UK - Political Sysem and History Political System: Student's Worksheet
UK - Political Sysem and History Political System: Student's Worksheet
UK - Political Sysem and History Political System: Student's Worksheet
Pre-historic period
We don’t know a lot about this period, but it’s a period when e.g. Stonehenge
was built.
Celtic period
The Celts arrived to British Isles 2,500 to 3,000 ago. One of their tribes – the
Britons gave its name to Britain. Their language survives in Welsh, Scottish and
Irish Gaelic as well as in the names of some rivers (the Avon) or places (Dover).
Roman Britain
England was added to the Roman empire in 43 AD. They built military camps,
fortresses, roads, baths and Hadrian’s Wall to protect them against the Celtic
tribes in Scottland.
In A.D. 60 in the south of Britain the queen of the Celtic Iceni tribe Boadicea led
the revolt against the Romans, but was defeated. This confirmed Roman
control of the province. Boadicea killed herself, but she became the national
heroin. Now her statue is near Westminster pier in London.
Anglo-Saxon period
When the Romans left Britain in 410, the Germanic tribes of the Angles, the
Jutes and the Saxons came and drove the Celtic tribes to the mountains. They
moved the society from the tribal to feudal organization and fought with the
Danes. The most famous Saxon king was Alfred the Great who united the
Angles and the Saxons and successfully defended his kingdom against the
Viking attempt at conquest. He also encouraged education and translated the
Bible. The capital of his kingdom was Winchester.
Period of feudalism
In 1066 William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) invaded Britain and
defeated the Saxon king Harold in the Battle of Hastings. He was proclaimed
the King of England. It had a big impact on the language, because the Anglo-
Saxon languages mixed with French and a new language – English - was born.
In 1215 the noblemen forced King John to sign Magna Carta Libertatum which
limited the absolute power of the King. This Charta became the basic of
democratic rights and civil liberties.
In 1337 – 1453 there was a Hundred Years’ War which was a series of conflicts
between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France for control of the
French throne. England was defeated and lost all its possessions of the English
kings except for Calais.
In 1348 the population of England was reduced from 4 million to 2 because of
the Black Death - an epidemic of plague.
From 1455 to 1485 England suffered from the War of Roses. It was a struggle
for possession of the Crown between the House of York (a white rose) and the
House of Lancester (a red rose). It ended when Richard III (House of York) was
killed in the battle of Bosworth. The victor Henry Tudor (King Henry VII)
founded a new monarchy with the House of Tudors on the throne.
Industrial revolution
From 1760 to 1820 technical innovations (James Watt’s steam engine, George
Stephenson’s steam locomotive etc.)led to the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
Britain changed from an agricultural country to the industrial one.
In 1805 Admiral Nelson defeated Napoleon’s fleet at the battle of Trafalgar.
In 1815 the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon in the battle of Waterloo.
Britain lost its 13 American colonies, but they were replaced by colonies in
Canada and India.
20th century
Britain took part in WWI as well as in WWII. During WWII it suffered a lot of
bombing. In 1940 there was the Battle of Britain – the first battle fought only
by air forces. A lot of Czech pilots took part in it. In this time the country was
led by Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill known, beside the others, for his
famous V-victory sign.
In the post war period the industrial growth went on, but Britain lost its leading
position in the world.
In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became the first woman Prime Minister. She was
called the iron lady because of her hard-line conservatism in British politics. Her
political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation
(particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the privatisation of
state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions.
She also won The Falklands War. It was a ten-week war between Argentina and
the United Kingdom over two British overseas territories in the South Atlantic.