Практична робота № 2

Тема: Англія у XVII столітті. Династія Стюартів

Мета: систематизувати вивчений матеріал; проаналізувати основні історичні події століття, діяльність визначних особистостей того часу.

Procedure

Task 1. Monarchs from the House of Stuart had traits that made them recognisable in the popular history. Match the traits of the monarchs to their names.

The House of Stuart

1. James I	a) let shape the main features of Constitutional monarchy
2.Charles I	b) was invited to take the English Crown because of his Protestant views
3.Charles II	c) came to power after the Puritan revolution failed
4. James II	d) united the crowns of England and Scotland, introduced the name Great Britain
5. William III	e) was opposed for his support of Roman Catholics and had to leave Britain
6. Anne	f) was executed by English people as guilty of treason

Answers: 1- ____, 2 -______, 3 -____, 4 -______, 5 -____, 6-______.

Task 2. Fill in the table representing two opposing parties that were formed in the 17^th century. Trace their development in the following period.

	The Tories	The Whigs
The main political interests and religious beliefs
The origin of the name
The people who formed the party
Present-day name and situation

Task 3. Finish the sentences.

1. James I was the first King of Great Britain because _________________________

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2. Among the number of plots against James I the most famous is ________________

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3. Charles I reigned for 11 years without the Parliament and then summoned it because _____________________________________________________________

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4. The Long Parliament took special measures to ____________________________

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5. The whole Britain divided into two opposite sides — ______________________

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6. The war between the Royalists and the Roundheads was lost by_______________

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7. Charles I was brought to trial for_______________________________________

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8. The Republic of Commonwealth was governed by _________________________, who____________________________________________________________

9. Commonwealth stopped its existence because _____________________________

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10. William of Orange was invited to govern Britain because__________________

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11. William's succession was called "Glorious Revolution" be­cause ______________

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12. Anne let the main feature of Constitutional monarchy shape be­cause___________

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Task 4. These are some important events of the Stuart period in Eng­land. Rank them in importance and explain your choice.

______ The British Empire was started.

______ English and Scottish Crowns were united.

______ King was executed and republic was established.

______ Habeas Corpus Act was passed to protect the interests of an indi­vidual.

______ By the Bill of Rights the basic principles of Constitutional monarchy were established.

Task 5. Describe any of events or persons of this period which or whom you remembered best (no less than five sentences).

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The 18^th century HO

Britain in the 18^th Century

The 18^th century became a century of wealth and fame for Britain, but also it was one of the most difficult centuries for British foreign policy because of numerous wars and battles. It was a century of colonial expan­sion and formation of the colonial empire, a century of great scientific discoveries, industrial innovations and industrial growth.

In foreign policy the 18^th century became the time of another "Hundred Years War" against France (Marlborough's wars) — the chief commercial and political rival of England at that period.There were seven great wars with short intervals of peace, in differ­ent parts of the world. These wars were carried by Britain with differ­ent allies, but against the same enemy — France. The wars lasted all through the 18^th century, and only in the 19^th century the long struggle finished with the battle of Waterloo in 1815. The victory in these wars was of primary importance for Britain, as it gave her new profitable markets overseas.

This period was rather successful for Britain not in foreign policy only. At home different trades were flourishing, good crops and industrial growth made the period of Marlborough's wars quite calm and prosperous. The age of Queen Anne was not only a time of great victories, but also a period of flourishing English culture and literature, a period of such famous men of letters as Joseph Addison, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and many others. This period is remembered as "Augustan Age" in England — the age of victories, prosperity and literature.

The Accession of the House of Hanover. The Reign of George I

When Queen Anne died in 1714, the succession passed to a non-Eng­lish-speaking German, the Duke of Hanover, who was a great-grandson of James I. Thus George Hanover became King George I of England and the Hanover Dynasty was started.

King George, who showed little interest in British affaires, made no efforts to learn English, so his presence at Cabinet meetings was useless. The cabinet at that time was formed of ministers, who had to advise the King on different matters. All the ministers were equal and as the King could not preside over their sittings, they had to choose a chair. In the course of the years the situation changed — the Cabinet was formed by Primer Minister, who presided over it and chose the people he wanted for each post.

At the time of George I the Cabinet was presided over by Sir Robert Walpole, who promoted the shaping of the Cabinet system. Though Robert Walpole never took the name of Prune Minister, which he regarded as something foreign to the English constitution, he exercised most of the powers of a Prime Minister.

The Industrial Revolution

There were some reasons for amazing economic and industrial growth that made Britain the most developed country of the period:

1. Accumulation of tremendous wealth in the country as a result of colonial warfare and expansion.

2. The development of the Bank of England provided support for the people who wanted to lend or borrow money for business purposes. Pri­vate banks were started even in small towns. Now the manufactures had a means to support their business.

