the United Kingdom is a nation located in the British Isles made up of England
Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland
thousands of years ago the Isles were inhabited by long-forgotten pre-celtic
people known as the beaker culture named for their distinctive pottery beakers
little is known of them but it has been suggested that these people laid the
foundations for the mysterious stonehenge a series of heavy standing
stones which were transported from 150 miles away and arranged to form a
calendar marking the days of the summer and winter solstice over time waves of
Celtic speaking people arrived from the European continent who soon came to form
the brittonic Gaelic and Pictish people these people were not a unified people
but were rather many tribes who shared a similar pagan religion language and
culture the Romans invaded conquering what's now England and Wales but failed
to conquer the Pictish tribes to the north the Romans launched several
campaigns into this land they called Caledonia however their fortifications
were soon overrun and abandoned and they retreated to Hadrian's Wall their
conquered lands were incorporated into the Roman Empire becoming the province
of Britannia they brought Roman customs and laws
improved infrastructure and connected many towns and cities with Roman roads
when the Romans left there was a great migration of Germanic tribes these were
the Jutes Angles and Saxons with their language Old English their settlement
pushed many Britons to areas in Wales Brittany and a kingdom known as Domino
Nia while Scotland eventually evolved into four kingdoms thus most of these
were the Scots who were originally from Ireland the Britons of Strathclyde the
anglo-saxon kingdom of Benicia and the pics of Alba
for unknown reasons the Jutes disappeared from history but the Angles
and Saxons eventually formed Seven Kingdoms Wessex Sussex Kent Essex East
Anglia Murcia and Benicia became Northumbria after the collapse of Domino
Nia the remaining territory of Cornwall fought against the powerful kingdom of
Wessex corn will eventually fall under the control of Wessex but it managed to
keep its own culture Wales at this point was also made up of several separate
kingdoms the largest being Gwynedd in the North poets in the East and differed
to the south the British Isles soon saw numerous Norse raiders from Scandinavia
these were the Vikings and they began settlement on many of the Scottish Isles
the Isle of Man and they even founded the city of Dublin in Ireland the Scots
in the pics then decided to unite under Kenneth MacAlpine to form the Kingdom of
Alba the kingdom of albergue grew strong over the years and eventually
Strathclyde was bought into the fault meanwhile Danish Vikings arrived in the
Anglo Saxon kingdoms for conquest after fighting the king of Wessex Alfred the
Great the Danelaw was formed a land where the laws of the Danes held
influence over the anglo-saxons controlling the region and its affairs
the anglo-saxons eventually defeated the last Viking king of York Erich blood
acts and Athelstan became the first king of the English although the newly formed
Kingdom of Denmark would conquer England and even found a short-lived Danish
dynasty under Knut the Norseman had a dramatic impact on the Isles so it's no
wonder some words in the English language have Norse origin after
defeating formidable sea Raiders from Ireland the Western Isles Scandinavia
and anglo-saxon forces from Murcia were fed up Llewellyn's subdued his rivals in
southwest Wales Llewellyn became the only Welsh King ever to rule over the
entire territory of Wales he was defeated by the English Earl Harold
Godwinson and killed by his own men leading to the Welsh kingdoms splitting
apart once more at the death of Edward the Confessor there was a succession
dispute between four claimants Harold Godwinson was elected as king and
managed to defend England from an invasion by the Norwegian King Harald
Hardrada however Howard had semaj his army south to defend against yook
William of Normandy who could cross the English Channel according to tradition
at the Battle of Hastings Harald was killed by an arrow to the eye and the
Norman invaders were victorious the new King William defeated a number of
rebellions built a new design of castles called moats and Bailey's and introduced
a number of reforms like trial by combat and the Domesday book the Norman dynasty
invaded into South Wales and parts of Ireland creating the lordship of Ireland
at court Nobles spoken conducted sessions in the anglo-norman language
which endured for centuries and left an incredible mark in development of modern
English after a brief Civil War henry ii would
marry Eleanor of Aquitaine establishing the Angevin Empire beginning a long
rivalry against France Richard the Lionheart defended much of this
territory and also became a central Christian commander during the Third
Crusade achieving considerable victories against his Muslim counterparts Saladin
under king john heavy taxes were imposed on his barons in order to pay for his
