The United Kingdom: The Unification & Disintegration of Britain Since AD 43
“A salient, measured, and illuminating study of history with reflections on what Britain’s past means for its present and future, highly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review
 
John Grainger examines the long and erratic process by which the British Isles was gradually (and as it turns out, temporarily) unified over the course of eighteen centuries, and the subsequent beginnings of the process of disintegration, manifested in an independent Ireland and increasing devolution to, and nationalism in, Scotland and Wales. Taking the Roman (partial) conquest and forming of the province of Britannia as his starting point, he outlines the major stages by which unification was brought about, through invasions (or in reaction to the threat thereof) and the vagaries of dynastic succession. James I was the first monarch to reign simultaneously over the whole British Isles but full political union was not completed until the Act of Union that came into effect on 1 January 1801, against the backdrop of war with France. It was maintained for just 122 years before the Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922. John Grainger sees the granting of their own parliaments to Wales and Scotland as further stages in the process of disintegration, which may be accelerated by “Brexit.”
 
“The story of the United Kingdom is a mixture of myth, mystery and fact. This book provides a fact-based appraisal—Very Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench
 
“This excellent treatise on how the United Kingdom became the UK following years of Dark Ages invasions and through the middle ages unification with Scotland makes for a very interesting read.” —Books Monthly
1130594347
The United Kingdom: The Unification & Disintegration of Britain Since AD 43
“A salient, measured, and illuminating study of history with reflections on what Britain’s past means for its present and future, highly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review
 
John Grainger examines the long and erratic process by which the British Isles was gradually (and as it turns out, temporarily) unified over the course of eighteen centuries, and the subsequent beginnings of the process of disintegration, manifested in an independent Ireland and increasing devolution to, and nationalism in, Scotland and Wales. Taking the Roman (partial) conquest and forming of the province of Britannia as his starting point, he outlines the major stages by which unification was brought about, through invasions (or in reaction to the threat thereof) and the vagaries of dynastic succession. James I was the first monarch to reign simultaneously over the whole British Isles but full political union was not completed until the Act of Union that came into effect on 1 January 1801, against the backdrop of war with France. It was maintained for just 122 years before the Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922. John Grainger sees the granting of their own parliaments to Wales and Scotland as further stages in the process of disintegration, which may be accelerated by “Brexit.”
 
“The story of the United Kingdom is a mixture of myth, mystery and fact. This book provides a fact-based appraisal—Very Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench
 
“This excellent treatise on how the United Kingdom became the UK following years of Dark Ages invasions and through the middle ages unification with Scotland makes for a very interesting read.” —Books Monthly
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The United Kingdom: The Unification & Disintegration of Britain Since AD 43

The United Kingdom: The Unification & Disintegration of Britain Since AD 43

by John D. Grainger
The United Kingdom: The Unification & Disintegration of Britain Since AD 43

The United Kingdom: The Unification & Disintegration of Britain Since AD 43

by John D. Grainger

eBook

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Overview

“A salient, measured, and illuminating study of history with reflections on what Britain’s past means for its present and future, highly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review
 
John Grainger examines the long and erratic process by which the British Isles was gradually (and as it turns out, temporarily) unified over the course of eighteen centuries, and the subsequent beginnings of the process of disintegration, manifested in an independent Ireland and increasing devolution to, and nationalism in, Scotland and Wales. Taking the Roman (partial) conquest and forming of the province of Britannia as his starting point, he outlines the major stages by which unification was brought about, through invasions (or in reaction to the threat thereof) and the vagaries of dynastic succession. James I was the first monarch to reign simultaneously over the whole British Isles but full political union was not completed until the Act of Union that came into effect on 1 January 1801, against the backdrop of war with France. It was maintained for just 122 years before the Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922. John Grainger sees the granting of their own parliaments to Wales and Scotland as further stages in the process of disintegration, which may be accelerated by “Brexit.”
 
“The story of the United Kingdom is a mixture of myth, mystery and fact. This book provides a fact-based appraisal—Very Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench
 
“This excellent treatise on how the United Kingdom became the UK following years of Dark Ages invasions and through the middle ages unification with Scotland makes for a very interesting read.” —Books Monthly

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781526748201
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date: 11/12/2020
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 336
File size: 5 MB

About the Author

John D Grainger is a former teacher and historian of great experience with a particular interest in Classical and Hellenistic Greek history.

Table of Contents

List of Maps 1

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 The Roman Legacy 5

Part I Two Unifications; Two Failures 15

Chapter 2 The Articulation of Four Communities of States 17

Chapter 3 The Viking Effect 43

Chapter 4 Failures to Unify - Ireland and Wales 75

Chapter 5 The Norman Effect 87

Part II Attempts to Unify the British Islands 115

Chapter 6 Edward I's Wars 117

Chapter 7 The Tudor Groundwork for Unity 147

Chapter 8 The Union of Crowns 171

Chapter 9 The Union of England and Scotland 197

Chapter 10 The Union Challenged 217

Chapter 11 The Union of Britain and Ireland 233

Chapter 12 A United Kingdom? 249

Part III Separations 265

Chapter 13 Nationalisms 267

Chapter 14 Referendums 287

Not Yet a Conclusion 305

A Brexit Afterword 311

Index 315

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