UK series 英国系列 1 | A Brief History of The United Kingdom 英国简史
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The United Kingdom is a European region with a long and storied history. The first modern humans (Homo sapiens) arrived in the region during the Ice Age (about 35,000 to 10,000 years ago), when the sea levels were lower and Britain was connected to the European mainland. It is these people who built the ancient megalithic monuments of Stonehenge and Avebury.
英国是一个历史悠久的欧洲地区。第一批现代人类（智人）是在冰河时期（约35000年至10000年前）来到这里的，当时海平面较低，英国与欧洲大陆相连。正是这些人建造了巨石阵和阿维伯里的古代巨石纪念碑。
Stonehenge
巨石阵
Between 1,500 and 500 BCE, Celtic tribes migrated from Central Europe and France to Britain and mixed with the indigenous inhabitants, creating a new culture slightly distinct from the Continental Celtic one. This came to be known as the Bronze Age. The Romans controlled most of present-day England and Wales, and founded a large number of cities that still exist today. London, York, St Albans, Bath, Exeter, Lincoln, Leicester, Worcester, Gloucester, Chichester, Winchester, Colchester, Manchester, Chester, and Lancaster were all Roman towns, as were all the cities with names now ending in -chester, -cester or -caster, which derive from the Latin word castrum, meaning "fortification.”
公元前1500年至公元前500年，凯尔特部落从中欧和法国移民到英国，并与土著居民融合，创造了一种与大陆凯尔特文化稍有不同的新文化。这就是所谓的青铜时代。罗马人统治了当今英格兰和威尔士的大部分地区，并建立了许多至今仍存在的城市。伦敦、约克、圣奥尔本、巴斯、埃克塞特、林肯、莱斯特、伍斯特、格洛斯特、奇切斯特、温彻斯特、科尔切斯特、曼彻斯特、切斯特和兰开斯特都是罗马城镇，还有现在所有以-Chester、-cester或-caster结尾的城市，这是从拉丁词castrum派生出来的，意思是“防御工事”
The Anglo-Saxons 盎格鲁-撒克逊人
In the 5th century, the Romans progressively abandoned Britannia, as their Empire was falling apart and legions were needed to protect Rome. With the Romans vacated, the Celtic tribes started warring with each other again, and one of the local chieftains had the idea to request help from some of the Germanic tribes from the North of present-day Germany and South of Denmark. These were the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries. When the fighting ceased, the Germanic tribes did not, as expected by the Celts, return to their homeland. In fact, they felt strong enough to seize the whole of the country for themselves, which they ultimately did, pushing back all the Celtic tribes to Wales and Cornwall, and founding their respective kingdoms of Kent (the Jutes), Essex, Sussex and Wessex (the Saxons), and further northeast, the kingdoms of Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria (the Angles). These 7 kingdoms, which ruled over the United Kingdom from about 500 to 850 AD, were later known as the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy.
在5世纪，罗马人逐渐放弃不列颠尼亚，因为他们的帝国正在崩溃，需要军团来保护罗马。随着罗马人的撤离，凯尔特部落又开始互相争斗，其中一个地方酋长有了这个想法，要求来自当今德国北部和丹麦南部的一些日耳曼部落提供帮助。这些是盎格鲁人、撒克逊人和黄麻人，他们在5世纪和6世纪来到这里。战斗结束后，日耳曼部落并没有像凯尔特人所期望的那样返回自己的家乡。事实上，他们觉得自己有足够的能力为自己夺取整个国家，最终他们做到了，把凯尔特人的所有部落都推回威尔士和康沃尔，而且建立了他们各自的王国比如：肯特（黄麻）、埃塞克斯、苏塞克斯和威塞克斯（撒克逊人），再往东北，就是盎格鲁王国，梅西亚和诺森布里亚（盎格魯人）。这7个王国在公元500年至850年左右统治着英国，后来被称为盎格鲁撒克逊七国。
The Vikings 维京人
Movie Screenshot
电影截图
In the latter half of the 9th century, the Norse people from Scandinavia began to invade Europe, with the Swedes putting down roots in Eastern Europe and the Danes creating problems throughout Western Europe, as far as North Africa. Towards the dawn of the 10th century, the Danes invaded the Northeast of England, from Northumberland to East Anglia, and founded a new kingdom known as the Danelaw. Another group of Danes managed to take Paris, and obtain a grant of land from the King of France in 911. This area became the Duchy of Normandy, and its inhabitants were the Normans (from 'North Men' or 'Norsemen', another term for 'Viking').
