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I- Early Britain

1.The Iberians and the Celts (250,000-55 B.C.)

There is no accurate picture of what the early settlement of Britain was actually like.

Historians and archaeologists are constantly revising traditional theories about the gradual growth of

the country as new evidence comes to light. However, it is thought that the 1st settlers the Iberians/

Iberian Beakers came to the island about 3000 BC. They were dark-haired Iberians from the Iberian

Peninsula (Spain) or maybe even the North African coast. The Iberians were hunters, and later they

became primitive farmers. They were the men of the Bronze Age who raised Stonehenge – a center

of religious worship that was probably built over a period of a thousand years. It was also a capital

whose authority extended all over the British Isles, where similar but smaller ‘henges’ were

constructed. Historians know very little about those remote times, and what they know is only through

archeological revelations.

2. The Celts

From around 700 BC to 500 BC or 300 BC the Celts (North- western Germany and the

Netherlands) arrived on the island. The Celts were men of iron, who could make better weapons.

They were more technically advanced than the Iberians. The Celts spoke different dialects such as

Erse, Gaelic and Welsh (they are still spoken in Great Britain). The Celts imposed themselves as

aristocracy on the conquered Iberian tribes in Britain and in Ireland. Eventually, the races mixed but

not in the same proportions throughout the island. The inhabitants of the so-called Celtic Britain

(Cornwall, Wales, and the Scottish Highlands) are the descendants of the oldest people. They are

often called ‘the Celtic Fringe’, but, as a matter of fact, most of them are of pre-Celtic origin – their

forefathers were not the fair-haired or red-haired Celts but the dark-haired Iberians.

3. Roman Britain (55 B.C. – 5th century A.D.)

Britain became a sphere of Roman interest in the 1st century B.C. Julius Ceasar attempted

to conquer Britain twice, in 55 and 54 B.C., his main aim being to prevent the Britons from providing

their kinsmen in today’s France with military aid. But the actual Roman conquest of Britain by

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Emperor Claudius took place in 43 A.D. By 80 A.D.; the Romans had conquered today’s England,

Wales and southern Scotland. but problems in other parts of their empire made them withdraw behind

the so-called Hadrian’s Wall (wall designed by Emperor Hadrian; it was erected between 122 and

127 AD ) in the first half of the 2nd century.

After crushing the Britons’ resistance, the Romans Romanised the southern areas (i.e. they

imposed their civilisation and way of life on native people); northern Britain and Wales were placed

under military control and the natives were allowed to carry on with their own way of life. The impact

of Roman civilization started to appear. In this context, the villas (large farms) were plentiful, the

cities were becoming larger, the commerce developed (London was the greatest center of trade). The

most obvious characteristic of Roman Britain was its towns, which were the basis of Roman

administration and civilisation. Many grew out of Celtic settlements, military camps or market

centres. The Romans left about twenty large towns of about 5, 000 inhabitants, and almost one

hundred smaller ones. Many of these towns were at first army camps, and the Latin word for camp,

castra, has remained part of many town name s to this day (with the ending chester, caster or cesrer)

: Gloucester, Leicester, Doncaster, Winchester, Chester, Lancaster and many others besides. These

towns were built with stone as well as wood, and they had planned streets, markets and shops. Some

buildings had central heating. They were connected by well-built roads that continued to be used long

after the Romans had left, and became the main roads of modern Britain.

The Romans stayed for nearly 400 years. Their rule in Britain declined towards the end of the

4th century as the whole Roman Empire was falling apart. The last Roman legions were withdrawn

from Britain in the 5th century.

4. The Anglo-Saxon period (5th -11th century)

Anglo-Saxons (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) came from three Germanic tribes. They had

already started attacking the south coast of Britain in the 3rd century, but in the 5th century, they

conquered and settled the whole of today’s England. They destroyed the Romano-British civilization

and established their own, agricultural one. The Saxons, Angles and the Jutes certainly wreaked havoc

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in the orderly Romano-Celtic world. The Latinized Britons were slaughtered or pushed away to the

mountainous areas where the primitive Celtic or pre-Celtic tribes had so far resided. The Anglo-

Saxons penetrated into the interior of the country through the rivers and the Roman roads, which only

hastened the pace of conquest and destruction. Consequently, the Celts were doomed to be defeated.

The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms, some of which still exist in county or

regional names to this day: Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons),

Middlesex (probably a kingdom of Middle Saxons), East Anglia (East Angles). By the middle of the

seventh century the three largest kingdoms, those of Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex, were the

most powerful. The Saxons divided the land into new administrative areas, based on shires or

counties. "Shire" is the Saxon word, "county" is the Norman one, but both are still used. These

shires, established by the end of the tenth century, remained almost exactly the same for a thousand

years. Over each shire was appointed a shire reeve, the king's local administrator. In time, his name

became shortened to "sheriff". Shires were further divided into units called hundreds. The most

powerful nobles were the ealdormen, who eventually became known by the Scandinavian term earls.

The earls were originally royal officials assigned big, contiguous blocks of English territory,

particularly in the north.

5.The Vikings

Danish Vikings had conquered a large part of north-eastern England and created a

confederation of Scandinavian communities called Danelaw (878-975) there. The term ‘Danelaw’

was used in the 11th century to indicate an area in which customary law was influenced by Danish

practice. In fact, the coming of the Danes gave a powerful stimulus to the development of English

Common Law (the very word ‘law’ is of Danish origin). The Vikings were very appreciative of law

and had men especially trained in legal arguments and procedures. The Anglo Saxons took over from

the Danes their zeal for legal disputes.

Alfred the Great of Wessex (871-c.900) defeated the Danes and his successors reconquered

the Danelaw in the 10th century. However, a new Danish invasion shattered England in 978: in 1016,

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Canute (1016-35), the King of Denmark and Norway, became the first king of a fully united England.

His Scandinavian Empire, however, broke up under his incompetent successors and the Saxon heir,

Edward the Confessor (1042-66), was restored to the throne of England.

Edward unwittingly prepared the way for the Norman Conquest: he introduced Norman

nobles into high state offices and left behind a disputed succession. After his death, Harold, son of

the mightiest English nobleman, was chosen to become king. However, the Duke of Normandy and

the King of Norway claimed the English throne too, and both of them attacked England almost

simultaneously in 1066. Harold defeated the Norsemen, but he was himself defeated and killed in

the battle of Hastings in October 1066 by William of Normandy. The battle gave the English a

profound shock because of the military superiority and ruthlessness displayed by the Normans. The

brilliance of their strategy and their awesome cavalry threw England on her knees. Consequently,

William of Normandy succeeded Harold on the English throne and become the king of England.

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II-Medieval England (1066 – 1485)

1- The Normans: King William I (1066-87)g

After being crowned a king, William the Conqueror William established in England the

Norman feudal system. William organised his English kingdom according to the feudal system

which had already begun to develop in England before his arrival. The word "feudalism" comes

from the French word feu, which the Normans used to refer to land held in return for duty or service

to a lord. The basis of feudal society was the holding of land, and its main purpose was economic.

The central idea was that all land was owned by the king but it was held by others. Called "vassals",

in return for services and goods. The king gave large estates to his main nobles in return for a promise

to serve him in war for up to forty days. The nobles also had to give hi m part of the produce of the

land. The greater nobles gave part of their lands to lesser nobles, knights. and other "freemen". Some

freemen paid for the land by doing milirary service. while others paid rent. The nob le kept "serfs" to

work on his own land. These were not free to leave the estate, and were often little better than slaves.

There were two basic principles to feudalism: every man had a lord. and every lord had land,

The king was connected through this "chain" of people to the lowest man in the country. At each level

a man had to promise loyalty and service to his lord. This promise was usually made with the lord

sitting on his chair and his vassal kneeling before him, his hands placed between those of his lord.

This was called "homage", and has remained part of the coronation ceremony of British kings and

queens until now. On the other hand, each lord had responsibilities to his vassals. He had to give them

land and protection.

King William I revived the Anglo-Saxon system of shires, and a royal officer was placed at

the head of each. The new king also established the fiscal basis of the state by ordering a detailed

survey of property value in every shire (the Domesday Book, 1086-87). He divided bigger districts

into smaller shires and kept the Anglo-Saxon system of sheriffs to counterbalance the power of his

Barons. In other words, each shire had its own sheriff, a man of baronial rank to whom William

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entrusted collecting his taxes and administering his laws. The King did his utmost to tighten his grip

of the island, to centralize and secure his power.

The Britons were surprise to see that their culture was, for the first time, under French cultural

dominance and influence. In addition, their language, English, had lost its status. In this context, three

languages became used in England instead of two: a) Norman-French, the language of the ruling

aristocracy and law courts, b) Latin, the language of educated people, and c) English, spoken by

common Englishmen. The social pyramid was also distorted; the French invaders became the upper-

class aristocracy who ruled over the English. French became the language of the upper classes, of law

and government and the army, whilst English was the language of the Anglo-Saxon peasants.

2- The Plantagnet House/Dynasty (Medieval England:12th and 15th century)

2.1 Henry I

William’s son Henry I continued the process of strengthening the power of the state (1100-35) and

especially by Henry II (1154-89). Henry II was the first Plantagenet king, a descendant of the

Plantagnet House/Dynasty that ruled England for 331 years, from 1154 to 1485. He ascended

the throne after thirty years of anarchy (the War of Succession, 1135-54). He ruled over a vast empire

comprising England, Normandy and a larger part of France than that controlled by the king of France.

He restored the royal rights, tightened the control over sheriffs and tried to get all courts under the

royal control (he failed with ecclesiastical courts – his conflict with Thomas Becket).

2.2 Henry II

Henry II, who appointed Becket archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, wanted to transfer

jurisdiction over criminal clergy to secular courts, as church courts were often reluctant to convict

guilty clergymen. Becket refused, and a long struggle involving the pope and the king of France ended

with Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. The murderers were knights carrying out

what they thought was the king’s will, although Henry never gave a formal order. Becket was widely

recognized as a saint and martyr across Europe, and Henry did penance for his part in the murder in

1174, being publicly flogged by monks at Canterbury. Becket’s shrine at Canterbury became a

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major pilgrimage site not just for English people but for Europeans, and criminal clergy continued to

enjoy lenient ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

2.3 Richard I

Richard I (ruled 1189–99) was the next Plantagenet king. He spent most of his time on

Crusades. The Crusades were efforts by Christians from Europe to gain control of Jerusalem and

other parts of the Middle East that were known as the Holy Land. Richard spent only six months

of his 10-year reign in England.

