The early pre-Roman inhabitants of Britain (see Stonehenge) were Celtic-speaking peoples, including the Brythonic people of Wales, the Piets of Scotland, and the Britons of Britain. Celts also settled in Ireland c. 500 bc. Julius Caesar invaded and took control of the area in 55-54 bc. The Roman province of Britannia endured until the 5th century ad and included present-day England and Wales. Germanic tribes, including Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, invaded Britain in the 5th century. The inva¬ sions had little effect on the Celtic peoples of Wales and Scotland. Chris¬ tianity began to flourish in the 6th century. During the 8th and 9th centuries, Vikings, particularly Danes, raided the coasts of Britain. In the late 9th century Alfred the Great repelled a Danish invasion, which helped bring about the unification of England under Athelstan. The Scots attained dominance in Scotland, which was finally unified under Malcolm II (1005- 34). William of Normandy (see William I) took England in 1066. The Nor¬ man kings established a strong central government and feudal state. The French language of the Norman rulers eventually merged with the Anglo- Saxon of the common people to form the English language. From the 11th century, Scotland came under the influence of the English throne. Henry II conquered Ireland in the late 12th century. His sons Richard I and John had conflicts with the clergy and nobles, and eventually John was forced to grant the nobles concessions in the Magna Carta (1215). The concept of community of the realm developed during the 13 th century, providing the foundation for parliamentary government. During the reign of Edward I (1272-1307), statute law developed to supplement English common law, and the first Parliament was convened. In 1314 Robert the Bruce (see Rob¬ ert I) won independence for Scotland. The house of Tudor became the rul¬ ing family of England following the Wars of the Roses (1455-85). Henry VIII (1509—47) established the Church of England and incorporated Wales as part of England.
The reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) began a period of colonial expan¬ sion; in 1588 British forces defeated the “invincible” Spanish Armada. In 1603 James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I, and established a personal union of the two kingdoms. The English Civil Wars erupted in 1642 between Royalists and Parliamentarians, ending in the execution of Charles I (1649). After 11 years of Puritan rule under Oliver Cromwell and his son (1649-60), the monarchy was restored with Charles II. In 1689, following the Glorious Revolution, Parliament pro¬ claimed the joint sovereigns William III and Mary II. who accepted the British Bill of Rights. In 1707 England and Scotland assented to the Act of Union, forming the kingdom of Great Britain. The Hanoverians ascended the English throne in 1714, when George Louis, elector of Hanover, became George I of Great Britain. During the reign of George III, Great Britain’s North American colonies won independence (1783). This was followed by a period of war (1789-1815) with Revolutionary France and later with the empire of Napoleon. In 1801 legislation united Great Britain with Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Britain was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, and it remained the world’s foremost economic power until the late 19th century. During the reign of Queen Victoria (1837— 1901), Britain’s colonial expansion reached its zenith, though the older dominions, including Canada and Australia, were granted independence (1867 and 1901, respectively).
The U.K. entered World War I allied with France and Russia in 1914. Following the war, revolutionary disorder erupted in Ireland, and in 1921 the Irish Free State (see Ireland) was granted dominion status. Six coun¬ ties of Ulster, however, remained in the U.K. as Northern Ireland. The U.K. entered World War II in 1939. Following the war, the Irish Free State became the Irish republic and left the Commonwealth. India also gained independence from the U.K. Throughout the postwar period and into the 1970s, the U.K. continued to grant independence to its overseas colonies
British Sovereigns
Kings of Wessex
Richard II (P)
1377-99
Egbert (S)
802-39
Henry IV (P:L)
1399-1413
Aethelwulf (S)
839-56/58
Henry V (P:L)
1413-22
Aethelbald (S) 855/56-60
Henry VI (P:L)
1422-61
Aethelberht (S)
860-65/66
Edward IV (P:Y)
1461-70
Aethelred 1 (S) 865/66-71
Henry VI 2
1470-71
Alfred the Great (S)
871-99
Edward IV 2
1471-83
Edward the Elder (S)
899-924
Edward V (P:Y)
1483
Sovereigns of England
Richard III (P:Y)
1483-85
Athelstan 1 (S)
925-39
Henry VII (T)
1483-1509
Edmund 1 (S)
939-46
Henry VIII (T)
1509-1547
Eadred (S)
946-55
Edward VI (T)
1547-53
Eadwig (S)
955-59
Mary 1 (T)
1553-58
Edgar(S)
959-75
Elizabeth 1 (T)
1558-1603
Edward the Martyr (S)
975-78
Sovereigns of Great
Ethel red II the
Britain and the
Unready (S)
978-1013
United Kingdom
Sweyn Forkbeard (D)
1013-14
James 1 (VI of
Ethel red II the
Scotland) (St)
1603-25
Unready 2 (S)
1014-16
Charles 1 (St)
1625-49
Edmund II Ironside (S)
1016
Commonwealth
Canute (D)
1016-35
Oliver Cromwell
1653-58
Harold 1 Harefoot (D)
1035-40
Richard Cromwell
1658-59
Hardecanute (D)
1040-42
Charles II (St)
1660-85
Edward the
James II (St)
1685-88
Confessor (S)
1042-66
William III &
Harold II (S)
1066
Mary II (O/St)
1689-1702 3
William 1 the
Anne (St)
1702-14
Conqueror (N)
1066-87
George 1(H)
1714-27
William II (N)
1087-1100
George II (H)
1727-60
Henry 1 (N)
1100-35
George III (H)
1760-1820
Stephen (B)
1135-54
George IV (H)
1820-30
Henry II (P)
1154-89
William IV (H)
1830-37
Richard 1 (P)
1189-99
Victoria (H)
1837-1901
John (P)
1199-1216
Edward VII (SCG)
1901-10
Henry III (P)
1216-72
George V (W)
1910-36
Edward 1 (P)
1272-1307
Edward VIII (W)
1936 4
Edward II (P)
1307-27
George VI (W)
1936-52
Edward III (P)
1327-77
Elizabeth II (W)
1952-
Dynasty or house: S=Saxon, D=Danish, N=Norman, B=Blois,
P=Plantagenet, L=Lancaster, Y=York, T=Tudor, St=Stuart, 0=0range,
H=Hanover, SCG=Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, W=Windsor 'Athelstan was king of Wessex and the first king of all England.
Restored
3 William and Mary, as husband and wife, reigned jointly until Mary's death in 1694.
4 Edward VIII succeeded on the death of his father on January 20, 1936, but abdicated on December 11 before his coronation.
and dependencies. With UN forces, it participated in the Korean War (1950-53). In 1956 it intervened militarily in Egypt during the Suez Cri¬ sis. It joined the European Economic Community, a forerunner of the Euro¬ pean Union, in 1973. In 1982 it defeated Argentina in the Falkland Islands War. As a result of continuing social strife in Northern Ireland, it joined with Ireland in several peace initiatives, which eventually resulted in an agreement to establish an assembly in Northern Ireland. In 1997 refer¬ enda approved in Scotland and Wales devolved power to both countries, though both remained part of the U.K. In 1991 the U.K. joined an inter¬ national coalition to reverse Iraq’s conquest of Kuwait (see First Persian Gulf War). In 2003 the U.K. and the U.S. attacked Iraq and overthrew the government of Saddam Hussein (see Second Persian Gulf War). Ter¬ rorist bombings in London in July 2005 killed more than 50 people.