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Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Teacher Training School in Humanities – Constantine-

Intended as a Distance

Fifth Term

Designed by: Miss.Aida Abdessemed

2007-2008

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Table of Contents

Page

The British Empire …………………………………….04

Common Marquet …………………………………….17

Immigration & Emigration ……………………………22

Education ……………………………………………….30

Communication…………………………………………39

Leisure…………………………………………………...44

British Family…………………………………………..50.

British Society…………………………………………..52

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Chapter One

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The British Empire

The British Empire was the largest empire in history and the greatest the world has ever known, for over a century. A story of brilliant contrasts, of triumph and disaster, of wise rule and bitter oppression, a story that shows what Britain took from the world but what it gave to the world too.

The Empire was a product of the Age of Discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century, that sparked the era of the European colonial empires. By 1921 the British Empire held sway over a population of about 458 million people, approximately ¼ of the world’s population. It covered about 36.7 milloin km² (14.2 million square miles), about a quarter of Earth’s total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was often said that « the sun never

sets on the British Empire » becuase its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies or subject nations.

During the five decades following World War II, most of the territiories of the Empire became independent. Many went to join the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. Some have retained the British monarch as their head of state to become indepedent Commonwealth realms.

Its Origins (1497-1583) :

The foundations of the British Empire were laid at a time before the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, when England and Scotland were seperate kingdoms. In 1496 king Henry VII (Tudor) of England following the successes of Portugal and Spain in overseas exploration, commissioned John Cabot to lead a voyage to discover a route to Asia via the North Atlantic. Cabot sailed in 1497, and though he successfully made landfall on the coast of Canada (mistakenly believing, like Christopher Columbus five years earlier, that he had reached Asia), no attempt at establishing a colony was made. Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but nothing was heard from his ships again.

No further attempts to establish English colonies overseas were made until the reign of Elizabeth I. During the last decades of the 16th century, enmity and rivalry between Roman Catholic Spain and Protestant England during the Anglo-Spanish Wars led to the English Crown sanctioning English privateers such as John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake to engage in piratical attaks on Spanish ports in the Americas and shipping that was returning across the Atlantic, laden with treasure from the New World. At the same time, influential writers such as Richard Hakluyt and John Dee (who was the first to use the term « British Empire ») were beginning to press for the establishment of England’s own empire, to rival those of Spain and Portugal. By this time, Spain was firmly entrenched in the Americas, Portugal had established a string of trading posts and forts from the coasts of Africa and Brazil to China, and France had begun to settle the Saint Lawrence River, later to become New France.

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Plantations of Ireland :

English overseas colonisation is a relative latecomer in comparison to Spain and Portugal one, since England had been firstly engaged in a form of ‘domestic colonisation’ in Ireland. The Plantations of Ireland, run by English colonists, were a precursor to the overseas Empire as observed by Queen Elizabeth I « Ireland hath very good timber and convenient

havens, and if the Spaniard might be master of them, he would in a short space be master of

the seas, which is our chiefest force ». (Trevelyan, 1987 : 265). After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Irish catholics were dispossessed of their lands, and replaced with a Protestant landowning class from England and Scotland.

"First British Empire" (1583–1783)

British colonization of the Americas

As a result of a period of prosperity and peace in the English country, by 1578 Sir Humphrey Gilbert was granted a patent by Queen Elizabeth I for discovery and overseas exploration , and set sail for the West Indies with the intention of first engaging in piracy and on return voyage, establishing a colony in North America. The expedition failed at the outset because of bad weatther. In 1583 Gilbert embarked on a second attempt, on this occasion to the island of Newfoundland where he formally claimed for England the harbour of St.John’s, though no settlers were left behind to colonise it. This attempt marked the first step in the foundation of the British Empire. Many trials followed after on but several failed, but it began to take shape during the early 17th century when the English attention shifted from preying on other nations’ infrastructrure (like Spain and Portugual) to the business of establishing its own overseas colonies, with the English settlement of North America, the smaller islands of the Caribbean, and the establishment of a private company, the English

East India Company, to trade with Asia. This period until the end of the 18th century has subsequently been referred to as the « First British Empire ».

Motives and objectives laying first behind colonization were gold search, as such the Caribbean initially provided England’s most important and lucrative colonies.The colonies soon adopted the system of Sugar plantations successfully used by the Portuguese In Brazil, which depended on slave labour, and –at first- Dutch ships, to sell the slaves and buy the sugar. To ensure that the increasingly healthy profits of this trade remained in English hands, Parliament decreed in 1651 that only English ships would be able to ply their trade in English colonies. This led to hostilities with the United Dutch Provinces-a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars- which would eventually strengthen England’s position in the Americas at the expense of the Dutch. In 1655 England annexed the island of Jamaica from the Spanish, and in 1666 succeeded in colonising the Bahamas.

England’s first permanent overseas settlement was founded in 1607 in Jamestown, led by Captain John Smith and managed by the Verginia Company.The Company’s charter was revoked in 1624 and direct control was assumed by the crown, therby founding the colony of Virginia. The Newfoundland Company was created in 1610 with the aim of creating a permanent settlement on Newfoundland, but was largely unsuccessful. In 1620, Playmouth

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was founded as a heaven for puritan religious separatists, later known as the Piligrims. Fleeing from religious persecution would become the motive of many English would- be colonists to risk the arduous trans-Atlantic voyage. Maryland was founded as a Heaven for Roman Catholics (1634). Rhode Island (1636) was founded as a colony tolerant of all religions and Connecticut (1639) for control of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (renamed later New York) via negociations following the Second Anglo-Dutch War, in exchange for Suriname. In 1681, the colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn.

In 1695 the Scottish parliament granted a charter to the Company of Scotland, which proceeded in 1698 to establish a settlement on the isthmus of Panama, with a view to building a canal there. Besieged by neighbouring Spanish colonists of New Canada, and afflicted by malaria, the colony was abandoned two years later. The Darien scheme was a financial disaster for Scotland as a quarter of Scottish capital was lost in the enterprise. This episode is viewed as a major factor in persuading the Scottish Parliament to negotiate the terms of the Treaty of Union as the new United Kingdom of Great Britain would take responsibility for some of Scotland’s debts.

The American colonies, which provided tobacco, cotton and rice in the south and naval material and furs in the north, were less financially successful than those of the Caribbean, but had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted far larger numbers of English emigrants who preferred their temperate climates.

From the outset, slavery was a vital economic component of the British Empire in the Americas. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, Britain was responsible for the transportation of 3.5 million African slaves to the Americas, a third of all slaves transported across the Atlantic. To facilitate this trade, forts were established on the coast of West Africa, such as James Island. In the British Caribbean, the percentage of the population comprising blacks rose from 25% in 1650 to around 80% in 1780 , and in the Thirteen Colonies from 10% to 40% over the same period( the majority in the south). For the slave traders, the trade was extremely profitable, and became a major economic mainstay for such western British cities as Bristol and Liverpool, which formed the third corner of the so called Triangular trade with Africa and the Americas. However, for the transportees, harsh and unhygenic conditions on the slaving ships and poor diets meant that the average mortality rate during the middle passage was one in seven. The profits of the slave trade and of West Indian plantations amounted to 5% of the British economy at the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Asia At the end of the 16th century, England began to challenge Portugal’s monoply of trade with Asia, forming private joint-stock companies with Netherlands to finance the voyages- the English (later British) and Dutch East India Companies. The primary aim of these companies was to tap into the lucrative spice trade, focusing on the source, the Indonesian archipelago and India. This alliance soon disapeared because of the intense rivalary between the two countries resulting in the split of the companies. This set the way to Dutch gaining the upper hand in the Moluccas , and the English enjoying more success in India, at Surat, after the establishment of a factory in 1613. Though England would ultimately eclipse the Netherlands as a colonial power, in the short term the Netherlands's more

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advanced financial system and the three Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century left it with a stronger position in Asia. Hostilities ceased after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when the Dutch William of Orange ascended the English throne, bringing peace between the Netherlands and England. A deal between the two nations left the spice trade of the Indonesian archipelago to the Netherlands and the textiles industry of India to England, but textiles soon overtook spices in terms of profitability, and by 1720, in terms of sales, the English company had overtaken the Dutch. The English East India Company shifted its focus from Surat—a hub of the spice trade network—to Fort St George (later to become Madras), Bombay (ceded by the Portuguese to Charles II of England in 1661 as dowry for Catherine de Braganza) and Sutanuti (which would merge with two other villages to form Calcutta).

Company rule in India

During its first century of operation, the focus of the East India Company had been trade, not the building of an empire in India until the 18th century, as the Mughal Empire declined in power and the British East India Company struggled with its French counterpart, the La Compagnie française des Indes orientales, during the Carnatic Wars in southeastern India in the 1740s and 1750s. The Battle of Plassey, which saw the British, led by Robert Clive, defeat the French and their Indian allies, left the Company in control of Bengal and a major military and political power in India. In the following decades it gradually increased the size of the territories under its control, either ruling directly or indirectly via local puppet rulers under the threat of force of the Indian Army, 80% of which was composed of native Indian sepoys.

Global struggles with France

A long series of wars and conflicts in the European continent took place by the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century that deeply changed the World’s map shape and the ballance of powers in the old continent. The outset was with the War of the Spanish Succession,which resulted in Spain loss of its Empire in Europe and weakened its power in the Americas and the Philippines by ceding Gibraltar and Minorca to Britain. Gibralatr, which is still a British overseas territory to this day, became a critical naval base and allowed Britain to control the Atlantic entry and exit point to the Mediterranen.

France, greatly involved in the wars, and which was an important imperial rival in the continent, also ceded Newfoundland and Acadia. The second war having its great impact was The Seven Years’ War, which began in 1756, was the first war waged on a global scale, fought in Europe, India, North America, the Caribbean, the Philippines and coastal Africa. The signing of the Treaty of Paris(1763) had important consequences for Britain and its empire. In North America, France's future as a colonial power there was effectively ended with the ceding of New France to Britain (leaving a sizeable French-speaking population under British control) and Louisiana to Spain. Spain ceded Florida to Britain. In India, the Carnatic War had left France still in control of its enclaves but with military restrictions and an obligation to support British client states, effectively leaving the future of India to Britain.

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The British victory over France in the Seven Years' War therefore left Britain as the world's dominant colonial power.

Rise of the "Second British Empire" (1783–1815)

Loss of the Thirteen Colonies in America

During the 1760s and 1770s, relations between the Thirteen Colonies and Britain became increasingly strained, primarily because of resentment of the British Parliament's attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent, summarised at the time by the slogan "No taxation without representation ". Disagreement over the American colonists' guaranteed Rights as Englishman turned to violence and, in 1775, the American War of Independence began. The following year, the colonists declared the independence of the United States and, with assistance from France, would go on to win the war in 1783.The loss of such a large portion of British America, at the time Britain's most populous overseas possession, is seen by historians as the event defining the transition between the "first" and "second" empires, in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific and later Africa.

