Tudor England (1485-1603)
Henry VIII: Not allowed to divorce his wife. Broke with the pope and became head of the
Church of England.
Elisabeth I: Good monarch. The Golden Age, trade colonization, art and literature
(W. Shakespeare)
Stuart England (1603-1714)
1603 Elisabeth died. James VI of Scotland became James of England. The “personal union” of
Scotland and England.
During James`s reign; colonization of America
Mayflower, Pilgrims/Puritans 1620
1665 The Great Plague
1666 The Great Fire of London
1707 The Act of Union Scotland, Wales and England became the united kingdom of Great
Britain.
Georgian England (1714-1830)
The Parliament established its superiority over the king
Seven Years` War (1756-1763) between the French and the British, the Brits won.
American colonies broke out of British rule with the War of Independence. (1775-1783)
The 18th century and the industrial revolution.
The Act of Ireland united Britain and Ireland in 1801.
Numerous conflicts between rich British landlords and the poor Irish
Industrial Revolution!
The Victorian Age (1837-1901)
Industrial expansion
The Empire Grew and strengthened itself. Britain became the dominant power
Many famous buildings were built
Queen Victoria became the Empress of India in 1877
Many social and political reforms
Winning two world wars
WW1 (1914-1918)
-
Lost many soldiers
WW2 (1939-1945)
-
The Blitz, bombing of London
Britain won the war, but “lost the peace”
After WW2 there were two super powers, the US of A and the USSR
British Welfare
After WWII: The welfare state model for Scandinavia
-
Free health care
Free education (secondary)
Social benefits (unemployment, health, etc)
“From the cradle to the grave”
M. Thatcher slimmed down some of the benefits in the 80s
Losing the Empire
- Many countries demanded independence
- 1947 India/Pakistan – W.Pakistan Pakistan (1971)
o E. Pakistan Bangladesh (1971)
- Countries in Asia and Africa
- Hong Kong 1997
- Commonwealth of Nations (Many former colonies are members)
Multicultural Britain
- The 50s and early 60s: From the west Indies
o Speaks English
o Were Christians
- The 60s and early 70s: From the Indian sub continent
o Most of them did not speak English
o Were not Christians
- In addition people from all over the world came to Britain (From former
colonies)
- Today many come from other EU-countries
Europe or the USA?
- Britain and the US have always been very close allies and friends
- Actively engaged in the “War on Terror”
- Active in Afghanistan and Iraq