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the United Kingdom is a nation located in the British Isles made up of England
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Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland
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thousands of years ago the Isles were inhabited by long-forgotten pre-celtic
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people known as the beaker culture named for their distinctive pottery beakers
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little is known of them but it has been suggested that these people laid the
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foundations for the mysterious stonehenge a series of heavy standing
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stones which were transported from 150 miles away and arranged to form a
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calendar marking the days of the summer and winter solstice over time waves of
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Celtic speaking people arrived from the European continent who soon came to form
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the brittonic Gaelic and Pictish people these people were not a unified people
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but were rather many tribes who shared a similar pagan religion language and
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culture the Romans invaded conquering what's now England and Wales but failed
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to conquer the Pictish tribes to the north the Romans launched several
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campaigns into this land they called Caledonia however their fortifications
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were soon overrun and abandoned and they retreated to Hadrian's Wall their
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conquered lands were incorporated into the Roman Empire becoming the province
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of Britannia they brought Roman customs and laws
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improved infrastructure and connected many towns and cities with Roman roads
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when the Romans left there was a great migration of Germanic tribes these were
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the Jutes Angles and Saxons with their language Old English their settlement
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pushed many Britons to areas in Wales Brittany and a kingdom known as Domino
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Nia while Scotland eventually evolved into four kingdoms thus most of these
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were the Scots who were originally from Ireland the Britons of Strathclyde the
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anglo-saxon kingdom of Benicia and the pics of Alba
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for unknown reasons the Jutes disappeared from history but the Angles
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and Saxons eventually formed Seven Kingdoms Wessex Sussex Kent Essex East
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Anglia Murcia and Benicia became Northumbria after the collapse of Domino
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Nia the remaining territory of Cornwall fought against the powerful kingdom of
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Wessex corn will eventually fall under the control of Wessex but it managed to
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keep its own culture Wales at this point was also made up of several separate
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kingdoms the largest being Gwynedd in the North poets in the East and differed
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to the south the British Isles soon saw numerous Norse raiders from Scandinavia
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these were the Vikings and they began settlement on many of the Scottish Isles
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the Isle of Man and they even founded the city of Dublin in Ireland the Scots
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in the pics then decided to unite under Kenneth MacAlpine to form the Kingdom of
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Alba the kingdom of albergue grew strong over the years and eventually
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Strathclyde was bought into the fault meanwhile Danish Vikings arrived in the
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Anglo Saxon kingdoms for conquest after fighting the king of Wessex Alfred the
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Great the Danelaw was formed a land where the laws of the Danes held
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influence over the anglo-saxons controlling the region and its affairs
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the anglo-saxons eventually defeated the last Viking king of York Erich blood
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acts and Athelstan became the first king of the English although the newly formed
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Kingdom of Denmark would conquer England and even found a short-lived Danish
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dynasty under Knut the Norseman had a dramatic impact on the Isles so it's no
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wonder some words in the English language have Norse origin after
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defeating formidable sea Raiders from Ireland the Western Isles Scandinavia
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and anglo-saxon forces from Murcia were fed up Llewellyn's subdued his rivals in
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southwest Wales Llewellyn became the only Welsh King ever to rule over the
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entire territory of Wales he was defeated by the English Earl Harold
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Godwinson and killed by his own men leading to the Welsh kingdoms splitting
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apart once more at the death of Edward the Confessor there was a succession
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dispute between four claimants Harold Godwinson was elected as king and
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managed to defend England from an invasion by the Norwegian King Harald
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Hardrada however Howard had semaj his army south to defend against yook
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William of Normandy who could cross the English Channel according to tradition
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at the Battle of Hastings Harald was killed by an arrow to the eye and the
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Norman invaders were victorious the new King William defeated a number of
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rebellions built a new design of castles called moats and Bailey's and introduced
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a number of reforms like trial by combat and the Domesday book the Norman dynasty
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invaded into South Wales and parts of Ireland creating the lordship of Ireland
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at court Nobles spoken conducted sessions in the anglo-norman language
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which endured for centuries and left an incredible mark in development of modern
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English after a brief Civil War henry ii would
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marry Eleanor of Aquitaine establishing the Angevin Empire beginning a long
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rivalry against France Richard the Lionheart defended much of this
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territory and also became a central Christian commander during the Third
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Crusade achieving considerable victories against his Muslim counterparts Saladin
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under king john heavy taxes were imposed on his barons in order to pay for his
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expensive Foreign Wars the Baron's rebelled and forced John to sign the
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Magna Carta a charter that established the principle that everyone was subject
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to the law even the king guaranteeing the rights of individuals the right to
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justice and the right to a fair trial most of North Wales remained
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independently ruled by several Welsh princes until twelve sixteen when
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Llewellyn the Great became the ruler of the Principality of Wales this would be
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the case until it but the first who conquered Wales in 1284 effectively
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becoming parts England at the death of King Alexander the third
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Scotland was left with 14 rivals for succession to prevent civil war the
