SOCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND

SOCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND

SECTION-A

Answer ALL of the questions                                                                                 10×2=20

1. Define the term “Renaissance.”
2. How was the Spanish Armada defeated?
3. How did the English Civil War affect religion?
4. What is Puritanism?
5. Why is the English era after 1660, known as the Restoration?
6. What is the Agrarian Revolution?
7. Describe the most critical factors that enabled the Americans to win their War of Independence?
8. What did the 1832 Reform Act do?
9. What were the results of the Second World War?
10. What is meant by Trade Unionism?

SECTION-B

Answer ALL of the questions                                                                                 5×5=25

11. What were the causes and effects of the English Reformation?

OR

Who was the leader of the Spanish Armada and explain his role?

12. Discuss the major objectives of the East India Company.

OR

What problems did the Puritans have with the Church of England?

13. How did the Restoration of 1660 affect England? The historical impact of Restoration in England?

OR

Why was the Coffee House an important part of life in London, England?

14. What were the causes of the American Revolution?

OR

What are the positive effects of the French Revolution?

15. Why did the United States enter the First World War?

OR

What is the trade union and explain its major functions?

SECTION-C

Answer Any THREE of the following questions                                         3×10=30

16. Discuss the main features of the Elizabethan drama focusing on Shakespeare.
17. What is the significance of the English Civil Wars? How is it important in British history?
18. Describe the effect of the Agrarian Revolution in England.
19. Discuss the importance of Reform Bills in England?
20. What are the salient features of the Victorian Age in English Literature?

SOCIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND

Key for Set-1

SECTION-A

Answer ALL of the questions                                                                                 10×2=20

1. Define the term “Renaissance.”

The term Renaissance means “rebirth.” It refers to a rebirth of classical culture in Western Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries, concomitant with major changes in politics and religion.

2. How was the Spanish Armada defeated?

The factors of poor leadership and weather contributed to the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and there was another factor as well.  The ships of the Spanish Navy were large and slow, and their tactics were hundreds of years old.  The Spanish ships, like those of the Greeks and Romans, were mainly designed to ram into enemy ships so Spanish fighters could board and take them.  The English, however, had lighter and faster ships that were armed with cannon.  These ships could not be caught by the Spanish ships, and the large, slow Spanish ships could not evade the English guns.  The result did not only do the Spanish lose the battle, but they lost their naval superiority as well, not only to the English but to the Dutch.

3. How did the English Civil War affect religion?

Religion was a major cause of the English Civil War. It was part of a Europe vast conflict between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. At the start of his reign (1625), King Charles I had married the Roman Catholic Henrietta Maria of France. At this time Roman Catholics were distrusted and feared

4. What is Puritanism?

Generally speaking, Puritans were originally those Protestants in 16th century England who believed that the Reformation hadn’t gone far enough. They believed that too many of the old Catholic ways such as the wearing of lavish vestments by priests. It had been retained, meaning that the Church of England under Queen Elizabeth was not fully Reformed like the Calvinist churches on the continent and to which the Puritans looked for inspiration.

5. Why is the English era after 1660, known as the Restoration?

Restoration, Restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. It marked the return of Charles II as king (1660–85) following the period of Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth. The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy.

6. What is the Agrarian Revolution?

The Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century paved the way for the Industrial Revolution in Britain. New farming techniques and improved livestock breeding led to amplified food production. This allowed a spike in population and increased health. The new farming techniques also led to an enclosure movement.

7. Describe the most critical factors that enabled the Americans to win their War of Independence?

The Americans were able to prevail in the Revolutionary War (1775–1783) for three reasons. First, British generals committed many serious mistakes. Many of them were overconfident. They also made tactical errors. For example, they sent their troops up Bunker Hill in an unimaginative and costly frontal assault. The American patriots inflicted heavy losses on the reckless British redcoats at Bunker Hill and fled when they ran out of ammunition.

8. What did the 1832 Reform Act do?

In 1832, Parliament passed a law changing the British electoral system. It was known as the Great Reform Act. It was a response to many years of people criticizing the electoral system as unfair. For example, there were constituencies with only a handful of voters that elected two MPs to Parliament.

