The United Kingdom

---

The UK's Current Geopolitics

The UK is fading into obscurity. The empire of hard power is fading into obscurity. The geopolitical memory of any country whose history involved colonisation by the British is long. And like all empires, the rise is often just as hard as the fall. So, what is the UK doing wrong? Why is it falling from global relevancy? Can it reverse the trend?

UK: The History

To explain how we got to where we are today, I’ll explain the thousands of years of British history. Get your seatbelts on.

There is evidence of human life settling in Britain after the end of the last ice age, around 9500 BC. These hunter-gatherers lived much simpler lives than the ones we live nowadays. Survival was their main worry, so other problems took a backseat. Life expectancy was much lower, predicted to be around 25 years old. This didn’t change dramatically until the onset of the industrial revolution, the beginning of modern life and the realisation that abundant cheap energy contributes to the rapid advancement of humanity.

Around 6500 BC, a land bridge connecting mainland Europe to Britain was covered by rising sea levels. The climate of Earth has been stable for around 11,000 years. But before this came the last ice age. The ancient history of Britain is relatively uncovered, excluding the Celts. After the Celts, came the period when British history began to be more sufficiently documented—the Romans.

The Romans

In 43 AD, the Romans invaded Britain under Emperor Claudius. Their influence is still seen today with many major roads existing in the same locations in the present day as they did during Roman times, one of the earliest noted forms of innovative connectivity making the world a smaller, more accessible place. These towns and cities that were key aspects of the Roman Empire in Britain are the towns still seen today, albeit with different names. Did the Roman Empire start the trend of urbanisation that we still see today? This connectivity saw a large influx of technology travel from other areas of the Roman Empire, including glasswork and ceramics.

One massive change during the Roman Empire was the introduction of new foods. Because the Empire stretched so far, they controlled territory over various climates. In turn, the Romans introduced many new foods and plants:

· Figs

· Grapes

· Apples

· Pears

· Cherries

· Plums

· Dates

· Olives

· Cucumbers

· Celery

· Lentils

· Almonds

· Walnuts

· Coriander

· Dill

· Fennel

Recent excavations have shown some of these exotic foods were present in Britain before the Romans arrived, but the capabilities of global trade under the Roman Empire made these food goods more prominent.

Also, the building of Hadrian’s Wall occurred during Roman times under the rule of Emperor Hadrian. With the aim of controlling entry into Britain, controlling taxes and weapons entering the country, and limiting the capabilities of Barbarians to raid areas close to the wall, it stretched for 80 miles.

It started by having a small guard post every mile, called a milecastle. It contained a walkway on the top. However, this first plan was scrapped in preference for prominent forts built every 7 miles.

The Dark Ages & The Anglo-Saxons

After information became more documented during the period of the Romans in Britain, after this, the period of the Dark Ages is much more challenging to understand and process. Like all empires, did the Romans become overstretched? Germanic tribes were expanding in Western Europe. As an island, this led to Britain’s detachment from the rest of the empire as the Romans had bigger issues in mainland Europe. Sounds very similar to the isolation from Europe caused by a specific vote called Brexit, but more on that later.

During this period of tension, records were few and far between and those that existed were difficult to decipher. The systems that ran Britain at the time were at odds with each other. Britain was now Roman at heart even though they weren’t a key focus of the declining empire.

With the Romans focusing less on Britain, there was an opportunity for power and influence to be gained. Irish Raiders and the Picts first sighted power. Later on, we saw the voyage of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from across the North Sea. The battle for power lasted for centuries, with Britain experiencing devolution into smaller parts. The reunification of Britain came upon the arrival of the Vikings.

The Vikings' influence in Britain was evident. Harold Godwinson was fighting the Norwegian king Harold Hardrada in the Battle at Stamford Bridge before marching his tired army south for the Battle of Hastings.

