History of Great Britain Pre-Norman Britain Pre-Norman

History of Great Britain Pre-Norman Britain

Pre-Norman Britain

STONEHENGE Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument on the Salisbury Plain, was built between 3100 and 1550 BC.

Some scientists believe that early peoples were able to foretell eclipses of the sun and the moon by the positions of these celestial bodies in relation to the stone monument.

BOADICEA Boadicea (Boudicca), queen of the Iceni, took poison after defeat of her army by Romans; subject of poems by Tennyson and Cowper.

MAP OF ANGLOSAXON KINGDOMS

ST AUGUSTINE St Augustine was sent by Pope Gregory I to England from the monastery of Saint Andrew in Rome to convert the Anglo. Saxons to Christianity.

VIKINGS Late in the 8 th century strange ships began appearing in the bays along the coasts of Europe. These pirates came from Scandinavia. The people who lived there were Norsemen, or Northmen. Those Norsemen who took part in these swift, cruel raids along the coast were called Vikings. Their expression for this type of warfare was to "go a-viking. " Vik in Norse means "harbor" or "bay. "

VIKING SHIP

ALFRED THE GREAT

KING ALFRED INCITING THE ANGLO-SAXONS Alfred the Great, king of Wessex (871 -899), prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy. Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign.

BEDE THE VENERABLE

BEDE’S TOMB IN DURHAM CATHEDRAL

Medieval Britain

EDWARD THE CONFESSOR Illustration from the 12 -th century Westminster Abbey Psalter

WESTMINSTER ABBEY, HOUSE OF GOD AND HOUSE OF KINGS

SHRINE TO EDWARD THE CONFESSOR

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR William I, known as William the Conqueror, was king of England from 1066 to 1087. As king, William reorganized the feudal system, making all landholders swear greater loyalty to him rather than to their separate lords.

WILLIAM’S GREAT SEAL

BATTLE OF HASTINGS

HAROLD’S DEATH One of the most famous scenes in the Bayeux Tapestry is supposed to show the death of Harold at the Battle of Hastings.

CHEPSTOW CASTLE In 1067, the year after he conquered England, William I had the splendid Chepstow Castle built on the Welsh border.

DOMESDAY BOOK Compiled in 1086 under the direction of William the Conquerer, the Domesday Book was a meticulous survey of feudal estates in England.

DOMESDAY ENGLAND MAP There were only 18 towns of over 2000 inhabitants in the Domesday England of 1086. Of these towns, the two largest, London and Winchester, were left out of the Domesday Book entirely. The population of the entire country was probably between 1. 2 and 1. 5 million, most of them in the south and east, as you can plainly see by the distribution of major towns.

RICHARD I King Richard I Lion-Hearted led the Third Crusade (1189 -1192). Although the crusaders failed to defeat the Muslims, Richard I negotiated a treaty granting Christian pilgrims free access to Jerusalem.

English subjects force King John of England to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede, June 15, 1215.

MAGNA CARTA A copy of the original Magna Carta shows the coats of arms of the rebel barons who presented their demands to King John.

JOHN WYCLIFFE

JOHN WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE

TYLER’S REBELLION Wat Tyler led a rebellion against King Richard II of England in 1381. Here, Tyler is about to be slain by the mayor of London, while Richard II watches.

WILLIAM CAXTON William Caxton was the first English printer. Caxton printed nearly 100 publications, about 20 of which he also translated from French and Dutch. The more notable books from his press include The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer. Fewer than 40 of Caxton’s publications still exist.

THE WARS OF ROSES The Wars of Roses were series of dynastic civil wars in England fought by the rival houses of Lancaster and York between 1455 and 1485. The struggle was so named because the badge of the house of Lancaster was a red rose and that of the house of York a white rose.

The cause of the wars dates back to the reign of Edward III and the power struggle between his sons after his death. Edward III died in 1377. His eldest son, Edward, the Black Prince had died of the plague in 1376 and so his grandson, Richard, aged ten and son of the Black Prince, became king. Henry IV succeeded Richard II. Henry managed to keep his place on the throne and when he died in 1413, the country was at peace and his son, Henry V, succeeded without problem.

