FROM THE GUNPOWDER PLOT TO GLOBAL WARMING

The execution of a king

In 1605 Guy Fawkes hid under the houses of Parliament, 20 barrels of gunpowder. He and 4 other men planned to blow up King James I. Fawkes was angry because he thought that the king’s laws were unfair to people of his religion.

When James became king, he wanted to be more important than the Government.

The civil war began in 1642. It divided the country between the Royalists (supported the king) and the Parliamentarians (supported Oliver Cromwell). Cromwell won and Charles I was beheaded in 1649.

Christmas is cancelled

From 1649 to 1660, there was no king or queen in England. Cromwell took an army to Ireland, where they killed many Irish people. He’s actions were the starts of the twentieth-century problems between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland.

Plague, Fire and Revolution

Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II (his son) became king. He was popular in his reign because there were 2 terrible events. The firsts was the “Great Plague, where it killed about 20% of the population of London. The second was the”Great Fire of London”, where it destroyed many buildings in the capital and they had to be rebuilt.

When Charles II died, James II was the new king. The Parliament was unhappy about it, and it invited a Dutch Protestant, William of Orange to invade the country. He was married with Mary (James’ sister). James went to France and he became king.

England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland

Anne (James II’s daughter) became queen in 1702. During her reign, 2 political parties developed in Parliament: the Whigs and the Tories. This was the start of the modern British political system. There were to important acts. The Act of Settlement said that no Roman Catholic could be king or queen. The Act of Union said that England and Scotland were one country.

George I who was protestant, was the next king. It was the start of the Georgian Age in Britain. In this periode, Britain lost colonies in America but itcolonized Australia and grew in India.

Robert Walpole became the first British prime minister.

In 1801 the government introduced the Act of Union with Ireland.

After Napoleon took power in France, there were a war between Britain and France. There were two heroes: Admiral Nelson (French) and the Duke of Wellington (Napoleon’s armies at the Waterloo’s battle).

The industrial Revolution

At the end of 18^th century, began the industrial revolution in Britain. The invention of new machines changed the way that people lived. The people began to move from the country to the cities to find work.

In 1825 the world’s first railway was opened.

This revolution made Britain rich. It also created problems. Living conditions for the workers were very unhealthy and crowded. The children had to work so hard and the factory wasn’t safe.

The Victorian Age

In 1834, a woman called Victoria became queen of Britain. Later, she became Empress of India. Her face was on the first postage stamps and her statue was places in all parts of the British Empire. 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.

This government had many problems too. There was the “Great Potato Famine” in Ireland. A disease killed the potato plants about 1 million Irish people died because they hadn’t food. Other people moved to America.

From 1854 to 1856 there was a war with Russia.

Then Indian soldiers attacked their British officers, and 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 this century, Britain went through more changes. The population grew from about forty million to six million. The country was involved in 3 wars. 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 Independence the south of Ireland became independent from Britain. The Northern Ireland stayed in the UK, so the island was divided.

After the second war, some countries of Asia and Africa became independents from British.

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. These years are also known as “the swinging sixties”.

The British Isles saw many other changes in the second half of this century. Margaret Thatcher was the first British female prime minister, 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. From 2008 there have been economic problems in all the nations of British Isles because of the world recession. The Olympics of 2012 were celebrated in London.