Prehistoric Britain

Britain was a part of the European land mass

until the end of the last Ice Age, around 6000

BC, when the English Channel was formed by

melting ice. The earliest inhabitants lived in

limestone caves: settlements and farming skills

developed gradually through the Stone Age.

About 3000 BC many parts of Europe,

including the British Isles, were inhabited by a

people, known as the Iberians. These Neolithic men

used stone axes and made antlers and bones into

leather-working tools. Stonehenge on Salisbury

Plain is the best known megalithic monument in

Britain and one of the world’s greatest mysteries. It

was built in several stages from about 3000 BC, but

no one knows for what purpose these enormous

stones were erected and how they were transported

there from the places far away.

The Bronze Age reached Britain between 2100 - 1650 BC.

Gold was mined in Wales and Cornwall and the gold items

found from their graves are evidence of the wealth of

Bronze Age tribes. European Celts invaded Britain in two

waves. First the Gaels around 600 BC. The second wave

was that of the Cymri or Briton around 300 BC. The

Iberians were unable to fight back the attacks of the Celts

who were armed with metal spears, swords daggers and

axes.

The Celts had no towns but lived in villages. They built

forts on hilltops and protected them with ditches and ramparts. Maiden Castle in Dorset is an

impressive Iron Age hill fort dating from around 100 BC. In AD 43 it was the scene for a

battle as the Romans sought to conquer the Iron Age people of southern England. Its

concentric lines of ramparts and ditches follow the contours on the hill top.

The Celtic tribes were ruled by a warrior class, of which the priests, or Druids, seem to have

been particularly important members. Druids could not read or write, but they memorised all

the religious teachings, the tribal laws, history, medicine and other knowledge necessary in

Celtic society.

It is also believed that during the Celtic period women had more

independence and power than they had again for hundreds of years.

When Romans invaded Britain the largest tribes were ruled by

women, most famous of them Boudicca. It was the Celts who first

saw the potential for creating large-scale artwork on the chalk hills

of southern England. Horses – held in high regard by both the Celts

and later the Saxons, and the objects of cult worship – were often a

favourite subject.

The basic unit of Celtic family was the clan, a sort of

extended family. Clans were bound together very loosely

with other clans into tribes, each of which had its own

social structure and customs, and possibly its own gods.

Celts were great warriors and took tremendous pride in their appearance in battle.

Unfortunately each tribe was out for itself, so they could not put up a unified front and in the

long run this cost the control of Britain.

The concept of a “Celtic” people is a modern somewhat romantic reinterpretation of history.

The Celts were warring tribes who certainly wouldn’t have seen themselves as one people at

the times. It would be more proper to say that the Celts were a group of peoples loosely tied

by similar language, religion and cultural expression. In fact, no-one called the people living

in Britain during the Iron Age Celts until the 18th century. The Romans called these people

Britons, not Celts.

The term “Celtic” in the linguistic sense refers to a family of interrelated languages all

descended from a common ancestor (Old Celtic).

Roman Britain

2000 years ago while the Celts were still living

people in the world. Roman society was a slave

society divided into antagonistic classes – the

slaved and the slave owners. The Romans

conquered all the countries around. One of the

last countries to be conquered by Rome was

Gallia (present-day France). Julius Caesar

reached the Channel in 55 BC and that was how

the Romans came to see white cliffs of the land

of British Celts. Caesar made two raids across the Channel to punish the Britons for helping

their kith and kin against him.

When the Romans invaded Britain, the Iceni, the main tribe in East Anglia, joined forces with

them to defeat a rival tribe, but the Romans then turned to Iceni torturing Queen Boudicca. In

61 AD, she led a revolt against Roman rule: her followers burned down London, Colchester

and St Albans. The rebellion was put down and the queen took poison rather than submit.

As the Roman had problems with the tribes of the far

north, Hadrian’s Wall, stretching 70 miles from the

Solway to the Tyne, was built in 122 to keep out the

raiding Scots and Picts.

