Anglický jazyk - maturitní téma c.8
* MATURITNÍ TÉMA č.8
The English-speaking countries
This term is used for the countries where the majority of the population speaks English as their mother tongue. They are: Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Republic of Ireland and their dependent territories.
Beside these there are countries where English is spoken as a secondary language (e.g. India, Pakistan, lot of south Asian and Pacific countries, the Republic of South Africa etc.).
Important events in British history, political system
Important events in history
· The Pre-Celtic period (about 4 000 - 1 000 BC)
We know only little about people inhabiting the British Isles in pre-historic period - it could be Iberian tribes. They worshipped 1 many gods, believed in immortal and human sacrifices 2 and their priests were called druids. There have been preserved some monuments, such as Stonehenge or Salisbury which were centre of pre-Celtic civilisation in the Britain.
· The Celtic Period (800 BC - AD 43)
The first Celtic tribes come to the British Isles in about 800 - 700 BC. Two centuries later they were followed by ancient Britons after who the country was called Britain. The most important survival of the Celtic tribes is the existence of three live languages: Welsh, and Irish and Scottish Gaelic. 3
· Roman England (AD 43 - 407)
The first Roman invasion was led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC but England was conquered by Romans in AD 43 like colony Britannica. The Roman occupation lasted nearly 400 years but only few people adopt the Latin and only the English upper tribes (nobility) became romanised. The most important monument from this period is the Hadrian’s Wall as a prevent protection against the invasion of the Celtic tribes from the north. With Romans also Christianity came to England.
· The Anglo-Saxon period (middle of 5th century - 1066)
In the middle of the 5th century three Germanic tribes - the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes - invaded from the Continent conquered the Celts and pressed up them to Wales and Scotland. England under the rule of the Anglo-Saxons was divided into several kingdoms. One of the first best-known King of England was Alfred the Great († 901), who stopped the Scandinavian invasion to England and made a peace with the Danes. But after his death England became part of the Danish Empire.
· The period of feudalism (1066 - 15th century)
William Duke of Normandy invaded England and defended the Saxon king Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was proclaimed himself as the King of England and became known as William the Conqueror. The Norman had a big influence for the development of Britain and the English language because they brought feudalism and the Norman language into this country - the modern English nation and language became rising 4 .
Richard, the Lion-Heart (1189-99) was warlike and anxious 5 to rescue the Holy Land from the Egyptian ruler, Saladin. He returned to England in 1194 to suppress baronial opposition. His brother John I lost almost all the English possessions in France and he was forced to sign the Magna Carta Libertatum in 1215. It limited the absolute power of king, and giving guarantee of rights and the rule of law to opposite noblemen. During this period English parliamentary system was developed.
There was The Hundred Year’s War between England and France (1338-1453) in this period because of Flanders in France. At the end French led by Joan d’Arc changed the situation and England definitely lost its power in France.
The winner of the Wars of Roses (1455-85) between the House of York (white rose) and the House of Lancaster (red rose) was Henry Tudor (as king Henry VII) who joined two houses of Roses and founded a new dynasty.
· The Tudor Period (1485 - 1603)
In this period England became to be a world leader in trade and sea power. It was especially because of the great geographical discoveries and expansion. Henry VIII, who is well-known for his six wives, but also for his ambition and brutality, carried out 6 the Reformation in 1534. He broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and founded the Church of England (Anglican Church), of witch he proclaimed himself the head. His daughter Queen Elizabeth I, after who the second half of the 16th century is called ‘the Elizabethan Age’, defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 and her pirate Sir Francis Drake helped that Britain became the leading power on the sea.
· The Stuarts and the English Revolution (1603 - 1688)
Elizabeth I died without an heir 7 and to the English throne access the new dynasty - the Stuarts - represented by James, King of Scotland (James I as the King of England). The Stuarts finished the long alliance between monarchy and the bourgeoisie, which dominated Parliament. The conflict came to the top under Charles I and in 1640 the bloody Civil war broke out. There were two groups - The Royalists (King’s party) and the Puritans, which were split into two wings: The Presbyterians (ready to compromise with the King) and the Independents (want to fight to the end) which leader was Oliver Cromwell. He reorganised the army and called it ‘the New Model Army’ (because it was all democratised). This Army forced the King to surrender 8. In 1649 Charles I was sentenced to death and executed.
After the execution the House of Lords were abolished 9 and England was declared as the republic - The Commonwealth, where O.Cromwell had title ‘Lord Protector’. In 1660, after Cromwell’s death, there was restore the monarchy by Charles II. In Parliament there was founded two new political parties - the Tories (aristocracy) and the Whigs (bourgeoisie).