2.4 King John - Magna Carta

King John (ruled 1199–1216) is sometimes known as the last of the Angevin dynasty. He was

the last English king to reign over Anjou, which he lost in the early 1200s. Under John – notorious

for his greediness – everybody had to pay higher taxes. King John was also in a state of dispute with

the Church because the Pope appointed the Archbishop without his consent. What fueled the situation

was the loss Normandy, where some English nobles still had possessions, which further compromised

his reputation. In 1215, he made an effort to recover Normandy and asked his nobles to fight for him;

they turned against him and marched to London where angry merchants joined them. The purpose

was to limit the king’s power and to make him rule according to law. In 1215 they forced him to sign

a document called the Magna Carta/Great Charter/Great Chart of English Freedom– an

agreement regulating the relations between the Crown and the upper and middle classes that later

came to be regarded as the cornerstone of English civil liberties. The two most important matters

covered by this agreement were these: firstly, no free man could be arrested and imprisoned except

by the law of the land, and when arrested, he had the right to a fair and legal trial; secondly, no

taxation could be made without the approval of the council.

Magna Carta limited the rights of the king and protected the rights of his subjects. John

declared that he had been forced to sign the Magna Carta against his will and he tried to gather support

from France to fight the barons. He died before he could carry this out, leaving his crown to his nine-

year-old son, Henry.

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Last but not least, Magna Carta was reported to have limited the royal power and laid the

foundations for the later Parliamentary monarchy. Magna Carta marks a clear stage in the collapse

of English feudalism. The nobles did not allow John's successors to forget this charter and its

promises. Every king recognized Magna Carta, until the Middle Ages ended in disorder and a new

kind of monarchy came into being in the sixteenth century.

2.5 Rise of Parliament

Henry III (ruled 1216–72) spent a large part of his reign fighting the barons. They disliked the

fact that the king had chosen many foreigners to be his close advisers. In 1264 the barons staged a

rebellion, under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, but this was crushed the following year.

Under Edward I (ruled 1272–1307) Parliament developed into a body of men who had to approve

all the laws that the king made. The men who made up Parliament were noblemen and church

leaders.

Edward I was a great reformer and a good soldier. He brought stability to the country for the

first time in many years He will always be remembered for summoning the Model Parliament

(1295), called so because it contained representatives of the three estates of Barons, Clergy and

Commons (i.e. all the elements of a future parliament). His son, Edward II (ruled 1307–27),

however, was a weak leader and was forced to abdicate (give up the throne).

2.6 Hundred Year’s War

England began a long struggle with France that was later called the Hundred Years’

War (1337–1453). This began when Edward III (ruled 1327–77) tried to claim the French throne.

There was a 28-year truce during the reign of Richard II (ruled 1377–99), but the war continued

under Henry IV (ruled 1399–1413).

Henry V (ruled 1413–22) emerged as one of the great English warrior kings of the Middle

Ages. He scored several victories against the French, in particular at the Battle of Agincourt (1415),

when his troops beat a much larger French force. Henry V eventually united the crowns of England

and France through his marriage to the French princess Catherine of Valois.

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2.7 Wars of the Roses

Henry V died young, and the throne passed to his son, Henry VI (ruled 1422–61 and 1470–

71), who was not even one year old when he became king. Others ruled for him until he grew up,

but when he did he was not a good ruler. Much of the land his father had gained was lost within a

few years.

Several powerful men in the kingdom began to fight for control of the government. This led

to a long period of civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York, known as the Wars of

the Roses (1455–85 : the House of Lancaster had a red rose in its flag and the House of York had a

white rose in its flag). Both descended from Edward III and now wanted to take possession of the

Crown. During this period Henry VI was overthrown and imprisoned by his cousin, Edward of

York, who became Edward IV (ruled 1461–70 and 1471–83). He, too, was overthrown briefly, but

he regained power in 1471. Edward IV died in 1483, and left his two young sons—including

Edward V—in the care of his brother Richard. The boys were taken to the Tower of London.

After a few months they disappeared and were never seen again. Richard had himself crowned

King Richard III (ruled 1483–85).

Richard III was the last of the Plantagenet line. His reign lasted only two years. In 1485

Henry Tudor killed Richard at the Battle of Bosworth and became Henry VII—the first of

the Tudor line.

3- Medieval English literature

The internal and external conflicts of the 14th century were accompanied by a great cultural

revival in England—the revival of English as a literary language. After the Norman Conquest of

England in 1066, English had virtually disappeared as a written language as literature was written in

French or Latin. English always remained the spoken language of ordinary people, however, and its

vocabulary was enriched by French and Latin words. By the 14th century, English—now Middle

English as contrasted with the Old English of the Anglo-Saxons—reappeared as a language of

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literature and poetry in the works of a striking group of contemporaries: Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343–

1400), William Langland (ca. 1332–ca. 1386), John Gower, etc.

Chaucer, by profession a government clerk and diplomat, was the most important of these

poets. He is best known for The Canterbury Tales, an unfinished group of poems recounting the

stories told by a group of pilgrims on the way to Thomas Becket’s shrine at Canterbury. The pilgrims,

male and female, are members of different social classes and professions, and their stories give vivid

pictures of medieval culture. John Gower, whom his friend Chaucer called “moral Gower,” was a

more serious poet. He wrote verses in English, French, and Latin. His most important poem is one

written in English, Confessio Amantis, or Lover’s Confession, probably completed in 1390. William

Langland is known for one poem: The Vision of Piers Plowman, an allegorical vision concerned

with the corruption of contemporary society and the difficulty of leading a truly Christian life. The

author scourges the corruption of the clergy, but his knowledge of religion indicates that he may well

have been a cleric himself.

3.1 Five big literary works of Middle English

Piers Plowman (1367-70). William Langland’s alliterative dreamy poem espoused piety, offering

social commentary on the side.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th century). Influenced by the French romans, this

anonymously penned Arthurian poem sees Gawain manfully battling temptations of the flesh and a

virescent knight.

Pearl (c.1370). Pearl is all heavenly visions. The unknown author, distraught at the death of his

two-year-old daughter, Pearl, decides to join her in Paradise.

The Canterbury Tales (c.1387-1400). More storytelling, but Chaucer’s ragbag of characters broke

new ground in characterisation and subtlety. For many, the founding work of modern English

literature.

Le Morte d’Arthur (1470). Arthurian legend resurrected once more along French models but

written in fine Middle English prose by Sir Thomas Malory.

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3.2 Three female authors of Middle English

Marie de France. She was French (it’s in the name see) but lived most of her life in England,

writing rhyming couplets in Anglo-Norman. Her major work was Lais (late 12th century), 12

Breton tales of courtly love.

Julian of Norwich. Julian was dying, aged 30, when a miraculous vision intervened and inspired a

profound, perceptive volley on faith and, in particular, sin; Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love

(c.1393) gathered her near-deathbed visions.

Margery Kempe. The wandering King’s Lynn housewife (she travelled to Jerusalem, Rome and

Poland) dictated her thoughts on life (she was illiterate), notably childbirth (she went through it 14

times) and wild lust. Read all about it in the Book of Margery Kempe (late 1430s). Some have

called it the first autobiography in English.

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III-The Tudors (1485-1603)

The year 1485 is usually considered the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the

English Renaissance, the most lustrous and glorious period in the history of the English nation, which

coincided with a century of Tudor rule (1485–1603). Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond from Wales

defeated King Richard III in the battle of Bosworth (1485), establishing the greatest of all English

royal lines – the House of Tudors.

The three most remarkable monarchs of the House of Tudor were Henry VII, who laid the

foundations of a powerful state; Henry VIII, who established the national church and built the Royal

Navy; and Elizabeth I, who kept England on the course to becoming a heretical sea power.

Henry VII (1485-1509) made use of the situation after the end of the Wars of the Roses to

establish an absolute monarchy. He created new nobility from the upper-middle class: the new

noblemen were entrusted with state offices, especially in the Privy Council, the predecessor of the

modern Cabinet, and in the prerogative courts Henry had set up. He avoided military conflicts, but

protected trade and manufacturing and encouraged overseas expeditions. That is why Tudor

absolutism was supported by practically the whole nation.

Under Henry VIII (1509-47), the Church was subjected to the state power due to the king’s

quarrel with the Pope over divorcing his first wife (the English Reformation, the 1530s). This act

removed the last power of the feudal period that hampered the development of parliamentary

government. Later on, the parliament passed The Act of Supremacy – 1534 that destroyed all

monasteries and acknowledged Henry Head of the Church of England. It was a Protestant church (a

Christian church, but for people who believe in a different kind of Christianity) called the Church of

England, and the king controlled it. Anyone who disagreed with the new church was executed - killed

for his/her crime. Thomas Cromwell prepared a survey of Church property that was the first organized

survey since the Domesday Book.

Parliament was traditionally split into two 'Houses'. The House of Lords consisted of the

feudal aristocracy and the leaders of the Church; the House of Commons consisted of representatives

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from the towns and the less important landowners in rural areas. It was now more important for

monarchs to get the agreement of the Commons for policy-making because that was where the newly

powerful merchants and land - owners (rich people) were represented. After the death of her father,

Henry VIII, Mary Tudor (1553-58), known as Bloody Mary, was crowned Queen of England. She

unsuccessfully tried to re-catholicise the country; she executed hundreds of Protestants who refused

to become Catholic again.

The religious struggles ended under Elizabeth I (1558-1603; Elizabethan Settlement): the

English Church became the official Church of England and its doctrine was clearly formulated.

England started to appear as a military power, especially after defeating the Spanish Armada, one of

the biggest maritime forces in Europe, in 1588. Therefore, the year 1588 is considered as one of the

turning points in the history of England and the world – a point at which at which England started to

take over the lead in the overseas discoveries and commerce. Ships also began to travel to other parts

of the world. East India Company was founded in 1599 to trade with India. Gradually it brought

under its control the empty territories and in the Stuart’s times, it became monopolist, controlling

almost the entire Indian subcontinent.

