Americans React: Top 10 Most Important Moments In British History 

I think the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 should be included. It meant that the Royal Navy was unchallenged globally for over a hundred years and Britain became the World's first superpower, a period known as the Pax Britannica. As a result, the British empire grew into the biggest empire ever, slavery was ended and piracy suppressed. In addition to maintaining peace on the oceans, the Navy also mapped the oceans and created tide tables which they provided to other people, all of which which facilitated trade.

King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta by his Barons, not his idea at all.

I can't agree that these are the ten most important moments In British history. I think we all have our own list depending on our outlook.

Hi Steve, I'm afraid you got King John and Magna Carta totally wrong. King John didn't create Magna Carta, he was forced to agree to and sign the charter. In fact, King John is widely regarded as one of the most evil monarchs in English history.

Most important years... 1066 Norman Conquest, 1215 Magna Carta, 1415 Battle of Agincourt, 1588 Spanish Armarda, 1605 Gunpower Plot, (5th Novermber - Guy Fawkes night), 1666 Great fire of London, 1805 Battle of Trafalgar, 1815 Waterloo, 1940 Battle of Britain. Finally 1963... year I was born :)

I really wish they'd had this in date order. I love history, so am trying not to comment on every point this guy is making. King John didn't WANT to sign the Magna Carta but signed it, after pressure from the barons, it was originally only intended for them, not the common people. It was meant to stop the king exploiting his power and protected their rights. Loved history in school enough that it's fuelled a lifelong interest and lots of self learning.

In Canadian schools we learned that Count Binface secured 24,260 votes in the London mayoral election, beating Britain First candidate Nick Scanlon.

I was surprised that the Abolition of the Atlantic slave trade wasn't mentioned.

The Viking invasion of England in 793 and Alfred the Great. The unification of the separate Anglo Saxon kingdoms into one kingdom of England by King Æthelstan in 927

The Barons forced John to set his seal on the Magna Carta. He immediately tried to wriggle out of it.

There was a rhyme to remember the fate of Henry’s wives. divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.

Steve to answer your question... Oldest part of human London was discovered a few years ago. The Vauxhall Timbers in the mud on the banks of the river Thames were put in place 6,500 years ago in front of what is now the MI6 building. Either part of a bridge or stilts for homes which were often built over water back then. Much newer is around 2000 year old pieces of the city wall built around Londinium that still sticks out the ground in places. Most of what you see today is from around 1066 after the invasion and then only parts built with stone. The fire of 1666 destroyed so much as the majority was timber framed buildings with thatch roof. German bombing in WW2 and property developers over the centuries have also destroyed a lot.

I can honestly say I'm not a fan of WatchMojo top ten lists, especially if they involve history they never get things right, or at least they perpetuate common misconceptions.

King John didn't want to sign( technically it's sealing) the Magna Carta, he was forced. Also, the American Constitution is based,to a point, on the Magna Carta.

When I was at school, history started at the time of the ancient Britons and went through to the Crimean War. Kid’s history lessons today start at the Second World War. How is that history? It’s like last week in the scheme of things.

Ring-a-ring-of rosies was a song made up by the children during the black plague and depicts the events and circumstances of the disease. Rosy splotches would appear on the skin, the "ring of rosies". People carried flowers (posies) in their pockets to ward off the putrid smell of the plague sores and of course the rotting corpses, "A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down" was because the final symptoms were like influenza with sneezing and coughing and terrible weakness. At that stage it was certain death to follow. Baa Baa Black Sheep is about the medieval wool tax, imposed in the 13th Century by King Edward I. Under the new rules, a third of the cost of a sack of wool went to him, another went to the church and the last to the farmer. Mary had a little lamb was based on a real incident in the early 1800s involving a girl named Mary Sawyer. After finding a sickly young lamb in her family's Massachusetts farm, she not only nursed it back to life - but saw it lovingly follow her every step for years after.

NHS started in 1948. I retired from NHS nursing in 2013, and the service today is unlike anything I experienced working for it. Shortages of staff, parking fees for employees, waiting times for operations, amount of patients, and delays in treatment all affect it.