Many of Britain’s main towns and cities were established by the Romans and have Roman

remains, including York, St Albans, Bath and

London. Place names ending in –caster, or

– chester reveal the places of Roman military

camps. Several Roman Villas were built in

southern England, favoured for its mild climate

and proximity to Europe. The Roman baths in

Bath, known as Aquae Sulis, were built

between 1st and 4th centuries around a natural hot

spring.

Roman soldiers brought Christianity, and in the 4th century the Christian Church was established in

Britain.

Anglo-Saxon Britain

After the Roman legions left Britain in 410 the Celts remained

independent but not for long. By the mid-5th century, Angles,

Saxons and Jutes from Denmark and Northern Germany had

started to raid the eastern shores of Britain (around Kent). Within

100 years Saxon kingdoms, including Wessex, Mercia and

Northumbria, were established over entire country. The new

settlers disliked towns and destroyed Roman villas, preferring to

live in small communities. By the 7th century towns began to

spring up and trade increased. Many towns have names ending in

“ham”, which is the Anglo-Saxon word for “home”.

The Celts who were not absorbed or enslaved were driven away

to upland or remote areas such as Cornwall, Wales and the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Of

all the Celtic languages Welsh, or Cymri, has survived best and is spoken in Wales. The

English language is the descendant of the language used by the Saxon invaders of the 5 th

century. Angles gave England the name.

Anglo-Saxons were essentially an agriculture people. Each village was self-sufficient, that is,

most of its necessities of life were produced in the village itself. There were no shops and

there was very little trading. Travelling pedlars sold nails, needles, thread, salt, tar and

sometimes toys for children.

The legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are based on a Celtic leader

in the 5th and 6th century who defended his country against Saxon Invasion.

The conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity began at the end of the 6th century (579)

when St Augustine from Rome became archbishop of Canterbury. Thus restoring a link

broken by the Saxon invasions. Before that the Anglo-Saxon had been pagans. They believed

in many gods.

The spread of the Christianity brought about

important changes in the life of the Anglo-

Saxons. The kings and nobles granted much

land to the bishops and monasteries, and

that promoted the growth of big landed

estates. The Roman monks helped to spread

Roman culture in the country. The most

famous writer was The Venerable Bede who

is sometimes called “father of English

history”. He wrote “Ecclesiastical History

of English People”, which was the only

book on Anglo-Saxon history.

There is another important piece of literature from this period – the heroic poem “Beowulf”.

Most literary historians believe it was composed in the oral tradition by an anonymous Anglo-

Saxon story singer at around 700AD, but not recorded in writing until several centuries later.

At the end of the 8th century a second wave of Germanic

invasions started with raids on coastal monasteries. In 871 the

Danes invaded Wessex again. But it was not as easy to devastate

Wessex as other parts of England. Under the reign of Egbert’s

grandson King Alfred who became known in English history as

Alfred the Great, Wessex became the centre of resistance

against invaders. All free peasants of were trained to fight.

King Alfred could read and write. He sent artisans builders and

scholars from the Continent to teach his people. King Alfred

himself translated Ecclesiastical History of the English people.

Alfred ordered that the learned men should begin to write a

history of England.

At the beginning of the 11th century England was conquered by the Danish king

Canute/Knut/Cnut who became king of Denmark, Norway and England. He divided England

into territorial lordships, providing a system of government. According to the legend King

Canute was told by his court that he was all powerful. He told them to take his throne to the

sea shore and commanded the tide to remain out. Everyone got wet.

Norman invasion

In 1042, Edward – known as “the Confessor” because of his piety

– became king. Edward’s father-in-law was Earl Godwin of

Wessex resisted Norman influence and was even exiled, but after

Edward’s death on January 1066 Godwin’s oldest surviving son

Harold was recognised as king by the Witan, the great council of

the realm. Edward had been a weak king and Harold been the real

ruler of England for many years. Now Harold claimed that

Edward had granted him the kingdom on his deathbed, although

Duke William of Normandy argued that Edward had promised him

the throne when he visited England in 1051.

