Download The history of Great Britain

The history of Great Britain
The United Kingdom of Great Britain has great history as an every nation. And all
people of all nations, which come from these islands, are very proud of it.
Almost unknown period (before 80 B.C.)
Although little is known about people inhabiting the British Isles in this pre-historic
period –the Iberians and the Beaker folk, some monuments have been preserved, such as
Stonehenge (big circular standing stones near Salisbury in the south of England, erected some
time before 1000 B.C.), Salisbury Plain in the Wiltshire area was the focus of all pre-Celtic
civilization.
The period of Celtic (800B.C. –A.D. 43)
The first Celtic tribes, the Goidelic (Gaelic speaking) are believed to have come to the
British Isles between 800 and 700 B.C. Two centuries later they were followed by the Britons,
also called Cymric Celts, Britannic Celts or ancient Britons, so the country was called Britain.
Except the name of Britain and the names of some British rivers (the Avon) or Places
(Dover), the most important survival of Celtic Britain is the existence of three Celtic
languages: Welsh (same or similar group of languages as Breton and Armorican), Irish(Irish
Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic) and Gaelic.
The Celtic cultural heritage is most strongly felt in Wales, parts of Scotland (the
Highlands and Islands) and Ireland. The organization of the Celtic society was tribal and the
country was divided into many small units under local chieftains.
Roman Britain (A.D. 43-407)
The first Roman invasion was led by Julius Caesar in 55 B.C. But Britain was not
conquered until some 90 years later, under Emperor Claudius in A.D. 43.But the north of
island was never conquered.
The most serious resistance against Romans led Queen Boadicea in 60 A.D., but
without success. Boadicea was defeated and committed suicide. Even today the people of
Britain remember her as a national heroine and her name is still honoured as a symbol of
courage in defending national independence and resisting foreign aggression.
Although the Roman occupation of Britain lasted nearly 400 years, its permanent
effects were surprisingly few. The mass of the people did not adopt the Latin language and so
Latin didn’t displace Celtic as it did in Gaul.
But the Roman roads are still used, and the remains of Hadrian’s wall, a defensive
wall making the northern frontier of Roman Britain and the northernmost limit of Roman
Empire, are still to be seen between the rivers Tyne and Solway (from Newcastle to Carlisle).
The Latin word castra (that means military camp) survives in a number of English place
names such a Chester and other names ending this word. An additional there are some
another historical monuments, for example spas Bath.
The Anglo-Saxon period (the middle of the 5th century - 1066)
In the middle of the 5th century, some 50 years after the retreat of the Roman armies,
three Germanic tribes – the Angles, Saxon and Jutes – invaded Britain from the Continent.
The Angles and Saxons came from the North German coast around the Mouth of Elbe, from
the country bordering on Denmark(today Schleswig-Holstein). The Jutes came probably from
the lower Rhineland. The invaders conquered the Celts and drove them to the west of the
island (Wales, Cornwall) and to the north (Scotland).
The beginning of the Anglo-Saxon invasions is said to have been landing in Kent by
two Jutes, Hengist and Horsa, in 449. The Jutes settled down in Kent, Hampshire and the Isle
of Wight, the Angles occupied the northern, central and the eastern part of England, the
Saxons occupied the south. The largest part of the country was occupied by the Angles, after
whom the country was called England.
Although Christianity had existed in the British Isles before the coming of the AngloSaxons (the Welsh had learned it during the Roman occupation and the Irish had been
converted by St. Patrick in 432), the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon did not come from
Wales, but from Rome. In 597 St. Augustine, the Roman missionary, landed in the Kent and
brought Christianity to England. He became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
From the 8th century Anglo-Saxon had to fight against Scandinavian invaders – the
Danes and the Norseman (some of them known as Vikings). They were making many
permanent settles.
England under the rule of the Anglo- Saxons was first divided into seven kingdoms:
Wessex, Sussex, Essex and Kent in the south, East Anglia in the east, Northumbria in the
north, and Mercia in the central part. All these were united in 829 by Egbert, king of Wessex,
who is generally regarded as the first King of England.
The best-known among the Saxon kings was Egbert’s grandson, Alfred the Great
(871-901), an educated man, who translated books from Latin into Old English. He stopped
the Danish advance, forced the Danes out of Wessex and made peace with them. England was
then divided into the Saxon part and the Danish part.
The Scandinavian invasions continued till the 11th century. In the early 11th century the
Danish king Cnut conquered the whole of England and for 25 years (1017-1042) England was
part of Cnut’s Scandinavian Empire. Cnut died 1035, his sons were incapable of holding the
empire together and in 1042 the Old Saxon line was resorted without opposition. For the next
24 years England was ruled by Edward the Confessor who had been brought up in Normandy.
