British History Seen Through Art

B ritish
BRITISH HISTORY S
History
Seen Through Art
T
A
Gina D. B. Clemen
Laura Stagno
British History Seen Through Art - Blackcat © 2011 De Agostini Scuola S.p.A. - Novara
British History 2008 14-02-2008 10:25 Pagina 1
B ritish
History
Seen Through Art
Gina D. B. Clemen
Laura Stagno
Editor: Alex Smith

Design: Nadia Maestri
Layout: Simona Corniola
Picture research and authorisation: Laura Lagomarsino
Web research: Lorenzo Bagnara
Historical text and exercises: Gina D. B. Clemen

Artistic text: Laura Stagno
© 2001 Black Cat Publishing,

an imprint of Cideb Editrice, Genoa, Canterbury
First edition: September 2001
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
written permission of the publisher.
We would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions, and give you any other information
concerning our material.
editorial@blackcat-cideb.com
www.blackcat-cideb.com
www.cideb.it
TEXTBOOKS฀AND฀
TEACHING฀MATERIALS
The฀quality฀of฀the฀publisher’s
design,฀production฀and฀sales฀processes฀has
been฀certified฀to฀the฀standard฀of
UNI฀EN ISO 9001
ISBN 978-88-7754-752-1 Book

ISBN 978-88-7754-618-0 Book + CD
Printed in Italy by Stamperia Artistica Nazionale, Trofarello, Turin.
Contents
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE
Contents
T he Beginnings
5
PET exercises 12
www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities 14
CHAPTER TWO T he Normans and the M iddle A ges 17
PET exercises 25
@ Internet activities 27
CHAPTER THREE T he T udors 28
PET exercises 33
CHAPTER FOUR T he E lizabethan A ge 37
PET exercises 45
CHAPTER FIVE T he S tuarts and the C ivil W ar 47
PET exercises 52
CHAPTER SIX T he R estoration 58
PET exercises 64
CHAPTER SEVEN T he G eorgian A ge and the Industrial Revolution

PET exercises
www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities

66
72
74
I
CHAPTER EIGHT Wars in the C olonies and in Europe 76
PET exercises 81
CHAPTER NINE T he V ictorian A ge 85
PET exercises 91
CHAPTER TEN T he E dwardian Age and W orld W ar I 95
PET exercises 100
CHAPTER ELEVEN W orld W ar II and the Post-war Years 102
PET exercises 107
CHAPTER TWELVE Moving Towards the Twenty -First Century 109
PET exercises 115
PET-STYLE฀EXIT฀TEST 123
Introduction Introduction
What฀better฀way฀to฀learn฀about฀the฀history฀of฀a฀country฀than฀through฀its฀art?฀Art฀has
always฀been฀a฀vibrant฀expression฀of฀the฀evolution฀of฀a฀country’s฀culture,฀its฀people
and฀their฀aspirations.
British฀History฀Seen฀Through฀Art relates฀the฀significant฀events฀of฀British฀history฀with฀a
detailed฀commentary฀on฀the฀most฀important฀works฀of฀art฀of฀the฀period.
Starting฀with฀the฀architectural฀achievement฀of฀Stonehenge,฀which฀is฀more฀than
4,000฀years฀old,฀and฀looking฀at฀Celtic฀and฀Anglo-Saxon฀Art,฀we฀see฀history฀unfold
before฀our฀eyes.฀We฀observe฀how฀the฀religious฀art฀of฀the฀Middle฀Ages฀became฀more
secular฀after฀Henry฀VIII,฀and฀how฀art฀from฀continental฀Europe฀influenced฀the
painting฀and฀architecture฀of฀the฀British฀Isles.
We฀witness฀important฀changes฀in฀British฀society.฀With฀the฀rise฀in฀power฀of฀the
middle-classes฀in฀the฀Georgian฀Age,฀art฀was฀not฀only฀the฀propaganda฀of฀a฀monarch
or฀nation,฀but฀also฀portraits฀of฀wealthy฀families฀and฀pictures฀of฀their฀property.฀The
economic฀and฀social฀changes฀of฀the฀Industrial฀Revolution฀produced฀a฀new฀form฀of
artistic฀expression:฀the฀painting฀as฀a฀socio-political฀document,฀and฀for฀the฀first฀time
art฀involved฀all฀social฀classes.
In฀the฀twentieth฀century฀photography,฀film฀and฀modern฀technology฀were฀all฀used฀to
interpret฀and฀represent฀events,฀and฀reflected฀a฀new฀freedom฀of฀artistic฀expression.
At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀new฀millennium,฀British฀art฀is฀reinventing฀itself฀once฀more
to฀reflect฀how฀we฀live฀today.
Both฀students฀and฀teachers฀will฀enjoy฀this฀cross-curricular฀approach฀to฀the฀study฀of
the฀history฀of฀Britain฀and฀its฀art.
British฀History฀Seen฀Through฀Art฀has฀its฀own฀internet฀site,฀www.britishhistoryart.com,
where฀you฀can฀find฀links฀to฀internet฀sites฀about฀British฀history฀or฀British฀art.฀There
are฀internet฀activities฀either฀at฀the฀end฀of฀the฀chapters฀or฀on฀the฀internet฀site.
This฀symbol฀indicates฀the฀internet฀activities฀which฀you฀can฀find฀at
@ www.britishhistoryart.com
This฀text฀is฀recorded฀in฀full.
0 These฀symbols฀indicate฀the฀beginning฀and฀end฀of฀the฀extracts฀linked฀to฀the
END listening฀activities.
CHAPTER ONE
The Beginnings
2 THE CELTS: BEFORE AND AFTER
People฀probably฀arrived฀in฀the฀British฀Isles฀about฀300,000฀years฀ago฀during฀the
Palaeolithic฀Age฀or฀Old฀Stone฀Age.฀This฀period฀is฀known฀as฀prehistory:฀the฀period฀before
people฀kept฀written฀records.
New฀settlers฀from฀Europe฀arrived฀in฀Britain฀about฀4000฀BC.฀In฀about฀3000฀BC฀these฀people
started฀using฀stone฀as฀a฀building฀material.฀฀Stonehenge,฀an฀enormous฀stone฀circle฀in
Southern฀England,฀฀was฀probably฀built฀at฀about฀the฀same฀time฀as฀the฀Great฀Pyramid฀of
Giza฀in฀Egypt฀–฀about฀2300฀BC!฀Today฀astronomers฀think฀Stonehenge฀was฀used฀to฀measure
the฀movements฀of฀the฀sun,฀moon฀and฀stars,฀and฀also฀for฀pagan฀religious฀practices.
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain.
Stonehenge is in fact a series of circles made of blocks of stone, some of which are very large.
It was not completed as a single project but built over several generations.
The Beginnnings Seen Through Art
Desborough Mirror (1st century).
By looking at one of the best surviving

examples of Celtic mirrors we can
appreciate the essential characteristics
of Celtic art. The surface of the mirror
is made from brightly polished metal,
but the back (shown here) is of much
greater interest. Made from bronze, it
has been engraved using a sharp
instrument to produce decorative wave-
like patterns and finished with round,
eye-shaped motifs using the cross-
hatching technique.
Celtic art was abstract for the most part,
based on curved patterns. The Celts were not
interested in ‘representational’ painting and
sculpture (reproductions of reality, especially the
human body), which were popular in classical Greek and
Roman art. The Celts’ love of linear patterns and pure
decoration was to continue to flourish for centuries in British
art, long after the Roman conquest, and came to form one of its
distinguishing features.
The฀Celts,฀tribes฀originally฀from฀Central฀Europe,฀arrived฀in฀Britain฀after฀700฀BC.฀They
were฀strong,฀fearless฀warriors฀and฀conquered฀an฀extensive฀part฀of฀Europe.฀They฀were฀also
expert฀metal฀workers฀and฀made฀iron฀tools,฀weapons,฀helmets฀and฀armour.฀With฀bronze
and฀gold฀they฀created฀coins,฀mirrors,฀ornaments,฀small฀statues฀and฀beautiful฀jewellery.
The฀Celts฀did฀not฀write฀their฀own฀history฀but฀fortunately฀the฀Greeks฀and฀Romans฀wrote
about฀them.฀Their฀language฀is฀still฀spoken฀today฀because฀Gaelic฀Irish฀and฀Scots,฀Welsh,
Cornish฀and฀Breton฀are฀Celtic฀languages.
In฀43฀AD฀the฀Roman฀Emperor฀Claudius฀and฀his฀army฀conquered฀Britain,฀which฀became
part฀of฀the฀Roman฀Empire฀and฀was฀called฀Britannia.฀
British History
Hadrian’s Wall.
One monument in particular was so important that it came to symbolise Roman

Britain. Hadrian’s Wall, one of the greatest feats of engineering in the Roman world,
measures 80 Roman miles (120 km). It ‘cuts’ across the country from coast to coast,
from the Solway Firth to the River Tyne.
Hadrian, who visited the British colony in 122 AD, was the first emperor in Roman
history to build a wall in order to ‘separate the “barbarians” (rebellious tribes who
were never brought completely under control) from the Romans’, as his biographer
says. The wall was built mainly in stone with forts and turrets at regular intervals,
and marks a fundamental change in how the Roman Empire was seen. It was no
longer thought to be without frontiers and in continual expansion (as Augustus
believed in the first century BC), but now had specific borders and defences. The
gradual ‘Romanisation’ of the local people took place inside a well-defined area.
The฀Romans฀brought฀their฀laws,฀their฀religion,฀a฀written฀language฀and฀written฀numbers.
Being฀skilled฀engineers,฀they฀built฀forts,฀towns฀and฀beautiful฀houses฀decorated฀with
elaborate฀mosaics฀and฀statues,฀and฀excellent฀roads,฀some฀of฀which฀still฀exist฀today.
Mildenhall Satyr and Menade Plate

(4th century).
We can reconstruct the complex process

of the meeting of two civilisations, both
rich in traditions – by ‘reading’ works of
art from the period. Classical models
were introduced to Britain in many
different ways. Roman coins, statues of
Roman gods and emperors, precious
objects made in Rome, Constantinople
and Antioch were imported. This
beautiful silver plate, which shows the
detailed anatomy and elegant clothing
typical of Greco-Roman art, is part of a
fourth century treasure found in
Mildenhall, Suffolk.
Bacchus Mosaic (5th century).
British mosaics show how local

craftsmen were influenced by
Roman works of art.
They attempted to copy
classical models in their choice
of subject matter and style.
They used them in a simpler
more linear manner which was
closer to Celtic traditions. The
majority of these mosaics,
which were made from tiny
squares of brick and different
coloured stone, were produced
between the first and fourth
century AD.
British History
THE ANGLO-SAXONS AND VIKINGS
In฀406฀AD,฀after฀almost฀400฀years,฀the฀Romans฀left฀Britain,฀which฀was฀soon฀invaded฀by
the฀Anglo-Saxons,฀tribes฀from฀Germany฀who฀were฀great฀warriors฀and฀took฀the฀Celts'฀land
and฀treasures.฀From฀about฀513฀AD฀to฀537฀AD฀a฀Celtic฀leader฀named฀Arthur฀fought฀bravely
against฀the฀Anglo-Saxon฀invaders฀and฀became฀the฀figure฀of฀legend,฀King฀Arthur.
Purse lid (7th century).
A lot of information on the traditions and characteristics of the Anglo-Saxons comes from objects
found in 1939 at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Archaeologists discovered a ship, 25 metres in length,
which was built to carry the dead, at least symbolically, into the afterlife. Inside the ship they
found the burial effects of a seventh-century Anglo-
Saxon king, including weapons, coins, clothing and
jewellery. This purse lid comes from the treasure.
At the bottom there is an image of an eagle
seizing a duck, and at the sides a man being
attacked by two wild boars; 1 both are shown in
gold, enamel and glass-like stones.
Highly stylised hunting and animal motifs were
common to ‘Barbarian’ art throughout Europe.
Jewellery and metal decorations for weapons and
clothes were among the favourite art works of the
Anglo-Saxons because they were easy to transport.
1 wild฀boars :฀wild฀pigs.
10
In฀597฀AD Augustine,฀a฀missionary฀sent฀from฀Rome,฀arrived฀in฀Kent฀and฀established฀a
Christian฀church฀at฀Canterbury,฀where฀he฀became฀the฀first฀Archbishop฀of฀Canterbury.
During฀this฀period฀monasteries,฀where฀monks฀studied฀and฀copied฀religious฀books,฀were
being฀built฀all฀around฀Britain.
A page of the Lindisfarne Gospel,

St Matthew chap. I, v. 18,
(8th century)
The religious books produced by

monks – particularly in Ireland –
are precious religious and
artistic treasures in which the
spirit of ancient Celtic
decoration flourishes.
On this page of the Lindisfarne
Gospel (early eighth century),
notice how the Greek letters ‘X’
and ‘P’ (‘chi’ and ‘ro’, the first
two letters of the word ‘Christ’
in Greek) are made up of a
complex system of braids 1 and
spirals. This highly intricate,
decorative form (without a
pictorial narrative) shows how
Celtic art continued to thrive in a
society which had converted to
Christianity.
At฀the฀end฀of฀the฀eighth฀century฀the฀Vikings฀from฀Scandinavia฀attacked฀the฀east฀coast฀of฀Britain.
These฀expert฀navigators฀and฀brave฀warriors฀soon฀settled฀throughout฀most฀of฀the฀British฀Isles.฀The
Anglo-Saxon฀King,฀Alfred฀the฀Great,฀fought฀against฀them฀successfully,฀but฀after฀his฀death฀in฀899
the฀Vikings฀attacked฀again฀and฀soon฀Britain฀was฀ruled฀by฀Viking฀kings.฀One฀of฀them฀was฀King
Canute,฀a฀wise฀and฀honest฀king,฀who฀brought฀peace฀and฀prosperity฀to฀his฀people.
1 braids :฀(here)฀bands฀of฀cotton฀or฀wool.
11
Go back to the text
PET
1 Decide฀if฀each฀statement฀is฀correct฀or฀incorrect.฀If฀it฀is฀correct,฀tick฀A;฀if฀it฀is฀not฀correct,฀tick฀B.
A B
1 Stonehenge฀is฀an฀enormous฀stone฀pyramid฀in
Southern฀England฀built฀about฀2300฀BC
2 The฀Celts฀came฀from฀Central฀Europe฀in฀700฀BC
and฀were฀great฀warriors฀and฀expert฀metal฀workers.
3 Celtic฀art฀was฀mainly฀abstract,฀based฀on฀curved฀patterns.฀
4 The฀Roman฀Emperor฀Julius฀Caesar฀and฀his฀army
conquered฀Britain฀in฀43฀AD.
5 British฀mosaics฀were฀completely฀original฀and฀were฀not฀
influenced฀by฀classical฀models.
6 When฀the฀Romans฀left฀Britain฀in฀406฀AD฀there฀was฀
an฀Anglo-Saxon฀invasion.
7 ‘Barbarian’฀art฀is฀characterised฀by฀very฀realistic฀profiles฀of฀soldiers.
8 The฀first฀Archbishop฀of฀Canterbury฀was฀Augustine,฀
a฀Roman฀missionary.
9 Celtic฀decoration฀continued฀to฀flourish฀in฀the฀฀
religious฀books฀produced฀by฀monks.
10 The฀Vikings฀invaded฀and฀settled฀throughout฀most
of฀Kent฀at฀the฀end฀of฀the฀eighth฀century.
2 Read฀the฀descriptions฀and฀match฀them฀with฀the฀correct฀person฀or฀people.฀Write฀the฀correct฀letter
in฀the฀box.
1 Britain’s฀new฀name฀under฀Roman฀rule.฀
2 An฀important฀Anglo-Saxon฀burial฀site.฀
3 These฀people฀came฀from฀Germany฀and฀invaded฀Britain.฀
4 They฀were฀expert฀navigators฀from฀Scandinavia.
5 He฀built฀a฀wall฀to฀separate฀the฀‘barbarians’฀from฀the฀Romans.฀
6 This฀legendary฀king฀fought฀against฀the฀Anglo฀Saxons฀from฀513฀AD฀to฀537฀AD.
7 Their฀language฀still฀survives.฀
8 This฀Saxon฀king฀fought฀successfully฀against฀the฀Vikings.฀
A The฀Celts E The฀Anglo-Saxons
B King฀Arthur F Britannia
C King฀Alfred฀the฀Great G The฀Vikings
D Sutton฀Hoo H Emperor฀Hadrian
12
PET
3 3 You฀are฀going฀to฀hear฀a฀biography฀of฀King฀Arthur.
Listen฀to฀the฀information฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B฀or฀C.
1 In฀what฀century฀was฀the฀legend฀of฀King 5 Where฀did฀King฀Arthur฀and฀his฀knights
Arthur฀born? meet?
A the฀fifteenth฀century฀ A on฀the฀battlefield
B the฀sixth฀century B in฀church
C the฀fifth฀century C at฀the฀Round฀Table
2 Who฀did฀King฀Arthur฀and฀his฀knights 6 How฀many฀names฀were฀painted฀on฀the
fight฀against? Round฀Table?
A the฀Vikings A 34
B the฀Celts B 24
C the฀Saxons C 4
3 What฀was฀the฀name฀of฀Arthur’s฀magic 7 In฀what฀year฀was฀King฀Arthur฀killed?
sword?
A 527฀AD
A Excalibur B 327฀AD
B Excellence C 537฀AD
C Guinevere
8 Who฀discovered฀King฀Arthur’s฀grave฀and
4 What฀was฀his฀wife’s฀name? when฀did฀they฀discover฀it?
A Camelot A The฀monks฀of฀Camelot฀at฀the฀
B Guinevere end฀of฀the฀12th฀century.
C Justine B The฀Knights฀of฀the฀Round฀Table฀
in฀537฀AD.
C The฀monks฀of฀Glastonbury฀at฀
the฀end฀of฀the฀12th฀century.
13
Go฀to฀฀www.britishhistoryart.com and฀click฀on:
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER฀ONE
1 Here฀ are฀ some฀ frequently฀ asked฀ questions฀ about฀ Stonehenge.฀ Use฀ the฀ website฀ address
for฀Chapter฀One.฀Explore฀the฀various฀sections฀of฀the฀website฀to฀find฀the฀answers฀to฀these
questions.
1 How฀old฀is฀Stonehenge฀and฀when฀were฀the฀first฀stones฀put฀there?
2 Is฀Stonehenge฀the฀largest฀stone฀circle฀in฀the฀world?
3 Why฀did฀people฀put฀the฀stones฀there?
4 What฀are฀the฀bluestones฀and฀are฀they฀really฀blue?
5 Where฀do฀they฀come฀from?
6 Is฀it฀possible฀to฀visit฀all฀of฀Stonehenge?
7 Who฀does฀Stonehenge฀belong฀to฀now?
8 What฀were฀the฀three฀stages฀in฀which฀Stonehenge฀was฀built?฀Describe฀them฀in฀your
own฀words.
2 Click฀ on฀ the฀ interactive฀ map฀ of฀ Stonehenge.฀ You฀ will฀ find฀ photographs฀ and฀ video฀ clips.
Watch฀ how฀ Stonehenge฀ has฀ changed.฀ What฀ other฀ sites฀ are฀ there฀ in฀ the฀ area?฀ Choose
one฀of฀them฀and฀write฀some฀information฀about฀it.฀Remember฀to฀include.
• When฀it฀was฀built
• Where฀it฀was฀built
• Some฀more฀information฀about฀the฀site
14
3 Read฀the฀text฀on฀Roman฀Britain฀and฀complete฀the฀table.
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
Roman฀Invasion
1 The฀number฀of฀soldiers฀in฀the฀Roman฀ ...........................................
invasion฀of฀43฀AD. ...........................................
2 The฀area฀of฀England฀controlled฀by฀the฀ ...........................................
Romans฀in฀60฀AD. ...........................................
3 The฀name฀of฀the฀Celtic฀leader฀who฀ ...........................................
rebelled฀against฀Roman฀rule. ...........................................
4 An฀example฀of฀a฀Roman฀villa฀which฀has฀ ...........................................
been฀excavated. ...........................................
5 The฀dates฀of฀construction฀of฀the฀Antonine฀Wall. ...........................................
6 The฀location฀of฀the฀Antonine฀Wall. ...........................................
7 The฀name฀given฀to฀the฀period฀of฀peace฀ ...........................................
under฀Roman฀rule. ...........................................
8 The฀person฀who฀was฀responsible฀for฀removing฀ ...........................................
the฀Roman฀armies฀from฀Britain. ...........................................
9 What฀happened฀after฀the฀Romans฀left฀Britain?฀฀(use฀about฀30฀words)
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
15
Before you read
PET
4 1 Listen฀to฀the฀first฀part฀of฀Chapter฀Two฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀
A,฀B or฀C.
1 Edward฀the฀Confessor,฀the฀king฀of 5 What฀were฀the฀Norman฀ships฀called?
England,฀promised฀his฀throne฀to
A hauberks
A Duke฀William฀of฀Normandy.
B dragons
B the฀Earl฀of฀Wessex.
C drakkars
C Harold฀Godwinsson.
6 On฀which฀day฀was฀the฀Battle฀of
2 When฀Harold฀Godwinsson฀was฀crowned Hastings฀fought฀in฀1066?
king,฀he฀had฀the฀support฀of฀the
A 13฀October
A Anglo-Saxon฀nobles.
B 14฀October
B Archbishop฀of฀Canterbury.
C 15฀October
C Norman฀nobles.
7 Who฀did฀the฀Anglo-Saxon฀army฀fight
3 How฀many฀soldiers฀were฀there฀in before฀they฀marched฀to฀Hastings?
William฀the฀Conqueror’s฀army?
A a฀Norwegian฀army
A 700
B a฀Scottish฀army
B 6,000
C a฀Danish฀army
C 7,000
8 How฀was฀King฀Harold฀killed?
4 What฀doesn't฀the฀Bayeux฀Tapestry
show? A by฀an฀arrow฀in฀the฀eye
B by฀a฀sword฀in฀the฀stomach
A building฀ships
C by฀an฀axe฀in฀the฀arm
B cutting฀trees
C building฀castles
16
CHAPTER TWO
The Normans and

the Middle Ages
4 THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY AND NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND
A฀very฀important฀event฀in฀British฀history฀took฀place฀in฀1066:฀the฀Battle฀of฀Hastings.฀
The฀phases฀of฀the฀battle฀are฀recorded฀in฀the฀Bayeux฀Tapestry,฀an฀exceptionally฀rich฀source
of฀information,฀as฀well฀as฀a฀remarkable฀work฀of฀art.฀The฀embroidered 1 chronicle฀begins
with฀a฀description฀of฀what฀happened฀before฀the฀battle.฀It฀is฀quite฀a฀complicated฀story.
A detail from the Bayeux Tapestry.
The Bayeux Tapestry is a woollen

embroidered linen canvas, made up of
many panels. It was made in about
1077. The tapestry was originally 70
metres long, but unfortunately part of
it has been lost.
It was a pictorial story for a public who
couldn’t read. It tells the story from the
Norman point of view: William is
shown as a hero, while Harold is a
traitor who deserves his death.
In this close-up you can clearly see the
technique used to make the tapestry.
Notice that the threads 2 have different
dimensions according to their function.
For instance, the black thread that
gives the contour to the eyes and the
nose is bigger than the others.
1 embroidered :฀decorated฀with฀patterns฀or฀
pictures฀sewn฀on฀to฀cloth.
2 threads฀:฀long฀pieces฀of฀cotton฀or฀wool.
17
British History
William the Conqueror.
Edward฀the฀Confessor,฀the฀king฀of฀England,฀was฀half฀Norman฀and฀half฀Anglo-Saxon.฀He
left฀no฀son฀of฀his฀own.฀In฀1051฀he฀promised฀his฀throne฀to฀Duke฀William฀of฀Normandy,฀who
was฀his฀cousin฀on฀his฀mother’s฀side.฀
Edward฀sent฀Harold฀Godwinsson,฀who฀was฀the฀son฀of฀one฀of฀the฀most฀powerful฀Anglo-
Saxon฀noblemen,฀the฀Earl฀of฀Wessex,฀to฀swear฀allegiance 1 to฀William.฀However,฀in฀1066,
when฀King฀Edward฀died,฀Harold฀took฀the฀crown฀of฀England฀with฀the฀support฀of฀the฀Anglo-
Saxon฀aristocracy.
1 swear฀allegiance฀:
promise฀under฀oath.
Harold Godwinsson takes the

crown of England.
Notice that the many

inscriptions embroidered
on the tapestry are in
Latin, the language used
by all the educated classes
in Europe.
18
The Normans Seen Through Art
Workers cutting trees to build ships. Men carrying the mail hauberks and others pulling arms
and armour.
When฀William฀of฀Normandy฀heard฀this฀he฀was฀very฀angry฀and฀he฀decided฀to฀invade
England฀with฀an฀army฀of฀7,000฀men.฀However,฀his฀greatest฀problem฀was฀to฀assemble฀a฀big
enough฀fleet.฀The฀Bayeux฀Tapestry฀shows฀people฀cutting฀trees,฀building฀ships฀and
launching฀them฀into฀the฀sea.฀
When฀the฀fleet฀was฀ready,฀the฀Normans฀embarked฀their฀weapons.฀The฀mail฀hauberks 1
were฀so฀heavy฀that฀two฀people฀had฀to฀carry฀them.฀The฀Normans฀also฀took฀horses,฀food,
wine฀and฀other฀supplies.฀The฀Norman฀ships,฀called฀‘drakkars’,฀crossed฀the฀English
Channel฀and฀landed฀on฀the฀Sussex฀coast.
1 mail฀hauberks :฀armour฀made฀
of฀many฀metal฀rings.
The Norman Ships crossing

