The earliest inhabitants of Britain were Stone Age hunters who lived more than 500,000 years ago. About 6,000 years ago, settlers from the continent of Europe cleared forests and began farming. The Celts from Central Europe brought the first iron tools about 3,000 years ago.
Britain was invaded by the Romans in A.D. 43 and by Anglo-Saxons (from Germany) and Vikings (from Scandinavia) from the 500s onward. In 1066, the Normans from France conquered England. By the end of the Middle
Ages (about 1450), England had conquered Wales, and by 1500 England also ruled Ireland.
Gradually the king's power was challenged by nobles and by merchants. Parliament gained power, and this was the beginning of democracy. England and Scotland were united under one king from 1603. In the 1640s there was a civil war between the king's and parliament's forces. Parliament's forces won, and though Britain still has a queen today, Elizabeth 11 has no real power in government.
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