9. What were the results of the Second World War?

Results and Aftermath of World War II. After the end of the War, a conference was held in Potsdam, Germany, to set up peace treaties. The countries that fought with Hitler lost territory and had to pay reparations to the Allies. Germany and its capital Berlin were divided into four parts.

10. What is meant by Trade Unionism?

Labour unions or trade unions are organizations formed by workers from related fields that work for the common interest of its members. They help workers in issues like the fairness of pay, pleasant working environment, hours of work, and benefits.  The purpose of Trade unions is to look into the grievances of workers and present a collective voice to the management. Hence, it acts as the medium of communication between the workers and management.

SECTION-B

Answer ALL of the questions                                                                                 5×5=25

11. What were the causes and effects of the English Reformation?

The English Reformation was the process by which Catholicism was rejected as the state religion of England and replaced by the Church of England.  In contrast to the Reformation on the continent, the English Reformation was largely driven by the most powerful people in the land.  It was not a grassroots movement like the Reformation was on much of the continent. Shortly after the Black Death shook Europe, the Catholic Church restored people’s faith, causing the Church to gain immense power. The Church grew increasingly greedy and corrupt and began practices of selling indulgences, in which people would pay money for spiritual “credit” and remains of dead saints.

The English Reformation came about because of the political needs of King Henry VIII of England.  Famously, Henry wanted a divorce from his wife, Catharine of Aragon.  The reason for this was their failure to have a son together.  Henry needed a son to secure the succession and therefore petitioned to have his marriage annulled.  It was fairly common at the time (among royalty), but the Pope was politically indebted to Catharine’s relatives and rejected the petition.  This caused Henry to break with the Church.

Henry has been motivated by a desire for greater control of the Church and its wealth in general.  The Church had always been a power center not necessarily controlled by the Crown.  Henry felt it was in the Crown’s interests to dominate the Church.  He was also happy to destroy British monasteries and reap the economic benefits of doing so.

The Reformation started with Henry and can be said to have ended more than 100 years later in the Glorious Revolution.  It proceeded in fits and starts after Henry’s death, with some monarchs trying to move back to Catholicism and then with the rise of Puritanism.  However, the English Reformation did end up with a state church controlled by the Crown to some degree.

OR

Who was the leader of the Spanish Armada and explain his role?

In most accounts of the  Spanish Armada, Alonso Perez du Guzman is referred to by his aristocratic title, 6th Duke of Medina Sidonia, or simply as Medina Sidonia.  Although Medina Sidonia had much experience in Phillip II’s military campaigns on land and was considered perhaps Spain’s best military administrator, Medina Sidonia did not have much direct experience in naval warfare.  Phillip II originally intended command of the Armada for Alvaro de Bazan, the Marques de Santa Cruz, Spain’s most formidable naval commander. Still, he died as the ships, supplies, and Medina Sidonia was assembling men of the Armada.  Because Medina Sidonia had been so intimately involved in the formation of the Armada and knew both ships and their commanders reasonably well, he was the natural commander to replace de Bazan.  Medina Sidonia expressed his concerns about the command to Phillip II, but Phillip considered him to be the next best choice of commander.  In any case, the Armada, even though it was a formidable naval force, was supposed to weaken the English navy, pick up Spanish land forces in Flanders, and put them ashore in England.  The Armada’s goal was not to conquer England but to render England defenseless so that Spain could conquer England with troops.

In the event, Medina Sidonia’s lack of naval experience was not among the primary causes of the Armada’s failure. Which was the result of several factors including weather, England’s ship technology, shipboard gun technology, poor communication with Sain’s ground forces in Flanders, and England’s resolve to stop a potential invasion.

12. Discuss the major objectives of the East India Company.

The East India Company had two main objectives first to acquire exclusive rights to trade from and to India and second somehow to take over the financial resources of the country.

