- •What great monuments of prehistory still exist in the British Isles?
- •What are the mysteries of Stonehenge?
- •When did the Celts arrive in Britain? What Celtic tribes do you know? Where did they settle?
- •What were the Celts like? How did they organize their family life? What gods did they worship? Who were the Druids? What functions were performed by them?
- •What Celtic languages are still spoken in the British Isles? What is the most flourishing Celtic language today? What are its peculiarities?
- •What historical events are these dates associated with? 55 bc, 54 bc, 43 ad, 410 When and why did the Romans leave Britain?
- •What event in the history of Britain is associated with the Iceni people and their queen? How did the Romans try to defend themselves against the Celtic tribes?
- •What is the most spectacular memorial of the Roman presence in Britain?
- •What did the Romans introduce in the life of the ancient islanders? What languages were spoken in Roman Britain?
- •What Germanic tribes invaded Britain from the Continent in the 5th century?
- •What do you know about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table? What was Merlin famous for?
- •When was Britain converted into Christianity? Why does the tradition of visiting Canterbury Cathedral continue to this day? How did the new faith influence the life of the Anglo-Saxons?
- •Which of the Anglo-Saxon kings deserved the title of ‘Great’? What were his great accomplishments?
- •What languages were spoken in Anglo-Saxon Britain? What is the great mythological poem written in the West Saxon dialect of Old English? What is it about?
- •When did the Scandinavian invasion begin? Who were the Vikings?
- •How did the Viking rule in Britain affect the life of the islanders?
- •Who was the Anglo-Saxon king before the Norman Conquest? What were the reasons for the Norman invasion?
- •Why were the English forces defeated in the Battle of Hastings? Why is it said that the Battle of Hastings changed the course of English history?
- •What marks the place of the Battle of Hastings?
- •What do you know about William the Conqueror?
- •What did the Normans do to make themselves safe in the new lands?
- •What are some famous castles in Britain? What do you know about them?
- •What is ‘Domesday Book’? What was it written for?
- •What languages were spoken in Norman Britain?
- •What were the most important political, economic and cultural changes after the Norman Conquest?
- •Who was the first Plantagenet King? Why was Thomas Becket murdered? How did the Christian world react to Becket’s martyrdom?
- •What role did Geoffrey Chaucer play for the development of the English language? What languages were books written in before Chaucer in England?
- •What do you know about the Magna Carta?
- •How did King Edward I manage to impose English rule on Wales? What is Caernarfon Castle famous for?
- •What were the reasons for the War of the Roses? Who gave the war its name?
- •Characterise Henry VIII as a man and as a king
- •Why did the English people dislike Queen Mary I?
- •What is the Renaissance? When did it begin in Britain? What spheres of life did the Renaissance influence?
- •Why was the reign of Queen Elizabeth I called ‘the Golden Age’? What were the prominent writers, poets, painters, philosophers and scientists of that period?
- •Why did Elizabeth support many English seamen that caused trouble to Spanish ships? Who were the most famous seamen of the time?
- •What were the reasons and the results of the sea battle between the Armada and the English fleet?
- •What were the reasons for the conflict of the Stuarts with the Parliament?
- •How did the Civil War develop and end? What was King Charles I accused and found guilty of? What was his execution like?
- •What social groups supported Oliver Cromwell? What new kind of army did he create? How did o. Cromwell govern the country?
- •Why did Scotland agree to the union with England in 1707? What was the new official name of the united state?
- •What military heroes glorified Great Britain in the Napoleonic Wars?
- •Why was colonizing foreign lands important? What colonies did Britain have in North America, in the West Indies and India?
- •What did the British government and the American colonies quarrel over? When did the American War of Independence begin? What was the result of the war?
- •What new ideas did the War of Independence bring? What were the revolutionary changes in art in the 18th century?
- •What is the Industrial Revolution? Why did it begin in Britain? What branches of industry were progressing in the 18th century?
- •What new social classes appeared in the 18th century? What caused social unrest in the country? What do you know about Chartism?
- •What disasters did Ireland suffer in 1845, 1846 and 1847? What country did many Irish emigrate to?
- •What were the greatest cultural achievements of the Victorian Age?
- •What moral values are called ‘Victorian’?
- •When did the Windsor family come to power? What important events of the 20th and 21st century did they witness?
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What military heroes glorified Great Britain in the Napoleonic Wars?
• Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington. This is the man who defeated the French in India and then the Peninsula, before he was glorified in the final defeat of the Emperor at Waterloo
• Horatio Nelson, Admiral. Nelson was the national hero of England. People loved the Navy, and Nelson was it's darling. He was the man who destroyed the navy of France and Spain several times, before his most famous victory, Trafalgar - he also died there.
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Why was colonizing foreign lands important? What colonies did Britain have in North America, in the West Indies and India?
Primarily, nations established colonies to gain economic profits. Nations depended on their colonies for raw materials to be used in their factories so that they could produce a growing number of manufactured goods. They then hoped to sell the manufactured goods to their colonies, which served as new markets. European powers rivalled, establishing more and more military and naval outposts overseas. There were many reasons for ordinary people to leave their homes and settle in the colonies: many sought riches and opportunities, many were religious dissidents such as Puritans seeking freedom of worship. Beginning in early 17th century, Britain established a line of colonies in North America. These colonies became independent in 1776 as the United States, but Britain retained Canada and the West Indies (territories in the Caribbean such as Jamaica and Bahamas). India, with its huge population and vast natural resources, was indeed the 'jewel in the crown of the British Empire'. Australia, New Guinea and New Zealand were also colonized. By 1900s, Britain also managed to build another continuous line of colonies across Africa, from Egypt to South Africa.
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What did the British government and the American colonies quarrel over? When did the American War of Independence begin? What was the result of the war?
In the mid 18th century 13 American colonies objected to the taxation imposed on them by the British parliament. Their resentment was expressed in the Boston Massacre in 1770 which was a confrontation between British troops and a crowd in Boston.
And the Boston Tea Party 1773 the distraction of imported tea in the harbor at Boston. In 1775 the American revolution broke out, resulting in the declaration of the 13 American colonies and independent nation, the USA. George Washington was the first American president.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was the military component of the American Revolution. It was fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within the 13 British colonies in North America who declared their independence with the Declaration of Independence as theUnited States of America early in the war. The war began largely as a colonial revolt against the mercantile and economic policies of the British Empire, and eventually widened far beyond British North America, with France, Spain, and the Netherlands entering the war against Great Britain. Additionally, many Native Americans in the United States fought on both sides of the conflict.
Throughout the war, the British were able to use their naval superiority to capture and occupy coastal cities, but control of the countryside and most of the population was unavailable for them. French involvement proved decisive, with a naval battle for control of Chesapeake Bay leading to the surrender of a British army at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia in 1781. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 recognized the independence of the United States.