英美概况英国部分

Chapter One

British

Section one :the country and its people

1.name and position :

name : The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (U.K)

position：To the west and off the European Continent, containing the Great Britain and the northern part of Ireland.

Territory proportion: approximately 240,000 square km.

Population : 62.262million

Three political parts: England, Wales and Scotland England (capital city: London):the biggest ,the most developed as well as the most populated country in the U.K (capital city: London)

Scotland (capital city: Edinburgh):

Wales :smallest part

Ireland :Henry VIII was the first king to bring Ireland under control; gain its

independence in 1927.

2.Geographic Features:

Northeast to the European Continent and east to the Atlantic, to its northeast is a channel called English Channel between the U.K and France.

Neighboring country that share border : Ireland only

Britain is an island country, more than1,000kilometres from south to north and 500kilometres form east to west.

High Land zone：in north and west

Low Land zone: in the south and east (including London).

3.English Tunnel

Finished in 1994,was build up by private companies from U.K and France.

4. Climate and Weather :

Climate : maritime climate .

Main character : abundant and evenly distributed rainfall. Autumn is the rainiest season

Influential factors: North Atlantic Drift(warm)

Southwesterly wind(warm and wet. winter)

Weather: changeable

5.inland water :

Longest river : Severn River

Most important and second longest river: Thames River

Lakes :in the Lake District

6.People and languages :

Main peoples: Celts and Anglo-Saxons

Languages :English is overwhelming, some people in speaks Geltic Language

7.Religion:

The majority of the British people believe Christianity.

Religious education and collective worship are required by British law.

8.national flag :

The Union Jack or Union Flag

Section two : the British Government 1.Political system：Constitutional Monarchy

Definition : it means the head of state is monarch with limited powers. The monarch reigns(统治), but does not rule（统制）

2.Government Component:

Central government :consists of Monarch, Parliament and Cabinet

Local governments

3.Structure of the British government:

The head ---- monarch

Legislature institution : Parliament(consists House of

Commons and House of Lords)

Executive Institution: Cabinet(consists of Prime

Minister and Ministers of Civil service)

Judicial Institution: court of appeal(supreme court)subordinate to House Of Lord

4.Definations:

The general idea of government :

Technically speaking, British government or refers to the Cabinet(nuclear).This kind of government is called Parliamentary government or Cabinet government.

The queen (Victoria ,Elizabeth….) ：

Reigns but does not rule

personifies the country,

the symbol of unity

Appoint the Prime Minister and other Ministers,

the bills need her approval before going into effect

The parliament :

Law making body ,

need the approval of the monarch

Consists of three parts: the monarch, the House Of Lord and the House of Common,

It don’t have the executive power.

The House Of Lord:

The upper house of the Parliament ,unelected, consist of clergy(神职人员) and members of peerage.

Debating place: the Palace of Westminster

Bestowed with judicial power.

The Lord Chancellor:

the presider of The House Of Lord as well as a member in Cabinet, he works in Department for Constitutional Affairs.

head of the judiciary of England and Wales,

serving as the President of the Supreme Court of England and Wales.

The house of common:

The centre of the parliamentary power

Main function:

to pass laws, bills and acts of Parliament

to scrutinize, criticize and restrain the actions of the government

to influence the future government policy

Definition :

democratically elected body

the source of the vast majority of government ministers

There is a elected speaker

bills normally originate in the House of Commons.

Only the House of Commons may originate bills concerning taxation or Supply

The cabinet :

responsible to Parliament for the administration of national affairs.

The Cabinet is the most powerful and it serves as the nucleus of the Government.

Debate place :Downing street.

No 10 Downing Street is a historic building that is also a place of work. It is a symbol of Government and the home to the Prime Minister and his family.

Establishment time：1856

supreme decision-making body

The Prime Minister :

monarch's principal advisor

appointed by monarch

No 10 Downing Street is a historic building that is also a place of work. It is a symbol of Government and the home to the Prime Minister and his family.

Local government :

The English government is a three-tiered government: central government, county government and district government. The central government enforces laws through local governments.

