Cultures Influencing Britain Until 1066

The Cultures Influencing Britain Until 1066

The Iberians

• They were the first inhabitants of Britain, arriving around 2000 BC.
• Their tribal culture originated from the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa, sharing similarities with Egyptian culture.
• Iberians were organized into tribes led by chiefs.
• They constructed hill forts on elevated ground with stone walls and primitive round or oval huts.
• Their spirituality, known as "The Cult of the Dead," laid spiritual foundations for later religious developments, including a belief in the afterlife and druidism.
• They created burial mounds, including chambered tombs.
• They constructed stone circles, also called henges, such as Stonehenge (3000 BC) and Avebury, the largest stone circle in England.
• They are known for hillside carvings, including The White Horse of Uffington, a hill figure resembling a dragon.

The Celts

• The Celts were present in Britain from 600 BC to 43 BC.
• They originated in the European Union (Germany and France) and migrated in search of fertile land and pastures, following herds and settling in areas suitable for farming and livestock.
• There were two main Celtic waves:
• Gaels (600 BC) from Germany, forming the basis for the Irish and Scottish languages
• Bretons (Britons, 400 BC) from northern France (Marne & Brittany), forming the basis for the Welsh and Breton languages
• Their spiritual knowledge was closely tied to nature, and they believed in the afterlife, possessing mostly oral culture, though they were familiar with writing.
• Most written history about them comes from the Romans.
• They valued connection with nature, gender equality, and dependence on personal qualities and power.
• Legends were passed down by poets and singers and later recorded by the Romans in the first monasteries.
• The Legend of Cuchullain/kuhulejn/ was written in ancient Gaelic.
• Cú Chullain was the son of a human woman and the god of the sun, paralleling Roman and Greek myths.
• As a young boy named Sétanta, he killed a fierce guard dog and took its place, earning the name Cú Chullain, Hound of Cuchullain.
• He became a defender of Ulster against invaders.
• Even when badly wounded, he faced his foes to avoid appearing weakened.
• His values included fame, bravery, and physical strength
• Their visual arts featured "never-ending knots" with no human depictions, representing eternal ornaments and the circle of never-ending life, along with traditional music with specific rhythms and melodies.
• Bards were their singers.
• They utilized runes for spiritual purposes.
• They accepted the Roman invasion.

The Romans

• 43 BC: Julius Caesar's attempts to raid the Celts were unsuccessful due to weather, unfamiliar terrain, and Celtic resistance.
• The conquest occurred 97 years after Caesar's attempts, led by Emperor Claudius (army led by Aulus Platus), resulting in the Roman occupation of southern Britain.
• Predominantly military camps were established, as few desired to live in Britain, viewing it as a punishment.
• Roman influence was incomparable to the life of the Celts.
• Very complex infrastructure (roads, aqueducts).
• Spas, villas, baths, cathedrals, forums, basilicas.
• Geographical names with suffixes -chester, -cester (e.g., Leicester).
• Hadrian's Wall separated Scotland and England to separate people who did not agree with the Roman presence in Brittania.
• Celts lived separately from the Romans, mainly in Scotland and Ireland.
• The Legend of Queen Boadicea is based on reality, not just a legend.
• She was a Celtic chief near London who started a rebellion against the Romans, but the Romans won.
• Often depicted with a weapon or in a chariot, influenced by Roman culture
• 410 AD: The Romans left to protect Rome from Pagan migrants.

