Back to Owlbut's History of England

For 86 years of this century the country was ruled by Kings, all called George. More power was now in the hands of the elected members of parliament. For ordinary people this was a time of great change. Britain became a big world power with a large empire overseas, while at home both the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions exploded. In 1707 the Act of Union joined the countries of Scotland and England, together with Wales, into one kingdom.

In 1701, the estimated population of England (to the nearest ¼million) was 5¼ million people.