Past Simple: Learning english through history PDF

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PAST SIMPLE C.1: The Romans in Britain Julius Ceasar made the first official contact between Rome and Britain in 55-54 BC, but the real conquest began in 43 AD when the emperor Claudius decided to invade the island as great inauguration of his reign. Although the occupation lasted till 410 AD, it remained incomplete. The more developed south-east was quickly conquered thanks to diplomacy as well as arms, also because the Romans took advantage from the rivalry among the tribes. As result, many different native tribes (like Iceni) were initially given semiindependence by Rome. Nevertheless, there were many rebellions and the most famous is the Boudicca’s one, she was the Queen of Iceni and fought against the Romans after they removed the tribe’s independence. Boudicca was easily defeated but she still remain a symbol against occupation. In AD 122 the empereor Hadrian ordered the construction of a long wall to separate the roman province from the barbarian north. The Romans brought many benefits to Britain, they built roads and towns (Camulodunum aka Colchester) but the did not bring just architectural improvement, they influence the British culture. Rome introduce its own religious customs without destroying indigenous Celtic beliefs. Britons adopted romanized named and the élite learned to speak and write latin. After the barbarian crises the Romans started to withdraw troops and when the Saxons attacked Britain, empereor Honorius officially ended the roman occupation in 410 AD. C.2: The Norman Conquest The battle of Hasting was the decisive victory in the Norman conquest of England. In 1066, the Normans of Duke William of Normandy (later known as William the Conqueror) defeated the Saxon army led by King Harold II. William believed that he was the heir to the English throne and claimed that Harold ha sworn an oath accepting this. William travelled with the blessing of the Pope and defeated Harold’s army at Hasting. We still have some records of the battle, the most famous is the Bayeux Tapestry, a huge visual narration made by a Norman women. William was crowned King of England on Christmas day 1066 in Westminster Abbey. He is known for the construction of the Tower of London and mainly for the Domesday Book (1086) a huge book that report the knowledge of the first doorstep survey in history. William died in 1087 after a riding accident. C.3: King Henry III Henry III was arguably the most brilliant, but certainly the most powerful and terrible of all English monarchs. He was the first monarch to be addresed as majesty and he was also a great patron of the arts and admired for his physical prowess. For these reasons he was proclaimed a “ universal genius” by Erasmus. The Pope granted him the title of “Defender of the faith” but in 1534, when Henry needed to divorce from Catherine of Aragon, he just broke with the Catholic Church and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England. The English Reformation gave new powers to the King and allowed him to destroy monastreries and sold their land. After Anne Boleyn’s fail to produce a son, Henry executed her and marry Jane Seymour who was able to give him a son (the future Edward VI). The last years of Henry’s reign saw a descent into tiranny, both King’s appearance and conduct were transformed. He behaved with great cruelty also to those who were closest to him like the brilliant minister Thomas Cromwell and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey who were executed. Henry died in 1547 and left the throne huge debts and a currency which had lost its value. C.4: Elizabeth I Elizabeth’s life was continously threaten, in particular during her childhood. She was supposed to be a boy and after her father’s death, Edward VI declared she was illegitimate, with no right to be queen. Edward’s reign lasted a few years and his sister Mary became Queen. Mary demonized Elizabeth for her religion then she was imprisoned in the Tower of London while the Queen tried to collect evidence of a plot.