I only know the Henry VIII song from the film Ghost - Patrick Swayze's character Sam sings it over and over to Oda Mae Brown played by Whoopie Goldberg 😁

I have had a fascination with history since I first starting learning about it in school back in the 1950's. Everything about History just grabs me and keeps me coming back for more, it's just a never ending adventure/love/war/scientific discovery story all rolled into one. Whatever type of subject interests you, history has it - and it's all still happening everyday!

The Hermits sang,"I'm Henry the eighth I am".A British group with lots of other hits..worth listening to.Peter Noon,the lead singer has livedvin America for years

I would add: 1. Romans arrive in Britain. They weren't welcome but they did come with a lot of great innovations. 2. Romans leave Britain. You can out stay you're welcome, although when they left Britain did entered a dark period. 3. The opening of the world's first railway 4. The industrial revolution.

The arrival of the German's and Jutes(aka the English) in the C6th certainly changed these Islands, as did the arrival of the French Norsemen who took over the "English" easily enough but were forced to build dozens of castles in Wales to get a foothold, were important times. Ordinary people getting suffrage in the early C20th changed things a lot, previously the rich really were the only people who could afford to sit as MPs. The founding of the NHS in 1948 was the greatest achievement in social history, so that's another high point!

12:45 The "Domesday" book was ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. He wanted a list of what he had conquered 20 years before in 1066 so he could seize/redistribute/tax it. To summarise grossly, William wanted England for two reaons - power and money. Once he had taken control he spent 20 years sending his nobles and his knights around (he came out himself occasionally but spent a lot of his time in Normandy running that too and fighting with his neighbours on the continent) suppressing rebellions, building castles, and generally looting everything of worth as much as possible and then handing over the land to his mates and knights (basically as payment for their services in fighting for him). In 1086 he realised that his income stream was slowing dow a little bit (now that he'd killed thousands of peasants, mutilated hundreds more, killed loads of livestock, burned crops, and looted everything not nailed down) so he wanted an accurate picture of what existed in 1065 (so he knew what was there before he invaded) and what was there now, who owned it, and how much it was worth, so he could find where to focus his efforts with a nail puller to take everything which was nailed down (since that was all that was left). So the Domesday book was written up by thousands of clerks and scribes travelling the land, interviewing people, and forcing them to disclose everything of value. Now, it gives us a really good window into a point in time, a snapshot of how England looked back then, and how the economy was doing, and because it compares before the invasion with afterwards, we can really see what changed over those 20 years and it gives historians a reference point for how to interpret the relative values of things for a good period in either direction based on cross-referencing the Domesday book with other sources and information.

There is a great history series for children called Horrible Histories, that you might enjoy along with Sophia…it also has some great songs. But it’s done in the style of a Sketch Show, so it’s funny, informative and factually correct. One of the actors from it was actually the presenter for a programme called The King in the Car Park which was the filming of the discovery of Richard III’s remains and is also very much worth a watch.

The GReat Fire of London started in a bakery on Pudding Lane. If you visit London go to Monument Street. There is a column to commemorate the fire. If you were to lay the column down it will reach the spot on Pudding Lane where the fire is believed to have started.

The fire of london started in a bakery, and because the buildings were so close together and flour is highly flammable it spread very very quickly

Your 'Henry the 8th' song was a comic song written in 1910, but revived many times over the years...nothing to do with Henry VIII!!! However, two mnemonics to help you out. "Divorced, beheaded,died; divorced,beheaded, survived" tells you what happened to the wives in order. Do this in conjunction with this one to work out what happened to who. Able Bodied Seamen Chase Hairy Pirates = catharine of Aragon, anne Boleyn, jane Seymour, anne of Cleves, catharine Howard, catharine Parr. Hopefully this will help you out in local quizzes, if nothing else!!

Is the place about the plague you mentioned Eyme? If not then you need to take a look at Eyme the plague village in Derbyshire, it strikes a chord with so many due to covid being so recent to all, most definitely worth a look and probably a reaction video, you won't be disappointed I guarantee it.

The Domesday Book is the oldest inventory in the world and was commissioned by William, Duke of Normandy, so he could ascertain what land/farms/livestock etc he had ‘inherited’ when he conquered England.