1066

The Battle of Hastings is one of the most well-known battles in the history of Britain. The previous king, Edward the Confessor, had supposedly promised both Harold Godwinson and William of Normandy the English throne. Depicted by the Bayeux Tapestry, the battle was won by William the Conqueror and thus started the history of the period of the Normans.

The Normans

The period of the Normans can be subcategorised into The Normans (1066-1154), The Plantagenets (1154 -1399), The House of Lancaster (1399 – 1461, 1470-1471), and The House of York (1461-1470, 1471 – 1485).

The period of the Normans saw work begin on Canterbury Cathedral, the founding of Oxford University, the Domesday Book (complete inventory of Britain), and York Minster.

It also saw the signing of the Magna Carta. In Latin, “Magna Carta” means “Great Charter”, and it protected the rights of individuals against the power of the monarch. In reality, King John wasn’t a fan of the terms of the Magna Carta. The King was known for making demands for money during his reign, through taxes and general conduct. This angered many, especially the barons who drew up the Magna Carta and captured London in a move against the King. Hence the King signed it to keep peace and buy time, a move we’ve seen used in geopolitics with the Minsk Agreements in the Donbas and Luhansk regions in 2014. It was known that it did nothing to solve the underlying issues of the identity of the region, but it allowed Ukraine to be better prepared for a Russian invasion.

The Magna Carta was broken, and a civil war broke out in England named the First Barons’ War. The war ended with King John’s death in 1216 after the barons invited Prince Louis of France to replace the king. Upon the King’s death from dysentery, the barons pivoted support for John’s son who went on to become Henry 3rd. We were appointed King at age 9!

In 1282, Edward ׀ conquered Wales. The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 was when Wales was incorporated into England. In 1301, Edward named his oldest son, who went on to become Edward ׀׀, the Prince of Wales. This title for the monarch’s oldest son still remains to this date.

He also expelled all Jews from England 8 years later, named the Edict of Expulsion. The entire Jewish population in 1290 consisted of around 3000 people. It wasn’t until 1655 that the resettlement of the Jews in England ensured Jews could practice their faith openly.

After Edward ׀׀ came Edward ׀׀׀ and during his reign came the Black Death.

The Black Death

The Black Death of 1347-1353 was a bubonic plague that claimed the lives of 30-60% of the European population, and one-third of the Middle Eastern population in one of the first recorded pandemics. It was spread through fleas feeding on infected rats. Once an infected rat died, the fleas searched for a new host. We usually see the cycle of pandemics repeat every century having recently seen COVID-19. The role of humanity in the laboratory creation of viruses interests me in how it will impact the cycle of pandemics.

Due to a lack of healthcare, hygiene, and biology knowledge, diseases including the Black Death were highly fatal in this period and easily transmitted in closely connected settlements.

The demographic impact caused problems. In the centuries before (1000-1300), it is debated that the population in Europe doubled or tripled. A trend towards urban living had begun, and innovation in commerce, business, manufacturing, and agriculture had changed how we lived. This rapid growth was reversed by the Black Death. The economy stagnated and the population declined. In Malthusian population theory, a positive check occurs when an event shortens the human life span. The usual suspects are war, plague, or famine. The Black Death was an example of such an event. The high rise in deaths and lower life expectancy is termed a Malthusian catastrophe. In general, it is believed that when the population grows too large versus the production of food, these positive check events happen to act as a return to the mean.

A very interesting topic. We see birth rates dropping as women prioritise careers and children used to be needed to work on agricultural land. This trend promises to change population theory. Are we currently living in a period of positive checks?

One argument against the Malthusian Theory of Population is that increased globalisation ensures even if a country doesn’t have enough land to be self-sufficient in food, it can access food through global trade.

However, as we are seeing in the present day in a period of geopolitical tension between superpowers, the economic impacts of the decoupling if we become too strongly connected can be severe. This would especially ravage population-dense countries and regions and those with unsuitable climates for agriculture. One country with a small area of land in relation to its population is the UK. The UK also saw a decoupling from the EU through Brexit which has contributed to further struggles in global trade.

