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United Kingdom and Ireland: Sample history articles
Chartism
Radical British democratic movement, mainly of the working classes, which flourished around 1838 to 1848. It derived its name from the People's Charter, a six-point programme comprising universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, secret ballot, annual parliaments, and abolition of the property qualification for, and payment of, members of Parliament.
The movement grew out of the London Working Men's Association, formed in 1836 by William Lovett. Two petitions were presented to Parliament (in 1839 and 1842), and were rejected. Under the leadership of the Irish parliamentarian Fergus O'Connor, Chartism became a powerful expression of working class frustration, and a third petition, also rejected, was presented in 1848. The long-term failure of the movement was probably due to greater prosperity among the populace as a whole, lack of organization, and rivalry among the leadership of the movement.
Background to the movement
Chartism grew out of anger at the limited extension of the franchise offered by the 1832 Reform Act, popular hostility to the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, and the failure of the Luddites and the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union (GNCTU), which led many working-class activists to abandon economic action (trade unionism) and espouse political action. Behind it lay working-class anger at the broader developments in society – the poor working and living conditions of the Industrial Revolution, class differences, and grinding poverty.
Activity
The petition to Parliament of July 1839 was signed by 1.28 million people, the petition of May 1842 by more than 3 million. Both were rejected and a division grew up in the movement between the moderates, led by radicals such as Francis Place, Thomas Attwood, and William Lovett, who believed in using only peaceful 'moral force' (also called 'New Move Chartism'), and those who were willing to use the threat of physical force as a bargaining tool – most without seriously contemplating its use – led by activists such as Fergus O'Connor. After the rejection of the 1839 petition, there was a failed Chartist uprising in Newport, South Wales. After the 1842 failure, there were strikes and riots in Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire, and the Midlands; and in the so-called Plug Plots, Lancashire Chartists removed the plugs from the boilers of factory steam engines.
Decline of the movement
For many workers, Chartism was only one movement among many movements demanding their support, including the cooperative movement and the Anti-Corn Law League. An increase in prosperity also allowed the development of the New Model unions. Most of all, the government used troops and police to defeat the movement: 'Fools – we have the physical force, not they, ' commented the leader of the troops sent to put down Chartist rioters. Most workers were not prepared to fight to the death for the petitions, and there was little bloodshed during the Chartist agitation. In the Newport rising, a number of Chartists were killed, and the three leaders were transported. About 60 Chartists were transported to Australia after an armed rising in 1842.
The march and mass demonstration planned in support of the third Chartist petition caused the government great alarm, and they threatened to use the military against any demonstration. Faced with military action, Fergus O'Connor instead took the petition to Parliament by taxi. When it was delivered, it was found to contain 2 million signatures, not 5 million as claimed, and – since
the petition had been collected by largely illiterate people – included such bogus signatures as 'the Duke of Wellington' and 'Queen Victoria'. The charter was rejected, and the movement was humiliated, and collapsed.
Many free emigrants to Australia in this period also supported Chartism, the principles of which appeared in associations such as the Ballarat Reform League (1854) and influenced the leaders of the Eureka Stockade. In Britain, many of the Chartists' demands were later introduced gradually.
Forty-Five, the
Jacobite rebellion of 1745, led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart. With his army of Highlanders 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' occupied Edinburgh and advanced into England as far as Derby, but then turned back. The rising was crushed by the Duke of Cumberland at Culloden in 1746.
Events
In 1740 the War of the Austrian Succession broke out between Austria (supported by England and Holland) and Prussia (supported by France and Spain). To remove English support for Austria, in 1744 France planned an invasion of 15,000 men to put the Stuarts back on the throne of England. The attack was repulsed by an English fleet in March 1744 and the plan was dropped. Nevertheless, English troops were defeated at Fontenoy (1745), so the time seemed ideal to mount a rebellion. Many Jacobites in England and Scotland hated the Hanoverians, particularly in the Highlands of Scotland, where Charles could rely on the support of the lairds and their loyal clansmen.
