UNIT 1 - BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERWIEW OF THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED

KINGDOM

What was the Great Britain territory?

Great Britain was:
 England
 Scotland
 Wales
 Isle of Wight
 Anglesey
 the Isles of Scilly
 the Hebrides
 the island groups of Orkney and
Shetland
It was excluded:
 The Channel Islands:
 Bailiwicks of Jersey and
Guernsey
 Isle of Man

The Isle of Man and the bailiwicks of

Jersey and Guernsey are self-
governing British Crown
dependencies. They are not part of the
United Kingdom nor are they members
of the European Union. The Channel
Islands belonged to the Duchy of
Normandy, they was the only part of
British territory to fall to the Germans
during WWII.
THE UNITED KINGDOM (1921)

This kingdom was formed by England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It refers
to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Before the constitution of the Irish Free State in
1922, the term used was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Act
of Parliament in 1800.

THE SHETLAND ISLANDS

They are located in the northerly parts of Britain. These and the Isle of Man are not
Scottish. The Shetlanders are descendants of Vikings. The Vikings used the Isle of Man
as a base to control the surrounding areas during their invasion in the 7th century.

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Britain was first used by the Romans who got to the island in 55 BC to refer to the
island (England, Wales and Scotland). Ireland was Hibernia.
The Romans also used the term Caledonia to refer to Scotland.
After the Romans left, for a long time, the term Britain was used to refer to the time
before the arrival of the Saxons.

THE IDEA OF GREAT BRITAIN

1603 - Queen Elizabeth I dies. The crowns of England and Scotland united under King
James VI of Scotland (King James I of England).

1707 - Political union is achieved during the reign of Queen Anne, about a hundred
years later.

PERIODS

 Neolithic Britain c12,000BC – c2,750BC

 The Beaker people and the Bronze Age c2,750 BC–750 BC
 Iron Age and La Tène culture c750BC–43AD
 Roman Britain 43AD–410
 Anglo–Saxon invasion/settlement (449–550)
 Anglo–Saxon Kingdoms (550–924)
 Anglo–Saxon England united (924– 1066)
 Danish rule (1016–1042) The Vikings
 Norman period (1066–1154)
 The Plantagenets (1154–1399)
 Conquest of Ireland begins 1155
 Scottish Wars of Independence 1296- 1357
 Hundred Years War with France 1337–1453
 Wars of the Roses 1455–1485
 Tudor period 1485–1603
 English Reformation begins 1532
 Union Crowns - England and Scotland  King James 1603
 Expansion into America begins 1620
 Civil Wars and Revolution 1642–1660
 Revolution Settlement 1688–9
 Union of England and Scotland  basis of modern British state (1707)

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  Changes in agriculture begin 1730s
 Beginnings of industrialization 1770s–1780s
 Wars in America and with France help to unify British state 1770s–1815
 Victorian Age 1837–1901
 Imperial expansion in Africa 1880s–1890s
 Great War 1914–1918
 Second World War 1939–1945
 Height of industrial unrest 1960s–1980s
 Britain within the European Union 1970s– to present day

LAND OF INMIGRANTS

The arrivals who survived go back to 15,000 years ago with evidence of settlers in:
Nottinghamshire - cave with figures of birds and animals carved 13,000 years ago (stag,
bear, deer, bison)

Norfolk 78 flint artefacts discovered dating back to thousands of years ago (village of
Happisburgh)

Devon area other evidence uncovered.

Cheddar Gorge 1995 – male body discovered in cave (dating back to 9,000 years ago. It
closely matched those of residents still living in the area.

The first peoples arrived in waves from Southern Europe  At least 9 groups identified
arriving from southern Europe  They took advantage of the interglacial periods to
move.

With the melting of the ice -8,000 years ago  North Sea covers the marches and plains
 People now arrive in wooden boats. (Not the Anglo-Saxons).

29,000 years ago Body of man who appeared to be a kind of chieftain was buried. His
burial raiment indicated existence of social hierarchy. The discovery was made in the
Gower peninsula (south Wales).

How did people live?

The early English were hunter-gatherers, they used dogs for hunting and they were
nomadic, well-defined boundaries.

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The transition to hunting from farming was gradual not a revolution. The moors of
northern and southwestern England and the heaths of East Anglia were created partly by
human activity. Open ground provided wheat and barley harvests. Pigs, cattle, sheep
and goats were also reared however sheep were not original to English; they were
brought over in ships.

There were many differences between the English regions 8,000 years ago. There are a
lot of evidences:

 There were five separate categories of flint tools.

 Differences in dialect and accent might also have existed.
 Custom was key
 Flint tools replaced by sickles and axes.
 Pottery also introduced.
 New forms of communal rituals also emerged.

During the Neolithic period (4700BC to 2000BC) the population trebled to about
300,000. Consequence  Intensification of land cultivation takes place. To cater for
this increase.

By 3000BC fields had taken the shape of rectangles with fences and ditches. Evidence
of fences found beneath prehistoric burial mounds. Presence of barrows on the land
indicates a settled society.

In Cornwall, evidence of an enclosure with a stone wall and remains of houses for about
200 people built before 3000BC point to the beginnings of the English village in the
Neolithic period. The English were a prehistoric island people. Not Anglo-saxon nor
Celtic.

There was evidence of roads and trackways from settlement to settlement. A

communication network was built to transport items such as: axe-blades for farming or
house building, pottery, leather goods. Many roads referred to as Roman roads were
made before Roman times. The Romans who arrived on the island later, took advantage
of the prehistoric paths. Modern roads have been built along the ancient routes. Some
examples of some of these communication paths are:

 The Icknield Way – Buckingham shire to Norfolk.

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  The Pilgrims Way - Canterbury and Winchester
 The Jurassic Way Oxfordshire (Banbury) to Linconshire (Stamford) About 88
miles

By 100BC Rome began to look at England with its tribal kingdoms because it
considered it a source of wealth and trade. There were about 15 large tribes in England.
Some of which are:

 The Dumnonii – south west peninsula

 The Durotriges –Dorset
 The Cantii – Kent (with 4 separate kingdoms)
 Icenii – Norfolk
 The Brigantes controlled the smaller tribes of the northern stretch from the Irish
Sea to the North Sea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw PVk72GLfY (entire history of British Isles)

 The Roman Era

The population of England grew increasingly with the arrival of settlements: from
approx. 2 million in late Bronze Age to 3 million by end of Roman era:

 55BC Julius Ceaser invades but a storm destroys his ships, and and retreats to
Rome with hostages. 54BC He returns to the island with 800 ships, 25,000
infantry and 5,000 cavalry. The Romans win after the islanders surrender and
take prisoners back to Rome. For 90 years no further invasion.

 In 43AD 20,000 men landed in two separate locations to forestall any

counterattack. The battle of Medway took place after the tribes rally round but
they were defeated. Emperor Claudius arrived two months later and returned
triumphant to Rome after 11 kings surrender.

 The conquest had begun in earnest. Colchester (Camulodunum) was the first
Roman capital, where a great fort was built. They advanced to the North and the
West.

 As they advanced along the existing paths they built forts because they ensure
their dominion over the island’s tribes.

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  The conquest was not smooth. Tribes fighting each other. Banding together
sometimes as happened in the case of Boadicea, wife of the king of Icenii.

 Her husband’s death caused the Romans to attempt to cheat her daughters out of
their inheritance. She drums up support from other tribes to fight the Romans by
descending on Colchester in 47AD. The city of Colchester was destroyed by
fire, there was looting. She pushed onwards to London, which was also burnt
down.

 By 49AD Roman soldiers are overseeing mining in Somerset. The Romans

governed England for over 300 years. Centuries after the Romans, the Germanic
tribes would arrive to push the Celtic people into Wales, Cornwall and Scotland.

LANGUAGES SPOKEN? MARTY MCFLY

Old English was spoken from 5 th to the 12th centuries. It derived from the West
German dialects brought by the invaders. It existed alongside Latin and celtic languages
were displaced

During the 17th century large numbers of Protestants took shelter in England because of
its size and stability. French Huguenots fleeing Louis XIV came to London. The Dutch
started during the long war of independence from Spain. More Dutch arrived when
William of Orange ousted James II in 1688.

Much later, Norman French would be the language of Court and government while Old
English would be relegated to monastic contexts. There were various dialects of Old
English due to the division of the country.

The lines of Monarchs were from all over:

 The Normans were French

 the Platagenets were French
 the Tudors were Welsh
 the Stuarts were Scots
 the Hanoverians were Germans

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These are all the kings of England from 1154 to 1485. The first Plantagenet king was
Henry II and the last was Richard III. The name came originally from Geoffrey, Count
of Anjou in France (1113-51), who was the father of Henry II.

These are the kings and queens of Scotland from 1371 to 1714. When Elizabeth I of
England died without any children in 1603, James VI of Scotland became James I of
England. The Stuarts continued to be kings and queens of England and Scotland until
1714, when the Act of Settlement made the House of Hanover the British Royal family.

The British royal family between 1714, when George Louis, the leader of the German
state of Hanover, became the king of Britain, and 1901, when Queen Victoria died.
George became the king because there was no heir to Queen Anne, and the leaders of
Hanover were related to King James I through his granddaughter Sophia.

ORIGINS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom arose out of conquest, immigration and Acts of Union. It can be
likened to a kind of melting pot: The Angles and the Saxons arrived in South East
Britain when they ousted the Romans and set up their separate kingdoms. The Welsh
are descended from the Ancient Britons. The Vikings invaded the island. Upon arrival
of the Vikings, the English began to unite under one king.

The Normans land in the 11th century led by William of Normandy and conquer the
Anglo-Saxons after winning the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The ordinary people were the Saxons while the nobles were all French (initially they
were Normans to start with and later they came from different parts).

England played an important role in giving rise to the UK because of its size within the
island and proximity to the continent. It had been part of the Roman Empire.
Consequently a strong sense of unity arose during the Viking invas

Ireland and the Scots were a problem for the English because they often aligned
themselves with the French.

In 1707 the Act of Union was agreed upon with the Scots and they benefited from
England’s Industrial Revolution. Origins of the United Kingdom

In 1801 direct rule was imposed in Ireland by the English as a security measure.

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For most of the 19th and 20th centuries the English took their commanding position as
granted. The rest were considered the Celtic Fringe but by the 1990s the Celtic Fringe
had their own parliaments and assemblies once again.

- SCOTLAND

The Scots = collection of different tribes. The Scottish king Kenneth MacAlpin united
the Britons, Picts and Scots under Scot-land. Until mid-16th Century the Scots
maintained an anti-English alliance with the French known as the Auld Alliance.

With the Protestant reformation in the 16th century, the Scottish Protestants sought
support from Tudor England for support against the Catholics of the Scottish Highlands
and against Mary Queen of Scots, (a staunch Catholic).

Scotland King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne when Elizabeth I died
without producing an heir in 1603. This resulted in The Union of the Crowns followed
in 1707 by Act of the Union. Scotland played an active role in the British Empire. A lot
of Scottish missionaries, doctors, soldiers and administrators were actively involved. In
1999 The Scots regained their parliament.

- WALES

The conquest of Wales was begun by the Normans and parts of Wales were ruled by
Norman Lords. It was eventually conquered by King Edward I who built massive
castles all over. Welsh independence was lost when the Tudors (of Welsh origin) came
to power. Henry Tudor landed at Milford Haven and challenged the king (King Richard
III) to become King Henry VII and his son Henry VIII got Parliament to pass an Act of
Union making Wales a province of England. The situation changed in 1999 when PM
Blair set up a Welsh Assembly.