The Angles and Saxons

• 542 AD - 1066: Civilization declined after Roman rulers left
• Britain was invaded by three tribes
• Scots from Ireland
• Pics from the North
• Saxons from the east and south
• Saxons and Germanic tribe of Angles merged and pushed Scots and Pics away
• England was divided into 7 kingdoms: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Jutes
• They constructed simple village homes from wood, mud, and straw, with one-room huts and a simple hearth. They did not live in abandoned Roman cities
• Tribal chiefs lived with warriors in special halls for feasts and parties (depicted in Beowulf).
• Their values included:
• Feudal society - loyalty to the king/leader to whom nobles gave military protection for land wealth.
• Money system (debts, taxes) where property determined value.
• Revenge-driven culture
• First Pagans (similar to Norse mythology); believed in fate, wrote runes for spiritual purposes (primitive compared to Romans); Monks also wrote.
• Later converted to Christianity, intertwining Pagan legends with Christian motives in written heritage
• Legend of King Arthur: first written in French
• Arthur is an ideal Celtic warrior who fought against the Anglo-Saxons
• Combination of Celtic and Christian values
• Beowulf: a warrior who traveled to Denmark to help King Hrothgar whose hall was terrorized by a monster
• He defeats the monster and its mother
• Years later he defeats a dragon but is mortally wounded
• Anglo-Saxon's Chronicle was written with the help of King Alfred
• The Book of Kells is a prayer book, specific art is illuminations, a way of painting, a strong influence of Christianity.
• The West Cross features a never-ending circle, an ornament

Medieval England: The Changes After 1066, Medieval Society, Medieval Towns, International Relations, Religion, Education, Etc.

• Medieval England: 1066 – 1485
• Battle of Hastings (1066) - Norman conquest, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II
• Battle of Bosworth (1485) - the Final Battle of Roses, Lancaster x York = the start of the Tudor dynasty.
• 1086 – Domesday Book – summary of properties for taxes (written in medieval Latin, a record of land ownership and resources by order of King William the Conqueror, used to assess taxes).
• The Black Death in the 1340s and 1360s caused by bubonic plague killed rats transmitted by fleas changed society in many ways.
• Hundred Year's War with France – 2 periods
• 1346: Battle of Crecy
• 1415: Battle of Agincourt - victorious battle for England, described as a proof of excellent leadership

Medieval Society

• Feudalism – King was absolute ruler; BUT had group of advisors = roots of sharing power with nobles
• Earls and Barons ran their manorial estates and rented them out to independent farmers (called yeomen).
• Craftsmen and middlemen, aka the semi-independent, increased in number (rise of the middle class).
• Introduced by Normans = the feudal pyramid – people strictly divided = class system.
• Medieval women were more independent than Victorian women with more rights to owning a house or business.
• Development of craftsmanship – domestic crafts (knitting, crocheting – made at home and resold).
• Value of education – 1167 Oxford, 1208 Cambridge (the two oldest universities in England); most illiterate, nobles were the only people to study.
• Slavery & serfdom was present
• Family unit and life = important and respected.

Religion

• Roman Catholicism unified previous Celtic religion.
• People accepted their social position - you must live a good life to be born into a better one in the afterlife.
• French (Norman) influence:
• The hierarchy was strictly given (pope as the head of the Catholic Church and the Bishop of Rome).
• Cultural connection between England and the rest of Europe
• The church was directing people's lives.
• Conflict between the state and the church (corrupted; no payments of taxes were given, operating for the Church not the state itself).
• The murder of Thomas Beckett – the archbishop of Canterbury died in 1170.
• Conflict with King Henry II – Beckett defended the rights of the church and refused the king's control.
• Henry's famous exclamation – “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?' = Beckett killed in the Canterbury Cathedral.
• Shock to the public = Beckett made a martyr and a saint = Henry ended up doing public penance and lost some power over the Church.
• First traces of satire and criticism of the Church.
• Corruption of religion is nicely shown in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
• Most arts were religionist - literature, art, glass windows, tapestries (The Legend of King George killing a dragon)
• Norman cathedrals – minsters – French influence on English architecture.

