Outline the political unification on the British Isles in 1707 and 1800!
Unification of England and Scottland in 1707:
Union of crowns already in 1603;
only one single parliament for England and Scottland
Queen Anne became first monarch on the Britsh throne under this unification -> Queen of Great Britain
Scottland:
benefit of free trade with England
-> major economic advantages
-> scottish law, currency & church remained seperatly
Unification was called: kingdom of Great Britain, Union - Flag
1707:
many Scots mourned the loss of their national Parliament and thereby independence;
little celebration of this Unification in England: "England has never united with anyone!";
A British state, British monarchy, a British Parliament, British Government, British Empire, British army ect. -> British nationality formed
Unification of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland in 1800:
from 1714 onwards British kings were automatically declared Kings of Ireland;
'Act of Union' in 1800 prepared the merger (Verschmelzung) of the British and the Irish parliaments
-> United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
one Parliament for the United Kingdom;
design of the Union Flag changed: Flags of England, Scottland and Ireland united (like nowadays);
Ireland left intact, laws were made in London (throughout the 18th cent.) -> Ireland had autonomy till Act of Union (even though English King was automatically declared King of Ireland)
Describe the first stages of the Industrial Revolution in Britain!
Industrial Revolution:
distinct period of British history in the late 19th century;
-> many market places emerged
social change in the 18th cent.: fuelled by the continued growth of London
first phase: firmly concentraded on textiles
why in Britain?:
labor was expensive, machines saved money, coal industry established which provided necessary resources, enlightened thinking and emphasis on experiment
New important invention:
Steam Engine
by Thomas Newcomen in 1705, improved by James Watt in 1769
Consequences:
demand for fuel (wood, coal) as well as iron destroyed the environment - as did the fumes of factories;
many small manufactures, such as hand weavers, lost their income -> catastrophic;
those who owned factories (or invested money in them) made huge profits;
those that had neither money not skills had to sell their labour: emerge of modern working class
How did the British Empire develope throughout the 18th century?
Early 18th cent:
'War of Spanish Succession' (1702-1713): military triumphs at Blenheim (last Habsuburg king died -> war was about who should succeed him)
result:
Treaty of Utrecht 1713: gave international recognition to the Act of Settlement
- signed in Netherlands
- France had to acknowledge British chosen monarch
- gave British new collection of colonies
British naval domination -> great power
liberty was the highest value to the Britains
1750s & 1760s:
period of exceptional importance and achievement;
'7-years-war' 1756-1763:
-> two major sides were Great Britain and France
-> successes: Br. won the main area of New France in North America, got spanish Florida, some Caribbean Islands, the colony of Senegal on the West African coast and also superiority over French trading outposts on the Indian subcontinent
'annus mirabilis' of 1759:
military vicories for the British;
defeated France in Canada and India
The West Indies:
important for the British: sugar plantations, economy;
'Jewels in the Crown';
dynamic export markets: outside of Europe (North America, Caribbean);
constant struggles between European powers over disputed sugar Islands (piracy influenced Caribbean politics)
advantages of Caribbean possessions:
maximal benefit of flourishing slave trade;
exotical products (sugar, cotton);
attacked huge spanish possessions (Spain lost their possessions to Britain);
1700: 'sugar islands' in the Caribbean as the single greatest source of wealth, Barbados as first great Engl. sugar colony (1627)
many engl. products were exported to sugar islands
The American Colonies:
by the 1750s the full importance of the 13 American colonies was beginning to be appreciated;
North America seemed particulary promising;
increasing tensions between the 13 American colonies and the mother country;
13 colonies had developed a highly independent attitude when it came to intervention with London: esp. in financial affairs & taxation
The American War of Independence 1775 - 1783):
American Revolutionary War, also known as American War of Independence
16.12.1773: Boston Tea Party -> tea thrown in Boston harbour as an act against taxation
July 1776: American Congress issued the 'Declaration of Independence';
war ended with American victory in October 1781
parallels to the Civil War of the 17th cent.
disaster for Britain -> showed that British military was limited and only naval power was strong
India:
there was a difference between East & West expansion:
West: planters, coloniser
East: British were marginals, minority in India;
promise of colonial expansion:
find exotic things that can be sold in Europe -> spices, textiles, sugar, tea..
'Second British Empire':
after americ. colonies were lost, Britain went to the East -> this started even before the war of Independence;
1757-59: Robert Clive (1725-1774) managed to bring the East India Company into a dominant position;
'India Act' 1784:
East India Company became the central coordinating authority, role of the British army limited to securing the frontier;
No attempt to divide & rule India, many tiny ruled territories
Australia:
1788: Britain laid claim to Australia and to begin its colonization by Europeans, no other power than Britain was able to do so (afford that);
James Cook: famous Geografer, explored Austr. East Coast, chartered much of austr. & New Zealands coast lines
Botany Bay:
first bay, that they arrived on;
first fleet arriving Australia was full of Criminals;
Australia first thought as a prison (Britain had not that much places for prisoners)
later: seen as beautiful place to immigrate to
