xvi Preface and acknowledgements

The websites included in this book are mainly those of public organizations.
Although these may present official and standard views, they are often more
permanent, up to date and informative than many independent websites, which
can quickly change their addresses and content or simply disappear.
The term 'billion' in this book refers to 'a thousand million'.

Companion website Chronology of

A range of student and instructor resources accompanying this book can be found
online at www.routledge.com/textbooks/oakland. Instructor resources are avail­
significant dates in
able in a password-protected area of the site, and these include guidance on using
the book in teaching and additional short essay questions similar to those that
British history
appear at the end of chapters. For those short essay questions marked in this book
with an asterisk (*), there are suggestions for instructors on what to look for in
student responses. Passwords are available to instructors through the website.

Early history
Prehistory: British Isles and Ireland originally part of European land mass: warmer
conditions alternated with severe Ice Ages
700,000 BC: butchered animal bones and stone artefacts indicate hominid activity
500,000 BC: earliest human bones found in southern England (Boxgrove Man)
c. 250,000 BC: nomadic Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) peoples arrived
50,000 BC: warmer climate encouraged arrival of ancestors of modern populations
10,000 BC: end of Ice Ages. Population consisted of hunter-gatherers and fishers
5,000 BC: contemporary islands gradually separated from Continental Europe
c. 3,000 BC: New Stone Age (Neolithic) peoples populated the western parts of the
islands. Farming introduced; stone and earth monuments built
c. 1,800 BC: Bronze Age settlers (Beaker Folk) in southeast and eastern England;
traded in gold, copper and tin
600 BC: settlement of the Celts (Iron Age) from western and central Europe
began
c. 200 BC: invasions by Belgic tribes, mainly in eastern England
55—54 BC: Julius Caesar's exploratory expeditions
AD 43: Roman conquest of England, Wales and (temporarily) lowland Scotland
by Claudius began. Christian influences
122-38: Hadrian's Wall built between Scotland and England
400: Gaelic Scots (Scotti) from Ireland colonized western Scodand
c. 409: Roman army withdrew from Britain; wars between the Celts
c. 410: Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) invasions began
c. 450-600: eight Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) gradually created in
England. Mainly Celtic peoples in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and
Cornwall
430: existing Celtic Christianity in Ireland later spread by St Patrick (from
-432) and other missionaries in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern
England
xviit C h r o n o l o g y of s i g n i f i c a n t d o t e s

597: St Augustine preached Christianity (Roman Catholic Church model]

to Anglo-Saxons of southern England. Creation of ecclesiastical capital
1362:
1381:
C h r o n o l o g y of s i g n i f i c a n t d a t e s