Events in America influenced British policy in Canada, which had seen a large influx of loyalists during the Revolutionary War. The Constitutional Act of 1791created the provinces of Upper Canada (mainly English-speaking) and Lower Canada (mainly French-speaking) to defuse tensions between the two communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with the intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution.The future of British North America was briefly threatened during the War of 1812 resulting in large part from British attempts to forcibly control Atlantic trade from the Napoleonic Wars, and in which the United States unsuccessfully took the opportunity to extend its border northwards. This was the last time that Britain and America went to war.

Australia and New Zealand

Since 1718, transportation to the American colonies had been a penalty for various criminal offences in Britain, with approximately one thousand convicts transported per year across the Atlantic. Forced to find an alternative location after the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, the British government turned to the newly discovered land of New South Wales, later shown to be a single land mass withNew Holland, discovered in 1606 by the Dutch but never colonized, and again later altogether renamed Australia.

In 1826, Australia was formally claimed for the United Kingdom with the establishment of a military base, soon followed by a colony in 1829. The colonies later became self-governing colonies and became profitable exporters of wool and gold.

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Abolition of Slavery

Under increasing pressure from the abolitionist movement, the United Kingdom outlawed the slave trade (1807) and soon began enforcing this principle on other nations. By the mid-19th century the United Kingdom had largely eradicated the world slave trade. An act making not just the slave trade but slavery itself illegal was passed in 1833 and became law on August 1, 1834.

War with Napoleonic France

Britain was challenged again by France under Napoleon, in a struggle that, unlike previous wars, represented a contest of ideologies between the two nations.It was not only Britain's position on the world stage that was threatened: Napoleon threatened to invade Britain itself, just as his armies had overrun many countries of continental Europe. The Napoleonic Wars were therefore ones in which Britain invested large amounts of capital and resources to win. French ports were blockaded by the Royal Navy, which won a decisive victory over the French fleet at Trafalgar in 1805. Overseas colonies were attacked and occupied, including those of the Netherlands, which was annexed by Napoleon in 1810. France was finally defeated by a coalition of European armies in 1815. Britain and its empire were again the beneficiaries of peace treaties: France ceded the Ionian Islands and Malta (which it had occupied in 1797 and 1798 respectively), St Lucia and Mauritius; Spain ceded Trinidad and Tobago; the Netherlands Guyana and the Cape Colony. Britain returned Guadaloupe and Réunion to France, and Java and Suriname to the Netherlands.

Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century" by some historians, around 10 million square miles of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival, other than Russia in central Asia and, unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted the role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica. Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many nominally independent countries, such as in Latin America, China and Siam, which has been characterised by some historians as an "informal empire".

Asia

India was not the only colony in the Asian continent thanks to The East India Company, which until its dissolution in 1858 was key in expansion with its army joining first the Royal Navy during the Seven Years’ War, and the two later on continued the colonization outside India . Using it as a base, the company had been engaged in opium export trade to China since 1730. This trade, illegal since it was outlawed by the Qing dynasty in 1729, helped reverse the trade imbalances resulting from the British imports of tea, which saw large outflows of silver from Britain to China. In 1839, the seizure by the Chinese authorities at Canton of 20,000 chests of opium led Britain to attack China in the First Opium War, and the seizure by Britain of the island of Hong Kong (then a minor outpost) as a base.

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The end of the Company was precipitated by a mutiny of sepoys against their British commanders over the rumoured introduction of rifle cartridges lubricated with animal fat. Use of the cartridges, which required biting open before use, would have been in violation of the religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims (had the fat been that of cows or pigs, respectively). However, the Indian Rebillion of 1857 had causes that went beyond the introduction of bullets: at stake was Indian culture and religion, in the face of the steady encroachment of that by the British. The rebellion was suppressed by the British, but not before heavy loss of life on both sides. The mutiny is also an early example of the growing use of communications technology with the electronic telegraph critical in halting the early spread of rebellion. As a result of the war, the British government assumed direct control over India, ushering in the period known as the British Raj. The East India Company was dissolved the following year, in 1858.

Africa

There was a harsh competition over the African Continent by the different European powers. In 1875 the two most important European holdings in Africa were France-controlled Algeria and the United Kingdom's Cape Colony. By 1914 only Ethiopia and the republic of Liberia remained outside formal European control. The transition from an "informal empire" of control through economic dominance to direct control took the form of a "scramble" for territory by the nations of Europe. The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 sought to regulate the competition between the powers by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims, a formulation which necessitated routine recourse to armed force against indigenous states and peoples.

The United Kingdom tried not to play a part in this early scramble, being more of a trading empire rather than a colonial empire; however, it soon became clear it had to gain its own African empire to maintain the balance of power.

The Cape Colony

The first steps of The Britishmen in the African continent took place in1806 in Cape Colony, founded by The Dutch East India Company on the southern tip of Africa in 1652 as a way station for its ships travelling to and from its colonies in the East Indies. British immigration began to rise after 1820, and pushed thousands of Boers, natives of this colony also known as Afrikaner, resentful of British rule northwards to found their own-mostly short- lived and independent republics in the late 1830s and early 1840s (Transvaal Republic and The Orange Free State). Following the Second Boer War (1899-1902), and concluding a treaty with the two Boer Republics, the United Kingdom completed its military occupation of both republics. The four colonies of Natal, Transvaal, Free State and Cape Province later merged in

1910 to form the Union of South Africa

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The Suez Canal and Expansion in Africa

Britain had its own agenda in regard to expansion in Africa, so in 1875, the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli bought the indebted Egyptian ruler Ismail’s 44% shareholding in the Suez Canal for £4 million to secure control of this strategic waterway. This channel permitted shipping between the United Kingdom and India since its opening six years earlier under Emperor Napolean III. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British military occupation in 1882.The British preoccupation over securing control of the Nile valley, greatly contributed later on in the conquest of Sudan in 1896-98. After Sudan, the British sought for a « Cape-to Cairo » British controlled empire linking by rail the strategically important Suez Canal to the mineral- rich South.As a result they occupied and annexed Rhodesia in 1888 (which became Zimbabwe after its independence in 1980) . The British ambition of Cape-to-Cairo had been slowed down by the German occupation of East Africa and it have to be completed until the end of World War I. In 1903, the All Red Line telegraph system communicated with the major parts of the Empire. Between 1885 and 1914 the United Kingdom took nearly 30% of Africa's population under its control, compared to 15% for France, 9% for Germany, 7% for Belgium and 1% for Italy.

The United Kingdome’s empire transformation took place in white-settler colonies, hense to give birth to the modern Commonwealth with the extension of Dominion status to the alreadyself-governing colonies of Canada(1867), Australia(1901), New Zealand (1907), Newfoundland (1907), and the newly created Uninon of South Africa(1910). The foreign relations of the Dominions were still conducted through the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom .

The British Empire during the World War I (1914–1918)

Britain ‘ declarationof war in 1914 on Germany and its allies, committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military,financial and material supprot.Thier contribution in the war had a great impact on the rise of national consciousness at home, and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. Canada viewed the war in a similar light. The Dominions raised their own armies, but were under British command structure, and very much integrated into the British fighting forces.

However, the great change and deep transformation of both The British Empire and the Dominions took place at the aftermath of World War I (1918-1939), which marked the last major extnesion of the British rule with gaining the control through League of Nations Mandates in Palestine and Iraq, as well as in the former German colonies like Namibia and New Guinea.

The 1920s marked the rapid and most important transformation of Dominion status.Their relactant support to British military action against Turkey influenced the United Kingdom’s decision to seek a compromise settlement. Full Dominion independence was formalised in the 1931 Statute of Westminster, each Dominion was henceforth to be equal in status to the United Kingdom itself, free of British legislative interference and autonomous in

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international relations.Canada led the way, becoming the first Dominion to conclude an international treaty entirely independently (1923). Australia followed in 1940. Egypt, formally independent from 1922 but bound to the United Kingdom by treaty until 1936 (and under partial occupation until 1956), similarly severed all constitutional links with the United Kingdom.Iraq, which became a British Protectorate in 1922, also gained complete independence ten years later in 1932.

Not far away from the mother island, many unsuccessful wars took place in the Irish land led by nationalists and socialists to secede from the United Kingdom.This Anglo-Irish War ended in 1921by the signing of a treaty which confirmed the division of Ireland into two states. Most of the island (26 counties) became independent as the Irish Free State (a dominion within the British Commonwealth, that withdrew later on when the Republic of Ireland was enacted in 1949). The four remaining countiesin the north, on the other hand with a majority Unionist community, along with two counties that had a Nationalist majority, remained a part of the United Kingdom as Nothern Ireland.

The British Empire during the Second World War (1939-1945)

The United Kingdom's declaration of hostilities against Nazi Germany in September 1939 included the Crown Colonies and theBritish Indian Empire but did not automatically commit the Dominions. All except Ireland declared a state of hostility with Germany. The Irish Free State Irish chose to remain legally neatral throughout the war. Australia entered the war as a British ally. The war involved the whole of the Empire. Material and manpower were drawn from all parts of the world. The dominions contributed large numbers of aircrew for the war in the air over Europe, many having been trained in Canada. The British Eighth Army fighting in North Africa and in Italy was multi-national.

Decolonisation and decline (1945–1997)

Though the United Kingdom and its empire emerged victorious from World War II, the effects of the conflict were profound, both at home and abroad. Much of Europe, a continent that had dominated the world for four hundred years, was now literally in ruins, and host to the armies of the United States and the Soviet Union, to whom the balance of global power had now shifted. Britain itself was left virtually bankrupt, with insolvency only averted in 1946 after the negotiation of a $3.5 billion loan from the United States, the last installment of which was repaid in 2006.

At the same time, anti-colonial movements were on the rise in the colonies of European nations. The situation was complicated further by the increasing Cold War rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union, both nations opposed to the European colonialism of old, though American anti-Communism prevailed over anti-imperialism, which led the US to support the continued existence of the British Empire.

However, the "wind of change" ultimately meant that the British Empire's days were numbered, and on the whole, Britain adopted a policy of peaceful disengagement from its colonies once stable, non-Communist governments were ready to transition power to, in

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contrast to France and Portugal, which waged costly wars to keep their empires intact. Between 1945 and 1965 the number of people under British rule fell from 700 million to 5 million, 3 million of which were in Hong Kong.

