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Estudios Culturales I: Módulo:
Cultura y Civilización de los Pueblos angloparlantes (Traductorado)
Panorama Geográfico Cultural de las Naciones de Habla Inglesa (Profesorado/Licenciatura)
➢ The United Kingdom
1. Political Division
In the British Isles there are two states. One of these governs most of the island of Ireland. This state is usually called The Republic of Ireland. It is also called 'Eire' (its Irish language name). Informally it is referred to as just 'Ireland' or 'the Republic'. The other state has authority over the rest of the British Isles (the whole of Great Britain, the northeastern area of Ireland and most of the smaller islands). This is the country that is the main subject of these notes. Its official name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In the European Parliament, it is referred to as 'the United Kingdom'. In everyday speech this I MH76Ts often shortened to 'the UK'.
➢ Identifying symbols of the four nations
England Wales Scotland Ireland
St George's Cross Dragon of Cadwallader StAndrew's Cross St Patrick's Cross
Flag[pic] [pic] [pic] [pic]
Plant: Rose Leek/Daffodil Thistle Shamrock
Patron saint: St George St David St Andrew SPatrick
Saint's day: 23 April 1 March 30 November 17March
2. Early Settlers
Roman Britain: Britain was a part of the Roman Empire for just under 400 years and the remains of the Roman occupation can still be seen in many places today.
The province of Britannia
Roman influence in Britain began with Julius Caesar who came twice, once in 55 BC and again in 54 BC. It was not until 43 AD, however, that the Romans invaded Britain with the intention of making it part of their empire. The invasion was led by the Emperor Claudius who came with about 40.000 soldiers. They quickly took control of southern England and from this time until 410 AD, Britain, or Britannia as it was known to the Romans, was a province of the Roman Empire.
Revolt, expansion and consolidation. The Romans faced several revolts during the years after the conquest. The most important was a rebellion led by Queen Boudicca in 60-61 AD during which several towns were burnt to the ground. With the rebellions crushed, the Romans began to expand their area of control and conquered most of Britain including, by 81 AD, the south of Scotland. The Romans eventually left southern Scotland and, in I22 AD, began to build a wall across the north of England as a defence against invading tribes from the north. It was named Hadrian's Wall, after the Emperor Hadrian who had ordered it to be built. Later, about 140 AD, the Antonine wall was built further north but was largely abandoned in about 163 AD.
Roman towns
Many towns in Britain were founded· or grew considerably in size during the period of Roman rule. The most important were Colchester (Camulodunum), Lincoln (Lindum), St Albans (Verulanium) and London (Londinium). Colchester, the original capital of the Roman province was destroyed during Boudicca's revolt, and London became the main administrative and commercial centre. During the third century, York (Eboraeum) became the main centre for the north.
The end of Roman rule
In the fourth century AD, the Roman Empire itself was under attack from tribes from central and Eastern Europe. Britain was being attacked from the west and north by Scottish and Irish tribes and from the east by Germanic tribes such as the Angles and Saxons. Roman soldiers in Britain were called away to defend Rome and eventually, in 41O AD, the Emperor Honorius decided that Britain must defend itself. With the Romans gone, the Germanic tribes gradually took over most of England.
The Celts
Who were the Celts?
The Celts probably came to Britain around 500 BC. Although Stonehenge is often associated with the Celts it had been built many centuries earlier. The Celts came originally from central Europe and settled in Britain, France and Spain.
Celtic society
The Celts were described by Roman and Greek writers as a fierce and warlike people. They were originally ruled by kings, but by the time Julius Caesar came to Britain, around 55 BC, they had broken up into many tribes, each with a different leader. It was possible for women as well as men to hold positions of power, and one of them was Queen Boudicca. Druids were a powerful group within Celtic society, combining the functions of priest, doctor, and perhaps also lawmaker.
Celtic culture
The Celts were farmers and introduced the iron plough to Britain. They fought using chariots and when in battle, painted their bodies with a blue dye called woad. Although the Celts did not have a written form of their language until after the arrival of the Romans, they had a strong oral tradition of storytelling performed by bards. The Celts are described as wearing brightly-coloured clothes and the men usually had long moustaches rather than a beard. Some sources claim that they were very fond of drinking alcohol. In pre-Roman times, the Celts were known to carry out human sacrifices and to cut off and display the heads of their enemies.
The Anglo-Saxon invasion and Celtic Christianity
After the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in the fifth century AD, the Celts were pushed into the western and northern parts of the British Isles, particularly into Cornwall, Wales, the Isle of
Man, Scotland, and Ireland. During the next 600 years, a rich Celtic Christian culture developed and centred mainly around monasteries in Scotland and Ireland. One of the most famous of these was the monastery on the island of Iona in Scotland, which was founded by the Irish St Columba in 563 AD. Monks copied texts from the Bible and decorated their work with beautiful patterns.
Celtic languages
Celtic languages are divided into two categories, Q-Celtic, which includes Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx, and P-Celtic including Welsh, Cornish, and Breton (= the language of Brittany in France). Although Celtic languages are official languages as well as English, they are no longer spoken by most people. Welsh is spoken by about 20% of the population of Wales.
➢ Timeline of British History
Before 6500 BC Until the English Channel was formed, Britain was linked by land to Europe. Many different peoples lived in Britain as hunter gatherers.
4000-1500 BC By 4000 BC, the land was being farmed and we have evidence of settlements. From about 2500 onwards, the Ancient Britons began constructing huge stone monuments
500 BC The Celts arrived in Britain.
55BC - 410 AD The Romans invaded Britain.
From 400 AD Anglo-Saxon invaders settled in Britain and ruled over much of England. The languages of these invaders form the basis of what developed into modern English.
From 800 AD Raids by Vikings from Denmark and Norway were followed in 865 by an invasion of Danes who by 877 controlled the eastern half of England.
1066 The Norman duke who came to be known as William the Conqueror invaded England and defeated the English king, Harold. For the next few centuries England was ruled by Normans, and French became the language of the court.
1215 King John signed the Magna Carta
1283 Wales was conquered by Edward I of England.
1314 The Scots defeated an invading English army at the Battle of Bannockburn
1534 King Henry VIII became the head of the Church in England.
1564 The birth of William Shakespeare
1588 The Spanish Armada, a fleet of ships sent to invade England, was defeated.
1603 King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England.
1605 James I was hated by many Catholics and a group of them attempted to kill him when he was in Parliament. (Guy Fawkes; Guy Fawkes Night= Bonfire Night = 5th of November)
1642 The English Civil War began.
1653-1658 Cromwell dismissed Parliament and ruled as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
|1660 |The Restoration of the monarchy took |1918 |Women over 30 were allowed to vote.|
| |place with the return of Charles Il as | | |
| |king. | | |
| | |1921 |Ireland was divided into the Irish |
| | | |Free State and the Protestant |
| | | |counties in the north. |
|1689 |The Catholic James Il was removed from | | |
| |the throne and the Protestant William | | |
| |of Orange and his wife Mary, James's | | |
| |daughter, were crowned instead. | | |
| | |1926 |The General Strike |
| | | | |
| | |1928 |Women were allowed to vote from the|
| | | |age of 21, the same age as for men |
|1707 |The Act of Union joined England, Wales | |. |
| |and Scotland as one kingdom called | | |
| |Great Britain. | | |
| | |1939-1945 |World War Il. |
|1721 |Sir Robert Walpole became the first | | |
| |Prime Minister in the modern sense. | | |
| |. |1948 |The National Health Service was set|
| | | |up by the Labour government. |
|1783 |With the end of the American War of | | |
| |Independence Britain lost her American | | |
| |colonies. | | |
| | |1971 |British money changed |
|1800 |The second Act of Union added Ireland | |to a decimal system. |
| |to Great Britain to form the United | | |
| |Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. | | |
| | |1973 |Britain became a member |
| | | |of the EuropeanEconomic |
|1824 |The first railway was built, part of | |Community. |
| |the technological development that | | |
| |changed the face of Britain. | | |
| | |1998 |The first attempt to set up a |
| | | |Northern Ireland Assembly |
|1832 |The first Reform Act created more seats|1999 |The Welsh Assembly and the Scottish|
| |in Parliament and gave more men the | |Parliament were set up |
| |vote. | | |
| | | |. |
|1880 |It became compulsory for children | | |
| |between the ages of five and thirteen | | |
| |to go to school. | | |
|1911 |The National Insurance | | |
| |Act introduced sickness and | | |
| |unemployment insurance for | | |
| |workers. | | |
|1914-1918 |World War I | | |
➢ The British Empire
By 1920, the British Empire included a quarter of the world and around 600 million people. 40 years later most of these people belonged to independent nations and the British Empire no longer existed.
The building of the Empire
Britain gained its first possessions in 1497 when John Cabot claimed Newfoundland for King Henry VII. The first British colony in North America was Virginia, which was settled in 1585. This was followed by further colonization of the east coast, most famously by the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620. Victory over the French during the Seven Years War led to British control of most of Canada. Britain claimed several islands in the West Indies, which became Britain's most valuable colonies because of the sugar, tobacco and dye they produced.
An empire of trade
The empire began as a commercial enterprise.
The government gave companies the right to trade in certain areas of the world. For example, the Hudson Bay Company had a monopoly on the fur trade with Canada. The most famous of these companies was the East India Company which gradually took control of India. In the slave trade between 1680 and 1807 British merchants transported around three million people from West Africa to the Americas to work on plantations.
The growth of the empire
Despite the loss of its US colonies after the American Revolution, the British Empire continued to grow. Captain Cook discovered Australia and a penal colony (= a colony for prisoners) was established there in 1788. New Zealand came under British rule in 1840. Victory in the Napoleonic Wars led to other gains including Trinidad, Malta, Gibraltar, Sri Lanka (called Ceylon) and the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Hong Kong became a British colony in 1843.
The jewel in the crown
After the Indian Mutiny in 1857, the British took direct control, so that India became Britain’s most important colony, 'the jewel in the crown’ - of Queen Victoria, who took the title of Empress of India. British rule in India was known as the Raj.
Africa
Towards the end of the 19th century, Europeans fought to win control of Africa, the British large areas of south and east Africa as well as some western states. Cecil Rhodes wanted British control to stretch 'from Cairo to the Cape'. However, the Boer War ended support for imperial expansion.
In the 20th century, not only did the idea of empire become unpopular but Britain was unable to support the cost of administering it. The two World Wars weakened Britain financially and politically. Many nations in the empire wanted increased independence. In 1931, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa were officially made 'autonomous communities' within the Empire. Most of the other nations became independent during the 20 years after the Second World War, with India gaining independence in 1947. Hong Kong was restored to China in 1997.
➢ The Commonwealth
The dismantling of the British Empire took place comparatively peacefully, so that good relations between Britain and the newly independent countries were established. As a result, and with the encouragement of Queen Elizabeth II, an international organization called the Commonwealth, composed of the countries that used to be part of the empire, has continued to hold annual meetings. Some countries in the Commonwealth have even kept the British monarch as head of state. There are no formal economic or political advantages involved in belonging to the Commonwealth, but it has helped to keep cultural contacts alive, and does at least mean that every year the leaders of a sixth of the world’s population sit down and together. Until quite recently it did have economic importance, with special trading agreements between members. But since Britain became a full member of the EEC (= EU, European Union), all but a few of these agreements have gradually been discontinued.
3. The Regions of England
A- SOUTHEAST & LONDON
It comprises the counties of Surrey, Kent and Sussex. It also includes the city of London. It is the closest region to the continent. The Strait of Dover in the east separates England from France. Most travellers from continental Europe arrive at the east ports of Dover, Folkestone and Ramsgate. Dover is the busiest of them. It has 50% of the total traffic to and from the continent. The Channel Tunnel, linking France to Great Britain, starts in Folkestone.
