LECTURE 2.
The very first stages of the existence of people on the British Isles are frequently described as prehistoric and referred to as unwritten history of Britain.
The geographical position of the land was both a blessing and a problem: on the one hand the insular position protected the country from invasions; and on the other — the lowland facing the continent always invited invasions.
The first ever inhabitants are believed to be hunters of the Old Stone Age who came from the Continent and the Beaker people who were called because they were able to make the clay mugs or "beakers". The beginning of the Stone Age coincided with the arrival of new invaders, mainly from France. They were the Celts. Reputed to be tall, fair and well built, they had artistic skills and were good craftsmen. Their dialects were imposed on the native population: the Gaelic form was spread in Ireland and Scotland, and the Brythonk in England and Wales. It was the Brythonic tribe of the Celts that gave its name to the whole country. The culture of Celts in the Iron Age was not altogether barbaric. Their Priests, the Druids, were skillful in teaching and administration.
The chief significance of this period for people in Britain today is the sense of mystery, which finds its focus in astonishing monumental architecture. Such places as Silbury Hill or Stonehenge have a special importance for those interested in the cultural and religious practices of pre-historic Britain.
The Roman Period (43-410)
In 55 and 54 BC the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar carried out two expeditions to Britain but the Romans were able to occupy Britain almost a century later in 43 AD when Emperor Claudius sent his legions over the seas. The occupation lasted more than three centuries. The Romans saw their mission of civilizing the country. They imposed their own way of life & culture. The British were not conquered easily. There was a resistance in Wales and the Romans destroyed the Druids, a class of Celtic priests (or witch- doctors).
There was a revolt in East Anglia, where Queen Boadicea (Boudicca) and her daughters were fighting against Roman soldiers and were defeated. The Roman occupation was spread mainly over England, while Wales, Scotland and Ireland remained unconquered areas of the Celtic fringe — preserving Celtic culture and traditions.
The Romans imposed Pax Romana,— Roman peace — which stopped tribal wars, and protected Britain from the attacks of outsiders — Picts in the North, Saxons from overseas.
The Romans also brought Christianity to Britain and the British Church became a strong institution.
On the whole they left very little behind – neither a system of law & administration nor the language. Most of their villas, baths & temples, their impressive network of roads, & the cities they founded including Londinium were soon destroyed. Almost the only reminder of their presence are place names like Chester, Lancaster which include variations of the Roman word castro – a military camp.
By the fifth century the Roman Empire was beginning to disintegrate and the Roman legions in Britain had to return back to Rome to defend it from the attacks of the new waves of barbaric invaders. Britain was left to defend and rule itself.
The Germanic Invasions (410-1066)
One reason why Roman Britannia disappeared so quickly is probably that its influence was largely confined to the towns. In the countryside, where most people lived, Celtic speech & culture continued to be dominant. The Roman occupation had been a matter of colonial control rather than large-scale settlement. But during the 5th century a number of tribes from the north-western European mainland invaded & settled in large numbers. Tho of these tribes were the Angles & the Saxons. They soon had the south-east of the country in their grasp. In the west their advance was halted by the legendary King Arthur & his people. Nevertheless, by the end of the 6th century, they & their way of life predominated in nearly all England & in parts of southern Scotland. They pay little attention to towns, the Anglo-Saxons had a great effect on the countryside where they introduced new farming methods & founded thousands of villages.
The Anglo-Saxon England was a network of small kingdoms. The seventh century saw the establishment of seven kingdoms: Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons), Wessex (West Saxons), East Anglia (East Angles), Kent, Mersia and Northumbria and the largest three of them — Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex — dominated the country at different times.
The Anglo-Saxon kings were elected by the members of the Council of Chief- tains (the Witan) and they ruled with the advice of the councilors, the great men of the kingdom. In time it became the custom to elect a member of the royal family, and the power of the king grew parallel to the size and the strength of his kingdom.
By the end of the eighth century the British Isles were subjected to one more invasion by non Christian people from Scandinavia. They were called Norsemen or Danes, or the Vikings. The Vikings were brilliant sailors, they had the fastest boats in Europe, that were moving powered by sail. They crossed the Atlantic, and founded a colony in North America 500 years before Columbus. They had repeatedly raided the Eastern Coast of England, and by the middle of the ninth century almost all English Kingdoms were defeated by the Danes. In 870 only Wessex was left to resist the barbaric Danes. At that time the West Saxons got a new young King, his name was Alfred, later he was called Alfred the Great. And no other king has earned this title. Alfred forced the Danes to come to terms — to accept Christianity and live within the frontiers of the Danelaw — a large part of Eastern England, while he was master of the South and West of England.
