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the United Kingdom is a nation located
in the British Isles made up of England
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Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland
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thousands of years ago the Isles were
inhabited by long-forgotten pre-celtic
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people known as the beaker culture named
for their distinctive pottery beakers
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little is known of them but it has been
suggested that these people laid the
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foundations for the mysterious
stonehenge a series of heavy standing
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stones which were transported from 150
miles away and arranged to form a
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calendar marking the days of the summer
and winter solstice over time waves of
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Celtic speaking people arrived from the
European continent who soon came to form
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the brittonic Gaelic and Pictish people
these people were not a unified people
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but were rather many tribes who shared a
similar pagan religion language and
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culture the Romans invaded conquering
what's now England and Wales but failed
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to conquer the Pictish tribes to the
north the Romans launched several
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campaigns into this land they called
Caledonia however their fortifications
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were soon overrun and abandoned and they
retreated to Hadrian's Wall their
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conquered lands were incorporated into
the Roman Empire becoming the province
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of Britannia
they brought Roman customs and laws
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improved infrastructure and connected
many towns and cities with Roman roads
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when the Romans left there was a great
migration of Germanic tribes these were
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the Jutes Angles and Saxons with their
language Old English their settlement
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pushed many Britons to areas in Wales
Brittany and a kingdom known as Domino
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Nia while Scotland eventually evolved
into four kingdoms thus most of these
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were the Scots who were originally from
Ireland the Britons of Strathclyde the
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anglo-saxon kingdom of Benicia and the
pics of Alba
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for unknown reasons the Jutes
disappeared from history but the Angles
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and Saxons eventually formed Seven
Kingdoms Wessex Sussex Kent Essex East
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Anglia Murcia and Benicia became
Northumbria after the collapse of Domino
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Nia the remaining territory of Cornwall
fought against the powerful kingdom of
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Wessex corn will eventually fall under
the control of Wessex but it managed to
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keep its own culture Wales at this point
was also made up of several separate
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kingdoms the largest being Gwynedd in
the North poets in the East and differed
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to the south the British Isles soon saw
numerous Norse raiders from Scandinavia
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these were the Vikings and they began
settlement on many of the Scottish Isles
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the Isle of Man and they even founded
the city of Dublin in Ireland the Scots
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in the pics then decided to unite under
Kenneth MacAlpine to form the Kingdom of
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Alba the kingdom of albergue grew strong
over the years and eventually
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Strathclyde was bought into the fault
meanwhile Danish Vikings arrived in the
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Anglo Saxon kingdoms for conquest after
fighting the king of Wessex Alfred the
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Great the Danelaw was formed a land
where the laws of the Danes held
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influence over the anglo-saxons
controlling the region and its affairs
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the anglo-saxons eventually defeated the
last Viking king of York Erich blood
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acts and Athelstan became the first king
of the English although the newly formed
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Kingdom of Denmark would conquer England
and even found a short-lived Danish
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dynasty under Knut the Norseman had a
dramatic impact on the Isles so it's no
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wonder some words in the English
language have Norse origin after
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defeating formidable sea Raiders from
Ireland the Western Isles Scandinavia
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and anglo-saxon forces from Murcia were
fed up Llewellyn's subdued his rivals in
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southwest Wales Llewellyn became the
only Welsh King ever to rule over the
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entire territory of Wales he was
defeated by the English Earl Harold
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Godwinson and killed by his own men
leading to the Welsh kingdoms splitting
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apart once more at the death of Edward
the Confessor there was a succession
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dispute between four claimants Harold
Godwinson was elected as king and
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managed to defend England from an
invasion by the Norwegian King Harald
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Hardrada however Howard had semaj his
army south to defend against yook
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William of Normandy who could cross the
English Channel according to tradition
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at the Battle of Hastings Harald was
killed by an arrow to the eye and the
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Norman invaders were victorious the new
King William defeated a number of
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rebellions built a new design of castles
called moats and Bailey's and introduced
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a number of reforms like trial by combat
and the Domesday book the Norman dynasty
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invaded into South Wales and parts of
Ireland creating the lordship of Ireland
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at court Nobles spoken conducted
sessions in the anglo-norman language
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which endured for centuries and left an
incredible mark in development of modern
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English
after a brief Civil War henry ii would
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marry Eleanor of Aquitaine establishing
the Angevin Empire beginning a long
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rivalry against France Richard the
Lionheart defended much of this
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territory and also became a central
Christian commander during the Third
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Crusade achieving considerable victories
against his Muslim counterparts Saladin
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under king john heavy taxes were imposed
