SUMMARY 3

The execution of a King

On 4th November 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes hid under the Houses of Parliament with at least 20 barrels of gunpowder. He and four other men planned to blow up King James I. He wasn’t agree with the King’s law, he thought it was unfair. When he was ready to start the gunpowder plot, he was arrested. The King was safe! His son wanted a Catholic Engand but the Parliament no. Afterwards the Civil War began in 1542. It divedes the country between the Royalists and the Parliaments. There were many battles and many people were killed. Finally the Parliaments won and Charles I was beheaded.

Christmas is cancelled.

After all Cromwell, the protestant leader, became “Lord Protector”. England hadn’t got queen or King. Cromwell took and army to Ireland, where they killed many Irish people. He also gave land in Ireland to his protestant soldiers who came t olive in Ireland. In the 20th century Cromwell started his intentions. And with that, all the problems between and Catholics in Ireland started. In England, the Protestants banned theatre and were very strict about the religión and how people behaved. Christmas also banned by limiting Christmas celebrations.

Plague, Fire and Revolution

Cromwell died in 1658 and in 1660 Charles Ii, became King. He was popular during his reign but there were two terrible evets. The first one was the “Great Plague” (1664), which killed about 20 % of the population of London and the second one was the “Great Fire of London” (1666), which destroyed many buildings in the capital. Parts of London had to be rebuilt like St Paul’s Cathedral was among the new churches designed by the famous architect Christopher Wren.

England+Wales+Scotland+Ireland

Anne was another daughter of mames II and she became Queen in 1702. In her reign two political parties developed in Parliament, the Whigs and the Tories. This was the start of the modern British political system. Two important acts were passed by Parliament. The Act of Settlement and The Act of Union , said that England ans Scotland were one country.

When Anne died without any children, Britain had to look for Protestant King. This was King George I, who was German and spoke very Little English. I t was the start of the Georgian Age in Britain. During the rign of George II, Britain lost it colonies in America as a result of American War of Idependence. But the British colonised Australia and British power grew in India during this period.

In 1727, Robert Walpole became the first British prime minister. In 1735, George II gave Walpole a house in London while he was governing country. In 1801, the government introduced the Act of Union with Ireland. As a result, Britain needed a flag to joing the English, Scottish and Irish flags. After Napoleon took power in France at the begginging of the 17th century, Britain and France were at the war. Two men became national hereoes: Admiral Nelson defeated the French at the battle of Trafalgar, and the Duke of Wellington defeated Napoleon’s armies at the battle of Waterlo.

The Industrial Revolution

Towards the end of eighteenth century, the Industrial Revolution began in Britain. The invetion of new machines changed the way that people lived. A lot of things got better like the higiene. The movements of the industry started and it was a very refreshing kind of beggining for England. Living conditions for the workers in the industry were very crowded and unhealthy. The factories were not very safe and children had to work so no schools were created for them.

The Victorian Age

In 1834, an eighteen year old woman called Victoria became queen of Britain. Later, she became Empress of India. She fell in love with Albert, a German prince, and after his death she kept his memory alive. Her face was on the first postage stamps and her statue was places in all parts of the British Empire. During her reign many British people became world-famous: Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Darwin, Lewis Carol...

There were many changes in the society:

-using children as workers became illegal

-education became free for everyone

-industrial cities were made safer and healthier

-the railway covered the whole country

-Science advances

-British Empire grew to include parts of Africa and Asia.

-Britain dominated the seas and became a strong navy

Queen Victoria government had many problems. There was the 'Great Potato Famine' in Ireland. A disease killed the potato plants about 1 million Irish people died because they had no food. Other people went to America.

From 1854 to 1856 there was a war with Russia when more than 20.000 soldiers died. Then Indian soldiers attacked their British officers in the Indian mutiny. Then the British took the control.

Britain changed greatly during the Victorian Age. At the end of the period, there were electric lights, telephones, the London underground and many things became modern.

The twentieth Century

During the twentieth century , Britain went through more changes. The population grew from about forty million to six million. The country was involved in two world wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945) and in other wars too. Technological and scientific progress had a huge effect on life in the UK and Ireland. The relationship between Great Britain and Ireland changed. After the Irish War of the Independence the south of Ireland became independent from Britain. The Northern Ireland stayed in the UK; so the island was divided.

After the second world war, some countries of Asia and Africa from the British empire became independent.

In 1960,there was a great social change. Teenagers had more freedom, the role of women began to change and the rules of society were relaxed. This was the time of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This years are also know as ' the swinging sixties'.

The British Isles saw many other important changes in the second half of this century. Margaret Thatcher was the first British female prime minister, North Sea oil was discovered, the Channel Tunnel (joins Britain to the rest of Europe), a multi-racial society developed and Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales became more independent.

Into the Twenty-first Century

Britain continues to change. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly make those nations more independent. People face the problem of global warming. From 2008 there have been economic problems in all the nations of British Isles because of the world recession. A new UK government with two parties that share power. The Olympics of 2012 were celebrated in LDN.