The most important airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, are also situated in the Southeast region. Heathrow is the world’s busiest airport for international traffic. It is about 20 miles east of central London. Gatwick, the second major airport, is about 30 miles to the south.
➢ Rivers
The most important is the Thames, which rises in the Cotswold Hills and has opened a gap through the Chilterns and the White Horse Hills. It ends in an estuary forming a vast expanse of water at high tide.
Relief
The escarpments of the North and South Downs lie here. In the centre, there is a clay vale called “The Weald”. The North Downs is an area of rolling hills and beautiful countryside. The White Cliffs of Dover are the first sight many people have of England.
Climate
It is mild and sunny in the south coast (warm summers and cold winters). There is moderate rainfall.
Activities
➢ Farming
The most important are dairy farming (dairying), sheep rearing and cereal farming (mainly oats).
The county of Kent is known as “The Garden of England” because it produces a lot of fruits (apples, berries) and vegetables which are eaten all over the country. It is also the main area for growing a fruit called “hop”. This fruit is an important flavouring for Britain’s most popular alcoholic drink - beer! The hop plants grow up poles and along an overhead framework like vines. The fruit is harvested in early autumn, and in the past people used to come from London in large numbers to pick hops. Near the hop gardens are the oast-houses in which the hops are dried. They are of a very unusual design and are a very familiar sight in Kent.
These days farmers have found that it its more economical to dry the hops in factories. Many of the oast-houses have been converted into fashionable houses.
Market gardening is practiced near London and in Brighton.
The South Downs are mainly farmland. Barley and wheat are grown here.
There is a lot of industry near the Thames Estuary: oil refineries, power-stations, cement-works and paper mills.
➢ Mining
In the east of Kent there is an important coalfield (coal mining)
➢ Important cities
The southeast is the most densely-populated region in England. It is only 11% of the land area of the country, but a third of the total population lives there. Because of this, a large part of the region is affected by urban development: housing, factories, offices and a complex network of roads and motorways.
London is the capital of England and of the UK. It was not built as a city in the same way as Paris or New York. It began life as a Roman fortification at a place where it was possible to cross the River Thames. A wall was built around the town for defence, but during the long period of peace which followed the Norman Conquest, people built outside the walls. This building continued over the years, especially to the west of the city. In 1665 there was a terrible plague in London, so many people left the city and escaped to the villages in the surrounding countryside. In 1666 the Great Fire of London ended the plague, but it also destroyed much of the city. Although people returned to live in the rebuilt city after the plague and the Great Fire, there were never again so many Londoners living in the city centre. These days not many people live in the city centre, but London has spread further outwards into the country, including surrounding villages. Today the metropolis of Greater London covers some 1580 sq. km. some people commute over 150 km. everyday to work in London
The gradual growth of the city helps to explain the fact that London does not have just one centre, it has a number of centres, each with a distinct character: the financial centre and business centre called the City; the shopping and entertainment centre in the West End, the government centre in Westminster.
➢ The City
The City does not refer to the whole of the central London but rather to a small area east of the centre, which includes the site of the original Roman town. It is an area with a long and exciting history, and it is proud of its independence and traditional role as a centre of trade and commerce. This tradition is focused on the City’s Lord Mayor, whose official residence is the Mansion House. Once a year, in November, the Lord Mayor’s Show takes place. This is a colourful street parade in which the newly elected Lord Mayor travels in a golden coach, which is over 200 years old.
Commerce and Finance
The City of London is one of the major banking centres of the world and you can find the banks of many nations in the famous Threadneedle Street and the surrounding area. Here, too, you’ll find the Bank of England. Nearby is the Stock Exchange which is like a busy market, shares in commercial companies are bought and sold. A little further in Leadenhall St is Lloyd’s, the most famous insurance company in the world.
During weekdays in the City you can see the City gents with their bowler hats, pinstriped suits and rolled umbrellas. This is the “uniform” only of those men involved I banking and business in the City.
The Old Bailey
The centre of the country’s judicial system is to be found in the western part of the City. The Old Bailey houses many courts and some of Britain’s most famous murder trails have taken place here.
All criminal trials in Britain are held before a judge and a jury consisting of twelve ordinary people. It is the jury, not he judge, who decides if the person is guilty or not.
The press
Fleet St is famous as the home of the nation’s newspapers, but in fact, only two of them-The Daily Express and The Daily telegraph- are still in Fleet St. However, people say Fleet St to mean the press. British newspapers can be divided into two groups: quality and popular. Quality newspapers are more serious and cover home and foreign news thoughtfully while the popular newspapers like shocking, personal stories as well as some news. Popular newspapers: The Daily Express, The Sun, The Mirror, The Daily Mail, Today, the Star. Quality newspapers: The Times., The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Independent, The Observer.
➢ The East End
The East End grew with the spread of industries to the east of the City, and the growth of the port of London. It covers a wide area. It is also one of those areas of London where people from abroad have come to find a job. These days many Jews and Bengalis live in the East End, and within a small area you can see a mosque, a church and a synagogue. The East End is especially famous as the centre of the clothing industry in London. The East End markets are famous throughout the world. Petticoat Lane market takes place every Sunday morning and has become one of the sights of London.
Traditionally someone born in the East End is known as a Cockney although this name is now given to anyone who speaks like a Londoner. Typically they change certain vowel sounds so that the sound in “late” becomes more like that in “light”.
During the last century, East End criminals developed a special kind of slang or language which made it difficult for the police to understand them. In certain parts of London this slang is still used and some expressions have passed into normal everyday English (Cockney Rhyming Slang).
St Paul’s Cathedral was designed by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren, after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married there. The Tower of London was first built by William the Conqueror more than 900 years ago, and was famous as a prison. Two queens were executed here, and two princes murdered.
➢ The West End
The West End is the name given to the area of central London north from The Mall to Oxford St. It includes Trafalgar Square; the main shopping areas of Oxford St, Regent St and Bond St. and the entertainment centres of Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Shaftesbury Avenue. Its name is associated with glamour and bright lights.
Trafalgar Square
It was built early in the last century to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. Admiral Lord Nelson’s statue stands on top of a column in the middle of Trafalgar Square. The square makes a good place for people to meet- coaches pick up parties of visitors, marches unite for protest meetings, and at Christmas times carol singers gather round a huge Christmas tree which is sent to Britain from Norway every year. Behind Nelson’s Column is the National Gallery, an art gallery in which you can find many old masters.
Shopping
Most of London’s big department stores are in Oxford Street and Regent Street. They are always crowded, but at sale times in January and July, there are so many people that it is difficult to move and it is usually safer to go in the direction of the majority.
If you are looking for something different it is certainly worth going to New Covent Garden. This used to be England’s biggest fruit and vegetable market, but a few years ago the market was moved to a new side of the river Thames. The old market, now called “New Covent Garden”, was restored and converted into a shopping centre. There are now more than forty shops of many different kinds, and there are several places to eat and drink.
Entertainment
Piccadilly Circus is the centre of night life in the West End. It is usually top of everyone’s list of things to see in London, because it is so well known. It is actually quite small, and most people are rather disappointed when they see it for the first time because they had imagined it would be much bigger. To the north of Piccadilly is Soho, which has been the foreign quarter of London since the 17th century. Now it has restaurants offering food from a variety of different countries, especially Chinese and Italian ones.
London is famous for its live theatre and there are over 30 theatres within a square mile. Naturally there is a great variety of shows to choose from: opera, musicals, drama, comedies.
Westminster
Big Ben is the largest of the five bells at the top of the Houses of Parliament. Parliament itself is in Westminster, a part of London that has long been connected with royalty and government.
King Edward the Confessor first decided to build a palace beside the river in the11th century. His successors extended the palace and made it their main residence. Gradually, Westminster became the centre of government and justice. At first, Parliament was organized by the monarch as a way of governing the country. He or she called different groups together: the Lords represented the Church and aristocracy while the Commons were used by the rich land-owners to put forward the views and interests of their own town or village. Over the centuries, power gradually passed from the monarch to Parliament but not without a few problems.
During the reign of James I, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament.
James’ son, Charles I, thought that he could rule the country without the help of Parliament, but these dreams led to his death. He tried to make Parliament do what he wanted, but after years of quarrelling he finally lost his patience. One day, he burst into the House of Commons with several hundred men and tried to arrest its leaders. They had already escaped. But the struggle between king and parliament was not finished and the country was thrown into a civil war, which only stopped when Charles was finally beheaded in 1649. The Queen still opens the new session of Parliament each autumn by reading “the Queen’s Speech”, which describes the main policies of the Government. However, this takes place in the House of Lords and she is not allowed to enter the House of Commons.
The Houses of Parliament were rebuilt in 1835 after being completely destroyed by fire. In addition, the House of Commons needed more repairs after being bombed during the Second World War. Parliament is in session every afternoon and evening except Friday and the weekend.
Whitehall
The street called Whitehall stretches from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square. Just as Westminster or the palace of Westminster frequently stands for the houses of parliament, so Whitehall is often used as a name for the Civil Service.
Downing Street, which is a small side street off Whitehall, is the Home of the Prime Minister, who lives at number 10. Next door at number 11 lives the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is responsible for financial planning and the British economy.
Just around the corner in Whitehall itself are all the important ministries: the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office and the Treasury.
In the middle of the Whitehall is the Cenotaph where the Queen lays the first wreath of poppies on Remembrance Day. On that day each year the people of Britain remember their dead from the two world wars of this century by wearing a red paper poppy.
Royal London
The most important building but not the most beautiful is Buckingham Palace, which is the official residence of the Queen. It overlooks St James’s Park where the previous royal residence, St James’s Palace can be found. St James’s Park is one of the ten royal parks in and around London which are owned by the Crown but are open to the public free of charge. Each park has its own character. Hyde Park, for example, was originally a hunting forest and is still popular with horse riders. People who enjoy a good argument can go to Speaker’s Corner, where they can listen to people giving their views on a variety of topics to anyone who will listen.
Regent’s Park, which was also originally a hunting park, is now the home of London Zoo, and an open air theatre which delights summer audiences with performances of Shakespeare’s plays.
Kensington and Knightsbridge
If you live in this area, the rent on your flat is probably very high. It is an exclusive part of London where you can find many foreign embassies, large hotels, and the department store that is the symbol of expensive and high-class living: Harrods.
Harrods is not only the only attraction here; there is Albert Hall, where there is a festival of popular classical music concerts every summer known as “the Proms”. Sporting events are also held here.
Museums
Three of London’s most interesting museums - the Victoria and Albert, the Science Museum and the Natural History - are also in this area. Victoria and Albert was founded with the aim of improving design in the British manufacturing, but over the years it has expanded to include things from almost every place and period , including costumes from the theatre and paintings. The Science Museum is always crowded and is certainly the noisiest museum in London. It covers every aspect of science and technology.
Brighton, on the south coast, is a famous seaside resort. There are entertainments of all kinds. Brighton Pier is a popular place to spend a few hours, especially if the weather is not good enough to stay on the beach. It is also well known as a conference centre.
Windsor is a popular place to visit. The town is dominated by the castle, which is one of the official residences of the Queen.
Canterbury is a town in Kent with a population of about 120,000. It is the religious capital of England because its cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury who is the head of the Church of England.
