British history: 1500 - 1750


 

The Village

The manor

In the year 1500, nine out of ten English men, women, and children lived in the countryside ...

Gentry, yeomen, and labourers

The lords of the manor (often called the gentry) were the leading men of each district ...

Enclosures

In the sixteenth century, men could become very rich by keeping sheep and selling the wool ...

Towns and Industry

Expanding towns

Only one person in ten lived in a town in England in 1500 ...

The craftsmen

All towns had weekly markets, and villagers would come in on foot to sell butter, cheese, and eggs ...

Industry

The making of woollen cloth was the main industry in England in 1500 ...

Henry VIII

Henry VIII and the Church

King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) is famous for his six wives and his ambitions ...

King and Parliament

In 1509 England's new king was the eighteen-year-old Henry VIII ...

A son and heir

Henry VIII was clever, handsome, strong, and good at all sports ...

Henry VIII and his wives - PowerPoint-Präsentation

The English Reformation

A lot of men and women thought there were things wrong in the Catholic Church ...

The Reformation

Queen Elizabeth I

Henry VIII´s children

When Henry VIII died in 1547, his only son became King Edward VI ...

Catholics and Puritans

The first of Elizabeth's problems was religion ...

The Spanish Armada - PowerPoint-Präsentation

A woman fit to rule

Henry VIII thought that a woman would not be able to rule England ...

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was born in Greenwich Palace in London in 1533 ...

Elizabeth I - PowerPoint-Präsentation

The Civil War

The rise of Parliament

King Charles I (1600 – 1649) believed that the monarch was appointed by God to rule and had absolute power ...

Puritans and the Church of England

The Puritans were unhappy with the Church of England ...

Parliament and Taxes

James I and Charles I were always short of money ...

Cavaliers and Roundheads

Charles I left London and in August 1642, he raised his standard above Nottingham Castle ...

The Commonwealth

The English Republic

At the end of the Civil War, power was in the hands of the House of Commons ...

The Commonwealth and its enemies

The family of Charles I fled abroad after the Civil War ...

Puritan England

Before the Civil War, the Puritans complained about the Church of England ...

Restauration and Revolution

Plague and fire

Charles II was restored (allowed to return to England as king) in 1660 ...

Whigs and Tories

Charles II had spent twelve years abroad, while England was a republic ...

The Revolution of 1688

The Whigs were always against James II, because he was a Catholic ...

From Stuart to Hanover

The end of the Stuarts

James II was deposed (thrown out) mainly because he was a Catholic ...

The victory of the Lords

In 1689, Parliament passed acts which took power from the king (or queen) ...

Cabinet and Prime Minister

In the time of William and Mary, the king was still the head of the Government ...

Trade and Colonies

The East India Company

In 1500, England was a small country that did not count for much ...

England and the world

Colonies in America

The Spanish were the first to explore America ...

Sugar and slaves

Silk, cotton, and tobacco were important for the growth of English trade, but not as important as sugar ...

Daily Life

Food

In the time of the Tudors, most English people ate only two meals a day ...

Clothes

Tudor courtiers were great show-offs, above all in their dress ...

Education

Children were not forced by law to go to school in Tudor and Stuart times ...

Health

Between 1650 and 1750, more people moved to the towns, and the nation's health got worse ...

The Poor

Living conditions of the poor

About half the people in England were poor ...

Prices and wages

England's population increased from just over two million in 1500 to five million in 1650 ...

The poor law

In the sixteenth century, there was no unemployment pay and no child benefit ...

Science and Superstition

Observation and experiment

The most important change that took place between 1600 and 1750 was the start of modern science ...

Some great scientists

Robert Boyle was one man who took Bacon's advice to observe and record ...

Witches

Most men and women knew nothing of science ...

Architecture, Art and the Theatre

Country houses

You can read the history of England in the buildings of the past ...

Country houses - PowerPoint-Präsentation

Painting and sculpture

Artists in the Middle Ages worked for the Church ...

Painting and sculpture - PowerPoint-Präsentation

The classical influence

The Renaissance was a revival of interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture ...

The classical influence - PowerPoint-Präsentation

The theatre

People in Tudor times made their own amusements, such as music and dancing ...

The theatre - PowerPoint-Präsentation

The theatre - Sources

Rich young men with nothing to do are always at the theatre ...

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, Britain's greatest playwright, was born in Stratford-on-Avon in England ...

The Swan of Avon

In April 1564 a son was born to John and Mary Shakespeare at Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon ...

William Shakespeare - PowerPoint-Präsentation

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous love story there has ever been ...

William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (1595)

THE PROLOGUE - Enter Chorus. Two households, both alike in dignity in fair Verona, where we lay our scene ...

William Shakespeare: Romeo und Julia (1595)

William Shakespeare: Hamlet (1603)

SCENE I. - Elsinore. A Platform before the Castle ...

William Shakespeare: Macbeth (1606)

First Witch: When shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning, or in rain? ...

The "Globe" - PowerPoint-Präsentation

Jonathan Swift: A Description of the Morning (1709)

Now hardly here and there a hackney coach appearing, showed the ruddy morn's approach ...

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1720)

I was  born in the year 1632, in the city of York, of a good family, though not of that country, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull ...

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1720)

I was born in the year 1632, in the city of York in England. I was the youngest of three brothers ...

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (1720) - deutsch

Ich bin im Jahre 1632 in der Stadt York geboren und stamme aus guter Familie, die jedoch ursprünglich nicht dort ansässig war, denn mein Vater kam aus dem Ausland, aus Bremen ...

Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe: Summary

Robinson Crusoe is the story of a brave man who is shipwrecked on an island and has to learn how to survive on his own ...

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731) was born in London as the son of a butcher ...

Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels (1726)

The author gives some account of himself and family. His first inducements to travel. He is shipwrecked, and swims for his life ...

Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels - Further Voyages (1726)

My second journey started on 20 June 1702. I sailed in a ship called the Adventure, which was travelling to Surat in India ...

Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels: Introduction

Gulliver is abandoned in a land of giants. His life is not always easy ...

Henry Fielding: Tom Jones (1749)

A short description of squire Allworthy, and a fuller account of Miss Bridget Allworthy, his sister ...