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Life in the UK Test

Chapter 3· 49% of exam questions

A long and illustrious history

From the Stone Age and the Romans through 1066, Magna Carta, the Tudors, the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution to the Industrial Revolution, the Empire, the World Wars and Brexit.

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Early Britain

Prehistory in four stages. Hunter-gatherers came first, over a land bridge the Channel cut roughly 10,000 years ago. Farming followed some 6,000 years ago, bringing houses, tombs and monuments — Stonehenge in Wiltshire, probably for seasonal ceremonies, and Skara Brae on Orkney, northern Europe's best-preserved prehistoric village. Then bronze: roundhouses, and round barrows for the dead. Then iron: hill forts such as Maiden Castle in Dorset, a Celtic language, and Britain's first minted coins — where British history is said to begin.

Testable facts

  • The first people to live in Britain were hunter-gatherers in the Stone Age
  • About 10,000 years ago the Channel cut Britain off from the continent for good
  • The first farmers arrived in Britain 6,000 years ago
  • Stonehenge in Wiltshire was probably a special gathering place for seasonal ceremonies
  • Skara Brae on Orkney is the best preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe
  • Bronze Age homes were roundhouses, and the dead went into tombs called round barrows
  • In the Iron Age people learned how to make weapons and tools out of iron
  • Maiden Castle in Dorset is an impressive Iron Age hill fort
  • The language of the Iron Age was part of the Celtic language family
  • The first coins to be minted in Britain were made in the Iron Age

The Romans

Two invasions, not one. Julius Caesar tried in 55 BC and failed, leaving Britain outside the Empire for almost a century. Claudius succeeded in AD 43. Resistance came from tribal leaders including Boudicca of the Iceni, in what is now eastern England, whose statue stands on Westminster Bridge. Scotland was never taken, and Hadrian walled the north against the Picts — Scottish ancestors — with forts at Housesteads and Vindolanda, now a World Heritage Site. Four Roman centuries left roads, public buildings, a structure of law, and new plants and animals. Christian communities first appear in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.

Testable facts

  • Julius Caesar led a Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC, which was unsuccessful
  • The Emperor Claudius led a new Roman invasion in AD 43
  • Boudicca was the queen of the Iceni in what is now eastern England and fought against the Romans
  • There is a statue of Boudicca on Westminster Bridge in London
  • Areas of what is now Scotland were never conquered by the Romans
  • To keep the Picts out, the Emperor Hadrian walled the north of England
  • The Picts were the ancestors of the Scottish people
  • Hadrian's Wall included the forts of Housesteads and Vindolanda and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • The Romans remained in Britain for 400 years
  • Roman Britain gained roads, public buildings, a structure of law, and new plants and animals
  • The first Christian communities began to appear in Britain during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD

The Anglo-Saxons

AD 410: the legions leave for good. Three peoples arrive from northern Europe — Jutes, Angles, Saxons — and their languages become the root of English. Kingdoms are established by about AD 600, mostly in what is now England; one king's ship burial, heaped with treasure and armour under earth, lies at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Wales and Scotland largely escape Anglo-Saxon rule. Conversion comes from two directions: from Ireland, St Patrick, later Ireland's patron saint, and St Columba, who founded the monastery on Iona; from Rome, St Augustine, who worked in the south and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

Testable facts

  • The Roman army left Britain in AD 410 and never returned
  • The Jutes, Angles and Saxons came to Britain after the Romans left
  • The languages of the Jutes, Angles and Saxons are the basis of modern-day English
  • By about AD 600 Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were established in Britain, mainly in what is now England
  • Sutton Hoo in modern Suffolk was the burial place of an Anglo-Saxon king
  • The Anglo-Saxon king at Sutton Hoo was buried with treasure and armour in a ship covered by a mound of earth
  • Anglo-Saxon rule never reached much of present-day Wales, nor Scotland
  • St Patrick became the patron saint of Ireland
  • St Columba founded a monastery on the island of Iona
  • St Augustine led missionaries from Rome and spread Christianity in the south
  • St Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury

The Vikings

Raiders turned settlers. Vikings from Denmark, Norway and Sweden first struck coastal towns in AD 789 for goods and slaves, then stayed, settling eastern England and Scotland. Alfred the Great united the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and beat them. Many remained in the east and north, in the Danelaw — Grimsby and Scunthorpe carry Viking names — mixing with local communities, some converting. Anglo-Saxon kings continued apart from a short spell of Danish rule, the first being Cnut, or Canute. In the north the Viking threat pushed people together under Kenneth MacAlpin, and the name Scotland came into use.

Testable facts

  • The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden
  • AD 789 brought the first Viking visit, raiding coastal towns for goods and slaves
  • Alfred the Great united England's Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and beat the Vikings
  • The Danelaw was the name for the eastern and northern area where many Viking invaders settled
  • Place names such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe come from the Viking languages
  • The first Danish king to rule what is now England was Cnut, also called Canute
  • In the north the threat of Viking attack encouraged the people to unite under one king, Kenneth MacAlpin
  • The term Scotland began to be used to describe that country under Kenneth MacAlpin

The Norman Conquest

The one date to know cold: 1066. William, Duke of Normandy, crossed the Channel, beat the Saxon king Harold at Hastings — Harold died there — and ruled as William the Conqueror. No foreign invasion of England has succeeded since. Government and society were remade, and Norman French, spoken by the new ruling class, reshaped English. Wales was taken and then partly won back; the Scottish border yielded some land, but Scotland was not invaded. Two objects to attach: the Bayeux Tapestry in France, picturing the battle, and the Domesday Book, listing England's towns, villages, inhabitants, landholders and livestock.

Testable facts

  • In 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold, the Saxon king of England, at the Battle of Hastings
  • Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings
  • William became king of England and is known as William the Conqueror
  • The Norman Conquest was the last successful foreign invasion of England
  • The Battle of Hastings is commemorated in the Bayeux Tapestry, which can still be seen in France
  • English developed under the influence of Norman French, spoken by the new ruling class
  • The Normans initially conquered Wales but the Welsh gradually won territory back
  • The Normans took over some land on the border between England and Scotland but did not invade Scotland
  • The Domesday Book listed all the towns and villages of England, who lived there, who owned the land and what animals they owned

The Middle Ages: war at home and abroad

A thousand years — from Rome's fall in AD 476 to 1485 — and after 1066 almost constant war. In Wales England prevailed: Edward I's Statute of Rhuddlan annexed it to the Crown in 1284, castles such as Conwy and Caernarvon held it, and the last rebellions failed by the mid-15th century. In Scotland England failed: Robert the Bruce won Bannockburn in 1314 and Scotland stayed unconquered. In Ireland English troops arrived to help the Irish king, stayed to settle, and by 1200 ruled the Pale around Dublin. Abroad, knights joined the Crusades for the Holy Land, and the Hundred Years War with France ran 116 years — Henry V's outnumbered army won Agincourt in 1415, and the English largely left France in the 1450s.

Testable facts

  • A thousand years separate the end of the Roman Empire in AD 476 from 1485, the span of the Middle Ages
  • Wales was annexed to the Crown of England by Edward I's Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284
  • Huge castles including Conwy and Caernarvon were built to maintain English power in Wales
  • Welsh rebellion was finally put down by the middle of the 15th century
  • Bannockburn in 1314 saw Robert the Bruce lead the Scottish to victory over the English
  • Scotland remained unconquered by the English
  • Around Dublin lay the Pale, English-ruled by 1200
  • Knights joined the Crusades in numbers, European Christians fighting for the Holy Land
  • The Hundred Years War with France actually lasted 116 years
  • At the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 King Henry V's vastly outnumbered English army defeated the French
  • The English largely left France in the 1450s

Feudalism and the Black Death

Land was held by feudalism: the king granted it to lords, who owed him men for war. A few peasants held their own land; most were serfs, farming a patch of their lord's in return for labour and forbidden to leave. Southern Scotland worked the same way; in northern Scotland and Ireland, clans — prominent families — held the land. Then 1348 and the Black Death, probably a plague, killing a third of England's people and a similar share in Scotland and Wales: among the worst disasters ever to strike Britain. Fewer people meant less cereal growing, scarce labour and peasants demanding better wages. New classes emerged, including the large landowners later called the gentry, and people moved to the towns, where wealth built a strong middle class.