English replaced French as the official language

Peasants' Revolt [popular rebellion) in England
i
in Canterbury, Kent c. 1387-e. 1394: Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales
664: Synod of Whitby chose Roman Catholic Church model for British 1400-10: Failed Welsh revolt by Owain Clyndwr against English rule
Christianity 1406: Earl of Derby bought Isle of Man from Scotland
789-95: Scandinavian (Viking) raids began 1407: House of Commons became responsible for taxation
800: Cornwall conquered by Anglo-Saxons 1411: first university in Scotland founded (St Andrews)
820: Anglo-Saxon kingdoms dominated by Wessex; union of the Heptarchy 1415: Battle of Agincourt; England defeated France
832-60: union of Scots and Picts in Scotland under Kenneth Macalpin to form 1455--87: Wars of t h e Roses between Yorkists and Lancastrians
most of t h e eventual kingdom of Scotland 1469: Orkney and Shetland transferred to Scotland by Norway
860s: Scandinavians controlled much of northern and eastern England 1477: first book printed in England, by William Caxton
(East Anglia, Northumbria and eastern Mercia - the Danelaw)
871-99: reign of Alfred t h e Great of Wessex
878: Scandinavians defeated in England by King Alfred of Wessex and
confined to the Danelaw Towards the nation state (Britain)
954; the Kingdom of England formed; recovery of t h e Danelaw
1013-4: S ven of Norway /Denmark conquered England 1509: accession of Henry VI11
1014: Scandinavians defeated in Ireland 1513: Henry VIII defeated the Scots at Flodden
1018: Scotland came under English rule 1534-40: Henry VIII broke with the Papacy and became head of the English
Church (Roman Catholic); beginning of the English Reformation
1536-42: Acts of Union led to legal and administrative integration of England
and Wales
The early Middle Ages 1547-53: Protestantism became official religion in England under Edward VI
1553-58: Catholic reaction under Mary I; Roman Catholicism restored
1066: September; King Harold defeated Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge, 1558-1603; Elizabeth I; Protestantism confirmed
October; William I (the Conqueror) defeated King Harold at Hastings 1558: Calais, England's last possession in France, lost
and ascended the English throne. The Norman Conquest; feudalism 1560: creation of Protestant Church of Scotland by John Knox; the Scottish
introduced Reformation
1072: William I invaded Scotland 1585-90: first English colonial ventures in North America
1086: Domesday Book (tax and land records) compiled for England by 1587: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, executed in London
Normans 1588: defeat of Spanish Armada
1169: Henry II invaded and controlled the east coast of Ireland c. 1590-c. 1613: plays of William Shakespeare written
1200s: first Oxford and Cambridge colleges founded 1600: East India (trading) Company founded
121S: King John signed Magna Carta at Runnymede, near Windsor, which 1603; dynastic union of England and Scotland under James VI of Scotland
protected English feudal (aristocratic) rights against royal abuse (James I of England); Union of t h e Two Crowns
1258 and 1264: first English parliamentary structures 1607: Plantation of Ulster (Northern Ireland) with Scottish and English
1282: m u c h of Waies controlled by England under Edward I Protestant settlers; establishment of first permanent English colony in
1295 the Model Parliament (first regular English Parliament) North America at Jamestown (Virginia)
1296 the Scots defeated by Edward I 1611: t h e Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible issued
1297 first Irish Parliament 1628: monarch's power restricted by t h e Petition of Right
1301 Edward of Caernarvon (later Edward II) named as first Prince of Wales 1641: rebellion in Ireland
1314 Scottish victory at battle of Bannockburn regained Scottish 1642-48: Civil Wars between King Charles 1 and Parliament
independence 1649; execution of Charles I; monarchy abolished
1326: first Scottish Parliament 1653-58: Oliver Cromwell ruled England as Lord Protector
1660: monarchy restored under Charles II (the Restoration)
1665: the Great Plague in England
1666; the Great Fire of London
The late Middle Ages
1679: Habeas Corpus Act passed. Party political system gradually initiated
1686: Isaac Newton proposed laws of motion and gravitation
1337: Hundred Years War between England and France began
1688: The Glorious Revolution; accession of William III and Mary H to the
1348-9: plague (Black Death) destroyed a third of the islands' population
throne
Jt* C h r o n o l o g y of s i g n i f i c a n t dates C h r o n o l o g y of s i g n i f i c a n t d a t e s xxi

