Cromwell’s lasting reputation as a butcher here in Ireland rests on his wholesale killing of the garrison and also on the charge that he ordered the murder of unarmed civilians. The story about the civilians is a myth ... But there’s no doubt about the slaughter of the garrison. ibid.
On 16th December he accepted a new title – Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. ibid.
In the summer of 1693 Isaac Newton was having a catastrophic nervous breakdown. He had always suffered intense bouts of depression and mania. Great Britons s1e5: Isaac Newton, Tristram Hunt
When he was still a young boy his mother left him ... Isaac had to stay behind at Woolsthorpe. He was effectively abandoned. ibid.
His favourite book was The Mysteries of Nature & Art. ibid.
A lonely schoolboy was laying the foundations of modern science. ibid.
He then drew up a list entitled Some Problems in Philosophy. Under forty-five different headings he identified what he saw as the great unanswered questions of science. ibid.
The image of the lone scientist in his garden unlocking the mysteries of the universe resonates through history ... Rather than developing a full theory of Gravity he put it to one side and rather focused his mind on a completely different branch of science: Optics. ibid.
Knowledge to him was something sacred and solitary ... He made the world’s first reflecting telescope. ibid.
His sense of betrayal and injustice was overwhelming. ibid.
Instead became obsessed with the Bible. It seems an extraordinary chance of tack. ibid.
Unknown to others he had been consumed by alchemy ... The Lucasian Professor had become the sorcerer’s apprentice ... He wrote over a million words on alchemy. ibid.
He decided to write a definite guide to the workings of the universe ... At a stroke Newton had changed everything: the cosmos had become knowable, mathematical; it was a staggering achievement. ibid.
Philosophae Naturalis Principia Mathematica ... One such first edition was recently sold at auction for £2,000,000. ibid.
He was concerned with motion ... Newton was able to devise the three laws of motion. ibid.
He left us ideas, ideas that allow us to control the forces of Nature and change our world. Ideas that will always be with us wherever we go. ibid.
At the time when Darwin was setting out on his travels, it was generally believed that God had created the world in 4,004 B.C. on Sunday October 23rd, and that all species were created by him fully formed and unchangeable. Great Britons s1e6: Darwin, Andrew Marr
Eventually of course Darwin had his eureka moment when everything came together and he suddenly thought, Yes, that’s it! ibid.
Of all the great books of scientific breakthrough none is half as immediately compelling and beautifully written than Origin of Species. ibid.
There was one Bishop in particular, Samuel Wilberforce of Oxford, who became Darwin’s most relentless and persuasive enemy. ibid.
More than a hundred and fifty years on, Darwin’s instincts are triumphantly borne out with the mapping of the Human Genome. Among the human races there are no significant molecular differences at all. It’s not arrogance Darwin teaches but modesty and respect. ibid.
He died with his head cradled in Emma’s arms at four o’clock on the afternoon of the 19th April 1882. Darwin’s legacy, his gift to us all, helped us to understand ourselves and the planet we live on ... More than that, Darwin teaches us that we are part of Nature and that to thrive and survive we need to work inside it. ibid.
Nelson was the first of his kind. He was an inspiring commander who forged a new more personal style of leadership risking his own life alongside his men he died fighting to defend his king and country. Great Britons s1e7: Horatio Nelson, Lucy Moore
Horatio Nelson was born in 1758 in the village of Burnham Thorpe, two miles from the coast of Norfolk. ibid.
Nelson was one of the first spin doctors of his own destiny. He was a master of self-promotion. ibid.
The French fleet was trapped in a pincer movement ... The battle began with a vengeance. ibid.
Back in Britain Nelson’s victory at the Nile was being celebrated. ibid.
Britain was still at war with France, and the kingdom of Naples was a neutral power ... Sir William Hamilton and Nelson persuaded the king and queen to ally themselves with England. This was effectively a declaration of war. ibid.
It is hard to overestimate the fear of a French invasion at this time. ibid.
Nelson was hit by a sniper just after one o’clock; the bullet entered his shoulder, went through his lung and severed his spine. ibid.
Nelson’s appeal endures because he combined courage with compassion; fated for his successes he never forgot the key to his glory was the loyalty of his men. He was superman and every man. The first and his kind and the prototype for all our heroes to come. ibid.
