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History of the UK

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23 – HISTORY OF THE UK

The first people to inhabit the British Isles were settlers from Europe. They arrived between 3,500BC and 3,000 BC and introduced farming, pottery and stone tools. They lived in the south of England. Stonehenge, a huge circle of standing stones, was built by these early inhabitants.

More settlers from Europe, principally the Celts, started to invade Britain from the 10th century BC. The island was named Brittania by the Romans who occupied the country from 55 BC to 5th century AD.

The Angles and Saxons came from Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands in the 5th century, and England gets its name from this invasion (Angle-land). The Vikings arrived from Scandinavia throughout the 9th century, and in 1066 the Normans invaded from France. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 changed the future of England when the English were defeated by a French army led by William, Duke of Normandy. Harold, King of England, was killed and the Duke of Normandy became King William I of England (William the Conqueror). When women of Normandy heard of this victory, they made a large tapestry on which they told true story of the Battle. This tapestry is now in the museum in French Bayeux.

The Middle Ages in England could be described as full of civil and international wars. During this period the kingdom remained a sovereign state until the reign of Richard I “The Lion Heart” who made it a vassal of the Holy Empire. High taxes, unsuccessful wars and conflicts with the Pope led to a rebellion of some of the English barons against the king and therefore the Magna Charta was signed in 1215. It was a document restricting king´s powers, led to the creation of the first parliament in 1264. In the 14th/15th century the unsuccessful Hundred Years´ War against France began followed by the War of Roses (Yorks / Lancasters). Simultaneously, the plague known as the Black Death killed a third of the population. However, the War of Roses ended by the victory of the third dynasty – the Tudors.

One of the best remembered kings is Henry VIII who had six wives. Henry was well educated and had the mind of a statesman. During his reign Wales was brought into legal union with England, but Henry ruled as a true and terrible autocrat. His teacher, Sir Thomas More, was executed because he refused to accept Henry´s second marriage to Anne Boleyn and his rejection of the authority of Rome. After his quarrel with the Pope and excommunication, Henry became the head of the newly established Church of England and declared his independence from Rome. Anne Boleyn was executed too, and so was his fifth wife, Catherine Howard. Anne Boleyn´s daughter, Elizabeth, became an outstanding Queen of England, although her path to the throne necessitated the execution of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and Elizabeth´s cousin, whom all Catholics in Britain considered the legitimate heir to the English throne.

Elizabeth I, called “The Virgin Queen” ruled not by force, but female diplomacy. Many European kings longed to control England, but she remained unmarried so that nobody could take her throne. In 1588 the Spanish Armada attempted to invade England, but was defeated by the British navy led by Sir Francis Drake. England became a leading world power. Great voyages of discovery opened the world to English trade and conquest during Elizabeth´s reign. Sir Walter Raleigh founded the first English colony in North America and called it Virginia in honour of the Queen. The Elizabethan Era is known for the flourishing of the theatre represented by William Shakespeare and his Globe Theatre. After Elizabeth´s death, James I, the son of Mary Stuart, succeeded to the throne. He united England, Scotland and Wales under one crown (Union of the Crowns).

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