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STUDY MATERIAL FOR BA ENGLISH

SOCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND – CMEN 12

SEMESTER – I

Academic Year 2022-2023

Prepared by

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
 STUDY MATERIAL FOR I BA ENGLISH LITERATURE
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SEMESTER - I, ACADEMIC YEAR 2022-23

Table of Content

S. No Unit No Title Pg. No

I) Chaucer’s England – Field, Village and

1 I Manor-house 3
II) Chaucer’s England – Town and Village

I) Age of Caxton
2 II II) Tudor England: End of Middle Ages 8
III) Anti-Clerical Revolution
IV) Shakespeare’s England - I

I) Shakespeare’s England – II
3 III II) England of Charles and Cromwell 22
III) Restoration England
IV) Defoe’s England

I) Dr. Johnson’s England – I

4 IV II) Dr. Johnson’s England – II 38
III) Dr. Johnson’s England – III

I) Cobbett’s England – I
5 V II) Cobbett’s England – II 41
III) Two Reform Bills
IV) Second Half of Victorian Era

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UNIT - I
ESSAYS
I) Chaucer's England.
Introduction:
The greatest writer of the Middle English period, Geoffrey, Chaucer, lived during Edward Ill's
reign. His famous masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, accurately captures the life and habits of the
people of his day. Other poets of that period were John Gower and William Langland. Langland's
Piers the Plowman like The Canterbury Tales gives us a fascinating glimpse of English life during
the fourteenth century.
Chaucer as the forerunner in English Literature:
The Age of Chaucer speaks with many voices the story of the shaping of the English nation amidst
a vortex of revolts, revivals and revelations. England acquired a national, racial and linguistic
identity during Chaucer's time. In Literature, Chaucer (1340-1400) struck an individual note that
was typically English. The birth of a new national spirit determined her triumphs in wars,
especially the Hundred Years war. With the formation of a nation emerged the English tongue.
The Saxons and French words in a happy blend gave rise to the new native language that was
readily accepted as the vehicle of learning literature and legal studies. The tremors of the
Renaissance were beginning to be felt in English Literature with Chaucer as the forerunner. The
typical medieval institutions like Feudalism and the Papacy were staggering under the strain of
modern thought, idea and approach, paving the way for great cultural changes.
Black Death (1348-1349):
The system of cultivation began from the Anglo Saxons. It continued till the system of modern
enclosure. This democratic peasant cultivation was forcibly replaced by the feudal power. It was
in rapid and painful progress. From 12th to 14th century, the feudal lords were in a strong position.
But the Black Death (1348-1349) came to speed the change. It is a sort of an epidemic. Nearly a
third of the population died. Some villages were fully wiped out. It attacked the young more than
the old and the weak. Instead of hunger for land, there was a shortage of labourers. Free labourers
demanded more wages. To meet the situation, the landlords followed two methods. One was to
give up agriculture and take up sheep farming. The other was the Stock and Land League System.
The Peasants' Revolt (1381):
The battle for freedom in manors and farms prepared the way for the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. It
originated from an unpopular poll-tax. There were revolts against corrupt local administration. The
peasants captured the manor houses and abbeys, burnt Charters and manor rolls. Some murders
took place. The gentry fled from their homes. The result was instability, indiscipline and

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lawlessness and widespread discontent. While the people were starving and living a life of misery,
the king and his courtiers were leading a life of gaiety and luxury.
The extravagance and corruption of the king and his court were fully exploited by Wat Tyler, Jack
Straw and John Ball, under whose leadership the people rose in open revolt against the king and
his tyranny. This was also known as the Peasants' Revolt as it was an uprising by farm labourers.
They revolted against the heavy taxes and the harsh living conditions. This eventually led to the
murder of Wat Tyler.
Wycliffe and Lollards:
The ecclesiastical community, during this period, had failed in its spiritual mission. Feudal
arrogance usurped spiritual piety and the parson's position was similar to that of a serf in a manor
house. Wycliffe, an Oxford academician, censured the 'Caesarian self-importance and thirst for
power of the clergy. He exposed the irreligious practice of the Church such as the worship of
images, sale of pardons and masses. The followers of Wycliffe were known as the Wycliffite’s or
Lollards. The Lollards kept on muttering something to themselves which earned them the name,
'Lollards’ which means “idle babblers'. Wycliffe has been justly called 'the Morning star of
Reformation' because he was the first and foremost scholar to attack the Church from within as all
that the Church had come to believe about itself. This movement was quelled by persecution.
Political Background: Edward III (1327-1377):
outgrown his adolescence. Edward III created the famous Order of the Garter around 1348. It was
an exclusive honour given to just twenty-six knights including the king. The members of this Order
were expected to be loyal and close to each other Edward III died an ignoble death in 1377 deserted
by his courtiers and robbed by his own mistress.
Henry IV (1399-1413):
Richard II turned a despot. Henry of Bolingbroke laid a claim to the throne. Richard set aside that
dispute planning to settle it later. He went on an expedition to Ireland. Meanwhile, Henry of
Bolingbroke took advantage of the absence of Richard II. Usurping the throne, he declared himself
king. On his return, Richard II was imprisoned and deposed. 8. The Hundred Years' War (1337-
1453):
Dynastic ambitions, expansion of territories and the pleasure of plunder usually constitute the
motives for wars in general. The Hundred Years' War stemmed from Edward III's claim to the
French throne. But that was not the only cause. The French King coveted Gascony which was in
the possession of the English. The French competed with England in the wool trade in Flanders.
They were its rivals at sea also. What made the Hundred Years' War historically significant were
the efficiency of Edward's Warriors and the spirit of nationalism they exhibited. The death of
Charles IV of France without a male heir to the throne posed a succession problem. Rivalry at sea
in the wool trade culminated in the inevitable war, with a very remote claim to the throne. Edward

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III set out in 1337, with a parade of arms assuming high-sounding titles. The most decisive fighting
was the Battle of Sluys in 1340. The French Navy was absolutely destroyed and England held
command of the English Channel for many years with the capture of the Flemish port of Sluys.
With the Black Prince on his side, Edward conquered Crecy and Calais thereby becoming a hero
to his people and Europe. He signed a Peace Treaty at Calais in 1360. Edward III renounced his
claim to the French throne. But the war with France was not to end with Edward's success. It was
fought for over a century. England won brilliant victory at Crecy, Poitiers and Agincourt. But it
faced defeat in the Hundred Years' War in 1453.
The Wars of the Roses: (1455-1485):
During Henry IV's reign, the Duke of York, a descendant of Edward III, claimed the English
throne. This led to a civil war between the two houses of York and Lancaster, known as the Wars
of the Roses. The name was derived from their symbols, the White Rose of the Yorkists and the
Red Rose of the Lancastrians. The wars lasted from 1455-1485. People were tired of the war. They
wanted a strong Government to establish law and order. So they allowed the Tudors to have full
authority. The Tudors ruled very successfully over England from 1485 to 1603. They gave England
internal order and peace.
Conclusion:
The fabric of Chaucer's England was wrought with wars, epidemic, social strife’s and religious
discontentment. With the collapse of the Manorial system, the social structure lost its Feudal roof.
The first wave of Modernism broke upon English shores from Chaucer's period.
II) Fifteenth Century English Society during Chaucer's time
Introduction:
The letters of the Paston family, the Stonor and Cely Papers are the windows to the London social
life of the fifteenth century The spread of education together with the invention of Printing Press
raised the mental standard of the London public Great changes took place in the structure of the
society.
Town life:
Town life was dirty and full of squalor. London of Chaucer was most insanitary. The streets were
narrow. The heaps of filth and dung grew beside the Thames. The houses were dark, unclean and
cell-like. But they were colorfully decorated. The streets of London were narrow and filthy. People
threw the garbage on the streets. Projecting staircases were dangerous. There was no street-
lighting, and after the curfew it was not safe to come out of the house. Night-walking was a
criminal offence. But in daytime, the streets presented interesting scenes and sights. Very often
there were pageants like Miracle Plays and Church processions twice or thrice a year.

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Education sowed the seeds of awareness:

The Fifteenth Century gentry and laity were acutely aware of their ignorance and illiteracy in the
wake of the invention of the Printing Press.
Reading habit developed on the materials for reading were easily accessible and readily available
knowledge came out of the guarded monastic walls to the public place. Everyone, the rich and the
poor, evinced interest in the education of his children. Except the very poor, the rest, the small
gentry, yeomen, burghers and merchants sent their children to the grammar schools. Municipal
guilds, the landed gentry and the burghers endowed generously to establish schools. The spread of
education to all sections of the society sowed the seeds of awareness among the people.
Feudalism:
In considering the meaning and workings of the Feudal System, two points must be noted. First,
as land was the chief source of wealth and power in the Middle Ages, society was organized
according to a man's relation to the land. Secondi. all classes, lords as well as villains, had certain
duties to perform in return for whatever rights they enjoyed. Feudalism, in its lack stages,
manifested itself in a quasi-feudal set up in the land. The agricultural scene, in general, presented
prospects more favorable to the peasant than to the landlord. The dearth of farm land, because of
recurrent plague gave scope for higher wages for hired labourer. The agricultural depression hit
the landlord. He collected exorbitant rent from his tenant and any resistance to it was brutally dealt
with England started to develop social classes peculiar to herself. The employers were not feudal
lords but new middle classes of leasehold farmers. manufacturers and merchants. The cloth trade
brought wealth and remoulded the society. And the State was trying to unite the towns in a common
policy of protection and control for the trade of the nation. At the end of the 15th Century,
Feudalism declined.
Many guilds organized pageantry:
In towns and villages many guilds organized pageantry and merriment. Apart from maintaining
schools, chantries, alms houses, etc. they staged miracle plays also. Famous plays, legends and
Bible stories constituted the theme of these plays. All sections of the society prospered through the
increase of trade and commerce. Fifteenth Century was the time of the greatest influence of the
Crafts Guilds. These societies offered a forum for the members of the concerned trade to express
their problems and seek redressal
Church:
There is the aristocratic Madam Eglantine and her fellow Nun, the Nun's Priest, the undisciplined
and grosser Monk, the jovial Friar, the Summoner and the Pardoner, and last of all the poor and
virtuous Parson. The ecclesiastical figures painted by Chaucer gives a picture of the decadence of
the medieval Church. The Church had become a hot bed of profligacy, corruption, and rank
materialism. Chaucer's Monk, Friar, Summoner, Pardoner and Prioress are all corrupt, pleasure

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loving and materialistic in outlook. The Monk is a fat, sporting fellow averse to study and penance.
The Priar is a jolly beggar who employs his tongue to carve out his living. The Prioress bothers
more about modish etiquette than austerity.
The Pardoner is a despicable parasite trading in letters of pardons with the sinners who could
ensure a seat in heaven by paying hard cash in penitence for their sins. The Summoner likewise is
a depraved fellow. These characters fully signify the decadence that had crept into the Church. The
only exception is the “Poor Parson" who is honest and pure and performs his duties faithfully. The
Church was certainly corrupt. The clergy themselves were critics of the Roman Church. People
never saw the Bible in English. The main idea of the Middle Ages was the unity of the Christendom
under Pope and the King. The Roman Church was losing its power. Renaissance created a spirit
of enquiry. The Reformation had put an end to the spiritual authority of the Pope. Thus, the
powerful institution Church was losing its power and prestige from the 16th Century. People
gathered at the Church on festival days and many competitions were conducted.
Conclusion:
The Fifteenth Century was simmering with the die of the medieval institutions. It was brought to
a bend in Century in the wake of new monarchy, new learning and. discoveries. Above all, there
was Chaucer, scholar, to businessman, but fundamentally poet and artist who shared in everything,
the stirring life of an age and reflected it in literature.