- IRELAND

Ireland’s fall came about due to her great Christian heritage. Pope Adrian IV, an English
pope, gave Henry II permission to go to Ireland in order to include the Irish church
under the Roman Church. Anglo-Norman knights crossed the Irish Sea to claim Ireland
for the English crown.

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In the 16th century, the time of the Reformation, the Anglo-Norman knights adopted the
new Protestant religion but the Celtic Irish stayed Catholic. Queen Elizabeth and her
ministers found a solution by planting Scottish Protestants in Ireland. The Catholic
province of Ulster became the most fiercely Protestant and loyal area.

After the 17th century, new laws were enforced to take away the civil rights of the
Catholics and this resulted in poverty for the Irish throughout many generations. There
were extremes when it came to poverty and wealth.

Naturally the Irish considered this difference to be unfair and argued for Catholic
Emancipation and the right to vote but when it arrived the British had shut down
Ireland’s Parliament and were governing Ireland from London.

In the 1840s, Ireland experienced a terrible famine because of the potato crop failure.
Some of the Irish emigrated to other parts of the world and those who stayed behind
campaigned for self government or Home Rule while the Fenians took to bombings and
shootings.

In 1922, British agree to grant Ireland independence. The Ulster Protestants voted to
stay in the UK and to date part of Ulster remains part of the UK. This division brought
about violence of the 1960s. Bid: to achieve a united Ireland or to resist the union of
Ireland.

MAIN HISTORICAL PERIODS

- Vikings and Anglo Saxon Period  410 – 1066 (The Battle of Hastings)
- The Norman Period  1066 - 1154
- Middle Ages  1154 - 1485
- Tudors  1485 - 1603
- Civil War and the Revolution  1603-1714
- Sea Power and Empire  1714 – 1837
- Victorian Britain  1837 - 1901
- World Wars  1901- 1945
- Modern times  1945 - Present-day

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 UNIT 2 - THE ANGLO-SAXONS (410 -1066)

THE TERM (8th CENTURY)

According to Wilhelm Levison Anglo-Saxon refers to settlers from: Angeln and Saxony
regions.

The 8th century’s term Anglo-Saxon distinguishes People in Britain and Saxons.

'Angli' or 'English' is used by Anglo-Saxon people to refer to themselves. By the 9th

century the concept of an English people is used commonly to refer to all people of
Germanic origin in Britain.

Around 400, the majority of the islands inhabitants located south of Hadrian’s Wall
could be divided into 2 ethnic groups: Iron Age and Romano-British.

The people with Iron Age ancestry were on the island before the 43 AD invasion. They
were the majority. Mixed Roman-British ancestry was a smaller group. The outcome of
intermariages. This was the ruling class.2

What language in use?  Many spoke and wrote Latin and any of the other languages
of the Roman “provinces” (Syria, Italy, Iberia, Gaul)

ROMAN BRITAIN UNDER ATTACK

Before the Anglo-saxons arrived the Romans were in control of the island.

Attack on Roman Britain:

The Celts were living in the regions of Wales and Pictland (Scotland) In the 360s the
Romans’ territory begins to come under attack. They were attacked to the West by the
Scotti (inhabitants of Ireland or the Irish), to the North by the Picts (Inhabitants of
Scotland) and to the East by the Saxons (across the North Sea).

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From the East, across the North Sea, the Saxons arrived from what is present-day north
Germany and Denmark.

The Saxons were comprised of Jutes, Angles and Saxons

INVASION

What tactics did the Romans adopt? What decisions were made?  410 Honorius
informs the local Romano-British population and the civitates about having to defend
their territory against the ‘barbarian’ attacks. The Romano-Britons are left with no
option but to defend themselves. A leader such as Ambrosianus Aurellianus
successfully repels the Saxons at Mount Badon according to Gildas, kept the Angles and
the Saxons at bay for about 44 years.

The legend of Arthur and his knights appears to arise from this period (5th century).
Apart from local oral tradition, before the ninthcentury manuscripts Historia Britonnum
appeared there is no written record regarding Arthur. In the mid- twelfth century,
Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Welsh writer, wrote about Arthur and his exploits in History
of the Kings of Britain, in Latin.

HISTORICAL SOURCES OF THIS ERA

The newcomers who invaded the territory and set up settlements were illiterate. They
did not leave any written records of the early years behind.

Written records:

- Gildas, a monk who wrote De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (Concerning the

Overthrow and Conquest of Britain) around 540.
A monk, his origins are unclear but he is believed to have lived in the 6th
century. De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. Not a strictly historical record, it
deals with the incursion of barbaric Germanic tribes into the cultured Christian
Britain Gildas remembered. He laments how Christian Britain had been overrun
by the "barbaric" Germanic tribes and their pagan ways.
His writings can be considered to be one of the few sources of early British
history as some information regarding that era can be gleaned from Excidio.

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 - Bede, also a monk, wrote the Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
Bede’s work in the 8th century refers to Gildas as being a source of historical
information regarding the 5th and 6th centuries. Bede grew up in a monastery in
Jarrow on Tyneside. The Ecclesiastical History of the English People  a major
source of the history of Britain from late sixth century to the early eighth
century, it provides valuable details regarding the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
About 3 years before dying in AD 735, at the age of 65, he completed his
account.
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, a series of annals, would appear later and follow
events from 494 to 1154.

Archaeological discoveries:

Burial sites which have been unearthed have shed light on some aspects of how the
Anglo-Saxons lived. An example of such a site was discovered at Sutton Hoo in 1939,
where a 90- foot oak ship containing valuable objects and artefacts had been buried with
a Saxon king. The ship burial found in Mound One in Sutton Hoo is the richest burial
ever found in northern Europe. It appears the person buried there could be King
Raedwald, of East Anglia. There is another ship burial at Sutton Hoo. The objects found
in the large ship are on display at the British Museum.

SETTLEMENT AND ANGLO-SAXONS KINGDOMS

How did the settlers go about setting up house?  Those who shared similar customs
and language eventually distributed themselves over the country in separate sections.

Bede distinguished between:

- Angles in East Anglia, Mercia and

Northumbria (Kingdoms of Bernicia
and Deira).

- Saxons settled in the southern parts

of Britain (Essex, Wessex, Sussex).

- Jutes in Kent and the Isle of Wight

(kingdom of Wihtwara).

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 By the 500s many of the settlements had been established. Socially, the strongest
bonds were those of kinship and lordship. The distribution led to the formation of
separate kingdoms and to the figure of the Anglo-Saxon chief or leader. The concept
of king would surface much later on to form the basis of English kingship.

Some of the Anglo-Saxons kings most important:

- Offa (757 -796)

- Alfred 'The Great' (871-899)
- Edred (946-55)
- Ethelred II 'The Unready' (979-1013 and 1014-1016)
- Canute 'The Great' (1016-1035)
- Edward III 'The Confessor' (1042-1066)

THE CHURCH AND MISSIONARIES

Religion was a very important force in society. The settlers brought their own customs
and pagan ways. Their gods were Tiw, Woden and Thor. Britons retained their faith.
The Celtic Church and the Roman Church existed.

Missionary work and conversion was carried out on two fronts:

1. The Irish Celtic tradition northwards. (Wales and Ireland) where the monks were
more interested in monasteries and in personal spiritual advancement.

2. The British Roman Church tradition in the south which was more about bishops and
power

From the 5th century the Christian church was an establishment and it survived in the
parts of Roman Britain which had not been overrun by the invaders. The missionary
figures of St Ninian (Scotland) to convert the Picts. Irish monks played an important
role in the Anglo-Saxon times. St Patrick (Ireland) is considered to be the first
missionary in Ireland in the 5th century.

Important missionary sites:

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 - IONA. An Irish missionary, Columba belonging to the Celtic tradition, went to
the land of the Picts. He set up a missionary on the island of Iona and used it as a
base for his missionary work in Britain.

- CANTERBURY. Pope Gregory sent Augustine to Britain. Ensure that the

British Roman Church was following the norms laid down by Rome. Augustine
accompanied by a group of 40 monks and under orders from Rome (Pope
Gregory) went to England and founding of churches in London and York.

- Boniface, a West Saxon missionary Reorganises the church in central Germany

and Bavaria and leads the reform of the Frankish church.

- The Anglo-Saxon kings began to accept the new faith. In 597 St. Augustine’s
mission to King of Kent (Jutes)  Aethelbert becomes the first Anglo-Saxon
king to convert to Christianity. In 597 AD Æthelberht, was the most powerful
king in the south east and his wife was also Christian. Æthelberht gave
Augustine land in Canterbury to build a church (a centre for English
Christianity).

- In 627 AD Paulinus, who was an Augustine’s monk, converts Edwin (king of

Northumbria) (Angles) to the Roman version of Christianity, in York.

- Lindisfarne (the Holy Island). Oswald of Northumbria, who had been baptized
into the Irish tradition, requested for a monk from Iona (Celtic church) to re-
found the Northumbrian church. Aidan was sent to him and in 635 Oswald gave
him the island of Lindisfarne to set up his bishopric.

THE VIKINGS INVADE

Eighth century England had managed to achieve a state of prosperity but things changed
with the arrival of the Vikings. From the 800s onwards the Anglo-Saxons were plagued
by Viking raiders who landed on their shores from Scandinavia wreaking havoc.

The Vikings took over the strategically placed Isle of Man and used it to control the
surrounding areas. The Viking parliament Tynwald, the world’s oldest parliament, is
still in existence and functioning on the Isle of Man.

In 867 the Vikings capture York and set up kingdom in the southern part of
Northumbria. The Vikings also conquered East Anglia and Mercia (Angles). The

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Anglo-Saxons did their best to fight off the enemy for the best part of 200 years. King
Offa of England and Charlemagne of France tried to keep the channel free of the
Vikings.

Alfred the Great of Wessex was one of the kings who succeeded in standing up to them
making Wessex the only kingdom which survived the Viking invasions. In 954 England
is united under one king - Edred. King Ethelred the Unready had to pay the Vikings to
leave him in peace.

- King Offa of Mercia (757-796) (Angles):

He was the first leader to be referred to as ‘king of the English’. He was powerful and
by marrying off his daughters to the kings of Wessex and Northumbria he secured his
position. In 825 the Mercian are defeated in battle and Wessex becomes the dominant
power. The English penny was introduced during his reign.

During his reign he built Offa’s Dyke, a 149-mile long ditch along the kingdoms of
Mercia and the Welsh areas.

- Alfred the Great (871 -899) (Saxon):

The only king among all the English monarchs to have the term 'the Great' associated
with his name He was a scholar, soldier and visionary. In 871 he became king on his
brother’s death. He defended his kingdom against a stronger enemy first by paying them
protection money while he planned his definitive strategy. In 878 Alfred defeats the
Danes led by King Guthrum at the battle of Edington.

With the Treaty of Wedmore Alfred comes to an agreement for peace with King
Guthrum, who is converted to Christianity with Alfred playing the role of godfather. In
886 expands his control to West Mercia and Kent. He brought about reforms in the
reconstruction of Wessex.

Alfred organised his retinue of thegns (followers) in such a way that while some of
them could tend to their farms he, at the same time, had men ready to respond to any
threats. He realized that military success and economic prosperity were interdependent.
He set up a proper English navy and with a new design of fast ships he could fight the
Vikings more effectively at sea.

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The unification of Anglo-Saxon England started in Wessex. A network of burhs
(fortresses) was a feature of Alfred’s reign in Wessex and Mercia. Settlers were given
plots of land and in exchange they had to be ready to take up positions in the burhs
should fighting be imminent.

Alfred was religious and interested in the advance of: learning and education. He is said
to have learnt Latin in his late thirties. Translation of works from Latin into Anglo-
Saxon were commissioned by Alfred in his bid to promote learning as fewer and fewer
people spoke Latin. Learning centres were established under his mandate. In his
household he had a school set up for the sons of the nobles.

