1.

Major events in the history of

the United Kingdom

c
 I. Pre-Saxon Period
1. Pre-celtic period
(before 800 B.C) the oldest inhabitants- nomadic hunters in caves – about
3000 B.C.
Iberians- from Iberian peninsula (now Spain, Portugal) 2000 B.C. New
Stone Age. Relics – barrows, burial moulds, unwarlike, agricultural tools,.
Relics at Maiden Castle
Beaker folk – people who came to Britain from the European mainland
4th century B.C. – Greeks and Carthagians traded for British tin
Greeks called British isles – Cassiterides –tin islands
 2. Celtic Period

• Celts –came to Britain from Europe – drift to the west, expansion from middle of
Europe
• First Celtic invaders –Gaels ( 800-700 B.C.)
• Second – Brithons – gave Britain the name ( 500 B.C.) – drove Gaels into Wales,
Scotland and Ireland
• Relics – 3 living languages – Welsh, Irish, Gaelic

• Trade – Pytheas of Massilia – trading journey to island 325 BC, Pliny the Elder-
tin trade
• Tacitus – various tribes of Brithons shared physical characteristics with continental
neighbours.
 3. Roman Britain

• First Roman contact – Gaius Julius Caesar 55 BC – invasion unsuccessful,

conquered no territory, established clients – brought Britain into Rome´s sphere of
political influence – power in southern Britain – 2 powerful kingdoms –
Catuvellauni and Atrebates
• AD 43 – emperor Claudius successfuly invaded Britain
• Vespasian –subdued the south-west, made treaties with tribes outside area under
direct Roman control, some tribes friendly to Romans, some – opposed invasion,
guerilla wars
• Romans – conquered more of the island, increasing the size of Roman Britain,
• occupied large part of Scotland, built protective walls – keep northern tribes out –
Hadrian and Antonine walls
• Towards the end of the 4th century – Britain came under increasing pressure from
barbarian attacks on all sides

• Romans abandoned the island by 410 – concentrate on more pressing difficulties

closer to home – England settled by successive waves of Germanic tribes
• New arrivals – series of wars – Saxon occupation
 4. Anglo-Saxon Period

• Anglo- Saxon Britain (5th century-1066)

• - mid 5th century- 3 germanic tribes – Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain
• from the continent and conquered the Celts
• They came under military leaders – settled on eastern shores
• -Angles occupied the northern and central part of England – England derived from
• Angle- land –the land of Angles, Saxons occupied the South, Jutes settled down in
Kent
• - England under the rule of Angles and Saxons divided in 7 kingdoms- Kent,
Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex, East Anglia
495 –Battle of Mont Badon – Britons defeated invading Anglo-Saxon army, halted
their westward advance for a long period – stop of Saxon invasion – long period of
peace for Celtic Britain
 5. Christianity

• -432 A.D. missionary of Roman origin St.Patrick came to Ireland and brought
christianity,
• -597 A.D. St. Augustine landed in Kent and brought Christianity to England, he
became the first archibishop of Canterbury
• From the 8th century- Anglo- Saxons faced Danish and Norsemen invasions
• Vikings influence – permanent settlements – Derby, Whitby , town, village
 6. Danish invasion and rule

• 8th century Angles and Saxons had to face Scandinavian invasion, Alfred the
Great 871 A.D, Saxon king stopped Danish advance and made peace with them,
territory divided into two parts: Saxon part and Danelaw. Alfred established the
first Court System- Code Truth
• -1017-Danes renewed invasion- Introduced Dane Geld.
• -Canute the Great 1017-1042 conquered England and Sweden- parts of his
Scandinavian Empire
• -after his death – sons incapable of holding empire, Anglo-saxon king Edward the
Confessor 1042-1066- weak ruler, influence of church Witan – council of elders
 7. Period of Feudalism (Norman conquest- to the 15th
century)

The Normans started to rule England after the victory of William of Normandy – the
Conqueror in 1066 at the battle of Hastings – new ruling class in England