on his barons in order to pay for his
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expensive Foreign Wars the Baron's
rebelled and forced John to sign the
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Magna Carta a charter that established
the principle that everyone was subject
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to the law even the king guaranteeing
the rights of individuals the right to
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justice and the right to a fair trial
most of North Wales remained
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independently ruled by several Welsh
princes until twelve sixteen when
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Llewellyn the Great became the ruler of
the Principality of Wales this would be
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the case until it but the first who
conquered Wales in 1284 effectively
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becoming parts England
at the death of King Alexander the third
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Scotland was left with 14 rivals for
succession to prevent civil war the
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Scottish magnates asked Edward the first
of England to elect a claimant John
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Balliol was elected King but was
constantly undermined by Edward who
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opposed Scottish independence Edward
decided to launch several campaigns to
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conquer Scotland and depose King John to
which he acquired the nickname hammer of
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the Scots under a brave Scottish Knight
William Wallace the Scots mounted
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resistance against the English defeating
them at the Battle of Stirling Bridge
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Edward marched north in person and
defeated Wallace in battle but Wallace
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managed to escape he was later captured
and executed but his efforts allowed
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Robert the Bruce to rise up and defeat
the English securing Scottish
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independence when the King of France
died without an heir Edward the third
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was technically eligible to the crown
through his mother the French Court
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denied his claim and instead installed
Philip of Valois Edward paid homage to
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Philip as he owned the lands of Gascony
and was essentially a vassal to the King
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of France
due to disagreements Edward reasserted
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his claim to the throne and invaded
France beginning the Hundred Years War
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the English achieved notable victories
at the Battle of Crecy Poitiers and
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Agincourt thanks to the technical
superiority of the longbow but was
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unable to conquer the French with the
appearance of Joan of Arc who lifted the
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French spirit and turned the tide of the
war upon the death of Edward the third
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an entire generation was skipped in the
line of succession which prompted bitter
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rivalry between several claimants most
notably were the houses of York and
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Lancaster tensions were high until a
bloody age of warfare erupted between
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these two factions in the Wars of the
Roses it's so in-depth and complicated
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this period would likely become a video
of its own the wars ended with the
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arrival of the Tudor dynasty Henry the
eighth wanting a divorce split with the
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church creating his own Church of
England this ultimately led to a series
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of religious differences between future
English monarchs in between his six
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wives and naval adventures Henry gave
Wales representation in Parliament and
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created the kingdom of Ireland but
realistically he only
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controlled an area known as the pale in
addition Henry's paranoia and suspicion
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amounted to tens of thousands of
executions including his friends and
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wives during the 16th century the
largest of most powerful Empire was
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Spain under king philip ii england under
Elizabeth the first were helping Dutch
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rebels reject Spanish rule and many
English privateers were also
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intercepting Spanish silver on its
journey back from the new world this
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angered the spanish king and the final
straw came when Elizabeth had Mary Queen
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of Scots executed because she did not
want Scotland falling under Catholicism
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the Spanish Armada consisting of 130
ships was deployed to invade England at
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the Battle of Gravelines and English
victory forced the Spanish fleet to sail
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around the British Isles before storms
in the north of Scotland destroyed the
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remaining ships in metallian the english
led by Sir Francis Drake amassed their
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own Armada to invade Spain but this too
became a failed endeavor born in this
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period William Shakespeare became a
renowned poet playwright and actor who
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contributed significantly to English
literature when Queen Elizabeth of
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England died without an heir her closest
male relative was James the sixth of
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Scotland
James was elected as King of England and
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Scotland in a personal Union
although the country's remain separate
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political entities as the first monarch
to rule the entire island of Great
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Britain several assassination attempts
were made by Catholic conspirators one
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such assassination attempt was the
Gunpowder Plot by Guy Fawkes who tried
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to blow at Parliament's after a failed
colony known as Roanoke England
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established a successful colony known as
Jamestown which would eventually evolved
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into the 13 colonies at first
expeditions to the new world were mainly
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driven by religious motives which were
predominantly to convert the natives to
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their faith but colonies became more
profitable as demand for new world crops
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like tobacco and sugar increased British
ships also made a monopoly on the
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transportation of captive African slaves
that crossed the Atlantic to the
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Americas millions of Africans were
shipped in cramped horrific conditions
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to work on brutal plantation