They set about to achieve their first target by persuading the British Govt. to pass a Royal Charter, which allowed only the East India Company to trade with India and the east from England. To exclude their European rivals, they had many wars on land and sea. Now they could pursue their ambition of dominating the Indian trade. The Company took advantage of the deteriorating Mughal Empire with its unstable political scene and once political domination was acquired. The Indian resources fell into the lap of the East India Company. The Indian resources were employed directly by the Company and forced to produce materials at less than market value; this led to a major profit boom for the Company and left the Indian merchants unemployed.

The second objective was for the Company to somehow take over Government revenues. It could only be achieved by getting a political hold over the country. For a political hold, they needed to conquer certain territories and to conquer. They needed an army of their own, which in turn would require funds that the Company did not possess. So, the Company began to devise a plan to raise Indian money to purchase Indian goods. I was fulfilled with first the conquest of Bengal and parts of South India. With that done, the East India Company acquired direct control over the revenues of the Indian states, and initially, this led to uncontrolled extortion of wealth soon. Things were streamlined, and the British government stepped in and appointed officials to overlook matters.

OR

What problems did the Puritans have with the Church of England?

The Puritans gained most of their power following the first English Civil War, and most of the Puritan ministers renounced the Church of England following the English Restoration of 1660 and the subsequent Uniformity Act of 1662. Puritans believed that the Church of England still maintained many characteristics similar to the Roman Catholic Church, and they supported a greater form of purity of doctrinal worship. Highly anti-Catholic, the Puritans believed that the Church of England required further reform. Additionally, they opposed the idea that the king should be the supreme ruler over the Church; instead, they believed that only Christ could rule the Church–be it in heaven or on earth. Puritans believed in a minimum of ritual (no use of candles or artistic images) and decried excessive preaching; like the Calvinists, Puritans also supported a strict regulation of worship and were anti-traditionalist. Puritans did not support or celebrate traditional religious holidays.

The Puritans were infuriated by the marriage of Henrietta-Marie de Bourbon to King Charles I, King James’ son and successor, in 1625. She was a Roman Catholic and decidedly anti-Puritan. The Puritans also despised King Charles’ advisor, William Laud, who also disapproved of the rise in Puritanism power. Charles later used his Star Chamber and Court of High Commission to suppress Puritans by conviction and imprisonment.

13. How did the Restoration of 1660 affect England? The historical impact of Restoration in England?

The Restoration of 1660 replaced the Commonwealth Interregnum, led by Oliver Cromwell and fellow Puritans, with King Charles II, whose father, Charles I, had been beheaded when the “Roundheads” (called this because of their bowl-shaped haircuts) took power. Perhaps the most significant historical effect of the Restoration was the replacement of Cromwell and his son’s military dictatorship by the rule of Parliament and the civil law.  Cromwell and his son had just about turned England into a Puritan military state by persecuting the upper class and aristocracy, who were generally of the Anglican faith.  Although Charles II took revenge specifically on those Roundheads who were known the have participated in the death of his father, Charles I, the new king, also made room in his government for especially talented Puritans not implicated in the death of Charles I.

When Charles II took the throne, he began restoring lands and titles to the aristocracy who had supported his father during the Civil War.  More important,  he re-established the Anglican Church as the official Church of England and began to eradicate the religious non-conformity that characterized the Commonwealth Interregnum.

In general, the Restoration brought about a sense of freedom of thought and creativity in the arts and literature that Cromwell’s reign discouraged, so we see the development of the comedy of manners, the novel, poetry (especially the lyric), and a return to the influence of classical Greek and Roman literature.

OR

Why was the Coffee House an important part of life in London, England?

The Coffee House was a place in which information was exchanged for scientists, business people, writers, and politicians. It was the natural way to broadcast newsletter and advertising. It was also dedicated to certain groups. The first coffeehouse in England was opened in Oxford in 1652. In London, the first one was opened later that same year in at St Michael’s Alley, Cornhill, by an eccentric Greek named Pasqua Roseé. Soon they were commonplace. The new coffeehouses became fashionable places for the chattering classes to meet, conduct business, gossip, exchange ideas, and debate the news of the day. Unlike public houses, no alcohol was served, and women were excluded. Each coffeehouse had a particular clientele, usually defined by occupation, interest, or attitude, such as Tories and Whigs, traders and merchants, poets and authors, and men of fashion and leisure. The polite conversation led to a reasoned and sober debate on matters of politics, science, literature, and poetry, commerce, and religion, so much so that London coffeehouses became known as ‘penny universities,’ as that was the price of a cup of coffee. Influential patrons included Samuel Pepys, John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Isaac Newton. However, not all coffeehouses hosted such highbrow clientele: some were haunts for criminals, scoundrels, and pimps.

