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

[AosSi]

Oh, and I understand that Cromwell is taught about quite differently in the UK than he is in Ireland (reminds me a bit of Columbus in the USA). He's hated where I come from and for very good reason.

[Keepithidden]

The Chinese dynasties and Cultural Revolution, the Sino-japanese wars, the formation of the USSR, African history, ancient and modern. The Middle East and the Ambrahamic and pantheonic religious contexts. so much more to list! We don't live in a Western bubble anymore.

[RobinPenguins]

More than lists of things people should know, I’d rather foster curiosity in people so that if they come across something they don’t know, they want to go and find out about it. And for them to be conscious of those things they don’t yet know about, they would be watching a range of programming, reading a range of books/articles, talking to a range of people of different ages and from different backgrounds. Any list you come up with will be driven by your own background and current societal trends. For example, in the thread at the point I’m writing this comment, no one has mentioned anything whatsoever to do with China, which is likely to become the biggest economy in the world in a few years. Even where people seem to be trying to encourage a broader view of history it’s by including e.g. India, Ireland - countries being included by virtue of their relationship with Britain and its empire.

I have an MA in History but outside the periods my studies focused on, 90% of what I know results from the curiosity I’ve described above. The more you study History, the more you realise how much you don’t know.

[amillionmenonmars]

Celtic Britain
The Welsh Princes
Glyndwr's rebellion
The impact of the translation of the Bible into Welsh on the Welsh language
The slate trade
The non conformist revival
The impact of the industrial revolution - coal and steel
The modern campaigns for Welsh independence


Just to redress the balance and to include some Welsh history in the list.

[TheUndeadLovelinessOfDemons]

I only vaguely know about most of these, and what I know I learnt as an adult. DS 14 won't be doing history for GCSE and hasn't learnt about many of these.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

Learning about your own U.K. is a good thing, but you have 12yrs to teach history. I’d require that 8yrs be U.K. focussed to cover what everyone has listed, but then 2yrs to cover Ancient World History (Ancient Greeks, Sumerians, Egyptians, Persians, Chinese, Incas, Aztecs, Phoenicians, Mughals, etc) and then 2yrs for more recent World History like the Islamic Empire and resultant Crusades to counter its spread, Spanish Empire, founding of Russia and Russian Empire, Chinese Empire & Mongol (Manchu Dynasty), Benin Empire, Ethiopian Empire, Edo Japan, etc.

It makes sense that each country teach mostly their own history, but I think 1/3rd the time should be spent studying the history of the rest of the world as well.

[NoraLuka]

The Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, which nobody has heard of (I only read about it because a Lithuanian guy at work told me to!). Not essential knowledge for anyone in the UK today but it was a huge state for a very long time before being divided up, and I think it’s interesting to see how much power can change hands over the years.

[donquixotedelamancha]

The Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth

Indeed, about 400 years (IIRC) of elected kings and peaceful multi-ethnic statehood built from lots of little democratic communities (covering 1/4 of the continent) while the rest of Europe was still feudal. Fascinating country.

[donquixotedelamancha]

For my bits we need:

The ancient Greeks are fundamental to our culture.

[LadyofMisrule]

The way in which the United Kingdom was previously divided into tribes/kingdoms, and how these were impacted by invading nations (it helps give some context for place and family names, language, and the differences between areas now).

How Britain's wealth was created: agriculture, industry, slavery, colonialism, natural assets (helps to understand why we became so powerful). And the impact that those things had on the nations we ruled.

Our history of warfare (our history of allegiances and enemies help us to understand that we have no "natural" friends or enemies in the world).

The history of the two world wars (help us understand the danger of unfettered and unchecked nationalism, the way the media can manipulate people's views, the disastrous consequences of excessively punishing nations financially, and the benefits of mutual cooperation. It would also help us to break down the myth of the Blitz Spirit, and that just because someone is good at ruling during wartime, does not make them a perfect person, and does not excuse their actions in peacetime).

The retreat from empire, and our position in the world; how colonialism has shaped our relationships with other nations (in a variety of ways). The European Union, and its impact on stability and prosperity within Europe.

Our political system, and how it works. The basis for our laws, and the importance of political neutrality in our institutions.

The history of religion, and how the break from Rome impacted our society.

[Defeatedbylife]

The underswept fact that Winston Churchill was a outright racist and also on par with Hitler when it came to the genocide, yes genocide he inflicted on millions of Indians by starving them purposely of their own food on their own soil.It was an act of shere evil.nothing can excuse it or him,i hope hes burning in hell.The partition in India was also one of the biggest man made disasters ever,killing millions upons millions and displacing just as many.The British empire was a self serving trouble making,war starting gang of looting loons.

[NeverDropYourMooncup]

History of rights and protest - all the way from Medieval times, through the shift of economic power due to labour shortages following the Black Death, including the birth of the Trade Union movement, mustn't forget the Vindication of the Rights of Women, Universal suffrage, colonialism and the abolition of slavery (ish), how systemic racism led to famine and the eventual migration of so many peoples (including Ireland and Scotland), all the way to the present day.

[weebarra]

I loved history at school and am still interested in it, 2/3 of my DCs are going the same way. I think the reasons for the Scottish and Irish diaspora, the Empire and the damage it did, social history, industrial revolution.

[MrsSkylerWhite]

Wasn’t an historical event but everyone should learn about Sutton Hoo. In terms of purely English history (apologies, union cousins, you’ll have your own) it completely turned understanding of our forbears on its head.

[julieca]

Also a bit of understanding of the stone age. The myth is of men hunting mammoths and women tending the babies and this feeds into ideas of what is natural. In reality, most calories came from foraged fruit and nuts and fishing.

