War & Conflict
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Second Battle of Lincoln helps secure Henry III’s cause
On 20 May 1217, royalist forces relieved Lincoln Castle and defeated a French-backed rebel army during the First Barons’ War. The battle came two years after Magna Carta, but England was still unsettled. King John had died in 1216, leaving his nine-year-old son, Henry III, as king. That changed the war. The quarrel over John’s…
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Battle of Dun Nechtain checks Northumbrian power
On 20 May 685, a Pictish force led by Bridei defeated a Northumbrian army led by King Ecgfrith at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, also known as Nechtansmere. Ecgfrith was killed in the fighting. That made the battle more than a failed expedition. Northumbria was one of the strongest kingdoms in northern Britain, and Ecgfrith’s…
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Britain Becomes a Founding Member of NATO
Britain became a founding member of NATO on 4 April 1949, when the North Atlantic Treaty was signed in Washington. On paper, it was a diplomatic agreement between twelve states. In practice, it marked something Britain had to accept. The country had won the war, but it could no longer expect to defend its interests…