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UNIT - II
I) England in the Age of Caxton
Introduction:
The Fifteenth Century was a period of social unrest and disorder in England. In the words of
Trevelyan, the whole social fabric was affected by the general state of misrule. The social disorder
resulted mainly from a struggle between landholders for more land.
Caxton's England:
Caxton's England presents a spectacle of savage battles, ruthless executions, murderous treasons
and selfish malevolence. A great redeeming factor amidst this chaotic state of affairs was that the
civil strife of the lords was confined to themselves and did not extend to the rest of the society.
The Battle of Agincourt (1415) boosted the English ego to the point of justifying their aggression
and plunder of France. Kings and barons turned warmongers and their subjects admired them in
their triumphs and spurned them in their failures. Lollards, weakened by persecution and
suppression, could not unseat Papal supremacy. The long conflict between the Parliament and the
Crown since the days of Edward I resulted in the great securities of national liberty, the right of
freedom from arbitrary taxation, legislation, imprisonment and the accountability of the King to
law and Parliament was brought into force. The influence of Italian Renaissance manifested itself
in the architecture of the day. But literature during this period was at its lowest ebb. Chaucer's
immediate successors were imitators and translators. The event of far reaching social consequence
was the invention of the Printing Press.
Caxton's Contributions:
The first Printing Press in England was established in 1476 by William Caxton at Westminster. In
Europe John Gutenberg of Germany had already introduced the art of printing. Caxton printed
mostly Latin books but books in English were printed for the first time in 1483. Thus books became
cheaper and more plentiful. Caxton not only printed books but also translated European books into
English and thus he helped the spread of knowledge. He did not do this for pecuniary reasons.
Only for the sake of service to humanity he printed many books in English. He printed the works
of Chaucer, Gower, Langland, Malory and others. The printing press accelerated the pace of
learning, refashioned religion and reconstructed the social life · of the people.
The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485):
These wars were fought between Yorkists and Lancastrians, the supporters of the two families
which claimed the English throne. The Yorkists wore white rose badges and the Lancastrians wore
red rose badges. So the war was called the “War of the Roses”. Though the wars continued for
thirty years it did not affect the normal life because only the nobles participated in the war. The

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war started with the Battle of St Albans (1455) in which Richard, Duke of York defeated Henry
VI. In 1461 York's son won the Battle of Towton and proclaimed himself King Edward IV.
But Henry VI managed to become King again with the help of Earl of Warwick, the wealthiest of
the English nobles. In 1471 Edward defeated and killed Warwick in the Battle of Barnet. Henry
VI was imprisoned and later put to death. Thus, Edward IV was able to rule in peace for another
twelve years up to 1483, the year in which he died. His little son Edward V could not rule long
because the boy king's uncle Richard. Duke of Gloucester, made himself King Edward and his
brother were believed to have been murdered by their wicked uncle. The usurper Richard III found
it extremely difficult to keep himself on the throne, as he was opposed by both the Yorkists and
the Lancastrians. The Lancastrian heir to the throne was now a Welshman, Henry Tudor. In 1485
he defeated and killed Richard III and thus became King of England.
The Church and Universities:
The Church had overcome the danger of Lollard Movement of the bygone age. Priests were
becoming powerful, magnificent, wealthy and influential. The archbishop of Canterbury could
become the King's minister. So, the leaders of the Church began to take part in politics. The Church
by and large was corrupt. But there were public-spirited bishops too who spent their wealth in
building magnificent colleges at Oxford and Cambridge in the Universities also there was the same
want of life and freshness. Oxford and Cambridge had well-endowed colleges and well-stocked
libraries. The main colleges were New College at Oxford and King's College at Cambridge.
Winchester School and Eton School were founded. But the Universities were the house of the
decaying scholasticism of the Middle Ages while the best thoughts and literature flourished outside
the Universities.
Public Schools:
The wealth which was previously distributed among the monasteries was diverted towards
educational institutions. Hence a network of Grammar Schools spread. Local schools imparted
elementary education throughout the country. The sons of lower middle class usually studied in
these schools. Public schools like Eton and Westminster, meant chiefly for the aristocratic class,
came into full force providing higher and all round education. There was a flood of grammar
schools and public schools. The colleges round Oxford and Cambridge were also founded during
this period. Thus, knowledge began to filter downwards. England was to become a land of educated
and enlightened people.
Conditions of Women:
Women were thought inferior to men. Women of lower strata of society were hard-worked and
doomed to a life of unrelieved imagery. Most of them were illiterate. Ladies of noble families
displayed excess of delicacy and decorum. Courtly ladies showed false pity and sentimentality. To
the man of Church, the woman was the source of all evil, to the courtly poet, a goddess. Child
marriage was the order of the day. Arranged marriages were prevalent. Love had nothing to do
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with marriage. G.M. Trevelyan says that girls who refused to obey the wishes of their parents were
severely beaten till they obeyed. Most married ladies in high society had lovers who paid homage
to them in their verse, without ever coming in personal contact with them.
Conclusion:
Albert points out the century began with wars, unrest, and chaos. It concluded with a settled
dynasty. With a people united and progressive, with a better and modern system of economy, and
with increased facilities for education. And towards the end of the period, there came another
advancement, the Printing Press.
II) The reign of Henry VII - The end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern
Times
Introduction:
There is no doubt that towards the end of the Fifteenth Century and at the outset of the sixteenth a
completely new era was ushering in Europe and in England. The new society that emerged or was
emerging was different from the society that existed before this revolution which brought into
being the new society. That is why this period of Henry VII is said to be the dividing line between
the medieval and modern times. The reign of Henry VII separated his times from the Middle Ages.
That is why the date of Henry's accession 1485 is taken as the date of the end of Middle Ages and
the beginning of the modern times.
Disappearance of Feudalism:
When there were no nobles, automatically there was no feudalism. Feudalism or feudas system
was the system of holding land from the king on certain conditions. This system made the nobles
very powerful for their retainer or followers had to fight for their masters. That is, the nobles from
whom they held the land. Even if a noble fought against the king, the retainers of that noble would
fight for the noble and not for the king for they had received land from the noble and not from the
king. Thus, feudalism was a system which was full of many defects and which went against the
interests of the State. But feudalism disappeared from England with the disappearance of the
nobles during the Wars of the Roses and the advent of the Tudor rulers who considerably reduced
their power. During the period of Tudor sovereignty, England passed from the medieval to early
modern times. It was a remarkable period when English life and thought were stirred by the
Renaissance and the Reformation. The five Tudor rulers gave to England, the much longed-for
peace after the tumultuous Wars of the Roses. England emerged as the Queen of the Seas under
the encouragement of the Tudors. All these events mark off the age of the Tudors from the
medieval age.

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Beginning of a New Foreign Policy:

Henry VII established friendly relations with the Princes of Europe by following the policy of
dynastic marriages. He married his daughter Margaret to James IV of Scotland and his eldest son
Arthur to Princess Catherine of Aragon and when Arthur died, he married his second son Henry,
later on Henry VIII to Catherine by securing special sanction of the Pope so as to continue former
friendly relations with Spain. This new policy proved eminently successful and made England a
prominent and powerful country on the continent.
Social changes:
Travels unfolded new areas and climes. People undertook long voyages and travels to distant
countries. Distant countries in the world were explored and searched. Henry encouraged John
Cabot and Sebastian Cabot to undertake long voyages. In the Middle Ages practically power was
concentrated in the feudal lords and barrens. But in the time of Henry VII a new middle class
emerged and became powerful. They were entrusted with responsibility and were placed in high
positions. The middle class comprised lawyers, knights, Church fathers and others. The Tudor
family picked out many ministers and advisers from the middle class. These included Wolsey,
Cromwell and others.
Equality before Law:
The situation in the country had now improved. Before the advent of the Tudors, law was not the
same for all the people of the land. Nobles, people and the clergy were treated as equals before the
eyes of law and the state. A special law court known as the Court of Star Chamber was set up to
punish the untruly lords and persons who ignored royal authority or who disobeyed the law of the
land. Law came to be properly respected. The country gentlemen were appointed Justices of Peace
to maintain law and order. The Stuarts, especially, used it to suppress the nobles who did not fall
in line with the autocratic rules of James I and Charles I. Charles, I used it in place of the Parliament
for eleven years, after he dismissed the Parliament. It was finally abolished in 1641 by the Long
Parliament under the leadership of John Pym.
Conclusion:
It becomes clear that in the time of Henry VII, the Middle Ages were ending and Modern Age was
beginning. Feudalism and Manorial system were breathing their last.
III) What is Reformation? What are the causes and effects of the Reformation?
Introduction:
Reformation was the movement which started in Europe in the Sixteenth Century. The underlying
idea of the movement was to remove the evils of religion and to raise it to a higher pedestal.
Besides, the movement also sought to check the activities of the Pope who interfered in religious
and political affairs of the various European countries. For various reasons this movement was

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started in England during the reign of Henry VIII. In the ultimate analysis, England was extricated
from the Popish domination. Thus Henry, in his own way, enabled England to make rapid strides.
Definition of Reformation:
The Reformation refers to the greatest religious movement of the 16th Century. The object of the
Reformation is to make reforms in the doctrines and practices of the Church of Rome. Simply it is
a revolt against Catholicism. Reformation was a religious movement. It started in Europe. In the
Middle Ages religion played a predominant part in the lives of the people, Pope was taken as the
direct representative of God on earth. By his special dispensation he could annul any order of
Bible, The exorbitant rights of the Church and Pope were baseless and their principles were rigid.
Bible was taken to be the only basis of religion. The movement which was started against all these
evils and with a view to reforming society is known as Reformation. This movement which aimed
at reforming the Roman Catholic Church was started by Martin Luther, a Professor in the
University of Wittenberg in Germany.
Causes of the Reformation:
Religious Causes:
1. Abuse of power by the Pope.
2. Vices among the Greater Clergy.
3. Monasteries as hotbeds of corruption.
4. Religion a mass of silly superstitions.
5. Work of John Wycliffe and Lollards.
Political Causes:
1. Rise of the spirit of Nationalism. The Renaissance
made people's mind active, thoughtful and bold.
2. Annoying treatment of the Pope. The English people
were tired of his indifferent and unsympathetic attitude to the interests of the people.
Social Causes:
1. Heavy demands of the Church.
2. Influence of the humanists.
3. Strong feeling against Papal interference.

