1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
1918 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1918 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the end of World War I after four years, which Britain and its allies won, admiralty M-class destroyers HMS Narborough and HMS Opal run aground and are wrecked off Orkney in a severe storm with only one survivor. 15 January - The keel of HMS Hermes is laid on Tyneside,28 January - Night of unusually heavy bombing in London and south-east England. 6 February - Representation of the People Act gives women the vote provided they are over 30 and are a local government elector and it also removes most property qualifications, giving all adult male resident householders the vote, and requires elections to be restricted to a single day. Many conscientious objectors are barred from voting until 5 years after the end of the war,1 March - Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-19 sinks HMS Calgarian off Rathlin Island, Ireland. 23 March - In London at the Wood Green Empire, Chung Ling Soo dies during his trick where he was supposed to catch two separate bullets – one of them perforates his lung and he dies the following morning in hospital. 1 April - The Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service are merged to form the Royal Air Force,23 April Conscription Crisis of 1918 in Ireland, a general strike is held here against conscription. Zeebrugge Raid, an attempt by the Royal Navy to seal off the German U-Boat base here,3 June - GPO raises postage rates, the ordinary letter rate is now 1½d. Bringing an end to the Uniform Penny Post which has existed since 1840,1 July - Explosion of 8 tons of TNT at the National Shell Filling Factory, Chilwell kills 134, only 32 bodies can be positively identified. 15 July - Ration books introduced for butter, margarine, lard, meat,17 July - RMS Carpathia is torpedoed and sunk off the east coast of Ireland by Imperial German Navy U-boat SM U-55,218 of the 223 on board are rescued. August - Education Act raises the school leaving age in England,1 August - British anti-Bolshevik forces occupy Archangel, Russia. On 10 August their commander is told to help White Russians,30 August - Strike of 20,000 London policemen with demands of increased pay and union recognition. 29 September - First performance of Gustav Holsts orchestral suite The Planets, before an audience at the Queens Hall in London. 26 October - Cecil Chubb donates Stonehenge to the nation,27 October to 2 November -2,200 deaths in London over this period due to Spanish Flu.3 November - Armistice with Austria-Hungary signed in Padua. 5 November - Former Cunarder HMS Campania sinks in an accident in the Firth of Forth, George Edwin Ellison becomes the last British soldier to be killed in the War, near Mons in Belgium. 14 November - Labour Party leaves the wartime coalition government,15 November - First released British prisoners of war reach Calais. 21 November - The Parliament Act 1918 receives Royal Assent, giving women over 21 the right to stand as a Member of Parliament,23 November - British military government of Palestine begins. 5 December - Light cruiser HMS Cassandra sunk by mine in the Gulf of Finland while assisting Estonia against the Bolsheviks,14 December - General election polling held
3.
1919 in the United Kingdom
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Events from the year 1919 in the United Kingdom. Monarch - George V Prime Minister - David Lloyd George 1 January – In Scotland,3 January – Soldiers blockade Folkestone harbour in a successful protest against being returned to France. 18 January – Bentley Motors Ltd. is incorporated in England,21 January – Dáil Éireann meets for the first time in the Mansion House, Dublin. In the first shots of the Anglo-Irish War, two Royal Irish Constabulary men are killed in an ambush at Soloheadbeg in County Tipperary,23 January – Harbour Riot in Glasgow, confrontation between white and black merchant seamen. 27 January – General strike call in Glasgow and Belfast,31 January – Battle of George Square, The Army is called in to deal with riots and protests against high rents in Glasgow. 3 February – Éamon de Valera, the leader of Sinn Féin,27 February – Marriage of Princess Patricia of Connaught to Commander The Hon. Alexander Ramsay, the first royal wedding at Westminster Abbey since the 14th century. 4–5 March – Kinmel Park Riots by troops of the Canadian Expeditionary Force awaiting repatriation at Kinmel Camp, Bodelwyddan, five men are killed,28 injured, and 25 convicted of mutiny. 3 April – Government agrees to release of imprisoned conscientious objectors. 7 April – The Original Dixieland Jazz Band brings Dixieland jazz to England, opening a 15-month tour at the Hippodrome,13 April – Amritsar Massacre, British and Gurkha troops kill 379 Sikhs and injure more than 1200 at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab Province. May – Beginning of the Third Anglo-Afghan War,12 May – The Pip, Squeak and Wilfred comic strip debuts in the Daily Mirror. 29 May – Observations made by Arthur Eddington during a solar eclipse test part of Einsteins general theory of relativity, June – Riots break out in west midlands towns. 14–15 June – A Vickers Vimy piloted by John Alcock DSC with navigator Arthur Whitten Brown makes the first nonstop flight, from St. Johns, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara. 17 June – Epsom Riot by Canadian troops, English police sergeant Thomas Green is killed,21 June – Scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the interned German fleet in Scapa Flow, Scotland. 28 June – Treaty of Versailles signed, 2–6 July – The British airship R34 makes the first transatlantic flight by dirigible, and the first westbound flight, from RAF East Fortune, Scotland, to Mineola, New York. 15 July – Sloops HMS Gentian and HMS Myrtle sunk by mines in the Gulf of Finland while assisting Estonia against the Bolsheviks, rioting ex-servicemen burn down Luton Town Hall. 31 July Police strike in London and Liverpool for recognition of the National Union of Police, rioting breaks out in Liverpool on 1 August. Act 1919 provides government subsidy for the provision of council houses,8 August – Treaty of Rawalpindi ends the Third Anglo-Afghan War. 15 August – The Restoration of Pre-War Practices Act provides for returning servicemen to get their old jobs back,19 August – Afghanistan gains independence from the United Kingdom
4.
1922 in the United Kingdom
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Labour problems, which occupied so much attention during and after the war, were less constantly in the public eye. The principle of inevitable reductions in wages had been accepted by the classes as a whole, and there were few strikes on a large scale. A further indication of the return to normal conditions was in the decay of the coalition government. The combination of parties brought about in the presence of a common danger no longer worked in peacetime, very early in the year signs of disintegration became manifest in the coalition. Irish affairs occupied an important place in politics throughout the year,1922 saw the establishment of the Irish Free State in the south and west of the island. 1 January - Transport and General Workers Union formed by merger of fourteen smaller unions under its first general secretary Ernest Bevin,7 January - In Ireland, Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty. 12 January British government releases remaining Irish prisoners captured in the War of Independence, HMS Victory permanently dry docked at Portsmouth. 13 January - Flu epidemic has claimed 804 victims in Britain,24 January - Façade – An Entertainment, poems by Edith Sitwell recited over an instrumental accompaniment by William Walton, first performed, privately in London. 1 February - Formal handing over of Beggars Bush Barracks takes place in Dublin,6 February - Washington Naval Treaty signed between the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France and Italy. 29 April - Huddersfield Town win the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Preston North End in the final at Stamford Bridge, from next year, the final will be played at the new stadium being built at Wembley, North London. 1 March - The Civil Aviation Authority is established,16 May - The final group of British troops leave the Curragh Camp in Ireland. 29 May - British Liberal MP Horatio Bottomley jailed for seven years for fraud,1 June - Official founding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. 22 June - Irish Republican Army agents assassinate Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson in Belgravia, July - Launch of the Austin 7 car, produced at Longbridge. 17 July - County Hall, London opened, as the new headquarters of the London County Council,17 August - Dublin Castle is formally handed over to the Irish Republican Army as the last British Army troops leave. 5 September - An underground explosion at Haig Pit, Whitehaven, in the Cumberland Coalfield, kills 39. 8–9 September - Captain Frank L. Barnard wins the first Kings Cup Race for aeroplanes, flying from Croydon Aerodrome to Glasgow,7 October - Speaking on the radio station 2LO, the Prince of Wales becomes the first member of the royal family to make a public broadcast. 17 October - First Hunger March sets out, from Glasgow to London,18 October - The British Broadcasting Company is formed. 19 October - David Lloyd Georges Coalition Ministry resigns over the Chanak Crisis,23 October - Bonar Laws Conservative government takes office
5.
