History

Primary Six
Contents

Page

History of Myanmar 1

Ancient China 4

History of Thailand 8

The Rise Of Civilization In India, China And Southeast Asia 11

Queen Elizabeth I 22

Ferdinand Magellan 27

Edison , Thomas Alva 31

Letter And Newspaper 35

 HISTORY PRIMARY SIX

HISTORY OF MYANMAR
The Third Myanmar Kingdom
The third Myanmar Kingdom also known as the Konbaung Dynasty, can be
divided into two periods: the early period (1752 - 1819) and the later period (1819 -
1883).
Your majesty U Aungzayya founded the Third Myanmar Kingdom. He
founded the Kingdom in Shwebo, known as Moksoebo at that time. Shwebo is
located between the Ayeyawaddy and Chindwin river about 17 miles east of the
Ayeyawaddy (Irrawady).
The last King of Innwa(Ava) , Mahadamma Yazar Dipati, was a king
who could not keep up the economic, military, and the political strength of the
kingdom. Taking advantage of this situation, the Hanthawaddy (Mon) force,
led by Banyadala(Mon) attacked Innwa and took away the Royal Family as
prisoners.
At that time, the Gwe Shans led by Gonnaein, the Myanmar force led by
Ngachitnyo, the Shan Feudal Lords of Mogaung, Mohnyin, Bhamo and Thibaw,
and Yakhine were lords of their own territories.
Even before the fall of Innwa, U Aungzayya had taken measures to defend
his territory. He unified Shwebo and forty-six villages around it. He built strong
forts with moats. He gave military training to all the young men. He cleared
places around the fort where the enemy might take cover. This is the defence
system.
U Aungzayya gained allegiance from the Hanthawaddy and Gwe Shan
forces who came to him. On their return journey, the Hanthawaddy forces were
ambushed by U Aungzayya’s forces.
In 1753, he renamed Moksoebo as Yadana Thein Kha and became King
Alaungpaya.
Alaungpaya controlled all the areas between the Chindwin and the
Ayeyawaddy rivers. The Shan Sawbwas of the area united with him and paid

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him allegiance. He attacked and overcame the Hanthawaddy forces in Innwa in

one month and went on to attack their stronghold in Pyay. He conquered Pyay
in one month.
He journeyed down the Ayeyawaddy , took over the city of Linsay and
renamed it Myanaung. The feudal lords in the delta region paid allegiance to
him so did the Yakhines. He had united the regions of Central Myanmar.
In 1755, he conquered Dagon and renamed it Yangon. He went on to
take Thanlyin. He reorganised his troops and launched a second attack by land
and water. He could not get close to that because of cannon fire. So, he got
together 93 of his bravest men who fought bravely and entered the city. He also
succeeded in capturing the French ships that had come to help Thanlyin.
In 1757, he attacked and conquered Hanthawaddy. After conquering
Hanthawaddy, Alaungpaya returned to Yadana Theinkha (Shwebo). He then
had to march to Manipur whose forces had come into Myanmar territory. At that
time, the chief of Dawae rebelled with the help of the English. He succeeded in
putting down the rebellion.
In 1760, Alaungpaya advanced into Thailand and besieged Ayutthaya.
He returned to Myanmar because of his ill health. He died in Kinywa, Bilin
township, in Thaton on 11th may 1760. During his reign, Alaungpaya succeeded
in uniting the whole of Myanmar under one kingdom.

Armed Forces Situation in Early Konbaung Period

In the early Konbaung period, the Myanmar Kingdom had relationships with
Assam, Minipur, Thailand and China. They also had relationship with the English
and French. There were peaceful as well as warlike relationships.
In 1760, Alaungpaya attacked and laid siege on Ayutthaya city in Thailand
but had to withdraw because of his illness. He died in Bilin township on his retreat.
During Sinpyushin’s reign, Ayutthaya was besieged and conquered in 1767.
During this period, the Manchurian army encroached into Myanmar territory. The
Manchurians were from the north of China and were skilled in warfare. In the mid
17th century, they dethroned the Ming Dynasty and conquered the whole of China.
China became powerful at this time and some South East Asian countries became
its vassals.
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Trade, taxation and disputes over national boundaries became problems

between China and Myanmar. This led to four wars in which Myanmar was the
victor. The first was in 1765 when governor of the Yunan attacked Kyaington. The
Myanmar army led by Naymyosithu helped the Kyaington Sawbwa and succeeded
in driving the Chinese. The governor of Yunan committed suicide because he lost
the battle.
In 1766, the new governor marched into Myanmar and attacked Bhamo, but
could not overcome the Kaungton fort commanded by Balaminhtin. His army was
reinforced by Naymyosithu’s forces and they fought bravely. The Manchu army had
to retreat. The Myanmar army followed and attacked the retreating Manchu army.
The third invasion by the Manchu army was in 1767. The Chinese army
entered as far as Sinkaung Wetwun near Innwa. The force of Mahathihathu and
Taikyamin attacked and cut off the Chinese supplies. The Chinese had to retreat
because they became short of supplies.
The fourth war with China was in 1769 when the Chinlon emperor sent
three armies into Myanmar. They succeeded in taking over Bhamo, but could not
overcome the Kaungton fort. The Myanmar forces succeeded in cutting off the
Chinese army supply routes and also attacked the Chinese forces and the Manchu
army generals had to ask for peace.
In 1769, a peace treaty was signed between the Chinese and Myanmar, The
terms of the treaty were:
(1) China and Myanmar would have friendly relation.
(2) There should be free trade between the two countries.
(3) The Sawbwas who were held in China were to return.
(4) To exchange prisoners of war.
(5) To have exchange of gifts and officials messages between the two
countries.
The Myanmar forces were able to gain victory in the wars because they were
well trained fighters and skilled in warfare. They also had a great perseverance. They
had the full support of the people too The tensions between Manchu Chinese and
Myanmar continued to exist until Bodawpaya came to the throne.

