GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Britain lies off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain comprising England, Scotland and Wales. Although Britain is a unitary state, the constituent countries have separate national identities, variations in culture and tradition, and different physical characteristics.
With an area of some 242,000 sq km (93,000 sq miles), Britain is just under 1,000 km (about 600 miles) from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under 500 km (300 miles) across in the widest part.
England is predominantly a lowland country, with upland regions in the north (such as the Pennine Chain, the Cumbrian mountains and the Yorkshire moorlands) and the downs in central southern England, which are low chalk hill ranges. Whales is a country of hills and mountains, the highest being Snowdon at 1,085 m (3,560 ft). Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis (1,343 m, 4,406 ft), is in the central highlands of Scotland, which contains large areas of wild, unspoilt landscape. Northern Ireland is at its nearest point only 21 km (13 miles) from Scotland. It has a 488-km (303-mile) border in the south and west with the Irish Republic. At its centre lies Lough Neagh, Britain's largest freshwater lake (396 sq km, 153 sq miles).
Britain has frequent weather changes through the seasonal cycle of winter, spring, summer and autumn, although temperatures rarely exceed 32°C or fall below -10°C. Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year.
People in the four lands of Britain derive from a host of ancestral sources, notably: the prehistoric cultures which produced such impressive monuments as the stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge; the ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited western and central Europe; the Romans who occupied Britain for over 300 years from the invasion in AD 43; the Angles, Saxons and Jutes - Germanic peoples who began raiding and settling in Britain from the third century; Scots from Ireland, who began to settle in what became known as Scotland in the sixth century (merging with the indigenous Picts to form one kingdom under Kenneth Macalpin in the ninth century); the Vikings from Scandinavia, who pillaged and settled areas of Britain and Ireland from the end of the eighth century; and the Normans from France, who invaded England in 1066.
The last thousand years have witnessed the assimilation of all these strands -and many new ones besides, following on from global exploration, the expansion of trade and international rivalry, and the growth of the Empire.
At the same time political, social, economic and religious trends, pressures and crises have all evolved to create the beliefs, lifestyle and expectations that are prevalent among the people today.
PAST EVENTS - MODERN LEGACIES ROMAN RULE
Roman rule was very influential in Britain's evolution, not least in the founding of towns and cities so many of which are familiar to the people today. For example, London and Lincoln largely preserve their Roman names - Londinium and Lindum Colonia respectively - while others, such as Chester, Gloucester and Colchester, betray their origins by the '-Chester' or '-cester1 ending. This name, derived from the Latin castra, was given to the Roman sites by the Anglo-Saxons.
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
Christianity - which had been introduced to Britain under the Romans - was reintroduced to pagan England in the sixth and seventh centuries. The Catholic Church sent St Augustine to preach and establish bishoprics in 597. Since that time, Christianity has remained the predominant faith among people in Britain.
REIGN OF ALFRED THE GREAT
From the fifth century onwards a number of small kingdoms emerged in England. These gradually evolved into fewer, larger groupings - particularly Northumbria in the north, Mercia in the midlands and Wessex in the south. During the ninth century Vikings from Scandinavia overran all these kingdoms except Wessrx, where Alfred the Great, who reigned from M71 to 899, successfully resisted the invaders, hi the tenth century the Wessex dynasty came to rule the whole of England. The present Royal Family is partly descended from the royal line of Wessex.
NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND
The last successful foreign invasion of England took place in 1066, when Duke William of Normandy defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. The
Norman Conquest led to closer links with the mainland of Europe. Normans and others from France came to settle, and French became the language of the nobility and the law courts for the next three centuries,
MAGNA CARTA AND THE BEGINNINGS OF PARLIAMENT
hi 1215 King John signed Magna Carta (Great Charier) in the face of demands by barons. It secured feudal rights and established areas over which the King had no jurisdiction, and has been interpreted throughout English history as guaranteeing certain political and civil liberties. The rest of the 13th century saw the development of Parliament as a gathering of feudal barons and representatives of counties and towns summoned by the King. By the end of the century, it had adopted its basic makeup of Lords and Commons, and it had established the right to approve taxation. It also soon acquired the right to approve new laws.
