UK

Economy

Geography

Political system

Population

History

Milestones in British history

1066

5th century

55 BC

Neolithic period

Normans

Germanic tribes

Romans

Pre-Celtic tribes

410 AD

Late 8th century

1000 BCE

1087-1100

Romans leave Britain

Celts

WIlliam II

Vikings.

The Vikings

The Vikings arrived from Scandinavia and started the conquest of whole island but King Alfred the Great united the Anglo-Saxons against the Vikings. The Danes maintained possession of north-eastern England, the Danelaw, only Wessex remained to Anglo-Saxons. Anglo-Saxon England continued to flourish after Alfred’s death. His son, Edward the Elder (900-924) reconquered the Danelaw and later the century the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that king Edgar (959-975) issued laws recognising the multi-ethnic character of England at the time. Harold, the last Anglo-Saxon king, defeated the Vikings at the battle of Stamford Bridge in the north of England in 1066

The Celts

• Artisans, farmer, fishers, warriors
• Pagans: druidism
• Druids

The Romans leave Britain

The Romans were forced to leave the country to defend Rome against the Barbarian invasion.

Germanic tribes

Left defenceless, Britain was invaded by German tribes

• transformed moors or forests into cultivable lands thanks to their ploughs

• 7 kingdoms --> heptarchy

• Language: Old English

• Religion: paganism

The Normans

Norman invasion

• 14th October 1066: Battle of Hastings. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy defeated the Anglo-Saxons

• Harlod was killed --> Anglo-Saxon reign came to an end.

• On Christmas Day 1066 William the Conqueror (1066-1087) was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey --> beginning of the Middle Ages

William II

William II succeeded William I but he proved to be very unpopular

Pre-Celtic tribes

• Use of stone and metals
• Construction of wooden huts
• Introduction of agriculture
• trade-routes to link up the centres of distant tribes
• large temple (Stonehenge) = a great feat of engineering for that time

The Romans

• Julius Caesar

• 43 AD: Emperor Claudius

• 122 AD: Emperor Hadrian --> Hadrian's Wall