The United Kingdom's pursuit (from 1961) and attainment (in 1973) of European Community membership weakened the old commercial ties to the Dominions mainly Australia and New Zealand, hence ending their privileged access to the UK market. In January 1947, Canada became the first Dominion to create its nationals as citizens in addition to their status as British subjects (which was retained until 1977). Canada became legally independent by the signing of Canada Act 1982.

End of the British Raj

The British Empire lost its most valuable colony, India, when the British Raj came to an end in August 1947 after a forty-year-long campaign by the Indian National Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose, first for self-government and later for full sovereignty, whilst the Muslim League, led by Muhammed Ali Jinnah, lobbied successfully for the creation of a separate Muslim-state, Pakistan. The Partition of India resulted in

massive population exchanges and widespread violence costing hundreds of thousands of lives.

Palestine

United Kingdom's Palestine Mandate ended in 1948. British forces withdrew as there was open warfare between the territory's Jewish and Arab populations.

Southeast Asia and Ceylon

Like many other colonies all over the world , Asian colonies looked to sever all ties with the British and achieving their total independence either within or outside the Commonwealth like Burma (1948 outside) , Ceylon (1948) and Malaya(1957 within the Commonwealth) which joined later on by, Sarawak and North Borneo, Sabah to form the Federation of Malaysia upon independence from the Empire.

The Suez Crisis

Britain's limitations were very publicly exposed to the world by the Suez Crisis of 1956, in which the United States and the Soviet Union Soviet opposed the British, Frensh and Israeli intervention in Egypt. Though the invasion force was militarily successful in its objective of recapturing the Suez Canal, UN intervention and US pressure forced Britain into a very humiliating withdrawal of its forces. The Suez Crisis confirmed Britain's decline on the world stage, and demonstrated that henceforth it could no longer act without at least the acquiescence, if not the full support, of the United States. from which Britain did not recover until the successful recapture of the Falkland Islands from Argentina in 1982.

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However, whilst The Suez Crisis caused British power in the Middle East to weaken, it did not collapse.Britain again soon deployed its armed forces to the region, intervening in Oman(1957), Jordan(1958) and Kuwait (1961), though on these occasions with American approval. Britain maintained a presence in the Middle East for another decade, withdrawing from Aden in 1967, and Bahrain in 1971.

The Mediterranean

The same wind of change blew out in the Mediterranean,a result of which Cyprus was independent in 1960,followed by islands of Malta and Gozo in 1964.

Africa

The end of Britain's Empire in Africa came rapidly: Ghana’s independence (1957) followed by Nigeria and Somaliland(1960)Sierra Leone (1961), Uganda (1962), Kenya and Zanzibar (1963), Tanganyika (1964), The Gambia (1965),o Lesotho (formerly Basutoland) (1966), Bostwana (formerly Bechuanaland) (1967), and Swaziland (1968).British withdrawal from the southern and eastern parts of Africa was complicated by the region's white settler populations, but soon all the remaining colonies were given total independence.

The West Indies / Caribbean

Most of the United Kingdom's West Indies territories opted for eventual separate independence like Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago(1962), were followed into statehood by Barbados (1966) and the smaller islands of the eastern Caribbean (1970s and 1980s), Antigua and Barbuda being the last in November 1981.Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a republic on 23 February 1970.The United Kingdom's last colony on the American mainland, British Honduras, became a self-governing colony in 1964 and was renamed Belize (1973), achieving full independence in 1981.

Rockall

As decolonisation and the Cold War were gathering momentum during the 1950s, an uninhabited rock in the Atlantic Ocean, Rockall, became the last territorial acquisition of the United Kingdom. Concerns that the Soviet Union might use the island to spy on a British missile test prompted the landing of a Royal Navy party to officially claim the rock in the name of the Queen in 1955. In 1972 the Island of Rockall Act formally incorporated the island into the United Kingdom.

The Falklands War

In 1982, the United Kingdom's resolve to defend its remaining overseas territories was tested when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands

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Handover of Hong Kong

In 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of thePeople’s Republic of China, per the 1984 Sino- British Joint Declaration. For many, including Charles, Prince of Wales who was in attendance at the ceremony, the handover of Britain's last major and by far most populous overseas territory marked "the end of Empire".

Legacy

The United Kingdom retains sovereignty over 14 territories outside of the British Isles,collectively named the British overseasz territories, which remain under British rule because of lack of support for independence among the local population or because the territory is uninhabited except for transient military or scientific personnel.

Most former British colonies (and one former Portuguese colony - Mozambique are members of the Commonwealth of Nations under the leadership of Queen Elizabeth II Fifteen members of the Commonwealth continue to share their head of state with the United Kingdom, as Commonwealth realms.

Many former British colonies share or shared certain characteristics, like the language, the Anglican Communion, educational institution like schools and universities modelled on Oxford and Cambridge, military, police and civil service based upon British models, sharing also the political and legal systems, sports like cricket and rugby and even driving on the left-hand side of the road with some exeptions in North America and North Africa.

Several ongoing conflicts and disputes around the world can trace their origins to borders inherited by countries from the British Empire like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and or within Africa, where political boundaries did not reflect homogeneous ethnicities or religions. The British Empire was also responsible for large migrations of peoples. Millions left the British Isles, with the founding settler populations of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand coming mainly from Britain and Ireland. Tensions remain between the mainly British-descended populations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand and the indigenous minorities in those countries, and between settler minorities and indigenous majorities in South Africa and Zimbabwe. British settlement of Ireland continues to leave its mark in the form of a divided Catholic and Protestant community. Millions of people also moved between British colonies, for example from India to the Caribbean and Africa, creating the conditions for the expulsion of Indians in Uganda in 1972. The makeup of Britain itself was changed after the Second World War with immigration to the United Kingdom from the colonies to which it was granting independence.

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Chapter Two

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Common Market

After the end of theSecond World War the political climate favoured the unification of Europe. It was seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent. One such attempt to unite Europeans was the European Coal and Steel Community which while having the modest aim of centralised control of the previously national coal and steel industries of the its member states was declared to be "a first step in the federation of Europe".

Two additional communities were created in 1957: the European Economic Community (EEC) establishing a customs union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for cooperation in developing nuclear energy. In 1967 the Merger Treaty created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities, although more commonly just as the European Community (EC).The 1957 Rome Treaty created the European Economic Community.

What is Common Market ?

An economic organization established in 1957 to reduce tariff barriers and promote trade among the countries of Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and West Germany. These countries became the original members of the European Community in 1965.

(EEC), organization established (1958) by a treaty signed in 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany (now Germany); it was known informally as the Common Market. The EEC was the most significant of the three treaty organizations that were consolidated in 1967 to form the European Community (EC; known since the ratification [1993] of the Maastricht treaty as the European Union). The EEC had as its aim the eventual economic union of its member nations, ultimately leading to political union. It worked for the free movement of labor and capital, the abolition of trusts and cartels, and the development of joint and reciprocal policies on labor, social welfare, agriculture, transport, and foreign trade. Two of the original core objectives of the European Economic Community were the development of a common market, subsequently renamed the single market singl , and a customs union between its member states. The single market involves the free circulation of goods, capital, people and services within the EU, and the customs union involves the application of a common external tariff on all goods entering the market. Once goods have been admitted into the market they can not be subjected to customs duties, discriminatory taxes or import quotas, as they travel internally.

British Economy

The UK economy is made up (in descending order of size) of the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The British started the Industrial Revolution and, like most industrialising countries at the time, initially concentrated on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, steel production, and textiles. The empire created an overseas market for British products, allowing the United Kingdom to dominate international trade in the 19th century. However, as other nations industrialised, coupled with economic

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decline after two world wars, the United Kingdom began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 20th century. The British service sector, however, has grown substantially, and now makes up about 73% of GDP.

The service sector of the United Kingdom is dominated by financial services, especially in banking and insurance. London is the world's largest financial centre with the London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and the Lloyd’s of Londonn insurance market all based in the City of London. It has the largest concentration of foreign bank branches in the world. In the past decade, a rival financial centre in London has grown in the Docklands area, with HSBC and Barclays Bank relocating their head offices there. Many multinational companies that are not primarily UK-based have chosen to site their European or rest-of-world headquarters in London: an example is the US financial services firm Citigroup. The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, has one of the large financial centres of Europe.

London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is the leader of the three "command centres" for the global economy (along with New York Citty and Tokyo). In recent years, the UK economy has been managed in accordance with principles of market liberalisation and low taxation and regulation. Based on market exchange rates, the United Kingdom is the fifth largest economy in the world, and the second largest in Europe after Germany.

Britain and the Common Market

European Economic Community was the title of the EEC, which Britain joined on 1 January 1973, also known as the Common Market, later as the European Community; after the treaty of Maastricht, as the European Union.

Britain stayed out of the EEC's forerunner, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC),formed in 1952. This was a French initiative designed to ensure continuing influence over the German Ruhr's coal and steel production. The Labour government had just nationalized Britain's coal industry and faced trade union opposition to ‘handing it over to foreign capitalists’. The members of the ECSC agreed in 1955 to explore further economic and atomic co-operation. Britain declined to send a representative and therefore had no influence on the treaty of Rome that established the EEC. Macmillan’s application in July 1961 was vetoed by French President de Gaulle in 1963, as was a second application, made by Wilson in 1967. De Gaulle's downfall in 1969, coupled with French economic weakness, cleared the way for the success of Britain's third application to join, under Heath in 1970-1. Unfortunately for Britain, the EEC had come to agreements in 1970, detrimental to Britain's future membership, on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and budget contributions. The early Thatcher years from 1979 were dogged by arguments over Britain's EEC budget contribution. Opinion varies on how far Thatcher's behaviour was responsible for the favourable deal eventually at the Fontainebleau European Council in June 1984, but the whole row reinforced Britain's reputation for obstructiveness. With the budget row settled, Britain went on to play a positive role in the mid-Thatcher years. A new, more subtle approach

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enabled Britain to work with others to guide the eventual Single Market proposals towards the aim of trade liberalization with minimal institutional reform. The Single European Act, signed in Luxembourg on 17 February 1985, was the result, coming into force on 1 July 1987. Majority voting in the Council of Ministers was extended to ease the passage of European legislation. However, Thatcher was still to be found in isolation. She was hostile to participation in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), or European Monetary Union (EMU), which led to the resignation of cabinet ministers Lawson and Howe. Others ridiculed the idea that national identities were threatened by European integration. Thatcher's opposition to these views was famously articulated in her Bruges speech of 20 September 1988: ‘Europe will be stronger precisely because it has France as France, Spain as Spain, Britain as Britain, each with its own

customs, traditions and identity . . . We have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the State in Britain only to see them reimposed at a European level with a European superstate exercising a new dominance from Brussels.’ Divisions within the Conservative government of John Major from 1990 were damaging. In September 1992 his government was forced to withdraw from the ERM, and in August 1993 he carried the Maastricht treaty, which he had struggled to renegotiate, only after making it a confidence vote. The Labour government of 1997 began with warm intentions towards Europe, but became markedly less enthusiastic as the Euro, the new single currency introduced in January 1999, went into embarrassing decline. Meanwhile a policy of devolution within the British Isles sat oddly with theavowed ambition of many European spokesmen to seek ever further integration, which would inevitably increase the power of Brussels.