Elizabeth I of England was impossible. She flirted outrageously with her courtiers, she threw tantrums, vacillated, changed her mind and was absurdly vain. But I believe Elizabeth made England what it is: she fought against English fanaticism, had founded our tradition of tolerance. She beat off the Spanish Armada and won this island the respect afforded to great powers. Great Britons s1e9: Elizabeth I, Michael Portillo
Elizabeth loathed religious bigotry ... She refused to enforce anti-Catholic laws pushed forward by parliament. ibid.
When Dudley’s wife died in suspicious circumstances the scandal blew around Elizabeth and Dudley with hurricane force. ibid.
The Pope excommunicated her and declared that to kill her would be a lawful and holy act. ibid.
For thirty years Elizabeth kept England out of wars. ibid.
No writer before or since has caught us so completely as William Shakespeare. Great Britons s1e10, Shakespeare, Fiona Shaw
[Ben] Jonson immediately recognised Shakespeare’s genius. He later wrote of his friend, ‘He was not for an age, but for all time’. But even Jonson would never have guessed how right he would be. Shakespeare had by now produced the greatest body of creative work the world had ever seen and ever would see. ibid.
Just three years after his return to Stratford in 1616 he died, on the same day he was born: the 23rd April. Only three months earlier he had claimed to be in good health. But it’s thought the years of heavy drinking took its toll. ibid.
Of his fourteen major novels almost all are among literature’s greatest titles. Great Britons: Charles Dickens, H2 2018
John Dickens’ carelessness with money began to threaten the family’s security. ibid.
The 16-year-old boy began his first career as a clerk in a lawyer’s office. ibid.
Dickens became tremendously famous. Dickens became a hot property. ibid.
‘The news spread rapidly that Dickens had come, and at once the throng of visitors poured in’. ibid. Atlantic Monthly US report
‘His fiction which had begun to reflect a darker view of life.’ ibid. commentator
In 1876 just a few words revolutionised communication for ever. ‘Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.’ The first phrase spoken by Alexander Graham Bell into his invention. He knew he had seen the future. Great Britons: Alexander Graham Bell: Voice of Invention
Bell experimented with the concept he called the Harmonic Telegraph. ibid.
The history of Britain has often been shaped by war. Our ancestors fought to defend their lands, their cultures, and their beliefs. Sometimes against invaders like the Normans and the Romans. And other times against their fellow countrymen. Rob Bell, Britain’s Lost Battlefields s1e1: The Battle of Bannockburn, Channel 5 2020
I’m curious to learn more of the key battles in British history to discover how they’ve influenced our past and our present … To find out how six key battles changed the path of this country. ibid.
One of the most important battles in Scottish history. A battle still celebrated to this day … 1314: 8,000 Scots squared up against the mighty English army of at least 12 men … the Battle of Bannockburn. ibid.
Robert the Bruce: He’s going to have to defeat Edward II himself … He’ll arrive with huge numbers of professional soldiers … One of the most significant battles in British history. ibid.
In 1314 Robert the Bruce and his Scottish army surrounded the English stronghold of Stirling Castle and kept it under siege for a year. This prompted the King of England to bring an army into Scotland to relieve the castle. ibid.
‘The baggage train was something like 20 miles long.’ ibid. historian
The first day of the battle of Bannockburn couldn’t have gone better for the Scots Robert the Bruce killing an English knight by slamming an axe into his helmet. ibid.
On England’s south coast the town of Hastings … the big event that took place in the region nearly 1,000 years ago which changed Britain forever. Rob Bell, Britain’s Lost Battlefields s1e2: Battle of Hastings
Their leader was William, Duke of Normandy. William believed he had a claim to the throne of England. ibid.
The Norman invasion fleet of 776 ships and 7,000 men landed on 28th September 1066. ibid.
Harold Godwinson wanted to be king but he had a problem. Edward the Confessor had already promised that he’d support William of Normandy. ibid.
Norman and Anglo-Saxon soldiers were now primed and ready. ibid.
Halfway through the Battle of Hastings, both the Anglo-Saxon and Norman soldiers stopped for lunch. ibid.