THE ENGLISH REFORMATION
Between 1534 and 1540 King Henry VIII of the Tudor dynasty broke with the Papacy in Rome, heralding the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England. Despite the suppression of the monasteries, the Church remained largely unaffected until the reign of his son Edward VI (1547-53), when Protestantism became the official religion of England.
Popular hostility to the Papacy remained widespread for centuries, hi Ireland, differences between the religious traditions remain very marked to this day.
UNION OF ENGLAND AND WALES
The subjugation of Wales by the English had been completed in the late 13th century by Edward I, who gave his infant son, later Edward II, the title of Prince of Wales - still carried today by the monarch's eldest son. Between 1536 and 1542 Acts of Union integrated England and Wales administratively and legally and gave Wales representation in Parliament.
CIVIL WAR AND THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I
Hostility between Parliament and the Crown led to the outbreak of civil war in 1642. The eventual victory of the Parliamentary army heralded the execution of Charles I in 1649, the temporary abolition of the monarchy (until 1660), and the rule of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS
In 1685 James II, a Roman Catholic, became king (succeeding his brother, Charles II). However, as he lost popularity for his autocratic rule and pro-Catholic policies, his Protestant Dutch son-in-law, William of Orange, was invited by leading politicians to intervene. The result was the bloodless or 'Glorious Revolution* in which James found himself practically without support and was overthrown. The crown was offered jointly to William and his wife Mary. The following year the Bill of Rights was passed, establishing the political supremacy of Parliament.
UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
Scotland remained a separate kingdom throughout the Middle Ages, often at war with England. Realising the benefits of closer political and economic union, England and Scotland agreed in 1707 on a single Parliament for Great Britain. Scotland retained its own system of law and church settlement. The Union became strained in the first half of the 18th century, when two Jacobite uprisings attempted to restore the Catholic Stuart dynasty to the throne.
THE GROWTH OF THE EMPIRE
The 17th and 18th centuries saw considerable overseas expansion by Britain. The foundation of the colonies in North America was followed by other major acquisitions, in competition with the French and other European powers. Despite the North American colonies winning the War of Independence between 1775 and 1783, Britain continued to extend its rule through the 19th century over a large part of the world - a process from which the modern Commonwealth eventually emerged.
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
The Industrial Revolution, which was a key development in shaping the face of modern Britain, took place between about 1760 and 1830. Britain was the first country in the world to industrialise, pioneering many technologies and large-scale production processes. In pursuit of work in the new mills and factories, people concentrated in the industrial centres which developed in particular areas of the country. The cities which rose to prominence as manufacturing and commercial centres, such as Birmingham, Manchester and Sheffield, remain among the principal centres of population today. Transport was revolutionised in this period, with the construction of a wide network of canals in the late 18th century, many of which are still in use today. These were followed in the early 19th century by the advent of the railways, the world's first passenger railway opening between Stockton and Darlington in 1825. Although slums developed in many of the emerging industrial towns, some of the more philanthropic mill and factory owners sought to provide better facilities for their employees. One of these model settlements for industrial workers was Saltaire near Bradford, built by Titus Salt in the late 19th century. As well as the mill and the workers' houses, Salt also built civic facilities such as the church and a school.
THE CENSUS
In 1801 the first census of population in England and Wales was held. There has been a census in Britain every ten years since that date, except in 1941 when war intervened. Census information is used by central and local government to help make financial allocations and plan services.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Freedom of conscience in religious matters was achieved gradually from the 17th century onwards. Laws discriminating against minority religious groups were administered less harshly and then finally repealed. Catholic emancipation in 1829 relieved Catholics in Britain of the legal and civil restrictions accumulated since the time of the English Reformation. Religious freedom for all people in Britain has since become an accepted right.
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