i.general introduction  
  1.1  geography and people  
  1.2  the environment  
  1.3  the people of britain  
ii.history  
  2.1  origin of the english nation  
    2.1.1  the native celts and the anglo-saxon conquest  
    2.1.2  the norman conquest  
  2.2  the great charter and beginning of parliament  
    2.2.1  the great charter  
    2.2.2  beginning of parliament  
  2.3  feudalism in england  
    2.3.1  the hundred years' war (1337-1453)  
    2.3.2  the black death (1348-1349)  
    2.3.3  the peasant uprising (1381)  
    2.3.4  the wars of the roses (1455-1485)  
  2.4  the bourgeois revolution 
    2.4.1  james i (1603-1625) and the parliament  
    2.4.2  charles i (1625-1649) 
    2.4.3  the short parliament and the long parliament  
    2.4.4  the civil wars  
    2.4.5  cromwell as lord protector  
    2.4.6  restoration (1660)  
  2.5  the industrial revolution and the chartist movement  
    2.5.1  background of the industrial revolution  
    2.5.2  process of the industrial revolution  
    2.5.3  effect of the industrial revolution  
    2.5.4  the chartist movement (1836-1848)  
    2.5.5  queen victoria and her time  
  2.6  the rise and fall of the british empire  
    2.6.1  effects of two world wars  
    2.6.2  decline of the empire  
iii.government, parliament and the legal system  
  3.1  government  
  3.2  parliament  
  3.3  legal system  
  3.4  three legal systems  
    3.4.1  english law  
    3.4.2  northern irish legal system  
    3.4.3  scots law  
iv.society and economy  
  4.1  social class  
  4.2  the changing family  
  4.3  social welfare  
  4.4  the structure of the economy  
  4.5  britain in the international system  
v.culture and education  
  5.1  culture  
    5.1.1  the identity of britain  
    5.1.2  the arts  
    5.1.3  sports and leisure  
    5.1.4  religion  
  5.2  education  
    5.2.1  types of schools  
    5.2.2  higher education and universities  
    5.2.3  oxbridge  
vi.characteristics of its english  
  6.1  old english (450-1150)  
  6.2  middle english (1151-1500)  
  6.3  modern english (1501-)  
  6.4  characteristics of british english and its future  
vii.customs and holidays  
  7.1  customs  
    7.1.1  marriage and family  
    7.1.2  eating  
    7.1.3  socializing  
    7.1.4  recreation  
  7.2  festivals and special days  
    7.2.1  straw bear festival  
    7.2.2  haxey hood-q5 january  
    7.2.3  maypole dancing  
    7.2.4  sweeps festival  
    7.2.5  tar barrel burning  
    7.2.6  up-helly-aa  
    7.2.7  hurling the silver ball  
    7.2.8  bread and cheese throwing (whit sunday evening)  
    7.2.9  blessing the throats ceremony  
    7.2.10  bottle kicking and hare pie scramble  
    7.2.11  bacup nutters dance  
    7.2.12  clowns in church  
    7.2.13  turning the devils stone  
    7.2.14  new year's day  
    7.2.15  the door custom  
    7.2.16  newyear superstition 
    7.2.17  valentine's day  
    7.2.18  st.david's day  
    7.2.19  st.patrick's day  
    7.2.20  pancake day  
    7.2.21  mothering sunday (mother's day)  
    7.2.22  easter  
    7.2.23  april fools' day  
    7.2.23  st.george's day  
    7.2.24  may day  
    7.2.25  trooping the colour  
    7.2.27  swan upping on the thames  
    7.2.28  harvest festival  
    7.2.29  halloween  
    7.2.30  bonfire night  
    7.2.31  remembrance day  
    7.2.32  st.andrew's day  
    7.2.33  christmas  
    7.2.34  boxing day  
references  
postscript