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Scottish magnates asked Edward the first of England to elect a claimant John
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Balliol was elected King but was constantly undermined by Edward who
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opposed Scottish independence Edward decided to launch several campaigns to
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conquer Scotland and depose King John to which he acquired the nickname hammer of
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the Scots under a brave Scottish Knight William Wallace the Scots mounted
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resistance against the English defeating them at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
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Edward marched north in person and defeated Wallace in battle but Wallace
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managed to escape he was later captured and executed but his efforts allowed
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Robert the Bruce to rise up and defeat the English securing Scottish
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independence when the King of France died without an heir Edward the third
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was technically eligible to the crown through his mother the French Court
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denied his claim and instead installed Philip of Valois Edward paid homage to
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Philip as he owned the lands of Gascony and was essentially a vassal to the King
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of France due to disagreements Edward reasserted
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his claim to the throne and invaded France beginning the Hundred Years War
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the English achieved notable victories at the Battle of Crecy Poitiers and
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Agincourt thanks to the technical superiority of the longbow but was
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unable to conquer the French with the appearance of Joan of Arc who lifted the
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French spirit and turned the tide of the war upon the death of Edward the third
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an entire generation was skipped in the line of succession which prompted bitter
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rivalry between several claimants most notably were the houses of York and
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Lancaster tensions were high until a bloody age of warfare erupted between
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these two factions in the Wars of the Roses it's so in-depth and complicated
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this period would likely become a video of its own the wars ended with the
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arrival of the Tudor dynasty Henry the eighth wanting a divorce split with the
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church creating his own Church of England this ultimately led to a series
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of religious differences between future English monarchs in between his six
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wives and naval adventures Henry gave Wales representation in Parliament and
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created the kingdom of Ireland but realistically he only
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controlled an area known as the pale in addition Henry's paranoia and suspicion
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amounted to tens of thousands of executions including his friends and
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wives during the 16th century the largest of most powerful Empire was
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Spain under king philip ii england under Elizabeth the first were helping Dutch
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rebels reject Spanish rule and many English privateers were also
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intercepting Spanish silver on its journey back from the new world this
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angered the spanish king and the final straw came when Elizabeth had Mary Queen
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of Scots executed because she did not want Scotland falling under Catholicism
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the Spanish Armada consisting of 130 ships was deployed to invade England at
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the Battle of Gravelines and English victory forced the Spanish fleet to sail
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around the British Isles before storms in the north of Scotland destroyed the
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remaining ships in metallian the english led by Sir Francis Drake amassed their
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own Armada to invade Spain but this too became a failed endeavor born in this
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period William Shakespeare became a renowned poet playwright and actor who
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contributed significantly to English literature when Queen Elizabeth of
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England died without an heir her closest male relative was James the sixth of
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Scotland James was elected as King of England and
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Scotland in a personal Union although the country's remain separate
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political entities as the first monarch to rule the entire island of Great
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Britain several assassination attempts were made by Catholic conspirators one
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such assassination attempt was the Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes who tried
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to blow at Parliament's after a failed colony known as Roanoke England
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established a successful colony known as Jamestown which would eventually evolved
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into the 13 colonies at first expeditions to the new world were mainly
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driven by religious motives which were predominantly to convert the natives to
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their faith but colonies became more profitable as demand for new world crops
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like tobacco and sugar increased British ships also made a monopoly on the
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transportation of captive African slaves that crossed the Atlantic to the
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Americas millions of Africans were shipped in cramped horrific conditions
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to work on brutal plantation in the Americas and essentially became
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property to their masters for 300 years this practice continued in the British
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Empire until it was fully abolished in 1833 this period also saw a wave of
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plantations in Ireland where Irish lands were confiscated and given to English
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and Scottish settlers tensions would rise between Charles the first and
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Parliament following disagreements conflicts between Royal and
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parliamentary authority within England led to the English Civil War the country
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became divided between parliamentarians known as the Roundheads and Royalists
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known as the Cavaliers under Oliver Cromwell and the New Model Army the
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parliamentarians defeated Charles and executed him for treason cromwell became
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Lord Protector and dissolved the monarchy but shortly after his death it
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was restored under charles ii charles ii married Catherine of Braganza and when
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she arrived from Portugal she introduced the greatest beverage of all the time TEA
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Tea had been used by China for centuries but its arrival in the 17th century
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captured the interest of the English aristocracy and soon captivated every
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other Englishman in 1685 a catholic James ii became king in a largely
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Protestant nation James's daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William would both
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Protestant and many Nobles unhappy with the Catholic King invited William to
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become King William found considerable support when he invaded and he was soon