The first challenge to King Harold Godwin came from the north. In 1066 at the end of the

summer, Harald Hardraada landed in north-eastern England. While Harold and his soldiers

were resting after a battle, news arrived from London: Duke William had landed on south

coast near Hastings. The English king returned to London gathered new army and marched to

Hastings. They stopped on the hill and the battle began. The Normans won the battle and

King Harold died in the battle. The battle of Hastings was the last successful invasion of

Britain. It is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry in Normandy, France.

Edgar was now the Anglo-Saxon claimant to the crown but he had to

submit as the victorious William marched to London. On Christmas

Day William was acclaimed king in Westminster Abbey. He is now

called William the Conqueror and 1066 is the most famous date in

English history.

The Normans operated a feudal system, creating and aristocracy that

treated native Anglo-Saxons as slaves. In 1086 the Domesday Book, a

survey of every manor in England, was compiled for tax purposes.

The most prominent surviving remains from Norman England are

stone castles, such as the White Tower in London, and stone cathedrals, such as Durham.

The Early Middle Ages

After the Norman Conquest had begun, there was an Anglo-Saxon rebellion against the

Normans every year until 1070. Few Saxon lords kept their lands and who did accepted

William.

William organised his English kingdom according to the feudal system which had already

started develop in England before his arrival.

When William died in 1087, he left the duchy

of Normandy too his elder son Robert and

England to his second son William. At this

time Robert was in war in the Holy Land and

the third brother, Henry, unfairly took charge

of king’s treasury and was crowned king.

Robert planned an attack, but accepted

payment for returning to Normandy. However

in 1106 Henry invaded Normandy, captured Robert and reunited Normandy and England.

Henry spent the rest of his life fighting to keep Normandy from other French nobles who tried

to take it and he certainly wanted to pass on both Normandy and England to his successor.

Unfortunately, his only son was drowned at sea, so after years he accepted that his daughter

Matilda would follow him.

Henry married Matilda to another great noble in

France, Geoffrey Plantagenet, heir to Anjou. The

consequences of this marriage were extremely

serious for both kingdoms. The throne was seized

by Stephen of Blois, Henry’s nephew (son of

Adela- daughter of William). Matilda invaded

England few years later; her fight with Stephen led

to a terrible civil war, neither side won. In 1153

Stephen and Matilda agreed that the latter could

keep the throne if Matilda’s son Henry could

succeed him. Henry II became 1st unquestioned

ruler of the English throne for a hundred years.

The Reign of Henry II,

Richard I, John I,

Magna Carta and the Decline of Feudalism

When Henry II came to the throne (1154) he inherited English kingdom, Anjou, Maine,

Touraine and acquired vast areas of central and south-western France thought his wife

Eleanor of Aquitaine.

He quarrelled with his beautiful wife, and his sons, Richard and John took Eleanor’s side. In

1189 Henry died broken, disappointed and defeated by his sons and the king of France.

The period is also marked by the struggle between the church and the state. It had started

already in 1066 when the pope claimed that William had promised to accept him as the feudal

lord. William refused to accept his claim, he had created Norman bishops and given land to

them, so the question whether they should obey the church or the king, raised a conflict.

Henry was followed by his rebellious son, Richard. He has

always been one England’s most popular kings, although he

spent hardly time in England. He reigned for 10 years,

spending a lot of time on crusades in the Holy Land. He was

brave and, a good soldier, but his nickname was French.

When Richard was killed in 1199, his younger brother John I

inherited throne of England as well as the Plantagenet

dominions in France which he lost again by 1204. John was

unpopular with the three most important groups of people. He

had taxed them heavily but had not protected their lands in

France.

The Pope knew of John’s weak position in England, he called on the

king of France to invade England and closed every church in the

country. At that most of the population believed that without Church

they would go to hell. So finally John accepted the Pope’s choice of

archbishop and he was also forced to sign Magna Carta. It limited king’s

power to tax the barons, guaranteed the rights of the church and the city

corporations as well as the right to a fair legal trial.

England under the Reign of Henry III and Edward I

John’s son Henry who was only nine at his accession, reigned for a long

time, but was a middling head of state and had few of the personal qualities to gain respect.

He was not able to get back his father’s lands in France. He redeemed himself as a ruler by

patronizing arts and inspiring the improvements to Westminster Abbey and construction of

Salisbury Cathedral.

