英国国家概况---历史（一）

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2.1 Origin of the English Nation

From about 750B.C. the Celtic tribes who had crossed from Europe in search of empty lands began to settle in the country. The first to come were the Gaels, whose language is still spoken in Scotland. From about 500B.C.another group of Celts called Britons, from whom the modern Welsh are mainly descended, arrived and drove the Gaels to the north. The third group came around 100 B.C. from Gaul.

British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion. In 55B.C.the Roman Emperor Claudius invaded England again. Subsequently, Britain remained part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years. Around 410A.D., when the Romans’ home in Italy were being attacked by other tribes, the Roman soldiers left to defend their home.

In the middle of the 5th century, the Angles,Saxons and Jutes who are known as the Anglo-Saxons invaded Britain. The Anglo---Saxons left their homelands in northern Germony and Denmark and crossed the North Sea in wooden boats. Attracted by the land and climate, they decided to stay. By the end of the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxons ruled most of Britain. It was the Angles who gave their name England (Angles’s land) and the English people.

The viking invasion of Britain began in the late 8th century and lasted for about 300 years. They came across the North Sea, attacked villages and towns and drove the Saxons out of the country. By the middle of 9th century, the Viking and the Danes were posing threat to the Saxon kingdom of Wessex. The King Alfred defeated the Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them in 879. The Danes gained control of the north and east, while he ruled the rest. Alfred the Great founded a strong fleet and is known as “the father of the British navy”.

The last invasion of Britain was the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy. On October 14, 1066, William and his army invaded England and defeated the English army. He was made king and crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066. William is often referred to as William the Conqueror in English history. Henceforth, the feudal system was completely established in England.

2.2The Great Charter

The Great Charter(《大宪章》)is also called Magna Carte in Latin. It is first signed by King John of England in June 1215 according to the 1100 Charter of Liberties and reissued later in the 13th century. It is the first document to limit the king’s power by law and protect the baron’s privileges. It is as important to the English people as the Declaration of Independence to the Americans.

The Great Charter movement was the first step of constitutional experiment and rule of law. It paved the way for the new- born bourgeoisie to get political power because it granted more power to the Great Council, which was the embryonic form of the English Parliament. It has been regarded as “the corner stone” of English history.

2.3 The Beginning of Parliament

In 1265, Simon de Montfort summoned the Great Council (大议会) to meet at Westminster, together with two knights from each county and two citizens from each town, a meeting which has been seen as that of the earliest parliament(早期议会). The Great Council developed later into the House of Lords and the House of Commons.