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crowned King William the third in what became known as the Glorious Revolution
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although Williams supporters dominated the government there remained a
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significant following for James ii in the scottish highlands clan MacDonald of
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Glencoe was one such group who had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to
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the new monarch for this reason alone 38 members of the clan were murdered in
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what became known as the massacre of Glencoe after Scotland's failed colonial
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endeavours in Nova Scotia and Panama and an economic crisis in the 1690s there
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was a union between England and Scotland forming the United Kingdom of Great
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Britain the House of Stuart's had ruled Britain for just over a century but
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ended with the death of Queen Anne Sophia of Hanover
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the granddaughter of James the first and her son George became King Great Britain
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soon found itself drawn into several European Wars most notable being the war
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of the Spanish Succession and the Seven Years War victories in these Wars
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resulted in territory for the Empire particularly in North America although
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it resulted in considerable debts in order to make up for this debt King
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George the third ordered heavy taxes be placed on the thirteen colonies this
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among other reasons culminated into the American War of Independence and with
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financial help from France and Spain the Americans were victorious the East
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India Company which was founded by Elizabeth the first had grown rapidly
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and even operated its own military and controlled a sizable amount of territory
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the company had set up fortified warehouses where they traded with many
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India rulers acquiring important luxuries like
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textiles and spices one of the most important cities of all was Bengal as it
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had a large taxable population the governor of Bengal robert clive ordered
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that the population grow opium to export to China instead of growing food as it
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proved to be a great source of income however when a famine struck it resulted
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in the deaths of millions of people meanwhile Captain James Cook arrived at
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New Zealand and the southeast coast of Australia although he wasn't the first
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to discover the area because of past Portuguese and Dutch explorers however
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unlike the Dutch of Portuguese Britain claimed as their new penal colony known
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as New South Wales with the first convicts arriving in 1778 a new threats
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had emerged from France French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
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Music
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Napoleon had come to dominate most of Europe but Britain's advantage was that
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she was an island and the Royal Navy had become a major force at sea invasion of
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Britain was near impossible and in a series of coalition's Napoleon was
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defeated by the end of the Napoleonic Wars Britain was growing rapidly into a
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superpower based on their supremacy of naval engineering furthermore in Ireland
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the great famine struck a disease killing potato plants Ireland which had
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merged with Britain relied heavily on this crop for food but the British
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government forced Ireland to export what little food they had to other areas
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without any aid or food Ireland's population plummeted by half due to
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starvation and emigration to countries like the United States things weren't
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looking so great in India either as India was rebelling against company rule
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the East India Company had employed many Indian soldiers known as sepoys who
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were under the command of British soldiers these sepoys grew increasingly
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unhappy and a revolt soon occurred yet it quickly failed due to a lack of unity
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between Indians after the rebellion the British government took direct control
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with Queen Victoria being declared Empress of India during the 19th century
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the world was forever changed by the Industrial Revolution society was
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transformed by technological advances and increasing mechanization and would
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launch Britain to global dominance some of the greatest innovations and
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inventions were the sewing machine the fire extinguisher steam powered engines
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and turbines the electric motor and photography The Telegraph was also a
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major invention as a message could now be sent from Britain to India in a
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matter of hours the establishment of railways and trains also transformed
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transport forever instead of travelling days by horse and carriage it now only
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took a matter of hours by train engineering and communication advance is
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not only United the Empire they triggered a manufacturing boom like no
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other people flocked from rural areas to city centres for jobs
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productivity reached an all-time high but the consequences of mass migration
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resulted in extremely cramped and polluted
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cities however with these problems that were generated it resulted in an
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improved sewage system Newcastle focused on shipbuilding
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Manchester the cotton industry Liverpool became a major trading centre
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Middlesbrough fixated itself on iron and steel works the presence of iron ore
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limestone and large coal deposits in the West Midlands and southeast Wales
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prompted the establishment of ironworks and Scotland boomed in the linen
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industry the Victorian era also saw a major change in society as families from
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the poorest backgrounds gained access to education although it was much stricter
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than today's standards the 1860s also saw the rise of the greatest food
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combination ever fish and chips towards the end of the 19th century European
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powers came together at the Berlin conference to divide Africa between them
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a group in South Africa known as the Boers who originally Dutch settlers
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proved difficult for the British the Boers lived in two nations the free
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orange states and the Republic of Transvaal and both resisted British rule
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using guerilla warfare to counter this the British placed many women and
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children in their tens of thousands into concentration camps when many died from