Ancient Britain

Pre-Celtic Britain

OLD STONE AGE (70,000 - 8,000 BC) - Paleolithic period

• First settlers came to Britain through land bridges - 250,000 BC - first human evidence.

• About 6500 BC Britain becomes an island - due to ice-cap meltdown

• About 4000 BC agriculture is introduced.

NEW STONE AGE - Neolithic period (3500-2500 BC)

primitive agriculture, hunting and gathering, animal domestication.

Iberian legacy in forms of:

• stone tombs

• dolmens, mainly in Ireland and Scotland

• Megalithic Henges: Stonehenge (built between 2100 - 1400 BC) and Avebury Circle - uncertain purposes, religious rituals, astronomic observatory, used later by Celtic druids - suggest importance of religious leaders among early British society.

• long barrows - communal burial mounds with possessions

• Hill Figures carved in chalk, e.g. the White Horse, Berkshire

BRONZE AGE Around 2100 - 700BC - arrival of the Beaker Folk, named after the characteristic shape of drinking cups; use of metal tools

• Round barrows - individual burials

• Mingling of the Iberian and Beaker folk.

IRON AGE - Celtic Britain (700 BC - Roman times)

Celts originated from the Alps region and later expanded to other areas.

Culturally unified but politically divided.

Around 700BC the first waves of Celtic migrations takes place in Britain

CELTIC SOCIETY

Numerous kingdoms, tribes and clans often in conflict.

Social structure:

1. King (chieftain) - RA

2. Aristocracy

1. warriors - well-trained, weapons: scythed chariots

2. druids (priesthood) - The elite caste of powerful religious, spiritual and intellectual leaders.

3. poets (bards) - performed the roles of: court's critics and advisors, entertainers - harp players, messengers and commentators.

Bards - survived the Roman conquest in Wales - bardic tradition later extends from Wales to many European countries

4. Free farmers

5. Slaves (war captives)

Characteristics of Celtic religion:

• animist; worshipping oak trees, mistletoe, wells, sun and moon

• known for human sacrifices

• polytheist

Ethnic situation of Celtic Britain

Main Celtic tribes of ancient Britain:

• Atrebates - based around Silchester,

• Cattuvelauni - capital in Verulamium

• Silures - south-east Wales.

• Ordovices - never Romanized, constant opposition to the Romans.

• Brigantes - the largest tribe of the Roman conquest, found Eboracum, later York

• Iceni - Norfolk and Suffolk

• Picts - of uncertain origin, probably pre-Celtic, warlike tribes, attacking Britain from the north.

Economy and social life

• tin trade and metalwork industry famous all over the ancient world

• copper - methods of copper extraction and production known all over Europe - e.g. Legnica

• rich ornaments - filigree work, e.g. Hunterston brooch found in Iona - later incorporated in illuminated gospels in Christian times.

• mixed farming - advanced technology

Celtic legacy in Britain:

• hill forts - esp. Maiden Castle, Dorset, and Old Sarum, Salisbury, Wiltshire; not many buildings survived due to wooden and clay materials, also destroyed by invading Romans - hill tops were sacred and economic centers during Celtic times.

• lake villages, esp. built on marshes for protection, e.g. Glastonbury, Somerset

• Celtic games (major center Tara in Ireland)- e.g. hammer throw, pole vaults

• Halloween and colorful Celtic religious beliefs

• introduction of gold coinage

• river names: Thames, Mersey, Severn, Avon

• city names: Leeds, London

Roman Britain

Causes for Roman Conquest:

• British Celts supporting the continental Gauls in the fight against Rome

• Britain being a land of rich natural resources necessary for functioning of the Empire (foods, natural resources, and slaves)

• Britain regarded as a fabled, prestigious land.

55 BC and 54 BC - abortive invasion attempts by Julius Caesar - due to bad weather the fleet destroyed. His forces opposed by Celtic leader Cassivellaunus. Tribute is paid to Rome.

43 AD Roman conquest by Emperor Claudius

Early Celtic resistance:

• guerilla warfare and deadly use of chariots (with scythed wheels) but the tribes were not united against the enemy.

• 61 AD massacre of druids at Anglesey by Suetonius- perception of druids as a threat to Roman rule and important resistance factor.

• 61 AD Boudicca's revolt in East Anglia (queen of the Iceni tribe); initially successful defeating Romans at Londinum and Colchester; however the revolt quenched by Suetonius.

Roman administration and social life

• establishment of Roman province of Britannia ruled by governors

• the most influential build-up of Roman administration under governor Julius Agricola (78-84) who makes the first ever circumnavigation of Britain

• process of Romanization - elites speak literate Latin;

• Britannia is divided into two provinces in the 3^rd c. by Septimus Severus Britannia Superior - with capital in Londinum; Britannia Inferior - with capital in Eburacum. (later York)

• water supplies - but NO aqueducts

• public baths - contemporary Bath

• villas (heated by hypocausts), e.g. Fishbourne Palace, Sussex,

• developed agriculture

Roman politics in Britain:

• unsuccessful attempts to conquer Wales and Scotland. Intrusions of Picts from the north make the Romans build two border walls in the north:

• Hadrian's Wall (Tyne-Solway) (127)- surviving in part until today, in part marking the border with Scotland

• Antonine Wall (142) - abandoned later for the Romans had to retreat south.

Early Christianity

Romans identified their gods with Celtic counterparts (Aquae Sulis - Bath)

Initially the situation of Christians in Britain is similar to the rest of the Empire - persecution.

First Christian church was built in Glastonbury in 166.

First British martyr St. Albans (304) - today St. Albans abbey.

Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor converts to Christianity; in 313 - the Edict of Milan ends persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire.

The earliest British missionary- St. Ninian (397) running missions among the Picts.

End of Roman rule

The decline of Roman rule started around 304 reflecting overall situation of the Empire.

The decline of the Roman Empire was a gradual process rather than single event. Due to overall weakening of the Empire, barbarian raids in the continent and struggle for power, Picts and the Irish attack Britain. The legions leave Britain for the Empire.

In 409 - Emperor Honorius breaks connections with Britain leaving the province decentralized. The British legions leave Britain for the continent. 409 - symbolic date of the end of Roman rule in Britain.

Roman legacy

* network of roads - the Fosse Way extending from Lincoln to Devon

• Ermine Street from London to York

• Watling Street from St. Albans to Dover

• Pilgrim's Way from Canterbury to Winchester plus numerous others.

Today major motorways in Britain are built on the ancient counterparts (Latin STRATA - road)

* elements of Latin culture in Britain, following Mediterranean patterns.

* urban centers:

• Londinum - London

• Eburacum - York

• Verulamium -St. Albans

• a number of contemporary place names in Britain with endings -chester, - caster, etc. For example, Manchester, Worcester, Doncaster, Leicester, Exeter (from Latin castra - military camp).

• Survival of Christian religion among the Britons

Anglo-Saxon England (409-1066)

Reasons for the invasion of Germanic Anglo-Saxons of Britain in the 5^th century AD:

• migrations of peoples in Europe and weakening of the Roman Empire

• earlier deployment of Germanic tribes for defence of Roman Britain, who settle as Roman foederati along Litus Saxonicum - SAXON SHORE

• after the withdrawal of Roman legions a British Celtic leader Vortigern invites Jutes led by legendary Hengest and Horsa to Kent (449) against Picts and Irish pirates raiding Britain since the 4^th century. After repelling the raiders the Jutes turn into invaders themselves and settle in Kent

Paths of invasions of Anglo-Saxon tribes from the continent:

1. Jutes - Kent

2. Saxons - along the Thames toward Cornwall

c. Angles - Midlands, northward

Three ethnic elements in Britain on the arrival of Anglo-Saxons:

1. cives - Romanized Britons

2. pagan Celts

3. Germanic tribes

450-600 Dark Ages, a period characterized by constant push of Anglo-Saxons westward and creation of numerous tribal kingdoms:

• Anglo-Saxons destroy Roman civilization and Christianity in Britain

• The Celtic tribes pushed westward are separated into Welsh and Cornish Celts

• Part of Cornish Celts flee in the 6^th century to the continent founding Brittany

• coming of Scots from Ireland

Opposition of Celts yields the: Arthurian legend:

Legend written down by Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia regum Britanniae, 12^th c - fabulous chronicle, who added plots by many continental authors of romances.

The REAL Arthur found to be a Romano-Celtic leader fighting against Anglo-Saxons in the 6^th century; at the battle of Mount Badon 500 or 515, Anglo-Saxon raids are stopped for some time but Arthur is killed.

Until the end of the 6^th century process of unification of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms takes place leading into creation of seven kingdoms - the Heptarchy (main cities in parentheses)

Saxon:

- ESSEX (London)

• SUSSEX (Chichister)

• WESSEX (Winchester)

Anglian:

• EAST ANGLIA (Cambridge)

• NORTHUMBRIA (York)

• MERCIA (Oxford, Chester)

Jutish:

- KENT (Canterbury)

Since the 7^th c. individual kingdoms gain supremacy over the remaining parts of the Heptarchy - the supreme ruler is called Bretwalda - the ruler of all Britain, but in fact the first king of England appears in 829.

Supremacy order:

1. 6^th cent. - Kent

2. 7^th cent. - Northumbria

3. 8^th cent. - Mercia

One of the most famous kings of Mercia is King Offa (757-96) beginning Mercia's supremacy. He is known for:

• ordering building earthen fortifications along the border between Mercia and Wales - Offa's Dyke 779

• Close contacts with Charlemagne

• Extensive trade contacts with the continent

• striking royal coins

4. 9c - Wessex

829 King Egbert of Wessex unites the Heptarchy into the Kingdom of England; the House of Wessex becomes the first royal English dynasty; the first capital of England becomes Winchester.

843 the Kingdoms of Scots and Picts form Kingdom of Scotland under Kenneth MacAlpin - the first king of Scotland.

