HI 222 Final Exam
Dail Eireann
In the parliamentary elections of Dec 1918, the Sinn Fein party won overwhelmingly--signaling the death of home rule; Rather than take their seats in Westminster, the Irish MPs constituted themselves as a Parliament in Dublin called the Dail Eireann--the Parliament of Ireland; The Dail Eireann of 1919 immediately began to undertake the government of Ireland; uprooting British authority and transforming their paramilitary forces into a national army--The Irish Republican Army (IRA); The British declared the Sinn Fein party and the Dail Eieann illegal; In 1919, violence broke out between the IRA and British police--beginning the Irish War of Independence.
Triple Alliance
Germany, Austria-Hungary & Italy
Sinn Fein
("We ourselves"); slogan that the republicans began organizing under at the end of the 19th c.
New Imperialism
(1870-1914); the widespread resumption of imperial expansion after 1870; Between 1880 and 1914, most of the world outside of Europe and the Americas was formally partitioned into territories under the formal rule of a handful of states: Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States, and Japan; Two major regions--Africa and the Pacific--were almost entirely divided among the great powers. Causes of New Imperialism: 1) Shift from industrial to financial capitalism: exporting of manufactured goods to exporting of capital itself-->fuels relentless drive for investment opportunities abroad; 2) "Social imperialism" thesis: imperialism used by industrializing states as a means of alleviating class conflict; 3) "Jingoism:" aggressive patriotism offers a means of binding the newly enfranchised masses to the ruling classes; 4) "Long depression" of 1873-1896: worldwide economic downturn intensifies competition among industrial nations-->new search for markets and raw material abroad.
The Boer Wars
(1880-81 and 1899-1902); Boer (=farmer in Dutch and Afrikaans) wars were the result of British attempts to annex and control the Dutch Afrikaaner colonies in Southern Africa; Britain was attracted by the discovery of gold in the Transvaal Republic; Their position was threatened by German acquisitions in Southern Africa; Second Boer War was a catastrophe for the British: lasting 3 years and costing as much as the wars against the Revolutionary France; Foretaste of modern war: trenches, barbed wire, electric light and telecommunications; concentration camps.
White Man's Burden
(1899); Rudyard Kipling; Savior duty for the imperialist to "domesticate" the "savages"
The Great War
(1914-1918);
"Scramble for Africa"
(late 19th c.); The 1870s saw the last unknown territories of central Africa explored and mapped by Europeans--most famously, Henry Morton Stanley's charting of the Congo River Basin (1874-77); The European powers held a conference in Berlin in 1884-85 to set the rules by which Africa would be "carved up" by European empires: Free traffic along main African waterways, Prohibition on slave-trading, Recognizing various European "spheres of influence"; By 1902, 90% of African territory was effectively under European control
Welfare State
1) Fourth Reform Act of 1918: virtually all men over 21 (and all qualified women over 30) given the right to vote--tripled British electorate to roughly 50% of population; 2) Unemployment Insurance: unemployment benefits expanded to virtually all adult men--the so called "dole"; 3) Homes fit for heroes: the 1919 Housing Act subsidized the building of working-class rental homes, council housing, within the cities and on garden estates in the suburbs; 4) Contributory Pensions Act of 1925: provided for collection of pension at the age 65, rather than 70--which helped set the retirement age in Britain.
Appeasement
1) Psychological devastation of WWI made the western powers reluctant to go to war; 2) The Great Slump had ruined Western Europe economies; lacked the financial resources to rearm and renew hostilities; 3) Great Britain and France had nothing to gain from confronting Hitler's Germany; 4) Uncertainty over American intentions In Sept 1938, the British PM Neville Chamberlain consented at Munich to the German military occupation of the Sudetenland--the western regions of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain returned to Great Britain and proclaimed that he had secured "peace for our time."
William of Orange, The Declaration of William of Orange
1688, to convince people of England that he was a friend to Britain, not just an invading prince; criticizes "evil counselors" (people who advised the king) explains he feels it's his duty to act, protect the Protestant religion in England, protect legal rights of Parliament and the people "This is our expedition intended for no other design but to have a free and lawful parliament"
John Locke, Second Treatise on Government
1689, Locke's fundamental argument is that people are equal and have natural rights outside of rule, people need executive power to protect their property and defend their liberty, the state has power over the people so long as it exists to protect their rights, people have right to dissolve their government
Daniel Defoe, "London"
1727, describes London and England as highly modern, new buildings, wider streets, city as a center of commerce and wealth, no other city equal, business, post offices, churches, schools, etc. "England is a trading, improving nation..."
Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
1729, Tory/Anglican, expressed his disgust at Irish inability to mobilize on their own behalf across Ireland, poor children, predominantly Catholics, living in poverty. For preventing the children from being a burden to their parents, suggests that the aristocracy/wealthy elites should eat the children; cheap, easy, wholesome food; satirical - making jabs at England for viewing Ireland as no more than a commodity
Voltaire, Letters concerning the English Nation
1733, 24 letters, seems to favor English culture over France - written on his experiences as a French outsider; statement of religious tolerance, implied criticism of Catholic dominance; key themes - religious tolerance, political moderation, experimental philosophy; overall, Voltaire describes Britain as one who holds liberty above all else "If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary, if there were but 2, the people would cut another's throats, but as there are such a multitude, they all live happily in peace"
John Wesley, "The New Birth"
1743 sermon, "ye must be born again", The Holy Club, led by John and Charles Wesley... intense practitioners, Wesley experienced a "New Birth".... God speaks to the heart, religion is FELT (rational-->irrational) passion, baptism, methodism
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France
1790, hesitant to congratulate France on Revolution, entailed inheritance, partnership, Magna Carta & Declaration of Right were firm and concrete in providing continuity, people can just elect new governors, France: lawful & mild monarch, Chivalry extinguished in GB, past experience & voting Sig: wanted gradual constitutional reform based on blueprint of tradition
Crimean War
1854-56, British & French ally to defend Ottoman Empire ("the sick man of Europe) from Russian aggression, Anglo-French invasion of the Crimean peninsula stalls into the brutal, eleven-month siege of Sevastopol, Cold and disease over the long winter the overwhelming cause of mass casualties, exposes severe British military shortcomings
William Wordsworth, Preface to the Lyrical Ballads
1801, poet who helped launch romantic poetry era, deep conviction that simplicity of living was a philosophy harmoniously in agreement with nature wrought a revolution in poetic values, poetry: should be simple and direct, should be linked to aspects of nature and beauty Sig: embodies Romantic era
Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Speech Delivered on March 2, 1831"
1831, "new wine in old bottles", ancestors were wise because they looked at the world and created a political system from it, social change in new times should bring about a new revolution, social change necessitates political change Sig: absence of reform leads to revolution
Robert Peel, The Tamworth Manifesto
1834, political manifesto in Tamworth, laid down principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based, Peel's aim was to appeal to the electorate in the new Parliament, Peel accepted that the Reform act of 1832 was "a final and irrevocable settlement of a great constitutional question." He promised that the Conservatives would undertake a "careful review of institutions, CIVIL & ECCLESIASTICAL." Said he would look at the question of church reform in order to preserve the "true interests of the Established religion."----sharing ideas with Burke, free trade ideas as well
Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Minute on Indian Education"
1835, The historian, essayist, and parliamentarian served as a member of the supreme council of the East India Company from 1834 to 1838, where he oversaw major educational and legal reforms. The "Minute" was written as a rebuttal to those council members who believed that Indian students should continue to be educated in Sanskrit and Arabic as well as English; Macaulay's party carried the argument... TRADITIONAL LEARNING VS. CURRICULUM.... fund people learning English Sig: empire is working through how he is exposing some of the workings of empire.... fundamentally transforming a new class of natives in India... exporting your culture and language
Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England
1845, during his stay in Manchester from 1842-44, Prime time of Industrial Revolution, argues industrial revolution made workers worse off and industrial workers had lower incomes than pre-industrial peers; lived in more unhealthy and unpleasant environments Sig: showed the horrors of the industrial revolutions
The Great Exhibition
1851, the first world fair Sig: celebrate Britain's scientific and industrial progress as well as their empire
Charles Dickens, Hard Times
1854, book appraises English society and is aimed at highlighting the social and economic pressures of the times, themes: mechanization of human beings, fact vs. fancy
Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden"
1898, poem was a response to the American takeover of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. The poem urges the US to take up the "burden" of empire like Britain and other European nations had, veiling empire.... does become a burden because you have to stick to what you say Concept of empire: DUTY & BURDEN
The Easter Rising
