1. History of Great Britain

2. Pre – Celtic Period – (before 800 BC)
Stonehenge

3. Celtic Period (800 BC – AD 43) Iron Age
Brythons (indigenous peoples inhabiting the island of Great Britain south of the river Forth) – the name Britain

4. Roman Period (AD 43 – 410)
network of roads
Hadrian’s Wall

6. Anglo – Saxon Period (410 – 1066)
7th century – 7 kingdoms (Heptarchy) Northumbria, Mercia, Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex and Wessex– various dialects of English
829 – Egbert – King of Wessex united them -> 1st English King
9th century – Vikings

8. Norman Period (1066 – 1154)
1066 – the Battle of Hastings – Normans led by William, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror) defeated the Saxon King Harold
French nobility – influence on language
William was crowned king on Christmas Day, 1066 at Westminster Abbey

9. Magna Carta signed by King John in 1215
guarantee of rights and rule of law
accept that King‘s will could be bound by the law

10. the Hundred’s Year War 1338 – 1453
conflict between two royal houses for the French throne
England (House of Plantagenet) defeated

11. the Wars of the Roses 1455 – 1485 series of dynastic civil wars
the House of Lancaster (red rose) X the House of York (white rose)
Henry Tudor (Lanc.) defeated Richard III (York) -> Henry VII , he married Elizabeth of York -> end of fighting

12. Other important events
1543 – the Church of England separated from the authority of the Pope
1558 – Queen Elizabeth I – Britain – major sea power
1642 – 1649 – Civil War (Charles I against supporters of Parliament) -> Oliver Cromwell established a republic; – monarchy restored

13. 1688 – Glorious Revolution – confirmation of the sovereignty of Parliament
1760s – 1850s – the Industrial Revolution – industrialisation and urbanisation (technological innovations, extension of the right to vote, formation of trade unions, development of universal public education)
1815 – defeat of Napoleon – Britain’s role strengthened its position as the leading world power

14. 1837 – 1901 – reign of Queen Victoria
63 years and seven months, longer than that of any other British monarch
Victorian era, a time of industrial, political, and military progress within the United Kingdom
great expansion of the British Empire; large parts of Africa and Asia added
married her first cousin, Prince Albert (became favourite)

15. World War I – huge casualties and economic losses
1921 – independence of Ireland
1927 – the formal name of the UK changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
World War II – great bombing damage, the Battle of Britain (mainly 1940)