Countryside

• Majority was forested (oaks were the national tree of England).
• Royal forests - areas (not necessarily forested) which belonged to the king, were forbidden to be farmed not hunt in.
• Nature was seen as a resource for fields and food.
• Towns had to fit within town walls - the growing population caused them to be claustrophobic, yet it served as protection for its people.
• Cast out = serious punishment.
• Small villages were walking distance from each other.
• Houses differed in class (timber-framed houses are typical for lower class)
• Wooden, open fire, one room inhabited
• Houses were small so fit the town's walls
• Medieval castles were first simple structures of wood and straw = unsafe. stone = typical medieval castle (stone square with towers).
• York, Canterbury = towns of religious importance (Canterbury – headquarters for the Roman Catholic Church).

Traveling

• Common part of Medieval life.
• Pilgrim travels every Christian should undergo; often given as a punishment.
• Sign of faith, seeking forgiveness or healing; Canterbury, Rome, or Spain.
• Many pubs – public houses, sleepover
• Lower society – walking
• Higher society – horses or carts; absence of roads (except Roman ones).
• Traveling abroad = duty of aristocrats
• Most traveling was to the markets, economic improvements of the city.

Entertainment

• Difference between religious and “basic, common” entertainment; difference within social classes.
• Markets = center of performance.
• Theatre developed at the markets; simple performances to celebrate saints.
• Drinking – water was unsanitary, beer was the main liquid for both drinking and cooking; Aristocracy indulged in French wine
• Tournaments – display of physical power; also included animals (castles – bear fights, markets – chicken fights).
• Dancing – French type of entertainment.
• Card and dice games.
• Groups of Musicians - traveled from castle to castle = minstrels

Literature

• Geoffrey Chaucer - Canterbury Tales.
• William Langland - Piers Plowman - allegory exploring themes like faith, justice and corruption in the Church, through the dream visions of a man searching for a good Christian life.
• Minstrelsy - art of minstrels = songs about love, usually no written evidence.
• Jesters - close w/ masters; insulted through comedy (satire).

The Tudors: Lifestyle, Architecture, Culture and Entertainment, Religious Situation, Etc.

• The cradle of English patriotism.
• Started after The War of the Roses in the late 15th century (1485) = merging of the houses of York and Lancaster.
• Represents the end of connection with France.
• Rise of the middle class (merchants).
• 1485 - 1603
• Henry VII was the first Tudor King.

Henry VIII

• 1st half of the 16th century
• 1534 - The Act of Supremacy - establishment of the Anglican church = division of country in term of religion.
• King Henry VIII was the supreme head of the Church of England, breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church.
• Start of the English Reformation gave the king full control of religious matters in England.
• Cause - The Catholic Church did not allow for his divorce with Catherine of Aragon, arguing that Cath had been married before and God disapproved of this union.
• had six wives (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymor, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Catherine Parr).

Mary I

• Mary I was Elizabeth's half-sister.
• A devout Catholic tried to re-establish Catholicism & tried to reverse Anglican reforms that her brother and father founded.
• Execution of Protestants = the nickname Bloody Mary.

Elizabeth I

• The Virgin Queen.
• 2nd half of the 16th century
• Restored Protestantism and established the Church of England as a compromise between Catholic and Protestant practices.
• Never married, did not want to share her rule.
• The Golden Age during her reign = boom of art and literature.
• Enacted the "poor law" – giving annual allowance to peasants who were too old or sick to work.
• Established the strongest navy in the world.
• Won the battle against the Spanish Armada (1588) = Catholic SP attacked Protestant ENG.
• Beginning of colonization (India) – The East India Company.
• Economic and territorial expansion – increased nationalism.

Religion

• Renaissance and humanism = focus on man, weak influence of the church.
• Protestantism was the official religion.
• John Wycliffe translation of Bible from Latin to English believed even peasants and ordinary people should be able to learn about the religious practices; Bible supposed to be the ultimate teacher / not the corrupted priests.
• Influenced reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin critiqued Church practices (sell indulgences) and advocated reforms like salvation by faith alone.
• John Fox The Book of Martyrs lives of saints who were prosecuted for their protestant faith during the reigns of Catholic rulers like Mary I.
• Constant fights occurred between Catholics and Protestants.