1916; The outbreak of WWI delayed the implementation of Home Rule in 1914; The war divided the nationalist movement--some wished to stand with Britain against Germany; while others saw the war as the opportunity to establish independence; About 1600 of the latter group staged an insurrection during Easter week of 1916 occupying government buildings in Dublin and proclaiming an Irish Republic; The rebellion was suppressed by the police; The Easter Rising of 1916 effectively destroyed the Home Rule Movement; Irish nationalists would now settle for nothing less than complete independence from Britain
Treaty of Versailles
1919; Germany stripped of territory in Europe and its imperial possessions; Germany demilitarized: its army and navy reduced; its air force eliminated; its armaments industries placed under Allied supervision; Germany accepted responsibility for the Great War--the so-called "war guilt clause"; Germany forced to pay reparations; A string of new states created in central and Eastern Europe--to contain the Soviet Union; The League of Nations founded as a mechanism for peaceful resolution of international conflicts
Abdication Crisis
1936; King George V, grandson of Queen Victoria, dies in January 1936; His son, Edward--a bachelor and notorious playboy, known to be involved with several married women, ascends the throne as King Edward VIII; The constant companion of the new king was Mrs. Wallis Simpson, an American socialite--already once divorced and in the process of securing a second divorce; Edward makes his intention to marry Simpson know to his prime minister, Stanley Baldwin--who threatens to resign along with the entire cabinet; Edward VIII abdicates the throne on 10 Dec 1936, which passes to his younger brother, crowned George VI--the father of the reigning Queen Elizabeth II.
Revolution of 1688-89
Brought on by William of Orange to establish a "free and lawful parliament" and to secure Mary's dynastic right to the throne over the pretender; Glorious bc largely bloodless revolution
James II
Father of Mary and James Francis Edward Stuart "The Pretender"; Father-in-law to William of Orange; ruled prior to the Glorious Revolution; was a Catholic and friends with Louis XIV and hoped to turn England more like France--absolutism and agrarian-based economy; Followers = Jacobites
Commonwealth of Nations
From dominions to commonwealths: At the outbreak of WWI, status of the self-governing dominions with respect to Great Britain was unclear; Canada, Australia, NZ, and South Africa fought w/ Britain in WWI; In 1917-18, Imperial War Cabinet convened to coordinate war effort among dominions; At April 1917 Imperial Conference, idea of the dominions forming a British Commonwealth first put forward; 1931 Statute of Westminster recognized the dominions as "autonomous communities within the British empire equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another"; London Declaration of 1949 changed name to Commonwealth of Nations, bound not by allegiance to British Crown but commitment to peace, liberty, democracy, racial equality, & free trade
The Great Slump
Great Britain slid into economic depression in 1921, where it would more or less remain until the coming of WWII; Staple industries such as coal, textiles, and shipbuilding collapsed; Unemployment in the 1920s hovered between 10-14%, climbing up to 23% after the crash of the US stock market after 1929; Nineteenth century faith in the self-regulating "free market" deteriorated; British economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) wrote The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money in 1936 to lay out the theoretical foundations for the necessity of state intervention in the economy
Triple Entente
Great Britain, France & Russia
William of Orange
Husband of Mary, daughter of James II; led the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 to establish a "free and lawful parliament" and secure his wife's dynastic right to the throne
Irish Free State
In July 1921, the British government offered the Irish Republicans a treaty granting them status as a dominion of the British crown; Ireland would become a self-governing entity like Canada and Australia; The treaty demanded the Irish 1) accept partition (with N. Ireland remaining part of the Union), 2) contribute to the British war debt, 3) keep British military and naval bases in Ireland; The Irish believed that this was the best they could hope for and on Dec 6, 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 was signed and the Irish Free State was created; The signing of Anglo-Irish treaty sparked a civil war between pro-treaty and anti-treaty Irish nationalists (1922-23).
Mohandas K. Gandhi
India: The Move Toward Independence 1920s: Mohandas K Gandhi's Satyagraha ("soul-force") movement, based on Hindu spiritual revival, civil disobedience, rejection of modern Western values
Jacobitism
Jacobitism is support for the Stuart dynastic right to the crown. Jacobitism emerged during the Revolution of 1688-89 and also emerged once again with The 15 and The 45. The Tories were supportive of Jacobitism because they lost a great deal of parliamentary power after George I took power. Jacobitism is often equated with "The Highlands Problem," which is the fact that the Scots of the Highlands have very little Parliamentary representation, they practiced traditional religions like Catholicism, and they spoke Gaelic instead of English. Jacobitism is significant because it represents the Scottish desire of independence from England.
