Great Britain

      But the largest group in the Commons was not dependent on great lords or the king. Each county and each town sent two representatives to Parliament. These were independent Members, country gentlemen who represented the area where they lived and had their own property. They prided themselves on their independence, and voted for or against measures as they saw fit. They had a deep loyalty [`loiзlti] to the Crown and would give the king’s government their support unless they believed it was in serious error. Many of these members were Tories. In the 19<sup>th</sup> century the Tories became the Conservatives [kзn`sз:vзtivz] and the Whigs became the Liberals [`libзrзlz].

      The greatest political leader of the time was Robert Walpole [`wo:lpoul]. He is considered Britain’s first Prime Minister. He was determined to keep the Crown under the firm control of Parliament. Walpole developed the political results of the Glorious Revolution. He insisted that the power of the king should always be limited by the constitution. The limits to royal power were these: the king could not be a Catholic; the king could not remove or change laws; the king depended on Parliament for his money and for his army.

      The most important political enemy of Walpole was William Pitt the Elder, later Lord Chatham [`t∫ætзm]. Chatham was sure that in order to be economically strong in the world, Britain should develope international trade. Trade involved competition. France was the main rival of Britain because it had many colonies. Chatham was certain that Britain must beat France in the competition for overseas markets. He decided to seize a number of French trading ports abroad. Walpole was against the war because it took a lot of money.

      The war with France broke out in 1756 and went on all over the world. In Canada the British took Quebec [kwi`bek] in 1759 and Montreal [,montri`o:l] the following year. This gave the British control of the important fish, fur and wood trades. In India the army of the British East India Company defeated French armies both in Bengal [`beŋgo:l] and in the south near Madras [mз`dra:s]. Soon Britain controlled most of India.

      During the rest of the century Britain’s international trade increased rapidly. By the end of the century the West Indies [`west`indjзz] were the most profitable [`profitзbl] part of Britain’s new empire. They formed one corner of a profitable trade triangle [`traiæŋgl]. Knives, swords and cloth made in British factories were taken to West Africa and exchanged for slaves. The slaves were taken to the West Indies where they worked on large plantations growing sugar. From the West Indies the ships returned to Britain carrying great loads of sugar which had been grown by the slaves.

      In 1764 there was a serious quarrel over taxation [tæk`sei∫зn] between the British government and the colonies in America. The population of the British colonies in America was rapidly growing. In 1700 there had been only 200 000 colonists, but by 1770 there were already 2,5 million. American colonists paid high taxes, but they had not their own representatives in British Parliament. In 1773 a group of colonists at the port of Boston [`bostзn] threw a shipload of tea into the sea because they did not want to pay a tax on it which the British government demanded. The event became known as ‘the Boston tea-party’. The British government answered by closing the port. The colonists rebelled [ri`beld]. The American War of Independence began. The war in America lasted from 1775 until 1783. The result was a complete defeat of the British forces. Britain lost all its colonies in America, except Canada.

      The countryside changed greatly during the 18^th century. Areas of common land, which had been available [з`veilзbl] for use by everybody in a village for the grazing [`greiziŋ] of animals since Anglo-Saxon times, disappeared as landowners incorporated [in`ko:pзreitid] them into large and more efficient [i`fi∫зnt] farms. When common lands were enclosed, the villagers had nowhere to grow their crops, so they could not feed their families. Then they left their villages and went to the towns to find work. They provided the cheap working force that made possible the Industrial Revolution.

      By the early 18^th century simple machines had already been invented. By the middle of the 18^th century industry began to use coal for change iron ore [o:] into good quality iron of steel. This made Britain the leading iron producer in Europe. Increased iron production made it possible to manufacture new machinery for other industries. One invention led to another: in 1764 a spinning machine was invented which could do the work of several hand spinners. The weaving machine invented in 1785 revolutionized [,revз`lu:∫naizd] clothmaking. It allowed Britain to make cheap cloth, and Lancashire [`læŋkз∫iз] cloths were sold in every continent.

      Factories supplied with machinery did not need so many workers as before, and that created a serious problem: a lot of workers became unemployed. Riots [`raiзts] occurred, led by the unemployed who had been replaced at the factories by machines. In 1799 some of these rioters [`raiзtзz], known as Luddites [`lΛdaits], began breaking up the machinery which had put them out of work. The situation in the country was very tense. People were afraid of a revolution like the one in France.

