Otázka: Brief history of UK
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Vladislav Sedláček
The early history
- the first people to inhabit the British Isles were settlers from Europe (Iberians)
- they arrived to the south of England in 5000 B.C and introduced farming, pottery
- Stonehenge was built by these early inhabitants
Celtic tribes
- in 750 B.C.; 200 different tribes, one of them was
called Britons and the whole island was named Britannia
Roman tribes
- Conquered under Emperor Claudius in 43 A.D.
- he pushed a number of Celts to the north and west, Celts didn´t like it and retaliated
- Emperor Hadrian wanted to stop it -> Hadrian’s wall between England and Scotland
- Roman occupation of Britain lasted nearly 400 years (until the 5th century)
Three Germanic tribes
- Angles, Saxons, Jutes came from Germany, Denmark and Netherlands (5th century)
- they conquered the Celts and drove them into what is now Wales and Scotland
Alfred the Great
- Saxon king, intelligent and well educated, translated books from Latin to Old English
- Settled peace with Vikings who invaded England in the 9th century
Battle of Hastings (1066)
- this battle changed the future of England, when William Duke of Normandy and his soldiers defeated the Saxon King Harold, who was killed
- he became King of England -> William the Conqueror
- We can see a linguistic influence from the French language in this period (beef, royal)
Magna Charta (1215)
- King John signed the document Magna Charta -> restricted power of the ruler¨
- It is considered to be the foundation of human rights in Great Britain
The Hundred Year´s War 1337–1453
- Conflict with France, Edward III wanted to be the King of France but the French King wouldn´t agree to this -> the war ended in England´s defeat
The War of Roses 1455–1485
- Dynastic struggle for Crown between the House of York and the House of Lancaster
- two powerful branches of the Royal Family for 30 years carried out a civil war in order to secure the throne for themselves
- peace was made when Henry VII of Lancaster
married Elizabeth of York
The Tudor Period 1485–1603
- Turning point in English history
- one of the best remembered kings are Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I
- England in Tudor period became one of the leading world powers
- several factors that contributed to the rise of England as a world power
- the great geographical discoveries /America, India/
- trading expeditions were encouraged by Elizabeth I
- Henry VIII had 6 wives, became the Head of the English Church instead of Pope,
- Catherine Aragon(divorced),Anne Boleyn(beheaded), Jane Saymoor (died)
- Anne from Cleves(divorced),Catherine Howard (beheaded)
Catherine Parr – survived
- Anne Boleyn´s daughter Elizabeth was an outstanding. diplomatic Queen of England
- Many European kings longed to control England but she remained unmarried, she kept them hoping and so managed to keep peace -> “Virgin Queen”
- the Elizabethan age produced the world´s greatest playwright William Shakespeare
The Civil War 1640–1649
- Period of conflict between the King (Royalists) and Parliament (Parliamentarians)
- England was divided: Supporters of Charles I (absolute monarchy)
Supporters of Parliament (constitutional monarchy) - -> Civil war – abolition of the monarchy and Cromwell´s military dictatorship
- England-> republic under The Commonwealth with Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector
- this period ended in the Glorious Revolution
Industrial Revolution 1760–1850
- Britain became the first industrial power in the world -> “workshop of the world”
- Struggles between France and Britain for world domination started with Napoleon
The Victorian Era 1837–1901
- After Queen Victoria -> Britain the strongest power in the world
- Crowned when 18, one of the best rulers, ruled over 60 years – long peace
- Britain became the greatest industrial, financial, commercial, colonial power
- Victoria was the first monarch to live in Buckingham Palace
World War I.
- Cause of the war = assassination of Ferdinand d’Este in Sarajevo
- Germany, Austria-Hungary Turkey and Bulgaria formed the Central powers
- France, Britain and Russia formed the Allies, joined by Italy, Romania, USA
- 1918 – German army defeated; 1919 – Treaty of Versailles was signed
World War II.
- 1938 – Munich pact: Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Eduard Daladier -> it allowed Germany to have the Sudetenland (“Saved world peace”)
- 1939 – Germany invaded Poland -> Britain and France declared war on Germany
- Battle of Britain: a lot of Britain towns were destroyed by bombs
- Hitler had to give up the idea of invading Britain
- 1945 – Germany defeated, Japan capitulated after atomic bombs
