A Brief History of England

1
A Brief History of England
(This is sort of like covering the
majority of North American history in 7 or 8
slides!)
2
Discussion Question to Start Off

• What are the legacies of the early English
  Monarchs (list them all note the ones that
  effect the U.S. today)?

3
Early Days on the Island

• BC years - native Britons / Celts inhabited the
  area
• AD 43 - Romans arrived in Britain (eventually
  built Hadrians Wall)
• AD 500s - Angles / Saxons arrived from Europe
• AD 800s - Vikings arrived eventually settled
  during the Early Middle Ages

4

• 1066 - Anglo-Saxon king Edward died with no heir
• Thus, Britains throne was open William the
  Conqueror (of Normandy, France) invaded - he
  became the King of England
• His successors established a strong High Middle
  Ages kingdom

5

• Four generations after William the Conqueror, one
  of his descendants, John, became king
• John was not popular due to military defeats
  tax increases, in 1215 he was forced by nobles
  to accept the Magna Carta
• The Magna Carta limited royal power, prevented
  the king from raising taxes w/out consulting the
  nobles, granted trial by jury

6

• Johns heirs saw the writing on the wall - they
  would have to consult the nobles the growing
  middle class merchants of the Late Middle Ages
• In other words, they consulted Parliament
• By AD 1400 (Late Middle Ages) Parliament was
  divided into the House of Lords (nobles
  clergy) the House of Commons (knights
  merchants)

7

• During this same time period (Late Middle Ages)
  England was at war with France (because France
  wanted all European continental land controlled
  by England)
• This was the Hundred Years War (1337-1453),
  France won (aided by Joan of Arc)
• This war delayed the arrival of the Renaissance
  in England (late 1400s)

8

• The Hundred Years War also created an internal
  English conflict - noble families upset about
  Englands defeat struggled to gain the throne
  (Parliament gains power of the purse)
• This new conflict was the War of the Roses - the
  Lancaster familys symbol red rose the York
  familys symbol white rose
• Finally, in 1485, a Lancaster (Henry Tudor) won,
  married the York heiress, became Henry VII

9

• This marked the beginning of Absolutism in
  England (an admittedly weak absolutism)
• The Age of Absolutism (1500 - 1789) was a
  period during which powerful European monarchs
  ruled, believed that their right to rule came
  directly from God
• This latter belief was known as divine right -
  the theory that monarchs received power from
  God, answered only to God for their actions