The first volume in a two-volume set, this book provides a broad, narrative account of English history from the first settlers in the Paleolithic Age to the 1714. It draws on the most up-to-date primary and secondary research to illuminate the full range of England's social, economic, cultural, and political past, and focuses on "how" and "why" events occurred. It stresses dominant themes in English history "without" espousing any single interpretation, and considers events in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland as they affected developments in England. The Land And The People; Roman Britain: 55 B.C.-450 A.D.19; Anglo-Saxon England: 450-1066; Norman England; The Angevins; The Thirteenth Century: 1216-1307; War And Crisis: 1307-1399; Lancaster And York: 1399-1485; The Reign Of Henry Vii: 1485-1509; War And Reformation: 1509-1547; Protestant And Catholic: 1547-1558; Elizabethan England: 1558-1603; Early Stuart England: 1603-1640; The English Revolution: 1640-1660; Restoration And Revolution: 1660-1689; War And Society. For anyone interested in the History of England.
Contents
PREFACE
CHAPTER 1 THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE
The Earliest Inhabitants
The Neolithic Revolution
The Early Bronze Age
Stonehenge
The Late Bronze Age
The Celts
Further Reading
CHAPTER 2 ROMAN BRITAIN: 55 b.c.e.—450 c.e.
Hadrian’s Wall
The Roman Town
The Countryside
The Collapse of Roman Rule
Further Reading
CHAPTER 3 ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND: 450—1066
The Conquest of Britain
The Conversion to Christianity
The Creation of the English Monarchy
Alfred the Great and his Successors
Anglo-Saxon Government
The Structure of Society
Open Fields and Royal Boroughs
Monasticism and Learning
The Survival of the English Monarchy
Further Reading
CHAPTER 4 NORMAN ENGLAND
The Conquest of England
Feudalism
Domesday Book and the Manors of England
The Norman Church
The Machinery of Government
Tyranny and Anarchy
Further Reading
CHAPTER 5 THE ANGEVINS
The New Agriculture
Wool, Trade, and Towns
The Twelfth-Century Renaissance
The English Common Law
Henry II and the Church
The Angevin Empire
Wales, Ireland, and Scotland
Richard I and King John
Magna Carta
Further Reading
CHAPTER 6 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY: 1216—1307
Barons and Knights
Manor and Village
Town and Guild
Bishops, Priests, and Friars
The Cathedral
The University
Henry III and the Provisions of Oxford
Edward I and Statute Law
Wales, Gascony, and Scotland
The Origins of Parliament
Further Reading
CHAPTER 7 WAR AND CRISIS: 1307—1399
Edward II and the Barons
Edward III and the Hundred Years’ War
The Evolution of Parliament
The Transformation of the Manor
The Impact of the Black Death
The Peasants’ Revolt
John Wyclif and Lollardy
The Emergence of an English Nationality
Richard II and the Defeat of Absolutism
Further Reading
CHAPTER 8 LANCASTER AND YORK: 1399—1485
Henry IV and the Foundations of Lancastrian Rule
Henry V and the War in France
Henry VI and the Decline of the Monarchy 196
The Wars of the Roses 199
Edward IV and the Restoration of Royal Power 202
Depression and Economic Change 205
Late Medieval Culture
Richard III and the Fall of the House of York
Further Reading
CHAPTER 9 THE REIGN OF HENRY VII: 1485—1509
Engrossment and Enclosure
Industry: Urban and Rural
Commerce: Foreign and Domestic
The Consolidation of Power
The Revival of Royal Power
The New Learning
Medieval and Modern
Further Reading
CHAPTER 10 WAR AND REFORMATION: 1509—1547
War and Diplomacy
The Divorce
Parliament and the Break with Rome
Resistance and Rebellion
The Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Tudor Revolution in Government
Scotland and France
The Growth of Protestantism
Further Reading
CHAPTER 11 PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC: 1547—1558
Somerset and Reform
Ket’s Rebellion
The Economic Crisis of 1551
The Ascendancy of Northumberland
The Accession of Queen Mary
The Return to Rome
The Spanish Connection
Further Reading
CHAPTER 12 ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND: 1558—1603
Elizabeth and the Church
Elizabeth and Scotland
The Catholic Threat
The Puritan Threat
Economic Recovery
The Voyages of Discovery
The War Against Spain
Elizabeth and the Government of England
The Rise of the Gentry
Yeomen and Husbandmen
Beggars and Vagabonds
The Ascendancy of London
The Elizabethan World Picture
Postlude
Further Reading
CHAPTER 13 EARLY STUART ENGLAND: 1603—1640
The Accession of James I
James and the Law
Government by Court Favorites
Charles I and the Arts
Charles I and Parliament
The Eleven Years of Prerogative Government
Economic Depression
The Expansion of England
Further Reading
CHAPTER 14 THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION: 1640—1660
The Causes of the English Revolution
The Failure of Reform
Roundheads and Cavaliers
The Rise of Independency
The Commonwealth
The Triumph of Property
Overseas Expansion
The Search for Consent
The Restoration
Further Reading
CHAPTER 15 RESTORATION AND REVOLUTION: 1660—1689
The Scientific Revolution
Causes and Consequences
Restoration Society
Rural Society
The Restoration Settlement
The Failure of the Restoration Settlement
The Reign of James II
The Glorious Revolution
The Revolutionary Settlement
Further Reading
CHAPTER 16 WAR AND SOCIETY
The War of the League of Augsburg
The Financial Revolution
The Politics of War and Peace
The War of the Spanish Succession
The Politics of Victory
The New World of Trade
The Social Pyramid
The Augustan Age
Marriage, Courtship, and the Family
The Act of Union with Scotland
The Treaty of Utrecht
The Hanoverian Succession
Further Reading
APPENDIX
INDEX