Professional Documents
Culture Documents
History of Britain and Ireland
History of Britain and Ireland
& IRELAND
& IRELAND
LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE,
MUNICH, AND DELHI
CONTENTS Life in Roman Britain
Rome profoundly affects British life with its military
32
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Independent Realms 58 Challenging Royal Authority 84 ■ ELY CATHEDRAL 112 ■ HENRY VIII 134
In the 9th and 10th centuries, Scotland is more Royal concessions to the barons of England lead to
successful than Wales at achieving unity and a Parliament that has to approve any new taxes the Change of Dynasty 114 Religious Upheaval 136
independence from England. monarch wishes to levy. As Richard II is deposed, a new Lancastrian The Protestant Reformation of the Church radically
dynasty under Henry IV lays the seeds of a changes the lives of the British people, both
King Edward’s World 60 ■ MAGNA CARTA 86 conflict that would burst into civil war. religiously and culturally. The spirit of theological
Edward the Confessor struggles to contain the self-reliance changes the political landscape as well.
country’s internal tensions. A Prosperous Realm 88 Invasion and Revolt 116
In the 12th and 13th centuries, England prospers, In the 15th century, Scotland proves to be far Scottish Troubles 138
which improves the social and economic life of more troublesome for England than Wales, The tragic life of Mary, Queen of Scots, epitomizes
some of the people. except for the revolt of Owain Glyn Dwr. the dangers Scottish power struggles posed to the
English monarchy.
Subduing Wales 90 The Later Hundred Years’ War 118
The powerful princes of Gwynedd try to create an Henry V’s bid for the French throne almost ■ ELIZABETH I 140
independent Wales, but Edward I subdues them. succeeds after Agincourt, but a French revival
sees the English kings lose almost all their English Society under the Tudors 142
Scotland’s Independence Struggle 92 lands in France. The country prospers as trade and agriculture
Led by Edward I, an English invasion to crush the flourish, but in the rapidly expanding cities
Scots ends in failure as Robert the Bruce and his Merchants and Guilds 120 hunger and crime stalk the streets.
MEDIEVAL BRITAIN
army expel the occupiers. Craftsmen and tradesmen form guilds in British
cities and towns during the prosperous but ■ TUDOR LIFE 144
■ BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN 94 sometimes turbulent 15th century.
1066–1485 62 Sailors and Privateers 146
Hundred Years’ War Begins 96 The Wars of the Roses 122 Inspired by the skill and daring of several English
Introduction 64 The English and the French fight over the throne of The houses of Lancaster and York embark on a seafarers, the Royal Navy is founded and British
France, starting a series of costly wars that will last long period of civil strife as they fight bitterly for naval power expands with a renewed spirit of
Timeline 66 more than a century. the throne of England. exploration and discovery.
Norman Conquest 68 Knights and Bowmen 98 ■ MEDIEVAL WEAPONS 124 The War with Spain 148
William the Conqueror installs an Anglo-Norman rule, During the medieval period, advances in infantry England battles remorselessly with her Spanish foe,
introduces a feudal society, and reshapes England. warfare throw a challenge to the central role of finally overcoming its fearful shadow and ushering
heavily armored cavalry. in a golden age.
■ BATTLE OF HASTINGS 70
■ BATTLE OF CRÉCY 100 ■ THE DEFEAT OF THE 150
Norman Realm 72 SPANISH ARMADA
Henry I’s reign manages to establish the institutional The Black Death 102
bureaucracy that realizes the Norman kings’ desire A deadly infection wipes out half of the population The English Renaissance 152
to dominate their new realm. within a year, causing profound social changes. Arts and philosophy flourish, with great theater,
wonderful music, evocative poetry, striking Tudor
■ DOMESDAY BOOK 74 The Peasants’ Revolt 104 portraits, and far-reaching humanist thinking.
TUDORS AND
A heavy poll tax causes many people to rebel
Reign of a Powerful King 76 against king and government, but the killing of ■ WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 154
STUARTS
King Henry II fights the Church and his sons, conquers the rebel leaders brings the revolt to an end.
Ireland, and reforms the English legal system. Conquest and Plantation 156
■ LUTTRELL PSALTER 106 English power savagely puts down several fierce
■ MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL 78 1485–1688 126 revolts in Ireland, followed by colonization and
Religious Enthusiasm 108 settlement in the north of the country, which sets
Invasion of Ireland 80 Monasteries and pilgrimage play a major role Introduction 128 the stage for future conflicts.
Irish infighting opens the way for Henry II to move in English life, though religious reformers are
in and establish English rule over Ireland. brutally suppressed. Timeline 130 The Union of the Crowns 158
James I’s accession effectively unites the kingdoms
England in the Crusades 82 Poets of the People 110 The Early Tudors 132 of Great Britain under the rule of a Scottish dynasty,
Richard I and other kings of England embark on a Geoffrey Chaucer pioneers vernacular writing in Henry Tudor centralizes the state and concentrates the House of Stuart.
series of crusades, as they heed papal calls to a form of English, poetically revealing everyday power on the monarchy, an enduring legacy he
regain Jerusalem and the Holy Land. contemporary life in his Canterbury Tales. passes on to his successors. ■ THE GUNPOWDER PLOT 160
Colonial Expansion 162 ■ SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN 216
English colonists gradually establish settlements
along much of North America’s eastern seaboard Georgian Society 218
and on many islands of the Caribbean. In the 18th century, the better-off worked, played,
shopped—and reveled in the social season.
■ LONDON AND THE RIVER THAMES 164
■ LANDED GENTRY 220
Charles I and Parliament 166
Disorder and Religious Revival
RISE OF POWER INDUSTRY AND
Political turbulence unsettles the country as an 222
absolutist King collides with an increasingly Social turmoil brings crime and disorder to many
EMPIRE
confident Parliament. English cities, causing thousands to turn to religion
1688–1815 190 for help and guidance.
The Civil War 168
Desperate terror, death, and suffering sweep across Introduction 192 Scottish Enlightenment 224 1815–1914 248
the country as rival supporters of the King and Edinburgh becomes a center for a flourishing
Parliament fight a vicious war that eventually divides Timeline 194 intellectual, scientific, and artistic life. Introduction 250
the entire British Isles.
Succession Wars 196 New Horizons in the Pacific 226 Timeline 252
■ THE EXECUTION OF THE KING 170 Rival Protestant and Catholic factions fight each other Voyages of exploration bring many scientific and
in Ireland and then engage in wars of supremacy geographical discoveries, and help to extend Britain’s The Regency 254
The Commonwealth 172 that spread across Europe. imperial horizons. Celebrated for its fashions, art, and architecture the
As the country ceases to be a kingdom, many start to Regency and reign of George IV had political and
build a better society while others feel excluded by
■ TREATY OF UNION 198 ■ GEORGIAN TRADE 228 social repercussions.
the righteousness of the new elite.
The House of Hanover 200 Modernizing Agriculture 230 ■ BRIGHTON PAVILION 256
Scotland and Ireland Subdued 174 A German dynasty succeeds to the British throne Parliamentary enclosures and landowners seeking
Scotland and Ireland are drawn into the
and rules over a people whose patriotism is
increased productivity transform British agriculture. Steam and Speed 258
life-and-death struggle of the English Civil War, In 19th-century Britain, the unquenchable quest for
increasingly linked to the Protestant cause.
bringing their destinies closer together. Inventors and Entrepreneurs 232 speed creates locomotives and ships that broaden
Invention and entrepreneurship enable the Industrial everyone’s horizons.
Scottish Jacobites 202
The Restoration 176 Revolution to transform the British landscape, social
Jacobite rebellions in Scotland by Catholic Stuarts
The monarchy is restored, bringing fashion, fun, and
rock the Protestant Hanoverian state.
assumptions, and sense of identity. ■ ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL 260
color at first, then the King starts to revert to his
father’s old absolutist ways. The Anti-slavery Movement 234 ■ ROYAL ALBERT BRIDGE 262
■ BATTLE OF CULLODEN 204
The campaign to abolish slavery gradually succeeds
Commerce and War 178 despite powerful vested interests. Years of Change 264
Politics and Prime Ministers 206
As the world enters a new and more dangerous age, The Industrial Revolution brings new ways of working
Robert Walpole and William Pitt the Younger use
successive governments of England are prepared to Reaction to the Revolution 236 that alter everything from timekeeping and housing
their new position to transform British politics.
fight for their commercial interests. The British establishment worries that the revolution to family dynamics and class relations.
in France will cross the Channel and undermine its
Pepys’s London 180
Power of the Pen 208
tradition and the rule of law. The Irish Famine 266
New tracts, journals, and newspapers dissect every
Samuel Pepys vividly records the political gossip, A potato-destroying fungus causes a widespread
pioneering ideas, and cultural pursuits of Britain’s aspect of British politics, manners, and thought. Rebellion in Ireland 238 famine in Ireland, which the authorities do little to
global commercial center. Inspired by the French Revolution, the Irish people alleviate—yet a million people die.
Commercial Expansion 210 rise up against the British, but face defeat.
The Royal Navy gives protection to seaborne trade,
■ THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON 182 The Triumph of Reform 268
while the slave trade flourishes from English ports Napoleonic Wars 240 As Britain’s economy booms, profound reforms
Enquiring Minds 184 such as Bristol and Liverpool. Britain, with other European countries, attempt to take place to improve the fairness of the way
Modern science is born as new institutions and control the vaunting ambition of Napoleon governments are elected and society is run.
scholars champion reasoned knowledge and Colonial Conquests 212 Bonaparte, the “Little Corporal.”
experimental methodology. The Seven Years’ War gives Britain control of Canada, ■ QUEEN VICTORIA 270
while the East India Company begins the gradual ■ ADMIRAL NELSON 242
■ ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL 186 British takeover of India. ■ THE GREAT EXHIBITION 272
The War of 1812 244
The Glorious Revolution 188 America is Lost 214 Land and sea battles between the United States and The Crimean War 274
Parliamentary democracy succeeds in overthrowing The 13 colonies of America rebel against Britain end inconclusively for both sides. War with Russia dents Britain’s self-confidence and
James II, preventing the King’s despotic attempts to Britain, which fails to suppress the rebellion questions its competence, while newspapermen
shape the religious beliefs of the nation. in a costly and prolonged war. ■ BATTLE OF WATERLOO 246 have a field day at the front.
Workshop of the World 276 The Suffragettes 308 Irish independence 332 The Modern Monarchy 362
Britain becomes the world’s first industrial power, Parliament’s failure to give women voting rights Southern Ireland finally gains independence from Queen Elizabeth II’s reign is long and stable, yet
successfully manufacturing a range of goods for propels them into a campaign of demonstrations Britain as the island is partitioned, with Northern witnesses great changes in the world and in the
international markets. and escalating direct action. Ireland receiving Home Rule. country’s attitudes to the monarchy.
Victorian Values 278 Trade Unionists and Socialists 310 Crisis and Depression 334 Retreat from Empire 364
Britain’s expanding middle class espouse hard work, Political radicals voice the concerns of the working Britain experiences the decline of Victorian industries, Britain all but ceases to be a colonial power and its
progress, self-improvement, and a high moral tone. classes, organizing their collective strength. a general strike, a worldwide depression, financial Commonwealth is an international organization of
crisis, and mass unemployment. limited practical importance.
■ VICTORIAN ENTERTAINMENT 280 The Road to War 312
Despite Britain’s economic leadership and imperial ■ THE JARROW MARCH 336 ■ THE SUEZ CRISIS 366
Cultural Conflict 282 authority, the rise of German power casts a long
Currents of dissent unsettle British self-confidence, shadow of war over the country. Life in the Twenties and Thirties 338 The Cold War 368
with new cultural, religious, and artistic ideas that Despite the misery of unemployment, many Britons Britain lives with the risk of nuclear
challenge the status quo. enjoy picture palaces, dance halls, and the wireless, annihilation as it joins America in a Cold War
and some even buy homes and cars. confrontation with the Soviet Union.
■ VICTORIAN WORKHOUSE 284
■ DOMESTIC APPLIANCES 340 Never Had it so Good 370
Exploring the World 286 Britons buy houses and splash out on cars, TVs,
British explorers and missionaries venture into many Imperial Issues 342 and other consumer goods as their rising wages
corners of the world, including the dark heart of The British Empire reaches its greatest extent, yet bring security and prosperity.
Africa, the blazing heat of Australia, and the icy poles. it is challenged by a vigorous independence
movement in India led by Gandhi. Britain Goes Pop 372
■ CHARLES DARWIN 288 Britain loses its stuffy image in the Swinging
The Abdication of Edward VIII 344 Sixties with the flowering of popular culture,
British India
MODERN TIMES
290 A constitutional crisis is averted when fashion and music, stylish art, and loose morals.
Britain gradually takes over of the Indian King Edward VIII abdicates, chosing love and
subcontinent and the Indian Raj becomes the exile over the throne. ■ BEATLEMANIA 374
country’s jewel in the crown. 1914–present 314
Slide to War 346 Conflict in Society 376
■ INDIAN MUTINY 292 Introduction 316 Britain tries to appease Hitler’s aggressive Nazi Social and political conflicts dominate the 1970s
regime, but in the end war becomes inevitable. and 1980s as Britain experiences high inflation and
Dominions and Emigrants 294 Timeline 318 rising unemployment.
The white colonies in Canada, New Zealand, and Britain Alone 348
Australia develop as self-governing dominions, Britain Enters the Great War 320 Britain finds itself alone in Europe as it upholds Troubles in Northern Ireland 378
attracting many emigrants from Britain. The war that would be “over by Christmas” becomes the cause of freedom and survives through epic IRA terror and the presence of British troops on the
a terrifying stalemate of pointless trench warfare and endurance, loyally supported by its Commonwealth. streets of Ulster fuels a bitter sectarianism and a
Imperialist Muscle 296 a merciless war of attrition. collapse of law and order.
Britain’s bellicose imperialism triggers wars ■ WINSTON CHURCHILL 350
against the Chinese, Zulu, and Ashanti. Victory through Slaughter 322 Turn to the Right 380
With patriotism, courage, and stoical endurance, ■ THE BLITZ 352 Party politics assumes a more right-wing identity in
■ RAILWAY STATION 298 troops from Britain and its allies finally triumph over Thatcher’s Britain as wealth and enterprise replace
their German foes, but victory comes at the cost of Life in Wartime Britain 354 the belief in solidarity and security.
Irish Home Rule 300 almost a million lives. During the war, Britons endure rationing, air raids,
As Parnell and Gladstone try to get Home Rule flying bombs, American GIs, evacuation, and an ■ MARGARET THATCHER 382
legislation through Parliament , the Fenians and ■ FIRST DAY OF THE SOMME 324 all-controlling government.
Invincibles resort to terrorism. Wars in Peacetime 384
The Home Front 326 ■ THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN 356 Britain defends the Falklands, British aircraft bomb
The Boer War 302 Propaganda and censorship force British citizens to Serbia, and the country’s forces join the United
South Africa plunges into a bitter guerrilla war in support the war, yet the social solidarity helps to An Allied Victory 358 States in waging wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
which a much-relieved Britain defeats the Boers. make the country more democratic. Britain’s alliance with the United States and the
Soviet Union triumphs over Germany and Japan, Facing the Future 386
The Edwardian Age 304 ■ WAR GRAVES 328 but the war exhausts the nation’s resources. Globalization, Europe, and financial meltdown
A brief age of extravagance and elegance witnesses are key concerns in Britain’s future.
a range of modern novelties, from motorcars and Peace and After 330 The Postwar Years 360
tabloid newspapers to airplanes and cinemas. The enormous human cost of victory and the difficult In 1945 the newly elected Labour government Monarchs and Rulers 388
path to a durable peace casts a long shadow over starts to rebuild a country devastated by war and
■ SINKING OF THE TITANIC 306 the disillusioned people of Britain. creates a welfare state. Index and Acknowledgments 390
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BRITONS AND
INVADERS
Up to 1066
The islands of Britain witnessed wave
after wave of settlements and invasions
that brought wealth, faith, and conflict,
while helping to shape the flourishing arts,
languages, and destinies of the peoples of
England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
New identities
First arrivals The separate destinies of England, Scotland, and Ireland now became
About 800,000 years ago, the first human ancestors apparent. Ireland was never invaded by the Romans, and its Iron Age
reached the British Isles from continental Europe. In 1066, their chieftains developed a political culture untainted by imperial rule.
descendants once more encountered European migrants, in the The final limit of the Roman province of Britannia, at Hadrian’s Wall
shape of the Norman conquerors of England. Over the intervening (built around 120 #$), marked out a southern entity that would
vast span of time, all parts of the isles of Britain and Ireland were broadly develop into England and Wales, and a northern one that
settled, with Norfolk in England showing the first scant evidence, would ultimately become Scotland. Roman Britain lasted 367 years
Scotland being reached around 14,000 years ago, and Ireland about until 410 #$, and gave the area a long period of peace and prosperity
7000 "#$. When agriculture arrived, in about 4000 "#$, people began not known until early modern times. Yet its ending heralded a
to modify the landscape in ways which can be recognized today. troubled time, particularly for England, as successive invaders swept
Ards (primitive plows) scarred the land and great earthworks and through the south. In the 5th century #$, Anglo-Saxons arrived from
causeways were constructed, culminating in a fully fledged megalithic northwestern Europe. They gradually progressed westward and
10
INTRODUCTION
northward, expunging many residual elements of Roman culture, Rhodri Mawr and Hywel Dda, who briefly united the country. Only
and supplanting England’s Celtic (and Latin) with a Germanic dialect. Ireland remained disunited, with no one kingdom able to establish
The Anglo-Saxon invasions divided southern Britain between a anything but the most fleeting hegemony. England suffered another
Germanic east and a Celtic west, ultimately creating Wales—a brief period of foreign rule by the Danes from 1016 to 1042, but by
western haven that remained largely unconquered and was ruled by 1066 it possessed an increasingly sophisticated royal administration,
the descendants of the displaced Britons. Christianity joined these and produced works of literature and art that came close to matching
two halves (and Ireland and Scotland too) in a common faith from its longer-established European rivals, such as France. In Scotland,
the 6th century #$, while petty kingdoms in each of these realms Wales, and Ireland, royal rule was much less secure, with government
began to coalesce into something larger. Viking invasions from still more closely resembling that of migration-age chieftainships.
Scandinavia from the late 8th century #$, decided, by a process of The British Isles were about to be changed forever. England and
elimination of their weaker opponents, who would inherit the isles. Wales sooner, Scotland and Ireland later, but all profoundly,
would be shaped by the Norman invasion of 1066.
End of the beginning
England’s survivor was the kingdom of Wessex, which merely
endured under Alfred the Great, but expanded in the 10th century #$
under his successors, until Athelstan in the 920s #$ could call himself,
with some justification, “king of the English and ruler of all Britain.” In
Scotland, the Dal Riatan ruler Kenneth macAlpin conquered the Picts
in 842 #$ to create the kingdom of Alba, the forerunner of Scotland.
In Wales, the struggle against the Vikings threw up rulers such as
End of an era
The Bayeux Tapestry commemorates the end of
Anglo-Saxon England in 1066. It also marks the
moment when the Normans, themselves
descended from the Vikings, became the last
successful invaders of England.
11
U P TO 1 0 6 6
12
B R I TO N S A N D I N V A D E R S
Saint Bede
13
U P TO 1 0 6 6
B E F O R E
D
uring the glacial periods of Around 470,000 years ago, one of the hand-axes made of black flint has been
the Ice Age, when much of the coldest phases of the Ice Age began— excavated. Evidence of deforestation
From around 1 million years ago, the Earth Earth’s water was locked up in the Anglian glacial. The ice sheets may indicate early peoples deliberately
experienced extreme cooling. Ice caps polar ice and average sea levels fell, advanced as far south as Bristol, the burnt off forest to encourage the
advanced to and from the poles in periods Britain was joined to the main Cotswolds, and the Thames Valley. growth of scrub, which would be an
known as glacials. This was the Ice Age. European landmass and was not a As far as is known, Britain was attractive habitat for the animals they
separate island. It is not clear precisely uninhabited at this time. Only in wished to hunt.
GLACIALS AND INTERGLACIALS when humans first took advantage of the succeeding Hoxnian interglacial
Britain’s last three glacial periods (the Anglian, this land bridge and arrived in Britain, (425,000 to 360,000 years ago) did Neanderthals in Britain
Wolstonian, and Devensian) were divided by two but they certainly did so before the humans return to Britain. Relatively few sites of the Wolstonian
warmer interglacial periods (the Hoxnian and Anglian glaciation, which began around glacial era (360,000 to 130,000 years
Ipswichian). The last ice sheet retreated around 470,000 years ago. Flint tools found Tools and hand-axes ago) are known, but one of them,
10,000 "#$, but today is probably an interglacial at Happisburgh, Norfolk, may date Finds from the Hoxnian are far more dating from around 200,000 years ago,
(the Flandrian), and glaciers may one day return. from around 900,000 to 800,000 plentiful than those in the pre-Anglian
years ago, and throughout the rest of period, and belong to two different PALEOLITHIC The name given to the
southern England there is a scattering groups, distinguished by the types of Old Stone Age period, or the first period
of other sites where flint hand-axes tools they made. The Clactonian culture of tool making, lasting from before
have been unearthed. is characterized by flint flake tools, 1 million years ago to about 10,000 years
The largest such site is made by striking a core of flint with ago. It covers about 99 percent of the
Boxgrove, in West Sussex, a hammer stone. The people of the time that humans have used technology.
dating from around 500,000 Acheulian culture made hand-axes of
years ago, where evidence of many shapes and sizes, as well as stone is at Pontnewydd Cave, in Flintshire.
both tool-making and the scrapers and knives. The best-known It contained bones of an early form of
butchering of animals such as Clactonian site is at Swanscombe, a new species, known as Neanderthal,
deer, bison, and rhinoceros Kent, where the or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. The
Neanderthal skull has been found. The inhabitants hunted Neanderthals were thicker set and more
Neanderthals had inhabitants of Boxgrove elephants, deer,
protruding brow ridges, belonged to a hominin horse, and
big teeth, and wide nasal (human-like species) group rhinoceros.
cavities, which may known as Homo heidelbergensis. At Hoxne,
have helped warm the They lived as hunters and in Suffolk, a
air when breathing. scavengers in small groups across quantity of
the southern part of England. Acheulian
14
B R I TA I N ’ S F I R S T P E O P L E
AF TER
heavily built than contemporary by Neanderthals during the early
humans, with prominent brow ridges Devensian glacial period. Their
and an average brain size larger than tools included flint points that may After the arrival of modern humans, the
their modern counterparts. They have been used on spearheads to climate cooled and the ice sheets advanced
were also capable of some cultural hunt the plentiful game—including southward and covered much of Britain,
sophistication. For example, in the mammoth—which roamed southern forcing people to leave the region and
Middle East, Neanderthal burials have England at the time. leaving the island uninhabited.
been found where the bodies were
deposited with grave goods and daubed
with red ochre, indicating a sense
of care for their dead.
99 The percentage of time during the
total period of human habitation
in the British Isles in which nomadic
MODERN HUMANS ARRIVE
Modern humans arrived in Britain a little after
40,000 "#$, having crossed the land bridge
hunting and gathering, rather than with Europe. Only about 20 or so sites of this
Neanderthals replaced agriculture in fixed settlements, was mid-Devensian era are known; many of them
Warmer temperatures saw the main means of subsistence. seem to have been temporary camps or shelters
rising sea levels cut off the used by bands of hunters. They show some
land bridge with continental The Neanderthals lived as hunter- technological advances, with hand-axes being
Europe during the Ipswichian gatherers in small groups, which replaced by more specialist tools, such as
interglacial, from 130,000 probably ranged over large territories. “leaf-point” blades and scrapers. One of the
to 115,000 BCE. Britain was However, no evidence has been found most spectacular sites—dating from around
recolonized once more of them living in the north or west of 31,000 "#$—is the “Red Lady of Paviland” burial,
Britain, and the earliest sign of any found in Goat’s Cave, on the Gower Peninsula,
human settlement in Ireland is as near Swansea. The deceased, who was in fact a
Hand-axes and flint tools late as 7000 BCE, a long time after the man, was 5ft 9in (1.75m) tall, his bones sprinkled
For thousands of years, hand-axes were the Neanderthals had been supplanted with red ochre and set in a shallow grave, with
main tool used by humans. Attaching a stone by Homo sapiens sapiens, the first around 50 mammoth ivory rods, ivory bracelets,
head to a shaft was a later development. modern sub-species of human. and perforated seashells.
Mammoth carving
The earliest known examples of British art,
such as wall paintings and engraved bones
from Creswell Crags, in Derbyshire, show links
with the Magdalenian cave art of France, a
tradition that produced this mammoth-shaped
spear thrower in around 10,500 "#$ .
15
U P TO 1 0 6 6
A
griculture arrived in Britain In some of these carbonized grains have single-chamber megalithic tombs, were
around 4000 BCE, marking the been unearthed. Although evidence of built using several stones to form a
start of the Neolithic Age, or plowing (with a simple ard or scratch passage. By around 3500 BCE, a wide
the New Stone Age. Knowledge of plow) has been found near Avebury, variety of burial monuments were in
agricultural techniques seems to have Wiltshire, in southern England, from use, including simple round barrows
been acquired from groups of people around 3900 BCE, early farmers at this (or earth mounds), long barrows
arriving from continental Europe. time probably still supplemented their (some of which had chambers inside
Settlements from as far back as the diet from hunting and gathering. Also, and could measure up to 328ft/100m
early 4th millennium BCE show signs rather than go to the extent of actually in length, as at West Kennet, Wiltshire),
of the cultivation of emmer and clearing large areas of woodlands for and passage graves (in which an
einkorn, which are early forms of cultivation, they may have used glades, internal stone chamber in the mound
wheat, as well as some barley. They or areas already thinned out by cattle was connected by a passage to
also show the bones of domesticated grazing, for planting crops. the outside). The latter type was
animals such as cattle, pigs, and Stone continued to be the most particularly prevalent in Ireland,
sheep, providing clear evidence that sought-after material for making tools, where the covering circular mounds
an agricultural way of life was being and flint mines from the period have were up to 280ft (85m) in diameter.
established at this time. been found at Cissbury, West Sussex, By about 3400 BCE, even more
Early farming sites were principally from around 4000 BCE. Here, shafts as elaborate monuments, known as long
single, isolated farmsteads, although deep as 49ft (15m) were sunk in the mounds and cursuses (long enclosures
larger, timber-framed longhouses up to search for the best created by boundary
88ft (27m) in length have been found. seams of flint, largely ditches) were being
using antler picks and built. The cursus
ox-bone shovels. that was built at
B E F O R E Dorchester-on- been as high as 200,000, which is dense
Large-scale Thames, Oxfordshire, enough to mean that competition over
monuments is 1 mile (1.6km) scarce resources might often turn
The resettlement of Britain around 13,000 BCE, As society became more long. The society that violent and descend into warfare.
proceeded from south to north, followed by settled, Neolithic people produced these Complex means of exchange were
almost 10,000 years of gradual cultural began large-scale monuments was developed to keep communities
development before agriculture started. constructions, which Neolithic pottery prosperous, but life was supplied with goods that they could
required enormous Neolithic cultures are often named after hard; diseases were rife, not produce themselves. Evidence for
FROM ART TO BOATS effort in moving huge the principal types of pottery found in with tooth decay this includes wooden trackways that
The first evidence of art in Britain, such as quantities of earth graves or settlements, but this does not and arthritis being have been found in marshy areas; the
a rib bone inscribed with a horse, found in and clearing extensive mean that the users of different sorts of particularly widespread, “Sweet Track” in Somerset crosses
Robin Hood’s Cave, in Derbyshire, comes woodlands. Among pottery belonged to different ethnic groups. and average age at 1.2 miles (2km) of marshes and dates
from the Creswellian culture around the earliest of the death was about 30 from around 3800 BCE. Across these
12,000 "#$. With warmer temperatures monuments constructed, around years. The average height (for males, wooden trackways, goods such as
after 10,000 "#$, new hunting 3800 BCE, are large earthwork about 5ft 3in–5ft 11in/1.6m–1.8m) was
techniques developed and bows and enclosures (often called “causewayed probably only a little shorter than that
arrows became widespread. At Star camps”). More than 100 of these of today’s adults. There is evidence of
Carr, Yorkshire, more than 200 enclosures have been identified and early conflict; a few graves contain
barbed antler points were found, they may have been used as sites burials of people who had clearly been
as was a wooden paddle, for festivals or religious ceremonies. killed by arrows, while at Crickley Hill,
indicating the use of boats. At Carn Brea, Cornwall, a huge stone in Gloucestershire, hundreds of flint
wall 6ft 6in (2m) high erected about arrowheads seem to indicate that the
SETTLEMENT 3700 BCE enclosed an area exceeding camp was stormed by a hostile force
IN IRELAND 1 hectare (2.5 acres) in size may and was then burned. Beside the
Ireland was first settled have housed as many as 200 River Thames, at Chelsea, a number
around 7000 "#$, as is people living inside. Many of the of wooden clubs have been found
indicated by Mesolithic causewayed camps remained in dating to around 3500 BCE, which
tool finds in the valley of use for centuries—the later Iron were also probably weapons for use
the River Bann. The land Age hillfort at Maiden Castle, in battle. The total population of the
passage between Britain Dorset, was built on top of a British Isles around 3000 BCE may have
and continental Europe 4th-millennium BCE camp.
had finally been flooded Neolithic people erected the first Newgrange passage tomb
by this time, transforming PALEOLITHIC stone monuments for the dead at The passage tomb at Newgrange, in Meath, Ireland, was
STONE TOOL
Britain into an island. around the same time. At first, these built around 3200 "#$. Its inner chamber was illuminated
were simple settings of stone, but later by light from the rising sun during the winter solstice.
more complex portal dolmens, or Several stones were decorated with spirals.
16
S TO N E A G E B R I TA I N
AF TER
RELIGION
Although gold sun disks of the type common
in central Europe have not been found in Britain,
the consistently circular shape of the great stone
monuments of the later 3rd millennium "#$
indicates an interest in the sun, with the
circular shape possibly symbolizing the sun’s
course through the sky. Older monuments, such
Skara Brae as Avebury and Stonehenge, were embellished
Other new types of monuments begin
The Neolithic village at Skara Brae, on Orkney’s at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge, by the people of the Beaker Culture;
to appear at this time, including circles
mainland, was built to a surprisingly uniform pattern. required the clearing of 8.6 acres Stonehenge was completely remodeled
of wooden posts, such as at Seahenge,
Each of the dozen or so houses had a central hearth, (3.5 hectares) of woodland. This with the erection of massive trilithons (two
Norfolk, and large enclosures, such as
stone beds on each side of the entrance, and stone implies that there were chieftains, upright stones with one laid across on top).
the first stage of Stonehenge, in
boxes on the floor, possibly used to contain water. or some other local form of powerful
Wiltshire, built around 2950 BCE. central authority, to command and
grindstones, flint axes, and fine pottery Circular enclosures bordered by a coordinate the local population in
(often with very distant origins) would ditched bank (the classic henge the planning and erection of Henge monument, Avebury
have traveled; axes from as far away monuments) were also first built, such extravagant monuments. Like many British Neolithic
as Scandinavia and the Italian Alps ranging in size up to the colossal Grave goods, which become monuments, Avebury was
have been found. example at Avebury, Wiltshire, which increasingly elaborate after constructed in stages: the North
has a diameter of 1,148ft (350m). this period, with the and South Circles were built
Radical changes Passage graves inclusion of lavish jewelry around 2800 "#$, the Outer
Around 3200 BCE
society seems to
have undergone
18 MILLION The
estimated
man-hours needed to construct the
seem to have
spread from
Ireland to parts
in many burials, go some
way in supporting this
idea. It all adds up to
Circle around 2600 "#$, and
the two avenues were built
about 200 years later.
radical changes. Neolithic mound at Silbury Hill, Wiltshire. of Britain, such a picture of Britain and
The older style of as north Wales. Ireland in 2500 BCE, at
burial monuments fell out of favor In a localized variant of this in the the end of the Neolithic
and many of the long barrows and Orkneys, such as at Maes Howe, built Age, in which the
passage graves were blocked up. in about 2750 BCE, the mound of the landscape was far more
Around 3000 BCE a distinctive type passage grave was actually built within marked and shaped by
of pottery known as Grooved Ware the stones of an earlier henge human endeavors than
emerged. Grooved Ware was monument. The exact purpose of the it had been at its start.
characterized by pots with incised larger monuments is still unclear, but Where once there had
spirals, lozenges, and wavy lines. they may have had an astrological been small groups of
Originating in northern Britain, the significance, with stones being lined hunter-gatherers, now
best preserved early settlement of the up in the direction of the sun at key there were clustered
culture that developed this type of moments, such as the summer and villages of stone
pottery is found at Skara Brae, on the winter solstices. dwellings, extensive
Orkneys, Scotland. Here, a partly forest clearances,
underground village of about a dozen Central authority plowed fields, and
houses was built between 3000 and The resources required to build the elaborate monuments of
2500 BCE. Similar clustered villages larger henge enclosures were banked earth and stone,
made of wood have been found as prodigious; the construction of a large all overseen by powerful
far south as Wiltshire. timber building within the South Circle, political structures.
Stonehenge
The famous monument at Stonehenge is part of a larger sacred landscape
which developed from around 4000 "#$ and includes hundreds of burial
mounds. The site that is seen today was built from around 2150 "#$
using at least 85 stones from the Preseli Hills in Wales, more than 135 miles
(217km) away. Other stones came from the Marlborough Downs nearby.
U P TO 1 0 6 6
A
s the Iron Age began in Britain, 650 BCE to 300 BCE, more than
many areas saw a rise in the 3,000 hillforts were built. The
number of defended enclosures. society that was shaped by these
The population was increasing and new centers of population has
early chiefdoms were coalescing into conventionally been termed
larger political units. As this process “Celtic.” The term was first used by
continued, hillforts began to appear, Greek writers, such as Herodotus,
particularly across southern, central, in the 6th century BCE to describe
and western England, as well as in the barbarian groups living on
north Wales and the Welsh borders. the fringes of the Greek world.
Often with simple ramparts reinforced Certainly, people of the cultures
with timber and a single line of later termed by archaeologists as
defenses, hillforts such as Danebury, La Tène and Hallstatt—who were
Hampshire, and Maiden Castle, Dorset, Celtic speakers—spread from a
probably acted as the residences of central European homeland into
local kings or chieftains. From around France, the middle Danube, and
Asia Minor. They even threatened
to capture Rome in 390 BCE. Yet,
“Celt” was not a term that the
people of Britain used to describe
Bronze torc themselves; nor did the Romans
Torcs (neck rings) were worn who encountered them in the
largely by men and were usually 1st century BCE refer to them as
meant for ceremonial use. Celts. The traditional theory that
While the rich wore gold torcs, large-scale migration or invasion
poorer men had to make do from Europe brought a Celtic
with bronze ones. hillfort society into Britain has been
modified in favor of the view that
it was a process of assimilation,
rather than conquest, which led
20
I R O N A G E B R I TA I N
AF TER
Developed hillforts
could be very large, Shield, with stylized birds in
covering areas of the central roundel, showed As the 2nd century BCE progressed, centers
up to 25 acres a love of curves and flowing lines, even larger than hillforts began to be
(10 hectares). Evidence which were essential features of built, mirroring developments in Europe.
of storage pits and Celtic art of this time. At the same time, international trade in
dwellings at some, including Britain also increased.
Danebury, suggests that Trade and grave goods
they were permanently The Iron Age elites also took THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPPIDA
occupied and not just used advantage of increasing trade Larger centers, called oppida, from the
as refuges in times of connections with continental Latin word for “town”, were defended
danger. The huge resources Europe, particularly with regard by complex earthworks. Some had
necessary to build and Horned helmet to luxury goods, which included their own mints for the production of
maintain such structures This bronze helmet found in the River Thames near amber, glass, and coral. The main coins. Their permanent populations,
indicate that in this phase Waterloo Bridge dates from the late 1st century "#$. avenues of trade were across the however, may not have been large and
of the Iron Age, kings and It may well have been made specifically as a votive English Channel to northern they occupied a middle ground between
chieftains exercised great object, rather than for wearing on the battlefield. Europe and along the Atlantic hillforts and true towns. The largest
power, although the presence coastlines as far as Iberia. It is oppida at Colchester was a royal center
of a large number of hillforts to the tin required for making bronze, also from this time that the first and would later become an important
points to the territories that aided this spread, and iron axeheads, written accounts of Britain appear, town in the Roman province 28–29 ❯❯.
they ruled over being quite spears, and tools become more common including those by the Greek
small. Not everyone lived in in archaeological finds dating from adventurer, Pytheas of Massilia INTERNATIONAL TRADE
hillforts, though, and other around 700 BCE onward. (Marseilles). He visited the islands After a hiatus in trade with Europe
smaller enclosures and open The appearance of iron weapons and in around 320 BCE and called them between 300 "#$ and 150 "#$, new ports
settlements have been found the number of hillforts has been taken Prettania, a name which, modified were built in the south of England,
in their vicinity. In eastern by archaeologists to mean that Iron Age into Britannia and then Britain, has including Hengistbury Head and Poole
England and East Anglia Britain was dominated by the warrior survived to this day. Harbour in Dorset. Imported goods
very few hillforts have been elite, who engaged in frequent minor Iron Age burials were often including Mediterranean
identified, and on the Atlantic warfare and raiding. Scattered finds of surprisingly modest; from around BRONZE glass, Italian wine, and bronze
DAGGER
fringes of Britain, fortified weapons, and evidence of burning or 800 BCE barrows went out of fashion. SHEATH
vessels came through them.
In some areas, such as Yorkshire, the
“ The island is thickly corpse was placed with the body flexed
(the legs bent) and with comparatively
few grave goods. Some richer graves population of Britain had probably
21
U P TO 1 0 6 6
Caesar’s Invasion
In 55 and 54 BCE Julius Caesar mounted two expeditions against Britain. Although he
met with only limited success and did not establish a permanent Roman presence on
the British Isles, he did establish treaty relations with many British tribes and drew
Britain into the orbit of Roman political ambitions.
A
n anti-Roman revolt by the Roman sword a force composed of two
Veneti of Armorica (in modern Roman soldiers were exceptionally legions—the Seventh and
Brittany) in 56 BCE, which able infantry fighters. They used the Tenth. The cliffs and beaches
probably received some support from gladius (a short sword), to thrust around Dover were occupied
Britain, led Julius Caesar to turn his upward at close quarters and inflict by British defenders and the
attention northward. To enter Britain, terrible wounds on their enemies. Roman ships were forced to
an island that lay impossibly far off, run aground somewhere
beyond “the bounds of ocean”, would at Wheathampstead in near Deal in Kent.
have brought him immense prestige. Hertfordshire to dominate The legionaries had to
However, political difficulties delayed much of southern England. disembark in relatively
his invasion plans for a year. Finally, deep waters under a
in 55 BCE, Caesar prepared to cross Preparation constant hail of missiles.
the Channel with a small expeditionary Caesar received envoys Although the legions
force. His principal opponent was to from a number of other managed to establish a
be Cassivellaunus, who was probably British tribes who were beachhead, disaster struck
king of the Catuvellauni, a tribe that eager to show their four days later when a
had been expanding from its base submission and thus avoid severe storm scattered the
having their lands invaded. ships that had been bringing
He also despatched a more than 500 cavalry as
B E F O R E small reconnaissance force
under the tribune (a senior
military officer), Volusenus,
reinforcements, and also
badly damaged many of the
landing craft. Deprived of
800 The approximate number of
boats in the fleet that carried
the invading Roman army to Britain in
to scout out suitable cavalry support, Caesar 54 BCE. Of these, 28 were warships and
landing beaches. In addition, was vulnerable, and after the most of the rest were troop transports.
he sent out a diplomatic mission Seventh Legion was severely mauled
under the Gallic chieftain Commius in an ambush, he chose to declare rampart extensive enough to allow
to further rally pro-Roman opinion. the expedition a success and returned the remnants of their naval force to
Unfortunately, though, both failed— to Gaul accompanied by a number be beached, emboldened the Britons.
Volusenus was unable to locate a of British hostages. They were then able to offer a more
sheltered harbor for the Roman fleet effective defense under the leadership
and Commius was promptly arrested. A new expedition of Cassivellaunus.
On August 26, Caesar set sail with Preparations were soon underway for The Romans won a series of
a new expedition. Caesar had learnt engagements. They captured a hillfort
UFFINGTON WHITE HORSE “ … Britons dye lessons from the comparative failure
of his first incursion into
Britain. This time he
at Bigbury near Canterbury, overcame
an attempt at entrapping a
Roman foraging force, and
The inhabitants of southern Britain had
long-standing relations with the tribes themselves decided to bring five
legions—amounting
then pushed on toward
the Thames. Diplomatic
across the Channel. Through them, they to more than 30,000 pressure also began to
would have heard of the northward
progress of the Roman army.
with woad… men—and some 2,000
cavalry. The latter were
tell now, as Caesar
had with him one
and as a
a critical component in of Cassivellaunus’s
PRE-ROMAN BRITAIN countering the battle arch-enemies,
The landscape of Iron and Bronze Age Britain tactics of the Britons Mandubracius of the
was littered with sites of ritual importance, which
the Romans would encounter after their invasion. result their who, unlike their
counterparts in mainland
Trinovantes. Some
British chieftains
The White Horse at Uffington, in Oxfordshire, Europe, still used chariots who were afraid that
is one such site. It may be 3000 years old and
have been part of a ceremonial complex.
appearance in battle to harass
infantry units, which
Caesar’s coin
Julius Caesar is shown on this gold
Cassivellaunus might
use success against
in battle is lacked mounted support. aureus wearing the laurel wreath Caesar to increase his
CONQUERING GAUL On July 6, 54 BCE, Caesar of a victorious general. The coin own power also began
Julius Caesar conquered much of Gaul set off for Britain once commemorates his conquest of Gaul. to waver in their
(modern France) between 58 and 52 "#$.
He was able to derive political advantage from all the more more. His flotilla of 800
ships landed near Deal, this time
support for the
campaign against the Romans. The
British exiles who sought his protection, unopposed, apparently because the capture of Cassivellaunus’s chief
such as Mandubracius, of the Trinovantes
tribe, who was sent to him on his second
daunting.” Britons were so intimidated by the size stronghold—probably the oppidum at
of the force that they chose not to resist Wheathampstead—led to a desperate
invasion of Britain. it. Once more, however, the Roman attempt to stir the Kentish tribes into a
JULIUS CAESAR, THE GALLIC fleet was battered by a serious storm final uprising against Caesar. It was to
WARS, #.47 BCE and the 10 days delay in building a no avail and Cassivellaunus sued for
22
C A E S A R ’ S I N VA S I O N
Britain’s invader
Julius Caesar had far less
“Leap, fellow soldiers, unless you wish
success as a politician than
as a military commander. In to betray your eagle to the enemy.”
this sculpture, which stands
in Rome, he is making JULIUS CAESAR, THE GALLIC WARS, #.47 BCE
a gesture of peace.
before returning across the Channel Roman property” (according to the
some time in the middle of September. historian Strabo), supported client-kings,
The Trinovantes became, in effect, a such as Tincommius and Verica,
client-kingdom of Rome. In addition, who ruled over a Belgic kingdom in
Cassivellaunus was forbidden southern England, against the growing
to interfere in their territory. power of the Catuvellauni, who
Whatever his intentions overran the Trinovantian capital of
regarding a third and more Camulodunum (Colchester) around
decisive invasion of Britain 9 CE. The Romans maintained their
might have been, Julius influence in Britain by involving
Caesar was distracted themselves in its politics.
from taking any action
until 51 BCE by a major
uprising in Gaul and AF TER
thereafter by his
involvement in the
Roman civil wars, Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE and
which led to his the conquest of Britain was not an immediate
appointment as priority for his successor Augustus.
Dictator in Rome
in 47 BCE. INVASION BY CLAUDIUS
It was nearly 100 years after Caesar’s first
Attempts by Augustus invasion that Britain became a Roman
Caesar’s adoptive son province 28–29 ❯❯. There was an abortive
and successor, Augustus, expedition in 40 #$ under Caligula, but Britain
who also became was finally invaded on the orders of the
the first Roman Emperor Claudius in 43 #$. Thereafter, it
emperor, made remained under Roman control for almost four
centuries until 410 #$, when the Empire was
nearing its final collapse in the west 34–35 ❯❯.
Hadrian visited Britain in 121 #$ and ordered
a wall to be built to protect the northern limit
of the Empire 26–27 ❯❯.
EMPEROR HADRIAN
23
U P TO 1 0 6 6
T
he immediate pretext for the (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) should have formed the garrison at
Roman invasion of Britain was were burnt to the ground by Boudicca’s Inchtuthill was withdrawn and sent to
the appeal by Verica, the exiled marauding army. Finally, Paulinus’s Moesia on the River Danube by 92 #$.
king of the Atrebates, to the Emperor legions faced the Iceni somewhere in
Claudius to help restore him. As a the Midlands. The Roman victory was NEW DEFENSIVE BORDER
result, four Roman legions—more total; some 80,000 Britons were said During the reign of Trajan (97–115 #$), Roman
than 20,000 men—embarked for to have died, a figure that matches garrisons in southern Scotland were
England in late April 43 CE. the tally of 80,000 Romans (mostly thinned out and most forces became stationed
The Claudian invasion force, under civilians) who perished during in the forts along the Tyne-Solway isthmus
Aulus Plautius, established its main base Boudicca’s campaign of destruction. between Carlisle and Newcastle. Hadrian’s
in the sheltered harbor of Richborough The Icenian queen herself died soon Wall was built close to this line in the
in eastern Kent and moved westward. afterward, allegedly by poisoning. 120s #$ 26–27 ❯❯, forming a new defensive
The British, under Caratacus and border for Roman Britain.
Togodumnus, the leaders of the The northern frontier
Catuvellauni, opposed the advance but By the mid-70s, the Brigantian
were pushed back to the Thames. The kingdom and the rest of Wales had
Romans found a way across and in the been annexed, but it fell to Julius assault against the Caledonians.
Legionary’s backpack ensuing fighting Togodumnus was Agricola, who arrived in Britain as In the summer of 83 CE, he won a
Each Roman legionary had to killed. A pause in the campaign allowed governor in 77 or 78 CE, to project crushing victory at Mons Graupius
carry entrenching tools in his for the arrival of Claudius himself. Roman power far into the north of (probably somewhere near Inverness).
backpack to help build The emperor was thus able to direct Scotland. Within four years, Agricola Resistance to the Romans crumbled
temporary camps. in person the capture of the capital of had reached the Forth-Clyde line, and Agricola established a legionary
Camulodunum (Colchester), before where he established a number of forts. fortress at Inchtuthill on the Tay.
he returned to Rome, basking in the He then pushed further northward, However, within a few years almost
B E F O R E glory of his new conquest. launching a combined land and naval all of his conquests were abandoned.
Roman expansion
KEY
Cunobelinus, the ruler of the Catuvellauni, The next four years saw the expansion
expanded his kingdom, encroaching on the of the Roman-controlled area, as the Route of Julius Caesar’s expedition 54 BCE
Wall
Antonine Roman advances 43–83 CE
territory of the pro-Roman Atrebates. remnants of the Catuvellaunian kingdom
Extent of Roman conquest 47 CE
were absorbed, while the future Roman Extent of Roman conquest 68 CE
EXPANSION OF THE CATUVELLAUNI emperor Vespasian mopped up resistance Roman fort
Cunobelinus maintained a friendly stance toward in the south and south-west. By around Roman road
the Romans. After his death in 40 #$, his sons 47 CE, the Romans had secured a line that rian’s Wall Regional capital
Had
expanded the kingdom further and were ran roughly along the future Fosse Way
unfriendly to Roman interests. Another son fled (from the Devon coast to Lincolnshire) Roman conquest
to Rome, attempting to provoke a Roman invasion. and established a series of forts to cement This map shows the areas held
their control. They then tried to push and controlled by the Roman
west into Wales, vigorously opposed Empire in Britain from Julius
by Caratacus, who had escaped to Eboracum (York) Caesar’s expedition in 55 "#$ to
Defensive ditches lead a renewed British resistance. the extent of the province in 47 #$.
The remains of Ardoch Fort, built by the Romans He was finally captured in 51 CE after Mancunium
in c.80 #$ during Agricola’s campaigns, is one of the he had fled to the imagined safety of (Manchester)
best preserved forts in Roman Scotland. the court of Cartimandua, queen Banovallum
Anglesey Lindum (Lincoln)
of the Brigantes, who handed him (Horncastle)
Deva (Chester)
over to the Roman authorities. Cavsennae (Ancaster)
Viroconium Ratae
(Wroxeter) (Leicester)
Boudicca’s revolt Venta Caistor
W (Caistor)
In 60 CE, the Romans faced a serious
Erm
atl
ine
eW
Street
t
Iceni, fearing her territory being
Foss
Verulamium Camulodunum
incorporated into the Roman province Glevum (Gloucester) (Colchester)
(St Albans)
after the death of her husband, King Corinium Londinium
Venta Silurum (Caerwent)
(Cirencester) (London) Durovernum
Prasutagus, revolted and marched on
Camulodunum. The Roman governor, (Canterbury)
Aquae Sulis
Suetonius Paulinus, was away in north (Bath) Venta Belgarum (Winchester)
Wales. By the time he returned, Noviomagus
Camulodunum had been razed to Durnovaria (Chichester)
the ground, and a detachment of the Isca Dumnoniorum
(Dorchester)
(Exeter)
Ninth Legion cut to pieces. Londinium
0 125km
N
24 0 125 miles
The Roman conqueror
This marble relief from Aphrodisias in modern-day Turkey shows
Roman Emperor Claudius conquering Britannia. Claudius arrived in
Britain in 43 #$ to see for himself the defeat of the Britons at Colchester.
Hadrian’s Wall
Stretching from Wallsend to Bowness-on-Solway, Hadrian’s Wall was
almost 75 miles (120km) long. It was built over a period of years,
following a visit to Britain by the Emperor Hadrian in 122 #$, and covered
some wild terrain. Forts along the length of the wall housed Roman army
garrisons, which protected the northernmost border of the Empire.
U P TO 1 0 6 6
A Distant Province
B E F O R E
T
reigning emperor to do so since Claudius and, he period of peace following the governor resided at York. Some time a roughly equivalent number of
according to one historian, “set many things withdrawal from the Antonine before 312 CE, both provinces were auxiliary troops, played a key role in
right.” In the north, the Romans had pulled back Wall until the 280s CE allowed further subdivided into two, leaving the Romanization of Britain. The units
to a line from the Solway Firth to the Tyne. Here, the Roman province of Britannia to shaped the local economy near the
Hadrian ordered the building of a fixed develop into a place with a complex LEGATUS AUGUSTI The official title frontier as they needed grain and other
barrier, a wall ❮❮ 26–27. Under the governor, road network, flourishing towns, of the Governor of Britannia. By the 3rd supplies for the troops. The army also
Aulus Platorius Nepos, Hadrian’s Wall was begun and the full governmental system century this was replaced by titles such helped native Britons gain citizenship,
almost at once and completed several years later. of a Roman province. as Consularis and Praeses. as soldiers automatically acquired that
Though the Romans continued to occupy a priviledge after 25 years of military
number of outpost forts to the north of the line, Pax Romana Roman Britain with four and, later, service. Those joining the army
the wall effectively formed the northern border The most important Roman official five provinces. The result was that each would also have had to learn Latin,
of the Roman province for some 40 years. was the governor, who was responsible governor, although he had his own staff the language of command, which,
to the emperor and held authority over and bureaucracy, wielded less power because it was also used by the
EXTENDING THE NORTHERN FRONTIER the civil and military administration. and so was unlikely either to mount an civilian administration, became
Hadrian’s successor Antoninus Pius ordered Initially based at Colchester, the effective challenge against the emperor, firmly established in Britain.
the evacuation of Hadrian’s Wall and the governor moved to London toward the or to implement policies which might
building of a new defensive line about end of the 1st century. He was normally be beneficial to Britannia as a whole. The growth of towns
100 miles (160km) to the north. The Antonine of senatorial rank, drawn from the elite At the heart of Roman Britain lay its
Wall was constructed of turf and spanned some of Roman society (although from the The army’s influence towns. Colchester, Lincoln, Gloucester,
37 miles (60km) between the Firth of Forth 3rd century, men of equestrian rank, The presence of the Roman army in the and York fell into the category of
and the Clyde. A series of outpost forts north the next rung down in the social shape of three legions (after the 80s CE), coloniae, established for legionary
of the new wall were also occupied, once more hierarchy, were appointed). The other amounting more than 16,000 men and veterans who had full rights of
establishing a Roman military presence in chief official of Britannia was the
central Scotland. Around 161 #$, a new
emperor, Marcus Aurelius, ordered the
abandonment of his predecessor’s advance,
procurator, who was in charge of
financial affairs. In 213 CE, the province
was split in two: Britannia Superior
“The Britons took up… baths,
and by the mid 160s Hadrian’s Wall once more
marked the northern boundary of the province.
(covering southern England and Wales)
with its capital at London; and and magnificent feasts. The
Britannia Inferior (northern England,
including Hadrian’s Wall), whose
unsuspecting natives called
these new habits ‘ culture’ when
they were in fact part of their
enslavement.”
TACITUS, AGRICOLA, #.98 CE
Roman buildings, such as baths, provided some income, Lead curse tablet from a temple
basilicas, and amphitheaters, shows Britain’s main exports were Tablets like this one from Uley, Gloucestershire,
the spread of Roman culture within leather and textiles. In return, were inscribed with messages and left at
Britain. Towns also served as Britain imported luxury goods, shrines by people seeking help from the gods
regional markets and the base for such as glass vessels, fine in personal matters, such as finding a thief.
small-scale industries and craft Samian-ware pottery, and
production; there were, for garum, the fish sauce much
example, workshops for the beloved of Roman cooks. AF TER
production of the floor mosaics
that adorned Roman villas. Romanizing rural Britain
The Romans built a network of The vast majority of people did The 3rd century was a time of grave
roads linking the towns and not live in towns. At the top instability for the Roman Empire, with a
villages, such as Watling Street of the social scale, lavish series of short-lived emperors unable to
running from Dover to Wroxeter villas, which were often cope with the growing threat of barbarians
and the Fosse Way from Exeter surrounded by farming from beyond the frontiers.
to Lincoln, which facilitated settlements, colonized
the transportation of bulky the countryside, INDEPENDENT EMPIRES
trade goods. Although particularly from roundhouses or rectangular aisled In 260 #$, Postumus, governor of Gaul, declared
Britain became integrated the 2nd century houses. Here, the penetration of Roman his independence from central control and
into the larger economy CE. Most people, ideas was much weaker, and there established a Gallic Empire. Britain formed a
of the Roman Empire, however, is evidence of the persistence of part of this until the reincorporation of the rebel
it did not provide the continued traditional beliefs. Priests of the provinces by Emperor Aurelian in 274 #$. In
gold and silver that to live in Imperial Cult and devotees of exotic 286 #$ a military commander, Carausius, declared
had been hoped for. traditional mystery cults such as Isis and Mithras himself emperor. He looked set to establish an
Apart from tin, could be found in towns, but in the independent Roman state of Britain but was
lead, and iron, countryside Celtic deities such as assassinated in 293 #$ and Constantius, one of
whose mining Coventina or Cocidius held sway. the official Roman emperors, took control.
Frequently, the identities of Celtic and
Roman gods merged—such as Sulis THE SURVIVAL OF LATIN
with Minerva at Aquae Sulis (Bath). It is not clear whether Latin fully replaced the
native Celtic languages of Britain during the
Trouble in the north Roman occupation. Germanic invaders in the
Emperor Septimius Severus 5th century #$ 46–47 ❯❯ occupied Romanized
conducted the last major areas in the south and east where Latin was
expedition into Scotland in widespread. Other areas had retained their
208–211 CE. A group called native languages and so Latin more or less died
the Maeatae, in alliance out as a living language. It continued to be the
with the Caledonians, had language of education and culture for
been menacing positions centuries. As the universal language of the
on the frontier for a Christian Church, Latin experienced a revival
decade. Bringing in Ireland and areas of western Britain which
elements of the elite were converted by Celtic missionaries 38–39 ❯❯
Praetorian Guard and and in parts of Britain converted from Rome
contingents from the by the mission of St. Augustine 44–45 ❯❯.
army units in western
Europe, Severus
began to prepare
for a full-scale attack
against them.
The Maeatae sued for
peace, but Severus
launched his strike
anyway, pushing
northward. It was a
hard-fought campaign in
difficult terrain. Severus,
by then seriously ill,
accepted peace terms
when they were offered
again. Caracalla cut short a later
campaign so he could return to
Rome to secure the imperial throne,
after Severus had died.
Life in the province of Britannia
Face from the past continued as before, but Roman armies
This stunning example of did not attempt another reconquest of
Roman metalwork found Scotland. Several emperors did visit Brand of authority
in Cumbria dates from the Britain in the 3rd and 4th centuries, but This wooden writing tablet bears the stamp of the
1st–2nd centuries #$. It it was to put down a revolt or deal with procurator, Roman Britain’s chief financial officer, and
would have been worn for trouble on the borders, rather than in may have originated in his office. Unfortunately, the
display rather than in battle. an effort to push further northward. wax-inscribed letter it contained has perished.
29
U P TO 1 0 6 6
T
he Roman withdrawal from Roman influence. Elsewhere,
northeast and central Scotland traditional crannogs (lake-houses)
after 90 CE did not mean that the continued to be built, even in the
rulers of the Empire lost interest in the lowlands (such as at Milton Loch).
area. Outpost forts, such as the one at In the Western and Northern Isles,
Trimontium (Newstead, near Melrose) huge stone-built broch towers persisted
Ptolemy’s map of the British Isles continued to be occupied, while for until the 2nd century CE, after which
The Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemaeus 20 years under Antoninus Pius the stone round houses replaced them.
(Ptolemy), working in the 1st century #$, produced a Romans advanced to the Antonine Wall
world map, which included the British Isles and showed line between the Clyde and the Forth, The Picts
a reasonably accurate outline of the Irish coast. with outpost forts even beyond that. By the 4th century, new tribal
federations had emerged in Scotland.
North of the frontier Prominent in the “barbarian
B E F O R E Such a prolonged period of close conspiracy” of 367 CE against Roman
contact with the Roman frontier is Britannia were the Picts (from the
likely to have had an impact on the Latin picti meaning “painted folk”).
The failure of the Romans to complete the tribes who lived just beyond it. While At the height of their power in around
conquest of Scotland after 83 CE and their some hill-forts sites beyond the frontier 500 CE, the Picts occupied almost all
decision not to invade Ireland left large experienced a reduced level of of mainland Scotland north of the
areas of the British Isles outside the Empire. occupation (such as at Castle Law in Clyde-Forth isthmus. A type of
Midlothian), one, at Traprain Law in underground earth structure called
EDGE OF THE EMPIRE East Lothian, evidently prospered a souterrain was very widespread
Although the Romans under Agricola defeated greatly during the in this area—although
the Caledonians at Mons Graupius in 83 #$,
and established the position for a fortress at
Inchtuthill ❮❮ 24, they pulled back. By 110 #$,
Roman period. This
was the capital of
the Votadini, a
25 The number of letters in the they may have been
Irish Ogham alphabet. stores or cattle shelters
rather than human
the area north of a line from the Solway Firth pro-Roman tribe, whose chieftains may dwellings. Very little is known of the
to the Tyne lay outside the Empire. have played a similar role to barbarian Pictish language, but it may have been
client kings beyond the Rhine and a relative of the Celtic P-dialect (or
DEVELOPMENTS IN IRELAND Danube in Germany, acting as a buffer Brythonic) later spoken in Wales. The
Ireland continued to develop after the Bronze against more distant groups and as a few examples of written Pictish that
Age. Knowledge of iron working may have conduit for Roman influence in have been found are a little later in
reached there by the 6th century "#$ and the La Scotland. Abundant Roman pottery date. They are inscribed picture stones
Tène culture reached Ireland by about 200 "#$. and coins were found at Traprain employing the Irish Ogham alphabet,
By the 1st century #$ Ireland was materially Law in East Lothian—as well as an which was probably introduced into
rich, but too remote to invite Roman invasion. astonishing hoard of silver plate— Pictland in the 8th century. Not much
and occupation continued into the is understood of early Pictish society,
4th century. The inhabitants of the although classical sources imply
site were, to some extent literate, as that they practiced polygamy. Bede,
Reconstructed Scottish crannog inscriptions in Latin have been found writing in the 8th century, states
Crannogs, houses constructed on artificial on pottery fragments there. that the royal line of the Picts was
islands in lakes, first appeared in the late Similar finds at the western end of the matrilineal, with the succession
Bronze Age. Fairly common in Scotland, they Roman frontier, at Dalry in Ayrshire, to the throne passing through
were more prevalent in Ireland and may may reflect the presence of another the female line.
have been high-status dwellings. client kingdom. The penetration of
trade into these areas is revealed by Writing and stories in Ireland
finds of large hoards of Roman coins, Julius Agricola, the Roman
such as the 1,900 silver coins found conqueror of Scotland, is said
near Falkirk. to have mused that the conquest
The appearance of stone of Ireland would be a simple
huts and villages in affair requiring just one legion.
central Scotland Despite this, no Roman army
around the crossed the Irish sea and
2nd century relations with Roman-
(sometimes on occupied Britain were largely
the ruin of confined to trade. Artistic
hillfort sites) trends do seem to have
may also have crossed the Irish Sea,
occurred as a though, evidenced by
consequence of finds of brooches and
30
OUTSIDE THE EMPIRE
horse bits showing the influence of Irish flesh hook Hadrian’s Wall at the invitation of
Romano-British style. Perhaps the This bronze object, dating from around 1000 "#$, set the emperor “Macsen Wledig” (or
most significant cultural import with ravens and a family of swans, and with a curved Magnus Maximus). Behind this story
was knowledge of writing. The hook at the end, was probably a flesh-hook for may lie a real movement of a Roman
Irish Ogham script, possibly retrieving chunks of meat from a stew. military unit, but the fact that many
developed around 400 CE, may subsequent dynasties traced their
have taken the Latin alphabet into the Middle Ages and as descent from Cunedda is a sign that
as its model. Ogham characters administrative regions to the present the Welsh were beginning to exercise
are written with incised lines day. The traditions related in the political independence, even if this
along a central stem and are story predate the rise of the Uí Néill was a position forced on them by
seen on inscriptions from dynasty, whose founder Níall the Roman inability to defend their
Ireland and parts of Noigiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages) territories on the fringes of Britain.
Scotland and Wales. is thought to have ruled around 400 CE. Of similar significance was the
The Uí Néill would dominate much of settlement, in Argyll in southwest
Evidence from the sagas early medieval Irish history. They are Scotland, of another wave
Ireland possesses a wealth said to have descended from the of Irish immigrants
of orally transmitted sagas Milesians from Spain. This—or the around 500 CE. By
and histories almost subsequent arrival in legend of the about 575, this group
unequaled in northern “Black Gaels” around 600 BCE—may was firmly
Europe. Tales such as the reflect a distant memory of the established in what
Cattle Raid of Cooley paint a immigration into Ireland, which became the kingdom
picture of the country in brought the Q-Celtic (or Goidelic) of Dal Riata, under
the late Iron Age, while dialect there some time in the late King Aedan mac
legendary figures in the 1st millennium CE or earlier. Gabrain, with
histories such as Cormac The emergence of these very early their capital
mac Airt, who was said to dynasties may be reflected in the in the fortress
have been king of Tara development during the Iron Age of Dunadd.
from 227–266 CE, may of the complex of enclosures and
have a real historical buildings at Tara, Navan Fort (County Alphabet stone
basis. The Cattle Raid Armagh), and Dún Ailinne (County This stone from inside the
portrays an Ireland Kildare). The huge size of these—the Gallarus Oratory in Ireland
divided into four internal enclosure ditch at Tara shows Ogham marks.
kingdoms: Ulaid encircles 17 acres (7 hectares) of Several hundred Ogham
(Ulster), Connachta land—indicates the rise of rulers with inscriptions have been
(Connaught), Laigin sufficient power to command the vast found in Ireland, and parts
(Leinster), and Mumu resources necessary to construct them. of Wales and Scotland.
(Munster). These
divisions persisted Irish settlers
By the 5th century CE, as the Roman AF TER
The Manse stone grip on the west coast of Britain
This 8th-century stone slab slackened, raiders from Ireland began
carving from Glamis with its to seize land there. An area in From the 5th century, definite kingdoms
interlaced stone cross and southwestern Wales was occupied started to emerge in Ireland and Scotland,
fabulous animals drew from by a group from Leinster, and Irish but it would be several centuries before the
an earlier tradition of Pictish settlements dotted the coast as far bulk of Scotland was united.
symbol stones, whose north as Caernarvon. At about this
abstract symbols and time, a king called Cunedda is said to COMPETING DYNASTIES
fantastic beasts have so have established himself in north Ireland was not united before the English
far defied interpretation. Wales, having transferred from beyond conquest in the 12th century. Instead, the
Uí Néill, Uí Briúin, Uí Fiachrach, and other local
combat.”
British kingdom of Strathclyde, based around
Dumbarton, and from the Anglo-Saxon
kingdom of Northumbria.
THE CATTLE RAID OF COOLEY, 7TH–8TH CENTURIES
31
U P TO 1 0 6 6
T
Chichester began to develop into oppida he organization of an official on the productivity of the The organization—and the
(proto-towns). Many of these became true Roman province of Britannia land based on periodic taxation—of Britain was made
urban centers in Roman times. The presence affected the higher levels of censuses. The poll tax caused possible by the growth of urban
of smaller denomination coins shows that they British society most. Some Britons particular upset and played centers connected by a network
were used as trading places, rather than simply became full Roman citizens and a part in fueling the revolt of of roads. The well-constructed
being royal or ceremonial centers. committed to a new way of life. For Boudicca (see p.24). Roman roads also allowed
many people living outside the towns, Another unaccustomed movement of troops and
COIN EVIDENCE however, life remained relatively imposition was a sales supplies in the province.
Some coins minted in Britain in the 1st century "#$ unchanged after the Roman conquest. tax, levied on certain
are inscribed with names in the Latin alphabet, transactions, such as Urban growth
indicating evidence of contact with Rome. Organized taxation the sale of slaves, and The first official foundation
One aspect of Romanization that was on goods entering at Camulodunum
TRADE GROWTH hard to avoid was organized taxation. the province from (Colchester) was in 49 CE.
An increase in trade between Britain and the The province became subject to the elsewhere. Those who
Continent is indicated by the growth of new tributum capitis (poll tax) and a tax were Roman citizens— The head of Serapis
ports at places such as Hengistbury Head (near from 221 CE all The worship of Serapis, a
Bournemouth) and the importation of goods Temple of Mithras freeborn inhabitants Greco- Roman version of the
including pottery, wine, and glass. These ruins of a Roman temple to an eastern god, Mithras, became citizens—were Egyptian god Osiris was popular among
at Carrawburgh, a fort on Hadrian’s Wall, date to the also liable to pay a five Roman army units in Britain. This statue
early 3rd century #$. Mithras was popular with soldiers. percent inheritance tax. of the god was found in London.
L I F E I N R O M A N B R I TA I N
33
U P TO 1 0 6 6
T
B E F O R E here are signs that Britain was
entering a period of economic
decline by the mid-3rd century CE.
By the 360s new challenges were emerging Industrial activity in towns slackened
for the Roman rulers of Britain. Picts from and high-quality imported pottery
beyond Hadrian’s Wall became more active disappeared. Elsewhere in the Empire,
and Saxon pirates from northwest Europe in northwest Europe, towns were
started to raid the east coast. experiencing similar difficulties as
the elite tried to escape the onerous
SAXON SHORE FORTS duties of being a town councillor
A series of forts was built along the south coast, (which could be financially ruinous)
from the Solent to the Wash, between about 260 and retired to their rural villas.
and 310. They are known as the Saxon Shore Something similar may have occurred
forts, after the Count of the Litus Saxonum (or in Britain, although even large villas
Saxon Shore), a 5th-century military official who there seem to have suffered economic
had responsibility for the defense of the region strains in the 4th century.
(presumably against the Saxons). What had been
one of the more tranquil parts of Britain was now Barbarian threats
in effect a frontier zone. Some, including In 343 CE the Emperor Constans was
Pevensey, were well built and fortified and forced to visit the province, to deal
remained in use by the post-Roman defenders with an unspecified threat, but in 367
of Britain against the Saxons. Some were a more serious “barbarian conspiracy”
refortified in Norman times. broke out in which the Picts are said
to have coordinated their attacks with
THREAT FROM IRELAND the Irish and another group called the
Fourth-century Roman forts in western England, Atacotti. The Emperor Valentinian sent Mildenhall treasure
such as at Cardiff and near Lancaster, are an over a senior officer, Count Theodosius, The Great Dish is part of a
indication that Roman Britain was also being who by 369 had scattered the invaders. hoard of Roman silverware
threatened from across the Irish Sea. He also restored a number of forts along found in Suffolk. Its burial may
Hadrian’s Wall and in the east of be connected with the uncertainty
England, and added a fifth province felt toward the end of the empire.
End of Empire
In the early 5th century CE Britain suffered from the general weakness of the Roman Empire in the west.
The withdrawal of much of the British garrison left it vulnerable to barbarian raids. Finally, in 410 CE
Roman rule over Britain came to an end and native British rulers were left to face invaders alone.
L E G E N D A R Y K I N G ( C.5 0 0 C E ) (Valentia). In doing so, he established The reduction in troop levels appears The steady decrease in the
the last brief period of stability Britain to have encouraged further barbarian numbers of Roman soldiers
KING ARTHUR
would enjoy for centuries. incursions. In 396 Stilicho, the military reduced security and further
strongman who dominated the damaged the economy. Supplies, which
Withdrawal of troops government in the early reign of had been needed to support the army,
Britain’s economic difficulties were Honorius (395–423), was forced to were no longer required and the coin to
exacerbated by the steady diminution of come in person to restore order. He pay its wages stopped being imported.
the Roman garrison in the late 4th and did so, but by 400, he, too, seems to After about 407, bronze coins, which
early 5th centuries. In 383 a usurper, have withdrawn yet more military were the only ones really useful for
Magnus Maximus, was proclaimed units from the British provinces. day-to-day transactions, were no longer
emperor in Britain. Taking at least a
part of the Roman army of Britain, he
crossed over to Gaul, where he defeated
and killed the official emperor Gratian.
Maximus himself ultimately suffered the
same fate in 388 and it is likely that a
portion of the soldiers he brought from
King Arthur is a legendary ruler in Britain Britain never returned (or were killed
in the period following the collapse of the in the civil war). It was probably at this
Roman Empire. The idea that he was a time that the Twentieth Legion was
defender of the Britons against Saxon removed from Chester, leaving the
invaders owes much to the History of the western part of England vulnerable
Kings of Britain written around 1138 by to raiders from across the Irish Sea.
Geoffrey of Monmouth. Given that the
Britons do seem to have stemmed the Richborough fort
Saxon advance in the early 6th century, The Saxon Shore fort at Richborough (Rutupiae) was
the figure of Arthur may be based on a built in around 280 #$ to boost the defenses of the
real leader or leaders of around that time. south coast. The triple ditches date from defensive
works constructed a few decades earlier.
34
AF TER
NATIVE KINGDOMS
After the expulsion of the Roman authorities
a number of native kingdoms began to
emerge, many of them based on the old
pre-Roman tribal centers or civitates.
35
U P TO 1 0 6 6
■ GILT-BRONZE
WINGED DRAGON
■ SHOULDER CLASPS
■ HELMET
■ SWORD
36
T H E S U T TO N H O O S H I P B U R I A L
■ GOLD COINS
■ SILVER BOWLS
■ SILVER SPOONS
■ ESCUTCHEON FROM
HANGING BOWL ■ HANGING BOWL
■ DRINKING
The Sutton
HORN
■ GILT-HEADED
BIRDS FROM HARP
Hoo Ship Burial ■ WHETSTONE
The Sutton Hoo ship burial, discovered in 1939, is probably the last resting place of
King Redwald of East Anglia (599–c.624). One of only two full ship burials found in
England, its fabulous treasures show the wealth of the East Anglian royal dynasty.
■ Gilt-bronze winged dragon, set to one side of the shield by gold frame, is set with seven decorative plaques, four of
boss, its eyes made of cabochon garnet. ■ Bird of prey set them of interlaced animals. ■ Gold coins, minted in Gaul
into shield, made of gold foil set into alderwood. The head between 575 and 625 #$. ■ Silver bowls. The fluted bowl
and leg are gilt-bronze. ■ Shield central boss made up an (right) shows a lady, with a diadem in the center. The cross
animal frieze, surrounding a garnet disk. ■ Helmet. The cap on the bowl (left) was not necessarily intended as Christian.
was forged from a single piece of iron, with iron ear-flaps and ■ Silver spoons stamped with the names “Saulos” and
a neck-guard attached. Bronze plates stamped with animals “Paulos”, a possible reference to St. Paul. ■ Hanging bowl,
and scenes from mythology were then added. ■ Shoulder made of bronze, probably in the eastern Mediterranean and
clasps, based on Roman prototypes, are curved to fit the then imported. ■ Escutcheon from hanging bowl,
shoulder, and have a pattern of garnets and millefiori glass. enameled and set with millefiori glass, originally attached
■ Buckle from sword belt, inlaid with gold and garnet to a handle. ■ Gilt-headed birds from harp. Originally
fittings. ■ Pyramids with garnets surrounded by a gold attached to a six-stringed harp. ■ Drinking horn, one of a
frame, originally attached to a sword knot, possibly to tie the pair set with silver-gilt end fittings. ■ Whetstone, set with
sword into its scabbard. ■ Sword is pattern-welded from a beautifully carved bronze stag on top of an iron ring,
eight bundles of iron rods. It was once mounted with gold believed to be a scepter. ■ Burial ship. This 1939 picture of
■ BURIAL SHIP and garnet fittings. ■ Purse lid, with an ivory base enclosed the excavation shows the lines of the ship’s original planking.
37
Iona Abbey
Holy Ireland
Iona Abbey occupies the site of the monastery founded
in 563 by Saint Columba. Iona remained an important
center of Irish monasticism for four centuries.
B E F O R E
From tenuous beginnings in the 5th century CE, Christianity in Ireland spread rapidly. Monasteries
came to wield great power within Church and society, and missionaries were dispatched to the
The Christianization of Ireland occurred
during the 5th and early 6th centuries CE. Continent. But secular Ireland saw struggles between the Uí Neills of the north and southern groups.
Distant from papal authority in Rome, it
B
later developed an independent identity. y the early 6th century, Irish vested in him and not in the wider series of sea voyages in search of even
Christianity had established itself Church. It mirrored the organization of remoter monastic retreats, possibly as
PALLADIUS much along the lines of the aristocratic families, and it is no surprise far as Iceland and even North America.
The first evidence of a Christian mission to Christian churches in Gaul or Britain, that many of the early monastic
Ireland comes in 431, when Pope Celestine I sent divided up into dioceses, with bishops founders came from the nobility. Missionaries, culture, and unity
the deacon Palladius to Ireland. It is uncertain as the principal church leaders. After The next monastic generation included
exactly where he went—he may this, however, the balance of power in Remote monasteries Comgall, who founded the monastery
have also visited Irish-settled the Irish Church began to shift toward Men such as Finnian of Clonard and at Bangor around 558, and Saint
areas of Scotland—but monasteries so that abbots exercised Ciarán of Clonmacnoise established Columba, who, after establishing a
it is likely his mission administrative power, and a network monasteries in the 530s and 540s, string of monastic houses, departed
concentrated on the south of daughter houses of the main followed by a spread of the monastic Ireland under a cloud after a dispute
and east coasts. It clearly establishments, rather than traditional life into the most remote reaches of the over ownership of a Gospel manuscript
did not prosper, as no parishes, came to be the characteristic island. Saint Brendan, ranked with led to a pitched battle. His exile,
records of its work feature of Church organization. The Finnian and Ciarán among the “Twelve however, led to the foundation of
survived in Ireland. abbot was seen as the comarba, or Apostles of Ireland”, set up a monastery the great abbey of Iona, off the
heir, of the original founder of the on Inishglora, off the coast of Mayo, in west coast of Scotland, in 563,
SAINT PATRICK monastery and the property was legally western Ireland, before taking off on a and the beginning of a tradition
The conversion of the of Irish evangelization abroad
SAINT PATRICK’S BELL Irish was achieved by that would culminate in the
MISSIONARY (540–615)
Saint Patrick, who career of Columbanus (see BOX).
came from a rich family in northern Britain. SAINT COLUMBANUS Columba himself continued to
His own account relates that his father was a be held in high regard in his
town councillor and his grandfather a priest, Columbanus was born around 540 "# in homeland, as shown by the
and that, aged 16, he was seized by Irish Leinster, Ireland. Attracted to a monastic Convention of Druim Cett in
pirates and taken to Ireland. After six years he life, he spent 25 years under Abbot 575, when he returned to
escaped back to Britain, but resolved to return Comgall of Bangor. Around 590, he was Ireland in the company of King
to Ireland to bring Christianity to the people allowed to go on pilgrimage, traveling Aidan of Dalriada to a meeting of
there. Unfortunately, Patrick does not provide through Britain, Gaul, and Burgundy. royalty and clergy, called to settle
any clear indications of the dates of his There, he established numerous relations between the Dalriadans
mission. His return to Ireland has traditionally monasteries, including at Annegray and and the Uí Neill clan.
been assigned to 432 (the year after that of Luxeuil. However, Columbanus fell foul of From early on, the monasteries
Palladius) but it may well have been any time ecclesiastical politics—he had not placed were centers of learning. In 536,
between 400 and 450. The early years of himself under the obedience of the local 50 European students traveled
the mission were precarious and Patrick bishop—and made an enemy of King to the monastery at Lismore.
was forced to make payments to local kings Theuderic II of Burgundy. Expelled in
to secure protection. By the time of his death, 610, he went to Italy, settling at Bobbio, Emly reliquary
traditionally given as 492, Christianity had in the Apennines, where he built yet Reliquaries housing the bones of saints or
a sufficiently secure base in Ireland to another monastery and developed other sacred relics were often lavishly
ensure its survival. what would become one of the adorned. This house-shaped shrine, from
more influential early monastic rules. Emly, Tipperary, was portable with a strap
attached to hinged mounts.
38
H O LY I R E L A N D
AF TER
MISSIONARY AMBITION
Irish missionary efforts expanded, led by men
such as Saint Gall, a disciple of Saint Columba,
who converted the Alamanns (in modern
Switzerland) before his death in 645. From around
700, Irish scholars flocked to Europe, attracted by
conditions at the courts of the Frankish rulers:
Dungal was consulted by Charlemagne after a
solar eclipse in 810, while Dicuil wrote the first
medieval geography treatise in which he
mentioned an island called “Thule” (almost
certainly Iceland), and Sedulius Scotus advised
Charles the Bald on government around 850.
39
U P TO 1 0 6 6
Anglo-Saxon Rulers
Germanic invaders arrived in Britain in the middle of the 5th century CE and quickly pushed the Britons
into fringes of the island. They established a series of kingdoms, which by the 8th century became
increasingly sophisticated with rulers who were among the most powerful in Europe.
T
he Anglo-Saxons made rapid Saxon Shore fort at Pevensey, which of Beowulf, one of the most important
territorial gains in the century the Britons were still clearly using as a surviving pieces of Old English
after their arrival in England. stronghold. In East Anglia, a dynasty literature, probably reflects the reality
There was a pause in around 500 CE called the Wuffingas ruled from the late reasonably closely. The poem gives us
when, according to the near- 6th century (although Germanic settlers an insight into the passionate and
contemporary Gildas, the Britons won arrived there more than a century dangerous lives led by the kings of
Lead weights a great victory at Mons Badonicus, led earlier), while in the north-east of this period in a way that the scant
Trade and commerce played an important role in the by a war-leader whom later tradition archaeological evidence cannot. “It is
prosperity of Anglo-Saxon England. Lead weights such identified with King Arthur (see p.34). always better to avenge dear ones than
as these were used by merchants to test the weight of By 550, however, the Anglo-Saxon to indulge in mourning”, is a line that
precious metals and other small trade items. advance had resumed and a decisive several kings clearly took to heart, as
victory at Dyrham in Gloucestershire in the Northumbrian ruler Oswy’s
in 577 opened most of the West campaigns against Penda, responsible
B E F O R E Country to them. By around 600, the for the death of his brother Oswald.
Britons had been reduced to control Archaeological evidence for this
of the area known as Dumnonia period has come from sites including
Evidence for early Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset), Yeavering, near Bamburgh in
is obscure and much of our understanding Wales, Cumbria, and Scotland. Northumbria, where a series of royal
comes from significantly later sources. halls were built in the 6th and 7th
Seven kingdoms centuries. One of them—presumed
VORTIGERN AND THE SAXONS Gradually the tribal war-bands to be that of King Edwin—was more
Writing in the 8th century, the monk Bede coalesced into a series of kingdoms, than 82ft (25m) long.
44–45 ❯❯, dated the arrival of the Saxon with the seven principal among them
invaders in England to 449. The British King being collectively termed the Heptarchy Power of the Bretwalda
Vortigern is said to have invited their leaders (Kent, Sussex, Essex, East Anglia, Bede, writing in the 8th century, refers
Hengist and Horsa to bring a troop of Wessex, Mercia, and Northumbria). to the office of Bretwalda, a ruler who
mercenaries to protect his kingdom against other The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, compiled in wielded power over a far greater area
barbarian marauders. A Gallic chronicle dates the 9th century, names the founders of than his own kingdom and sometimes
a Saxon victory to 440 and it is probable that several other kingdoms, although there over the whole of Britain. The first of
somewhere around this time the nucleus of the is little independent historical evidence these was Aelle of Sussex in the late
groups who would form the later Anglo-Saxon for any of these figures. Cerdic is said
kingdoms began to settle in England.
41
Franks Casket
Franks Casket gives a unique insight into early Anglo-Saxon culture.
Likely made in the first half of the 8th century in Northumbria, it is an
ornately carved, whalebone box and shows scenes from history and
mythology, including the sack of Jerusalem by the Roman Emperor
Titus, the Adoration of the Magi, and the legend of Romulus and Remus.
This panel depicts the legend of Egil the Archer seen defending his
castle and wife from attackers.
U P TO 1 0 6 6
Christian England
Missionaries sent by Pope Gregory I converted the first Anglo-Saxon kingdom at the end of the
6th century CE. Despite early setbacks, within just over a century all the rest had become Christian, and
England became the home of a vibrant and thriving Christian culture, largely based in monasteries.
I
n around 560 CE, King Aethelbert of established in Canterbury, the Kentish
Kent married Bertha, the daughter royal capital, with the cathedral initially
of Charibert, the Merovingian ruler in the church that Bertha had used.
of a Frankish kingdom based around
Paris. Like her father, Bertha was a The death of Aethelbert
Christian and in her entourage came The cause of Christianity in England
a bishop, Liudhard, who was allowed suffered a rapid setback on the death
to establish a church in Kent. of Aethelbert in 616, for his successor
Despite any intentions Charibert reverted to paganism (as did the heirs
may have had of cementing Frankish of Saberht of Essex). Kent was rapidly
influence in England by effecting the gained back, and around 628 the
conversion of Aethelbert, the Kentish Christians won a major victory with
king found it far less politically the conversion of Edwin, King of
Northumbria and the appointment of
B E F O R E
Kingston Brooch
Made of gold, inlaid with garnet and blue glass,
40 The number of clerics who went
with Saint Augustine to Kent.
Roman Britain must have had a substantial the 7th-century Kingston brooch, found in Kent, Paulinus as the first Bishop of York.
Christian population, but evidence for the is a testament to the great wealth of the area The fragility of the Christian cause,
survival of the religion in the areas the around the time of King Aethelbert. however, was shown by the effect of
Anglo-Saxons conquered is very slight. the death of Edwin in battle against
constraining to accept missionaries the pagan Penda of Mercia in 634;
from a much more distant source, Northumbria relapsed into paganism
Pope Gregory I in Rome. for several years.
In 597, a group of clerics despatched The Christian position in Northumbria
by Pope Gregory and led by Saint was restored by King Oswald (634–53),
Augustine arrived in Thanet in Kent. while elsewhere Christianity again
They were warmly received and made rapid advances, with the
Aethelbert soon accepted Christian conversion of Wessex in around 635
baptism. Whether he truly and of the last major pagan
understood the significance of the kingdom, Mercia, in 655.
new religion or utterly rejected Significantly, Oswald had not
the pagan beliefs of sent to Canterbury
his forefathers is for missionary
unclear, but he support, but to the
probably saw that Celtic monastery at
the support of a Iona. The bishop he
powerful Church received, Aidan,
would provide him established his see
with a strong additional on the island of Lindisfarne,
SHRINE OF SAINT ALBAN underpinning of his royal and from here a strong Celtic
authority. Aethelbert was active presence developed, often
GERMANUS OF AUXERRE in the propagation of his new at odds with the “official”
In 429, Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre (in Gaul), religion and effected the Church based in Canterbury
came to counter the spread of a Christian conversion of King Saberht of and York.
heresy called Pelagianism, which had taken Essex. East Anglia, too, also Despite these advances, by state, with few bishoprics there paying
root in Britain. He visited the shrine of Saint fell rapidly into the Christian 664 the Church in England more than lip-service to the authority
Alban at Verulamium—evidence that at least one fold. Its king, Sigebert, had faced a crisis. The acute of the Archbishop of Canterbury. To
Christian place of worship was still functioning. converted to Christianity while tensions between the Celtic revive the flagging English Church, in
he was in exile in Gaul. and Roman wings of the 669 Pope Vitalian appointed a new
CELTIC CHRISTIANITY Pope Gregory intended the Church were largely resolved archbishop, Theodore of Tarsus.
In areas the Germanic invaders did not conquer headquarters of the English at the Synod of Whitby (see Theodore moved quickly to assert his
❮❮ 40–41, Christianity flourished. Monasteries Church to be in London, but BOX). However, the Church authority over the Church in England,
such as Whithorn (established c.432) and Iona this was under the political outside Kent was in a parlous elevating the Northumbrian nobleman
(established in 563) became centers of control of Essex and Wilfrid to the see of York in 669 (he
a Celtic church with a distinct identity and Augustine found it more Ruthwell Cross, Northumbria was a spiritual powerhouse who
bases for the reconversion of northern convenient to remain under A striking example of Anglo-Saxon converted one of the last pagan areas,
England and missions to pagan parts of Europe. the protection of Aethelbert. sculpture, the Ruthwell cross illustrates the Sussex, to Christianity in 679). The
So, the first archbishopric in Dream of the Rood, a poem in which the new archbishop also reorganized the
England came to be narrator has a vision of Christ’s cross. bishoprics in England, sending new
44
CH R I STIAN ENGL AN D
SYNOD OF WHITBY
teaching, and By 660, tensions between the Celtic
writing have
and Roman traditions in England were
becoming explosive. One issue was
calculating the date of Easter (sometimes
45
U P TO 1 0 6 6
Shetland
Viking Raiders
Islands 70 0
Orkney
Islands
and Settlers
North
Sea
793
3
80 79 6
79 5
At the end of the 8th century CE, Viking raiders began 6
794
79
attacking vulnerable coastal settlements in England.
853
York
Within 50 years, larger armies overcame the Anglo-Saxon Dublin Lincoln
860
1
Nottingham
84
kingdoms and started dividing the land between them. Waterford
Derby Stamford 86 5
Leicester
Finally, Wessex stood alone, weak and beleaguered. Thetford 87 0
841
834–870
T
793–850 London
he Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 793 CE early stages of the raids. Its
60
speaks of “dire portents” that origin is much debated; it may 84 0 –8
840
Lindisfarne Abbey appeared over Northumbria, derive from the Viken, a part of the 86
8 80
0
Although probably the work of a small raiding party, the including “fiery dragons seen flying Oslo Fjord in Norway. In English, it
attack on Lindisfarne in 793 #$ was the first in a series of in the air.” These seemed to be omens has come to mean little more
0 250km
Viking attacks that shocked the entire Christian world. of the dragons set on the prows of than a pirate. N 0 250 miles
the Viking longships that raided the
monastery of Lindisfarne on June 8 Viking attacks
B E F O R E that year. While the effects of this first The years following the attack Raids and settlements
raid were probably exaggerated by on Lindisfarne were punctuated The Vikings raided almost the whole of northwestern
Alcuin of York, who wrote that the by intermittent attacks in the Europe, and established long-lasting settlements in
Scandinavia was home to a rich and Lindisfarne church was “spattered surrounding regions: one on England, the Scottish Isles, parts of Ireland, and Normandy.
complex culture in the centuries before the with the blood of the priest of God”, the monastery at Jarrow in 794,
Viking age. The political, technological, and it was shocking nonetheless. another in Iona, Scotland, in Wessex and in 838 King Egbert had to
economic changes which then took place There was some uncertainty regarding 795, and then on the monastic face a combined Viking-Cornish army
here may have triggered the Viking raids. the raiders’ origins: they were alternately community at Rechur, Ireland, at Hingston Down. In 840 the great
described as Danes and nordmanni in 795. England was then trading center of Hamwic fell victim
RICH SCANDINAVIAN CULTURE (“northmen”) in contemporary almost free of raids for the to a Viking raid.
The Vendel culture flourished in Sweden in the accounts, regardless of which part of next 40 years. The Vikings were highly mobile. They
6th and 7th centuries, when lavish weapons Scandinavia they came from. The term During this time, the Vikings could pull their shallow-bottomed
and jewelry were deposited in burial “Viking” itself was rarely used in the started establishing bases in warships onto beaches without the
mounds. Denmark seems to have developed a France, where the successors of need for a proper harbor, and even sail
powerful centralized monarchy relatively early. Charlemagne had indulged in a them up rivers to raid far inland. They
Both here and in Sweden, trading settlements series of civil wars, weakening were also able to travel quickly
grew (at Ribe, Hedeby, and Birka), where the country and leaving it on land by horseback.
merchants exchanged Scandinavian longship vulnerable to the Scandinavian
goods (such as furs, amber, walrus ivory, was built of predators. It was probably one A new Viking host
and locally produced pottery or combs) for fine oak such Viking group that appeared As long as the Vikings returned to
more exotic imports. secure sail in Kent in 835, attacking the Scandinavia (or bases in Scotland or
was attached Isle of Sheppey. France) each winter, the threat from
to the mast
OPPORTUNISTIC RAIDING The frequency of the raids rose them could be contained. But in 850
Long-distance trade was facilitated by rapidly after this; the following a Viking army overwintered for the first
the development of new types of year the Vikings attacked time in England, on the Isle of Thanet.
ships (built with overlapping
planks) and sails to
supplement rowing power.
However, trade could rapidly
turn into opportunistic
raiding, especially when
periods of instability or
political centralization
constrained opportunities
for young warriors at home.
For these reasons, the first
small-scale Viking raids 15 oar ports
were located
on the coast of England,
on each side
France, and Scotland began
at the end of the 8th century.
Oseberg ship
GILT-BRONZE The Oseberg ship dates from around 820 #$. Viking ships
BRIDLE MOUNT
were built using a skeleton of keel with bow and stern, to
which a series of planks were connected, overlapping,
and fastened with nails, creating a strong, flexible hull.
46
VI KI NG R AI DER S AN D SET TLER S
47
Book of Kells
One of the most lavishly illustrated manuscripts to survive from the
Anglo-Saxon era, the Book of Kells contains the first four gospels in Latin.
It is believed to date from around c.800 #$ and to have been created by
the monks on Iona or in a monastery in Northumbria itself. The first
page of each gospel was decorated with an ornate initial capital. Here,
Saint Matthew is shown opposite the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus.
U P TO 1 0 6 6
A
lfred, who became one of the the middle of April, leaving Alfred
most renowned kings of Wessex, undisputed ruler of a kingdom that
spent most of his life under the seemed likely to be dismembered by an
shadow of the Viking threat. Born in overwhelming force of Norse invaders.
849 CE he was the fourth son of King After Alfred was defeated at Wilton
Aethelwulf of Wessex. He may not have in May, he paid off the enemy, buying
expected to become a king, although he nearly five years of peace in which
was trained in the art of warfare, there is little evidence of his making
supporting his older brothers in battle any further provision for the defense
against the Viking raiders (see pp.46–47). of his realm. Another Viking force,
At the age of six he was too young to this time led by Guthrum, surged into
be considered for the throne on his Wessex in 876. Alfred was only saved
father Aethelwulf’s death in 855. by the destruction of the fleet intended
It was only after his brothers to reinforce the invaders in a storm.
Aethelbald and Aethelbert died that
Alfred became the heir to another The making of a legend
brother, Aethelred. Alfred does not In 878, he was not so lucky. Caught
seem initially to have been given much unawares at the end of the Christmas
responsibility by his brother, and so did celebration on January 6, 878, Alfred
not share in the abortive campaign of was forced to flee and took refuge in
868 when Aethelred and the damp haven of the Athelney
Burgred of Mercia failed Marshes. It was the making
in an attempt to trap of the King, and of his
Ivar the Boneless’s legend. It was from this
Great Army in time that the famous
Nottingham. tale of Alfred and the
burnt cakes came
Death of into existence (see
Aethelred TIMELINE). Alfred began
Wessex had not, a guerrilla resistance
up until then, and gathered his
been directly supporters to a
threatened by the meeting at “Egbert’s
Viking Great Army, Stone.” Around 4,000
but in 870 the Viking came and it was now
host crossed into Guthrum’s turn to be
Wessex, rapidly taking caught unprepared as the
the important royal center Anglo-Saxon levies bested his
of Reading. Although veteran warriors at Edington.
Alfred and Aethelred Barricaded in Chippenham,
won an engagement at Guthrum was forced to accept
Ashdown, Halfdan, the
Viking leader, made up for The Alfred Jewel
this by subsequent victories The inscription on the jewel states “Alfred made
at Basing and at Merton on me” and it was probably commissioned by the
March 22, 871. Aethelred may King himself. It consists of a gold backing inset
have been wounded in one of with a rock crystal into which is inscribed a figure
these engagements, as he died in that may represent the wisdom of Christ.
50
A L F R E D T H E G R E AT
Christian baptism, together with most divided into two, so that one half Alfred himself, who only learnt to read
TIMELINE
of his leading followers. Under the could remain on their farms while when he was 12 and Latin even later,
peace settlement, Alfred retained the other half were fighting. translated a series of books into ■ 849 Alfred is born in Wantage to King Aethelwulf
Wessex and took western Mercia, while Alfred’s defenses were put to the test Anglo-Saxon, beginning with the of Wessex and his queen, Osburh.
Guthrum held the eastern portion of in 892 when a massive Viking invading Pastoral Care of Pope Gregory I and the ■ 853 Alfred, aged three, travels to Rome as his
Mercia and East Anglia. force landed in Kent, while another made Consolations of Philosophy by the late father’s representative on a pilgrimage. He
its way up the Thames estuary. In Roman philosopher Boethius. These returns three years later with his father, who, on
Army reforms four years of campaigning, works were intended to provide firm the return journey marries Judith, the daughter
After getting the royal which ranged across the moral examples for their readers. of the Frankish ruler Charles the Bald.
council, the witan, to country from the Welsh It was also around this time that the ■ 856 Alfred’s brother Aethelbald revolts against
swear that his sons would borders to Essex, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was begun, their father and secures a share in the kingdom.
inherit the throne after Vikings were unable to providing an invaluable near- Aethelwulf dies in 858.
him, so ensuring the line secure a permanent contemporary source for his reign. ■ 860 Death of Aethelbald, who is succeeded
of succession, one foothold in the face of the By the time of his death in 899, by Aethelbert.
of Alfred’s first acts new network of burhs Alfred had restored the cultural life of
■ 865 Aethelbert dies, and is succeeded as king
following the peace that now enmeshed Wessex, reformed its administration
by Aethelred, Alfred’s full brother.
settlement with the Wessex. Having suffered and, against all odds, seen off the
■ 868 Alfred marries Ealhswith, the daughter of
Vikings was the building a series of setbacks, and Viking threat. By ensuring Wessex’s
a Mercian nobleman. Although Alfred’s wife
of a sea fleet. Although Coin from Alfred’s reign with their numbers survival, the only one of the Anglo-
did have some royal blood, it was not the
the armies of Wessex This silver penny of Alfred, issued severely diminished, in Saxon kingdoms to weather the storm,
most prestigious marriage, a sign perhaps that
had, on occasion, been around 880, post-dates reforms in 896 they sailed back to he had also ensured that when England
Aethelred did not intend his brother to succeed
able to beat the Vikings which he restored the silver content France in the hope of was united, it was the kings of Wessex
him. At the wedding ceremony Alfred is struck
on land, they had never of the coinage to 90 percent. easier plunder. that would become its rulers. down by a mysterious malady, whose exact
nature is unclear, but which will afflict him
“He was superior to all of his on and off for the next 25 years, inflicting
excruciating pain on him at each reoccurrence.
because he was warlike beyond joining the battle. Aethelred dies some weeks
later of battle wounds, and Alfred succeeds
him as King of Wessex.
51
U P TO 1 0 6 6
E
Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria, dward the Elder, the son of King following year all of these were in
establishing bases in strongholds at Alfred, hardly had a smooth path Edward’s possession, while York itself
York and in the Five Boroughs to succession. After Alfred’s death had submitted to Aethelflaed.
(Lincoln, Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, in 899 CE, Aethelwold, his nephew,
and Stamford). attempted to seize the throne. He failed, Edward’s setbacks
fleeing to Viking-held Northumbria, Edward then suffered two setbacks.
VIKING REINFORCEMENTS where the Scandinavians installed him Firstly, Aethelflaed died, opening up the
The campaigns of Alfred the Great as their king. Edward spent the next question of the succession to Mercia
❮❮ 50–51 caused some difficulties for four years trying to defeat Aethelwold, at a less-than-convenient moment.
the British Vikings. By 900, they were who finally perished at the Battle of Edward had Aethelflaed’s daughter,
looking to the Viking settlements the Holme in 903. Aelfwynn, seized and removed to
in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Wessex, where she could not provide
Scottish Isles for support and Taking Viking territories the focus for any resistance to his
reinforcements. In addition to western Edward launched raids into Danish rule over Mercia.
Mercia and Wessex, the Vikings faced territories in 909, but it was only during
opposition from what remained of a Viking counterstrike southward the
the English kingdom of Northumbria, following year that he won his first
around Bamburgh. significant victory, at Tettenhall, where
three Danish kings perished, together
VIKING SWORD with huge numbers of their men. The
death in 911 of Aethelred, who had
been ealdorman of Mercia, further
strengthened the Wessex king’s
position, as his replacement was his
widow Aethelflaed, the “Lady of the
Mercians”, who just happened to be
KEY Edward’s sister.
Danelaw Aethelflaed secured their position in
Kingdom of Mercia by fortifying Chester in 907 and
SC the English
then transforming the ancient royal
OT
IA center of Tamworth into a burh, or
STRA defensive fortification, in 913. She Ecclesiastical revival
TH
NOR
CL
YD created a series of further burhs, This 10th-century reliquary cross, which contained the
E including Stafford, Warwick, Eddisbury, finger of an unidentified saint, epitomizes the progressive
THU
and Runcorn. Meanwhile, Edward ecclesiastical revival that followed the Wessex kings’
MB
52
W E S S E X TA K E S T H E L E A D
AF TER
Site of the witangemot
These chapel ruins at Cheddar, Somerset, are
on the site of an earlier chapel and near the After the fall of York in 947 CE, England
site of an Anglo-Saxon palace where three experienced more than 30 years of peace
meetings between the kings of Wessex and in which the strengthening of royal
their council (witan) took place. administration and monastic reform
were the main developments.
his sister and Sihtric, the Viking ruler
of York. When Sihtric died in 927, EDGAR’S REIGN
Athelstan took the opportunity to Edgar was Eadred’s younger son and became
drive out his successor, Olaf, and king of Wessex in 959. His reign was largely
take York for himself, razing its peaceful and in 973 he received the
fortifications in an effort to neutralize submission of six kings (including those of
any possible future threat. In the Scotland, Strathclyde, and Gwynedd), who are
afterglow of victory, he arranged said to have taken oars and rowed him on the
a meeting at Penrith at which he River Dee. He supported a series of Church
received the submission of King reforms undertaken by his Archbishop of
Constantine of Scotland, Hywel Dda Canterbury, Dunstan, and improved the
of Dyfed, the King of Strathclyde, coinage by insisting that all coins be recalled
and the Earl of Bamburgh. for reminting every six years. During his reign
the custom of appointing ealdormen to larger
Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh, and the of Edward’s death in 924, Mercia King of all Britain areas (such as the whole of East Anglia) rather
kings of Strathclyde and Constantine was fully incorporated into Wessex. In 934 Athelstan felt strong enough than individual shires became established.
gave Edward notional lordship over Athelstan, the new king moved to to invade Scotland, pushing deep into
virtually all of Britain, he exercised no secure the position on his northern the central part of the country. King REMAINING VIKING POWER
real control in those areas. By the time border by a marriage alliance between Constantine reacted by building an The Vikings remained in control of Dublin, the
Isle of Man, and parts of Scotland 54–55 ❯❯.