In North America, the colony of Virginia was named after the Virgin (unmarried) Queen

Elizabeth I. Voyages of discovery resulted in establishing colonies in various parts of the world. Thus

Elizabeth, continuing her father and grandfather’s policy, gave a new direction to the expansive

energy of the English people. The Tudors not only laid the foundations for the Empire but also

mapped out Great Britain. When the Queen died in 1603 the majority of English considered

themselves ardent Protestants, and they led highly religious lives based on the study of the Bible. The

Bible together with the study of classics made England an important center of the Renaissance,

famous for Shakespeare, Sidney, Spenser and Milton.

Britain’s Renaissance began a century after Italy’s, and literature, not the visual arts, was the

main beneficiary. The Reformation was key: as man’s relationship with God evolved, creativity

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explored the changes. Writers pondered their own place in the grand scheme of things, weaving in

the expressive humanism that was reviving the spirit of Antiquity on the Continent. Thomas More’s

Utopia (1516) explored these ideas in prose but the greatest literary advances came in poetry. Poets

took up Chaucer’s mantle using the sonnet, a 14-line verse form pioneered by early Italian

Renaissance word mogul, Petrarch. English writers mimicked Petrarch’s idealised love poetry and,

as the 16th century grew old, wrapped classical allusions and contemporary concerns in increasingly

innovative language. Sonnet writing in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era wasn’t the preserve of

‘authors’ – writing poetry was evidence of your Renaissance Man/Woman credentials, so the likes of

Walter Raleigh and even Queen Elizabeth herself had a go. The Elizabethan period was a very

important time for English literature. Many people liked to go to the theatre, and William

Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays and poems at this time. While Renaissance prose was overshadowed

by poetry, a few notables did emerge. They used the classical spirit of the era. John Lyly wrote

Euphues, The Anatomy of English Wit (1578) a florid romantic treatise-cum-novel that gave England

its first encounter with ‘euphemism’. However, Francis Bacon was the major contributor. His

thoroughly readable Essays (1597) chewed on the day’s gristle, from revenge to gardening, forever

questioning the established order.

The English Renaissance flourished beyond the Tudor epoch, through Stuart times and

Cromwell’s republic until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

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IV-The Stuarts (1603-1714)

1- James I

The Stuart monarchs, from James I onwards, were less successful than the Tudors were. They

quarreled with Parliament, which resulted in civil war. James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary of

Scotland, Elizabeth’s cousin) was called to succeed Elizabeth on the English throne as James I (1603-

25). James I was accepted by the English without much ado. However, his financial difficulties,

combined with his belief in the “divine right of kings” and unwise religious and foreign policy,

angered Parliament. James I intended to rule without Parliament as much as possible. He preferred

a small council and believed that the king was chosen by God and therefore only God could judge

him. In 1605 there was a failed Catholic assassination attempt against the king (by blowing up the

House of Lords), called as Gunpowder Plot. The most famous conspirator was Guy Fawkes. He

and his small group of Catholics had been caught trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament with

King James inside. The group put 36 barrels of gunpowder in cellars underneath the Houses of

Parliament in London, ready to set off a massive explosion. However, one member of Fawkes’ group

sent a letter to his friend who worked in Parliament, warning him to stay away on 5 November. The

King’s supporters got hold of the letter and the plot was rumbled. The gunpowder plotters were were

arrested and sentenced to death by hanging, drawing and quartering. On the very night that the

Gunpowder Plot failed, on 5 November 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the

King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Firework Night, Bonfire Night or Guy

Fawkes Day, “as a day of thanksgiving for `the joyful day of deliverance”.

In 1607, “James I’s reign saw the foundation of the colony of Jamestown in Virginia, which

became a center of tobacco production. The king himself, however, was one of the foremost

opponents of the new plant. His A Counter-Blaste to Tobacco (1604) denounced it in scorching terms

as unhealthy, sinful, and disgusting.” About 10 years later, in 1620, Plymouh Colony, later

Massachusetts Colony, the first permanent colony in New England, was also founded when the

Pilgrim Fathers, 102 people, left England seeking religious freedom, and then on the ship Mayflower

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they got to the New World and introduced Puritanism. Actually, during the seventeenth century,

twelve British colonies were born in the New World. The Northern colonies were named New

England, the middle ones were established along the River Delaware and the southern colonies were

founded around Chesapeake Bay.

Ulster plantation is also related to James I’s name. Being also the King of Ireland, the

Protestant James wanted to unite his three kingdoms (England, Scotland and Ireland) and “strengthen

his rule in Ireland where he faced opposition and rebellion from the Catholic, Irish speaking

population.” Therefore, from 1609 onwards, people from England and Scotland were encouraged to

move to the northern part of Ireland (named Ulster) to make it friendlier towards James by taking

huge areas of land from the local Irish population and giving them to the planters. This act worsened

the tense relationship between the Catholics and Protestants, which reached its peak in various

waves throughout history; first in the English Civil War in the seventeenth century-England and then

during the period called the Troubles in the nineteenth century-Northern Ireland.

2- Charles I

After James I death in 1625, his son, Charles I, succeeded him. He argued with Parliament

because he spent a lot of money fighting wars in Europe. On March 10, 1629 Charles I decided to

dissolve Parliament, beginning an 11-year period known the Personal Rule or Eleven Years’

(Tyranny). Charles surprised everyone by being able to rule successfully without Parliament. He got

rid of much dishonesty that had begun in the Tudor period and continued during his father's reign. He

was able to balance his budgets and make administration efficient. Charles saw no reason to explain

his policy or method of government to anyone. By 1637 he was at the height of his power. His

authority seemed to be more completely accepted than the authority of an English king had been for

centuries. It also seemed that Parliament might never meet again. In 1642, he started a civil war (1642-

49). Oliver Cromwell as leader of Parliaments army won the war, and Charles I was executed.

Consequently, England was a republic for the next 11 years, ruled by Oliver Cromwell. It was the

first time that England had been a republic, having no king or queen. As a puritan, Cromwell believed

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in a simple, hard-working life - and when he ruled, there was no sport or dancing in England, and

theatres were closed.

3- Charles II (1660-85) and the Restoration/ James II

After the death of Cromwell, the House of Lords and the Anglican Church, together with the

monarchy (Charles II-1660-85) were restored in 1660. However, the Great Plague of 1665 and the

Great Fire of London in 1666 made Charles II’s ruling conditions difficult.

In 1660, Charles II established the Royal Society for supporting natural science, and, indeed,

the seventeenth century saw great scientific discoveries: William Harvey discovered the circulation

of the blood; Isaac Newton, gravity; Thomas Savery developed water pump, which later led to the

invention of steam engine. The first newspapers, which appeared in the same century, were a new

way of spreading all kinds of these discoveries as well as religious ideas.

Politically, Two factions developed in parliament, the Tories (an Irish name for thieves,

Crown loyalist who defended divine right monarchy and Anglicanism ) and the Whigs (a rude name

for cattle drivers; opponents of the court who were supporters of Parliamentary monarchy and

religious toleration); they gradually formed two distinct political parties.

The conflict between monarch and Parliament soon re-emerged after Charles II had died. His

brother, James II, tried to give full rights to Catholics and to promote them in his government. He

had serious problems with Parliament and he tried to catholicize the Church and removed the laws

that stopped Catholics from taking positions in government and Parliament. James II had already

shown his dislike of Protestants while he had been Charles II’s governor in Scotland. The Tories and

Anglicans now joined the Whigs in looking for a Protestant rescue. Consequently, they invited

William of Orange to invade Britain, which led to the so-called the 'Glorious Revolution’. It was

‘glorious' because it was bloodless, but it was in fact nothing less than coup d’état which put

Parliament above the King. It laid down the principle that the Crown derived its authority not from

divine hereditary right but from the consent of Parliament.

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4-The Glorious Revolution (Prince William III and his cousin Mary Stuarts)

Prince William III (William of Orange, 1689-1702), ruler of the Netherlands, and his Stuart

wife, Mary II (queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland and daughter of King James II), accepted

Parliament’s invitation to become king and queen. In this way, a monarch could rule only with the

support of Parliament. Parliament immediately drew up the Bill of Rights in 1689 (Acts declaring

the rights and liberties of subjects), making Britain a constitutional monarchy in which the overall

power over the state lies with Parliament, not with the monarch, which limited some of the powers of

the monarch (notably, the power to dismiss judges). In 1701, he passed the Act of Settlement

according to which only a Protestant could inherit the crown. This act “has remained in force ever

since he passed the Act of Settlement according to which only a Protestant could inherit the crown.

This act “has remained in force ever since.

It was not until 1650 that the first coffee house in England (and only the second in Europe)

was opened at Oxford, advertised as ‘a simple Innocent thing, incomparable good for those that are

troubled with melancholy’. But from the very beginning coffee houses proved to be centres of

intellectual debate, visited by writers, scholars, wits and politicians. Likewise, tea had become a

national drink by 1700, when 50,000 kg were already being imported each year. The precise date of

tea’s appearance in England is about the first decade of the seventeenth century. It came from Holland,

where the Dutch East India Company had opened commercial relations with China ahead of its

English rival. While coffeehouses were visited by men, their wives held tea parties at home. Tea’s

feminine image was partly because it was introduced to England by Catherine of Braganza, the

Portuguese Queen to Charles II. Although it was served in some of the exclusively male coffee-houses

that opened in London after 1652 it was not usual in these before the 1690s, and was never the

principal drink there.

Coffee and tea were both instrumental in the civilizing process experienced by Western

Europe in the seventeenth century.229 “Men who drank in … London coffee-houses were subject to

the house rules that prohibited swearing, gambling, quarrelling and profane language.

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V Britain in the Eighteenth Century

1-Queen Anna Stuart – Hanoverian Dynasty

Mary and William III died without heir, so Mary’s sister Anna became queen as the last

Stuart. Since the Scottish were unsatisfied, in order to avoid war, England proclaimed that unless the

Scots agreed on a full union with England by Christmas Day 1705, England breaks all economic

relation with them. As a result, the Treaty of Union of 1707 “made England and Scotland one country

under the new name of United Kingdom of Great Britain.” Separate parliaments were abolished

and at Westminster the new Parliament of Great Britain was established: the Scots were given 45

seats in the House of Commons and 16, in the Lords. Scotland gained equal share from English ports

and colonies, yet the union damaged the Scottish economy.