The commissioning of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (or Chronicles): a year by year

account of English history from Roman times (about 494 to 1154). Legal codes were
drawn up by Alfred in which the rights of the people were stated. These referred to
matters of taxes and rent to be paid.

ASPECTS OF ANGLO- SAXON LIFE

The early Anglo-Saxons were non-urban people. Their buildings, in contrast to the
stone Roman ones, were made of wood. The King was surrounded by his retinue of
‘thegns’ (followers) who accompanied their lord wherever he went and lived in his hall
and fought and died for him if necessary.

- The hearth-hall: The Lord provided his retinue of warriors with accommodation
in his hearth-hall. The lord would receive farm produce from his tenants and that
would be used to feed the thegns. In exchange for the services paid him, the
Lord had to provide his people with security.

Anglo-Saxon Lord  Thegns  Warriors Tenants  Labourers

- Beowulf: The manuscript was written between 990s and 1050s. The author is
unknown but probably was a Christian poet. It is a pagan epic poem and
Europe’s oldest in any Germanic language. It sets in southern Scandinavia; it
recounts the story of ancestral heroes and kings of the Geats, Danes and the
Swedes. Beowulf would become king of the Geats.

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Land was the currency of the times as such was very important. The Anglo-Saxon lord
rewarded his thegns (followers) with plots of land. These in turn, had beneath them
other warriors in their service who they would also reward with land. These warriors
would also have tenants who would pay money to farm the land to make a living. The
tenant farmers had labourers working the land.

Successful outcomes of wars  expansion and the acquisition of more land 

distribution to loyal followers

As a consequence, this resulted in the retinue acting in a fearless manner in battle and
serving their lord in the best way they could as this would bring rewards at the end of
the day.

High level of organised administration: In the 10th century, the English counties were
divided into shires and hundreds for legal and administrative purposes. Everything

could be and was controlled by the King who levied taxes on the owners. The shires
were managed by a group royally appointed shire reeves (later sheriffs) and the
hundreds fell to the responsibility of individual reeves. The taxes were collected in coin
from the burhs.

LEGACY OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS

Structure of local government and law: the roots of the middle Ages institutions which
made England strong can be traced back to the 7th century or even earlier. The
administrative efficiency of local government explained why new over-lords were able
to establish power quickly.

Modern day county boundaries seem to follow the line of the Anglo- Saxon shire
boundaries while some County Courts can be found on the Hundred Court from the
Anglo-Saxon age.

Wooden dwellings the Anglo-Saxons erected in their new land. Most of the stone
churches still remaining show evidence of the original Anglo-Saxon structure despite
having undergone modification over the subsequent periods which followed. (Norman,
Tudor, Victorian).

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 - Monasteries: The eighth century produced very learned monks like Bede who is
considered to be the greatest scholar in Europe in the early eighth century.

- Cædmon, a poet from Northumbria, was referred to by Bede, as the first known
person to compose Christian poetry in English.

- Alcuin of York: Scholar and Latin poet from Northumbria. He wrote poems,
educational works and theological material. Most of his writing was on the
continent. Charlemagne (king of the Franks) requested he lead the educational
revival on the continent in 782 AD.

- Ruthwell Cross: The Dream of the Rood. One of the earliest poems in Old
English, which portrays Christ like a hero going into battle. The Ruthwell Cross
was carved by skilled Northumbrian sculptors in the early 8th century. It is the
most important Anglo-Saxon cross in Scotland and a monument of international
importance. It is more than 18 feet high.

- The 'Lindisfarne Gospels'. Christian and secular artistic traditions of the eighth
century are brought together. It is the most spectacular manuscript to survive
from Anglo-Saxon England. It is a copy of the four Gospels, the biblical books
recounting the life of Christ.

END OF ANGLO-SAXON ERA

In 1035 King Cnut dies and Edward the Confessor dies with no offspring. Thus,
Harold Godwinson becomes king. However, William of Normandy wins the battle of
Hastings in 1066.  It leads to the end of the Anglo-Saxon era and the beginning of the
Norman Conquest.

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 UNIT 3 – THE NORMANS (1066-1154)

END OF THE ANGLO-SAXON ERA

Cnut (1035)  Edward the Confessor  Harold Godwinson  William of

Normandy  Battle of Hastings

THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS

The Battle of Hastings won by William of Normandy brought Anglo-Saxon rule to an

end and put William on the throne. It was fought between William of Normandy and his
army from France (called the Normans), and King Harold II and his English army.
The English were known as the Anglo-Saxons back then. William won and Harold lost.

William of Normandy believed he should have been made king when King Edward
"the Confessor" died. Edward was his distant cousin and William said he'd promised
him the throne. However, a man called Harold Godwinson (Edward’s brother-in law)
was crowned King of England in January 1066. William was furious. At the end of
September 1066, he sailed over to England from France with around 700 ships and a
very large army. When King Harold II learned about this, he marched with his army
straight down to Sussex to meet the invaders. On Saturday 14th October 1066, they met
at a place called Senlac Hill near Hastings to fight each other. The battle lasted all day
and thousands of men were killed and injured. The army from France were much better-
trained than the English, and had better weapons and horses. The English army were
tired from the journey and also because they had recently had a battle with a Norwegian
army, whose leader wanted Harold's crown too (Harald Hardrada). Eventually, King
Harold II was killed. It is thought he was struck in the eye with an arrow, although
historians are still arguing over whether this is actually true.

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MAIN PROTAGONISTS:

 EMMA. She is the daughter of Duke Richard I of Normandy (“The Fearless”)

and sister of Duke Richard II of Normandy (“the Good”). She marries Æthelred
(‘the Unready’), king of England. The dynasties of Anglo-Saxons and Normans
are linked.
 CNUT. He is the King of Denmark and England (1016 -35) (he won the
throne after the Vikings invaded) took over England at a time when King
Aethelred (968 – 23 April 1016) was having problems. Cnut had help from
Eadric of Mercia, who Cnut brutally murdered alongside most of Aethelred's
family members. Aethelred’s sons, Edward (“The Confessor”) and Alfred,
fled with their mother to their uncle Duke Richard II in Normandy, where
Edward remained exiled for about 30 years. In this time is when Edward the
Confessor and William met and became friends.

Cnut established laws and founded monasteries in a bid to establish a civilized

kingship and not to be seen as a ‘wild’ Dane. In 1017 he divided the kingdom
into 4 earldoms: Northumbria (Danish earl), East Anglia (Danish Earl),
Mercia (Earl Leofric) and Wessex (Earl Godwine).

After the death of King Aethelred, he would later marry Emma to stop the Duke
of Normandy from taking any unwanted action in defence of Edward. Emma
became queen and the duke was forced to recognize Cnut as King of England.
The Godwine and Leofric Earls helped Cnut to rule in England.

 HAROLD GODWINSON. The son of Godwine. He became the Earl of

Wessex. He was also Edward’s brother-in-law (Edith) of and so considered
himself in a strong position to fight for the throne even though William insisted
that Harold had promised to deliver the crown up to him whenever Edward died.
 TOSTIG. Brother of Harold and ex-Earl of Northumbria. Deposed by the
Northumbrians in favour of Morcar, Tostig fled to Norway, where he plotted
revenge against his brother Harold (with Harald Hardrada).
 EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. Son of Emma and Aethelred. Later, king of
England, he married Harold Godwinson’s sister, Edith. However, he did not

20
 have any children with Edith who he despised and apparently the marriage was
never consummated.
 EDGAR THE AETHELING. Legitimate heir to the throne but was considered
too young to take over upon Edward’s death.
 EDWIN AND MORCAR. The grandsons of Earl Leofric. They backed Harold
Godwinson against his brother Tostig.
 WILLIAM OF NORMANDY. Illegitimate son of Duke of Normandy, Robert I
(son of Edward’s uncle Richard II).  Edward and William were cousins. On
the other hand, he has two half-brothers (other father) and he helped them to
acquire power  Odo (Bishop of Bayeux) and Robert (Count of Mortain).
 HARALD HARDRADA. King of Norway. Tostig asked his help in 1066 to
invade Northumbria. Harald and Tostig are defeated and die at Stamford
Bridge. This reason probably resulted in the success of William's invasion at
Hastings because the Harold’s army were devastated owing to this battle.

PRECEDENTS OF BATTLE OF HASTINGS AND NORMAN CONQUEST

In 1042, Edward returned to England as Edward the Confessor to take his rightful
place on the throne as his half-brother Harthnacnut had died without heirs and he
proceeded to strategically place his French friends in influential positions.

In 1051 Duke William of Normandy came to England to visit his second cousin. His
rule is firmly established in Normandy and he had married Matilda of Flanders.
Chroniclers claim that Edward promises William the English succession during this
visit.

In 1053 Godwine died  Harold Godwinson (Earl of Wessex). Shortly after, Harold’s
brother Tostig, Earl of Northumbria began to have problems with his thegns. Harold
supported Tostig’s to go into exile. Harold handed the earldom over to Morcar
(Leofric’s son). Tostig out of revenge got the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada, to
invade England (Northumbria) and occupy York but Harold managed to defeat him at
the Battle of Stamford Bridge in York in September 1066. Harald and Tostig both
died at Stamford.

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Edward died on January 1066, upon which Harold Godwinson was elected as king
over the rightful heir, Edgar the Aethling, who was only ten years old. Harold
Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was crowned King of England on January 6th 1066.

In the same year William comes to England, to claim the crown. After battle against
Harald Hardrada and Tostig, King Harold’s army was tired from the Stamford battle
and Harold Godwinson dies during the Battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066.
William is crowned king at Westminster Abbey in December 1066.

THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY

About 20 inches high (50 cm tall) and 230 feet long (70 m long), it depicts the invasion
of England by William the Conqueror in pictures embroidered in panels. The Tapestry
is on exhibit on in Bayeux, France. It is one of the sources of information regarding life
in Norman. It may have been ordered by William's half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux.

Harold's Death. One of the most famous scenes in the Bayeux Tapestry supposedly
shows the death of Harold at the Battle of Hastings. One of the Saxons appears to
receive an arrow in or above the right eye.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

William the Conqueror can be described as an innovator in government. He established

a strong centralized administration made up of his Norman supporters in order to avoid
any problems from the newly conquered English. He managed to keep the south and
east under control without much trouble but the north put up resistance. A country of 2 -
3 million natives found themselves being controlled by approximately 10,000 Normans.
He got it by using a brute power and terror.

1º Rebellion  In the first few years, William’s reign was constantly plagued by
English rebellion owing to the violent Norman repression. There was not clear
leadership after Hastings Battle. However, the revolts were stopped quickly.

In the summer of 1068 there were more powerful resistance in favour William. Edwin
and Morcar, Earls of Mercia and Northumbria since 1066, had little real power and
William had given parts of their earldoms to his supporters.

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2º Rebellion (autumn 1069-70) there is a fresh revolt sparked by a Danish invasion.
William won the rebellion in the north with the terrible "Harrying of the North". As a
consequence, the land from York to Durham was burnt and destroyed leaving much of
the area depopulated for centuries. The people in the North killed several of William’s
soldiers so William orders his soldiers to kill all the men in Yorkshire and Durham. As a
result, the William’s soldiers burn the crops and animals. There was hunger, starvation
and even cannibalism. The soldiers cover the land with salt and no crops would grow
for years. The soldiers burn down the buildings and there was not shelter for the people
so many people die from the extreme cold (exposure).