expensive Foreign Wars the Baron's rebelled and forced John to sign the
Magna Carta a charter that established the principle that everyone was subject
to the law even the king guaranteeing the rights of individuals the right to
justice and the right to a fair trial most of North Wales remained
independently ruled by several Welsh princes until twelve sixteen when
Llewellyn the Great became the ruler of the Principality of Wales this would be
the case until it but the first who conquered Wales in 1284 effectively
becoming parts England at the death of King Alexander the third
Scotland was left with 14 rivals for succession to prevent civil war the
Scottish magnates asked Edward the first of England to elect a claimant John
Balliol was elected King but was constantly undermined by Edward who
opposed Scottish independence Edward decided to launch several campaigns to
conquer Scotland and depose King John to which he acquired the nickname hammer of
the Scots under a brave Scottish Knight William Wallace the Scots mounted
resistance against the English defeating them at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
Edward marched north in person and defeated Wallace in battle but Wallace
managed to escape he was later captured and executed but his efforts allowed
Robert the Bruce to rise up and defeat the English securing Scottish
independence when the King of France died without an heir Edward the third
was technically eligible to the crown through his mother the French Court
denied his claim and instead installed Philip of Valois Edward paid homage to
Philip as he owned the lands of Gascony and was essentially a vassal to the King
of France due to disagreements Edward reasserted
his claim to the throne and invaded France beginning the Hundred Years War
the English achieved notable victories at the Battle of Crecy Poitiers and
Agincourt thanks to the technical superiority of the longbow but was
unable to conquer the French with the appearance of Joan of Arc who lifted the
French spirit and turned the tide of the war upon the death of Edward the third
an entire generation was skipped in the line of succession which prompted bitter
rivalry between several claimants most notably were the houses of York and
Lancaster tensions were high until a bloody age of warfare erupted between
these two factions in the Wars of the Roses it's so in-depth and complicated
this period would likely become a video of its own the wars ended with the
arrival of the Tudor dynasty Henry the eighth wanting a divorce split with the
church creating his own Church of England this ultimately led to a series
of religious differences between future English monarchs in between his six
wives and naval adventures Henry gave Wales representation in Parliament and
created the kingdom of Ireland but realistically he only
controlled an area known as the pale in addition Henry's paranoia and suspicion
amounted to tens of thousands of executions including his friends and
wives during the 16th century the largest of most powerful Empire was
Spain under king philip ii england under Elizabeth the first were helping Dutch
rebels reject Spanish rule and many English privateers were also
intercepting Spanish silver on its journey back from the new world this
angered the spanish king and the final straw came when Elizabeth had Mary Queen
of Scots executed because she did not want Scotland falling under Catholicism
the Spanish Armada consisting of 130 ships was deployed to invade England at
the Battle of Gravelines and English victory forced the Spanish fleet to sail
around the British Isles before storms in the north of Scotland destroyed the
remaining ships in metallian the english led by Sir Francis Drake amassed their
own Armada to invade Spain but this too became a failed endeavor born in this
period William Shakespeare became a renowned poet playwright and actor who
contributed significantly to English literature when Queen Elizabeth of
England died without an heir her closest male relative was James the sixth of
Scotland James was elected as King of England and
Scotland in a personal Union although the country's remain separate
political entities as the first monarch to rule the entire island of Great
Britain several assassination attempts were made by Catholic conspirators one
such assassination attempt was the Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes who tried
to blow at Parliament's after a failed colony known as Roanoke England
established a successful colony known as Jamestown which would eventually evolved
into the 13 colonies at first expeditions to the new world were mainly
driven by religious motives which were predominantly to convert the natives to
their faith but colonies became more profitable as demand for new world crops
like tobacco and sugar increased British ships also made a monopoly on the
transportation of captive African slaves that crossed the Atlantic to the
Americas millions of Africans were shipped in cramped horrific conditions
to work on brutal plantation in the Americas and essentially became