Henry V was a strong leader. He won many battles, including the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and conquered Normandy and Rouen for England. In 1420, Henry married the daughter of the king of France and it was agreed that their children would be the heirs of both England France. When Henry V died in 1422 from dysentery, his son, Henry VI became the only king to be crowned king of England France. Henry VI was four months old when he became king and his father’s brothers ruled the country in his place. Henry was a weak king, totally dominated by his French wife Margaret of Anjou. He was also prone to bouts of insanity and the Yorkists began plotting to take his place on the throne.

In 1461, Richard’s son Edward made himself King Edward IV. With no other Lancastrian heir to challenge him, Edward IV remained king until his sudden death in 1483. Edward’s brother Richard was crowned Richard III. He was not a popular king and faced many challenges to his place on the throne, notably from Henry Tudor, grandson of Owen Tudor who had been second husband to Henry V’s wife Katherine of Valois.

Henry Tudor raised a Lancastrian army against Richard III and at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, Richard was killed and the Yorkists defeated. It is told that Henry found Richard’s crown on the battlefield and placed it on his head. Henry VII was crowned king and married Edward IV’s daughter, Elizabeth of York a move that was to end the Wars of the Roses. + = Red Rose of Lancaster (Henry VII) + White Rose of York (Elizabeth of York) = Red and White Tudor Rose

Tudor England

Henry VII came to the throne after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. He married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV uniting the houses of Lancaster and York and ending the wars of the roses. Henry successfully established the Tudor dynasty and when he died in 1509 England was a rich and prosperous country. Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII and became King because his brother, Arthur had died. He married his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon, but divorced her when she did not produce a male heir to the throne. In order to gain his divorce, Henry had to establish the Church of England end Catholicism. Henry went on to marry another five wives - Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr. Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard were executed for treason. He died in 1547.

Edward VI came to the throne at the age of 10 years. He was a sickly child and the country was run by his protectors. Edward died at the age of 16 in 1553. Mary I became queen of England after the death of her brother, Edward VI. She became known as “Bloody Mary” after she burned about 300 Protestant clergymen during her five-year reign.

Elizabeth became Queen after her sister Mary I died without an heir. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She upheld Protestantism in England her will was the law. She did not marry and was known as the Virgin Queen. During Elizabeth's reign the age of exploration began with explorers such as Francis Drake claiming new lands for England introducing new materials and foods. The American State, Virginia, is named after her. When Elizabeth died in 1603 the Tudor line ended.

KATHARINE OF ARAGÓN Katharine of Aragón, 1485– 1536, first queen consort of Henry VIII of England. After his secret marriage (1533) to Anne Boleyn, Henry had a court declare his first marriage invalid.

ANNE BOLEYN Anne married Henry after the Church of England annulled his first marriage to Catherine of Aragón. Anne Boleyn failed to provide the male heir, but the princess she bore became Queen Elizabeth I.

JANE SEYMOUR Jane Seymour was the third wife of King Henry VIII. Jane died shortly after giving birth to her son Edward, later King Edward VI.

ANNE OF CLEVES Anne of Cleves was the fourth queen consort of Henry VIII. Henry married her in 1540 for political reasons. Finding her dull and unattractive, he divorced her that same year.

CATHERINE HOWARD Catherine Howard became the fifth wife of King Henry VIII of England in 1540. She was accused of adultery and beheaded 18 months later.

CATHERINE PARR Catherine Parr was the last queen consort of King Henry VIII of England. A Protestant sympathizer, she helped protect those who dissented from Roman Catholic doctrine.

HENRY AND HIS PARLIAMENT

THOMAS MORE Thomas More was a writer, scholar, statesman, diplomat, political theorist and patron of the arts. As Chancellor to Henry VIII he refused to sanction Henry's divorce of Queen Catherine. More was imprisoned, tried and executed.

ELIZABETH I Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, ruled England from 1558 to 1603. Elizabeth’s reign was a time of great prosperity and achievement, and her court was a center for poets, writers, musicians, and scholars.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Mary, Queen of Scots was a Catholic monarch in a Protestant land. The Scots nobles forced her to abdicate and escape to England. Kept as a virtual prisoner by Elizabeth I and in 1587 Elizabeth reluctantly agreed to her execution.

FRANCIS DRAKE Sir Francis Drake, 1540– 96, English navigator, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe (1577– 80). He was knighted by Elizabeth I. Drake was an admiral in the fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH Sir Walter Raleigh or Ralegh, English soldier, explorer, courtier, and man of letters.

DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA

ENGLAND IN THE 17 TH CENTURY

JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND I OF ENGLAND

CHARLES I Charles I was king of England during the time of the Puritan Revolution.

OLIVER CROMWELL

WILLIAM III William, at the invitation of Protestant opponents of James II, led a revolt against the Catholic English monarchy in 1688. This event established William and his wife, Mary, as rulers of England.

QUEEN ANNE Anne, queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, based much of her administration on the advice of her ministers. During her reign Scotland England merged into a single kingdom.

BRITAIN IN THE 18 TH CENTURY

GEORGE I George was the first of the Hannoverian line of British rulers and also elector of Hannover, in Germany. He never learned the English language and often took extended trips back to Hannover.

WILLIAM PITT William Pitt, the earl of Chatham, led his country to victory over France in the Seven Years' War. He is also known for his defense of the rights of the American colonists.

GEORGE III Britain’s King George III governed during the time of the American Revolution. Besides losing the American colonies, the war nearly bankrupted his country. In his later years he suffered from bouts of insanity.

WILLIAM PITT THE YOUNGER William Pitt became prime minister of Great Britain in 1783. Under Pitt’s leadership Britain gained significant political control over territories in India, established the colony of Australia, successfully fought revolutionary France, and incorporated Ireland into Great Britain.

HORATIO NELSON

BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR BY JACK WILSON Britain’s warships defeated the combined fleets of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar in 1805. The victory gave Britain maritime supremacy that, except for clashes with French fleets during the Napoleonic Wars, remained unchallenged for more than a century.

TRAFALGAR BATTLE

JAMES WATT James Watt invented a steam engine. Watt coined the term horsepower. These and other improvements by Watt played a major role in the Industrial Revolution

SIR RICHARD ARKWRIGHT Arkwright's spinning machine led to the establishment of huge cotton mills and to the beginnings of the factory system.

EDMUND CARTWRIGHT Edmund Cartwright invented a power loom (patented 1785) that made possible the weaving of wide cotton cloth.

BRITAIN IN THE 19 TH CENTURY

QUEEN VICTORIA AND PRINCE ALBERT

CORONATION PROCESSION OF QUEEN VICTORIA

QUEEN VICTORIA’S REIGN Important events and figures of Queen Victoria’s reign are memorialized in a decorative illustration.

PRINCESS ALEXANDRINA VICTORIA, AGED TWELVE

PRINCE ALBERT

BRITAIN IN THE 20 TH CENTURY

NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN Neville Chamberlain, prime minister of Britain immediately prior to World War II, appeased Adolf Hitler’s aggression in Europe to keep his country out of the war. Chamberlain’s efforts ultimately failed.

WINSTON CHURCHILL Once called "a genius without judgment, " Sir Winston Churchill rose through a stormy career to become an internationally respected statesman during World War II. He was one of Britain's greatest prime ministers.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill, center, tours the ruins of Coventry Cathedral in October 1941, accompanied by officials of the parish.

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL As prime minister of Britain during World War II, Churchill roused the British to stand against Nazi Germany. The sight of Churchill, with his cigar and two fingers raised in a “V for victory” salute, inspired Britons to rise to what he called “their finest hour. ”

THE GREAT BLITZ St Paul Cathedral was ringed by fires on the night of ‘The Great Blitz. ’

D-DAY INVASION On June 6 1944, D-day, a massive amphibious attack was launched on France. Despite heavy losses, the invasion was a success and led ultimately to the German surrender on May 7, 1945.

Churchill (seated, left) meets with U. S. president Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Stalin at Yalta, Ukraine, in February 1945 to define policy for eastern Europe.

Hurricane fighter, as used in the Battle of Britain

ELIZABETH II Elizabeth II became queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. The primary role of Elizabeth throughout her reign has been as a symbol of unity and continuity within the Commonwealth of Nations.

MARGARET HILDA THATCHER In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom, a post she held until 1990. Thatcher lead Britain to victory over Argentina in the brief military dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands in 1982.

TONY BLAIR In 1994 British lawyer Tony Blair became the leader of the British Labour Party. He worked extensively to reorganize the party and to increase its popularity. In 1997 the Labour Party won a landslide victory in British national elections, and Blair became prime minister.