The domesday book was basically the first census

The Glorious Revolution should be on this list

I think "'Enery the Eighth" was a London music hall song.

Ring around the roses is about the Black Death/plague + I just about remember that from school. You should check out some Al Murray - standup comedian, all in Character as an old fashioned pub landlord. H'es got an History Degree from Oxord University and I highly recommend "Name a country, we have defeated them" routine where he takes requests from the audience.

I'm a 66 year old londoner, when I was a kid we taught a rhyme IN 1666 LONDON BURNT TO STICKS. Another rhyme was about the order of Henry viii 6 wives and how they died

The Great Fire of London was started in a bakery that belonged to the Kings baker, Thomas Farriner, that was situated in Pudding Lane (the street still exists in the city of London). The fire was started due to the wood fired ovens not being dampened down properly and stray sparks caused the fire to start.😊🧡

A spark from one of his ovens The Great Fire of London started in a bakery owned by Thomas Farriner, near Pudding Lane on the night of 2nd September, 1666. A spark from one of his ovens probably started the fire. The fire swept through London for four days, destroying 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and even St Paul’s Cathedral12.

Ring Around the Rosie was created soon after the Black Death- the phrase: "atishoo-atishoo we all fall down" is a direct reference to it...

Great fire 2nd September 1666,.it was Baker in Pudding Lane there is a Monument you can go see it.

The cause of the Great Fire of London in 1666 is known. It started in a bakery, on a street called Pudding Lane. It's likely a flame or spark in the bakery. It spread quickly because London had a very dry and warm summer, that made the flammable mostly wooden buildings that little more flammable. The Domesday Book was a great survey of England and a lot of Wales from 1086. It listed the towns and their value, what each of them had that was relevant and of monetary value. Today it is often used as a reference to date how old a town or village was, if it appears in the book, it is at least from before 1086, you can also use it to see how the names of towns & cities changed over time. Another nursery rhyme from England, 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush' is thought to have started in the city I live in, possibly at the nearby Wakefield Prison, as there was a mulberry bush in the prison courtyard and inmates used to dance or exercise around in the moonlight.

I’d say the true formation of Britain should have been on this list too, the transition from heptarchy to monarchy under Alfred the great

When I lived at home, my parents downsized to a maisonette, just before my marriage. Our neighbours was a violin factory. This had been on the site since 1600s. A very famous English diarist, Samuel Pepys ( pronounced peeps) mentioned it in his diary when he also talked about the Great Fire of London. Also, when I was about 9/10 years old, the Doomsday Book travelled around England, and we were taken to see it as our area was mentioned. So the place I grew up had been there since before William invaded England. I think they have tried well to mention the most important things in history, but how can you do that in 10 points? I love history, it's what makes us who we are. ❤❤👵🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🌹🌹

First entry already jumped ahead of the most important prerequisite event that made it possible and that is the the refusal of King Charles I into the city of Kingston upon Hull in April 1642 which was the first official act of defiance against the Monarchy leading up to the English Civil War.

There is a pub in London that has some of its beams charred from the fire, but the building itself survived.

Please don't be confused, as it is easy to do so. There were two very important Cromwells in British history. Oliver Cromwell was guilty of regicide and ruled as a dictator for five years. He is also the only person to be executed two years after his death! His Great-great-grand uncle, Thomas Cromwell, was Henry VIII's chief minister. The latter is featured in the tv series Wolf Hall (based on the book by Hilary Mantel).

The fire of London started in a bakery, remember that most of the buidingsd would have been made out of wood, or have wood frames, and were built very close to each other. There are ''maps of great fire of london' so you can see what area was affected You got the song right, it was by Hermans Hermits, You should look at the origin of nursury rhymes

There are 4 surviving Magna Cartas. The best one is at Salisbury Cathedral.

The Great fire of London isn't named that for how far it spread but for how intensely hot and and destructive it was. The buildings were packed incredibly tight and fires weren't rare in the time but what happened was a fire broke out and before anyone noticed or responded it had already started hopping building to building. Now you don't have one fire but two, three, four...more and more...the fire, whipped by wind, home to home and fuelled by the hot cinders of the houses became incredibly fierce and no-one could stop it. It did force a restructuring of central London by Christopher Wren who put in wide roads and streets so it couldn't happen again and that's why cities in America have grid-like structures,.particularly in the North of your country, it's supposed to prevent city-wide fires. Admittedly, the concept has had mixed results in your nation.