Anyone of any social class could frequent the coffeehouses, and so they became associated with equality and republicanism. So that in 1675, an attempt to ban them was made by Charles II, which caused such a public outcry that it was withdrawn.

Several great British institutions can trace their roots back to these humble coffeehouses.

The London Stock Exchange had its beginnings in Jonathan’s Coffee House in 1698, where gentlemen met to set stock and commodity prices. Auctions in salesrooms attached to coffee houses were the beginnings of the great auction houses of Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Lloyd’s of London had its origins in Lloyds Coffee House on Lombard Street, run by Edward Lloyd, where merchants, shippers, and underwriters of ship insurance met to do business.

By 1739, there were over 550 coffeehouses in London. However, the coffee house fell out of favour towards the end of the 18th century as the new fashion for tea replaced coffee. They gave way to and largely influenced the exclusive gentleman’s club of the late 18th century.

14. What were the causes of the American Revolution?  

With strong commitment and backing from Great Britain, the British colonies won the French and Indian War in 1763. It removed France from the borders of the thirteen original colonies and thus took away the threat of France conquering the North American seaboard. This victory, ironically, removed Great Britain’s chief value to the colonists.

Because they no longer needed the British army (to repel another power near their borders), the American elite began to see the British control of the colonies as a problem. The British government, naturally enough, wanted the Americans to help pay for a costly war that was fought, as far as the British were concerned, mostly for the benefit of the colonists. The colonists, however, deeply resented the extra taxes that the British started to impose.

The colonists also feared that taxes, such as those on tea or stamps, would set a precedent for more taxation. They resented as well British intrusions into American affairs.

Or

What are the positive effects of the French Revolution?

French revolution resulted in the destruction and downfall of the economy; nevertheless, its positive effects far outweigh its negative effects. In the revolution, the monarch was abolished, and democracy was developed. Civic rights were implemented. It granted freedom of speech, worship, association, press, and ownership of land. Equality in front of law was developed. The social discriminative class system was ended. Higher ranks were not limited to the nobles, and the lower class got their way in, the peasants i.e., Napoleon. The idea of civic rights, equality, and democracy were not only limited to France; it spread to other European countries like Italy and Germany.

French Revolution is where our current modern society comes from in the form we know. Principles ranging from Equality to Free Speech, representative parliamentary democracy, the concept of a nation, even social ideas like socialism, communism, especially Human Rights all come from what has been implemented or conceptualized during French Revolution. Moreover, the French Revolution swept entire Europe during the Revolutionary Wars and deposed old aristocratic regimes and class structure and replaced them with parliamentary democracies or constitutional monarchies – changing the entire continent in one swoop. If it wasn’t for that, it could have been possible for the aristocratic regimes to suppress the revolution and its ideals in France or 1-2 other countries nearby, and the changes would take centuries to come. But instead, it happened merely in 20-30 years. It is a very important episode in the history of humanity in which people rose against obsolete, ancient, repressive, and exploitative social order and values, and changed them with what we are still using today.

15. Why did the United States enter the First World War?

After remaining neutral since the War’s start, the United States entered World War I because Germany continued to wage unrestricted submarine warfare, which resulted in the sinking of American ships. The interception of the Zimmerman Telegram, in which Germany petitioned Mexico to join against the US, was another major factor. On 6th April, 1917, Congress decided to declare War on Germany.

The United States entered the War because of the Germans’ decision to resume the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, and the so-called “Zimmerman telegram,” intercepted by the British, in which Germany floated the idea of an alliance with Mexico. Unrestricted submarine warfare, a desperate effort to counter the British blockade of Germany, would lead to the sinking of American merchant ships heading for England, and had been employed by the Germans before. They abandoned it in the face of US pressure earlier in the War.