Charles landed at Moidart in Scotland with just seven supporters. When he declared his desire 'to reclaim my rights or perish', he gained enthusiastic support. He raised his standard at Glenfinnan on 19 August 1745 and on 21 September 1745 his army met General Cope at the Battle of Prestonpans. The fighting lasted just four minutes – the Highlanders charged, and Cope's men turned and ran away.
By the end of September, Charles had 5,000 men. He marched south, capturing Edinburgh, Carlisle and Manchester. At Derby, however, on 6 December 1745, the Scottish chiefs forced Charles to turn back. England had prospered under the Hanoverians so that only 200 men had joined Charles in England, and two large English armies were closing in. Charles retreated to Scotland, chased by a English army of 18,000 led by William, Duke of Cumberland. By April 1746 his army numbered only 2,000. Charles decided to fight, leading to the Battle of Culloden on 16 April 1746. An attempt to mount a surprise night attack was bungled, and merely exhausted the Scottish troops. The battle opened with artillery fire which destroyed the Scottish lines, and then a Scottish charge was halted by the disciplined fire of Cumberland's troops. Cumberland lost 300 men dead, the Scots at least 1,000. Charles took no part in the battle, and many Scots condemned him as 'the Italian coward'.
After the battle, Cumberland's men committed many atrocities, and the clans were ruthlessly suppressed, so that Cumberland earned the nickname 'Butcher Cumberland'. Between April and September Charles was on the run in the Highlands but, despite a reward of £30,000, no Scot betrayed him to the English. In the end, in a much-celebrated episode, Flora Macdonald helped him escape, dressed as a woman, 'over the sea to Skye', from where he escaped to France.
general strike
Refusal to work by employees in several key industries, with the intention of paralysing the economic life of a country. In British history, the General Strike was a nationwide strike called by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on 3 May 1926 in support of striking miners. Elsewhere, the general strike was used as a political weapon by anarchists and others, especially in Spain and Italy.
The immediate cause of the 1926 general strike was the report of a royal commission on the coal-mining industry (Samuel Report (1926)) which, among other things, recommended a cut in wages. The mine-owners wanted longer hours as well as lower wages. The miners' union, under the leadership of A J Cook, resisted with the slogan 'Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day'. A coal strike started in early May 1926 and the miners asked the TUC to bring all major industries out on strike in support of the action; eventually it included more than 2 million workers. The Conservative government under Stanley Baldwin used troops, volunteers, and special constables to maintain food supplies and essential services, and had a monopoly on the information services, including BBC radio. After nine days the TUC ended the general strike, leaving the miners – who felt betrayed by the TUC – to remain on strike, unsuccessfully, until November 1926. The Trades Disputes Act of 1927 made general strikes illegal.
Gunpowder Plot
In British history, the Catholic conspiracy to blow up James I and his parliament on 5 November 1605. It was discovered through an anonymous letter. Guy Fawkes was found in the cellar beneath the Palace of Westminster, ready to fire a store of explosives. Several of the conspirators were killed as they fled, and Fawkes and seven others were captured and executed.
In 1604 the conspirators, led by Robert Catesby, took possession of a vault below the House of Lords where they stored barrels of gunpowder. Lord Monteagle, a Catholic peer, received the anonymous letter warning him not to attend Parliament on 5 November. A
search was made, and Guy Fawkes was discovered in the vault and arrested.
The event is commemorated annually in England on 5 November by fireworks and burning 'guys' (effigies) on bonfires. The searching of the vaults of Parliament before the opening of each new session, however, was not instituted until the Popish Plot of 1678.
Hampton Court Palace
Former royal residence near Richmond, England, 24 km/15 mi west of central London. Hampton Court is one of the greatest historical monuments in the UK, and contains some of the finest examples of Tudor architecture and of Christopher Wren's work. It was built in 1515 by Cardinal Wolsey and presented by him to Henry VIII who subsequently enlarged and improved it. In the 17th century William (III) and Mary (II) made it their main residence outside London, and the palace was further enlarged by Wren. Part of the building was extensively damaged by fire in 1986.
