British History: Events that Shaped the Country

1. History: events that
shaped the country
Aida Sergeevna rodomanchenko
Associate professor
FL Department of NRU HSE, Moscow
A.rodomanchenko@gmail.com

2. Summary of the main events
throughout the period
Date
/
Period
Event
/
Document
What
happened?
Implica8ons
for
the
modern
state
5000BC
End
of
the
Ice
Age
Britain
became
an
island
Island
mentality
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Rodomanchenko,
PhD

3. The foundation stones
Land and climate affect life in every country:
➔ social life
➔ economic life
➔ population
➔ politics
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4. Britain is no exception...
Mild climate:
+/- 5C from south to north.
Varied countryside:
➢ North and West - mountainous and hilly
➢ East and South - fairly flat or low-lying
South-East Britain:
➢ the most populated part
➢ the most political power
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5. Prehistoric times - 1066
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6. Britain's prehistory
Before the Ice Age – Britain is not an island
10.000 BC - peopled by hunters, gatherers and fishers
5.000 BC – became a heavily forested island
3.000 BC – invaded by people from Europe
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7. “Public works” - huge organization of labour
The earlier works:
➢ great “barrows”
➢ burial mounds
“Henges”
great earth circles with wooden
buildings and stone circles inside
Stonehenge the most important centre until 1300 BC.
earth or stone
Religious
Political
Economic
P
O
W
E
R
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8. The Celts
700 BC
Introduced:
✗ Iron technology
✗ Advanced ploughing methods
Could farm heavier soils
Exported:
✗ Corn
✗ Animals
✗ Hunting dogs
✗ Slaves
The European mainland
“high spirited and quick for battle”
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9. The Celts
Ancestors of people in:
Highland Scotland
Wales
Ireland
Cornwall
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10. The Romans: why Britain?
55 BC: the Romans against the Gaul
supported by the Britons → anger and rivalry
Britain is home to farmland and rich in minerals
→ vital for the Roman Empire.
Julius Ceasar
AD 43: Southern part
of Britain became
part of the Roman
Empire.
Emperor Claudius
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11. The Romans (43-410)
Territories under the Romans
South of Britain:
Romano-British culture
The upland areas:
under Roman control
not developed
“Caledonia”:
not conquered
Hadrian Wall:
a strong wall along the northern border
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12. Written word and Towns
the skills of reading and writing spreading ideas and
establishing power
The governor Agricola “trained the sons of chiefs in the liberal arts... the result
was that the people who used to reject Latin began to use it in speech and
writing. Further the wearing of our national dress came to be valued and
the toga came into fashion.”
The towns were the basis of Roman administration and civilisation:
➢ built with stone and wood
➢ planned streets, markets and shops
➢ central heating
➢ connected by roads
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13. The Romans' legacy
“Britain”:
“Camp” = “Castra”, the Latin word for the first towns
that were army camps
Chester, Lancaster, Glochester, Manchester...
The Romans left nearly nothing:
✗ nor a system of law and administration
✗ neither a language
Apart from the towns themselves, the Romans' legacy
remained in their names:
“Britannia” = “Pretani”, the Greco-Roman word for
the inhabitants of Britain that was mispronounced by the Romans
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14. The Romans' legacy
The Scots:
Wales – conquered but not subdued
The Welsh – the massacre of the druids and shift from traditions
The English:
England was settled
The English enjoyed continental trade and political relations
The Welsh:
Scotland – fortified and not conquered
The Scots – distinct political and cultural identities
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15. The Germanic Invasions
(410-1066)
AD 430 began to settle
AD 410 only raided
AD 570 most of the British Celts
were driven into:
➢ 'Weallas' land of the foreigners
(Wales)
➢ The lowlands (Scotland)
others became slaves
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16. Anglo-Saxon legacy
Days of the week named
after Germanic gods:
✔ Tig Tuesday
✔ Wodin Wednesday
✔ Thor Thursday
✔ Frei Friday
New place-names :
✔ “ -ing” = “folk or family” Reading, Hastings
✔ “Ham” = saxon “farm” Birmingham, Nottingham
✔ “Ton” = saxon “settlement” Southampton
✔ “Kingston” = “Settlements established by the king”
Land was divided into:
✔ “shires” (saxon) Yorkshire
✔ “counties” (norman) Kent county
with a “shire reeve” appointed
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17. The Vikings (end of the 800s)
Vikings = “pirates”
= “the people of the sea inlets”
Danelaw = the land where the law of
the Danes ruled
Danegeld = tax to provide armies with $
Witan = a formal body, issuing laws
and charters.
Its authority was based on
✔ its right to choose kings
✔ to agree the use of the king's laws
Later it grew to a Privy Council: a group of advisers on the affairs of state
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18. Battle of Hastings
Harold Godwinson William of Normandy
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19. What
is
Bayeux
tapestry?
How
long
is
it?
What
does
it
represent?
How
did
the
life
of
Bri8sh
change
aAer
the
Norman
conquest?
What
was
the
White
Tower
in
London
symbol
of?