History
From the 12th to the 15th centuries, it was a place of pilgrimage. Thousands of people came to pray at the shrine of a former Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in the Cathedral in 1170. His name was Thomas Becket. During the 12th century, King Henry II decided that the Church had made too much power. In 1162, he made Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury, thinking that his friend would help him to weaken the position of the Church. Although the King himself liked Thomas, he was not popular with other powerful men in England. They were jealous of his friendship with the King, and they also disliked them because he was not a nobleman. As Thomas was not even a priest, many people were very angry that he had been made Archbishop. The King was amazed when Thomas began to defend the position of the Church against the King. After a while, Thomas had to leave England because relations between him and the King had become very bad, and Thomas was afraid that he might be killed. He lived in exile for five years until the King asked him to come back. The people, the bishops and the Pope were causing the King problems because they all wanted Thomas to continue as Archbishop of Canterbury. When Thomas returned, in 1170, he brought authorization from the Pope to excommunicate the priests and noblemen who had acted against him. The King was furious when he learned this. Soon afterwards; four of Henry’s knights entered Canterbury Cathedral and murdered the Archbishop on the steps of the altar.
Three years later, in 1173, Becket was made a saint, and his tomb became the destination of thousands of pilgrims for three centuries. In the 16th century, when King Henry VIII separated from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England, he said that Becket was no longer a saint, and his tomb was destroyed.
Chaucer’s Pilgrims
The best-known Canterbury pilgrims are probably those who appear in the book by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. It was written in the 14th century, when the pilgrimage had become a rather pleasant holiday for the groups of people who travelled together for protection and companionship.
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories told by the members of a group of pilgrims. There were twenty-nine pilgrims altogether, including a knight, a doctor, a miller, a middle-aged widow and numerous numbers of religious orders.
The Pilgrim’s Way is the name of an old path starting at Winchester which was taken by pilgrims travelling to Canterbury.
The Stockbroker Belt
The Stockbroker Belt is the popular name of the county of Surrey, which has become a residential area for London commuters. Although the word stockbroker refers to a particular occupation- it is someone who works at the Stock Exchange- many different professional groups live here. The roads are lined with trees and there are large detached houses with well-kept gardens. Most people associate this area with the rich lifestyle of those people who work in the City of London. People travel daily to work in London from all over the southeast: from Brighton, from Chelmsford, from Reading and from everywhere in between.
B- EAST ANGLIA
It comprises the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
East Anglia is extremely flat and it is dominated by agriculture. It has beautiful cities with fine historic buildings (such as Cambridge, Ely, Norwich, Peterborough and Colchester), and it has many sandy beaches and inland waterways.
In medieval times, it became rich because of the wool trade. It was not affected by the industrial revolution, and even today there is very little heavy industry. It was, however, the home of the agricultural revolution and is now best known as a farming region.
It is rather isolated from the rest of Britain because of its position away from the main national routes and because of its shape. It is more than half surrounded by sea.
➢ Rivers
The most important rivers are the Great Ouse, Cam, Welland and Witham.
➢ Relief
This area is extremely flat and it is more than half surrounded by sea. As a consequence marshy land is found in the north.
The Fen Country
The area known as the Fens covers part of three different counties: Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. The main part is about 67 km northwards from Cambridge to the Wash and about 67 km south-eastwards from Peterborough.
A fen is a land which is low-lying and wet, often partly covered with water. The Fen Country consists of miles of flat land with almost no trees or hedges. It is divided by high banks that contain the rivers and drains , which help to control the level of water in the fields. The small fenland towns and villages used to be islands in the time before the area was drained, and many of their names showed this-eg. Manea, Ramsey. Both –ey and –ea mean “island”.
The Fens today
Work on the drainage (through canals) of the Fens started in 1630s, but they were not completely drained until the late 19th century. Now that the drainage of the Fens is complete, the area has some of the richest and most expensive farmland in the country. The black, fertile soil produces sugar-beet, potatoes, and celery, as well as cereals.
A lot of fruit is grown in this area too. The area is much richer than it was in the days when men made their living from fishing and catching wildfowl , although mechanized farming has caused some social problems: there are fewer jobs, and the population is smaller because young people have moved to the larger towns to look for work.
An area known as the Ouse Wash is allowed to flood naturally and provides a perfect area for thousands of ducks, geese and swans which spend the winter there. The swans are of two types: Bewick and Whooper and they fly from eastern Russia each year. Sometimes there are as many as 2,000 swans which arrive in family parties, having survived the dangerous journey.
The Broads (shallow lakes) were formed by deposition of silt from the tides (clay and chalk) washed away from the cliffs to the mouth of rivers: Witham, Nen and Ouse.
➢ Climate
This area lies on the sunnier and drier side of Britain. The annual rainfall is 25-30 inches (the average is 50-60) It has warm summers and very cold winters.
➢ Economic Activities
Farming: East Anglia is the most intensely cultivated area in the British Isles. Wheat, barley, potatoes and sugar-beet are the main crops. Rotation farming was first carried out here (grass is planted one year, especially clover, and the following year cereals or sometimes root crops such as potatoes or sugar-beet) Arable farming and mixed farming are important. There‘s fruit growing in Norfolk. There’s sheep farming in the East Anglian heights and cattle rearing on the lowlands of the coast.
Manufacturing Industries: There are many food-processing industries, clothing and leather factories and farming machinery industries.
Fishing: Herring is caught in Yarmouth and Lowestoft, but this activity has now declined.
Tourism: The ferry station at Harwich and the city of Cambridge are the most visited places by tourists.
➢ Important Cities
- Cambridge must be one of the best-known towns in the world. The principal reason for its fame is its university, which started during the 13th century and grew steadily until today. There are more than twenty colleges. Most of them allow visitors to enter the grounds and courtyards. The most popular place from which to view them is from the Backs, where the college grounds go down to the River Cam. The oldest college is Porterhouse, which was founded in 1284, and the most recent is the Robinson College, which was opened in 1977. The most famous is King’s because of its magnificent chapel. Its choir of boys and undergraduates is also very well known.
The university was exclusively for men until 1871 when the first women’s college was opened. Another was opened two years later and a third in 1954. In the 1970s, most colleges opened their doors to both men and women. Almost all the colleges are now mixed.
Cambridge Science Park
To the north of the ancient city is the modern face of the University -the Cambridge science Park- which has developed in response to the need for universities to increase their contact with high technology industry. It was established in 1970 by Trinity College, which has a long scientific tradition going back to Sir Isaac Newton. It is now home to more than sixty companies and research institutes.
- Norwich
Norwich is the most important city of East Anglia and of course it has a large shopping centre for the rural area surrounding it. It also has to cater for the tourists who are attracted to the city by such features as the cathedral, museums and castle.
Norwich has a wide variety of shops. One of the most unusual is the Mustard Shop. It sells nothing but mustard, and there are as many different kinds as it is possible to imagine. It has a mustard museum, which describes the history of Colman’s mustard. The Colmans were a famous Norwich family who started a mustard-making business over 150 years ago. Then, there is the outdoor market, with its multicoloured stall-covers, where you can buy everything from books to bananas.
- Colchester Town Trail
1. The trail starts at Balkerne Gate, which used to be West Gate of the town in Roman times, and is one of the best-preserved Roman gateways in Britain. The Romans invaded Britain in AD 43, and Colchester became a town for retired Roman soldiers.
2. Walk towards the town centre along Balkerne Passage and you cannot miss “Jumbo”, the town’s most famous landmark. It is a Victorian water-tower which took its name from a famous elephant sold to a circus in 1882.
3. Go up the hill into High St, one of the main streets during Roman times. There are several Medieval Georgian houses, most of which have been restored. This area is known as the Dutch Quarter because it is where Flemish weavers lived when they fled from the Netherlands in the 16th century. They helped to improve the cloth industry.
4. Near St Helen’s Chapel you can see the remains of a Roman theatre.
5. The Castle and the Museum. The Castle dates from the 11th century and it was built on the site of a Roman temple. Now there is a museum inside, where you’ll find a wonderful collection of Roman antiquities.
6. The Siege House. During the Civil War, Colchester was defended by a Royalist Army and was besieged for eleven weeks before finally surrendering.
C- THE MIDLANDS
This region is also called “The Heart of England” or the “Heartland”. It comprises several counties: Shropshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Derbyshire. This region has some beautiful countryside in the Peak District National Park, the Cotswolds Hills and the Malvern Hills.
Rivers
The most important rivers are: the Severn in the west, the Avon in the southeast and the Trent in the north.
Relief
It forms a triangle between the southern tip of the Pennines, the Welsh mountains and the Cotswolds and Northampton heights. The moorland and hills of Staffordshire and Derbyshire are part of the Peak District.
Climate It is wet, but drier in the east.
Economic Activities
Coal: There is coal around the edges of the hills. The eastern portion has the most important coalfield of England (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire). There are more coalfields in the West Midlands.
The prosperity of the coalfields began after the Industrial Revolution because most of the industries were established near them. Coal is used as a source of energy, but nowadays the demand for coal has decreased considerably on account of the use of other more modern sources of power: petroleum, electricity and gas.
Iron: Large quantities of iron ore were originally mined from the Jurassic rocks of the east Midlands, but much more had to be imported from abroad. The steel-making industry, having iron as its base material, has been located mainly at Corby. Sheffield specializes in high –grade or alloy steels which are required for the production of engines, cutlery, tools, etc.
Granite: It is produced in the Midlands.
Farming
Although the Midlands are primarily industrial, all the rural areas are intensively farmed.
Cattle is reared for both, beef and milk. There is also sheep rearing in the region.
Fruit growing is also important. There are hops, small fruits (berries) and orchard fruit. There is also arable farming: grassland and pasture are produced.
Manufacturing
The Midlands are the largest industrial area in Britain. There are three regions:
-Birmingham and the Black Country
-The Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent
-Eastern Midlands: Derby and Nottingham, where coal is mined.
The Birmingham district is the largest metal-working area in Great Britain. Nearby towns are also important: Wolverhampton and Wasshall. This area is known as “The Black Country”. The motor vehicle industry started in Britain in 1896 with the production of Austin cars. Other vehicles are also manufactured in the Midlands: Jaguar, Morris cars (Oxford), Hillman cars (Coventry) and Leyland buses and trucks (Lancashire)
Shipbuilding is also important in Liverpool.
The pottery industry is concentrated in Stoke-on-Trent (Staffordshire). Here pottery and porcelain are manufactured. The raw material for this industry is China clay, obtained from Southwest England. Earthenware is strengthened by the addition of hard stones.
Shropshire is the birthplace of the industrial revolution. Ironbridge, where iron was first made is a living museum.
Important Cities
➢ Birmingham is the most important city in the Midlands. It is one of England’s most productive regions, with large industrial area such as the Black Country in the West Midlands. Buying and selling has been an important part of life in Birmingham for more than eight hundred years. Each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the colourful rug market can be found. People used to come to buy and sell old clothes. South of Birmingham lies the historic town of Warwick with its great castle.
➢ Coventry
In 1962 a magnificent new cathedral was consecrated in Coventry and bishops and archbishops from all over the world attended. They came to see a cathedral of our time, built using the skills and ideas of our day.
During the Second World War, the old cathedral had been destroyed in a terrible night of bombs which killed many people. Immediately a new altar was made with the fallen stones. The altar cross was made from burnt wood and nails from the ruins. After the war, a similar nail cross was taken to Kiel in Germany as a sign of friendship, and stone from the ruins of Kiel Cathedral was given to Coventry in return. This is the Kiel Stone of Forgiveness, now in the Chapel of Unity. Then, the Germans helped to clear one corner of the ruined cathedral. The new cathedral looks very modern, but it is joined physically and spiritually with the old.
