Civilization of the British Isles - 2

8/7/2019 Civilization of the British Isles - 2

1/50

Christophe TournuProfesseur, LSHA Universit de Strasbourg, 2011


2/50

Outline of the course

This course will fall into 6 parts:

1 A physical geography of the British Isles,together with some political elements

2 A Short History of Britain

3 The Constitution, the UK Parliament,and the Government

4 A Survey of the British People 5 UK Economy, Welfare and Social Evils

6 British Life and Culture


3/50

Course #7 22 March 2010


4/50

Introduction

Introduction

- 700,000:

Can you imagine -- no, I am sure you cant -- 700,000years ago, the British Isles were not separated from

continental Europe. Shocking! Consequently, they werehome to hippos, elephants, rhinos and hyenas. That isnot a joke. Stone tools discovered in cliffs at Pakefield,

Suffolk, show humans lived in northern Europe some700,000 years ago, according to researchers. That is,humans journeyed into Britain 200,000 years earlier than

experts had suspected. (>>)


5/50

Introduction (ctd.) Source


6/50

Introduction (ctd.)

- 35,000: Modern humans (homo sapiens) arrived

35,000 years ago.

- 500-600: The Celts arrived in Britain in the 6thcentury BC.

1st century BC: The Romans arrived 5th century AD: With the fall of the Roman Empire,

Anglo-Saxons migrated to Britain

8th century AD: Vikings migrated to Britain. In 1066, the Normans conquered England, and, in

subsequent years, there was some migration fromFrance.


7/50

Introduction (ctd.)

In the 19th century, immigration by people outside

Europe began on a small scale as people arrived from theBritish colonies.

This increased during the 20th century.

Yet, in contrast with the US, Britain is not commonlydescribed as a land of immigrants. That does not prevent

us from picturing Britain as a multiculturalsociety.

Let us consider a short history of Britain.


8/50

1. The UK: from the

very beginnings to

the Commonwealth ofBritain


9/50

1. The UK: from the beginnings to the Commonwealth of

Britain

1. 1. From prehistory to the post-2nd world war period

(1960)

1. 1. Earliest Times

Little is known about people inhabiting the British Isles in the pre-

Celtic period (before 800 BC). Some monuments built by them havebeen preserved, e.g. Stonehenge, erected some time before 1000BC.

The first Celtic tribes, the Goidels or Gales, are believed to have

come to the British Isles between 800 and 700 BC. Two centurieslater (i.e. in the course of the 6th century BC), they were followed bythe Brythons or ancient Britons after whom the country was calledBritain.


10/50


Britain

1. 2. Roman Britain (- 1st century 5th century AD)

The first Roman invasion was led by

Julius Caesar in 55 BC. But Britain was not

conquered until some 90 years later, underEmperor Claudius, in 43 AD. Although theRoman occupation of Britain lasted nearly 400 years, its

effects were few. The people did not adopt the Latinlanguage.


11/50


Britain

1. 3. The Anglo-Saxon period (Mid-5th century-11th

century)

In the middle of the 5th century,

three Germanic tribes The Angles,Saxons and Jutes invaded Britain from the

continent. From the 8th century the Anglo-Saxons had to face Scandinavian invaders the

Danes and the Norsemen sometimesreferred to as Vikings.


12/50


Britain

Britain about the year 886,

showing the Danish kingdoms in purple,

Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in orange,

and Celtic kingdoms in green


13/50


Britain

The Scandinavian invasions continued till the 11th

century. The Anglo Saxon period can be characterised asa period of transition from a tribal to a feudalorganisation of society.


14/50


Britain

1. 4. The period of feudalism (1066-15th century)

It started around 1066 and lasted to the 15th century.

- In

1066William the Conqueror, Duke of

Normandy, landed Britain at Hastings.

It was a period of struggle for power between kings andbetween powerful nobles, a period of frequent wars,bloodshed and suffering: for example, there was the

Hundred Years War with France, ending in 1453.


15/50


Britain

In 1215 King John Lacklandagreed to the Magna Carta, adocument limiting kingly power in favour of the nobles. Itis widely viewed as one of the most importantdocuments in the history of democracy.

It was also a period in which the development of the wooltrade and the early decline of feudalism prepared theway for Englands rise as a world power.


