1.
Order of the Garter
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The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
2.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians, who are present or former members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, the Council also holds the delegated authority to issue Orders of Council, mostly used to regulate certain public institutions. The Council advises the sovereign on the issuing of Royal Charters, which are used to grant special status to incorporated bodies, otherwise, the Privy Councils powers have now been largely replaced by the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Judicial Committee consists of judges appointed as Privy Counsellors, predominantly Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom was preceded by the Privy Council of Scotland, the key events in the formation of the modern Privy Council are given below, Witenagemot was an early equivalent to the Privy Council of England. During the reigns of the Norman monarchs, the English Crown was advised by a court or curia regis. The body originally concerned itself with advising the sovereign on legislation, administration, later, different bodies assuming distinct functions evolved from the court. The courts of law took over the business of dispensing justice, nevertheless, the Council retained the power to hear legal disputes, either in the first instance or on appeal. Furthermore, laws made by the sovereign on the advice of the Council, powerful sovereigns often used the body to circumvent the Courts and Parliament. During Henry VIIIs reign, the sovereign, on the advice of the Council, was allowed to enact laws by mere proclamation, the legislative pre-eminence of Parliament was not restored until after Henry VIIIs death. Though the royal Council retained legislative and judicial responsibilities, it became an administrative body. The Council consisted of forty members in 1553, but the sovereign relied on a smaller committee, by the end of the English Civil War, the monarchy, House of Lords, and Privy Council had been abolished. The remaining parliamentary chamber, the House of Commons, instituted a Council of State to execute laws, the forty-one members of the Council were elected by the House of Commons, the body was headed by Oliver Cromwell, de facto military dictator of the nation. In 1653, however, Cromwell became Lord Protector, and the Council was reduced to thirteen and twenty-one members, all elected by the Commons. In 1657, the Commons granted Cromwell even greater powers, some of which were reminiscent of those enjoyed by monarchs, the Council became known as the Protectors Privy Council, its members were appointed by the Lord Protector, subject to Parliaments approval. In 1659, shortly before the restoration of the monarchy, the Protectors Council was abolished, Charles II restored the Royal Privy Council, but he, like previous Stuart monarchs, chose to rely on a small group of advisers. Under George I even more power transferred to this committee and it now began to meet in the absence of the sovereign, communicating its decisions to him after the fact. Thus, the British Privy Council, as a whole, ceased to be a body of important confidential advisers to the sovereign and it is closely related to the word private, and derives from the French word privé
3.
Fellow of the Royal Society
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As of 2016, there are around 1600 living Fellows, Foreign and Honorary Members. Fellowship of the Royal Society has been described by The Guardian newspaper as “the equivalent of a lifetime achievement Oscar” with several institutions celebrating their announcement each year. Up to 60 new Fellows, honorary and foreign members are elected annually usually in May, each candidate is considered on their merits and can be proposed from any sector of the scientific community. Fellows are elected for life on the basis of excellence in science and are entitled to use the post-nominal letters FRS, see Category, Fellows of the Royal Society and Category, Female Fellows of the Royal Society. Every year, Fellows elect up to ten new Foreign Members, like Fellows, Foreign Members are elected for life through peer review on the basis of excellence in science. As of 2016 there are around 165 Foreign Members, who are entitled to use the post-nominal ForMemRS, see Category, Foreign Members of the Royal Society. Honorary Fellows include Bill Bryson, Melvyn Bragg, Robin Saxby, David Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville, Honorary Fellows are entitled to use the post nominal letters HonFRS. Others including John Maddox, Patrick Moore and Lisa Jardine were elected as honorary fellows, statute 12 is a legacy mechanism for electing members before official honorary membership existed in 1997. Fellows elected under statute 12 include David Attenborough and John Palmer, prime Ministers of the United Kingdom such as Margaret Thatcher, Neville Chamberlain, H. H. Asquith were elected under statute 12, see Category, Fellows of the Royal Society. The Council of the Royal Society can recommend members of the British Royal Family for election as Royal Fellows of the Royal Society. As of 2016 there are five royal fellows, Charles, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II is not a Royal Fellow, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was elected under statute 12, not as a Royal Fellow. The election of new fellows is announced annually in May, after their nomination, each candidate for Fellowship or Foreign Membership is nominated by two Fellows of the Royal Society, who sign a certificate of proposal. Previously, nominations required at least five fellows to support each nomination by the proposer, the certificate of election includes a statement of the principal grounds on which the proposal is being made. There is no limit on the number of nominations each year. In 2015, there were 654 candidates for election as Fellows and 106 candidates for Foreign Membership. The final list of up to 52 Fellowship candidates and up to 10 Foreign Membership candidates is confirmed by the Council in April, a candidate is elected if he or she secures two-thirds of votes of those Fellows present and voting. A further maximum of six can be ‘Honorary’, ‘General’ or ‘Royal’ Fellows, nominations for Fellowship are peer reviewed by sectional committees, each with fifteen members and a chair
4.