The Church. William replaced the Anglo-Saxon churchmen with Norman’s men. The
Norman Archbishop of Canterbury, Lanfranc, ordered the founding of new monasteries.
The church and justice were separated. The bishops had their own courts and this led to
the independent evolution of common law. William named the bishops and thus the
churchmen who were generally the only educated members of society became his major
administrators.

Castles. One of the ways William guaranteed his power and his new kingdom was to
build castles everywhere (24 km long each other  the most distance that one man can
ride in one day). The castles were initially built quickly with wood, and much later on
replaced with stone. Most were built with forced local labour on land confiscated from
English rebels. Several castles erected in stone during Norman reign in major English
towns: Warwick, Nottingham, York Castle, Lincoln, Huntingdon, Cambridge or
Clifford’s Tower.

Those castles were seen by the English as oppressive due to dominance of the
landscape: thick walls and tiny windows. They served as fortresses, courthouses,
barracks and prisons as well. They were a painful reminder of the invaders’ presence.

The castles were given to Norman barons to hold for the king. In theory every inch of
English land belonged to the crown and William's vassals had to promise loyalty
directly to the crown. Therefore, direct loyalty to the nation. This is in contrast with the
earlier Saxon practice where each man promises loyalty to the person of his lord.

The Domesday Book. William is remembered also for the Domesday Book. It was the
first national census. A royal survey of all England for administrative and tax purposes.

23
The threat of Danish invasion constantly intimidated. Therefore, William decides to survey his
kingdom assessing its wealth and settling landownership arguments. Originally, it was
referred to as the King’s Book. It was commissioned by William at Christmas 1085 and
was completed a year later. The speed indicates that it was based on an existing
administrative system.

The book was compiled in 1085-1086, about 20 years after his conquest. It was similar
to a land and ownership census and is highly detailed in matters regarding land and
possessions of all the people in the country. It was used for legal and administrative
purposes. The 913 pages provided detailed information on many parts of England and
Wales. This survey was referred to as the Domesday Book by the English, as the
information recorded in it was final and similar to the Final Day of Judgement. It
provided proof of rights to land and obligations to tax and military service. More than
13,000 places in England and parts of Wales are described in the book.

He needed to know how many people he could order to appear together in times of war
to go to battle. He had taken over a kingdom and realized that with such a survey he
could exert very tight control over the kingdom. He realized that knowledge is power.

The title was eventually adopted by its official custodians, known for years as the Public
Record Office, and which was later renamed the National Archives. “How many plough
teams? How many freemen, sokemen, villains, cottars and slaves? How much wood,
meadow and pasture?”

The manor (casa de campo) (from the Danes and Saxons) was the basis of agrarian and
economic life. The book described it as an estate of land in which the tenants were
legally obligated loyalty to one lord. Demesne (terratenencia) = Part of the manor either
kept by the lord in his own hands or farmed for his own profit. According to the book,
England consisted of arable land (35%), woodland 15%), pasture (30%), Meadow
(campo) (1%) and the rest was mountain, fen, heath, waste and wild.

Information provided by the Domesday Book describes the feudal system and land
holdings in 1086. The free tenants paid the lord rent for use of their area and had to
help him in busy times such as the harvest. The unfree tenants or villains did weekly
labour service in work such as threshing (separation of grain) or winnowing (separate

24
good from the bad). Approximately 10% of population were held in slavery while 14
percent were described as freemen. The rest were in between these two.

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

Land was the cornerstone (piedra angular) of economy. What can be gathered from the
Domesday Book is that English economy was basically agrarian with 90% of the
people living in the country. People lived off the resources of the land.

By 1086, the Anglo-Saxon elite had been replaced by the new Norman elite. All the
earls had to pay rent to the King.

It was a feudal system: All the land belonged to the king and slaves had nothing. The
rest of the people were tenants with land holdings. The society was broadly made up of
the nobles and the peasants. It was divided into classes:

1. The King
2. Tenants in chief (Nobles, Bishops, etc). The King’s principal barons and
churchmen who held land directly from him.
3. Freeman /Sokeman. Free and might hold land but owed some services to his
lord. They were the 14% and they held a 20% of the land.
4. Villeins. Unfree peasant - owed his lord labour (2 or 3 days per week) but also
farmed land for him. Wealthiest and most numerous of unfree peasants. They
were 41% and held 45% of the lands.
5. Bordars / cottars. Unfree peasant with less land than villeins. They were the
32% of the population and had 5% of the lands.
6. Slaves. Man or woman who was the property of his or her lord and had no lands.
They were the 9% of the total population and did not have any land.

At the other end of the social structure were the ‘rentiers’ living of the revenue
(impuestos) of their vast estates. These people were the king’s tenants-in-chief who in
turn had their own tenants. The king surrounded by his appointees (candidates) fewer
than 200 laymen including 100 churches held 75% of the assessed value of the whole
country. Tenants-in-chief appointed by William were his trusted barons. William
maintained the Saxon title of Earl instead of the Norman Count.

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Growth in towns continued after conquest. It was accelerated after 1100 Norman impact
on London. For instance, New palace at Westminster, New St Paul’s, Fortifications of
Tower of London, building of 11 new monasteries + 100 parish churches. Increase in
religious houses had an economic impact on London. Most of the surrounding area
outside the city wall was occupied by religious people.

DEATH OF WILLIAM

William died in autumn of 1087. He fell ill from exhaustion on one of his campaigns
on the borders of Normandy. He survived for 3 weeks. William's lands were divided
after his death: Normandy went to his eldest son, Robert Curthose, and his second
surviving son, William Rufus, received England.

TERMS

Arpent: An Old French measurement used in Domesday in relation to the vineyards.

Borough: An urban dwelling often fortified. Many had markets. The borough courts
which were attended by the burgesses often had their own customs which are recorded
in Domesday Book. (Distrito, municipio)

Burgess: An urban resident, usually from the upper section of townsmen, whose tenure
was based on a financial payment.

Circuit: One of the seven or more regions into which England was divided for the
purposes of collecting information for the Domesday survey. The resulting record from
each circuit is known as a circuit summary.

Fief: Land granted in return for military service. Also called fee. (Feudo)

Geld: Anglo-Saxon land tax continued by the Normans. It was assessed on the number
of hides.

Hide. The standard unit of assessment used for tax purposes. It was meant to represent
the amount of land that could support a household, roughly 120 acres. There were four
virgates to every hide.

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Hundred: A sub-division of the shire (or county) used for administrative purposes.
Known in the northern England (where Danish law and customs prevailed) as
wapentake.

Knight: A military retainer, usually a heavily armed and trained cavalryman.

Plough (land): When Domesday refers to number of ploughs it is referring to the

taxable amount of land that can be ploughed by a team of eight oxen. Thus, land ‘for
half a plough’ (or ‘for four oxen’) means half a plough land.

UNIT 4 - THE TUDOR PERIOD (1485 – 1603)

THE MONARCHS

- Henry VII – 1485 - 1509

- Henry VIII – 1509 – 1547
- Edward VI 1547 – 1553 (Henry VIII’s son)
- Jane I – 1553 (one week)
- Mary I - 1553 – 1558 (Henry VIII’s daughter)
- Elizabeth I - 1558 – 1603 (Henry VIII’s daughter)

Tudors were unlucky in marriage and offspring. Henry VIII married 6 times but he was
survived by only one son (Edward) and two daughters (Mary and Elizabeth). Mary was
the only one who married and none of them had any children. The line ended with the
death of Elizabeth I.

HENRY VII (1485 - 1509)

He was born in Pembroke, Wales. His father

Edmund Tudor died two months before he was
born. He belong to the House of Lancaster. He was

27
brought up by Jasper Tudor, his uncle. Jasper forced to leave for France in 1471 because
the House of Lancaster had been defeated by Edward IV of the House of York in battle
of Tewkesbury. Edward IV dies in 1483. As a consequence, there was the Battle of
Bosworth 1485, Henry landed with an army in Milford Haven, challenged and killed
Richard III and at the end, Henry was crowned king. It was the last significant battle of
the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the Houses of Lancaster and York that
extended across England.

After that, he marries Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV). It was a significant
fact since it was the union of Houses of York and Lancaster, bringing an end to 85
years of warring, civil unrest and conflict: The end of the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VII and Elizabeth of York had 4 children: Arthur, Margaret, Henry and
Mary. Likewise, Henry VII had other four illegitimate children: Elizabeth, Edward,
Edmund and Katherine.

There were lots of conspiracies and claims to the throne during Henry’s reign but he
managed to deal with the issues. One of the contenders to the throne was Perkin
Warbeck, who emerged in Ireland. He was backed by the Scots but he was executed by
Henry VII in 1499.

In 1501, he arranged a marriage between his eldest son, Arthur, and Catherine of
Aragon (Spain). In 1503 he arranged the marriage of his daughter, Margaret Tudor,
to James IV of Scotland and it brought the peace between the two countries. James
IV's descendants would have a claim to the English throne.

The financial situation improved in his kingdom by managing clear of wars Henry
improved administrative procedures for fiscal purposes, so that money would flow in.
When he died the royal coffers were full. There was a gradual move towards a single
state subject to royal decrees. Concerning Wales, he introduced special councils and
more powers were entrusted to the justices of the peace. His legacy was a fairly united
and prosperous kingdom and a safe throne without financial problems.

He was succeeded by his younger son, Henry (VIII), because Arthur, the elder son, died
before him.

HENRY VIII (1509 - 1547)

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He was born at Greenwich on 28 June 1491 and was the second son of Henry VII and
Elizabeth of York. In 1502, he inherits the throne on the death of his elder brother
Prince Arthur and in 1509 he becomes king. He was one of the most important English
monarchs: athletic, highly intelligent, and religious he also loved hunting. He enjoyed
writing books and music and played several instruments such as the lute and organ. He
wrote ‘Assertio Septem Sacramentorum’ against Martin Luther which supported the
Roman Catholic Church. In 1512, Pope Leo X awarded Henry the title 'Defender of
the Faith'.

Henry chose Thomas Wolsey as his first chief minister. Wolsey was a key figure
during Henry’s reign and in December 1515 he was appointed Lord Chancellor (advisor
to the king). Wolsey acquired papal powers from Pope Leo X on becoming cardinal and
this practically allowed him to ‘govern’ the Church in England thus making him even
more powerful than the Archbishop of Canterbury. He became archbishop of York
(the second most important figure in the church). Wolsey built Hampton Court Palace
which was larger than anything even Henry owned. This showed the extent of his power
due to the scale of the building. On falling out with the king, because of his inability to
solve the annulment issue, Henry took over the palace later on, for his own use and
renovated it to suit his taste. Thomas Cranmer, was another of Henry’s trusted
advisers who he later appointed in 1533, archbishop of Canterbury. Cranmer was
involved in solving the divorce issue and also key architect of the Reformation. He
worked on the Common Prayer Book.

On ascending the throne Henry saw himself as a ‘warrior-king’ destined for great
actions. He did not doubt to execute anybody who stood in his way. An example is
Thomas Cromwell who had been effective as a minister in making the royal divorce
possible and had played a vital role in the English Reformation. Despite being made
Earl of Essex in 1540, he was arrested later under charges of treason, heresy, corruption.

Even though Henry broke away from Rome it appeared that at heart he was never really
a Protestant and retained his Catholic beliefs. Outwardly he claimed he was impartial.
However, his own son Edward was secretly brought up as a Protestant.

In matters of foreign policy Henry turned to Western Europe. He conducted

unsuccessful Anglo-Spanish campaigns against France. In 1520 he made peace with
France with displays and tournaments at the Field of the Cloth of Gold: The aim of
29
Henry VIII and King Francis I of France was to strengthen the bond between their
countries. They tried to shine better than each other with their tents, clothes, feasts,
music, jousting, and games.