When England banned the trade with its overseas colonies and lost trading privileges in France

and Low Countries by the end of the seventeenth century, Scottish demanded the end of the union for

the first time When Queen Anne (1665–1714) died, George, from the House of Hanover (1714–

1727), became king. Robert Walpole, his minister, considered Britain’s first Prime Minister “lived in

10 Downing Street from 1735 having insisted that it become the residence of the First Lord of the

Treasury, rather than being given to him personally. He developed the idea that government ministers

should work together in a small group, which was called the Cabinet. He also made sure that the

power of the king would always be limited by the constitution: the king could not remove or change

laws; the king was dependent on Parliament for his financial income and for his army and the king

was supposed to ‘choose’ his ministers. Even today the government of Britain is “Her Majesty’s

Government.” But in fact, the ministers belonged as much to Parliament as they did to the king.

William Pitt “the Elder,” later Lord Chatham, became another influential political representative. He

was certain that Britain must beat France in the race for an overseas trade empire. The war against

France’s trade went on all over the world. In Canada, the British took Quebec in 1759 and Montreal

the following year and India, the “jewel in the Crown.” The British pride was expressed in a national

song written in 1742, titled “Rule Britannia.”

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Later, George III (1760–1820) signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which redistributed

imperial lands. The areas of Lower Canada, land up to the Mississippi, Florida, India and Senegal

were ceded to Britain. The British handed Cuba and Manila over to the Spanish. In order to pay back

the national debt due to the colonial wars, England imposed taxes on luxury goods, such as tea, coffee

and chocolate while granted no political right to the colonies with which it traded.239 In 1764 this

led to a quarrel over taxation between the British government and its colonies in America. The

colony’s moto was: “No taxation without representation.” The situation worsened when in 1773 a

group of colonists (the Sons of Liberty) disguised in Indian costume boarded the ships at the port of

Boston and threw 342 chests of tea into the sea rather than pay tax on it. The event became known as

the Boston Tea party. The American War of Independence had thus begun, which ended in 1783

with the Peace of Versailles, in which Britain accepted the independence of the USA, and the British

lost every American colony except for Canada. The war in America gave strength to the new ideas

of democracy and of independence. Many British politicians openly supported the colonists, e.g.,

Edmund Burke and Tom Paine.

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VI Britain in the Nineteenth Century: Victorian Era

1.The Years of Industrial Revolution

Beginning in the last half of the 18th century and extending into the early 20th century, first

Great Britain and then Western Europe, the United States, and several other parts of the globe

experienced the vibrant stirrings of a major technical and economic transformation. The following

list shows a few examples of British scientific inventions and social development from the 18th to

the late 19th century, that is the Georgian and Victorian period. The latter period takes its name after

Queen Victoria (1837–1901), who was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover. All in all,

Britain could excel as its coal extraction – which formed the basis of development – was nine times

that of France, Germany, Russia and Belgium combined, and her naval force made Britain an Empire

a successful colonizer.

2. The Victorian British Empire

The Victorian British Empire dominated the globe, though its forms of rule and influence were

uneven and diverse. The traffic of people and goods between Britain and its colonies was constant,

complex, and multidirectional. Britain shaped the empire, the empire shaped Britain, and colonies

shaped one another. British jobs abroad included civil and military service, missionary work, and

infrastructure development. People from various imperial locations traveled to, studied in, and settled

in Britain. Money, too, flowed both ways—the empire was a source of profit, and emigrants sent

money home to Britain—as did goods such as jute, calico cotton cloth, and tea.

Dramatic expansion of the empire meant that such goods came to Britain from all over the

world. Between 1820 and 1870 the empire grew, shifted its orientation eastward, and increased the

number of nonwhite people over whom it exerted control. Much of this expansion involved violence,

including the Indian Mutiny (1857–59), the Morant Bay Rebellion (1865) in Jamaica, the Opium

Wars (1839–42, 1856–60) in China, and the Taranaki War (1860–61) in New Zealand. India became

central to imperial status and wealth. There was significant migration to the settler colonies of

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Australia and New Zealand and later to Canada and South Africa. From 1870 until 1914 continued

aggressive expansion (including Britain’s participation in the so-called Scramble for Africa) was

assisted by new technologies, including railways and telegraphy. Britain took control of large parts

of Africa (including Egypt, Sudan, and Kenya), which together were home to about 30 percent of the

African population. The same period also saw the start of anticolonial movements that demanded

freedom from British domination in India and elsewhere. These would ultimately lead to

decolonization after World War II.

3. The Victorian British economy

Britain’s status as a world political power was bolstered by a strong economy, which grew

rapidly between 1820 and 1873. This half-century of growth was followed by an economic depression

and from 1896 until 1914 by a modest recovery. With the earliest phases of industrialization over by

about 1840, the British economy expanded. Britain became the richest country in the world, but many

people worked long hours in harsh conditions. Yet, overall, standards of living were rising. While the

1840s were a bad time for workers and the poor—they were dubbed “the hungry forties”—overall

the trend was toward a less precarious life. Most families not only had a home and enough to eat but

also had something leftover for alcohol, tobacco, and even vacations to the countryside or the seaside.

Of course, some decades were times of plenty, others of want. Relative prosperity meant that Britain

was a nation not only of shopkeepers but of shoppers (with the rise of the department store from mid-

century transforming the shopping experience). Increased wealth, including higher real wages from

the 1870s, meant that even working-class people could purchase discretionary items. Mass production

meant that clothes, souvenirs, newspapers, and more were affordable to almost everyone. Added to

the changes above, other social, religious and cultural changes took place in Victorian Britain:

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4. Religion and science in the Victorian era

Most Victorian Britons were Christian. The Anglican churches of England, Wales, and Ireland

were the state churches (of which the monarch was the nominal head) and dominated the religious

landscape (even though the majority of Welsh and Irish people were members of other churches).

The Church of Scotland was Presbyterian. There was some religious diversity, as Britain also was

home to other non-Anglican Protestants (notably Methodists), Roman Catholics, Jews, Muslims,

Hindus, and others (at the end of the period there were even a few atheists).

Changes in thinking

• The most important idea of the nineteenth century was that everyone had the right to personal

freedom, which was the basis of capitalism.

• Weakening of religious life: according to the 1851 census, only 60 per cent of the population

went to church – of these only 5.2 million Anglicans, 4.5 million Nonconformists and almost

half a million Catholics.

• Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species (1859) which further strengthened crisis in

the Church. His theory of evolution by natural selection (the survival of the fittest) unsettled

the biblical account of Genesis.

Redbrick universities: they were built in the new industrial cities in England. The term “redbrick”

distinguished the new universities, often brick-built, from the older, mainly stone-built universities

of Oxford and Cambridge. They taught more science and technology to ‘feed’ Britain’s industries.

Today, 5 of the original 6 Redbrick Universities are rated among the top 100 universities in the

world, according to the QS World University Rankings (e.g., University of Liverpool, University of

Birmingham, University of Manchester, University of Sheffield, University of Leeds).

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5. Gender and class in Victorian society (late 19th – early 20th century)

Victorian society was organized hierarchically. While race, religion, region, and occupation

were all meaningful aspects of identity and status, the main organizing principles of Victorian society

were gender and class. Victorian gender ideology was premised on the “doctrine of separate spheres.”

This stated that men and women were different and meant for different things. Men were physically

strong, while women were weak. Men were independent, while women were dependent. Men

belonged in the public sphere, while women belonged in the private sphere. Men were meant to

participate in politics and in paid work, while women were meant to run households and raise families.

Women were also thought to be naturally more religious and morally finer than men (who were

distracted by sexual passions by which women supposedly were untroubled). While most working-

class families could not live out the doctrine of separate spheres, because they could not survive on a

single male wage, the ideology was influential across all classes.

Class was both economic and cultural , and it encompassed income, occupation, education,

family structure, politics, and leisure activities. The working class, about 70 to 80 percent of the

population, got its income from wages, with family incomes usually under £100 per annum. Many

middle-class observers thought that working-class people imitated middle-class people as much as

they could, but they were mistaken; working-class cultures (which varied by locality and other

factors) were strong, specific, and premised on their own values. The middle class, which got its

income (of £100 to £1,000 per annum) from salaries and profit, grew rapidly during the 19th century,

from 15 to over 25 percent of the population. During the 19th century, members of the middle class

were the moral leaders of society (they also achieved some political power). The very small and very

wealthy upper class got its income (of £1,000 per annum or often much more) from property, rent,

and interest. The upper class had titles, wealth, land, or all three; owned most of the land in Britain;

and controlled local, national, and imperial politics.

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5.1 First waves of femminism

From the late Middle Ages to the mid-19th century, due to religious influences, upper-and

middle-class women, wives were expected to conform to the “Angle in the House” image, to be

obedient, silent, submissive and passive having no socio-political rights and financial independence.

The term ‘feminism’ covers “the revolutionary ideas, struggles and activities of the ‘women’s

movement,’ focused…on gaining the right of women’s suffrage but also on achieving economic,

financial and educational equality. The most significant results were: Married Women’s Property

Act of 1882 and 1893 (middle-class wives could keep their earnings during marriage), in 1870s the

extension of secondary and university education had started for girls; the Custody of Infants Act of

1839 allowed a mother to propose custody of her children in case of divorce; the Matrimonial Cause

of Act of 1857, which set up the Divorce Court and, though unequal in its treatment of husbands and

wives, laid the foundations of modern family law. Finally, women “got the vote in two stages” in

1918 and 1928; the [m]iddle class housewives comprised the largest group to be enfranchised in the

first phase, whereas the Equal Franchise Act of 1928 “gave equal voting rights for both men and

women.

6. Victorian literature

The flamboyance of Romantic literature was tempered by realism in the Victorian age, by the

urge to deal more directly with the social issues of the day. With the novel in huge demand, authors

turned their sights on the working classes. As the Victorian period wore on, the novel, echoing the

timbre of the times, got darker, preoccupied increasingly with the seamier side of life and moral and

social decay. Fiction became phenomenally popular. Novels, both good and bad, were devoured by

the newly literate middle classes.