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HISTORY OF CHINA

The Han Empire (202 BC - AD220)

The four-century long Han rule was divided into two periods: the Earlier or
Western Han and the later or Eastern Han. In between these two was the short-lived
Hsin Dynasty (AD 9 - AD23)

Earlier (Western) Han (202 BC - AD 9)

Han Kao Tsu founded the Han Dynasty. He preserved many features of the
earlier imperial system. He called for the service of men of talent to restore the
neglected classics and to serve as officials in the government.
In 124 BC, during the reign of Wi Ti, an imperial university was set up for the
study of the Confucian classics. The university selected talented students and the
state supported them. The university first opened with 50 students. The number of
government supported students reached 30, 000 by the end of the Han Dynasty.
The Early Han faced two major difficulties: invasions by the barbarian Huns
and the influence of the imperial consort families. Soon after the first emperor’s
death, the widow Empress Lu dominated politics. And she almost succeeded in
taking the throne for her family. In AD 9, Wang Mang, a nephew of the empress,
seized the throne and founded the new dynasty of Hsin. The peasants who were
disappointed with Wang Mang rose in rebellion and Wang Mang’s forces were
defeated. He was killed in AD 23.

Later (Eastern) Han (AD23 - AD220)

The new ruler was a member of the house of Han, the original Liu family. He
restored peace and order. His title was Kuang Wi Ti, “Shining Martial Emperor.”
He ruled from AD 25 to AD 57. The later Han lasted another 200 years and was
successful in recovering lost territories.

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In AD 73, Pan Chao, a great diplomat - general led an army of 70,000 to the
borders of eastern Europe. When he returned to China, he brought back information
about the Roman Empire. The Romans also knew about China as the land where
silk was produced.
Han power declined in the time of land acquisitions, invasions and struggles
of consort clans and eunuchs. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in AD 184.
The Eastern Han came to an end and the empire was divided into three kingdoms.

Han Culture
Philosophies and institutions that began in the previous Chou and Chin
periods reached maturity under the Han. During Han times, the Chinese made
scientific discoveries. They were most advanced in astronomy. They invented
sundials, water clocks and the lunar calendar.
The Han Chinese were famous in the field of art too. The technique of making
lacquerware was also developed. The Chinese were proudest of the tradition of
artistic writing. It began in the Han period.

The Fall of Later Han (AD 220 - AD 581)

After the fall of the later Han, the Chinese Empire remained divided for three
and a half centuries. Invaders from the north soon overran the kingdoms and set
up their own states. However, the Toba, one of the barbarian tribes founded the
Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386 - AD 534) and it was the only one to last. Four
dynasties established by the Chinese ruled in the south during the 4th and 5th
centuries.

People in History of China

Out of the unrest and disorder in China during the Zhou Dynasty a remarkable
man named Confucius appeared. Confucius was the most important thinker in all
Chinese history. Confucius was born in 551 B.C. and had a difficult childhood.

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Map of China
Because his father died when Confucius was very young, Confucius was raised only
by his mother. They were poor, but Confucius worked hard and managed to get
a good education. As a young man he became an official in his own city-state of
Lu. There Confucius became worried about the growing disorder and wars among
China’s city-state. When he was forced to leave Lu, Confucius became a teacher.
He spent the next 14 years urging the rulers of the city-states to end their wars and
follow peaceful ways. He also began to teach his ideas to many students who came
to seek his views.

Confucius Teaching
Confucius believed that during the Shang dynasty China had been strong and
powerful because the rulers had governed wisely. The Chinese people had enjoyed
peace and order because they had obeyed their kings and respected their families.
Confucius believed that China would find true peace and happiness only when the
people once more followed these same rules of conduct.
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Confucius clearly described the ways people should act in all of their
relationships. These rules set forth the proper way to behave among family members
and among people in society. They also taught the proper relations between the
ruler and his people. All people in society must treat each other with kindness, trust,
and respect. In each family, children must obey their parents, wives must obey their
husbands, and younger people must obey and respect older people. Since the family
was the center of Chinese society, obedience, respect for authority, and loyalty were
the duties of all family members. A central idea of Confucius teachings was filial
piety (FIL-ee-ul PY-uh-tee). This meant that children and young people must honor
and love their parents and all older family members. Confucius’s teaching about the
family and filial piety tied all families closer together. How would these teaching
strengthen the Chinese reverence for ancestors and belief in ancestor worship?
Confucius also taught that in a good society people must have a strong
government. This required that the people trust and obey their ruler. The ruler, in
turn, had a duty to protect, educate, and care for his people. If every person followed
these rules of conduct, all people would have happy lives in a peaceful society.
The teachings of Conficius were not accepted by the rulers of the warring
city-states of the Zhou kingdom. Why do you think they were not accept? However,
after his death, Confucius’s thinking became a powerful force in China. In fact,
Confucius’s ideas became the basis of Chinese law and government. For the next
2,000 years, all education in China also was based on Confucius’s teachings. His
ideas became the model for people’s ways of thinking and behaving. Government
officials in China were required to spend years learning Confucius’s teachings.
Scholars who studied and taught Confucius’s ideas were among the most important
people in China. In this way Confucius became more important than any ruler in
shaping Chinese society.

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HISTORY OF THAILAND
Thailand or Siam as it was called until 1939, is in South East Asia. It has never
been colonized by a European power. Despite periodic invasion by Myanmar and
the Khmers and brief occupation by the Japanese in WWII, the kingdom has never
been externally controlled for long enough to dampen the Thai’s individualism.
The earliest civilization in Thailand was the Mons in central Thailand. They
brought Theravada from the Indian subcontinent. In the 12th century, it was mixed
with Khmer culture moving from the east, Sumatran-based Srivijaya culture moving
north and citizens of the Thai state of Nan Chao, in what is now southern China,
migrating south. Thai princes set up the first Siamese capital in Sukhothai, later
centres grew up in Chaiang Mai and Ayuttthaya. The Thais moved their capital to
Thonburi. In 1782, the current Chakri dynasty was founded by King Rama 1 and
the capital was moved across the river to Bangkok.
In 1939, Siam became Thailand. During World War II, the japanese invaded
and the Thai government collaborated with the Japanese. After the war, Thai politics
was influenced by the military. In 1979, a long period of stability and prosperity
followed as power shifted from the military to the business elite. Classical Thai
music has similarities to Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian music. Thai classical
music is played in some religious ceremonies, traditional rites and festive occasions.
There are several forms of classical dance in Thailand. The basic of the Thai customs
and traditions lies in the family. The young are taught to pay respect to and follow
the advice of parents, elders, teachers and Buddhist monks. Nowadays, due to the
rapid advancement of technology, the traditional Thai way to living has changed
especially in the big cities.
A long period of peace and prosperity was ended when the Myanmar Empire
attacked Ayutthaya in 1760. The Myanmar invasion succeeded in capturing
Ayutthaya after a siege of 14 months.

