Experimental Blog #65

Comments on "The Story of Britain" - From the Romans to the Present: A Narrative History by Rebecca Fraser

Rebecca Fraser begins her almost 800 page book on over 2000 years of the history of Britain with the Romans, and Julius Caesar, in particular. However, she goes on to say, not quite clearly or consistently, that Neolithic people had already arrived in Britain around 3000 BC, and that Bronze Age people arrived around 1900 BC; and either one or the other built "Stonehenge." Around 1000 BC came the Iron Age Celtic people. After the extensive Roman settlement, which lasted in excess of 400 years, came the Anglo-Saxon invasions; and then the Viking raids and invasions.

The Norman invasion was the last invasion of Britain and after the victory at the "Battle of Hastings" in 1066 AD William I became the first Norman and Angevin king of Britain. The last of these 7 kings was King John, who, in 1215, was forced by his nobles to accept the "Magna Carta", that somewhat limited the absolute rule of the King. However, the "Magna Carta" was frequently ignored by at least several subsequent monarchs. The 5 Plantagenet kings reigned from 1216 to 1399. Geoffrey Chaucer lived during this dynasty.
The Plantagenet dynasty, or House, was replaced by the Houses of Lancaster and York whose 6 kings reigned until 1485. The "Wars of the Roses" occurred between these 2 "Houses" in the last 30 years of this period. Then came the "House of Tudor" with 3 kings, including the Protestant Reformation king Henry VIII and his mostly tragic 6 wives, and 2 queens, ending with one of Britain's most famous monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I. William Shakespeare lived 10 years beyond the "House of Tudor" into the "House of Stuart".
The "House of Stuart" lasted from 1603 to 1714 with an 18 year interruption of the Civil War and Puritan Commonwealth and Protectorate, whose most remembered, but not only, historical figure was Oliver Cromwell. Samuel Pepys lived during this time and described the Great Plague, the London Fire, and the Restoration of Charles II in his diaries. The period of the "House of Stuart" also produced large numbers of people moving across the Atlantic Ocean to establish colonies in America. There were 5 kings and 2 queens in the "House of Stuart."

The "House of Hanover" had 5 kings, including 4 Georges, and 1 queen, and lasted from 1714 to 1901. This was a very revolutionary epoch in British and European history. Parliament became more and more powerful, and the dominating political party with its Prime Minister and other ministers took over more and more control of the government. At the end of the 19th century there seemed to be an almost overwhelming belief in social progress.

In the 20th century a great many things happened, of course, including, it seems, the apparent influence of sympathizers, imitators, and outright spies for fascists and Nazis on one side, and communists on the other side. Britain established the "welfare state", or "English Socialism," with its "cradle to grave security." However, in the 1980s along came Margaret Thatcher, who was a radically conservative Tory, but very popular nonetheless. As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher embarked on a furious campaign to root out from Britain all of this "English Socialism", Marxism, Leninism, Trotskyism. And she was remarkably successful, in spite of herself. For instance, she was known to say something like, "there is no society." Perhaps society sounded too much like socialism to her. However, Margaret Thatcher has since been replaced, and life continues to go on in its usual way, more or less, in Britain.