“ The king of Scots… and Ragnall At the end of the 10th century, new Viking
leaders with the resources of whole kingdoms
behind them launched fresh raids. Men such as
and sons of Eadwulf and all who Svein Forkbeard of Sweden commenced a new
Viking Age in Britain in the 990s.
53
U P TO 1 0 6 6
T
Viking gold ring he main accounts of the early then, in the following decade, at The Irish kings, who had expended so
Some of the treasures plundered from Irish monasteries Viking raids come from chronicles a number of other points including much effort in fighting each other, now
and churches were melted down and made into jewelry such as the Annals of Ulster, which Lough Ree (845) and Cork (848). realized that the Vikings posed a much
such as this ornate spiral ring. were compiled in monasteries. The The main leader of the Viking greater threat to their survival. In 848,
writers reserved particular venom for raiders in the 840s was Turgéis, Maéll Sechnaill won another victory
the Norsemen, referring to them as who operated from the longphorts near Skreen, County Meath, in which
B E F O R E geinti (“heathens”) and holding up the at Lough Ree, and whose attacks he is said to have killed 700 Vikings.
Viking raids as an example of divine ranged widely through Connaught An embassy sent by the Irish to the
wrath against an Ireland that had and Meath, including the abbey of Frankish King Charles the Bald the
The early Viking raids on Ireland began in turned away from God. Clonmacnoise. At the latter, his wife same year announced that they had
the 790s CE. They were comparatively small Ota is said to have performed a pagan driven the pagans out of Ireland.
scale and it was more than 40 years before Early attacks divinatory rite called seidr, while
larger groups came to settle. The early attackers, who seem to have draped across the high altar. Finally, Viking Dublin
come from Norway, gradually expanded in 845, Turgéis was captured by The Vikings had not, however,
EARLY VIKING ATTACKS the field of their operations, in the Maéll Sechnaill, the king of Tara, been removed, although they were
The first reported Viking attack came in 795 south reaching Cork by 822 CE, and and drowned in Lough Owel. weakened by internal disputes and the
against the monastery of Rechru (Raithlin) which in the north plundering the monastery
was “laid waste.” Raithlin lay off the northeast of Bangor in 824, where they scattered
coast of Ireland, an easy journey for marauders the relics of Saint Comgall from its
making their way from Scotland, but soon the shrine, in a shocking act of sacrilege.
Vikings swept south, attacking Inis Pátraic off Unlike in France and England
the coast of County Dublin in 798 and smashing (see pp.52–53), there was no centrally
the much-revered shrine of Do Chonna. Just as organized resistance to the Vikings in
they had in England, the Viking raids caused Ireland, which may have encouraged
outrage, increased by the fact that monasteries the Scandinavians to mount further
and churches, with their easily portable raids. In the 830s, these became more
treasures, were the raiders’ principal targets. serious, sometimes penetrating deep
inland; in 837 two large Viking
THE RAIDS CONTINUE fleets appeared carrying thousands
By 807 Viking raiders reached the west coast of of warriors (probably from the Norse
Ireland, burning monasteries as they went. settlements in Scotland), one on
Occasionally the Irish fought back successfully; the Boyne and another on the
an annal entry for 811 speaks of a “slaughter Liffey (near the site of present-day
of pagans” by the men of Ulster. The Book of
Kells was brought to Ireland after a raid on the
monastery at Iona in Scotland. 1,200 The number of Vikings
said to have been
killed at the Battle of Castledermot
(848) against Ólchobar, King of
Munster, and Lorccán, King of Leinster.
54
I R EL AN D I N TH E VI KI NG AGE
AF TER
kingdom in Ireland to match that of
4,500
The Vikings established a second The number of men in
settlement at Dublin close to the Brian Boru’s army at the
first longphort of 841. This phase Battle of Clontarf in 1014.
1,000
of the Viking town has been The number of men fighting
excavated, revealing a network under Sigtrygg at the Battle
of streets and lanes divided by of Clontarf in 1014.
boundary fences of wattle,
defining plots containing the troops of Brian Boru and Maéll
well-built houses. Remains Sechnaill at Clontarf to the north of
have been found of a variety Dublin. Although Brian was killed, the
of industries, including Irish were utterly victorious. After
comb-making, blacksmiths and 1014, Dublin remained a fundamentally
other metal-workers, wood- and Scandinavian town for more than
amber-working. At this time, a century, but the Viking Age in
Dublin’s population was probably Ireland was over.
several thousand, and it was
clearly a prosperous place.
Kilmacduagh tower
The Second Age Kilmacduagh monastery was founded
This Second Viking Age in by Saint Colman in the early 7th
Ireland from 917 saw an attempt century. Its round tower may
by Sihtric and his kinsman have offered a refuge against
Godfrid, to create a Viking Viking raiders.
King Canute
Despite being Danish, Canute, shown here in a 13th-century
manuscript, was widely accepted in England. His rule brought peace,
because his rule over the lands from which the Vikings originated
meant no new raiders would attack England’s shores.
T R I U M P H O F T H E DA N E S
A
ethelred—whose nickname of Canterbury after his
means “Ill-Advised”—was capture by a Viking band.
relatively untroubled by the Thorkell returned to
Maldon causeway first, small-scale Viking raids. In 991 CE, Sweyn’s side and in 1013
Ealdorman Byrhtnoth allowed Olaf’s Vikings in 991 #$ however, a much more dangerous the Danish king landed
to cross this causeway leading from Northey Island. Viking army made its way from at Sandwich, Kent, with an
Although the Anglo-Saxons fought bravely, most of Scandinavia under the command of enormous force. The rapid
them paid for Byrhtnoth’s decision with their lives. submission of Earl Uhtred
B EF O R E
48,000 The number of pounds
of silver paid by
Aethelred to Sweyn as part of the
of Northumbria led to the
collapse of Anglo-Saxon
resistance. Aethelred
Danegeld of 1012. fled to the court of his
brother-in-law, Richard of
Following the final collapse of the Viking Olaf Tryggvason. Landing near Maldon Normandy, and by October
kingdom of York in 954 CE, England in Essex, the raiders were at first bottled Sweyn was recognized as
experienced around 30 years free of up on an offshore island by Byrhtnoth, king of England. Wulfstan Psalter
significant Viking raiding. the local ealdorman (high-ranking Archbishop Wulfstan of York was one of the leading
official). He then unaccountably let Canute takes power intellectuals at Aethelred’s court, and a noted writer of
REMAINING VIKING POWER them across the narrow causeway Sweyn’s early death in February 1014 sermons. His tenure saw the production of beautiful
Political changes in Scandinavia at the end of to give battle and found his army breathed false hope into the English liturgical manuscripts, such as this illustrated psalter.
the 10th century boded ill for the ruling English cut to pieces. cause, prompting Aethelred’s
House of Wessex. The Danish king, Harold return. However, Sweyn’s son rebellion) and Eric earl of Northumbria.
Bluetooth, consolidated his political control over Paying Danegeld Canute, once he had secured He also appointed native Anglo-Saxons,
his kingdom and was among the first of the On the advice of Archbishop his position in Denmark, giving Mercia to Leofric (whose wife
Viking rulers to accept Christianity. Harold’s Wulfstan, Aethelred paid returned to England in was Lady Godiva), and Wessex to
building of great round forts at Trelleborg, out a Danegeld of 10,000 1015. Although he briefly Godwine, whose son would later
Fyrkat, and Nonnebakken in Denmark, around pounds of silver to be rid of acknowledged Aethelred’s become King Harold II. Canute
980, shows he was able to command the invaders, a bribe which son, Edmund Ironside, established his main court in England,
considerable resources. merely attracted more as king of southern at Winchester, which became the
Scandinavian armies in England in 1016, capital of his huge northern empire. At
NEW RAIDS search of a similar payoff. both Aethelred the time of his death in 1035 it seemed
From the 980s Viking raids began once more Progressively higher and Edmund died the triumph of the Danes was complete.
against the coast of England. There was a Danegelds were paid in within six months
political crisis caused by the murder of King 994, 1002, 1007, and of each other and by
Edward in 978 (at the instigation of Aelfhere, 1012, when they December, Canute was AF TER
Earl of Mercia) and the new king, Aethelred, reached a colossal sum unchallenged king of
was at first uncertain of his throne. nearly five times that the whole country.
of the 991 payment. England was now Canute’s death led to the dissolution of
OLD BASES The strain caused in part of a vast realm that his empire, but Danish rule over England
Although the Viking raiders of England came England by the Vikings spanned the North Sea continued under his sons.
principally from Denmark and Norway, the led to panic measures and included Denmark,
Vikings retained their bases in Ireland, the Isle being taken. On St. Brice’s Norway, and part of RULE OF HAROLD HAREFOOT
of Man, and the islands of Scotland, where the Day (November 13) 1002, Sweden. The lack of any Although Canute had probably intended his
last great raid took place under Magnus the King ordered the credible Anglo- son Harthacnut to inherit the English throne, the
Barelegs of Norway in 1098–99. massacre of all Danes Runestone Saxon pretender heir was in Denmark when his father died. This
in England. This only This runestone from Uppland in Sweden made Canute’s rule allowed Harold Harefoot, his half-brother,
RECONSTRUCTION prompted a fresh commemorates Ulf, who is said to have secure, and his to seize the throne of England with the
OF A LONGHOUSE
AT TRELLEBORG
invasion in 1003 led by received three payments of Danegeld from rapid marriage to assistance of Godwine Earl of Wessex.
King Sweyn of Denmark, Viking leaders, including from Canute. Emma, Aethelred’s
bent on vengeance (Olaf widow, cemented THE LAST DANISH KING
had made peace with Aethelred and his position both in England and in Harthacnut came to the English throne in 1040.
agreed not to return to England). respect of his new father-in-law, the His two-year reign was the last by a Danish king
From then until 1013, Sweyn and the Duke of Normandy. and was followed by the restoration of
Danes returned again and again, aided Canute’s main change to the Anglo-Saxon rule under Edward the Confessor
by the wavering loyalty of several governance of England was to establish 60–61 ❯❯. A Viking fleet invaded England
Anglo-Saxon ealdormen. the new large earldoms of Northumbria, under Harald Hardrada of Norway in 1066, and
There was a brief respite in 1012 Mercia, East Anglia, and (in the 1020s) as late as 1085, Cnut IV of Norway planned (but
when the Viking leader Thorkell the Wessex. He rewarded his leading did not dispatch) an expedition to England.
Tall defected to the English, disgusted followers, making Thorkell earl of
at the murder of Archbishop Aelfeah East Anglia (until his exile in 1020 for
57
U P TO 1 0 6 6
Independent Realms
After several false starts, Scotland became a united nation in the 9th century CE, excluding
some areas on the fringe. Wales was almost united several times before the 10th century,
but the attempts failed. It was, therefore, less well placed than Scotland to resist the
aggressive intentions of English kings.
H
istorical developments in Wales of them, Anarawd, struggled to contain territory of Seisyllwg to create
in the 6th century are rather the twin threats of Alfred the Great’s a new kingdom of Deheubarth.
obscure. Gildas, in his De Excidio, Wessex and resurgent Viking groups Although he submitted in 927
inveighs against the evils perpetrated by who established themselves to Athelstan of Wessex, it may have
the “Five Tyrants”, including Maelgwyn in Anglesey in 903. been a means of gaining advantage
of Gwynedd who died in the late 540s, against his great rival Idwal Foel
and Vortepor, ruler of the Demetae (or Welsh unity under Hywel of Gwynedd, who adopted a more
Dyfed). Also around the late 6th It was Anarawd’s nephew Hywel openly aggressive anti-English
century, the kingdom of Powys Dda, or Hywel the Good, who policy. Hywel maintained a more
emerged in central Wales. It was achieved the next near-unification diplomatic stance, visiting the English
principally these three kingdoms that of Wales. He became ruler of Dyfed court several times and even making
struggled for supremacy over the next in 910 and strengthened his claim a pilgrimage to Rome in 929.
three centuries. by his marriage to Elen, niece of In 942 Idwel launched an attack
A brief hope of reuniting the Welsh Rhydderch, the last king of the against England in which he died,
lands with the Britons of the southwest native Dyfed dynasty. By 920, he and Hywel took advantage to invade
and Cumbria, from whom they had united Dyfed with the smaller Gwynedd before Idwel’s sons could
been cut off by the advancing Anglo-
Saxons, occurred in the reign of
Cadwallon of Gwynedd. Cadwallon
defeated and killed Edwin of
St. David’s shrine Northumbria in the battle of Hatfield
Reverence for the 6th-century monk St. David, who died in 633. The triumph was short-lived,
in 589 #$, spread until he was recognized as the patron however, for in 635 Cadwallon perished
saint of Wales. The shrine stands in St. David’s Cathedral, in battle against Edwin’s brother
built on the site of the monastery the saint founded. Oswald at Heavenfield near Hexham.
It was two centuries before another
ruler of note took power. Merfyn
B E F O R E Frych became king of Gwynedd in
825. During his 19-year reign, he
consolidated the kingdom and passed
In the centuries following the Anglo-Saxon on a strong position to his son, Rhodri
invasions of England, new kingdoms Mawr or Rhodri the Great.
emerged in Wales and Scotland.
Rhodri expands Gwynedd
EARLY KINGDOMS It was a moment of opportunity for
Early Welsh kingdoms had their origins in the Gwynedd as the kings of Mercia, who
tribal groups of Roman and pre-Roman times had long harried the Welsh principality,
such as Dyfed, which derived from the Demetae. were under extreme and fatal pressure
In Scotland, the emergence of rival kingdoms from Wessex to the south and Viking
of the Picts, the Dal Riatan Scots from Ireland, invaders. Rhodri, too, had to face the
the Strathclyde Britons (whose stronghold was at Viking threat, and in 856 he defeated
Dumbarton Castle), and an area ruled from them in a great battle on Anglesey.
Northumbria led to a struggle for power. He also succeeded in expanding
his power to the south. Cyngen of
Powys died in exile in Rome in 856,
probably having been driven out
by Rhodri, and the last known
independent ruler of Ceredigion,
Gwgan, drowned in 872, after which
it was annexed by Gwynedd. Rhodri
died in 878 and power was divided
amongst his six sons. The most active
Welsh ruler
This manuscript depiction of Hywel Dda stresses the
idea of his kingship, showing him crowned and bearing
DUMBARTON CASTLE a scepter. His successful military campaigns, issuing of
a law code, and minting of coinage bolstered the image
of a successful and benevolent king.
58
INDEPENDENT REALMS
AF TER
35 The number of Welsh rulers who
died violent deaths between the
end of Hywel Dda’s reign in 949 and the Scotland remained united, but none of the 1060s, Duncan’s restored descendants faced a
Norman conquest of England in 1066. the Welsh rulers succeeded in restoring greater threat from Norman England 72–73 ❯❯,
anything like Hywel Dda’s kingdom until which culminated in a series of bitter wars
(642–70), prevented this. In fact, Oswy the beginning of the 11th century. in the 13th century 92–93 ❯❯.
may have exacted tribute from Picts.
In 671, the Picts seem to have KENNETH’S LINE REIGNS WELSH INSTABILITY
revolted against Northumbria’s Scotland was ruled by the descendants in the After Hywel Dda’s death, Wales became unstable
hegemony and as a result, their king, male line of Kenneth mac Alpin until the reign of and suffered Viking raids—St. David’s monastery
Drest, was expelled. His replacement, Mael Coluim, or Malcolm II (1005–34). At times, was sacked in 999. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn 90–91 ❯❯
Bridei mac Beli, came and exacted they were strong enough to intervene in restored the power of Gwynedd from 1023,
Pictish revenge at the Battle of England. Malcolm II invaded the country while it defeating an English army at Welshpool in 1039
Nechtansmere in 685. In this battle, was weakened by the Viking invasions, and won and annexing Deheubarth. However, under pressure
King Ecgfrith of Northumbria perished a victory at Carham on the River Tweed in 1018. from Harold II of England, his support fell away, and
along with the prospects of an Anglo- Malcolm’s grandson Duncan I was deposed by he was murdered in 1063. Wales was annexed
Saxon dominance of southern Scotland. Macbeth, the mormaer of Moray in 1040. From by Edward I in 1283.
“So then also… came in flight, to with the capture of Dumbarton, the
main stronghold of the Strathclyde
Britons in 870. Constantine died in
his northern land, Constantine, 877 in a battle against the Vikings and
for a decade, the mac Alpin family was
excluded from power.
the hoary warrior.” When Constantine’s son Domnall
regained the throne in 889, it was
not as the ruler of the Picts and Scots
THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE’S BRUNANBURH POEM RELATING THE DEFEAT (Dal Riatans) but as the King of Alba.
OF CONSTANTINE II AND HIS ALLIES AT THE BATTLE OF BRUNANBURH, 937 #$ The long-term survival and unity of
this new kingdom of Alba was secured
his death in 949 it looked as if the submitted to him in a treaty at Clyde by Domnall’s successor, his cousin
prospects for Welsh unity were bright. Rock. Instability in Pictland after the Constantine II. Over his 40-year
death of Onuist in 751, together with reign, Constantine saw the demotion
Scottish campaigns the destabilizing effect of the Viking of the former Pictish client kings of
By the late 6th century CE, the Dal Riata raids that began in 795 with an attack Athol, Angus, and Mar to the status
kingdom in southwestern Scotland, on Iona, made the Dal Riatans of the of royal stewards (or mormaer) and
which was established by immigrants southwest much better placed to an increasing confidence in external
from northern Ireland over the assume the mantle of Scottish unity diplomatic affairs.
preceding century (see p.31), was in the 9th century.
beginning to make inroads into the Constantine’s achievements
lands of the previously dominant Picts. Getting Scotland together It was Constantine II (900–43) who
King Áedán of Dal Riata, who came to In 839, the Vikings won a great victory built an alliance of Viking, Strathclyde
the throne in 576, launched far-flung in which Uuen, ruler of the Pictish Britons, and Scots to stem the tide
campaigns in Orkney, the Isle of Man, kingdom of Fortriu, was slain along of advance of Athelstan of Wessex
and central Scotland as far as Stirling. with Aed mac Boanta, the king of in northern England. The fact that
These campaigns, as well as Áedán’s Dal Riata, and “others almost beyond the defeat of the alliance at
possession of ancestral Dal Riatan lands counting.” As the grip of the Brunanburh in 937 did not lead
in Ireland, created a precocious empire descendants of Onuist over Pictland to the collapse of Alba is a testament
that straddled the Irish Sea. collapsed, the way was open to new to Constantine II’s achievement in
The defeat and death of Áedán’s men. One such, Cinaed mac Alpin, securing its permanence.
grandson, Domnal Brecc, at Mag Rath or Kenneth mac Alpin, succeeded in
in County Down in 639 led to the total adding the crown of Pictland to his Pictish stone
eclipse of the Dal Riatan position in existing domain of Dal Riata in 842, The Sueno Stone in Scotland, at approximately
Ireland, and an opportunity for the thereby uniting the two rival kingdoms 21ft (6.5m) high, is the tallest surviving Pictish
Pictish kings to reassert themselves in for the first time. monument. It is filled with battle scenes
Scotland. However, the growing power Kenneth is conventionally regarded commemorating an unknown conflict,
of the English kingdom of Northumbria, as the unifier of Scotland, but it was by possibly a victory by southern Picts over
beginning in the reign of King Oswy no means certain that his achievement a more northerly group from Moray.
U P TO 1 0 6 6
D 4,500
espite the best efforts of Queen Edward’s entourage counterbalanced The landed wealth in
Emma, Edward’s mother, his this, also symbolizing his Norman pounds of the family
kingship was not unchallenged. heritage as the grandson of Duke of Godwin of Wessex, from the
Until 1047, there was an ever-present Richard the Fearless. Domesday Book’s survey in 1087.
danger of invasion by King Magnus This was the equivalent to a laborer’s
of Norway. Magnus had overthrown Struggle for power salary for 3,000 years.
Svein Estrithson, the King Hidden tension surfaced
of Denmark in 1047, over the archbishopric of the King. The following year Godwin
raising the prospect of Canterbury in 1051. returned to England with a strong
turning the resources Earl Godwin’s partisans force, inducing Edward to pardon him.
of the two kingdoms sought to have their Subsequently, Archbishop Robert of
against England. candidate elected to Jumièges, who had been appointed
This threat receded Canterbury. Instead, by Edward, was unceremoniously
with the death of Edward appointed one removed from the see of Canterbury
Magnus soon after. of his own Norman and replaced by Stigand, a former
In 1045, Edward’s supporters, Robert of royal chaplain, loyal to Earl Godwin.
marriage to Edith, Jumièges, who had In 1053, Earl Godwin died and was
the daughter of been the Bishop of succeeded in the earldom of Wessex
Earl Godwin, was London. Seeing his by his son Harold.
symbolic of the Edward’s coinage position threatened, Although the kingdom was largely
internal challenges The silver penny was the standard coin Earl Godwin began to peaceful for the next 12 years,
he faced. Most of during Edward’s reign. From 1053 he was seek allies elsewhere. Edward embarked on two military
the native magnates, shown bearded and wearing a helmet. The marriage of his campaigns. The first was against
both among the son, Tostig, to Judith, Scotland in 1054, when Earl
nobility and clergy, had power bases daughter of Baldwin, the Count of Siward of Northumbria
more secure than his own. Earl Godwin Flanders, saw the start of a strong supported Malcolm III
was the strongest among them and alliance against Edward. of Scotland’s successful
probably the richest man in the country. Earl Godwin was briefly exiled to bid to seize the
The influential pro-Norman party in Baldwin’s court in 1051, following Scottish throne
accusations of insubordination against from Macbeth, the
reigning king. The
B E F O R E other, between 1055
and 1062, was against
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn,
Before the reign of Edward the Confessor, the King of Wales.
the English throne had been held by the
Danish King Canute and his two sons. Anglo-Saxon hierarchy
Anglo-Saxon society evolved
THE END OF DANISH RULE into its final form during
King Canute ❮❮ 56–57 became King of England Edward’s reign. At the top of the
in 1016. Generally thought to have been a socio-political hierarchy were the great
successful king, he ruled over a joint kingdom earls of Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia,
spanning Denmark, Britain, and part of Norway and Northumbria. Their power was, in
and brought about a period of prosperity. theory, exceeded only by that of the
The death of Canute and his sons brought King. Next came the royal thegns,
an end to Danish rule in England. whose loyalty was increasingly secured
by a new device, the issue of royal writs
ANGLO-SAXON POWER which granted them “book land” in
Edward was the son of King Aethelred II and exchange for the provision of military
Queen Emma, who later became King Canute’s service, the repairing of fortresses,
wife. The kingship of Edward was unexpected as work on bridges, and any other
he had older brothers in line to the throne services the King might require.
before him. Alfred was killed in 1036 while on a Royal officials also played an
clandestine visit to England, when the family important role, with shire-reeves, or
were living in exile in Normandy. The sheriffs, administering justice at a local
second brother, Harthacnut, died following a level, often undercut by ealdormen, or
drinking binge at a wedding in June 1042. Earl’s Barton church tower magistrates, who were appointed by the
One of the finest surviving late-Saxon church towers, Earl’s King. The lowest classes consisted of the
Barton in Northamptonshire was built around 970 #$. The main body of peasants and laymen, or
rest of the church was completed during Norman times. ceorlas (“churls”), who were liable to
60
K I N G E DWA R D ’ S W O R L D
minster in the place which The Danish King Canute rewarded Godwin
with the newly created earldom of
Wessex in 1018 in return for his allegiance.
will be shown to you.” He became one of the most dominant
men in the kingdom. The most serious
threat to his power came in 1051, when
THE VITA EDWARDI REGIS RECOUNTING EDWARD THE CONFESSOR’S soldiers accompanying Eustace
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HIS BURIAL, #.1067 of Boulogne
became involved
Edward instructing Harold in a brawl in
While in Normandy, Harold is said to have Dover, in which
sworn allegiance to Duke William, but 19 people died.
whether, as the Normans asserted, Edward When Godwin
(far right) had sent Harold (center) to offer defied Edward’s
William the throne of England, is disputed. orders to ravage
Kent in revenge,
pay taxes and serve in the general he faced a
military levy, the fyrd. The levying coalition of
of an “army tax”, known as heregeld, the King,
enabled the King to command Earls Siward
considerable financial resources. The and Leofric,
majority of the churls lived in rural and Edward’s
areas, and the land they worked was Norman EDWARD ACCUSES EARL
increasingly divided up into strips of supporters. He GODWIN OF MURDER
intermingled holdings. was forced into exile, amid accusations
that he had been complicit in the murder
A final crisis of Edward’s brother Alfred in 1036. He
Toward the end of Edward’s reign survived his return in 1052 by a year.
there was a final crisis. In 1065, the
people of Northumbria revolted
against the excessive demands
of their earl, Tostig, Harold AF TER
Godwinson’s brother. They
overthrew him and selected
Morcar, the brother of Earl Edward did not name a definite successor
Edwin of Mercia, as the new until near death, leading to many claimants
earl. The rebel front was too to the throne in later years.
strong, and in keeping
with their demands, in THE SUCCESSION QUESTION
October Harold agreed Edward’s lack of a direct heir is believed by
to accept Morcar as the some to have contributed to the success of the
Earl of Northumbria, Norman conquest 68–69 ❯❯.
while Tostig was exiled.
This probably went EDGAR THE AETHELING
against the wishes of The grandson of Edmund Ironside, Edgar
Edward himself, but he Aetheling, was not considered a successor to
was an ailing man by this Edward as he was only about 15 in 1065.
time. He died a week after the
consecration of his new abbey
church at Westminster on
December 28. He was succeeded Edward’s funeral
by Harold Godwinson, who was the This section of the Bayeux Tapestry shows the funeral
last Anglo-Saxon to become the of Edward the Confessor on January 6, 1066. He was
King of England (see pp.68–69). buried in the newly consecrated Westminster Abbey.
61
MEDIEVAL BRITAIN
1066–1485
Fierce rivalry for land and power dominated
the centuries following the Norman conquest
of the nascent English realm. The ubiquitous
feudal system, emerging departments of state,
and a strong Church dominated an often
prosperous nation, while fruitless wars
with France drained the exchequer and
frequently divided the country.
Becket’s reliquary
This ornate casket, known as a reliquary, is thought to
have contained the relics of Thomas Becket. The sides of
the casket are decorated in enamel and show scenes
of his murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, his
burial, and his ascent into heaven assisted by angels.
1066–1485
Kidwelly Castle
After the Norman conquest, the country’s new
rulers created a network of castles to consolidate
their hold over the land. Originally made of
wood, they were, over the next generation,
replaced by imposing stone fortresses, such
as this one at Kidwelly, in Carmarthen, Wales.
64
INTRODUCTION
demands, and to which, by 1376, the king had to defer if he wanted the west and the lands of the English Crown in the east. Wales was
to raise taxation. One reason kings needed additional funding was mostly subdued under English dominion, while Scotland was no
the increasing sophistication of royal administration, which had been longer threatened with conquest from England.
transformed from a few key officials in 1066, into the nucleus of the
great departments of state by the 15th century. Money was also Another civil war
needed by successive English kings as they attempted to conquer After 1455, the Wars of the Roses threatened to overturn this
their neighbors. In Ireland, this was largely successful after equilibrium. A long battle between the Lancastrian and Yorkist
Henry III’s invasion in 1171, and in Wales, after a brief renaissance descendants of Edward III over who had the right to rule the country,
under the kings of Gwynedd in the 13th century, the process was left the authority of the Crown in ruins. The man who emerged to
completed by 1283. Scotland looked likely to fall into English hands claim what was left came from an unexpected quarter. Henry VII,
in the 1290s, but a Scottish revival and the defeat of Edward I’s army the ultimate victor in the war, was the first Welshman to
at Bannockburn in 1314 secured Scottish independence. rule over any portion of England since the 7th century.
The English kings’ attempts, from Edward III to Henry V, to
reestablish an English empire in France came to nothing. Victories at
Crécy (1346), Poitiers (1356), and Agincourt (1415) are established
in the English imagination, but by the end of the Hundred Years’ War
in 1453, England held only Calais. All this was at ruinous cost, which
further undermined royal authority and increased that of Parliament.
Elsewhere there had been peace. By the mid-15th century, Ireland
lay uneasily divided between a disunited group of native lords in
Battle of Barnet
In 1471, the Battle of Barnet marked the
final defeat in the Wars of the Roses of the
Lancastrian king, Henry VI. Just 14 years later,
the Yorkist king, Richard III, was ousted by
Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England.
65
1066–1485
MEDIEVAL BRITAIN
1066–1485
1066–1153 1154–1215 1216–72
1154 1216
Henry II becomes king on Accession of Henry III.
death of Stephen.
1224
1157 Henry III loses Poitou to Louis
Henry II regains Northumbria of France.
from the Scots.
1232
1162 Henry III dismisses Hubert
Thomas Becket becomes de Burgh as his justiciar.
Archbishop of Canterbury.
66
M E D I E V A L B R I TA I N
Joan of Arc
Blood-letting instrument
67
1066–1485
Norman Conquest
The Norman invasion of 1066 overthrew six centuries of Anglo-Saxon rule in England. William the
Conqueror, the Norman duke, faced early rebellions, but once he had overcome them he radically
reshaped England, replacing its old ruling class with an Anglo-Norman aristocracy and bringing
the feudal system of landholding prevalent in Normandy to England.
T
he Norman invasion force that set dealing with an invasion led by Harald Norman helmet
sail from St-Valéry-sur-Somme on Hardrada, King of Norway. Harold The head protection worn by the
September 27, 1066 to enforce Godwinsson had already defeated the Norman knights at the Battle of
Duke William’s claim on the English Norwegians and their Anglo-Saxon Hastings in 1066 was not as
throne was probably no more than allies at Stamford Bridge, four days all-covering as that of their
8,000 strong, yet it succeeded in before William’s landing, but it was successors two centuries later,
conquering one of the most established not until October 1 that he heard of but it was flexible, allowed
monarchies in Europe. William had the Norman invasion and, after forced good visibility, and warded
luck on his side, in that he landed near marches, it was some two weeks off glancing blows.
Pevensey in Sussex while King Harold more before he approached the
Godwinsson was away in the north new invaders near Hastings. Westminster
Abbey, using much
68
NOR MAN CONQU EST
AF TER
so thorough that by 1086 only two
Anglo-Saxons held land directly from
the King himself (Thurkell of Arden The later part of William’s reign was
and Colswein of Lincoln). William occupied mainly with wars against
took for himself a large portion of the Normandy’s neighbors, who were
confiscated property, and for the rest concerned that the acquisition of
established a system of feudal tenancies England had made the Duke of
which mirrored the one that was Normandy too powerful.
already established in Normandy.
As native influence waned, so English A LAND DIVIDED
came to be replaced as the language William had decided to divide his territories
of government, with charters and writs between his eldest son Robert Curthose, who
being issued largely in Latin. was to receive Normandy, and Richard his second
son, who was to get England. Impatient
The use of Latin and provoked by Philip I of France, Robert
Latin became the language of the rebelled in 1078 and 1083 72–73 ❯❯, but
Church as well as the government, was on both occasions reconciled to his father.
and the old Anglo-Saxon bishops The link between Normandy and England,
were largely replaced by Normans. however, was weakened.
In 1070 William had Stigand deposed
as Archbishop of Canterbury and TUMULTUOUS REIGN
replaced by Lanfranc, the Abbot Richard died in 1081 and a third son, William
of St. Stephen’s Monastery in Caen, Rufus, inherited the English throne. He
Normandy. Lanfranc, in turn, initially faced a coalition of barons, prominent
consecrated Thomas of Bayeux, another among them Odo of Bayeux, who wanted to see
supporter of William, as Archbishop England and Normandy united under Robert’s
rule. The revolt was put down and Odo captured
69
DECISIVE MOMENT OCTOBER 14, 1066
T
he Anglo-Saxon army drew near wounded. Seeing their opponents
to the south coast at Hastings on seemingly in retreat, part of the
October 13. Duke William had Anglo-Saxon shield wall surged
been harrying Anglo-Saxon garrisons forward, but it was soon surrounded
in Sussex and it was imperative that and cut down.
Harold prevent the Normans from
approaching London. Harold’s army Flight and aftermath
was around 8,000 strong, composed of William now ordered a series of feigned
a mixture of elite royal bodyguards retreats, hoping to entice more of the
called housecarls and part-time peasant housecarls down from Senlac Hill.
soldiers. William commanded about the Although some of the Anglo-Saxons
same number of men, with a stronger fell into this trap, it was not enough.
component of cavalry and, crucially, Rapidly running out of options, the
a larger force of archers. Norman Duke commanded his archers
to pour a stream of arrows into the
The battle commences enemy line. One of these may have hit
Harold took up position on a hill called Harold in the eye—he certainly suffered
Senlac, with the housecarls forming a a mortal wound. Thinking that their king
wall of interlocking shields. For William was dead, the Anglo-Saxons’ morale
to win, he would have to dislodge the collapsed and many of Harold’s
shield wall. The Normans reached their part-time soldiers fled.
opponents’ position around 9am, The collapse of part of the shield wall
beginning the battle with a thick rain of allowed the Normans to storm the hill.
arrows intended to break up the shield Despite a last stand there and at the
wall. Both this and subsequent attacks Malfosse (a steep ditch on the outskirts
up the hill failed. Disheartened, some of the battlefield) the Anglo-Saxon
of the Bretons—the non-Norman forces army was soon utterly crushed by the
who made up William’s right wing— Normans. With Harold now dead and
fled, and wild rumors began that the his main army defeated, William was
Duke himself had been killed or free to march on to London.
70
1066–1485
Norman Rule
At the start of the reign of Henry I in 1100, the transformation of Anglo-Saxon
England into an Anglo-Norman realm was well underway. By its end, in 1135, a set
of bureaucratic mechanisms had been developed which gave institutional reality to
the Norman kings’ desire to dominate their new realm.
H
enry I, the fourth son of William refused to pay homage to Henry for Rochester Castle
the Conqueror, was the first his Canterbury lands. He also insisted Work on replacing the earlier
Norman king to be born in that the King give up his right to invest wooden motte and bailey
England. However, his elder brother bishops, a practice known as “lay castle at Rochester, Kent,
Robert Curthose reigned as Duke of investiture”, which had, in theory, began in 1128, with the
Normandy and most of Henry’s barons been outlawed by the Pope in 1059. encouragement of Henry I.
held lands on both sides of the English The dispute led to the collective This was one of the earliest
Channel, so the destinies of the two stone-fortified castles
Duke of Normandy territories remained firmly intertwined. in Britain.
Robert Curthose, elder son of William the Conqueror, At Henry’s accession he issued a solemn
became Duke of Normandy in 1087. He was a weak charter promising to restore the laws of
ruler who failed to unite his duchy with England. his father William the Conqueror (see
pp.68–69) and those of Edward the
Confessor. Furthermore, his wife Edith
B E F O R E was a descendent of Edmund Ironside
(see p.57) and so their marriage
symbolically united the English
From the 12th century, the Anglo-Norman and Norman peoples of the realm.
government of England developed ever
more sophisticated instruments of Abortive coup
government to rule their disparate subjects. Henry’s attempt to portray the reign of
his brother William Rufus as a period
BATTLE FOR THE CROWN of unrestrained oppression and rapacity
When William Rufus died suddenly in 1100 backfired. One of William’s chief
❮❮ 57 he was unmarried and childless. His advisers, Ranulf Flambard, persuaded
brother, Henry, was nearby when he died. He Robert Curthose that the
seized the opportunity to take power, riding to English barons would
Winchester to claim the treasury and on to support an attempt by the
London for the Crown. His older brother, Norman duke to depose
Robert, would later attempt to depose Henry. Henry. Robert duly landed
in England, but he was
DEVELOPMENT OF BUREAUCRACY easily bought off with the
The Burghal Hidage, drawn up in the reign promise of an annuity of
of Alfred the Great’s son, Edward the Elder 3,000 marks, leaving his
❮❮ 52–53, around 914, was an assessment of baronial supporters to face
what each fortified burh needed to contribute Henry’s justice. Only the
for its defense. Anglo-Saxon charters recorded ringleader, Robert of
grants of land by the kings to their retainers and Bellême, escaped.
to the Church. The Domesday Book of 1086
❮❮ 74–75 went further, revealing the scale of The King and the Church
the land held by the French elite. The reign of Henry’s relationship with
Henry I would see further administrative reforms. the Church was troubled,
too, as Archbishop Anselm
returned from exile and
72
NORMAN RULE
AF TER
excommunication of those bishops who Normandy. Not willing to give up his Tally sticks BITTER CIVIL WAR
took Henry’s side in 1105, and renewed possessions or abandon his supporters Wooden sticks like these were used by accountants and Henry I’s nephew, Stephen, seized the treasury
exile for Anselm. An agreement was there, Henry arrived at Barfleur in 1105 officials during Henry I’s reign. They were marked to with the help of his brother Henry of Blois,
finally reached at a meeting between and moved cautiously inland. His keep track of transactions and then split between the Bishop of Winchester, and he and leading barons
Henry and Anselm in 1106, when the brother, Duke Robert, had too little two parties involved. renounced their oath to Matilda. In 1138, her
King agreed to give up his power to money to raise reinforcements, and in half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, defected from
invest bishops, but reserved the right September 1106 at Tinchebrai the army the county sheriffs. The sums were Stephen’s side and in 1139, she landed at Arundel
to receive their homage. recorded with notches on a tally stick, in an attempt to unseat Stephen from the throne.
“ He preferred to contend
by council rather than by I N N O VAT I O N
73
DECISIVE MOMENT December 25, 1085
Domesday Book
On Christmas Day 1085, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,
King William I resolved to send commissions of enquiry all over
his realm to determine who held the land and how much money it
should yield in dues. The results were collated together to create the
Domesday Book, the most famous document from medieval England.
K
ing William I’s purpose in was there left out.” The data collected
ordering the enquiry has been was compiled for each of the seven
much discussed. However, it large survey districts and these were
seems to have been clearly to the King’s then sent to Winchester, where they
advantage to know how much revenue were summarized and consolidated into
he commanded, and to establish the the form seen in the final Great
absolute ownership of land, which Domesday book. One example of the
would facilitate its redistribution, as well regional surveys survives in the “Little
as aid him to resolve property disputes. Domesday”, which covers Essex,
Norfolk, and Suffolk, and which was
The Great Inquest never added to the final version.
During the survey, also known as the
Great Inquest, commissioners collected Remarkable record
oral answers from sheriffs in each shire, The preliminary results were presented
from barons, and even from reeves and to the King in September 1086 and it
peasants in villages to know more seems the work was completed before
about the land-holding system. They William I died in September 1087. The
asked several questions, such as, who book included a record of almost every
held the land now and who had held it manor in England—from the majority,
earlier; how many plows there were on which yielded around 20 shillings in
the manorial demesne (estate land); annual revenue, to certain ecclesiastical
and how many men there were. The estates in East Anglia, which had an
enquiry was conducted with speed and income 100 times that. It has been
thoroughness. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle estimated that some 10,000 people
laments that “so very narrowly did he took part in its compilation—an
have it investigated that there was no… extraordinary achievement for a
one ox nor one cow nor one pig which medieval administrative apparatus.
Domesday Wiltshire
The first page of the Domesday Book listing for
Wiltshire contains the names of the 66 principal
landowners in the county. The King is listed first,
followed by 19 bishops, monasteries, and churches, and
then the secular nobility. Tellingly, Anglo-Saxon names
only appear among the subtenants in the main entries.
75
1066–1485
Reign of a
Powerful King
Henry II’s inheritance of England and vast areas of France made
him one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. He expanded his
possessions further in Ireland and made important reforms to the
English legal system. However, his reign was marred by a troubled
relationship with the Church and the revolts of his sons.
H
enry’s marriage at the age of 19 Stephen did not enjoy this respite long,
to Eleanor, heiress of the duchy for he died in October 1154, and within
of Aquitaine (and the former six weeks Henry II had been crowned
wife of Louis VII of France) in 1152, at Westminster Abbey.
made him the most powerful man in
France, lord of a domain that historians Lasting power
came to call the Angevin Empire. Yet Although he spent only one-third of
there was still no certainty he would his 35-year reign in England, Henry’s
inherit the English Crown. It was only impact there was profound and
the sudden death of Stephen’s son, long-lasting. The wars under Stephen
Eustace, in August 1153, which opened had left England prey to the ambitions
the way to him (see pp.72–73). By of the warring barons and also caused
the Treaty of Winchester, Stephen it considerable loss of territory. In
recognized Henry as his successor, 1157, Henry forced Malcolm IV of
on condition that he was left in peace Scotland to hand back Cumberland,
on the throne of England. However, Westmorland, and Northumbria,
which the Scots had acquired amid
the chaos of the civil war. In 1174
B E F O R E Scotland was reduced to a fief of the
English Crown in exchange for Henry’s
release of its king, William I, from
Henry II’s route to the English throne was captivity. Attempts to improve the
a long and tortuous one, involving civil war English position in Wales failed in the
and the death of his main rival. His French face of dogged resistance from Owain
domains fell to him more easily. of Gwynedd and Rhys of Deheubarth
from 1157 to 1165.
BEGINNINGS OF A DYNASTY At home, Henry removed key
Henry II was the son of Matilda, daughter of supporters of Stephen, demolished
Henry I, and Geoffrey Plantagenet, heir to the castles that had been built illegally
Count of Anjou. Matilda’s failure to secure
the English throne after the death of Henry I in
1135, and her defeat by King Stephen in the civil
war of the 1130s and 1140s ❮❮ 73
£23,000 The average royal
expenditure in the
last eight years of Henry’s reign,
left Henry to fall back on his according to the Pipe Rolls (compared
French inheritance. First, to £10,000 in the first two years).
he became Duke
of Normandy, during the civil war, and garrisoned strengthening of the system of justice. system whereby sheriffs might hear
conquered by his others with royal troops. By 1155, some Previously, competing jurisdictions had cases in the absence of royal justices
father in 1144, a 52 castles (one-fifth of the total) were made the administering of justice a with one in which “justices in eyre”
nd then, on controlled by the Crown. To further haphazard affair. By the Assize of visited each locality on a regular
Geoffrey’s death strengthen his position, Henry replaced Clarendon in 1166, Henry replaced a basis. They tried serious crimes and
in 1152, Henry two-thirds of the county sheriffs with
succeeded him
as Count
of Anjou.
men loyal to him and restored the
application of “forest laws”, which
provided a lucrative source of revenue
“The French crown has five
GEOFFREY
PLANTAGENET
by levying fines on those who cleared
forest land. He also restored the duchies and, if you count them
currency with the issue of a new
coinage in 1158.
up, there are three missing.”
The justice system
A key component in the program FRENCH TROUBADOUR BERTRAN DE BORN, REFERRING TO THE POSSESSION OF
to restore royal authority was the NORMANY, BRITTANY, AND AQUITAINE BY HENRY II, 12TH CENTURY
76
R EIGN OF A POWER F U L KI NG
December 1170 (see pp.78–79). Henry revolt petered out: Henry II won a KEY
made a public apology in return for major victory by capturing the castle Land ruled by Henry II
absolution and in 1176 revoked the of Dol in Brittany in August 1173.
Constitutions of Clarendon, which In England, another of the young Extent of Angevin Empire
had decreed criminous clerks must Henry’s principal supporters, the Earl Henry II acquired Anjou from his father, England
be tried in secular courts. of Leicester, was decisively defeated through his agreement with Stephen in 1152; Aquitaine
at Fornham on October 17, while the by his marriage to Eleanor, and Ireland and Brittany
Ambitious conquests Scots fared even worse: William the through his own conquest.
The King’s territorial ambitions had Lion was captured outside Alnwick in
not been satisfied by his Angevin and July 1174. The young king made terms
English inheritance, and as early as with his father in September, and was AF TER
1155 he seems to have planned to granted two castles in Normandy.
conquer Ireland, having secured a Undeterred, he rebelled again in 1182.
papal bull Laudabiliter from Pope Prince Henry died in 1183 and Geoffrey The absences of Richard I on the Crusade
Adrian IV permitting him to seize it. in 1186. This should have ended the and the weakness of King John, caused the
family dispute, but Henry II had loss of most of the Angevin Empire.
The King and the Archbishop developed a preference for John, and
This painting from 1350 shows Henry II and Thomas Richard suspected he was being pushed A DIMINISHING KINGDOM
Becket in conversation. A relationship that had been aside. He rose up in open revolt against Richard I’s absence from England on the
cordial when Becket was chancellor soured when he his father. Sick and defeated, Henry Crusades from 1191 82–83 ❯❯ allowed
became Archbishop, and ultimately turned violent. died at Chinon castle on July 6, 1189. Philippe II of France to take back some of the
Angevin lands held by England. Under King John,
Normandy fell to the French king in 1204,
QUEEN CONSORT OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND (1122–1204)
and in 1214, Poitou and most of the English-held
ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE lands in southern France were also lost.
established assizes, court sessions under
which pleas to the Crown concerning Eleanor became Duchess of Aquitaine in though, Eleanor had made another
serious cases would be answered with a her own right in 1137, at the age of 15, politically astute marriage, to Duke Henry of
royal writ ordering the local sheriff to and soon after married Louis VII of France. Normandy (the future Henry II of England)
assemble a jury to hear the case at the The marriage produced no sons, and Louis to whom she bore five sons and three
next judicial session. Justice became divorced her in 1152. Within months, daughters. Courageous and resourceful,
faster, more effective, and the power of Eleanor retained her own independent
the barons was diluted, as their tenants court in Aquitaine and was not afraid to
discovered that an appeal to the Crown oppose Henry, as when she supported
might offer rapid relief with a lessened the rebellion of their son, Prince Henry, in
danger of baronial retribution. 1173. She and the King became estranged
and he placed her under house arrest for
Trouble with the Archbishop 15 years. Eleanor acted as regent for
Henry’s key ally in implementing Richard I while he was on the Third
these reforms was his chancellor, Crusade, outlived him, and survived to KING RICHARD ON THE CRUSADE IN 1194
Thomas Becket, and when Theobald, see her youngest son John become king.
Archbishop of Canterbury died in
77
DECISIVE MOMENT December 29, 1170
T
hings turned rapidly sour between So as the Archbishop arrived back in
King and Archbishop. Disputes Canterbury in triumph, Roger of York
concerning the rights of and the two bishops reached Bures in
jurisdiction over clerics who had Normandy to present their case to the
committed criminal acts led to the King. Henry was beside himself with
Archbishop’s escape into exile in rage, inveighing against his treacherous
October 1164. Becket stayed away for former friend. Hearing him, four
six years, until mediation involving knights slipped away, eager to win
Pope Alexander III and King Louis VII favor with the King.
of France bore fruit and the Archbishop The four reached Canterbury on
and King met at Fréteval for a December 29 and found Becket.
reconciliation in July 1170. Yet in After a brief confrontation, Becket’s
June, Henry II had his son Prince Henry entourage persuaded him to go to the
crowned in a ceremony at which the cathedral as he might be safer there.
Archbishop of Canterbury should The knights, though, took up arms and
have been present. Offending both followed him into the church. With
ecclesiastical practice and Becket’s most of his followers having fled,
pride, this action was at the root of Becket resisted attempts to drag him
the disaster which then unfolded. from the cathedral and in the confusion
At Becket’s request, the Pope he was struck on the head. Bleeding,
suspended Archbishop Roger of York profusely, he was finished off in a
and excommunicated the bishops of rain of blows.
London and Salisbury for taking part Henry denied all responsibility for the
in the coronation. Becket then murder and in May 1172 was publicly
provocatively sent the letters of pardoned by the Pope. Becket was
excommunication ahead of his own canonized as a saint in March 1173,
return to England on December 1. less than 18 months after his death.
A fatal stab
This stained-glass window inside Canterbury Cathedral
depicts the moment of Becket’s murder. The four
knights, William de Tracy, Richard le Bret, Reginald
FitzUrse, and Hugh de Morville, came upon the
Archbishop as Vespers was being said.
79
I N VA S I O N O F I R E L A N D
Invasion of Ireland
B EF O R E
A
began to develop relations with rivalry over the lordship of at Waterford had, in theory, papal
the Normans in Britain. He was Dublin brought about the English sanction, for in 1156, Adrian IV
supplanted by Turlough invasion of Ireland in 1171. (the only English Pope) had granted
O’Connor (1106–56), Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster, a papal bull Laudabiliter giving Henry
who built a series claimed to be king of Dublin, but he permission to invade Ireland. Although
of castles around was unpopular there. Rory O’Connor, this may have been a pretext, Henry
Connaught and destroyed King of Connaught, took advantage of was probably in reality more concerned
the power of Munster. He this in 1166, to send his ally, Tighearnán with gaining control of the large lands
commissioned the Cross O’Ruairc, against MacMurrough. his notional vassals were carving out
of Cong to hold a relic Driven into heavily wooded territory for themselves in Ireland. Henry
of the True Cross. THE CROSS OF CONG around Ferns, County Wexford, the regularized the situation by appointing
Leinster King was unable to rally his own man, Hugh de Lacy, as constable Kilkenny Castle
support and took ship for Bristol. of Dublin and placing garrisons loyal The castle was an important stronghold of the
MacMurrough traveled to Aquitaine to him in key towns such as Cork Anglo-Norman barons in Ireland from its construction by
Holy Cross Abbey in France, to offer homage to Henry II and Limerick. the earls of Pembroke at the end of the 12th century.
The abbey, founded as a Cistercian monastery by King in the hope of securing the English Although Henry returned to England The original wooden castle was built by Strongbow.
Domnall Mór O’Brian in the 12th century, is one of King’s assistance. But Henry, caught in spring 1172, de Lacy and Strongbow
Ireland’s most venerated places of worship. Its architecture up in a quarrel over his Archbishop of continued to build up their holdings in
marks the pinnacle of the late Gothic style in Ireland. Canterbury, Thomas Becket (see p.79), the face of sporadic Irish resistance. AF TER
In 1175, Rory O’Connor acknowledged
“At the creek of Baginbun, that the English could not be expelled
and agreed the Treaty of Windsor with
Henry II, by which he was recognized
The native Irish kingdoms experienced
a resurgence in the 14th century, but
Ireland was lost and won.” as High King in the western part of
Ireland, although he was to pay a
subsequent invasions from Scotland
and England again crushed their power.
tribute to the English King, while the
TRADITIONAL IRISH RHYME REFERRING TO THE LANDING BY STRONGBOW’S eastern portion, including Leinster, SCOTTISH INVASION
ADVANCE GUARD AT BAGINBUN IN 1170 Meath, Waterford, and Dublin was The invasion by the Scottish king Robert Bruce’s
to remain in the hands of the brother Edward in 1315 destabilized the English
Anglo-Norman barons. position, but control was reestablished.
IRISH KING (C.1166–98)
was in no mood to take on a costly
RORY O’CONNOR campaign in Ireland. Rebuffed, Dermot English possession IRISH DISSENT
turned to other ambitious members of Neither the barons nor the other Irish When Irish dissent threatened to turn to
Rory succeeded his father Turlough as the Anglo-Norman minor nobility. kings paid much attention to the treaty, rebellion, the English response could be
King of Connaught in 1156, and soon and warfare continued between them. brutal, as during the Nine Years’ War (1594–
launched a failed attempt to unseat Norman power The death of Strongbow in 1176 1603) and Cromwell’s campaign 174–75 ❯❯.
Muirchertach MacLoughlin as High King The effect on the MacMurrough cause brought a greater involvement by the
in 1159. When MacLoughlin died in was electrifying. The Norman force that English Crown and in 1183, Henry II PERMANENT ROYAL GOVERNMENT
1166, O’Connor’s actions in driving out answered Dermot’s call took Wexford had his son Prince John crowned as King John appointed a chamberlain of the
his main rival, Dermot MacMurrough, to within two days. MacMurrough handed King of all Ireland, following the death exchequer in 1215 to administer royal revenues.
win the high kingship, proved his ultimate the city over to his allies in return for of Rory O’Connor. A Court of the Exchequer was established in the
undoing. The English invasion that their acknowledging him as their With the English in possession of the reign of Henry III to adjudicate on fiscal matters.
followed largely confined him to overlord. The allies endured a few east and north of Ireland, colonization
Connaught and, in 1183, he was difficult moments in 1169, as the from England over the next few
deposed by his own son, Connor. Leinster King’s enemies, Mac Gilla centuries changed the character of the
Pátraic of Osraige and the High King area to resemble the feudal lordships
Rory O’Connor, tried to combine their on the other side of the Irish Sea. The
forces to crush them, but in August English-controlled area (known as
1170 they were reinforced by the Pale of Settlement) gradually
MacMurrough’s most powerful Norman expanded, with the conquest of most
ally, Richard fitzGilbert de Clare, Earl of of Connaught by 1235. Royal control,
Pembroke (nicknamed “Strongbow”). meanwhile, strengthened as the
The new arrivals soon took Waterford, liberties of the barons were restricted.
drove out Askulv, the Viking lord of By 1300, the remaining Irish kings
Dublin, and took possession of the city. ruled reduced domains and were the
feudal tenants of English barons.
Henry’s arrival
The astonishing success of such a
comparatively small group of Norman
knights finally attracted the attention
300 The number of Norman
knights who came to Ireland
in the first three ships under Robert
THE EXCHEQUER OF IRELAND, 15TH CENTURY
81
1066–1485
W
reach the Holy City. Yet anecdotal accounts of the ith cries of Deus le Veult Levant, and English sailors may have money, William II in turn levied a
restrictions of Muslim authorities on Christian (“God wills it”), the crowds been present at the fall of Jerusalem crusading tax of 4 shillings to the hide
pilgrims in Palestine, and the effects of the responded to Pope Urban’s on July 15, 1099. on his kingdom, an imposition so
disastrous defeat in 1071 of the Byzantine sermon at Clermont in France in 1095. severe that monks were said to have
army at Manzikert by the Muslim Seljuk Turks, Many knights and nobles pledged Paying for the Crusade been forced to melt down sacred
reignited efforts to regain the Holy Land. themselves to an armed expedition to The First Crusade had another impact ornaments to pay for it.
In 1095, Pope Urban II began to preach a seize Jerusalem from its Muslim rulers. on England, a financial one that was The popularity of crusading as an
Crusade – a holy war – to reconquer Jerusalem. The First Crusade (1096–99) was a to recur during later crusades. Robert idea was undimmed by these financial
largely French affair, but the closely Curthose pledged the Duchy of impositions, and the English chronicler
interlinked landed and political Normandy as surety for Henry of Huntingdon described the
interests of the nobility of Normandy a 10,000-mark preaching of the First Crusade as the
and that of England meant that there loan his brother
was an English dimension of sorts; gave him to The Crusade assault on Jerusalem
William II’s brother, Robert Curthose, fund his The capture of the Holy City of Jerusalem on July 15,
Duke of Normandy, took part, as crusading 1099 was a great triumph. It was accompanied by the
did others, such as Eustace of effort. To massacre of large numbers of its inhabitants, both
Boulogne, who held large estates raise this Muslim and Christian.
in England. A small English
fleet also made its way to the
RICHARD I (LIONHEART)
Known as “Lionheart” due to his skill as
a warrior, Richard I gained early military
experience while rebelling against his
father Henry II. He spent only three
months in England in 1189, just long
enough to claim the throne after his
father’s death and raise finances for the
Third Crusade. While returning overland
from Palestine, he was seized by Duke
Leopold of Austria and held prisoner
until a large ransom was paid in 1194.
Another brief sojourn in England followed
to restore the damage done by his
brother John, who had seized power in
Richard’s absence, but he then spent the
last five years of his life in France, where
he built Gaillard castle (below) in 1196.
82
ENGLAND IN THE CRUSADES
most important event since the enemies or a Knight’s effigy Tunis and then making his way to
Resurrection of Christ. There was a reputation This monument to a crusader Palestine in 1271. He again achieved
good response to the first preaching of for violence. knight is still to be found in little, save the reinforcement of the
a crusade in England when the founder The Crusade Temple Church, London—the garrison at Acre.
of the Templar Order of knights, Hugh itself, whose aim headquarters of the crusading
de Payens, visited England in 1128. had been the order of the Templars. Lasting effects
Henry I gave money and soon the recovery of the If the military importance of English
Templars and the Hospitallers (the strategic city of his son Richard I crusading was largely spent by
other military monastic order) were Edessa in Syria, to lead the English 1192, its cultural effects were more
receiving widespread grants of land seized by the contingent. long-standing. Many knights sold their
and other property in England. Muslim emir Zengi The German lands to raise money for the long
in 1144, was largely Emperor Frederick journey to Palestine and the Church,
The Second Crusade a failure. Its one Barbarossa drowned and in particular monasteries, which
The Second Crusade (1147–49) saw a lasting result came on the way to the possessed the largest source of ready
large contingent of English crusaders. in October 1147, with Holy Land, leaving cash, benefited by greatly extending
The motives of men such as Waleran, the capture of Lisbon the Third Crusade their landed properties when many
Earl of Worcester, William of Warenne, by a crusading force as an Anglo-French failed to return to redeem their estates.
Henry of Glanville, and William en route to the Holy venture, with Those who did come back had
Peverel of Dover were varied. Some Land, prominent command shared experienced a lifestyle with which
felt a genuine religious desire for the among whom were between Richard Europe had long been unfamiliar.
recovery of Jerusalem, others sought the English crusaders. and Philippe II. A taste for luxuries such as silk and
glory or coveted the lands which Between the Second Richard got to Syria spices, which could only be obtained
might be won, while some, such and Third Crusades, in June 1191, and through Muslim intermediaries, came
as Peverel, found it Englishmen took the was present when back with the returning crusaders. This
a convenient means to Cross and made their way to Acre fell in July. Philippe left soon helped promote an interest in trade
escape their political “Outremer” (the term for the Christian after, leaving Richard in command, with the area which long outlasted the
states established in Palestine). In 1169, a challenge he took up with resounding fall of Acre, the last Christian outpost
Saladin came to power in Egypt and success by defeating the previously in Palestine, in 1291.
between then and 1187 he chipped invincible Saladin at Arsuf in
away at the crusader kingdoms. In September. Despite this, the war then
1185 Heraclius, the Latin patriarch of settled in to stalemate, and in August AF TER
1192 Richard agreed a three-year truce
83
1066–1485
I
n 1200, King John became involved John, absolving all his subjects— scutage (a tax paid in place of military the terms of the Magna Carta, seize
in a drawn-out war with France. including the barons—of their oath service) of three marks for each knight’s the King’s castles and lands, were never
His failures in France, especially the of allegiance to him. fief (land) had further inflamed matters. likely to be allowed to stand by John.
defeat at Bouvines in 1214, tarnished The increasing level of financial The King did everything he could to
his prestige. His quarrel with Pope exactions needed to pay for the Magna Carta wriggle out of the agreement, asking
Innocent III over his refusal to accept unpopular French war crystallized The baronial revolt looked likely to for a papal condemnation of it; and in
the appointment of English cardinal opposition to John around a group of be settled without violence when the late September 1215, a papal bull
Stephen Langton as Archbishop of northern nobles, including William de Magna Carta was accepted by King and absolving John of his promises duly
Canterbury in 1207, was also Mowbray. A meeting between John barons on June 15, 1215 (see pp.86–87). arrived in England.
damaging, as England was placed and his tenants-in-chief in November The charter protected the barons from
under an Interdict, which theoretically
forbade the holding of almost all church
services in the country. In November
1213 did little to resolve the situation
and by the time John returned to
England in October 1214, three months
undue exactions by the Crown, but
certain of its provisions, such as the
choice of 25 of their number who
135,541 The sum in marks
(£90,370) that
Henry III had to pay the Pope for the
1209, the Pope excommunicated after Bouvines, the demands for a could, in the event of the King breaking appointment of Edmund as King of Sicily.
B E F O R E
ROYAL CHALLENGES
Noble and baronial revolts against the English
kings were nothing new. From the rebellion of Earls
Tostig and Morcar against Harold Godwinsson in
1065, to the attempt by Robert of Gloucester and
Matilda to unseat Stephen in the 1140s, English
monarchs had to face challenges from overmighty
subjects. The reign of Henry I brought
comparative calm ❮❮ 72–73 —at least in
England, as abroad he faced revolts by his
sons. The absences of Richard I
on crusade actually strengthened
the Crown, since the King’s
justiciar, Hubert Walter, was
an able administrator and
inspired relatively
little opposition.
84
C H A L L E N G I N G R O YA L A U T H O R I T Y
AF TER
Map of Britain
The 13th-century Benedictine monk Matthew Paris
compiled a series of chronicles covering the history The growing complexity of royal
of England in the 1240s and 1250s. His works include administration and the need to raise money
maps, such as this representation of the British Isles. to pay for it led to an increasing reliance on
Parliament, which was acknowledged as
Civil war erupted as an assembly of the only body that could raise the funds.
barons declared John deposed and
invited Louis, son of King Philip II of TAXES AND PARLIAMENT
France, to take over the English throne. Henry III died in 1272, and his successor
The French prince arrived in Kent in Edward I summoned at least two Parliaments
May 1216, and he and the rebel barons every year from 1275–86 to provide funds. He
soon controlled the whole of southeast found new means of taxation, including a levy
England. When John died in October on people’s moveable goods, which raised
1216 and his nine-year-old son, £117,000 in 1290. In 1297, Edward declared
Henry III, succeeded him, it looked that a proposed tax had been granted by the
as though the triumph of the rebels barons of the kingdom, but a group of nobles
would be complete. The young King denounced this, as no summons to attend
was supported by a group of loyalists Parliament had gone out to the barons,
led by William Marshall, Earl of knights, and burgesses. Edward had to issue a
Pembroke. Marshall secured the Confirmation of the Charters acknowledging
support of the papal legate Guala that taxation could only be levied with
Bicchieri and won crucial victories at Parliament’s approval.
Lincoln in May 1217, and at Dover
in August. The barons’ enthusiasm CONSULTING PARLIAMENT
for rebellion evaporated and a formal Later kings had to ask Parliament if
peace was signed in November. they wished to raise taxes, until
Henry’s regency council acted quickly Charles I sought to levy taxes
to restore royal authority, as the barons without parliamentary consent
had seized much royal land and the from 1629–40, making use of
King’s revenues had collapsed. Under archaic royal rights to gather
Marshall’s direction, justices were sent funds. This was only resolved
to the localities to hear all pleas, in the by the English Civil War
most comprehensive display of royal 168–69 ❯❯ and Charles I’s
authority since 1176. As a sop to the execution in 1649
barons, the terms of Magna Carta were 170–71 ❯❯.
reaffirmed in 1216, and again in 1217.
KING EDWARD I
The reign of Henry III
After Henry was declared of age in
1223, and especially after his marriage
to Eleanor of Provence in 1236, he
came to depend on foreign advisors.
The barons, feeling excluded, began
to chafe once more.
“You English want to hurl me arbitration by Louis IX of France. At
Amiens in January 1264, the French
King listened to both sides’ cases and
Meanwhile, with little sign of the
success in France he craved, Henry from my throne as you did then ignored the barons by declaring
Henry vindicated on all points.
sought prestigious ventures elsewhere, The result was civil war. At Lewes
and in 1255, had his son Edmund
appointed titular King of Sicily by
my father.” on May 14, 1264, de Montfort’s forces
crushed the royal army, and Henry III
the Pope. The price that the papacy and Prince Edward were imprisoned.
demanded for this was exorbitant and MATTHEW PARIS, QUOTING HENRY III IN CHRONICA MAJORA, #.1260 De Montfort then tried to enlarge his
the King was forced into new measures base of support. He had already
to raise funds. One means of doing this however, and of the 14 assemblies May 2, Henry was forced to agree to summoned four knights from each
was increasing the amount local sheriffs where Henry asked for new taxation their demands for radical change. shire to his Parliament of 1264,
were expected to exact from their between 1232 and 1257, Parliament The Provisions of Oxford covered a widening representation from the
counties. The sum had increased by refused it on 12 occasions. wide range of judicial reforms and previously dominant baronial class.
£2,500 in 1258 compared to the start of established a council of 15 persons In 1265, he summoned burgesses from
his reign and it is no coincidence that Growing opposition to administer their implementation. the towns as well, so that the London
Robin Hood stories started to circulate The demands of payment for Edmund’s They were formalized by the Provisions Parliament resembled for the first time
during Henry’s reign. The King also elevation to the Kingdom of Sicily were of Westminster in 1259. the later House of Commons.
turned to Parliament, the assembly of the last straw and on April 12, 1258, Having agreed, Henry decamped Prince Edward, however, escaped
barons and advisers that had replaced seven magnates took an oath to stand to France and tried to put off the from captivity in May 1265 and three
the role of the Anglo-Saxon witangemot. by each other in opposition to royal reassembly of the Parliament in months later, at Evesham, he trapped
The barons were not cooperative, oppression. They included Richard de February, which in theory could not de Montfort with a small force. The
Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and Roger take place in his absence. Following the baronial leader was killed and the
85
DECISIVE MOMENT June 15, 1215
Magna Carta
King John’s growing unpopularity with his barons, aggravated by his
financial demands and defeat in France, finally led to open revolt in
the spring of 1215. At Runnymede, near Windsor, the King and his
rebellious subjects met and agreed to Magna Carta, a charter of
liberties. Some of the clauses would endure for centuries.
J
ohn’s authority was fatally damaged a formal state of rebellion. The loss
by the comprehensive defeat of his of London to the rebels on May 17
army by Philippe II of France at the concentrated John’s mind, and he
Battle of Bouvines in July 1214. To ordered Stephen Langton, the
make matters worse, the Justiciar, Peter Archbishop of Canterbury, to act as
des Roches, who had administered a go-between. Langton arranged the
England in John’s absence, had levied meeting at Runnymede between
a scutage (feudal due payable in lieu the two sides on June 15, although the
of military service) of three marks per terms had probably been largely agreed
knight. After widespread resistance to beforehand. Magna Carta (“Great
this oppressive tax throughout the fall Charter”) was dated that day, and on
of 1214, a coalition of barons came June 19 it was “made firm.”
together and produced a charter of
liberties, which had—they said—been Failure and symbolism
granted to the English by Henry I. The terms of this extraordinary
63-clause agreement largely confirmed
Rebellion and agreement the barons’ feudal rights, particularly
The barons demanded John confirm with regard to inheritance, and
this charter, but he fobbed them off restricted the royal right to tax them.
with a promise of a reply after Easter, Those clauses that seemed to enhance
while himself appealing to Pope the rights of free men were strictly
Innocent III. Given that John had subsidiary to this main purpose.
vowed to go on a crusade to the Holy Although it endured for centuries as
Land, the Pope’s reply was predictable a symbol of England’s constitutional
and he ordered the barons to pay the liberty, in the short term, Magna Carta
scutage. Furious, the barons mustered was a failure. Neither the more extreme
an army and marched south toward barons nor John were satisfied with
the King’s position at Wallingford, it, and civil war broke out again in
in Oxfordshire. On May 5, they September. It was still rumbling on
renounced their homage, so entering when John died in October 1216.
Magna Carta
Four copies of the Great Charter of 1215 have survived.
It was reissued with modifications in 1216, 1217, and
1225, under John’s successor, Henry III. While most
clauses were repealed or became redundant, the right
to a fair trial has remained a cornerstone of English law.
86
1066–1485
A Prosperous Realm
Working in the fields
The Luttrell Psalter (c.1320) shows a farmer
broadcasting seed from a basket held on a strap
round his neck, while his dog chases off the birds.
The narrow field strips were sown in the spring.
The 200 years following the Norman conquest were troubled times politically, but a time
of stability for the kingdom. The population grew, new land was taken into cultivation,
B E F O R E
trade increased, and urban life flourished.
T
The old aristocratic Saxon and Anglo- he ruling class, the king, his boar, and birds could be caught in When they were not obeying the
Danish families were swept away after the family, the leaders of the Church, The Forest for sport and to supply king’s summons to attend him, they
Norman invasion, and their lands taken bishops and abbots, and the great aristocratic tables with meat. Indeed, were constantly on the move between
over by William the Conqueror, his family, landowners, were all Norman or hunting and hawking were important their estates.
and his Norman and French followers. French. After the conquest (see features of aristocratic society, teaching
pp.68–69), the largest estates went to skills that would be useful in war. Life in the countryside
FEUDAL LIFE William’s family and to his companions The great families were part of an The majority of people lived in the
The Normans were organized for war. They in battle. William’s half-brother Odo, international society and had as much countryside, which was divided into
introduced a new type of landholding, feudalism, the Bishop of Bayeux, was given the contact with their kin in Normandy, thousands of landholdings called
designed to keep them in a state of battle bishopric of Winchester and lands in France, or Flanders, as with the manors. A manor usually included a
readiness. King William I took all the land into his Kent. Families such as the FitzOsberns tenants to whom they granted land. village and its surroundings, although
own hands and granted large estates to his and the de Warennes were granted
main supporters in return for specified military
service ❮❮ 72–73. These “great men”, the
tenants-in-chief of the King, granted land to their
landholdings across several counties.
French was their language. From their
estates they had access to the best food,
“There stretch before you the
own supporters who undertook to give military
service as knights, the battle-winning armored
and acquired the best horses, armor,
and the finest clothes and jewelry from most fertile fields, flourishing
cavalry of the 11th and 12th centuries. the revenues they collected.
The men and women who worked the land for
their lords, either as free peasants or as unfree Kings and aristocrats
meadows, broad swathes of
arable land…”
tenants, made up the greater part of the The Norman kings established “The
population. The rhythm of their lives remained Forest”, large areas of land reserved
relatively unchanged, subject to the seasons. for royal hunts, and subject to special
laws designed to preserve these DESCRIPTION OF ENGLAND BY GOSCELIN OF ST. BERTIN, #.1100
habitats. Game such as deer, wild
88
A PROSPEROUS REALM
89
1066–1485
Subduing Wales
B E F O R E
B 4,000
of castles, such as Chepstow and Caerleon, were y 1218, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth princes and seized the royal castles of The number of workmen
built, diminishing Welsh autonomy. The Welsh of Gwynedd—known as Llywelyn Cardigan and Carmarthen, as well as employed by Edward I to
struck back in 1094 and almost all of these were the Great—had united Gwynedd occupying southern Powys. build Harlech, Caernarvon, and Conwy
destroyed. For some under his rule and swept away much of Although the Treaty of Worcester castles in Wales in 1283–84.
time after this, the English royal control in the south. (1218) allowed Llywelyn to keep his
English kings were At first, King John had found Llywelyn gains, in 1223 William Marshall seized to unseat him. Dafydd reached out to
preoccupied a useful counterbalance to the earls Cardigan and Carmarthen. Montgomery Louis IX of France, offering to hold
elsewhere. of Chester, but while John was was also regained for the English. Wales from the Pope (and thus
preoccupied with a civil war against Llywelyn, however, recovered most independently of Henry III) and
CHRONICLE the barons in 1215–17 (see pp.86–87), of these losses in the early 1230s, and implicitly offering support to the
Gerald of Wales, a Llywelyn formed an alliance of Welsh after this Wales was mostly at peace French King in his wars against the
cleric of Norman- until his death in 1240. English. Henry’s reaction was weak,
Welsh heritage, An “iron ring” of castles Llywelyn’s successor Dafydd paid even failing to take advantage of
visited Wales in Beginning in 1283, Edward I had a number of castles homage to Henry II for the whole of Gruffudd’s death in 1246 to make
1191 and recorded built in north Wales to protect England’s gains. Designed Gwynedd, but his authority was advances. Instead, he made the Treaty
information about by master mason James of St. Georges, Harlech Castle, undermined by the attempts of his of Woodstock (1247) with Gruffudd’s
the history of Wales. shown here, was completed in four-and-a-half-years. half-brother Gruffudd two sons Owain and Llywelyn, by
“Can you not see that the world on Deganwy with an army of 15,000,
and an English fleet landing at
Anglesey, Llywelyn submitted.
Falling prince
Henry III kept Dafydd of
Gwynedd’s half-brother
AF TER
LATER REBELLION
Rebellions, including that of Rhys ap Maredudd
of Ystrad Tywi, one of the few Welsh princes
allowed to keep his lands in 1283, and by Madog
ap Llywelyn in 1294–95 were put down.
ENGLISH PRINCE
In 1301, Edward I’s
son, Edward of
Caernarvon, was
made Prince of
Wales, a title that
is used by members
of the British royal
family to this day.
Wales was largely
quiet until the
rebellion of Owain
Gly Dwr in 1415
116–17 ❯❯. EDWARD OF CAERNARVON
91
1066–1485
S
cotland was almost undone by granddaughter, Margaret, the “Maid
a piece of dynastic bad luck. At of Norway.” The infant Queen was
peace with England sent for from Norway, and
for nearly 70 years, the her planned engagement to
Scottish Crown had Edward I of England’s son
gradually expanded its Edward of Caernarvon (the
area of control beyond future Edward II) seemed
the central lowland core, to presage a union of the
suppressing Galloway’s English and Scottish
autonomy by 1245, and crowns, albeit one that
in 1266, acquiring the was supposed to
Hebrides from Norway guarantee Scottish
by the Treaty of Perth. autonomy.
In 1286, however,
Alexander III was killed The kingship of
by a fall from his horse. John Balliol
His three children had In September 1290,
already died, leaving Margaret died while
the only obvious heir on her way from
his three-year old Bergen in Norway
to Scotland,
Coronation chair throwing the
Edward I had this chair made Scottish nobility
for the coronation of English into disarray.
kings. As a snub to Scottish Edward I summoned
sentiment it contained the Stone of an Anglo-Scottish
Scone, on which the Scottish kings parliament on the border at
had by tradition been crowned. Norham, in May 1291, and demanded
that the Scottish lords acknowledge his
right to decide the process by which
B E F O R E their next king would be selected. One
by one they did so, first Robert Bruce of
Annandale and last John Balliol, who
A long struggle between the Scottish and had an independent claim to the throne
English kings over the northern counties as a descendant of David I. Finally, in
seemed to settle down in the 13th century. November 1292, a commission with
24 jurors and the English King as judge
KINGDOM OF SCOTLAND selected Balliol to rule Scotland, but he
A program of reform by King David I of was not an independent monarch since
Scotland (1124–53) created a medieval he owed his position entirely to the
kingdom of Scotland. favor of Edward I.
John Balliol tried to assert himself,
BORDER DISPUTES but his refusal to attend Parliaments in
Malcolm IV was forced to withdraw from the York and his maneuvering for a French
northern counties of England in 1157 ❮❮ 76. alliance brought the wrath of Edward
Alexander II of Scotland, brought stability by (“Longshanks” as the Scots came
renouncing claims to the Border counties in 1237. to call him) down upon Scotland.
The Scots were defeated at Dunbar
in late April, and in early July,
John surrendered. Edward had
him summarily stripped of his royal
vestments, giving rise to Balliol’s
unfortunate nickname of “Toom
Tabard” (empty surcoat).
92
S C OT L A N D ’ S I N D E P E N D E N C E S T R U G G L E
Having placed garrisons in many overreached himself and risked another r Tay
ve
Scottish castles, Edward I then left for pitched battle at Falkirk in July 1298, Ri
at Stirling Bridge in 1297. Wallace Edward I free rein once more. In 1303, Homildon Hill 1402
the English came north again and by
early 1304 the Scottish leader John
Comyn had surrendered. At a meeting
called at Greyfriars’ Church in Dumfries
in February 1306 to discuss their tactics, Neville’s Cross 1346
Robert Bruce struck Comyn dead and KEY
lacked the firm resolution of his father of the English position by an outbreak
Scotland in March 1296. and who did not adequately fund the of civil war there in 1326–27 finally
Scottish garrisons. Aberdeen fell to the brought about a negotiated peace.
Return of Robert Bruce Scots in July 1308, and in 1309 Bruce In spring 1328, by the Treaty of
King Robert’s comeback began with felt able to call his first Scottish Edinburgh, Edward III renounced
a victory at Loudon Hill in May Parliament at St. Andrews. his claim to lordship over Scotland.
1307, and from then he won an By spring 1314, only Stirling Castle The country’s independence seemed
uninterrupted string of victories, aided remained in English hands, and it finally secured.
by the accession of Edward II to the was to save this last redoubt of
English throne in 1307, a man who English power in Scotland that
Edward II finally stirred himself AF TER
to a counterstrike. This ended in
SCOTTISH LEADER (C.1272–1305)
disaster, with the English army
WILLIAM WALLACE being cut apart at Bannockburn on The English invaded Scotland shortly after
June 24, 1314 (see pp.94–95). the Treaty of Edinburgh. However, Scotland
Wallace emerged to lead the Scottish By 1315, Robert had taken the retained its independence until the Union
resistance movement in 1297, following offensive against northern England, of the Crowns in 1603.
his murder of the English sheriff of Lanark. besieging Carlisle. In the same year
His defeat of the English against the odds his brother Edward landed in Ulster ENGLISH GAINS IN POWER
at Stirling Bridge in September 1297 in an attempt to topple English rule Robert died in 1329, but in 1324 he had fathered
cemented his reputation, but his luck did in Ireland. The invasion bogged down, a son David, who became king. In 1332, Edward
not hold, and after losing at Falkirk the and though Edward was declared Balliol, the son of John,
following year he never led another High King of Ireland in 1316, it invaded Scotland with
Scottish army. Wallace left on a was a hollow title and the Scots the encouragement
diplomatic mission to France, but after his occupation was largely confined of Edward III. He
return to Scotland, he was betrayed and to the north. By the time Robert defeated the army
handed over to the English. He was recovered Berwick, the last Scottish of Bruce loyalists
hanged, drawn, and quartered in London. possession occupied by England, and had himself
in 1318, Edward Bruce’s forces crowned King at
were nearly exhausted and in Scone. A victory at
October 1318 he was killed in Halidon Hill in 1333,
battle near Dundalk. led to Edward III taking
COIN OF DAVID II much of southern
The declaration of Arbroath Scotland. The young King
A succession crisis ensued as Robert David II was sent to France for safety. Robert Stewart
still had no direct heir, and he feared rallied and drove the English out by 1341.
that Edward II, who was grooming
John Balliol’s son Edward for the THE STEWART RULERS
Scottish throne, might invade. These Robert became king in 1371 after the death of
anxieties led to a formal Scottish David II without an heir. The Stewarts ruled
statement of independence by the Scotland until James VI succeeded his cousin
Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, and Elizabeth I of England in 1603 158–59 ❯❯, and
the choice by Robert of his grandson became king of both countries. As a result, a
Robert Stewart as his successor. The descendent of Robert Bruce ruled over England.
failure of an attempt by Edward II
to invade Scotland and the weakening
93
DECISIVE MOMENT JUNE 24, 1314
T
he army that Edward mustered in At dawn on June 24, upon Robert’s
Berwick in June 1314 was around orders, the Scottish infantry charged
15,000 strong, including 10,000 from New Park, to the astonishment of
infantry, 2,000 heavy cavalry, and a the resting English troops. The Earl of
large force of archers. Pushing north, on Gloucester roused them with a cavalry
June 23, the English arrived just south charge, but with little room to move,
of Stirling, where King Robert’s army its impact against the Scots was limited.
lay in wait. Robert commanded around Archers attacked the Scottish flanks,
5,000 men, mainly infantry armed with but with Robert unleashing his light
long spears, organized into shield cavalry, the English scattered.
formations known as schiltrons, and
a small force of light cavalry. He set Scottish victory
anti-cavalry pits and spikes along the Robert then inflicted the killing blow
road to Stirling, and deployed the bulk against the disheartened English by
of his forces in the wooded New Park, throwing forward his reserve of
which blocked the English army’s Highlanders, while the emergence of
progress. A premature English attack on the “small folk”, untrained Scottish
June 23, was caught in the cavalry traps. levies, spread panic through the English
The English then forded the Bannock ranks. Edward fled the scene, first to
Burn, a stream to the south and east of Stirling Castle, which did not admit
the Scottish position. A difficult crossing him, and finally to Berwick. Back on
left the English tired, and they camped the battlefield, a massacre took place
the night just across the Burn in an as the Scots cut down the disordered,
open space. Probably not expecting a escaping English. The blow to Edward’s
direct attack, Edward gathered his prestige in Scotland was huge, although
forces in a constricted space that made the war would drag on for another
it difficult for them to maneuver in the 14 years before Scottish independence
face of any unexpected assault. was finally recognized by England.
95
1066–1485
I
t was the death of Charles IV of Edward III The defection of the Duke of Brabant
France in 1328 that finally provoked Edward III, portrayed here in an and Count of Hainault to the French
conflict between the two countries. anonymous portrait, was the side then induced Edward to agree to
Charles had no son and there was no grandson of Philippe IV of France a five-year truce. Even so, the fighting
clear precedent as to who should and it was his attempt to use this continued over Brittany, since Jean de
succeed him. Edward III of England, as inheritance to claim the French Montfort, the would-be duke, offered
grandson of Philippe IV (through his crown that sparked off the his fealty to Edward in June 1341, and
daughter Isabella), had a strong claim. Hundred Years’ War. the English knew well they would need
For a few months the French nobility ports there if the war with France
waited to see if Charles IV’s pregnant one-tenth on all should spread again. By 1345, Edward
queen Jeanne of Evreux would provide moveable goods and of was the master of Brittany, and, though
him with a posthumous male heir, but one-fifteenth on land. a treaty between the two sides was
the baby was a girl (French law did not A few skirmishes notionally due to expire only in
allow succession through the female). occurred in 1337–38, September 1346, both began to
The French nobles turned to Philippe of marking the start of prepare for inevitable conflict.
Valois, a nephew of Philippe IV, who the Hundred Years’
had the advantages of being 35, a War, and finally, in Victory at Crécy
proven leader and, crucially, was the July 1338, Edward set On June 11, 1346, Edward landed
chairman of the council convened to sail for Antwerp. He near Saint-Vaast. He probably had
decide the succession. then moved south around 15,000 soldiers, one of the
toward Cambrai, but largest armies ever assembled by an
Edward’s humiliation Philippe resolutely English King in France (where their
On May 19, he was anointed king as refused to give battle, forces were normally only around
Philippe VI at Rheims Cathedral. remaining in safety one-third to a half of those of the
Although Edward III made a direct behind the walls French). The English advanced
claim to the throne, in 1329 he was of Amiens. toward Paris, but faced stiffening
forced into a humiliating act of Reduced to the kind of chevauchées, resistance until finally on August 13,
homage to Philippe for his lands in or plundering raids, that would at Poissy, Edward resolved to turn
B E F O R E Aquitaine. Philippe continued to characterize much of the Hundred back north. This time he was pursued
provoke Edward, getting his lawyers Years’ War, Edward grew frustrated. all the way by Philippe. They met near
to produce a document stating that By February 1340, he had almost run Crécy and the French were crushed
The English kings had possessed lands what the English King had offered out of money and had incurred the (see pp.100–01).
in France since the 11th century. By the the previous year was liege homage staggering sum of £300,000 in debts. Even victorious, Edward lacked the
12th century they held almost half of making Philippe VI his feudal He even had to secure permission numbers to attack Paris and so headed
the country, but lost most of it by 1214. overlord in all matters, not just those from his European creditors to return to Calais. A prolonged siege ensued,
concerning Aquitaine. Edward to England. and, once more denied significant
FIGHTING FOR FRENCH LAND declined a summons to attend the
The defeat of Robert Curthose by his brother French court in person, but provided Master of Brittany
Henry I, in 1106, reunited Normandy and a written statement in 1331, which Within months, Edward returned with
England, giving the English King great domains in accepted Philippe’s argument. a fleet of 250 ships. On June 24, he
France. The marriage of Henry’s daughter Maud caught the fleet of the French and their
to Geoffrey Plantagenet in 1128 meant her son,
Henry II, ultimately inherited both England
and large parts of France, creating a vast
2,000 The number of French
knights that were said
to have been captured by the English
Castilian and Genoese allies in harbor
at Sluys. In a battle where the English
archers showed their mettle, by
Angevin Empire ❮❮ 76–77. King John lost almost forces following their victory at the securing the boarding of ship after
all this after defeat at Bouvines in 1214. However, Battle of Poitiers in 1356. ship of the French line,
Aquitaine was restored, in 1259, in exchange for Philippe VI’s fleet was
Henry III’s renunciation of his rights to the Early skirmishes decimated and only
rest of France. The Duchy of Aquitaine was Edward had been preoccupied with 30 Genoese vessels
again declared forfeit by Philippe IV in 1293. war against the Scots, but his victory managed to escape.
From 1294–96 he invaded and conquered it, but at Halidon Hill in 1333 freed him to Once again, Philippe’s refusal
handed it back to Edward I after papal arbitration. turn his attention to France. Both to give battle led to Edward’s
A further skirmish in 1323 was sides postured, seeking allies, and in campaign running out of steam.
resolved by Edward II and 1335, the French transferred troop
Charles IV, and an ships intended for a crusade to the Bodkins
uneasy peace Holy Land to the Norman ports Medieval archers had access to a variety
was restored. instead, seeming to herald an of arrowheads. Bodkin points such as
invasion of England. these were better able to penetrate mail
COIN OF PHILIPPE IV Edward took time to assemble an armor, while the archers would choose
army, and he raised the necessary funds flatter broadheads to inflict more serious
by getting Parliament to grant a tax of wounds against lightly armored foes.
96
H U N D R E D Y E A R S ’ WA R B EG I N S
“Sirs… let us not be afraid, for down and had to retreat to Orléans and
negotiate a new settlement. The Treaty
of Bretigny in May 1360, reduced the
Aquitaine and occupied most of the English
territory. A treaty in 1374 with John of Gaunt
gave the English a brief respite, but war broke out
victory falls not to the multitude, ransom to 3 million gold ecus and the
territorial demands to coastal lands
again in 1377. Most remaining English garrisons
were seized. The Treaty of Guerande in 1381 left
around Calais and the Somme, plus them with little save a strip around Bordeaux
but where God will send it.” Ponthieu and Aquitaine, while Edward
renounced his claim to the French
and a few towns in Brittany. But the war
continued for more than 70 years 118–19 ❯❯.
throne. With final victory in their grasp,
EDWARD, THE BLACK PRINCE, TO HIS ARMY BEFORE POITIERS, SEPTEMBER 19, 1356 the English had again let it slip away.
97
1066–1485
B 5,000
y the 11th century in northern The approximate number Knights were created with an elaborate
France a practice of mounted of knights who owed ceremony of “dubbing”, during which
warfare had emerged, with the feudal military service during the reign of the king laid the sword on the knight.
knight at its center. With lance or spear, Henry II, according to his 1166 enquiry. A kind of aristocratic career path was
sword, and chain mail armor, he was established in which a noble child
the ancestor of the high medieval From the 12th century, there emerged progressed from page through to squire
knight. After 1066 (see pp.68–69) an idea that only the king could make and then finally achieved knighthood.
this class of warrior was imported knights; in 1102 a council in London Poems, such as the Romances of
into England, along with the system decreed that abbots should not make Chrétien of Troyes, reinforced this
of feudal vassalage, by which knights them, showing how the control of the ideology, glorifying the moral basis
held land in return for the obligation system of knighthood was becoming of knighthood.
to provide military service to their lord. restricted. Around this time, an idea Tournaments provided a way for
of chivalry also emerged, according knights to sharpen their skills and
The chivalric code to which knights were expected to burnish their reputations outside the Canterbury knight
At the apex of the feudal pyramid lay conform to a moral code. These field of warfare. They were said to have The knight described by Geoffrey Chaucer in his
the king, the chief landholder of the included rules on bravery, honor, been invented by Geoffrey de Preuilly Canterbury Tales is well-traveled, wise, and a source
whole system. No military campaign and respect toward each other and in France around 1066, and imported of moral authority for the other pilgrims. It was an ideal
could begin without his lawful consent. courtesy for women and the Church. to England by Richard II. By the reign that many real knights failed to live up to.
B E F O R E
RECONSTRUCTION
OF AN ANGLO-SAXON
WOODEN SHIELD
98
KN IGHTS AN D BOWM EN
to warlike ways, and most only permitted for use against infidels. Most European
armies nonetheless continued to use them.
bolt
99
DECISIVE MOMENT August 26, 1346
Battle of Crécy
Edward III’s invasion of France in the summer of 1346 was within
19 miles (30km) of Paris. With his army tiring, Edward decided to
risk a pitched battle with Philippe VI of France. The outcome of this
engagement at Crécy would determine the future of the French
Crown and mark a pivotal moment in the Hundred Years’ War.
O
n the morning of August 26, the of Genoese fell and the rest pulled back.
English—some 12,000 strong, The Duke of Alençon in the French
half of them longbowmen— forward division regarded the Genoese
marched out of the forest of Crécy action as cowardice, and ordered them
and took up position on a long ridge cut down as they retreated.
between Crécy and Wadicourt. The
sloping terrain offered them some A hasty retreat
protection. The French—around The French knights charged, but were
40,000 strong, including 6,000 Genoese pushed toward the enemy line. When
crossbowmen—had halted around the English knights advanced down the
9 miles (15km) short of the English slope, the French retreated to their
position. The French commanders second division. Soon, English archers
could not decide whether to delay the poured further volleys into its flanks
attack until the following day. However, and the French dissolved into chaos.
some of the men headed of their own Despite mounting up to 15 charges
accord toward the English. Soon, the that day, the French were beaten back
rest of the army followed suit. by the unscathed English knights.
Toward midnight, King Philippe
Victory of the longbowmen withdrew to the castle of Labroye,
The Genoese crossbowmen were the abandoning his army to flee or die.
first to attack. But with the sun in their Edward chose not to march to Paris,
eyes, and deceived by the ridge’s slope, but instead headed to Calais, which he
their usually lethal volley proved hoped would fall quickly to him. The
ineffective. The response of the English siege lasted until August 1347 and the
longbowmen was more telling; swathes impetus of the English victory was lost.
A one-sided battle
This illustration from Jean Froissart’s Chronicles
shows the English longbowmen facing the Genoese
crossbowmen at the Battle of Crécy. Around 10,000
Frenchmen perished at Crécy, including many leading
nobles; about 500 Englishmen were lost.
101
1066–1485
Plague scene
This 14th-century manuscript shows plague
victims being carried from a city to be
buried in mass graves. Such scenes would
have been seen in many European cities.
T H E B L A C K D E AT H
103
1066–1485
E
wages and improved conditions of land tenure, dward III’s death in 1377 was KEY
including fixed tenancy and employment terms. followed by the succession of the Principle peasant marches
The nobility and Parliament moved to counter 10-year old Richard II. As a result, Center of unrest
Area affected by peasant violence
this, with the Ordinance of Labourers in June England was ruled for the next three
1349 decreeing that all physically fit men and years by a series of regency councils,
women under 60 be available for work. Some which lacked the firm will to divert the CAMBRIDGESHIRE &
landowners began to enclose strips of land, country from its ruinously expensive ISLE OF ELY N ORF OL K
which could then be farmed more easily war with France. One expedition alone, Norwich
and with fewer laborers. in December 1379, under Sir John Leicester Yarmouth
Arundel, cost £15,000 and was
CORRUPT COURT dispersed by a storm in the Channel HUNTINGDON &
The last years of Edward III’s reign were marred without achieving anything at all. PETERBOROUGH
Bury St Edmunds
by his dementia, and the dominance of the court In rural areas resentment simmered Cambridge
SUFFOLK
by a cabal of corrupt favorites, including his at the land enclosures, extortion by
Sudbury
mistress Alice Perrers. The war against France landlords, and the successive royal
was also proving costly, with little gain, and in attempts to drive down wages, ESSEX Colchester
1376 there was a real fear of invasion. which had taken place over the HERTFORDSHIRE
30 years since the Black Death. The St Albans
Crown’s need for extra funding for
Brentwood
the French campaign was the spark MIDDLESEX Highbury Mile End
that set this anger ablaze. London Dartford
R O YA L L A N D O W N E R ( 1 3 4 0 – 9 9 )
Rochester
Canterbury
JOHN OF GAUNT A tax for all S U R R E Y Maidstone
Traditionally the king relied on “lay K E N T
By the age of 22, John of Gaunt, the third subsidies” for funding, assessed at
eldest surviving son of Edward III, was around 6 percent of a household’s Winchester
Duke of Lancaster and one of England’s moveable property, which raised
leading landowners. He was associated correspondingly more money
0 100km
with the failing government of his father from the rich.
N
in the 1370s, and his lack of battlefield 0 100 miles
104
T H E P E A S A N T S ’ R E V O LT
AF TER
“When Adam delved and the Kentishmen, but it seems that Tyler
was insolent in the royal presence and
some kind of scuffle broke out with The Peasants’ Revolt was not the last
Eve span, who then was Richard’s retainers. In the fracas, Tyler
was fatally wounded. It was a moment
major rural uprising in late medieval
England. Economic and political grievances
of profound danger that might have continued to provoke rebellions well
the gentleman?” descended into a massacre, but Richard
kept his head. He persuaded the rebels
into the 15th century.
105
Luttrell Psalter
This illuminated book of psalms is named after Geoffrey Luttrell, lord of
the manor of Irnham, Lincolnshire, who commissioned it between 1320
and 1340. It contains an array of depictions of contemporary rural
life. Here, servants prepare food and carry it to the lord’s table. Such
depictions mask a grim reality, for in 1315, 1316, and 1321, the harvests
failed in England’s worst agrarian crisis for centuries, and disease killed
many cattle and sheep in 1317 and 1319–21.
1066–1485
Religious Enthusiasm
A matter of concern for people in the Middle Ages was knowing what to believe and how to live the Christian life
so as to avoid going to hell. However, criticism of the Church grew in some quarters, and many individuals sought
salvation in personal devotion and charitable work.
108
Monks praying
E N G LI S H TH E O LO G IAN (1328–84)
This stained-glass window in Canterbury Cathedral shows
JOHN WYCLIFFE monks praying. Monks devoted their lives to God within
the confines of their monasteries, while friars, living a life
John Wycliffe was born in Yorkshire. of poverty, peached to people in the streets.
As a teacher of theology at Oxford
University, he came to believe that the Archbishop Thorseby, who as
claims of the Pope to be the supreme Archbishop of York in 1352–73 set
authority of the Church were unjustified. about reforming the clergy in his
He escaped persecution in his lifetime, province, and put together a catechism
but after his death his body was in Latin and English for the instruction
exhumed and burned, and his ashes of lay people. William Langland’s
thrown into a river. long narrative poem in English, Piers
Plowman, written in c.1360–87, is a
critique of the Church and its practices,
as well as an exploration of how
to discover the true meaning of
the Christian life.
The Lollards
The most open and subversive
expression of this mood of discontent
with the Church came from the Lollard
movement, which rose to prominence
in the second half of the 14th century.
EXCOMMUNICATION A decree by
the Pope excluding a Christian from the
sacraments of the Church. It was used to
punish those who flagrantly rejected the
Church’s teachings or authority.
109
1066–1485
F
our terms help in understanding masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales GERMANIC The peoples of
the writers of Chaucer’s time: (c.1387–1400), with its bawdy humor northern Europe speaking languages
Old English, Germanic, Middle and unforgettable cast of characters including English, Dutch, German,
English, and vernacular. Old English, drawn from right across 14th-century and Scandinavian.
or Anglo-Saxon, was an early English English society.
form used between the 5th and 12th This collection of lively tales, told to other rhyming forms from abroad.
centuries. It grew out of the dialects of in rhyming couplets, was influenced The later 1300s saw a Middle English
The quest for the Grail Germanic peoples—including Angles, by the multiple tales of Boccaccio’s alliterative revival.
Tales of King Arthur and a holy quest were influential in Saxons, Jutes, and Scandinavians—who Decameron (c.1350). It features a group
medieval times. In this painting from c.1470, Gawain settled in Britain. Middle English of diverse pilgrims, from an outwardly Creating an English tradition
attempts to remove a magical sword lodged in a rock. evolved from Old English after pious but bigoted prioress to a lusty Other important writers contributed
absorbing French miller, on their way to the vernacular tradition. The poem
B E F O R E
influences from the
Norman conquerors.
Vernacular languages
“[the] well of to Thomas Becket’s
shrine at Canterbury.
They tell tales to
Piers Plowman possibly by William
Langland, (c.1330–c.1400) told a tale,
in a down-to-earth style, of the
undefiled”
of a fertile mix of traditions including ordinary people. and modern, and as is the more courtly Sir Gawain
Anglo-Saxon and Norman literature. embracing every and the Green Knight (by an unknown
Chaucer’s world tradition from bawdy contemporary of Chaucer) and the
EARLIER WRITINGS Geoffrey Chaucer comedy to courtly epic narrative poem Morte Arthure,
EDMUND SPENSER’S DESCRIPTION
The Germanic meter of Anglo-Saxon tradition (c.1343–1400) was romance. These about King Arthur. The English,
OF CHAUCER, IN THE FAERIE
influenced the 7th-century Creation Hymn of the born the son of a showcase the keen French, and Latin work of John
monk-poet, Caedmon, and Beowulf ❮❮ 35. The prosperous London QUEENE (1590–96) sense of drama, Gower, author of the allegorical
prose of Aelfric (10th–11th centuries), had a clear, wine merchant. He humor, vivid tales Confessio Amantis (1386–93)
direct vernacular style. The Anglo-Norman made a good marriage and held a storytelling, and stimulating ideas that was also influential.
strand included 13th-century romances such as succession of important posts for king make Chaucer’s vernacular writing so
Floris and Blancheflour and the classic French and country, including being made effective. A line from the knight’s tale:
courtly love poem, Roman de la Rose. customs controller for the port of A mantelet upon his shuldre hanginge,/ AF TER
London in 1374 and clerk of the king’s Bret-ful of rubies rede, as fyr sparklinge.
works in 1389. He wrote and translated This translates into modern English:
throughout his career and was said to “A short mantle hanging on his The pioneering work of Chaucer and his
have adorned the English language shoulders/was brimful of rubies, contemporaries made possible the great
with new words, most directly sparkling like fire.” body of English literature that has
borrowed from French. appeared since his death.
Chaucer was in the right place at the Important influences
right time. At the court of Richard II, Chaucer and his contemporaries used LATER VERNACULAR WRITING
a great patron of literature and art, certain devices to make their work In the 15th and 16th centuries, vernacular
English was replacing Anglo-Norman. immediate, distinctive, and of their writing gained increasing ground. A
Chaucer was already well steeped in place and time. One is the use of French-style courtly influence also persisted,
vernacular French and Italian literature, English Midlands dialects, widespread for example in the work of poet Sir Richard Ros
partly thanks to diplomatic trips abroad. at the time, which evokes ordinary (b.1429), who probably translated Alain Chartier’s
He translated some of the French people rather than a classics-educated La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
courtly love poem Roman de la Rose into elite. Another is the medieval tradition
the Middle English Romaunt of the Rose of courtly love and romance. This was THE CHAUCER EFFECT
and was knowledgeable about the a popular European fashion, developed Chaucer influenced
Italian writers Dante (1265–1321), in France, for tales of a knight’s noble writers such as
Petrarch (1304–74), and Boccaccio love for an aristocratic lady. First told Spenser 152–53 ❯❯
(1313–75). His story Troilus and by troubadours, these stories followed and Shakespeare
Creseyde has an Italian flavor. strict rules. A third strand is the 154–55 ❯❯ who
importance of rhetoric. Part of any inherited Chaucer’s
A very English tale educated person’s skills, this was the love of contemporary
Chaucer blended all of these traditions ability to speak or write in a persuasive language, and John
to develop a rich, flexible language that way and make an impact. JOHN DRYDEN Dryden 180–81 ❯❯.
culminated in his late Middle English Another major strand was the use
of an alliterative style—standard in
Edward III English literature at this time. This was
The reign of Edward III (see pp.96–97), shown here a Germanic/Old English meter, using Geoffrey Chaucer
in a 13th-century painting, saw the flourishing of a mix a marked pattern of stresses within This portrait of Chaucer appears in a manuscript of The
of literary traditions, and important writers such as “half lines”, in verse that was typically Canterbury Tales, dated c.1413–22. He is often said to
Chaucer, William Langland, and John Gower. unrhymed and was markedly different be the main founder of literature in modern English.
110
Ely Cathedral
Standing high above the flat Fens of Cambridgeshire, Ely Cathedral is
one of the finest buildings of medieval England. It was built mainly
between 1082 and 1353, having initially been founded as an abbey in
673 #$ by St. Etheldreda. In 1322 its original central tower collapsed and
an octagonal Gothic “lantern” was constructed in its place. As stone would
have been too heavy, oak vaulting was erected instead. William Hurley,
King Edward III’s master carpenter, was involved in its construction.