The last monarch to live at Hampton Court was George II, who died in 1760. During his life many of the Tudor apartments were pulled down and replaced. The palace was opened to the public, free of charge, by Queen Victoria in 1838 (though visitors now pay an admission fee). Hampton Court has a remarkable collection of pictures housed in the Hampton Court Gallery.
History
At the time of building, Wolsey was Archbishop of York, and, except for the king, the most powerful man in England. As he increased in wealth and favour, so he added to the range of buildings. His household numbered over 400 persons, and 280 rooms were always ready for guests. This lavish display of wealth (he also built two other country seats and occupied York House) was probably a factor in his downfall. Tradition asserts that Wolsey, hoping to placate Henry VIII, presented him with Hampton Court in 1525.
On Wolsey's fall Henry enlarged it. Five of his wives lived here, and Jane Seymour died here soon after giving birth to Edward VI. Mary I, Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I (who was also imprisoned here) used the palace; so did Oliver Cromwell and Charles II (who laid out the gardens more formally), but not James II. With the accession of William and Mary, Wren was asked to design a new palace. One of his plans involved the destruction of all the Tudor buildings except the Great Hall. Work began in 1689, but on Queen Mary's death complete rebuilding was abandoned. The interior was not completed until after William III's death.
Layout
The buildings that comprise Hampton Court are grouped round three principal courts on an east–west axis. The main approach now is from the west, by Hampton Green, which leads by an outer court and a bridge across the dried moat to Wolsey's magnificent Gatehouse. Beyond is the first and largest court, Base Court, the buildings of which date almost wholly from Wolsey's time. The east side leads by Anne Boleyn's Gateway to Clock Court. Above the east side of the gateway is a panel with Wolsey's arms and motto, and above them is the famous astronomical clock, made in 1540, its mechanism renewed in 1879.
On the north side is the Great Hall, built 1531–36 by Henry VIII in place of Wolsey's smaller hall, with a hammerbeam roof of unusual splendour. Grouped round the hall are the great Tudor kitchens and king's cellar. Wren's Ionic colonnade on the south
covers some of Wolsey's rooms and the entrance to the state rooms. Farther east, and lying more to the south than the two other courts, is Wren's Fountain Court, begun 1689, round which are grouped the principal state rooms, replacing most of Wolsey's buildings in this quarter. On the east front Wren achieved a grandiosity almost equalling Versailles. The state rooms are on the first floor, and are divided into two adjoining suites, the King's Side on the south facing the Privy Garden with the wrought-iron screen made up of ten gates designed by Jean Tijou, and the Queen's Side on the east facing the well-planned Fountain Garden, each with its own guardroom, presence and audience chambers, etc. The Royal Chapel, beyond the north side of Fountain Court, has 16th-century wooden fan-vaulting and a reredos carved by Grinling Gibbons. Also to the north of the palace are a Tudor tennis court, the Tiltyard Gardens, and the famous maze.
Grounds
There are very extensive grounds surrounding the palace and gardens. Wolsey originally enclosed about 800 ha/1976 acres. The north portion, Bushy Park, was laid out in its present form by William III; and the Lion Gates on the south of this park were designed by Wren as part of a grand north entrance to the palace. The south portion of Wolsey's land is the Home (or
Hampton Court) Park to the east, and it was here that William III suffered the fall from his horse that resulted in his death.
hill figure
In Britain, any of a number of figures, usually of animals, cut from the turf to reveal the underlying chalk. Their origins are variously attributed to Celts, Romans, Saxons, Druids, or Benedictine monks, although most are of modern rather than ancient construction. Examples include 17 White Horses, and giants such as the Cerne Abbas Giant, near Dorchester, Dorset, associated with a prehistoric fertility cult.
