Early History of Great Britain

Early History of Great Britain

The first human footprints on the Island of Great Britain are believed to be over 800,000 years old. The first humans were then followed by early humans and finally, the modern humans who firstly set foot on the Island around 30,000 years ago. Obviously, the first human inhabitants came from Europe. This is when a question appears.

Today, we know that Great Britain is an Island; nevertheless its geographical state has not been in today’s form thousands years ago. The studies show that originally there was a connection between Great Britain and Europe. The crossing is now known as Doggerland. Doggerland is basically a landmass which connected Great Britain with mainland Europe during and after the last Ice Age. On the other hand it was the end of the Ice Age that caused the sea to rise and with the combination of melting glaciers this all resulted in flooding the Doggerland.

As the population of the Island was completely separated from the outside world, they depended only on themselves. The population of the Iron Age spoke Celtic language and called themselves Britons. They were not considered to be the smartest ones but they built a very effective trading system and also, they had a very good cultural background.

Their international business consisted in trading with Europe. While they were concentrated on different affairs, in a blink of an eye the expanding Roman Empire completely absorbed them. The Romans conquered most of the Island, their territory ended right when the Hadrian’s Wall stood, in fact, it still can be seen in the North of England. Surprisingly, Caesar needed more than one try, to successfully occupy the Island; his first try is thought to be a complete disaster. And that is why the conquest itself begun during the reign of Emperor Claudius.

With the Romans finally settled on the Island, the province of Brittania started to flourish. First, came to growth of infrastructure, which lacked quality before the arrival of the Romans. The trading system which was established by the Britons could now rise on quality even more. Then, it was the number of important towns where the goods could be stored. Towns such as London, Manchester or York were founded by the Romans and were used as basic settlements.

Romans brought not only material growth to the Island, but also mental. The reason for this statement is that they taught local people basic knowledge and enriched local grammar and language with their own words, phrases etc. It can be said that the Roman Legacy hasn’t still lost its value.

The Roman Empire stood strong on the Island of Great Britain with their power unquestionable. It was not until the 4^th century when the Roman forces were withdrawn from the Island. The order of the Roman Emperor was clear, the relationship with Roman Britain ended. Soon after this order, the Roman Emperor let the Romano-Britons know that they now could rely only on themselves. The collapse of the Roman Empire had a huge impact on Great Britain. The measurements of the impact were so strong, that this event marks the date, when Great Britain started its middle age journey.