1066–1485
B E F O R E
GROWING OPPOSITION
Although Richard took the reigns of power
in 1382, the Duke of Lancaster dictated
policy until he left England in 1386. The
King increasingly relied on a small coterie of
aristocrats, principal among them Robert de
Vere, Earl of Oxford, and Sir Simon Burley,
Receiver of the Chamber. An opposition party
began to form around disenchanted magnates
such as Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick,
and Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester.
Change of Dynasty
Richard II’s quarrels with his magnates aroused such opposition that he suffered the indignity of being
only the second English king to be deposed since the Norman conquest. The change to the Lancastrian
dynasty under Henry IV laid the seeds of a conflict that would grow into civil war 50 years later.
T
he Parliament that met in 1386 became known, published an “appeal”
marked the second major crisis against five of Richard’s supporters,
of Richard II’s reign (after the including de la Pole and de Vere,
Peasants’ Revolt). This time it was accusing them of treason.
Richard’s own actions that were to
blame. The assembly condemned Fighting back
Richard’s advisers, in particular Robert De Vere tried to raise an army, while
de Vere, whom the King had just Richard played for time in Parliament.
appointed Duke of Ireland, and His cause was undermined by de Vere’s
demanded the dismissal of the defeat at Radcot Bridge in 1387. The
Chancellor, Michael de la Pole. army of the Appellant marched on
Although Richard protested, he was London and it seemed for a while as
forced to back down, and de la Pole though Richard might be deposed.
was removed and imprisoned. The resulting Merciless Parliament was
Richard’s opponents established a dominated by the Lords Appellant and
Rebel seat Commission of Government, including Face of a king most of Richard’s leading loyalists were
Alnwick Castle in Northumberland became the seat of the Duke of Gloucester, the Earl of The tomb effigy of Richard II—which was carved sentenced to death. Many escaped
the Percy family in 1309. It was the base for the 1st Earl Arundel, and the Bishop of Ely, to take during his lifetime—lies in Westminster Cathedral abroad, but Nicholas Brembre, the
of Northumberland’s rebellion against Henry IV, which over the government. In November beside that of his beloved first wife, Anne of Mayor of London, was put to death
ended with the Earl’s death in 1408. 1387, these “Lords Appellant”, as they Luxemburg, who died in 1394. on Tower Hill in March 1388.
114
C H A N G E O F DY N A ST Y
AF TER
“ A wonderful land is this… Henry IV faced a dangerous time at the
High-handed rule
For the next few years, Richard
managed to retain control. Yet his
high-handed actions, such as the
removal of the Mayor of London
115
1066–1485
D
avid II secured his release from dynasty. His early appointments shaped Battle of Neville’s Cross
England in 1357, in exchange for the rest of his reign, with his son John, The defeat and capture of King David II of Scotland at
a hefty payment to Edward III. Earl of Carrick, becoming lieutenant Neville’s Cross in 1346 was a disaster for Scotland. He
He found his kingdom devastated, of the English marches and his brother was held prisoner in England for 11 years,
as the core regions of Scotland had Robert, Earl of Fife, appointed to run following the failed attempt to
suffered badly during the wars, and the royal treasury. invade England.
Lothian had been ravaged by the In 1384, the Earl of Carrick removed
English as recently as 1356 during his father from active rule. Carrick
the “Black Candlemas.” The King’s was also the architect of the Scottish
authority was much reduced, and he invasion of England in summer 1388.
was forced to impose heavy annual With the prospect of the renewal of the
land taxes to restore the royal income. Anglo-French war making England an
Robert Stewart, the King’s nephew appealingly weak target, the Scottish
and William, Earl of Douglas, who army struck south, encountering the
had safeguarded the kingdom in
David’s absence, felt unrewarded for
their loyalty and rebelled in 1363.
Robert and David II were reconciled,
100,000 The ransom paid in
marks (£66,000/
$103,000) to Edward III to secure
and Robert was still the heir to the David II’s return to Scotland in 1357.
throne, but it led the King to consider
appointing one of the sons of English under Sir Henry Percy
Edward III of England as heir to (“Hotspur”) at Otterburn, in
the Scottish throne. Northumberland on August 5. The
Scots were victorious and Hotspur
The Stewart dynasty was captured, but Carrick’s joy was
Despite these problems, Robert Stewart tempered by the death of his key ally,
did become King of Scotland on David’s the Earl of Douglas, in the battle. This
death in 1371, the first of the Stewart loss so weakened his position that in
December Carrick was summarily
pushed aside by his younger brother
B E F O R E Robert of Fife, who was to dominate
Scottish politics until 1420, latterly as
the Duke of Albany. A half-hearted
Peace between England and Scotland was counter-invasion by Richard II in 1389,
a fragile affair in the 1330s, ending with a came to nothing and in September
Scottish invasion of England in 1346. Wales the two sides made peace.
was also restless under English rule. The Earl of Carrick succeeded to the
Scottish throne in 1390 as Robert III,
KIND DAVID but his health was so poor that the real
King David II of Scotland returned from French ruler was the Duke of Albany; in 1399
exile in 1341, and wanted to match his father he was officially declared unfit to rule.
Robert Bruce’s record against the English. In Albany engaged in a more aggressive
1346, he responded to an appeal from his French foreign policy toward England,
allies after their defeat at Crécy ❮❮ 101–01. which culminated in an invasion in
He lost to the English at the Battle of Neville September 1402. At Homildon Hill
Cross and was held prisoner. in Northumberland, the English
avenged themselves for Otterburn; on
WELSH DISCONTENT the Scottish side, the Earl of Douglas
In Wales the system of was killed and the death or capture of
government set up by many other Scottish nobles severely
Edward I with the dented Albany’s reputation. Although
Statute of Wales (1284) he remained in power until 1420, it
❮❮ 91 led to discontent would be almost a century before there
and a series of revolts was another major encounter between
there, with a major English and Scottish armies in the field.
uprising under Madog
ap Llywelyn in 1294. The rise of Owain Gly Dwr
The Welsh revolts of the late 13th and
DAVID II OF SCOTLAND early 14th centuries (see pp.90–91)
were followed by a period of quiet.
The effects of the Black Death (see
116
I N V A S I O N A N D R E V O LT
pp.102–03), which struck as hard in and Deheubarth, but was also a The ruins of Elgin Cathedral
Wales as in England, bringing with member of the Anglicized aristocracy, The cathedral was established in Scotland in 1224, and
it wholesale changes in land tenure who had learnt law and fought with fell victim to the predatory raiding of one of Robert III’s
system and a move to a monetary the English army in Scotland in 1385. brothers, when the rapacious Alexander Stewart, Earl of
economy, led to deprivation in the In 1400, a land dispute arose between Buchan, the “Wolf of Badenoch”, burnt it in 1390.
countryside and a distinct rise in Gly Dwr and Lord Grey of Ruthin,
Welsh resentment at English rule. a supporter of Henry IV. With little
There was no focus for resistance, prospect of resolution from an
however, until the emergence of Owain unfriendly Crown, Gly Dwr called
Gly Dwr in 1400. He was descended a meeting on September 16 and was
from the royal houses of both Powys proclaimed Prince of Wales. The
rebellion rapidly spread and Gly Dwr’s
men captured Conwy Castle. In 1402,
he seized two important English
prisoners, Lord Grey
and Edmund
Mortimer.
The latter was the uncle of the Earl Maredudd accepted a pardon in 1421,
of March, who had a stronger claim all hopes for a revival of the revolt and
to the throne than Henry IV, and the Welsh political freedom were finished.
King declined to ransom him. Mortimer
became Gly Dwr’s son-in-law. The
Welsh rebel leader extended his AF TER
network of friends by allying himself
with Sir Henry Percy.
Wales remained under English rule from
The end of political freedom the 15th century, while the Stewart kings
Gly Dwr’s first real setback was Percy’s continued to rule Scotland until 1603, when
defeat and death at Shrewsbury in James VI’s accession to the English throne
1403, as he marched south to link up led to the union of Scotland and England.
with the Welsh. The following year,
he captured Harlech and Aberystwyth, THE EMERGENCE OF THE TUDORS
while the English were reduced to After Glyn Dwr’s defeat, Wales subsided into an
a handful of strongholds. Gly Dwr uneasy calm. The rise of the Tudor family,
established all the trappings of starting with Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke, a
government, with a Welsh Great Seal key supporter of the House of Lancaster, would
and a Welsh Parliament summoned lead to the accession of a Welsh noble to
to meet at Machynlleth. In 1405, he the English throne, when Henry VII became
signed a Triple Indenture with the Earl king in 1485 122–23 ❯❯.
of Northumberland and Mortimer, by
which England and Wales were divided SCOTTISH KINGS
into three. Gly Dwr was to receive In 1406, Robert III sent
Wales and a portion of west England. his son James to
However, events were moving against France, but he was
the Welsh. A French army landed at captured and held
Milford Haven, but failed to engage prisoner until 1424. His
the English and slipped away. In 1408, assassination in 1437
Gly Dwr lost Harlech and Aberystwyth. left Scotland ruled by
By 1410, he was reduced to fighting his son James II.
a guerrilla campaign in the hills and in
1412 he is mentioned in the sources JAMES II OF SCOTLAND
for the last time. Gly Dwr’s exact fate is
unknown, but when his surviving son
117
1066–1485
I
n 1388, Charles VI of France came of Pointheu. The French also demanded new English King’s overtures regarding blocked by Marshal Boucicaut and
age, and the next year, Richard II of Calais, but the English royal council a renewed war with France. Both he 6,000 men, and were forced far to the
England managed to rid himself of refused point blank to reliquish the and Charles VI, however, were taken south. Henry desperately tried to avoid
the Lords Appellant, who for three years site of the lucrative Wool Staple and it aback by the scale of Henry’s ambitions: a pitched battle and find a way through
had kept him sidelined and persecuted seemed as though war might break out he demanded nothing less than to be to Calais, but then, three days later,
his leading supporters. Both monarchs after all. Only the intervention recognized as the heir to the he discovered his way barred by the
now ruled personally and turned to the of Richard II, who requested French throne. Negotiations entire French army.
relations between them. Aquitaine had the hand in marriage of broke down in February Brought to bay, Henry made the best
long been a running sore that kept the Isabella, the daughter 1415, and Henry of his position, drawing his troops in
Hundred Year’s War alive. of Charles VI, averted prepared for war. The such a way that the French could only
In particular, the matter of whether conflict. A truce House of Commons advance along a narrow front hemmed
the King of England should render was agreed, which granted Henry a large in by the castle woods of Agincourt.
homage to the French King was still should have meant grant in taxation; At around 11am on the morning of
unresolved. Discussion raged between peace between even the bishops October 25, the English archers
1389 and 1392 and, though no the two countries gave him a loan of
agreement was reached, an exchange of until 1420. £44,000. Knights Longbowmen
lands was agreed, by which the English and archers were English archers were key to almost every
acquired lands bordering Aquitaine in Power struggles recruited from major victory in the Hundred Years’ War,
exchange for Poitou, Limousin, and Several events across the land. from Crécy to Agincourt. Yet by the
helped reignite Despite a end of the war, at Formigny in
the war before last-minute French 1450, they were outclassed
B E F O R E then. The first was peace offer, Henry by French gunners.
that Charles VI had was set on war. On
a violent fit that August 11, he sailed
England gained little in the first third of the sent him mad in from Southampton
Hundred Years’ War, despite all its victories. 1392. Periodically with 10,000 men—
The prospects for improving the position thereafter he would including 2,000
under Richard II seemed slight. descend into madness, knights and men-at-
convinced he was made arms, 8,000 archers, and
EARLY VICTORIES of glass and might 75 gunners.
Edward III’s claim to the French throne shatter at the Warrior king He landed at
triggered the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War slightest touch. Henry V was intent on the conquest of France almost Harfleur but
in 1337 ❮❮ 96–97. Despite great English A power struggle from his accession in 1413. Even his marriage to took until
victories at the Siege of Calais (1346), where broke out between Catherine, the French King’s daughter, in 1420, did not September 22
they used weapons such as trebuchets to capture Philippe the Bold turn him aside. Yet his death from dysentery in 1422 to force the
the port, Crécy (1346) ❮❮ 100–01, and Poitiers of Burgundy (and fatally undermined the English position in France. town to
(1356), the gains slipped away. John the Fearless, surrender.
his successor from 1404) and the King’s Meanwhile, the French had been
INTERNAL REVOLTS brother, Louis, Duke of Orléans. Louis’ gathering their forces. Three
The war continued after the 1381 Treaty of murder on a Paris street in 1407 sent divisions under Charles d’Albret,
Guerande, but both sides were plagued France into a state of near civil war. the Constable of France, Jean
by internal revolts. In France, the If France was in no state to continue Boucicaut, the Marshal of France,
Duke of Bergundy, Philippe the the war, neither was England. Henry IV, and the King himself converged on
Bold, was quick to intervene in who had usurped Richard II’s throne, Henry V’s army. The English had lost
an uprising by the burghers 2,000 men at the siege of Harfleur and
of Ghent, a sign of his
growing interest in
gathering a share
£170,000 The annual cost
of the Hundred
Years’ War to the English by 1435, which
Henry could only muster a mere 7,000
men, less than one-quarter the size of
the French army approaching him.
of French was approximately six times the normal
territory. annual royal revenues. Victory at Agincourt
The English struck out toward
had to deal with revolts in England led the Somme, in a desperate
TREBUCHET by the Percy Dukes of Northumberland attempt to evade their
and a Welsh uprising under Owain Glyn pursuers and cross the
Dwr, which was subdued in 1410. river at Blanchetaque,
just as Edward III had
Henry V’s demands done before the
Shortly after Henry V came to the Battle of Crécy
throne in April 1413, the Burgundians (see pp. 100–01).
were driven from Paris and so Duke However, they
John was particularly receptive to the found the crossing
118
T H E L AT E R H U N D R E D Y E A R S ’ W A R
CANNON
(along with 13 chaplains, 12 armorers, lords. French losses were this background
6 bowyers, and 20 surgeons). catastrophic: that the English, The earliest effective guns were large
8,000 dead under the Earl of cannons, or bombards, which shattered
erected a makeshift barrier of stakes and 1,600 Salisbury, moved town walls or defended them (though
and then loosed a murderous volley prisoners, south in 1428, and they did not entirely supplant traditional
into the French line. The French against just reached Orléans siege engines such as mangonels and
knights charged but, felled by arrows, 500 English in October. If he trebuchets). At the siege of Harfleur in
they crashed into each other and were casualties. could seize this 1415, Henry V faced a dozen guns that
run into from behind by their own men great citadel, the could hurl lethal stone balls up to 220lb
coming forward to reinforce them. Their Leaderless Earl reasoned, (200kg) in weight. By the mid-15th
line collapsed into a writhing chivalric Throughout 1415, he might be able century, artillery was more varied, with
muddle. The English men-at-arms fell the English, led to throttle the field guns that could shoot balls of
on the French survivors, cutting those by the Earl of French revival around 22lb (10kg) in weight. Under
who resisted to pieces. D’Albret was Dorset, and John at birth. Jean Bureau, Charles VII’s Master Gunner
killed, and the Duke of Orléans and the Fearless’s from 1439, the French artillery won them
Marshal Boucicaut captured. A late Burgundians Divine mission the key engagements of the last stages
gradually choked The Earl reckoned of the Hundred Years’ War, including
off French royalist without two Formigny in 1450 and Castillon in 1453.
resistance. In 1417, things. The first
Henry returned with was the cannonball
a new force of 8,000. He Joan of Arc that struck him on
took Caen in September, The 17-year old “Maid of Orléans” presented October 24, causing
and then reduced the herself at the French court claiming she could him to die of
rest of Normandy raise the siege of Orléans, an endeavor in gangrene a week
until Rouen which, against all the odds, she succeeded. later. The second
fell to him in was a peasant girl,
January 1419. Joan of Arc, who arrived in the French
In the meantime, John the camp in March, convinced she had a AF TER
Fearless had seized Paris. divine mission to set the Dauphin on
France was leaderless, with the French throne. Joan’s religious
the Constable dead and the charisma and reckless impetuousness From 1450 to 1453, the English were swept
King insane. Charles VI’s worked and the French army were from their territories in Aquitaine, leaving
eldest son died in 1416; inspired to chase the English from only Calais in their hands.
the new Dauphin Charles Orléans by May 8.
was 15 years old. END OF THE WAR
In 1420, the French faced Unstoppable Charles In 1450, the French invaded Aquitaine. At the
the inevitable and Charles was crowned King of France at Battle of Formigny on April 15, French cannon
Charles VI signed the Rheims on July 18, 1429, and the fire cut through the English defenses and
Treaty of Troyes, by which French armies, now seemingly destroyed the last English field army in France.
the Dauphin was declared unstoppable, swept northward taking English fortunes looked as though they might
illegitimate and Henry V a string of cities. Even Joan’s death in revive when a new English army under John
became heir to the throne. 1431 did not stop the French revival. Talbot landed in October 1452. However, at
Supporters of the Dauphin At a peace conference in Arras, in 1435, Castillon on July 17, 1453, this force was torn to
continued to resist, but Henry the Burgundians switched sides, and pieces by the combination of French cannon
and Philippe the Good, the by 1436, Paris had fallen to them. and the discipline of the compagnies
new Duke of Bergundy, Charles reorganized his armies, setting d’ordonnance. Bordeaux surrendered in October
advanced remorselessly. up compagnies d’ordonnance that were and the Hundred Years’ War was at an end.
strictly drilled and trained, and which Calais resisted as a solitary outpost until its
All change helped him to gradually reduce the loss to the French in 1558, during the reign of
Henry V’s death from dysentery in English territories in Aquitaine. His Queen Mary. To all intents and purposes, however,
August 1422, changed the position commanders’ effective use of field the English territorial involvement in France,
radically, as his heir was just nine artillery was not matched by the which had begun in 1066, was over.
months old. The regent, John, Duke English and, despite a two-year truce
of Bedford, campaigned ably, but the that was signed at Tours in 1446,
English Parliament was increasingly Henry VI’s armies were driven from
unwilling to grant large subsidies for Normandy in 1449. It looked very
the war. The Duke of Burgundy opened much as if the war would end with
negotiations with the Dauphin about the English in precisely the same
switching sides, and in 1427, the Duke position they had been in 1381.
119
1066–1485
B E F O R E
RURAL UNREST
The remaking of feudal bonds and obligations,
already underway before 1350, continued as the
countryside was depopulated. In some places,
labor became so scarce that wages rose and
villeins left their manors to find paid work in
the towns or become tenant farmers ❮❮ 88–89.
However, because there was no one to sell goods 1400, and remained low into the Signed and sealed
to, prices fell and landowners imposed harsher following century. Towns and cities The four wax seals attached by linen ribbons to the
conditions on their tenants. found new ways of coping with these bottom of this 14th-century trading document gave
difficulties. Overall, the urban-based this agreement legally binding force.
RESENTMENT AND REVOLT population swelled as large numbers
The Peasants’ Revolt in 1381 ❮❮ 104–05 of landless peasants and unemployed and jewelry, also provided banking
saw these factors coalesce into an outbreak moved into the towns looking for work. services. London grocers dominated
of popular resentment against wealthy All towns would have maintained the the import and sale of spices such as
churchmen and royal administrators. Urban trades necessary for daily life—bakers, ginger and pepper from Asia—by now
centers also suffered. After 300 years of steady butchers, tanners, leather workers, considered essential to flavor the food
growth, towns declined as the volume of and blacksmiths—but some towns and a fee by his family. He was of the wealthy. The Bishop of Carlisle
trade was reduced. Some small towns, reverted regions developed specialized trades and contractually bound to his master bought his spices in London and had
to being farming communities, or disappeared. areas of economic activity. Birmingham and could not leave his master’s them carried north as he knew the
was known for its manufacture of scythe household or work for anyone else quality and range of products were
blades; Burton-on-Trent was already during his apprenticeship (usually better than any he could acquire
famous for brewing. five to seven years from the age of locally. Among other specialized
about 10). At the end of this time, crafts, London was also known for
Medieval guilds he became a journeyman, or a the casting of church bells.
Within the towns and cities, each “day-worker”, again working for
trade was organized into a guild—an a master. The ultimate aim of a Urban success story
association of merchants or craftsmen. journeyman was to become a master Richard “Dick” Whittington (1354–
PEASANTS STACKING SHEAVES OF WHEAT Guilds were run by masters and himself. For this, he would need to 1423) was a younger son with no
served many functions. They offered prove himself a skilled craftsmen and prospects of inheriting land in his
professional training, agreed standards a successful businessman, and win home county of Gloucestershire, so he
went to London to learn the trade of
mercer (a dealer in cloth). His success
A
survey of Gloucester in 1455, of quality and measurement, and the acceptance of the masters of where the leading merchants could
a hundred years after the Black provided a network of mutual support his guild. Although the vast majority meet to discuss business, and for
Death, presented a gloomy for everyone involved in a particular of apprentices were male, some several churches. He also
picture of urban decline—houses in trade. Above all, they were girls were able to train in crafts, paid for drainage and
ruin, not tenanted, or turned into protectionist, designed to exclude including seamstressing, sanitation works. In his
stables. Gloucester was one of several outside competition. As commerce baking, and cordwaining will he made donations
formerly prosperous wool-exporting recovered, the guilds become wealthy (shoe making). for the construction
ports that had suffered badly as sales institutions with their own churches of almshouses and the
of wool and woven cloth to Europe and buildings, and they supported Growth of London repair of St. Bartholomew’s
fell away and stayed low. Even so, their own charitable foundations. By the end of the 14th Hospital, as well as
the wool industry remained the most To enter a trade, a young man had century, London was two prisons.
valuable business in England and to be accepted as an apprentice by becoming preeminent in
Scotland, providing a major source a master, perhaps on payment of trade and manufacturing. Uniform weights
of revenue, through its taxation, for Many businesses The guilds regulated the weights
the king and his administration. HABERDASHERS People dealing in concentrated their and measures used by traders
Urban decay was not confined to needles, buttons, and other small items activities here, including to ensure they were of uniform
the wool towns. In Canterbury, the of dress. Other guilds connected with the goldsmiths who, standard. This iron weight was
rents received by landlords for houses the cloth trade were mercers, drapers, as well as making probably used on a balance
fell by 33 percent between 1350 and clothworkers, and dyers. high-value objects arm or steelyard.
120
Builders at work the Steelyard. Elsewhere in the city,
The masons who built the great cathedrals Lombard Street was named after AF TER
and abbeys were skilled craftsmen who moved the area where goldsmiths and
as work demanded. The apprenticeship for a bankers from northern Italy
stonemason was seven years and master masons, (Lombardy) were concentrated. London’s rise in relation to the other towns MEDIEVAL LEGACY
such as Henry Yevele (c.1320–1400), could and cities of England, Wales, and Scotland In 1400, the population of London was 50,000; by
make considerable fortunes. Recovery of the towns continued inexorably throughout the 1550, it had risen to 120,000. Although the Great
By the end of the 15th century, town 16th and 17th centuries. Fire of London (1666) 182–83 ❯❯ swept away
English merchants, including the likes life was recovering throughout England. most of its medieval buildings, reminders of the
of Whittington, traveled to annual Towns and cities were more than old city are still to be found in street names such
trade fairs in the cities of Europe just places of trade and manufacture. as Cheapside and Poultry. The greatest legacy of
to buy and sell goods. The fairs of They remained important religious the medieval city are the City Livery Companies
Flanders in Europe were particularly centers, with numerous churches and such as the Goldsmiths, Mercers, Vintners, Skinners,
important for the wool trade, but religious foundations. It is estimated Haberdashers, and Fishmongers—successors of
English merchants would also travel that the City of London had more than the guilds, which still support educational and
to fairs in Germany, Italy, and as far 100 religious buildings and Norwich community charities in the city.
away as Constantinople (Istanbul). had 60. At the same time, the royal
European merchants established guilds administration and courts of justice, TRADE UNIONS
in English cities. The most famous of which in earlier medieval times In the 19th century, socialist idealists such
these was the Hansa, the association had been peripatetic, moving as William Morris and C.R. Ashbee attempted to
of German merchants, who had their from place to place, came to be revive the medieval guild-craft tradition in
own walled community in London, at permanently based in towns. the arts and crafts movement. Others have sought
to trace a connection between the medieval guilds
that protected the interests of artisans, and the trade
“I thank God and ever shall. It is unions that sprang up in the industrial cities of
the 19th century as workers’ organizations
121
1066–1485
H
the Roses date back to enry VI succeeded to the throne health returned, Richard was dismissed.
Henry IV’s seizure of of England before he was a year Supported by much of the nobility and
power from his cousin old. The first three decades of his in particular by the influential Earl
Richard II in 1399 long reign were marked by military of Warwick, he raised an army and
❮❮ 114–15. Though defeat in France, whose armies, under defeated the Lancastrians at the First
Richard died without the inspiration of Joan of Arc, won Battle of St. Albans in 1455, the
children, another heir back most of the French lands that first battle of the wars. The Lancastrian
had a better title than his father, Henry V, had conquered. leader, the Duke of Somerset, was
Henry’s to succeed him. Meanwhile, financial overstretch led killed, so Richard resumed his old
RICHARD II (C.1390) Henry’s Lancastrian many in England to question his position as de facto ruler of the nation,
line stemmed from his governance at home. although he did not press his own
father, John of Gaunt, created Duke of Lancaster Henry suffered a mental breakdown claim to the throne.
by Richard; the rival Yorkists traced their claim in 1453. Richard, Duke of York, was A precarious status quo held for four
back to Henry’s uncle, Edmund, Duke of York. appointed Lord Protector of England years until 1459, when both sides again
All the future Lancastrian and Yorkist claimants until the King regained his wits. As the took up arms. This time Richard and
were descended from one of these two siblings. Yorkist champion, Richard was bitterly his ally Warwick were outmaneuvered
opposed by the Lancastrian faction at and declared traitors, forcing them both
122
T H E WA R S O F T H E R O S E S
“England hath long been Any such hopes were dashed, though,
when it was revealed that the King
had married a commoner, Elizabeth
son Edward V as his heir and his brother
Richard of Gloucester as Lord Protector
until the boy king reached adulthood. In
5,000
he confronted his one-time ally The number of
Warwick at Barnet. Edward was Lancastrian troops
victorious and Warwick was killed. that defeated 10,000 Yorkists at Bosworth,
Edward then defeated Margaret’s troops the decisive battle that ended the wars.
at Tewkesbury. Captured for a third
time, King Henry was taken to the Richard’s seizure of the throne was
Tower of London, where he was badly received, and Henry Tudor was
murdered. His son and heir had also able to take advantage of the ensuing
been killed during the battle, leaving disaffection. In 1485 he landed with a
Edward almost unchallenged on the small force in Wales, where he soon
throne. The only remaining Lancastrian attracted further support. His army
with credible aspirations to rule was came face to face with Richard’s troops
Henry Tudor, a distant cousin of the at Bosworth in Leicestershire, where
King who was living in exile in Brittany. Richard was defeated and killed. The
victor took the throne as Henry VII,
Richard’s usurpation inaugurating the Tudor dynasty. Five
Once restored to power Edward proved months later he married Edward IV’s
himself an able ruler, and the country daughter Elizabeth, thereby uniting the
enjoyed a period of peace and prosperity. warring houses of Lancaster and York,
Then, in 1483, aged just 41, King Edward and finally bringing the Wars of the
died suddenly, leaving his 12-year-old Roses to an end.
AF TER
Henry VII’s defeat of the last Yorkist King, reign of the boy king Edward VI (1547–53), no
Richard III, at the Battle of Bosworth aristocrat was ever allowed to grow so strong as to
ushered in the Tudor dynasty, which would threaten royal power, and Parliament was kept
rule England for the next 118 years. under firm control.
123
1066–1485
Medieval Weapons
Soldiers often fought with metal axes, swords, daggers, and halberds, while wearing
helmets, chain mail, or cumbersome suits of armor. Archers could turn the tide of a
battle—longbows, though hard to master, were unerringly accurate.
■ English sword from the 14th-century with a double-edge, with good accuracy. ■ Longbow arrows with fletchings
a pommel on the handle, and a shallow groove, or fuller, on made from goose feathers. ■ Chain-mail helmet, or coif.
the blade. ■ Dagger of the late-15th-century with a round, It was worn under a plate helmet, giving added protection.
disk-like guard. ■ Broadsword with double-edged blade ■ Basinet helmet that reached down the sides of the head,
with a long, flat pommel, thin hilt, and thick cross guard. giving good protection and mobility. ■ Chain-mail shirt,
■ Rondel dagger of an English longbowman with a spiral or hauberk, which extended down to the knees, and had a
tang on the handle. ■ Long-handled ax with a curved slit to make it easier to ride a horse. ■ Breastplate,
blade, which would have been wielded with both hands. or cuirass. This is pointed with a sharp vertical ridge
■ Mace with a circular bronze head with vertical ridges, down the center. ■ Poleax with a sharp spike and
or flanges, from the 14th century. It would have been an ax blade. ■ Bill was a combination of a spear
carried by a horseman. ■ Mace with steel pointed ridges, and an ax. ■ Halberd from the late 14th century
or flanges, which could penetrate armor and helmets. with a steel ax head, a sharp, thrusting point,
■ Suit of armor of plate mail and broadsword. It belonged and a metal strip, or langet, part of the way
to a knight. ■ English crossbow that fired a projectile that down the haft. ■ Glaive with a single blade
could penetrate a knight’s armor. ■ English longbow made on the end. Used by infantrymen fighting
of yew, which could fire an arrow more than 1,000ft (300m) at close quarters.
■ LONG-HANDLED AX
■ ENGLISH
SWORD
■ MACE
■ BROADSWORD
■ MACE
■ DAGGER ■ DAGGER
■ SUIT OF
ARMOR
124
M E D I E VA L W E A P O N S
■ ENGLISH CROSSBOW
■ CHAIN-MAIL
SHIRT
■ LONGBOW ARROWS
■ BREASTPLATE
■ POLEAX
■ ENGLISH
LONGBOW
■ BILL
■ HALBERD
■ GLAIVE
125
TUDORS AND
STUARTS
1485–1688
The Tudors brought controlling leadership to
the country, but their break with Rome caused
religious strife, just as a renaissance in art,
science, and culture was taking shape. The
Stuarts’ belief in their divine right to rule
turned the people against them and unified
Parliament, Protestantism, and the constitution.
128
INTRODUCTION
How much better off the people of Britain were once the pendulum trades in the way they always had. Yet they were affected: Tudor
of power had nominally swung their way has to be doubted, given taxation influenced everything from land use to the export of wool,
the drabness of life under the Commonwealth of the 1650s. Its while the Stuarts further extended taxes into the towns.
leader, Oliver Cromwell, supposedly the savior of the nation’s
freedoms, soon installed himself as a stern Puritan dictator. The power of the individual
Along with kings, there were all those anonymous individuals who
A new return had walk-on parts in the great dramas of the age: not just the
When the pendulum swung back the Stuarts’ way and Charles II was Shakespearean player, but the sailor who helped stop the Spanish
restored to the throne in 1660, the mass of the people seem to have Armada in 1588, and the Jamestown colonist of the early 1600s.
reacted with relief. He too was soon alienating influential subjects. All of these individuals made their contributions to one of British
Little seemed to have changed. history’s most exciting periods; one whose conflicts were to
If Charles II’s absolutism was hard to bear, that of his younger do so much to shape the modern age.
brother, James II, was utterly impossible—especially because it was
coupled with his Roman Catholicism—now considered un-English
and completely taboo. When James was toppled from the throne
in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his successor, William III, was
chosen both for his readiness to reign constitutionally alongside
Parliament and for his Protestant beliefs.
However, for most of the people most of the time, such exalted
issues barely impinged: they worked the land, and carried out their
129
1485–1688
APRIL 1502 Tudor coat of arms Tudor coin Dried tobacco was an
importamt trade item
Henry VII’s intended successor,
Arthur, Prince of Wales, dies: NOVEMBER 1534 DECEMBER 1585 1611
Prince Henry will now succeed Act of Supremacy passed in Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, New “Authorized Version” of
him on the throne. Parliament. It makes Henry VIII, leads an expedition to the the Bible produced on King
as sovereign, supreme head Netherlands. A year later he James’ orders.
JUNE 1509 of the Church of England. resigns following its abject failure.
Henry marries Catherine 1618
of Aragon, thus sealing an SEPTEMBER 1533 JULY 1588 James tries to integrate the
alliance with Spain. Elizabeth is born, the daughter Philip II’s “Invincible Armada” Scottish Kirk with the Church
of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. is thwarted. of England, making it submit
to the authority of his bishops.
130
TU DOR S AN D STUARTS
131
1485–1688
B E F O R E
SEPARATE KINGDOMS
For centuries, the country
was a collection of smaller kingdoms
❮❮ 52–53. The Danes united it only
as part of a wider North Sea Empire
❮❮ 56–57. Norman England ❮❮ 68–69
was the property of a French-speaking
elite while, in their turn, Henry II and
his successors reigned over large
parts of France ❮❮ 72–73.
The loss of these possessions
❮❮ 122–23 meant retreat and
retrenchment on the part of the
English kings, who now saw
England as central to their power.
DYNASTIC UNCERTAINTY
While the English identity was
coalescing, the state was crumbling.
A period of dynastic uncertainty,
which began with the accession
of Henry IV ❮❮ 114–15, spiraled into
all-out conflict with the Wars
of the Roses ❮❮ 124–25. Henry
Tudor finally emerged victorious
from this mêlée, and the Age of
the Tudors began.
15TH-CENTURY SWORD
H
enry VII fought ferociously to His revolt was easily put down, and the Order of the Garter (buying
win the throne in 1485. He had the King felt magnanimous enough a powerful sense of obligation at
to fight just as hard to keep it in to pardon his would-be-usurper. negligible cost). His nobles soon grew
the face of a continuing Yorkist threat. No such clemency was shown to accustomed to the idea that they
The early years of his reign were Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be would lose their lands through Acts of
interrupted by rebellions, beginning Prince Richard, younger of the two Attainder if they disobeyed their King
at Easter 1486. Viscount Lovell and “Princes in the Tower” (see p.123), in or failed in promises to him—and,
the Stafford Brothers, Humphrey and 1490. He was recruited in a rebellious conversely, that their good service
Thomas, hoped to restore the House Ireland in 1491, attacked England itself would be rewarded.
of York—and with it their own in 1495, and persuaded King James IV Such political firefighting apart, Henry
fortunes. But their intended coup of Scotland to invade the following set about strengthening his position by
collapsed in disarray. year. Warbeck was apprehended when constructing institutions of state around
he landed in Cornwall in 1497, taken himself. He reinforced his own power
A parade of pretenders back to London, tried, and executed. (and undercut the aristocracy) by
Lambert Simnel was next to try his creating a special Court of Star The first Tudor king
luck, in 1487, although some were Taking hold Chamber powerful enough to tackle Seen here holding up a red rose, the emblem of his
doubtful about his claims to be the Earl Henry VII cemented his own hold by those great lords who would intimidate family, Henry VII won power by force. He kept it by the
of Warwick, rightful claimant to the confiscating Yorkist lands. At the same any lesser court. He drew on local use of threats and bribes. His Tudor successors were
Crown through the Plantagenet line. time, he wooed loyal aristocrats with gentry, rather than the great baronial never to forget this example.
132
T H E E A R LY T U D O R S
£1.25 MILLION
The personal fortune accumulated by
succession issue. Given Edward’s illness,
it was clear that he was going to die
young. This would open the way for his
Henry VII while on the throne. Estimated staunchly Catholic elder half-sister
to be the equivalent of more than £650 Mary to take throne. Edward himself
million ($1 billion) in 21st-century terms. supported an attempt to thwart her
by drawing up of “Device of the
under Henry VII. Even so, fears of the Succession”, allowing the Protestant
threat potentially posed by the “White Lady Jane Grey to succeed him when
Rose Party” (members of the York he died in 1553, aged just 15. Her brief AF TER
family) lingered throughout his reign installation underlined the extent to
and that of his successor. which the legitimacy of the Tudor line
continued to be questioned, and the The early Tudors built a strong state
Dynasty in doubt importance of religious allegiance. around the institution of the monarchy.
The Nonsuch Palace Henry VIII’s reign was dominated Lady Jane Grey, however, lacked wide The result was a period of unprecedented
Henry VIII’s spectacular Surrey palace got its name by his need to produce a male heir support, and was quickly deposed with stability and (mostly) calm.
because there was “none such” like it for its splendor. (see pp.134–35). The Tudor monarchy the help of conservative supporters
This 1582 print by George Hoefnagel shows a luxurious was severely weakened by the accession who wanted to see the late King’s INCREASING MODERNIZATION
residence that was a proclamation of royal power. of his only son, Edward VI—a sickly daughter crowned. Mary lost no time The economy thrived during this period of
The Tudor monarchs were determined never to boy of nine when he ascended the in having her rival executed. peace. However, modernization took its toll as
be intimidated by their barons in the way their throne in 1547. Sensing vulnerability, many in the rural peasantry were dispossessed
medieval predecessors had often been. neighboring rulers were not slow Tudor queen and thousands flocked to increasingly unruly
Cheering crowds greeted Mary I’s cities 142–43 ❯❯.
coronation, showing that there was
still a Catholic population in England RELIGIOUS REFORMS
at the time. Leading courtiers had their Orthodox though his theological thinking was,
reservations. Mary’s marriage to the Henry VIII was to take the country down his
future Philip II of Spain in 1554 own idiosyncratic road during the Reformation
was displeasing even to Catholics. of the Church 136–37 ❯❯. A rising force for
Protestants were enraged, and a Protestantism under Elizabeth I 140–41 ❯❯,
popular uprising known as Wyatt’s England came increasingly into conflict
Rebellion, which may have been partly with the 16th-century’s Catholic
caused by the desire to prevent the superpower, Spain 148–49 ❯❯.
marriage, rocked the throne. However,
slowly but surely Mary tightened her
hold. She showed characteristic
Tudor toughness with her ruthless
centralization of power—and her
executions of Protestant martyrs.
133
1485–1688
Henry VIII
“ One of the goodliest
men… most amiable,
courteous and
benign in gesture
unto all persons.”
CHARLES BLOUNT, BARON MOUNTJOY, ON HIS KING, HENRY VIII
H
enry VIII is remembered as a safeguard the alliance
grotesque: a bully, a wife-killer he had with Spain. It
even; a vainglorious tyrant was his commitment to
prepared to change his subjects’ religion the Holy League with
so that he could have his own way. The Spain that led to
caricature has endured because it is not Henry VIII’s attack on
entirely false—although it fails to do France in 1513, and
justice to the complexity of a great king. which in turn sparked a
Henry was not always the bloated, Scottish invasion under
raddled old man he became. He was the “Auld Alliance” (see
athletic, artistic, and cultivated in his pp.138–39). The Scots
youth. But he always had an oversized force was, however,
ego, a ruthless streak, and a low cunning. comprehensively
Henry’s marriage to Catherine of defeated at the Battle
Aragon, contracted just before his of Flodden.
coronation in 1509, had been a match
made not in heaven, but in the political Tough Thomases
calculations of his father. The bride Despite his absolutist
had been the wife of Henry’s brother zeal, Henry’s instinct
Arthur, and when the Prince of was always to
Wales died, Henry VII wanted the delegate—to a series
matrimonial bond renewed to of strong-minded
134
HENRY VIII
TIMELINE
■ June 28, 1491 Prince Henry, the second son of
King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, is born.
■ April 1502 Arthur, Prince of Wales, dies, leaving
Prince Henry first in line for the English throne.
■ June 11, 1509 Henry marries Catherine of
Aragon to seal the alliance his father has formed
with Spain. He is crowned alongside her at
Westminster Abbey on June 24.
■ 1513 Henry invades France in support of his
Spanish ally. Wins the Battle of the Spurs
Cloth of Gold (August 16); weeks later on September 9 his
The meeting place of army decisively defeats the Scots at Flodden.
Henry VIII and King
■ June 1520 Henry travels to northern France to
Francis I in 1520 became
hold talks with that country’s king, Francis I. The
known as the Field of the
Field of the Cloth of Gold becomes the scene
Cloth of Gold, due to the for a competition in regal splendor.
magnificence of the tents
■ October 1521 Pope Leo X awards Henry VIII
and pavilions erected.
the title of Fidei Defensor (“Defender of the
Faith”) for his writings against Martin Luther’s
Jane Seymour Anne of Cleves Catherine Howard Catherine Parr ■ February 15, 1542 Catherine Howard is
Perhaps Henry’s favorite wife, Jane Henry’s fourth wife failed to live up to Henry’s mistress before her marriage, A match for Henry in the marriage stakes, executed. The King marries Catherine Parr the
was able to give Henry the son he the portrait her prospective husband Catherine was transparently repelled by queen number six had already been following year.
craved, in October 1537. But the had commissioned from Hans Holbein her husband—now old and obese. It is married twice and was a widow when she ■ January 15, 1547 Henry VIII dies, aged 55.
future Edward VI was sickly, and Jane the Younger. The marriage was never unclear how far the adultery for which caught Henry’s eye. She outlived the King
herself died shortly after his christening. consummated, and was soon annulled. she was executed went beyond flirtation. and went on to marry a fourth time.
135
1485–1688
B E F O R E
EARLY CHRISTIANITY
Centuries before the Reformation, communities
of monks aimed to live the ideal Christian life
in Ireland and Iona ❮❮ 38–39. Monasteries
played a “civilizing” role in newly Christianized
England ❮❮ 44–45. As the Lollards were to
find, however, religious idealism could all too
easily be seen as a threat by the existing
authorities ❮❮ 108–09.
DEFYING ROME
News reached Britain of the German priest,
Martin Luther. He had formulated his objections
to the Church’s corruptions in the 95 Theses in
Wittenberg in 1517. With its emphasis on the
individual conscience, Protestantism caught
the imagination of a new, educated class of
merchants and tradesmen which had emerged
in northern Europe’s cities.
Religious Upheaval
The Reformation changed Britain profoundly, both religiously and culturally. Much was at stake
politically, but strong theological principles meant that hundreds were prepared to go to the scaffold as
willing martyrs. By the end of the period, the power of the Catholic Church in England was destroyed.
M
artin Luther’s defiant words, interpreted as attacking the secular emperor. Other rulers reflected that
“Here I stand, I can do no hierarchy with the emperor at the top. any change to the status quo could
other” had reverberated around In its extreme forms, Protestantism be dangerous and that the individual
Europe since his speech of 1521. A even had an edge of democracy about conscience was likely to prove a
religious revolution that came to be it. Educated, affluent, and intellectually wayward subject.
known as the Reformation swept confident, urban tradespeople and The kings of France and Spain were
through Germany and the Netherlands. professionals were attracted by a chief among the upholders of the
A diatribe against Church corruption, theology of spiritual self-reliance. old orthodoxy, but Henry VIII of
Luther’s message also held the promise Some German princes, weary of England was an important voice as
of a new Christianity in which believers interference from higher up the well. His writings in support of the
took responsibility for their own soul. imperial hierarchy, clutched at a creed Church had prompted Pope Leo X to Thomas Cromwell
There were clear political implications. which endorsed not just their right but award him the title of Fidei Defensor Henry VIII’s “enforcer” not only drove through the
Protestantism, because of its attack on their duty to make their own decisions (“Defender of the Faith”) in 1521. Dissolution of the Monasteries, but he also made the
the Church hierarchy, could also be free of interference from Pope or Thanks to both his own and his father’s program a lucrative source of income for the Crown.
136
R E L I G I O U S U P H E AVA L
137
1485–1688
Scottish Troubles
Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary died a martyr’s death at Fotheringay Castle,
Northamptonshire. Her executioner begged, and
received, her forgiveness, it is said.
Intensifying power struggles around the Scottish throne affected not just that nation, KINGS OF SCOTLAND (1371–1603)
but its neighbor to the south, holding over successive English monarchs the threat THE HOUSE OF STUART
of instability and worse. The dangers were vividly dramatized in the tragic life of The Stewart family were so called as
Mary, Queen of Scots, who was deemed too sympathetic a figure to be allowed to live. they had held the hereditary High
Stewardship of Scotland since the
13th century. Robert Stewart (born
T
he Auld Alliance with France had James’ successor, James V, was only 30 (subsequently her private secretary) 1316) served David II so well that,
been central to Scottish diplomatic when he died—after a further defeat by David Rizzio. For all the scurrilous on the King’s sudden death in 1371,
policy since the 13th century, and Henry VIII at Solway Moss in 1542. His gossip, theirs seems not to have been an he was anointed his successor as
central to the Auld Alliance had been daughter, Mary I, was just six days old. adulterous affair, but Mary clearly felt Robert II, becoming the founder of the
enmity with England. Times were closer to Rizzio than to her rough-and- Stewart (later Stuart) line of Scottish
changing though. In 1502, James IV Mary, Queen of Scots ready husband or her Scottish lords. kings. Their claim on the English throne
signed a Treaty of Perpetual Peace with While James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, When Rizzio was murdered right in resulted from James IV’s marriage to
Henry VII’s England. James married governed Scotland as regent, Mary was front of her, at Holyrood Palace in Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII
Henry’s daughter, Margaret Tudor, brought up in France. Growing up to 1566, she blamed Darnley. of England. Their son, James V,
the following year. The peace was not personify the Auld Alliance, in 1558, she In her grief and rage, she then appears followed his father as Scottish king.
quite perpetual: it broke down in 1513 married the French Dauphin and future to have plotted Darnley’s assassination His daughter, Mary, thus had a claim, as
when Henry VIII invaded France. Francis II of France. with another the granddaughter of Margaret,
The loyalties of the Auld Alliance Within a couple noble, James to the English throne,
reasserting themselves, James led of years, however, Hepburn, Earl especially if Elizabeth I was
an invading army south. she was widowed. of Bothwell. illegitimate, as her father,
On September 9, Thomas Howard, Mary returned He is Henry VIII, had claimed.
Earl of Surrey, met them with an home to Scotland believed
English force at Flodden Field, in in the midst of to have ENGRAVING OF ROBERT II
Northumberland. His victory was a its Reformation, murdered
catastrophe for Scotland. In just a few though she herself Darnley on her
hours up to 17,000 Scots were killed. was Catholic. Her behalf. Having
They included the flower of the nation’s marriage in 1565 established a hold AF TER
nobility—and their King. to the Catholic over her, however,
Henry Stuart, Lord Bothwell was able to
Darnley, sent out compel the Queen to After all the tumult, the conflicts were
B E F O R E an unmistakeable marry him before a resolved when Elizabeth I died childless
signal to Scotland’s The Osprey fresh revolt by the and the succession passed smoothly to
Protestant nobility, Beautifully embroidered with gold, silver, and silk in Scottish lords saw Mary’s son. James VI of Scotland reigned
A diplomatic force since the 13th century, provoking a tent stitch, this design was created by Mary, Queen her deposed and simultaneously as James I of England.
Scotland’s Auld Alliance with France had rebellion that of Scots, Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, and imprisoned in Loch
been founded in the old emnity both Darnley had other members of Mary’s household. Leven Castle, Fife. UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
nations had for their neighbor, England. Although the Union of the Crowns 158–59 ❯❯
ENGLISH WARS
Scotland fought England in numerous battles
“ Look to your consciences and brought harmony, in practice, Scots remained
resolute against English domination, as
Charles I found when he tried to impose an
over the centuries, including Stirling Bridge in
1297 and Otterburn in 1388, but it was the remember… the theatre of the Anglican hierarchy on the Scottish Kirk
(Church) 166–67 ❯❯. Resistance to full political
victory of Robert Bruce at the Battle of union with England (from 1707) strengthened the
Bannockburn in 1314 that had won Scotland her
independence from England ❮❮ 94–95.
world is wider than…England.” unsuccessful Jacobite Rebellions 202–03 ❯❯.
138
1485–1688
Elizabeth I
“ I will be as good unto you as ever
a queen was unto her people.”
ELIZABETH I ON THE EVE OF HER CORONATION, 1559
E
lizabeth’s birth in 1533 did not give herself as monarch and the state of the
rise to widespread rejoicing. In monarchy itself. Both ideals were at the
Catholic eyes she was the bastard heart of the Tudor state and she worked
product of an unsanctioned and sinful tirelessly to keep them alive in her
marriage between Henry VIII and subjects’ hearts and minds.
Anne Boleyn (see pp.134–35). After Royal progresses became a feature of
her mother’s execution, Henry himself her reign. Staying at the homes of her
had Elizabeth declared illegitimate; a nobles (at their vast expense), she
decision that was reversed in 1544. The would spend several weeks each
reign of her Catholic half-sister, Mary, summer touring the regions,
was a dangerous time for the Protestant having herself carried
Elizabeth. She was briefly imprisoned through the streets of
in the Tower of London in 1554 for a the major towns
supposed plot against the Queen. When so that her
Mary died without an heir, however, subjects
Elizabeth was crowned.
Queen Elizabeth I
George Gower’s Armada
Portrait, 1588, shows
Elizabeth with a globe,
suggesting naval power.
A series of portraits
helped promote the cult
of the Virgin Queen.
140
ELIZ AB ETH I
141
1485–1688
English Society
B E F O R E
A SHORTAGE OF LABOR
The Black Death left a shortage of serf labor
❮❮ 102–03. Growing discontent with the feudal The Tudor period was a time of far-reaching change for England and its people. Trade and agriculture
system was an important factor in precipitating flourished, and the country prospered, but at a cost. Thousands were cast adrift; many of these went
the Peasant’s Revolt ❮❮ 104–05. Although it
failed, the rebellion served notice that popular hungry or turned to crime. The rapidly expanding cities were places of opportunity, not just for those
attitudes were changing. who could come by honest work, but also for a growing underworld.
G
ood housekeeping was the by law to make wills, he was in Suffolk were wealthy centers,
overriding goal of Henry VII’s able to use Acts of Attainder exporting to the manufacturers
domestic policy (although it also both as a way of boosting of Flanders and Renaissance
led to his own enrichment). The King wealth and of keeping the Florence. Some manufacturing
set about reforming the Exchequer to nobility in line. These Acts took place in England too, much
make it more efficient. A Privy Chamber allowed the King to confiscate of it in Yorkshire. It was in order
was established to manage the costs of the lands of those he accused of to protect this trade by sea, that
the royal court. Named for Henry’s own treason (once he had stated his Henry VII started building a Royal
private bedchamber, in which these belief in their wrongdoing, their Navy, although this was always to
officials attended the King, reported to conviction was merely a formality). remain small by the standards of
him, and received his orders, the Privy Under Henry VIII, Lord Chancellor his son’s reign. Henry VII was more
Chamber had overall charge of the costs Thomas Wolsey drove through a interested in encouraging merchants
and expenditures of the monarchy. tough taxation policy, which raised to build big ships, which he could then
vast revenues for the Crown. It was commandeer when he needed them.
Taxing policies graduated according to income, Henry VIII’s religious Reformation
Taxation in the country took two forms: (see pp.136–37) was not only a
SERFS WORKING THE LAND
A fete at Bermondsey While every village experienced the belts. Vice was rife: pimps and
As feudal ties weakened, fetes like this one painted by comings and goings of groups of prostitutes figure prominently in the AF TER
George Hoefnagal in c.1569 helped foster social cohesion. vagabonds, the period saw a steady popular humor of the time, including
They provided a chance to let off steam—and for local transfer of population to the towns. that of Shakespeare’s plays, as do
magnates to demonstrate their largesse. Urban centers were growing confidence-tricksters or “coney- The economic changes of the Tudor Age
quickly now, the push catchers.” A coney was a had a lasting influence. Industry, trade,
independent yeoman-farmer and the factor of landlessness rabbit—a meek and and urbanization increased over the
tenant farmer who paid his landlord augmented by the innocent person: there following centuries.
rent in money, rather than in free labor. pull of growing was no shortage of
Laborers were increasingly working for prosperity through sharp operators eager TRADE WARS
payment in cash, speeding the overall trade. People felt to profit from such Reliance on trade led the country into war
transition to a cash economy. that there were vulnerable people. in the 17th century 178–79 ❯❯, although this
opportunities in The authorities, on did not stop the drive toward trade and
On the move the cities; chances the face of it, had enterprise in the period that followed.
Enclosure meant that large numbers to earn money draconian powers to
of families were evicted from their working for a crack down on crime: EXPLORING THE COLONIES
land. This left them without income, flourishing new the punishments at their Colonial expansion opened up new sources
sustenance, or home and uprooted middle class of disposal ranged of raw materials while at the same time
from the places and communities they merchants and Tudor coin from placing in creating market opportunities 162–63 ❯❯.
knew. The growing numbers of the skilled craftsmen. England had been gradually moving toward a cash the stocks through New financial institutions and mechanisms
homeless and landless roaming the economy since the reign of Henry VII. Here, his son flogging, branding, made it easier to do business 210–11 ❯❯.
country also represented a problem for Elizabethan Henry VIII sits enthroned on a gold half-sovereign and mutilation
society as a whole, which had to cope crime coin dated around 1545. to hanging. URBAN CRIME AND UNREST
with the resultant issues of public A colorful However, woefully Crime and disorder became common
nuisance, begging, and petty crime. underworld was well established by inadequate law enforcement meant 222–23 ❯❯ as urbanization increased.
Successive Poor Laws from 1536 Elizabeth I’s time, and to some extent that they were for the most part The agricultural revolution changed country
introduced a carrot-and-stick approach, was showcased by the drama of the fighting a losing battle. Local life 230–31 ❯❯, while clearing the way for the
with, on the one hand, food or cash day. Footpads—what we might now call “watches”, set up by each parish, had Industrial Revolution 232–33 ❯❯. The belief
relief for the hungry, and job creation muggers—lay in wait along the main poor or little organizational structure, of many people that they were missing out
through public works. On the other, highways and cutpurses stalked the and were staffed by men who could get on Britain’s prosperity—and its democracy—
however, there were severe city streets. The equivalent of modern no other work. With no training, and provoked widespread unrest in the early
punishments for vagabondage, pickpockets, they used sharp knives to generally no appetite for the job, the decades of the 19th century 264–65 ❯❯.
including public flogging and the cut the leather thongs which people constables were one of Elizabethan
piercing of the ear as a mark of shame. used to hang their purses from their society’s biggest jokes.
143
1485–1688
■ COINS
■ POSY RING
Tudor Life
The time of the Tudors marked a golden age not just of literature but of ornamental
art and craftwork. For an elite, at least, life was now affording little luxuries—and
leisure time, whether for private hobbies or social fun.
■ Coins from the reign of Henry VIII found aboard the passed limiting their width to 6in (15cm). ■ Bone dice
wreck of his flagship, the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545. dating to the early 1500s. These are weighted with drops
■ Commemorative coin minted to mark Queen Elizabeth’s of mercury for fraudulent gambling use and some are
recovery from smallpox in 1562—represented here as the incorrectly numbered for the same purpose. ■ Tennis ball
bite of a poisonous snake. ■ Gimmel ring with interlocked of the Tudor period made of sewn leather and filled with
hands from the 15th century and given as a token of love hair. At this time, tennis was played in an enclosed court.
and fidelity. Typically, a couple would each wear matching ■ Gaming purse made of leather and silk that would have
rings. ■ Posy ring made of gold with the inscription “I like been worn hung from the owner’s belt by leather thongs.
my choice.” It was designed as a gift for a sweetheart or ■ Embroidered chasuble—the colourful outer vestment
spouse. ■ Pewter badge shaped as a rose, c.1500. These worn by an officiating clergyman—embroidered with the
were worn by people who received charity from Henry VII. Tudor rose and flowers c.1555. ■ Glass-and-silver tankard
■ Armada jewel c.1585–90 with a miniature of Elizabeth I from 1546, used by Sir William Lord Parr of Horton, one of
by Nicholas Hilliard on the inner lid and the Tudor rose on Henry VIII’s courtiers. ■ Pendant enameled reliquary
the outer lid. This portrait was made to commemorate the cross of the 16th century. ■ Gloves made of leather with
English victory over the Spanish Armada and was mounted in embroidered gauntlets from the 17th century. ■ Shoe
a gold locket. ■ Watch set in emerald, c.1610. At this time, horn made of cow-horn and decorated with a fashionably
watches were prestige items and their dials did not register dressed male figure of the Tudor period. ■ Celebration
minutes or seconds. ■ Leather shoe in a style typical of the couplets written in honor of Henry VIII in 1516. A castle
early Tudor period. More elegant and elaborate footwear is surrounded by sea, while the red dragon suggests the
would have been worn at court. The fashion for wide shoes Tudors’ Welsh roots and the white greyhound of Richmond
became so pronounced that, under Henry VIII, a statute was represents Henry VII’s father, Edmund Tudor. ■ WATCH
144
TUDOR LIFE
■ EMBROIDERED CHASUBLE
■ LEATHER SHOE
■ GLOVES
■ BONE DICE
■ GLASS-AND-SILVER TANKARD
■ TENNIS BALL
■ GAMING
PURSE ■ RELIQUARY ■ SHOE HORN ■ CELEBRATION COUPLETS
145
1485–1688
T
Merchant vessels were routinely armed so as to double he 15th century had introduced vessels of an enemy state. The privateer
as fighting ships. The aggression of English privateers in the Age of Discovery. European and his investors kept the profits they
the 16th century did much to provoke war with Spain. seafarers set out to explore the made from any ships or cargoes they
wider world. First, under the patronage could capture, allowing a cash-strapped
of Prince Henry the Navigator, in the monarchy to both devolve the costs of
B E F O R E 1420s Portugal’s seafarers started fighting a war and keep offensive
charting the Atlantic, venturing ever actions at a diplomatic distance.
further south down the coast of Africa.
Britain had been an island since the last In 1487, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Merchant adventurers
glaciation, and the maritime tradition had Cape of Good Hope. A decade later Privateering was a matter
historically been strong. The sea was both Vasco de Gama pushed on to India. for individualists. In 1563,
highway for trade and barrier to attack. Following on from Columbus’ first Plymouth’s John Hawkins,
famous voyage of 1492, Spanish whose father had preyed on
INVASION navigators opened up a New World French ships in the 1540s,
The barrier had in the Americas. Portugal created its took slaves from west
been broken: own American colony in Brazil. Africa to the Caribbean
by Romans in return for trade goods
❮❮ 22–23 A late start in a forerunner of the
and by Saxons Surprisingly, given their reliance on “triangular trade”
❮❮ 34–35. From overseas commerce, the countries (see pp.234–35).
the 9th century, of Britain played little part in this Another instinctive
Vikings had often exploration. Their maritime tradition adventurer to whom
raided Britain meant it could only be a matter of time, privateering offered a
❮❮ 46–47. The however, and Henry VII sponsored the ready-made role was
BATTLE OF SLUYS, 1340 Normans landed voyage of John Cabot to Newfoundland Martin Frobisher. In 1576
in 1066 in a huge he sailed to the Arctic in
force from across the Channel ❮❮ 68–69. But
since medieval times naval warfare essentially
meant land battles fought at sea. English
301 The number of African slaves
captured from a hijacked
Portuguese ship and subsequently sold
search of the fabled
Northwest Passage
to the Indies but
archers decided the outcome of the Battle of Sluys for profit in Santo Domingo, in the found only Baffin
in 1340, just as they had at Agincourt ❮❮ 118–19. Caribbean, by English privateer John Island. He
Hawkins on his first major voyage. returned with a
shipload of shiny,
yellow iron pyrites, learning the hard
in 1497. He also established a navy, but way that “all that glisters is not gold.”
his son, Henry VIII, is regarded as the State-sponsored piracy to inflict
Royal Navy’s founder, expanding a fleet economic damage on an enemy,
of five ships by building, buying, however, saw successful attacks
and capturing almost 100 ships on Spanish ships in the 1570s.
in his reign. These vessels were With a permit from Elizabeth I,
designed to protect existing Francis Drake sacked Nombre
seaborne trade. Soon, de Dios, Panama, in 1572; the As a base, Drake
however, the possibilities following year, venturing inland, founded Nova Albion,
were realized for promoting he ambushed a Spanish mule a short-lived English
aggressive policies abroad. train bringing 22 tons of colony on the Pacific
gold from the mines of coast of North America.
Privatizing war Peru. His circumnavigation Further colonization was
It was not Henry’s official of the globe (1577–80) made by Walter Raleigh
Royal Navy that would be was as much about at Roanoke, Virginia, in
the main motor of either enrichment as exploration. And as well 1584, but deprived of
exploration or war. Both were as numerous Spanish treasure ships, supplies in the Armada
advanced a great deal more by Drake captured the great galleon, crisis (see pp.150–51) it
“privateering”, in which the King Nuestra Señora de la Concepción. died out. The appetite to
granted a charter to a captain to attack was still strong,
carry out piratical actions against however, and in 1586
Francis Drake
England’s seafaring spirit was epitomized by
20,000 The number of gold
ducats offered by King
Philip II of Spain as reward for the life of
Drake and Frobisher
sacked Spain’s great
Colombian cities of Santo
Francis Drake. He was both patriotic servant the English privateer Francis Drake. The Domingo and Cartagena
and maverick adventurer, out for himself. King considered Drake a common pirate. de las Indias.
146
S A I L O R S A N D P R I V AT E E R S
AF TER
ENGLAND SURVIVES
The skill and daring of England’s sea captains
was to the fore in the decisive moment of the
Elizabethan Age. The Spanish Armada of 1588
threatened England’s independence; its defeat
opened the way to its preeminence as Europe’s
leading Protestant power 150–51 ❯❯.
COLONIAL QUESTIONS
The 17th century saw major colonial expansion
for the first time, in the Caribbean, with privateers
turning to settlement so to make economic gain
from their bases 162–63 ❯❯. Foreign trade
was of growing importance 178–79 ❯❯. In
the 18th century, England’s colonial reach was
gradually extended into India 212–13 ❯❯.
However, the country’s hold over its North
American colonies weakened 214–15 ❯❯.
E
AND PHILIP OF SPAIN
RELATIONS ngland’s place as Europe’s relationship with his
WITH SPAIN preeminent Protestant power rebellious Dutch
Henry VII worked hard to maintain good conferred prestige on the kingdom, subjects seemed to
diplomatic relations with Spain, marrying but it also brought the enmity of both be so warm.
his eldest son, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon, Catholic France and Spain. Fortunately, Spain had inherited
daughter of Spain’s king and queen—and then, the two great Catholic powers were the Netherlands
when that prince died, to his younger brother, dogged by a rivalry of their own, but through the ancestral
Henry ❮❮ 134–35. The 16th century had seen even so, their attitude toward England connections of the
Spain emerge as Europe’s major power, was hostile. One of Elizabeth I’s first then Spanish king,
enriched by its New World empire: it made sense acts on ascending the English throne Charles I, with the
to keep relations as cordial as they could be. was her refusal to accept Philip II of House of Burgundy.
As king, however, Henry VIII had broken with Spain as suitor for marriage. The death It had proved to be a
Rome ❮❮ 136–37. Inevitably, this had soured of Mary I, which had made Elizabeth valuable possession,
relations with Spain, which saw itself as the queen, had of course left the Spanish with its grain exports
custodian of Catholicism and its values. king a widower. and woollen-textiles
industry. However,
ATTEMPTS TO RESTORE RELATIONS Elizabeth’s rejection as elsewhere in
Rapprochement was made possible by Mary I’s Philip is unlikely to have taken it prosperous northern
restoration of the old religion. She even personally, of course, but the symbolism Europe, the people
married the future Philip II of Spain. He attempted was still clear to him. If Philip’s had been receptive to
to renew the alliance when she died, seeking the marriage to a second successive Luther’s Protestant message, and Massacre of the Dutch
hand of Elizabeth I, despite her Protestantism. English queen would have sealed the Reformation values very quickly took Drawing inspiration from a biblical event, when Herod
However, this offer was rejected by the continuation of good relations between hold. In 1566, there was an explosion massacred every newborn boy in Judea, Massacre of
young Queen ❮❮ 140–41. their countries, Elizabeth’s rejection of iconoclastic anger in the Netherlands. the Innocents, by Peter Brueghel the Elder, struck a
underlined the differences between Protestant rebels sacked churches, bitterly contemporary note, clearly commenting on
them. This was especially so when her smashing stained-glass windows and Spanish atrocities in the Netherlands in the 1560s.
148
T H E W A R W I T H S PA I N
Orkney
Islands
The defense of Cadiz KEY
Sacked by Drake in 1587, Cadiz later took on a s Route of the Armada
talismanic quality for English raiders. This painting,
e
Battle
d
The Defence of Cadiz Against the English, is by Site of wreck
ri
Francisco Zurbaran and dates to 1634.
H eb
SCOTLAND
breaking statues. When, the following North
year, the Spanish Duke of Alba arrived Firth Sea
with his army to restore order, the AT L A N T I C of Forth
population rose up in a full-scale revolt. OCEAN
The rebels were not to be Malin Head
intimidated, but they saw that
numbers and strength were not on
their side, so they naturally looked Donegal Bay
to Europe’s foremost Protestant
monarch for support. Elizabeth was
cautious, in fact, conscious of the risks IRELAND
of antagonizing Spain. In reality, she
had already done that by engaging
with the Dutch. By signing the Treaty
of Nonsuch on August 20, 1585, ENGLAND
offering them men, horses, and Bantry North
Bay Foreland
financial support, she had effectively
declared war, Philip believed.
Dover Dunkirk
Start Portsmouth Brighton
Leicester the loser Point Calais Gravelines
Weymouth
Elizabeth still hoped to steer a middle Plymouth Dartmouth
course. She quarreled with her favorite, Penzance nne l
E
h Ch a
s
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, gli
C
En
about how the situation should be N
handled. With considerable misgivings, A
F R
she backed his expedition to the
Netherlands in 1585, but was adamant
that it should not engage directly with 0 250km
COURTIER (1554–86) N
the Spanish. Leicester disobeyed her, 0 250 miles
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY and, worse, under his leadership the
English came off decidedly second best Spanish Armada route great victory that would humble the
“Thy necessity is yet greater than mine…” against the Spanish. He had to resign English ships harassed the Armada as it sailed up the enemy, but Philip changed strategy.
Sir Philip Sidney’s words as, fatally in 1587, when it became clear that his English Channel to pick up the Spanish invasion force in Rather than renew his all-out assault,
wounded, he passed his water-bottle to campaign was not succeeding. Flanders. A strong wind then destroyed the Spanish fleet. he was content to give continuing
a dying Spanish soldier, marked him out support to those Irish rebels whose war
as a model of a new and specifically Of battleships and beards much-celebrated high point of English of attrition was exhausting England’s
Protestant brand of knightly chivalry. Born The campaign had enraged Philip II. patriotic history (see pp.150–51). armies and finances. The euphoria of
in 1554, he grew up an accomplished He was smarting, too, from the 1588 was ebbing steadily away.
writer and poet, an elegant courtier, and continuing irritation of privateer A long slog
a valiant and noble soldier, embodying all attacks in the Americas (see pp.146–47). It was all anticlimactic for England
the greatness and the grace of Elizabeth’s Philip began building what was to from this point on. An attempt
England. He died at the be an “Invincible Armada”—a huge to counterstrike with an English AF TER
Siege of Zutphen in war fleet (see pp.150–51). This armada, in 1589, did not succeed.
1586, during the would enable him to invade and The fleet, commanded by Francis
Earl of Leicester’s conquer Elizabeth’s kingdom, and put Drake and carrying a land force led At the beginning of the 17th century,
failed expedition an end to his English problem once by Sir John Norris, was inadequately England’s Protestants, fearful that their
to the Spanish and for all. As the conflict heated up, equipped and unfocused in its aims. new king, James I, had inherited the Catholic
Netherlands. however, Francis Drake and his fellow Considerable casualties were sustained sympathies of his mother, Mary, Queen
privateers took the war to Spain itself: in both men and ships. (Walter of Scots, were quickly reassured by the
in 1587, they stole into the ports of Devereux, the Earl of Essex, took part determined realities of his reign.
Cadiz and La Coruña, and sacked against the Queen’s orders: though
them both. The episode was still a favorite, he was now living A PROTESTANT KING
memorialized by the gleeful on borrowed time.) The King, simultaneously reigning as James VI of
English as the “Singeing of the Sir Richard Grenville’s attack on Scotland and James I of England, brought a union
King of Spain’s Beard.” It was Spain’s Azores in 1591 fared little of the Crowns to the two nations 158–59 ❯❯.
an expression that nicely better, and Drake’s assaults on San Raised as a Scottish Protestant, the King cracked
caught both the boldness of Juan, Puerto Rico, were thwarted. down on Roman Catholics—especially after the
Drake’s attack and the So too was an attempted “Second Gunpowder Plot of 1605 160–61 ❯❯. He did,
humiliation it caused Spain. Singeing” in 1596: Essex, Lord Howard however, make overtures to Catholic Spain,
A furious Philip launched of Effingham, and Walter Raleigh by attempting to marry his eldest living son,
his Armada attack the arrived at Cadiz, but found the Spanish Charles, to Maria Anna, daughter of Philip III.
following year. On paper, it ready, their treasure ships scuttled for Charles eventually married Henrietta Maria of
represented an irresistible later recovery. A nominally successful France, a Catholic 166–67 ❯❯.
force. Its failure was a raid had brought no appreciable gains.
disaster for Spain and a The English were still looking for the
149
DECISIVE MOMENT August 8, 1588
P
hilip planned for his Invincible loomed out of the darkness, the
Armada to sail up the English Spanish cut their vessels free in panic.
Channel to Flanders, where it They escaped the fireships, but their
would pick up the Duke of Parma’s line lost coherence. The English ships,
invasion force and take it to England. led by Lord Howard of Effingham, then
The Armada, comprising 24 warships wove in and out of them at will.
and around 40 armed merchantmen,
along with many other smaller craft, Deadly return
was led by the Duke of Medina Sidonia. What defeated the Armada was the loss
An English fleet led by Francis Drake of initiative, not ships (just four sunk).
sailed from Plymouth to harass them as The fracas had been inconclusive, but
they sailed past, but had little impact. the longer it went on the further the
On August 6, the Armada reached its strong winds dragged the Spanish ships
intended anchorage off the coast at into the North Sea and toward the
Gravelines, near Dunkirk, in safety. point of no return. Given the shoals
and sandbanks along the Dutch coast,
Armada adrift they could not cut inshore to pick up
However, Parma’s force had been Parma’s army. By August 12, the
blockaded on shore by patriotic Dutch moment had passed, and the Armada
privateers, so the Armada was left was forced to head home in a perilous
stranded at anchor. As night fell on journey around the Scottish and Irish
August 8, it was at the mercy of coasts. Sixty ships and thousands of
England’s “fireships” (drifting ships lives were lost. A Spanish fleet never
deliberately set on fire). As these seriously threatened England again.
150
1485–1688
The English
Renaissance
Arts and philosophy flourished from the early 1500s
to the early 1600s. This was the era of Shakespeare and
Webster’s dramas, the development of the madrigal
and sonnet, far-reaching humanist thinking, and Holbein’s
striking portraits of the Tudor ruling classes.
H
ans Holbein’s portraits of Tudor This break, and Henry’s Dissolution of
nobility, including his iconic the Monasteries and destruction of
painting, The Ambassadors, and churches, effectively destroyed the
images of Henry VIII, have become the development of religious church
perfect symbols of this age. Holbein was painting in England. The aristocratic
German but lived in England after portraiture that dominated the English
1532, and by 1536 was Henry’s court Renaissance went on to become
painter, which placed him at the heart extremely important in British art.
of the English Renaissance. Holbein’s
lavish portraits are statements of Elizabethan glories
affluence and power designed to Elizabeth’s reign did much to keep the
impress. They reflect the self- country’s self-confidence riding high
confidence that drove Henry’s and underpin a flourishing period
aggressive foreign policy, at for the arts. One of the
a time when exploration leading portraitists of the
was starting to build day—who was working
an empire, which for the Queen by 1572
made the King break and went on to work
with Rome in 1531 for James I—was
and place himself Nicholas Hilliard. His
at the head of the particular talent was
English Church for exquisitely detailed
(see pp.134–35). and elegant miniatures.
He produced images of
Hilliard’s self-portrait
This miniature of Hilliard from 1577, aged 30, shows
him looking every inch the Elizabethan courtier. His
key figures of the time
such as Walter Raleigh, famed
explorer of the Americas and a
“For all knowledge and
use of line was considered to be one of his talents. favorite at Elizabeth’s court. Other
notable painters included George wonder… is an impression
Gower, leading portraitist and
B E F O R E Elizabeth’s “serjeant-painter”, and
William Segar, another portraitist and
of pleasure in itself.
Garter King-of-Arms under James I.
The English artistic Renaissance was less Elizabeth and James’s reigns were FRANCIS BACON, THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING 1605
cohesive in nature than the Italian one, also a golden age for English drama.
comprising a disparate mix of elements
from home and abroad. Southwark, on Shakespeare’s new plays were staged.
London’s south bank He also performed at court, which
ITALIAN FORERUNNERS across the river from was a great patron of the theater.
The Italian Renaissance influenced the English the City, became a Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
one, but started earlier, in the 1400s. center for rowdy were the pioneers of drama in creative
entertainment. It blank verse, new to England at this
EARLY ENGLISH CONTRIBUTIONS was home to the time (see pp.154–55). Another leading
Some aspects of the English Renaissance arts Globe and the playwright was Ben Jonson whose
also contained features from earlier English Rose theaters, plays included Every Man in his Humour
traditions. These included: Chaucer and the where William (1598), a “comedy of humors”, in
growing body of English vernacular literature which each character has a dominant
❮❮ 110–11; medieval mystery, miracle, and William Byrd trait, and Volpone (1607).
morality plays; and the Gothic style, seen in Pioneer of English vocal and
art such as the Wilton Diptych ❮❮ 114–15. keyboard music William Byrd Jacobean theater
(c.1542–1623) wrote almost James’s reign witnessed a rich seam of
500 pieces of music over the powerful Jacobean dramas in which
course of his career. extreme tragedy and satire were major
152
THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE
153
1485–1688
William Shakespeare
“ He was not of an age,
but for all time!”
BEN JONSON, IN HIS POEM TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED, THE AUTHOR MR
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: AND WHAT HE HATH LEFT US, 1623
W
illiam Shakespeare is regarded of classical references. Growing up, he
as Britain’s, and perhaps the may well have accompanied his father to
world’s, most important see the many traveling theater troupes
writer. While some may disagree that stopped off in Stratford. This early
with this, it is certain that this highly experience could have sparked off
influential poet and playwright had his later interest in theater. At 18, he
a gift for language that seems as probably married Anne Hathaway. He
remarkable now as it did in his day. had three children, one of whom died
Shakespeare’s work was much loved in childhood—some say that passages
by a wide range of people in his time, in Twelfth Night reflect this tragedy.
and it has continued to enthrall all
kinds of audiences since his death. The King’s man
After years about which very little
A start in Stratford is known, Shakespeare turned up in
The details of Shakespeare’s life and London in the 1590s as a well-established
works are patchy and much contested. actor-dramatist. Venus and Adonis (1593)
He was born into a provincial middle- was an early poetic success and the
class family in the town of Stratford- Henry VI trilogy and Richard III were
upon-Avon in Warwickshire. His father probably among his first plays. By the
was a glover, who served as Stratford’s early 1600s, Shakespeare and his plays
mayor, but also descended into serious were leading the King’s Men (named
debt. Shakespeare was the third of eight after their patron King James I) to glory
children. Three siblings died young as England’s greatest theater company.
and only one outlived him. In demand at court, with a home at
Shakespeare probably received a London’s Globe, the most famous
good classical education at the town’s contemporary theater, their dramas
grammar school—his work is full starred legendary actor Richard Burbage.
Shakespeare was now mixing with
Anne Hathaway’s cottage everyone from royalty to the era’s
The childhood home of Shakespeare’s probable leading dramatists.
wife, Anne Hathaway, is in the outskirts of Stratford. From the 1590s, Shakespeare
Her father was a well-to-do yeoman farmer and so produced a huge body of plays, as well
was able to provide this substantial house. as his beautiful sonnets. Born into the
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
culturally rich Elizabethan age, with and King Lear; the Greek and Roman
TIMELINE
influences including the ancient classics works, including Julius Caesar and
and traditional English folk and mystery Antony and Cleopatra; and the mature ■ April 26, 1564 Shakespeare is baptized
plays, Shakespeare made the most of his tragi-comedies at the close of his at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire,
sources. His settings ranged from the career, such as The Winter’s Tale as the first son of Mary Arden and John
ancient world of Anthony and Cleopatra and The Tempest. Shakespeare, glover and burgess.
to the contemporary Danish court of His work is loved for its dazzling wit, ■ 1570s Shakespeare most likely attends
tragic Hamlet. His characters, too, span poetry, clever turns of phrase, and Stratford’s grammar school, the King’s New
the farcically incompetent theatrical word-play. From coarse humor School, where he would have taken part
troupe in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and an evocative use of everyday in the classical rhetorical declamation (the art of
to the hot-headed Katharina in The contemporary English to exquisite using speech to persuade an audience), which
Taming of the Shrew. poetry, Shakespeare explored the spirit was part of a good education in his day. He
of his times and the human condition probably watches traveling theater shows with
Vibrant verses in a newly approachable way, using his father. John Shakespeare gets involved in
Shakespeare’s towering achievement language to conjure varied moods and dubious trade dealings and serious debt, and
drops down the social scale.
was his lyrical and powerful use of control complex plots full of mistaken
iambic pentameter—typically a line identities and misunderstandings. He ■ 1582 An 18-year-old Shakespeare gets
with ten syllables where five unstressed is admired for his probing psychological married—very probably to Anne Hathaway.
syllables alternate with five stressed studies (unusual at the time) of ■ 1583–85 Shakespeare and his wife have a
ones (in bold below). A common form complex characters, such as the daughter, Susanna (1583) and twins, Hamnet
in English verse, Shakespeare ambitious King, and Judith (1585).
used it very expressively in Macbeth. His work ■ 1590 It is thought he starts writing plays.
his sonnets: often contains a ■ c.1591–1595 Shakespeare writes the three
Shall I compare thee to a central character with parts of Henry VI and Richard III.
Summer’s day? a fatal flaw that causes
■ 1592 A pamphlet provides evidence
Thou art more lovely and their downfall, an idea
that Shakespeare is established as
more temperate: common to ancient
an actor-dramatist in London.
Rough winds do shake the classical philosophy
darling buds of May, and writing. Othello’s ■ June 1592–94 London’s theaters close
due to plague, causing a temporary break
And Summer’s lease hath all jealousy is just one
to Shakespeare’s career.
too short a date… example of this.
His extraordinary talent, Shakespeare and Southwark ■ 1595 Shakespeare has a share in the theater
however, was an Mysterious This stained-glass window in London’s Southwark company known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
unusually clever use to the end Cathedral depicts characters from Shakespeare’s plays. (founded in 1594). The company performs
of blank (unrhymed) plays by leading dramatists of the time, including
Many mysteries have Southwark was (and is) home to the Globe Theatre,
Ben Jonson, and gives most of Shakespeare’s
verse—specifically Shakespeare’s Othello attached themselves where many of Shakespeare’s plays were first performed.
plays their first outing.
non-rhyming iambic A title page from Shakespeare’s to Shakespeare’s life.
pentameter—in Othello, which was probably first His early years may Shakespeare’s final years are equally ■ 1596 John Shakespeare is granted a coat of
his plays. Blank performed in 1604. The story was have seen him fleeing mysterious. It is widely believed that arms, probably
verse was a taken from one by 16th-century to London to escape a by 1610, he was embarking on a testifying to his
son’s success
new craze in Italian writer, Cinzio. deer-poaching charge. peaceful retirement in one of the several
by this time.
16th-century He may have been properties in Stratford-upon-Avon that
England, which a secret lover to the “Dark Lady” of he owned. There is little evidence to ■ 1597 Shakespeare
Shakespeare and his sonnets, whose identity has also support this, although Shakespeare did buys an impressive
Marlowe (see been hotly debated. Many have even die in Stratford. The cause of his death house in Stratford
BOX) adapted for suggested that he did not actually is uncertain. One popular theory is that called New Place.
plays, often using pen his plays and this has become a it was from a fever brought on by a ■ 1599 Cuthbert
it in unorthodox, contentious issue. Others believe that night’s carousing with friends including Burbage builds
subtle ways. he collaborated with the likes of Ben artistic rival, Ben Jonson, probably the the Globe Theatre
Shakespeare used Jonson, Sir Francis Bacon, Edward de next most successful playwright of the at Bankside,
blank verse to express Vere, and Sir Walter Raleigh. age after Shakespeare. Southwark; most
all kinds of emotions and of Shakespeare’s
plays from this
information among the P O E T A N D P L AY W R I G H T ( 1 5 6 4 – 9 3 ) point onward
histories, comedies, and THE GLOBE THEATRE
premiere here.
tragedies into which his CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
plays are grouped. His ■ 1603 Elizabeth I dies and James I ascends
plays include: histories Shakespeare’s contemporary, Christopher to the throne. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men
become known as the King’s Men, under
such as Henry V and Richard Marlowe, was a poet, playwright, and
the direct patronage of the King.
III; comedies such as A probable government spy, whose plays
Midsummer Night’s Dream and include Tamburlaine the Great (1590) ■ 1609–11 Writes his more mature plays: The
As You Like It, and more complex and Doctor Faustus (c.1590). He was Winter’s Tale, Cymbeline, and The Tempest.
comedies such as All’s Well that Ends associated with the Admiral’s Men theater ■ 1613 The Globe burns down. Shakespeare buys
Well and Measure for Measure; the great company. Like Shakespeare, Marlowe was a property in Blackfriars, home of the Blackfriars
tragic plays, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, a master of blank verse and populated his Theatre, where the King’s Men perform during
plays with human characters. This led many winters as the Globe is roofless.
Memorial to Shakespeare to believe that he was the real author of ■ 1614 A rebuilt Globe reopens for business.
A statue of Shakespeare, designed by Shakespeare’s plays. Most scholars disagree ■ April 23, 1616 Dies at Stratford-upon-Avon,
William Kent, stands in Westminster with these theories but admit that parts of possibly as a result of a heavy drinking session,
Abbey. It shows the playwright leaning Shakespeare’s plays might have been written and is buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.
on a pile of books and pointing to a in collaboration with others.
scroll with lines from The Tempest.
155
1485–1688
I
reland’s Hiberno-Norman families his Chief Minister Thomas Cromwell
resented the Tudor monarchs’ tried to Anglicize the authority of the
attempts to regularize land-use and Gaelic chiefs through the policy of
taxation. The Gaelic chieftains became “Surrender and Regrant.” Each chief
emboldened and Ireland “beyond the would surrender his authority and be
Pale” (the areas outside the well- regranted an English aristocratic title
Siege of Kinsale settled and defended area around in its place. Up to a point, it worked.
Franz Hogenburg’s engraving of 1602 shows Spanish Dublin) grew increasingly restive and Conn O’Neill, in Ulster, accepted the
and Irish rebel forces defending the County Cork port wayward. From 1541, Henry VIII and title of Earl of Tyrone, for instance.
in the concluding action of the Nine Years’ War. But somehow, the “regrant”
part seemed more appealing
than the “surrender.”
B E F O R E
Plantation of Munster
In 1569, the Desmond
Ireland had been “English” since the Rebellions flared up in Cork.
12th century, in that the Norman lords Quelled in 1573, they erupted
of England also ruled Ireland. England’s again six years later. They
emergence as one of medieval Europe’s were suppressed and the Sir Arthur Chichester
preeminent powers had left Ireland southwest pacified by the A veteran of the Nine Years’ War, Chichester had little
the subordinate. Plantation of Munster. New sympathy with the Irish. As Lord Deputy from 1605 to
English settlers were planted 1616, he oversaw the plantation policy.
ARISTOCRATIC RIVALRIES
England’s hold weakened as its aristocratic
rivalries spiraled into war ❮❮ 122–23. The
problem to begin with was not with the Gaelic
Irish but with the Hiberno-Normans and “Old Cahir castle
English.” They had arrived in the first colonizing Situated on an island in the River Suir,
wave ❮❮ 80–81 but had “gone native” in the this medieval stronghold was captured
centuries since, adopting Gaelic dress, language, by the Earl of Essex in 1599.
and customs. Like the Gaelic Irish, moreover,
they were faithful to Catholicism, so the
English Reformation drove a further wedge
between the two countries ❮❮ 136–37.
C O N Q U E S T A N D P L A N TAT I O N
AF TER
T
he infant James became James VI Catholics constituted a still more
of Scotland in 1567, after his frightening enemy within. James’s
mother’s ousting. His father had mother had been Catholic, and some had
been murdered (see p.138). plotted to topple Elizabeth I in her favor.
For this reason, some English Catholics
Questions of control had high hopes for his reign—while
James’s tutors brought him up a Protestants had corresponding fears. As
learned man—and a committed King of England, he calmed the latter
Protestant. Yet he had absolutist by taking a hard line against Catholics.
The Sutherland portrait of James VI/I instincts. Casting envious glances There was a degree of desperation in
James’s kingships of Scotland and England southward at the hierarchical structure the Catholic response: early attempts
were separate. However, many saw him as of the Church of England, he tried to to topple James only strengthened his
the King of Great Britain—a title that he bring back bishops to introduce order Protestant position. The conspiratorial
would occasionally use himself. to an overly democratic Scottish Kirk. ferment intensified in its turn: hence
the plan to blow up the House of Lords
“What God hath conjoined let during the State Opening of Parliament,
on November 5, 1605.
The English Parliament was
158
The Unification of the Crowns
The Union of England and Scotland was given an allegorical spin when
Peter Paul Rubens made it the centerpiece of his ceiling painting
(1632–34) at the Banqueting House in Whitehall. It shows James’s
son Charles being brought to the throne by personifications of
England and Scotland.
DECISIVE MOMENT November 5, 1605
G
uy, or Guido, Fawkes is the most powers on the Continent were
notorious of a clique of Catholic skeptical. Spain disliked the idea of
conspirators who plotted to blow overturning the monarchical order, and
up Parliament and King James I during the Pope was worried that the plan
the State Opening of 1605. They meant would rebound on English Catholics.
to strike a blow against a state whose
laws had deprived them, they believed, Clumsy conspirators
of their just rights. Led by Robert Preliminary meetings between the
Catesby, a veteran of Essex’s Rebellion conspirators began in May 1604. Later
of 1601 against Queen Elizabeth I, they that year, they bought a cellar in a
included the Earl of Northumberland’s nearby property that ran underneath
cousin, Thomas Percy, and Francis the precincts of Parliament. They also
Tresham. Fawkes, a former soldier, rented rooms in a house just across the
provided the military experience. River Thames, so that they could carry
gunpowder across at night.
Catholic uprising They were discovered when an
Percy’s ties with Northumberland, a anonymous letter—from Tresham, it
Catholic sympathizer, were crucial. is suspected—warned Lord Monteagle,
Though there is no clear evidence that brother-in-law of Tresham, to stay at
the Earl was involved, the conspirators home. A search of Parliament by the
relied on him to rally support. For, shot authorities on the eve of the opening
through with wishful thinking, the plot found Fawkes in the midst of his
did not stop at the assassination of the preparations. The others were quickly
King: the attack was to spark a general caught. Two were killed resisting
uprising. The King’s young daughter, capture and the remainder were
Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed interrogated, perhaps tortured, and
as a Catholic queen. But the Catholic finally tried and condemned to death.
161
1485–1688
B E F O R E
T
Anglo-Saxon raiders established their own he Age of Discovery had been new century: exaggerated claims, wanted. Raleigh was beheaded
kingdoms ❮❮ 24–25. The Vikings came to under way for a couple of centuries disappointing results—and a grisly end. in 1618, as a goodwill gesture to
plunder but the Danes settled and farmed when James I came to the throne Raleigh came back from an expedition the Spanish king.
❮❮ 46–47. The Normans crossed the in 1603, but England had not been as to Guiana in 1595 with a
Channel from France, making England a successful as Portugal and Spain in desire to find the fabled A faltering start
colonial conquest of a sort ❮❮ 68–69. conquering new territories. Given South American By this time, James at
the daring shown by so many of its kingdom of El Dorado. least had a colony to
OVERSEAS CONQUESTS seafarers, it was perhaps surprising that Queen Elizabeth’s his name—quite
Norman lords occupied Ireland in the there was no overseas English empire. favorite was nothing literally: adventurer
12th century. The territories they took there Elizabethan adventurers had made like as popular with John Smith had
passed to the English kings as (arguably) the many attemps to establish colonies in her successor: named a
country’s first overseas colony ❮❮ 80–81. America. All had met with failure. Sir James suspected settlement
That such possessions could bring trouble was Francis Drake established a colony at Raleigh of plotting “Jamestown.”
already becoming clear. Ireland was the scene Nova Albion (believed to have been in against him and Arriving in the
for successive rebellions in the 16th century California) during his circumnavigation had the adventurer New World in
❮❮ 156–57. This apparently did nothing to imprisoned. But in 1607, and faced
diminish England’s appetite for conquests
overseas. Intrepid adventurers like Frances
Drake and Walter Raleigh proved more
60 The number of Jamestown settlers
who survived the “starving time”
of 1609–10, out of an original 500.
1616, he allowed
himself to be talked
round by Raleigh
with the challenge of
starting a community
from scratch, both he
successful at attacking others’ colonies than The island had to be abandoned for and released him, and his genteel
in establishing outposts of their own a time in the spring of 1610. tempted by the Pocahontas companions
❮❮ 146–47 in the 16th century. promise of untold Given an Anglicized identity as Rebecca on her marriage learned the hard
of the world. The Roanoke settlement treasures. to the Englishman John Rolfe, the Powhatan princess way just how
came to a mysterious—and presumably Raleigh, however, became a Christian and worked hard for peace. She many skills they
tragic—conclusion later on in the returned from even visited England, dying there in 1617 of smallpox. lacked. Writing
Penn’s treaty with the Indians 1580s. What happened to this “Lost a search for El home to his
The Quaker leader William Penn was granted what Colony” is not known. Dorado without much more to show financial backers in London, he had
became Pennsylvania by King Charles II in 1681, for a long and expensive expedition called on them to send him colonists of
but felt it his duty to reach a separate agreement Dreams and disillusions than the booty from a Spanish colony a different kind. “When you send again,”
with the Lenape who actually lived there. The fate of its founder, Sir Walter he had sacked. Since James had he entreated them, “rather send but
Raleigh, seemed somehow to set been trying to cultivate good 30 carpenters, husbandmen, gardiners,
the tone for exploration in the relations with Philip III, this fishermen, blacksmiths, diggers up
was the last thing he had of trees, roots, well provided… than
C O L O N I A L E X PA N S I O N
163
London and the River Thames, 1611
London in the early 17th century was a huge, bustling metropolis—one
of the world’s greatest cities. In this panorama by cartographer John
Speed, the dominance of the Thames, the city’s main commercial artery,
is clear. North of the Thames, on the top left of the view, in the City, is
old St. Paul’s Cathedral. To the right are the piers and arches of London
Bridge, then the river’s only crossing. In the foreground, on the south
bank of the river, Southwark Cathedral is the largest building.
1485–1688
J
ames I had believed in the divine he controlled—not the association of
KEY MOMENT
right of kings, but as a Scots autonomous local congregations the
Robert Filmer’s book Patriarcha outsider, threatened by Catholics, Puritans favored. In 1637, he tried to RIOT AT ST. GILES’
According to the political theorist, Robert Filmer, what he had been forced to compromise. His bring Scotland into line by enforcing
the father was in his family, the king was in his realm: successor, Charles I, felt more secure. the Anglican liturgy, and responded to Charles I’s attempts to bring the Kirk
God’s representative, to be given absolute obedience. This would be his undoing. As Prince resistance with the Bishops’ Wars of (Scottish Church) into line with Anglican
Charles, he had traveled to Madrid to 1639 and 1640. Charles won, but gave liturgy and institutional organization were
seek the marriage of the Infanta. When way on key demands and saddled deeply resented in Scotland. In 1637,
B E F O R E this unraveled, he made his addresses England with enormous debts. these feelings flared up into open revolt
to Spain’s rival Catholic power, France, in St. Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh’s High
and married Princess Henrietta Maria, Parliament returns Kirk, after market trader Jenny Geddes
England had always been a monarchy, Louis XIII’s sister. To approve taxes to raise new revenue, threw a footstool at James Hannay, the
but since medieval times the Crown had On becoming king in 1625, Charles he recalled Parliament. Angry at being minister reading out the Collect from the
ruled in cooperation with Parliament. showed his reluctance to reign sidelined for 11 years, it demanded Book of Common Prayer. Widespread
Inevitably, there were tensions. alongside Parliament. He dissolved it at reforms, so three weeks into the “Short rioting resulted, followed by thousands
the slightest provocation, from 1629 Parliament” Charles dissolved it. But, signing a defiant National Covenant in
DIFFICULT RELATIONSHIP dispensing with it altogether. Instead, needing money, he swallowed his pride Greyfriars Kirkyard in February 1638. In
England’s nobles reined in royal power in 1215 he introduced a streamlined (and less and recalled it again. It passed the 1643, the English Parliament was to join
when they compelled King John to sign Magna accountable) executive. A renewed and Triennial Act, meaning that Parliament with its Scots equivalent in signing a
Carta ❮❮ 86–87. But difficulties had continued, strengthened Court of Star Chamber had to be recalled every three years, Solemn League and Covenant, respecting
on and off, since the Reformation. Parliament (see pp.132–33) dealt with those who and that the King could not simply the autonomy of the Kirk.
looked askance at King James’s mother’s opposed his despotic ways. decide to do without it. In 1641, he had
Catholicism and his Scottish birth ❮❮ 158–59. His style set him against the Puritans. to agree to a law forbidding him from
Strict, “pure” Protestants, they rejected dissolving Parliament. His Court of Star
the authority of any hierarchy of Chamber was outlawed too.
bishops. They would be ruled spiritually In an atmosphere of growing rancour,
by their individual consciences and by Charles became convinced that leading
Commotion in the House of Commons scripture, and saw Charles’s Church as MPs had discreetly supported the Scots
Charles I bursts into the chamber with his guards, Catholic authoritarianism returned. The in the Second Bishops’ War. Outraged,
demanding the surrender of five wayward members. King’s pet clerics, such as William Laud in January 1642, he went with his
The King had violated all convention, and for nothing, and Robert Filmer, did not disagree. guards to Parliament to arrest key MPs.
since the men were gone. As Arguing for Anglicanism’s Catholic He found them gone—warned of his
Charles ruefully remarked: roots, they rejected the Protestantism arrival. But the King’s invasion of the
“All the birds have flown.” of Luther and Calvin, and preached chamber trampled all over the tradition
the divine right of kings. Laud was of royal respect for the rights of AF TER
anointed Archbishop of Canterbury in Parliament’s House of Commons.
1633. Charles shared their vision of an Trust broke down completely: King
English Church whose clear hierarchy and Parliament were at war. The disagreement between Charles I and
Parliament was too profound to be easily
smoothed over. It was too bitter to have
anything other than a tragic end.
CONTINUING STRUGGLE
In 1642, relations between Crown and
Parliament broke down entirely and the
nation was plunged into civil war 168–69 ❯❯.
After Charles I’s execution in 1649 170–71 ❯❯,
an attempt was made to govern England
without a monarchy 172–73 ❯❯. However,
the new Commonwealth collapsed, resulting in a
restored Crown in 1660 176–77 ❯❯. In 1688,
with the Glorious Revolution, it seemed that at
last a solution to the differences between
Crown and Parliament had been found with the
overthrow of James II and the installation of
William III as a constitutional monarch
188–89 ❯❯. But the Stuarts were not finished,
and tried repeatedly to reclaim the throne for
James’s successors 202–03 ❯❯.
Charles I
Anthony Van Dyck’s 1637 equestrian portrait of
Charles I shows the King as an armored knight,
the protector of his subjects. Less than a decade
later, however, the King was to drag his subjects
into a hugely destructive civil war.
1485–1688
B E F O R E
F
eeling his authority imploding, victory. They scattered the King’s gaining ground, but at Newbury, in
Charles I was forced to flee his enemies with ease only to lose their September 1643, their fortunes were
England’s medieval rulers had dominated own capital. He traveled into focus and fall to plundering. The reversed. Again, after a successful
their peers through their courage and the country to drum up support. Roundheads were able to regroup. charge, they dissipated their advantage
charisma. All that had changed by the Charles raised his standard at In the end, this early encounter and the Parliamentarians secured the
outbreak of the Civil War in 1642. Nottingham on August 22, 1642: was inconclusive. victory. Even so, neither side could
2,000 noble followers rallied to the The King continued toward London, really consider itself victorious and
CENTRALIZED POWER royal flag. Called Cavaliers, from the attracting new recruits as he went: a lengthy stalemate ensued.
The seething rivalries of late-medieval French chevalier, meaning “horseman” Essex was waiting for him, west of the
England’s great aristocratic houses eventually or “knight”, they expected to fight city at Turnham Green. His army, too, New Model Army
boiled over into the Wars of the Roses on horseback; far fewer infantry— had grown with the addition of local A significant voice in earlier political
❮❮ 122–23, but Henry VII’s accession brought traditionally drawn from the lower volunteer militias from across southern controversies, but marginalized
this conflict to an end. To prevent further classes—heeded the call. England—so many that Charles once the shooting started,
outbreaks of civil strife, he and his Tudor Expensively mounted and dressed, did not dare attack. The two Oliver Cromwell now
successors set about constructing a more the Cavaliers wore their hair long and armies spent several
centralized English state ❮❮ 132–33. Henry VIII flowing—in stark contrast with the months circling around Oliver Cromwell
also established royal control over the country’s severely cropped Roundheads recruited one another, The inexperienced Cromwell
religious life ❮❮ 136–37. The first Stuart ruler, by Lord Essex to oppose them. shrinking from proved an instinctive
James I, inherited sweeping royal powers. anything but the general and able military
Early encounters briefest of attacks. administrator. He
AN OVERBEARING MONARCH The Cavaliers had the advantage at Gradually, through masterminded the
Too rigid an imposition of order can, Edgehill, Warwickshire, on October 23, these skirmishes, Roundhead victory
paradoxically, promote disorder. The system is yet still contrived to throw away the the Royalists were in the Civil War.
liable to break down when there is no sense
168
T H E C I V I L WA R
AF TER
Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose.
Although he had his eye on the The immediate consequence of the
Matchlock musket bigger British picture, his allies, Civil War was a traumatized nation.
The Civil War saw the widespread use of clan chieftains, were pursuing The conflict killed a higher percentage
firearms for the first time on British soil. Lit by local rivalries, and their efforts of the population of the British Isles
a match or fuse, the matchlock was slow to fire, were fatally unfocused. (anything up to 10 percent) than any
and most effective used in large-scale volleys. Back in England, Cromwell other hostilities, before or since.
was establishing a New
came into his own as a military Model Army of CROMWELL’S RULE
commander. Having raised his 20,000 troops. Cromwell’s victory led to the creation of a
own mounted militia in his native Most were kingless Commonwealth 172–73 ❯❯. Hopes that
Cambridgeshire, he proved an able cavalry—Cromwell’s it would prove a utopia of freedom were quickly
commanding officer and had been speciality by now—but there dashed. The rule of the Lord Protector turned
appointed Lieutenant-General of Horse were also foot-soldiers and artillery. out to be as despotic as Charles I’s had been. His
by the time of the Battle of Marston They were known as Ironsides because New Model Army helmet death—and the Restoration of royal power
Moor, in July 1644. of the iron breastplates that they wore. Cromwell’s Roundheads with the accession of Charles II in 1660—came
Even then, the battle could They were trained and drilled—and protected their shaven crowns as a relief to most 176–77 ❯❯.
not have been won had it not enthused with the with helmets like this. Other
been for the presence of Lord justice of the cause. armor was light—usually little THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION
Leven’s Covenanting Scots Cromwell’s efforts more than a simple breastplate. England was marked in the long-term by the
and the discipline they showed paid off at Naseby, conflict between king and Parliament. The claims
under heavy fire. From Northamptonshire, Under the “Engagement” of 1647, he of these two institutions were debated furiously.
1644, a Scots Civil War was in June 1645. offered to establish the Presbyterian It was no abstract discussion. At stake were
continuing in parallel with Defeated, Charles Church (in both Scotland and England) political power and opportunity, while
the English conflict. The was captured and for three years in return for their religious feeling lent the arguments a special
Royalists were led by imprisoned. support. The deal split the Kirk: spiritual and moral edge. There was a fear that
former-Covenanter James powerful figures were against getting James II would restore absolutist monarchy.
A second civil war involved. Even so, in 1648, the Duke This was the background that made the
New Model Army’s catechism Charles reached a of Hamilton led an invasion, prompting accession of William III in 1688, a Glorious
Protestant faith, moral idealism, and secret deal with a Royalist revival south of the Border. Revolution, rather than a mere coup 188–89 ❯❯.
ruthless practicality combined in Scottish nobles and Cromwell’s defeat of the Scots at
Cromwell’s idea of his New Model Army. succeeded in starting Preston caused this to collapse quickly.