1920 in Ireland
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Events from the year 1920 in Ireland. 2 January – Irish Republican Army volunteers of the 1st Cork Brigade capture Carrigtwohill Royal Irish Constabulary barracks,27 February – the text of the Home Rule Bill to be introduced in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom is published. It provides for the establishment of a 128-member parliament in Dublin,10 March – the Ulster Unionist Council accepts the Governments plan for a Parliament of Northern Ireland. 20 March – the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Tomás Mac Curtain, is murdered by armed and disguised RIC men who break into his home,22 March – thousands gather to pay their respects to the murdered Tomás Mac Curtain. Over 8,000 IRA Volunteers line the route to St. Finbarrs Cemetery and he is succeeded as Lord Mayor by Terence MacSwiney. 25 March – British recruits to the RIC begin to arrive in Ireland and they become known from their improvised uniforms as the Black and Tans. 2 April – Canadian-born lawyer Sir Hamar Greenwood, Bt, PC, KC,5 April – IRA prisoners began a hunger strike in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, demanding prisoner of war status. 15 April –8 June, Arthur Griffith establishes a Republican legal system in areas under IRA control, the traditional Summer Assizes become virtually unworkable. 2 May – Viscount Fitzalan is sworn in as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,10 May – forty Irish republican prisoners on hunger strike at Wormwood Scrubs are released. 17 May – Sinn Féin supporters and Unionists engage in pitched battles in Derry. 20 May – Dublin dock workers refuse to handle British military material,22 May – in Rome, Pope Benedict XV beatifies Oliver Plunkett. 4 June – the IRA orders a boycott of the RIC,17 June – The Listowel Mutiny, RIC constables based at Listowel refuse orders to assist the British Army. The RIC is ordered to shoot armed IRA men who do not surrender when challenged,20 June – five die in severe rioting in Ulster. 24 June – troops are sent to reinforce the Derry garrison,29 June – Dáil Courts established to hear civil cases. 23 July – fourteen die and one hundred are injured in rioting in Belfast. 27 July – the first recruits – former British Army officers – join the RICs Auxiliary Division,31 July – Bishop Daniel Mannix is detained onboard ship off Queenstown and prevented from landing in Ireland. August – the Kingstown Urban District Council reverts to the historic name of Dún Laoghaire. 3 August – Catholic riots in Belfast in protest at the continuing British Army presence,13 August – the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act receives Royal Assent, providing for Irish Republican Army activists to be tried by court-martial rather than by jury in criminal courts
6.
1920
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As of the start of 1920, the Gregorian calendar was 13 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923. January –4,025 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial in the United States following raids in several cities, January 1 Babe Ruth is traded by the Red Sox for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. Bolsheviks increase troops from four divisions to twenty along the Polish border January 7 The forces of Russian White Admiral Alexander Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk, the Great Siberian Ice March ensues. The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen, January 9 – Thousands of onlookers watch as The Human Fly George Polley climbs the Woolworth Building in New York City. He reaches the 30th floor before being arrested, January 10 – League of Nations Covenant enters into force. On January 16 the organization holds its first council meeting, in Paris, January 11 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic is recognised de facto by European powers in Versailles. January 13 – The New York Times ridicules the American rocket scientist Robert H. Goddard, the newspaper has to recant publicly on July 17,1969 when the Apollo crew is on its mission to the Moon. January 16 Prohibition in the United States begins with the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution coming into effect, the Allies of World War I demand that the Netherlands extradite the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, who fled there in 1918. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, is founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, January 19 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations. January 22 – The Australian Country Party is officially formed, led by Nelson Pollard, January 23 – The Netherlands refuses to extradite the German Kaiser. January 28 – El Tercio de Extranjeros, the Regiment of Foreigners, January 30 – The oldest surviving pro wrestling match on film takes place, with Joe Stecher defeating Earl Caddock. February 1 – The South African Air Force is established, the second autonomous Air Force in the world after the Royal Air Force, february 2 Estonian War of Independence, The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed, ending the war and recognizing Estonian independence. Sayyid Muhammad, Khan of Khiva abdicates, february 7 – Admiral Kolchak and Viktor Pepelyayev are executed by firing squad near Irkutsk. February 10 – General Józef Haller first performs Polands Wedding to the Sea, february 12–24 – Conference of London, Leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Italy meet to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. February 13 – Switzerland rejoins the League of Nations, february 14 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago. February 17 – A woman named Anna Anderson tries to suicide in Berlin and is taken to a mental hospital. February 19 – The United States Senate refuses to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, february 20 –1920 Gori earthquake, An earthquake hits Gori in the Democratic Republic of Georgia, killing 114. February 21 – The island province of Marinduque in the Philippines archipelago is founded, february 22 – In Emeryville, California, the first dog racing track to employ an imitation rabbit opens
7.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1815 in the Napoleonic Wars, the British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century, rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the states formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland. It was an era of economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance. Outward migration was heavy to the colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States. A brief period of limited independence for Ireland came to an end following the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the British governments fear of an independent Ireland siding against them with the French resulted in the decision to unite the two countries. This was brought about by legislation in the parliaments of both kingdoms and came into effect on 1 January 1801, however, King George III was bitterly opposed to any such Emancipation and succeeded in defeating his governments attempts to introduce it. When the Treaty of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized, in May 1803, war was declared again. In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the Continental System and this policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing French-controlled territory to foreign trade. Frances population and agricultural capacity far outstripped that of the British Isles, Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from the European mainland would end its economic hegemony. The Spanish uprising in 1808 at last permitted Britain to gain a foothold on the Continent, after Napoleons surrender and exile to the island of Elba, peace appeared to have returned. The Allies united and the armies of Wellington and Blucher defeated Napoleon once, simultaneous with the Napoleonic Wars, trade disputes, arming hostile Indians and British impressment of American sailors led to the War of 1812 with the United States. The war was little noticed in Britain, which could devote few resources to the conflict until the fall of Napoleon in 1814, American frigates inflicted a series of defeats on the Royal Navy, which was short on manpower due to the conflict in Europe
8.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom, its dependencies and its overseas territories. The monarchs title is King or Queen, the current monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, as the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch is, by tradition, commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, from 1603, when the Scottish monarch King James VI inherited the English throne as James I, both the English and Scottish kingdoms were ruled by a single sovereign. From 1649 to 1660, the tradition of monarchy was broken by the republican Commonwealth of England, the Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Roman Catholics, or those who married Catholics, from succession to the English throne. In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain, and in 1801, the British monarch became nominal head of the vast British Empire, which covered a quarter of the worlds surface at its greatest extent in 1921. After the Second World War, the vast majority of British colonies and territories became independent, George VI and his successor, Elizabeth II, adopted the title Head of the Commonwealth as a symbol of the free association of its independent member states. The United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth monarchies that share the person as their monarch are called Commonwealth realms. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom, the Monarch is the Head of State, oaths of allegiance are made to the Queen and her lawful successors. God Save the Queen is the British national anthem, and the monarch appears on postage stamps, coins, the Monarch takes little direct part in Government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majestys Government, which comprises Ministers, primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and they have the direction of the Armed Forces of the Crown, the Civil Service and other Crown Servants such as the Diplomatic and Secret Services. Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitution, the Church of England, of which the Monarch is the head, has its own legislative, judicial and executive structures. Powers independent of government are legally granted to public bodies by statute or Statutory Instrument such as an Order in Council. The Sovereigns role as a monarch is largely limited to non-partisan functions. This role has been recognised since the 19th century, the constitutional writer Walter Bagehot identified the monarchy in 1867 as the dignified part rather than the efficient part of government. Whenever necessary, the Monarch is responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister, the Prime Minister takes office by attending the Monarch in private audience, and after kissing hands that appointment is immediately effective without any other formality or instrument. Since 1945, there have only been two hung parliaments, the first followed the February 1974 general election when Harold Wilson was appointed Prime Minister after Edward Heath resigned following his failure to form a coalition. Although Wilsons Labour Party did not have a majority, they were the largest party, the second followed the May 2010 general election, in which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to form the first coalition government since World War II
9.
George V
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George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. He was the son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. From the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession behind his father and his own brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. From 1877 to 1891, George served in the Royal Navy, on the death of his grandmother in 1901, Georges father became King-Emperor of the British Empire, and George was created Prince of Wales. He succeeded his father in 1910 and he was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, the Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, in 1924 he appointed the first Labour ministry and in 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the Empire as separate, independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations. He had health problems throughout much of his reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son. George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House and he was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and he was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley. As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871, neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. For three years from 1879, the brothers served on HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia, as well as South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton recorded a sighting of the Flying Dutchman, after Lausanne, the brothers were separated, Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge, while George continued in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire, during his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters then HMS Thrush on the North America station, before his last active service in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–92. From then on, his rank was largely honorary
10.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
11.