Great fire of London started in a bakery on Pudding Lane.

You are right about learning history.

The rhyme to remember what happened in sequence to Henry VIII's 6 wives is: Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced beheaded, survived!

The fire of london was on fire for over a week.

I'm henry the 8th is by Herman's Hermits a 60's British band headed by Peter Noone (My mum loves the song and as we were walking through Epcot one year on a US holiday he was there playing that song on the American Dream stage)

The Domesday Book was what the English people coined the inventory because that’s how they felt about being invaded and conquered and suddenly under Norman French instead of Saxon rule.

There is tv show called Horrible Histories, there's also book's and a magazine in part by the same name. It covers world history from Egyptians, Aztecs, Romans to modern-day. There is death taking in everyone from Ceasar to Hitler, mocking their deaths.

One thing to consider, the Great Fire of London destroyed much of what was the City of London also known as the Square Mile roughly speaking the same as the old Roman city. However places such as the City of Westminster or Southwark which are now parts of London weren’t. So St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London is 327 years old, Westminster Abbey in the City of Westminster was founded in 959.

The great fire of London started at 1am on Sunday morning September 2nd in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane. It may have been caused by a spark from his oven falling onto a pile of fuel nearby. And yes i googled it. There was a documentary on about this a while ago so i was pretty sure it started in a bakery but wasnt sure of the other details.

6:27 I’m guessing your video about the village in the plague is about Eyam, (pronounced Eeem). Quite the tale tbh, eye opening revolutionary thinking for the time

I’m very surprised that this doesn’t make any mention of the Norman invasion in 1066 when Harold lost to William of Normandie at the (somewhat misnamed!) Battle of Hastings. That was probably the most defining moment in British history since the Romans.

Hi from the north east of the uk please do a video about the fire of Newcastle and Gateshead it is a very interesting thing to learn about and isn’t very well known in some ways it was worse than the great fire of London the blast was heard for miles

@Reacting To My Roots I am new to your channel, both of you are so delightful to watch. I do not know if you have explored this area but maybe do a segment on the UK inventions/discoveries this tiny nation has created, roughly 50% of all these creations are from us and gifted to the rest of world for a better life and it will blow your mind.

If you want to examine various events/topics in British History, I would recommend the History Hit channel, as they are produced and narrated by British historians. Also, as Lyndsey loves books, it would be good to do some background reading so you can get more detail about various historical events.

They sing "Im Henry the Eighth I am " in the film Blackbeard maybe thats where you know it from .

'Henry the Eighth I Am' was sung by Herman's Hermits around about 1965 :)

Railways canals and the manufacturing of the industrial revolution was key. You should check out the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. There are routines that represent important history within the uk.

As a Brit, I'd heard "I am Henry VIII, I am" at school - it was only watching "Ghost" in 1990 that made me think "wait, Americans know it too?" but don't ask me now how it goes as I have no idea 🤣

Ive seen the original magna carta at LINCOLN CATHEDRAL, the tallest building in the world for 325 years❤

Hey, Steve, talking of Nursery Rhymes do your recall the Nursery Rhyme “Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St Clements” ? ! ?

Battle of Hastings in 1066 (my home town) and the Doomsday book are connected. After the French invaded and took charge of England, the Doomsday book was a list of people and property, so they could work out how much tax they could charge.

