United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Editor's Notes

1. Cadbury World is a one-way self-guided tour. Cadbury World opened on 14 August 1990, on Cadbury's Bournville manufacturing site, and has expanded and developed its content through 'continuous improvement'. Cadbury World has gone on to become one of Birmingham's largest leisure attractions - welcoming over 500,000 visitors each year, and delivering a respected education programme (linking back directly to the educational advancements and interests of the company's original founding fathers). Whilst not a factory tour, Cadbury World offers its visitors the opportunity to explore and discover chocolate's history, to learn about the origins and story of the Cadbury business - one of the world's largest confectionery manufacturers.
2. One of the most beautifully located fortresses in England. For over 600 years Dartmouth Castle has guarded the narrow entrance to the Dart Estuary and the busy, vibrant port of Dartmouth. It offers stunning views of the estuary and out to sea and offers a great family day out, whatever the weather. 
3. Dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World by some, the Eden Project is a dramatic global garden housed in tropical biomes that nestle in a crater the size of 30 football pitches.
4. The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. Also known as the Millennium Wheel, its official name was originally the British Airways London Eye, then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye, and since January 2011, the EDF Energy London Eye.
5. Escape the crowds and discover London from the river Thames on a relaxing river cruise. With its richh istory and iconic landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge, it’s a great way to see London from a different perspective.
6. Windsor Castle is situated above the River Thames on a hill and has a royal history that dates back over 900 years. Monarchs have continuously made Windsor Castle their home right back to William the Conqueror up to the present day with Queen Elizabeth II. At Windsor Castle, the largest continuously occupied castle in the world, you will be able to view the famous Queen Marys Doll House, the state apartments, view the royal collections, and St. George's Chapel. Windsor is also famous for its traditional shops, market and pubs. If you do not wish to visit the castle Eton College is just a walk away across the bridge, which has had many famous students including Prince William, Prince Harry and many others including David Cameron. You can also wander around the town, view the castle from the outside and take the leisurely river cruise.
7. Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio Tour, the most successful film series of all time and has been enchanting people for over a decade. Now you can see where it all began and how it all happened. Here you will discover the magic behind spellbinding special effects and the tour will takes you behind the scenes of the Harry Potter films.
8. Madame Tussauds is a museum that contains wax models of famous people. There are numerous galleries such as Pirates of the Caribbean, World leaders, Warhol's women The Royal Family, Sports Stars, the Culture zone and the History of London.
9. A world class entertainment venue under one iconic roof that’s split into 5 areas; The O2 arena, indigO2, the British Music Experience, Live Quarter & London Piazza. Within you’ll find the best in live entertainment, from music & comedy, to family shows & sports for a diverse day out with the kids, family or friends. The O2 also hosts shows outside the tent in Meridian Gardens & the uniquely designed Peninsular Square.
10. Scotney Castle is an English country house with formal gardens south-east of Lamberhurst in the valley of the River Bewl in Kent, England. It belongs to the National Trust.
11. The National Gallery in London is home to one of the greatest collections of western European painting in the world. More than 2300 paintings embrace the years between 1250 and 1900. The entire collection is on display in four wings on the main floor where they are arranged by period: 1250-1500, 1500-1600, 1600-1700, and 1700-1900. In addition paintings are displayed on a lower floor. To help the visitor manage the large number of paintings and galleries, various trails and audio guides are provided. 
12. This tour will have you visiting Britain's most famous universities, acknowledged worldwide for its infamous standards set for their students and for the exceptional skill level which their students leave with when they graduate. During your tour in oxford you will generally gravitate to the universities and spend the majority of our time around the universities.
13. At the Houses of Parliament, London. A famous landmark. The clock tower was completed in 1859. The clock mechanism weighs 5 tons, and the dials are 23-ft (7m) in diameter. 
14. Blenheim Palace Famous as the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, it houses an exhibition on his life. The home was built between 1705-1722 in the baroque style. There’s a Great Hall, staterooms, Long Library, and a collection of paintings, furniture, and tapestries. Extensive grounds landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown. Restaurants, cafeterias. 
15. On arrival at Bath, you will be enthrauled by two eras in England's past, the Roman and Georgian periods.Here you will be able to see the Roman Baths with their natural hot springs, the Pump House, Abbey and beautiful Pulteney Bridge. Today Bath is a thriving city, and a haven for shoppers, with shops ranging from Antique shops to designer shops. Other places of interest are the Jane Austin Center and the elegant Assembly Rooms built in 1771.
16. Buckingham Palace is the London residence and principal workplace of the monarchy of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality.
