History of Britain

Early Britain

NEOLITHIC (2900-2200 BC): STONEHENGE,possible burial ground

IRON AGE (800 BC-AD 100): CELTIC POPULATION (BRITONS)

Roman Times (AD 43-410)

Hadrian’s Wall (AD 122): defensive fortification built in northern Britain (Britannia) to separate the Romans from the barbarians.

The Middle Ages 5th-6th centuries: Anglo-Saxon

invasions (Germanic tribes). Native Britons move westwards.

7th century: Christianization. Two influences: Celtic (north-west) and Roman (south-east).

8th century: the ‘7 Kingdoms’ (East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, Wessex).

The Middle Ages 9th century: Viking invasions.

The Danelaw: rule of the Danes over the Anglo-Saxons.

Battle of Stamford Bridge: the English defeat the vikings.

10th century: Unification (the ‘7 Kingdoms’ form England).

Three weeks later…

1066: Norman Conquest. Battle of Hastings: the Norman-French defeat the English.

The Norman Conquest

1066: Battle of Hastings. The Norman-French, led by William ‘the Conqueror’, defeated the English, led by King Harold II, which brought about the Norman domination of England.

Bilingualism: French (upper classes) / English (lower classes).

Bayeux Tapestry: a 70 metre-long embroidered tapestry depicting the

events of the Norman Conquest

House of Plantagenet

1154-1485: House of Plantagenet, with kings like Henry II and Richard ‘the Lionheart’ (and his Third Crusade to conquer the Holy Land).

The Magna Carta (1215) is the first document that limits the ‘divine’ powers of the King and establishes the powers of the Parliament.

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were also created during this period.

1337-1453: Hundred Years’ War (over the control of the French throne). It was a dynastic war and marked the beginning of English and French nationalism.

House of Tudor 1455-1485: Wars of the Roses. Dynastic

wars between the houses of Lancaster and York for the throne of England, with the victory of Henry Tudor over Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. As a result, the House of Tudor ruled for over a century (1485-1603).

Henry VIII (1509-1547): six marriages (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr) and separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church.

Elizabeth I (1158-1603), called ‘The Virgin Queen’, had a long, peaceful and prosperous reign (Elizabethan era) after centuries of turmoil. Her troops defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The Civil War and the Restoration The English Civil War (1642-1651): confrontation between the

King (Charles I and Charles II, Stuart kings who overestimated the power of the monarchy) and the Parliament (led by Oliver Cromwell). Victory of the Parliament (‘Commonwealth’), execution of Charles I and exile of Charles II.

Also economic and religious reasons: the Parliamentarians were mainly Puritans and urban

traders. the Royalists had the support of the Church of England and

rural land-owners. After a Protectorate (1653-1659) under Lord Protector Oliver

Cromwell, the monarchy was restored with Charles II in 1660 and later James II (‘the Restoration’).

King James’s attempt to reintroduce Roman Catholicism in England led to his deposition in the ‘Glorious Revolution’ (1688), led by William of Orange.

The Industrial Revolution and the British Empire

Acts of Union of 1707: Kingdom of Great Britain (England and Scotland). Queen Anne became the new Queen and the Parliament of Great Britain was created.

This time is also the beginning of the British Empire (overseas colonies and territories ruled by the United Kingdom), the Industrial Revolution (machinery, textile, metallurgy, steam power, transportation, better living and work conditions, wealth), and the Independence of the USA (1776), which led to several British-American wars.

The Victorian Era

The Victorian era was a period ruled by Queen Victoria (1837-1901).

Highest point of the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution.

The United Kingdom expanded its borders into America, Africa, Asia and Oceania to become the first economic and political world power.

The British Empire

«the empire on which the sun never sets»