History: study guide for the Life in the UK Test (United Kingdom)
From Roman Britain to the modern United Kingdom.
This guide gathers the 21 key points of the topic. Read them, cover the answer and try to recall it; then practise in the app.
- In what year did the Romans first invade Britain under Julius Caesar?
55 BC. Julius Caesar led expeditions in 55 and 54 BC. The lasting Roman conquest began in 43 AD under Emperor Claudius. view question - What did the Romans build in northern England to mark the edge of their empire?
Hadrian's Wall. Hadrian's Wall was built around 122 AD under Emperor Hadrian. Offa's Dyke was built later by an Anglo-Saxon king along the Welsh border. view question - Which peoples settled in England after the Romans left?
The Angles, Saxons and Jutes. After the Romans left in the early 5th century, Angles, Saxons and Jutes arrived from northern Europe. The word 'England' comes from 'Angle-land'. view question - Who won the Battle of Hastings in 1066?
William of Normandy. William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at Hastings and became William I, the first Norman king of England. view question - What was the Domesday Book?
A survey of land and property ordered by William I. William I ordered the survey in 1085–86 to learn what land and wealth his kingdom held, for tax purposes. view question - What did King John agree to in 1215?
Magna Carta. Magna Carta limited the king's power and said that nobody, including the king, was above the law. Many consider it the start of constitutional government in England. view question - Which king broke with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s?
Henry VIII. Henry VIII wanted to annul his marriage and, when the Pope refused, made himself head of the Church of England (Reformation). view question - Which queen reigned during the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588?
Elizabeth I. Elizabeth I's reign (1558–1603) is often called a golden age, with Shakespeare, Drake and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. view question - Which writer is famous for plays such as Hamlet and Macbeth?
William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare (1564–1616) wrote about 37 plays and many sonnets, and worked at the Globe Theatre in London. view question - What happened to King Charles I in 1649?
He was executed after the Civil War. After the English Civil War between Royalists and Parliamentarians, Charles I was tried and beheaded. England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell. view question - What was the Glorious Revolution of 1688?
William and Mary replaced James II and Parliament gained more power. Parliament invited William of Orange and Mary to take the throne. The Bill of Rights (1689) then limited royal power. view question - In which year did the Act of Union join England and Scotland?
1707. The 1707 Act of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801 Ireland joined, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. view question - What was the Industrial Revolution?
A period of rapid change with factories, machines and canals. From the 18th century Britain was the first country to industrialise, with steam power, factories, railways and canals changing how people lived and worked. view question - Which British victory in 1805 ended the French threat of invasion at sea?
The Battle of Trafalgar. Admiral Nelson was killed at Trafalgar but the British fleet won. Napoleon was finally beaten at Waterloo in 1815. view question - Which queen gave her name to an era from 1837 to 1901?
Victoria. Queen Victoria's reign saw the height of the British Empire, great industrial growth and many social reforms. view question - In which year did the First World War begin?
1914. Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914 and the war ended on 11 November 1918. Remembrance Day marks the Armistice. view question - In which year did the Second World War begin for Britain?
1939. Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after the invasion of Poland. The war in Europe ended in May 1945. view question - Who was Prime Minister for most of the Second World War?
Winston Churchill. Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940 and led the country until 1945. Attlee won the 1945 election and began the welfare state and the NHS. view question - When was the National Health Service (NHS) founded?
1948. The NHS began on 5 July 1948 under the Labour government, providing healthcare free at the point of use. view question - Which treaty did the UK join in 1973?
The European Economic Community. The UK joined the EEC in 1973. It left the European Union on 31 January 2020 after a referendum in 2016. view question - What was the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of 1998?
A peace agreement for Northern Ireland. The 1998 agreement helped end decades of conflict ('the Troubles') and created the Northern Ireland Assembly. view question
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