the English Channel.
The Norman ships, which

were technically very
advanced, carried sails but
were so light that they could
also be rowed at speed. They
were easy to manoeuvre and
to land on any beach.
19
British History
On฀14฀October฀1066฀the฀Normans฀fought฀the฀Anglo-Saxons฀at฀Hastings.฀It฀was฀a฀long,
difficult฀battle.฀Although฀the฀Anglo-Saxons฀fought฀bravely,฀they฀were฀few฀in฀number.
They฀were฀also฀very฀tired฀because฀they฀defeated฀Norwegian฀invaders฀in฀the฀north฀before
they฀marched฀to฀Hastings.฀
After฀eight฀hours฀of฀battle฀Harold฀Godwinsson฀was฀killed฀when฀an฀arrow฀struck฀him฀in
the฀eye.฀After฀this฀the฀Saxons฀were฀defeated,฀and฀after฀his฀victory฀William฀was฀called฀‘the
END Conqueror’.฀He฀became฀King฀of฀England฀on฀Christmas฀Day฀1066.
The Norman cavalry charging the Anglo-Saxons.
The Normans had the advantage because some of them fought on horseback while the Anglo-
Saxons fought on foot. Also, the Normans had better weapons than the Anglo-Saxons.
20
The Normans Seen Through Art
The Bayeux Tapestry was made for William’s half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux in
Normandy, who used it to adorn 1 the choir of the cathedral of his city. Bishop Odo is depicted
here, on the right, blessing the food and drink before a meal.
In its illustration of the themes of betrayal and punishment, the tapestry is very similar to the
epics of the Knights of the Round Table. The precision and realism of the details represented
give us a huge amount of first-hand information about how people lived and fought at the time
of the Norman Conquest of England.
1 adorn :฀decorate.
21
British History
AFTER THE CONQUEST
A฀work฀of฀art฀as฀rich฀in฀detail฀as฀the฀Bayeux฀Tapestry฀is฀rare. We฀do฀not฀have฀any฀comparable
works฀of฀art฀to฀give฀us฀information฀for฀the฀years฀that฀followed฀and฀shaped฀English฀medieval
society.฀
William฀the฀Conqueror฀brought฀the฀feudal฀system฀to฀England.฀Under฀this฀system฀the฀land฀in
England฀was฀owned฀by฀the฀king.฀The฀king฀permitted฀barons฀to฀use฀his฀land฀in฀return฀for
military฀service.฀The฀barons฀lived฀in฀manor฀houses 1 and฀built฀castles฀for฀defence.฀These
barons฀had฀private฀armies,฀which฀were฀commanded฀by฀knights.฀When฀the฀king฀called฀them,
they฀went฀to฀fight฀for฀him.฀The฀barons฀permitted฀their฀knights฀to฀use฀the฀king’s฀land,฀which
the฀knights฀divided฀among฀the฀farmers,฀who฀were฀free฀men.฀The฀peasants฀or฀serfs฀were฀at฀the
lowest฀level฀of฀the฀feudal฀system฀–฀they฀were฀the฀property฀of฀the฀baron.
Miniature showing William Marshal unhorsing Baldwin of Guinnes (1233)

by Matthew Paris from his Historia Maior.
When฀William฀the฀Conqueror฀became฀king,฀he฀also฀became฀the฀direct฀owner฀of฀the฀land
which฀before฀the฀Battle฀of฀Hastings฀belonged฀to฀Harold,฀his฀family฀and฀his฀Anglo-Saxon
allies.฀The฀King฀wanted฀to฀carry฀out฀a฀survey 2 to฀find฀out฀exactly฀what฀he฀and฀the฀other
landlords฀owned:฀how฀much฀land,฀how฀many฀animals,฀how฀many฀manors,฀how฀many
castles,฀how฀many฀churches฀and฀how฀many฀people฀there฀were.฀
In฀1086฀all฀this฀information฀was฀written฀in฀the฀Domesday฀Book.฀The฀result฀was฀a฀unique
picture฀of฀English฀society,฀where฀almost฀all฀the฀population฀worked฀in฀agriculture,฀with
little฀or฀no฀industry฀or฀commerce.฀The฀survey฀showed฀that฀one฀fifth฀of฀the฀land฀in
England฀belonged฀to฀William,฀a฀quarter฀to฀the฀Church฀and฀the฀rest฀to฀Norman฀noblemen.
The฀population฀of฀England฀in฀1086฀was฀about฀one฀and฀a฀half฀million.
1 manor฀houses :฀country฀houses฀of฀the฀provincial฀nobility. 2 survey฀:฀report.
Miniature showing Charles Duke of Orleans writing in the Tower of London (c. 1415).
The complex of buildings which today is called the Tower of London was begun by William the
Conqueror around 1076. While the first Norman castles were made of earth and timber, the
impressive structure near the Thames was built in stone and its walls were whitewashed – and
this is how it got its name the White Tower. It soon became an architectural symbol of Norman
military supremacy. In the centuries that followed the original structure was added to, in this
miniature you can see the tower as it appeared at the beginning of the fifteenth century. During
its long history, it has been a fortress, a palace, a prison and a royal mint. 1
The฀Normans฀built฀forts฀and฀castles฀on฀hills,฀near฀rivers฀or฀roads,฀in฀order฀to฀control฀the
territory.฀The฀most฀famous฀castle฀was฀the฀White฀Tower฀in฀London,฀today฀a฀part฀of฀the
Tower฀of฀London฀complex.
1 mint :฀(here)฀a฀government฀building฀where฀coins฀are฀made.
23
From฀the฀tenth฀to฀the฀twelfth฀century฀
western฀European฀architecture฀was
Romanesque.฀Norman฀architects฀from฀
France฀designed฀beautiful฀Romanesque
churches฀and฀cathedrals฀in฀England.
Durham Cathedral.
Durham Cathedral, which was built between the

eleventh and the twelfth century, is a good example
of the Romanesque style of architecture. It is an
impressive but austere building. The interior is
solemn and creates a deep sense of religious peace.
AFTER WILLIAM
William฀the฀Conqueror฀was฀king฀until฀his฀death฀in฀1087.฀Then฀his฀sons฀became
kings฀and฀his฀great-grandson฀was฀Henry฀II,฀the฀first฀Plantagenet฀king฀of
England.฀The฀period฀from฀the฀tenth฀to฀the฀fifteenth฀century฀is฀called฀the
Middle฀Ages.฀
During฀this฀period฀religion฀was฀very฀important฀in฀everyday฀life.฀The
Christian฀Church฀was฀rich฀and฀powerful,฀and฀abbeys฀and฀monasteries฀were
important฀centres฀of
learning.
Bishops฀were฀very
powerful฀and฀they฀often
quarrelled฀with฀the
king.฀The฀Archbishop฀of
Canterbury,฀Thomas฀à
Becket,฀did฀not฀agree
with฀King฀Henry฀II.
King Henry II. They฀had฀a฀violent
quarrel฀and฀in฀1170
four฀of฀the฀king’s฀knights฀killed฀Thomas฀à
Becket฀in฀Canterbury฀Cathedral.
St Thomas à Becket shown in a stained-glass window

in Canterbury Cathedral (c. 1220).
During the Gothic period, when windows in

churches became much larger, stained glass
became fashionable.
As you can see, they were made of a mosaic of
different coloured pieces of glass in a lead frame.
Go back to the text
PET
1 Read฀the฀sentences฀below฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B,฀C or฀D.
1 The฀Bayeux฀Tapestry฀is฀a฀remarkable 4 When฀Harold฀Godwinsson฀took฀the
work฀of฀art crown฀of฀England฀in฀1066,฀after฀King
Edward's฀death,
A and฀an฀important฀historical฀
painting. A there฀was฀a฀huge฀celebration.
B and฀a฀precious฀manuscript. B he฀married฀a฀Norman฀queen.
C and฀an฀extraordinary฀source฀ C William฀of฀Normandy฀prepared฀
of฀information. to฀invade฀England.
D and฀is฀now฀kept฀in฀a฀museum฀ D he฀declared฀war฀on฀the฀
in฀London. Normans.
2 The฀Bayeux฀Tapestry฀tells฀the฀story฀of฀ 5 William฀of฀Normandy฀had฀a฀strong฀army,
but฀he฀needed
A the฀Battle฀of฀Hastings฀from฀the฀฀
Norman฀point฀of฀view. A better฀weapons.
B life฀in฀medieval฀England. B more฀horses.
C the฀Viking฀invasion฀of฀eastern฀ C maps฀of฀the฀Sussex฀coast.
England. D a฀big฀enough฀fleet.
D the฀Knights฀of฀the฀Round฀Table.
6 The฀Battle฀of฀Hastings,฀which฀took฀place
3 Why฀did฀Harold฀Godwinsson฀go฀to on฀14฀October฀1066,฀฀resulted฀in฀
Normandy?
A the฀English฀Civil฀War.
A to฀declare฀war฀on฀Duke฀William฀ B an฀Anglo-Saxon฀victory.
of฀Normandy
C the฀victory฀of฀William฀the฀
B to฀ask฀for฀help฀fighting฀the฀ Conqueror.
Norwegians
D the฀victory฀of฀Edward฀the฀
C to฀marry฀a฀Norman฀princess Confessor.
D to฀promise฀to฀support฀Duke฀
William฀of฀Normandy
7 William฀the฀Conqueror฀brought
A Christianity฀to฀England.
B the฀Bayeux฀Tapestry฀to฀France.
C a฀private฀army฀to฀Normandy.
D the฀feudal฀system฀to฀England.
25
8 The฀Domesday฀Book฀was 9 Thomas฀à฀Becket,฀Archbishop฀of
Canterbury,฀was฀killed฀by฀King฀
A a฀book฀of฀prayer. Henry฀II's฀knights฀because฀he
B the฀chronicle฀of฀the฀Battle฀
of฀Hastings. A was฀too฀powerful.
C the฀story฀of฀the฀Plantagenet฀kings. B quarrelled฀violently฀with฀the฀King.
D a฀survey. C was฀dishonest.
D wanted฀to฀become฀king฀of฀
England.
2 What฀do฀you฀remember฀about฀the฀Bayeux฀Tapestry?
Look฀at฀the฀statements฀below฀and฀indicate฀if฀each฀statement฀is฀true฀(T)฀or฀false฀(F).฀
All฀the฀answers฀are฀in฀Chapter฀Two฀–฀don’t฀forget฀to฀check.
T F
1 The฀threads฀are฀made฀of฀cotton.
2 The฀panels฀are฀made฀of฀linen.
3 The฀tapestry฀is฀made฀of฀two฀panels.
4 The฀tapestry฀was฀made฀in฀about฀1077.
5 It฀was฀originally฀70฀metres฀long.
6 Part฀of฀the฀tapestry฀has฀been฀lost.฀
7 The฀threads฀have฀different฀dimensions฀according฀to฀their฀colour.
8 The฀inscriptions฀on฀the฀tapestry฀are฀in฀French.
9 The฀language฀used฀on฀the฀tapestry฀could฀be฀understood฀by฀everyone.
10 Bishop฀Odo฀put฀the฀tapestry฀up฀in฀the฀cathedral฀of฀Bayeux.
26
Time Travel
3 What฀ do฀ you฀ know฀ about฀ the฀ Middle฀ Ages฀ in฀ your฀ region?฀ Find฀ out฀ some฀ information฀ and฀ fill฀ in
this฀fact-sheet.
THE฀MIDDLE฀AGES฀IN ........................................................................................ (your฀region)
POPULATION฀ ............................................................................................................................
HEAD฀OF฀STATE฀ .......................................................................................................................
ETHNIC฀GROUPS฀.......................................................................................................................
IMPORTANT฀BUILDINGS (choose฀2)
NAME DATE ARCHITECTURAL฀STYLE FEATURES/DESCRIPTION
AN฀IMPORTANT฀EVENT (Write฀a฀short฀paragraph฀about฀an฀important฀historical฀event.฀This
could฀be฀a฀military฀event,฀or฀a฀religious฀event,฀or฀the฀making฀of฀a฀significant฀work฀of฀art.)
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
@ Go฀to฀฀www.britishhistoryart.com and฀click฀on:
Follow฀the฀links฀and฀download฀the฀file฀to฀complete฀the฀activities.
CHAPTER฀TWO
27
CHAPTER THREE
The Tudors
5 THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR
For฀more฀than฀a฀hundred฀years฀England฀was฀at฀war฀with฀France฀(1337-1453).฀This฀was
called฀the฀Hundred฀Years฀War,฀during฀which฀five฀English฀kings฀fought฀against฀five฀French
kings!฀The฀English฀kings฀wanted฀to฀get฀back฀their฀lands฀in฀France,฀but฀by฀1453฀England฀
had฀lost฀all฀its฀lands฀in฀France฀except฀for฀Calais.
The Battle of Crécy from the Hundred

Years War, 24th August 1346, showing
the English and French Armies,
Froissart’s Chronicle (late 15th Century).
At the Battle of Crécy, one of the

earliest battles of the Hundred
Years War, the English, seen here
on the right, defeated the French.
The tiny figures of the soldiers are
crowded together in a mass of
bright colours, against a
background of hills. The soldiers
are painted in an elegant style.
The taste for detail and delicate
forms, also shown in the elegant
Arabesque patterns surrounding the
page, is typical of the Gothic style.
This style was an international
artistic ‘language’ which united the
courts of Europe and accurately
expressed the chivalrous ideals of
the age.
28
The Tudors Seen Through Art
The฀Hundred฀Years฀War฀was฀interrupted฀in
1348฀by฀the฀Black฀Death.฀This฀plague, 1 which
was฀carried฀by฀rats฀from฀Asia,฀killed
thousands฀of฀people฀all฀over฀Europe฀including
about฀one฀third฀of฀the฀English฀population.
In฀1398฀Geoffrey฀Chaucer฀published฀
The฀Canterbury฀Tales,฀the฀most฀important
work฀of฀literature฀in฀English฀from฀the฀Middle
Ages.฀It฀is฀an฀excellent฀account฀
of฀fourteenth฀century฀life฀and฀customs฀in
medieval฀England.฀
The Frontispiece of an early copy of Chaucer’s Troilus

and Criseyde.
Chaucer is shown here reading a manuscript to the

court of Richard II. Note the audience’s fashionable
clothes, with their high collars, gold embroidery
and vivid colours. The miniatures shown here and
on the previous page were a valuable part of the
most precious hand-copied texts. Each manuscript
was a unique work of art.
The invention of printing in the mid fifteenth
century led to the decline of this art form. Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales was one of the first texts to be
printed in England by William Caxton. Woodcuts, 2
copies of which could be reproduced mechanically,
eventually began to replace miniatures.
THE WARS OF THE ROSES
A฀civil฀war฀began฀in฀England฀in฀1455฀between฀two฀rival
families฀who฀both฀wanted฀the฀English฀throne.฀The฀war฀was
called฀the฀Wars฀of฀the฀Roses฀because฀the฀emblem฀of฀both
families฀was฀a฀rose฀–฀the฀house฀of฀Lancaster฀had฀a฀red฀rose
and฀the฀house฀of฀York฀had฀a฀white฀one.฀When฀the฀war
finally฀finished฀in฀1485,฀Henry฀Tudor฀of฀the฀house฀of
Lancaster฀won,฀becoming฀King฀Henry฀VII.฀The฀Tudors
would฀rule฀England฀until฀1603.฀
1 plague :฀a฀contagious฀disease฀which฀kills฀many฀people.
2 Woodcuts :฀Prints฀made฀from฀designs฀cut฀in฀blocks฀of฀wood.
29
British History
HENRY VIII
In฀1509฀Henry฀VIII฀became฀King฀of฀England฀at฀the฀age฀of฀17.฀He฀was฀a฀tall,฀robust,฀athletic
young฀man฀who฀excelled฀at฀sports.฀He฀played฀several฀musical฀instruments,฀composed
music,฀spoke฀English,฀Spanish,฀French฀and฀Latin,฀and฀loved฀reading฀books.฀He฀became฀a
powerful฀leader฀and฀built฀up฀a฀strong฀army฀and฀navy.฀He฀chose฀the฀famous฀German฀artist
Hans฀Holbein฀as฀Court฀Painter฀and฀Holbein฀painted฀splendid฀portraits฀of฀Henry฀VIII฀and
his฀family.
Henry฀loved฀luxury฀and฀lavished฀a฀huge฀amount฀of฀money฀on฀splendid฀royal฀residences
and฀palaces,฀such฀as฀Whitehall฀Palace฀and฀St฀James’s฀Palace,฀home฀to฀the฀English฀court
before฀Victoria฀moved฀it฀to฀Buckingham฀Palace฀in฀the฀nineteenth฀century.
Henry's฀greatest฀desire฀was฀to฀have฀a฀son฀who฀would฀be฀king฀after฀his฀death.฀Since฀his
first฀wife,฀Catherine฀of฀Aragon,฀did฀not฀give฀him฀a฀male฀heir,฀he฀decided฀to฀divorce฀her.
The฀Catholic฀Church฀did฀not฀permit฀divorce฀and฀this฀infuriated฀him.฀In฀1534฀Henry฀left
the฀Catholic฀Church,฀founded฀the฀Church฀of฀England฀and฀became฀its฀leader.
Henry฀then฀divorced฀Catherine฀of฀Aragon฀and฀married฀Anne฀Boleyn,฀who฀gave฀him฀a
daughter,฀Elizabeth,฀but฀not฀a฀son.฀Henry฀was฀very฀displeased฀and฀accused฀Anne฀Bolyen
of฀treason 1 –฀she฀was฀soon฀beheaded.฀As฀Henry฀grew฀older฀he฀had฀severe฀health฀problems
and฀became฀a฀cruel฀tyrant,฀executing฀all฀those฀who฀did฀not฀please฀him.฀He฀had฀four฀other
wives,฀but฀when฀he฀died฀he฀had฀only฀one฀son,฀Edward.฀
Deal Castle, Kent.
Henry built castles to

defend the south coast of
England, among them
Deal Castle in Kent. Its
circular walls were
particularly effective
against artillery attacks.
They are also similar in
shape to the symbol of the
Tudor rose.
1 treason :฀a฀crime฀against฀the฀king฀or฀country.
30
Portrait of Henry VIII

by Hans Holbein the Younger
(1497/8-1543).
Our clearest idea of Henry

VIII’s personality comes
from the magnificent full-
length portrait kept at
Belvoir Castle. The German
painter Holbein shows the
king standing on an elegant
rug with an elaborate
tapestry in the background.
The king is wearing lots of
fabric: embroidered velvet,
gold cloth, a fur cape, heavy
jewellery and precious stones
making his imposing figure
even more monumental. This
display of wealth is designed
to show the king’s economic
power. To appreciate the
message in full, remember
that precious fabrics took a
long time to produce and
were extremely expensive:
formal clothing might cost as
much as a ship. Once gold
embroidery and precious
stones were added, the value
of the clothes was
incalculable.
However, the king also
wanted to be seen as a
chivalrous king. This is
shown by the dagger and the ancient French motto of the Knights of the Garter, part of which can be seen below
the king’s left knee: honi soit qui mal y pense (‘evil to him who evil thinks’).
Henry’s body is powerful, his legs are muscular, and his face dominates the painting. Athletic and handsome when
he was young, Henry became an invalid in old age due to his increasing obesity. He could not walk and had to be
carried in a special machine. Henry’s pensive eyes and firm mouth suggest his influence on international politics as
well as his cruel, troubled private life. The founder of the modern English state wanted to show all his power in this
exceptional portrait. However, the portrait is so good that it also shows us other sides of his personality and reminds
us of Machiavelli’s description of the king as ‘rich, ferocious and greedy for glory’.
31
British History
THE DISSOLUTION OF THE MONASTERIES
In฀Henry's฀time฀there฀were฀about฀850฀monasteries฀in฀England.฀As฀Head฀of฀the฀new฀Church
of฀England,฀Henry฀judged฀priests฀to฀be฀corrupt,฀and฀he฀required฀the฀monasteries’฀riches฀to
finance฀his฀extravagant฀lifestyle.฀Therefore,฀in฀1536฀he฀gave฀orders฀to฀destroy฀the
monasteries฀in฀England฀and฀take฀their฀treasures.฀Some฀monasteries฀were฀used฀as฀private
homes฀while฀others฀were฀abandoned.฀This฀was฀called฀the฀dissolution฀of฀the฀monasteries.฀
During฀this฀period฀many฀people฀were฀disillusioned฀with฀the฀Catholic฀Church,฀because฀it
was฀too฀rich฀and฀powerful.฀The฀Reformation,฀began฀by฀the฀German฀theologian฀Martin
Luther,฀divided฀Christians฀all฀over฀Europe฀and฀gave฀rise฀to฀the฀Protestant฀Church,฀which
Henry฀VIII฀adopted฀to฀secure฀his฀divorce.
A monastery in ruins.
The introduction of Protestantism in

England had a significant effect on
English art. The destruction of the
monasteries and sacred images meant
that most medieval works of art were
lost. Under Protestantism, religious
images were banned and from this
time onwards English artists began to
specialise in portraits and, later,
landscapes.
32
Go back to the text
PET
1 Decide฀if฀each฀statement฀is฀correct฀or฀incorrect.฀If฀it฀is฀correct,฀tick฀A;฀if฀it฀is฀incorrect,฀tick฀B.
A B
1 England฀was฀at฀war฀with฀France฀for฀exactly฀one฀hundred฀years.
2 The฀Black฀Death฀killed฀about฀one฀third฀of฀the฀English฀population.
3 Manuscripts฀were฀precious฀hand-copied฀texts.
4 The฀Canterbury฀Tales is฀an฀excellent฀account฀of
life฀and฀customs฀in฀fourteenth-century฀France.
5 The฀house฀of฀Lancaster฀won฀the฀Wars฀of฀the฀Roses
and฀Henry฀Tudor฀became฀King฀Henry฀VII.
6 Henry฀VIII฀was฀a฀very฀weak฀leader.
7 In฀Holbein’s฀painting฀Henry฀VIII฀displays฀his฀great฀wealth.
8 Henry฀VIII฀is฀portrayed฀as฀a฀kind฀and฀peaceful฀monarch.
9 Henry฀VIII฀divorced฀Catherine฀of฀Aragon฀because฀
she฀did฀not฀give฀him฀an฀heir,฀and฀married฀Anne฀Boleyn.
10 Deal฀Castle฀was฀built฀in฀the฀shape฀of฀a฀crown.
11 The฀dissolution฀of฀the฀monasteries฀was฀ordered฀by฀King
Henry฀VIII฀because฀he฀required฀the฀monasteries’฀wealth.฀
12 Most฀English฀medieval฀works฀of฀art฀were฀lost฀due฀to฀the฀
destruction฀of฀the฀monasteries.
13 Martin฀Luther฀was฀an฀English฀priest฀who฀began฀
the฀Reformation.
14 The฀Reformation฀gave฀rise฀to฀the฀Protestant฀Church.฀
15 All฀religious฀images฀were฀banned฀in฀the฀Protestant฀Church.
33
Henry VIII: Facts and Figures
2 What฀can฀you฀remember฀about฀Henry฀VIII?
Try฀ to฀ fill฀ in฀ as฀ much฀ of฀ this฀ fact-file฀ from฀ memory.฀ Then฀ go฀ back฀ to฀ the฀ text฀ for฀ the฀ information
you฀couldn’t฀remember.
FACT-FILE
NAME:฀Henry฀Tudor;฀Henry฀VIII฀of฀England ...............................................................
NATIONALITY:฀ ...........................................................................................................
TOTAL฀NUMBER฀OF฀WIVES:฀......................................................................................
SON’S฀NAME:฀ .............................................................................................................
DAUGHTERS’฀NAMES:฀Mary฀(by฀Catherine฀of฀Aragon)฀and฀ .......................................
.....................................................................................................................................
HEIGHT:฀ ......................................................................................................................
BODY฀BUILD:฀ ..............................................................................................................
HOBBIES:฀ ....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
LANGUAGES฀SPOKEN:฀ ...............................................................................................
FINANCIAL฀SITUATION:฀............................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
GREATEST฀DESIRE:฀ ....................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
LIKES:฀..........................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
DISLIKES:฀ ....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
3 Now฀make฀a฀fact-file฀for฀a฀significant฀historical฀figure฀from฀the฀sixteenth฀century฀in฀your฀country.
What฀similarities฀and฀differences฀can฀you฀see฀between฀him/her฀and฀Henry฀VIII?
34
The Tudor
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER฀THREE
1 Click฀on The฀Tudor฀Monarchs and฀complete฀the฀information฀below.
Henry฀VII Edward฀VI
Born:฀1457฀ Born:฀(4)฀.................
King:฀1485-(1)฀................. King:฀(5)฀.................-.................
Married:฀(2)฀................. Sisters:฀(6)฀................. and฀.................
Names฀of฀four฀of฀his฀children:฀(3)฀.............,
..............,฀.............. and฀..............
Lady฀Jane฀Grey Mary฀I
Born:฀(7)฀................. Born:฀(10)฀.................
Queen:฀(8)฀in฀................. for฀................. Queen:฀(11)฀.................-.................
days Father฀and฀mother:฀(12)฀................. and
Executed:฀(9)฀................. .................
35
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
2 Now฀go฀back฀to฀the฀home฀page฀and฀click฀on฀the฀Six฀Wives฀of฀Henry฀VIII.฀Then฀click฀on฀the
name฀of฀each฀wife.฀Read฀about฀their฀lives฀and฀match฀each฀wife฀to฀the฀correct฀information.
1 Catherine฀of฀Aragon A She฀was฀the฀sister฀of฀a฀Protestant,
German฀Duke,฀who฀was฀an฀ally฀
against฀the฀Pope฀–฀divorced.฀
2 Anne฀Boleyn B She฀was฀a฀widow฀who฀was฀
intelligent฀and฀well฀educated฀–฀
survived฀as฀his฀widow.
3 Jane฀Seymour C She฀was฀never฀formally฀crowned฀฀
as฀queen฀–฀died฀shortly฀after฀giving฀฀
birth฀to฀the฀male฀heir฀Henry฀so฀
desperately฀wanted.
4 Anne฀of฀Cleves D She฀gave฀Henry฀a฀daughter฀called฀
Mary฀–฀marriage฀declared฀invalid฀฀
by฀the฀Archbishop฀of฀Canterbury.
5 Kathryn฀Howard E She฀had฀a฀very฀impressive฀
coronation฀and฀was฀the฀mother฀of฀
Elizabeth฀I฀–฀executed,฀falsely฀
accused.
6 Kathrine฀Parr F She฀came฀from฀an฀important฀
aristocratic฀family฀and฀was฀much฀
younger฀than฀the฀king฀–฀executed,฀฀
probably฀not฀falsely฀accused.
36
CHAPTER FOUR
The Elizabethan Age

6 THE VIRGIN QUEEN
Elizabeth฀was฀the฀daughter฀of
Henry฀VIII฀and฀Anne฀Boleyn.฀She
became฀Queen฀of฀England฀in฀1558
when฀she฀was฀25฀years฀old.฀Queen
Elizabeth฀was฀a฀strong,฀intelligent
and฀dedicated฀queen.฀She฀is
remembered฀as฀one฀of฀England's
greatest฀monarchs.฀She฀never
married฀and฀was฀called฀the฀Virgin
Queen.฀She฀brought฀peace,฀unity
and฀progress฀to฀England.
Elizabeth฀commissioned฀a฀great
number฀of฀portraits฀of฀herself.
These฀portraits฀contributed฀to
ensuring฀the฀loyal฀devotion฀of
her฀subjects฀and฀to฀her
popularity.
Elizabeth I (c. 1592)

by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger.
This portrait is known as the ‘Ditchley