9世纪后半叶，斯堪的纳维亚的北欧人开始入侵欧洲，瑞典人扎根东欧，丹麦人在整个西欧，甚至北非制造各种混乱。在10世纪初，丹麦人入侵英格兰东北部，从诺森伯兰到东英吉利亚，建立了一个新王国，称为丹麦区。另一批丹麦人设法占领了巴黎，并在911年从法国国王那里获得了土地。这个地区成为诺曼底公爵领地，其居民是诺曼人（来自于“北方人”或“北欧人”，就是维京人的另外个称号）。
The Normans 诺曼人
During that same period, the Kings of Wessex had resisted, and eventually vanquished the Danes in England in the 10th century. However, the powerful Canute the Great (995-1035), king of the newly unified Denmark and Norway and overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania, led two other invasions on England in 1013 and 1015, and became king of England in 1016, after crushing the Anglo-Saxon King, Edmund II.
在同一时期，威塞克斯国王进行了抵抗，并最终在10世纪征服了英国的丹麦人。然而，强大的克努特大帝（995-1035年），新统一的丹麦和挪威的国王和施莱斯维格与波美拉尼亚的霸主，在1013年和1015年领导了另外两次对英格兰的侵略，并在1016年打败了盎格鲁撒克逊国王埃德蒙二世成为了英格兰国王。
During the 11th century, the Norman King Edward the Confessor (1004-1066) nominated William, Duke of Normandy, as his successor, but upon Edward’s death, Harold Godwinson, the powerful Earl of Wessex, crowned himself king. William refused to acknowledge Harold as King and invaded England with 12,000 soldiers in 1066. King Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror become William I of England. The Norman rulers kept their possessions in France, and even extended them to most of Western France. French became the official language of England, and remained that way until 1362, a short time after the beginning of the Hundred Years' War with France. English nevertheless remained the language of the populace, and the fusion of English (a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Norse languages) with French and Latin (used by the clergy) slowly evolved into the modern English we know today.
在11世纪，诺曼国王爱德华（1004-1066）提名诺曼底公爵威廉为继承人，但爱德华死后，威塞克斯伯爵哈罗德·戈德温森加冕为国王。威廉拒绝承认哈罗德为国王，并于1066年携12000名士兵入侵英格兰。哈罗德国王在黑斯廷斯战役中阵亡，征服者威廉成为英国的威廉一世。诺曼统治者把他们的财产保存在法国，甚至扩展到法国西部的大部分地区。法语成为英国的官方语言，并一直保持到1362年，也就是在与法国的百年战争开始不久。尽管如此，英语仍然是大众的语言，英语（盎格鲁撒克逊语和挪威语混合语）与法语和拉丁语（由神职人员使用）的融合慢慢演变成了我们今天所知道的现代英语。
12 and 13 Centuries 十二和十三世纪
The English royals that followed William I had the infamous habit to contend for the throne. William's son, William II was killed while hunting, although it is widely believed that he was in fact murdered so that William's second son, Henry, could become king. Henry I's succession was also fraught with agitation, with his daughter Matilda and her cousin Stephen (grandson of William I) starting a civil war for the throne. Although Stephen eventually won, it was ultimately Matilda's son that succeeded to the throne, becoming Henry II (1133-1189). It is under Henry II that the University of Oxford was established.
追随威廉一世的英国皇室成员有着声名狼藉的争夺王位的习惯。威廉的儿子威廉二世是在打猎时死了的，尽管人们普遍认为他实际上是被谋杀所以威廉的第二个儿子亨利可以成为国王。亨利一世的继任也充满了不安，他的女儿马蒂尔达和她的表弟斯蒂芬（威廉一世的孙子）开始了一场争夺王位的内战。虽然斯蒂芬最终获胜，但最终是马蒂尔达的儿子继承了王位，成为亨利二世（1133-1189）。牛津大学是在亨利二世的领导下成立的。
The two children of Henry II—Richard I "Lionhearted" and John Lackland—also battled for the throne. The oldest son, Richard, eventually succeeded to the throne, but because he was rarely in England, mostly because he was defending his French possessions or fighting the infidels in the Holy Land, his brother John Lackland usurped the throne and started another civil war.