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Movement was Anti-clericalism:

The keynote of this movement was anti-clericalism. During the Middle Ages, the clerical body
exercised great authority over others. They formed a kind of social class and regarded themselves
far superior to the laymen. The new learning acquired by the public made them realize that clerical
authority and superiority was not justifiable. The hierarchy of the Church was corrupt from top to
bottom. The clergy led a thoroughly sophisticated and comfortable life. The Renaissance reformers
like Erasmus, Colet and More tried to reform the Church by writing articles against the scandals
going on in the Churches. There were many reasons for the start of the Reformation Movement.
The first reason was that the doctrines and practices of the Churches were outdated and irrelevant.
The questioning attitude among the public was another reason.
Need of a pure religion:
The people felt that the religion that they had now was full of superstitions and ostentations. It did
not have the capacity to provide spiritual peace and satisfaction. These people were on the lookout
for a pure and high-class religion. They separated themselves from the Roman Church and joined
the new patterns of religion started by Martin Luther. The Reformation was started by Martin
Luther in Germany. He established Protestantism. The movement was supported in Germany and
Europe. Henry VIII of England supported the Church. Pope Leo X awarded him the title "Defender
of the Faith". John Wycliffe was responsible for Reformation in England. He attacked the Pope
and the Church. His followers were called "Lollards".
Immediate Cause:
In England, the immediate cause of Reformation was Henry's desire to divorce Catherine. Thus,
Reformation started in England not because of religious feelings and beliefs but because of
personal and political reasons. Among the personal reasons, the one of divorce was the main
problem. Henry VIII wanted to seek the permission from the authorities of divorce his wife
Catherine of Aragon. He wanted to marry a young lady, Anne Boleyn. It was political because the
English wanted to put an end to foreign interference in English affairs. Henry VIII requested the
Pope Clement VIII for divorce. But the Pope was under the control of Charles V, the Holy Roman
Empire. Charles V was the nephew of Catherine of Aragon. So, the Pope delayed the divorce. By
1529, Henry VIII assembled the Reformation Parliament. It brought the break between England
and Rome. In 1532, the Acts of Annates stopped the first year income of the Pope from the
Bishops. In 1534, Henry VIII passed the Act of Supremacy and thus became the Head of the
Church in England. Pope's authority in England was completely abolished
Effects of the Reformation:
1. The suppression of monasteries gave Henry huge sums of money and numerous tracts of land
in 1536 and again when the greater monasteries were suppressed in 1539, it made Henry a very
rich king.

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2. The Reformation Movement saved England from being impoverished and enabled her to
improve her economic condition.
3. With the separation of the Church of England from the Church of Rome, England secured her
ecclesiastical independence. The English Church became national and followed her own line of
action without the interference of any outside authority.
4. Papal authority was weakened in England.
5. Henry VIII became more powerful by becoming the supreme Head of the Church.
6. Henry's power and authority increased by his contra over the Church courts.
7. Influence of the Church weakened in Parliament
Conclusion:
The Reformation brought peace in England through Elizabethan compromise. But it caused
religious civil wars in many European countries.
IV) What were the reasons which led to the Dissolution (Suppression) of the Monasteries
during the reign of Henry VIII? What were the results of the Dissolution or Suppression?
Introduction:
The Church monasteries were doing very useful work in the Middle Ages. These places were
meant for those people who wanted to lead a life of piety and spirituality and those who wanted to
run away from the deceptions of the world. The monasteries served as series for the travelers and
gave alms to the poor also. These educated the children and gave medicines to the needy. Thus,
these served the very purpose of their existence in the Middle Ages. The importance and influence
of the monasteries gradually dwindled. There were many reasons which led to the dissolution of
monasteries.
Henry VIII thought of dissolving monasteries:
The Act of Supremacy was passed by the Reformation Parliament in 1534. The dissolution of the
monasteries was the natural outcome of the Reformation Movement. The immediate causes were
both financial and religious. The monks and friars reminded Henry of the Papal powers and he
resolved to remove them from the social fabric altogether. Cardinal Wolsey was succeeded by
Thomas Cromwell, a former servant of the Cardinal. It was Cromwell who sowed the seed of
complete break with the Roman Church in Henry's mind. In 1535 Cromwell sent royal agents
throughout the country to assess the state of the monasteries. The reports revealed the gross
indifference to spiritual cause, the shocking corruption and immortality of some of the monks in
the monasteries. The monasteries that were the centers of education, scholarship and learning had
become exceedingly rich materially, but spiritually impoverished. This led to the growth of anti-
clericalism.

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The Supplication of the Beggars:

Henry’s foreign policy and profitless war with France had made a dent in his financial reserve. He
was unwilling to levy taxes after the open rejection of the Parliament in Wolsey’s time. Cromwell
and the King coveted the wealth of the monasteries and resolved to dissolve them. Among the
public also the monks had become unpopular owing to their irreligious way of life. They too
wished to rob them of their wealth and privileges as expressed in one of the famous pamphlets of
the day “The Supplication of the Beggars”. This booklet was addressed to King Henry VIII by the
public. In the booklet the people requested the King to deprive of the wealth of the monks. Erasmus
in his famous book “Praise of Folly” pointed out the fraud, corruption and irregularities of the
clergies.
The Pilgrimage of Grace:
In 1536 King Henry VIII asked the Parliament to pass an act to do away with all the monasteries.
He stopped all the support to the monasteries in England. Nearly 400 monasteries were dissolved
in a period of one year after the Parliament had introduced the Act for abolishing. This step by the
King irritated the heads of the monasteries and so in the northern part of the country a rebellion
began. It was called “Pilgrimage of Grace”. The King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the
biggest monasteries. The opposing heads of the monasteries were cruelly dealt with. The Abbot of
Glastonbury was hanged to death by Henry on 23rd March 1540 in order to threaten others. The
dissolution of the monasteries were totally complete in a few months' time. G.M. Trevelyan
estimates that about 5000 monks, 1600 friars and 2000 nuns were sent back to the world. They
received a pension from the State £ 25 to £1000 annually.
Results of the Dissolution:
1. The ultimate beneficiary of the dissolution was not religion, not education, not the poor, not the
Crown, but a thin class of fortunate gentry.
2. Some towns lost their importance because of the dissolution as the popularity and the wealth of
the towns as the centres of pilgrimage were reduced.
3. Hundreds of families were benefited by the dissolution. All walks of people came forward to
buy the lands of the monasteries. The Trinity College, Cambridge, a few harbours and an academy
for the Royal Navy were built by the King later.
4. Some other towns like St. Albans and Bury St. Edmunds benefited from the dissolution for the
towns were released from the stronghold of monastic lordship and were free from the frequent
rebellions.
5. The destruction of the monastic libraries was a cruel injury to learning and literature. They
possessed invaluable and irreplaceable manuscripts of ancient and medieval texts.

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6. When the monastic lands were confiscated by the Crown and resold the new owners, there was
a change in system of employment. Some retained the same labourers. Others evicted the old
tenants and appointed new ones
7. The domestic servants of the monastic households were thrown out of their jobs. Though the
new proprietor absorbed them into service, a good number of them turned 'Sturdy beggars'.
Conclusion:
The event of Dissolution of monasteries had great influence on the coming future. After the death
of Edward VI when Mary became Queen of England, she wanted to restore Catholicism in England
on a permanent basis. However, she failed miserably. One of the many reasons of Mary's failure
was that she did not have enough money to buy all those lands and to give them back to the Church.
The religious revolution started by Henry proved to be fairly solid because it weathered the
vagaries of time.
V) England at the time of Shakespeare by G.M.Trevelyan.
Introduction:
A general awakening of life, an increase of wealth, a gradual refinement in living and a welcome
outburst of literature characterizes the Elizabethan England. The sphere of human interest widened
following the discoveries of new lands and contact with new people. The economic and religious
restlessness of the middle Tudor period, after the efficient handling of the situation by the Queen
took a positive turn and transformed the land into a nest of singing bird' The countrymen were
providing the town folk with a bountiful table during Shakespeare's time.
Shakespeare and the Queen:
Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser were children of that period and breathed its religious
atmosphere just as the poets of other ages, Langland, Milton, Wordsworth were the outcome and
highest expression of a religious philosophy characteristic of their epochs. Among Shakespeare's
contemporaries many violent Puritans and Romanists and many narrow Anglicans but also more
characteristic Elizabethan whose attitude ducked dogma and lives broadly in the spirit. This was
common to Shakespeare and the Queen herself. The first year of Elizabethan saw a crisis in the
social life of every Parish. The English Prayer Book of Cranmer was ordered again to be read in
place of the Latin mass. The change of religion was not accompanied by a charge in the person of
the Parish priest. Shakespeare transformed Plutarch’s Lives into his own Julius Caesar and
Antony. Others took the Bible an created a new thought for religious England. During the
prosperous years of Elizabeth, the narrow seas that was stage of English mariners for centuries
expanded into the world's oceans. These same oceans were filled with adventurous youth who
inspired romance and looked for wealth.

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The Populace:
William Camden, one of the greatest antiquaries, had recorded the pictures of English life of his
day in his Britannia. The population of England and Wales, at that point of time, had crossed four
millions of which a sizeable number were engaged F in industry. The bulk of the population
cultivated the land and F tended the sheep. More than four-fifths of the population lived a in rural
areas. Of the minority who inhabited towns, many occupied themselves in agriculture. The average
town was not overcrowded and had many orchards, gardens, farmsteads with many a shop here
and there. There were clothiers, miners and quarrymen working for a more general market.
Food and agriculture:
By continuing to study the situation issued by Trevelyan in his English Social History; it can be
stressed that the London of Queen Elizabeth by its size, wealth and power was the most fashionable
city in the kingdom. It exercised a social, intellectual and political influence that led to the success
of the Protesta Revolution in the sixteenth-century and of the parliamentary revolution in the
seventeenth. The feeding of Tudor London governed the agricultural policy of the home countries.
In capital, due to its population food was required in vast quantity Kent with its enclosed fields,
called "the garden of England”, was the fruit-garden of London, rich with apples and cherries. The
barley of East Anglia came through brewing towns like Royston, while Kent and Essex were
dedicated to crops. In all the South-Eastern countries the wheat and rye were cultivated. Besides
London, there were other markets for agricultural produce. Few towns could grow all the food they
required in the “town fields”. Even in the country, if a rural district had a bad season, it could buy
the surplus of other districts. In normal years, some English corn was exported. Huntingdonshire,
Cambridgeshire and other regions of the Rose Valley sent great quantities of wheat through Lynn
and the wash to Scotland, Norway and the cities of the Netherlands. Much food came to Bristol
and the Western towns from the granary of Central England, and the Feldon lying between the
north-west of Avon, as Lolland and Camden both noted, was deep woodland, thinly studded with
pastoral settlements, the famous Forest of Arden. The river Avon passing through the fourteen
arches of stone Stratford's bridge, divided the lovely forest from the populous corn lands. From
one side of the river one who was born there could admire the wild nature and on the other the
most relevant of man's touch. The cultivation of oats, wheat, rye and barley came according to the
soil and climate. Oats prevailed in the north and wheat and rye in most parts of England.
Everywhere barley abounded and was used for beer.
English Society in Town and Country:
In the middle of the reign, during the foreign and domestic crisis that led the Armada and the
execution of Mary Queen of Scots, English Society in town and country was strongly conditioned
by the religious differences of neighbors. The Jesuit had the hand mission of convincing the
unfortunate gentry of the old religion, hiding in the manor-house walls, pursued h. Justices of the
Peace. At the same time, Puritans, Parish Clergymen and Justices of the Peace were working hard
to remodel the church establishment. The House of Commons and even the Privy Council were