Arts

• not much ENG art, imported collections from Europe.
• creating domestic galleries.
• admired classical ancient Greek and Rome art
• shoulders-up portrait paintings were popular, and later developed into full-body portraits.
• Architecture replicated to this day - timber-framed houses with frames filled with straw and clay called wattle and daub (later changed to bricks by the rich).
• Thatched roofs mostly made of straw, easy to catch fire
• Bricks and stone, sign of wealth
• Multi-story townhouses narrower at the bottom, wider at the top (increasing floor space on a small property).
• Window and glass tax, people with more windows were taxed more heavily
• Most houses did not have a foundation, crooked houses, slumping
• One story = one room, no ceiling, open fire, later stone fireplaces
• First introduction of fireplace, more stories
• The best bed was reserved for guests, the owner had the second best bed.

Entertainment

• Enjoyed by all social classes = decline of the feudal pyramid.
• Popular culture developed and was enjoyed by masses.
• Emergence of theatre (the Globe) – William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe.
• Games – card, establishments of tennis, soccer, shooting, bowling.
• Public performances – pantomime.
• Masque plays – performed at private parties, were used to celebrate the host of the party, with complicated masks and stage sets (designed by top-tier carpenters and designers).
• introduction of fireworks

The Stuarts: Characteristics, The Interregnum, The Restoration Period, The Glorious Revolution, Architecture, Culture, Etc.

• 17th century – the “God-fearing time” – plagues, Great Fire of London.
• The king was chosen by God, did not share power with anybody.
• There was political struggle.
• James I - divine right to rule, growth of Protestantism

James I of England and VI of Scotland

• Invited to rule England after the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
• Attempted assassination in 1605 during The Gunpowder Plot, but failed.
• The Gunpowder Plot a failed attempt by Catholic conspirators including Guy Fawkes, to blow up the House of Parliament and kill King James I, the goal was to end Protestantism and replace it with Catholic monarchy.
• The parliament was gaining more and more power and was critical of the royal government = armed conflicts.

Civil War

• 1642 - 1658
• Charles IX Oliver Cromwell (Puritan)
• 1642 – 1654 – England – The Commonwealth
• 1654 – 1660 – England – Protectorate
• civil war (1642) began under James's son, Charles I, between the royal and the parliamentarian governments.
• Royalists - nobility, north and west of England, Wales, Catholics.
• Parliamentarists – London, Southeast of England, navy, led by Oliver Cromwell.
• Charles executed in 1649 = parliamentarist victory = monarchy abolished = beginning of the Interregnum.

Interregnum

• 1649-1660
• there was no king, the country became a republic, ruled first by the Parliament then by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector.
• Cromwell could only rule because of his personality, and when his son succeeded him, people changed their minds.
• Charles II was invited to come back to England and restore the monarchy

Restoration Period

• Charles II ruled at peace, but his brother James II was Catholic = parliament invited two protestants, King William III and his wife, Queen Mary II, to take the throne = Glorious Revolution.
• Charles II brought to England the French lavish lifestyle that was too expensive to maintain (fashion, lifestyle of mobility).
• William and Mary signed The Bill of Rights = Parliament has the power and right to rule.
• The Great Fire of London destroyed thousands of buildings.
• The plague and a fire (destroyed London Bridge) was considered a punishment for their sins ( thus the “God-fearing time").
• It was suggested that the fire saved people from the bubonic plague since it burned all the rats, fleas, and filth.
• Many destroyed buildings were the Tudor timber houses and were rebuilt in the brick with houses further apart.

Literature

• John Milton – Paradise Lost – an epic poem that tells the story of Satan's rebellion, the story of Adam and Eve, and how humankind lost Paradise (based on the biblical tale from Genesis).
• John Bunyan – Pilgrim's Progress an allegory about a man named Christian on a spiritual journey to heaven, facing trials and representing moral and religious struggles.
• There was a restoration of comedy.
• The first female writers appeared.

