BRITISH HISTORY Introduction

Britain is an island. This is a crucial thing about the whole of British history

“Britain is an island and that fact is more important than any other in understanding its history” Roy Strong. The Story of Britain. A People’s History. Pimlico, 1998. P.1

“The story of Britain is that of the island which has influenced the outside world more than any other island in history” A.L. Rowse. The Story of Britain. Tiger Books International, London. 1993. P.7

Natural security “This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, The happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of the wall, Or as a moat defensive to a house Against the envy of less happier lands… This blessed plot, This earth, This realm… …THIS ENGLAND”. William Shakespeare, Richard II

A ‘cradle’ that challenged the human curiosity “for to learn about the world outside they had to leave the island sanctuary. Scholars and pilgrims have traversed Europe and the Middle East, men of God have crossed the globe to convert the unbeliever, discoverers have sailed the furthest oceans in search of new lands, and thousands of its inhabitants have emigrated to found new countries” Roy Strong. The Story of Britain. A People’s History

“The British by nature are in love with what they regard as the security of their island and the tranquility of life which that engenders. It explains their innate conservatism, their ability to compromise, their pragmatism as well as their quite revolutionary voyages of the mind. Island claustrophobia must also account for the great geniuses of their history, a William Shakespeare or an Isaac Newton, for example, whose minds explode beyond island confines in search of universal truth”. Roy Strong.

Readily accessible from the continent “The conquerors always had to have a dialogue with the conquered, producing, sooner or later, a mixed society with elements from both. Once here, they were absorbed into the existing population”[1]. In other words, “the peoples that infiltrated it [the island] gradually made a successful and creative mixture”[2]. [1] Roy Strong, P.1 [2] Rowse

The effect of an insular position: British people are both inward and outward looking

Other factors that contributed to the creation of the British World characteristics and attitudes (North-South Divide) Climate Land conditions