➢ Oxford
The University of Oxford began to establish itself in the middle of the 12th century, and by 1300 there were already1,500 students. At this time, Oxford was a wealthy town, but by the middle of the 14th century; it was poorer because of a decline in trade and because of the terrible plague, which killed many people in England. Relations between the students and townspeople were very unfriendly, and there was often fighting in the streets. On the 10th February 1355, the festival of St Scholastica, a battle began which lasted two days. Sixty two students were killed. The townspeople were punished for this in two ways: they had to walk through the town to attend a special service on every St Scholastica’s day until 1825. Worse than this, the University was given control of the town for nearly 600 years.
Nowadays, there are about 12,000 students in Oxford, and the University and the town live happily side by side.
Oxford is not only famous for its architecture. In the 20th century, it has developed quickly as an industrial and commercial centre. The Rover Group factory at Cowley, for example, is an important part of Britain’s motor industry.
The Oxford English dictionary is well known to students of English everywhere. Some of the words are special Oxford words. For example, “bulldog” in Oxford is the name given to University policemen who wear bowler hats and sometimes patrol the streets at nights. They are very fast runners. “Punt” is a word used in both Oxford and Cambridge. It refers to a flat bottomed boat with sloping ends which is moved by pushing a long pole in the water. Oxford University Press has a special department called the Oxford Word and Language Service.
➢ Liverpool
It is one of Britain’s major ports and has long had an important ship-building industry. This city is the birthplace of the Beatles, the most successful pop group the world has ever known.
➢ Stratford upon Avon was the birthplace of William Shakespeare. In April 1564 a son was born to John and Mary Shakespeare. His mother was the daughter of Robert Arden, an important farmer in Warwickshire. His father was a rich citizen whose business was making and selling leather gloves.
The parents did not guess that their son was going to be such an important figure in English poetry and drama. William married Anne Hathaway. They had three children. Shakespeare went to work in London leaving Anne and his children at home. He soon began to act and to write plays. By 1592 he was an important member of a well-known acting company. And in 1599 the famous Globe Theatre was built on the south bank of the Thames. It was in this theatre that most of his plays were performed. By 1603, Shakespeare was the leading poet and dramatist of his time. He died in 1616. He is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. Ben Johnson, who was also a famous writer, called Shakespeare the “Sweet swan of Avon”.
➢ Sheffield and Manchester are large industrial centres. Sheffield is famous for steel.
D- THE NORTH
The northernmost region of England contains some of the wildest and loneliest parts in the country, but also some of the busiest industrial centres. The Ice Age formed many deep valleys in the counties of Cumbria and North Yorkshire, made rivers into waterfalls and left behind hills and mountains. Beneath the earth is coal -the foundation of the region’s industry.
There are five counties in the region of Northumbria. They are Tyne, Wear, Cleveland, Durham and Northumberland.
Rivers
The Ouse flows into the Humber. The Aire is also a very important river and it is a tributary of the Ouse. The Tees, Wear and Tyne flow into the North Sea.
Relief
The Pennine Chain dominates the region. The chain runs from near the Scottish border to the Peak District in Derbyshire. It is cut by great faults which run from east to west. Some of the faults are the Tyne Gap, the Vale of Eden and the Aire Gap. The Pennines are famous for their beautiful dales and rivers.
Another relief feature in the North is the Cumbrian or Lake District Mountains. These mountains suffered the actions of glaciers during the Ice Age. This district consists of deep valleys, sharp peaks and ridges. Every valley contains one or more lakes. These mountains constitute one of the finest sceneries in the British Isles. There are also two plains: the Lancashire and Cheshire Plains.
As regards features on the coast, this region has two important estuaries: the Humber in the east and the Solway Firth in the west, to the north of the Cumbrian Mountains.
Climate
The highlands are wet and cool. The eastern sector is drier.
Economic Activities
There has been a fishing industry in Northumbria probably since the middle of the 13th century. Wooden ships were built for fishing and for trading and this industry grew and grew, particularly during the 18th century. By 1850 the building of iron steamships became a major industry on the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees. One hundred years ago a quarter of the world’s ships were built in Northumbria. Today, sadly, this industry is disappearing.
The Industrial Revolution
During the 19th century the Northeast of England led the world in many types of heavy industry. There were railway engineering, bridge building, industrial machinery, iron and steel production. There was also an important textile industry. Both Yorkshire with its wool and Lancashire with its cotton were major textile-producing areas at this time.
Industrial misery
During the Industrial Revolution, many people moved from the country to the towns, where they usually lived in dirty and overcrowded conditions. They worked long hours for little money. Even small children had to work in the factories and mines. Many writers, in particular, Charles Dickens, have written about their misery. Today the noise and smoke of factories from the time of Dickens have been replaced by modern industry, and the 19th century slums have been cleared. But this region has been affected by the post-industrial recession. The 1980s have also seen dole queues, and unemployment marches from the North towards London. Many of the traditional heavy industries are disappearing, and the region is developing new technological industries to help it overcome its difficulties. These include electrical engineering, plastics, fine chemicals, computers, and North Sea oil and gas.
There is a rural north and an industrial north; the industrial centres are the busiest in Britain. The vales and hillsides provide very rich farmland, especially for rearing sheep and cattle (beef cattle and for milk). On both sides of the Pennines, the lowlands are also suitable for farming: dairying, crops, arable on the east and mixed farming (production of wheat, barley, sugar beet, potatoes and cattle rearing, too)
The industrial towns are suited on both sides of the Pennines and they form “conurbations”.
Coal mining: some of the richest coalfields are here. The Northumberland and Durham coalfield is the second most important in England. The large reserves of coal, which are used to operate electric power stations, made the North grow enormously. The Yorkshire and Nottingham coalfield extends its north portion to its region.
Iron and Steel: there is a large production of iron and steel, which provides the raw material for machinery, heavy engineering and ship building.
Textile Industry: The woollen industry is largely concentrated in a small group of towns in west in Yorkshire, among the hills and valleys of the Pennines. The cotton industry is situated in Lancashire. Man-made fibres, such as rayon (yarn taken from timber and woven into fabrics), nylon (chemical origin synthetic fibre), polyester and acrylic are situated in or closer to the textile towns.
Chemical Industry: it is expanding rapidly. The basic elements are salt, potassium, calcium and petroleum. The end products are fibres, plastics, acids and fertilizers.
Tourism
There are holiday resorts in the Lake District. There are also some historical places in the north.
• Important cities
➢ Kingston-Upon-Hull (on the Humber) is an important outlet for the production of coalfields, woollen products, steel and engineering. This port is also important for fishing.
➢ Newcastle-Upon-Tyne was the first town to export coal. Today it is the centre of the heavy engineering industry, particularly shipbuilding.
➢ Borrow is famous for shipbuilding.
➢ Blackpool is an important seaside resort.
In the interior part of the north there are also some famous cities:
➢ York Yorvik was the capital of a Viking kingdom in medieval times; it was the second city of the land. Georgian York was the social centre of the North. Victorian York was an important railway centre and 20th century York is the home of the world famous chocolate and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In York tourists can find glorious churches, ancient narrow streets, old houses and welcoming pubs where stories of ghosts are told around the fire.
Most splendid of all is the magnificent Minster. It is the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe and the most important church in the north of England. Tourists can climb to the top of the tower, go on a guided tour or take a trip into history below ground, where the Roman remains can be seen. This city is surrounded by a three-mile wall. In today’s York is a festival of music and the arts every summer, which includes the famous miracle plays. These are the religious plays which were performed in the streets in mediaeval York and which are still enjoyed in York today.
➢ Leeds: It is an industrial city which is famous for its clothing and leather industry. It is a river port (the Aire) and it has a well known university.
➢ Carlisle: It is an important route centre.
Hadrian’s Wall is a historic landmark. This wall which stretches from Newcastle to Carlisle. It was built by the Romans (Emperor Hadrian) to control commerce as a customs office and to protect people from the barbarian invasions.
One of the counties in the north, Yorkshire, is famous for its stories of ghosts. For example, people say that Haworth, one of the villages in the moors, is haunted by the ghosts of the brilliant, tragic Bröntes. Along ancient streets, the ghosts of three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, walk among the crowds. The Bröntes wrote those 19th century stories that we still love to read: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, the Tenant of the Wildfell Hall.
Whitby is a busy little fishing port which has changed little over the past 300 years. The town is famous for its associations with Captain Cook – the famous 18thcentury explorer. Dracula, written in 1897, is the story of a vampire from Transylvania who travelled to England. When his ship was damaged in a terrible storm, Dracula jumped to land at Whitby in the shape of a huge dog.
The Lake District
It is the central mountainous area of Cumbria in the Northwest and has some of England’s most beautiful scenery. Since the Lake District is a National Park, there is special control over building, to make sure that the beauty of the countryside is not spoiled. Nearly one quarter of the Lake District National Park is owned by the National Trust.
The National Trust is a charity, which means it is financed by ordinary people who pay to become members. It is not financed or run by the government.
E- THE SOUTHWEST
The southwest peninsula is also called “The West country”. It comprises the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, the west of Dorset and Wiltshire.
There are between 120 and 130 offshore islands which can be classified as part of England’s natural geography. Some are privately owned, some are inhabited while others are only known to lighthouse keepers, sailors and naturalists.
- The Isle of Wight is the largest island off the south coast. Charles I was imprisoned here, and there is a large prison on the island today. A lot of its attractive scenery was formed as a result of a thick layer of chalk- the white teeth of the Needles are the most famous example. Many of the inhabitants travel daily to the mainland to work. Those who work on the island are usually involved with the tourist industry.
- The Isles of Scilly can be found 28 miles southwest of Land’s End. There are about 50 and 100 islands in the group, but only six are inhabited. In early spring, they export beautiful flowers to the mainland.
- St Michael’s Mount is linked to the mainland at low tide by a causeway. It was a base for the tin trade at one time and, because of its religious connection with Mont St. Michel in France, it was also a trading and migration centre from the earliest days of Christianity.
- Finally, between the coast of Devon and South Wales is the island of Lundy, which was a pirate kingdom, but today is a bird sanctuary, with a resident human population of about twelve.
The New Forest is an area of heath and forest, and is best known for its wild ponies.
Dartmoor is a National Park. It is 945 sq miles in area and is mainly moorland and hills, surrounded by farmland.
Land’s End: It is the most westerly point of Great Britain. The peninsula used to be well-known for its pirates. This coast is very popular with surfers because of the large Atlantic waves.
Rivers
The most important ones are the Tamar and Exe.
Relief
The coastline of the Southwest of England stretches for over 1,000 km and has many different features: cliffs, sand, sheltered harbours, estuaries and marshes. There are three main groups of hills: Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor.
Climate
The region is fully exposed to the south-westerly winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean, which must rise on encountering the highland, thus causing considerable rain in all seasons.
Winters are mild and summers are cool. The south coast area even has palm trees (tropical vegetation).
Economic Activities
The most important advantage of this region is that it has early springs and therefore, early crops. Its latitude and climatic conditions are suitable for the early production of vegetables and flowers. However, there’s also one disadvantage: this region is a long way from the big centres of population.
1. Farming:
Sheep are reared on Exmoor, Dartmoor and other areas of highland. Beef cattle are the chief interest of the farmers on the lowlands, since the mild, moist climate favours the growth of meadow grass and fodder crops.
Cornwall and Somerset are noted for dairy farming. The well-known Cheddar cheese is made in the rich pastures of the Somerset plain. Arable farming is directed chiefly to the production of food-stuffs for the cattle. Oats, roots and rotation grasses are the chief crops.
