shakespeare's daughter Susanna marries a popular doctor, Dr. John Hall 1608 Shakespeare's Troupe, The Kings's Men, buys the Blackfriars Theatre Classy clothes A person below the rank of a knight's eldest son, for example, was not allowed to wear satin, damask or taffeta.

13. February 10, 1616 -Shakespeare's daughter Judith marries Thomas Quiney. -Shakespeare unhappy with the marriage -----Especially dislikes Thomas Quiney (who had confessed to impregnating another woman)

14. 1619 The first female English colonists arrive in Jamestown August 20, 1619 Twenty people, indentured servants, are taken to Virginia, becoming the first African-born bondsmen to arrive in America1620Pilgrims arrive in Massachusetts

15. April 23, 1616 -Will Shakespeare dies at the age of 52 April 23, 1616 -Miguel de Cervantes (wrote Don Quixote) dies

16. http://www.willshakespeare.com/default.htm http://www.william-shakespeare.info/bubonic-black-plague-elizabethan-era.htm http://www.mermaidclinic.com/Articles/teeth-whitening-london-medieval-teeth.html http://www.discoveriesinmedicine.com/Enz-Ho/False-Teeth.html http://www.britannia.com/history/londonhistory/tudlon.html http://www.elizabethi.org/us/food/ http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-life.htm http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/literature/plainsong.html http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/SLT/stage/fashion.html