16/50


Britain

1. 5. The Tudor period (1485-1603)

The period between 1485 and 1603 is known as the Tudor Period. Itwas a turning point in English history. England became one of theleading powers. The two famous rulers of the House of Tudor wereHenry VIII and Elisabeth I.

Henry VIII wanted to divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon,because she had been unable to give him an heir. The pope opposedhis move, because marriage was held as a sacred institution. HenryVIII had the Act of Supremacy passed (1534), whereby he was made

Head of the Church of England, which allowed the advance ofProtestantism on the island, and not only did he divorce from hiswife, but he had six wives in all, two of whom he had executed foradultery.


17/50


Britain

Elizabeth I, the daughter he had with Anne Boleyn, is

known as the Virgin Queen (1558-1603) because shenever married. She elevated England to the position of a

world power after the English surprisingly

routed the (Catholic) SpanishArmada in 1588. The Elizabethan age producedthe worlds greatest playwright, William Shakespeare.

See below: Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, c. 1585


18/50


Britain

Source


19/50


Britain

1. 6. The century of revolutions (1625-89)

The first 40 years of the 17th century can be characterisedas a period of growing conflict between the King andparliament, representing the interests of the

bourgeoisie. The conflict led to the civil war inthe 1640 which resulted in the beheading

ofKing Charles I after he had been

sentenced to death as a tyrant, murderer,and traitor to his kingdom (30 January

1649; YouTube video >>).


20/50


Britain

Monarchy was also abolished and the

Commonwealth and free State of Englandwas established under the auspices ofOliver

Cromwell. King Charles II was restored in 1660, and the poet and

essayist John Milton was the last Englishman to defend arepublican form of government.

The English revolution was addressed by the French revolutionaries

in 1789 and Miltons Defence of the People of Englandwas translatedfor the occasion as well as his treatise on the freedom of the press.This period ended in the Glorious Revolution which marked the endof the English bourgeoise revolution, when William and Mary ofOrange were called to ascend the English throne.


21/50


Britain

1. 7. Glorious England (1688-1760)

The Bill of Rights (An ActDeclaring the Rights and Liberties of the

Subject and Settling the Succession of theCrown) was passed in 1689.

The period of 1688 to 1760 England definitely took the

lead in European commerce created the conditionsnecessary for the establishment of an empire andprepared the way for the industrial revolution. Voltaire

and Montesquieu were admirers of England.


22/50


Britain

1. 8. The Industrial Revolution (1760-1850)

During the Industrial Revolution (1760 1850), Britainbecame the first industrial power in the world, theworkshop of the world.

The Industrial Revolution was made up of four sets ofchanges: first, the introduction of new technology (cf.The steam engine); second, the use of new mineralsources of energy (coal); third, a concentration of

workers in factories; and fourth, new methods oftransportation (cf. The railways).


23/50


Britain

The Anglo-French rivalry for world domination which had

started in the previous period continued and culminatedin the Napoleonic Wars (1803 1815).


24/50


Britain

1. 9. The Imperial Century (1815-1914)

The Victorian era which comprised the second half of the

19th century, called after Queen Victoria, was aperiod in which Britain became the strongest world

power: besides being the greatest financial andcommercial power, the greatest sea power and thegreatest colonial power. It was the era of the greatest

colonial expansion, especially in Africa.

Between 1815 and 1914, around 10,000,000 square miles(over 25,000,000 km2) of territory and roughly 400million people were added to the British Empire.


25/50


Britain


26/50


Britain

1. 10. The Decline and Rebirth a Nation (20th century)

The 20th century is a period of the decline of Britain as aworld power. Even if Britain emerged as a victor from thetwo world wars, its strength was seriously depleted, and

the Irish Republic withdrew from the Union (1922). The second half witnessed the dismantling of the British

Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern

European nation. Indeed,

Britain joined the EU in1973 (after her bid was rejected twice de Gaulle), but isnot part to the Monetary Union System.


27/50

2. The UK from 1960

to 2010


28/50

2. The UK from 1960 to 2010


29/50


2. 1. The British Empire 1497-1997

It took Britain 450 years to build its Empire, and another50 years to destroy her most precious jewel.

As you can see on the above picture, a tiny little country,

Britain, had managed to build an amazing Empire acrossthe globe. It was said the sun never sets on the BritishEmpire.