Or

What is trade union and explain its major functions?

Trade unions fight for workers’ rights. As powerful agents of workers, they seek to extract all kinds of incentives, benefits for workers. Through joint action, they provide solid protection to workers and see that the domination of the employer over the industrial arena is contained.

Functions of a Trade Union:

(i) To secure fair wages to workers. (ii) To safeguard security of tenure and improve conditions of service. (iii) To enlarge opportunities for promotion and training. (iv) To improve working and living conditions.

The important basic functions of unions listed by National Commission on labour are:

(i) To secure fair wages to workers.

(ii) To safeguard security of tenure and improve conditions of service.

(iii) To enlarge opportunities for promotion and training.

(iv) To improve working and living conditions.

(v) To provide for educational, cultural and recreational facilities.

(vi) To co-operate in and facilitate technological advance by broadening the understanding of workers on its underlying issues.

(vii) To promote identity of interests of workers with their industry.

(viii) To offer responsive co-operation in improving levels of production and productivity, discipline and high standards of quality and

(ix) To promote individual and collective welfare.

SECTION-C

Answer Any THREE of the following questions                                         3×10=30

16. Discuss the main features of the Elizabethan drama focusing on Shakespeare

The English drama reached its meridian between 1590 and 1614 when Shakespeare was at the peak of his dramatic career. His predecessors -Marlowe,  kyd, Greene and Lyly paved the way and Shakespeare marched on taking English drama to a level which could not be surpassed till today  The main features of the English drama of that time are – revenge themes,  ghastly melodramatic scenes,  inner conflict,  hero-villain protagonists,  tragic-comedy, presence of ghosts and use of blank verse. Tragedies in the Elizabethan period were deeply influence by the Seneca revenge tradition.  Thomas Kyd introduces it in English drama through his The Spanish Tragedy.  Shakespeare’s revenge plays, particularly his much controversial but even perplexing tragedy Hamlet is an example of the popularity of revenge themes in Shakespeare’s time. Kyd’s innovations of madness in characters, real or feigned, soliloquy, and play within the play also became popular in this period. Shakespeare used all of them in his great tragedies like Hamlet, Macbeth and Julius Caesar.

Presenting the protagonists by conflicting emotions was another important feature of the Elizabethan dramatic tradition. Marlow’s Dr. Faustus is a bright example of this tradition. Shakespeare’s tragic heroes go further in the display of inner conflicts.  For example, Brutus, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello suffer intensely for wavering between conflicting emotions. Their complexities tear their soul’s apart showing the eternal conflicts of mankind. The Elizabethan tragedies are marked by melodramatic scenes. The then audience expected these thrilling scenes in which murder, bloodshed, and outburst of excessive emotions were shown on the stage.  The play of Kyd and Shakespeare show them profusely. Thus, we have ghastly murders in Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello. This tradition of melodramatic scenes was taken from Seneca. However, in Seneca’s plays the ghastly activities were not shown on the stage, they were reported. But in the Elizabethan period those melodramatic scenes on the stage became popular. Use of supernatural elements in the plays is another important factor of the Elizabethan drama. The theatre houses were built in such a way that they could present ghosts and supernatural horror. Dr. Faustus, Hamlet and Macbeth are a few example of this tradition. Similarly, creation of hero-villain protagonists was popular in this age. Marlowe’s concept of the hero-villain tragedy seems to have influence Shakespeare. Both Macbeth and Richard III have hero-villain protagonists. The Elizabethan comedies, like the tragedies, have distinct features. Robert Greene, John Lyly and Shakespeare entertained the Elizabethan audience with their comedies. The comedies of this age are marked by romantic settings, engaging plots, lively characters and diverting dialogues.