Fruit growing and market gardening: Devon and Somerset are famous for the production of cider apples.
The Scilly Isles specialize in the production of spring flowers as narcissi and daffodils.
2. Fishing
This activity is performed in small scale.
3. Tourism
The West Country has always been popular with holiday-makers. The coastline offers the best beaches and surfing in the country. Besides, the weather is also warmer than in the rest of the country. The Cornish coast is known by the name of “The English Riviera”. This nickname is associated with the French Riviera. (Cornish is an adjective meaning “of Cornwall”. Riviera means a warm stretch of coast that is popular with holiday-makers). The most important city is Torquay.
4. Mining:
More than two thousand years ago Cornwall was famous for its tin ore. In recent years, with the increasing depth of mining, it has proved difficult to compete with newly-developed workings in Malaya, Nigeria and Bolivia. Therefore, tin is imported nowadays. The chief mineral now obtained from Cornwall is kaolin or china clay. Much of the clay is shipped from local ports to the potteries at Stoke-on-Trent for the manufacture of fine china.
5. Manufacturing:
There are woollen factories in the region.
6. Other industries:
Industry is centred on three large ports: Bristol in the north and Portsmouth and Southampton in the south-east. In Bristol, aircraft are designed and built. In Portsmouth and Southampton, the main industries are shipbuilding and oil-refining.
Important Cities
□ Bristol: It is a port in the north by the Bristol Channel
□ Portsmouth and Southampton: They are situated in the south east. Side by side on the south coast of Hampshire are the two ports of Portsmouth and Southampton. Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy, and its dockyard has a lot of interesting buildings and monuments. There is also the Royal Navy Museum where the main attraction is Horatio Nelson’s flagship, the Victory. Southampton is a civilian port for continental ferries, big liners, and oil and general cargo.
Many great sailors had associations with the West Country, for example Sir Walter Raleigh, the Elizabethan explorer, and Horatio Nelson, who lived in Bath in Somerset. The most famous sailor of recent times was Sir Francis Chichester, who returned to Plymouth after sailing round the world alone in Gypsy Moth. In Bristol, to the north, one of the largest Victorian steamships, the Great Britain, has been restored. It was the first iron ocean-going steamship in the world.
A famous shipwreck
A shipwreck that received a lot of attention is the Mary Rose, which was built at Portsmouth over 400 years ago on the orders of Henry VIII. He was watching the ship sailing out with 60 others, when suddenly she sank for no apparent reason. Perhaps she was overloaded. Whatever the reason, she sank within minutes and almost all of the 700 crew were drowned. The ship lay undisturbed in soft mud until the 1970s, when marine archaeologists and a team of divers began exploring the wreck. They discovered that the hull was complete and that there was a huge variety of artefacts.
□ Plymouth: It is also an important port.
□ Bath: It is a Roman city.
□ Cheddar: The Cheddar Caves are a popular place with tourists. Those underground caves contain amazing stalagmites and stalactites.
□ Exeter: It is a market centre which provides the surrounding farming areas with hospitals, entertainment and shops.
Other important cities: Stonehenge
The county of Wiltshire is most famous for the great stone monument of Stonehenge. It is the most remarkable of prehistoric remains in the UK. It has stood on Salisbury Plain for 4,000 years. There have been many theories about its original use and although modern methods of investigation have extended our knowledge, no one is certain why it was built. One theory is that it was a place from where the stars and planets could be observed. It was discovered that the positions of some of the stones related to the movements of the sun and moon, so that the stones could be used as a calendar to predict such things as eclipses. Another theory was that Stonehenge was a Druid temple. The Druids were a Celtic religious group. Some people believe that they were a group of priests, while others regard them as medicine-men who practised human sacrifice and cannibalism.
Customs & traditions
West Country food
Most people who visit Devon look forward to having a cream tea.
- Cream tea: This consists of a pot of tea and scones served with strawberry jam and cream. This cream is called Clotted cream, and it is much thicker and yellowier than ordinary cream.
- Cornish pasty: Pasties used to be the main food of Cornish miners and fishermen about 150 years ago. They were made of pastry which had either sweet or savoury fillings.
- Cheddar cheese: Somerset has always been famous for its cheeses. The most popular variety is probably Cheddar, which is a firm cheese. It takes its name from a small town which is also a beauty-spot well-known for its caves, which contain stalagmites and stalactites.
- Scrumpy (or Somerset Cider): Cider is made from apples and is sold all over the UK, but scrumpy is much stronger and usually has small pieces of the fruit floating in it.
F- SCOTLAND
□ History
At the beginning of the 6th century, Scotland was ruled by Scottish kings and queens, but was divided between different groups of people. The Picts and Celts, who were the oldest inhabitants, the Scots, who came from Northern Ireland, the Britons, who were driven north by the Anglo-Saxon invaders of England, and the Angles, who originally came from what is now Germany. The Romans had left two centuries earlier. England and Scotland were finally united when, in 1603, she son of Mary Queen of Scots became James I of England. This was because Mary’s cousin Elizabeth I of England had left no heir when she died. Today Scotland is part of the United Kingdom and is governed from London. There is a special minister in the Government, the Secretary of State for Scotland, who is responsible for education, local government and other important matters in Scotland. Although the legal, education and banking systems are slightly different from those in England, life is very similar to the rest of the UK.
All the inhabitants speak English although about 100,000 still speak Scottish Gaelic. Many of the Scottish accents of English are very strong, and visitors form abroad sometimes have difficulty in understanding them!
In 1707 a special treaty united the governments of Scotland and England. The Protestant Church replaced the Catholic Church as the ruling church in Scotland. However, many of the people who lived in the Highlands and Western Isles did not welcome this change. They still supported the grandson of the Catholic James II, who had been exiled in 1688. His name was Prince Charles Edward Stewart and he was known as Bonnie Prince Charlie because he was young and handsome. Charlie spent twenty years in Rome preparing to win back the Crown of Great Britain for his father and himself, and then returned to Scotland. The Highlanders were very proud that he still spoke Gaelic, and wore the traditional tartan kilt. In 1745, he landed in the Western Isles, then with 2,500 men, he marched south to Perth, Stirling and Edinburgh. There, on 17th September, his father was proclaimed king of Scotland and England. Four days later the jacobites defeated the English army at Prestonpans. On 1st November Charlie led his men as far south as Derby in England. However, not as many Jacobite supporters joined them in England as they had hoped, and Charlie decided to retreat. The Jacobites returned to Scotland on 21st December and defeated yet another English army at Falkirk on 17th January 1746. By April, however, the Duke of Cumberland had built up a huge army of 9,000 Protestant soldiers from England and Europe. On 16th April they met Charlie’s army of 5,000 tired and hungry men in the wind and the rain at Culloden. There was a terrible and bloody battle and the Jacobites were defeated.
Charlie wandered in exile in the Scottish Highlands and in Europe. There was reward of 30,000 pounds for his capture but the Highlanders, though poor, never betrayed the man they loved so much. After the rebellion of 1745, the Highlanders were forbidden to carry weapons, to speak their own language, Gaelic, or wear their own dress. Much of their land was sold by the British Government.
Mary Queen of Scots had been brought up in France, and returned to Scotland in 1561. She was a Catholic in a country that was becoming more and more Protestant. This meant that all her life she was involved in religious and political struggles. Mary made many mistakes in her life. The first real one was her marriage to Henry Lord Darnley in 1565. He was handsome and ambitious but at the same time vain, self-indulgent and weak. Their love did not last. Darnley became suspicious of Mary’s Italian secretary, David Rizzio. On 9th March 1566, while Mary and her friends were having supper at Holyrood House, Darnley and his friends broke into the dining room, dragged Rizzio outside and stabbed him to death. The spot where this took place can still be seen today.
Mary continued to live an unhappy life and was exiled for many years in England. Her cousin Elizabeth I of England had always been suspicious of her and decided that her worries would stop only when Mary was dead. Therefore, in 1587, she finally ordered that Mary should be executed.
Relief
Scotland’s relief is divided into four regions: the Northern Highlands, the Grampian Mountains, the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands. The highest peak in Britain is located in the Grampians: Ben Nevis (1,300 mts). The Northern Highlands and the Grampians are divided by a deep, narrow valley: Glenmore, which contains several lakes (one of them is Loch Ness, where the famous monster is said to live). The highlands are the most mountainous area of Great Britain and are a popular centre for winter sports.
There are several important rivers: Clyde, Tay, Tweed, Forth, Spey. Several of them have formed deep estuaries, called “firths”.
Scotland also possesses the island territories of the Hebrides (Inner and Outer), the Shetlands and the Orkneys.
As regards population, the Central Lowlands has the highest concentration of population and commercial and industrial activity.
The Scottish Highlands contain some of the most magnificent scenery in Europe, and the landscapes of northern Scotland form on of the truly wild areas of Britain.
Shetland is almost as close to Norway as it is to Scotland and 500 years ago it was part of Norway. Today it is still proud of its traditional music, and it is famous for its wool and knitting designs.
John O’ Groats is the most northern part of mainland Britain.
Climate
Due to its mountainous relief, Scotland is wet (more on the west than on the east), and due to its latitude it is in general colder than England.
Economic Activities
1. Agriculture: Cattle and sheep are raised in the Southern Uplands. Cereal farming is carried out in the Central Lowlands (barley, wheat, and sugar-beet) and also grassland.
2. Mining: Coal, iron, oil in the North Sea.
3. Industry: Steel production: Shipbuilding (especially in the river estuaries). Engineering, textile industry: wool (especially tweed), linen, Scotch whisky (produced in distilleries). In the Western Isles, the island of Harris produces some of the most famous cloth in the world.
Men working on the North Sea oil rigs off Scotland’s east coast earn large salaries, but life can be very dangerous. Men work either for seven or fourteen days, with the same time back on land when they have finished their working period. At the end of each 12 hour day they normally return to their cabins, which are shared by two or four men.
Important Cities
□ Edinburgh
It is the capital city on the estuary of the Forth. It is not the most populated city, but it is the most cultural and traditional. It is the centre of government and commercial life. The famous castle and international festival draw thousands of visitors every year.
□ Glasgow
It used to be called “the dear dirty city”, as its leading role during the industrial revolution of the 19th century caused a great deal of pollution. Standing on the River Clyde, it is the largest and most populated (on the estuary of the Clyde). It is an industrial city and a very important port. To allow the industries to grow during the 19th century, the River Clyde was widened. This allowed large ships from all over the world to sail into the heart of the city. Today, many of the shipyards have closed and some traditional manufacturing industries have been replaced by the high-tech electronic industries. Glasgow is the home of the Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet. Glasgow is the home of two well-known football clubs, the Glasgow Rangers and the Celtic.
□ Aberdeen
It is in the northeast, on the mouth of the Dee and in the North Sea. It used to be an important fishing port, but now it has become an active port for the oil industry in the North Sea.
□ Dundee
It is the capital of Tayside; it lies beside Britain’s most famous salmon river, the Tay. Dundee cakes and marmalade are exported all over the world.
The Highland Games
The games which are now celebrated in the Highlands first started in Celtic times and were always held in front of the king. Competitions were held to find the strongest and fastest men to be body-guards and messengers. Essential to the modern games are the events such as putting the stone, throwing the hammer and tossing the caber. Other events include running and jumping, as well as competitions for playing the bagpipes and dancing traditional Highland dances.
James Watt
He developed his idea for the steam engine. He first became interested in machines, working as an ordinary mechanic at Glasgow University, which had been founded centuries before in 1451. His interest in the steam engine turned it into on of the most powerful and important machines in the Industrial Revolution.