Testable facts

  • The Normans used a system of land ownership known as feudalism
  • Land came to lords from the king under feudalism, the return being help in war
  • Most peasants were serfs, who had a small area of their lord's land and had to work for their lord and could not move away
  • In the north of Scotland and in Ireland land was owned by members of the clans, which were prominent families
  • In 1348 a disease, probably a form of plague, came to Britain and was known as the Black Death
  • One third of the population of England died in the Black Death, and a similar proportion in Scotland and Wales
  • The Black Death was one of the worst disasters ever to strike Britain
  • After the Black Death there were labour shortages and peasants began to demand higher wages
  • New social classes appeared after the Black Death, including owners of large areas of land later called the gentry
  • Growing wealth in the towns led to the development of a strong middle class

Magna Carta and the rise of Parliament

1215 put the first formal limit on a king. King John's noblemen forced him to accept their demands, and the resulting charter of rights — Magna Carta, the Great Charter — established that the king too was subject to law, protected the nobility's rights, and curbed his power to tax or to make and change laws without involving them. Parliaments were called so kings could consult nobles, chiefly over money. As numbers grew, two Houses formed: Lords for the nobility, great landowners and bishops; Commons, elected, for knights — smaller landowners — and wealthy townspeople, chosen by only a small part of the population. Scotland's Parliament had three Houses, called Estates: lords, commons, clergy. Judicial independence began here too, English judges building common law from precedence and tradition while Scots law was codified in writing.

Testable facts

  • Magna Carta was agreed in 1215
  • King John was forced by his noblemen to agree to Magna Carta
  • Magna Carta means the Great Charter
  • Even the king answered to law: that was Magna Carta's idea
  • Magna Carta guarded the nobility's rights and curbed the king's power over taxes and over making or changing law
  • The nobility, great landowners and bishops sat in the House of Lords
  • Election to the Commons went to knights and to wealthy townspeople
  • Electing members of the Commons was open to only a small part of the population
  • The Scottish Parliament had three Houses called Estates: the lords, the commons and the clergy
  • In England judges developed common law by a process of precedence and tradition
  • In Scotland the laws were codified, that is, written down

A distinct identity and the Wars of the Roses

Two languages became one. King and nobles spoke Norman French, peasants Anglo-Saxon, and the merger left modern English with paired words — 'demand' from French beside 'ask'. By 1400 official documents were in English, the preferred tongue of court and Parliament. Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, poems of pilgrims swapping stories on the road, among the first books printed by William Caxton, England's first printer. In Scotland John Barbour wrote The Bruce, on Bannockburn, in Scots. Castles rose across Britain and Ireland — Windsor and Edinburgh still in use — and cathedrals such as Lincoln, several glazed with stained glass, York Minster famously. Wool was a major export. Then civil war in 1455 over the throne: the Wars of the Roses, red rose of Lancaster against white rose of York, ending at Bosworth Field in 1485 with Richard III dead and Henry Tudor crowned Henry VII. He married Richard's niece Elizabeth of York, and the Tudor badge became a red rose with a white one inside.

Testable facts

  • Norman French and Anglo-Saxon gradually combined to become one English language
  • English was in use for official documents by 1400, and preferred at the royal court and in Parliament
  • Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of poems about a group of people going to Canterbury on a pilgrimage
  • William Caxton was the first person in England to print books using a printing press
  • The Canterbury Tales was one of the first books to be printed by William Caxton
  • John Barbour wrote The Bruce about the Battle of Bannockburn in the Scots language
  • Windsor and Edinburgh are castles built in the Middle Ages that are still in use
  • The stained glass in York Minster is a famous example
  • English wool became a very important export in the Middle Ages
  • The Wars of the Roses began in 1455 as a civil war to decide who should be king of England
  • The Wars of the Roses was fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York
  • A red rose stood for Lancaster, a white rose for York
  • The Wars of the Roses ended with the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485
  • King Richard III of the House of York was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field
  • Henry Tudor, leader of the House of Lancaster, became King Henry VII
  • Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, uniting the two families
  • Tudor's badge set a white rose inside a red one

Henry VIII and the Reformation

Henry VII curbed the nobles and centralised power; Henry VIII carried on. Two things define the son: six marriages, and the break with Rome. Needing papal approval to divorce and refused it, he founded the Church of England, where the king rather than the Pope appointed bishops and set worship. Europe was meanwhile in the Reformation, a revolt against papal authority and Catholic practice: Protestants built their own churches, read scripture in their own languages rather than Latin, dropped saints and shrines, and put a person's own relationship with God above obedience to the Church. Imposing Protestantism on Ireland provoked rebellion by the chieftains and brutal fighting. Under Henry VIII, Wales was united with England by the Act for the Government of Wales; Welsh representatives entered the Commons and Welsh law was reformed.

Testable facts

  • Two things made Henry VIII famous: six marriages, and the break with the Church of Rome
  • Henry VIII established the Church of England when the Pope refused to approve his divorce
  • In the Church of England the king, not the Pope, had the power to appoint bishops and order how people should worship
  • Papal authority, and Roman Catholic ideas and practices, were what the Reformation set itself against
  • Protestants read the Bible in their own languages instead of in Latin
  • Protestants did not pray to saints or at shrines
  • For Protestants, a person's own relationship with God outweighed submission to Church authority
  • Wales became formally united with England during the reign of Henry VIII by the Act for the Government of Wales
  • Welsh representatives went to the Commons, and Welsh law was reformed

The six wives of Henry VIII

Six wives, in order: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr. A Spanish princess, divorced after only Mary survived. An Englishwoman, mother of Elizabeth, unpopular, accused of lovers, executed at the Tower. A third who bore Edward, the wanted son, and died soon after. A German princess married for politics and quickly divorced. Anne Boleyn's cousin, also accused of lovers, also executed. And a widow who married him late, outlived him, remarried, and died soon after.

Testable facts

  • The six wives of Henry VIII were Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr
  • Catherine of Aragon was a Spanish princess and the mother of Mary
  • Anne Boleyn was English and the mother of Elizabeth, and was executed at the Tower of London
  • Jane Seymour gave Henry VIII the son he wanted, Edward, but died shortly after the birth
  • Anne of Cleves was a German princess whom Henry VIII married for political reasons and divorced soon after
  • Catherine Howard was a cousin of Anne Boleyn and was executed
  • Catherine Parr was a widow who married Henry VIII late in his life and survived him

Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I

Three reigns after Henry VIII. Edward VI, strongly Protestant, saw the Book of Common Prayer written for the Church of England — a version still in use — and died at 15 after just over six years. Mary, a devout Catholic, persecuted Protestants and earned the name Bloody Mary. Then Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn: a Protestant who restored the Church of England as England's official Church, required church attendance and regulated services and prayers, but never probed what people actually believed. Holding a line between Catholics and extreme Protestants, she avoided serious religious conflict and became one of the most popular monarchs in English history — the more so after 1588, when England defeated the Spanish Armada, the fleet sent to conquer the country and restore Catholicism.