The Empire Britain had built since the end of the 16th

century (John Cabot, Newfoundland, 1497) disintegrated

after World War 2.


30/50


After India, which gained its independence in 1947,the wind of change was blowing through the African continent inthe 1960s; by the end of the decade, Nigeria, Sierra Leone,Gambia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia,Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland were all independent or

becoming so. British rule also ended in many parts of Asia, theCaribbean, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. Many otherpossessions of the Crown would follow including the West Indies.

The process of decolonisation was complete when

Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997. PrinceCharles attended the handover ceremony, which, for him, markedthe end of Empire.


31/50


The UK retains sovereigntyover 14 territories outside

the British Isles, which wererenamed the British

overseas territories in 2002.


32/50


The fourteen territories are Anguilla, the British Antarctic Territory, Bermuda, the British IndianOcean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar,Montserrat, St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), the Turks andCaicos Islands, Pitcairn Island, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and the Sovereign BaseAreas on Cyprus.


33/50


The territories of Jersey and Guernsey (collectively

known as the Channel Islands), and the Isle of Man, areCrown Dependencies.

The British overseas territories and Crown Dependencies are distinct

from the Commonwealth ofNations, a voluntary association of countries mostlywith historic links to the British Empire.


34/50


2. 2. The Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization offifty-three independent member states, all but two of which wereformerly part of the British Empire. It celebrated in 60 years ofexistence in 2009.

After the Second World War, many countries sought theirindependence, starting with India. Yet, India, though willing to adopta republican constitution, wanted to remain in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth is not a political entity. The member states

co-operate within a framework of common values and goals asoutlined in the Singapore Declaration, e.g. the promotion ofdemocracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law,individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and

world peace.


35/50


As The Queen declared in a Silver Jubilee speech in 1977, the

Commonwealth symbolises "the transformation of the Crownfrom an emblem of dominion into a symbol of free and voluntaryassociation. In all history this has no precedent."

See promotional video *** >>

Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa (19)to Asia (8), the Americas (2), the Caribbean (12), Europe (3) and theSouth Pacific (10).

There are currently 53 member countries of the Commonwealth.

Theyare working together in the common interests of their citizensfor development, democracy and peace.


36/50


>> The Commonwealth -on the web (with the profile

of each country)

Or p. 12.


37/50


See World interactive map >>

Rwanda became the 54th member of theCommonwealth last year.

Since membership of the Commonwealth is entirely

voluntary, any member can withdraw at any time. The Republic of Ireland did so in 1949, as did Zimbabwe

in 2003.

They can also be suspended as the Fiji Islands from the1 September 2009.


38/50


The role of the Queen

As specified on the website of the British monarchy, the Queen playsan important symbolic and unifying role. As Head, The Queenpersonally reinforces the links by which the Commonwealth joinspeople together from around the world through regular visits,

contacts, and meetings. There are also Commonwealth Day celebrations (second Monday in

March), during which the Queen delivers a personal message.

Finally, she regularly attends the Commonwealth Games whose

purpose is to unite the Commonwealth through sport. New Delhi(India) will host the next Commonwealth Games from 3-14 October2010 (>>).


39/50


NB: There are 15 Commonwealth Realms in addition to

the UK:

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica,

Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Papua NewGuinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St

Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu,Barbados, Grenada, Solomon Islands, St

Lucia and The Bahamas.


40/50


41/50


2. 2. A Chronology of key events since 1960

1961 - UK application to join European EconomicCommunity vetoed by French President Charles deGaulle.

1962 - The Beatles have their first Top 20 hit in the UKwith 'Love Me Do'.

1969 - British troops sent to quell unrest in NorthernIreland.


42/50


1973 - The UK joins the European Economic Community.

Industry is on a three-day week because of strike bypower workers and miners.

1975 - EEC membership is endorsed in a referendum.

North Sea oil begins to be pumped ashore.

Conservatives in power

1979 - The Conservative politician Margaret Thatcherbecomes prime minister. She begins to introduce free-market policies.


43/50


NORTHERN IRELANDIn the shadow of the gunman

1981 - Thatcher government begins programme of privatisation of state-run industries.

1982 - Argentina invades the Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic. The UK dispatches a taskforce, which re-takes them.

