Julius Caesar makes the first of his two invasions of Celtic Britain

Julius Caesar returns to Britain for a second visit, this time reaching north of the Thames into the kingdom of Cassivellaunus

The death of Cymbeline is a prelude to the renewed Roman invasion of Celtic Britain

The Romans invade Britain and the tribal leader Caractacus fails to hold them in an encounter near the Medway

The emperor Claudius catches up with the Roman army, waiting at the Thames for him to lead the final victory over the English tribes

Boudicca launches a devastating attack on Roman soldiers and settlers, destroying their headquarters at Colchester

Agricola, appointed Roman governor of Britain in AD 77, establishes Chester as a stronghold from which to control the Welsh tribes

Agricola defeats the tribes of Scotland at an unidentified place called Mons Graupius, probably almost as far north as Aberdeen

The emperor Hadrian, visiting Britain, orders the construction of a great wall from coast to coast to keep out the Caledonian tribes

The emperor Antoninus Pius gives orders for the construction of a defensive earthwork, to the north of Hadrian's Wall

Angles, Saxons and other Germanic groups invade southern England and steadily push the Celts westwards

The Vikings develop the fast and narrow longships with which they raid across the North Sea

Vikings are by now securely established in the Orkneys, Shetlands and Hebrides, and in much of the Scottish mainlaid down to Loch Ness

A great army of Danes captures York - the first step in the establishment of Danelaw in eastern England

The Normans, as seen in the Bayeux tapestry, invade England in Viking longships with fortified platforms for archers

Norman earls are given territories on the marches of Wales, with the specific task of raiding their neighbours

A year after succeeding to the throne of England, Richard I sets off east as one of the leaders of the third crusade

Richard I, returning from the Holy Land in disguise, is recognized in an inn near Vienna and is imprisoned until England pays a massive ransom

An uprising by Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, the prince of Wales, ends with his own death and the subjugation of Wales by the king of England, Edward I

Edward I begins a series of powerful castles - Harlech, Caernarfon and Conwy in this year alone - to subdue the Welsh

Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland on behalf of England's queen Elizabeth

A new group of English settlers arrives at Roanoke Island and makes a second attempt at a settlement

Virginia Dare becomes the first English child to be born in America, on Roanoke Island

The earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnel sail from Ireland with their families, in the event known as the Flight of the Earls

John Smith publishes A Description of New England, an account of his exploration of the region in 1614