The first inhabitants of Britain came to the island over 10,000 years ago. They lived in small communities as hunters and fishermen. They built great stone monuments, like Stonehenge.
Celts arrived migrating from the region of central Europe, and became the predominant people in the British isles.
In 43 AD the Romans invaded the island. For 400 years England was part of the Roman Empire.
When the Romans left Britain, the country was invaded by the Anglo-Saxon people from north-west Germany. The Anglo-Saxon language which was the origin of modern English became dominant.
In 1066 the Normans from France invaded Britain and became the ruling class. They introduced many French words into English. The population was a mixture of Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans.
The kings worked to establish their authority but the English sent armies into Wales, Scotland and Ireland to bring them under control. In 1536 King Henry VIII decided to divorce and refused the authority of the Pope, so England separated from the Roman Catholic Church and became a Protestant country.
In the 16 th century British sailors, explorers and merchants began to travel to distant parts of the world. They discovered new lands and found new markets. Britain became stronger and richer and created an empire.
With the “Industrial Revolution”, Britain became the first industrial nation in the world. There were new inventions, new productions, new forms of transport and new methods of working, in factories. People moved from the country into the industrial cities.
In the 20th century Britain’s power and influence declined. Other countries had industrial revolutions and became stronger than Britain economically. In 1948 the empire ended.
In 1973 Britain became a member of the European Community but in 2019 Britain left it.
Erik G.