In comedies, Shakespeare makes use of romantic love among young men and women. They laugh in happiness, they wean in despair, and they burst out in passionate utterances. The comedies show Shakespeare’s unique uses of wit and humour. Delicate feelings, youthful charms, sense of beauty and sincere trust dominant his comedies. One remembers in this regard Beatrice and Benedict, Rosalind and Orlando, Celia and Oliver, Portia and Bsssanio. However, Shakespeare’s comedies, through have dream like atmosphere, they are not bereft of realism. His plots are rooted in realism lying just beneath the surface of the romantic world. One more distinct feature of the Elizabethan plays is the use of blank verse. Major parts of comedies and tragedies are written in black verse. Major parts of comedies and tragedies are written in blank verse.  The mighty lines of Marlowe and grand dialogues of Shakespearean tragic heroes are all put in brilliant blank verse. The speciality of Shakespearean blank verse is that it rises and falls with the passion and mood of the speakers’ .Finally, the plays of the Elizabethan period have so distinct characteristics that they are, by their own virtues, separable from other English plays.  Shakespeare’s vision of life , his objective observations, his unique skills in characterization , his grand blank verses , his negligence to three unities , his wit and humour and most of all his affinity with realism have distinguished his plays from others.

17. What is the significance of English Civil Wars? How it is important in British history?

The first real significance is the loss of life. I don’t have the figures to hand but more people died in Britain during that period as a result of the War than during any other war in British history (that we have those statistics for) as a proportion of the population. So the civil War killed a greater proportion of people than the World War One. Secondly the civil War was really a British civil war. It was particularly vicious in Ireland- where roughly a third of the population may have died. I did my PhD on the period and still Irish people when you mention Cromwell will come up to you and tell you about bloody sieges like Drogheda and Wexford.

In terms of British politics, the ambitions of both sides of the War failed. In 1649 for the first and last time in British history, the reigning monarch was publically executed by a Parliament. But in 1660 after the death of Cromwell (1658) Charles I’s son Charles II returned. However the civil War remained as a memory under Charles II. In 1681, for example a political crisis led to people invoking the civil War. Also the two party divide that starts under Charles between the Whigs (originally a name for Scots fighting the Crown) and Tories (originally named after Irish Catholic rebels fighting Parliament) owes its origins to the Civil War. After Charles’s death there was a second revolution in 1688 against his brother James and you could argue I think that the statesmen who invited a new prince, William of Orange over were very conscious of the need for a new King. That revolution created the system that evolved into the one that Britain is governed by today.

The civil War was also massively influential on British ideas. The non-conformist tradition of Protestantism owes its creation and its variety to this period. Arguments against a standing army have always referenced how Cromwell used the Parliamentarian army to attempt to overthrow Parliament. John Milton wrote Paradise Lost and Regained after working in Cromwell’s regime. Perhaps more importantly, Thomas Hobbes wrote his great masterpiece Leviathan about how we owe our allegiance to bad governments because of the need to preserve the peace after witnessing the civil War. Hobbes also invented the concept of freedom that we and most of the West still think of as freedom today as a direct consequence of how he thought previous concepts were being misused in the War.There are a million other consequences- for example in the UK people like Tony Benn in the 20th century were inspired by the works of the most radical civil war writers- the Levellers and Diggers- who advocated something that looked like democracy and something that looked like socialism. But this may give you some starting points.

It’s very important to both British & (although they don’t realise it) US history. It prevented the introduction of the new-fangled principle of absolute monarchy into the British Isles. It ensured the survival, & expanded the powers, of Parliament.

Charles II tried to roll back the changes a bit, & get back some of the power lost, but had the sense to tread gently. The wisdom of that was proved by his brother’s fate, thrown out after a few years by the Glorious Revolution (the largest fight of which in England took place here in Reading, with James’s beaten Irishmen fleeing past the end of the street where I live).

The ground for the Glorious Revolution, the Bill of Rights, & the Act of Settlement, by which Parliament legislated for the royal succession, thus making it explicit in law that the monarch reigned by the will of Parliament, was prepared by Charles 1st’s defeat in the Civil War.Imagine it had gone the other way. The absolute Stuart monarchs of the 17th century would have got rid of all that nascent self-governing nonsense in the colonies, & colonial legislatures with any real authority, as a minor by-product of the emasculation of the English and Scottish parliaments.

