You are on page 1of 89

Anglophone worlds Tema 1: Earliest settlements in the British Isles

1.1 The palaeolithic About one million years ago Ice Age began and the British Isles were uninhabitable. But in the late Ice Age bands of hunter nomads roamed what it is now southern England (1,6 millions years ago). There was great climatic fluctuation, and during the first and third of these warmer periods the climate was hotter than today.

1.1.1 The Neanderthals Derived from homo heidelbergensis and they were not ancestral to modern humans. The only site in England with Neanderthal traits on the British Isles is Pontnewydd in Wales. The sites evidences supports the idea that they lived in isolated groups and did not went very far from their bases. Some kind of big animals shows that in the future we will find Neandrthal activity in Wales and England. They are the great survivor of the Ice Age and at 40.000 years ago they were replaces by homo sapiens who brought new technology and tools. They were migrants from the middle east.

1.1.2 The first settlers of Britain and Ireland In the Ice Age Britain was linked to the continent by a land bridge. First people arrived on foot and the earliest evidence dates to about 500.000 years ago. Physically modern humans first reached Britain about 31.000 years ago and they became widespread only around 13.000 when Ice Age ended. Sea levels raised around 7.000 years ago. When Britain joined the continent, first inhabitants lived in the valley of Kent (Swanscombe). Their tribe shared the forests with prehistoric animals, and, armed with spears, the hunters tracked their prey in the forest of oak and elm. Experts believe that these men were not very different from men of today. His brain was similar in size and his life was precarious. We dont know if they understood the secret of fire. They were skilled at organizing group expeditions to hunt great beasts. They had to devote most of their energy to survival. Yet, the possessed high degree of artistic skill and they took pleasure in functional design. They adorned themselves with strings of animal teeth and mollusk shells. They had reverence for the dead and believed in life after death. Early Britons 1

buried young men in Paviland Cave (red lady). It maybe was sacrifice to gods.

1.2 The Mesolithic It covers 10.000-5.000 BC after farming was introduced. There was a climate warming and it made Britain attractive to human settling. It led to raise sea level which established the present shorelines. They were hunter-gathers like their predecessors. The collected plants, fished and hunted. They used halted stone axes and bow hunting equipment. There are several sites as Waun Fignen in Wales. On the later Mesolithic there was a tendency to settle and it appeared some massive shell middens, territorial boundaries, etc. But this features are absent in Britain and Ireland, were middens were relatively small and disperse. The most typical british Mesolithic indicators are temporary and smaller settlements with no storage facilities. The Mesolithic diet was based on plants and meat, and fish on shoreline.

1.3 The Neolithic Between 4.000-3.000 BC self sufficient communities spread to most parts of the country. The arrival of the first farmers brought one of the greatest changes in the history of the island. they brought with them in their small boats not only seeds of barley and wheat, but sheep and cattle. Also new type of tools and the hacked out clearings in the woods. The first farmers were mainly dependent for their daily livelihood on their herds of sheep and cattle and they were semi-nomads. Life was very hard bout for the first time the food supply was at least partially under human control. Clothing made from their hides gave a wonderful protection against winter cold. The tools were primitive. Different types of axes served to build timber and thatch huts. They also needed containers to store grain and the pottery making was thus brought to Britain. Agriculture helped to increase population many times and a more settled life became possible.

1.3.1 Neolithic architecture

This new way of life led to enormous social changes. Some communities were ruled by relevant families which led to the building of great hill top camps as meeting places and collective tombs. In the Neolithic, men began building huge earthwork enclosures or henges which acted as religious centres for over 500 years, like medieval cathedrals. Their vision also led to the building of Silbury hill, the largest manmade structure in prehistoric Europe. There is no clue to its purpose but society was very organized to supply labor force to do it. In this period men were able to observe the sun and stars and they used their knowledge to build stone circles in which the stones were meticulously placed, maybe to measure the time.

1.3.2 Ritual monuments in Britains and Ireland Society soon began to construct its first full-scale monuments. On several hill tops large earthwork enclosures were erected. The top were occupied by prominent families. These monumental structures were built in the heart of inhabited zones. Some may be positioned on the margin of settled land and could ever have been concealed within areas of forest while others were constructd along nature routes across the terrain very accessible to people. They needed a large amount of people to built them and a great workforce could be drawn to it. Cluster of monuments often seem to have been across the landscape at approximately equal intervals so they served the settles of a determined territory. But people moved between the, there were not independent.

1.3.3. Stonehenge In the British Isles there are altogether about 900 stone circles and a few more in Brittany. No one has higher stones, more precision and refinements than Stonehenge. It stands on Salisbury Plain and it is the focal point of the densest concentration of Neolithic and bronze age. It has a very long history of building and alteration. Stonehenge I consisted of a circular earthwork enclosure about 91 m across surrounded by a bank with a ditch outside it. It was constructed about 2800 BC. Inside the bank there was a ring of 56 pits evenly spaced about 4-9 m apart (Aubrey Holes). Their purpose is unknown but they never held upright stones or wooden posts. It seems to have remains in us as a place of Neolithic worship and a burial for about 7 centuries. Then, in period II, it was altered by the addition of the Avenue about 2100 BC. It ran for about 510 m. 3

Around the centre, the builders of Stonehenge II began to erect a double circle of bluestones that we set up in two concentric circles about 1,8 m. On one side a single large hole evidently held a stone of exceptional size, probably the altar. The first stage of Stonehenge III consisted in an outer circle of 30 uprights of uniform height capped by a horizontal ring of stone lintels. All this stones have had their surfaces shaped and smoothed by pounding them with stones mauls and hammers. This must be done before the stones were erected. The building of Stonehenge III began about 2000 BC. The most difficult part was transporting and raising stones (1500 men) which implied some kind of central and wide-ranging authority. In period IV (1100 BC) the avenue was extended to the river Avon. It is unknown what religious beliefs Stonehenge represent but many suggestions have been made about its possible use as astronomical observatory.

1.3.4 The Boyne ritual landscape Is one of the most complexes, located in Ireland. Three large passage graves dating from 3rd millennium BC are the focus of smaller graves. They were built on a low ridge dominating a open landscape. So, it presents one of the best examples of such a group of monuments anywhere in Europe. The most relevant are the passage graves of Newgrange, the cathedrals of the megalithic religion, and they are always accompanied by a cemetery of small tombs. This groups of monuments maintained its relevance even after the passage graves had ceased to be built and became the focus of new monuments. At Newgrange it is so clear the significance of the landscape. The form of a ring that was built just beyond the extension of the monument suggest that it may be connected with some ritual functions of the henges that are distributed across that zone.

1.4 The Bronze Age It covers 2400-700 BC. Initially there were strong elements of Neolithic traditions with stone circles and communal burials in chambered tombs. Temperatures went higher and the rainfall was probably little greater. There was an agrarian economy but this have left no lasting mark on the landscape. Animal husbandry was dominating. By the 2 nd millennium, all this 4

was to change. by 1500 human groups started to enclose and divided the land with small clusters of timber buildings for a single family. So the landscape totally transformed as communities everywhere stared to impose a new structure on the land they were trying to control. In the south, increased cereal productivity led to further changes (fertility). I was also grain storage pits. These silos, dug down into the rock, were effective stores for seed and they put it there looking for the protection of the chtonic deities. Also new burial tradition rose, including that of individual elite burials under cairns and burrows (Stonehenge). Warfare became more important and the first hill-forts appeared. An example was Beaker Folk: new people brought many customs to the island of Britain like small single graves and equipped with archers bounds and knives of copper. Metal was the outstanding contribution of these people.

1.4.1 New materials and tools The Wessex people brought the rich metal resources of Britain under their control and founded a culture of exceptional wealth and power. Their homeland was ideally situated fro trade (Wiltshire Downs). They could exchange the grain, wool and hides for the precious metals of Ireland, Cornwall, Wales and northern England which would be traded for the luxuries of all Europe. So they increased their knowledge and power thanks to their brilliant organizational abilities they were master of craftsman of their age. Copper produced by smelting ore is hard enough to take a cutting edge. By adding tin they produced a much harder alloy, bronze, which could be recast if they broke. Tin and copper were more accessible. At first bronze was used for luxury goods only, as status symbols, because tools of every day were made of flint. As supplies of bronze increased in Britain, so did the technical abilities of bronze smiths. The cir perdue method of casting was sophisticated (1000 BC) and they could produce a wide range of implements with more varied shapes. Bronze age monuments were spectacular but few in number.

1.5 The Iron Age Here there was an interaction between the civilized cultures of the Mediterranean sphere and the barbarians beyond. In Britain and Ireland the were some links determined by geographical reasons: the sea allowed adjacent communities to keep in contact, exchanging ideas and gifts, trading, etc. 5

1.5.1 The hill-fort defences About 700 BC hill forts proliferated in the central part of the island, from North Wales to Wessex and Sussex. This terms covers a variety of different kinds of fortified site built and used until the Roman conquest. Most of them occupied and impressive hilltop spur, fortified against attack from hill or valley. By 300 BC they had a vertical stone wall and rock-cut ditch. Were they a system of exchange between tribes or to secure shares in dwindling resources? Many went out of use about 50 BC for no clear reasons. Much evidence of occupation later than 300 BC has been uncovered. They were varied in form. Some are roughly circular contour works of about 5 hectares, some smaller. This suggests different functions but there is no reason to suppose that their main function was defence against attack. Were they used as refuge at times of stress or violence? Violence was not all from within the country but at 300 BC many were abandoned and others became more strongly defended.

1.5.2 Commerce and art An agriculture economy was established in Britain and Ireland, wheat and barely were grown and the familiar farm animal reared in an integrated arrangement. There were regional variations and that maintained networks of production. Throughout the Iron Age people were able to absorb new ideas from the Continent. Warrior equipment such swords and horse gear arrived in the islands and were copied by local craftsmen. British warriors were equipped with iron stabbing swords and occasionally iron-fitted chariots. And they also hammered iron into fines art of prehistoric Britain. Belief systems also were adopted. In Yorkshire started to adopt burial practices including the burial of a chariot (Arras culture). They were practices by the influx of new people. The Atlantic seaways flourished by the desire for the metals, copper, gold and tin. The Greek Pytheas travelled from Marseille to the British tin market in Cornwall and there is written evidence of cross-Channel economics contacts before Julius Ceasar (Albion proceeded from white-chalked coasts and is the poetic name of England).

1.6 The Celts 6

The name celts derived from keltoi a name used by Greeks to describe barbarian people on the northern fringes of their world. It was applied to varied people who shared a similar material culture. their language goes back to 2000 BC. By the 5th century their material culture had evolved into La Tene the shallows. The first written historical reference to the Celts is around 450 BC when Heredotus told of celtic settlements near source of Danube. The its migration recorded all Europe: they sacked Tome (386 BC) and they went to northern Spain and Britain. At no point did the form an empire. The most important descriptions of Celts was from Posidonios and Julius Ceasar who depicted them as war-loving and vainglorious. Their priests were the druids. They had towns engaged in international trade. The Roman conquest of Europe obscured celtic past but in non-romanised Ireland, their world survived.

1.6.1 Culture and art La tene art is considered as the first definite celtic art. It reached its flowering in the 3rd century. In sagas (600-800) there are remarkable parallels for the descriptions of the continental celts. When they arrived to Britain is debated (3rd century BC). Celtic art is energetic and explosive and yet at the same time full of humour. By 200 BC a British style of Celtic art began to appear under the patronage of rich chieftains. When Romans came to Britain (55 BC) british craftsmen were lavishing their skills and objects like weapons and helmets were full of elegant patterns. The artist took inspiration from nature like rolling hills. The coming of Christianity fused with old Celtic ideas and created an extremely rich cultural environment, especially in Ireland: epic-hero tales, illuminated manuscripts, etc. The gaelic language is a mixture of Celtic and pre-Celtic languages and is the earliest vernacular language of Medieval Europe, mixed with a unique literature. The Gaelic society was deeply changed following the AngloNorman invasion of the 12th century and finally collapsed in the 17 th century as the English Protestant conquested Ireland.

1.6.2 Architecture Celtic architecture put all emphasis on strength and security and the bronchs must have been among the strongest fortress in all prehistoric Europe. Over 500 are found in Scotland. This is a communal farmhouse within a massive stone power. 7

The outside of the broch was 65 feet in diameter and it stood 40-50 feet high. Large quantities of building stone, ferried from mainland, were needed. The main entrance was a 17 feet long passage through the wall. The central courtyard was surrounded by tiers of timber rooms. the work of the community was done on the ground floor. There was a central stone-lined hearth in the courtyard and jobs as smithing were done in the rooms around it. there also housed the cattle in winter.

1.6.3. Society Celtic society preserved many features from the previous order. The social structure was similar to Platos, based on a religious cosmology and democratic idealism. Each tribe had its own territory with fixed borders and that land consisted of forest and wilderness, common land and agriculture holdings. Everyones rights and obligations were carefully defined. Much of the tribal business was conducted at annual assemblies. A great amount of old farmsteads in Britain, today, are on Celtic sites. Julius Caesar commented on its high population and numerous farms and cattle. The unifying bond between all the Celtic tribes was their common priesthood, the druids. Knowledge of the druids comes directly from classical writers of their time. They were compared to learned priesthoods of antiquity. Caesar said that they knew much about the stars and celestial motions, and about essential nature of things: and these things they teach to their pupils. They also taught the traditional doctrine of the souls immortality and workings of reincarnation. Druidism has all the appearance of a native religion being deeply rooted in primeval native culture. Its myths and heroic legends adapted from much earlier traditions. But in the course of time, society became more structured and elaborate and the druidism laws more rigid. Druids managed the higher legal system and the courts of appeal. Up to 20 years of oral instruction and memorizing was required of a pupil before being admitted into their order. Nor was there any great shift in population: the British population were predominantly of native Mesolithic ancestry. The druids religion have the appearance of belonging to an earlier Britain. Their knowledge o astronomy may have descended from priests of megalithic times. There is an obvious difference between the Celtic Druids and the megalithic priests before them. The druids abandoned the great stone temples and reverted to the old natural shrines, the springs and groves where they held rituals. A religious reformation is here implied, because maybe megalithic 8

priest probably became so onerous to people. So, a spiritual revival seems to have occurred in Britain about 2000 BC with Stonehenge and first Celtic cultural evidences. Now Stonehenge is seen as a temple of druids. All Celtic men of substance were included amongst the druids or the nobles. They were the learned and priestly class, and were the chief enforcers and guardians of law. The druids belived to be able to render people insane by flinging a magic wisp of straw in their faces; and, also, to bring down showers. They possessed the ability to forecast the future by watching clouds. Unlike the nobles, they were not a hereditary class. They were also free of taxes. The training to enter could take 20 years and nothing could be ever written down. The president served for life and enjoy authority. Especially Ireland was full of sacred places, the burial mounds, the sacred groves of druids, sacred wells, pillar stones and hill fortress. Monarchy became the form of government and Ireland was divided in fifths of kingdoms. The religion was of course druidism. The written language was Ogam, largely known through funeral descriptions on upright stones or tense passages or written on wooden staves.

UNIT 2: ROMAN PERIOD AND THE GREAT INVASIONS


1 THE ROMAN INVASION AND THE NORTHERN FRONTIER Romans knew little of Britain. It was reported to be rich and that there was gold and pearl fishing. Its slave was highly valued, and it exported tin and copper. In mid September, Julius Caesar, and his men shipped away to Gaul. By 54 BC, he was ready with a great force, about 500 vessels laden whit men, horses and equipment, and the Roman landing was unopposed. Caesar felt that he had achieved enough and he withdrew his forces and never returned. In August 43AD an invasion force of four legions and auxiliaries numbering over 40.000 men landed unopposed on the Kent Coast. In command was Aulus Plautius, who was to be Britains fist military governor. His objective was Caumlodunum (Colchester), now the Catuvellanian capital. Claudius the roman Emperor remained in Rome waiting for the message which brings him to Britain to complete the campaign. Plautius advance through Kent to the Medway and then toe the Thames from where he sent the message to Claudius. Claudius joined his army on the 5 th of September and two days later he led the attack on the British, the battle may have been fought on Brentwood hill between London and Colchester. Colchester fell and Caractacus the British warrior had to flee for his life. The Emperor Claudius spent only 16 days in Britain. He received the submission of the conquered tribes and returned to Rome. With the Twentieth Legion in reserve at Colchester, the remaining three occupied the land behind the frontier Claudius has laid out, a line from Lincoln to the south Devon coast, the new defenses were serve by the 190 mile Fosse Way, Britains first military frontier road. Beyond this line there were the wild unconquered tribesmen. 1.1 The conquest of the Midlands and the North The plans of the Romans had been to delay the conquest of the Northern Britain until the Midlands and Wales were dominated. The treaty with Carimandua had been intended to make this possible and the forces began to intervene in the North in the 50s and 60s, operating from Viroconium (Worcester) and Deva (Chester).

10

Rome nearly lost Britain in 60 AD in one of the bloodiest episodes in Britain s history. The revolt was against Roman injustice its tragic heroine, Boudicca, was a formidable woman. Boudiccas husband, the Roman vassal-king Prasutagus of the Iceni, a tribe living in East Anglia, had willed his estate jointly to Boudicca and Emperor Nero so on his death the lands will not pass directly to Rome, but when he died, Romans officials seized his domain, took the lands of the Icenian nobles, the Roman legionaries sacked the royal palace, flogged Boudicca and raped her two daughters. The Iceni exploded in rebellion and the uprising spread to other tribes in south-east England. The first target was Colchester (Cammulodunum). The governor abandoned London (Londinium) to his fate and the City was burn to the grounds as was Verulamium (St Albans). An estimated 70,00080,000 people were killed in the three cities. It was Roman discipline that won the day in the Battle of Watling Street were the British were massacred. Boudicca escaped to the wood where she poisoned herself. Boudicca won a posthumous victory, after her death a system of justice and order was established which was to last for over three centuries. Romes problems in the North came to a head in 69 AD this was the Year of Four Emperors a political and military struggle between the rival successors to Nero, whose victor was Vespasian, who established the Flavian dynasty that ruled from 69-96. Vespasian was determined to conquest Britain to bring the entire land to the Roman province. There were some substantial territories gains under Quintus Petillius Cerialis and Gnaeus Julius Agricola.

Quintus Petillius Cerialis (71-74) Cerialis secured most of the territory up to Luguvalium (Carlisle) and Coriosopitum (Cordbridge) establishing a legionary fortress at Eburacum (York) and them advanced to Scotland. He also separated the Venicones of Fifeshire from the Caledonian hill people by a line of forts and watchtowers now know as the Gask Ridge limes. Gnaeus Julius Agricola (77-83) During Agricolas governorship three different men held this position, Vespasian (mid 79), Titus (late 81) and Dominitian. Vespasian favored total conquest, while Titus was more circumspect more preoccupied with the problems with the Danube. Dominitian permitted a renewal of the colonial advance with the objective of reducing the fighting power of the Caledonian. 11

Agricola was recalled to Rome in 83 although Agricolas departure did not coincide with a roman decision to abandon Scotland. By 87 the period of conquest was completed. 1.2 The Two Walls During the first 70 years of the Roman occupation of Britain, the wildest frontier of the Empire was ravaged by tribesmen fro the north and for the south by the Brigantes of Yorkshire. Into this turmoil in the year 122 AD arrived Emperor Hadrian. With Hadrian came an age of containment, he turned the legionnaires into defender and it was in Britain that he met the greatest test of his policy which changed the history of the Roman Empire. He decided to build a wall to separate the barbarians from the Romans. This stone wall occupied the ridge to the north of the Stanegage and it extended form Pons Aelii (Newcastle) to join the turf wall at Willowford. The construction took 7 years and at least 8500 men were employed to build the wall. Every roman mile (1620 yds) they build a milecastle in between two a watch tower and 16 large forts to house the garrison. When the wall was finished a great ditch known as the vallum was dug on the south side, perhaps because the Romans could not even be sure to the loyalty of the tribes in their rear such as the Brigantes. In 138, Antoninus Pius planned to build a new wall and to reoccupy territories up to the line form the river Clota to the Bodotria estuary. It was built throughout of turf. The Antonine Wall was the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. These entrenchments ran from Borowstounnes near Carriden in Edinburgh on the firth of Clyde. The wall ran for 39 miles, half the distance of Hadrians defensive work further south, and passed along the central valley of Scotland formed by the river Kelvin in the west and the Bonny Water to the east. Its main objective may have been closer policing of the northern tribes. There was a break of occupation of the Antonine Wall in the 150s but Marcus Aurelius decided in 163 to abandon and reoccupy Hadrians.