Arts

• Inigo Jones was an English renaissance architect whose works destroyed during the Great Fire.
• Christopher Wren reconstruction of London, introduction of Baroque style (St. Paul's Cathedral)
• Trade was more profitable than agriculture importing from colonies
• Coffee and tea probably caused the scientific discoveries of this century; people stopped drinking too much beer.
• A scientific revolution occurred (Newton's gravity) = science founded and protected by Charles II.
• Migration of protestant Scots and Englishmen to England to try and make them Protestant = never-ending feud between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland.
• At the end of the Stuart time, it was declared that descendants of Sophia of Hanover would inherit the English throne.
• The Scots didn't like it and wanted to become independent to keep an alliance with France = The English made Scots unite = United Kingdom was established.

Changes Brought By Industrialization, Victorian Society

Georgian Britain

• 18th century
• Time of the rule of the four Georges (and a William).
• Time of great colonial expansions all over the world.
• A century of growing confidence foundations of empire.
• Overseas markets.
• State budget established.
• Political growth of the middle class: can now participate in the government.
• Power of the king is limited by legislation: a growing influence of the parliament.
• establishment of norms influencing king, church, people road to a modern constitutional monarchy.
• Political stability – royal patronage; the Whigs (liberal democrats) and the Tories (conservatives).
• Relationship with the colonies – US was set independent; they didn't want other colonies to be independent as well, so they looked after them; foreign policy (UK interacting with other countries, using diplomatic, military and economic measures to manage its empire and prevent further colonies from following the US example).
• Napoleonic wars – 1805, Battle of Trafalgar: marks the end of the Georgian period.
• A conflict between Napoleon's France and other EU powers including Britain.
• Trafalgar was a pivotal naval victory for Britain, led by Admiral Nelson.

Industrialization

• Late 18th to 19th century
• 1712– invention of the steam engine manual labor replaced by automation = mass production.
• used in manufacturing, transport, agriculture.
• First used to pump water out of coal mines, later put to use in the textile industry = big machines, big buildings = factories.
• More coal need for better transport = investments = profit = capitalism = means of production are privately owned and operate on profit, prices determined by supply and demand, people accumulate wealth based on their ability to sell goods
• Small productions are replaced by the large scale of manufactures.
• Transportation includes water canals and locomotive railways.
• Countryside + Urban Society:
• Large scale farms – land-clearances people forcibly removed from their land to make way for farming sheep breeding, mainly; many people ended up being pushed into cities = city expansion (a number of problems - homelessness, unemployment; people were unskilled, which resulted in a growing division between skilled and unskilled labour = emergence of the underclass; growth of crime, organized gangs, alcoholism, illness, bad hygiene, slams overcrowded, poorly built urban areas, often characterized by inadequate housing, lack of sanitation, and poverty, epidemic of cholera and smallpox)
• Journalism + industrialization of print newspapers, mass printing of books (Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe = the first novel)
• Rapid increase of the population.
• Time off spent in pubs drinking; cheap gin = alcoholism (Beer Street and Gin Lane by W. Hogarth – beer is lesser evil = tax on gin to reduce consumption).
• William Hogarth and the English school:
• W. Hogarth one of the first caricaturists, narrative art (art that tells a story), usually current events = speaking to people = campaign for/against alcoholism.
• Sir Joshua Reynolds portraits classicism, focus on upper class society

Victorian Society

• Growth of empire and arrogance.
• New attitude towards the colonization belief of Britain being the superior nation and spreading its values to other parts of the world to civilize non-Western people - was a noble task - White Man's Burden – Rudyard Kipling (a popularized term, believing it was the duty of Western powers to civilize non-Western people)