18. Describe the effect of Agrarian Revolution in England.

The Agricultural Revolution was a time of agricultural development that saw many inventions and advancements in farming techniques. Learn about the Agricultural Revolution and how this period impacted society and the environment.The Agricultural Revolution got its start in Great Britain in the early 18th century and spread throughout Europe and America by the 19th century. This was a period of significant agricultural development marked by new farming techniques and inventions that led to a massive increase in food production. The Agricultural Revolution brought about experimentation with new crops and new methods of crop rotation. These new farming techniques gave soil time to replenish nutrients leading to stronger crops and better agricultural output. Advancements in irrigation and drainage further increased productivity.

It was also during this time that inventions were created that greatly increased efficiency. The Agricultural Revolution saw the invention of the plow, which is a device that contains blades that effectively break up the soil. Plows created cuts within the soil for the sowing of seeds. Before the invention of the plow, and another device called a seed drill, seeds were sown by hand, which was inefficient and led to many seeds failing to grow. A seed drill is a machine that plants seeds in uniform rows and then covers them.

Jethro Tull was an 18th-century agriculturist who invented the seed drill. You may be familiar with the band by the name of Jethro Tull that was popular during the 1960s and 70s. This band got its name from a booking agent staff member who was also a history enthusiast; he suggested the name and the name stuck.Now, the Agricultural Revolution also saw the invention of the reaper, which was a machine for cutting and harvesting grain. An American inventor named Cyrus McCormick is credited with mass production of the reaper, which saved many back-breaking hours of labor in the fields. These inventions, and others, made farming easier, less time consuming and made large-scale agricultural production possible. These agricultural changes created a ripple effect that spread throughout society, with one of the more notable results being a rapid increase in population.

The Agricultural Revolution was also instrumental in the early development of cities. Because fewer workers were needed on the farms, and there was sufficient agricultural production to support life away from the farm, people were now able to move off of the farms and into cities. Along with these changes came an increased demand for non-food items, such as clothing, and non-essential items designed to improve the comforts of life. New technologies were invented to meet the growing demand for non-food products, which led to the first industrial factories.The Agricultural Revolution was a major turning point in history and brought about sweeping changes on society. This revolution also put demands on the environment in ways that could not be seen at the time.

19. Discuss the importance of Reform Bills in England?

The 1832 Reform Act was the result of a long struggle both in the streets and in Parliament, but although it enfranchised some, it had little real impact on the lives of the working classes.Until the 1830s, Britain’s elections were neither representative nor balanced. A range of factors determined whether you were eligible to vote, including whether you lived in a county or a borough and whether your area was eligible to send an MP to Parliament at all.In a few places all men could vote, but in the vast majority of locations it depended on whether you owned property or paid certain taxes. Some boroughs, such as those in the rapidly growing industrial towns of Birmingham and Manchester, had no MPs to represent them at all. At the same time, there were notorious ‘rotten’ boroughs, such as Old Sarum at Salisbury, which had two MPs but only seven voters. There were also ‘pocket’ boroughs – those owned by major landowners who chose their own MP. Moreover, with no secret ballot, voters were easily bribed or intimidated.

A range of factors, including a popular campaign by the Birmingham Political Union, caused many people to begin to realise that change was necessary. The Prime Minister at the time, the Duke of Wellington, remained defiantly against reform, but he was forced out of office. King William IV asked the Whig, Earl Grey, to form an administration and he used his position to pursue reform of the electoral system. The path of the resulting reforming Bill through Parliament was extremely tough and its being finally passed on 4th June 1832 was only as a result of widespread public unrest and the resignation of Earl Grey.

In its final form the Reform Act of 1832 increased the electorate from around 366,000 to 650,000, which was about 18 per cent of the total adult-male population in England and Wales. The vast majority of the working classes, as well as women, were still excluded from voting and the Act failed to introduce a secret ballot. The working classes felt betrayed by an act which made no real difference to their lives. However, the reform of Parliament had begun, and this paved the way for the popular agitation of the Chartists.