In 1958, Britain proposed that the Common Market be expanded into a transatlantic free-trade area. After the proposal was vetoed by France, Britain engineered the formation (1960) of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and was joined by other European nations that did not belong to the Common Market. Beginning in 1973, EFTA and the EEC negotiated a series of agreements that would insure uniformity between the two organizations in many areas of economic policy, and by 1995, all but four of EFTA's members had transferred their memberships from EFTA to the European Union.

One of the first important accomplishments of the EEC was the establishment (1962) of common price levels for agricultural products. In 1968, internal tariffs (tariffs on trade between member nations) were eliminated and a common external tariff was fixed.

Common Market today (EU)

The European Union is composed of 27 independent sovereign countries which are known as member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxambourg, Malta, the Nethelands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey; the western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,

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Montenegro, and Serbia are officially recognised as potential candidates. Kosovo has been granted similar status.

To join the EU, a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993 Copenhagen European Council. These require a stable democracy which respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy capable of competition within the EU; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law. Evaluation of a country's fulfillment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. The current framework does not specify how a country could exit the Union (although Greenland withdrew in 1985), but the proposed Treaty of Lisbon contains a formal procedure for withdrawing.

Four Western European countries that have chosen not to join the EU have partly

committed to the EU's economy and regulations: Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway are a

part of the single market through the European Economic Area, and Switzerland has similar

ties through bilateral treaties.[22][23] The relationships of the European microstates Andorra,

Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City include the use of the euro and other

co-operation Single market

The non EU member states of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland participate in the single market but not in the customs union. Half the trade in the EU is covered by legislation harmonised by the EU.

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Chapter Three

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Immigration and Emigration

Over centuries, there was a flow of people in and out the British islands « In early times, the relation of Britain to the sea was passive and receptive ; in modern times, active and aquisitive. In both it is the key to her story »( ), .These people were those who contributed in the making of the British history which became a history of population movements and helped to create the foundations of the country we know today.This movement of migration (immigration and emigration) co-existed with and resisted to all the ups and downs in the land from the different regime changes, social upheaval, power conflicts and struggles.

Immigration

From the Stone Age until present day, people have been coming to Britain from other countries for thousands of years. Some have stayed for only a short while, going back home or moving on. Others have made homes there. Those that settle are called immigrants. So even the question who are the original inhabitants of these islands remains obscure as noticed by the Roman historian Tacitus(c.55-120), “whether natives or immigrants”. As a result of this mingling of races, it is common place to say that the British are a people of mixed blood. Through time migration system developed and other kinds of immigrants emerged, these were people who moved to the land fleeing political oppression and persecution, like refugees, sojourners (people that stay temporarily) and, more recently, asylum seekers and illegal migrants. Immigration has continued largely because of Britain's appeal as a place of security and opportunity.

At the end of the Mesolithic time, 4,000 BC, there may have been around 3,000 people

in Britain. The major population movement occurred during the Iron Age, 700 BC-43 AD. A

movement led by related tribes of the BRITONS, SCOTS/GAELS and PICT. The Celts

descended in large part from Britain's own Neolithic people. Between AD43 and 411 Britain

was part of the Roman Empire. During this 400 year period people came from all over the

known world as soldiers, merchants and administrators but especially from France, Germany

and Eastern Europe. Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Vikings followed. The last 'conquering'

invaders were the Normans with William of Normandy who claimed the crown of England in

1066 as William the Conqueror. All these new comers though didn’t arrived in the same

period, since the migration process occurred over two thousand years. Yet, they shared many

aspects as they were different tribes of the same European race, they came, predominantly,

from a very small part of Northern Europe. Their numbers were few. They were not so much

"immigrants" as invaders. Their initial presence was often violently resisted.They changed,

and often violently destroyed, the original culture.They took over the reins of government.

They were entering a land which was virtually empty, and which remained so, right up until

the late 19th Century. There were not millions of people waiting to follow them. New waves

of immigrants and sojourners followed, including German merchants and Italian bankers. In

the centuries after, Irish soldiers, trades people and labourers, Dutch brick makers and

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brewers as well as textile weavers all came to settle there. Africans were there in Roman times

and by the reign of Elizabeth I, were working in the households of the rich as domestic

workers. In 1656, Oliver Cromwell allowed the Jews to return and settle; after being expelled

by Edward I after settling first in the medieval period.Merchants, bullion dealers and diamond

brokers built the foundations of the future Jewish community. Many of these earned their

living as tradesmen, old clothes dealers and peddlers (travelling traders). Huguenots (French

Protestants) fled Catholic persecution and moved to England during the 16th, 17th and 18th

centuries. Some were expert in making clocks and scientific instruments. Others were

goldsmiths, silversmiths, merchants and artists. Their skills at weaving silk and velvet helped

expand the silk weaving industry in Spitalfields that already employed many Irish workers.

Because of their hard work and skills the Huguenots were known as 'the profitable strangers'.

During the 18th century members of the Huguenot and Jewish communities gave major

financial support to both state and army As the British Empire developed so did trade,

bringing new peoples to these shores. Lascars (sailors from South East Asia and India) came

along with seamen from countries like China, West Africa, and those known today as Somalia

and the Yemen. By the first half of the 19th century, the industrial revolution was in full

swing, using raw materials from home and abroad. The need for a better transport system

provided work for Irish labourers. They were employed to build the roads, railways and

canals that transported goods between the docks, the manufacturing centres and shops in

towns and cities around the country. The needs of industry and empire called for a growing

clerical workforce. From the mid 19th century, German clerks were attracted to Britain by the

higher wages paid here. Their efficiency and ability to speak English made them ideal

employees. Other Europeans also crossed the channel in the second half of the 19th century.

Italians came along with a large-scale influx of mostly Jewish Eastern Europeans. The

Clerkenwell district of London became known as 'Little Italy'. Italians introduced street

vending of ice cream, and worked in the catering trade as waiters, chefs, bakers, confectioners

and café owners. Later on, in the 1940s and 1950s, men and women from the south of Italy

were recruited to work in factories in Luton and Bedford. Some went on to open Italian

restaurants and pizzerias locally and further afield.

London and the main university towns and cities attracted students from Africa, India,

Europe and America. Young men (and some women) came to study law and medicine. Most

returned home after they had qualified, but a small number, particularly young Indian doctors,

settled over here permanently.

Members of the Empire travelled from all over the world to serve in the forces or on

merchant ships during both World Wars. At the end of each conflict, some stayed, some

wanted to stay but were not welcomed and others returned later to make a contribution to the

peace.

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Even after the pace of development of industry and empire had slowed, migrant

workers and entrepreneurs saw a future in this country. There was a labour shortage after the

end of the Second World War. European Voluntary Workers (EVW) and people forced to

leave their homes (displaced) from Poland, Italy, Ukraine and Germany were recruited to fill

the gaps. Later, the National Health Service and organisations like London Transport

recruited men and women from the Caribbean to build up their labour force. The partition of

India was the starting point for what later became a large-scale migration and settlement of

people from the Indian sub-continent. Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Sikhs came from

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During the 1950s the attraction of owning a British passport

to come to Britain to find better-paid work caused a big increase in passport applications.

Most of these were from young men, many from Pakistan.

Not all those who move there, come because they really want to leave home. Some

have come because their lives and livelihoods, and those of their families, are at risk.

Sometimes this is because of war, religious persecution, political discrimination and, at other

times, because of natural disasters. These people are seeking refuge and therefore known as

refugees. This comes from the word 'refugie' which the Huguenots called themselves when

they arrived in the 16th century. Revolutions in many parts of Europe during the 18th and

19th centuries, led to the arrival of many refuges like French aristocrats as well as German,

Italian and Austrian socialists and communists, amongst them Karl Marx. Towards the end of

the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century many Russian revolutionaries and

anarchists spent time there. Some made it their permanent home but others like Lenin, Stalin

and Trotsky returned. The flow of refugees has been continuous since the end of the Second

World War. Many of those who arrived in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s have become

permanent communities. Those displaced by the conflict of the war were followed by Chinese

leaving Mao Tse Tung's communist regime, refugees from the Hungarian Revolution of 1956,

Jews escaping the Middle East, Kenyan and Ugandan Asians and Vietnamese Boat People.

More recently still there have been refugees from the former Yugoslavia and Rumania, from

Afghanistan, West Africa and Zimbabwe.

Impact of Immigration on British Life :

Over the centuries immigrants have influenced every aspect of life in Britain and left their mark through clothes, food and language, to religion and politics, in methods of farming, trade and road systems as far as the 1st century AD the Roman army built Britain's road system.

In the 16th century, French Protestants (Huguenots) brought with them skills in silk

weaving and the making of clocks and guns. Irish labourers worked on the construction of

new roads, canals and railways in the 18th and 19th centuries. Jewish and Irish tailors in the

19th century, and immigrants from Cyprus, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the 20th century, have

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made tailored and ready to wear clothes. Curry and Chow Mein, Italian ice cream, smoked

salmon and fried fish have all been introduced by people from overseas and are now part of

everyone's diet. There are Indian and Chinese restaurants in almost every town and village.

Mexican, Thai, Japanese with Italian, Greek and Turkish restaurants have become

commonplace. Exotic fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices are on every supermarket and corner

shop shelf. Even 'English' is based on the languages spoken by Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavian

Vikings and Norman French invaders, with words added from the languages of other

immigrants. Immigrants have brought new musical sounds like reggae and calypso. They are

sporting heroes and founders of many well-known businesses. Novels, films and plays about

growing up in multi-cultural Britain are reaching a wider audience.

Today health and transport services continue to be supported by nurses, doctors and managers from overseas. In towns and cities there are not only churches but synagogues, mosques, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist temples.

Places such as Spitalfields and Soho in London, the Leylands in Leeds and Red Bank in Manchester have come to be closely identified with immigrant settlement. Spitalfields, in particular, has seen great changes in its migrant population over the years. At one time or another it has been known as 'Petty France', 'Little Jerusalem' and now 'Banglatown'.

And so the immigrant success story continues. Immigrants from all over the world

contribute to the arts, media, professions and politics of this country. Those who have moved

there have played a central role in the lives of the people of this island since early history.