Henry invested in the navy, and increased its size considerably from 5 to 53 ships.
Henry also built the first naval dock in Britain at Portsmouth and in 1546 he established
the Navy Board to control the fleet from the administrative point of view.

Henry and the Reformation of the Church

With the issue of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon in 1529 Henry dismissed
Wolsey since his power as Cardinal and plenipotentiary legate tied him to Rome.
Wolsey blocked Henry’s divorce and not to allow him to marry Anne Boley.

Thomas More became the new Chancellor but was not in favour of the divorce and so
he resigned. In January of 1553 after Henry and Anne got secretly married, Henry
passed a series of Acts to break away from Rome’s hold. This gave way to the
Protestant Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England.

- The Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates 1532. Annates (taxes levied by

the papacy on recently appointed clergy) were the main source of benefits in
Rome from England, This act banned such payments. By cutting of income to
Rome, this initial Act was meant to put pressure on Rome and help obtain
consent regarding the annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine.
- Act in Restraint of Appeals 1533. The king, was proclaimed a sacred
‘emperor’. All English secular and religious affairs fell under his jurisdiction
and not the Pope’s. Henry became the highest legal authority in England. All
appeals had to be brought before English courts and all appeals to the Pope
regarding any matter (religious or other) were made illegal.
- Act of Dispensations 1534. This stopped all payments to Rome. The
Archbishop of Canterbury became the spiritual head of the Church of England.
- The First Act of Succession 1534. This was related to order of succession to the
throne. Parliament supported Henry’s claim of invalidity regarding his marriage
to Catherine and the illegitimate nature of Mary’s birth.

30
 - The Act of Supremacy 1534. Henry became Supreme Head of the Church of
England. Henry now had complete administrative and legislative control of the
Church of England. The Pope’s name was removed from prayer books.
- The Treasons Act 1534. This act was used to try and execute those who
challenged the king’s supremacy.
- The Act Extinguishing the Bishop’s Authority 1536. This act completely
removed the Pope’s authority. Anyone who came out in defence of the Pope
faced confiscation of their property.

Henry’s Reformation and its consequences

Under the reformation and according to the Acts, all Henry’s subjects had to promise
loyalty to Henry, who was now head of the Church of England. People like Sir Thomas
More (counsellor to Henry) who refused were executed. The Monks of the London
Charterhouse also suffered a similar destiny on refusing to take the promise.

Thomas Cromwell was fundamental in the dissolution of the monasteries or the closing
down of the monasteries when the lands and property belonging to them were sold to
put money in the coffers as funds were low. The monasteries were plundered, with the
destruction of valuable medieval artefacts and wholesale destruction of fine church
buildings. A new department, the Court of Augmentations of the King’s Revenue,
was set up by Cromwell to administer all the monies flowing in from the sale of lands.
In this way the Crown’s regular income doubled making the kingdom more prosperous.

In 1539, 560 monastic institutions had been suppressed. Altars and shrines were
removed from churches. Henry ordered pictures and statues of saints to be destroyed.
The Shrine of St Thomas Becket of Canterbury was destroyed. This was a popular
centre of pilgrimage. Pilgrimages were banned. The clergy suffered a decline in morale.
Socially, the dissolution of the monasteries affected people in the north: the monasteries
had been a source of employment and also provided relief for the poor.

By the time Henry died in 1547 he had: ✓challenged the pope ✓enlarged the power
of the monarchy ✓established the Church of England ✓prevented religious wars
✓stopped revolts ✓managed to subordinate the clergy to the secular state ✓increased
Parliament’s powers.

The six wives

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 - Catherine of Aragon (1509 –1533) (Divorced)

She was daughter of the Catholic Kings of Spain. At the age of three, marriage arranged
to marry King Henry VII’s elder son Prince Arthur. In 1501, goes to England to marry
Arthur but he dies and reports claim the marriage was not consummated. She is
subsequently engaged to Arthur's younger brother, Prince Henry who marries her in
1509 when he turns eighteen. In 1516, Mary (Mary I) was born, their only child.
Her other pregnancies result in dead baby boys and she is unable to give Henry a son.
Henry sees this as punishment for marrying his brother’s widow. Later, the king is
desperate for an heir and also in love with another woman, Anne Boleyn. He requests
an annulment from the Church. His request is denied by Pope Clement VII so he breaks
away from the Catholic Church Establishes Church of England to get the divorce in
1533.

- Anne Boleyn (1533 –1536) (Beheaded)

Anne Boleyn grew up in France and she became lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon.
Henry VIII falls in love with her and wants her as a mistress but she wants him to marry
her. In 1527 he had started annulment proceedings with the church. The pope refused to
grant him one. It took seven years for Anne and Henry to get married. They got
married secretly in 1533 because Anne Boleyn was pregnant and the unborn child
would then become legitimate. However, she was unable to give Henry a son and in
1533 Elizabeth (Elizabeth I) was born and was the only child of the marriage. Thanks
to two sons’ miscarriage and Thomas Cromwell’s influence, Henry VIII accused Anne
of False charges of adultery, incest with her brother and high treason were brought
against her. After 3 years of marriage she was executed on 19 May 1536.

- Jane Seymour (1536 – 1537) (Died)

She married Henry in 1536, barely a couple of weeks after Anne’s execution. Jane
Seymour had served Anne as lady-in-waiting and unlike Anne who was headstrong, she
was demure and submissive, and conservative in religion. In October 1537, she gave
Henry VIII a son, Edward, who turned out to be a sickly child. She died twelve days

32
after giving birth at the Hampton Court Palace. She died while she was still queen so
was the only one of his wives to have a queen’s funeral and to be buried next to him.

- Anne Cleves (January 1540 - July 1540) (Divorced)

The marriage was a political strategy. Henry took the advice of his chief minister
Thomas Cromwell (a Protestant) that it would be advisable to align himself with the
German Protestants because it appeared war was imminent because of the Catholic Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V (Spain). Henry did not find her attractive and referred to her
as “a Flanders mare” (la yegua de Flandes). Henry annulled the marriage after the threat
of war disappeared. Thomas Cromwell was executed later owing to force Henry to
marry with Anne Cleves. She spent the rest of her life in England and was compensated
by him with several homes and financial security. This allowed Anne to have an
independent lifestyle and was welcome at Henry's court. She outlived all the kings
wives.

- Catherine Howard (1540 –1541) (Beheaded)

Catherine Howard was Anne Boleyn’s cousin and she married the King as a very young
girl. Henry was then in his late forties. Catherine came to the court of the king as lady-
in-waiting to Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife. She was noticed by the king and after
divorcing Anne of Cleves he married her on 28 July 1540. Catherine was quite
immature and more attracted to men so as queen she continued to see her lover Thomas
Culpeper openly. In November 1542, Henry was presented with evidence of the affair
and he had her arrested for adultery. She was beheaded in the Tower of London on 13th
February 1542, only nineteen or twenty years old.

- Catherine Parr (1543 –1547) (Survived)

Last wife of Henry VIII, she outlived him. She had already married twice, both of her
husbands had died and she had no children. In 1543 she marries Henry although she
was in love with Jane Seymour’s brother - Thomas Seymour. She had a good
relationship with Henry’s two youngest children, Elizabeth and Edward and she helped
to bring back together Henry VIII with his two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.
Therefore, thanks to her, Mary and Elizabeth were placed in the line of succession of

33
the loyal throne. She died in 1548 shortly after marrying her fourth husband Seymour,
upon Henry’s death in 1547.

EDWARD VI (1547-1553)

He was born on 12 October 1537 at Hampton Court Palace (son of Jane Seymour); he
was the only legitimate son of Henry VIII. He was a sickly child. Edward was given a
good education and taught all about Protestantism. In January 1547 his father dies and
he becomes king at the age of nine. Edward's uncle, Edward Seymour (Jane
Seymour’s brother), the Duke of Somerset, took power despite Henry having appointed
a Regency Council to help him rule and made himself the protector of the young king.

The Duke of Somerset together with Thomas Cranmer, the archbishop of

Canterbury, wanted to make England fully Protestant and stamp out Catholicism. The
Duke of Somerset also known as the “Good Duke” was popular with the peasants whom
he protected from the nobles pushing for land enclosure.

An English Prayer Book is issued in 1549 together with an Act of Uniformity to

enforce it. This Act stated that the Prayer Book was the only legal one to be used in all
churches. In the summer of 1549, peasants in Devon revolt against the Prayer Book and
in Norfolk there was another revolt regarding the land enclosures and social injustices.
John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland, took advantage of the revolts and caused
the downfall of Edward Seymour. He now becomes close to the king and takes on the
role of advisor.

Evident that Edward was suffering from tuberculosis and would not last, the Duke of
Northumberland, who wanted to remain in power, convinced him to change things. He
draws up a document, detailing his succession plans: he eliminated Mary (who by right
of birth and, in accordance with Henry’s will, was the heir to the throne) and Elizabeth
claiming they were both illegitimate and passed the throne to Northumberland's
daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, who was a more distant descendant of Henry VIII.

Edward died on 6 July 1553. Jane, who was protestant, was proclaimed queen by
John Dudley, the Duke of Northumberland and the Regency Council.

JANE I (1553 – ONE WEEK)

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Great-granddaughter of Henry VII had been named heiress to the English throne in her
great-uncle Henry VIII's will, in case his children died childless. May 1553, John
Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who wanted to remain in power quickly, married
off his younger son Lord Guildford Dudley to Jane Grey before Edward’s death.
He then convinced the young king to name Jane as his successor.

Jane was protestant and deeply devout and this fell in with Northumberland’s plans to
keep England protestant. Edward’s own sister, Mary, was Catholic and the protestant
king Edward found this to be an ideal solution. Edward dies on 6th July 1553 and Jane
is crowned queen on 10 July 1553 but rules for only 9 days. Mary Tudor, Catherine of
Aragon’s daughter, who was popular, comes forward to claim the throne.

In an attempt to save his life, Jane’s father, the Duke of Suffolk, supports the
proclamation of Mary as queen and persuades his daughter to concede defeat. Jane, her
husband and her father are locked away by Mary in the Tower of London for political
reasons. The Duke of Suffolk is pardoned and freed. After being charged with high
treason, in 1553 Jane asks for guilty but she is sentenced to death. However, Mary
suspends the sentence but later on in January 1553 a Protestant rebellion, instigated by
Thomas Wyatt, is supported by Jane’s father and consequently Mary decides to have the
sentence carried out. Jane was executed in the Tower of London on 1554 together
with her husband. Her father suffered the same fate a few days later.

MARY I (1553 – 1558)

She was the only child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon to survive. Mary was
considered to be illegitimate since Henry divorced her mother Catherine because he
considered the marriage incestuous and illegal. In 1537, her father named her next-in-
line to the throne after her younger brother Edward. Mary was a strong Catholic and she
challenged Jane Grey’s crowning and reclaimed the throne in 1553.

Restore Catholicism and reconciliation with Rome were important to her. So, her
strategy was the marriage with Philip II of Spain. As Philip was Spanish it meant he
would officially be King of England. But there were several nobles unhappy about her
plans. They now needed the Protestant church to flourish as land and money belonging
to the church had passed on to them.

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In 1554, after Mary successfully overturned a Protestant uprising spearheaded by Sir
Thomas Wyatt, she went ahead and married Philip II of Spain. In line with her
Catholicism restoration plans, Mary brought back the laws against heresy. Several
Protestants were burnt at the stake.

Mary died on 17 November 1558. She wanted a child and even thought she was
pregnant. By the time she died, her husband Phillip had abandoned her: he had been in
England between July 1554 and August 1555, between March and July 1557, after
which he stayed away for the rest of his reign. She came to be known as “Bloody
Mary” for persecuting Protestants during her reign as she tried unsuccessfully to restore
Catholicism.