When Edward died in 1066, he left no heirs, and the council of wise men chose
Edward’s brother-in –Law, Harold as a King. But William, Duke of Normandy, claimed that
he had been nominated by Edward as successor. William decided to obtain the crown by
conquest. In the battle of Hasting Harold the king was defeated and killed and William, Duke
of Normandy became a king known as William the Conqueror. That was the end of Saxon
period.
The period of feudalism (1066- 15th century)
The Normans brought to England also influence of French language. Their feudalistic
system changed old tribal organization of society.
In 12th century was a period of subjugation of the Saxon-speaking people by the
French- speaking Norman nobility. The struggle for power between the King and the Church
resulted in the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury Cathedral
in 1170. Becket was canonized and Canterbury became popular place of pilgrimage until the
reformation in the 16th century.
The most important events in the 13th century were the granting of Magna Charta
Libertatum and the summoning of the first House of Commons. In 1215 King John
(Lackland) was forced by his barons to sign the Magna Charta, which limited the absolute
power of the king in favour of the barons. This came to be regarded as the cornerstone of
democratic rights and the civil liberties. It is often looked upon as the oldest written
constitutional document.
Feudalism in England began to disintegrate as early as the 14th century and by the end
of the 15th century serfdom practically ceased to exist. This early decline of feudalism, which
is characteristic feature of England’s history, was due to several causes:
Firstly, the hundred year’s war with France, which ended in England’s defeat and
resulted in the loss of all possessions in France (except Calais, which was held to
1558).Secondly the Black Death, a violent epidemic of plague in 1348, which reduced the
population of England from four million to two. And mainly the War of Roses (a1455-1485),
that was the struggle for the possession of the Crown between the House of York(white Rose
in emblem) and House of Lancaster (red Rose).This war was self-destruction of noble class.
The war ended when Richard III. Of York was defeated and killed in battle of Bosworth by
Henry Tudor. He founded a new monarchy and became a king Henry VII.
The Tudor period (1485-1603)
In this period England became a world power . There were many else important
situations: reformation, geographical discoveries, development of trade and industry and
defeat of Spanish Armada. The new way of life was also reflected in culture, and the Tudor
period may be characterized as the age of Renaissance. One of its characteristic features in
England was the development of the drama.
In 1509 became a king younger son Henry’s VII. Henry VIII. He had six wives
(Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn-executed, Jane Seymour, Anne Cleaving, Catherine
Howard-executed and Catherine Parr). Using the Pope’s refusal to grant him a divorce from
his first wife as a pretext, he broke away from Roman Catholic Church and founded the
Church of England. This Church has the head English king.
In his young age Henry loved art and also wrote some songs and poetries. But he
became a biggest tyrant in English history. He sent to dead many famous people, for example
Thomas More (book Utopia), his lord Chancellor Thomas Cromwell, two wives and many
else. After his dead ruled his oldest daughter Mary (Catholic, or Bloody Mary). She let burn
many Protestants.
Henry’s second daughter, Elisabeth I. became a queen in 1558. She realized the value
of capitalist enterprise, encouraged trading expeditions, which were often combined with
piracy (Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Drake). She found an Anti-Spanish alliance and in
1588 English fleet defeated Spanish “Invincible Armada”.
The Elizabethan Age produced the world’s greatest playwright, William Shakespeare
(1564-1616). Elizabethan half-timbered houses, a typical architectural feature of this era, can
be seen in many towns and villages.
The Stuarts and the English revolution (1603-1688)
The first 40 years of the 17th century can be characterized as a period of growing
conflict between the king and parliament. This century was also a period of territorial
expansion and the establishment of the first overseas colonies, especially in North America.
Elizabeth I. was unmarried and died without an heir. The English throne was inherited
by James VI., King of Scotland, son of her executed cousin, Mary Stuart. As English king he
was known as James I. England and Scotland are united under one monarch. In 1605 Guy
Fawkes took explosives under a house of parliament to kill the king. This is celebrated
nowadays as the Bonfire night.
With the accession of new dynasty (the House of Stuarts) to the throne in 1603 the
long alliance between the bourgeoisie and the monarchy, which had been a characteristic
feature of the Tudor period, came to an end.
With the development of capitalism, the bourgeoisie was getting richer, while the king
and the old feudal aristocracy were becoming poorer. The bourgeoisie, which dominated
Parliament, wanted to have a decisive say in the government in proportion to its economic
strength. But the Stuarts, insisting on their divine right, disregarded the traditional rights of
the British parliament and tried rule without it. In country were formed two opposition campsThe Royalist (King’s party, supported by feudal nobility, most of the great landowners and
people depend on them) and Parliament (backed by the Bourgeoisie and the capitalist section
of landowners, the gentry).