Nearly 50 hill figures are known in Britain, of which all but four are on the southern chalk downs of England. Some are landmarks or memorials; others have a religious or ritual purpose. It is possible that the current figures are on the site of, or reinforce, previous ones. There may have been large numbers of figures dotted on the landscape in the Iron Age, which were not maintained. The White Horse at Uffington, on the Berkshire Downs, used to be annually 'scoured' in a folk ceremony.
Other hill-figure designs include the Long Man of Wilmington on Windover Hill, East Sussex; crosses, such as the Bledlow and Whiteleaf crosses on the Chiltern Hills; a collection of military badges made at Fovant Down, Wiltshire (1916); an aeroplane, and a crown. A stag at Mormond Hill, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is cut into white quartz.
Cerne Abbas Giant
This male figure, 55 m/180 ft in height, is ithyphallic (with an erect penis) and holds a great club in his right hand, his left hand being outstretched as though in the act of grasping. He is represented in outline, marked by a 60 cm/2 ft trench. The figure lies in an area rich in prehistoric remains. Just beyond his head is a small four-sided earthwork, probably of the early Iron Age. The foundations of the Benedictine abbey of Cerne lie nearby.
A number of theories have been postulated concerning the origins of the giant. A traditional annual maypole celebration (involving an intricate weaving dance around a pole, possibly linked to ancient fertility rites) took place in the early Iron Age
earthwork until quite recent years, adding weight to the suggestion that the site may be identified with a fertility cult. One theory identifies the giant with Hercules, who is associated with a fertility cult, or Priapus worship, revived by the Roman emperor Commodus in the later 2nd century AD.
Long Man of Wilmington
The Long Man is 70.4 m/231 ft in height and holds a staff in each hand. The figure is outlined by trenches defined by white-painted bricks. Nothing is known of the giant's early history, but there has been a mass of mostly fanciful conjecture associating it with Celts, Romans, Saxons, and Druids as well as various mythological characters, astronomers, and the Benedictine monks of the priory of Wilmington, dissolved in 1414. One recent theory is that the figure may have served as a giant advertisement for the priory, where travellers would receive rest and refreshment.
Magna Carta
Latin 'great charter'
In English history, the charter granted by King John (I) Lackland in 1215, traditionally seen as guaranteeing human rights against the excessive use of royal power. As a reply to the king's demands for feudal dues and attacks on the privileges of the medieval church, Archbishop Stephen Langton proposed to the barons the drawing-up of a binding document in 1213. John was forced to accept this at Runnymede (now in Surrey) on 15 June 1215.
Magna Carta begins by reaffirming the rights of the medieval church. Certain clauses guard against infringements of feudal custom; for example, Clause 2 limits the relief payable by an heir to inherit his father's barony. Others are designed to check extortions or maladministration of justice by royal officials. The privileges of London and the cities were also guaranteed.
As feudalism declined, Magna Carta lost its significance, and under the Tudors was almost forgotten. During the 17th century it was rediscovered and reinterpreted by the Parliamentary party as a document of democracy, guaranteeing the rights of the people. Such rights were particularly seen to be enshrined in Clause 12, which appeared to forbid taxation without consent, and Clause 39, which states that 'no freeman shall be...imprisoned...except by lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land'. In this way, a direct link has been claimed from Magna Carta through to the UK Bill of Rights (1689), the US Declaration of Independence (1776), and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
Four original copies of Magna Carta exist, one in Salisbury Cathedral, one owned by Lincoln Cathedral and on display at Lincoln Castle, and two in the British Library, London.
Star Chamber
In English history, a civil and criminal court, named after the star-shaped ceiling decoration of the room in the Palace of Westminster, London, where its first meetings were held. Created in 1487 by Henry VII, the Star Chamber comprised some 20 or 30 judges. It was abolished in 1641 by the Long Parliament.
The Star Chamber became notorious under Charles I for judgements favourable to the king and to Archbishop Laud (for example, the branding on both cheeks of William Prynne in 1637 for seditious libel). Under the Thatcher government 1979–90 the term was revived for private ministerial meetings at which disputes between the Treasury and high-spending departments were resolved.
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