King Alfred created an efficient army and built a fleet of warships. Viking invaders were forced to go South and settle in Northern France, where their settlement became known as Normandy, the province of the Northmen.
The England of King Alfred the Great received a new Code of laws which raised the standards of English society. New churches were built, foreign scholars were brought, schools were founded, King Alfred himself translated a number of books from Latin, including Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica and began the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, a year-by year history of England.
Alfred the Great saved England from the Danish conquest, but in the 10th— 11th centuries the Danes managed to expand their possession in Great Britain and from 1013 to 1042 the Danish royal power triumphed in England. King Canut's empire included Norway, Denmark and England. In 1042 Edward the Confessor was elected king by the Witan. He was half Norman and William the Duke of Normandy was his cousin and a close friend, Edward the Confessor was a religious monarch and devoted his attention to the construction of churches and most of all to the building of Westminster Abbey. Edward the Confessor died in 1066 without an obvious heir.
And the Witan elected Harold, a Saxon nobleman from the family of the Godwine, the king of England. Harold's right to the English throne was challenged by William the Duke of Normandy who claimed the English Kingdom as his rightful inheritance which had been promised to him by the late King Edward the Confessor.
1066 was a crucial year for the Saxon King, and for the history of the English.
Harold had to fight against two enemies at the same time. In the South Wiliam of Normandy was preparing to land in England, in the North, in Yorkshire, the Danes renewed their attacks against England.
After a hard and long struggle Harold and his brothers were killed in the battle of Hastings.
William captured London and was crowned King of England in Westmister Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066, The Norman period in English history had begun.
The Norman period.
The successful Norman invasion of England in 1066 brought the country into the mainstream of western European culture. The Norman soldiers were given the ownership of land & the people who lived on it. A strict feudal system was imposed. All land in the country belonged to the Crown. The king was the greatest landowner in the country. He gave away the land to the great landowners. Great nobles, or barons, were responsible directly to the king. Lesser lords each owning a village were directly responsible to a baron. Under them were the peasants, the English-speaking Saxons. The lords & the barons were the French-speaking Normans. This was the beginning of the English class system. It was the time of the political unification of the country, the centralization of the government, the supreme power of the king over all his vassals, an emergence of English common law, the making of Parliament to which representatives from rural & urban areas were elected.
The brightest evidence of the situation in the country was the Domesday Book (1086), a survey of England's land and people; according to it Norman society still rested on "lordship, secular and spiritual, and the King, wise or foolish, was the lord of lords, with only Lord in Heaven and the Saints above him."
William I The Conqueror (1066-1087) (the Norman Dynasty) died as a result of falling from his horse in a battle in France, was succeeded by his two sons, one after the other: William II (1087-1100) was cruel but a brave soldier, little loved and little missed when he died.
Henry I (1100-1135) was scholarly and well educated. His daughter was married to the German Emperor Henry V, and later upon his death to Geophrey of Anjou; the son of Geophrey of Anjou (Angevin) became the first Plantagenet (Planta genista –Latin for "broom”).
Henry II was the first king to have a conflict with the church. His reign was one of constitutional progress & territorial expansion.
Henry I (1100-1135) was scholarly and well educated. His daughter was married to the German Emperor Henry V, and later upon his death to Geophrey of Anjou; the son of Geophrey of Anjou (Angevin) became the first Plantagenet (Planta genista –Latin for "broom”).
Henry II was the first king to have a conflict with the church. His reign was one of constitutional progress & territorial expansion.
John (Lackland) (1199-1216), the youngest son of King Henry II, continued the dynasty's rule. He was the most unpopular king: he lost most of his French possessions; he broke his father's heart with his misbehavior, he rebelled against his brother, quarrelled with the Pope, etc. The list of his stupidities and misdemeanors was endless but he did one good thing (or was forced to do it). In 1215 the barons made him seal the Magna Carta, which, though it limited the prerogative of the Crown and extended the powers of the Barons, has since become the foundation stone of an Englishman's liberty.