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During the seige, a Thai general

named Phya Taksin broke through the
encircling Myanmar. He took a small
band of followers to Chantaburi on the
southern coast. There he assembled
an army and navy. Seven months
after the fall of Ayutthaya, the general
and his forces sailed back to the capital
and expelled the Myanmar occupying
garrison.
He immediately moved his
capital to the west bank of Bangkok,
known as Thonburi. He was crowned
King. During his reign, he liberated
Chiang Mai and the rest of northern Map of Thailand
Thailand from the Myanmars.
Moreover, his generals brought Cambodia and most of Laos under Thai
control. In 1782, Taksin was forced to resign from being king when a revolt broke
out.

The Chakri Dynasty

General Chakri was offered the throne on his return from the Cambodian
campaign. He became known as King Ramathibodi, Rama I. He moved his
headquarters to the more spacious Bangkok on the opposite bank of the Chao
Phraya River and built the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the new capital. It was
the first permanent building in Bangkok. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha was
later surrounded by the grounds and buildings of the Grand Place.

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Bangkok is the largest city

in Thailand with a population
of more than five million. Can
you think why there are so
many people living in Bangkok?
What attracts people to settle in
a particular place?

In the beginning of the 21st century, we would probably say that so many
people live in Bangkok because there are better employment prospects there, or
plentiful housing. Some people might even choose to live there because of the
entertainment or shopping facilities. Of course, most people live in Bangkok because
their parents did and that is where they were born. But what made the first settlers
come to Bangkok?
There is an important clue to help explain why people chose Bangkok. It
is situated at the mouth of Chao Phraya River. The river enables goods to be
transported between the interior and the ports. It is a source of water for irrigating
the rich rice fields of Thailand. The fish from the river is also an important source of
food.

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THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION IN

INDIA, CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA

What is a Civilisation?
The term ‘civilisation’ comes from the Latin word for city – civitas. A civilisation
emerges when groups of people come together to live. However, civilisations are
much more than just groups of people living together. They are places where people
form cities, where there is law and order and where people have their own system of
government. The people have different occupations and belong to different social
classes. They usually have a religion and a culture and practise a form of writing.
But how do civilisations come about? In the next section, we will look at the
factors that enable civilisations to develop.

A civilisation is
a place where
People build There are different
cities occupations
and social
There is a stable
There is law
government
and order There is a form
of writing

There is a
culture

Fertile land
Another factor which is important for a civilisation to develop is fertile land.
Before Man developed the skills to farm, he was a hunter gatherer. Like many
animals today, ancient men spent most daylight hours hunting for food. Once Man
knew how to herd animals and grow crops, he could remain in one place and it was
possible for civilisations to grow.
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Having fertile land enables

people to grow crops for food. They
no longer have to move around to
hunt for animals or to gather fruits or
other plants for food. They can also let
their animals graze on the land.

An abundant food supply

Food becomes more readily available when an area sits on fertile land.
Civilisations develop where food is abundant. A plentiful food supply means that
not everyone in the settlement needs to be concerned with providing food. Some
people can become craftsmen. Some can be traders. Others can help ensure that
the settlement is well-run or become fighters to protect it. In other words, people
can have different occupations. There may also be different social classes as some
occupations are more highly regarded than others.

Chapter Review
Key points
A civilisation starts to come about when people group and live
together. But it is also much more than that. A civilisation is where
there is a culture, the people build cities, have law and order, have
their own system of government, have different occupations and
belong to different social classes.
All civilisations have something in common – the people are settled
with a stable society and have time to devote to things other than
collecting food.
There are some shared factors that allow civilisations to develop
and thrive. Historians call these generic factors, because they are
common to many civilisations.

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The First Civilisations in India, China

(A) The Indus Valley Civilisation
The availability of water in the Indus
Valley was a major factor in the growth of
the Indus civilisation – one of the earliest
civilisations in the ancient world. The
Indus civilisation developed along the
Indus River, which flowed through the
Indus Valley on its 3180-km journey from
Tibet to the Arabian Sea.

From about 3000 BC, a group

of people lived in the valley. They were
known as the Dravidians. The Indus River
supplied them with water for drinking,
farming and transportation. It also
provided them with fish to eat.

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The Dravidians grew wheat, barley, melons, peas, sesame and dates. Every
year, the river would flood and deposit fertile mud on the land along its banks.
Not only was the soil fertile but the Indus River could also be used to irrigate the
crops during those times when there was little rain. So you can see the important
connection between a good water supply and fertile soil.

3000 BC 2500 BC 1500 BC

The Dravidians Cities developed The end of the

lived in the Indus Valley Indus Civilisation
Timeline : The Indus Civilisation

We also know a great deal

about food in the Indus civilisation
because archaeologists have found
huge granaries in the two great cities
built by the Indus people – Harappa
and Mohenjo-daro. These granaries
were used to store grains and were built
close to the river for easy transportation.
Grains of wild barley and wheat have
Working platforms where workers
been discovered on the site where the stood to husk grains
grain mills of Harappa once stood.

Fact File - Did you know that the

oldest fishing hooks in the world were
found along the Indus River?
The blacksmiths of the Indus
civilisation made axes, knives, razors
and fishing hooks of copper and bronze.

