Nonconformists. The Whigs were to form a coalition with dissident Tories in the mid-19th century and become the Liberal Party.
The Tories were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Tories were the forerunners of the Conservative Party.
The Industrial Revolution (1780-1830)
Britain was the first country to industrialize because of the following factors:
(1) Favorable geographical location. Britain was well placed geographically to participate in European and world trade;
(2) Political stability. Britain had a peaceful society, which, after the 17th century, was increasingly interested in overseas trade and colonies. International trade brought wealth to merchants and city bankers. They and those who had done well out of new farming methods provided capital in large quantities for industrialization. (3) Good foundation in economy. The limited monarchy which resulted from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 ensured that the powerful economic interests in the community could exert their influence over Government policy.
(4) It was a country in which the main towns were never too far from seaports, or from rivers, which could distribute their products.
(5) Britain had many rivers, which were useful for transport but also for water and steam power. Britain also had useful mineral resources.
(6) British engineers had sound training as craftsmen.
(7) The inventors were respected. They solved practical problems. (8) Probably laissez faire and “Protestant work ethic” helped.。
(9) England, Scotland, and Wales formed a customs union after 1707 and this included Ireland after 1807. So the national market was not hindered by internal customs barriers.
(10) The enclosures and other improvements in agriculture made their contributions by providing food for the rising population, labor for the factories, and some of the raw materials needed by industry.
Consequences of the Industrial Revolution （1） Britain was by 1830 the ―workshop of the world‖;
（2） Towns grew rapidly and became the source of the nation’s wealth.
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（3） Mechanization destroyed the livelihood of those who could not invest in it . The working men worked and lived in an appalling condition.
（4） The industrial revolution created the industrial working class, the proletariat, and it later led to trade unionism.
Queen Victoria and Her Time(1837-1901)
Victoria, who reigned over the British Empire for more than half a century, was another well-known Queen in English history. She mounted the throne in 1837, one year after the memorable 1836 when the dissatisfied English workers started their Chartist Movement and Charles Darwin returned from his travel.
Victoria's time was full of tremendous changes in almost every field. The industrial revolution continued to develop in spite of the social problems that accompanied it. The invention of the locomotive threw Britain into a frenzy of railway construction. Agriculture was further mechanized. Trade and commerce grew apace, driving more peasants, hand spinners and weavers into factories. England was arriving at the age of machinery. Development of productivity broadened men's field of vision and increased their interest in scientific knowledge. In 1859, Darwin published his Origin of Species. His theory greatly shocked clergymen because it contained the suggestion that man descended from monkeys.
Rapid social changes and people's eagerness to gain useful knowledge made it possible for a group of famous writers to appear because a growing number of people were fond of books. Thackeray, Bronte, Dickens, and George Eliot were among the most famous.
Victoria was of high reputation for her contribution to Britain as well as her personality. She set a very severe home discipline for her children who were usually beaten up for dishonesty, mischief and negligence of duty. She was very careful about her behavior in public. In addition, she maintained a harmonious relation with her husband and almost set a standard for domestic virtues. Victoria's achievements were so popular in Britain and her personality was so widely esteemed and imitated by the middle class that the epithet Victorian was later applied to any person or time with the characteristics of decency and morality, self-satisfaction based on wealth, conscious rectitude, unquestioning acceptance of authority and orthodoxy, and great industrial and scientific development.
Her time was called ―the polite society‖ in English history.
Mrs. Thatcher
Thatcherism撒切尔主义referred to the policies put forward by Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime
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minister in England in 1979. The main contents of her policies included the return to private ownership of state-owned industries国有工业私有化, the use of monetarist policies货币主义政策 to control inflation通货膨胀, the weakening of trade unions, the strengthening of the role of market forces in the economy, and an emphasis on law and order强调法律和秩序. To some extent her program was successful and she led one of the most remarkable periods in the British economy.
Why is Tudor Monarchy the new monarchy?
1. The position of the Tudor Monarchy was greatly strengthened and the influence of the newly-born bourgeoisie increased.
2. The change in the balance of strength prepared the base for a centralized government. 3. The monarchy did its best protect and promote the development of trade and industry. 4. The monarchy built a strong navy to protect its foreign trade and expansion.
5. It was also during the Tudor Monarchy that America was discovered and the Renaissance spread to England.
6. The Tudor Monarchy thus served as the transitional stage from feudalism to capitalism in English history.
Roman Britain (55BC-410AD)
1.British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion. In 55BC and 54BC, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britain twice. In AD 43, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. For nearly 400 years, Britain was under the Roman occupation, though it was never a total occupation. 2. Roman’s influence on Britain.
The Roman built many towns, road, baths, temples and buildings. They make good use of Britain’s natural resources. They also brought the new religion, Christianity, to Britain. 3. Reasons for limited Roman influence on Britain.
First, the Romans always treated the Britons as a subject people of slave class. Second, never during the 4 centuries did the Romans and Britons intermarry. Third, the Romans had no impact on the language or culture of ordinary Britons.
King Alfred (849-899) and his contributions
Alfred was a king of Wessex. He defeated the Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them in 879. The
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Danes gained control of the north and east, while he ruled the rest. He also converted some leading Danes into Christians.
He founded a strong fleet and is known as ―the father of the British navy‖. He reorganized the Saxon army, making it more efficient. He translated a Latin book into English. He also established schools and formulated a legal system. All this earns him the title ―Alfred the Great.‖
3. What were the consequences of the Norman Conquest?
The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history. William the Conqueror confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with a strong Norman government.
1. The feudal system was completely established in England.
2 .There was a much stronger control over the country by the Roman-backed Catholic Church..
3. French gradually became the official language, with coexistence of 3 languages: Latin, old English & French.
4. There were numerous contacts between England and France. Contents and the significance of the Great Charter
Great Charter was signed by King John in 1215 under the press of the barons. It consists of sixty-three clauses. Its important provisions are as follows: (1) no tax should be made without the approval of the Grand Council; (2) no freemen should be arrested, imprisoned or deprived of their property; (3) the Church should possess all its rights, together with freedom of elections; (4) London and other towns should retain their traditional rights and privileges, and (5) there should be the same weights and measures throughout the country.
Although The Great Charter has long been popularly regarded as the foundation of English liberties, it was a statement of the feudal and legal relationships between the Crown and the barons, a guarantee of the freedom of the Church and a limitation of the powers of the king. The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of the king, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land.
The origins of the English Parliament
The Great Council is known to be the prototype of the current British Parliament. In 1265, Simon de Montfort summoned the Great Council, together with two knights from each county and two citizens from each town. It
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