Doomsday book – survey of the entire population and their lands and property for tax
purposes

The Normans imposed a new political structure that can be broadly termed as ´feudal´

Many of the Anglo –Saxon nobles lost land and titles, villein was a serf tied to the land
in the feudal system, Norman knights –dangerous warriors, pious Christians

Norman aristocracy – tendency towards Anglicization – two populations intermarried,

merged combining language and traditions – Anglo-Norman language

English Middle Ages – civil wars, international wars, occasional insurrections,

widespread political intrigue among aristocratic, monarchic elite
• the Successors of William the Conqueror worked hard to reform and stabilize
• the country – smooth the differences between Anglo-Saxon and Anglo- Roman
societes, disastrous, incompetent rule of King Stephen I. (1135-1154) – major
swing in the balance of power towards the feudal barons – civil war and
lawlessness broke out. Henry II Plantagenet – reversion in power from the barony
to the monarchical state and redistribution of legislative power from the Church to
the monarchical state. Henry´s successor –Richard I. – the lionheart was
preoccupied with foreign wars, taking part in the Third Crusade defending French
territories against Philip II. of France, Richard´s younger brother John - - loss of
Normandy and other French territories –antagonized feudal nobility and Church
figures – 1215 – armed rebellion, forced to sign Magna Charta.
• Magna Charta – first official document – put legal limits on the King´s personal
powers, required king to renounce certain rights, respect legal procedures, accept
the will of the king to be bound by law.
• Edward I. (1272-1307) – successful, introduced many laws, strengthened power of
government, summoned first officially sanctioned Parliament of England, conquered
Wales
• 1349 – Black Death – killed up to a third of the population
• Edward III. – crowned in 1327 – gave land to powerful noble families – disputes
• Henry VI – mental instability, unable to control nobes – civil war broke out
• War of Roses (1455-1485) –over the throne of England – House of Lancaster- red rose
and House of York –white rose – heavy causalties among nobility – period of great
social upheaval in England – lead to the fall of Plantagenet dynasty – weakening of
feaudal power, strengthening of merchant classes – strong centralized monarchy under
Tudors
• Tudor Period (1485-1603) – Turning point in English history
• Henry VII Tudor – victory of Bosworth field 1485 – Yorkist king Richard III – killed –
succession of Lancastrian House
• Henry VIII Tudor – split with the Roman Catholic Church – question of divorce from
Catherine of Aragon – broke away from Roman Catholic Church and found Church of
England
• English Reformation – led by Henry VIII. royal expropriation of the monasteries
and wealth of the Church, new class – gentry – great interest in continuing
Reformation, Unification of England and Wales
• Reformation deprived the Pope of the power to interfere in England´s affairs and
increased the king´s political and economic power
• Henry VIII. – severe, autocratic ruler , tolerated no dissent. One of the victims –
otstanding humanist, philosopher and politician – Sir Thomas More – famous work
Utopia, he served the king as a Lord Chancellor – was executed for treason because
he disapproved of the king´s policies, his claim to be head of the Church
 8. Elizabethan Era