It was also during Henry’s reign that the first parliament was summoned in 1265 but the

barons quarrelled among themselves and the King reassumed control of the government until

his death in 1272.

His son Edward I was a man of authority. He was less interested in

winning back parts of France than bringing the rest of Britain under

his control. He brought together 1st real parliament, annexed Wales

to England in 1282 and also brought Scotland under English control

for a time.

He tried to have good relations with the powerful king of France

Philip IV. The two kings decided to marry their children (Isabella

and Edward II). The concequences of this marriage was disastrous to

both countries – Edward didn’t love Isabella, Isabella hated Edward.

Falling in love with another man, Isabella together with her loved

forced Edward to abdicate in favour of his 14-year-old son in 1327. For the first three years.

Isabella and Roger ruled till 1330, when Edward seized power.

The Age of Chivalry, the Poor in Revolt

Edward III and his eldest son, Edward or The Black Prince were

greatly admired in England for their courage on the battlefield. They

became symbols of the “code of chivalry”. Interest grew in the

legendary King Arthur. Edward III founded the Order of the Garter

and gave England a new patron, St. George.

Edward was followed by Richard II, his grandson. Richard had

neither diplomatic of his grandfather nor the popularity of his father.

He became king at the age of 11 so others governed for him. The

same year his advisors introduced a tax payment for every person

over 15. When this tax was introduced third time in 1381, it caused a

revolt in East Anglia and Kent, two richer parts of the country.

The Peasant’s Revolt only lasted for four weeks. During

that time peasants took control of much of London. Wat

Tyler, the leader of the peasants, was killed and Richard II

managed to calm down the angry crowd. Later other

leading rebels were killed.

Edward III was one of the most successful English

monarchs in the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority

after the disastrous reign of his father went on to transform

the Kingdom of England into the most effective military

power in Europe.

His reign was dominated by the 100 Years’ War with

France. The struggle began when Edward found that he had more right to the French throne

that anybody else.

The war began well for England; in the early 1400s English lands on continent were won

back. In 1431 the French started to fight back being inspired by Jean of Arc. The English

captured and burned her but the luck was on the side of French.

During the war English noblemen began to speak English. English literature was born with

“Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. Also the first large schools and universities were

founded.

The Crisis of Kingship, the Wars of the Roses

After the 100 Years’ War two groups of nobles,

Lancastrians and Yorkists, thought for the control of

throne. Henry IV spent the rest of his reign

establishing his royal authority. Although he passed

the crown peacefully and Henry V was one of

England’s favourite kings, 50 years later the nobility

were divided between those who remained loyal to

Henry VI, the “Lancastrians”, and those who

supported the duke of York, the “Yorkists”.

The house of York was identified with a white rose, Lancaster with a red rose. The Yorkists

claimed that Henry VI, who had lost the throne of France and all English lands on the

continent, had no right to be king.

The war began in 1455 with the battle of St Albans. Six years later, the York forces crushed

the Lancaster army and Edward of York became king as Edward IV. He died in 1470, his son

Edward V succeeded him at the age of 12. He was killed by his uncle and his uncle became

king as Richard III. He was the king for two years until he died in battle in 1485. War ended

with the marriage between Henry VII and Edward IV’s daughter.

The Tudors

The house of Tudor was a European royal house that ruled England and its lands from 1485

till 1603. Its 1st monarch Henry Tudor descended from the rulers of the Welsh principality.

The last Tudor was Elizabeth I.

The century of Tudor rule is often

thought of as a most glorious period

in English history.

Henry VII was born in Wales in 1457. Henry VII is less known than Henry VIII or Elizabeth I

but he was far more important in establishing the new monarchy than either of them. He

brought unity to the houses of Lancaster and York.

He increased England’s influence in Europe by making important alliances. He arranged a

marriage between his son Arthur and the daughter of the king of Spain Catherine of Aragon.

After Arthur died Henry married Catherine with his younger son. He also arranged a marriage

between his daughter and James IV of Scotland. Henry VIII kept England out of wars, and by

severe economy accumulated an immense fortune.

