British Civilization
AD 43 Roman conquest of England, Wales and (temporarily) lowland Scotland by
Emperor Claudius and later governors.
c. 409 Roman army withdrew from Britain; wars between the Celts.
597 St Augustine preached Christianity to Anglo-Saxons of southern England;
creation of ecclesiastical capital in Canterbury, Kent.
789-95 Scandinavian (Viking) raids began.
1066 September, King Harold defeated Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge;
October, William I (the Conqueror) defeated Harold at Hastings and ascended
the English throne; the Norman Conquest, feudalism introduced.
1215 King John forced by barons to seal the Magna Carta at Runnymede; near
Windsor, which protected English aristocratic rights against royal abuse.
1348-49 Plague (Black Death) destroyed a third of the islands’ population.
1381 Peasants’ Revolt (popular rebellion) in England.
1603 Dynastic union of England and Scotland under James VI of Scotland; Union of
the Two Crowns.
1649 Execution of Charles I; monarchy abolished.
1653-58 Oliver Cromwell ruled England as Lord Protector.
1707 Acts of Union joined England/Wales and Scotland (Great Britain); unification
of Scottish and English Parliaments.
1769 The steam engine and the spinning machine invented.
1775-83 American War for Independence; loss of the Thirteen Colonies.
1793-1815 Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
1801 Act of Union joined Great Britain and Ireland (United Kingdom).
1837-1901 Reign of Queen Victoria.
1914-18 First World War.
1921-22 Irish Free State established by Anglo-Irish Treaty; Northern Ireland remained
part of the United Kingdom with its own devolved Parliament.
1930s Economic depression, poverty and high employment; Jarrow March in 1936.
1939-45 Second World War (W. Churchill, prime minister, 1940).
1
,1948 National Health Service created, free medical care for all; post-war
immigration from the Commonwealth began; Olympic Games, London.
1979 Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister; Lord Mountbatten
killed by IRA; Wales and Scotland rejected devolution.
2000 Number of hereditary peers entitled to sit and voce in the House of Lords
reduced from 750 to 92 (now 88); global stock markets fell as ‘dotcom bubble’
burst.
2005 Labour party achieved third successive victory in general election (Tony Blair
as PM); IRA ordered members to cease ‘military operations’; international
decommissioning body reported that IRA weapons had been ‘put beyond use’;
some Unionist paramilitaries moved to disarm; Kyoto Protocol on climate
change came into force; suicide bombers killed 52 people on London’s
transport system.
2007-10 Credit crunch; financial and banking problems; international recession.
2016 Referendum leading to Brexit. Theresa May replaces David Cameron (both
Tory party, conservative).
2017 Theresa May is re-elected, but without absolute majority. Alliance with
Northern Irish SNP party.
British Isles: islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and over six
thousand smaller isles.
The Commonwealth: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize
Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada,
Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta*, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Republic
of Cyprus*, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines,
Swaziland, The Bahamas, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom*,
United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe
*Although also EU member states, citizens of Cyprus and Malta are eligible to be registered
to vote in respect of all elections held in the UK.
2
,CH 2. The country
Many British people lack extensive knowledge about the environment and have varying views
about how personally active and consistent they should be in helping to combat pollution.
Meanwhile, individuals, companies and public authorities continue to affect the environment,
despite their concerns. The department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) responsible for agriculture, fisheries, environmental protection and rural
communities in UK.
Geographical identities
The country’s title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK
and Britain for short).
The mainland of England, Scotland and Wales forms the largest island Great
Britain.
Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland (independent since 1921) share the second-
largest island.
Smaller islands, like Anglesey, the Isle of Wight and the Orkneys, Shetlands, Hebrides
and Scillies are also part of the British political union.
The Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands are not part of the UK. They are self-
governing Crown Dependencies, which have a historical relationship with the British Crown.
But the British government is responsible for their defence and foreign relations and can
intervene if good administration is not maintained.
Physical features
Historically, Britain’s physical features have influenced human settlement, population
movements, military conquest and political union. They have also conditioned the location
and exploitation of industry, transport systems, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and energy
supplies. There has historically been a tension between urban and rural cultures. Some people
are averse to rural life, while many feel a traditional nostalgia for it and identity with it, and
some ten million people live in rural areas.
Britain’s physical characteristics:
Giant’s Causeway and Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.
The Cliffs of Dover in southern England.
Highlands of Scotland.
The Welsh valleys and mountains.
Britain’s physical relief is divided into highland and lowland Britain.
3
, England
England covers two-thirds of Great Britain. It consists mainly of undulating or flat lowland
countryside, with highland areas in the north and south-west. The heaviest population
concentrations centre on the largest (historically industrial and manufacturing) towns and
cities, such as London.
Wales
Wales is a highland country, with moorland plateau, hills and mountains, which are often
interspersed with deep river valleys. This upland mass contains the Cambrian Mountains and
descends eastwards into England. Lowland zones are restricted to the narrow coastal belts and
lower parts of the river valleys in south Wales, where two-thirds of the Welsh population
lives.