• Elizabeth I. – daughter of Henry VIII. And Anne Boleyn – queen of England,

France and Ireland from 1558 -1603 – reffered to virgin queen – never married,
fifth and final monarch of Tudor dynasty
• Her reign – Elizabethan era – Golden Age - drama – Shakespeare, Marlow,
Johnson – playwrites, Francis Drake – seafarer, explorer, Francis Bacon –
philosopher, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert – colonization of
America, important institutions – Trinity College – Dublin, East India Company,
Virginia colony named after Elizabeth, 13 colonies, religious issues – balance
between Puritans and Catholics
• 1588 English navy defeated Spanish Armada
• Expanding role of the government and and effecting common law and
administration – chancellor Thomas Cromwell
• Privy Council – forerunner of the present Government declined after death of
Elizabeth
• After death of Elizabeth – closest – protestant relative –king of Scotland – James
VI. Of the House of Stuart and son of executed queen Mary. He became James I. of
England – ruled England And Scotland separately as two kingdoms – number of
assasination attempts and plots 1605 – catholic conspirators led by Guy Fawkes
• English Civil War broke out in 1642 – conflicts between James´s son Charles I.
and the Parliament – defeat of Royalists - Charles – beheading 1649
• Republic declared and Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector in 1653 – hard
times – no music, dance, work and pray – extreme Protestants
• Cromwell´s son Richard succeeded him in his office, soon abdicated, monarchy
was restored in 1660 – King Charles II returned to London from exile
• 1665 Black Death, 1666 – London – Great Fire
• Charles – protestant, his brother James – catholic – disputes, protests
• James II. – aristocracy turned to protestant Netherlands, invited William of Orange
to the English throne with his wife Mary, they replaced him in 1688 in Glorious
Revolution and James II. went into exile
• Restoration (1660-1688) –foundation of 2 party system – Torries and Whigs
• William´s reign – beginning of transition from the personal control of the
government by the Stuarts to the Parliamentary type rule of the later House of
Hanover, Scotland, Ireland – Catholics loyal to James II. – series of blody uprisings
– Jacobite rebellions continued until mid 18th century until Charles Edward Stuart,
grandson of James II was defeated
• Glorious Revolution was followed by the Bill of Rights –Act of Parliament that
limited the power of the king and strenghened that of parliament – it meant the
final victory of constitutional monarchy and capitalism in Britain
 9. From Glorious Revolution to Industrial Revolution (1688-
1760)

• Struggle between Britain and France for commercial hegemony and world
domination
• Colonial expansion in North America
• Accumulation of capital in the City of London
• Development of two party system – Cabinet form of Government and office of
Prime Minister
• Augustan Age – age of rationalism and critical view of reality
• Anglo-French wars (1740-1763) colonial wars – result was the growth of the
British colonial empire at the expense of France (Canada, India)
• 1694 – rich City merchants founded Bank of England
• Two- party system became established as a permanent feature of Britain´s political
life – Whigs and Torries
 10. The industrial Revolution

• Britain – the first industrial power in the world

• When Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo 1815 – British ready to consolidate a world
monopoly for the products of their factories – period of unprecedented progress
• Reasons for industrialization:
• 1. early decline of feudalism and growth of strong bourgeoisie which carried successful
revolution in 17th century
• 2. colonial expansion – accumulation of capital – growing demands for goods
• James Watt – steam engine, Robert Fulton –steamship, George Stephenson – steam
locomotive, Liverpool- Manchester railway – first passenger- carrying railway, machines
in the first cotton mills driven by water power
• 3. important inventions – technical progress in industry, development of transport
• 4. technical improvements in agriculture
• 5. abundant resources of coal and iron and other raw materials
• 6. laid the foundations of classical British school of political economy-Smith, Riccardo
• Napoleonic Wars – British fleet under Admiral Nelson defeated combined French
and Spanish fleets at Cape Trafalgar –Battle of Trafalgar in which Nelson was
killed gave Britain unchallenged control of the seas – British Royal Navy – largest
in the world, British army also defeated Napoleon at Waterloo commanded by the
Duke of Wellington
• Social changes –two new classes: 1. industrial capitalists, 2. working class
( proletariat) – long working hours, appaling housing conditions, cheap child labour
• Industrial workers started to organize themselves – Britain – cradle of the trade
union movement – Luddites movement – desperate protest of workers
• Robert Owen – leader of working class movement, utopian socialist – believed in
peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism by turning the trade unions into co-
operative productive societes
• Chartism – the first working –class political movement in the world, National
Chartist Association – the first political party of the working class – leader –Ernest
Jones
 11. The Victorian Era ( the second half of the 19th century)