David Lloyd George
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David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lloyd George was a key figure in the introduction of reforms which laid the foundations of the modern welfare state. His most important role came as the highly energetic Prime Minister of the Wartime Coalition Government, during and he was a major player at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 that reordered Europe after the defeat of the Central Powers. He made an impact on British public life than any other 20th-century leader. Furthermore, in foreign affairs he played a role in winning the First World War, redrawing the map of Europe at the peace conference. His main political problem was that he was not loyal to his Liberal party—he was always a political maverick, while he was Prime Minister he favoured the Conservatives in his coalition in the 1918 elections, leaving the Liberal party as a hopeless minority. He became leader of the Liberal Party in the late 1920s, by the 1930s he was a marginalised and widely mistrusted figure. He gave weak support to the Second World War amidst fears that he was favourable toward Germany, Lloyd George was born on 17 January 1863 in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, to Welsh parents, and was brought up as a Welsh-speaker. He is so far the only British Prime Minister to have been Welsh and his father, William George, had been a teacher in both London and Liverpool. He also taught in the Hope Street Sunday Schools, which were administered by the Unitarians, in March of the same year, on account of his failing health, William George returned with his family to his native Pembrokeshire. He took up farming but died in June 1864 of pneumonia, Lloyd George was educated at the local Anglican school Llanystumdwy National School and later under tutors. He added his uncles surname to become Lloyd George and his surname is usually given as Lloyd George and sometimes as George. The influence of his childhood showed through in his entire career, brought up a devout evangelical, as a young man he suddenly lost his religious faith. Biographer Don Cregier says he became a Deist and perhaps an agnostic, though he remained a chapel-goer and he kept quiet about that, however, and was hailed as one of the foremost fighting leaders of a fanatical Welsh Nonconformity. It was also during this period of his life that Lloyd George first became interested in the issue of land ownership, by the age of twenty-one, he had already read and taken notes on Henry Georges Progress and Poverty. This strongly influenced Lloyd Georges politics later in life through the Peoples Budget which heavily drew on the georgist tax reform ideas, the practice flourished, and he established branch offices in surrounding towns, taking his brother William into partnership in 1887. Although many Prime Ministers have been barristers, Lloyd George is to date the only solicitor to have held that office, by then he was politically active, having campaigned for the Liberal Party in the 1885 election, attracted by Joseph Chamberlains unauthorised programme of reforms. The election resulted firstly in a stalemate with neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives having a majority, William Gladstones proposal to bring about Irish Home Rule split the party, with Chamberlain eventually leading the breakaway Liberal Unionists
12.
Lloyd George ministry
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The Lloyd George ministry, was a coalition government led by Liberal David Lloyd George, which came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916. It replaced the wartime coalition under H. H. Asquith. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Official Opposition, the government continued in power after the end of the war in 1918, though Lloyd George was increasingly reliant on the Conservatives for support. After several scandals including allegations of the sale of honours, the Conservatives withdrew their support after a meeting at the Carlton Club in 1922, and Andrew Bonar Law formed a government. Historian George H. Cassar has evaluated Lloyd Georges record as a war leader, After all that has been said and done, on the home front he achieved varied results in tackling difficult, and in some instances, unprecedented problems. In the vital area of national morale, while he did not have the advantages of Churchill. To sum up, while Lord Georges contributions outweighed his mistakes, january 1918 – Carson resigns and is not replaced April 1918 – Austen Chamberlain succeeds Lord Milner as Minister without Portfolio. January 1919 – Law becomes Lord Privy Seal, remaining Leader of the House of Commons, smuts is succeeded by Sir Eric Geddes as Minister without Portfolio. The War Cabinet was formally maintained for much of 1919, in October 1919 a formal Cabinet was reinstated. Sir Eric Geddes becomes Minister of Transport, October 1919 – Lord Curzon of Kedleston succeeds Balfour as Foreign Secretary. Balfour succeeds Curzon as Lord President, the Local Government Board is abolished. Christopher Addison becomes Minister of Health, the Board of Agriculture is abolished. Lord Lee of Fareham becomes Minister of Agriculture, Sir Eric Geddes becomes Minister of Transport. January 1920 – George Barnes leaves the cabinet, march 1920 – Sir Robert Horne succeeds Sir Auckland Geddes as President of the Board of Trade. Thomas James McNamara succeeds Horne as Minister of Labour, April 1920 – Sir Hamar Greenwood succeeds Ian Macpherson as Chief Secretary for Ireland. Sir Laming Worthington-Evans joins the Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio, february 1921 – Winston Churchill succeeds Lord Milner as Colonial Secretary. Sir Laming Worthington-Evans succeeds Churchill as War Secretary, Lord Lee of Fareham succeeds Walter Long at the Admiralty. Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen succeeds Lee as Minister of Agriculture, march 1921 – Austen Chamberlain succeeds Bonar Law as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the Commons
13.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
14.
Steamboat
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A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S. S. or S/S or PS, the term steamboat is used to refer to smaller, insular, steam-powered boats working on lakes and rivers, particularly riverboats. As using steam became more reliable, steam power became applied to larger, Early attempts at powering a boat by steam were made by the French inventor Denis Papin and the English inventor Thomas Newcomen. Papin invented the steam digester and experimented with closed cylinders and pistons pushed in by atmospheric pressure, Papin proposed applying this steam pump to the operation of a paddlewheel boat and tried to market his idea in Britain. He was unable to convert the piston motion into rotary motion. Newcomens design did solve the first problem, but remained shackled to the inherent limitations of the engines of the time, a steamboat was described and patented by English physician John Allen in 1729. In 1736, Jonathan Hulls was granted a patent in England for a Newcomen engine-powered steamboat, William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, having learned of Watts engine on a visit to England, made his own engine. In 1763 he put it in a boat, the boat sank, and while Henry made an improved model, he did not appear to have much success, though he may have inspired others. At its first demonstration on 15 July 1783, Pyroscaphe travelled upstream on the river Saône for some fifteen minutes before the engine failed, presumably this was easily repaired as the boat is said to have made several such journeys. Following this, De Jouffroy attempted to get the government interested in his work, De Jouffroy did not have the funds for this, and, following the events of the French revolution, work on the project was discontinued after he left the country. Similar boats were made in 1785 by John Fitch in Philadelphia and William Symington in Dumfries and this boat could typically make 7 to 8 miles per hour and traveled more than 2,000 miles during its short length of service. The Fitch steamboat was not a success, as this travel route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads. The following year, a boat made 30-mile excursions, and in 1790. Miller sent King Gustav III of Sweden an actual version,100 feet long. Miller then engaged engineer William Symington to build his patent steam engine drove a stern-mounted paddle wheel in a boat in 1785. The boat was successfully tried out on Dalswinton Loch in 1788 and was followed by a steamboat the next year. The boat was built by Alexander Hart at Grangemouth to Symingtons design with a cylinder engine. Trials on the River Carron in June 1801 were successful and included towing sloops from the river Forth up the Carron and thence along the Forth, in 1801, Symington patented a horizontal steam engine directly linked to a crank
15.
English Channel
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The English Channel, also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 33.3 km in the Strait of Dover and it is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km2. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows, a line joining Isle Vierge to Lands End. The southwestern limit of the North Sea, the IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as a line joining the Walde Lighthouse and Leathercoat Point. The Walde Lighthouse is 6 km east of Calais, and Leathercoat Point is at the end of St Margarets Bay. The Strait of Dover, at the Channels eastern end, is its narrowest point and it is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m at its widest part, reducing to a depth of about 45 m between Dover and Calais. Eastwards from there the adjoining North Sea reduces to about 26 m in the Broad Fourteens where it lies over the watershed of the land bridge between East Anglia and the Low Countries. It reaches a depth of 180 m in the submerged valley of Hurds Deep,48 km west-northwest of Guernsey. The eastern region along the French coast between Cherbourg and the mouth of the Seine river at Le Havre is frequently referred to as the Bay of the Seine. There are several islands in the Channel, the most notable being the Isle of Wight off the English coast. The coastline, particularly on the French shore, is indented, several small islands close to the coastline, including Chausey. The Cotentin Peninsula in France juts out into the Channel, whilst on the English side there is a parallel channel known as the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. The Celtic Sea is to the west of the Channel, the time difference of about six hours between high water at the eastern and western limits of the Channel is indicative of the tidal range being amplified further by resonance. It was never defined as a border and the names were more or less descriptive. It was not considered as the property of a nation, strangely, before the development of the modern nations, British scholars very often referred to it as Gaulish and the French one as British or English. The name English Channel has been used since the early 18th century. In modern Dutch, however, it is known as Het Kanaal, later, it has also been known as the British Channel or the British Sea having been called the Oceanus Britannicus by the 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy. The same name is used on an Italian map of about 1450, the Anglo-Saxon texts often call it Sūð-sǣ as opposed to Norð-sǣ
16.