British history is a bit like the rules of cricket:- when you know it/them, it makes perfect sense, but if you’re new, GOOD LUCK!! THE OFFICIAL RULES OF CRICKET YOU HAVE TWO SIDES, ONE OUT IN THE FIELD AND ONE IN. EACH PLAYER THAT IS IN THE SIDE THAT IS IN GOES OUT, AND WHEN THE PLAYER THAT IS OUT COMES IN, THE NEXT PLAYER GOES IN UNTIL THEY ARE OUT. WHEN THEY ARE ALL OUT, THE SIDE THAT IS OUT COMES IN, AND THE SIDE THAT HAS BEEN IN GOES OUT AND TRIES TO GET THOSE COMING IN, OUT. SOMETIMES YOU GET PLAYERS STILL IN AND NOT OUT. WHEN A PLAYER GOES OUT TO GO IN, THE PLAYERS WHO ARE OUT TRY TO GET THEM OUT, AND WHEN THEY ARE OUT, THE PLAYER GOES IN AND THE NEXT PLAYER IN GOES OUT AND GOES IN. THERE ARE TWO UMPIRES WHO STAY OUT ALL THE TIME AND THEY DECIDE WHEN THE PLAYERS WHO ARE IN ARE OUT. WHEN BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN IN AND ALL THE PLAYERS HAVE BEEN OUT, AND BOTH SIDES HAVE BEEN OUT TWICE AFTER ALL THE PLAYERS HAVE BEEN IN, INCLUDING THOSE WHO ARE NOT OUT, THAT IS THE END OF THE GAME!

History is the cornerstone of Britain. It more than anything else tells you who the Brits are or how the country exists today. Everything, from Architecture to philosophy and law, arts and music, religion and culture all come from our history. The good news is that History is not really about the past as much about today and how we got here in the first place...to know where one is from is essential before you know where you are or where you are going...😊

When I was still teaching, I covered 9/10 of these topics. The loss of the colonies was just a footnote. I would have included the Industrial Revolution, the development of the railways, and the abolition of slavery to make it the top 12. Other significant topics are the creation of a united England by Alfred the Great ;the defeat of the Welsh by Edward I; the colonisation of Ireland by protestant settlers, leading to catholic/protestant conflicts up to the present day; the Glorious Revolution, which saw the removal of the catholic James II and the establishment of the protestant William and Mary; the Act of Succession, which forbade catholics becoming monarchs, leading to the germanification of the royal family; the Act of Union, which combined England, Wales and Scotland as a United Kingdom; and the First World War which caused many British people to be unwilling to risk another war by standing up to Hitler before he became too powerful. There is too much history for a definitive list to ever be created.

The king was forced to sign. He carried on his campaign till he died of dysentery

🤣Patrick Swayze sang that Henry song to Whoopi Goldberg in GHOST 🤣🤷‍♀️

the great fire of london started in a bakers shop in pudding lane and how spooky when you look at the last 3 numbers 1666

What about the Roman invasion of Britain? That too was highly significant. As was the invasion of the Vikings and then the Normans! All these shaped Britain on so many levels including their impact on the English language.

Just seen this now and there's one thing which I don't think that even those who do have an idea about Magna Carta in the US know. Yes. John, rather sulkily signed the document, but had no intention of being told what to do by the riff-raff. His first action in relation to it was to get the Pope to invalidate it. It was only after John's death that many of the demands it contained were addressed.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 should be on this list, the following 1689 Bill of Rights is as important as the Magna Carta. And it's important for the US as it's the basis of the American Bill of Rights too.

Wow i cant believe u guys know our nursery rhymes, have you looked into the origins of those nursery rhymes some are pretty dark. ❤

Ring around the roses, a pocket full of poses....it's an English childrens rhyme about the black death 😊

I love UK nursery rhymes however most of them are referencing something horrible - ring a ring of roses (plague), London Bridge is falling down (great fire of London) etc

Henry VIII is sung by Sam in Ghost (1991) to annoy odemay Brown. Ring a ring was about the Plague, if you caught the plague you would have an infectious ring/boil, also the sneeze then all fall down dead. So many nursery rhymes are very dark when you look into them. I'm sure there is a youtube video of the meaning of nursery rhymes

Fun fact. I moved to Hastings last August. 😂

The Great Fire (There had been quite a few before), destroyed a third of the city.

1913 was another important date, especially for the Womens Sufferage movement. During the Epsom Derby of that year, a woman called "Emily Davison" was killed when the kings horse that was racing in the derby hit her as she'd gained access to the racetrack. Until recently, her actions have had her portrayed as a martyr... or an irresponsible anarchist, depending on how you view the event. However, footage from three film cameras of the incident has been analysed, and it seems she was trying to attach a flag (a Suffragette flag?) to the horse.

