Key Points on Britain's Historical Invasions

Early Inhabitants

• Celts (arrived around 700 BC)
  • Hunters, fishermen, and metal workers
  • Settled in clans and farming communities
  • Worshipped nature and had influential priests called Druids

Roman Conquest

• Romans (conquered Britain between 43-47 AD)
  • Built infrastructure: roads, towns, and the first bridge in Londinium (modern-day London)
  • Constructed Hadrian's Wall for defense along the border with Scotland

Anglo-Saxon Era

• Germanic Tribes (fifth and sixth centuries)

  • Known collectively as Anglo-Saxons
  • Farmers and fishermen, used a runic alphabet
  • Lived in family groups; built large decorated communal halls
  • Their language laid the foundation for modern English

• Christianity

  • Initially brought by Romans but declined under Anglo-Saxon rule
  • Revived by Pope Gregory I sending Monk Augustine in 597 AD
  • Many monasteries established afterward

• Heptarchy

  • Anglo-Saxons divided Britain into seven kingdoms
  • Wessex was the most significant kingdom

Viking Invasions

• Vikings (eighth and ninth centuries)
  • Originated from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
  • Attacked England, leading to the unification of Anglo-Saxons
  • King Alfred the Great of Wessex played a key role in uniting them against the Vikings

Norman Conquest

• Battle of Hastings (1066)
  • Last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, was killed
  • Defense against the Norman invasion led by William, Duke of Normandy
  • William claimed the English throne was promised to him
  • His successful invasion marked the beginning of the Norman dynasty
  • William the Conqueror crowned king in Westminster Abbey in 1066.