Education
Three of its eight universities were founded in the 15th century, and a fourth in the 16th. They are thus, much older than any of the English universities, other than Oxford and Cambridge.
Whisky
Typical sights in many Highland valleys or glens are the white buildings of the malt whisky distilleries. Not two malt whiskies are the same, and the taste cannot be copied anywhere else in the world, as the water comes from the local hills. There are more than 100 malt whisky distilleries in the Highlands and it is not surprising that the word “Scotch” is used to mean whisky throughout the world.
Clans and Tartans
The Gaelic word “clan” means family or descendants and the great clans of the 16th and 17th centuries were indeed very similar to enormous families, ruled by powerful chiefs. The wearing of tartans or coloured checks was common in the Highlands before the defeat by the English in 1745. Originally, the tartan was worn as a single piece of cloth, drawn in at the waist and thrown over the shoulders. The kit did not become popular until the beginning of the 18th century. Each clan has its own tartan
Scottish names
Many people in Scotland have the name MacDonald or Mac Kenzie. Mac means son of and people with this name usually feel they belong to the same family or clan.
Scottish Festivals
□ Hogmanay
New Year’s Eve is a more important festival in Scotland than in it is in England, and it even has a special name. It is not clear where the word “hogmanay” comes from, but it is connected with the provision of food and drink for all visitors to your home on 31st December.
□ Burns Night
25th January is celebrated all over the world by Scotsmen wherever they are. It is the birthday of Robert Burns. As at Hogmanay, a special meal of haggis, potatoes and turnip is eaten, washed down by a lot of whisky.
G- WALES
Wales is approximately 150 miles (242 km) from north to south. About two-thirds of the total population of 2.8 million people live in the South Wales coastal area, where the three biggest towns are located: Swansea, Cardiff and Newport.
The Welsh are very proud of their language and culture. These are best preserved in the north and west of the country, for in the south and east they have been more challenged by industrialization. The west coast, mid Wales and North Wales are wild and beautiful.
Relief
Anglesey is flat, but the rest of the region is very mountainous. Mid Wales is rather sparsely populated. Along the coast there are many fishing ports. North of Cardiff lie the valleys. These are the heart of the Welsh coal and steel industries.
Language
Welsh is one of the Celtic languages, like Scottish and Irish Gaelic. It is estimated that Welsh is spoken by 16 to 20 percent of the population, although in North and West Wales 50 per cent speak the language. Since the 1960s there has been increased interest in Welsh. At secondary schools almost 50 per cent of all pupils learn Welsh as a first or second language. Since 1982 there has also been an independent fourth TV channel broadcasting mainly in Welsh.
History
The Celts who had first arrived in Wales in the 6th and 7th centuries BC were defeated by the invading Romans in 43 AD. The Romans also killed large numbers of Druids, the Celtic religious leaders, who had formed communities in the north and on the island of Anglesey.
In the 5th and 6th centuries AD many European saints travelled to Wales as Christian missionaries.
The Saxons pushed the Welsh further and further towards the west until, in the 8th century, a Saxon King called Offa built a long ditch to keep them out of England. This ditch is 269 km long and follows the line of much of today’s border for most of the way. Then came the Normans who built enormous castles to protect themselves from attack from the west. The Welsh fought for many years to win back their freedom. The Welsh king, Llewellyn the Great, tried to unite his people against the English, but his grandson, Llewellyn the Last, was finally defeated in 1282. The English built great castles at Harlech and Caernarfon, and in 1301 Edward I of England made his eldest son Prince of Wales. This tradition has been kept until the present day and in 1969 a similar ceremony took place again. The present Queen made her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales at Caernarfon castle.
In 1536 Henry VIII brought Wales under the English parliament through a special law. He insisted on the use of English for official business, but at the same time he gave the Welsh the freedom which the English already enjoyed. Since the 16th century Wales has been governed from London and in 1978 the Welsh voted by a large majority against a separate Welsh Parliament. In today’s Government there is a special department and minister for Welsh affairs.
Life in the Valleys
Mining has been one of the great Welsh industries for many years along with the iron and steel trades.
During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, the valleys of South Wales became the iron and steel capital of the world. The small villages that grew up around the pits and steel works developed their own special character. The Rhymney and the Rhondda are two or the best-known South Wales valleys.
The Welsh National Game
Rugby Union is the national game of Wales, and during the 1970s the Welsh were thought to be the best in the world.
The Welsh and their words
The traditional culture in Wales has always placed special emphasis on the reading of poetry and the singing of choirs. In the 19th century there was a powerful Puritan religious movement that preached a good and simple life.
Politicians
David Lloyd George, entered the House of Commons at the age of 27 as a member of the Liberal Party.
After holding various government offices, he became the first Welsh Prime Minister of the UK in 1916. His interest in the old and the poor led him to start the first national insurance scheme and system of old age pensions.
Aneurin Bevan, who had worked as a boy, became one of the most powerful speakers ever known in the House of Commons. His battle with authority began when he led the miners in the general strike of 1926. He stood for Parliament as an independent labour candidate in 1929. He established the National Health Service to ensure that both rich and poor have the same health care.
A Poet
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea and worked in London as a journalist writing radio and film scripts at the same time. One of his most famous radio plays was Under Milk Wood. Much of his working life was spent in Laugharne near Swansea. The power of his poetry lies in its music and use of striking images.
The National Parks
There are three National Parks in Wales, which cover one-fifth of the whole country. The most famous of the parks is Snowdonia in the north-west. It covers 2,176sq.km. The highest mountain range in Wales is in this area with several peaks. The highest is Snowdon (1100 mts)
Energy inside the Welsh Mountain
One of the biggest power-stations in the world was built in the heart of a Welsh mountain. It uses neither oil nor coal to produce electricity, but the water of a large mountain lake.
The underground pumped power station is the largest in Europe and is used to produce electricity by pumping water again and again between two lakes. The water is let out through the bottom of the top lake, Llyn Marchlyn, and then it passes down to drive the turbines inside the mountain. The water turns the turbines which produce electricity. Afterwards the water is collected in the bottom lake, Llyn Peris, at the foot of the mountain in the heart of Snowdonia. The turbines then change direction and work as pumps, returning the water to the top lake, ready to be used again.
Cardiff: a modern capital
Cardiff has been the official capital of Wales since 1955. Today, the city is now expanding as a commercial and administrative centre. It is an attractive and interesting place to live in, with good communications, plenty of parks and a varied population which includes nearly 10,000 university and college students.
After London the University of Wales is the largest university in the UK. It was established almost one hundred years ago and incorporated three existing colleges at Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff.
Hay-on-Wye is a Welsh border town on the southern bank of the River Wye. It is unique because although its total population is only 1,000, it has fourteen bookshops which contain well over a million antiquarian and second-hand books.
Swansea
It is an important container port. Caerphilly has one of the biggest castles in Europe, including a famous leaning tower. It was built by the Normans to defend themselves against the Welsh. It was built by the Normans to defend themselves against the Welsh.
Big Pit Mining Museum
Coal mining has played a very important part in the lives of generations of people living in South Wales.
H- NORTHERN IRELAND
History
The history of Anglo-Irish relations began with the colonization of Ireland by the Normans under Henry II of England in the 12th century. Over the next two centuries these Norman settlers became more Irish than the Irish, and it is possible that Ireland might have ended up as contented Anglo-Irish society under the British Crown. However, in the 16th century Henry VIII quarrelled with Rome and declared himself head of the Anglican Church. Resistance from Irish Catholics was strong but was put down by Henry’s armies. And so by trying to force Irish Catholics to become Anglican and by taking a lot of their land, Henry began the two lasting problems of Anglo-Irish relations- religion and land. What he started was continued by his daughter Elizabeth I. Ulster was a specially difficult area to bring under her rule. The soldiers of the province of Ulster successfully fought against Elizabeth’s armies until 1603, but were finally defeated. Then, “the Plantation of Ulster” began. “Plantation” meant that twenty-three new towns were built in Ulster to protect the needs of 170,000 new, Protestant settlers known as “planters”, most of whom came from Scotland. This policy of plantation soon changed the structure of society in Ulster. Religion separated the planters and native Irishmen. The Scot planters were Presbyterians, a form of Protestantism, and they were deeply suspicious of Catholics and Catholicism. But they brought with them their own laws and customs relating to land, which encouraged greater social stability and economic growth. The Scots also placed great emphasis on education and hard work, and they were good at business.
Cromwell and William of Orange. During the Civil War in England, things became even worse in Ireland. A Catholic army was formed there in support of the king, Charles I, but Cromwell's Puritan (Protestant) force of 20,000 men was too strong for them. Cromwell's army not only defeated the Catholic, royalist army but also killed many civilians as well. This caused more bitterness between Protestants and Catholics, planters and natives. Forty years later there was again Irish support for the deposed Catholic king, James II, but in 1690 the Protestant forces of William of Orange (William Ill) finally defeated the Catholics led by James at the Battle of the Boyne.
Famine
No event in Irish history has had a deeper effect on Irish national feeling than the Great Famine of 1845-9. In the 19th century most of the Irish depended on agriculture - indeed, most of them depended on simple potato-farming for their survival. The poor peasants made their living from tiny pieces of land and had to pay high rents for this land. Potatoes were their main food and when the potato harvest was bad for four years in succession, there was a terrible famine in the country.
The Great Famine left one million people dead and forced another million to emigrate to the United States of America.
➢ Two Nations?
Some people say that from the time of the famine the gradual appearance of two nations can be seen in Ireland. During the 19th century Ulster, and particularly Belfast, became industrialized in a similar way to the North of England.
Because of its industrial economy Ulster was not as badly affected by the poor potato harvests as the rest of Ireland, which depended on agriculture. Also, the land laws in Ulster were much fairer than in the rest of Ireland. This meant that, whereas people in the south of Ireland blamed British rule for their poverty and suffering, the people of Ulster found that union with Britain had brought them prosperity, and markets for their industrial products.
During the attempts between 1886 and 1914 to get Home Rule for Ireland (independence from Britain in all things relating to internal affairs), the people of Ulster resisted strongly and said they would fight rather than give up union with Britain.
➢ Partition
After a long and violent struggle, the southern part of Ireland finally became a Free State in 1921. Ulster chose to remain part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This division of Ireland is known as 'partition'.
The Irish Free State declared itself a republic in 1949 and is now known as the Irish Republic, or Eire (an old Irish word for Ireland). It is completely separate and independent from Britain and Northern Ireland, and its government is in the capital city, Dublin.
In 1949, Northern Ireland still had its own Prime Minister and its own Parliament at Stormont in Belfast which was responsible for the province's internal (not foreign) affairs, but it was still part of the UK.
➢ Conflict
From the beginning, the Stormont Parliament was dominated by Protestants. Northern Irish Catholics, who were now in a minority, found that they did not have equal opportunities with Protestants for housing and employment. A campaign of civil rights for Catholics was started but very little attention was paid to it by the ruling Protestants.
In 1969 there was rioting in Northern Ireland between Catholics and Protestants. By 1972 the hostility between the two groups was so bad that Britain suspended the Northern Irish Parliament at Stormont and sent in the British army to keep the peace. The soldiers were welcomed at first by the Catholics as protectors from Protestant violence, but when the army began house-to-house searches of Catholic areas for men with guns, the welcome soon turned to bitterness.