1.3 The Roads When the Romans began the conquest of Britain in 43 AD, they found a collection of roads and paths most connecting local fields and hamlets and some longer distance trade routes. However the Roman Administration needed a better network of roads to connect its new towns and army posts and to speed the flow of both trade goods and troops. 12

The most vital priority was the movement of troops and supplies form the Channel ports of Richborough, Dover and Lympne to the military centres at London & Colchester. This frontier extended from Exeter to Lincoln running through Bath, Gloucester and Leicester. This was known as the Fosse Way, the first great Roman road in Britain. The minor roads called economic roads were also built by the Roman army to link economic centres and the coastal ports. There was a third level of roads at the local level, connecting villas, temples, farms and villages to larger roads and market towns. Every Roman road in Britain was linked with the routes to London and from there a direct routed pointed to Dover where regular ferries linked Britain with the main highway to the capital city of the empire. The best unaltered examples of Roman roads in Britain exist at Wheeldale Moo (North Yorkshire), Holtye (Sussex) and Blackstone edge (Great Manchester). Simultaneously, by the first century, there were already busy sea routes linking the various territories of the Roman Empire.

2-THE ROMANISATION OF THE BRITISH ISLES Before Britain became a province of the Roman Empire it was split into warring tribes but the Roman established a system of law and order. Although the Romans rated military glory highly, conquest was not an end in itself. If a province was to be integrated into the empire, the willing cooperation of its people had to be guaranteed through a process of Romanisation. The rapid growth outside Roman forts of small towns shows that the armys need of support services provided wealth-generation opportunities that the local people were willing and able to take. In Britain conquest created the conditions in which this transformation could be achieved and Romans encouraged their subject nations to adopt their ways. Roman civilisation was based on racial toleration and it was also firmly based on a class society. There were Roman citizens and slaves but it was possible for non-Italians to gain the Roman citizenship by merit, influence of service to Rome. The British benefited from a range of economic and social opportunities offered by roman occupation, this explains why at the end of the fourth century they competed with one another not in rediscovered tribalism but over the most effective way of sustaining their Romanised culture. 13

In the 3rd century, Romans brought to Britain, Christianity and grew to become the greatest legacy of Roman civilisation. 2.1 Society, Economy and Art When the legions came and conquered, the Romans built towns, they were to stamp the order of Rome on barbarian Britain, to the towns came lawyers and tax collectors. They bound the people of the empire into the legal and fiscal network of Rome. Every important town in Britain had its public baths that became community centres of Roman civilisation; some baths like the famous ones at Bath were built over warm, natural springs, containing many valuable salts. The Romans also brought a deeper culture to Britain; the first schools opened in British cities soon after the invasion by 300 AD there were probably schools flourishing in the major towns. Here the descendents of the old tribal chiefs studied Latin, literature and art. The Romans brought with them the mosaic (fragments of hard stone). Many of the Mosaic floor captured scenes of history and everyday life were used to decorate town houses, villas and to paved bath houses, in Britain the wide range of local stones contributed to the fine colour and rich variety of the mosaic. Most of the mosaic in towns and villas dated form the 4 th century, when town live flourished and villa life was at its most luxurious.

2.2 Urban and Rural Centres The towns of Roman Britain were also places to work, and much industrial raw material and agriculture produce was taken into towns to be processed into saleable items. These towns were lively places full for people, noise and bustle. The ties between urban and rural life were very strong, especially since many of those people who administered the civitas made their money from industry, which was dependent on raw material from the countryside or from agriculture, which was the main source of all income. Rural settlement types are different in the lowlands and in then highland of Roman Britain. In the rich lowlands areas south and east of the line from the Humber to the Severn, the villa was a major feature of the landscape. They ranged from small, rectangular cottages to large country houses. Most of them were built on profitable arable estates or stock-rearing. 14

In the lowland areas and in the highlands of the West Country, North Wales and North Areas the rural settlement consisted entirely of huts and no villas to be found. Roman Britain was divided into two broad social and economic zones, in the fertile lowlands of the south and east a prosperous agricultural economy. Culturally this area became the most Romanises and urbanised area of the province. In the high country of the north and west, there were valued as much for their mineral resources as their agriculture. In the north, the economic opportunities they were similar than those in the south and east.

3 LONDINIUM: ROMAN LONDON The earliest activity associated with Londinium (London) was probably military and was connected with the crossing of the river at Southwark. Originally built of timber, the town was rebuilt after Boudiccas rebellion, using timber for shops and houses and stone and tile for public buildings. In the first century it was built a palace (praetorium) for the governor and there were other structures of the judicial officers, procurator and the governors guard and an amphitheatre, bath-houses, a forum and a basilica. These buildings were the heart of administrative and commercial life. In 130, a major fire caused a notable interruption in the development of the city, in the second and early centuries an extensive timber waterfront and a complete wall enclosure of the towns landward side, with gatehouses certainly at Ludgate, Newgate, Bishopgate and Aldgate. At the same time it was completed a decorated arch at Blackfriars. Londiniums relevance in the fourth century was undeniable, and it is confirmed by the title of Augusta and its role of the seat of the vicarious of the four British provinces.

4 THE END OF ROMAN BRITAIN THE Roan style of life in Britain did not end overnight but the barbarian invasion of 367 marked a turning point, acting in unison, Picts poured over Hadrians Wall, Saxons landed on the North Sea coast and the Irish swooped down on the western seaboard.

15

The military commander of Roman Britain was taking prisoner. The Count of the Saxon Shore, charged with keeping the sea raiders at bay was defeat and killed. Emperor Valentian sent a Spaniard, Count Theodosius to deal with the situation and he landed in 368. Theodosius liberated London, proclaimed amnesty for soldiers who had deserted and put the army together. In two years Theodosius restored peace and left Britain, but the piece he left behind were very fragile and the decline of the Empire was now a fact. From 367 life on the British province sank towards the chaos of the Dark Ages, by 407 matters had reached a crisis point, villas were abandoned, their fields reverted to scrub and the country people fled to the safety of the walled cities. In 410 the Saxons raided the coast once more and the Britons took the opportunity to break away from Rome establishing their own administration as centralised government had evidently broken down completely. After 350 years of peace civilisation, Rome Britain had finally come to an end.

5 THE GREAT MIGRATIONS AND INVASIONS The collapse of the Roman province of Britannia created a fragile structure that drew Germanic migrants form across the Channel and propelled native people around the British Isles. These waves of land-hungry warriors come to Britain first as raiders and then as settlers. This period of conflict provides the historical context for the heroic efforts of King Arthur to resist the Anglo-Saxon expansion into western Britain. This long period of conflicts and ethnic tensions redefined a New Britain. It lasted from 600-1066. There was a new political landscape, consisting of little kingdoms different to the Roman provincial status. Celtic and AngloSaxon social organisation was no so different, but there were great religious and linguistic differences. Christianity had a significant number of believers in Britain while the Saxon remained pagan until the seventh century. According to the English settlement, there were three cultural areas in Britain: In the East the English speaking Anglo-Saxon In the North and West the Celtic where the English and the Pictish language persisted In Ireland and Western Britain a different Celtic language, Gaelic 16

5.1 The Saxons, Anglos and Jutes With the Anglo-Saxon invasion of the 5 th century, a new era was opened in British history; it lasted for six centuries and ended in apparent disaster at the Battle of Hasting in 1066. During this time the newcomers of West Germanic ancestry, Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians created the pattern of villages that was to last to modern times. The Anglo-Saxons came from areas outside came from areas outside the Roman Empire form the coastlines with stretches from Jutland to the mouth of the Rhine, they brought an alien way of life and their settlement was not easy or unopposed. The native British now more Celtic than Roman put up big resistance. Various ancient hill-forts became the bases of British war leaders for their campaigns against the invader. One of these was Cadbury Castle in Somerset; in recent years archaeologists are trying to discover whether this pre-Roman hill fort was the headquarters of Arthur, the legendary hero of British resistance to the Saxons. By the late 6th century, the Anglo-Saxons had resumed the offensive and after victory in the Battle of Dyrham in 577, they were well poised to overrun all of Britain. After 600, the Saxons in Britain were organised into several small kingdoms: Kingdom of Northumbria (formed by the merging of the kingdoms Deira and Bernicia) in the North Kingdoms of Norfolk and Suffolk in the East Anglia Kingdoms of Kent, Sussex and Essex in the South East

The formation of the two most important of these early kingdoms, Mercia and Wessex was slower and more complicated. Mercia was formed on the second quarter of the 7 th century and Wessex was an earlier creation but like Mercia it was not until the 7 th century that achieved the power that their founders sought. All these kingdoms were converted to Christianity in the course of the 7 th century. The missionary zeal of St Agustine sent by Pope Gregory the Great brought the people of the south-eat into the Church. St Aidan form St Columbas Island monastery of Iona in Scotland, helped St Oswald of Northumbria to convert his people following Celtic practices. After that, all the kingdoms turned to Rome for inspiration and guidance and the unification of the kingdom through Christianity was achieved about 300 years before political Unity. 17

Generation by generation over the following centuries the kingdom of Saxon England moved towards unity. Mercia came close to achieving it under King Offa but national unity was not to be won by English effort alone; it took a new external threat to force unity in England, after 800, the Vikings, notably the Danes were an increasingly menace to the Island. Alfred the King of Wessex and his successors were able first to contain and finally to re-conquer the lands that had fallen under Scandinavian control. The Church was powerful under both Celtic and Roman churchmen, scholarship also flourished and monks such as Bede produced works in Latin ('Ecclesiastical History of the English People') but other authors also wrote in Anglo-Saxon, the beginning of the English language, the epic poem Beowulf with more than 3.000 lines in verse was written in the 8 th century. Learning was encouraged by kings such as Alfred who created a notable group of scholars and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also took shape at this time. The last Anglo-Saxon king was Edward the Confessor under his reign art flourished and his own contribution was Westminster Abbey. On Edwards death in 1066, the throne passed to his brother-in-law, Harold Earl of Wessex.

5.2 The Vikings The Viking period in Britain and Ireland started with the killing by Norwegian pirated of a royal official at the port of Portland in Wessex around 789. The Vikings targets were monasteries placed near the coast or navigable rivers, not only were monasteries rich but they were also defenceless. On the 8th June 793 a band of Norwegian Vikings sacked the wealthy monastery of Lindisfarmen, wiht more than 150 years of history, they murdered many of the monks and robbed most of its treasures, and this was the first great Viking raid on England. The Vikings gained a rich prize, for the monastery founded in 635 by St Aidan, a Celtic monk from Iona, had become a brilliant centre of art and learning and hold many richest. It was probably Ireland that suffered most severely during this time of Viking attacks. Ireland was divided into many kingdoms and this decentralised power structure made the defence very difficult. In 836 the Vikings began 18

to build fortified bases (longphorts) in which they spent the winter. more successful of those settlements was Dublin, founded in 841.

The

In 851 Vikings stayed during winter in British soil for the fist time and in 867 the Great Danish Army invaded Northumbria. Three years later, King Edmund of East Anglia was martyred when the Danes took his kingdom, Mercia was overrun too, and the three kingdoms were forced to make peace on Danish terms. The Viking invasions of Britain reached their peak in 870-1. Ethelred king of Wessex died and was succeeded by Alfred but it was not until 878 that Alfred could confine the Danes to eastern England the Danelaw. The Danelaw, where they settled and imposed their legal customs that survived even after the Norman Conquest. Scandinavian attacks led the Picts of eastern Scotland and the Scots of Dariada to unit under Kenneth MacAlpin (843-58), this union marked the birth of the Kingdom of Scotland. By the middle 870s the Vikings had shown signs of settling permanently in Britain and shared out land in the Saxon Kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia and set their eyes in the rich lands of Wessex. On May 878, two armies met at Edington near Westbury and Alfred, King of Wessex and his west Saxons defeated the Danish King Guthrum. The Danish left Alfreds kingdom and the King Guthrum even accepted the Christian faith. Finally, in 880 the Danes moved to East Anglia were they settled down and shared the land pacifically. On 892-896, England suffered several attacks but Alfred rallied resistance and maintained his hold over Wessex, West Mercia and London. Alfred died on October 899, he was a great reformer, he reorganised the army, built new type of ships and set up a whole complex of fortified towns. He also set up a new code of laws for his entire kingdom. Alfreds son, Edward the Elder and his daughter, Aethelflaed of Mercia, brought the Danish lands under their control and his grand-son, Athelstan, crushed the last resistance at Brunanburg in 937. Eventually, the Kingdom of Alfreds great-grandson Edgar (959-75) came to include the Danes themselves and the monarchy supported by the Church emerged as a unifying force. The country was divided into shires on the Wessex pattern. By the end of Edgars reign, Hundred Courts met every four weeks. 19

A Danish dynasty was to succeed to his crown. Edgars son Ethelred was defeated by the Danes under Sweyn Forkbeard and his son Canute. When Ethelreds son Edmund Ironside died in 1016, Canute was the only king and he proved a worthy successor to the best Saxon rulers. Wulfstan, Archbishop of York, helped draft the laws of Canute. This collection of laws became the basis of English legal procedure well into Norman times.

20

Unit 3: The unification of England

3.1 The first Kings of the English The ancient kingdom of the West Saxons had been transformed into a kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons by the King Alfred and it extended over the Danes and the Northumbrians (SX). By 900 Scots had assimilated the Picts and annexed Strathclyde. Ireland too seemed to be moving towards greater political unity but collapsed in 1014. There is a political development process in the SIX-X, from the kingdom of WS to the English one. This concept was first attested by the pope Gregory and by Bede in 731. The Vikings conquered all the kingdoms but WS, and Alfred the Great promoted the Englishness among all that kingdoms. Alfred s kingdom was spread and created the kingdom of Anglo-Saxons. It passed to Edward the Elder who controlled the Danes and Mercians. Aethlestan ruled Northumbria thereby bringing a unified kingdom of the English into existence. In king Edgar times that kingdom was completed (973). He had a second coronation in Bath. In 980s Danish attacked but in 1016 Cnut took over the kingdom and made it the centre of his North Sea Empire. The kingdom of England survived his death in 1035. Then it was divided into to earls: Godwin of Wessex and Leofric of Mercia. The result was the weakening of the kingdom of England. Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred II, lived in Normandy from 1016 and he returned in 1041, recognoized as heir to the throne and at the death of Cnutes brother he was chosen king in 1042.

3.1.1 The saintly Kings legacy: Westminster Abbey Edward live in exile in Normandy and there he first saw architecture that was to inspire to create a great abbey in his homeland. He ordered the construction of a great abbey church at Westminster and he wanted to be spectacular and the most magnificent. Finally the church was a fine building in the Romanesque style, 320 feet and in 1065 was consecrated. Edward died 10 days after this and buried in the church.

3.1.2 British society on the Eve of the Norma Conquest 21

Edward left behind him a prosperous and flourishing kingdom that William the Duke of Normandy was anxious to rule. This came from her rich farmlands. Nobles lived on great manors ant heir duties were mostly of a military character. A man owed much to his lord and peasants were unfree. Town also flourished and London, the largest city, had over 15000 inhabitants. Men were organised into trading guilds. Demographically England experienced growth from 800 to 1300. Shires were divided into hundreds and the legal work was done in the Hundred Courts. England was a well-run country. The king was responsible for government, was wealthy owning much land and he imposed geld or land taxes on his people. Great penalties against fake coining were enforced. By 1066 the working of local government was complete. The sheriff looked after rights in each shire. The people who invaded England were more than savage warriors. They had strong sense of justice, developed municipal government and produce fine art and were converted to Christianity by the Saxons.

3.2 The Normands They were originally Vikings from Scandinavia, Danes, who destroyed Hamburg (845) and London (851). They settled in northwest France in 900 creating a powerful state: Normandy. They adopted Frankish law and they received feudalism and French language. In 11th century Normandy was a mighty dukedom and its army was among the best in Europe. Richard II imposed feudalism and order and was ready to expand. The first act of expansionism came with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1061). The second was to claim to the English throne when Edward the Confessor died because of his second cousin, William. In 1042 Edward was king and filled the court with Normans. Harold was elected king in 1066 but William, the duke of Normandy, defeated him in Hastings and a small isolated island became part of the European new ideas in government, religion, art and war. A foreign aristocracy was imposed and William subdued the population by confiscating Anglo-Saxon states by giving them to his Norman followers. He pressed the peasants into service on their new feudal territories but also taught them better farming, developed the economy and built many monuments. Vast stone castles helped to consolidate Williams might. Great cathedrals and abbeys stood out. The line of kings planted by him ruled by the sword. But his abilities were not inherited by his heir, William Rufus and all this torned in aristocratic quarrels. 22

3.2.1 The Norman conquest and the transformation of England The invading Normans vanquished the Anglo-Saxons and William defended his throne by force. Any opposition was crushed. But not all England accepted him as king. His dominion was primarily in the south and some way into Mercia. The kings of Mercia and Northumbria accepted him as king within that domain. On Christmas day of 1066 he was crowned king of England. In 1068 a rebellion in the north was collapsed. The last men to resist Normans held out in East Anglia. In 1070 Hereward the Wake launched a campaign against Normans but the suppression of English resistance was brutal. William was justly pround of having conquered England and during his reign he made a point of solemnly wearing his crown in public to receive veneration. His authority increased when he married Matilda the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. The pope apparently opposed but he received his blessing in 1059 (?). The Norman conquest led to changes at the top of hierarchy but there was also much continuity: the majority of population carried on as before in their agriculture activities. Domesday Book is the record of the great national survey ordered by William in 1085 to discover the real wealth and probable future wealth of England. It detailed the property of anyone from kingdom. The two volumes cover most of England but London was omitted toether with the far north. At the end of his life, William confessed that he had subjugated England by slaughter and by persecuting it beyond endurance. He wanted forgiven. But as king, they had been the basis of his success in establishing his rule over England.

3.2.2 The succession problems William II seemed to his father the most appropriate person to rule rebellious England. But he has scandalous and shameful despite his generosity and skill as a soldier made him popular. He ruled 1087-1100. Williams brother, Henry I ruled then (1100-1135), and appealed more obviously to monkish sensibilities and intellectual qualities. He defeated another brother, Robert, in 1106. Although this, he ruled well and introduced some important reforms. He married Matilda, daughter of Malcom III of Scotland. His son, David of Scotland (1124-1153), introduced many reforms promoted by Normans in England: new religion orders and the first Scottish coinage. 23

The island boundaries of England facilitated the establishment of a clearly defined area in which a written administration could flourish. Through the common pain of increase taxation and feudalism, language, parliament, the nation was readily drawn together within highland and sea boundaries. The death of Henry I left Matilda and his husband Geoffrey the throne but he never set a foot on England. There were 20 years of destructive civil war in England. The throne was occupied by Stephen son of conquerors daughter Adela. It was a time of baronial power and anarchy. When he died Plantagenets came.