Godfrey Kneller
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Kneller was born Gottfried Kniller in the Free City of Lübeck, the son of Zacharias Kniller, a portrait painter. Kneller studied in Leiden, but became a pupil of Ferdinand Bol, the brothers came to England in 1676, and won the patronage of the Duke of Monmouth. He was introduced to, and painted a portrait of, Charles II, in England, Kneller concentrated almost entirely on portraiture. His portraits set a pattern that was followed until William Hogarth, nevertheless, he established himself as a leading portrait artist in England. When Sir Peter Lely died in 1680, Kneller was appointed Principal Painter to the Crown by Charles II, in the 1690s, Kneller painted the Hampton Court Beauties depicting the most glamorous ladies-in-waiting of the Royal Court for which he received his knighthood from William III. He produced a series of Kit-cat portraits of 48 leading politicians and his paintings were praised by Whig luminaries such as John Dryden, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, and Alexander Pope. On the landing in Horsham Museum hang works of art from the Museums extensive painting collection, featuring a large 18th-century portrait of Charles Eversfield and his wife, in the painting Eversfield is giving his wife some violets which signifies fidelity, love and honesty. It is likely that the picture was cut down at some time as it was unusual to stop just below the knee and he married a widow, Susanna Grave, on 23 January 1704 at St Brides Church, London. She was the daughter of the Reverend John Cawley, Archdeacon of Lincoln and Rector of Henley-on-Thames, Kneller died of fever in 1723 at Great Queen Street and his remains were interred at Twickenham. He had been a churchwarden at St Marys, Twickenham when the 14th-century nave collapsed in 1713 and was active in the plans for the reconstruction by John James. His widow was buried at Twickenham on 11 December 1729, a memorial was erected in Westminster Abbey. Knellers will gave a pension of £100 a year to his assistant Edward Byng, Byng also inherited the drawings in Knellers studio. Kneller and his wife had no children together, the site of the house Kneller built in 1709 in Whitton, near Twickenham, became occupied by the mid-19th century Kneller Hall, home of the Royal Military School of Music. As to thinking better or worse of mankind from experience, some cunning people will not be satisfied unless they have put men to the test, there is a very good story told of Sir Godfrey Kneller, in his character of a Justice of the peace. In his hometown Lübeck there are works to be seen in the St. Annen Museum and his former works at St. Marys Church were destroyed by the Bombing of Lübeck 1942. A large oil portrait of James VII of Scotland hangs on the staircase of private members Club, The Caledonian Club, in Belgravia
5.
National Portrait Gallery, London
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The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856, the gallery moved in 1896 to its current site at St Martins Place, off Trafalgar Square, and adjoining the National Gallery. It has been expanded twice since then, the National Portrait Gallery also has regional outposts at Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire and Montacute House in Somerset. It is unconnected to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, the gallery is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The gallery houses portraits of important and famous British people, selected on the basis of the significance of the sitter. The collection includes photographs and caricatures as well as paintings, drawings, one of its best-known images is the Chandos portrait, the most famous portrait of William Shakespeare although there is some uncertainty about whether the painting actually is of the playwright. Not all of the portraits are exceptional artistically, although there are self-portraits by William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds, some, such as the group portrait of the participants in the Somerset House Conference of 1604, are important historical documents in their own right. Portraits of living figures were allowed from 1969, the three people largely responsible for the founding of the National Portrait Gallery are commemorated with busts over the main entrance. At centre is Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope, with his supporters on either side, Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay and it was Stanhope who, in 1846 as a Member of Parliament, first proposed the idea of a National Portrait Gallery. It was not until his attempt, in 1856, this time from the House of Lords. With Queen Victorias approval, the House of Commons set aside a sum of £2000 to establish the gallery, as well as Stanhope and Macaulay, the founder Trustees included Benjamin Disraeli and Lord Ellesmere. It was the latter who donated the Chandos portrait to the nation as the gallerys first portrait, Carlyle became a trustee after the death of Ellesmere in 1857. For the first 40 years, the gallery was housed in locations in London. The first 13 years were spent at 29 Great George Street, there, the collection increased in size from 57 to 208 items, and the number of visitors from 5,300 to 34,500. In 1869, the moved to Exhibition Road and buildings managed by the Royal Horticultural Society. Following a fire in buildings, the collection was moved in 1885. This location was unsuitable due to its distance from the West End, condensation. Following calls for a new location to be found, the government accepted an offer of funds from the philanthropist William Henry Alexander, Alexander donated £60,000 followed by another £20,000, and also chose the architect, Ewan Christian
6.
