Cultura - Unit 1 Flashcards
Which are the two main islands that are part of the British Isles?
Ireland and Great Britain
What is the difference between the British Isles, the United Kingdom, and Great Britain?
United Kingdom is a political term, a country that includes Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The British Isles are Great Britain (Scotland+England+Wales), Ireland and a group of smaller islands within the archipelago.Great Britain is sometimes referred as a geographical term (not a country) that refers to the largest island among the British Isles; however, it is mostly a political term used as an identity that transcends English, Welsh and Scottish, uniting all peoples in a common loyalty
When was Wales annexed to England?
Wales was legally united with England in the 16th century, forming the Kingdom of England and Wales.
When did England, Wales, and Scotland unite to form Great Britain?
In 1707 and formed the new Kingdom of Great Britain.
When was the United Kingdom founded?
It was originally the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, founded in 1801. But in 1922 it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
What countries are part of the island of Ireland?
Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
hat is the capital city of the United Kingdom?
London
What are the main geographic features of Britain?
It is an Island with not many large rivers, a mountain rage in the North and West and a low coasts in the East and South. It is well endowed with minerals (tin, lead, iron and coal). There is also widespread woodland and marsh (swamps)
Where are the highlands located? What are their main characteristics?
In the north west (Wales, Scotland, northern England and southwestern England). The highland zone is defined by being over 200 meters above sea level. They are marked by a greater emphasis on pastoralism, as they have mostly chalky soil and are too wet and cold for successful agriculture. They are also much less densely populated.
Where are the lowlands located? What are their main characteristics?
In the south and south east of England. It is a more fertile area.
What is the climate of Britain like? Why?
The climate is very wet, and rainfall is pretty evenly distributed and frequent. Despite Britain’s position in the northern latitudes of Europe—the same distance from the equator as the southern parts of the cold countries of Norway and Sweden—the presence of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream makes the archipelago much warmer than the corresponding areas in North America or Scandinavia.
Why was England prone to invasions from the southeast in early times?
Because of their greater agricultural productivity. Also, the extension of power from lowlands to highlands was a difficult challenge due to the difficulty of the terrain.
Why was England a tempting target for invaders?
Temptation lay in: minerals such as gold, pearls and tin; its fertile soil; and the fauna of the island.
Which was England’s position with respect to Europe and the rest of the world in early times? Which were the main routes of trade and which was the main centre of commerce before 1492? Did England participate in international trade? Did she use the sea for economic purposes? Why (not)?
The Mediterranean was the main center of civilization. The main line of trade was between the Mediterranean and Asia. We can see that Britain is rather far from the “maritime silk road”, depicted in orange on the map, so their maritime trade was not very active. England’s relationship with the sea until 1492 was ‘‘passive and receptive’’ since they only received trades from Western Europe and, due to the island’s position, they were cut off from the main routes of Commerce: the Mediterranean ports and the Levant; and because they only received invaders.
Which was England’s position with respect to Europe and the rest of the world in modern times? Which were the main routes of trade and which was the main centre of commerce after 1492? Did England participate in international trade? Did she use the sea for economic purposes? Why (not)?
The Discovery of America and new alternative ocean routes changed Britain’s position to the world. The fact that Britain was in the centre of the new maritime movement was a turning point for its economy and history. It was not until the discovery of America and the Ottoman conquest of areas of the Mediterranean that Britain came to a more favourable position. After those two watershed events, the relation of Britain with the sea became ‘‘active and acquisitive’’ (active from the economic point of view because she stated trading with other parts of the world, and acquisitive because she started acquiring colonies and territories).
Who were the first inhabitants of the island?
Homo sapiens
Who were the different peoples that invaded Britain from the early Stone Age until 1066?
The Iberians, Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Scots (Irish of the north) and Vikings.
Where did most of the invaders first land? Why? Who were the exception?
The main area of contact between Britain and the Continent was the English Channel, which was used by most invaders (who first landed in the south). But another area was the North Sea, which was an area of contact between Britain and western Scandinavia (Norway and Denmark) In this area, the distances were much greater, so some Anglo-Saxons (Angles who arrived at Northumbria) and the Danes (who landed in the north; they were the exception) had to wait for the development of improved shipping in order to invade.
Where did most of the invaders settle? Why? What usually happened to the settlers of the region with every new invasion?
Owing to the geographic features of Britain, the same phenomena of tribal invasion were repeated again and again on the same general scheme. Invaders settled on the rich lowlands, killed or subjected many of the older inhabitants and drove the rest into the mountains of the north and west or into the barren and remote peninsula of Cornwall.
When did England begin to build an empire?
The history of Britain as a leader in the world’s affairs begins with the reign of Elizabeth (16th century).
To what extent is the sea key to the history of Britain?
Britain has always owed her fortunes to the sea. she was herself their subject, for her destiny was continually being decided by its invaders. Successive tides of colonists came from the sea to inhabit her, or to instill their knowledge and spirit into the older inhabitants. The centuries later, the englishman commanded the sea and became explorer, trader, and colonist to every shore in the two hemispheres. So, in early times the relation with the sea was passive and receptive, while
in modern times active and acquisitive.
What does history is governed by geography mean?
Apart from the importance of the sea, one can say that if England had been all lowland, each successive invasion would have rapidly overrun the whole island and no racial difference might today be discernible (mountain ranges generally forced pursuers to a halt). So, owing to these geographic features, the same phenomena of invasion were repeated again and again. Another example is the geographic coincidence of the London’s bridge and the river Thames made the greatness of London (Trevelyan).
Which was the Romans method of conquest?
to make military roads, planned on system for the whole island and to plant forts garrisoned by regular troops. This way they were able to subjugate and hold down the Welsh mountaineers; they didn’t Romanize Wales but made an effective military occupation. It was a peaceful penetration because Roman culture started penetrating the island since the first expeditions
When did the occupation come to an end? Why?
