Download THE IRON AGE (700 BC – 55 BC)

THE IRON AGE
(700 BC – 55 BC)
During the Iron Age, Great Britain was inhabited by the Iberians. They settled in the western and
southern parts of Britain.
Around 700 BC, tribes of German warriors settled in Britain. These tribes were generally called
“The Celts”. The Romans called them “barbarians”.
They mostly fought in wars. When they were not fighting, they practiced agriculture. In fact, they
introduce the iron plough to cultivate.
Women were almost equal to men. They could choose the man they wanted to marry and
retained their own property.
Their culture was transmitted orally.
They worshipped natural elements
(the sun, the moon etc.). The Druids
were the priests of the Celts.
Both the Iberians and the Celts are
thought to build Stonehenge.
THE ROMANS
(55 AD – 410 BC)
In 55 AD Julius Caesar invaded Britain but the Romans really conquered the country in the years
43-47 AD.
The Romans introduced their civilization and language. They encouraged the growth of towns
(which originally were
army camps) and roads.
The most important
monument built by the
Romans was a defensive
fortification called the
“Hadrian’s Wall”.
THE ANGLO-SAXONS
(410-871)
In the fifth century, peoples from Germany and Scandinavia invaded Britain and destriyed the Roman
British towns. These people were the Angles, the Saxons and
the Yutes. Later they were simply called “The Anglo-Saxons”.
The Anglo-Saxons established seven kingdoms called “the
Heptarchy”.
The Anglo-Saxons were mostly farmers, warriors and
fishermen. Their society was based on family groups called
“clans”. They made fine ornaments and their most important
value was loyalty.
At the end of the sixth century, Pope Gregory I the Great
sent a monk, Augustine to bring Christianity to England.
Augustine went to Canterbury and he became the first
Archbishop of the town. So, Britain became Christian.
The Anglo-Saxons were attacked by the Vickings but their kingdom survived.
The last two Anglo-Saxon kings were Edward the Confessor and Harold II. When Harold II died, William,
duke of Normandy, declared that his relative Edward the Confessor had left him the English throne.
Finally, their kingdom came to and end in 1066: the Anglo-Saxons were defeated by the Normans during
the Battle of Hastings (in 1066).
THE NORMAN CONQUEST
(1066 – 1154)
In 1066, Duke William of Normandy conquered England after the Battle of Hastings. After this
Battle, William was known as “William the Conqueror”. He was crowned in Westminster Abbey on
Christmas day 1066.
The Normans were Vikings who lived on the north coast of France.
Their king was French and they spoke French.
The Normans introduced the feudal system in Britain and barons
and knights became very important. They also introduced their
language: French was spoken by the upper classes, Latin was the
language of the Church, Old English was spoken by common
people.
William the Conqueror also introduced the “Domesday Book”, a
book that provided information about property tax and about the
wealth, lands and revenues of his vassals.
The last Norman king was Stephen in 1154.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The history of the English language is divided into three periods:
1) OLD ENGLISH: from the origins to the Norman conquest in 1066. It was a Germanic
language containing few Latinate words. Most irregular verbs came from Old English.;
2) MIDDLE ENGLISH: from the Norman conquest to 15th century. It was influenced by the
French language spoken by the Normans;
3) MODERN ENGLISH: from 1500 to our days.
THE MIDDLE AGES
(1154-1485)
1) Under Henri II reign, there was a clash between the Crown and the Church.
Henry II promulgated the CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON (1164) declaring the king could
invest the bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket was against this measure
and for reason he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral.
2) When Henry II died, his son (Richard I) became king. He was called Richard “the Lionheart”
because of his courage. In fact, he joined the Third Crusade. He was killed in France.
3) John I, Richard I’s brother, became king. He introduced a lot of taxes and the barons were
against his system of taxation. For this reason, he was obliged to sign the Magna Charta in
1215 in which the king
declared
he
wouldn’t
impose
taxes
without
baron’s agreement. The
Magna Charta was the
foundation of the future
rights and freedom in
England.
4) After John I’s death,
Henry III became king. This
king
introduced
the
Parliament (from the French
word “parler”) composed of
noblemen and high clergy. This was the beginning of the future House of Commons.
5) From 1337 to 1453, there was a war between Britain and France best known as “The
Hundred’s Years Wars”. The war broke out in 1337 when King Edward III wanted to be king
of France because he was the grandson of King Philip the Fair. The war was interrupted
many times because of tragic events as the “Black Death” (the plague) in 1348. France
succeeded in winning thanks to Joan of Arc. The war ended in 1453.
