SEMINAR 4

Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Issues for discussion:

1) Britain in the 18th century:

a) Government. Colonial policy;
b) The Industrial Revolution;
c) Changes in the countryside. England and France.

2) Britain in the 19th century:

a) Chartism;
b) England in the second half of the 19th century.
1. Britain in the 18th century
A) Government. Colonial policy
Government
The last of the Stuarts, Queen Ann, died in 1714. The Protestant ruler of
Hanover (Germany) became George I. During his reign government power was
increased greatly because the new king spoke only German and did not seem
interested in his new kingdom. The idea of the «cabinet» was developed at that time.
The chief rule was that all members of the cabinet were together responsible for
policy decisions. Any minister who disagreed deeply with other cabinet ministers
was expected to resign. The author of this idea was Robert Walpole, who remained
the greatest political leader for twenty years. He became the first Britain's Prime
Minister. It was he who made sure that the power of the king would always be
limited by the constitution. The limits to monarchy were as follows: the king could
not remove or change laws, the king was dependent on Parliament for his financial
income and for his army, the king was supposed to «choose» his ministers. Even
today the government of Britain is «Her Majesty's Government». Judges were not
supposed to account for their actions either to the king or to the government. Besides,
the law «Habeas Corpus Act» was adopted, guaranteeing the safety of the British
subjects' immunity and property against arbitrary treatment. Thus England was
becoming a constitutional monarchy.
The colonial policy
In the 18th c. the main rival of Britain was France. The British won the 7 Year
War with France (1756-1763) and occupied the French possessions in North
America (Canada). By 1775 Britain had founded 13 colonies in North America
which were soon lost as a result of the American War of Independence.
The British began to colonize India, which was completely invaded in the
middle of the 19th c. They discovered Australia in 1769 and annexed it next year. In
the 70s of the 18th c. the British laid hands on Gibraltar – an important strategic
point in the Mediterranean.
 In the 40s-50s of the 19th c. New Zealand was colonized. In 1882 Egypt was
invaded. In 1890 Africa was divided into the areas of European influence. Britain
succeeded in taking over most of the African areas, especially in the South.
In the 20th c. as a result оf the WW1 Britain got Kenya, Tanganyika, Nigeria
and some other African territories.
The period after the WWII was characterized by the collapse of the colonial
system. The majority of the British colonies won their political independence at the
end of the 50s and the beginning of the 60s. Since 1931 the former British colonies and
dominions have become members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Nowadays
the Commonwealth includes 54 states (former colonies, dominions and some
dependent territories). Some colonies wished to continue with the imperial
arrangement (they are afraid of being swallowed up by their nearest neighbours), e.g.
Gibraltar, St. Helena, the Falklands/Malvinas and Belize. For British government, on
the one hand this is a source of pride, but on the other hand it causes embarrassment,
because the possession of colonial territories does not fit with the image of a modern
democratic state, and it causes irritation because it costs the British taxpayer money.
The members of the Commonwealth are closely connected politically and
economically.
B) The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution started in the 60s of the 18th c. and lasted 100 years. It
meant transition from manual labour at manufactures to mechanical labour at
factories. It established the capitalist mode of production as an economic structure.
The revolution started in cotton industry with the invention of "Jenny" (a spinning
machine) by James Hargrieves and putting it into practice in the 70s-80s.
The invention of a steam engine (James Watt) promoted the development of
machine building: locomotives, steamboats and different mechanical tools. The
growth of mechanical equipment and new means of transport promoted the
development of metallurgy. Heavy industry became the main branch of economy. The
accumulative produce of British factories was more than that of the rest of me world
taken together. In the middle of the 19th c. Britain was called "the world workshop".
The Industrial Revolution greatly changed the sphere of social relations. The
process of industrialization was accompanied by a ruthless exploitation of workers. It
led to the antagonistic division of classes: the bourgeoisie and the industrial workers.
It gave rise to unemployment and there started a wide migration within the country as
well as abroad: the USA, Canada, Australia. During this period there were also built
many new industrial cities in the north-west and in the Midlands of England.