In 1668 James II attempted to restore 10 Catholicism and absolute monarchy so parliament leaders decided to depose him 11 and offer the crown to William of Orange (as William III) and his wife Mary (sister of Charles II, as Mary II). The English called this events ‘The Glorious Revolution’ (revolution without any bloodshed 12 ) and its definitely confirmed 13 the sovereign of the Parliament.
· Colonial expansion and industrial revolution (1688-1850)
In the Seven Years War (1756-63) Britain defeated France and Spain and received Canada, Florida, Gibraltar, Minorca and another settlements in Mediterranean and Africa.
Colonial expansion continued very quickly but in 1776 the British colonial Empire suffered a great loss 14 : the 13 North American colonies proclaimed their independence and founded the USA.
Also the situation in Ireland - after many centuries of fighting between England and Irish - was very bad in 18th century and there were several serious rebellions against British rule.
Britain was in the Napoleonic Wars with France between 1803-15. In October 1805 the British fleet under Admiral Nelson celebrated the great victory because they defeated the Spanish and French fleets near the Cape Trafalgar.
At the start of the 19th century England definitely took the leader in European commerce and trade and prepared the way to the Industrial Revolution. There were many innovations in Britain - in 1769 steam engine by James Watt, steam locomotive by George Stephenson in 1814 etc.
· The Victorian Era (2nd half of the 19th century)
This period is called after Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) and was full of great changes and reforms (e. g. Darwinism, Marxism). Britain became the absolutely strongest world power and between 1840-60 there were the golden period of the manufactures. There were formed successors of Tory and Whigs, The Conservative Party and The Liberal Party. India, Australia, New Zealand and many Africans and Asiatics areas were joined to the Empire.
· 20th Century
The First World War (1914-18) between the Central Powers and Alliance had caused human casualties 15 on all fronts - from 9 million died over 1 million were British - but big economic looses too.
The British 1930s were the policy of appeasement with Hitler. In 1938 British PM Neville Chamberlain with other European representatives signed a pact with Hitler in Munich allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland in CR and later the rest of Bohemia and Moravia.
The biggest British personality during the Second World War was the British PM sir
Winston Spencer Churchill († 1965) under who Britain fought for survival. The air battle - Battle of Britain in 1940 - gone down into history (many of British pilots were from Czechoslovakia and become the British national heroes). In the Second World War about 390 000 British people lost their lives.
In the Post-World-War period - Cold War - Great Britain was one of the founding members of OSN and NATO in the end of 1940s.
During the 1960s Britain had to recognise the independence of the majority of its colonies.
Between 1979-92 there was the first women Prime Minister - ‘iron lady’ - Lady Margaret Thacher who fought against Argentina in 1982 because of Falklands Islands.
In the spring 1997 The Labour Party won the elections and Tony Blair became the British PM.
At the end of August 1997 Great Britain and whole the world suffered the big disaster 16 when Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, who was one of the most favourite and most famous personality in the world, died after the car crash.
There is also about 47 per cent of the British now, who are suppose that the monarchy is overlived and who are for the republic.
The Formation of the United Kingdom
Wales was united with England in 1536 under king Henry VIII. Scotland was united in 1603, but it existed with separate parliament till 1707. Ireland was conquered by Henry II in 1171 but had itself parliament until 1800. In 1801 was established the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 Ireland was partitioned into two parts - free Irish Republic and Northern Ireland - and the name of kingdom was changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (short form is the United Kingdom, U.K.).
The big problem in Northern Ireland is a conflict between Protestants (ruling class in Ulster) and Catholics (minority in Ulster but majority in the Irish Republic). This conflict begun in 17th century, when the English and Scottish Protestants confiscated Irish lands and became the ruling class. On the other side the Irish never accepted the reformation. This conflict made big political and social unrest mainly in past but it is still going on.
Political system
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy based on unwritten traditions and common law. The official head of State is the monarch (from February 1952 Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the Second) but she is only a formal head of State, Nation and Commonwealth and her powers are limited by the constitution. The Queen is also the temporal head 17 of the Church of England (the Anglican Church). The Queen’s residence is Buckingham Palace in London.