Anglo-Saxon administration

England is administratively divided into shires and hundreds

Shires ruled by sheriffs (scir- gerefa, i.e. shire reeve) - representatives appointed by the king, soon gaining more and more power.

The king:

1. formally elected by the witan

2. practically hereditary - the eldest son becomes the next monarch; since the 8^th cent., consecration by Church and coronation

The Witan - king's council appointed by the king, derived from earlier Germanic assemblies,

Economy:

• farmland, ox and plough

• agriculture determines social and family lifestyles

Anglo-Saxon legacy

1. English language, institutions, architecture, law

2. NAMES: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, WALES

3. town names ending in -ing, -ington, -ingham (ing- folk; ton - settlement; ham - home)

4. words: LORD - (loaf ward); LADY - (loaf kneader)

5. Early runic alphabet, e.g. the RUTHWELL CROSS with inscription being part of the poem The Dream of the Rood (8^th cent.), one of the oldest writings in English.

6. legend of Lady Godiva - 11^th c.

7. Cadmon, Beowulf, Widsith and other literary pieces

Mythology:

• Wodan - the forefather of all Anglo-Saxon kings (apart from Sussex)

• Names of weekdays after Germanic gods:

Sunday - Old English sunne - day of sun

Monday - OE mona - day of moon

Tuesday - (Tiw - Germ. god of war)

Wednesday - (Woden - Germ. head god)

Thursday - (Thor - Germ. god of thunders)

Friday - (Frigg - Germ. goddess of marriage)

! Saturday - Rom. day of Saturnus

Name of Easter - (Eostre - Germ. goddess of dawn)

Historical chronicles from the period

1. Gildas - Welsh monk, more of a preacher than historian - polemical work De excidio et conquestu Brittanniae (548)

2. The Venerable Bede (673-735) - monk at Jarrow, history of Christianity in England also pertaining to political events - Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (731) - translated into Old English by Alfred the Great

3. Nennius (8/9c.) - Welsh chronicler Historia Britonum - based on earlier chronicles.

4. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (891-1154) - important annual records of Anglo-Saxon England; anonymous, written in few versions in monasteries, even after the Norman conquest, the last version - Peterborough Chronicle (1154)

Christianization

After the Anglo-Saxon invasions Romano-British Christianity is destroyed.

Meanwhile

St. Patrick converts Ireland around 450, monasteries are found in Ireland that start to run missions to Britain and later all over Europe

Introduction of writing destroys the power of Irish druids

Ireland becomes a learning and religious center of Europe.

Around 550 St. David establishes monastic rule in Wales - later becoming patron saint of Wales

St. Columba arrives from Ireland to Iona and founds (563) there a monastery - the center of Celtic church in Britain - running missions on to the Anglian part of the Heptarchy. St. Columba converts Scots and Picts in Scotland.

597 St. Augustine arrives in Kent and founds Canterbury, establishing Roman church in England and beginning re-christianization of the country

634 St. Aidan arrives from Iona to Northumbria and establishes Lindisfarne.

In result - formation of two rival trends:

1. Roman Church - stress on authority and organization

2. Celtic Church - stress on conversion of ordinary people

Other differences between the two rival churches in Britain include:

1. liturgy

2. Easter date

3. The Celtic Church is monastic in nature, lack of dioceses - abbots are the leaders, not bishops, due to tribal structure of Celtic lands

The rivalry is ended by the Synod of Whitby in 664 in favor of the Roman Church.

672 the Synod of Hertford summoned by the first Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tharsus gives Canterbury authority over all the English Church - developing steadily until Henry VIII.

• establishment of dioceses

• establishment of parochial system

• establishment of monasteries (Eng. minsters - e.g. Westminster) - also serving as learning centers

The Vikings in Britain

787 - first Viking raid on Britain

793-795 the Vikings sack monasteries in Iona and Lindisfarne and Jarrow

Paths of Viking invasions:

1. Norwegians - north, Scotland, Man (the base) and Ireland.

2. Danes - East Anglia - westward

In the 9^th century the raids intensify and the Vikings settle north of the Thames in East Anglia and Mercia threatening the whole country - the struggle against the Vikings begins.

871-901 Reign of Alfred the Great

Alfred begins his long fight against the Vikings, finally defeating them at the battle of Ashdown

Treaty of Wedmore 878 is signed between Alfred and the Viking leader Guthrum. England is divided. In the north the Vikings establish their own kingdom of Danelaw (with the capital in York). The two kingdoms coexist for two centuries.

• Danish law in Danelaw

• two nations, similar in language and customs, governed separately - ban on migrations

• Danes convert to Christianity

Reforms of Alfred:

• 891 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle starts (891-1154) - important annual records of Anglo-Saxon England.

• Improvement of fyrd - Anglo-Saxon mass levy; division into parts: one fights, one works on farms

• Origination of Royal Navy

• establishment of oral and customary law with no Roman influences;

• Improvement of scholarly activity - translation of many works of art and science into Anglo-Saxon, building schools and monasteries

• establishment of burghs - fortified towns (today's - BOROUGHS)

Legacy of the Vikings:

• place names with - by e.g. Whitby, Derby

• Scandinavian borrowings in English - through similarity - she, they.

Alfred is succeeded by a few successful rulers: among them - Athelstan (924-939) who defeats a confederation of Scots, Norwegians and Brits at Brunanburgh 937 - the English kingdom is further more unified.

973 - the name England appears in Europe.

Through dynastic connections England enters diplomatic ties with France and Germany

However, disastrous rule by King Ethelred the Unready (978-1016) leads to:

• ruling without counsel

• Danegeld - money paid by the English to Danes to buy peace

• Wars and massacres of the Danes in England; numerous Danish raids renewed by the end of the 10^th century

All the above causes King of Denmark Canute the Great to invade England and start Danish dynasty in England (1016-42):

• ENGLAND, NORWAY and DENMARK under one rule - the North Sea Empire

• Canute is a wise and peaceful ruler; introduces legal and military reforms.

• The country divided into four EARLDOMS:

• Northumbria

• East Anglia

• Mercia

• Wessex

After the rule of Canute's sons the Wessex dynasty is restored by Edward the Confessor (1042-1066):

• building churches in all villages in the country

• Consecration of Westminster Abbey - 1065 - 1^st English king buried in London.

• Moving of the capital from Winchester to Westminster

Normans and Early Plantagenets 1066-1200

Reasons for Norman conquest of England in 1066:

Edward the Confessor's dynastic problems:

• no heir apparent

• Norman influences present in England during the king's reign - appointments in administration

After his death in 1066 three successors to the throne appear:

1. Harold Godwinson - Earl of Wessex - elected by the Witan,

2. Harald Hardraada - king of Norway

3. William the Bastard (Conqueror) - duke of Normandy (supposedly promised the throne by Edward the Confessor)

Who were the Normans?

In 911 the Vikings settled in Normandy creating their own kingdom, gradually attaining FRENCH continental patterns - language, culture, politics.

Events of 1066:

Battle of Stamford Bridge, Yorkshire, against the Norwegians under Hardraada, Harold Godwinson is victorious but soon learns about the landing of Normans in the south and decides to march southward towards invading William.

Battle of Hastings, with the Normans - Godwinson killed; William the Conqueror marches towards London and is crowned the first Norman king of England on Christmas 1066 in Westminster Abbey, starting the Norman dynasty - on the English throne until 1154.

(1066-87) Reign of William I the Conqueror

1. centralization of KING's power due to:

• hostile attitude of Saxons

• situation where a duke of Normandy is a king of England

2. pacification of land and taking over Anglo-Saxon and church property

• huge land properties scattered all over the country

• new NORMAN nobility and bishopry introduced in place of earlier Anglo-Saxons (most of them killed at Hastings)

3. Forest laws - forests become king's property (yielding to the future legend of Robin Hood)

4. Normans get large church properties, Catholic Church becomes a strong policy supporter with separate judicial system and separate common law.

5. Normans build a network of castles all over England, e.g. Tower of London, Windsor, Warwick

6. Domesday Book (1086) - conceived by William the Conqueror in Gloucester

• the most comprehensive survey of property in Medieval Europe done by kings envoys around the country

• detailed record of England's towns, villages and population covering all England apart from London, Winchester, and northern shires.

• Maximizing revenue in taxes

Reign of William II Rufus (1087-1100)

Tough Norman ruler in conflict with the church and barons

1. conquest of parts of Wales (MARCHES) and Scotland - homage enforced from King of Scotland Malcolm III

2. securing the Welsh border by building castles

Reign of Henry I (1100-1135) Lion of Justice

• numerous legal reforms of the country

• Charter of Liberties (1100) - protecting individual rights from arbitrary encroachment.

Henry drowns on the White Ship leaving succession in dispute.

Development of boroughs as political units.

Reign of Stephen of Blois (nephew of Henry I) (1135-1154)

Period of anarchy, so bad that "Christ and his saints slept".

War with Matilda - Henry's daughter - Scots invade England but are defeated in the battle of the Standard (1138)

With the death of Stephen Henry II (son of Matilda) takes the throne, starting the new dynasty.

Norman society and culture

Feudalism brought to England by the Normans in a modified form:

• Old English system - upwards based on choice of eldormen and king

• Norman system - downwards, the kings gives out land and privileges

1. Struggle between barons vs. appointed sheriffs (regarded as balance of power) (strengthening of king's power) - source of further conflict, William relies on noblemen in the feud against mighty barons.

2. Most Norman kings spend their time in France

3. Socio-linguistic situation: Normans - upper classes; Saxons - lower classes; French - language of upper classes and the royal court, law courts; English a dialect spoken by masses - sporadically by middle classes in interaction - large number of French and Latin borrowings in the English language; French institutions, nobility spending time mostly in France.

4. Beginnings of wool trade with Flanders - consequences for future economic wealth building - building trade cities: Hull, Newcastle.

