a global power Flashcards
the bill of rights in 1689 - constitutional monarchy
read at the coronation of william and mary
- king can not raise taxes or administer justice without agreement from parliament
changed the balance of power between monarch and parliament
- confirmed the rights of parliament and the limits of the king’s power
parliament took control of who could be monarch and declared they must be a protestant
- new parliament had to be elected at least ever three years (became seven years, and is now five years)
beginning of party politics
monarch needed advisers or ministers who would be able to ensure a majority of votes in the house of commons and the house of lords
two main groups in parliament - whigs and tories
development of a free press
from 1695, newspapers allowed to operate without government licence
increasing numbers of newspapers published
constitutional monarchy
monarch still important but can not insist on particular policies/actions if parliament does not agree
after William III, ministers gradually became more important but not a democracy in the modern sense
- number of people with the right to vote for members of parliament very small: only men who owned property of a certain value were able to vote
some constituencies controlled by a single wealthy family - pocket boroughs
- other constituencies had hardly any voters and were called rotten boroughs
growing population
first Jews to come to Britain since the middle ages settled in 1565
between 1680 and 1720, refugees called Huguenots came from France
- Protestants that were persecuted for their religion
William and Mary’s successor
Anne
- no surviving children
uncertainty over succession
Act/Treaty of Union in Scotland - 1707
created the Kingdom of Great Britain
Scotland was no longer an independent country but kept its own legal and education systems and Presbyterian Church
Anne’s successor in 1714
Parliament chose a German, George I, to be the next king
- nearest Protestant relative
did not speak good English which increased his need to rely on his ministers
- most important minister as the Prime Minister
- first PM as Sir Robert Walpole, from 1721-1742
rebellion of the clans
in 1745, attempt to put a Stuart king on the throne in place of George I’s son, George II
- Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of James II, landed in Scotland
- supported by clansmen from the Scottish highlands and raised an army
- defeated by George II’s army at the Battle of Culloden in 1746
clans lost power and influence after this
highland clearances
- Scottlish landlords destroyed individual small farms to make space for large flocks of sheep/cattle
- evictions were common
Robert Burns, the Bart
Scottish poet
wrote in the Scots language, revised traditional folk songs by changing/adding lyrics
best known work as Auld Lang Syne
- called Hogmanay in Scotland
the Enlightenment
during the 18th century, new ideas about politics, philosophy and science developed
- many thinkers were Scottish
Adam Smith developed ideas about economics, David Hume’s ideas about human nature
James Watt’s work on steam power helped the progress of the Industrial Revolution
one of the most important principles of the Enlightenment was that everyone should have the right to their own political and religious beliefs, and that the state should not try to dictate them
the Industrial Revolution
before the 18th century, agriculture was the biggest source of employment
rapid development of industry in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Britain as the first to industrialise on a large scale
- development of machinery and the use of steam power
- agriculture and the manufacturing of goods became mechanised
development of the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel led to the development of the shipbuilding industry and the railways
Richard Arkwright
originally trained and worked as a barber but shifted to textiles
improved the original carding machine
- carding as the process of preparing fibres for spinning into yarn and fabric
developed horse-driven spinning mills that used only one machine
- increased the efficiency of production
- used the steam engine to power machinery
why were canals built?
better transport links to transport raw materials and manufactured goods
built to link factories to towns and cities and pots in the new industrial areas
poor working conditions during the Industrial Revolution
no laws to protect employees who were forced to work long hours in dangerous situations
children also worked and were treated in the same way as adults