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Britain before the Romans
Britain back in thousands before Christ Scarcely populated, poor, barbaric.
back in 1900’s Owner of the world, whose power was lost to the USA, former British colony.
How did it happen? What was the process?
It all began in the British Islands Group of Islands that extend northwest of the
European coast
320, 000 kms2. (More or less the size of
Chihuahua.
From those, Great Britain is 230,000 kms2. (Just bigger than Sonora)
Original Name (given by the Romans) Britannia Turned into Britain
Why is it called today Great Britain?
Biggest Island in front of the Continent
8th biggest in the world. Inhabitants escaping from Barbaric Invasions
around 15 centuries ago, crossed the water
channel and established themselves in the
northwestern part of France (Armorica). The
region was known as Brittany (Small Britain or
Britannia Minor).
Bigger than the rest of the original
European Continental nations, which 3/5’s of the whole Islands
Fought and conquer each other until Rome.
Ireland (Hibernia) has always being under
the shadow, but independent.
Where did the inhabitants come from?
10,000 b.C. Ice age The whole northern Europe covered in ice which included the later
to be British Islands.
Hunters following the migrating animals moved north as the ice
melted.
The land surface in Europe decreased and around the year 6000 b.C. Great
Britain was separated from Europe and Ireland from G.B.
Nomadic stone‐age migrating groups remained trapped inside the newly
formed Islands.
They, thus, became safe and guarded from possible invasions in the
centuries to come, yet not forever, contrary to the continental inhabitants.
What was happening in the meantime around the “world”?
Small tribes were forming in today’s Arabic Peninsula Canaan
Northern region of Tigris
Sumerians
Acadians
They later ended becoming centers of civilization. Achaeans
Hittites
Babylonians
Canaaneans
The People of the Beaker
Ca. 2000 b.C Arrival of the People of the Beaker brought with them the arts of
pottery weaving metallurgy
Copper
Not so common. bronze
Coming from East Mediterranean
(Cypruss) Stain
Builders of Stonehenge
What is Stonehenge?
Near the modern city of Amesbury (ca. 110kms western to London)
2 concentric circles from which the external one has a diameter of 35 mts. formed by stones that
are 5 meters high and 2.5 wide.
Erected around 1750 b.C.
32 stones are still erected from the 60 that originally
formed the gathering center.
Mentioned in annals for
the first time only eleven
centuries ago.
Originally thought to be a religious cult center
1963 Gerald Hawkins (Boston University) proved it was possible to predict
eclipses and to measure the
summer solstice by means of the
stones and their order.
Stonehenge was, therefore, most probably an astronomic
center.
The “internationalization” of the People of the Beaker
Bronze age Stain was scarcer than copper and requires a certain concentration to be
extractable.
Canaaneans (Biblical name for Phoenicians) Bravest navigators
‐Existed before and survived many empires‐
Excellent merchants
Navigated all along the Mediterranean.
Crossed the Gibraltar stretch.
Adventured themselves into the Atlantic. First civilized people ever
to do it.
Found a group of Islands that they called the Kassiteros Islands (Islands of the stain).
56 kms away from southwest Great Britain settled by the P.o.t.B.
Nowadays called Scilly Islands (15 kms2 as total surface).
Between the years 1500 and 1000 b.C. (until the iron age began) played a major role in the
economy of the known western world.
Cause for its decline.