Its rules were recorded in a “catechism.” a second civil war. Some members of the Long Parliament
still wanted an accommodation with
the King, fearing the power of the New
Model Army. Pride’s Purge amounted
to a military coup: officers led by
Colonel Thomas Pride prevented
moderates from entering the Commons
chamber to vote. The hardline
“Independents” had their way, and
Charles was tried and executed.
Mopping up
Cromwell put down Catholic resistance WILLIAM III AND THE CONVENTION PARLIAMENT
in Ireland in no uncertain terms,
perpetrating notorious massacres at FEAR OF REVOLUTION
Drogheda and Wexford. In his absence, The deep and disturbing fear in England of
in 1650, the late King’s son, Charles II, a repetition of the Civil War was perhaps in
led the Scots Royalists in another part responsible for the caution with which
invasion of England. Cromwell returned, most of the population reacted to the
headed north, and laid siege to French Revolution of 1789 236–37 ❯❯.
Edinburgh. Although forced by a However, the (broadly) democratic ideals
shortage of supplies to withdraw to its victors had fought for remained strong,
Dunbar, he defeated the pursuing informing the 19th-century movement for
Royalists there on September 3. He electoral reform 268–69 ❯❯.
delivered the final blow in England
at Worcester a year later.
Death warrant
of Charles I
Whether from a thirst
for justice or for the sake
of safety in numbers,
59 Parliamentarians
signed this document
in January 1649.
169
DECISIVE MOMENT January 31, 1649
T
o say that Charles I’s situation was Charles not only with breaches of
unprecedented barely begins to do England’s constitution, but with
it justice; it was revolutionary. The betraying England itself. By soliciting
idea that a monarch, who was seen as the Scots’ invasion during the Civil
the head of the state, might be tried War (see pp.168–69), he had effectively
for treason challenged conventional conspired against his country. The King,
wisdom. Yet times had changed, and Cooke insisted, had to take responsibility
common assumptions had been not only for these crimes, but for all the
shifting subtly. The King’s enemies, the resultant bloodshed.
Parliamentarians (see p.166), argued
that Charles’s first duty was to his Defiance and death
country—a country they claimed to Charles I never agreed to recognize the
represent. For them, the King of court, and refused to plead one way or
England was “not a person, but an the other. Whatever he might or might
office” whose holder had to govern not have done, he was answerable only
the country according to English law. to God, he said. He was asked to plead
three times and each time he refused
A criminal King on the same grounds. It was no surprise
A special court of commissioners when, at the end of a hearing that
was created by an Act of Parliament lasted a week, he was found guilty on
for Charles’s trial. It went without all charges. Charles’s death warrant was
saying that they all supported Oliver signed by 59 commissioners. Having
Cromwell, Parliament’s most powerful been imprisoned in St. James’s Palace,
military leader. The trial opened on he was taken out to a public scaffold
January 20, 1649 at Westminster Hall. in front of the Banqueting House in
Led by Parliament’s chief attorney, Whitehall on January 31. There, before
John Cooke, the prosecution charged an awestruck crowd, he was beheaded.
171
1485–1688
The Commonwealth
B E F O R E
T
many of his countrymen, and the controversy he dispute between Parliament With a balance to strike between was repealed. This, at least in theory,
he caused divided Scotland and Ireland too and the King was brutally upholding tolerance and maintaining meant freedom of worship for all
❮❮ 166–67. Even so, most had been horrified resolved. The Long Parliament social order, the Rumpers opted for Englishmen and women—although its
to find their country convulsed by civil war. (called by Charles I in 1640) had been safety-first conservatism. The clamorous scope did not include Catholics or the
The quarrel was in itself upsetting, but the scale reduced by Pride’s Purge of December demand for reform of the legal system wilder nonconformists.
of the carnage seen during the Civil War 1648 (see p.169). What remained was was crystallized by Matthew Hale’s
grew far beyond what anyone could have jokingly called the Rump Parliament, commission of 1652, which called for Religious sects
imagined ❮❮ 168–69. and this was itself divided. While the protection for poor defendants against The Rump was concerned lest it
aristocracy had been ousted, along abuse by the authorities or wealthy should be thought that the country
CROMWELL’S VICTORY with the King, those members who litigants. Parliament quickly lost its had collapsed into anarchy. There is no
The victorious Parliamentarians held the remained still belonged to the gentry nerve and none of the commission’s doubt that, in the ferment unleashed
Stuart King responsible for the bloodshed. The and had their interests at heart. recommendations made it into law. by the bringing down of the monarchy
King himself appeared entirely unrepentant In religious policy too, Parliament and the pinning back of the Church’s
for his part in what had happened. He Cromwell dissolving the Long Parliament wanted to send reassuring signals authority by Protestant “people power”,
contemptuously refused to cooperate On April 20, 1653—apparently unconscious of the irony to the English elite and European small and self-willed sects of every sort
in a trial ❮❮ 170–71. that Charles I had gone down this path before him in governments. The Church of England were flourishing. Their “enthusiasm”
1629—Oliver Cromwell decided to dispense with the remained the established religion, (a derogatory expression at the time)
services of Parliament altogether. though the Act of Uniformity of 1559 in bearing witness to their beliefs
172
T H E C O M M O N W E A LT H
“Where is that good, or where is life. Sacred images and statues in the
old cathedrals were destroyed. Theaters,
inns, and other haunts of immorality
In some respects, life continued as it had done
under the Commonwealth. Britain’s commercial
interests were unchanged and conflict with
173
1485–1688
Scotland and
B E F O R E
Ireland Subdued
some extent been involved.
O 2,000
invaded England on his behalf ❮❮ 168–69. ne less obvious consequence punishment for earlier rebellion. Hence The number of men “put
Catholic Ireland had by contrast viewed the of the English Civil War was the gloating tone of his reports of to the sword” in a single
rise of the Parliamentarians with alarm—even its underlining of English massacres at Drogheda (September night at Drogheda, in 1649, by Cromwell’s
rising up in rebellion in 1641. England’s new preeminence in the British Isles. The 1649) and Wexford (October 1649). own account. Most historians believe that
regime felt a particular contempt for the “popish conflict could even be seen as part of Further victories were achieved at hundreds more—including many women
superstition” under which they saw the Irish as a wider War of the Three Kingdoms, Duncannon, Clonmel, and Galway. and children—were also massacred.
laboring, but they felt much as any other recent which started with the First Bishops’
rulers of the English state had done. Ireland was War in 1639, when Charles I invaded And so to Scotland with the King in 1647 (see p.169), he
the same poor and uncivilized province that Scotland to impose the Anglican liturgy To Cromwell, the Scots were more felt more sorrow than anger. In 1649,
had rejected Henry VIII’s modernizing attempts on the Scottish Kirk (Church). Wales “godly” than the Catholic Irish. Scots Scots Presbyterians had proclaimed
and had later risen up against Elizabeth I in the was swept up in England’s internal Presbyterians had fought alongside his Charles I’s son as King Charles II, and
Nine Years’ War ❮❮ 156–57. conflict in 1648, but its half-hearted men at Marston Moor, so the hatred he in 1650 allied with him in the shape of
The Parliamentarians could not allow either revolt against Parliament that year had for the Irish was not seen in his a Solemn League and Covenant. With
country to continue in open rebellion—or even was quickly put down. Scottish dealings. Although appalled by Ireland now subdued, Cromwell felt
as a haven for the disaffected and a base for the Presbyterian lords’ “Engagement” compelled to invade Scotland. The
future attacks against England. Divine slaughter
The Irish revolt of 1641 had been both
a trigger for the English Civil War and a
tragedy for Ireland. At first, Catholic
Royalist forces remained secure while
the Parliamentarians were occupied
with fighting in England. But the Irish
were eventually trounced at Rathmines
by the Parliamentarian commander
Michael Jones (a Welshman) in August
1649. Soon after, Oliver Cromwell
arrived, and what followed was really
MAP OF THE BRITISH ISLES, PUBLISHED 1640 an extended mopping-up—and, in
Cromwell’s eyes, a divinely ordained
Edinburgh Castle
The Scottish version of the Union Flag flutters proudly in
the sky above the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, but it took
a century or more of wrangling to get it there.
S C OT L A N D A N D I R E L A N D S U B D U E D
Battle of Dunbar
KEY MOMENT
“Praise the Lord, all ye nations!” Oliver Cromwell led his
men in the singing of the 117th Psalm before the Battle BATTLE OF WATERFORD
of Dunbar in 1654. Most historians have ascribed to
Cromwell’s generalship the fact that his Ironsides Waterford, in southeastern Ireland, was
went on to win against overwhelming odds. besieged twice by Parliamentarian forces.
The first attempt was made toward the
Scots’ army, led by the Earl of Leven, end of 1649. In wretchedly cold and
dug in around Edinburgh and stopped damp conditions, Cromwell’s army, 6,000
Cromwell and his New Model Army in strong, squatted outside the city for
their tracks. Cromwell’s ragged retreat several fruitless weeks. They were short
to Dunbar almost became a rout before of supplies, and their effective numbers
he managed to regroup his forces. His were steadily reduced by the ravages of
Scots pursuers allowed him to tempt disease. On December 2, Cromwell gave
them down from the high ground, up the effort and withdrew his troops.
on which they would have been His general, Henry Ireton, returned
impregnable, after which he outflanked with an army the following summer,
them to secure an improbable triumph. having spent the spring campaigning in
the surrounding region, gradually cutting
An uncomfortable union off the city from its hinterland. The tables
Victory against the odds at Dunbar now weakened English Parliament. confiscated lands, a sort of informal had now been turned. Thomas Preston’s
convinced Cromwell (yet again) that Meanwhile, those of Ireland’s Catholics plantation policy was carried out, with Irish garrison was running out of
God was on his side. Many Scots were not already transported to Barbados parcels handed to retiring veterans of provisions, while an outbreak of plague
becoming unhappy about their alliance and other Caribbean islands—more the New Model Army. Some of these was carrying off more of the defenders
with a king whose beliefs and principles than 50,000 in all—were told by were sold on to speculators. Ironically, every day. With
they distrusted. But they were still Cromwell that they could go “to Hell or of the 10,000 or so who stayed, many no prospect of
determined to resist the English Connaught.” Under the punitive terms adopted the customs of the country, relief, Waterford
invader. Yet Cromwell prevailed, and of the Act of Settlement of 1652, some either they or their descendants surrendered on
Scotland was effectively conquered. A 50 percent of the Irish adult male eventually converting to Catholicism. August 6, 1650.
face-saving show of free union was put population was at least technically
on: leading officers and Presbyterian living under a death sentence. Catholic Cromwell currency
nobles were scapegoated so ordinary landowners, and a few Protestants, The only individual other than a reigning monarch to WATERFORD
CASTLE
Scots could be said to have been misled. deemed disloyal, lost their lands appear on a British coin, Cromwell wears the laurel
Their lands confiscated, they were sent and were granted smaller wreath of the Roman emperor
into slavery in Barbados and America. leases in western on this English shilling.
Scots members were welcomed into the Ireland. In the newly
AF TER
175
1485–1688
The Restoration
B E F O R E
G 13
a Scottish army into England in 1650, with the eneral John Lambert moved to passed the Indemnity and Oblivion The number of the regicides—
intent of bringing about his own restoration of fill the vacuum left by Richard Act, delivering on Charles’ promise of signatories of Charles I’s
the Stuart monarchy. This invasion was beaten Cromwell’s collapse, attempting a forgiveness, before its replacement by death-warrant—who were executed.
back, and Cromwell defeated the Scots at the second New Model Army coup. General an elected (though overwhelmingly Three more, including Cromwell, were
Battle of Dunbar ❮❮ 168–69. Charles II fled George Monck rose in resistance: he Royalist) Cavalier Parliament. This already dead but were exhumed and
to France and remained in exile. had served both the Royalist and rolled back resented Commonwealth “executed”, their half-decomposed
Commonwealth causes. Now, however, reforms, reinstating maypoles, mince corpses hanged, drawn, and quartered.
COLLAPSE OF THE PROTECTORATE he openly courted the exiled King. pies, and other festive treats. Charles
Cromwell’s Commonwealth ended up offering all It was probably at his suggestion that wanted to restore popular celebrations. For the first time, women’s roles were
the rigidity of the most absolutist Stuart rule with on April 4, 1660 Charles made the played by actresses rather than boys in
none of the fun ❮❮ 172–73. He died in 1658 Declaration of Breda. It offered an Reign of revelry drag. Playwright Aphra Behn became
and bequeathed the Protectorate to son Richard. amnesty to his and his father’s old Charles II was notorious for his England’s first known professional
His father had governed enemies (the “regicides” excepted). mistresses: Nell Gwynn, Barbara woman writer.
through fear, and when Charles undertook to be guided by Villiers, and Molly Davis were only the
he was unable to Parliament if restored, implicitly most famous. Puritan sobriety was Taking liberties
inspire that, his waiving any claim to a divine right banished—at least at court and in Meanwhile, however, Charles was
authority quickly to rule. Under Monck’s protection, fashionable London, where men and quietly clawing back some of the
crumbled. those MPs expelled in Pride’s Purge women vied to outdo one another in religious freedoms he had promised,
“Tumbledown of 1648 (see p.169) were recalled. flamboyance and flair. The moral tone introducing measures restricting the
Dick” was This Convention Parliament invited was free and easy: the stereotypical freedoms of nonconformist Protestants.
deposed within Charles II back to take up his throne. Restoration rake was by no means Charles was eager to boost England’s
two years. mythical, and was represented not overseas trade, but this brought
The monarchy restored only by the King but by other brilliant
The end of the Interregnum (period libertines, such as George Villiers and Return of the monarch
between monarchs) came on May 8. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. The Charles rides through London on the eve of his
CROMWELL’S DEATH MASK Cheering crowds greeted the restored reopened theaters offered much coronation in 1661. The Restoration of the monarchy
King when he arrived in London on raunchier fare than had ever been was a restoration of pomp and splendor; a dash of
May 28. The Convention Parliament seen before on the English stage. much-craved color for a country sunk in drabness.
T H E R E S TO R AT I O N
FEAR OF CATHOLICISM
Fear of a Catholic monarch
loomed so large in the reign
of James II that his Protestant
subjects felt they had to oust him
in the Glorious Revolution of 1688
188–89 ❯❯. This fear was to return
in 1715 and 1745 202–03 ❯❯. TITUS OATES
177
B E F O R E
T
Continent brought great prosperity ❮❮ 142–43. he Commonwealth government Competitors were kept at bay by
During Elizabeth I’s reign England’s navigators under Oliver Cromwell (see obstructionist regulation and tariffs.
began to travel further afield ❮❮ 146–47. pp.172–73) worked hard to build To protect a merchant fleet recovering
Even then, serious its naval power. Distinguished for their after the Civil War, the Navigation Act
colonial expansion contributions to the land campaigns (1651) stipulated that imports to
had to wait until during the Civil War, George Monck England be brought direct, without
James I’s reign and Robert Blake became preeminent the involvement of foreign shipping.
❮❮ 162–63. In 1623, as “Generals at Sea.”
20 English merchants At stake was not only England’s Difficulties with the Dutch
were massacred by defense, but its commercial interests: The Dutch knew that this legislation
Dutch traders in trade was key for a small nation with was aimed at them, as northern
Amboyna, Indonesia, big aspirations. Naval power was Europe’s leading traders. After a
in a conflict over the needed to safeguard trade with existing
trade in spices. colonies and to secure new ones. In the Michiel de Ruyter
mercantilist thinking of the time, it was The Dutch admiral scored major victories against
AMBOYNA MASSACRE crucial for a country to take the biggest the English, including the Medway Raid. Personally
share it could of what was assumed unassuming, his daring was that of the consummate
to be a finite international market. sailor who had served half a century at sea.
178
CO M M E R C E A N D WA R
AF TER
A FREE MARKET
When Britain took action to end the
international slave trade in the early
19th century, the freedom of the market loomed
as large as the liberation of men and women.
The campaign by caring members of the
public also made a difference to the outcome
234–35 ❯❯. The same contradiction would be
seen in the aggressive promotion of “free
trade” alongside widespread support for the
regulation of working conditions in
the factories and mines 268–69 ❯❯.
Attack on the Medway fever was stoked by the great trading Dutch East India Company insignia
England was still dazed from the shock of the Great companies. Charles’s younger brother Formed in 1602, the Dutch East India Company
Plague and Fire of London when, on June 9, 1667, James, Duke of York, was involved became Britain’s most powerful trading
during the Second Anglo-Dutch war, Dutch ships calmly with the Royal Adventurers—in competitor in Asia during the 17th century.
sailed into Chatham and destroyed the English fleet. 1672 renamed the Royal African
Company. The slave trade was
chance encounter at Goodwin Sands on growing in importance, as prisoners- coast of Kent. De Ruyter
May 19, 1652 flared into fighting, the of-war and indentured labor were followed through with his
advantage during this First Anglo–Dutch replaced by Africans, and Dutch daring Medway Raid.
war seesawed back and forth. The shock trading posts in West Africa and England was brought to
of several defeats was salutary. Although the Caribbean coveted. terms: under the Peace of
England’s navy triumphed at Portland In 1663, the Duke of York sent a Breda, it received the former
in March 1653, the shipbuilding fleet to Guinea; a separate expedition New Netherlands as New
program was intensified and Blake’s took the New Netherlands (now the England (New Amsterdam was
new “Instructions” for war at sea were northeastern USA). The Dutch admiral named New York in James’s
issued in response to failures in English Michiel de Ruyter quickly took back honor) but had to climb down
tactics there. Rather than engaging in a the African colonies, before heading over its Navigation Act.
free-for-all, ships filed past the enemy west to attack the English in America.
in a “line”, maximizing the impact of Open war erupted in 1665, the Dutch Third time lucky?
their cannonades. At the Battle of the suffering a shock defeat at Lowestoft Neither the Netherlands nor England
Gabbard in 1653, the Dutch were that June, but turning the tables a year wanted another war. But a secret treaty
forced back and besieged, but the later in the Four Days’ Battle off the with Louis XIV tied Charles II into
English retired exhausted and the mounting Franco–Dutch tensions. The dykes to flood the countryside.
war ended inconclusively.
Hostilities restored
£1,300,00 The amount
of the Crown
debt reneged upon by Charles II in the
navy’s role in the Third Anglo–Dutch
War (1672–74) was initially just as
seaborne back-up for a French land
The English were spared defeat at
Solebay (June 1672) by a sudden
change in the wind, but divisions
Charles II’s England felt the same “Great Stop of the Exchequer”, 1672, invasion. The war at sea became central within the French navy led to reversals
commercial imperatives as the to enable him to finance the Third when Louis’ army was thwarted by at the Schooneveld and then Texel,
Commonwealth had. Anti-Dutch Anglo–Dutch War. Dutch defenders, who opened their and Charles II had to sue for peace.
179
1485–1688
Pepys’s London
B E F O R E
U
shipping routes to other continents—90 percent nder Charles II, who returned The growth of areas outside the
of Tudor England’s foreign trade came through England to a monarchy in 1660 City, to the west, which had
London. Elizabethan London saw merchants and (see pp.176–77), London became been taking place in Tudor
trade concentrated in the City, around St. Paul’s, vibrant and stimulating. Tired of times, became much more
while the upper classes moved to grand homes restrictive Puritanical practices, and pronounced after the Great
to the west, along the Strand or in Westminster. tempted by Charles’s promises of Fire, and centers for London’s
During the English Civil War, the City increased powers, the City switched sides social life increasingly established
of London was a stronghold for and became Royalist. The new King themselves in London’s West End.
Parliament ❮❮ 168–69. It found favor with Londoners when he
helped consolidate and even visited the City in person to see what Changing London
raise London’s status, but was happening and direct events while The City became a thriving commercial
Parliament’s Puritanical it was ablaze during the Great Fire of center, containing large proportions of
attitudes smothered much of 1666 (see pp.182–83). London’s people and businesses. The
the capital’s cultural life by Samuel Pepys was a significant figure Great Plague and the Great Fire caused Samuel Pepys
closing the theaters and other in Restoration London: First Secretary setbacks. The plague brought major loss Perhaps the most famous Englishman of his time, Samuel
entertainments, and London lost of the Admiralty in 1673, Member of of life, while many who fled the fire Pepys’s diaries tell us much about life as a cultured,
some of its luster ❮❮ 172–73. Parliament, and president of Charles’s settled elsewhere in England and never pleasure-loving man enjoying the London life. He was
newly founded scientific Royal Society returned, leading to a drain of skilled painted by John Hayls in 1666, and the music he holds is
MERCER’S GUILD COAT-OF-ARMS (see pp.184–85), among other labor. London, however, proved itself Pepys’s own setting of a lyric by Sir William Davenant.
achievements. He was ideally placed
Coffeehouse
to record events, great and small, in
his diaries, which covered 1660–69.
These included the Restoration and
“… musique and women I
Coffeehouse “crawls” were a popular diversion and
Samuel Pepys’s diaries are full of such visits. The
Charles’s coronation, the Great Plague
of 1664–65, and the Great Fire of cannot but give way to, whatever
coffeehouses (where chocolate was another favorite London. Pepys caught the spirit of an
drink) were a welcome change from the traditional
ale houses. This illustration shows a coffeehouse on
exciting city in an age where a person
with wit, energy, and drive could do
my business is.”
Bride Lane, just off Fleet Street in London. very well for themselves.
SAMUEL PEPYS’S DIARY, MARCH 9, 1666
P E P Y S ’ S LO N D O N
181
DECISIVE MOMENT September 2–6, 1666
O
n September 5, 1666, famous according to diarist John Evelyn.
diarist Samuel Pepys climbed the Many of London’s hysterical citizens
tower of All Hallows Church, suspected arson. Some foreigners were
close by his home in Seething Lane, lynched and the Spanish ambassador
and beheld a terrifying sight: raging fire gave refuge to others. The fire was
as far as he could see. It seems the fire finally extinguished on September 6.
first sparked into life in the small hours The next year, it was officially declared
of Sunday, September 2 at Thomas an accident caused by the hand of
Faryner’s bakery in Pudding Lane, near God, heat, and wind.
London Bridge. By the following day,
it had advanced west and north. King A new city
Charles II tasked his brother, the After the disaster, Christopher Wren,
Duke of York, with controlling the John Evelyn, and Robert Hooke
fire-fighting operation—there was presented the King with ambitious
no true fire service at this time. rebuilding plans. Wren wanted to raise
The summer had been hot and dry, a magnificent Renaissance city with
the level of the River Thames was low, wide streets, but his ideas were deemed
and a brutal wind blew from the east. too costly and impractical. The new city
Closely packed buildings, many largely arose slowly on the old plan, with some
timber, easily caught fire. For days, wider streets, new sewers, and (for the
the flames ripped down narrow, first time) sidewalks. Buildings were
twisting streets and through wooden made of brick rather than wood.
warehouses stuffed with flammables Wren’s St. Paul’s Cathedral, completed
such as oil, brandy, and pitch. in 1711, became one of the world’s
Buildings were pulled down and most-admired buildings. Along with his
blown up with gunpowder to provide jointly designed monument to the fire,
windbreaks. On September 4, old and a number of satellite churches, he
St. Paul’s was engulfed and its lead roof helped to shape the City’s new profile
melted “down the streets in a stream”, and create an iconic skyline.
182
1485–1688
Enquiring Minds
A great change took place in scientific thinking in the 17th century. New institutions such as the Royal
Society and the Greenwich Observatory, and scholars including Newton and Hooke, helped to push
scientific enquiry toward the rational and methodical. Modern science was born.
T
he 17th century was an exciting phenomena, including variations and Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) devised
time for British science. It aroused negative examples. Suggestions arising his laws of planetary motion around
public interest and saw many from this process should be tested via 1610. Italian astronomer and physicist
groundbreaking demonstrations. experiments. Bacon believed that science Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) employed
Wealthy gentlemen made a hobby should have practical applications, for quantitative experiments and
of it. New ideas spread rapidly via the “the relief of man’s estate”. systematic analysis, and produced work
universities, scientific organizations, British scientists were influenced on falling bodies and on the telescope,
and coffeehouses, and the rising tide by a host of European developments. which he also used to study the
Flamsteed House of printed matter. Measuring things, German mathematician and astronomer heavens. French thinker and scientist
Named after Charles II’s first Astronomer Royal and and developing instruments to do so,
designed by Sir Christopher Wren, Flamsteed House was was central to 17th-century science
the original Observatory building at Greenwich, London. and London grew into a major center
for scientific instruments.
British statesman and
“Mathematical Demonstrations
philosopher Sir Francis
Bacon (1561–1626) was a … are the only Truths.”
pivotal figure. He valued
observation, experience, and CHRISTOPHER WREN, 1657
experimentation over the
Aristotelian methodology of Light from an oil
making deductions from lamp (left) passed
assumptions (see pp.152–53). through this glass
and diffused and
Another English philosopher
projected onto the
who advocated reasoned specimen.
experimentation was John
Locke (1632–1704).
B E F O R E
The roots of scientific rationalism, with its need to improve math and astronomy in
stress on “method” can be found in different order to devise better maps—for example, the
places, from the Renaissance humanists to pioneering 16th-century Mercator projection,
the Reformation. improved significantly by English mathematician
Edward Wright (c.1558–1615). Math, essential
REJECTING THE OLD for any meaningful scientific enquiry, made
The new scientific revolution could be said to significant strides by the start of the 1600s, while
have grown from the rejection of classical interest in astronomy was aroused by events Compound microscope
and medieval ideas by European Renaissance such as the appearance of the comet of 1532, This is a replica of Robert Hooke’s
humanists ❮❮ 152–53. Other factors include the visible for more than 100 days, which Edmund compound microscope. Hooke’s
growth of vernacular languages ❮❮ 110–11, and Halley later cited in his theories. Micrographia (1665) was the first
the rise of Protestantism. Prior to the Protestant important work in its field, detailing
Reformation ❮❮ 136–37, Rome was the ultimate the many observations and
authority in matters concerned with religion and discoveries of his microscopy.
scientific matters seen to relate to religion. When
Luther questioned this, he opened the field up
to other systems of thought.
184
ENQUIRING MINDS
185
St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral, completed in the early 1700s, is the masterpiece of
architect Sir Christopher Wren. Its dome is one of the largest in the world
and is made up of three layers—the inner dome, the brick cone, and the
outer dome or “skin.” The inner dome measures 103ft (31m) across and
225ft (69m) in height. The murals inside the dome, showing the life of
St. Paul, are by the English painter Sir James Thornhill.
T H E G LO R I O U S R E VO L U T I O N
T
he Duke of York was a eager for him to depose James and
B EF O R E controversial figure even before reign as William III. His wife, Mary
he became King James II: his (James II’s daughter), had the better
conversion to Catholicism upset many; claim, but William wanted to be more
Tensions between the monarchy and his marriage to Mary of Modena made than Prince Consort.
those who considered themselves the matters worse. The object of Exclusion His first invasion fleet was dispersed
representatives of the country were Bills (see p.177) and assassination plots, by winds in October 1688; he later
nothing new. he had no illusions as to his popularity. landed at Torbay. James was unfazed
Yet he was unflappable in his arrogance until he found his officers defecting
THE MONARCHY AND THE PEOPLE or, as he saw it, his consciousness of in droves. He fled for France, but was
Magna Carta curtailed the power of the his divine right as king. captured. William turned a blind eye
monarchy, although it did not benefit the people Some later historians have tended while they escaped, so James could not
as a whole ❮❮ 86–87. The Tudors redressed to see James as an inadequate, become a focus for royalist unrest.
the balance, aiming to centralize power cowardly, and weak man. In fact, he A Convention Parliament in January
❮❮ 132–33. James I viewed the matter in was courageous and experienced in 1689 issued a Declaration of Rights, Mary and William
philosophical, even theological terms, presenting asserting that James’s attempt to flee Shown here enthroned in heaven, William and Mary
learned arguments for the divine right of kings
to rule ❮❮ 158–59. His son, Charles I, was
prepared to go to war with his Parliamentary
7 The number of nobles—the
“Immortal Seven”—who
democratically decided that William of
amounted to abdication and branding
his actions as king unconstitutional.
William III and Mary II were (unusually)
reigned over England together. At Mary’s insistence,
theirs was a partnership of equals.
opponents ❮❮ 170–71 over this theory, and to Orange should occupy the British throne. made joint co-rulers in his place.
defy them to the death when he was defeated. AF TER
Parliament’s victory was a mixed blessing: it battle. During his French exile, he Draft for democracy
was hard to see how the cause of democratic saw front line service against the The Declaration of Rights was primarily
Fronde—an uprising of disenchanted a stick to beat James II with. As James’s overthrow
nobles in the 1650s. formalized in December 1689 as the was first described
Bill of Rights, however, it became the as a Glorious
Monmouth’s folly blueprint for a constitutional monarchy. Revolution in
Resistance to James II was quick in The King and Queen would be held 1689, and since
coming. The Duke of Monmouth was in the highest respect as heads of then, its centrality
Charles II’s illegitimate son and James’s state, but would not be allowed to to the modern
nephew. However, he was also a disregard the wishes of the people’s British identity
Protestant and hoped to take the parliamentary representatives. has never been
throne. Landing in Lyme Regis with a in doubt.
small force in June 1685, he marched ELECTRESS SOPHIA OF HANOVER
inland through a strongly Protestant LAST OF THE
region, recruiting supporters at a STUART KINGS
CHARLES I AS CHRISTIAN MARTYR series of pretend coronations. Failing The Stuarts, unsurprisingly, believed that an
to take Bristol, he tried Bath before outrageous injustice had prevailed. James
representation or accountability was moving on to Warminster. An fought unsuccessfully to win back his throne
advanced by the dictatorship into which the attempt to open a second front in 196–97 ❯❯. William’s failure to leave a
Commonwealth quickly descended ❮❮ 172–73. Scotland having failed, Monmouth’s dynasty merely prompted Parliament to seek
Charles II’s Restoration was welcomed, but men fell back before being out another ruler, Sophia, Electress of Hanover
the King’s absolutist inclinations soon became defeated at Sedgemoor on July 6. (granddaughter of James I), whose successors
evident ❮❮ 176–77. Judge Jeffreys’ Bloody Assizes were to reign into the 19th century 200–01 ❯❯.
followed: more than 300
ROYAL RELIGION rebels were executed. JACOBITE SUPPORT
Charles II’s apparent leanings toward James’s decision to raise a Stuart supporters—known as Jacobites from
Catholicism also caused tension between the standing army, rather than Jacobus, the Latin form of James—continued to
monarchy and the people, while his younger recruiting soldiers ad hoc, sent out keep faith, in Scotland especially. A number of
brother, James II, was an avowed Catholic the message that he was at war unsuccessful uprisings were staged in the
❮❮ 177. In the eyes of English Protestants, with his subjects. His Declaration decades that followed 202–03 ❯❯.
that (clearly hierarchical) faith was the natural of Indulgence toward Catholics
accompaniment to Stuart absolutism. It was caused outrage in 1687 and NO REVOLUTION
not one they wanted anything to do with. the birth of a son, and legal The French Revolution of 1789 did not spark
successor, provoked panic. a similar overthrow of the British state
236–37 ❯❯. Possibly the constitutional
By invitation Birth of James Francis Edward Stuart upheavals of 1688 and after had satisfied
William III landing at Torbay A group of Protestant nobles, already In this letter of June 24, 1688, Louis XIV of France the desire for moderate democratic
Seen in this painting from c.1680 as a heroic in negotiation with William of Orange, congratulates James II’s wife Mary of Modena on change in Britain.
deliverer, many regarded William as a usurper, and Stadtholder (the chief of state) of the her son’s birth. “James III” was seen by Stuart
James II’s ousting as the most cynical of coups. Dutch Republic, became even more supporters as rightful king of England.
189
RISE OF POWER
1688–1815
As England and Wales united with Scotland,
the British realm grew into a powerful trading
nation that expanded financially and
commercially. It acquired new territories,
markets, and sources of raw materials, while
inaugurating the Industrial Revolution and
eventually defeating the mighty French foe.
Marine timekeeper
In 1735, English clock-maker John Harrison unveiled a
precision timekeeper that was unaffected by the motion
of a ship; it was the first step in his successful bid to
solve the problem of determining longitude at sea.
1688–1815
Struggle to unite
A British kingdom Yet it had by no means been a straightforward process reaching this
The writer Daniel Defoe had a day at the races in 1724, point of unity, and it had assuredly not been easy. If the Glorious
on Epsom Downs, Surrey, where the famous Derby would be run Revolution of 1688, in overthrowing the Stuart king, James II,
from 1780 onward. Even then, the spectacle was something to had resolved the opposition between the monarchy and the
comment upon. Defoe was exhilarated by the sight of so many representatives of the people which had so dominated the Tudor
carriages, all the smartly turned-out gentlemen, the ladies in their and Stuart period, it had brought new and bitter conflicts in its wake.
finery, and, of course, “the racers flying over the course as if either To some extent, the early tumults were about clearing up
they touched not, or felt not the ground they run upon.” Summoning unfinished business from the period before. James II, a Roman
up all of his poetic powers to find an image glorious enough to do Catholic, still had claims on the Crown, and still had hopes of
justice to the occasion, he wrote: “I think no sight, except that of returning to power. Yet his defeat in the early 1690s was a defeat also
a victorious army, under the command of a Protestant king of for Catholic Ireland, as well as for like-minded groups in Scotland too.
Great Britain could exceed it.” Scotland, however, remained the more immediate threat for the new
192
INTRODUCTION
Hanoverian line in the 18th century, but, again, victories over Stuart place, as great navigators such as James Cook and Matthew Flinders
pretenders in Scotland in 1715 and 1746 were triumphs for both the opened up the exotic lands of the Pacific and Oceania. As remarkable
state of Britain and for Protestantism. in their way also were the new developments taking place in such
apparently mundane spheres as farming and industrial manufacture.
Empire and industry A revolution swept British agriculture in the 18th century. This in turn,
The struggle to sort out its own domestic settlement was only the by freeing up resources for the towns, did much to make possible
start for the new British state. It had to establish a position for itself, the extraordinary explosion of economic and technological creativity
both in Europe and in the wider world. It also had to find a suitable which we now think of as the Industrial Revolution.
function, and Britain saw its future as that of a major trading nation. When real revolution came in France, in 1789, a constitutionally
The building of the financial structures that would make this stable Britain proved more-or-less immune to its effects, and strong
possible from 1694 onward went in parallel with the acquisition enough to fight off the menace of a marauding Napoleon
of numerous overseas possessions. These lands were to be both Bonaparte as the 19th century began.
sources of raw materials and potential markets for the future. Britain
met an early setback in its loss of the American colonies in 1783,
but there was consolation to be had in the territorial gains which
continued to be made in India.
Britain was extending its horizons in other ways as well. In
Scotland, in particular, writers and thinkers were coming to a new
understanding of the world, in what became known as the Scottish
Enlightenment. Meanwhile, more literal explorations were taking
193
1688–1815
RISE OF POWER
1688–1815
1688–1708 1709–38 1739–67
SEPTEMBER 1688 FEBRUARY 1692 1709 APRIL 1721
Britain and its partners in the Government-supporting Abraham Darby builds Robert Walpole becomes
Grand Alliance (or League Campbells massacre the the first blast furnace that Britain’s first prime
of Augsburg) go to war with MacDonalds at Glencoe, uses coke for manufacturing minister—though this
France. The hostilities will in the Scottish Highlands. pig-iron. title does not yet exist.
not end until 1697. More than 70 die.
SEPTEMBER 1709 JUNE 1727
MARCH 1689 1701 The Duke of Marlborough George II succeeds his
James II begins his fightback, Jethro Tull invents his prevails at the Battle of father on the throne.
landing with supporters at horse-drawn seed drill. Malplaquet, but at
Kinsale, Ireland. considerable cost.
King George II
JULY 1690 MAY 1701 APRIL 1713 Bonnie Prince Charlie APRIL 1746
with Flora MacDonald
The English and Dutch fleets The War of the Spanish Treaty of Utrecht brings Jacobite hopes for Bonnie
are badly beaten by the Succession starts. Britain the War of the Spanish APRIL 1739 Prince Charlie are effectively
French at the Battle and its old Grand Alliance Succession to a close. John Wesley begins his ended at Culloden.
of Beachy Head. partners take on France. open-air Methodist mission
AUGUST 1714 at a meeting outside Bristol. APRIL 1756
JUNE 1701 Queen Anne dies and, as The Seven Years’ War
Act of Settlement states that the Electress Sophia had OCTOBER 1739 gets under way. This
after William’s successor, died a short while before, The so-called War of Jenkins’ time Britain is allied with
Anne, dies, Sophia, Electress her son becomes King Ear begins between Britain Prussia, Portugal, and others
of Saxony, will be next in line. George I of Britain. and Spain. against France, its ally in
Battle of the Boyne the recent war.
194
R I SE OF POWER
MARCH 1770 JUNE 1775 JULY 1776 William Pitt at Westminister OCTOBER 1795
British soldiers kill five British soldiers win the Battle The Declaration of An angry mob attacks
protesters against “taxation of Bunker Hill, just outside Independence is approved OCTOBER 1781 the King’s coach as it takes
without representation” in Boston, but fail to lift the by the Continental Congress. General Cornwallis is forced him to the State Opening
the Boston Massacre. siege upon the city. to surrender after the Siege of Parliament.
JULY 1776 of Yorktown.
DECEMBER 1775 Cook’s third voyage to the APRIL 1797
American colonists are badly Pacific begins. It will take DECEMBER 1783 Mutiny by sailors of the
defeated at Quebec. him via Hawaii to western William Pitt the Younger Royal Navy at Spithead. A
coasts of North America. becomes Britain’s youngest- second mutiny started at
ever prime minister, at 24. the Nore a few weeks later.
A sextant
195
1688–1815
B E F O R E
T
Scots approved of England’s efforts at he Protestant powers of Europe see Catholic Ireland as a natural staging Louis XIV of France
ensuring a Protestant monarchy, but feared the strength and ambition post for a reconquest of Britain was The “Sun King” had
many were uneasy at England’s unquestioning of Louis XIV of France, though logical enough, for many Irish had his own agenda, in
assumption that it could take the lead. Catholic states such as Spain, Portugal, never accepted William’s accession. which Britain’s Wars of
Resentment of English arrogance had and Bavaria felt threatened by him James landed at Kinsale in the far Succession were a small
been bred into the Scots for centuries—and as well. The Dutch were immediately southwest in March 1689. and incidental part.
certainly since the days of the Independence threatened when, in 1688, Louis XIV’s A month later, James laid siege to
Wars ❮❮ 92–93. Moreover, there were still designs on the Palatinate of the Rhine
some Scots who had not been happy to see
James II overthrown. They wanted to see the
restoration of the Stuarts—originally a
became clear.
William III of England was still the
Stadtholder, or “steward”, of Holland.
7,000 The number of combatants
killed at the Battle of
Aughrim (1691), considered to mark the
Scottish dynasty ❮❮ 158–59. He approached Emperor Leopold I, final collapse of the Jacobites in Ireland.
who formed the League of Augsburg, William’s army lost around 3,000 men,
IRISH ANGER or “Grand Alliance.” The War of the but the Jacobites also lost crucial officers.
Ireland, after fighting England for years, had lost Grand Alliance is also known as
its elite to the Flight of the Earls ❮❮ 156–57, the Nine Years’ War—though it Derry. While the authorities in the city
only to experience cruel repression under was different from the Irish conflict made plans for its surrender, a group of
Oliver Cromwell ❮❮ 174–175. The view of the same name (see pp.156–57). apprentice boys put them to shame by
that the Stuarts stood for despotism and their unilaterally locking the gates. The
enemies for freedom struck no chord with The orange and the green citizens rallied, and a few months later
those who had suffered so much at Protestant With fighting erupting in Europe, the Royal Navy came and relieved the
England’s hands. They might have no reason Ireland’s fate could hardly have loomed city. Although Protestant irregulars in
to be grateful to an English king, but they large for Louis. But James II hoped the north scored successes, William’s
neither had they any reason to rejoice when for his support in a bid to recover his forces became bogged down. William
James II was toppled in the Glorious throne. That the deposed Stuart should himself came to break the stalemate.
Revolution ❮❮ 188–89. A French naval presence could have
Battle of Boyne prevented William from aiding his
James II’s defeat at the Battle of Boyne in 1690 ended forces, and a belated fleet was sent up
his hopes of taking back his throne. William’s triumph is the Channel. An ill-prepared England
celebrated each year on July 12 by the Orange Order. was caught out in its turn, and a hastily
“BONNIE DUNDEE”
196
S U CC E S S I O N WA R S
“The action began at a quarter past ten, and was The War of the Spanish Succession
was also fought in North America.
Known as Queen Anne’s War, it took
so hot till after eleven that a great many old its name from William’s successor,
Anne, who reigned from 1707. It
was only in 1713 that Louis XIV was
soldiers said they never saw brisker work.” defeated. France ceded to Britain its
claims in the Hudson Bay territories
in the Treaty of Utrecht.
CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE
AF TER
A LEGACY OF HATRED
It was in Ireland that the legacy was to be most
bitter. The country rose in rebellion in 1798
238–39 ❯❯. It was an enduring legacy as well:
Ulster’s Protestant Unionists drew inspiration
from “King Billy” and his victories as they made
their stand against Irish independence early
in the 20th century 332–33 ❯❯. They did so
again at the time of the “Troubles” when they
rejected the nationalist aspirations of their
Catholic neighbors 378–79 ❯❯.
197
Treaty of Union
The parliaments of Edinburgh and London approved this agreement, which
led to the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It began its
passage through the Scottish assembly in October 1706 and was ratified by
English MPs in March 1707. Scotland was entitled to have 45 members of
the Commons and 16 peers in the new British Parliament.
1688–1815
A
new century heralded a new the most part peaceful. George did, consequently into the embrace of the
succession crisis, and further however, take Britain into the War constitutionalist Whigs, who favored a
fears of Britain falling back into of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–20), diminution in the power of monarchy.
“popish” hands. In 1702, Queen Anne fighting alongside the Dutch Republic,
ascended the throne, and though no
one felt the least anxiety about her
loyalties, she was still a Stuart and the
Austria, and France to thwart Philip V
of Spain in his plans to take the French
throne and territories in Italy, over
11 days were “lost” in September 1752
when Britain switched from the
Julian to the Gregorian calendar. New
daughter of James II, a Catholic king. which he felt his wife, Isabella Farnese, Year’s Day, previously March 25, became
She was also going to die without an was entitled to reign. In the realm of January 1 as a season-based year was
heir, as her last surviving child, Prince domestic government, George’s fears replaced by a strictly chronological one.
William, Duke of Gloucester, died in of Jacobitism led him to be suspicious
1700, aged only 11 years. In 1701, of the Tories—despite their traditionally Soldier king
Parliament had rushed through the being the monarchical party—and George II, who acceded to the throne in
Act of Settlement to preempt any bid 1727, was also a veteran of the War of
by the exiled James II himself, should the Spanish Succession. However, his
he outlive Queen Anne, or by his son most ferocious fights had been with his
James Edward Stuart or daughter own father—the prince was arrested
Louisa Maria Teresa, if he should not. and banned from the court after one
Instead, the Act established that the particularly bad quarrel in 1717.
succession would go to the reliably An early event of George II’s reign
Protestant (and German) Sophia, was the War of Jenkins’ Ear, fought
King and warrior Electress of Hanover. against Spain from 1739, over the right
In 1743, George II became the last British monarch to of Britain to sell slaves in the Spanish
lead his army into action at the Battle of Dettingen, in Union dues Empire (it was named after an English
the War of the Austrian Succession. Scotland’s Parliament, irritated at sea captain, Robert Jenkins, wounded
England’s high-handed conduct in by Spanish coastguards). Failure to
passing the Act of Settlement without prosecute the war vigorously enough
consultation, brought in an Act of contributed to the fall of Robert
B E F O R E Security in 1704, insisting on its right Walpole’s Whig government. By 1742,
to choose a monarch of its own. The the war broadened out to become part
Westminster Parliament retaliated of the War of the Austrian Succession,
The continuity that is key to the ideal of with an Alien Act that marked out in which Britain sided with the
monarchy had been hard to find in the Scots in England as foreigners to be Austrian Maria Theresa, and her
England of the 17th century. discriminated against—putting the “Pragmatic” party (in favor of bending
Scots and their economy at a major Long-reigning George III the rules to allow her succession to the
STUART DIFFICULTIES disadvantage. In these less than ideal George III, Britain’s third Hanoverian king, reigned for Habsburg throne as a female), against
In 1603, the death of Elizabeth I, the “Virgin circumstances, the Scottish Parliament almost 60 years, a record length of time for a monarch France, who had Frederick II of Prussia
Queen”, had brought a Scottish king to the had little alternative but to commit on the throne, until later surpassed by that of his in its camp. The end of the War of the
throne in the form of James I (James VI of itself to a permanent relationship granddaughter, Queen Victoria. Austrian Succession was little more
Scotland) ❮❮ 158–59. But since then, the Stuart with England. Both countries passed
succession had been anything but smooth. complementary Acts of Union in 1707.
I N N O VAT I O N
Charles I had so alienated his Parliament Sophia died just a few weeks before
that he fought a civil war with them and was Anne herself died, so on August 1, HERSCHEL’S TELESCOPE
executed in 1649 ❮❮ 170–71. For just over 1714, Sophia’s son became King
a decade after this, during the years of the George I of Great Britain and Ireland. Born in Hanover in 1738, William Herschel
Commonwealth, the country was without came to England in 1756. His fascination
a king ❮❮ 172–73. A foreigner on the throne with the precision craft of grinding lenses
George was aged 54 by the time he was and the mechanics of making telescopes
RESTORED—BUT RESENTED crowned king of a country to which he led to his interest in what they revealed.
The monarchy made its return with the was a stranger. His previous life as a With the help of his sister, Caroline, he
Restoration of Charles II in 1660 ❮❮ 176–77. German prince included service in the conducted systematic surveys of the
But Charles quickly upset Protestants in Hanoverian army in the War of the heavens, discovering the planet Uranus in
Parliament and the country. His high-handed Spanish Succession. Set in his ways, 1781, and calling it Georgium sidus, the
style (and Catholic sympathies) stretched their he never became fully naturalized in “Georgian Star” or the “King’s Star”. A
patience to the limits—and his younger brother, England—or in the language of English. fascinated George III further encouraged
James, promised to be even more absolutist in But staunch Protestantism mattered these researches, making William the King’s
his style. In 1688, a Dutchman, William, Prince of more than nationality at this time. Astronomer in 1782. In 1785–89, William
Orange, was invited to take the throne as After the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 built what was then the largest telescope
England’s William III ❮❮ 188–89. to restore the Stuarts to the throne, and in the world (shown here). Its main
a second minor scare in 1719, George’s mirror had a diameter of 1.2m (4ft).
reign was comparatively secure, and for
200
TH E HOU SE OF HANOVER
AF TER
than a pause for breath before, in Cartoon of George IV
1756, the same combatants (albeit “To be or not to be?” The Prince
in a different combination of alliances) Regent asks himself what everyone So firmly established had the Hanoverians
became embroiled in the Seven Years’ else was asking in 1820: was he become that their foreign origins were
War (see pp.212–13). Before this, in really ready to be king? more or less forgotten. Britain seemed
1745–46, George had to overcome the comparatively at ease with itself as the
threat to the British throne of a new transforming British century wore on—though the effects of
Jacobite rebellion (see pp.202–03). farming at the time (see tumults abroad were strongly felt.
pp.230–31). A passionate
“Farmer George” reader and bibliophile, OVERSEAS THREATS
In 1760, a young king followed an he established the King’s The rebellion of the American colonies
old one when George III came to the Library, London, and was was of direct concern, of course. Britain fought
throne. He was George II’s grandson, a generous patron to the frantically to keep hold of its possessions
not his son, and only 22 years of age. Royal Academy. 214–15 ❯❯. The French Revolution followed
His “madness”—porphyria, an inherited George III broke the 236–37 ❯❯, but the specter of home-grown
disorder—was a feature of his later life. Hanoverian mold by sedition was soon displaced by a well-founded
Although he lost time to illness from leaning toward the Tories, fear of Napoleon Bonaparte 240–41 ❯❯.
early on in his reign, he was generally a rather than to the Whigs,
force for stability and calm, despite his in Parliament. He was FIT TO REIGN?
accession being overshadowed by the true to Hanoverian type, The monarchy, for the most part a tower
Seven Years’ War. The Hanoverian however, in having a of strength, briefly become the source of
dynasty seemed to have come of age as difficult relationship instability in 1788 as George III’s failing health
Britain’s ruling house in him: English with his son, although prompted the Regency Crisis 254–55 ❯❯. From
was his first language and he never the Prince of Wales had the 1790s, the public airing of dirty linen brought
visited Germany. to step in as regent from the royal family into disrepute. The wild and
Yet his succession had come as a 1811, when illness extravagant conduct of the future George IV as
surprise after the unexpected death incapacitated him. his father’s Regent from 1811 was hardly
of his father, the Prince of Wales. calculated to redeem it.
Brought up very strictly, George was
religious and was devoted to his wife
Queen Charlotte—despite not having
“ Born and educated in this
met her until their wedding day. His
down-to-earth manner and agricultural country, I glory in the Coronation of George IV
The coronation of George IV took place at Westminster
interests earned him his nickname Abbey, London, in July 1821. It was marred by scandal
“Farmer George”, but he was also a
highly educated and cultured man.
name of Briton.” when the new King’s estranged wife, Caroline, from
whom he had lived separately since 1796, came back
His interest in agriculture was actually to London to claim her rights as queen.
in the scientific innovations GEORGE III, IN HIS ACCESSION SPEECH, OCTOBER 25, 1760
1688–1815
Scottish Jacobites
B E F O R E
T
conviction into his reign as England’s he Jacobites’ hopes rested with invaded England, hoping to attract attack as well as a military one, since
James I ❮❮ 158–59. His son, Charles I, was James Francis Edward Stuart, or sympathizers along the way; but on the dirk (long dagger), claymore
prepared to go to war with his Parliament James III, though his attempted November 14, the Jacobites were (broadsword), and target (small round
❮❮ 168–69, finally giving his life for his invasion of 1708 had failed. A Jacobite defeated at Preston. Measures to prevent shield) were part of Highland dress.
principles—and pride ❮❮ 170–71. His rebellion in 1715 started promisingly future risings were introduced. British commander General George
son, Charles II, managed to take back with the capture of Perth, but the Duke Wade inspected Scotland in 1724 and
the throne after years of exile ❮❮ 176–77. of Argyll held Stirling. The Scottish clans Taming the Highlands recommended large-scale infrastructure
were divided: the Earl of Seaforth The Disarming Act did what its name improvements to help control the
A SECOND RESTORATION? was with the rebels, but his army was implies, depriving the Highlanders of region, with new roads and barracks,
Charles II was succeeded by James II, whose harassed by hostile clans. A small force their weapons. This was a cultural and the founding of Fort William,
Catholicism and absolutism alienated
powerful Protestant subjects. In 1688 he
was toppled. ❮❮ 188–89. James and his
supporters—the Jacobites—fought back to
win the throne, but without avail ❮❮ 196–97;
though a Stuart did succeed William III, it was
the Protestant Queen Anne ❮❮ 200–01.
202
S C OT T I S H J A C O B I T E S
AF TER
REACHING A SETTLEMENT
Many felt used and abandoned by those whom
tradition had set above them. They were to feel
the same sense of betrayal subsequently.
Clan chiefs, who turned into strutting aristocrats,
started clearing whole communities off
their ancestral lands 294–95 ❯❯.
For most in Scotland and England, though,
the crushing of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745 was
welcome. It brought a period of taking stock. The
Jacobites’ downfall confirmed for Britons that
their future was to be Hanoverian and
Protestant. Most were happy enough with the
settlement. The flowering of intellectual and
artistic culture in Glasgow and Edinburgh in the
late 18th century suggested that in some ways the
Union with England suited Scotland 224–25 ❯❯. FORT GEORGE, INVERNESS
203
DECISIVE MOMENT April 16, 1746
P
rince Charles and his supporters cohesion over the rough and marshy
were backed into a corner at ground. Most were shot as they pressed
Culloden, but they did not have forward. By the time Murray could
to fight a pitched battle, particularly bring up the French-trained Royal
on such disadvantageous ground. Écossois, his left wing had broken and
Both tactics and field were the Prince’s fled. Victory was out of the question
choice, against the objections of Lord now, though the professional Écossois
George Murray, his senior general, who allowed an orderly retreat, and gave
favored a low-level guerrilla war. Prince Charles a chance to flee.
The rising collapsed. The Prince, a
Futile attack wanted man, had a price of £30,000 on
Murray’s own idea for a night attack on his head. Even so, he was helped by
the British camp at Nairn, on April 15, loyal supporters, and was on the run
was badly botched. The Jacobites were for months before he slipped away
exhausted, hungry, and in disarray (disguised, notoriously, as Jacobite
as the British, led by the Duke of supporter Flora MacDonald’s maid).
Cumberland, advanced early on
April 16. Confusion among the Jacobite Bloody retribution
commanders led to their front line Reprisals across the Highlands by
being overstretched. Then the Prince “Butcher” Cumberland saw suspected
left his men standing, exposed to fierce Jacobites killed, cattle stolen, crops
artillery fire, while he waited for the burned, and villages destroyed. Clan
right moment to attack. When it came, culture was suppressed, with traditional
the Highlanders’ charge quickly lost its weapons and Highland dress outlawed.
Annihilation at Culloden
The heroic charge of the Jacobite’s Highland infantry,
with broadswords raised, was nullified by the rough and
marshy ground across which they had to struggle, under
a hail of cannon and musket fire from the disciplined
ranks of red-coated British troops.
204
1688–1815
B E F O R E
A
fter the Act of Union, the English inspired
and Scottish assemblies were impeachment,
The power struggle between the monarch dissolved to be replaced by a he emerged as
and representatives of the general single British Parliament. The power First Lord of the
populace has long been a feature of of the Parliament increased—the Treasury and
British history. Glorious Revolution reaffirmed the Chancellor from
importance not only of Protestantism, 1716. He came
POLITICS OF POWER but of Parliamentary democracy. unscathed and
Efforts to curb the king’s power were (through no
made in medieval times in the Magna Carta
❮❮ 86–87. The Tudors tipped the balance
the other way, by centralizing authority
20 Number of complete years
served by Robert Walpole
as prime minister, Britain’s first such
virtue of his own)
emerged untainted
through the South
in the sovereign ❮❮ 132–33. administration—and still easily the Sea Bubble
The Stuarts took this philosophy to extremes, longest. In total, Walpole was premier crisis of 1720
with James I subscribing to the divine right of for 20 years and 314 days. (see pp. 210–11).
kings ❮❮ 158–59. His son, Charles I, felt so As the last man
strongly on the subject that he went to war with The rise of Walpole standing in a
his Parliament ❮❮ 168–69. Charles engaged in Whig politician Robert Walpole was discredited administration, he assumed Debating chamber
a struggle for power with the Parliament elected to his father’s old Norfolk unchallenged preeminence as First Lord By the 18th century, the Commons chamber
of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue constituency in 1701 and quickly made of the Treasury, Chancellor, and Leader could be seen as the beating heart of British
while the Parliament sought to curb his royal his mark, being appointed Secretary of of the House. Walpole was asked by politics. The Hanoverian monarchs were content
prerogative, which Charles believed was War in 1708. Surviving a politically King George I to sort out the crisis, to let the politicians have their way.
divinely ordained. After his execution in
Politics and
1649 ❮❮ 170–71, his son, Charles II,
regained the throne ❮❮ 176–77, which
was subsequently snatched away from his
younger brother, James II ❮❮ 188–89. The
real winner in the Glorious Revolution was
Prime Ministers
not William III but Parliament, in cooperation
with which he had agreed to rule. Similarly, the
defeat of the Stuart Pretender Bonnie Prince
Charlie in 1745 ❮❮ 204–05 was a victory not
just for the Hanoverians but for the whole
principle of constitutional monarchy.
A war had been fought, a revolution staged, and several insurgencies suppressed so as to
protect the sovereignty of Britain’s Parliament. In the 18th century, Whigs and Tories
debated how best to wield Parliament’s new-found power and govern the nation.
RADICAL POLITICIAN (1725–97)
JOHN WILKES
Houses of Parliament
The debating chambers of the House of Commons
and House of Lords were in the royal Palace of
Westminster, which burned down in a fire in 1834.
206
POLITICS AN D P R I M E M I N I STER S
which he did most effectively. In the chose his cabinet. The role was to a series of European conflicts.
decades that followed, he favored peace remain controversial—and fluid in Coming to the fore during the
and prosperity over aggression, definition—under his successors. Seven Years’ War (1756–63), Pitt
inaugurated a sinking fund to reduce was arguably the real premier in
the national debt, and helped secure Whigs win out Lord Newcastle’s administration
the Hanoverian succession. Walpole’s ascendancy was good from 1758; he took over as prime
news for the Whig party he led. minister in 1766, but was forced
First prime minister The Whigs’ whole purpose out of public life by ill-health.
George II had fallen out was the defense of William Pitt’s son—William
with Walpole by the constitutional rights, Pitt the Younger—was Britain’s
time of his accession and this period saw a youngest prime minister ever.
in 1727, but strengthening of the He was just 24 when he took
Walpole’s position role of Parliament. office in 1783, and served for
was too strong The Tories were more than 17 years before
to be assailed. marginalized, with resigning in 1801, but was back
Relations were their respect for in power between 1804 and
mended: the royal and aristocratic 1806. He tried to clean up
King tried to privilege out of favor. public life and (in the aftermath
give Walpole The Whig supremacy of an expensive American war)
10 Downing Street went on almost without sought to increase revenues
as a gift, but he a break until 1756. But through taxation. He also
would accept it only the Whigs also generated clamped down on smuggling,
as an official prime their own internal which was practically an
minister’s residence. Robert Walpole opposition groups industry at the time.
The title “Prime It would be no exaggeration to say that Robert Walpole based around Taxes! Taxes! Taxes!
Minister” did not
yet exist, and
would not really
(1676–1745) created the office of prime minister around particular causes
himself, though the title would not be used until later. or personalities.
Rapidly changing
2 The number of pence in the pound
paid at the basic rate for the first
income tax in 1798. At the time, a pound
Income tax was an utterly alien idea when William
Pitt the Younger introduced it in 1798. In this
contemporary cartoon the taxman tries to convince
do so till the 20th century. However, coalitions therefore meant that political had 240 pence, giving a taxation rate John Bull that he is his friend.
Walpole is generally held to have power could change hands under the of just over 0.8 percent.
shaped the office around himself. broader banner of Whig power.
Even so, his position differed from
that of the modern prime minister. The family firm
He was appointed by the King, not William Pitt the Elder was the leader of AF TER
by Parliament; and it was the King the “Patriot” Whigs. They disapproved
(rather than the prime minister) who of Walpole’s noninterventionist line on
The opposition between Whigs and Tories
was to become a foundation of the British
political debate, establishing the parameters
of parliamentary business for generations.
207
1688–1815
HOME-GROWN SATIRE
the Age of Reason and Enlightenment,
fed by a new rationality and spirit of beholders do generally discover
In the Middle Ages, Chaucer’s Canterbury exploration (see pp.184–85, 224–25).
Tales ❮❮ 110–11 created a very English
satirical tone. The Restoration era, freed
The first half of the 1700s was a
particularly fertile literary period, often
everybody’s face but their own.”
from Commonwealth restrictions, reveled labeled the new Augustan Age after the
in an irreverent exposure of human folly great Classical writers—Virgil, Livy, JONATHAN SWIFT, PREFACE TO THE BATTLE OF THE BOOKS, 1704
that characterized 17th-century work such Horace, and Ovid—that flourished
as John Dryden’s comic play Marriage à la during Roman Emperor Augustus’s they did this were heavily influenced that were a popular form in his time.
Mode (1673) and his verse satire, Absalom reign (27 BCE–14 CE). Eighteenth-century by the satires of Roman writers Horace His works include The Rape of the Lock
and Achitophel (1681). The 17th-century work writers made this comparison and Juvenal, which exposed hypocrisy, (about a lock of hair; 1712–14), The
of dramatist William Congreve (1670–1729), themselves and looked for inspiration weakness, folly, and corruption. Dunciad (in which he attacks the
such as Love for Love (1695), provided to this ancient era. dullness of much contemporary
another precedent. There was much political activity in Defining satire writing; 1728), and An Essay on Man
the early 1700s, with factions still Satire as a label for a kind of writing (analyzing humans’ relationship with
nursing grievances from the 1600s and first came into being in ancient Rome. God and the universe; 1733–34).
kicking against the established In Latin, satura/satira means “medley”,
order—the 1715 Jacobite as ancient writings that analyzed society Club culture
Jonathan Swift rebellion (see pp.202–03) were often a medley of miscellaneous Men’s clubs in the 18th century were
Swift’s work includes his 1729 was a key event. This poems and prose fragments. Although melting pots for literary trends and
pamphlet A Modest Proposal, made it an apt time for satire soon became identified with the political gossip. The infamous Kit-Kat
in which he uses satire with writers questioning humorous exposé, its original meaning (or Kit-Cat) club, strongly linked with
full force by ironically the order of things— remained in the minds of 18th-century the rise of satire, was named after
suggesting that Irish literary, political, writers, making it slightly different to Christopher Catling, proprietor of the
poverty might be eased religious, and social. our view of it today. tavern in which members first met. A
by feeding poor children The ways in which Irish writer and dining and discussion establishment
to the rich. clergyman Jonathan founded in early 18th-century London
Swift (1667–1745) was by leading Whigs, its members included
the master satirist of the William Congreve, Alexander Pope,
1700s. His satirical tracts Robert Walpole, writer and politician
covered topics from Joseph Addison, and Irish writer
religion and poverty to Richard Steele.
literature and England’s Kit-Kat members Addison and
unfair treatment of the Steele were active in another major
Irish. Early works include literary trend of the time—the rise of
two published in 1704: The magazines, journals, and newspapers.
Battle of the Books (dealing Here society gossip, heated issues of the
with ancient versus day, poetry, and opinions about current
modern learning) and A plays and books took printed form.
Tale of a Tub (comparing Their contents were much discussed in
different religions). His clubs and coffee shops, and played a
prose satire on human major role in spreading new ideas
society, Gulliver’s Travels as well as news. Steele founded the
(1726), is presented as an Tatler periodical (1709–11) and, with
autobiographical account by Addison, the Spectator (1711–12).
a ship’s surgeon of travels to Samuel Johnson, a leading light
fantastical lands, and allowed in literary circles, who went on to
Swift to comment on reason, create the first real English dictionary
civilization, and certain (1755), was a regular contributor to
political issues. publications such as Edward Cave’s
English poet Alexander very popular Gentleman’s Magazine
Pope (1688–1744), another
leading contemporary KIT-KAT A term for a painting
satirist, is known for his measuring 36 x 28in (91 x 71cm). It
biting wit and skill with comes from more than 40 portraits of
heroic couplets—pairs of the Kit-Kat club’s members, painted
rhyming lines in iambic by Sir Godfrey Kneller. The size worked
pentameter (see pp.154–55) well for upper-body images.
POWER OF TH E P EN
AF TER
The art of caricature
In this late 18th-century image, cartoonist Thomas
Rowlandson satirizes the practice whereby rich British satire remains a powerful way
people paid to have teeth from a poor person of questioning tradition.
transplanted into their own mouths.
CONTINUING THE TRADITION
satirical work London (1738) attacked Lord Byron carried on the 18th-century tradition
Prime Minister Robert Walpole’s with his satirical poem, English Bards and Scotch
policies, while John Gay’s The Beggar’s Reviewers (1809). The 1820s saw a torrent of
Opera (1728) and dramatist–novelist satire attacking George IV’s policies. In 1841,
Henry Fielding’s The Historical Register Punch was founded. At its height, this weekly
for 1736 also poked fun at Walpole. illustrated periodical’s radical cartoons and articles
In 1737, Walpole issued the theater were highly influential. Charles Dickens also used
Licensing Act, a censorship system satire very effectively to make comments about
that remained until 1968. Defoe’s pen social conditions in his novels.
brought him plenty of trouble, too:
he was imprisoned after producing THE AGE OF TV
anti-Jacobite pamphlets in 1712–13. The 1960s brought fresh blood to satire and
television became an important forum
Revolutionary writer 372–73 ❯❯. The magazine Private Eye, founded
Anglo-American political writer in 1962, has continued the tradition of printed
Thomas Paine (1737–1809) fled political satire into the 21st century.
to France at one point after being
indicted by the British government
for treason. His pamphlet Common
(1731–1907), possibly the first journal established—the Edinburgh Gazette Sense (1776) supported, and helped to
to use the word “magazine.” Johnson had been founded in 1699, and 1747 move along, American independence
also wrote most of his own Rambler brought the Aberdeen Journal. In 1791, (Benjamin Franklin sponsored Paine’s
periodical (1750–52). Important Irish the oldest surviving Sunday paper, emigration to America in 1774), and
writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–74), the Observer, was born. his The Rights of Man (1791) defended
whose writing includes the comical Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), talented the French Revolution. The Age of
play, She Stoops to Conquer (1773), essayist, satirist, poet, and pamphleteer, Reason (1794), in which Paine
wrote for a dizzying array of periodicals was a major figure in this flood of criticized Christianity, caused
and also produced his own publication, print, and one of the earliest examples widespread outrage.
The Bee (in 1759). of an investigative
50
The number of provincial (that journalist and William Hogarth
The age of the is, non-London) newspapers feature writer. Painter–engraver Hogarth (1697–1764) is one of the
newspaper going strong in 1782; this was double Defoe’s short-lived most famous satirical artists of all time. His famous
British news-sheets the number in existence in 1723, Weekly Review moralizing series Marriage à la Mode (c.1743) points
had started gathering and the number would double again (founded 1704) out the hypocrisies of upper-class marriage.
momentum in the to more than 100 by 1808. covered leading
17th century—the contemporary
London Gazette was founded as the events, while the historical fiction
Oxford Gazette in 1665 and is the world’s A Journal of the Plague Year (1722)
oldest surviving periodical. However, shows great investigative skills. Defoe’s
newspaper floodgates burst open in the Robinson Crusoe (1719), based on the
1700s, helped greatly by Parliament’s true story of a shipwrecked sailor, is
decision in 1695 not to renew a often said to be first English novel.
previous Licensing Act—thus
establishing a free press. Soon there The power of the word
were numerous national and provincial The pen became a mighty weapon
papers—dailies, evening papers, and and a thorn in politicians’ sides in the
even Sunday papers. The first daily, 18th century. Samuel Johnson’s early
the Daily Courant, arrived in 1702, and
the first evening paper, the Evening Post, Birth of The Times
four years later. In 1737, came the This shows the day—January 1, 1788—on which the Daily
Belfast Newsletter, the world’s oldest Universal Register, founded by John Walter I in 1785,
surviving general daily newspaper. became The Times. It is Britain’s oldest surviving
The Scottish press was also getting newspaper with continuous daily publication.
Commercial Expansion
In the early 18th century, the British economy took a great leap forward—though not
because of any major boom in manufacturing or farming. Instead, what has been described
as a financial revolution made new ways of making money possible. And then, of course,
there was “black gold”—the trade in slaves.
T
A slaving company he Glorious Revolution (see cashiers, so they could be sold on been established during Elizabeth I’s
The coat of arms of the Royal African Company—a slave pp.188–89) was all very well, and circulated to some extent. By reign, but the volume of business was
trading company—shows the chief commodity that was but Britain’s economic situation 1759, £10 notes circulated freely as dramatically increasing. The freedom
traded by it. It was earlier known as the Royal Adventurers. was anything but glorious. Scottish currency. The trend took off, although with which cash could now circulate
merchant William Paterson proposed British banking—still in its infancy— in note form and stock could be
opening a subscription among was extremely localized: every town traded in share certificates made
B E F O R E entrepreneurs who were prepared had its own bank, issuing its own bills. everything more fluid, freeing up what
to invest money. Collectively, they Money was a working metaphor, economist Adam Smith (see pp.224–25)
were to become the governors of a standing in for gold in the first instance, would refer to as the “invisible hand”
Britain built its power and prosperity Bank of England, founded by royal but after that for products or labor— of the market.
on trade, the lifeblood of its island charter in 1694. whichever the holder chose.
economy for centuries. Joint-stock companies, although South Sea Bubble
Market forces not altogether new, grew rapidly in The risks were classically illustrated
TRADE AND ECONOMY The new national bank gave importance. These offered a way of by the speculative frenzy of the South
Trade played its part in securing the relative promissory notes in return for sharing risks and profits—investors Sea Bubble. Shares in the South Sea
affluence of medieval England ❮❮ 88–89. gold deposits. By 1725, these were bought stocks in a company on Company soared in value (from
The mercantile economy was developed both part-printed, then completed by the open market and partook in about £100 to £1,000 at their
by the monasteries ❮❮ 108–09 and the city the profits, even if they were peak in August 1720) on the
guilds ❮❮ 120–21. Henry VII promoted overseas
trade ❮❮ 132–33, and his Tudor descendants
built on this success. The colonization of North
1.2 MILLION The
amount
of loan (in pounds) raised by William
not directly involved in the
company’s trading activities.
An investor could also sell his
back of claims that the firm had
secured a monopoly on the
asiento—the regular contract
America opened up new possibilities ❮❮ 162–63. Paterson and his partners in 1694 to share in the company’s stock for selling slaves to the
endow the new Bank of England they to another buyer at an agreed Spanish Americas. Members
were founding. price. The stock exchange had of the public who had
borrowed heavily to buy shares India Company established a toehold of the Bank of England in 1694,
came catastrophically unstuck when in the 17th century, founding posts at which was seen as an important
the company crashed and share Madras (now Chennai, 1640), Bombay way of raising some of the funds
prices collapsed. (Mumbai, 1668), and Calcutta (Kolkata, needed for a major ship-building
1690), which grew into major cities. program. Thereafter, the navy grew
Expanding horizons in size, while also improving its
By the early 18th century, the English Rule, Britannia! fighting capability. The policy paid
East India Company was shipping tea, The reliance on a strong Royal Navy off in the War of the Spanish
silk, porcelain, and other luxuries from for protection on the seas was crucial Succession (see pp.196–97),
China. It also had in maintaining notably in the capture of the
bases in Thailand
and Vietnam, and a
network of contacts
40,000 The number of slaves
empire…”
cheap trinkets, textiles, and weapons together in a stirring (and Anglo-Scottish) partnership in
sent to West Africa were exchanged for this immensely popular song. Britannia’s rule was more
slaves, who were sold for profit in the aspirational than real, at least for the time being.
JOSEPH ADDISON, ON THE ROYAL Americas; the traders then loaded up
slave ships with cotton, tobacco, and miseries of the “Middle Passage” (the
EXCHANGE, IN THE SPECTATOR, 1711
sugar to be sold back home. journey from Africa across the Atlantic),
The slaves had to endure the agonies crammed into fetid and filthy holds
of being torn from their homes and for weeks before being sold as beasts
families, then forced to suffer the of burden on the other side.
AF TER
Britain was rich, or at least, an important the financial security and the leisure
minority of its people were, and the time that enabled them to be creative.
economy as a whole surged ahead at This first manifested itself in the construction
an exhilarating rate. of stately homes in ornamental grounds, and was
quickly followed by more significant innovations—
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE experiments that transformed British farming in
Now that new mechanisms were in place for the 18th century 230–31 ❯❯. Then, of course,
making money, new ways of spending came that time of financial entrepreneurship and
money were also found—and technological invention known as the Industrial
these were not always Revolution 232–33 ❯❯. With the financial
wasteful. Suddenly, newly and technological tools it now had its disposal,
rich landowners found Britain was ideally placed to be the workshop
themselves with of the world 276–77 ❯❯.
211
1688–1815
Colonial Conquests
B E F O R E
T
behind Spain and Portugal when the Age of he Seven Years’ War was a
Discovery got under way in the 15th century European conflict, pitching
❮❮ 146–47. Its first attempts at colonizing Britain and Prussia against
North America were sporadic. Elizabeth I’s France and Austria and their allies
adventurers had done a great deal better by (see pp.206–07). This inevitably
raiding the New World cities of the Spanish brought about a North American
kings. Under her successor, James I, settlements dimension, as both Britain and France
started in Virginia and New England ❮❮ 162–63. had transatlantic colonies. The British
After difficulties, these early colonies prospered. settlers coveted Ohio, currently claimed
by the French Canadians, who traded
A SUCCESSION OF WARS with the native tribes for furs.
In recent centuries, however, Britain had been
beset by problems closer to home: most notably North American acquisitions
a bitter series of succession wars ❮❮ 196–97. General James Wolfe sailed up
Its armed forces had barely been able to get their the St. Lawrence River in June 1759
breath back before a new round of fighting began with 9,000 men on almost 50 ships
over Maria Theresa’s claim to the Austrian to attack Quebec, but this dramatic
succession ❮❮ 200–01. This conflict had in entrance was followed by an
theory been ended by the signing of the Treaty anticlimactic siege. It ended, on
of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, but—with so much September 13, with the hour-long
still to fight for—few diplomatic observers in Battle of the Plains of Abraham, in
Europe were convinced. which the generals from both sides Death of General Wolfe troops smashed the army of the
sustained fatal wounds. France’s Louis The British Empire did not yet exist, but a mythology of Compagnie des Indes and its local ally, the
Joseph de Montcalm died the next imperial self-sacrifice was taking shape. Wolfe’s heroic Nawab of Bengal, at the Battle of Plassey
day, but General Wolfe’s death in death, shown in this painting by Benjamin West of 1771, (1757). Britain then commenced the
the moment of victory was heroic. foreshadowed that of Nelson and Captain Scott. Carnatic War in the southeast, capturing
His dying proclamation, “Now, God the French headquarters at Pondichéry
Peshawar be praised, I die contented…” has Canada became a British possession (modern Puducherry) in 1761.
become legendary. when the Treaty of Paris was signed in
PUNJAB 1763. George III promptly made a Company consolidates
RO Royal Proclamation, attempting to With the Battle of Buxar (1764), the
H IL KUMAON
KH control the pace and scope of Company tightened its hold over
AN
D settlement and secure good relations eastern India, shattering what remained
Bikaner Delhi D with the Native American peoples.
OUDH
OA
Lucknow ASSAM
Ajmer Birth of British India
B
of Bengal, commanded
AR
KEY
the British force. His
British India 1775
COCHIN British control at 1806
TRAVANCORE British control at 1836
CEYLON Growing borders
British control at 1856
Principal areas of Indian Mutiny 1857 From the 1770s, the map of India
tells a story of continuous British
expansion. The fires of the Mutiny
0 1,000km
Maldive were little more than a flash in
N
Islands 0 1,000 miles the pan (see pp.292–93).
212
CO LO N I A L CO N Q U E ST S
AF TER
KEY MOMENT
Colony expands
Lord Cornwallis takes receipt of two hostage
princes of Mysore in this oil painting from
THE FORT WILLIAM IMPRISONMENT 1793. Scenes like this cheered a nation still
reeling from the loss of the American colonies.
1688–1815
B E F O R E
V
❮❮ 176–77 (or, for that matter, of the ictory in the Seven Years’ War in 1773. In Philadelphia, in 1774, the A commander and a president
Commonwealth ❮❮ 172–73). (see pp.212–13) gave Britain colonists asserted their rights at the First “First in war, first in peace…” No one did more than
some breathing space in which Continental Congress, but they only got George Washington (1732–99) for the American
TAXATION it could attend to its American colonies, the so-called “Intolerable Acts”—a set of Revolution, commanding the Continental Army,
Instead of the 13 colonies which had been getting on without five acts that restricted their freedom— then serving as the first president of the republic.
depending on Britain, much interference—and prospering for their pains.
the “mother country” in the process. Britain increased at Bunker Hill on June 17 brought a
relied on them for taxes to pay for the upkeep of The shooting starts British victory, but failed to stop the
25 percent of its military protection by the British The settlers had traditionally relied on siege. From June, the various rebel
export trade in regular army against further their own militias to defend themselves militia groups were brought together
the 1740s. The French encroachments. In 1765, against a Native American attack. Now, to form a new Continental Army.
government taxed an unofficial convention of such militia constituted a ready-made
them on luxuries such colonists issued a “Declaration rebel army. In April 1775, with the Independence declared
as printed publications, of Rights and Grievances.” The colonies in ferment, Britain tried to The rebels took Boston in March 1776,
sugar, and tea. The colonies British, far from being moved, preempt trouble by seizing the weapons and on July 4 the Second Continental
were also taxed for their GEORGE III
simply imposed more taxes. They also in the arsenal at Concord, Massachusetts. Congress issued the Declaration of
governance and defense. HALF PENNY responded to a boycott of British goods Fighting turned into a general uprising. Independence. But by September,
in Boston with a military occupation of Led by George Washington, the rebels General Washington, having lost New
the city, and added a Tea Tax to the list besieged Boston. General Howe’s attack York, had to retreat in haste through
KEY MOMENT
214
A M E R I C A I S LO ST
AF TER
EXPANDING EMPIRE
Britain had already started establishing its
“second empire”—including existing colonies
in Canada and India. In the decades that
followed, however, new territories were
added—discovered by Captain Cook in the
Pacific 226–27 ❯❯, or taken from France in the
course of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic
Wars 240–41 ❯❯. Other colonies, such as
Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) and South Africa’s
Cape Colony, were taken not from the French
but from the Dutch, to prevent them from
falling into French hands.
215
DECISIVE MOMENT October 19, 1781
Surrender at Yorktown
Even a few months before, the British had seemed to have the upper
hand against the American insurgents. Lord Cornwallis’s withdrawal
to Yorktown, on the coast, had been an orderly regroup. Defeat,
entirely unexpected, would stun the British establishment, and
launch the newly independent United States on a euphoric tide.
C
ornwallis found himself isolated, but then continued south to Virginia.
with no support coming from his Soon, with Lafayette’s army, there were
commander, General Clinton, almost 17,000 men outside Yorktown,
who was convinced that Yorktown hitting it relentlessly with heavy guns.
faced no threat. Led by the Marquis de
Lafayette, the Virginia army besieging Left high and dry
Yorktown was indeed not large, but it Cornwallis still expected support, and
held out the hope of reinforcements the Royal Navy was indeed on its way.
arriving from the northern colonies. But De Grasse’s fleet was waiting when
These included both Americans, under it got there. On September 5, just
General Washington, and a French outside the mouth of Chesapeake Bay,
force led by the Comte de Rochambeau, battle began. It was a ragged affair, both
which had landed at Rhode Island. fleets being short-crewed, while shoals
hampered the formation of lines. The
Support from the sea outcome was inconclusive—but that
At this point, crucially, Washington and was good enough for the French and
Rochambeau heard that the Comte De the Americans. The British fleet was
Grasse, France’s admiral operating in forced to continue north. Cornwallis,
the Caribbean, had agreed to move up marooned with his men at their base,
the coast in their support. (He had been under ferocious bombardment, felt he
tied up till now in the Caribbean, but had no alternative but to surrender. The
was freed by Spain’s agreement to mind American War of Independence was
French merchant shipping.) Spurred by now effectively over, although it would
this, the Americans and French moved take the signing of the Treaty of Paris
south, as though to attack New York, two years later to make this official.
Surrender at Yorktown
With Cornwallis claiming to be ill, Brigadier Charles
O’Hara took the sword of surrender out on his behalf.
Rochambeau refused it, pointing to Washington, who in
turn indicated Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, who had
suffered the humiliation of surrendering at Charleston.
217
1688–1815
Georgian Society
B E F O R E
A
provided sound public finances and a source lthough there were wars for and those with money set the day’s with parties, theater trips, and sporting
of government borrowing, helping to encourage about half of the century, and tone and tastes. One taste was for events such as the races. Similar
commerce, while the gradual establishment of economic problems for some of the social season, which increased in seasons arose in Dublin and Edinburgh.
an empire augmented this with new markets the time, the 1700s were generally a popularity throughout the 1700s. As
and sources of trade ❮❮ 210–13. The growth period of stability and prosperity. London grew as a more important Outside London
of trading towns and cities broadened people’s Wealth, however, was spread unevenly, commercial and political Provincial towns and cities were
horizons as they moved there in search of with around one-third controlled by center, men of substance growing, especially the “spa”
work. But huge numbers of people still lived five percent of the would spend much time towns, where the wealthy
in rural areas where lifestyles were population. Inheriting there, with stays often would stay a while, as part
taking much longer to change, land was still the way dictated by the sitting of the annual social
and many farming to achieve any of Parliament. Life rounds, to partake of
implements were position of power, at their country supposedly health-giving
little different from as in the century residences was often waters from natural
medieval times. before. To be an MP, linked with the springs. Bath was the
a man had to hold land hunting season. A most fashionable spa,
worth around £500 per whole social season
annum, and most men arose around time Jane Austen
couldn’t vote unless they spent in London, With great wit and observation, Jane
PEASANT’S CART owned some property. A lasting from April or Austen chronicled the social lives of the
country squire with property May to the start of middle and upper classes around 1800 in
would be the local magistrate, August, and was filled books such as Pride and Prejudice (1813).
Elegant Bath
Much of Georgian Bath
was created by architects
John Wood the Elder and
Younger. The younger
Wood designed the
much-imitated Royal
Crescent, seen here.
GEORGIAN SOCI ET Y
AF TER
Early game of cricket Employment also began to change.
Sports were important Traditional careers for men, had they
male leisure pursuits. not been squires, included the Church, The Regency and beyond saw some
Cricket, popular by army, or navy, often in modest roles, instabilities and class divisions, while
Restoration times, became but options now grew. Journalist Daniel the social season continued.
a national sport in the Defoe listed a hierarchy of social classes,
1700s. The Marylebone mentioning “the middle sort, who live WIDENING GAP
Cricket Club was founded well.” The rise of professions now saw a The 1800s brought uncertainties arising from
in 1787. Other male growing body of men working as clergy, wars with France, and the Regency saw a contrast
pastimes included hunting, doctors, lawyers, or—as commerce and between the extravagance of the rich and the
shooting, watching bear- industry expanded—businessmen and poverty of the urban poor 222–23 ❯❯. The
baiting, and the races. merchants. They were usually based middle classes continued to rise; commerce
in towns and were not wealthy made headway into the Industrial Revolution.
and its population grew markedly in regularly, helped by greatly improved landowners, but earned reasonably
the 18th century. It was a place of roads that by mid-century reduced well. The rising middle classes and their QUEEN VICTORIA’S SEASON
fashion and manners, and its season, as traveling times to hours not days. leisure pursuits and growing spending By Victoria’s reign 270–71 ❯❯, the social
in London, was an opportunity for both This movement, as well as the greater power helped feed new industries and season had become highly structured. For
sexes to show off new clothes, learn exchange of goods between town and create a consumer revolution. Shopping families with links to aristocracy, a young
new dances, and attract suitable wives country, meant that the social classes for everything from cutlery to china to debutante’s first social season marked her
and husbands. This might occur at the did start to intermix more. buttons became all the rage. coming of age, and she was presented, dressed
perennially popular ball, often a lavish in an extravagant gown, to the Queen, before
affair with added entertainments such
as fireworks. At smaller parties, young
women might be admired for their
“ I was three days… in the race embarking on the season’s entertainments.
B
ritain was growing wealthier
B E F O R E by the year, with its trade and
commerce (see pp.210–11)
expanding as the country’s colonial
The stresses and strains of the social reach extended (see pp.212–13).
order always found a way of expressing Enormous fortunes were being
themselves, whether in eruptions of unrest made in the slave trade in
or in outbursts of religious enthusiasm. particular. Not all shared the Armed police
prosperity, although everyone A Bow Street Runner carried this pistol, made in 1763,
UPHEAVAL AND UNREST had been affected by the but the authorities were fighting a losing battle against
In the context of a feudal system in mounting transformation of the Thousands relied on so-called street crime, in the capital and elsewhere.
crisis, the Peasants’ Revolt ❮❮ 104–05 and countryside, as the enclosure “Dutch courage” to help
the Lollards’ spiritual rebirth ❮❮ 108–09 may be process had gathered pace them through their hard and with an urban underclass already
understood as two sides of the same coin. In the during the 17th century. Thousands, unrewarding lives. In pursuit of regarded with deep suspicion. Then
period that followed, disorder descended onto uprooted from the relentlessly poor its mercantilist goals (see pp.178–79), as subsequently, the poor were
the kingdom from above: it was the country’s but essentially orderly life of the the government eased restrictions on clearly stereotyped: idle, shiftless,
ruling families who brought chaos and confusion country, were living in squalid city domestically distilled spirits while slatternly, criminal, promiscuous,
through the Wars of the Roses ❮❮ 122–23. slums, where a certain amount of hiking up the duties on imported and insubordinate; their potential
While the drift of the population to the cities social anarchy—crime, prostitution, drinks. So gin was a readily available for violent disorder always feared.
through the Tudor period was accompanied by and drunkenness—were rife. tipple—and the most visible in its
a rise in crime ❮❮ 132–33, religious upheaval effects on the urban poor. Riotous assembly
was introduced by the king and by a clerical Demonized drink Even so, the Gin Craze that took Outbreaks of public violence were in
elite ❮❮ 136–37. With industrialism poised One of William of Orange’s less hold of the nation in the middle of the any case a feature of this period. There
to transform the overall economic scene in welcome introductions had been gin, 18th century seems to have existed was invariably trouble in naval ports
Britain, a new round of social and spiritual a liquor distilled from wheat and more in the minds of the media, and
unrest seemed inevitable. flavored with juniper berries. those respectable citizens, who Gordon Riots
saw “mother’s ruin” as the In 1780, armed troops were deployed on the streets
ruination of society at of London to break up serious rioting, whipped up
large. Gin-drinking by the anti-Catholic rhetoric of Lord George Gordon
was associated and his Protestant Association.
222
D I SO R D E R A N D R E L I G I O U S R E V I VA L
AF TER
Gin Lane
William Hogarth’s notorious satire clearly expressed the
exaggerated fears of the Establishment. But there is no Crime raged on, regardless of the Bloody
doubt that the gin craze wreaked havoc among large Code: fears of punishment were overridden
sections of the urban poor. by need, but also criminals realized they
were unlikely to be apprehended by a
A cheap and cheerful literature ramshackle system of law enforcement.
celebrated the exploits of the most
notorious criminals in handbills METROPOLITAN POLICE
or broadsides. Crime became a Law enforcement by parish was grossly inadequate,
source of sensational entertainment. underfunded, and disorganized. The first major
Thief-taker-turned-criminal Jonathan step forward came in 1829 when Home
Wild inspired a novel by Henry Fielding Secretary Robert Peel established a Metropolitan
(1743) and the “fair parricide” Mary Police Force for London 278–79 ❯❯.
Blandy inspired a play (1752).
MAKING PROGRESS
Moral concern More hopeful signs of a moral awakening
With concern mounting about the moral among the emergent middle class was
effect this glamorization of crime and evident in the anti-slavery campaign of the
punishment was having in society as a late-18th century 234–35 ❯❯. Moreover, while
whole, transportation—to Van Diemen’s the failure of discontent to translate into action
Land (Tasmania) or Botany Bay (New in the aftermath of the French Revolution might
South Wales)—was increasingly seen as have disappointed radicals, conservatives could
an alternative. Early efforts to toughen see this as a sign that Britain was getting
up law enforcement came with the something right 236–37 ❯❯.
formation of the Bow Street Runners
by the writer and magistrate Henry
Fielding. They were known as Robin
Redbreasts for the distinctive bright
red waistcoats that they wore.
There was a growing sense that
223
1688–1815
B E F O R E
T
he Scottish Enlightenment did Walter Scott
much to forge Scotland’s sense of Scott’s evocative tales of Scotland were popular in
Earlier development of a tolerant humanism history and identity. It centered on his own day, placing Scotland on the international map.
was key to Scottish 18th-century thought. Edinburgh, where people gathered in He is said to be the father of historical fiction.
taverns, debating clubs, and the salons
RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM of poet Alison Cockburn to share ideas. Ferguson (1723–1816) was a sociology
In the 16th century, Scottish humanist George Edinburgh’s university became the pioneer who characterized humans as
Buchanan (1506–82) preached resistance to most-revered worldwide. sociable, naturally progressive beings.
religious tyranny. Scotland in the 17th century Ideas-wise, there was a stress on
was rife with superstition and intolerance, human potential, improvement, reason, The power of song
but many were shocked by the execution of a and on finding underlying principles. Ayrshire-born Robert Burns (1759–96)
young student for blasphemy in 1697. Leading figures shared a widespread has become, for many, Scotland’s
admiration for French philosopher very influential in France and America. eternal poet laureate. Popular in his
NEW TOLERANCE Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), Theorist David Hume (1711–76), day, he collected traditional Scottish
In the early 1700s, a more moderate outlook who believed that humans had been author of A Treatise of Human Nature songs (including Auld Lang Syne) and
developed. Ulster-born philosopher Francis constrained by civilization. The most (1739–40), believed in challenging wrote poetic favorites such as Tam o’
Hutcheson (1694–1746) was a major figure. important thing was to think for oneself. conventional wisdom and, in true Shanter (1791) in Scots dialect.
His students at Glasgow University included rationalist style, valued experience (see In a similar vein, James Macpherson
Adam Smith and future Church leader Shaping society pp.184–85). Adam Smith (1723–90), (1736–96) collected Gaelic literature
Alexander Carlyle. Social and economic improvement and often cited as the father of modern and claimed that his Poems of Ossian
organization were central issues, and economics, stood against strong state (1760–63) was a long-lost Celtic epic.
Scottish Enlightenment theory was economic controls. Philosopher Adam Despite this being false, the work was a
huge contemporary success worldwide.
Scottish Enlightenment
Burns and Macpherson might be seen
as attempting to find a new identity
for post-Union and post-Culloden
Scotland, as was poet and novelist Sir
Walter Scott (1771–1832). His romantic
Scottish intellectual, scientific, and artistic life flourished in the 18th century, and Edinburgh became an 18th-century New Town, Edinburgh
Edinburgh and Glasgow grew enormously in the 1700s.
internationally important, stylish center. Leading figures included poet Robert Burns, thinkers Adam
Edinburgh gained the extensive New Town, a masterful
Smith and David Hume, engineer James Watt, and Romantic historical novelist Walter Scott. example of city planning.
S C OT T I S H E N L I G H T E N M E N T
AF TER
historical novels began in 1814 with natural air to classical conventions,
Waverley, set during the 1745 Jacobite is seen as the source of the Scottish
rising. The novels mix nostalgic Scottish landscape tradition. Scottish Enlightenment thought
tradition with the Enlightenment’s The 1700s brought increasing reverberated through many fields,
desire for progress. prosperity and rapid population notably signaling the social sciences
growth to Edinburgh. The and socialist theories of the future.
Art and architecture
In late 18th-century Adam Smith SMITH AND THE FREE MARKET
Edinburgh, the lively, This 1797 coin commemorates Adam Smith’s ideas about the division of
natural portraits of Adam Smith, author of The labor helped to create modern western
Sir Henry Raeburn Wealth of Nations (1776), capitalism. The division of labor deals with
(1756–1823) captured which outlined the “division the way in which various tasks are shared
the major players of the of labor” theory. among different parties in society. Smith
Scottish Enlightenment. believed that, if unconstrained by state
Raeburn was the first city’s 18th-century New controls, a free market encourages
Scotland-based artist to gain Town, with its elegant, spacious specialization and society benefits. His ideas
worldwide acclaim. Allan Ramsay Georgian terraces and squares, was influenced economics well into modern times.
(1713–84) was another renowned created to cope with some of this. The Adam Smith Institute, a British think-tank,
James Hutton Scottish portraitist, known for sensitive Influential worldwide, it includes was founded in 1977, and Margaret Thatcher
A pioneering natural scientist, Hutton developed images of women. Edinburgh-based Charlotte Square, a gem by Scots-born 382–83 ❯❯ cited him as an inspiration. Adam
controversial views (since vindicated) on the Earth’s Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840), architect Robert Adam (1728–92). Ferguson’s views on the division of labor
aging in works such as Theory of the Earth (1795). famed for landscapes that brought a anticipated those of communist Karl Marx
Science and engineering (1818–83) and French sociologist Émile
B
B E F O R E y the 18th century, the study Cook’s second visit to what he called the Sandwich
of science had advanced. Islands in 1779 was ill-starred. He was killed by
New inventions and insights islanders in a fracas over a stolen boat.
The British people had been intrepid (see pp.184–85) both fostered and
seafarers for many centuries, but were facilitated the desire to investigate almost defenseless—despite being
slow in starting colonies across the world. the world, inspiring explorers and laden with silver coins. After
giving them better navigational capturing it, Anson made his way
VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY instruments and investigative aids. home. His share of the booty was
Elizabethan adventurers accomplished great Britain was in the forefront of these more than £90,000.
voyages of discovery ❮❮ 146–47, but new researches. Cook’s sextant
successful settlements were not established Booty came first, though: George A relatively new invention, Cook’s tours
until the reign of James I ❮❮ 162–63. Anson’s circumnavigation of the globe the sextant allowed Cook to plot his Born in Yorkshire in 1728, James Cook
did not start out as a voyage of discovery. geographical position with accuracy. served as a merchant seaman on a
FULL AHEAD His intention was to attack the Spanish coaster in the coal trade before joining
By the 17th century, England was a trading treasure fleets that brought home the the weather in the Pacific Ocean even the Royal Navy at the start of the Seven
nation, prepared to fight for its commercial riches of the colonies. worse. They stopped for repairs before Years’ War. In 1768, his ship, Endeavour,
interests ❮❮ 178–79. The country was also a setting out to search for treasure-laden took an expedition to the South Pacific,
developing center of science: advances were to Anson’s voyage Spanish shipping. from where a Transit of Venus (the
translate to the world of navigation, making a Leaving Portsmouth in September Only a couple of minor vessels came passage of the planet across the face of
systematic exploration of the globe a 1740, Anson’s flagship HMS Centurion their way until, after stops in China, the Sun) could be observed. While the
possibility ❮❮ 184–85. led a flotilla of five warships across the on June 20, 1743, they encountered expedition’s scientific leader Joseph
Atlantic and around Cape Horn, the galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga. Banks oversaw the recording of
braving ferocious storms, only to find Sailing westward from Manila, it was astronomical observations, Cook and
226
N E W H O R I Z O N S I N T H E PA C I F I C
his crew observed with astonishment Cook established Britain in the region, Tahitian lady
the ways of the Pacific Islanders. These but the competition from French In the 18th century, English voyagers were staggered
were captured by the expedition’s navigators such as Louis de by the exoticism and beauty of the indigenous cultures
artists (notably Sydney Parkinson), Bougainville (1729–1811) was stiff. The they came upon in the lands of the Pacific.
while botanist Daniel Solander collected first Frenchman to circumnavigate the
a wealth of undiscovered plants. globe, Bougainville explored the Pacific
Endeavour sailed south to New Ocean a couple of years before AF TER
Zealand before heading west to Cook, and claimed several
Australia, where it made landfall island groups for France.
at what Cook called Botany Bay, By 1800, the British were at Britain’s explorers did much to extend
with its many specimens home in New South Wales: their country’s global reach—of crucial
for Solander to collect. the rest of the continent importance to becoming a great
The ship then remained mysterious, commercial and imperial power.
rounded Cape however, with
York and passed even its TRADING NETWORK
through the coastal outline The worldwide trading network that
Torres Strait to uncharted. resulted from extending the country’s
New Guinea Matthew reach was to stand industrial Britain in
and Indonesia, Flinders helped good stead when it came to finding raw
finally reaching complete the materials and markets for its exports
England again
in 1771.
picture by
the successive
surveys he
“Several of the 266–67 ❯❯. Further major explorations
of the world were made in Victorian times
286–87 ❯❯. In the meantime, Britain
Southern
search
undertook on
his naval sloop, Natives came built up its presence in India 290–91 ❯❯,
while sending emigrants into its new
In 1772, Cook led a Investigator. Setting dominions across the world 294–95 ❯❯.
second voyage in HMS
Resolution, accompanied
out from England in
December 1801, he
to us in their
canoes, but
by a ship aptly named Chronometer took a course well to
Adventure. The expedition By keeping accurate time, seafarers the south of what was
was charged with finding could calculate longitude by working then customary,
Terra Australis (Latin for
“Southern Land”), an
out the difference between local noon
and noon at Greenwich.
arriving off Cape
Leeuwin (the more to look
undiscovered southern southwestern tip of
continent whose existence had been
proposed since ancient times. The
Western Australia) and following the
southern coast, all the way around to
at us than
anything else.”
theory was that Terra Australis would Sydney. After a period in port, between
somehow “balance out” the vast 1802 and 1803 he took to sea again,
landmasses of the northern hemisphere. heading north up the Queensland coast, BRITAIN’S FIRST SETTLERS IN AUSTRALIA
Of course, Cook did not find it—though ultimately circumnavigating the CAPTAIN JAMES COOK, ON HIS
he would have reached Antarctica if he continent completely. ARRIVAL IN TAHITI, 1769
had ventured even a little further.
His third voyage, from 1776, was once
again on Resolution. Cook discovered the
Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) before going
north along the western coast of North
China Mexico
America to the Bering Strait. Their
goal was to find the fabled Northwest Hawaii
Passage (see p.163) from the
“other”—Pacific—side.
Meeting with no success, Cook Philippine
turned back, heading south to Islands
Hawaiian waters again. He put
P A C I F I C
in to rest at Kealakekua Bay in
New Guinea O C E A N
January 1779. On February 14, I N D I A N Java SOUTH
during a clash with local OCEAN
AMERICA
warriors, he was killed, in
rather confused circumstances,
on the beach.
AUSTRALIA
Around Australia
If Matthew Flinders (1774–1814) had
never done anything else, he would
have had a place in history for
popularizing the use of the name
New Zealand KEY
“Australia” (from Terra Australis), for
what had previously been called New Early voyages in the Pacific Route of Admiral Lord Anson 1740–44
Route of Captain Cook 1768–71
Holland. The earlier name testified George Anson’s voyage of circumnavigation took him
to the pioneering role of Dutch around Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean, then around
0 5,000km
adventurers in opening up these waters the Asian coast. James Cook followed in his wake, N 0 5,000 miles
in the 17th century. Captain James before branching off to sail further south.
227
1688–1815
■ BUSINESS CARD
■ SNUFF BOX
■ BANKNOTE
■ FLINTLOCK PISTOL
■ COMMEMORATIVE PUNCHBOWL
■ LLOYD’S LIST
Georgian Trade
The Georgian age brought a boom in Britain’s domestic and international trade,
supported by a fast-expanding financial sector and an increasingly professional
merchant navy. Britain was in business, bringing in raw materials from North America
and the Far East, and making high-quality luxuries for export. Other trades were
less glamorous—notably a cruel and squalid traffic in slaves from Africa.
■ Banknote, issued by the Bank of Scotland in 1723. One clear influence of Chinese design. Itself a Chinese invention,
of the earliest British banknotes in existence. The individual’s porcelain was first made in Europe in the 18th century.
details were filled in by hand. ■ Business card, 1754, ■ A roll of snuff, some clay pipes, and a wallet dated
printed by a maker and seller of scales in Birmingham. ■ 1761. ■ Samuel Wyatt’s plan for the Isle of Dogs (1796)
Enameled copper snuffbox made in Staffordshire in 1775. was one of several such designs proposed. The port of
■ Blunderbuss flintlock pistol made in 1785. It has a brass London was expanding rapidly at this time. ■ Ship’s biscuit
barrel and two triggers. ■ Lloyd’s List, Friday, June 7, 1745 inscribed with the date April 13, 1784. Made of flour and
details the day’s shipping news. First published in 1734, water, hard tack kept for years. ■ Iron ankle band used
when London’s port and financial markets were both to shackle a slave, 18th century. ■ Ceramic creamware
beginning to boom, it has appeared regularly ever since. ■ pitcher, c.1780, painted with a scene of a sailor’s farewell
Hand-painted delftware punchbowl, 1752, decorated with to his girl. A title above lines of text reads “Poor Jack.”
a ship sliding down the slipway to mark a successful launch. ■ Sextant, mid 18th century, used to plot a ship’s latitude
As the vessel has no guns, it is likely to be a merchant brig. from the angle between the horizon and the sun or a given
■ Silver nutmeg grater made in London in 1810. ■ star. ■ Slave ship plan from the 1790s illustrating the
Foldaway medicine chest, c.1800, belonging to a ship’s stowage of slaves for the Middle Passage—the leg from
■ SNUFF, PIPES, AND WALLET doctor. ■ Worcester blue tea service, 1750s, showing the Africa to America—of the “triangular trade“ of slaves.