5. Wool enriches towns which soon obtain charters - self-government and privileges - choice of mayor and council; towns freed from local loyalty - beginnings of early “capitalism” in England.

6. Merchants and craftsmen organized into craft guilds vs. trade guilds

7. Norman (Roman) style in architecture - new cathedrals are built in England (19 in all), e.g. Winchester, Ely, Durham.

8. Normans establish English offices known until today after modifications:

Curia Regis fulfilling three roles: 1. Royal government; 2. Judicial court; 3. Legislative body.

Yield to:

1. Chancery (writing office) - privy seal stamped on acts.

2. Exchequer (1130) (finance office)

Anjou - Plantagenets - Angevin (1154-1399)

Name of dynasty - Matilda married Count Geoffrey of Anjou [nicknamed Plantagenet i.e. sprig of broom [żarnowiec] - after his helmet decoration]

Reign of Henry II; Curtmantel, FitzEmpress; (1154-89)

His huge territorial inheritance in France form the Angevin Empire - extending the realm of the French king - from Scotland's border to Pyrenees

Politics:

• Richard de Clare of Pembroke (Strongbow) conquers Ireland and founds the Pale around Dublin (1170), first English colony.

• Anglo-Norman influences begin in Ireland - western Ireland remains in Celtic hands

• Henry II becomes the Lord of Ireland

Legal reforms:

• Father of English COMMON LAW

• Assize of Clarendon (1166) - establishment of institution of charging jury.

• Juries are first for giving evidence, then for judging evidence (each man could choose twelve good and true men)

Henry II's conflict with the Church

Conflict over:

• power - appointment of bishops

• money

• land

• homage

Reflection of the continental struggle of the same sort.

First, relative success of the English church - 1154 Nicholas Breakspear elected the first and only English Pope Adrian IV.

Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) - establishment of state-church relationships, e.g. criminous clerks trialed at church courts but punished by royal court.

Thomas Becket

Appointed as the chairman of Curia Regis and Archbishop of Canterbury begins to oppose the king; signs but rejects the Constitutions and excommunicates opposing bishops.

1170 Becket is murdered in Canterbury

• later canonized becoming the saint martyr

• his tomb receives pilgrimages ( see CANTENBURY TALES by Chaucer)

Foundation of Oxford University (1167) - by scholars from Sorbonne

Foundation of Cambridge University 1209 by escapees from Oxford.

Reign of Richard I Coeur de Lion / Lionheart (1189-99)

• takes throne after fighting against the king along his brother John

• warlike and adventurous crusading king, spent only 6 months of his reign in England.

1189 Richard joins the Third Crusade and takes Acre

On the way home he is imprisoned by Leopold Duke of Austria, released after ransom of 150,000 marks (2x revenue of the Crown) is collected and paid.

Yield to the legends of :

• Blondel - king's minstrel strolling Germany and playing king's favorite tune thus recognizing the castle in which Richard was imprisoned.

• Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest and his Merry Men - paradox of Richard being a hero - collection of taxes for Richard's wars gave rise to Robin Hood.

Plantagenet England (1199-1327)

Reign of John the Lackland (1199-1216); weak, cruel and cowardly, already in power during Richard's absence.

• GREEDY - extensive taxation of all classes

• miserable wars

The reign troubled by:

1. the French

2. the Pope

3. the Barons

A. France - conflict with his elder brother Arthur who claims the throne; results in loss of Normandy (1204)

B. 1208 - conflict with Innocent III (most powerful pope of the Middle Ages) about the Archbishop of Canterbury; results in excommunication of John and England (1213)

C. First Barons' War (1215-17)

CAUSE: John's attempt to recapture Normandy - new war, new taxes

The barons rebel, rise, capture London, and force the king to issue...

MAGNA CARTA LIBERTATUM (Great Charter of Liberties) in 1215

• the most important document in English history - signed at Runnymede near Windsor

• symbol of English liberties and principles - the powers of the king are limited by law

• forgotten shortly after but put as an example in the 17^th century

• 63 concrete clauses dealing with the feudal situation of England

• LIMITATION of royal power - liberties for the church, barons, justice for everyone, no sentence without a trial.

• Approval of common council necessary for taxation

• Nobility acts as a social class not as vassals!

• Introduction of PAID SOLDIERY - instead of feudal service to the king at war

• Recognized by subsequent kings

• Important sign of decline of feudalism

Reign of Henry III (1216-1272),

Economy and society:

• Development of manors

• development of textile industry - wool trade flourishes with Flanders

• development of salt and coal mining - Newcastle, Yorkshire

1258-65 the Second Barons' War, led by Simon de Montfort

Causes:

• Henry's ambition to take the Sicilian and German crowns

• King's control of treasury

• Surrounding with foreign advisers

• Heavy war taxation opposed by the nobility.

In 1258 Henry III forced by the barons the king grants:

Provisions of Oxford

• first document in the English language

• barons to counsel the king in administration

The king allies with the Pope which results in freedom from Provisions and giving the right of the French king to most of English possessions on the continent.

Result: The barons' rebellion continues

Simon de Montfort establishes the first parliament composed of:

• barons

• clergy

• two knights from each shire

• two burgesses from each borough

First fullest representation parliament in English history - representing all the classes.

However:

Montfort dies in the battle of Evesham (1265) and Provisions are annulled.

Reign of Edward I (1272-1307)

Numerous nicknames: Longshanks; Hammer of the Scots; Lawgiver; English Justinian.

The greatest of all Plantagenets, vigorous, aggressive and efficient.

Founder of the English parliamentary system.

His reign characterized by nationalism and centralization of king's power

Waging wars against Wales and Scotland.

Reforms

1. 1292 - Yearbooks - judicial cases collected - common law becomes English law

2. MODEL PARLIAMENT (1295) - representation of all classes with political rights - their approval for taxation required.

• dealt with judiciary, legislation, taxation

• possibility of impeachment for state dignitaries

• monarchy and parliament are in equal position

Composition:

• 97 bishops, abbots, priors

• 65 earls and barons

• 39 judges

• reps of lower clergy - summoned through diocesans

• reps of counties, cities and boroughs - summoned through the sheriff.

d. legal reform - Justices of Peace - limitation of the roles of sheriffs

Edward's Welsh campaign 1277-1284

Since William I Conqueror - Wales had been gradually controlled by Normans

Both Wales and Scotland forced to constant payment of homage.

Causes: Welsh prince Llewelyn refuses to pay tribute and occupies south Wales

Result:

1284 - English annexation of Wales - and building even more castles

1284 - Edward II is born in Caernarvon, Wales

1301 - Edward II becomes the Prince of Wales - the title preserved until today

Edward's Scottish campaign 1291-1307

1290s - dynastic problems in Scotland - Scottish noblemen (BALLIOL and BRUCE) invite Edward I to settle matters in Scotland.

1291 - John Balliol elected by Edward I as king of Scotland

• homage is paid to England - Scotland treated as a vassal state

• taxes levied on Scotland for a war with France in 1294 results in formation of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France (1296) lasting well into the 16^th century.

Edward's INVASION begins:

- John Balliol deposed and the Scots are defeated in the Battle of Dunbar (1296).

1297 - the resistance of William Wallace - folk hero - (Braveheart) starts.

Developments:

1. Battle of Stirling Bridge (1297) - victorious; Wallace marches southward

2. Battle of Falkirk (1298) - defeat of Wallace, but guerilla war continues until...

3. 1305 Braveheart is captured and executed in Edinburgh. CONSEQUENCE - the birth of Scottish nationalism!

1306 - Robert the Bruce becomes the king of Scotland, causing another campaign of Edward I

1307 - Edward I dies during the Scottish campaign at Carlisle

Reign of Edward II (1307-1327); the weakest of the Plantagenets,

Edward II abandons the Scottish campaign

1. 1314 - the Battle of Bannockburn (glorious victory of the Scots and the role of the battle is symbolic in Scottish tradition)

2. 1320 - Declaration of Arbroath - written by Scottish barons to the Pope - results in official recognition of Scotland as an independent nation by the English and the papacy - 1329.

Culture:

Oxford philosophers

1. Roger Bacon (1214-1294) - doctor mirabilis, predicting automobiles, ocean liners and airplanes, alchemy as a science.

b. William Ockham (1285-1349),

"Ockham's razor":

"If everything in some science can be interpreted without assuming this or that hypothetical entity, there is no ground for assuming it"

3. Gothic architecture - much bigger than continental style - e.g. Salisbury, Canterbury, rebuilding of Westminster Abbey: Two styles:

1. ornamental style - early gothic

2. perpendicular style - late gothic

The Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses (1327-1485)

Reign of Edward III (1327-77) - AGE OF CHIVALRY

Reforms:

• foundation of English local administration

• English introduced as the official language of courts of law

• division of Parliament into the House of Commons and House of Lords

• 1348 - Order of the Garter is established; the oldest and most prestigious English order today

The Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453)

Campaigns interrupted by internal developments in England.

Causes:

1. According to Salic Law (law of male succession) - the Valois replace the Capetians on the French throne

2. English and Burgundians: two allied vassals do not accept French overlordship

3. Edward III claims the French throne

4. Edward III supports anti-French rebellion in Flanders and Flemish invasion of France - economic reasons!!!

5. The Auld Alliance

6. Overall economic and trade competition - English protection of wool trade

Course of war:

1337-47:

• English naval victory at Sluys 1340 - first great victory of the Royal Navy

• 1346 the battle of Crecy - huge English victory; thanks to excellent line-up, maneuvers and effective use of longbowmen

1347 Calais falls and becomes English territory until 1558

The war is interrupted by Black Death (1348) - the greatest demographic disaster in European history - one third of English population dies out; high work demand make people move around the country in search of work

1355-96

• the war led by Black Prince (the Prince of Wales);

• Battle of Poitiers (1356) - French King is taken prisoner

• 1360 treaty of Bretigny - Edward III abandons his claim to the French throne for sovereignty over south-western France

• the treaty of Paris 1396 - Calais and Gascony remain English.

