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NAME ..........................................................................
[PLEASE WRITE CLEARLY IN CAPITAL LETTERS]

NUMBERS OF QUESTIONS ANSWERED: .......... ........... ........... .......... ...........

INSTYTUT ANGLISTYKI UW
Year I, Examination in English History, June 2016

PLEASE ANSWER FIVE QUESTIONS

in the space provided

1. Under the Tudors in the 16th century, the Church of England broke away from the
Church of Rome.
a) Which Tudor monarch first established the Church of England, and for what reasons?
Henry VIII.
Henry disliked the power of the Roman Church in England because, since it was an
international organisation, he could not completely control it. Not only that, the taxes he had
to pay the Church reduced his already dwindling income.
In 1510 Henry had married Catherine of Aragon, but by 1526 she had still not had a son who
survived infancy, so Henry tried to persuade the pope to allow him to divorce her. But the
pope was controlled by Charles V: Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, and also
Carherine's nephew. For both political and family reasons he wanted them to stay married.
The pope did not wish to anger either of them, but eventually he was forced to do as Charles
V wanted.
In 1531 Henry persuaded the bishops to make him head of the Church in England, and this
became law after Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1534, by popular decision.
Henry was now free to divorce Carherine.

b) Which Tudor monarch later restored English links with the Church of Rome?
Mary I Tudor, also known as Bloody Mary for her violent prosecution of Protestants.

c) To what extent was the Church of England a Protestant church by the end of the 16th
century?
When Elizabeth I became queen in 1558, she wanted to bring together again those parts of
English society which were in religious disagreement. The kind of Protestantism finally
agreed in 1559 remained closer to the Catholic religion than to other Protestant groups. The
Church was still under her authority, unlike the politically dangerous European Protestantism.

2. During the 16th century, under the Tudor monarchs, English society became much
more prosperous.
a) What new companies were set up to take part in overseas trade in this period?
the Eastland Company to trade with Scandinavia and the Baltic in 1579;
Levant Company to trade with the Ottoman Empire in 1581
Africa Company to trade in slaves, in 1588;
East India Company to trade with India in 1600.
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b) What new commodities were consumed in England as a result of overseas contacts and
trade?
Spices, fish, fur, wood, tobacco, potatoes, sugar grown by Indian slaves.

c) What new industries had developed in England?

Shipbuilding and clothmaking.

3. During the 18th century, a new religious denomination, the Methodist church
(sometimes referred to as the “Wesleyan” movement), was founded in England.
a) Who founded this movement?
John Wesley, previously an Anglican priest.

b) In what ways did their beliefs and practices differ from those of the Established Church?
"Merhodism" was a personal and emotional form of religion. It was organised in small
groups, or "chapels", all over the country, mostly in industrial areas. They were run more
democraticaly, as the members of each chapel had to maintain them from their own pockets,
unlike the Anglican Church which sustained itself from owning land.
Methodism gave people a sense of purpose and dignity.

c) What was the social impact of the Methodist movement?

Wesley was very conservative and openly against the French Revolution. Thanks to
Methodism, a lot of people from the lower classes found new wealth through hard work,
which might've prevented a similiar revolution in Britain. It also brought many people back to
Christianity

4. By the 20th century, women in Britain had begun to take on new roles in society.

a) When did women first campaign for the right to vote in parliamentary elections? When
were women first allowed to vote? When did all women win the right to vote on the same
terms as men?
John Stuart Mill, a radical thinker, had tried unsuccessfully to include votes for women in the
1867 Reform Bill. In 1897 women started to demand the right to vote in national elections.
In 1918 a coalition government passed the Representation of the People Act 1918, allowing
all men, as well as all women over the age of 30 who met minimum property qualifications to
vote.
In 1928 the Conservative government passed the Representation of the People (Equal
Franchise) Act giving the vote to all women over the age of 21 on equal terms with men.

b) In 1870, 1882 and 1893 Married Women’s Property Acts were passed in England. Why
were these acts thought necessary and what changes did they introduce?
These acts allowed married women to be the legal owners of the money they earned and to
inherit property. Up to that point, a married woman wasn't defined as a singular person by
law, she was no longer a 'feme sole', but a 'feme covert'. It meant that upon marriage, all of a
woman's legal rights and obligations were subsumed by those of her husband.
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c) What were the main provisions of Matrimonial Causes (i.e. divorce) Act of 1857? Was
divorce possible before this act was passed?
Before the Act, divorce was governed by the Court of Arches and the canon law of the
Church of England. Divorce and even remarriage were possible, but incredibly expensive and
prolonged, only avalible to the most wealthy and still controversial in the House of
Commons.
The Act reformed the law on divorce, moving litigation from ecclesiastical courts to the civil
courts. Marriage was now based on contract rather than sacrament. Adultery was no longer a
criminal offence

5. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, Sunday Schools began to be set up.

a) Which organisations set up Sunday schools?