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(B) The Indus Civilisation

We learnt that the people of the Indus civilisation built two major cities,
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.

Life in the Indus civilisation

Archaeologists have carried out extensive excavations on the site of these

two cities. At first glance, there is very little left of the cities, because the buildings
have decayed and fallen down. But by looking carefully in the soil, archaeol-
ogists have been able to work out what the buildings must have looked like all
those years ago.
The most impressive buildings at Mohenjo-daro were the citadel and the
Great Bath. The citadel was a building with strengthened walls, which meant
that anyone attacking the city would find it hard to get into this building. The
people of the city kept sacks of grain in the citadel and would lock themselves in
the building if the city was attacked.

Fact File - The city of Harappa was very much like that at Mohenjo-daro. We do
not know as much about it, however, because in the 19th century, the British took
away thousands of bricks from the site to build railway lines in the area.

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Citadel

The ruins of Mohenjo-daro. Can you see the citadel in the background?

In the citadel was the

Great Bath, which must have
been a very impressive building.
It shows the technological skills
of the Indus people.

The Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro

Think! From the photograph , you can see the citadel high up in the background
of the city. Why do you think it was built high up?

Archaeologists have also been able to work out that the cities were built in
the form of a rectangle and that the streets formed a grid pattern.
The main streets ran from north to
south and there were smaller streets
and lanes which joined up the main
streets and ran from east to west.
This is very similar to the way that
many modern cities in the USA are
built.
Notice the regular grid pattern of the streets;
it shows just how much planning the Indus
people put into the building of their cities

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We do not know very much

about the government of the Indus
civilisation. Unlike the cities, where
the remains of building still survive,
there are no remains to show how
the civilisation was governed. One
thing that archaeologists have
worked out, however, is that the
government must have been quite
strong. They know this because all
the place found in the area have a
similar layout. So someone must
have been saying how they should
be and making sure things were
done. This bust of a man, dating from 2000 BC to 1750
BC, was discovered at Mohenjo-daro. His strong
Historians think that the people features, carefully trimmed beard and patterned
robe suggest that he might be a priest
who governed those Indus cities
may have been the priests. Perhaps they controlled the citadel where crops were
stored.
They may have charged merchants a fee for storing grain, and used some
of the money for things like maintaining building or the drainage system.

Fact File - It is believed that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa each covered some
60 hectares and supported a population of about 40, 000 people. Cities of this size
needed a reliable food supply, hence the presence of giant granaries. Built near
the river for ease of transportation, these granaries were raised on platforms in case
the river flooded. Built-in air ducts kept the granaries well ventilated to prevent the
stored crops from rotting. The granaries were yet another feature of these Indus
cities which showed careful planning.

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Think! Houses in the Indus cities varied in size. There were small single - room
barracks as well as large houses that had brick stairways leading to the upper storeys.
The larger houses even had indoor baths and toilets. What do the different sizes of
the houses tell us about Indus society?

Besides the priests, there were other people belonging to different social
classes. They had different occupations from the priests. Most of the Indus people
were farmers. They grew crops, kept domesticated animals and also made clothes
from cotton.
They used donkeys to
carry loads and two-wheeled
ox-drawn carts to transport
grain to be stored in the city’s
great granaries. There were
also craftsmen who produced
sculpture, pottery, tools and toys.

Another group of people were the traders. The people of the Indus civilisation
traded with other parts of India, as well as Mesopotamia and Egypt. The traders
travelled by land and sea. They sold items such as copper tools, cotton, timber,
pottery, ivory, pearls and monkeys, and bought silver, tin, oil, woollen cloth and
foodstuff.

Imagine ! The Indus people had

a system of weights and measures made of
polished stone. Imagine that you are a merchant
living in Harappa. You want to sell maize to
some traders. Why is the system of weights and
measures important?
Weights from Harapa

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As you read earlier, the citadel in

Mohenjo-daro housed the Great Bath.
This was a public bath used for religious
purposes. Priests were in charge of the
Great Bath. This shows that there was
organised religion even in civilisations that
existed 4000 years ago!
Archaeologists have also identified
some buildings in the Indus cities as
temples. The Indus people are believed
to have worshipped the Mother Goddess,
a symbol of fertility. Animals were also
worshipped, especially those associated
with power, for example, bulls, tigers and
elephants. The people aslo worshipped
the unicorn and tree spirits.
The people of the Indus civilisation had a form of picutre-writing, known as
pictographs, where pictures were used as symbols to represent things or ideas.

Think! The Mother Goddess was a symbol of fertility. What is fertility? Why
would it be so important to the people of the Indus civilisation?

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(C) The Shang Civilisation

Many historians believe that
Chinese civilisation first developed in
the fertile basin of the Yellow River
or Haung He. When we speak of a
civilisation, it implies the existence of a
society. A society comes about when
people group together in order to
protect themselves and their interests.
It was here, in the valley of the Huang He, that the earliest Chinese settled,
learnt to farm and to group together. Inevitably, the leader of one group became
more powerful than the others. When this happened, he became king and ruled
over the rest. When he died, his son (or, if he did not have any, other male
family member) took over the reign. As member of the same family extended
their rule over many generations, a dynasty was formed.
The Haung He basin was so attractive to
the early settlers because of the presence of deep
deposits of loess found there. This is a fine yellow
dust blown from the Central Asian desert that
is highly fertile when watered. In addtion, the
Haung He provided water for irrigation, fishing
and transportation.
Thus, it was around this river that one of
the earliest recorded civilisations in China, the
Shang Dynasty (1523-1027 BC), began.
In the Shang civilisation, the water from Archaeological excavations
the Yellow River and the rich soils around it at Anyang in the 1930s.
enabled the people to grow abundant food such
as millet, wheat and rice.
Because the Shang Dynasty existed
over 2000 years ago, it is difficult to obtain full
information on what it was like. Excavations
such as those that took place in the 1930s have
provided us with evidence that the people were
farmers who kept animals such as horses, goats A bronze axe head like the one
and cattle. We also know that they had skilled pictured on the left was found at
craftsmen who could make things out of bronze. the excavation site.
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(D) The Funanese Civilisation

One of the early civilisations
in ancient Southeast Asia was the
kingdom of Funan (1st to 6th century
AD). It was located in the Mekong
Delta in present-day southern
Cambodia and southernmost part of
Vietnam (see map on the left). The
rise of the Funanese civilisation was
the result of its proximity to water,
fertile soil and a plentiful food supply.
The funanese Civilisation

The land where Funan was located was very fertile. This was an important
factor which was said was necessary for a civilisation to develop. The fertility of
the land meant that the Funanese could farm and produce their own food. In
fact, food was so plentiful that there was enough to feed both the local people as
well as foreign traders.
The main port in Funan, Oc-eo , was located near the Isthmus of Kra. It
was a convenient place where traders from India could stop for provisions and
to trade with other traders from Southeast Asia.