Meanwhile

Three internal developments in England:

1. Great Peasants' Revolt

2. Wycliffe and Lollards

3. Wales - Owen Glendover's raising

Reign of Richard II (1377-99)

1381 - the Great Revolt of the Peasants in Kent led by

1. Wat Tyler - military organizer

2. John Ball - radical ideologue in favor of getting rid of nobility

Causes:

• enclosures allowing barons to enclose arable land for sheep razing.

• imposition of poll-tax

• Statute of Labourers (1351) - unpopular law passed due to Black death binding workers to workplaces, limiting wandering and paying wages from before the plague

• General poverty of peasantry

Demands of peasants:

• abolition of villeinage - i.e. end to serfdom

• reduction of rent

• free access to fairs and markets

• general pardon

The peasants destroy manor houses and churches, killing justices and officials and March on London.

Smithfield (1381) King Richard II and Wat Tyler meet; the latter is killed and hundreds of rebels executed.

Consequence: gradual disappearance of SERFDOM.

Wycliffe and Lollards

Church grows as a feudal power - the Pope in Avignon.

A great number of private religious writings making people think independently - in England - John Wycliffe, Oxford church reformer "the morning star of the Reformation"

1382 - condemnation of John Wycliffe's doctrines

Wycliffe's doctrines:

• the stress on the Scriptures over the papacy and church officials

• denial of transubstantiation

• first translation of the Bible into English

Doctrines condemned but followed by...

The Lollards (lollaer - Dutch - 'to mumble prayers'):

1. preached Bible in English - popularization of the language

2. influenced John Huss of Bohemia and later Reformation activists

3. persecuted by Henry IV, and after the 1413 uprising, by Henry V.

1399 Richard II thrown into Tower and forced to abdicate.

The throne taken by his cousin Henry IV - son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster - new dynasty starts.

Reign of Henry IV Bolingbroke (1399-1413)

Rebellion of Owen Glendower in Wales (1400-1415)

- creates the concept of the Welsh as a nation, and national identity

- Welsh national hero and symbol of resistance against English oppression.

Reign of Henry V (1413-1422)

Reviving the claim of Edward III to the French throne; in 1415 Hundred Years' War is resumed.

1415-1453)

1415 battle of Agincourt - the greatest English victory at war; situation similar to Crecy.

1420 - by Treaty of Troyes:

• north of France (Paris included) submits to the English

• English alliance with Burgundy

• Henry V to become the king of France but dies in 1422 leaving Henry VI as heir at war with France.

Reign of Henry VI (1422-1461)

The war goes on under the Duke of Bedford

The English advance south and stop at Orleans laying siege.

1428-29 Siege of Orleans - the war's turning point.

Joan d'Arc - Maid of Orleans - leads the popular revolt - national hero of France - captured by Burgundians at Compiegne and burned at stake in Rouen in 1431 - becoming martyr and saint.

The War goes on until 1453 and the English gradually lose all possessions in France except for Calais (in English hands until 1558).

Consequences of the Hundred Years' war for England:

1. failure and huge costs - economic exhaustion

2. strengthening of English consciousness

3. English culture and nationality become distinct from the French

4. Numbers of unemployed veterans return to England

5. Gentry and merchants become allied later yielding to a strong Parliament

By the end of his life Henry VI becomes imbecile and the country thrown into rivalry of his advisors (two branches of the Plantagenet tree):

1. Yorks: WHITE ROSE

2. Lancasters: RED ROSE

Leads to the outbreak of…

The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485)

Specificity of the conflict

1. BLOODY, senseless civil war over the throne

2. a series of battles and skirmishes with victory often changing sides

3. weakened Parliament and government completely disorganized

4. the war waged by rich barons who purchase Hundred Years' War veterans

5. as a result most of the traditional English aristocracy is wiped out in favor of the new gentry.

1461 - Edward IV, the son of Richard, Duke of York becomes the king after capturing London and the York dynasty takes over the throne.

Reign of Richard III (1483-85)

Lancastrians land in Wales under Henry Tudor, the Welsh noble linked to the Lancasters.

1485 Battle of Bosworth:

1. Richard III is killed - the end of the House of York

2. Henry Tudor marries Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV uniting both Houses.

3. Henry Tudor becomes HENRY VII and founds the strong House of Tudor

1485 - symbolic turning point:

- The beginning of English Renaissance

- The end of Middle Ages

Society and economy of the 15^th century

1. end of feudalism - land becomes rented

2. yeomen - rich peasants buy off land from the poor - stratification.

3. enclosures and sheep - enormous wool trade - today's woolsack in the House of Lords

4. Gentry appears - nobility economically oriented

5. Development of ports and sea trade

6. Merchants and trade (livery) companies grow in power.

7. 1476 - William Caxton sets the first printing office in England - 1477 Canterbury Tales by Chaucer are published.

Early Tudors (1485-1558)

Tudor England - most glorious period of English history

1. Age of religious turmoil.

2. Beginning of colonialism

3. Development of absolute monarchy, with excellent cooperation with Parliament

4. Increasing role of landed gentry and town merchants - together forming MIDDLE CLASS

Reign of Henry VII (1485-1509);

Salomon of England; wise rule, restoring order after the war.

Reforms:

1. Filling royal coffers by fines, benevolences and subsidies.

2. Development of the army and royal cannon monopoly.

Excellent foreign policy:

1. Merchants Adventurers granted charter to export goods to Germany

2. John Cabot given the patent to explore, annex, and trade with unknown lands. Born in Genoa sailed from Bristol (1497) and discovers: Newfoundland and Labrador; First English explorer!!! - setting English expansion overseas.

Reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547)

Marriages:

1. Catherine of Aragon - marriage annulled (daughter MARY) - no SON!

2. Anne Boleyn - executed [for adultery] (daughter ELIZABETH)

3. Jane Seymour - died in childbirth (son EDWARD)

4. Anne of Cleves - marriage annulled (political reasons)

5. Catherine Howard - executed [for adultery]

6. Catherine Parr - outlived Henry.

Foreign policy:

1. War of the Holy League - England vs. Auld Alliance:

• 1513 Battle of the Spurs - victory over the French who fled rapidly sounding the spurs.

• 1513 Battle of Flodden - Scottish invasion bloodily stopped by the English

2. 1520 the Field of the Cloth and Gold - official, first diplomatic meeting of Henry VIII and Francis I of France - practical implementation of the concept of the balance of power (later would reappear in British history)

3. England becomes a strong diplomatic European power supported by huge Royal Navy developed under Henry VIII

4. Wales becomes legally incorporated into England - 1536

5. 1541 - Henry VIII becomes the King of Ireland - (no more distinct LORDSHIP) the Irish subdue to English law, dress, and customs.

ENGLISH REFORMATION

Underlying causes for English Reformation:

1. European religious developments

2. The Lollards

3. William Tyndale - translator of New Testament

4. Unlike European Reformation, English reformation starts out of politics, not doctrine

First, Henry VIII opposes Reformation in Europe and issues Assertion Septem Sacramentorum - confutation of Luther - in result he obtains the title:

Fidei Defensor - Defender of the Faith (1521) by the pope

The title used today on British coins (later gaining a Protestant meaning)

1527 - dissatisfied with his marriage (1.) Henry pursues a divorce seeking papal support - SPARK for reformation in England

Campaign for support of Henry's decision turns out to be long and frustrating led in England and abroad. Pope DISAGREES.

Henry becomes frustrated and in 1533:

1. looks favorably on the Reformers - called Protestants

2. appoints new Archbishop of Canterbury - Thomas Cranmer, who declares Henry VIII's marriage null and void

A series of acts passed by parliament follows:

I. Act of Supremacy (1534)

King establishes himself as the Supreme Head of Church of England and breaches with Rome for good.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries and confiscation of goods - distribution of the wealth among nobility and people

Compromise with Lutheran theology with some elements of the Catholic doctrine kept - the bishopry remains although appointed by the king himself not Rome.

Overgrowing Protestant mood in the country the King and Parliament issue

II. The Six Articles (1539) being a compromise between Catholic and Protestant

As a result a distinct "third" reformed church is being formed - ANGLICAN:

1. Catholics persecuted for disobeying the

Act of Supremacy

2. Protestants persecuted for disobeying

Six Articles

Main figures of the reign:

1. Thomas Wolsey

Cardinal, Lord Chancellor and chief advisor to the king and promoter of the international policy of England.

Unable to solve king's martial problems - forced to surrender his office and dies in disgrace - charged with treason.

Founded: 1. Christ Church in Oxford

2. Hampton Court Palace

2. Thomas More

Renaissance scholar and Lord Chancellor

Great humanist - author of Utopia 1516

Zealous reformer but against king's supremacy - is executed for refusal of the Act in 1535.

Canonized in 1935

3. Thomas Cromwell

Chief Minister of the Crown

Author of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and promotion of Reformers to bishopry

Establishes Privy Council - the factual governing body of the realm until the emergence of the Cabinet in the 18^th c.

Executed after recommendation of Anne of Cleves to Henry VIII

4. Thomas Cranmer

Archbishop of Canterbury - influenced much the English Reformation.

Pronounced Henry's marriage with Catherine of Aragon null and void, and legalized marriage with Anne Boleyn

Authorized Books of Common Prayer (1549, 1552) - official liturgy of the Church of England:

• replacement of Latin services with English

• doctrinal compromise between Rome and England

• simpler liturgical dress and outlook

Reign of Edward VI (1547-1553)

Protestant religion becomes dominant in England and becomes more in-depth by acts of legislation:

• repeal of 6 Articles

• Acts of Uniformity make Books of Prayer the official guidebooks of religion in England.