3.3 The Plantagenets This surname derived from the nickname borne by Geoffrey, count of Anjou, between 1129-1251. The first plantagent king was Henry II, the greatest of them. Then, the majority were involved in largely and unproductive wars with France and Scotland and their greatest contribution was the development of the English law, especially with the Common Law. When Henry II (1154-89) became king he was already count of Anjou. So he was a lord of an empire from Cheviot Hills to the Pyrinees. This Angevin Empire was held by diplomacy and force of arms. He was equipped with all intellectual and physical qualities to rule it well. He began by destroying the castles built by rebellious barons during Stephens reign. Although they were many revolts, the empire was intact until the death of Richard I (1199) in France. John (1199-1216) acceded to the throne on the death of his brother and he lost French dominions imposing high taxations. In 1215 he was forced to sign the Magna Carta which led to civil war, that ended with Johns dead. In 1216 Henry III (1216-72) was crowned king but England was ruled by Hubert de Burgh and William Marshall. In 1258 English barons led by Simon de Monfort rebelled against him and in 1265 Simon summoned the first English Parliament. Edward I (1272-1307) was the better king to rule medieval England. He transformed the law and made his crown rich and powerful. His basis was to pick good subordinates. He attempted to unite Britain under one rule, especially Scotland. He was also prince of Wales in 1301 and since then every heir is known as prince of Wales.

3.3.1 The Magna Carta

24

It is a document that King John of England (1166-1216) was forced into signing. It reduced the power he held as the King of England and allowed for the formation of a powerful parliament. Is the foundation stone of English liberty. Most of its clauses are complains against lawless of John and the Carta is the basis for English citizens rights. Is the beginning of constitutional government and that power of king could be limited. Its aim was to make John govern by the old English lawas that prevailed before the Normans came. It is a collection of 37 English laws and was drafted by Stephen Langton and the most powerful Barons of England. John was forced to seal the document. It is considered the founding document of English liberties and hence American liberties. Some events led up John to be forced to sign it. In 1025 he quarreled with the Pope about who should be archbishopo of Canterbury, Stephen Langton. The Pope excommunicated John and John attacked the Church woithout mercy. In 1212 he imposed taxes on the Barons to regain Aquitaine and they quarrel. There was a powerful opposition in the making when the king left England to campaing France (1213). In 1215 Barons took arms against John and captured London in May. John signed up the Carta in June and the Barons renewed Oath of Fealty to King. Copies were distributed to bishops. John had no intention to abiding Magna Carta. The rebel Barons support the son of King of France, Louis. John died in 1216 but his son was crowned (Henry III) supported by many other Barons. The Carta mixed specific complaints with some principles of law. John was no t to levy unauthorised taxes. Knights were not to be forced to serve king overseas. The church could not be oppressed. It insisted that the king could not be above the law. All these clauses were the work of Langton. It was his great achievement to persuade Barons to insert clauses benefiting others. The most important thing was that it was granted at all. Monarchy was forced for the first time to recognise the limits of royal power. The spirit of Carta guided the development of English Constitution.

3.3.2 The independence of Scotland Scotland was still divided all the same since the western Isles were in hands of the Norwegian kings. There was Edward I of England, friend of Scottish king Alexander who only descendant was a little girl. She died and Edward saw the way to take over Scotland, and he took it over. William Wallace fought against this and his great victory was in 1297 at Stirling Bridge. Wallace became the master of Scotland, but in 1305 was 25

betrayed and carried to London and hanged. The next fighter for Scotland independence was Robert the Bruce because he wanted to be king of Scotland. He was crowned (1306) but not above Stone of Destiny because it was stolen by Edward. Bruce tried to conquer most Scotland. The English territories north of York and Lancaster became a reluctant but hapless supply source to the Scots. The defeated king Edward III of England could not quite admit that he was finished. Negotiations of peace ended in 1328. Edward finally agreed to be done with colonial ambitions. The wars were not very damaging to Scotland because it was self-sufficient in food production and capable of making the arms. The conflict had not caused a blockage.

3.4 The houses of Lancaster and York From middle of the 15th century, England was torn by vicious and violent struggle between rival claimants to the throne. The source was deep bitterness of dynastic rivalry. From sons of Edward III had sprung 2 great families, the Houses of York and Lancaster. Each family believed that it had a legitimate claim to the throne. A branch of Plantagenet, Lancaster (1399-1461) was a short dynasty of three kings. Henry IV was son of Edward III. The Lancaster period was marked by almost continual warfare. He recovered many English possessions but they were all lost by Henry V. In 1422 Henry VI (1422-61) was king in some French territories but the loss of this possessions led to the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, a campaign led by the supporters of Richard, Duke of York, during the illness of Henry VI. It was a quarrel between to branches of Plantagenet. The House of York (1461-85) had a stronger claim to the throne. Edward IV was descended from two Edwards sons. The clamour amounted when Henry had a son in 1454 excluding Richard from the succession. He was killed in a battle in 1460. Richards son, Edward took up his fathers cause and seated in the throne in 1461. Henry VI remained as a wandering fugitive and Lancastrian hopes rested on Margaret of Anjou and his son Edward, but they were defeated. Edward IV was an able ruder and the country enjoyed a well-deserved period of peace. His son Edward V was declared illegitimate and his uncle Richard III was king (1483-85). He was challenged by last Lancastrian line Henry Tudor, which came as House of Tudor after Bosworth Field.

3.5 The medieval society in British Isles 26

Middle ages spans from the fall of Rome to 1492 and it saw the emergence of the present European nations. The general belief was the existence lof a sole church, roman catholic. Populations were immobile and society was mainly agricultural. Vertical immobility was the result of a rigidly hierarchized society. King claimed to derive his authority from Heaven. Under him we found aristrocracy and upper church hierarchy. Then the lesser nobility and regular clergy, feudal lords who owned plots of land. Then the free laity and secular clergy. Free laymen lived in towns and had urban life. Some were merchants and other free peasants. The secular clergy was different: it was formed by parish priests and other holders of minor ecclesiastical offices. The last and least favoured social group of pyramid were the serfs. They were the lords property and had no public rights.

3.5.1 Medieval church: the secular church, monastic orders and the friars The government of Church was provided for by dozens of bishoprics, cathedrals and thousands of monasteries and religious houses. Those at the head of the English Church were often wealthy, aristrocratic and cosmopolitan ecclesiastics. Potential conflict with King grew. Beckett was no to be compliant to Henry II and he was murdered. Norman kings worked closely with the church. New religious orders were introduced: cluniac, agustinians, and cistersians (1100-1129). Great monastic buildings were created and land was cheap in remote places. There was a great range of activities at monastic sites alongside religious workship. The founding of Benedictine monasteries inspired a new age of book making. The friars provided public preaching and teaching in Christian doctrine filling the gap in meeting the spiritual needs and as a consequence they were highly regarded by the laity. They institutionalised poverty ant they were seen as the sign of spirituality.

3.5.2 Medieval economy Economic activity was dominated by agriculture. Wool and hides dominated exports. Mineral extraction was important but small-scale while manufacturing was almost entirely on a local, craft-based level. Trading links with Europe drew trade prosperity towards Southeast. Primary raw materials as wool, grain, tin, coal and manufactured products, wine and luxury commodities were the most demanded imports. The main port was London. The financial and mercantile interest of some of these 27

companies embraced England and it shared more in common with some parts of Continent than with their own country. In Britain there was a wide network of chartered trading places such as markets, fairs and boroughs. Kings and Lords created a wide commercial structure. Commercial confidence was sustained by a moderate rate of inflation. The money supply grew faster than the population during 13 th century.

3.5.3 The Black Death and its social and economic consequences Life in Middle Ages was a battle for survival. The average age was 38 and people looked at God and Church to aid and assistance. The outbreak of plagues transmission was in 1348 originated from China. Epidemics usually follow commercial trade routes and it was no exception. Once the plague had reached Europe its progress was steady and rapid. In June of 1348 two ships arrived with it to Melcombe. Its symptons inspired terror in mens hearts. Horrible swellings of the glands, the size of grapefruits, appeared without warning and the swellings festered for 4-5 days before death. Violence and crime increased in the towns and men grew sceptical of the Christian arguments. The epidemic had London in its grip in January 1349. Edward III dissolved parliament and escaped to countryside. The abbot of Westminster died and 27 monks followed him. London cementeries were too small. The plague created social problemas. Men were afraid to travel and little food reached towns. The plague brought some social and economic consequences. In the countryside the population was halved in some places. Labourers demanded 2-3 times their usual wages. Government tried to control prices but it could not. Recruitment of the army suffered grievously. The destruction of 1/3 of England population was a disaster and 1000 village were wasted The black death was not unknown in medieval Ireland. Overseas trade was concentrated in eastern ports and transmission by direct contact was quite likely then in Dublin. The plague reached the east coast in August 1348. It raged in Dublin in September setting a pattern of terror it would spread through other parts of the country. Some localities escaped from it. In 1361 there was a great mortality of people and they were other outbreaks in 1370, 1383, 1390-93 and 1398. This outbreaks had a deep effect on slowing population recovery in Europe and in Ireland in particular. This created a demographic decline until 17 th century in Ireland. In all areas of life, the plague disrupted the established patterns of work and living, especially human migrations it engendered as 28

rural dwellers escape to towns. Some landlords began to loose interest in direct cultivation and ruined themselves.

29

Unit 4: The Tudor Age


4.1 A new dynasty
The arrival of the Tudors heralded a new age. With Henry VII came increasing peace, power and exploration. The later part became a time of religious upheaval and intolerance. In 1485, when Tudor dynasty came to power, England was divided and bankrupt after 30 years of civil war. The country counted for little on the continent. The transformation owed much to the fact that 3 of the 5 tudor monarchs were rulers of extraordinary ability when choosing servants and policies, and good luck. The first Tudor, Henry VII fought at Bosworth Field and soon proved to be one of Englands most astute rulers. Propaganda was the key to Henrys success and the Tudors had to appear strong not to stimulate any rebellion. Henry was active in other fields. He made a profitable trade agreement with Spain and his patronage of Cabot opened up a new chapter in Englands history.

4.1.1 The Tudor government and court Henry VIII (1485-1509) received the backing of Pope Inocent VIII that recognized his right to the throne but he was uncertain: he stayed near London. Tudors were unwilling to travel and royal palaces were reduced. He avoided expensive wars and a peace treaty was agreed with Scotland in 1502. With his son Arthur (1486) he wanted to make a strong alliance with the rulers of Aragon and Castile, Ferdinand and Isabella. Arthur married to Catherine in 1499. the link with Spain became even more important following Columbus discovery in 1492. Henry took considerable interest in trade and exploration. He authorized and financed a voyage of Caboto to Canada (1497). His main achievement was in uniting a previously divided England and bringing harmony with Wales and Scotland. Arthur died in 1502 and this propelled Henry to an unexpected role of prospective king of England. Henry VIII (1509-47) is probable the best known king of England. His reign saw some of the most significant developments in England since Edward I. He was the first to inherit a comparatively united kingdom. His father had established good relations with other European countries and had no foreign wars. He obeyed his fathers wish that he marry his elder brothers widow, Catherine of Aragon in order to continue the alliance with Spain. He was guided by his ministers, especially by William Warham, archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Howard, and Thomas Wolsey, bishop of Winchester. Henry VIII preferred to involve himself in European affaits. He supported his 30

father in law Ferdinand of Aragon against the moors in 1511 and joined Pope Juliu II against France. Thomas Moore had to publish Utopia in latin and abroad because his criticism to Henry. Henry wanted to be the centre of the European stage. When the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died in 1519, he stood as a candidate to succeed him. And he nominated Wolsey to succeed the Pope in 1521. He was increasingly concerned about the birth of an heir. Only one of six children had survived of Catherine, Mary. Wolsey negotiated with Clement VII to annul Henrys marriage but Clement refused, and Henry became the Head of a separate Church of England. He annulled marriage to Catherin in 1533. Henrys second wife was Anne Boleyn, who gave birth to a girl, the future Elisabeth I. In 1536 she was arrested and executed. His third marriage was to Jane Seymour, who gave birth to a boy, the future Edward VI, but Jane was seriously weakened and died 12 days before it. Henry sought a political marriage with Germany and married to Anne de Cleves. It was only for seven months. His next marriage was to Katherine Howard a young teenager. Her lovers betrayed her and she was executed in 1542. Katherine Parr was his last lover and companion, an excellent stepmother to his three surviving children, Mary, Elisabeth and Edward. But Henry didnt ignore politics. He considered British Isles as his own empire and consolidate it in 1536 with the Act of Union, incorporating Wales. He could not enact the same to Ireland. A rebellion had been dealt with and in 1542 declared himself king rather than lord of Ireland. Then he pursued a marriage alliance between his son Edward and James infant daughter Mary, but this was never ratified by Scots. Henry died in 1547 at 55. No other English king could have undertaken such reforms and succeeded. Edward VII (1547-53) followed him, but he was a weak man. His uncle Edward Seymour was made protector of the realm. He invaded Scotland to enforce the commented marriage. Protestant reform continued at an even greater pace than before. He complied with Northumberlands plans in promoting Lady Jane Grey as his successor because this reform would stop if Mary, his half sister, came to the throne. Jane proclaimed queen only for nine days.

4.1.2 The Elisabeths years Mary died in 1558 and Elisabeth I proclaimed queen (1558-1603) entered London and took possession of the Tower. His accession was greeted with whole-hearted enthusiasm. Her country was now launched on one of the most glorious eras in its history.

31

She possessed all the feminine qualities that are thought to be handicaps in a mans world. But this illogical and infuriating woman achieved 45 years more than any of her subjects could have dared to hope. The young Elizabeth was the child of a broken couple. Her childhood was dominated by tragedy and intrigue and she often lived in fear of death, She came under suspicion of flirting with Thomas Seymour executed for treason in 1549. With the accession of Mary she was in grave danger as a protestant. However, this problems were invaluable lessons in political caution. She was a complete ruler. The finest scholars had charged of her education and later she selected her ministers and servants with superb skill. She had all the credentials for being a strong queen. She inherited much from her father, such as his physical strength and resolution, and her cruelty also. From her mother, her beauty, a degree of insincerity and jealousy. She also had an interest in astrology. Early she admitted to a desire o do some act that would make my fame spread abroad in my lifetime. During all her reign, England had been fighting an unofficial conflict with Spain. Phillip II was infuriated by Englands piracy of Spanish ships from America. In 1493 the Pope had partitioned the New World between Spain and Portugal and no it was united by Phillip. This continued to sour until one of the most famous confrontations of all time when Spanish Armada was sent against England in 1588. This armada was doomed more by weather than by superiority of English seamen. The end of the century saw England at the height of her power. Drake and Raleigh position meant that she was the ruler of waves. Literature also blossomed with Shakespeare, Bacon, Marlowe, Sidney and Spenser. Scientific study did not advance quite so quick but speculative thinkers emerged, like Bacon. An important topic was the revolution of Ireland. Opponents of Elizabeth increasingly turned to Catholicism as an expression of dissent. She replaced catholic disloyal subjects with loyal English settlers. There were some revolts against English monarchy. Hugh O Nell reached a climax in 1598 at Blackwater. The irish were now in open war and England sent an army.

4.2 The parliament


The creation of the Parliament is one of the greatest gifts that Britain has given to the world. It was under Henry III (1265) that a historic assembly gathered together in the dim light of Westminster Hall to bring peace with his subjects. This achievement was due to Simon de Monfort. 32

Parliament has to grow a mighty power which would help to depose a king in the following century. The never ending demands for grants and subsidies put a powerful weapon into Parliaments hands and its position was strengthened further by war of the roses. The English Parliament consisted in two chambers, the House of Lords, nobility, and the House of Commons, elected representatives from the different shires and main towns. In Ireland, parliament was modeled on the English. The Scottish had a single chamber for representatives (Lords, Church, Lairds and boroughs). The Manx parliament (Tynwald) was self chosen. In Scotland bishops continued to sit in House of Lords until 1638, but not in England. Initially, Parliament met wherever the monarch found it convenient. The preference to put it in the capital was an important stage in increasing bureaucratization of it. Regional parliaments declined and disappeared (1536 Wales, Scotland 1707, Ireland 1801). At first the strong Tudor monarchs controlled generally docile Parliaments. Elizabeth I called Parliament comparatively infrequently to address particular problems. Her intentions and parliaments were not always coterminous: the religious settlement, the Treason Act, the Poor Law. But by the end of the Elizabeth I reign, parliament was beginning to asset itself again, after long debates, especially when Irish wars.

4.3 The Tudors and the Church


In 16th century, there was a big change in the Church. In 1517 Luther led a breakaway from the Roman Catholic Church. The new Christians called themselves protestants. Their demand was called Reformation. British people in Tudor times were very religious but they were forced to change their religion depending on the kings one. Many laws were passed in this age because Tudor wanted to make people follow the same religion that they did. In fact, Henry VIII was a devoted catholic and defended Rome against protestants, joining Charles V in opposing Luther. But the Pope refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon and the king set up the protestant church of England. He declared himself Supreme Head of the Church of England. The Act of Supremacy is given to this acts, that were made to establish the English monarch as the official head of the Church of England, supplanting the power of the Catholic. Then he created the Anglican Church. In 1535 he ordered the closing down of Roman Catholic Abbeys known as the dissolution of the monasteries. His son Edward VI was a devout protestant and introduced a new prayer 33

book: all services were held in english. The daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Mary, was, like her mother, a fervent catholic. In 1553 she was crowned queen and England was catholic again. Many cruelties were perpetrated and 300 protestant were burned (bloody mary). But under Elizabeth I England was again protestant nation and Anglican church became firmly established and dominant. She tried to find ways which both Catholic and Protestant sides would accept. So she still allowed many things from the Catholic religion such as bishops, priests and vestments. She disliked and punished extreme Protestants and Catholics. Church services were changes back again to English.

4.3.1 The reformation Martin Luther was a Catholic monk who did not believe that you could just buy your way into heaven. In 1517 he protested against granting indulgences. In 1527 Henry VIII asked the Pope if he can divorce from Catherine but he did not let him. In 1533 he married Anne Boleyn and the Pope excommunicated him and Henry answer the Pope with the Act of Supremacy. The conflict led to the seizure of the Church properties by the state and the dissolution of the monasteries. Henry VIII put Thomas Cromwell in charge of getting rid of the monasteries and he sent royal commissioners to them to find out their properties. In 1537 Cromwell started de dissolution of all the monasteries left in England. By Tudor times, the monasteries had fallen into decay because of the corruption of its members. Over 800 were dissolved and closed down (act of suppression). In 1539 monastic possessions were transferred to the state. The smallest monasteries were closed. Henry redistributed land amongst his supporters (augmentation families). Some of the monastic buildings were sold off, other fell into ruin and others were converted into magnificent houses. Most sought-after buildings were the outlying farms. By 1540 was the end of the Dissolution. Cromwell was beheaded without trial for high treason because he arranged the unsuccessful marriage between Henry and Anne of Cleves. Wales also suffered the religious upheaval of the reformation. However, in contrast to Ireland, where little effort was made to make religious texzts available in the native language, Welsh translations came in 1547. As a result, Welsh people enthusiastically embraced Protestantism. 34

4.3.2 The counter-reformation Mary Tudor (1553-58) had lived for many years had live in her fathers disfavor. She saw her mother set aside by Act of Parliament and went into exile. In 1536 Mary recognized that her mother had been justly divorced but she wrote secretly to the Pope assuring that she was forced to do it. This had left her determined to restore the Roman Catholic religion. At first she was deceptively successful. The Church of England was suppressed. But Protestantism persisted. A married pries was the first to pay with his life for his loyalty to protestant faith, John Rogers. She set her heart on a Spanish marriage. In 1554 she married to Phillip of Castille, heir to the Spanish throne. A short-lived rebellion broke out in Kent and the marriage turned out to be unsuccessful. Her marriage reinforced the old religion and many protestant were burnt. Much could not be restored (demolished monastic houses). In 1558 Mary finally despaired that she would ever bear a child and recognized her sister Elizabeth as heir to the throne. She died on 17th of November of 1558 and Elizabeth proclaimed queen: the end of the counter-reformation.