      Britain avoided the revolution partly because of a new religious movement. This movement did not come from the Church of England. The new movement met the needs of the growing industrial working class. It was led by the founder of the Methodist [`meθзdist] Church John Wesley [`wesli]. It was organized in small groups all over the country. Methodism gave ordinary people a sense of purpose and dignity [`digniti].

Vocabulary

Sophia – София

Elector of Hanover – курфюрст Ганновера

George Hanover – Георг Ганновер

ascended the English throne – вступил на английский престол

patronage – покровительство

loyalty – верность

Conservatives – консерваторы

Liberals – либералы

Robert Walpole – Роберт Уолпол

William Pitt the Elder, Lord Chatham – Уильям Питт Старший, лорд Чэтем

Quebec – Квебек

Montreal – Монреаль

Bengal – Бенгалия

Madras – Мадрас

West Indies – острова Вест-Индия

profitable – прибыльный

triangle – треугольник

taxation – обложение налогом

Boston – Бостон

shipload of tea – груз чая

‘the Boston tea-party’ – ‘Бостонское чаепитие’

rebel – восставать

available – имеющийся в распоряжении, доступный

for the grazing – для выпаса

incorporate – объединять, соединять (в одно целое)

efficient – продуктивный

iron ore – железная руда

spinning machine – прядильная машина

weaving machine – ткацкий станок

revolutionized clothmaking – революционизировала суконное производство

Lancashire cloths –ланкаширские сукна

unemployed – безработный

riots – бунты

rioters – бунтовщики

Luddites – луддиты

Methodist Church – Методистская церковь

John Wesley – Джон Уэсли

Methodism – Методизм

dignity – достоинство 
 

2. Great Britain in XIX century

      In the 19^th century Britain was more powerful and self-confident than ever. Having many colonies, Britain controlled large areas of the world. The Industrial Revolution created great wealth. Britain was the “workshop of the world”. British factories were producing more than any other country in the world. It gave work to the massively increased population. The rapid growth of the middle class caused a change in the political balance. The role played by the middle class in politics and government was increasingly growing.

      When the century began the country was locked in a war with France, during which an invasion [in`vei3n] by a French army was a real possibility. Britain decided to fight France at sea because it had a stronger navy and because its own survival depended on control of its trade routes. The commander of the British fleet, Admiral Horatio Nelson [ho`rei∫iou `nelsn] won brilliant victories over the French navy, near the coast of Egypt [`i:d3ipt], at Copenhagen [,koupn`heigзn], and finally near Spain, at Trafalgar [trз`fælgз] in 1805, where he destroyed the French-Spanish fleet. Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, but became one of Britain’s greatest national heroes.

      Another British hero, Arthur Wellington [`weliŋtзn], was the commander of the British Army. After several victories over the French in Spain, he invaded France. With the help of the Prussian [`prΛ∫n] army, Wellington finally defeated Napoleon [nз`pouljзn] at Waterloo [,wotз`lu:] in Belgium [`beld3зm] in June 1815.

      After the defeat of Napoleon Britain enjoyed a strong place in Europe. Its strength was in industry and trade, and in the navy which protected this trade. Britain had its ports on some islands in the Mediterranean [,meditз`reinjзn] Sea, in the Indian Ocean, in the south and west of Africa, in Ceylon [si`lon] and Singapore [`siŋgзpo:].

      In the 19^th century Britain was engaged in many ‘colonial [kз`lounjзl] wars’, the purpose of which was to establish its influence in different parts of the world and to ensure the safety of its trade routes. By the end of the 19^th century Britain controlled the biggest empire in the world.

      One section of this empire was made up of Canada, Australia [os`treiljз] and New Zealand [`zi:lзnd], where settlers from the British Isles formed the majority of the population. These countries had complete internal [in`tз:nl] self-government but recognized the overall [`ouvзro:l] authority of the British government.

      Another part of the empire was India, a large country with a culture more ancient [`ein∫зnt] than Britain’s. Tens of thousands of British civil servants and troops were used to govern it. At the head of the administration was a viceroy [`vaisroi] (governor [`gΛvзnз]) whose position within the country was similar to the monarch’s position in Britain itself. Because India was so far away, and the journey from Britain took so long, these British officials spent most of their working lives there and so developed an Anglo-Indian way of life. They imposed British institutions and methods of government on the country, and returned to Britain when they retired.

      Large parts of Africa also belonged to Britain.