20. The Norman Conquest

21. The Middle Ages

22. The Domesday Book
By 1086 William wanted to know:
✔ who owned which piece of land
✔ how much was it worth
✔ how much land was there
✔ how many families, ploughs and
sheep were there ...
He needed it in order to:
➔ plan his economy
➔ find out how much was produced
➔ to know how much he could ask in tax
«There was no single hide nor a yard of land,
nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig
which was left out.»
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23. Magna Carta
In 1215 king John
promised all
“freemen”:
➢ Protection from his
officers
➢ the right to a fair and
legal trial
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24. The beginnings of Parliament
1258 - a council of nobles was elected - a parliament or parlement
(a French word meaning a “discussion meeting”)
It was able:
✔ to make statutes = written laws
✔ to make political decisions
It was unable:
✗ To provide the king with money
a “representative institution” created - House of Commons
It could provide the king with money he needed
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Rodomanchenko,
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25. Parliament
Scottish Parliament
✔ Estate of lords
✔ Estate of commons
✔ The clergy.
Commons Lords
✔ nobility
✔ great landowners
✔ bishops
✔ knights
✔ smaller landowners
✔ wealthy people
from towns and
cities
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26. Wales
1282 Castle building programm
1284 West Wales + England
1301 Prince of Wales
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27. A typical Welshman, end of the 13c
Wales
Benefits for the English:
- Military: best archers ->
chance to get involeved in wars
with undue weight.
- Democratic: parliament was
regularly called -> first steps
to parliamentary democracy
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28. Scotland
“Edward, the Hammer of the Scots”.
Edward's I coronation chair:
➢ The Scotish Stone of Destiny - under
➢ The symbolic state sword — to the right
➢ The shield of Edward III — to the left
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29. Law and justice
Saxon times:
● Every district has its own laws and customs
● Justice is a family matter
Norman Conquest:
● Nobles are allowed to administer justice among
the people on their lands
Early Middle Ages:
● All crimes are breaking of the «king's peace»
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30. Common Law
(the law that is used everywhere and administered by
circuit judges)
Henry I
Circuit judges
Travelling from place to place
administering justice
Custom
Previous decisions
Previous cases
Comparisons
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32. Following the Black Death
● Smaller population
● Less need to grow crops
● Labour shortage
● Higher wages for peasants
gentry and middle class
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33. Monasteries Vs Towns
A monk could:
✔ learn to read and write
✔ be sure of food and shelter.
'Charters of freedom' allowed:
✔ to free the townspeople from
feudal ties and interference
✔ to raise their own local taxes
on goods coming in
✔ to have their own courts
✔ to develop social and
economic organizations
The monasteries were centres
of wealth and learning
Towns were centres of trade
Poet Andrew de Coutances, an Anglo-Norman cleric, describes the French as godless, arrogant and lazy dog
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34. The Wars of the Roses
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35. The Tudors
1480 - 1603
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36. The new monarchy
Henry VII
➔ War and glory - bad for
business
➔ Business - good for the state
Main aim:
➔ Financially
➔ independent
➔ Crown
Henry VIII
➔ Glory – good for Crown
➔ War - way to glory
Main aim:
➔ To please himself
2 million pounds = 15 years income Debts instead of money
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37. The Reformation
the Church:
➢ an international organisation
➢ very powerful
➢ taxed the population
➔ Henry was forbidden to divorce
1531 – Henry VIII = head of the Church in England
1534 – the Act of Supremacy
1532-1536 – England = a Protestant country
Henry VIII's viewpoint:
➔ was difficult to control
➔ could work against the king
➔ reduced the king's income
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38. Break with Rome
Fidei Defensor = Defender of the Faith
The dissolution of the monasteries:
560 monasteries closed down and sold out
monastery buildings knocked down
the monks and nuns thrown out
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39. Wales
Ap = son of
“Sion ap William ap Sion ap William ap Sion ap Dafydd ap Ithel Fychan as
Cynrig ap Robert ap Iowerth ap Rhyrid ap Iowerth ap Madoc ap Ednawain
Bendew, called after the English fashion John Jones”
1536-1543 Wales joined to England under one administration
A Welsh Bible was printed.
It became the basis for
the Welsh language.
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40. Ireland
Henry VIII = King of Ireland
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41. Ireland
4 wars to make the Irish accept English authority and religion:
✔ Destroyed the old Gaelic way of life
✔ Introduced English government
✔ Ireland -> England's first important
colony
Henry VIII = King of Ireland
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42. Foreigners' view of England
“The English are great lovers of themselves, and of everything
belonging to them; they think that there are no other men than
themselves, and no other world but England; and whenever they see
a handsome foreigner, they say that 'he looks like an Englishman',”
an Italian visitor wrote.
Cities: coal is commonly used
A foreign ambassador wrote that the city stank, and was “the filthiest in the world”
London by Claes Van Visscer 1616