in the Americas and essentially became
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property to their masters for 300 years
this practice continued in the British
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Empire until it was fully abolished in
1833 this period also saw a wave of
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plantations in Ireland where Irish lands
were confiscated and given to English
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and Scottish settlers tensions would
rise between Charles the first and
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Parliament following disagreements
conflicts between Royal and
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parliamentary authority within England
led to the English Civil War the country
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became divided between parliamentarians
known as the Roundheads and Royalists
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known as the Cavaliers under Oliver
Cromwell and the New Model Army the
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parliamentarians defeated Charles and
executed him for treason cromwell became
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Lord Protector and dissolved the
monarchy but shortly after his death it
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was restored under charles ii charles ii
married Catherine of Braganza and when
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she arrived from Portugal she introduced
the greatest beverage of all the time TEA
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Tea had been used by China for centuries
but its arrival in the 17th century
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captured the interest of the English
aristocracy and soon captivated every
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other Englishman in 1685 a catholic
James ii became king in a largely
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Protestant nation James's daughter Mary
and her Dutch husband William would both
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Protestant and many Nobles unhappy with
the Catholic King invited William to
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become King William found considerable
support when he invaded and he was soon
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crowned King William the third in what
became known as the Glorious Revolution
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although Williams supporters dominated
the government there remained a
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significant following for James ii in
the scottish highlands clan MacDonald of
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Glencoe was one such group who had not
been prompt in pledging allegiance to
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the new monarch for this reason alone 38
members of the clan were murdered in
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what became known as the massacre of
Glencoe after Scotland's failed colonial
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endeavours in Nova Scotia and Panama and
an economic crisis in the 1690s there
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was a union between England and Scotland
forming the United Kingdom of Great
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Britain the House of Stuart's had ruled
Britain for just over a century but
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ended with the death of Queen Anne
Sophia of Hanover
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the granddaughter of James the first and
her son George became King Great Britain
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soon found itself drawn into several
European Wars most notable being the war
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of the Spanish Succession and the Seven
Years War victories in these Wars
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resulted in territory for the Empire
particularly in North America although
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it resulted in considerable debts in
order to make up for this debt King
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George the third ordered heavy taxes be
placed on the thirteen colonies this
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among other reasons culminated into the
American War of Independence and with
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financial help from France and Spain
the Americans were victorious the East
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India Company which was founded by
Elizabeth the first had grown rapidly
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and even operated its own military and
controlled a sizable amount of territory
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the company had set up fortified
warehouses where they traded with many
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India rulers
acquiring important luxuries like
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textiles and spices one of the most
important cities of all was Bengal as it
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had a large taxable population the
governor of Bengal robert clive ordered
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that the population grow opium to export
to China instead of growing food as it
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proved to be a great source of income
however when a famine struck it resulted
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in the deaths of millions of people
meanwhile Captain James Cook arrived at
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New Zealand and the southeast coast of
Australia although he wasn't the first
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to discover the area because of past
Portuguese and Dutch explorers however
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unlike the Dutch of Portuguese Britain
claimed as their new penal colony known
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as New South Wales with the first
convicts arriving in 1778 a new threats
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had emerged from France French Emperor
Napoleon Bonaparte
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Music
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Napoleon had come to dominate most of
Europe but Britain's advantage was that
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she was an island and the Royal Navy had
become a major force at sea invasion of
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Britain was near impossible and in a
series of coalition's Napoleon was
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defeated by the end of the Napoleonic
Wars Britain was growing rapidly into a
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superpower based on their supremacy of
naval engineering furthermore in Ireland
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the great famine struck a disease
killing potato plants Ireland which had
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merged with Britain relied heavily on
this crop for food but the British
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government forced Ireland to export what
little food they had to other areas
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without any aid or food Ireland's
population plummeted by half due to
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starvation and emigration to countries
like the United States things weren't
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looking so great in India either as
India was rebelling against company rule
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the East India Company had employed many
Indian soldiers known as sepoys who
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were under the command of British
soldiers these sepoys grew increasingly
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unhappy and a revolt soon occurred yet
it quickly failed due to a lack of unity
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between Indians after the rebellion the
British government took direct control
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with Queen Victoria being declared
Empress of India during the 19th century
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the world was forever changed by the