4.4 The absorption of Wales into the English Kingdom


Edward I conquered Wales in 1283 and the country was divided into two different areas. The land that the king controlled was Principality and was ruled in a similar way to England. It was divided in shires. However 2/3 continued to be ruled by Marcher Lords. In 1485, Henry Tudor came to the English throne. He had relied heavily on Welsh soldiers so he rewarded them with titles and government posts. Then, Henry VIII fears about Marcher Lords grew because they were supporters of the Pope so he decided to take control of Wales.

4.4.1 The Acts of Union 1536-43 Between 1536-43 the English Parliament passed this acts during Henry VIII. It was not a question of uniting two countries because Wales was united since 1284. Wales had been incorporated yet. The Principality and the land controlled by the Marcher Lords were now joined together to form a united Wales. Now the whole Wales was divided into shires, like England, with each one with a Justice of Peace. Wales was granted permission to be represented in Parliament. In 1542, 22 people were elected to the House of Commons, selected from a few wealthy families in the area. They had to speak English and It was also stated that the law-courts in Wales had to use the English language. 35

The Welsh gentry wanted the same opportunities to accumulate land and get rich as their English brethren. The main provisions of the acts were administratively. As a result, the marcher lordships were abolished. Statutory recognition was given to the council of Wales and the Marches which had jurisdiction over both Wales (13 counties) and the 4 border counties of England. Law provided the Welsh with equality under the law with the English, ended the use of the law of Hywel Dda in matters of land tenure and established the English system of common law across the country. For language, English would be the only language used in the courts and no one who does not speak it could hold office. From the gentry point of view, the acts were unequivocally a good thing, freed from traditional Welsh land tenure so they could build up their states. They follow the pursuit of wealth. It was not the specific intention of government to discourage the use of Welsh language, the objective was rather one of uniform administration. But, by the process, ruling class became anglicized and therefore divorced from the people of Wales which had profound consequencues on the future development of Welsh culture. The acts of Union were considered for years as merely a triumph of Tudor efficiency but now have come under great criticism because of the damaging effects in particular with language clauses, as an example of English imperialism. Welsh farmers of remoter districts found themselves adrift in amidst a legal and economic system whose language and focus were unfamiliar to them.

4.4.2 The increase of Welsh language and culture The act of union completed the long processs of the absorption of Wales into England. Majority of the people remained Welsh speakers and the position of Wales gained as the language of religion did much to ensure its survival. The first full translation of the bible in Welsh was in 1588. This helped Protestantism become accepted in Wales and contributed to the survival of Welsh language. The Welsh elite took enthusiastically to the Reinassance, building houses and art collections very impressive (especially medieval Welsh texts). The identification with the Celtic past became an important way for the Welsh to assert their identity from England. Interest in the bardic tradition was reawakened, reemerged as vehicle for national cultural activities. Druidism was revived. During the modern, Wales remained predominantly agrarian with cattle production. The countryside suffered gradual enclosure and deforestation. Towns were not an important element until 18 th century. Neither coal mining nor iron casting were as important as they were later to come. 36

4.5 Society and economy in the Tudor Period


Tudor England was an agricultural society. Most lived in small villages but during 16th century trade and industry grew rapidly and England became a more commercial country, richer and richer. Upper class and middle class saw a big rise in their standard of living. The homes of well off became more comfortable but lower sections became worse off. During the 16th century there was inflation and in 1594-97 were ones of famine. In Cumbria people starved to death. Tudor society was divided into four broad groups. At the top were the nobility who owned huge amounts of land. Below them were the gentry and rich merchants. Below the gentry were yeomen and craftsmen. Below were the tenant farmers who leased the land from the rich. They were illiterate and very poor. In the 16th century about 50% of the population lived at the subsistence level. However it was possible to move from one class to another. A husbandman could become a yeoman. Life in Tudor was governed by a rigid social system, which was held to follow Gods divine laws. At the centre of the political and artistic life lay the court. Henry VIII and Elizabeth were at paints to establish an impression of Godlike monarchy, pomp and ceremony became its centre. The degrees of society were mirrored by its clothes. Etiquette stipulated that people had to dress according to their station in life. Elizabethan fashions became extravagant and changed rapidly. She herself summed up in her person the spirit of the age. Virginity was the symbol of her power. Peace produced a new style of life and architecture, built to comfort rather than to defend. By 1547 the population rise once more. London expand rapidly, from 50000 in 1450 to the largest of Europe in 17 th century. England had 4 million in 1600. Tudor poor law was established to response to an increasing tide of mobile poor people who had been pushed off the land by enclosure. Demographically, Elizabeths reign saw the population rise to, perhaps, 5 million by 1600 in all isles. This led to pressures on the land and also the towns. In Tudor England a third of the population lived in poverty. A shortage of food resulted in higher prices. Wealthy people were expected to give help to local people suffering from poverty. In the 16th century unemployment was a major cause of poverty. Some landowners changes from arable to sheep farming and the closing down of monasteries created even more unemployment. Unemployed people were tempted to leave their villages but this was illegal (vagabonds). In 1550 Parliament stated that every parish had to build a workhouse for the poor. In exchange for food and shelter, people who lived in the workhouse 37

worked without wages. In 1601 workhouses had to be provided for people who were too old or ill to work. To get money, vicars asked everyone in the parish to give money and people who refused could be sent to prison. However, 10% of people were wandering in 1570. In 1576 a new poor law stated that each parish had to keep a store of wool, hemp, flax and other stuff to unemployed. In exchange, the parish give them money. Fines were also introduced for people who did not pay to help poor. Economy was also bolstered by refugees from Catholic Europe. These were often young and energetic people with skills new to England. The arrival was supported by workers in a number to provide for markets anxious for new products. The centre of gravity European commerce was shifting from Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast. Some English cities such as Antwerp flourished by attracting merchant communities from all over Europe. The wool continued to prosper and Henry VII had to introduce new law restricting the number of sheep anyone could hold, for common lands were being enclosed for pasture, and villages erased for more pasture. Foreign skilled workers had long been in demand in England in banking, insurance and the development of credit facilities. They continued to be in demand under the Tudors. Alongside their imported talents, was found quality alien artisan work, for example, in glazing and in metalwork. In the two centuries after Black Death the skills base in England remained very low in many areas and that the country benefited substantially from the diffusion of innovation in artisan and artistic skills.

38

Unit 5: The civil war, republic, restoration and union


5.1 The union of the Scottish and English crowns In 1603 a new dynasty, the house of Stewarts (Stuarts) came to the English throne. These kings believed in the divine right to rule as they chose. Their subjects, however, had followed different path for previous monarchs had consulted their people in Parliament. The refusal to understand this tradition led to a civil war and the execution of Charles I in 1649. But they returned in 1660. This was also a time of great expansion. The explorations took an increasing impulse and Britains first empire begun to take shape. In 1609 Hudson explored Canada and in 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers founded Plymouth in New England. It was also a period when many of the everyday things appeared: tobacco, coffee, chocolate, potatoes, newspapers, insurance companies, and the first patent laws. When James I (1603-25) came from Scotland to claim his new throne, he has self-confident to rule it as usual. He had little understanding of English history. His proposals to tolerate Catholics were tactlessly presented to an unwilling Parliament. At the time, religion was the main cause of division. Fears of liberalism of James was the cause of the celebrated Gunpowder Plot of 1605 (they wanted to blow up Parliament) but they were betrayed. James I lacked common sense. Robert Cecil abandoned him in 1612. Then he trusted in men whose contemporaries deemed unsatisfactory as chief advisers (Robert Carr). In foreign policy, he made peace with Spain reversing a policy which Englishmen had come to regard as a way of life. Puritans opposed to it because they want to prosper destroying Spanish monopoly of trade in America. In religion he wanted to impose a compromise. He allowed certain games and for the Puritans that was the final proof that James had turned his face against true religion. In 1623 Mayflower set sail with its first cargo of Puritan exiles. But king and people were setting on a collision course. The first came when the House of Commons asserted its strength by impeaching the Lord Chancellor, Francis Bacon, in 1621, who was the most original thinker who had ever served Stuarts.

5.2 Charles I and his prerogatives Charles I (1625-49) was the first king to succeed to the kingdoms of both England and Scotland. He inherited James I s attachment to the doctrine of 39

divine right as well as his father favorite, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham who heavily influenced him. Thanks to him he found himself at war against Spain and the France (1627). Parliament did not like it and Charles found another ways to raise money. He failed to pay soldiers and his arrogance incensed the Commons. In 1628 Commons drew up a Petition of Right to control Charless excesses. Although he accepted it, he chose largely to ignore it. He did not call the Parliament from 1629 to 1640 ruling in absolute authority. He raised money from taxes and custom duties. Charles I upset his subjects particularly those who lived in Scotland attempting to bring Scottish Church in line with English one, imposing a new service book on Scotland and introducing prejudices to oppose strict Calvinism views of predestination. This led to the Bishops War (1639-40). Charless finances forced him to summon what became known as the Short Parliament. A Scots victory forced the recall of Parliament in 1640 (Long Parliament) which attempted to impose reforms on the king and impeached his tow leading ministers for maladministration. Charles worked with William Laud and Thomas Wentworth. They endeavoured to create an absolute church and state with Charles as the most absolute prince. The second took control of Ireland with an effective but unpopular policies (introduction of sound agriculture with flax, improve of the army, etc,).

5.2.1 The civil wars During 17th century civil wars were not continuous wars but there were long periods when no fighting was taking place. The weather was determining. Some generalizations can be made about them. On Charless side were the aristocracy, peasants, Anglican Church, Catholics; the north and west. On Parliaments side: commercial clases, navy, Puritans; the south, midlands and London. Parliament had the largest and best supplied army. The wars were due to different causes but the personality of Charles I bust be counted as one of the main reasons. We can distinguish long and short term causes. Among the long term, the status of monarchy had started to decline under James I who expected Parliament to do as he wanted and not to argue with any of his decisions. However, Parliament had one major advantage over James, it had money and he was continually short of it. Parliament told him that he could not collect money without its permissions. James used his friends to rule the country and they were rewarded with titles. This caused great offence to Parliament. 40

In 1621 James recalled Parliament to discuss future marriage of his son Charles to a Spanish princess. Parliament was outraged and the marriage never took place and damaged the relationship. There were also short term causes such as Charles Is personality, his arrogance and his strong belief of divine rights. This led to his execution. From 1625-29 Charles argued with Parliament over most issues but money and religion were the most common. In 1629 he refused to let Parliament meet. In 1635 he ordered that everyone in the country should pay Ship Money because everyone benefited from navys protection, not only coast villages. This caused a huge argument between both sides. Charles also clashed with the Scots. He ordered that they should use a new prayer book for their church services. They invaded England in 1639. Charles recalled Parliament in 1640 to raise money but in return Thomas Wentworth was executed. In 1642 Charles went to the Parliament to arrest his five biggest critics but they were gone. Only six days before he left London to head for Oxford to raise an army to fight Parliament for control of England. It was the civil war. War started in 1642. Charles established a base in York and then in Nottingham. Parliament forces were in Manchester. The first months saw Charless best chances of victory. After Edgehill (1642) royalists advanced to London but they missed their chance at Turnham Green. On 1643 Parliament agreed to the Solemn League and Covenant, which gained them Scottish support by agreement to impose Presbyterianism across Britain. Scottish troops entered northern England in 1644 weakening Charles. This combined forces defeated Charles at Marston Moor. At this point Oliver Cromwell started his ascension. He proposed a deep reform of the army that was to be raised by impressments and funded by regular taxes. It was better organized. Battle of Naseby (1645) saw the start of the royalist collapse and the beginning of the rise of Cromwell. Charles did not recover from this defeat and he surrendered to the Scots (1646), partly because he seemed to have believed he could regain Scottish loyalty. On 1649 he was beheaded, monarchy abolished and a Commonwealth established, a dictatorship led by Cromwell.

5.2.2 The Parliament against the king From the start, Charles I had been in conflict with Parliament. His believe in the divine right meant that he was bound to oppose any attempt by Parliament to restrict his power. He dissolved it in 1626 once, and in 1629 after protests over taxation. From 1629-1640 he ruled without Parliament. The crisis was caused by Charless attempts to impose English liturgy in Scotland and he was defeated in Bishops Wars (1639-40) and forced to 41

make concessions like Triennial Act, which made provision of the Parliament to assemble every 3 years without needing of kings permission. The situation was made worse by the outbreak of rebellion in Ireland in 1641 which continued until 1650 Cromwells campaigns. By 1649 English Parliament had taken the step of bringing the King Charles to trial for treason in the name of the people. This was astonishing in Europe. Parliament was then an integral part of English life and Stuart never understood it. Parliament set up a special court on 135 members. The trial received full coverage. Crowmell was driven to the last extremity due to Charles s stubborn refusal to accept defeat. Negotiations were fruitless. The charge was then read and Charles was accused of having traitorously and maliciously levied war against Parliament and the people therein represented. It denounced him as tyrant, traitor and murderer. Charles refused to plead. He would not recognize the court. Finally judges met in secret and came to a firm conclusion and Charles refused the last chance to plead. The he was brought to hear the inevitable sentence. When the court delivered its verdict the 135 judges were split: 68 founded him guilty and 67 innocent. He was executed on 30.1.1649. The institution of monarchy was formally abolished as being unnecessary and dangerous to liberty. However, no act of Parliament could alter the fact that a society based on rank could operate without a power at its apex. Scots opposed to the execution. Charles was an absolute dictator and could not operate without the support of the Parliament. He did not pay soldiers but spent a lot of many in art. And Charles had not the support of people because he worked against rather than for his subjects.

5.3 The Republic 5.3.1 The Commonwealth In 1649 the republic was declared. The Rump Parliament was regarded as an interim government. But army leaders became increasingly impatient over Parliaments lethargy. Cromwell lost patience and expelled the Parliament in 1653. It was replaced by the Nominated Assembly (Barebones Parliament). This was most radical constitutional experiment and the legal and ecclesiastical reforms it tried to introduce were too extreme. Six months later moderates manouvered to dissolve the Assembly and hand power to Cromwell. Then the Council of Officers proposed a new constitution. Cromwell did not want to be king and proposed a revival of the title Lord Protector. So executive power passed to an elected Lord Protector advised by a Council of State. Oliver Cromwell was declared Lord Protector for life which alienated many republicans and religious radicals who regarded it as a betrayal to principles they had fought. 42

5.3.2 The Protectorate This was the most durable and stable regime of the entire republican or Commonwealth period (1649-60). It restored many traditional forms, and healed the divisions of the war years. Abroad, it was a strong regime, interventionist and won internationally respect. Cromwell was an unknown figure. He was a prosperous landowner. In 1642 he took up arms for Parliament. He led one of the earliest military actions of the war securing Cambridgeshire with only 60 horsemen. He stated that they needed a disciplined Parliamentarian cavalry. By 1644 he was lieutenant-general and at Marston Moor he won fame. By 1649 his prestige was unchangeable but his aim was not to destroy the king without finding anything to put it its place. In 1653 Cromwell accept the Instrument of Government and assumed the title of Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, England, Scotland and Ireland and agreed to share his power with a Council of State and a Parliament of one house. But it was a virtual dictatorship rested on army. In 1655 Cromwell divided the country into 11 military districts under a major general. Toleration was extended to all but Catholics. The Protectorate was a British not and English regime. It united England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland under a single system of government and gave all components nations seats in a single British Parliament. The constitution assured succession of elected parliaments and set up an independent council. The constitution also appointed a single head of state that was to act with parliament and council but who was to exercise only limited powers. Cromwell remained Protector until his death and her son Richard succeeded although it was not hereditary. But Richard resigned 8 months before in 1659.

5.4 The restoration of monarchy Tension between king and Parliament ran deep in 17 th century. In the 1640 s it turned into a civil war. But in 1660 monarchy was restored by Charles II. The British had also decided that they would have none of the Puritanism that Cromwell had imposed. Theatres were open again and men were not ashamed to enjoy themselves. The new king, Charles II reflected this new mood, he was witty, charming and he was acclaimed by his people.

5.4.1 The succession crisis

43

The shortage of money was one of the chief problems of Charles II. In 1670 he made a secret treaty with Louis XIV so he received subsidies and in return he had to improve the status of English Catholics. Protestant politicians tried to exclude his Catholic brother James from the succession of the throne and Charles II had had enough of Parliaments. Even though, he still found time to be a patron of the arts and sciences. Music had become a nation passion (Henry Purcell). He had become a patron of the Royal Society. James II (1686-88) ascended the throne on the death of his brother. He was a Roman Catholic. His intention of restoring Catholicism led to conflict with Church and Parliament. In 1688 the birth of a son intensified the conflict. He employed the Dispensing Power to suspend the operation of various statutes, declared illegal in 1689. Charless brother, James II, came to the throne as the first Catholic to rule Britain since Mary Tudor. Despite it, he has everything in favor. However, he soon threw away these advantages and in 1687 he suspended the anti-catholic laws. In 1688 he went too far: six bishops were arrested and put trial in London. A son baptised on Catholic faith was enough for English. It was the signal for revolt. Leading politicians turned to William of Orange and his wife Mary, to save the country. They landed in November 1688 and were proclaimed king and queen of England.

5.4.2 Charles II: the return of liberties Charles and James returned to Britain with expectations of an absolute monarchy justified by the divine right of kings. Charles III was the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. He returned from exile in and then crowned (23.4.1661). The Cavalier Parliament endured for 17 years and it was overwhelming royalist (known as pensionary parliament due to many pensions it granted to adherents of the King). The key words of restoration were to be mercy and reconciliation. The church was re-established. Many royalists exiles retunred and were rewarded. With the restoration returned the liberties and delights which had been denied to the British during the austere years of Puritan rule. Pastimes such as hunting, wrestling, animal-bailing which had been banned then reappeared. Also theaters. Charles reign marked the era when medicine and surgery established as serious sciences in their own right.

5.5 The glorious revolution 5.5.1 Introduction 44

It was the overthrow of king James II of England in 1688 by an union of parliamentarians with and invading army led by the Dutch William III of Orange-Nassau who as a result ascended the English throne as William III of England. This revolution is also occasionally called the bloodless revolution. There were two clashes between the two armies and anti-catholic riots in several towns. The revolution is closely tied with the war of the grand alliance on mainland Europe. Jamess overthrow began modern English parliamentary democracy. His deposition ended any chance of Catholicism becoming reestablished in England. For catholics it was disastrous, they were denied the right to vote and sit in Westminster Parliament for over 100 years. When James wanted to baptized his son and name Pope godfather, Parliament met and denounced James and formally offered the crown to William and his wife as an equal part in government. The new co-monarchy of king William II and Queen Mary II accepted more constraints from Parliament than previous monarchs. So the promises of the English government were more credible so they could reorganize finances. Also cooperation with Dutch shifted the dominance of world trade from England to the United Kingdom of Great Britain. William and his wife transformed the role of English monarchy. Mary won the hearts of her people. William enjoyed some popularity only twice: Mary s death and when he won peace with France.

5.5.2 Bill of rights This is an act of the Parliament of England that was a part of a package of laws that reformed the English constitution with the Toleration Act (promoted religious toleration) and the Triennial Act (prevent the king to dissolve Parliament and placed a legal requirement to hold elections every 3 years). Bill of rights enumerated certain rights to which subjects and permanent residents of a constitutional monarchy were thought to be entitled in the late 17th century, asserting subjects right petition the monarch as well as to bear arms in defense. It was a second Carta Magna, setting out the personal and political rights of all Englishmen. Never again would English monarchs claim their power came from God. It remains today one of the main constitutional laws governing the succession to not only the throne of the UK, but following British colonialism and also to those of other Commonweatlh realms. In the UK, the bill of rights is further accompanied by the Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus Act and Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 as some of the basic documents of the uncodified British constitution. 45

It laid out certain basic tenets for all Englishmen. The rights continue to apply today in all the Commonwealth. The people embodied in the Parliament are granted immutable civil and political rights through the act, including: freedom from royal interference with the law, freedom from taxation by royal prerrogative, freedom for Protestants to bear arms for their own defence, to elect members of parliament, of speeches and debates, and from cruel and unusual punishment. It also barred roman Catholics from the throne of England as it had been found by experience to be governed by a papist prince.