Sunday School Society
Sunday School Union
The Society for the Establishment and Promotion of Sunday Schools
The Church of Ireland Sunday School Society
The Sabbath School Society of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

b) What did the Sunday schools teach?

Reading and writing on the basis of the Bible. Usually took form of a one-hour Bible study.
There were almost no tests or records of progress for the students.

c) Why were they considered necessary and who attended them?

The children of factory workers and farm labourers received no formal education, and
typically worked alongside their parents six days a week, sometimes for more than 13 hours a
day. For them, Sunday was the only day during which they could attend. It was usually the
only form of education they could receive.

6. Forms of higher education developed during the middle ages, but from the
beginning of the modern period, higher education began to expand.

a) What universities existed in England in 1485, and who attended them? What did they
study?
Oxford, Cambridge - Studying Latin, law
St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen in Scotland

b) What other institutions of higher education existed in 1485 (for example to train lawyers)?
In Scotland there had been a state education system since the time
of the Reformation.
In Wales schools had begun to grow rapidly in the middle of the century, partly for
nationalist reasons.
By the middle of the century Wales had a university and a smaller university college.
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c) What changes took place in the provision of higher education by the end of the 19 th
century?
England started to build "redbrick" universities in the new industrial cities. These new
universities were unlike Oxford and Cambridge, and taught more science and technology to
feed Britain's industries.

7. Between 1828 and 1841, Dr. Thomas Arnold was headmaster of Rugby School, one of
the English “public schools,” and carried out reforms there.
a) What was a “public school” and why did many people believe that these schools needed
reform in the 19th century?
A public school was an all-male boarding school independent from the jurisdiction of the
Crown, The Church, or government.

b) What subjects were taught in the public schools in England before 1868?
These schools aimed not only to give boys a good education, but to train them in leadership
by raking them away from home and making their living conditions hard . These public
schools provided many of the officers for the armed forces, the colonial administration and
the civil service .

c) What changes did Dr Thomas Arnold introduce at Rugby school?

He introduced history, mathematics and modern languages, he based his teaching on the
classical languages. He described his educational aims as being the cure of souls first, moral
development second, and intellectual development third. He eventually also started
emphasizing sports and teamwork.

8. In 1823, criminal law was reformed in England, a Gaols Act was passed, and in 1829,
a police force was set up for the first time in London by the Home Secretary, Sir
Robert Peel.
a) What punishments were used for criminal offences in the modern period before 1823?
The death penalty, deportation to Australia.

b) How were criminals caught before 1829?

Crime had been handled on an ad-hoc basis by poorly organized local parish constables and
private watchmen.

c) How did Utilitarian ideas affect the treatment of prisoners in the new gaols of the 19 th
century?
Introduced regular visits to prisoners by chaplains;
Provided for the payment of gaolers, who had previously been paid out of fees that the
prisoners themselves were required to pay
Female and male prisoners were kept separated
Female wardens were to guard female prisoners
No more use of irons and manacles
Lifting the death penalty from many crimes.
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9. In 1832, a parliamentary reform act was passed in Britain, to change the system of
representation in the House of Commons.
a) How had members of the House of Commons (“Members of Parliament”) been chosen
before 1832?
Two representatives from each county and two from each borough/town were chosen at
random. They were usually wealthy.

b) Who wanted change in the system and how were Members of Parliament elected after
1832?

c) What were the results of this Reform Act?

Scotland's voters increased from 5,000 to 65,000. Forty-one English towns, including the
large cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Bradford, were represented in Parliament for the
very first time.
However, the total number of voters increased by only 50 percent. The 349 electors of the
small town of Buckingham still had as many MPs to represent them as the 4, 192 electors of
the city of Leeds. And England, with only 54 percent of the British population, continued to
have over 70 per cent of MPs as it had done before

10. In 1834, the British Parliament passed a Poor Law Amendment Act dealing with the
system of care for the poor and destitute.
a) When had the first Poor Laws been passed and what were their provisions?
1601 - The impotent poor (people who can't work) were to be cared for in almshouse or a
poorhouse.
The able-bodied poor were to be set to work in a House of Industry. Materials were to be
provided for the poor to be set to work.
The idle poor and vagrants were to be sent to a House of Correction or even prison.
Pauper children would become apprentices.

b) Why was change thought necessary in 1834?