亨利二世的两个孩子理查德一世 “狮心”和约翰拉克兰也有争夺王位的内战。大儿子理查德最终继承了王位，但由于他很少在英格兰，因为大部分时间在保卫他的法国财产或在圣地与异教徒作战，他的兄弟约翰·拉克兰篡位并发动了另一场内战。
John's grandson, Edward I "Longshanks" (1239-1307) spent most of his 35-year reign fighting wars, including one against the Scots, led by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. With the help of these men, the Scots were able to resist.
约翰的孙子爱德华一世“Longshanks”（1239-1307）在他35年的统治中，大部分时间都在打仗，其中包括一场由威廉华莱士（William Wallace）和罗伯特布鲁斯（Robert the Bruce）领导的苏格兰人的战争。在这些人的帮助下，苏格兰人得以抵抗。
14 and 15 Centuries 十四和十五世纪
After a brief rule by Edward Longshanks son, his grandson, Edward III (1312-1377), succeeded to the throne at the age of 15 and reigned for 50 years. His reign was marked by the beginning of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1416) and deadly epidemics of bubonic plague ("Black Death"), which killed one third of England’s (and Europe's) population. Edward III was often off fighting in France, leaving his third son, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, to run the government. Later, John’s son, Henry Bolingbroke, would be proclaimed King Henry IV (1367-1413).
在爱德华龙山克斯（Edward Longshanks）的儿子的短暂统治下，他的孙子爱德华三世（1312-1377）在15岁时继承了王位，并统治了50年。他的统治以百年战争（1337-1416）的开始和致命的黑死病的流行为标志，黑死病杀死了英国（和欧洲）三分之一的人口。爱德华三世当时经常在法国打仗，留下他的第三个儿子，兰开斯特公爵，冈特的约翰来管理政府。后来，约翰的儿子亨利·博林布鲁克被宣布为亨利四世（1367-1413）国王。
Henry V (1387-1422) famously defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, but his pious and peace-loving son Henry VI (1421-1471), who inherited the throne at age one, was to have a much more troubled reign. The regent lost most of England’s possessions in France to a 17-year old girl (Joan of Arc) and in 1455 the Wars of the Roses broke out. This civil war opposed the House of Lancaster (the Red Rose, supporters of Henry VI) to the House of York (the White Rose, supporters of Edward IV). The Yorks argued that the crown should have passed to Edward III' second son, Lionel of Antwerp, rather than to the Lancaster descendant of John of Gaunt.
亨利五世（1387-1422）在1415年的阿金库尔战役中击败了法国人，但他虔诚、爱好和平的儿子亨利六世（1421-1471）在一岁时继承了王位，他的统治将更加困难。摄政王把英格兰在法国的大部分财产都输给了一个17岁的女孩（圣女贞德），1455年玫瑰战争爆发。这场内战反对兰开斯特家族（红玫瑰，亨利六世的支持者）而支持约克家族（白玫瑰，爱德华四世的支持者）。约克人争辩说，皇冠应该传给爱德华三世的次子、安特卫普的莱昂内尔，而不是朗卡斯特的后代，冈特的约翰。
Edward IV's son, Edward V, only reigned for one year, before being locked in the Tower of London by his evil uncle, Richard III (1452-1485). In 1485, Henry Tudor (1457-1509), the half-brother of Henry VI, defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field and became Henry VII, founder of the House of Tudor. Following Henry (Tudor) VII to the throne was perhaps England’s most famous and historically significant ruler, the magnificent Henry VIII (1491-1547).
爱德华四世的儿子爱德华五世只在位一年，后来被邪恶的叔叔理查三世（1452-1485）锁在伦敦塔。1485年，亨利六世的同父异母兄弟亨利都铎（1457-1509）在博斯沃思战役中击败理查三世，成为都铎王朝的创始人亨利七世。继亨利七世（都铎王朝）之后，也许是英国最著名、历史意义最重大的统治者，宏伟的亨利八世（1491-1547）。
16 Century 十六世纪
Henry VIII is remembered in history as one of the most powerful kings of England. He changed the face of England, passing the Acts of Union with Wales (1536-1543), and became the first ruler to declare himself king of both Wales and Ireland. In 1533, Henry VIII divorced Catherine of Aragon to remarry Anne Boleyn, causing the Pope to excommunicate him from the church. As a result, Henry proclaimed himself head of the Church of England. He dissolved all the monasteries in the country (1536-1540) and nationalized them, becoming immensely rich in the process. Henry VIII was the last English king to claim the title of King of France, as he lost his last possession there, the port of Calais (although he tried to recover it, taking Tournai for a few years, the only town in present-day Belgium to have been under English rule).