League of Nations
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The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organisation founded on 10 January 1920 as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first international organisation whose mission was to maintain world peace. Its primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing wars through collective security and disarmament, at its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a shift from the preceding hundred years. The League lacked its own armed force and depended on the Great Powers to enforce its resolutions, keep to its economic sanctions, however, the Great Powers were often reluctant to do so. Sanctions could hurt League members, so they were reluctant to comply with them, after a number of notable successes and some early failures in the 1920s, the League ultimately proved incapable of preventing aggression by the Axis powers in the 1930s. Germany withdrew from the League, as did Japan, Italy, Spain, the onset of the Second World War showed that the League had failed its primary purpose, which was to prevent any future world war. The League lasted for 26 years, the United Nations replaced it after the end of the Second World War on 20 April 1946 and inherited a number of agencies and organisations founded by the League. As historians William H. Harbaugh and Ronald E. Powaski point out, the organisation was international in scope, with a third of the members of parliaments serving as members of the IPU by 1914. Its aims were to encourage governments to solve disputes by peaceful means. Annual conferences were held to help refine the process of international arbitration. Its structure consisted of a council headed by a president, which would later be reflected in the structure of the League, at the start of the 20th century, two power blocs emerged from alliances between the European Great Powers. It was these alliances that, at the start of the First World War in 1914 and this was the first major war in Europe between industrialised countries, and the first time in Western Europe that the results of industrialisation had been dedicated to war. By the time the fighting ended in November 1918, the war had had an impact, affecting the social, political and economic systems of Europe. Anti-war sentiment rose across the world, the First World War was described as the war to end all wars, the causes identified included arms races, alliances, militaristic nationalism, secret diplomacy, and the freedom of sovereign states to enter into war for their own benefit. Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson, a British political scientist, coined the term League of Nations in 1914, together with Lord Bryce, he played a leading role in the founding of the group of internationalist pacifists known as the Bryce Group, later the League of Nations Union. The group became more influential among the public and as a pressure group within the then governing Liberal Party. In Dickinsons 1915 pamphlet After the War he wrote of his League of Peace as being essentially an organisation for arbitration and conciliation
17.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
18.
Secretary of State for War
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The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas. In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War, the position was re-instated in 1854. In 1946, with the creation of a cabinet-level Minister of Defence separate from the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for War ceased to be a cabinet position. On 1 April 1964, with the creation of the Secretary of State for Defence position, in charge of a new united Ministry of Defence, for 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
19.
Winston Churchill
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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, in 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young officer, he saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns, at the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, during the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and he led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured. After the Conservative Party suffered a defeat in the 1945 general election. He publicly warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet influence in Europe, after winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, domestically his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon his death aged ninety in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral and his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. Born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the noble Spencer family, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, like his father. His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, two months prematurely, in a bedroom in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. From age two to six, he lived in Dublin, where his grandfather had been appointed Viceroy, Churchills brother, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was born during this time in Ireland
20.
Conscription
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Conscription, or drafting, is the compulsory enlistment of people in a national service, most often a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of national conscription for young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s. Most European nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1–8 years on active duty and those conscripted may evade service, sometimes by leaving the country. As of the early 21st century, many no longer conscript soldiers. The ability to rely on such an arrangement, however, presupposes some degree of predictability with regard to both war-fighting requirements and the scope of hostilities, many states that have abolished conscription therefore still reserve the power to resume it during wartime or times of crisis. Around the reign of Hammurabi, the Babylonian Empire used a system of conscription called Ilkum, under that system those eligible were required to serve in the royal army in time of war. During times of peace they were required to provide labour for other activities of the state. In return for service, people subject to it gained the right to hold land. It is possible that this right was not to hold land per se, various forms of avoiding military service are recorded. While it was outlawed by the Code of Hammurabi, the hiring of substitutes appears to have practiced both before and after the creation of the code. Later records show that Ilkum commitments could become regularly traded, in other places, people simply left their towns to avoid their Ilkum service. Another option was to sell Ilkum lands and the commitments along with them, with the exception of a few exempted classes, this was forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi. The levies raised in this way fought as infantry under local superiors, although the exact laws varied greatly depending on the country and the period, generally these levies were only obliged to fight for one to three months. Most were subsistence farmers, and it was in everyones interest to send the men home for harvest-time, the bulk of the Anglo-Saxon English army, called the fyrd, was composed of part-time English soldiers drawn from the landowning minor nobility. These thegns were the aristocracy of the time and were required to serve with their own armour. Medieval levy in Poland was known as the pospolite ruszenie, the system of military slaves was widely used in the Middle East, beginning with the creation of the corps of Turkish slave-soldiers by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutasim in the 820s and 830s. In the middle of the 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Murad I developed personal troops to be loyal to him, the new force was built by taking Christian children from newly conquered lands, especially from the far areas of his empire, in a system known as the devşirme
21.
British Army
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The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and at its peak, in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A Coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian Armies under the Duke of Wellington, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
22.
Ulster Unionist Party
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The Ulster Unionist Party is one of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Having gathered support in the north of Ireland during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the known as the Troubles. It is currently the party in Northern Ireland, having been overtaken in 2003 by the Democratic Unionist Party. At the 2015 general election, the party won two seats in the House of Commons, Fermanagh and South Tyrone and South Antrim and this marked the first time since 1921 that a devolved government in Northern Ireland did not include the UUP. The party was led by Mike Nesbitt, but on 3 March 2017 he announced his resignation following the poor performance in that years assembly election. The Ulster Unionist Party traces its existence back to the foundation of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905. Before that, however, there had been a less formally organised Irish Unionist Alliance since the late 19th century, modern organised unionism properly emerged after William Ewart Gladstones introduction in 1886 of the first of three Home Rule Bills in response to demands by the Irish Parliamentary Party. The IUA was an alliance of Irish Conservatives and Liberal Unionists and it was the merger of these two parties in 1912 that gave rise to the current name of the Conservative and Unionist Party, to which the UUP was formally linked until 1985. From the beginning, the party had an association with the Orange Order. The original composition of the Ulster Unionist Council was 25% Orange delegates, although most unionist support was based in the geographic area that became Northern Ireland, there were at one time unionist enclaves throughout southern Ireland. Unionists in County Cork and Dublin were particularly influential, however, after the Irish Convention failed to reach an understanding on home rule and with the partition of Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, Irish unionism in effect split. Many southern unionist politicians quickly became reconciled with the new Irish Free State, the existence of a separate Ulster Unionist Party became entrenched as the party took control of the new government of Northern Ireland. The leadership of the UUP was taken by Sir Edward Carson in 1910, throughout his 11-year leadership he fought a sustained campaign against Irish Home Rule, including being involved in the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912. In the 1918 general election, Carson switched constituencies from his seat of Dublin University to Belfast Duncairn. The leadership of the UUP and, subsequently, Northern Ireland, was taken by Sir James Craig, until almost the very end of its period of power in Northern Ireland, the UUP was led by a combination of landed gentry, aristocracy and gentrified industrial magnates. Only its last Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner, was from a middle-class background, during this era, all but 11 of the 149 UUP Stormont MPs were members of the Orange Order, as were all Prime Ministers. James Craig governed Northern Ireland from its inception until his death in 1940 and is buried with his wife by the east wing of Parliament Buildings and his successor, J. M. Andrews, was heavily criticised for appointing octogenarian veterans of Craigavons administration to his cabinet
23.
Parliament of Northern Ireland
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It was subsequently abolished under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. The Parliament of Northern Ireland was bicameral, consisting of a House of Commons with 52 seats, the House of Commons had 52 members, of which 48 were for territorial seats and four were for graduates of Queens University, Belfast. The boundary changes were not made by a boundary commission but by the Unionist government. Population movements were so small that these boundaries were used almost everywhere until the Parliament was dissolved in 1972, in 1968 the government abolished the Queens University constituency and created four new constituencies in the outskirts of Belfast where populations had grown. This change helped the Unionists, as they only two of the University seats but won all four of the newly created seats. There had, however, long been calls from outside Unionism to abolish the graduate franchise, the Senate was a last-minute addition to the Parliament, after the original plans for a single Senate covering both the Stormont and Dublin Parliaments were overtaken by events. Twenty-four senators were elected by the House of Commons using the single transferable vote, the elections were carried out after each general election, with 12 members elected for two parliaments each time. The other two seats were held ex officio by the Lord Mayor of Belfast and the Mayor of Londonderry, the Senate generally had the same party balance as the House of Commons, though abstaining parties and very small parties were not represented. Because of this, and its dependence on the House of Commons for election, the British monarch was originally to have been represented in both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. However, the replacement of Southern Ireland by the Irish Free State led to the abolition of the post of Lord Lieutenant, instead, a new office – Governor of Northern Ireland – was created on 12 December 1922. Initially the Parliament met in Belfasts City Hall but moved immediately to the Presbyterian Churchs Assemblys College, the Commons met in the Colleges Gamble Library and the Senate in the Chapel. In 1932, Parliament moved to the new purpose-built Parliament Buildings, designed by Sir Arnold Thornely, at Stormont, the city boundaries were extended slightly to include Stormont within the capital city. Stormont came to be a nickname referring both to the Parliament itself and to the Northern Ireland government, the Parliament did not try to infringe the terms of the Government of Ireland Act, on only one occasion did the United Kingdom government advise the King to withhold royal assent. This was the Local Government Act which abolished proportional representation in government elections. The output of legislation was high for a devolved Parliament, though some of the Acts were adaptations of recently passed acts by the United Kingdom parliament. The 1921 general election was fought on the issue of partition. Thereafter, general election timing was up to the Prime Minister, elections almost always took place at a time when the issue of partition had been raised in a new crisis. This generally guaranteed the loyalty of Protestant voters to the Unionist Party, independent Unionist candidates and the Northern Ireland Labour Party were usually accused of being splitters or dupes of the Nationalists
24.