1689: the Declaration of Rights The twentieth century

1690: Irish defeated by William 111 at the Battle of the Boyne
1901 death of Queen Victoria
1904 Entente Cordiale with France
The eighteenth century 1910-36: the British Empire reached its global territorial peak
1911. political veto power of the House of Lords restricted
1707: Acts of Union joined England/Wales and Scotland (Great Britain); 1914-18 First World War
unification of Scottish and English Parliaments 1916: Easter Rising against Britain in Dublin
1715 Scottish Jacobite rebellions crushed 1918: all men over 21 and women over 30 receive the vote
[721 Robert Walpole became Britain's first prime minister 1919: League of Nations created
1739 War with Spain 1921-2 Irish Free State established by Anglo-Irish Treaty; Northern Ireland remained
1742 War with France part of the United Kingdom with its own devolved parliament
1745 Failed Scottish rebellion under Bonnie Prince Charlie to restore the 1924: first Labour government
British throne to the Stuarts 1926: t h e General Strike
1756: the Seven Years War 1928: votes for all women over 21
1750s-] 830s: Industrial Revolutions 1930s: economic depression, poverty and high unemployment; Jarrow March 1936
1759: war with France; Canada won from French 1931: British Commonwealth of Nations emerges
1761: opening of the Bridgewater Canal began the Canal Age 1936: abdicatio n of King Ed ward VIII
1765: [sle of Man purchased by British Crown 193 9^4 5 Second World War (Winston Churchill, Prime Minister, 1940)
1769: the steam engine and the spinning machine invented 1940: the Battle of B ri tain
1775-83: American War of Independence; loss of the Thirteen Colonies 1941 Anglo-American alliance sealed with the Atlantic Charter
1793-1815: Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1942: Beveridge Report laid t h e foundations for the Welfare State; American troops
arrived in Europe (Belfast)
1944: Butler Education Act: state secondary education free and compulsory to 15;
allied troops landed in Normandy on D-Day (liberation of France)
se nineteenth century 1945 United Nations formed with Britain as a founder member; Labour won
landslide general election with Clement Attlee as prime minister
180! Act of Union joined Great Britain and Ireland (United Kingdom] L947: the Yalta Conference shaped post-war Europe; independence for India and
1805 Battle of Trafalgar: Nelson defeated the French navy Pakistan, beginning of large-scale decoionialization; coal industry nationalized
1807 abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire; ending of slavery in 1948 National Health Service created, free medical care for all postwar
1833 immigration from the Commonwealth began: Olympic Games, London
1815: Napoleon defeated by Wellington at Waterloo 1949: Irish Free State became the Republic of Ireland; N A T O created, t h e modern
1825: opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first public Commonwealth emerged
passenger railway 1950 British troops supported US forces in Korean War
1829: Catholic emancipation (freedom of religious worship) 1951: Conservatives under Winston Churchill won general election; Festival of
1832: First Reform Act extended the male franchise (vote) by 50 per cent Britain
1837-1901 reign of Queen Victoria 1952: accession of Elizabeth II
1838: the People's Charter and the beginning of trade unions 1953: Watson and Crick published discovery of D N A
1839: The Durham Report on dominion status for some colonies, such as 1955. Conservatives won general election with Sir Anthony Eden as p r i m e minister:
Canada commercial television started
1845: disastrous harvest failure in Ireland 1956: the Suez Canal Crisis; Britain's first nuclear power station became operative
1851: first organized trade unions appeared 1957: Ghana became first British colony in Africa to gain independence; Britain
1853-6: The Crimean War tested its first hydrogen bomb; Clean Air Act; Eden resigned as prime
1868: Trade Union Congress (TUC) established minister, replaced by Harold Macmillan
1870: compulsory elementary state school education introduced in England. 1958: first phase of motorway system opened
Canada became first dominion state 1959: Conservatives under Harold Macmillan won general election
1871: legal recognition of trade unions I960: Britain joined European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
1899: The Boer War (South Africa) 1963: Conservative Sir Alec Douglas-Home became prime minister; new
universities opened; France vetoed Britain's entry to European Economic
Community (EEC), now EU
 C h r o n o l o g y of s i g n i f i c a n t dotes C h r o n o l o g y of s i g n i f i c a n t d a t e s xxii)