Testable facts

  • Edward VI was strongly Protestant and during his reign the Book of Common Prayer was written for use in the Church of England
  • Just over six years of rule ended with Edward VI's death at 15
  • Mary was a devout Catholic who persecuted Protestants and became known as Bloody Mary
  • Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
  • Elizabeth I was a Protestant who re-established the Church of England as the official Church in England
  • Elizabeth I found a balance between the views of Catholics and the more extreme Protestants and avoided serious religious conflict within England
  • In 1588 the English defeated the Spanish Armada, a large fleet of ships sent by Spain to conquer England and restore Catholicism

The Reformation in Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots

Protestant ideas took hold in Scotland too. In 1560 a mostly Protestant Scottish Parliament ended papal authority and outlawed Catholic services, and a Protestant Church of Scotland with elected leadership was set up — not, unlike England's, a state Church. Mary Stuart, now usually Mary, Queen of Scots, was Catholic. A week old when her father died and she became queen, she spent much of her childhood in France. Back in Scotland she stood at the centre of a power struggle; suspected over her husband's murder, she fled to England and handed her throne to her Protestant son, James VI. Elizabeth I, her cousin, suspected designs on the English throne and held her prisoner for 20 years before her execution for plotting.

Testable facts

  • Papal authority in Scotland was abolished in 1560 by a mainly Protestant Scottish Parliament
  • Roman Catholic religious services became illegal in Scotland in 1560
  • Scotland's new Protestant Church had elected leadership and, unlike England's, no status as a state Church
  • Mary Stuart, often now called Mary, Queen of Scots, was a Catholic
  • A week old at her father's death, Mary, Queen of Scots became queen as an infant
  • Much of Mary, Queen of Scots' childhood was spent in France
  • Mary, Queen of Scots gave her throne to her Protestant son, James VI of Scotland
  • Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth I's cousin and was kept a prisoner for 20 years
  • Mary, Queen of Scots was eventually executed, accused of plotting against Elizabeth I

Exploration, Shakespeare and James I

Patriotism, exploration and drama. English explorers sought new trade routes and pushed into Spanish colonies in the Americas; Sir Francis Drake, an Armada commander and founder of the naval tradition, took the Golden Hind among the first ships to circumnavigate the world, and settlers began colonising America's eastern coast. Above all there is Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, playwright and actor — A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet — among the first to put ordinary Englishmen and women on stage, an inventor of words still current, and commemorated by the Globe Theatre, a modern copy of the playhouses he wrote for. Elizabeth never married and left no child, so on her death in 1603 the crown passed to James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, Wales and Ireland while Scotland stayed separate. His reign produced a new English Bible, the King James or Authorised Version.

Testable facts

  • Sir Francis Drake was one of the commanders in the defeat of the Spanish Armada and one of the founders of England's naval tradition
  • Among the first ships to circumnavigate the world was Sir Francis Drake's Golden Hind
  • America's eastern coast first saw English settlers under Elizabeth I
  • William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and was a playwright and actor
  • Among Shakespeare's most famous plays: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • Shakespeare was one of the first to portray ordinary Englishmen and women
  • Shakespeare shaped English deeply and coined many words still in use
  • The playhouses Shakespeare's plays first appeared in are copied in London's modern Globe Theatre
  • Elizabeth I never married and had no children of her own to inherit her throne
  • When Elizabeth I died in 1603 her heir was James VI of Scotland, who became King James I of England, Wales and Ireland
  • Scotland remained a separate country when James VI became King James I of England
  • A new translation of the Bible into English during James I's reign is known as the King James Version or the Authorised Version

Ireland under Elizabeth I and James I

Ireland in this period was almost wholly Catholic. Henry VII and Henry VIII pushed control beyond the Pale and established authority over the whole island, Henry VIII taking the title King of Ireland; English law arrived and local leaders answered to the Lord Lieutenants in Dublin. Under Elizabeth I and James I, opposition to Protestant rule from England produced repeated rebellions. London's answer was settlement: Scottish and English Protestants were encouraged into Ulster, the northern province, on land taken from Catholic landholders. These were the plantations, many settlers arriving from south-west Scotland while other land went to London companies. James extended the scheme elsewhere in Ireland, with long consequences for England, Scotland and Ireland alike.

Testable facts

  • During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I, Ireland was an almost completely Catholic country
  • Henry VIII took the title King of Ireland
  • Local leaders in Ireland were expected to follow the instructions of the Lord Lieutenants in Dublin
  • Ulster, Ireland's northern province, was settled by Scottish and English Protestants at the English government's urging
  • The settlements of Protestants in Ulster were known as plantations
  • Many of the new settlers in Ulster came from south-west Scotland
  • Long-term consequences for English, Scottish and Irish history alike flowed from the plantations

The English Civil War

James I and Charles I both held to the Divine Right of Kings — appointment by God, and no need of parliamentary approval. Charles governed on that basis, and when Parliament would not back his religious and foreign policies he did without it for 11 years. Scotland forced his hand: a revised Prayer Book pressed on the Presbyterian Church raised a Scottish army he could not fund alone, so in 1640 he recalled Parliament for money. Many members were Puritans, Protestants wanting strict and simple doctrine and worship, and they refused. Rebellion broke out in Ireland, where Catholics feared Puritan power, and Parliament seized the moment to demand control of the army. Charles walked into the Commons to arrest five leaders, who had been warned and were absent — no monarch has entered the Commons since. War came in 1642, dividing the country into the king's Cavaliers and Parliament's Roundheads.

Testable facts

  • Divine Right of Kings — appointment to rule directly by God — was the belief of James I and Charles I
  • Charles I ruled without Parliament at all for 11 years
  • Charles I tried to impose a revised Prayer Book on the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, which led to serious unrest
  • In 1640 Charles I recalled Parliament to ask it for funds
  • Strict, simple doctrine and worship was what the Puritans, a Protestant group, wanted
  • Five parliamentary leaders had been warned and were absent when Charles I came into the Commons to arrest them
  • No monarch has set foot in the House of Commons since Charles I tried to arrest five parliamentary leaders
  • The English Civil War began in 1642
  • Those who supported the king were called the Cavaliers and those who supported Parliament were called the Roundheads

Cromwell and the English republic

Defeats at Marston Moor and Naseby settled it: by 1646 Parliament had won and held Charles prisoner. Still refusing agreement, he was executed in 1649. England declared itself a republic — the Commonwealth — with no monarch and, for a time, the army in charge. General Oliver Cromwell went to Ireland, where revolt had run since 1641, and imposed the English Parliament's authority so violently that he remains controversial there. The Scots, who had not agreed to the execution, crowned Charles II and marched into England; Cromwell beat them at Dunbar and Worcester, and Charles escaped — famously up an oak tree — to Europe. Recognised as leader, Cromwell took the title Lord Protector and ruled until his death in 1658. His son Richard could master neither army nor government, and after 11 republican years with no clear system people began talking about a king again.

Testable facts

  • Marston Moor and Naseby were the battles that broke the king's army
  • Charles I was executed in 1649
  • England declared itself a republic, called the Commonwealth, with no monarch
  • Oliver Cromwell was sent to Ireland, where he established the authority of the English Parliament with such violence that he remains a controversial figure in Ireland today
  • The Scots declared Charles II to be king and he led a Scottish army into England
  • Cromwell defeated the Scottish army at the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester
  • Charles II escaped from Worcester, famously hiding in an oak tree, and eventually fled to Europe
  • Lord Protector was Oliver Cromwell's title, and he held it until he died in 1658
  • Britain was a republic for 11 years
  • Cromwell's son Richard became Lord Protector but was not able to control the army or the government

The Restoration

May 1660: Parliament invited Charles II home from the Netherlands, and he was crowned king of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Having no wish, as he put it, to go on his travels again, he accepted that agreement with Parliament would sometimes be needed, and Parliament generally backed him. The Church of England was re-established, with Catholics and Puritans kept from power. Then two disasters: plague in London in 1665, thousands dead and the poorer areas worst hit, and fire the next year destroying much of the city including St Paul's. Rebuilding gave a new cathedral by Sir Christopher Wren, and Samuel Pepys recorded it all in a diary still read. The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 — habeas corpus being Latin for 'you must present the person in court' — barred unlawful imprisonment and gave every prisoner a right to a hearing. Charles took an interest in science, and his reign founded the Royal Society to promote natural knowledge; it survives as the world's oldest scientific society, its early members including Sir Edmund Halley, who predicted his comet's return, and Sir Isaac Newton, born in Lincolnshire, whose Principia showed gravity acting across the universe and who found white light to be the colours of the rainbow.