43. The Stuarts
1603-1714

44. ● James VI vs James I
1576 – James Stuart -> James VI of Scotland
1603 - James Stuart -> James I of England
Kingdom
of
Great
Britain
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45. ● Charles I
“Parliaments are altogether in my power … As I find the
fruits of them good or evil, they are to continue or not to be”
Charles quarrelled with Parliament
Charles borrowed $ from merchants,
bankers and landowning gentry
Parliament made Charles agree
to certain “parliamentary rights”
Parliament controlled:
ü state money - the “national budget”
ü the law
Charles I:
û could only raise money by Act of
Parliament
û could not imprison anyone without
lawful reason
1628 Charles signed the Petition of Right
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46. ● Civil War
War background:
Ø James I colonised Ulster mainly with Protestant farmers
Ø The Catholic Irish were sent off the land
Ø 1641 Ireland explored in rebellion against the Protestant
settlers
Who should control an army to defeat the rebels: King or Parliament?
Charles I
The Royalists - “Cavaliers”
Was supported by:
ü most of the House of Lords
ü a few from the Commons
Controlled:
ü most of the north and west
Features:
ü had no way of raising money
ü the army was unpaid
Parliament
“Roundheads”
Was supported by:
ü navy
ü most of the merchants
ü population of London
Controlled:
ü East Anglia and the south-east
Features:
ü had a lot of $ as they controlled sources
of wealth
ü the army consisted of armed groups of
London apprenticesAida
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PhD

