1. Early period of British history: Celts. Roman Conquest. Anglo-Saxon Invasion The beginning of the Stone Age coincided with the arrival of new invaders, mainly from France. They were the Celts. Reputed to be tall, fair and well built, they had artistic skills and were good craftsmen. Their dialects were imposed on the native population: the Gaelic form was spread in Ireland and Scotland, and the Brythonic in England and Wales. It was the Brythonic tribe of the Celts that gave its name to the whole country. The culture of Celts in the Iron Age was not altogether barbaric. Their Priests, the Druids, were skillful in teaching and administration. They didn't have any written documents. The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar carried out two expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, neither of which led to immediate Roman settlement in Britain. Caesar's summer expeditions were a failure. Almost a century later in 43 AD Emperor Claudius sent his legions over the seas to occupy Britain. The occupation was to last more than three centuries and the Romans saw their mission of civilizing the country. The British were not conquered easily. There was a resistance in Wales and the Romans destroyed the Druids, a class of Celtic priests (or witch-doctors) as thei rutuals alledgedly involved human sacrifice. There was a revolt in East Anglia, where Queen Boadicea (Boudicca) and her daughters in their chariots were fighting against Roman soldiers and were defeated. The Roman occupation was spread mainly over England, while Wales, Scotland and Ireland remained unconquered areas of the Celtic fringe — preserving Celtic culture and traditions. Romans built many houses of stone and towns, roads, ondon is a Celtic name, but many towns that Romans built along their roads — Lancaster, Winchester, Chichester, etc. have the Latin component "castra"-- a camp, a fortified town. The Romans also brought Christianity to Britain and the British Church became a strong institution. The native language absorbed many Latin words at that time. By the fifth century the Roman Empire was beginning to disintegrate and the Roman legions in Britain had to return back to Rome to defend it from the attacks of the new waves of barbaric invaders. Britain was left to defend and rule itself. Tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes were making raids against the British throughout the fifth and sixth centuries. The Anglo-Saxons controlled the central part of Britain which was described as England while the romanized Celts fled West taking with them their culture, language and Christianity. At that time England was a network of small kingdoms (Essex, Wessex, etc).

The Witan - Council that elected the Anglo-Saxon Kings.

Words survived from Celtic L-ge: Avon(A lot of streams); The Thames; Severn (a small river that runs its waters into a big river); Londinium; Boadicia.

Romans: castra - camp (Lancaster), Chester (Manchester)

Anglo-Saxon: ham (farm) - Hampshire;

Ton (settlement) - Brighton;

Shire (county)

2. Danish raid on England. Roman Invasion At first the Danes appeared in 787. Their homes were in the lowlands of Denmark, in Sweden and along the coast of Norway. Before 855 their visits were short, but then they conquered Mercia, East Angliaand wessex. In 878 King Alfred the Great had great victory over the Danes: England was divided by a line formed by the river Thames: the country north of tills line was given over to the Danes & called the Danelaw. The Danes were against Christianity, they destroyed monasteries&churches the Peaceful Edgar made much to unite English and Danes. The next king Ethelred the Unready tried to buy them of with money (the Danegeld). The Danes took the money, but came back, Ethelred ran away and Canute, the Danish king, added England to Ids empire. The English laws were kept to Englishmen and the land bw the river Forth and the Chaviot was given to the Scots. Danish words: happy, law, ill, ugly, take, fellow, husband, window, die, call. The line of Danish kings came to an end with the death of this king. The son of the Ethelred Edward was brought up in Normandy. He led quiet life, the founder of Westminster Abbey. He promised his throne to his cousin William of Normandy. However, people wanted Harold, the son of Earl Godwin. On Oct. 15, 1066 William with his army landed near Hastings. The battle there is known as 1 of the great ones. Harold was killed, William of Normandy took the crown of England. He established anew Anglo-Norman state: a countiy under a military rule. , castles appeared all over. He was a harsh raler. The countiy was divided into a number of units called manors, every member of the manor was bound to every other member by clearly defined duties. In 1068 a great revolt against W. the Conqueror broke out in Yorkshire, supported by the Danes, William absolutely devastated the countiy. In 1084 Domesday Book was ordered to prepare. The 1st registration of the whole country is considered the most enduring administrative achievement of the middle ages. 2 volumes: Great & Little Domesday. Clearly defined classes appeared on the society. At the top-the king. William ruled both Normandy & England. After his death his 2d son William the Red was an heir.

