1: Introduction to Country Study – Great Britain

2: The History of Great Britain

The points to be discussed:

1. 
   British History Timeline
   
2. 
   The Medieval Period
   
3. 
   World War I
   
4. 
   World War II.
   
5. 
   Decline of the Empire.
   
6. 
   European Unity
   

🔑 Key Words: Celtic culture, Roman invasions, forming of Londinium, Germanic Invasions, the English Kingdoms: Essex, Wessex, Angles, Saxons, Kent, Nothumbria, spreading of Christianity, Vikings, Norsemen, Medieval Period, English class system, The Tudor dynasty, The Act of Union, Napoleon Bonaparte a man of endless ambitions, Battle of Waterloo. World War I and II, independent Commonwealth countries, European Unity, Margaret Thatcher is a Conservative Party leader.


1. British History Timeline

Celts	Romans	Saxons	Vikings	Normans	Tudors	Victorians	WW ll
500 BC	AD 43	450	793	1066	1485	1837	1939+

These charts above and below cover the most important periods of British history. They show the chief inhabitants or invaders of England till the Middle Ages, then the royal houses of England (until 1603) and of Britain (after 1603). Only monarchs or rulers mentioned in the text appear on the chart.

The Celts	900 B.C.-55 B.C.
The Romans	55 B.C.-450 A.D.
The Anglo-Saxons	450-661	Up to (8^th century)
The Viking Invaders	8^th -11^th centuries
The Normans	1066-1154	William the Conqueror (1066-1087)
The Plantagenet	1154-1399	Henry II (1154-1189) Edward I (1212-1307)
The Houses of York and Lancaster	1399-1485
The Tudors	1485-1603	Henry VII (1484-1509) Henry VIII (1509-1547) Mary I ('Bloody Mary') (1553-1558) Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
The Stuarts (The Civil War	1603-1649 1628-1649)	James I (1603-1625) Charles I (1625-1649)
The Republic	1649-1660	Oliver Cromwell (1649-1660)
The Stuarts	1660-1714	William and Mary (1688-1702)
The Hanoverians	1714-1901	George I, II, III, IV (1714-1830) ('Georgian period) Victoria (1837-1901) ('Victorian' period)
The House of Saxe- Coburg	1901-1910	Edward VII (1901-1910) ('Edwardian' period)
The House of Windsor	1910-	Elizabeth II (1952-)

1. 
   Old English AD 5-6^th Centuries Anglo-Saxon [Germanic tribes of Jutes, Saxons, and Angles] overran all England except Cornwall and Cumberland. They formed Independent kingdoms including Nothumbria Mersia, Kent, Wessex. The Celts were forced to move north and west. St. Augustine converted C.597 England to Christianity. Many religious terms were borrowed from Latin. 9-10^th The Danes and Norwegians invaded North and East England and introduced many Norse words into the English language. It was the languages of Anglo-Saxon and then Danes that formed the basis of the English Language.
   
2. 
   Middle English 11-15^th Norman Conquest. England passed into French hands under William the Conqueror. French was used as the language of government business and the ruling classes for 300 years.
   

3. Early Modern 15-16^th 1475 the spread of printing, which helped to English, stabilize the written language. In 1525 New Testament was translated into English. The revival of interest in Classical Latin and Greek led to many learned words being introduced into English. 1536-1543 Acts of Union united England and Wales after conquest.
4. Later M.E. 18-19^th 1707 Act of Union between England and Scotland under Queen Anne. The countries became known as GB. 1755 First major English dictionary was published. Samuel Johnson writes it. It attempted to fix and refine the Language further. The growth of British colonial power led to the spread of English as a word language and many varieties of English appeared in North America, South Africa, and Australia.
5. Present day English 20^th Present day English is an international language spoken in most parts of the world.