亨利八世作为英格兰最强大的国王之一被历史铭记。他改变了英格兰的面貌，通过了威尔士联盟法案（1536-1543），成为第一位宣布自己为威尔士和爱尔兰国王的统治者。1533年，亨利八世与阿拉贡的凯瑟琳离婚，与安妮·博林再婚，导致教皇将他逐出教会。结果，亨利宣布自己是英国国教的领袖。他解散了国内所有的修道院（1536-1540），并将其国有化，在这一过程中他变得非常富有。亨利八世是最后一位声称拥有法兰西国王头衔的英国国王，因为他在那里失去了最后一个领地加莱港（尽管他试图夺回它，夺走了图尔奈几年，图尔奈是目前比利时唯一受过英国统治的城镇）。
It was also under Henry VIII that England started exploring the globe and trading outside Europe, although this would only develop to colonial proportions under his daughters, Mary I and especially Elizabeth I. Upon the death of Henry VIII, his 10-year old son, Edward VI, inherited the throne. Six years later, however, Edward VI died and was succeeded by Henry’s elder half-daughter Mary. Mary I (1516-1558), a staunch Catholic, intended to restore Roman Catholicism to England, executing over 300 religious dissenters in her 5-year reign (which owned her the nickname of Bloody Mary). She married the powerful King Philip II of Spain, who also ruled over the Netherlands, the Spanish Americas and the Philippines (named after him), and was the champion of the Counterreformation. Mary died childless of ovarian cancer in 1558, and her half-sister Elizabeth ascended to the throne.
也正是在亨利八世统治下，英国开始探索全球，并在欧洲以外进行贸易，尽管这只会在他的女儿玛丽一世，特别是伊丽莎白一世的统治下发展到殖民时期。亨利八世去世后，他10岁的儿子爱德华六世继承了王位。然而，六年后，爱德华六世去世，由亨利的大女儿玛丽继承。玛丽一世（1516-1558），一位坚定的天主教徒，打算将罗马天主教恢复到英国，在她5年的统治中处决了300多名宗教异见者（她的绰号是血腥玛丽）。她嫁给了强大的西班牙国王菲利普二世，后者也统治着荷兰、西班牙美洲和菲律宾（以他的名字命名），并且是反宗教改革的拥护者。1558年玛丽死于卵巢癌，因为她没有生孩子所以她同父异母的妹妹伊丽莎白登上王位。
The great Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) saw the first golden age of England. It was an age of great navigators like Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, and an age of enlightenment with the philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626), and playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) and William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Her reign was also marked by conflicts with France and Scotland, and later Spain and Ireland. She never married, and when Mary Stuart tried and failed to take over the throne of England, Elizabeth kept her imprisoned for 19 years before finally signing her act of execution. Elizabeth died in 1603, and ironically, Mary Stuart's son, James VI of Scotland, succeeded Elizabeth as King James I of England—thus creating the United Kingdom.
伟大的伊丽莎白女王一世（1533-1603）见证了英国的第一个黄金时代。这是一个伟大的航海者的时代，如弗朗西斯·德雷克爵士和沃尔特·罗利爵士，一个启蒙时代，哲学家弗朗西斯·培根（1561-1626），剧作家克里斯托弗·马洛（1564-1593）和威廉·莎士比亚（1564-1616）。她的统治还以与法国、苏格兰、和后来跟西班牙和爱尔兰的冲突为标志。她从未结过婚，当玛丽·斯图尔特试图接管英国王位但失败后，伊丽莎白将她囚禁了19年，最后签署了她的死刑。伊丽莎白于1603年去世，具有讽刺意味的是，玛丽·斯图尔特的儿子、苏格兰的詹姆斯六世接替伊丽莎白成为英格兰的詹姆斯一世国王，从而建立了英国。
17 Century 十七世纪
James I (1566-1625), a Protestant, aimed at improving relations with the Catholic Church. But 2 years after he was crowned, a group of Catholic extremists, led by Guy Fawkes, attempted to place a bomb at the parliament's state opening, hoping to eliminate all the Protestant aristocracy in one fell swoop. However, the conspirators were betrayed by one of their own just hours before the plan's enactment. The failure of the Gunpowder Plot, as it is known, is still celebrated throughout Britain on Guy Fawkes' night (5th November), with fireworks and bonfires burning effigies of the conspirators' leader.