ELIZABETH I (1558 – 1603)

She was the only daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was known as:
Tudor queen of England and Ireland, ‘Gloriana’ or the ‘Virgin Queen’ and her reign
was described as the ‘golden age’.

She was exiled from court after execution of her mother at age of two. She was brought
up by governesses and educated by tutors. Catherine Parr (last Henry VIII’s wife) took
her under her wing and made sure her education was going well. In 1553, Elizabeth's
older half-sister Mary became queen and she would later imprison the Protestant
Elizabeth in the Tower of London for a short while believing that she was plotting
against her. She became queen at the age of 25 and she focused on certain areas.

The issue of religion

There had been some revolutions regarding the Church from her father’s time and even
before that. So she tried to come up with a church which was Protestant in essence
but which would also retain some of the symbols of the Catholic Religion. She worked
on a Religious Settlement and drew up the new structure with the help of her advisers
such as William Cecil, who was her chief councillor. Several changes such as:

* Henry VIII had declared himself Supreme Head of the Church but she changed
this to Supreme Governor of the church and leaving God as the Head.
* Bishops were to be appointed.

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 * Priests had to wear vestments (white robes or tunics to be worn over the black
cassocks).
* Some saint days and feast days remained.
* The beliefs or doctrine of the Church were contained in Thirty-Nine Articles.

Marriage

Marriage was another of the areas which featured high on the political agenda. She was
a ruler but was a woman and the Catholic Church did not consider this right.
Additionally she was unmarried and marriage could help solve the succession problem.

The issue of marriage was a tool of politics and foreign policy. She used the promise of
marriage for diplomatic purposes. Most of the courtships were a pretext for
negotiations. Among the list of suitors were numerous. Nevertheless, Elizabeth never
took the step, in spite of the pressure put on her, especially on the part of her adviser
William Cecil, Lord Burghley.

Other issues

Problems arose when Mary Stuart (great-granddaughter of Henry VII), Queen of the
Scots, challenged her claim to the throne. Mary had married Lord Danley (great-
grandson of Henry VII) and they had a son Prince James and this endangered
Elizabeth’s position. After losing the battle of Langside, Mary Stuart fled to England
in May 1568 when she was imprisoned by Elizabeth on Cecil’s advice. She was
executed on 8 February 1587 after her involvement in the Babington plot is revealed.

There were several Catholic conspiracies to get rid of Elizabeth and put Mary Stuart
(Scotland) on the throne:

* 1569  Revolt of the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland.

* 1571 Ridolfi plot  A Florentine banker Roberto Ridolfi and the Duke of
Norfolk plan with Philip II of Spain and the Pope.
* 1580  A couple of Jesuit missionaries arrive secretly in England and are
accused of plotting.

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 * 1584 Throckmorton plot  Francis Throckmorton, a Catholic on arrest and
under torture admits to a plot with Spanish ambassador to murder Elizabeth and
stage French invasion.
* 1586 Babington plot  Catholic Anthony Babington plots to assassinate
Elizabeth and involves Mary Queen of the Scots thus sealing her execution
sentence, after she had been put on trial.
* 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada  Philip II had put together his fleet to
attack the English and overthrow Elizabeth since Francis Drake and John
Hawkins kept raiding his ships in the Atlantic. Philip’s commander, Duke of
Medina Sidonia, had no sea warfare experience and Drake had previously gone
to Cadiz and burned down the fleet in the harbour before the final battle.

Culture, art and literature

The most celebrated writer was Shakespeare (38 plays) and Christopher Marlowe.
Both dominated late Elizabethan drama.

In poetry, the sonnet is the form of verse which is most closely associated to 16th
century literature. Sir Thomas Wyatt was important in Henry VIII’s court. Wyatt
together with Henry Howard, the earl of Surrey, Sir Philip Sydney brought the sonnet
into England in the early 16th century. Due to its poetic eloquence it was mostly used
for love poems.

Regarding to music, all the Tudor monarchs were patrons of music both sacred and
secular. During King Henry VIII’s and Mary’s reign Flemish, Italian and Spanish
musicians paid regular visits to England. The Protestant Reformation encouraged
composers. Elizabeth kept a large group of musicians and instrument makers from
Venice, Germany and France.

With regard to painting, portraiture came into fashion, especially in Henry VIII’s time.
Before then, Flemish tapestries were more popular. Thomas More commissioned a
portrait and soon Holbein began working for Henry in 1535. Holbein produced portraits
of the royal family and nobles which remain as a record of the court in those years.

ENDING OF TUDOR’S LINE

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When she died in 1603, she was succeeded by the Protestant James VI of Scotland,
the son of Mary, Queen of Scots. Without an heir, he was by rights the best candidate.
He became James I of England and Ireland thus uniting the crowns of Scotland and
England which Henry VIII had tried to bring about. The Stuart dynasty begins with
James I of England and Ireland.

THE STUARTS

- James I (1603 - 1625)

- Charles I (1625 - 1649)
- Oliver Cromwell (1649 - 1658)
- Charles II (1660 - 1685)
- James II (1685 - 1688)
- William III (1688 - 1702) and Mary II (1688 -1694)
- Queen Anne (1702 - 1714)

UNIT 5 - THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 1750 – 1900

OVERVIEW

In England, there was a mostly rural society and a modern urbanized industrial power.
Britain led the way first to begin the industrial revolution (IR). It was called the
“Workshop of the world” (El taller del mundo). Thus, it led to the basis of 19th century
British world power and the British Empire. It spread from 1830 to Europe, USA and
Japan.

The industrial revolution has significant impact in:

- Daily life  different working days

- Role’s family  all the members are workers even children

39
 - Health  the healthy conditions were very precarious upon work. Many people
die, it was terrible for health.
- Children were used in coal mines and there was not regulation for the waste
from the factories.

This impact was enormous since the life before the IR was very different: the majority
lived in small rural communities. In 1801, only 20% of population lived in towns. In
1851, population rose to 50% and in 1881 about 66% of people in towns. The daily life
revolved around farming. The life was not easy: incomes small, malnourishment, the
diseases were common.

People produced most of the things they needed: food, clothing, furniture or tools. The
large part of manufacturing was done in homes or small rural shops, using hand tools or
simple machines. Most industry was located in the south and east of the country. It was
small-scale with low-technology. The system was domestic with work being
outsourced, people worked in homes and at their own pace.

In the early 19th century Britain, land was still of great political and economic
significance. Countryside owned by aristocracy and gentry and tenants farmed and
reared livestock. Britain introduced new tools, fertilisers and harvesting techniques. As
a consequence it increased productivity and agricultural prosperity. Agriculture still
remained a principal provider of employment even though urbanisation and
industrialization emerged.

There was a specialisation of products according to areas: in South-eastern England

(grain) and in Scotland or Leicestershire (cattle and sheep breeding).

By 1800 there were over 1,000 railways connected to an iron pit or coal mine with a
canal or river. But they were horse-drawn (pulled by horse). The Steam Engine
changes and sparks innovative methods of transportation. The Cornish Puffer was the
first full-scale steam-powered locomotive. It was tried out in 1801 on Christmas Eve
by Richard Trevithick. George Stephenson, a self-taught engineer, grew up in the
coalfields. First fixed watches and went on to perfect the steam engine (Trevithick’s
initial idea). It transported: people, raw materials and finished goods.

BEGINNINGS

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In 1700s it started the beginnings of industry in Britain with the emergence of some
trades such as brewing (cerveza) or shipbuilding.

There was a combination of circumstances which favoured change in Britain:

- a growing agricultural production

- extensive trade
- growing population  a larger workforce
- An abundant supply of natural resources and raw materials from colonies
- expanding markets due to growing population and colonies
- a strong middle class
- a more or less stable political system
- a healthy monetary system (vital for the high investment required in the new
technology)

A complex set of interdependences and side effects  Growth in one industry led to
growth in other industries.  Some associated developments in organization, power,
and engineering. The economy of Britain was self-sustaining and this continued through
to the 20th century.

The Great Exhibition of 1851  The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all
Nations took place from 1 May to 11 October 1851 at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park.
It was organized by Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband). Many people visited
London for first time. Over 6 million tickets sold. It was very significance due to the
showcased modern industrial technology and design; it was used to prove Great
Britain’s superiority; it reflected Britain’s commitment to economic progress and
subsequently to Liberalism.

From late 18th century to mid-Victorian years there was a drastic change in the English
economy and society.

- Industry
- Organisation and the manner of finance of industry
- Commerce
- Skills and work practices of production and technology
- Population growth
- Urbanisation

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 - The development and disciplining of labour

EVIDENCES

The transport improved vastly Canal, river, road and sea. In 1840s, railways had a huge
impact on the speed of communication and transport. There was a shift from agriculture
to industry and trade. Some regions, notably coalfield areas, rapidly industrialised.
There was a development of trade and ship building in port cities. Some regions
concentrated on commercial agriculture and others stagnated. The lives of people
(women, children and men) altered by the middle of the 19th century: there was a
change in ideas regarding gender and class.

Industrialisation affected: consumption, commerce, industry, leisure and work. It

brought about shifts in motivations, aspirations, ideologies and aesthetics.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE CHANGES

Positive consequences

- Population growth led to improvement in quality of life for those who benefitted
directly.
- Growth and prosperity for the mercantile middle class since land ownership no
longer necessary to production.
- The textile industry flourished
- Economic growth

Negative consequences

- Social upheavals (revolts) created new problems

- Machinery and improved farming techniques resulted in massive rise in rural
unemployment.
- Massive migration to cities to find work in factories
- Widespread poverty among urban working class
- Slums with poor sanitation
- Considerable growth in the size of cities: 18019.3 million/184115.9 million
- Housing was not good because there was a rush to cater for all the people who
were moving to the urban area. Houses built very quickly in terraced rows with

42
 outside toilets. Dirty water thrown into the streets ‘Back to back’ terraced
housing with communal toilets: degeneration into slums.
- There were no building regulations in the early part of the 19th century. Housing
sprang up in fields and villages and paving was not done in some cases Most of
the poorest people lived in overcrowded conditions and some in cellars.
Liverpool was an example.
- Work unsafe, bad conditions with use of child labour
- Poor people went to poor house or the workhouse (place where people who were
unable to support themselves could go to live and work according to the ‘Poor
Law Act’. Charles Dickens criticizes the New Poor Law of 1834 in Oliver Twist
- Factories belched out smoke and caused severe air pollution.

THE POOR LAW

During the first 60 years of the Industrial Revolution, living conditions were deplorable
for the very poor people. In their desperation, many went at the doors of the
“poorhouses” set up by the government. Old Poor Law contained in the 1601 Act for
the Relief of the Poor.

The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834

The New Poor Law, an Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws
relating to the Poor in England and Wales is one of the most significant pieces of social
legislation in British history. It replaced all the former laws with a national system
dealing with poverty and its relief. The centre of this system was the Union workhouse.

Poorhouses were designed to be deliberately severe places to discourage people from

staying on relief as it was believed that the poor were responsible for the circumstances
they found themselves in. Families, including husbands and wives, were separated.
People were confined each day as inmates in a prison and worked every day. Conditions
were very harsh, but workhouse inmates increased from 78,536 in 1838 to 197,179 in
1843 showing how desperate people must have been.

