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Turning points in British history
Discover the most momentous years in every half century of British history, as chosen by historians – starting with the Danish conquest of England in 1016 and ending with the death rattle of the British Empire in 1956
Published: August 12, 2025 at 2:36 PM
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Showing 1 to 20 of 20 results
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Part one in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1000–1049. Sarah Foot examines the most dramatic event of the early 11th century – one which threatened to change the course of English history
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Part two in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1050–1099. Nicholas Higham looks at what has become one of the most famous dates in British history, when a succession crisis led to a foreign invasion
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Part three in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1100–1149. Here Edmund King discusses a struggle that brought the political process into disrepute, and made the land's rulers aware of the power of the people
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Part four in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1150–1199. Here, John Gillingham looks back at the year when the expansionist ambitions of a troubled English king changed the course of Irish history forever
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Turning points1215: Magna Carta. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.
Part five in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1200–1249. In 1215, when England's barons clipped the wings of a tyrannical king, they established principles that still influence British justice 800 years on
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Part six in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1250–1299, Here, Michael Prestwich looks at the year that Edward I of Englandasserted his power on three fronts – and persuaded the taxpayer to fund it all
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Part seven in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1300–1349. Mark Ormrod looked at the year when a third of the population perished due to the Black Death, a cataclysm which was to change the nature of society in the British Isles
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Part eight in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1350–1399. Caroline Barron looks at the year when thousands of people converged on London in a mass armed protest
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Part nine in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1400–1449. Ralph Griffiths examines Henry V's successful victory over France which made him a winner in his own country too
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Part ten in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1450–1499. here, Christine Carpenter examines the year Richard III deposed an innocent king, an act that the nation could never forgive
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Part eleven in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1500–1549. Henry VIII's new vision of kingship carried with it lofty ambitions of controlling the British Isles from Westminster, says john guy – but neighbouring nations weren't keen on the idea
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Part 12 in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1550–1599. Pauline Croft says the decisive defeat of Spain's invasion force helped reconcile England and Scotland – and had great significance for western Europe too
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Part thirteen of our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1600–1649. At first, Charles I saw Scottish opposition to his absolutism and crypto-Catholicism as a local difficulty, but it destabilised all of the Three Kingdoms, says Rab Houston
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Part fourteen in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1650–1699. Charles II had been on the throne since 1660 and civil war scars were fading. But now, says John Morrill, attempts to restore a national church set the scene for 200 years of political turmoil
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Part fifteen in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores explores 1700–1749. The uprising of 1745 enjoyed spectacular early successes yet, as Daniel Szechi reports, it only succeeded in breathing new life into the very regime it aimed to bring to its knees
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Part sixteen in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1750–1799. In 1776, America voted to sever their political ties to Great Britain. The American Declaration of Independence was adopted on 4 July, a date that is now celebrated as 'Independence Day' or the 'Fourth of July'. Here, Jeremy Black looks at the year of the declaration, in which the rejection of British authority by American settlers led to a war that not only threatened the whole British empire but would also, in the long term, lead to changes in its political traditions…
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Part seventeen in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1800–1849. Parliament could not ignore the rising spirit of democracy, and, amidst fears of revolution, was forced to bow to popular pressure – at least to a limited extent, says Catherine Hall…
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Part eighteen in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1850–1899. The Great Exhibition glorified the industrial achievements of the empire, and set the foundations for much of modern Britain, says Peter Mandler…
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Part nineteen in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1900–1949. Gerard DeGroot chooses 1916 as a key year, as the acceleration of the First World War, coupled with huge social and political changes at home, marked the birth of modern Britain…
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The final instalment in our 20-part series looking at decisive moments of the last 1,000 years in British history explores 1950–1999. The debacle in North Africa confirmed the fact that Britain was no longer a main player on the world stage, says Pat Thane, while at home Angry Young Men challenged the old order…
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