英美文化 03 A Brief British History

A Brief Exploration of British HistoryI.Several Famous Kings before 10661.King Arthur, king of the Britons in the sixth century a.d. and to have held court at Camelot[ ✌❍♓●♦] (a legendary place).卡米洛特(传说中英国亚瑟王宫廷所在地)2.King Alfred the Great (849-899), king of Wessex (871–899), a Saxon kingdom in southwesternEngland. He prevented England from falling to the Danes and promoted learning and literacy.Compilation of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle began during his reign, c. 890.II.The Middle Ages1.1066, Norman Conquest, William of Normandy2.Crusade, [ ❒◆♦♏♓♎] the military expeditions undertaken by European Christians inthe 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land (Palestine [ ☐✌●♓♦♦♋♓⏹] where Jesus Christ once lived) from the Moslems.[ ❍●♏❍ ❍●♓❍] (The Moslems were seen as infidels.[ ♓⏹♐♓♎☜●] ) 异端,异教徒(It manifested Britain as a Christian country.)3.1337~1453, Hundred Years’ War, Joan of Arc. After 1066, the English King kept extensiveterritories in France, which caused many disputes and finally the war. After the war, England became completely severed from France, and the English language finally took the place of French in all classes of society.III.The Renaissance Period1.1455–85, Wars of Roses, (preceded the strong government of the Tudors), Fought between theHouses of Lancaster [ ●✌☠☜♦♦☜]and York for the English throne, the wars werenamed many years afterward from the supposed badges of the contending parties: the white rose of York and the red of Lancaster. (In the Middle Ages, the nobles were very powerful.)2.Great change in religious belief: (1534) Protestant Reformation by Henry VIII,Establishment of the Church of England (the Anglican Church). ( Edward VI, 1547-1553) Henry VIII’s elder daughter Mary (1553–58) (Bloody Mary) was responsible for thecounter-revolution. (The first queen to rule England) Mary tried in vain to restore Roman Catholicism in England. During Queen Elizabeth(1558–1603), (byname The VirginQueen, or Good Queen Bess) England asserted itself vigorously as a major European power in politics, commerce (expansion on the sea), and the arts(especially literature).3.1588 Spanish Amada defeated (the invincible fleet). (The Spaniards were Catholics).IV.The English Revolution1.In 1603, James I (1566-1625) as James VI, of Scotland (1567-1625) succeeded Elizabethas the King of England (1603-25). He and his son, Charles I, believed in the “Divine Right of Kings”. The conflicts between the king and the Parliament, which are centered majorly on the problem of taxation, finally resulted in the English Civil War, and Charles I wasbeheaded.2.Oliver Cromwell ruled the country as Lord Protector (1653~8). Soon After his death,Charles II (1660~1685, the son to Charles I) returned to the throne.3.1688，Glorious/Bloodless Revolution, James II (1685-88, Catholic) was replaced by hisProtestant daughter Mary and her husband William Constitutional Monarchy.V.The Eighteenth Century# The 18th century was a period of inner economic development and outer wars.1.In the 18th century, England and France was continually at war in Europe, Canada andIndia. (Battle of Waterloo over Napoleon)2.From the second half of the 18th century, Industrial Revolution gradually replaced manualworkshops with efficient factories equipped with machines, and productions were greatly promoted. (In comparison with the promotion of material production, human spiritual pursuit has been overshadowed.)3.1775~1783, American Revolution (American War of Independence) declared the 13colonies in North American an independent country, and England met the greatest defeat in modern times.VI.The 19th century# The 19th century was an age of social reformation, and an age of national development and national optimism.1.Anti-slavery movement (led by William Wilberforce); prison reform movement, manyoffences punished by death penalty were abolished (led by Elizabeth Fry).2.Regulations were made about working conditions; child labor was forbidden.3.The country began to extend the “franchise” [ ♐❒✌⏹♦☞♋♓], i.e., freedom to vote ingeneral elections (Reform Bill). Freely elected town councils (市议会；镇议会) wereestablished for the first time (democracy).4.The Second Industrial Revolution (1870~1914) made a great progress in communications:the introduction of steam-driven steel ships, the development of the airplane, and theinvention of the telephone5.In 1850, the publication of The Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin startled theextremely religious Victorians.6.The power of the British Empire reached its peak in the 19th century, and Britain reachedits stage of imperialism.VII.T he Twentieth Centurybor Party (英国工党) grew rapidly in strength, and socialism became widespread.2.Women fought for their “suffragette” ([♦✈♐❒☜♎✞♏♦]) movement. （英国二十世纪初）争取选举权的妇女運動3.The franchise was extended to all adults (including women).4.The trouble in Ireland went from bad to worse. (1922, separation)5.The two world wars depressed people’s hope for human civilization.6.The League of Nations (1920~1946,国际联盟) developed into the United Nations (1945).The material development, which in the 19th century had produced optimism, now left people bewildered and afraid. In a “permissive society” people are not satisfied with that crimes are common, that sexual immorality and other indiscipline prevail, that politeness seems old fashioned, that religious belief is weak, and that environmental crisis threatens human existence.