Testable facts

  • Exile in the Netherlands ended for Charles II in May 1660, on Parliament's invitation
  • Charles II was crowned King of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland
  • During the Restoration the Church of England again became the established official Church
  • In 1665 there was a major outbreak of plague in London
  • A great fire destroyed much of London the year after the plague, including many churches and St Paul's Cathedral
  • A great fire destroyed much of London the year after the plague, including many churches and St Paul's Cathedral
  • Samuel Pepys wrote about the plague and the great fire in a diary which is still read today
  • The Habeas Corpus Act became law in 1679
  • Habeas corpus is Latin for 'you must present the person in court'
  • The Habeas Corpus Act guaranteed that no one could be held prisoner unlawfully and that every prisoner has a right to a court hearing
  • The Royal Society was formed during the reign of Charles II to promote natural knowledge
  • The Royal Society is the oldest surviving scientific society in the world
  • Sir Edmund Halley successfully predicted the return of the comet now called Halley's Comet
  • Isaac Newton was born in Lincolnshire and his most famous published work was Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
  • Gravity acting across the whole universe was Newton's demonstration, and he also found white light to hold the rainbow's colours

A Catholic king and the Glorious Revolution

No legitimate children meant that when Charles II died in 1685 the crown went to his Catholic brother, James II of England, Wales and Ireland and James VII of Scotland. He favoured Catholics, made them army officers against an Act of Parliament, sought no accommodation with Parliament and arrested Church of England bishops. Fears of a Catholic England were calmed by his two staunchly Protestant daughters — until his wife bore a son. The elder daughter, Mary, had married William of Orange, her cousin, who ruled the Protestant Netherlands; in 1688 leading English Protestants asked him to invade and claim the throne. He met no resistance, James fled to France, and William ruled jointly with Mary as William III. The Glorious Revolution took its name from that absence of fighting in England and from what it secured: Parliament's power, and the end of a monarch ruling alone. James returned with a French army to Ireland and lost the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, still marked by some in Northern Ireland. Scottish support for him collapsed at Killiecrankie; every clan had to swear to William, and the MacDonalds of Glencoe, swearing late, were killed to a man. His remaining followers were the Jacobites.

Testable facts

  • Charles II died in 1685 and his Roman Catholic brother became King James II
  • Roman Catholics were favoured by James II, who made them army officers in defiance of an Act of Parliament
  • Mary, the elder daughter of James II, had married her cousin William of Orange, Protestant ruler of the Netherlands
  • In 1688 important Protestants in England asked William of Orange to invade England and proclaim himself king
  • When William reached England there was no resistance and James fled to France
  • William ruled jointly with Mary as William III in England, Wales and Ireland
  • The event was called the Glorious Revolution because there was no fighting in England
  • The Glorious Revolution guaranteed the power of Parliament and ended the threat of a monarch ruling on his or her own
  • The Boyne, fought in Ireland in 1690, was where William beat James II
  • The Battle of the Boyne is still celebrated by some in Northern Ireland today
  • An armed rebellion in support of James was quickly defeated at Killiecrankie
  • The MacDonalds of Glencoe were late in taking the oath to accept William as king and were all killed
  • James II's supporters became known as Jacobites

The Bill of Rights and constitutional monarchy

A Declaration of Rights read at William and Mary's coronation ended the monarch's power to tax or administer justice without Parliament, shifting the balance for good. The Bill of Rights in 1689 set out Parliament's rights and the king's limits: Parliament decided who could reign and required a Protestant; elections came at least every three years, later seven, now five; and army and navy funding had to be renewed annually by request. Governing therefore needed ministers who could carry majorities in both Houses. Two groupings emerged, Whigs and Tories — the Conservatives are still sometimes called Tories — and party politics began. The press gained ground too: from 1695 newspapers needed no government licence. These laws begin constitutional monarchy, the monarch still central but unable to force policy against Parliament. Democracy it was not: only men with property of a certain value voted, no women at all, some seats were controlled by a single wealthy family as pocket boroughs and others, nearly empty of voters, were rotten boroughs.

Testable facts

  • Parliament's rights, and the limits on the king, were set out in the 1689 Bill of Rights
  • Who could reign became Parliament's to decide, and a Protestant was required
  • A new Parliament had to be elected at least every three years, which later became seven years and is now five years
  • Funding for army and navy had to be renewed by the monarch's annual request to Parliament
  • The two main groups in Parliament were known as the Whigs and the Tories
  • The modern Conservative Party is still sometimes referred to as the Tories
  • From 1695 newspapers were allowed to operate without a government licence
  • Constitutional monarchy begins with the laws passed after the Glorious Revolution
  • Men holding property of a certain value could vote; women could not vote at all
  • Constituencies controlled by a single wealthy family were called pocket boroughs
  • Constituencies which had hardly any voters were called rotten boroughs

The Act of Union and the first Prime Minister

Movement in both directions. Many left Britain and Ireland for colonies in America and elsewhere; others arrived — the first Jews since the Middle Ages settled in London in 1656, and Huguenots, persecuted French Protestants, came between 1680 and 1720, many educated and skilled, working in science, banking, weaving and other crafts. Queen Anne left no surviving children, and the resulting uncertainty over the succession produced the Act of Union in 1707 — the Treaty of Union in Scotland — creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. Scotland lost independence but kept its legal and education systems and its Presbyterian Church. On Anne's death in 1714 Parliament chose George I, her nearest Protestant relative, and a Scottish Jacobite attempt to install James II's son collapsed. George's limited English deepened his reliance on ministers, and the chief minister came to be called the Prime Minister — first Sir Robert Walpole, from 1721 to 1742.

Testable facts

  • London received Britain's first Jewish settlers since the Middle Ages in 1656
  • Between 1680 and 1720 many refugees called Huguenots came from France
  • The Huguenots were Protestants who had been persecuted for their religion
  • 1707 brought the Act of Union — Scotland calls it the Treaty of Union — and with it the Kingdom of Great Britain
  • Scotland kept its own legal and education systems and Presbyterian Church after the Act of Union
  • When Queen Anne died in 1714 Parliament chose George I to be the next king because he was her nearest Protestant relative
  • Ministers mattered more to George I because his English was poor
  • The most important minister in Parliament became known as the Prime Minister
  • The first man to be called Prime Minister was Sir Robert Walpole, who was Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742

The rebellion of the clans and the Enlightenment

1745 brought a last Stuart attempt. Charles Edward Stuart — Bonnie Prince Charlie, grandson of James II — landed in Scotland, raised an army of highland clansmen, had early success and was crushed by George II's forces at Culloden in 1746 before escaping to Europe. The clans lost power: chieftains in royal favour became landlords, clansmen became rent-paying tenants. The Highland Clearances followed, landlords destroying small farms called crofts to make room for sheep and cattle; evictions were common by the early 19th century and many Scots left for North America. Robert Burns, Scotland's Bard, wrote in Scots, in English with Scots words and in standard English, and reworked folk songs — Auld Lang Syne above all, sung at New Year, or Hogmanay. The 18th century also brought the Enlightenment, new thinking in politics, philosophy and science, much of it Scottish: Adam Smith on economics, David Hume on human nature, James Watt on steam power. Its central principle — that political and religious belief is a matter for the individual, not the state — still holds here.