Lord President of the Council
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The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends and is responsible of presiding over meetings of the Privy Council, in the modern era, the holder is by convention always a member of one of the houses of Parliament and the office is a Cabinet post. The Lord President is currently David Lidington as of 14 July 2016, the Privy Council meets once a month, wherever the Sovereign may be residing at the time, to give formal approval to Orders in Council. Only a few Privy Counsellors need attend such meetings, and only invited to do so at the Governments request. As the duties of the Lord President are not onerous, the post has often given to a government minister whose responsibilities are not department-specific. In recent years it has been most typical for the Lord President to also serve as Leader of the House of Commons or Leader of the House of Lords. Before the change of government in 2010, the Lord President was Peter Mandelson, examples of this practice are the meetings in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, when Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger respectively were acting Lords President. In the 19th century, the Lord President was generally the cabinet responsible for the education system. This role was gradually scaled back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but remnants of it remain, a particularly vital role was played by the Lord President of the Council during the Second World War. The Lord President served as chairman of the Lord Presidents Committee and this committee acted as a central clearing house for dealing with the countrys economic problems. This was vital to the running of the British war economy. Winston Churchill, clearly believing that this wartime co-ordinating role was beneficial, introduced a similar, the so-called overlord ministers included Frederick Leathers as Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power and Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton as Lord President. Wooltons job was to co-ordinate the then separate ministries of agriculture, the Lord President has no role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Privy Council Office Vice-President of the Executive Council President of the Queens Privy Council for Canada Sinecure
7.
George I of Great Britain
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George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698. George was born in Hanover and inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father, a succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime, and in 1708 he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover. At the age of 54, after the death of his second cousin Queen Anne of Great Britain, in reaction, Jacobites attempted to depose George and replace him with Annes Catholic half-brother, James Francis Edward Stuart, but their attempts failed. During Georges reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual power was held by Sir Robert Walpole. George died of a stroke on a trip to his native Hanover, George was born on 28 May 1660 in Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the eldest son of Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Sophia was the granddaughter of King James I of England through her mother, Elizabeth of Bohemia. For the first year of his life, George was the heir to the German territories of his father. In 1661 Georges brother, Frederick Augustus, was born and the two boys were brought up together, after Sophias tour she bore Ernest Augustus another four sons and a daughter. In her letters, Sophia describes George as a responsible, conscientious child who set an example to his brothers and sisters. In 1679 another uncle died unexpectedly without sons and Ernest Augustus became reigning Duke of Calenberg-Göttingen, Georges surviving uncle, George William of Celle, had married his mistress in order to legitimise his only daughter, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, but looked unlikely to have any further children. Under Salic law, where inheritance of territory was restricted to the male line, in 1682, the family agreed to adopt the principle of primogeniture, meaning George would inherit all the territory and not have to share it with his brothers. The same year, George married his first cousin, Sophia Dorothea of Celle, the marriage of state was arranged primarily as it ensured a healthy annual income and assisted the eventual unification of Hanover and Celle. His mother was at first against the marriage because she looked down on Sophia Dorotheas mother and she was eventually won over by the advantages inherent in the marriage. In 1683, George and his brother, Frederick Augustus, served in the Great Turkish War at the Battle of Vienna, and Sophia Dorothea bore George a son, George Augustus. The following year, Frederick Augustus was informed of the adoption of primogeniture and it led to a breach between father and son, and between the brothers, that lasted until Frederick Augustuss death in battle in 1690. With the imminent formation of a single Hanoverian state, and the Hanoverians continuing contributions to the Empires wars, Georges prospects were now better than ever as the sole heir to his fathers electorate and his uncles duchy. Sophia Dorothea had a child, a daughter named after her, in 1687
8.
Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull
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Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull KG PC was an English aristocrat. He had been the member of parliament for East Retford before his accession to the peerage as fifth Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull in 1690. While serving as one of the commissioners for the union with Scotland he was created Marquess of Dorchester in 1706 and he was made a privy councillor and in 1715 was created Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, afterwards serving as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council. The Duke was a prominent figure in the society of his day. His first wife was Lady Mary Feilding, a daughter of William Feilding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh and he was succeeded by his grandson Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, whose sister was Lady Frances Pierrepont
9.
