A History of Britain in 20 minutes

The Celts settled in Britain around 700 BC history of britain

The Celts are ancestors to many people in Scotland, Wales and Ireland (and also England).

A famous Celt is Boadicea. She fought against the Romans. The Celts often had female leaders.

The Romans occupied most of England and Wales in 43 AD. They built a wall along the Scottish border, called Hadrian’s Wall (after the Roman Emperor Hadrian) to keep the barbarians in the North.

The Romans stayed in Britain for a long time. By the 5th Century, they were losing control and the Angles and the Saxons attacked Britain.

Then, in the 9th century the Vikings came from Scandinavia attacking monasteries, killing monks and stealing gold and silver.

The Vikings stayed in Britain for almost 300 years. They were finally defeated by the Saxon king, Alfred (Alfred the Great) – the first great Anglo-Saxon King of England.

In 1066, the Norman invaders from France, under William the Conqueror, defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Harold and took control of the kingdom, introducing many French words and customs.

During the Middle Ages, England became one of the strongest nations in Europe.

King Edward l was the first English King who conquered Scotland (to conquer – conquistar).

Edward lll conquered Wales and Ireland.

In 1509, King Henry VIII took the throne (trono – Game of Thrones). He brought in (introduced) Protestant reform and the Catholic Church lost control over England. He earned a lot of money from the reform and was able to get divorced (from Catherine of Aragon)

Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth l, was the first Queen of England. She defeated the Spanish fleet/armada and created the first English colonies in America.

The English Civil War began in 1642. The parliament beat Charles l and England became a republic. Indeed, many people forget that England was briefly a republic, just like Spain!
Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector. The King was executed.

On July 4th, 1776, 13 colonies declared independence from Britain. General George Washington broke the British army in 1783 and the US got its independance.

Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor of France in 1805 and declared war on Britain.

Britain decisively beat the French at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, after various previous battles against them, including in Badajoz and Salamanca, Spain. Britain’s forces were led by The Duke Of Wellington.

As we pointed out in more detail in episode 52 of Aprender Inglés con Reza y Craig, all of Ireland used to be part of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain & Ireland) until 1922. Then the Republic of Ireland broke away while Northern Ireland remained in the UK. Thus, the historical love-hate relationship between GB and Ireland, whose histories are closely connected.

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