Testable facts

  • In 1745 Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, landed in Scotland to put a Stuart king back on the throne
  • Bonnie Prince Charlie was the grandson of James II
  • Culloden in 1746 was where George II's army beat Bonnie Prince Charlie
  • After Culloden the clans lost a lot of their power and influence
  • Small farms called crofts were destroyed by Scottish landlords in the Highland Clearances, to clear space for large flocks of sheep and cattle
  • Robert Burns was a Scottish poet known in Scotland as The Bard
  • Three registers served Robert Burns: Scots, standard English, and English carrying Scottish words
  • Robert Burns' best-known work is probably the song Auld Lang Syne
  • Auld Lang Syne is sung when people celebrate the New Year, called Hogmanay in Scotland
  • The Enlightenment was a period in the 18th century when new ideas about politics, philosophy and science were developed
  • Adam Smith developed ideas about economics which are still referred to today
  • David Hume's ideas about human nature continue to influence philosophers
  • Steam power, worked on by James Watt, sped the Industrial Revolution along
  • A central Enlightenment principle: political and religious belief belongs to the individual, and the state should not dictate it

The Industrial Revolution

Agriculture employed most people before the 18th century, alongside cottage industries where cloth and lace were made at home. Then rapid industrial growth across the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain the first to industrialise at scale, driven by machinery and steam. Mechanised farming and manufacturing raised output; coal and raw materials fed the factories, and people left the land for mines and mills. Mass-produced steel via the Bessemer process brought shipbuilding and railways, and manufacturing became the main employer. Richard Arkwright — a barber turned textile man — improved the carding machine, built horse-driven spinning mills running on one machine, later added steam, and is remembered above all for running factories efficiently and profitably. Canals linked factories to towns, cities and ports. Conditions were dreadful: no laws protected employees, hours were long and dangerous, and children were treated as adults or worse. Colonisation grew alongside — Captain James Cook mapped Australia's coast, Britain took Canada, the East India Company took much of India, and colonies began in southern Africa.

Testable facts

  • Agriculture employed more people than anything else in Britain before the 18th century
  • Cloth, lace and similar goods made at home were the work of cottage industries
  • Industry developed rapidly across Britain's 18th and 19th centuries — the Industrial Revolution
  • Britain was the first country to industrialise on a large scale
  • Machinery and steam power together made the Industrial Revolution possible
  • Steel mass-produced by the Bessemer process gave rise to shipbuilding and to the railways
  • Manufacturing jobs became the main source of employment in Britain
  • Richard Arkwright improved the original carding machine and developed horse-driven spinning mills
  • Efficient, profitable factory management is what Richard Arkwright is chiefly remembered for
  • Canals connected the factories to towns, to cities and to the ports
  • Working conditions during the Industrial Revolution were very poor and there were no laws to protect employees
  • Children worked during the Industrial Revolution and were treated in the same way as adults, and sometimes even more harshly
  • Captain James Cook mapped the coast of Australia
  • Large parts of India fell under the East India Company, first established for trade

The slave trade and its abolition

Prosperity rested partly on slavery. Illegal within Britain, it was by the 18th century a fully established overseas industry that Britain and the American colonies dominated. Enslaved people came mainly from West Africa, carried in horrible conditions on British ships to America and the Caribbean to work tobacco and sugar plantations; conditions were very bad, many escaped and others revolted. Opposition grew at home. Quakers formed the first formal anti-slavery groups in the late 1700s and petitioned Parliament; William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian and MP, helped change the law and, with other abolitionists, turned public opinion. Trading slaves in British ships or from British ports became illegal in 1807, and the Emancipation Act ended slavery across the Empire in 1833. The Royal Navy then intercepted other countries' slave ships, freeing those aboard and punishing the traders. After 1833, 2 million Indian and Chinese workers replaced the freed slaves.

Testable facts

  • Slavery was illegal within Britain itself but by the 18th century it was a fully established overseas industry
  • Slaves came primarily from West Africa and were taken to America and the Caribbean
  • Slaves were made to work on tobacco and sugar plantations
  • Quakers formed Britain's first formal anti-slavery groups in the late 1700s
  • William Wilberforce was an evangelical Christian and a member of Parliament who played an important part in changing the law
  • Trading slaves in British ships, or out of British ports, was outlawed in 1807
  • In 1833 the Emancipation Act abolished slavery throughout the British Empire
  • Slave ships of other countries were stopped by the Royal Navy, which freed those aboard and punished the traders
  • Freed slaves were replaced after 1833 by 2 million Indian and Chinese workers

The American War of Independence and war with France

Two wars abroad. By the 1760s Britain's North American colonies were wealthy and largely self-governing, many founded by families seeking religious freedom and interested in liberty. Taxation from London looked like an attack on that freedom, and the colonists demanded no taxation without representation at Westminster. Some taxes were repealed, relations worsened anyway, fighting broke out, and in 1776 thirteen colonies declared independence on the principle that people may establish their own governments; Britain recognised it in 1783. France was the other war. Revolution there in 1789 brought a declaration of war on Britain, continued by Napoleon as Emperor. At Trafalgar in 1805 the navy beat combined French and Spanish fleets; Admiral Nelson commanded and died there, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square commemorates him, and HMS Victory can be visited at Portsmouth. The wars closed in 1815 when the Duke of Wellington — the Iron Duke, later Prime Minister — beat Napoleon at Waterloo.

Testable facts

  • The American colonists argued there should be no taxation without representation in the British Parliament
  • In 1776 thirteen American colonies declared their independence
  • Britain recognised the independence of the American colonies in 1783
  • Revolution came to France in 1789, and its new government declared war on Britain
  • Napoleon became Emperor of France and continued the war against Britain
  • Britain's navy won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 against combined French and Spanish fleets
  • Command of the British fleet at Trafalgar belonged to Admiral Nelson, who died in the battle
  • Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London, is a monument to Admiral Nelson
  • Nelson's ship HMS Victory can be visited in Portsmouth
  • Waterloo in 1815 closed the French Wars, the Duke of Wellington defeating the Emperor Napoleon
  • The Duke of Wellington was known as the Iron Duke and later became Prime Minister

The Union Flag

Ireland had shared England's monarch since Henry VIII while staying a separate country. The Act of Union of 1800 changed that from 1801, joining it to England, Scotland and Wales as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and a new official flag marked the union: the Union Flag, often the Union Jack, still flown today. Three crosses make it. England brings St George's, red on white. Scotland brings St Andrew's, a diagonal white cross on blue. Ireland brings St Patrick's, a diagonal red cross on white. Wales, which has its own flag with a dragon, appears nowhere on it: when the first version was created in 1606 from the Scottish and English flags, the Principality was already joined to England.

Testable facts

  • Following the Act of Union of 1800, Ireland joined England, Scotland and Wales from 1801
  • The Act of Union of 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
  • The Union Flag is often called the Union Jack and is still the official flag of the UK
  • England's St George brings a red cross on white ground
  • Scotland's St Andrew brings a diagonal white cross on blue ground
  • Ireland's St Patrick brings a diagonal red cross on white ground
  • There is an official Welsh flag which shows a Welsh dragon
  • Wales is absent from the Union Flag because the Principality had already joined England by 1606, when the first version was made
  • Scotland's and England's flags were combined into the first Union Flag in 1606

The Victorian Age and the British Empire

Victoria came to the throne in 1837 aged 18 and reigned to 1901, almost 64 years. Power and influence abroad grew; at home the middle classes gained weight and reformers pressed to improve conditions for the poor. The Empire reached across all of India, Australia and much of Africa — the largest the world has seen, with an estimated population above 400 million. Emigration was encouraged: as many as 13 million British citizens left between 1853 and 1913. Arrivals continued too — some 120,000 Russian and Polish Jews escaping persecution between 1870 and 1914, settling largely in London's East End, Manchester and Leeds, and people from across the Empire coming to live, work and study. Expansion ran on into the 1920s, though its future was debated from the late 19th century, and the Boer War of 1899 to 1902 against Dutch settlers in South Africa sharpened the argument. By the second half of the 20th century, Empire had largely given way to Commonwealth as countries gained independence.