Henry Boyle, 1st Baron Carleton
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Henry Boyle, 1st Baron Carleton PC, was an Anglo-Irish politician of the early eighteenth century. The son of Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, Boyle was educated at Westminster School, and entered the army under the auspices of his uncle, the Tory politician Lord Rochester. However, Boyle himself became a Whig, and in 1688 deserted the army of James II in favour of the Prince of Orange, in 1689, he was elected to the Parliament of England for Tamworth, but was defeated the next year. He spent the two years in Ireland managing the family estates and represented Cork County in the Irish House of Commons in 1692. In the same year, he returned also to parliament for Cambridge University, and became a prominent spokesman of the country opposition, here he advanced quickly, becoming a Lord of the Treasury in 1699 and Chancellor of the Exchequer of England in 1701. He picked up other offices as he went along, becoming Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire and Lord Treasurer of Ireland in 1704, and was elected member for Westminster in 1705. With the departure of Harley and his followers from the government, Boyle became Secretary of State for the Northern Department and Lord Treasurer Godolphins principal lieutenant in the Commons. With the Hanoverian succession in 1714, Boyle was raised to the peerage as Baron Carleton, and became Lord President in 1721, an office in which he continued until his death in 1725. Carlton Way, a road in north Cambridge that follows the path of the Roman Akeman Street, and the public house The Carlton Arms on the same road, are named after him
10.
Raynham Hall
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Raynham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. For nearly 400 years it has been the seat of the Townshend family, however, the ghost has been seen infrequently since the photo was taken. Its most famous resident was Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, Raynham Hall is one of the most splendid of the great houses of Norfolk. I was some while in it, while it had no ornament at all, there was somewhat in it divine in the symmetry of proportions of length, height and breadth which was harmonious to the rational soul. Whether or not Raynham Hall was the first of its kind in England as the genealogist G. E. Cokayne averred, Raynham was built in an entirely new style, abandoning native tradition and following the Italian form and plan. Except for its roof and Dutch gables, Raynham could easily be mistaken for a house built nearly a century later. An intelligent reflection of his rather than a personal work. In 1713, Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, married Robert Walpoles prettiest sister, Lady Townshend was buried in 1726. The impressive and beautiful ceiling of the Marble Hall with its motif of Lord Townshends coat-of-arms was sometimes attributed in the 19th century to Inigo Jones himself, in spite of a series of 20th-century sales, many fine portraits still adorn Kents splendid rooms at Raynham. Hanging beside his lovely black and white marble chimney-piece in the Princess Room is a painting which is believed to be a sketch for the famous Van Dyck portrait Children of Charles I. Until 1904, there were many paintings at Raynham, including several fine family portraits by Kneller. The most famous and valuable was Belisarius by Salvator Rosa, which was presented to the 2nd Viscount Townshend by King Frederick William I of Prussia and this was valued at £5,000 in 1804, but was disposed of a hundred years later for £273. Charles Townshend, 8th Marquess Townshend, is the present owner of the Hall, the Seat of The Marquess Townshend, The Architectural review, vol. LIV, July-december 1923, p. 6-11 Raynham Hall, Article from Womens Illustrated 1952 The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall The Ghosts of Raynham Hall
11.
Norfolk
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Norfolk /ˈnɔːrfək/ is a county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the west and north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea and, to the north-west, The Wash. With an area of 2,074 square miles and a population of 859,400, of the countys population, 40% live in four major built up areas, Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn and Thetford. The Broads is a network of rivers and lakes in the east of the county, the area is not a National Park although it is marketed as such. It has similar status to a park, and is protected by the Broads Authority. Norfolk was settled in times, with camps along the higher land in the west. A Brythonic tribe, the Iceni, inhabited the county from the 1st century BC to the end of the 1st century AD, the Iceni revolted against the Roman invasion in AD47, and again in 60 led by Boudica. The crushing of the second opened the county to the Romans. During the Roman era roads and ports were constructed throughout the county, situated on the east coast, Norfolk was vulnerable to invasions from Scandinavia and Northern Europe, and forts were built to defend against the Angles and Saxons. Norfolk, Suffolk and several adjacent areas became the kingdom of East Anglia, the influence of the Early English settlers can be seen in the many place names ending in -ton and -ham. Endings such as -by and -thorpe are also common, indicating Danish place names, in the 9th century the region came under attack. In the centuries before the Norman Conquest the wetlands of the east of the county began to be converted to farmland, and settlements grew in these areas. Migration into East Anglia must have high, by the time of the Domesday Book survey it was one of the most densely populated parts of the British Isles. During the high and late Middle Ages the county developed arable agriculture, the economy was in decline by the time of the Black Death, which dramatically reduced the population in 1349. During the English Civil War Norfolk was largely Parliamentarian, the economy and agriculture of the region declined somewhat. During the Industrial Revolution Norfolk developed little industry except in Norwich which was an addition to the railway network. In the 20th century the county developed a role in aviation, during the Second World War agriculture rapidly intensified, and it has remained very intensive since, with the establishment of large fields for growing cereals and oilseed rape. Norfolks low-lying land and easily eroded cliffs, many of which are chalk and clay, make it vulnerable to the sea, the low-lying section of coast between Kelling and Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk is currently managed by the Environment Agency to protect the Broads from sea flooding
12.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
13.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
14.