From the second century on, the empire was in a time of economic decline and in the fifth century (410) Roman rule in Britain effectively ended when the emperor refused to send help to the British ruling class because he was preoccupied with problems closer to home.
Could the Romans conquer Caledonia (modern Scotland)? Why (not)?
They couldn’t conquer Caledonia because the Celts in the highlands offered the toughest opposition and also, the Romans were not very interested in conquering the poor and mountainous lands of the north.
Which were the purposes of building Hadrian’s Wall?
In order to create an effective system of military control to stop tribes from the north from descending and raiding inhabitants of the cities.
When did the Anglo-Saxons invade the island?
- The Anglo-Saxon takeover took two centuries, Their invasions were more a matter of small groups of settlers than vast armies.
Who led the successive waves of invasions? Who followed them?
The spearhead of the invasions were chiefs, who organized the expeditions, and their followers, who were bands of warriors. Later on, once the battles had been fought, they were followed by their families (women and children) and by farmers looking for fertile land.
Why do we speak of the Anglo-Saxon “settlement”? Find out the difference between a “settlement” and an “occupation”.
The settlers invade the land of the indigenous people, replace the people living there or manage their immersion into their own community.
What was the Open-field system of farming? Why was it called “open”?
Typically involved three large fields which were divided into a patchwork of long narrow strips.
It is called “open” because the arable fields were unfenced. Only during seed-time and harvest was the land protected by temporary enclosures
How did the Open-field system work? How was the arable land of a village divided into? How was the land worked?
The arable land was generally divided in three parts (there was also a two-field system). Two of these three parts were cultivated (one with spring crops and the other with winter crops), and a third part was left fallow for the land to recover its fertility. his arable land was divided in smaller strips of land, which were shared among the members of a community. Each person in the Anglo-Saxon received certain strips of the arable land according to their social standing. Intermixed ownership (strips owned by one person were dispersed among those of other owners) was devised in the interest of the community as a whole and it meant to secure equality (everyone was given a share alike of good and bad soil, and near and far soil).
Who were the owners of the land? How many strips of land did the members of a community hold? Who owned the plough?
Most of the strips belonged to the Lord. Each member of the community was entitled a number of hides according to their social position. Only a few rich landholders had enough horses and oxen to make up a ploughing-team of six to eight oxen or horses, so sharing among neighbours was essential.
Was farming an individual or a communal chore?
Communal work: Economically, AS had a cooperative structure (all leading operations were carried out in common; there was cooperation for purposes of production). They worked together and shared the implements of production (tools). Although they worked as a community they had some feeling of individualism, yet it was not as strong as feudalism (no sharing out the produce, only productive cooperation).
Apart from the arable land, there were other areas of land. What was each of these fields used for?
Wastelands: These lands were not partitioned and there was no individual ownership. This is where the villagers would graze their livestock throughout the year. Pastures/meadows: They were divided into strips, which were annually re-alloted among tenants. Here they grew hay to feed the animals. Then they were used for livestock grazing when fallowed or after the grain was harvested (fallowed: ploughed and harrowed but left for a period without being sown in order to restore its fertility or to avoid surplus production). Woodlands: They were also common lands used for pigs and timber.
What does all this tell us about the Anglo-Saxons’ lifestyle? Were they city-dwellers or country-dwellers?
They were countrydwellers. They settled in large rural “townships.” They destroyed Roman cities and villas, and lived in log houses grouped around the log hall of their lord, which were made of forest timber.
what was the social structure of the Anglo-Saxon society? Identify and characterize the social classes in the Anglo-Saxon
here were three main social classes under the kings: Thanes (earls- they held a specified quantity of land, usually five hides, the land necessary to support a family); Churls (independent freemen who owned less than a thane did; the churl’s wergild might be as little as one-sixth of the thane’s); and slaves (they had no wergilds, although if a slave was killed by a person other than the owner, compensation was owed as in other cases of the destruction of property; slaves had certain rights to be supported, and the church generally promoted humane treatment of slaves and even their manumission).
Which was the chief mark that distinguished one class of society from another?
The wergild. Thanes had the highest wergilds and slaves had none.
Was there any kind of social mobility in the Anglo-Saxon society? Was it possible for a person to climb up the social ladder? If any, who could do that? What requisites were demanded?
Yes, there was social mobility. A churl could become a thane if he acquired the amount of land required to be one (5 hides). If the churl was a sailor, he could become a thane if he crossed the channel with his ship three times. Slaves could become “free” through the ritual of manumission (but they were still bound to their lords). Finally, if a thane lost his lands he became a churl.
On what principles was the Anglo-Saxon society organized? Explain how these principles functioned and their implications. What happened when these principles came into conflict? Which one prevailed? Why?
At the time of their coming to England they had both kinship and aristocracy. The two principles that ruled their society were “loyalty to one’s lord” and “duty to one’s kin”.The Anglo-Saxons strongly valued family ties; however, even before the migration to Britain, tribalism (ties of kinship and bond of mutual aid rendered between all members of a clan) was yielding to individualism, and kinship was being replaced by the personal relation of the warrior to his chief, which is the basis of aristocracy and feudalism. This tendency was greatly increased when parts of the tribe migrated from their home under leaders who had engaged the personal service of warriors of different clans. These two principles sometimes came into conflict. E.g: the payment of compensation or composition: money that the family of the killer had to pay to the family of the one that was killed. The amount of money depended on the wergild (the “value” of the person), which relied on the social status. When one person was killed, the principle of loyalty to one’s lord prevailed, so the lord received the compensation.