■ ANKLE BAND
■ SHIP’S BISCUIT
■ PLAN FOR THE PORT OF LONDON
■ CERAMIC PITCHER
■ SEXTANT ■ SLAVE SHIP PLAN
229
1688–1815
Modernizing Agriculture
Rural life had long been idealized as a blessed state: man toiled hard, and the earth gave its abundance
by God’s grace. In the 18th century, however, landowners asked whether it was giving enough and
whether the application of scientific methods might not make agriculture more rewarding.
T
he idea was catching on that The farmer was a paying tenant now, Plow of wood and iron
agriculture might be an industry; or at least a paid laborer on an Ancient technology was reinvented in the Agricultural
that its skills and equipment might employer’s land. Revolution of the 18th century. Wood-and-iron plows
be bettered, its yields improved. The offered the perfect compromise between robustness
feudal serf had been a subsistence The coming of enclosures and lightness for ease of use.
farmer, tied to his land and loyal to his Key to this changing relationship
lord. His situation was defined by a was the accelerating trend toward
cosmography in which he would no enclosure, which dated back to Tudor
more have questioned his place than times (see pp.142–43) but had speeded
that of the sun or the stars circling in up in the 17th century. Large
their spheres. His role was not to numbers of the rural population,
change things, but to accept them dislodged from lands they and their forebears had farmed
stoically. This medieval for centuries, drifted to the
outlook became a memory, cities. The enclosures were a
however, as cash payment tragedy for thousands of poor families.
took the place of the The advantage from the landlord’s
feudal bond. point of view—and for the economy
overall—was the opportunity
enclosure brought to make
improvements. Until then, agriculture
had been traditional and inherently
conservative. Now, however, a new
confidence was apparent in landlords;
a new readiness to try out innovations
and to take risks. Crop rotation was
not new in itself, but it was improved.
The three-field system used (though
B E F O R E gradually refined) since late medieval
times was replaced with a four-field
system. After a cereal crop, legumes
In Britain, as in most of Europe, the medieval however, had researches into science and such as clover, or root crops such as
economy was overwhelmingly agrarian and the study of humanity’s relations to its world. turnips, would be planted. Both
was changing only very slowly. While Isaac Newton was mapping out the helped recharge the earth with
universe, others were enquiring into just nitrogen, while producing food for
A FEUDAL SYSTEM about every other aspect of the natural livestock (whose manure was widely
The Domesday Book shows an England environment ❮❮ 184–85. used as fertilizer).
dominated by the feudal system: This and other improvements were
most people toiled in serfdom made possible by pioneers such
on the land ❮❮ 74–75. Efficiencies as Robert Bakewell, who
over the centuries that followed from the 1760s adopted a
gradually increased agricultural more scientific approach
productivity, without radically to agriculture. He set aside
changing the feudal system designated plots on
❮❮ 88–89, though growing tensions his Dishley estate, in
were registered in the Peasants’ Leicestershire, and tested
Revolt ❮❮ 104–05. The cities came combinations of rotation,
into their own, and merchant fertilizers, and livestock.
companies and guilds organized
urban economic life ❮❮ 120–21. Taking stock
Bakewell’s method
CHANGES BEGIN of stockbreeding involved
Tudor enclosures made England’s keeping males and females
farmland yet more productive, apart, so that he could manage
albeit at considerable social cost their breeding much more
❮❮ 132–33. The enclosure carefully than had been done
process gathered momentum before. This way he was able to The Country Housewife
through the 17th century. So too, develop the much larger and Science came to the kitchen when Richard Bradley,
luxuriantly fleeced New Leicester Cambridge University’s Professor of Botany, wrote
PEASANT WORKING THE LAND sheep and the Dishley Longhorn cow The Country Housewife in 1736. This manual, on every
(big and chunky, and so purpose-bred aspect of cookery, food preservation, and brewing,
for beef). He also produced a more became an indispensable housekeeper’s companion.
230
M O D E R N I Z I N G A G R I C U LT U R E
I N N O VAT I O N
LANDSCAPE AS ART
Enlightened landowners saw their profits
soaring as their lands became more
productive. With their wealth they could
afford to improve not just their working
farms, but their homes as well. Their
confidence was rising too: they believed
implicitly that they could improve on
nature, and set about creating numerous
picturesque settings.
Landscape architects such as Charles
Bridgeman (1690–1738) and William
Kent (c.1685–1748) led the way in
establishing the taste for a natural look
which, while offering an enticing hint of
wildness, was reassuringly domesticated
in its overall effect.
This sensibility reached its height in
the rolling parkland vistas conjured up by
Lancelot “Capability” Brown (1716–83).
Where a previous generation might have
rejoiced in the self-conscious artificiality
of an ornamental garden with fountains,
lawns, and symmetrically laid-out walks,
now the emphasis was on a carefully
contrived spontaneity. Great as the
contrast with earlier styles was, such
scenes were to fall foul of later Romantic
judges, who believed that natural beauty
should not be landscaped, but should be
wild and uncontrolled.
231
1688–1815
T
he early 18th century found a With a sole dependence on agriculture manufacturers the possibility of
B E F O R E still overwhelmingly rural Britain seemingly gone, manufacturing, mainly replicating them, perhaps many times
poised uncertainly between a in textiles, offered an alternative, or at over, to bring output to unprecedented
fast-receding past and an unknown least additional work. Some people had levels. Yet productivity was still limited
Trade was always important to the nations future. Thousands of agricultural established themselves as spinners or by the capacity of the individual man or
of Britain. In the preceding centuries, it workers were left unemployed by a weavers, processing wool on wheels or woman to work, marrying strength and
became more vital still. labor surplus that resulted from high handlooms in their own homes, often stamina with manual skill.
rates of population growth; often their combined with farming work. Yet such External sources of power were not
CONDITIONS FOR ENTERPRISE families were uprooted by enclosures, “cottage industries” were by definition new: horses had pulled carts and
In Tudor times, the wool trade brought great which were gathering pace throughout small in scale. There was no suggestion coaches from time immemorial;
prosperity ❮❮ 142–43. Flourishing commerce the decades of the Agricultural that production could be stepped up windmills and watermills had been
(cultural and mercantile) with northern Italy Revolution (see pp.230–31). sufficiently to supply anything more used for centuries in grinding grain.
ensured that England shared in the benefits of than the most modest local trade. The challenge facing 18th-century
the Renaissance ❮❮ 152–53. Trade expanded inventors was to harness the brute
rapidly during the Commonwealth and Productivity and factories power of water to the delicate tasks of
Restoration, with England even going to war to Technological innovation was to change textile manufacture. In 1738, Lewis
defend its market share ❮❮ 180–81. Scientific all that. Inventions, such as John Kay’s Paul and Edward Baines invented a
advances through the 17th century led to new flying shuttle, in 1733, made even roller-spinning machine, which allowed
technologies ❮❮ 184–85. Just as important was handloom-weaving more yarns to be made on a much larger
the financial ingenuity that made their productive. The
development possible through the realization that these The new industrial landscape
introduction of more sophisticated banking and devices automated The Industrial Revolution excited not just the
of joint-stock companies ❮❮ 210–11. Meanwhile, the processes of economic, but the artistic, imagination. A new kind of
increased agricultural productivity was manufacturing landscape that both attracted and repelled was born
freeing up a huge potential workforce offered to at the Ironbridge Gorge, in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire.
to work in industry ❮❮ 230–31.
I N N O VAT I O N
A NEW POTTERY
Founded in 1736, Josiah Wedgwood’s
Staffordshire stoneware was industrialized
elegance, bringing gracious living within
reach of the middle class. A readiness to
innovate in kiln and glaze technology was
matched by resourcefulness in marketing,
especially in securing the approval of
Queen Charlotte in 1765. Although it
was mass produced, it was made to
exacting standards, was beautifully
colored in white, blue, or black, and
was tastefully decorated—often with
classically influenced designs.
WEDGWOOD TEAPOT
232
I N V E N TO R S A N D E N T R E P R E N E U R S
scale. Paul’s carding machine of 1748 Arkwright achieved enormous its chamber to produce a vacuum,
allowed the clumps and tangles to be economies of scale, but water power which had the effect of pulling a piston
teased out of the raw wool with ease, was not available everywhere, and down to raise the pumping beam. Then
enabling the worker to produce far even where it was, capacity was limited more steam was produced, driving the
more usable fiber. James Hargreaves’ by difficulties of access and river flow. piston up once more, until the chamber
spinning jenny (1764) was quickly The first steam pump was developed by cooled down and the condensing cycle
eclipsed by Richard Arkwright’s Thomas Savery, in 1698, although its could begin again. Heated and cooled at
spinning (later, water) frame, in 1775. poor performance gave no suggestion every stroke, the process was hugely
Arkwright was arguably responsible that a technological revolution was wasteful in energy. Watt’s separate
for a more important innovation: under way. Thomas Newcomen’s condenser allowed most of the heat to
modern factory production. At his atmospheric engine, in 1712, was be retained and reused in successive
five-story mill in Cromford, Derbyshire, an improvement, although Scottish strokes; his steam pump also had an
he used water power to drive whole engineer James Watt was to efficient rotating engine. Watt was
rows of carding machines, spinning make it better still. Watt saw sponsored by Matthew Boulton,
how inefficient Newcomen’s who was one of the new breed of
A new age of iron Britain led the way as the world’s first
Steam was used where water power industrial nation. The challenge now was
was used before, but now with new to manage that advantage.
applications, especially in mining, for
coal and Cornish tin. Steam pumps DRAMATIC CHANGE
raised rainwater from previously The pace of change was startling: the sense,
inconceivable depths, allowing a rapid at once exhilarating and alarming, was of an
expansion in the industry, and—since entire country rushing onward like one of the
Abraham Darby had found a way of new steam trains that were careering across the
using coke in iron production—meeting countryside 258–59 ❯❯. Many of the population
a soaring demand for coal. In 1709, felt left behind, however: uprooted from the
ending centuries of charcoal-fueled traditions of rural life, they found themselves
forest-smelting, Darby built a gigantic disorientated, struggling to find their way in
blast furnace at Coalbrookdale, making sprawling cities. At this time of progress and
possible the large-scale production of prosperity, poverty was rife and living and
pig-iron. It also made its mark on the working conditions frequently atrocious.
Shropshire landscape, a diabolical one, It seemed that political turbulence, including a
many felt. Belching smoke Luddite backlash against machines
by day, it cast an infernal and industry, could hardly now
glow at night, while be avoided 264–65 ❯❯.
ringing with the din
of its machinery. The NO WAY BACK
Industrial Revolution was Britain’s course was
everywhere. Even where established, and with
mills and mines did not other competitive nations
stud the skyline, canals racing to catch up, there
crisscrossed the country. was no turning back, or
With huge quantities any great desire to. Despite
of raw materials and the problems, most took
manufactured goods to be pride in the industrial
moved, canals were vital. preeminence of what
The Sankey Canal, near remained the workshop
Warrington, was built in of the world 276–77 ❯❯.
1757; the Bridgwater
Canal four years later; and ANTI-INDUSTRY LUDDITE
the Leeds and Liverpool
Canal followed in 1774.
233
1688–1815
The Anti-slavery
Movement
The institution of slavery did not seem self-evidently wrong to many
in 18th-century England, much of whose prosperity depended on the
trade. The success of the abolitionist cause represented not just the
righting of a historic wrong, but a rare example of sustained
persuasion producing a real change of heart.
I
n 1765, Bristol-born sugar planter quickly enough, however, and was able
John Pinney wrote: “I can assure not merely to accept but to justify the
you that I was shocked at the first trade in Africans: “Surely God ordained
appearance of human flesh exposed for them for the use and benefit of us.”
sale.” He recovered from his discomfort
A lucrative trade
How much easier was it for those in
B E F O R E England who simply profited at second-
and third-hand? That group was not
restricted to the merchant communities
Slavery was a part of Roman and early of Liverpool and Bristol. The slave trade
medieval life, but for the British, trading in
slaves on a large scale was relatively recent.
Anti-slavery poster
Campaigners successfully mobilized middle-class opinion:
this meeting was called by prominent clergy and other
pillars of the community in Wakefield, Yorkshire.
underpinned Britain’s general prosperity. seaports such as Liverpool and Bristol. Slaves thrown overboard
The trade brought tobacco from the London had Britain’s biggest black In 1781, the Liverpool slave ship Zong threw 122 slaves
Chesapeake, rice from the Carolinas community, though: it was a major port overboard to relieve overcrowding, and then made an
and Georgia, and sugar from the and the nation’s economic powerhouse. insurance claim—later contested in court—for their lost
Caribbean. The profits form the trade Most of the new Black-British cargo. Such indifference to life horrified many in Britain.
contributed to some of the ventures population worked in menial trades,
and infrastructure projects of the but some were more educated and black slave on the medallion issued
Industrial Revolution. prosperous. These included Ignatius by Josiah Wedgwood in 1787. White
Sancho (a shopkeeper who was also Britons found this rhetorical question
British and black a composer and playwright), Ottobah easier to answer in the affirmative when
A small but significant Black-British Cugoano, and Olaudah Equiano. faced by articulate and presentable
population had by this time become figures such as Cugoano and Equiano.
established. Some were freed slaves— “Am I not a man…?” Some voices (such as those of the
often former personal servants—but The last two became important—as Quakers) had been raised against the
there were also US seafarers from the examples of what black people might outrage of slavery since the end of
AFRICAN SLAVE SHIP northern states who had decided to become—for a new but growing the 17th century. The Society for
stay on in the (sometimes only slightly) abolitionist movement. “Am I not a the Abolition of the Slave Trade was
more tolerant climate they found in man and a brother?” asked the kneeling founded in 1787. Its leaders included
234
T H E A N T I - S L AV E R Y M OV E M E N T
AF TER
Final victory
Their court victory effectively
established that slavery was
prohibited in Britain; though some
ambiguity existed until the end of
the century. The Society developed
a new kind of political activism,
including rallies, petitions, and
popular tie-in items such as
jewelry and medallions.
Abolitionists drew attention to
an outrage most were unaware
of, and ultimately succeeded in
changing the moral climate. It took
them a long time, though, and while
the trade was abolished throughout the
British Empire in 1807, slavery was not
outlawed until 1833.
235
1688–1815
T
sparked off not just religious but social unrest he French Revolution did not as revolutionism. The new mood was mean; the relative importance of
❮❮ 136–37. Charles I’s problems with his directly involve Great Britain. articulated by the Irish statesman and individual and collective rights. More
Parliament ❮❮ 166–67 started a struggle On the other hand, it was thinker Edmund Burke, in his pamphlet than 300 further publications appeared
between elites, but the whole country got happening less than 30 miles (48km) Reflections on the Revolution in France in the “pamphlet war” that followed.
caught up in the horrors of the Civil War from Dover. Prime Minister William Pitt (1790). Liberté, egalité et fraternité Tom Paine, longstanding cheerleader
❮❮ 168–69. The Glorious Revolution, despite the Younger was concerned, but felt (“freedom, equality, and brotherhood”: for change (see BOX) responded with his
its name, had been more of a that it was not Britain’s quarrel. He the French revolutionary slogan) would Rights of Man (1791), although Mary
palace coup, though its found he could not ignore it altogether, only lead to tyranny and bloodbath, Wollstonecraft had beaten him to it, her
repercussions were felt though. Pitt was no radical, but in a Burke prophesied. Vindications of the Rights of Men appearing
by all ❮❮ 188–89. spirit of good-housekeeping he had
been trying to clean up British public Pamphlet war Pitt the Younger at Westminster
life (see pp.206–07). However, events Burke’s book kicked off a major debate As Britain’s youngest ever prime minister—just 24 when
in France produced a conservative over the issues raised by the Revolution: he came to office—William Pitt the Younger did much to
backlash in Britain, and the merest what place (if any) the monarchy reform the assembly whose committees he graced and
hint of reforming intent was taken should have; what freedom should whose debates he electrified.
FRENCH REVOLUTION
INTELLECTUAL (1737–1809)
THOMAS PAINE
Born in Norfolk in 1737, Thomas Paine
emigrated to America in his mid-thirties,
and experienced the tumults and the
triumph of the American independence
struggle. A friend of founding fathers
such as George Washington and Thomas
Jefferson, he discovered a calling in the
radical cause, and went to France to
join the fight for freedom there. His book
The Rights of Man (1791), an eloquent
counterblast to Burke’s Reflections won
him widespread admiration as the
prophet of revolution, but he found
little honor in his homeland, where
he was roundly vilified.
236
R E A C T I O N TO T H E R E V O L U T I O N
AF TER
French Liberty, British Slavery
James Gillray’s satirical swipe takes
a familiar line: Britain’s cautious Britain showed every sign of riding out
conservatism delivered more to the revolutionary storm. Its constitutional
the people than France’s radicalism. regime was flexible enough to cope
There was something in the claim. with and contain a degree of unrest.
wisdom, and without virtue? for instance, and an end to the war
with France. The Nore mutineers were
starved into submission, and when
It is the greatest of all the protest finally collapsed, ringleader
Richard Parker was hanged from the
possible evils…”
yardarm as a warning to others; 28
of his followers were also executed,
while others were flogged or
EDMUND BURKE, REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE, 1790 transported to Australia.
237
1688–1815
Rebellion in Ireland
Among those looking to the French example in their thirst for freedom were those in Ireland, both
Protestant and Catholic, who believed that it was time to break the British connection, once and for
all. In May 1798, the moment came for the United Irishmen. Thousands rose in open rebellion.
I
reland appeared stable as the end of Wolfe Tone, and Thomas Russell were His comrades felt the peasantry was
the 18th century approached. But all Protestants, as was their early leader (in William Drennan’s words) “unfit for
this stability was based on the rule James Napper Tandy. They were liberty”—too much influenced by its
of an essentially Anglican Ascendancy: “patriots”—in the specialized sense clergy to be trusted with democratic
northern Presbyterians shared the that they were Protestants who favored responsibilities. The issue was Theobald Wolfe Tone
Catholics’ sense of disenfranchisement. Irish independence. They were also energetically discussed at meetings Wolfe Tone believed that Ireland’s Protestant “patriot” gentry
unabashedly influenced by both the and in the United Irishmen’s could make common cause with the Catholic peasantry. He
United for Ireland American and French Revolutions. Yet newspaper, the North Star. committed suicide after he was captured in 1798.
This was the logic behind the formation it was only Wolfe Tone who favored
of the Society of United Irishmen, which universal suffrage—Catholics included.
held its first meeting in Belfast in 1791.
Its founders Samuel Neilson, Theobald
Vinegar Hill
General Lake looks on as his cannon cut a swathe
through the rebel ranks. They made a valiant last
stand atop this hill in County Wexford.
B E F O R E
DRIVEN UNDERGROUND
Meanwhile, a series of penal laws restricted the
religious freedoms of Catholics, barring them
from public office. Cromwell’s atrocities made
clear his contempt for the Irish and their religion
❮❮ 174–75, driving Catholicism underground.
Not surprisingly, the Catholic Irish sided with the
Stuarts in the Succession Wars ❮❮ 196–97.
ANGLO-IRISH ATTITUDES
Calm was assured in the 18th century when a
Protestant Anglo-Irish “Ascendancy” felt secure
in its hold over a powerless, impoverished, and
overwhelmingly Catholic peasantry.
238
REBELLION IN IRELAND
239
1688–1815
F 625
A united kingdom now, Britain built an empire rance in the early 1790s was first resort of a government which The percentage rise (from
at France’s expense, taking territories in North ebulliently aggressive: this was a preferred to seek enemies abroad than 40,000 to 250,000 men) in
America and India ❮❮ 212–13. France in its way for the revolutionary regime to tackle its difficulties at home. the size of the British Army between
turn tried to thwart Britain’s plans, supporting to maintain momentum and keep the the start of the Revolutionary Wars
rebellious colonists in America, ❮❮ 214–15, people’s spirits high. French soldiers Little Corporal to emperor (1793) and the height of the
and the Jacobites in Scotland ❮❮ 202–03. The were repulsed on invading the Austrian The Italian island of Corsica had been Napoleonic Wars (1813).
French Revolution and ensuing Terror caused Netherlands in 1790, but fared far ceded to France in 1768, so when
consternation across the Channel, better when they tried again two years Napoleone di Buonaparte was born the saved the new Directory government,
❮❮ 236–37, later. Britain joined Austria, Spain, following year, he was French, and it thwarting a coup attempt in 1795.
especially when Prussia, and the Kingdoms of Sardinia was to a French military academy that Now a general, from 1796 he fought a
the French and Naples in a First Coalition against he went a decade later. He came to triumphant campaign against Austria in
backed the France in 1793, but this alliance did prominence as a young artillery Italy. Austria was brought to terms in
United not faze the French. With reason: the commander at the Siege of Toulon, in 1797, though the following year, it
Irishmen’s defeat of an Austro-British army at 1793, after that city had sought, with became a member (with Britain, Russia,
uprising Tourcoing, in May 1794, left the First British backing, to throw off France’s Portugal, Sweden, and the Ottoman
❮❮ 238–39. Coalition in disarray, and by 1795, Convention government. He had then Empire) of the Second Coalition.
France appeared to be In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt.
GUILLOTINE OF
secure. But war was The Battle of Waterloo, 1815 Though the Canal was not yet built,
THE TERROR a way of life now The Battle of Waterloo, in which the French were beaten Suez was vital to Britain’s links with its
for France; the by an Anglo-Prussian force, finally finished Napoleon empire in Indian. The British therefore
(see pp.246–47). It took place after Napoleon had supported the Ottoman Turks, Egypt’s
escaped from his exile on the island of Elba. then rulers. Although the Royal Navy,
T H E N A P O L EO N I C WA R S
241
1688–1815
Admiral Nelson
“ Our country will… forgive an
officer for attacking an enemy
than for leaving him alone.”
CAPTAIN HORATIO NELSON, 1794
B
orn in Norfolk to a country to fight the beast off with the weapon’s
clergyman, Horatio Nelson grew butt. His Arctic foray was followed by
up to be Britain’s most famous a venture to the tropics, when Nelson
admiral. He was not just admired sailed with HMS Seahorse to the
but extravagantly fêted, attracting East Indies. The late 1770s and the Admiral Nelson
such interest and excitement that his American War of Independence and Devotion to duty and
status came close to that of a celebrity. associated battles with France brought individualistic swagger
While his sense of duty was strong, he great opportunities for an able officer vied for supremacy in
showed an audacity that bordered on and Nelson attained several commands. Nelson’s style. He became
indiscipline and a dashing courage the ultimate British hero
that kept him in the public eye. His Hero of Cape St. Vincent for the Romantic age.
In 1783, now a captain, Nelson married
Frances “Fanny” Nisbet, the daughter of
a wealthy West Indian planter. Though
they appeared to have been happy
together, Nelson had more time than
he wanted with his wife. Peace had left
him bored and it was only after the
outbreak of the French Revolutionary
Wars in 1792 that the Admiralty
finally gave him a new command.
Nelson quickly showed himself
worthy—displaying, moreover, a
readiness to put his own safety on
the line. He lost the sight in one
eye in action in Corsica in 1793.
Four years later, he disobeyed
orders in leading a boarding
party at the Battle of Cape St.
Vincent, off the Portuguese coast.
Fortunately, the gamble paid off
Emma Hamilton and, the Spanish fleet defeated,
The wife of Britain’s ambassador to Naples, Emma Nelson returned to England a
Hamilton met Nelson in the aftermath of his triumph hero, especially after having
at the Nile. Neither tried to conceal their relationship. lost an arm in a later battle at
Tenerife. Nelson was idolized
romantic life was equally reckless, as a dashing rule-breaker
with his long-standing affair with Lady who led from the front.
Emma Hamilton arousing scandal and
admiration in equal measure. Battle of the Nile
Nelson joined the Royal Navy in Napoleon, the French
1771, aged only 12. Starting his career general, was one of
as an ordinary seaman, he soon became Nelson’s strongest
a midshipman, the lowest officer rank. rivals. In May 1798,
In 1773, he volunteered to serve on Napoleon set sail
HMS Carcass in a journey in search of with his fleet from
the Northwest Passage (see pp.286–87). Toulon, France.
It was on this voyage that the 14-year- His plan was to
old encountered a polar bear on an ice invade Egypt as
floe. His musket misfiring, Nelson had a first step in a
242
ADM I R AL N ELSON
Battle of Trafalgar
TIMELINE
An audacious battle plan to split Villeneuve’s fleet
brought Nelson a vital edge against the Franco-Spanish; ■ September 29, 1758 Horatio Nelson born in
the final flourish of an unconventional career. Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, the son of clergyman
Reverend Edmund Nelson and wife Catherine.
Nelson famously put his telescope to ■ 1771 The 12-year-old Nelson enlists in
his blind eye and “did not see” Admiral the Royal Navy.
Parker’s signal to withdraw. In the ■ 1774 Nelson joins HMS Seahorse for a voyage
battle that ensued, he forced the Danes to the East Indies. He experiences action for the
to ask for a ceasefire and surrender. first time in a clash with vessels belonging to
Victory, it appeared, vindicated any Hyder Ali, King of Mysore, in southern India.
misconduct, and at home Nelson ■ 1783 Commanding a small flotilla in the
was made a viscount. Caribbean, Captain Nelson leads a daring,
but unsuccessful, attempt to capture the
Battle of Trafalgar Turks Islands from the French.
HMS Victory was to be Nelson’s flagship
■ August 1793 A Royal Navy expedition captures
as a commander-in-chief of the Corsica. Nelson loses the sight of his right eye
Mediterranean Fleet, locked in conflict during the preliminary bombardment.
with the navy of a France now led by
Emperor Napoleon. By 1804, the French
were trying to destroy the Royal Navy,
or at least entice it away from the English
“To leave off action… damn me… Channel to give an invasion force a clear
run at Britain. But Admiral Villeneuve’s
Franco-Spanish fleet was trapped at
I have only one eye—I have a Toulon. Breaking out eventually, it was
pursued south to Cádiz, in Spain, by
Nelson, who finally confronted it near
right to be blind sometimes…” to Cape Trafalgar.
Breaking the rules for the final time,
NELSON, NOT SEEING THE WITHDRAW SIGNAL AT COPENHAGEN, 1801 Nelson formed his fleet into smaller
squadrons in order to outmaneuvre
Villeneuve’s traditional line formation.
campaign against the British in India. He had the signal flags spell out the
Although Nelson narrowly failed to message “England expects every man HMS VICTORY
intercept Napoleon, he found the fleet to do his duty.” He was no exception,
a few months later at Aboukir Bay, walking openly on the deck throughout, ■ March 14, 1795 The French plan to retake
Corsica is frustrated when Nelson defeats their
Egypt, completely destroying it in the an inspirational presence to his men—
fleet at the Battle of Genoa.
brief Battle of the Nile that followed. and an irresistible target for the French
Nelson’s victory influenced the course sniper who finally felled him with a shot. ■ February 14, 1797 Nelson disobeys orders
of the entire war and he was awarded His hero’s death, in the hour of victory, in defeating the Spanish off Cape St. Vincent,
the title “Baron Nelson of the Nile.” became emblematic of the British spirit of southwestern Portugal.
Nelson now broke another rule by self-sacrifice. His body, having been taken ■ July 22–27, 1797 Nelson loses his right arm
embarking on a long affair with Lady home, was borne up the River Thames after it is struck by a musket ball in the course
Emma Hamilton, who was the wife of on a barge and he was given a splendid of the capture of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
the British ambassador to Naples. Yet, state funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral. ■ August 1–3, 1798 “By this time
however scandalous his conduct, he tomorrow I shall have gained a
seemed to have a special license. At Nelson’s death peerage or Westminster Abbey,”
Copenhagen in 1801, where the Danish The admiral’s heroic death at the Battle of Trafalgar Nelson jokes before leading his
and Norwegian fleets had been defying took on iconic significance, endearing him to the fleet to triumph over the French
the British blockade on French trade, masses during Britain’s imperial age. in the Battle of the Nile.
■ April 2, 1801 After ignoring
his commander’s order to
withdraw, Nelson defeats
the combined fleets of
Denmark and Norway
at Copenhagen.
■ October 21, 1805
Nelson is victorious at
the Battle of Trafalgar,
but is hit by a
sharpshooter’s bullet
and killed. In 1843 his
life is immortalized by
Nelson’s Column, in
Trafalgar Square, London.
NELSON’S COLUMN
243
Scalping the enemy
I
❮❮ 214–15, so the French expected US support n November 1811, a US army led by Napoleonic Wars. Yet the US did not Despite his earlier wariness, the Chief
during their Revolutionary Wars ❮❮ 240–41. the future president William Henry have the military capability for such a had been forced to the conclusion that
Angry to receive only protests of neutrality, Harrison inflicted a resounding task. The win at Tippecanoe, though he had no alternative but to support
they waged a low-level quasi war at sea, with defeat on Tecumseh’s Confederacy at important, had been hard won and Britain against an implacable US.
intermittent attacks on American ships the Battle of Tippecanoe. The Shawnee costly in casualties and resources.
between 1798 and 1800. Chief and his comrades had been And besides, the British were going Victory afloat
fighting to keep the colonists out of to be a tougher proposition than The Americans fared better at sea.
SHIPS AND SHAWNEE what was later to become the state Tecumseh’s force, brave and committed With the Royal Navy focused on the
Britain was even more upset than France. It still of Indiana. While not quite securing as they had been. war with France, only a few smaller
seemed to consider America its colony. The America’s frontier, Harrison’s victory During the Revolutionary Wars, the vessels could be spared, making
Royal Navy tried to prevent US trade with France, clearly gave the United States the US had made an ideological decision to the odds favorable for the US. The
and to impress (forcibly recruit) its seamen. upper hand. have only volunteer state militias; it USS Constitution beat several British
The Americans also believed that the had since made a pragmatic choice to ships in battle, while the United States
British were supporting Tecumseh’s Mr. Madison’s War save money by leaving them under- took a prestigious prize in the frigate
Northwest Confederacy on their western As confidence returned to Washington, trained and poorly armed. On the other HMS Macedonian. Ships were specially
frontier. Tecumseh, a Native American leader so did expansionist greed. President hand, Britain’s soldiers in Canada, built to challenge the British on the
of the Shawnee people and a large tribal James Madison, much emboldened however few, were tough and freshwater Lake Erie. The US Navy
confederacy, had refused to ally with the now, felt that Canada could easily be experienced professionals. They were Commandant Oliver Perry won a
British, but the US was not convinced. taken over, as the British were sparsely well-armed, and well-versed in the famous victory here on September 10,
represented there (just 5,000 troops) ways of modern warfare. In August 1813. His triumph isolated Britain’s
and overstretched in Europe due to the 1812, an American invasion force forces in the west and opened the
244
T H E WA R O F 1 8 1 2
AF TER
Commandant Oliver Perry
“We have met the enemy and they are ours,” Perry
reported after the Battle of Erie (September 10, 1813).
“Two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop” Britain and America quickly realized that,
is how he briefly summed-up whatever their remaining resentments,
what had been a bitter struggle. they had much in common—in attitude
and interests.
GOOD FEELINGS
The Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and
the Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the
US–Canadian boundary at the 49th Parallel
(line of latitude). The United States was
losing—or outgrowing—the revolutionary ardor
American flag of its youthful years. Under the aegis of
The battle-scarred “star-spangled banner” that waved President James Monroe, it entered the
over Fort McHenry, Baltimore, in 1812 inspired Francis charmingly titled Era of Good Feelings.
Scott Key to write what was to become the US anthem. Aggressive partisanship was for a while
almost absent from American politics.
Creek tribes, roused by Tecumseh’s
example, massacred 400 people at CHANGE IN PLANS
Fort Mims, Alabama, in August 1813. American sentiments toward
Jackson led the US army, which Britain changed drastically.
defeated them at Horseshoe Bend The countries were
the following March. staunch allies through
much of the 20th
Ignominy century—in World
The US, however, was fighting on War I 320–21 ❯❯,
borrowed time. With the war over in World War II 358–59 ❯❯,
Europe in 1814, Britain could free its and the Cold War,
forces, ships, and men. A full-scale which came soon after
naval blockade put the squeeze on 368–69 ❯❯.
the US economy. After defeating OREGON BOUNDARY
SETTLEMENT
the Americans at Bladensburg on
August 24, 1814, a British army
marched on to Washington, burning
down its public buildings. Moving on
to do the same to Baltimore, however,
KEY MOMENT
it was held at Fort McHenry.
Both sides realized that the war was TRIBAL TROUBLE
going nowhere, and that it was best
to make peace. The fighting flared There had been unrest on America’s
way to the recapture of Detroit. Scott led another invasion of Canada. up anew, as each combatant made northwestern frontier for some time.
Tecumseh and his confederates, now He took the Niagara Peninsula and last-minute bids for bargaining Settlers attacked the villages of
holding this city, were dislodged by Fort Erie, then, on July 5, beat a small counters. Britain took Maine, but British-supporting tribes during the
General Harrison and his American British force at the Battle of Chippewa. an invasion of New York state from Revolutionary War. Fighting resumed as
force. On October 5, the Americans He was stopped at Lundy’s Lane near Canada failed. The Treaty of Ghent the Northwest Indian War (1785–94)
cornered and killed them at the Battle Niagara Falls on July 25. Another until the colonists seized much of Ohio.
of the Thames (near Chatham, Ontario).
By 1814, the Americans were a great
deal better organized. General Winfield
future president, Andrew Jackson,
had meanwhile been in action further
south. The Red Stick confederacy of
1,000 British troops captured
Fort Bowyer, Alabama,
in February 1815. They learnt later
A legacy of simmering resentment
was left. It boiled over in 1808, when the
charismatic prophet-priest Tenskwatawa
that their country had agreed a truce of the Shawnee people called
almost two months earlier. for resistance. His brother,
Chief Tecumseh, gave
had already been agreed upon, on military direction to the
Christmas Eve 1814, but the news strong but unfocused
was not yet through when, on wave of anger. That
January 8, a British expedition from anger only increased
Jamaica attempted a night attack on when the Fort Wayne
New Orleans. The repulse of this force Treaty of 1809 awarded
by Jackson’s army allowed the US to large tracts of Illinois
feel they had won what had actually and Indiana to new
been a pointless and exhausting white settlers. Some
conflict for both sides. chiefs reluctantly
accepted this, but
Tecumseh’s faction
Battle of Lake Erie emphatically did not.
As Commandant Perry’s flagship, the USS Lawrence was
crippled, he moved to the Niagara to continue the fight.
His victory allowed the Americans to gain control over CHIEF TECUMSEH
the Great Lakes, cutting off British forces in the west.
245
DECISIVE MOMENT June 18, 1815
W
hile Britain and its allies the ridge so a relentless French
mobilized, Napoleon bombardment was largely wasted,
assembled a volunteer army moving his men up only when the
of seasoned, and besottedly loyal, French infantry charge began. Despite
troops. Deeming attack the best form devastating musket volleys, Napoleon’s
of defense, he marched into Belgium troops kept on coming until forced back
(then part of the United Kingdom of by Wellington’s heavy cavalry. Ney’s
the Netherlands), hoping to prevent the cavalry now charged—again and again;
British and Prussian forces assembled the British infantry formed squares
there from linking up and attacking. and held firm. Finally, the vital farm
of La Haye Sainte, in the center of the
The fighting begins battlefield, was seized by the French.
The British, led by the Duke of Napoleon’s victory seemed imminent.
Wellington, moved south from Brussels,
meeting the left wing of the French Defeat and exile
army, led by Marshal Michel Ney, on However, the 50,000-strong Prussian
June 16. Holding Ney’s attack, they fell army, led by Marshal Blücher, was now
back to a ridge above the Brussels road. approaching. While the main French
On June 18, its numbers now swollen army tried to hold it back, Napoleon’s
to 68,000 by the arrival of Dutch and Imperial Guard made one last attempt
German allies, Wellington’s force faced to break the British line. Wellington’s
Napoleon’s experienced army of 72,000 army stood firm and the French fled,
and twice as many cannon. However, having suffered 25,000 casualties and
Wellington set up fortified outposts in 8,000 captured. Napoleon abdicated his
farms on the ridge, and established his throne on June 24, surrendering to the
own artillery and sharpshooters there. British on July 15. He was exiled to
Wellington kept his main force behind St. Helena, in the South Atlantic.
Battle of Waterloo
French cavalry charge a tightly packed British square at
the Battle of Waterloo. Marshal Ney’s cavalry came very
close to breaking through the British by the time that
Blücher and his Prussians came to Wellington’s rescue.
247
INDUSTRY
AND EMPIRE
1815–1914
In the 19th century, Britain dominated the
world with an Empire ruled by Queen Victoria
and built on industrial might, economic power,
and imperial muscle. In the early 20th century,
the threat of war overshadowed the bright
prospects of an Edwardian era that witnessed
innovation, justice, and hope.
What neither narrative hints at, however, is the sheer scale of Britain’s
transformation in the 19th century, as factories and furnaces sprang
up, and canals and railways crisscrossed the landscape. The
immediate physical effects can easily be exaggerated, as those
outside the main industrial areas would hardly have been aware of
them. Yet life was changing for everyone in a whole host of other
ways not previously imagined.
250
INTRODUCTION
much affluence and leisure to be seen in the mines and the mill Empire, but also saw the possessions, which so enriched it as a
towns, where women and children worked all but interminable responsibility—the “white man’s burden.” They were also prone to
hours in all but unendurable conditions. see both resistance to conquest, and rebellions against imperial rule,
In Ireland, the Industrial Revolution was a distant rumor, and in as in India, as examples of ingratitude.
the 1840s, a potato blight destroyed the means of sustenance almost Increasingly, though, there was resistance at home as well: in the
entirely, leaving thousands to starve. Widespread misgivings in factories and mines, workers were mobilizing, organizing politically
Ireland about being involved in the United Kingdom of Great Britain for the first time. And it was not just Britain’s soldiers who were
and Ireland that had been established in 1800 were reciprocated on the march: Irish activists were agitating for Home Rule; and
by those in Britain who saw Ireland as, at best a cheap supplier women were agitating for the vote. By the early 20th century, a new,
of foodstuffs, and at worst a country inhabited by an idle, even aggressive power was arming itself on the continent of Europe for
subhuman, population, and a drain on British resources. This view what already promised to be the most destructive war the
was apparently confirmed by outbreaks of Irish violence later in the world had ever seen.
century. Not surprisingly, Irish families were in the forefront in the
tide of emigrants that left the shores of the British Isles for America
and for the new dominions of the British Empire.
New attitudes
Ambivalent attitudes characterized Britain’s relationship with its
ever-widening Empire. The British ruling classes took increasing pride
in imperial power, and what they considered its civilized rule over the
251
1815–1914
1815 FEBRUARY 23, 1820 Great Reform Act cartoon SEPTEMBER 1845
Corn Laws introduced by The Cato Street Conspiracy Phytophthora infestans,
Parliament. Designed to to assassinate PM Lord JUNE 7, 1832 or potato blight, is reported
protect British agriculture, Liverpool is broken up as The Great Reform Act receives in Ireland.
they fix a minimum price arrests are made. Royal Assent, becoming law.
below which grain may DECEMBER 1845
not be imported. MARCH 5, 1824 MARCH 1834 First Anglo-Sikh War begins.
First Anglo-Burmese War A group of agricultural laborers By February 1846, Britain has
begins. Britain will take much in Tolpuddle, Dorset, are tried taken much of the Punjab.
of northeastern India over the for starting a trade union.
next two years.
Queen Victoria Famine Memorial, Dublin
FEBRUARY 1818 MARCH 24, 1829 NOVEMBER 1837 FEBRUARY 10, 1840 JUNE 25, 1846 OCTOBER 25, 1853
Final defeat of the Maratha Catholic Relief Act allows Rebellion in Lower Canada Queen Victoria marries Prince An Act repealing the Corn The Battle of Balaclava
Empire leaves the British East Roman Catholics to sit in (Quebec) by settlers Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Laws is passed in the House brings Russian defeat—
India Company in power Parliament. threatens US-style breakaway Gotha. The two will become of Lords. but also disaster for Britain’s
across most of India. until revolt is suppressed. inseparable companions. Light Brigade.
JUNE 26, 1830 JULY 1, 1847
MAY 24, 1819 George IV dies. His daughter 1838 JANUARY 1842 Lord Shaftesbury’s Factory Act SEPTEMBER 1854
Princess Alexandrina Victoria Princess Charlotte having Richard Cobden and John Britain’s retreating army is limits to 10 the number of British, French, and Ottoman
is born. Since she is the predeceased him, he is Bright found the Anti-Corn almost completely wiped out hours to be worked each day troops lay siege to the Russian
daughter of George III’s replaced by his younger Law League, attracting support as the First Afghan War ends. by women and children. Black Sea naval base of
fourth son, it seems unlikely brother, William IV. from both industrialists’ and Sebastopol.
she will ever reign. workers’ groups. Chartists’ meeting
Stephenson’s Rocket
252
I N DU STRY AN D EM P I R E
MARCH 1906
The Trade Disputes Act
AUGUST 25, 1888 JANUARY 22, 1901 upholds the right of trade
The Scottish Labour Party Queen Victoria dies, to unions to strike without
is founded. be succeeded by her liability for losses caused.
scapegrace son,
Edward VII. DECEMBER 2, 1906
HMS Dreadnought is
commissioned, a new kind
of battleship, both swift
and strongly armored.
Indian Mutiny Union banner
MARCH 4–5, 1867 JUNE 8, 1886 AUGUST 14, 1889 AUGUST 31, 1907 JULY 1, 1911
The Fenian Rising in Ireland Gladstone’s Government of London dock strike begins. The Anglo-Russian Treaty is The presence of a German
attracts little support and is Ireland Bill is thrown out by The dockers’ victory lends signed in St. Petersburg. gunboat provokes a second
quickly quashed by the the House of Commons. enormous impetus to the Morocco Crisis.
authorities. There will be no Home Rule trade union movement. SEPTEMBER 9, 1907
for the Irish—yet. A Royal Proclamation JUNE 28, 1914
OCTOBER 27, 1871 JANUARY 14–16, 1893 announces New Zealand’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Henry Morton Stanley meets The Independent Labour dominion status. of Austria is assassinated by
the explorer David Livingstone Party is launched at a the Serbian anarchist Gavrilo
(not heard from for some Bradford conference. Princip, precipitating the
years) by Lake Tanganyika. July Crisis.
MAY 1, 1876 SEPTEMBER 19, 1893 MAY 6, 1910 JULY 28, 1914
Queen Victoria is proclaimed New Zealand’s parliament Edward VII dies and his son Outbreak of war between the
Empress of India. She will passes legislation making George V succeeds him. Central Powers (Austria and
be officially enthroned in the country the first in the Germany) and Serbia makes
Delhi in 1877. world to grant the vote to MAY 31, 1910 Russian involvement
all adult women. The Union of South Africa is inevitable.
JANUARY 22, 1879 created as a self-governing
British forces are overwhelmed DECEMBER 29, 1895 dominion. AUGUST 4, 1914
by the Zulus at the Battle of The ill-fated Jameson Raid Germany invades Belgium
Isandhlwana, but they will go attempts to take back Transvaal and so Britain goes to war.
on to win the war. from the Boers.
Weapons factory
DECEMBER 16, 1880 Indian postage stamp SEPTEMBER 2, 1898 Pretoria yields
The First Boer War breaks out. Kitchener’s army wins the
JULY 22, 1901
Four months later, the British JUNE 20, 1887 Battle of Omdurman against
Law Lords judge the union
will have to concede defeat. Queen Victoria celebrates her the Sudanese, losing just
is responsible for company
Golden Jubilee—half a century under 50 lives to the
losses in the Taff Vale Railway
MAY 2, 1882 on the throne. rebels’ 10,000.
dispute, which amounts to
Charles Stewart Parnell wins
the outlawing of strike action.
concessions for the Irish Land OCTOBER 11, 1899
League movement in the The Second Boer War
MAY 31, 1902
so-called Kilmainham Treaty. begins. Britain will grind out
The Treaty of Vereeniging
a victory, albeit at some cost
ends the Boer War.
to its reputation.
253
1815–1914
The Regency
B E F O R E
G 630,000
OVERSEEING THE KINGDOM eorge III was quiet and staid. His Amount in pounds of
William Longchamp, Richard the Lionheart’s son could hardly have been more debt owed by the
Lord Chancellor, administered England during different. The King was angered Prince of Wales, as of 1795. This is in the
his King’s absence at the Third Crusade and early on by the Prince of Wales’s radical region of £50 million ($78 million) at
after ❮❮ 82–83. More typically, a regent would airs and his friendship with Charles 21st-century values. These (and subsequent)
be appointed to oversee the kingdom while James Fox, the leader of the Whig party. debts were paid by Parliament.
the monarch was a minor.
The profligate prince had perhaps anticipated, an embarrassed
TRUST MISPLACED? The Prince was witty, scandalous, and Parliament paid off his debts, enabling
This position of regent was clearly open to abuse. a spendthrift. Setting himself up in him to return to Carlton House.
In 1330, the 17-year-old Edward III had to rise sumptuous style at Carlton House,
up and seize his own throne from the regent he ran through the £100,000 per year Regency crisis
Roger Mortimer, Earl of March (his mother’s (about £5 million/$8 million by today’s By 1788, the King was slipping toward
lover), who had abused his position. In 1453, values) he received from his father and physical and mental collapse, though
Richard Plantagenet, the Duke of York, stepped from Parliament. Partying heroically, he his so-called madness may have been
in to run the kingdom as Lord Protector when kept a series of expensive mistresses the rare blood disease porphyria. Fox
Henry VI had a mental breakdown ❮❮ 122–23. (including actress Mary Robinson and saw the crisis as an opportunity, urging
Such precedents came to mind in the 1780s Grace Elliott, a rich physician’s wife). the prince’s adoption as Regent; Tory
as George III’s unstable health raised the The situation became even worse leader William Pitt the Younger was
question of whether a regent was going to be once he decided to settle down, secretly naturally opposed. Finally, he agreed,
needed—particularly because this would mean marrying Maria Fitzherbert—a widow but insisted that the Prince’s powers as
replacing a King who had by common twice over and a Catholic. Marriage did regent must be restricted.
agreement reigned wisely and well nothing to dull his enthusiasm for Prince Regent In the event, George III recovered and
❮❮ 200–01 with a profligate and somewhat taking mistresses. In 1787, after his A socialite, a spendthrift, and a sexual adventurer, the was determined to sort out his son. So,
irresponsible Prince of Wales. father refused to bale him out, the Prince Regent showed no sense of seriousness or in 1795, by once more withholding his
Prince had to leave his royal residence responsibility. Many thought that he did not represent financial support, he forced him to wed
and move in with Maria. As the Prince much improvement on his now unstable father. his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick. The
254
TH E R EGENCY
himself known to the K, but… confided, was “very fat and… nothing
like as handsome as his portrait.” The
Prince was drunk at the wedding
the King was fully occupied ceremony that April.
They produced a daughter, Charlotte
255
Brighton Pavilion
Begun in 1787 as a seaside bolt-hole for the Prince of Wales (later
George IV), Brighton Pavilion was successively redesigned until 1822.
John Nash, who created this final form, knew the Prince’s tastes and
produced an awe-inspiring monument to frivolity. Even so, it has its
serious aspect, hinting at, as yet barely acknowledged, British ambitions
in Asia. In contrast with the Indian theme of the exterior, with its suggestion
of the Taj Mahal, the interior is a riot of Chinese-style ornamentation.
1815–1914
I
t was the steam engine that of colliery track across the country,
revolutionized Britain’s and people were beginning to
transportation system forever. It is see the potential for national footplate
hard to imagine how incredible railway passenger services.
travel must have seemed in the 1800s. The first major landmark in British
At the beginning of the 19th century, railway history was the opening of
British life for many was slow, rural, a rail line between Stockton and
and provincial. Travel was by horse Darlington, in 1825. Originally intended
and the greatest distance that could be to link coal mines, its first locomotive
covered at a full gallop in one day was was George Stephenson’s Locomotion
approximately 80 miles (130km). No. 1. This carried passengers at the
line’s grand opening demonstration,
First steps and did so subsequently, marking it
In 1804, Cornish mining engineer as the world’s first steam locomotive- The prices of many goods fell in places Stephenson’s Rocket
Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) pulled public railway. The next linked by rail, letters arrived quicker, The Rocket, built by George Stephenson and his
demonstrated the world’s first railway milestone was the 1830 opening of and people’s horizons widened. son Robert, was the model for all future steam
journey by steam at Penydarran. the Liverpool to Manchester line, Building trains, tracks, tunnels, and locomotives. Its main features include a multitube
By this time, there was a large amount linking two great, rapidly expanding bridges provided work, and increased boiler that improves heat transfer.
industrial cities. Rocket, George the country’s engineering and
construction expertise—now in but looking farther afield, Britain—an
B E F O R E
272 Acts of Parliament were
passed at the height of the
railway mania in 1846, creating new
demand worldwide.
Steam ships
island—needed to be able to trade with
as many other countries as possible.
Early steam-engine technology
rail companies. Taking people and goods by ship was was adapted for the first British
important to Britain. There was already steamships, such as William Symington’s
Stephenson’s best-known locomotive a good system of internal waterways, small wooden paddle-steamer, Charlotte
(1829), ran on this line at speeds of
Railway mania
After the Liverpool–Manchester line
opened, numerous other lines followed
at a dizzying speed. By the 1840s,
become so strong, that a
Railway to the Moon would
Britain was in the grip of a railway
“mania.” All kinds of people joined
CHALDRON WAGON the mad scramble to make money
258
STEAM AN D SP EED
AF TER
Dundas, in which the steam which gained further strength
engine drove a single paddle wheel as a result. Places such as the
located in the stern. In 1801–02, Clyde, the Tyne, and Belfast The march of rail and ship was unstoppable
she was put to the test on the became famed for their shipyards in the 19th century, experiencing some
Forth and Clyde canal, near and supplied the world, with dramatic reversals in the 20th century.
Glasgow, and traveled 20 miles other jobs created by the
(32km) in six hours, towing two maintenance and building EXPANDING NETWORK
70-ton barges, making her the work on harbors and ports. By the 1890s, British railway companies owned
first operational steam tugboat. She 10 percent of urban land. The railways
became the first vessel in the world to The Cunard Line The telegraph increasingly established a vital link between the
use steam propulsion commercially Canadian-born British shipowner Sir Samuel Cunard The electric telegraph was another south and north. In 1934, Locomotive number
(although her life was short-lived). founded one of the early competitive transatlantic enormously important communications 4472, the most famous of the Flying Scotsman
steamship companies. In 1840, he won the contract development and it was closely service, became the first locomotive to travel
Vying for trade to carry mail from Britain and Canada on a fleet of associated with both trains and non-stop from London to Edinburgh and the
By the 1820s, British steamships were four 1,000-ton ships made in Scotland. steamships. Developed in 1837 by first steam engine to reach 100 mph (160 kph).
an alternative to stagecoach travel for British scientists William Cooke and In 1963, the controversial Beeching Report
better-off people, and by 1840 they its rival from the British and American Charles Wheatstone, the railways were initiated a massive cost-cutting closure of
were common on Britain’s rivers and Steam Navigation Company, which used for the telegraph system and, more than 2,000 local stations.
around its coasts. Rather like railway had sailed from Ireland and had taken from the mid-1800s, telegraph cables In 1900, Britain had the world’s largest
mania, competition heated up among longer to cross the ocean. A regular were laid across the Channel and North navy and a flourishing shipbuilding industry.
the major steamship companies transatlantic service ensued and and Irish seas. Later, Brunel’s Great The Edwardian age produced massive stylish
founded in the late 1830s, especially steamships became very important Eastern steamship was used to lay a steamship liners carrying wealthy vacationers
to make the fastest crossing of the for passenger and freight trade alike. transatlantic cable. and ordinary people seeking to emigrate. Cunard’s
Atlantic. In 1838, the flagship of the In the 1840s, paddle wheels were speedy RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania were
Great Western Steamship Company, replaced with screw propellers, which The Liverpool–Manchester line the world’s first quadruple screw liners, and by
Brunel’s Great Western, sailed into were much more efficient. Larger This contemporary engraving shows excited crowds 1912, it took just five days to cross to New York
New York 14 days and 12 hours engines were needed, but these were gathered at Edge Hill, Liverpool, for the grand launch of from Southampton. From the 1960s, British
after leaving Bristol (see pp. too heavy for wooden boats, so iron the Liverpool–Manchester line, on September 15, 1830. shipbuilding gradually declined.
260–61). It arrived just was introduced, and later steel, supplied This was the world’s first timetabled intercity passenger
12 hours behind Sirius, by Britain’s flourishing metals industry, railway, also transporting large amounts of freight.
1815–1914
Isambard Kingdom
Brunel
“ … great things are not
done by those who count
the cost of every thought
and act.”
BRUNEL’S COLLEAGUE, DANIEL GOOCH, ON BRUNEL’S DEATH, 1859
B
runel was one of history’s most the first tunnel beneath the Thames.
inspired engineers, with a unique He sustained a serious injury there
instinct for materials and artistic when the tunnel flooded.
design. Ambitious and entrepreneurial,
he epitomized industrial Britain’s spirit. By bridge and rail
Brunel was the son of talented engineer While recovering, Brunel drafted
Sir Marc Isambard Brunel, who fled plans for a great bridge across the
revolutionary France and arrived Avon Gorge, at Bristol. Leading Scottish
in England in 1799. Educated in engineer Thomas Telford also submitted
engineering and mathematics in Paris, a proposal, but a suspension design by
the younger Brunel worked with his Brunel, for the longest single-span
father from 1825–28 on constructing yet built, was adopted.
260
ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL
solid rock between Bath and Chippenham. ■ 1829 Enters a competition to design a bridge
across the Avon Gorge at Clifton, Bristol.
The project took five years to build.
■ 1830 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society.
His numerous rail structures include ■ 1831 One of his designs for the Avon Gorge
Maidenhead bridge (the world’s bridge is accepted.
flattest brick arch), Saltash Bridge ■ 1833 Starts remodeling docks in Bristol. Becomes
(see pp.262–63), and Box Tunnel. head engineer for the Great Western Railway
By this time, Brunel was living well, company’s proposed link from Paddington to
with a pleasant London home-office Temple Meads. Promoted to chief engineer of
at Duke Street, Westminster. He started the Great Western Steam Ship Company.
building a grand retreat at Torquay ■ 1830s Construction of the suspension bridge
(which was never finished). Married begins, linking Clifton to Leigh Woods.
in 1836, he and his wife had two
sons and a daughter.
Brunel at sea
Steamships were another record-
breaking area for Brunel. Each of his
ships was the world’s biggest when
unveiled. In 1838, his wooden paddle
ship, the SS Great Western, became
Construction began in the 1830s, but In 1833, Brunel was remodeling the first steamship to run a regular
was dogged by financial and other Bristol’s docks and also started work on transatlantic passenger service. This
problems and did not finish until 1864, the ambitious plan to build a railway massive vessel could cross the Atlantic CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE, BRISTOL
after Brunel’s death. Many doubted between Bristol and London. The without refueling. His SS Great Britain,
that such a bridge would hold, but it Bristol to Paddington line opened in the first large vessel to have an iron ■ 1836 Marries Mary Elizabeth Horsley, who
is now considered one of the greatest 1841, with an extension to Exeter by hull and a screw propeller, first crossed comes from an artistic family.
engineering achievements in the world. the mid-1840s. Although successful, to New York in 1845; it later carried ■ 1837 SS Great Western launched.
16,000 emigrants to Australia. The ■ 1838 The Great Western reaches New York in
Beauty in structure SS Great Eastern (1858), with both half the time taken by sailing ships, arriving with
Brunel’s design sense brought a new beauty a screw and paddles, was the first 200 ton of coal to spare.
to engineered structures. He oversaw all ship with a double iron ■ 1840s Employs a large professional staff
design aspects of the Great Western Railway’s hull. The 32,000-ton working for his business.
line, including the original ship proved to be one
■ 1841 The Great Western Railway London to
Bristol terminal building too many exhausting,
Bristol route opens.
at Temple Meads. difficult projects. Brunel
died shortly after its ■ 1842 Queen Victoria travels from Slough to
maiden voyage. Paddington on Great Western Railway’s new
line on June 13. This is the first rail journey
made by a reigning British monarch.
■ 1843 SS Great Britain is launched.
■ 1845 Great Britain’s maiden voyage from
Liverpool to New York takes place.
■ 1847–48 Short-lived running of Brunel’s South
Devon air-propelled atmospheric railway. The
project ceases due to technical difficulties.
■ 1850–59 Brunel serves as vice-president of
the Institution of Civil Engineers.
■ 1854 Brunel’s Paddington Station opens.
■ 1859 Brunel dies on September 15 at the age
of 53, after suffering a seizure, probably brought
on by overwork.
261
Royal Albert Bridge
Cheering crowds acclaim the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge by Prince
Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, on May 2, 1859. Much patriotic pride
was taken in major projects such as this one, recognizing the part they
could play in promoting prosperity. The bridge, which was one of
Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s greatest engineering achievements, crosses
the River Tamar, linking Plymouth, Devon, with Saltash, Cornwall.
1815–1914
Years of Change
B E F O R E
T 17
employment in towns ❮❮ 230–31. Gradually, he impact of machines such as Where the factory system was in place, The average life expectancy in
technology brought further social the spinning frame and steam however, work was redefined. Physical years in Liverpool during the
changes, as it reinvented engine on many workplaces is strength was less important. Women did 1850s. High infant mortality depressed
some types of work, such easily exaggerated. Most British people the same work as men (for less money). the figure, as did the city’s unhealthy
as textile spinning and still worked on the land and—outside Children tended the machines—reaching cellar dwellings and an influx of
weaving, and ironmaking key regions such as Lancashire, West in to clear snags, or crawling underneath famine-weakened Irish immigrants.
❮❮ 232–33. Older forms Midlands, and central Scotland—much to recover objects. Mine owners also
of work persisted in small manufacturing took place mainly in the preferred employing women and provided accommodation, but charged
workshops, but thousands home (spinning and hand-weaving) children—they were good in confined high rents. Often workers were paid in
of the new industrial or in small establishments such as spaces and cheap to employ. Employers tokens exchangeable only in company-
workers were blacksmith’s shops and iron foundries. took on families: the male head was owned “truck” shops—where cheap
exploited in a system responsible for the behavior of his goods were sold at high prices.
akin to servitude. Petition by trade unionists to the King wife and children.
Up to 100,000 protestors registered their opposition to Pay was often docked for disobedience All change
LEAD ORE WASHERS the transportation of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in April 1834. or perceived lack of effort. Employers The rhythms of life were changing.
Although the demonstrators petitioned in a deferential had other holds over workers and their While the agricultural day was geared
manner, the protest was a show of potential strength. families. Many factories and mines to the sun and the seasons, urban trades
YEARS OF CHANGE
something will do itself one concern could hardly compensate for lives of
toil and chronic hardship—or the lack of
any democratic voice. As the 19th century
day, and in a fashion that approached its close, living standards for most
working people improved, while British workers
265
1815–1914
I
themselves, although Oliver Cromwell put their reland was outwardly prosperous richer land to be fully productive
rebellion down ❮❮ 174–75. The Succession at the start of the 19th century. from the point of view of a
Wars brought renewed resistance, though This was hardly the whole story, landowning class who were
William III’s victory at the Battle of the Boyne though. The Irish had undergone largely disengaged. Limerick
was decisive ❮❮ 196–97. With the United successive displacements since the old The “blight”, as the mold
Irishmen’s defeat, it seemed the British had landowners were condemned by Oliver was also called, showed
finally prevailed: since 1800, Ireland had Cromwell “to Hell or Connaught” (to itself in black blotches
belonged to the Union ❮❮ 238–39. either be killed or move to the barren on the leaves of the
lands in western Ireland). Many of the plant, but did its real
Cork
Anglo-Irish had displaced themselves, damage underground.
becoming familiar figures in Dublin The potato first discolored,
and London society. Known as and then turned into a
“absentee landlords”, they received watery, rancid mush. All of 0 100 km
regular remittances from their agents, Europe was affected by the blight, N 0 100 miles
and the middlemen often leased but elsewhere, potato was just
their estates, subdividing them into one among many different food KEY
Decrease in population 1841–51
smallholdings for renting on short crops grown. In Ireland, the potato
More than 30% decrease
leases with inflated rents. dominated agriculture. Approximately
20 to 30% decrease
Tenants were also displaced to higher, half the Irish crop was destroyed in 10 to 20% decrease
more marginal land, to make way for 1845, and this rose to 75 percent 0 to 10% decrease
lucrative livestock. They often had to the following year. Area of rise in population
bid for their own plots at auctions as
each lease ended, and the rents rose
dramatically every time.
A miracle food
By the 18th century, the masses were
living a life of abject poverty, sustainable
only because of potatoes. This New
World crop had been introduced in the
16th century. The Irish had traditionally
lived mainly on cereals (wheat and
oats). Now, any grain they could grow
went to the market, along with any
dairy products: people subsisted
entirely on potato. They were
also paid in potatoes for the
work they did on larger farms.
Yet, remarkably well-
nourished, they thrived.
Between 1687 and 1791, the
population more than doubled,
from 2.16 to 4.75 million. By
1841, it had risen by 3.4 million,
not counting the 1.75 million
who had emigrated.
A blighted country
By 1845, a population of
more than 8 million was
completely dependent on the
potato. It was not much of a life,
perhaps, but it allowed the country’s
Deserted village
Remembering the dead This empty ruin, on Achill
Rowan Gillespie’s haunting Famine Island, Mayo, stands in a
Memorial, created in 1997 in former village that was
Dublin, records Ireland’s tragedy. abandoned in the Famine.
T H E I R I S H FA M I N E
Extent of the famine rebellious and feckless Irish. They were Mortality figures for the
The west of Ireland, largely comprising the province of thus cast as idle charity-cases, despite Famine are difficult to
Connaught, became a “hell of hunger” as a result of the the fact that they were still highly establish and inevitably
famine, and saw significant depopulation, as the map productive, and that throughout the contentious. While many
shows. Other rural areas fared little better, while the Famine, Ireland continued to could be said simply to have
main cities saw the desperate influx of the hungry. export food to the world. starved to death, many
more died of diseases related
Since the Act of Union in 1800, Ireland Final toll to famine. Others died as a
had not had its own parliament, and Britain, the world’s result of a cholera epidemic.
Britain, untroubled by the blight and leading economic nation, A reasonably cautious
dominated by free-trade thinking, was was embarrassed by the estimate would be about
deaf to pleas for protectionist measures. international response to 1.1 million dead, and a
These might have stopped other food this tragic failure. Offers of further 1 million pushed
exports from Ireland, which were still help to Ireland came from into emigration. There was
proceeding on a massive scale. everyone from Native a cultural cost as well. If
Tory Prime Minister Robert Peel American groups to the the memory of the Famine
discreetly shipped in maize from Ottoman Sultan. All were became a major rallying
America, but the facilities for making it indignantly rejected by point for the Irish diaspora
London. In Ireland, many worldwide, its effect in
1.1 MILLION
An approximate estimate of the number
suspected the motives of
those who helped—
especially of the British
Ireland was to weaken the
sense of national identity,
or of the Gaelic identity at
of deaths attributable to the Irish Famine, Protestant missionary groups, least. Rural Irish speakers
not including those who died during a minority of whom served bore the brunt of the
emigration to another country. religious instruction with disaster. An ancient
their food. The much- culture was destroyed.
edible did not exist in Ireland. In 1846, exaggerated idea of the
his Whig successor, Lord John Russell, “souper”—the desperate, Searching for potatoes
set up programs to create work, but his starving individual who As depicted—part sympathetically, part
Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, converted from Catholicism disdainfully—in The Illustrated London
Charles Trevelyan, believed the Famine to Protestantism in return for News in 1849, Irish families sought
was a divine judgement on the soup—took hold throughout. frantically for any sustenance.
AF TER
MASS EMIGRATION
Many Irish went to Britain’s overseas
dominions 294–95 ❯❯, though most ended up
in the United States. Across this new diaspora, as
in Ireland itself, the mood was rancorous.
AN ANTI-BRITISH VOICE
The Irish had little influence in US society at
first, but as they became established, they were
able to raise a powerful anti-British voice.
From the 1850s, US-based Fenians fought for
Irish freedom, but the Home Rule campaign was
mainly peaceful 300–01 ❯❯. In the 1970s and
1980s, Irish-Americans lent support to the IRA
in its armed struggle 378–79 ❯❯.
267
1815–1914
The Triumph
of Reform
While some were asking why the poor should suffer to underwrite
Britain’s booming wealth, a rising middle class was questioning the
justice of the electoral system—and demanding change.
T
he urban middle class had already The House of Commons
shown their strength in the success Rebuilt since the fire of 1834, the Palace of Westminster
of the Abolitionist movement (see made an impressive home for Britain’s Parliament. Yet
pp.234–35), compassion reinforced by a democracy had its limits: there was no place in the
steelier sense that slavery was a brake Commons for representatives of the working poor.
on the free market.
Parliament abolished the slave trade which was represented by the Tories. The
throughout the Empire in 1807 and the Whigs, to whose cause the class of newly
Royal Navy enforced the policy at sea. wealthy industrialists had naturally
Again, idealism and economic realism gravitated, favored a free market in food
went together. Britain, the inevitable so cheaper produce could be imported
winner in trials of economic strength, and wages kept down.
opposed all kinds
of anticompetitive
practice. 5 The number of electors who, in the Wage slaves
constituency of Old Sarum, Wiltshire, In general, the
sent two members to Parliament in the Whigs had come
Corn Laws 1802 elections. Gatton, Surrey, had seven to have the
Yet a certain voters, while Camelford, Cornwall, had 25. interests of the
ambivalence was industrialists at
evidenced by the introduction of the heart, so it was the Tories who took
Corn Laws in 1815. They barred all the lead in trying to ease conditions
wheat imports unless the domestic price for the working poor. The 1802 Factory
reached a certain level. Unabashedly Act stipulated a maximum eight-hour
protectionist, the laws guaranteed the working day for children aged between
income of an aristocratic landed interest, nine and 13 years; 12 hours for those
aged 14–18. But the repeated outlawing
of the employment of under-nines
B E F O R E in textile mills thereafter underlined
how often legislation was ignored.
Besides, the law could influence
The people of Britain had learned to take only the most readily regulated
pride in their perceived tradition of liberty, industries—chiefly textiles. Others—
courageously—but moderately—upheld. including mines and garment-making
sweatshops—were unaffected.
PEOPLE POWER Lord Shaftesbury, a Tory, and Radical
Tyranny was successfully resisted during MP John Fielden fought for a new
the Civil War ❮❮ 168–69 and the Factory Act, though they were
Glorious Revolution of the not finally to prevail until
17th century ❮❮ 188–89. Yet 1847. Others were
the dangers of “people campaigning too.
power” when taken to In 1838, Richard
extremes were all too Cobden and John
clear from France’s Bright launched
recent Reign of Terror their Anti-Corn
❮❮ 236–37. Law League,
providing a
AN END TO powerful focus for
SLAVERY the Free Trade lobby.
Ordinary people took heart
from the fact that, as the Electoral absurdity
19th century began, their Social injustice was
voices were being heard and their perpetuated by political
opposition spurred an end to the cruel inequality. Only those owning a
slave trade ❮❮ 234–35. property could vote, so a mere 200,000
out of more than 10 million adult males
were eligible. Of more significance to
268
THE TRIUMPH OF REFORM
269
1815–1914
my country.”
QUEEN VICTORIA, ON HER ACCESSION, 1837
B
oth of William IV’s daughters had defeated Melbourne, resigned in 1839
died soon after birth, leaving him when she refused to go along with
with no immediate successor. Of changes he proposed to her royal
the King’s younger brothers, none of household. (This despite the fact that
the next three in line had lived long the appointment of new personnel
enough to ascend the throne, and only was at that time customary with
the late Duke of Kent (formerly next incoming administrations.) Far
in line after William) had a legitimate from feeling embarrassment,
surviving child. So it was that, on
William’s death in June 1837, Prince Albert
his young niece, Victoria, Victoria’s public image
came to the throne. She was of austerity, even
was ill-prepared in many coldness, but her
ways for the responsibility love for her Prince
of monarchy. Consort was clear.
Hers had been an She never got
isolated childhood: over his death
she had been closely in 1861.
protected—possibly
overprotected, many
felt—by a manipulative
mother, the Duchess
of Kent, from whom
she was eventually to
become estranged. There
had been some question
that the Duchess might
become regent, acting on
behalf of her daughter, but
Victoria had just reached the age
of 18 when her uncle died, and Lord
Melbourne, the Whig Prime Minister,
took the new Queen under his wing,
winning her eternal gratitude and
affection in return.
Queenly bearing
“I may call you Jane,” she had told a
childhood playmate, “but you may
not call me Victoria.” Britain’s longest-
serving monarch felt a strong sense of
regal entitlement from the start. While
in many ways Victoria is rightly taken
as a model of the modern constitutional
monarch, she had a distinctly despotic
streak at the same time. Her strong
favoritism for Melbourne and the
Whigs was quickly established, and she
took very little trouble to conceal it.
Tory Prime Minister Robert Peel, having
270
Q U E E N V I C TO R I A
271
DECISIVE MOMENT May 1, 1851
T
he world had never seen a trade also on show, following Albert’s desire
fair this large before. Such was the to promote healthily competitive free
public’s enthusiasm that on its trade and diplomatic links.
first day up to 30,000 crammed into its
purpose-built venue, a massive airy Science, industry, and artistry
greenhouse designed by Joseph Paxton The 100,000 exhibits ranged from the
and nicknamed “The Crystal Palace” by huge Koh-i-Noor diamond to Sir David
Punch magazine. Among the crowd, Brewster’s stereoscope, and from steam
alongside Victoria, was Prince Albert, locomotives and mechanical toys to
whose pet project this had become. an envelope-making machine and
a garden seat for the Queen carved
Empire on the rise from coal. Exotic items such as North
By the mid-1800s, Victoria headed an African tapestries and metalwork, and
empire on such a rapid rise that it shawls from India, influenced Victorian
would embrace a quarter of the world’s tastes, and the sheer array of goods fed
population by the end of her reign. The the growing mania among middle-class
Great Exhibition was conceived as a Victorians for shopping.
way of showing that Britain was now By the time the Great Exhibition
the “workshop of the world” and its closed, on October 11, 1851, around
leading industrialized nation, and so 6 million people had seen it, many of
this great fair displayed a dizzying them several times—the Queen herself
array of extraordinary, impressive, made 34 visits. The Crystal Palace was
and innovative goods and machinery dismantled and moved to Sydenham,
from throughout its lands. Items from south London, where sadly it perished
potential competitor countries were in a fire in 1936.
273
1815–1914
FULL STEAM AHEAD The expectation was that Crimea would see a powerful industrialized Britain sweep aside all opposition,
The country had been quick to translate a “Great Exhibition” for the military. The reality was different. Organizational limitations let the armed
technological advance into entrepreneurial
opportunity since the start of the Industrial forces down, and they found themselves in a wretched stalemate for many months, killing thousands.
Revolution ❮❮ 232–33. It had led the way in
A
developing steam power, on the railways, and Franco-British force was sent much on logistics as on fighting itself.
at sea ❮❮ 258–59. With all its economic to Crimea in the spring of One in three Russian troops did not
strength, however, its military might had 1854, largely to neutralize even make it to the front. But Britain’s
not been substantially tested since the the Russian Black Sea naval base advantages were offset by poor
Battle of Waterloo in 1815 ❮❮ 246–47. of Sebastopol. British naval power training and provisioning.
was crucial, and a base for it was
SAFEGUARDING SUEZ established near the Ottoman In the public eye
India’s importance to Britain had been capital, Constantinople (Istanbul). Previous wars had seemed
growing since the 18th century ❮❮ 212–13. remote to those not involved.
Hence the need to ensure stability on the Industrial might The Crimean War was modern
isthmus of Suez, a vital junction on the route Britain’s industrial in having an important media
to India. With the Ottoman Empire clearly in output was 10 times presence. William Howard Russell
terminal decline, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia had Russia’s and its army went on behalf of The Times
designs on the Dardanelles, the straits linking much better equipped. newspaper, becoming the first
the Black Sea with the Mediterranean and Suez. Its standard musket range known war correspondent.
was five times that of the Since his copy was
RUSSIAN AGGRESSION Russian equivalent. Russia’s substantially uncensored
At the beginning of 1853, Nicholas proclaimed infrastructure was almost by the authorities, war’s
himself protector of the Ottoman Sultan’s completely undeveloped. It sufferings were literally brought
Christian subjects, with rights over Jerusalem took three months to get weapons and Surgeons kit home to the public in their morning
and its pilgrimage sites. The Sultan appealed to materiel to Crimea by horse and cart. These instruments were used in Crimea by a military papers. They became available almost
France and Britain, and when Russia invaded his Britain and France could ship supplies surgeon, Dr. Evans. Supply problems meant that most instantly through telegraph technology.
Danube provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia that by sea in just three weeks. Crimea operations had to be carried out without anesthetics, Photos were published for the first time
summer, they responded. After the Russian anticipated later wars in hingeing as although chloroform, for example, was now in use. too. Russell had plenty to write about.
Navy had destroyed the Turkish fleet at Sinop,
the focus shifted to the Crimean peninsula.
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE
Moved by press reports of the wounded
in the Crimean War, well-connected
Florence Nightingale pulled strings and
secured permission to take 38 volunteer
nurses out to help. In October 1854, her
party arrived at the military hospital at
Scutari, Turkey. They found a tumbledown
facility built above broken sewers. Rats
and flies were everywhere; no artificial
light or anesthetics, or even bandages,
were available. The wounded lay directly
on the floor or on soiled straw. Florence
took it all in hand, got
it clean and orderly,
and sorted out the
administration.
Strongly
proprietorial, she
walked the wards
in the darkest
watches of the
night earning
herself the reverential
nickname, the Lady
with the Lamp.
274
T H E C R I M E A N WA R
R U Taganrog
S
Ochakov S
Odessa Sea
Genichesk
of Azov I
Eupatoria
Alma A
Sebastopol Inkerman
Balaklava
Sukhumi
B l a c k S e a
O
Sinope Batum
T
T Constantinople
O
M
A N
A e g ean E M P I R E
Sea
0 500km
N 0 500 miles
In September 1854, after defeating This kind of thing had happened before,
the Russians at the Battle of Alma, the but now Russell was on hand to give
Allies besieged Sebastopol. The Russians his unsparing report. The tragic charge
tried unsuccessfully to lift the siege on was presented as a heroic failure, but
October 25 at the Battle of Balaclava,
but Britain’s victory was marred by the official incompetence was British artillery officers with cannon
the misunderstanding that led to the unmissable. A fresh attempt by the Officers of the 14th Artillery Regiment pose casually
Charge of the Light Brigade. Almost Russians to dislodge the Allies failed at around a gun in a photograph taken by Roger Fenton
300 men were needlessly killed when the Battle of Inkerman on November 5. toward the end of 1853. Stagey as they may seem
the wrong target was attacked. However, the Allies’ siege had so far today, images like this one made a powerful impression
failed too. They dug in for months of on the public back in Britain, beginning to bring home
miserable trench warfare and artillery to them the awful realities of war.
bombardment. Freezing conditions
became more wretched when winter
storms interrupted seaborne supplies: AF TER
cholera and typhus, rife since summer,
tore through the army. In January
1855, while about 83 men died of The immediate outcome of Crimea for
wounds, 2,761 died from disease. Britain was a great deal of soul-searching.
Russell was scathing in his criticism of Its self-confidence and, more specifically,
provision for the wounded and of the competence were called into question. The
general incompetence with which war had boosted the prestige of the press,
the war was being waged. even as it lowered that of the army and the
administration, and the newspapers led
A victory... of sorts the ensuing hue and cry.
The final victory was one for both
British logistics and British capitalism. VITAL CHANGE
Engineers Thomas Brassey and Samuel Reforms were introduced in nursing and the
Morton Peto built the Grand Crimean army. Officers’ commissions once sold to wealthy
Central Railway to bring up men and young gentlemen now went to professionals on
artillery to Sebastopol, swinging the merit. Confidence recovered, restored by easy
fortunes of the siege. triumphs against China in the Second Opium
However, it was fairer to say that War and some harder-won campaigns against
Russia had lost the war than Britain had the Zulu and Ashanti in Africa 296–97 ❯❯.
won. The Tsar could not keep up the
struggle, having lost more than 100,000 INDUSTRIALIZED WARFARE
men, compared to Britain’s 17,500 dead, These colonial wars were unequal struggles,
France’s 90,000, and Turkey’s 35,000. fought against poorly armed and primitively
The death of Nicholas and the succession equipped adversaries. The Crimean War
of Alexander II allowed an opportunity provided at least a foretaste of what might
for peace talks to be held in Paris in 1856. happen when great modern armies met. Only
much later would it become clear how far the
Battle of Sebastopol dismal conditions of the armies dug in around
Painter Jean-Charles Langlois had served as a soldier Sebastopol foreshadowed the trench warfare
himself. He went to Crimea with war photographer of the Great War of 1914–18 320–21 ❯❯.
Léon-Eugène Méhédin. His panoramic scenes of the
conflict are beautiful but unsparing.
275
1815–1914
T
❮❮ 232–33. The cottage industries of the he Great Exhibition had been manufactured cotton. Rival nations were transportation hub, the main stations
past were giving way to a wonderful store window for reacting fast. For the moment, though, having been built from the 1830s. The
large-scale production, much the products of the Industrial they were struggling to catch up. Underground (subway system) was
of it in fully mechanized, Revolution, but Britain was busier under construction from 1863.
meticulously organized factories. than ever behind the scenes. For a A world city
British know-how enabled brief moment, it had been not just the While industry was associated with the Textiles, toys, and tools
industrial and economic foremost but the only industrial nation, Midlands and North, London, a city of The more familiar industrial activities
development to surge forward producing two-thirds of the world’s coal, manufacturing itself, although mainly also continued. The Lancashire cotton
full-steam-ahead in some of half its iron, almost three-quarters of its in smaller workshops, was growing as mills flourished. Cotton products
the most modern factories steel, and about half of its commercially a financial center underwriting much accounted for more than half Britain’s
and on the most modern industrial enterprise. The skills it exports by value by 1830. By 1860,
transportation infrastructure Workers in a textile factory developed served entrepreneurs Lancashire alone had 440,000 cotton
in the world ❮❮ 258–59. Processes once done painstakingly by hand by highly internationally. By 1800, it was the workers, employed in 2,650 mills. Wool
skilled workers were now carried out mechanically—and modern world’s first city with a was enjoying comparable fortunes
HANDLOOM WEAVER on an enormous scale. Much of the work could be done population of a million; by 1900, across the Pennines in Yorkshire.
by women and children, who were cheaper to pay and it would have more than six times Bradford, a small town of 16,000
easier to manage than male labor. that number. Railways made it a people in 1800, had 182,000 by 1850.
WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD
277
1815–1914
Victorian Values
Hard work, progress, and self-improvement were important in
Victorian Britain. Society’s values were increasingly in the hands
of an expanding middle class that was growing wealthy through
industry. Home, hearth, and family life were central to well-being,
while there was a great drive to raise living standards for all.
I
n Victorian Britain, the home 19th-century industry, rather
became a powerful symbol of than inherited aristocratic wealth.
what every right-thinking citizen Domesticity was a virtue encouraged
should aspire to. Here, everyone in all women and a middle-class wife
knew their place, all was kept in absorbed herself in homemaking
pristine order, and family life was or genteel pursuits, such as needle
nurtured. Having a strong family skills. For poorer girls and women,
unit within this home, the Victorians working as a domestic servant was
believed was to be the aim of all. seemly because it supported family
The model home was middle-class, life or helped them prepare for
fashioned by money from their own married lives.
Part of making society an
ordered Christian place was
sexual restraint. Ladies were
expected to behave with
decorum and to be
accompanied by male
chaperones until they were
married. At the same time,
prostitution was rife because
many women who needed to
earn money had few other
ways available to them for
supporting themselves.
Victorian institutions
The Victorians set up a number
of institutions to control or care
for the population. Workhouses
were set up in 1834 for those The basis of the modern police force was 1891 brought “board” schools (run by
who were unable to work. started by Sir Robert Peel. He created the boards of governors) and compulsory
The idea was that people Irish Constabulary in 1822 and London’s free education. Discipline was highly
should work for their food Metropolitan force (“bobbies”) in 1829. valued and schoolchildren were often
and accommodation, rather The aim was to provide a centralized and beaten. Dickens, who campaigned for
Family values than relying on handouts. ethical crime better education
Dollshouses like this one helped girls prepare for the Conditions in the workhouses were prevention force. before these Acts
role of running a home, as well as being cherished such that many would go to any By 1857, there were enforced,
toys and family heirlooms. lengths to avoid going there. were regional police portrayed several
forces in England, cruel schools in
Scotland, and Wales. his novels. At the
B E F O R E Jails and asylums same time, Acts
were also built on limiting child labor
a grander scale and reducing
The Victorian era reacted against some than before—the working hours for
moral aspects of the previous century 1845 Lunacy Act all were also
while developing others. ordered all Household advice introduced.
counties to The Victorians loved strict rules. Mrs. Beeton’s bestseller, Numerous public
SOCIAL REFORM build asylums. Book of Household Management (1861), included lectures and
Victorian primness was partly a reaction Mental illness instructions on food preparation and medical advice. evening classes
against the decadence and sexual openness sufferers had at Working Men’s
of their Georgian forebears, as caught in previously been treated as criminals— and Working Women’s colleges further
Thomas Rowlandson’s caricatures of Georgian the Act was seen as a force for good, raised levels of education.
aristocrats. However, the Victorians also inherited enabling people to receive treatment.
some of their zeal for social reform from Social improvement
some notable Georgians, including William Education for all There was social improvement of
Wilberforce ❮❮ 234–35. SELF-PORTRAIT BY THOMAS ROWLANDSON In the drive to educate the nation, many other kinds, too. In an age when
hundreds of schools opened. A series diseases such as cholera tore through
of Education Acts between 1870 and industrial slums, better drains, and
278
V I C TO R I A N V A L U E S
REFORMER (1812–1904)
SAMUEL SMILES
Scotsman Samuel Smiles was the
quintessential Victorian. A doctor,
campaigning journalist, and chief
executive of various railway companies
in their golden age, he was a true
middle-class professional. He was also a
political and social campaigner, and was
interested in self-improvement. Smiles
admired prominent self-made men,
such as George Stephenson and Josiah
Wedgwood. Potted biographies of such
figures, along with Smiles’s general
reflections, filled his best-known book
Self-Help (1859), which sold more than
250,000 copies during his lifetime. This
hugely influential work helped shape the
typical middle-class Victorian values of
hard work and thrift, the drive to rise from
humble origins, self-reliance, duty, and
strength of character.
279
1815–1914
Victorian Entertainment
Victorian Britain believed in having fun. The middle class had the means and the
leisure—for evenings out, vacations, and hobbies in the home—and the working poor ■ PORTRAITS AND CAMERA
were frantic in their desire to escape a monotonous round of toil.
■ Portraits and cameras were widely available by the sewn together. ■ Cyclist tourist club certificate (front and
mid-19th century. Albumen from egg-white bound the back) made of metal that was issued by the Cycle Touring
chemicals together in photographic prints. Formats were Club to H.H. Wells of Etna Iron Works, Lewes, Sussex, in
rigidly standardized, the carte de visite size of photograph 1890. ■ Penny-farthing bicyle, got its name because its
being increasingly replaced by the larger cabinet card. front wheel was bigger than its back one, suggesing the
■ Stereoscopic viewer in walnut of the late Victorian different sizes of the two coins. ■ Mrs Beeton’s Every Day
period, made by Poulton & Sons of London. The photograph Cookery and Housekeeping Book was published in around
in the fretwork holder was shown as if in 3-D. ■ Season 1880. She was already famous for her Book of Household
ticket for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park, which Management (1861), shown here open, left. ■ Charles
allowed repeated admission. ■ Thomas Cook brochure Dickens’ The Magic Fishbone, a children’s book, was
advertising vacations for 1901. Along with sea cruises, rail published in 1868. ■ Penny Dreadful, a popular type of
tours to historic cities and scenic places were popular. ■ literature that aimed to thrill and shock. ■ Christmas cards
Tennis racket made of wood. These became easily warped were first sent in the 1840s. ■ Punch and Judy puppets
or unstrung. ■ Duffers Golf Club Papers on golf published used to entertain children. ■ Theater posters advertising
by the Montrose Standard newspaper in 1891. The cover performances at London’s Palace Theatre in 1898.
photograph shows the links at Montrose, in eastern Scotland. “Varieties and novelties” and a magnificent “smoking saloon”
■ Lemonade label from a bottle, showing a picture of a are offered. ■ Sheet music of Her Majesty’s Lancers,
cricket match. ■ Drink label, from a bottle of Football a polka written by Edward Solomon, published in
Punch, a drink for winter. ■ Soccer ball with leather panels 1877. ■ Automatic music box popular from the 1890s.
■ GOLF
■ HOLIDAY TOURS BROCHURE PAPERS
280
V I C TO R I A N E N T E R TA I N M E N T
■ CHRISTMAS
CARDS
■ PENNY-
FARTHING BICYCLE
■ SHEET MUSIC
281
1815–1914
Cultural Conflict
B E F O R E
Running through the self-confidence of the 19th century were currents of conflict and
dissent. Religious believers underwent crises of faith, while writers and artists criticized
the status quo. All kinds of ideas circulated, from the Romantics’ call for freedom, to the
return to medievalism of the Pre-Raphaelite artists.
S
purred by political revolutions Madox Brown and, later, Edward and Crafts Movement. This reacted
across Europe, a Romantic cultural Burne-Jones. The frequent mix of to mass production by promoting a
rebellion took hold in Britain in the realism and religion, rejection of medieval-influenced idea of the
early 19th century. Escaping from craftsman and of handmade goods.
WORDSWORTH’S HOME, DOVE COTTAGE 18th-century reason, poets William UTILITARIANISM The moral theory
Wordsworth, John Keats, Percy Bysshe of creating the greatest good for the Faith, radicalism, and hard times
Religion and Romanticism were two major Shelley, and the dissolute Lord Byron, greatest number of people. Also known The 1830s onward saw a revival of
pillars of the cultural conflicts that engaged stressed nature and the emotional as the “greatest happiness principle,” High Anglican and Catholic ideas, as
many 19th-century thinkers and artists. expression of the individual. Notable utilitarianism was a popular theory in a way of reinvigorating a stagnating
works included Keats’ Ode on a Grecian the Victorian period. Church of England. It was led by Oxford
PRE-REFORMATION RELIGION Urn (1820) and Byron’s epic Don Juan churchmen John Newman, John Keble,
The Oxford Movement looked back to the (1819–24). Another cultural strand, Renaissance styles, and Rossetti’s and Edward Pusey. Often called the
ideals of the pre-Reformation Church ❮❮ 136–37. Romantic medievalism, turned away sensual female portraits (such as Bocca Oxford Movement, or Tractarianism
They saw it as a pious and pure religion, from the mass materialism of Victorian Baciata, 1859) all caused initial outrage, (after a series of written tracts), it
untainted as yet by the liberalism and culture, whose values many found although leading art critic John Ruskin greatly affected Anglican theology.
rationality of subsequent centuries. superficial. The Pre-Raphaelite championed them. Though some feared a return to papacy,
Brotherhood of young English artists, Dissatisfaction with mechanistic it saw instead a general religious revival,
PRE-RAPHAELITE ART founded in 1848, rebelled against what Victorian industrialization spawned with new churches built and a desire to
The Pre-Raphaelite artists admired the art prior they saw as the artificial, pompous, and two other historical revivals: the help the needy. It was also an age when
to High Renaissance painters such as Raphael academic art of the day, and sought an Gothic Revival and the Arts and Crafts people, including Ruskin and novelist
(1483–1520), whom they deemed too polished anti-dogma truth to nature. They Movement. Ruskin played a major part Thomas Hardy, questioned their faith.
and idealized. They favored early 15th-century
Italian and Flemish work, such as the Arnolfini
Portrait by Jan van Eyck. “ I seek antiquity not
ROMANCE VERSUS REASON
The Lyrical Ballads (1798) of William novelty. I strive to revive
Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
are often seen as starting the high point
of English Romanticism. The Romantics
not invent.”
fought against the 18th-century Age of
Reason. Influenced by French thinker AUGUSTUS PUGIN, LETTER TO JOHN BLOXAM, SEPTEMBER 13, 1840
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), they
promoted beauty, unconstrained nature, harked back to medieval art prior in both. His love of what he saw as
and human emotion and liberty. They to the work of Raphael and the High the beautiful Christian spiritualism of
were a huge influence on 19th-century figures, Renaissance, which was revered by the medieval architecture was shared by
such as the critic John Ruskin (see "()), who Victorians. Their founding members numerous British architects, notably
greatly admired Wordsworth. were Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Augustus Pugin, author of The True
Everett Millais, and William Holman Principles of Pointed or Christian
Hunt. Associated artists included Ford Architecture (1841), whose Victorian
Gothic work includes detailing on the
Houses of Parliament. George Gilbert
ENGLISH ACADEMIC, CRITIC, AND SOCIAL REFORMER (1819–1900) Scott became the most successful
Victorian Gothic architect, completing
JOHN RUSKIN London’s St. Pancras Station in 1865.
London-born Ruskin had a claustrophobic Pugin wrote that “all ornament should
childhood framed by a Romantic-spirited consist of enrichment of the essential
father and a religious mother, and he construction of the building.” This
struggled with the oppositions of sensuality, functionalist idea, that art and design
intellectualism, and religious propriety. In the should honestly express its purpose
1870s, “aesthetic” artist James McNeill and construction, rather than being
Whistler sued Ruskin for accusing him of superficial decoration, was also a
“flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face” guiding principle of William Morris,
with an abstract work. The ensuing court case who was at the forefront of the Arts
thrust Ruskin, and the era’s artistic values, into
the spotlight. Ruskin emotively championed Symbolic realism
the landscapes of J. M. W. Turner in Modern John Everett Millais’ Christ in the House of His
Painters (1843–60) and Gothic architecture Parents, c.1850, believed to be influenced by
in Stones of Venice (1851–53). Oxford Movement caused great controversy
for showing the sacred as ordinary.
282
C U LT U R A L C O N F L I C T
The ideas of Charles Darwin 1849. His Das Kapital Form and function
on natural, not divine, (1867–94) predicted This modern-looking chair by Philip Webb came from
evolution (see pp.288–89) capitalism’s collapse. Morris & Company. It is simple but functional, and
had a profound effect, and The writings of Charles covered with fabric in a nature-inspired design. Typical
an increasing agnosticism Dickens championed the Morris items were furniture, fabric, wallpapers, and
pervaded this age of downtrodden and sought beautiful medieval-style, handmade books.
scientific enquiry. social reform in areas
While some looked to such as sanitation and
the past, others faced the poor law. Dickens was a
present head on. Modern contradiction typical of
industrial society had this age of cultural
highlighted poverty and conflicts. The society that
many social inequalities. he critiqued, albeit often
Ruskin became a social fondly, gave him great
reformer, and taught success. One of his
at London’s Working Hard Times targets, notably in Hard
Men’s College (see In novels such as Hard Times (1854) Times (1854), was the
pp.278–79). Morris and Oliver Twist (1839), Charles utilitarianism of Jeremy
formed the Socialist Dickens highlighted the plight of the Bentham and John
League in 1884 and dispossessed of Victorian Britain. Stuart Mill, central to
outlined a socialist Victorian thinking.
utopia in News from Nowhere (1891). Through all of this, ran the
Europe’s 1848 revolutions furthered influence of Thomas Carlyle, a
radical thought. Karl Marx and Scots historian–philosopher, based
Friedrich Engels wrote the Communist in London after 1834, and author
Manifesto (1848), and founded modern of Sartor Resartus (1833–34). Carlyle
communism. Engels, author of The disliked Victorian materialism and
Condition of the Working Classes in England utilitarianism, and promoted social MORRIS & COMPANY William
in 1844 (1845), worked in a Manchester reform. Doubting conventional Morris’s company was founded in 1861.
cotton mill run by his German family. Christianity, he developed an Its carefully crafted products were
Marx was a German economist and unorthodox spiritualism and a belief designed by artists such as Dante Gabriel
philosopher, based in England after in the power of strong individuals. Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones.
AF TER
INDIVIDUALISM
The Romantics’ stress on the unfettered
individual, rather than on the needs of the
group or society, often ran counter to
Victorian utilitarianism and fed the
20th-century “cult of the individual.”
The Romantic poets’ image also did much
for the concept of the tortured artist
and the special qualities of being creative.
MODERNISM
The idea, embraced by Morris and the Arts and
Crafts Movement, that form should express
function prefigures the form-follows-function
mantra of 20th-century Modernist design. The
stylish minimalist chairs of the 1930s owe much
to Morris. Even Pugin’s Gothic designs, with their
functionalist ethos, connects in the unlikeliest
of ways with modern British architects.
283
Victorian workhouse, 1900
At this Marylebone workhouse, in London, men sit in regimented rows
to receive their evening meal. Women were kept separate from the
men, for the sake of decency. As charity was regarded by many
Victorians as being morally corrupting and encouraging idleness, hard
(if pointless) labor was prescribed in order to reduce its harm. The
resemblance to a prison of the day is inescapable—as it was to its
inmates, for whom it was clear that poverty was considered a crime.
1815–1914
B
ritish explorers in Africa were He was also the first westerner to see The Northwest Passage
often impelled by a pious desire one of the largest waterfalls in the Navigators were still tantalized
to bring salvation to the “savages.” world—local people knew it as the by the idea of this tempting
It seemed only natural that, along with “Smoke that Thunders”; Livingstone short-cut to the riches of the
the good news of Christianity, they named it Victoria Falls. east. It was there, but severe
Melville G r
should bring tidings of black Africa’s The Queen’s name was also given to ice made it impassable.
Bay e e
divinely ordained subservience to the lake discovered by Richard Burton Bathurst Beechey n
white Europe. Explorer James and John Speke’s expedition in 1856. Island Island l a
Richardson’s visit to the Sahara oasis Speke’s claim that Lake Victoria was the Devon Baffin Bay n
of Ghat, in 1845, was a case in point. source of the Nile was correct, though Island d
Lancaster Sound
little more than an educated hunch.
Somerset Island
Presumed Livingstone An 1860 expedition intended to furnish Prince of
Another missionary-explorer, David proof was beaten back by hostile tribes.
Wales Island Franklin B a f fi n
Victoria Strait Is
Boothia Peninsula l
Livingstone (1813–73) traced the Livingstone, back in Africa from
Island
course of the upper Zambezi River 1865, disappeared into the interior,
an
from 1851; he then walked to the occasioning a media outcry in Britain. King William Island
d
Atlantic coast at Luanda. Retracing An American newspaper, the New York
his steps to the source of Zambezi, he Herald, sent Welsh journalist and
followed it down to the Indian Ocean, explorer Henry Morton Stanley in
becoming the first European to cross search of him. In 1871, finding a frail KEY 0 1000 km
the African continent from west to east. and elderly European in a village by Franklin’s route N 0 1000 miles
B E F O R E
NEW PURPOSES
The anti-slavery
campaign generated
an interest in Africa
❮❮ 234–35. Industrial
Britain began to regard
the world as a source of
raw materials, and as
a potential market
❮❮ 276–77.
MUNGO PARK’S
BOOK, 1816
286
E X P LO R I N G T H E W O R L D
287
1815–1914
Charles Darwin
“ Man… still bears in
his bodily frame the
indelible stamp of
his lowly origin.”
CHARLES DARWIN, THE DESCENT OF MAN, 1871
C
harles Darwin was perhaps 18th-century potter Josiah
the greatest biologist of the Wedgwood (see pp.278–79).
19th century. His “natural Charles’s mother died when he
selection” idea, a process whereby was eight. He hated the narrow
plants and animals best adapted to education he received as a boarder
their environments survive, formed the at Shrewsbury School and did not
bedrock of the current theories about prosper academically. Despite this,
evolution. They caused outrage and he seems to have had a happy
excitement in his time, and overturned childhood, enjoying long walks,
the western world’s social and religious science experiments in a small, home
outlooks, making people see their place laboratory, collecting things such
in the universe in a new light. As well as minerals and birds’ eggs, and
as being a biologist and natural historian, game-shooting. As a young man,
Darwin made significant contributions Charles showed little interest in
to modern geology and marine science. a medical career. His father told
him, “You care for nothing but
Early family life shooting, dogs, and rat-catching,
Charles’s father, Robert Darwin, was a and you will be a disgrace to
doctor and local philanthropist and his yourself and all your family.”
grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, a
Science and religion
288
C H A R L E S DA R W I N
do not like to consider his Beagle voyage. ■ 1818–25 A boarder at Shrewsbury School,
whose narrow classical curriculum he hates.
289
1815–1914
British India
For better or worse, Britain’s sense of its imperial destiny came of age in 19th-century India. Lives were
devoted to the Empire’s service—and colossal fortunes were made. The occupiers believed that they had
brought their Indian subjects a golden age of good governance, order, civilization, and prosperity.
B
ritain carried its policy of of the Maratha Empire was broken in 1848–49). These consolidated the
arm’s-length imperialism in India 1818, but still the Company kept up Company’s hold on the Punjab, while
into the new century, with the its program of expansion. a Second Burma War (1852) secured
East India Company acting as an Lower (southern) Burma.
occupying power. The conquests Taking hold
continued: the Mughal Emperor The expansion started in 1824 with the Tax and trade
Shah Alam II, an old man with his conquest of Burma, which proceeded By 1856, 70 percent of the subcontinent
Indian postage stamp authority already much reduced by his smoothly. Company troops took Assam, was directly under British rule. In reality,
Introduced in 1857, the postal service was one of many defeat at Buxar (see pp.212–13), was Manipur, and adjacent territories by though, British dominance was more or
benefits brought to India by the Raj. The British were forced to accept British protection in 1826, but there were setbacks. The less complete. Treaty arrangements with
slower to acknowledge the immeasurable benefits— 1804. He was reduced to no more than First Afghan War (1839–42), intended local rulers typically respected their
economic and strategic—they received. a puppet of the Company. The power as a war of conquest, ended up an ceremonial authority, while reserving
unmitigated disaster. Of the 4,500 men actual power for the Company itself.
(and 12,000 civilian followers) who Slowly, the Company’s role changed
B E F O R E went to Kabul, only one man—military from that of a commercial operation
surgeon William Brydon—survived. doing the minimum policing required
Soon, though, the British were back to ensure stability, to something very
Britain’s position as an island nation on the offensive. They took Sind (1843) much like a government. Increasingly,
had, paradoxically, prevented it from and Gwalior (1844) before going on to its profits were derived more from
ever growing too insular. Reliant on fight two Sikh Wars (1845–46 and taxation than from trade.
trade, it always had to look beyond
its own shores.
British officer in India
COLONIAL EXPANSION Even averagely important officers could live like little
After something of a false start in the reign viceroys in British India. Thronged by servants, they
of Elizabeth I ❮❮ 146–47, England’s first ignored the wider realities, encountering only deference
colonial ventures were across the Atlantic in from those Indians they came into contact with.
North America ❮❮ 162–63. The 18th century
brought territorial gains in Canada, and the
establishment of outposts in the Indian
subcontinent by the East India Company
❮❮ 212–13. The Company’s fortunes expanded
under British officer Robert Clive when Mughal
Emperor Shah Alam granted it the revenue rights
to Bengal. These acquisitions went some way
toward making up for the loss of the American
colonies ❮❮ 214–15. With industrialization
proceeding apace ❮❮ 232–33, colonial
expansion became ever more essential
to Britain, which needed new sources
of raw materials and potential markets for
its manufactured products ❮❮ 276–77.
290
BRITISH INDIA
AF TER
British Indian railways
A locomotive pulls into a railway station near Calcutta
in 1867. Originally built to boost trade and for military Most Britons convinced themselves that
purposes, the Indian railway network soon saw rapid they were carrying what Rudyard Kipling
growth in passenger services. called the “White Man’s Burden” in a
spirit of self-sacrifice.
thousand British officers had charge of
huge numbers of native sepoys. In 1857, INDIAN INDEPENDENCE
the entire edifice very nearly came There was some anger then, when the 1920s
crashing down—when sepoys rebelled and 1930s brought an intensifying campaign on
against their officers and a full-scale the part of Indians, who wanted to be free of
mutiny erupted (see pp.292–93). British rule ❯❯ 342–43. World War II changed
The mutiny threatened the very attitudes—and Britain’s position in the world—
continuance of British rule. and in 1947 India became independent ❯❯
364–65. Built for the British Viceroy, Delhi’s
The British Raj Rashtrapati Bhavan is now the official residence
The aftermath saw a wholesale for the president of the Republic of India.
reorganization of the army in India,
Corruption was endemic either way, with more native-British troops brought
although there were intermittent in. The East India Company’s role as
crackdowns, as in the case of Warren intermediary was replaced with direct
Hastings. In 1788, Hastings, the rule from Westminster. Queen Victoria
Governor of Bengal, was impeached was proclaimed the Empress of India.
on corruption charges. Although Britain was proud of this “jewel in the
acquitted by the House of Lords, crown”: Indian chic influenced
he was disgraced. everything from furnishings to cuisine.