The supreme legislative authority in the U.K. is the British Parliament, which is very old institution (developed in 13th century). It is composed of the House of Lords (the Upper House; it has over 1 000 hereditary peers 18 , but only 250 active), the House of Commons (the Lower House; it has 650 elected Members of Parliament - MPs) and the Sovereign 19 („the Queen in Parliament“ - makes formally royal assent 20 , but has no real power). The two Houses share the same building, the Palace of Westminster in London. The most important political parties are The Labour Party (reformed socialist party) and The Conservative Party (capitalist class).
The executive power is exercised 21 by the Cabinet (has usually 20 members) formed by the party which has the majority in the Parliament (from 1997 it is The Labour Party’s Cabinet) and its head is the Prime Minister (from 1997 the Labours leader Tony Blair).
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is divided into five parts: England (39 counties, 8 metropolitan counties + Great London), Wales (8 counties; Cardiff), Scotland (9 regions and 3 island districts; Edinburgh) and Northern Ireland (26 districts, Belfast).
British national flag - the ‘Union Jack’ - symbolises the union of England, Scotland, Welsh and Ireland; each part of GB has its own flag. The national anthem is „God Save The Queen!“
London
London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom. It lies on the river Thames and covers an area of 1 580 sq kilometres. There live about 12 million in London (including conurbation). London consists of the City of London and 32 boroughs [1] and it is the seat of the Monarch, the Parliament and the Government. There are many important historical buildings, museums, galleries, exchanges etc. so tourism is of great importance. It means London is one of the most important financial, commercial and cultural centres in the world as well as port.
The Celts settled the territory of nowadays London as early as 800 B.C. but probably the site had been inhabited in the Stone Age too. The place had been occupied by the Romans from about 55 B.C. and about 43 A.D. they established Londonium (‘Llyndum’ in Celtic - it means ‘a walled place situated high’).
When the Romans left the island in the fifth century, it remained the capital of the Britons. It kept its importance during the Anglo-Saxon time and later during the reign of the Danish kings in the 10th and 11th centuries.
During the 12th century under a reign [2] of Norman kings (William the Conqueror was first in 1066) the royal court moved from Winchester to London for ever.
The 17th century brought much suffering to London. In 1665 more than 75 000 people died from a plague epidemic [3] and a year later, in 1666 the Great Fire of London destroyed four fifths of the city! During the following decades hectic building activity re-built the whole town. Sir Christopher Wren was appointed [4] as the main architect and he constructed many important buildings.
Until the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) London acquired its present appearance and importance.
German bombing during World War II caused serious damages especially in the City, though this cannot be noticed nowadays.
A great number of popular tourist attraction can be found in London’s central and northern parts. The City of London is the oldest part of London and has been self-governing enclave from the 12th century. This part of London is the largest commercial and financial centre of Europe.
The top tourist attraction in London is the Tower of London. William the Conqueror began to built this massive fortress - the White Tower - in 1066. The Tower served till 16th century as a royal home, a prison a royal mint and observatory [5]. Now it is a museum where tourist go to see an expositions of weapons, the Crown Jewels, the prison where many famous persons were kept (e.g. Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy [6]). There is also the execution block where Henry VIII’s wives, Ann Boleyn and Catherine Howard were beheaded [7]. The Tower is guarded by the Yeomen Warders (incorrectly called ‘Beefeaters’) who still wear the uniform of Turod times. Six ravens are kept in the Tower to protect the whole Kingdom - the old legend says that the Kingdom will cease to exist [8] when the ravens leave the Tower. There is still performed [9] the 700 years old ceremony when the main gate is located every night.
Next to the Tower stands Tower Bridge (built in 1894), which is the most famous bridge in London. It rises in the middle to allow ships to pass up the river and the rising takes 90 seconds.
The largest and the best-known church of the city is St. Paul’s Cathedral, built by Christopher Wren in 1711 (after 35 years). It stands on the site of the previous cathedral which was damaged by the Great Fire in 1666. St.Paul’s Cathedral is built in Baroque style, the main nave is 170 meters long and the central dome rises 111 meters high - it is the second largest church in the world (after St.Peter’s Cathedral in Rome). St.Paul’s cathedral has seen many important occasions - Sir W.Churchill’s funeral service in 1965 or the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981. There are buried Admiral Nelson and Sir Ch.Wren himself.
Great Britain is the oldest parliament democracy in the world. The Houses of Parliament are the political centre of the Untied Kingdom. They were re-built in Neo-Gothic style in 1840 but the oldest part of this buildings, Westminster Hall dating back from 1097. The House of Lords is a gothic hall decorated in red, with the throne of the Sovereign and the House of Commons consist of parallel rows of green lather benches ...
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