History of Great Britain I.

Stone age BCE – first recorded signs of human settlement BCE – The English Channel separates Britain from Europe BCE – first evidence of usage of stone tools and farming + construction of the first wooden walkway (road) “Sweet Road” BCE – first stone circles were erected along with Stonehenge + burial sites Most of the human population was concentrated in the south of the Britain ( today’s Bristol, London,….)

Bronze and Iron age BCE – Bronze age begins in Britain along with the arrival of Beaker Culture ( bronze tools, statues) - England becomes a part of the Atlantic trade system ( cultural connection in W. Europe) → development of Celtic languages - Villages become more populated and dense BCE – Iron age – Hallstatt culture; invasions of Celtic tribes, Britons → Britannia - Britain first mentioned by Pytheas of Massilia ( around 600 BCE)

Roman Britain - 55 BCE – the invasion of Julius Caesar - 43 BCE – Britain becomes part of the Roman Empire - 50 BCE – Londinium founded - Romans pushed the Celtic tribes northwards and westwards, and conquered England and Wales; 122 CE – Hadrian’s wall was erected, dividing England and Scotland - Romans brought culture, progress and their way of life to Britain CE – Romans withdrew from Britain

Anglo-Saxon Britain - 3 tribes invaded Britain – Jutes, Saxons and Angles - they settled in England and formed 7 kingdoms – Wessex, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Merica, Northumbria and East Anglia - Anglo-Saxons spread into Britain and drove Britons out of England CE – St. Augustine brings Christianity to England and becomes the first archbishop of Canterbury

Viking Britain CE – first recorded Viking (Danish) landing CE – the beginning of invasion at Lindisfarne - most of the Anglo-Saxon eastern kingdoms fell and The Danelaw ( rule of the vikings) was established CE - Alfred the Great, king of Wessex defeated vikings, but allowed them to stay in Britain CE – Danelaw reconquered by the Saxons → then again in 1016 CE conquered by Danes and king Canute crowned himself King of England - long and complex power struggles → William the Conqueror invades Britain and wins the Battle of Hastings in 1066, he then crowns himself a King of England

Medieval Britain – works starts on Tower of London – Oxford university – Domesday Book – census, taxes, property - Lot of civil wars and power struggles - King Henry I. worked hard to reform and stabilize the country, and to settle the relations between Anglo-Saxons and Normans

- The Anarchy ( ) – war in England, breakdown in law and order, power struggle between church and king; succession crisis - King Stephen x Empress Matilda + Henry Plantagenet → Plantagenet rule under Henry II. - Richard I. “ the Lion Heart” – crusades – internal disorder and civil war ( king John) → 1215 Magna Carta – restriction of king’s power → first assembly of parliament – King Edward conquers Wales - Great famine of – half a million people died wars of Scottish independence William Wallace, Robert the Bruce

– 1349 – Black Death – killed half of the population – 1453 – Hundred Year’s War – Edward III. Declared himself as a rightful heir to the French throne → war with France, 3 stages ; in the end English lost all his territory in France with exception of Calais and Channel Isles ( Battles of Crécy, Poitiers, Agincourt, Patay) – War of the Roses – dynastic struggle for the possession of the crown between the House of York and the House of Lancaster – rival branches of house Plantagenet → victory went to Henry Tudor ( Lancaster) when he defeated Richard III. → Henry VII.

Tudor Britain - turning point in history of England - England became a superpower – oversea discoveries (America, India) - John Cabot – ship “Matthew” → North America – Bristol / first English colony – Virginia ( Sir Walter Raleigh) - trade expeditions - after death of Henry VII., his son Henry VIII. succeeded to the throne - James IV. of Scots attacked England but was defeated - Henry VIII. had 6 wives → divorce → English Reformation ( English Church) with Catherine of Aragon he had Mary I – she was catholic and so she persecuted protestants - with Anne Boleyn he had Elizabeth I.

– Act of Union ( "The Laws in Wales Act“) – Wales is joined to England - Queen Mary I. pursues protestants and burns protestant monasteries - after her death, her half-sister Elizabeth I. succeeds to the throne (1558) – she’s protestant - beginning of Elizabethan age – golden age Sir Francis Drake sets sail for the West Indies – Spanish king Philip II. attempted to invade Britain with Spanish Armada, but was defeated

– first involvement in India → British East India Company founded – Queen Elizabeth I. dies → James VI. of Scots becomes James I. the King of Great Britain

The End © Ondřej Kvarda 2014