When Henry VIII came to the throne, his 1st act was to marry his brother’s widow. Catherine

bore five children but only one of them lived. Henry wanted a son. He wanted to annul his 1st

marriage but the pope refused. Anne bore him a 2nd daughter and Anne was beheaded.

Henry’s third wife died after giving birth to a son. Now Henry married Anne of Cleves but

soon divorced again. In 1542 married Catherine Howard and soon ordered to execute her. His

last wife outlived him.

Henry VII was always looking for new sources of money. He spent so much on maintaining a

magnificent court and on wars from which England had little to gain from his father’s

carefully saved money was soon gone.

The later Tudors

When Henry VII died in 1547, his 9-old-year son, a child dogged by

illness, became king as Edward VI. As he was under legal age, the

country was actually ruled by a council. Edward died at the age of 16

and on his deathbed named his Protestant cousin Jane Gray his

successor.

The Privy Council decided to change sides and

proclaim Mary as queen. Lady Jane was

executed.

Mary was the 1st queen of England since Matilda, 400 years earlier. She chose to marry King

Philip of Spain. The parliament agreed to that marriage unwillingly and accepted Philip as

king of England for Mary’s lifetime. The marriage was the first mistake of her unfortunate

reign, and then she enacted a policy of persecution against Protestants. More than 300 people

were burned alive. She got the nickname “Bloody Mary”.

When Mary died in 1558, her half-sister Elizabeth became queen. She wanted to find peaceful

answers to the problems of the English Reformation, bring together those parts of the English

society which were in religious disagreement and make England prosperous. The struggle

between Catholics and Protestants continued to endanger her rule for next 30 years.

Although relations between Spain and England had begun rather well, with Philip even

proposing to marry Elizabeth, over the 30 years since the Queen’s accession, relations had

deteriorated. Elizabeth recognised Spain as England’s main trade rival and enemy which

finally led to the war. Elizabeth succeeded to defeat The Armada, which was the strongest

navy at that time. During the Elizabeth’s reign there lived such people as Shakespeare,

Johnson and Marlow.

The Early Stuarts

Mary Queen of Scots was one of the most fascinating and

controversial monarchs of the 16th century. At one time, she

claimed the crowns of four nations – Scotland, France,

England and Ireland. She was born in 1542 as a daughter of

James Stewart, the King of Scotland and Mary of Guise. In

1558 she married Francois, Dauphin of France and became

queen consort of France after the French king Henry died.

However Mary and Francois did not have any children during

their short marriage. When François died, his mother

Catherine de Medici assumed the role of regent.

Mary married to Lord Darnley and that made Elizabeth very angry. When Mary got tired of

him she agreed to his murder and married to a man who was the murderer. English society

was shocked; the English government did not look forward to the possibility of Mary

succeeding Elizabeth as a queen. Due to her behaviour she destroyed her chance to ever

inherit English throne.

Her son James started to rule at the age of 12 as King

James VI of Scotland. He knew that if he behaved

correctly he would inherit English throne.

When Elizabeth died in 1603 she left James with a huge

debt, larger than the total yearly income of the Crown.

James had to ask Parliament to raise a tax to pay the debt.

Parliament agreed, but in return insisted on the right to

discuss James’s home and foreign policy. James was the

king who believed in “the divine right”.

Religious dissension was the basis of an event that

confirmed and fuelled James’s paranoia: The Gunpowder Plot on the 5th November 1605. Guy

Fawkes and four other Catholics were caught when they attempted to blow up the House of

Lords. James was not the worst king but his Scottish background did a bad job to him. One of

James’s great contributions to England was the Authorised King James’s Version of the

Bible.

James, Charles, Civil War, Cromwell

Charles was born in 1600 as the second son of James VI and Anne. Charles’ older brother

died in 1612 leaving Charles as an heir. In 1625 he became king and married Henrietta Maria

of France. Charles’ reign began with the ingoing tension with the Parliament over money. In

addition to that, his wife was catholic and Charles favoured several Catholic elements in

worship. Charles dissolved Parliament three times between 1625 and 1629. In 1629 he

decided to rule alone. This forced him to raise money by non-parliamentary means. Unrest in

Scotland put an end to his personal rule. He was forced to call back the Parliament. They

refused him money and the country split between Cavaliers and Roundheads. Leader of the

Roundheads was Oliver Cromwell and in 1645 the army of the Cavaliers was defeated. The

general of the rebels was Oliver Cromwell. In 1649 Charles was captured and later executed.