20. What are the salient features of the Victorian Age in English Literature?

The Victorian Era covers so many years, 1830 – 1900, it is usually broken down into the early Victorian, mid-Victorian, and late Victorian, each of which displays its own characteristics. With the rapid industrialization taking placeduring the years 1830 – 1850, early Victorian works are characterized by attention to social issues such as child labor andpoverty. Representative works include the heart-rending “The Cry of the Children” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and thebeloved novel Oliver Twist  by Charles Dickens. To the credit of private and public figures of that time, including QueenVictoria herself , real progress was made on many of those issues.This progress led to a period in the middle of the century when the British Empire blossomed and pride in the nationalidentity peaked, represented by Prince Albert‘s Great Exhibition of 1851. George Eliot wrote novels of moral decency andbrilliant psychological realism; Alfred Lord Tennyson, who became poet laureate in 1850, wrote wonderful lyric poetry, hisfamous “In Memoriam,” and patriotic verses such as “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” The Pre-Raphaelites celebratedbeauty in language and visual arts, contributing to the mid-Victorian heyday of literary achievement.

The later years of the Victorian Era saw a tendency toward the deconstruction of Victorian values. Playwrights Oscar Wilde and Bernard Shaw were each cleverly iconoclastic in their own ways, satirizing the shortcomings of their society inplays such as The Importance of Being Earnest  and Mrs. Warren’s Profession . Robert Louis Stevenson’s The StrangeCase of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde also pointed out the hypocrisy of those who would live dual lives in a surprising detectivetype story with a Gothic twist. In poetry, Robert Browning’s fascinating dramatic monologues foreshadowed the 20thcentury’s use of the natural rhythms of speech over the strict metrical arrangements of traditional poetry.In general, Victorian literature represents a zenith of English language literary achievement in terms of the beauty of itslanguage and thought, reflecting traditional values and using time-tested literary forms to express its themes. The later years of the period began to show more disillusionment and doubt, which would become full-blown in the 20th century.

Specifically, the Victorian period began when Queen Victoria became queen of England in 1837 and ended with her death in 1901. However, the period from 1830 to 1900 is generally considered the Victorian Era. During this time periodof course, characteristics of the culture were presented in the literature of the era.English power was expanding into Africa and Asia. A growing English middle class, wanting to gain access into the nobleclass, produced some appearances of a stuffy, proper culture. Manufacturing was growing and living conditions for thepoor were often deplorable. Cultural struggles grew over science vs religion, the role of women and proper behavior,especially with regard to sexuality. All of these elements showed up in the popular forms of literature.

Another characteristic of Victorian poetry was the sentimentality. Victorian Poets wrote about Bohemian ideas and furthered the imaginings of the Romantic Poets. Poets like Emily Bronte, Lord Alfred Tennyson prominently used sentimentality in their poems.Lord Alfred Tennyson, arguably the most prominent of the Victorian Poets, held the title of Poet Laureate for over forty years. His poems were marked a wide range of topics from romance, to nature, to criticism of political and religious institutions; a pillar of the establishment not failing to attack the establishment.His Charge of the Light Brigade was a fierce criticism of a famous military blunder; while the Princess dealt with pseudo-chivalry common among the royalty. The poems of In Memoriam dealt with ennyson’s exploration of his feelings of love, loss, and desire.The best example of this is Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, which blended the stories of King Arthur, particularly those by Thomas Malory, with contemporary concerns and ideas. Poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins drew inspiration from verse forms of Old English poetry such as Beowulf.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood also drew on myth and folklore for their art, with Dante Gabriel Rossetti regarded as the chief poet amongst them, though modern scholars consider his sister Christina Rossetti to be a stronger poet, of the two. Comic verse abounded in the Victorian era. Magazines such as Punch magazine and Fun magazine teemed with the humorous invention and were aimed at a well-educated readership. The most famous collection of Victorian comic verse is the Bab Ballads.Victorian Poetry, thus, marks an important era in the history of poetry, providing the link between the Romantic Movement and the Modernist Movement (Pre-Raphaelitism) of the 20th Century. Also read about fundamental conflicts of Victorian poetry.