BBC History UK - The Story of Britain 2016

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

*... In the beginning. Early humans first came to Britain across a land bridge; the Romans came to invade by boat. But what happened in between? ONE OF THE MOST important questions in British archaeology today is also one of the most unanswerable: when, exactly, did the first humans arrive in these islands? Half-a-million years ago, the area we now understand as Britain and Ireland simply did not exist. * The Black Death. It came from the continent, killed many people, and helped bring about big changes in society. In 1346 rumours reached Europe of aterrible disease that was killing large numbers of people in Asia. The disease became known as the Black Death and killed many people right across Europe, Asia and Africa. * The Civil Wars. Crown vs. parliament, with three kingdoms as the prize... The term ‘English Civil War’ is a misleading one. This was not a single conflict between Charles I and his English parliament but a series of civil wars that had a major impact on all the countries ruled by the Stuart king – England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. * The British empire. Under Queen Victoria’s reign approximately 400 million people were added to the British empire – making it the largest in history. Many Victorians were convinced they should rule the world. The British empire covered a huge area of the globe, including Canada, India, Burma, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, vast areas of Africa and islands in the Pacific, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The British believed they had a duty to bring western technology, medicine, education and law to all these dif ferent par ts of the world. ...*