Reign of Mary I Tudor (1553-1558)

BLOODY MARY; married to Philip II of Spain - ardent Catholic and reactionist

The reign marked by:

1. Mary's supreme mission to restore Catholic faith to England

2. Numerous persecutions of Protestants yielding to a form of Protestant martyrdom- burning of Thomas Cranmer at Oxford

3. 1558 - as a result of a disastrous war with France England loses Calais

Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)

Reign of Elizabeth I the Great (1558-1603)

the Virgin Queen, Good Queen Bess

Characteristics:

• excellent choice of advisors

• not reigned but governed England

• left the country prosperous with national spirit

• the age of maritime adventurers and beginning of overseas expansion

RELIGION

Initially, 1559 compromise between extreme Protestantism and Catholicism

There should be outward conformity to the Established religion, but the opinion should be left free

• Act of Supremacy, Act of Uniformity become laws in the country

• Anglican priests are free to marry

• English Bible is available to all

1563 - Thirty Nine Articles - document establishing of Anglican belief - valid until today!

The Church of England - the rock of Tudor stability

1564 - Puritans (Advanced Protestants) are formed - aiming for purity of belief - the movement grows in power.

BUT

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, ardent Catholic and Elizabeth's cousin abdicates in favor of her son James VI and flees to England - imprisoned by Elizabeth.

A controversial, romantic and tragic figure - symbol of the persecuted Catholic Church in Britain

1568 the crisis due to Mary's imprisonment leads to Catholic Northern Rising against the queen.

Church of England opposed by:

1. Roman Catholics

2. Calvinists (Presbyterians) - John Knox and the Kirk

3. Puritans

1586 - Babington plot is discovered aimed at:

• freeing Mary Stuart

• assassinating Elizabeth

• rally support for Catholic Spanish invasion of English

Both Babington and Mary Stuart are executed.

OVERSEAS EXPANSION

England lags behind other European colonial powers.

Theoretical framework of English colonial expansion is laid out by Richard Hakluyt, Collector of sea stories, motivator, cartographer, Promoter and recorder of England's sea achievements - justifier of English overseas expansion; author of …

The Principall Navigations, Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation (1589)

Hakluyt's reasons for expansion:

1. enlargement of gospels

2. trade commodities and treasures

3. employment and fighting overpopulation

4. fishing off Newfoundland

5. revenues for the crown

6. shipping development for the Royal Navy

The early builders of Elizabethan: sea dogges - privateers in service of the Queen.

The most important figures of the period:

John Hawkings

Slave trader from Africa to Spanish West Indies; weakening the Spanish Empire; later becoming English admiral

Humphrey Gilbert - "the pioneer of English Colonization"

Soldier and explorer, enthusiast about English expansion

Claims Newfoundland for England

Martin Frobisher

Searcher for the North-West passage, exploring Labrador and Baffin Bay.

Francis Drake

First, organized buccaneering expeditions to the Spanish Main.

1577-1581 - circumnavigation on the Golden Hind - around Cape Horn, plundering the Spanish Pacific Coast; reached San Francisco Bay and claimed it as New Albion for England.

1587 - Drake sacks Cadiz - "singeing the king of Spain's beard" - sinking of 30 Spanish ships and delaying the Spanish preparation the Armada.

Harassing Spanish fleet continued until his death in 1596 at sea.

Walter Raleigh

Unsuccessful colonization of Virginia (in the name of the queen) - 1585 - Roanoke the Lost Colony - first in American history!

Bringing tobacco and potatoes to England

Imprisoned in the Tower for 12 years

Attempted to find El Dorado in Guyana - unsuccessful

Later, accused of conspiracy against James I and executed

Foreign policy

The Elizabethan age is dominated by competition with Catholic Spain

Gradual weakening of Spain by the English pirates sponsored by the monarch.

1588 - the Spanish 'Invincible' Armada

Causes of Spanish invasion:

1. Philip II's ambition to destroy Protestantism and revenge Mary Stuart

2. English assistance in the Protestant rebellion in the Netherlands against the Catholic Spain

3. Devastation and plundering of Spanish ships and possessions by English pirates (sea dogges)

4. Destruction of Spanish ships in Cadiz by Drake 1587

Armada met by a smaller English force under: Lord Howard, Drake, Frobisher and Hawkings - a great naval victory for England.

Consequences of the defeat of the Spanish Armada

1. a huge victory of the English navy

2. end of Spanish sea power

3. superiority of England as a naval, trading and colonizing power

Elizabethan society and culture

1. 1576 - the first purpose-built theater in London by James Burbage - Lord Chamberlain's Men including William Shakespeare. The theater was then dismantled and the Globe built in London.

2. William Shakespeare

3. Christopher Marlowe - playwright, secret agent, free thinker - Edward II (story of homosexual king) and Doctor Faustus

4. Thomas Tallis and William Byrd compose cathedral music - monopoly of music printing and publishing - English music and musicians become the best in Europe.

5. Development of grammar schools and literacy

6. Intensive trade and economy - Muscovy, Eastland, and Levant Companies - primarily the East India Company 1600- most famous and prominent (later role as an independent colonizing factor)

7. London develops as a main sea port.

The House of Stuarts and English Civil War (1603-1660)

1603 - the Scottish House of Stuarts takes over the English throne after Elizabeth's death - the personal union begins

James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England.

1. personal union of England and Scotland - both kingdoms have the same king

2. separate Parliaments until 1707

3. absolute inclinations of the monarchs - leading eventually to England becoming a parliamentary monarchy

Reign of James I (1603-1625)

- first king of all four countries of the British Isles

• believing in Divine Rights of the kings

• personal extravagance

Unpopular due to:

1. lack of dignity and force of Tudors

2. opposing royal prerogatives to Parliament, lack of skills - levying illegal taxes

Religion

Three strongly marked religious parties in the country:

1. Episcopalians - remaining the status of the Church of England

2. Roman Catholics - restore Mass and the Pope in England.

3. Puritans - Radical Protestants for simplicity and reforms having growing influence in Parliament!

1605 - the Catholic Gunpowder Plot against James I

• Catholics seeking toleration and refused it by the king

• The plot discovered and punishments imposed on the Catholics

• Celebrated today on Nov 5.

Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible - remaining the only Bible for next three centuries, accepted by all religious groups in the country.

Since 1611 - giving lands to English and Scottish protestants in Ulster

Foreign policy

• maintaining peace with Spain - execution of Walter Raleigh.

• first English colony in America - Jamestown (1607), Virginia,

Politics

Constant troubles with Parliament over taxes and the divine rights of the king.

Attacks on king's monopolies and practices.

James I dies in 1625 leaving the country in huge debt.

Reign of Charles I (1625-1649)

• unreliable and unwise

• miserable end of his rule

• holding his father's divine rights

• religious and sponsor of arts

• in constant conflict with Parliament over taxes, power and foreign policy

The beginning of Charles's reign - involvement in wars with Spain and France, in return for consent, Parliament forces the king to accept...

THE PETITION OF RIGHT, 1628

• very concrete, without stating general principles of the government

• limitation of the royal power - the king should rule by law not by his private wishes

• taxation should be approved by Parliament

• no imprisonment without trial

Petition introduced parliamentary control over:

1. state money

2. national budget

3. law

Charles accepts the Petition but argued about the details to the limitation and he wanted to save the divine rights.

Due to further conflicts the Parliament is dissolved and...

1. personal rule of Charles I without Parliament

• reliance on advisors: Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford (later impeached and executed) and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury

• Extensive tax collection without consultation with Parliament

1639-40 - the Bishops' wars with Scotland - caused by Archbishop Laud's attempts to introduce Anglicanism into the Church of Scotland

To obtain funds Charles I summons: the SHORT PARLIAMENT, 1640 - lasting three weeks fails to give the money and is dissolved.

Desperate Charles summons then LONG PARLIAMENT, 1641 - not legally dissolved for twenty years

Split into two parties:

1. the king's or court party - the Cavaliers

2. country party - the Roundheads

The parliament passes bills:

• it should not be dissolved without its own consent

• GRAND REMONSTRANCE, 1641 - manifesto listing the reforms of the Long Parliament,

1. replacement of king's evil advisors

2. ministers approved by Parliament

3. reform of Anglican Church

1642 - Charles tries to arrest Five MPs unsuccessfully, and flees to Hampton Court:

(Today's consequences: the monarch is banned from entering the House of Commons!!!)

The country prepares for war.

ENGLISH CIVIL WAR 1642-1649 or THE PURITAN REVOLUTION or ENGLISH REVOLUTION OF 1642

Stages: I. 1642-47

II. 1647-49

Royalists - cavaliers	Parliamentarians - roundheads
OXFORD - north and west of England Nobles Church of England Anglo-Irish	LONDON - south east, commercial towns Traders and merchants Yeoman farmers Puritans Navy Church of Scotland

STAGE I.

Charles I unfurls the royal standard on the Castle Hill of Nottingham

Until 1643 a series of battles but both sides are fairly matched.

In 1643 both sides seek help outside England:

1. Royalists - cessation with the Irish Catholics - the Irish cross the channel to assist the king

2. Parliamentarians - Solemn League and Covenant - assistance from Scotland - in promise for introduction of Presbyterianism to England (not kept)

1644 battle of Marston Moor - huge Parliament victory thanks to Oliver Cromwell's Ironsides - excellent, discipline, and fanatically religious cavalry composed of Independents - separatist republicans rejecting Presbyterianism and Anglicanism.

1645 - Oliver Cromwell organizes THE NEW MODEL ARMY:

• model for future British army

• fully professional, dependent on Parliament, receiving regular pay

• disciplined, well-trained

1645 - battle of Naseby - utter defeat of Charles who escapes to Scotland

The Parliamentarians split into:

1. 2/3 Presbyterians - willing to negotiate with the King

2. 1/3 Independents - willing to abolish the monarchy

STAGE II - 1647-49

After intriguing the Scots Charles I comes back to England with Scottish army and meets Cromwell's forces at the battle of Preston (1648) - king is defeated once again.