In 1558 Mary died with no heirs and Elizabeth became Queen of England, she had a strong personality and an irresistible charisma like her father. Elizabeth restored the Church of England blending both Protestant and Catholic elements, although it remained technically Protestant, in the end she was not concerned about people inner belifes. The Queen was victim of different conspiracies because Catholics believed that the real Queen must be Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin Mary of Scots. Finally Mary was tried and executed. Elizabeth is famous because she defeated the Spanish Armada (Tilbury speech) and she had no husband, in fact she said that her husband was the kingdom of England and for this reason she was know as the Virgin Queen. She died in 1603 and her reign still one of the longest and important in English history. C.5: The English Civil War The causes of the Civil War (1642-1648) were complex but can be reduced to a few simple factors. Charles I was a weak, indecisive and stubburn character who believed utterly in the divine right of kings, this meant that no mortal soul was allowed to question his authority. Charles refused to allow Parliament to sit from 1629 to 1640 (Eleven Years Tyranny). By 1642 a series of arguments over religion and finance led both the King and Parliamentarians to recruit men. The battle of Maston Moor showed the power of the New Model Army headed by Oliver Cromwell. After the battle of Naseby (1645) the king surrendered to the Roundheads. The conflict restarted in 1648 because of king’s endless plotting, Cromwell forced an act throught the Parliament, Charles was executed and the Commonwealth born. C.6: Samuel Pepys’ London Samue Pepys had humble origins but he rose rapidly in the world also thanks to some helpful connections. His cousin got him a job in the Navy Office as Clerk of King’s ship but he ended up running the Admiralty working hard and opposing corruption. He was also MP and President of the Royal Society. His diary is probably one of the most important source of Restoration England (1660-1689). It perfectly describe, with a direct and fresh writing, the bustling life of everyday London and especially during the Great Plague (1665) and the Great Fire (1666). The diary was thought to be completely private so it contains personal and embrassing moments. The diary started in 1660 ended in 1669 because Pepys thought he was losing his eyesight. His eyes recovered and his career flourished. The diary was first published in 1825 and was an instant success. C.7: The Victorians Queen Victoria’s one is the second longestet reign in English History, stretched from 1837 to 1901. The Victorian Era is considered the most extraordinary period of technical, industrial, economical and imperial power in England. Many town halls, libraries, theatres, museums, universities and churches were built during the Victorian Age. Britain called itself the “workshop of the world”, it was the first fully mature industrial society. Victorian slums, factories and workhouses remain potent symbols of the human cost of progress. Queen Victoria’s reign is also famous as the golden age of Parliament, the rivalry between the Conservative and Liberal parties was personified by Disraeli e and Gladstone in 1860s and 1870s. The 19th century saw also a great change in social habits, in midder and upper class, manners and appearance were everything, extremely formal and even prudish. The greatness of the Empire was clearly stated with the Great Exhibition of 1851. When Victoria died in 1901, the nation was feeling far less self-confident and a period of difficoult challenges was beginning. In fact the 20th century started with the Second Boer War, different social movements growing up in England and economic competitors were overcoming the Empire. C.8: The First World War On 4th August 1914, Britain went to war against Germany in defence of Belgium but the real purpose was to prevent Germany dominating Europe and threatening the British Empire. All the parts thought the war would be finished before Christmas but thay were terribly wrong. The war ended only in November 1918

and Britain was obliged to state the army conscription. The english soldiers were mainly involved in the Western Front and took part to one of the most bloody and terrible battle of the history at Somme (1916). There the British suffered an incredible number of casualities due to the new modern weapons developed during the war like machine guns and poison gas. In 1918 thanks to the American army the allies launch a big counter offensive that proved devastatingly effective. The 8th August became known as the Germany’s army black day for the incredible number of casualities. The german defences didn’t last for long and Germany was obliged to ask the peace. The joy of the victory didn’t last for long because for the first time in the history the war killed houndreds thousands of people. C.9: The Blitz The name “Blitz” comes from the german word blitzkrieg, which described a extremely rapid attack strategy used for the first time in Poland 1939. After the conquest of France, Hitler started bombing England in September 1940, the main purpose was to wear down the morale of british people to force the government to surrender. In the first phase the bombing was focused on the capital the nit switched to industrial centres like Coventry and Manchester. German bombers were retired in May 1941 to help the Soviet Union invasion. Nevertheless sporadic attacks took place till 1944. The main aim, the civilians, failed completely. A factor that made the English stay united was the work of Winston Churchill, with his speeches he keep the population strong and united to face the german enemy. A clear example is London’s worst night, the 29th December 1940. The bombing caused what is called the second Great Fire of London but thanks to the constant efforts of the volounteers the city was saved. This event symbolized the english resistent during the second world war. The Blitz created a powerful sense of national unity and it also provide a moral justification for the RAF to bomb german cities during the counter offensive. C.10: The welfare state The avarage Briton consider the National Health Service as the most important institution and recent conquest. The NHS was created in 1948 by Clement Attlee’s Labour government in a way to set up