• Britain – the strongest world power – industrial, financial and commercial,

• Greatest sea and colonial power – expansions in Africa – Livingstone, Stanley, Speke
• Period of great social inequalities and contrasts: wealth – poverty, palaces – slums,
religious prejudices – scientific progress, conservatism-reform
• Changes – positive reforms in education, franchise, hospital, nursing services, use of
postage stamps, underground railway
• Cult of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert – Victoria Cross, Victoria
Station, Lake Victoria, Victoria Falls, Albert Hall, Victoria and Albert Museum
• Literature: Dickens, Thackeray, Bronte sisters, George Eliot, Stevenson, Kipling, A.
Conan Doyle....
• Science : Darwin – On the Origin of Species, first University awards to women
• First underground Railway 1863 , Palace of Westminster, Wimbledon, Football
association
• Trade – export of capital – form of loans and investments
• Victoria crowned Empress of India – help to East India Company, surpressed mutiny –
uprising of native population, Australia – large imperial possession – self-governing
colonies (Victoria, Queensland), Canada – North-American Act – joined Canadian
provinces into the confederation known as dominion of Canada
 12. 20th Century

• Period of decline of Britain as a world power

• Priority – Ruling Empire, Protecting Trade Unions
• Period of crises – two world wars
• Disintegration of Britain´s colonial empire
• Growth of workers´movements and Labour Party – winning 29 seats in Parliament
• Social reforms – Liberal Party leader- Lloyd George
• 1906 – Liberal government elected, number of social reforms, free school meals, school medical
inspection, 1908 – Labour Act – limited workers to work 8 hours a day, Old Pension Act – men over 65,
women over 60
• 1913 – Suffragettes- women´s social and political union formed (Emily Pankhurst)
• Dardanelles conflict between Russia and Turkey, Russia wanted to take control where the Black Sea
opened out into Mediterranean Sea, Britain supported Turkey against Russia

• I. World War I: ( 1914 -1918 )

