A Brief History of Britain: From Prehistory to the Roman Era
Britain’s Prehistory
Early Inhabitants
(About) 250,000 BC: The first evidence of human life is found in Britain.
50,000 BC: The ancestors of modern Britons arrived on the island.
5,000 BC: Britain finally became an island.
The Neolithic Period
3,000 BC: Neolithic people crossed the sea in small boats and arrived in Britain.
(After) 3,000 BC: Chalkland people started building great circles of earth banks and ditches. Inside them, they built wooden buildings and stone circles, which they called “Henges”.
“Henges” were centers of political, religious, and economic power of that time, with Stonehenge as the most impressive “Henge”.
Stonehenge was almost certainly a sort of capital, to which the chiefs of other groups came from all over Britain.
The Bronze Age
(After) 2400 BC: A group of round-headed and strongly built people arrived on the island; The Beaker people. They brought the technology to make bronze tools, in order to replace the ones made out of stone.
1,300 BC: The “Henge” civilization became less important and was overtaken by a new farming society.
The Celts
(Around) 700 BC: A new group began to arrive in Britain. They came from all over Europe and were known as “The Celts”
The Celts are important in British history because they’re the ancestors of many of the people in Highland Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Cornwall today. They introduced more advanced farming methods and are described as technically advanced, aware of their own identity, and very careful about cleanliness and neatness, among other things.
Celtic and Roman Period
(About) 500 BC: Trade with Europe declined and regional differences increased.
The Roman Conquest
55 BC: Julius Caesar briefly came to Britain. This would be the first approach of the Roman Empire with Britain.
AD 43: The Roman army occupied Britain.
AD 61: Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni, led her tribe against the Romans and nearly drove them out of Britain. However, she was defeated and killed.
AD 80: Romans introduced reading and writing to Britain through Latin.
The Saxon Invasion
AD 367: The Celts attacked Caledonia.
AD 409: The Romans pulled their last soldiers out of Britain.
AD 430: Germanic tribes began to settle in Britain.
AD 570: The Celts were pushed westwards and eventually to Wales.
AD 597: Monk Augustine came to England to re-establish Christianity.
AD 663: The Roman church was recognized by the king of Northumbria instead of the Celtic church.
(About) AD 757: King Offa claimed “kingship of England”.
The Vikings
AD 842: London was raided by the Vikings.
AD 865: The Vikings invaded Britain.
AD 886: Alfred recaptured London from the Vikings and they came to an agreement.
(About) AD 950: Danish Vikings raided Britain.
AD 1040: Edward “The Confessor” was named King of England.
AD 1066: Edward died and Harold Godwinson was named King by the Witan.
Harold defeated the Danes in Yorkshire, but the Normans, under the command of William, defeated and killed him. William was crowned King of England after London surrendered.
Timeline Summary
Britain became an island (5000 BC) – People arrived in boats, they are considered to be the forefathers, Stone Age (3000 BC) – the Beaker people, Bronze Age (2400 BC) – The Henge society was overtaken by a farming society (1300 BC) – The Celts arrived, Iron Age (700 BC).
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Which are the first pieces of evidence of human life found in Britain?
A few stone tools.
2. When did Britain become an island?
Around 5000 BC, Britain had finally become an island.
3. When did the New Stone Age start?
Around 3000 BC.
4. How did the new settlers come to Britain, and why are they important?
In small round boats of bent wood covered with animal skins. They are important because they may be the forefathers of the dark-haired inhabitants of Wales and Cornwall today.
5. What’s a Henge?
Henges were centers of religious, political, and economic power.
6. Why was Stonehenge considered a sort of capital?
Because it was almost certainly a sort of capital to which the chiefs of other groups came from all over Britain.
7. Describe the Beaker people.
They were round-headed and strongly built, taller than Neolithic Britons, and came from Europe.
8. When did the Henge civilization become less important?
Around 1300 BC.
9. Why did the Henge civilization become less important?
Because it was overtaken by a new form of society in southern England.
10. When did the Celts arrive in Britain?
Around 700 BC.
11. When did the Iron Age begin?
Around 700 BC because the Celts knew how to work with iron.
12. Why is the Celtic civilization important in Britain’s history?
Because they’re the ancestors of many of the people in Highland Scotland.
13. Describe the Celts.
Celts were tall and had fair or red hair and blue eyes. Besides, Celts were organized and very intelligent.
14. Who was Boudicca?
Boudicca was a woman. She was the most powerful Celtic queen.
15. What’s the most obvious characteristic of Roman Britain?
Its towns.
16. How did the Romans use towns?
They were the basis of Roman administration and civilization.
17. How many kinds of towns were there in Roman Britain?
There were three different kinds of towns in Roman Britain: the coloniae, the municipia, and the civitas.
18. How many towns did the Romans leave?
The Romans left about twenty large towns of about 5,000 inhabitants and almost one hundred smaller ones.
19. What does “castra” mean?
The Latin word for camp.
20. How did the Romans build their towns?
These towns were built with stone as well as wood and had planned streets, markets, and shops.
21. What was the Roman Britain capital city?
It was London.
22. What are villas?
The biggest change during the Roman occupation was the growth of large farms called villas.
23. Why were villas close to towns?
So that the crops could be sold easily.
24. How long did the Romano-Britons live?
There was a growing difference between the rich and those who did the actual work on the land. These and most people still lived in the same kind of round huts and villages which the Celts had been living in four hundred years earlier when the Romans arrived.