Category: Daily Life in the Past

By Tim Lambert The Cro-Magnon people Modern humans appeared in Africa about 100,000 years ago. About 35,000 years ago they entered Europe. (They are sometimes called Cro-Magnons). At that time Europe was in the grip of an ice age. Forests only grew in the extreme south of Europe and most of it was covered in… Continue reading Life in Prehistoric Times

By Tim Lambert Towns in Roman Britain After the first century AD the Celts who lived in what is now England were, to a certain extent, Romanized. Many towns appeared. Some were created deliberately. Others grew up by Roman forts as the garrisons provided markets for the townspeople’s goods. Roman towns were usually laid out… Continue reading Life in Roman Britain

By Tim Lambert Roman Society At its height, the population of the city of Rome was probably over one million. However, the Roman Empire was an agricultural society where most people made their living from farming (although there were many craftsmen). Only a small minority of the population lived in towns. In the Roman Empire… Continue reading Life in Rome

By Tim Lambert Tudor Society In 16th century England, most of the population lived in small villages and made their living from farming. However, towns grew larger and more important. During the 16th century trade and industry grew rapidly and England became a more and more commercial country. Mining of coal, tin, and lead flourished.… Continue reading Life in the 16th Century

By Tim Lambert ENGLISH SOCIETY IN THE 17th CENTURY During the 17th century, the population of England and Wales grew steadily. It was about 4 million in 1600 and it grew to about 5 1/2 million by 1700. During the 17th century, England became steadily richer. Trade and commerce grew and grew. By the late… Continue reading Life in the 17th Century

By Tim Lambert There were two sides to the 1970s. On one hand, by 1973 a long period of economic prosperity was coming to an end. By the spring of 1975 unemployment had climbed to 1 million. It was over 5% of the workforce. By 1977 it had risen to 5.5% and in 1979 it… Continue reading Life in the 1970s

By Tim Lambert There were two sides to life in Britain in the 1980s. On the one hand, there was a severe recession in the years 1980-1982 and there was mass unemployment during the decade. The official unemployment rate stood at 5.3% in May 1979. It rose to 14.1% in 1986 then fell to 5.6%… Continue reading Life in the 1980s

By Tim Lambert Society in the 19th Century During the 19th century, life was transformed by the Industrial Revolution. At first, it caused many problems but in the late 19th century life became more comfortable for ordinary people. Meanwhile, Britain became the world’s first urban society. By 1851 more than half the population lived in… Continue reading Life in the 19th Century

By Tim Lambert There were two sides to the 20th century. On the one hand, there were severe recessions in the early 1930s and in the 1980s and 1990s. There were also two terrible world wars. On the other hand, there was a vast improvement in the standard of living of ordinary people. Life expectancy… Continue reading Life in the 20th Century

By Tim Lambert British Society in the 21st Century In the 21st century, people in Britain enjoyed a higher standard of living than ever before in history. In 1998 only 27% of the population had a mobile phone. By 2008 79% of the population did. By 2018 the figure had risen to 95%. In 2001… Continue reading Life in the 21st Century