Alexandra of Denmark
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Alexandra of Denmark was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India as the wife of King-Emperor Edward VII. At the age of sixteen, she was chosen as the wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. They married eighteen months later in 1863, the year her father became king of Denmark as Christian IX. She was Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, the longest anyone has held that title. Largely excluded from wielding any political power, she attempted to sway the opinion of British ministers and her husbands family to favour Greek. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work, on the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became king-emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as queen-empress. She held the status until Edwards death in 1910 and she greatly distrusted her nephew, German Emperor Wilhelm II, and supported her son during World War I, in which Britain and its allies fought Germany. Her father was Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and her mother was Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel, although she was of royal blood, her family lived a comparatively normal life. They did not possess great wealth, her fathers income from a commission was about £800 per year and their house was a rent-free grace. Occasionally, Hans Christian Andersen was invited to call and tell the stories before bedtime. In 1848, King Christian VIII of Denmark died and his only son, Frederick was childless, had been through two unsuccessful marriages, and was assumed to be infertile. A succession crisis arose as Frederick ruled in both Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, and the rules of each territory differed. In Holstein, the Salic law prevented inheritance through the female line, Holstein, being predominantly German, proclaimed independence and called in the aid of Prussia. In 1852, the great powers called a conference in London to discuss the Danish succession, Prince Christian was given the title Prince of Denmark and his family moved into a new official residence, Bernstorff Palace. Alexandra shared a draughty attic bedroom with her sister, Dagmar, made her own clothes, Alexandra and Dagmar were given swimming lessons by the Swedish pioneer of womens swimming, Nancy Edberg. At Bernstorff, Alexandra grew into a woman, she was taught English by the English chaplain at Copenhagen and was confirmed in Christiansborg Palace. She was devout throughout her life, and followed High Church practice, Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, were already concerned with finding a bride for their son and heir, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales. They enlisted the aid of their daughter, Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, Alexandra was not their first choice, since the Danes were at loggerheads with the Prussians over the Schleswig-Holstein Question and most of the British royal familys relations were German
25.
Edith Cavell
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Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial, despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage and she is well known for her statement that patriotism is not enough. Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to all those who needed it. She was quoted as saying, I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved, the Church of England commemorates her in their Calendar of Saints on 12 October. Edith Cavell, who was 49 at the time of her execution, was notable as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium. Edith Cavell was born on 4 December 1865 in Swardeston, a village near Norwich and she was the eldest of the four children of the Reverend Frederick and Louisa Sophia Cavell, and was taught always to share with the less fortunate, despite her family’s meagre income. She was educated at Norwich High School for Girls, in 1907, Cavell was recruited by Dr Antoine Depage to be matron of a newly established nursing school, LÉcole Belge d’Infirmières Diplômées, on the Rue de la Culture, Ixelles in Brussels. A year later, she was a nurse for three hospitals,24 schools, and 13 kindergartens in Belgium. When the First World War broke out, she was visiting her mother in Norfolk in the East of England. She returned to Brussels, where her clinic and nursing school were taken over by the Red Cross, in November 1914, after the German occupation of Brussels, Cavell began sheltering British soldiers and funnelling them out of occupied Belgium to the neutral Netherlands. This placed Cavell in violation of German military law, German authorities became increasingly suspicious of the nurses actions, which were further fuelled by her outspokenness. She was arrested on 3 August 1915 and charged with harbouring Allied soldiers and she had been betrayed by Gaston Quien, who was later convicted by a French court as a collaborator. She was held in Saint-Gilles prison for ten weeks, the last two of which were spent in solitary confinement, in her court-martial she was prosecuted for aiding British and French soldiers, in addition to young Belgian men, to cross the border and eventually enter Britain. She admitted her guilt when she signed a statement the day before the trial, Cavell declared that the soldiers she had helped escape thanked her in writing when they arrived safely in Britain. This admission confirmed that Cavell had helped the soldiers navigate the Dutch frontier, the penalty according to German military law was death. The case referred to in the above-mentioned paragraph 90 consists of Conducting soldiers to the enemy, additionally, the penalties according to paragraph 160 of the German Code, in case of war, apply to foreigners as well as Germans. While the First Geneva Convention ordinarily guaranteed protection of medical personnel and this forfeiture is expressed in article 7 of the 1906 version of the Convention, which was the version in force at the time
26.
Grand National
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The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 514 yards with horses jumping 30 fences over two laps and it is the most valuable jump race in Europe, with a prize fund of £1 million in 2016. An event that is prominent in British culture, the race is popular amongst many people who do not normally watch or bet on horse racing at times of the year. The course over which the race is run features much larger fences than those found on conventional National Hunt tracks, the Grand National has been broadcast live on free-to-air terrestrial television in the United Kingdom since 1960. From then until 2012 it was broadcast by the BBC, between 2013 and 2016 it was shown by Channel 4, the UK broadcasting rights transfer to ITV from 2017. An estimated 500 to 600 million people watch the Grand National in over 140 countries and it has also been broadcast on radio since 1927, BBC Radio held exclusive rights until 2013, however, Talksport also now holds radio commentary rights. The most recent running of the race, in 2016, was won by Rule The World, the next Grand National is on 8 April 2017 and is sponsored by Randox Health. The Grand National was founded by Kieran Sanderson, a head and proprietor of the Waterloo Hotel, on land he leased in Aintree from William Molyneux. Lynn set out a course, built a grandstand, and Lord Sefton laid the stone on 7 February 1829. This same horse won again in 1837, while Sir William was the winner in 1838 and these races have long been disregarded because of the belief that they took place at Maghull and not Aintree. Contemporary newspaper reports place all the 1836-38 races at Aintree although the 1839 race is the first described as national, to date, though, calls for the Nationals of 1836–1838 to be restored to the record books have been unsuccessful. The Duke was ridden by Martin Becher, the fence Bechers Brook is named after him and is where he fell in the next year’s race. In 1838 and 1839 three significant events occurred to transform the Liverpool race from a local affair to a national event. Firstly, the Great St. Albans Chase, which had clashed with the steeplechase at Aintree, was not renewed after 1838, secondly, the railway arrived in Liverpool, enabling transport to the course by rail for the first time. Finally, a committee was formed to organise the event. These factors led to a highly publicised race in 1839 which attracted a larger field of top quality horses and riders, greater press coverage. Over time the first three runnings of the event were quickly forgotten to secure the 1839 race its place in history as the first official Grand National. It was won by rider Jem Mason on the named, Lottery By the 1840s
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Sir William Robertson, 1st Baronet