Get Busy !
Rivers – Then And Now -
In this chapter, we have looked at the Indus, Shang and Funanese civilisations.
Another very good example of a civilisation which depended on water is ancient
Egypt.
(i) What can you find out about how important the River Nile was to the ancient
Egyptians?
(ii) Is the river still important in modern Egypt?
You may use the Microsoft Encarta World Atlas and the Internet for the above.

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QUEEN ELIZABETH I
Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth,
on 3rd September 1533. It was “to the great disappointment and sorrow of the
King”. Henry had hoped very much to have a son. Although pleased that Elizabeth
turned out to be a clever girl, he took little interest in her after his third wife, Jane
Seymour, presented him with a son, Edward, to succeed him to the throne and carry
on the Tudor dynasty.
Elizabeth not only became Queen ruling for forty-five years but was the
greatest monarch the country has ever known. She was also called “Good Queen
Bess” and “Gloriana” and her period in history is known as the Elizabethan Age.
Edward was nine years old when his father died but he was a sickly child and
reigned for only six years. At his death, his half-sister, Mary, succeeded to the throne
but died five years later and Elizabeth, who was Mary’s half-sister, was then made
Queen.
Elizabeth was twenty-five years of age when she came to the throne and was
lucky to be alive to do so. Mary was a Catholic and the Protestants had suffered
much persecution during her reign. Elizabeth had been suspected of being involved
in plots against Mary and had been imprisoned in the Tower. She escaped execution
but had to live in retirement until her sister’s death in 1558.
Elizabeth was not beautiful but noble in appearance. She had red gold hair
which she wore frizzed and decorated with jewels. When it faded in later years she
wore red and auburn wigs in styles which were copied by the ladies of her day.
Elizabeth loved to dress beautifully and it is said that she had got 3000 dresses in
her wardrobe. She favoured presents of things to wear—gowns, bodices, petticoats,
gloves, silk stockings and jewellery of all kinds. Each item was entered on lists which
she kept very carefully so that she always knew exactly what she had been given and
by whom.

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Although she was proud, Elizabeth was also highly intelligent. Her talents were
many. She spoke French and Italian very fluently and made speeches in Latin and
Greek to learned professors at Oxford and Cambridge. Elizabeth was fond of music
and played the lute, a guitar like instrument, and the virginal, an early kind of piano,
with much skill. She practised her dancing almost everyday because the steps of the
dances were often difficult.
When Elizabeth came to the throne, the country was short of money, trade
had declined and the army and navy too weak to challenge threats from Spain and
France. Religious strife and plots were ever present. Elizabeth tackled these problems
with patience, shrewdness and courage. No one could hasten her into answering
a question or making a decision and her reply, in effect, would often be “I’ll think
about it.”
Elizabeth liked men but did not marry. She held out hopes to several, including
Philip of Spain, Archduke Charles of Austria and the French dukes of Anjou and
Alencon. In this way, she kept them friendly with England for as long as she could and
also suspicious of one another so that they did not join forces against her. Elizabeth
had many court favourites such as the Earl of Leicester and the Earl of Essex, but
she could be very mean and vengeful with them when they displeased her.
The Queen chose wisely her closest
and most loyal advisers. She selected William
Cecil later Earl of Burghley, because she
thought that he would “not be corrupted by
any manner of gifts” and be “faithful to the
State” and give her the counsel he thought
best. She was right. Lord Burghley served her
loyally and well for forty years.
Lord Burghley

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Sir Francis Walsingham, the Queen’s Private Secretary, ran a very efficient
secret service organisation which discovered many plots against the Queen’s life and
supplied her with all kinds of information about the moves of important people both
at home and abroad.
In matters of religion, Elizabeth steered a “middle course”, especially in the
early years of her reign. Severe laws against the Catholics were not enforced and
much to the disgust of the Puritans. She kept all the bishops, sacraments, vestments,
candles and ceremonials in her established Protestant church. With her parliaments
too, she knew when she could be firm and get her own way but also when to give in
and agree to their demands. Thus she avoided open conflicts with them which the
Stuart kings failed to do.
Elizabeth increased the wealth and prosperity of her country by encouraging
foreign trade. During her reign, several trading companies were set up including the
Eastland company, which carried on business with the Baltic countries, the Levant
Company which traded with Turkey and the famous East India Company which
played such a very important part in the history of India for centuries.
Almost every year, the Queen took a country tour, called a “progress”. It was
rather like taking a summer holiday and it gave her the opportunity to show herself
to thousands of people living outside London. Although she did not travel very far
away from the city, she took hosts of servants with her. A procession of hundreds
of carts carried them and their household goods, which sometimes even included
beds. Usually the Queen rode on horseback until she approached a town when
she would dismount to ride in a coach or be carried in a litter, which would be
more dignified. People were allowed to come near her to exchange greetings and
she accepted small gifts of flowers from them. A knight or wealthy landlord would
provide accommodation and entertainment at his own house for the Queen and her
servants during her “progress”.
The Queen was concerned about the condition of poor people. The
“progresses” gave her the chance to see them at first hand, what they did for a
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living, what their homes were like and to listen to their complaints. One writer of her
day said, “Her ears were then open to the complaints of the afflicted. She would not
allow the poorest of her people to be away from the place where she was. She took
with her own hands and read with the greatest goodness the petitions of the lowest
rustic”.
When Elizabeth agreed to the
execution of the Catholic Mary Queen
of Scots in 1587, Philip of Spain
decided that he had had enough of the
Queen’s rule and made his final plans
for the invasion of England. His great
Armada left the Spanish port in May
1588 and appeared in the Channel
in July. The Queen herself rode into
the army camp at Tilbury and made a
stirring speech to the soldiers inspiring
them to resist to the last Philip II of Spain