詹姆斯一世（1566-1625），新教徒，旨在改善与天主教的关系。但在他加冕2年后，盖伊·福克斯（Guy Fawkes）领导的一批天主教极端分子试图在议会开幕式上放置炸弹，希望一举消灭所有新教贵族。然而，就在计划颁布前几个小时，阴谋者被他们自己人出卖了。众所周知，在盖伊·福克斯（Guy Fawkes）之夜（11月5日），英国各地仍在庆祝火药阴谋的失败，焰火和篝火焚烧了阴谋领导人的肖像。
After this incident, the divide between Catholics and Protestant worsened. James's successor Charles I (1600-1649) was eager to unify Britain and Ireland. His policies, however, were unpopular among the populace, and his totalitarian handling of the Parliament eventually culminated in the English Civil War (1642-1651). Charles was beheaded, and the puritan Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) ruled the country as a dictator from 1649 to his death. He was briefly succeeded by his son Richard at the head of the Protectorate, but his political inability prompted the Parliament to restore the monarchy in 1660, calling in Charles I exiled son, Charles II (1630-1685).
这一事件过了后，天主教徒和新教徒之间的分歧进一步恶化。詹姆斯的继任者查理一世（1600-1649）渴望统一英国和爱尔兰。然而，他的政策在民众中并不受欢迎，他对议会的极权统治最终导致了英国内战（1642-1651）。查尔斯被斩首，清教徒奥利弗·克伦威尔（1599-1658）在1649年以独裁者的身份统治国家直到他去世。他的儿子李察在保护者的头上短暂继承，但他的政治无能促使议会于1660恢复君主政体，让查尔斯为流亡儿子查理二世（1630—1685年）登上王位。
Charles II, known as the “Merry Monarch,” was much more adept than his father at handling Parliament, although every bit as ruthless with other matters. During his reign, the Whig and Tory parties were created, and the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam became English and was renamed New York, after Charles' brother, James, Duke of York (and later James II). Charles II was the patron of the arts and science, helping to found the Royal Society and sponsoring some of England’s proudest architecture. Charles also acquired Bombay and Tangiers through his Portuguese wife, thus laying the foundation for the British Empire. Although Charles produced countless illegitimate children, his wife couldn't bear an heir, and when he died in 1685 the throne passed to his Catholic and unpopular brother James.
被称为“Merry君主”的查理二世在处理议会事务上比他父亲娴熟得多，尽管在处理其他事务上也同样冷酷无情。在他统治期间，辉格党和保守党成立，荷兰殖民地新阿姆斯特丹被英国统治了，并更名为纽约，这是以查尔斯的兄弟，詹姆斯，约克公爵（后来詹姆斯二世）命名的。查理二世是艺术和科学的赞助人，帮助建立了皇家学会，并赞助了一些英国最引以为豪的建筑。查尔斯也通过他的葡萄牙妻子统计了孟买和丹吉尔地区，从而为大英帝国奠定了基础。尽管查尔斯生出了无数私生子，但他的妻子无法生育后代，1685年他去世时，王位传给了他的天主教和不受欢迎的兄弟詹姆斯。
James II's unpopularity led to his quick removal from power in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was succeeded by his Protestant daughter Mary, who was married to his equally Protestant nephew, William of Orange. The new ruling couple became known as the "Grand Alliance," and parliament ratified a bill stating that all kings or queens would have to be Protestant from that point forward. After Mary's death in 1694, and then William's in 1702, James's second daughter, Anne, ascended to the throne. In 1707, the Act of Union joined the Scottish and the English Parliaments thus creating the single Kingdom of Great Britain and centralizing political power in London. Anne died heirless in 1714, and a distant German cousin, George of Hanover, was called to rule over the UK.