17. York Minster is a cathedral in York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.
18. A Cathedral inspired by English Gothic architecture, Canterbury Cathedral is a big attraction. The wealth of Canterbury Cathedral was bought in by the visiting pilgrims, who were made famous by Chaucer in his book Canterbury Tales. The Cathedral still dominates the sky line of Canterbury today. Medieval pilgrims used to visit Canterbury to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket, The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 and historians still debate the involvement of Henry II. There are many tombs of famous people that you will be able to see such as Henry IV and The Black Prince (Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales). Step back in history as you walk around the Cathedral.
19.  The British Isles is a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe. They are bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, the Celtic Sea, St. George’s Channel, the Irish Sea and Ireland. to the north . . . the North Sea, to the south, the English Channel
20. United Kingdom, island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. The United Kingdom comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain—which containsEngland, Wales, and Scotland—as well as the northern portion of the island of Ireland. The name Britain is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. The capital isLondon, which is among the world’s leading commercial, financial, and cultural centres. Other major cities include Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester in England, Belfast andLondonderry in Northern Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Swansea andCardiff in Wales.
21. London is the capital city of England  and of the UK. London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. London is a world cultural capital. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe
22.  two legislative houses (House of Lords [7601]; House of Commons [650])
23. ELIZABETH II: 89 yrs old. King George VI, na may speech defect na pinanood natin sa Kings Speech 1952 pa siya nanunungkulan until now bali 63 yrs of reign DAVID CAMERON: si Gordon brown ang sinundan niyang prime minister. 43 yrs old, 2010 naging prime minister siya hanggang ngayon. Siya ang tinuturing na pinakabatang prime minsiter.
24. The United Kingdom is comprised of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  The terms 'English' and 'British' do not mean the same thing. 'British' denotes someone who is from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 'English' refers to people from England. People from Scotland are 'Scots', from Wales ‘Welsh’ and from Northern Ireland ‘Irish’. Be sure not to call someone Welsh, Scots, or Northern Irish ‘English’. 63,047,162
25. Was it a spiritual temple, burial ground or even built by aliens? There are many theories about Stonehenge's purpose but here are the most popular ones. 1. Giant concert venues A university professor with an expertise in sound (and who also happened to be a part-time DJ) said that he believed Stonehenge was created as a dance arena for listening to "trance-style" music. Rupert Till said that the standing stones had the ideal acoustics to amplify a "repetitive trance rhythm". He used a computer model to conduct experiments in sound, which he said revealed that the 5,000 year old monument may have been used for ancient raves. 2. Earlier this year archaeologists found that Stonehenge could have been a graveyard for a community of elite families. The British team analysed the ancient remains of 63 bodies buried around Stonehenge, finding that the first monument was originally a graveyard for a community of elite families, whose remains were brought to Stonehenge and buried over a period of more than 200 years. However the team also discovered that the earliest burials long predate the monument in its current form. 3. n 2008 archaeologists Geoffrey Wainwright and Timothy Darvill said that there was evidence Stonehenge had been sought after by pilgrims for its healing properties. They said that ancient chipping of the rocks helped to indicate that Stonehenge was the equivalent of Lourdes, a French commune framed for its supposed miraculous healing powers. Wainwright and Darvill said that the state of skeletons which had been recovered from the area around Stonehenge, showed that many people were ailing when they went to the stone circle. 4. Researchers from the University College London claimed that Stonehenge was built as part of an annual winter solstice ritual which resembled "Glastonbury festival and a motorway building scheme at the same time". As many as 4,000 people may have gathered at the site each year, when the entire population numbered only tens of thousands. Tests on remains found at the site revealed that people came to the site from as far as the Scottish Highlands at the same time every year to feast, and built the monument together. 5. In 1963 astronomer Gerald Hawkins proposed the theory that Stonehenge was a computer for predicting eclipses of the sun and moon. He identified 165 key points in the Stonehenge complex and found that many of them very strongly correlated with the rising and setting positions of the sun and moon. Stonehenge has long been studied for its connections with ancient astronomy. Some Archaeoastronomers have claimed that Stonehenge represents an "ancient observatory," Stonehenge has become an increasingly popular place for people to celebrate the summer solstice. However in 2005 findings indicated that our ancestors visited Stonehenge to celebrate the winter solstice. 6. In 2003 a researcher at the University of British Columbia said that Stonehenge was, in fact, an ancient sex symbol constructed to look like the female sexual organ. Anthony Perks said: "Stonehenge could represent, symbolically, the opening by which Earth Mother gave birth to the plants and animals on which the ancient people so depended." 7. Swiss author Erich von Däniken claimed in his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods? that the technologies and religions of many ancient civilisations were given to them by extraterrestrials. This influenced the building of Stonehenge as well as the Egyptian pyramids and Easter Island. On his website Vin Daniken calls himself the "world's most successful non-fiction writer of all time". Others may disagree but he has sold over 65 million copies of his books worldwide. 8. Many believed that Stonehenge was a Druid temple in the 17th and 18th centuries after antiquary John Aubrey first proposed the theory. According to English Heritage he surveyed Stonehenge in the late 17th century, and his studies of stone circles in other parts of Britain led him to conclude that they were built by the native inhabitants. Since the Druids were the only prehistoric British priests mentioned in the classical texts, he attributed Stonehenge to the Druids. It is now much more likely that Stonehenge predated the Druids by hundreds of years.
