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Winston Churchill
The Birth of Britain
(Complete Edition)
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
Published by
Books
- Advanced Digital Solutions & High-Quality eBook Formatting -
2018 OK Publishing
ISBN 978-80-272-4221-4
Table of Contents
Chapter Three: The Roman Province
Chapter Seven: Alfred the Great
Book II: The Making of the Nation
Chapter Nine: The Norman Invasion
Chapter Ten: William the Conqueror
Chapter Eleven: Growth and Turmoil
Chapter Twelve: Henry Plantagenet
Chapter Thirteen: The English Common Law
Chapter Fourteen: Coeur de Lion
Chapter Seventeen: The Mother of Parliaments
Chapter Eighteen: King Edward I
Chapter Twenty: Scotland and Ireland
Chapter Twenty-One: The Long Bow
Chapter Twenty-Two: The Black Death
Book III: The End of the Feudal Age
Chapter Twenty-Three: King Richard II and the Social Revolt
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Usurpation of Henry Bolingbroke
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Empire of Henry V
Chapter Twenty-Six: Joan of Arc
Chapter Twenty-Seven: York and Lancaster
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Wars of the Roses
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Adventures of Edward IV
Preface
It is nearly twenty years ago that i made the arrangements which resulted in this book. At the outbreak of the war about half a million words were duly delivered. Of course, there was still much to be done in proof-reading when I went to the Admiralty on September 3, 1939. All this was set aside. During six years of war, and an even longer period in which I was occupied with my war memoirs, the book slumbered peacefully. It is only now when things have quietened down that I present to the public A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES.
If there was need for it before, that has certainly not passed away. For the second time in the present century the British Empire and the United States have stood together facing the perils of war on the largest scale known among men, and since the cannons ceased to fire and the bombs to burst we have become more conscious of our common duty to the human race. Language, law, and the processes by which we have come into being already afforded a unique foundation for drawing together and portraying a concerted task. I thought when I began that such a unity might well notably influence the destiny of the world. Certainly I do not feel that the need for this has diminished in any way in the twenty years that have passed.
On the contrary, the theme of the work has grown in strength and reality and human thought is broadened. Vast numbers of people on both sides of the Atlantic and throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations have felt a sense of brotherhood. A new generation is at hand. Many practical steps have been taken which carry us far. Thinking primarily of the English-speaking peoples in no way implies any sense of restriction. It does not mean canalising the development of world affairs, nor does it prevent the erection of structures like United Europe or other similar groupings which may all find their place in the world organisation we have set on foot. It rather helps to invest them with life and truth. There is a growing feeling that the English-speaking peoples might point a finger showing the way if things went right, and could of course defend themselves, so far as any of us have the power, if things went wrong.