詹姆斯二世的不受欢迎导致他在1688年光荣革命中迅速下台。他的继位者是他的新教女儿玛丽，她嫁给了同样是新教的侄子、奥兰治的威廉。这对新的执政夫妇被称为“大联盟”，议会批准了一项法案，规定从那时起，所有国王或王后都必须是新教徒。1694年玛丽死了，1702年威廉死后，詹姆斯的二女儿安妮登上王位。1707年，联合法案加入了苏格兰和英国议会，从而建立了英国的单一王国，并将政治权力集中在伦敦。安妮于1714年无继承人去世，一位远在德国的堂兄，汉诺威的乔治，被召来统治英国。
18 Century and the House of Hanover 18世纪与汉诺威之家
When George I (1660-1727) arrived in England, he couldn't speak a word of English. The king's inability to communicate well with his government and subjects led him to appoint a de facto Prime Minister in the person of Robert Walpole (1676-1745). This marked a turning point in British politics, as future monarchs were also to remain more passive figures, lending the reins of the government to the Prime Minister. George II (1683-1760) was also German born. He was a powerful ruler, and the last British monarch to personally lead his troops into battle. The British Empire expanded considerably during his reign; a reign that saw notable changes, including the replacement of the Julian Calendar by the Gregorian Calendar in 1752, and moving the date of the New Year from March 25 to January 1.
当乔治一世（1660-1727）到达英国时，他一句英语也不会说。国王无法与他的政府和臣民进行良好沟通，因此他任命了罗伯特·沃尔波尔（1676-1745）为事实上的首相。这标志着英国政治的一个转折点，因为未来的君主也将保持更为消极的形象，把政府的控制权交给首相。乔治二世（1683-1760）也是德国人。他是一位强大的统治者，也是最后一位亲自带领军队参战的英国君主。大英帝国在其统治期间扩张了许多；这一统治经历了显著的变化，包括1752年用公历取代了儒略历，并将新年日期从3月25日改为1月1日。
George III was the first Hanoverian king to be born in England. He ascended to the throne during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) opposing almost all the major Western powers in two teams, chiefly British against French, and ended in a de facto victory for the UK, which acquired New France (Quebec), Florida, and most of French India in the process. Thirteen years later, the American War of Independence (1776-1782) broke out and in 1782 13 American colonies were finally granted their independence, forming the United States of America. Seven years later, the French Revolution broke out, and Louis XVI was guillotined. George III suffered from a hereditary disease known as porphyria, and his mental health seriously deteriorated from 1788. In 1800, the Act of Union merged the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland.
乔治三世是第一位出生在英国的汉诺威国王。他在七年战争（1756-1763）中登上王位，英国两军队对抗几乎所有西方大国，主要是英国人对法国人，最终英国取得了事实上的胜利，英国在此过程中获得了新法国（魁北克）、佛罗里达和大部分法属印度。13年后，美国独立战争（1776-1782）爆发，1782年，13个美洲殖民地最终获得独立，形成了美利坚合众国。七年后，法国大革命爆发，路易十六被斩首。乔治三世患有一种称为卟啉症的遗传病，他的精神健康从1788年开始严重恶化。1800年，联合法案合并了大不列颠和爱尔兰王国。
The battle of Traflagar
特拉法加战争
The United Kingdom during this time also had to face the ambitions of Napoleon, who desired to conquer the whole of Europe. Admiral Nelson's naval victory at Traflagar in 1805, along with Wellington's decisive victory at Waterloo, saved the UK and further reinforced its international position. The 19th century would be dominated by the British Empire, spreading on all five continents, from Canada and the Caribbean to Australia and New Zealand, via Africa, India and South-East Asia.