26. Cornwall, southwest part of England
27. The name is probably Celtic and derives from a word meaning 'white'; this is usually assumed to be a reference to the famous white Cliffs of Dover, which any new arrival to the country by sea can hardly miss. The first mention of the island was by the Greek navigator Pytheas, who explored the island's coastline, c. 325 BCE. He made a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe in about 325 BC, but his description of it, widely known in Antiquity, has not survived.
28. Before Roman occupation the island was inhabited by a diverse number of tribes that are generally believed to be of Celtic origin, collectively known as Britons. The Romans knew the island as Britannia.
29. Boudicca was the Celtic Queen of the Iceni tribe of modern-day East Anglia, Britain, who led a revolt againstRome in 60/61 CE. The Iceni King, Prasutagus, an independent ally of Rome, divided his estate between his daughters and King Nero of Rome. When Prasutagus died, however, his lands were taken by Rome and the Iceni lost their status as allies. When his wife, Boudicca, objected to this action she was flogged and her two daughters raped. She mounted a revolt against Rome which left the ancient Roman cities of Camulodunum, Londinium and Verulamium in ruins and over 80,000 Roman citizens of Britain dead. She was defeated at theBattle of Watling Street by the Roman Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus chiefly by his judicious choice of battlefield and allowing her army to cut off its own escape route by encircling their rear with their wagons, animals and families. Boudicca is said to have committed suicide by poisoning herself after her defeat. The primary sources of the story of Boudicca's revolt are the Roman historians, Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-117 CE) and Cassius Dio (150-235 CE). These two offer different versions of the story in that Tacitus claims the revolt sprang from the ill treatment of the Iceni following Prasutagus' death while Dio writes that the cause of the uprising was a dispute over a loan.
30. At the end of the 4th century CE, the Roman presence in Britain was threatened by "barbarian" forces. The Picts (from present-day Scotland) and the Scoti (from Ireland) were raiding the coast, while the Saxons and the Angles from northern Germany were invading southern and eastern Britain. By 410 CE the Roman army had withdrawn. After struggles with the Britons, the Angles and the Saxons emerged as victors and established themselves as rulers in much of Britain during the Dark Ages (c. 450 - c. 800 CE). Give the Soouth Britan: ENGLAND
31. The different tribes start fighting among themselves and that allows the Saxons to win. King Arthur leads the Celtic Britons in a fight against the Angles and Saxons. The British believe he’s sleeping and will be back when Britain is in danger.
32. The battle of Hastings was a battle between King harold of England and William the Conqueror, the duke of Normandy
33. Harold’s men were exhausted so that they return to London. Harold needed reinforcements, supplies and fighting men. Harold called for volunteers
34. William Conqueror’s army land on the Pevensey bay.
35. William knew that harold would not waste time in trying to relieve his previous earldom. October 14, 1066- harold was able to take William by surprise. The Normans were in countyrside scouring for food. However, for William to deploy his troops.
36. William unable to penetrate Harold’s shield wall.
37. Knowing that resistance was futile. During his term of office
38. London’s population grow to 30,000
39. Purposely killed by his brother
40. They tell Henry that if he wants the crown, he has to guarantee he will protect their liberties. These include ending the plunder of the church and affirming that the church is free; ending the King's unlimited financial demands on his barons; and restoring the law of King Edward with all its rights and liberties. The principle that no one – not a king, not a president or prime minister – is above the law is essential to the freedom and happiness of people today. (this principle start form the reign of henry I) Last king that is from house of Normandy
41. To spread his teachings Unlike most councils this one has an effect. (Council of Westminster) probably because slavers in that century were afraid of one thing: Excommunication and the damnation of their immortal souls should they violate the ruling.
