This new and compelling fifth edition charts the changing story of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and covers political, social and economic history.

The changing story of the British Isles forms the theme of this atlas, which covers not only England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales but also the overseas empire. With captions, explanations and maps, it also provides a representation of British history in the social, religious and economic fields.

Presents a visual history, including political, economic, social, military, and territorial aspects of Britain

Grade level: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, e, i, s, t.

A visual history of the many peoples who’ve inhabited and shaped Britain, from hunter-gatherers to Celts, Vikings, Normans, and modern immigrants. This atlas covers the history of the British Isles from earliest times to the present day. The first hunter-gatherers, who crossed into what would become the United Kingdom by the land-bridge, and later followed by more familiar peoples the Celts, Angles, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans, who together would create Britain’s unique history. Each of these groups contributed ideas that shaped the lands, languages, and thoughts at the core of British identity. This story is illustrated with 150 full-color maps and plans that range across many topics, such as agricultural, political, and industrial revolutions. The expansion of the islands’ peoples across the oceans left a lasting legacy on the world, and on Britain itself. The book shows the fluctuating fortunes of the states by which Britain currently identifies itself, from an Anglo-Scottish imperium to devolved power, independence, and the often-painful process by which the modern map evolved. The forces of history and religion have often divided the islands’ peoples, but DNA unites them much more than most would realize as they continue to embrace new cultures arriving in search of refuge, opportunity, and equality.

This illustrated volume traces the social and cultural history of Britain from the early 15th to the late 18th century. The maps and photographs focus on archaeological and historical sites held by the British National Trust and the book develops themes including wealth and status, agriculture and rural society, town and industry, population and the family, religion and education, and also spotlights particular events such as the Wars of the Roses, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Great Plague and Jacobitism. A full list of National Trust sites is provided to encourage readers to visit these and other properties where visual remains consolidate the investigations in the atlas itself.

This illustrated history of the development of British society looks particularly at the properties of the National Trust and the National Trust for Scotland. These include Avebury in Wiltshire, Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire and Kellie Castle in Fife. The text includes cameo pieces on life at Chedworth Roman Villa in Gloucestershire, monasticism at Mount Grace Priory and the medieval diet, while maps help convey historical and archaeological information with clarity.

Maps trace the development of the British Empire from 1500 to the present

The evolving story of the British Isles forms the central theme of this fascinating and compelling atlas, which covers England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – and the expansion and gradual disintegration of Britain’s overseas empire. This new edition includes: Politics – from the Saxon kingdoms and the collapse of England’s French Empire to the Tudors and Stuarts, the English Civil War, the Restoration, Parliamentary Reform, the Commonwealth and Europe, the European Union and the Coalition Government formed in 2010 War and conflict – from Viking attacks and the Norman Invasion to the Armada, two World Wars and the end of empire, the Falklands War, the Gulf War, British forces overseas, terror at home and the wars in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq Trade and industry – from the post-Norman economy and Tudor trade to industrial unrest and the opening of international trade routes, imports and exports, arms sales and British humanitarian aid overseas Religion – from the Saxon Church to the Reformation and the multi-cultural Britain of modern times Society and economics – from civilian life in Roman Britain to the Industrial and Agricultural revolutions, the General Strike and the growth of universities, unemployment, homelessness, charitable activities and government expenditure Immigration – the growth of immigrant communities, the wide range of countries from which immigrants came, citizenship applications and citizenship granted. Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill’s official biographer, and one of Britain’s leading historians, having written eighty-two books in total. He is an Honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and a Distinguished Fellow of Hillsdale College, Michigan. He has also most recently served on the committee of the Iraq Inquiry set up by the British Government. For more information, please visit www.martingilbert.com.

All students of history use maps. This atlas is designed specifically to enhance the understanding of British history since 1700, as well as emphasizing social as well as economic change. The contributors are all subject specialists who have taught in higher education institutions, and a large proportion of both maps and text is based on their own original research. The combination of maps and text is intended to illustrate not only historical developments, such as the spread of agriculture or the growth of an integrated transport system, but also regional contrasts at points in time. The end product offers support for those historians who question the usefulness of thinking in terms of national economic histories.