any attempted invasion of her realm. She said “I know I have the body of a weak and
feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England
too”.
Her army was not needed because the sea-dogs who had attacked the
Spanish galleons for several years now showed what they could do in open sea-
warfare. The British ships were smaller but faster than the Spanish and were able
to make rapid, sharp attacks and then sail away from the fire of the close range
Spanish guns. Fireships launched downwind into the Spanish formation caused
havoc and confusion and many Spanish ships became separated from the fleet.
Philip’s “invincible” Armada was in disarray and tried to escape utter defeat after
the Battle of Gravelines on 30th July, by sailing into the North Sea and then round
Britain back to Spain. Storms wrecked many other Spanish ships and only about a
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half of the 130 ships which had set sail from Spain got safely home again.
So it was that in Elizabeth’s reign, the foundations were laid for Britain’s growth
into becoming the greatest sea-power in the world.
In the early hours of 24th March 1603, Queen Elizabeth died, aged sixty-nine.
James VI of Scotland succeeded her to her throne and became James I of England.
Thus the two countries were united under one king and the Stuart period in British
history began.
Mean, ungrateful, vain, untruthful, intolerant and unjust — Elizabeth was all
of these at one time or another but she was also intelligent, courageous, loyal and
magnificent. She was “Good Queen Bess” and “Gloriana” to rich and poor alike.
Elizabeth’s love for her country and her people was intense. When she spoke to her
Members of Parliament she was really addressing all her subjects when she said,
“There is no jewel, be it of never so rich a price, which I prefer before this jewel. I
mean your love.”

Gloriana

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FERDINAND MAGELLAN
Round The World
Ferdinand Magellan, was the first man whose ship sailed all round the world.
When Vasco da Gama returned from his second voyage to India, he met
Magellan, and the young man listened with great interest to his stories about the
East. Magellan wanted to see the wonderful Indies for himself, and when a new
Governor was sent out to India, Magellan asked if he could go with him. He was
about twenty-five years old at this time, and he served in India for several years,
proving himself to be one of the bravest soldiers in the Portuguese army. He turned
to Portugal, determined to find a new and shorter way to India by sailing westward.
The long journey round the Cape of Good Hope took many months.
Magellan asked the King of
Portugal to let him have money and
ships for the purpose, but the King
refused and Magellan went to Spain,
as Columbus had done. The King of
Spain listened to Magellan, and a few
days later he agreed to let him have
five ships and two hundred and fifty
men. At last the ships were ready to
sail, and Magellan set out on the long
voyage across the Atlantic. The great
steamships of today can cross the
Atlantic Ocean in five days, but it took
Magellan more than two months in his
little wooden sailing ships. FERDINAND MAGELLAN

Sometimes they were blown about by terrible storms. Sometimes there was no wind
at all, and the little ships lay helplessly on the water, waiting for the good winds to
blow them on their way again.

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But one morning in December, the sailors saw a long thin line of grey coast.
They were reaching the coast of South America at last.
The people living on the coast were peaceful and friendly, and Magellan stayed
with them for sometime. His ships needed many repairs after the long voyage across
the Atlantic, and he also needed more supplies of food and fresh water for the rest
of their journey. After a long rest, the ships set sail again round the South American
coast. Magellan was searching for a passage round America, but winter came before
they found it, and Magellan decided to wait for better weather before he went any
further.
The captains of three of Magellan’s ships were Spaniards. They had always
been jealous that Magellan, a Portuguese and a stranger, had been made their leader.
Now they planned together to seize Magellan’s ship and kill him. Luckily, he heard of
their plan, and he had the three men shot in punishment. He was not a cruel man
by nature, but he knew that these men must be killed as an example to the others.
They would never reach home safely if the sailors did not work together and obey
him as their leader.
The winter passed, and Magellan decided that it was time to set off once
more. He sent the smallest of the ships, the Santiago, to explore the coast. But the
sea was too rough for the little ship, and it was thrown on some rocks and wrecked.
Magellan saved the crew, but the ship was lost and he had to sail on without it. They
had a following wind for the first few days, but soon they ran into terrible storms
and some of their sails were torn to pieces. The sailors begged Magellan to return to
Spain. They were tired out, and they began to fear that they would never see their
homes again if they did not turn back soon. But Magellan told his men to believe in
him.
They sailed on, and a few days later, they found the way through to the
Western Ocean.
There was great excitement among the sailors. Magellan called them together
and said to them : “We have, without doubt, discovered the passage from the Atlantic
to the farther seas. Our ships will soon be sailing in the sea beyond. We must now
decide whether we will go on and look for the East Indies, or return with our good
news to Spain. We only have enough food for three months. The voyage to the

