How did we get here?
There really was a Stone Age, you know. It wasn't just the time before mobile phones and the Internet. There were Dark Ages, too – and they weren't those years when we only had three channels on the telly and there was no such thing as skinny latte. Like every nation on this earth, Britain has been shaped by thousands of years of history. So which bits of our long trek through time are the essential events that we all ought to understand? Eyes down for the abbreviated history of Blighty!
Stone Age Shopping
Ever wondered why shopping makes you feel good? It's because plucking stuff off shelves stimulates your oldest instincts, those of the Stone Age hunter-gatherer. Not that we've done much hunting and gathering recently. By around 4,500 BC, the first settlements and basic farms were already appearing in what we now know as Britain.
Shed Love
By 2,500 BC, our ancestors were beginning to make bronze tools and weapons. Around this time, they were also working on the stunning arrangement of giant stones at Stonehenge. About 800 BC, the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age. Iron Age blacksmiths were the first male Brits to embrace the joy of tinkering in sheds – modern blokes owe them a great deal.
You're Roman Now
The next big date on Blighty's calendar is AD 43, when the Romans launched a large-scale invasion, quickly subduing south-east England. In AD 60-61, the Romans had to put down a revolt led by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni. In AD 122, the Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of the wall in northern England that bears his name. As well as those very long, very straight roads, the Romans gave us proper cities, more order than you could shake a stick at and a language of religion and administration that lasted for centuries.
Invaders
Rome's formal rule of Britain ended in 410. What followed was a long period of progressive settlement by Anglo-Saxons of Germanic origin. For centuries, this period was dismissed by historians as the Dark Ages, a barbaric time of little intellectual value. Modern historians are more sympathetic today but we still don't know as much about this period as we do about the times that came before and after. During the 8th century, Vikings began to invade, sparking over two centuries of battles with the Anglo-Saxons for control of the country.
King of the Castles
In 1066, William the Conqueror led his Norman invaders to victory at the Battle of Hastings. He imposed his authority on England with a vast network of castles. The authority of the monarch was at the centre of our next big date, 1215 – the year that rebellious barons obliged King John to sign the Magna Carta. It was the first time that any limitations to the rights of the monarch had been written in law.
The Longest War
The Hundred Years' War sounds bad enough but England's marathon conflict with France over the succession to the French crown is generally reckoned to have lasted even longer, from 1337-1453. In 1415, the English won one of their most famous victories, at the Battle of Agincourt.
Give me a Son
Henry VII founded one of England's most influential royal dynasties, the Tudors. His son, Henry VIII, was so desperate to end his marriage to the Catholic Catherine of Aragon that he forced the Church of England to break with Rome. Five wives followed as Henry sought a male heir, giving rise to the famous rhyme: "Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived." Henry was also responsible for formalising England's annexation of Wales.
Off With Her Head
Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 and spent much of her time fending off plots by supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth had her executed in 1587. A year later, the English Fleet defeated the Spanish Armada off Calais. It wasn't all war during Elizabeth's reign. During the 1590s, William Shakespeare emerged as a significant literary force.
Uncivil Century
In 1605, Catholic plotters, including Guy Fawkes, failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament. We've celebrated Bonfire Night ever since. The 17th century produced little else to celebrate. Bitter feuds between supporters of Charles I and various opponents, including the forces of Parliament, led to the catastrophic Civil Wars of 1642-1651. In 1665, the Great Plague killed up to 100,000 people, mainly in London. A year later, the Great Fire of London destroyed two-thirds of the capital and made 65,000 people homeless.
Union
Conflict between Scotland and England rumbled on. The 1707 Act of Union formally united the countries as Great Britain but Scots continued to rebel until crushed by the English at the Battle of Culloden, in 1746.