There have been many deaths since 1969. In 1972, on what became known as 'Bloody Sunday', British soldiers opened fire on Catholic demonstrators in Londonderry and thirteen people were killed. In addition, many British soldiers have been killed. Both the Protestant and the Catholic communities have illegal secret armies fighting a bloody war. On the Catholic side, are the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and INLA (Irish National Liberation Army). Both these organizations want to achieve a united Ireland by violent means, but they are condemned today by the government of the Irish Republic. On the Protestant side are the UDA (Ulster Defence Association) and the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force).
➢ THE SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION
Since 1969 there have been a number of attempts to find a political solution to the Northern Ireland problem. In 1972 the British Government ended the Stormont Parliament, which had failed to give equal rights to Catholics, and Direct Rule of the province from Westminster was introduced. In 1973 there was an agreement - known as the Sunningdale Agreement - between the British Government, the Catholic Nationalists (who wanted a united Ireland) and some Protestant Unionists (who wanted Northern Ireland to stay part of the United Kingdom). Many Unionists, however, were against the agreement, because they thought it gave too much power to the Catholic minority in Ulster, and in May 1974 there was a General Strike by Protestant workers, which led to the breakdown of the agreement.
In 1975 there was another attempt at a political solution - the Constitutional Convention. This was an elected group of Northern Irish people, who were to advise the British Government and give their opinions on plans for political change, but the group did not have any real power and, as there were Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Unionists in the group, they could not agree among themselves, and so this attempt also failed.
For five years, no new political attempts were made. Finally, in 1980, the Irish Government (of Eire) began talks with the British Government. There were many problems along the way, but these talks between the two governments eventually led to the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985.
➢ The Anglo-Irish Agreement
On 15th November 1985, the British and Irish governments made a new political agreement on Northern Ireland. The Agreement gives the Republic of Ireland a voice in the administration of Northern Ireland, and the Irish Government recognizes that there will only be a united Ireland if a majority of people in Ulster agree to it. In addition, both governments said that the Southern Irish and Northern Irish police forces would work together more closely to try to make the border between the two states more secure. They wanted to stop the IRA from hiding in the Republic after they had committed acts of terrorism in the North. There have been many problems since 1985. The Protestants in Northern Ireland say that border security has not improved enough and that IRA terrorists are still finding a safe place to hide in the Republic of Ireland. The British Government is angry because, on a couple of occasions, the Irish courts set free suspected terrorists instead of sending them to Britain for trial. The Irish Government and the Catholics in Northern Ireland say that Irish people often do not get a fair trial in British courts. In spite of all the difficulties, however, the Anglo-Irish Agreement still stands and the two governments are still working together towards a solution.
➢ IMPORTANT CIITES
Belfast is one of the youngest capital cities in the world and it has grown incredibly fast. Today the city has a population of 400.000, nearly a third of the entire population of Northern Ireland, but in the 17th century it was only a village. Then, during the 19th century, the development of industries like linen, rope-making, engineering, tobacco and the sea-trade doubled the town's size every ten years. The city is well-known for shipbuilding - it was here that the 'Titanic', was built and sent out on her fatal maiden voyage.
Some of the Belfast streets have often been the scenes of violence - street -names such as the Falls Road and Shankill Road are well known throughout Britain because they have been heard so often on the news but people still live in Belfast, and they can and do go out and enjoy themselves. In spite of the years of trouble, there are many cultural and leisure facilities.
➢ THE GLENS OF ANTRIM AND THE CAUSEWAY COAST
There are nine glens or valleys of Antrim. Each of these green valleys has a character of its own. Together, they form a lovely and romantic area of rivers, waterfalls, wild flowers and birds. The people of the Glens are great storytellers. They will tell you that the places where the little people, or fairies, are said to go, are Lurigethan Mountain and Teveragh Hill. These little people are mischievous and take terrible revenge on anyone who cuts down a fairy thorn tree. Today many farmers throughout Ireland are so superstitious that they will not cut down a thorn tree, even if it is in the middle of their field! The Glens of Antrim were very hard for travellers to reach until the building of the Antrim Coast Road in 1834. For sixty miles this follows the Causeway Coast, named after its most famous feature, the Giant's Causeway.
➢ LONDONDERRY
The city of Derry has a long history going back fourteen hundred years. At the time of the plantation the City of London in England sent over builders and money to rebuild Derry. As a result, Derry was renamed Londonderry, but today both the long and the short names are used. The best way to see the city of Derry is to walk along the famous city wall built by the planters in 1614. The wall is about 1 mile (1.5 km.) around and 21 feet (6.5 m.) thick. It is still unbroken - the only complete city wall in Britain or Ireland - in spite of the fact that it has stood against several sieges.
One siege in particular is famous - the Great Siege which started in December 1688 and lasted until July the following year. During this time the city was surrounded by James Il's army. 7,000 people out of a population of 30,000 died of starvation before the siege was finally ended. This historical event is still very much alive in people's memories and every year there is a ceremonial closing of the city gates to commemorate the siege.
A tragic story
Near the City of Derry Golf Club, which lies to the north outside the city walls, a family called Knox still lives in a house called Prehen House, where a terrible tragedy took place in 1760.
A local gambler called John Mcnaghten tried to kidnap Mary Ann Knox but she resisted, and during the struggle he accidentally shot her. He was sentenced to death by hanging for the crime, but during the execution the hangman's rope broke. The crowd of people who were watching the execution shouted that he should be saved from the death penalty, since you couldn't hang a man twice. The prisoner, however, shouted that he did not wish to be known as 'half-hanged Mcnaghten', climbed back onto the scaffold and hanged himself!
4. The Monarchy
The position of the monarch in Britain is a perfect illustration of the contradictory nature of the constitution. From the evidence of written law only, the Queen has almost absolute power, and it all seems very undemocratic. The American constitution talks about “the government of the people for the people by the people”. There is no law in Britain which says anything like that. In fact, there is no legal concept of 'the people' at all.
Every autumn, at the state opening of Parliament, Elizabeth II, who became Queen in 1952, makes a speech. In it, she says what 'my government' intends to do in the coming year. And indeed, it is her government, not the people's. As far as the law is concerned, she can choose anybody she likes to run the government for her. There are no restrictions on whom she picks as her Prime Minister. It does not have to be somebody who has been elected. The same is true for her choices of people to fill some hundred or so other ministerial positions. And if she gets fed up with her ministers, she can just dismiss them. Officially speaking, they are all 'servants of the Crown' (not servants of anything like 'the country' or 'the people'). She also appears to have great power over Parliament. It is she who summons a Parliament, and she who dissolves it before a general election. Nothing that Parliament has decided can become law until she has agreed to it.
Similarly, it is the Queen, and not any other figure of authority who embodies the law in the courts. In the USA, when the police take someone to court to accuse them of a crime, the court records show that 'the people' have accused that person. In other countries it might be 'the state' that makes the accusation. But in Britain it is "the Crown'. This is because of the legal authority of the monarch. And when an accused person is found guilty of a crime, he or she might be sent to one of 'Her Majesty's' prisons. Other countries have ‘citizens'. But in Britain people are legally described as 'subjects' - subjects of Her Majesty the Queen. Moreover, there is a principle of English law that the monarch can do nothing that is legally wrong. In other words, Queen Elizabeth is above the law.
➢ The Parliament
The activities of Parliament in Britain are more or less the same as those of the Parliament in any western democracy. It makes new laws, gives authority for the government to raise and spend money, keeps a close eye on government activities and discusses those activities.
The British Parliament works in a large building called the Palace of Westminster (popularly known as 'the Houses of Parliament'). This contains offices, committee rooms, restaurants, bars, libraries and even some places of residence. It also contains two larger rooms. One of these is where the House of Lords meets; the other is where the House of Commons meets. The British Parliament is divided into two 'houses', and its members belong to one or other of them, although only members of the Commons are normally known as MPs (Members of Parliament). The Commons is by far the more important of the two houses.
➢ The Cabinet
The leading politicians in the governing party usually become members of the cabinet, where they are tied to government policy by the convention of collective responsibility. The cabinet meets once a week and takes decisions about new policies, the implementation of existing policies and the running of the various government departments. Because all government members must be seen to agree, exactly who says what at these meetings is a closely guarded secret. Reports are made of the meetings and circulated to government departments. They summarize the topics discussed and the decisions taken, but they never refer to individuals or what they said. To help run the complicated machinery of a modern government, there is an organization called the cabinet office. It runs a busy communication network, keeping ministers in touch with each other and drawing up the agendas for cabinet meetings. It also does the same things for the many cabinet committees. These committees are appointed by the cabinet to look into various matters in more detail than the individual members of the cabinet have the time for. Unlike members of 'the government' itself, the people on these committees are not necessarily politicians.
The history of the cabinet is a good example of the tendency to secrecy in British politics. It started in the eighteenth century as an informal grouping of important ministers and officials of the royal household. It had no formal recognition. Officially speaking, the government was run by the Privy Council, a body of a hundred or more people (including those belonging to 'the cabinet'), directly responsible to the monarch (but not to each other). Over the years, the cabinet gradually took over effective power. The Privy Council is now a merely ceremonial organization with no power. Among others, it includes all the present ministers and the most important past ministers. In the twentieth century, the cabinet has itself become more and more 'official' and publicly recognized. It has also grown in size, and so is now often too rigid and formal a body to take the real decisions. In the last fifty years, there have been unofficial 'inner cabinets' (comprising the Prime Minister and a few other important ministers). It is thought that it is here, and in cabinet committees, that much of the real decision-making takes place.
➢ Political Parties
The party system
The British political system is essentially a two-party system in which power is held by one of two main parties. Historically, the main parties were the Tories and the Whigs, later known as the Conservative Party and the liberal Party. Since the 1930s however, the two main parties have been the Conservatives and the labour Party. There are several smaller parties, the most important of which is the liberal Democratic Party . Each party has its own emblem and colour: the Conservatives have a blue torch, Labour a red rose, and the Liberal Democrats a yellow bird.
Regional parties
As a result of the process of devolution, there are now regional assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, many decisions affecting these areas are still made in the Parliament at Westminster. Wales and Scotland have their own nationalist parties, Placid Cymrud and the Scottish Nationalist Party, both of which want complete political independence. Northern Ireland has several parties, including the Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and labour Party and Sinn Fein. The Sinn Fein MPs elected to the House of Commons are not allowed to take their seats there because they refuse to take the oath of loyalty to the Queen.
The electoral system
The UK has what is often known as a first-past-the-post system. The country is divided into 645 constituencies or seats, which each elect an MP to represent them in Parliament. In an election, the candidate who receives the most votes in a particular constituency wins the seat. Generally, Labour wins many seats in the north of England, Wales and Scotland, while the Conservatives do better in the south of England. The Liberal Democrats want to change the system to one of proportional representation as they frequently win a far higher percentage of votes than seats in Parliament.
Traditional party policy
For most of its history, Labour has been a leftwing party, representing the interests of the workers and unions, although in recent years it has changed in significant ways. Traditional Labour policies included: public ownership of key industries, regulation of industry to ensure better pay and conditions for workers, and the development of a public health and social security system.
The Conservatives are a right -wing party, seen as representing the interests of professional people and managers in business and industry. They believe in minimum interference by government in industry and the freedom of the individual. Their general policies include: low taxation, encouragement of private rather than state industry, and belief in the free market economy.
The Liberal Democrats are seen as taking a position somewhere in the middle of these two parties.
Party support
In the 1997 general election, for the first time in its history, the Labour party, or New labour as it was called, received more votes from non-manual workers than manual workers. This reflects a major change in British society and politics. Although workers still mainly vote Labour and managers and professional people still prefer the Conservatives, the old class distinctions between parties are no longer so clear. As a result of this, the policies of both of the major parties have moved closer to the centre. New Labour has rejected many socialist policies and adopted some policies traditionally associated with the Conservatives such as the privatization of many public services.