• Assassination of Franz Ferdinand D´Este in Sarajevo – Serbian terrorists, Serbian ally Russia, war
declared by Austria-Hungary.
• War between Central Powers ( Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) and the Allies ( Britain,
France, Russia, later Italy, Japan, the USA)
• War caused by imperialist ambitions and rivalries of the great powers
• Importance of Britain – especially – war at sea – victory and control and Middle East – defeating Turks in
Palestine and Iraq, establishment of the League of Nations – 1920 –Britain gained mandates to administer
most of Germany´s African colonies and Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine from Turkish rule
• II. The inter-war period (1918 -1939)
• Britain remained important sea power and colonial power
• Until 1922 – Liberal Party government David Lloyd George – Unemployment Insurance Act, Demobilization –
British Government called back from Europe men deemed most necessary at home
• Liberal Party lost its position as one of the major political parties
• Rise of working – class movement –Hand of Russia – foundation of Communist Party of Great Britain
• 1922 – Resignation of David Lloyd George , struggling between Conservatives and Labour, political instability,
1929 – Great Depression, Labour –extreme leftist policy-exercise a great control over domestic economy, little
accomplished, Unemployment benefits adjusted in 1934
• 1939 – Nazis came to power – British policy –appeasement – policy of buying off the fascist powers by satisfying
their demands at the expense of other countries – policy of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain – it lead to Munich
Agreement of 1938 which sacrified Czechoslovakia to save the peace. The policy of appeasement did not save the
peace, on the contrary, the Munich policy of the Western powers cleared the way for fascist aggression and lead to
the outbreak of World War II. – policy of appeasement – policy of betrayal of peace
• III. World War II.
• 30ś –Hitler seized a power in Germany, 1.september 1939 – Germany attacked Poland- start of WW II.
• First phase – lead by Chamberlain and other men of Munich –nothing much happened in western front –Twilight
war, May 1940- Chamberlain resigned, Churchill became Prime Minister
• Britain stood alone against Nazi war machine, April 1940 – Blitzkrieg –hundred of German planes bombed Britain,
Coventry, German submarines tried to cut the UK´s lifeline by torpedoing ships bringing food and supplies to UK
• The second phase – German blitzkrieg opened in April 1940 , invasion of Norway, British realized that war could
not be waged by discredited men of Munich
• Operation Sea Lion – Scope of Nazis – conquer Normandy, Belgian coastline and English
channel and coastline from Kent to Dorset and Isle of Wight, gain superiority over Channel,
• - objective - elimination of the UK as a base of military operations against the Axis Powers
( Germany. Italy, Japan)
• Battle of Dunkirk – (26. May – 6.June 1940) – was the defence and evacuation of British and
Allied forces in Europe from Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of
obberkomando of Wehrmacht army was to halt for these days which gave allies time to
organize Dunkirk evacuation, build a dfensive line
• 1941 Germany invaded Soviet Union – Britain no longer alone in war, december 1941 –
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
• Operation Overlord – opened 2nd front in France - Normandy
• In May 1940 Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchil who lead Britain
through difficult years of war until final victory of anti-fascist coalition 1945
• The most critical period of the war for Britain – from June 1940 to June 1941 – it
fought Germans alone – most critical months followed collapse of France in June
1940, Germans had overrun the whole of Central and Western Europe, Britain
stood alone and in danger of invasion, Hitler´s invasion – Operation Sea lion – to
gain superiority over the Channel, In the Battle of Britain (10 july -30 october
1940)– Outnumbered Royal Air Force beat off the attacks of Nazi Luftwafe which
suffered heavy losses – Hitler abandoned his plan of invading Britain.
• In 1941 Germans invaded Soviet Union, Britain no longer alone in war, in
December Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour and USA entered the War – forming of
great anti-fascist coalition – BIG THREE – Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill
• Montgomery´s eight army defeated Rommel´s Afrika Korps, British army with
allied troops – invasion of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, later – invasion of Sicilly
and Italy in 1943 and finally – Operation Overlord – opened long-awaited Second
Front in France in June 1944
• In spite of many difficulties anti-hitler coalition functioned successfully
• III. The Post-World-War II. Period
• 2nd WW –greatest, most destructive war in history, enormous struggles, 17 million
victims, Marshall Plan – European Recovery Programme – 13 billion dollars
• General crisis of capitalism entered its second stage – break-up of the imperialist
colonial system
• Conversion of inflation from a casual into chronic process- steadily developing
• Conservative Party – interests of the monopolies, Labour party –reformist party
• Britain joined European Economic Community EEC, member of NATO since 1949
• 1949 – British Commonwealth of Nations
• Britain –the most reliable ally of the United States
• First post-war general elections in 1945 – resulted in great Labour victory – Clement
Attlee – Prime Minister
• 1951 – Britain refused to join European Coal and Steel Community, Britain joined