Its future now apparently secure, the
Western ways Raj (the new official name for British
Britain made great play of its “civilizing” rule) went on with its routines.
mission—and did try to stamp out suttee Officers’ families could enjoy elegant
(the burning of Hindu widows on their rounds of picnics, balls, and banquets.
husbands’ funeral pyres) and female They escaped the heat for cooler hill THE IRON GATES OF
RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
infanticide. It also suppressed the stations in summer and commanded a
Thuggee (Thugs) a cult whose members large complement of servants, thanks
lived as bandits, strangling innocent to the abundance of cheap labor.
travelers as sacrifices to the goddess Kali.
And, of course, it gave India the benefits
of western technology and
infrastructure. Roads—of obvious
“I know nothing at all about them
military use—were at the same time
beneficial to all. The Company spent … I think the less one sees
£400,000 per year on its road building
program during the late 1840s: this
included a tarmac highway between
and knows of them the better.”
Delhi and Calcutta. Railways, vital
for British business, could also be ENGLISH LADY ON INDIANS, REPORTED BY JULIA CHARLOTTE MAITLAND, 1837
presented as a boon for Indians.
Soon the whole subcontinent was
crisscrossed by railways.
Rebellion flares up
Many Indians viewed the educational
opportunities made available to
members of its elite with suspicion.
They sensed that the British were
intent on educating them out of their
Indian ways, and schooling them in
subservience to Company rule.
Cultural sensitivity was all-important,
given the extent to which the British
were outnumbered. Tiny in number
compared with the indigenous
population, they may have enjoyed
immense power but it was precariously
poised. Even in the army, a few
Tiger hunt
Viceroy Lord Curzon poses with his prize and his party
(including wife Mary Victoria) in this 1902 photograph.
Wild and beautiful, but subdued by British power: that
was how the Raj liked to see India.
291
DECISIVE MOMENT May 10, 1857
Indian Mutiny
The initial flare-up was over the use of greased gun cartridges, but
the sepoys’ sense of outrage went much further. The ensuing mutiny
threatened to consume the British Raj. Asked to oppress their
own people, the native soldiers were shocked to find themselves
despised—and exhilarated to appreciate the power they possessed.
I
t is hard, in hindsight, to pinpoint kept the rebels at bay, but a prolonged
when the uprising started, as a fight for the control of the city
series of minor incidents marked continued for many months.
an escalating crisis. The first major In June, the rebel forces besieged
outbreak came at the Meerut the British garrison in Cawnpore (now
cantonment where, on May 9, several Kanpur). Despite the British surrender,
troops refused on religious grounds to 100 of their wives and children were
use gun cartridges greased with pork captured and massacred.
or beef fat. The next day, they were
court-martialed and sentenced to Outrage and retribution
long prison terms. The punishment The barbaric killings fueled mounting
provoked a general mutiny on the anger in Britain. The country erupted
base and rioting in the nearby city. in jingoistic rage and stridently called
for dire punishment. Bloody retributions
Escalating violence followed, as British troops regained
The uprising at Meerut fueled similar their hold over the colony through
insurrections across much of north and 1858. Reports of genuine atrocities,
central India. The rebels reached Delhi compounded by more exaggerated
on May 11, and attempted to set up tales, helped foster a deep-seated sense
Bahadur Shah II (the last of the Mughal of racial superiority and distrust toward
line) as the emperor of India. By July, Indians among the British population.
the British forces placed the city under As a precaution, the British Parliament
siege—although they were besieged ended the East India Company rule
themselves from behind by Indian and put India under the direct
forces. At Lucknow, the British garrison administration of the British Crown.
Storming of Delhi
British troops, with loyal Sikh sepoys, storm the gates
of Delhi, while the rebel sepoys defend their positions.
One of three coordinated attacks, it began just before
daybreak on September 14, 1857. Even then, it took
days of fighting to secure the city.
292
1815–1914
E
❮❮ 212–13 was colonized, and more colonies ven as America’s colonies were brought into a single Province of apparently settled with the Treaty of
were acquired from the French in 1763. breaking free, Britain had been Canada—French-speakers were now Waitangi in 1840. Some 500 chiefs
Although the loss of the American colonies extending its influence to the outnumbered. However, from 1848 signed the treaty—although it is not
❮❮ 214–15 hit Britain hard, new possibilities north. Naturally, though, there were steps were taken to allow a limited clear if they understood the terms
opened up in the Pacific ❮❮ 226–27. In the fears that the Canadian colonists might degree of autonomy under a system they were agreeing to. In any case,
19th century, men such as Gregory Blaxland follow their American neighbors. known as Responsible Government. new arrivals quickly encroached
and Charles Sturt ventured into the Rebellions broke out in Lower and beyond the
Australian interior ❮❮ 286–87.
EMIGRATION
Upper Canada in 1837–78, general
dissatisfaction compounded in what
was formerly French Lower Canada
A better England
Edward Gibbon
Wakefield, who
161,700 The number of
people who were
transported to Australia (New South
boundaries
appointed for
settlement,
If new lands exerted a pull as potential colonies, (now Quebec) by a nationalistic impulse. founded the New Wales, Tasmania, and Western Australia) causing continuing
a definite push for emigration already existed. Upper and Lower Canada were in 1840 Zealand Company between 1788 and 1868. An estimated conflict. Even so,
The Agricultural Revolution produced in 1837, said that 25,000 of these were women. more Maoris were
slow-motion turmoil in the British countryside First settlers New Zealand was killed by diseases
over generations ❮❮ 230–31. An Ireland still Believed to be the first photograph to be taken destined to be “a better England.” His from which they had no immunity. An
shattered by the famine of the 1840s in Australia (in 1855), this image shows the racial vision enthused thousands, and British indigenous population estimated at
❮❮ 266–67 saw people emigrating in hierarchy already well established. The white emigrants flocked there. Difficulties around 140,000 in 1840 had fallen
their thousands every year. man quite literally has the whip-hand. early on with the warlike Maori were to 42,000 by 1890.
DOMINIONS AND EMIGRANTS
… a few native
ion
0.9 mill
huts, and
surrounded by
0 .7
m
2 .3
… savages.”
ill
io
n
mi
(4
l li
%
on
(1
3% AUSTRALIA
)
SOUTH
NEW
HARRIET LONGFORD, IN A LETTER TO
AFRICA
ZEALAND HER MOTHER, FROM PORT AURORA,
NEW ZEALAND, JANUARY 27, 1840
0. 7
OTHERS
il l
m
N io
n (4
%)
Initially an outpost of New South wrote Darwin when the Beagle sailed Emigrants from the British Isles AF TER
Wales, New Zealand was its own colony into Australia in 1836. Australia’s This map shows the principal areas of the world to which
from 1841. It won what amounted to native population fell by 90 percent people from the British Isles emigrated between 1821 and
Responsible Government status in through the 19th and early 1911. Colored arrows show the number of emigrants as The white-dominated dominions continued
1852. It was certainly a “better 20th centuries. Some were well as the percentage of the total number of emigrants. to maintain the closest of connections
England” as regards electoral massacred; many more died with the mother country. This continues
representation—extending of Old World diseases. the overwhelming majority of the to the present day.
the vote to women in 1893. Spectacular gold finds in the hundreds of thousands of emigrants
1850s brought fortune hunters from the British Isles to the United CANADIAN INDEPENDENCE
Gold rush flocking in from around the States during the 1840s. Paradoxically, The restive spirit lingered in the French-speaking
New South Wales got its world. In a single decade, this rural people settled mainly areas of Canada, a Québécois separatist
first, unwilling, settlers on Australia’s population rose from in the big cities. movement sprang up in the 1970s, although
January 18, 1788, when Captain 400,000 to more than 1 million. English, Welsh, and Scottish emigrants calls for secession were rejected in
Arthur Phillip’s First Fleet arrived The gold rush was quick, but many mostly made their way to existing referendums of 1980 and 1995.
in Sydney Cove, bringing disappointed prospectors stayed British colonies—arriving in Canada
700 convicts. The green on. Australia was starting to feel at a rate of 35,000–40,000 a year FRIENDS IN NEED
countryside was more like its own nation, but it was through the 1840s. Despite a posture of impatience with the
arid than it seemed, its soils not until 1901 that it became The Scottish Highlands were “Poms” (a mildly offensive word used by
obstinately uncultivable, a self-governing dominion. undergoing a sort of speeded-up version Australians and New Zealanders for an English
but the convicts had of English Enclosures in the shape of person) of Britain, Australia remains close to
to make it work to Striking out the “Clearances.” As traditional chiefs Britain, both at an official level and in the
survive, and ultimately Ornate Maori club “The great tide of reinvented themselves as aristocrats, informal contacts between family members
they succeeded. The Maoris used hooked clubs in the emigration flows steadily with the authorities’ encouragement, across the world. Both Australia and New Zealand
Soon emigrants wars of the 1830s. The immediate westward,” reported the they needed cash to sustain their newly sent floods of volunteers to support Britain
were coming voluntarily, impact of white settlement sparked Illustrated London News lavish lifestyles. Many decided to clear in World War I. ANZAC (the Australia and
not just to New South off trouble between native tribes. in 1850, although this land—which had supported subsistence New Zealand Army Corps) suffered terrible
Wales, but to the other was because the main farming—for grazing by sheep. Whole casualties in the Gallipoli Campaign (April
colonies of what from 1817 was called current of emigration was from an communities were evicted, sometimes 1915–January 1916) 320–21 ❯❯. Both
Australia. Tasmania (or Van Diemen’s Ireland still reeling from the Famine brutally, and many had little choice countries came to Britain’s aid again
Land), first settled in 1802, was a (see pp.266–67). The Irish made up but to emigrate. during World War II 348–49 ❯❯.
separate colony from 1825; Western
Australia followed in 1832; South THE BRITISH MONARCHY ABROAD
Australia in 1836; and Victoria in The independence movement of the
1851. These too started gaining post-war period was noticed in Australia, New
Responsible Government status. Zealand, and English-speaking Canada, but their
Queensland (1859) and Northern white populations had far more positive
Territory (1863) received this status feelings toward Britain than the colonized
from the start. peoples of Asia and Africa 364–65 ❯❯. There
“Wherever the European has trod was, correspondingly, less pressure to break the
death seems to pursue the aboriginal,” connection, in particular with the Crown, still
held in high affection thanks to the popularity
Rebelling emigrants of Queen Elizabeth II. Moves to abolish the
The defeat of the Québécois Patriotes at Saint-Eustache monarchy have so far been thwarted.
December 14, 1837, meant the Lower Canada Rebellion
was all over—bar extensive reprisals by the British.
295
1815–1914
Imperialist Muscle
The world’s first industrial power, Britain was a pace-setter in technology, trade, and agriculture. Its navy ruled the
waves and its army occupied vast areas of dry land. It is no surprise then that Britain was walking tall. Increasingly,
indeed, it was swaggering—a self-appointed policeman, supremely arrogant in its “civilizing mission.”
B
ritannia began life as a colony— Forced to sue for from a thoroughly humiliated China.
the bleakest and most remote peace, under the When the Emperor dragged his feet,
of the Roman Empire. At least, Treaty of Nanjing, the allies attacked with Russian and
after the cruelties of conquest, its the Emperor had American support. They sacked Beijing,
people had been able to enjoy several to hand over
comparatively untroubled centuries
of the Pax Romana—“Roman Peace”
(see pp.31–32). Britain’s imperial
Hong Kong, open
key ports, and
accord Britain
13 MILLION The
extent
in sq miles (33.7 million sq km) covered
apologists liked to talk of a Pax Britannica, “most favored by the British Empire in the early
bestowed on the fortunate peoples nation” status. 20th century. More than 450 million
of Africa and Asia. This meant that people lived under British rule.
any privilege
The Opium Wars given to any other including the Summer Palace. China
Britain’s addiction to tea, and to its nation would was carved up into tranches for
trade in Chinese silk and ceramics for automatically exploitation by the foreign powers.
the European market, was at first paid apply to Britain
for with silver. Once America was lost, Second Opium War too. The Emperor also had to allow the African upstarts
however (see p.214–15), and the price Chinese tents await the arrival of the British delegation opium trade to continue. Other powers, Zulu power, built by King Shaka
of silver rose, opium was found to be a in Tientsin (Tianjin) in 1858. So disadvantageous was including the United States and France, through the 1820s, had carried all
perfect substitute. High in value and the agreement reached here that the Emperor had then demanded their own treaties. before it in southern Africa, but it came
easy to ship, it grew well in the hilly second thoughts and tried to resist. Christian missionaries arrived in China up against a technology-gap at Blood
areas of India where labor was also and started preaching. River in 1838. More than 3,000 Zulu
cheap. There was one small problem China since 1729. Britain used All this foreign interference—and the warriors were cut down here by the
though—opium had been illegal in “independent agents” (or, more bluntly, continuing opium problem—pushed rifles of 500 Boers. Things did not
smugglers) to conduct its trade, and it China too far. The murder of a French always go the white man’s way
296
I M P ER IALI ST M U SCLE
AF TER
297
Railway station
New transportation technologies such as the railways and the
steamship shrank the world and extended people’s horizons in the
19th century. They could travel for business or for pleasure, and to find
fresh work opportunities. William Powell Frith’s painting, The Railway
Station (1862), teems with colorful characters from all social classes
in 19th-century London’s Paddington Station.
1815–1914
300
IRISH HOME RULE
AF TER
ULSTER PROTESTANTS
While Republicans fought for freedom,
Protestants in Ulster opposed Home Rule
332–33 ❯❯: their freedom could only be
guaranteed in the context of the United
Kingdom, they insisted. Thousands of them went
to the trenches of World War I, laying down
their lives for the Britain they felt was theirs
322–23 ❯❯. The compromises made to
Fenian leaders snatched from police, 1867 T. H. Bourke were knifed to death in accommodate Ulster’s Protestants came back to
A policeman was shot when Fenians in Manchester Dublin’s Phoenix Park. This single haunt Britain—and the Irish “Free State” (and
attacked a prison van to free a couple of comrades. action of an IRB splinter group, the later Republic)—most seriously in the Troubles
Though his death had clearly been accidental, five Invincibles, created an outrage, giving of the late 20th century 378–79 ❯❯.
men—the “Manchester Martyrs”—were hanged. new impetus to the constitutional
movement and the growing “NO HOME RULE” BANNER, 1910
League—set up by former Fenian partnership between Parnell
Michael Davitt—campaigned and Gladstone. The Home Rule
for fairer tenancy agreements. campaign grew rapidly. Gladstone
Parnell was made the League’s introduced a bill in 1886, though
first president. He had the this was defeated in the
unique ability to charm the Commons and he lost
political classes while reaching the general election he
out to the downtrodden. Even called in response.
neutrals saw the mismatch
between the League’s Political scandal
prosaic aims and the popular Parnell’s
enthusiasm it awakened. reputation was
It attracted radical elements badly damaged
and, at a local level, by the following
tenants angry at the year’s purported
conduct of (often “revelations.” In 1887,
absentee) landlords and The Times published a
agents. Tenants took the letter in which Parnell
law into their own hands expressed sympathy
during a long period of with the Phoenix Park
unrest that became known murderers—a cynical
as the Land Wars. In 1881, smear, but not easily
Gladstone’s government shaken off. He was
passed a Second Land still, however, working
Act, which made things toward Home Rule
marginally better. with Gladstone, and his
Parnell proved adept popularity in Ireland was
in walking the tricky at its height when news
tightrope between broke of his long-standing
constitutionalism and relationship with a
radicalism. Even so, he married woman. Parnell’s
was arrested and taken to credibility was shot, as
Dublin’s Kilmainham far as his supporters were
Gaol that year. concerned. Parnell died a
From prison he broken, marginalized
negotiated the Charles Stewart Parnell figure in 1891, aged
Kilmainham A Protestant landowner, Parnell made an 45. Gladstone went
Treaty. Agreed improbable hero for Ireland’s Catholic poor. on alone, trying
with Gladstone on again with the Irish
May 2, 1882, it regulated rent-arrears Government Bill of 1893. This
for tenant farmers. Parnell received a made it through the Commons
hero’s reception upon leaving jail before being thrown out by the
and the campaign went on. House of Lords.
301
1815–1914
A
from a Dutch Empire in decline. The Boers, s the music-hall song of the he founded De Beers in 1880 and the the Empire was greater still. One day, he
Dutch-descendents who had farmed the 1870s suggested, “We don’t want British South Africa Company in 1889. believed, it would take back the United
region since the 17th century, were increasingly to fight, but by jingo if we do/ To describe Rhodes as a businessman, States and become the supreme
irked by British We’ve got the men, we’ve got the ships, however, does not do justice to the government of the world.
interference. The we’ve got the money too!”, Britain was extraordinary—even exorbitant—scope In such a context, Rhodes’ exploits in
abolition of slavery in bullish mood as its imperial power of his activities or ambitions. His racial southern Africa seem relatively modest,
❮❮ 234–35 was expanded in the late 19th century. It met philosophy proclaimed the natural but they were outrageous. Effectively, he
the last straw: the with one significant setback, though, in fitness of the Anglo-Saxon peoples to was licensed by the British government
Boers undertook 1880, when Transvaal’s Boers rose up dominate and civilize the rest of the to extend his company’s control as a
a Great Trek against the 1877 annexation of their world, reflecting the fact that imperial colonial government over enormous
into the interior, state by the British. After 10 weeks of mission was becoming quasi-religious
establishing new
Boer Republics
in Transvaal
sporadic fighting, a truce was declared
and Britain restored the Boers’
independence in 1881, but with the
in some quarters. Rhodes hoped for a
corridor of British-ruled territory to
extend the length of Africa “from the
27,927 The number of Boer
women and children
who died in British concentration camps;
and Natal. Boers accepting nominal British control. Cape to Cairo”, but his vision for it is not known how many native African
internees died in the camps, but it was,
THE GREAT TREK Empire builder at the very least, 14,000.
Meanwhile, Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902)
was carving out his own territory within
the British Empire. A mining magnate,
302
T H E B O E R WA R
303
1815–1914
T
child and eldest son of Queen Victoria. Bertie he dawn of a new century after and Art Nouveau–Aesthetic artist liberal, others not—he was against
served as heir apparent longer than anyone Victoria’s death brought a new, if Aubrey Beardsley (1872–98), with votes for women (see pp.308–09). His
else in British history. Failing to flourish in the not youthful (at almost 60 years), his stylized, daring illustrations. son George V, much quieter and not a
army or at university, he lacked focus or any monarch in Edward VII, whose persona A long time in waiting for the party-goer, nevertheless continued the
outstanding abilities. As Prince of Wales, Bertie was far more fun loving than that of his throne, Edward had grown outgoing monarchy’s popularity with the public.
became a playboy, famed for a string of mother. It felt like a fresh start, filled and hedonistic, and stamped his reign The early part of his reign is often
indiscretions, including a divorce and gambling with technological innovation. with that trait. He could be charming, included under the Edwardian era.
scandals. His extravagant habits formed a model However, Victorian attitudes persisted pleasant, and diplomatic. Always
for the wealthy leisured people of the day. (see pp.278–79 and pp.282–83). Faster and faster
Lavish country house parties, especially Wealthy industrialists still Life in Britain was speeding up.
shooting weekends at Sandringham, were his contributed large sums toward There were car rallies and
speciality. In 1863, he married the Danish Princess art galleries and museums. record-breaking flying
Alexandra (1844–1925), but his philandering Civic authorities proclaimed contests. For the
continued, including a high-profile affair with their importance with wealthy, motorcars
actress Lillie Langtry. Appalled by him, Victoria impressive buildings in an became far more
kept him away from affairs of state, so overblown Baroque style. common. Modern cars
he was badly prepared for kingship. In 1903, the Workers’ first appeared in the
Educational Association late 1800s. In 1909,
LILLIE LANGTRY (WEA) was founded for John Moore-Brabazon
working adults, and became the first
military officer Robert resident Englishman
Baden-Powell founded to make an officially
the Boy Scouts in 1908, recognized airplane
to teach boys citizenship flight in England.
and leadership skills. Electric trams replaced the
Victorians’ horse-drawn trams,
King and country transforming life and leisure for
A racier edge to life also developed. Pomp and circumstance urban working people in the expanding
Immediate precedent came from Edward is seen here with Queen Alexandra in an towns and cities. The Victorians’
decadent tastes during the turn-of-the- image celebrating his coronation. He injected great railway system continued to flourish
century years, spearheaded by figures pomp and ceremony into royal life and raised the (see pp.258–59). For the wealthy, this
such as writer Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) profile of the monarchy. was the heyday of luxury transatlantic
passenger liners, such as the Cunard
304
T H E E DWA R D I A N AG E
AF TER
transatlantic radio message from the Liberal victory of 1906. Despite
KEY MOMENT
England. In 1908, the first English problems there was some greater
LONDON OLYMPICS 1908 cinema opened, in London, with early social mobility and improved literacy. Edward’s reign saw the last flourishing of
silent stars including Charlie Chaplin. an old order; its innovations helped to
Artistic differences forge a very different future world.
Home habits This was a fertile period for the arts,
The middle class, supported by business reflecting the era’s shifting attitudes. A POST-WAR WORLD
and industry, continued to grow, Traditional, patriotic writers such as During George V’s reign, there were growing
demanding large, airy homes within Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), famed shifts in society—such as the increasingly
easy reach of towns and cities. for his children’s Just So Stories (1902), strident calls for female suffrage 308–09 ❯❯.
Spacious, well-planned suburbs sprang jostled with people like H.G. Wells After the horrors of the Great War, the Edwardian
up on the urban fringes close to railway (1866–1946), whose Tono Bungay era looked impossibly outmoded and distant.
lines. Garden suburbs and garden cities, (1909) satirized Edwardian society. Irish
inspired by models such as Liverpool’s Fabian George Bernard Shaw’s plays, TOWN PLANNING
Port Sunlight (see pp.278–79), founded such as Pygmalion (1913), questioned One of the defining threads of 20th-century
in late Victorian contemporary Britain was the creation of new towns, with
times, included
London’s
Hampstead Garden
1900 The year the Prince
of Wales bought a
Daimler Phaeton. This purchase was
conventions. Two
other Irishmen, W.B.
Yeats (1865–1939)
almost 40 built in the UK between the mid-1940s
and mid-1970s. Edwardian garden cities—the
world’s first was at Letchworth, Hertfordshire
Suburb (begun soon to make him the first British and James Joyce (1903)—prepared the way. Their pioneer was
1907), with monarch to own a motorcar. (1882–1941), Ebenezer Howard (1850–1928).
contributions by ushered in
Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869–1944). Modernism with works including THE MARCH OF MODERNISM
A PARTICIPANT IN THE NATIONAL ROUND Cottage-like Arts and Crafts house styles Yeats’s The Green Helmet and Other Modernism came into full force after World
ARCHERY EVENT
were popular (see pp.282–83). Inside Poems (1910) and Joyce’s short stories, War II. Modernist writers included T.S. Eliot,
London stepped up when, in 1906, Rome homes, electricity became more Dubliners (1914). James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, Virginia Woolf, W.H.
backed out of hosting the fourth Olympic widespread for the better-off, although Visual art embraced the glamorous Auden, Aldous Huxley, and D.H. Lawrence.
Games in 1908, due to an eruption of many poor families had to wait until society portraits of Anglo-American Edwardian Art Nouveau, with its strong flowing
Mount Vesuvius. The 1908 London event the 1920s to enjoy this benefit. John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) lines and stylized forms, often nature-inspired,
breathed new life into the Games, with and the seedy Camden Town paintings fed into 1920s and ‘30s Art Deco.
the help of Britain’s solid Amateur Athletics Divided Britain of Walter Sickert (1860–1942).
Association and British Olympic Association Edwardian Britain saw a great gap Critic–painter Roger Fry’s (1866–34)
(formed 1905). It also gave birth to the between the extravagant aristocracy Post-Impressionist exhibitions at
current international marathon distance— and the poor, and an economic London’s Grafton Galleries (1910–12), The social season
arrived at arbitrarily, after members of the downturn relative to Victorian times featured work by Cézanne, Gauguin, The social season of the wealthy included the Henley
British royal family extended the course was felt in some quarters. The rise of van Gogh, and the Cubists that shocked Regatta, where these Edwardians are heading, Epsom,
so that they could observe it better. socialism and demands for reform Edwardians with their bold areas of flat Ascot, Lords, Cowes, and Wimbledon—all good
continued, responded to in part after color and strange perspectives. opportunities to meet a wealthy spouse.
DECISIVE MOMENT April 14, 1912
T
he luxury liner RMS Titanic set out closer to the first-class accommodation.
from Southampton on its maiden One of the more inspiring stories turned
voyage with all the fanfare that out to be true: many survivors attested
might be expected for the largest that the saloon band kept on calmly
passenger ship ever built. Unfortunately playing as the ship went down.
though, it was never to reach New
York. Just four nights into the journey, New standards for safety
the White Star liner hit an iceberg and— Inquiries in both the United States and
despite a seemingly impressive array of Britain revealed that the Titanic had
safety features—swiftly sank. Of the actually carried fewer lifeboats than
1,517 people who died, many must maritime law required. The regulations
have been condemned by the fact that were quickly tightened up. The US
there were only 1,178 lifeboat places Hydrographic Office established a
for the 2,227 souls on board. permanent “Ice Patrol” in the North
Atlantic shipping lanes.
True or false? Radio also had a part to play: reports
Rumors ran rife in the days after the of ice in the area had been received and
disaster—and the myth-making has could have been passed on to the Titanic’s
hardly abated even now. Some said crew. Ironically, though the vessel had
the first-class passengers were given been fully fitted with the latest Marconi
precedence in the lifeboats. According telegraph receiving and transmitting
to others, the makers had claimed that equipment, this had been kept as a
the Titanic’s watertight compartments luxury option for first class passengers.
made it “unsinkable”. It was also The sinking of the Titanic quickly took
believed that the ship was speeding on all but mythic status, but another
to satisfy a whim of the White Star myth was punctured by her loss. Britons
chairman, J. Bruce Ismay; it fell victim could no longer feel quite so complacent
to a curse; and so on. While none of about their industrial and technological
these are backed by evidence, it is true preeminence. The 20th century saw
that the lifeboat davits were a great deal them struggling to stay ahead.
307
Emmeline Pankhust arrested
On May 21, 1914, toward the end of the militant
campaign, Emmeline Pankhurst was arrested yet
again. She had been trying to present a petition
to the King at Buckingham Palace. The Great War
would soon overtake suffragette hostilities.
TH E SU F F R AGET TES
The Suffragettes
During the early 1900s, enraged by Parliament’s failure to introduce female suffrage and give voting
rights to women, “suffragettes” took matters into their own hands. With leaders such as Emmeline
and Christabel Pankhurst, they began a campaign of demonstrations and escalating direct action.
A
s the 20th century began, formed the National Anti-Suffrage In 1905, after Christabel was arrested
women were increasingly making League. The word “suffragette” seems and imprisoned for assaulting a
their presence felt in society, to have been coined sarcastically by the policeman attempting to remove her
especially in higher education and some Daily Mail in an article on January 10, from an election meeting for being
professions, although a continuation of 1906. After this, the term suffragette disruptive, the campaign gathered
Victorian values meant women still had tended to be used for someone taking militancy. At the end of 1906, 21
no vote, vital for true progress. Despite militant action. suffragettes were in prison. By 1911,
some support in Parliament for female after the Parliamentary campaign
suffrage (extending the franchise to Fighting the fight failed yet again, militancy moved
women), many men still thought the Angered by the blocking of reform bills, far beyond rallies and demonstrations.
murky, boisterous business politically active middle-class socialist Suffragettes chained themselves
of politics too complex and Emmeline Pankhurst to railings, poured acid on golf
indelicate for the female (1858–1928), courses, invaded Downing Street, Suffragette hunger-strike medal
mind and constitution. and daughter, and, in March 1912, smashed Hunger-strike medals were first presented to suffragettes
Male-dominated medical Christabel windows across London’s West in August 1909, at St. James’s Hall, London. The lower
opinion at the time often (1880–1958), set End and Knightsbridge. bar shows the date of arrest, and the disk has the
painted women as up the Women’s Emmeline was establishing a presentee’s name on the other side.
emotionally unstable, Social and Political reputation as a highly skilled, rousing
incapable of reasoned Union (WSPU) in orator. In a speech at the Albert Hall, organized marches through London.
decision-making on 1903, adopting the London, on October 17, 1912, she By 1914, society was becoming more
weighty matters. slogan “Votes For declared: “I say to the Government: horrified at seeing women involved in
There were even Women.” At first, You have not dared to take the leaders these actions. Politicians were nervous,
women who agreed— their campaigning of Ulster for their incitement to especially with an election imminent,
in 1908, novelist was fairly moderate. rebellion. Take me if you dare.” although this made the suffragettes
Mrs. Humphry Ward Meetings were held Militant suffragettes in prison resorted hopeful that something might finally
and campaigning to hunger strikes as a protest, and be done. In another dramatic protest,
literature was handed attempted to resist force-feeding Mary Richardson slashed Velázquez’s
Forcible feeding out in the street. as a way to get their message across. Rokeby Venus painting in the National
This issue of Suffragette, founded in 1912 and Gradually, they Meanwhile, the National Union of Gallery. Then, with female suffrage still
edited by Christabel Pankhurst, focuses on the gathered enormous support from Women’s Suffrage Societies continued unresolved, the Great War broke out.
controversy of force-feeding while in prison. women around the country. a more moderate campaign, and had The issue passed into a kind of limbo.
more than 50,000 members by 1913.
309
Trade Unionists
Guardsmen and police on sentry duty
National security was at stake, it seems, in the
railwaymen’s dispute of 1911: this London railway signal
box was to be protected at all costs. The authorities had
no compunction about suggesting that strikers were
and Socialists
shameless criminals and national enemies.
F
B E F O R E or Britain’s working class, the
Great Reform Act of 1832 (see
pp.268–69) had been a huge
The poor had learned early that, weak as disappointment—a collective workers’
they might be individually, collectively voice had still not emerged. From
they could represent a powerful force. 1874, the trade unions financed
the campaigns of a series of Liberal
UNITED FORCE candidates for Parliament. The trend
The Peasants’ Revolt of the 14th century peaked in 1885, when 12 such
❮❮ 104–05 was the most celebrated of the MPs were elected.
early shows of strength by the marginalized,
a powerful statement of defiance against Striking out
their oppressors. Since then, the structure Any improvement in the lot of the
of society had changed completely, most working class through Parliamentary
notably with the advent of industrialization legislation was clearly going to be
❮❮ 232–33. The Chartists made attempts to slow in coming. They did, however,
find strength in unity ❮❮ 264–65, but the have muscle in the mass. Individually,
high hopes placed in electoral reform had not workers hardly came poorer or more
been realized ❮❮ 268–69. Britain was the powerless than the matchgirls of
world’s most successful industrial nation, but Bryant & May’s factory in London’s Union banner, 1910
the question of the workers getting their East End. When Annie Besant The slogan on the banner says “Unity is strength”, but
share remained unanswered. (see pp.308–09) led them in a strike equally important is the implication of the dignity of labor.
in 1888, they showed the way All swirling scrolls and symmetry, this banner, ironically,
to other workers. carries the suggestion of an aristocratic coat of arms.
310
TR ADE U N ION I STS AN D SOCIALI STS
BEATRICE WEBB
dockers, poorly paid in the 1906 Trade election. All 28 candidates came last
casual workers, demanded Disputes Act, explicitly in their respective polls, including Keir Born into a middle-class family, Beatrice
greater security and higher removing any question Hardie in London’s West Ham South. Potter married the socialist Sidney
wages. The dispute was of such liabilities on Webb (1859–1947) in 1890. Together
spontaneous—unions the part of unions. benefit paid. The Conservatives as well they helped give the growing labor
were formed as the action as the hardline free market Liberals movement an intellectual arm. During the
went on, spreading Liberal treatment criticized these measures. 1890s, they led the Fabian Society, which
quickly to other ports. His successor, Herbert had been founded in 1884. Named for
The employers’ Asquith, and Chancellor Labor pangs Quintus Fabius Maximus, a Roman
uncompromising stand David Lloyd George The left wing of the labor movement general who had used what was called
was defeated by the tried to alleviate also attacked these measures for being “softly-softly” delaying tactics to defeat
determination of the James Keir Hardie conditions for the inadequate. The strikes continued, his enemies, the Society argued for a
dockers, supported by The first leader of the Labour Party, working class. Limited especially in the mines and the nonrevolutionary road to socialism.
their comrades in foreign Hardie’s pragmatic moderation—much provision was made transportation sector. The Scottish Its members included writers such as
ports as far as Australia. criticized at the time—helped ensure the for free school meals Labour Party was founded in 1888, and Virginia Woolf, George Bernard Shaw,
party’s appeal beyond a Marxist fringe. and pensions for those Scottish-born workers helped create the E. Nesbit, and H.G. Wells. The Webbs
Striking back over 70 years of age. Independent Labour Party in England in founded the London School of
Employers could take collective action Their “People’s Budget” (1909) increased 1893. The election of James Keir Hardie Economics in 1895, to advance
too. In 1897, machine-operators’ taxes for the rich, whose outrage was as an Independent to the seat of West social studies, and a
demand for a maximum eight-hour expressed in an enraged press—and Ham South in 1892 was a milestone. left-wing magazine,
day was met by a national lockout. an obstructive House of Lords. The Labour Party grew slowly, but the the New Statesman,
The men were barred from their Even so, a National Insurance Act was caution and vague idealism so derided in 1913.
workplaces (unpaid, of course) until the passed in 1911. People paid into a fund by more sophisticated left-wing thinkers
Amalgamated Association of Engineers while they worked. In return, they ultimately brought it popularity and
agreed to management’s terms. received sick pay and medical treatment strength. Even so, with only 30,000
Just how badly the workers’ power or maternity care. Labor exchanges members by 1914, it showed little sign
had frightened the Establishment was were opened and some unemployment of shaking the foundations of the system.
evident in the judge’s ruling in the Taff
Vale Railway Dispute (1901)—it held
the railwaymen’s union liable for the
loss of revenue caused to the South
“ The Labour Party is in league
Welsh railway company by its members’
strike. The union was fined £3,000 plus with life, and works for liberty
£19,000 expenses, sparking a series of
similar suits from employers.
Even middle-class liberals were
that men may live.”
uneasy about this ruling, which
effectively outlawed strike action. ACTIVIST KATHARINE GLASIER IN HER DIARY, JANUARY 1893
AF TER
GROWING MILITANCY
The Great Depression 334–35 ❯❯ left workers in a weak position. The
Jarrow March 336–37 ❯❯ was more an appeal for action than a defiant
stand. Much as the nation revered its wartime leader Winston Churchill,
it cheerfully ditched his Conservative Party in 1945, sweeping Clement
Attlee’s Labour government into office with a mandate to construct
a socialist Welfare State 360–61 ❯❯. In hindsight, however, this
was to seem something of a high
water mark for the movement.
The student radicalism of the
1960s and the union militancy
of the 1970s 376–77 ❯❯
produced a profound reaction
in the country as a whole. Amid
claims that the trade union
“barons” were “holding the nation
to ransom”, Margaret Thatcher
won a milestone election
victory 382–83 ❯❯.
Garment workers’ strike, 1914 CLEMENT ATTLEE WINS
Internationalism was central to socialist thinking: it was said that THE 1945 ELECTION
the British workers had more in common with their comrades in
Italy or Russia than with an exploitative upper class in the UK.
311
1815–1914
£398 MILLION
The total military expenditure of Britain,
(via neutral Belgium and
Luxembourg) in the west.
German militarism prompted
France, Russia, Italy, Austro-Hungary, answering moves toward
and Germany in 1914. In 1870, it was militarism abroad, bringing the
£94 million; in 1910, £289 million. top brass into the very heart
of government. In Britain,
grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee in the Liberal government of
1896 left him resolved to catch up at Herbert Asquith was busy with
any cost. He placed Admiral Alfred important welfare reforms, but Entente Cordiale, 1904
OTTO VON BISMARCK von Tirpitz at the head of the Imperial armament proceeded apace at the French soldiers and British sailors fraternize: a magazine
Naval Office with explicit orders to same time. War seemed an inevitability: takes an upbeat view of Anglo-French relations, though
build up the German navy. the only question was exactly when. the new friendship was going to take getting used to.
312
British armaments factory of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to AF TER
With years to prepare for a war that many believed was the Austrian throne, on June 28, 1914,
coming, nations had plenty of time to build up vast precipitated the July Crisis and, as of
quantities of weapons for their growing armed forces. July 28, war between Austria and Gavrilo Princip’s bullets at Sarajevo set in
There had never before been such an arms race. Serbia, a Russian ally. As Russia motion a meat-grinder of a war; millions
mobilized for war with Austria, their suffered in a nightmare of mud and slaughter.
agreed. Germany withdrew its claims in respective allies France and Germany
Morocco and instead received territory also mobilized as committed. Britain EUROPE’S TRAGEDY
in Equatorial Africa to add to its existing went through the form of demanding Britain prevailed in the Great War—later
protectorate in Cameroon. a promise from Germany that it would known as World War I—but at enormous cost
respect Belgian neutrality. This was 322–23 ❯❯. And even then, the “war to end wars”
Spiraling into destruction not forthcoming. Instead, the Germans did not live up to its billing. The writing was on
The problem with complex alliances put the latest revision of the Schlieffen the wall from the moment of the Versailles Treaty
was that they produced many potential Plan into action, invading Belgium 330–31 ❯❯, but it took the rise in Germany of
flashpoints. In the end, the spark that on August 4. Britain had no alternative Hitler and the Nazis to make a second
set off the explosion came from now but to declare war. Many SARAJEVO ASSASSINATION catastrophe a reality 346–47 ❯❯.
Sarajevo, in Bosnia. The Serbian genuinely believed that the war
anarchist Gavrilo Princip’s assassination would all be over by Christmas.
313
MODERN TIMES
1914–present
In the 20th century, the rich, proud, and
powerful British nation heroically fought two
world wars, but inexorably lost its empire, and
saw its global influence diminish. Its strong
parliamentary democracy and constitutional
monarchy persisted, and the country
developed a pioneering welfare state and
a worldwide reputation for culture,
science, and technology.
War of attrition
British soldiers sent to fight in France and
Belgium in World War I found themselves
engaged in static trench warfare along the
Western Front. Three-quarters of a million
Britons were killed in four years of conflict.
316
INTRODUCTION
Churchill’s words, Britain’s “finest hour.” The social solidarity and underlining the country’s financial weakness, and in the 1970s, trade
collective sacrifice that carried the British people through early union action leading to temporary breakdowns of power supplies
disasters to eventual victory brought irresistible demands for a and public services. Terrorism became a fixed feature of British life
more democratic, egalitarian future, embodied in the welfare after Northern Ireland descended into a state close to civil war.
state created by a Labour government after 1945. The 1980s saw a change of direction. Economic liberalization
made employment less secure and society less equal, while
Post-war Britain increasing opportunities for enterprise and wealth creation. Britain
Britain’s efforts to maintain “great power” status in the post-World experienced the benefits and occasional severe shocks of being tied
War II period failed. Over 20 years, the British Empire was disbanded, into an expanding but unstable globalized economy. Whatever the
and Britain’s subservient status to its American ally was tacitly future held, in the early 21st century the British people were more
accepted. Domestically, a combination of welfarism, consumerism, prosperous, healthier, better educated and housed, and
and full employment made the 1950s and 1960s a secure and arguably more tolerant and open-minded than ever before.
satisfying time for many Britons. While car and home ownership
increased, Britain became a global force in popular culture, especially
the worlds of popular music and fashion. Mass immigration, mostly
from former colonies, transformed Britain into a multiracial,
multicultural society, but commitment to the post-imperial
Commonwealth declined in importance, as Britain moved towards
closer economic and political integration with Europe. The failings of
the British economy were at times humiliating, with sterling crises
21st-century London
The glittering office towers of the modern capital
reflect the leading role of the financial and
service industries in Britain’s economy, after
the long-term decline of the country’s
once-dominant manufacturing sector.
317
1914–PRESENT
MODERN TIMES
1914–PRESENT
1914–18 1919–38 1939–45
JUNE 28, 1919 OCTOBER 1932 JUNE 6, 1944
The Treaty of Versailles is Oswald Mosley forms the Allied troops invade
signed, imposing peace British Union of Fascists. Normandy in the
terms on Germany. D-day landing.
OCTOBER 1936
1919–22 Unemployed workers from MAY 8, 1945
Anglo-Irish War leads to the Tyneside march to London Germany surrenders;
partition of Ireland between in the Jarrow Crusade. VE Day is celebrated
the independent Irish Free in London.
State and Northern Ireland.
AUGUST 4, 1914 British 6-in howitzer gun SEPTEMBER 3, 1939 JULY 26, 1945
Britain declares war Britain declares war on Germany. Churchill is defeated in
on Germany. JULY 1, 1916 a general election; Labour
The Somme offensive is MAY 10, 1940 wins a landslide victory.
AUGUST 23, 1914 launched in France; almost Winston Churchill becomes
The British Expeditionary 20,000 British soldiers are Prime Minister, forming a
Force fights its first battle killed in a day. coalition government.
with the Germans at Mons.
DECEMBER 7, 1916 MAY–JUNE 1940
David Lloyd George The British Expeditionary Force
becomes Prime Minister. is evacuated from Dunkirk.
King Edward VIII
APRIL 25, 1915 British war graves DECEMBER 10, 1936 DECEMBER 1942 AUGUST 15, 1945
in Somme, France
British and ANZAC troops Edward VIII abdicates to marry The Beveridge Report Japan surrenders;
land at Gallipoli, Turkey. JULY–NOVEMBER 1917 divorcée Wallis Simpson. outlines a postwar the war ends in Asia.
The Battle of Passchendaele welfare state.
MAY 7, 1915 is fought in Flanders, Belgium. SEPTEMBER 1938
The ocean liner Lusitania is Prime Minister Neville
sunk by a German U-boat. Chamberlain averts war with
Germany in the Munich Crisis.
MAY 31, 1915
London is bombed by
a German airship for the
first time. Dance troupe Gandhi in London
318
MODERN TIMES
Ulster mural
JULY 5, 1948 1963 JANUARY 22, 1972 MAY 6, 1994 SEPTEMBER 14, 2007
The National Health The Beatles emerge as Britain joins the European The Channel Tunnel link The Bank of England bails
Service is founded. Britain’s leading pop group. Economic Community. with France is inaugurated. out Northern Rock bank,
signaling the start of a major
1950–53 OCTOBER 16, 1964 FEBRUARY 28, 1974 MAY 2, 1997 financial crisis.
British troops fight in Labour leader Harold Wilson Heath is defeated in an Tony Blair becomes Prime
the Korean War. becomes Prime Minister, election after declaring a Minister after a landslide MAY 11, 2010
ending 13 years of Conservative “three-day week” to face Labour victory. David Cameron becomes
government in Britain. down a miners’ strike. Prime Minister at the head
of a Conservative-Liberal
Democrat coalition
government.
319
B E F O R E
WAR IN EUROPE
Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914. At first, popular expectation that it would be “over
1914, and on France two days later. Britain’s Liberal
government was divided over whether to enter the
by Christmas” did not seem absurd, but with the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front, the
war on the side of France. Britain had made secret country was soon committed to fielding a mass citizen army in a merciless war of attrition.
military commitments to the French but there
A
was no formal alliance. However, the German lthough the outbreak of war In Ireland, the Protestant Ulster
invasion of Belgium on August 4 provided a clear with Germany was greeted by Volunteer Force and the majority of
justification for a declaration of war, since Britain a cheering crowd in Trafalgar the Catholic Irish Volunteers both
was a guarantor of Belgian independence. Square, London, most British people offered their services to the
did not enter the conflict in a spirit British Army. Volunteers also
LONG STRUGGLE ENVISIONED of flag-waving jingoism—diaries and responded to the call to arms in
The British Army had prepared for a European private letters of the time reveal Australia, New Zealand, and
war. A force of six infantry divisions and anxiety, resignation, and dismay. Canada, which unhesitatingly
one cavalry division was available for rapid But the average Briton was intensely supported the British cause.
mobilization and dispatch to the Continent. patriotic and believed that the cause
On August 9 the first elements of this British was just. When the government Early setbacks
Expeditionary Force (BEF) left for France. Lord requested volunteers for the army, it However, the daunting task
Kitchener, newly appointed Secretary of State triggered what historian John Keegan of organizing, training, and
for War, told the Cabinet that they would have called “a spontaneous and genuinely equipping a mass citizen army
to prepare for a three-year war and raise popular mass movement.” The initial would take many months, and in the
an army numbering millions of men. request was for 100,000 men to come meantime Britain depended upon its
forward; in September 1914, about small regular army, augmented by
175,000 volunteered in a single week. reserves and part-time Territorials.
320
B R I TA I N E N T E R S T H E G R E AT W A R
AF TER
Queuing for war
High-spirited volunteers, responding to the call to serve
“King and Country”, queue outside a recruiting office. Early failures brought changes in political
More than 3 million men had entered the British armed and military leadership, but Britain
forces as volunteers by the end of 1915. remained committed to a war of attrition.
coast to Switzerland, which became the war. It is more than the total number of of the Dardanelles. The force included
known as the Western Front. troops in the British Expeditionary Force at a large Anzac (Australian and New
the start of the war, which was 84,000. Zealand) contingent, but again Turkish
Determined spirit resistance was unexpectedly strong and,
The losses in the fighting in 1914 and political leaders, however, struggled as on the Western Front, the fighting
were unprecedented. Britain’s pre-war in vain to find a path to victory. The became bogged down in static trench
regular army had been wiped out, war at sea was in effect a stalemate, warfare. Despite landings at Suvla Bay
but despite some fraternization with with Germany unable to break a British in August, the Gallipoli campaign was
enemy troops at Christmas, Britain’s naval blockade of their ports, but the another failure. By the time the Allied
commitment to the war remained Royal Navy suffered unexpected losses troops were pulled out in January 1916
unshaken. German massacres of to German submarines and mines. This it had cost more than 21,000 British
civilians and wanton destruction during stand-off was most unsatisfactory to a and almost 9,000 Australian lives. The
the occupation of Belgium—real, if British public brought up on tales of innocence and enthusiasm of August
exaggerated by Allied propagandists— Nelson’s heroic victories. There was also 1914 was by then left far behind.
Infantry rifle
The Lee Enfield .303 bolt-action rifle was the standard
British infantry weapon during the Great War (later called
World War I). It could fire more than 30 rounds a minute.
321
1914–PRESENT
B E F O R E
322
V I C TO R Y T H R O U G H S L A U G H T E R
AF TER
NATION IN MOURNING
The vast majority of dead were victims of enemy
action—a contrast to earlier wars when disease
was the major killer. Medical advances ensured
that many of the seriously wounded survived.
About 40 percent of the 5 million British soldiers
who served received disability pensions. Mental
hospitals housed tens of thousands of victims of
“shell-shock.“ In terms of total British population,
the loss was actually lower than the 300,000
people who had been emigrating annually
before 1914. But the deaths were shockingly
selective—almost one in three men born
between 1890 and 1895 were killed.
Although a Victory Parade was held in London
after the Versailles peace agreement in 1919
330–31 ❯❯, the ceremonial emphasis after the
war was on the memory of the fallen. For
many years, the two-minute silence on Armistice
Day (November 11) was assiduously observed.
Commemoration focused upon the ordinary
servicemen, epitomized by the funeral of the
Unknown Warrior on Armistice Day 1920. Towns
and villages throughout Britain erected war
memorials that still stand today—sadly, often
with the dead of World War II added on.
323
DECISIVE MOMENT July 1, 1916
G
eneral Douglas Haig doubted the At 7:30am on July 1, British troops,
fighting worth of the clerks and many of whom were carrying up to
factory workers who joined up 60lb (27kg) of equipment, clambered
so enthusiastically at the start of the out of their trenches and walked in line
war. He believed that they would be across “no man’s land.” When German
incapable of flexible infantry tactics, machine-guns opened fire, men fell in
in which soldiers exploited cover and swathes. If they could not penetrate the
rushed forwards, while colleagues gave enemy barbed wire, they were trapped
supporting fire. The order was given by in a killing ground. In some places
Haig that: “The assaulting troops must German positions were taken—the
push forward at a steady pace in 36th Ulster Division, which adopted
successive lines….” more sophisticated infantry tactics, was
able to penetrate to the German second
The battle begins line of trenches.
In Haig’s view, the task of the infantry German counterattacks were fierce,
would merely be to occupy devastated and most ground gained was lost again.
German trenches. For a week before “Pals” battalions, such as the Accrington
the offensive, more than 1,000 British Pals and the Grimsby Chums, formed
guns pummeled the German lines. by colleagues and neighbors, suffered
Moreover, 21 mines tunneled under grievously in the attack. Another unit,
the enemy positions were exploded the Newfoundland Regiment, went into
just before the attack. But the German the battle with 780 men; the following
trenches at the Somme were deep and day 68 answered roll call. Haig’s
well constructed. The bombardment conclusion about the day’s events was
neither killed the defenders, nor cleared that the Germans had “undoubtedly
away the dense barbed wire behind been severely shaken” and that the
which they sheltered. offensive should resume immediately.
325
1914–PRESENT
T
mass strike action organized by militant trade he war brought an unprecedented The government had an ideological
unions ❮❮ 310–11. In mid-1914, the coal miners, expansion of the powers of the aversion to state interference in the
transport workers, and railwaymen negotiated a state in Britain. By and large, this running of the economy—“business
Triple Alliance that threatened a general strike. was readily accepted by a population as usual” was a popular slogan early
The war, however, showed that the patriotism committed to the single-minded goal in the conflict—but found itself carried
of most British workers was far stronger than of defeating the enemy. along the path of state intervention
their class allegiance. The trade union movement The Defence of the Realm Act by the demands of total war.
called for “an immediate effort… to terminate all (DORA), introduced four days after the
existing trade disputes.” Although socialists start of the war, gave the government New changes
theoretically believed in international solidarity the power to introduce regulations Paper banknotes for sums of £1 and
between workers, the majority of the Labour “for securing the public safety and the 10 shillings were issued to replace
Party supported the war. The most prominent defense of the realm.” This blanket the use of gold sovereigns. Railways
exceptions were Ramsay Macdonald and measure was used to authorize the and coal mines were taken under
the veteran Kier Hardie. censorship of government
SUFFRAGETTE SUPPORT
The militant campaign for women’s suffrage
newspapers, and
the compulsory
takeover of ships,
30 The standard percentage rate of control. With
income tax collected by the British millions of men
government in 1918. In 1914, at the start subtracted from
was vehement in 1914 ❮❮ 308–09. The leaders land, or factories. of the war, it had been 6 percent. the nation’s
of the Women’s Social and Political Union It also allowed the workforce to
(WSPU), Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, government to introduce a variety of fight in France, and a massive increase
responded to the war by ordering an immediate relatively minor limitations on freedom. in armaments production required,
suspension of the campaign. They instead In the course of the war, bans were new workers had to be found for the
began agitating for the “women’s right to serve.” applied to mundane activities, ranging factories. Almost 800,000 women were
from the buying of rounds in pubs and recruited for munitions work. Trade
IRELAND’S CONTRIBUTION the ringing of bells, to the purchase of union objections were overcome by Calling for support
Although Ireland was on the brink of civil war, binoculars and the lighting of bonfires. the promise of limits on the profits of A government poster calls on civilians to support the
after the declaration of war on Germany, both Restrictions on pub opening hours, employers. Women also worked in nation’s servicemen by their efforts. Propaganda
Protestants and Catholics volunteered for imposed in an effort to increase large numbers as bus conductors, engaged newly developed advertising techniques.
service in the British Army. A minority of war production in 1915, were not military nurses, office clerks, and farm
Catholic radicals, however, believed a German relaxed until the 1980s. The change laborers in the Women’s Land Army. could enjoy prosperity, while a family
victory would further their interests. of the clocks for British Summer Price inflation, wages, and taxes rose with the breadwinner away in the
Time introduced in 1916 has continued sharply. There were winners and losers: forces may be impoverished due to
to the present day. a working-class couple in well-paid jobs the rising prices. However, new works’
canteens at least improved the diet
of those in factory employment.
Air raids
A damaged London house shows the effects of a
German airship raid. Air attacks killed 1,400 people
in Britain during the war, most of them civilians.
326
AF TER
WOMEN’S PROGRESS
Women were immediately evicted from
traditional male jobs in industry and transport,
Women munitions workers over, with a raid on Folkestone, Kent, that the conflict was being prolonged but the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act in 1919
The presence of women in munitions factories was the in May killing 95 people. Their first unnecessarily, making it “a war of lifted formal barriers to women’s progress in
starkest symbol of the abandonment of traditional limits attack on London, arriving without aggression and conquest.” News of the professions and the civil service. Women over
on female roles. The work was hard and hazardous, warning in the middle of the day on the Russian Revolution excited the 30 voted in the December 1918 general election,
but the women earned status and good money. June 13, killed 162. Night raids by hopes of socialists and the fears of the and the following year Nancy Astor became the
Gothas led Londoners to seek shelter Establishment. Yet, outright opposition first woman MP to sit in Parliament. The
with a foreign name. The royal family in Underground stations. Popular to the war remained limited to a extension of the vote to women, on the
were later obliged to demonstrate their demands for improved air defense, and minority in socialist and pacifist circles. same basis as men, had to wait until 1929.
Britishness by changing their name of for revenge raids against German cities, In response to popular discontent, the
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor. helped lead to the formation of the government brought in measures to SPANISH FLU
The government was sensitive to Royal Air Force in April 1918. control rents and hold down prices of In mid-1918, Britain was ravaged by an influenza
criticism from demagogues, such as essential foods. It eventually introduced epidemic, the Spanish flu, which killed 250,000
Horatio Bottomley, who accused it Opposition and inclusion rationing, although on a much smaller people. Preventive measures, such as wearing
of failing to prosecute the war with The war inevitably placed immense scale than in World War II. masks and using antiflu sprays on public
enough energy, and for being soft strain upon the social and political Meanwhile the Representation of transport, were slow to be adopted. It was by far
on “traitors” who advocated peace. system. In 1917, with no end to the People Act, passed by Parliament the worst epidemic in modern British history,
the conflict in sight, and the German in March 1918, conceded the largest yet was overshadowed by memory of the war.
Air raids on civilians U-boat campaign creating food extension of franchise in British history.
British civilians came under direct shortages, discontent expressed itself Giving the vote to all men over the age PREVENTING
SPANISH FLU
enemy attack in December 1914, when in strikes with a distinct political edge. of 21, and to all women above 30 years,
east coast towns including Scarborough, Siegfried Sassoon, a serving officer it increased the electorate from under
Hartlepool, and Whitby were shelled by who had won the Military Cross in 8 million to more than 21 million. The
German warships, killing more than France, publicly appealed to the war made Britain a true democracy
100 people. Zeppelin and Schütte-Lanze government to seek peace, arguing for the first time in its history.
airships conducted nighttime bombing
raids on London in May 1915.
A blackout was enforced, and the
capital ringed with gun batteries and
searchlights. Night-flying aircraft armed
“ Master had gone to war and
with incendiary ammunition eventually
provided the answer to the airships, Missis ruled the household.”
which became too vulnerable to
continue their campaign. In 1917, the ROBERT ROBERTS, DESCRIBING WOMEN IN SALFORD IN THE GREAT WAR, THE
German Gotha bomber aircraft took CLASSIC SLUM: SALFORD LIFE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE CENTURY, 1971
327
War graves
The Imperial War Graves Commission, established in 1917, created war
cemeteries in France and Flanders (in Belgium) for the men who died in
the Great War. They were buried alongside their brothers-in-arms rather than
being returned home to their families. Headstones were made plain and
uniform, so there would be no distinction between officers and other ranks.
Where remains could not be identified, the headstones bore the inscription,
“A Soldier of the Great War Known unto God”.
Armistice Day
Servicemen on leave and joyful civilians celebrate
peace and victory in Trafalgar Square, London, on
November 11, 1918. Street parties were held and
church bells rung across Britain.
P EACE AN D AF TER
many people the transition from war to peace was to prove a thoroughly disillusioning experience. CONTRASTING FORTUNES
Post-war discontent fueled support for Labour,
A
lthough the armistice of Britain and France agreed, in demanding London in early 1919. Protests by which won 142 seats in Parliament in 1922, and
November 11, 1918 ended the reparations payments from the Germans, Canadian troops at Rhyl, in north Wales, 191 seats in 1923. This was enough for Ramsay
fighting in World War I, it did not to cover the immense cost of the war, were suppressed violently. When they Macdonald to finally form the first of two
end the war. A conference was convened which had put both countries heavily eventually returned to their homes minority Labour governments in the 1920s,
to meet in Paris, where the victorious in debt. Protesting, Germany signed the and families, the ex-servicemen faced although the first lasted less than 10 months. The
powers determined the peace terms to peace treaty at Versailles in June 1919. an uncertain world. Liberal Party was reduced to a third-party
be presented to Germany. Also Industrial disputes proliferated. status and Lloyd George’s political career went
on their agenda were issues In January 1919, Glaswegian into decline. The Labour Party condemned the
arising from the collapse of the workers inspired by the Bolshevik Versailles Treaty in 1919 and remained strongly
Austrian, Russian, and Ottoman Revolution led a strike on pacifist throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
Turkish empires. Meanwhile, “Red Clydeside” that had to be
Britain maintained its naval suppressed by troops. The army
blockade of Germany. When was also called in when a police
the peacemakers met in 1919,
Britain’s Lloyd George balanced
the cynical realism of France’s
strike in Liverpool unleashed
rioting in August 1919.
Further strikes were provoked
12 MILLION The number
pf workers
eligible for unemployment benefit under
Georges Clemenceau with the when the railways and mines, new 1920 legislation. This was five times
lofty idealism of US President nationalized during the war, the number covered by the unemployment
Woodrow Wilson. Lloyd George were returned to private insurance program introduced in 1911.
supported Wilson’s pet plan for ownership against the wishes
an international organization Dinner’s ready of their workers. At the 1918 general collapsed and by 1921, there were
to maintain peace, the League of This 1916 cartoon denounces wartime deals to reward election, Lloyd George promised to 2 million workers without jobs. The
Nations, and also attempted to Britain’s allies with enemy territory. Many people wanted build “a fit country for heroes to live era of mass unemployment had
moderate Clemenceau’s demands a peace based on just principles, rather than on profit in.” His government tried to respond begun in Britain. The British had
on Germany. for the victors and the plunder of the defeated. to discontent and reward wartime won the war, but it did not feel
loyalty. Unemployment benefit was like a victory.
It severely restricted German armed extended and government
B EF O R E forces, put the Rhineland under Allied housing accorded a priority. Down but not out
military occupation for 15 years, However, a brief post-war A former soldier turns street
imposed unspecified reparations economic boom soon performer to earn a living.
Britain entered World War I with the payments, and declared Germany Such scenes were common in
sole declared aim of protecting Belgian guilty of having caused the war. much of Britain during the
independence. Other aims later appeared. German reaction was swift: sailors of economically depressed
the German High Seas Fleet, interned 1920s and 1930s.
EVOLVING IDEALS at Scapa Flow, in the Orkneys, under
In the first two years of the war, various secret the armistice agreement, scuttled
agreements were made with Britain’s allies that their warships in protest. The British
would, for example, have allowed Tsarist Russia intellectual elite soon turned against
to annex Constantinople (Istanbul) from Turkey. the peace agreement. Economist John
Partly through pressure from the United States, Maynard Keynes’s 1919 best-seller,
Britain later evolved more idealistic war aims. The Economic Consequences of the Peace,
In January 1918, Prime Minister David Lloyd helped generate a widespread
George denied that Britain was fighting a impression in Britain that the
“war of aggression”, embraced the cause of Germans had been unfairly treated.
self-government for the Poles and the Slav
peoples of the Austrian Empire, and committed Britain’s troubles
Britain to support founding an “international Conflict rather than peace was the
organization”, which would be “an alternative to keynote of both domestic and foreign
war.” This became the League of Nations. affairs in the immediate aftermath of
the war. In 1919, British forces were
ANTI-GERMAN SENTIMENT in action from Afghanistan to
Fighting a general election in December 1918, Arkhangelsk, where they briefly
however, Lloyd George felt the need to appeal intervened against the Bolshevik
to popular hostility against Germany. government in the Russian
Supporters of his Liberal-Conservative coalition Civil War. Ireland was in
reacted favorably to slogans such as “Hang the revolt (see pp.332–33), and
Kaiser” and “Make the Germans Pay.” On a tide in Britain trouble also flared.
of aggressive patriotism, the coalition won a Demobilization of the wartime
crushing majority in Parliament, taking 475 seats. armed forces proceeded too slowly.
Thousands of soldiers eager to return
to civilian life demonstrated in central
1914–PRESENT
Irish Independence
B E F O R E
T
of Lords delayed its passage but by August 1914 he decision of Irish Nationalist uprising. However, a hardcore of the
it only awaited Royal Assent. Protestants, who leader John Redmond to support IRB in Dublin, led by Padraic Pearse,
formed a majority in most parts of Ulster, opposed the British war effort in August went ahead regardless. Supported by
Home Rule. Supported by senior figures in the 1914 split the Nationalist movement. A James Connolly’s Citizens Army, a
Conservative Party and the British Army, they minority of the Irish Volunteer militia small socialist group, the IRB launched
formed the Ulster Volunteers, an armed militia to rejected the call to join the British an insurrection on Easter Monday.
resist Home Rule. The Nationalists responded Army. They were to a large degree They took over buildings in Dublin,
by founding and arming the Irish Volunteers. under the control of the radical Irish including the General Post Office where
Republican Brotherhood (IRB). The Pearse declared Ireland an independent
HOME RULE POSTPONED IRB saw the war as an opportunity to republic. The rebels numbered around
At the outbreak of war ❮❮ 320–21, Home Rule overthrow British rule. They established 1,600 men, and were armed with rifles
was postponed for the duration of the conflict. contact with the Germans, who agreed and shotguns. The Dublin population
The Ulster Volunteers enrolled in the British Army, to supply arms. An uprising was set for was either indifferent or hostile. The
most forming the 36th Ulster Division. The Easter 1916. Nothing went as planned. British rushed troops to the city and
majority of the Irish Volunteers also chose to serve A ship carrying German rifles arrived suppressed the uprising with the use Belfast volunteers
Britain, forming the 10th and 16th Irish Divisions. off the Irish coast, but was intercepted of artillery. More than 400 people died Belfast shipyard workers volunteering for service in the
Around 30,000 Irishmen died fighting in the by the British. Orders were distributed in the fighting, before Pearse agreed British Army in August 1914. More than 200,000 Irishmen,
British armed forces in World War I. to the Irish Volunteers canceling the to surrender on April 29. Protestant and Catholic, fought for Britain in World War I.
AF TER
By their behavior after the uprising, the In January 1919, the Irish Republican the Catholic population, while the IRA
British authorities turned a victory into Army (IRA), led by Michael Collins, shot village policemen in the back. The
a defeat. Outraged at this “stab in the began a campaign of ambush and British government sought a political Led initially by Michael Collins, pro-Treaty
back” in wartime, they executed 15 assassination, to which the British solution in a variant on Home Rule. Irish republicans fought a civil war against
leaders of the uprising, including Pearse responded with an equally The 1920 Government of Ireland anti-Treaty republicans, while Catholics in
and Connolly. It made martyrs of the unscrupulous use of force. Recently Act established separate devolved Northern Ireland came under Protestant
republicans and won widening support demobilized British soldiers were parliaments for southern Ireland in rule, creating an issue for future conflict.
for their cause. Sinn Féin, previously recruited as Black and Tans, and Dublin and for the six largely Protestant
insignificant, became the political auxiliaries, to aid the army and police counties of Ulster in Belfast. The CIVIL WAR
embodiment of Republicanism. In April in suppressing the rebellion. These Protestants accepted the deal, and a The Irish Civil War lasted from June 1922 to
often ill-disciplined irregulars terrorized Northern Ireland Parliament opened in May 1923, killing several thousand, before the IRA
MICHAEL COLLINS
Collins was born in County Cork in
1890. He joined the Irish Republican
Brotherhood and took part in the 1916
Easter Rising. As an IRA leader during the
war of independence he was responsible
for the assassination of 13 people,
including British intelligence officers, on
“Bloody Friday”, November 21, 1920.
In December 1921, he negotiated the
Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the war, and
in June 1922 led the attack on anti-Treaty
IRA forces in Dublin, leading to civil war.
Commander-in-chief of the government
forces, he was shot dead in an anti-Treaty
ambush in Cork on August 22, 1922.
333
1914–PRESENT
T
he crisis in the world economy, stalemate, a compromise was negotiated election in May 1929, unseating
known as the Great Depression, with the government, which allowed the Stanley Baldwin’s Conservatives.
is generally dated to 1929, but the trade union leadership to call off the The new government now faced
economic woes of the inter-war period national strike. The miners, however, the consequences of global economic
started much earlier in Britain. Mass maintained their stance. They continued turmoil. Macdonald and his Chancellor
unemployment struck in 1920–21, the strike for six months, but were of the Exchequer, Philip Snowden, were
following a brief inflationary boom. ultimately starved into submission. under pressure to slash government
After that, the number of jobless never In the end, it was not the workers’ spending. Then in 1931, a banking
fell below 1 million until World War II. militancy that rocked the established collapse in Austria and Germany had a
Production levels of coal mining, order, but a worldwide economic knock-on effect on Britain. The Bank
The London crash shipbuilding, and textiles decreased, catastrophe. The crash of the New York of England advised budget cuts to the
A crowd gathers outside the London Stock Exchange turning areas dependent on such Stock Exchange in October 1929 government in order to avoid the
after the collapse of the financial empire of speculator traditional industries into persistent signaled the beginning of the Great collapse of Sterling.
Charles Hatry in October 1929. unemployment black spots. Agriculture Depression. World trade shrank,
Altered politics
334
CRISIS AND DEPRESSION
AF TER
Blackshirt salute
British fascist leader Oswald Mosley
receives a Nazi-style salute from his In retrospect, mass unemployment was THE KEYNESIAN METHOD
blackshirted followers during a rally the dominant image of the inter-war Fearing that unemployment would return at the
in Hyde Park in 1934. The banning years. This bred a determination among end of the war, British politicians came under the
of such military-style parades two Britain’s policy makers to ensure it influence of economist John Maynard Keynes.
years later punctured Mosley’s would not happen again. During the 1930s, Keynes had argued that
popular appeal. governments should abandon their obsession
RISE IN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION with balancing their budgets. Instead, they should
area of London’s East End With strong growth in new industries such run budget deficits to stimulate the economy
led to violent clashes with as motor manufacture and electrical goods, during a slump. He explained how governments
anti-fascists. This “battle of British industrial production in the late 1930s could use spending and interest rates to manage
Cable Street” stirred the was 75 percent higher than it had been before demand in the economy and maintain full
government to ban political World War I. However, unemployment remained employment. There was interest in Keynes’s
uniforms and limit rallies. stubbornly high in the areas most affected by ideas during the 1930s, but the government
After this, the influence the Depression 338–39 ❯❯. It was not until did not abandon traditional economic policy.
of Mosley and the BUF 1940 that nationwide unemployment fell below After World War II, however, Keynes’s ideas
sharply declined. 1 million for the first time in 20 years. By 1941, became the basis for successful efforts by
though, labor shortages posed a serious threat post-1945 British governments to maintain
T
he closure of Palmers shipyard, men picked out of 1,200 volunteers.
Jarrow’s major employer, in 1933 Their petition, couched in respectful
had devastated the local economy. terms, carried 11,572 signatures.
By 1936 unemployment in the town The marchers set off on October 5,
had risen to more than 70 percent. 1936, with the blessing of the Bishop of
Jarrow’s Labour MP, Ellen Wilkinson, Jarrow and led by their mayor. Press
later called it “the town that was coverage was copious and largely
murdered.” After a project to build favorable. The marchers encountered a
a new steel works at Jarrow was generous and enthusiastic reception at
canceled, local councillors organized their stopping points along the 300-mile
the march to draw attention to the (480-km) route. So much food was
town’s desperate plight. provided that, coming from a community
in which malnutrition was rife, the men
The marchers found themselves gaining weight.
Throughout the Depression years,
“hunger marches” had been staged by The impact of the march
masses of unemployed workers tramping The popular sympathy that the march
from industrial areas to the capital. evoked was not echoed in government
Regarded as a communist-inspired circles. When the marchers reached
threat to the social order, these marches London, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
were ignored or disparaged by the ignored them. On November 4, the
media, and the marchers were often petition was delivered to Parliament
harassed by the police. But the and representatives of the marchers,
organizers of the Jarrow “crusade” including Ellen Wilkinson, met MPs in
ensured that no communists took the House of Commons. The practical
part, and even won the backing of the impact of the march was minimal. Only
local Conservatives. To avoid disorder, the need for ships during World War II
the march was kept small, with 200 ended mass unemployment in Jarrow.
337
B E F O R E
POPULATION CHANGES
Probably the biggest change in society was a fall
in the birth rate. Women who married in the
1880s had borne on average 4.6 children. By the
1900s, the standard British family had just over
three children, and in the 1920s the average
figure dropped to 2.2. Contrary to a
long-established myth, low birth rates in the
1920s and 1930s were not the result of a lack
of husbands caused by World War I. A lower
proportion of women
remained unmarried
in the 1920s–30s than in
the pre-war period, but
couples were choosing
to have smaller families,
and achieving this aim
despite limited availability
of contraceptives.
AN URBAN SOCIETY
The consumerism of the
1920s and 1930s was
also rooted in pre-war
Britain. Movie theaters,
motor vehicles, professional Carry on smiling
spectator sports, and mass Glamorous dance troupes were
newspapers were all part of the urban a staple of West End shows and
society of the 1900s, but were on a significantly movie musicals in the 1930s,
smaller scale than between the wars. Electricity providing a hard-working living for
generation existed on a local basis, but only young women escaping poverty.
one house in 17 had electric power by 1920. In
1939, the Central Electricity Board was supplying
two-thirds of the homes in Britain.
I
n 1933, author J.B. Priestley went on motor-coaches, wireless, hiking, factory
a journey through England, writing girls looking like actresses, greyhound
an account of the state of the nation. racing and dirt tracks, swimming pools
In the depressed, old industrial areas of and everything given away for cigarette
the north he found jobless men in cloth coupons.” This was a new world that
caps loitering in boarded-up streets, and angered opinion-forming intellectuals.
poverty mitigated only by the solidarity They railed against the spread of
of long-established working-class pebble-dashed cheap housing in “ribbon
communities. In the south he found a development” along roads outside
wholly new England. It was, Priestley towns and cities. They denounced the
wrote: “the England of arterial and corruption of British culture by the
by-pass roads, of filling stations and
factories that look like exhibition Life in the suburbs
buildings, of giant cinemas and dance A suburban home was an ideal for many middle-class
halls and cafes, bungalows with tiny families. About 2.5 million new houses were built for
garages, cocktail bars, Woolworths, private sale in the period between the wars.
338
LI F E I N TH E T WENTI ES AN D TH I RTI ES
influence of American movie celebrities, for some poorer people with slum
popular music, and dance crazes. But clearance plans and new government
even the critical left-wing author George home building. The national grid spread
Orwell admitted that, for a young electricity supply across the country.
person in the 1930s, The radio, a state
“indulging in a monopoly run by
private daydream the BBC from 1922,
of yourself as provided home
Clark Gable or entertainment.
Greta Garbo… About 10 million
compensates you newspapers were
for a great deal.” sold daily. Movie-
going was near
Class differences universal, with the
and modernization northern town of
British society was, Bolton boasting
of course, deeply Foreign travel 14 cinemas for The job hunt
divided by class and While working-class people took paid vacations at its population Desperate men scrutinizing job advertisements were a AF TER
income. Men British seaside resorts, a growing number of more of 260,000. The familiar sight in northern industrial towns, but less so in
signing on the dole affluent people could now afford to travel abroad. making of cheap, prosperous southern England and the Midlands.
(unemployment), stylish clothing and Many social trends of the 1920s and 1930s
children with rickets, people on welfare cosmetics marketed through chain 750,000 more women in employment continued through World War II and reached
harassed by “means-test” snoopers stores such as Marks & Spencer and than 20 years earlier. Many refused to go their apogee in the post-1945 period.
enquiring into the details of their life, Woolworths helped banish archaic items into domestic service, instead working in
and families crowded into insalubrious such as clogs and shawls. Young people offices and light industry. The middle SPENDING MORE
slums were a world away from the strutted their finery to big band music classes had difficulty finding servants, Working-class incomes rose in the late 1930s.
middle-class life of suburban houses at dance halls on Saturday nights. and the shortage was permanent. Many This was magnified during World War II, so real
and commuting by electric train. Yet Spectator sports attracted huge middle-class women were forced to do wages in 1945 were 20 percent higher than in
many advances of the 1920s and 1930s crowds. Wembley Stadium was first housework, their chores mitigated by 1938. Mass entertainment peaked in the late
were widely shared. Housing improved used as a venue for football’s FA Cup labor-saving devices, such as electric 1940s, while increasing car sales, delayed by gas
vacuum cleaners and electric irons. rationing during the war, resumed in the 1950s.
“Fish and chips… the movies, Bearing fewer children than previous
generations, they enjoyed better health.
Women also had more freedom to
Home ownership became more and more
prominent in the 1960s 370–71 ❯❯.
the radio, strong tea, and the develop relations with the opposite sex,
while the introduction of disposable
THE FEMALE WORKFORCE
The slow growth in female employment during
sanitary towels contributed to their the 1920s and 1930s gathered pace in the 1940s.
Football Pools have between comfort. Marie Stopes’s popular books,
especially Married Love, published in
By 1951, there were almost 7 million women
in employment compared with 5.5 million in
339
1914—PRESENT
■ FOOD PROCESSOR
Domestic Appliances
Appliances for household use grew in importance as domestic servants became less ■ ELECTRIC TOASTER
common. The arrival of plastics and of electricity in the home in the 1930s opened the
way for a boom in the sale of consumer durables of all kinds.
■ Refrigerator marketed by the Thomson-Houston 1913. ■ Television, known as a “televisor” and invented by
company in the 1930s; a time when few British homes John Logie Baird in 1926. It showed a “visual wireless” image
had fridges. ■ Food processor, the first made by in black-and-white on its small screen from the beginning
Kenwood, dating from 1948. It was a chunky appliance of the television age. ■ Can opener, bulls-head style,
made mostly of metal. ■ Electric stove from 1900 with made in the 1920s. This style was first developed in the
resistance wires that heated up iron plates. ■ Telephone mid-19th century. ■ Electric hair drier dating to the 1920s;
from the 1930s with a cradle design and rotary dial. A this model has a wooden handle. ■ Goblin teasmaid
classic style of the period, almost invariably made in dating from the 1950s. This machine was designed to
standard black. ■ Dry shaver marketed in the 1950s as wake a sleeper with a fresh cup of tea automatically
a contrast to the traditional “wet” shaving, requiring hot water prepared—as its name suggests—performing the function
and foam. ■ Electric toaster in chrome from the early of the live-in maid that many could no longer afford to
1950s. A drop side allowed for inserting and removing the employ. ■ Gramophone of a wind-up portable variety
bread, a design that was soon superseded by the pop-up that was widely used through both world wars. ■ Electric
toaster. ■ Cona coffee maker, first made in 1910, and kettle, made of stainless steel with a Bakelite handle and
designed to make the “perfect” coffee. Its glass structure whistling spout. ■ Cabinet wireless radio by the British
allowed infusion to take place at the correct temperature. electronics company Ekco, dating from 1932. This boldly
This model dates from the 1950s. ■ Star vacuum cleaner modernist style was made out of Bakelite. ■ Washing ■ STAR
from around 1920—a hand-pumped machine for use in machine—the English Electric Liberator was an expensive VACUUM
pre-electric households. ■ Kettle and urn with a handle front-loader washing machine introduced in the 1940s; CLEANER
and feet of Bakelite, one of the first plastics, valued for its it was designed to “liberate” the housewife from one of
heat-resistant properties. ■ Electric heater dating from the heaviest household chores. ■ CONA COFFEE MAKER
340
DOM ESTIC AP P LIANCES
■ HAIR DRIER
■ CAN OPENER
■ GOBLIN TEASMAID
■ GRAMOPHONE
Imperial Issues
B E F O R E
In the 1920s and 1930s, the British Empire reached its greatest extent, expanded after World War I by
German colonies in Africa and part of the former Ottoman Empire. Yet Britain ruled with declining
confidence, its authority challenged in particular by a vigorous independence movement in India.
GROWING INDEPENDENCE
The British government tried to use the war to
strengthen ties between the white dominions
and the home country. In 1917, the prime
ministers of Australia, Canada, South Africa, and
New Zealand were invited to London to serve in
an Imperial War Cabinet. However, pride in
their role in the war made the dominions more
assertive of their independence after 1918 than
they had been before. India, who suffered
heavier losses in the war than any dominion,
was promised in 1917 that it would be rewarded
with “responsible government”—that is, very
limited self-rule—within the British Empire.
T
he territories taken over by Britain for limited self-government under a Gandhi in London
after World War I, including British-educated elite. Instead of Indian Congress leader Mohandas Gandhi visits London
Palestine and Mesopotamia in the benignly conducting a slow, peaceful for a Round Table Conference in 1931. Gandhi’s rejection
Middle East, and Tanganyika in Africa, progress toward a degree of self-rule, of western dress codes was a calculated political gesture.
were officially held under mandate however, Britain found itself faced with
from the League of Nations. This a clamorous independence movement self-governing dominion at some time
committed Britain to govern in the that provoked confrontation and fed off in the future, but this only redoubled
interests of the local population and the repressive measures taken by the Congress pressure for immediate
when possible to prepare them for full authorities in response. At Amritsar independence. Gandhi led a famous
independence. Although in a sense the in April 1919, troops commanded by march to the sea in spring 1930, to
mandate system was little more than a General Reginald Dyer fired on Indian challenge a British tax on salt. When
fig leaf to cover the shame of imperialist demonstrators, causing heavy loss of he visited Britain for a Round Table
expansion, it did accord with the life. It triggered widespread protests Conference on India’s future in 1931,
then-British view of empire. The official against British rule, during which he was given a hero’s welcome by some
British mission was to raise the Mohandas Gandhi, a master of political British workers, and denounced by arch
benighted local population to a level propaganda, emerged as the leader of imperialist Winston Churchill as “a
of civilization high enough for them the main independence movement, seditious middle temple lawyer, now
to achieve self-government. the Indian National Congress. In 1929, posing as a fakir…”. Despite Churchill’s
India, by far Britain’s largest Britain undertook to make India a opposition, and the noncooperation
possession, was considered relatively of Congress, a Government of India
well advanced toward preparedness
342
IMPERIAL ISSUES
At the heart of the question was race: independent members, as well as Arab protests
Britain recognized the right of white between Britain and its colonies. As British authorities attempt to control a rioting Arab crowd
people to self-determination, but was commercial aviation developed, the in Palestine in November 1933, during protests against
reluctant to extend that right to routes of Britain’s Imperial Airways Jewish immigration. Opposed by both Arabs and Jews,
non-whites. In 1926, Britain formally were consciously planned with this in the British found the Palestinian problem intractable.
recognized the independence that mind; traveling by luxury flying-boat
the white dominions had from London to Cape Town Ottawa in 1932 instituted “imperial
long exercised in practice. or Sydney via preference”, which encouraged trade
Britain and its dominions Kenya or India within the Empire while erecting a
were now “equal in status, in the late 1930s, tariff barrier against trade with the rest
in no way subordinate to showed the global of the world. By the late 1930s, Britain
one another… freely reach of empire. was the destination of more than half
associated as members of Sports had an of Australia’s exports and of more than
the British Commonwealth essential part to four-fifths of New Zealand’s.
of Nations.” This was play in imperial Imperial bonding was by no means a
embodied as the 1931 bonding. The first total success. The economic downturn
Statute of Westminster. Empire Games were stimulated discontent with colonial rule
The dominions were held in 1930, as legal in the West Indies and in Britain’s West
thus distinguished from ties between the African colonies. Canada was being
colonies in the West dominions were drawn into the economic and cultural
Indies, southeast Asia, loosening. Cricket was orbit of the United States—it was the
and Africa, although seen as embodying only dominion that did not join a
where there were important British British-led Sterling zone in the 1930s.
substantial white values. Australia and South Africa’s Boers—the majority of
populations—in South Africa had played the dominion’s whites—remained of
Southern Rhodesia against England since doubtful allegiance. Perhaps most
(now Zimbabwe) and Imperial airways the 19th century, but significant, if apparently trivial, was the
Kenya—colonies were A poster advertises passenger flights to in the inter-war years furore caused by the England cricket
accorded a degree of Europe, Africa, India, and the Far East. Imperial this was extended to team’s tour of Australia in 1932–33. The
self-government. Airways extended its air routes across the the West Indies, India, English adopted “bodyline” bowling
globe, to countries under British influence. and New Zealand. tactics to counter the Australian batting
A new closeness However, the most hero Don Bradman. Seen as dangerous
Formally, the Commonwealth of important links were economic. The and unfair, it led to both informal
Nations was linked by allegiance to Depression struck the Commonwealth popular and formal diplomatic protests
the monarchy. Serious efforts were also and colonies hard, chiefly through the in Australia. The message was that both
made to nourish sentimental, cultural, sharp fall in prices of the primary the governments and the people of the
and practical bonds between the products they exported. A British dominions were ready to assert their
Commonwealth’s equal and Empire Economic Conference at independence against the British.
AF TER
“We are engaged in an entirely Middle East problems
The extension of British imperial
interests in the Middle East after the Five million soldiers from the dominions
343
Edward, Prince of Wales
As heir to the throne, the future Edward VIII was a
glamorous figure, at least by the standards of British
royalty, and the formal pose shown here contrasted
to the informality he would bring to the role of king.
T H E A B D I C AT I O N O F E D W A R D V I I I
A
t his accession Edward VIII was a British Establishment, however, the idea
B EF O R E popular King. He brought a fresh of an American divorcée as queen was
breath of modernity, glamour, unthinkable. Baldwin won backing from
and relative youth to the stuffy image his own government and party, as well
King George V died on January 20, 1936. His of the British monarchy. However, the as from the opposition and heads of
eldest son was to be crowned Edward VIII Conservative Prime Minister Stanley Britain’s Dominions, for an absolute
on May 12, 1937, but it never happened. Baldwin and other key Establishment rejection of the King’s planned marriage.
figures, such as the Archbishop of A proposal for a morganatic union—
THE PRINCE Canterbury, Cosmo Lang, with Simpson the King’s wife, but not
George V’s reign had disapproved of him. The his queen—was equally unacceptable.
been one of moral British press shielded the Edward was told to choose between
conservatism in public from knowledge of marriage to Simpson and the throne.
private life, and a the Prince of Wales’s private
rigid adherence to life, but insiders knew that The storm breaks
the principles of Edward—like his grandfather Early in December, the British press at
constitutional Edward VII—did not conform to last broke its self-imposed silence and the
monarchy in the contemporary standards of rectitude issue exploded into the headlines. There
execution of public in sexual morality. Baldwin was also was much popular sympathy for the
duties. Edward had shown troubled by the fear that the new King, king, but politically he won the support
CORONATION CUP
while Prince of Wales that who had loose sympathies with Nazi only of extremists and eccentrics,
he was unlikely to be so restrained in either The abdication document
sphere. He had on occasion commented publicly
on political issues, such as unemployment. “ I renounce the throne for The Instrument of Abdication was signed by Edward
and witnessed by his three brothers at Fort Belvedere
in Windsor Great Park on December 10, 1936.
A “FAST” SOCIAL SET
Considered handsome and, at 41 years old, still myself and my descendants.” AF TER
relatively young at his accession, Edward was
used to mixing with a “fast” social set, where KING EDWARD’S MESSAGE ANNOUNCING HIS ABDICATION, 1936
such modern trends as cocktails and jazz were
enjoyed, and extra-marital affairs were Germany and Oswald Mosley’s Fascist including the Communist Party, Mosley’s Edward’s reign lasted 327 days. His
normal. This was ultimately to be his undoing. BUP, would refuse to be governed by BUP, and the maverick Conservative subsequent life as Duke of Windsor lasted
his ministers on political issues. backbencher Winston Churchill. 35 years, during which he made only rare
Ignoring pleas from Simpson, who had and fleeting visits to Britain.
A marriage crisis fled abroad, that he should abandon her
A far greater storm than Edward’s and keep the throne, on December 10 DUKE AND DUCHESS
political views was brewing from a Edward abdicated. The On June 3, 1937, the Duke of Windsor married
quite different direction. abdication was Wallis Simpson at the Château de Condé, in
On November 16, Edward confirmed by Act France. No member of the British Royal Family
informed Baldwin that of Parliament the
he was determined to following day.
marry Mrs. Wallis Edward’s brother
Simpson, who Albert, Duke of
was already in her York, became
second marriage. Duchess memorabilia King George VI.
From 1934, she Since the Duchess of Windsor’s death in 1986, In a dignified,
was his constant many of her possessions have been sold at auction, moving radio
companion, a fact including the handbag and gloves shown here. broadcast that
widely reported in evening, Edward,
CHÂTEAU DE CONDÉ
the American and other foreign press, now Duke of Windsor, said: “I have
but ignored by British newspapers, found it impossible to carry the heavy attended. Wallis Simpson became Duchess of
partly because they respected the burden of responsibility and to discharge Windsor, but George VI would not accord her
privacy of the royal family, and partly my duties as King as I would wish to do the right to be styled “Her Royal Highness.”
because the major press barons, Lords without the help and support of the
Rothermere and Beaverbrook, were woman I love.” That night he sailed GOVERNOR OF THE BAHAMAS
well disposed toward Edward. from Portsmouth into exile. Edward made no secret of his admiration for
So the crisis was at first played out The British people, whatever diverse Nazi Germany. In World War II 348–49 ❯❯, he
American divorcée entirely behind closed doors. Simpson opinions they held in private, docilely was made Governor of the Bahamas to remove
Born Bessie Wallis Warfield, Wallis Simpson was a had been granted a decree nisi at a accepted this reassertion of the values him from possible contact with Germans, who
well-off socialite from Pennsylvania, who had been divorce court in Ipswich on October 27, of the British Establishment. The shy saw him as a future king of a fascist Britain.
divorced twice. In 1930s Britain, few people considered so there was no legal obstacle to her and stuttering George VI inherited the
divorce morally or socially acceptable. eventually marrying Edward. To the coronation arranged for Edward.
345
1914–PRESENT
B E F O R E
Slide to War
Children at Harrow, near London, prepare primitive
air-raid shelters in their school playing field during the
Munich Crisis of September 1938.
The rise of Adolf Hitler’s aggressive Nazi regime in Germany from 1933 posed a challenge that the
British did not want to face. Seeking peace at almost any price, Neville Chamberlain’s government
followed a policy of appeasement, which at least bought the country time to rearm. In the end,
Hitler’s actions made it impossible for Britain to avoid war.
O
n January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler Manchuria in 1931, and the came from individuals joining
became Chancellor of Germany, Italian invasion of Ethiopia in the communist-organized
determined to overthrow the 1935. By the second half of the International Brigades.
1919 Versailles Treaty (see p.331) and 1930s, the idea of collective
restore Germany as a great power. Ten security through the League Appeasement
days later, Oxford Union students voted was dead. Traditional balance of By the time Neville Chamberlain
that they would “in no circumstances power diplomacy stumbled amid took over from Stanley Baldwin
fight for [their] King and Country.” The European ideological divides as Prime Minister in 1937,
unpatriotic vote led to outrage in much between dictatorships and Conservative backbencher
of the British press, but it reflected a democracies, fascists and Winston Churchill’s warnings
widespread anti-war sentiment—a communists. Britain tried to against giving in to German
heartfelt desire to avoid a repetition make an ally of Italy, but fascist aggression were sounding
of the slaughter of World War I. dictator Benito Mussolini found uncomfortably convincing.
Britain’s response to Hitler’s insistent Hitler more accepting of Italy’s Chamberlain believed that
provocation was inhibited from the aggressive ambitions. Soviet Britain lacked the military
outset by the belief that Germany had Russia, an obvious potential strength to stand up to the
a genuine grievance over the Versailles ally against Germany, was Germans. He accelerated the
Treaty. It was also confused by the shunned because of British rearmament program that
Conservative Party’s perception of the dislike of Stalin’s communist Baldwin had tentatively begun
Nazis as a useful barrier to the spread regime. The same ideological two years earlier, while
of Soviet communism. The Labour complications paralyzed the simultaneously pursuing
Party and the trade union movement British government response appeasement—the satisfaction of
were also implicated in the failure to to the Spanish Civil War of Germany’s “legitimate claims.”
stand up to Hitler, opposing British 1936–39. While Germany and After absorbing Austria in the
rearmament until the late 1930s. Italy intervened militarily on “Anschluss” of March 1938,
Public opinion in Britain would never behalf of Francisco Franco’s Hitler turned his attention to
have supported military action to right-wing nationalists, Czechoslovakia, which had
uphold the Versailles Treaty in 1935–36, Britain’s only involvement a German minority in its
when Hitler openly embarked on rapid Sudetenland region. Faced with
rearmament and sent troops into the Vital war material a possible German attack on the
demilitarized Rhineland. The League of Britain raced to produce shells and other Czechs, in September 1938,
Nations proved incapable of decisive munitions as war approached. Defense Chamberlain embarked on a
action against Japanese aggression in budgets more than tripled in 1935–39. diplomatic initiative, flying
346
S L I D E TO W A R
AF TER
twice to meet Hitler in Germany. Invasion news
However, each concession made was London’s Evening Standard announces the German
followed by Hitler raising the stakes. invasion of Poland, and Britain’s subsequent Because of Britain’s commitment to defend
War looked inevitable, but at the last mobilization, on September 1, 1939. Britain Poland, on September 3, 1939 Chamberlain
hour, an agreement reached at Munich declared war on Germany two days later. grimly informed the British people that
saw the Sudetenland region detached they were “at war with Germany.”
from Czechoslovakia, and Chamberlain Britain responded by guaranteeing
returned home to triumphantly to defend a number of countries, FIRST DAYS OF WAR
announce “peace for our time.” including Poland, against German The war had been long expected. The authorities
Euphoria was short-lived, however, aggression, and by seeking a were prepared for the immediate bombing of
and a sense of having given in to military accord with Soviet Russia. British cities, and assumed there would be
aggression through fear was confirmed They were preempted by the Nazis, mass casualties. On September 1, two days
in March 1939 when Hitler sent who concluded their own pact before the declaration of war, the evacuation of
troops into the Czech capital, with Stalin in August, clearing the cities began and a black-out was enforced.
Prague—to which he had way for a German attack on Some 1.5 million Anderson air-raid shelters had
no “legitimate claim.” Poland on September 1. already been distributed for people to erect in
their gardens, but the bombing did not
Munich Pact happen immediately. In September 1939, most
Returning from the Munich Conference to casualties were caused by road accidents in
cheering crowds on September 30, 1938, Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain waves a paper
bearing Hitler’s signature and his own. He later
600,000 An estimate
of the number of
civilian deaths expected through German
the black-out. Conscription was already in place
when the war began, but Britain did not have any
plans for giving military assistance to Poland,
declared he had returned from Germany bombing in the first two months of which was left to fight alone.
“bringing peace with honor”, but Winston fighting. The actual civilian death toll was
Churchill called the agreement a disaster. 60,000 in more than five years of war.
Retreat from Dunkirk
Troops wade through water to reach rescue vessels
during the evacuation from Dunkirk in May–June 1940.
A total of 340,000 British and other Allied soldiers were
rescued from the military disaster in France, but all
tanks and artillery were lost.
B R I TA I N A L O N E
Glasgow
Middlesbrough N
0
0
125km
125 miles
In the early years of war, Britain narrowly avoided defeat by Nazi Hull
Germany. The country’s survival, under the leadership of Winston Liverpool Manchester
Sheffield
W
Rotterdam
inston Churchill replaced K I N G D O M
B E F O R E Chamberlain on May 9, 1940, Swansea Cardiff Swindon
London Antwerp
Bristol
forming a broad-based Bath Canterbury Ghent
Calais
coalition government. The following
Southampton BELGIUM
Britain declared war on Germany on day, German forces invaded the Exeter Portsmouth
September 3, 1939, following the German Netherlands and Belgium as a prelude e l
a n n
C h
Plymouth
invasion of Poland. The Poles were to an attack on France. The campaign
s h
defeated five weeks later, leaving it rapidly degenerated into a disaster for l i Amiens
E
E n g
unclear what Britain would do next. the Allies—the fast-moving German Cherbourg
Blitzkrieg tactics outclassed British Le Havre
C
SLOW START and French forces. Though Britain
The period from the outbreak of war to spring successfully evacuated its encircled N Paris
1940 was dubbed the Phoney War, because troops from Dunkirk, it still signaled A
of the lack of action. A British Expeditionary a major defeat. The French surrender KEY R
F
Force took up position alongside the French, on June 22 left Britain isolated. Hitler RAF fighter base
Low-level radar station
but the Germans did not attack. expected the British government to
High-level radar station
On April 9, 1940, however, Hitler brought accept humiliating peace terms, but the Range of low-level radar
Battle of Britain
the Phoney War to an abrupt end by invading pugnacious Churchill rallied the nation Range of high-level radar The RAF had a numerical advantage in the Battle of Britain.
Denmark and Norway. Within a month, Britain behind a stance of “no surrender.” Towns and cities bombed The British built 1,900 fighter planes, while the Germans
was facing comprehensive defeat in the Through the summer of 1940, as an air German fighter and bomber base had only 775. The map shows the major cities bombed,
Norwegian campaign and Prime Minister Neville war raged over southern England (see Flying range of German Me109 radar stations, and the RAF and Luftwaffe bases in 1940.
Chamberlain was forced to resign ❮❮ 346–47. pp.356–57), British forces stood ready
to resist a German invasion. was set up to arm resistance movements by Germany in June, became Britain’s
Failing to achieve command of the in occupied countries and sabotage first major fighting ally. Churchill and
skies, Hitler called off his invasion plans economic targets. The Royal Air Force Roosevelt agreed the Atlantic Charter—
in mid-September, but Britain’s situation (RAF) began night raids on Germany, a statement of war aims—in August,
I N N O VAT I O N remained dire, as the German Luftwaffe but the results were disappointing, as and American warships began to
turned to night British bombers, defend Atlantic convoys. The Japanese
RADAR
bombing. The Blitz ill-prepared for attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7
From 1935, a research team led by failed to break night flying, missed forced the US to enter World War II,
Robert Watson-Watt worked on a system morale or halt war their targets. The much to Churchill’s joy.
using radio waves to track aircraft in flight. production, but British Army won
Although radar was also developed in
other countries, including Germany,
Britain took the lead in perfecting the
the extent of the
destruction was
daunting. A more
some heartening
victories against
Mussolini’s Italian
43,000 The number of people
killed in the bombing
of British cities between September
technology and its deployment as part of potent strategic forces in the North 1940 and May 1941. Around half the
an integrated air-defense system. Radar threat was posed African desert after casualties were in London.
was vital to Britain’s survival during the by German U-boat June 1940. Yet here
Battle of Britain in 1940. submarines, too, Britain suffered
operating from once the Germans AF TER
bases on France’s intervened. It lost
Atlantic coast. Greece and Crete in
They menaced spring 1941, when The entry of the US into World War II in
Britain’s maritime Erwin Rommel’s December 1941 did not immediately bring
supply lines, War in the desert Afrika Korps relief to Britain. The Japanese onslaught
which if severed The North African desert was the site of successes for turned the tide in in Asia led to fresh disasters.
would starve the British and Commonwealth forces in the winter of the desert war.
country. Despite 1940–41, when they defeated poorly led Italian troops. Britain needed LOSSES IN ASIA
warships escorting powerful allies to Britain had long been uncomfortably aware
merchant convoys, U-boats sank more stand a chance of victory. US President that it lacked the resources to defend its
than a thousand Allied ships in the first Franklin D. Roosevelt, although Asian colonies, while simultaneously fighting
two years of the war. sympathetic, was conscious of deep- a war in Europe. Japan rapidly took Hong
rooted anti-war sentiments in his Kong, overran Malaya and, in February 1942,
Dogged resistance country. American economic support captured the British military base at
Even in the desperate summer of 1940, was more forthcoming, especially after Singapore. The tide of Japanese advance
Churchill sought opportunities for the lend-lease program came into force continued into Burma before stalling at the
offensive action, keen to impress the in March 1941. This enabled the British borders of India 358–59 ❯❯.
United States with Britain’s will to fight. to borrow war supplies against later
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) repayments. The Soviet Union, invaded
349
1914–PRESENT
Winston Churchill
“ In war, resolution;
in defeat, defiance;
in victory, magnanimity;
in peace, goodwill.”
WINSTON CHURCHILL, THE SECOND WORLD WAR, 1948–53
W
inston Leonard Spencer minister in the pre-World War I Liberal
Churchill was born into an administration. Home Secretary in
aristocratic family and grew 1910, at the age of 35, he found
up in a late-Victorian Britain that saw plenty of outlet for his bellicosity in
imperialism in full flood. His father confrontations with
was a senior striking trade unionists,
Conservative pro-Union Ulster
politician, and his Protestants, and
beautiful mother an militant suffragettes
American heiress. intent on votes for
As a young cavalry women. As First Lord
officer and war of the Admiralty from
correspondent, October 1911, he
Winston Churchill drove forward the
developed a love of “naval race” with
empire and a delight in Germany. Embracing
warfare. After seeing technological
military service in innovation, he gave
British India, he took the Royal Navy
part in the Battle of oil-fired battleships
Omdurman in 1898, with 15-in (38-cm)
in the Sudan, where guns, and created
the Mahdists were the Royal Naval Air
slaughtered by British Service to exploit
firepower, and in 1900 the potential of
witnessed the British aircraft—just as
military disaster at Spion The British bulldog he would later
Kop, during the Boer This American poster dating from 1942 shows promote the
War. A gifted writer and Prime Minister Winston Churchill as a bulldog. It development of
natural self-publicist, he was a familiar image for a British wartime leader the first tanks
wrote articles and books determined to defend the nation he loved. for the army.
that showcased his
experiences, describing his participation The Great War
in a cavalry charge at Omdurman or his As war with Germany approached
escape from a Boer prisoner of war in the summer of 1914, Churchill
camp in the style of boys’ adventure described his emotional state as
stories. By the time he entered “interested, geared up, and happy.”
Parliament as a Conservative MP in Yet the first year of the war proved a
1900, following in his father’s footsteps, personal disaster. The Royal Navy
he was already a recognized public failed to live up to the British public’s
personality. Too restless and ambitious expectations. Churchill’s fascination
to settle comfortably in the Tory ranks, with imaginative schemes led him to Master of war
in 1904 he “ratted” to join the Liberal back the disastrous Gallipoli campaign Churchill is photographed in North Africa in
Party, whose interest in radical reform against Germany’s Ottoman ally in 1944, a still vigorous leader approaching his
offered more scope for dramatic action. 1915. When it failed, with huge British 70th birthday. He was not a warmonger – he
Along with David Lloyd George, he casualties, he was ejected from the did his best to preserve peace – but it was his
made himself the most newsworthy Admiralty. Shocked and humiliated, nature to be thrilled by armed conflict.
350
W I N S TO N C H U R C H I L L
TIMELINE
■ November 30, 1874
Churchill is born at
Blenheim Palace,
Oxfordshire, son of Lord
Randolph Churchill and
Jennie Jerome. He is
educated at Harrow
(1888–93) and the
Royal Military College,
Sandhurst
(1893–94).
Welcome visit
■ 1895–1900
Churchill visits bomb-
Cavalry
damaged Bristol after a
officer and
raid in April 1941. His
war reporter
walkabouts were designed
in Cuba,
to raise morale among YOUNG CHURCHILL
India, Sudan,
the hard-pressed British.
and South Africa.
Despite some skepticism,
■ October 1900 Elected Unionist (Conservative)
his presence seems to
MP for Oldham. Crosses the floor of the House
have been genuinely
of Commons in 1904 to join the Liberal Party.
welcomed by the majority.
■ 1908 Enters Cabinet in the Liberal government
Churchill struggled to achieve political Relegated to the backbenches, in the beyond retirement age. He flew around of Herbert Asquith; marries Clementine Hozier.
rehabilitation. By July 1917, after a 1930s, his career was saved by the rise the world to Allied summits, from ■ 1911 Appointed First Lord of the Admiralty;
spell in the army at the front line in in Germany of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Tehran and Yalta to Casablanca and holds post as Britain enters World War I in 1914.