Testable facts

  • Aged 18, Victoria took the throne of the UK in 1837
  • Queen Victoria reigned until 1901, almost 64 years
  • Australia, all of India and much of Africa came within the British Empire during Victoria's reign
  • The British Empire became the largest empire the world has ever seen
  • The British Empire had an estimated population of more than 400 million people
  • Emigration between 1853 and 1913 took as many as 13 million British citizens overseas
  • Persecution drove around 120,000 Russian and Polish Jews to Britain between 1870 and 1914
  • Many Russian and Polish Jews settled in London's East End and in Manchester and Leeds
  • The Boer War of 1899 to 1902 was fought in South Africa against settlers from the Netherlands called the Boers
  • Empire had largely given way to Commonwealth by the later 20th century, and the transition was mostly orderly
  • Rudyard Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907

Victorian trade, industry and the Crimean War

Free trade, transport and a war. Taxes on imports were abolished — repealing the Corn Laws in 1846 opened the country to cheap grain and made raw materials cheaper for industry. Factory conditions eased: an 1847 law capped women's and children's hours at ten a day, and better worker housing appeared. George and Robert Stephenson, father and son, pioneered the railway engine shortly before Victoria's accession, and the railways expanded enormously in her reign, across the Empire as well. Isambard Kingdom Brunel of Portsmouth built tunnels, bridges, railway lines and ships, including the Great Western Railway — Britain's first major line, running from Paddington to the south west, the West Midlands and Wales — and many of his bridges still carry traffic. Britain led world industry, making over half its iron, coal and cotton cloth, and became a centre for insurance and banking. The Great Exhibition of 1851 filled the Crystal Palace, an iron-and-glass building in Hyde Park. From 1853 to 1856 Britain fought alongside Turkey and France against Russia in the Crimean War, the first conflict reported at length in news stories and photographs; Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross for valour during it. Florence Nightingale, born in Italy to English parents, trained in Germany at 31, went out to Turkey in 1854, cut mortality in the military hospitals, and in 1860 founded the Nightingale Training School at St Thomas' Hospital — she is generally counted the founder of modern nursing.

Testable facts

  • The Corn Laws, which had prevented the import of cheap grain, were repealed in 1846
  • A legal cap of 10 hours a day on the work of women and children arrived in 1847
  • George and Robert Stephenson, father and son, pioneered the railway engine
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel was an engineer who built tunnels, bridges, railway lines and ships
  • Isambard Kingdom Brunel was responsible for constructing the Great Western Railway, the first major railway built in Britain
  • From Paddington the Great Western Railway runs to Wales, the West Midlands and England's south west
  • Over half the world's iron, coal and cotton cloth came from the 19th-century UK
  • The UK became a centre for financial services, including insurance and banking
  • Hyde Park held the Great Exhibition of 1851, staged inside the Crystal Palace — iron and glass on a huge scale
  • Russia was the enemy in the Crimean War of 1853 to 1856, with Britain alongside Turkey and France
  • News stories and photographs covered the Crimean War at length, a first for any conflict
  • Queen Victoria introduced the Victoria Cross medal during the Crimean War, which honours acts of valour by soldiers
  • Florence Nightingale was born in Italy to English parents and trained as a nurse in Germany at the age of 31
  • In 1854 Florence Nightingale went to Turkey and worked in military hospitals treating soldiers fighting in the Crimean War
  • St Thomas' Hospital in London housed the Nightingale Training School for nurses, established in 1860
  • Florence Nightingale is often regarded as the founder of modern nursing

Ireland in the 19th century and the right to vote

Ireland fared worse than the rest of the UK. Two-thirds of its people still farmed, often tiny plots, and many depended heavily on potatoes. The crop failed mid-century and famine followed: a million died of disease and starvation, another million and a half left, some for the United States and some for England, so that by 1861 Liverpool, London, Manchester and Glasgow held large Irish populations. Nationalism strengthened — the Fenians wanted full independence, while Charles Stuart Parnell argued for Home Rule, an Irish parliament inside the UK. On the franchise: the Reform Act of 1832 widened it sharply, swept away pocket and rotten boroughs and moved seats to the towns, permanently shifting power from the countryside — but property still governed the vote, so the working class stayed out. The Chartists petitioned for change and appeared to fail, yet the Reform Act of 1867 added urban seats and lowered the property bar, though most men and all women remained voteless. Married women lost their earnings, property and money to their husbands until Acts in 1870 and 1882 let wives keep their own. Campaigners for the vote formed the women's suffrage movement and became the suffragettes. Emmeline Pankhurst, born in Manchester in 1858, founded the Women's Franchise League in 1889 and helped found the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903, the first group called suffragettes, who chained themselves to railings, smashed windows, committed arson and went on hunger strike. Women over 30 got the vote and the right to stand in 1918, partly for their war work; in 1928, shortly before Pankhurst died, the age fell to 21, matching men.

Testable facts

  • In the middle of the 19th century the potato crop failed and Ireland suffered a famine
  • A million people died from disease and starvation in the Irish famine and another million and a half left Ireland
  • Liverpool, London, Manchester and Glasgow all held large Irish populations by 1861
  • The Fenians favoured complete independence for Ireland
  • Home Rule, argued for by Charles Stuart Parnell, would have given Ireland its own parliament inside the UK
  • The Reform Act of 1832 greatly increased the number of people with the right to vote and abolished the old pocket and rotten boroughs
  • The Reform Act of 1832 gave more parliamentary seats to the towns and cities
  • The Chartists were campaigners who presented petitions to Parliament demanding the vote for the working classes
  • Urban seats multiplied and the property bar for voting came down under the Reform Act of 1867
  • Until 1870 a woman's earnings, property and money automatically belonged to her husband when she married
  • Wives won the right to keep their earnings and property through Acts of 1870 and 1882
  • Women who campaigned for the right to vote formed the women's suffrage movement and became known as suffragettes
  • Emmeline Pankhurst was born in Manchester in 1858 and set up the Women's Franchise League in 1889
  • In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst helped found the Women's Social and Political Union, the first group whose members were called suffragettes
  • The suffragettes used civil disobedience, chained themselves to railings, smashed windows and committed arson, and many went on hunger strike
  • Voting rights and the right to stand for Parliament came to women over 30 in 1918
  • The voting age for women fell to 21 in 1928, matching men

The First World War

The century opened optimistically and progressively: help for the unemployed, old-age pensions, free school meals, safety laws at work, planning rules against slums, better support for mothers and children after separation, more democratic local government, and a salary for MPs for the first time, which widened who could enter public life. War ended it. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on 28 June 1914, triggering the First World War of 1914 to 1918 — though the conditions were already set by nationalism across Europe, rising militarism, imperialism and the division of the powers into two camps. Centred in Europe, the war was global. Britain stood with the Allied Powers, among them France, Russia, Japan, Belgium and Serbia, later Greece, Italy, Romania and the United States. The whole Empire was drawn in: over a million Indians fought for Britain and some 40,000 died, and men came from the West Indies, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Against them stood the Central Powers — mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, later Bulgaria. British casualties passed 2 million, and the attack on the Somme in July 1916 cost about 60,000 on its first day alone. It ended at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918 in victory for Britain and its allies.

