Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA 2011-12
LECTURE ONE
Introduction to the history of the British Isles
Main aspects of the history of the British Isles:
1. Insular character - determines the area s history and culture  on the other hand
communication by sea was faster than communication by land
2. Peripheral location as compared to the Mediterranean.
3. From about 700 BC until 1066  successive invasions and settlement of peoples from the
continent:
" 500,000  c. 8300 BC  Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
" c. 8300 BC  Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
" c. 4000 BC  Neolithic (New Stone Age)
" c. 2000 BC  Beaker folk (Bronze Age)
" c. 700 BC  Celts (Iron Age)
" c. 200 BC  Belgic tribes
" AD 43  The Romans
" AD 410  Germanic tribes (Anglo-Saxons)
" 8th-11th centuries  the Scandinavians
" AD 1066 (AD 1169 in Ireland)  the Normans
4. After 1066 the British Isles - relative civilizational isolation until the age of overseas
expansion.
5. The power of tradition
6. The sea as a way to maintain cultural (trade) contacts - THE MARITIME CULTURE
7. The sea as a barrier - delay of cultural impulses until the age of steam
8. Lowlands vs. Highlands  specific topography account for settlement patters - most
populated and politically significant has always been the southeast of the country (core
and periphery)  English models and dominance  England vs. Celtic fringe
9. Due to its location, the colonial expansion starts in the 16th century which leads to the
construction of the greatest empire in the world
10. Evolution rather than revolution of state structures - development of representative
institution - gradual limitation of monarch s rule.
11. Industrial revolution - world leader in trade and industry for many years - workshop of
the world
THE BRITISH ISLES  geographical concept
" archipelago consisting of over 6,600 islands
" two largest: Great Britain and Ireland
" no more than 75 miles to the sea from any place in the British Isles
THE BRITISH ISLES  political divisions in history
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA 2011-12
LECTURE ONE
Introduction to the history of the British Isles
" 1801  1922 - the only period of British history in which the whole archipelago was
united under single rule
" Do not confuse Great Britain with the United Kingdom:
o GREAT BRITAIN  the name of the largest island or a historical/cultural
concept
o UNITED KINGDOM  the official name of one of countries in the British
Isles
THE BRITISH ISLES  present-day political division
Four political entities:
1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2. Eire (the Republic of Ireland)
3. The Isle of Man
4. The Channel Islands (Bailiwick of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey)
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA 2011-12
LECTURE ONE
Introduction to the history of the British Isles
ETYMOLOGY
Britain
Herodotus (484-425 BC)
" The Histories (c. 440 BC)  Cassiterides  TIN ISLANDS
I cannot speak with assurance; for I do not believe that there is a river called by foreigners Eridanus
issuing into the northern sea, where our amber is said to come from, nor do I have any knowledge of
Tin Islands, where our tin is brought from.
Pytheas of Marseilles (4th cent BC)
" probably the first circumnavigator of the British Isles c. 330  320 BC
" wrote  On the Ocean which did not survive
" first mentions PRETTANIKE
Evolution of the name
Q-Celtic  Cruithne
P-Celtic  Priteni (today s Welsh Prydein)
Pytheas  Prettanike
Julius Ceasar (Gallic Wars) - Britannia
England  from the Angles who settled there in the 6th cent.; first mentions of England  8th century
Wales  Germanic Walh (foreigner) vs. Welsh Cymru (compatriots)
Scotland  from Scotia  first, medieval name for Ireland, then Gaelic-speaking Scotland
Roman names:
England - Britannia
Wales  Cambria
Scotland  Caledonia
Ireland  Hibernia
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