C) Changes in the countryside

The 18th c. was the time of the agrarian revolution. Parliament passed laws
allowing the landowners to enclose lands since land had become private property
after the feudal «holding» rights were abolished. By the middle of the century there
was no more common land in England. Peasantry as a class disappeared.
Farming began to develop quickly in the 18th century. There were a number of
improvements in farming methods. Britain and Holland were better at farming than
any other country in Europe. Improved use of land made it possible to grow wheat
almost everywhere. Cattle breeding increased greatly too. There appeared big farms.
 D) England and France
The French revolution of 1789 had created fear all over Europe. The British
government was also afraid that the revolution would spread to Britain. But it was
slower than other European states to make war on the French republic. Though in
1793 Britain went to war after France had invaded the Low Counties (today,
Belgium and Holland). One by one the European countries were defeated by
Napoleon, and forced to ally themselves with him. Most of Europe fell under
Napoleon's control. Britain decided to fight France at sea because it had a stronger
navy, and because its own survival depended on control of its trade routes. British
policy was to damage French trade by preventing French ships, including their navy,
from moving freely in and out of French seaports. The commander of the British
fleet, Admiral Horatio Nelson, won brilliant victories over the French navy, near
the coast of Egypt, at Copenhagen, and finally near Spain, at Trafalgar in 1805,
where he destroyed the French-Spanish fleet. Nelson was himself killed at Trafalgar,
but became one of Britain's greatest national heroes. His words to the fleet before
the battle of Trafalgar, «England expects that every man will do his duty», have
remained a reminder of patriotic duty in time of national danger. In the same year a
British army landed in Portugal to fight the French. This army, with its Portuguese
and Spanish allies, was eventually commanded by Wellington, a man who had
fought in India. But fighting the French on land was an entirely different matter.
Almost everyone in Europe believed the French Army and its generals to be the best
in the world. Wellington was one of the very few generals who did not. «I am not
afraid of them», he wrote on his appointment as commander. «I suspect that all the
Continental armies were more than half beaten before the battle was begun. I, at
least, will not be frightened beforehand». Like Nelson he quickly proved to be a
great commander. After several victories against the French in Spain he invaded
France. Napoleon, weakened by his disastrous invasion of Russia, surrendered in
1814. But the following year he escaped and quickly assembled an army in France.
Wellington, with the timely help of the Prussian army, finally defeated Napoleon at
Waterloo in Belgium in June 1815.

2. England in the 19th century

A) Chartism
The process of mechanization on the one hand and the end of Napoleonic Wars
in 1815, which decreased the production of goods for export almost completely, on
the other hand, flung men out of work by thousands. Unemployment was made
worse by 300.000 men from Britain's army and navy, who were then looking for
jobs. People looked for jobs at any wages and any conditions. The working day
lasted from fifteen to eighteen hours. Children's labour was used in mines and at
factories.
At the same time the price for bread rose quickly. Parliament wanted to protect
locally grown corn from cheap imported corn. It led to increase in price of almost
everything. But wages remained the same. The general level of living was extremely
miserable.
The so-called Poor Law Act of 1834 provided less help for the needy than
before. Many people had to live in the working houses at «starvation wages».
 The economic crises of 1830-32,1836-38 made the life of common labourers
unbearable. There was a danger of mass riots, people began to break machines. Being
frightened by people's discontent Parliament adopted the first Reform Bill in 1832
which gave more rights to voters. Forty-one English cities were represented in
Parliament for the first time.
Since 1824 workers had been allowed to join together in unions. This program
helped the working people to grow politically. They were coming to realize the
necessity of getting legislative rights in order to improve their economic conditions.
An important role in this movement was played by Chartism - a politically
organized movement of the working people of England for their economic and
political rights in the 30s-50s.
In 1836 «The London Workers' Association» worked out a People's Charter.
The Charter demanded the following rights: universal suffrage, secret vote, abolition
of property qualification (the right for a man without property of his own to be an
M.P.), an election every year. From 1839 to 1847 Chartists worked out three
petitions to Parliament about the People's Charter, signed by from one to five
million people, having added to them some economic demands (an 8-hour working
day, prohibition of children's labour). But the petitions were rejected by Parliament.
These years were accompanied by riots, hunger marches, strikes and political
meetings.
In 1847 fearing a new rise of people's anger Parliament passed a Bill limiting
the working day by 10 hours.
Chartism was the first example of a truly national political movement of the
working class. It contributed to the development of further political and social
reforms.

