HISTORY
The Roman invasion of Britain in 55 BC and most of Britain's
subsequent incorporation into the Roman Empire stimulated development
and brought more active contacts with the rest of Europe. As
Rome's strength declined, the country again was exposed to invasion--including
the pivotal incursions of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in the
fifth and sixth centuries AD--up to the Norman conquest in 1066.
Norman rule effectively ensured Britain's safety from further
intrusions; certain institutions, which remain characteristic
of Britain, could develop. Among these are a political, administrative,
cultural, and economic center in London; a separate but established
church; a system of common law; distinctive and distinguished
university education; and representative government.
Union
Both Wales and Scotland were independent kingdoms that resisted English rule.
The English conquest of Wales succeeded in 1282 under Edward I, and the Statute
of Rhuddlan established English rule 2 years later. To appease the Welsh,
Edward's son (later Edward II), who had been born in Wales, was made Prince
of Wales in 1301. The tradition of bestowing this title on the eldest son
of the British Monarch continues today. An act of 1536 completed the political
and administrative union of England and Wales.
While maintaining separate parliaments, England and Scotland
were ruled under one crown beginning in 1603, when James VI of
Scotland succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I as James I of England.
In the ensuing 100 years, strong religious and political differences
divided the kingdoms. Finally, in 1707, England and Scotland
were unified as Great Britain, sharing a single Parliament at
Westminster.
Ireland's invasion by the Anglo-Normans in 1170 led to centuries
of strife. Successive English kings sought to conquer Ireland.
In the early 17th century, largescale settlement of the north
from Scotland and England began. After its defeat, Ireland was
subjected, with varying degrees of success, to control and regulation
by Britain.
The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was completed
on January 1, 1801, under the name of the United Kingdom. However,
armed struggle for independence continued sporadically into the
20th century. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 established the
Irish Free State, which subsequently left the Commonwealth and
became a republic after World War II. Six northern, predominantly
Protestant, Irish counties have remained part of the United Kingdom.
British Expansion and Empire
Begun initially to support William the Conqueror's (c. 1029-1087) holdings
in France, Britain's policy of active involvement in continental European
affairs endured for several hundred years. By the end of the 14th century,
foreign trade, originally based on wool exports to Europe, had emerged as
a cornerstone of national policy.
The foundations of sea power were gradually laid to protect
English trade and open up new routes. Defeat of the Spanish Armada
in 1588 firmly established England as a major sea power. Thereafter,
its interests outside Europe grew steadily. Attracted by the
spice trade, English mercantile interests spread first to the
Far East. In search of an alternate route to the Spice Islands,
John Cabot reached the North American continent in 1498. Sir
Walter Raleigh organized the first, short-lived colony in Virginia
in 1584, and permanent English settlement began in 1607 at Jamestown,
Virginia. During the next two centuries, Britain extended its
influence abroad and consolidated its political development at
home.
Great Britain's industrial revolution greatly strengthened its
ability to oppose Napoleonic France. By the end of the Napoleonic
Wars in 1815, the United Kingdom was the foremost European power,
and its navy ruled the seas. Peace in Europe allowed the British
to focus their interests on more remote parts of the world, and,
during this period, the British Empire reached its zenith. British
colonial expansion reached its height largely during the reign
of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Queen Victoria's reign witnessed
the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government
throughout the British Empire which, at its greatest extent,
encompassed roughly one-fifth to one-quarter of the world's area
and population. British colonies contributed to the United Kingdom's
extraordinary economic growth and strengthened its voice in world
affairs. Even as the United Kingdom extended its imperial reach
overseas, it continued to develop and broaden its democratic
institutions at home.
20th Century
By the time of Queen Victoria's death in 1901, other nations, including the
United States and Germany, had developed their own industries; the United
Kingdom's comparative economic advantage had lessened, and the ambitions
of its rivals had grown. The losses and destruction of World War I, the depression
of the 1930s, and decades of relatively slow growth eroded the United Kingdom's
preeminent international position of the previous century.
Britain's control over its empire loosened during the interwar
period. Ireland, with the exception of six northern counties,
gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1921. Nationalism
became stronger in other parts of the empire, particularly in
India and Egypt.
In 1926, the United Kingdom, completing a process begun a century
earlier, granted Australia, Canada, and New Zealand complete
autonomy within the empire. They became charter members of the
British Commonwealth of Nations (now known as the Commonwealth),
an informal but closely knit association that succeeded the empire.
Beginning with the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947,
the remainder of the British Empire was almost completely dismantled.
Today, most of Britain's former colonies belong to the Commonwealth,
almost all of them as independent members. There are, however,
13 former British colonies--including Bermuda, Gibraltar, the
Falkland Islands, and others--which have elected to continue
their political links with London and are known as United Kingdom
Overseas Territories.
Although often marked by economic and political nationalism,
the Commonwealth offers the United Kingdom a voice in matters
concerning many developing countries. In addition, the Commonwealth
helps preserve many institutions deriving from British experience
and models, such as parliamentary democracy, in those countries.