6.1 Five(ish) Victorian novelists you should be reading

Charles Dickens. The pre-eminent Victorian novelist wove satire and caricature around

serpentine plots. His 15 novels began with The Pickwick Papers (1837) and finished with Our Mutual

Friend (1865), his style growing more sober and complex with age. Dickens picked at society’s
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festering sores – in the workhouses, asylums and factories – tugging away at public scruples, but his

prime talent was for characterisation. From the grotesque Fagin in Oliver Twist (1838) to the loveable

Joe Gargery of Great Expectations (1861), his creations leap off the page, even now, 150 years on.

William Makepeace Thackeray. In Thackeray, Dickens had his closest rival. He too explored a form

of realism and he too caricatured the upper middle class. Thackeray’s writing also got darker as it

matured. However, he highlighted social strife using a historical rather than contemporary setting,

most famously in Vanity Fair (1847-48), set amid the Napoleonic Wars.

The Brontë sisters. Dickens and Thackeray had a stab at the female psyche, but the sisters

from Yorkshire really opened it up, even if they did have to adopt male pseudonyms to secure

publication. Each of their best novels – Jane Eyre (Charlotte (1847), Wuthering Heights (Emily

(1847) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Anne (1848) – recalled the Romantic tradition, with their

love and despair, yet each also examined the realities of life.

George Eliot. No author picked the Victorian psyche apart quite like George Eliot (real name

Mary Ann Evans). She wrote of provincial life, pushing realism forward with a rare grasp of human

nature. Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860) and Middlemarch (1871-72) all pitted

the individual, their strengths, failings and hopes, against the expectations and actualities of society.

Thomas Hardy. The Dorset novelist came later in the Victorian era, bringing a new degree

of naturalism to the novel. His starkly sketched characters, fighting the fickleness of class, gender and

bad weather in deepest Wessex, were hostages to fate. Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) was Hardy

distilled, its heartfelt study of an agrarian labourer enough to put anyone off love or farming for life.

He gave up novels after critics called Jude the Obscure (1895) blasphemous and obscene, so damning

was it of Victorian convention; however, he’s still regarded as the most popular of Britain’s novelists.

6.2 Ten Victorian novels to get your teeth into

1- Vanity Fair (1847-48) William Makepeace Thackeray. Orphan girl Becky Sharp pulls herself

up the social ladder in Thackeray’s satire on early 19th century England.

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2- Wuthering Heights (1847) Emily Brontë. The most emotive of Victorian novels was an

expertly structured maelstrom of love, anger and death. Stirring stuff.

3- Jane Eyre (1847) Charlotte Brontë. Jane negotiates a series of setbacks – fire, a mad wife

locked in the attic and much more – to secure happiness with the dubious Mr Rochester.

4- Chronicles of Barsetshire (1855-1867) Anthony Trollope. A series of six novels set in the

West Country withrecurrent characters; the first great novel sequence of English lit.

5- Woman in White (1860) Wilkie Collins. Victorian Gothic horror par excellence, tinged with

psychological realism and truly unpleasant baddies.

6- Great Expectations (1861) Charles Dickens. Humble Pip goes off to be a gentleman, but

money and love aren’t all he’d hoped for in one of Dickens’ most twisting, didactic novels.

7- Middlemarch (1871-72) George Eliot. Multiple plots in a provincial Midlands town, linked

by matrimonial strife and the constraints of class.

8- The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) Robert Louis Stevenson. The

dichotomy of good and evil masterfully coined in one hideous character.

9- Tess of the D’Urbervilles (1891) Thomas Hardy. The best of Hardy’s rural realism: a clever

but poor woman is wronged and marginalised by various sanctimonious men.

10- Dracula (1897) Bram Stoker. Irishman Stoker wrote bits of the chilling epistolary tale in

Whitby, setting for the appalling Count’s arrival in Britain in a box.

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VII Great Britain in the Twentieth Century

King George V (1910–1936), George VI (1936–1952) and Queen Elizabeth II (1952–)

followed each other on the British throne in the twentieth century. Their rule had been challenged by

the World Wars, Great Depression and the Cold War. Great Britain’s participation in the world wars

had had a great impact on its imperial power and the global map. After WWI, it became clear that

Britain could no longer afford an empire; had no right to rule people who did not want to be ruled

by Britain, and the Royal Navy was not strong enough to protect all the Empire all over the world.

1. British Commonwealth of Nations (1931–49) / Commonwealth of Nations (present)

It is a free association of sovereign states comprising the United Kingdom and a number

of its former dependencies who have chosen to maintain ties of friendship and practical

cooperation and who acknowledge the British monarch as symbolic head of their association. The

modern Commonwealth of Nations was born in 1949. King George VI was the first Head of the

Commonwealth, and Queen Elizabeth II became Head when he died. But the British king or queen

is not automatically Head of the Commonwealth. Commonwealth member countries choose who

becomes Head of the Commonwealth. It comprises 53 countries (31 500 000 km2), across all

continents with 2.3 billion people (almost a third of the world population).

The fall of the British Empire was accompanied by the immigration of people from empire

nations to Britain… The 1948 arrival of the Empire Windrush, a ship bringing hundreds of

immigrants from Jamaica, is often treated as a founding date for multicultural Britain, although

there were already small Caribbean immigrant communities. There were no restrictions on

immigration within the empire until 1962, so migration was one solution to the poverty and

political turmoil facing British colonies. Later, Asian immigrants started to arrive from India and

Pakistan and from East Africa. By 1985, there were about five million recent immigrants and their

children out of a total population of about fifty-six million. In the 1980s the black’s bad housing

and unemployment led to riots in Liverpool, Bristol and London.

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2. Britain in the Great War (1914–1918)

Britain declared war against Germany on 4 August 1914 (battles at Somme, in Iraq and

Palestine, Gallipoli on the Dardanelles). The nation was told that it was defending the weak

(Belgium) against the strong (Germany), and that it was fighting for democracy and freedom. The

war cost almost a million British and Empire lives and 35 billion pounds, but it also initiated the

invention and development of radio and aviation. Life for women also changed during the war.

Because so many men were away fighting, a lot of women took paid jobs outside home for the

first time. The approval of their significant place in society found expression in giving them the

right to vote in 1918 and 1928. By 1918 there were five million women working in Britain.

3. Interwar Britain (1919–1939)

The 1930s, Great Depression-era’s protests “were all symptoms of the dramatic collapse

of Britain’s Victorian manufacturing economy after 1918. During the Edwardian years the great

nineteenth-century staples – coal, cotton, shipbuilding, iron and steel – had enjoyed a final boom,

although less because of their own efficiency than because the rapid growth of other economies

had created a temporary demand for British goods… But entrepreneurs had invested rashly and

oversupplied the market. As a result, by the summer of 1920 domestic demand had collapsed and

foreign markets wanted fewer British goods. It resulted a high rate of unemployment and poverty,

which was the “chief targets of the six National Hunger Marches that began in the autumn of 1922

and continued in 1925, 1930, 1932, 1934 and 1936. During the Great Depression, a worldwide

economic crisis between 1929 and 1933 saw over 3 million unemployed in Britain.

The areas most affected by the depression were those which had created Britain’s

industrial revolution (Clydeside, Belfast, the industrial north of England and southeast Wales).

Because the worst effects of the depression in Britain were limited to certain areas, the

government did not take the situation seriously enough. In the 1930s, the British economy started

to recover (e.g., growing motor industry). By 1937 the British industry was producing weapons,

aircraft and equipment for war, with the financial support of the United States.

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However, new industries such as aviation and car production flourished mostly in

southern and central England. Added to this, by 1939, 75 percent of households had electricity

after in 1926 the Central Electricity Generating Board – which owned and operated the National

Grid – with powers to raise capital on ordinary commercial lines and a responsibility to establish

interconnected lines covered the whole country.

4. Britain in WWII (1939–1945)

“We are not fighting to restore the past. We must plan and create a noble future.” Said, Winston

Churchill, British Prime Minister (1940–1945 and 1951–1955).

In the 1930s the old democracies of Western Europe were overshadowed by the

two rival ideological states: Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime

Minister (1937–1940) is best known for his foreign policy of appeasement with the Nazi Germany

that is to grant Hitler’s territorial wishes in order to avoid war. In this sense, WWII had begun as a

traditional European struggle, with Britain fighting to save the “balance of power” in Europe, and to

control the Atlantic Ocean and the sea surrounding Britain. But the war quickly became worldwide.

Both sides wanted to control the oil in the Middle East, and the Suez Canal, Britain’s route to India.

When the British fail to protect Norway, Chamberlain was replaced by Winston Churchill.

Although Britain was again on the side of the winners, almost one and a half million people in London

were made homeless by German bombing, and over 303,000 English soldiers and 60,000 civilians in

air raids died in WWII.

5. Britain in the Cold War

After WWII, the world was divided into capitalist (the USA and Western Europe) and

communist countries (Soviet Union and its satellite states). As for the foreign policy of these states,

during the Cold War, “subjugated countries followed a foreign policy compatible with the interests

of the Soviet Union” whereas the western countries’ affairs were influenced by the capitalist powers.

In 1949 Britain joined with other Western European countries to form the Council of Europe, to

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achieve greater unity between members. The characteristics of British foreign and defence policy in

the Cold War included defencism’, ‘nuclearism’, ‘Atlanticism’, ‘globalism’ and ‘hermeticism.

Later, Britain’s financial and economic difficulties increased. For example, in the same year,

in 1956 in the Suez Crisis, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal which threatened the British

communication with the Far East. It urged Britain to become a member of the European Community

on 1 January 1973, but most British continued to feel that they had not had any economic benefit

from Europe.

When the first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher (1979–1997), the Iron Lady (got

her nickname for her hostility to West’s policy of detente283) had come to power, she called on the

nation for hard work, patriotism and self-help. She wanted free trade at home and abroad, individual

enterprise and less government economic protection or interference. Thatcher promised to stop

Britain’s decline, but by 1983 she did not succeed. Unemployment had risen from 1.25 million in

1979 to over 3 million. Further, by selling assets such as British Telecom and British Airways on the

stock market, the government hoped to create a property-owning democracy.