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half converted. Trevelyan observed there was more chance that Queen's religion would be
acceptable to the English. Only at the end of Elizabeth's reign it became a real religion and its
philosophy and spirit had been related by Hooker in his Ecclesiastical Polity.
Conclusion:
Elizabeth's long reign was a period of tremendous progress in all walks of life. Great literary
luminaries like Edmund Spenser, William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson,
George Chapman and Philip Sydney the soldier poet, all produced their masterpieces.
VI) How does G.M.Trevelyan describe the social life in the age of Shakespeare.
Introduction:
In the sixteenth century the class divisions were neither severe nor traditional. The recurrent
changes in profession among the people forced the change of classes. Similarly, the gain or the
loss of properties also resulted in class changes.
English Society not based on equality:
English society was not based on equality but on freedom, freedom of opportunity and freedom of
personal intercourse. The Tudor peerages were a small section who were expected to keep up great
households to extend munificent patronage to their clients. They enjoyed some privileges but were
not exempt from taxation. With the Wars of Roses, the nobility had lost the independent military
and the Tudors did not wish to revive it. The House of Lords was a less important body in Tudor
times and the old aristocracy had been pruned away and the new aristocracy was in its nascent
form.
Old nobility:
Elizabeth's reign was a great age for the gentry. The decay of the old nobility enhanced their
importance. Their wealth and number had considerably grown on account of their distribution on
the monastic estates, vitality of commerce and land improvement in the new era. The squire in the
Elizabethan times was part of the general movement of an active society. The younger sons of the
manor-houses were apprenticed into industry and trade. Thus, the landed gentry co-mingled with
the commercial class. The term 'gentleman' was not confined, to the landed proprietors but
extended to all those who studied in the universities, who rendered the Queen service as Can in
wars and all those who worked for the benefit of Commonwealth by counseling.
Merchants:
The monuments in Parish Churches of some noble minded and benevolent merchants spoke of the
importance of the merchant class. Harrison writes that the area of their trade expanded from nearby
countries like Spain, Portugal and France to the East and West Indies and other newly discovered
lands. They brought home great commodities that fattened their purses.

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Yeomen:
Harrison places the Yeomen next to the merchants. Some of them were 'forty-shilling freeholders'
farming their land and enjoying Parliament Franchise. These Yeomen, besides owning their own
lands, were farmers to gentlemen. The 'freeholders' possessed lands and could exercise their right
to vote. The Yeomen who were thrifty came to gain wealth by working on their own land and on
their masters'. Some of them could afford to give University education to their sons or send them
to in no of Court. Some left behind sufficient acres of land to their solo which in turn gave them a
life of 'gentlemen' without having to do hard physical labour.
Wage-earning class or Peasantries Men:
The wage-earning class of town and country were the last section of the society. Lawyers were the
most prominent people in Government offices. In the Tudor period lawyers achieved riches and
power. Harrison boasts, “As for slaves and bondsmen we have none". The wage-earners had no
voice or authority in the Commonwealth. In villages they were commonly made Church Wardens,
Sidesmen, Constables, etc. The English villager had not only rights but functions as well, though
many were poor, a spirit of independence ran through all classes under the old system of land
tenure.
Conclusion:
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, all classes had more freedom than ever before. The condition
of the rural population of England had greatly improved under the new order of things. Down to
the time of Henry VIII, there had been very little improvement since the Romans left the island.
Importance had been given to literature in England, for it was the age of Spenser and Shakespeare.
The Tudor dynasty had ended with Elizabeth and that of the Stuarts had begun.
PARAGRAPHS
Inns during the Elizabethan period.
Owing to general peace and prosperity of the Elizabethan period, the number of ordinary
travelers, traders and pilgrims increased. As a result of it, numerous inns and taverns were opened
in towns and along roadsides. The inns of Elizabethan period provided the travelers with tasty
food, good drink and cheap yet comfortable lodging facilities. The hostess and servants showed
great hospitality to the wayfarers. Some of the servants, sometimes, allied with highway men to
rob the helpless travelers. But this did not in any way diminish the name of the inns as such
robberies often took place miles away from the inns. The inns were also much loved places of the
inhabitants of the area. After their day's hard work, they spent hours together in drinking and merry
making in the inns and ale-houses. There were hundreds of them in London. One of the famous
London taverns was 'The Mermaid's Tavern' in Bread Street, 'The Friday's Street Club' started by
Sir Walter Raleigh met here.

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The Privy Council and Prerogative Courts.

The peaceful public life of the people of England owes I the power exercised by the Crown,
through the Privy Council and the Prerogative Courts. The Privy Council is the governing body of
Tudor England. The Privy Council and the prerogative Courts put an end to the terrorization of the
judges and the juries by local mobs and local magnates, saving the common law and its tribunals.
Trevelyan writes “In England the Medieval Law, fundamentally a law of liberty and private rights
was preserved, modernized, supplemented, enlarged and above all enforced by the Council and
Court of the “Tudor Despotism”, so that both the old system of law and the old Parliament survived
into a new age with a renewed vigor. The Tudor Privy Council also combined the old with the new
local liberty with national authority. The Parliamentary Statutes were to be enforced by the Justices
of Peace and the defaulters of this duty were punished by the arm of the Privy Council. It is a large
honorary body of eminent men.
Poor Law.
Periodic unemployment accompanied the growth of the industries in the country, particularly in
the cloth trade. To meet such exigencies the Poor Law was passed in 1601. To avoid “The Sturdy
Beggar” scene of the previous period, the law took care of the poor. A compulsory poor-rate was
levied and from this fund relief was given to the poverty-stricken workers. The overseers of the
poor in every Parish were compelled to buy material to provide work for the unemployed, like a
considerable stock of flax, wool, thread, iron, etc. In times of dearth the Justices of Peace controlled
the price of grain and attempted a reasonably even distribution throughout the country. The first
adaptation of the 1601 Act came in 1607 and provided for the setting up of the Houses of
Correction in each country. The Elizabethan Poor Law was really a progressive one.
Justices of Peace:
The Justices of Peace was the most influential class of England by virtue of social, economic,
judicial and administrative powers. They were often chosen for Parliament and some became
farmers by being efficient critics of laws and politics. They were the Queen’s servants but not in
her pay. They were an independent body living on their own estates and their own rents. They
were mostly country gentlemen. They valued most their reputation and the good opinion of their
neighbours, the gentry and the common folk of the shire. The will of the central power was
imposed on the localities by using their influential local gentry themselves as the Queen’s Justices
of Peace.
Education in Elizabethan England:
The grammar schools and universities played a major role in the improvement of the standard of
the clergy. Oxford and Cambridge revised under Queen Elizabeth and flourished exceedingly well.
There was a perceptible change in the attitude of the governing class of education. A gentleman
who aspired to serve the state must necessarily be a university graduate. Kidney, Raleigh, Camden,
Hakluyt were Oxford scholars. Greater emphasis was laid on discipline and good teaching in those
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two ancient temples of learning. Some engaged private tutors, whose relationship between them
was akin to that of master and apprentice. The students lived with their tutors. There were nearly
a hundred grammar schools in this period. In spite of all these improvements in the educational
system, a major part of the people still remained illiterate and uncultured.
Spanish Armada
During the Tudor period, England and Span became rivals on the sea. Philip II of Spain and
Elizabeth of England fell out with each other and the two countries slowly drifted into war.
Moreover, the Spanish ships loaded with silver and gold and sailing home from the American
Colonies were very often waylaid by the English sailors. Philip II of Spain wanted to put Mary
Queen of Scots on the English throne and so instigated the English Catholics to conspire against
Elizabeth, but Mary was executed. And so, to take revenge on Elizabeth, Philip II decided to invade
England and sent the Spanish fleet which consisted of one hundred and thirty ships with twenty
thousand soldiers under the command of the Duke of Medina Sedona. It was called ‘Invincible
Armada’. The English fleet was under the command of Lord Howard and Sir Francis Drake. Sir
John Hawkins played a pivotal role in the war. In the battle England won and the Spanish Armada
was defeated. This victory gave England to gin skill in naval warfare and helped to organize a
strong naval power.

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UNIT - III

I) Social life in the Elizabethan Age”.

Introduction:
The Elizabethan Age is one of the most fertile periods in England's history. Queen Elizabeth was
popularly called the Virgin Queen of England. She ruled from 1558 to 1603. She was the daughter
of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She ruled England for nearly half a century.
Spanish Armada a turning point:
There was progress in all the fields Queen Elizabeth and her ministers built up a wonderful sense
of national pride. England's power rose from the days of Queen Elizabeth. There was fast
development in maritime enterprise, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins and Martin Frobisher
were active in maritime exploration. During Queen Elizabeth's reign, there was fast development
of the English navy. In 1580, Sir Francis Drake completed the first circumnavigation of the world
by an Englishman. The Victory over the Spanish Armada in 1598 was a turning point in the history
of the English navy. This is a sign of growing unity and strength.
Elizabeth's land, a smiling land:
Men went to sea. They went for money, to see the world and to give a name for England and the
Protestant Church. At home, men lived a safe and comfortable life. The common welfare was
gaining strength. More people were employed in the new industries. The Government tried to
control the economy on a national basis. Higher wages were fixed for agriculture and industry.
The economy grew stronger. The sense of unity between the classes developed. People of same
interest developed a feeling of national purpose. Elizabeth's land was a smiling land.
Golden Age of Elizabeth:
In religion Elizabeth avoided the extremes of Edward and Mary. With compromise, she established
the Church of England. She firmly established the Anglican Church in England. It was national,
continuous and inclusive of most people. It became a new religion, loved by the people. Elizabeth
was the last ruler with full power. Later kings could only share power. They could not govern. It
was an age of adventure. People started to think clearly. With care for the Parliament, she prepared
the ground for democracy. The state took the full responsibility of the whole of the society. The
Golden Age of Elizabeth is a nest of singing birds. Great literary men like Edmund Spenser,
William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, George Chapman and Philip Sydney, all
produced their masterpieces. Spenser's Faerie Queene was the first epic.