5.6 The Act of Union of England and Scotland (1707) The accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England in 1603 as James I united the crowns but constitutionally they remained separate entities. The Act of Union was drafted and in 1706 they were debated by Scottish Parliament until 1707, when they were ratified. Among this it was the so called Scottish Equivalent, the way of appeasing the Scots of taking part of the English National debt. The union had been proposed for 100 years ago and the Act led to the creation of the UK of Great Britain with only one parliament in 1707. Suspicion and mistrust between the two countries. Scots feared that they would simply become another region of England and England feared the Scots may take sides with France. So fear and racism reared its head and communication almost lead to battle. English argument was that the only benefit was that Scotland would be in favour and Scotland that would become like Wales in 13 th century. The first change of attitude became from the English. Louis recognized James VIII as the rightful heir to the throne of England and Scotland. Many symphatized with the jacobite cause. So they have landed in Scotland to restored the exile House of Stuart claim in 1702. James VIII may well have been accepted instead of Anne and the whole story would have change. Anne failed to have a son so Scotland wished to pass the Act of Security in 1702 which would allow Scottish Parliament to choose an heir should Anne have no successor. They could possibly name a Scot and have an independent monarchy. Englands greatest fear was that the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland could be rekindled. And England was vulnerable due to the war of Spain Succession. Anne was Scotlands queen and when she failed to sign the Act of Security, Parliament withheld supplies until she gave in and signed. In two years, Scotland was forging its way ahead, politically, to becoming a free nation. Meanwhile, Anne and her English government were still trying to bind the two nations together as one. 46

But the internal disputes between the Scots allowed the English to rethink its plan and force the Alien Act of 1705. This forced the Scots into a decision they had to choose the House of Hannover (the English preferred them) or renegotiate the union policy. If they failed to choose either then England would treat all Scots as aliens and it would be a disaster for commerce. The Scottish Parliament was dissolved by the last Scottish monarch on 28.4.1707. England and Scotland became one country and Anne became the first Queen of Great Britain, with the succession going to the House of Hannover. There was full economic union. Scotland accepted such a deal. It was very important the threat of loss of trade and business and the fact that the Union brought political stability to a divided Highland bersus Lowland country,

47

Unit 6: Politics, society, economy and culture in the 18 th century


6.1 The political context
6.1.1 The Hanover Dynasty The House of Hannover succeeded the House of Stuarts as monarchs and held that office until the death of Victoria in 1901. British determination to maintain a protestant succession led to the Hannover, that was of German origin. Under the Act of Settlement (1701) the succession passed to the ruling family of Hannover on the death of Queen Anne. This declared Sophia Queen of Scots. The death of Anne, the last Stuart, in 1714, brought into effect the Act of 1701. Annes heir died so the new king was Sophias son, the elector of Hannover, George I.

6.1.2. The jacobite rebellions George I was the first and his accession to the throne was peaceful although controversial. He could speak no English and was the beginning of the Augustan Age for the political stability and power and flourish of arts since the Roman Period. However, the inheritance was a political issue between Whigs and Tories. Some Tories still yearned for a return to the direct line of Stuarts. The infant was now living in France as James (Old Pretender). In terms of divine right he was the heir. But he was Roman Catholic. He was supported by a small but passionate minority, who became known as Jacobites, that were strong in Scotland. James was launched in 1715 and he landed in December and went to Scone. However, he found supporters disorganized and returned to France. The failure ensure Hanover dynasty. But the Jacobite cause remained held and in 1745 there was another attempt that did not succeed led by Charles Edward Stuart, known as Bonnie Price Charlie, who persuaded some Scottish clans to join him. They defeated English Army and few Englishman joined them. After that, rebels returned to Scotland and were defeated in Culloden. As a consequence, the British had a cruel attitude towards Scotland. Many highlanders were killed and traditions were prohibited.

6.1.3 The political parties In the 18th century a two-party system Parliament could be distinguished: the Tories and the Whigs. 48

Those who represented the financial and mercantile interests, the cities and industrial and commercial development were called the Whighs. Those who were conservative and descend by royalist strongly attached to tradition, and believe in the divine right were called the Tories. Anglican Church and landowners supported them.

During Hanoverian period, there was a decline of the Tories because its leader Robert Harley had been active in the Jacobite cause. The Whigs were in power for 56 years and more of pre-eminence (1714-84). The first British Prime Misinter was Robert Walpole (1676-1745), a Whig, who developed the idea of Cabinet that is a group of ministers who met without the king took the actual control of administration from the crown. Power of king would always be limited. Walpole was in power 20 years. A financial crisis of 1720 brought him to power. He preserved the Whig control of Parliament. From 1720 to 1750 there was a triumph of the free market and wage economy and a policy of expanding trade and foreign markets. A home market was being formed, a transportation infrastructure being built and capitalist methods of marketing were imposed: people were forced into the wage economy. Cloth making and coal mining were national industries. Walpoles policy kept out England from foreign conflict. He removed duties on exports and import raw material except chocolate and coffee. He was accused of corruption. Walpole failed to prevent Britain going to war with Spain in 1739. He resigned during the war in 1742. His most important enemy was William Pitt the elder, who thought that Britain had to beat France in the race of an overseas trade empire. Pitt came to power in 1756 and he decided to destroy France trade with a strong navy. War with France broke out. George III made peace in 1760 and France ceded Canada, Mississippi and India to Britain. In 1784 the young William Pitt started a mercantilist policy and Britain expanded to India, North America and Caribbean.

6.2 Colonial expansion and the formation of the British Empire in North America
6.2.1 The origins of the rise of the British Empire A series of wars in the 18th century left England the dominant colonial power in North America and India. Treaty of Utrecth (1713) enlarged British Empire: Newfounland, Gibraltar, Menorca (returned in 1802). The causes that made Britain became a great empire were trade, politics, economy, ambition and adventure. 49

British Empire really began and grew first of all in North America and the Caribbean. In 1497 Cabot sailed to Canada and in 1600 Virginia settlement was established. From there they established colonies in the east coast of America. By the mid of 1700s there were 13 colonies. British came in contact with native American and they traded timber and other commodities. French did exactly the same. So from 1756-63 they fought the Seven Years War both in Europe and America. In North America, Frances future as a colonial power ended and ceded New France to Britain and Louisiana to Spain. Spain also ceded Florida to Britain. British forces captured Quebec and left Britain as the worlds leading power. However they lost American colonies after the American revolution.

6.2.2 Immigration and population in the American colonies In the 18th century it took place the formation of the First British Empire in America. In the 16th century English people began to settle on the northeast coasty (Canada). The first English permanent settlement took place in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia. John Smith managed by the Virginia Company set the patterns of colonization. In 1624 the crown assumed the control and in 1630 England started a second round of colonization. The London Company was granted to the authority to govern its colony. John Delaware was the first governor. There were disagreements within the Virginia Company in its first years. The colony survived and started to ship tobacco to England in 1614. In 1620 the Mayflower landed in America. This ship took Puritan pilgrims to America so that they could build new settlements and practice their religion. In 1620 Plymouth was founded. They established in New England seeking to purify the Church of England. The principal founder was William Bradford. The original purpose was being a refuge for English Separatists and also venture. The obtain rights to a particular plantation and enjoy self government. Mayflower Compact was signed on 11.11.1620 to found self government in the colony. It is the earliest case of establishing a government for themselves by mutual agreement in America and this was one of the foundations of the subsequent process of independence. Plymouth people also applied the common law of England and it was an independent colony until 1691 when it was absorbed by Massachussetts. The first year was very hard and colonist survived thanks to local Indians. They showed how to plant crops that could grow well in the soil. The harvest feast was the first Thanksgiving. It was a subsistence economy and the main export product was grain. Fleeinf from religious persecution would become the motive of many English colonists to go to America. Maryland was founded as a haven for Roman 50

Catholics (1634), Rhode Island as tolerant (1639). In 1664 England gained control of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, renamed New York. In 1681 Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a refuge to English Quakers. American colonies had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted to English immigrants. The British used a lot of slave labour, first Europeans captured in war and then African slaves. Some settlers hoped to practice their religion without interference and others wanted to farm new land and escape from the landowners. Merchants hope to make money. The result was a series of colonies now called United States and Canada. Also Scottish people settled after the Union. Land was plentiful and labour was scarce. Most colonists worked in small farms. Slavery was the basis of the British Empire in the West Indies. Until the abolition of slave trade (1807) Britain transported third of all slaves from Africa. Population of black rose from 10-40% from 1650-1780. This was extremely profitable. By 1770 there were urban centres and Philadelphia was the largest city. Some of the governors were appointed by the crown and in others by proprietors. There was no government colonial office in London responsible only for the colonies. A Secretary of State for the American colonies only worked 14 years (1768-82). There was representative government since Britain was too far away to control directly the colonists. By 1733 there were 13 colonies along the Atlantic coast. After 1763 a royal proclamation denied the right to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains in order to avoid with the Native Americans.

6.2.3 The loss of the American Colonies Relations between the British and 13 colonies got steadily worse in the 1760s and 1770s. In 1776 the American War of Independence broke out. The colonists were helped by French and Spanish and defeated the British, becoming the USA in 1783. Problems grew because of resentment of the British Parliaments attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent. The colonists used the ideas of Hobbes, Locke and Montesquieu. In 1775 war began. Tension started when they began to charge taxes for defence and many goods and punish smugglers. In 1764 Parliament enacted Sugar Act in order to raise revenue in the colonies through a tax on molasses. With Stamp Act (1765) special stamps had to be attached to all newspapers, legal documents, etc. This affected practically everybody. There was a strong reaction. Colonial Americans did not agree. The cried: no taxation without representation. Many colonists started to assert that only and elected legislative body held legitimate powers of taxation and felt that tax 51

revenues were wrong. British countered that all English subjects enjoyed virtual representation in a Parliament. In 6.6.1765 the Massachussets House of Representatives resolved to propose an intercolonial meeting to resist Stamp Act. In 19.10.1765 representatives of nine colonies spoke out against the new tax. Most colonist refused to use the stamps. There were other grievances that affected the colonies. Due to Quartering Act it was compulsory to house and supply British soldiers. Officers were sent to Boston to collect the tariffs but colonist refused to pay. In 1767 Parliament enacted the Townshend Duties, taxes on paper, glass, etc. The British also established a board of custom commissioners to stop smuggling. Boston merchants were annoyed about the new controls and helped organize a boycott. In 1768 Philadelphia and New York joined the boycott. In March 1770 British Parliament decided to revoke the Townshend Duties. In 1773 it took place the Boston Massacre were five Bostonians were killed and about a dozen were wounded. After that, the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts including closing the port of Boston, restructuring the Massachussets government and ordering officials accused of crimes send to Britain to trial. On 5.9.1774 a meeting of colonial leaders met at Philadelphia and urged Americans to disobey the Intolerable Acts and boycott British trade. John Adams drew up a Declaration of rights of the colonies. In December 1775, The British Parliament passed the Prohibitory Acts which declared Britains intention to force American colonist into submission. These acts blocked American trade. As a result, colonialists forward a decision for independence. On 2.7.1776 Congress voted it and Jefferson wrote a formal declaration accepted on 4.7.1776. The intellects behind that were Jefferson, Adams and Franklin. A document that was really influential was Thomas Paines Common Sense. The principal arguments in support independence were four: natural right of the continent to independence, her interest in being independent, the necessity, and the moral advantages arising there from. During the first two years of War, most of the fighting was in North. In 1777 British still retained the initiative. They captured New York in 9.1776 but forced to leave Boston in 1776 and Philadelphia in 1777. British were not successful at finishing with the rebellion. In 10.1777 a British army surrended in Saratoga. In 1778 a French-american alliance was signed and that was decisive to win the war. Washington believe that it was critical to achieve an important military victory in 1781 and it happened at Yorktown, Virginia. So British asked for peace. To Washington it was a glorious event but he worried that it could retract Americans from keeping on with the war. Between 1778-81 British military operations focused on the South because they assumed that southern people could be loyalists. But American general 52

Greene and Morgan turned to a guerrilla of hit and run and stymied the British. The Americans and British signed a preliminary peace treaty on 30.11.1782 and the final treaty was in Paris on 10.9.1783. The American negotiators discovered that the French foreign minister had sent his secretary to London and let the British that they were willing to negotiate unilaterally (without French interference). Until 1783, The United States was still at war and the greatest danger to revolution was the officers of the Continental Army. Washington solved the problem by his personal prestige. The treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the United States and fixed for the nation all territory North of Florida, South of Canada and East of Mississippi River. The loss of the 13 colonies deprived Britain of its most populous colonies and marked the end of the First Empire. British continue ruling Caribbean and Upper and Lower Canada. Following 1815 they enjoyed a century of dominance and the loss of American colonies is defined as the transition between the first and the second empire.

6.3 Society, culture and religion


6.3.1 Society and culture During the 18th century, philosophy and science increased in prominence and the enlightenment ideals were embraced. This people believed in human knowledge and defied tradition. Enlightenment thinkers like Locke rejected the strict and pessimistic values of Puritanism. Locke is considered its founder. However, in England the two main characteristics (defiance of tradition and search knowledge to control nature) were not so emphatically visible. Philosophy was British empiricism. The political institutions were hierarchical, hereditary and privileged. Very few people had the right to vote. Politics and the running of the government were limited to rich people. The most important radical writer was Paine. He moved to America and wrote that everybody should have the right to be involved in government. Inspired in this groups of radicals formed societies in the late 1780s and 1790s. In the 18th century championed individualism, which provided scope for initiative and enrichment. Many people claimed the right to personal fulfillment, gaiety and fun. Expansion of middle class continued. The wealthy merchant controlled the most productive trades. The artisans and craftsmen filled the gap between aristocracy and poor. They worked long hours with low wages. In 1700 population was 5,5 millions and in 1750 was 8,8 millions, including Ireland and Scotland reached 13 millions. A third lived in the southeastern. Half of children died before 5. Shortage of food and also excessive drinking 53

of cheap gin had disastrous effects on the poorer classes. But there were improvements in living conditions, mainly due to increased production of food, including potatoes and meat. Thanks to coal, homes could be warmer. But Great Britain and Ireland was still a land of small villages. Most farmers were smallholders with less than 8 hectares of land. At the bottom of the social structure were the landless laborers who worked on large farms. In winter they were often out of work. At the top were the nobility and the gentry. The chief landowners of a village was the squire and he was also Chief of Peace. In the late 18 th century there were the beginnings of a movement of population away from the countryside into the towns, partly as a result of enclosures. The old common land was taken over by private landowners. It caused misery for great many of laborers that became the urban proletariat. It also led to improvement of farming methods. But food for ordinary people remained plain and monotonous. Most towns were small and there were not drains and no lightening until London (1734) and many towns from 1760. There were four main classes of people in towns: unskilled workers, skilled craftsmen, wealthy merchants and ordinary traders and merchants. Concerning entertainment there were coffeehouses in London, similar to the Elizabethan Theaters. On family life, parents still decided on a suitable marriage for their children and the conditions of women were especially difficult since they did not have many rights and were financially dependent on their husbands. In general, women had little access to education. In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published her Vindication on the rights of woman, advocating the equality of the sexes. She ridiculed prevailing notions about women as helpless, charming adornments. Middle-class experienced a growing individualism as a result of the political and economic strength, shown in trade and also in private life. Such individualism did not exist for the poor since a big number of families had to go to the parish workhouse. Their children started to work mainly in the workhouses or factories and were forced to sweep chimneys so Parliament passed a Regulation Act (1788). Children worked as virtual slaves. In the 18th century probably 50% of the population lived at the subsistence or bare survival level. A longer working week and working day, mechanization and reduced wages speeded up the twin processes of profit and capital accumulation in the hands of the elite. From 1690-1720 was the triumph of the monetization of the economy and law. A new morality had emerged. Labour had become a religious duty and not a curse of the fallen man. Poverty was associated with weakness. There was also repression at home with this acts: Riot Act (1715) provided the ruling class with its most simple and often legal ploy against working class action. If 12 or more people assembled they were guilty of a felony. 54

The Transportation Act (1719) sanctioned the use of felons being sent to the colonies.

Yet the poverty of London reached significant proportions in the 1690s, crime boomed and people convicted were hung. England became a thanatocracy where the death penalty had become an official policy to ensure social control and discipline of the work force.

6.3.2 Religion: John Wesley (1703-91) and Methodism There was a new religious movement which met the needs of the growing industrial work class led by John Wesley: Methodism. It encouraged people to experience Christ personally and it was organized in small groups or chapels (360 by the end of 18th century). Wesleys father became a high churchman and he was educated and ordained as an Anglican clergyman. He became the leader of a society founded by his brother and developed a systematic and methodical rules of behavior, hence Methodist. They were not only concentrated in saving their own souls but also reaching out others in need and help to the poor. Wesley was forced to begin a new Methodist Church and decided to go to America. He was a powerful preacher (40.000 sermons). His preaching was mainly to poor people and his great influence was among the emergent manufacturing and industrial workers. Methodism was identified with the religious of the lower and middle classes. Its ministers made no apology for concentrating their energies on the poor. Wesley did want to conquer sin, not social deprivation. He had the highest regard for the Church as an apostolic institution and did not question its civil rights. His politics were thoroughly conservative. He was against American colonists and slavery. Methodism could be one of the responsible for the organization of working class. It had a common sense of community and a social structure for its members in Bible classes. Wesley broke sharply the traditions of Dissent in his opposition to local autonomy. Some dissenting ministers joined the Methodism in 1790. It also imbued its followers with methodical habits attention to instructions to time the sinfulness of stealing materials. This helped the Industrial Revolution which was amenable to instructions. Methodism provided the impetus for a mentality change to serve as a religion for the working class. This was ideally suited to the needs of middle class utilitarianism. Methodist was taught to bear his cross of poverty and humiliation. Wesley remained within the Church of England and insisted that his movement was well within the bounds of the Anglican tradition. He travelled constantly, formed societies and opened chapels. His married was very un happy and had no children. He died in 1791. 55

6.4 The agricultural revolution It was rather a gradual process than a single event. It refers to a series of circumstances that produced an improvement in agriculture, crops methods and output that took place in United Kingdom during the 18 th and 19th centuries. So there was a fast growing in population which had to be fed. This led to the improvement of techniques used for farming and let to higher productivity. There were developments that transformed the countryside. One of them was the enclosures of medieval common fields that started in 1740s. The act of Enclosures was passed in 1750 and 21% of the land affected were enclosed. It affected 30% of the land. Enclosures implied more effectively, managed and cultivated land. It restricted the ownership of public farmlands specifically to the wealthy landowners. Unemployment was created. Another important aspect was the improvement in crops and crop rotation. This made fallow (barbecho) unnecessary. The development of agricultural machinery and the introduction of mechanical apers were of major importance together with manuals in husbandry (cra de animals). This bettered the health and growth of the population. In Scotland there was a similar enclosure process but to a lesser degree than in England. People went to the coasts villages and lands were put to pazing and apart from crops sheep was the main asset. In Ireland the economy tended towards dairy products, beef, butter, that were sent to the colonies in Newfoundland. Potato relieved many peasants as it was a source of food and soil-improving root crop but it made people too dependant, which proved to be disastrous. So, agriculture felt the changes brought about by technological improvements and the industrialization of textile manufacturing. Landowners began to raising raw materials organized along industrial lines. Standards of farm management improved. The revolution improved transports and communications and this helped to develop a market of imports and exports.

