Tuesday 30 October 2012
Sunday 28 October 2012
THE ROMANTIC AGE
The period from the Declaration of American Independence to about 1830 was marked by great revolutions: the Industrial Revolution reshaped the social and political background of Britain; the British colonies on the other side of the Atlantic became a new and free nation; the French Revolution brought its ideas of freedom and equality all over Europe. All this was to influence also the cultural and literary aspects of life.
Saturday 20 October 2012
THE MYTH OF THE NATURAL MAN
Friday 19 October 2012
THE RISE OF THE NOVEL
Thursday 18 October 2012
THE AUGUSTAN AGE
When Queen Anne died without any heirs, the English throne was offered to her nearest Protestant relative, George of Hanover, who thus became George I of England. Throughout the long reign of George, his son, and grandson, all named George, the very nature of English society and the political face of the realm changed.
In
part this was because the first two Georges took little interest in the
politics of rule, and were quite content to let ministers rule on their behalf.
These ministers, representatives of the king, or Prime Ministers, rather
enjoyed ruling, and throughout this "Georgian period" the foundations
of English political party system was solidified into something resembling what
we have today.
But more than politics changed; English
society underwent a revolution in art and architecture. This was the age of the
grand country house, when many of the magnificent homes that we can visit
today were built.
Abroad, the English acquired more and more territory overseas through conquest and settlement, lands that would eventually make up an Empire stretching to every corner of the globe. Read here.
1714
- 1727
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Queen Anne was succeeded by George I of the House of Hanover, who was a
descendant of the Stuarts through his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth,
daughter of James I.
During his reign, real power was held by the Whigs’ leader, Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's
first Prime Minister.
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1727-
1760
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George II exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was
largely controlled by Great Britain's parliament.
During the last years of his reign, William Pitt the Elder of the Whigs, was appointed Prime Minister. He became famous as the wartime political leader of Britain in the Seven Years' War, especially for his single-minded devotion to victory over France. Victory made Britain dominant in world affairs. He was also known for his wide popular appeal, his opposition to corruption in government, his advocacy of British greatness, expansionism and colonialism, and his antagonism toward Britain's chief enemies and rivals for colonial power, Spain and France.
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Wednesday 17 October 2012
THE STUART DYNASTY AND THE RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY
1603
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As Queen Elizabeth I of England’s nearest
relative, James I, the son of
Mary, Queen of Scots, succeeded to the throne of England at her death.
He became the first
Stuart king and he combined the
thrones of England and Scotland for
the first time.
He had problems with
Parliament throughout his reign because he believed in the divine right of kings to rule and in the subjection
of Parliament to the King’s will; he also insisted on strict conformity to
the Anglican Church which excluded
both Catholics and Puritans from government.
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1621
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A group of Puritans (a branch of extreme Protestants within the Anglican Church; they obeyed strict moral rules, believed spiritual life should become the focal point of all human existence, wanted to purify their Church from any traces of Catholicism), the Pilgrim Fathers, sailed to America on the Mayflower and founded New
Plymouth in Massachusetts - the New World provided a convenient ground for
unwanted religious and political agitators
and also a valuable market for English goods.
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1625
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When Charles I became king of England, he engaged in a struggle for power with Parliament, attempting
to obtain royal revenue, while Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which he believed was divinely ordained.
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1629-1640
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When Parliament refused to give him money, Charles I
responded by dissolving Parliament and reigned as an absolute sovereign causing great hostility.
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1642
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The conflict
between the King and Parliament
led to the Civil War. There were two factions: the Royalists or Cavaliers, who supported the King, and the Roundheads, the parliamentary faction led by Oliver
Cromwell, who were supported by the landed gentry, the mercantile classes
and Puritans.
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1647
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The King was made prisoner and Cromwell took control
of London and arrested more than 100
Members of Parliament loyal to the King.
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1649
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Charles I was executed, monarchy was abolished and
Cromwell established a republic known
as the “Commonwealth”. However it was
little more than a dictatorship, and Cromwell
made himself Lord Protector, a
position he held until his death in 1658.
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1660
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After a period of political uncertainty, the son of
the beheaded Charles I was invited to return from his exile in France and
became Charles II.
The restoration of monarchy was greeted with a sigh of relief by most
people, who had felt oppressed in their
everyday life by the strict rules of
the Puritan Commonwealth.
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1665
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London was struck by an outbreak of bubonic plague,
during which more than 100,000 people died.
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1666
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The so-called “Great
Fire of London” destroyed most of the city in four days.
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1673
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To reassert the predominance of the Church of
England, the Test Act was
passed, which excluded from public
offices those who refused to receive the communion according to the rites
of the Church of England - the Test Act, required all persons holding public office to receive the Sacrament according to the Anglican rite and expressly to deny the Roman doctrine of Transubstantiation.
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1685
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James II, Charles
II’s brother, came to the throne. He
had open Catholic sympathies and
wanted to impose Catholic religion
on a country which was largely Protestant. Thus Parliament made secret arrangements to depose him.
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1688
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James II was forced to abdicate leading to the event which became known as the Glorious Revolution because it was successful with minimal bloodshed. Parliament offered the throne
to William of Orange, who
reigned as William III, and his wife Mary, who were established as joint monarchs.
Their reign marked the beginning of the
transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centred rule of the House of Hanover.
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1689
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The Bill of
Rights established that the Crown
could not rule the country without Parliament; it weakened the power of the
monarch and Britain became a
constitutional monarchy.
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1689
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The Toleration
Act allowed more religious
freedom.
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1701
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The Act of Settlement
prohibited Catholics from inheriting the
British throne.
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1702
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Queen Anne, the Protestant daughter of James II, came to the throne.
Despite seventeen pregnancies,
Anne died without surviving children and she was the last monarch of the Stuarts.
Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to
share her Anglican religious
views than their opponents, the Whigs.
Since the time of the Glorious
Revolution there had been a development of the two great parties which
would dominate English political
life for the next two hundred years: the Whigs represented the interests of the middle classes; the Tories represented the old aristocracy, they were loyal supporters
of the Crown and stricter in religious
matters.
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1707
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With the Act
of Union England, Wales and Scotland joined to form the united Kingdom of
Great Britain.
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