Emigration

Many people have had to travel from Great Britain and the great tide of Emigration flows steadily westward to escape poverty, or to flee religious, racial or political repression. Some had no choice, for social or economic reasons. Others have wanted to start a new life. Perhaps they were setting up home with a new husband in the USA. Many wanted to breathe the freer atmosphere they expected to find in Australia or New Zealand. What probably contributed in this British adventure is “The universality of the Englishman’ experience and out-look- quite as marked a characteristic as his insularity- is due to his command of the ocean which has for more than three centuries past carried him as explorer,trader, and colonist to every shore in the two hemispheres. » as noticed by

The principal emigrants are Irish peasants and labourers. It is calculated that at least

four out of every five persons who leave the shores of the old country to try their fortunes in

the new world, are Irish. Since the fatal years of the potato famine and the cholera of the 19th

century, the annual numbers of emigrants have gone on increasing, until they have become so

great as to suggest the idea, and almost justify the belief, of a gradual depopulation of Ireland.

The colonies of Great Britain offer powerful attractions to the great bulk of the English and

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Scottish emigrants who forsake their native land to make homes in the wilderness. Before the

year 1847, the emigration was very considerable; but, since that time, it has very rapidly

increased.

People have had many different reasons for leaving Britain to settle permanently abroad. The majority of emigrants had no choice. These included the `convicts`, convicted criminals guilty of minor offences such as poaching or prostitution. They were mostly transported to Australia, and particularly to Van Diemen`s Land, as the island of Tasmania was then known. “Transportation” was the forced sending of criminals to another country, or rather colony; after America gained its independence in 1776, Australia was chosen, and convicts sent there from 1788 to 1858. Transportation was seen as a humane alternative to death by hanging, and death sentences were often `commuted` to transportation. For the convicts, conditions on board were not better than on slave ships. Indeed, they were treated as slaves, and sold to work for plantation owners when they arrived.

Economically, times were bad. Wars in Europe had halved the markets. Charles I was on the throne and, like his father James I, he raised money by selling monopolies that inflated the prices of many basic commodities. Many English families were emigrating to Ireland and the Caribbean as well as to America.The many Scots thrown off their land during the Highland clearances of the 18th century and the Irish at least, were more free than the convicts. They felt that emigrating to another country would give them a better chance in life than at home. However, their limited resources meant that conditions on board their emigrant ships were little better than those for convicts. The poor emigrants and their few belongings were packed into the holds of sailing ships for the voyage, often to the USA or Canada. The same ships would often bring a timber cargo back across the Atlantic. As can be imagined, facilities for passengers were very primitive.

Emigration was not just for economic reasons. Religious persecution, or fear of it, was why some emigrants left. For instance, Puritans[ They strived to create a church and to live lives that shone with the spirituality of early Christianity. From these beliefs, they took the name Puritan], and for Puritans life in England was especially hard.Those most peaceable of people, the Quakers, wanted somewhere they could pursue their beliefs undisturbed, hence, sought for a “City upon a Hill” (John Winthrop,1618). So many, led by William Penn, emigrated to North America in 1682 and founded Pennsylvania. But the Irish emigration flows with full force upon the United States.

Fear of cultural domination by the English drove some Welsh emigrants firstly to the USA. However, they still felt oppressed by Englishness even there. So, in the 1860s, some moved to a remote and arid region of Argentina, along the Chubut river in Patagonia. Their descendants still live in an area with an odd mixture of Spanish and Welsh place names, such as Puerto Madryn.

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'Far away-oh far away-

We seek a world o'er the ocean spray!

We seek a land across the sea,

Where bread is plenty and men are free,

The sails are set, the breezes swell-

England, our country, farewell! farewell!

The Role of British Government in the migration machine:

England’s interest in America grew when it realized that, not only a source of raw materials but it could also solve many of its internal problems (outcome of years of civil wars and political conflicts) like unemployment, poverty, diseases, political and religious persecutions… It seemed that the English cities were overcrowded mainly London, since many farm labours uprooted and have been forced off their lands by the development of sheep raising , hence swelled the ranks of the employment . The civilian authorities were unable to care for the poor who were traditionally assumed by the monasteries. The social and political situation worsened following the peace of 1604 when thousands of sailors were disbanded without employment and were trained in the use of arms and so presented a potential source of disruption for England. On the other hand, merchants and the British government wanted to promote the English trade, for that America was a potential and ideal for becoming an independent source of raw materials (it could provide sugar, fisheries, timber (largest forests in the world and rich minerals ) and moreover , it represented an independent new markets for English manufactories.

Thus, the economic motives would not be the only driving force behind the settlement .It was considered also as a land to extend her influence and to send legitimate missionary to promote the Protestantism (new faith against Catholicism). As outlined earlier, England seemed over populated, consequently, it looked at the new world as the place where the excess in population could be drawn off to avoid disruption.

Though deeply interested by colonising the new world, the English crown however never considered founding colonies itself, because it was seen as a commercial transaction, and by custom, the English crown was not allowed to engage in Business. Thus, the colonisation of the new world was attributed to the trading companies through generous charters and special privileges offered by the crown, and support to the emigration machine was indirect.

Her Majesty's Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners publish in the spring of

every year a useful little pamphlet, entitled the ' Colonisation Circular', which contains the

names and duties of the Emigration offices in the ports of The United Kingdom and in the

colonies- the cost of passage to the various colonies-a statement of the demand for labour-the

rate of wages, and the price of provisions in each colony-an explanation of the mode of

disposal of Crown lands-the privileges granted to naval and military settlers-the victualling

scale on board ships-an abstract of the Passengers Act, and other valuable particulars. The

Government however, gives no information relative to the United States-so that its admirable

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little circular is of comparatively little service to at least one-half of the great crowds of

emigrants.

After the Second World War, the ties between Britain and the Dominions were maintained, but the human flow that had created them diminished.

In the recent later years, people from UK go to France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand and, increasingly, Eastern Europe. Britons, particularly the middle classes, are leaving in greater numbers than ever before.

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Chapter Four

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Education

Education is a vital concern throughout Britain because a highly developed nation depends upon educated professionals and a skilled workforce. The literacy rate in Britain is one of the highest in the world at over 99 percent. The events that lead directly to the birth of the modern system of education in England are to be sought mainly in the second half of the 19th-century.

There were certain individuals at the beginning of the 19th century who were in favour of widespread education, however, for a number of reasons, they did not have the backing either of the government or of the people. Later on in the century leaders of the Chartist Movement and the Radicals were in favour of some sort of national system of education. However, it is safe to say that there was no widespread desire for the education of the population as a whole. In the social legislation of this period education did not become a real priority until the year of the first Education Act, 1870.( was inspired by the pioneering example of mass compulsory education in Germany and provided for state-financed primary education.)

Obstacles in way of a national system of free compulsory education

The establishment of a national system of education came late in England mainly because of the social, economic and religious climate of the century.

1-The higher classes of society had no interest in advocating the cultural development of the working classes. On the contrary, the effects of the revolutionary spirit in Europe reinforced conservative attitudes that were certainly not conducive to advocating the development of the critical faculties of the people as a whole.

2-Neither did the vast majority of the working class have any real interest in education. Child labour was common practice in this period and working-class families were very reluctant to give up the earnings of their children for the benefit of education. The employment of children continued to increase even after 1850.

3-Also the effect of Protestantism, with its emphasis on individualism, personal salvation, the private reading and interpretation of Scripture, ran contrary to any sort of collectivist thought.

4-Religious conflict also delayed the establishment of a national system of education. One example of this can be seen in the reaction to the clauses regarding education in the 1843 Factory Bill. There was violent opposition on the part of nonconformists and Catholics alike because, according to the Bill, headmasters had to be of the Church of England. Furthermore, the children were to be taught the catechism and be present at liturgical celebrations as well as service on Sundays. The Bill failed.

5-The idea of secular education had never been popular during the century. Education had almost exclusively been under the control of the established church. Furthermore, we should not forget the conflict between secular and religious thought that characterised the century, especially the latter half. Given the cultural and religious climate of the century it became obvious that any nondenominational system of education would be well nigh impossible. It

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was only in the 20th century, with the rise of indifference towards religious teaching, that general nondenominational schooling became possible. Denominational education was further reinforced by the increase in the Catholic population due to the wave of Irish immigrants during and following the Great Famine in Ireland (1845-50).

6-It was also thought that the voluntary school system was quite successful and that it was better not to encourage government intervention. Furthermore, the dominant laissez-faire theory of the time meant that, as in most areas, any direct intervention on the part of the state in the field of education was to be discouraged. The state was only too happy to leave education to the private sector, voluntary or otherwise. Education could not constitute an exception to the tenaciously upheld doctrine of laissez-faire. However, these voluntary institutions did not have the influence or power to construct a nationwide system.

7-Economic development and the increase of wealth were seen to be priority issues. The question of education only attracted very limited attention.

Tendencies and events favouring national education

Not everything was negative; there were quite distinct undercurrents of thought beginning to emerge that eventually led to the 1870 Education Act. During the century, and particularly during the second half, we have the beginnings of a national system of education that owes its birth to many factors.

1-From the first decade of the 19th-century there emerged indications of new thinking in the field of education. Of particular interest is the Bill introduced into the House of commons by Samuel Whitbread in 1807.

2-In 1807 Samuel Whitbread proposed to deal with the whole of the Poor Law with the introduction of a Bill in the House of Commons. Of particular interest is the first part of the Bill, which dealt specifically with education. Whitbread advocated making the parish responsible for education and proposed that each child should have two years of education between the ages of 7 and 14. He thought this would reduce crime and pauperism.

3-It was considered too expensive to implement and it was also thought that the introduction of such a scheme would take the people away from manual work and make them dissatisfied with their social situation. Although unsuccessful the thought of generalised education for the masses was even then being expressed and was later to be reiterated constantly throughout the century eventually leading up to the 1870 Education Act.

4-The idea of widespread education was also helped by the gradual increase in collectivist thought especially after 1865. This is quite evident in the works of Carlyle and Ruskin. It was only after this date that any idea of widespread state intervention in the field of education could find fertile ground.

5-The various Factory Acts of 1833, 1844, and 1867 were another contributory factor towards the general tendency towards national education. These acts focused not only on the condition

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of workers but they also had the effect of imposing certain restrictions on child labour, which in turn favoured the opportunity of an alternative: education for the child.

6-In the second half of the 19th-century crime and pauperism increased, so did riots strikes and social unrest. The commercial and manufacturing supremacy of Britain was in decline and this was seen to be mostly due to the fact that other European countries had a more developed technical education system. Political stability and economic prosperity now seemed to be associated with the education of the people. Education now seemed financially viable.

7-In 1869 two other societies were established: the Education League, which turned secular and the National Education Union, which was conservative and Anglican. It was mainly due to these two societies that the Education Act of 1870 was passed.

Education is an important part of the British life. There are hundreds of schools, colleges and universities, including some of the most famous in the world. Education is important in England as it is in the other countries of the Kingdom like in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of five and sixteen.

