Social Evolution of the UK over Modern European History

During the late middle ages in Britain many things were taking place. Marriages were being arranged and the church played a dominant role in life. Disease was also quite prevalent within British society. There were affected with the Black plague as many other countries suffered from the disease as well. People were not familiar with the human anatomy and, thus had no knowledge of what was taking place with their own body. Feudalism was also present within Britain during the late middle ages. During the 16th and 17th centuries Britain began to undergo some changes. The population began to grow tremendously towards the middle of the 17th century. Romance was coming into play and became a factor in relationships, however marriages were mostly based on economics. Education in Britain became available, but only for the upper class. The lower classes were not given the same opportunities as the upper class. Additionally, the Catholic church had some competition. During these centuries the Protestant reformation occurred led by Martin Luther. The Catholic religion then reacted with the Catholic Counter reformation and other religious wars. Furthermore, the cities were growing faster than the rural areas. The countryside consisted of peasants, landlords, landless laborers, while the urban life was compiled of merchants, artisans, laborers, clergy, lawyers, and teachers. Within the countryside farming techniques such as enclosure and the putting out system were present. During the 18th century, Protestant women in Britain were still looked at to manage the home, while Catholic women were able to find work within the church. However, Protestantism began to give an education to all boys and girls instead of only limiting schooling to the upper class. The rural areas began to increase, as well as the growth of the cities and the urban life. Slavery was also still present in Britain as it was in the previous centuries as well. In the 19th century, Britain officially ended slavery in 1833. In 1850, most men in Britain worked in factories, while women were still at home. By the late 19th century, women of poor families were able to get out of the house and find work in factories. The middle class women began to organize and fight for their rights. Education in Britain began to expand and emphasize thoroughly on the middle and lower classes. In addition, the standard way of living in Britain began to increase as well as the wages for workers. Society within Britain began to diversify greatly. The lower class made 80% of society within Britain. They were craftsman, domestic servants, day laborers, and foremen. The upper middle class were found to be working in the banking and commerce industries. While the lower middle class were shopkeepers and small traders. Britain underwent many changes from the late middle ages up until this very day, their history is rich and filled with lots of information.

Economic evolution Over the Course of Modern European History

The economy in Britain went through great change over the vast course of European history that we studied this year. The first event that affected British economy was the Black Death. Besides the obvious social affect that the plague had on England and the rest of Europe, the Black death also destroyed European economy. There were less employees and overproduction was vast because there were fewer consumers. Many people stayed at home for fear of contracting the fatal disease that plagued the continent, and economic life suffered because of it. The next stage in European history, the Reformation had a positive effect on the economy. The slight turn away from religion led to a wider acceptance of women in economic positions, and a greater economic development. During the period of religious wars England enjoyed an age of economic prosperity as a result of its dominance on the high seas. The scientific and commercial revolutions brought on greater economic development in not only England, but all of Europe as new techniques and government ideas evolved. The new tools creating during this period sped up production and created more jobs (such as in factories). During the mid 18th century, over 85% of Europeans still farmed for a living. The increase in overseas trading created a greater demand for goods and started the agricultural revolution. This would be considered a time of great prosperity in England, which developed the highly popular open-field system. As a result of the Enlightenment, a free-market economy was installed in England, allowing greater economical freedom. During the times of war (WWI and WWII), economy was quite prosperous in the UK. Factories were focused on war supplies, and more and more jobs opened up. Women once again became an important part of the economy, and times were good. However, when the war was over, economic trouble would occur again. There was the struggle to pay back debts owed to the soldiers combined with the necessity to rebuild the homefront that led to economic troubles. Today, England is an active ally of the United States and does fine economically, however it was a long road from the earliest days of the Tudor family.