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Presiding deity of Elizabethan stage, William Shakespeare:

The presiding deity of Elizabethan stage was William Shakespeare. He wrote for nearly twenty
years from 1590 to 1610. He wrote 37 plays. They are classified as Comedies, Tragedies, Histories
and Romances. To please the Queen, he wrote The Merry Wives of Windsor. There were no female
actors. Women's parts were played by young boys. The audience was a small crowd, drawn from
all sections of society. They had superstitious belief in ghosts, witches and witchcrafts. They liked
to watch scenes of violence and fighting. The seating arrangements differed according to the
amount of the ticket. Those who could pay well were seated in galleries. There were boxes for
rich. Those who paid a penny stood on the floor. This noisy audience were known as groundlings.
Queen Elizabeth, was the best ruler. The Church was the cradle of English drama. In Elizabethan
age, there was a change from religious to non- religious plays. The first English dramatist was
Robert Green. Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy was the first English Tragedy. Christopher
Marlowe is regarded by all as the "Father of English Tragedy".
Trade and Commerce:
Elizabeth encouraged agriculture and industry at home and trade abroad. Woollen manufacture
was fast becoming an important element in the national wealth. Much of the old trade of the world
touched the shore of England. English trade was increasing, new industries were added to the old
ones. The products of British industry reached remote countries. Cloth. linen, lead, tin, etc. were
the major exports of England. A fury of ship-building seized the nation. Banks multiplied. In the
worm of G.M. Trevelyan, 'Medieval England had been traded with Italians, French and Germans.
Elizabethan England here traded with remote shores.
Conclusion:
On the whole, the people lived a peaceful life with compromises. For centuries Elizabeth's England
was considered “merrie England”. It was a land of milk and honey rich and colorful, brave and
free. Queen Elizabeth loved all her people. She was the best ruler that England had ever seen. The
England of Queen Elizabeth progressed in all fields. Hence her reign was known as “The Golden
Age of Queen Elizabeth”.
II) Sea-Faring activities in Elizabethan England.
Introduction:
In this age of enterprise, sailors were encouraged to find seer routes to discover new lands.
Columbus and Vascodagama were important sailors to help the Englishmen in this sea-faring
enterprise.
English people settled down in new colonies:
The Englishmen lost the important port of Calais but they were compensated by the discovery of
new sea-routes to America, India and the Eastern Countries. In the age of Henry VIII John Cabot

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discovered the New Found land coast. During the period of Queen Elizabeth North America came
under her rule. Moreover, England Navy had already defeated the main enemy in the Spanish
Armada. Hereafter the English people began to settle down in the new colonies.
English Sailors dominant in the sea:
Mention must be made of the following adventurous sailors called 'Sea dogs' John Hawkins, Sir
Francis Drake, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh. Hawkins and Drake captured the
Spanish ships bringing treasures to Spain from the new countries. Thus, the treasury of Elizabeth
began to be filled up. Her encouragement to the sea-dogs was another reason for the development
of maritime activities during her period. Moreover, after the huge success against Spain in the
Spanish Armada the English sailors were very dominant in the sea. Individual initiative was
another factor for their active involvement.ge of Queen Elizabeth".
Rule of Elizabeth moving battery of guns:
Henry VIII had founded the Royal Navy and built ships. Elizabeth improved the conditions of ship
building Hawkins was appointed by Elizabeth to take charge of ship building. Ships were provided
with cannons, thus the ships in the rule. Elizabeth became a moving battery of guns.
Trade freedom to sail the seas:
After the victory in the Spanish Armada, England did not go ahead with annexing more territories.
It rather wanted boot, trade freedom to sail the seas and to worship God in the individual way.
England wanted to colonize empty lands or the ones inhabited by the Red Indians.
Maritime activities very successful:
Hakluyt's book 'The Principal Navigations Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation' greatly
influenced the young men of Elizabeth's days to become enterprising sea-men colonizers and
traders. Thus, in the age of Elizabeth only owing to the enterprising nature of the English sailors
and the adventurous deed, the maritime activities were very successful.
Conclusion:
The greatest social change in Elizabethan England was the expansion of overseas enterprise. The
Spanish victory a to the establishment of naval supremacy of the English. Ils sea-war promoted a
tendency to freedom. The Queen herself encouraged the new potentialities of seamanship. The
English even today, have a great regard for Queen Elizabeth I, who laid the foundation for their
glorious country to emerge into one the supreme powers of Europe and the world.

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III) Colonization in the Seventeenth Century.

Introduction:
English colonial expansion really began in the reign of James I because the first permanent
settlements were then made. The discovery of the new world diverted English attention from
European conquests to the possibility of expansion in the West. The successful establishment of
colonies in Virginia. New England, and the West Indian Islands and also the founding of the first
trading centres on the coast of India were the epoch-making events of the reigns of James I and
Charles I.
Emigrants conveyed to Virginia:
The spirit of adventure and conquest usually motivate expeditions to other new lands. The English
race with its characteristic instinct for travel and expansion began its ques in a different way from
the past, under different leaderships Peace prevailed in the sea with the end of the war with Spain
England had an effective navy strengthened by the Stuarts Conditions for colonization were
conductive. Government provided the safety of voyage and some private enterprises supplied
money and men for the explorers to set sail. The private entrepreneurs aimed at creating permanent
commercial market across the Atlantic. Sir Walter Raleigh discovered Virginia to this New World
about 20,000 men, women and children were transported in 200 ships. Private companies like
Virginia Company and the Massachusetts Bay Company backed up such organized emigration.
Raleigh's men could not set up a colony in Virginia for they were distracted by the greed for gold.
But the emigrants of James' times went forth a motive of founding a new civilization in the
wilderness. Their objective was to earn a living and also to create another England in the foreign
land. But in the later years, the Puritan emigrants had solely religious motive.
John Smith established first English settlement named Jamestown:
In 1607 a band of emigrants under the leadership of John Smith reached Virginia and established
the first English settlement and named it Jamestown after the reigning sovereign. John Smith was
quite realistic about his mission. He set aside the dream of gold and believed in hard labour and
toil. He held together his men in the face of famine, desertion and sickness. He motivated them to
work hard and gathered the fruits of labour. Potato and tobacco were introduced into England since
the discovery of Virginia. In a short period, the new settlements were streaming with tobacco
plantations. English institutions and English laws were introduced in the settlement of Virginia.
New Colony known as Maryland:
Some years later, Lord Baltimore was forced to seek asylum far away from England on account of
his conversion to Catholicism. He and his clan found a home in the district across the Potomac.
Though he wished to make it a pure Catholic settlement, prudence made him keep the new colony
open for men of every faith. This new colony was known as Maryland, named after Henrietta
Mary, wife of Charles I.

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Pilgrim Fathers:
In the meantime, the Brownists who were driven to Amsterdam in the reign of Elizabeth resolved
to find new pastures across the Atlantic. Many of these men boarded the vessel Mayflower and
proceeded to the new 'promised land'. These religious fanatics, popularly known as the 'Pilgrim
Fathers' landed on the barren coast of Massachusetts and settled down at Plymouth, despite severe
winter, famine and death. Their resolution saw them through these dangers and disasters. Ever
since the settlement was established, the Puritans had an eye on it and wished to make it a purely
Puritan Colony. Puritans from England flocked to this place in large numbers. They showed their
gratitude to their 'promoter' and financier Boston, by naming their Puritan Colony after him. With
the long awaited sanction of the Government coming to force, the number of emigrants was on the
increase. The Puritans strove to set up a Kingdom of God on the Geneva model. Puritan exiles li
Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Islands, were more liberal in their religious views.
Unfortunates founded prosperous families:
The primary motive of the settlers in Virginia, the West Indian Island and New England, was not
a religious cause. They were lured by their promoter's assurance of free land. At the time of land-
hunger, this was a promising proposal for many younger sons of peasants and yeomen.
Unemployed craftsmen hoped for better prospects in these colonies. Moreover, stories about the
fabulous riches of America had spread far and wide that many gentlemen adventurers ventured to
leave England. Most of these men immigrated by the instigation and persuasion of the promoters.
The Government sent only convicts and later prisoners of wars. Sometimes the private enterprises
kidnapped youths to be sold into servitude in the West Indian Islands of Barbados and Virginia.
These unfortunates managed to secure their freedom and founded prosperous families, if they
survived. There was a tacit agreement among the promoters and landowners to keep the Negroes
from Africa in permanent bondage. The slave trade, a legacy of Hawkins in Spanish colonies,
flourished in Virginia and West Indies.
Conclusion:
The Civil War of Cromwell arrested the flow of voluntary emigration. Settled three thousand miles
away from their homeland, these colonists preserved their individual opinion and liberty. Virginia
and Maryland remained loyal to the Crown in England. The New England colonies adopted a
policy of neutrality even though they sympathized with the Puritans.
IV) The Civil War and its social significance.
Introduction:
In the 17th century, the king had more powers than Parliament. He believed that the right to rule
was God-given. The House of Commons objected to this. The king, Charles I quarreled with the
Parliament over money. He tried to increase taxes. He disagreed with Members of Parliament
about religion. He supported the Church of England. Most members of the House of Commons

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were Puritans. The quarrel between the king and the Parliament lasted for years. At last fighting
broke out between them in 1642. This was known as the Civil War.
Royalists and Roundheads:
It was with great reluctance that the leaders of England dare their swords against each other. Most
of them hated this war without an enemy. The Parliament became divided with or group supporting
the King known as the Royalists and the other group siding the Commons known as the
Roundheads. In fact, this clear distinction of Royalists and Roundheads became sharper only later,
but the germs of political parties were created during the Civil War. Some, like Lord Seville, saw
reason on both sides. The King received much of his support from a large majority of the nobles
and wealthy men of the country, a great body of the Clergy from Oxford and Cambridge and all
those who were for the Episcopal Government and the Anglican ritual. The Queen was a Roman
Catholic, and the King was not stern with them. So, they too were on the King's side. The
Roundheads, nicknamed after the close-cropped hair were affected by the Puritans. Non-
conformists, municipal corporations and a majority of the House of Commons. The
Parliamentarians were led by leaders like Pym, Hampden and Oliver Cromwell, an upcoming
leader. The King's army was led by the Earl of Lindsay and the King's nephew, Prince Rupert.
Course of the War:
The first phase of the campaign was decidedly in favour of the King. The battles of Edgehill and
Brantford gave horses to the King. The Parliamentarians lost Hampden and Pym, in the course of
the same year. Their loss was a setback to the Roundheads. The King's General, the Earl of New
Castle defeated Lord Fairfax of the Roundheads and Bradford. Encouraged by this Charles I
himself undertook the attack. But Essex fought well and Charles fled. The retort of the Royalists
was impetuous, particularly from Prince Rupert. Some of their good leaders like Falkland, were
killed in the battle. Though, here and there, the Roundheads proved their might. In general, it was
felt lack of organization was the cause for failure in many places. So, a New Model Army was
organized which welded the armies of the Parliament together into a single unit, the sterner
discipline. Oliver Cromwell was made Lieutenant General with supreme authority over the
cavalry. Sir Thomas Fairfax became General-in-Chief.
Charles sentenced to death:
The well-trained army finally defeated the King in 1645 at the battle of Naseby. This ended the
Civil War. King Charles, I fled to Scotland. The Scots handed him over to the Parliament. Foolishly
he supported a Second World War which failed hopelessly. Cromwell decided that the King be
tried. He refused to plead guilty or not guilty. Cromwell finally lost his patience and Charles I
found guilty of treason, was sentenced to death. For the next eleven years, England had no King.
Oliver Cromwell ruled the country. In 1660, Charles’s son was brought back from France and
crowned as King Charles II.
Conclusion:
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The tragic death of the King evoked sympathy in the hearts of the English people. The way for the
Parliamentary rule in England was opened. The struggle between the King and the Parliament
made the Puritans prominent. The Civil War paved the way for the entry of political parties in
England. The Civil War was the triumph of Puritanism. The Royalists were completely crushed.
The Rump Parliament passed a revolution in 1649.
V) Restoration England
Introduction:
Charles II was restored to the throne of England in 1660. With him, the Parliament, the Anglican
Church, the law courts and the old system of local Government were also restored. Politically, it
restored King, Parliament and Law. Religiously, it restored the bishops and the Prayer Book in the
place of Puritanism. Socially, it restored the nobles and gentry as leaders.
Meaning of Restoration England:
The term 'Restoration England' means the period between 1660 and 1688. The suppressed
institutions and practices of the Puritan regime were restored when Charles II became the King of
England. Politically monarchy, Parliament and the law were brought back to the former position.
The Prayer Book was restored. This age produced Newton's Principia, Milton's Paradise Lost,
Dryden's Absalom and Acidophil.
Whigs and Tories:
Anglicanism became the religion of the upper class people. The Roman Catholics were denied
from all participation in local and national Government. This period was the period of the
formation of political parties. The upper class was divided into Whigs and Tories. The Tories were
the supporters of the King. The Whigs were the supporters of the Parliament.
Experimental Science:
Experimental Science spread fast in England. For the first time, science was used for the
development of agriculture industry, navy, medicine and engineering. The Royal Society of
Science was founded in 1662. With the spread of scientific enquiry most of the superstitions lost
grip on the people. People recognized that Plague and Fire of London were not the divine penalty
for their sins.
Restoration Plays:
The closed theatres in the Puritan Government started functioning. The whole playhouse was
roofed in and the stage was artificially lighted with candles. There were drop curtains and painted
scenery. Women's parts were no longer taken by well-trained boys. Instead, women's parts were
acted by women actresses themselves. The vulgar Restoration Plays created a hostile attitude in