42. London’s Charter- the rights of the citizens of London to appoint their own sheriffs and judges, to limit their taxes, to arrange their own lands, pledges, and debts, to transport their goods free of tolls; and to be free of having soldiers billeted on them. Henry does this because Londoners had leverage – he wanted them to support his daughter Matilda’s right to inherit the throne.
43. she loses the support of Londoners by refusing to acknowledge their charter of liberties. That’s why she is forced to flee to Oxford where she was besieged by Stephen, who had escaped captivity in Lincoln. There’s a peace negotiation
44. The people of England are relieved as foreign mercenaries are sent packing and their castles are razed.
45. but Henry II is an administrative genius, and he aims to end the violence and consolidate his power.
46. Henry’s Grand Juries act as witnesses, and decide whether there is validity to a charge and a person ought to be brought to trial for a criminal act. The Grand Jury’s radical ability to protect freedom arises because it is locally based and knows the facts on the ground. It determines from the evidence whether there are any grounds for a trial in the first place. The Grand Jury will evolve into a great shield protecting the innocent – trial by jury. Hindi lahat sumang- ayon sa ginawa ni Henry II na constitution of Calrendon kaya nakalaban niya si Thomas Becket, Archnishop of Canterbury
47. Their struggle is fierce. Now he (Henry II) wants to control the Church by trying "criminous" priests and monks in his courts if they have not been convicted in the ecclesiastical courts. Becket resists. He (Becket) does not want a king interfering with what he believes is the church's business. He (Becket) is harassed. His life is threatened. He flees to the continent, where he stubbornly refuses to agree despite the urgings of the Pope. Henry is threatened with an interdict, he agrees to back down, but he is livid with anger. Becket returns, but doubts that Henry will honour his word.
48. he was known as richard the lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader or warrior. Lionhearted mean very brave. John succeeded to throne after his nine years reign.
49. Brother of Richard the lionheart
50. To those who know him John is violent, arrogant, greedy, treacherous, lecherous, and hyper-active. He murders his nephew, crushes rebellions in Ireland and Wales and forces the ill Scottish King to support him or lose his throne. He demands heavy scutage (a form of tax) from his English barons, and uses the money to buy mercenaries, and raze his barons' castles. He is constantly demanding pay-offs, holds their children hostage, and assaults their wives and daughters. He is what you might call an equal-opportunity oppressor, and that is his big mistake. England is placed under an interdict, which means no one can be baptised, married, or buried in church, and John is excommunicated. Stephen becomes a mediator between barons and King Stephen is inspired by three great previous archbishops who defied kings and established peace – Anselm, Theobald, and Thomas à Becket.
51. when the French barons rose up against King John’s misrule and forced the English out. to fight the French had made the King unpopular
52. Henry I, John's great-grandfather, had introduced a charter when he became king promising fairer laws for all English citizens but the promises made in Henry's charter were now being ignored by King John. In early 1215 the King promised to meet the barons but kept delaying the meeting. The barons forced the King to meet them at Runnymede on the river Thames. Although John signed the document he was soon to find a way to absolve himself from its commitments. Several copies of the document were made and sent to places of safety around the country.
53. The Pope annulled the charter on the grounds that the King only signed it because he was forced to and that the document was illegal. The Pope excommunicated the barons also served an Interdict on London, forbidding burials to take place. After the Magna Carta was annulled and it was clear that John was not going to agree to the terms of the charter the civil war between King John and the rebel barons started.
54. In response King John began to confiscate the barons' lands and properties.
55. This left the way open for Prince Louis to sail to England a few days later.
56. King John used Corfe Castle in the south-west as his base of operations while he planned his campaign against the rebel barons and Prince Louis.
57. Henry III was crowned king at the age of nine. England is ruled temporarily by two regents, Hubert de Burgh and William Marshal. The defeat of the French fleet left Prince Louis without much hope of taking the English throne. Louis waived his claim to the throne of England and should have restored Normandy to Henry but did not. Louis was paid 10,000 marks to ensure he left the country as soon as possible. William Marshall pardoned all those who had supported Louis.
58. many members of her family and of the French court came to England with her.
59. This resulted in starvation for the country's poor and reduced taxes for the king. The Pope offered the Sicilian crown for Henry's youngest son Edmund. The Pope wanted to add Sicily to the papal dominions.
60. but the country's future was more important to the Earl than his friendship with the king. the barons showed Henry that he had no choice but to reform the way the country was being run. The fifteen were selected by a committee of four, two from the barons and two from the king.
