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The History of Great Britain
The History of Great Britain
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Th e History of Great Britain
Prehistoric England:
First people: 450.000 BC
Much warmer
Animals: lions, rhinoceros, deer, horses, beer, wolves
Humans: stone tools; lived in caves
15.000 BC: still living in caves but had much sophisticated tools made from
bones and stone
They made clothes from animal skin and ‘jewelry’ of animal teeth and shells
Hunted animals like horse, deer
Covered in tundra
8.500 BC: Became much warmer
Forest grew and spread to Europe
England was cut off from Europe
7.500 BC: Group of humans lived at Star Carr in Yorkshire
They were hunter gatherers: deer, pigs, elk, wild cattle, birds, fish
Domesticated dogs
Stone Age:
4.500 BC: Was introduced farming
Farmers used stone axes to clean the forests
They grew crops of wheat (culturi de grau); raised herds of cattle (vite) , sheep,
pigs
Still hunting
Gathered fruits and nuts
Start making wooden huts to live in
Still wore animal skin as clothes
They start making tombs (morminte) for them dead
Celtic England:
650 BC: was introduced iron by some people named Celts who started to create
swords
They ore living in villages and were still doing farming
They fought from horses or wooden chariots
They used swords and spears (sageti)
They lived in round houses’ they used low tables, doubled up beds
Dived into tribes
50 BC: start using gold coins
Men: tunics and trousers
Women: long dresses
They whore gold around them neck
They used plants to create dyes
Board games for amusement
Horse racings
DRUIDS: priests who were also scholars, judges and advisors of the kings
The Celts were polytheists
They pray in natural places such as trees, springs, rivers and lakes
They throw good in rivers and lakes
The Romans claimed the Druids practiced human sacrifice but this claim is
doubtful
Burried with goods= they believed in afterlife
They brew beer
55 BC:
The written history of England really began in 55 BC when Julius
Caesar led an expedition there and came back in 54 BC, but he was
unsuccessful because he didn’t gained any territory
Part of the justification is that people of this region have assisted the Gauls
against Rome due to them economic relationship
43 AD: 140.000 Roman soldiers set sail from the province of the Gaul to
invade the Island. The biggest motivation of the Emperor is that he wanted
to improve his image
Emperor Claudius was pretty insecure: he was seen weak and moronic by
his peers and by population so he taught that if he can do what Caesar
couldn’t he will be more respected by people
The soldiers were frightened by the island because they believed that is
haunted by demons and etc.
People from Britain believed that the army will dissolve before even
arriving at the gates, but that wasn’t the case
They managed to persuade
Claudius entered on an elephant, a beast that people from this region never
seen before
Roman occupation sets in and Britannia, modern day England, becomes a
province
Boudica-women from the ice sonny tribe, a wife of a very important tribe
figure who mentained an alliance with the Romance. After her husband dead
the Roman turned against them and raped her daughters. 60 AD- she
gathered people and revolted. The emperor of the time, Nero, considered of
drawing from Britain intirely but the woman was captured.
122-126 Emperor Hadrian: built a great wall across the northern frontier of Roman
Britain to keep out the people the Romans called the Picts. Romans invaded Scotland later
Around 410 : In time Roman become weaker and Honorius spare the
populations
Romans left behind: orase, infrastructure, Christianity
People didn’t know what to do; the wanted for Roman to come back so they
set up them own military and defense
They are not very successful at defending themselves
That why they hired mercenaries: a group of mercenaries that had already
been fighting on the side of the Romans =, from Northern Germany known
as the anglo-saxons.
Three ships of them are sent over to deal with the Picts and they managed to
win.
As a gift they give them some land in the modern-day Kent => more Saxons
coming over , plus women and children
They discover that Saxons are pagans and after some time Saxons invade
them
British are led by Arthur, considered to be one of the last Romans
There will be a battle in 500- Battle of Mount Badon where he wins
=> Saxons are left with East of England, where they develop about 30
kingdoms
West= people keep on living; them name was named after the Saxon word
for foreigner Wales
During this conflict it’s began a new legend about King Arthur who was
responsible for winning the battle and for the period of peace
BRITONS: celts
Still there are evidences about Saxons and Britons living together
Anglo-Saxons or Anglican
500-880- RULED by many kingdoms: Mercia, Northumbria, Wessex,