British history

The great Roman empire is historically famous for invading and occupying land and the same fate hit much of British Isles. First Julius Caesar shipped 10,000 men to the Kent coast and was forced to retreat when storms cut him off supplies. Next year, in 54 BC Caesar returned with 27,000 men and forced Celts into surrender.

There is few evidence of the Celtic culture but the Romans started making some records, so we can safely say the tribes on British isles were hunter-gatherers who used metal tools to turn forests into farms. If these tribes had been able to keep peace and concord, they could have probably fought off the Romans. The Celts were known as good fighters but unfortunately fought among each other for land. As the Romans defeated them, the Celts soon took over the Roman law, religion, fashion, building styles and domestic life - great Roman villas were built, pottery and fabrics were imported from Europe and soon the cultures were intertwined. The Romans built towns and roads, introduced bathing pools to the Celts but the Celts introduced soap to the Romans.

To introduce the cultural ways of the British this information might not seem to be very important but there is not much firm evidence as to how the Romans perceived the Celts and vice versa - the evidence we have indicate that the Celts were seen as formidable fighters, even the Egyptian queen Cleopatra employed some as her bodyguards.

In Celtic tribal hierarchy Druids held a unique position almost equal to nobility. Druids were doctors, storytellers, musicians and master craftsmen, and they were just about the only connection between the old and the new, as their spoken word preserved laws, history and religion. However, the same fate struck the Druids, they either surrendered or were killed, but from then on the Romans kept more detailed records of the happening on the islands through notes and the written word.

In the 2nd and 3rd centuries Christianity inevitably came to Britain as more and more Romans converted to it from their long history of many gods and goddesses. People were baptised, churches were built and in the next six centuries Britain would become mostly Christian.

A simultaneous invasion of Picts, Scots and Allocotti made the Romans lose control over the south part of Britain in 367. In 406 many Germanic invaders effectively cut Britain off from Rome.

The name derives from all the troublesome moments caused by the fall of the Roman empire, however it does not include all the positive sides the Romans brought to all European societies - a complex legal and governmental system. This was a time of struggle, serious battles and bloodshed with the now almost "Romanized" but native Celts and Britons, the Picts and the Scots against the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. This was the time when the first legends of King Arthur appeared and the time that Beowulf was supposedly written.

With the legends of King Arthur come the first signs of love and love affairs that we can describe. His beautiful wife falls in love with her husband's friend and chief champion sir Lancelot.

What can be described as truly dark ages were the times when the Vikings started their invasions on the territories of today's Britain and France. They attacked monasteries and coastal towns, took local wives and raised families.

Over decades of the Dark Ages kings took over parts of the now British territory, some forming alliance with the French, some fighting against them, some expanding to bigger territory, some holding on to smaller, but King William I of England, crowned on Christmas day in 1066, transformed the society with introducing the feudal system. People held land in order to service the king or his officers, and barons paid taxes. Under William the Normans built cathedrals and castles and French became the language of the ruling class.

War, intrigue, revolt, exploration of new land, innovation and more war marked the Middle Ages in Britain and most of today's Europe. Many rebellions and the difficulty of weak kings to hold people "down" finally resulted in the drawing up of Magna Carta in 1215, an amazing document giving barons (almost considered the people's voice) the right to over-vote the king at any given moment, showing the world a preview to fair trial and democracy, later on giving the people the first parliament in London in 1225.

With still very poor understanding of anatomy and medicine, while on the other hand more and more opportunities to travel, the territory of Britain became infected with plague in the middle of the 14th century. These, together with the first translation of the Bible into English, were reasons for the Roman church to partially part with the British.

The one thing that Britain never seemed to get tired of was fighting with France. All to do with territory and reign, the British and the French fought numerous times over land, over parts of land or complete conquest although some attempts were made to unite the nations (or better to say the territory) under one crown by cross-marriages (Isabella of France to Edward II of England in the 14th century, later on Mary Tudor to Louis XII in the 16th century). These two nations just don't seem to fit in the same reign, so none of the situations lasted for long only peaceful eras were extended.