Charles hides in Edinburgh but is given away to Cromwell.

Accused of treason and war against his own kingdom Charles I is beheaded in 1649.

Abolishment of:

1. monarchy

2. the House of Lords

3. Anglican Church

THE COMMONWEALTH, 1649-1653

• run by the House of Commons as "being chosen by and representing the People, having the supreme power in this nation".

• the country divided into eleven military districts - tough laws introduced locally

• Oliver Cromwell in charge of the army - in fact rules the country

• Conflict with:

1. the Levellers under John Lilburne -

1. the ultra-republicans, ii. manhood suffrage, iii. religious toleration, iv. no social distinction.

2. the Diggers - agrarian communists.

Both bloodily resolved!

• Development of strong English navy

Problems:

1. The Irish proclaim Charles II the son of the executed king - Cromwell reacts 1649-50 massacring Ireland: Wexford, Drogheda

2. Charles II is then crowned in Scotland at Scone - the Scottish (the Engagers) army is defeated by Cromwell at the battle of Worcester (1651) and the king escapes to France.

1653 - the Instrument of Government establishes THE PROTECTORATE with Cromwell as Lord Protector.

THE PROTECTORATE, 1653-1660

• Practical dictatorial rule of Cromwell - people are forbidden to celebrate Christmas and Easter and play games on Sundays (PURITAN tradition).

• Protectorate regarded with contempt in Europe - often put forward as a scary example for European monarchies.

Cromwell dies in 1658 and is replaced by his son Richard.

Anarchy rules and as a result:

1. Long Parliament is recalled

2. 1660 - Declaration of Breda received from Charles II in exile:

1. Restoration of the Stuarts; Charles II returns from Holland.

2. annulment of all Cromwell's laws

3. General amnesty, with exceptions made by Parliament to those who killed Charles I

4. Liberty of conscience for all

5. The army gets disbanded

6. Lands restored to the Crown, the Church, and the Cavaliers

OVERSEAS EXPANSION

1. East India Company expands in India, becoming an authority itself:

Foundation of: Surat, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta.

2. 1609 settlement of Bermuda - Shakespeare's Tempest.

3. the Mayflower and development of North American colonies.

4. 1627 - the English settle Barbados

WEST INDIES become sugar-cane plantations - slaves are brought in large numbers to the English colonies.

5. Navigation Acts - directed against Dutch mercantilism

1. 1650 - foreign ships forbidden to trade in England's colonies

2. 1651 - colonial goods carried in English or colonial ships

f. capture of Jamaica - the island becomes a center for buccaneers.

The Stuarts after the Restoration (1660- 1714)

The Stuart line is continued by two sons of Charles I - both brought up in France.

Both still believing in divine rights of kings

Charles II - slightly biased towards Catholicism

James II - very Catholic

Reign of Charles II (1660-1685)

Politics

THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT, 1679

A crucial document of English liberties - preventing illegal and indefinite imprisonment.

Secured the right of every freeman accused of crime to have his guilt or innocence declared without delay.

Commitment and trial.

No imprisonment out of England

As Charles had no children:

1679 - parliamentary starts discussion on the Exclusion Bill - to exclude his brother James from the throne because he was Roman Catholic - the debate is commonly regarded as the historical beginning of political parties in Britain.

Parliament, due to the discussion, becomes divided into:

1. The WHIGS

• parliamentary supremacy

• toleration to various Protestant groups

• 'no popery' attitude - severely anti-Catholic, fearing a Catholic king

2. The TORIES

• support of the royal prerogative

• support of the established Anglican Church

• non-resistance - the divine rights of the king

Society

1665 - Great Plague - 15% of London's population die

1666 - Great Fire of London - 2/3 of the city is destroyed together with the plague.

Christopher Wren

Rebuilding London - esp. churches and St. Paul's Cathedral.

Samuel Pepys

The most famous English diarist of the time.

Reign of James II (1685-1689)

Gradual restoration of the Catholic Church

Nobles and clergy sent a letter to Protestant Dutch, William Orange-Nassau, son-in-law of the king, and invite him to defend Protestantism in England.

GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-89

William and James's daughter Mary land at Torbay and march unopposed to London.

James II flees to France; 1689 - they are declared the King and Queen.

Reign of William III and Mary (1689-1702)

The new monarch accepts ...

THE BILL OF RIGHTS, 1689

Limitation of King's power and establishment of today's monarch's representative role in British politics, i.e. the monarch

• cannot remove or change laws

• cannot be Catholic

• is dependent on Parliament in financial matters

• 'appoints' all ministers

The end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy based on the consent of people - from this moment on the monarchs won't count that much.

TOLERATION ACT, 1689

Toleration guaranteed to all dissenters but not Roman Catholics

Ireland

Irish Catholics oppose the Protestant William and rise in favor of the exiled James II:

James and French army land in Ireland:

1. 1689 - the siege of Derry

2. 1690 - the battle of the Boyne - James II and the Catholics defeated

3. Treaty of Limerick - William becomes king of Ireland but the Catholics are allowed to exercise their religion.

1701 - James II dies in France - developments after his death to impact Britain until 1745:

Louis XIV declares James Edward Stuart the Old Pretender the right successor to the English throne - a series of Jacobite uprisings follow.

ACT OF SETTLEMENT - 1701

Parliament's decision about throne succession.

After William dies the crown should go to Anne, the Protestant daughter of James II, and after her death to the Protestant HOUSE OF HANOVER

Today, the act defines the succession to the British throne. The monarch:

a. cannot be or marry a Roman Catholic

b. must be in communion with the Church of England

c. must promise to uphold the Church of England and the Kirk and the Protestant succession

Reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714)

The reign dominated by:

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough - ancestor of Winston Churchill

Chief, statesman and national hero.

War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) involves England with the rest of Europe - an early type of world war.

The English army under Marlborough wins a series of battles in Bavaria:

1704 the Battle of Blenheim

• great victory of the English

• the Blenheim Palace awarded to the Duke as a national hero.

Later Marlborough dismissed on the grounds of dishonesty.

The war ends with the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713:

• Britain gets Gibraltar, Minorca, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland

• France stops aid to the Old Pretender and recognizes the Hanoverians

• Britain becomes a European power

1707 ACT OF UNION

England and Scotland form Great Britain! - the name and the flag appear.

Single Parliament and monarch.

Separate legal systems and Churches.

The House of Hanover (1714-1837)

General characteristics:

• Britain becomes the greatest Empire in the world

• the first truly capitalist and industrial country - industrial revolution instead of social and political revolutions

• growing urbanization

• the first true constitutional monarchy - kings become less important than ministers.

Reign of George I (1714-1727)

The reign begins with - the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 (ROB ROY) with the aim to restore the Old Pretender:

1. in Scotland - fails at Sheriffmuir

2. in England - fails at Preston

The Old Pretender returns to France.

1721 - the office of PRIME MINISTER and CABINET established - Sir Robert Walpole.

Reasons:

1. practical difficulties in controlling the executive by Parliament - the kings often did not appear for meeting with their ministers.

2. Prime Minister and Cabinet - an office responsible to Parliament, which could be dismissed by single majority vote.

3. George I couldn't speak English!

Reign of George II (1727-1760)

Scotland - The Jacobite Rebellion of Forty-Five (1745-46)

Charles Edward Stuart, The Young Pretender - Bonnie Prince Charlie, lands in Scotland with just seven supporters and gathers army of the Highlanders.

Initial successes: Prestonpans, Falkirk, taking of Edinburgh threat to England, 125 miles from London

1746 - the Battle of Culloden - Jacobites crushed by the Duke of Cumberland

• complete defeat of the Jacobites - Charlie escapes to Rome The last battle fought in Britain

Consequences of the rebellion for Scotland:

1. the definite end of the Stuart claim

2. great Scottish heroic and tragic legend

3. the Disarming Act, 1746

• ban on kilts, tartans and bagpipes

• ban on arms

• abolishment of clan jurisdictions - virtual end of clan system

4. Scottish politics disappears - massive immigration and forced labor in West Indies plantations

5. CLEARANCES - replacement with sheep

6. the Highlands fall into poverty and misery (see Stevenson's Kidnapped)

The Seven Years' War (1756-63)

William Pitt the Elder:

Great Commoner - excellent PM

A war leader - opposed to Britain's involvement in European conflict but favoring conflicts in India and North America.

The war is fought in Europe but Britain and France struggle in:

1. INDIA

So far, an independent but divided country; a trade rivalry between France and Britain - slow buildup of British influences in all India by way of the British East India Company.

1756 - the Black Hole of Calcutta - arrest and suffocation of 146 (23 survived) English by the Nabob of Bengal.

In reaction - the battle of Plassey (1757) - Robert Clive, the commander of the East India Company forces defeats Nabob's army.

Consequences:

• India becomes the jewel in the crown - the beginning of THE RAJ - British rule in India

• Nabobs - a name given to wealthy people returning to Britain

• Colonial culture and long British presence

2. NORTH AMERICA - the battle of Quebec - 1759

End of French power in America.

1763 the Treaty of Paris:

• Total British victory

• Britain gets: Canada, Florida, Tobago, Grenada, Dominica, Senegal and India.

• Britain becomes the leading colonial power - TRADE determines British wealth

Reign of George III (1760-1820)

Best remembered for:

1. loss of American colonies

2. madness - 1811-1820 - Regency of Prince of Wales - George IV

Important figure: William Pitt the Younger

• 1783 - the youngest ever PM - 24 year-old.

• Government control of East India Company.

• 1791 Dividing Canada into Lower (French) and Upper (British)

• financial and parliamentary reforms - introduction of the income tax.