Portrait’. It commemorates a visit
of the Queen to Ditchley, near
Oxford, the home of Sir Henry
Lee. For this reason, Elizabeth’s
feet touch Oxfordshire on the map.
The sunshine coming out of the
stormy clouds is a symbol of the Queen’s forgiveness for Lee, who had previously displeased her with
his love for the beautiful Anne Vavasour.
However, the painting has other less private meanings, too. The Ditchley Portrait shows Elizabeth
standing on a globe with her feet placed on a detailed map of her kingdom. Rarely in the history of
European art has the actual 'contact' between a monarch and her territory been so explicitly depicted.
The Ditchley Portrait gives us a clear picture of Elizabeth's power, which was also exceptional because
it belonged to a woman in a male-dominated society.
British History
T
Detail of the Queen’s feet touching the map of England.
At฀that฀time฀the฀English฀often฀had฀portraits฀of฀Elizabeth฀in฀their฀homes฀and฀some฀wore
miniatures฀of฀the฀Queen฀on฀necklaces!฀By฀analysing฀Elizabeth's฀portraits฀we฀can฀learn
many฀things฀about฀her฀personality฀and฀her฀historical฀period.฀
During฀the฀Elizabethan฀Age฀many฀important฀events฀took฀place.฀English฀explorers฀sailed
the฀seas฀of฀the฀world฀to฀look฀for฀new฀lands฀to฀set฀up 1 colonies.฀In฀1584฀Sir฀Walter
Raleigh’s฀ships฀explored฀the฀southern฀part฀of฀the฀east฀coast฀of฀North฀America.฀His฀men
founded฀the฀new฀colony฀of฀Virginia฀in฀honour฀of฀Elizabeth,฀the฀Virgin฀Queen.฀They
brought฀tobacco,฀potatoes฀and฀other฀riches฀back฀to฀England.
Sir฀Francis฀Drake฀was฀a฀sea฀captain฀and฀a฀great฀explorer.฀He฀became฀the฀first฀Englishman
to฀circumnavigate฀the฀world฀between฀1577฀and฀1580.฀Drake฀was฀also฀a฀'privateer';฀he฀took
treasures฀from฀Spanish฀ships฀that฀returned฀from฀America฀and฀then฀gave฀the฀riches฀to
Queen฀Elizabeth.฀She฀was฀very฀pleased฀and฀made฀him฀a฀knight!
Mary฀Stuart,฀Queen฀of฀Scots,฀was฀Elizabeth's฀cousin฀and฀a฀devout฀Catholic.฀Elizabeth
knew฀that฀many฀Catholics฀in฀England฀wanted฀Mary฀Stuart฀to฀be฀their฀queen฀so฀she฀put
Mary฀in฀prison฀for฀19฀years.฀In฀1587,฀Mary฀was฀accused฀of฀treason฀and฀was฀beheaded.
THE SPANISH ARMADA
When฀the฀Catholic฀King฀Philip฀II฀of฀Spain฀heard฀this฀news฀he฀was฀furious.฀He฀decided฀to
invade฀England฀and฀take฀the฀throne฀from฀Elizabeth.
In฀May฀1588฀an฀Armada฀of฀130฀ships฀and฀about฀28,000฀men฀left฀Spain฀for฀England.฀Duke฀
Medina฀of฀Sidonia฀commanded฀the฀Spanish฀Armada.฀There฀were฀bad฀storms฀at฀sea฀and
many฀ships฀lost฀their฀supplies.฀
1 set฀up฀:฀establish.
38
The Elizabethan Age Seen Through Art
England฀had฀a฀fleet฀of฀160฀smaller฀ships฀and฀about฀14,000฀men.฀The฀English฀ships฀were
faster฀and฀had฀better฀guns.฀Lord฀Howard฀of฀Effingham฀commanded฀the฀English฀fleet.฀Sir
Francis฀Drake,฀Sir฀John฀Hawkins฀and฀Martin฀Frobisher฀were฀the฀other฀captains.฀
The฀English฀fleet฀attacked฀the฀Spanish฀Armada฀at฀Plymouth,฀after฀which฀the฀Armada฀went
to฀Calais,฀France.฀The฀English฀sent฀8฀fireships 1 into฀Calais฀harbour.฀When฀the฀Spanish฀saw
the฀blazing 2 fireships฀they฀escaped฀from฀Calais฀and฀the฀English฀attacked฀the฀Armada฀again.
The฀battle฀was฀a฀long,฀difficult฀one.฀In฀the฀end,฀the฀Armada฀was฀defeated฀and฀returned฀to
Spain฀with฀only฀67฀ships.฀This฀was฀a฀glorious฀victory฀for฀the฀English,฀but฀it฀was฀a
tremendous฀humiliation฀for฀the฀Spanish.฀After฀this฀defeat฀Spain฀slowly฀lost฀its฀sea฀power.
1 fireships฀:฀ships฀deliberately฀set฀on฀fire฀to฀burn฀other฀ships.
2 blazing฀:฀burning.
Launch of Fireships Against the Armada (16th century) by anonymous painter of the Dutch School.
39
British History
T
The Armada Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (c. 1588) by George Gower, Woburn Abbey.
The Armada Portrait was painted to celebrate England’s victory over the Spanish Armada.
In this painting two different moments of the sea battle can be seen in the background.
A daylight scene represents the Spanish fleet advancing on a clear sea, confident of victory.
The night scene shows the defeat of the Armada in the English Channel.
The Elizabethan painters were not interested in naturalism. They did not depict reality in their
paintings, as artists did in the Italian Renaissance (Leonardo, Raffaello and Michelangelo). The
English painters concentrated on the symbols and emblems present in their works.
40
Elizabeth’s hand is
on the globe. Her
fingers are touching
the Americas, where
Sir Walter Raleigh
established the
Virginia colony.
A small statue of a
sea creature is shown
on her left. In this
painting Elizabeth is
represented as the
ruler of both land
and sea.
In the foreground you can see the Queen.

Her face is eternally young and there are
no shadows on it. No painting or drawing
of the Queen circulated without her
permission. This explains why in most of
her portraits she looks more or less the
same age.
The Queen’s magnificent gown is made of
velvet and silk and decorated with pearls
and gold.
During฀part฀of฀her฀reign฀Elizabeth฀was฀at
war฀with฀other฀countries฀to฀defend
England's฀grandeur฀and฀power.
However,฀above฀all฀else,฀Elizabeth฀loved
the฀arts฀and฀the฀refined฀life฀of฀her฀court,
which฀prospered฀during฀times฀of฀peace.
41
Elizabeth I (c.1600) attributed to Isaac Oliver.
In the ‘Rainbow Portrait’ Elizabeth wears a gown embroidered with wild flowers,
a bright orange cloak and an extremely large transparent collar. She has a very
elaborate headdress and lots of pearls. The resulting image is that of an ageless
goddess (Elizabeth was in her late sixties when the portrait was made).
THE ‘RAINBOW PORTRAIT’
In฀keeping฀with฀her฀elegant฀taste,฀Elizabeth฀commissioned฀the฀‘Rainbow฀Portrait’,฀one฀of
her฀most฀astonishing฀portraits.฀The฀portrait฀itself฀is฀a฀bit฀of฀a฀riddle 1 where฀every฀detail
has฀a฀symbolic฀meaning.฀
1 riddle :฀mystery.
42
The฀rainbow฀that฀the฀Queen฀holds฀in฀her฀hand฀is฀accompanied฀by
the฀Latin฀motto฀Non฀sine฀sole฀iris฀(‘No฀rainbow฀without฀the฀sun’).
The฀sun฀is฀the฀symbol฀of฀peace,฀under฀which฀beauty฀can฀flourish.
The serpent on the Queen’s left-hand sleeve, made of pearls and

precious stones, is the traditional symbol of wisdom. 1 The serpent is
holding a ruby-shaped heart, meaning that the Queen's heart is
dominated by wisdom.
Look at the eyes and ears that

appear on her orange cloak.
They indicate fame since
Elizabeth was known all over the
world. However, according to
some experts, the eyes and ears
have a more alarming meaning.
They reveal her complete
knowledge of all that was
happening in her kingdom,
thanks to her counsellors who
informed her of everything.
QUEEN ELIZABETH AND THE ARTS
Queen฀Elizabeth฀was฀a฀patron฀of฀the฀theatre฀and฀the
arts.฀Her฀court฀became฀a฀centre฀for฀musicians,
playwrights฀and฀artists.฀Theatres฀opened฀in฀London.฀
People฀from฀all฀social฀classes฀went฀to฀the฀theatre,
which฀became฀a฀popular฀form฀of฀entertainment.
William฀Shakespeare฀(1564-1616),฀the฀famous฀English
poet฀and฀playwright,฀lived฀during฀the฀Elizabethan฀Age.
His฀theatrical฀company฀performed฀at฀the฀famous฀Globe
Theatre฀and฀at฀Elizabeth's฀court.฀Shakespeare฀was฀the
Notice that in these portraits
the Queen is wearing extremely most฀popular฀playwright฀of฀his฀time.฀Other฀important
expensive gowns and a great poets฀and฀writers฀were฀Edmund฀Spenser,฀Ben฀Jonson
number of precious jewels. and฀Christopher฀Marlowe.
1 wisdom :฀deep฀understanding฀and฀knowledge฀of฀life.
43
British History
During฀Elizabeth’s฀rule฀the
English฀economy฀expanded.
London,฀Liverpool,฀Bristol฀
and฀other฀seaports฀grew฀in
size฀and฀importance.฀The
cloth฀and฀coal฀industries
became฀a฀substantial฀part฀of
the฀economy.฀Coal฀was
used฀in฀the฀production฀of
iron,฀bricks฀and฀glass.฀
Queen฀Elizabeth฀died฀in
1603.฀She฀was฀the฀last
Tudor฀monarch.฀She฀named
Mary฀Stuart's฀son,฀King
James฀VI฀of฀Scotland,฀as฀
her฀successor.฀England฀was
now฀a฀prosperous฀and
respected฀European฀power.
The Globe Theatre (c. 1600).
The name, the ‘Globe’, conveys

the sense of universal appeal
that this open air theatre had.
We know it attracted people
from all social classes: from
servants to noble lords. It was
built on the south bank of the
Thames in an area notorious for
public entertainment, because
the city authorities considered
plays immoral and so theatres
were built outside the city.
44
Go back to the text
PET
1 Read฀the฀passage฀below฀and฀choose฀the฀correct฀word฀A,฀B,฀C or฀D for฀each฀space.฀
The฀first฀is฀done฀for฀you.
D
Elizabeth฀I฀1.......฀queen฀when฀she฀was฀25฀years฀old.฀She฀is฀probably฀the฀greatest฀monarch
2.......฀the฀history฀of฀the฀British฀Isles,฀and฀while฀she฀was฀queen฀there฀were฀famous
examples฀of฀expansion฀of฀her฀territory฀and฀of฀knowledge฀of฀the฀world.฀Sir฀Walter฀Raleigh
was฀an฀3.......฀and฀4.......฀the฀colony฀of฀Virginia฀in฀North฀America.฀Sir฀Francis฀Drake
circumnavigated฀the฀world฀5.......฀1577฀and฀1580.
Mary฀Stuart,฀Elizabeth's฀Catholic฀cousin,฀was฀6.......฀of฀treason฀and฀beheaded฀in฀1587.฀This
made฀King฀Philip฀II฀of฀Spain฀7.......฀and฀he฀decided฀to฀8.......฀England฀in฀1588.฀The฀English
9.......฀was฀faster฀and฀had฀better฀10.......฀After฀several฀11.......฀the฀Spanish฀Armada฀was
finally฀12....... .
Elizabeth’s฀time฀is฀known฀for฀the฀arts฀as฀well฀as฀for฀exploration฀and฀military฀success.฀The
world-famous฀playwright฀William฀Shakespeare฀wrote฀many฀of฀his฀plays฀13.......฀the
Elizabethan฀Age,฀when฀the฀theatre฀was฀14.......฀a฀popular฀15.......฀of฀entertainment.฀
Elizabeth฀died฀in฀1603,฀and฀her฀successor฀was฀James฀VI฀of฀Scotland.
1 A crowned B were C made D became

2 A of B during C in D for
3 A actor B explorer C engineer D artist
4 A founded B found C got D find
5 A in B between C from D among
6 A blamed B condemned C charged D accused
7 A happy B angry C worried D confused
8 A destroy B accuse C invade D go
9 A fleet B army C action D force
10 A captains B weather C supplies D guns
11 A voyages B battles C advances D quarrels
12 A defeated B lost C in D burnt
13 A between B from C during D among
14 A become B becoming C became D becomes
15 A space B shape C form D patron
45
PET
2 You฀are฀a฀sailor฀on฀one฀of฀Sir฀Walter฀Raleigh’s฀ships฀which฀have฀landed฀in฀the฀new฀colony฀
of฀Virginia.
You฀are฀writing฀a฀letter฀home.
You฀want฀to฀describe฀the฀sea฀voyage฀and฀the฀landing฀in฀Virginia.
Complete฀the฀letter฀using฀about฀100฀words.
Dear ..................,
After many weeks at sea we have landed in the new colony of Virginia .............................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
CHAPTER฀FOUR
46
In฀1604฀James฀I฀asked฀54฀scholars฀
to฀write฀a฀new฀translation฀of฀the฀Bible฀in
simple฀English฀so฀that฀more฀people฀could
read฀it.฀The฀King฀James฀Bible฀was฀finally
ready฀in฀1611.
Important฀discoveries฀were฀being฀made฀in
science.฀Francis฀Bacon฀(1561-1626)
developed฀a฀new฀approach฀to฀studying
science฀through฀observation,
experimentation฀and฀measurement,฀
a฀method฀still฀used฀today.฀
The฀Virginia฀Company฀was฀established฀by
James฀I฀with฀the฀purpose฀of฀exploring฀and
setting฀up฀colonies฀in฀North฀America.฀In
1607฀Captain฀John฀Smith฀and฀his฀men
arrived฀on฀the฀east฀coast฀of฀America฀and
The title page of Francis Bacon’s Instauratio Magna

(1620).
The illustration on the title page of Instauratio

Magna by Francis Bacon shows a ship sailing
past the Pillars of Hercules, thought to be the end
of the world in ancient times. This symbolised
man’s new interest in exploring the world.
founded฀the฀colony฀of฀Jamestown,฀in
honour฀of฀the฀king.฀This฀was฀the฀beginning
of฀the฀English฀colonisation฀of฀America.฀
William฀Shakespeare฀wrote฀many฀of฀his
most฀famous฀plays฀during฀King฀James฀I’s
reign.฀People฀from฀all฀social฀classes
enjoyed฀going฀to฀the฀theatre฀to฀applaud
Shakespeare's฀and฀Ben฀Jonson's฀plays.
Industries฀and฀trade฀grew฀rapidly,
particularly฀in฀the฀towns฀of฀Sheffield,
Birmingham฀and฀Manchester. A Map of the Western Hemisphere (1546).
48
The Stuart
RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL CONFLICT
Seen Through Art
Religious฀intolerance฀between฀Catholics฀and฀Protestants฀grew.฀Severe฀laws฀against฀Catholics
were฀passed฀that฀banned 1 religious฀services฀and฀banished 2 Catholic฀priests.฀A฀group฀of฀12
Catholics฀secretly฀planned฀their฀revenge฀–฀they฀decided฀to฀assassinate฀King฀James฀and฀blow
up฀the฀Protestant฀Parliament฀on฀5฀November฀1605.฀In฀order฀to฀carry฀out฀their฀plan,฀the
plotters฀placed฀30฀barrels฀of฀gunpowder฀under฀the฀Parliament.฀Guy฀(Guido)฀Fawkes฀was฀a
Catholic฀soldier฀who฀was฀going฀to฀light฀the฀explosives.฀The฀barrels฀were฀discovered฀in฀a
cellar฀under฀the฀Parliament฀and฀Guy฀Fawkes฀was฀arrested.฀He฀was฀tortured,฀but฀he฀did฀not
reveal฀the฀names฀of฀the฀other฀plotters.฀Later,฀some฀of฀the฀others฀were฀captured฀and฀executed
together฀with฀Guy฀Fawkes.฀The฀Gunpowder฀Plot฀had฀failed฀miserably.฀
The฀Puritans,฀a฀strict฀group฀of฀Protestants,฀were฀persecuted฀because฀of฀their฀religious
beliefs;฀therefore฀they฀decided฀to฀leave฀England฀and฀go฀to฀America,฀where฀they฀could
practice฀their฀religion฀freely.฀King฀James฀agreed฀to฀let฀them฀go,฀and฀in฀November฀1620
they฀arrived฀on฀the฀north-east฀coast฀of฀America฀where฀they฀founded฀the฀colony฀of
Plymouth,฀which฀flourished฀and฀became฀a฀prosperous฀American฀colony.฀The฀Puritans฀are
considered฀the฀Founding฀Fathers฀of฀the฀United฀States฀of฀America.฀
Religious฀problems฀continued฀between฀Catholics฀and฀Protestants.฀When฀King฀James฀I฀died
in฀1625฀his฀son฀Charles฀became฀the฀second฀Stuart฀king.฀Charles฀I฀married฀a฀French,
Catholic฀princess,฀and฀Parliament฀did฀not฀approve฀his฀choice฀as฀they฀were฀afraid฀he
would฀bring฀back฀the฀Roman฀Catholic฀religion.฀Parliament฀tried฀to฀limit฀King฀Charles'
power,฀but฀he,฀like฀his฀father,฀believed฀that฀a฀king฀ruled฀by฀Divine฀Right.฀Therefore,฀in
1629฀he฀dismissed฀Parliament฀and฀ruled฀without฀it฀for฀eleven฀years.
In฀1640฀Charles฀called฀Parliament฀together฀again฀because฀he฀was฀in฀desperate฀need฀of
money฀to฀fight฀a฀war฀against฀the฀Scots.฀Parliament฀decided฀to฀limit฀the฀king's฀power฀and
refused฀him฀money฀until฀he฀changed฀his฀policies.฀Charles฀was฀infuriated฀and฀in฀1642฀he
tried฀to฀arrest฀certain฀parliamentary฀leaders฀who฀opposed฀him,฀but฀they฀managed฀to฀escape
and฀set฀up฀their฀own฀army฀outside฀London.฀The฀rivalry฀between฀Parliament฀and฀the
monarchy฀gave฀rise฀to฀the฀Civil฀War,฀one฀of฀the฀most฀violent฀upheavals 3 in฀British฀history.
Puritans,฀Members฀of฀Parliament฀and฀working฀people฀who฀disliked฀paying฀the฀king’s
taxes฀were฀known฀as฀‘Roundheads’฀and฀fought฀against฀the฀King.฀Their฀main฀area฀of
support฀was฀in฀the฀south฀and฀east.฀Catholics,฀the฀nobility฀and฀people฀who฀opposed
Parliament฀were฀known฀as฀‘Royalists’฀or฀‘Cavaliers’฀and฀fought฀with฀King฀Charles฀I.฀Their
main฀area฀of฀support฀was฀in฀the฀north฀and฀west.
The฀leader฀of฀the฀parliamentary฀forces฀was฀Oliver฀Cromwell,฀a฀Puritan฀with฀a฀strong
personality.฀After฀initial฀Royalist฀successes,฀he฀led฀a฀well-organised฀army฀called฀the฀‘New
Model฀Army’,฀and฀won฀many฀important฀battles.฀In฀June฀1646฀the฀Royalists฀surrendered฀at
Oxford฀and฀King฀Charles฀I฀was฀taken฀prisoner.฀After฀a฀seven-day฀trial฀for฀treason฀he฀was
found฀guilty฀and฀executed฀in฀public฀on฀30฀January฀1649.
1 banned฀:฀did฀not฀allow. 3 upheavals :฀sudden฀disruptive฀changes.

2 banished :฀sent฀away฀as฀an฀official฀punishment.
The Great Piece (1632) by Anthony Van Dyck.
This grand idealised painting shows the king with his wife and family, a pictorial document of the
Stuart dynasty. Van Dyck, painter at the court of Charles I, was excellent at capturing the true
personality of his subjects, as well as their noble background. He shows the king and his family in
natural poses with the young Prince of Wales at his father’s knee, and emphasises family ties as
well as royal connections.
One of Van Dyck’s greatest talents was his ability to capture the spontaneity of the subjects
without diminishing the dignity of their role. Although the king and queen are idealised, they
appear vibrant and very much alive.
50
The Execution of Charles I at Whitehall by Gonzales Coques (1614-1684).
The execution scene was painted from the point of view of the crowd. The king was taken to the
Banqueting Hall, where the Baroque master Rubens had painted his father, James I, and then to the
scaffold in front of a window of the palace, where he was executed.
After the execution of Charles I, Britain broke off contact with the Baroque artistic culture of the
continent. An era of very rigorous, ‘honest’ painting followed.
For฀the฀first฀and฀last฀time฀in฀its฀history,฀Britain฀was฀governed฀as฀a
republic฀known฀as฀the฀Commonwealth.฀Oliver฀Cromwell฀was
made฀Lord฀Protector฀of฀England,฀Scotland,฀Ireland฀and฀the
colonies.฀The฀Protectorate฀was฀a฀period฀of฀Puritanism฀–
dancing฀and฀drinking฀were฀forbidden฀in฀public฀and
theatres฀were฀closed.฀When฀Cromwell฀died฀in฀1658฀his
son,฀Richard,฀became฀the฀new฀Lord฀Protector.
However,฀he฀was฀not฀very฀popular.฀In฀1660฀Charles฀I’s
son,฀Charles฀II,฀was฀invited฀to฀return฀from฀abroad฀to
become฀King.
Oliver Cromwell (1649) by Samuel Cooper.
Oliver Cromwell had very different ideas on art from Charles I.