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the minds of civilized people. Wycherley's 'Country Wife' was one of the vulgar plays produced
in English.
Censorship:
During the Restoration period censorship was severe. The first Licensing Act was passed in 1663
by the Cavalier Parliament. Permission was given for publishing the great epics Paradise Lost' and
'Paradise Regained'. Private Libraries were becoming widespread. They contained precious and
remarkable books. In 1684, for the first time, a community library was established in London by
Tennyson. He built a big building in the courtyard of St. Martin's Church. The upper part occupied
a big library. In 1696 the Licensing Act ceased to function.
The key to life was enjoyment:
With the restoration of the monarchy the fortunes of the Cavalier families developed for
agricultural and industrial workers’ wages were regulated by the Justices of the Peace. The English
maintained a high standard of living. The diet of the time was bread, beer and meet Vegetables
and fruit formed a small and meat a large part in English meal of that period. Almost half of the
population ate meat daily. Sports and entertainments were uncommon in the Puritan rule. They
were prohibited on Sundays as sports would destroy the purity of the Sabbath. They were revived
during the Restoration period Hunting became very fashionable. Other popular sports were
wresting and sword fighting bull and bear baiting.
The Great Plague and Great Fire of London:
The famous Black Death of the thirteenth century periodically ravaged the country. In the
Restoration period it scoured the name plague'. Two great national calamities of the Restoration
period were the Plague and the Great Fire The plague of 1665 carried away nearly 1/5th of the
London population. The Great Fire of 1666 raged for five long days and destroyed all the Churches
and other mouldings of the city
Conclusion:
The Restoration of Charles II gave social peace and it attained is culmination in the age of Queen
Anne Society was progressing in all spheres and a rounded growth was indicated in the era of
Queen Anne. In fact, the impact of the political and religious happenings of the Restoration era are
well reflected in the succeeding years.
VI) The Golden Age of Queen Anne.
Introduction:
Queen Anne ruled England from 1702 to 1714. It was a golden age in the history of England
because it was a period of great prosperity. Industry, agriculture and commerce all continued to
prosper. Daniel Defoe's impressive account of England presents England as a prosperous country

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with a healthy national life. Under the able administration the Duke of Marlborough, the island
displayed religious unity, wealth and vigour even in times of war.
Agriculture:
Good harvest and cheap food characterized Anne's England. English agriculture had improved so
far that more wheat was grown than in medieval times. Wheat was the most important article of
food. Rye, barley and oats came next in importance. In the reign of Anne there was a great
exchange of agricultural products between one district and another. People used barley and bread
in Wales and oats was largely consumed by the Scotsmen. The Midlands and Northern East Anglia,
the major corn producing districts, were not enclosed and did not adopt scientific methods of
cultivation. Theories about new modes of cultivation were up in the air, but people had not started
implementing them.
Social hierarchy:
The social hierarchy consisted of the Duke, the Squire, the Yeoman, the freeholder and the tenant.
The Dukes were immensely rich and lived like Princes. But the Squire had an income of only about
two hundred or three hundred pounds a year. From this he had to pay a land tax of four shillings
in the pound. On the whole the small Squires found it extremely difficult to make both ends meet.
The Yeomen who were far more numerous than the Squires formed about one-eighth of the
population. The tenant farmers were a little less in number. The difference between the freeholder
and the tenant farmer was more political and social than economic. The freeholder had a vote for
Parliament and was often in a position to use it as he liked. The tenant farmer had no vote, and
even if he had, he would have been forced to cast it as his landlord wished. There was another
reason why the distinction between the freeholders and the tenant farmers could not be absolute.
Very often, a man cultivated a piece of land as a tenant and another as its owner. Sir Roger de
Coverley, who is pictured by Addision as a typical Squire of the time, with all his generosity, was
very insistent that his tenants should cast their votes in favour of the candidate in whom he was
interested.
Education:
In Queen Anne's reign it was not yet time to appreciate the value of good education. A gentleman
of the time was satisfied with spending one percent of his income for his children's education.
There were only a few public schools like Eton, Winchester and Westminster which were
patronized chiefly by the aristocracy. The sons of the Squires, Yeomen and shopkeepers went to
the nearest grammar schools. In wealthy families’ private chaplains were employed to teach the
young gentlemen. In schools the punishment was of a rather severe type. Flogging was restored to
as a means of imparting knowledge and maintaining discipline. Writers like Locke and Steele were
highly critical about this method. Women's education was totally neglected. Girls learnt to read,
write and other household arts from their mothers. But yet some women were intelligent enough
to improve their learning and managed to read 'The Spectator'. Parents arranged the marriages of

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their daughters. Divorces were not sanctioned legally. There were only six divorces during the
twelve years of Queen Anne.
Social evils:
Drunkenness was the acknowledged national vice of Englishmen of all classes, though women
were not accused of it. In fact, during the time of Queen Anne it was so widespread that magistrates
often appeared on the bench, heated with wine. Another social vice was gambling. Both sexes
gambled freely, the fine ladies and gentlemen even more than the country Squires. In London,
Bath and Junbridge Wells, the gambling table was the centre of interest and immense sum of
money changed hands over cards and dice. Tobacco smoking was a common habit with many
people. A smoking parlor was set aside in some country houses. Among the common people of
the South-Western Countries, men, women and even children smoked pipes. The taking of snuff
became general in England during the first year of Queen Anne’s reign, as a result of the immense
quantities thrown on to the London market after the capture of Spanish ships load with snuff. A
very harmful social vice prevalent mostly among gentlemen was dueling. A dispute between two
persons was settled conclusively with a duel which ended in the death of one of the two. London
and the country capitals were the commonest scenes of such duels as Thackeray had immortalized
in his novel Henry Egmond. The first half of the eighteenth century was the golden age of the
highway men, the period when Jack Sheppard, Jonathan Wild and Dick Turpin flourished. In 1712
a club of young men called Mohocks terrorized the land-owners by wanton outrages which
included the subjection of women to insults and in dignitaries and the beating of the feeble
watchmen who were supposed to keep order in the streets. Sir Roger de Coverly while preparing
to go to a theatre took all necessary precautions to protect himself and his men from the attack of
the Mohocks on their way back home at night.
Industry:
Coal and woolen industries were the major sources of income for the country. Coal mines were
owned by private men who had their own workshops and employees, apprentices and journeymen
to work for them. Lord Dartmouth and Wilkins were the most important owners of coal mines.
The mine-owners concentrated on amassing wealth and did not pay any attention to the welfare of
their workers. As proper safety measures were not taken by the owners, many accidents of
explosion occurred claiming the lives of many numbers. In these workshops, paupers were taken
as employees and were treated badly and inhumanly. The days of the Industrial Revolution were
not far off. But yet neither the workers or the employers were conscious of the rights and privileges
of the workers. The Factory Act was to come only a century later. The system of manufacture was
domestic. Under the Domestic System, the master craftsman in his house converted the raw
materials into finished products with the help of apprentices. There were many small mines which
functioned with less than four men, sometimes the mines were run single-handedly.

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Coffee Houses:
Coffee-drinking was a common habit at least among the wealthiest classes. From the reign of
Charles II, the coffee house was the centre of social life. In Queen Anne’s time there were as many
as 500 coffee houses in the city of London. The Tories, The Whigs, The Clergymen, Literary men,
Businessmen and all other groups had their separate coffee-houses where they met and discussed
all things under the sun but chiefly politics and religion. Foreign visitors admired the freedom of
speech enjoyed by the Englishmen of the time.
Religion:
The religious activities of the period consisted of the establishment of many religious societies and
charity schools. The first object of these societies was to promote a Christian life in individuals
and families, to encourage Church attendance, family prayers and Bible study. During the reign of
Anne charity schools were founded by the hundred all over England to educate the children of the
poor in reading, writing, moral discipline and the principles of the Church of England. Another
characteristic activity of the period was the working of the society for the Reformation of Manners.
Another society was the society for the propagation of the Gospel.
The City of London:
London was only two miles away from the Parliament and Queen’s Court. It was the centre of
business. Raw materials were sent to London from all counters. The products were made in
London. The city contained more than a tenth of the country’s population. The lower class people
lived in filthy conditions without sanitation. The City of London enjoyed complete self-
Government in an unusually democratic form. The Court had lost its glamour because Queen Anne
did not live in Westminster always. She lived partly at Bath and partly at Windsor on account of
her illness. Horse-racing and cock fighting were common country pastimes. Other useful sports
like fishing, shooting and snaring birds also remained popular. Cricket was played in its ancient
form.
Conclusion:
English social life in Queen Anne’s period throbbed with life and enthusiasm. This creative and
alert spirit laid the basis for the Industrial Revolution of the succeeding decades. The peace and
prosperity of the country strengthened not only its economy but also its national character.
VII) Coffee Houses in London
Introduction:
Coffee was probably introduced from Abyssinia into the Arabian Peninsula. From Arabia Coffee
was perhaps introduced into Europe. Coffee Houses became popular and fashionable in Europe
only in the 17th century. They were introduced into England and in London in the second part of
the 17th century. They flourished during the reign of Queen Anne, early part of the 18th century.