Kingdom of Great Britain
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The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain, was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm, the unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the early years of the unified kingdom were marked by Jacobite risings which ended in defeat for the Stuart cause at Culloden in 1746. On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland were merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, the name Britain descends from the Latin name for the island of Great Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons via the Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between Edward IV of Englands daughter Cecily and James III of Scotlands son James. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain. However, both the Acts and the Treaty also refer numerous times to the United Kingdom and the longer form, other publications refer to the country as the United Kingdom after 1707 as well. The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, additionally, the term United Kingdom was found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a union in 1603. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws and this disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1800, legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the location in Westminster. Newly created peers in the Peerage of Great Britain were given the right to sit in the Lords. Despite the end of a parliament for Scotland, it retained its own laws. As a result of Poynings Law of 1495, the Parliament of Ireland was subordinate to the Parliament of England, the Act was repealed by the Repeal of Act for Securing Dependence of Ireland Act 1782. The same year, the Irish constitution of 1782 produced a period of legislative freedom, the 18th century saw England, and after 1707 Great Britain, rise to become the worlds dominant colonial power, with France its main rival on the imperial stage
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Whigs (British political party)
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The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the Whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The Whigs played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the standing enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715, and remained dominant until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760. The Whig Supremacy was enabled by the Hanoverian succession of George I in 1714, the Whigs thoroughly purged the Tories from all major positions in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession, and local offices. The Partys hold on power was so strong and durable, historians call the period from roughly 1714 to 1783 the age of the Whig Oligarchy. The first great leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government through the period 1721–1742, his protégé was Henry Pelham, who led from 1743 to 1754. Both parties were founded on rich politicians, more than on votes, there were elections to the House of Commons. The Whig Party slowly evolved during the 18th century, later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the royal family. The term Whig was originally short for whiggamor, a term meaning cattle driver used to describe western Scots who came to Leith for corn. In the reign of Charles I the term was used during Wars of the Three Kingdoms to refer derisively to a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the Kirk Party. It was then applied to Scottish Presbyterian rebels who were against the Kings Episcopalian order in Scotland, Whig was a term of abuse applied to those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. The fervent Tory Samuel Johnson often joked that the first Whig was the Devil, the Whigs, under Lord Shaftesburys leadership, wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne due to his Catholicism, his favouring of monarchical absolutism and his connections to France. They believed the Duke, if allowed to inherit the throne, would endanger the Protestant religion, liberty, the first Exclusion Bill was supported by a substantial majority on its second reading in May 1679. In response, King Charles prorogued Parliament and then dissolved it and this new parliament did not meet for thirteen months, because Charles wanted to give passions a chance to die down. When it met in October 1680, an Exclusion Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons without major resistance, Charles dissolved Parliament in January 1681, but the Whigs did not suffer serious losses in the ensuing election. The next Parliament first met in March, at Oxford, but Charles dissolved it only after a few days, when he made an appeal to the country against the Whigs, and determined to rule without Parliament. In February, Charles had made a deal with the French King Louis XIV, without Parliament, the Whigs gradually crumbled, mainly due to the Rye House Plot
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Robert Walpole
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Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC, known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as the de facto first Prime Minister of Great Britain. Although the exact dates of his dominance are a matter of scholarly debate and he dominated the Walpole–Townshend ministry and the Walpole ministry and holds the record as the longest-serving Prime Minister in British history. Speck says that Walpoles uninterrupted run of 20 years as Prime Minister is rightly regarded as one of the feats of British political history. He was a Whig from the class, who was first elected to Parliament in 1701. He was a squire and looked to country gentlemen for his political base. Hoppit says Walpoles policies sought moderation, he worked for peace, lower taxes, growing exports and he avoided controversy and high-intensity disputes, as his middle way attracted moderates from both the Whig and Tory camps. Dickinson sums up his role, Walpole was one of the