56

Unit 7: The 19th century (I)


7.1 The Napoleonic wars
Tensions between France and Britain escaled during the Napoleonic wars. U.S. declared war to both sides but peace of 1815 kept pre-war boundaries. The Constitutional Act (1791) created the provinces of Upper Canada and Lower Canada to defuse tensions between the French and British communities. The conflict tended always towards impasse. Britain was smaller in population but wealthier. The British navy tried to harm Framce and her allies by preventing any merchant ships other than those of Britain from reaching continental ports. Indignation at this British policy prompted Russia, Sweden and Denmark to form a League of Armed Neutrality (1800). They declared the Baltic ports out of bounds to British ships. The battle of Copenhaguen (1801) forced peace with the three countries (1801). Britain and France signed the peace in Amiens (1802). All overseas territories taken by Britain in the past 9 years were returned to France and Minorca to Spain. But Britain kept Sri Lanka. In 1804 Napoleon persuaded Spain to join him in war against Britain. The result was a game of maritime cat and mouse (1805) in the Atlantic. A combined French and Spanish fleet withdrew to Cadiz. On 19.10.1805 French and Spanish ships were surrendered. Trafalgar confirms Britains reputation at sea and has the effect of preventing the French fleet from playing any major part in the remaining years of the war. In 1806-07 Napoleon reverted to the longer-term strategy of sealing the continent against British goods in the policy which becomes known as the Continental System in order to ruin Britains economy. The Peninsular war (1808-14) loomed large in Britain history for two reasons: it was the only significant involvement of British troops on land in the Napoleonic wars until 1815; and it was the stage where Wellington rose to prominence as a national figure. The war was provoked by Napoleons invasion of Portugal. A British army lands in Portugal on 1.8.1808 under the command of Wellington. His campaign ended with a hard fought battle on 27.7.1809 at Talavera, where Wellington held off strong French assaults and was able to withdraw to Portugal. Campaigns in subsequent years prolonged fighting over the fortified towns between Portugal and Madrid. The decisive campaign came in 1813 on Vitoria, where Wellington captured the entire French artillery train. This allow him to cross the border into France. In April 1814, Napoleon finally abdicated and it seemed that war was over. But he landed in France on 26.2.1815 and returned to power. He decided to strike quickly and his forces crossed the border into Belgium. His plan was to destroy Prussian and British forces before Austrian and Russians ones could arrive. But in 57

Waterloo he was defeated by the Seventh Coalition under the command of Wellington. This put an end to Napoleons rule as the French emperor.

7.2 The Victorian Era (1837-1901)


7.2.1 Queen Victorias reign She succeeded her uncle William IV in 1837 and she became queen when she was 18. She married Prince Albert in 1840 and the union produced 4 sons and 5 daughters. She died in 1901. Victoria did nothing without her husbands approval and his death (1861) deeply affected her, who went to seclusion for more than 25 years until Jubilee in 1887. During the Victorian Period, Britain had a leading role as the first industrial nation and the pioneer of railway transrpot. It was an imperial leadership reflected on the importance of India. Victoria refuses any further influence from her domineering mother and rules in her own stead. Popular respect for the crown was at low point at her coronation but she won the hearts of her subjects. She wished to be informed of political matters although she had no direct input in policy decisions. The Reform Act (1832) set legislative authority residing in the House of Lords: the monarch was essentially removed from the loop. She worked well with Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister in her early years. The reform of government allowed England to avoid the politically tumultuous conditions across Europe. England focused on developing country and trade and expanding its imperial reach. The old political parties transformed. John Peels support of the Corn Law splintered the Tories in two camps: supporters joined with Whigs to create Liberal Party; anti-Peels Tories became Conservative Party. English politicians agreed on the larger issues of government structure and political ideology. Liberals represented trader and conservatives the landed gentry. Victorias role was one of mediation between Prime Ministers who were chosen by the party in control of the House of Commons. She was fond of Conservative Disraeli and she despised Gladstone whose party dominated parliament (1846-74). Even in her seclusion, she gave close attention to daily business and administration. Legislation included the Mines Act, Education Act, Public Health, Trade Union and Reform Acts (1876 and 1884), which broadened suffrage. The national pride connected with the name of Victoria. The term Victorian stemmed from the Queens ethics which generally reflected those of the middle class.

58

In 1851 the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations was organized to celebrate the new industrial era. An architectural competition was launched and Albert Hall and Albert Memorial remained. When Victoria widowed she withdrew from public affairs into her private grief. There were important celebrations for the Golden Jubilee (1887) and this brought her out of her shell. In Diamond Jubilee (1897) even the prime ministers of the colonies made the long journey to attend. Victorias long reign witnessed and evolution in British politics and the expansion of the British Empire as well as political and social reforms on the continent. France had known two dynasties and embraces Republicanism; Spain had seen 3 monarchs, etc. But she maintained a youthful energy. Strachey chronicled her last days with sentimentally feelings: through the early years of the opening century it was clear that her dwindling forces were kept together only by an effort of will. She inquired into all the details of South African War but her state was hopeless. Her brain was falling and her life was gently away. She died on 22.1.1901.

7.2.2 Politics During the 1830s the Whigs acquire the name of Liberals and Tories the Conservatives because they wanted to conserve all that was best in traditional British way of life. Liberals were more inclined to pass measures of social welfare although Conservative Lord Shaftesbury passed the Mines Act (1842). Also conservative extended the franchise to bring in more voters in 1867 and liberal continued it in 1884. The two most aggressive prime minister were the Liberal Palmerstone and the Conservative Disraeli. In 1838 two political organizacion were founded. One was Chartism, the first national working-class movement and the other was Anti-Corn Law League. The peoples charter was partly a response to economic depression and high unemployment. They made six political demands: universal male suffrage, constituencies of roughly equal size, a secret ballot, payment for MPs, no property qualification for MPs and annual parliaments. In 1839 Chartist cause were sentenced to one or two years in gaol. By 1842 they had attracted more than 3 million signatures. Meanwhile the middle classes were making even more impressive progress with their own pressure group connected with the Reform Act. The strong influence of the landed gentry in Parliament was seen in the continuation of tariffs against foreign grain. The effect of the Corn Laws was to keep prices artificially high. In 1838 seven merchants and mill-owners in Manchester founded the Anti-Corn Law League to abolish it. In 1846 Peel carried the bill to repeat the Corn Laws backed by the liberals but only a 59

part of his party. He resigned four days later. Political identities in mid 19 th century Britain are somewhat blurred largely owing to the split in the Conservative Party. Palmerstone transformed into a Liberal. One of the stables features was a profound personal hostility between Gladstone and Disraeli. They were fellow conservatives until the split in 1846, when Disraeli remained. His first major role was as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1852). Gladstones attack on his first budget contributed to the fall of Conservative government. Gladstone remained in power for six years (1868-74) and Disraeli followed him (1874-80). Liberal and Conservative were settling down into clearly defines opposition. Both pushed through a great deal of social reform but the differences were in foreign affairs. Lord Salisbury was a less ardent imperialist. He does not share Chamberlain s vision of a federal empire, but he was much involved in the diplomacy between the European nations. This era sees extensive British activity in the southern part of the African continent, thanks to the commercial activities of Cecil Rhodes (1895). In that year the disastrous Jameson Raid causes major diplomatic problems and this broke out in 1899 as the Boer War. At the first war was unpopular in Britain, with Liberal opposition to it. But in 1900 the news from the front improved and Salisbury called an election and was returned to a greatly increased majority. Salisbury resigned from ill health in 1902, entrusting the premiership to Balfour. But Liberals returned to a huge majority in 1906 thanks to Chamberlain. The trend in imperial policy was towards more independence for the colonies rather than greater protection. Dominion status was granted to New Zealand (1907) and South Africa (1909).

7.2.3 Society Victorian prosperity for an elite was built on the development of new machinery, work methods and an underpaid workforce. Many people previously rural became urbanized by the new rail transport. By 1850 half former peasants were squashed into Britains cities. Small towns were overtaken by growing industries and sprawling industrial dwelling areas. Rail towns soon developed as main rail junctions. By 180070 Britain had grown from 10 to 26 million. Different types of people were emerging, especially middle class of industrials and businessmen. Employers moved away from their industrial source of wealth. Owners built new streets at the perimeter of towns. The class divisions on the railway were echoed throughout the land. In dress, the wives of wealthy industrialists were clothed in finery. Victoria was possible one of the most powerful women in Britain since Elizabeth I but her status did not improve the position of women into society. The Married Womens Property Act (1882) meant that women did not lose their right to 60

their own property when they got married and could divorce without fear of poverty, although divorce was very rare during 19 th century. In 1880s womens movements argued for female access to education, professional work and electoral franchise. The new social class that emerges was the bourgeoisie middle class. Wealth through clothing and possessions showed their improvement. Changes also took place in the way people spent their leisure time. Bloodsports were banned. People began to travel more and visiting seaside. But the railways also allowed local sporting teams to travel and so sports began to be organized with national rules. There were still old favorites such as going to the circus or the theatre. In spite of the prosperity, working conditions were bad and millions of workers lived in slums or in vacated old decaying upper class houses. They had no sanitation. Their hours of work began at 5.30 am and were never less than ten. Drunkenness and opium taking was usual as their home life had so little to offer.

7.3 The British Empire in the 19th century


During Victoria, the empire doubled the size, encompassing Canada, Australia, India and various locals in Africa and the South Pacific. It was almost free of war, except Ireland (1848), Boers (1881, 1899-1902) and India (1857). By 1870 Britain was the most industrialized and most powerful country. The empire was protected by a formidable navy and imperialism was popular. Victoria named Empress of India in 1878, avoiding conflicts except Crimea (1853-56). Britain gradually evolved a system of self-government for some colonies after the U.S. gained independence. Dominion status was given to Canada (1867), Australia (1901), New Zealand (1907), South Africa (1910) and Ireland (1921). In 1931 they were recognized as independent countries. The loss of Britains 13 American colonies was compensated by new settlements in Australia from 1788 and Upper Canada (Ontario). The Napoleonic Wars provided further additions. Thanks to the treaty of Paris (1814) gained some islands. Malacca joined the empire (1795) and Singapure (1819). The 19th century marked the full expansion of the empire. Administration changed to a sophisticated system characteristic of Chamberlains tenure in the Colonial Office. This became separate from Home Office in 1850. New Zealand became officially British in 1840 after which systematic colonization there followed rapidly. As regards India, the British crown assumed the East India Companys governmental authority in India. 61

Acquisition of Burma was completed in 1886, and also Punjab and Baluchistan. British involvement in India led to the introduction of some elements of social improvement like railroads, telegraph, postal service, etc. All this elements increased the movement of troops and transportation of materials. This development introduced the 19 th century concept of empire, in which European states administer parts of the world primarily for economic advantage without their own nationals settling in large number as an indigenous class. India remained the most significant of the imperial possessions at 1900 (the jewel of the crown). Completion of Suez Canal (1869) provided Britain with a much shorter sea route to India. So British influence in the Far East expanded: Malay States, Brunei, Hong Kong (1841) and an informal empire operated in China by way of British treaty ports and the great trading city of Shanghai. The greatest 19th century extension of British power took place in Africa. It was the ruling force in Egypt (1882) and Sudan (1899). The Royal Niger Company began to extend British influence in Nigeria and Gold Coast. The Imperial British East Africa Company operated in Kenya and Uganda and the British South Africa Company operated in Zimbabwe. Britains victory in 1902 enabled it to annex the Transvaal and Orange Free States and created Union of Sout Africa (1910). Lord Durham recommended the idea of limited self government for some of Britains colonies for Canada in 1839, so that a cabinet of ministers chosen by the Canadians could exercise executive powers. Decisions on foreign affairs and defence would still be made by governor general under London. In 1847 it was put into effect in Canada and then in Australia and New Zealand. Nationalist sentiment developed rapidly in many of these areas after World War I and even more after World War II. Beginning with India (1947), independence was granted to all of them in the Commonwealth of Nations. Gold Coast was the first African colony to reach independence (1957). UNO pressed to extend the independence to all colonies in the 60s. The last significant colony was Hong Kong which was returned to China in 1997.

7.4 The parliamentary reform


7.4.1 The reform acts The Great Reform Act was an attempt to give lower classes more rights and power. The anomalies were manifest in the so called pocket and rotten boroughs. Pocket boroughs have no elector at all and the owners nominee automatically becomes a member of the parliament. This gave maximum 62

opportunity for corruption in a system where there was not a secret ballot. The rapidly growing new industrial cities was unrepresented in Parliament. In 1830 tories rejected a bill to extend the franchise to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester. But a new Whig Earl Grey was committed to parliamentary reform. A Bill was presented by Russell. Most of the pocket and rotten boroughs were abolished with their seats in the house transferred to the industrial cities. The bill passed by a majority of one. Grey and his cabinet persuaded the king William IV to dissolve parliament for an election on that issue. In 1831 the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill but the Lords defeated it. There followed riots. King William IV lost popularity for standing in the way of reform. Lords passed the Reform Act so boroughs were removed and the new towns given the right to elect Mps. However only men owned property worth at least 10 pounds could vote. On 7.6.1832 the bill received the royal assent and became the Reform Act. Parliament passed a law changing the electoral system so it was known as the Great Reform Act. This was response to many years of people criticizing the electoral system as unfair. In the election of the first reformed Parliament in 1833, the Tories won only 172 seats compared with 486 for the Whigs. But the immediate change was great since the property of qualification to become an elector was still high. Only 813.000 people could vote. The reform of 1832 made possible the progression towards the universal suffrage. Then there were four measures in the same sense. The 1867 reduced the property qualification to the point where the urban working class wins the vote. This gave to every male and adult householder living in the towns. Male lodgers paying 10 pounds were also granted to vote. This gave the vote to 1.500.000 people. A conservative movement with Disraeli had introduced it with the support of Liberals. The act of 1884 effectively did the same for workers of countryside so it gave the vote to poor farmers. The act tripled the electorate and established the principle one man one vote. It still contained a financial threshold but a low one, which was abolished in 1918. Secret Ballot Act was introduced in 1872 which provoked many opposition, reducing power of Landlords.

7.5 Irish nationalism


7.5.1 Act of Union (1800) The Act of Union brought into existence a political entity called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Pitt forced this measure through Parliament of Westminster and Dublin. He thought that the Irish problem required instead of a separate and independent Ireland, a full scale union. 63

He believed that emancipation would be easier if Catholics were a minority in UK rather than majority in Ireland. The act abolished the parliament in Dublin and passed the representative to the British one (28 Lords and 100 Commons). However, the result pleased no one and Dublin declined in glamour and prosperity because they became subject of the neglect and decay associated with absentee landlords. The Catholics had the most to resent at the way things turn out. The ruling Protestant minority was opposed to abolition of the Dublin Parliament. But Pitt won the support of the Catholic majority promising emancipation and giving the community full equally rights. But George III considered this a betrayal of his coronation oath to defend the Anglican Church. The Act of Union was passed without any element of Catholic emancipation and Pitt resigned in 1801. Catholic emancipation was brought back by Daniel OConnell who organized from 1823 a network of Catholic associations. In 1828 he contested a by-election for the country of Clare and won the seat which put Ireland in chaos. George IV made some concessions. The Emancipation Act was passed in 1829 removing nearly all barriers against Catholics holding public office. ODonnell worked in the House of Commons to repeal the union of 1800.

7.5.2 The Home Rule for Ireland (1869-93) In 1869, Gladstone introduced a bill to disestablish Anglican Church in Ireland. He followed in 1870 an Irish Land Act grating Irish farmers secure tenure for their lands and also in 1870 a Home Rule association was founded. During the 1870s more than 50 members of Parliament supported the Home Rule cause, only limited to internal affairs and not to rupture the union itself. In 1875 Stewart Parnell was elected member for Meath. He was the leader of the Home Rule Party and introduced a vigorously disruptive policy. In 1879 the Irish Land League of Davitt was founded. Its purpose was to promote insurrection among Irish smallholders. Parnell became president of the League. Gladstone brought Home Rule for Ireland to a bill in 1886. There was a split in Liberal Party: those in favor of the Union were called the Liberal Unionists and then joined the Conservative Party. Gladstone resigned. Then Parnell divorced and married the wife of a member of Parliament (O Shea) so Gladstone separated from Parnell. In 1892 Gladstone formed his 4th administration and in 1893 he got a Home Rule bill through the House of Commons but a massive majority among Lords defeated it. Gladstone died in 1898. The Act of Union was negociated 64

between Britain and Ireland. Catholic emancipation was a distant project. With the industrialization confined to Belfast and Dublin the Irish lacked the entrepreneurial levers or the commitment to empire of the Scots. For the Irish, union lasted once century. Famine of 1840s led to emigration. British over-reaction to the Easter Rising in 1916 duly paved the way for a civil war and a separation of all but 6 of 32 counties from Britain in 1922 (Northern Ireland).

65

Unit 8: The 19th century (II)


8.1 The industrial revolution
This is a term applied to the social and economic changes that marked the transition from a stable agricultural and commercial society to a modern industrial one, relying on complex machinery rather than tools. Is the period in British history from the middle of the 18 th century to the 19th century. This was not a violent change: although the term seems useful. Huge changes in the social and economic structure took place as inventions and technological innovations created the factory system of large-scale machine production and greater economic specialization. The consequences would change irrevocably human labor, consumption, family structure, etc. Great Britain moved from a primarily agricultural and rural economy to a capitalist and urban one. This was originated in England due to several reasons. We can mention the creation of Bank of England (1694). Capitalism appeared on a large scale and a new type of entrepreneur developed. Another was the increase in the population and food production following the enclosures. The English Parliament, under the control of merchants, favored capitalist interests. The country had large deposits of coal and iron. Moreover, Britain had enough colonies to try to monopolize the world market and be provided by its raw materials. The demand for British goods grew rapidly during the last 1700s. British merchants sought more economical and efficient ways of using capital and labor so the amount each worker produced would increase faster than the cost of production. Another important reason was the technological innovations that followed these social and economic changes. The inventions that shaped the Industrial Revolution were iron making techniques, refined coal and steam power. Coal came to replace wood. But the crucial development was the use of steam for power improved by Watt (1769). Cotton textiles were the key industry early in the Industrial Revolution thanks to the spinning jenny by Hargreaves and water frame by Arkwright. Other innovations were Kays shuttle and Cromptons mule. There were new inventions such as Stevensons rocket railway train and Bessemer renovation of steel production. This help both the production and transportation and led to change city life. Together came exciting discoveries in medicine and new metal production techniques. Because of increased production the products of city factories became cheaper and more available. Duo to this Great Britain contributed to a more modern outlook on life. This led to a rapid increase in nation prosperity. The preconditions can be divided into two categories, natural and political: Natural: abundance of water, iron and coal. Water provided the power to mills and the sea made transport of heavy goods easy between 66

coastal cities. Iron was available thanks to technical advances. Coal was fundamental because of the steam power. Political: the contribution of entrepreneurs was made possible by the changes resulting from the revolution of 1688. On the eve of the industrial revolution, most manufacturing, however, took place in homes and rural areas. The entrepreneurs owned the raw materials, paid for the work and took the risk of finding a market for their products. The industrial revolution eventually took manufacturing out of home and workshop. Before it, workers and farmers had no voice in the government. This social, economic and political conditions changed.

