20th century
Voting and Government
Great Britain is a monarchy, but the Queen of Great Britain is not absolute, but constitutional. Her powers are limited by Parliament. But the power is hereditary, and not elective. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. All the affairs of the state […]
{More»} 00 Early period
The Earliest Men»
PRIMITIVE SOCIETY ON THE TERRITORY OF THE BRITISH ISLES At the dawn of their history the peoples on this planet lived in primitive societies. These primitive peoples, wherever they lived, began their long path of progress with stone tools, but they did not reach the same level of civilization at the same time in different countries.
00 Roman Britain
Roman Britain in Roman Empire»
ROMAN BRITAIN In the 1st century В. C. when the inhabitants of the British Isles were still living under the primitive communal system, the Roman Empire became the strongest slave-owning state in the Mediterranean. It was the last and greatest of the civilizations of the ancient world. The Romans ruled all of the civilized world and in […]
09th century
Changes in the Administration»
By the beginning of the 9th century changes had come about in Anglo-Saxon society. There were now big landed estates with bond peasants working on them for the owners. With the development of feudal relations great changes were taking place in administration too. Rich landowners were given great power over the peasants.
11th century
New Attacks of the Danes»
At the end of the 10th century the Danish invasions were resumed. The Anglo-Saxon kings were unable to organize any effective resistance and they tried to buy off the Danes. The Anglo-Saxon kings gave them money to leave them in peace. The result was that they came again in greater numbers the following year to […]
12th century
How the Norman Conquerors Lived in England»
The new masters were strangers in the country. They had different manners, customs and laws from those of the conquered people. They spoke a foreign tongue and the Anglo-Saxon peasants could not understand their speech. The conquerors were few in number but they were harsh and cruel rulers. They punished those who dared to disobey […]
13th century
The Town Under a Medieval Lord»
PRIVILEGES OF THE MEDIEVAL TOWNS The people of the first towns were not free. All the land in feudal England was divided into manors and the lord of the manor governed the townspeople who lived on his land and made them perform feudal services. Now we shall read about the privileges the medieval towns gained […]
14th century
DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE IN ENGLAND IN THE 13th-14th CENTURIES»
In the 13th-14th centuries the inhabitants of the bigger towns had to rely more and more on the neighbouring country-side for their foodstuffs and raw materials for their crafts. Trade between the town and the country-side began to develop. Now we shall learn more about: - the trade connections between the town and the village; […]
16th century
ENGLAND UNDER HENRY THE EIGHTH»
King Henry the Eighth was just eighteen years of age when he came to the throne. People said he was a handsome boy, but in later life he did not seem handsome at all. He was a big, burly, noisy, small-eyed, large-faced, double-chinned fellow, as we know from the portraits of him, painted by the […]
17th century
ENGLAND UNDER JAMES THE FIRST»
Elizabeth’s “cousin of Scotland” was ugly, awkward, and shuffling both in mind and person. His figure presented a most ridiculous appearance, dressed in thick padded clothes, as a safeguard against being stabbed (of which he lived in continual fear), of a grass- green colour from head to foot, with a hunting-horn dangling at his side instead […]
18th century
London Corresponding Society (L. C. S.)»
In January 1792 the radical movement among the “lower classes” produced its first organisation — the London Corresponding Society. Its main programme was manhood suffrage and equal representation, but in August a Public Address was issued which pointed out that an honest and genuinely representative Parliament could remove the grievous oppressions of the common man: […]
19th century
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGES IN ENGLAND IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES»
One of the most significant things about the industrial development of the eighteenth century was the requirement of extensive capital to carry on industrial undertakings on the larger scale which now became the rule. It is obvious that a factory could not be built without a huge amount of capital for the building, the expensive […]
Famous people
SHAKESPEARE, THE POPULAR PLAYWRIGHT»
A national poet must be known by the people of his nation. Shakespeare has now been allowed the last word in honours — his head on the same stamp as the queen’s. Only Dickens has peopled our imaginations with anything like so many types. Macbeth is part of our image of what guilt is, just […]