I'm surprised the Union of the Crowns (1603) wasn't mentioned or the Act of Union (1707)

My own interest is centred around an aspect of American Independence that has been swept under the carpet:- The Patriot Movement was founded in parliament back in 1725 as a branch of the Whig Party. At first they were concerned mostly with just ending political corruption, later they developed radical views on democracy and civil liberties. Their views led to riots in England and full on Rebellion in America. My home town of Rotherham Yorkshire was Patriot. On a hilltop overlooking the town stands a monument to the Boston Tea Party called Boston Castle. On 4th July 1876 to celebrate the centennial of the USA the area around the monument was opened as the town’s first public park with a massive party to celebrate independence. Nearby at Parlington Hall stands a Victory Arch built in 1783 to commemorate the victory for Liberty! These English Patriots did not want America to become independent, but they believed that all Brits had the democratic right to chose their own governance, even American Brits. If America was denied its Liberty then our own country would be at risk. Rotherham’s best known Whig Politicians were Lords Effingham and Rockingham. These men have had American Cities, Counties and even Warships named for them. Lord Rockingham became Prime Minister in 1782 and immediately stopped the fighting against the colonies, but continued the war against the other nations involved (France, Spain, Holland and the Mysore of India). The Patriot Party in 1825 renamed themselves The Liberal (Liberty) Party and so still exist in parliament today.

People make the mistake that Henry the 8th was a protestant, he only broke from the Church in Rome, he still followed Catholic teachings and persecuted protestants, thats why the Church of England say to this day in their affirmation I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. A lot of people like to say that their village is mentioned in the doomsday book, when in reality it is rare for a village not to be named in the book, we have surburbs in my town that are mentioned.

Domesday book comes from the old english word doom which meant law or judgement, it was a legal term

The a brillaint song for Henry the 8th on Horrible histories that i always remember. 🎶Devorced, behead, died, devorced , behead, survived. Im Henry the Eighth, I had six sorry wives some might say I ruined their lives. 🎶

I think ring a ring of roses was linked to the plague

As a historian, I'd say its far less dates/names that tend to be so important as just getting a grasp on the flow of events - why 'this' led to 'that'. Names and dates get more important as you try to focus in detail on segments but you can be a bit more hazy when it comes to general shifts. E.g. in 1600s king gets too catholic/tyrannical, ends up at war with parliament, parliament creates strong army to win, wins but reluctant to kill king, strong army deposes parliament and kills king, leader of army becomes more tyrannical than any king with help of puritans, people hate this but get massacred if they try to stop it, army leader dies, parliament reassembles and gets king's son back, both kick out tyrannical puritans, tyrannical puritans go to new world to oppress as they please = pilgrim fathers. Very much simplified but the flow of events is conveyed.

Watch Ghost with Patrick Swayze for a rendition of the Henry the 8th song.

1666 on pudding lane where a baker went to sleep and left the oven burning over night and in the night a spark of flame landing out the oven and on the floor, also the houses were wooden before they were rebuilt with brick

I think after the great fire there was a preference to rebuild with stone and brick rather than wood.

The fire of London started in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane. Happy Days from the Black Country England.

The Doomsday book is a record of everything and everyone in England. Some years after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when William the Bastard had rebranded himself as the Conqueror, he requested a inventory of Britain. This information of all land, livestock, people etc was collected, and called the Doomsday Book.

The doomsday book was The King taking stock of all the land in The Kingdom. Listing what was on the land who owned it, and most importantly for the King the Treasury and the King's army of supporters. It listed how many men he could count upon to support him in wars. It also listed waste land, which meant nothing was grown there or no income could be produced there. Waste land also meant in some cases "no support" or "taxes" being paid to the King. The word waste still exists today in many English place names areas and streets.

1066 William the conquer. 1666 great fire of London. 1966 we won the world Cup. 😂

Yes, if you can watch WOLF HALL, it will give you some history of Henry 8 plus it was really entertaining.

There was a bigger fire that spread in London it started on 12 th July 1212 in Southwark and spread to London Bridge and beyond there was reported to have been 3000 casualties but the true figure is unknown. People only seem to learn about the 2nd Great Fire of London for some reason.