greatest politicians in British history. He played a significant role in sustaining the Whig party, safeguarding the Hanoverian succession and he established a stable political supremacy for the Whig party and taught succeeding ministers how best to establish an effective working relationship between Crown and Parliament. Walpole was born in Houghton, Norfolk, in 1676, Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole was his younger brother. As a child, Walpole attended a school at Massingham. Walpole entered Eton College in 1690 where he was considered an excellent scholar and he left Eton on 2 April 1696 and matriculated at Kings College, Cambridge on the same day. On 25 May 1698 he left Cambridge after the death of his only remaining brother, Edward. Walpole had planned to become a clergyman but as he was now the eldest surviving son in the family, in November 1700 his father died, and Walpole succeeded to the estate. A paper in his fathers handwriting, dated 9 June 1700, shows the estate in Norfolk and Suffolk to have been nine manors in Norfolk. As a young man, Walpole had bought shares in the South Sea Company, which monopolized trade with Spain, the speculative market for slaves, rum and mahogany spawned a frenzy that had ramifications throughout Europe when it collapsed. However, Walpole had bought at the bottom and sold at the top, adding greatly to his inherited wealth, Walpoles political career began in January 1701 when he won a seat in the general election at Castle Rising. He left Castle Rising in 1702 so that he could represent the borough of Kings Lynn. Like his father, Robert Walpole was a member of the Whig Party, in 1705, Walpole was appointed by Queen Anne to be a member of the council for her husband, Prince George of Denmark, Lord High Admiral
17.
Turnip
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The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock. In the north of England and Scotland, and eastern Canada, turnip often refers to rutabaga, the most common type of turnip is mostly white-skinned apart from the upper 1–6 centimetres, which protrude above the ground and are purple or red or greenish where the sun has hit. This above-ground part develops from stem tissue, but is fused with the root, the interior flesh is entirely white. The root is roughly globular, from 5–20 centimetres in diameter, underneath, the taproot is thin and 10 centimetres or more in length, it is trimmed off before the vegetable is sold. The leaves grow directly from the shoulder of the root. Turnip leaves are eaten as turnip greens, and they resemble mustard greens in flavor. Turnip greens are a side dish in southeastern U. S. cooking, primarily during late fall. Smaller leaves are preferred, but the taste of larger leaves can be reduced by pouring off the water from the initial boiling and replacing it with fresh water. Varieties of turnip grown specifically for their leaves resemble mustard greens and have small or no storage roots and these include rapini, bok choy, and Chinese cabbage. Similar to raw cabbage or radish, turnip leaves and roots have a pungent flavor that becomes milder after cooking, Turnip roots weigh up to 1 kilogram, although they are usually harvested when smaller. Size is partly a function of variety and partly a function of the length of time the turnip has grown, most very small turnips are specialty varieties. These are only available when freshly harvested and do not keep well, most baby turnips can be eaten whole, including their leaves. Baby turnips are sold in yellow-, orange-, and red-fleshed varieties and their flavor is mild, so they can be eaten raw in salads like radishes and other vegetables. The turnips root is high in vitamin C, the green leaves of the turnip top are a good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and calcium. Turnip greens are also high in lutein, sensitivity to the bitterness of these cyanoglucosides is controlled by a paired gene. Some evidence shows the turnip was domesticated before the 15th century BC, the turnip was a well-established crop in Hellenistic and Roman times, which leads to the assumption that it was brought into cultivation earlier. Sappho, a Greek poet from the seventh century BC, calls one of her paramours Gongýla, Zohary and Hopf note, however, there are almost no archaeological records available to help determine its earlier history and domestication
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British Agricultural Revolution
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The British Agricultural Revolution was the unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain due to increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agricultural output grew faster than the population over the century to 1770, however, historians continue to dispute when exactly such a revolution took place and of what it consisted. Rather than an event, G. E. This has led more recent historians to argue that any statements about the Agricultural Revolution are difficult to sustain. One important change in farming methods was the move in rotation to turnips. Turnips can be grown in winter and are rooted, allowing them to gather minerals unavailable to shallow rooted crops. Clover fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form of fertiliser and this permitted the intensive arable cultivation of light soils on enclosed farms and provided fodder to support increased livestock numbers whose manure added further to soil fertility. The British Agricultural Revolution was the result of the interaction of social, economic. Major developments and innovations include, Norfolk four-course crop rotation, Fodder crops, particularly turnips and clover, the Dutch improved the Chinese plough so that it could be pulled with fewer oxen or horses. Rotation can also improve soil structure and fertility by alternating deep-rooted and shallow-rooted plants, turnip roots, for example, can recover nutrients from deep under the soil. The Norfolk System, as it is now known, rotates crops so that different crops are planted with the result