在此期间，英国也不得不面对拿破仑的野心，他渴望征服整个欧洲。1805年纳尔逊上将在特拉法加的海军胜利，以及惠灵顿在滑铁卢的决定性胜利，拯救了英国，进一步巩固了英国的国际地位。19世纪将由大英帝国统治，从加拿大和加勒比到澳大利亚和新西兰，经由非洲、印度和东南亚，分布在五大洲。
19 Century 十九世纪
In 1837, then king William IV died of liver disease and the throne passed to the next in line, his 18-year old niece Victoria (1819-1901), although she did not inherit the Kingdom of Hanover, where the Salic Law forbid women to rule. Victoria didn't expect to become queen, and being unmarried and inexperienced in politics she had to rely on her Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne (1779-1848). She finally got married to her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861), and both were respectively niece and nephew of the first King of the Belgians, Leopold I (of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). Britain asserted its domination on virtually every part of the globe during the 19th century, resulting in a number of wars, including the Opium Wars (1839-42 & 1856-60) with Qing China and the Boer Wars (1880-81 and 1899-1902) with the Dutch-speaking settlers of South Africa. 1837年，当时的威廉四世国王死于肝病，王位传给下一个继承人，他18岁的侄女维多利亚（1819-1901），尽管她没有继承汉诺威王国，那里的萨利克法律禁止妇女统治。维多利亚没想到自己会成为女王，而且未婚，政治经验不足，她不得不依靠她的总理墨尔本勋爵（1779-1848）。她终于嫁给了她的表弟，萨克斯-科堡-哥达王子阿尔伯特（1819-1861），两人分别是比利时第一任国王利奥波德一世（萨克斯-科堡-哥达）的侄女和侄子。英国在19世纪几乎统治了世界的每一个角落，导致了一系列的战争，包括（1839-42&1856-60）与中国清政府的鸦片战争，波尔战争（1880-81和1899-1902）和与南非的荷兰定居者的战争。
In 1854, the United Kingdom was brought into the Crimean War (1854-56) on the side of the Ottoman Empire and against Russia. One of the best-known figures of that war was Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), who fought for the improvement of women's conditions and pioneered modern nursing. The latter years of Victoria’s reign were dominated by two influential Prime Ministers, Benjamin Disraeli (1808-1881) and his rival William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898). The former was the favorite of the Queen, while Gladstone, a liberal, was often at odds with both Victoria and Disraeli. However, the strong party support for Gladstone kept him in power for a total of 14 years between 1868 and 1894. He is credited with legalizing trade unions, and advocating for both universal education and suffrage. Queen Victoria was to have the longest reign of any British monarch (64 years), but also the most glorious, as she ruled over 40% of the globe and a quarter of the world's population.
1854年，英国加入了克里米亚战争（1854-1856）为了支持奥斯曼帝国，对抗俄罗斯。这场战争中最著名的人物之一是佛罗伦萨·南丁格尔（1820-1910），他为改善妇女状况而战斗，并开创了现代护理的先河。维多利亚统治后期有两位有影响力的首相，本杰明·迪斯雷利（1808-1881）和他的对手威廉·埃沃特·格拉德斯通（1809-1898）。前者是女王的最爱，而自由主义者格拉斯顿则经常与维多利亚和迪斯雷利意见相左。然而，在1868年至1894年间，党内对格拉德斯通的大力支持使他总共执政14年。他被认为是工会合法化的功臣，他提倡普及教育和选举权。维多利亚女王是英国君主中在位时间最长（64年）之一，也是最光荣的，因为她统治着全球40%和当时世界四分之一的人口。
20 Century (Two World Wars) 二十世纪（两个世界大战）
Victoria's numerous children married into many different European Royal families, the alliances between these related monarchs escalated into the Great War –WWI—from 1914-1918. It began when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo, and Austria declared war on Serbia, which in turn was allied to France, Russia and the UK. The First World War left over 9 million dead (including nearly 1 million Britons) throughout Europe, and financially ruined most of the countries involved. The monarchies in Germany, Austria, Russia and the Ottoman Empire all fell, and the map of central and Eastern Europe was completely redesigned.
维多利亚的众多子女嫁入许多不同的欧洲皇室，这些相关君主之间的联盟为1914-1918年的世界大战作为了基础。它始于奥地利大公弗兰兹·费迪南德在萨拉热窝遇刺，奥地利向塞尔维亚宣战，塞尔维亚又与法国、俄罗斯和英国结盟。第一次世界大战在整个欧洲造成超过900万人死亡（包括近100万英国人），并在经济上摧毁了大部分相关国家。德国、奥地利、俄罗斯和奥斯曼帝国的君主制都垮台了，中东欧版图也完全被重新设计了。
After World War I, the Labour Party was created in Britain. The General Strike of 1926 and the worsening economy led to radical political changes, including one in which women were finally granted the same universal suffrage as men in 1928. In 1936, Edward VIII (1894-1972) succeeded to the throne, but abdicated the same year to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice divorced American woman. His brother then unexpectedly became George VI (1895-1952) after the scandal.