Social Life

• A time of deep social division.
• Industrial revolution was still ongoing = population growth was rapid
• The starving 40s – Ireland – Potato Famine (1840s.) affected the economy of the whole Britain, many people migrated to the US but also England. a period of mass starvation and disease caused by a potato blight = destroying of crops that many Irish people relied on for food. deaths of about one million people, causing another million to emigrate, significantly impacting Ireland's population and economy.
• Monarchy, Queen Victoria (1830s-1901), a symbol of the British Empire's strength and influence.
• Victorian values (self-improvement, religion, morality,.) symbols of stability; primary concern of middle and upper class, often enforced in public, while personal life was more private and less affected.
• Homosexuality was a crime (as long as it was done in public).
• The working class (factory workers, farmers, servants)
• Working long hours for little money - paid by the size of their families for bread.
• Housing old damp apartments, one room, public bathroom
• Diet bread, tea, potatoes, often rotten
• Clothing second-hand, dark colored to hide dirt, many patches
• Extremely poor people who could not afford housing lived in workhouses
• Children often died young, if they didn't they were sent to work instead of school.
• The Middle and Upper classes (managers, shop owners, lawyers, doctors, business owners)
• Housing furniture made to last a long time, lots of decoration, pianos
• Diet meat and bacons, puddings, cakes, Sunday hospitality (excuse for gluttony)
• Children did not have to work = increase in literacy
• Belief that hard work and good financial management were a road to success
• The upper class = royalty and aristocracy
• No underground sewers, sewage was in the streets = the Great Stink of London = Joseph Bazelgette, the first sewage system

Arts

Romanticism

• Victorian aesthetics = William Turner dramatic and emotional landscapes, paintings often captured the power of nature and the sublime. Romantic ideals of individual expression and deep connection to natural world.
• Pre-Raphaelites = Dante Gabriel Rosetti, Edward Burne Jones (rejection of classical standards of art established by Raphael, instead of drawing inspiration from earlier Renaissance and medieval styles; vivid color, intricate detail, themes of beauty, love and nature)
• Decadence, aestheticism, symbolism = (Oscar Wilde) goes against/promoting against pure enjoyment (art for art's sake = emphasizing beauty and sensory experience over moral or social concerns
• Arts and crafts movement = William Morris, John Ruskin things of everyday use should not only be useful but also beautiful

Colonization and its Role in the 19th Century, "White Man's Burden", the Development of the Empire in the 20th Century, Attitudes Towards The Empire

• Queen Victoria's reign was crucial for colonization.
• Growth of empire and arrogance.
• Mainly economical reasons for colonization

Early History

• Early places that Britain claimed for itself during the reign of Elizabeth I. = no settlements were made (N America, coast of Virginia and Newfoundland.
• Early claims were more about asserting dominance and laying the groundwork for future colonization, rather than an actual colonization.
• First British colony Roanoke Island colony: mysterious disappearance, said to migrate or be pushed out by the Natives.
• Establishment of companies (The East India Company), which were monopolies from English trade, granted special privileges by the crown, enabling them to control and dominate commerce (obchod) in these areas, often with significant profit for England.
• James I sought to establish colonies that would be governed under one of three structures;
• Crown Colony = legislature and administration directly controlled by the Crown, with a governor representing royal authority
• Charter Colony = legislature and administration controlled by a royal charter, under the control of an individual or a trading company
• Proprietary Colony = legislature and administration controlled by an individual or company by the Crown
• First successful colony was Ulster Plantations; Protestants were sent to Catholic Ireland in the early 1600s, a broader effort to control Irish lands and introduce Protestantism to the region.
• 17th century = American colonies; after eight years of war with Britain, the United States was formed, culminating in the 1776 Declaration of Independence (colonies formal break from British rule.
• Slave trade was abolished in 1807; it was illegal to engage in the transportation of slaves, however, complete abolition of slavery was done later in 1834 = slavery was officially outlawed throughout the British Empire.
• James Cook the first penal colony in Australia (1788) sending criminals to the newly claimed land to help build settlements and develop the colony.