61. These lands has been lost to King John. Henry was allowed to keep lands in Gascony and Aquitaine as long as he accepted the French king as his overlord in these areas. In return King Louis promised to assist Henry in the fight against the barons. The Pope agreed that the Provisions of Oxford were illegal as Henry had been forced to sign the documents.
62. His objective was to regain the absolute power that the Barons had taken away.
63. The barons wanted to limit Henry's power and to sort out his finances which were a drain of the barons' resources. The cause was led by Simon de Montfort.
64. Prince Edward was the future king of england Edward finds that Henry is trapped in the priory and gives himself up in exchange for his father's release.
65. Although small pockets of resistance remained, the rebellion was over and King Henry again took control of the country.
66. Edward I calls Parliament into session because he needs money. In this Parliament, each county sends two knights of the shire to represent it, and each borough sends two burgesses. Sending two representatives become settled practice, which is why the Parliament becomes known as the "Model“ Edward I orders his barons and earls to bring their men and fight for him in France. They boldly refuse to sail. Instead they ride into London, demanding that the King respect Magna Carta, recognise the liberties of clergy and people, and lower taxes. Edward returns, and agrees at the Parliament held in Lincoln to two principles which have far-reaching consequences: The King has no right to demand that Brits fight whenever and wherever he chooses. The King can no longer plead 'urgent necessity' as a reason for imposing taxation without consent. In future, Parliament will have to agree to taxes.
67. Barons who attempted to restrict his powerthrough the ordinances of 1311.
68. When Robert the Bruce gained victory over the English forces. And Scotland finally regained independence which lasted for the next 300 years. Some believe that she and her lover, Roger de Mortimer murdered Edward.
69. To separate the “commoners” who were representatives of the towns and shires in the House of commons.
70. When Edward III laid claim to the French throne.
71. According to the scientist, the flea is not responsible for the black death. It’s airborne. Once the disease reached the lungs of the malnourished, it was then spread to the wider population through sneezes and coughs. death was often very quick for the weaker victims. It symptoms were described in 1348 by a man called Boccaccio who lived in Florence, Italy: “The first signs of the plague were lumps in the groin or armpits. After this, livid black spots appeared on the arms and thighs and other parts of the body. Few recovered. Almost all died within three days, usually without any fever.” In towns and cities people lived very close together and they knew nothing about contagious diseases. the disposal of bodies was very crude and helped to spread the disease still further as those who handled the dead bodies did not protect themselves in any way.
72. Fields went deserted as the men who usually did this were victims of the disease. Harvests would not have been brought in as the manpower did not exist. The whole village was faced starvation. One consequence of the Black Death was inflation – the price of food went up creating more hardship for the poor. In some parts of England, food prices went up by four times.
73. Therefore, they took the opportunity offered by the disease to improve their lifestyle. they knew that a lord was desperate to get in his harvest. So the government faced the prospect of peasants leaving their villages to find a better ‘deal’ from a lord thus upsetting the whole idea of the Feudal System which had been introduced to tie peasants to the land. Statute of Labourers in 1351 that stated: No peasants could be paid more than the wages paid in 1346. No lord or master should offer more wages than paid in 1346. No peasants could leave the village they belonged to.
74. Led to many of his bibles being burned
75. John Gaunt is the regent or acting king of England while Richard II is 14 years old.
76. The young richard stepped into appease the rebels and they returned home, but feelings him still ran high. He reigned in conflict with parliament. They executed some of his associates and executed some of his opposing barons. Who the rebels looked to for fair treatment and justice. He was put to jailed and died.
77. Life expectancy was just 35 years old
78. Fought between the Houses of Lancaster and York for the English throne. Both houses claimed the throne through descent from the sons of Edward III.
79. One of the king who ruled twice.
80. Henry VII raised a rebellion against him because of Richard III is allegedly killed his nephew edward V on tower of London. Tudor dynasty lasted until 1603.
81. The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarch) into a single, united kingdom named "Great Britain".[2]
82. The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarch) into a single, united kingdom named "Great Britain".[2] The two countries had shared a monarch since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne from hisdouble first cousin twice removed, Queen Elizabeth I. Although described as a Union of Crowns, until 1707 there were in fact two separate Crowns resting on the same head (as opposed to the implied creation of a single Crown and a single Kingdom, exemplified by the later Kingdom of Great Britain). There had been three attempts in 1606, 1667, and 1689 to unite the two countries by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early 18th century that both political establishments came to support the idea, albeit for different reasons. The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707. On this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament.[3]Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments. On the Union, the historian Simon Schama said "What began as a hostile merger, would end in a full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world ... it was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history."[4]
83. Queen Anne, who was reigning at the time of the union, had favoured deeper political integration between the two kingdoms and became the first monarch ofGreat Britain. The union was valuable to England's security because Scotland relinquished first, the right to choose a different monarch on Anne's death and second, the right to independently ally with a European power, which could then use Scotland as a base for the invasion of England.
