English Context

ContextA2 English

16th Century• The Protestant Reformation was a European movement aimed

initially at reforming the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. In the eyes of many historians, this Reformation signaled the beginning of the modern era. This included rationalisation, in which religious ideas began to lose influence as scientific explanations grew.

• 1577: Elizabeth I Proclamation against Excess: Queen Elizabeth I passed a series of strict laws relating to dress codes. People had to dress according to their rank and class to avoid a fine. Many people lived at subsistence level.

• 1588: The defeat of the Spanish Armada (one of England’s greatest Military achievements)

• The 16th Century was also the Age of Exploration. Europeans began exploring the world by sea in search of trading partners, new goods and new trade routes. Trade began to emerge on a social scale.

16th Century

Sir Thomas More became the first person to write of a

‘utopia’ (a perfect, imaginary world)

This century was the start of the Renaissance period and

included writers such as Shakespeare who in this century

wrote Richard III. Shakespeare and Renaissance carried

on into the 17th Century

1509: Henry VIII ascends the throne

1558: Queen Elizabeth I takes the throne until 1603

17th CenturyNewspapers were founded in the 17th Century and the printing press

meant more people were able to get hold of literature. In 1604, the

first English dictionary was published

1605: Guy Fawkes, a Catholic, becomes famously known for plotting

to bomb parliament (‘The Gun Powder Plot’). Consequently, he is

tortured, hanged and quartered (this was the types of punishment at

the time). Catholics were feared after that.

Witch hunts and the hanging of witches began in this century when

James I stated his belief in witches. People suspected James I was

doing it to target Christians after the Gun Powder plot

17th Century

The English Civil War took place (1642), which involved

Parliamentarians and Royalists fighting over how the

country should be run. Charles I didn’t agree with the

rising taxes and tried to stop them by arresting members

of Parliament. However, the Divine Right was no longer in

use. Charles fled after numerous battles but was

eventually captured and sentenced to death for war

against his kingdom.

September 1666 saw the Great Fire of London

1665-1666: Great Plague of London

18th Century1740: English War of Succession began (England vs. Spain)

1751: Tax is imposed on Gin. Gin was easy to sell and get hold of, so

people were ruining their health by drinking it. The tax stopped this.

(search for William Hogarth’s piece ‘Beer Street and Gin Lane’)

1756 – 1763: The Seven Years’ War

1776 – 1783: The American Revolutionary War (War of

Independence) resulting in the formation of the United States.

1782: England lost it’s “hanged, drawn and quartered” execution

1789 – 1799: The French Revolution. A social and political

upheaval. Like the American revolution, it was centered around

Enlightenment ideas of progress, reason and liberty.

18th Century1794: William Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’ were

published

1798: The Irish Rebellion occurred; 100,000 peasants revolt and

25,000 died

Around 1970, a group of Evangelical Christians form the Clapham

Sect and campaigned for an end to slavery and cruel sports

Also in the 1700s, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote the ‘Rights of

Women’, and Thomas Paine write the ‘Rights of Men’

19th Century

The Industrial Revolution – in 1801, only 20% of the population lived in towns but by 1851 over two-thirds of the population lived in towns. It also created a demand for female and child labour, especially in textile factories working up to 12 hour shifts.

The Clapham Sect continued until around 1830.

1812: Spencer Perceval became the first British Prime Minister to ever be assassinated

1807: Slave Trade was made illegal and by 1833, The Slavery Abolition Act was passed in Britain.

1861-65: The American Civil War

During this century, Marxism. Marxists believe society is split into two classes, the working (proletariats) and the upper (bourgeoisie/capitalist). They believe the upper class oppress and dominate the working class.

20th Century1912: Sinking of the Titanic

1914-1918: World War 1

1928: Wall Street Crash, and Women can vote on the same terms as men

1929: Great Depression

1939-1943/44: World War 2

1948: the NHS and Welfare state was set up. Class boundaries started to become blurred

Civil Rights Movements (e.g. the American Civil Right movement) took place. Such movements fought for racial and sexual equality

1949: Ireland gained independence from Britain

20th Century

1960s: All children received full time education

1961: the introduction of the Contraceptive Pill

1969: Divorce Reform Act

1975: Sex Discrimination Act, given women equal rights

Society increasingly became secular and immigration saw the increase of other religious beliefs in society

Important books written during this century included 1984 (Orwell), To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, Sherlock Homes