Section 3:British Laws and Politics Laws :judiciary &constitution

Judiciary :

In the structure of the U.K central government, the Court of Appeal, which is subordinate to the House of Lord, is in charge of the judiciary issues.

British judiciary consists of 2 branches-------civil law（citizen s’ duties and obligations） criminal law

(define and enforce obligations of a person)，

It’s not necessary to pick up jury in the course of the civil trail while criminal trails have to be held in open court for the criminal law assume the innocent of the accused until he was proved to be guilty by a smoking gun.(reasonable doubt) In the process of the criminal trail by jury. The judge pass the result issued by the jury.

Jury system(mostly used in criminal trial)

Definition :

In the United kingdom the court is open to the public and the jury is used during the trial.

12members,

random selection,

obligation, chosen by both side(the plaintiff and the defendant)

Unanimous verdict

Constitution :

No written constitution in U.K, it’s function is embodied by several separate laws

Four elements of the British legal ：

acts of the parliament/Statutory Law（国内成文法）,

common law(公民法),

convention(惯例、习惯法),

EU legislation（欧盟法）

Barrister -------inn court, bar examination

Politics :

Politic system :

a two-party political system.

▪ political parties:

▪ the Whig Party—Liberal Party

▪ the Tory Party—Conservative Party

majority seats in the Parliament means the power to form a government (government party, opposition parties )

Government policies are initiated by whips

There is no need to apply for membership in a party.

The conservative party ----right wing---old

Main support----middle and upper-middle class.

Advocation :

privatization of the state owned firms

free enterprise

advocate :

pragmatism

individualism.

Margaret Thatcher

The labor party------left wing/the left

Created by trade union

Mixture of the two parties

Doctrine of Socialism

Main support :

Working class

Advocation :

Establish a welfare state

Nationalized industry

Exercise control over the private industries to revive the primary industry

Liberal Democratic-----minority party

advocates policies based on freedom of the individual and supports the adoption of Propositional Representation at elections(代议制选举)

Election:

Prime Ministers are elected from national

Constituency (选区)

Period： 5 years

Government :the party has the majority seats of the parliament.

Prime Minister :the leader of the majority party.

Section 4:national economy and major cities

1. General Survey :

first country to start industrial revolution; comprehensive industry system

mineral production：mainly exhausted, others are mainly oil and gas

economy model :

one of the most essential market economy in the world.

Industry :

 comprehensive industry system

 one of the seven major industrialized countries of the Western World

finance :

London is one of the financial centre of the world’s business

trade:

long coastline ,limited domestic market ,inadequate raw material ,trading nation, petroleum trade

As for Sino-British trade:

China: raw materials, sideline products

Britain: technical equipment

Britain is China's 4th biggest European trade partner

economic influence :

one of the seven major industrialized countries of the Western World, the member of the G8 summit

Framework of economy :

Economy system : capitalism ,including Public Sector and Private Sector.

GDP: The world’s sixth largest economy

Currency: sterling

Mining :

Oil(.self sufficient .North sea,1975) ,Gas, and Coal (be kept for future use)

Manufacturing Industry:

Iron and steel industry is the largest manufacturing industry.

A large auto-vehicle industry------Aston Martin, Land Rover, Dodge, and Rolls Royce.

Agriculture :

favorable condition : mild climate ,Highly mechanized ,

Important department :

Dairy farming and fishing

animal husbandry

Poultry ['pəʊltrɪ] meat

Energy production

Major Energy Companies: Shell, British Petroleum British Gas (BG)

Transportation

Well-known merchant marine

One of the busiest railways in the world

[pɪ'trəʊlɪəm] (BP),

Developed highways and airlines (the major airline are mainly operated by the British airways(state-owned)

Communication (all state-owned)

One of the largest and most developed in the world

“999”for police, fireman and ambulance

Largest telecommunication provider-----BT(British Tele communication)