property to their masters for 300 years this practice continued in the British
Empire until it was fully abolished in 1833 this period also saw a wave of
plantations in Ireland where Irish lands were confiscated and given to English
and Scottish settlers tensions would rise between Charles the first and
Parliament following disagreements conflicts between Royal and
parliamentary authority within England led to the English Civil War the country
became divided between parliamentarians known as the Roundheads and Royalists
known as the Cavaliers under Oliver Cromwell and the New Model Army the
parliamentarians defeated Charles and executed him for treason cromwell became
Lord Protector and dissolved the monarchy but shortly after his death it
was restored under charles ii charles ii married Catherine of Braganza and when
she arrived from Portugal she introduced the greatest beverage of all the time TEA
Tea had been used by China for centuries but its arrival in the 17th century
captured the interest of the English aristocracy and soon captivated every
other Englishman in 1685 a catholic James ii became king in a largely
Protestant nation James's daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William would both
Protestant and many Nobles unhappy with the Catholic King invited William to
become King William found considerable support when he invaded and he was soon
crowned King William the third in what became known as the Glorious Revolution
although Williams supporters dominated the government there remained a
significant following for James ii in the scottish highlands clan MacDonald of
Glencoe was one such group who had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to
the new monarch for this reason alone 38 members of the clan were murdered in
what became known as the massacre of Glencoe after Scotland's failed colonial
endeavours in Nova Scotia and Panama and an economic crisis in the 1690s there
was a union between England and Scotland forming the United Kingdom of Great
Britain the House of Stuart's had ruled Britain for just over a century but
ended with the death of Queen Anne Sophia of Hanover
the granddaughter of James the first and her son George became King Great Britain
soon found itself drawn into several European Wars most notable being the war
of the Spanish Succession and the Seven Years War victories in these Wars
resulted in territory for the Empire particularly in North America although
it resulted in considerable debts in order to make up for this debt King
George the third ordered heavy taxes be placed on the thirteen colonies this
among other reasons culminated into the American War of Independence and with
financial help from France and Spain the Americans were victorious the East
India Company which was founded by Elizabeth the first had grown rapidly
and even operated its own military and controlled a sizable amount of territory
the company had set up fortified warehouses where they traded with many
India rulers acquiring important luxuries like
textiles and spices one of the most important cities of all was Bengal as it
had a large taxable population the governor of Bengal robert clive ordered
that the population grow opium to export to China instead of growing food as it
proved to be a great source of income however when a famine struck it resulted
in the deaths of millions of people meanwhile Captain James Cook arrived at
New Zealand and the southeast coast of Australia although he wasn't the first
to discover the area because of past Portuguese and Dutch explorers however
unlike the Dutch of Portuguese Britain claimed as their new penal colony known
as New South Wales with the first convicts arriving in 1778 a new threats
had emerged from France French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
Music
Napoleon had come to dominate most of Europe but Britain's advantage was that
she was an island and the Royal Navy had become a major force at sea invasion of
Britain was near impossible and in a series of coalition's Napoleon was
defeated by the end of the Napoleonic Wars Britain was growing rapidly into a
superpower based on their supremacy of naval engineering furthermore in Ireland
the great famine struck a disease killing potato plants Ireland which had
merged with Britain relied heavily on this crop for food but the British
government forced Ireland to export what little food they had to other areas
without any aid or food Ireland's population plummeted by half due to
starvation and emigration to countries like the United States things weren't
looking so great in India either as India was rebelling against company rule
the East India Company had employed many Indian soldiers known as sepoys who
were under the command of British soldiers these sepoys grew increasingly
unhappy and a revolt soon occurred yet it quickly failed due to a lack of unity
between Indians after the rebellion the British government took direct control
with Queen Victoria being declared Empress of India during the 19th century
the world was forever changed by the Industrial Revolution society was
