Under the rule of Elizabeth I, Britain defeated Spain in war, they explored the "New World" and William Shakespeare wrote his famous plays. After her reign, the king of Scotland became king of England and united the two countries (along with Wales, which was already under English rule).
In the mid-1600s Civil War broke out, led by Oliver Cromwell, and after taking power in 1649, by 1653 he was claiming himself dictator; by 1660 the monarchy had been re-established. This time also found Britain as a growing international power as they expanded colonies in the Americas and in India, as their rule over Ireland was solidified.
In 1707 the Act of Union was passed, officially putting England, Wales, and Scotland under one ruler and one parliament based in London. Ireland joined this union in 1801 (although against the wishes of most Irish). The 1700s also gave Britain control over Australia, but the American Revolutionary War hurt the country's century of relative success.
The 1800s catapulted Britain to one of the wealthiest and most advanced countries in the world as they helped lead the Industrial Revolution. These changes also created a huge gap between rich and poor, but this forced social and political changes, thus making the period a golden age due to the improvements economically, socially, and medically.
World War I proved disastrous for the people of Britain, but victorious on the battlefields. After a long interwar period, during which Ireland broke away from Britain (with the exception of Northern Ireland), World War II began and this war struck closer to home, as London was bombed for years. From England the D-Day invasion was launched, which marked the beginning of the end of the war on the European front.
After the war, most of Britain's colonies gained independence and the sun began to set on the British Empire. This resulted in instability in some of the newly independent countries and an influx of immigrants from these former British colonies. Also during this time, violence broke out repeatedly in Northern Ireland between the Catholics and Protestants.
More recently, the United Kingdom was a founding member of the European Union (EU) in 1992, although they maintain their own currency and have elected not to join the Schengen area. They also continue to consider themselves part of the British Isles instead of a part of Europe, which at times makes the Atlantic Ocean between them and Canada and the U.S.A. seem narrower than the English Channel. Additionally, there are continuing independence demands from Scotland and in the late 20th century they gained their own parliament, although talk of full independence is far from certain.