Britain

For more information on Britain, visit Britannica.com.

Britain Britain probably became known to the Mediterranean world in the fifth century BC through the Phoenicians of Carthage, the great traders and voyagers of the ancient world, because south-west Britain was one of the few sources of tin, a necessary component of bronze very scantily diffused in the Mediterranean area. Greeks of the fifth century heard only vague stories about the ‘Tin Islands’ (Cassiterides), but in the late fourth century a Greek navigator from Massilia (Marseilles), Pytheas, visited Cornwall and the tin-depot at St Michael's Mount on his circumnavigation of Britain. By the second century BC regular trade routes between Britain and the Mediterranean were established.

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, perhaps feeling that his conquest of Gaul was hardly secure without at least a show of Roman strength in Britain (Britons fought in the Gallic armies and rebellious Gauls sought refuge in Britain); total conquest may not have been his intention. The first invasion was in the nature of a reconnaissance, but the second was a more serious affair, involving a fleet of over 800 vessels and probably more than 20, 000 men, including 2, 000 cavalry. Caesar crossed the river Thames (Tamesis or Tamesa) to attack the British commander Cassivellaunus, king of the Catuvellauni, the most powerful of the southern tribes. Cassivellaunus was forced to give hostages and pay tribute, then Caesar withdrew to Gaul, where he feared an uprising.

Britain was now a recognized part of the Roman world, though Rome was not to invade again for another century. In the thirties and twenties BC the Latin poets Virgil and Horace sometimes speak as if the emperor Augustus was on the verge of annexing Britain, but nothing came of it and it was the emperor Claudius who made the conquest, sending a force of perhaps 40, 000 men in AD 43; he arrived in person for the capture of Camulodunum—Colchester—although whether he played an active part in the fighting is disputed. Claudius pursued the policy of having client kingdoms around the province: such were the Iceni of Norfolk and the Brigantes in the north, though the latter felt themselves to be largely independent. An important client king was Cogidubnus, whose land centred on the Chichester area of west Sussex (the palace excavated at Fishbourne is almost certainly his). Aulus Plautius, who had led the invasion, was made governor of the province with orders to secure the rest of the country and by 47, when his term as governor ended, the whole area south of the Humber and east of the Severn was under Roman control. Ostorius Scapula, governor from 47 to 52, made advances into Wales, and in 51 defeated Caratacus, who had become the leader of British opposition to Rome. Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, governor from 58 to 61, quashed the much more serious revolt of Boudicca, ushering in a long period of stability in the south. In the 70s the whole of Wales was subdued, and Agricola (governor 77/8–84) advanced into Scotland, reaching the line of the Forth and the Clyde in 81. In 83 he moved further north and in 84 inflicted a famous defeat on the Caledonians at Mons Graupius. He sent a fleet around the north of Britain, and thus confirmed that it was an island. By the end of the century, or soon after, however, Scotland beyond the line of the Forth and the Clyde was abandoned, and the opportunity never came again to embrace the whole island in one province.

Under the emperor Trajan (98–117) there seems to have been a withdrawal from the south of Scotland and a new boundary created along the line between the Solway and the Tyne, confirmed by the subsequent emperor Hadrian (117–138) with the most elaborate frontier in the Roman world—‘Hadrian's Wall’—which was begun after the emperor's visit in 122, and ran from Wallsend-on-Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west, 118 km. (74 miles) in all. It acted as a base for patrols, cut off raiders from the north, and produced settled conditions in the south in which the economy and the arts of peace could flourish.

Soon after Antoninus Pius became emperor in 138 he initiated a sudden change of policy. The governor of Britain, Q. Lollius Urbicus, advanced once more into southern Scotland, reconquered the lowlands, and built a new frontier wall of turf—the Antonine Wall—across the line of the Forth and the Clyde, 60 km. (37 miles) long, less elaborate than Hadrian's Wall but of the same basic plan, with forts interspersed with smaller stations. The history of this period is confused, but the Antonine Wall seems to have been abandoned in c.163. Not long after 180 what is described as the greatest war of the emperor Commodus' reign occurred in Britain. Tribes from the north swept over Hadrian's Wall, ravaged widely, and destroyed a Roman force. A punitive campaign was successfully waged in 184, followed by withdrawal to the Wall. Roman influence was accepted in the lowlands but the tribes remained autonomous.

