Study guide · Chapter 3

A long and illustrious history

From the Stone Age to the present day. This is the longest chapter and the one most people fail on — dates, monarchs, wars and Acts.

What's in this chapter

• The First World War
• The partition of Ireland
• The inter-war period
• The Second World War
• Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
• Early Britain
• War at home and abroad
• The Black Death
• Legal and political changes
• The Wars of the Roses
• A distinct identity
• Constitutional monarchy - The Bill of Rights
• A growing population
• The Act of Treaty or Union in Scotland
• The Prime Minister
• The rebellion of the clans
• Robert Burns (1759-96)
• The Enlightenment
• The Industrial Revolution
• Richard Arkwright (1732-92)
• Sake Dean Mahomet (1759-1851)
• The slave trade
• The American war of independence
• War with France
• The Union Flag
• The Victorian Age
• The British Empire
• Trade and industry
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59)
• The Crimean War
• Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
• Ireland in the 19th century
• The right to vote
• Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928)
• The future of the Empire
• Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
• The welfare state
• Clement Attlee
• William Beveridge
• R A Butler
• Migration in post-war Britain
• Social change in the 1960s
• Some great British inventions of the 20th century
• Problems in the economy in the 1970s
• Margaret Thatcher
• Conservative government from 1979 to 1997
• Labour government from 1997-2010
• Conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Coalition government from 2010 to 2015
• Conservative Government from 2015 to 2024
• Labour Government from 2024
• Europe and the Common Market
• Religious conflicts
• The six wives of Henry VIII
• Queen Elizabeth I
• The Reformation in Scotland and Mary, Queen of Scots
• Exploration, poetry and drama
• William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
• James VI and I
• The King James Bible
• Ireland
• The rise of Parliament
• The beginning of the English civil war
• Oliver Cromwell and the English Republic
• The Restoration
• Isaac Newton (1643-1727)
• A Catholic King
• The Glorious Revolution

The facts people get wrong

These are the hardest questions in our chapter 3 bank. If you can answer these, the rest of the chapter will look easy.

1. 1. Approximately how many British casualties were suffered on the first day of the British attack on the Somme in July 1916?

   1. About 20,000
   2. About 40,000
   3. About 60,000
   4. About 100,000
   Show answer

   Answer: C. About 60,000

   The opening day of the Somme offensive in July 1916 produced around 60,000 British casualties, one of the worst single days in British military history. Across the whole war Britain suffered more than 2 million casualties.

   Handbook section 3.4

2. 2. Around how many of the Indian soldiers who fought on behalf of Britain in the First World War were killed?

   1. About 4,000
   2. About 15,000
   3. About 40,000
   4. About 120,000
   Show answer

   Answer: C. About 40,000

   More than a million Indians fought for Britain in many different countries, and around 40,000 of them died. Men from the West Indies, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Canada also served with the British, showing that the whole Empire was involved.

   Handbook section 3.4

3. 3. In which year did the Irish Free State become a republic?

   1. 1922
   2. 1937
   3. 1949
   4. 1955
   Show answer

   Answer: C. 1949

   The Irish Free State had its own government from 1922 and went on to become a republic in 1949. Northern Ireland, by contrast, remained part of the United Kingdom.

   Handbook section 3.4

4. 4. Which of these statements about the British attack on the Somme is correct?

   1. It began in July 1916 and produced around 60,000 British casualties on the first day alone
   2. It began in July 1916 and produced around 60,000 British casualties over the whole of the four-year war
   Show answer

   Answer: A. It began in July 1916 and produced around 60,000 British casualties on the first day alone

   The opening day of the Somme offensive was one of the bloodiest in British military history, with roughly 60,000 casualties in a single day. Across the entire war Britain suffered more than 2 million casualties.

   Handbook section 3.4

5. 5. When did the first Christian communities appear in Britain?

   1. In the 1st century AD, immediately after the invasion of Claudius
   2. During the 3rd and 4th centuries AD
   3. In the 6th century AD, once St Augustine had arrived
   4. In the 8th century AD, after the first Viking raids
   Show answer

   Answer: B. During the 3rd and 4th centuries AD

   The Romans stayed in Britain for 400 years, building roads and public buildings, creating a legal structure and introducing new plants and animals. It was during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, while they were still here, that the first Christian communities emerged.

   Handbook section 3.7

How to revise it

Read the handbook chapter once, straight through, without trying to memorise anything. Then come and do our chapter 3 practice questions. Every question you get wrong points you at a handbook section — go and read that section properly, then come back. Repeat until you're getting them right without hesitating.