6. Literature

6.1 The three most influential novelists of the mid-20th century

Evelyn Waugh. Waugh was deeply influenced by his conversion to Catholicism in 1930.

Prior to that he ridiculed high society and public school life expertly in Decline and Fall (1928);

afterwards the posh, decadent Catholics of Brideshead Revisited (1945) were endearingly human and

redemptive. In both periods his work pulsed with satire. Waugh also wrote war novels like Men at

Arms (1952), inspired by his Second World War commando days.

George Orwell. No author communicated post-war paranoia better than the man born Eric

Blair in India in 1903. The allegorical Animal Farm (1946) pondered the pitfalls of Stalinism using a

clique of power hungry pigs, while Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) commented more overtly on

totalitarianism with its expertly coloured story of life with Big Brother and Newspeak.

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Graham Greene. A Catholic like Waugh, Greene stuffed his novels with ethical paradoxes.

His anti-heroes often seem close to salvation despite their flimsy morals; the first, Pinkie, central to

Greene’s formative novel, Brighton Rock (1938), was downright evil. Greene followed up with a

series of thinking man’s thrillers, each with its anxious, seedy setting and each with its stressed,

morally lightweight protagonist. The Power and the Glory (1940) and The Heart of the Matter (1948)

were amongst the best.

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VIII Contemporary Great Britain

1. Scottish Independence Referendum (18 September 2014)

On 18 September 2014, Scotland hold a referendum to make decision about its future within

the UK. The question was: Should Scotland be an independent country?

Reasons for Scottish independence are: a nation ought to govern itself regardless of other

considerations (nationalist argument), the country could do better on its own as a small European

country (economic argument), to make its own decisions about social policy like migration. Finally,

Scotland voted “No.” When the results were announced, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond

(2007–2014) called for unity and urged the unionist parties to deliver on more powers, and David

Cameron (British PM 2010-2016) said he was delighted the UK would remain together. On 13

October 2014, the parties published proposals on further devolution for Scotland.308 In 2016, Nicola

Sturgeon, the new First Minister of Scotland (2014–), hinted the possibility of holding a second

referendum, but in 2019, Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister refused on the grounds that the 2014

referendum was a “once in a generation opportunity. However, in March 2021, Sturgeon told

Johnson that a second independence referendum was “a matter of when – not if and it is about to

happen by autumn 2023.

2. Brexit (2016–2020)

The term ‘Brexit’ (British + exit) refers to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020. The EU is an economic and political union

involving 28 European countries. It allows free trade and free movement of people, to live and work

in whichever country they choose. The UK joined it in 1973 (when it was known as the European

Economic Community). UK is the first member state who withdrew from the EU.

Reasons for Brexit

Sovereignty – to be able to make its own decision related to the country →

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Immigration – in 2019 there were approximately 6.2 million people with non-British nationality

living in the UK, and 9.5 million people who were born abroad. It led to the loss of employment and

employment opportunity.

As a consequence, a public vote/referendum was held on 23 June 2016, to decide whether the

UK should leave or remain. Leave won by 52% to 48%. The referendum turnout was very high at

72%, with more than 30 million people voting. After the referendum David Cameron, resigned from

his PM position. The new Prime Minister, Theresa May (2016–2019) also resigned after her Brexit

deal was rejected three times, and she was replaced by the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson (2019–

). The Parliament rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal due to the ‘backstop.’ This was designed to

ensure there would be no border posts or barriers between Northern Ireland and the Republic of

Ireland after Brexit. If it had been needed, the backstop would have kept the UK in a close trading

relationship with the EU and avoided checks altogether. But many MPs were critical. They said if the

backstop was used, the UK could be trapped in it for years. This would prevent the country from

striking trade deals with other countries. The backstop has been replaced with new customs

arrangements so that the UK would be able to sign and implement its own trade agreements with

countries around the world. It effectively creates a customs and regulatory border between Northern

Ireland and Great Britain. This means some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain would

have to pay EU import taxes (known as tariffs).

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IX The British Constitution and the Royal Family

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy, or

parliamentary system, and is divided into legislative, executive and judicial branches. The monarch

is head of state and has a role on some executive and legislative levels. He reigns with the support of

Parliament, and he is officially the head of all 3 branches of the constitution mentioned above:

Parliament that makes law, Government that executes law and puts them into effect, and Law Courts

that interpret laws.

There have been few upheavals in the British constitutional system since 1688. Rather,

existing constitutional principles have been pragmatically adapted to new conditions. Britain has no

written constitution contained in any one document. Instead, the constitution consists of statute law

(Acts of Parliament); common law (judge-made law); conventions (principles and practices of

government that are not legally binding but have the force of law); some ancient documents like

Magna Carta; and the new addition of European Union law.

These constitutional elements are said to be flexible enough to respond quickly to new

conditions. National law and institutions can be created or changed by the Westminster Parliament

through Acts of Parliament. The common law can be extended by the judges, and conventions can be

altered, formed or abolished by general agreement.

The Westminster Parliament or legislature (consisting of the House of Lords, House of

Commons and formally the monarch) possesses supreme legislative power in most UK matters.

Parliament is divided into:

a. The House of Commons: members of parliament (MP) elected in 650 constituencies. The Prime

Minister, the head of the government is also an MP. Functions of the Prime Minister: leading the

majority party, running the government, appointing Cabinet ministers and other ministers,

representing the nation in political matters. He is advised by the Cabinet. Since the 18th century the

cabinet has been increasingly responsible for deciding policies and controlling, coordinating

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government administration. It meets in private and its discussions are secret. The Cabinet, with about

20 members, acts as ‘one body’ with collective responsibility.

b. The House of Lords: members are not elected and do not get salary; 70% of them are ‘hereditary

peers’ that is their fathers were peers before them; 30% of them are ‘life peers’ whom the Queen

appointed.

The sovereigns’ duties include: opening and closing Parliament, approving the appointment

of the Prime Minister, giving her Royal Assent to bills, giving hours such as peerages, knighthoods

and medals, Head of the Commonwealth, Head of the Church of England, Commander-in-Chief of

the armed forces. Officially, the monarch is: “By the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of

the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, to whom we do acknowledge all Faith and

Obedience with humble Affection; beseeching God by whom Kings and Queens do reign to bless

His Majesty with long and happy Years to reign over us.

Etiquette (e.g., Beaumont Etiquette) is an essential part of the Royal family’s everyday life.

They represent themselves all the time thus the proper manner and speech is highly expected from

them. Training begins when members of the royal family are very young. A few important rules:

They must greet the King in a specific way: “For men this is a neck bow (from the head

only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way

… When addressing the King, the correct formal way to do so is by calling him ‘Your Majesty’.

Children must play outside on a daily basis: children in the royal family follow a very strict

schedule that includes at least one session of outdoor playtime a day.

They must dress appropriately at all times: to dress modestly and smartly for all occasions.

“Young male members of the royal family must only wear shorts until they reach the age of eight.

Royal women, meanwhile, should not wear tights and always wear hats to formal events unless it’s

after 6pm, at which point, tiaras are required. Coats must stay on in public and bright nail polish

should be avoided. Additionally, skirts should not be above the knee. Royal family members are also

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all reportedly always required to take a black outfit with them when travelling overseas in case of a

death.”

They must not take selfies–Meghan Markle complained about it in 2017.

They cannot give autographs.

They avoid certain foods: members of the royal family should not eat shellfish when they

go out in order to avoid food poisoning.

They cannot go to bed before the King: Princes Diana broke this rule once in the era of

Queen Elizabeth.

They must sit in a certain way: “royal women must not sit with their legs crossed at the

knee. Instead, they are advised to keep their knees together and cross their ankles, a pose

known as “the duchess slant” given how the Duchess of Cambridge often sits like this in

public with her legs slightly slanted to one side.

They must walk behind the King: “Whenever the royal family is part of a procession, they

are required to enter in order of precedence.

No politics allowed: Members of the royal family are not allowed to vote or even publicly

express their opinion on political matters.

Two heirs cannot fly together: in case something tragic were to happen. Once Prince

George (who is third in line to the throne after Prince Charles (actual king) and Prince

William) turns 12, he will have to fly separately from his father, Prince William.

Royal wedding bouquets contain myrtle. This tradition started with Queen Victoria and

continued with the Duchess of Cambridge’s marriage in 2011. This flower symbolizes

good luck in love and marriage.

1 Some rules that the king/queen must follow / rules she has changed:

The King/Queen signals when a conversation is over: when Her Majesty moves her purse

from her left arm to her right that apparently signals to her staff that she is ready to move

on to other conversation.

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A Queen cannot enter the army. Queen Elizabeth II was the first female member of the

royal family to break the “men only” rule in the military. In 1945, still as a princess, she joined

the Supplemental Territorial Service as a second lieutenant.

The King/Queen should not visit funerals: not to be seen in difficult times.

Until the 1970s, the monarch should not meet his/her people. Elizabeth II was the first

royal to meet her people in person.

2 A few current happenings in the British Royal family:

• 2019: Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son and the ex-husband of Sarah Ferguson

(the Duchess of York) served as the UK’s trade envoy from 2001 through 2011, when he stepped

down due to mounting criticism over some of his personal relationships. Namely, he was close friends

with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Virginia Roberts, accused

Epstein of forcing her to have sex with the prince when she was just 17 years old, back in 2001. Prince

Andrew stepped back from his royal duties altogether in 2019.

• 2020: Harry and Markle announced they become ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family:

work and live in America to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her

Majesty.

• 9 April 2021: Prince Philip (husband of Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh) died in

England

• 8 September 2022 : Elizabeth II, queen of United Kingdom, died in Balmoral Castle,

Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

3. Charles III “God Save the King”

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, Prince Charles became

Charles III, king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Charles III. He was

born November 14, 1948, Buckingham Palace, London, England), king from September 8, 2022. He

is the eldest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh.

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On July 29, 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Frances Spencer, daughter of the 8th Earl

Spencer. The royal wedding was a global media event, broadcast live on television and watched by

hundreds of millions of people; following the ceremony, she took the title princess of Wales. The

couple’s first child, Prince William of Wales, became at his birth (June 21, 1982) second in line of

succession to the throne. Their second child, Prince Henry Charles Albert David (known as Harry),

was born on September 15, 1984.

