Years 1604-1606
| Shakespeare's life | contemporary events |
| 1604 | |
|
Mar. 15. Shakespeare receives four and a half yards of
red cloth for King James' coronation. July. Shakespeare sues Philip Rogers for debt of 3s. 10d. |
A tax is levied on tobacco to restrain its use. 25 volumes of Lope da Vega's plays are published. James I's pamphlet Counterblast to Tobacco is published. |
| 1605 | |
|
May 4. Augustine Phillips bequeaths 30s. in gold to
Shakespeare. July 24. Shakespeare pays £440 for a one-quarter interest in the lease of Stratford tithes. Shakespeare's name appears on the title-page of the play The London Prodigal. |
The Gunpowder Plot. Bacon's The Advancement of Learning is published. Guy Fawkes is arrested. A proclamation orders the banishment of all Catholic priests. Cervantes' Don Quixote is published. |
| 1606 | |
| June 5. Susanna Shakespeare is named as a recusant for failing to receive communion on Easter Sunday. |
Luis Vaez de Torres sights the north coast of
Australia. Oath of Allegiance imposed. Ben Jonson writes Volpone. Guy Fawkes is sentenced to death. May 27. An Act is passed implosing a fine of £10 for the "abuse of the holy name of God in stage plays." John Lyly dies. Rembrandt, Corneille, and William Davenant are born. |