Short History Of United Kingdom and Culture
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The history of what we now call the United Kingdom is marked by wars between nations, tribes, kings and queens of Europe, invasion and counter invasion, rebellions and social upheaval.
The Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC and its subsequent incorporation into the Roman Empire stimulated development and brought more active contacts with the rest of Europe. As Rome's strength declined, the country again was exposed to invasion-including the pivotal incursions of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in the fifth and sixth centuries AD -- up to the Norman conquest in 1066. Norman rule effectively ensured Britain's safety from further intrusions and so that certain institutions, which remain characteristic of Britain, could develop. Among these institutions are a political, administrative, cultural, and economic center in London; a separate but established church; a system of common law; distinctive and distinguished university education; and representative government.
Union
Both Wales and Scotland were independent kingdoms that fiercely resisted English rule. The English conquest of Wales succeeded in 1282 under Edward I, and the Statute of Rhuddlan established English rule 2 years later. To appease the Welsh, Edward's son (later Edward II), who had been born in Wales, was made Prince of Wales in 1301. The tradition of bestowing this title on the eldest son of the British monarch continues today. An act of 1536 completed the political and administrative union of England and Wales.
While maintaining separate parliaments, England and Scotland were ruled under one crown begining in 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I as James I of England. In the ensuing 100 years, strong religious and political differences divided the kingdoms. Finally, in 1707, England and Scotland were unified as Great Britain, sharing a single Parliament and flag (the "Union Jack").
Ireland's invasion by the Anglo-Normans in 1170 led to centuries of strife. Successive English kings sought to conquer Ireland. In the early 17th century, large-scale settlement of the north from Scotland and England began. After its defeat, Ireland was subjected, with varying degrees of success, to control and regulation by Britain.
The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was completed on January 1, 1801, under the name of the United Kingdom. However, armed struggle for independence continued sporadically into the 20th century. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State, which subsequently left the Commonwealth and became a republic after World War II. Six northern, predominantly Protestant counties have remained part of the United Kingdom.
Romans conquered parts of the British mainland between the first and fifth centuries AD, leaving behind some very straight roads, a sewage system and some hot baths. After the Romans, the Jutes, Saxons and Angles established kingdoms south of Hadrian's Wall. The Normans then arrived, killing King Harold with an arrow through the eye at the Battle of Hastings.
The reign of Queen Victoria is a period of greatest British economic success and overseas empire. Relations between Britain and Ireland flared into civil war in 1916, and eventually the Irish Free State was created in 1921-22, while the six counties of Northern Ireland stayed within the UK.
The 20th Century was marked by the UK's involvement in two world wars; the end of empire; the extension of the right to vote to women; the creation of the National Health Service and a social security system. Immigration patterns changed, and one of the biggest symbols of this was the arrival of the Windrush from the Caribbean in 1948.
Post-1997 assemblies were set up in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff, devolving policy making on many major issues to local parliaments.
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