He asked Cooper, who painted this portrait, to show all his
defects, otherwise he would not pay him for his work. He
wanted to be seen as he really was.
Go back to the text
PET
1 Read฀the฀sentences฀below฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B,฀C฀or฀D.
1 When฀King฀James฀I฀ascended฀the฀English฀throne฀in฀1603฀he
A had฀been฀victorious฀in฀many฀wars.
B had฀already฀been฀King฀of฀Scotland฀for฀36฀years.
C was฀very฀popular฀with฀Protestants฀and฀Catholics.
D had฀already฀been฀King฀of฀France฀for฀36฀years.
2 James฀I฀set฀up฀the฀Virginia฀Company฀and
A his฀son,฀Charles฀I,฀explored฀the฀east฀coast฀of฀America.
B many฀Catholics฀went฀to฀live฀in฀America.
C Francis฀Bacon฀founded฀Jamestown.
D the฀English฀colonisation฀of฀American฀began.
3 The฀most฀significant฀image฀we฀have฀of฀James฀I฀is฀the฀painting฀by
A Holbein. B Van฀Dyck.
C Rubens. D Francis฀Bacon.
4 The฀artist฀who฀painted฀James฀I฀used฀
A a฀realistic฀style. B a฀symbolic฀style.
C an฀abstract฀style. D a฀classical฀style.
5 Guy฀Fawkes฀and฀other฀Catholics฀
A planned฀the฀Gunpowder฀Plot.
B passed฀severe฀laws฀against฀Protestants.
C wanted฀to฀assassinate฀King฀Charles฀I.
D had฀an฀important฀gunpowder฀industry฀in฀Manchester.
6 A฀strict฀group฀of฀Protestants฀known฀as฀Puritans
A planned฀to฀blow฀up฀the฀Parliament.
B were฀arrested฀and฀later฀executed.
C left฀England฀and฀went฀to฀live฀in฀the฀colony฀of฀Jamestown฀in฀America.
D left฀England฀and฀founded฀the฀colony฀of฀Plymouth฀in฀America.
7 Since฀King฀Charles฀I฀believed฀that฀a฀king฀ruled฀by฀Divine฀Right,฀he
A spent฀a฀lot฀of฀money฀on฀banquets฀and฀fine฀clothes.
B dismissed฀Parliament฀and฀ruled฀without฀it฀for฀eleven฀years.
C founded฀his฀own฀church.
D arrested฀all฀Catholics.
52
8 King฀Charles’฀behaviour฀created฀rivalry฀between฀the฀monarchy฀and฀
A the฀Parliament,฀which฀resulted฀in฀the฀Civil฀War.
B the฀Church฀of฀England.
C France,฀which฀resulted฀in฀a฀war.
D the฀Catholic฀Church.
9 Van฀Dyck฀was฀a฀famous฀painter
A at฀the฀court฀of฀James฀I.
B at฀the฀court฀of฀Charles฀I.
C of฀Oliver฀Cromwell’s฀family.
D at฀the฀French฀court.฀
10 The฀artist฀who฀painted฀Charles฀I฀was฀very฀good฀at
A depicting฀animals.
B creating฀war฀scenes.
C painting฀landscapes.
D showing฀the฀true฀character฀of฀his฀subjects.
11 Puritans,฀Members฀of฀Parliament฀and฀working฀people฀were฀known฀as
A Roundheads,฀and฀fought฀with฀King฀Charles.
B Royalists,฀and฀fought฀with฀Parliament.
C Royalists,฀and฀fought฀with฀Oliver฀Cromwell.
D Roundheads,฀and฀fought฀with฀Parliament.
12 Catholics,฀the฀upper฀classes,฀and฀people฀who฀opposed฀Parliament฀were฀known฀as
A Royalists,฀and฀fought฀with฀Parliament.
B Roundheads,฀and฀fought฀with฀Oliver฀Cromwell.
C Royalists,฀and฀fought฀with฀King฀Charles.
D Roundheads,฀and฀fought฀with฀King฀Charles.
13 In฀June฀1646฀the฀Royalists฀surrendered฀and฀King฀Charles฀
A was฀accused฀of฀treason฀and฀executed.
B was฀accused฀of฀treason฀and฀later฀released.
C escaped฀to฀France฀with฀his฀wife.
D became฀Lord฀Protector฀of฀the฀Commonwealth.
14 Oliver฀Cromwell,฀the฀strong฀Puritan฀leader,฀was฀made
A Lord฀Protector฀of฀England.
B Lord฀Protector฀of฀the฀Commonwealth.
C an฀honorary฀Member฀of฀Parliament.
D President฀of฀the฀Protectorate.
53
2 Look฀at฀these฀examples฀of฀the฀active฀and฀the฀passive.
Active –฀Shakespeare,฀Ben฀Jonson,฀John฀Webster฀and฀others฀wrote฀many฀plays฀during฀King฀James’฀reign.
Passive฀–฀Many฀plays฀were฀written฀during฀King฀James’฀reign.
We฀ use฀ the฀ passive฀ when฀ we฀ want฀ to฀ eliminate฀ the฀ subject.฀ We฀ sometimes฀ want฀ to฀ eliminate฀ the
subject฀because฀we฀do฀not฀want฀to฀focus฀on฀it฀(in฀the฀passive฀example฀above฀the฀focus฀is฀on฀the฀plays,
not฀the฀writers).฀To฀make฀the฀past฀simple฀passive,฀use฀was/were or฀could฀be with฀the฀past฀participle.
Change฀the฀following฀sentences฀from฀active฀to฀passive.฀Eliminate฀the฀subjects.
1 People฀from฀all฀social฀classes฀enjoyed฀the฀plays฀of฀฀Shakespeare฀and฀Ben฀Jonson.
.............................................................................................................................................
2 James฀I฀set฀up฀the฀Virginia฀Company฀with฀the฀purpose฀of฀exploring฀North฀America.
.............................................................................................................................................
3 Under฀James฀I,฀Parliament฀passed฀severe฀laws฀against฀Catholics.
.............................................................................................................................................
4 People฀could฀practise฀all฀religions฀freely฀in฀the฀colonies.
.............................................................................................................................................
5 During฀King฀James’s฀reign฀scientists฀made฀important฀discoveries.
.............................................................................................................................................
6 The฀Parliamentary฀forces฀found฀Charles฀I฀guilty฀of฀treason฀and฀executed฀him฀on฀30฀January฀1649.
.............................................................................................................................................
7 For฀ten฀years,฀from฀1649฀till฀1659,฀Oliver฀Cromnwell฀and฀his฀son,฀Richard฀Cromwell,฀governed
Britain฀as฀a฀Commonwealth.
.............................................................................................................................................
8 In฀1660฀Royalist฀sympathisers฀invited฀the฀son฀of฀Charles฀I฀to฀return฀from฀abroad฀and฀become฀king.
.............................................................................................................................................
3 Rubens฀ and฀ Van฀ Dyck฀ were฀ contemporaries.฀ Go฀ back฀ to฀ pages฀ 47฀ and฀ 50฀ and฀ look฀ at฀ the฀ two
paintings฀carefully.฀
1 What฀are฀the฀similarities฀and฀what฀are฀the฀differences?
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
2 Which฀painting฀do฀you฀prefer฀and฀why?
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
54
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER฀FIVE
1 Click฀on฀Cromwell฀time-line฀and฀put฀the฀events฀in฀the฀right฀order฀with฀the฀correct฀date.
1644฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1653฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1642฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1650฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1648฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1616฀฀฀฀฀฀
1645฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1657฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1643฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1649฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1640฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀1654
Lieutenant฀General฀of฀the฀New฀Model฀Army
General฀of฀army฀sent฀to฀crush฀Scotland
Colonel฀in฀the฀Eastern฀Association฀Army
Student฀at฀Sidney฀Sussex฀College,฀Cambridge
Refuses฀Parliament’s฀offer฀of฀the฀crown฀and฀remains฀Lord฀Protector
Supports฀trial฀and฀execution฀of฀King฀Charles฀I
Member฀of฀Parliament฀for฀Cambridge
Crushes฀royalist฀uprising฀in฀south฀Wales
Meets฀first฀Protectorate฀Parliament
Battle฀of฀Marston฀Moor
Dissolves฀Parliament฀and฀becomes฀Lord฀Protector฀
Raises฀troops฀for฀Parliament
Where฀is฀Cromwell’s฀body?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
55
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
2 Click฀on Cromwell฀–฀a฀brief฀biography฀and฀then฀click฀on฀Cromwell฀the฀Soldier฀and฀decide
if฀these฀statements฀are฀true฀(T)฀or฀false฀(F).
T F
1 Cromwell฀was฀an฀officer฀in฀the฀parliamentary฀army฀from฀the฀
beginning฀of฀the฀war.
2 In฀1643฀Cromwell฀became฀a฀colonel฀and฀was฀given฀his฀
own฀infantry฀regiment.
3 Cromwell฀lost฀East฀Anglia฀and฀the฀East฀Midlands฀to฀the฀
royalist฀army.
4 The฀Eastern฀Association฀Army฀was฀the฀most฀competent฀
of฀the฀parliamentary฀forces.
5 The฀Battle฀of฀Marston฀Moor฀gave฀Parliament฀control฀
of฀the฀south฀Midlands.
6 Cromwell’s฀campaign฀in฀the฀Home฀Counties฀was฀not฀
very฀successful.
7 Cromwell฀was฀given฀command฀of฀the฀New฀Model฀Army฀
before฀the฀Battle฀of฀Naseby.
8 The฀Battle฀of฀Naseby฀was฀the฀decisive฀battle฀of฀the฀war฀
in฀the฀Midlands.
9 Cromwell฀was฀not฀very฀successful฀against฀the฀rebel฀army฀
in฀South฀Wales.
10 At฀the฀Battle฀of฀Worcester฀Cromwell฀was฀defeated฀by฀a฀
Scottish฀Royalist฀army.
11 Cromwell฀always฀believed฀that฀God฀was฀responsible฀for฀
his฀military฀successes.
12 Historians฀think฀Cromwell฀was฀successful฀because฀of฀
his฀use฀of฀cavalry.
56
Before you read
PET
8 1 Listen฀to฀the฀first฀part฀of฀Chapter฀Six฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B฀or฀C.
1 Where฀was฀Charles฀II฀exiled? 4 Two฀disasters฀hit฀London฀between
A Scotland A September฀1665฀and฀June฀1666.
B Wales B June฀1665฀and฀September฀1666.
C France C July฀1665฀and฀October฀1666.
2 Why฀was฀the฀Royal฀Society฀founded? 5 What฀carried฀the฀plague฀of฀1665฀in
London?
A to฀help฀young,฀talented฀painters
B to฀encourage฀the฀study฀of฀science A rats
C to฀promote฀a฀new฀version฀of฀the฀ B cats
Bible C fire
3 What฀did฀Robert฀Hooke฀invent? 6 Where฀did฀the฀Great฀Fire฀of฀London฀start?
A the฀compound฀microscope A in฀a฀church
B the฀first฀fire฀engine B in฀a฀bookshop
C the฀reflecting฀telescope C in฀a฀bakery
7 How฀long฀did฀the฀fire฀in฀London฀burn?
A fifteen฀days
B five฀days
C nine฀days
8 Who฀was฀Christopher฀Wren?
A an฀explorer
B an฀architect
C a฀musician
57
CHAPTER 6
The Restoration
8 SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS
Charles฀II฀returned฀to฀Britain
after฀his฀exile฀in฀France฀in฀1660.
The฀monarchy฀was฀restored,
much฀to฀the฀joy฀of฀the฀British
people,฀who฀were฀happy฀to฀have
a฀king฀after฀the฀strict฀Puritan฀rule
of฀Cromwell.
The฀seventeenth฀century฀was
marked฀by฀great฀progress฀in
science.฀The฀Royal฀Society฀was
founded฀to฀encourage฀the฀study
of฀science฀and฀one฀of฀its฀most
illustrious฀members฀was฀Sir
Isaac฀Newton,฀who฀made
outstanding฀discoveries฀in฀the
fields฀of฀mathematics฀and
physics.฀
He฀discovered฀the฀law฀of฀gravity Charles II (1661) by Michael Wright.
and฀invented฀the฀reflecting
The terrible battles fought before the Restoration meant that
telescope.฀Newton฀also฀performed
Charles II wanted a highly symbolic portrait which would show that
experiments฀to฀show฀that฀sunlight
he had retaken the throne. This portrait shares some characteristics
is฀made฀up฀of฀separate฀colours. with Holbein’s painting of Henry VIII (see page 31).
During฀this฀period฀the฀compound Charles was painted sitting on his throne, wearing very expensive
microscope฀was฀invented฀by clothes and priceless jewellery. They were made especially for his
Robert฀Hooke,฀another฀famous coronation in 1661 and cost more than £30,000, an enormous sum.
scientist.฀ Some of his clothes, such as the wide lace collar and ornate tights,
were extremely fashionable. The orb 1 and cross reflect ancient
royal traditions, showing that the royal dynasty had now been
1 orb :฀a฀golden฀globe฀with฀a฀cross฀on฀top. restored following the beheading of Charles I.
58
The Restoration Seen Through Art
Newton (c. 1795) by William Blake.
Fifty years after his death, Newton’s genius was captured in this portrait by the visionary poet and
painter William Blake. It is not a realistic image, but instead symbolises the scientist’s great
ability to rationalise and understand the workings of the universe. Inspired by classical models
and Michelangelo, the young nude is holding a compass, which shows how we can understand
Nature by using reason and mathematics.
CATASTROPHE AND THE NEW CITY
Between฀June฀1665฀and฀September฀1666฀two฀terrible฀catastrophes฀hit฀London.฀
The฀first฀catastrophe฀was฀the฀plague฀of฀1665,฀carried฀by฀rats฀in฀the฀dirty,฀crowded฀
streets฀of฀London,฀which฀caused฀the฀death฀of฀about฀100,000฀Londoners.
Then฀on฀Sunday,฀2฀September฀1666฀a฀fire฀started฀in฀a฀bakery฀in฀Pudding฀Lane.฀It฀soon
spread฀very฀quickly.฀It฀burnt฀for฀five฀days฀and฀destroyed฀most฀of฀the฀City’s฀wooden
buildings,฀and฀St.฀Paul’s฀Cathedral.฀Following฀the฀Great฀Fire฀all฀new฀buildings฀were฀
built฀of฀brick฀and฀stone.
59
British History
The Great Fire of London (1666) by anonymous painter of the Dutch School.
In this painting, London is hidden by the terrible flames and thick black smoke of the Great Fire.
On the right, people are escaping from the fire and trying to save their property. Samuel Pepys,
who witnessed the event, wrote that he saw ‘poor people ... running into boats, sick people carried
away in beds’. Although it is estimated that the Great Fire killed fewer than 20 people, it
destroyed about 460 streets, more than 13,000 houses and nearly 90 churches. It changed the face
of London forever.
King฀Charles฀II฀asked฀the฀great฀architect฀Christopher฀Wren฀to฀design฀a฀new฀capital.฀
Wren฀designed฀many฀churches฀and฀public฀buildings฀in฀the฀classical฀style,฀but฀his
masterpiece฀was฀St.฀Paul’s฀Cathedral฀(started฀1675฀–฀finished฀1710)฀with฀its฀magnificent
END dome.
60
View of London: The Thames from Somerset House

toward the City (1750-1) by Canaletto.
One of the best views of the River Thames

was painted in 1750 by the Venetian artist
Canaletto, who spent 10 years in London.
On the left you can see St. Paul’s Cathedral,
and in the background many of the other
churches built by Sir Christopher Wren.
An educated man and scientist from an
aristocratic background, Wren was asked to
rebuild St. Paul’s Cathedral. St. Paul’s, a
Protestant cathedral, is decorated in a much
simpler style than Catholic churches. The wide
empty spaces and pure architecture of the interior
are beautiful. Wren took his inspiration for the
facade from classical and Baroque art. The great
dome, inspired by the Italian Renaissance, now
dominates the City of London.
St Paul’s Cathedral.
61
British History
THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION
During฀the฀Restoration฀the฀British฀Empire฀grew฀in฀North฀America฀and฀in฀the฀Far฀East.
New฀products฀such฀as฀coffee,฀tea฀and฀sugar฀arrived฀from฀the฀colonies฀and฀became฀very
popular,฀creating฀trade฀and฀wealth.฀
King฀Charles฀II฀died฀in฀1685฀and฀his฀brother฀James฀II,฀a฀Catholic,฀became฀king.฀He฀kept฀a
large฀army฀and฀favoured฀Catholics฀with฀important฀jobs.฀Parliament฀resented 1 this฀and
when฀James฀had฀a฀son฀in฀1688฀the฀king’s฀Protestant฀daughter฀Mary฀and฀her฀husband,
Prince฀William฀of฀Orange,฀were฀invited฀to฀rule฀Britain.฀James฀II฀escaped฀to฀France฀and
this฀became฀known฀as฀the฀‘Glorious฀Revolution’.
Prince฀William฀was฀not฀liked฀by฀the฀people,฀but฀his฀wife฀Mary฀was฀very฀popular.฀
Upon฀her฀death฀in฀1694฀William฀ruled฀alone฀until฀1702,฀when฀Mary's฀sister,฀Anne,
became฀queen฀because฀they฀had฀no฀heirs฀to฀the฀throne.
Queen฀Anne฀was฀the฀first
monarch฀to฀rule฀over฀the
Kingdom฀of฀Great฀Britain.
Scotland฀was฀formally
united฀with฀England฀
and฀Wales฀in฀1707฀by฀the
Act฀of฀Union.฀She฀was฀
the฀last฀Stuart฀monarch฀
as฀she฀died฀in฀1714
without฀an฀heir.
Despite her troubled and

difficult life, Anne was a
dedicated queen and helped
support the Church of
England. During her reign,
parliamentary elections had a
decisive effect on the life of
the country for the first time.
1 resented :฀did฀not฀like.
62
Queen Anne at the House of Lords (c. 1710) by Peter Tillemans.
One of the most important portraits of Anne shows her at the opening of Parliament. She is sitting
on her throne, surrounded by officials and Members of the the House of Lords; the Members of
the House of Commons can be seen standing in the foreground. The chamber is decorated with
tapestries, which show one of England’s greatest moments, the victory over the Armada
(see pages 39-40).
63
Go back to the text
PET
1 Read฀the฀passage฀below฀and฀choose฀the฀correct฀word฀A,฀B,฀C฀or฀D฀for฀each฀space.
C
In฀1660฀the฀1.......฀in฀Britain฀was฀restored฀with฀the฀return฀of฀Charles฀II฀2.......฀France.
Outstanding฀progress฀was฀made฀in฀3.......:฀for฀example,฀Sir฀Isaac฀Newton฀4.......฀the฀law฀of
gravity.
The฀mid฀1660’s฀brought฀disaster฀to฀London.฀The฀5.......฀of฀1665฀killed฀about฀100,000
Londoners.฀Following฀the฀Great฀Fire฀of฀1666,฀Christopher฀Wren฀6.......฀the฀new฀capital.฀The
Protestant฀cathedral฀of฀St.฀Paul’s฀is฀the฀7.......฀important฀of฀Wren’s฀churches.฀The฀great฀dome
was฀8.......฀by฀the฀Italian฀Renaissance,฀
and฀the฀facade฀by฀9.......฀and฀classical฀art.
This฀was฀also฀a฀time฀of฀expansion฀overseas.฀10.......฀the฀Restoration฀the฀British฀colonies฀in
North฀America฀and฀the฀Far฀East฀increased฀11.......฀with฀Britain.
After฀Charles’฀death฀there฀was฀trouble.฀Parliament฀12.......฀King฀James฀II,฀and฀in฀1688฀Prince
William฀of฀Orange฀and฀his฀wife฀Mary฀(James’s฀daughter)฀13.......฀invited฀to฀rule฀Britain.฀In
1702฀Anne,฀James’s฀second฀daughter,฀became฀queen:฀she฀was฀the฀14.......฀Stuart฀monarch.
1 A Protectorate B Republic C monarchy D reign
2 A from฀ B in C at D of
3 A science B music C philosophy D literature
4 A invented B discovered C made D broke
5 A war B flood C earthquake D plague
6 A designed B designated C dreamed D thought
7 A more B least C much D most
8 A taken B inspired C borrowed D copied
9 A Protestant B French C Baroque D Venetian
10 A At B Before C During D Following
11 A friends B work C industries D trade
12 A disliked B dishonoured฀ C punished D disrespected
13 A is B being C were D was
14 A ultimate B last C only D latest
64
PET
2 You฀were฀working฀in฀the฀bakery฀in฀Pudding฀Lane฀when฀the฀Great฀Fire฀started.฀
You฀are฀writing฀a฀letter฀to฀your฀cousin.
Describe฀how฀the฀fire฀started,฀what฀happened฀next฀and฀what฀you฀did.
Complete฀the฀letter฀using฀about฀100฀words.
Dear.............,
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
CHAPTER฀SIX
65
CHAPTER 7
The Georgian Age and

the Industrial Revolution
9 THE HOUSE OF HANOVER
In฀1714฀George฀of฀Hanover฀
became฀George฀I,฀King฀of฀
Great฀Britain.฀He฀was฀a฀great-
grandson฀of฀James฀I฀and฀a
Protestant.฀He฀spoke฀only
German฀and฀had฀little
understanding฀of฀or฀interest฀in
Britain฀and฀its฀people.฀The
Stuarts฀tried฀to฀regain฀the
throne฀twice,฀but฀failed.
He฀ruled฀only฀thanks฀to฀his
ministers.฀Sir฀Robert฀Walpole,
who฀became฀Britain's฀first
Prime฀Minister,฀dominated
British฀politics฀and฀built฀up
Britain's฀trade฀and฀wealth
during฀George's฀reign.
George I (1716) by Sir George Kneller.
In this official portrait of George I,

the artist emphasises the king’s
ornate robes and wig 1 to take our
attention away from his rather
ordinary-looking, large face.
1 wig :฀an฀artificial฀covering฀of฀hair฀for฀the
head.
66
The Georgian Age

STYLE AND ART
Seen Through Art
The฀period฀of฀George฀I’s฀reign฀and฀of฀his฀successors฀George฀II,฀III฀and฀IV,฀called฀the฀Georgian฀Age,฀is
famous฀for฀its฀elegance฀and฀style.฀Chippendale฀and฀Hepplewhite฀created฀beautiful฀furniture,฀and
Josiah฀Wedgwood's฀factories฀created฀fine฀ceramics.฀
Great฀artists฀such฀as฀William฀Hogarth,฀Sir฀Joshua฀Reynolds฀and฀Thomas฀Gainsborough฀lived฀in฀the
Georgian฀Age.฀Hogarth’s฀satirical฀engravings฀and฀paintings฀attacked฀the฀contrasts฀of฀luxury฀and
squalor฀in฀Georgian฀Society.฀Reynolds฀studied฀Renaissance฀art฀in฀Italy฀before฀becoming฀one฀of
Britain’s฀most฀important฀and฀successful฀portrait฀painters.฀Gainsborough,฀who฀was฀Reynold’s฀great
rival,฀was฀known฀for฀the฀elegance฀and฀refinement฀of฀his฀portraits฀and฀landscapes.
There฀was฀a฀return฀to฀classical฀style฀in฀architecture,฀and฀wealthy฀families฀built฀splendid฀country
houses฀with฀landscaped฀gardens.฀Great฀writers฀of฀this฀age฀were฀Daniel฀Defoe,฀author฀of฀Robinson
Crusoe,฀and฀Jonathan฀Swift,฀author฀of฀Gulliver’s฀Travels.
Vase designed by John Flaxman for Josiah Wedgwood.
Wedgwood used new steam-powered machines to turn his family’s

traditional ceramic-making firm into a business which sold throughout
Europe. Wedgwood’s designs had simple, elegant lines (unlike Baroque
art) and were decorated with mythological figures. There are references
to objects found in archaeological digs and to Greek, Etruscan and
Roman art. The cameo technique, in which white figures appear on a
coloured background, was often used. This beautiful blue cameo vase is
decorated with the classical motifs.
Chiswick House (1725-29).
Classical art also inspired Georgian architecture. The

British adopted the style of the sixteenth century Italian
architect, Palladio, taking their example from Inigo Jones,
architect to James I. Many English country houses were
built in the ‘Neo-Palladian’ style. One of the best examples
is Chiswick House, built for Lord Burlington in 1725. With
their many artistic treasures, country houses were one of
the most significant features of the English landscape and
a symbol of the country’s social order.
British History
Canvassing for Votes (1754-5) by William Hogarth.
As well as designing elegant classical buildings, the Georgians began to develop a realistic style of painting which
can be considered truly British for the first time. Until the eighteenth century, the influence of foreign artists
meant that it was difficult for a national style to develop. However, at this time, British artists began to paint
detailed images which give us a new understanding of important events in the country’s history.
The great artist and satirist William Hogarth showed some of the less pleasant aspects of everyday life in his
realistic works, one of the first artists to do so. By the middle of the century, elections had started to have a
significant influence on the country’s political life. Although this meant that the parliamentary system became
gradually more important, which in itself was a positive change, corruption became more widespread because
politicians needed to convince people to vote for them in order to be elected.
In Canvassing for Votes we see the headquarters of the two political parties, the Tories (Conservatives) and Whigs.
A farmer is surrounded by members of the two parties who are trying to offer him money to win his vote. Hogarth
produced many paintings and engravings which satirised the election process and revealed the hypocrisy of the
times. He was the first artist to show all the social classes, and his work shares the same spirit as some of the great
literary works of the day, such as those written by Defoe and Swift.
68
The Georgian Age Seen Through Art
Mr and Mrs Andrews (c. 1748) by Thomas Gainsborough.
Other artists give us a more positive image of Georgian times. Sir

Joshua Reynolds painted aristocratic ladies as classical goddesses.
His rival, Thomas Gainsborough, preferred a more realistic style,
although he also painted the nobility. One of his masterpieces,
Mr and Mrs Andrews, shows a gentleman farmer and his wife.
ch
It is one of the most important images we have of the
provincial nobility, who were one of the most important
features of the Georgian social system.
The couple, who are dressed in elegant but
comfortable clothes, are shown surrounded
by their land. There is a corn field, pastures
and, in the background, a wood,
reflecting the English landscape and
the source of their wealth. The painting
s. symbolises the agricultural world of
th the mid eighteenth century, which
would soon be threatened by the
at changes brought about by the
Industrial Revolution.
69
THE BEGINNING OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

British History
I
Before฀the฀end฀of฀the฀eighteenth฀century,฀most฀British฀people฀lived฀and฀worked฀in฀the
countryside.฀Many฀were฀farmers,฀others฀worked฀in฀their฀homes฀as฀carpenters฀or฀weavers. 1
New฀inventions฀of฀the฀eighteenth฀century฀brought฀radical฀changes฀to฀the฀way฀people฀lived
and฀worked.฀Britain฀was฀rapidly฀changing฀from฀an฀agricultural฀society฀to฀an฀industrial฀one.
Communication฀and฀transportation฀improved฀as฀a฀consequence฀of฀the฀Industrial฀Revolution.
Roads฀were฀improved฀and฀canals฀were฀built฀to฀transport฀goods.฀Stage฀coaches 2 began฀travelling
regularly฀between฀London฀and฀other฀towns.฀
1 weavers :฀people฀who฀make฀cloth.
2 stage฀coaches :฀vehicles฀pulled฀by฀horses฀that฀carried฀people฀or฀goods.
Coalbrookdale by Night (1801) by Philip de Loutherbourg.
Coalbrookdale, an important iron-producing centre, played a key part in the Industrial Revolution. It had many
factories, furnaces and foundries. The painter Philippe de Louthenbourg was fascinated by the industrial landscape
and the ‘terrible’ forces produced by the new forms of energy. Like other painters, such as Joseph W. Turner, he was
interested in portraying the ‘sublime’, that which inspires both terror and delight. In the late eighteenth century
industrial themes were considered a source of this kind of feeling. While in the mid nineteenth century they were no
longer considered ‘artistic’ or appropriate for the ‘fine’ arts.
Industrial Revolution Seen Through Art
Richard฀Arkwright฀invented฀a฀spinning฀machine 1 that฀did฀the฀work฀of฀twelve฀people.
With฀these฀new฀machines,฀factories฀and฀mills฀opened฀up฀and฀offered฀employment฀to
many฀people฀–฀the฀Industrial฀Revolution฀was฀beginning.
With฀the฀invention฀of฀the฀steam฀engine฀that฀could฀drive฀factory฀machines,฀more฀factories
opened฀up.฀The฀coal,฀iron฀and฀textile฀industries฀were฀the฀basis฀of฀the฀Industrial
Revolution฀in฀Britain.฀The฀population฀of฀industrial฀towns฀such฀as฀Manchester฀and
Birmingham฀grew฀rapidly,฀as฀did฀the฀smoke,฀noise฀and฀pollution.
Working฀conditions฀were฀dangerous฀and฀unhealthy.฀Women฀and฀children,฀as฀well฀as฀men,
worked฀long฀hours฀(12฀to฀14฀hours฀a฀day)฀and฀were฀paid฀very฀little.฀They฀endured
physical฀hardships฀and,฀often,฀horrible฀mutilations฀and฀accidents.
1 spinning฀machine฀:฀(here)฀a฀machine฀used฀in฀the฀production฀of฀cotton฀and฀wool.
The city of Stockport, near Manchester (c. 1850).
The reality of the Industrial Revolution was shown in prints, since ‘high’ art concentrated on more
poetic, idyllic subjects. This print is very similar to the description of Manchester given by Queen
Victoria. After a visit to the city in 1851 she wrote in her diary that she had seen ‘nothing but chimneys’,
and that Manchester was hidden by a ‘thick, black atmosphere’. This was the result of industrial
development – one of the prices England had to pay for its exceptional new wealth.
71
Go back to the text
PET
A B
1 King฀George฀I฀came฀from฀the฀House฀of฀Hanover฀and฀฀
he฀was฀very฀interested฀in฀Britain฀and฀its฀people.฀฀
2 During฀the฀Georgian฀Age฀there฀was฀a฀return฀to฀classical฀
architecture฀and฀style.
3 By฀using฀new฀machinery,฀Josiah฀Wedgewood฀increased฀production฀
and฀sold฀his฀beautiful฀furniture฀throughout฀Europe.
4 Georgian฀architecture฀was฀inspired฀by฀Inigo฀Jones฀and฀adopted฀the฀style฀
of฀the฀fifteenth-century฀Italian฀architect,฀Palladio.
5 One฀of฀the฀most฀significant฀features฀of฀the฀English฀landscape฀were฀the฀
country฀houses฀of฀the฀provincial฀nobility,฀which฀were฀also฀a฀symbol฀of฀
the฀country’s฀social฀order.
6 Gainsborough’s฀paintings฀revealed฀the฀hypocrisy฀of฀the฀times฀and฀
showed฀all฀social฀classes฀for฀the฀first฀time.
7 Mr฀and฀Mrs฀Andrews,฀one฀of฀Reynold’s฀masterpieces,฀is฀an฀important฀
image฀of฀the฀provincial฀nobility฀and฀their฀agricultural฀world.
8 When฀the฀powerful฀steam฀engine฀began฀to฀drive฀factory฀machines,฀
coal,฀iron฀and฀textile฀industries฀opened฀up฀and฀the฀Industrial฀
Revolution฀began.
9 With฀the฀arrival฀of฀the฀Industrial฀Revolution,฀working฀conditions฀and฀
salaries฀for฀all฀workers฀improved฀greatly.
10 Although฀the฀Industrial฀Revolution฀created฀pollution,฀one฀positive฀
aspect฀was฀an฀improvement฀in฀communication฀and฀transportation.
PET
10 2 A฀journalist฀from฀the฀Birmingham฀Bulletin interviews฀a฀young฀worker฀at฀a฀textile฀mill.
Listen฀to฀the฀interview฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B฀or฀C.
1 What฀time฀does฀the฀worker฀start฀work?
A B C
72
2 What฀time฀does฀she฀stop฀work?
A B C฀
3 When฀is฀her฀free฀day?
MAY 1870 MAY 1870 MAY 1870
1 4 6
Sunday Wednesday Friday
A B C฀
4 What฀does฀she฀do฀on฀her฀free฀day?
A B C฀
5 How฀long฀is฀her฀lunch฀break?
Lunch break Lunch break Lunch break