• Propagator of the concept of United Kingdom

Foreign policy and expansion

Captain JAMES COOK - the greatest discoverer

Pacific voyages and claims for Britain, a legendary captain and hero.

Mapping the Pacific Ocean

Devising vitamin C diet against scurvy on the Endavour

Achievements:

1. 1770 visiting New Zealand and the Great Barrier Reef

2. 1771 - claiming Australia and naming it New South Wales - Botany Bay, hoisting a flag in York Peninsula.

3. Crossing the Antarctic circle and sailing around Antarctica

4. Discovery of Christmas Island and the Hawaii - dies there in 1780.

1788 - Botany Bay (today's Sydney) - Australia becomes A British penal colony - the convicts after serving their terms are given plots of land.

AMERICA

1783 the Treaty of Paris - official recognition of the United States.

Britain suffers first setback in its empire.

Britain loses Florida.

INDIA

East India Company controls all the country - English law and administration introduced under Warren Hastings.

IRELAND

Bloody Irish rebellion of 1798 - battle of Vinegar Hill leading to…

*1801 - the Act of Union with Ireland*

The Name: UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND appears

• one Parliament for the United Kingdom

• churches united into one Protestant Episcopal Church

• Free trade between the two countries.

1807 - abolition of slave trade; and 1833 - abolition of slavery in all British colonies

NAPOLEONIC WARS

1789 the French revolution begins - a threat to all European monarchies

1792 - the French Convention publishes:

Decree of November the 19^th: declaration of help to:

"all those nations who desire to overthrow their kings"

In reaction England declares war on France:

1. France wants to cut England from India by occupying Egypt.

2. England wants to help royalists in France

War phases:

FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WAR (1792-1802)

1793 - unsuccessful capture of Toulon - retaken by Napoleon - a lesson for the British.

1798 the battle of the Nile - Napoleon's fleet is defeated by Horatio Nelson and the French plans are stopped.

1802 Treaty of Amiens

France: refrains from aggression

England: drops the title of King of France (since Henry VI) and the

French lilies from the national emblem.

The war is resumed in 1803 - Britain participates in form of Pitt's Gold - money paid in support to the Austrians and Prussians - unsuccessful after numerous defeats.

NAPOLEONIC WARS (1803-1807)

Napoleon prepares invasion of Britain, prevented by the Battle of Trafalgar - 1805:

• the greatest English naval victory

• Admiral Nelson dies - the greatest admiral ever and British hero

• Evidence: the Trafalgar Square - the center of London!

Without further chances of invasion - Napoleon declares:

The Continental System - blocking Britain:

Results in Britain:

• rise of food prices

• decline of textile industry

PENNINSULAR WAR (1808-1815)

Causes:

1. the continental blockade

2. assistance to the Portuguese and the Spanish against the French

The British land in Portugal under Duke of Wellington.

After a series of battles the French are pushed out of Spain.

1815 Battle of Waterloo

a great British victory; capture of Napoleon, and his imprisonment until 1821 on St. Helena.

Consequences:

• the strength of the British army acknowledged

• Britain's role in Europe increases

• contrary to popular expectations Britain enters economic depression.

Congress of Vienna, 1815

• British gains: Malta, Heligoland, the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, Tobago, Mauritius, West Africa

• BALANCE OF POWER - determining British European policy until 1914.

• Global superiority of the Royal Navy throughout the 19^th cent.

• On British initiative the diplomatic protocol is established - valid until today.

Economic depression results:

1. small demand for British goods - impoverished countries develop their own production

2. growing unemployment - situation aggravated by returning soldiers and sailors.

3. development of wild capitalism - Dickens' novels, terrible work conditions

4. huge urbanization

5. Corn Laws - ban on import of cheap grain. Rising bread prices cause riots.

Reign of George IV (1820-30)

Politics is becoming property of the middle class

Sir Robert Peel starts a legal reform: establishes the London Metropolitan Police (bobbies)

Reign of William IV (1830-37)

The reign of reforms:

1. First Reform Act, 1831:

• abolishment of ROTTEN BOROUGHS

• giving franchise to new industrial areas (examples) - 50% extension in England and Wales

• retaining franchise based on property but extended - growth of the middle class

2. Factories Act, 1833 - prohibition of child labor in factories.

3. Municipal Reform Act, 1835 - city officials elected by popular vote.

Foreign policy

1819, Stamford Raffles buys Singapore

Abolition of Slavery in all British Dominions, 1833 affecting:

1. West Indies - compensation to slave owners.

2. South Africa: 1833 -the Great Trek of the Boers from the Cape Colony to Orange Free State and Transvaal:

1. problems with the Zulus and the British for years to come

2. basis for apartheid system

1838 - promise of protection of Belgian neutrality - consequences in 1914

Culture and Society

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

• money and banks

• better labor - cotton mills, weavers

• great demand for goods - Britain becomes the 'workshop of the world'

• new power - Watt, Wilkinson (ironworks), coal mining

• better transport - Stephenson, roads, coaches, canals

SCIENCE

Jethro Tull - development of 'seed drill' and better farming

James Watt - Scottish engineer; steam engine

George Stephenson - 1825 Stockton-Darlington - first railway in the world -

Joseph Priestley - theologist and chemist: OXYGEN (1774)

Henry Cavendish - chemist and physicist: HYDROGEN, CARBON DIOXIDE,

John Dalton - ATOM, DALTONISM

Robert Fulton - steamships

PHILOSOPHY

Edmund Burke

ART

Thomas Gainsborough - painter; landscape and aristocratic life

John Constable - painter; landscapes

Josiah Wedgewood - great china

William Hogarth - painter; lower classes; characteristic English style in

separation from Europe

MUSIC

Georg Friedrich Handel - living in England with Hanoverians

John Gay - composer - The Beggar's Opera (1728) - first opera about lower classes

OTHERS

Dick Turpin - first pulp fiction bad guy

Rowland Hill - 1840 - THE PENNY BLACK - the first post stamp in the world.

Victorian Age (1837-1901)

Reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)

Grandmother of Europe

• the longest reigning queen

• top era of British Empire - gains and wars - 1/4 of the globe

• Britain becoming the world's greatest military and industrial power

• The only democratic country in Europe

• era of gradual social reforms, with no turbulent events.

• Victorian culture and society

Married to her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg - hence the new royal house until 1917.

Monarchy becomes close to people who know a lot about the life of the couple - the ROLE of the PRESS

Albert dies in 1861 - the Queen remains widow until her death.

Politics

Era marked with two PMs - often in rivalry - reflecting the characteristic British two-party system

1. William Ewart Gladstone - Whig - liberal - strongly opposed to imperialist policies

2. Benjamin Disraeli - Tory - conservative - imperialist - policies and purchases

Chartist Movement, 1838-48

Born out of:

• economic and political frustrations

• limited changes of Reform Act of 1832

• named after The People's Charter, 1839:

1. universal suffrage

2. annual Parliament election

3. voting by ballot

4. no property qualification for MPs

5. MPs paid

6. Electoral districts.

Consequences:

• riots and open rebellions, often resulting in sending people to colonies

• SIGNALS for the future

• Lack of serious upheavals like the Spring of Nations in Europe.

If fact all postulates refused by the House of Commons.

Second Reform Act, 1866 - franchise still based on property but extended to everyone except for:

• women

• farm laborers

• very poor in the cities

Third Reform Act, 1885 - franchise to all adult males except for:

• domestic servants

• bachelors living with their parents

Society

Hungry 1840s:

• low wages

• Corn Laws - repealed 1846

• Potato famine in Ireland - 1845-48

1851 - the Great Exhibition of the Industries of All Nations in London

Two purposes:

1. to show English industrialized power - WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD

2. to compare the development of England to that of other nations

Foreign policy - Era of imperial wars

Building Empire but also reforming it.

EUROPE

Balance of power policy slowly growing into industrial and military competition leading to WWI

Competing with France, Germany and Russia.

Protector of Turkey against Russian influences

The Crimean War, 1853-56 .

Reasons:

1. Russia's territorial demands - expansion to the Balkans

2. Britain's will to keep Russia out of the Mediterranean

Course:

1. The French and the British land in the Crimea, helping the Turks against the Russians

2. appalling conditions - frost, cholera, hunger

3. massive casualties - 45,000 British fallen

4. Battles:

• siege of Sebastopol

• Balaclava - the charge of the Light Brigade

Conclusion - treaty of Paris 1856

• guarantee of Turkish independence

• unnecessary losses

• the war remembered today with reverence - Victoria Cross established.

CANADA

1839 - Durham report - fear of Canada following the path of American colonies:

• Recommendation of the Union of Upper and Lower Canada

• Colonial governments should be responsible to their own parliaments rather than British parliament

• Basis for subsequent British colonial policy - anticipation of de-colonization

1867 - the British North America Act - Canada becomes a dominion, i.e.:

• autonomy in domestic and foreign affairs

• British government represented by Governor General

• The act followed by other countries becoming a REFORM PATTERN for the British Empire

NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA

1840 - treaty of Waitangi signed by Maori chiefs - Britain annexes New Zealand.

1907 - New Zealand becomes a dominion.

1850 - Australia ceased to be a penal colony (since 1788) and given representation.

1901 - Commonwealth of Australia

• 6 states and 2 territories become united

• federal parliament

CHINA

Era of trade wars - China never became a colony but the fight for influences continued.

Britain becoming richer by gaining land step by step.

1839-42 the Opium War

Reasons:

• China opposes British smuggling of opium

• Arrest of British commissioners

Conclusion - treaty of Nanking, 1842:

1. five Chinese ports open to Britain

2. cession of Hong Kong (a crown colony until 1997)

The Arrow War (1856-1860)

Provoked by seizure of a British ship

Results in:

• opening more ports

• foreigners reside in Beijing

1899, Boxer Rising

Provoked by western division of China into spheres of interest.