Noble families sought power through marriage alliances, and royal marriages brought the English kings and queens vast new territories in France. England was growing in power, almost perpetually in war with the French, Welsh and Scots. (Steele 2004: Introduction 7)

One of the major events that marked England's history is the beginning of the Tudor dynasty in 1486 with the marriage of Lancastrian Henry VII to Elizabeth of York. The Tudor dynasty lasted for 118 years, so there is some parallel to be drawn between it and the Chinese long running dynasties (for example the Qing Dynasty which ruled from 1644 to 1912).

Henry silenced his opponents - and ended the War of the Roses - by marrying Elizabeth of York, Edward IV's eldest daughter. At one stroke he unified their houses and allowed England to begin an unprecedented period of internal peace, economic growth and social change. (Gunn 1999: Henry VII 110)

In the 16th century, Britain and the Roman Catholic Church started to drift further and further apart. Henry VII's son, Henry VIII fell in love with the infamous Anne Boleyn and wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Spain) to be annulled by the church. The court men were "allowed" to have mistresses, it was acceptable and even desired, however the reigns remained because they were in most cases politically set up. This unprecedented wish of a king to divorce and remarry caused the court many dark days and years of fights against the Roman Church. Finally, Henry VIII decided to strip Rome of all powers and lead the Catholics in England from England. Therefore he got his divorce, his new marriage and another... daughter! Yes, men in England were more desired successors, so this wasn't really pleasant news, and Anne Boleyn's inability to have other children led to her execution. Many stories have been written about this affair and many films made, while there doesn't seem to be a similar admiration to love stories in China as there are no extensive records of any disturbing love affair in the Chinese history.

The era of the Tudor reign was marked by rises and falls of kings and queens, trials to unite England with Rome and trials to grow them even further apart. As far as social cultural issues are concerned, Elizabeth I was the one to start a more social politics in England:

She did not forget the ordinary folk. In 1601 her Poor Law assured a minimum standard of living for a nation suffering widespread poverty, unemployment and vagrancy. Parishes were charged with providing work for the able-bodied, charity for the aged, sick and disabled, and punishing the idle. It was a revolutionary concept. (Gunn 1999: Good Queen Bess 126)

Later on Elizabeth I caused literacy amongst merchants and almost all gentry, she built schools and "produced" artists such as Shakespeare, Marlowe and Donne. Many ships sailed under her reign, plenty of gold was stolen and the kingdom flourished. Even so, as written previously, she was a woman and as such not really desired as head of all royalty, so her down-fall was awaited in hope for a male leader:

When Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603, there was a palpable sense of relief as men anticipated a new century, a new dynasty and the prospect of a man - and not a woman - on the throne of a united England and Scotland. (Gunn 1999: Elizabeth's Spanish War 129)

Elizabeth I remained unmarried and childless.

England and Scotland were joined peacefully as James I (Henry VIII great-grandnephew) of the Stuarts took the throne. Even for these days a little unusual, James I had, not very openly, but still enough for "everyone to know", a male lover, that later on helped the next king rule England.
In 1666 the Fire of London is believed to have helped eradicate the Great Plague and changed the architectural shape of the capital. The information concerns this paper in the fact that so many Londoners were victims to both these events that the city was almost reborn with fresh starts and new inhabitants.

After this era Queen Anne, James II's second daughter, a Stuart but also the last of the Tudors, started using the expression United Kingdom - the name under which the country is known even today. With the Act of Union in 1707 came the end of the Scottish parliament and the creation of the British legislature in London.

The first political parties in the United Kingdom - the Whigs and the Tories - developed under the reign of King William III and Queen Mary II in the end of the 17th century. Interestingly enough, according to Gunn, both names have started out with more or less derogative meanings:

In essence, Whigs were the political descendants of Scottish covenanters (dericivly calles "whiggamores") who'd opposed the future James II's accession to the throne, while Tories (from the equally insulting Irish word toraidhe - castle-thief, bandit or outlaw) were descended from those who had supported James's claim. (Gunn 1999: Whigs and Tories 173)

Whigs gradually evolved into the Liberal Party, while Tories, conservative as they are, still refer to themselves with their original name.

Events in the United Kingdom

The Act of Settlement decreed that a Protestant ruler must follow Queen Anne, so a distant relative and even more, a German, took on the throne of England. George I was a soldier who'd spend most his time in Hanover, leaving his country to his cabinet, so his death was mourned far less than usual.

During George I's ruling and during the ruling of his successors George II and "Bonnie Prince Charlie" or Charles Edward Stuart, some famous battles between the English and the French and some other European nations have occurred, but as far as needs to be written in this paper - the English were and until the House of Hanover remain a fighting nation.