Finance

Central bank of the UK：

controls the currency and acts

maintain the integrity and value of the currency

Economy structures

Services industries, especially, business and financial services—the strongest performing sector in the UK economy with London being the most developed area in the whole country.

major cities

London

• 南岸，伦敦眼摩天轮

• 杜莎夫人蜡像馆／天文馆（Madame Tussaud's/Planetarium）

• 伦敦塔

• 伦敦地牢

• 敞篷巴士伦敦观光游（The Original London Tour）

• 议会大厦（Houses of Parliament）夏季对外开放

• 西区和威斯敏斯特大教堂（Westminster Abbey）观光

• 达利的世界展览馆（Dali Universe）

• 汉普顿宫（Hampton Court Palace）

• 肯辛顿宫（Kensington Palace）

Belfast

Manchester

Cardiff Edinburg

Birmingham

Chapter two

Section 5 :Origin of the English Nation The native Celt :

Celt are considered to be the natives of Great Britain and the ancestors of the Scots, Irish and Welsh people

Originate from：Eastern and central Europe

Roman Conquest：

Brought about Christianity.

Occupied England until 410 A.D

Later on, the Jutes and Angles landed, the Angles(the winner) gave the name to England and English people..

Alfred the Great.

First (Anglo-Saxon )king of (all) England

“The father of the British navy.” The battle of Hastings Harold Godwinson

Brave and respectful, but not the direct heir of the throne. But he managed to crown himself the king by wining the support of the Witan

William the Conqueror

Edward’s cousin

Set out from Normandy to English south coast

Battlefield :Build up a fort and camped in Hasting, southeastern England.

Result : William won, battle abbey mourn for the dead

Be crowned in Westminster on Christmas day of 1066,becoming the first Anglo-Norman king of England.

Influence :

Sped up the development of feudalism in Britain, after the war, the feudalism system was established.

Build up the tower of London

Feudal aristocracy was established.

Open up a bi-lingual period in English history

Last invasion of England initiated by foreigners

Feudalism system:

Established by William the great.

The throne provides the land and castles

The monarch will need the support from the barons Definition :feudal system - giving land in return for service.

Section 6: the decline of feudalism in England

Henry II and His Reform :

William consolidated the feudalism and he took all kinds of measures to strengthen the king’s power, which intensify the conflicts between the monarch

and his barons

Henry the 2nd came into power and become the first king of Plantagenet (金雀花)dynasty.

Measures：

force the foreign mercenaries to leave the England,

demolish the illegal castles built by the barons,

abolish the land tax based on hide

create the circuit courts and the jury system

the king’s court have the right to try the guilty clerk

Effect:

Strengthen the feudal order

Bring a period of security and prosperity

The course of the form was interrupted and left unfinished.

The Great Charter

When the king John ruled the England, the barons force the king to sign and swear to observe the Great Charter.

The Great Charter ,or the Magna Charter is very critical in English history and it’s called the corner stone of English history. The content :

The king must observe the rights of his vessels.

No tax should be imposed without the consent of the Great Council.

No free man will be imprisoned or banished without being convicted by a jury

The merchants are allowed to move about freely.

Birth of the Parliament:

Simon de Montfort(西蒙德孟福尔)brings changes to the organization of the Great Council.

2citizens from a flourishing town,2 knights from each county can join the Great Council.

Changed the name into Parliament.

In the early years, Parliament met only by the king’s invitation. It’s role was to offer some advice.

Significance :

The Parliament marked the decline of feudalism and the rise of the Bourgeoisie.

The hundred year’s war

Reason:

The conflict between these two countries over foreign markets and territory led to the Hundred Years' War.

Definition :

A series armed international conflicts over a 116-year period between the England and France.

Joan of arc

The effect:

England lost its territory on the continent.

The ruling Norman began to regard England as their home

English replaced French and became the official language again.

Gunpowder was used in the wars,

Prepare the soil for the growth of the middle class

Sped up the decline of the feudalism.

Salutary to commercial development.

The bourgeoisie became more powerful

The Plague

Epidemic disease spread by rat fleas

Start from Italy, then spread to France, German and England without warning and cure.