# With the development of human power, the foremost problem is whether human may continue to survive.plementary material:1.James IKing of EnglandAlthough at first welcomed in England, James brought to his new kingdom little understanding of its Parliament or its changing political, social, and religious conditions. James's reliance on favorites whose qualifications consisted more of personal charm than talent for government, the extravaganceand moral looseness of the court, and the scandalous career of James's favorite Robert Carr, earl of Somerset, all furthered discontent.Religious ControversiesOn his arrival in England, the king was presented with the Millenary Petition, a plea for the accommodation of Puritans within the Established Church. However, at the Hampton Court Conference (1604), called to consider the petition, James displayed an uncompromising anti-Puritan attitude, which aroused great distrust. (This conference commissioned the translation of theBible that resulted in the Authorized, or King James, Version.)James's inconsistent policy toward English Roman Catholics angered both Catholic and Protestant alike. The Gunpowder Plot (1605), which sprang from Catholic anger at the reimposition of fines and penalties that James had earlier relaxed, led to greater harshness toward Catholics and prevented any cordial relations thereafter. Yet the suspicion arose that the king favored the Catholics, because he sought to conciliate Spain and attempted to arrange a marriage between the Spanish infanta and Prince Charles (later Charles I).Conflicts with ParliamentJames's relations with the English Parliament were strained from the beginning because of his insistence upon the concept of divine right of monarchy and his inability to recognize Parliament as representative of a large and important body of opinion. As it was, Parliament—and particularly the House of Commons, where Puritanism was strong—soon became the rallying point of the forces opposing the crown. The Commons blocked (1607) James's cherished project of a union with Scotland. They also complained bitterly about James's methods of raising revenue by imposing new customs duties and selling monopolies. The Great Contract of 1610, a compromise whereby James would relinquish some of his feudal rights in return for a yearly income, did not come to fruition.In 1611, James dissolved Parliament and except for the Addled Parliament of 1614, which produced no legislation, ruled without one until 1621. After the death (1612) of his capable minister, Robert Cecil, earl of Salisbury, the king exercised the royal prerogative with even less restraint and entered into battle with the courts of common law, whose position was strongly defended by Sir Edward Coke. After the fall of Somerset, George Villiers, later 1st duke of Buckingham, rose to favor and by 1619 was in complete possession of the king's confidence.At the Parliament of 1621, called in order to raise money for the cause of the German Protestants and James's son-in-law, Frederick the Winter King, in the Thirty Years War, James was forced to abolish certain monopolies that had been abused by their holders. This Parliament also impeached the Lord Chancellor, Francis Bacon. It was dissolved by James for asserting its right to debate foreign policy.The unpopular Spanish policy was pursued until the 1623 expedition of Prince Charles and Buckingham to Spain to facilitate the marriage arrangements ended in failure. A marriage treaty with France was concluded in 1624, and James was unable to prevent Parliament from voting a subsidy for war against Spain. James left to his son, Charles I, a foreign war and events leading up to the English civil war.Literary WorksJames I was active as an author. He produced several youthful essays on literary theory, poetry, and numerous political works. Two other important writings are his True Law of Free Monarchy (1598), an assertion of the concept of divine right of kings, and Basilikon Doron (1599), a treatise on the art of government. His political works have been edited by C. H. McIlwain (1918, repr. 1965).2.Charles I1600-1649, king of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1625-49), second son of James I and Anne of Denmark.Early LifeHe became heir to the throne on the death of his older brother Henry in 1612 and was made Prince of Wales in 1616. The negotiations for his marriage to the Spanish infanta were unpopular inEngland, and Charles himself turned against Spain after his unhappy visit to Madrid (1623) in the company of George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham. Apart from these negotiations, he took little part in politics before he succeeded (Feb., 1625) his father as king.ReignEarly Struggle with ParliamentA shy and dignified figure, he was popular at the time of his coronation, but he immediately offended his Protestant subjects by his marriage to the Catholic Henrietta Maria, sister of Louis XIII of France. Charles's favorite, Buckingham, was unpopular, and the foreign ventures under Buckingham's guidance were unfortunate, particularly the unsuccessful expedition to Cádiz (1625) and the two disastrous attempts to