1983 - High unemployment, unrest in UK inner cities, continuing violence in Northern Ireland.

Thatcher re-elected.

1984 - The IRA attempts to assassinate Margaret Thatcher in her hotel in Brighton. Several killedand injured by a bomb blast, but the prime minister escapes unhurt.

1987 - Thatcher re-elected with a slightly reduced majority.

1988 - Flight Pan Am 103 explodes in mid-air over Scotland and plunges onto the town ofLockerbie. All 259 people on board as well as a further 11 on the ground are killed.


44/50


1990 - Thatcher resigns as prime minister after she fails to defeat a challenge to her leadership of the Conservative party.John Major becomes prime minister.

1991 - UK takes part in US-led military campaign to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.

1992 - Major re-elected as prime minister. Labour party chooses John Smith as its leader.

1993 - Downing Street declaration on northern Ireland - a peace proposal issued jointly with the Irish government.

1994 - John Smith dies. Tony Blair becomes Labour leader.

1996 - Government announces that BSE, or 'mad cow disease', can be transmitted to humans. Crisis for beef industryfollows, with mass slaughtering of animals, collapse of markets and export bans. Many beef farmers face financial ruin.

Labour landslide

DEVOLUTIONWales and Scotland gained more say over their own affairs

1997 May - Labour under Blair wins landslide election victory.

1997 August - Diana, Princess of Wales, is killed in a car crash in Paris.

1997 September - Referendums in Scotland and Wales back the creation of separate assemblies in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

1998 - Good Friday Agreement on a political settlement for Northern Ireland is approved by voters in the Republic of Irelandand in Northern Ireland.

1999 - UK forces take part in the air war with Yugoslavia and the consequent multinational force in Kosovo.

1999 - Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly inaugurated.


45/50


46/50


47/50


2005 May - Labour Party's Tony Blair wins a third successive term, albeit with a much-

reduced majority in parliament.

London bombings

2005 7 July - 52 people are killed and around 700 are injured in four suicide bomb

attacks on London's transport network. Two weeks later, would-be bombers fail to

detonate four devices on London's transport network.

2005 28 July - Irish Republican Army (IRA) announces a formal end to its armedcampaign.

2005 November - Tony Blair suffers his first House of Commons defeat as prime

minister when MPs vote against increasing from 14 to 90 days the length of time

terror suspects can be held without charge. Instead, they back increasing it to 28

days. 2006 August - Police say they have thwarted an alleged plot to bring down as many as

10 planes travelling from the UK to the US.

LITVINENKO POISONING : The death of former KGB officer-turned-dissident

Alexander Litvinenko in London tested relations between Britain and Russia


48/50


2006 November - Former Russian security service officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, an

outspoken critic of the Kremlin living in exile in London, dies there after being

poisoned by a radioactive substance. 2007 February - Tony Blair announces the first large-scale withdrawal of British troops

from Iraq.

2007 May - Leaders of Northern Ireland Assembly sworn in, ending five years of direct

rule from London.

Pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) becomes the largest party in the

Scottish Parliament following elections.

June 2007- May 2010: Gordon Brown succeeds Tony Blair as premier.

May 2010-present: ToryLib Dem coalition: David Cameron (PM) and Nick Clegg(deputy PM)


49/50


2007 July - Diplomatic row between London and Moscow over Britain's bid for the

extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, an ex-KGB agent accused of Mr Litvinenko's murder.

2008 February - The government nationalises the troubled mortgage lender NorthernRock. Funding problems at the bank in the second half of 2007 triggered the first run

on a British bank in more than a century.

2008 May - Ruling Labour Party suffers its worst local election results in 40 years. In

the contest for Mayor of London it loses to the candidate of the main opposition

Conservative party, Boris Johnson.

2008 July - Church of England votes by 2-1 majority to allow the ordination of women

bishops.

Financial crisis hits

2008 October - The government part-nationalises three leading UK banks with a 37billion pound rescue package. It also pumps billions into the UK financial system after

record stock market falls precipitated by the global "credit crunch".

2008 December - The FTSE 100 ends closes down by 31.3% since the beginning of

2008, the biggest annual fall in the 24 years since the index was started.


50/50

Date post:	08-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	alina-zimmer
View:	226 times
Download:	0 times

Civilization of the British Isles - 2

Documents