The Romans arrive
Emperor Claudius sent an army to Britain. The Romans ruled much of it for almost 400 years, building roads, towns and baths. In 122 they began Hadrian’s Wall to mark their northern border.
History
Turning points, wars, the fight for rights, and the moments that shaped daily life.
Turning points
Moments that changed who ruled and how the country was put together.
AD 43 1066 The Norman Conquest
William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings and became King of England. The Normans built castles, and their French language changed English. The Bayeux Tapestry tells the story.
1534 The Church of England
Henry VIII broke with the Pope in Rome when he was not allowed to end his first marriage. Parliament made the king head of a new Church of England. Today the monarch is still its Supreme Governor.
1707 Great Britain is formed
The Acts of Union joined England and Wales with Scotland as the Kingdom of Great Britain, with one Parliament in London. Scotland kept its own legal system, education and church.
1801 The United Kingdom
Ireland joined to make the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After a war of independence, most of Ireland left in 1922, and Northern Ireland stayed in the UK.
1999 Devolution
The Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly (now the Senedd) began work, and the Northern Ireland Assembly followed the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. They decide many local matters, such as health and education.
Wars and battles
Fighting that decided the country’s borders, freedom and place in the world.
1314 Battle of Bannockburn
Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, defeated a much larger English army near Stirling. The victory helped Scotland stay independent from England for almost 300 more years.
1588 The Spanish Armada
Spain sent a great fleet to invade England in the reign of Elizabeth I. English ships and bad storms defeated it, and only about half the Spanish ships returned home.
1642-1651 The English Civil War
King Charles I fought Parliament over who should hold power. Parliament won, the king was executed in 1649, and Oliver Cromwell ruled for some years. The monarchy returned in 1660.
1805 and 1815 Trafalgar and Waterloo
Nelson’s fleet won at Trafalgar in 1805, and the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. These victories ended the long wars with France and made Britain the leading sea power.
1914-1918 The First World War
Britain and its empire fought Germany and its allies. Millions of soldiers fought in trenches in France and Belgium, and hundreds of thousands of British soldiers died. Remembrance Day on 11 November marks the end of the fighting.
1940 The Battle of Britain
In the Second World War the Royal Air Force fought the German air force over southern England. Its victory stopped a German invasion. Churchill said of the pilots: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Rights and reforms
How power moved from the monarch to Parliament, and the vote to every adult.
1215 Magna Carta
Barons forced King John to agree to Magna Carta. It said that even the king had to follow the law, and that free men could not be punished without a fair legal process.
1689 The Bill of Rights
After the Glorious Revolution, William III and Mary II accepted the Bill of Rights. It limited the power of the monarch and confirmed that Parliament makes the laws and controls taxes.
1807 and 1833 Ending the slave trade
In 1807 Parliament banned the slave trade in the British Empire. In 1833 it passed a law that ended slavery in most of the empire. Campaigners such as William Wilberforce and formerly enslaved people such as Olaudah Equiano helped win the change.
1832 The Great Reform Act
This law gave the vote to more men and gave seats in Parliament to the new industrial towns. Later acts slowly gave the vote to working men as well.
1918 and 1928 Votes for women
In 1918 women over 30 who met certain conditions could vote. In 1928 women won the vote at 21, the same age as men. In 1969 the voting age for everyone was lowered to 18.
1948 The welfare state
After the Second World War the government started the National Health Service, free for everyone when they need it. Benefits and pensions were also expanded to protect people from poverty.
Science, culture and everyday life
Not every big moment was a battle: these changed how people learn, travel and spend their time.
1660 The Royal Society
Scientists in London founded the Royal Society to share experiments and new ideas. It is the oldest scientific academy still working today. Isaac Newton was later its president.
1825-1850 The age of the railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825, and within 25 years railways linked most big towns. People could travel and send goods far faster than ever, and time across Britain was standardised to railway time.
1851 The Great Exhibition
Prince Albert helped organise a huge show of inventions and products from around the world in the Crystal Palace, a building of glass and iron in Hyde Park. About six million people visited.
1922 The BBC
The British Broadcasting Company started radio broadcasts in 1922 and became a public corporation in 1927. It began regular television broadcasts in 1936.
2012 London 2012
London hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games and became the first city to host the summer Olympics three times. The Paralympic movement itself began in England, at Stoke Mandeville hospital, in 1948.