Charles’s marriage to Diana gradually grew strained amid intense scrutiny from the tabloid

press and rumours of infidelity. On December 9, 1992, it was announced that Charles and Diana

had decided to separate but would continue to fulfill their public duties and to share the responsibility

of raising their sons. The couple divorced on August 28, 1996. A year later Diana died in an auto

accident, and popular feeling for her, stronger even in death than in life, served to jeopardize the

traditional form of monarchy that Charles represented. He subsequently spent much effort in

modernizing his public image as the heir apparent. On April 9, 2005, he married Camilla Parker

Bowles (born 1947), with whom he had a long-standing relationship; after the wedding, Parker

Bowles took the title of duchess of Cornwall.

The new era with Charles (King Charles III – Sep 2022) as king is beginning to feel more

real. At 73, he is the oldest British monarch to take the throne. During his inaugural address, however,

he pointed out that he has long been serving his country. Catch up on the charities and issues to which

Charles dedicated himself during his 70 years as heir apparent.

Charles delivered his inaugural address on September 9, 2022. In the televised speech he paid

tribute to his mother’s life and pledged “throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the

Constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.” In addition, he conferred the title prince of Wales

upon his eldest son, William. Also on September 9 Charles met with Prime Minister Liz Truss at

Buckingham Palace.

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XI British Culture

1.The great British identity crisis

In England the terms ‘British’ and ‘English’ are virtually interchangeable. Venture into Wales

or Scotland, however, and any notion of British identity is soon

shot down. Here they’re Welsh or Scots, rarely British. Mistakenly calling someone English will

induce a weary sigh, or worse. The old English hegemony over Celtic neighbours has fostered a strong

sense of identity in the smaller nations. They happily display the Welsh dragon or the Scottish saltire,

and the rest of the world admires their national pride. Doing the same in England with the cross of St

George – or even the Union Jack with its whiff of old colonialism and, from the 1980s, its association

with right-wing groups – can bring accusations of jingoism. In England, if pushed to consider their

collective identity, people are perhaps as likely to think of a region as a nation. Cornwall, Yorkshire,

the North East and the North West all have strong personalities, while the wider north/south split

cuts a distinct, usually amicable divide. Urban Britain –London especially – can feel like a different

country to pastoral areas, and some still define themselves in terms of ‘town or country’.

2. What are the Brits actually like?

Of course there is no archetypal British personality, no set character to which they all conform.

The media is convinced that there used to be, and discusses the collapse of British values at length:

boozed up, greedy, oversexed, rude and thuggish – the country’s going to the dogs. Obviously, they

exaggerate: the quiet majority slip under the radar and the loud minority are mistaken for the norm.

While there is no consensus on character, most Brits share some common ground. Tolerance remains

a key ingredient.

The multi-dimensional nature of British society, with its mix of ethnicity, race and religion,

speaks of its open-mindedness, as does the proportion (over three quarters) of first generation

immigrants and their children who define themselves as ‘British’.

In a similar vein, the British won’t tolerate queue jumping, argue for hours about why they,

not their companion, should pay for a round of drinks and have a weakness for the underdog. This

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sense of democracy, a quiet dignity (the old stiff upper lip) and the intolerance of corruption are

perhaps best summed up by the rather woolly sense of ‘fair play’. For all that, it’s worth noting that

open-mindedness, particularly where race is concerned, may ebb somewhat behind closed doors –

public persona and private opinion in Britain (like anywhere else) don’t always tally. Most Brits are

still embarrassed by self-promotion (although bashfulness seems to subside as you travel north) and

overt displays of emotion, hiding instead behind a cynical and self-depreciatory, yet rather smug,

brand of humour.

3.Cultural life - England

England’s contribution to both British and world culture is too vast for anything but a cursory

survey here. Historically, England was a very homogeneous country and developed coherent

traditions, but, especially as the British Empire expanded and the country absorbed peoples from

throughout the globe, English culture has been accented with diverse contributions from Afro-

Caribbeans, Asians, Muslims, and other immigrant groups. Other parts of the United Kingdom have

experienced the same social and cultural diversification, with the result that England is not always

distinguishable from Wales and Scotland or even Northern Ireland. The former insularity of English

life has been replaced by a cosmopolitan familiarity with all things exotic: fish and chips have given

way to Indian, Chinese, and Italian cuisine, guitar-based rock blends with South Asian rap and Afro-

Caribbean salsa, and the English language itself abounds in neologisms drawn from nearly every one

of the world’s tongues.

Even as England has become ever more diverse culturally, it continues to exert a strong cultural

influence on the rest of the world. English music, film, and literature enjoy wide audiences overseas,

and the English language has gained ever-increasing currency as the preferred international medium

of cultural and economic exchange.

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3.1 Daily life and social customs

Historically, English daily life and customs were markedly different in urban and rural areas.

Indeed, much of English literature and popular culture has explored the tension between town and

country and between farm and factory. Today, even though the English are among the world’s most

cosmopolitan and well-traveled people, ties to the rural past remain strong. Urbanites, for example,

commonly retire to villages and country cottages, and even the smallest urban dwelling is likely to

have a garden.

Another divide, though one that is fast disappearing, is the rigid class system that long made

it difficult for nonaristocratic individuals to rise to positions of prominence in commerce, government,

and education. Significant changes have accompanied the decline of the class system, which also had

reinforced distinctions between town and country and between the less affluent north of England and

the country’s wealthy south. For example, whereas in decades past English radio was renowned for

its “proper” language, the country’s airwaves now carry accents from every corner of the country and

its former empire, and the wealthy are likely to enjoy the same elements of popular culture as the less

advantaged.

Many holidays in England, such as Christmas, are celebrated throughout the world, though

the traditional English Christmas is less a commercial event than an opportunity for singing and

feasting. Remembrance Day (November 11) honours British soldiers who died in World War I. Other

remembrances are unique to England and are nearly inexplicable to outsiders. For example, Guy

Fawkes Night (November 5) commemorates a Roman Catholic conspiracy to blow up the Houses of

Parliament in 1605, and Saint George’s Day (April 23) honours England’s patron saint—though the

holiday is barely celebrated at all in England, in marked contrast to the celebrations in Wales,

Scotland, and Ireland for their respective patron saints. Indeed, the lack of official celebration for

Saint George contributes to the ambiguity of “Englishness” and whether it can now be distinguished

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from “Britishness.” The monarch’s official birthday is also observed nationally and commemorated

in the summer by a military parade called Trooping the Colour, which has been celebrated since the

18th century.

English cuisine has traditionally been based on beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and fish, all cooked

with the minimum of embellishment and generally served with potatoes and one other vegetable—

or, in the case of fish (most commonly cod or haddock) deep-fried in batter and served with deep-

fried potato slices (chips). Fish and chips, traditionally wrapped in old newspapers to keep warm on

the journey home, has long been one of England’s most popular carryout dishes. By convention, at

least for middle-income households, the main family meal of the week was the “Sunday joint,” when

a substantial piece of beef, lamb, or pork was roasted in the oven during the morning and served

around midday. In the 1950s and ’60s, however, these traditions started to change. Immigrants from

India and Hong Kong arrived with their own distinctive cuisine, and Indian and Chinese restaurants

became a familiar sight in every part of England. By the 1980s, American-style fast-food restaurants

dotted the landscape, and the rapid post-World War II growth of holiday travel to Europe, particularly

to France, Spain, Greece, and Italy, exposed the English to new foods, flavours, and ingredients, many

of which found their way into a new generation of recipe books that filled the shelves of the typical

English kitchen.

4.Cultural life - Scotland

Scotland’s culture and customs remain remarkably vigorous and distinctive despite the country’s

union with the United Kingdom since the early 18th century and the threat of dominance by its more

powerful partner to the south. Its strength springs in part from the diverse strands that make up its

background, including European mainstream cultures. It has also been enriched by contacts with

Europe, owing to the mobility of the Scottish people since the Middle Ages and the hospitality of

Scotland’s universities to foreign students and faculty.

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4.1 Daily life and social customs

Although bagpipes have ancient origins elsewhere and are found throughout the world,

they are one of the most recognized symbols of Scottish culture. By the 16th century, various clans

had established hereditary pipers, and later the instrument was used in wartime to inflame the passions

of soldiers in battle. The form of the kilt, Scotland’s national costume, has evolved since the

emigration of Scots from Ireland. The modern kilt, with its tartan pattern, became common in the

18th century and served an important role in the formation of a Scottish national identity. Knits from

Fair Isle, with their distinctive designs woven from the fine wool of Shetland sheep, are also world

famous.

One traditional local custom is the ceilidh (visit), a social occasion that includes music and

storytelling. Once common throughout the country, the ceilidh is now a largely rural institution.

Sports such as tossing the caber (a heavy pole) and the hammer throw are integral to the Highland

games, a spectacle that originated in the 19th century; the games are accompanied by pipe bands and

(usually solo) performances by Highland dancers. Other traditions include Burns suppers (honouring

poet Robert Burns), which often feature haggis (a delicacy traditionally consisting of offal and suet

boiled with oatmeal in a sheep’s stomach) and cock-a-leekie (chicken stewed with leeks). Many Scots

consider these games and traditions to be a self-conscious display of legendary characteristics that

have little to do with ordinary Scottish life—a show put on, like national costumes, to gratify the

expectations of tourists and encouraged by the royal family’s annual appearance at the Braemar

Gathering near Balmoral Castle. Scottish country dancing, however, is a pastime whose popularity

has spread far beyond Scotland.

Food and drink have played a central role in Scotland’s heritage. In addition to haggis,

Scotland is known for its Angus beef, porridge, stovies (a potato-rich stew), shortbreads, scones,

cheese (Bishop, Kennedy, Caboc, Lanark Blue), toffee, and game dishes (e.g., salmon, venison, and

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grouse). The term whisky is derived from the Gaelic uisge-beatha, meaning “water of life.” Historical

references to whisky date from the late 15th century, though its popularity in the country probably

goes back even farther. Indeed, throughout Scotland private distilleries proliferated in the 17th

century, which led the Scottish Parliament to impose a tax on whisky production in 1644. Today

whisky is among the country’s leading exports.

