History of England Explained in 12 Minutes

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There are few places that entice the imagination quite like England. Just a little island off the western coast of continental Europe, it boasts a rich history that stretches all the way back to the first modern humans. Since then, entire societies have risen and fallen as people learned to make flint and bone tools, bury their dead, and fortify their cities against foreign raiders. From the fearsome Celtic warriors of prehistory to the clever inventors and statesmen of the modern era, England’s story is one bursting with magnificent castles, complex kings and queens, rebellious peasants, and horrifying plagues.

Throughout history, more people have called England home than perhaps most of us have ever realized.

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[mikelheron]

I can't wait to buy the book. If they can pack so many inaccuracies into 12 minutes just imagine how many they could fit into a book.

[dragendelao]

Small thing, Julius Caesar was not an Emperor. He was the last Dictator of the Roman Republic. His nephew, Octavian was the first emperor

[kimberlypatton]

Arthur, son of Henry VII, was not killed. He died a few months after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and it was because of an illness, He and Catherine both were sick with what some think to be the “sweating sickness” or Malaria.

[Andrew]

It feels really strange to refer to the land pre-Anglo-Saxons still as England. The Roman province was called Britannia Major and there was definitely no concept of a unified England for another 600 years

[gazdenny]

The Celts had nothing to do with Stonehenge, they were built by the indigenous Neolithic people

[CaptivatingHistory]

It has been brought to our attention that certain things in the video need corrections or clarification:
• When the Romans ruled England, they would not have called it England. They named it Provincia Britannia (“Province of Britain”). When Vortigen arrived on the scene in around 450, the island would have been called something else; scholars refer to it now as sub-Roman Britain. To keep things simpler, we elected to use England throughout. However, Britain would have been a better term to use in some instances. For example, Caesar sent an expedition to Britain, not just England. The Romans withdrew troops from Britain, leaving Britain to defend itself.
• :36 – A picture of potatoes is shown. Potatoes were not introduced to England until the 16th century.
• :41 – A picture is shown of L’Anse aux Meadows. This settlement is located in Canada, and it is a Viking site.
• Around :50 – The video makes it sound like the Celts were responsible for the start of the Bronze Age in Britain. They came along during this period (around 1000 BCE), but they did not start it.
• Around 1:00 – Stonehenge was not built by the Celts. It was thought to be built by the Neolithic people in around 3000 BCE.
• Around 1:06 – Julius Caesar was not an emperor of Rome. He was a dictator who paved the way for the Roman Empire to take shape. He also did not go to Britain to conquer it; he claimed that Rome invaded the island in the name of self-defense.
• Around 1:22 – The Romans did not rule Britain for 600 years. Altogether, they ruled Britain for around 367 years.
• Around 1:40 – Hadrian’s Wall first began construction around 122.
• Around 2:08 – Vortigen invited Saxons to help him deal with the Picts and the Scots, not Danes.
• Around 3:01 – Harold Godwinson was known as Harold II, not Harold I.
• Around 3:40 – William the Conqueror was succeeded by his son, William III. John I of England took the throne in 1199.
• Around 4:07 – It sounds as if the Black Death lasted for one hundred years and started during Henry III’s reign. The Black Death began in 1347 (long after Henry III), and it ended in the 1350s, although it would come back in waves for many years.
• Around 4:26 – Arthur was not killed. He died from some kind of illness; people attribute his death to the English sweating sickness, tuberculosis, influenza, or the plague.
• Around 6:47 – Charles I died on January 30th, 1649.
• Around 8:55 – Queen Victoria died in 1901, not 1902.
• Around 9:36 – Germany declared war on France on August 3rd, 1914, two days after declaring war on Russia.
• Around 11:19 – It should be clarified that Britain was not behind the Moon Landing. However, British engineers worked on it, and millions in Britain tuned in to watch it.
We apologize for the inaccuracies presented in the video and will strive to do better in future ones.

[kieranjames]

You can’t really refer to such things as England and Anglo-Roman relations during Romano-Britonic period, the concept of England or the English came hundreds of years later.

[obolstg]

Ancient inhabitants of England grew potatoes. A new word in history...

[peterd]

Showing potatoes as a symbol of early agriculture in England is a bit silly.

[phoebeschwartze]

1oo Years War, Wars of the Roses, Plantaganets seem to be missing. Also, Katherine of Aragon and Henry VIII married after the death of his father Henry VII as he dithered about them getting married. Also, Victoria died in 1901 not 1902.

[tanlund]

John and William were separated by 112 years and 5 monarchs. Where did all that go?

[SophiaThomas-xhml]

This video was incredibly informative! I learned so much about this topic!

[renzorubini]

Many thanks for your kind and intelligent response and thanks for the video on the history of England. Kind regards

[matthewjerome]

I am strictly a hobbyist and no historian, but this video seems to be riddled with inaccuracies.

[jamesbellar]

I think they forgot to mention the current Queen of England and one of the most influential men of England’s history, Winston Churchill

[dundeedolphin]

The history of a country is not simply the lineage of its monarchs.

[carlosandresmoreno]

I'm watching this kind of video to practise my English. It's amazing all the process from Vikings, Tudors, to the current age with Queen Isabel.

[MartGordon]

You’d imagine a history specific channel would make sure they got all the dates right. I would have let the wayward pronunciation slide but the dates are the least you’d expect history buffs to get right. I imagine there is not a history qualification among the team behind this.

[NickelAntonius]

Never trust any videos by people who confuse CE and BCE, and then switch to AD.

[krtricksnflips]

You’ve mentioned the Bronze Age in England was 2500 BCE to 800 CE, looks like a type….should of been 800BCE. 800 CE we were deep in the Middle Ages.

Also 410CE wasn’t the fall of rome, it was sacked by the visigoths. They pulled out of England in 409 CE