➢ The Prime Minister
The position of a British Prime Minister (PM) is in direct contrast to that of the monarch. Although the Queen appears to have a great deal of power, in reality she has very little. The PM, on the other hand, appears not to have much power but in reality has a very great deal indeed. As we have seen, the Queen is, in practice, obliged to give the job of Prime Minister to the person who can command a majority in the House of Commons. This normally means the leader of the party with the largest number of MPs.
From one point of view, the PM is no more than the foremost of Her Majesty's political servants. The traditional phrase describes him or her as primus inter pares (Latin for 'first among equals '). But in fact the other ministers are not nearly as powerful.
➢ Education
Schools
Under the Education Act of 1944 all children have a right to free school education and education is compulsory between the ages of five and sixteen (in Northern Ireland from four). Almost 75% of children stay at school beyond the age of 16 and 44% go on to higher education. Pre-school education is usually part-time at least until the age of four and is provided partly by the state and partly by private organizations. Schools follow the National Curriculum and are regularly inspected by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills). Children are tested formally at the ages of 7, 11 and 14 by doing National Curriculum Tests (NCTs) in English, mathematics and science and league tables are published so that the results achieved by individual schools can be compared. Children do not have to pass a test, however, in order to be able to move up into the next class at the end of the school year.
Primary school
Primary schools often have two sections, an infant school and a junior school. Primary schools often have a first class for children younger than five, called a reception class.
In some areas of the country the last two years of primary school and the first two of secondary school are combined in a middle school but it is much more usual for children to go to secondary school at eleven.
Secondary school
Most children move to secondary school at the age of eleven. 94% of children are educated in state secondary schools, the majority of which are comprehensive schools where children of all abilities are educated together. In some areas, however, there are also grammar schools for which children are selected on the basis of an exam. Usually the state schools in an area are run directly by the local authority which is responsible for appointing the teachers and other staff as well as deciding where new schools should be built. This is always the case
in Scotland but elsewhere there are alternatives such as foundation schools run by a governing body, voluntary schools, many of which are church schools, and academies, which are built with some private money and run as independent schools in the state sector.
The remaining six per cent of children go to private schools, also called independent schools. Many of the largest and most famous of these are called, rather confusingly, public schools, and they are often boarding schools where pupils live as well as study. Children who are going to go to a public school often go at the age of seven to a preparatory school (called informally a prep school) and stay there until the age of 13 when they sit a common entrance exam to get into a public school.
League tables for secondary schools are published on the basis of the results achieved in public GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and A level (advanced level) examinations by the pupils in each school. These exams are set and marked by several organizations in a wide range of subjects and schools can choose which organization to use. GCSE subjects include vocational subjects that prepare for specific careers.
Post-secondary education
Further education
After the age of 16 students may stay at school and do A levels or move to a college to do A levels or career-based training. Education between the ages of 16 and 19 is free whether it takes place in schools or colleges (often called colleges of further education) and the government provides some financial support in the form of Educational Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) to encourage students to stay in education and gain qualifications.
Adults who are already in work have opportunities to continue their education part -time in classes organized by local authorities or other organizations in order to gain further qualifications. People may also attend an evening class as a leisure interest, for example to learn a foreign language which they can use on holiday abroad, to study local history, or to learn to cook.
Higher education
Students who have successfully completed an A-level course may go to university to do a three or four-year course leading to a first degree such as Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BSc), etc. They apply to several universities which then make an offer of a place specifying the minimum grades the student needs to obtain in the A level subjects studied. Higher education is not free. In principle students have to pay a contribution to the cost of teaching (tuition fees) and have also to pay their living costs (maintenance). The government provides loans to help them pay for university education which have to be paid back from earnings once their income reaches a certain level. In recent years government policy has been to increase the percentage of I8-year olds who go to university, which is now, at 40%, double the 1990 figure, but this growth has been at the expense of the amount of financial support given to individual students.
Universities receive money from the state for each student and are responsible for employing staff and deciding which courses to offer. The head of a university, who is responsible for its management, is called a vice-chancellor. After graduating, students may choose to study for a higher degree, such as a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science MSc), or a doctorate (PhD).
One of the largest universities in Britain is the Open University (OU) where students, who are usually employed, or in some cases retired, study part-time mainly by distance-learning and obtain first degrees, higher degrees and professional qualifications by this method.
➢ The National Health Service
The NHS (the National Health Service is commonly referred to by this abbreviation) is generally regarded as the jewel in the crown of the welfare state. The system is organized centrally and there is little interaction with the private sector. For instance, there is no working together with health insurance companies and so there is no choice for the public regarding which health insurance scheme they join. Medical insurance is organized by the government and is compulsory.
However, in another respect, the NHS is very typically British. This is in its avoidance of bureaucracy. The system, from the public's point of view, is beautifully simple. There are no forms to fill in and no payments to be made which are later refunded. All that anybody has to do to be assured the full benefits of the system is to register with a local NHS doctor. Most doctors in the country are General Practitioners (GPs) and they are at the heart of the system. A visit to the GP is the first step towards getting any kind of treatment. The GP then arranges for whatever tests, surgery, specialist consultation or medicine are considered necessary. Only if it is an emergency or if the patient is away from home can treatment be obtained in some other way.
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As in most other European countries, the exceptions to free medical care are teeth and eyes. Even here, large numbers of people (for example, children) do not have to pay and patients pay less than the real cost of dental treatment because it is subsidized.
The NHS employs well over a million people, making it the largest single employer in the country. Medical practitioners frequently have to decide which patients should get the limited resources available and which will have to wait, possibly to die as a result.
In the last quarter of the twentieth century, the British government has implemented reforms in an attempt to make the NHS more cost-efficient. One of these is that hospitals have to use external companies for duties such as cooking and cleaning if the cost is lower this way. Another is that hospitals can 'opt out' of local authority control and become self-governing 'trusts' (i.e. registered charities). Similarly, GPs who have more than a certain number of patients on their books can choose to control their own budgets. Together these two reforms mean that some GPs now 'shop around' for the best-value treatment for their patients among various hospitals.
These changes have led to fears that commercial considerations will take precedence over medical ones and that the NHS system is being broken down in favour of private health care. And certainly, although pride and confidence in the NHS is still fairly strong, it is decreasing. There has been a steady rise in the number of people paying for private medical insurance (Private medical care) in addition to the state insurance contribution which, by law, all employed people must pay. In fact, though, Britain's health system can already claim cost-efficiency. The country spends less money per person on health care than any other country in the western world. One possible reason for this is the way that GPs are paid. The money which they get from the government does not depend on the number of consultations they perform. Instead, it depends on the number of registered patients they have - they get a 'capitation' allowance for each one. Therefore, they have no incentive to arrange more consultations than are necessary. It is in their interest that their patients remain as healthy as possible and come to see them as little as possible, so that they can have more patients on their books.
The Arts:
Since the Second World War there have been great changes in literature and in the arts. These changes have much to do with the breaking down of social barriers and the improvement of education. The pop revolution of the 1960s also did much to bring a new vigour to the world of art, literature and music. Far more people now read books and go to the theatre, concerts and picture galleries.
Novels and Plays
Between the two world wars, serious novelists and playwrights were read and appreciated mainly by people from middle and upper-class backgrounds since their money gave them opportunities for education and leisure. For the same reason, the writers tended to come from the same background, although there were many exceptions, such as D.H. Lawrence, the son of a miner, who, anyway wrote in a more literary rather than popular style. Along with Lawrence, writers such as H.G. Wells and Aldous Huxley presented their public with their points of view on social and political problems since their plays and novels demanded social reform.
Other writers like Virginia Woolf and the Irishman, James Joyce, were more interested in thoughts and feelings than in social life, and the expression of their thoughts was sometimes difficult to read. At the same time, there were plenty of writers whose only aim was to excite, to amuse and to move to tears. As a result, people tended to divide writers into two kinds – serious, or intellectual, and light or non-intellectual.
In the 1950s, a literary revolution took place by the hand of writers Kingsley Amis, John Wain, John Braine, John Osborne, Arnold Wesker and Alan Sillitoe who became known as the ‘angry young men’ since they came from working-class and lower middle-class backgrounds and tended to be left-wing. They wrote about ugly and sordid realities of life as they knew it, and they wrote “angrily.” The revolution was seen in how these writers wrote in the ordinary, sometimes ugly language of daily life. Although many people were shocked by the violence of these young writers, their talent was soon recognised by the critics, the younger generation and even by the intellectuals.
Some writers, among them Iris Murdoch, William Golding, Lawrence Durrell and Muriel Spark do more than observe, they explore the reasons why people act as they do. Harold Pinter, for example, a distinctive playwright from the 1960s, claims that he has no social or symbolic message. He says that he only puts down what he sees and that when people read his plays they can interpret them the way they like.
Since the first plays of Osborne and Pinter were written there has been a renaissance of playwrights in Britain. More people are reading serious novels and more publicity is being given to new novels, for example, each year in October newspapers and their readers discuss with great interest the possible winners of the Booker Prize, an annual prize awarded to the author of the best novel of the year.
Poetry
Poetry became much more popular among young people in the 1960s to 1980s. School children and university students wrote poetry and read it to one another in poetry clubs. Modern young poets give live performances and need an audience as much as musicians do.
The pop revolution had a great influence in poetry which saw the emergence of a group of young working-class poets from Liverpool known as the Mersey Poets.
Films and TV plays
In the 1970s and early 1980s the film industry in Britain suffered from lack of money, therefore, films were made in British studios but with American money; a system that produced the success of the James Bond series. In the mid 1980s Britain won back much of it artistic and financial independence with films like Chariots of Fire and Gandhi.
Painters and Sculptors
There is probably a greater interest in painting and sculpture today than ever before. Artists are experimenting with colours and shapes and materials of all kinds. They hold exhibition on street pavements, in parks, empty buildings, as well as schools universities and art clubs. If they are lucky, their works are chosen for exhibition by the Institute of Contemporary Art. Some well-known artists are David Hockney, John Piper and Graham Sutherland.
Craftsmen
An interest in crafts of all kinds has grown up again. In school, colleges and evening classes more and more young people are learning crafts – pottery, wood-carving, furniture-making and metal work. Many shops also sell handwoven and handprinted cloth, and handmade jewellery.
Art Collection
The British have always been great art collectors and these can be seen today in museums, and in country houses, palaces and castles which are open to the public. During the nineteenth century the state itself became a collector. There are museums and picture galleries in most cities. London is also the world’s most important art market.
Music
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries musicians had a great reputation in Europe, both for their talent and their originality. Today there is a revival of interest in these neglected composers. William Byrd was the most distinguished English composer of this time and his name is still widely known.
Rock and Pop Music
The most classless form of art, rock and pop music, is listened to by princes and paupers. It also crosses national barriers as easily as class barriers. Every year about forty per cent of the bestselling singles in Europe are British and about ten British singles get to number one in the United States.
The people who put Britain in front of the pop revolution of the 1960s were The Beatles. Before this band, British pop music was based on rock ‘n’ roll exported from the USA by singers like Elvis Presley.
In 1970-71 the partnership of The Beatles broke up, but their influence continued both in Britain and the USA. When John Lennon was murdered in New York in December, 1980, he was mourned by millions of people.
Other popular British singers include Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Elton John who have also challenged previous standards of ‘good’ and ‘normal’ behaviour, taste, and sexual definition.
Bibliography:
- Spotlight on BRITAIN – Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Sealth & Gillian White. Oxford University Press. 1993
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