47. The Civil War Results
! 1645 - the Royalist army was defeated
! Charles I - guilty of making “war against his kingdom
and the Parliament”.
! On 31st of January 1649 King Charles was executed.
Warrant for the execution of King Charles, 1648.
Signed by John Bradshaw, Thomas Grey, Oliver Cromwell
and 56 others.
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48. Republican Britain
û governed through the army (regular forces)
û used the army to maintain law and order
û forbade to celebrate Christmas and Easter, and
play games on a Sunday
1649–1660 - Britain was a Republic under the
“reign” of Cromwell and his friends
The End of the Absolute rule in Britain
û Liberty = a meaningful political force
û Parliament = a meaning democratic institution
1653-1660 - Cromwell = “Lord Protector”
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49. The Glorious Revolution
Портрет Вильяма Оранжа
William of Orange
Protestant ruler of Holland
Ø Tried to bring back the
Catholic Church
Ø Undermined “the
constitution of the kingdom by
breaking the original contract
between King and People”
James II
PARLIAMENT
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50. Parliament Vs King
1689 - the Bill of rights in 1689
The king was unable:
è to raise taxes
è to keep an army without the
agreement of Parliament
è to act against any MP for what
he said or did in Parliament
1701 - the Act of Settlement
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51. Industrial revolution
1820-1840
and
the Victorian Era
1837-1901
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52. Outline
l The age of transition
l Rapid change and developments -> Britain – the wealthiest nation
l Age of confidence -> Age of uncertainty
l Beginning of new traditions and values
l New social system
l Educational and employment opportunities
l Politics: representative government, political movements
l Geographical exploration: Africa, Asia
l Technology: the national railway network
l Science: medicine, surgery, anaesthetics and antiseptics
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53. Industrial Revolution
l New power: engines with a turning motion
l Better transport: waterways
Result:
l cloth to Europe
l raw cotton from its colonies
l finished cotton cloth to colonies
A landless person Industry
Works at a factory, producing goods
Buys goods from a factory
Marshall's flax-mill, Holbeck, Leeds – interior - c.1800
Prerequisites:
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l Money: private fortunes and banks
l Labour: simple machines -> “mass production”
l Demand for goods:

54. Britain as a “workshop” of the world
Coal, iron, steel
Heavy industrial goods:
iron ships and steam engines
Machinery for woollen
and cotton factories
Cheap clothes
India
Middle East
Other Colonies
Europe
BANKING SYSTEM
Strong Industrial Empire

55. The railway
! The middle class began to:
u live in suburbs and to commute daily
u travel for pleasure: seaside resorts,
countryside villages
“How few among the last generation ever stirred beyond their own
villages. How few of the present will die without visiting London”
Railways - goods transportation
1870 the railway system of Britain was almost complete
The speed of the railway made possible the delivery of fresh fish and raspberries
from Scotland to London in one night.
1851 passenger trains – 1p/mile
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56. British Political Empire
Britain had been specially chosen by God and
“considered other countries a mistake”
Charles Dickens
Britain's empire:
n Used to control large areas of the world
n Gave the British a feeling of their own importance
n It's power and strength laid in industry and trade,
and the navy which protected this trade
Enormous rise in the population:
1815 – 13 million
1871 – 26 million
1914 – over 40 million
1815-1835
a nation of country people a nation of townspeople
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57. Ireland: Potato Famine
1845-1851 potato famine
2 million people lost: 1million killed and 1 million left the country
Dublin Boston
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58. Education for the poor
School types:
è Sunday schools -> the Bible
è Schools of industry -> manual training
è Ragged schools -> free education +
boarding
1870, 1891 two Education Acts:
è obligatory school education up to 13 y.o.
è 3Rs: reading, writing and arithmetic
è learning by rote
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59. ● Education for the rich
Private preparatory schools:
è 3Rs
è Latin and Greek
è virtues of sport
è sense of hierarchy
è sense of duty
… through recitation and repetition
“Teach these boys and girls nothing
but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in
life. Plant nothing else, and root out
everything else… Stick to Facts,
sir!”
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60. Thinking
The most important idea of the 19th century:
“Everyone has the right to personal freedom”
Charles Darwin (Autobiography, 1876)
"On the favourable side of the balance, I think that I am superior to the common run of
men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully."
Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species
Some began to talk of “advanced” and “inferior” races
Britain was the most advanced of the “advanced” races,
with a duty to govern the “inferior” races
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