Believed to be originated in Asia.

Effect:

Caused a large number of population loss

Brought about economic disruption and bad influence on the development of the culture.(universities closed …)

give occasion to the peasants uprising.

The Peasants Uprising

Causes:

The natural disasters and social problems

Due to the lack of labor, the peasants are demanding better living condition and higher wages

The first labor law, the Statute of Laborers, prohibited laborers from asking for more wages.

Time and place:

In Essex and Kent ,1381,and was led by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw

The king used a scam and suppressed the uprising, ultimately, the uprising was failed

Effect :

The poll tax was abolished

The serf system was brought to an end in England afterwards.

The Wars of the Roses

Definition :

A series of civil wars fought between the house of Lancaster(red rose) and the house of York（white rose）.

Major Causes:

The dispute on the succession of the crown

The unpopular domination reign of Henry the 6th.

Consequence :

Both sides at war are the mounted knights and their entourages

Give birth to the strong and centralized Tudor dynasty

Influence :

Sped up the decline of the feudalism in England.

Section 8:The English Civil War/Revolution

Briefing :

A series of armed conflicts and political games between Parliamentarians and Royalist.

Back Ground:

The Wars of Roses weaken the feudal nobles,

The peasants ,as a result of the peasant uprising and the Enclosure ,the free labors composed a new class------the proletariat (the peasants no longer have their lands)

England further develop its foreign trade and expansion ,aiming to achieve its “primitive accumulation of capital”

Meanwhile，the bourgeois ideology and morality is forming up.

During the Elizabeth’s reign the relation between monarch and bourgeoisie was strained, the latter required the freedom of speech

James the first:

Preach the Divine Right of Kings

Died because of disease.

Charles the first:

The son of James the first.

Advocate the Divine right of kings(君权神授)

Provoked the conflicts between the Catholicism and Puritanism(The Bishops’ War----

enforce

Anglican

reforms

onto

Scottish

church

and

was

rejected,-----war ,long parliament which sowed the seeds for the civil war).

Initiated the British Civil (rose his standard) War between Parliamentarian and Royalist.

The First British War:

Cause :

The appearance of the Long Term Parliament.

The tension between the king and Parliament

Charles decided to arrest 5members of Parliament.

Charles initiated the war by rising his standard in Nottingham .

Result :

Charles was failed and was captured

The Second Civil War:

Process:

Although captured ,the king Charles the first ultimately escaped and negotiated new agreement with Scots.

The agreement led to the “second civil war”. but eventually, the Royalists were defeated by Parliamentarians.

Other revolts were put down by Oliver Cromwell.

The army marched on the parliament and conducted the “Pride’s Purge” Finally, the king was charged with high treason ,being “tyrant, traitor, murderer and public enemy” and executed.

The third Civil war:

Rebellion:

Ireland(treaty) and Scotland agreed to support Charles the second.

Process:

Cromwell was unable to stop Charles the second, he crowned a new king. Afterwards, Charles the 2nd fled to France, ended up the war.

Significance:

Overthrew feudal system in England.

Pave the way for the development of capitalist production.

Regarded as the beginning of the modern world history.

Oliver Cromwell:

Established the commonwealth of England

Destroyed the feudal system.

Became the Lord Protector

The restoration :

Anarchy

Incompetent leader Richard

Factions

General George Monck marched south with his army from Scotland.

Charles the 2nd was crowned the king of England, which was known as English Restoration.

After the restoration, the parliament factions become two parties(later becoming the Tory and Whig)

The Glorious Revolution:

James the 2nd intended to restore the Roman Catholicism in England and conduct religious persecutions

Tories and some of the Whigs decide to replace James the 2nd with his daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange(奥兰治亲王威廉)---both were protestants

Finally ,James the second abdicated

Mary II and William III jointly succeeded to the throne of England

Significance:

Regarded as the real beginning of constitutional monarchy ,which means

the parliament become the source of supreme power instead of the king

Parliament pass the “Act of Union” and the name of Great Britain was officially adopted and came into use.

