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Quote by Simon Schama

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A History of Britain: At the edge of the world? 3000 BC-AD 1603

This book delves into the rich tapestry of Britain's past, covering the prehistoric era, the Roman occupation, the Middle Ages, and the Tudor period. It examines the impact of these times on the island's culture, politics, and society, providing a detailed account of Britain's journey from a remote edge of the known world to a significant player in European history. more

Author

Simon Schama
Simon Schama

Simon Schama is a renowned art historian known for his engaging writing style and unique insights into the history of art. His works cover a wide range of periods from the Renaissance to modern art, and are highly appreciated by readers. more

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“Much of the world today, including the United States, is still living in the social, cultural, and political aftermath of Britain's cultural achievements, its industrial revolution, its government of checks and balances, and its conquests around the world.”

“There is no other Parliament like the English. For the ordinary man, elected to any senate, from Perisa to Peru, they may be a certain satisfaction in being elected... but the man who steps into the English Parliament takes his place in a pageant that has ever been filing by since the birth of English history... York or Lancaster, Protestant or Catholic, Court or Country, Roundhead or Cavalier, Whig or Tory, Liberal or Conservative, Labour or Unionist, they all fit into that long pageant that no other country in the world can show.”

“Out of the chaos of post-Roman Dark Age Britain, the English had created the world's first nation-state: One king, one country, one church, one currency, one language and a single unified representative national administration. Never again in England would sovereignty descend to the merely regional level. Never again would the idea of England and the unity of England ever be challenged.”

“For William Cecil and others in Elizabeth's Council, whose sense of Catholic conspiracy and threat governed their political thinking, England's security lay in the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles, which could stand alone, ready to resist invaders. Divine providence had set the islands apart from the rest of the world by encircling seas, 'a little world by itself'.”