Lecture 2.

Plan:

1. The 17^th Century Society of Great Britain.

2. Britain in the 18^th Century.

3. Britain of the 19^th Century.

4. The 20^th Century. The First World War.

5. Present-day Britain.

1. THE 17^TH CENTURY SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN

The influence of Puritanism increased greatly during the 17^th century, especially among the classes of merchants and the lesser gentry. The new official translation of the Bible encouraged Bible reading among all those who could read. Some people understood the Bible in a new way. As a result, by the middle of the 17^th century Puritanism had led to the formation of a large number of small new religious groups or sects. Most of theseNon-conformist sects lasted only a few years, but one is important, that is the sect of people who called themselves Quakers, or Friends. The Quakers became particularly famous for their reforming social work in the 18^th century.

The Church of England, unlike the Nonconformist churches, was strong politically, but it became weaker intellectually. The great religious writers of the period, John Bunyan, who wrote "The Pilgrim's Progress", and John Milton, who wrote "Paradise Lost", were both Puritans.

The situation for the poor improved in the second half of the 17^th century. Prices fell compared with wages, and fewer people had to ask for help from the parish. The middle groups continued to do well. Many who started life as yeoman farmers or traders became minor gentry or merchants.

Trade in Britain greatly developed in the 17^th century. Different regions of the country became less economically separated from each other. No place in Britain was more than 75 miles from the sea, and very few places were more than 20 miles from a river or canal. These waterways became important means of transport.

Before the 17^th century most towns did not have shops. They had market days on which farmers and manufacturers sold their produce in the town square or marketplace. By 1690, however, most towns also had proper shops. Shopkeepers travelled around the country to buy for their shops new goods, which drew people from the countrywide to see and buy them. The towns which had shops grew larger.

London. London remained much larger than any other town. By 1650 more than 500,000 people lived in it. The next largest cities, Norwich, Newcastle' and Bristol had only 25,000 each.

In London there was a new class of aristocrats. These people were rich, and most of them were representatives of old nobility.

Some of the aristocrats, however, were "new nobility" who had bought themselves titles for much money. Some of the older Tudor nobility did not want to accept the "new nobles" as equals. They culled themselves squires (which means the ruling class of the countryside) and looked down upon the upstarts.

After 1650 the rich began to meet in the new coffee-houses, which quickly became the meeting places for conversation and discussing politics. These coffee-houses later developed into present-day clubs, which are so popular in England today.

Family life. In the 17^th century the authority оf the father in the family continued to grow. It was the result of the increasing authority of the Church. The Protestants believed that teaching religion in the family was important, and put the responsibility on the head of the family. The father always led daily family prayers and Bible reading. In some ways he had taken the place of the priest. Absolute obedience on the part of¹ his wife and children was expected. Disobedience was considered an act against God as well as the head of the house.

One result of this growth of the father's authority was that children were frequently beaten to break their "sinful" will. A child who was not beaten was unusual.