After the assassination of the emperor Commodus in 192, Clodius Albinus, governor of Britain, became a rival to the new emperor, Septimius Severus, and eventually claimed the throne. In 196 he crossed with an army to Gaul, where he was defeated by Severus in 197 and committed suicide. His withdrawal of troops from Britain gave the opportunity to those who hated Rome, especially those beyond the Wall, to vandalize and loot. In 208 Severus himself arrived in Britain and directed a punitive expedition into Scotland; he was planning a further campaign when he died in 211. At some time in the early third century Britain was divided into two provinces, the northern having its centre at York and the southern at London. For the rest of the century it remained relatively undisturbed and moderately prosperous, untypically so if it is compared with the convulsions elsewhere in the empire in this period.

In 286 or 287 Carausius, commander of the British fleet, declared himself emperor of Britain, making the island independent of the central government in Rome. Carausius was left in peace and his government was efficient and successful, but in 294 he was assassinated by one of his chief associates, Allectus, who himself seized the provinces of Britain. In 296 Constantius launched an invasion against Allectus, and the latter was killed in battle. Constantius thereby regained the provinces, which needed considerable reconstruction. In 306, when Constantius had become senior Augustus (emperor), he was joined by his son Constantine for another invasion of Scotland, and won a great victory. Shortly after, he died at York and his son succeeded as Caesar. Constantine had soon to leave for Gaul, but during the first half of the fourth century Britain enjoyed peace and prosperity.

In 337 Constantine died and out of the ensuing chaos his son Constantine II emerged as senior Augustus with command over Britain, Gaul, and Spain. He invaded Italy, the domain of his brother Constans, in 340, and was killed in battle. Some unknown crisis brought Constans unexpectedly to Britain in 343, perhaps attacks by Picts and Scots beyond the Wall and by Saxon and Frankish marauders in the south. By 368 the threat to British security was alarming, and in that year a concerted attack was made by the tribes in the north, the west coast, and the south-east; the country was over-run and London threatened. It was two years before a military commander Theodosius (the Elder), a Spaniard, sent by the emperor Valentinian, could restore order. He drove out the invaders and again repaired the Wall. Once more Britain had a firm government and secure defences, but the growing power of barbarians outside the empire threatened all Europe and from 383 there were repeated withdrawals of troops from Britain to defend Italy. Soon after 400 effective occupation of Hadrian's Wall had ceased, but there was no sudden conclusion to Roman rule in Britain—rather it was a gradual process spread over several decades. By c.450 the barbarians were in Britain to stay.

British interest in Buddhism developed during the colonial period when a stream of officials and administrators were posted to different parts of the British Empire in Asia, and particularly to India and Sri Lanka. Sir William Jones (1746-94) founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal (subsequently the Royal Asiatic Society) in 1784, and the Society began to collect and study oriental manuscripts. The earliest Buddhist texts to be studied were Mahāyāna Sanskrit manuscripts collected in Nepal by the British Resident, B. H. Hodgson. Another British civil servant who made an outstanding contribution to the study of Theravāda Buddhism was T. W. Rhys Davids (1843-1922). Rhys Davids became interested in Buddhism during his residence in Sri Lanka and went on to found the Pāli Text Society in 1881. The Society remains to this day the most important outlet for the publication of texts and translations of Pāli Buddhist literature. Interest in Buddhism was heightened by Sir Edwin Arnold's famous poem The Light of Asia, which inspired Westerners to seek ordination. Among them was C. A. B. McGregor (1872-1923) who was ordained in 1901 as Ananda Metteya and who inspired the foundation of the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland in 1907 with his mission to England in 1908. The Theravāda form of Buddhism was predominant in Britain until the middle of the 20th century when other groups, notably zen and Tibetan (see Tibet), began to arrive.