France, he was back in the Cabinet, Party. Churchill’s ominous warnings of Quebec. His total commitment to ■ May 1915 Ousted from Admiralty after failed
now led by Prime Minister Lloyd the growing German threat, advocacy defeating Hitler made him a loyal ally Gallipoli landings. Serves on Western Front from
George, but although he continued of British rearmament, and opposition of Joseph Stalin, despite his hatred of November 1915 to March 1916. Becomes
to hold high office into the post-war to the appeasement of Hitler looked Soviet communism, and he assiduously Minister of Munitions in July 1917.
period, his reputation had taken a hard increasingly prescient as the European courted President Roosevelt, both ■ 1919–22 Secretary of State for War and the
knock. His talents and energy were situation worsened. It was inevitable before and after America’s entry into Colonies. Loses seat in 1922 general election.
admired, but he was widely distrusted, that he should be asked to join the the war in December 1941. In the long ■ October 1924 MP for Epping. Rejoins the
even by his own party members, as government by Prime Minister Neville run, he was ill-rewarded for his pains, Conservative Party and becomes Chancellor
an irresponsible adventurer. Chamberlain when war broke out as both Roosevelt and Stalin intended of the Exchequer to June 1929.
again in September 1939. to end the British Empire that Churchill
■ 1929–39 Out-of-office backbencher. Critical of
Wilderness years loved, and British influence was
Conservative policy on India and appeasement.
Churchill “re-ratted“ to join the War leader increasingly sidelined.
■ September 1939 Outbreak of World War II. He
Conservative Party in 1924. In the Churchill’s rise to Prime Minister in
is again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty.
unlikely role of Chancellor of the May 1940 was paradoxical. He Post-war years
Exchequer, he was responsible for had been more responsible After the heroic days of ■ May 1940 Churchill replaces Chamberlain
Britain’s disastrous return to the Gold than anyone else for the 1940, Churchill’s hold as Prime Minister, leading a broad coalition
Standard in 1925—a decision based on fiasco of the Norwegian on the British public government through World War II.
the advice of financial experts that was campaign that had waned. He could not ■ July 1945 Defeated in general election, but
designed to return stability to a jittery brought down identify himself with remains leader of the Conservative Party.
post-war international financial system. the Chamberlain the popular desire for ■ October 1951 Wins general election and
When Wall Street crashed and the government. Yet his social change. His resumes as Prime Minister, serving to April 1955.
world economy nosedived in 1929, warlike spirit and his defeat in the 1945 ■ January 24, 1965 Churchill dies in London.
Churchill was among the victims, sheer desire for the general election was He is accorded a state funeral on January 30.
losing much of his personal wealth. job made him the not a judgment upon
natural choice to lead his war leadership, but
aim? I can shall never surrender”, This medallion was presented to Churchill in
and convinced them
that he meant it.
1955 by US President Dwight Eisenhower.
Churchill always stressed the bond between
he alerted the
Americans to the
danger of Soviet
Victory at all
impact on the nation’s morale was Prime Minister from 1951 was marred
immediate. Less successful was by his worsening health, and his
Churchill’s impact on military reluctant resignation in 1955 was a
costs…”
operations. He wanted to run the relief to his colleagues (he stayed an
war himself, overriding the military MP until 1964). But his place in British
professionals, but had lost none of his hearts was never lost, and his state FUNERAL CORTEGE OF WINSTON CHURCHILL
propensity for ill-judged offensives. His funeral in 1965 was an occasion of
WINSTON CHURCHILL, MAY 13, 1940
work rate was phenomenal for a man deep-felt national mourning.
351
Life during the Blitz
A milkman carries out his duties the morning after a German bombing
raid over London during the winter of 1940–41. This period of intense
bombing, which became known as the Blitz, was devastating, but most
were determined to remain defiant in the face of the enemy.
1914–PRESENT
T 79
he British entered World War II England, where there was less risk of London Underground stations
without enthusiasm, but with a air raids, was a shock for everyone— acted as bomb shelters during
better understanding of the some of the children had never seen a the Blitz. Some 177,000 people were
demands of total war than in 1914. cow, while many people who housed sleeping in them every night, at the
They accepted conscription with them had never seen children who height of the bombing.
barely a murmur of dissent, and the slept without pyjamas. The experience
government introduced rationing when is credited with making the British to the wall. More than a million men,
it discovered that the public favored middle class more aware of the realities most too old for the army, enrolled in
it. The distribution of gas masks, the of urban poverty. the Home Guard militia in summer
imposition of black-outs, and the mass 1940 and prepared to fight until death
evacuation of children from cities Preparing for war if the Germans invaded. When the
Missing luxuries reflected expectations of immediate The war did not take on urgency and Blitz, the long-awaited German
Some women painted seams on their legs to create the aerial bombardment. The evacuation drama until spring 1940. After the bombing of towns and cities began in
illusion of stockings—the kind of luxury goods almost of children from urban slums to rural establishment of a coalition government September, civilian morale held up
unobtainable under austerity regulations. under Winston Churchill in May and far better than the authorities had
Bomb shelter the fall of France in June, a sense expected. Of course, bombed civilians
Anderson shelters were structures of corrugated steel of social solidarity and common were terrified. In London, many took
that people erected in their backyards. Half-buried endeavor was forged. This was refuge in Underground stations or in
B E F O R E and covered with a layer of earth, they offered good not only exaggerated by official
protection for a family. More than 3 million shelters propaganda, but also truly felt
were distributed by the government. by a population with its back
World War II brought a vast extension
of the powers of the British state over
its citizens. From the outset, some basic
liberties were suspended.
354
L I F E I N W A R T I M E B R I TA I N
citizens’ war.”
to the United States. The
subjection of the war-weary
London population to attack
J.B. PRIESTLEY, OUT OF THE PEOPLE, 1941 by V-1 flying bombs and
V-2 rockets in 1944 was
communal shelters, although more agriculture, where fertilizers and psychologically harder to
remained in their home. In smaller tractors pushed up yields. There bear than the Blitz. By 1945,
cities people decamped to the was little trade union resistance people were yearning not
countryside. There were instances to the direction of labor or only for peace, but for a
of breakdown of order—looting of measures taken to increase better future. There was a
bomb-damaged buildings and theft of output, partly because industrial widespread desire that Britain
valuables from the dead. These acts wages rose by around 10 percent should not go back to the
were wholly outweighed by the above inflation through the war. way it had been before—that
everyday heroism of air-raid wardens, The middle classes by contrast unemployment and poverty
firefighters, medical personnel, police, did badly, hard hit when the had to be left behind. This
and ordinary citizens, who carried standard rate of income tax was mood underlay the landslide
on with their daily lives amid the raised to 50 percent in 1941. Labour victory in the 1945
devastation. By the end of the second on British society. It opened general election, contested
year of the war, more British civilians
had been killed by enemy action than
British servicemen. Yet popular
8 MILLION The number
of women
in work by 1943. Around 2 million
up new perspectives for
people, many of whom
had rarely, if ever, met a
while the country was
still at war with Japan.
It conveyed the sense
support for the war effort remained women were employed in arms factories foreigner before the war. that people deserved
intact—members of the government and 500,000 in non-combat roles American soldiers and decent lives for
or the royal family were able to visit in the armed forces. airmen were only partly patiently bearing the
recently bombed streets with minimal responsible for the risks and sacrifices of
security and with the expectation of The involvement of the whole extraordinary rise in the the path to victory.
a warm response. population in the war effort was one illegitimate birth rate,
of the key purposes of government which tripled during the Child’s gas mask
Consensus and sacrifice propaganda. Campaigns for people to war. Nevertheless, the Gas masks were distributed not
The high level of consensus in support hand in their unwanted aluminum attraction that the proverbially just to adults, but also children and
of the war allowed the state to pots and pans to be recycled as “overpaid and oversexed” allies babies. They weren’t of much use, as
exercise control over people’s Spitfires, or to “Dig for Victory” by exercised upon British women neither side resorted to the use of
lives without being seen as growing vegetables in their flower beds, was reflected in the 80,000 “GI chemical weapons.
oppressive. Aware that the were important not for their practical
battle for production was as effect, but for the sense of participation
important as the clash of they encouraged. AF TER
armies, the government in Rationing and austerity were the order
effect extended conscription of the day for the British people, but
to civilian life. The Ministry of were made bearable by apparent equality The foundations of a post-war welfare proposals for a national health service, full
Labour, under leading trade of sacrifice. Government regulations set state were laid by Churchill’s coalition employment, and social insurance 360–61 ❯❯.
unionist Ernest Bevin, was the size of the lapels on a jacket and the government during the war, most famously Meanwhile the President of the Board of Education,
vested with the power to length of shirt-tails, the recipe for a loaf through the conclusions of the 1942 the Conservative politician, R.A.B. Butler, produced
direct “any person in the of bread, the style and wood content Beveridge Report. an Education Act that instituted free, universal
United Kingdom to perform of furniture, the maximum price of a secondary schooling.
any service required in any restaurant meal, and the size of a pencil. THE BEVERIDGE REPORT
place.” The blurring of the The state also provided people with In 1941, economist and social reformer
distinction between military cheap food in work canteens and Sir William Beveridge was appointed chairman
and industrial service was national restaurants (communal of a government committee on social insurance.
exemplified by the Bevin Boys, kitchens), cod liver oil and free school The report he published the following year was
young conscripts chosen by lot meals for children, and useful advice an instant bestseller. It advocated “cradle to
in 1944 to work in understaffed on how to cook nutritious vegetables. grave” social security to be funded by
coalmines instead of battlefronts. Despite shortages, such as the lack of national insurance, with contributions from
Even more than in World War I, bananas, the British people, in general, individual employers and the state. There was to
women were called upon to ate more healthily during the war be a national health service and an end to mass
carry out jobs traditionally than before it. unemployment. The new plan would slay the
occupied by men. The hostile “giants on the road of reconstruction”,
conscription of women, first The American influence which Beveridge capitalized as: Want, Disease,
introduced in December 1941, The later stages of the war were in Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness.
was the subject of much soul- many ways different from the heroic The Beveridge report was welcomed by
searching for the government, but period of the invasion scare and the Labour members of the governing coalition. In
readily accepted by the population Blitz. The huge influx of foreign 1944, the government issued white papers with WILLIAM BEVERIDGE
at large. Productivity rose steeply, troops, primarily Americans, in
not only in factories but also in 1943–44, had a significant impact
355
DECISIVE MOMENT July 10–October 12, 1940
O
n June 18, 1940, Prime Minister forces, while the Luftwaffe wavered
Winston Churchill told the in its objectives, never sufficiently
House of Commons that “The systematic in targeting radar stations,
Battle of France is over. The Battle of aircraft factories, or airfields.
Britain is about to begin.“ However, his The RAF also benefitted from an
statement was premature. influx of pilots from the dominions and
from across occupied Europe. This was
The duel begins essential, for although there were
Into mid-July, as preliminary skirmishes always sufficient aircraft, experienced
between the RAF and the Luftwaffe pilots were particularly in short supply.
commenced over the English Channel, On September 7, with RAF Fighter
Adolf Hitler continued to hope that Command hard pressed, the Luftwaffe
Britain would agree to a humiliating switched from attacking airfields to the
peace settlement with Germany. It was daylight mass bombing of London.
not until August 13 that the Germans
launched a sustained campaign to The battle climaxes
destroy Britain’s air defenses. On September 15, now known as Battle
Fortunately for Britain, this was a of Britain Day, around 1,000 German
battle the RAF had long prepared to aircraft attacked in two waves. The RAF
fight. A system of radar stations linked responded in strength, claiming to
to central control rooms allowed RAF shoot down 186 enemy aircraft on the
fighters to scramble in time to intercept day. Although this is now discounted as
incoming German bombers and their exaggerated, Britain’s air defenses had
Messerschmitt fighter escorts. Hugh not broken, and while daylight raids
Dowding, the head of RAF Fighter continued into October, any invasion
Command, cleverly conserved his plans were indefinitely postponed.
Hurricanes in flight
RAF Hawker Hurricanes fly in tight formation in the skies
over southern England in the summer of 1940. Although
its role in the Battle of Britain is often overshadowed by
that of the Supermarine Spitfire, the Hurricane actually
accounted for most of the RAF’s kills in the battle.
356
1914–PRESENT
T
he array of forces aligned with committed themselves to seeking the two notable acts of mass devastation—
Britain in 1942 was impressive. “unconditional surrender” of their of Hamburg in July 1943, killing more
As well as the US and the Soviet enemies. The Allies were divided on than 40,000 German civilians, and of
Union, there were the Commonwealth strategy though. Churchill successfully Dresden in February 1945, killing around
countries that had stood by Britain from resisted American pressure for a speedy 25,000. The merits or otherwise of the
the start, and governments-in-exile invasion of France—his attitude was bombing of German cities remains one
and the freedom fighters of defeated based on a pessimistic estimate of the of the war’s most controversial aspects.
European countries—the Free French risks involved—and convinced the US
and the Polish resistance making some to devote resources to the Mediterranean. Britain’s weakening control
particularly notable contributions. Yet Meanwhile, British and American air Britain’s waning influence on the
the tide of the fighting flowed against the forces undertook a joint bombing war was evident when Churchill met
Allies for a long while. By the summer offensive against Germany, with the RAF Stalin and Roosevelt at Tehran in 1943,
of 1942, the Japanese advance reached attacking by night and the US Army Air where he had to accept an invasion
the borders of India, and German Force (USAAF) by day. They achieved of France in 1944.
armies continued to push deep into the
Soviet Union. In North Africa, the Axis
forces under General Rommel invaded
Egypt, placing the Suez Canal at risk.
“These are not dark days: these
Celebrating victory
In the Atlantic, the sinking of Allied
merchant ships by U-boats rose steeply. are great days—the greatest
The inhabitants of a street in Bristol—without most Churchill’s popularity slumped and his
of their young men, who were still away in the armed
forces—celebrate victory in 1945. The British were
leadership came to be questioned as the
sequence of military disasters appeared
days our country has ever lived.”
determined that winning the war would be followed unstoppable. Then, in October–
by building a fairer society. November 1942, General Bernard WINSTON CHURCHILL, SPEECH GIVEN ON OCTOBER 29, 1941
An Allied Victory
Between 1942 and 1945, Britain fought as part of an alliance
dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union. The British
could be rightly proud of their role in the victory over Germany and
Japan, but the supreme effort of war exhausted the nation’s resources.
358
A N A L L I E D V I C TO R Y
“ In defending
ourselves,
we were
defending
the liberties
of the whole
world…”
KING GEORGE VI, SPEECH GIVEN
ON VE DAY, MAY 8, 1945
AF TER
COST OF WAR
About 400,000 British people lost their lives in
the war, including more than 300,000 members
of the armed forces, 60,000 civilians, and more
than 30,000 merchant seamen.
The war placed Britain in deep debt. When
Japan surrendered, American aid under lend-lease
was abruptly cut off. Britain was obliged to enter into
negotiations for a loan, which was accorded by
the Americans on harsh terms in December 1945.
359
1914–PRESENT
W
Churchill’s wartime government ❮❮ 350–51, hereas in the wake of World Free medical care
in which they had served. These included War I many people had longed This National Health Service hospital
proposals on welfare reform. to return to the certainties of opened in Wiltshire in July 1948. Free
the pre-war world, the prevalent mood medical care was the most durable and
in 1945 was captured by the slogan: popular innovation of Attlee’s postwar
“Never again!” The 1930s had been a Labour government.
time of poverty and unemployment,
and World War II was seen as a “people’s food shortages and Britain
war” fought for a better future. lacked the foreign currency
The Labour government encouraged to pay for imports. Wartime
the continuation of the war-time spirit rationing was not only
of shared sacrifice and collective effort. maintained, but tightened and
In truth there was little alternative, for extended—even bread was
Britain’s economic situation was dire. rationed in 1946. Black-market
The nation was impoverished and had “spivs” flourished, satisfying
to pay for the war—foreign debts the desire for small luxuries,
totalled £25 billion and only a grudgingly from restricted foodstuffs to
accorded US loan kept government nylon stockings.
finances afloat. There were worldwide The early months of 1947
were perhaps more depressing than any period in which no sunshine was
LABOUR PARTY POSTER FOR
Nationalization of the mines part of the war. A winter of freezing recorded in London at all—coincided
THE 1945 GENERAL ELECTION Miners read a notice announcing the nationalization temperatures and heavy snowfalls— with a critical shortage of coal. Some
of coal mines. In practice, the state-owned pits were including the coldest February on coal-fired power stations shut down,
run by bureaucrats rather than by “the people.” record at the time and a three-week factories closed, and families huddled
T H E P O ST WA R Y E A R S
AF TER
110,000 The number of
houses in London
that were destroyed during the war by In 1951, the Labour government was
the Luftwaffe and the V-weapons. forced out of power by the Conservatives.
This did not, however, herald any radical
in unheated homes by candlelight. change in economic or social policies.
Shortages remained normal into the
1950s. When London hosted its first LABOUR VS CONSERVATIVES
postwar Olympic Games in 1948, In the early 1950s, the Labour government
foreign athletes were encouraged was running out of energy and ideas. The
to bring their own food. drive to transform Britain through nationalization
and welfare reform had been succeeded by
A socialist commonwealth a policy of “consolidation.” The Labour
Against this background of austerity, government came to power with a narrow
the Labour government forged ahead majority in the February 1950 general election.
with welfare reforms in education and Aneurin Bevan resigned from the Cabinet
healthcare. When the new Parliament in April 1951, following the party split over
met in 1945, their election manifesto introducing payment for National Health
promised a “socialist commonwealth.” spectacles and dentures. In the election of
A wave of nationalization brought the October 1951, the Labour Party attracted the
Bank of England, the railways, gas and School Milk Act the lack of goods to buy in the shops largest share of the popular vote—about
electricity supply, telephones, road Children enjoy free school milk, provided to all pupils paradoxically left people of all classes 49 percent—but Churchill’s Conservatives
transportation, and the coal mines under the Act passed in 1946. This health and welfare with money in their pockets to spend on won a working majority of seats in the
under state control. measure was repealed by Margaret Thatcher during leisure and entertainment. Movie-going House of Commons.
This did not, in reality, create her tenure as an Education Secretary in 1971. reached a pitch never equaled before
socialism, but a mixed economy, in or since, with one in three of the CONSERVATIVE MEASURES
which bureaucratically managed state The working classes consolidated population going to the movies every Winston Churchill’s Conservative government
monopolies existed alongside private wage rises they had achieved during week. Sports events also drew enormous denationalized the iron and steel industry, but
enterprises. Efforts to create the the war, gaining ground on the middle crowds. The taste for collective leisure left the other nationalized industries untouched.
socialist panacea, a planned economy, classes, whose salaries tended to fall found its most typical expression in the It also endorsed the welfare state, including
were tentative. However, there was no relative to the cost of living. A high burgeoning of campgrounds, especially the National Health Service, which continues to
return to the mass unemployment of level of income tax—45 percent was popular with workers who enjoyed at be the main provider of healthcare in Britain
prewar years. Government measures the standard rate—helped further least a week’s paid vacation a year. to this day. With more favorable economic
to boost depressed areas succeeded narrow the gap between better-paid conditions, the Conservatives were able to
and, by the end of 1947, there were professionals and manual workers. Relaxing restrictions end rationing in June 1954 370–71 ❯❯.
labor shortages. The building of houses for Some Labour leaders, notably
sale to owner-occupiers Sir Stafford Cripps, believed austerity
Reform measures virtually ceased and was a good thing. They disapproved
Meanwhile, welfare gasoline rationing of consumerism and luxury on moral
reforms aimed to restricted private and political grounds. On the whole,
ensure freedom from motoring. Yet the middle though, the government was keen to
want “from the class were also among relax rationing and lift restrictions on
cradle to the grave.” the beneficiaries of the people’s daily lives. However, Britain’s
They provided more welfare state, as they poor economic situation delayed the
security from life’s did not need to pay country’s return to normal peacetime
misfortunes than for healthcare or conditions. Export-led manufacturing
British people had education—their children growth had gained strength by 1949–50,
ever known before. made up the majority of but the potential benefits of this were
The National Health those who passed the lost through financial shocks—an
Service was guided 11-plus entrance enforced devaluation of the pound in
into existence by examination and 1949, and the strain on government
Health Minister Continuing austerity attended the free finances from Britain’s decision to enter
Aneurin Bevan, in Ration books were introduced during World grammar schools. the Korean War in 1950 (see pp.368–
1948. It was popular War II and remained a part of people’s 69). Labour tried to prove that it could
with everyone except everyday life until the 1950s. Growth of the offer fun as well as security by mounting
doctors, who fought leisure industry the Festival of Britain in 1951, intended
against it until they were able to With austerity the order of the day, a to highlight progress and provide an
continue private practice alongside drabness infected much of daily life. entertaining day out. However, the
their state duties. People chafed at the irritations of petty Attlee government, for all its durable
The problem of substandard living bureaucracy, queues, and shortages. But achievements, was on its way out.
conditions was compounded by the
war. A practical and popular temporary
solution was the erection of “prefabs”—
simple prefabricated houses. By 1948,
“ The Labour government has
as a long-term measure, 200,000
council houses (public housing) were ensured full employment…
being built every year. The 1946 New Time to celebrate
Towns Act began a drive to relocate
people from overcrowded inner cities
contrast with prewar days!” The Festival of Britain in 1951 was organized by the
Labour government to celebrate British achievement
to rural locations such as Stevenage in and bring some color and enjoyment into the lives
Hertfordshire and Basildon in Essex. LABOUR PARTY ELECTION MANIFESTO, 1950 of the war-torn population.
361
1914–PRESENT
P
rincess Elizabeth and Prince Philip more than 20 million watched on Elizabeth grasped the need for a colonies, the queen’s status as head
were on a safari in Kenya when televisions, with neighbors crowding modern monarch to be seen by the of state being the only surviving
George VI died on February 6, the front rooms of those lucky enough people very early in her reign. Soon political link between the now fully
1952. The new Queen was a cool, to possess a set. The event was a after the coronation, she embarked on independent countries. At home,
self-possessed, and reticent young spectacular costume drama, with lords a round-the-world tour during which the Queen gave her first televised
woman, with an absolute commitment in ermine and coronets, bishops in she became the first reigning monarch Christmas speech in 1957—the royal
to her royal duties. The preparations for copes, and Prime Minister Winston to visit Australia and New Zealand. This Christmas broadcast on radio was a
her coronation revealed that she had a Churchill bizarrely garbed as the Lord trip was the first of many royal visits to long-established tradition. Her manner
clearer sense of what was expected of Warden of the Cinque Ports. the Commonwealth was impeccably bland—the lack of
a modern monarchy than her advisers. The public loved it all, and countries. They were evident personality or opinion suiting
The government and experts on royal left-wing intellectuals, who conscious attempts to the role of a constitutional figurehead.
protocol had agreed that the televising had hoped the working foster a popular
of the event should stop at the doors class would scorn at sentiment of Family troubles
of Westminster Abbey. The Queen, such royalist nonsense, loyalty among As at the time of the abdication of
however, insisted that the coronation were confounded. former King Edward VIII in 1936, the troubles
ceremony itself should be televised, of the modern monarchy came from
so that the moment could be shared
with her people. The young monarch
Held on June 2, 1953, the coronation Queen Elizabeth II was 27 years old at the time of
was a demonstration of the power her coronation in June 1953. The traditional regalia
of archaic ceremony and modern of the monarchy, such as the orb and scepter,
technology. Three million people lined were deployed during the ceremony.
the streets in the rain to see Elizabeth
pass by in her fairy-tale coach, while
B E F O R E
KING GEORGE VI
King George VI was a shy and inhibited man,
who suffered from a speech impediment that,
although partly cured by therapy, made public
speaking a trial for him and for his listeners. He
had none of the glamour of his brother Edward,
but he had a strong sense of duty. He followed
the example of his father George V in reigning
as an impeccable constitutional monarch.
During the war he stayed in residence with his
family at Buckingham Palace throughout the
German bombing. His visits to bomb-damaged
streets and munitions factories won him
respect and affection.
362
THE MODERN MONARCHY
all my heart I shall strive to be for her cool public response to the death. royal family entered a relatively tranquil
phase after the troubles of the 1990s, with
portray a less aloof image, Elizabeth the new generation taking center stage.
worthy of your trust.” was soon seen chatting with her people
on carefully stage-managed visits to ROYAL WEDDINGS
pubs and council flats, while the media Prince Charles, himself divorced and widowed,
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, RADIO BROADCAST, JUNE 2, 1953 were offered behind-the-scenes access married the divorcée Camilla Parker Bowles
to life at Buckingham Palace. in a civil wedding in 2005. The ending of
personal life was erased by the demands for divorce, the royals were subjected resistance to divorce on the part of the
of royal duty. But members of her family to investigation of their private lives, Present-day monarchy Church of England and the Establishment in
were not. The first crisis of the modern personal attacks, and caricature. Such The popularity of the royal family was general enabled the marriage to take place
monarchy concerned Elizabeth’s sister, disrepute of the monarchy had not restored, based not on reverence, but without Charles renouncing his right to
Princess Margaret. She wished to been seen in Britain since the Regency on acceptance of the royals as both inherit the throne.
marry Group Captain Peter Townsend, scandals of the early 19th century. ordinary human beings and celebrities. Prince William and Prince Harry, Charles’
who was divorced. The government, The extraordinary outpouring of grief In Australia, a referendum to make the sons from his marriage with Princess Diana, grew
the Church of England, and the rest that followed Diana’s death in a car country a republic was defeated in to adulthood enjoying a good level of popularity,
of the royal family were united in crash on August 31, 1997 developed 1999, while in Britain, the abolition despite occasional gaffes. Both continued the
opposition to the marriage, and in a distinct antimonarchist edge. The of the monarchy never became a royal family’s tradition of service in the armed
1955 Margaret called it off. She was Queen’s lifelong reticence and reliance serious proposition. In 2002, the forces. In 2010, William announced his plans to
not reconciled, however, to a life of upon formal protocol played badly with 50th anniversary of the Queen’s marry Kate Middleton. A member of the middle
duty. She married photographer the public in the grip of heightened accession was celebrated by about class would once have been considered an
Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, emotion. Realizing that she needed to 3 million people in London. unsuitable match for a future king, but in
this case, their marriage plans attracted a
363
1914–PRESENT
T
he Labour government elected to Colonial conflict
power in 1945 had no intention British troops arrest a demonstrator in Aden in
The last viceroy and the lost leader of dismantling the British Empire. 1967, during one of the many colonial conflicts that
Mohandas Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence Foreign secretary, Ernest Bevin, occurred during the retreat from empire.
struggle, stands between Lord and Lady Mountbatten. described himself as a “genuine
Mountbatten was the last viceroy of the Indian Raj; enthusiast for empire.” But India was a
Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu extremists special case. The Labour Party had long
soon after independence. supported Indian self-rule. The issue
was not whether India should become
independent, but how the transfer
B E F O R E of power was to take place. Lord
Mountbatten was appointed viceroy
with instructions to reach a swift
World War II delivered body blows to agreement with the conflicting Indian
Britain’s imperial authority from which the political movements. The difficulty
Empire never recovered. A series of defeats of reaching a satisfactory deal with
by Japan in 1941-42 fatally undermined Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim
British prestige in Asia. League resulted in partition. At
midnight on August 14, 1947, India
TUMULT IN THE COLONIES celebrated independence, and so
When war with Japan erupted in December did Muslim Pakistan. Partition on
1941, Australia announced it would “look to independence led to immediate
America” as its prime ally. Australian troops were large-scale population movements and
withdrawn from fighting for the British in massacres, and to a series of wars over
the Mediterranean to defend their own country. the following decades. However, both
The surrender of the British base at
Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942,
in which many Australians were taken prisoner,
India and Pakistan remained members
of the Commonwealth, maintaining
generally friendly relations with the
“Great Britain has lost an empire
confirmed the realignment of Australia
with the United States.
former imperial power.
and has not yet found a role.”
In India, 2.5 million men volunteered to Britain begins to withdraw
fight for Britain in the war, but Subhas Chandra Withdrawing at the same period from US SECRETARY OF STATE DEAN ACHESON, DECEMBER 5, 1962
Bose’s Indian National Army fought for the Burma and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Britain
Japanese. The Indian National Congress declared had divested itself of the largest part of the Mau-Mau uprising by the Kikuyu Britain began to reevaluate its
a campaign of civil disobedience in July 1942 its empire. This had remarkably little was suppressed with considerable position as a colonial power. The
under the slogan “Quit Now”, which was harshly impact on Britain’s self-image, however, brutality between 1952 and 1960, realization dawned that it no longer
repressed by the British authorities. because the dominions and colonies while during the same period British possessed the financial and military
remained central to the country’s status troops fought a guerrilla movement resources to impose its will on
WEAKENED BRITAIN as a world power and to its hopes of in Cyprus. After the Suez Crisis of far-flung parts of the globe.
Britain fought the war as an ally of the United post-war economic recovery. Between 1956 (see pp.366–67), however,
States and the Soviet Union; both were hostile 1945 and 1955, around half of Rapid dissolution
to British imperialism. They emerged from Britain’s trade was with the The Gold Coast became the
the war strengthened ❮❮ 358–59, while colonies and Commonwealth. first of Britain’s African
Britain was much weakened. The United States relaxed its possessions to be granted
hostility to British imperialism independence, as Ghana,
in the context of the Cold War, in 1957. Cyprus became
recognizing British rule as independent in 1960. Most
a barrier to the spread of other colonies were moving
communism. Yet shrunken towards representative
British resources and government. In 1960, while
emboldened independence visiting South Africa, Prime
movements turned the Minister Harold Macmillan
imperial experience into a announced: “The wind of
fighting withdrawal. Palestine change is blowing through
was abandoned to warring this continent. Whether we
Jews and Arabs in 1948. In like it or not, this growth
Malaya, Britain conducted a Commonwealth united of national consciousness is a political
successful military campaign against This optimistic image of multiethnic comradeship dates fact.” It showed that Britain intended
INDIAN PROTESTORS BEING PUNISHED, 1942 communist insurgents, granting from World War II. The term “Commonwealth” came to hand over its colonies to the African
independence to a pro-British to be preferred to “Empire”, because it implied free independence movements. Between
government in 1957. In Kenya, cooperation between equals, instead of subjection. 1960 and 1968, all remaining British
364
R E T R E AT F R O M E M P I R E
AF TER
territories in Africa were granted Britain retreated from empire with a
independence, except in Southern good measure of dignity in most places.
Rhodesia, where whites made a Many in power in newly independent After Britain joined the European
Unilateral Declaration of Independence states, including Jawaharlal Nehru in Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, its
(UDI)—not recognized by Britain—to India and Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya, economic links with the Commonwealth
avoid black-majority rule. Most of the kept good relations with Britain as inevitably declined.
West Indian colonies also became members of the Commonwealth.
independent. A campaign was fought British involvement, both political DECLARING INDEPENDENCE
and economic, in former colonies was In both Australia and Canada, new patterns
Kenyan independence
Prince Philip stands alongside Jomo Kenyatta
at the celebrations for Kenya’s independence in
December 1963. Kenyatta had been imprisoned
by the British in the 1950s for allegedly
masterminding the Mau-Mau uprising.
DECISIVE MOMENT July 26–December 22, 1956
I
n July 1956, the United States following day. On November 4, British
announced it was withdrawing troops landed by air and sea to occupy
funding from the Aswan High Dam the Suez Canal zone.
construction project in Egypt. Egyptian The attack on Egypt provoked a
ruler Gamal Abdul Nasser reacted on torrent of criticism in Britain, the
July 26 by nationalizing the Anglo- opposition Labour Party denouncing it
French-owned Suez Canal, intending as illegal aggression. There was a mass
to fund the dam with revenue from the anti-war protest in Trafalgar Square
waterway. British Prime Minister in London on November 4. More
Anthony Eden was savagely hostile importantly, the United States and
to Nasser, describing him as a “Muslim the United Nations denounced the
Mussolini.” He feared that, once in invasion. After the United States
control of the Canal, Nasser would encouraged the selling of Britain’s
block European oil supplies carried currency on the international money
by tanker from the Middle East. markets, thus threatening the British
Eden wanted both to wrest the Canal economy, Eden agreed to a ceasefire on
from Egyptian control and to engineer November 6. On December 22, British
Nasser’s downfall. He was drawn by troops handed over the Canal zone to
France into a secret agreement with a UN peacekeeping force. Despite the
Israel. The Israelis would attack Egypt volume of protest, however, opinion
in the Sinai, giving Britain and France polls suggest that British voters were
an excuse to send in troops to “protect” indifferent to the debacle. Nonetheless,
the Canal. The Israeli operation began Anthony Eden’s health broke under the
on October 29 and Anglo-French strain, and the Prime Minister resigned
bombing raids struck Egypt the in January 1957.
367
Prepared for nuclear attack
Dressed in full gear, members of the Civil Defence
Corps’ Technical Reconnaissance Unit test for
radiation as part of a civil-defense exercise at Bristol
on February 10, 1951. Such rehearsals were
undertaken in anticipation of nuclear strikes.
T H E CO L D WA R
B
audience in Missouri of an “Iron Curtain” ritain‘s Labour government of planners produced estimates of Britain’s United States, Canada, and 10 European countries—to
dividing Europe. Britain supported US President 1945, and in particular its fiercely inevitable near-extermination in the collectively defend against attacks on member nations.
Truman’s fight against communism in 1947. In anticommunist Foreign Secretary event of a nuclear war.
1948–49, Britain and the United States staged Ernest Bevin, feared a Soviet invasion obvious. Unable to afford its own
the Berlin airlift to West Berlin, which had of western Europe. Although Bevin Espionage nuclear ballistic missiles, Britain had to
been placed under Soviet blockade. In April 1949, also encouraged cooperation between The secrecy surrounding nuclear beg the US for its Polaris missile to arm
Britain became a founding member of the North European countries, he saw the support weapons and the brinkmanship of British submarines. During the Cuban
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which of the United States—the world’s only nuclear confrontation encouraged Missile Crisis of October 1962, the most
committed the United States to defend western nuclear power at the time—as vital. The espionage, and Britain was shown to dangerous moment of the Cold War,
Europe against Soviet aggression. North Atlantic Treaty Organization have been penetrated by Soviet agents the United States effectively ignored
(NATO), founded at the heart of its the British government. Britain was in
in 1949, was a Establishment. In the front line of US nuclear defenses
triumph for British 1951, Guy Burgess against the Soviet Union, without any
KEY MOMENT diplomacy. The and Donald control over United States’ policies.
payment in return Maclean, who had
THE ALDERMASTON MARCH
for Britain was both worked at the
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament that it support British Embassy in AF TER
(CND) was founded in 1957. It hoped the United States Washington, fled
that by persuading the British government when the Korean to Moscow to
to renounce nuclear weapons it could War broke out in avoid arrest. Their By the end of the 1960s Britain abandoned
trigger general disarmament worldwide. 1950, contributing associate, Kim pretensions to an independent nuclear
At Easter 1958, CND mounted a march substantially to the Philby, once a deterrent and accepted its place as a
from London to the Atomic Weapons US-led United leading figure in subordinate in an American-led alliance.
Research Establishment at Aldermaston, Britain’s Secret
Berkshire. Later, the march was reversed Cambridge spies Intelligence BRITAIN SIDELINED
in direction, and became an annual ritual Four of the Soviet agents Service, also When the United States and the Soviet Union
of protest, attracting a growing number recruited at Cambridge defected to the embarked on arms limitation talks in 1969,
of mostly young demonstrators. The University in the 1930s Soviet Union in Britain was sidelined. In the 1980s, Cold War
last significant Aldermaston march was included, clockwise from 1963. Much later tensions flared as US cruise missiles stationed
in 1963, though CND itself remains top left, Anthony Blunt, it was revealed in Britain provoked protests. Prime Minister
active today. Donald Maclean, Kim that Anthony Margaret Thatcher, 382–83 ❯❯, aggressively
Philby, and Guy Burgess. Blunt, once opposed Soviet communism, yet negotiations
Keeper of the from 1986 that ended the Cold War were held
Nations forces that fought North Korea Queen’s Pictures, had also been a spy. exclusively between the Soviets and the US.
and China to a standstill in the costly Whether or not this was evidence of
three-year conflict. the decay of Britain’s ruling elite, it
Despite cultivating its “special certainly annoyed Britain’s US allies.
relationship” with the United States, The purpose of Britain’s independent
Britain also intended to remain a great nuclear deterrent was to maintain great
power. Thus, in January 1947, a secret power status, but in the 1960s Britain’s
Cabinet committee decided that Britain subordination to the United States was
would develop its own atom bomb.
Britain’s first nuclear device was
exploded in 1952. A nuclear strike
force, the V bombers—Valiants, Victors,
12 MILLION The
number
of people in Britain who might be killed
and Vulcans—came into service during in the first few days of an all-out nuclear IRONIC DECLASSIFIED NUCLEAR BUNKER SIGN
1955–58, capable of destroying Russian war, according to a worst-case estimate
cities. Meanwhile, British civil defense by the Ministry of Defence in 1968.
“We’ve got to have [the atom The Avro Blue Steel air-launched missile was built for
Britain’s V bombers in the 1960s. Its effectiveness was
fortunately never tested in action.
369
1914–PRESENT
B E F O R E
END TO RATIONING
The end of austerity was symbolized by
the end of wartime rationing. Gas rationing
came to an end in 1950. The Conservatives
ended rationing for tea, candy, sugar,
and meat, which was the last item to be
de-rationed, in July 1954.
LESS NATIONALIZATION
The Conservative government denationalized
the iron and steel industry in 1953 and road
haulage in 1954. It left unchanged the Welfare
State and the mixed economy created by the
Labour government ❮❮ 360–61, with much of
British industry still under state control.
HAROLD MACMILLAN
The catchphrase “You’ve never had it so good!”, adapted from a speech by Harold Macmillan in 1957,
sums up how many British people felt about life in the 1950s and early 1960s. Rising wages and near
full employment brought security and growing prosperity, expressed in ownership of consumer goods.
I
n 1951, the average wage of an adult 21st century—only a minority owned modest aspiration to rent a home with
HAROLD MACMILLAN AS PRIME MINISTER male in Britain was £8 6s (£8.30) a a refrigerator or a telephone—but an inside toilet and a bath—in 1951,
week; a decade later it had risen to to those who had lived through the one-third of British homes had no
Harold Macmillan was educated at Eton, £15 7s (£15.35). With price inflation Depression and the war, financial bathroom. The Conservative (Tory)
fought in the trenches in World War I, and modest, this near doubling of pay, security and new consumer goods were governments of the 1950s built a higher
represented a northern constituency combined with full highly satisfactory volume of public housing than their
during the Depression. His experiences
made him a “one-nation” Tory, committed
to full employment and welfare. He was
employment,
brought a striking
change in living
6.9 MILLION The
number
of households across Britain that owned
and liberating, and
most people were
immune to the
Labour predecessors, although with
some sacrifice of quality. Old inner-city
slums were demolished, and their
also a flamboyant showman, a quality that standards for most a television set in the late 1950s. easy sneers of population was emptied into freshly
served him well as Britain entered the age Britons. Seeking to intellectuals railing built suburban public housing or New
of television. Taking over as Prime Minister win a general election in 1957, Prime against shallow materialist aspirations. Towns such as Corby, Harlow, and
after the Suez debacle, he won an Minister Harold Macmillan rightly For the better off, the drive for home Hemel Hempstead. Although this move
impressive election victory in 1959. He described Britain as enjoying “a state of ownership of the 1930s resumed in the was criticized for breaking up working-
retired as premier in 1963, due to illness. prosperity such as we have never had 1950s. Houses were affordable, and by class communities, it transformed living
In the 1980s, he was critical of Margaret in my lifetime—or indeed in the history 1961, more than 40 percent of the conditions and was broadly popular
Thatcher’s abrasive brand of Toryism. of this country.” Living conditions were population owned their own homes. with those rehoused, who could now
still austere by the standards of the Few well-off people fulfilled a more enjoy a new-found privacy, cleanliness,
370
N EVER HAD IT SO GOOD
AF TER
CHANGE NEEDED
The need for the modernization of Britain
was an important theme of public debate in
the early 1960s. Sir Alec Douglas Home, who
succeeded Macmillan as Prime Minister in 1963,
was out of touch with the modern world and
modern technology. Nevertheless, Labour won
only a small majority of the popular vote and
seats in Parliament in October 1964. It won a
larger majority in another election in 1966.
LABOUR POLICIES
Road to progress The Wilson government made little attempt to
The M1 motorway follow socialist policies. Labour’s commitment
opened in 1959, and it to economic planning proved ineffectual.
became a symbol of the Instead, the government was preoccupied with
modernization of Britain Britain’s deteriorating financial position,
at this period. Although which led to a devaluation of the pound in 1967,
car ownership was rapidly and with the need to keep wage rises down to an
expanding, only one in affordable level. An attempt to curb the power
three families had a car, of the trade unions failed 376–77 ❯❯.
leaving plenty of space
on the road.
Family viewing New arrivals In the 1950s, labor shortages led to the Conservative governments had adopted
By the end of the 1950s, television West Indian immigrants arrive at recruitment of West Indians to staff the basic tenets of Keynesian demand
had replaced the radio as family Victoria Station in London in 1956. National Health Service hospitals and management economics, accepting a
entertainment in a majority of British By then, almost 50,000 West Indians public transport. The immigrants were measure of inflation as the price to
homes. Concerns were frequently were settling in Britain each year, granted right of entry to Britain with pay for maintaining full employment.
expressed about the influence drawn by the availability of jobs in the 1948 British Nationality Act. In Despite the apparent success of this
of TV on children. understaffed public services. 1958, white mobs spearheaded race approach, budgetary policy developed
riots by attacking black residents in into an ever-more juddering stop-go
the Notting Hill district of London. An alternation of the brake and accelerator,
and a yard. Economies from the late The focal activity for the nuclear family Immigration Act passed in 1962 failed and the economy cooled or stimulated
1950s saw apartments built instead of was watching television. Kick-started to stem the inward flow from the as inflation or unemployment
houses, and the unpopular tower blocks by the televised coronation in 1953, Commonwealth or halt racial tensions. threatened. By the 1960s, it was
transformed the skyline of British cities. owning or renting a television had In the 1950s, homosexuals were obvious that satisfying popular
become common in all classes by the targeted by the police in a draconian expectations of rising living standards
Culture and conflict late 1950s. Movie audiences halved campaign that brought more than was going to be problematic, and that
The values of a secure home-centered in the decade. The advent of 5,000 prosecutions for consensual sex the performance of the British economy
family life were celebrated, and the commercial television in 1955 was a acts. The liberal Wolfenden Report of was not going to be good enough.
ideal “housewife and mother” image crucial moment, breaching the BBC 1957 was a reaction against this wave of
of womanhood was promoted by monopoly on broadcasting that had persecution, but it would be another 10
magazines and advertising. There had lasted since the 1920s. Although years before its call for decriminalization
been a brief bulge in the birth rate in independent television was at first was embodied in legislation.
1947 as men returned from war, but it careful to court respectability, for
was from the late 1950s that Britain example with some serious drama Low economic growth
experienced the “baby-boom.” By programs, competition for viewers Despite the 1950s being a period when
1964, every woman was, on average, inevitably led to more of mass many Britons were doing well for
bearing three children. entertainment and less “worthiness.” themselves, due to the Welfare State
and a nascent consumer society,
growing prosperity was no antidote to
“No more running out for a bag an increasing sense of national decline.
British industry was not performing
well in comparison to its German and
371
1914–PRESENT
T
he defining characteristic of The decline in respect for authority and considerable disrepute to the
Britain in the 1960s was the blend was one of the most obvious changes in ruling classes. The defeat of the
of a welfare state with a consumer the British mentality. In the 1950s, the much-ridiculed Conservatives in
society, of “cradle-to-grave” social mass media banned jokes about religion a general election in 1964 brought
security and full employment with or the monarchy, and government no relief to politicians, for the Labour
enterprise and social mobility. Society ministers never faced hostile interviews
was more egalitarian than it had been
in the past and people were more
prosperous than they had ever been.
or enquiries into their private lives. This
was abandoned in the satire boom of the
early 1960s. The theatrical review
400 MILLION The
number
of people who watched the worldwide TV
The spread of home and car ownership Beyond the Fringe, the magazine Private broadcast of The Beatles’ All You Need Is
was accompanied by consumer spending, Eye, and the TV program That Was the Love in June 1967. It was the first global
evident in the growing popularity of Week That Was breached traditional satellite TV program.
package vacations to Europe. The restraints—for example, by having an
country’s popular leisure activities actor caricature the Prime Minister. government of Harold Wilson was
centered around the home: television, In 1963, the burgeoning culture subjected to a torrent of ridicule
gardening, and do-it-yourself home of disrespect was gifted a first-rate through its six years in office.
improvement. Despite growing political scandal, revolving around War
prosperity, Britain did not become Secretary John Profumo’s involvement Popular culture
complacent. Instead, a modest but with Christine Keeler. The unravelling Britain’s youth and pop culture
growing affluence was accompanied of this complex affair brought explicit displayed the same spirit of irreverence
by innovation in culture and lifestyles. sexual references to news broadcasts that animated political satire. Youth
was a burgeoning market, not because
The Rolling Stones most young people had a lot of money,
Marketed as a more but because they were prepared to
rebellious alternative spend all the money they had on
to The Beatles, The records and clothes. Bright young
Rolling Stones seemed working-class men and women,
genuinely subversive beneficiaries of new educational
and threatening to many opportunities in the postwar grammar
conservative parents schools and art colleges, found openings
in the mid-1960s. Forty for ambition in pop music, acting,
years later, lead singer fashion, or photography. However, the
Mick Jagger was awarded relevance of class was limited—Mick
a knighthood. Jagger and John Lennon were from
middle-class backgrounds, and many
prime movers of pop culture were
B E F O R E private-school educated.
The mass hysteria of Beatlemania
in 1963 was the point at which the
There were stirrings of a new spirit in world began to picture a different
Britain from the mid-1950s. Established Britain. The Beatles took the United
conventions of public decency and respect States by storm the following year,
for authority were increasingly challenged. opening the way for a series of
other creative British bands.
ANTI-CONVENTION
In 1956, the success of John Osborne’s play Swinging London
Look Back in Anger—a tirade against the In 1966, Time magazine created
hypocrisy of British society—led to the the label “Swinging London”,
invention of the label “Angry Young Men” for and the fashion shops of
writers critical of the established order. Carnaby Street became a tourist
In the same year, the arrival of American attraction. Fashion designer
rock ’n’ roll in Britain occasioned some Mary Quant’s mini-skirt
un-British riotous misbehavior by young fans. became an icon of the decade.
In 1960, censorship was challenged by the
publication of an unexpurgated Penguin edition Fashion icon
of D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The Lesley Hornby, better known as
book was cleared of obscenity in a landmark trial. Twiggy, became Britain’s most
prominent fashion model in 1966,
LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER aged 16. Her working-class origins
and androgynous figure made her a
perfect icon of Swinging London.
372
B R I TA I N G O E S P O P
AF TER
In many British households the The swinging sixites
generation gap between the attitudes The film Blow-Up, directed by
and tastes of children and their parents Michelangelo Antonioni in London In a general election held in June 1970, the
was a daily reality. Schools resisted in 1966, is a typical foreigner’s view Labour government suffered a shock defeat
the fashions for long hair for boys of Britain at the time, and focuses to Ted Heath’s Conservatives. This did not,
and short skirts for girls. on fashion photography, casual sex, however, mark any sharp change of
The Pill became widely available and recreational drugs. direction in society or culture.
in the later 1960s, but there is little
evidence of a sexual revolution. through due parliamentary CONTINUITY OF POPULAR CULTURE
Recreational drugs circulated—pills process. The House of The end of the 1960s cultural moment could
early in the decade, pot later—but Commons voted to abolish be symbolized by the break up of The Beatles
alcohol remained the most widely capital punishment in 1965, in 1970, or by the trial of radical journalists
favored intoxicant. The drug-fueled homosexual acts between of the “underground” magazine Oz for
world of free love and psychedelic consenting adults were obscenity in 1971. Britain continued to earn its
style that centered around London decriminalized in 1967, reputation as an innovative center of pop
“underground” magazines and music abortion was legalized, and music and fashion. Political policies were not
clubs of the late 1960s was very by the end of the decade, reversed. For example, the transition from
much a minority scene. the divorce laws had been grammar and secondary modern schools
liberalized. Also important to comprehensives initiated by the Labour
Protests and legislation were the first Race government accelerated under Conservative
As in other countries, Relations Acts, which Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher.
Britain underwent a banned all forms of
large-scale expansion of discrimination against RISE OF REVOLUTIONARY GROUPS
university education in the Britain’s growing immigrant population. However, a relatively liberal Conservative
1960s. British students singularly failed, These reforms were hotly contested by benevolence reigned in Britain—typified government faced a sharp rise in political
however, to form the revolutionary those with more conservative attitudes. by the support expressed by The Times, radicalism. As well as suffering the overflow
force seen in Europe and the United Groups such as Mary Whitehouse’s a newspaper of the Establishment, for from violence in Northern Ireland 378–79 ❯❯,
States. An anti-Vietnam War National Viewers’ and Listeners’ members of The Rolling Stones arrested Britain had its own urban terrorist group in the
demonstration in London, in March Association campaigned against the on drugs charges in 1967. Essentially Angry Brigade, which carried out a score of
1968, was the sole example of violent relaxation of censorship and general secure, Britain accepted youthful bombings from 1970 to 1972. Various
protest. Real liberalization did come, moral decadence. In 1968, Conservative rebellion for what it mostly was—fun. revolutionary Marxist groups, barely present in
MP Enoch Powell articulated white British universities in 1968, attracted substantial
carefree,
and the United States, a general outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square.
sinless excess,
of drugs,
music,
revolution…
of the ever-
exciting
tomorrow.”
JONATHAN GREEN, DAYS IN THE LIFE,
A 1960% RETROSPECTIVE
373
Beatlemania
Policemen struggle to restrain Beatles fans outside Buckingham Palace as
the “Fab Four” receive their MBEs on October 26, 1965. The decoration of
pop stars—officially for services to exports, though some said it was to
improve Prime Minister Wilson’s popularity—was unprecedented and
widely criticized. Some older recipients returned their MBEs in protest.
1914–PRESENT
B E F O R E
After 1945, the government and employers trade unions. In 1969, opposition from union
in Britain bought social peace with pay rises, leaders blocked proposals to impose legal limits
full employment, and welfare payments. on strike action. The election of the Conservative
However, by the start of the 1970s, this government of Edward Heath in 1970 led to
deal was breaking down. redoubled confrontation with the unions.
Conflict in Society
Britain entered choppy waters in the 1970s as the postwar economic boom stalled, with high inflation
and rising unemployment. Social and political conflicts raged against this background of economic
uncertainty. Militant trade unions humiliated governments, while political activists demanded various
kinds of liberation and equality. Some people expressed fears of a breakdown of liberal democracy.
T
he Conservative government led declared a three-day week to save fuel Women’s liberation
by Ted Heath from 1970 to 1974 and called a general election, which he Feminist demonstrators imaginatively
had to deal with a world economic narrowly lost. Harold Wilson’s incoming represent a woman as crucified by
crisis. It also faced the hostility of trade Labour government bought the miners’ the demands of sexual objectification,
unions determined to win large pay cooperation with large pay rises. housework, and shopping.
rises, regardless of the government’s
efforts to control inflation. In 1972, the Left-wing militancy
first national coal miners’ strike since Ideas emerging from the international
the 1920s blacked out cities with daily student revolt in France during the
power cuts. Mass picketing prevented late 1960s inspired trade union
the use of fuel stocks, and the miners militancy. Marxism returned to fashion,
only went back to work after winning a and notions of revolutionary socialism
substantial wage increase. In the winter and workers’ power inspired influential
of 1973–74, a cut in oil supplies minority groups, such as the Socialist
resulting from the Yom Kippur War in Workers Party (SWP). However, the
the Middle East coincided with more right-wing National Front also increased
industrial action by miners. Heath its membership and staged provocative
Anti-Asian
demonstration
Protestors oppose the
government decision to
admit Asians expelled
from Uganda to Britain,
in 1972. Their hero was
Enoch Powell, an MP
noted for opposing a
multiracial society.
376
CON F LICT I N SOCI ET Y
12.9 MILLION
The average number of working days lost
ended disastrously in the 1978–79
“winter of discontent.”
“The cosy world we were told uphill struggle. A mere 23 women MPs
were elected to Parliament in February
nationwide stoppage by truck drivers threatened
food and fuel supplies. Strikes by public service
workers followed. This period ruined Labour’s
377
1914–PRESENT
F
rom the 1920s to the 1960s, British
KEY MOMENT
governments paid little attention to
Northern Ireland. The Protestant BLOODY SUNDAY
majority was allowed to discriminate
against Catholics in areas such as public On January 30, 1972, the
housing and employment. In 1967, to Northern Ireland Civil Rights
oppose discrimination, the Northern Association marched in Derry
Ireland Civil Rights Association was to protest against internment.
founded. Its demonstrations met a The task of maintaining order
brutal response from Protestant police was assigned to a battalion of
and extremists. In January 1969, a the British Parachute Regiment.
vicious attack on marchers at Burntollet After some stone-throwing by
Bridge led to battles between Catholics youths, and reports of sniper
and police in the Bogside area of Derry. fire, the “Paras” took the
The Northern Ireland government offensive. They opened fire,
failed to halt the rise of Protestant shooting 13 people dead (one
extremism or Catholic protest. On more later died of wounds). All
August 12–14, 1969, violence in Derry were unarmed. The report of
Celebrating violence spread to Belfast, with Protestant police the Saville Inquiry in 2010
A mural on a house in Northern Ireland celebrates the and rioters attacking Catholic districts. described the killings as
Ulster Volunteer Force, a Protestant paramilitary group On August 15, British troops were sent “unjustified and unjustifiable.”
that killed more than 400 people during The Troubles. in to halt the violence, in which eight
378
TROU B LES I N NORTH ER N I R EL AN D
AF TER
Bloody Sunday, in January 1972 (see extended its terrorist campaign to Protestants responded with a general
BOX), increased Catholic support for the mainland Britain. The worst incident, strike, while UVF bomb attacks in the
IRA. It seemed that nothing could stem in November 1974, saw 19 killed in the Republic of Ireland killed 33. Unable to In the 1990s, the deadlock over Northern
the rising violence. bombing of two pubs in Birmingham; overcome Protestant resistance, Britain Ireland was broken. The Good Friday
six men were soon arrested and resumed direct rule and abandoned the agreement of April 1998 raised hopes of
New strategies convicted, but were later proved political settlement. an end to terrorism and sectarian violence.
Desperate for a solution, the British innocent. Meanwhile, Britain tried a From 1975, the intensity of the killings
government placed the province under political solution: a Protestant and subsided. The IRA, well organized and TOWARD PEACE
direct rule from Westminster, well armed, was capable of Buoyed by electoral support from Northern
and, in early July, flew IRA sustaining a terrorist campaign Ireland Catholics, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams
leaders to London for secret indefinitely, as it proved by began to seek a political route to achieving
peace talks. No agreement was occasional spectacular acts, nationalist aims. The IRA continued its terrorist
reached and mayhem followed. such as the murder of Lord campaign—for example, in a mortar attack on
Fifteen British soldiers were Mountbatten in August 1979, on Downing Street in 1991, and the bombing of the
killed in eight days, and, on the same day as killing 18 British City of London in 1993. John Major’s British
July 21, the IRA exploded soldiers at Warrenpoint. However, government entered into negotiations with
19 bombs in central Belfast. it was a different kind of IRA both Sinn Féin and the Irish government. Much
Catholic opinion was shocked by pressure that radically altered the progress had been made by 1997, when Tony
the bombings, which killed and Northern Ireland political scene in Blair was elected British Prime Minister. His
maimed Catholic and Protestant the 1980s. In 1981, IRA inmates appointment of Mo Mowlam as Secretary of State
alike. Britain seized the moment at the high-security Maze prison for Northern Ireland started a decisive peace
as support for the gunmen began a hunger strike in pursuit offensive. For the first time, Catholic and
flagged and launched a large- of political-prisoner status. While Protestant extremists, many serving life prison
scale military operation to reoccupy the Anti-riot duty Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sentences, were included in negotiations.
no-go areas. From July 1972, the rate British soldiers in riot gear prepare for action in refused to negotiate, first Bobby Sands The 1998 Good Friday Agreement reprised
of bombings and shooting halved, and Northern Ireland. Rubber bullets and CS gas were and then nine other IRA prisoners the power-sharing arrangement of 1973–74,
compared with the 467 killed in 1972, among weapons deployed against rioters. starved themselves to death. For the but with a feasible plan for disarming terrorists
the 1973 death toll was down to 250. first time, Sinn Féin, the political wing on both sides of the sectarian divide. The
This was seen an “acceptable level” of Catholic power-sharing executive was of the IRA, won mass support among killing of 28 people in a bomb attack by IRA
violence by the British government. installed at Stormont, and in May 1974 Northern Ireland Catholic voters. dissidents in Omagh, in August 1998, showed
Increasingly, the killings were sectarian, the Irish government’s right to a say in Although not evident at the time, how difficult it would be to uphold a settlement.
with gruesome murders of Catholics by Northern Ireland’s affairs was recognized this shift was to open the way to a
Protestants and vice versa. The IRA by the Sunningdale Agreement. Northern Ireland settlement.
1914–PRESENT
T
he most distinctive feature of on policy. New trade union legislation
Thatcher’s years in power, from outlawed mass picketing and
1979 to 1990 (see pp.382–83), introduced financial penalties for
was the abandonment of any effort illegal strikes. In 1981, Thatcher made
toward consensus. Her government’s concessions to avoid a confrontation
style was confrontational and opponents with the powerful National Union of
were to be overcome, not won over. Mineworkers (NUM), but by 1984 she
During her early years in power, she welcomed a national miners’ strike as a
presided over a widespread collapse of chance for a decisive confrontation.
British manufacturing. High interest The defeat of the miners in a year-long
rates, a strong pound, and cuts in strike inspired a change of attitude in
public spending employers. Strikes
combined to
destroy struggling
businesses. As
397 The number of seats in
Parliament won by the
Conservatives in the election of 1983,
were resisted, with
ruthless use of the
new legal powers,
CARS WAITING FOR GASOLINE factories closed, giving them an overall majority of 144. and terms and Bang and crash
the number of The opposition was split; Labour won conditions were Worried traders on the stock exchange watch fortunes
pound made full employment impossible to unemployed more only 28 percent of the popular vote. increasingly disappear in the crash of October 1987. The crash came
sustain and forced cuts in government than doubled to imposed on just a year after the deregulation of the London stock
spending ❮❮ 376–77. One key problem was over 3 million. Working-class employees without negotiation. market in the “big bang.”
reliance on imported oil from the Middle East, communities that had been created The discontent of the unemployed,
which led to queues at gas pumps in 1973–74. by the Industrial Revolution of the especially black youths who were condition that Britain had reached
19th century and had survived the also victims of racism, spilled over in the 1970s (see pp.376–77). The
Depression were finally ruined. into riots in Brixton and Toxteth. crackdown on strikes was quite widely
The Conservatives’ ability to carry welcomed and few people regretted the
Miners’ strike Curbs on unionism through a radical program was helped mass privatization of the nationalized
Strikers confront police during the miners’ strike Trade unions might have been expected by a split in the Labour Party in 1981, industries in the mid-1980s—better-off
of 1984–85 at the Orgreave coking plant in June to lead resistance to this process, but when the Social Democrats were members of the working class lined up
1984. The government made ruthless use of from the outset Thatcher ended the founded. They were also able to exploit to buy shares in British Telecom or
police powers in crushing the strike. convention of consulting union leaders widespread popular disillusion with the British Gas. Working-class families also
T U R N TO T H E R I G H T
safe… to cities was as stark as in the 1930s. and put in question the wisdom of
encouraging ordinary citizens to invest
Boom and bust their savings in shares.
pronounce the Britain’s image on the world stage
improved in the 1980s. Once perceived Thatcher’s influence
brain death as the “sick man of Europe”, Britain Yet, if Britain’s financial problems were
not solved, a definite change in attitudes
381
1914–PRESENT
Margaret Thatcher
“ With huge courage
and perseverance, she
turned Britain into a
different country.”
DAVID CAMERON, SPEECH, JANUARY 30, 2006
M
argaret Thatcher was Britain’s and unemployment was a sign
most controversial prime of idleness. Neither the sufferings
minister of the 20th century. of the Depression nor the collectivist
Her personal influence on the direction sentiment of wartime
taken by British society and the British affected her attitudes.
economy in the 1980s was decisive. Winning a place at
She was a person of narrow views Oxford University
and limited sympathies—even one from grammar school,
her closest aides and greatest admirers, she later became
Ferdinand Mount, admitted that he president of its
“never became fond of her.” But she
was a fiercely effective political
Early life
Thatcher’s father was a shop owner in
Grantham, Lincolnshire, prominent
in local politics, and a great influence
on her. Like him, she felt none of the
sentimental affection for the British
working classes found among many
Tory grandees of the upper classes. To
her, poverty was a personal failing,
382
M A R G A R E T T H ATC H E R
“There is no TIMELINE
■ October 13, 1925 Born Margaret Hilda Roberts
women, and
■ October 1959 Enters the House of Commons
as Conservative MP for Finchley, the
Return from the Falklands War the clear failings of the Labour constituency she would represent until 1992.
Crowds greet the returning Task Force after victory in the
Falklands War of 1982. Thatcher’s unwavering response
government of Jim Callaghan helped
her to win a comfortable majority. At … families.” ■ 1970–74 Serves as Secretary of State for
Education and Science in the Conservative
to Argentinian aggression aroused patriotic fervor and first, her tenure of office looked set government of Edward Heath.
transformed her standing in opinion polls at the time. to be brief. As unemployment and MARGARET THATCHER, INTERVIEW, ■ February 11, 1975 Elected as leader of the
SEPTEMBER 1987 Conservative Party.
Conservative Association. Progress for a
woman in the Conservative Party was
hard, but persistence and talent saw her As her hold on power tightened from
win the parliamentary constituency of 1983 onward, Thatcher initiated radical
Finchley in the 1959 general election. change. The privatization of
As Education Secretary in the early nationalized industries, tax cuts, and
1970s, she displayed her ability to the freeing of capital markets changed
infuriate opponents. For abolishing the face of Britain. She convinced a
free school milk, she was abused as new generation that the pursuit of
“Margaret Thatcher, Milk Snatcher”, wealth was good, and that dependence
ironically making her name memorable on the welfare state was bad. She had
to a broad public. After Ted Heath had no sympathy for those made jobless by
been humiliated by the trade unions, her economic policies, or for the miners
and lost two general elections in 1974, and other workers crushed by her
she was put forward as a candidate by crusade against trade unions. Her
Conservative MPs seeking to challenge instincts were authoritarian, and she
him and sharply change policy. To employed police power ruthlessly in the CAMPAIGNING IN THE 1950S
general astonishment, she beat not only suppression of strikes and riots. When
■ January 19, 1976 Makes a speech accusing Soviet
Heath, but also the experienced and the Greater London Council became a Union of attempting world dominance, leading a
moderate William Whitelaw. Choosing center of opposition to her rule, she Soviet publication to dub her “the Iron Lady”.
the first-ever woman party leader abolished it. Her willpower and courage
■ May 4, 1979 Becomes Prime Minister after
surprised the Conservatives, who had were unquestionable, whether
winning a 43-seat majority in the general election.
hardly intended to make a statement shrugging off an attempt by the IRA to
about gender and politics. It also assassinate her at Brighton in 1984, or ■ 1981 Soaring inflation and unemployment and
wrong-footed militant feminists, Brighton bombing facing down revolt by members of her collapsing industrial output, make Thatcher’s
government immensely unpopular.
confronted with the singular success In October 1984, an IRA bomb exploded in the Grand Cabinet. Like no Prime Minister since
of a woman with whose views they Hotel, Brighton, where Conservatives attending a party Winston Churchill, she cut a figure on ■ April–June 1982 Leads Britain to victory over
almost entirely disagreed. conference were sleeping. Thatcher, the main target of the world stage, convincing foreigners Argentina in the Falklands War.
the bomb, escaped, but five other people died. that Britain was again a power to be ■ June 9, 1983 Reelected as Prime Minister with
Election victory reckoned with. Her downfall came a landslide 144-seat majority in Parliament.
Through the 1970s, Thatcher absorbed inflation soared in 1980–81, her through her stubborn persistence ■ March 1984–March 1985 Defeats a strike by
the ideas of thinkers who rejected the popularity ratings dropped to in introducing the poll tax, which the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) (see
post-war consensus built around the among the lowest ever for a alienated much public opinion, pp.380–81), ending the era of trade union power.
welfare state, Keynesian economics, Prime Minister. It was and her anti-European ■ October 12, 1984 Escapes unscathed when
and full employment. Control of the typical of Thatcher that gestures, which alienated the IRA blow up the Brighton hotel, where
money supply, unfettered free-market her response was an leading members of her she was staying for the Conservative Party
capitalism, and an end to state intransigent speech Cabinet and party. annual conference.
interference in the economy were to a Conservative By the time a party
■ November 1984 Initiates the policy of
to provide an answer to Britain’s Party conference revolt unseated her privatization of nationalized industries, beginning
persistent economic problems. As declaring: “The in 1990, however, with the sale of British Telecom to private investors.
Thatcher later said, the roots of her lady’s not for she had changed
■ June 11, 1987 Thatcher wins her third general
beliefs lay rather in the principles that turning!” Then Britain for good.
election, with a working majority of 102 seats.
her small-town background had taught came the Falklands
her: “an honest day’s work for an War (see pp.384–85). Thatcher puppet ■ April 1990 Faces opposition on the introduction
honest day’s pay; live within your Thatcher’s resolute This puppet of Margaret of the Community Charge, or poll tax, in England
and Wales.
means; pay your bills on time; support nationalism won her a Thatcher, from the TV show
the police.” Neither Thatcher’s military victory and a Spitting Image, was typical of the ■ November 22, 1990 Announces her resignation
personality nor her policies were popular following that she hostile caricature to which she was and is replaced as Prime Minister by John Major.
especially attractive to voters in never lost in virtually all subjected. Her opponents disliked her
the 1979 general election, but of her years in office. demeanor as much as her policies.
383
1914–PRESENT
Wars in Peacetime
B E F O R E
I
commitments were extensive, including n April 1980, Britain’s Special Air war came in April 1982, it was from in ordering a submarine to sink the
fighting colonial wars, contributing to the North Service (SAS) stormed the Iranian another direction altogether. Argentina, Argentinian battleship Belgrano, as
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, and Embassy in London to free hostages governed by a military junta, occupied the Task Force approached the islands,
developing an independent nuclear deterrent. taken by Arab gunmen. The following the Falkland Islands, a tiny and remote showed the character of a natural
In 1963, Britain spent 10 percent of its year a group of women set up a peace remnant of the British Empire, situated war leader. Although the much reduced
national wealth on defense (the comparable camp to protest against the planned in the South Atlantic. Royal Navy was stretched to the limit
figure for 2008 was 2.5 percent). This level of stationing of American cruise missiles When Prime Minister Margaret by the demands of the operation,
cost was unsustainable. Commitments were with nuclear warheads at Greenham Thatcher dispatched a Task Force to losing four warships in fierce air
reduced by granting independence to colonies Common in Berkshire. These events retake the islands, an old-fashioned and sea battles, British troops were
and abandoning a global role to concentrate illustrated the primary military war proved immensely popular with successfully deployed on the island.
on Europe and the contribution to NATO. preoccupations of the early 1980s: a surprisingly jingoistic British public. Once ashore, the Royal Marines and
terror attacks, which Britain had Thatcher avoided a Suez-style Paras demonstrated outstanding fitness
MILITARY DOWN-SIZING developed great expertise in countering, diplomatic disaster (see pp.366–67) and fighting skills. The Argentinians
Since the late 1960s, the Royal Navy faced and the nuclear confrontation with by carefully securing American support were defeated in June, with almost
drastic spending cuts, while the Army the Soviet Union and its allies. When for the military action. Her ruthlessness 10,000 soldiers surrendering. Thatcher’s
became a much smaller body of regulars.
The Army’s elite units, such as the SAS and Occupying Iraq
the Paras, gained an international British soldiers conduct a long-range desert patrol in Iraq
reputation. Though trained to fight as part in 2006. Jalal Talabani, Iraqi President from 2005, praised
of NATO forces, its combat role in the 1970s the British for having come “to liberate Iraqi people from
was mostly to quell the “Troubles” the worst kind of dictatorship.”
in Northern Ireland ❮❮ 378–79.
WA R S I N P E AC ET I M E
AF TER
Welcome to Kosovo
British troops entered Kosovo as part of a NATO-led
peacekeeping force in 1999 after the withdrawal of Despite ending its military campaign
Serb forces. They were greeted enthusiastically by against Iraq in 2009, Britain’s ongoing
the local Kosovan population. contribution to the war against the Taliban
in Afghanistan severely stretched its
United States in 2001, there were few military resources.
dissenting voices when Blair spoke of
standing “shoulder-to-shoulder” with CAMPAIGN IN AFGHANISTAN
the American people against Islamic Almost 10,000 British military personnel were
terrorism. The subsequent American engaged in operations in Afghanistan in 2010.
invasion of Afghanistan, in which By December, more than 300 had been killed
Britain played a supporting role, was in action. The UN-sanctioned operation did
widely accepted as a reasonable action, not provoke the same political opposition as
overthrowing a Taliban regime that was the Iraq invasion, but there were persistent
allied to al-Qaeda terrorists and that complaints of British forces having to do their
was oppressive, especially in its job with inadequate or outdated equipment.
treatment of women.
The British government found itself BUDGET CUTS
tied into US foreign policy, though with David Cameron’s coalition government
popularity with voters soared, blatant aggression of the Iraqis, the no real influence over its direction. The 386–87 ❯❯ announced defense cuts that
guaranteeing her reelection in 1983, UN endorsement of the use of force, right-wing administration of President would make a repeat of the Falklands War or
and Britain’s international standing the swiftness of the victory, and the George W. Bush embarked on an the invasion of Iraq impossible because of
was on the whole enhanced. low coalition casualties combined to aggressive “war on terrorism” that reductions in the army’s strength and resources.
make the war largely uncontroversial ignored basic human rights and on a However, Britain’s reliance on nuclear
Crisis in the Middle East with the British public. policy of intimidation of “rogue states” deterrence was confirmed by the renewal
Britain’s next major military action was that led in 2003 to the invasion of Iraq. of the Trident missile system.
in the Middle East. Any illusions that Defending human rights Blair was pulled along in the wake of
the end of the Cold War in the late The break-up of Yugoslavia in the American action, for which he proved a
1980s would be followed by an era of 1990s brought warfare to Europe for
world peace were dispelled when Iraqi the first time since 1945. In early 1999,
dictator Saddam Hussein invaded efforts to find a negotiated settlement
Kuwait in 1990. With the blessing of between Serbian leader Slobodan
the United Nations, the United States Milosevic and a movement seeking
organized a coalition to counter this independence for Kosovo failed. Faced
act of aggression. Britain made a larger with the prospect of the massacre of
military contribution than any other Kosovans by Serb forces, NATO
of America’s allies, with more than embarked upon the first offensive in its SA80 Bullpup assault rifle
40,000 troops deployed, and the RAF 50-year history, launching bomb and The SA80 Bullpup became the standard-issue
and Royal Navy fully involved. Iraqi missile attacks on Serb targets. The British infantry rifle in 1987. It has seen combat
forces were defeated in 1991. The attacks caused considerable civilian use in the Gulf War of 1991, the invasion of Iraq
casualties, but the Serbians were in 2003, and operations in Afghanistan.
War on terror
Blair’s positioning of himself as America’s
closest ally was in line with British
foreign policy since World War II—
the sole exception being the Wilson
government’s refusal to contribute
forces to America’s Vietnam War in the
1960s. After the 9/11 attacks on the
385
1914–PRESENT
B E F O R E
B
y the late 1990s, Britain appeared credit for this rosy economic situation, in the services and financial sector.
to have recovered from the which was the single largest factor in Gross inequalities in wealth were
persistent economic and financial securing further Labour general election highlighted by the bonus culture
The election of Tony Blair as Prime problems that had plagued the country victories in 2001 and 2005. of banks and finance companies,
Minister in May 1997 ended 18 years of for decades. Inflation was below which made lump sum payments to
Conservative rule and ushered in a new 1.5 percent and the unemployment rate The downside employees equivalent to a lifetime’s
era in British political life. around 5.5 percent—both among the Some aspects of the economic earnings for others. Britain was awash
lowest figures in Europe. The British prosperity provided cause for disquiet. with easy money—consumption was
BLAIR’S LEADERSHIP economy boomed, growing in every British manufacturing continued its fueled by credit-card borrowing
As leader of the Labour Party from 1994, Blair quarter of every year during the decade seemingly irreversible decline, although and property prices inflated by the
abandoned its long-standing commitment to 1997–2007. Although wealth was it was compensated by rapid growth availability of cheap mortgages.
the state control of key industries and unequally shared, most The news that the Northern
embraced the wealth-creating potential British people benefited to Rock bank was on the verge of
of free enterprise, in effect accepting the some degree by rising living collapse in 2007 marked the
economic changes wrought by Thatcherism standards, helped by the beginning of the credit crunch
❮❮ 380–81. His “New Labour” won a landslide introduction of a minimum and the end of the long boom.
victory in the 1997 election against John Major’s wage and greater job Inheriting the premiership
Conservatives. At 43, Blair was the youngest opportunities. Government from Blair, Gordon Brown
British Prime Minister in the 20th century. spending on the National found himself at the forefront
Health Service and on of an international effort to
education rose steeply. The stem a global banking collapse,
strength of the pound made taking failing banks into state
it seem unnecessary for ownership at the expense of
Britain to join the European a vast expansion of budgetary
single currency in 2002; deficit and public debt.
Britain was one of only
three European Union Financial meltdown A period of change
states to stay outside the Eurozone. Investors queue to withdraw their money from the The period of Tony Blair’s premiership
Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair and insolvent Northern Rock bank in September 2007. from 1997 to 2007 brought some
his Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon The banking crisis revealed that much of Britain’s radical reforms in Britain’s system of
Brown inevitably took much of the prosperity was built on shaky foundations. government. Since the 1970s, the
AF TER
than acts of protest. Of course, sexism
and homophobia continued to flourish
among individuals and groups who The problem-plagued premiership of
were at odds with the dominant liberal Gordon Brown, lasting from 2007 to 2010,
consensus. The issues of race and was followed by a close-fought general
immigration remained contentious, election and a coalition government of
despite the officially adopted ideology Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
of multiculturalism and generally high
levels of integration. The West Indian A COALITION EMERGES
and Asian presence in Britain was long The Brown administration steered a perilous
established, but the expansion of the path through the economic crisis of 2007–08,
European Union to include the countries avoiding a banking collapse and alleviating
of Eastern Europe in 2004 was followed recession. The negative political effects of the
by a fresh influx of immigrants. In crisis were magnified by a scandal involving
2008, more than one in 10 of the UK MPs’ expenses. In the election of May 2010,
population had been born abroad. David Cameron’s Conservatives won only
London bomb attacks 36 percent of the popular vote and no overall
British-born Hasib Hussain was 18 years old when he to 24 women elected in 1974. This Terrorist threat majority in Parliament. Cameron negotiated
blew up this bus on July 7, 2005, killing 14 people reflected ongoing changes in attitudes The growth of international Islamic a coalition with Nick Clegg’s Liberal
including himself. Suicide bombers also targeted three toward women and their expectations. terrorism and British military Democrats to become Prime Minister, embarking
Underground trains in the rush-hour terrorist attacks. In the first decade of the 21st century, involvement in contentious wars in on a rigorous policy of public spending cuts.
70 percent of British women had paid Afghanistan and Iraq led to concerns
Scottish National Party (SNP) had been employment, one of the highest in the about the allegiance of Britain’s Muslim DAVID CAMERON AND NICK CLEGG
a significant force in British politics. minority. In July 2005, suicide bomb
Blair was not prepared to accept the
SNP’s demand for independence, but
instituted a Scottish Parliament with
£14 BILLION The
total sum
estimated to have been paid in bonuses to
attacks on Underground trains and a
bus in London killed 52 people. Three
of the men responsible for the atrocity
a devolved government exercising workers in the City of London in 2007, with were British-born Muslims. Britain’s
considerable powers in 1999. Wales was more than 4,000 individuals receiving security services reacted to the threat
also given its own assembly. When a personal bonuses in excess of £1 million. of terrorism efficiently, stopping many
Catholic-Protestant power-sharing plots from reaching fruition, but also
executive was made to function in world. Although a lot of these jobs committed serious errors, notably the
Northern Ireland, England was left as the were part-time and women remained killing of the innocent Brazilian Jean
only part of the United Kingdom without under-represented in boardrooms, it Charles de Menezes in the wake of
a devolved parliament and government. was true that many barriers to women’s the 2005 bombings. The use of special
There was also a radical change in advancement had crumbled and gender powers to combat terrorism led to fears
Westminster. All but 92 hereditary roles had become far less sharply defined. of an erosion of civil liberties. Britain in
peers lost their seats in the House of Attitudes to homosexuals also the 21st century was characterized as
Lords in 1999. underwent a radical transformation. much by its profusion of security
To be known to be gay was no longer cameras and large prison population
Evolving attitudes a bar to advancement in politics or as by its tolerance and diversity.