6) From 1454 to 1485, there was a war called “The wars of the Roses”. At the time, there
were two important noble houses: the house of York
(whose symbol was a white rose) and the house of
Lancaster (whose symbol was a red rose). The war ended in
1485 and it was won by Henry Tudor of the house of
Lancaster. Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. It was the
beginning of the Tudor’s dynasty.
THE TUDORS AND THE REFORMATION
The first king of the Tudor’s dynasty was Henry VII. He reorganized the army, the navy and the
State administration. England lived a period of peace and prosperity.
After his death, his son succeeded to the throne. His name was Henry VIII. He was best known for
the Reformation of the Church of England. Henry VIII was married with Catherine of Aragon. He
asked the Pope for the divorce because Catherine didn’t give birth to a male heir. The Pope
disagreed with the divorce and Henry VIII decided to break with the
Roman Church. In 1534, the Act of Supremacy declared the Henry VIII
the supreme Head of the Church of England. The king was finally free
to marry Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII sentenced to death all the Catholics
who disagreed with the Act of Supremacy. An example was the
humanist Thomas More.
After his death, Edward VI succeeded to the throne. He was young and
sick; in fact he died at the age of six. Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry
VIII and Catherine of Aragon, became Queen. She was a Catholic and
she persecuted all of the Protestants in England. For this reason, she was best known as “Bloody
Mary”.
When Mary Tudor died, Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry VIII and Anne
Boleyn) became queen. She was best known as “The Virgin Queen”
because she never married. She was queen from 1558 to 1603.
She reached a compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism
within the Church of England even if she was protestant. Elizabeth I
increased commercial power, overseas trade and the colonies
encouraging captains (involved in piracy) like Francis Drake.
Elizabeth I succeeded in defeating the famous Spanish Armada
reaching glory and national unity.
Elizabeth I was the last queen of the Tudor’s dynasty.
THE STUART DINASTY
(1603-1625)
In 1603, Elizabeth I died without an heir. For this reason, the English throne came to James VI of
Scotland. James VI started the Stuart dynasty and he was named King James I. He was the first
king ruling in Scotland and England.
James I was protestant. The 5th of November 1605,
English Catholics organized the Gunpowder Plot: they
wanted to blow up the king and Parliament but they
failed.
In 1611, it was published the Authorized Version of the
Bible also known as the “King James Bible”. It was the
Church of England’s official Bible.
He often fought with the Parliament and he excluded
Christians and Puritans1 from government.
James died in 1625 and his son Charles succeeded to
the throne.
1
Puritans were English Protestants with a high sense of duty and morality.
THE PURITAN AGE:
THE CIVIL WAR AND THE COMMONWEALTH
(1642-1660)
Charles I became king in 1625. He was king of England, Scotland and Ireland.
He often fought with the Parliament which denied him money he needed for his home and foreign
policy. Charles I dissolved the Parliament many times.
In 1628, the Parliament obliged Charles I to accept the Petition of Rights that denied the king the
right to impose taxes and imprison his subjects without reason.
There were two opposing forces:
1) THE CAVALIERS  they supported the king; they had long hair
2) THE ROUNDHEADS  they supported the Parliament; they had short hair; they were
puritans. Their leader was Oliver Cromwell, a gentleman
farmer
In 1642, there was the outbreak of the civil war between the two
opposing forces. Thanks to Oliver Cromwell and his army, the
civil war ended in 1649 with the execution of the king. Charles I
was the first king being executed in the history.
After the civil war, a Commonwealth (a republic) was
established and Oliver Cromwell was appointed “Lord Protector
of England, Scotland and Ireland”.
After Oliver Cromwell’s death, his son ruled the Commonwealth
but the Parliament believed England needed a king. For this
reason, in 1660, Charles II (Charles I’s son) came back to England
and monarchy was finally restored.
THE AUGUSTAN AGE
(1714-1760)
The Hanover dynasty started with George I. He was German and Protestant. He was unpopular
because he was always in Germany. This period is called “The Augustan Age” because of political
stability and economic prosperity.
Parliament became very important. In this period, the system of Parliamentary monarchy began
with two political parties:
1) THE TORY PARTY: they were aristocrats and conservative
2) THE WHIG PARTY: they were from the middle class and liberal
George I spoke German and he needed a Prime Minister. In 1727, he
appointed Robert Walpole (who was a Whig) as the first Prime
Minister. After Robert Walpole’s death, William Pitt became the new
Prime Minister.
In 1756, England started a Seven Years War against France. England
won conquering India and Quebec.
Social life was influenced by middle classes (mostly tradesmen, merchants, artisans) who were
puritans and supported the Whigs.
London was the most important town thanks to the rise of coffee houses where writers and artists
met to exchange opinions.