Oxford History of the World: Oxford History of Britain

This book tells the history of Britain over two thousand years, from 55 BC to the 21st century. Open this book and see how Britain rose step by step in 1800, and why it declined rapidly within 100 years! The long rise of Britain in 1800 took more than 1,800 years, from a wild island in the Atlantic Ocean to an "empire on which the sun never sets" that controls a quarter of the world's population and land. Starting in 55 BC, Rome invaded Britain and brought civilization to this desolate island. After the Romans left, the land fell into endless wars and the political power was extremely decentralized. What is even more tragic is that Britain fell into the hands of the Duke of Normandy in France in 1066. The Normans used iron and blood to strengthen the royal power. In order to curb the ever-expanding power, the famous Magna Carta was born in 1215. Since then, the rise of Britain has been unstoppable: royal power reached its peak during the Tudor dynasty, Britain entered the "golden age" after Elizabeth established maritime hegemony, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 paved the way for Britain's modernization, and the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century made Britain dominate the world and reach the peak of its empire! 100 Years of rapid decline has seen prosperity disappear. No one would have expected that this glorious empire would decline rapidly within 100 years. After the Boer War in 1899, Britain's economic strength declined sharply; during World War I, Britain's national power was severely depleted; after World War II, the United States rose, British colonies became independent one after another, and the glorious empire collapsed overnight. In the 21st century, the Iraq War and the 2008 economic crisis have severely damaged Britain's economy and international status. Open this book and follow Kenneth O. Morgan, an academician of the British National Academy, to see how Britain rose step by step in 1800, and why it declined rapidly within 100 years!