BRITISH HISTORY(from Let us explore the British Isles, ch. 2)

Pille Kokk & Liisi LasnMHG 2008/9

PREHISTORIC BRITAIN (-55 BC)

Period before written records began.

Remains: hill figures, hill forts, stone circles.

Inhabitants of the British Isles: between 6th – 3rd centuries BC Britain was invaded by Celtic tribes, they were pagan with priests known as Druids, later converted to Christianity.

ROMAN BRITAIN (55 BC - 400 AD)

Wide-scale Roman invasion in 43 AD.

Romans built roads, villas, public baths and fortifications.

In 60 AD, the Iceni, a tribe led by Queen Boadicea rebelled and were suppressed by the Romans.

In 122 AD Hadrian's Wall built across the north of England for protection from the Scots.

Around 400 AD the Romans left to defend their empire.

THE ANGLO-SAXON, DANISH AND NORMAN INVASIONS (400 AD - 1066)

Germanic tribes raided, and later settled in, what they called Anglia as the Celts fled north and west.

In 597 St Augustine of Rome arrived and brought Christianity with him, cathedrals and abbeys took over the landscape.

In the 8th century the Vikings raided Britain. The Norsemen settled in Scotland and Ireland, the Danes in the north and east of England.

MEDIEVAL BRITAIN (1066 - 1485)

In 1066 the Normans, led by William the Conqueror, veni vidi vici'd Britain.

Changes: introduction of a feudal system, more power to the king and church, many castles built, Norman French became the language of the upper class.

England became a centralised country under military rule, rebellions were suppressed.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland were conquered.

1066 – The Battle of Hastings: Anglo-Saxons vs. Normans. William of Normandy became William I of England.The Bayeux Tapestry

1170 – The murder of Archbishop Thomas à Becket: Becket was killed and later canonised, Canterbury became a Mecca for Pilgrims.

End of 12th century: according to legend Robin Hood and his Merry Men lived in Sherwood Forest.

1215 – The Magna Carta: King John signed it, limiting his power and extended the rights of his subjects. It is well-known charter of personal and political liberty.

1337-1453 – the Hundred Years' War: France vs. England, a series of wars over control of land in France. France won and forced the English to leave.

1348 – the Black Death: an illness that killed ~75 million people worldwide.

1455-1485 – the Wars of the Roses: the House of York vs. the House of Lancaster, both contending for the throne of England. Richard III defeated by Henry Tudor (later King Henry VII of England) in the Battle of Bosworth Field.

THE TUDORS (1485-1603)

Characteristics: a period of new learning, trade and expansion, sea exploration and naval victories.

1588 – The sinking of the Spanish Armada, the culmination of the period.

Famous explorers: Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh (first brought potatoes and tobacco to Britain).

Henry VIII (1491-1547) Had 6 wives and 4 children. By divorcing his 1st wife he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1535 the Parliament made the king Head of the Church of England, which became Protestant.

Elizabeth I (1558-1618)

One of the greatest monarchs of England. Her reign is called the Golden Age. It is characterised by intellectual brilliance, flourishing literature and commercial prosperity.

THE STUARTS (1603-1714) Guy Fawkes Night – 1695 November 5th, English

Catholics led by Fawkes tried to blow up the Parliament, but they failed.

The civil war (1642-1651) – Charles I vs. Parliament Results: - Charles I was defeated and executed; - Cromwell took up rule of the country and called himself the Lord Protector. Only time in history when the country had no monarch.

Charles II, son of Charles I, took the throne after Cromwell's death but the Parliament was too strong to be challenged by the monarchy.

The House of Hanover (1714-1901) George I (the King formerly known as George

of Hanover) (1714-1727) – left the country to the care of the Cabinet, which was headed by Sir Robert Walpole, the 1st Prime Minister

The Scottish Jacobite Rebellions (1715 and 1719) – were the greatest threat to George I, but James Stuart, their leader, was defeated

Prince Charlie – tried to assume the throne in 1745 and 1746. His endeavours ended badly and he fled to permanent exile in Rome.