EFTA – European Free Trade Association, Decolonization ( Independence – Ghana,
Nigeria,Kenya, Sudan, Malaysia) 1956 – Suez Canal – conflict with Egypt, Britain
and France attacked Egypt – reatake Canal, not successful
• Succession of Conservative Governments –Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden,
Sir Alec Douglas Home,
• Labour government 1964 -1970 Harold Wilson
• 1953 – coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.,
• - 50 – ties – affluent society, law unemployment, need of labour, immigration wave,
economic growth, improving of living standard, mortgage houses, products of new
technology, cars, TV, household devices, higher employment of women
• - 60´s – Britain – prosperity, raw materials, oil producer – North Sea,
• Harold Wilson – Labour PM – social reforms, abolition of Capital Punishment,
decriminalization of homosexuality, adopted national plan of economy, social
contracts with Trade Unions)
• School reforms, economy buoyant unemployment very low, wages rising, popular
attitudes to moral and sexual issues, hippie movement, rock and roll, Beatles, Mary
Quant, BBC founded
• -70´s – decline of economy, devalvation, plentiful energy supplies, active
manufacturing industry,Labour Party in power – social reforms policy,
• Femminist and gay rights movement , rally cry of punkrock, philosophy of
declinism- obsession with idea that Britain has no future, 1975 Sex Discrimination
ACT (Employment, Education, Training)
• - 80- ies – 1979 – Margaret Thatcher, Thatcherism – stop immigration, stop taking
British jobs, floating a bunch of right-wing anti – union ideas, mass and aggressive
privatization of key public sector companies and industries ( British Railways,
Airways,Telecom, steel, banks...), conflict between public sector responsibilities
and private sector interests, power and wealth in the hands of rich enterpreneurs
and businessmen – privileged members of conservative party and shareholders
• Rising unemployment and inflation, worsening conditions of workers, strikes –
miners´strikes, heavy industry and shipbuilding strikes
• Falkland´s War – rising popularity of Margaret Thatcher
• The Falklands War was a 1982 war between Argentina and the United kingdom.
• The conflict resulted from the long – standing dispute over the sovereignity of the
Falkland islands which lie in the South Atlantic, east of Argentina. The Falklands
War began on Friday 2. April 1982 when Argentine forces invaded and occupied
Falkland Islands and . British government dispatched a naval task force to engage
Argentine Navy and Air Force and retake the islands by amphibious assault.
Resulted conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender
• On 14 June 1982 which returned the islands to British control.
• - 90 –ties – fall of communism, end of Cold War, dissolution of Soviet Union
• - multiculturalism, alternative lifestyle, technological progress (satellite, internet)
gene therapy, movements towards the right wing, cuts in social spending
• Gulf War – operation Desert Shield (defense of Saudi Arabia), Operation Desert
Storm ( Against Iraq, invasion of Kuwait)
• Maastricht Treaty- 7.2.1992 – integration of Europe, EU new European structure,
EURO, tragical death of Lady Diana
• Peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel (Arafat, Rabin)
• Liberalism – new movement demanding equality in terms of culture and political
sphere, dramatic changes of attitudes towards homosexuality, strong individualism
• Britain – one of the least equitable distributions of wealth in western Europe,
extensive gap between richest 10% and poorest 10%
• 1994 – Queen Elizabeth and French president Miterrand officially opened Channel
Tunnel between Britain and mainland
• 1997 – Britain handed Hong-Kong back to China losing its last imperial possession
• John Major conservative PM –moderate right-wing policy – oversaw Britain´s longest
period of continuous economic growth and beginning of peace process between
Britain and Northern Ireland, hesecured a number of opt-outs from the Maastricht
Treaty
• Britain today – rule of 4 Prime Ministers – Tony Blair and Gordon Brown – Labour,
David Cameron and Theresa May –Conservative
• - higher standard of living than ever before, transformation of industrial society to
post-industrial (services and technologies
 The Iraq War –conflict triggered by an invasion of Iraq by the United States and the
United Kingdom from March 2003 to December 18, 2011, though sectarian violence
continues and caused thousands of fatalities. Prior to the war, governments of the UK
and USA claimed that Iraq´s alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction WMD
posed a threat to their security and that of their coalition, regional allies. In 2002 UN
security council passed Resolution 1441 which called for Iraq to completely cooperate
with UN weapon inspectors to verify that Iraq was not in possession of WMD and
cruise missiles.
-sharp boost of population boasted by immigration, diverse population –cities
-very tolerant society, civil partnerships, legal ceremonies, giving same sex couples s
similar rights as marriage became law in 2004
-war with terrorisms, growing attacks,
-Gleneagles Summit (2005) – support the poorest countries and deal with climate
change, London G-20 Summit (2009)- help economy through the crisis, restore credit,
growth of jobs, improve financial supervision and regulation
• Britain – world leading country, member of NATO, OECD, IMF, UN, G-7, G-20
• Brexit- impact on economy, import and export, trade with EU countries, immigration policy,
working opportunities of foreigners