An indisputable fact set by laws which require that British children should recieve an

education until they are 16 years old. When education is complusory ¹, schools in counterpart are not since the British children are not required to attend schools. They could be educated at home as clearly notified by the « 1996 EDUCATION ACT of the UK, section 7 » :

« The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient

Full- time education suitible-

a)- to his age, ability, and aptitude , and

b)-to any special educational needs he may have, either by regular attendance at school

or otherwise »

What is meant by « otherwise » in this act is the possibility of parents’ teachers’ role playing as to teach their children at home and which is known in UK as ‘homeschooling’.

Teachers in the primary schools are always addressed by their surname, by parents and pupils alike, always Mr, Mrs, or Miss Smith as an example. In the secondary school however they become ultimately Miss or Sir.

¹ In England and Wales: a person is no longer of compulsory school age after the last Friday of June of the school year in which their 16th birthday occurs .Current government proposals are to raise the age until which students must continue to receive some form of education or training to 18. This is expected to be phased in by 2015.

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As what is done in many countries all over the world, the school year in England runs from September to July, hence 39 weeks long. For many areas, the year is devided into six terms, whereas many other counties still follow the traditional three terms a year.The dates for school terms and holidays are decided by the local authority(LA) or the governing body of a school, or by the school itself if the latter is independent.

Children’s education in England is normally divided into two seperate stages.They begin with primary eduction at the age of five and this usually lasts until they are eleven. Then they move to secondry school (or High school) where they stay until they reach sixteen, seventeen or eighteen years of age depending on the choice of the grade they opted for.

Education Stages :

Nursery Schools [3 - 4years old] :

The statutory school age in England and Wales is from 5 years , eventhough, every three and four years old in England is entitled to 12.5 hours of free early learning per week, in

nurseries, playgroups, pre-schools or at their childminders for 38 weeks of the year.

Primary Schools [5-11years old] :

Children normally start primary school or what is also known as ‘infant schools’ at the age of five right in the next term after their fifth birthday. Children are put into year groups

(grades). The whole class moves up a year group each year in September. Once they enter for the first time, they are put in the reception class which represents the ‘first grade’in their learning process, but many schools today have a reception year also for four years old.

Children normally leave at the age of 11, which means seven years of attending the primary school where they study English, arithmetic, science, Religious education, history, geography, music, art and crafts, physical education and information technology (computers).

After seven years of intensive learning they move to the secondary school .

Secondary Schools [11-16] :

It is the second stage of the studying process and which lasts five years. At the age of 16, students in England,Wales and Northern Ireland take an examination called the GCSE(General Certificate of Secondary Education). In Scotland, the equivalent of the GCSE is the Standard Grade. Study of GSCE subjects begins at the start of Year 10(age 14-15), and final examinations are then taken at the end of Year 11(15-16). In state schools, English, mathematics, science, religious education and physical education are studied during Key Stage 4(the GCSE which corresponds to the 10th year of schooling). In England some form of ICT and citizenship must be studied and, in Wales, Welsh must be studied. Other subjects, chosen by individual pupil, are also studied.

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After completing the GCSE, some students leave school, others go onto technical colleges, while others continue at high school for two additional years to take a further set of standardized exams, known as A levels (the equivalant of Baccalaureate exam in other countries all over the world like Algeria,France…), in three or four subjects. These exams determine whether a student is eligible for university or not.

All along their studying stage both British pupils (in the primary schoool) and students (in the secondary school) are required to wear a school uniform in almostely all schools :

The uniform is as follows :

Boys Long grey or black trousers (shorts may be worn in the Summer) + White Shirt +School tie (optional in most primary schools,obligatory in the high school) +Jumper or sweater with the school logo on+ Black shoes.

Girls Like the boys’ uniforms by the exception that girls may wear skirts if they prefer them to trousers. During the summer term girls often wear summer school dresses.

The colour is the choice of the schools, and even represents it, which reflects the importance of wearing the school uniform. In as far as one of the reasons to wear it, is that once outside the school, in a school trip for instance, all pupils look all the same and so can’t get lost or mixed with other pupils from other schools. Other reasons are more ‘humanistic’ in that all students are equal, so to not to distinguish the rich from the poor, others are more practical, so to facilitate the school life for both children and parents alike as to stop kids worrying about what to wear each day, hence to lose time and energy, also to avoid to parents to shop for expensive and varied wardrobes for their children to keep up with or show-off to other children.

Despite the fact that wearing a uniform instills a sense of pride and discipline in students, however some relactance and opposition emerged in the laten years as it denies students their right to personal identity and self-expression.

The children attend school from Monday to Friday, from 08 :55- 15 :15 except for hollidays. In England as in many other parts in the world, hollidays are generally related to Religious feasts and celebrations. As a result, there are two kinds of hollidays the main long term ones like :

• Christmas -2 weeks

• Easter (Spring)-2 weeks

• Summer-6 weeks (July/August)

There are also a break at mid-term which usually lasts for about a week, which occers either in :

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• End of october

• Mid February

• End of May

Types of Schools in Britain :

In England there are two main categories of schools which are:

State Schools : These schools are non fee-paying, maintained and organised by the Local Authorities(LA).Funded mainly from taxes, and are free to all children between the ages of 5-to 16. All government-run schools, state schools, follow the same National Curriculum.

In the UK 93% of the children in England and Wales go to ‘State Schools’. Parents are expected to make sure that their child has a pen, pencil,ruler, etc.but the cost of other more specialised equipment, books, examination fees are covered by the school. But they are, however, expected instead to pay for their child’s school uniform and items of sports wear. Charges may also be made for music lessons and for board and lodgings on residential trips. Schools on an other hand may ask for voluntary contributions for school time activities-but no pupil may be left out of an activity if their parents or guardian cannot or do not contribute.

State Schools includes :

Primary Schools(5-11 years old) : In the UK, the first level of education is known as primary education.These are almost always mixed sex, and usually located close to the child’s home.Children tend to be with the same group throughout the day, and one teacher has responsibility for most of the work they do. Parents are strongly encouraged to help their children, particularly with reading and writing, and small amounts of work are set to all children, even during the early years at school.

Secondary Schools(11-16 years old) : Most children transfer at the age of 11-usually to their nearest secondary school, though the law allows parents in England and Wales to express preferences for other schools too. A place has to be offered at the parents’prefered school unless the school has more applicants than places ; in that case it will admit the children who have the highest priority under its published admission arrangements which can vary a little in different places.

Most secondary schools cater for both sexes. They tend to be larger than the primary

schools. In UK, there are two different types of State secondary schools in respect to the kind

of knowledge they provide children with :

Comprehensive schools : Where nearly 88 per cent of secondary school pupils in England go to, as do all pupils in Wales. These take children of all abilities and provide a wide range of secondary education for all or most of the children in a district from 11 to 16 or 18.

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All children in Scotland go to non-selective schools.

Grammar Schools : are selective, they offer academically oriented general education. Entrance is based on a test of ability, usually at 11. Grammar schools are single sexed schools i.e. Children either go to a boys Grammar School or a Girls Grammar School. There are grammar schools in Northern Ireland and some parts of England.

Private/Public Schools or Fee paying schools : These are independent schools where parents pay for their children’s education.7% of the children in England go to independent schools.They are devided into :

• Nursery/Kindergarten 2 to 4 years • Pre-preparatory 3 or 4 to 7 years • Preparatory 7 to 11 or 13 years : This is a school to prepare pupils to go to a public

school.

Public 11 or 13 to 18 years : It is an independent secondary school,not run by the government. The entrance exams are used by most public schools and are known as Common Entrance exams and are taken at the age of 11 for girls and the age of 13 for boys.

The most famous public schools are Eton, Harrow and Winchester.

Higher Education

Around 30% of the 18 to 19 years old enter full-time higher education. The formal entry requirements to most degree courses are two A-levels at grade E or above. In practice, most offers of places require qualifications in excess of this.

The most famous British universities are :

Oxford: Is the oldest institution of higher learning in the English-speaking world. The university is located in Oxford, England.

Cambridge: Is an institution of higher education, the second oldest university in Great Britain after the University of Oxford. It is located in the city of Cambridge.

The University of London: Institution of higher learning, in London. The university originated from two institutions—the London University (later University College, London), a nonsectarian college founded in 1826, and King's College, founded by members of the Anglican church in 1829.

There is an other kind of learning which evolved parallely with the development of communications technologies which is ‘Distance Education’

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Distance Education:

Methods of instruction that utilize different communications technologies, to carry teaching to learners in different places. Distance education programs enable learners and teachers to interact with each other by means of computers, artificial satellites, telephones, radio or television broadcasting, or other technologies. Instruction conducted through the mail is often referred to as correspondence education, although many educators simply consider this the forerunner to distance education. Distance education is also sometimes called distance learning. While distance learning can refer to either formal or informal learning experiences, distance education refers specifically to formal instruction conducted at a distance by a teacher who plans, guides, and evaluates the learning process. As new communications technologies become more efficient and more widely available, increasing numbers of elementary schools, secondary schools, universities, and businesses offer distance education programs.

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Chapter Five

39

Communication

Most forms of communication are available in the UK, for example Television (both Commercial & Cable); Radio; Telephone; Fax; Mobile Telephones & Texting; Internet and emailing; Broadband; VoIP etc. Newspapers and magazines are readily available throughout the country, and most of the major newspapers from around the world are on sale in Central London and other large cities.

Telephone accounts can be opened with one of the many companies operating in the UK (the biggest telephone company is British Telecom), or alternatively prepaid mobile telephones can be purchased. Many telephone boxes in the streets only accept a prepaid card, and not cash, and these cards are on sale at newsagents and many other outlets.

The prominence of the English language gives the UK media a widespread international dimension. The United Kingdom has an extremely diverse media with an almost unrivalled number of outlets, second only to the United States.

Broadcasting

Television

The first British television channel was launched by the BBC in 1932 and called simply The BBC Television Service. The BBC Television Service held a complete monopoly on television broadcasting in the UK until ITV was launched in 1955. The station was renamed BBC1 when BBC2 was launched in April 1964. The BBC is funded by public money accrued from a television licence fee gathered from all UK households with a television set. This fee is legally compulsory and failure to pay it is punishable by prosecution, resulting in a fine or imprisonment. There are exceptions to paying, for homes with a pensioner (person over 65 years old). It is cheaper for those with a black & white TV or eyesight that is impaired. The fee chargeable is limited by the government and regulatory authorities. The BBC provides two analogue networks, BBC One (consisting of a network of local BBC stations) and BBC Two.

Channel 4 is similarly chartered to the BBC, with a remit to provide public service broadcasting and schools programs, however it runs commercial advertisements to provide a revenue stream. It produces a single analogue network, currently branded as 4.