Course:

• murder of foreigners and native Christians

• Siege of Beijing with foreign delegation

The first international force suppresses the rebellion - western power in China becomes strengthened.

INDIA

Ruled by East India Company in practice.

Particular kingdoms and territories become annexed to British India:

The RAJ = India + Pakistan + Bangladesh + Burma

Wars with local rulers and Sikhs result in colonial growth.

British army based on Indian forces

1857-58 - the INDIAN MUTINY - a terribly bloody uprising.

Causes:

• religious and economic westernization of India

• widow burning

• annexation of Indian dominions cooperating with British India

• introduction of paper cartridges with animal fat - the spark.

Massacres of European population - garrisons and big Indian cities taken;

Rebellion crushed - savage reprisals - leaders blown from the mouth of cannons.

1858 India Act

1. More European soldiers in the army

2. abolishing East India Company

3. transfer of its forces and territories to the crown

4. Queen Victoria proclaimed Sovereign of India; in 1877 the Empress of India.

EGYPT

1875 Disraeli buys half of Suez Canal shares - under Britain's control.

1882 - Egypt becomes a British colony - Suez declared neutral and secured by Britain

1883 - Mahdi (the Guided one) declares jihad in the Sudan; occupies Sudan and Khartoum and the British evacuate - 1885 - Gen. Charles Gordon - dies defending Khartoum

Mahdi establishes a theocratic state with capital in Omdurman

1896-99 the Sudan War

Lord Kitchener's army goes down to Sudan to recapture the territory.

1898 - battle of Omdurman - the whole Nile valley under British rule.

SOUTH AFRICA

After the Great Trek of 1833 - five states in the territory of modern South Africa

• Cape Colony - British

• Natal - British

• Transvaal - Boer

• Orange Free State - Boer

• Zululand - independent

The Boer/Afrikaner states rich in gold and diamonds; independent but intolerant towards the British - Uitlanders.

1877-79 Cetshawayo the Zulu - independent African kingdom - Zululand

• threat to the Boer republics

• Boers submit to the British for protection - the Zulu war starts.

• first massacre of the British at Insandhlwana but then defeated at the Ulundi

Zululand becomes part of Natal

1880-81 - First Boer War - victorious for the Boers - Treaty of Pretoria 1881 - Transvaal's independence guaranteed.

Cecil Rhodes

Visionary, statesman, adventurer, ambitious man.

Diamond miner, sponsoring of scholarships.

Establishment of Rhodesia - Northern (Zambia) and Southern (Zimbabwe)

Ambitions to link Cape Town with Cairo - require annexation.

1899-1902 - Second Boer War - the bloodiest colonial war.

Reasons:

1. 1884 - removal of the Treaty of Pretoria by the British

2. Afrikaner nationalism

3. German Empire supplying arms to Kruger

Course:

1. lots of bloody battles - heavy involvement and casualties of the British

2. huge guerilla activity of the Boers

3. Boer sieges of Kimberley (huge gold mines) and Ladysmith, and Mafeking (LORD BADEN - POWELL and later boy scouts)

4. British take Pretoria and Johannesburg

5. The British introduce concentration camps - Kitchener's scorched-earth policy

Conclusion: Treaty of Vereeniging (1902) - annexation of the Boer republics.

1. Two languages

2. Reconstruction

3. Leading to the dominion - Union of South Africa 1910

Britain at World Wars

Reign of Edward VII (1901-1910)

Internal politics

Labour Party formed in 1900 out of trade unions - socialism in Britain works inside Parliament; by way of constitutional means - absolutely separated from Marxism and communism; since 1905 Labour Party has been present in Parliament.

David Lloyd George

• Chancellor of the Exchequer and PM - radical reformer

• 1909 People's Budget - revolutionary achievement - welfare schemes and naval rearmament paid by:

• death duties on land

• supertaxes on the wealthiest

• rejection of the budget by the conservative House of Lords leads to a constitutional crisis and passing of…

THE PARLIAMENT ACT (1911) introducing modern legislative supremacy of the Commons:

1. Lords can't deal with money bills

2. Lords can only have delaying power

3. By conventions national elections are to be held every five years

Foreign politics

Build-up to WWI

Britain is losing its top position in the world:

1. greater natural wealth of Germany and the US - better production

2. lags with technology and science

Colonial race and industrial competition between Germany, France and Britain

International alliances in Europe:

1. Entente Cordiale with France - 1904 - recognition of African colonies

2. Triple Entente with France and Russia - 1907 - Common policy against growing German power.

Reign of George V (1910-1936)

WORLD WAR ONE

Causes:

1. Triple Entente or Allied Powers vs. Triple Alliance or Central Powers

2. the Sarajevo assassination.

3. German invasion of neutral Belgium (guaranteed neutrality by Britain from the 1839 Treaty of London) - immediate cause of Britain's involvement.

Aug 4, 1914 Britain declares war on Germany and sends the British Expeditionary Force to the Marne.

Course:

• Western front - trench warfare for almost four years - war of attrition.

• Gallipoli 1915 - attempt to break the stagnation and attack Turkey - failed attack of the British and Australians. Churchill, who's responsible for the failure, resigns from the cabinet.

• Middle East - fighting against Turks in Iraq and Palestine - Lawrence of Arabia rallying Arabs against the Turks.

• Jutland 1916 - the greatest naval battle of the war - inconclusive - the German fleet remains in ports until the end.

• The Somme 1916:

- attempt to break the trench warfare

• appalling casualties

• first use of tanks

• no gains

• Ypres 1917 called 'Wipers' - Germans use poison gas - enormous casualties

• George V changes the name of the ruling dynasty into the House of WINDSOR 1917

• Armistice Nov 11, 1918

• Treaty of Versailles: Britain victorious - taking protectorate of former German colonies and fleet

Significance of WWI to Britain

1. WWI the most remembered historical event today:

• Poppy Day

• The Centopath in Whitehall

2. huge costs and 1mln. casualties

3. London bombed for the first time in history - Zeppelins

4. participation of the soldiers from the Empire - yield further autonomy processes

5. the country governed by a coalition government for the first time in history

6. The British Empire is the largest in history.

Ireland

1914 - Home Rule passed but not implemented

1916 - Easter Rising in Dublin begins, ending in a total failure; Execution of the leaders - aggravates the situation in Ireland and

1919- 1921 the war for independence in Ireland - mainly guerilla warfare:

1921 - Irish Free State established - dominion - 1937 Eire.

1922 - SIX COUNTIES of Ulster remain with Britain, forming Northern Ireland.

Inter-war period

Numerous political and economic reforms.

Economic depression - rising unemployment;

Enormous taxation to repair the economy

Lowering of wages lead to…

GENERAL STRIKE 1926 - 2.5mln on strike - causes anti-trade union legislation

Election reforms:

1. Emancipation of women after WWI - Suffragette movement

2. 1918 - all men over 21 and women over 30 can vote

3. 1928 - all women over 21 can vote.

Labour replaces the Liberals as the second party - Britain becomes a two-party system.

STATUTE OF WESTMINSTER, 1931

• regulation of the status of dominions - standing firmly in international community after WWI

• British Commonwealth of Nations formed - the name 'Empire' officially disappears

• Dominions guaranteed legislative independence

• In the history of colonization; no other power goes for a similar decision - future de-colonization after WWII goes smooth for the UK.

• It seems clear the Empire is too expensive.

Reign and ABDICATION of Edward VIII, 1936

'Our Smiling Prince' - one of the greatest scandals in British history.

• romance with American twice divorcee Mrs. Wallis Simpson

• opposition from the Church and government - marriage of throne

• abdication and marriage - leaves for France - later the governor of the Bahamas - d. Paris 1972.

• a famous love story vs. suspicion of favor for Nazi Germany.

Reign of George VI (1936-1952)

Build up to World War II

Neville Chamberlain - PM

• policy of appeasement and concessions

• Munich Agreement 1938: Sudetenland for Germany,

• The Agreement of Mutual Assistance between Poland and Britain signed by Lord Halifax and Edward Raczyński, Aug 25, 1939

• British do nothing after the September invasion

• Polish pilots take part in the Battle of Britain

WORLD WAR TWO - the British perspective

Main developments:

• Sep 3, 1939 Britain declares war on Germany - only in theory.

1. the phony war until April 1940

2. the Battle of the Atlantic begins to last for the whole duration of the conflict

• German invasion of Norway leads to British intervention in Narvik in 1940

• June 1940 - Dunkirk evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from German-occupied France

1940 the War Cabinet of Winston Churchill - promise of absolute defiance to Germany - Chamberlain steps down in disgrace.

After the fall of Europe Britain becomes the only opposing force.

• June - Sep 1940 - the Battle of Britain

1. mistaken attempt of Nazis to invade Britain by air only

2. participation of Polish squads

3. Sep 7 - Blitz over London

"Never have so many owed so much to so few"

• THE ATLANTIC CHARTER, 1941 - HMS Prince of Wales, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland

1. establishing the objectives of the Grand Alliance

2. final destruction of Nazi tyranny

3. promotion of non-aggression - the nascent United Nations

• 1941 hunt for Bismarck in the Atlantic

• 1942 - surrender of Singapore and Burma - invasion from the jungle, the most shameful defeat of the British Army - BRIDGE ON THE KWAI

• 1942-43 - campaign in North Africa - Gen. Montgomery and the battle of El Alamein

• 1943-44 - invasion of Italy and Monte Casino

• 1944 D-DAY and MARKET GARDEN

• 1944-45 use of V1 and V2 over Britain

The war's over in 1945, consequences:

1. Britain ceases to be the world superpower

2. A need for further de-colonization

3. Difficult situation makes Churchill lose elections and Labour Party wins with a landslide.

4. The country severely destroyed: London, Coventry, Belfast, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield

5. Rationing during the war, blackouts, evacuation schemes

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