The British Isles is a group of islands that are off the Northwest coast
of Europe. The British Isles contains Great Britain and Ireland, and around 6,000 other small islands surrounding it. The term Britain is used to
specifically refer to the largest island within the United Kingdom or to the
unit of England, Scotland and Wales.
The island of Great Britain has been inhabited by early humans for at
least 500,000 years. It is believed that these humans crossed a land bridge
from continental Europe at that time.
The word “Britain” is derived from the Celtic tribe, the Brythons.
A Greek merchant and explorer, Pytheas of Massilia, produced the first written record of the British Isles, having sailed around them between about 330 and 320 BC. The inhabitants, he said, were skilled wheat farmers, usually peaceable — but formidable in war with their horse-drawn chariots.
The Romans expanded their civilization to control southern Great Britain but were impeded in advancing any further, building Hadrian's Wall to mark the northern frontier of their empire in 122 AD.
The short-lived Britannic Empire began in 286 AD and lasted for ten years. Led by a breakaway Roman military commander, it included most of Britain and Northern Gaul, (now France) and ended when the Roman Emperor Constantius seized back control.
In 410 the first withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain was completed, as Rome found it could no longer defend the whole of its Empire. Once the Roman garrison had gone, there was nothing to stop the repeated raids on Britain, not only by Germanic tribes (Angles and Saxons) attacking from the South East, but also by the Irish from the West and the Picts from the North.
The newly arrived Angles and Saxons were pagan and were eliminating the Christian presence as they drove out the pre-existing population, the Celts. From about 450 onwards, the Saxons settled in the south, eventually establishing three Kingdoms: Essex, Sussex and Wessex. The Angles ventured much further and established three more kingdoms: Mercia (in the Midlands), East Anglia and Northumbria. A seventh kingdom existed in Kent. However Celtic Christianity clung on in the westernmost parts of Britain, where the invading tribes did not reach.
Vikings raided the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria on June 8, 793. The date is, commonly accepted as the beginning of the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England.
The word “Britain” is derived from the Celtic tribe, the Brythons.
A Greek merchant and explorer, Pytheas of Massilia, produced the first written record of the British Isles, having sailed around them between about 330 and 320 BC. The inhabitants, he said, were skilled wheat farmers, usually peaceable — but formidable in war with their horse-drawn chariots.
The Romans expanded their civilization to control southern Great Britain but were impeded in advancing any further, building Hadrian's Wall to mark the northern frontier of their empire in 122 AD.
The short-lived Britannic Empire began in 286 AD and lasted for ten years. Led by a breakaway Roman military commander, it included most of Britain and Northern Gaul, (now France) and ended when the Roman Emperor Constantius seized back control.
In 410 the first withdrawal of Roman troops from Britain was completed, as Rome found it could no longer defend the whole of its Empire. Once the Roman garrison had gone, there was nothing to stop the repeated raids on Britain, not only by Germanic tribes (Angles and Saxons) attacking from the South East, but also by the Irish from the West and the Picts from the North.
The newly arrived Angles and Saxons were pagan and were eliminating the Christian presence as they drove out the pre-existing population, the Celts. From about 450 onwards, the Saxons settled in the south, eventually establishing three Kingdoms: Essex, Sussex and Wessex. The Angles ventured much further and established three more kingdoms: Mercia (in the Midlands), East Anglia and Northumbria. A seventh kingdom existed in Kent. However Celtic Christianity clung on in the westernmost parts of Britain, where the invading tribes did not reach.
Vikings raided the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria on June 8, 793. The date is, commonly accepted as the beginning of the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England.
The use of the name Britain dates back to the time of Aristotle, however
the term Great Britain was not officially used until 1474 when a marriage
proposal between Edward IV of England's daughter, Cecily, and James IV of
Scotland was written.
The first person to use the word 'British' in a work of literature was William Shakespeare in King Lear.
The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. 1,400 troops under the command of Irish American Colonel William Tatelanded at Carregwastad Head near Fishguard in Wales on February 22, 1797. They were met by a group of around 500 British reservists, militia and sailors and quickly surrendered. It was the most recent effort by a foreign force that was able to land on Britain, and thus is often referred to as the "last invasion of Britain".
The USA was the first country to gain independence from the British Empire.
The 36 residents of the remotest part of the British Isles, the archipelago of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides, were evacuated in 1930 after finding life too isolated. The island is now a nature reserve, home to a colony of gannets.
The first person to use the word 'British' in a work of literature was William Shakespeare in King Lear.
The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. 1,400 troops under the command of Irish American Colonel William Tatelanded at Carregwastad Head near Fishguard in Wales on February 22, 1797. They were met by a group of around 500 British reservists, militia and sailors and quickly surrendered. It was the most recent effort by a foreign force that was able to land on Britain, and thus is often referred to as the "last invasion of Britain".
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| French forces landing at Carregwastad. From a lithograph first published in May 1797 |
The USA was the first country to gain independence from the British Empire.
The 36 residents of the remotest part of the British Isles, the archipelago of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides, were evacuated in 1930 after finding life too isolated. The island is now a nature reserve, home to a colony of gannets.
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| The St Kilda village street in 1886 |
The British Isles aren't just Britain! There are over 6,000 islands around them, but only 136 are actually inhabited.
The British Isles' shortest place name is I (the Gaelic for Iona).
British Isles pubs are known for their quirky names. Some real head-scratchers include the "Who Killed Cock Robin?" in Merseyside and the "Screw Micks Wine Bar" in Wales.
Only 22 of the world’s 193 countries have never been invaded by the British.
Sources About.com, Daily Mail
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