8.1.2 Te development of the industrial revolution in Great Britain During the 19th century, great changes took place in the lives and work of people that resulted from the development of industrialization. Industrial revolution was fully felt only in the 1830s and 1840s. Economic and technological progress went forward. Communication took and important step forward. But revolution did not end in 1850s because new periods came with electricity and gasoline engine. When industry grew, new investors and financial institutions were needed for its further expansion. Financiers and banks thus became as important as industrialists. Gradually banks were founded, from 20 (1750) to 70 (1800) only in London. Most banks did not directly invest in factories or make loans to factory owners for the purchase of machinery. Some banks made shortterm loans to cover industrialists expenses. But mainly the provided credit to farmers and merchants. There was a great increase in the production during the 1800s, it improved life conditions and also many unsanitary housing in cities. So all this changed the face of the nation, giving rise to urban centres requiring vast municipal services. It created a specialized and interdependent economic life and made the urban worker completely dependant on the will of the employer than the rural worker had been. Great Britain too soon fell behind competing nations. First, it lost its lead in cotton, then in steel and finally in electric and chemical technologies.

8.2 The transport revolution The 19th century transformed the transport and communications system. Innovations facilitated travel for work and leisure. The economic growth depended in industry ability to transport raw materials and goods over distances.

67

Until the early 1800s waterways provided the only cheap mean of hauling coal, and other heavy freight. Engineers widened and deepened many streams and also built canals. In 1807 Fulton built the first commercially successful steamboat and this became common on British rivers. Until the early 1800s Britain had poor roads. People rarely travelled by stagecoach. A series of turnpikes was built in 1751-71 which made travels easier. Mc Adam and Telford made important advances. The first originated the macadam type of road surface (crushed rock packed into thin layers). The second developed a technique to use large stones for road foundations. But railway produced the main contribution to the British economy.

8.2.1 The railway age The railway is considered one of the greatest factors in transforming Britain into an industrial nation. There was a huge employment of people building the rails and at delivery service. Britain led the way in the new transport developments. The beginnings dated 1825-30 when Stevenson demonstrated the first substantially railway to run entirely on steam, from Liverpool to Manchester (1830). He designed a steam train called the Rocket. The lives of millions were changes. Carriages were divided in categories called classes. By 1846 all had to be roofed by law. Britain s basic rail network was completed very quickly, by 1865. The London underground was also began. By 1870 there were 23.400 miles. The railways opend up enormous opportunities and moved the vast volumes of freight and passengers in the 19th century. It accounted for about 10% of all investment at the end of the period.

8.3 The growth of industrial cities The Industrial Revolution produced severe social problems. Over half of the population lived in cities. The social problems were to be found in housing, education and health care. The availability of work in urban areas had the effect of drawing everincreasing numbers of people from the countryside into rapidly expanding cities. Living conditions there became unsanitary and impoverished. Factories subjected men to low wages and dangerous machinery, polluted atmosphere. Conditions in the coalmines were not much better than in factories. The cities that grew in the North England were crowded and dirty. His led to the outbreak of diseases like typhoid and cholera. Manchester was 25.000 inhabitants (1772) and then 455.000 (1855) due to the textile industry like 68

Liverpool. 8 new docks were built in 1815-35. The amount of raw cotton that showed a threefold increase (1820-50) was comparable to population, from 250.000 to 400.000. The other great industrial city was Birmingham. It increased from 86.000 to 233.000 (1801-51) whose interests were broader than Lancashire, where textiles predominated. Along with the construction improvements in cities, electricity was used instead of gas power, to light city street lamps. This increased the efficiency of streetlight. Also, the new use of electric engines in cars improved the rate of transportation. Children joined their parents in the factories. The living conditions of the poor were invariably worse than the condition of peasants in the countryside.

8.4 Workers rights, education and social welfare reforms The Industrial Revolution and the growth of the towns had created a number of serious social and health problems. The 19 th century saw great deal of social reform. Education was available for more people and a new middle class of professionals such as lawyers and doctors was created. Provision of education was improved and made basic education available to all children by Education Act (1870) that set up school districts and set the basis for universal primary education. By 1874 over 5000 new schools had been founded. In 1880 education became compulsory up to the age 10, and raised to 12 in 1899. In 1891 I was made free. In 1902 the Education Act greatly improved this situation, providing funding of secondary schools out of local rates. In 1907 a scholarship scheme made possible for the clever children from poor backgrounds to attend secondary school and by 1914 Britain had a wellorganized system. The Public Health Act (1872) set up Health Authorities in England, but it was hampered by a lack of money. A further act (1875) improved the situation. The dangerous conditions of many of the new Victorian factories became important issues of discontent. The first unions were feared and many ways were devised to prohibit them. In 1875 workers were permitted to peacefully picket their place of work when on strike. Many pieces of legislation were passed to improve working conditions, including the 10 Horus Act (1847) to reduce working hours and these culminated in the Factory Act (1901). Reformers achieved significant improvements in the one of 1833: children under 9 were then not to work at all, and 9-13 boys were 69

limited to 8 hours. In 1847 it was stipulated that 10 was the number of hours as the maximum working day for women and children. Victorians also strove to improve society through many charities and relief organizations.

8.5 Migrations 8.5.1 The case of Ireland: the great famine In the late 1800s hope for better life encouraged record emigration from Ireland, despite reforms. A large part of Irish population lived as impoverished tenant farmers. While peasants were forced to subsist on potatoes, other crops were being grown and food was exported for market in England and elsewhere. The year of 1845 was a turning point: the great famine. Population growth was dramatic. In 1800, they were 5 million and 1841 8 million. Ireland lacked major industrial centres. Jobs were scarce. Children ere seen by parents as insurance against starvation. The potato was the staple diet of most people during the early 1800s. This crop produced more food per acre than wheat and could also be used to generate income. Many farmers had a few animals. But this crop was very vulnerable to disease. The potato blight came in 1845 while 1/3 of the population was totally dependent on the potato. In 1844 a new form of potato blight was identified in America and spread. In 1845 the harvest was ruin and the crops of 1846-47 were also a disaster. This presented Ireland with huge problems. At the start, one half of the population of the count lived in small oneroomed dwellings. Two-thirds were involved in agriculture. Subsistence-level Irish farmers found their food stores rotting in their cellars. Peasants who ate the rotten produce sickened food and entire villages were consumed with cholera ant typhus. At the beginning, the British government did nothing, and the policy was Laissez Faire. This was disastrous. In 1846, Robert Peel imported 100.000 pounds of worth of corn but by 1846 3,5 millions of potatoes pounds were lost. Peel believed that if this corn released onto the Irish market in stages, it would keep down the price of other foods. The corn was welcomed as better than nothing. However, there were very few mills so simply grinding it down into flour was difficult. The government also tried to establish public work schemes and road building in an effort to create employment, and established emergency fever hospitals. The crisis was used as an excuse by Peel in order for him to repeal the Corn Laws in 1846, but their removal did not benefit Ireland. The 70

repeal had no effect because however cheap grain was, without money the Irish peasants could not buy it. Moreover, Peel was defeated and Russell became Prime Minister (Conservative) who admitted that the only thing to do was to keep down the prices. The great famine was not only natural but worsened by the actions and inactions of Whig government of Russell from 1846 to 1852. In 1847 the Government realized that policies were not working and made money available for loan and established soup kitchens. The demanded a Poor Law rate, a tax on property. The collection of this taxes was accompanied by unrest and violence and some 16000 extra troops were sent to Oreland. This efforts also helped by some local landlords who lowered rents and distributed clothes. As a result, they went bankruptcy. As a consequence of the famine, a million people are said to have died of hunger in Ireland in the late 1840s. Population dropped by 2 millions (184650), 25% of the total. One million of the emigrated to America and other parts of England. Ireland continued to suffer de-population after famine ended. Nevertheless, the ones who chose to emigrate had to suffer from a very hard travel. The conditions of shops were appalling as many middlemen used sub-standard vessels and carried too many people. Irish culture was severely hit. The sharp decline in the speaking of Gaelic has been specifically linked to this. The areas where it was strongest were those hit the hardest by the famine (west). The political impact of famine in Ireland was very great. There were those who believed that government in London had done as little as it could to help Irish. Some of the leaders of the Easter Rebellion (1916) had families affected by the great famine. Connolly spent time in America, for example. Land holdings became larger as the tendency to divide the family farm declined. Famine also changed centuries-old agriculture practices. The landlord class was ruined. Government introduced the Encumbered Estates Acts (1849) making it easier for landlords to sell off their land. Famine mainly affected the poorest classes. By 1900, over 4 million people had left Ireland. It also spurred new waves of immigration: it convinced Irish citizens and Irish-Americans of the urgent need for a political change.

8.5.2 Irish immigrants in America Most Irish people who left their country in the 19 th century were forced to do it after the Great Famine. Only 5000 Irish immigrants per year arrived in the United States prior to 1830. By 1850 the population of New York City was said to be 26% Irish, who went mostly to urban areas. They began to build the largest church in NYC, called 71

St. Patricks Cathedral, finished in 1878. The Gaelic Athletic Association was formed to promote a greater sense of Irish identity. Outstanding American leaders have Irish ancestors who emigrated due to the Great Famine such as John F. Kennedy. Fitzgerald family was from western Ireland (Limerick village of Bruff). They migrated to America between 1846-55. During the same period Patrick Kennedy left his ancestral home in Dunganstown and sailed for USA. The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys lived and worked in Boston. They had to overcome the harsh discrimination against Irish-Catholic immigrants at the same time. Patrick had become successful Boston politician by 1900. On arrival to America the Irish people encountered new struggles. American people had kept old prejudices alive, stemmed from pre-existing sentiments about Catholicism. Irish people were concentrated at the lowest rungs of the employment ladder, restricted to docks and other areas involving a high risk of injury. The city of Boston was an established home of anti-Irish feeling (50.000 from 160.000 were Irish, the Dublin of America). The Know Nothing party rose to prominence and was opposed to foreign immigrations from Irish Catholics and believed that America must rule to America. They had 100 congressmen in 1854. They promoted many laws against Catholicism, compulsory reading of protestant Bible in public schools, etc. They want to deprive Irish from their right to vote. But their popularity was lost when candidate was defeated in the presidential election. Racism declined and new racial groups migrated to America and sparked new prejudices.

Unit 9: The early 20th century


9.1 The FWW and its impact on Great Britain
The FWW (1914-18) has its spark with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the Austro Hungarian throne in Sarajevo on 28.6.1914. Russia defended Serbia and Germany allied to Austria-Hungary, declaring war on Russia. France found itself at war against Germany and Germany invaded neutral Belgium.

72

As far as the Great Britain is concerned, it declared war against Germany on 4.8.1914 in obligation to defend neutral Belgium. Her colonies and dominions abroad were involved since they offered military and financial assistance. At first, Italy was neutral but in 1915 she joined the conflict by siding with the Allies. President Wilson (American) entered in the war in 1917 because American commercial shipping was threatened by German submarines. Japan also declared war against Germany on 1914. It was the first modernized and mechanized war. This war was characterized by the use of the trench and machine-gun, aeroplanes, tanks, submarines, torpedoes, etc. It had important consequences. The old and powerful European dynasties disappeared and there was a collapse of the three empires: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia. In UK, the persons who joined the army were volunteers but in 1916 the first measure of military conscription had to be presented. There was international monetary instability, all nation, except the US, were off gold standard. War debts and reparations became an enormous problem. Versailles was signed on 28.6 and imposed reparation payments on Germany. On British politics, there was a fast growth of Labor Party during the war. They won 57 seats (1922) and 142 (1923). In 1924, the first labor government was created and the Liberal Party almost disappeared. Trade Union also grew. The end of FWW was greeted with general relief. In Ireland, people could look forward to getting a political change by the suffrage campaign.

9.2 The fight for womens rights: womens suffrage The Womens Suffrage Movement had one of the best examples in the UK. It succeeded after fighting a long battle through both militant and democratic strategists in gaining equal voting rights for women. The movement appeared first in US in 1840s and the first could vote in New Zealand (1893), while they did it in UK in 1918 (and 1928 equally to men).

9.2.1 19th background In the 19th century women in the UK neither could vote nor be candidates in nation politics. During 1860s liberal legislators presented the issue of 73

Womens Suffrage. Mill proposed an amendment of the parliamentary reform in 1866 to give vote to women but it was rejected (194 to 73). He presented a petition and the organizers were mainly moderate feminist of the Society for the Employment of Women. As a result of the rejection, the National Society for Womans Suffrage was created in 1867 with Lydia Becker, that proposed to promote the vote only for single women. In 1889, the Womens Franchise League was created by Pankhurst, which criticized women who only asked for a limited vote. However, most politicians were against womens franchise, even Queen Victoria. In 1888, women could vote in many local council elections. The movement acquired additional impetus at the end of the 19th century when in 1897 various groups merged to form the National Union of Woman Suffrage Societies.

9.2.2 Women campaigners There were disagreements and divisions among women. Some wanted a restricted vote and other were critic to the government. Among the ones in favour of the franchise were two main factions: the moderate group (Garrett Fawcett) and a radical faction (Pankhurst) The divisions did not help the campaign. Fawcett focused on moderate policies, persuasive campaign and Pankhurst created the Womens Social and Political Union in 1903, whose members were known as the suffragettes. Its slogan was deeds not words. Even the Womens Sunday march in 1906 (250.000 people) did not move government to allow suffrage. The suffragettes became more and more militant, including window breaking, boycotting, bombing and picketing. They even made hunger strikes but they were forced to eat. Wilding Davidson was killed at the Derby racecourse (1913). Among the relevant figures in favor of women were Louisa and Flora Stevenson, Elsie Inglis and Sara Siddons Mair. They were involved in the movement in open Universitary education to women. Siddons Mair belonged to the Edinburgh National Society for Womens Suffrage and became the president in 1918, becaming the Society for Equal Citizenship to fight for Equal Franchise.

9.2.3 The role of women in FWW and its consequences During FWW, the womens suffrage movement suspended its campaign. Women did the jobs usually done by men in industries key to the war, such as munition factories. They took on mens jobs as they went off to fight the 74

war and that fact gave women suffragists respect and admiration, influencing favorably public opinion. In 1918 the Representation of People Act enfranchised all woman over 30 years of age who either owned property or rented of at least 5 pounds or were the wife of someone who did it. So, 8,5 million women became voters. In 1928 they got political equality with men when Baldwins Conservative government passed the Equal Franchise bill that lowered the age to 21. The reasons for that public opinion change was the recognition for the role of women played in the war. It has been argued that it was the fight of suffragist. However, the ones who benefited from the changes in 1918 were mature and married females and not young ones, who had contributed so much at war. America had already given vote to women and this influenced it. Also the Representation Act was passed to avoid violence of suffragettes.

9.3 Irelands independence In 19th century there was a Gaelic revival and the rise of the Irish Parliamentary Party that demanded Home Rule, or self-government, from Britain. Sinn Fein argued for some form of independence but they were small in comparison. In 1870 the Home Government Association was founded and in 1873, the Home Rule League was created. They demanded self-government. One key figure was Parnell, a protestant landowner who assumed the leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) and the Land League. In 1900 it took place the reform of the IPP under Redmond, who worked to ensure that United Irish League agrarian protest movement of OBrien (1898) and IPP became one organization. The demand for Home Rule was eventually granted in 192 passing the Third Home Rule Act but its implementation was postponed by the FWW. IPP and Redmond called to support Britain and the Allied war. People joined the army in the thought that this would accelerate the implementation of the Home Rule. However, a considerable minority of the Irish Volunteers opposed the war so they split. Nation Volunteers under Redmond and others under Mac Neill maintain their organization until Home Rule had been granted. But a faction led by separatist Irish Republican Brotherhood prepared a revolt against British rule. At Easter 1916 it stared the Easter rising in Dublin but it was put down and British executed all leaders. It was the turning point: republic was declared and there was a fraction between constitutionalism and militantism. Election in 1918 republicans won almost everywhere except Ulster. Sinn Fein had won 73 and Unionist 26.

75

9.3.1 The Anglo-Irish war From 1919-21 it took place the Anglo-Irish war (war of independence). It was established de facto a republic independently of British and there was a military campaign, conducted by the Irish Republican Army, finishing in a truce on 9,7,1921. Irish Volunteers decided to take action because Home Rule was not applied. In 1919 they renamed themselves as the IRA. The met at the Irish Parliament and made the Irish Declaration of Independence that ratified the Republic of Ireland and the power to Parliament and some de facto political organs. Irishmen joined the republics army and started to fight against British. IRA, led by Michael Collins, concluded that the war was not having the desired effect and decided to intensify it. Government passed the Government of Ireland Act in 1920 which gave Ireland two parliaments but both answerable to the overall UK parliament. Six counties were to be under the Unionist Parliament where citizens agreed to create Northern Ireland by referendum. Unionist won 40 of 52 seats (1921) and its leader was Craig. Sinn Fein (De Valera) took 124 of 128 seats in Irish Nationalist Parliament but they did not accept it and continued fighting. Finally, a truce was signed and a treaty (12.1921). British government accepted the claims of the Irish to independence but only in southern Ireland and the six counties remained British. The new country was to be called the Irish Free State but it would remain in the Commonwealth. The Irish Free State accepted the sovereignty of the British crown. The island was split in two parts. The UK was renamed: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The republicans who wanted the independence for all Ireland opposed. De Valera disagreed but Griffith agreed with it. Sinn Fein voted 64-57 in favor of the treaty and De Valera resigned as a president of the republic. Some members of Sinn Fein walked out and Griffith replaced him.

9.3.2 The Irish Civil War Tensions with the treaty gave way to Irish Civil War, from 6.922 to 5.1923 between the forces of the new state and the republican opposition. In 4.1922, the anti-treaty IRA seized control of the Dublin Courts and new Irish government tried to mediate. Collins ordered to shell Courts so this triggered war. Collins was shot dead during it. After civil war, society was divided and the country devasted. Prime Minister Cosgrave had to undertake the task of reconstructing the bridges and railway which had been damaged or destroyed. He abolished of both the 76

British and Sinn Fein legal systems and replaced by a new judicial system. He announced religious freedom and a new flag. The leader of the anti-treaty republicans, De Valera, was against to swear allegiance to the King of England. He formed a party (Fianna Fail): won 42 seats. In 1930 the Free State forced Britain into passing a law that permitted them to repeal any law that the UK had passed, so they could repeal AngloIrish treaty. In 1932 De Valera became Prime Minister and decided to cut all ties with UK, abolishing land annuities and reducing powers of the British governmental representative in Ireland. In 1937 he declared southern Ireland a republic and introduced a new constitution that was accepted in referendum, renaming Eire for the whole island of Ireland. In 1939 Northern Ireland found itself at war but Eire declared neutrality, but 40.000 Irish joined the war.

9.4 The interwar period (1919-39) This period can be divided in two: 1919-29 and 1929-39. After the war, Prime Minister Lloyd George continued to run the government, but he resigned in 1922. Conservatives controlled government from 1925-29 and Labor Party won the election of 1929. The election of 1931 was won by Conservatives and Chamberlain followed a policy of appeasement.

9.4.1 The appeasement policy It was proposed in 8.1936 by Blum (France) and Chamberlain. The first meeting was on 9.9.1936. In the case of Spain, this policy would have a great effect because 27 countries decided to prohibit selling weapons to the two sides, but it was immediately forgotten towards the activities of the Axis. In 1938 foreign volunteers retired while Italy and Germany reduced their military forces. Eden admitted that infractions were committed and American ambassador blamed Chamberlain. This policy towards Mussolini and Hitler sought to maintain the peace in spite of sacrificing democracy in Spain or Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain signed Munich Pact (1938) to grant this territory to appease Hitler. But this was not enough: path to SWW lay clear.