Section 9:The Industrial Revolution

Definition : the invention and appliance of various machines and British urbanization.

Condition :

The accomplished “primitive accumulation of capital” through plunder and expansion.

The enclosure movement provide free labor.

The church was deprived of their land and privilege

The notorious triangular trade.

Favorable geographical position for trade

Huge merchant marine.

Pragmatism and mercantilism

Protestant “work ethic” and laissez-faire(放任)

Peoples’ adventure spirit

Process:

The Industrial Revolution first started in textile industry.

Iconic inventions:

Flying shuttle,

carding machine（梳棉机） ,

spinning jenny,

water frame

the steam engine. Watt steam engine was first used to pump water from coal mine.

First steam locomotive.(marked the new stage of Industrial Revolution).

Achievements of IR:

Thousands of miles of canals

A complete railway system.

Steam boats and the largest commercial fleet made Great Britain a strong sea power.

Social and Political effect:

1.Britain became the “workshop of the world”.

2.The Britain ‘s social structure was simplified:

The middle class and proletariat emerged,

The noble class could no longer compete with the middle class.

The conflicts between proletariat and capitalism became the biggest social problem in Britain.

The small farmers disappeared

3.The centre of economy shifted to the central area and northern England.

Big cities sprang up.

Adam Smith：

An evolutionary approach to guide the economy.

Advocate the “invisible hand” and laissez-fair policy.

The Chartist Movements:

A radical campaign for parliament reform of the inequities.

Effects :

failed because of its weak and divided leadership, it did not have a political party to be a leader. started the history of the workers’ struggle for liberation.

Queen Victoria（1819-1901） :

Presiding the Industrial revolution and the expansion of the British Empire overseas.

Value of the times: (emphasized) prudish gentility and repression.

Section 10:The Rise and Fall of the British Empire.（the empire on which the sun never sets）

Briefing :

During the long 18 century, British rose to a dominant position in the world and became the first country to start Industrial Revolution.

The mighty middle class provided a strong platform for settlement and commerce.

Growth of the overseas empire:

Prerequisite :

Pioneering marine policy of king Henry the 7th .

Establishment of the modern merchant marine system.

Mercantile institution(重商主义体系)

Henry the 8th and the rise of the Royal Navy:

King Henry the 8th founded the modern English navy.

The Elizabeth era

Sir Francis Drake(弗朗西斯-德雷克)Circumnavigated the Globe（环游地球，England grew the interest outside the Europe.

Established First colony in Newfoundland

Was seen as the formation of the British Empire

England extend its influence overseas and consolidate its political development at home.

Expend the empire by wars and colonization:

First overseas colony Newfoundland.

Successively establish colonies in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Free trade and“informal empire”

The “salutary neglects” provoke the American Independence war. The period of first British Empire was over.

British Empire in Asia

British East India company occupied nearly the whole of India.

Later on Ceylon(锡兰，今斯里兰卡)and Burma (缅甸) was conquered .

Initiated Opium war against China and prevailed .

Break down of the Pax Britannica(英国强权下的盛世)

The deterioration in the 19th century:

Competition from other countries such as Germany and

United States.

The loss of the foreign market.

Britain and the New Imperialism:

New imperialism ：the European colonial expansion between 1870s and the outbreak of the first world war.

Pursuit :“empire for empire’s sake” desire for territory

(appearance of the racial superiority)

Later on Britain conduct Home rule in its white settler colonies

The impact of first world war:

Millions of casualties and heavy economy strain (liquidated assets).

(Allied power)The heavy cost of war destroy it’s capacity to maintain its vast empire.

Its international standing was declining and replaced by the U.S

Declining foreign trade.

Decolonization:

Reasons:

The rising anti-colonial nationalism movements challenge the power of the empire.

The end of the empire started with the outbreak of the World War Two and India independence movements(leader---mahatma Gandhi)

The end of the British Empire:

Reason: Due to the impact of the world war two and Economic crisis in1947,later on, Britain abjured its attempt to be a first-rank power.