84. Although now a single kingdom, certain aspects of the former independent kingdoms remained separate, as agreed in the terms in the Treaty of Union. Scottish and English law remained separate, as did the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Anglican Church of England. England and Scotland also continued to each have its own system of education. The creation of Great Britain happened during the War of the Spanish Succession, in which just before his death in 1702 William III had reactivated the Grand Alliance against France. His successor, Anne, continued the war. The Duke of Marlborough won a series of brilliant victories over the French, England's first major battlefield successes on the Continent since the Hundred Years War. France was nearly brought to its knees by 1709, when King Louis XIV made a desperate appeal to the French people. Afterwards, his general Marshal Villars managed to turn the tide in favour of France. A more peace-minded government came to power in Great Britain, and the treaties of Utrecht and Rastadt in 1713–1714 ended the war.
85. George was born in Hanover and inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime, and in 1708 he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover. At the age of 54, after the death of Queen Anne of Great Britain, George ascended the British throne as the first monarch of the House of Hanover. In reaction, Jacobites attempted to depose George and replace him with Anne's Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, but their attempts failed.
86. The Seven Years' War was fought between 1755 and 1764, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved most of the great powers of the time and affected Europe, North America, Central America, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. Considered as the greatest European war since the Thirty Years War of the 17th-century, it once again split Europe into two coalitions, each led by Great Britain and France, respectively. For the first time, aiming to curtail Britain and Prussia's ever-growing power, France formed a grand coalition of her own.
87. The maritime and colonial war proved a triumph for Britain, a reflection of the strength of the British navy–itself the product of the wealth of Britain’s expanding colonial economy and the strength of British public finances. The French planned an invasion of Britain, but their fleet was badly battered in defeats in 1759 at Lagos off Portugal (August 19-28) and Quiberon Bay off Brittany (November 20). These naval victories enabled Britain to make colonial conquests: Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), and Montreal (1760) in North America; Guadeloupe (1759), Martinique (1762), and Havana (1762) in the West Indies; Manila (1762); and the French bases in West Africa. The British also prevailed in India, capturing the major French base, Pondicherry, in 1761. These campaigns around the globe demonstrated and sustained the range of British power. The war in Europe began in 1756 when Frederick II invaded Austria’s ally Saxony in order to deny a base for what he feared would be an Austro-Russian attack on him. The invasion was successful, but it helped to create a powerful coalition against Frederick. He pressed on to invade Bohemia, but the Austrians put up unexpectedly strong resistance and forced him to withdraw. Frederick’s survival was the product of good fortune and military success–not only a number of stunning victories, such as Rossbach and Leuthen, but also the advantage of fighting on interior lines against a strategically and politically divided alliance. Russian interests centered on East Prussia, the Austrians were most concerned by Silesia, and the French increasingly devoted their efforts to the war with Britain. Although Prussia survived the war, casualties were very heavy. Frederick discovered how exposed his dominions were, though their extent allowed him to abandon territory and thus to trade space for the vital time he needed to exploit internal lines, in order to defeat his opponents individually. In 1757 East Prussia was invaded by the Russians, but Frederick defeated the French at Rossbach (November 5) and the Austrians at Leuthen (December 5). In 1758 the Russians captured East Prussia, but the bloody Battle of Zorndorf (August 26), in which Frederick lost one-third of his force and the Russians eighteen thousand men, blocked their invasion of the Prussian heartland of Brandenburg. In the following year, the Russians defeated Frederick at Kunersdorf (August 12), the Prussians losing nearly two-thirds of their force; but the Russians failed to follow it up by concerted action with Austria. In 1760-1761 the Austrians consolidated their position in Saxony and Silesia, while the Russians temporarily seized Berlin and overran Pomerania. Frederick was saved by the death of his most determined enemy, Tsarina Elizabeth, on January 5, 1762, and the succession of her nephew, Peter III. Frederick was his hero, and he speedily ordered Russian forces to cease hostilities. Isolated, Austria was driven from Silesia and obliged to sign peace at Hubertusberg on February 15, 1763, on the basis of a return to the prewar situation. Frederick’s difficulties stemmed in part from recent reforms in the Austrian and Russian armies. The Russians in particular fought well, and their formidable resources made a powerful impression on Frederick. To cope with these challenges, Frederick was obliged to change his tactics during the war: as everyone sought to avoid the mistakes of the previous year’s campaigning season, warfare was shaped by the fluid dynamics of the rival armies. Initially, Frederick relied on cold steel, but after sustaining heavy casualties from Austrian cannon and musket fire at the Battle of Prague (May 6, 1757), he placed more emphasis on the tactics of firepower, for example, at Leuthen. Frederick became more interested in using artillery as a key to open deadlocked battlefronts. However, Frederick’s success in avoiding decisive defeat at the hands of his opponents can distract attention from the extent to which they were able to innovate in order to respond to Prussian tactics. The Prussian oblique order attack (in which one end of the line was strengthened and used to attack, minimizing exposure to the weaker end) lost its novelty, and the Seven Years’ War demonstrated the essential character of European warfare: the similarity in weaponry, training, and balance between component arms of different armies made it difficult to achieve the sweeping successes that characterized some encounters with non-European forces.
