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History

From the Romans to today: the rulers, turning points and dates that keep coming up.

Stone Age to Roman Britain (to AD 122)

  1. Stone Age
    Britain's first inhabitants are hunter-gatherers, following herds of deer and horses
  2. c. 10,000 years ago
    The land bridge joining Britain to Europe disappears
  3. c. 6,000 years ago
    The first farmers arrive from south-east Europe
  4. Neolithic
    Stonehenge is built, probably for seasonal ceremonies
  5. c. 4,000 years ago
    The Bronze Age begins with metalworking
  6. Iron Age
    Hill forts spread and Britain mints its first coins
  7. 55 BC
    Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain fails
  8. AD 43
    Emperor Claudius conquers most of Britain
  9. AD 122
    Hadrian's Wall is built to defend against the Picts of Scotland

Stone, Bronze, Iron each name an age by its toolkit; then Caesar knocks in 55 BC and Claudius lets himself in by AD 43.

7 questions

Anglo-Saxons, Vikings & the Norman Conquest (AD 410–1086)

  1. AD 410
    The Romans leave Britain; the Angles, Saxons and Jutes invade and settle
  2. c. AD 600
    Several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms cover much of what is now England
  3. AD 789
    Vikings raid Britain for the first time
  4. 9th century
    Vikings settle permanently; the Danelaw covers eastern and northern England under their control
  5. 1016
    King Cnut (Canute), a Dane, becomes king of England
  6. 1066
    William of Normandy defeats King Harold at the Battle of Hastings
  7. 1086
    William's Domesday Book surveys England's towns, villages and resources

410 the Romans leave, 789 the Vikings arrive, 1066 the Normans conquer: three invasions, three new rulers of England.

7 questions

The Middle Ages (1200–1485)

  1. c. 1200
    English rule in Ireland is limited to an area around Dublin known as the Pale
  2. 1215
    The Magna Carta establishes that even the king is subject to the law
  3. 13th century
    Parliament grows out of the king's council of advisers into two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons
  4. 1284
    Edward I annexes Wales by the Statute of Rhuddlan
  5. 1314
    Robert the Bruce keeps Scotland independent by winning at Bannockburn
  6. 1348
    The Black Death kills about one-third of the population of England, Scotland and Wales
  7. 1415
    The English win at Agincourt during the Hundred Years War with France
  8. 1485
    The Wars of the Roses end at Bosworth Field, when Henry Tudor defeats Richard III

Magna Carta tames the king in 1215, Bannockburn frees Scotland in 1314, Agincourt humbles France in 1415, Bosworth crowns the Tudors in 1485: a landmark exactly a century apart, four times running.

8 questions

Tudors & Stuarts (1509–1688)

  1. 1534
    Henry VIII breaks from the Catholic Church after the Pope refuses to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon
  2. 1534
    Henry VIII founds the Church of England, naming himself its Supreme Head
  3. 1547–1558
    Religion swings with each monarch: Edward VI is Protestant, then Mary I restores Catholicism
  4. 1558–1603
    Elizabeth I's religious settlement seeks a middle way
  5. Elizabethan era
    William Shakespeare is the leading writer of the age, mixing drama, history and poetry
  6. 1642–1651
    The English Civil War, between King Charles I and Parliament, ends with the king's execution
  7. 1649–1660
    Oliver Cromwell leads the Commonwealth, England's only period without a monarch
  8. 1660
    Charles II's return restores the monarchy
  9. 1688
    The Glorious Revolution replaces James II with William III and Mary II

Break, war, restore, revolve: Henry breaks with Rome, Charles I loses his crown and his head, Charles II comes home, and 1688 makes the crown answer to Parliament for good.

8 questions

The Enlightenment, Industry & War (1680s–1833)

  1. 1680–1720
    French Protestant Huguenot refugees settle in Britain
  2. 1689
    The Bill of Rights confirms Parliament's rights and limits the monarch's power
  3. 1707
    The Act of Union merges England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain
  4. 1721
    Sir Robert Walpole becomes Britain's first Prime Minister
  5. 18th century
    The Enlightenment produces Scottish thinkers such as Adam Smith and David Hume
  6. 1745
    The Jacobite Rebellion, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, aims to restore the Stuart monarchy
  7. 1746
    The rebellion is crushed at the Battle of Culloden, weakening the clan system and leading to the Highland Clearances
  8. from the 1760s
    The Industrial Revolution brings mechanisation and steam power, driving increased production and urbanisation
  9. 1776
    Thirteen American colonies declare independence, beginning the American War of Independence
  10. 1805
    Admiral Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar turns the tide against Napoleon, finally defeated in 1815
  11. 1807
    The slave trade is abolished
  12. 1833
    The Emancipation Act ends slavery itself

1689 tames the crown, 1707 makes Great Britain, 1745 is the Stuarts' last throw at Culloden, 1807 ends the slave trade: each date narrows what power can do.

14 questions

The Victorian Age & Empire (1837–1918)

  1. 1837–1901
    Queen Victoria's reign sees the British Empire reach its height, spanning India, Australia and large parts of Africa
  2. 1845–1852
    The Irish famine and growing nationalism cause mass emigration
  3. 1846
    Repeal of the Corn Laws supports free trade and industrial growth
  4. 1853–1856
    The Crimean War brings military reforms and Florence Nightingale's reform of medical care
  5. 1899–1902
    The Boer War is fought against Dutch settlers, the Boers, in South Africa
  6. after 1902
    Debate over the Empire's direction points toward greater colonial autonomy
  7. 1918
    Gradual voting reforms culminate in women gaining partial voting rights

Victoria's century: an empire that grew across India, Australia and Africa, laws that opened up trade, and a war (the Boer War) that started the conversation about letting go.

9 questions

The 20th Century: World Wars (1914–1945)

  1. 1914
    WWI begins, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
  2. 1916
    The Battle of the Somme causes about 60,000 British casualties on its first day alone
  3. 11 Nov 1918
    WWI ends at 11am
  4. 1922
    Ireland is partitioned into Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Irish Free State
  5. 1939
    WWII begins after Hitler's invasion of Poland
  6. 1940
    The Battle of Britain sees the RAF defend Britain against German air attacks; Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister
  7. 6 June 1944
    D-Day, the Allied landing in Normandy
  8. 1945
    The war ends after Germany's defeat and Japan's surrender

1914 it begins, at 11 on the 11th in 1918 it ends; 1939 it begins again, in 1945 it ends for good: the two wars bookend each other by exactly 25 years.

8 questions

Britain Since 1945 (1945–2016)

  1. 1945
    The Labour government under Clement Attlee creates the welfare state
  2. 1948
    The NHS, founded by Aneurin Bevan, gives free healthcare 'from cradle to grave'
  3. 1960s
    'The Swinging Sixties' bring social change and liberalised divorce and abortion laws
  4. 20th century
    British inventions include the jet engine (Frank Whittle), the World Wide Web (Tim Berners-Lee) and the MRI scanner (Peter Mansfield)
  5. 1979–1990
    Margaret Thatcher is Britain's first woman Prime Minister; Britain wins the Falklands War in 1982
  6. 1997–1998
    Tony Blair's government introduces devolution to Scotland and Wales, and signs the Good Friday Agreement
  7. 2016
    A referendum leads to the UK voting to leave the EU (Brexit)

1945 builds the welfare state, 1979 brings the first woman PM, 2016 votes to leave the EU: each date sets the country on a fresh course.

8 questions