transformed by technological advances and increasing mechanization and would
launch Britain to global dominance some of the greatest innovations and
inventions were the sewing machine the fire extinguisher steam powered engines
and turbines the electric motor and photography The Telegraph was also a
major invention as a message could now be sent from Britain to India in a
matter of hours the establishment of railways and trains also transformed
transport forever instead of travelling days by horse and carriage it now only
took a matter of hours by train engineering and communication advance is
not only United the Empire they triggered a manufacturing boom like no
other people flocked from rural areas to city centres for jobs
productivity reached an all-time high but the consequences of mass migration
resulted in extremely cramped and polluted
cities however with these problems that were generated it resulted in an
improved sewage system Newcastle focused on shipbuilding
Manchester the cotton industry Liverpool became a major trading centre
Middlesbrough fixated itself on iron and steel works the presence of iron ore
limestone and large coal deposits in the West Midlands and southeast Wales
prompted the establishment of ironworks and Scotland boomed in the linen
industry the Victorian era also saw a major change in society as families from
the poorest backgrounds gained access to education although it was much stricter
than today's standards the 1860s also saw the rise of the greatest food
combination ever fish and chips towards the end of the 19th century European
powers came together at the Berlin conference to divide Africa between them
a group in South Africa known as the Boers who originally Dutch settlers
proved difficult for the British the Boers lived in two nations the free
orange states and the Republic of Transvaal and both resisted British rule
using guerilla warfare to counter this the British placed many women and
children in their tens of thousands into concentration camps when many died from
starvation and disease Britain became a major player in the First World War and
many men proudly volunteered to serve and protect their country the Great War
as it was called saw the use of new technology such as dreadnoughts
warplanes artillery machine guns grenades chemical weapons
bolt-action rifles and the first use of the tank many faced horrific conditions
in the trenches and witness groups of battles millions died and many returned
home shell shocked by what they had seen the Empire reached its territorial
heights in 1921 after gaining territory from Germany and the crumbling Ottoman
Empire the Empire now ruled over 400 million people and controlled one
quarter of the world's land mass but the reality was Britain could no longer
afford to build bases or ships to defend its empire as it had before
19:14 Ireland finally managed to break away from British rule and formed the
Irish free states and shortly after became a republic the Second World War
was more brutal and horrific than the first most of Europe had fallen under
German occupation and under Prime Minister Winston Churchill Britain stood
strong during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz Britain were extremely
successful at intercepting and decoding enemy communications with the likes of
Alan Turing who cracked the German Enigma code the war ended with an allied
victory but many nations within the Empire felt a desire for independence
and it was clear the Empire was about to break India was one such nation who were
ready to declare their independence Mohandas Gandhi practiced a nonviolent
approach and this proved successful are shortly after India gained independence
the Commonwealth of Nations was formed to improve relations and economic ties
with former colonies this still remains today with 53 members united by language
history culture and shared values of democracy the British Empire officially
ended with Hong Kong Britain's last colony being handed over to China in
1997 the Empire committed many atrocities on many different people
imposing their culture and civilization while often wiping out native ones on
the other hand this brought about globalization and the uniting of the
modern world and without such innovations and industrialization the
world might have been a very different place the United Kingdom suffered a
small economic recession in 2008 but has since recovered it is a multicultural
society with each region retaining a presence of its history and culture if
you ever visit look out for the Welsh cake the haggis the whiskey the Chelsea
bun the par mo the Cumberland sausage the Yorkshire pudding or the Cornish
pasty the UK remains a member of NATO United
Nations and the World Trade Organization and uses the pound currency in 2016 a
referendum resulted in 51.9% of voters in favor to leave the European Union
although the countries within the United Kingdom became divided on the matter
leading to the many questions of its future unity thank you for watching
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