A Long and Illustrious History
British history spans thousands of years. The test focuses on key events, dates, and the development of democracy and law.
Early Britain
•**Stone Age** — Hunter-gatherers; Stonehenge built around 3000 BC
•**Bronze Age / Iron Age** — Celtic peoples arrive; hill forts built
•**Romans** — Invade in **43 AD** under Emperor Claudius; leave around **400 AD**
•**Anglo-Saxons** — Germanic tribes settle after Romans leave; England's name derives from "Angles"
•**Vikings** — Begin raiding from **789 AD**; settle in parts of Britain
Norman Conquest to Medieval Period
•**1066** — William the Conqueror defeats Harold II at Battle of Hastings; becomes William I
•**Domesday Book (1086)** — Survey of England ordered by William I
•**1215** — **Magna Carta** signed by King John at Runnymede — first time a king was bound by law
•**1284** — Statute of Rhuddlan — Wales under English control
•**1314** — Battle of Bannockburn — Robert the Bruce defeats English; Scotland remains independent
•**1348** — **Black Death** arrives; kills around one third of the population
•**Wars of the Roses (1455–1485)** — York vs Lancaster; ends with Henry VII (Tudor) winning
The Tudors and Reformation
•**Henry VIII (1509–1547)** — Broke with Rome in **1532** to divorce Catherine of Aragon; created the Church of England
•**Mary I** — Catholic queen; persecuted Protestants ("Bloody Mary")
•**Elizabeth I (1558–1603)** — Protestant; Golden Age of exploration and arts; defeated Spanish Armada in **1588**
•**1603** — James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England — **Union of Crowns**
Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
•**1605** — Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes and conspirators try to blow up Parliament
•**Civil War (1642–1651)** — King Charles I vs Parliament (Cavaliers vs Roundheads)
•**1649** — Charles I executed; England becomes a republic (Commonwealth) under Oliver Cromwell
•**1660** — **Restoration** — Charles II returns as king
•**1679** — Habeas Corpus Act — no imprisonment without trial
•**1689** — **Bill of Rights** — limits royal power; Parliament becomes supreme
Acts of Union and Empire
•**1707** — Act of Union: England and Scotland united as **Great Britain**
•**1776** — American Declaration of Independence (British colonies)
•**1800** — Act of Union adds Ireland: **United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland**
•**1807** — Slave trade abolished (slavery itself abolished **1833**)
•**Victorian era (1837–1901)** — Queen Victoria; British Empire at its height (~1920 was largest ever)
•**Great Exhibition (1851)** — Showcase of British industrial power at Crystal Palace
The 20th Century
•**1913** — Emily Davison (suffragette) dies after protest at Epsom Derby
•**WW1 (1914–1918)** — Over 2 million British casualties
•**1918** — Women over 30 (with property) get the vote
•**1919** — Nancy Astor becomes first woman MP to take her seat
•**1928** — All women over 21 get equal voting rights
•**WW2 (1939–1945)** — Winston Churchill PM; Battle of Britain; D-Day 1944
•**1945** — Labour wins election; Clement Attlee becomes PM
•**1948** — NHS founded; Empire Windrush arrives (Caribbean migration)
•**1969** — Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
•**1999** — Devolution: Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, NI Assembly established