Roman Britain (0)

British history
Roman Britain

Roman Britain was those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between 43 and about 410. The Romans referred to their province as Britannia . Prior to the Roman invasion, Iron Age Britain already had cultural and economic links with Continental Europe , but the invaders introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanization, industry and architecture , leaving a legacy that is still apparent today .
Historical records beyond the initial invasion are sparse, although many Roman historians mention the province in passing. Most of the knowledge of the period stems from archaeological investigations and especially epigraphic evidence .
The invasion force in AD 43 was led by Aulus Plautius.It is not known how many Roman legions were sent ; only one legion , the II Augusta , commanded by the future emperor Vespasian, is directly attested to have taken part . The IX Hispana,the XIV Gemina ( later styled Martia Victrix) and the XX are attested in 60/61 during the Boudican Revolt, and are likely to have been there since the initial invasion. However , the Roman army was flexible, with units being used and moved whenever necessary , so this is not certain. Only the Legio IX Hispana is likely to have stayed there, as it is attested to being in residence at Eburacum ( York ) in AD 71 and on a building inscription there dated AD 108, before its eventual destruction fighting in the East , likely during the Bar Kochba Revolt.
The invasion was delayed by a mutiny of the troops, who were eventually persuaded by an imperial freedman to overcome their fear of crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known world. They sailed in three divisions, and probably landed at Richborough in Kent , although some suggest that at least part of the invasion force landed on the south coast, in the Fishbourne area of West Sussex.
The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni and their allies in two battles : the first , assuming a Richborough landing, on the river Medway, the second on the Thames . One of the Catuvellaunian leaders, Togodumnus, was killed , but his brother Caratacus survived to continue resistance elsewhere. Plautius halted at the Thames and sent for Claudius , who arrived with reinforcements, including artillery and elephants, for the final march to the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum . The future emperor Vespasian subdued the southwest,Cogidubnus was set up as a friendly king of several territories, and treaties were made with tribes outside the area under direct Roman control .Romans built many roads and also many great bulidings like the Hadrians wall.

Anglo-Saxons and Normans

The history of Anglo- Saxon England broadly covers early medieval England from the end of Roman rule and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Conquest by the Normans in 1066.
Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms began around 600 and was essentially complete by the mid 8th century. Throughout the 7th and 8th centuries , power fluctuated between the larger kingdoms. Bede records Aethelbert of Kent as being dominant at the close of the 6th century, but power seems to have shifted northwards to the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria .
Aethelbert and some of the later kings of the other kingdoms were recognised by their fellow kings as Bretwalda. The so-called 'Mercian Supremacy' dominated the 8th century, though again it was not constant . Aethelbald and Offa, the two most powerful kings, achieved high status . This period has been described as the Heptarchy, though this term has now fallen out of academic use.
The word arose on the basis that the seven kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia, Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex and Wessex were the main polities of south Britain. More recent scholarship has shown that theories of the 'heptarchy' are not grounded in evidence, and it is far more likely that power fluctuated between many more 'kingdoms'. Other politically important 'kingdoms' across this period include : Hwicce, Magonsaete, Kingdom of Lindsey and Middle Anglia.
In the 9th century, the Viking challenge grew to serious proportions. Alfred the Great's victory at Edington, Wiltshire, in 878 brought intermittent peace , but with their possession of Jorvik the Danes gained a solid foothold in England.
An important development in the 9th century was the rise of the Kingdom of Wessex; by the end of his reign Alfred was recognised as overlord by several southern kingdoms.
Near the end of the 10th century, there was renewed Scandinavian interest in England, with the conquests of Sweyn of Denmark and his son Canute. By 1066 there were three lords with claims to the English throne, resulting in two invasions and the battles of Stamford Bridge and Hastings , the results of which established Anglo-Norman rule in England.
Tudor England
Tudor period was between 1485- 1603 . First King of Tudor period was Henry VII. He won the House of Lancaster in the War of Roses . On his reign Britain started to improve financially . Also people started to live in the cities, mostly middle class people.Renaissance was revived and education improved , because of the printing press.
In 1509 Henry VIII became king. He is of course one of the most famous rulers in Britain. Most people know him because he had many wievs, from who he killed most. But actually he did many other things worth remembering. He made the Reformation what made him the head of english Anglican church. He wanted to extend his power and also Pope