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As CIGS he was committed to a Western Front strategy focusing on Germany and was against what he saw as peripheral operations on other fronts. Robertson was the first and only British Army soldier to rise from private soldier to field marshal, Robertson was born in Lincolnshire, the son of Thomas Charles Robertson, a tailor and postmaster of Scottish ancestry, and Ann Dexter Robertson. He was educated at the church school and as an older child earned 6d a week as a pupil-teacher. After leaving school in 1873 he became a boy in the village rectory. He began his career in November 1877 by enlisting for twelve years as a trooper in the 16th Lancers. Is a refuge for all idle people. I shall name it to no one for I am ashamed to think of it. I would rather bury you than see you in a red coat. As a young soldier Robertson was noted for his prowess at running and he won company first prizes for sword, lance and shooting. Among the young lieutenants under whom he served were future Lieutenant-General Jimmy Babington and he was promoted to lance-corporal in February 1879 and corporal in April 1879. As a corporal he was imprisoned for three weeks with his head shaven when a soldier under arrest, whom he was escorting, later, whilst serving in Ireland, he once kept soldiers under arrest handcuffed for a twelve-hour train journey rather than risk a repetition of the event. He was promoted to lance-sergeant in May 1881, and sergeant in January 1882 and he obtained a first class certificate of education in 1883, whilst serving in Ireland. Encouraged by his officers, and the clergyman of his old parish, normally only four or five rankers were commissioned each year at that time. Promoted to lieutenant on 1 March 1891, he saw his first active service in 1891 and he was appointed an attaché in the Intelligence Branch of the Quartermaster-Generals Department at Simla in India on 5 June 1892. Robertson spent a year writing a long and detailed Gazetteer and Military Report on Afghanistan, after five years in India he was granted his first long leave in 1893, only to find that his mother had died before he reached home. On the journey he learned Gurkhali from a Gurkha, later qualifying in this, his sixth Indian language and he was promoted to captain on 3 April 1895. He took part in the Chitral Expedition as Brigade Intelligence Officer to the force marched through the Malakand Pass, across the Swat River. He was described by Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Low, the Expedition Commander, as a very active, one guide was armed with a shotgun and fired at Robertson but missed. The other guide attacked him with Robertsons own sword but Robertson punched him to the ground then drove off both attackers with his revolver, one was wounded and later captured and executed. The incident was reported and illustrated in the Daily Graphic and Robertson was awarded the DSO, Robertson then applied to attend Staff College at Camberley
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Field marshal (United Kingdom)
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Field marshal has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in the Royal Navy or a marshal of the Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force. A field marshals insignia consists of two crossed batons surrounded by yellow leaves below St Edwards Crown. As with marshals of the RAF and admirals of the fleet in their services, field marshals remain officers of the British Army for life. The rank has been used throughout its history and was vacant through parts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. After the Second World War, it became practice to appoint the Chief of the Imperial General Staff to the rank on his last day in the post. Army officers occupying the post of Chief of the Defence Staff, in total,141 men have held the rank of field marshal. The majority led careers in the British Army or the British Indian Army, some members of the British Royal Family—most recently Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Charles, Prince of Wales—were promoted to the rank after shorter periods of service. Other ceremonial appointments were made as diplomatic gestures, twelve foreign monarchs held the honour, though three were stripped of it when their countries became enemies of Britain and her allies in the two world wars. Also awarded the rank were two distinguished foreign military officers, honoured for their contributions to World War I and World War II respectively, and one foreign statesman. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence in 1995 made a number of recommendations for financial savings in the forces budget. The recommendation was not taken up in full, but the convention of promoting service chiefs to five-star ranks was stopped, Sir Peter Inge was, in 1994, the last active officer to be promoted to the rank. Inge relinquished the post of Chief of the Defence Staff in 1997 and his successor, at the same time, Guthrie, who relinquished the post of CDS and retired from active service in 2001, was promoted to honorary field marshal. In June 2014 former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Walker of Aldringham was also promoted to field marshal. The rank insignia of a marshal in the British Army comprises two crossed batons in a wreath of oak leaves, with a crown above. On appointment, British field marshals are awarded a gold-tipped baton which they may carry on formal occasions, the vast majority of officers to hold the rank of field marshal were professional soldiers in the British Army, though eleven served as officers in the British Indian Army. At least fifty-seven field marshals were wounded in battle earlier in their careers, of whom 24 were wounded more than once, and eight had been prisoners of war. Fifteen future field marshals were present at the Battle of Vitoria, where the Duke of Wellington earned the rank, and ten others served under Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo
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Private (rank)
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A private is a soldier of the lowest military rank. In modern military parlance, private is shortened to Pte in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to Pvt. in the United States. The term derives from the term private soldiers, denoting individuals who were either hired, conscripted. The usage of private dates from the 18th century, for information, you may refer to Israel Defense Forces ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, טוראי Turai refers to the lowest enlisted rank, after 7–10 months of service soldiers are promoted from private to corporal, if they performed their duties appropriately during this time. Soldiers who take a course, are prisoner instructors or practical engineers become corporals earlier. An IDF private wears no insignia and is sometimes described as having a slick sleeve for this reason. The equivalent ranks to privates within the North and South Korean armies are il-byong and e-byong, the symbol for this rank is 1 line or 2 lines. Private second class is known by 1 line, while private first class is 2 lines, once recruits complete their Basic Military Training or Basic Rescue Training, they attain the rank of private. Privates do not wear ranks on their rank holder, pTEs who performed well are promoted to the rank of Private First Class. The PFC rank insignia is a chevron pointing downward. In Indonesia, this rank is referred to as Tamtama, which is the lowest rank in the Indonesian Armed Forces, in the Indonesian Army, Private has three levels, which are, Private, Private First Class, and Master Private. After this rank, it is promoted the rank, Corporal, in the Australian Army, a soldier of private rank wears no insignia. Like its British Army counterpart, the Australian Army rank of private has other titles, depending on the corps, there are three levels of private, private, private, and private. All persons holding the rank of private are referred to as such, a private is considered an apprentice in their trade, and there are no pay raises between the various levels of private except for time in rank raise. In the Royal Canadian Air Force, the rank is called Aviator and is broken into three levels, aviator, aviator and aviator. The rank is in most regards identical to the rank of Private. The insignia for aviator is a propeller, Private / Aviator – fresh recruit, untrained, holds this rank through recruit training
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Second reading
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A reading of a bill is a debate on the bill held before the general body of a legislature, as opposed to before a committee or an other group. In the Westminster system, there are several readings of a bill among the stages it passes through before becoming law as an Act of Parliament. Some of these readings are usually formalities rather than substantive debates, a first reading is when a bill is introduced to a legislature. Typically, in the United States, the title of the bill is read, the bill is then considered by committee between the first and second readings. In the United States Senate and most British-influenced legislatures, the committee consideration occurs between second and third readings, in Israel, the committee consideration occurs between first and second readings and between preliminary and first readings. In Ireland, the first reading is referred to as First Stage and is leave to introduce a bill into a House of the Oireachtas and it may be taken in either house, but it does not need to be taken in both. In New Zealand, once a bill passes first reading it is referred to a Select Committee. However, a Government can have a bill skip the select committee stage by a majority vote in Parliament. A bill can be defeated on first reading if a member introduces it, a second reading is the stage of the legislative process where a draft of a bill is read a second time. In most Westminster systems, a vote is taken on the outlines of the bill before being sent to committee. In Ireland it is referred to as Second Stage, though the motion at second stage is still that the Bill is to be read a second time, a bill introduced in one house enters the other house at Second Stage. Once the bill passes second stage it is referred to a Select Committee of that house or taken in Committee Stage by the whole house, in the United States Senate, a bill is either referred to committee or placed on the Calendar of Business after second reading. No vote is held on whether to read the bill a second time, in U. S. legislatures where consideration in committee precedes second reading, the procedure varies as to how a bill reaches second reading. In Illinois, for example, legislation is automatically read a second time, in New Zealand, once a bill passes a Second Reading it is then considered clause by clause by the whole Parliament. If a majority of Parliament agree, the bill can be considered part by part, because most bills must have majority support to pass a second reading, it is now very rare for a bill to be considered clause by clause. A third reading is the stage of a process in which a bill is read with all amendments. In legislatures whose procedures are based on those of the Westminster system, in bicameral legislatures, if the bill passes the third reading, it is then sent to the other chamber of parliament to start the process again at first reading in that chamber. Once the bill has passed third reading in both chambers, it is sent on for promulgation, such as Royal Assent in the Westminster system or signing by the president or governor in the U. S. model
31.
