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600 BCE
Celtic tribes
Before the Romans arrived, Britain consisted of a patchwork of tribal areas, each with its own king. Life was hard for the Celtic tribes. They were mainly farmers who grew, gathered or hunted for their own food. They were also fierce warriors who were often at war with each other.
The small tribes of Brythonic Celts grew over the years into larger tribes with their own distinctive identities and living in their own special regions throughout Britain. Each tribe had its own name. -
43
Roman invasion
The Romans wanted to invade Britain to expand their empire, to look for riches like: copper, gold, iron and to find good land for farming. The invasion was led by Emperor Claudius who wanted to conquer a new land to get the support of the people of Rome. Four legions of soldiers crossed the Channel in three divisions, landing on the south coast. Many Celtic tribes tried to resist the Romans, with the biggest battle being fought on the banks of the River Medway. -
450
Germanic tribes
When the Roman Empire lost strength during the 5th century, the Germanic tribes migrated into Great Britain and Western Europe, and their settlements became fixed territories. They had a strong military, and warriors were fiercely devoted to their military leaders. This invasion significantly changed the democraphic and ethnic pattern of Britain, especially what we now call England. The make up of the population, language, political structure, and other institutions were fundamentally changed. -
793
The Vikings
The first place the Vikings raided in Britain was the monastery at Lindisfarne, a small holy island located off the northeast coast of England. Soon villages near the sea, monasteries and even cities found themselves besieged by these sea-based foreign intruders. No region of the British Isles was safe from the Vikings. They attacked villages and towns in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and England. -
1066
The Normans
The Normans came from the North of France. The invasion started as a military conquest of England by William, duke of Normandy, primarily effected by his decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings and resulting ultimately in profound political, administrative, and social changes in the British Isles.