CHILD LABOUR

Children were forced to work and were subjected to long hours and harsh treatment.
They have to work in order to gain money for their families. There were not inspections

43
so children of any age can work. However, throughout the decades, the age to be able to
work was raising with the Labour or Factory Acts (1819):

- 1833 (Textiles). No child workers under nine years Reduced hours for children
9-13 years Two hours schooling each day for children Four factory inspectors
appointed
- 1844 (Textiles). Children 8-13 years could work six half-hours a day Reduced
hours for women (12) and no night work
- 1847 (Textiles). Women and children under 18 years of age could not work
more than ten hours a day
- 1867 (All industries). Previous rules applied to workhouses if more than five
workers employed
- 1901 (All industries). Minimum age raised to 12 years

Robert Owen, a textile factory owner tried to improve the workers’ conditions. A
social reformer, he could be described as a utopian socialist. However he still made
profit. He set up New Lanark Mills in Scotland where he put welfare programmes in
place for children and women.

The process of development and improvement was gradual, trade and

distribution was crucial for it. Apart from agriculture, at the initial stages, growth was
based on certain staple industries namely: textiles, coal and iron.

Coal and iron provided the capital equipment, infrastructure and options for future
development.

THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY

In 1700s, the population growth increasingly so in Europe and North America increased
the demand for cloth. There was a need for inventions for more productive textile
industry since cloth-making in the early 1700s involved three main stages: carding (cardado),
spinning (hilado) and weaving (tejido). These were slow and laborious handicrafts.

The small-scale industry in people's homes becomes large-scale industry in factories.

They used wool or cotton, but silk (seda) and flax (lino) were also used.

The textile industry benefitted from the technological innovation that was evident
between 1733 and the beginning of the 19th century. The mechanization was a move

44
away from the inefficiency of the cottage industry system. The development of the
factory system brought strict discipline of the workers. Several innovations were made
until 1812 when all stages in the making of cotton could now be done in one factory.

John Kay invented the 'flying shuttle' in 1733. The shuttle (lanzadera) enabled the
thread (hilo) to be passed through the textile machine very quickly. Yarn (hilo) started
being woven faster than spinners (aguja) could make it. Spinners now had to look for
mechanical aids due to the increase in demand for yarn.

James Hargreaves, a carpenter, invented his cotton-spinning jenny. This was an

improvement of the spinning wheel (rueca). It was a hand-powered multiple spinning
machine and it now became possible to spin more than one ball of yarn or thread. So the
spinners could now provide yarn for the textile weavers (tejedora). The spinning jenny
was hand-operated and easy to use so it could be used in a cottage. It had 8 spindles
(ejes) but by the end of the 18th century, this had increased to 120 spindles. Making
yarn out of wool was done very quickly using the jenny.

Richard Arkwright invented the water frame of 1769. It produced stronger threads
for yarns and was the first machine that made it possible to weave pure cotton threads.
The name comes from the waterwheels used in the first models to power the frame.
Therefore it was the first powered, automatic, and continuous textile machine and this
meant the move away from small home manufacturing towards production of
textiles in factories. In 1771, Arkwright's machine became known as the ‘water frame’.
Richard Arkwright became known as “the father of the factory system” because it was
only practical to install the water frame in large factories. By 1788, 140 water frames
had been set up.

Crompton’s spinning mule combined the moving carriage of the spinning jenny with
the rollers of the water frame was used in the mills of Lancashire and other places. It
was used late 18th to early 20th century. The mule gave the spinner great control over
the weaving process, producing strong, thin yarn, suitable for any kind of textile. Many
different types of yarn and finer cloth could now be made.

Edmund Cartwright invented the power loom to speed up weaving. The power loom
was powered by steam and was a mechanically-operated version of the loom. Weaving

45
became mechanised in the same way as spinning earlier on. The efficiency of the power
loom led to women replacing most men as weavers in the textile factories.

STEAM POWER

The first factories used water power so the industries were on hill areas, close to fast
running streams. Steam (vapor) power changed the location of industry. Mills and
factories were set up near the coalfields, where fuel was cheaper. James Watt's patented
his separate-condenser steam engine and the rotative version later in 1781. By 1800, it
was chiefly being used by cotton mills because the power it produced for spinning was
reliable and continuous. Its technology was applied to locomotives in 1804, shipping in
1812 and the development of the machine tool industry.

COAL AND THE REVOLUTION

In the mid 18th century the population growth and increasing foreign trade created
greater demand for manufactured goods. Water and animal power is replaced with
steam power (catalyst for the Industrial Revolution). There were many inventions of
new machinery and technology. The coal (carbon) became a key factor in the success of
industrialization as it was used to produce the steam power on which industry depended.

In 1700 most coal was mined by hand from mines. The 18th century demand for coal
increased because of the steam engines of industry, and also because of the growing
population which needed coal at the domestic level. The coal industry responded by
producing more coal. This fact leads to Improvements in mining technology. More coal
was extracted to power: factories, railway trains and steamships. Britain’s cotton and
metalworking industries became internationally important, but the manufacture of glass,
soap and earthenware also flourished. The main coalfields were in:

- South Wales
- Staffordshire
- Yorkshire-Nottinghamshire
- Northumberland-Durham
- Central Scotland

Miners were exposed to all kinds of dangers and harsh conditions in the mine pits.
Methane gas (called firedamp by the miners was common). Coal had to be extracted by

46
hand and in order to illuminate the dark tunnels and galleries underground, open flames
were used. So in 1815 Humphrey Davy invents a safety lamp. It becomes safer for
miners to have light in the mines without the risk of explosions.

George Stephenson was one of the mine engineers to develop the first railways used
to transport the coal from the mines to the docks.

IRON AND STEEL

Some changes occurred in the processes and iron became a key element in
industrialization. John Wilkinson promoted the use of iron for everything, by improved
casting and engineering methods and also developing a large-scale ironworks.

There was a rapid growth in iron industry in 18th century. It encouraged the
Industrial Revolution. Iron was used for: machinery and buildings for the textiles
industry and for the development of accurate machines and steam engines.

There were gradual new productive methods of large amounts of steel. The steel was
stronger, more malleable than cast iron and cheaper. It began to be used for machinery,
buildings, ships and weapons.

IMPACT

Technological Impact

Transport systems were revolutionized by steam trains, canals, better roads and railway
system. The improved steam engine designed in 1769 by James Watt and marketed with
his partner Matthew Boulton, revolutionized farming and transport.

The steam power changed location of industry: mills and factories were set up near the
coalfields and the fuel was cheaper. Thousands of miles of railway tracks lay in early
and mid 19th century allowed transportation of goods and people with ease and speed

Domestic industry (that is cottage industry) was replaced by the factory system,
resulting in: new methods of labour organization; specialization; division of labour; new
relationships between employer and employee; new farming technologies and greater
understanding of plant nutrition led to increase in agricultural production.

47
Traditionally the economy was agricultural but it was replaced by use of machinery and
manufacturing, thanks to technological advances such as the steam engine  the
creation of an urban working class.

Social Impact

The new working conditions leading to political changes: the wealth moves away from
the land and it appears new manufacturing classes.

Owing to the internal growth of people, the population rise increasingly and it leads to
the growth of urban areas.

Political Impact

There were inequalities in political representation. Birmingham and Manchester, which

were growing industrial centres, had no parliamentary representation. Cornwall, a
sparsely populated rural county, had 44 members.  It started to emerge the Capitalist
system.

The Industrial Revolution, led to political reform notably the Parliamentary Reform
Acts (1832, 1867, 1884–85) and one of these was the redistribution of farming land.
The Enclosures Act: Local people lost rights to rural land they had used for
generations. As compensation, they were offered alternative land which was of inferior
quality, and which sometimes had no access to water or wood. The lands seized through
these Acts were then consolidated into individual and privately owned farms. Farmers
with political connections were given the best land. As is often the case, small
landowners could not afford the legal and other associated costs of enclosure and so
were forced out. Enclosure started in the 12th century but was intensified from 1750 to
1860, coinciding with the emergence and rise of the Industrial Revolution.

UNIT 6 – BRITAIN AND THE WORLD WARS (I) – (II)

The 20th Century Britain and the World Wars periods:

1. World War I: The Great War (1914 -1918)

2. The 20’s
3. The 30’s
4. World War II (1939 – 1945)

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Many of symbols and memories about the fatal consequences of the wars:

- The poppy  Symbol of sacrifice of World War II, the Falklands War, the Gulf
War, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. covered the battlefields where the soldiers who had
fallen. In Flanders Fields, poem by John McCrae, depicts the significance of the
poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen.
- Armistice Day / Remembrance Day  11th November there were two minute of
silence (11am - 11th - 11th month) to remember the fallen. Men, women and
children all over the country, two minute silence to remember the millions who
have died in the Great War. The Royal Family, politicians and religious leaders
mark the day at The Cenotaph in Whitehall. There are also memorials, cenotaph,
religious services, and shopping centres.

Background situation to the war

In Britain there was an industrial paralysis due to several problems and many
strike environments during that period: railway workers and miners & transport
workers; women suffragettes and the Ireland Nationalist problems.

Railway men demanded recognition of the union and 48-hour week. Miners and
transport workers support the railway workers by threatening a mass strike in July 1914.

The Suffragette Movement and the right to vote were led by Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst.
As a consequence, there was a lot of violence in the 1910s.

Geographical and social problems: Ireland there was a possibility of civil war derived
from tensions between Ulster (Protestant) and the rural South and west (Catholic). The
Home Rule Bill in 1912 was pushed by the liberal government in a bid to accommodate
nationalist opinion in Ireland. The establishment of Irish parliament was in Dublin.

Other nationalist problems on foreign soil were India and Egypt. Additionally, South-
east Europe new problems concerned with ethnic nationalities in the Balkans.

The starting of the WW I

Negative vision/background with tension and pressure, the system was struggling to
survive. In August 4th 1914, Britain declares war to Germany: new situation. Panic

49
as adjustments necessary by Bank of England. Manufacturing and commerce try to
adjust “Business as usual”.

The beginning was disastrous due to the fast putting together of troops to send to the
front. They were not sufficiently ready and as a consequence, there were a
considerable loss of life. Therefore, the British Expeditionary Force which went to
Flanders and France suffered many losses while retreating.

Despite of all these disadvantages, there were also positive things: spirit of unity and
patriotism became prominent. The imminent conflicts and tensions decreased because
there was a common purpose to fight  Political unity. Most people felt that the war
was right and had to be fought till the Germans surrendered.

The Trade Union Congress opts for patriotism and the threat of strike disappears. In the
19th September 1914 David George Lloyd, Chancellor of the Exchequer until 1916
(Ministro de Hacienda), makes clear that the fight would be fought to the finish. Before,
he became Prime minister from 1916 to 1922.

How was acceptance achieved?  Lloyd George justified the war as morally right
and a crusade. There was smaller nations like Belgium which was invaded by Germans,
or Serbia and Montenegro threatened by Austria-Hungary. It was as a holy cause and it
was backed by the churches. Moreover, the propaganda played a vital role:
manipulation of news services, press censorship (censura) and stories by government of
atrocities allegedly committed by the “Huns”.

1. World War I (1914 -1918)

Between 1914 -1916 the size of the army fighting in France increases because of
intensified voluntary signing up. In May 1916 the decision is taken to impose
conscription (reclutamiento) into army and it was seen as negative by populace.

Despite of seeing sights of victory, it became a “never ending” war due to the huge
casualties (killed people). Moral and psychological damage as the battles were mainly
on the ground, in the trenches. There were many losses:

- The Dardanelles Expedition in summer of 1915 came with great losses costing
Winston Churchill his job as Home Secretary.
- A year later, an expedition to Salonika had a bad outcome.

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 - June 1916 the British lost 60,000 men on the first day of battle in Somme. A
total of 420,000 men were lost.
- August - September 1917: over 300,000 British troops died or hurt at
Paschendale. Lots of mud due to torrential rain and the tanks and fighter planes
could not do much.

