1598

Love, War and Peace

Peace between France and Spain
Time of troubles in Russia
Lord Burghley dies
Chapman's "Iliad I-VII" published
"Much Ado about Nothing" written and performed at The Curtain
Ben Jonson kills actor Gabriel Spencer in a duel
Stratford is hit by a food crisis
Probable year of the writing of the "Dark Lady sonnets"

War in Ireland

Irish nationalist the Earl of Tyrone defeats an English force and captures their key seat of power in Ulster...

1599

Tragedy and comedy

James VI of Scotland asserts Divine Right of Kings
Earl of Essex makes treaty with Earl of Tyrone
First postal rates fixed in Germany
Akbar begins to subdue Deccan
"Henry V" written and performed at The Curtain and Globe
"As You Like It" written and performed at The Globe
"Julius Caesar" written and performed at The Globe
Boys' Companies re-open

The Theatre is dismantled

After a long-running dispute with their landlord, Shakespeare and Burbage dismantle the Theatre in Shoreditch and move it across the river...

A killing in Southwark

Henry Porter, a contemporary and potential rival of Shakespeare's, is killed in a fight with fellow playwright John Day...

Julian Glover and Adrian Schiller in King Lear

The War of the Poets

The rise in popularity of the Boys' Companies is instrumental in a rift between Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare...

'Tongue-tied' by the State

In June, the register of the Company of Stationers proclaims that "no English histories be printed except they be allowed by some of Her Majesty's Privy Council..."

1600

Hamlet's debut

New rising of Earl of Tyrone
English East India Company founded
William Adams lands in Japan
Oyo Empire in Africa at height of its power
The Fortune playhouse opens
Kemp dances to Norwich
"Troilus and Cressida" written and performed at The Globe
"Hamlet" written and performed at The Globe

A Moor abroad

The Moroccan Ambassador, Abdul Guahid, stays in London for around six months and may have met William while the poet was at court...

1601

Hard times in Stratford

Postal agreement between France and Germany
Akbar annexes Khandesh
Nashe dies
"Twelfth Night" written and performed at The Globe
Stratford endures a hard winter and a third of population are registered as paupers
In September William's father, John Shakespeare, dies and is buried in Stratford