1964: the rise of supermarkets: Labour won general election with Harold Wilson as 1998: Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement; endorsed by referendums in both parts of
prime minister Ireland; election of devolved Northern Ireland Assembly
1965: death penalty (by hanging} for serious crimes abolished; comprehensive 1999: devolution structures in Scotland (a Parliament) and Wales (an Assembly)
education system initiated
1965-9: oil and gas discoveries in the North Sea
1966: England won football World C u p
1967: abortion and homosexuality legalized
The twenty-first century
1968: protest and violence erupted in Northern Ireland
1969: vote extended to all persons over 18; Concorde, the world's first supersonic 2000: number of hereditary peers entitled to sit and vote in the House of Lords
airliner, made its first flight reduced From 750 to 92; global stock markets fell as 'dotcom bubble' burst
1970: Conservatives won general election with Edward Heath as prime minister 2001: Labour won general election with Tony Blair as prime minister; foot and
197!: decimal currency introduced; first British soldier killed in Northern Ireland's mouth disease in rural Britain; Northern Ireland Assembly suspended until
'Troubles'; North Sea oil concessions auctioned 2007
1972: direct rule from Westminster in Northern Ireland; 14 killed on Bloody 2003: gains for Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland
Sunday, Londonderry, Northern Ireland; Asians expelled from Uganda with Assembly elections: Britain and coalition forces invaded Iraq
many settling in Britain 2004: 10 new states joined the EU
1973; Britain left EFTA and entered E E C (now EU) 2005: Labour Party achieved third successive victory in general election, with Tony
1974: (February) General election resulted in 'hung Parliament' with Harold Blair as prime minister; Northern Ireland Assembly remained suspended;
Wilson as prime minister; (October) Labour won small majority in general IRA ordered members to cease 'military operations'; international
election with Harold Wilson as prime minister decommissioning body reported that IRA weapons had been 'put beyond
1975: referendum affirmed Britain's continued membership of EEC use'; some Unionist paramilitaries moved to disarm; Kyoto Protocol on
1976: Britain forced to borrow money from International Monetary Fund; Harold climate change came into force; suicide bombers killed 52 people on
Wilson resigned as prime minister and was replaced by James Callaghan London's transport systems
1978-79: Strikes paralysed Britain during 'Winter of Discontent' 2006: Northern Ireland Assembly m e t between May and November for the first
1978: world's first test tube baby born in Oldham time since suspension in 2002; thwarted attempts to blow u p planes between
1979: Margaret Thatcher: Britain's first woman prime minister; Lord Mountbatten UK and USA using liquid explosives
killed by IRA; Wales and Scotland rejected devolution 2007: in Northern Ireland, Assembly restored and Ian Paisley led a new power-
1981: Social Democratic Party (SD P) formed; hunger strikes by Republican sharing government as First Minister, with Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness as
prisoners ended after 10 deaths; Humber Bridge opened, race riots in his deputy; Gordon Brown became prime minister and Labour Party leader
Brixton following t h e resignation of Tony Blair; failed car b o m b attacks in London
1982: the Falklands War with Argentina, economic recession and Glasgow; severe floods in central England caused great damage
1983: Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher re-elected in landslide 2007-09: credit crunch: financial and banking problems; international recession
victory 2008: Labour Party suffered worst local election results in 40 years, finishing behind
1984: Miners' strike over pit closures; IRA bombers attacked Conservative Party the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats with 24 per cent of the national
Conference in Brighton vote 2009; in European elections, on a low turnout of 33 per cent. Labour
1985: Anglo-Irish Agreement gave Irish Republic a part in t h e organization of polled 15.7 per cent of the vote and finished third behind the Conservatives
Northern Ireland (27.7 per cent) and United Kingdom Independence Party (16.5 per cent); in
1986: Major national industries privatized local elections Labour polled its worst ever local result with 23 per cent after
1987: Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher won third general election the Conservatives on 38 per cent and Lib Dems on 28 per cent
1988: SDP merged with Liberal Party; party became the Liberal Democrats 2010: British general election resulted in a hung Parliament and coalition
1989: Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide W e b government between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
1990: introduction of 'poll tax' provoked riots in London; Thatcher resigned;
replaced by John Major
1991: Liberation of Kuwait; Operation Desert Storm
1992: Conservatives won general election with John Major as prime minister:
withdrawal of pound sterling from ERM on 'Black Wednesday'
1994: Channel Rail Tunnel between France and Britain opened; first w o m e n priests
ordained in Church of England
1997: Referendums on devolution for Scotland and Wales; sovereignty of Hong
Kong transferred to China; Labour won general election with Tony Blair as
prime minister