The 13th century was described by historians as a Plantagenet spring after a grim Norman winter. It was the century of the new gothic style in architecture, of Salisbury Cathedral, foundation of universities, the development of the Common Law & the Parliament, and the emergence of English as the language of the nation. But the following two centuries were filled with wars, discord and discontent.
The 14th century brought the disasters of the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) the Peasants' Revolt 1381, the extermination of the population by the Black death (1348-1349) and punitive execution of the participants, with positive achievements in literature (Geoffrey Chaucer completes the Canterbury Tales (1393)),—architecture,—and further strengthening of the English language.
The 15th century saw a development of folklore — ballads of Robin Hood's were dramatized on the village commons; singing and other musical arts, dramatic arts, portrait painting left wonderful examples for us to admire.The 15th century saw the continuation of the struggle for the crown and the establishment of the Lancaster dynasty in the person of Henry IV, King of England (1399-1414).
So, in the 15th century for all the conflicts, the forces of progress were breaking through, laying foundations for destroying feudalism, for developing capitalism and formation of the English national economy.
The end of the Wars of the Roses, the victory of Henry Tudor at Bosworth field and his marriage with Princess Elizabeth, heiress of the House of York (1485) were the events that symbolized the end of the Middle Ages in Britain. The year of 1485 is traditionally considered the watershed and the beginning of the Tudor Age.
The 16th century.
The Tudor dynasty (1485-1603) established the system of government departments, staffed by professionals who depended for their position on the monarch. As a result the feudal barons were no longer needed for implementing government policy. Parliament was split into two Houses. The House of Lords consisted of the feudal aristocracy & the leaders of the church. The House of Commons consisted of representatives from the towns & the less important landowners in rural areas.
There was the rise of Protestantism in England. Henry VIII wanted a divorce which the Pope wouldn’t give him. The King rejected the Roman Church & made himself head of the Church of England. All church lands came under his control and gave him a large new source of income. In 1534 the Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy declaring him the Supreme Head of the Church of England. His Chancellor Sir Thomas More refused to recognize the Act and that cost him his life — he was charged with high treason and executed in the Tower.
With the help of his new Chancellor Thomas Cromwell Henry VIII ordered to suppress the monasteries, he captured the wealth of the monasteries that had been dissolved and destroyed. The lands of the monasteries were either sold or given to the new supporters who turned out to be enthusiastic protestants all of a sudden.
In 1536 he managed to unite Wales with England. It was the first Act of Union in the history of Britain. Henry died in 1547. Henry VIII had destroyed the power of the Pope in England, but he didn't change the religious doctrine. He appointed Protestants as guardians of the young Edward VI (1547-1553) and they carried out the religious reformation.
After the death of Edward VI there was a highly unstable situation in the country. In his will which contradicted his father's bequest King Edward VI disinherited his sisters and proclaimed Lady Jane Grey the Queen of England (1553). Jane Grey ruled only for nine days. But the people opposed her reign and supported the claim of Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon.
Queen Mary I was determined to return England back to the Pope, as she was a fanatic Roman Catholic. She crushed the rebels and pursued an aggressive policy against protestants: more than 300 people were executed in the worst traditions of the Inquisition — she burned them. That is why she earned the nickname Bloody Mary.
Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, succeeded her half-sister to the great delight of the people. Her first steps were to restore the moderate Protestantism of her father.
In 1587 Mary Queen of Scots was executed. But Elizabeth blamed her death on her officials.
In the 16th century the economic growth was getting faster, though still limited by feudal relations. Trade and Industry were growing. The Royal Exchange was founded in 1571, East India Company — in 1600.
Education was further developing. Many Grammar schools were founded in the 16th century. New foundations like Harrow and Rugby admitted clever boys as well as rich ones, and could rightly be called "public schools". Elizabeth gave her name to the historical period, her reign (1558-1603) was described as "the Golden Age of Elizabeth", the most colorful and splendid in English history. She was the embodiment of everything English, and the English had found themselves as a nation.
In the last decade of Elizabeth's reign Shakespeare wrote about 20 plays, from Henry VI to Hamlet.
The 17th century.
"The ideology of the rising classes in England at the beginning of the 17th century was Puritanism, it was a form of democratic religion similar to the Calvinist views: denying the supremacy of a man over religious faith, demanding a direct contact with God without any mediators, without anyone between Man and God, thus denying Church as an unnecessary institution. It was a challenge to the Church of England and the Monarch as its head, to the absolute Monarchy altogether.
