Union and political change
The Acts of Union of 1707 united the parliaments of England and Scotland and created the Kingdom of Great Britain. Scotland kept important separate institutions, including its legal and education systems.
In 1801 Great Britain and Ireland were joined in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Most of Ireland later became independent; Northern Ireland remained part of the UK. The 18th and 19th centuries also saw gradual changes to Parliament and the right to vote.
Industrial Revolution
Britain was at the centre of the Industrial Revolution. New machinery and factories transformed industries such as textiles and iron production. Growing towns and cities attracted workers, while canals and later railways changed how goods and people moved.
James Watt developed important improvements to the steam engine. Richard Arkwright developed machinery associated with cotton production. Isambard Kingdom Brunel became famous for ambitious engineering projects including railways, bridges and ships.
Industrialisation created wealth and technological progress but also difficult working and living conditions for many people. Reform movements and new laws gradually addressed some conditions in factories and cities.
Empire and abolition
Britain developed a large overseas empire and became a major trading and naval power. The slave trade and slavery are important parts of this history, and British merchants and ports were heavily involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
Campaigners against the slave trade included William Wilberforce and many others, including formerly enslaved people such as Olaudah Equiano. Parliament abolished the British transatlantic slave trade in 1807 and slavery in most of the British Empire in 1833.
During the 19th century the British Empire expanded further. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries it included territories across the world. Its history had lasting political, economic and cultural effects in Britain and overseas.
Victorian Britain
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. The period saw industrial expansion, political reform and major changes to Britain’s cities and society.
Voting rights were extended gradually through 19th-century Reform Acts, although voting was still far from universal. The period also saw campaigns to improve education, public health and working conditions.
The Crimean War took place during Victoria’s reign. Florence Nightingale became famous for her nursing work during the war and later helped improve standards of nursing and hospital care.
Key people and dates
Questions may connect important people with their achievements, so revise the name together with the contribution.
- ✓1707 — Kingdom of Great Britain created
- ✓James Watt — steam-engine improvements
- ✓Isambard Kingdom Brunel — engineer
- ✓1807 — slave trade abolished
- ✓1833 — slavery abolished in most of the British Empire
- ✓1837–1901 — reign of Queen Victoria
- ✓Florence Nightingale — nursing reform