Britain has not been successfully invaded since 1066; nor in nearly 1 000 years has it known a true revolution
- one that brings radical systemic & enduring change. The contrast with Britain's European neighbours France Germany Italy Spain Greece Russia is dramatic
- all have been convulsed by external warfare revolution & civil war & experienced fundamental change to their ruling elites or social & economic structures. Frank Mc Lynn takes seven occasions when Britain came closest to revolution: the Peasants' Revolt of 1381; the Jack Cade rebellion of 1450; the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536; the English Civil Wars of the 1640s; the Jacobite Rising of 1745-6; the Chartist Movement of 1838-48; & the General Strike of 1926. Why at these dramatic turning points did history finally fail to turn? Mc Lynn examines Britain's history & themes of social religious & political change to explain why social turbulence stopped short of revolution on so many occasions.