Testable facts

  • The early 20th century saw financial help for the unemployed, old-age pensions and free school meals introduced
  • A salary for members of Parliament was introduced for the first time in the early 20th century
  • On 28 June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated
  • The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918
  • Conditions for war were set by nationalism, rising militarism, imperialism, and Europe's major powers dividing into two camps
  • Britain was part of the Allied Powers, which included France, Russia, Japan, Belgium and Serbia
  • More than a million Indians fought on behalf of Britain and around 40,000 were killed
  • Alongside the British fought men from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Africa and the West Indies
  • The Central Powers were mainly Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and later Bulgaria
  • There were more than 2 million British casualties in the First World War
  • About 60,000 British casualties fell on the first day alone of the Somme attack in July 1916
  • The First World War ended at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918 with victory for Britain and its allies

The partition of Ireland and the inter-war years

Home Rule was promised in 1913 — an Irish parliament within the UK — and a Bill introduced, but Protestants in the north threatened force against it. War postponed everything, Nationalists would not wait, and 1916 brought the Easter Rising in Dublin; its leaders were executed under military law and guerrilla war against army and police followed. A treaty in 1921 led to partition in 1922: six mainly Protestant northern counties stayed British as Northern Ireland, the rest became the Irish Free State, a republic from 1949. People on both sides of the line rejected the split and still wanted one country; years of disagreement bred a terror campaign, and the struggle between full independence and loyalty to Britain became the Troubles. Living conditions improved for many in the 1920s with better public housing, then 1929 brought the Great Depression and mass unemployment in parts of the UK. The 1930s hit unevenly: heavy industry such as shipbuilding suffered while cars and aviation grew, and falling prices left those in work better off — car ownership doubled from 1 to 2 million between 1930 and 1939 and many houses went up. Culture flourished, with Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh prominent and John Maynard Keynes publishing influential economics. The BBC began radio in 1922 and the world's first regular television service in 1936.

Testable facts

  • In 1913 the British government promised Home Rule for Ireland
  • In 1916 there was an uprising against the British in Dublin known as the Easter Rising
  • The leaders of the Easter Rising were executed under military law
  • A peace treaty in 1921 was followed by Ireland's division into two countries in 1922
  • Northern Ireland was the name kept by the six mainly Protestant northern counties that stayed British
  • The rest of Ireland became the Irish Free State and became a republic in 1949
  • The Troubles is the usual name for the conflict between full Irish independence and loyalty to the British government
  • Mass unemployment struck parts of the UK when the Great Depression began in 1929
  • Traditional heavy industries such as shipbuilding were badly affected by the depression of the 1930s
  • New industries including the automobile and aviation industries developed in the 1930s
  • Between 1930 and 1939 the number of cars owned doubled, from 1 million to 2 million
  • Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh were prominent writers between the wars
  • The economist John Maynard Keynes published influential new theories of economics
  • The BBC started radio broadcasts in 1922
  • The BBC began the world's first regular television service in 1936

The Second World War

Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, holding the post-war settlement unfair and wanting more land; he renegotiated treaties, rearmed and tested his strength nearby. Britain tried to avoid war, then declared it with France when Poland was invaded in 1939. Axis — fascist Germany and Italy with the Empire of Japan — faced the Allies, chiefly the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Poland and France. After Austria and Czechoslovakia came Belgium and the Netherlands, and in 1940 German forces beat allied troops and drove through France. In that crisis Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and war leader. As France fell, a huge naval operation lifted British and French soldiers from the beaches around Dunkirk — over 300,000 of them, with civilian volunteers in small pleasure and fishing boats helping the Navy. Lives and equipment were lost, but it worked, and gave the language 'the Dunkirk spirit'. Between late June 1940 and the German attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941, Britain and its Empire were left standing very nearly alone. Invasion needed air superiority, so Germany launched an air campaign; British fighters resisted and won the decisive aerial fight of summer 1940, the Battle of Britain, in which the RAF's most important aircraft were the Spitfire and the Hurricane, both British-designed and built. Night bombing of London and other cities continued regardless — the Blitz — almost destroying Coventry and badly damaging others, especially London's East End. 'The Blitz spirit' still describes Britons pulling together under pressure.

Testable facts

  • Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933
  • Britain and France declared war to halt Hitler's aggression after he invaded Poland in 1939
  • The Axis powers were fascist Germany and Italy and the Empire of Japan
  • Allied side, main countries: the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, Poland and France
  • Winston Churchill became Prime Minister and Britain's war leader in 1940
  • More than 300,000 men were rescued from the beaches around Dunkirk
  • Many civilian volunteers in small pleasure and fishing boats helped the Navy at Dunkirk
  • The evacuation of Dunkirk gave rise to the phrase 'the Dunkirk spirit'
  • Between late June 1940 and Germany's June 1941 attack on the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany was faced almost alone by Britain and the Empire
  • Summer 1940 brought the decisive aerial battle with the Germans, won by the British and called the Battle of Britain
  • Spitfire and Hurricane were the RAF's most important aircraft in the Battle of Britain
  • The Spitfire and the Hurricane were designed and built in Britain
  • The German bombing of London and other British cities at night-time was called the Blitz
  • Coventry was almost totally destroyed in the Blitz
  • Britons pulling together under adversity are still described by the phrase 'the Blitz spirit'

Allied victory and post-war reform

Other fronts ran alongside home defence. Japan beat the British at Singapore and occupied Burma, threatening India, and brought the United States in by bombing Pearl Harbour in December 1941. That year Hitler launched history's largest invasion against the Soviet Union; Soviet forces eventually threw it back, and the damage proved pivotal. Allied victories in North Africa and Italy shifted the balance, and on 6 June 1944 — D-Day — allied forces landed in Normandy, pressed through France into Germany, and defeated Germany comprehensively in May 1945. The Pacific war ended in August 1945 when American atom bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Scientists under New-Zealand-born Ernest Rutherford, at Manchester then Cambridge, had been first to split the atom, and some British scientists joined the Manhattan Project. Alexander Fleming, a Scot, found penicillin in 1928 while researching influenza; Howard Florey and Ernst Chain turned it into a usable drug, mass-produced by the 1940s, and Fleming took the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Victorious but economically exhausted, the country wanted change. Labour won in 1945 under Clement Attlee, pledged to the welfare state set out in the Beveridge Report. In 1948 Aneurin Bevan, Minister for Health, brought in the National Health Service, guaranteeing a minimum standard of care for all and free at the point of use, alongside a benefits system covering people from cradle to grave. Railways, coal mines and gas, water and electricity went into public ownership.

Testable facts

  • December 1941 brought the United States into the war, after Japan bombed its naval base at Pearl Harbour
  • On 6 June 1944 allied forces landed in Normandy, an event often referred to as D-Day
  • The Allies comprehensively defeated Germany in May 1945
  • Atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war against Japan in August 1945
  • First to split the atom were scientists under New-Zealand-born Ernest Rutherford, at Manchester and later Cambridge
  • Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 while researching influenza
  • Penicillin was further developed into a usable drug by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain
  • Alexander Fleming won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945
  • In 1945 the British people elected a Labour government and Clement Attlee became Prime Minister
  • Clement Attlee promised to introduce the welfare state outlined in the Beveridge Report
  • Aneurin Bevan, as Minister for Health, brought the National Health Service into being in 1948
  • Free at the point of use, the NHS guaranteed everyone a minimum standard of health care
  • The post-war government nationalised the railways, coal mines and gas, water and electricity supplies
  • Five Giant Evils — Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, Idleness — were what Beveridge's 1942 report told government to fight
  • The Education Act 1944, often called the Butler Act, introduced free secondary education in England and Wales

Decolonisation, migration and the 1960s

Empire unwound and workers arrived. Nine countries gained independence in 1947, India, Pakistan and Ceylon — now Sri Lanka — among them, with African, Caribbean and Pacific colonies following over 20 years. Britain built its own atom bomb and joined NATO, formed against the perceived threat of Soviet invasion. Conservatives governed from 1951 to 1964 through economic recovery and rising prosperity, and Harold Macmillan's 'wind of change' speech marked decolonisation. Rebuilding needed labour, so workers were encouraged from Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, and in 1948 people from the West Indies were invited too. Shortages persisted through the 1950s and recruitment went overseas: centres in the West Indies hired bus drivers, and northern and Midlands textile and engineering firms sent agents to India and Pakistan. For about 25 years people came from the West Indies, India, Pakistan and later Bangladesh. The Swinging Sixties brought social change — British fashion, cinema and pop, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones — with people better off and buying cars and consumer goods. Laws liberalised on divorce and on abortion in England, Wales and Scotland. Women had often been asked to leave work on marrying; Parliament gave them the right to equal pay and made gender discrimination by employers illegal. Britain and France built Concorde. Immigration from the West Indies, India, Pakistan and what is now Bangladesh fell late in the decade as new laws required a strong connection by birth or ancestry — even so, Britain admitted 28,000 people of Indian origin expelled from Uganda in the early 1970s.