88. A watershed event in modern European history, the French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing the world the power inherent in the will of the people. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), also known as Napoleon I, was a French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century. 
89. The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was brought about by the Act of Union 1800, creating the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". The Act was passed in both the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland, dominated by theProtestant Ascendancy and lacking representation of the country's Roman Catholicpopulation. Substantial majorities were achieved, and according to contemporary documents this was assisted by bribery in the form of the awarding of peerages andhonours to opponents to gain their votes.[27] Under the terms of the merger, the separate Parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland were abolished, and replaced by a unitedParliament of the United Kingdom. Ireland thus became an integral part of the United Kingdom, sending around 100 MPs to the House of Commons at Westminster and 28representative peers to the House of Lords, elected from among their number by the Irish peers themselves, except that Roman Catholic peers were not permitted to take their seats in the Lords. Part of the trade-off for the Irish Catholics was to be the granting of Catholic Emancipation, which had been fiercely resisted by the all-Anglican Irish Parliament. However, this was blocked by King George III, who argued that emancipating the Roman Catholics would breach his Coronation Oath. The Roman Catholic hierarchy had endorsed the Union. However the decision to block Catholic Emancipation fatally undermined the appeal of the Union.
90. Britain Supports Post-Sept. 11 America, Enters the Iraq War Britain became the staunchest ally of the U.S. after the Sept. 11 attacks. British troops joined the U.S. in the bombing campaign against Afghanistan in Oct. 2001, after the Taliban-led government refused to turn over the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden. Blair again proved himself to be the strongest international supporter of the U.S. in Sept. 2002, becoming President Bush's major ally in calling for a war against Iraq. Blair maintained that military action was justified because Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction that were a direct threat. He supported the Bush administration's hawkish policies despite significant opposition in his own party and the British public. In March 2003, a London Timesnewspaper poll indicated that only 19% of respondents approved of military action without a UN mandate. As the inevitability of the U.S. strike on Iraq grew nearer, Blair announced that he would join the U.S. in fighting Iraq with or without a second UN resolution. Three of his ministers resigned as a result. Britain entered the war on March 20, supplying 45,000 troops. In the aftermath of the war, Blair came under fire from government officials for allegedly exaggerating Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction. In July 2003, Blair announced that “history would forgive” the UK and U.S. “if we are wrong” and that the end to the “inhuman carnage and suffering” caused by Saddam Hussein was justification enough for the war. The arguments about the war grew so vociferous between the Blair government and the BBC that a prominent weapons scientist, David Kelly, who was caught in the middle, committed suicide. In Jan. 2004, the Hutton Report asserted that the Blair administration had not “sexed-up” the intelligence dossier, an accusation put forth by BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan. The report strongly criticized the BBC for its “defective” editorial policies, and as a consequence, the BBC's top management resigned. In July 2004, the Butler Report on pre–Iraq war British intelligence was released. It echoed the findings of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee of the week before that the intelligence had vastly exaggerated Saddam Hussein's threat. The famous claim that Iraq's chemical and biological weapons “are deployable within 45 minutes of an order to use them” was especially singled out as highly misleading. But like the U.S. report, it cleared the government of any role in manipulating the intelligence. On May 5, 2005, Blair won a historic third term as the country's prime minister. Despite this victory, Blair's party was severely hurt in the elections. The Labour Party won just 36% of the national vote, the lowest percentage by a ruling party in British history. The Conservative Party won 33%, and the Liberal Democrats 22%. Blair acknowledged that the reason for the poor showing was Britain's involvement in the war in Iraq.
