The Many Ages of England

By Alec Rodriguez
 Introduction

• Today, you may associate

England with double-decker
buses, Big Ben, Buckingham
Palace, and tea. But what was
England like centuries ago? If
your answer was a place
where the Roman army and,
later, many barbaric German
tribes invaded, and a place of
extreme religious controversy,
you would be correct.

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Stonehenge
• Stonehenge, located in southern
England, is perhaps one of the most
famous stone monuments in the
world. Construction started in about
3000 BC, and it occurred for about
the next 1000 years. The original
structure was a simple circle of
stones built by hunters and
gatherers, and the large slabs of
rock, while the common image of
Stonehenge, were added later using
pure human strength only. Historians
also question the reason of why they
built Stonehenge, but the main
theories are that they either used it
for religious practices or a way to
measure time. The following slides
show pictures of this great
monument.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
 Roman Invasion

• Moving ahead a few millennia, the Romans

invaded England in 43 AD. Although Julius
Caesar tried to invade about 100 years prior, his
attempt was unsuccessful. It was only until
Aulus Plautius invaded that Britain fell to the
Romans. Rome had a solid grasp on Britain until
about the year 410, when Roman troops had to
leave the area to fight ongoing wars in Italy.

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 • Since Britain was no longer controlled by Roman
forces, it was easier for other nations to attack. One
of these groups, the Saxons, was a barbaric German
The Saxons tribe. They believed in paganism, and their religion
borrowed many of the Nordic beliefs. Eventually, they
were able to conquer southeast Britain.

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The Reformation

• In the 15th and 16th centuries, people began to

question and protest the Catholic church since it
restricted much of the people’s education in an
effort to control them. Additionally, the Bible was
only written in Latin, so most people with average
educations could not read it. Protestantism was
growing in popularity since it also disagreed with the
church on these issues. Martin Luther was one of
those that spoke out against the church and for
Protestantism. However, he is the most famous for
translating the Bible into German so his fellow
citizens could read it. This inspired the translation of
the Bible into many other languages, and by 1700, it
could be read in almost all countries in Europe.

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 King Henry VIII
• However, some devout Catholics strongly disapproved of
the Reformation and Martin Luther; an example of this was
King Henry VIII of England. He opposed Martin Luther’s
disagreement with the Catholic church, and even wrote a
book accusing him of heresy. In addition, to prevent Luther’s
revolt from destroying the Catholic churches in England, he
banned all his books and writings from being read in the
entire nation.

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Queen Elizabeth I
• Not all rulers, however, were anti-protestant. Queen
Elizabeth I of England, while most known for her
support of the arts, was also a Protestant. However,
she was a moderate-therefore, she persecuted neither
Protestants nor Catholics as long as they were loyal to
her and the nation. This is an important factor is U.S.
history as well, since these ideas of religious tolerance
later spread to the colonies.

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 Conclusions

• England is an old country with interesting

history. From the building of Stonehenge to
the invasion of the Roman Army, and from
nomadic German tribes to a war between
Catholics and Protestants, England has
practically seen it all. Now, whenever you
watch a travel show about England or, better
yet, actually travel there, you can think of all
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the fascinating history the nation has
experienced.
Works Cited

• www.historic-uk.com
• www.history.com
• www.khanacademy.org