the new welfare state. At the beginning of 20th century the state provide just schooling up to age 12 because the government feared that the poor would became dependent on government help instead of helping themselves. Just before the 1WW the liberal government respond to the need of the new industrial society by introducing the first state-founded old age pensions as well as national insurence schemes for workers. The economist William Beveridge is considered the founding father of the welfare state with his reports. The NHS was the centrepiece of Beveridge’s scheme and the Healt secretary Bevan was the direct responsible. The post war government was the first to commit itself to full employment, Social insurance became compulsory. Throughout the 50s and 60s there was a cross party consensus on the welfare state. In the 1970s the right wing began to challenge this and then with the election of Margareth Thatcher in 1979 they started removing different state social services. Conservators broke the link between pensions and earnings and cutted the benefits to unemployed. C.11: The Swinging Sixities Arguably, there is no more colourful and vibrant decade in modern British history than the 1960s. This was a time of dramatic social change when, for good or ill, the country truly swung. The Conservative government of Harold Macmillan soon came into troubles because of the social and cultural changes. This was made worse by the growing popularity of the Labour opposition leader, Harold Wilson. His government (19641970) acted following that years’ flow, in particular by improving social services, schooling and gender equity. Capital punishment was abolished, abortion, homosexuality and divorce were liberalized. Perhaps inevitably, there was a powerful backlash against the new permessive society, escpecially the traditional members of the church. The sixties’ cultural revolution peaked in 1968, the “year that rocked the world” with also anti-nuclear and anti-Vietnam war demostrations. The protests came from also from the song of famous bands like the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

C.12: Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher is probably the most significant british political figure of the post-1945 period. She was the first woman prime minister in England and she kept the power from 1979 till 1990. By 1981, opinion polls showed that she was the most unpopular prime minister since records began due to his radical economical policies that follows Milton Friedman’s theory. Britain’s victory in the Falkland war (1982) strengthened her position and allow her to newly win the election. She made many significant reforms in order to “roll back” the frontiers of the state, she privatized major stete-owned businesses such as gas, electricity and phone and she also sold thousands of council-houses to the privates. Another important point of her program was to reduce trade unions’ power, the National Union of Mineworkers case is a symbolic event in that sense. By the late 1980s, Thatcher’s rule was becoming increasingly authoritarian and eccentric and this mede even her strongest supporters less loyal. Her increasing hostility towards Europe was another important factor in her downfall, in fact in 1990 she was removed from the leadership from her own party. C.13: The long road to democracy Despite Britain has some of the oldest monarchy and parliament in history, the full democracy was reached only in the 20th century when all men (1918) and women (1928) gained the right to vote. The Magna Carta (rileggi S.M) is the oldest english charter and it’s still valid nowadays. During the Civil War and the Commonwealth it seemed that everything was possible but with the Glorious Revolution (1689) against the absolutist king James II, a constitutional monarchy and a Bill of Rights were established. In the following decades it became clear that the political power was owned by the Parliament rather than the monarch whose role became mostly ceremonial. In 19th century the road to widen the franchise for elections started. The Reform Act of 1867 enfranchised the skilled working classes but still left a large majority of men without vote. In 1872 the secret ballot was introduced and reduced the corruption. At the beginning of 20th century the suffragette’s fight for women’ rights bring to a full democracy in 1928 (thought the movement no longer exists) with the Representation of the People Act. When reached the full democracy proved to be impressively robust during the inter-war period. C.14: William Shakespeare Shakespeare (1564-1616) is probably the greatest writer (palywright, poet and story teller) at least in the English world. We have very few information about his life and even his career (how many play he wrote, between 36 and 40). Although he left nearly a milion words of text, we have just 14 words in his own handwriting (mostly his signatures). In 1590s Shakespeare entered the thriving world of London theatre working for different companies as an actor and playwright. Then he became shareholder of the leading company in London at that moment, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In 1599 the company started working in the new Globe Theatre and during this period Shakespeare wrote his most famous plays as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra etc. As the names reveal the author used to write about historical figures mostly from engish and french monarch. He’s most important feature was the ability to analyze and play every side of human nature in deep. As we said Shakespeare was also a great poet, his 126 sonnets were published in 1609. C.15 The British Empire The are two opposing views about the british empire. It began in earnest during the Tudor age with the settlement of Virginia in 1585. In his first 300 years it was a loose arrengement of trading posts defended by the Royal Navy and run by private companies whose job was to administer colonies, the most famous is the East India Company founded in 1599. The empire expanded steadily (India and Caribbean were reached in the 17th century) with the english trade but also with many wars fought against the other colonial powers. For example with the 7-years’s war (1756-1763) Britain obtained control of much of India and Canada. The “second” british empire started after the rebellion of the 13 American colonies in 1776.