Industrial Revolution society was
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transformed by technological advances
and increasing mechanization and would
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launch Britain to global dominance some
of the greatest innovations and
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inventions were the sewing machine the
fire extinguisher steam powered engines
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and turbines the electric motor and
photography The Telegraph was also a
00:16:20
major invention as a message could now
be sent from Britain to India in a
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matter of hours the establishment of
railways and trains also transformed
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transport forever instead of travelling
days by horse and carriage it now only
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took a matter of hours by train
engineering and communication advance is
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not only United the Empire they
triggered a manufacturing boom like no
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other people flocked from rural areas to
city centres for jobs
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productivity reached an all-time high
but the consequences of mass migration
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resulted in extremely cramped and
polluted
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cities however with these problems that
were generated it resulted in an
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improved sewage system
Newcastle focused on shipbuilding
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Manchester the cotton industry Liverpool
became a major trading centre
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Middlesbrough fixated itself on iron and
steel works the presence of iron ore
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limestone and large coal deposits in the
West Midlands and southeast Wales
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prompted the establishment of ironworks
and Scotland boomed in the linen
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industry the Victorian era also saw a
major change in society as families from
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the poorest backgrounds gained access to
education although it was much stricter
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than today's standards the 1860s also
saw the rise of the greatest food
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combination ever fish and chips towards
the end of the 19th century European
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powers came together at the Berlin
conference to divide Africa between them
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a group in South Africa known as the
Boers who originally Dutch settlers
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proved difficult for the British the
Boers lived in two nations the free
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orange states and the Republic of
Transvaal and both resisted British rule
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using guerilla warfare to counter this
the British placed many women and
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children in their tens of thousands into
concentration camps when many died from
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starvation and disease Britain became a
major player in the First World War and
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many men proudly volunteered to serve
and protect their country the Great War
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as it was called saw the use of new
technology such as dreadnoughts
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warplanes artillery machine guns
grenades chemical weapons
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bolt-action rifles and the first use of
the tank many faced horrific conditions
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in the trenches and witness groups of
battles millions died and many returned
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home shell shocked by what they had seen
the Empire reached its territorial
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heights in 1921 after gaining territory
from Germany and the crumbling Ottoman
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Empire the Empire now ruled over 400
million people and controlled one
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quarter of the world's land mass but the
reality was Britain could no longer
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afford to build bases or ships to defend
its empire as it had before
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19:14 Ireland finally managed to break
away from British rule and formed the
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Irish free states and shortly after
became a republic the Second World War
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was more brutal and horrific than the
first most of Europe had fallen under
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German occupation and under Prime
Minister Winston Churchill Britain stood
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strong during the Battle of Britain and
the Blitz Britain were extremely
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successful at intercepting and decoding
enemy communications with the likes of
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Alan Turing who cracked the German
Enigma code the war ended with an allied
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victory but many nations within the
Empire felt a desire for independence
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and it was clear the Empire was about to
break India was one such nation who were
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ready to declare their independence
Mohandas Gandhi practiced a nonviolent
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approach and this proved successful are
shortly after India gained independence
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the Commonwealth of Nations was formed
to improve relations and economic ties
00:19:56
with former colonies this still remains
today with 53 members united by language
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history culture and shared values of
democracy the British Empire officially
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ended with Hong Kong Britain's last
colony being handed over to China in
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1997 the Empire committed many
atrocities on many different people
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imposing their culture and civilization
while often wiping out native ones on
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the other hand this brought about
globalization and the uniting of the
00:20:27
modern world and without such
innovations and industrialization the
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world might have been a very different
place the United Kingdom suffered a
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small economic recession in 2008 but has
since recovered it is a multicultural
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society with each region retaining a
presence of its history and culture if
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you ever visit look out for the Welsh
cake the haggis the whiskey the Chelsea
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bun the par mo the Cumberland sausage
the Yorkshire pudding or the Cornish
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pasty
the UK remains a member of NATO United
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Nations and the World Trade Organization
and uses the pound currency in 2016 a
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referendum resulted in 51.9% of voters
in favor to leave the European Union
00:21:14
although the countries within the United
Kingdom became divided on the matter
00:21:18
leading to the many questions of its
future unity thank you for watching
00:21:24
let us know your thoughts in the
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00:21:28
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