Chapter 3: A Long and Illustrious History

History is the largest part of the test. Use this timeline to fix the key dates, people and turning points in your memory.

Early Britain and the Romans

• Stonehenge was built in the Bronze Age.
• 43 AD: the Romans invaded and ruled for about 400 years. Emperor Hadrian built Hadrian's Wall.
• After the Romans came the Anglo-Saxons and then the Vikings.

The Norman Conquest — 1066

In 1066, William the Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings — the last successful foreign invasion of England.

The Middle Ages

• 1215: King John signed Magna Carta, limiting the monarch's power.
• The Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) ended when Henry Tudor became Henry VII.

Tudors and Stuarts

• Henry VIII created the Church of England.
• Elizabeth I defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588; Shakespeare wrote then.
• 1605: the Gunpowder Plot (Guy Fawkes) failed.
• 1688: the Glorious Revolution gave Parliament power over the monarch.

Union, empire and industry

• 1707: the Act of Union created Great Britain.
• The Industrial Revolution made Britain the first industrial nation.

The 20th century

• 1914–1918: First World War. 1939–1945: Second World War (Churchill led Britain).
• 1948: the NHS was founded.

Key dates to remember

• 1066 — Battle of Hastings · 1215 — Magna Carta · 1588 — Spanish Armada defeated · 1707 — Act of Union · 1948 — NHS founded