3. The enclosure movement in the country led to the impoverishment of peasants, who had to leave their villages and migrate to the towns in search of new jobs. They created necessary labour supply for the Industrial Revolution.

4. The transformation of agriculture increased the profits of landlords, who invested their money into industry either through banks or directly through the stock market.

5. The growth of wealth provided big investments into engineering science, which led to the major inventions of the 18^th and 19^th centu­ries — spinning weaving machines and the most important invention — a new type of steam engine by James Watt.

6. The growth of population and colonies provided a necessary market for British goods, which were exported to different parts of the world.

Тhе Industrial Revolution changed English life — the small manu-facturing towns developed into industrial centres, the transport system was improved and in the 19^th century the first railway was built. The Industrial Revolution changed all the English society — political power moved from the landed to the manufacturing classes. The new class appeared in society — the class of industrial workers or "operatives" as they were called. "Operatives" replaced earlier handworkers, who were losing their jobs because of new inventions. It was a difficult period for many of handwork­ers, so at the end of the 18^th century a movement known as Luddism (after the name of its leader Ned Lud) began. The weavers gathered in great numbers and began to destroy the looms. The movement reached its peak at the beginning of the 19-th century. The government severely opposed this movement; many of the local leaders were executed. Later the workers began to unite into groups to defend their economic rights. These were the first organisations of the emerging working class, which later in the 19^th century formed the basis of the trade union move­ment in the country.

Cultural Life in the 18^th Century

Cultural life in the 18^th century was marked by revival of theatre and drama, which began to develop after the revolution of the 17^th century. The Augustan Age gave birth to such well-known playwrights as Richard Sheridan, Oliver Goldsmith and David Garrick. They showed the bad sides of contemporary society, giving the way to the "human comedy" of a democratic theatre. The 18^th century was the age of classicism in art and architecture. The idea of the "antique" was believed to be the sign of wealth and power. The principles of classicism were applied in town planning and country house design. Antique art was widely studied and paid great attention to. English painting of the period is represented by brilliant artists William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and William Blake. The most outstanding names in literature were Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Jonathan Swift. Very popular was also the Enlightenment movement whose participants believed in the primary role of education, which can remodel society and transform the individual.

The Union with Scotland

The Crowns of England and Scotland were united by James I in 1603, but there was no political unification — the two countries had their own Parliaments and system of law. The situation was worsened by religious and commercial disputes. The Scots were Presbyterians, while the English were mainly Anglican. The English still regarded Scotland a foreign country in trading purposes, so they forbade her to trade with English colonies.

All these causes developed enmity and hostility between two countries. In 1703, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act of Security, according to it the two thrones had to be separated after the death of Queen Anne. England replied by further trade restrictions. It was clear that Scotland would lose more from isolation than from union with England. In 1707, after long negotiations, an Act of Union was passed.

The most important points of this act were:

- the two countries should form one United Kingdom of Great Brit­ain;

- the Scottish Church and law remain untouched;

- the two countries get equal trade privileges;

- forty-five Scottish members and sixteen Scottish representative peers should attend a United Parliament.

Now the island became Great Britain with its symbolic flag, the Union Jack. Though the union was not immediately popular, both countries soon found political and economic advantages of co-operation. It was the crea­tion of order on a new scale.

The French Revolution. The Union with Ireland

The end of the 18^th century was full of stormy political events in Eu­rope; the most important of them for Britain were the French Revolution and the Irish rebellion.

The French Revolution began with the storming of the old prison — the Bastille in 1789 by the poor layers of the French population. The French King was captured and France was declared a republic. Soon the revolu­tionary ideas affected British society, which divided into supporters and critics of the Revolution.

Though British government was afraid that French Revolution could cause serious discontent in Britain, it made little influence on England, Scotland and Wales, but Ireland was affected greatly. Revolution in France and successful American Revolution encouraged the Irish struggle for in­dependence. It was a result of anti-Catholic policy of British government and the Protestant Parliament in Dublin. According to the laws passed by the Parliament Catholics could not vote and become members of the Dublin Parliament, they could not go to university or join the land. All this made Catholics second-class citizens in their own land.

In 1791, the Society of United Irishmen was formed in Belfast to fight for complete separation and independence from Britain. Wolfe Tone, the leader of the movement, called for universal suffrage and the abolition of the official Anglican Church.

In 1798, the movement spread all over Ireland and caused the mass rebellion. The rebellion was unsuccessful — its leaders and active partici­pants were captured and sentenced to death. The Dublin Parliament was dissolved. Finally the British Parliament passed the Act of Union, which came into effect in 1801. This act provided the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which lasted for 120 years, until 1921 when the independent Irish Republic was formed.