Political Evolution of the UK during the Modern European Period

Like most monarchies, the English monarchy gained power with the decline of feudalism in the 14th and 15th centuries. Strong monarchs such as Elizabeth I brought power to the nation through military achievement, such as the Spanish Armada, and its own national religion began by Henry VIII. However, after a brief abuse of power that included the parliamentary ignorance of James I and Charles I, the radical Oliver Cromwell was able to seize power in the English Civil War. After capturing power and running the country under a military dictatorship for nearly 15 years, Charles II was restored to the throne. However, the people still sought reform and after a brief period the Glorious Revolution ousted Charles and instilled William and Mary as the heads of a constitutional monarchy. As the years progressed, kings and queens such as Anne were muddled in wars, both in Europe and in the Americas. After the American Revolution weakened foreign power, Britain had to deal with the conflict of Napoleon and his growing power in the early 1800's. In a dual struggle to keep out the ideals of the French Revolution and to stop Napoleon from spreading his power, Lloyd George helped to return Europe to conservatism and to restore the balance of power in Europe at the Congress of Vienna. Unfortunately for men like George, chartism and other movements would challenge monarchs and leaders to reform the systems which they had worked hard to build. The politics of Great Britain, however, proved deadly in the events of World War I and II. While there were few major blunders in World War I, the monarchy was tested like others and an economic depression that followed made the politics of England and other countries very cautious. Led by the notorious Neville Chamberlain, Britain allowed Germany to run rampant over the continent in the name of appeasement, only to finally step in after it was nearly too late. At the conclusion of World War II, power for the monarchy, which had already been limited, became nearly non-existent. Though little reform occured, it was clear that the Prime Minister was far more powerful. In the early 1990's, strong ministers such as Margaret Thatcher began to bring Britain back from the power loss it had suffered after World War II and put it back on the political map of major powers. Today, Britain is stable politically under the leadership of a strong prime minister and a parliament that finally gets its say, and uses kings and queens such as the current Elizabeth as figureheads.

Revolution, Rebuilding, and New Challenges (Ch. 31)

As the Soviet Union finally began its decline with the election of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, the United Kingdom was one of the few nations that did not truly take part in the changing map of Europe. While the Soviet Union collapsed and Eastern Europe experienced the demolition of communism and revolutions in Yugoslavia and all of Europe, the United Kingdom concerned itself with the prevention of future conflict through organized actions. While expanding NATO and the United Nations to ensure collective security, the UK also took part in establishing the European Union and other groups designed to improve Europe's economy. Although the population rate of Europe is declining each year, it has found stability in politics for the most part. Economics continue to be a slight problem in the Eastern European countries, which have failed to recover from Communism. However, countries like the UK are working hard to ensure that stability will again become the norm in Europe.

Cold War Conflicts and Social Transformations in the UK (CH. 30)

With the end of the Second World War came a complete change in the face of Europe, England included.  Great Britain, along with France and The United States, combined to occupy West Germany, opposing the communist USSR occupying East Germany.  Europe was split into the region east of the "Iron Curtain" and the western portion of Europe.  This is also known as a period of great economic crisis, one of the greatest in European history. Britain and other nations combined to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which provided military protection for non-communist countries.  But not only was their drastic change in politics and the economy, but the world changed socially as well.  The youth revolution, particularly prominent in London, was taking over Europe.  When these youths, born after the end of WWII, grew of age they would become the counterculture that rebelled against parents, authority figures, and the status quo.  Bob Dylan sums it up best when he says in song "the times they are a' changing", and indeed they were.  

Britain WWII

Britain came into WWII to aid France, their allies, who had been invaded by Germany and taken under siege. Germany progressed and bombed London. But Britain held strong and after the bombing the persisted to fight against Germany with the aid of America.

Britain during the Age of Anxiety (Ch.28)

The aftermath of World War played a huge role in Europe. Many European countries began to rethink and question values and beliefs that had been established during the Enlightenment. People began to reject these longstanding accepted ideas. New discoveries in physics, philosophy, psychology, and literature added to the crisis by opposing established beliefs. Additionally, the Great Depression had a tremendous affect on Europe as well. The depression began in the United States at first, but then spread to Europe. As a result, there was mass unemployment, which also caused psychological problems as well. Britain was forced to react to the depression taking place within its country. They focused on their national market, which played a crucial role in its recovery. By 1937, production in Britain had increased 20 percent. Britain managed to implement a successful plan that put them on the right path to recovery. While many other European countries were suffering greatly from the depression. This time period was full of many issues that caused a numerous amount problems to arise within Europe. Which is why the time frame is known as the Age of Anxiety.