HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN
Britain was a part of the continent of Europe until about 6 000 B.C.
Little is known about Britain at Pre–Celtic period. There were the Iberians in the 3rd millennium B.C. and there could have been some civilization before them – the only evidence are some stone monuments. For example Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain.
Than came Celts. The first Celtic tribes came at about 800 B.C. They lived in tribal organization and the country was divided into many small units under local chieftains. The only who is said to have united the Celts was the mythic king Arthur. Their language survives in Welsh and Gaelic as well as in the names of the main European rivers (the Thames, the Elbe, the Rhine, the Danube).
England was added to the Roman Empire in A.D. 43. They brought education, social organization, urbanism… They built camps, forts, baths and roads. They influenced the language, so English had Latin word power and grammar. The names of Roman towns in Britain often end with “-chester” (Manchester) and “-caster” (Lancaster), because it meant “an army camp”. The famous Hadrian’s Wall was built by Romans as the protection of Celtic invasion. The Romans had to leave when the Germanic tribes spread all over Europe and invaded Britain at the beginning of the 5th century.
The pagan Germanic tribes called Angles, Saxons and Jutes drove the Celts to the west and to the north of the country. The Germanic kings divided England into 7 kingdoms that were united by king Egbert in 829. The best known Saxon king was Alfred the Great who was very educated. He wrote and translated books. He ruled at the end of the 9th century.
The Anglo-Saxons had to face the Scandinavian invaders during the 8th and 9th century. The Vikings were invaders. They made several settlements in Britain, but at the beginning of 11th century England fell under the Danish rule. The name of the Danish king was Canute.
Than came the Norman conquest. The Duke of Normandy William saw his chance of a successful invasion after the English king. Edward the Confessor died and a new-elected king Harold was weak after fight with the Danes. William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and then he was proclaimed the king of England as William the Conqueror.
12th and 13th century didn’t bring any peace at all. There was struggle between the lower noblemen (Saxons) and the king’s court (Normans) and also struggle between the king and the church. This resulted in the fact that king John the Lackland was forced to sign Magma Carta in 1215, which limited his absolute power and gave some rights to the nobles. It was only for noblemen, it wasn’t for common people. It was the oldest written constitutional document and the origin of the Parliament (House of Lords). It was also the age of Crusades, king Richard the Lionhearted and Robin Hood.
The development of trade and the first signs of capitalism were in 14th and 15th century. Hundred Years’ War with France was since 1338 to 1453. England lost all the possessions in France except Calais in England. Epidemic of plague killed half of the population and the Peasants’ Revolt showed the discontent of the people. The serfdom declined and the village people became farmers free or serf. The War of Roses was the dynastic struggle for the possession of the crown between the House of York (they were white roses) and Lancasters (they were red roses). It finished when the last king of York, Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. The victor – Henry VII. Tudor founded a new monarchy.
Tudor England was since 1485 to 1603. England became one of the most powerful countries in the world due to the geographical discoveries and progress in economic, defeat of the strongest Spain and retarding the influence of Roman-Catholic Church. Henry VIII was famous for being educated, ambitious and unscrupulous and he had 6 wives. He made himself the head of the Church. It was the origin of the Church of England. Elizabeth I was outstanding ruler. The age of her control is the golden age of English history. There were brilliant naval commanders – for example Sir Francis Drake who helped to gain wealth and colonies. It was also the age of William Shakespeare.
The Queen Elizabeth I was unmarried and died in 1603 without an heir. The crown was inherited by Scottish relatives called Stuarts. It was founded the union of England and Scotland called Great Britain. But the Stuarts wanted absolute power, not to be limited by the Parliament. The nobles supported the king Charles I had conflicts with Parliament which led to the Civil War in 1642. Oliver Cromwell led the Parliament to the victory and Charles was executed in 1648. England was a republic and Cromwell became Lord Protector. After Cromwell died the monarchy was restored. In 1660 Charles II was proclaimed the king of England and Britain became a constitutional monarchy with 2 political parties – Tories and the Whigs. In 1666 London burnt down in the Great fire.
Glorious revolution (bloodless) was in 1688. James II attempted to restore absolute power. The Parliament deposed him and his oldest daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange got the crown. The Parliament issued Bill of rights which once for ever limited the power of the king, strengthened the Parliament’s power and outlawed Catholicism for all the Englishmen including the king.
The colonial expansion was in 18th century. It was the age of factories, machines, inventions and commerce. For example James Watt invented a steam engine in 1764 or George Stephenson invented a steam locomotive in 1814.
The Napoleonic wars were in 19th century. Admiral Nelson defeated French and Spanish navy at Trafalgar, which made the British navy the world’s most powerful. The final defeat of Napoleon was at Waterloo in 1815. The British Army was commanded by Duke of Wellington.
Victorian Britain was called after Queen Victoria who ruled Britain for 64 years (1834 – 1901). The British Empire had colonies all around the world and also a great deal of home support. Victoria rejected amusements. It acted in a simple way which meant that common people supported the monarchy. Some of the Victorian values: integrity and discipline of the family, Puritanism in life, also prejudice especially concerting women, hypocrisy. But there were lots of good sides too – for example inventions, stamps, underground, detective fiction, science progress, sports (tennis, football), social movements, reforms, new laws etc. She added large parts of Asia and Africa to the empire.
After Victoria’s death Britain became politically weaker and had to allow the white settled colonies to establish their own governments and constitutions. The rivalry between the great European powers led to the outbreak of the World War I in 1914 which ended in victory for the Allied Powers. The only positive result was the right to vote given to the British women as the thank for their contribution during the war. In 1929 the Wall Street Exchange Market collapsed and started the great economic depression of 1930’s. Britain was soon involved in World War II which the Prime Minister Chamberlain tried to avoid, but finally he had to declare war on Germany in September 1939 and all the countries in Europe were suddenly occupied. Britain had to defend herself by Air Force (The Battle of Britain). Winston Churchill led Britain through the war.
The reconstruction of bombed Britain was after the World War II. Britain lost a lot of colonies which formed Commonwealth. NATO was founded in 1949 and EEC in 1957. Two political parties have been fighting for the power since 1950’s. It sometimes causes problems in economy. The contemporary prime minister is Gordon Brown and the main political part is Labour Party now (1979-97 Conservatives – Margaret Thatcher and John Major, since 1997 Labour government with Tony Blair). The Queen is Elizabeth II. Her seat is in the Buckingham Palace.
After terrorist attacks on the USA, Britain actively participates in the war with terrorism, supporting the American foreign policy.