Trouble in America
By the middle of the 18th century, the British Empire was vast. But it contracted sharply in 1781, when North American colonists won their War of Independence. As the century closed, Britain was at war with France. In 1805, Nelson led the Fleet to victory against the French and Spanish at the battle of Trafalgar. In 1815, Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
Long to Reign Over Us
In 1837 the 18-year-old Queen Victoria came to the throne. She ruled for 60 years – a time of significant expansion at home and abroad. In 1838, Britain finally abolished slavery across the empire. From 1854 to 1856, the British fought against Russia in the Crimean War. We were at war again in 1899-1902, against South African guerrillas, in the Boer War.
Dear Old Blighty
Britain's next conflict dwarfed all previous wars. The First World War (1914-1918) killed more than 900,000 British and Empire service personnel. The appalling conditions in the trenches prompted many soldiers to yearn for Blighty, army slang for Britain. Blighty was a corruption of the Hindustani word bilayati, meaning foreign. Some soldiers even dreamed of sustaining a Blighty wound – an injury that wouldn't kill them but would get them sent home. The expression's grimmer connotations have faded in recent years.
Getting the Vote
After the war, an exhausted Britain tried to get itself back on track but social unrest and economic depression dogged the next two decades. In 1921, the Anglo-Irish Peace Treaty partitioned Ireland, creating the Irish Free State in the south. In 1928, women over 21 were given the vote, the first time they could vote on the same terms as men.
Bulldog Spirit
The Second World War (1939-1945) was even more all-consuming than its predecessor. In all, an estimated 50 million people died. The military might of the Soviet Union and the United States undoubtedly underpinned the Allies' victory. But this victory would have been impossible without Britain's solo stand against the Nazis from 1940 to 1941.
Brave New World
Post-war Britain was battered but determined to ring the changes. A reforming Labour government founded the National Health Service in 1948. When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, Britain was on the brink of a social and technological revolution that would transform our lives.
Television War
Those changes took us in some unexpected directions. As the millennium entered its final decade, Britons fought in the 1991 Gulf War – the first conflict to be broadcast on live television. The collapse of the Soviet Union had removed the old world order. In its place were worrying uncertainties but most of us were too busy trying out our new mobile phones and personal computers to notice.
New Millennium
In 1997, Tony Blair led a rejuvenated Labour party to victory after 18 years of Tory rule. We celebrated the new millennium in a spirit of optimism as we embraced the Internet. Events since then may have tempered that optimism but Blighty isn't beaten yet…
Ever wondered why shopping makes you feel good? It's because plucking stuff off shelves stimulates your oldest instincts, those of the Stone Age hunter-gatherer. Not that we've done much hunting and gathering recently. By around 4,500 BC, the first settlements and basic farms were already appearing in what we now know as Britain.
Shed Love
By 2,500 BC, our ancestors were beginning to make bronze tools and weapons. Around this time, they were also working on the stunning arrangement of giant stones at Stonehenge. About 800 BC, the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age. Iron Age blacksmiths were the first male Brits to embrace the joy of tinkering in sheds – modern blokes owe them a great deal.
You're Roman Now
The next big date on Blighty's calendar is AD 43, when the Romans launched a large-scale invasion, quickly subduing south-east England. In AD 60-61, the Romans had to put down a revolt led by Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni. In AD 122, the Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of the wall in northern England that bears his name. As well as those very long, very straight roads, the Romans gave us proper cities, more order than you could shake a stick at and a language of religion and administration that lasted for centuries.
Invaders
Rome's formal rule of Britain ended in 410. What followed was a long period of progressive settlement by Anglo-Saxons of Germanic origin. For centuries, this period was dismissed by historians as the Dark Ages, a barbaric time of little intellectual value. Modern historians are more sympathetic today but we still don't know as much about this period as we do about the times that came before and after. During the 8th century, Vikings began to invade, sparking over two centuries of battles with the Anglo-Saxons for control of the country.
King of the Castles
In 1066, William the Conqueror led his Norman invaders to victory at the Battle of Hastings. He imposed his authority on England with a vast network of castles. The authority of the monarch was at the centre of our next big date, 1215 – the year that rebellious barons obliged King John to sign the Magna Carta. It was the first time that any limitations to the rights of the monarch had been written in law.