One significant aspect of the 1997 almost any other area of life, and by
election was the number of seats won 2010 the annual Gay Pride marches
by women MPs—119 in all, compared had become popular festivals rather
REFERENCE
388
MONARCHS AND RULERS
PRIME MINISTERS OF BRITAIN 1902–05 Arthur Balfour (C) 1977–79 Jack Lynch (FF)
(W) = Whig (c) = coalition (T) = Tory 1905–08 Sir Henry Campbell–Bannerman (Li) 1979–81 Charles Haughey (FF)
(Li) = Liberal (C) = Conservative (L) = Labour 1908–16 Herbert Henry Asquith (Li) 1981–82 Garret FitzGerald (FG) (c)
1916–22 David Lloyd George (Li) (c) 1982 Charles Haughey (FF)
1721–42 Sir Robert Walpole; (W) 1922–23 Andrew Bonar Law (C) 1982–87 Garret FitzGerald (FG) (c)
1742–43 Spencer Compton (W) 1923–24 Stanley Baldwin (C) 1987–92 Charles Haughey (FF) (c)
1743–54 Henry Pelham (W) 1924–24 Ramsey MacDonald (L) 1992–94 Albert Reynolds (FF) (c)
1754–56 Thomas Pelham–Holles (W) 1924–29 Stanley Baldwin (C) 1994–97 John Bruton (FG) (c)
1756–57 William Cavendish (W) 1929–31 Ramsey MacDonald (L) 1997–2008 Bertie Ahern (FF) (c)
1757–62 Thomas Pelham–Holles (W) 1931–35 Ramsey MacDonald (NLP) (c) 2008– Brian Cowen (FF) (c)
1762–63 John Stuart (T) 1935–37 Stanley Baldwin (C) (c)
1763–65 George Grenville (W) 1937–40 Neville Chamberlain (C) (c)
1765–66 Charles Watson–Wentworth (W) 1940–45 Winston Churchill (C) (c) PRESIDENTS OF IRELAND
1766–68 William Pitt the Elder (W) 1945–51 Clement Attlee (L) (apn) = all–party nomination (U) = Unionist
1768–70 Augustus FitzRoy (W) 1951–55 Winston Churchill (C) (FF) = Fianna Fáil (LP) = Labour Party
1770–82 Frederick North, Lord North; (T) 1955–57 Sir Anthony Eden (C) (WP) = Workers’ Party (Ind) = Independents
1782–82 Charles Watson–Wentworth (W) 1957–63 Harold Macmillan (C)
1782–83 William Petty–FitzMaurice (W) 1963–64 Alec Douglas–Home (C) 1938–45 Douglas Hyde (apn)
1783 William Cavendish–Bentinck (W) (c) 1964–70 Harold Wilson (L) 1945–59 Seán T. O’Kelly (U)
1783–1801 William Pitt the Younger (T) 1970–74 Edward Heath (C) 1959–73 Éamon de Valera (FF)
1801–04 Henry Addington (T) 1974–76 Harold Wilson (L) 1973–74 Erskine H. Childers (FF)
1804–06 William Pitt the Younger (T) 1976–79 James Callaghan (L) 1974–76 Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh (apn)
1806–07 William Wyndham Grenville (W) (c) 1979–90 Margaret Thatcher (C) 1976–90 Patrick Hillery (FF)
1807–09 William Cavendish–Bentinck (T) 1990–97 John Major (C) 1990–97 Mary Robinson (LP/WP/Ind)
1809–12 Spencer Perceval (T) 1997–2007 Tony Blair (L) 1997– Mary McAleese (FF/Ind)
1812–27 Robert Banks Jenkinson (T) 2007–10 Gordon Brown (L)
1827–27 George Canning (T) 2010– David Cameron (C) (c)
1827–28 Frederick John Robinson (T) FIRST MINISTERS OF SCOTLAND
1828–30 Arthur Wellesley (T) (LP) = Labour Party (SNP) = Scottish National Party
1830–34 Charles Grey (W) PRIME MINISTERS OF NORTHERN IRELAND
1834–34 William Lamb (W) (UU) = Ulster Unionist 1999–2000 Donald Dewar (LP) (c)
1834–34 Arthur Wellesley (T) 2000–01 Henry McLeish (LP) (c)
1834–35 Sir Robert Peel (C) 1921–40 James Craig (UU) 2001–07 Jack McConnell (LP) (c)
1835–41 William Lamb (W) 1940–43 John Miller Andrews (UU) 2007– Alex Salmond (SNP)
1841–46 Sir Robert Peel (C) 1943–63 Basil Brooke (UU)
1846–52 Lord John Russell (W) 1963–69 Terence O’Neill; (UU)
1852–52 Edward Smith–Stanley (C) 1969–71 James Chichester–Clark (UU) FIRST MINISTERS OF WALES
1852–55 George Hamilton–Gordon (P) (c) 1971–72 Brian Faulkner (UU) (LP) = Labour Party
1855–58 Henry John Temple (W)
1858–59 Edward Smith–Stanley (C) 2000–09 Hywel Rhodri Morgan (LP) (c)
1859–65 Henry John Temple (Li) PRIME MINISTERS OF IRELAND 2009– Carwyn Jones (LP) (c)
1865–66 John Russell (Li) (CG) = Cumann na nGaedhea (FF) = Fianna Fáil
1866–68 The Earl of Derby (C) (c) = coalition (FG) = Fine Gael
1868 Benjamin Disraeli (C) FIRST MINISTERS OF NORTHERN IRELAND
1868–74 William Ewart Gladstone (Li) 1922–32 William Thomas Cosgrave (CG) (UUP) = Ulster Unionist Party
1874–80 Benjamin Disraeli (C) 1932–48 Eámon de Valera (FF) (DUP) = Democratic Unionist Party
1880–85 William Ewart Gladstone (Li) 1948–51 John Costello (FG) (c)
1885–86 Robert Gascoyne–Cecil (C) 1951–54 Eámon de Valera (FF) 1999–2000 David Trimble (UUP)
1886–86 William Ewart Gladstone (Li) 1954–57 John Costello (FG) (c) 2000–01 David Trimble (UUP)
1886–92 Robert Gascoyne–Cecil (C) 1957–59 Eámon de Valera (FF) 2001 (acting) Sir Reg Empey (UUP)
1892–94 William Ewart Gladstone (Li) 1959–66 Sean Lemass (FF) 2001–02 David Trimble (UUP)
1894–95 Archibald Primrose (Li) 1966–73 Jack Lynch (FF) 2007–08 Ian Paisley (DUP)
1895–1902 Robert Gascoyne–Cecil (C) 1973–77 Liam Cosgrave (FG) (c) 2008– Peter Robinson (DUP)
389
INDEX
Index
Page numbers in bold indicate main entries. Amritsar massacre 342 prehistoric 15, 16 Cape St. Vincent (1797) 242
A
Amundsen, Roald 287 Pre-Raphaelite 282 Castillon (1453) 119
anesthetics 271, 274 Roman 29 Castledermot (848) 54
Anderson shelters 347, 354 Scottish 225 Clontarf (1014) 55, 81
Andrew, duke of York 363 Tudor 134, 140–41, 144–45, 152 Crécy (1346) 96, 99, 100–01, 116
abortion 373 Angevin Empire 76 Viking 46, 55 Culloden (1746) 204–05
Achill Island, Mayo 266–67 Anglesey 58 war 274–75 Dettingen (1743) 200
Acre, Syria, sieges of 83, 241 Anglicanism 137, 166, 174, 282 Art Deco 305 the Diamond (1795) 239
Act of Settlement (1652) 175 Anglo-Dutch Wars 173, 176–77, 178–79 Art Nouveau 304 Dunbar (1654) 175
Act of Settlement (1701) 137, 200 Anglo-Irish “Ascendancy” 238 Arthur, King 34, 40, 110 Edgehill (1642) 168
Act of Supremacy (1534) 135, 137 Anglo-Mysore Wars 213 Arthur, prince of Wales 128, 134, 135, 148 El Alamein (1942) 358
Act of Uniformity (1559) 172 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 40, 46, 47, 51, 53, 68, Arts and Crafts Movement 282, 305 Elands River (1901) 302
Acts of Attainder 132, 142 75 Ashanti people 297 Falkirk (1298) 93, 99
Adam, Robert 225 Anglo-Saxons 10–11, 33, 34, 35, 40–45, 58, Asquith, Herbert 309, 311, 312, 321, 322 Flodden (1513) 134, 135, 138, 158
Adams, Gerry 379 68, 69, 70, 98 Asser 51 Formigny (1450) 119
Addison, Joseph 208, 211 art and craftwork 8–9, 36–37, 40, 42–43, assizes 76–77 Halidon Hill (1333) 93, 96
Aden 364, 365 44, 45, 48–49 Assizes of Arms 99 Hastings (1066) 68, 70–71
Adrian IV, Pope 81 Christianity 44–45 Astor, Nancy 309, 327 Hattin (1187) 83
Áedán, king of Dal Riata 59 jewelry 41, 50 astronomy 184, 185, 200, 226–27 Homildon Hill (1402) 115, 117
Aelle, king of Northumbria 47 literature 110 Aswan High Dam 367 Inkerman (1854) 275
Aelle of Sussex 40 society 60–61 asylums 278 Killiekrankie (1689) 197
Aethelbald, king of Mercia 41 Angry Brigade 373 Athelstan, king of England 11, 53, 58, 59 La Coruña (1809) 241
Aethelbert, king of Kent 40, 41, 44 Anne, Princess Royal 363 Atlantic Charter (1941) 343, 349, 358 Lake Erie (1813) 244–45
Aethelflaed, lady of the Mercians 52, 53 Anne, queen of Great Britain and Ireland atomic bombs 359, 369 Lewes (1264) 85
Aethelred, king of Mercia 41 197, 200 Atrebates 24 Marston Moor (1644) 169, 174
Aethelred “the Unready”, king of England Anne of Cleves 135 Attlee, Clement 311, 359, 360, 361 Mons Badonicus (500) 40
57 Anne of Denmark 158 Augsburg, League of 196 Mons Graupius (83) 24
Aethelwold, king of Northumbria 52 Anschluss 346 Augustine, Saint 44 Naseby (1645) 169
Aetius 35 Anselm, St., archbishop of Canterbury 69, Augustus, Emperor 23, 208 Neville’s Cross (1346) 116–17
Afghan War, First 290 72–73 Austen, Jane 218 New Orléans (1815) 245
Afghanistan 385, 387 Anson, George 226, 227 Australia 227, 277, 287, 294–95, 343, 362– the Nile (1798) 242–43
Africa 146, 179, 286, 296–97, 302–03, 312– Antonine Wall 28, 30 63, 364–65 Omdurman (1898) 297, 350
13, 343, 364–65 apartheid 303, 365 transportation to 223, 237, 294, 295 Otterburn (1388) 115, 116, 138
see also North Africa; South Africa appliances, domestic 340–41, 371 Austria 200–01, 212, 240, 241, 313, 346 Passchendaele (1917) 322, 323
Age of Discovery 146, 162, 212 apprentices 120, 121 Avebury, Wiltshire 17 the Plains of Abraham (1759) 212
B
Age of Reason 185, 208, 282 Aquae Sulis see Bath Plassey (1757) 212
Agincourt, battle of (1415) 99, 118–19, 122 aqueducts 33 Poitiers (1356) 97, 114
Agricola, Julius 30 Aquitaine 76, 77, 96, 97, 118, 119 Preston (1648) 169
Agricultural Revolution 193, 230–31, 232, Arabs 343 Preston (1715) 202
294 Arbroath, Declaration of (1320) 93 Babington Plot (1585) 138, 141 Prestonpans (1745) 203
agriculture archery 96, 99, 101, 118–19, 125 “baby boom” 371 Princeton (1777) 163
assarts 89 as sport 305 Bacon, Francis 152, 153, 155, 184, 185 Ramillies (1706) 197
early 10, 16, 21 architecture Baden-Powell, Robert 303, 304 Rorke’s Drift (1879) 297
18th century 193, 201, 230–31 Georgian 218–19 Baines, Edward 232–33 Sebastopol (1854) 274–75
enclosures 104, 142–43, 222, 230, 232 Gothic cathedrals 89, 112–13 Bakewell, Robert 230 Sedgemoor (1685) 189
field strips 88, 89 Gothic Revival 282 Baldwin, Stanley 334, 335, 337, 345, 346 the Somme (1916) 322, 323, 324–25
14th century crisis 120 New Town, Edinburgh 225 Balfour Declaration (1917) 343 Stamford Bridge (1066) 68
implements 10, 33, 142, 218, 230, 231 Regency 255, 256–57 Ball, John 104, 105 Stirling Bridge (1297) 93
Irish 266–67 Saxon 60 Balliol, Edward 92, 93 Tippecanoe (1811) 244
manors 88–89 Tudor 142 Balliol, John 92 Tourcoing (1794) 240
Roman 33 Victorian 279 Bank of England 181, 210–11, 218, 334, 361 Towton (1461) 122, 123
sheep 89, 142, 231 Wren’s 182, 184, 185, 186–87 banking crisis 386 Trafalgar (1804) 241, 243
20th century 334 Ardoch Fort, Scotland 24 banknotes 210, 228, 229, 326 Vinegar Hill (1798) 238–39
World War II 355 Argentina 384–85 Banks, Joseph 226–27 Waterford (1650) 175
Aidan, bishop of Lindisfarne 44 Arkwright, Richard 233 Bannockburn, battle of (1314) 65, 93, Waterloo (1815) 240–41, 246–47
air raids Armada see Spanish Armada 94–95, 138 Widow McCormack’s Cabbage Patch
World War 1 321, 326, 327 Armagh Outrages 239 Banqueting House, London 159, 170–71 (1848) 300
World War II 347, 349, 352–55, 358, 361 armies Barbados 163, 175 Ypres (1914) 321
aircraft 304, 343, 356–57 Boer War 303 barbarians 34, 35 Baudin, Nicolas 287
seaplanes 339 Canadian 244 Barebones Parliament 173 Bayeux tapestry 11, 61, 70–71
airships 321, 326, 327 Civil War 168, 169 barons 64, 73, 76, 77, 84–85, 86, 123 Bazalgette, Joseph 279
Alam II, Shah 213, 290 Crimean War 274 barrows 16, 20, 21 BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) 339,
Alba, duke of 149 medieval 99, 118 Bath, Somerset 218–19 371
Alba, kingdom of 59 Napoleonic Wars 240, 241 Roman (Aquae Sulis) 29, 33 Beagle, HMS 288, 289, 295
Alban, St., shrine of 44 New Model Army 169, 173, 175, 176 Battersea Shield 20–21 Beaker People 17
Albany, Robert Stewart, duke of (earlier 19th century reform 275 battles beakers, claw 40
Robert of Fife) 116–17 Norman 98 Agincourt (1415) 99, 118–19, 122 Beardsley, Aubrey 304
Albert, Prince 262, 270, 271, 273, 304 post-1945 384 Aughrim (1691) 196, 197 Beatles, The 372, 373, 374–75
alcohol 222, 373 Roman 22, 24, 28, 29, 34–35, 98 Austerlitz (1805) 241 Becket, Thomas 62–63, 77–79, 81, 108, 110
Alcuin of York 41, 46 World War I 320–21, 322, 325 Balaclava (1854) 275 Bede, The Venerable 30, 45
Aldermaston March 369 World War II 359 Bannockburn (1314) 65, 93, 94–95, 138 Beeching Report 259
Alexander II, king of Scotland 92 Armistice Day 323, 330 Barnet (1471) 65, 122–23 Beeton, Mrs 278, 280, 281
Alexander III, king of Scotland 92 armor 99, 124, 125 Beachy Head (1690) 197, 211 Beggar’s Opera, The (Gay) 209
Alexander II, tsar of Russia 275 see also helmets Blenheim (1704) 197 Behn, Aphra 176, 181
Alexandra, Queen 304 art Bosworth (1485) 123 Belfast 277, 332, 333, 378, 379
Alfred the Great 47, 50–51, 52 Anglo-Saxon 8–9, 40, 42–43, 44, 45, 50 Bouvines (1214) 84, 86 Belfast Newsletter 209
alliterative style 110 Celtic 21, 39, 48–49, 54 the Boyne (1690) 196–97, 266 Belgium 303, 313, 320, 321, 349
Alnwick Castle 114 Edwardian 305 Britain (1940) 349, 356–57 Belgrano, sinking of the 384
Ambassadors, The (Holbein) 152–53 Georgian 220–21 Brunanburh (937) 53, 55, 59 Benedict Biscop, Saint 45
American War of Independence 209, 214– industrial landscapes 232–33 Builth (1282) 91 Bentham, Jeremy 185, 283
17, 242 medieval 103, 108–09, 114–15, 152 Bunker Hill (1775) 214 Beowulf 35, 40, 110
Amin, Idi 365 Pictish 31 Buxar (1764) 212–13, 290 Berlin airlift 369
Amlaíb, king of Dublin 55, 59 portraits 134, 140–41, 167, 208, 225, 305 Cambrai (1917) 322, 323 Bermudas 163
390
INDEX
Berwick, siege of (1332–33) 92–93 Buchanan, George 224 art 21, 39, 48–49, 54 coal mining
Besant, Annie 309, 310 BUF see British Union of Fascists Christianity 44, 45 bad conditions 235
Bessemer process 258, 277 Bunyan, John 173 gods 33 Bevin Boys 355
Bevan, Aneurin 361, 367 burgage rights 89 language 29, 30, 31 decline 381
Beveridge Report (1941) 355 Burghal Hidage 51, 72 censorship 209, 326, 372, 373 nationalization 360, 361
Bevin, Ernest 355, 364, 369 Burgundy 38, 118, 119 Cetshwayo, king of the Zulus 296–97 production levels 276, 334
Biafra 365 burhs 51, 52, 72 Chamberlain, Neville 346–47, 349, 351 strikes 376, 380, 381, 383
Bible, translations of 109, 158 burials, ancient 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 chantry chapels 108 technology 233, 258, 277, 335
“big bang” 380, 381 Burke, Edmund 236–37 Charge of the Light Brigade 275 Coalbrookdale, Shropshire 232, 233
Bill of Rights (1689) 189 Burke, Robert O’Hara 287 chariots 21, 22 coalition governments 331, 334, 354–55, 387
Birmingham 233, 237, 258, 277, 379 Burma 290, 359 charity 108 Cobden, Richard 268
birth rate 338, 371 Burne-Jones, Edward 282, 283 Charlemagne, king of the Franks 39, 41 coffeehouses 180, 181, 184, 219
bishops 69, 72–73, 108, 158 Burns, Robert 224 Charles IV, king of France 96 coins
Bishops’ Wars 166, 174, 196 Burton, Richard 286 Charles VI, king of France 97, 118–19 Anglo-Saxon 37, 41, 53
Bismarck, Otto von 312 Bush, George W 385 Charles VII, king of France 119 Cromwell’s 175
Black and Tans 333 Butt, Isaac 300 Charles I, king of Great Britain and Ireland French 96
Black Death 102–03, 104, 117, 120, 142 Byrd, William 152 128, 138, 158, 166–67, 168–69, 174, Iron Age 21, 32
Black Hole of Calcutta 213 Byron, Lord 209, 282 189, 196 medieval 76, 89
Black Watch regiment 203 Byzantine Empire 82, 83, 102 execution 170–71, 172, 176 Newton’s innovations 185
C
Blackstone, William 223 Charles II, king of Great Britain and Ireland Norman 68
Blair, Tony 379, 385, 386–87 129, 163, 169, 173, 174, 176–77, 179, Roman 30, 33, 34–35
Blake, Robert 178, 179 189, 200 Scottish 93, 225
Blandy, Mary 223 and London 180, 181, 182 Tudor 126–27, 144
Blaxland, Gregory 287 Cable Street, battle of 335 and science 185 coke 233
Blitz 349, 352–53, 354–55 Cabot, John 146 Charles, prince of Wales 363 Coke, Thomas 231
Blitzkrieg 349 Cade, Jack 105 Charles Edward Stuart, Prince (“Young Colchester, Essex 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28,
blood circulation 184 Cadiz, sack of 148–49 Pretender”/“Bonnie Prince Charlie”) 32–33
“Bloody Assizes” 189 Cadwallon of Gwynedd 58 158, 203–05 Cold War 364, 368–69, 385
Bloody Sunday 378–79 Caesar, Julius 22–23 Charlotte, Princess 255 Collins, Michael 333
Blow Up (film) 373 Cahir Castle 156–57 Charlotte Dundas (paddle-steamer) 258–59 colonial expansion 143, 147, 162–63, 212–
Blücher, Gebbard Leberecht von 247 Calais, France 65, 118, 119 Chartists 237, 265, 310 13, 226–27, 234, 290, 294–95, 296
Boccaccio, Giovanni 110 siege of 96, 97, 101 Château de Condé, France 345 see also British Empire
bodkins 96 calendar 200 Chaucer, Geoffrey 98, 108, 110–11, 208 Columba, Saint 38
“bodyline” controversy 342, 343 Callanish stone circle 10 Cheddar, Somerset 53 Columbanus, Saint 38
Boer War 271, 302–03, 350 Cambridge, University of 89, 108, 369 Chester 52, 68–69 Columbus, Christopher 146
Boers 296, 302–03, 343 Cameron, David 382, 385, 387 Chichester, Arthur 156, 157 Combination Laws (1799/1800) 265
Boleyn, Anne 134, 135, 140 Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 369 child labor 264, 268, 276, 278 comets 184, 185
Boniface, Saint 45 Campbell-Bannerman, Henry 311 China 296, 297, 312 Comgall, Saint 38, 54
bonus culture 386, 387 Camulodunum see Colchester Chinon Castle 84 Commius 22
Book of Kells, The 48–49, 54 Canada 212, 244, 245, 294, 295, 296, 300, chivalry 98, 149 Commonwealth (Cromwell’s) 129, 166, 169,
books 343, 363, 365 chloroform 271, 274 172–73, 176, 178–79
early 39, 45, 48–49, 57 canals 233, 277 cholera 265 Commonwealth of Nations, British 317, 343,
medieval 89, 106–07 cannon 99, 119, 146, 275, 297 Christianity 11, 136 362, 363, 364
Boston massacre 214 Canterbury 47, 120 Anglicanism 137, 166, 174, 282 communism 283, 346, 351, 358, 364
Boston Tea Party 215 archbishopric of 44, 45, 60, 79, 103 Anglo-Saxon 44–45 Communist Party, British 334, 335
Botany Bay 227 Canterbury Cathedral 69, 109 Celtic 44, 45 Comyn, John 93
Bothwell, James Hepburn, earl of 138 Becket’s murder 62–63, 77, 78–79, 110 Church reform 69, 108–09 concentration camps, Boers in 302, 303
Boudicca, queen of the Iceni 24, 32 Canterbury Tales (Chaucer) 98, 108, 110–11, clergy 76, 89, 108–09 Confirmation of the Charters 85
Bougainville, Louis de 227 208 in Ireland 38–39 Congo Free State 303
Boulton, Matthew 233, 265 Canute, king of England 56, 57, 60, 61 and Latin language 29 Congreve, William 208
Bow Street Runners 222, 223 Cape Colony 303 medieval 108–09 Connolly, James 332–33
Box Tunnel 261 capital punishment 223 missionaries 39, 45, 267, 286, 296 conscientious objectors 322
Boxer Rebellion 312 abolition of 373 Oxford Movement 282 conscription 322, 333, 347, 354, 355, 384
Boxgrove, West Sussex 14 last Tower Hill execution 203 questioning of 282–83, 289 Conservative Party 269, 303, 312, 334, 335,
Bradford, Yorkshire 276 capitalism 179, 210, 225, 283, 383 revival movement 223 346, 361, 370, 371, 372, 373, 382, 387
Bradley, Richard 230 Caractacus 13, 24 and slave trade 235 see also Tories
Breda, Declaration of (1660) 176 Caribbean see West Indies Vikings and 45, 47, 51, 57 Constantine III, Emperor 35
Brendan, Saint 38 Carlyle, Thomas 225, 253, 265, 283 see also Protestantism; Roman Catholicism Constantine I, king of the Picts and Scots 59
Bretwaldas 40–41 Carnaby Street, London 372 Christmas 173, 281, 362 Constantine II, king of Alba 53, 59
Brian Boru 55, 81 Caroline of Brunswick 254–55 chronometers 190–91, 227 Constantinople 83, 121, 274
Bridgeman, Charles 231 Carrick, John Stewart, earl of 116 Church see Christianity Constitution, USS 244
bridges 165, 260–61, 262–63 cars 277, 304, 314–15, 316, 339, 371 “Church-and-King” mobs 237 consumerism 338, 370, 372
Bright, John 268 Carthusians 108 churches 60, 83, 121, 282 contraception 373
Brighton bombing 383 Cartimandua, queen of the Brigantes 24 see also cathedrals Convention Parliament 176
Brighton Pavilion 256–57 cartoons, satirical 209, 237, 269, 289 Churchill, Winston 350–51 Conwy Castle 90, 117
Bristol 211, 234, 260–61, 351, 358, 368 Cassivellaunus 22–23 early career 303, 321, 345, 350–51 Cook, James 226–27, 286
Britain, origins of name of 21 castles 68, 69, 72–73, 76, 114 as imperialist 319, 342, 343 Cork, Ireland 54, 156
British Empire 212–13, 251, 273, 287, 290– French 82, 84 and World War II 346, 347, 349, 351, 354, Corn Laws 255, 268, 269
97, 302–03, 316, 317 Irish 81, 156–57 355, 357, 358, 359 Cornwall 16, 20, 233
decline and end 342–43, 364–65 Scottish 58, 174–75 after World War II 311, 351, 361, 362, 369 Cornwallis, Lord Charles 213, 215, 217
see also colonial expansion sieges 92–93, 97, 99 churls 60–61 coronations 122, 133, 201
British Empire Exhibition 343 Welsh 64, 90–91 cinema 305, 339, 361, 371, 373 Corresponding Societies 237
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) 321 Cat and Mouse Act (1913) 309 circumnavigations 146, 226, 227 Corsica 240
British Gas 380, 381 catechism 109 cities see towns and cities cotton industry 276
British Summer Time 326 Catesby, Robert 161 Civil War, English 163, 166, 168–72, 173, Country Housewife, The (Bradley) 230
British Telecom 380, 381 cathedrals 69, 89, 112–13, 117, 164–65 176, 178, 180 courtly love 110
British Union of Fascists (BUF) 335 role of masons 121 Civil War, Irish 333 courts 76–77, 121, 132, 166
Brittany 77, 96, 97 see also Canterbury Cathedral; St. Paul’s Civil War, Spanish 346 Covenanters 166, 169, 174, 196
Brixton riots 380 Cathedral class divisions 305, 339 craftsmen 89, 103, 121
brochs 21, 30 Catherine of Aragon 128, 134, 135, 137, 148 Claudius, Emperor 23, 24, 25 Cranmer, Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury
bronze 20, 21 Catherine of Braganza 177 Clegg, Nick 387 135, 137
Brown, Gordon 386, 387 Catholic Emancipation 255, 300 Clement VII, Pope 137 crannogs 30
Brown, John 271 Catholicism see Roman Catholicism clergy Crécy, battle of (1346) 96, 99, 100–01, 116
Brown, Lancelot (“Capability”) 231 Cato Street conspiracy (1820) 255 reform 108–09 credit crunch 386
Bruce, Edward 81, 93 Cattle Raid of Cooley 31 special courts for 76 cricket 219, 342, 343
Bruce, Robert 92, 93, 158 Catuvellauni 22, 23, 24 urban 89 Crimean War 241, 271, 274–75
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom 259, 260–63 causewayed camps 16 Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol 260–61 criminous clerks 76, 77
Brunel, Marc Isambard 260, 261 Cavaliers 168 Clive, Robert 212, 290 Crippen, Hawley Harvey 304–05
Buchan, Alexander Stewart, earl of (“Wolf of cavalry 22, 98, 99, 168, 169 clubs, men’s 208 Cromwell, Oliver 129, 157, 163, 168–69,
Badenoch”) 117 Celts 11, 20, 29 CND see Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 171, 172–73, 176, 178–79
391
INDEX
and Ireland 169, 174, 175, 266 Drake, Francis 146, 149, 150, 162 see also suffragettes flying shuttle 232
and Scotland 174–75 Dreadnought, HMS 312 electricity 279, 305, 338, 339, 340–41 Foljambe, Joseph 231
Cromwell, Richard 176 Dresden, Germany 358 Elgin Cathedral 117 football 280, 339
Cromwell, Thomas 135, 136, 156 Drogheda, massacre at 169, 174 Elizabeth I, queen of England and Ireland footpads 143
crop rotation 230 drugs, recreational 373 126–27, 135, 137, 140–41, 143, 158, 180 force-feeding 309
Croppies 239 Dryden, John 181, 208 arts and literature 152–53 Ford, John 153
Cross of Cong 81 Dublin 81, 218, 266 and Ireland 157 forests 76, 88, 89
crossbows 99, 101, 125 Easter Rising 332–33 and Mary, queen of Scots 138–39 Fort George 203
Crusades 77, 82–83 Phoenix Park murders 301 and seafarers 146–47, 162, 212 Fort William, India 213
Crystal Palace 273 Viking 53, 54–55, 81 stock exchange 210 Fort William, Scotland 203
Cuban Missile Crisis 369 Duchess of Malfi, The (Webster) 153 war with Spain and defeat of Armada 141, forts, Roman 24, 34
Cubism 305 Dudley, Robert see Leicester, Robert Dudley, 147, 148–51 Fox, Charles James 254
Culloden, battle of (1746) 204–05 earl of Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom France
Cumberland, William Augustus, duke of 204 Dumbarton Castle 58 295, 362–63 “Auld Alliance” with Scotland 134, 138
Cunard Line 259, 304 Dundee, John Graham, 1st Viscount 196–97 Ely Cathedral 112–13 Charles II’s alliance with 177, 179
Cunedda 31 Dunkirk 348, 349 emigration 163, 173, 294, 295 colonies of 212, 227
Cunobelinus 24 Durrow monastery, Ireland 39 from Ireland 267, 294, 295 Entente Cordiale/Triple Alliance 312, 313
cursuses 16 Dutch see Netherlands Empire Games 343 Field of the Cloth of Gold 135
Curzon, George Nathaniel, Lord 291 Dyfed 58 enclosures 104, 142–43, 222, 230, 232 Huguenots 181
E
cutpurses 143 Endeavour (Cook’s ship) 226–27 Hundred Years’ War 65, 96–101, 104, 115,
cycling 280–81 Engels, Friedrich 283 118–19
Cyprus 364 Enlightenment 185, 208 and Jacobites 203
Czechoslovakia 346–47 Scottish 179, 193, 224–25 Napoleonic Wars 240–41, 242–43, 244,
D
Eadred, king of Wessex 53 Entente Cordiale 312 246–47, 255
Eadwine Psalter 89 entertainment 280–81, 304, 338, 339, 361 Norman and Plantagenet power in 64, 77,
ealdormen 53, 57, 60 epidemics 327 132
earls 60 see also plague other wars with 122, 134, 135, 138, 141,
Dafydd of Gwynedd 90, 91 earthworks 10, 16, 20, 21 Equal Pay Act (1970) 376 148, 197, 212, 237, 240
Dáil Éireann 333 East Anglia 37, 40, 44, 47, 57, 69 Equiano, Olaudah see Vassa, Gustavus relations with USA 244
Dal Riata (Dalriada) 31, 38, 59 East India Company 211, 212–13, 290–91, Eric Bloodaxe, king of York 53 Revolutionary Wars 240, 242, 244
Danebury hillfort, Hampshire 20, 21 292 Essex, Walter Devereux,earl of 140, 141, sends force to aid Ireland 239
Danegeld 57 Easter, date of 45 149, 156, 157 and World War I 321, 322, 331
Danelaw 47, 52 Easter Rising 332–33 Ethiopia 346 and World War II 349, 354, 358–59
Danse Macabre 103 economy European Economic Community (EEC) 365 see also French Revolution
Darby, Abraham 233 Adam Smith’s influence 224, 225 European Union (EU) 381, 387 Francis I, king of France 135
Darnley, Henry Stuart, Lord 138 18th century 179, 210–11 single currency 386 Franco, Francisco 346
Darwin, Charles 283, 288–89, 295 Great Depression 277, 311, 316, 334–35, evacuation 347, 354 Frankish rulers 39, 41, 44
Davenant, William 181 337, 351 Evelyn, John 177, 182 Franklin, Benjamin 209
David, Saint 58 Keynesian theory 331, 335 evictions 335 Franklin, John 287
David I, king of Scotland 92 post-1950 317, 371, 376, 380–81, 383, 386 evolution, theory of 283, 288–89 Franks Casket 42–43
David II, king of Scotland 93, 116, 117 Tudor 133 Exchequer 73 Franz Ferdinand, Archduke 313
Davison, Emily Wilding 309 World War I and after 326, 331 Irish 81 Fraser, Simon, Lord Lovat 203
Davy lamp 277 World War II and after 355, 359, 360 excommunication 109 Free French 358
de la Pole, Michael 114 Eden, Anthony 367 executions 203, 223 free market 225, 235, 265, 268, 269, 383
de Lacy, Hugh 81 Edgar, king of Wessex 53 exploration 146–47, 162, 163, 184, 193, freemen 89
de Menezes, Jean Charles 387 Edgar Atheling 68, 69 226–27, 286–87 French, John 321
F
de Valera, Eamonn 333 Edinburgh, Scotland 166, 169, 218, 224–25 French Revolution 169, 193, 209, 236–37,
de Vere, Robert 114 Edinburgh Castle 95, 174–75 238–39, 240
Dean, Dixie 339 Edinburgh Gazette 209 friars 108
death penalty see capital punishment Edmund, king of Sicily 84, 85 Frobisher, Martin 146
Decameron (Boccaccio) 110 Edmund, king of Wessex 53 Fabian Society 311 Froissart, Jean 100–01
Declaration of Independence 214–15 Edmund Ironside, king of Southern England factories 232–33, 235, 264–65, 355, 380 Fry, Roger 305
Declarations of Indulgence 177, 189 57, 72 munitions 313, 326, 327, 334, 346 furniture design 283
G
Defence of the Realm Act (1914) 326 Edric the Wild 68 Factory Act (1802) 268
Defoe, Daniel 192, 209, 219 education Faerie Queene, The (Spenser) 141, 153
Delhi, India 291, 292–93 in India 291 fairs, trade 121
democracy 335 medieval 89, 108 Falklands War 287, 383, 384–85
depopulation 120 20th century 355, 373 famine Gaillard Castle 82
Depression, Great 277, 311, 316, 334–35, Victorian 265, 278, 279 Irish 251, 266–67, 295, 300 Gainsborough, Thomas 220–21
337, 343, 351 Edward the Confessor, king of England, 57, 1790s 237 Galápagos Islands 288–89
Derby, Epsom 192 60–61, 68, 72, 85 Fascism 335, 345, 354 Galen 103
Derry (Londonderry), Ireland 157, 196, 378 Edward the Elder, king of Wessex 52–53, 72 fashion 142, 145, 181, 219, 339 Galileo Galilei 184
Descartes, René 185 Edward the Martyr, king of England 57 1960s 372–73 Gall, Saint 39
Desmond Rebellions 156 Edward I, king of England (“Hammer of the Fawcett, Millicent 309 Gallipoli campaign 295, 321, 350
Despard, Charlotte 251 Scots”/“Longshanks”) 83, 85, 90–91, Fawkes, Guy 161 Gama, Vasco de 146
devaluation 334, 361, 381 92–93, 99, 116, 158 feasting 21, 40 Gandhi, Mohandas 342, 364
devolution 333, 387 Edward II, king of England (earlier Edward feminism 377, 383 garden suburbs and cities 305
Diana, princess of Wales 363 of Caernarvon) 91, 92, 93, 95 Fenians 239, 267, 300, 301 gardens 231, 279
Diarmait of Leinster 55 Edward III, king of England 83, 92, 93, 96, Ferguson, Adam 224, 225 gas, poison 321, 323, 355
Dias, Bartolomeu 146 99, 101, 104, 110, 114, 116, 117, 254 Festival of Britain 361 gas lighting 265, 279
Dickens, Charles 209, 265, 278, 280–81, 283 Edward IV, king of England 122–23 fetes 143 Gaskell, Elizabeth 265
disease Edward V, king of England 123 feudalism 64, 73, 88, 98, 120, 222, 230 Gaul 22, 23, 29, 34, 35, 38
in native peoples 234, 295 Edward VI, king of England 133, 135, 136–37 in Ireland 81 Gay, John 209
Roman Britain 33 Edward VII, king of Great Britain and fiefs 73 General Strike 334
Stone Age 16 Ireland 271, 304, 312 Field of the Cloth of Gold 135 generation gap 373
Victorian age 265, 278–79 Edward VIII, king of the United Kingdom, Fielden, John 268 Gentleman’s Magazine 209
Disraeli, Benjamin 269, 271 later duke of Windsor 344–45, 363 Fielding, Henry 209, 223 George I, king of Great Britain and Ireland
Dissolution of the Monasteries 135, 142, 152 Edward, the Black Prince 97, 114 Fifth Monarchists 173 200, 206–07
divine right of kings 128, 158, 166, 189, 202 Edwardian society and culture 304–05 Filmer, Robert 166 George II, king of Great Britain and Ireland
divorce laws 373 Edwin, Earl 68 Fire of London, Great 121, 129, 180, 182–83 200, 207
doctors 103 Edwin, king of Northumbria 44, 58 Fitzgerald, Edward (“Citizen Lord”) 239 George III, king of Great Britain and Ireland
dollshouses 278 EEC see European Economic Community Fitzherbert, Maria 254 200, 201, 212, 237, 239, 254–55
Domesday Book 69, 72, 74–75, 89, 142, 230 Egbert, king of Wessex 41, 46 Fitzroy, Robert 288 George IV, king of Great Britain and Ireland
dominions 294–95, 342, 343 Egbert’s Stone 50, 51 Flamsteed, John 185 (earlier the Prince Regent) 201, 209,
see also British Empire Egypt 240–41, 242–43, 297, 343, 358 Flanders 89, 121 250, 254–55, 256
Domitian, Emperor 24 Suez Canal 296, 297, 358, 366–67 Flinders, Matthew 227, 287 George V, king of the United Kingdom 304,
Donne, John 153, 173 Eisenhower, Dwight 351, 359 flint tools 14, 15, 16 305, 343, 345
Douglas, William, earl of 116, 117 El Dorado 162 Flodden, battle of (1513) 134, 135, 138, 158 George VI, king of the United Kingdom 345,
Dowland, John 153 Eleanor of Aquitaine 76, 77 flu, Spanish 327 359, 362
Downing Street, No. 10 207 electoral reform 235, 237, 268–69 Flying Scotsman (locomotive) 259 Georgian period
392
INDEX
society 218–23, 278 Harrison, William Henry 244, 245 Hutcheson, Francis 224 Istanbul see Constantinople
trade 193, 210–11, 227, 228–29 Harry, Prince 363 Hutton, James 225 Italy 121, 346, 349, 358
Gerald of Wales (Geraldus Cambriensis) 90 harrying of the north 68 Huxley, Thomas Henry 289 Ivar the Boneless 47
J
Germanus, bishop of Auxerre 44 Harthacnut, king of England 57 Hywel Dda (the Good) 58–59
I
Germany harvests, bad 89, 102, 107, 142
Berlin airlift 369 Harvey, William 184
medieval fairs 121 Hastings, battle of 68, 70–71
Nazis 345, 346, 347, 351 Hastings, Warren 291 Jackson, Andrew 245
reparations imposed on 331 Hathaway, Anne 154 iambic pentameter 155 Jacobite rebellion (1715) 193, 200, 202, 208
see also World War I; World War II Hawaii see Sandwich Islands Ice Age 14–15 Jacobite rebellion (1745–46) 193, 201
Ghana 297, 364 Hawkins, John 146 Iceni 24 Jacobites 189, 196–97, 202–03
Gibraltar 211 Heath, Edward (Ted) 373, 376, 383 Idwal Foel of Gwynedd 58–59 Jagger, Mick 372
Gildas 40, 58 Hebrides 10, 92 immigrants 181, 317, 365, 371, 373, 376–77 James II, king of Scotland 117
Gillray, James 237 helmets 21, 36, 68, 99, 125, 169 early black community 234 James IV, king of Scotland 132, 138
gin 222, 223 henge monuments 17, 18–19 21st century 387 James V, king of Scotland 138
glacial periods 14–15 Hengist and Horsa 40 Imperial Airways 343 James I, king of England (James VI of
Gladstone, William Ewart 269, 300–01 Henley Regatta 305 income tax 207, 355, 361, 381 Scotland) 128, 131, 138, 141, 149, 152,
Glasgow, Scotland 277 Henri IV, king of France 141 Independent Labour Party 311 158–59, 161, 162, 166
Glencoe massacre 197 Henry I, king of England 72–73, 84, 96 India 211–13, 274, 290–91, 296–97, 316, 321 James II, king of Great Britain and Ireland
Globe Theatre 152, 154, 155 Henry II, king of England 64, 76–77, 79, 81, independence 291, 342–43, 364, 365 (earlier Duke of York) 129, 158, 169,
Glorious Revolution 129, 166, 169, 173, 82, 83, 96 Indian Mutiny 212, 271, 287, 291, 292–93 175, 177, 182, 189, 192, 196–97, 200,
177, 188–89, 192, 196, 206, 210, 211 Henry III, king of England 65, 83, 84, 85, Indian National Congress 342 202
Gloucester 120 90–91, 96 individualism 283 James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince (“Old
Gly Dwr, Owain 117 Henry IV, king of England 109, 114, 115, Industrial Revolution 193, 211, 231, 232–33, Pretender”) 189, 202
Godwin, earl of Wessex 57, 60, 61 117, 118, 122, 132 250, 258–59, 264–65, 269, 274, 276–77 Jameson Raid (1895) 303
gold rushes 295, 303 Henry V, king of England 109, 115, 118–19, industry, 20th century 334, 335 Jamestown, Virginia 162–63
Gold Standard 210, 334, 351 122 Ine of Wessex 41 Japan 312, 346
Goldsmith, Oliver 209 Henry VI, king of England 65, 119, 122–23, inflation 371, 381, 386 in World War II 349, 358, 359, 364
Gooch, Daniel 260, 261 254 Innocent III, Pope 84, 86, 108 Jarrow March 336–37
Good Friday Agreement (1998) 379 Henry VII, king of England 65, 105, 117, interest rates, 381 Jarrow monastery 45, 46
Gordon, Charles George 297 123, 128, 132–33, 134, 138, 142, 146, internment 354, 378 Jean II, king of France 97
Gordon Riots 222, 223 148 “Intolerable Acts” 214 Jedburgh Abbey 92
Gothic style 89, 112–13, 152, 282 Henry VIII, king of England 128, 133, 134– Invergordon mutiny 334 Jefferson, Thomas 215, 236
Gower, George 140, 152 37, 138, 140, 142, 148, 152 Invincibles 301 Jeffreys, Judge 189
Gower, John 110 and Ireland 156 Iona monastery 38, 44, 46 Jelling runestone 47
Grand Alliance, War of the 196 and the navy 133, 146, 147 IRA see Irish Republican Army Jerusalem 82–83, 274
grave goods 17, 21, 35 and Reformation 136–37 Iranian Embassy siege 384 jewelry 41, 44, 46, 50, 54, 144
gravitation law 185 Henry, Prince (“the young King”) 77 Iraq 343, 384, 385, 387 Jews 343
Great Britain, SS 261 Henry Grace a Dieu (ship) 147 Ireland 11, 59, 65, 115, 192, 251, 316 Jinnah, Muhammad Ali 364
Great Eastern, SS 259, 260, 261 Henry the Navigator 146 Act of Union (1800) 239, 267, 300 Joan of Arc 119, 122
Great Exhibition 271, 272–73, 276, 280 Henslow, John Stevens 288 Christianity in 38–39 John, king of England 64, 77, 81, 82, 84–87,
Great War see World War I Hereford, William FitzOsbern, earl of 68 Civil War (1922–23) 333 90, 108
Great Western, SS 259, 261 Herschel, William 200 Cromwell and 169, 174, 175, 266 John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster 97, 104,
Greater London Council 383 Highlands, Scottish 202–03, 295 Edward Bruce in 81, 93 105, 109, 114, 115, 122
Greenham Common protest 384 hillforts 16, 20–21, 30 emigration from 267, 294, 295 John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy 118–19
Greenwich, London 104–05, 184 Hilliard, Nicholas 152 English conquest of 77, 80–81 Johnson, Samuel 195, 208–09
Greenwich Observatory 184, 185 Hiroshima, Japan 359 famine 251, 266–67, 295, 300 joint-stock companies 210
Gregory I, Pope 44, 51 Hitler, Adolf 346–47, 349, 351, 357 Flight of the Earls 238 Jonson, Ben 152, 154, 155
Grenville, Richard 149 Hogarth, William 209, 223 Home Rule 157, 239, 251, 267, 271, 300– Jordan 343
Grey, Charles, Lord 269 Holbein, Hans, the Younger 134, 135, 152–53 01, 332 jousting 98–99
Grey, Lady Jane 133, 137 holidays 280, 339, 355, 361, 372 independence and prior events 332–33 Joyce, James 305
Grossteste, Robert, bishop of Lincoln 108 Holkham Bible 94–95 Iron Age 30–31 Julian of Norwich 109
Gruffudd of Gwynedd 90 Holkham Hall, Norfolk 231 monarchs and rulers 388, 389 juries 77
Grunwick strike 377 Holy Cross Abbey 80–81 monasteries 38–39, 46, 54, 55, 80–81 justices 76–77
guilds 120–21, 142, 180 Home, Alex Douglas 371 Nine Years’ War 157, 238 Justinian, Emperor 102
Gulliver’s Travels (Swift) 208 Home Guard 354 Normans in 156, 162 Juvenal 208
K
gunpowder 99 Home Rule, Irish 157, 239, 251, 267, 271, plantations of 156–57, 175, 266, 300
Gunpowder Plot 158, 160–61 300–01, 332 police force 278
guns 99, 169, 203, 222, 228, 277, 321 Homo heidelbergensis 14 raiders from 31
Guthrum 47, 50–51 Homo sapiens sapiens 15 rebellions 141, 156–57, 162, 174, 175, 197,
Gwynedd, Wales 58–59, 90–91 homosexuality 371, 373, 387 238–39, 300, 332–33 Kay, John 232
Gwynn, Nell 176, 181 Hong Kong 296, 297, 316, 349, 365 republicanism 378 Keats, John 282
H
Hood, Robin 85 Romans and 30–31, 34 Keeler, Christine 372
Hooke, Robert 182, 184, 185 1798 revolution 157, 238–39 Kempe, Margery 109
Hospitaller, Knights 83 Spanish support for 149 Kenneth macAlpin, king of the Picts and
House of Commons 85, 166, 206, 268–69 Stone Age 16, 17 Scots 11, 59
haberdashers 120 House of Lords 206, 387 support for Jacobites and war with William Kent 40, 41, 44, 104, 105
Hadrian’s Wall 10, 23, 24, 26–27, 28, 32, 34 household manuals 230, 278, 280, 281 III 196–97 Kent, William 231
Haig, Douglas 321, 322, 323, 325 housing Swift’s tracts on 208 Kenya 343, 364, 365
Halfdan 47 “right to buy” 381 Tudors and 156–57 Kepler, Johannes 184
Halley, Edmund 184, 185 Roman Britain 29, 33, 34 Vikings and 53, 54–55 Kett’s Rebellion 133
Hamburg, Germany 358 20th century 338–39, 361, 370–71 and World War I 320, 326, 332 Keynes, John Maynard 331, 335, 359, 383
Hamilton, Emma 242, 243 Victorian 279 writers 305 Kidwelly Castle 64
Hampstead Garden Suburb 305 Howard, Catherine 135 see also Northern Ireland; Ulster Kilkenny Castle 81
Hampton Court 135 howitzer 322 Ireton, Henry 175 Killigrew, Thomas 181
Hanover, house of 192, 197, 200–01 Hoxnian interglacial 14 Irish Confederation 300 Kilmacduagh tower 55
Hansa 121 Hudson, Henry 163 Irish Free State 333 King’s Men 154, 155
Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark 47, 57 Hudson’s Bay Company 181 Irish Republican Army (IRA) 333 Kingston Brooch 44
Harald Hardrada, king of Norway 57, 68 Huguenots 181 Provisional 378, 379, 383 Kinsale, siege of 156
hard labor 285 humanism 153, 224 Irish Republican Brotherhood 300, 332 Kipling, Rudyard 291, 305
Hard Times (Dickens) 283 Hume, David 224, 225 see also Fenians Kit-Kat (Kit-Cat) club 208
Hardie, Keir 303, 311, 326 Hundred Years’ War 65, 96–101, 104, 115, Irish Volunteers 320, 332 Kitchener, Horatio Herbert, Lord 297, 303,
Hardy, Thomas 282 118–19 Iron Age 10, 20–22 321
Harfleur, siege of 118, 119 hunger marches 337 Iron Curtain 369 knights 88, 89, 98–99
Hargreaves, James 233 hunger strikes 309, 378, 379 iron production 233, 276, 277 Templars and Hospitallers 83
Harlech Castle 90–91, 117 Hunt, William Holman 282 Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire 232–33 Knox, John 137
Harold Godwinson, king of England 57, 60, hunter-gatherers 15, 16 Ironsides 169 Korean War 361, 369
61, 68, 70 hunting 88, 291 Islam 82–83, 387 Kosovo 385
Harold Harefoot, king of England 57 Hurricane aircraft 356–57 Ismail Pasha 297 Kuwait, invasion of 385
Harrison, John 191 Hus, John 109 Israel 367 Kyd, Thomas 153
393
INDEX
L
Bermondsey fete 143 mammoth 15 motorways 371
black community 234 Manchester 211, 258, 259, 269, 301 mounds 16, 19
dock strikes 311 Mandubracius 22 Mount Grace, Yorkshire 108
La Tène culture 20, 21, 30 City and finance 276, 316, 334, 381, 387 manors 88–89 Mountbatten, Louis, Lord 364, 379
labor Georgian 218 Maori 294, 295 Mowlam, Mo 379
child 264, 268, 276, 278 Great Fire 121, 129, 180, 182–83 maps 30, 85, 174, 181, 184 Mughal Empire 213, 290
division of 225 Greater London Council 383 marathon 305 multiculturalism 387
poor conditions 231, 235 medieval 120–21 Marconi, Guglielmo 305 Munich pact 347
surplus 232 men’s clubs 208 Margaret, Princess 363 Munster, Plantation of 156–57
waged 143 Metropolitan Police 223, 278 Margaret, the “Maid of Norway” 92 Murray, George 203, 204
see also unemployment 1960s 372–73, 374–75 Margaret of Anjou 122, 123 Muscovy Company 163
Labour Party 207, 277, 311, 367, 373, 380 Norman 89 Margaret Tudor 138 music 119, 152, 153, 271, 372, 377
first governments 331, 334 Olympic Games 305, 361 Marlborough, John Churchill, duke of 197 music hall 304
post-1945 governments 355, 360, 361, panoramas 164–65, 386–87 Marlowe, Christopher 152, 155 musket 169
364, 369, 371, 372, 376, 377, 378, 386 Peasants’ Revolt 104–05 Marvell, Andrew 173 Mussolini, Benito 346, 349
N
and world wars 326, 346 plague 103, 180, 181 Marx, Karl 269, 283
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Lawrence) 372 as port 229, 277 Marxism 334, 376
Ladysmith, siege of 303 Roman 24, 28, 33 Mary I (Mary Tudor), queen of England 133,
Lafayette, Marquis de 217 Royal Exchange 210–11 137, 140, 141, 148
Lake, Gerard 239 17th century 164–65, 180–81, 184 Mary II, queen of Great Britain and Ireland Nagasaki, Japan 359
Lamarck, Jean Baptiste de 288 slave trade 211 (with William III) 189, 192 Napoleon Bonaparte 193, 240–41, 246–47
Lancashire 276, 277 Southwark 33, 152, 155, 165 Mary, queen of Scots 137, 138–39, 141, 158 Napoleonic Wars 240–43, 244, 246–47, 255
Lancaster, House of 115, 122 stations 282, 298–99 masons 121 Nash, John 255, 256–57
Land Acts 300–01 suburbs 279, 305 matchgirls’ strike 309, 310 Nasmyth, Alexander 225
Land League and Land Wars 301 Temple Church 83 materialism 282, 283, 289 Nasser, Gamal Abdul 367
landlessness 143 terrorist attacks 387 mathematics 184, 185 National Covenant 166, 196
landlords 103, 104, 230 theaters 152, 154, 181 Matilda (Maud), queen of England 64, 73, National Front 376, 377
absentee 266, 301 Trafalgar Square 243, 330, 373 76, 96 National Health Service 355, 360, 361, 386
landscaping 231 Treason Trials 237 Maximus, Magnus 31, 34 National Insurance Act (1911) 311
Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury 69 21st century 317 Mayflower (ship) 163 National Union of Mineworkers 380, 381
Langland, William 109, 110 underground 276, 354, 355 medals 271, 309, 333 nationalization 360, 361
Langlois, Jean-Charles 275 Viking raid on 47 medical care 103, 228, 360, 361 Native Americans 162, 163, 212, 214, 234,
Langton, Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury West End shows 338 nursing 274, 275 244, 245
84, 86, 108 workhouse 284–85 surgery 33, 274 NATO see North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Langtry, Lillie 304 see also Greenwich; St. Paul’s Cathedral; Medway Raid 178–79 natural selection, theory of 288–89
language Tower of London; Westminster Abbey megaliths 10 navies 22, 51, 146, 179
English 69 London Bridge 165 Meikle, Andrew 231 German 312
French 88 London Gazette 209 Melbourne, William Lamb, Lord 270–71 Tudor 133, 142, 146, 147
Germanic 110 London Palladium 304 mental illness 278 see also Royal Navy
Latin 28, 29, 33, 45, 69, 89 London School of Economics 311 shell-shock 323 Navigation Act (1651) 173, 178, 179
Old English and Middle English 110 Londonderry see Derry Mercator projection 184 navigation aids 190–91, 226, 227, 229, 289
vernacular 110 Long Parliament 169, 172 merchants 89, 120–21 Nawab of Bengal 212, 213
Viking 47, 55 longbows 99, 101, 118–19, 125 Mercia 40–41, 44, 47, 51, 52, 53, 57, 58 Nazis 345, 346, 347, 351
Larwood, Harold 342 Longchamp, William 254 Merciless Parliament 114–15 Neanderthals 14–15
Lateran Council (1215) 108 longitude 191, 227 Methodism 223 Nehru, Jawaharlal 365
Latin language 28, 29, 33, 45, 69, 89 Look Back in Anger (Osborne) 372 microscopy 184–85 Nelson, Horatio 241, 242–43
Laud, William 166 Lord Chamberlain’s Men 155 middle classes 143, 219, 223, 250–51, 268– Neolithic Age 15, 16–17
law Lords Appellant 114–15, 118 69, 278–79, 305, 338–39, 355, 361 Netherlands (Dutch)
Anglo-Saxon 41 Louis VII, king of France 77 Middle East 343, 376, 380 Elizabeth I’s alliance with 141, 148–49
reforms 172, 223, 373 Louis IX, king of France 85, 90 Middleton, Kate 363 and exploration 227
Lawrence, D.H. 372 Louis XIV, king of France 177, 179, 196, 197 Middleton, Thomas 153, 158 immigrants 181
lay investiture 72–73 Louis XVI, king of France 215, 237 Mildenhall treasure 34–35 Louis XIV and 196
lead mining 29, 264 Louis, Prince (son of Philippe II) 85 Mill, John Stuart 185, 283, 309 trade rivalry with 211
League of Nations 331, 342, 343, 346 Lucknow, siege of 292 Millais, John Everett 282–83 wars with 173, 176–77, 178–79
Leeds, Yorkshire 269, 277 Luddites 233, 255 Milosevic, Slobodan 385 in World War II 349
Leicester, Robert Dudley,earl of 140–41, 149 Luftwaffe 357, 361 Milton, John 153, 173 New Model Army 169, 173, 175, 176
Lennon, John 372 Lusitania, RMS 304, 321, 326 Mini-Minor 314–15 New Statesman 311
Leo X, Pope 135, 136–37 lute 153 mining see coal mining; lead mining; tin New World 146, 162–63, 179, 212
Levellers 173 Luther, Martin 109, 136, 148, 173, 184 mining New Zealand 294–95, 343, 362
Liberal Democrats 387 Luttrell Psalter 88, 106–07 Mirror, The, or The Glasse of the Synneful 141 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 277, 279
Liberal Party 269, 305, 310, 311, 322, 331, Lutyens, Edwin Landseer 305 missionaries 39, 45, 267, 286, 296 Newcomen, Thomas 233
334, 350 Lyell, Charles 289 Mithras 32 Newfoundland Regiment 325
M
see also Whigs mob violence 223, 237 Newgrange, Ireland 16
lidos 339 Modernism 283, 305 newspapers 208, 209, 304, 306–07, 339
life expectancy 16, 264 monarchy 388 war correspondents 303
Limerick, sieges of 197 constitutional 206 Newton, Isaac 179, 185
Lindisfarne 41, 44, 46 Macbeth, king of Scotland 59, 60 modern 362–63 Newton, John 235
Lindisfarne Gospels 45 MacDonald, Flora 203 monasteries 44, 45, 83, 89, 108, 109, 136 Ney, Michel 247
literature 208–09, 265, 305 Macdonald, Ramsay 326, 331, 334 dissolution of the 135, 137, 142, 152 Nicholas I, tsar of Russia 274, 275
vernacular 110, 152 MacLaine, James 223 Irish 38–39, 46, 54, 55, 80–81 Nigeria 365
see also books; poetry; theater Macmillan, Harold 364, 370 secularism and reform 39 Nightingale, Florence 274
Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire 142 MacMurrough, Dermot, king of Leinster 81 Viking raids on 46, 54 Nine Years’ War (Grand Alliance) 196
Liverpool 211, 234, 264, 277, 305, 354 Macpherson, James 224 Monck, George 176, 178 Nine Years’ War (Irish) 157, 238
Liverpool to Manchester railway 258, 259 Madison, James 244 money see banknotes; coins nonconformists 172–73, 177
Livery Companies 121 madrigals 153 Monmouth, James, Duke of 189 Nonsuch Palace 132–33
Livingstone, David 286–87 Maeatae 29 Monroe, James 245 Nore mutiny 237
Lloyd, Marie 304 Maéll Sechnaill, (9th century Irish king) 54 Montfort, Simon de 64, 85 Norman Conquest 11, 64, 68–71, 110, 132
Lloyd George, David 303, 309, 311, 321, Maéll Sechnaill (11th century Irish king) 55 Montgomery, Bernard 358, 359 Norman rule 72–73, 88–89
322, 323, 331, 350, 351 Mafeking, siege of (1899) 303 Montrose, James Graham, Marquess of 169 Normandy 69, 73, 82
Lloyds of London 181, 228, 229 magazines 208–09 Moore, John 241 Normandy landings 359
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd 90–91 Magna Carta 64, 67, 84–85, 86–87, 128, 189 Moore-Brabazon, John 304 North Africa, war in 349, 358
Llywelyn ap Iorweth (Llywelyn Fawr) 90 Magnus, king of Norway 60 Morcar, Earl 68 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Locke, John 184 Mahdi 297 More, Thomas 135, 137, 153 369, 384, 385
lockouts 311, 334 Major, John 379, 381 Morocco crises 312–13 North Pole 287
Lollards 109, 222 Malaya 364 Morris, William 121, 282, 283 North Sea oil 381
London Malcolm II, king of Scotland 59 Mortimer, Edmund 117 Northcliffe, Alfred Harmsworth, Lord 304
air raids 327, 349, 352–53, 354, 355, 360 Malcolm III, king of Scotland 69 Mortimer, Roger 254 Northeast Passage 163
Armistice Day 330 Malcolm IV, king of Scotland 76, 92 mosaics 33 Northern Ireland 317, 378–79, 387, 389
Banqueting House 159, 170–71 Maldon causeway, Essex 57 Moslems see Islam see also Ulster
battle of Cable Street 335 Malthus, Thomas 289 Mosley, Oswald 335, 354 Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association 378
394
INDEX
Northern Rock bank 386 James I and 158 Stone Age 16 Ramsay, James 235
Northumberland, earls of 114, 115 land as qualification for 218 Port Sunlight, Liverpool 305 Ranters 173
Northumbria 40, 41, 44, 47, 52, 53, 57, 59, Palace of Westminster 206–07, 268–69 ports 211, 277 rationing 354, 355, 360, 361, 370
61, 76 Pugin’s Gothic decor 282 Portugal 146, 241 Red Stick confederacy 245
Northwest Indian War 245 and Richard II 114–15 postal services 271, 290 Redgrave, Vanessa 373
Northwest Passage 146, 163, 227, 242, 286, Scottish 93, 387 potatoes 266–67 Redwald, king of East Anglia 37
287 and taxation 85, 104 Potsdam Conference (1945) 359 Reform Acts 265, 269, 310
Norwich 109, 121 parlor, Victorian 278–79 pottery Reformation 128, 133, 135–37, 141–42, 184
Nova Albion 146, 162 Parnell, Charles Stewart 300, 301 ancient 16, 17 in Netherlands 148–49
nuclear weapons 359, 368, 369, 384 Parr, Catherine 135 Roman 33 in Scotland 137, 138
NUM see National Union of Mineworkers passage graves 16, 17 Wedgwood 232 Regency period 254–55
O
Patrick, Saint 38, 39 poverty 143, 222, 233, 255, 265 see also George IV
Paul, Lewis 232–33 in Ireland 239, 266 religion
Paulinus, Suetonius 24 20th century 311, 335, 354, 360 Iron and Bronze Age ritual sites 22
Paxton, Joseph 273 Victorian 278, 284–85 Roman Britain 29, 32
Oates, Titus 177 Peach, Blair 377 Powell, Enoch 373, 376 17th century sects 172–73
O’Brien, Muirchertach 81 Pearse, Padraic 332–33 Powhatan Confederacy 163 Stone Age 17
O’Brien, William Smith 300 peasants 89, 104, 120, 230 Powys 58 see also Christianity
Observer 209 Peasants’ Revolt 104–05, 120, 142, 222, 310 Prayer Book Rebellion 133 reliquaries 38–39, 52, 62–63, 145
O’Connell, Daniel 300 Peel, Robert 223, 267, 269, 270–71, 278 Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood 282 Renaissance 152–53
O’Connor, Rory, king of Connaught 81 Peep o’ Day Boys 239 Presbyterians 169, 174, 175 reparations 331
O’Connor, Turlough 81 Pembroke, Richard fitzGilbert de Clare, earl prices 103, 142, 258, 334 Representation of the People Act (1918) 327
Odo, bishop of Bayeux 68, 69 of (“Strongbow”) 81 inflation 371, 381, 386 Restoration 173, 176–77, 180, 200
O’Donnell, Hugh Roe 157 Pembroke, William Marshall, earl of 85 Pride’s Purge 169, 172, 176 Revere, Paul 214
Óengus mac Fergus see Onuist Penda of Mercia 40, 41, 44 Priestley, JB 338, 355 Revolutionary Wars 240, 242, 244
Offa, king of Mercia 40, 41 Peninsular War 241 prime ministers 206–07, 389 rhetoric 110
Offa’s Dyke 40, 41 Penn, William, and Pennsylvania 162, 163 Princip, Gavrilo 313 Rhodes, Cecil 297, 302–03
Ogham alphabet 30, 31 pensions 311 printing 184 Rhodesia 303
oil supplies 367, 380, 381 Pepys, Samuel 180–81, 182 prisons 278 Southern 343, 365
Olaf Tryggvason 57 Percy, Henry (“Hotspur”) 115, 116, 117 Private Eye 209 Rhodri Mawr (the Great) 58
Olympic Games 305, 361 Percy, Thomas 161 privateering 146–47, 149, 226 Rhys of Deheubarth 76
Omagh bombing 379 Percy family 114, 115, 118 privatization 380, 381, 383 Richard I, king of England (“the Lionheart”)
O’Neill clan 156, 157 Perry, Oliver 244–45 Privy Chamber 142 77, 82, 83, 84, 254
see also Uí Neill dynasty Peterloo Massacre 255 professions 219 Richard II, king of England 104–05, 110,
Onuist, king of the Picts 59 Pevensey fort 68 Profumo, John 372 114–15, 116, 118, 122
Opium Wars 296 Philadelphia, USA 214, 215 propaganda 326 Richard III, king of England 123
oppida 21, 32 Philip II, king of Spain 133, 140, 141, 146, prostitution 278 Richard, duke of York 122, 254
Orange Order 197, 239 148, 149, 150 Protestantism Richardson, James 286
Order of the Garter 132 Philip V, king of Spain 200 Hanoverians and 200 Richardson, Mary 309
orders, religious 108 Philip, Prince, duke of Edinburgh 362, 365 in Ireland and Northern Ireland 238, 239, Richborough fort, Kent 34
Ordinance of Labourers (1349) 104 Philippe II, king of France 83, 84, 85 267, 301, 332, 333, 378, 379 Rievaulx Abbey 137
Orkneys 17, 331 Philippe IV, king of France 93, 96 in Netherlands 148–49 riots 222–23, 237, 255, 371, 373, 380
Orléans, Louis, duke of 118 Philippe VI, king of France 96, 97, 101 Stuarts and 158, 176 Rising of the North 141
Orwell, George 334, 339 Philippe the Bold, duke of Burgundy 118 Tudors and 133, 136–37, 141 Rizzio, David 138
Osborne, John 372 Philippe the Good, duke of Burgundy 119 see also Puritans; Reformation roads
Osborne House, Isle of Wight 271 Phoenix Park murders 301 Provisions of Oxford and Westminster 85 Indian 291
Oseberg ship 46–47 photography 280 psalters 57, 88, 89, 106–07 motorways 371
Oswald, king of Northumbria 41, 44 war 275 Ptolemy 30 Roman 29, 32
Oswy, king of Northumbria 40, 41, 45, 59 Picts 11, 30, 31, 34, 59 public houses 326 Scottish 202–03
Othello (Shakespeare) 155 Piers Plowman (Langland) 109, 110 Pugin, Augustus 282 Roanoke, Virginia 146, 162
Ottoman Empire 83, 241, 274, 297, 312, Pilgrim Fathers 163 Punch 209, 289 Robert Curthose,duke of Normandy 69, 72,
321, 323, 343, 350 Pilgrimage of Grace 135, 137 punishments 143, 161, 223 73, 82
Outremer 83 pilgrims, Canterbury 108, 110 death penalty 203, 223, 373 Robert the Bruce, king of Scotland 95, 138
Owain of Gwynedd 76 Pilgrim’s Progress, The (Bunyan) 173 punk movement 377 Robert II, king of Scotland (Robert Stewart)
Owen, Robert 265 pill, contraceptive 373 Puritans 163, 166, 173 93, 138
Oxford, University of 89, 108, 109 Pipe Rolls 73 Pytheas of Massilia 21 Robert III, king of Scotland 116–17
Q
Oxford Movement 282 Pitt, William, the Elder 207 Robertson, William 321
Oz (magazine) 373 Pitt, William, the Younger 207, 236, 239, Robinson Crusoe (Defoe) 209
P
254 Roche of Montpellier, Saint 103
plague 102, 180, 181 Rochester Castle 72–73
Black Death 102–03, 104, 117, 120, 142 Quakers 162, 163, 173, 234, 235 Rock Against Racism 377
Plantagenet, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou 73, Quant, Mary 372 rock ’n’ roll 372
Pacific region 226–27 76, 96 Quebec, Canada 212, 294, 295 Rocket (locomotive) 258
pacifism 327 Plantagenets 73 Queen Anne’s War 197 Roger, bishop of Salisbury 73
R
Paddington Station, London 298–99 plantations, slave 163 Rolfe, John 162, 163
Paine, Thomas 209, 236, 237 plantations of Ireland 156–57, 175, 266, 300 Rolling Stones, The 372, 373
Pakistan 364 plows 10, 33, 230, 231 Rolls Royce 304
Palace of Westminster 206–07, 268–69 Pocahontas 162, 163 Roman Catholicism 136
Pale of Settlement 81 pocket boroughs 269 Race Relations Acts 373, 377 emancipation 255, 300
Paleolithic era 14, 16 poetry race riots 371, 380 Gordon Riots against 222, 223
Palestine 343, 364 blank verse 153, 155 radar 349, 357 in Ireland and Northern Ireland 156, 169,
Palladius 38 Elizabethan 153, 155 radicalism 237, 255, 373 174–75, 196, 238–39, 326, 333, 378–79
Pankhurst, Christabel 309, 326 iambic pentameter 155, 208 radio in New World 163
Pankhurst, Emmeline 308, 309, 326 medieval 110–11 communication 305, 307 Stuarts and 129, 158, 161, 166, 177, 189
Paradise Lost (Milton) 153, 173 metaphysical 153, 173 entertainment 339, 341 Tudors and 133, 137, 138, 141, 148, 158
Paris, Matthew 85 Romanticism 282 information broadcasts 343, 351 Victorian revival 282
Paris Peace Conference (1919) 331 Scottish 224 Raeburn, Henry 225 Roman de la Rose 110
Park, Mungo 286 Poland 347, 358 Raedwald of East Anglia 40 Romans 10, 20, 22–35
Parker Bowles, Camilla 363 police force 223, 278, 377, 383 RAF see Royal Air Force army 22, 24, 28, 29, 34–35, 98
Parliament 236–37 poll tax 32, 104–05, 381, 383 ragged schools 265, 279 Christianity 44
accountability 206 Poor Laws 143 Ragnall 52–53 citizenship 28
after Act of Union 206 pop music 372, 377 railways 250, 258, 259, 261, 265, 275, 276, end of empire 33, 34–35
beginnings 64–65 Pope, Alexander 185, 208 277, 304, 355 forts 24, 34
and Charles I and Civil War 166–67, 168, Popish Plot (1679) 177 Indian 291 frontiers 28, 29, 30–31
169, 171, 172, 180 popular culture 372–73 South African 303 gods and goddesses 32, 33
Charles II and 176, 177 population stations 259, 282, 298–99 governors and procurators 28, 29
Cromwell and 173, 175 London 181 strikes 310, 311 health and well-being 33
electoral reform 235, 237, 268–69 1920s and 1930s 338, 342 Raj, British 291 houses and villas 29, 33, 34
Gunpowder Plot 158, 160–61 Norman period 89 Raleigh, Walter 140, 146, 149, 152, 155, 162 invasion of Britain 22–25
Henry III and 85 Roman Britain 29 Ramsay, Allan 225 plague 102
395
INDEX
roads 29, 32 Christianity 38 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 110 strikes 265, 309, 310–11, 326, 331, 376, 377
taxation 32 Covenanters 166, 169, 174, 196 Skara Brae, Orkneys 17 General Strike 334
temples 32, 33 devolution 387 slavery and slave trade 146, 163, 175, 179, miners’ 376, 380, 381, 383
towns 28–29, 32–33, 34 early settlers 10 200, 210, 211, 222, 277 Strongbow see Pembroke, Richard, earl of
trade 29, 30 Edward the Confessor’s campaign in 60 campaign against 223, 234–35, 268, 286 Stuart (Stewart), House of 93, 116, 138, 202
writers 208 Enlightenment 179, 193, 224–25 Roman 33 Stuart succession 128–29, 138, 141, 200
Romanticism 282, 283 Henry II and 77 slave ships 229, 234–35 Sturt, Charles 287
Rommel, Erwin 349, 358 Highland Clearances 295 slums 222, 231, 278–79 suburbs 279, 305, 338–39
Roosevelt, Franklin D. 349, 351, 358, 359 House of Stuart 138 Smiles, Samuel 250, 279 Sudan 297, 350
Ros, Richard 110 independence struggle and subsequent Smith, Adam 210, 224, 225, 235 Sudbury, Simon, archbishop of Canterbury
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel 282, 283 wars 92–93, 116–17 Smith, John 162–63 104–05
rotten boroughs 269 Irish settlements 31 Snow, John 265 Sudetenland 346–47
Roundheads 168 Jacobite rebellions 193, 197, 200–01, 202–03 Snowden, Philip 334 Sueno Stone 59
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques 224, 282 Mary,queen of Scots 137, 138–39, 141, 158 SNP see Scottish National Party Suez 240–41, 274
Rowlandson, Thomas 209, 278 monarchs and rulers 388, 389 Social Democrats 380 Suez Canal 296, 297, 358, 366–67
Royal Adventurers 179 Picts 11, 30, 31, 34, 59 socialism 305, 311, 334, 361, 376 Suez Crisis 364, 366–67
Royal Air Force (RAF) 327, 349, 356–57, press 209 Socialist League 283 suffragettes 251, 308–09, 326, 350
358–59, 385 Reformation and Protestantism 137, 138, Socialist Workers Party 376, 377 Sulis 33
Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash 261, 262–63 158, 196 society Sunningdale Agreement (1974) 379
Royal Exchange of London 210–11 Romans in 24, 28, 29, 30 Anglo-Saxon 60–61 surgery 33, 274
royal family, modern 362–63 17th century wars 166, 169, 174–75 Edwardian 304–05 suttee 291
change of name 327 trade 212 Georgian 218–23, 278 Sutton Hoo ship burial 8–9, 36–37, 40
Royal Navy 133, 142, 146, 196, 211, 240– Treason Trials 237 medieval 88–89 Sweyn, king of Denmark 57
41, 274, 312, 316, 384, 385 union of the crowns (1603) 138, 149, 158– 1920s and 1930s 338–39 Swift, Jonathan 208, 209
mutinies 237, 334 59 1950s and 1960s 370–73 swords 22, 36, 47, 52, 124
and USA 244–45 union (full) with England (1707) 138, 158, Tudor 142–45 Symington, William 258–59
World War I 321, 322 175, 198–99, 200 Victorian 278–79, 284–85 Synod of Whitby 44, 45
T
World War II 350, 359 Scott, George Gilbert 282 Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
Royal Society 181, 185 Scott, Robert Falcon 287 234–35
Rubens, Peter Paul 159 Scott, Walter 224–25 Society of United Irishmen 238–39
Rule Britannia! (Arne and Thomson) 211 Scott, Winfield 245 SOE see Special Operations Executive
Rump Parliament 172 Scottish Labour Party 311 Solander, Daniel 227 Taff Vale Railway Dispute 311
Ruskin, John 282, 283 Scottish National Party (SNP) 387 Solemn League and Covenant 166, 174 Tahiti 227
Russell, John 267 Scouts, Boy 304 Somersett, James 235 Tallis, Thomas 153
Russell, William Howard 274–75 scutage 84, 86 Somme, battle of the 322, 323, 324–25 tally sticks 73
Russia 241, 274–75, 312, 313 seafarers 146–47 sonnets 155 Tamworth Manifesto 269
see also Soviet Union seals 120, 148 Sophia of Hanover, Electress 189 Tandy, James Napper 238
Russian Revolution 322, 327, 331, 334 seaplanes, Supermarine 339 South Africa 296–97, 303, 343, 365 tanks 323
Ruthwell Cross 44 season, social 218, 219, 305 South Pole 287 Tara, Ireland 31, 39, 54, 55
Ruyter, Michiel de 178, 179 Sebastopol, Russia 274, 275 South Sea Bubble 206, 210–11 Tasmania 295
S
seed drill 231 Southwark, London 33, 152, 155, 165 Tatler 208
Segar, William 152 Soviet Union taxation
Serapis 32 and Cold War 369, 384 in American colonies 214, 215
Serbia 313, 385 communism 346 Charles I and 166
Saddam Hussein 385 serfdom 105, 230 in World War II 347, 349, 358 for Crusades 82, 83
sagas, Irish 31 servants 106–07 see also Russia; Russian Revolution East India Company and 290–91
St. Albans (Verulamium) 24, 33 women as 278, 339 Spain fyrd and heregeld 61, 98
St. Pancras Station, London 282 Seven Years’ War 201, 207, 212, 214 Hanoverian wars with 200 income tax 207, 355, 361, 381
St. Paul’s Cathedral 164–65, 182, 185, 186–87 Severus, Septimius 29 and New World 146, 162, 200 indirect 381
Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria 83 sewage systems 278–79 Peninsular War 241 lay subsidies 104
Salisbury Cathedral 89 Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act (1919) Stuarts and 158 Parliament and 85, 104
Sambourne, Linley 289 327 Tudors and 134, 135, 141, 148–51 poll tax 32, 104–05, 381, 383
Samian ware 33 Sex Pistols 363 Spanish Armada 141, 147, 149, 150–51 Roman 32
Sancho, Ignatius 234 sextants 226, 229 Spanish Civil War 346 Scottish 116
Sands, Bobby 378, 379 sexual morals 278, 339 Special Air Service (SAS) 384 scutage 84, 86
Sandwich Islands 226, 227 Seymour, Jane 135 Special Operations Executive (SOE) 349 Tudor 135, 142
sanitation 33, 120, 278–79 Shackleton, Ernest 287 Spectator 208 20th century 311
Sarajevo, Bosnia 313 Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Lord Speed, John 165 wool 120
Sargent, John Singer 305 268 Speke, John 286 tea 214, 215, 228, 229, 296
SAS see Special Air Service Shakespeare, William 110, 123, 143, 152, Spenser, Edmund 110, 141, 153 Tecumseh 244, 245
Sassoon, Siegfried 327 154–55, 181 spices 83, 120 telegraph 259, 304–05
satire 208–09, 237, 372, 383 Sharp, Granville 235 spies 369 telescopes 179, 200
Savery, Thomas 233 Shaw, George Bernard 305, 311 spinning 232–33 television 362, 371
Saxons see Anglo-Saxons sheep 89, 142, 231 Spitalfields, London 181 Telford, Thomas 260
scalping 244 Sheffield, Yorkshire 277 Spithead mutiny 237 Templar, Knights 83
Scapa Flow, Orkneys 331 Sheldonian theatre, Oxford 185 Spitting Image 383 temples, Roman 32, 33
Scargill, Arthur 381 shell-shock 323 sports 145, 219, 280, 339, 342, 343, 361 tenants 73, 77, 89, 143, 230, 266, 301
Schlieffen Plan 312, 313 Sheppard, Jack 223 Stalin, Joseph 346, 347, 351, 358, 359 terrorist attacks 317, 384
scholasticism 153 sheriffs 60, 73, 76–77, 85 stamps, postage 271, 290, 363 Angry Brigade 373
school meals, free 311 shipbuilding 173, 179, 211, 259, 277, 334 Stanley, Henry Morton 286–87 IRA 333, 379
school milk 361, 383 ships 147, 163, 226–27, 244, 245, 288 Star Chamber, Court of 132, 166 al-Qaeda 385, 387
schools passenger liners 304 Statute of Labourers (1351) 103 Tewkesbury Abbey 98–99
comprehensive 373 slave ships 229, 234–35 Statute of Wales (1284) 91 textile industry 232–33, 276–77, 334
medieval 89, 108 steamships 258–59, 261, 277 steam power 233, 248–49, 258–59 Thames, River 164–65, 260
Victorian 265, 278, 279 Titanic disaster 306–07 steamships 258–59, 261, 277 Thatcher, Margaret 225, 279, 361, 369, 373,
science Viking 46–47 steel 258, 259, 276, 277 377, 379, 380–85
and agriculture 230–31 World War I 312 Steele, Richard 208 theater
18th century 226–27, 230–31 see also navies Stephen, king of England 64, 73, 76 Edwardian 304
experimental 153, 184 Short Parliament 166 Stephenson, George 258 Elizabethan and Jacobean 152–53, 154–55
Scottish 225 Sickert, Walter 305 Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury 68, 69 Licensing Act (1737) 209
17th century 173, 179, 184–85 Sidney, Philip 149, 153 stock exchange 210, 334, 380–81 Puritans and 181
Victorian 273, 283, 288–89 siege warfare 92–93, 97, 99 stock market crashes 334, 351, 380, 381 Restoration 176, 177, 181
scientific instruments 184, 200 Sihtric Caec, king of Dublin and York 53, 55 Stone Age 14, 16–19 thegns 60, 98
scorched-earth policy 303 Sikh Wars 290 Stone of Scone 92 Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of
Scotland 11, 58, 59, 65, 69 192–93 Sikhs 321 Stonehenge, Wiltshire 17, 18–19 Canterbury 44–45
Athelstan’s invasion 53 Simnel, Lambert 132 Stopes, Marie 339 Thomas of Bayeux, archbishop of York 69
“Auld Alliance” with France 134, 138 Simpson, Wallis see Windsor, Duchess of Stormont, Belfast 379 Thorkell the Tall 57
Battle of Bannockburn 65, 93, 94–95, 138 Singapore 343, 349 Strathclyde, Kingdom of 59 Thorseby, John, archbishop of York 109
Battle of Culloden 204–05 “Singeing of the King of Spain’s Beard” 149 Straw, Jack (medieval rebel) 104, 105 Thuggee 291
Battle of Flodden 134, 135, 138, 158 Sinn Féin 333, 379 street lights 279 time, standard 250, 265
396
INDEX
U
tournaments 98–99 mining and industry 277, 381 Wolfe, James 212
Tower of London 91, 105 monarchs and rulers 388, 389 Wolfe Tone, Theobald 238, 239
“princes in the tower” 123, 132 Owain Gly Dwr’s rebellion 117 Wolfenden Report (1957) 371
towns and cities Romans and 24 Wollstonecroft, Mary 236
burhs 51, 52 U-boats 322, 326, 327, 349, 358 unemployment 334 Wolsey, Thomas 135, 142
Georgian 218–19 Uganda 365, 376 Wales, princes of 91, 388 women
industrialization 231, 269 Uí Neill dynasty 31, 38, 39, 54, 55 Wall Street Crash 334, 351 equal pay 376
medieval 89, 120–21 see also O’Neill clan Wallace, Alfred Russel 289 MPs 327, 387
New Towns 305, 361, 370 Ulster 39, 93, 157, 197, 239, 300, 301, 332, Wallace, William 93 strikes by 309, 310, 376, 377
oppida 21, 32 333, 350 Walpole, Robert 200, 206–07, 208, 209 and theater 176, 181
Roman 28–29, 32–33, 34 see also Northern Ireland War of Jenkins’ Ear 200 Victorian 278
suburbs 279, 305, 338–39 Ulster Volunteer Force 320, 332, 378, 379 War of the Austrian Succession 200–01, 203, votes for 251, 308–09, 326, 339
Tudor 143 underground railways 276, 354, 355 212 work 264, 276, 326, 327, 338, 339, 387
Ulster 157 unemployment 316, 331, 334, 335, 336–37, War of the Quadruple Alliance 200 in world wars 326, 327, 355
Viking 55 339, 360, 361, 377, 380, 381, 382, 386 War of the Spanish Succession 197, 211 Women’s Liberation movement 376, 377
Toxteth riots 380 benefit payments 311 Warbeck, Perkin 132 Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
trackways 16–17 18th century 232 Wars of the Roses 65, 122–23, 128, 132, 168 309, 326
Tractarianism see Oxford Movement United Kingdom, creation of 198–99 Warwick, earl of (“the Kingmaker”) 122–23 Woodville, Elizabeth 123
trade 232 United Nations 385 Washington, George 214–15, 217, 236 wool 89, 118, 120, 121, 142, 232, 276
Anglo-Saxon 40 United States of America water power 233 Wordsworth, William 236, 282
British Empire and Commonwealth 343, British debt to 334, 359 Waterloo, battle of (1815) 240–41, 246–47 Workers’ Educational Association 304
364 and Cold War 364, 369 Watt, James 225, 233, 248–49 workers’ rights 251, 255, 264–65, 268
Crusades and 83 emigrants to 267, 295 WEA see Workers’ Educational Association see also trade unions
18th century 193, 210–11, 227, 228–29 flag and anthem 245 weapons workhouses 278, 284–85
free market 225, 235, 265, 268, 269, 383 and Iraq and Afghanistan 385 Anglo-Saxon 36 Working Men’s colleges 278, 283
Iron Age 20, 21, 32 and Suez Crisis 367 cannon and artillery 99, 119, 146, 275, World War I 295, 301, 309, 316, 320–31,
London and 180, 181 War of 1812 244–45 297, 322, 323 332, 342
Napoleon and 241 War of Independence 209, 214–17, 242 guns 99, 169, 203, 222, 228, 277, 321 events leading to 312–13
New World 163, 181 and World War I 322–23, 331 Iron Age 21 Gallipoli campaign 295, 321, 350
Roman 29, 30 and World War II 349, 351, 355, 358, 359 Maori club 295 home front 326–27
17th century 178–79 universities 89, 108, 373 medieval 96, 99, 101, 118–19, 124–25 peace and after 323, 330–31, 334
slavery and 234 Unknown Warrior 323 nuclear 359, 368, 369 secret agreements 331
Stone Age 16–17 Urban II, Pope 82 Roman 22 trench warfare 316, 322
Tudor 142 utilitarianism 185, 283 Stone Age 16 war graves 328–29
urban 89 Utopia (More) 153 tanks 323 World War II 295, 316–17, 339, 343, 346–
Viking 46 UVF see Ulster Volunteer Force V-1 bombs and V-2 rockets 355, 360 59, 364
V
wars 143 Viking 47, 52 Battle of Britain 349, 356–57
Trade Disputes Act (1906) 311 weaving 232 Blitz 349, 352–53, 354–55
trade unions 277, 310–11, 317, 326, 350, Webb, Beatrice and Sidney 311 conscription 347, 354, 355
371, 376, 377 Webb, Philip 283 D-Day (Normandy landings) 359
General Strike 334 V-1 bombs and V-2 rockets 355, 360 Webster, John 153 Dunkirk 348, 349
Margaret Thatcher and 380, 383 vagabonds 142, 143 Wedgwood, Josiah 232, 234, 288 evacuation of children 347, 354
origins 121 Van Dyke, Anthony 167 weights 40, 120 events leading to 346–47
Tolpuddle Martyrs 264, 265 Vassa, Gustavus 235 Welfare State 283, 361, 371, 372, 383 rationing 354, 355, 360, 361, 370
and World War II 346, 355 Verica 24 Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, duke of 241, victory 358–59
Trafalgar, battle of (1804) 241, 243 Verulamium see St. Albans 246–47 Wren, Christopher 181–82, 184–87
Trafalgar Square, London 243, 330, 373 Vespasian 24 Wells, HG 305, 311 Wulfstan, archbishop of Canterbury 45, 57
trams, electric 304 Victoria, queen of Great Britain and Ireland Wembley Stadium 339 Wyatt, Thomas 153
transportation 223, 237, 294, 295 219, 241, 270–73, 282, 291, 296, 312 Wesley, John and Charles 223 Wyatt’s Rebellion 133, 141
Transvaal 303 Victoria, Lake 286 Wessex 11, 41, 44, 46, 47, 50–53, 57, 58 Wycliffe, John 108, 109
Y
Traprain Law, East Lothian 30 Victoria Cross 271 West Indies 146, 163, 343, 365, 371
Treason Trials (1793–94) 237 Victoria Falls 286 Westminster Abbey 61, 85, 154–55, 201
treaties Victorian age 250–51 Wexford, Ireland 81, 169, 174
Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) 212 culture 282–83 Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire 22
Amiens (1302) 93 empire 251, 273, 287, 290–97 Whigs 200–01, 207–08, 254–55, 268–71 Yalta Conference (1945) 359
Amiens (1802) 241 entertainment 280–81 see also Liberal Party Yeats, WB 305
Bretigny (1360) 97 exploration 286–87 Whistler, James McNeill 282 yeoman-farmers 143
Edinburgh (1328) 93 industry 276–77 Whitby Abbey 45 Yom Kippur War 376
Fort Wayne (1809) 245 science 273, 283, 288–89 White Horse of Uffington 22 York 28, 44, 45
Ghent (1814) 245 society 278–79, 284–85 Whitefield, George 223 Viking 47, 52, 53, 55, 57, 68
Guerande (1381) 97, 118 Vietnam War 373, 385 Whitehouse, Mary 373 York, house of 122, 132, 133
Guines (1354) 97 Vikings 11, 41, 46–47, 50–53, 57 Whittington, Richard 120 Yorkshire 108, 142, 276–77
Kilmainham (1882) 301 art and craftwork 46, 54, 55 Wilberforce, William 235 Yorktown, siege of 216–17
Limerick (1691) 197 and Christianity 45, 47, 51, 57 Wild, Jonathan 223 Young Ireland alliance 300
Nonsuch (1585) 141, 149 Danegeld 57 Wilde, Oscar 304 Ypres 321
Paris (1763) 212 and Ireland 54–55 Wilhelm II, Kaiser 271, 312 Yugoslavia 385
Troyes (1420) 119 language 47, 55 Wilkes, John 206 yuppies 381
Z
Utrecht (1713) 197 and Scotland 59 Wilkinson, Ellen 337
Vereeniging (1902) 303 and Wales 58, 59 William the Conqueror (William I) 61,
Versailles (1919) 331, 346 weapons 47, 52 68–71, 75, 88, 108
Waitangi (1840) 294 villas, Roman 29, 33, 34 William II (William Rufus), king of England
Windsor (1175) 81 villeins 73, 89, 120 69, 72, 82 Zambezi River 286
trebuchet 118 Viroconium 28 William III, king of Great Britain and Ireland Zambia 303
Trelleborg, Denmark 57 Volusenus 22 169, 188–89, 192, 196–97, 200, 222, 266 Zeppelin 321, 327
Tresham, Francis 161 Vortigern, king of the Britons 40 William IV, king of Great Britain and Ireland Zimbabwe 303, 343, 365
Trevelyan, Charles 267 Votadini 30 255, 269, 270 Zong (slave ship) 234–35
Trevithick, Richard 233, 258 voting rights 218, 251, 308–09, 327, 339 William, Prince (son of Prince Charles) 363 Zulu Wars 296–97
Tribal Hidage 40 William Clito, duke of Normandy 73
397
ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS
Acknowledgments
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Will Collin: (ca). Corbis: Homer Sykes (bc). Trebbia (br). 39 Photograph © 2010 Art Library: Private Collection / © Look (bl). Getty Images: (br); Apic (tl); Danita
Dorling Kindersley: The Trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Reliquary and Learn (br). Corbis: The Art Archive (c). Delimont (ftl). 111 akg-images: British
British Museum (cra, cl, crb); Archaeological shrine (“Emly Shrine”) Irish, Early medieval, Dorling Kindersley: Museum of London / Library. 112–113 Alamy Images:
Museum, Cracow (fcla). Getty Images: (c). late 7th–early 8th century. Champlevé Museum Of London (cra). Getty Images: Greenshoots Communications. 114 Corbis:
13 Photograph © 2010 Museum of Fine enamel on bronze over yew wood; gilt DeA / G. Dagli Orti (crb). 68 Alamy Angelo Hornak (bc); Radius Images (bl).
Arts, Boston: Reliquary shrine (“Emly bronze moldings, inlay of lead-tin alloy. Images: Mary Evans Picture Library (clb). 114–115 Corbis: The Gallery Collection.
Shrine”) Irish, Early medieval, late 7th–early 9.2 x 4.1 x 10.5 cm (35⁄8 x 15⁄8 x 41⁄8 in.) Dorling Kindersley: Vikings of Middle 114–120 Getty Images: Danita Delimont
8th century. Champlevé enamel on bronze Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of England (tr). Getty Images: English School (ftl-ftl). 115 Alamy Images: The Print
over yew wood; gilt bronze moldings, inlay Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, 52.1396 (bl). (br). 68–69 Getty Images: Danita Delimont Collector (bc). 116–117 The Art Archive:
of lead-tin alloy. 9.2 x 4.1 x 10.5 cm (35⁄8 x Corbis: Stapleton Collection (tr). Getty (ftl-ftr). 69 akg-images: Bildarchiv Bibliothèque Nationale Paris / Harper Collins
15⁄8 x 41⁄8 in.) Theodora Wilbour Fund in Images: Image Source (tc). 40 Corbis: Monheim (br). Alamy Images: The Art Publishers . 117 Corbis: Patrick Dieudonne /
memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, Homer Sykes (bl). Dorling Kindersley: Gallery Collection (tl). 70–71 Corbis: The Robert Harding World Imagery (tr); Michael
52.1396 (bl). akg-images: British Library (fcl, Trustees of the National Museums of Art Archive. 72 Corbis: Angelo Hornak (tl). Nicholson (br). 118–119 Corbis: The Gallery
fcra). The Art Archive: Victoria and Albert Scotland (tl). Getty Images: Danita 72–73 Getty Images: Danita Delimont (ftl- Collection. 118 Alamy Images: Lebrecht
Museum London / V&A Images (cb). Getty Delimont (c). 41 The Art Archive: Bodleian ftr). 73 akg-images: British Library (br). Music and Arts Photo Library (c). 119
Images: (c, br); Danita Delimont (cla); Library Oxford / Bodley Rolls 3 (tr). The Dorling Kindersley: The Science Museum, Alamy Images: AA World Travel Library
Purestock (cr). 14 Corbis: Patrick Robert Trustees of the British Museum: (bl). London (tc). 74–75 The National (cr). Getty Images: DeA / G. Dagli Orti
(bl). Dorling Kindersley: Natural History Getty Images: Danita Delimont (br). 42–43 Archives: E31-2-1f64v. 76 Getty Images: (tc); DeA Picture Library (br). 120 Alamy
Museum, London (cl). 14–15 Dorling The Trustees of the British Museum. French School (bl). 76–77 akg-images: Images: The Print Collector (cl). Dorling
Kindersley: University Museum of 44 Alamy Images: South West Images British Library. Getty Images: Danita Kindersley: The Trustees of the British
Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge. Scotland / (bc). Getty Images: Bridgeman Delimont (ftl-ftr). 77 akg-images: (br). Museum (br); Museum of London / Museum
15 Dorling Kindersley: The Museum of Art Library (ca). 44–45 akg-images: British Corbis: Philippe Lissac / Godong (bl). Of London (tc). 121 Getty Images: English
London (tl); The Science Museum, London Library. 45 Corbis: Paul Thompson (cr). 46 78–79 Getty Images: Martin Gray. 80 School (bc). 122 Corbis: The Gallery
(cl). Getty Images: Last Refuge (br). 16 Corbis: Christophe Boisvieux (bc); Lee Frost Getty Images: Chris Hill. 81 akg-images: Collection (tl); Historical Picture Archive
Dorling Kindersley: Archaeological / Robert Harding World Imagery (tl); Werner Erich Lessing (tl). Alamy Images: David (bl). Photolibrary: The Print Collector (c).
Museum, Cracow (bl). Getty Images: DeA Forman (bl). 47 Dorling Kindersley: The Hancock (bl). Getty Images: IIC / Axiom 122–123 The Bridgeman Art Library:
Picture Library (c). 18–19 Corbis: Nigel Trustees of the British Museum (cra, cr); The (tr). Mary Evans Picture Library: National Centrale Bibliotheek van de Universiteit,
Corrie / English Heritage / Arcaid. 20 Museum of London (ftl); Vikings of Middle Archives (br). 81–85 Getty Images: Danita Ghent, Belgium / The Bridgeman Art
Dorling Kindersley: The Trustees of the England (tl, tc). Getty Images: Danita Delimont (ftr-ftr). 82 Alamy Images: Library. 122–125 Getty Images: Danita
British Museum (cr, cl). 21 Corbis: Wolfgang Delimont (br). 48–49 Getty Images: Hulton Photos 12 (cl). Getty Images: (bl). 82–83 Delimont (ftl-ftr). 123 The Bridgeman Art
398
ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS
Library: Private Collection / © Look and (tl). 148–149 Corbis: Gianni Dagli Orti. 148 Thornhill (tr). 190–191 National Maritime SSPL (tc); Time & Life Pictures (cr). 228
Learn (bc). 124 Dorling Kindersley: The Getty Images. Nasim Tadghighi: (bl). 149 Museum, Greenwich, London: Ministry of Alamy Images: Mary Evans Picture Library
Trustees of the British Museum (bl/ Alamy Images: The Art Gallery Collection Defence Art Collection. 192 Corbis: (c); V&A Images (tr). Dorling Kindersley:
Broadsword, bc/Mace); The Board of (bl). Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftr). 150–151 Bettmann (tl). 193 Corbis: Stapleton The Trustees of the British Museum (tl); The
Trustees of the Royal Armouries (fbl, bc/ Getty Images: SuperStock. 152–153 Photo Collection (br). 194 Alamy Images: Mary Board of Trustees of the Royal Armouries
Dagger); Warwick Castle, Warwick (br/ Scala, Florence: The National Gallery, Evans Picture Library (c). The Bridgeman (ca); Judith Miller / John Bull Silver (bl);
Mace); Wallace Collection, London (fbl/ London. 152 Getty Images: Nicholas Art Library: Wyck, Jan (1640-1700) / National Maritime Museum (bc); Lyon and
Dagger, cr). 125 Dorling Kindersley: Robin Hilliard (cl); Time & Life Pictures (bc). National Army Museum, London (clb). Turnbull Ltd. (br). 229 Dorling Kindersley:
Wigington, Arbour Antiques, Ltd., Stratford- 152–158 Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftl-ftl). Corbis: Bettmann (cra). Dorling Judith Miller / Dreweatt Neate (tl); National
upon-Avon (tc); The Board of Trustees of the 153 Alamy Images: Lebrecht Music and Kindersley: National Maritime Museum, Maritime Museum (c, bl, bc); Wilberforce
Royal Armouries (cl, cra, fcl); Wallace Arts Photo Library (tr). Corbis: Burstein Greenwich, London (cb). Getty Images: House Museum, Hull City Council, UK (cr).
Collection, London (cr, cb, cb/Bill, cb/ Collection (bc). Dorling Kindersley: Judith (br). 194–195 Getty Images: Thomas Jnr. Getty Images: SSPL (cl). 230 Alamy
Halberd). 126–127 Corbis: Hoberman Miller / Woolley and Wallis (bl). 154 Getty Malton (Background). 195 akg-images: Images: The Art Archive (bc). Dorling
Collection. 128 Corbis: Historical Picture Images: Neale Clark (bl). 155 Corbis: North Wind Picture Archives (ca). Alamy Kindersley: The Museum of English Rural
Archive (tl). 129 Getty Images: AFP (br). Bettmann (cl, crb). TopFoto.co.uk: (bc). 156 Images: The Art Archive (bl). Getty Life, The University of Reading (c). Getty
130 Corbis: Hoberman Collection (tc); John McCavitt / Author of Sir Arthur Images: (cr); SSPL (cl); English School (crb). Images: (br). 230–231 The Art Archive:
Francis G. Mayer (crb). Dorling Chichester, Lord Deputy of Ireland, 196 The Bridgeman Art Library: Lely, Sir Lincoln Museum and Gallery / Eileen
Kindersley: Charlestown Shipwreck and 1605-16 (Belfast, 1998). : (tr). TopFoto. Peter (1618–80) (after) / Private Collection Tweedy. 231 The Art Archive: Nicolas
Heritage Centre, Cornwall (tr); Judith Miller co.uk: Topham Picturepoint (tl). 156–157 (bl). Getty Images: (cr). 196–197 The Sapieha (cr). Mary Evans Picture Library:
/ Woolley and Wallis (cr); Whitbread Plc Corbis: Richard Cummins. 157 Getty Bridgeman Art Library: Wyck, Jan (bc). 232 Dorling Kindersley: Judith Miller
(bc). Getty Images: Hans the Younger Images: (br); English School (tr). 158 (1640–1700) / National Army Museum, / Woolley and Wallis (bl). 232–233 Getty
Holbein (bl). Wikipedia, The Free Corbis: Fine Art Photographic Library (tl). London. Dorling Kindersley: The 68th Images: SSPL. 233 Alamy Images: Mary
Encyclopedia: Elizabeth1book (cla). 130– Getty Images: (cra); English School (cb). Durham Light Infantry (ftl-ftr)). 197 Corbis: Evans Picture Library (tr). Getty Images:
131 Corbis: Neil Beer (Background). 131 159 Getty Images: Peter Paul Rubens . Michael Freeman. 198–199 The National (bc). 234 Getty Images: (bl); English School
Dorling Kindersley: The Science Museum, 160–161 Getty Images: German School. Archives of Scotland. 200 Alamy Images: (c). 234–235 Getty Images. 235 The
London (cra); Wallace Collection, London 162 Corbis: Bettmann (cra); Francis G. Mary Evans Picture Library (tl). Getty Bridgeman Art Library: Royal Albert
(tc). Getty Images: John Barker (bl); Dirck Mayer (bc). 162–163 Corbis: Angelo Hornak Images: (br); Allan Ramsay (c); George Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon, UK (tc).
Stoop (c); Sir James Thornhill (crb). (ftl-ftr). 163 Corbis: Francis G. Mayer (br). Scharf the Elder (bc). 200–203 Dorling Getty Images: After John Russell (br).
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: Dorling Kindersley: Charlestown Kindersley: The 68th Durham Light 236–237 Alamy Images: North Wind
Patriarcha-Book of-Robert Filmer Originally Shipwreck and Heritage Centre, Cornwall Infantry (ftl-ftr). 201 Getty Images: (tc). Picture Archives. 236 Corbis: The Gallery
from 1680 (cla). 132–133 Wikipedia, The (cl). Getty Images: Popperfoto (tr). 164–165 202 Getty Images: (clb). 202–203 Corbis: Collection (cl). Getty Images: Time & Life
Free Encyclopedia: Nonsuch Palace by Occidental College Library. 166 The Bettmann. 203 Corbis: Patrick Dieudonne / Pictures (bl). 237 Alamy Images: Mary
Joris Hoefnagel. 132 Dorling Kindersley: Bridgeman Art Library: English School, Robert Harding World Imagery. Dorling Evans Picture Library (cra). Library Of
Wallace Collection, London (cla). Getty (17th century) / British Library, London, UK Kindersley: Judith Miller / Wallis & Wallis Congress, Washington, D.C.:
Images: (br). 132–138 Corbis: Angelo (cr). Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftl). Getty (tl). Getty Images: (cr). 204–205 Alamy LC-USZC4-6088 (tl). 238–239 Alamy
Hornak (ftl-ftl). 133 Alamy Images: World Images: John Singleton Copley (bl). Images: World History Archive. 206 Alamy Images: Pictorial Press Ltd . 238 Alamy
History Archive (cra). Getty Images: Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: Images: North Wind Picture Archives (tr). Images: Mary Evans Picture Library (tr).
English School (bl). 134 Getty Images: Patriarcha-Book of-Robert Filmer Originally Corbis: Michael Nicholson (bl). 206–207 Corbis: Eye Ubiquitous (bl). 239 Corbis:
English School (bl); Hans the Younger from 1680 (tl). 167 Getty Images: Sir Getty Images. 206–215 Dorling Bettmann (br). 240 Corbis: (cl). 240–241
Holbein (cr); SuperStock (bc). 135 Dorling Anthony van Dyck. 168 Dorling Kindersley: The 68th Durham Light Corbis: Stapleton Collection. 241 Corbis:
Kindersley: British Library (cr). Getty Kindersley: Wallace Collection, London Infantry (ftl-ftr)). 207 Corbis: Philadelphia Stefano Bianchetti (tr); The Gallery
Images: Friedrich Bouterwek (tl); DeA / (cra). 168–169 Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftl- Museum of Art (br). Getty Images: (tl, tr). Collection (br). 242 Corbis: Francis G.
G. Nimatallah (fbl); Peter Willi (bl); Hans ftr). Getty Images: John Barker. 169 208 Getty Images: (bl). 209 Corbis: The Mayer (cl). 242–243 Getty Images: Roger
Holbein the Younger (bc); Hans the Younger Dorling Kindersley: The Board of Trustees Gallery Collection (cr). Getty Images: SSPL Viollet. 243 Corbis: Fine Art Photographic
Holbein (br). 136–137 Getty Images: of the Royal Armouries (tl, tc). Getty (tl); Time & Life Pictures (br). 210 Alamy Library (tl); Michael Nicholson (br). Dorling
English School. 136 Corbis: Gustavo Images: English School (br). TopFoto. Images: North Wind Picture Archives (tl). Kindersley: HMS Victory / Lt Cdr DJ ‘Oscar’
Tomsich (br). 137 The Bridgeman Art co.uk: Topham Picturepoint (cr). 210–211 Corbis: Historical Picture Archive. Whild RN (cr). Getty Images: Time & Life
Library: His Grace The Duke of Norfolk, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia: New 211 Alamy Images: Lebrecht Music and Pictures (bc). 244 Library Of Congress,
Arundel Castle (br). Corbis: Robert Harding Model Army – Soldier’s catechism (cl). 170– Arts Photo Library (tr); Pictorial Press Ltd Washington, D.C.: LC-DIG-ppmsca-10752.
World Imagery (bc). 138 The Art Archive: 171 Corbis: The Gallery Collection. 172 (br). Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Collection (tl). 245 Corbis: (cr); Bettmann (tl); Smithsonian
Victoria and Albert Museum London / Getty Images: Benjamin West (bl). 172–181 Mary Evans Picture Library: Glasshouse Institution (tc). Dorling Kindersley: The
V&A Images (c). Bibliothèque Nationale De Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftl-ftr). 173 Alamy Images (bl). 212 Getty Images: Benjamin 68th Durham Light Infantry (ftr). Getty
France, Paris: (bl). Dorling Kindersley: Images: Mary Evans Picture Library (tr). West (cra). 212–213 Getty Images: Robert Images: (br); Christie’s Images (bl). 246–247
Whitbread Plc (br). Getty Images: (cr). 139 Corbis: (cb). Getty Images: Time & Life Home. 213 Alamy Images: North Wind Getty Images: Hulton Archive. 248–249
Corbis: Bettmann. 140–141 Corbis: The Pictures (tl). 174–175 Alamy Images: Mary Picture Archives (cl). Getty Images: Indian Dorling Kindersley: The Science Museum,
Gallery Collection. 140 Getty Images: Sarah Evans Picture Library. 174 Getty Images: School (tc). 214 Alamy Images: coin Alan London. 250 Corbis: The Gallery Collection
Countess of Essex (c). 140–147 Corbis: Nicolas Sanson D’Abbeville (cl). 175 Alamy King (cl). Corbis: Burstein Collection (bl). (tl). 251 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Collection
Angelo Hornak (ftl-ftr). 141 Getty Images: Images: Neil McAllister (cr). Getty Images: Getty Images: (tr). 214–215 Getty Images. (br). 252 Alamy Images: Alan King
English School (cr). TopFoto.co.uk: 2004 (tc, c). 176 Getty Images: (cl). 176–177 215 Corbis: Joseph Sohm; Visions of engraving (cb); Pictorial Press Ltd (ca).
Topham Picturepoint (br). Wikipedia, The Getty Images: Dirck Stoop . 177 Corbis: America (cl). Getty Images: (tr). 216–217 Corbis: (c). Dorling Kindersley: Rough
Free Encyclopedia: Elizabeth1book (tl). (br); Bettmann (tr). Getty Images: DeA Alamy Images: The Print Collector. 217 Guides (cr). Getty Images: Sir Thomas
142 Corbis: Bettmann (cl); Robert Estall Picture Library (tl). 178–179 National Getty Images: SSPL (tc). 218 Dorling Lawrence (cla); SSPL (bl, br). 252–253
(bl). Dorling Kindersley: Museum of Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: Kindersley: Weald and Downland Open Air Corbis: Historical Picture Archive
English Rural Life, The University of Reading Pieter Cornelisz van Soest. 178 akg-images: Museum, Chichester (cl). Getty Images: (Background). 253 Alamy Images: Ivan
(cr). 143 Corbis: Hoberman Collection (cb). British Library (bl). Alamy Images: Peter (cr). 218–219 Dorling Kindersley: The Vdovin (clb). Corbis: Alinari Archives (br).
Getty Images: Joris Hoefnagel (tc). 144 Horree (br). 179 Corbis: Dave Bartruff (br). 68th Durham Light Infantry (ftl-ftr). Getty Getty Images: Popperfoto (ca); SSPL (cr);
Alamy Images: fotolincs (ca/Posy Ring). 180 Alamy Images: Photos 12 (bc). Getty Images: Thomas Jnr. Malton. 219 Getty Time & Life Pictures (cb). Photolibrary:
The Art Archive: British Museum (cl); Images: John Hayls (tr). 181 Corbis: Images: Popperfoto (tl). 220–221 Alamy British Library; (cl). 254 Getty Images: Sir
Victoria and Albert Museum London / Sally Historical Picture Archive (tr). Dorling Images: The Art Gallery Collection. 222 Thomas Lawrence (ca). 254–255 Dorling
Chappell (cr/Armada Jewel); Museum of Kindersley: Stephen Oliver (crb). Getty Dorling Kindersley: Ross Simms and the Kindersley: National Railway Museum,
London (tc, tr, br/Watch). Corbis: Adam Images: (tl). 182–183 Getty Images: Lieve Winchcombe Folk and Police Museum (tr). York / Science Museum / Science & Society
Woolfitt (tl). 144–145 The Art Archive: Verschuier. 184 Corbis: Bettmann (cl); TopFoto.co.uk: Granger Collection (bc). Picture Library (ftl-ftr). Getty Images. 255
Museum of London (bc). 145 Alamy Angelo Hornak (tl). Getty Images: SSPL 222–243 Dorling Kindersley: The 68th Mary Evans Picture Library: Tom Morgan
Images: The Art Archive (br); V&A Images (bc). 184–185 Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftl- Durham Light Infantry (ftl-ftr). 223 Alamy (tr). 258 Getty Images: SSPL (cl, br, tr).
(tc). The Art Archive: Museum of London ftr). Dorling Kindersley: The Science Images: Niday Picture Library (bc). Getty 258–259 Dorling Kindersley: National
(cla, clb, bl/reliquary, bc, c). Dorling Museum, London. 185 Corbis: Leonard de Images: (tl, cr). 224–225 Mary Evans Railway Museum, York / Science Museum /
Kindersley: Worthing Museum and Art Selva (cr). Getty Images: Kean Collection Picture Library. 224 Corbis: (tc). 225 Science & Society Picture Library (ftl-ftr).
Gallery (tr). 146–147 Wikipedia, The Free (br). 186–187 Corbis: Neil Beer. 188 Getty Alamy Images: The Art Archive (tc); World 259 Corbis: (tc). Getty Images: SSPL (cb).
Encyclopedia: AnthonyRoll-1 Great Harry / Images: SuperStock . 189 Alamy Images: History Archive (tl). 226 The Art Archive: 260 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Collection (cr).
Anthony Anthony. 146 Alamy Images: Pictorial Press Ltd (cl); The Print Collector (ca). Getty Images: SSPL (cb). 227 Dorling Getty Images: SSPL (bl). 261 Dorling
Mary Evans Picture Library (cl). Dorling (bc). Corbis: Angelo Hornak (ftr); Michael Kindersley: National Maritime Museum, Kindersley: Rough Guides (cr). Getty
Kindersley: National Maritime Museum Nicholson (cr). Getty Images: Sir James Greenwich, London (cla). Getty Images: Images: SSPL (tl, bl). 262–263 Getty
399
ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS
Images: Otto Herschan / Hulton Archive. and Museums (Brighton & Hove) (c). Below Stairs of Hungerford (cla); Judith ca). 387 Corbis: Peter Macdiarmid / epa (tl).
264 Getty Images: SSPL (cla). 264–265 298–299 Corbis: Fine Art Photographic Miller / Luna (fcr); Robert Opie (br). Getty Images: (cr). 388–400 Corbis:
Photolibrary: Guildhall Library & Art Library. 300 Getty Images: (bl). 300–305 342 Corbis: (tl). Getty Images: (ca); Hoberman Collection (ftl/-ftr)
Gallery. 264–269 Dorling Kindersley: Dorling Kindersley: National Railway Popperfoto (bl). 343 Corbis: (tr); Swim
National Railway Museum, York / Science Museum, York / Science Museum / Science Ink 2, LLC (tl). Getty Images: (bc). 344 Jacket images: Front: Corbis: The Gallery
Museum / Science & Society Picture Library & Society Picture Library (ftl-ftr). 301 Dorling Kindersley: Judith Miller / Hope Collection bc; National Maritime Museum,
(ftl-ftr). 265 Alamy Images: Alan King akg-images: IAM / World History Archive and Glory (cl). Getty Images: Popperfoto. Greenwich, London: (background); Back:
engraving (tl). Getty Images: (cr). 266–267 (tl). Alamy Images: Mary Evans Picture 345 Corbis: Marc Dozier (br); Hulton- The Bridgeman Art Library: Photo ©
Corbis: Michael St. Maur Sheil. 266 Library (br); World History Archive (cl). Deutsch Collection (cr, bl); Max Rossi (cb). Philip Mould Ltd, London tc; Corbis:
Dorling Kindersley: Rough Guides (bl). Getty Images: Popperfoto (tr). 302 Mary 345–347 Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 346 Bettmann c, cr, Patrick Dieudonne / Robert
267 Corbis: (tr); Museum of the City of New Evans Picture Library: (cl). 302–303 Dorling Kindersley: Royal Artillery Harding World Imagery tr, Jason Hawkes ftl,
York (br). 268–269 The Bridgeman Art The Art Archive: Eileen Tweedy. 303 Historical Trust (bc). Getty Images: (cl, Hulton-Deutsch Collection cl, Stapleton
Library: Houses of Parliament, Westminster, akg-images: World History Archive (cr). tc). 346–347 Getty Images. 347 Getty Collection fcl, Peter Turnley fcr, Nik Wheeler
London, UK. 268 Dorling Kindersley: Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Collection (tl). Images: (tc). 348 Alamy Images: The tl; National Maritime Museum,
Rough Guides (bl). 269 Alamy Images: Getty Images: (br); Time & Life Pictures Print Collector. 349 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Greenwich, London: (background); Spine:
Pictorial Press Ltd (tr). Getty Images: (br). (bc). 304 Dorling Kindersley: National Collection (cb). Getty Images: SSPL (bl). Corbis: The Gallery Collection t; National
270–271 Corbis. 270 Getty Images: Motor Museum, Beaulieu (bl). Getty 349–351 Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 350 Corbis: Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London: b;
Popperfoto (c). 271 Corbis: Bettmann (tc). Images: (cl); Popperfoto (c). 305 Getty Bettmann (cr). Getty Images: (c). 351 Front Flap: National Maritime Museum,
Getty Images: James Emmerson (cr). Images: (tl, cb). 306–307 Corbis: Hulton- Corbis: Bettmann (tl, cb). Getty Images: Greenwich, London: SP; Back Flap:
272–273 Corbis: Historical Picture Archive. Deutsch Collection. 308 Getty Images: (tr, br). 352–353 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch National Maritime Museum, Greenwich,
274–275 Corbis: The Gallery Collection. 274 English School. 309 The Art Archive: Collection. 354 Getty Images: (tl, bl, crb). London: SP; Front Endpapers: Getty Images:
Getty Images: SSPL (ca). 274–283 Dorling London Museum / Eileen Tweedy (tr). 354–355 Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 355 Ashley Cooper / Visuals Unlimited, Inc. 0;
Kindersley: National Railway Museum, Corbis: Bettmann (br); Michael Nicholson Dorling Kindersley: Eden Camp Museum, Back Endpapers: Getty Images: Ashley
York / Science Museum / Science & Society (cl). Dorling Kindersley: National Railway Yorkshire (cr). Getty Images: (br); SSPL Cooper / Visuals Unlimited, Inc. 0
Picture Library (ftl-ftr). 275 Corbis: (tr). Museum, York / Science Museum / Science (tc). 356–357 Getty Images. 358–359
276 Corbis: Bettmann (bc). Getty Images: & Society Picture Library (ftr). Getty Getty Images. 358 Alamy Images: All other images © Dorling Kindersley
SSPL (cla). 277 Corbis: Bettmann (ca); Images: (bc). 310 Getty Images: SSPL (ca, Coyote-Photography.co.uk (tl). 358–365 For further information see: www.
Hulton-Deutsch Collection (bl). Dorling br). 311 Dorling Kindersley: National Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 359 Dorling dkimages.com
Kindersley: The Board of Trustees of the Railway Museum, York / Science Museum / Kindersley: Imperial War Museum (tl).
Royal Armouries (tc). Getty Images: Science & Society Picture Library (ftr). Getty Getty Images: (tr). 360 The Art Archive:
Edward Gooch (br). 278 Alamy Images: Images: (cr); Popperfoto (br). 312 Dorling Bodleian Library Oxford / C.P.A General
Lordprice Collection (bc). 278–279 Corbis: Kindersley: National Railway Museum, Election 1945 (cla). Getty Images: (cb);
Blue Lantern Studio. 279 Corbis: (bc). York / Science Museum / Science & Society Chris Ware (tr). 361 Alamy Images:
Getty Images: Time & Life Pictures (cr). Picture Library (ftl). Getty Images: (br); Lordprice Collection (br). Getty Images:
280 Dorling Kindersley: Blists Hill Imagno (bl). 313 Corbis: Alinari Archives Kurt Hutton (tc); SSPL (clb). 362 Corbis:
Museum, Ironbridge, Shropshire (tr); The (ca); Leonard de Selva (bc). 316 Corbis: Bettmann (cb). 363 Alamy Images: Steven
Museum of London (cl); Judith Miller / Hulton-Deutsch Collection. 317 Corbis: May (bc). Corbis: Ralf-Finn Hestoft (tr).
Hamptons (cr); Peter Radcliffe (c/Cricket, David Bank / JAI. 318–319 Getty Images: Dorling Kindersley: Judith Miller / Hope &
c/Rugby, crb/Cyclist tourist, crb/Cyclist (Background). 318 Alamy Images: Glory (tl). Getty Images: (br). 364 Alamy
tourist). Dominic Winter: (bc). 281 Corbis: ColsTravel France (cl). Dorling Kindersley: Images: The Print Collector (tl). Corbis:
Peter Harholdt (cr). Dorling Kindersley: Royal Artillery Historical Trust (cla); Eden Bettmann (bl); Hulton-Deutsch Collection
Judith Miller / Biblion (tc, tc/Children’s Camp Museum, Yorkshire (cra). Getty (cra); Swim Ink 2, LLC (bc). 365 Corbis:
Books); The Museum of London (cl). Images: (bc, br); Popperfoto (c); SSPL (cr); Hulton-Deutsch Collection (tr). Getty
Lebrecht Music and Arts: (br). Mary Sasha (cb). 319 Alamy Images: Stephen Images: (bc). 366–367 Getty Images:
Evans Picture Library: (tr). 282 Corbis: Barnes / Loyalism and Unionism (ca). Joseph McKeown / Picture Post. 368 Getty
Bob Krist (tl). Getty Images: Time & Life Corbis: Ade Groom / Monsoon / Images. 369 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch
Pictures (bl). 282–283 Getty Images: Photolibrary (br); Swim Ink 2, LLC (cla); Collection (clb). Getty Images: (c, crb);
SuperStock. 283 Alamy Images: V&A Carl Schulze / dpa (cr). Getty Images: Rolls AFP (tr); SSPL (br). 369–373 Corbis: Ocean
Images (tr). Getty Images: Time & Life Press / Popperfoto (c). 320 Getty Images: (ftl-ftr). 370 Corbis: Bettmann (clb). Getty
Pictures (tl). 284–285 Alamy Images: (tc). 321 Getty Images: (tc, cr). 321–323 Images: Terry Fincher (tl); Bert Hardy (tr).
Pictorial Press Ltd. 286–287 Alamy Images: Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 322 Dorling 371 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Collection (cl).
The Print Collector. Dorling Kindersley: Kindersley: Royal Artillery Historical Trust Dorling Kindersley: Design Museum,
National Railway Museum, York / Science (bl); Judith Miller / Hope and Glory (cl). London (br). Getty Images: (tl). 372
Museum / Science & Society Picture Library 323 Dorling Kindersley: Imperial War Corbis: Sunset Boulevard (cl). Getty
(ftl-ftr). 286 Alamy Images: The Art Museum (br). Getty Images: Time & Life Images: (bl); Popperfoto (cr). 373 Alamy
Archive (bl). 287 Getty Images: (tc, cr). Pictures (tc). 324–325 The Art Archive: Images: Pictorial Press Ltd (tc). Corbis:
288 Corbis: Bettmann (bl). Getty Images: Imperial War Museum. 326 Corbis: Ocean Bettmann (bc). 374–375 Getty Images:
Popperfoto (cr). 289 Corbis: Bettmann (bc). (ftl). Getty Images: (bl); SuperStock (tr). Central Press. 376 Getty Images: (bl);
Dorling Kindersley: Down House / Natural 327 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Collection (br). Rolls Press / Popperfoto (cr). 376–387
History Museum, London (cra, tc); Natural Getty Images: Time & Life Pictures (tc). Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 377 Alamy
History Museum, London (cla). Getty 328–329 Alamy Images: ColsTravel France. Images: Homer Sykes Archive (tc);
Images: (br). 290 Alamy Images: Ivan 330 Getty Images: SSPL. 331 Corbis: parkerphotography (bl); LondonPhotos –
Vdovin (tl). The Art Archive: India Office Hulton-Deutsch Collection (br). Getty Homer Sykes (br). 378 Alamy Images:
Library / British Library (bl). 290–291 Images: SSPL (ca). 331–335 Corbis: Ocean Stephen Barnes / Loyalism and Unionism
Dorling Kindersley: National Railway (ftl-ftr). 332–333 Getty Images: Popperfoto. (tl). Corbis: Bettmann (tr); Hulton-Deutsch
Museum, York / Science Museum / Science 333 Corbis: Sean Sexton Collection (br). Collection (bl). 378–379 Corbis: Michel
& Society Picture Library (ftl-ftr). Getty Getty Images: (tr). 334 Corbis: Bettmann Philippot / Sygma. 379 Alamy Images:
Images: Dip Chand. 291 akg-images: (tl). Getty Images: SSPL (bc). 335 Corbis: Alain Le Garsmeur (ca). 380 Getty Images:
British Library (br). Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Hulton-Deutsch Collection (tl). Getty (cra); Popperfoto (cla). Rex Features: John
Collection (tl). 292–293 Photolibrary: Images: (bc). 336–337 Getty Images: Rogers (bc). 381 The Advertising
British Library. 294 Getty Images: (bc). Popperfoto. 338 Getty Images: (br); Sasha Archives: (tc). Corbis: Bob Fleumer (cr).
294–297 Dorling Kindersley: National (tr). 338–343 Corbis: Ocean (ftl-ftr). 339 Getty Images: (bl). 382 Getty Images:
Railway Museum, York / Science Museum / Corbis: Tim Gidal (tr); Stapleton Collection (cr). 383 Corbis: Bettmann (c); Bryn Colton
Science & Society Picture Library (ftl-ftr). (tl); Museum of Flight (br). TopFoto.co.uk: / Assignments Photographers (tl). Getty
295 Dorling Kindersley: The Trustees of 2000 Topham Picturepoint (bl). 340 Dorling Images: (bc). TopFoto.co.uk: 2003
the British Museum (cl). Toronto Public Kindersley: Algerian Coffee Stores (br/ Topham Picturepoint (cr). 384 Corbis:
Library: (bc). 296 Alamy Images: Coffee Maker); The Science Museum, Carl Schulze / dpa (cb). 385 Corbis:
INTERFOTO (ca). Getty Images: Otto London (tr); Robert Opie (tl, tc, cr). Anja Niedringhaus / epa (tl). Dorling
Herschan (br). 297 Corbis: Hulton-Deutsch Etan J. Tal. : (c). 341 Dorling Kindersley: Kindersley: The Board of Trustees of the
Collection (tl). Dorling Kindersley: Glasgow City Council (Museums) (tr); Judith Royal Armouries (cr). Getty Images: (br).
Photograph reproduced with the kind Miller / Woolley and Wallis (tl); The Science 386–387 Corbis: Ade Groom / Monsoon /
permission of the Royal Pavilion, Libraries Museum, London (tc, cr); Judith Miller / Photolibrary. 386 Getty Images: AFP (cl,
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