A brief history of the UK

A brief history of the UK

410-800

1066-1154

1485-1603

The Anglo-Saxons

The Normans

The Tudors

Prehistoric history

800-1066

1154-1485

1603-1714

43-410 AD

The Vikings

High and Late Middle Ages

The Stuarts

The Romans

A brief history of the UK

1714-1873

1914 - 1918

1960s

1997-2007

World War I

The Swinging Sixties

Tony Blair

The Georgians

1939-1945

1979-1990

2001-2020

1837-1901

Modern Times

World War II

Thatcher Era

The Victorian period

The Iron Lady

Leader of the Conservative Party, she was the first female Prime Minister.

• cuts in the government spending
• closure of many industries
• privatisation of state-owned industries
• liberalisation of the stock market
• Falkland war (1982)
• Coal miners' strike (1984-1985)
• Gulf war (1990-1991)

The Tudors

Henry VIII:

• had six wives because he wanted to have a male heir
• because the Pope would not allow him to divorce, he separated from the Roman Catholic Church
• appointed himself head of the Protestant Church of England.

Elizabeth I:

• period of great discovery and exploration

• cultural renewal

Terroristic attacks and referendums

After 9/11, British forces were involved in the military action in Afghanistan against Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

In 2014, Scotland held a referendum about becoming an independent country: 55% of the voters said "no".

In 2016, the UK held a referendum about leaving the EU: 52.5% of the voters said "yes" to Brexit.

The suffreggettes

With men involved in the war, women started to do jobs for which they had previously been considered unsuitable. Their role in society changed.

• In 1918 women over the age of 30 won the right to vote.
• After 1928 all women over 21 were able to vote.

The Stuarts

James I was king of England, Ireland and Scotland. It started to be difficult to mantain peace between the Catholics and Protestants.

CIVIL WAR - 1642

Royalists supported the monarch

Parliamentarians were against the absolute power of the king and in favour of a more powerful parliament.

CROMWELL

The Anglo-Saxons

Anglo-Saxons tribes from northwest Europe invaded and settled in most of England and parts of Scotland. The country was divided in several kingdoms:

• East Anglia
• Mercia
• Northumbria
• Wessex
• Essex
• Sussex
• Kent

The Georgians King George from the House of Hanover succeeded to Queen Anne. After him there were other three kings named George.

• Social changes - abolition of slavery
• Wars -

1. American War of Independence
2. Napoleonic Wars

A liberal decade

• laws regarding divorce, abortion and homosexuality;
• Fashion designer Mary Quant invented the mini-skirt;
• The Beatles and the Rolling Stones changed the music scene
• England won the football World Cup in 1966.

High and Late Middle Ages

• wars: the Hundred Years War and War of the Roses between England and France;
• natural disaster: the plague in 1348, which killed 45% of the population;
• public rebellion

Queen Victoria

• Industrial Revolution: invention of the steam engine, railways and telegraph;

• Urbanisation
• Expanding pover of the British Empire
• Increased wealth for the upper and middle classes but deprivation and injustice for the working classes.
• Values of the Church and patriarchal family: morality and respectability.

The first people to inhabit the British Isles were hunters and gatherers. Neolithic period: Around 4,500 BC

• Introduction of farming;
• People started to have more settled lives;
• Introduction of rituals and ceremonies

Bronze and Iron Ages

• The population increased
• Defensive forts were built

The Normans

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Saxons in the Battle of Hasting in 1066. He became the first king of England. The Normans:

• introduced the feudal system;
• built castles and cathedrals;
• brought the French language to Britain.

The Vikings

They came from Scandinavia and dominated a large part of the country. Their capital city was York. Vikings estabilished the two kingdoms of

• Scotland
• England

The Romans

Julius Caesar first arrived in Britain in 55-54 BC Claudius conquered Britain in 43 AD

• founded many important cities: London, Manchester, Bath;

• built roads and aqueducts;

New Labour

• constitutional reforms regarding the devolution for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland;
• Northern Ireland's "Troubles"
• Iraq War (2003-2011)
• Global financial crisis (2007-2008)

Trade Unions

Between World Wars I and II there was an economic recession. Trade Unions became stronger and there was a 9-day general strike in 1926 over plan to cut wages and increase working hours. Labour won the general election after Worl War II and the modern welfare state was created, with the foundation of a national health service. Nationalisation of major industries like coal mining and railways.