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There were about five hundred coffee houses in London also. Many coffee houses were also
subsequently destroyed by the 1666 Great Fire of London.
Cradles of English Democracy:
In the days when newspapers were unheard of, the coffee houses were important sources of news.
Every topic under the sun was discussed in the coffee house. Even Darby’s attempt to close down
the coffee houses during the reign of Charles met with stout protest. The then Government felt
uneasy about the popularity of the coffee houses. The heated discussions of the Tories and Whigs
in their respective coffee houses contributed to the growth of political consciousness among the
upper middle class and the middle class. Coffee houses are said to be the Cradles of English
Democracy for it was there that people of all rank and class met frankly expressed their views on
social and political events.
Will’s Coffee House:
Politicians exchanged political views over cups of coffee; literary men discussed poems and novels
sipping coffee intermittently. Religious men ruminated theology over the coffee cups. So, on
Coffee houses multiplied in numbers and came to be characterized by the people who frequently
them. Mostly people preferred to patronize Coffee houses of their choice and taste. Thus, Will’s
Coffee House was the favourite resort of poets, critics and dramatists. Traby served the clergy and
the Grecian the world of scholarship. Dissenters, Anglicans and Baptists went to their choice
Coffee houses. The Coffee Houses distinguished London from other districts.
Garraway’s Coffee House:
The Puritan Coffee house bore the stamp of their society, for swearing was prohibited there. The
Protestants looked at the Catholic Coffee houses with eyes of suspicion for they strongly felt that
the Catholics used their Coffee houses for conspiring against the Government. Dr. John Radcliffe,
a leading medical practitioner of the day, used to visit the Garraway’s. His arrival was awaited
with eagerness both by his fellow doctors and patients. The doctors sought him and vice and
guidance in the profession and the patients waited for treatment.
Coffee House of Edward Lloyd:
The role of the Coffee House in London City was significant. It was a substitute for the club. It
levelled social distinctions because all – the nobility, the wealthy, the squire, the poor visited the
Coffee Houses. It also served as an information centre where all kinds of news, serious gossip and
rumor, could be obtained. Besides, these houses were excellent advertising venues, for
businessmen. The famous Lloyd’s Shipping Company came into existence only because of the
publicity through the Coffee House of Edward Lloyd in Lombard Street. Another major blessing
was the addiction to alcohol. Moreover, in times of prohibition Coffee served as a better substitute
for drinkers of alcohol.

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Cocoa Tree, Chocolate House & St. James’s Coffee House:

People of different political groups, religious beliefs and professions had their own favourite
Coffee Houses. For instance, the Tories went to the Cocoa Tree Chocolate House and the Whigs
frequented St. James’s Coffee House. These Coffee Houses were the places of hectic political
discussions.
Button’s Coffee House:
Will’s Coffee House situated between Covent Garden and Bow Street was the coffee house of the
literary men. It was the coffee house John Dryden frequented. Its rival coffee house was Button’s
Coffee House. It was situated in Russell Street near Covent Garden. It was frequented by Addison,
Richard Steele and Alexander Pope. The scholars and the critics frequented the Grecian Coffee
House on Essex Street near the Strand.
Conclusion:
English social life in Queen Anne’s period throbbed with life and enthusiasm. This creative and
alert spirit laid the basis for the Industrial Revolution of the succeeding decades. The peace and
prosperity of the country strengthened not only its economy but its national character.
PARAGRAPHS
1) Oliver Cromwell.
Cromwell, by his victorious campaigns in Ireland and Scotland had made himself the idol of the
army. There were no wars to wage then. He was now free to take part in politics. As the Rump
Parliament was no longer in favour with the army, the latter wished to dissolve. Accordingly, when
Cromwell found that in arranging for a new Parliament, intended not only to keep their seats, but
also to claim the right of veto over the election of new members, he went down to the House of
Commons followed by soldiers. With the dissolution of the Rump Parliament Cromwell's rule
began, and it lasted for a little over five years (1653-1658). Its chief features were unparalleled
despotism and the growth of English power abroad.
2) Note on Whigs and Tories.
The direct predecessors of the Whigs and the Tories, the oldest of the English political parties were
the Roundheads and the Cavaliers of the Civil War in the 17th Century. The terms ‘Whig' and
'Tories' were first used by the opponent parties as terms of ill-treatment in the courses of heated
debates of the Exclusion Parliament (1629-1681). Soon the terms the Whigs and Tories became
the proper names of the two parties. The Tories were Royalists in politics, Anglican in religion
and aristocratic in social outlook. They were generally big landlords. The Whigs were, of course,
landholders but they were bourgeois in outlook. Their interests were mainly commercial.
Politically they stood for the supremacy of the Parliament. After the Glorious Revolution, the
Whigs became more powerful than the Tories. But at the time of George III and William Pit, the

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Whigs were replaced by the Tories. The Whig party became the Liberal Party later. Similarly, the
Tories party later became the Conservative.
3) Note on The Royal Society.
The educated intelligentsia of England directed their inquisitive mind to the study of science. The
learned scholars and spiritual leaders of the day did not consider the pursuit of scientific discovery
as a study opposed to religion. The practical nature of the Englishmen ventured to explore the
positive and possible uses of science in agriculture, industry, navigation, medicine, engineering
and daily life. Robert Boyle, Sir Isaac Newton and others familiarized their countrymen with the
laws of the Universe. Newton, through his laws of the Universe and Calculus showed the methods
to approach the truth. Science was just in its early stages of its phenomenal growth. At this juncture,
it had not explored the truth of creation and hence the religious faith of the people remained intact.
Science only altered the character and external life of man and not his religious belief at this point
of time. The aim of the Fellows of the Royal Society was to increase the powers of all mankind to
free them from the bondages of error.
4) The Great Plague of London.
It was the curse of England to be regularly affected by the plague. The unhygienic conditions of
the capital city contributed to the regular occurrence of the pestilence. There were half a million
people living in London at that time. The plaque transformed London into a deserted city. A
hundred thousand people died in the first six months. It left a permanent mark in the minds of the
English. Several contemporary writers left us with realistic and striking descriptions of both the
Plague and the Fire of London. Thomas Vincent in his “God's terrible voice in the city”, has
presented the horrors of the disease. Daniel Defoe's 'History of the Plague' also gives a detailed
description of the terrors of the epidemic.
5) Who were the Quakers?
The Quakers were dissenters who did not accept Queen Elizabeth's Anglican Church. This group
was found by George Fox. He was against institutional religion, sacraments, priesthood and
dogma. They stressed on Christian qualities rather than on dogmas. After Restoration when the
Clarendon Code was passed, the Quakers were murdered. William Penn found the colony of
Pennsylvania in US and many Puritans went and settled there.
6) The Clarendon Code.
Throughout the reign of Charles II, the Puritans were persecuted by the Restoration religious
settlement, known as the Clarendon Code. Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, and also the Lord
Chancellor, was appointed to bring about the religious settlement. He stood by Charles II, through
thick and thin and hence the King trusted him very much. Clarendon was an upright and shrewd
administrator but was an intolerant High Churchman. His anti-Puritanic sentiments found ample
expression in the religious settlement. In fact, the Restoration of the Anglican Church was due to

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Clarendon's efforts tour persecuting acts, namely, the Corporation Act, the Act of Uniformity, the
Five Miles Act and the Convective Act were passed against the Puritans. These Acts in general
were known as the Clarendon Code. G.M. Trevelyan is of the opinion that the present under
Clarendon was worse than the past under land. With the dismissal of Clarendon, ended the first
phase of Charles II's reign.
7) The Great Fire of London.
The Great Fire of London (1666), a huge disaster, caused great damage to the metropolis London.
It is still unparalleled in the history of English towns and cities. Samuel Peppy (16631703) has
given a detailed description of the great conflagration in his diary. The fire raged for five days and
burnt up half of London. The heart of the city from the Tower Fleet Street was consumed by the
fire. Old St. Paul's Cathedral and 88 other Churches were totally destroyed. However, the shameful
slums were not touched by the fire. Both the Government and the people could not do anything to
arrest the progress of the fire. Thus, the medieval and the Tudor city disappeared in the
conflagration. The old structures were all completely destroyed. in a sense the disaster was a
blessing in disguise. It destroyed the old wooden structures. The merchants rebuilt their houses of
bricks and in a more decent relation to the street. Sanitation in the city was improved. The fire, in
fact, gave a golden opportunity for Christopher Wren to rebuild the city in bricks and stones. The
present St. Paul’s Cathedral still bears evidence to his mastermind.
8) Union of England and Scotland
The Union of England and Scotland in 1603 by James i had never been politically and socially
effective. This uneasy union left enough room for foreign powers to exploit the antagonism of the
Scots for the English in their favour. Queen Anne resolved to put an end to this state of affairs for
the reasons of stability, security and safety. The Scots were brimming with national pride and
bristled with individuality. The Queen appointed special commission to study the prospects of a
political merger. The report and the recommendations of the commission favored the passing of
the Act of Union. Accordingly, the Act of Union was passed in 1707 which brought the two
countries under one common Parliament at Westminster. The Act directed Scotland to send 45
members to the House of Common and the Peers to the House of Lords. Scotland was empowered
to establish her own judicial system and Presbyterian Church. The Act also ensured free trade
between Scotland and England. On May 1, 1707, the United Kingdom of Great Britain was
proclaimed.
9) The Glorious Revolution (1688).
The Glorious Revolution of 1688 is a great landmark in the history of England. It affected the
political, the social and the religious life of the English people. James II had two great aims. He
wanted to restore Catholicism and to make himself an absolute ruler. Unworried of people's
feelings, James II appointed Catholics and Dissenters to any office he liked. The Bishops who
refused to obey his orders were sent to the Tower. He interfered with the freedom of election and

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his foreign policy were the causes for the Glorious Revolution. Matter became worse when James
II was blessed with a son. The Whigs and Tories invited William of Orange and Mary, the daughter
of James II to accept the English Crown. Mary and William were Protestants. As soon as they
arrived, James fled to France. William and Mary became Joint-Sovereigns.
The supremacy of the Parliament was established. It abolished the Divine Right Theory. The
Anglican Church was firmly established. The Bill of Rights established Parliament as the supreme
authority of the nation. The freedom of the press was established.
There was a welcome change in the foreign policy of England. The Glorious Revolution was
successful because the whole nation was united. The Glorious Revolution was bloodless, without
civil war and massacre. The struggle between the King and Parliament came to an end with a
victory of the Parliament.