The commercial operators rely on advertising for their revenue, and are run as commercial ventures, in contrast to the public service operators. The ITV franchise transmits one analogue network known as ITV1(consisting of a network of local ITV stations) and Five transmits one analogue network also.

In the UK the BBC has eight digital networks:

• BBC One (also available on analogue)

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• BBC Two (also available on analogue)

• BBC Three

• BBC Four

• BBC Parliament

• BBC News

• CBBC Channel

• CBeeBies

ITV has eight digital networks, Channel 4 has eight digital networks and Five has five digital networks. All four of the mentioned broadcasters also have interactive services on digital.

65% of households in 2005/06 received some digital television service.

Analogue Terrestrial television

This was the traditional way of receiving television in the UK, however it has now largely been supplanted by digital providers. There are 5 channels with regional variations, plus a limited number of local channels. Analogue terrestrial transmissions are currently being switched off in phases as part of the Digital Switchover.

Cable television

After a long series of mergers and rebrands, Virgin Media, WhiteCable and SmallWorld Media are the UK's three providers of cable TV. Historically, the cable companies offered the 'triple-play' of telephone, subscription TV and broadband, although this has now been matched by non-cable competitors such as Sky and BT Vision. It offers also video on demand.

Satellite television

Sky is the dominant satellite broadcaster with the largest number of channels compared to other providers. Unlike cable and IPTV, Sky cannot offer video on demand with their existing broadcast infrastructure.

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IP television (IPTV)

In contrast to Internet TV, IPTV refers to services operated and controlled by a single company, who may also control the 'Final Mile' to the consumers' premises. BTV Vision, Freewire andTiscali TV are the UK's three providers of IPTV services.

Mobile television

Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone provide mobile television services for reception on third generation mobile phones. They consist of a mixture of regular channels (marketed as 'live TV') as well as made for mobile channels with looped content.

Internet television

Television received via the Internet may be free, subscription or pay-per-view, multicast,unicast, or peer-to peer,streamed or downloaded, and use a variety of distribution technologies.Since 2006, UK channel owners and content producers have been creating Internet services to access their programmes.

Radio

There are many hundreds of radio stations in the United Kingdom, the most prominent of which are the national networks operated by the BBC. Recent advances in digital radio technology have enabled the launch of several new stations by the Corporation.

• BBC Radio 1 :broadcasts pop music output on FM and digital radio, with live music throughout the year

• BBC Radio2: is the UK's most listened to radio station, with a mix of music from the last thirty years

• BBC Radio 3: is a serious classical station, broadcasting high-quality concerts and performances. At night, it transmits a wide range of jazz and world music.

• BBC Radio4: is a current affairs and speech station, with news, debate and radio drama,as well as flagship news programme Today.

• BBC Radio Five Live :broadcasts live news and sports commentary with phone-in debates and studio guests

• BBC Radio 6 Music : transmits predominantly alternative rock, with many live sessions.

• BBC 1Xtra: broadcasts rap, RnB and drum’n bass • BBC 7 : uses the BBC's large archive of speech programming to broadcast classic

comedy and drama, mainly originally from Radio 4

The BBC also provide 40 local radio services, mainly broadcasting a mix of local news and music aimed at an older audience.

Also available nationally are three national commercial channels, namely Virgin Radio, Classic FM and talkSPORT. As with the BBC, digital radio has brought about many changes,

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including the roll-out of local stations (particularly those based in London) to a national audience.

Print

News papers

Traditionally, British newspapers could be split into quality, serious-minded newspaper (usually referred to as "broadsheets" due to their large size) and the more populist(are seen as being more intellectual and upmarket), and tabloid smaller in size varieties (seen as being more downmarket than broadsheets, containing more stories about celebrities or gossip. For convenience of reading, many traditional broadsheets have switched to a more compact-sized format, traditionally used by tabloids. As an example The Times and The Independent which have recently switched to a smaller size, preferring to call themselves compact rather than be stigmatised by the tabloid label.The Sun has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper in the UK, with approximately a q uarter of the market; its sister paper, The News of the World similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market, and traditionally focuses on celebrity-led stories. The Daily Telegraph, a right wing broadsheet paper, has overtaken The Times (tabloid size format) as the highest-selling of the "quality" newspapers. The Guardian is a more liberal "quality" broadsheet. The Financial Times is the main business paper, printed on distinctive salmon-pink broadsheet paper.

First printed in 1737, the Belfast News Letter is the oldest known English-language daily newspaper still in publication today. One of its fellow Northern Irish competitors, The Irish News, has been twice ranked as the best regional newspaper in the United Kingdom, in 2006 and 2007.

Magazines

Aside from newspapers, British magazines and journals have achieved worldwide circulation including The Economist and Nature.

Scotland has a distinct tradition of newspaper readership. The tabloid Daily Record has the highest circulation of any daily newspaper outselling the Scottish Sun by four to one while its sister paper, the Sunday Mail similarly leads the Sunday newspaper market. The leading "quality" daily newspaper in Scotland is The Herald, though it is the sister paper of The Scotsman, theScotland on Sunday, that leads in the Sunday newspaper market.

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Chapter Six

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Leisure

British people are known to be very meticulous decendants of one of the largest aristocracies of the world, they pay considerable attention to the question as how to manage both the working as well as leisure times so to employ them to their best. After five days, from Monday to Friday, of work for parents and studying for children, the weekends are a time for families in Britain.

Saturdays are a busy time for shops with many families going shopping. Sundays used to be a very special day of the week. It was the one day of the week for ‘worship and rest’.The shops were closed and most people were at home or at church. Popular leisure activities on Sunday used to be going to church and doing odd jobs around the home such as gardening and DIY (Do It Yourself).

Until a few years ago, shops were not permitted to open on a Sunday. Sundays today are becoming like any other day of the week with shops open. Some families will now spend their time shopping rather than going to church or they will combine the two activities.

Britain is becoming a far less Christian country with fewer people regularly attending Church. Many Christian’s believe that Sunday should be kept special, as a time given to worshipping God. They think it is important for Christians to meet together, listen to readings from the Bible and celebrate Holy Communion. Others believe that it is important that families should have time to be together.Nevertheless, the shopping hours on a Sunday are less than on any other day of the week.

How do British people spend their free time?

People in Britain,enjoy various indoor and outdoor activities.A recent Euro statesurvey, the

EU’s statistical office, discovered that people in Britain spend about 45% of their free time

watching television,24% of their free time socializing,22-23 % on sport and hobbies, and 10%

on other activities. Other popular leisure activities are listening to the radio, listening to pre-

recorded music, reading, DIY, gardening, eating out and going to the cinema.

1)-Television or Telly: Is the most common leisure activity and pastime in the UK. The

average viewing time is 25 hours per person per week. Almost all households have at least

one television set. In 1999, 13% of households had satellite television and 9% cable

television.It is estimated that about 10 per cent of houshold have two or more sets.

There are three public bodies responsible for television and radio throughout Britain which

are

• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which broadcasts television and radio programmes;

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• The Independent Television Commission (ITC), which licences and regulates commercial television service including cable, satellite and independent teletext services;

• The Radio Authority, which licences and regulates commercial radio services, including cable and satellite.

There are five main channels in Britain:

• two national commercial-free BBC networks, BBC1 and BBC2, • commercial ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5 services.

The BBC channels are commercial free while the other three have commercials. All the channels offer a mixture of drama, light entertainment, films, sport, educational, children’s and religious programs, news and current affairs, and documentaries.

The BBC has been providing regular television broadcasts since 1936. BBC television productions come from main studios at the Television Centre in west London and other

studios in various parts of London.

Whereas ITV1 is the most popular commercial television channel in Britain, watched on average by 45 million people every week.

Digital Broadcasting :The country is moving over to digital broadcasting, and the present

analogue services will stop in 2012.

Telivision Programmes British watch

Many television programmes are about wildlife, animals, holidays, cooking and gardening and the most cherished about the British people are :

DIY programs - DIY means do it yourself. These programmes are very popular as many people love improving their homes and decorating.

Drama and sitcoms Men Behaving Badly, Inspector Morse, Cracker, Absolutely Fabulous, the Royal Family, Dalziel & Pascoe, Soldier Soldier, Darling Buds of May, Poirot, The Bill, Casualty.

Soaps - a series of television or radio programmes about the lives and problems of a particular group of characters. They run over a long period and are broadcast several times every week.

The most popular are "Eastenders".

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Reality programs - Involve filming normal people in their every-day jobs or putting several people in a specially built house where they can be filmed 24 hours-a-day and giving them

challenges to do. The most famous of these is Big Brother.

American Programs

Like in many parts of the world a lot of American programs are largely admired and watched by the British, including some famous ones like Friends, Will and Grace, Frasier, ER as well as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Simpsons and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Though its popularity, to watch the ‘Telly’ in UK, you are reqquired by law to pay for a TV licence no mater how much or how little you watch it.Applied also for any other device to recieve or record TV programmes like a DVD recorder.

2)-Radio

People in Britain listen to an average of 15 hours and 50 minutes of radio each week. Generally in they listen to it in the morning once havin g the breakfast in family or when having the evening meal and largely when driving cars.Even the young er listen to some channels like Top 40 to find out who is number one in the pop charts each week.

The BBC has five national radio networks which together transmit all types of music, news, current affairs, drama, education, sport and a range of feature programmes. There are also 39 BBC local radio stations, and national radio services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

3)-Newspapers

There are about 130 daily and Sunday newspapers, over 2,000 weekly newspapers and some 7,000 periodical publications in Britain. The press in Britain is free to comment on matters of public interest, subject to law.

Daily Newspapers sell 322 copies per 1000 people in the UK, the eighth highest rate in the world.

Brit ish newspapers inc lude the fol lowing:

The Daily Mail

The Daily Telegraph

The Financial Times

The Guardian

The Independent

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The Scotsman

The Times

Western Mail and Echo

The Sun

The Mirror

The Herald

4)-Entertaining (socialising)

The second most popular activity in Britain is visiting or entertaining friends or relations.It took place once a week at least.

5)-Cinema (Movie house)

Britons made 123 million visits to the cinema in 1998 making it the most popular cultural activity in the UK. They go there in family or in groups.

6)-Eating out

Eating out has grown in popularity, with British people spending in 1999 an average of £5.63 per person per week on food (excluding alcohol) outside the home. The most famous places where families go regularly are the fastfooods like the Mcdonalds.For certain special occasion they go to big restaurants.In recent years delivered food to house is becoming a tandancy for the majority of the British .