that different kinds, an important feature of the Norfolk four-field system was that it used labor at times when demand was not at peak levels. Planting cover crops such as turnips and clover was not permitted under the field system because they interfered with access to the fields. Besides, other livestock could graze the turnips. Normally from 10–30% of the land in a three crop rotation system is fallow. Each field was rotated into a different crop nearly every year, over the following two centuries, the regular planting of legumes such as peas and beans in the fields that were previously fallow slowly restored the fertility of some croplands. The planting of legumes helped to plant growth in the empty field due to the bacteria on legume roots ability to fix nitrogen from the air into the soil in a form that plants could use. Other crops that were grown were flax and members of the mustard family. Convertible husbandry was the alternation of a field between pasture and grain, because nitrogen builds up slowly over time in pasture, ploughing up pasture and planting grains resulted in high yields for a few years
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Eton College
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Eton College /iːtən/ is an English independent boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years and it was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor, making it the 18th oldest Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference school. Eton is one of the seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. Eton has educated 19 British prime ministers and generations of the aristocracy and has referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The school is headed by a Provost and Fellows, who appoint the Head Master and it contains 25 boys houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff, which numbers some 155. Almost all of the pupils go on to universities, about a third of them to Oxford or Cambridge. The Head Master is a member of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, Eton has a long list of distinguished former pupils. David Cameron was the 19th British prime minister to have attended the school, about 20% of pupils at Eton receive financial support, through a range of bursaries and scholarships. In early 2014, this figure had risen to 263 pupils receiving the equivalent of around 60% of school fee assistance, Eton has been described as the most famous public school in the world, and been referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The Good Schools Guide called the school the number one public school, adding that The teaching. The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group, Eton today is a larger school than it has been for much of its history. In 1678, there were 207 boys, in the late 18th century, there were about 300, while today, the total has risen to over 1,300. Eton College was founded by King Henry VI as a charity school to free education to 70 poor boys who would then go on to Kings College, Cambridge. Henry took Winchester College as his model, visiting on many occasions, borrowing its Statutes and removing its Headmaster, when Henry VI founded the school, he granted it a large number of endowments, including much valuable land. He persuaded the then Pope, Eugene IV, to grant him a privilege unparalleled anywhere in England, the school also came into possession of one of Englands Apocalypse manuscripts. Legend has it that Edwards mistress, Jane Shore, intervened on the schools behalf and she was able to save a good part of the school, although the royal bequest and the number of staff were much reduced. Construction of the chapel, originally intended to be slightly over twice as long, only the Quire of the intended building was completed. Etons first Headmaster, William Waynflete, founder of Magdalen College, Oxford and previously Head Master of Winchester College, as the school suffered reduced income while still under construction, the completion and further development of the school has since depended to some extent on wealthy benefactors
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King's College, Cambridge
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Kings College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Formally The Kings College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, Kings was founded in 1441 by Henry VI, soon after he had founded its sister college in Eton. However, the Kings plans for the college were disrupted by the Wars of the Roses and resultant scarcity of funds, and his eventual deposition. Little progress was made on the project until in 1508 Henry VII began to take an interest in the college, the building of the colleges chapel, begun in 1446, was finally finished in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII. Kings College Chapel is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late Gothic English architecture and it has the worlds largest fan-vault, and the chapels stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. The building is seen as emblematic of Cambridge, the chapels choir, composed of male students at Kings and choristers from the nearby Kings College School, is one of the most accomplished and renowned in the world. Every year on Christmas Eve the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide, on 12 February 1441 King Henry VI issued letters patent founding a college at Cambridge for a rector and twelve poor scholars. This college was to be named after Saint Nicholas, upon whose saint day Henry had been born, William Millington, a fellow of Clare College was installed as the rector. Henry directed the publication of the colleges first governing statutes in 1443 and his original modest plan for the college was abandoned, and provision was instead made for community of seventy fellows and scholars headed by a provost. Henry had belatedly learned of William of Wykehams 1379 twin foundation of New College, Oxford and Winchester College, the King had in fact founded Eton College on 11 October 1440, but