Each party had its ideology. The ideology of the Royalist was that of the Established
Church (the Church of England), while the creed of bourgeoisie was Puritanism. The Puritans
wanted to purify the Church of the remnants of Catholic worship. Puritanism made people
thrifty and hard-working and was driving force of private enterprise, because the Puritans
regarded wealth as a sign of God’s favour. The rich believed they were pre-estimated by God
to accumulate capital. However, the Puritans were prejudiced against worldly pleasures. They
wore simple dark clothes and short hair- they were called Round heads. The Royalist, who
wore long hair and gay-coloured clothes, were called Cavaliers. The Puritans were split into
two wings: The Presbyterians, who were ready to compromise with the King and The
Independents, who wanted to fight to the end.
The civil war broke out in 1640. The Royalist (under King Charles I. and Prince
Rupert), were strongest in the more backward north, the Puritans (lead by general Fairfax and
Oliver Cromwell) were strongest in the economically more developed south.
In 1645 was the Royalist finally defeated in the battle of Naseby. The leader of
“Ironsides”, Cromwell became head leader and reorganized a new army –New Model Army,
where ranks were awarded according to merit, not to according to noble birth. In 1649 was
King Charles sentenced to death and executed.
After the execution England was declared a republic under the name of
Commonwealth with Oliver Cromwell at its head. His official title was Lord Protector. He set
up a system of military dictatorship and won the wars in Scotland and Ireland. After
Cromwell’s death, the Bourgeoisie decided to restore the monarchy. In 1660 Charles II. Son
of executed king in exile was proclaimed King of England. But conditions as that before 1640
had never returned.
In 1686 Charles II. died and he was succeeded by his brother, James II., whose second
wife was Catholic. When James attempted to restore Catholicism and absolute monarchy,
parliamentary leaders decided to depose him and offer the crown to William of Orange
(Dutch protestant prince) and his wife Mary (James’s oldest daughter). When William landed
in England in 1688, there was no opposition to his arrival, and James was deserted by his
supporters. He went to exile. The English called these events the Glorious revolution, but it
was really revolution, because the masses did not take part in it. This was followed in 1689 by
the Bill of Rights, an Act of Parliament which limited the power of the king and strengthened
that of Parliament. It meant the final victory of constitutional monarchy and capitalism in
Britain.
Between the Glorious and Industrial revolution (1688- 1760)
This period was characterized by some important features: Anglo-French wars in
Europe and in colonies were gone practically without interruption from 1740 to 1763. The
result was the growth of the British colonial empire (India, Canada).
In Scotland was the last try for revolution, lead by Charles Edward (Prince Bonnie
Charlie) in 1745.But he were defeated in battle at Culloden at escaped to France.
The executive power passed from the king to the Prime minister. In this time also
became the two-party political system (Parties the Whigs and the Tories).The plundering of
the colonies and the slave trade resulted in the concentration of wealth in the city of London.
Britain became the leading commercial power. In 1694 a group of rich City merchants
founded the Bank of England.
The Industrial revolution (1760- 1850)
In this period Britain became the first industrial power in the world. The colonial
expansion continued, many important inventions made technical progress in industry and
transport (steam engine by James Watt, steam ship by Robert Fulton and Stevenson’s
locomotive).These revolutionary changes were naturally accompanied by social political
changes, the most important being the emergence of new class- working class- as a political
force.
Colonial expansion continued throughout the period of industrial revolution, but in
1783 the British colonial empire suffered a great loss, defeat in USA and proclaimed
independence of them. After this India became the main stronghold of the British Empire.
Secondly, Britain was at war with France almost continuously from 1793 till 1815, firstly
against revolutionary France (1793 – 1802) and then in the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815).
Napoleon’s continental blockade wasn’t successful, British fleet under Admiral Nelson
defeated combined French and Spain fleets at Cape Trafalgar in 1805. This victory made
Britain the ruler on the waves. In 1815 British army under Duke of Wellington was
participating in battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon was totally defeated.
The Industrial revolution completely transformed the economic and social structure of
the country. It brought into political life two new classes: the industrial capitalists and the
working class. The industrialist was dissatisfied with their representation in parliament. In
their struggle for parliamentary reform they accepted the workers as allies, making use of
general dissatisfaction of the workers with their conditions. So in 1832 was passed the Reform
Act. It was the success mainly for industrialists and landowners.
The Victorian Period (the second half on 19th century)
This age, called after Queen Victoria (1837-1901), can be characterized as a period in
which Britain became the strongest world power. It was also big power in industrial, at seas,
in financial and commercial life and in colonies.
The Victorian age was a period of great social inequalities and contrasts. There was
wealth and poverty, construction of impressive palaces and slums, conservatism and reform,
religious prejudice and scientific progress (Darwinism), sentimentality and cruelty, generosity
and meanness, as it was made familiar to the world through the works of brilliant Victorian
novelist, especially Charles Dickens. The long reign of Queen Victoria can be divided into
three periods – early,mid and late.