The Longest War
The Hundred Years' War sounds bad enough but England's marathon conflict with France over the succession to the French crown is generally reckoned to have lasted even longer, from 1337-1453. In 1415, the English won one of their most famous victories, at the Battle of Agincourt.
Give me a Son
Henry VII founded one of England's most influential royal dynasties, the Tudors. His son, Henry VIII, was so desperate to end his marriage to the Catholic Catherine of Aragon that he forced the Church of England to break with Rome. Five wives followed as Henry sought a male heir, giving rise to the famous rhyme: "Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived." Henry was also responsible for formalising England's annexation of Wales.
Off With Her Head
Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558 and spent much of her time fending off plots by supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth had her executed in 1587. A year later, the English Fleet defeated the Spanish Armada off Calais. It wasn't all war during Elizabeth's reign. During the 1590s, William Shakespeare emerged as a significant literary force.
Uncivil Century
In 1605, Catholic plotters, including Guy Fawkes, failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament. We've celebrated Bonfire Night ever since. The 17th century produced little else to celebrate. Bitter feuds between supporters of Charles I and various opponents, including the forces of Parliament, led to the catastrophic Civil Wars of 1642-1651. In 1665, the Great Plague killed up to 100,000 people, mainly in London. A year later, the Great Fire of London destroyed two-thirds of the capital and made 65,000 people homeless.
Union
Conflict between Scotland and England rumbled on. The 1707 Act of Union formally united the countries as Great Britain but Scots continued to rebel until crushed by the English at the Battle of Culloden, in 1746.
Trouble in America
By the middle of the 18th century, the British Empire was vast. But it contracted sharply in 1781, when North American colonists won their War of Independence. As the century closed, Britain was at war with France. In 1805, Nelson led the Fleet to victory against the French and Spanish at the battle of Trafalgar. In 1815, Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.
Long to Reign Over Us
In 1837 the 18-year-old Queen Victoria came to the throne. She ruled for 60 years – a time of significant expansion at home and abroad. In 1838, Britain finally abolished slavery across the empire. From 1854 to 1856, the British fought against Russia in the Crimean War. We were at war again in 1899-1902, against South African guerrillas, in the Boer War.
Dear Old Blighty
Britain's next conflict dwarfed all previous wars. The First World War (1914-1918) killed more than 900,000 British and Empire service personnel. The appalling conditions in the trenches prompted many soldiers to yearn for Blighty, army slang for Britain. Blighty was a corruption of the Hindustani word bilayati, meaning foreign. Some soldiers even dreamed of sustaining a Blighty wound – an injury that wouldn't kill them but would get them sent home. The expression's grimmer connotations have faded in recent years.
Getting the Vote
After the war, an exhausted Britain tried to get itself back on track but social unrest and economic depression dogged the next two decades. In 1921, the Anglo-Irish Peace Treaty partitioned Ireland, creating the Irish Free State in the south. In 1928, women over 21 were given the vote, the first time they could vote on the same terms as men.
Bulldog Spirit
The Second World War (1939-1945) was even more all-consuming than its predecessor. In all, an estimated 50 million people died. The military might of the Soviet Union and the United States undoubtedly underpinned the Allies' victory. But this victory would have been impossible without Britain's solo stand against the Nazis from 1940 to 1941.
Brave New World
Post-war Britain was battered but determined to ring the changes. A reforming Labour government founded the National Health Service in 1948. When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, Britain was on the brink of a social and technological revolution that would transform our lives.
Television War
Those changes took us in some unexpected directions. As the millennium entered its final decade, Britons fought in the 1991 Gulf War – the first conflict to be broadcast on live television. The collapse of the Soviet Union had removed the old world order. In its place were worrying uncertainties but most of us were too busy trying out our new mobile phones and personal computers to notice.
New Millennium
In 1997, Tony Blair led a rejuvenated Labour party to victory after 18 years of Tory rule. We celebrated the new millennium in a spirit of optimism as we embraced the Internet. Events since then may have tempered that optimism but Blighty isn't beaten yet…
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