12.30-12.40 12.30-12.50 12.30-12.45
A B C฀
6 How฀many฀days฀a฀week฀does฀she฀work?
From Monday From Monday From Saturday

to Thursday to Saturday to Wednesday
A B C฀
73
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER฀SEVEN
The Georgian Age

1 Read฀about฀the฀Georgian฀Age and฀complete฀the฀passage฀with฀a฀suitable฀word฀form฀the฀text.
When฀George฀I฀became฀king,฀there฀were฀more฀suitable฀candidates฀for฀the฀throne฀but
unfortunately฀they฀were฀(1)฀..............................฀.฀George฀was฀immediately฀faced฀with฀a฀rival
claim฀to฀the฀throne,฀James฀the฀Old฀(2)฀..............................฀.฀James฀was฀soon฀defeated
and฀returned฀to฀exile฀in฀(3)฀..............................฀.฀In฀1745฀the฀(4)฀..............................
made฀a฀final฀attempt฀to฀retake฀the฀throne.฀Bonnie฀Prince฀Charlie,฀James฀II’s฀
(5)฀..............................฀,฀led฀a฀rebel฀army฀as฀far฀south฀as฀Derby฀but฀was฀finally
defeated฀at฀the฀Battle฀of฀(6)฀..............................฀.
During฀the฀reign฀of฀George฀III,฀who฀was฀the฀first฀king฀(7)฀..............................฀in
Britain฀for฀50฀years,฀there฀were฀many฀exciting฀changes.฀At฀home฀a฀system฀of฀
(8)฀..............................฀was฀built.฀Robert฀Adams฀was฀a฀very฀fashionable
(9)฀..............................฀.฀John฀Wilkes฀fought฀for฀the฀(10)฀..............................฀of
the฀people.฀(11)฀..............................฀designed฀gardens฀for฀country฀houses.฀Steam
engines฀powered฀(12)฀..............................฀machinery฀and฀the฀Industrial฀Revolution
continued.
Abroad,฀Captain฀Cook฀explored฀the฀(13)฀..............................฀Ocean฀and฀the฀British
founded฀new฀colonies฀in฀(14)฀..............................฀and฀(15)฀..............................฀.
However,฀the฀British฀lost฀their฀oldest฀possessions,฀the฀(16)฀..............................
colonies,฀when฀they฀made฀the฀(17)฀..............................฀of฀Independence.฀Following
the฀French฀Revolution฀in฀(18)฀..............................,฀France฀became฀more฀powerful.
After฀Nelson’s฀victory,฀Britain฀(19)฀..............................฀the฀seas฀but฀France฀
(20)฀..............................฀the฀continent.
74
Now฀go฀to฀฀www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/art.htm
2 Scroll฀ down฀ the฀ page฀ to฀ Artists:฀ 1750-1900 and฀ click฀ on฀ William฀ Hogarth,฀ Joshua
Reynolds and฀Thomas฀Gainsborough to฀find฀out฀more฀about฀their฀lives฀and฀works฀of฀art.
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
For฀ each฀ artist฀ scroll฀ down฀ the฀ page฀ to฀ read฀ the฀ text฀ about฀ his฀ life.฀ Write฀ a฀ brief
biography฀ of฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ artists฀ (about฀ 75฀ words).฀ Include฀ information฀ about฀ his฀ most
important฀paintings฀and฀his฀style฀of฀painting.
Don’t฀forget:
• to฀write฀an฀introduction฀and฀a฀conclusion
• to฀write฀each฀new฀idea฀or฀theme฀in฀a฀new฀paragraph
• to฀use฀linking฀words฀like฀ before,฀after,฀then,฀meanwhile,฀as฀soon฀as, etc.
• when฀you฀have฀finished,฀check฀your฀biography฀for฀mistakes
3 If฀ you฀ click฀ on฀ the฀ Art฀ Institutions,฀ other฀ Artists฀ 1750-1900,฀ Artists฀ 1900-1930฀ or
Architects,฀you฀can฀find฀out฀more฀information฀about฀famous฀British฀artists฀or฀architects.
75
CHAPTER 8
Wars in the Colonies

and in Europe
11 THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
George฀III฀was฀the฀first฀Hanoverian฀King฀born฀in฀England.฀He฀was฀crowned฀king฀in฀1760,
and฀ruled฀for฀60฀years฀through฀a฀period฀of฀great฀change.฀He฀was฀popular฀with฀the฀people,
who฀liked฀his฀simple,฀direct฀manner฀of฀speaking.฀The฀Industrial฀Revolution฀continued
during฀his฀reign฀and฀the฀British฀colonies฀in฀North฀America฀won฀their฀independence.฀
The฀American฀Revolution฀was฀the฀first฀colonial฀revolt฀in฀the฀British฀Empire.฀In฀the฀mid
eighteenth฀century฀there฀were฀13฀thriving 1 British฀colonies฀in฀America฀with฀over฀2
million฀settlers.฀
The฀colonists฀resented฀paying฀high฀taxes฀to฀the฀faraway฀British฀Government฀and฀wanted
their฀independence.฀In฀1770฀there฀were฀protests฀and฀riots 2 in฀Boston,฀Massachusetts,฀during
which฀British฀soldiers฀killed฀five฀colonists.฀This฀became฀famous฀as฀the฀Boston฀Massacre.
1 thriving฀:฀prosperous.
2 riots฀:฀public฀disturbances,฀often฀violent.
The Boston Massacre (1770)

engraving by Paul Revere.
The Boston Massacre is illustrated in

one of the most famous early
American prints by Paul Revere. It is
a simplified image which shows the
English army (on the right) shooting
at a group of respectable-looking,
unarmed Bostonians, the innocent
victims of the events. In reality, the
American rebels were armed.
Revere’s prints often altered the facts
to help the fight against colonial rule.
Wars in the Colonies Seen Through Art
In฀December฀1773฀a฀group฀of฀colonists,฀disguised 1 as฀Indians,฀went฀on฀board฀three฀British
ships.฀They฀threw฀342฀boxes฀of฀tea฀into฀Boston฀Harbour,฀thereby฀destroying฀a฀very
valuable฀cargo!฀This฀is฀the฀famous฀incident฀which฀became฀known฀as฀the฀Boston฀Tea฀Party,
and฀caused฀unbearable฀tension฀between฀the฀colonists฀and฀the฀British.
The Boston Tea Party (1856) by John Andrew from Ballou’s Pictorial.
Although there are famous oil paintings of episodes from the American Revolution, prints and
newspaper illustrations, which were available in much larger numbers, helped turn certain events
into legends for generations to come. Many historical engravings were still being made in the
nineteenth century, including this illustration of the famous Boston Tea Party.
1 disguised฀:฀dressed฀up฀as.
77
British History
King฀George฀III฀decided฀to฀punish฀the฀colonists฀by฀ordering฀his฀soldiers฀to฀close฀the฀port
of฀Boston,฀which฀seriously฀damaged฀the฀colonies'฀economy.฀The฀colonists฀called฀this฀‘an
intolerable฀act’฀and฀began฀to฀rebel฀under฀the฀leadership฀of฀George฀Washington,฀who฀later
became฀the฀first฀President฀of฀the฀United฀States฀of฀America.
George฀Washington฀organised฀an฀army฀of฀colonists฀and฀in฀April฀1775฀the฀American฀Revolution
began.฀On฀4฀July฀1776฀the฀colonists฀declared฀their฀independence฀from฀Great฀Britain฀with฀the
Declaration฀of฀Independence,฀a฀document฀that฀declared฀the฀thirteen฀colonies฀to฀be฀free฀and
independent฀states.฀General฀Cornwallis฀commanded฀the฀British฀army.฀The฀war฀continued฀for
six฀years฀and฀was฀fought฀on฀land฀and฀at฀sea.฀In฀October฀1781฀the฀British฀were฀defeated฀and
surrendered฀at฀Yorktown฀in฀Virginia,฀and฀America฀became฀an฀independent฀nation.
THE NAPOLEONIC WARS
The฀power฀of฀Great฀Britain฀was฀also฀threatened฀in฀Europe.฀At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀1800s
the฀ambitious฀French฀Emperor฀Napoleon฀Bonaparte,฀a฀man฀of฀amazing฀leadership
qualities,฀ruled฀most฀of฀Europe.฀The฀Napoleonic฀Wars฀between฀Great฀Britain฀and฀France
began฀in฀1803.
Napoleon฀made฀plans฀to฀invade฀Great฀Britain฀by฀sending฀his฀warships฀into฀the฀English
Channel.฀The฀great฀Admiral฀Lord฀Nelson,฀famous฀for฀his฀bravery฀and฀leadership,
commanded฀the฀British฀Navy฀and฀defeated฀the฀French฀during฀the฀famous฀Battle฀of
Trafalgar,฀where฀he฀lost฀his฀life.฀At฀this฀decisive฀moment฀Great฀Britain฀regained฀control฀
of฀the฀seas.
Wars in the Colonies Seen Through Art
The Death of Nelson (1806) by Benjamin West.
Horatio Nelson became one of England’s most popular heroes, part of the increasing nationalism
of the time. His death was portrayed by Benjamin West, the court painter, as a noble tragedy.
West’s paintings use history to teach a moral: the nobility of someone giving up his life for his
country. Instead of using allegorical figures and classical costumes, as was the tradition at the
time, West preferred to paint his subjects in modern uniforms and clothes. He believed that the
artist should show the truth, although many critics did not agree with him.
79
British History
In฀1815฀Napoleon฀fought฀his฀last฀battle฀at฀Waterloo฀in฀Belgium,฀where฀the฀British฀army฀
was฀led฀by฀the฀Duke฀of฀Wellington.฀The฀battle฀was฀a฀desperate฀one฀for฀both฀sides฀with฀
a฀very฀high฀number฀of฀casualties. 1 The฀French฀were฀finally฀defeated฀at฀Waterloo฀and
Napoleon฀was฀exiled฀to฀the฀island฀of฀St.฀Helena฀in฀the฀South฀Atlantic฀Ocean,฀where฀he฀
died฀in฀1821.฀After฀Napoleon's฀defeat฀Britain฀remained฀the฀greatest฀military฀and฀
industrial฀nation฀in฀the฀world.
1 casualties฀:฀people฀hurt฀or฀killed.
The Battle of Waterloo (c. 1824) by George Jones.
The Battle of Waterloo was described many times in famous paintings, novels and poems,
although the historical accuracy often varied widely. This large painting is by George Jones, who
had direct experience of the battle as he served with the Duke of Wellington. The Duke is shown
on his horse on the right, giving orders and surrounded by his men. The army is painted
accurately, with detail and feeling. Jones’ paintings marked a new era in war painting, which until
this time was considered a lesser form of art.
Go back to the text
PET
1 Read฀the฀sentences฀below฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B,฀C,฀or฀D.
1 King฀George฀III
A was฀born฀in฀England,฀unlike฀George฀I฀and฀George฀II.
B saw฀a฀lot฀of฀progress฀in฀the฀sixteen฀years฀that฀he฀was฀king.
C liked฀making฀speeches฀to฀his฀people.
D encouraged฀change฀in฀both฀Britain฀and฀America.
2 In฀the฀middle฀of฀the฀1700s฀British฀colonists฀in฀America
A occupied฀thirty฀different฀colonies.
B were฀prosperous,฀but฀not฀as฀much฀as฀they฀wanted฀to฀be.
C were฀more฀than฀200,000฀in฀number.
D did฀not฀want฀to฀continue฀paying฀taxes฀to฀London.
3 One฀of฀the฀events฀leading฀up฀to฀the฀American฀Revolution฀was
A a฀group฀of฀colonists฀destroying฀a฀cargo฀of฀tea฀in฀1770.
B the฀death฀of฀five฀colonists฀in฀Boston฀caused฀by฀the฀British฀army.
C the฀British฀army฀shooting฀at฀innocent฀colonists฀in฀Boston฀in฀1773.
D collaboration฀between฀colonists฀and฀Indians฀at฀the฀Boston฀Tea฀Party.
4 The฀early฀American฀prints฀by฀Paul฀Revere฀were฀not฀accurate฀because
A people฀altered฀the฀facts฀when฀they฀described฀them฀to฀Revere.
B they฀were฀used฀for฀political฀purposes.
C Revere฀could฀not฀be฀present฀at฀all฀the฀events฀he฀described.
D accuracy฀was฀not฀important฀in฀art฀at฀that฀time.
5 The฀port฀of฀Boston฀was฀closed
A by฀an฀Act฀of฀Parliament.
B during฀the฀Boston฀Tea฀Party.
C as฀a฀punishment.
D by฀the฀colonists฀themselves.
81
6 George฀Washington฀organised฀an฀army฀of฀colonists
A to฀throw฀342฀boxes฀of฀tea฀into฀Boston฀Harbour.
B to฀kill฀five฀hundred฀British฀soldiers.
C in฀Yorktown,฀Virginia.
D and฀in฀April฀1775฀the฀American฀Revolution฀began.
7 The฀British฀army฀was฀commanded฀by฀General฀Cornwallis฀and฀after฀six฀years฀of฀war฀
A the฀British฀surrendered฀at฀Yorktown,฀Virginia.
B the฀colonists฀were฀defeated฀at฀Yorktown,฀Virginia.
C the฀colonists฀wrote฀the฀Declaration฀of฀Independence.
D the฀British฀were฀victorious.
8 At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀nineteenth฀century
A America฀declared฀its฀independence฀from฀Great฀Britain.
B the฀Duke฀of฀Wellington฀became฀Prime฀Minister.
C the฀Napoleonic฀Wars฀between฀Great฀Britain฀and฀France฀began.
D Napoleon฀Bonaparte฀invaded฀Great฀Britain.
9 At฀the฀battle฀of฀Trafalgar
A Admiral฀Lord฀Nelson฀defeated฀the฀French.
B the฀Duke฀of฀Wellington฀defeated฀the฀French.
C France฀regained฀control฀of฀the฀seas.
D Admiral฀Lord฀Nelson฀was฀defeated฀and฀died.
10 Although฀many฀critics฀did฀not฀agree฀with฀him,฀Benjamin฀West
A became฀a฀very฀wealthy฀man.
B believed฀that฀an฀artist฀should฀show฀the฀truth฀in฀his฀paintings.
C used฀allegorical฀figures฀in฀his฀paintings.
D refused฀to฀paint฀war฀scenes.
11 At฀Waterloo฀in฀1815
A Napoleon฀and฀his฀army฀were฀
victorious.
B the฀French฀defeated฀the฀British.
C there฀was฀a฀long฀naval฀battle.
D the฀Duke฀of฀Wellington฀defeated฀
Napoleon.
82
What did they do?
2 Read฀the฀name฀of฀the฀person฀and฀match฀it฀with฀the฀what฀he฀did.฀Write฀the฀correct฀letter฀in฀the฀box.
1 George฀Washington฀
2 Napoleon฀Bonaparte
3 General฀Cornwallis
4 King฀George฀III
5 Admiral฀Lord฀Nelson
6 Duke฀of฀Wellington
7 Paul฀Revere฀฀฀฀฀
A He฀surrendered฀at฀Yorktown,฀Virginia.
B He฀was฀the฀first฀Hanoverian฀king฀born฀in฀England.
C He฀died฀at฀the฀Battle฀of฀Trafalgar.
D He฀organised฀and฀led฀an฀army฀of฀American฀colonists.
E He฀led฀the฀British฀army฀to฀victory฀at฀Waterloo.
F He฀made฀plans฀to฀invade฀Great฀Britain.
G He฀made฀prints฀about฀the฀American฀Revolution฀
3 Using฀no฀more฀than฀40฀words฀for฀each,฀explain฀what฀happened฀during฀these฀events:
A The฀Boston฀Massacre
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
B The฀Boston฀Tea฀Party
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................................
CHAPTER฀EIGHT
83
Before you read
PET
12 1 Listen฀ to฀ the฀ first฀ part฀ of฀ Chapter฀ Nine฀ and฀ for฀ each฀ question฀ indicate฀ the฀ correct฀ answer฀
A,฀B฀or฀C.
1 How฀long฀did฀Queen฀Victoria฀rule? 5 How฀much฀of฀the฀Earth's฀land฀surface
did฀the฀British฀Empire฀cover฀during
A 64฀years Queen฀Victoria's฀rule?
B 48฀months
A one฀third
C 60฀months
B one฀quarter
C one฀fifth
2 Who฀did฀Queen฀Victoria฀marry?
A Admiral฀Peter 6 What฀was฀the฀population฀of฀the฀British
B Prince฀Alfred Empire฀during฀Victoria’s฀rule?
C Prince฀Albert A 317฀million฀people
B 370฀million฀people
3 How฀many฀children฀did฀she฀have? C 300฀million฀people
A nine
B five 7 Where฀did฀the฀mutiny฀of฀1857฀against
C none British฀rule฀take฀place?
A Burma
4 When฀did฀Queen฀Victoria฀die? B India
A 1901 C Indonesia
B 1900
C 1910 8 What฀was฀an฀important฀feature฀of฀the
Crimean฀War?
A It฀was฀the฀first฀war฀to฀be฀
photographed.
B Tanks฀were฀used฀for฀the฀first฀time.
C Machine฀guns฀were฀used฀for฀the฀
first฀time.
84
CHAPTER NINE
The Victorian Age

12 THE YOUNG QUEEN
Victoria฀became฀queen฀in฀1837฀at฀the฀age฀of฀eighteen฀and฀ruled฀for฀64฀years,฀longer฀than
any฀other฀British฀monarch,฀giving฀her฀name฀to฀the฀Victorian฀Age.฀The฀British฀loved฀her
because฀she฀was฀an฀intelligent,฀dedicated฀and฀responsible฀queen,฀who฀was฀interested฀in
all฀aspects฀of฀British฀life.฀
Windsor Castle in Modern Times (1841-5) by Sir Edwin Landseer.
Paintings and the new technique of photography helped bring everyday images of the royal family to
ordinary people. In Windsor Castle in Modern Times, Queen Victoria is shown welcoming her husband
back from a hunting party. Although the painting contains many signs of the couple’s wealth, contrary
to tradition there are no royal symbols. The Queen and her husband look more like a middle-class
couple than royalty. The hunting dog represents the masculine world of hunting, while the puppies
represent femininity and the home: this reflects the division of roles in Victorian marriage.
British History
Queen฀Victoria฀married฀Prince฀Albert,฀her฀great฀love,฀and฀was฀a฀devoted฀wife฀and฀mother
of฀nine฀children.฀Family฀values฀and฀morality฀were฀extremely฀important฀to฀Victoria฀and
Albert,฀and฀they฀were฀able฀to฀set฀an฀example฀which฀the฀people฀followed.฀When฀Queen
Victoria฀died,฀in฀1901,฀the฀nation฀mourned 1 the฀loss฀of฀a฀popular฀and฀respected฀queen.฀
THE BRITISH EMPIRE
The฀British฀Empire฀became฀the฀largest฀empire฀in฀the฀world,฀covering฀one฀fifth฀of฀the
earth's฀land฀surface,฀with฀a฀population฀of฀about฀370฀million฀people.฀Queen฀Victoria฀ruled
over฀Canada,฀Australia,฀New฀Zealand,฀India,฀Burma,฀large฀parts฀of฀Africa,฀Singapore,
Malaysia,฀parts฀of฀Indonesia,฀Borneo฀and฀New฀Guinea.฀The฀British฀Empire฀created฀trade
and฀wealth฀for฀millions฀of฀people,฀although฀there฀were฀rebellions฀against฀British฀rule฀in
the฀colonies,฀such฀as฀the฀Indian฀Mutiny฀of฀1857.฀During฀the฀1850s฀British฀soldiers฀fought
END in฀the฀Crimean฀War฀on฀the฀Black฀Sea,฀which฀was฀the฀first฀war฀to฀be฀photographed.
1 mourned฀:฀felt฀sadness฀because฀of฀someone’s฀death.
86
The Victorian Age

INNOVATION AND INVENTION
Seen Through Art
The฀first฀national฀postal฀system฀was฀introduced฀in฀1840฀and฀was฀known฀as฀the฀Penny฀Post
because฀it฀cost฀one฀penny฀to฀send฀a฀letter฀anywhere฀in฀Great฀Britain.฀Communication฀was
completely฀transformed฀with฀the฀invention฀of฀the฀telegraph฀and฀the฀telephone.฀The
invention฀of฀the฀railway฀revolutionised฀travel฀and฀transportation฀–฀industries฀and฀farms
were฀able฀to฀transport฀their฀goods฀to฀all฀parts฀of฀the฀country.฀Thanks฀to฀the฀railway
Rain, Steam and Speed (1844) by Joseph W. Turner.
The train symbolised modernity in Victorian times; the invention of the steam train meant that
travel was now much faster. The new sensation of speed was expressed brilliantly by Joseph W.
Turner in his painting, Rain, Steam and Speed. Considered by some to be the greatest English
artist, Turner was an expert at capturing light, which becomes the protagonist of his paintings.
Instead of the details of the train and carriages we see a mass of golden colours. Turner shows the
train racing through the rain and clouds of steam, emphasising the feeling of speed. The artist was
fascinated by machines, factories and steamships, the inspiration for his most poetic works. For this
reason Turner was an exception in the Victorian Age; many other artists painted trains, but they
were mostly shown standing at stations surrounded by group portraits of Victorian society.
87
British History
Victorians฀started฀going฀on฀day฀trips฀and฀taking฀holidays฀at฀the฀seaside.฀Sailing฀ships
were฀gradually฀replaced฀by฀steamships,฀making฀ocean฀travel฀faster.
The Inauguration of the Great Exhibition, 1 May 1851 (1852-4) by David Roberts.
During Victorian times, Britain became more prosperous than any other nation. The growth of the iron, steel
and textile industries meant there were now great numbers of mass-produced goods to be sold in Britain,
Europe and the Colonies. One of the best ways of publicising new goods was to show them at one of the
Universal Expositions, the most famous of which was the Great Exhibition, held in London’s Hyde Park in
1851. It attracted 7,000 exhibitors from Britain, 6,000 from other countries, and over 6 million visitors.
This painting shows the Queen and her husband on a visit to the Exhibition. It is a highly detailed record
of the event, which the royals checked several times to make sure it was true to life. The Exhibition was
held in the Crystal Palace, a spectacular new building made of sheets 1 of glass in a cast iron framework
designed by Joseph Paxton. The architect built the structure around the huge trees of the park to save
them from being cut down. Crystal Palace, which was taken down and moved to a new site after the
Exhibition, was the first great building to be made from glass and a metal frame. The building opened a
new era in architecture.
1 sheets฀:฀(here)฀large,฀rectangular฀pieces.
88
British History
Workhouses฀had฀been฀introduced฀for฀the฀poor฀by฀the฀Poor฀Law฀Act฀of฀1834.฀Conditions฀in
the฀workhouses฀were฀terrible,฀families฀were฀separated,฀food฀was฀poor฀and฀the฀work฀hard
and฀boring.฀To฀have฀to฀go฀to฀the฀workhouse฀was฀the฀nightmare฀of฀the฀poor.฀Many฀poor
people฀emigrated฀to฀America฀to฀find฀a฀better฀life.฀
Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward (1874) by Sir Luke Fildes.
Artists did not begin to show the reality of Victorian poverty

until the 1870s. Before this, members of the ‘lower’ classes
were only painted if they were considered ‘picturesque’.
Fildes was one of the first artists to show social problems in his
work. In Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward, the
homeless of London are shown waiting for a bed in a shelter 1
on a cold winter’s night. The men, women and children are
painted in realistic detail, and we can imagine how cold they
must have felt.
1 shelter :฀a฀building฀designed฀to฀give฀protection.
90
Go back to the text

PET
1 Read฀the฀passage฀below฀and฀choose฀the฀correct฀word฀A,฀B,฀C฀or฀D฀for฀each฀space.฀
B
1.......฀Queen฀Victoria’s฀64-year฀rule฀the฀British฀Empire฀2.......฀one-fifth฀of฀the฀earth’s฀land฀surface.฀The
colonies฀3.......฀wealth฀to฀thousands฀of฀people.฀Technology฀made฀progress:฀the฀telegraph฀and฀the
telephone฀4.......฀communications,฀and฀the฀railway฀changed฀the฀way฀people฀and฀goods฀5.......฀.฀More
people฀lived฀in฀crowded฀towns฀and฀cities฀6.......฀in฀the฀countryside฀because฀most฀jobs฀were฀in฀the฀towns
and฀cities.
But฀if฀thousands฀became฀rich,฀many฀thousands฀suffered.฀Charles฀Dickens฀shocked฀public฀7.......
with฀his฀novels฀8.......฀poverty฀and฀social฀injustice.฀9.......฀working฀conditions฀and฀child฀labour
remained฀a฀big฀10.......฀during฀the฀Victorian฀Age.
The฀poor฀had฀an฀extremely฀difficult฀life฀and฀some฀11.......฀to฀live฀in฀workhouses.฀Many฀of฀12.......
emigrated฀to฀America฀or฀to฀the฀colonies.
1 A After B During C At D Before