[NoDecentHandlesLeft]

Bookmarking this thread to look some of these events up.
I think it's normal for each country to focus on it's "own" history. The problem being with the UK (and other colonial powers) is that world history is tied up so much into it, it's hard to pick just enough for one or two hours a week, term time only.

For instance, if you study the holocaust it's important to know the history of the Jewish people and how long they had been discriminated against in various ways and exiled from many countries, because it all ties in. People should also know abut the rise of the Nazi Party and how and why that happened, and the propaganda and race laws. There just probably isn't enough time to go that far into depth, sadly. So schools just skim the surface.

[TrashyPanda]

@donquixotedelamancha

The Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth

Indeed, about 400 years (IIRC) of elected kings and peaceful multi-ethnic statehood built from lots of little democratic communities (covering 1/4 of the continent) while the rest of Europe was still feudal. Fascinating country.

The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth is the reason why the famous Polish epic poem Pan Tadeusz begins “Oh Lithuania”.

Most folk don’t realise Bonnie Prince Charlie was 1/2 Polish - his mother was Princess Clementine Sobieski.

[Zwellers]

Here we go again. All the people that like history try to out do each other with more and more obscure historical facts whilst belittling those of us who have no interest in history for not knowing about it.If you want to study history fair enough if thats your thing. But I am not interested so don't inflict it on me.

[thisgardenlife]

What about the mass emigration from the UK, Spain and Ireland to The Americas and the mass slaughter of most of the population of Native American Indians, and forced displacement from their ancient tribal homelands.

Ditto Australia, but include the convicts in that story.

[RobertaFirmino]

I loved History GCSE but I did the 'Modern World' option. That covered:
Both world wars and all they entailed (inc. Holocaust - we were spared no detail)
Black history - inc. apartheid and slavery in the USA
Arab/Israeli conflict
Northern Ireland - partition and Troubles

I'd say the World Wars are vital. It's important to know exactly how Hitler gained power and what he did in the hope of preventing a similar occurrence. Same with slavery/apartheid.

One thing I haven't a clue about is the previous British monarchs. That was covered in what I think was called 'Social & Economic History', which was the other option at school. The option I chose has served me well though, I can hold my own against any bigot!

[RobertaFirmino]

Oh yes, women's suffrage was another one. I've never failed to vote after learning about Emily Wilding Davison. Hugely important for all girls education.

[jeannie46]

French Revolutions 1789 & 1793. (End of King's Absolute rule. ) 1830 1848 ( Across Europe too)
Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. 1799. Defeat of Austro - Hungarian empire.
1870 Paris Commune & Massacre

Occupation of Ireland by English (12th century) Strongbow
Anglo-Norman Invasion of Ireland . Native Irish dispossessed
Tudor Invasions of `Ireland. More dispossessions
17th Century Cromwellian Invasion of Ireland further
confiscation from Irish.
Penal Laws. Irish Catholic forbidden to practise religion, receive education, enter a profession, hold public office, engage in trade or commerce
Plantation of Presbyterian Scots & English in Ireland further confiscation of land from Irish (17th Century)
1845-51 'Great Hunger' Starvation in Ireland. Potato fails but bumper yields of other crops exported to England. Millions die or emigrate.
1870s repeated famine in Ireland
1916 Irish Easter Rising against English Rule.
Ongoing unrest in 6 counties. Bloody Sunday massacre by British forces / Croke Park British forces fire on football crowd 14 killed 60 injured 1920
1921 Establishment of Irish Free State. Partition of Ireland into 6 counties of Northern Ireland and Eire.

Russian Revolution 1917 (Lenin) End of absolute rule of Tsar. Expulsion of invading foreign armies.
Spanish Civil War 1936 Defeat of Elected Government by Fascists ( Franco)

Chinese Revolution 1949 (Mao) Defeat of invading Japanese, US backed Chiang Kai Shek. Expulsion of occupying foreign troops

Vietnam War (Defeat of occupying French then USA armies) 1955-1975
Cuban Revolution 1953-9 Expulsion of US forces. Ongoing Blockade by USA

[Bottleofstout]

Great thread this!

[MamsellMarie]

Religion in the UK, Religion in the UK, Religion in the UK, Religion in the UK, Religion in the UK etc

Alot of things such as homophobia, which everyone congratulates themselves on being much more inclusive than in the past, were due to following religious beliefs as stated in the bible, or as claimed to be stated in the bible. Also racism and feeling superior to other races - heathens were there to be reformed because enlightening them to God's ways would improve their primitive lives.
I feel that nowadays people think they are better people than in the past but I think it is probably that they have little or no religious beliefs now. Some muslims, as far as I know, are not accepting of homosexuality. People seem to accept that but don't link similar beliefs with Christianity in the past.
The Scottish armies in the 16th 17th C were often a mix of eg Irish Catholics, plus Highland Catholics against English and Scottish Lowland protestants. Or Catholic french, or whatever....It wasn't english against scots which people claim it is today, to a lesser extent in Ireland and northern Ireland. I don't know why there is no mention of the Protestant Catholic animosity of the past, both religions were over both countries. There just seems to be a convenient memory loss about Catholics in the UK. Bonnie Prince Charlie (hero of scottish history) was Catholic - this never gets mentioned. Doesn't suit the script.
It leads to false beliefs about history and these false beliefs feed into the present animosity in Scotland and Northern Ireland over religion.
I am happy to be corrected

[ELCismyspiritnana]

Has anyone mentioned the Chartists yet? Lots on the suffragettes - rightly, but until the Chartists only the wealthy could vote, I think more people should learn about them.