第一次世界大战后，工党在英国成立。1926年的大罢工和日益恶化的经济导致了激进的政治变革，其中包括1928年妇女终于获得了与男子同样的普选权。1936年，爱德华八世（1894-1972）继承王位，但同年退位，嫁给两次离婚的美国妇女沃利斯·辛普森。丑闻发生后，他的哥哥出人意料地成为乔治六世（1895-1952）。
Nazi Germany was becoming more menacing as Hitler grew more powerful and aggressive. Finally, Britain and France were forced to declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland in September 1939, marking the beginning of World War II. The popular and charismatic Winston Churchill (1874-1965) became the war-time Prime Minister in 1940 and his speeches encouraged the British to fight off the attempted German invasion. In one of his most patriotic speeches before the Battle of Britain (1940), Churchill address the British people with "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
随着希特勒变得更加强大和侵略性，纳粹德国变得更加危险。最后，1939年9月波兰入侵后，英法两国被迫向德国宣战，标志着第二次世界大战的开始。温斯顿·丘吉尔（1874-1965）在1940年成为战时首相，他的演讲鼓励英国人抗击德国的侵略企图。丘吉尔在英国战役（1940年）前最爱国的一次演讲中对英国人民说：“我们将保卫我们的岛屿，无论付出什么代价，我们将在海滩上战斗，我们将在登陆场上战斗，我们将在田野和街道上战斗，我们将在山上战斗；我们永远不会投降。”
Following World War II, the United Kingdom was bankrupt and in ruins. The British Empire was dismantled little by little, first granting independence to India and Pakistan in 1947, then to the other Asian, African and Caribbean colonies in the 1950's and 60's. Most of these ex-colonies formed the British Commonwealth, now known as the Commonwealth of Nations. 53 states are members of the Commonwealth, accounting for 1.8 billion people (about 30% of the global population) and about 25% of the world's land area.
第二次世界大战后，英国又破产又成为一片废墟。大英帝国一点一点地被拆除，1947年印度和巴基斯坦首先获得独立，然后在20世纪50年代和60年代其他亚洲、非洲和加勒比殖民地获得独立。这些前殖民地中的大多数组成了英联邦。有53个国家是英联邦成员国，占18亿人口（约占全球人口的30%），约占世界面积的25%。
In 1952, the current queen of England, Elizabeth II, ascended to the throne at the age of 26. The 1960s saw the dawn of pop and rock music, with bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and the Rolling Stones rising to prominence, and the Hippie subculture developing.
1952年，现任英国女王伊丽莎白二世26岁时担任女王。20世纪60年代流行音乐和摇滚乐开始发展起来，披头士、平克·弗洛伊德和滚石等乐队声名鹊起，嬉皮士亚文化也继续发展。
The 1970's brought the oil crisis and the collapse of British industry. Conservative Prime minister Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925) was elected in 1979 and served until 1990. Among other accomplishments, she privatized the railways and shut down inefficient factories, but she also increased the gap between the rich and the poor by scaling back social security. Her methods were so harsh that she was nicknamed the “Iron Lady.”
撒切尔夫人的政党由不受欢迎的约翰·梅杰（John Major）继任，但在1997年，随着托尼布莱尔（生于1953）任命，“新工党”重新上台。布莱尔的自由主义政策和对美国新保守派总统小布什（特别是2003年入侵伊拉克事件）的坚定支持，令许多左派失望，他们发现本来以为是左派的布莱尔，实际上是右派。无论如何，布莱尔以其作为演说家和谈判者的聪明才智和非凡技巧给许多持不同政见者留下了深刻印象。
Thatcher was succeeded in her party by the unpopular John Major, but in 1997, the "New Labor" party came back to power with the appointment of Tony Blair (b. 1953). Blair's liberal policies and unwavering support for neo-conservative US President George W. Bush (especially regarding the invasion of Iraq in 2003) disappointed many Leftists, who really saw in Blair but a Rightist in disguise. Regardless, Blair has impressed many dissenters with his intelligence and remarkable skills as an orator and negotiator.
20世纪70年代带来了石油危机和英国工业的崩溃。保守党首相撒切尔夫人（生于1925年）于1979年当选，任期至1990年。除其他成就外，她还将铁路私有化，关闭了效率低的工厂，但她还通过缩减社会保障来扩大贫富差距。她的方法太苛刻了，人们给她起了个绰号叫“铁娘子”。
This is the brief history of the UK, in this series, we will write an article about the UK in the 21st century, Brexit, and many more. Stay tuned!
这是英国的简史，我们将写关于英国目前情况的文章，还有最受关注的Brexit，和更多文章。敬请期待！
Japan Series 日本系列 18 | Ancient China-Japan Relationship 古代日中关系
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