2 A defended B grew C took D covered
3 A bring B brought C bringing D brings
4 A transformed B transported C translated D transports
5 A move B moving C moves D moved
6 A rather B to C than D instead
7 A value B moral C opinion D world
8 A about B treating C attack D for
9 A Terrific B Tremendous C Terrible D Troubled
10 A program B problem C project฀ D proposal
11 A went B gone C these D going฀
12 A their B them C it D they
PET
A B
1 In฀Landseer’s฀painting Windsor฀Castle฀in฀Modern฀Times,฀Queen฀Victoria฀and฀her฀
husband฀look฀more฀like฀a฀middle-class฀couple฀than฀members฀of฀the฀royal฀family.
2 Precise฀details฀are฀the฀important฀elements฀of฀Turner’s฀paintings.
3 Turner฀was฀fascinated฀by฀machines,฀trains฀and฀steamships.
4 Many฀Victorian฀artists฀painted฀group฀portraits฀of฀Victorian฀society฀
at฀railway฀stations.
5 The฀Great฀Exhibition฀of฀1851฀publicised฀the฀most฀important฀Victorian฀paintings.
6 Until฀the฀1870s,฀artists฀did฀not฀begin฀to฀show฀the฀reality฀of฀Victorian฀
poverty฀in฀their฀paintings.
7 Fildes฀was฀more฀interested฀in฀painting฀portraits฀of฀the฀aristocracy฀
than฀showing฀social฀issues฀in฀his฀work.
PET
3 Look฀at฀the฀signs฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀explanation฀A,฀B฀or฀C.
1 4
TICKETS HORSES MUST USE
AVAILABLE AT THIS OTHER SIDE OF
DESK FROM 9 A.M THE ROAD
A You฀can฀buy฀tickets฀after฀nine,฀ A This฀road฀is฀for฀traffic,฀not฀for฀
but฀from฀a฀different฀place. horse-riding.
B You฀can฀buy฀tickets฀here฀after฀ B You฀must฀not฀ride฀a฀horse฀on฀this฀
nine฀in฀the฀morning. side฀of฀the฀road.
C You฀can฀get฀tickets฀here฀at฀any฀ C You฀must฀get฀off฀your฀horse,฀and฀
time฀up฀till฀nine. send฀it฀to฀the฀other฀side฀of฀the฀road.
2 5
EXHIBITION OPEN NO TICKETS
9. 00-6. 00 SOLD AFTER
EXCEPT SUNDAYS 5. 00 P. M
A You฀can฀visit฀the฀exhibition฀ A You฀cannot฀sell฀any฀tickets฀after฀five฀
until฀nine฀in฀the฀evening. in฀the฀afternoon.
B The฀exhibition฀is฀open฀non-stop,฀ B You฀have฀to฀buy฀your฀ticket(s)฀before฀
all฀day,฀for฀eight฀hours. five฀in฀the฀afternoon.
C You฀cannot฀visit฀the฀exhibition฀on C After฀five฀in฀the฀afternoon฀entrance฀
Sundays฀(morning฀or฀afternoon). is฀free.
3 6
PLEASE LEAVE PEDESTRIANS TO
BICYCLES OUTSIDE THE LEFT PLEASE
THE RED GATE
A Bicycles฀must฀not฀be฀used฀ A You฀must฀park฀your฀car,฀get฀out฀and฀
anywhere฀near฀the฀red฀gate. go฀to฀the฀left.
B Bicycles฀must฀be฀left฀at฀the฀ B Walkers฀must฀leave฀some฀of฀the฀road฀
red฀gate. free฀for฀traffic.
C Bicyles฀can฀be฀rented฀at฀the฀ C If฀you฀are฀on฀foot,฀you฀are฀requested฀
red฀gate. to฀be฀very฀careful.
92
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER฀NINE
1 Read฀the฀text฀on฀Britain฀between฀1815฀and฀1914฀and฀answer฀the฀following฀questions.
1 How฀did฀Britain฀begin฀100฀years฀without฀fighting฀a฀major฀war?
A by฀giving฀in฀to฀French฀hopes฀to฀rule฀the฀world
B by฀defeating฀the฀French฀at฀the฀Battles฀of฀Trafalgar฀and฀Waterloo
C by฀joining฀in฀an฀alliance฀of฀peace฀and฀cooperation฀with฀France
D by฀surrendering฀to฀Napoleon’s฀domination฀of฀Europe
2 When฀George฀IV฀died,฀ The฀Times wrote

A an฀obituary฀which฀expressed฀the฀nation’s฀sadness.
B an฀obituary฀which฀praised฀his฀achievements.
C an฀obituary฀which฀called฀for฀a฀republic.
D an฀obituary฀which฀said฀the฀king฀would฀not฀be฀missed.
3 The฀early฀nineteenth฀century฀is฀remembered฀as฀a฀creative฀period฀because฀
A of฀the฀work฀of฀painters฀and฀romantic฀poets.
B of฀the฀work฀of฀actors฀and฀directors.
C of฀the฀work฀of฀fashion฀designers.
D of฀the฀work฀of฀architects฀and฀sculptors.
4 What฀important฀discoveries฀were฀made฀in฀the฀nineteenth฀century?
A Stephenson฀discovered฀electricity฀and฀Faraday฀invented฀the฀steam฀train.
B Faraday฀discovered฀electricity฀and฀Davy฀invented฀the฀steam฀train.
C Faraday฀discovered฀electricity฀and฀Stephenson฀invented฀the฀steam฀train.
D Davy฀discovered฀electricity฀and฀Faraday฀invented฀the฀steam฀train.
93
5 One฀of฀Brunel’s฀greatest฀engineering฀achievements฀was฀
A building฀the฀Great฀Eastern฀railway฀line฀to฀Bristol.
B building฀the฀ Great฀Western ,฀which฀was฀the฀largest฀ship฀afloat.
C building฀the฀bridges฀and฀tunnels฀of฀the฀Great฀Eastern฀railway฀line.
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
D building฀the฀ Great฀Eastern ,฀which฀was฀the฀largest฀ship฀afloat.
6 Why฀was฀a฀new฀parliament฀building฀built฀at฀Westminster?
A The฀old฀one฀was฀destroyed฀in฀a฀fire.
B The฀old฀one฀was฀too฀small.
C to฀celebrate฀Queen฀Victoria’s฀Silver฀Jubilee
D to฀celebrate฀British฀achievements
7 The฀British฀involvement฀in฀the฀Crimean฀War฀was฀considered฀a฀heroic฀defeat
A because฀of฀the฀terrible฀weather฀and฀poor฀equipment.
B because฀the฀British฀cavalry฀rode฀into฀battle฀against฀the฀Russian฀artillery.
C because฀the฀Russian฀cavalry฀defeated฀the฀British฀artillery.
D because฀the฀Russian฀army฀won฀most฀of฀the฀battles.
8 What฀was฀the฀important฀change฀in฀the฀British฀Army฀after฀the฀Crimean฀War?
A Officers฀received฀promotion฀if฀they฀paid฀for฀it.
B Officers฀received฀promotion฀if฀their฀families฀were฀rich.
C Officers฀received฀promotion฀because฀of฀their฀abilities฀and฀experience.
D It฀was฀easier฀for฀a฀soldier฀to฀become฀an฀officer.
9 During฀Queen฀Victoria’s฀reign,฀in฀the฀fields฀of฀exploration฀and฀science฀
A Livingstone฀produced฀his฀theory฀of฀evolution฀and฀Darwin฀explored฀Africa.
B Charles฀Darwin฀sailed฀home฀in฀1847฀and฀Livingstone฀explored฀Africa.
C Livingstone฀sailed฀to฀Africa฀in฀the฀Beagle .
D Charles฀Darwin฀developed฀his฀theory฀of฀evolution฀and฀Livingstone฀explored฀Africa.
10 How฀was฀the฀British฀Navy฀used฀off฀the฀coast฀of฀West฀Africa?
A to฀try฀to฀stop฀the฀slave฀trade B to฀protect฀the฀slave฀traders
C to฀transport฀slaves฀to฀America D to฀safeguard฀the฀new฀colonies
11 How฀did฀the฀British฀build฀up฀such฀a฀big฀empire?
A by฀negotiating฀with฀the฀local฀people฀ B by฀buying฀the฀territory฀they฀wanted
C by฀superior฀military฀strength D on฀the฀invitation฀of฀the฀local฀people
12 What฀do฀you฀understand฀by฀the฀phrase฀‘on฀which฀the฀sun฀never฀set’?
A The฀British฀empire฀was฀so฀big฀that฀it฀was฀always฀daylight฀in฀at฀least฀one฀colony.
B The฀Victorians฀thought฀that฀the฀empire฀would฀exist฀forever.
C The฀Victorians฀wanted฀to฀show฀the฀importance฀of฀Queen฀Victoria.
D The฀Victorians฀wanted฀to฀show฀the฀importance฀of฀London.
94
CHAPTER TEN
The Edwardian Age and

World War I
13 THE NEW CENTURY
After฀Queen฀Victoria's฀death฀in฀1901,฀her฀son฀Edward฀VII฀became฀king.฀Great฀Britain฀had฀just
stepped฀into฀the฀twentieth฀century.฀The฀population฀of฀Great฀Britain฀was฀now฀about฀40฀million.
During฀the฀Edwardian฀Age฀the฀first฀cars฀appeared฀on฀the฀roads฀but฀only฀the฀rich฀could
afford฀them฀at฀first.฀Telephones฀and฀electric฀lighting฀were฀beginning฀to฀appear฀in฀the
homes฀of฀the฀wealthy.฀The฀first฀cinemas฀with฀silent฀films฀opened฀in฀this฀period฀and
proved฀to฀be฀a฀huge฀success฀with฀everyone.฀
In฀1903฀Emmeline฀Pankhurst฀founded฀the฀Women's฀Social฀and฀Political฀Union฀(WSPU).
Members฀of฀the฀WSPU฀were฀called
suffragettes,฀and฀fought฀for
women's฀right฀to฀vote฀(suffrage)฀by
protesting฀in฀the฀streets.฀They฀were
often฀taken฀to฀prison!฀Women฀over
30฀finally฀obtained฀the฀right฀to
vote฀in฀the฀1918฀elections.
Poster illustrating women’s fight for the vote.
As well as dramatic protests such as

hunger strikes and women-only
demonstrations, Mrs Pankhurst used
posters and prints to spread her
message. In this symbolic poster from
around 1910, a woman cannot enter the
Houses of Parliament because she does
not have the right to vote. The poster is
modern in style with heavy black lines
and simplified images.
95
British History
During฀the฀Edwardian฀Age฀about฀one฀third฀of฀the฀population฀was฀poverty฀stricken฀and
lived฀in฀miserable฀conditions.฀The฀government฀passed฀several฀laws฀to฀alleviate฀the
suffering฀of฀the฀poor:฀it฀started฀giving฀free฀school฀meals฀to฀poor฀children฀and฀paid
pensions฀to฀people฀over฀70฀years฀of฀age.฀The฀National฀Insurance฀Act฀gave฀workers฀free
medical฀help฀and฀a฀small฀amount฀of฀money฀when฀they฀were฀ill.
At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀1900s฀military฀rivalry฀was฀growing฀between฀Great฀Britain฀and
Germany,฀a฀leading฀industrial฀and฀economic฀power฀of฀the฀period.฀Both฀countries฀were
competing฀for฀territory฀in฀Africa฀from฀the฀late฀nineteenth฀century.฀When฀Germany฀started
building฀a฀massive฀navy฀Britain฀felt฀her฀superiority฀at฀sea฀to฀be฀threatened.฀An฀arms฀race
began฀between฀Germany฀and฀Britain.฀
In฀May฀1910฀King฀Edward฀VII฀died฀and฀was฀succeeded฀by฀his฀son,฀who฀became฀King
George฀V.฀He฀proved฀to฀be฀a฀capable฀and฀dedicated฀leader฀during฀World฀War฀I฀and฀during
the฀difficult฀post-war฀period฀which฀followed.฀George฀V’s฀family฀name฀was฀Saxe-Coburg-
Gotha,฀but฀in฀1917฀he฀changed฀it฀to฀Windsor฀because฀of฀the฀strong฀anti-German฀feeling฀of
the฀British฀during฀World฀War฀I.
All฀of฀Europe฀was฀worried฀about฀the฀growth฀of฀German฀power.฀Eventually฀the฀great
European฀powers฀split 1 into฀two฀alliances:฀Britain,฀France฀and฀Russia,฀and฀Germany฀and
Austria-Hungary.
There฀was฀so฀much฀tension
that฀even฀a฀small฀incident
could฀lead฀to฀a฀war.฀The
assassination฀of฀Archduke
Ferdinand฀of฀Austria฀in
Sarajevo฀was฀the฀incident
that฀started฀World฀War฀I.
1 split฀:฀divided.
The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand

of Austria (1914).
The assassination of Archduke

Ferdinand is shown here in dramatic
style on the cover of an Italian
magazine.
96
WORLD WAR I
World War I Seen Through Art
On฀4฀August฀1914฀Britain฀declared฀war฀on฀Germany.฀The฀British฀population฀felt฀patriotic
and฀united฀because฀they฀believed฀that฀this฀was฀a฀just฀war.฀Young฀men฀joined฀the฀armed
forces฀as฀volunteers.฀Over฀100,000฀women฀worked฀as฀nurses฀and฀most฀were฀volunteers.
However,฀no฀one฀could฀have฀imagined฀the฀horrors฀of฀this฀war.฀For฀the฀first฀time฀modern
technology฀was฀used฀in฀a฀conflict฀and฀the฀results฀were฀devastating.฀The฀war฀was฀also
photographed฀extensively.
The฀battles฀were฀fought฀not฀only฀in฀Europe฀but฀also฀in฀Turkey,฀the฀Middle฀East฀and฀at฀sea.
The฀German฀Navy฀attacked฀English฀ports฀and฀German฀zeppelin฀airships 1 bombed฀London.
Everyone's฀life฀was฀touched฀or฀changed฀in฀some฀way.
The฀Germans฀also฀used฀submarines฀for฀the฀first฀time฀to฀destroy฀British฀and฀American฀merchant
ships฀that฀carried฀food฀and฀supplies฀to฀Britain.฀The฀United฀States฀of฀America฀entered฀the฀war
in฀1917฀and฀about฀a฀year฀later฀Germany฀was฀defeated.฀During฀the฀war฀750,000฀British฀soldiers
were฀killed,฀and฀21/2 million฀seriously฀wounded.฀The฀horror฀and฀sadness฀of฀the฀war฀were฀best
expressed฀by฀the฀British฀war฀poets,฀Wilfred฀Owen,฀Siegfried฀Sassoon฀and฀Laurence฀Binyon,
and฀the฀war฀painters,฀Paul฀Nash฀and฀John฀Singer฀Sargent.
THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
After฀the฀war฀the฀Treaty฀of฀Versailles฀gave฀Britain฀several฀German฀and฀Turkish฀colonies฀and
the฀British฀Empire฀increased฀in฀size.฀However,฀due฀to฀the฀post-war฀economic฀situation฀and฀the
worldwide฀depression,฀Britain฀could฀no฀longer฀afford฀to฀keep฀an฀empire.฀Countries฀such฀as
Canada,฀Australia,฀New฀Zealand฀and฀South฀Africa฀wanted฀greater฀independence฀to฀govern
their฀own฀affairs.฀In฀1931฀Parliament฀passed฀a฀statute 2 that฀recognised฀the฀dominions’
complete฀independence฀from฀Britain.฀The฀dominions฀became฀equal฀members฀of฀the
organisation฀known฀as฀the฀British฀Commonwealth.฀India฀also฀wanted฀to฀achieve฀self-
government,฀but฀it฀would฀have฀to฀wait฀until฀1947฀to฀become฀an฀independent฀state.฀
After฀insistent฀demands฀for฀independence,฀in฀1921฀Ireland฀was฀divided฀into฀the฀Irish฀Free
State฀(Eire),฀which฀was฀predominantly฀Roman฀Catholic,฀and฀Ulster฀(Northern฀Ireland),
predominantly฀Protestant,฀which฀remained฀a฀part฀of฀the฀United฀Kingdom.
As฀with฀most฀major฀wars,฀World฀War฀I฀marked฀the฀beginning฀of฀a฀period฀of฀great฀change.
The฀most฀important฀change฀was฀the฀decline฀in฀British฀trade,฀since฀Britain฀was฀no฀longer
the฀only฀international฀industrial฀power.฀The฀United฀States฀and฀Germany฀had฀become
strong฀competitors.฀Japan฀and฀China฀also฀entered฀the฀world฀market.฀
1 airships฀:฀large฀aircraft฀filled฀with฀gas฀and฀powered฀by฀engines.
2 statute฀:฀a฀law.
97
British History
The Menin Road (1919) by Paul Nash.
The war artist Paul Nash experienced the brutality of the war for himself. He wanted to show the
truth about the suffering and stop the older generation from continuing the war. In this painting, the
landscape has been devastated by continuous bombing. There are craters 1 and ruined buildings, and
the trees have all been destroyed.
At the time, war artists were not allowed to show dead people in their paintings, by order of the
government. Therefore Nash used an apocalyptic landscape and surreal light to represent the
annihilation of the young soldiers who were killed there. To see how the attitude to war changed,
contrast this painting with the heroic, idealised death of Nelson (see page 79).
THE DEPRESSION IN EUROPE
The฀coal,฀steel฀and฀ammunitions฀industries฀needed฀fewer฀workers฀and฀this฀resulted฀in
unemployment.฀British฀industry฀was฀resistant฀to฀innovation฀and฀change,฀and฀this฀attitude
damaged฀the฀economy.฀Frustrated฀workers฀organised฀The฀General฀Strike฀in฀1926฀to฀protest
against฀pay฀cuts฀and฀longer฀working฀hours,฀but฀it฀did฀not฀solve฀their฀problems.
1 craters฀:฀round฀holes฀in฀the฀ground฀formed฀by฀an฀explosion.
98
World War I Seen Through Art
In฀October฀1929฀the฀United฀States฀of฀America฀suffered฀a฀severe฀financial฀crisis฀known฀as
the฀Wall฀Street฀Crash.฀Many฀American฀banks฀closed฀and฀thousands฀of฀firms฀and
individuals฀went฀bankrupt.฀This฀economic฀crisis฀spread฀throughout฀the฀world.฀By฀1931
nearly฀3,000,000฀British฀workers
were฀unemployed.฀This฀dismal 1
period฀was฀known฀as฀the฀Great
Depression.
In฀spite฀of฀Britain's฀social฀and
economic฀problems,฀the฀monarchy
remained฀popular,฀and฀in฀1936
Edward฀VIII฀became฀king฀on฀the
death฀of฀his฀father.฀However,฀he
decided฀to฀abdicate฀the฀throne
rather฀than฀give฀up฀the฀woman฀he
loved.฀He฀could฀not฀be฀king฀and
marry฀Wallis฀Simpson,฀a฀twice-
divorced฀American.฀Edward฀VIII’s
brother,฀George฀VI,฀became฀king
and฀in฀spite฀of฀initial฀doubts
about฀his฀leadership฀qualities,฀he
became฀a฀popular฀figure฀because
of฀his฀solidarity฀with฀the฀people
during฀World฀War฀II.
High฀unemployment,฀hunger฀and
poverty฀were฀the฀ideal฀conditions
for฀the฀birth฀of฀the฀Fascist฀Party฀in
Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (1936) by Dorothea Lange. Italy฀and฀the฀Nazi฀Party฀in฀Germany.
Thousands฀of฀desperate,฀frustrated
The terrible conditions of this era are shown in many
people฀began฀to฀follow฀two฀new
photographs. By the time of the Depression, photographs
had replaced paintings as a way of recording social leaders,฀Adolf฀Hitler฀in฀Germany
conditions. The American government asked Dorothea and฀Benito฀Mussolini฀in฀Italy,฀who
Lange to make a photo-report of the economic crisis and promised฀them฀a฀better฀life.
its effects on people. This photograph is a historical
document as well as a work of art. We notice the woman’s
troubled face immediately, as the children lean on her for
support.
1 dismal฀:฀sad฀and฀without฀hope.
99
Go back to the text
PET
1 Decide฀if฀each฀statement฀is฀correct฀or฀incorrect.฀If฀it฀is฀correct฀tick฀A;฀if฀it฀is฀not฀correct,฀tick฀B.
A B
1 At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀twentieth฀century฀the฀population฀of฀
Great฀Britain฀was฀about฀40฀million.฀฀฀฀
2 The฀first฀cars,฀telephones฀and฀electric฀lighting฀
appeared฀in฀the฀homes฀of฀all฀social฀classes.฀฀฀
3 Although฀Emmeline฀Pankhurst฀fought฀for฀women’s฀suffrage,฀
British฀women฀were฀not฀allowed฀to฀vote฀until฀1938.฀
4 Emmeline฀Parkhurst฀used฀prints฀and฀posters฀to฀communicate฀her฀message.
5 At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀1900s฀Germany฀was฀a฀strong฀industrial฀
and฀economic฀power฀which฀was฀building฀a฀huge฀navy.฀
6 At฀the฀beginning฀of฀World฀War฀I฀the฀European฀powers฀split฀into฀two฀
alliances:฀Britain,฀France฀and฀Russia;฀Germany฀and฀Austria-Hungary.฀
7 The฀assassination฀of฀Archduke฀Ferdinand฀of฀Austria฀in฀
Sarajevo฀started฀World฀War฀I.฀
8 Germany฀declared฀war฀on฀Britain฀in฀August฀1914฀and฀soon฀after฀the฀German฀
Navy฀attacked฀English฀ports,฀while฀zeppelin฀airships฀bombed฀London.฀
9 In฀1931฀the฀dominions฀became฀independent฀from฀Britain฀and฀
equal฀members฀of฀the฀British฀Commonwealth.฀
10 In฀his฀paintings,฀the฀war฀artist฀Paul฀Nash฀showed฀the฀heroic฀aspects฀
of฀death฀in฀battle.
11 The฀United฀States,฀Germany฀and฀Japan฀became฀strong฀competitors฀on฀the฀
world฀market฀and฀Britain’s฀importance฀as฀an฀industrial฀power฀declined.฀
12 Fortunately,฀the฀Wall฀Street฀Crash฀and฀Great฀Depression฀of฀1929฀affected฀
only฀the฀United฀States.฀
13 Dorothea฀Lange฀painted฀the฀economic฀crisis฀caused฀by฀the฀
Great฀Depression฀in฀the฀United฀States.
14 The฀popularity฀of฀Italian฀Fascist฀Party฀and฀the฀German฀Nazi฀Party฀were฀the฀
direct฀result฀of฀the฀poverty฀and฀high฀unemployment฀that฀followed฀World฀War฀I.
2 Write฀suitable฀questions฀for฀the฀following฀answers.฀
1 When฀ ...........................................................................................................................................?
The฀Women’s฀Social฀and฀Political฀Union฀was฀founded฀in฀1903.
2 What฀ ............................................................................................................................................?
Germany฀used฀submarines฀to฀destroy฀merchant฀ships.
100
3 Who฀ .............................................................................................................................................?
Germany฀was฀Britain’s฀biggest฀rival฀at฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀twentieth฀century.
4 Where฀ ..........................................................................................................................................?
The฀Archduke฀was฀assassinated฀in฀Sarajevo.
5 Why฀ .............................................................................................................................................?
The฀workers฀were฀frustrated฀because฀they฀were฀unemployed.
6 How฀many ....................................................................................................................................?
Over฀750,000฀British฀soldiers฀were฀killed฀during฀World฀War฀I.
CHAPTER฀TEN
Before you read
PET
14 1 Listen฀to฀the฀first฀part฀of฀Chapter฀Eleven฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer฀A,฀B฀or฀C.
1 When฀did฀Britain฀declare฀war฀ 4 During฀the฀Battle฀of฀Britain,฀how฀many
on฀Germany? Londoners฀were฀killed฀each฀day?
A 1฀September A between฀600฀and฀700.
B 2฀September B between฀300฀and฀600.
C 3฀September C between฀400฀and฀500.
2 Which฀country฀did฀Germany฀not฀ 5 What฀was฀the฀difference฀between฀the฀men
invade฀in฀April฀1940? and฀women฀in฀the฀British฀Army?
A Norway A The฀women฀did฀not฀have฀to฀fight฀
B Sweden in฀battles.
C Denmark B The฀women฀were฀older฀than฀the฀men.
C The฀men฀were฀not฀married.
3 During฀the฀summer฀and฀autumn฀of฀
1940฀the฀Germans฀attacked 6 When฀did฀food฀rationing฀begin฀in฀Britain?
A British฀army฀camps. A 1940.
B British฀ports. B 1939.
C British฀airfields. C 1938.
101
CHAPTER ELEVEN
World War II and the

Post-war Years
14 GERMAN AGGRESSION
Adolf฀Hitler,฀the฀leader฀of฀the฀German฀Nazi฀party,฀was฀becoming฀a฀demagogue.฀He฀had
incredible฀power฀and฀influence฀over฀the฀German฀people,฀who฀were฀disillusioned฀with฀the
status฀of฀Germany฀in฀Europe฀after฀World฀War฀I฀and฀desired฀a฀better฀future฀both฀for
themselves฀and฀their฀country.฀He฀promised฀them฀prosperity฀in฀a฀powerful฀Germany.฀
Hitler฀planned฀to฀retake฀the฀land฀Germany฀had฀lost฀at฀the฀end฀of฀World฀War฀I.฀He฀built฀up
the฀German฀armed฀forces,฀which฀he฀had฀promised฀not฀to฀do.฀German฀troops฀invaded
Austria฀in฀1938,฀as฀Hitler฀believed฀that฀all฀German-speaking฀countries฀should฀be฀part฀of
Germany.฀For฀this฀reason฀he฀also฀took฀over฀another฀German-speaking฀area,฀the
Sudentenland,฀in฀Czechoslovakia.฀All฀of฀Europe฀was฀worried฀about฀German฀expansion.
Could฀this฀be฀the฀beginning฀of฀another฀war?
Adolf, the superman, swallows gold and vomits