4
AD 43 Roman conquest of England, Wales and (temporarily) lowland Scotland by
Emperor Claudius and later governors.
c. 409 Roman army withdrew from Britain; wars between the Celts.
597 St Augustine preached Christianity to Anglo-Saxons of southern England;
creation of ecclesiastical capital in Canterbury, Kent.
789-95 Scandinavian (Viking) raids began.
1066 September, King Harold defeated Norwegian army at Stamford Bridge;
October, William I (the Conqueror) defeated Harold at Hastings and ascended
the English throne; the Norman Conquest, feudalism introduced.
1215 King John forced by barons to seal the Magna Carta at Runnymede; near
Windsor, which protected English aristocratic rights against royal abuse.
1348-49 Plague (Black Death) destroyed a third of the islands’ population.
1381 Peasants’ Revolt (popular rebellion) in England.
1603 Dynastic union of England and Scotland under James VI of Scotland; Union of
the Two Crowns.
1649 Execution of Charles I; monarchy abolished.
1653-58 Oliver Cromwell ruled England as Lord Protector.
1707 Acts of Union joined England/Wales and Scotland (Great Britain); unification
of Scottish and English Parliaments.
1769 The steam engine and the spinning machine invented.
1775-83 American War for Independence; loss of the Thirteen Colonies.
1793-1815 Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
1801 Act of Union joined Great Britain and Ireland (United Kingdom).
1837-1901 Reign of Queen Victoria.
1914-18 First World War.
1921-22 Irish Free State established by Anglo-Irish Treaty; Northern Ireland remained
part of the United Kingdom with its own devolved Parliament.
1930s Economic depression, poverty and high employment; Jarrow March in 1936.
1939-45 Second World War (W. Churchill, prime minister, 1940).
1
,1948 National Health Service created, free medical care for all; post-war
immigration from the Commonwealth began; Olympic Games, London.
1979 Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister; Lord Mountbatten
killed by IRA; Wales and Scotland rejected devolution.
2000 Number of hereditary peers entitled to sit and voce in the House of Lords
reduced from 750 to 92 (now 88); global stock markets fell as ‘dotcom bubble’
burst.
2005 Labour party achieved third successive victory in general election (Tony Blair
as PM); IRA ordered members to cease ‘military operations’; international
decommissioning body reported that IRA weapons had been ‘put beyond use’;
some Unionist paramilitaries moved to disarm; Kyoto Protocol on climate
change came into force; suicide bombers killed 52 people on London’s
transport system.
2007-10 Credit crunch; financial and banking problems; international recession.
2016 Referendum leading to Brexit. Theresa May replaces David Cameron (both
Tory party, conservative).
2017 Theresa May is re-elected, but without absolute majority. Alliance with
Northern Irish SNP party.
British Isles: islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and over six
thousand smaller isles.
The Commonwealth: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize
Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada,
Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta*, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Republic
of Cyprus*, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines,
Swaziland, The Bahamas, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom*,
United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe
*Although also EU member states, citizens of Cyprus and Malta are eligible to be registered
to vote in respect of all elections held in the UK.
2
,CH 2. The country
Many British people lack extensive knowledge about the environment and have varying views
about how personally active and consistent they should be in helping to combat pollution.
Meanwhile, individuals, companies and public authorities continue to affect the environment,
despite their concerns. The department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) responsible for agriculture, fisheries, environmental protection and rural
communities in UK.
Geographical identities
The country’s title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK
and Britain for short).
The mainland of England, Scotland and Wales forms the largest island Great
Britain.
Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland (independent since 1921) share the second-
largest island.
Smaller islands, like Anglesey, the Isle of Wight and the Orkneys, Shetlands, Hebrides
and Scillies are also part of the British political union.
The Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands are not part of the UK. They are self-
governing Crown Dependencies, which have a historical relationship with the British Crown.
But the British government is responsible for their defence and foreign relations and can
intervene if good administration is not maintained.
Physical features
Historically, Britain’s physical features have influenced human settlement, population
movements, military conquest and political union. They have also conditioned the location
and exploitation of industry, transport systems, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and energy
supplies. There has historically been a tension between urban and rural cultures. Some people
are averse to rural life, while many feel a traditional nostalgia for it and identity with it, and
some ten million people live in rural areas.
Britain’s physical characteristics:
Giant’s Causeway and Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.
The Cliffs of Dover in southern England.
Highlands of Scotland.
The Welsh valleys and mountains.
Britain’s physical relief is divided into highland and lowland Britain.
3
, England
England covers two-thirds of Great Britain. It consists mainly of undulating or flat lowland
countryside, with highland areas in the north and south-west. The heaviest population
concentrations centre on the largest (historically industrial and manufacturing) towns and
cities, such as London.
Wales
Wales is a highland country, with moorland plateau, hills and mountains, which are often
interspersed with deep river valleys. This upland mass contains the Cambrian Mountains and
descends eastwards into England. Lowland zones are restricted to the narrow coastal belts and
lower parts of the river valleys in south Wales, where two-thirds of the Welsh population
lives.
4
