The History of Britain

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The History of
Britain

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Prehistory
Prehistorical Britain is famous for its megalithic architecture. Wiltshire has
2 spectacular structures: Silbury Hill, the latest burial mound, and
Stonehenge which was used as an astronomical clock for predicting
eclipses.

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The Roman Period (43-410)
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The Romans introduced their own way of life. They brought with
them not only their law and administration, but also their own
culture and architecture: their temples, walls, baths, and villas.
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Their legacy is still present: some English place names have
Latin origin: Chester, Lancaster etc.

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The Germanic Invasions (410-1066)
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Two Anglo-Saxon tribes (the Angles and the Saxons) were
particularly strong in Britain.
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They introduced farming to Britain, however, their culture was
much less developed, so their legacy is not great. Anglo-Saxons
were pagans, they were converted by Roman missionaries.
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Their attacks were halted by the legendary King Arthur.

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King Arthur
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Was a Romanized Celt. He lived in a castle, Camelot, where he
constructed the Round Table for the bravest knights who made
incredible feats.

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Another wave of Germanic invasions happened in the 8th
century, when Viking (Norsemen) came from Scandinavia. They
settled around Scotland.
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They were defeated by King Alfred who was a great scholar.

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The Medieval period.
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William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, wanted to
become a new King of England. He defeated King Harold during
the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
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He imposed a strict feudal system (king-barons-lords-peasants).
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The language of court was French (pig-pork, parliament).
There’re about 7,000 French words in English. E.G.: A la carte,
adroit, déjà vu, fiancé (fiancée),
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Anglo-Saxons tried to oppose the French presence. Robin Hood
was one of the merry folks who wanted to revive English
customs and get rid of French heritage.
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He wanted to support King Richard I (the Lionheart 1189-99)
who was away, fighting in the crusades, while his brother John
took over the throne. He was sympathetic to the French.

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The 16th century
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A lot of in-fighting feuds happened during this period. One of the
most famous one was the Wars of the Roses: the House of
Lancaster (a red rose) fought with the House of the York (a white
rose).

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King Henry VIII becomes the head of the church in 1534. Later
on he will have 6 wives. Protestantism is introduced into Britain.
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His daughter Elizabeth I. She’s known as a virgin queen. She’s
famous for quenching revolts in Ireland. She organized
Plantation of Ireland.

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The 17th century
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King Charles I was famous for his luxurious lifestyle. Also, he
raised money without the consent of the Houses of Parliament,
and showed sympathy towards Catholicism.
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The king was beheaded in 1649. Oliver Cromwell, Lord
Protector, became the unofficial leader of the country and
established a military government. He also introduces a strong
puritan ethics (theatre was banned).

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The Glorious revolution
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Happens in 1660 after another Stewart monarch James II is
dethroned. Prince William of Orange and his wife Mary (from the
Netherlands) became the King and the Queen of Britain. The
Parliament enacts the Bill of Rights which limits the monarch’s
powers.
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A monarch reigns but doesn’t rule.

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The 18th century
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The Act of Union joins Scotland to England and Wales.
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The Parliament is split into two major parties: the Whigs
(parliamentarians, protestants) who supported protestant values
and the Tories who had a great respect for the monarchy and the
Anglican church).

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The 19th century
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Was marked by a series revolts in Ireland who remained
Catholic. It lacked resources and after a terrible famine, lots of
Irish either emigrated or tried to rebel.
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British empire continued expanding its boundaries by colonizing
Canada, Australia, New Zealand and partly Africa.
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The British adopted a sense of supreme confidence, even
arrogance. They thought it was their moral obligation to spread
their culture and civilization across the world.

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Queen Victoria (1837-1901) was hard-working woman, a
mother of 10 children, devoted to her husband Prince Albert.
They introduced the set of values which are now called
Victorian: hard work, thrift and religious observance, absolute
honesty in public life.

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The 20th century
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The first 20 years were marked by a period of extremism which
was connected with the Succession of Ireland (1921). The
Suffragettes demanded the right to vote.
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The British Empire began to crumble.
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Britain took part in 2 devastating wars.
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It also left the European Union (Brexit).