19th Century

• White Man's Burden – Rudyard Kipling (a popularized term, believing it was the duty of Western powers to civilize non-Western people); a poem written for the US audience in which he gives them advice on how to colonize the world.
• New attitude towards the colonization belief of Britain being the superior nation and spreading its values to other parts of the world was a noble task.
• The East India Company primary British authority in Asia, major role in events like the Opium War with China.
• By 1856 India could no longer be governed by the Company, which was due to unrest and political instability, culminated in the Indian Rebellion, where civilians and soldiers revolted against Britain, and was brought to under direct British rule - establishment of British Raj in 1858.
• Around the same time Britain also gained rule over Cyprus.
• Canada was granted self-governance (1867). British North America Act, allowing it to function independently.
• Britain retained control over Canada's international relations and foreign policy until it gained full sovereignty later on.

The Peak of The British Empire.

• 1921 – control of vast territories across the globe making it the largest empire in history
• Many men from colonies helped to fight in the WWI

Independence of Ireland

• Home Rule and Resistance 19th & early 20th century IR pushed for self-government (Home Rule), facing resistance from Unionist in the North (Protestants seeing themselves as British in identity and culture = Belfast, Londonderry - fear of being religiously and politically marginalized as the majority of IR population was Catholic)
• Easter Rising (1916) a failed rebellion by Irish Republicans, sparked greater support for independence
• War of Independence (1919 – 1921) Irish Republican Army fought a guerilla war against British forces, in 1918 Sinn Féin won a majority in IR's parliament, advocating for full independence. Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) granting IR independence as the Irish Free State but left Northern Ireland part of the UK.
• Republic (1949) IR became a republic, fully severing ties with Britain.
• Ireland granted independence in (1921) – wave of questioning and calls for independence in other British colonies onset of WWII interrupted the movement as the colonies rallied together in support of Britain during the war
• Drained by the effects of war = Britain gradually relinquished control over its colonies between the 1940s and 1970s, no longer had the strength and resources to manage the empire
• Loss of India (1947) and considered “Jewel in the Crown" of the British Empire a significant decline in British imperial power notable increase in migration (India, Pakistan, the Caribbean moving to Britain in search for better opportunities)
• Commonwealth of Nations Canada, Australia, India is a political association of states, most of which where once a part of the British Empire.
• The transfer of Hong Kong from Britain to China (1997) “the end of the Empire," final departure of a major British colony

Current State

• 14 overseas territories as of now, Gibraltar being the most well-known
• Older generations often view the Empire positively as a symbol of British strength
• Younger people tend to focus on the atrocities (colonial violence, slave trade, repression, exploitation of resources, cultural suppression ) and injustices more negative perception

World War I and its Importance, Changing Attitudes, The Role Of Women, Propaganda, World War II and its Importance for British Identity

Beginning of 20th Century

• Death of Queen Victoria (symbol of Victorian values)
• Remains of Victorian Britain self-confidence in terms of industrial, economical and imperial power (incredible social division)
• Not world's number one anymore the US took the throne (steel industry) and Germany (heavy engineering.)
• Colonial issues, social issues (dissatisfaction with social status) = vast gap between social classes demand for better conditions (equality)
• 1910-1914 social concerns strikes, gold rushes (Alaska), realizing weakness in its economy
• Oppressed people in the colonies wanted change Britain reacted with force inability to handle problems diplomatically led to/ belief that the empire might not be able to survive
• King Edward (Victoria's son) brought society away from Victorian values.
• Less people attended service = protests took political form.
• The Suffragettes fought for women's right to vote.
• Beginning of treating children like children (boy scouts and girl guides), education became mandatory for everyone until the age of 14.
• More literate people more printed reading material boom of newspapers and books (Oscar Wilde, H, G Wells, Rudyard Kipling)
• Popularization of sport ( tennis, football, cricket, rugby, gymnastics, sailing, etc. )
• 1910–1914 union strikes workers protested for better wages, conditions, and rights growing social tensions and demands for reform