Government of Ireland Act 1920
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The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Acts long title was An Act to provide for the government of Ireland. Both areas of Ireland were to continue as a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and provision was made for their future reunification under common Home Rule institutions. Home Rule never took effect in Southern Ireland, due to the Irish War of Independence, which resulted instead in the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the establishment in 1922 of the Irish Free State. However, the set up under this Act for Northern Ireland continued to function until they were suspended by the British parliament in 1972 as a consequence of the Troubles. The remaining provisions of the Act still in force in Northern Ireland were repealed under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, various attempts had been made to give Ireland limited regional self-government, known as Home rule, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Third Home Rule Bill introduced in 1912 by the Irish Parliamentary Party could no longer be vetoed after the passing of the Parliament Act 1911 which removed the power of the Lords to veto bills and they could merely be delayed for two years. Because of the threat of civil war in Ireland, King George V called the Buckingham Palace Conference in July 1914 where Irish Nationalist and Unionist leaders failed to reach agreement. A few weeks after the British entry into the war, the Act received Royal Assent, however, the Suspensory Act 1914 meant that implementation would be suspended for the duration of what was expected to be only a short European war. A delay ensued because of the end of the First World War in November 1918, the Paris Peace Conference,1919. Long proposed the creation of two Irish home rule entities, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, each with unicameral parliaments, the Bills second reading debates in late March 1920 revealed that already a large number of Irish members of parliament present felt that the proposals were unworkable. After considerable delays in debating the financial aspects of the measure, a considerable number of the Irish Members present voted against the Bill, including Southern Unionists such as Maurice Dockrell, and Nationalists like Joe Devlin. During the Great War Irish politics moved decisively in a different direction, sinn Féin, standing for an independent sovereign Ireland, won 73 of the 105 parliamentary seats on the island in the 1918 general election. Its elected members established their own parliament, Dáil Éireann, which declared the independence as the Irish Republic. Dáil Éireann, after a number of meetings, was declared illegal in September 1919 by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, also for a variety of reasons all the Ulster Unionist MPs at Westminster voted against the Act. They preferred that all or most of Ulster would remain fully within the United Kingdom, thus, when the Act became law on 23 December 1920 it was already out of touch with realities in Ireland. The long-standing demand for home rule had been replaced among Nationalists by a demand for complete independence, the Republics army was waging the Irish War of Independence against British rule, which had reached a nadir in late 1920. Northern Ireland as defined by the Act, amounting to six of the nine counties of Ulster, was seen as the area within which Unionists could be expected to have a safe majority
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Unionism in Ireland
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Unionism in Ireland is a political ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. Since the partition of Ireland, unionism in Ireland has focused on maintaining and preserving the place of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, in this context, a distinction may be made between the unionism in the province of Ulster and unionism elsewhere in Ireland. Irish nationalism is opposed to the ideology of unionism, most unionists come from Protestant backgrounds, most nationalists come from a Roman Catholic background. Exceptions to these generalisations exist, there are Protestant nationalists and there are Catholic unionists, the political relationship between England and Ireland dates from the 12th century with the establishment of the Lordship of Ireland. In 1542, the Crown of Ireland Act was passed by both the English and Irish Parliaments, the Act established a sovereign Kingdom of Ireland with Henry VIII as King of Ireland. Both parliaments later passed the Act of Union 1800 by which a new state was created - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, twenty-six counties of Ireland gained autonomy from the U. K. as the Irish Free State, in 1949, the State was declared to be a Republic, the Republic of Ireland left the Commonwealth of Nations organisation. The remaining six counties of the island of Ireland constituted the territory of Northern Ireland, in 1927, the realm, consisting of combined territories of Northern Ireland and Great Britain, was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Today, unionism is almost exclusively an issue for Northern Ireland and it is concerned with the governance of and relationship between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Unionism emerged as a force in opposition to William Ewart Gladstones Home Rule Bill of 1886. Irish nationalists believed in separation from Great Britain, whether through repeal of the 1800 Act of Union, home rule, Unionists believed in maintaining and deepening the relationship between the various nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. They expressed pride in symbols of Britishness, a key symbol for unionists is the Union Flag. Unionist areas of Northern Ireland often display this and other symbols to show the loyalty, Unionism is also known for its allegiance to the person of the British monarch, both historically and today. Historically, most unionists in Ireland have been Protestants and most nationalists have been Catholics, however, a significant number of Protestants have adhered to the nationalist cause, and likewise with Catholics and unionism. These phenomena continue to exist in Northern Ireland, both unionism and nationalism have had sectarian and anti-sectarian elements. While nationalism has had a number of Protestant leaders, unionism was invariably always led by Protestant leaders, newe, served in the Government of Northern Ireland. UUP leader and Nobel Peace Prize-winner David Trimble suggested that Northern Ireland had been a house for Catholics in the past. People espousing unionist beliefs are sometimes referred to as loyalists, the two words are sometimes used interchangeably, but the latter is more often associated with particularly hardline forms of unionism
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Edward Carson
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Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC, PC, KC, from 1900 to 1921 known as Sir Edward Carson, was an Irish unionist politician, barrister and judge. He was leader of the Irish Unionist Alliance and Ulster Unionist Party between 1910 and 1921, held positions in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was one of the few people not a monarch to receive a British state funeral, Edward Carson was born at 4 Harcourt Street, in Dublin, into a wealthy Anglican family, His father was an architect. The Carsons were of Scottish origin, Edwards grandfather having originally moved to Dublin from Dumfries in 1815, Carsons mother was Isabella Lambert, the daughter of Captain Peter Lambert, part of an old Anglo-Irish family, the Lamberts of Castle Ellen, County Galway. Carson spent holidays at Castle Ellen, which was owned by his uncle and he was one of six children. Edward was educated at Portarlington School, Wesley College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin and he also played with the college hurling team. He later received a doctorate from the University of Dublin in June 1901. In 1877 Carson was called to the Irish Bar at Kings Inns and he gained a reputation for fearsome advocacy and supreme legal ability and became regarded as a brilliant barrister, one of the leading ones in Ireland at the time. He was also a master of the appeal to the jury by his legal wit. He was appointed Queens Counsel in 1889, in 1895, he was engaged by the Marquess of Queensberry to lead his defence against Oscar Wildes action for criminal libel. Wilde retaliated with an action, as homosexuality was, at the time. Kevin Myers states that Carsons initial response was to refuse to take the case, later, he discovered that Queensberry had been telling the truth about Wildes activity and was therefore not guilty of the libel of which Wilde accused him. He impugned Wildes works as morally repugnant and designed to corrupt the upbringing of the youth, Queensberry spent a considerable amount of money on private detectives who investigated Wildes activity in the London underworld of homosexual clubs and procurers. Wilde was bankrupted when he was ordered to pay the considerable legal. Based on the evidence of Queensberrys detectives and Carsons cross-examinations of Wilde at the trial and he was eventually found guilty and sentenced to two years hard labour, after which he moved to France, where he died penniless. In 1908 Carson appeared for the London Evening Standard in an action brought by George Cadbury. The Standard was controlled by Unionist interests which supported Joseph Chamberlains Imperial Preference views, the Cadbury family were Liberal supporters of free trade and had, in 1901, purchased The Daily News. The Standard articles alleged that Cadbury Bros Ltd, the Standard alleged that the Cadbury family knew that the reason cocoa from São Tomé was cheaper was because it was grown by slave labour
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Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
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Welsh Church Act 1914
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The Welsh Church Act 1914 is an Act under which the Church of England was separated and disestablished in Wales and Monmouthshire, leading to the creation of the Church in Wales. The act had long demanded by the Nonconformist element in Wales, which comprised the majority of the population. It was sponsored by the Liberal party and opposed by the Conservative party, the main financial terms were that the Church no longer receive tithe money, but kept all its churches, properties and glebes. The Bill was politically and historically significant as one of the first pieces of legislation to apply solely to Wales as opposed to the legal entity of England. The campaign was strongly supported by the patriotic Cymru Fydd movement. Owing to the outbreak of the First World War in August, the Act was given Royal Assent on 18 September simultaneously with another controversial bill, the Government of Ireland Act 1914. In addition, Royal Assent was also given to the Suspensory Act 1914 which stated that the two other Acts would not come into force for the remainder of the war. On 31 March 1920 most of the Welsh part of the Church of England became the Church in Wales, however, a small number of churches within Wales voted to remain within the Church of England. The Welsh Church Act and the Government of Ireland Act were the only acts enacted by invoking the Parliament Act 1911 until the War Crimes Act in 1991, calvinistic Methodists Nonconformity in Wales Religion in Wales Irish Church Act 1869 O’Leary, Paul. Religion, Nationality and Politics, Disestablishment in Ireland and Wales 1868–1914. in Contrasts and Comparisons, Studies in Irish and Welsh Church History, edited by J. R. Guy and W. G. Neely, 89-113. Taylor, Simon J. Disestablished Establishment, High and Earthed Establishment in the Church in Wales, journal of Contemporary Religion 18.2, 227-240. Watkin, T. G. Disestablishment, Self-determination and the Constitutional Development of the Church in Wales, in Essays in Canon Law–A Study of the Church in Wales. The Welsh Church from Reformation to Disestablishment, 1603-1920
36.