Britain has not been affected by mass Buddhist immigration since most of the Asian immigrants to the United Kingdom have been Hindus and Muslims. In contrast to the USA (see America), there are only around 50,000 refugees from Indo-China in Britain. The majority of British Buddhists are therefore Caucasians who have converted to Buddhism, and most are middle-class. There are something of the order of 200,000 Buddhists in Britain belonging to some 100 Tibetan centres, 90 Theravāda centres, and around 100 or so other groups, including the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order.

The largest of the British Isles, including what is now called England, Wales, and Scotland. Until Roman times the island's inhabitants were dominantly Brythonic Celts, ancestors of the modern Welsh and Cornish. For that reason the word Prydain [Welsh, Britain] in early Welsh narrative usually denotes all of Britain, not just the Welsh-speaking areas. The concept of Wales [Welsh Cymru] as a nation distinct from Britain came later. The Old Irish Bretain, Modern Irish Breatain, Scottish Gaelic Breatunn, and Cornish Breten may mean all of Britain or Britain exclusive of Scotland. In Breton, the isle of Britain is Breizh-Veur or Enez-Vreizh. According to the Irish pseudo-history Lebor Gabála [Book of Invasions], Britain was named for the Nemedian hero Britán Máel. In many Welsh narratives Britain is known as the Island of the Mighty. See also ENGLAND.

Officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, located on the British Isles off the western coast of the mainland (continent) of Europe. It comprises England, Wales, and Scotland on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the island of Ireland. Its capital and largest city is London.

• Britain declared war on Germany in 1939. Allied with the United States and the Soviet Union, the British, under the leadership of Winston Churchill, played an important role in defeating Germany.
• Most of the settlers of the American colonies were British. The colonies remained under the British crown until the American Revolutionary War.
• It is one of the world's leading industrialized nations.
• A constitutional monarchy, Britain's government calls for the hereditary king or queen to perform mostly ceremonial functions. Parliament governs the country.
• At the height of its imperial power in the late nineteenth century, Britain boasted colonies and possessions around the globe. (See British Empire.)

Look up Britain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Britain may refer to:

In politics:

• United Kingdom, a sovereign state (in full, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

In geography:

• Great Britain, an island to the northwest of Continental Europe
• Britain, Virginia, an unincorporated village in Loudoun County, Virginia, USA

In history:

• Prehistoric Britain, Britain prior to the Roman invasion of 43 AD.
• Roman Britain or Britannia, a Roman province covering most of modern England and Wales, and some of southern Scotland from 43 to 410 AD.
• Sub-Roman Britain, Britain from the end of Roman rule in 410 AD to the arrival of St. Augustine in 597.
• Great Britain in the Middle Ages, Britain from the end of Roman rule in 410 AD until the beginning of Tudor rule in 1485.
• Early Modern Britain, Britain from the Tudor period, beginning in 1485, until the merger of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland with the Acts of Union in 1707.
• Kingdom of Great Britain, a sovereign state from 1707 to 1800
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, a sovereign state from 1801 to 1927

People:

• Calvin Britain 1800-1862, American politician from Michigan
• Kristen Britain, novelist from New York state

Other:

• Captain Britain, Marvel Comics superhero
• W. Britain, toy soldier company

See also

Terminology:

• Britain (name) for the etymology of the word
• Terminology of the British Isles, discusses the sometimes ambiguous or contentious names for parts of the island group

Related:

• British (disambiguation) adjective meaning from/of Britain; and derived senses
• British Isles, the island group Britain is part of
• Britannia (disambiguation), a personification of Britain; and derived senses
• Brittany (disambiguation), a region of France settled by Brythons; and derived senses
• Great Britain (disambiguation)
• New Britain (disambiguation)
• List of all pages beginning with "Britain"
• List of all pages beginning with "Great Britain"
• List of all pages beginning with "United Kingdom"

Similar spellings

• Brittain, a more common spelling for the surname
• Britten (disambiguation)
• Briton, meaning a British person
• Brython, pre-Roman inhabitant of Great Britain

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Common misspelling(s) of Britain

• Britian