What historical events should a UK adult know about?

[julieca]

So what do you think an adult brought up and living in the UK should know about history? I don't mean in-depth knowledge, but just very basic knowledge.
I think adults should all know about -

• Both world wars and a bit of understanding about how many countries were involved
• Transatlantic slave trade
• Reformation
• Existence of cold war
• Holocaust, Hitler and Nazi party
• Partition in India
• English Civil War
• Roman Empire and that it included England and parts of Wales
• Act of Union
• Troubles in Northern Ireland
• Suffragettes
• Feudalism
• Black Death

Thatcher and the mine/steel industries.
The Industrial Revolution.
The concept of the British Empire.

Aren’t you just listing things you know about? Like how useful are the details of the English Civil War really? What you specifically know about will mostly depend on what was taught to you at school - you don’t know what you don’t know after all!

Jacobite Rebellion
Irish independence

I like all your suggestions.

For me, a "breif" timeline of invasions that have shaped Great Britain e.g Normans, Vikings, Romans etc. I remember briefly being told about them all in year 3 or 4 of primary school and nothing really after. To know when they happened and what the consequences of each invasion were.

@Haus1234 I wasnt taught the English Covil War at school. I taught myself because I realised there were various things I didn't understand when visiting historical sites. Without knowing about that, some things just didn't make sense.
Of course it is based on what I know and will miss things out. It is a chat thread not a white paper.

Highland clearances
Irish famine

The events which led to the Act of Union in 1707

1066 and all that.

Palestine and Israel, and how the British need to accept some blame for the ongoing mass suffering and oppression of Palestinian people.

My initial thought was the Irish troubles and the background dating back to the potato famine etc (I probably need to know more about this tbh... but the whole current situation made a lit more sense when I learnt a bit about the famine)

The British Empire and its consequences, leading to the Commonwealth and more recent immigration

The World Wars

Thats British history. Then obviously some World history is important too... racial segregation, the UN, Islam, Israel/Palestine, China, Russia...

CovidPassQuestion
I didn’t know about the Irish Famine until I was in my 30’s (and my DM is Irish) so that’s a good one for list.

Iv'e just read "The Shortest History of England" by James Hawes, its very good and informative.

Obviously it's only about England but there was loads in there I didn't know.

@Genderwitched that sounds interesting thanks, I will look for that.
I agree with all the suggestions. And yes you can't understand NI without knowing about the famine.
The issue with Palestine and Israel is very complex. Its an area where I suspect a little bit of learning is more likely to lead to misconceptions.

Slavery and the slave trade
American Revolution

Magna Carta

How Churchill was a war criminal.

GBs 700 year relationship to their nearest and dearest - the Irish.

Nobody here has a clue.

The highland clearances
Parliamentary reform
The east India training company

Just so people have a basic idea of how countries go from A to B.

Am very interested in history and was about to contribute but can now see the way this thread is going to go .. ie detailing the sins of the English and how none of us know or care. For that reason I'm out.

@StevieNicksscarf why take that tone? No one is saying that it only has to be the bad bits. Although I think the things that shape the modern world tend to be a bit of both. So Indian partition, was it a good idea or not? In truth, a bit of both and has consequences even now.

@StevieNicksscarf and you think the Magna Carta is about the sins of the English instead a triumph?

@StevieNicksscarf

Am very interested in history and was about to contribute but can now see the way this thread is going to go .. ie detailing the sins of the English and how none of us know or care. For that reason I'm out.

Bye.

@StevieNicksscarf

Am very interested in history and was about to contribute but can now see the way this thread is going to go .. ie detailing the sins of the English and how none of us know or care. For that reason I'm out.

The UK is more than just the English now. The colonies are now writing the history books and we aren't going to gloss over the sins of Empire.

@Julieca - apologies but I've been on here for ages and have often entered into debates but in my experience they usually descend into the English being "educated" about all the bad things they have done (which I am not denying btw) with v little nuance.

I clicked on this thread because I am genuinely interested but the responses from a few of the pps have a familiar tone eg @KimDeals "Nobody here has a clue".

These lists largely ignore any Scottish, Welsh or Irish history outwith the parts that impacted England directly.