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
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The club was formed in 1878 and has played at its home ground, The Hawthorns, since 1900. Albion were one of the members of the Football League in 1888 and have spent the majority of their existence in the top tier of English football. They have been champions of England once, in 1919–20 and have been runners-up twice but they have had success in the FA Cup. The first came in 1888, the year the league was founded, and they also won the Football League Cup at the first attempt in 1966. The clubs longest consecutive period in the top division spanned twenty-four years between 1949 and 1973, and from 1986 to 2002 they spent their longest ever spell out of the top division and they currently play in the Premier League. The team has played in blue and white stripes for most of the clubs history. The club was founded as West Bromwich Strollers in 1878 by workers from George Salters Spring Works in West Bromwich, the club joined the Birmingham & District Football Association in 1881 and became eligible for their first competition, the Birmingham Cup. They reached the quarter-finals, beating several longer-established clubs on the way, in 1883, Albion won their first trophy, the Staffordshire Cup. Albion joined the Football Association in the year, this enabled them to enter the FA Cup for the first time in the 1883–84 season. In 1885 the club turned professional, and in 1886 they reached the FA Cup final for the first time and they reached the final again in 1887, but lost 2–0 to Aston Villa. In 1888 the team won the trophy for the first time, as FA Cup winners, they qualified to play in a Football World Championship game against Scottish Cup winners Renton, which ended in a 4–1 defeat. Thus when the Football League started later that year, Albion became one of the founder members. Albions second FA Cup success came in 1892, beating Aston Villa 3–0 and they met Villa again in the 1895 final, but lost 1–0. The team suffered relegation to Division Two in 1900–01, their first season at The Hawthorns and they were promoted as champions the following season but relegated again in 1903–04. The club won the Division Two championship once more in 1910–11, and the season reached another FA Cup Final. Albion won the Football League title in 1919–20 for the time in their history following the end of World War I. The team finished as Division One runners-up in 1924–25, narrowly losing out to Huddersfield Town, in 1930–31, they won promotion as well as the FA Cup, beating Birmingham 2–1 in the final. The Double of winning the FA Cup and promotion has not been achieved before or since, Albion reached the final again in 1935, losing to Sheffield Wednesday, but were relegated three years later
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English Football League
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The English Football League is a league competition featuring professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in world football and it was the top-level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League. The league has 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are known as the Championship, League One and League Two, with 24 clubs in each division, the Football League has been associated with a title sponsor between 1983 and 2016. As this sponsor changed over the years the league too has been known by various names, the English Football League is also the name of the governing body of the league competition, and this body also organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The operations centre of the Football League is in Preston, while its commercial office is in London, the commercial office was formerly based in Lytham St Annes, after its original spell in Preston. The Football League consists of 70 professional association football clubs in England and 2 in Wales and it runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. It also organises two knockout cup competitions, the Football League Cup and Football League Trophy, the Football League was founded in 1888 by then Aston Villa director William McGregor, originally with 12 member clubs. Steady growth and the addition of more divisions meant that by 1950 the League had 92 clubs, the Football League therefore no longer includes the top 20 clubs who belong to this group, although promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Premier League continues. In total,136 teams have played in the Football League up to 2013, the Football Leagues 72 member clubs are grouped into three divisions, the Football League Championship, Football League One, and Football League Two. Each division has 24 clubs, and in any season a club plays each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium. This makes for a total of 46 games played each season, clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division may win promotion to the higher division. At the top end of the competition, three Championship clubs win promotion from the Football League to the Premier League, with the bottom three Premier League clubs taking their places, reserve teams of Football League clubs usually play in the Central League or the Football Combination. Since the 2004–05 season, penalties have existed for clubs entering financial administration during the season and it is also required that a club exiting administration agree a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, and pay in full any other footballing creditors. Failure to do either of these result in a second. The other main situation in which is a club may lose points is by fielding an improperly registered or otherwise ineligible player. If a club is found to have done this, then any points earned from any match that player participated in will be deducted, the EFL organises two knock-out cup competitions, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy. The EFL Cup was established in 1960 and is open to all EFL and Premier League clubs, the EFL Trophy is for clubs belonging to EFL League One and EFL League Two
38.
1920 Summer Olympics
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The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium. No fixed host city was proposed at the time, the 1916 Summer Olympics, to be held in Berlin, capital of the German Empire, were cancelled due to World War I. Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire were banned from competing in the Games, Germany did not return to Olympic competition until 1928 and instead hosted a series of games called Deutsche Kampfspiele, starting with the Winter edition of 1922. The Sailing events were held in Ostend, Belgium, and two in Amsterdam, Netherlands, no fixed host city was proposed at the time. The organising committee was created on 9 August 1913, Beerschot V. A. C. and Nicolaas Jan Cupérus, president of the Belgian Gymnastics Federation. The first action of the committee was to send a letter to the IOC in Paris. On 13 September 1913, Pierre de Coubertin, president of the IOC, in 1914, a 109-page brochure was created to promote the idea of Antwerp as a host city for the Olympics, Aurons-nous la VIIème Olympiade à Anvers. It was sent to all IOC members and was used during the 6th Olympic Congress in Paris in 1914, where the candidacies of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Budapest, and Rome were discussed. Despite a slight preference at the time for Budapest, no choice was made. In 1915, Lyon made a bid for the 1920 games, the support for Belgium by cousin country France, then the leading country of the IOC, also meant that Amsterdam, and Budapest, in an enemy state, made no chance for the 1920 games against Antwerp. New candidacies from American cities did not have that disadvantage and bids were received from Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, but shortly after the armistice in November 1918, the IOC decided to give Antwerp the first choice, if they still wanted to host the 1920 Games. An executive committee was established on 17 April 1919, with Henri de Baillet-Latour as chairman and Alfred Verdyck, seven commissions were created, to deal with finances, accommodation, press relations, propaganda, schedules, transport, and festivities. Finances and scheduling proved to be the two hardest parts to tackle, the program of events only was published in February 1920, between 23 and 30 April 1920, an ice hockey tournament marked the early start of the Games. Held in the Palais de Glace or Ice Palace in Antwerp, it was the first time that ice hockey was an Olympic sport. The first stone of the new Olympic Stadium at Beerschot was laid on 4 July 1919 by Jan De Vos, mayor of Antwerp, and inaugurated less than a year later on 23 May 1920 with a gymnastics demonstration. The nautical stadium or Stade Nautique dAntwerp was built at the end of the Jan Van Rijswijcklaan, other events, like shooting, boxing, and equestrian sports, were held at pre-existing locations in and around Antwerp and as far away as Ostend. These Olympics were the first in which the Olympic Oath was voiced, the first in which doves were released to symbolize peace, the USA won 41 gold,27 silver, and 27 bronze medals, the most won by any of the 29 nations attending. Sweden, Great Britain, Finland, and Belgium rounded out the five most successful medal-winning nations, the Games also featured a week of winter sports, with figure skating appearing for the first time since the 1908 Olympics, and ice hockey making its Olympic debut
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Antwerp
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Antwerp is a city in Belgium, the capital of Antwerp province in the region of Flanders. With a population of 510,610, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium and its metropolitan area houses around 1,200,000 people, which is second behind Brussels. Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary, the Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, the inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, lord, referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics, according to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend about a giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He exacted a toll from passing boatmen, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands, eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo, who cut off the giants own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan, a longstanding theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin antverpia. Antverpia would come from Ante Verpia, indicating land that forms by deposition in the curve of a river. Note that the river Scheldt, before a period between 600 and 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, however, many historians think it unlikely that there was a large settlement which would be named Antverpia, but more something like an outpost with a river crossing. However, John Lothrop Motley argues, and so do a lot of Dutch etymologists and historians, aan t werp is also possible. This warp is a hill or a river deposit, high enough to remain dry at high tide. Another word for werp is pol hence polders, historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952–1961, produced pottery shards, the earliest mention of Antwerp dates from the 4th century. In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks, the name was reputed to have been derived from anda and werpum. The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century, at the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto I, in the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years known as the marquis of Antwerp. In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michaels Abbey at Caloes
40.
Aston Villa
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Aston Villa Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aston, Birmingham, that plays in the Championship, the second level of English football. Founded in 1874, they have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, Aston Villa were one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888. They were also one of the members of the Premier League in 1992. Aston Villa are one of only five English clubs to be crowned champions of Europe and they have also won the First Division Championship seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the Football League Cup five times, and the UEFA Super Cup once. They have a local rivalry with Birmingham City and the Second City derby between the sides has been played since 1879. The clubs traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and their traditional badge is of a rampant lion, which was introduced by the clubs Scottish chairman William McGregor in honour of the Royal Standard of Scotland. The club is owned by Recon Group Limited, a company chaired by Chinese businessman Tony Xia. Aston Villa Football Club were formed in March 1874, by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth which is now part of Birmingham, the four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood. Aston Villas first match was against the local Aston Brook St Marys Rugby team, as a condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under Rugby rules and the second half under Association rules. The club won their first FA Cup in 1887 with captain Archie Hunter becoming one of the games first household names. Aston Villa were one of the teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888 with one of the clubs directors. Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club of the Victorian era, winning no fewer than five League titles, in 1897, the year Villa won The Double, they moved into their present home, the Aston Lower Grounds. Supporters coined the name Villa Park, no official declaration listed the ground as Villa Park. This was largely the result of a defensive record, they conceded 110 goals in 42 games,7 of them coming from Arsenals Ted Drake in an infamous 1–7 defeat at Villa Park. Like all English clubs, Villa lost seven seasons to the Second World War, the team was rebuilt under the guidance of former player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s. The team struggled in the league though and were relegated two seasons later, due in part to complacency. However, under the stewardship of manager Joe Mercer Villa returned to the top-flight in 1960 as Second Division Champions, the following season Aston Villa became the first team to win the Football League Cup. Mercers forced retirement from the club in 1964 signalled a period of deep turmoil, the most successful club in England was struggling to keep pace with changes in the modern game, with Villa being relegated for the third time, under manager Dick Taylor in 1967
1920 in the United Kingdom