Oliver Cromwell and the army emerged as the power in the country. Cromwell dissolved

Parliament and became a dictator. It is the only time

when England was ruled by a dictator. He died in 1658

but his son was not strong enough to continue his

father’s job and republican administration collapsed.

One of the army commanders arranged election and

invited Charles II to return

from the exile.

The new king managed to

return with skill. He tried

to make peace with

everyone and only

punished those who were

responsible for the execution of Charles I. Charles shared

his father’s believe in divine right and he admired

Louis XIV. The fears os Charles’ interest in Catholic church and of the monarch becoming

too strong also resulted the first political parties in Britain. One of this parties was called

„Whigs“- they were afraid of the absolute monarchy and believed that crown depended on the

Parliament. The opponents of the „Whigs“ were „Tories“, who upheld the authority of the

Crown and were natural inheritors of the „Royalists“ position. Soon after Charles succession

2 terrible thing happened, in 1665 – The Plague, in 1666 – The Great Fire of London.

Charles had no legitimate heir and so throne went to James II.

Unlike his brother James never made a secret of his Catholicism, so he became Catholic king

in a Protestant country. His reign proved to be disastrous and there were struggles between

Catholics and Protestants all the time during his reign.

Leading politicians hoped that throne would pass to Mary, who was a Protestant, but when

James got a male heir their hope was destroyed. William of Orange was invited to conquer

Britain and the crown was offered to him. William landed with an army, James fled to Ireland

and was later defeated and Parliament proclaimed William king. But now Parliament was

more powerful than king and these political events were called the Glorious Revolution.

William was not liked by the people, but his wife Mary

was very popular. Upon her death William ruled alone

for 8 years until Anne became queen. Queen Anne was

the 1st monarch to rule the Kingdom of Great Britain.

She enjoyed a close friendship with Sarah Churchill,

whose husband was a brilliant general; he defeated

French in the battle of Blenheim, which marked the end

of the French dominance in Europe.

Queen Anne died in 1714, exhausted by the cares if state,

for which she had no particular aptitude or enthusiasm.

The Georgian Era

The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally

defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain: George I,

George II, George III and George IV.

George I came to power on 1714 and he was the king of Great

Britain and Ireland, he was Dutch and could hardly speak

English, and when he did he spoke with a strong accent.

George II came to the throne in 1727 and before that

he had been Price of Wales. He was the last English

monarch who was born outside Great Britain. He is

famous for his numerous conflicts with his father

and with his son.

George III came

to the throne in 1760 and he is ruling till 1820. He was the

1st Hanoverian king who could speak English without a

foreign accent. He played a minor role in the wars against

revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793, which

concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of

Waterloo in 1815. However, many of its American

colonies were lost. In the later part of his life, George III

suffered from recurrent, and eventually permanent, mental

illness.

Britain from George III to

Victoria

The conflict between Britain and her American colonists was triggered by the financial costs

of the Anglo-French wars of the previous 30 years. In 1764 there was a serious quarrel over

taxation between the British government and its colonies in America.

Some American colonists have decided that it was not lawful to tax them without their

agreement. In 1773 a group of colonists threw a shipload of tea into the sea rather than pay tax

on it. This event is known as “The Boston Tea Party”. The British government closed the port.

Colonists decided to prevent British goods from entering America until the port was opened

again. Government decided to defeat colonists by force. The American war of Independence

had begun.

The army of the colonists was under command of George Washington and it had an

unbelievable task of taking on the largest empire in the world. At last colonists defeated

British army and in July 1776 Declaration of Independence was signed.

The Napoleonic Wars

The French revolution of 1789 had a significant impact throughout Europe. The 1 st attempt to

crush the French Republic came in 1783, when 6 countries formed the First Coalition.

