Chapter 3: From the Gunpowder Plot

The Execution of a King

On 4^th November 1605, Guy Fawkes hid under the Houses of Pariliament with 20 barrels of gunpowder and planned to blow up King James because he was angry about the King laws, but he was arrested and the King was safe.

The Civil War began in 1642 and it divided the country between the Royalists, who supported King Charles, and the Parliamentarians who supported Oliver Cromwell, but finally Cromwell won in 1649

Christmas is cancelled

From 1649 to 1660, there was no king or queen in England but Cromwell became “Lord Protector”. He tood an army to Ireland, where they killed many Irish soldiers, then, He gave land in Ireland to his Protestant soldiers and his actions were the start of the twentieth-century problems. So in England, the theatre was banned, the women could not wear bright colours or make-up and also the Christmas was banned

Plague, Fire and Revolution

Cromwell died in 1658 and in 1660 Charles II, the dead king's son became king. There were terrible events during his reign. The first was “The Great Plague” when a bubonic plague killed about 20% of the population of London. The second was “The Great Fire of London” which destroyed many building and had to be rebuilt.

In 1688, Parliament invited William Orange to invade the country. He won and married with James II daughter (the King). In 1745 “Bonnie” the granson of James II began a war in England but he lost

England + Wales + Scotland + Ireland

Anne was anothe daughter of James II and she became Queen in 1702 and developed two political parties: the Whigs and the Tories. There were two important acts in Parliament: The Act of Settlement (1701) said that no Roman Catholic could be king or queen. The Act of Union (1707) said that England and Scotland were one country.

She died and began the Georgian Age in Britain. Britain lost his colonies as a result of the American War of Independence, but colonised Australia.

In 1727 Robert Walpole became the first British prime minister. In 1801, the government introduced Act of Union with Ireland.

The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain towards the end of the eighteenth century. People began to work in the factories. In 1825 the first railway was opened. This revolution made Britain rich, but it also created problems: living conditions for the workers were very crowded and unhealty, the owners became rich and the workers poor.

Coal was the main fuel of the revolution, so children worked in the mines for 18h each day.

 

The Victorian Age

In 1834, Victoria, an eighteen years old woman became queen of Britain. During her reign many British men such as Dickens, Darwin and Graham Bell became world-famous. There were many changes in society: using children as workers became illegal, education became free for everyone and cities were safer and healthier. The British Empire grew to include parts of Africa and Asia. But also the queen Victoria government had problems. From 1845-1849 there was the “Great Potato Famine”. From 1854-1856 there was a war with Russia when more than 20.000 British soldiers died

At the end of this period there were electric lights, telephones, the London underground and many things became more modern

The Twentieth Century

The population grew to sixty milion. The country was involved in the two world wars, the First and the Second. The relationship between Britain and Irelan changed: in 1919, the Irish War of Independence began and finally in 1921 the south became independent, but the north remain part of Britain. After a time some people of the north want the independence so (the IRA) and British Army fought. In 1998 the “Good Friday Agreement” was signed and “the troubles” ended.

In 1960s (known as “the swinging sixties”) there was a great social change. Teenagers and women had more freedom. This was the time of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

The British Isles entered the European Community in 1973, North Sea oil was discovered, the Channel Tunnel was built and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales became more independent

Into the Twenty-first Century

The Scotish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly make those nations more independent. People face the global warming. From 2008 there have been economic problems. London is getting ready for the Olympics in 2012.