B) England in the 2nd half of the 19th century

Industrial Development and Colonial Expansion
In 1851 Queen Victoria opened the Great Exhibition of the Industries of All
Nations inside the Crystal Palace to show the greatness of Britain's industry. It
mined more than half of the world's output of coal. Britain produced steamboats,
steam engines, woolen and cotton cloth, different machinery. The accumulative
produce of British factories was more than that of the rest of the world taken
together. The greatest example of Britain's industrial power in the middle of the
19th c. was the railway system. By 1870 the latter was almost complete. The trade
turnover of England and its colonies alone was nearly one third of the world's one.
The bulk of society was the middle class - commercial people, industrialists,
who often came from poor beginnings. They were self-made people believing in hard
work, a regular style of life and being careful with money.
The country was getting richer and richer. It was much due to the policy of
colonial expansion. In the 40s-50s of the 19th c. New Zealand was colonized. In
1882 Egypt was invaded. In 1890 Africa was divided into the areas of European
influence. Britain succeeded in taking over most of the African areas, especially in
the South).
Political Life
In the second half of the 19th c. the supremacy in Parliament passed
completely to the House of Commons and the king's power was limited to the
minimum. Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was the first to accept the role of a
constitutional monarch.
The second half of the 19tb c. was characterized by the foundation of different
political and trade union organizations. They led the fight for democratic changes in
the country. The most important idea of the 19 th c. was that everyone had the right to
personal freedom. Between 1867-1884 some Reform Bills were carried out improving
the legislative system. In 1872 voting was carried out in secret for the first time.
Between 1875-1914 the conditions for the poor improved as the prices fell down. In
1870 and 1891 two Education Acts were passed. All children had to go to school up to
the age of 13. A university system began to develop quickly. England started to build
"redbrick" universities in the new industrial areas. They taught more science and
technology to prepare specialists for Britain's industry. More attention was also taken
of workers' homes, of factory conditions and public health. The authority of the church
was weakened. Church attendance became lower. People had other ways of spending
their Sundays: going to museums, parks and libraries, pubs and travelling.
In the 70s the main bourgeois parties, the Conservative Party and the Liberal
Party, were formed on the basis of the Tories and the Whigs correspondingly. The
leading party formed government, the other one formed the opposition. In 1900 the
Labour Party was established. During the Victorian age a set of values was
established which emphasized hard work for one's own benefit, thrift, family life,
responsibility, absolute honesty in public life and extreme respectability in sexual
matters.
Family Life
Life became more comfortable, most houses had gas for lighting and heating. A
change towards marriage happened: more men began to marry for private happiness,
not financial reasons.
Women were still not equals, they were discouraged from going out to work.
Wife was legally a man’s property. By the end of the 19th century women started their
feminist movement for their rights. They’ve got the right to divorce.
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria reigned the country for the longest period (63 years) (1837-
1901). She died at the age of 82. She was the last monarch of Hanover Dynasty, her
successor belonged to Windsor Dynasty (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha). The time of her reign
was a period in which Britain’s international standing reached unprecedented heights.
She came to be as much a national icon as Elizabeth I had been.