WWI

• Prompted by assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, Bosnia ( by a Serbian Gavrilo Princip) = Austrians threatened the Serbs - Austria declared war to Serbia = Russians came to protect Serbia = Germans declared war to Russia and everyone got involved
• Growing social unrest in Ulster – fear of another Civil War.
• Winston Churchill wanted to mobilize the army's request was denied.
• The Germans wanted to attack France through Belgium - Treaty of London, 1839 UK guaranteed Belgium neutrality and protection that officially had Britian enter the conflict.
• The belief in the power of humanity united the nation.
• Call for neutrality when Germany threatened – view increased suspicion and concern with growing aggression and intentions.
• Strong fake propaganda credible number of volunteers = a belief that war will be over until Christmas
• Pictures, literature, films.
• The military used recruitment posters.
• Women and support recruitment posters encouraged support.
• Patriotic and nationalism propaganda was shared.
• Atrocity propaganda was used.
• Great time for women as there were jobs in factories due to soldiers.
• In the army there were mechanics, nurses, spies, and messengers Women's Army Auxiliary Corps = women who took over the administrative part of the war to let men fight on the front lines. Flora Sanders was the only formally enlisted woman.

Soldiers and the Battlefield

• Trenches lined with sandbags was part of "The Trench War"
• Soldiers slept in dugouts infected with rats and lice.
• Food: pozzy from jam, water, and biscui, bacon, meat, stew, etc.
• “Vacation" 8 days a year; Did not share war horrors - Lost generation!
• No man's land / the open area between the front lines
• First usage of gas – used urine-soaked handkerchiefs as defense
• Weapons first used for the first time – machine gun, tank, submarines.
• Poetry - war poets wrote about experiences and feelings = slowly moving from positive to depressing (Rupert Brooke).
• rupert Brooke - The Soldier reflected idealized view of war, where the soldier said that if he died in battle, his sacrifices would have been worth it

Between Wars

• 1, 2/12 Lost generation that was a big problem.
• Division in IR into free state and Northern Ireland as part of the UK (the rest).
• Great depression hit by the US. Great Depression, debts to the US and currencies losses!
• There's a great time to express arts!
• Technical development – radio !
• Development! Construction of automobiles! consumer goods!

IIWW

• People were divided! !
• PM: Neville Chamberlain, was trying to avoid it and that's why that fragmentation of Czechoslovakia was defended at some point!

WWII

• PM's were trying to avoid at costs agreeing to fragmentation of Czechoslovakia.
• PM: defending Poland = the declaration was announced!
• 1939- 1945. didn't attach Germany (Germany invaded Norway) - Chamberlain's resignation (then Churchill was PM)!
• The war caused More civilians dies, the lack of supplies caused rationing (Princess bought. her wedding dress with rations)!
• The blitz- Bombing trying to get great B to surrender, Targets- London: destruction everywhere= people stayed strong (the typical stiff upper lip)!
• Attitude compared : w1 everyone was oblivion/and with this the other one, everyone was an actual part!

2nd Half of the 20th Century: The Welfare State, Margaret Thatcher, The Characteristics Of Each Decade, The Myth Of Permissive Society, The 1960s Views On: Abortion, Homosexuality, Marriage, Divorce, etc.

The welfare state- helps and states (same reasons = with crash)

• After two, politically moved to the lift!
• Communism, medical treatment and helps

19505

• ideology for the unit ( promotion like this/communism and systems
• 947: better place and baby boom = fix this .
• seeked better place
• immigrants of them were no skills= cannot make them get any joke -
• 162 suez crisis that took place (with it's
• new Look from w11!

S AND S

• relaxation of social
• Attention to minors :
• cities destroyed and cities destroyed and rising !
• Briten :
• teenagers
• homosexuaity
• abortion

1970'S

• bigger individuals (1)
• =money during this now and having what
• they were declaring like them ( bombing)! !+
• the power diminsing)