As a consequence of all these deaths and hurts, there was anti-war propaganda which
creates anger towards navy and military commanders who people felt were responsible
for the disasters on the war front. June 1916 loses battle cruisers and destroyers in an
encounter at sea, off Jutland. Some men as Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg (died in the
war), Siegfried Sassoon and R. Graves (survived the war) express the idea of
renouncing war massively. The statistics are horrifying: a total of 9 or 10 million
killed and 20 million wounded or permanently disabled. The initial tendency of
popularity of the war later turns to bitter unpopularity.

The Ministry of Munitions in 1915 with Lloyd George in control supplied arms and
ammunition. Several forces in production and distribution in industry and agriculture
were all channelled into the war and this has vast impact on social welfare, housing and
the status of women. The social structure of society changed and women and
children had to be in charge of works and houses.

The Britain state takes over coal mines, railways, and merchant and other shipping
concerns. Therefore, the Laissez faire (non-interference of the government in the
market) and free trade was not longer applicable now. Thus, there were changes in
industrial relations: the Treasury Agreement of March 1915 claimed that strikes were
forbidden after Government reached an agreement with the trade unions (apart from the
miners). Nevertheless, the peace achieved by the Trade Union agreements was not
universal: Sheffield 1916-1917 there was worker unrest and July 1915 a major strike in
the coal industry by the South Wales Miners Federation. The resentment was springing
from Ministry of Trade decision to use unskilled labour, (mainly women) in engineering
factories. All contributed to sentiment of war rejection.

What impact did the Great War have?

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There was a deep impact in social and cultural aspects. There were new layers
introduced in the civil service. The figure of the social reformer became prominent and
influential.

- Achievement of improve in wages and working conditions.

- 1917 Corn Production Act revitalized agriculture thereby benefitting tenant
farmers and their labourers.
- Free elementary education was made available to all thanks to H. A. L.
Fisher’s act of 1918. Attempts were made to make it easier to move up the
ladder to secondary and onto higher levels of education.
- Public Health: improved medical care made available.
- Better conditions for children, old people and nursing mothers.
- The Medical Research Council came into existence and by 1918 a New
Ministry of Health was being considered to take over the duties of the Local
Government board and co-ordinate services for health and National Insurance.
- The Emancipation of women. 80,000 women served in the forces as non
combatants during World War One. Women had taken on tasks previously
reserved for men: at the war front, often working in hospitals; worked in
engineering and munitions factories or carried out clerical and administrative
work. In 1918, The Representation of the People Act gave women over 30
the right to vote.
- Massive changes in political aspects. The Liberals and Conservatives (or
Unionists) were the prominent parties at the outset of the war. The war
caused the downfall of the Liberals due to internal tensions over military
conscription causing splits and weakening the party. Lloyd George and
Churchill think that conscription necessary if the fight was to be fought to the
finish.
In December 1916, Lloyd George joined with two leading Unionists to propose
a supreme War Committee to run the war due to failures. Lloyd became Prime
Minister of a coalition of all the Unionists, the Labour party and half of the
Liberals in the House of Commons. This was a triumph for him personally but
a disaster for the liberals. The war was won under Lloyd George as Prime
minister.

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 The divided and weakened Liberal Party had lost all its strength. The
unexpected advance of the Labour Party (which depended on the trade
unions) was a powerful political consequence of the war. The party had also
had problems (while the trade union leaders were for patriotism, there was
opposition to the war on the part of some party members).
The Conservatives were the party which benefitted most. The war helped them
became the natural majority party. They were united by patriotism during the
war and they turned more and more to business and manufacturing.
- Military help had been obtained from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South
Africa and India due to the imperial nature of the war. After the war, the empire
continued to expand commercially.
- Wales was also patriotic during the war but Ireland was another matter. At the
end of the war, Ireland was practically under the martial law. It had rejected
conscription (reclutamiento) and it was verging on rebellion against the Crown.

2. The 20’s

Britain was more integrated but more isolated. It was the beginnings of the erosion of its
imperial role. In December 1918 Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister: the man who
won the war.

During 1919 -1920 there were government social reforms such as health and
educational services, extended raise pensions or universal unemployment insurance.
Moreover, there was a creation of a subsidized housing programme during 1919-1922,
over 200,000 houses built.

There were economic problems due to the lost of foreign markets. They had to sale of
overseas investments to pay for war. The resulting national debt was huge.  In 1914:
706 million pounds and in 1920: 7,875 million pounds.

There were also political problems owing to Lloyd George’s political coalition
undergoes internal tensions (alliance with Conservatives). The peaceful coexistence
achieved during the war vanishes. Moreover, it started the war against the IRA in
1919-1921. In January 1922: Irish Free State (26 Catholic counties of Southern Ireland)
is created. And in October 1922, George Lloyd finally loses power.

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Arts

- The presence of the pre-war artists such as Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy
Edward Elgar was still felt. However, underlying this were the avant-garde
movements of modernism and revolt.
- T.S. Eliot: the Waste Land written in 1922 captures the culture of the 20’s.
- Theatre was not very salient apart from Shaw’s piece St Joan,
- Art, design and architecture did not reflect much imagination
- A new cultural establishment with The Bloomsbury Group: E.M. Forster
(author); John Maynard Keynes (economist); Virginia Woolf (author); Vanessa
Bell (artist); Duncan Grant (artist); Clive Bell (art critic) and Roger Fry (artist
and art critic).

Women

In 1918 the achieved the partial vote (over 30s marriage women) and in 1928 they
achieved the full vote. Other liberties such as smoking; going to films; clothes less drab
or puritanical; more open and less constrained sex life, etc.

The church

Puritanism was challenged during war. It affects church’s power because It supported
the war. Church of England tries to hold into its influential role after the war.

General Strike of 1926

The industrial decline led to a general strike of workers in order to achieve better labour
conditions and wages. The Coal Industry becomes weaker due to the war and the
massive exploitation and it caused the fall of the prices of the coal. As a consequence,
the business owner of the mines reduces the wages of workers and this situation led to
also a social unemployment and a social bitterness  9 day strike: from 3rd to 12th
May 1926, Britain was virtually at a standstill (parón). However, the strike was a
disaster and it brings worse labour conditions and fewer wages. The strike was
peaceful with no violence.

Late 1920’s

Population growth but there was contrasts.

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On the one hand, broadcasting provides entertainment in homes: The BBC; silent
movies; domestic appliances like hoover (aspiradora) making life easier; house prices
falling due to housing developments making housing more affordable for the middle
class; modern car plants (Morris and Austin).

Meanwhile, the countryside experienced depression. Steady population decline in

rural areas. Falling price of farm products and fall in incomes. Small country towns
from the Highlands to Cornwall impoverished. North and north-east England, industrial
South Wales affected.

There were bad conditions to live: damp insanitary housing conditions, lower life
expectancy, poor schools and public services, tuberculosis, miners plagued by lung
disease. There was a widening gap between the town and country quality of life.
Inequalities existed in educational and medical facilities, and in amenities such as
libraries, public parks.

Growing social division brings revolts and protests. Solidarity and optimism of
working class generating its values, culture and entertainment as seen in: Working
man’s library and clubs; the miners’ lodge; the brass band and the co-op credit base.

The Crash of the American Stock Market in 1929 towards the end of the 20’s would
affect the 30’s.

3. The 30’s

The Crash of the American Stock Market in 1929 leads to the Great Depression. Early
years characterized by industrial stagnation and social decay. Unemployment rises to 3
million in 1932. Other internal contributing factors were the decline in traditional
industries such as coal, steel, textiles, shipbuilding, etc. However, from 1935 things
would begin to gradually look up with the emphasis on engineering and aircraft
production bringing with it a significant rise in employment.

Meanwhile hunger marches and demonstrations by unemployed took place. The

depressed areas were Scotland, Yorkshire and Lancashire and South Wales. The
massive march of October 1936, 200 men from the north-eastern town of Jarrow, with
70 per cent unemployed people, marched 300 miles to London.

Arts

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Some of the literature of the time reflected this divide. The arts flourished. It was a
creative period:

- George Orwell - The Road to Wigan Pier

- Walter Greenwood Love on the Dole
- Lewis Jones’ look at life in Welsh mining villages in We Live.
- Murder in the Cathedral (1935) on Thomas Beckett.
- Eliot’s poetry and drama.

Additionally, there were innovations in sculpture (Henry Moore) and painting (Stanley
Spencer). In general the 30’s depicted a land at peace apart from the older industrial
areas.

The mood was passive and pacifist until Hitler invaded Prague in March 1939. The final
step came on 1st September with his invasion of Poland.

4. World War II (1939-1945)

Germany invaded Poland and the British declared the war on Germany 3rd
September 1939 announced by Arthur Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister (1937-
1940). He tried to avoid war and he wanted to come up with an appeasement policy
with Hitler. This made him rather unpopular.

Background situation to the war

In April 1940 Germans invade Norway breaking up British naval and military forces.
Netherlands and Belgium are also overrun and the French army beats a retreat. The
British now felt under threat. Thus, Chamberlain quit and Churchill becomes Prime
Minister (1940 – 1945) and (1951 – 1955).

Preparations for war

- Air-raid precautions were taken

- Trenches were dug in public parks
- Anti-aircraft weapons were placed on public buildings.
- 38 million gas masks were distributed to men, women and children.
- Children were evacuated from major cities to rural areas which were assumed
safe

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 - Rationing of food, petrol, clothing and other commodities started

Impact of WWII in Britain

The structure of the population was different from WWI, there was a spirit of
egalitarianism prevailed in this time. The distribution of ration books, gas masks,
identity cards and other wartime controls affected people equally. Suffering was
communal during the blitz (bombardeos de la Alemania nazi al reino unido durante
1940-41). With the evacuation of school children to the rural areas, vast sections of the
society got to meet for the first time.

Children were evacuated from urban slums and this led to access to improved medical
care, better food and employment for their parents. There was a mood of unity and
equality of sacrifice.

The Beveridge Report was a report which promised rewards for everyone's sacrifices.
Overwhelmingly popular with the public, it formed the basis for the post-war reforms
known as the Welfare State, which include the expansion of National Insurance and the
creation of the National Health Service. It was published in November 1942. This
environment of social changes brings: maternity benefits; child allowances;
comprehensive social security; universal health and unemployment benefits; old age
pensions and death benefits.

The 1945 Distribution Act would reverse the economic decline in north-east England
and Wales by diversifying and modernizing their economic structure. The aim was
avoiding a return to pre-war conditions of high unemployment.

Culture and Arts

The war gave new life to old values. War artists were encouraged and sponsored to
depict experiences: Moore, John Piper and Graham Sutherland are examples of such
artists. Paul Nash was an official war artist in both wars.Music received more stimulus:
The Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA) was created during
the war. There were lunchtime concerts in London during the blitz by Dame Myra
Hess.Cinema was more recognizable as an innovative art form. Creative realism could
be seen in films like Brief Encounter with wartime themes: separation, loss, sacrifice.

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The BBC played a prominent role in cultural communication during the war providing
entertainment and information.

Education

Up to 1939, large sections of the working class did not have secondary education. Very
few had had any higher education. The Butler Act of 1944 was a social landmark of the
war years. It laid the framework of a comprehensive secondary education for all divided
into secondary modern, grammar and technical. The Act paved the road for greater
degree of literacy and of social and occupational mobility.

Trade Unions

They were more active in government as no longer seen as outsiders. Some leaders
appointed under Churchill’s wartime coalition government. Ernest Bevin, a powerful
union leader was made Minister of Labour in May 1940.

Clement Attlee became post-war Labour Prime Minister (1945 – 1951) Clement
Attlee, the Labour Party leader, becomes Prime Minister.

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