The history of the British Isles is the story of four peoples linked together by a process of state building that was as much about far-sighted planning and vision as coincidence, accident and failure. It is a history of revolts and reversal, familial bonds and enmity, the study of which does much to explain the underlying tension between the nations of modern day Britain.
The Making of the British Islesrecounts the development of the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland from the time of the Anglo-French dual monarchy under Henry VI through the Wars of the Roses, the Reformation crisis, the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the Anglo-Scottish dynastic union, the British multiple monarchy and the Cromwellian Republic, ending with the acts of British Union and the Restoration of the Monarchy.
Contents
Series editor's preface (2001)
Preface
Introduction: the making of British history
Acknowledgements
The Royal Houses of England, Scotland and Great Britain
Maps
CHAPTER 1: Geography, society and government: the structures of power
CHAPTER 2: Politics, war and diplomacy, 1450-1502
CHAPTER 3: The revival of crown government
CHAPTER 4: Machines built for the battlefield: Renaissance monarchy, 1502-60
CHAPTER 5: The Reformation crisis: the origins of a Protestant state
CHAPTER 6: The Reformation crisis: reform in the parishes
CHAPTER 7: State intervention and the problems of society
CHAPTER 8: The emergence of a British state system, 1560-1584
CHAPTER 9: The testing-time of the Protestant state system, 1584-1603
CHAPTER 10: British multiple monarchy, 1603-37
CHAPTER 11: The destruction and restoration of multiple monarchy, 1637-60
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