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Indies may take longer than that, and we may have to suffer a great deal on the way.
But if we succeed in reaching the Indies we shall find great riches there, and we shall
have done a wonderful thing for Spain. Which shall we do?”
“Let us go on!” the sailors cried, but the Captain of one of the ships, the San
Antonio, did not join in the cry. He said they should return to Spain.
But all the others cried again : “Let us go on!” and Magellan decided not to
turn back.
They sailed through the narrow and dangerous sea-way which is still known
as the Magellan Straits, but when they got through to the Western Ocean they found
that the San Antonio was not with them. The Captain had turned the ship round
during the night and set sail for Spain.
Magellan now only had three ships: the Trinidad, in which he sailed, the
Concepcion, and the Vittoria. He named the great Western Ocean the Pacific
(peaceful) Ocean, and they sailed for many weeks, through peaceful sunny weather.
The ships had sailed from South America in early December. In the first days
of March, they came in sight of some green islands, and the sailors fell on their knees
and cried with joy. This group of islands is now known as the Philippines, and the
people who live on them are the Filipinos.
The Filipinos were very friendly. They brought fish and fruit and laid them at
Magellan’s feet. In return, he gave them some of the small gifts he had brought with
him for this purpose, which greatly pleased the simple natives. Magellan stayed in
the Philippines for several weeks.
At last, he came to the island of Cebu, where he stayed for several weeks. It
was not very long before he became friendly with the King of Cebu, and he soon
arranged to trade with him. He gave the people iron and clothes in return for gold,
which was plentiful in Cebu and the neighbouring islands. Magellan was just deciding
to set sail again when the King of Cebu received a message that there was war on
one of his islands. He ruled over several islands in the neighbourhood, and one of
these was Mactan, only about twenty miles away. It was a beautiful island, and the
people who lived there were great fighters. The Chief of Mactan had risen against the
King of Cebu, and was going to make war on him.

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Magellan decided at once that he would stay and help the King to fight his
enemies, and he told the King that he himself would lead the fight against Mactan.
He set off in three of his rowing boats and reached Mactan early in the morning.
Magellan and forty-nine of his men landed at once. But the Mactans were ready
for them, and there were fifteen hundred of them against the fifty white men. There
was a terrible fight and Magellan was killed. Some of his men struggled back to their
boats, but they were all filled with sorrow. They were now without a leader. They had
lost the man who had been their help and their example for so long. He had won
the love of all by this kindness in their sufferings and his patient care for each one of
them.
Magellan had gone through terrible storms and every danger of the sea. He
had discovered the famous Magellan Strait, and crossed the Pacific Ocean, giving
it its name. But he died before achieving his great desire — to sail right round the
world.

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EDISON, THOMAS ALVA

Life of Edison
Early life
Edison’s family was part Dutch and part British. Thomas was born in Milan,
Ohio, in 1847.
In 1854, Edison attended school for
three months. This was his only formal
public education. His mother continued his
education, teaching him reading, writing, and
arithmetic. She also read to him from well-
known English writers.
Edison earned a job selling newspapers,
apples, and candy on the Detroit and Port
Huron branch of the Grand Trunk Railroad
when only 12 years old. Around this time his
hearing began to decline.
When he was 15 years old, while still working on the railroad, Edison bought
a small secondhand printing press. He installed the press in a baggage car and soon
began producing a newspaper, the Weekly Herald, which he printed, edited, and
sold on the Grand Trunk Railroad.
In the summer of 1862, Edison saved a boy from being run over by a boxcar.
The boy, only three years old, was the son of the stationmaster in Mount Clemens,
Michigan. In gratitude, the stationmaster offered to teach Edison how to operate the
telegraph. Edison had already experimented with the telegraph at home and gladly
accepted the offer. For five months, he learned to send and receive dispatches. For
the next four years, he travelled thousands of miles as a telegrapher. During this
period he spent most of his salary on various laboratory and electrical instruments.

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Family life
Edison met his first wife, Mary Stilwell, in 1871. Edison married Stilwell on
Christmas Day of that year. They had a daughter and two sons, Thomas, Jr., and
William.
Soon after his first wife’s death in 1884, Edison married Mina Miller in February
1886. They had a daughter, Madeleine and two sons, Charles and Theodore.
Edison focused on his work so much that he spent little time with his family.
Many of his associates also spoke of Edison’s virtues, however, such as good
humor, even disposition, honesty, and genuine affection for his family.

I. Introduction
Edison, Thomas Alva (1847–1931), was an American inventor. He was one
of the greatest inventors of all time. Edison began to work at an early age and
continued to work right up until his death. He was well known for his focus and
determination. During his career, Edison invented more than 1,000 inventions,
including the electric light, the phonograph, and the motion-picture camera. These
three inventions gave rise to giant industries – electric utilities, phonograph and
record companies, and the film industry– thus changing the work and leisure habits of
people throughout the world.

The period from 1879 to 1900, has been called the Age of Edison as he
produced most of his devices.

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II. Thomas Edison and the Telegraph

Thomas Alva Edison learned to operate
the telegraph from a railway, Edison had saved
the stationmaster’s son from being hit by a train.
Edison made several significant improvements
in telegraphy. His first important invention was
an instrument that enabled messages to transfer
across lines automatically. Using the money,
he earned working for the Gold and Stock
Telegraph Company of New York City. Edison
established his own laboratory in New Jersey in
1876.

III. Menlo Park Laboratory

In 1876, Edison established a laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. It was
the first laboratory dedicated to industrial research in the world.
American inventor Thomas Edison sits with a phonograph, a device that
reproduces sound. Edison developed the first phonograph in the late 1870s.
American inventor
Thomas Edison developed this
incandescent lamp, or light bulb,
in 1879. Edison was not the first
person to produce a light bulb,
but his design proved popular
because it gave off a moderate
amount of light and lasted a
long time.

Electric Power Distribution Systems

By 1881, Edison had set up a complete electric lighting system at his Menlo Park
home. In 1882 in London, the Edison Electric Lighting Company was completed. It
began operating the first commerical generating station for incandescent lighting in
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the world. Later in 1882, Edison established the first permanent incandescent light
and power station for private consumers, called the Pearl Street generating station,
in New York City.

The Edison Effect

While Edison was working on the electric light, he made a scientific discovery
that would become important to future generations.
In 1884, Edison’s first wife
died of typhoid fever, and therefore
the inventor rarely returned to his
laboratories at Menlo Park. After his
second marriage in 1886, Edison
bought Glenmont, a large country
estate in West Orange, New Jersey.
There he established a new laboratory.
He remained there for 45 years. Glenmont and the laboratory are preserved
as part of the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange and are opened to the
public.

Motion Pictures
Thomas Edison, right, prepares
a motion-picture camera with George
Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak
Company. In addition Edison invented
the motion-picture camera.
In 1893 Edison constructed the
first motion-picture studio.