5. Cultural life - Northern Ireland

Cultural life in Northern Ireland tends to follow the contours of political and sectarian differences and

to be marked by any number of shibboleths. For example, Roman Catholics and Protestants may

listen to the same song but call it by different names; however, age, gender, and class play at least as

large a role as religion in explaining many variations in music, drinking, and social life. Although

there is a shared participation in global culture, such as Hollywood movies, football (soccer), and

popular music, both the nationalist and unionist communities maintain their own cultural practices.

Irish music and dance and the Gaelic games (football and hurling) form a cultural focus in nationalist

communities, along with an interest in the Irish language that has led to the establishment of a network

of Irish-language schools. In the unionist community, attempts to establish Ulster-Scots as a language

have not been successful, and cultural life has been more influenced by trends in the rest of the United

Kingdom. Much cultural activity in Protestant working-class communities has centred on the Orange

Order and the tradition of marching bands. Both communities have produced internationally known

writers, poets, actors, and musicians, many of whom have spoken out forcefully against sectarian

violence. Government, through its various agencies, takes a keen interest in promoting cultural

practices that transcend sectarian divisions. Cultural life in Northern Ireland tends to be public and

oral. Outsiders are struck by the lively social life, the importance of conversation and the witty

remark, and the abiding interest in music.

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5.1 Daily life and social customs

Northern Ireland is in many ways a traditional society. Church attendance is high (but steadily

declining), family life is central, and community ties are strong. The daily interactions of most people

are confined to members of their own community, whether in urban neighbourhoods or country

villages. Dancing, music, and cultural and community festivals proliferate in Catholic communities,

particularly in the months following St. Patrick’s Day (March 17). Easter and the ancient Celtic

Halloween are celebrated by both communities, albeit separately. Poitín (illegal homemade whiskey)

is sometimes drunk at weddings and funerals.

The centrepiece of Protestant celebrations is the marching season commemorating the Battle

of the Boyne, which marks William III’s victory in 1690 over the deposed Catholic king James II. A

colourful, boisterous tradition, the marches begin about Easter and reach a climax on July 12. They

often wind their way into now majority-Catholic communities, and, because of their political

overtones, the marches have engendered significant hostility from the Catholic community and

regularly embroil the British government in political controversy. Violent clashes between Protestants

and Catholics are not uncommon during the marching season.

Everyday life is permeated by political divisions. Complex linguistic codes govern

interactions between people, particularly those with strangers in public places. Public space is

generally defined as Catholic, Protestant, or mixed—by far the smallest category—and forays across

sectarian boundaries are often avoided. Apart from some middle-class and student areas, most

neighbourhoods are religiously homogeneous and are often defined by “peace walls,” which separate

the two communities. These walls are festooned with lively murals and graffiti that represent some

of the country’s most visible public art. It is in areas where boundaries are fluid and contested and

where poverty and deprivation abound, such as North Belfast, that most sectarian conflict occurs. In

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rural areas there is little direct confrontation, but the bitterness remains; indeed, some of the worst

atrocities of the late 20th century took place in the countryside.

As primary and secondary school education remains predominantly parochial, there is little

contact between Catholic and Protestant children. The schools became a focal point for attacks,

especially against Catholic children on their way to and from school in North Belfast. Those attacks

attest to the continued deep sectarian divisions that pervade daily life in Northern Ireland.

6. Literature

Best of British Of all the arts, none has contributed more to Britain’s cultural identity than

literature. The last 200 years have been particularly bounteous. The novel, still relatively young as a

literary device, relentlessly breeds great British writers. Scott, Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Orwell,

McEwan: the list is long and rich. Of course, the roots of British literature lie much further back, in a

poetic tradition that reaches from Chaucer through Milton and Burns and on to Motion, with language

and style shaped by different eras. These days, verse has a limited audience, even while a number of

excellent poets continue to publish. Consistently, throughout its journey, British literature has drawn

on wide, exotic influences, from the Scandinavian lore of Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf to the

Caribbean thread of V.S. Naipaul’s 20th century novels.

6.1 What’s the latest for the novel?

British fiction has maintained its variety into the 21st century. Drug culture, ethnicity, science

fiction, fantasy, religion, crime, history: whatever your bag, someone will be writing it and writing it

well. For sheer weight of books sold, no one of late has come close to J.K. Rowling, author of the

Harry Potter series that held children and adults alike rapt until their conclusion in 2007 with Harry

Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Other publishing success stories have burned more slowly; witness

Louis de Bernières’ Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (1993), which showed how ‘literature’ could still

find a wide, popular audience. Any list of great contemporary British writers will also feature (may

even be topped by) Ian McEwan. He describes shocking life-changing incidents before dissecting the

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fallout in eloquent prose. Scottish author Iain Banks has carved a similarly peerless niche with

imaginative, satirical anti-heroes, while countryman Irvine Welsh has waded through Scottish social

murk in the likes of Trainspotting (1993). Zadie Smith (White Teeth (2000) and Monica Ali (Brick

Lane (2003)) both explored multicultural London with brilliant, human stories. Others have poked

around in history for their humanity: Pat Barker (Regeneration Trilogy (1991-95)) and Sebastian

Faulks (Birdsong (1993)) used the First World War, while Sarah Waters plundered a seamy Victorian

London for the crime novel Fingersmith (2002), connecting with a huge readership.

6.2 Five excellent 21st century novels

The Amber Spyglass (2000) Philip Pullman. Pullman’s final instalment of His Dark Materials, the

fantasy trilogy with an enormous popular following.

Atonement (2001) Ian McEwan. A teenage crush kick-starts a contemporary classic spanning seven

decades.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (2004) Mark Haddon. The narrator, a child

with Asperger’s syndrome, investigates a canine homicide.

On Beauty (2005) Zadie Smith. Race, class and infidelity through the eyes of two conflicting

families, written, Smith said, in homage to Forster’s Howards End.

Labyrinth (2005) Kate Mosse. An adventure story that divides its time between modern day and

Middle Ages France.

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XI Chronology of significant dates in British history

800 BC continuing settlement of Celts

55–54 BC Julius Caesar’s exploratory expeditions
AD 43 Roman conquest begins under Claudius
122–38 Hadrian’s Wall built between Scotland and England
409 Roman army withdraws from Britain
410 Anglo-Saxon invasions; Anglo-Saxon kingdoms created
597 St Augustine brings Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons
664 Synod of Whitby chooses Roman Catholic Church model
789–95 Scandinavian raids begin
844 union of the Celts in Scotland
878 Vikings defeated in England by King Alfred
1014 Vikings defeated in Ireland
1066 William the Conqueror defeats King Harold at Hastings and ascends the English throne
1172 Henry II invades Ireland
1215 King John signs Magna Carta, which protects feudal rights against royal abuse
1265 first English Parliamentary Council meets (de Montfort)
1295 the Model Parliament (first regular English Parliament)
1314 battle of Bannockburn ensures Scottish independence
1326 first Scottish Parliament
1337 Hundred Years War between England and France begins
1348–49 Black Death (bubonic plague) destroys a third of England’s population
1362 English replaces French as the official language
1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England
1402 Welsh independence under Owen Glendower for five years
1407 the House of Commons becomes responsible for taxation
1415 the Battle of Agincourt; France defeated
1455–87 Wars of the Roses between Yorkists and Lancastrians
1477 first book to be printed in England, by William Caxton
1534–40 English Reformation; Henry VIII breaks with Papacy and becomes Head of the English
Church
1536–42 Acts of Union integrate England and Wales
1547–53 Protestantism becomes official religion in England under Edward VI
1553–58 Catholic reaction under Mary I

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1558 Calais, England’s last possession in France, lost

1558–1603 Elizabeth I; moderate Protestantism established
1560 establishment of Church of Scotland by John Knox
1564 William Shakespeare born
1584 first English colony (Virginia) in North America
1587 Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, executed in London
1588 defeat of Spanish Armada
1590–1613 plays of Shakespeare written
1600 East India Company founded
1603 union of the two crowns under James VI of Scotland
1607 Plantation of Ulster; Scots and English settle in northern Ireland
1611 the Authorized Version of the Bible issued
1642–51 Civil Wars between King and Parliament
1649 execution of Charles I, monarchy abolished
1653–58 Oliver Cromwell rules as Lord Protector
1660 monarchy restored under Charles II
1666 the Great Fire of London
1679 Habeus Corpus Act passed; party political system grows
1688 Glorious Revolution: accession of William I and Mary
1689 the Declaration of Rights
1690 Irish defeated by William III at the Boyne
1707 Act of Union unites England and Scotland as Great Britain
1721 Walpole becomes Britain’s first Prime Minister
1760s–1830s Industrial Revolution
1761 opening of the Bridgewater Canal begins the Canal Age
1769 the steam engine and the spinning machine invented
1775–83 American War for Independence; loss of thirteen Colonies
1793–1815 Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
1801 Act of Union unites Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom
1805 Battle of Trafalgar
1807 abolition of the slave trade
1815 Napoleon defeated at the battle of Waterloo
1825 opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world’s first passenger railway
1829 Catholic emancipation

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1832 First Reform Act extends the franchise

1838 the People’s Charter and the beginning of official trade unions
1845 disastrous harvest failure in Ireland
1851 first trade unions appear (New Model Unionism)
1868 Trade Union Congress (TUC) established
1870 compulsory elementary education introduced
1871 legal recognition of trade unions
1884 universal male suffrage
1911 political power of the House of Lords restricted
1914–18 First World War
1916 Easter Rising against Britain in Dublin
1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty establishes the Irish Free State; Northern Ireland remains part of the United
Kingdom
1924 the first Labour government
1926 General Strike
1928 universal suffrage for women
1939–45 Second World War
1944 Butler Education Act
1945 United Nations formed
1949 Irish Free State becomes Republic of Eire; NATO created
1952 accession of Elizabeth II
1956 the Suez Crisis
1960 Britain joins EFTA
1973 Britain enters European Community (European Union)
1979 Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first woman Prime Minister
1997 Referendums on devolution for Scotland and Wales
2022 Death of Queen Elizabeth II. Her son, Prince Charles, becomes King Charles III.

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Bibliography

Asimov, Isaac. The Birth of the United States, 1763-1816, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974.

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