In the longer term, the world is trending towards greater connectivity. Technological innovation will continue to allow the rapid transfer of information, goods, and services. In the near term, we will exist in a period of choice connectivity and friend shoring. This brings the question of resource availability. The importance of our necessities is often taken for granted in developed countries. In a period of choice connectivity, its importance will be recognised once again.

The impact of the Black Death was obvious. However, I enjoy looking for similarities in history. In England, after the Black Death, the economic impact was intense. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw inflation return. After the Black Death in England, inflation ravaged the poor.

The plague returned in 1361-1362 and returned intermittently. Without vaccines, the period of natural immunity from the effects of these diseases was much longer.

The monarchs who ruled through the remainder of the Norman period were Richard ׀׀, Henry ׀V, Henry V, Henry V׀, Edward ׀V and Edward V.

Henry V׀, Edward ׀V, Edward V, Richard ׀׀׀, and Henry Tudor who became Henry V׀׀ were all involved in the War of the Roses.

The period of the Normans ended in 1485 with the death of Richard ׀׀׀, at the hands of Henry Tudor. Richard ׀׀׀ was the last English King to die in battle. A sign of the times.

Tudors

Henry Tudor became Henry V׀׀. Interestingly, he married Elizabeth of York in a move that united the two houses and ended the War of the Roses. The War of the Roses pitted the white rose of Yorkshire against the red rose of Lancashire.

Henry ruled for 24 years, before being succeeded by his son, one of the most famous English monarchs. Henry V׀׀׀. The man famously had 6 wives.

His first marriage to Catherine of Aragon gave him a girl, Mary, who eventually went on to become Mary ׀. However, Henry V׀׀׀ wanted a male heir and Catherine couldn’t have any more children. This was known as “The King’s Great Matter” and he went to great lengths to annul his first marriage. He even went to the Pope. It was Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, who finally annulled the marriage to Catherine and declared Henry and Anne Boleyn married. This came after Parliament passed the Act of Succession 1534 for Henry to be Supreme Head of the Church of England so he could annul his own marriage. Hence Mary was no longer a princess and heir.

A few years later, Henry had his head turned again by Jane Seymour. Henry arrested Anne for witchcraft, adultery, incest, and treason. The trial led to her beheading.

Henry painted over this with a new Act of Succession in 1536, and he married Jane Seymour. Now Lady Mary from his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and Lady Elizabeth from his marriage with Anne Boleyn were both illegitimate. Jane gave birth to a son Edward, who went on to become Edward V׀, the male heir that Henry had wanted so badly. Jane Seymour died two weeks later. During this time, the Laws in Wales Act 1535 legally annexed Wales which united Wales and England into one nation.

After this, Henry’s fourth wife was Anne of Cleaves. Because Edward wasn’t a healthy child, Henry wanted another male heir. This is something he didn’t end up getting. Henry married Anne of Cleaves but didn’t find her attractive, so divorced her six months after the marriage began.

He then married Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn’s first cousin. He beheaded Anne and also beheaded Catherine Howard for adultery.

Finally, Henry’s last wife was Catherine Parr, whom he married in 1543. She was a protestant and Henry was a catholic which led to arguments over religion. However, she helped Henry rebuild the relationships with his two daughters, Mary, and Elizabeth. A parliamentary act put them back in the line of succession after Edward.

The rhyme to remind us of Henry V׀׀׀’s marital escapades goes “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived”.

We had the rule of Edward V׀ between 1547 and 1553. After Edward’s death, we had a period of rule by Mary ׀, who was Henry V׀׀׀’s child from his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. She ruled from 1553-1558. Her key policy was to return England to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism.

She was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth ׀. She was the daughter of Henry 8th and Anne Boleyn.

The Elizabethan Era began the spread of English power and influence. The beginning of the seeds of the British Empire.

---

Blogs On The UK:

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Data On The U.K