stupidity (1932) by John Heartfield.
Hitler is the subject of this photomontage

John Heartfield produced for the opposition
magazine Arbeiter Illustriert Zeitung, which
was banned by the Nazis soon afterwards.
Heartfield combined a photograph with an
x-ray of Hitler’s body. The x-ray shows
Hitler’s body is full of money as he is
swallowing gold, this refers to the financial
support he was given by his political
supporters and German industry. The word
‘superman’ in the title refers ironically to the
Nazis’ claim of racial superiority. The word
‘stupidity’ is used to describe his speeches.
Heartfield managed to escape from the Nazis
and stayed in exile until the end of the war.
World War II
BRITAIN DECLARES WAR
Seen Through Art
In฀1939฀Germany฀invaded฀Czechoslovakia฀and฀on฀1฀September฀of฀the฀same฀year฀Poland
was฀also฀invaded!฀All฀of฀Europe฀was฀enraged 1 and฀on฀3฀September฀Britain฀declared฀war
on฀Germany.฀But฀this฀did฀not฀stop฀Hitler.
In฀April฀1940฀Germany฀invaded฀Norway,฀then฀the฀Netherlands,฀Belgium฀and฀Denmark.
Soon฀after฀Germany฀attacked,฀defeated฀and฀occupied฀France.฀Britain฀was฀an฀ally฀of
France,฀but฀the฀British฀forces฀who฀were฀sent฀to฀France฀were฀not฀able฀to฀stop฀the฀German
1 enraged :฀very฀angry.
Battle of Britain: August-October 1940 (1940) by Paul Nash.
Hitler hoped to destroy the British defences by bombing them from the air and then to invade by sea. The Battle of
Britain lasted for nearly one year. It was the first great battle to be fought in the skies.
In this work by Paul Nash (who also painted episodes from World War I), the open sky takes up two thirds of the
painting. He shows enemy aircraft fighting a dramatic duel. The sky is filled with the white smoke from the planes’
engines, while grey smoke pours from an aircraft as it crashes into the sea.
British History
Tube Shelter Perspective (1941) by Henry Moore.
London and Britain’s other major cities were bombed almost non-stop. Despite the dangerous
living conditions, the British did not give up hope. To escape the bombing, the people of London
took shelter in the stations and tunnels of the Underground. The sculptor Henry Moore was asked
by the Government to record these events. This drawing shows a crowd of people sleeping in the
shadowy darkness of a tunnel. The artist uses simple white shapes to give the idea of sleeping
bodies. His drawings are considered some of the most authentic images of the suffering and
hardship of ordinary people in World War II.
104
World War II Seen Through Art
advance฀and฀had฀to฀be฀evacuated฀from฀Dunkirk.฀It฀was฀a฀humiliating฀defeat฀and฀now
Britain฀stood฀alone฀against฀Germany.
Winston฀Churchill,฀a฀brilliant฀politician,฀an฀exceptional฀leader฀and฀a฀man฀of฀great
courage,฀became฀Prime฀Minister฀in฀1940.฀During฀that฀summer฀and฀autumn฀the฀German
Luftwaffe฀attacked฀British฀airfields฀and฀then฀bombed฀London฀and฀other฀cities.฀Each฀day
between฀300฀to฀600฀Londoners฀were฀killed.฀This฀battle฀of฀the฀skies฀was฀known฀as฀the
Battle฀of฀Britain.
The฀entire฀population฀of฀Great฀Britain฀was฀involved฀in฀the฀war.฀All฀men฀between฀19฀(later
18)฀and฀41฀years฀of฀age฀were฀called฀up 1 to฀fight.฀Unmarried฀women฀between฀20฀and฀30
years฀of฀age฀were฀also฀called฀up฀to฀serve฀in฀the฀armed฀forces,฀but฀they฀did฀not฀take฀part฀in
END the฀fighting.฀Food฀rationing฀began฀in฀1940฀and฀continued฀throughout฀the฀war.
THE GREAT POWERS AT WAR
In฀August฀1940฀Italy฀entered฀the฀war฀on฀Germany's฀side.฀German฀forces฀invaded฀the
Soviet฀Union฀in฀June฀1941,฀bringing฀Russia฀into฀the฀war฀on฀the฀side฀of฀the฀Allies:฀Britain
and฀France.
Japan,฀which฀had฀an฀alliance฀with฀Germany,฀attacked฀the฀American฀fleet฀at฀Pearl฀Harbor,
Hawaii,฀in฀December฀1941.฀The฀United฀States฀immediately฀declared฀war฀on฀Japan฀and,
shortly฀after,฀on฀Germany฀and฀Italy.฀The฀terrible฀events฀that฀started฀in฀Europe฀now
involved฀the฀great฀powers฀of฀the฀world฀in฀the฀deadliest฀and฀costliest฀war฀in฀history.
The฀Japanese฀forces฀rapidly฀invaded฀Southeast฀Asia.฀More฀than฀80,000฀British฀and
Commonwealth฀troops฀were฀defeated฀when฀Singapore฀surrendered฀in฀February฀1942.฀
Many฀important฀sea฀battles฀were฀fought฀in฀Southeast฀Asia฀between฀the฀American฀and
Japanese฀navies.฀In฀October฀1944฀the฀American฀navy฀was฀victorious฀over฀the฀Japanese฀at
the฀decisive฀Battle฀of฀Midway.
In฀North฀Africa,฀German฀and฀Italian฀troops฀joined฀together฀and฀advanced฀into฀Egypt,
which฀was฀controlled฀by฀the฀British.฀In฀1942฀the฀British฀Eighth฀Army,฀under฀the
command฀of฀General฀Montgomery,฀defeated฀them฀at฀El฀Alamein.฀The฀British฀forces฀then
joined฀the฀American฀army,฀following฀their฀landing฀in฀Algeria.฀Together฀they฀invaded฀Italy
in฀1944฀and฀took฀Rome฀after฀a฀very฀difficult฀military฀campaign.฀
Thousands฀of฀American฀soldiers฀arrived฀in฀Britain฀from฀1942฀onwards,฀and฀with฀the
British฀and฀Commonwealth฀soldiers฀prepared฀for฀the฀huge฀seaborne฀invasion฀of฀France,
which฀was฀being฀carefully฀and฀secretly฀planned.
1 called฀up฀:฀ordered฀to฀join฀the฀armed฀forces.
105
British History
On฀6฀June฀1944,฀(D-Day),฀the฀allied฀forces฀landed฀in฀Normandy.฀They฀fought฀their฀way
across฀France฀and฀Belgium฀to฀Germany.฀The฀German฀forces฀were฀gradually฀being฀pushed
back฀everywhere.฀On฀15฀April฀1945฀British฀troops฀liberated฀the฀Bergen-Belsen
concentration฀camp,฀one฀of฀the฀many฀horrific฀death฀camps฀where฀the฀Nazis฀imprisoned
and฀murdered฀the฀Jews,฀other฀minority฀groups฀and฀political฀opponents.฀The฀Holocaust
attempted฀to฀exterminate฀the฀Jewish฀race฀in฀Europe฀and฀cost฀the฀lives฀of฀nearly฀6฀million
innocent฀people.
The฀Russian฀Army฀surrounded฀Berlin฀on฀24฀April฀1945฀and฀six฀days฀later,฀in฀view฀of฀the
German฀defeat,฀Hitler฀killed฀himself.฀The฀German฀army฀surrendered฀to฀the฀British฀General
Montgomery฀on฀4฀May฀1945.฀The฀Germans฀were฀finally฀defeated฀and฀the฀British
celebrated฀VE฀Day฀(Victory฀in฀Europe)฀on฀8฀May฀1945.฀The฀war฀in฀Europe฀was฀over,
although฀it฀continued฀in฀the฀Far฀East฀until฀August฀1945.
POST-WAR BRITAIN
Unlike฀the฀United฀States,฀Britain฀was฀devastated฀by฀the฀war.฀The฀economy฀was฀exhausted,
the฀country฀was฀heavily฀in฀debt,฀the฀task฀of฀reconstruction฀was฀huge฀and฀Britain฀no
longer฀had฀an฀empire.฀She฀received฀several฀billion฀dollars฀from฀the฀United฀States
Marshall฀Plan,฀which฀greatly฀helped฀to฀rebuild฀Britain฀and฀the฀other฀European฀nations
destroyed฀by฀the฀war.฀Britain’s฀role฀in฀the฀world฀was฀changing.฀
The฀situation฀at฀home฀was฀also฀changing.฀The฀British฀Welfare฀State,฀a฀system฀of฀social
services,฀was฀set฀up฀and฀by฀1948฀the฀British฀people฀had฀free฀medical฀care,฀social฀security
payments,฀free฀education฀and฀many฀other฀benefits฀which฀were฀unheard฀of฀a฀century
earlier.฀The฀Labour฀Government฀nationalised฀the฀privately฀run฀railways,฀iron฀and฀steel
industries,฀coal฀mines,฀and฀gas฀and฀electricity฀industries.฀In฀1951฀the฀Conservatives฀won
the฀elections฀and฀remained฀in฀power฀for฀the฀next฀thirteen฀years.฀The฀standard฀of฀living
rose฀quickly฀and฀when฀Elizabeth฀II฀was฀crowned฀queen฀in฀1952฀the฀British฀optimistically
talked฀about฀Britain฀entering฀a฀'New฀Elizabethan฀Age'.
106
Go back to the text
PET
1 Read฀the฀passage฀below฀and฀choose฀the฀correct฀word฀A,฀B,฀C฀or฀D฀for฀each฀space.
D
1.......฀Adolf฀Hitler฀planned฀to฀take฀the฀land฀Germany฀had฀2.......฀after฀World฀War฀I,฀he฀invaded
Austria฀in฀1938฀and฀Czechoslovakia฀and฀Poland฀in฀1939.฀Britain฀declared฀war฀3.......฀Germany.
4.......฀could฀stop฀Hitler.฀In฀1940฀he฀invaded฀Norway,฀the฀Netherlands,฀Belgium,฀Denmark฀and
France!฀The฀brilliant฀5.......฀Winston฀Churchill฀became฀Prime฀Minister฀in฀1940.฀฀
London฀and฀other฀cities฀were฀heavily฀6.......฀The฀United฀States฀entered฀the฀war฀7.......฀the฀Japanese
attack฀on฀Pearl฀Harbor,฀Hawaii.฀The฀great฀8.......฀of฀the฀world฀were฀now฀at฀war.฀
On฀D-Day฀the฀allied฀forces฀landed฀in฀Normandy฀and฀fought฀their฀way฀9.......฀France฀to฀Germany.฀In
April฀1945฀the฀Germans฀were฀10.......฀and฀the฀war฀in฀Europe฀was฀11.......฀Britain฀had฀been
devastated฀12.......฀the฀war.
1 A About B Again C Soon D Since

2 A gained B lost C seen D attacked฀
3 A on B in C to D for
4 A Everything B Something C Nothing D Anything
5 A general B politician C philosopher D banker
6 A bombed B bombs C bombing฀ D bomb
7 A until B before C during D after฀
8 A cities B powers C politics D colonies
9 A by B at C across D to
10 A imprisoned B murdered C exterminated D defeated
11 A off฀ B up C over D down
12 A at฀ B by฀ C to D on
2 Answer฀the฀following฀questions฀about฀paintings฀of฀World฀War฀II.
1 Why฀is฀the฀word฀‘superman’฀used฀in฀the฀subtitle฀of฀Heartfield’s฀photomontage฀of฀Hitler?
2 Why฀is฀Hitler฀shown฀swallowing฀gold?
3 What฀does฀Paul฀Nash’s฀painting฀of฀the฀Battle฀of฀Britain฀show?
4 What฀was฀Henry฀Moore฀asked฀to฀do฀by฀the฀British฀government?฀
5 Why฀is฀Henry฀Moore’s฀work฀considered฀important?
CHAPTER฀ELEVEN
107
Before you read
PET
15 1 Listen฀to฀the฀first฀part฀of฀Chapter฀Twelve฀and฀for฀each฀question฀indicate฀the฀correct฀answer
A,฀B฀or฀C
1 How฀long฀did฀the฀economic฀boom฀after 5 When฀was฀the฀word฀teenager฀first฀used?
World฀฀War฀II฀last?
A in฀the฀1950s
A ten฀years B in฀the฀1960s
B fifteen฀years C in฀the฀1970s
C twenty฀years
6 How฀did฀Mary฀Quant฀change฀fashion?
2 How฀did฀British฀cities฀improve฀after
World฀War฀II? A She฀designed฀formal฀suits.
B She฀designed฀psychedelic฀shoes.
A There฀was฀less฀pollution.
C She฀designed฀the฀miniskirt.
B The฀number฀of฀policemen฀
increased.
7 What฀shocked฀the฀British฀public฀at฀the
C The฀streets,฀hospitals฀and฀
beginning฀of฀the฀1960s?
houses฀improved.
A The฀behaviour฀of฀the฀police.
3 Which฀consumer฀product฀did฀the B The฀behaviour฀of฀politicians.
British฀not฀buy฀in฀the฀1950s? C The฀behaviour฀of฀the฀Royal฀
A the฀dishwasher Family.
B the฀washing฀machine
8 What฀did฀France,฀Germany฀and฀Japan
C the฀car
have฀in฀common฀in฀the฀1960s?
4 When฀did฀food฀rationing฀end? A Their฀economies฀were฀all฀
weaker฀than฀the฀British฀economy.
A 1954 B Their฀economies฀were฀all฀
B 1956 stronger฀than฀the฀British฀economy.
C 1958 C They฀were฀the฀main฀exporters฀
of฀British฀goods.
108
CHAPTER TWELVE
Moving Towards the

Twenty-first Century
15 THE POST-WAR BOOM
In฀the฀twenty฀years฀following฀World฀War฀II฀Britain฀experienced฀an฀economic฀boom.฀
The฀government฀was฀committed 1 to฀the฀Welfare฀State฀and฀to฀maintaining฀a฀high฀level฀of
employment.฀Money฀was฀spent฀on฀building฀new฀houses,฀hospitals฀and฀roads.฀People฀spent
their฀salaries฀on฀consumer฀goods,฀which฀also฀benefited฀British฀industry.
In฀the฀1950s฀many฀people฀had฀their฀first฀telephone฀installed฀and฀bought฀their฀first฀car,
record฀player,฀portable฀radio฀and฀television.฀New฀labour-saving฀devices฀such฀as฀the
washing฀machine฀and฀the฀vacuum฀cleaner฀became฀common฀household฀goods.฀The฀British
consumer฀was฀encouraged฀to฀buy฀and฀not฀to฀save.฀
1 committed :฀promised฀to฀support฀a฀certain฀cause.
Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different,

so appealing? (1956) by Richard Hamilton.
The symbols of the new lifestyles became the

symbols of Pop Art, one of the most important
art movements of the second half of the
twentieth century. This collage by Richard
Hamilton makes use of the items which were
about to turn Great Britain into a consumer
society. The television and vacuum cleaner are
symbols of modern technology. We can see
advertising logos and brand names, such as
Ford on the lamp and Del Monte on the tin of
ham and images taken from advertisements,
such as the woman vacuuming the stairs. The
two people in the foreground represent the
‘new man and woman’. The collage shows
how consumerism and the American lifestyle
influenced Britain after the hardships of the war.
British History
Food฀rationing฀ended฀in฀1954฀and฀between฀1956฀and฀1958,฀800฀new฀supermarkets฀opened
in฀Great฀Britain.฀During฀the฀1950s฀people฀from฀the฀newly฀independent฀Commonwealth
countries฀emigrated฀to฀Britain฀looking฀for฀secure฀employment,฀and฀Britain฀started฀to
become฀a฀multi-racial฀society.
The฀word฀teenager฀was฀first฀used฀in฀the฀1950s฀to฀indicate฀a฀new฀generation฀of฀young
people฀with฀buying฀power฀and฀new฀revolutionary฀ideas฀about฀entertainment,฀music฀and
fashion.฀The฀youth฀culture฀of฀the฀1960s฀and฀1970s฀was฀imitated฀by฀young฀people฀all฀over
the฀world.฀Pop฀groups฀such฀as฀the฀Beatles฀and฀the฀Rolling฀Stones฀have฀had฀an฀enormous
influence฀on฀youth฀culture.฀Young฀designers฀like฀Mary฀Quant฀revolutionised฀fashion฀with
the฀miniskirt฀and฀colourful,฀informal฀clothes!
A scene from Yellow Submarine (1968) directed by George Dunning.
You can recognise the four Beatles and on the right there is the character from the film, Captain
Fred. In this surreal cartoon, made around the Beatles’ music, the ‘Fab Four’ accompany Captain
Fred in his Yellow Submarine to bring music and freedom to Pepperland. The psychedelic
techniques, the ultra bright lights and the anarchic characters of this cartoon capture the
atmosphere of the youth culture of the late 1960s.
110
Cataract 3 (1967) by Bridget Riley.
This painting, which is based on a

study of optical laws and the
psychology of shape, has a
deliberately hypnotic effect on the
viewer. If you look at the wavy lines
for long enough, they appear to move
and the whole painting comes to life.
The viewer’s perception becomes a
source of disorientation. The
geometric patterns typical of
‘Op(tical) Art’ became very popular in
the 1960s and 1970s. The distinction
between ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture
became ambiguous, as often happened
at the time, and the patterns were used
both in painting and the fashionable
clothes of the day.
ECONOMIC DECLINE
At฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀1960s฀Britain฀was฀at฀a฀turning฀point.฀Cases฀of฀immoral฀behaviour
among฀politicians฀were฀discovered฀and฀the฀public฀was฀shocked.฀The฀British฀were
beginning฀to฀buy฀more฀from฀abroad฀than฀they฀sold,฀and฀a฀country฀that฀spends฀more฀than฀it
earns฀goes฀into฀debt.฀Britain’s฀new฀prosperity฀was฀very฀fragile.฀Germany,฀France฀and
Japan฀were฀economically฀more฀stable.฀The฀balance฀of฀power฀in฀the฀world฀had฀changed.
Britain฀was฀no฀longer฀a฀world฀power฀or฀a฀European฀power.฀The฀two฀superpowers฀were฀the
END United฀States฀and฀the฀Soviet฀Union.฀What฀was฀Britain’s฀new฀role?฀
In฀1957฀Britain฀refused฀to฀join฀the฀European฀Economic฀Community,฀in฀spite฀of฀the
economic฀advantages฀it฀offered:฀a฀huge฀internal฀market฀for฀buying฀and฀selling฀goods฀with
minimal฀tariffs.฀A฀few฀years฀later฀Britain฀became฀aware฀of฀its฀growing฀economic฀problems
and฀applied฀for฀membership฀of฀the฀EEC฀but฀was฀refused฀twice,฀in฀1961฀and฀1967.฀
Britain฀finally฀succeeded฀in฀joining฀the฀EEC฀in฀1973,฀but฀this฀did฀not฀improve฀her
economic฀situation.฀What฀had฀caused฀this฀decline?฀The฀government,฀the฀management฀of
industry฀and฀the฀workers฀have฀all฀been฀blamed฀for฀the฀economic฀problems.฀The฀government
did฀not฀take฀an฀active฀role฀in฀the฀economy,฀the฀management฀of฀industry฀used฀old-fashioned
methods฀for฀too฀long,฀and฀the฀workers฀with฀their฀powerful฀trade฀unions฀damaged฀the
economy฀with฀strikes 1 that฀paralysed฀the฀entire฀country฀for฀long฀periods฀of฀time.฀
1 strikes :฀stopping฀work฀to฀demonstrate฀for฀better฀pay฀or฀working฀conditions.
111
British History
THATCHER TAKES OVER
In฀January฀1979฀prices฀were฀continuing฀to฀rise฀and฀strikes฀were฀becoming฀more฀and฀more
frequent.฀Over฀one฀million฀people฀were฀unemployed฀and฀Britain฀was฀deep฀in฀debt.฀The
population฀was฀tired฀of฀this฀situation฀and฀wanted฀a฀change.฀In฀May฀1979฀there฀was฀a
general฀election฀and฀the฀Conservative฀Party฀won฀under฀the฀leadership฀of฀Margaret฀Thatcher.
Thatcher฀was฀a฀strong-willed฀individual฀who฀fought฀successfully฀against฀the฀trade฀unions,
dismantled฀the฀Welfare฀State฀and฀denationalised฀industry.฀By฀1987฀many฀of฀Britain’s฀most
important฀industries฀had฀returned฀to฀private฀ownership,฀among฀them฀British฀Airways,
British฀Aerospace,฀the฀British฀shipbuilders฀and฀the฀telecommunications฀industry.
Postcard Flag (Union Jack) (1981) by Tony Cragg.
The ‘Thatcher years’ were full of contradictions. After the decline of the post-war period and the
revolutionary ‘counter-culture’ of the 1960s and 1970s, the British rediscovered a new sense of
nationalism. At the same time, a large part of the population was suffering serious economic
problems. This work by Tony Cragg gives a critical view of the situation: The British Flag,
symbol of the new patriotism, is made up of blue and red plastic objects. Despite their bright
colours, these objects represent the rubbish which contemporary society throws away.
112
Twenty-first Century Seen Through Art
Thatcher฀believed฀that฀the฀‘cradle฀to฀the฀grave’ 1 philosophy฀of฀the฀Welfare฀State฀was฀not
working฀for฀Britain.฀She฀believed฀that฀stimulating฀competition,฀hard฀work฀and฀self-help
were฀the฀answer฀to฀the฀country’s฀industrial,฀economic฀and฀social฀problems.฀Many฀social
policies฀were฀cut฀and฀people฀lost฀their฀jobs.฀Some฀individuals฀without฀work฀became
entrepreneurs฀–฀they฀went฀into฀business฀for฀themselves,฀and฀many฀were฀successful.฀
This฀was฀a฀controversial฀period฀of฀great฀change.
A scene from Riff-Raff (1991)