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UNIT - IV

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe
and the United States, in the period from between 1760 to 1820 and 1840.Thi s transition included
going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron
production processes, the increasing use of steam power and water power, the development of
machine tools and the rise of the mechanized factory system. The Industrial Revolution also led to
an unprecedented rise in the rate of population growth.
Textiles were the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment,
value of output and capital invested. The textile industry was also the first to use modern
production methods.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, and many of the technological
innovations were of British origin. By the mid-18th century Britain was the world's leading
commercial nation, controlling a global trading empire with colonies in North America and the
Caribbean, and with major military and political hegemony on the Indian subcontinent, particularly
with the proto-industrialized Mughal Bengal, through the activities of the East India Company.
The development of trade and the rise of business were among the major causes of the Industrial
Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of
daily life was influenced in some way. In particular, average income and population began to
exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists have said the most important effect of
the Industrial Revolution was that the standard of living for the general population in the western
world began to increase consistently for the first time in history, although others have said that it
did not begin to meaningfully improve until the late 19th and 20th centuries.
The precise start and end of the Industrial Revolution is still debated among historians, as
is the pace of economic and social changes. Eric Hobsbawm held that the Industrial Revolution
began in Britain in the 1780s and was not fully felt until the 1830s or 1840s, while T. S. Ashton
held that it occurred roughly between 1760 and 1830. Rapid industrialization first began in Britain,
starting with mechanized spinning in the 1780s, with high rates of growth in steam power and iron
production occurring after 1800. Mechanized textile production spread from Great Britain to
continental Europe and the United States in the early 19th century, with important centres of
textiles, iron and coal emerging in Belgium and the United States and later textiles in France.
An economic recession occurred from the late 1830s to the early 1840s when the adoption
of the Industrial Revolution's early innovations, such as mechanized spinning and weaving, slowed
and their markets matured. Innovations developed late in the period, such as the increasing

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adoption of locomotives, steamboats and steamships, hot blast iron smelting and new technologies,
such as the electrical telegraph, widely introduced in the 1840s and 1850s, were not powerful
enough to drive high rates of growth. Rapid economic growth began to occur after 1870, springing
from a new group of innovations in what has been called the Second Industrial Revolution. These
innovations included new steel making processes, mass-production, assembly lines, electrical grid
systems, the large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the use of increasingly advanced
machinery in steam-powered factories.

THE METHODIST MOVEMENT

Methodism, the doctrines, polity, and worship of those Protestant Christian denominations
that have developed from the movement started in England by the teaching of John Wesley.
John Wesley, his brother Charles, and George Whitefield belonged to a group at Oxford
that in 1729 began meeting for religious exercises. From their resolution to conduct their lives and
religious study by "rule and method," they were given the name Methodists. The beginning of
Methodism as a popular movement dates from 1738, when both of the Wesley brothers, influenced
by contact with the Moravians, undertook evangelistic preaching. From the Moravians, too, they
took the emphasis on conversion and holiness that are still central to Methodism.
The leaders of the movement were ordained ministers of the Church of England; neither of
the two Wesley’s ever disclaimed the holy orders of that church, but they were barred from
speaking in most of its pulpits, in disapproval of their evangelistic methods. They preached in
barns, houses, open fields, wherever an audience could be induced to assemble. Societies were
formed, "class meetings" of converts were held, and lay preachers were trained and given charge
of several congregations. The moving of preachers from one appointment to another was the
beginning of the system of itinerancy. Theologically, John Wesley was essentially a follower of
Jacobus Arminius. Whitefield, unable to accept the Arminian doctrines of Wesley, broke with him
in 1741 and became the leader of the Calvinistic Methodists.
In 1744 the first annual conference was held and the Articles of Religion were drawn up.
They were based to a considerable extent upon the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England,
but great emphasis was laid upon repentance, faith, sanctification, and the privilege of full, free
salvation for everyone. By 1784 the spread of the movement, especially in America, made an
organization separate from the Church of England necessary.
In 1784, Wesley issued a Deed of Declaration giving legal status to the yearly Methodist
conference. That same year he ordained Thomas Coke superintendent of the societies in America.
In 1791, after Wesley's death, the English Methodists were formally separated from the
Church of England and established the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In both England and America
various groups seceded from the main branch to form independent Methodist churches. Some of

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them later reunited. In Great Britain the Methodist New Connection was the first group to form a
separate branch. Then followed the Primitive Methodists, the Bible Christians, the Protestant
Methodists, the Wesleyan Methodist Association, and the Wesleyan Reformers.
In 1857 the last three formed a union as the United Methodist Free Churches; in 1907 these
were incorporated with the Methodist New Connection and the Bible Christians as the United
Methodist Church. Finally, in 1932, the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the
United Methodists merged to become the Methodist Church in Great Britain. By 1995 there were
about 388,000 Methodists in Great Britain. There are Methodist churches in most parts of the
world, with United churches in South India, Canada, and Zambia. There are over 26 million
Methodists worldwide.

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UNIT – V

EFFECTS OF FRENCH REVOLUTION

The French Revolution had a major impact on Europe and the New World. Historians
widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in European history. In the short-
term, France lost thousands of its countrymen in the form of émigrés, or emigrants who wished to
escape political tensions and save their lives. A number of individuals settled in the neighboring
countries (chiefly Great Britain, Germany and Austria), while some settled in Russia, and quite a
few also went to the United States. The displacement of these Frenchmen led to a spread of French
culture, policies regulating immigration, and a safe haven for Royalists and other
counterrevolutionaries to outlast the violence of the French Revolution.
The long-term impact on France was profound, shaping politics, society, religion and ideas,
and polarizing politics for more than a century. The closer other countries were, the greater and
deeper was the French impact, bringing liberalism and the end of many feudal or traditional laws
and practices. However, there was also a conservative counter-reaction that defeated Napoleon,
reinstalled the Bourbon kings, and in some ways reversed the new reforms.
Most of the new nations created by France were abolished and returned to prewar owners
in 1814. For nearly two decades the Italians had the excellent codes of law, a fair system of
taxation, a better economic situation, and more religious and intellectual toleration than they had
known for centuries.... Everywhere old physical, economic, and intellectual barriers had been
thrown down and the Italians had begun to be aware of a common nationality.
It proclaimed the equality of citizens before the law, equality of languages, freedom of
thought and faith; it created a Swiss citizenship, basis of our modern nationality, and the separation
of powers, of which the old regime had no conception; it suppressed internal tariffs and other
economic restraints; it unified weights and measures, reformed civil and penal law, authorized
mixed marriages (between Catholics and Protestants), suppressed torture and improved justice; it
developed education and public works.
The greatest impact came in France itself. In addition to effects similar to those in Italy and
Switzerland, France saw the introduction of the principle of legal equality, and the downgrading
of the once powerful and rich Catholic Church to just a bureau controlled by the government.
Power became centralized in Paris, with its strong bureaucracy and an army supplied by
conscripting all young men. French politics were permanently polarized—'left' and 'right' were the
new terms for the supporters and opponents of the principles of the Revolution.

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THE VICTORIAN AGE

The historical terms, Victorian Age or Victorian Era, referred to the things and the events
that happened during the reign of Queen Victoria in England from 1837 to 1901. Some adjectives
to describe the people and things of this period would be prudish, strait-laced, and old-fashioned.
Another characteristic of the Victorian society was that many of the upper class individuals were
snobbish and that they looked down upon others, especially the lower class individuals. In addition,
this era came before the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the 1920s.
Many women were still thought of as being inferior to their male counterparts, even if they
were wealthy. Two examples of literary works that show some of the characteristics of the
Victorian age are The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and The Old Nurses Story by
Elizabeth Gaskell. During the Victorian age, there were immense changes in society, advances in
the sciences, and it was also the beginning of the Industrial Age. A number of the literature
produced during this period reflected on these changes and celebrated them. Some literary works
criticized the changes being made and made a mockery of them as well.
The literary genre, the novel, also came on the scene during the Victorian Era. Some
Victorian writers that also emerged are Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, and
Oscar Wilde. Victorian writers always responded to the conditions around them. Queen Victoria
influenced her world and she also influenced the literature that used conditions in the Victorian
world as its subject. Oscar Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, is set in the late
Victorian age in England. Here, he uses satire to get his point across about how it was to be an
aristocrat during the Victorian Era.
DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND
The Victorian Era yielded great developments in terms of education, and this time period
had distinct characteristics in regards to the educational system. Public education evolved
significantly at this time primarily because of new laws that were developed to make education
compulsory for a wider range of individuals. Though many advancements in the field of education
came to fruition in Victorian England, there were still significant gaps between social classes and
genders. As a result of all of these multi-faceted aspects of British education, literacy rates among
the population increased dramatically by the end of the era.
The development of public education in England changed drastically in the Victorian Era
thanks to many legislative changes by Parliament. Wealthy parents sent their children to fee-
paying schools or employed governess, but gender still affected those of high class: boys’
schooling was considered more important, and they were taught academic and functional skills
while girls were taught sewing, needlework, drawing, and music. Teaching was mainly by rote,
with children learning things by simply repeating and memorizing what was said by their teachers.
There was little room for creativity or developing talents; an emphasis was placed on learning to
read and write.

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In 1833, Parliament authorized sums of money to be provided for the construction of

schools for the poor children of England and Wales. A succession of acts that followed hoped to
expand the scope of education, but, for the most part, there was no unified education system; it
was still in the hands of churches and philanthropists. There was a constant battle between the aim
of schools to teach and parents’ need to have their children home to help the family. Parents were
often required to pay for their children’s school, or at the very least supply ink, paper, and other
materials, which was a real barrier for poor students. Then, in 1844, Parliament passed a law
requiring children working in factories to be given six-half-days schools every week. In 1870, the
Forster Elementary Education Act established partially state-funded Board Schools to be set up to
provide primary education in areas where existing provisions were inadequate, but they still
charged a fee, which many poor families could not pay. For this there were certain makeshift
schools started such as ragged and dame schools, which essentially ended up to be daycares.
By 1880, additional legislation stated that compulsory attendance at school ceased to be a
matter for local option and now had to attend school between the ages of 5 and 10, with some
exceptions such as early leaving in agricultural areas. Parents of children who did not attend school
could be fined. In 1891, the Free Education Act provided for the state payment of school fees up
to ten shillings per week. This was to help poor children attend school. By 1893 the school leaving
age was raised to 11 and schools were established for the deaf and blind. The age was later raised
again to 13. In 1897, the Voluntary Schools Act provided grants to public elementary schools not
funded by school boards, which were typically Church schools.
Education at this time varied greatly between both social classes and genders. In the upper
class, when children were quite young, they were raised by a governess. After they reached the
age of about ten, children would usually go to a public school. Public schools were selective and
expensive institutions. The first of these types of schools was Winchester College, which was
founded in 1382. Boys in the upper class had the best opportunities for a good education. This idea
is evident through the fact that private schools were male-only and they cost money to attend, so
poor families could not afford to send their children there. Public schools were essentially used to
prepare boys to be gentlemen. There was not a strong emphasis on scholastics. Instead, the
education at these schools was heavily focused on sportsmanship, religion, leadership, and even
confidence, so the boys would have all of the necessary skills to eventually be legitimate members
of the elite class in society.
Upper class girls, on the other hand, were not sent to public schools. They stayed at home and
learned skills that would benefit them when they got married, because this was the most common
path for women in Victorian England to take. It was imperative that girls knew how to sew, cook,
sing, and play an instrument. These were all skills that could be used during a girl’s life, especially
to help her husband or make him proud. Eventually, women’s colleges began to open and females
had more opportunities for education as they got older.

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