However their army was defeated by General Bonaparte and Austria was forced to accept his

terms. Only Britain remained diplomatically opposed to the French Republic.

The Second Coalition was formed in

1798 but Napoleon seized the power in

France and reorganised French army

and again he was victorious. England

was forced to sign “peace of Amiens”.

Napoleon declared France an empire

and himself Emperor in 1804.

French efforts were mainly

concentrated on Europe, France sold some colonies to the US and some colonies got

independence.

The 1st loss of Napoleon was the Battle of

Trafalgar in 1805, when Admiral Nelson

used a new technique of sea battle and

defeated French Navy. He was killed in

battle, but became one of the British heroes.

The Napoleonic Wars had turned the

country from thoughts of revolution to the

need to defeat the French. When peace was made and 300,000 soldiers returned to Britain

there was no longer much need for factory-made goods and the whole army was looking for

work. At that time the income of the landowners suffered because of the cheap corn.

The cost of bread rose quickly and this led to the price increase almost in everything.

The general misery began to cause trouble; a lot of people were starving. Some people tried to

get food by hunting but almost all forests were owned by the landlords. Several workhouses

were built to give some living to the poor but their conditions were rather terrible. To evade

workhouses people fled to towns hoping to find a better life there.

In 1830 George IV died and his most liberal brother William IV came to the throne in his

place.

Victorian age

The Victorian was the period of Queen Victoria from

June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a

long period of prosperity for the British people. During

the early part of the era, the House of Commons was

headed by the two parties, the Whigs and the Tories.

From the late 1850s onwards, the Whigs became the

Liberals; the Tories became the Conservatives. Victoria

married Albert in 1840 and in 1861 Prince Albert dies.

Victoria reigned for 63 years and 216 days. An

important development during the Victorian era was the

improvement of communication links. Stagecoaches,

canals, steam ships and most notably the railways all

allowed goods, raw materials and people to be moved

about, rapidly facilitating trade and industry. Trains became another important factor ordering

society, with "railway time" being the standard by which clocks were set throughout Britain.

19th century Britain saw a huge population increase

accompanied by rapid urbanization stimulated by the

Industrial Revolution. The large numbers of skilled and

unskilled people looking for work kept wages down to a

barely subsistence level. Available housing was scarce

and expensive, resulting in overcrowding.

The Edwardian Age World War I and the

Post-War Years

After Queen Victoria’s death in 1906, her son Edward

became king at the age of 59 and he was already a grandfather. During Victorian age he was

not involved in governing the state.

While Victoria was shunned society, Edward was part of fashionable elite which set a style

influenced by the art and fashions of Continental Europe – perhaps because of King’s

fondness for travel.

Socially, the Edwardian era was a period during which the British class system was very rigid.

About one third of the population was poverty stricken and lived in terrible conditions.

The Edwardian period corresponds to the French Belle Époque period.

The church no longer played as vital a role in the daily lives of Edwardians.

In May 1910 King Edward VII died and was succeeded by his son who became King George

V.

He proved to be a capable and dedicated leader during the World War I and during the

difficult post-war period that followed. He was much missed by his people when he died in

1936.

The Irish Problem

The reasons for the conflicting situation in Ireland are deep-rooted in religion and history: the

Irish are descended from the Celtic people who originally inhabited the island and they are

traditionally Catholic, while the Protestant minority is descended from the English and

represents the nation that occupied Ireland and make it a colony.

In the 17th century many English Protestants settled in the north-east and colonised it, and this

led to conflict with the natives.

In 1689, when James II landed an army in Ireland, the Irish welcomed him and besieged the

Protestants at Londonderry, but were defeated by William of Orange one year later.

In 1801 the Act of Union stated that Ireland was part of the UK. The Anglican church became

the official.

A bill was passed giving Dublin government full control and it was due to become low in

1914.

In 1916 a group of republicans attempted to seize Dublin.

The suppression of Irish nationalism in 1916 was far from the end of the problem, but for the

moment the controversy was lost in the tragedy of World War I. With the end of the war the

Irish question rose again.