91. Terror Strikes at Home On July 7, 2005, London suffered a terrorist bombing, Britain's worst attack since World War II. Four bombs exploded in three subway stations and on one double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, killing 52 and wounding more than 700. Four Muslim men, three of them British-born, were identified as the suicide bombers. On July 21, terrorists attempted another attack on the transit system, but the bombs failed to explode. A leaked document by a top British government official warned Prime Minister Blair more than a year before the bombings that Britain's engagement in Iraq was fueling Islamic extremism, but Blair has repeatedly denied such a link, contending that the bombings were the result of an “evil ideology” that had taken root before the Iraq war. Blair proposed legislation that would toughen the country's antiterrorism measures, and he suffered his first major political defeat as prime minister in November, when his proposal that terrorist suspects could be held without charge for up to 90 days was rejected. In April 2006, the Blair government weathered a major scandal when it was revealed that since 1999 it had released 1,023 foreign convicts—among them murderers and rapists—into British society instead of deporting them to their countries of origin. In Aug. 2006, London police foiled a major terrorist plot to destroy several airplanes traveling from Britain to the U.S. Intelligence sources asserted that the plan was close to execution, and had it succeeded, it would have been the deadliest terrorist attack since Sept. 11. A number of young men, most of whom are Britons of Pakistani descent, were arrested in connection with the plot. Blair announced in Feb. 2007 that as many as 1,600 of the 7,100 troops stationed in southern Iraq would leave in the next few months. “What all this means is not that Basra is how we want it to be, but it does mean that the next chapter in Basra's history can be written by Iraqis,” Blair said.
92. Same-Sex Marriage Bill Passes and Receives Royal Approval On July 17, 2013, Queen Elizabeth II approved a same-sex marriage bill. Her approval came the day after it passed in Parliament. While the queen's approval was simply a formality, her quick response cleared the way for the first gay marriages to happen next summer in the United Kingdom. The bill allowed same-sex couples to marry in both religious and civil ceremonies in England and Wales. It also allowed couples currently in a civil partnership to convert it into a marriage.
93. On July 22, 2013, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to a baby boy named George Alexander Louis. The baby was born at 4:24 p.m. and weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces. Catherine gave birth in the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London, the same place where Prince William was born. The baby's name was announced two days after his birth. George Alexander Louis would also have the title His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge and would be third in line to the throne, following Prince Charles and Prince William. Due to a rule change in 2011 that ended the long-standing tradition that the crown was only bestowed on a daughter when there were no sons, Prince William and Catherine's baby would have been third in line to the throne no matter the gender, because the baby was their first born. Prince William and Catherine weren't the only happy couple to receive baby gifts. Any baby born in Britain on July 22, 2013, would receive a silver penny from the Royal Mint. Catherine gave birth to her second child, a girl Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, on May 2, 2015. She weighed 8lbs 3oz.
94. Parliament Rejects Cameron's Plan to Strike Syria In August 2013, Syria was accused of launching a chemical attack in suburbs east of Damascus, killing about 1,400 people, many of them women and children. President Barack Obama announced plans to strike military bases and the artillery that he believes were responsible for the chemical attack. Prime Minister Cameron backed Obama's plan. However, on Aug. 29, the British parliament rejected Cameron's request for authorization to attack Syria—a stunning rebuke to Cameron. The vote was 285-to-272, with 224 members of the opposition Labour Party voting against the request, citing the lessons learned from the 2003 invasion of Iraq. After the vote, President Obama said he would seek Congressional approval of a military strike. Cameron's government suffered another blow in June 2014 when his former press secretary Andy Coulson was found guilty of phone-hacking when he was tabloid editor.
95. Cameron Wins a Second Term in a Resounding Victory Cameron's Conservative Party breezed to victory over Labour in the May 2015 general election. The Conservatives won enough seats to secure an outright majority in Parliament, and Cameron earned a second five-year term as prime minister. It was a stunning loss for Labour's Ed Miliband, who resigned the day after the election. Polls indicated a close race, but it turned out to be a rout for Labour. The Conservatives took 331 of 650 seats in the House of Commons, an increase of 24 seats from the 2010 race. Labour won 232 seats, 26 fewer than in 2010. Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats, who joined the Conservatives in a coalition government after the 2010 election, also fared poorly, taking just eight seats. They secured 57 in the previous election. He also resigned as party leader.