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What stage in British history do you think was the most defining moment?

90 replies

Nidan2Sandan · 19/12/2021 15:27

Pre 2020!

What point do you think has had the biggest or most profound affect on Britain.

For me, its Henry II and Simon DeMonfort. It was when the King no longer had ultimate, utilitarian rule over the lands and the beginnings of parliament were founded. Parliament we still have today (yes, yes, I know today's is pretty shit).

Just to be clear, there are no wrong answers Xmas Grin

OP posts:
Alieninmybody · 21/12/2021 00:03

Guy fawkes not blowing up parliament meant Britain stayed on course with a very different history than the one they would've had should he have succeeded.

DGRossetti · 21/12/2021 07:57

An awful lot of people (mainly British) forget it was the British Empire fighting Germany in 1939. If you stack the numbers up on both sides, then the only underdog was Germany.

MintJulia · 21/12/2021 08:04

Magna Carta, the industrial revolution and votes for women/the Married Woman's Property Act.

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Fucket · 21/12/2021 08:20

I think our technological advances brought on by our advances in international trade, which lead to our greater ability to do what all the other nations were attempting to do, discover new land and colonise. It wasn’t solely a British thing.

So I would say, Harrison’s chronometer is up there. You’ve got to be able to know where you are in the world to know your place in it. (Without the chronometer sailors relied on celestial navigation and the weather is not always favourable or the ocean calm).

Then perhaps the invention of the steam train.

These are uniquely British inventions and put us ahead of other nations, when really we are just a pipsqueak of a country. We have ‘declined’ since then, but really I think we were just lucky and now we should
Accept our natural place in the world rankings.

boobot1 · 21/12/2021 08:31

1588 sinking of the Spanish Armada

TheDrsDocMartens · 21/12/2021 08:40

I recently read a theory about The Enclosure (Inclosure) Acts forming the division between men & women as it meant women has less work opportunities.
Before they could work flexibly around children and share childcare with other families. Afterwards people would be employed and women couldn’t commit to that leaving them dependent on men.

rrhuth · 21/12/2021 08:44

The Reformation blows my mind, really. What an enormous decision at the time.

amillionmenonmars · 21/12/2021 08:50

Interesting question.

There are clear and compelling reasons to go with 1066 as it very much shaped the way the country was governed and the language that we speak today. However, Britain is a country that had gone through wave after wave of invasion, each of which shaped who we were to become.

Certainly the Black Death had a major impact and shifted a lot of power from the ruling classes and landowners back to the workers who could now have more freedom to choose where they worked and who they worked for.

The Reformation had a huge impact on British identity and culture. It also played a major role on the preservation of language - the Welsh translation of the Bible in particular.

The execution of Charles II. Yes, the royal family was later restored, but it would never again have the same powers. The erosion of royal power was not an overnight event though - it had been gradual over many generations.

Similarly the Industrial revolution. The inventors, scientists and industrialists of that era made a massive impact on Britain and the world. It led to a huge shift from rural to urban living for millions. It also led to misery for millions due to slavery, child labour and the exploitation of the working classes. It also lead to massive advances in road and rail that still impact on our lives today. We are still driving on many of the roads built at that time, living in the houses and using the sewage systems.

More recently advances in vaccines and medicines and in science and tech have also shaped who we are today.

However, almost everything I have listed is not unique to Britain. We do not live in a bubble. Things that happen here are also happening throughout the world. World Wars, scientific advances, attitudes to human rights - these are all defining moments for most (often all) other countries too.

TerraNovaTwo · 21/12/2021 08:58

End of the slave trade in Great Britain 1807.

sashh · 21/12/2021 09:21

The other point is that while slavery certainly made some British people very rich its impact on the average British person was probably nil.

I think the opposite, the impact was on every one then and to some extent now.

We wouldn't have the Tate galleries (and yes I know about the date but the Tate money came from slavery).

I live in the midlands, one of the principle industries was making chains and locks (Chub building still retains its name) and of course clients included slave traders.

Things that everyone has access to education, healthcare even roads are a result of the wealth created by the empire and slave trade.

I think each individual has an individual history, women were impacted by WWI much more than other wars (unless they were actually in the countries being fought over).

The way disabled people were treated also changed with the world wars, not enough but there was a start.

The role of antibiotics and modern medicine has had a huge effect on Britain.

When my mother was regnant with me she was exposed to rubella, her only possible treatment was gamma globulin and to cross her fingers for 7 months.

Abortion wasn't a legal option.

EmpressCixi · 21/12/2021 10:31

Things that everyone has access to education, healthcare even roads are a result of the wealth created by the empire and slave trade.

I don’t agree the money made over two centuries ago is long gone and spent. It’s not funding education and healthcare today or for centuries. Even when it did, it wasn’t extended to the majority of the population- the working class.

In addition, the country has carried massive public debt since slavery was abolished. Education and healthcare has been funded by the country taking on debt. There’s not some treasure hoard that is being passed down for over a dozen generations.

TroysMammy · 21/12/2021 10:35

The Victorian era which had lots of inventions. However not impressed with the invention of the electric iron and Christmas cards though.

florentina1 · 21/12/2021 10:46

The English Civil War. Doing away with the Divine Right of Kings. Parliament for and of the people was the first step in democracy.

sashagabadon · 21/12/2021 11:03

Abdication of Edward viii paving way for Elizabeth Ii and her family line to ascend throne?

TerraNovaTwo · 22/12/2021 14:43

I don’t agree the money made over two centuries ago is long gone and spent.

Bullshit

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