3. Main historic events in 13-15 cen. King John Lackland was the most unpopular king: he lost most of his French possessions, rebelled against his brother and the Pope, but in 1215 he signed the Magna Carta, which limited the prerogative of the Crown & extended the powers of the barons, has become the foundation stone of an Englishman's liberty. During the struggle for the Great Charter (Magna Carta) the legions of barons openly opposed the King - not paying taxes, raised an army of knights, supported by townsmen. On a small Magna Carta Island John &barons signed (he Charter. According to it: taxes were paid through the Great Council; no one could be punished without a trial. In 1258 a group of barons rebelled^a panel of 4 knights was set up in each county to supervise local govem-t; at the royal court offices were to be restored & their positions were clearly defined; a council of 15 people was appointed to direct the government of the country. Civil war broke out. The army of barons was led by Earl Simon de Montfort. In 1264 the King was taken prisoner. In 1265 - Parliament was summoned with "commons" represented in it - 2 knights from a shire & 2 merchants from a town. Also in the 13th cent. Oxford & Cambridge Univers. were established. Nothing special happened then. In 1337 Edward 3 invaded France. Thus began the 100 year's War, which lasted intermittently up to 1453. The war was aimed at seeming political domination over Gascony (the South-West region of France, England's main supplier of wine&salt&Flandere-the center of the wool industry, the main customer for English wool). In 1348 the problems of Lords in England were intensified with die arrival from die continent of a plague "The Black Deam". By 1349 it spread across Midlands&East Englia whipping out whole villages. About 1/3 of the population died. In 1381 diere was Peasants' Revolt, because Poll Tax was imposed by the govemm. (anyone reaching the age of 15 had to pay a shilling a year). After the revolt the tax was withdrawn. During die next cent, a new class of yeomen established: the people who received land for their service at King's court. Parl. consisted now of 2 houses: Lords&Commons. In 1455 die Civil War broke out (the fight bw the families for the crown). With Henry 6 (1422) the House of Lancaster came to the power. The House of Tudors - the most respected, established absolute power. Henry's reign ended in contusion, deposition and me Wai's of die Roses. The wars of die Roses began in 1399 when barons of the North supported the Lancaster (red rose), me barons of me Soudi supported die Yorks (white rose). The bloody struggle for the crown lasted from 1455 to 1485. Finally, a distant relative of the Lancaster family -Henry Tudor married Elisabem of York.

5. Restoration of monarchy and "Glorious Revolution" in g. B. The Bill of Rights

After the death of Cromwell 1658 his son inherited the power. Britain was called a republic. People were dissatisfied: a landowner replaced an ancient tradition of monarchy. They started to think of restoration of monarchy. The son of Charles I, who was in exile in France, was invited to throne. Charles II ruled in Engl. peacefully till his death (1685) - the period of the restoration of monarchy. The bourgeoisie and the gentry needed monarchy as a tool to oppress the masses. Having achieved their aims in the bourgeois revolution they needed this ancient institution which w. enable them to consolidate their power.

An Act of Uniformity was passed on May 19, 1662, by the Cavalier Parliament. The act required reordination of many pastors, gave unconditional consent to The Book of Common Prayer, advocated the taking of the oath of canonical obedience. Between 1660 and when the act was enforced on Aug. 24, 1662, almost 2, 000 Puritan ministers were ejected from their positions. As a result of the Act of Uniformity, English Puritanism entered the period of the Great Persecution. Any person over 16 was punished for attending a religious meeting not conducted according to The Book of Common Prayer. Puritanism became a form of Nonconformist Protestantism.

In 1685 up to 1688 Charles's Roman Catholic brother, James II came to throne. He unwisely tried to restore Catholicism and went too far in it. Fear of Roman Catholic tyranny united politically both establishment (the Wigs and Tories) and Nonconformist Protestants. This new unity brought about the "Glorious Revolution" (1688), the end of bourgeois revolution, establishing William (James's nephew) and Mary (James's daughter) on the throne. They were crowned in Westminster in 1689 on conditions laid down in the Bill of Rights. It is one of the basic instruments of the British constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament. It established the constitutionally monarchy in G. B. The pres. day political system has been existing in Engl. since 1689. In that document it was written that the king w. not impose any financial bill with the consent of Parliament. So, all financial and taxation bills became the prerogative of Parl. Parl. Was to be summoned or dissolved on its own consent. It made British kings powerless over Parl.

Granting religious toleration to all Protestants, ordering general elections to be held every three years, and providing for the Hanoverian succession (the House of Hanover-German line of relatives), the Bill of Rights provided the foundation on which the government rested after the Revolution of 1688. It purported to introduce no new principles but merely to declare explicitly the existing law. The Revolution settlement, however, made monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Parliament and provided a freedom from arbitrary government of which most Englishmen were notably proud during the 18th century.

5 The main purpose of the act was to declare illegal practices of James II. Among such practices were the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases, the complete suspension of laws without the consent of Parliament, and the levying of taxes and the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime without specific parliamentary authorization. A number of clauses sought to eliminate royal interference in parliamentary matters, stressing that elections must be free and that members must have complete freedom of speech. Certain forms of interference in the course of justice were also proscribed. The act also dealt with the proximate succession to the throne, settling it on Mary's heirs, then on those of her sister, afterward Queen Anne, and then on those of William, provided they were Protestants.