Of the three Georges, only George III was actually stationed in England while ruling it, but his reign is mostly remembered by losing the America colonies, the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. The end of his reign is also marked by the fact that the royalty in England began to lose strength and decisions were made by the politicians. This means that more and more power was given to the Parliament, the voice of the people some would say, and less and less depended on the king or queen. The consequences of these facts are still seen in today's modern British political situation.

Between 1810 and 1820 the land needed for sheep farms were rented out for unreasonably high prices, so many farmers gave up on their motherland and migrated to the newly opened territories of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and other fled for the industrial towns in lower parts of the country. Highlands were therefore almost emptied out, while in China many farmers still live tough village lives in higher ground, in hard to reach desolate places, raising their crops and cattle.

During this whole period of American independence and the migrations of highland people the world was also preoccupied with one man's desire to rule the world. It took the Iron Duke's (Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington) complete genius to lead many battles on land that would put an end to Napoleon Bonaparte's dream. At sea, it was Admiral Horatio Nelson who stopped Napoleon and his desires to conquer England.

The Industrial Revolution brought many social and cultural changes to the United Kingdom. In 1800 it enjoyed a real boom with all its coal and iron. Work was offered to anyone who was willing to slave long hours doing hard work in brutal conditions for virtually no pay. Children as young as ten or even five were working day in and day out, much reminding to the current (illegal) exploitation in China we can hear about on the television or read about on-line (examples: http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/china, http://www.china-labour.org.hk/en/node/15889, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/opinion /06tue2.html, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent /2139401.stm). The only difference is a couple of hundred years of passing time.

The period of House of Hanover ended in 1837 when William IV was succeeded by Princess Victoria of Kent, his late brother's daughter.

Events in the United States

From the period between 1714 and 1873 there is a marking event in the British history, although it didn't even occur in Britain. United Kingdom authorities have enforced a tax on all tea imported into the USA and to rebel against this decision, about 60 men threw thousands of pounds worth of tea into the sea at Boston. Many Americans agreed as the tax was enforced upon them with no rights to decide what the taxes will be spent for. As in Chinese, tea was and still is an important part of the English culture and social behaviour. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773 the hostile relationships and fights between Americans and the British only escalated to the boiling point also known as the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which pushed the colonies into war with their motherland. In 1783 Britain recognized the independence of the United States.

The second injustice that was being done is nowadays known as one of the most shameful situations that went on for centuries. Britain was a leading player in world's slave trade which officially ended in 1808.

Although Victoria ruled for these 64 years and this age is named after her, the real reign behind her were three men, her husband Prince Albert and two prime ministers, William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. The three men helped the queen make her country the most powerful on earth and eight out of her nine children went on to become successors to the thrones in Germany, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Spain, Yugoslavia and Romania. This made for a strong foreign policy.

A great insight into the lives of people during the Victorian age are works of Charles Dickens, now known as a famous storyteller, but back then a 12-year old boy set to manual labour in 1824, and later on a reporter and rather rich fighter against slavery, for social housing and international copyright laws.

The century began by Victoria's death and the beginning of Edward VII reign. Many of his scandals are similar to those of the modern monarchy - fooling around with other women made him famous as the Playboy King. His son was later on confronted by many crises: World War 1, Ireland's independence, women's strike for voting rights, the Great Depression and the beginning of the rise of Hitler's Nazi ideas. During his 26 years as the king, George didn't have much say in the country, but proved to be a wise counsel.

As far as social and cultural changes go, maybe the most obvious change during the first ages of the 20th century is the 40-year struggle and end victory for women - gaining them a right to vote in 1928. This represents a political equality for half the British nation and a milestone in the attitude towards women in general. Before women were able to also vote for women, hundreds were arrested, put to prison on unusual charges and force fed when on hunger strike.

World War II followed with some changes to the English throne, and the United Kingdom is nowadays ruled by a government with the blessing of the Queen. A truly modern monarch, Elizabeth II was put to throne when she was only 26, and has been up to date ruling United Kingdom for 59 years. The role of the royal family has decreased in the last two centuries from solid rulers to merely formal - they follow certain protocols, have to represent the country in their foreign policy affairs and spend as little of country's money as possible. They have come a long way.