Naval Supremacy
Naval Supremacy is referring to the British naval supremacy displayed by the British against the French during the Napoleonic Wars. The British navy was supreme over the navy of the French because of personnel, materials, and technology. Even though the French had a higher population than GB, the British had more skilled naval captain. The British also had access to Baltic timber and to saltpeter for gunpowder from India. As displayed during the Battle of Trafalgar, with these combinations of resources the British became virtually undefeatable by the French. This is significant because this naval supremacy helped the British stop Napoleon from creating a French empire in Europe.
"Splendid Isolation"
Need for Britain to abandon as a result of The Great War (1914-1918) and the end of the Pax Britannica; Britain's foreign policy of.... 1) remaining aloof from continental European; 2) maintained the balance of power; and 3) concentrated on its overseas and imperial interests.
Liberalism
Post-1832; Whig/Liberal coalition of the post-1832 period made of: 1) Remnants of Charles James Fox's old late 18th c. Whig party; 2) Middle class business interests from newly enfranchised industrial centers & from Scotland; 3) Radical reformers, who seek further reform of the British constitution; 4) Daniel O'Connell's Irish Faction, pressing for repeal of the Union with Ireland; And after 1846, 5) Peelites, Liberal/reformist trade followers of Robert Peel, who abandon the Conservative party over free trade
Margaret Thatcher
Prime Minister; (1979-90); The End of the Postwar Consensus: Worldwide economic recession after 1973; labor unrest in 1970s brings down both Tory and Labour governments; Election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979; Thatcher opposed to both pillars of the postwar consensus: Keynsian management of the economy and the postwar welfare state; Thatcher oversees tax cuts and privatization of national industries; The Falkland Islands War of 1982: Thatcher goes to war with Argentina over possession of islands off the coast of South America
Winston Churchill
Prime minister during the European war
Romanticism
Romanticism was a literary movement in the 1800s by prominent people like William Wordsworth who believed that poetry should be direct and simplistic. The Romantic Movement was a response to the prior Enlightenment Movement and chose to focus on the everyday, local, and folk culture aspects of life. The significance is that it represented a movement of human imagination and consciousness that was largely the result of the French Revolution.
Sir Robert Walpole
Sir Robert Walpole was the first British Prime Minister during the Reign of Queen Anne. His time in power was dubbed the "Robinocracy" and was associated with the "Politics of Patronage" and corruption. Sir Robert Walpole is significant because he was successful at keeping England out of European Wars during his time.
Corn Law
The Corn Law was a tax on grain established by the wealthy agrarian aristocrats in order for them to make more money from their bread. The aristocrats did this by taxing grain imports which forced the other classes to have to pay for higher priced British bread and grain. The Corn Law was met with resistance by groups such as the Anti-Corn Law League. This is significant because it gave rise to many middle class movements who advocated for a free market system instead of a system controlled by the aristocracy.
India Mutiny of 1857
The East India Company maintained its own army of some 230,000 or so Indian natives sepoys; In 1857, Hindu and Muslim sepoys refuse to use the animal tallow to grease the cartridges on Enfield rifles; 85 Indian sepoys were court-martialed for disobedience; their trial sparked a bloody insurrection throughout India; The mutiny in the army spread throughout the entire subcontinent-about 1/5 of India rose up in arms; It took the British about a year of unprecedented violence and bloodshed to suppress the rebellion; In the aftermath, the East India Trading Company was dissolved and Britain assumed direct control over India--a period known as the Raj (1857-1947); On 1 May 1876, Queen Victoria assumed the title "Empress of India."
The Great Hunger
The Great Hunger is a term referring to the events surrounding the Irish potato famine in the 1800s. Due to the reliance on a agricultural system entirely dependent on a monoculture of the potato crop, when the blight destroyed the crops many Irish were left starving or forced to emigrate. 1 million Irish died, 1.5 million emigrated and a total of 25% of the 8 million Irish were lost to the Great Hunger. The significance is the lack of help on the part of the British who did nothing for fear they would cause more harm (liberalism). This further strained the relationship between the Irish Catholics and the wealthy British due to the fact that the majority of the devastation of this event was the result of a rigged system against the Irish Catholics (i.e. paritble inheritance, lack of Parliamentary representation, reliance on a monoculture).