The early period brought the victory of Free Trade in 1845. The removal of protective
duties on food and raw materials resulted in an unparalleled expansion of British
manufactures and commerce. The 1845-75 period was the golden age of the manufacturers.
The Conservative and Liberal parties, successors to the Tory and Whig parties respectively,
were formed in this period. There were also two wars – the Crimean war (1853-56) and the
suppression of the Indian mutiny (1857-59).
In the mid period become to existence the alliance between the workers and the middle
class in the Liberal party. In this year’s were adopted some new social reforms. Between 1870
and 1902 elementary education was made compulsory for all children. The first university to
award degrees to woman was the University of London in 1878. The first underground
railway was opened in 1863. In 1867 Canada was made the first self-governing dominion in
the British Empire.
In the late period came to the stagnation in the major industries, economic and social
crisis broke out in Britain in the 1880s. In this period Britain lead colonial and imperialistic
wars in South Africa – with many bloody events. The mainly was the Boer War (1899-1902).
In Sudan was the mutiny lead by Mahdi in 1885.
20th Century and since today
This period is for Britain characterized as a last colonial imperialistic development
before the Failure of colonial system. The land was participating in two world wars. Britain
was losing his colonial, industrial and world trade monopoly. But the city of London was the
biggest financial centre of the world.
The First World War was also caused by imperialist ambitions and rivalries of the
great powers, the young aggressive Germany, and Britain supported by France. The British
fought in France side by side with French soldiers against Germans, but more important for
them was fight for control of sea trade. The deadly threat was German submarines and also
their sea fleet. In the end of war British troop defeated Turks in Palestine and Iraq. But the
casualties were almost one million men.
One the results of the war were establishment of the League of Nations. Britain
gained mandates to administer most of German colonies and large areas from Turkey.
In the period between two world wars Britain still remained the greatest sea power and
colonial power. But Wall Street replaced the city of London as the financial centre. USA
became to replace the world trade and colonial majesty. In this age Britain had to solve the
first national resistance in some colonies. The troop were also participating in civil war in
Russian, they supported White army. In Britain the General Strike in 1926 predicted situations
in world economic crises.
After Hitler’s becoming of power in 1933, Britain and France let him to start new
military races. These countries were relatively prosperous countries, satisfied with the Status
quo and fearing a war in which they had everything to lose and little to gain. The British
government rather welcomed alliance also with Germany against raising communism (Soviet
Union). As a result, British policy was appeasement. The most striking example of it was the
policy of Neville Chamberlain’s government, which lead to the Munich Agreement in 1938.
This betrayal of Czechoslovakia didn’t save the peace.
At the beginning of war Britain and France had promised to help to Poland, when it
was invaded, but they never came. In 1940 German armies invaded Denmark, Nederland,
Belgium and France. British soldiers were fighting side by side French again, but they were
defeated and left France at Dunkirk. After failure of France Britain was staying against Axis
alone. But the German attempt for invasion was spoiled by courage of British pilots in battle
of Britain. All land was in war. German were bombing cities, marine had to fight against
submarines, more dangerous than in first war, and also against big German ship, for example
Bismarck. British 8. Army was fighting in North Africa against Rommel’s Afrikacorps, in
Burma Weak British troops were retreating to India.
Situation became to get better after the USA joined to war. Before it, Americans had
lent 50 torpedo boats to Britain and there had been allowed to build new military bases in
British colonies. In 1942 8. Army defeated Rommel at El Alamein; in May 1943 American
and British army’s drove away Germans from Africa. Then they invaded Italia. In autumn that
year was totally defeated German submarines.
At the 6. of June 1944 Companions disembarked in Normandy. End of war was the
question of time. But British had to fight in another bloody (and lost) battle in Nederland.
Finally British troops finished war in north Germany. It cost almost 400000 lives.
After the war became a finally brake out of colonial system. British retreated from
India, Middle East and whole Africa. Britain joined the European Economic Community and
has been the member of NATO since his foundation in 1949. Anglo-U.S. relations have been
close and friendly. From 1951 were in Britain conservative government till 1964, after this
period was Labour Party more powerful, in 1979 returned to power Conservatives with Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher. She was first woman prime minister, known for her toughness as
the “Iron Lady”, heading the most reactionary government in the post war period.
In 1983 Britain was in for Falkland Islands, it’s known as a quickly reaction to Argentine
invasion.
In 1973 Britain became a member of European Union. The most important situation
and failure of Britain is campaign in Iraq and Afghanistan. All it began with Tony Blair as a
prime minister. Nowadays it is clear, that Britain cannot take its own piece from this conflict
and is trying for the end.
Nowadays, the land, which in history controlled most of all worlds, is trying to cope
with new economical crisis. Britain is still one of the most powers in the world, but can hardly
be as strong as it were in the past.