9.4.2 Depression and discontent

77

In 1918 UK entered a period of decline and crisis. US imposed the foundations of the new international order by the League of Nations to keep peace. In the economy, UK suffered from an increase of inflation and imbalance between exports and imports. US politics influenced it. This provoked a fall of prices and a difficulty to pay reparations of war. High unemployment in Ireland provoked revolts. Soldiers that had returned were rewarded with low wages and unemployment. Workers began to strike, demanding higher wages. Workers in the mining and railway were especially active. Soon practically no business remained in government hands and Britain hoped that lasses-faire economics would jump start the post war economy. A period of developing and welfare arrived from 1923-29. But crash in US initiated a long depression within world reach and UK was in economic crisis since it was in debt with US and, UK demanded reparations from Germany. Economy dropped and it had a devastating effect on traditional industries: coal mining, shipbuilding, textile. Factories closed and unemployment benefits were cut and adjusted in 1931 and 1934. This culminated in the big strike of 1926. In 3.1926 a report of the coal industry was released advocating wage reductions. The Triple Alliance of workers began the strike in all sectors. In December the returned to their jobs and the Trade Disputes Act (1927) made sympathetic striking illegal. This demonstrated that the leftist were divided among themselves. In 1921 the Communist Party in Britain contained only 5.000 members. By 1929, leftist forces had combined their strength in a more organized faction and abandoned radical socialism. However, Labor government was too cautious and incapable of tackling the problem of unemployment. However, not everywhere in Britain, economy was haltering. Some new industries such as car manufacturing and electric engineering, were very successful. Welsh had to migrate to the new industrial centres (Midlands and South). There is a tendency to speak of the interwar period as a radical years: with strikes, hunger marches, and Irish nationalism, labor party, etc. But majority tended to vote Conservative and right wing movement started to take root in Britain.

9.5 The SWW (1939-45) It has been the largest international conflict in history since it lasted from 1939-1945, between allied powers and Axis powers. Hinderburg had declared Hitler chancellor, Germany rearmed and signed alliances with Italy and Japan. Hitler annexed Czechoslovaquia and invaded Poland on 1.9.1939. 78

On 3.9.1939 Great Britain and France declared war on Germany, who launched a massive bombing raids on Britain to prepare cross-channel invasion, but lost the Battle of Britain on 1940. Hitler postponed the invasion and London suffered from an intense bombing. In 12.1941 US declared war on Japan after Pearl Harbour. There were crucial battles like Midway (1942) and North Africa (1943). Stalingrad (1943) marked the end of German advance in Russia. A key allied invasion began in Normandy (1944) ant they occupied Germany (1945). Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended war. After the victory allies created UNO. Churchill, prime minister, won the war but lost the election in 1945 (Attlee).

9.6 The home front (1939-45) Home front is the term given to what was happening in the UK and N Ireland while the war was fought. Government would teach families how to behave and ration their food. The preparations for war started from the Munich crisis. Trenches were dug in London: anti-aircraft were established; millions of gas marks were distributed. When Germany invaded Poland, other regulations were introduced. The UK concentrated on its military preparations. On 1.9.1939 it was planned for the evacuation of children and nursing and expectant mothers from London vulnerable to German attack. Some children evacuated and sent abroad: Canada, US and Australia. When Blitz began bombing (9.1940) they evacuated again to prevent that civilians suffered from the air raids. Chamberlain abandoned an offer to negotiate peace between Germany and Poland on 2.9.1939, presenting an ultimatum that expired one day later. The Ministry of Supply was established to provide materials for the Army. Armamant production was increased. On 6.1939 The Military Training Act introduce conscription for 20-21 year old men: all this men were liable to call-up and reservists were called up. Civil Defense was put in alert. In 9.1939 all men 18-41 were to be called up. On 14.5.1940 Anthony Eden calles for the cration of the Local Defence Volunteers milita (Home Guard). Women were conscripted into Services or into vital war work. On 18.12.1941 the National Service Act was passed: all men 18-60 were now liable to some for some national service, including military until 51. The existing cabinet was replaces by a war cabinet, new ministers were established. Chamberlain reformed his government, creating this small war cabinet, which included Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty. On 10.5.1940 he succeeded Chamberlain as First Minister. 79

When Blitz began, manufacture and essential materials was dispersed as a defense against bombing. London was bombed for 57 nights to demoralize but it was not achieved. Hitlers attention was on the East. In mid 1940 the RAF was called to fight the Battle of Britain but it had suffered serious losses. Government decided to concentrate production only on 5 types of crafts. The delivery of new crafts rose from 256 to 467 between April and September and fighter command emerged triumphantly from the Battle in October. Rationing was applied more to places with large number of people as cities and town. Petrol, food, clothing were rationed. There was also a significant black market. On 22.9.1944 Bevin announced the governments plan for eventual military demobilization. On 23.5.1945 Labor party members for coalition government resigned in order to prepare for the upcoming election. Churchill finally lost the election. Among the social measures passed, the Families Allowances Act bi which mothers would receive a tax-free cash payment for each child in their care: the first time that a state payment was directly to a wife rather than a husband.

9.7 Post-war years in Britain In 1945 Labour won the election (393 from 640 seats in Commons). Clement Attlee became Prime Minister. They proposed a broad program of social and economic reform. It included the nationalization of several key industries. (mining, railways) and the establishment of the National Health Service. They took too much of the responsibility for the health, employment, housing, education and pensions. The Berveridge Report (1942) proposed a comprehensive national system of social security, maternity and chiled benefits. The Education Act (1944) provided free secondary education or all. School leaving was raised to 16 (1947). In 1946, the National Insurance Act made compulsory for everyone to work to pay a contribution to National Insurance. In return, employed could receive a wide range of benefits (unemployment, retirement). This provided an acceptable minimum standard of living but benefits were much below it. In 1946 medical care was made free to all people. It was the most fondly remembered reforms, the Aneurin Bevan National Health Service Act (1946), which provided free medical, dental and hospital services and NHS came in 1948. But this were years of austerity. In 1946-47 potatoes were rationed and the nations finances were in severe deficit until Marshall Aid. In spite of that, National Insurance Act and National Assistance Act relief poverty.

80

On the economic front, Bank of England was nationalized (1946) and also coal mines (1947), railways (1947), and gas and electric companies (1948), iron and steel industries (1951), but this proved to be more controversial.

81

Unit 10: from the second part of 20 th century to the 21th century
10.1 The aftermath of the British Empire The Attlee government began the dismantling of the British Empire. India, Pakistan, etc., won their independence in 1947-48, and mandate over Palestine was relinquished. In 1951, Churchill came back to Downing Street. George VI supporter of him, died in 1952 and was succeeded by Elizabeth II. Churchill retired in 1955 yielding the premiership to Anthony Eden. Eden was an expert in diplomacy but he sent British troops to join the Israelis and French in seizing Suez Canal but they were withdrawn. Eden resigned in 1957. Mc Millan, his chancellor, emerged as a leader. Gaitskell, of similar characteristics, was the leader of Labour Party and Gaitskellism was coined to describe the consensus politics in that period (1957-79). This consensus supported a liberal colonial policy, Keynesianism economics and a conciliatory attitude in labour relations. This was applied by conservatives (Mc Millan, Heath) and labour (Wilson and Callaghan). The result was a continuing process of liberating the colonies within the framework of democracy. No empire has been larger or more diverse than the British. However, no empire with exception of Russian disappeared more quickly. This might structure sank almost without trace leaving behind the Commonwealth, bequeathed economic foundations, legal codes and a cultural legacy. But UK still administers many dependences all over the world: Gibraltar, Falkland, Bermuda, etc.

10.2 British society in the 60s This was a time of great social and cultural change that brought about by an explosion in creative arts. It was a decade of optimism: swinging sixties, during which London became an icon. British changed fundamentally and music took on international prominence. Britain had recovered from post war years and entered in a new era of optimism. New consumer products accompanied their prosperity. TV took hold of peoples imagination. A new youth culture brought new forms of music and fashion. Bands like Beatles leader youth culture. They became very popular, leaping to fame in 1963 leading flower power generation. All the frenzy was called beatlemania. Youth based subcultures such as mods, rockers, skins, hippies, became more visible. In 1962 fluxes artists organized festival of mesfits exhibitic at Gallert One in London and the highlight was a living sculpture. In 1968 Art and Language was formed by Atkinson and had a significant influence on the production of conceptual art in Britain. One notable event was the 82

publication of Lawrence Lady Chatterley Lover (1960),which changes sexual attitudes. Other elements of the sexual revolution included the development of the pill, miniskirt and 1967 legislation of homosexuality. Abortion and divorce rose and Equal Pay Act and Sex Discrimination Act were established (1975). There were also a increased number of people in higher education. However, the economic boom of the 60s did not last and Britain began to decrease in productivity. However, this period saw reforms only similar to that of 1860s and 1870s.

10.3 The seventies In 1970 Heath defeated labour party (Wilson) and became Prime Minister for conservatives. In 1973 he achieved his long held ambition to lead Britain into the European Community. French De Gaulle had vetoed twice in 1963 and 1967. In 1974 Heath lost the election and Wilson took power over a minority government in February, but Heath remained as Prime Minister until 1974. During 1970-74 he brought in the Industrial Relations Act, which caused conflict with the trade unions. In 1975 Heath was forced to resign and Thatcher replaced him. Economically, the era was characterized by numerous strikes and restrictive practices. This was joined with rapid inflation much aggravated by an international factor the oil crisis (1973). In 1978 pound was worth only a third of its 1968 value. The 70s was a decade of strikes and it ended with the winter of discontent in 1979. Many coalmines closed. This culminated in a strong reaction in the general election of 1979.

10.4 The conservative government 10.4.1 The Margaret Thatcher years In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. She served until 1990 and she was the longest serving prime minister in 150 years. Her victory heralded a change, replacing the old mood of consensus with the aggressively adversarial stance describe as conviction policies. It limited the total supply of money and cut government spending to cut inflation. As a result, unemployment reached 3 million in 1982. But economic situation improved partly due to the fact that the country became self sufficient in North Sea oil. London again became a world 83

financial centre and conservative continued politics of privatization of state owned enterprises. Thatcher believed people must have minimum interference from government to look for benefits. This threatened nanny state and divided the nation. Thatcherism became a familiar world. She coincided with Reagan years and shared the same policies which became extremely influential around the world. Monetarism brought hardship to many as unemployment rose: beggars reappeared in the streets. Thatcher suffered unpopularity but gained in 1983 and 1987 thanks to the Falkland War. In 1987 London was affected by stock market crash. Thatcher also managed to break union resistance through a series of laws that included illegalization of secondary strikes. A miner strike (1984-5) was her most serious union confrontation: this was a turning point in the loss of power of unions. Society began also to change. The permissive standards of 60s and 70s were replaced by traditional values. Conservative John Major, who replaced Thatcher, called the people to return to basic values of the British past. By 1980 Thatcher was called the iron Lady. The market policies resulted in disparities between the developed southern economy and decaying industrial north. Her opposition to a greater integration in Europe caused a revolt in the conservative party and she resigned in 1990. They won the elections of 1992.

10.4.2 John Major in Downing Street He was Prime Minister for the surprise of some observers. His government was overwhelmed by internal scandals and by an intraparty division. In 1993, The Maastrich Treaty was ratified (establishing EU) leading to the creation of Euro. However, UK retained the use of pound. In 1995, three divisions of British Rail were sold off. Britains stormy relationship with the EU was heightened by the outbreak of the mad cow disease and the crisis eased when British plans for controlling the disease were approved by EU. British livestock farmers were hurt again in 2001. A peace initiative led to the ceased fires in 1994 by the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries. IRA resorted terrorism bombings in 1996. In 1997 they declared a new cease-fire. An accord was reached in 1998 provided for a new regional assembly to establish in Belfast. Direct rule ended in Northern Ireland in 1999. In June 1995 John Major resigned as conservative party leader to fight a leadership contest. So Blair won the general election of 1997.

10.5 New labour 84

10.5.1 The Tony Blair years In 1997 labour returned to its largest majority in Commons (418 to 165 seats, liberals won 46). Blair transformed the labour party into what he called New Labour, which meant a party with centralized control and a resolute determination to win the vote of middle English (middle classes). He led to reforms in areas such as education and welfare with little regard for the left wing sensibilities of old labour, risking the loss of the partys core supporters in the most deprived areas. Northern Ireland was the issue where Blair showed more tenacity. He pledge to descentralize government when Scotland and Wales both voted to established legislative bodies. A bill of 1999 stripped most hereditary peers of their right to sit and vote in the House of Lords. Blair and labour party again trounced the conservatives in June 2001. Following 11.9.2001, the British government became the most visible international supporter of the Bush administration. He joined the US forces in launching attacks against Afghanistan and also supported the idea to attack Iraq. The failure to find weapons of massive destruction were factors in labours third place finish in June 2004 local elections: reflected publics dissatisfaction with the countrys involvement in Iraq. On 7.7.2005 London experienced four coordinated bombing on its underground and bus system that killed 50 people and injured 700. It was Al Qaeda. In 2005 government suffered the first legislative defeat when Commons refused to extend the time that a terror suspect be held in custody without being charged. They also had difficulties securing passage of education reforms. In 5.2006 local elections in England Labour placed third in terms of the overall votes. So Blair announced in September that he would resign as Prime Minister sometime in 2007. He apologized for his mistakes and he stood down until 27.6.2007.

10.5.4 Gordon Brown (2007-2011) He became Prime Minister in June 2007. Before this, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the labour government (1997-2007). In this years, he was marked by a major reform of Britains monetary and fiscal policy architecture, transferring rate setting powers to the Bank of England. Upon becoming Prime Minister Brown saw a rise in public opinion polls. However, his early success faltered and led to decline. In July, England experienced a flooding and Labour again placed third in the popular vote in local elections. Nevertheless, Brown remains leader of the labour party despite facing challenges to his leadership in the summer of 2008 and 2009. 85

In 2009 he was under pressure since parliamentary expenses scandal caused popular disillusion with politics. In the European election, Labour won 15,7%, the worst in its 150 years of history. Far right seated in Parliament for first time. Uncertainty was installed.

10.6 Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales Northern Ireland was created in 1921 as a home rule political entity under the government of Ireland Act along with the nominal state of Ireland. The majority of the population is unionist but a significant minority wants united Ireland. The clashes produced violent struggles. On the protestant side there are two main parties: the Official Unionists (heirs of old Unionist of 1921) and the Democratic Unionists. On the Catholic side: Social Democratic and Unionist Party (SDLP), non violent, and Sinn Fein, which has close links with IRA. The cause of sectarian violence in Ulster can be traced back several centuries. The conflict is not religious but between two groups who inhabit the same territory but are estranged from each other by history, culture and religion. They go to different churches, schools, areas of towns, etc. In 17th century English government decided to plant settlements of English and Scots in Ulster on land taken away from Irish native. This is the historical cause of the present ethnic and religious divide. Protestant community still form a majority in the north (Presbyterian Scots). Protestants made Ulster a province distinctly different from the rest of Ireland. This was regard by Irish Catholics as a foreign and hostile phenomenon and changes in English economy resulted in the rise of Belfast as the economic centre of Ireland. A clash of identities between Britishness and Irishness became increasingly apparent. The proposal by Liberal of a Home Rule to Ireland was opposed by the more militant Ulster protestants (Orangemen). After the FWW the southern rebels finally succeeded in obtaining Irish independence by the Anglo Irish treaty (1921) but the six counties of Northern Ireland were excluded for the new southern Irish State. Ulster remained part of the UK but with its own parliament, in which Protestants parties had a permanent majority. This led to a civil war. For 50 years power in Northern Ireland was exercised by protestant unionist. The catholic minority suffered from discrimination and injustice. Protests led to rioting and sectarian violence. Self-government was suspended in 1972, the worst year of all, when there were 467 deaths. On bloody Sunday (30.1.1972) 13 civil right protestors were shot in Londonderry. In 1974, there was an experiment in power sharing between protestant and catholic parties but this was bitterly opposed by Protestants Ulster Workers Council. 86

There have been continuous initiatives to solve the problem: Angloirish agreement (1985) with Thatcher and Fitzgerald was one of them. Another took place in 1993 between Hume and Gerry Adams which led to another bid for peace and the Downing Street Declaration (Major and Reynolds, 1993). IRA declared a cease-fire in 1994 and the loyalists paramilitaries followed. British government refused to allow Sinn Fein to attend all party peace talks unless the agreed the decomission of arms and cease-fire ended in 1996. The Irish Question became internationalized when US has a vested interest in negotiating a settlement. Mitchell, former US senator, was invited to char an international group to solve the problem and he proposed a progressive decommissioning of arms. When Labour won in 1997, Blair launched the delayed peace process. Talks would began in September. In October protestants and catholics sat together. The involvement of Bertie Ahern was crucial (former Ireland MP). In 1998 they agreed to the holding of a referendum. The Agreement (Good Friday) was signed in Belfast on 10.4.1998 and endorsed by the people of all Ireland on 22.5.1998 (94% in Eire and 71% in Northern). It set out a plan to devolve government to Northern Ireland and provide for the creation of Human Rights and Equality commissions and the gradual decommission of arms. In June 1998 unionist won the elections 55 seats, nationalists 42, 24 SDLP and 18 Sinn Fein). So Protestants and Catholics began to share government and responsabilities in Northern Ireland. But unionists (Trimble) insisted that the Sinn Fein cannot be part of the government until decommission began. Blair attempted another deadline. There would be no parliament. On 15.7.1999 Northern Irelands elected politicians assembled in parliament but Ulster unionist seats were empty. Only SDLP and Sinn Fein nominated ministers but it was an invalid executive. Mitchell returned and his efforts ended in a breakthrough and conciliatory statements on 16.11.1999. He tried to convince Ulster unionists to share government with Sinn Fein. On 2.12.1999 Trimble started a government but IRA did not abandon arms. So British imposed direct rule again from Westminster. Further progress of IRA did not convince very much Trimble. In May power was held again by Irish Parliament. IRA made several promises in 2001 and 2002 and Westminster took again government. In spite of this, Unionists and Sinn Fein said that they remained committed to implementing Good Friday Agreement (GFA). Conflict persisted. Real IRA remains a considerable danger. Violence of Protestants against Catholics children is also a problem. In 2007 both parts held a deal to open a new era of politics. In 2009 process continues, GFA is a good basis for future progress.

87

10.6.2 Scotland and Wales A Scotland Act and a Wales Act were passed in 1978, arranging for referendum to establish regional assemblies. But both were rejected (in Scotland only voted 32%). Descentralization of power was party manifesto in which labour won the election of 1997. Scotland were asked if they want a regional parliament and tax powers, and Wales only the first thing. Both territories voted in favour and elections for both assemblies were held in 5.1999. In both regions labor won the elections and the second was the nationalism, with SNP winning 35 seats in Scotland and Plaid Cymru 17 in Wales. Liberal Democrats have enough seats to provide a coalition majority in both territories. Another constitutional commitment was the reform of the House of the Lords. A compromise was reached, allowing 92 hereditaries to reamin as members during a interim period until reform was completed. In 11.1999 election was held and the majority of hereditary peers lost their right to participate in the business of the House.

10.7 Multiculturalism At the turn of the century UK is seen as a multicultural society, especially big cities like London, where there are many nationalities. Britain encouraged immigration to deal with labour market lack of people after SWW. The first people to go to Britain were Jamaicans by Empire Windrush (1948) and they easily found work. As the empire was being dismantled, people from many territories started to come to Britain due to the lack of people to reconstruct the country. This transformed Britain into a multiracial society. At that moment, only one group diferred in religion from british: the Jews, that came in 1650. Indians and Pakistans started to come and introduced three different religions: Hinduism, sikh and muslims. In the 50s and 60s people increased so racism appeared. In the long term, some immigrants had risen to great social positions but not the majority. In 1965 Race Relations Act was passed to prohibit race discrimination. In 1991, ethnic minorities numbered some 3 million people (5,5% of the total population), with 825.000 indians. In Britain there is also a great European immigration. All this people have transformed the british and irish diet for better. And also the british representation in sports, like Linford Christie. There are many intermarriage between races. 88

In the SXXI Britain is a more open and multicultural society than ever. Their influences are being seen equally. However, there are many racial tensions, particularly in the north, although there are festivals and other politics of multiculturalism.

89

You might also like