- •1. Early Britain. Ancient population.
- •2. The Roman invasion.
- •4. The raids of the Danes and their role in the unification of the country.
- •5. The Norman invasion. The main principles of feudalism.
- •6. Early British education. The first universities. A medieval town.
- •7. England in the 14-15th centuries (the 100 Years’ War, the Peasants’ Revolt, the War of the Roses).
- •8. The policy of the new monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I.
- •9. Gaining power and expansion during the Tudor period.
- •10. British government and society in the 16th century.
- •11. British economy and the problems of the poor in the 16th century.
- •12. The Crown and Parliament during the Stuart period.
- •13. Republican and restoration Britain.
- •14. The 17th century British society.
- •15. Changes in political life in Britain in the 18th century.
- •16. Life of the British in town and in the country in the 18th century.
- •17. Industrial revolution in Britain and the war with Napoleon.
- •18. Reforms in Britain in the first half of the 19th century.
- •19. Britain’s international and home policy in the first half of the 19th century.
- •20. The years of self-confidence in Britain: industrial power, towns and the rise of the middle class.
- •22. Social and economic changes in Britain between 1876 and 1914.
- •21. The years of self-confidence: population, politics, the British Empire and life in Ireland.
- •23. Britain the World War I.
- •24. The after-effects of World War I for Britain.
- •25. Great Britain in World War II.
- •26. Britain after World War II. The Suez Canal conflict.
- •27. Attitude to the British towards the monarchy in the 20th century and Thatcher’s government.
- •32. Seas and coastline of the uk. Climate.
- •33. Britain in 1957-1979. Harold Macmillan.
- •Harold Wilson and Edward Heath
- •34. Tony Blair. Brown as Prime Minister.
- •Foreign policy. Brown remains committed to the Iraq War, but said in a speech in May 2007 that he would "learn the lessons" from the mistakes made in Iraq.
- •36. Legislative branch of government. Constitution. Passing a bill. Function of the monarch in the Parliament.
- •39. Migration in the uk.
- •37. Elections and parties. Local government. European Union.
- •38. Population of the uk. Population density and distribution.
- •40. Ethnic and geographic identity. Being British. Family and class.
- •41. The place of Britain in the world economy. Chief industries.
- •42. Agriculture. Transport and communication. Overseas trade.
- •43.Compulsory schooling. Educational reforms. Exams.
- •44. Post 16 education. Higher education.
- •45.British culture. Arts.
- •46. British culture. Science and technology. Religion. Religious, political, social and everyday contacts.
- •47. British culture. Sport. Food. National costume. Naming conventions.
- •48.British press.
- •Magazines
- •49. British radio and television. Television
- •50. Places to see in London.
1. Early Britain. Ancient population.
British. This word is used about the people who live on the British Isles, and to be more exact, who live in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The flag of the UK is known as Union Jack. It reflects the history of the state. This term can be explained as follows: Union reflects the union of Scotland and England in 1606, and Jack means the flag flown on the Jack staff of ships to show their nationality. The Union Jack is made of three crosses made on the blue ground. The blue color refers to the seas surrounding Britain. The central red cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
The first inhabitants of Britain and many of its animals came there over dry land. The first inhabitants of island for whom the traditional name exists are the Iberians or Megalithic men, who probably form the basis of the present-day population in Western England, Wales, Northern and Western Scotland and Ireland. This race is supposed to arrive in Britain from the region of the Mediterranean and inhabited it between 3000 and 2000 B. C. Soon after this a new race of Alpine Stock came. They came from the East of Europe. They are known as the Beaker Folk. And about 500-600 B. C. new people, the Celts appeared in Britain. They are supposed to have come from Central Europe. They came in three distinct waves. The first group was called Gaels. The second group was called Britonic Celts. And the third wave was Beagle.
In the course of centuries the Celts partly mixed with native population, partly killed it. They were skillful workers. They made things out of iron, bronze, clay and wood. They made money out of gold and silver. The society of Celts was organized in tribes each headed by a king or a chief. One Celtic tribe known as the Britons is thought to have given the name “Briton” to the country. The influence of Celts was greatest in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
Welsh is one of the Celtic languages, like Scottish and Irish Gaelic.
In England itself Celtic influence is felt to this day. There are place names connected with the Celts. For example, the Avon- the name of the river which means “water” in Celtic. The origin of the name of the river Severn is connected with the name of a Celtic goddess-Sabrina. The tradition to decorate homes during Christmas is also connected with the customs of Celts.
Celtic people were polytheistic. That means that they believed in many Gods. Some historians think that the Celts were governed by Druids. The Druids were very cruel people.
The greatest of them is Stonehenge in the South of England. It has stood on Salisbury Plain for about 4000 years. There have been many theories about its original use.
One theory is that it was a place from where stars and planets could be observed. It was discovered that movements of the sun and moon, so that the stones could be used as a calendar to predict such things as eclipses.
The other theory says that it was Druid temple.
Another interesting theory is that the great stone circle was used to store terrestrial energy which was then generated across the country, possibly through “ley lines”. A Ley line is the name given to invisible lines which link up ancient sights throughout Britain.