Early Britain

Britain has been home to human settlers for thousands of years. Long before the nation we know today was formed, the land was shaped by waves of peoples — hunters, farmers, warriors, and scholars — each leaving their mark on the landscape, the language, and the culture that eventually became British civilisation.

The first people to live in Britain arrived more than 10,000 years ago, after the end of the last Ice Age. These early inhabitants were hunter-gatherers — they moved from place to place in search of food and did not settle permanently.

Around 4,000 BC, the first farmers arrived in Britain, probably from Europe. They began to clear forests, cultivate the land, and keep animals. These Neolithic (New Stone Age) people built some of Britain's most remarkable early monuments.

The most famous is Stonehenge, on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Stonehenge was built in several stages between approximately 3,000 BC and 1,500 BC. Its purpose is not fully understood, though it is believed to have been used for religious ceremonies or as a burial site. The large stones used in its construction were transported from great distances — some from as far as Wales.

Another important Neolithic monument is Skara Brae in Orkney, Scotland — one of the best-preserved prehistoric villages in northern Europe.

Around 2,000 BC, people in Britain began to use bronze — an alloy of copper and tin — to make tools and weapons. This period is known as the Bronze Age. Bronze Age people also built many of the burial mounds (called barrows) that can still be seen in the British landscape today.

From around 700 BC, the use of iron became widespread. This period, the Iron Age, saw the development of more advanced tools and weapons. Iron Age people in Britain were the Celts — a group of peoples sharing similar languages and cultures who had spread across much of Europe.

The Celts built hillforts — fortified settlements on hilltops — and lived in roundhouses. Celtic Britain had a rich culture with skilled metalwork, including the creation of elaborate jewellery and decorated weapons. The Druids — the Celtic priestly class — performed religious ceremonies, often in sacred groves.

In 55 BC, the Roman general Julius Caesar led the first Roman expedition to Britain. However, the full Roman conquest did not begin until AD 43, when the Emperor Claudius sent a large army to invade. Within a few decades, the Romans controlled most of what is now England and Wales.

The Romans brought significant changes to Britain:

• They built an extensive network of straight roads — many of which still form the basis of British roads today
• They constructed towns, with public buildings, baths, and forums
• They introduced the Latin language, which influenced English and many European languages
• They built Hadrian's Wall in AD 122, stretching 73 miles across the north of England from Solway Firth to the River Tyne, to defend Roman Britain from tribes to the north

One notable episode was the revolt of Boudicca (also spelled Boadicea), Queen of the Celtic Iceni tribe in East Anglia. In around AD 60, she led a major uprising against Roman rule, destroying the Roman settlements at Colchester, London, and St Albans before her forces were eventually defeated.

The Romans remained in Britain until around AD 410, when they withdrew to defend other parts of the Roman Empire.

After the Roman withdrawal, Britain was invaded and settled by peoples from northern Europe — primarily the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from what is now Germany and Denmark. Collectively, these peoples are known as the Anglo-Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms across England, including Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, and East Anglia. The name England itself derives from "Angle-land" — the land of the Angles.

Key developments of the Anglo-Saxon period:

• The conversion to Christianity — missionaries such as St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, arrived in Britain in AD 597 and began converting the Anglo-Saxons
• The development of the English language — Old English (Anglo-Saxon) forms the foundation of the English spoken today
• The creation of important manuscripts such as the Lindisfarne Gospels — richly illustrated religious texts produced by monks on the island of Lindisfarne off the Northumbrian coast

One celebrated figure of the Anglo-Saxon period is King Alfred the Great of Wessex (reigned 871–899). Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against Viking invasions, promoted learning and literacy, and is credited with helping to preserve English culture during a period of great threat. He is the only English monarch to be called "the Great."

From the late 8th century onwards, Britain was raided and then settled by Vikings — seafaring peoples from Scandinavia (Norway and Denmark). The first recorded Viking raid on Britain was in AD 793, when Vikings attacked the monastery at Lindisfarne (Holy Island) off the Northumbrian coast.

Over the following decades, Viking raids became more frequent and more devastating. Eventually the Vikings began to settle in Britain, establishing a large area of Viking law and culture in northern and eastern England known as the Danelaw.

The conflict between the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Vikings shaped much of British history in the 9th and 10th centuries. King Alfred the Great played a crucial role in resisting Viking expansion in the south.

In 1016, the Danish king Cnut (also known as Canute) became King of England — ruling over England, Denmark, and Norway. England was briefly part of a Scandinavian empire before returning to Anglo-Saxon rule under Edward the Confessor.

The Viking age in Britain effectively ended with the Norman Conquest of 1066 — itself led by a people descended from Vikings who had settled in northern France.

Up next: The Middle Ages — from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the Wars of the Roses, explore one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in British history.