Testable facts

  • Nine countries gained independence in 1947, Ceylon — today Sri Lanka — along with India and Pakistan
  • NATO, joined by the UK, allied nations against the perceived threat of Soviet invasion
  • Britain had a Conservative government from 1951 to 1964
  • Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was famous for his wind of change speech about decolonisation
  • Reconstruction after the Second World War drew workers from Ireland and elsewhere in Europe at the government's encouragement
  • In 1948 people from the West Indies were invited to come and work in the UK
  • Bus drivers were recruited through centres opened in the West Indies
  • Agents went to India and Pakistan for workers, sent by engineering and textile firms of the Midlands and northern England
  • Roughly 25 years of arrivals came from the West Indies, India, Pakistan and, later, Bangladesh
  • The 1960s was a period of significant social change known as the Swinging Sixties
  • The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were two well-known pop music groups of the 1960s
  • Parliament passed new laws giving women the right to equal pay and making it illegal for employers to discriminate against women because of their gender
  • Britain and France developed the supersonic commercial airliner Concorde
  • Expelled from Uganda, 28,000 people of Indian origin were admitted to Britain in the early 1970s

British inventions of the 20th century

A list to learn, without any birth or death dates. Television: John Logie Baird, a Scot, in the 1920s, with the first broadcast between London and Glasgow in 1932. Radar: Sir Robert Watson-Watt, another Scot, who proposed detecting aircraft by radio waves, first tested successfully in 1935. Radar work led Sir Bernard Lovell into astronomy and to the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in Cheshire, for years the world's largest. The Turing machine: a theoretical device from the British mathematician Alan Turing in the 1930s, foundational for computer science. Insulin: co-discovered by the Scottish physician John Macleod. DNA's structure: found in 1953 through work at London and Cambridge, with Francis Crick among the British Nobel laureates. The jet engine: Sir Frank Whittle, an RAF engineer officer, in the 1930s. The hovercraft: Sir Christopher Cockerell in the 1950s. Concorde: first flight 1969, passengers from 1976, retired 2003. The Harrier jump jet, taking off vertically, was designed and built here. The cash-dispensing ATM: James Goodfellow in the 1960s, first installed by Barclays at Enfield in north London in 1967. IVF: pioneered by Sir Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe, with the world's first test-tube baby born at Oldham in Lancashire in 1978. Cloning: Sir Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell led the team that produced Dolly the sheep in 1996. The MRI scanner: co-invented by Sir Peter Mansfield. And the World Wide Web: Sir Tim Berners-Lee, with the first successful transfer of information on 25 December 1990.

Testable facts

  • The television was developed by Scotsman John Logie Baird in the 1920s
  • In 1932 John Logie Baird made the first television broadcast between London and Glasgow
  • Radar was developed by Scotsman Sir Robert Watson-Watt, who proposed that enemy aircraft could be detected by radio waves
  • The first successful radar test took place in 1935
  • Sir Bernard Lovell built the radio telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, which was for many years the biggest in the world
  • A Turing machine is a theoretical mathematical device invented by the British mathematician Alan Turing in the 1930s
  • The Scottish physician John Macleod was the co-discoverer of insulin, used to treat diabetes
  • DNA's structure came to light in 1953, from work at universities in London and Cambridge
  • Francis Crick, one of those awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of DNA, was British
  • Sir Frank Whittle developed the jet engine here in the 1930s
  • Sir Christopher Cockerell invented the hovercraft in the 1950s
  • Concorde first flew in 1969, began carrying passengers in 1976 and was retired from service in 2003
  • The Harrier jump jet, an aircraft capable of taking off vertically, was designed and developed in the UK
  • In the 1960s James Goodfellow invented the cash-dispensing ATM, or cashpoint
  • Enfield in north London saw the first cashpoint installed, by Barclays Bank, in 1967
  • IVF therapy for the treatment of infertility was pioneered in Britain by Sir Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe
  • Oldham in Lancashire was the birthplace of the world's first test-tube baby, in 1978
  • Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, came in 1996 from a team led by Sir Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell
  • Sir Peter Mansfield is the co-inventor of the MRI scanner
  • The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, is British
  • Information was successfully transferred via the World Wide Web for the first time on 25 December 1990

The 1970s onwards, Thatcher, Blair and Brexit

The post-war boom closed in the late 1970s. Prices of goods and raw materials climbed, the exchange rate wobbled, imports outran the value of exports and the balance of payments suffered. Strikes hit industry and services, souring relations between unions and government and prompting arguments that the unions had grown too powerful. Northern Ireland was badly unsettled: its Parliament was suspended in 1972 and the UK government ruled directly, and some 3,000 people died in the violence after 1969. On Europe: West Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands founded the European Economic Community in 1957, which folded into the European Union on its formation in 1993; the UK was a full member, never used the Euro, and left formally on 31 January 2020. Margaret Thatcher, the first woman Prime Minister and the 20th century's longest-serving, led Conservative governments from 1979 to 1990, privatising nationalised industries and legally curbing union powers; deregulation lifted the City of London as an international centre for investment, insurance and financial services while shipbuilding and coal mining declined. Argentina invaded in 1982, seizing the Falkland Islands — a British overseas territory lying in the South Atlantic, and a naval taskforce recovered them. John Major followed her and helped build the Northern Ireland peace process. Labour under Tony Blair won in 1997, creating a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly and carrying the peace process to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998; the Northern Ireland Assembly was elected in 1999, suspended in 2002 and restored in 2007. Gordon Brown took over in 2007. May 2010 produced no overall majority for the first time since February 1974, and a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition made David Cameron Prime Minister. The Conservatives won outright on 7 May 2015, Cameron called the EU referendum for 23 June 2016, and the country voted to leave by 51.9% to 48.1%. Theresa May succeeded him on 13 July 2016 and Boris Johnson succeeded her on 24 July 2019.

Testable facts

  • Direct rule from the UK government followed the suspension of Northern Ireland's Parliament in 1972
  • Northern Irish violence after 1969 cost some 3,000 lives over the following decades
  • The European Economic Community was founded in 1957 by Italy, France, West Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
  • When the European Union formed in 1993 it absorbed the European Economic Community
  • Full membership of the European Union never brought the UK into the Euro
  • The UK formally left the European Union on 31 January 2020
  • Margaret Thatcher was Britain's first woman Prime Minister and led the Conservative government from 1979 to 1990
  • Margaret Thatcher was the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century
  • Privatising nationalised industries restructured the economy under Margaret Thatcher, whose government also placed legal controls on union powers
  • Traditional industries such as shipbuilding and coal mining declined during the 1980s
  • Argentina seized the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory of the South Atlantic, in 1982
  • Recovery of the Falklands followed military action by a naval taskforce sent from the UK
  • Following Mrs Thatcher came John Major, who helped set the Northern Ireland peace process going
  • In 1997 the Labour Party led by Tony Blair was elected and introduced a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly
  • The Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998
  • The Northern Ireland Assembly was elected in 1999, suspended in 2002 and reinstated in 2007
  • Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister in 2007
  • In May 2010 no political party won an overall majority in the General Election, for the first time since February 1974
  • The Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties formed a coalition in 2010 and David Cameron became Prime Minister
  • The referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union was held on 23 June 2016
  • Leaving the European Union carried by 51.9% against 48.1%
  • Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as Prime Minister on 13 July 2016
  • Boris Johnson succeeded Theresa May as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019

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