HSBC Country Guides

There is little known of the earliest inhabitants of Great Britain. The mysteries of their culture can be seen in structures such as Stonehenge.
The Romans invaded in 43 AD, bringing their advanced civilization to the island, and remained for almost 400 years. As Roman power declined, continual waves of invasions by Anglo Saxons, and Jutes continued to plague the area.
A series of fiefdoms arose, collectively known as “the English.” They contended with waves of invaders, including the Vikings and Danes, and eventually surrendered to William of Normandy, in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Normans brought French influence to the region.
Considered the cornerstone of British law, The Magna Carta was signed in 1215 by King John. It is widely considered to be the foundation of laws protecting the rights of subjects.
The Medieval period followed and with it, an era of political feudalism and invasions.
From the 1500s and through Tudor England and the Elizabethan era, the arts flourished with masters such as William Shakespeare. This was also a period of exploration of the world by explorers such as Sir Francis Drake. This led to the development of an intense rivalry with the Spanish, culminating in all-out war.
In the mid-1500s, Henry VIII split with the Catholic Church and began the Protestant Church of England.
Civil War ensued in 1642, but the monarchy was eventually restored in 1660. This was a period of tremendous expansion as England colonized the New World. In 1665, the Great Plague descended upon the country, and the next year the City of London burned.
During the 18th century, the UK saw political growth. The empire, however, was at war with the colonists in America under King George III’s rule.
The Industrial Revolution (late 18th century to early 19th century), marked by the birth of new technological advances, impacted Great Britain’s social and economic status. At the same time, the population and urbanization rapidly expanded, bringing with it the ills of modern industrial society.
The reign of Queen Victoria marked the apex of the British Empire and its world influence. Marked by political, seafaring and commercial power, it was also an age of enlightenment as ideas such as Darwinism, women’s suffrage and universal education came to the fore.
The first half of the 20th century saw the UK’s strength seriously depleted by its participation in two World Wars. In 1914, Great Britain entered the Great War with France against Germany.
In 1939, with the rise of Adolf Hitler and years of continuing international rivalries that climaxed with Germany’s invasion of Poland, Great Britain entered World War II. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the United States joined the war on the side of Britain. Through 1940 and 1941, the Blitz ensued, terrorizing Londoners and other city dwellers with unrelenting bombings of the civilian population. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered, and the war in Europe was over.
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher, a staunch conservative, was elected Britain’s first female prime minister and remained in power for a decade.
As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursued a global approach to foreign policy. It currently is weighing the degree of its future integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside of the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999.
In September 2001, following the terrorist attacks in the United States, the British government supported sending military forces into Afghanistan as a result of that country’s involvement in the terrorist attacks and its shielding Osama bin Laden. Under Tony Blair’s government, British troops joined the United States’ military action against Iraq in March 2003, an action that polarized the nation.
Over 50 people were killed and 700 injured in suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport network in July 2005.
In July 2005, the IRA announced an end to their armed campaign.
The first full-scale withdrawal of British troops from Iraq commenced in February 2007.
Gordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007.