directed by Ken Loach.
The celebrated film director Ken

Loach recreates the lives and
living conditions of the British
working classes in many of his
films. In Riff-Raff, as in other
films he made during the
‘Thatcher years’, he analyses the
negative effect of the new
economic policies by following
a group of workers employed on
a building site in London. The
problems they face and the
difficulty of their everyday lives
is contrasted with the affluence
of the ‘nouveau riche’ for whom
they build or renovate
apartments. In this image from
the film you can see Larry, one
of the workers and a strong
supporter of the trade unions.
On฀10฀October฀1987฀there฀was฀a฀stockmarket฀crash.฀This฀marked฀the฀beginning฀of฀a฀recession
which฀hit฀all฀of฀Europe฀but฀particularly฀Britain.฀By฀the฀end฀of฀the฀1980s฀Thatcher’s฀charismatic
leadership฀was฀being฀criticised,฀the฀recession฀was฀growing฀and฀unpopular฀new฀taxes฀were
introduced.฀In฀1990,฀after฀eleven฀years฀of฀being฀Prime฀Minister,฀she฀resigned 1 and฀the
Conservatives฀chose฀John฀Major฀as฀their฀party฀leader.฀After฀the฀Conservatives฀were฀re-elected
in฀1992,฀Major฀continued฀Thatcher’s฀projects฀but฀with฀more฀respect฀for฀social฀policies.
1 ‘cradle฀to฀the฀grave’฀:฀from฀birth฀to฀death. 2 resigned :฀gave฀up฀a฀job฀or฀position.
113
British History
A NEW ROLE FOR BRITAIN
After฀the฀Thatcher฀era฀nothing฀was฀the฀same฀again.฀There฀had฀been฀many฀changes,฀some
positive฀but฀others฀negative.฀British฀society฀would฀never฀be฀the฀same฀again.฀The฀power฀of
the฀trade฀unions฀was฀reduced.฀Privatisation฀proved฀to฀be฀successful฀in฀some฀sectors,฀and
was฀copied฀through฀Western฀Europe฀and,฀with฀the฀fall฀of฀the฀Communist฀empire,฀in
Eastern฀Europe฀as฀well.
Britain฀was฀emerging฀as฀a฀world฀leader฀in฀art,฀music,฀theatre,฀entertainment฀and฀fashion.
London,฀with฀its฀seven฀million฀inhabitants,฀was฀now฀one฀of฀the฀world’s฀most฀important
banking฀centres.฀The฀opening฀of฀the฀Channel฀Tunnel฀in฀1994฀finally฀linked฀Britain฀to
continental฀Europe.฀
In฀May฀1997฀the฀Labour฀Party฀with฀Tony฀Blair฀as฀its฀leader฀won฀the฀general฀elections฀after
eighteen฀years฀of฀Conservative฀government.฀Blair,฀who฀is฀considered฀a฀modernist,฀is฀the
youngest฀Prime฀Minister฀since฀1812.฀
Some฀of฀the฀most฀symbolic฀and฀significant฀changes฀in฀Great฀Britain฀can฀be฀seen฀in
London.฀The฀Tate฀Modern฀is฀an฀outstanding฀example฀of฀the฀cultural฀and฀architectural
changes฀taking฀place฀in฀Britain฀today.฀A฀disused฀electric฀power฀station฀has฀been
brilliantly฀transformed฀into฀a฀spacious฀seven-floor฀museum฀of฀contemporary฀art.
Another฀spectacular฀sign฀of฀change฀is฀the฀Millennium฀Bridge,฀the฀pedestrian฀bridge฀that
connects฀St.฀Paul’s฀Cathedral,฀symbol฀of฀the฀past,฀with฀the฀Tate฀Modern,฀symbol฀of฀the
present฀and฀the฀future.฀
As฀Great฀Britain฀steps฀into฀the฀twenty-first฀century฀she฀seems฀to฀have฀found฀a฀new฀role฀
as฀a฀dynamic฀and฀influential฀nation฀on฀the฀world฀scene,฀ready฀to฀meet฀the฀many
challenges฀of฀the฀future.
The Thames, the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye by night.
Go back to the text
PET
1 In฀the฀20฀years฀following฀World฀War฀II฀Britain
A was฀involved฀in฀a฀depression.
B experienced฀a฀period฀of฀economic฀prosperity.
C experienced฀a฀period฀of฀unemployment.
D spent฀money฀on฀new฀submarines.
2 The฀British฀consumers฀were฀encouraged฀to
A spend฀money฀on฀new฀products฀for฀themselves฀and฀their฀homes.
B save฀as฀much฀money฀as฀possible.
C build฀their฀own฀homes.
D emigrate฀to฀the฀colonies.
3 The฀word฀teenager฀was฀used฀to฀indicate฀
A pop฀groups฀of฀the฀1960s.
B people฀who฀designed฀modern฀clothes.
C young฀men฀who฀bought฀their฀first฀car.
D young฀people฀with฀new฀ideas฀and฀their฀own฀money.
4 In฀the฀1960s฀Britain฀went฀into฀debt฀because
A it฀bought฀more฀from฀abroad฀than฀it฀sold.
B it฀was฀no฀longer฀a฀world฀power.
C it฀did฀not฀join฀the฀European฀Economic฀Community.
D its฀politicians฀were฀old฀fashioned.฀
5 What฀happened฀when฀the฀balance฀of฀power฀in฀the฀world฀changed?
A Britain฀became฀the฀third฀superpower.
B Britain฀joined฀the฀European฀Economic฀Community฀in฀1957.
C Britain฀went฀into฀political฀and฀economic฀decline.
D British฀workers฀went฀on฀strike
6 What฀was฀blamed฀for฀Britain’s฀economic฀decline฀of฀the฀1970s?
A The฀revolutionary฀methods฀employed฀by฀the฀management฀of฀industry.
B The฀trade฀union฀strikes฀which฀contributed฀to฀an฀economic฀boom.
C Britain฀becoming฀a฀member฀of฀the฀EEC฀in฀1973.
D The฀government's฀economic฀policies.฀
115
7 In฀1979฀the฀economic฀situation฀was฀getting฀worse
A but฀everyone฀had฀a฀job.
B and฀Britain฀owed฀a฀lot฀of฀money.
C but฀prices฀had฀stopped฀rising.
D but฀there฀were฀fewer฀strikes.
8 At฀the฀general฀election฀of฀1979
A the฀Conservative฀Party฀won฀and฀Margaret฀Thatcher฀became฀Prime฀Minister.
B the฀Labour฀Party฀won฀and฀Tony฀Blair฀became฀Prime฀Minister.
C the฀Conservative฀Party฀won฀and฀John฀Major฀became฀Prime฀Minister.
D the฀Labour฀Party฀lost฀and฀elected฀Tony฀Blair฀as฀its฀leader.
9 Margaret฀Thatcher฀denationalised฀industry฀and฀fought฀successfully฀against
A the฀telecommunications฀industry. B British฀Aerospace.
C British฀Airways. D the฀trade฀unions.
10 In฀Thatcher’s฀opinion,฀what฀was฀the฀answer฀to฀Britain’s฀problems?
A The฀improvement฀of฀social฀policies.
B The฀nationalisation฀of฀the฀country’s฀industries.
C People฀taking฀control฀of฀their฀own฀lives.
D The฀'cradle฀to฀the฀grave'฀philosophy฀of฀the฀Welfare฀State.
11 Despite฀a฀growing฀economic฀recession฀and฀unpopular฀new฀taxes฀
A Margaret฀Thatcher฀was฀re-elected฀as฀Prime฀Minister฀in฀1992.
B The฀Conservative฀Party฀won฀the฀general฀elections฀of฀1992.
C Margaret฀Thatcher฀became฀more฀and฀more฀popular.
D The฀Conservative฀Party฀re-elected฀Margaret฀Thatcher฀as฀its฀leader฀in฀1990.
12 Optical฀art฀makes฀use฀of
A coloured฀glass. B bright฀colours.
C geometric฀patterns. D patriotic฀symbols.
13 Ken฀Loach’s฀film฀Riff-Raff follows
A a฀group฀of฀workers฀as฀they฀get฀rich฀quickly.
B a฀group฀of฀workers฀who฀play฀hard฀and฀work฀hard.
C a฀group฀of฀workers฀as฀they฀struggle฀to฀survive.
D a฀group฀of฀workers฀fighting฀against฀trade฀union฀power.
14 Today,฀London฀has฀become฀well-known฀for
A innovation฀in฀architecture.
B resistance฀to฀change.
C innovation฀in฀politics฀and฀government.
D conservation฀of฀historical฀buildings.
116
LET’S IDENTIFY THEM!
2 Match฀the฀person฀or฀group฀with฀the฀description.
1 trade฀unions
2 Margaret฀Thatcher
3 John฀Major
4 Richard฀Hamilton
5 Mary฀Quant
6 Tony฀Blair
7 Tony฀Cragg
8 Bridget฀Riley
9 Ken฀Loach
10 industrial฀฀management
A Margaret฀Thatcher’s฀successor฀as฀leader฀of฀the฀Conservative฀Party
B British฀film฀director฀who฀criticises฀the฀social฀and฀political฀situation
C a฀revolutionary฀fashion฀designer
D workers’฀organisations฀which฀fight฀for฀better฀pay฀and฀working฀conditions฀
E Britain’s฀youngest฀Prime฀Minister฀since฀1912
F a฀strong-willed฀Conservative฀leader
G a฀British฀artist฀who฀criticises฀the฀social฀and฀political฀situation
H partly฀responsible฀for฀the฀economic฀decline฀in฀the฀1970s฀for฀using฀old-fashioned฀methods
I an฀artist฀who฀used฀the฀symbols฀of฀the฀consumer฀society฀and฀the฀American฀way฀of฀life
J an฀artist฀who฀used฀optical฀laws฀and฀geometric฀shapes
117
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER฀TWELVE
1 Click฀ on฀ Tate฀ Modern฀ and฀ then฀ click฀ on฀ Visiting฀ Tate฀ Modern to฀ complete฀ the฀ following
sentences฀with฀the฀correct฀information.฀Use฀the฀information฀on฀the฀main฀page฀and฀from
the฀links฀on฀the฀right.
Tate฀Modern฀is฀open฀from฀(1)฀..............................฀and฀(2)฀..............................฀on
Friday฀and฀Saturday.฀Tate฀Modern฀is฀closed฀on฀(3)฀..............................,฀but฀is฀open฀as
usual฀on฀January฀1.฀
The฀current฀exhibitions฀are฀(4)฀..............................฀.
Tate฀Modern฀is฀situated฀(5)฀..............................฀.
You฀can฀get฀there฀by฀a฀boat฀service,฀which฀sails฀between฀(6)฀..............................
every฀(7)฀..............................฀.
The฀closest฀underground฀stations฀are฀(8)฀..............................฀or฀you฀can฀get฀there฀on
foot฀from฀St฀Paul’s฀Cathedral฀by฀crossing฀(9)฀..............................฀.฀
There฀are฀four฀different฀cafes฀at฀Tate฀Modern:฀Tate฀Modern฀Restaurant,฀which฀is฀on
level฀7฀with฀wonderful฀views฀over฀London฀and฀cafe฀2,฀on฀level฀2,฀which฀serves฀(10)
..............................฀,฀the฀kiosk฀at฀the฀(11)฀..............................฀and฀the฀Espresso
Bar฀on฀level฀4,฀which฀serves฀
(12)฀..............................฀.
118
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
2 Now฀ click฀ on฀ The฀ Building.฀ Read฀ the฀ text฀ and฀ answer฀ the฀ following฀ questions฀ about฀ the
Tate฀Modern.
1 How฀is฀the฀Tate฀Modern฀linked฀to฀St.฀Paul’s฀Cathedral?
2 Who฀was฀the฀architect฀of฀the฀original฀building?
3 What฀other฀buildings฀is฀he฀famous฀for฀designing?
4 How฀many฀bricks฀were฀used฀in฀the฀construction฀of฀the฀building?
5 Why฀was฀the฀central฀chimney฀only฀99฀metres฀high?
3 Now฀ click฀ on฀ The฀ Building฀ and฀ then฀ Bankside.฀ Read฀ the฀ text฀ and฀ decide฀ if฀ the฀ following
statements฀are฀true฀(T)฀or฀false฀(F).
T F
1 The฀Tate฀Modern฀is฀located฀on฀the฀north฀bank฀of฀the฀River฀Thames.
2 It฀is฀only฀a฀short฀walk฀from฀London฀Bridge.
3 London฀Bridge฀was฀built฀by฀the฀Anglo-Saxons฀on฀their฀arrival฀in฀Britain.
4 In฀the฀Middle฀Ages฀Bankside฀was฀a฀very฀poor฀area.
5 Bankside฀became฀the฀home฀of฀the฀Bishop฀of฀Worcester.
6 At฀the฀time฀of฀Shakespeare,฀Bankside฀was฀the฀main฀centre฀for฀
gambling฀in฀London.
7 Shakespeare’s฀theatre฀opened฀in฀Bankside฀in฀1598.
8 The฀theatres฀were฀closed฀during฀the฀English฀Civil฀War.
9 In฀the฀late฀1900s฀lots฀of฀factories฀opened฀in฀Bankside.
10 Like฀the฀rest฀of฀London,฀Bankside฀was฀heavily฀bombed฀in฀World฀War฀II.
119
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
4 Use฀ the฀ Tate฀ Modern฀ website฀ to฀ find฀ out฀ more฀ about฀ the฀ exhibitions฀ you฀ can฀ find฀ there.
You฀can฀even฀search฀the฀site฀for฀information฀on฀an฀artist฀or฀a฀particular฀work฀of฀art.฀
120
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
5 You฀can฀look฀at฀the฀exhibitions฀at฀the฀Tate฀Britain,฀which฀is฀the฀national฀gallery฀of฀British
art฀from฀1500฀to฀the฀present฀day.฀It฀has฀the฀largest฀collection฀of฀British฀art฀in฀the฀world.
Click฀ on฀ Tate฀ Britain฀ Collection฀ Displays,฀ then฀ click฀ on฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ different฀ display
themes฀to฀find฀out฀more฀information฀about฀the฀different฀exhibitions.฀
6 Now฀ click฀ on฀ Tate฀ Collection.฀ If฀ you฀ enter฀ the฀ name฀ of฀ an฀ artist฀ and฀ painting,฀ you฀ can
see฀ that฀ painting.฀ For฀ example,฀ enter฀ Van฀ Dyck฀ and/or฀ A฀ Lady฀ of฀ the฀ Spencer฀ Family ,
then฀click฀on฀Search.฀Click฀on฀the฀painting฀to฀see฀a฀close-up฀of฀it.฀Look฀for฀a฀painting฀by
one฀ of฀ the฀ artists฀ in฀ this฀ book฀ or฀ by฀ one฀ of฀ your฀ favourite฀ artists฀ and฀ write฀ a฀ short
description฀of฀it.฀Also,฀include฀your฀thoughts฀and฀feelings฀when฀you฀look฀at฀the฀painting.
Name฀of฀painting:฀฀ ............................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
121
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
7 Now฀we฀are฀going฀to฀look฀at฀Joseph฀W.฀Turner’s฀paintings.฀Click฀on฀Tate฀Collection฀and
then฀ click฀ on฀ Turner.฀ Click฀ on฀ Tate’s฀ Turner฀ highlights and฀ choose฀ one฀ of฀ the
categories.฀Choose฀a฀painting฀and฀write฀a฀short฀description฀of฀it.
Name฀of฀painting:฀฀ ............................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
8 You฀ can฀ find฀ out฀ about฀ Turner’s฀ life,฀ art฀ and฀ travels฀ by฀ returning฀ to฀ the฀ main฀ Turner
page.฀Follow฀the฀link฀to฀his฀biographical฀details฀and฀write฀a฀list฀of฀the฀5฀most฀interesting
events฀in฀his฀life.
1 .................................................................................................................
2 .................................................................................................................
3 .................................................................................................................
4 .................................................................................................................
5 .................................................................................................................
122
P E T - S T Y L E ฀ E X I T ฀ T E S T
1 Decide฀if฀each฀statement฀is฀correct฀or฀incorrect.฀If฀it฀is฀correct฀tick฀A;฀if฀it฀is฀not฀correct฀tick฀B.
A B
1 After฀700฀AD฀the฀Vikings,฀originally฀from฀Scandinavia,฀left฀Britain.
2 The฀Emperor฀Hadrian฀built฀a฀wall฀across฀the฀country฀to฀separate฀the฀
‘barbarians’฀from฀Roman฀Britain.฀฀
3 Harold฀Godwinsson฀and฀his฀army฀were฀victorious฀at฀the฀battle฀in฀
the฀north฀of฀England฀before฀the฀Battle฀of฀Hastings.฀
4 The฀war฀between฀the฀house฀of฀Lancaster฀and฀the฀house฀of฀York฀was฀known฀
as฀the฀Wars฀of฀the฀Roses฀because฀the฀rose฀was฀the฀emblem฀of฀both฀families.
5 Under฀Elizabeth’s฀reign฀England฀was฀defeated฀by฀the฀Spanish฀Armada.
6 Geoffrey฀Chaucer฀lived฀during฀the฀Elizabethan฀Age฀and฀his฀theatrical฀
company฀performed฀at฀the฀Globe฀Theatre.
7 Sir฀Francis฀Drake฀and฀Sir฀Walter฀Raleigh฀were฀two฀leading฀playwrights฀
in฀Queen฀Elizabeth’s฀court.
8 James฀I฀was฀the฀first฀Stuart฀king฀of฀England.
9 The฀Stuart฀belief฀in฀the฀divine฀right฀of฀kings฀to฀rule฀is฀the฀subject฀
of฀Rubens’฀painting฀of฀James฀I.
10 Outstanding฀discoveries฀in฀the฀fields฀of฀mathematics฀and฀physics฀were฀
made฀by฀William฀Blake.
11 Many฀churches฀and฀public฀buildings฀in฀London฀were฀designed฀in฀the฀
classical฀style฀by฀Christopher฀Wren฀in฀the฀Victorian฀Age.
12 In฀the฀eighteenth฀century฀industrial฀themes฀were฀considered฀to฀be฀
a฀source฀of฀inspiration฀for฀painters.
13 George฀Washington฀led฀the฀American฀colonists฀during฀the฀American฀
Revolution฀and฀then฀became฀the฀first฀President฀of฀the฀United฀States.
14 After฀the฀Battle฀of฀Trafalgar,฀where฀Admiral฀Lord฀Nelson฀lost฀his฀life,฀
France฀regained฀control฀of฀the฀seas.
15 The฀Duke฀of฀Wellington฀was฀painted฀at฀the฀Battle฀of฀Waterloo฀
by฀George฀Jones.
16 Queen฀Victoria฀ruled฀longer฀than฀any฀other฀British฀monarch฀and฀gave฀
her฀name฀to฀an฀age฀characterised฀by฀the฀loss฀of฀the฀British฀Empire.
17 Charles฀Dickens’฀novels฀portrayed฀the฀social฀injustices฀and฀problems฀
of฀the฀Victorian฀Age.
18 Military฀rivalry฀between฀Great฀Britain฀and฀Germany฀created฀great฀
tension฀in฀Europe฀at฀the฀beginning฀of฀the฀twentieth฀century.
19 The฀United฀States฀of฀America฀never฀entered฀World฀War฀I.
20 Paul฀Nash฀painted฀episodes฀from฀both฀world฀wars.
21 Winston฀Churchill฀was฀Britain’s฀Prime฀Minister฀during฀World฀War฀II,฀
but฀he฀proved฀to฀be฀a฀weak฀leader.
22 Margaret฀Thatcher฀brought฀on฀a฀period฀of฀great฀change฀in฀Britain’s฀
politics฀and฀society.
23 Tony฀Blair,฀who฀is฀considered฀to฀be฀a฀conservative,฀is฀the฀youngest฀
Prime฀Minister฀since฀1812.
123
1 For฀the฀most฀part฀Celtic฀art฀was 5 In฀the฀sixteenth฀century฀Martin฀Luther
began฀the฀Reformation,฀which฀gave฀rise
A abstract. to฀the
B realistic.
A Baptist฀Church.
C classical.
B Hundred฀Years฀War.
D religious.
C Wars฀of฀the฀Roses.
D Protestant฀Church.
2 Who฀invaded฀Britain฀after฀the฀
Romans฀left฀in฀406฀AD?
6 Queen฀Elizabeth฀I฀was฀a฀patron฀of฀the
A the฀Anglo-Saxons arts฀and
B the฀Vikings
A had฀the฀Globe฀Theatre฀built.
C the฀Normans
B was฀a฀talented฀painter.
D the฀Celts
C commissioned฀a฀great฀number฀
of฀portraits฀of฀herself.
3 The฀Bayeux฀Tapestry฀is฀an฀ D encouraged฀her฀children฀to฀
embroidered฀chronicle฀of study฀music.
A the฀Roman฀invasion.
B the฀Viking฀attacks. 7 Why฀was฀Queen฀Mary฀invited฀to฀rule
C the฀Battle฀of฀Hastings. Britain฀in฀1688?
D King฀Arthur’s฀heroic฀life. A The฀country฀was฀worried฀about฀
her฀father’s฀religious฀beliefs.
B Her฀father฀was฀killed฀in฀battle฀
4 The฀most฀important฀work฀of฀
that฀year.
literature฀in฀England฀from฀the฀
Middle฀Ages฀was C Her฀husband,฀Prince฀William฀of฀
Orange,฀was฀very฀popular฀with฀
A the฀King฀James Bible. the฀people.
B The฀Canterbury฀Tales. D Her฀father฀abdicated฀the฀year฀
C the฀Lindisfarne฀Gospel. before.
D the฀Domesday฀Book.
8 The฀Georgian฀Age฀is฀famous฀for
A the฀exploration฀of฀India.
B its฀elegance฀and฀classical฀style.
C the฀Great฀Fire฀of฀London.
D the฀invention฀of฀the฀compound฀
microscope.
124
9 Paul฀Revere฀changed฀the฀facts฀in฀his 13 Britain฀declared฀war฀on฀Germany฀on฀3
prints฀of฀the฀American฀struggle฀for September฀1939฀because
independence
A Germany฀invaded฀Norway.
A because฀he฀supported฀the฀British. B Germany฀built฀a฀huge฀navy.
B because฀the฀reality฀of฀the฀ C Germany฀invaded฀
fighting฀was฀too฀violent. Czechoslovakia฀and฀Poland.
C because฀he฀supported฀the฀ D Germany฀occupied฀France.
colonists฀who฀wanted฀
independence.
D because฀he฀was฀worried฀about฀ 14 World฀War฀II฀was฀fought฀in
the฀effect฀of฀the฀fighting฀on฀ A Europe.
the฀public.
B Europe,฀North฀Africa฀and฀
Southeast฀Asia.
10 Which฀industries฀were฀the฀basis฀of฀the C North฀Africa฀and฀Southeast฀Asia.
Industrial฀Revolution฀in฀Britain?
D Southeast฀Asia฀and฀America.
A coal,฀furniture฀and฀sugar
B ceramics,฀iron฀and฀textile 15 Britain’s฀economic฀boom฀was฀followed
C textile,฀tea฀and฀coffee by฀a฀period฀of฀economic฀decline฀caused
D coal,฀iron฀and฀textile mainly฀by฀
A the฀government’s฀economic฀
11 The฀British฀Empire฀became฀the฀largest policies.
empire฀in฀the฀world B membership฀of฀the฀EEC.
A during฀the฀Victorian฀Age. C dishonest฀politicians.
B during฀the฀Georgian฀Age. D internal฀protests฀and฀riots฀
C after฀World฀War฀I.
D during฀World฀War฀II. 16 A฀disused฀electric฀power฀station฀in
London฀has฀been฀transformed฀into฀a฀
12 After฀the฀horrors฀of฀World฀War฀I,฀Great A modern฀cathedral.
Britain฀and฀other฀nations฀were B pedestrian฀bridge.
involved฀in฀ C museum฀of฀contemporary฀art.
A a฀General฀Strike. D museum฀of฀natural฀history.
B an฀international฀trade฀
agreement.
C an฀economic฀boom.
D the฀Great฀Depression.
125
3 Read฀the฀passage฀below฀and฀choose฀the฀correct฀word฀A,฀B,฀C฀or฀D฀for฀each฀space.฀The฀first฀is฀done
for฀you.
Henry฀VIII฀became฀king฀just฀1.......฀his฀eighteenth฀birthday฀in฀1509.฀He฀was฀a฀tall,฀athletic฀young
man฀2.......฀practised฀sports.฀He฀3.......฀several฀musical฀instruments,฀4....... music฀and฀spoke฀English,
Spanish,฀French฀and฀Latin.
5.......฀his฀reign฀Hans฀Holbein฀was฀6.......฀to฀be฀the฀court฀7.......
Henry฀was฀a฀powerful฀leader฀and฀an฀ambitious฀man.฀He฀spent฀a฀great฀deal฀of฀money฀on฀8.......
His฀first฀wife฀Catherine฀9....... did฀not฀give฀him฀the฀10....... he฀wanted฀so฀much,฀so฀Henry฀decided฀to
11.......฀her.฀
In฀1534฀Henry฀12.......฀the฀Catholic฀Church฀and฀13.......฀the฀Church฀of฀England.฀Anne฀Boleyn,฀Henry’s
second฀wife,฀gave฀him฀a฀daughter,฀who฀14.......฀became฀Queen฀Elizabeth฀I.฀15....... ,฀Henry฀was฀very
displeased,฀he฀accused฀Anne฀Boleyn฀of฀treason฀and฀she฀was฀16.......฀.
Henry฀had฀severe฀17.......฀problems฀as฀he฀18.......฀older฀and฀often฀executed฀19.......฀who฀did฀
not฀agree฀20.......฀him.฀21.......฀he฀had฀four฀other฀wives,฀when฀he฀died฀he฀had฀only฀one฀son,฀Edward,
heir฀to฀the฀Tudor฀throne.
1 A following B฀฀after C฀฀before D฀฀earlier

2 A who B฀฀which C฀฀that D฀฀whom
3 A designed฀฀ B฀฀played C฀฀performed D฀฀invented
4 A constructed B฀฀created C฀฀collected D฀฀composed
5 A During B฀฀Within C฀฀On D฀฀After
6 A preferred฀ B฀฀made C฀฀chosen D฀฀elected
7 A musician B฀฀painter C฀฀playwright D฀฀poet
8 A schools฀฀฀ B฀฀horses C฀฀palaces D฀฀sports
9 A of฀Aragon B฀฀Parr฀฀ C฀฀Howard D฀฀Seymour
10 A loyalty฀ B฀฀son C฀฀daughter D฀฀love
11 A exile B฀฀imprison C฀฀behead D฀฀divorce
12 A left B฀฀established C฀฀closed D฀฀destroyed
13 A dissolved B฀฀sustained C฀฀discovered D฀฀founded
14 A next B฀฀consequent C฀฀subsequent฀฀ D฀฀later
15 A Until B฀฀While฀ C฀฀However D฀฀Though
16 A imprisoned B฀฀beheaded C฀฀exiled฀฀ D฀฀tortured
17 A marriage B฀฀health C฀฀economic D฀฀political
18 A were฀ B฀฀had C฀฀grew D฀฀went
19 A those B฀฀they C฀฀them D฀฀these
20 A at B฀฀on C฀฀beside D฀฀with
21 A Yet B฀฀Since C฀฀Because D฀฀Although
126
E X I T ฀ T E S T ฀ – ฀ W R I T I N G ฀ T A S K S
1 Which฀historical฀period฀interested฀you฀the฀most฀and฀why?
............................................................................................................................................................
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2 Which฀artist฀or฀work฀or฀art฀did฀you฀like฀best฀and฀why?
............................................................................................................................................................
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............................................................................................................................................................
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3 If฀you฀were฀to฀choose฀a฀historical฀period฀in฀which฀to฀live,฀which฀would฀you฀choose฀and฀why?
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127
Picture Credits
Abbreviations:฀b฀=฀bottom;฀t฀=฀top;฀c฀=฀centre;฀l฀=฀left;฀r฀=฀right.
Cover,฀from฀left฀to฀right:฀By฀special฀permission฀of฀the฀City฀of฀Bayeux;฀By฀kind฀permission฀of฀the฀Marquess฀of฀Tavistock฀and฀Trustees
of฀the฀Bedford฀Estate;฀The฀Board฀of฀Trustees฀of฀the฀National฀Museums฀and฀Galleries฀on฀Merseyside฀(Walkers฀Art฀Gallery,฀Liverpool);
The฀Imperial฀War฀Museum,฀London.
©฀The฀British฀Museum:฀7;฀9฀tl,฀br;฀10฀tc,฀br;฀44;฀48฀tl.
By฀permission฀of฀the฀British฀Library,฀London:฀11;฀23.
By฀special฀permission฀of฀the฀City฀of฀Bayeux:฀17;฀18฀tl,฀br;฀19฀tl,฀tr,฀bl;฀20;฀21;฀26.
The฀Master฀and฀Fellows฀of฀Corpus฀Christi฀College,฀Cambridge:฀22;฀29.
Bibliothèque฀Nationale฀de฀Paris/Bridgeman฀Art฀Library:฀28.
Belvoir฀Castle,฀Leicestershire,฀UK/Bridgeman฀Art฀Library:฀31.
By฀courtesy฀of฀the฀National฀Portrait฀Gallery,฀London:฀37;฀38;฀51฀bl;฀66.
©฀National฀Maritime฀Museum,฀London:฀39.
By฀kind฀permission฀of฀the฀Marquess฀of฀Tavistock฀and฀Trustees฀of฀the฀Bedford฀Estate:฀40;฀41฀tl,฀tr,฀bl.
By฀courtesy฀of฀the฀Marquess฀of฀Salisbury:฀42;฀43฀tl,฀cr,฀bl.
Crown฀copyright:฀Historic฀Royal฀Palaces.฀Reproduced฀by฀permission฀of฀Historic฀Royal฀Palaces฀under฀licence฀from฀the฀Controller฀of
Her฀Majesty’s฀Stationery฀Office:฀47.
Bibliothèque฀Nationale฀de฀Paris:฀48฀br.
The฀Royal฀Collection฀©฀2001,฀Her฀Majesty฀Queen฀Elizabeth฀II:฀50;฀58;฀61฀t;฀62;฀63;฀80;฀85;฀88.
Musée฀de฀Picardie,฀Amiens:฀51฀t.
©฀Tate,฀London฀2001:฀59.
Courtesy฀of฀the฀Museum฀of฀London:฀60.
©฀City฀Museum฀and฀Art฀Gallery,฀Stoke-on-Trent,฀UK:฀67฀cr.
By฀courtesy฀of฀the฀Trustees฀of฀Sir฀John฀Soane’s฀Museum,฀London:฀68.
©฀National฀Gallery,฀London:฀69;฀87.
National฀Museum฀of฀Photography,฀Film฀and฀Television/Science฀&฀Society฀Picture฀Library:฀70.
Hulton฀Getty฀Archive฀–฀Laura฀Ronchi:฀71.
The฀Board฀of฀Trustees฀of฀the฀National฀Museums฀and฀Galleries฀on฀Merseyside฀(Walkers฀Art฀Gallery,฀Liverpool):฀79.
Royal฀Holloway฀and฀Bedford฀New฀College,฀Surrey,฀UK/Bridgeman฀Art฀Library:฀90.
The฀Imperial฀War฀Museum,฀London:฀98;฀103.
Collection฀of฀Susie฀Tompkins฀Buell:฀99.
Stiftung฀Archiv฀der฀Akademie฀der฀Künste,฀Berlin,฀Heartfield฀2261,฀Roman฀März:฀102.
Reproduced฀by฀permission฀of฀the฀Henry฀Moore฀Foundation/©฀Tate,฀London฀2001:฀104.
Kunsthalle฀Tübingen,฀Sammlung฀G.฀F.฀Zundel/©฀Richard฀Hamilton,฀by฀SIAE,฀2001:฀109.
BFI฀Collections:฀110;฀113.
Leeds฀Museum฀and฀Galleries฀(City฀Art฀Gallery),฀UK/Bridgeman฀Art฀Library:฀112.
Britain฀on฀View:฀114.฀฀

British History Seen Through Art

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British History Seen Through Art

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B ritish

Editor: Alex Smith

Historical text and exercises: Gina D. B. Clemen

© 2001 Black Cat Publishing,

First edition: September 2001

ISBN 978-88-7754-752-1 Book

Printed in Italy by Stamperia Artistica Nazionale, Trofarello, Turin.

www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities 14

CHAPTER TWO T he Normans and the M iddle A ges 17

CHAPTER THREE T he T udors 28

www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities 35

CHAPTER FOUR T he E lizabethan A ge 37

CHAPTER FIVE T he S tuarts and the C ivil W ar 47

www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities 55

CHAPTER SIX T he R estoration 58

CHAPTER SEVEN T he G eorgian A ge and the Industrial Revolution

www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities

CHAPTER NINE T he V ictorian A ge 85

www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities 93

CHAPTER TEN T he E dwardian Age and W orld W ar I 95

PET exercises 100

@ Internet activities 101

CHAPTER ELEVEN W orld W ar II and the Post-war Years 102

PET exercises 107

@ Internet activities 107

CHAPTER TWELVE Moving Towards the Twenty -First Century 109

PET exercises 115

www.britishhistoryart.com Internet activities 118

Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain.

The Beginnnings Seen Through Art

Desborough Mirror (1st century).

By looking at one of the best surviving

One monument in particular was so important that it came to symbolise Roman

The Beginnnings Seen Through Art

Mildenhall Satyr and Menade Plate

We can reconstruct the complex process

Bacchus Mosaic (5th century).

British mosaics show how local

Purse lid (7th century).

The Beginnnings Seen Through Art

A page of the Lindisfarne Gospel,

The religious books produced by

Go back to the text

Before you read

The Normans and

A detail from the Bayeux Tapestry.

The Bayeux Tapestry is a woollen

William the Conqueror.

Harold Godwinsson takes the

Notice that the many

The Normans Seen Through Art

The Norman Ships crossing

The Norman ships, which

The Norman cavalry charging the Anglo-Saxons.

The Normans Seen Through Art

Miniature showing William Marshal unhorsing Baldwin of Guinnes (1233)

1 manor฀houses :฀country฀houses฀of฀the฀provincial฀nobility. 2 survey฀:฀report.

Durham Cathedral, which was built between the

St Thomas à Becket shown in a stained-glass window

During the Gothic period, when windows in

Go back to the text

THE฀MIDDLE฀AGES฀IN ........................................................................................ (your฀region)

NAME DATE ARCHITECTURAL฀STYLE FEATURES/DESCRIPTION

The Battle of Crécy from the Hundred