The Act was intended to curb the cost of poor relief and address abuses of the old system,
prevalent in southern agricultural counties, by enabling a new system to be brought in under
which relief would only be given in workhouses, and conditions in workhouses would be
such as to deter any but the truly destitute from applying for relief.
The Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1832 found that old workhouses
were run too expensively and badly.

c) How were the poor and destitute treated by the New Poor Law after 1834?
They were treated even worse than before. The poor working class's state in the workhouses
was worsened deliberately, making them inadequate to sustain their health. It also forced
workers to relocate to the locations of workhouses, increasing the amount of the poor in urban
areas, as well as separating families.
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11. In the early modern period, transport and travel were difficult in the British Isles
because muddy roads were impassable for much of the year.
a) In what ways was water transport improved in England in the 18th century?
New waterways were dug between towns, and transport by these canals was cheaper than
transport by land.

b) When and by what means were the roads in England improved?

The first turnpike trust was established by the Parliament of England through a Turnpike Act
in 1706. In the second half of the 18th century, turnpike trusts became numerous, with trusts
also set up in Wales and lowland Scotland. This expansion was facilitated by the ability to use
mortgages to fund the work. York, Manchester and Exeter were three days' travel from
London on in the 1720s, but by the 1780s they could be reached in little over twenty four
hours.

c) When was a railway network built in England and with what results?
By 1842, 400 miles of track had been laid, connecting not only the industrial towns of the
north, but also London, Birmingham and even an economically unimportant town like
Brighton. By 1870 the railway system of Britain was almost complete.
Thanks to it, over six million people were able to visit the 1851 Great Exhibition. It allowed
for delivery of fresh fish and raspberries from Scotland to London in one night. Poor people
also benefited from the railway. Many moved to the suburbs, into smaller houses, travelling
by train to work in the town. Many of the women became servants in the houses of the middle
classes. By 1850 16% of the population were "in service" in private homes, more than were in
farming or in the cloth industry.

12. In 1849 Sir John Simon wrote in City Medical Reports, “In the City of London the
supply of water is but a fraction of what it should be. Thousands of the population have
no supply of it to the houses where they dwell.”
a) What social and economic changes had made the water supply in London inadequate by the
mid-19th century?
Due to the manufacturing boom during the Industrial revolution, a lot of middle-class people
started heading to urban areas. This led to overcrowding and pollution
There were four cholera outbreaks in the city between 1831 and '66. Proper drains and water
supplies were still limited to those who could afford them.

b) What other sanitary problems caused concern in British cities in the mid-19th century?
There were many "slum" areas for factory workers where tiny homes were built very close
together. Sewers were limited and most people still used cesspools, which were often open
and prone to overflowing. A lot of sewage water was also being pumped directly into the
Thames.
With some 300,000 horses in use in the city by the 1890s, 1,000 tons of dung were being
dropped on London's streets each day.
The existing system of labourers and street sweepers was inefficient in taking care of all the
city's waste.
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Atmospheric pollution caused by burning cheap soft coal created the city's notorious pea soup
fog and only worsened due to the industrialization and population boom, covering everything
from clothes to furniture to plants, animals and people with soot.

c) What measures were taken by the end of the 19th century to improve public health in cities?
In the middle of the century towns began to appoint health officers and local health boards to
provide proper drains and clean water, which quickly reduced the level of disease, particularly
cholera. These health officers also tried to make sure that new housing was less crowded. The
better town councils provided parks in newly built areas, as well as libraries, public baths
where people could wash, and even concert halls.
the Public Health Act 1848, which placed the responsibility for street cleansing, paving,
sewers, and water supply on the municipal boroughs rather than on property owners.
Public Health Act of 1875 compelled the boroughs to provide adequate drainage, required all
new housing to be built with running water, and all streets to be equipped with lighting and
pavements. The boards of health were replaced by urban sanitary authorities overseeing new
urban sanitary districts.
Terra cotta and other kiln-fired tiles became popular facings for buildings in the 1880s and
1890s, because they resisted soot.
Later in the decade, the creation of a sewage system, public toilet as well as the slow
replacement of horse carriages with automobiles eased these sanitary problems as well.