James VI King of Scots — born in 1566, crowned King of Scots in 1567, became James I (1603-1625) of England. When James I became the first king of the Stuart dynasty, the crowns of England & Scotland were united. Although their parliaments & administrative & judicial systems continued to be separate, their linguistic differences were lessened in this century.
The Stuart Kings were less successful than the Tudor Monarchs. James I, and later his son Charles I were extravagant and wasteful.
Charles I Stuart (1625-1649) was in a constant conflict with Parliament. The Parliament, when convened, refused to give the King financial support, and Charles I ruled for 11 years without Parliament (1629-1640). That Period of Personal Government, during which the King did not receive the usual financial aid and had to raise money as best as he could: pawned Crown Jewels, gave out honors, etc.; came to an end when he became involved in a war with Scotland for which he couldn't pay.
The King (Charles I) was forced to convene a meeting of the Great Council and later to call a Parliament. And he had to concede to this Parliament almost all that it asked, so badly he was in need of money. Parliament established its supremacy over the monarchy in Britain. Anger grew in the country at the way that the Stuart monarch raised money. People thought the luxurious lifestyle of the king & his followers was immoral. This conflict led to Civil War, which ended with complete victory for the parliamentary forces.
Charles I was brought to trial for High Treason, his supporters were not allowed to be present. He was sentenced to death, "and in a hushed silence on a cold January morning the King of England met his death with a courage and dignity that commanded respect." He was beheaded in Whitehall on the 30 of January 1649.
The House of Lords was abolished, some famous Royalists were captured and beheaded.
A Council of State was created to govern the country, which consisted of forty one members. On December 16th in Westminster Oliver Cromwell publicly accepted the title of Lord Protector of a United Commonwealth of England, Scotland, Ireland and the colonies.
Oliver Cromwell was a unique blend of country gentleman and professional soldier, of religious radical and social conservative. He was at once the source of stability and the ultimate source of instability. With his death the republic collapsed as his son and successor Richard lacked his qualities and was deposed 6 months after the beginning of his rule.
The new parliament voted to recall Charles II and store the Monarchy in Britain.
James II became the King of England after his brother's death in 1685. He had two daughters — Mary and Ann — from his first Protestant wife, and they were Firm Protestants. Mary was married to her first cousin, William of Orange, a Dutch prince and a militant Protestant.
When the Catholic second wife of James II gave birth to a baby son, the English Parliament and the Protestant bourgeoisie were alarmed by the prospect of Catholic succession of Monarchs.
Tories, Whigs and Anglicans began to look for a Protestant rescue. They invited William of Orange to invade Britain. The political events of 1688 were called "the Glorious Revolution" as they had realized the bourgeois theories of the nature of government. Parliament immediately drew up a Bill of Rights which limited some of the powers of the monarch.
The seventeenth century was the age of the Stuarts — their rise in 1603, their tragedy and defeat from 1648-1660, their restoration in 1660, their constant struggle against the Parliament which resulted in their forced compromise and the victory of the Parliament, the victory of the new ruling classes.
The economy of Britain by the end of the century was developing freely, new economic institutions like the Bank of Britain (1695) were founded. Trade and colonies were flourishing. The East India Company was the greatest corporation in the country.
The religious struggle and conflicts gave freedom to all Protestants.
After the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London came the efforts of Sir Christopher Wren and the achievements of science made by I. Newton and other members of the Royal Society. By the end of the century Britain was becoming a prosperous country.
Politically, this century was stable. The new British flag united the flags of England and Scotland combining the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Scotland retained its legal system and the established Church and also gained free trade with England.
England, Scotland and Wales were united and became Great Britain.
Queen Anne was the last Stuart monarch, she died in 1714; and according to the Act of Settlement, she was succeeded by Protestants of Hanoverian Dynasty.
Within Parliament there appeared two opposed groups – the Whigs & the Tories. The Whigs supported the Protestant values of hard work & thrift, believed in government by monarch & aristocracy together. The Tories had a greater respect for the idea of the monarchy & the importance of the Anglican Church. This could be said to be the beginning of the party system in Britain.
There were military conflicts near Lexington and Concord near Boston. The Congress of the United Colonies at Philadelphia elected George Washington, of Virginia commander of their armed forces (1775). A year later, on the 4 of July, 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
Britain gradually expanded its empire, the increased trade was one factor which led to the Industrial Revolution. The many technical innovations in the areas of manufacturing & transport during this period were also important contributing factors.