The Electric Battery

In 1900, Edison set out to produce an improved electrical storage battery.

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LETTER AND NEWSPAPER

When we need to communicate with anyone who is out of sight or hearing,
we send a message. Man was able to send messages without the use of the written
word by drum beats, smoke signals, quipu knots and pictures in the past. Wherever
the art of writing had been established, messengers were sent with letters, documents
and packages. Royal messengers, especially, were men of some importance.
As early as 1000 B.C., government messengers were employed in China.
Some of them carried state documents on horse-back, others went on foot, working
in relays. A network of routes covered most of the country. For several centuries
the Chinese rulers used couriers to carry important papers and Marco Polo, in the
thirteenth century, gives an account of how they changed horses without dismounting
by leaping from saddle to saddle.
Darius the Great, who ruled
Persia nearly 2500 years ago, set
up inns and stables along his “royal
roads” where his express couriers could
change horses and refresh themselves.
Greeks and Romans asked professional
messengers to send messages. And the
marathon race in the Olympic Games
is so called because, in 490 B.C., a
Greek runner carried the tidings of
victory from the battle of Marathon all
the way to Athens, a distance of forty-
two kilometers.
The remarkable instinct of the pigeon to find its way home at speed over a
great distance has been known from very early times. Pigeons were used to carry
messages in ancient China, Japan, Assyria, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Julius
Caesar was only one of many famous warriors who made use of the “pigeon post”.

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Indeed the pigeon has a fine record of war service and was used considerably in the
First World War and on rare occasions even in the Second World War.
During the Middle Ages,
the courts throughout Europe had
professional messengers and in the
fourteenth century, English kings
employed twelve messengers who
were sent to any part of Britain and
even abroad. No one dared to delay a
royal messenger who could call on the
services of town officials, innkeepers
and gate keepers at any time, day or
night. It is said that a good courier could
take the King’s message from London
to Scotland in six days. He was paid an
extra allowance for shoes.
Henry VIII, in about the year 1512, ordered “posts” to be set up along all
main roads so that letters, messages and news reports could be sent speedily on their
journey. These “posts” were mostly inns where fresh men and horses were always
made available. The innkeepers became, in a way the “postmasters” of their day
and their inns, post offices.
In time, more and more of
the ordinary people began to use
the services provided by these
innkeeper-postmasters for sending
their letters. They made their own
private arrangements about the costs
according to how far the letter had to
go but in 1591, Queen Elizabeth

Elizabethan postboy arriving at a posting inn

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ordered that private letters were to go by the royal service only. Elizabeth did this to
try to limit the activities of spies and plotters who were always helping her enemies
both at home and abroad.
Charles I, in 1635, thought that he could
get the money to pay the cost of maintaining
a good postal service by charging a fixed
price on letters according to the distance
travelled. To organise the system properly
he appointed Thomas Witherings, a clever
manager as Chief Postmaster. Withering set up
a large number of posts along the main roads
connecting London with Dover Plymouth,
Bristol, Chester, Yarmouth and Edinburgh.
Other posts were used one of branch roads
running off these main roads.
The first Post Office Act of Parliament was passed in 1657 in the time of Oliver
Cromwell. Whoever was appointed head of the postal services for all the people of
England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland had not only to be a suitable person for the
job but had to offer the most money for it as well. In order to get this money back he
made sure that letters and parcels were properly paid for at the posts and he tried to
stop all “private” methods for sending mail.
To keep a check on all the mail, Henry Bishop, the Postmaster General from
1660 to 1663, introduced the stamping of letter with a small circular mark. This
“Bishop Mark” showed the month and the day of posting but not the year. Letters
were not delivered to private houses but had to be collected from post and receiving
houses. William Dockwra realised the great need for “house to house” deliveries in
London and in 1680, began his penny post for the city of London.
It was a remarkable venture. Dockwra set up five sorting offices and hundreds
of receiving houses throughout London. Messengers called every hour at the
receiving houses, took the letters to the sorting offices and left to deliver those which

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had already been sorted. In some parts of the city as many as twelve deliveries a day
were made.

Bishop Marks and Dockwra Stampings

Dockwra used his own special triangular and heart-shaped marks for stamping
letters. When the government saw how very well-planned and successful Dockwra’s
private service was they took it over and made it a part of the official postal service.
Private and official letters were also an important means of spreading news.
Throughout Europe, kings and princes employed “spies” to send them letters with the
news and reports of events in other countries as well as their own. Ordinary people
had to rely mainly on word of mouth for their news. The first kind of newspaper”
appeared in ancient Rome in about the time of Julius Caesar. On a large board
in the centre of Rome, notices called Acta Diurna, were put up every day for the
people to read. Messengers took copies of the announcements and delivered them
to important people in other parts of the empire.
Not until the sixteenth century did newsletters and sheets appear regularly.
Groups of merchants in Germany sent out letters about shipping and trade to
customers and other businessmen. These letters were hand-written. So they were
not distributed very widely. Gradually, they began to include other news in addition
to trading matters. Even after the invention of printing, newsletters continued to be
written by hand. At the entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, a number of
letter-writers met regularly to exchange news which they then wrote out and sent
to their rich customers in many parts of the country. They were the first English
“journalists”.

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Pamphlets and “news books” began to appear after the invention of printing.
The first regular “newspaper” was published in Germany in 1609 and then Nicholas
Brown and Thomas Archer printed one in England in 1622. It came out once a
week and contained news from abroad.
During the Civil War in Britain
(1642 - 1649), there was an eager
demand for news and several
newspapers and magazines were
published. They carried news of the
fighting but also included interesting
articles pictures and advertisements.
If the government disapproved of any
of the contents, they stopped the sales
and writers, printers and even street
news-sellers were imprisoned. Roman citizens reading Acta Diurna

Despite persecuting and several arrests, newspapers continued to appear

and in 1702, the “Daily Courant”, the first daily newspaper ever to be published in
Britain, went on sale in London. Today, we have the “freedom of the press”.

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