7)-Homes and Gardens

The British are known as a nation of gardeners. Most people have a garden on their property. Gardening has been a popular pastime since Roman times. Many people in Britain are proud of their houses and gardens. They want their houses and gardens to look nice. Every town in Britain has one or more DIY (Do it Yourself) centres and garden centres. These are like supermarkets for the home and garden. These places are very popular with British home-owners at the weekends.

8)-Activities outside the home

Saturday is traditionally the day for shopping and watching sports. A newspaper survey found that 20 per cent of British women are compulsive shoppers.

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9)-Sports and Physical Recreation

Sports and physical recreation have always been popular. They play an important part in the life of British and is one of the most popular leisure activity. Many of the world's famous sports began in Britain, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby.

Local governments provide cheap sport and leisure facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, parks and gold courses. People go to watch other people play sports like football or take part in sports themselves.

England's national sport is cricket although to many people football (soccer) is seen as the national one. Football is also considered as the most popular sport. Some of England's football teams are world famous, the most famous being Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

10)-Pubs (Public Houses)

The word pub is short for ‘public house’. There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK

(53,000 in England and Wales, 5,200 in Scotland and 1,600 in Northern Ireland). Going to the

pub is the most popular leisure activity outside the home and an important part of British life,

since they are popular social meeting places where people talk, eat, drink, meet their friends

and relax there.

During Summer Holidays

British people spend much of their free time during the summer months down by the

sea, abroad since the traditional British holiday is a seaside one. The most popular destination

for UK residents abroad is Spain which has been the most popular country to visit since 1994,

with 13.8 million visits in 2005. France was second in popularity, with 11.1 million visits.The

number of visits by UK residents to the USA increased by 2 per cent in 2005 to 4.2 million, 6

per cent higher than the number in 2001. The number of visits abroad made by UK residents

has more than tripled since 1985, to a record 66.4 million visits in 2005.

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Chapter Seven

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British family

The family in Britain is changing in terms of values and norms .The once typical British family headed by two parents has undergone substancial changes during the last centuries. To each period of the British history, corresponded a typical different image of the family. Under the Feudal system, the British family was called ‘ social family’, it extanded to relatives like the grand parants, the parents, uncles and aunts,…) and adopting the complementary system based on division of works and duties to complete all the needs of the family. This family system soon disappeared during the Industrial revolution era, which brought ‘the nuclear family’or ‘modern family’ based on the limitaion of the members of the family as well as children. The complimentary work became individual work. During the twentieth centuries, the nuclear family evolved to give birth to a new British family structure with different phenomenon like cohabitation- divorce- single parent families… A fact mainly explained in regard to British evolution in terms of modernism, decline of security within the institution of marriage and woman delay of marriage because of their education, professions, careers.

Family Structure in Britain :

In particular there has been a rise in the number of single-person households, which increased from 18 to 29 per cent of all households between 1971 and 2002. By The year 2020, it is estimated that there will be more single people than maried. Fifty years ago, this would have been socially unacceptable in Britain.

In past, people got married and stayed married. Divorce was very difficult, expensive and took a long time .Today, people’s views on marriage are changing. Many couples, mostly in their twenties or thirties, live together (cohabit) without getting married. Only about 60% of these couples will eventually get married. In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of children in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents. In 2000, around a quarter of unmarried people between the ages of 16 and 59 were cohabiting in Great Britain.

Cohabiting couples are also starting families without first being married. Before 1960, this was very unusual, but in 2001 around 23 per cent of births in the UK were of cohabiting couples.

People are generally getting married at a later age now (during the feudal system they married at 14), and many women do not want to have children immediately. They prefer to concentrate on their jobs and put off having a baby until late thirties.

The number of single –parent families is increasing. This is mainly due to more marriages ending in divorce, but some women are also choosing to have children as lone parents without being married.

Family Size : An average of 2.4 people live as a family in one home in Britain. This is smaller than most other European countries.

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A consequent problem arose from this new tendencies of the country, like the reduction in children number because of :

1-Women careers

2-Abortion (since it becomes legal) because of women’s modern engagements in

the British society

3-Contraception to avoid making children

A fact that largely contributed in the increase in the number of retired person (old) that may affect the demography of the country, hence different fields like the economical one. The British government, and in order to refresh the population and bring a balance inside the English society, relies on the many ethnic groups of immigrants, having British nationalities like Indians, Pakistanese, …etc. by encouraging them to make children and giving them child benefit

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Chapter Eight

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British Society

The History of English society demonstrates innumerable changes over many centuries. These major social changes have affected England both internally and in its relationship with other nations.

Social Class System in Britain

Britain was once a class-ridden society. Class was a staple part of the British way of life. Today, multiculturalism and a changing economy are gradually eroding the British class system, but some features of the system still remain.

What is Class?

Sociologists define social class as the grouping of people by occupations. Doctors and lawyers and university teachers are given more status than unskilled labourers. The different positions represent different levels of power, influence and money.

The British society is often considered to be divided into three main groups of classes:

• the Upper Class, • the Middle Class, and the • Lower or Working Class

This is known as the Class system

The Different Class Systems

There are three main class divisions.

The Upper Classes : tends to consist of people with inherited wealth, and includes some of the oldest families, with many of them being titled aristocrats.

The upper classes are not only defined by their title, but also by their education, and their pastimes which includes the traditional sporting life involving hunting, shooting and fishing, as well as a great deal of horse riding for both leisure and as a competitive pursuit.

The Middle Classes : are the majority of the population of Britain today. They include industrialists, professionals, businesspeople and shop owners.

Working class : people are mostly agricultural, mine and factory workers.

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Historical background of social class division :

The history of class system in England is connected to the history of the nation during

the remote Middle Ages. The Norman invasion by William the Conqueror (1066) set the basis

of social class division. With his « Feudal system » at first he devided the British into two

classes, establishing it on the social owning of lands, i.e the more lands you possess, the

closer you are to the upper class and belonging to it.

The first English social division under the Feudal system was as follows :

King The common characteristics between

High class Barons them are : French origins

Lords aristocracy and Latin/ European culture

Lower class Peasants Anglo-Saxons, poor, speaking English

The Feudal System

The relationship between the Aristocrates and peasants was based on « The share crop

ssystem », which meant that the peasants worked in the aristocrates lands (owners of the land)

and in return,they give them 1/5 of the crops.

Hence, the « Feudal system » brought England from the dark ages to the Middle Ages, but

brought also a social organisation based on injustice and unequality.

Similarly, There was an other class division brought by an other institution in the country

which is the Church. Under the control of the Roman Catholic Church at first, but even after

their separation the church social division remained the same as follows :

Abbots

Bishops

Vican

Clerks

The share of lands 4/5 was devided between the Church and Aristocracy. As such

both, acumulated wealth and luxuries which gave the way to the emergance of a new social

class made of merchants and investors. This latter, marked a shift from Feudalism to

Mercantalism that needed open spieces, a motive which enabled Britain to became U.K and

then an Empire setting the bases of Imperialism.

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The 18th century brought new changes with the disappearnace of Marchantalism and

the appearance of Industrialism. A result of which, there was a radical change in all aspects

of the British life affecting the classes themselves which is called the « Social Split » :

Nobility (Royal family + Aristocracy)

Upper Class

Rich merchants, traders, industrialists

Skilled (middle class)

Lower Class

Unskilled (working class)

Hence, the English society had evolved through time, from feudalism to

merchantalism which shifted to imperialism then to industrialism which gave the way to

democracy which reduced consequently social class division. English society now is no more

based on wealth but only individual’s competence, education and ability and the royal family

is only a symbol of unity of the nation.

Status

Eventhough the new tandency of the British erosing the social class system, however You can easily identify which class people belong to by the way they speak (accent), their clothes, their interests, the way that they educate their children, or even the type of food they eat.

The position of woman in the British Society :

It is linked to the social change of the whole English society, so that any change occuring in it is ultimately the woman’s concern. Through history, there have been a social evolution of women. In the Middle Ages, woman reflected distinctively the social classes of England. Women of higher class were submissive to their respective husbands and parents (terribly obedient). Married ladies basically, were considered as « decorative objects » they were even apointed at as ‘to have a sculpture in the wardrobe’, since they were provided by jeweleries, clothes, and luxuries in order to preservethe image of the Aristocratic family and to protect the social status of her husband (she should reflect, mantain, and keep a perfect image of the husband as the only object of her conjugal life). On the other side, the peasant women of the lower class, were more concerned with harsh works, house holding, and rising children. They were mainly concerned by agricultural works imposed by the ‘Feudal system’ of that time. Education on the other hand, was restricted only to the Aristocratic men, so neither the Aristocratic woman nor the peasant one recieved any kind of education.

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With the advance of the Industrial revolution, the whole English society deeply changed and winds of radical changes blew out bringing all along women evolution, both in terms of role and position. The Industrial revolution in general and Textile industry (being an important heritage) in particular, appealed for hand workers. As such women were the principle beneficiary and entered the work market from the biggest doors as an active participants in the National economy. Not only in the world of work, but the Induststrial revolution brought changes like in Education where there was ‘mass literacy’ and a rise of consciousness of its importance even for women who claimed for their educational rights resulting in a shift from totaly dependent beings to indepedent ones. There were also many governmental programs aiming at emancipating women towards their political rights, as a result, they were given the right to vote for the first time in 1928. Hence, British women entered a new faze, the one of citizenship, considered as a person with full rights and duties.

Social characteristics and Social attitudes in Britain :

Any foreigner to the English society, may have a feeling that the English society is very coherent, but according to some investigations carried out during 20 years about the British society (the last one in 1990), sorted out that English society is constantly changing and rapidly changing. So, according to the results, the English society is in fact very heterogenious, based on diversity which is basically caused by many sorts of extra-variables.Today, no one can have just one stereo-type of the English society, but it is devided to each geographic, racial regions.

-The English consider themselves as calm, and arrogant, reserved, sensical and reasonable.

-They consider the Irish as impulsive, romantic and sometimes violent, however the Irish consider themselves as generous, reserved respectful. But in return they consider the British as conservative and exentric.

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Bibliography

Books

1)-Hent.D.R.1987.An Illustrated History of Modern Britain

2)-Keen.M. 1990. English Society in The Later Middle Ages 1348- 1500

The Punguin Social History of Britain

3)-Marwick. A. 1996. British Society Since 1945

The Punguin Social History of Britain

4)-Morgan.K.O 1996.The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain

Oxford University Press

5)-Trevelyan.G.M.1987. A Shortened History of England

Articles and Websites

1)- BA (Hons) Politics & Mgmt

Scottish undergraduate course, UK Includes a year work placement

www;rgu. Ac.uk/ abs/undergraduate

2)-Eu Communication

A study about the Institutional Communication of the European Union

www. Tesionline.com

3)- Paul.H.1998

Columbia Encyclopedia: European Economic Community

halsall@murray.fordtham.edu