While the empire lost the 13 colonies, James Cook discover new possibilities in the south Pacific Ocean. In 1877 Disraeli made Queen Victoria Empress of India, in 19th century the British had develped a conscious mood of imperialis based on the concept of racial superiority of white people (White Men’s burden). Britain took control of Egypt in 1882 then it started the “scramble for Africa”. The second world war (British army composed by colonized) saw the start of imperial decline. A rapid process of decolonization got under way soon after, sixty-four nations saw the end of british rule between India in 1947 and Hong Kong in 1997. C.16: Britain and the USA The Britons fell a narrow bond with USA for cultural and historical reasons. Even after the Independence in 1776, the thriving trade helped to coexist (briefly interrupted by the war of 1812). At the beginning of 20th century USA and Britain were more rivals than friends. The two World Wars change everything and allow to strengthen the bond between the two nations. The Cold War against communism ensured that the AngloAmerican friendship outlasted the war against Hitler. During the second half of the century America helped UK with financial aids many times and in the 1980s, the friendship was strengthen by the two leaders, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, who shared the same ideology. Again in the new century AngloAmerican unity expressed itself in a series of joint militaru campaigns (Afgahnistan and Iraq). C.17: Cricket C.18: British childhood C.19: England and Scotland The history between these two countries is a story of intense rivalry and conflict. English and Scots fought many battles during the centuries. One of the most importanti s the battle of Bannockburn in which King Robert the Bruce humiliated King Edward II’s army, this battle helped to built a strong independet identity for Scotland. Another important fight is the battle of Flodden against Henry VIII, King James IV suffered the heaviest defeat of Scotland history. James IV grandson, James I of England inherit the english throne and became in king in 1603 unifing the two crowns for the first time. In 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted itself out of existance and the 1707 Act of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The monarchs of the new reign were the Hannover but the Scottish tried to put the Stuart again on the throne with many violent rebellion, the most famous is the Bonnie Prince Charlie’s one. After this period there were incredibly a period of immense creativity know as Scottish Enlightment (e.g: Adam Smith, David Hume etc) that produced an idea of modernity that shaped subsequent Western civilization. The 1970s saw the rise of Scottish nationalism and its party. Thanks to prime minister Tony Blair a Scottish Parliament was elected in 1999 after the referendum had been won in 1997. C.20: Ireland Anglo-Irish relation have never been harmonius just since the first direct contact with King Henry II in 12th century. The main recent problems came from the inequality of the population. Since the 17th century Birish rule identified Catholics as enemies and denied them all political rights. 1801 Act of Union, after the Irish Parliament vote itself out od existance, unified the two countries and in 1829 political rights were granted also to the catholics. The famine of 1846-1848 killed millions of Irish and even a greater number were forced to emigrate. During the late 19th century Prime Minister Gladstone failed into improve the relation with Ireland (Home Rule Act). In 1910s the armed Ulster Unionist threatened civil war if Home Rule was forced on them buti t was a...