Fighting & Exploring 16th April 1746 – Charles vs. Duke of Cumberland.

5,000 starving Jacobites faced 9,000 of Cumberland's men. 1,000 Highlanders were slaughtered, 1,000 more were hunted down and killed later. All Stuart pretensions to the crown were ended.

Britain lost its American colonies during George III. It recognised the independence of the US in September 1783.

Admiral Horatio Nelson triumphed over the French in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Duke of Wellington (the Iron Duke) defeated Napoleon in the Battle of Waterloo, Belgium, in 1815.

Captain James Cook aided in the expansion of the British colonies by exploring and mapping seaways.

The Industrial Revolution Starting from the second half of the 18th century. Innovations: new machines invented, factories

established, new methods of farming, canals and railways built. Telegraph lines and newspapers provided a steady flow of information.

People moved to the city to find work, tenements were overflowing with people and there was no sanitation as such.

Working conditions were unhealthy and unsafe (coalmines, factories, etc.) which took a toll on life expectancy.

Social reform: slave trade abolished, female and child labour regulated by law, primary schools established, men no longer excluded from universities due to their religion.

The Victorian Age (1837-1901) The 64 years of Queen Victoria's reign. Period dominated by 3 men: the Prince

Consort, Albert of Saxe-Coburg, and two prime ministers – William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli.

At the end of this period Britain was the most powerful nation in the world.

By the 1920s the British Empire encompassed 25% of the world's territory and population.

Victoria had 9 children. Her descendants would eventually succeed to the thrones of Germany, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Spain, Yugoslavia and Romania.

The Crimean War (1853-1856) Russia vs. England and its alliances. Results:

- England won;- both sides had enormous casualties.

The war is now associated with Florence Nightingale, who was the first woman to run a field hospital in Turkey during the war .

The Boer War (1899-1902)

As a result, the British Empire gained two Boer republics.

The Potato Famine (appeared between 1845-1850)

- one of the greatest disasters the West has seen.- Ireland lost about half of its population.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

Considered one of the greatest English novelists of all time.

He became a very rich man and used his wealth for good causes (antislavery movement, social housing projects etc.)

THE HOUSE OF SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA Edward VII, eldest son of Victoria and Albert.

He proved to be an able monarch who also spoke French and had many mistresses (hence the name ‘the Playboy King’.

George V, the next monarch.He had to confront many crises during his reign, such as WW I and the Rise of Hitler’s Nazis.

In 1917, the name of the royal family was changed to ‘Windsor’.

WORLD WAR I (1914-1918)

The war was sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

About 10 million people were killed during WW I.

Ireland’s demands for independence increased.

VOTING The Reform Act in 1832 gave the vote to all

men who owned a house. In 1918 the right was given to all men over

the age of 21 and all women over 30. In 1928, all men and women over 21 had

the permission to vote.

THE GENERAL STRIKE It was led to by a slump in

the mining industry in 1925.

The strike started on 4 May 1926, and many people stopped work in support of the men who worked in mines.

The strike had a great effect on the miners’ condition.The Subsidised Mineowner

- Poor Beggar!

Edward VIII changed royal history, causing the most serious constitutional crisis of modern times. He chose love over duty and abdicated so he could marry Mrs Wallis Simpson, a divorcee.

George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth were very popular. He brought the Crown and the people closer together.

WORLD WAR II (1939-1945)

The war was started by Hitler and ended by the US, who dropped nuclear bombs on Japanese cities.

The war years were very hard for Britain.After the war, the Labour Party came to power and promised: the coal and railway industries were to be

nationalised. a comprehensive welfare state was to be

created. health and hospital were to be free for all. a national insurance scene was to be introduced.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first to be televised and it attracted an audience of millions around the world.

The main reason why Britain lost its empire was because many territories wanted to be independent.

When Europe divided into two blocks, Britain joined with the other Western European countries, but it was opted out. When it finally managed to become a member of the EU, some people still felt, that they weren’t getting any economic help from Europe.

When thinking of Britain, we can always remember the long periods of its economic and social well-being.

Thank you for listening!