13. In 1871 the Bank Holidays Act was passed, providing new statutory periods of
leisure time.
a) What were Bank holidays and why was this legislation introduced?
There were eight days declared as national public holidays, on which most businesses and
non-essential services are closed: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, the early
May bank holiday, the Spring bank holiday, the Summer bank holiday, Christmas Day and
Boxing Day.
There is no automatic right to time off on these days, but banks close and the majority of the
working population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days,
depending on their contract.
These holidays were to celebrate various royal events, Christian festivals and saint’s days.
Before this time banks were unable to close on weekdays as to do so would have put them at
the risk of bankruptcy.

b) What new leisure activities developed in the last three decades of the 19th century?
Sports such as football, cricket, lawn tennis and golf as well as sporting events, music halls,
popular theater, museums, parks, swimming, pubcrawls, travelling to seaside towns and the
countryside and bicycle riding.

c) What new leisure activities developed in the first half of the 20th century?
Cinema, radio, paperback literature, adventure magazines
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14. In 1876 Queen Victoria was crowned Empress of India, and the existence of the
British Empire was formally recognised.
a) When and in what way did the Indian sub-continent come under British influence?
In India, the army of the British East India Company defeated French armies both in Bengal,
and in the south near Madras, destroying French trade interests. Many Indian princes allied
themselves with one side or the other. In defeating France, Britain eventually went on to
control most of India by conquest or treaty with the princes. Many Britons started to go to
India to make their fortune. Unlike previous British traders, they had little respect for Indian
people or for their culture. So, while India became the "jewel in the Crown" of Britain's
foreign possessions, British-Indian relations slowly went sour.

b) When and in what way was Australia colonised by Great Britain?

In 1788, England sent a crew to Australia, then known as New South Wales, and began
building prisons, made to accomodate any criminals from Britain.
The settlers killed or enslaved most of the aboriginal inhabitants, leaving only a few in the
central desert areas.
The continent itself proved to be hard to colonize as well. The indigenous people had no
infrastructure to take over or imitate and the dangerous wildlife was impossible to tame or
farm. A hot climate, seasonal rivers and no natural resources were also major reasons for why
Britain wanted to use it for exporting their criminals and other undesirable people.

c) When and in what way did South Africa become a British colony?
In 1795, the Cape Colony became a British colony, before it was returned to the Dutch in
1802. During this first period of British rule, South-East Africa became the main source of
slaves. This trend continued with the return of the Dutch who continued to buy slaves from
traders
Between 1720 and 1790, slave numbers increased from 2 500 to 14 500. However, unlike the
European population, the harsh living conditions of the Cape's slave population meant that
their numbers could only be sustained through continued importation.
The Cape became not just a society in which some people were slaves, but a fully-fledged
slave society, central to the social, economic and legal institutions. The colonial economy
could not function without the use of slave labour, and therefore slave-ownership was
widespread.
Slaves were also defined by their race, thus colonial South Africa was from the very start a
society structured along racial lines, in which black people occupied a subordinate position.

15. During the first world war, conscription to the army was introduced for the first
time in British history.
a) Who had fought in the army from the 16th to the 19th centuries?
The British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the
beginning of the conflict, making it smaller than German or French armies. It was finally
introduced in 1916, though at that time Britain had already created the Kitchener's Army, the
largest all-volunteer army in history, made up of over 2 million men.
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b) What was the role of women during the first world war?
Basically, due to the war killing and wounding insane amounts of able-bodied men, women
were required to take on their responsibilities back home, especially in the area of munitions,
but also agriculture, non-combatant army jobs and others. Following the war, women were
finally being given their rights to vote and generally the previous societal assumptions and
expectations started moving away from house maintenance and childrearing to a more
egalitarian view of their abilities.

c) What patterns of social change were brought about in Britain by the first world war?
Following the war, millions of returning soldiers were still not entitled to vote. The
Representation of the People Act 1918 attempted to solve this problem, enfranchising all
adult males as long as they were over 21 years old and were resident householders. It also
gave the vote to women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications.
The growing assertiveness of Commonwealth nations. Battles such as Gallipoli for Australia
and New Zealand, and Vimy Ridge for Canada led to increased national pride and a greater
reluctance to remain subordinate to Britain, leading to the growth of diplomatic autonomy in
the 1920s.
The strict class hierarchy of Edwardian Britain disappeared for good in the immediate post-
war years.