      The empire also included numerous smaller areas and islands. Some, such as those in the Caribbean [,kæri`bi:зn], were the result of earlier British settlement, but most were acquired because of their position along trading routes.

      But even at the moment of its greatest power Britain was already beginning to spend more on its empire than to take from it. And by the time when the colonies began to demand their freedom in the 20^th century, the empire had become a heavy load.

      There were great changes in Britain’s social structure. Most people now lived in towns and cities. They no longer depended on country landowners for their living but rather on the owners of industries. The factory owners held the real power in the country, along with the new and growing middle class of tradespeople. The middle class was made up of people of different wealth, social position and kinds of work. It included those who worked in the Church, the Law, medicine, the civil service, the diplomatic service, banks, and also in the army and navy. Typical of the middle class of the 19^th century were self-made men, who came from poor families. They believed in hard work, a regular style of life, and were careful with money. This is the set of values which we now call Victorian.

      Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. During her reign, the modern powerlessness of the monarch was confirmed. Victoria was often forced to accept as Prime Ministers people she personally disliked. But she herself became a popular symbol of Britain’s success in the world. As a hard-working, religious mother of nine children, devoted to her husband, Prince Albert, she was regarded as the personification of contemporary morals. The idea that the monarch should set an example to the people in such matters was unknown before this time and created problems for the monarchy in the twentieth century.

      Despite reform, the nature of the new industrial society forced many people to live and work in very unpleasant conditions. Queen Victoria really cared about working people, believing that they were the heart of Britain. Her reign saw the limiting of the working day to ten hours, the introduction of basic education for all, and other measures aimed at improving the conditions of the poor.

      Victoria lived so long, and had so many children and grandchildren, that she was a senior figure in all the royal families of Europe. She was even called ‘the grandmother of Europe’. This was one of the reasons why, after the Crimean [krai`miзn] War, her reign saw a long period of peace in Europe. By the time Victoria died in 1901, Britain was the most powerful nation in the world at the head of a vast empire, and with influence in the rest of Europe.

Vocabulary

Admiral Horatio Nelson – адмирал Горацио Нельсон

Egypt – Египет

Copenhagen – Копенгаген

Trafalgar – Трафальгар

Arthur Wellington – Артур Веллингтон

Prussian – прусский

Napoleon – Наполеон

Waterloo – Ватерлоо

Belgium – Бельгтя

Mediterranean Sea – Средиземное море

Ceylon – Цейлон

Singapore – Сингапур

Australia – Австралия

New Zealand – Новая Зеландия

internal – внутренний

viceroy (governor) – вице-король (губернатор)

the Caribbean – острова Карибского моря

tradespeople – торговое сословие

Victorian – викторианский

Crimean War – Крымская война 
 

3. Great Britain in XX century

      At the beginning of the 20^th century Britain was still one of the greatest world powers. In the middle of the century, it was still one of the ‘Big Three’, it was considerably weaker than the United States or the Soviet Union. By the end of the century Britain was just an ordinary country, and economically [,i:ko`nomikзli] poorer than a number of other European countries.

      One of the reasons for Britain’s decline [di`klain] in the 20<sup>th</sup> century was the costs of two world wars. Another reason was that Britain could not spend as much money on developing its industry as other industrial nations did: at first it needed a lot of money for keeping up the empire, and when the empire fell apart, as much money was needed to solve numerous economic [,i:kз`nomik] problems connected with maintaining friendly relations within the British Commonwealth [`komзnwelθ] of Nations.

      The most important events of this century are:

1901 – Queen Victoria dies and her son, Edward, becomes King Edward VII. [He had been very strictly brought up, and both his parents disliked him. In spite of this, he was a kind man and was very popular, for he was deeply concerned about the conditions of the poor, and the gap between rich and poor.]

1902 – Nationwide selective [si`lektiv] (отбирающий, избирательный) secondary education is introduced.

1906 – Emmeline Pankhurst [`emi:lin `pa:nkhз:st] starts the Suffragette [,sΛfrз`d3et] Movement, demanding that women be given the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

1908 – The first old-age pensions are introduced.

1910 – Edward VII dies and his son, George, becomes King George V. [He was shy and disliked ceremonies. He took his duty very seriously. In 1917 he gave up his family name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha [`sæks`koubз:g`gouθз] and took the surname ‘Windsor’ [`winzз], after Windsor Castle. He did this because his original name was German, and Britain and Germany were at war.]