relieve French Protestants in La Rochelle (1627 and 1628). Nor would Parliament willingly grant money to help Charles's sister, Elizabeth of Bohemia, and the Protestants in the Thirty Years War. The reign eventuated in the bitter struggle for supremacy between the king and Parliament that finally resulted in the English civil war.Parliament had a substantial role in the making of money grants to the king and adopted the tactic of withholding grants until its grievances were redressed. The Parliament of 1625 refused money, demanded ministers it could trust, and was soon dissolved by Charles. That of 1626 was dissolved when it started impeachment proceedings against Buckingham. Charles, to meet his needs for money, resorted to quartering troops upon the people and to a forced loan, which he attempted to collect by prosecutions and imprisonments.Forced to call Parliament again in 1628, he was compelled to agree to the Petition of Right, in return for a badly needed subsidy. Charles adjourned Parliament when it declared that his continued collection of customs duties was a violation of the Petition. Although Buckingham was assassinated (1628), the parliamentary session of 1629 was bitter. It closed dramatically with a resolution condemning unauthorized taxation and attempts to change existing church practices.The Years of No ParliamentCharles governed without Parliament for 11 years after 1629, which were marked by popular opposition to strict enforcement of the practices of the Established Church by Archbishop William Laud and to the ingenious if disingenuous devices employed by the government to obtain funds. The royally controlled courts of high commission and Star Chamber waged a harsh campaign against nonconformists and recusants (Catholics), and large emigrations to America, of both Puritans and Catholics, took place. The trial (1637-38) of John Hampden for refusal to pay a tax of ship money greatly increased public indignation. Meanwhile Charles's deputy in Ireland, Thomas Wentworth, earl of Strafford, was carrying out a wide program of reforms through his oppressive policy of "Thorough."Renewed Struggles with ParliamentConditions in England reached a crisis when Charles attempted (1637) to force episcopacy upon the Scots, an attempt that was violently opposed by the Scottish Covenanters and that resulted in the Bishops' Wars. Unable to wage war effectively, Charles in May, 1640, summoned the so-called Short Parliament, which demanded redress of grievances before granting funds and was dissolved. Another attempt to carry on the war without Parliament failed, and the famous Long Parliament was summoned in November. Under the leadership of John Pym, John Hampden, and Sir HenryVane (the younger), Parliament secured itself against dissolution without its own consent and brought about the death of Strafford, the abolition of the courts of high commission and Star Chamber, and the end of unparliamentary taxation.Charles professed to accept the revolutionary legislation, though he was known to hold strong views on the divine right of monarchy. Parliament's trust in the king was further undermined when his queen was implicated in the army plot to coerce Parliament, and Charles was suspected of complicity in the Irish rebellion (1641) and its resulting atrocities, especially in Ulster. In 1641, Parliament presented its Grand Remonstrance, calling for religious and administrative reforms and reciting in full its grievances against the king. Charles repudiated the charges, and his unsuccessfulattempt to seize five opposition leaders of Commons in violation of traditional privilege was the fatal blunder that precipitated war.Civil War and ExecutionThere were no decisive victories in the civil war until Charles was defeated at Marston Moor (1644) and Naseby (1645). In 1646 he gave himself up to the Scottish army, which delivered him to Parliament. He was ultimately taken over by the English army leaders, who were now highly suspicious of Parliament. He escaped (Nov., 1647) to Carisbrooke, on the Isle of Wight, where he concluded an alliance with the discontented Scots, which led to the second civil war (1648) and another royalist defeat. Parliament, now reduced in number by Pride's Purge (see under Pride, Thomas) and controlled by Charles's most powerful enemies, established a special high court of justice (see regicides), which tried Charles and convicted him of treason for levying war against Parliament. He was beheaded on Jan. 30, 1649. To the royalists he became the martyred king and author of the Eikon Basilike. By his opponents he was considered a double-dealing tyrant. BibliographySee biography by C. Hibbert (1968); C. Hill, The Century of Revolution, 1603-1714 (1961); C. V. Wedgwood, The Great Rebellion: The King's Peace, 1637-1641 (1955), The King's War1641-1647 (1958), and A Coffin for King Charles (1964); M. Ashley, Charles I andCromwell (1988); L. J. Reeve, Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule (1989).3.Constitutional MonarchyIn Britain, the Glorious Revolution of 1688 led to a constitutional monarchy restricted by laws such as the Bill of Rights 1689 and the Act of Settlement 1701.Bibliography朱永涛.英美文化基础教程.北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1991."Roses, Wars of the." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010.。