Outline of the history of the British Isles

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the history of the British Isles:

History of the British Isles – history of the European island group known as the British Isles.

Political entities

Throughout history, various political entities have inhabited the British Isles, with varying degrees of power and independence over one another.

Existing political entities

History of Ireland
History of the United Kingdom - The United Kingdom is a union of different nations:

The British Isles also includes three Crown dependencies of the United Kingdom.

Former political entities

The following political entities all at one time existed within the British Isles.

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms

Anglo-Saxons inhabited England from the 5th Century, and formed their own kingdoms.

Irish kingdoms

List of Irish kingdoms

Prior to the Norman invasion of Ireland many Irish Kingdoms existed. Some of the larger ones were:

Kingdoms in Scotland

The following kingdoms all existed in what is now recognised as Scotland:

Welsh kingdoms

During the medieval era several kingdoms existed in Wales.

Modern period

During the modern period the following entities have all existed, but no longer do so.

Time periods

Prehistoric

Classical period

The history of the British Isles in the classical era was characterised by the attempts of the Roman Empire to conquer the islands.

Medieval period

Early modern period

19th Century

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland - State as it existed from 1801 to 1922.

20th Century to present

Major events

Throughout history, there have been several events that had a lasting impact on the British Isles as a whole.

Conflicts

Conflicts within the British Isles

Historically, there have been many conflicts between the people inhabiting the British Isles which led to a lasting impact on the history of the islands.

Wars of Scottish Independence - A series of conflicts between Scotland and England from 1296 to 1357.
Wars of the Three Kingdoms - A series of interconnected conflicts within the British Isles from 1639 to 1653.
Jacobite risings - A series of conflicts over the succession of the British throne from 1689 to 1745.
Irish War of Independence - A conflict fought between the Irish Republican Army and British forces over the independence of Ireland.

Invasions from outside the British Isles

There have been several invasions of the British Isles by outside entities, some of which had a lasting impact on the history of the islands.

Roman conquest of Britain - Roman invasion of Britain starting in 43 AD and largely completed by 87 AD.
Norman conquest of England - 1066.
German occupation of the Channel Islands - Occupation of Jersey and Guernsey by German forces from 1940 to 1945.

Political events

The following events had a lasting impact on the political shape of the British Isles.

Union of the Crowns - Led to the union of England and Scotland in 1603.
Acts of Union 1707 - Formed the Parliament of Great Britain by merging the Parliament of Scotland with the Parliament of England.
Acts of Union 1800 - Formed the Parliament of the United Kingdom by merging the Parliament of Ireland into the Parliament of Great Britain.
Anglo-Irish Treaty - Formally created the Irish Free State as an independent dominion of the British Empire.

Persons influential in the history of the British Isles

National leaders

Monarchs

List of English monarchs - List of English monarchs before the Acts of Union 1707.
List of Scottish monarchs - List of Scottish monarchs before the Acts of Union 1707.
List of British monarchs - List of British monarchs following the Acts of Union 1707.

Elected leaders

Timeline

The following is a timeline showing the major nations within the British Isles, or which controlled parts of the islands, over time.

Date	States/Peoples											Relevant events
pre-6th c. BC	Prehistoric Britain, Prehistoric Ireland
6th–1st c. BC	British Iron Age, Iron Age tribes in Britain, Insular Celtic
6th–1st c. BC	Gauls		Brythons				Picts	Gaels
51 BC	Gallia Lugdunensis (Roman province)
43 AD	Gallia Lugdunensis (Roman province)		Britannia (Roman province)									Roman conquest of Britain
410	Brythons			Anglo-Saxon England	Hen Ogledd
638						Kingdom of Strathclyde						Viking raids
843
845	Kingdom of Brittany
878	Kingdom of Brittany				Danelaw
911	Duchy of Normandy				Danelaw
927				Kingdom of England
1054						Kingdom of Alba						Norman conquest of England
1079						Kingdom of Alba			Kingdom of Mann and the Isles
1098			Cymru				Kingdom of Norway					Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland
1171										Lordship of Ireland
1204												Magna Carta Treaty of York
1266
1282												Wars of Scottish Independence
1333	Bailiwick of Guernsey	Bailiwick of Jersey	Isle of Man
1469						Kingdom of Scotland						Poynings' Law
1541												Scottish Reformation Tudor conquest of Ireland Union of the Crowns
1607										Kingdom of Ireland		Flight of the Earls Plantation of Ulster Wars of the Three Kingdoms
1641											Confederate Ireland
1649				Commonwealth of England							Confederate Ireland	Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
1653				Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland
1660				Kingdom of England		Kingdom of Scotland				Kingdom of Ireland		Penal Laws Revolution of 1688 Battle of the Boyne
1707				Kingdom of Great Britain						Kingdom of Ireland		Acts of Union 1707 Battle of Culloden Irish Rebellion of 1798
1801				United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland								Acts of Union 1800 Catholic emancipation Great Famine of Ireland
1919				United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland							Irish Republic	Irish War of Independence Partition of Ireland
1921/1922				United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland						(Northern Ireland)	Irish Free State
1937				United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland							Ireland	The Emergency Battle of Britain The Troubles Celtic Tiger
1999				(Wales)	(England)	(Scotland)					Ireland	Devolution Good Friday Agreement

Miscellaneous

External links