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a revolution in the working society. While industry previously relied on skilled workers to do specific trades, the IR now prioritized mechanized labor that did not require a lot of skill to perform, leading to an increase in the available workforce and a decrease in the average wage. The IR also displayed a change from the animate forms of work to the inanimate; Industry now no longer relied on human, animal, or vegetable sources of power and instead relied on mineral sources of energy like anthracite coal. The significance of the IR is that is represented the largest change in human society since the Neolithic Revolution. There was a mass migration of people moving to cities to perform these low-skilled jobs for even lower wages. Knowing that their labor was no longer a necessity, many people accepted working under poor conditions, which eventually led rise to the importance of labor unions. This is also significant because it was responded to by a rise in Luddism and retaliation against these sort of low-skilled jobs.
Home Rule
The Irish Home Rule Movement of the late 19th c. aimed at neither the repeal of the Union nor Irish Independence, but the re-establishment of a Parliament in Dublin and some degree of self-government within Great Britain; Led by Charles Stewart Parnell, a Protestant landlord; The liberal British government of prime minister William Gladstone sought to conciliate the Irish with reforms--but the reforms failed to pacify Ireland; Gladstone's Home Rule Bill of 1886 to 1) remove Irish MPs from Parliament in Westminster; and 2) create a subordinate Parliament in Dublin; was defeated by 30 votes in the Commons; A second Home Rule Bill passed the Commons in 1893; but was thrown out of the Lords The Easter Rising of 1916 effectively destroyed the Home Rule Movement
Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht occurred after the War of the Spanish Succession, which was largely the battle over the claim to the Spanish throne after the death of the last Habsburg King of Spain, Charles II and the death of the deposed King of England, James II. France wanted James Francis Edward Stuart to claim his right to the English throne and to place Louis XIV's relative Philip V on the Spanish throne to expand the Bourbon and Stuart dynastic power. The Peace of Utrecht was composed by the Tories and required that France deny James Francis Edward Stuart's right to the English throne and pledge that Philip V renounce his right to the French throne so that the French and Spanish thrones would never be combined. It also required France to recognize the next Protestant in the line of Stuart succession as the rightful heir the English throne upon Queen Anne's death. This happened to be George I of Hanover. The Peace of Utrecht is significant because the Whigs and eventually George I ultimately viewed it as a betrayal. The Tories realized the danger of George I coming to power and thus turned to Jacobitism.
James Francis Edward Stuart
The Pretender
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were a series of acts by Parliament restricting the American colonies through tariffs and taxation prior to the War of American Independence. The Revenue Act was a tax on imported luxury items such as silk in order to pay the governors in the colonies (which were appointed by the crown). The writ of assistance made it legal for searches of the colonists private property without any sort of prior legal notice or justification. The Tea Act was a tax on imported British tea to the colonies, which only helped GB and forced the colonist to pay more. Lastly, Vice of Admiralty Courts were established to enforce all of these taxes. The significance is that is gave rise to the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and eventually the desire for independence of the colonies from GB.
The Troubles
The Troubles: Northern Ireland in 1960-70s Inspired by US civil rights movement, Irish civil rights movement emerges in late 1960s Northern Ireland; Protestant mobs begin attacking civil rights protesters in 1969; beginning The Troubles; Founding of the Provisional IRA, an anti-union terrorist organization in Northern Ireland; Bloody Sunday: 30 Jan 1972: British troops fire on protesters in Derry, killing 14; Suspension of the Stormant (Home Rule) Parliament; Commencement of three-sided conflict: 1) British troops and Ulster Police; 2) Protestant paramilitary groups; and 3) Provisional IRA; A decade of bloodshed kills over 2000 people
"Responsible Self-Government"
The government of the European settler colonies in the nineteenth century was characterized by gradual devolution of power to the colonists themselves; creation of parliamentary systems in the colonies, with a bicameral legislature and a Crown-appointed governor wielding executive power.
Absolutism
total power by the crown. In an absolutist reign there is very little Parliamentary power. Absolutism is often related with a standing army and an agrarian economy. France during the reign of Louis XIV practiced absolutism. Absolutism is significant because James II wished to have absolutist rule in England and ally with the absolutist superpower France during his reign prior to the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89.