up until 1443 Kings and Eton had been unconnected. However, that year the relationship between the two was remodelled upon Wykehams successful institutions and the sizes of the colleges scaled up to surpass Wykehams. A second royal charter which re-founded the now much larger Kings College was issued on 12 July 1443, members of Kings were to be recruited entirely from Eton. Membership of Kings was a vocation for life, scholars were eligible for election to the fellowship after three years of probation, irrespective of whether they had achieved a degree or not. In fact, undergraduates at Kings – unlike those other colleges – did not even have to pass university examinations to achieve their BA degree. The gateway and south range of Old Court had already been built, Henrys grand design for the new college buildings survives in the 1448 Founders Will which describes his vision in detail. Behind the hall and buttery was to be another courtyard, the first stone of the chapel was laid by the King on St James Day,25 July 1446. However, within a decade Henrys engagement in the Wars of the Roses meant that funds began to dry up, work proceeded sporadically until a generation later in 1508 when the Founders nephew Henry VII was prevailed upon to finish the shell of the building. The interior had to wait a further generation until completion by 1544 with the aid of Henry VIII, the chapel would be the only part of Henry VIs Founders Will to be realised
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University of Cambridge
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The University of Cambridge is a collegiate public research university in Cambridge, England, often regarded as one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Founded in 1209 and given royal status by King Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. The university grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople, the two ancient universities share many common features and are often referred to jointly as Oxbridge. Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 constituent colleges, Cambridge University Press, a department of the university, is the worlds oldest publishing house and the second-largest university press in the world. The university also operates eight cultural and scientific museums, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridges libraries hold a total of around 15 million books, eight million of which are in Cambridge University Library, a legal deposit library. In the year ended 31 July 2015, the university had an income of £1.64 billion. The central university and colleges have an endowment of around £5.89 billion. The university is linked with the development of the high-tech business cluster known as Silicon Fen. It is a member of associations and forms part of the golden triangle of leading English universities and Cambridge University Health Partners. As of 2017, Cambridge is ranked the fourth best university by three ranking tables and no other institution in the world ranks in the top 10 for as many subjects. Cambridge is consistently ranked as the top university in the United Kingdom, the university has educated many notable alumni, including eminent mathematicians, scientists, politicians, lawyers, philosophers, writers, actors, and foreign Heads of State. Ninety-five Nobel laureates, fifteen British prime ministers and ten Fields medalists have been affiliated with Cambridge as students, faculty, by the late 12th century, the Cambridge region already had a scholarly and ecclesiastical reputation, due to monks from the nearby bishopric church of Ely. The University of Oxford went into suspension in protest, and most scholars moved to such as Paris, Reading. After the University of Oxford reformed several years later, enough remained in Cambridge to form the nucleus of the new university. A bull in 1233 from Pope Gregory IX gave graduates from Cambridge the right to teach everywhere in Christendom, the colleges at the University of Cambridge were originally an incidental feature of the system. No college is as old as the university itself, the colleges were endowed fellowships of scholars. There were also institutions without endowments, called hostels, the hostels were gradually absorbed by the colleges over the centuries, but they have left some indicators of their time, such as the name of Garret Hostel Lane. Hugh Balsham, Bishop of Ely, founded Peterhouse, Cambridges first college, the most recently established college is Robinson, built in the late 1970s
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Tory
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A Tory holds a political philosophy based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved throughout history. The Tory ethos has been summed up with the phrase God, King, Tories generally advocate monarchism, are usually of a high church Anglican religious heritage, and are opposed to the liberalism of the Whig faction. In Britain, the Tory political faction originated with the Cavaliers during the English Civil War and this political philosophy remains prominent in the politics of the United Kingdom, and also appears in parts of the Commonwealth realms, particularly in Canada. It also had exponents in other parts of the former British Empire, under the Corn Laws a majority of Tories supported protectionist agrarianism with tariffs being imposed at the time for higher food prices, self-sufficiency, and enhanced wages in rural employment. There were two Tory ministries after James II came to the throne, the first led by the Earl of Rochester, a significant faction took part in the ousting of James II with the Whigs to defend the Church of England and definitive protestantism. Although only a minority of Tories gave their adhesion to the Jacobite risings, after the advent of the Prime Ministerial system under the Whig Robert Walpole, Lord Butes premiership in the reign of George III marked a revival. Edmund Burke and William Pitt the Younger led the way in this, interventionism and strong armed forces were to prove a hallmark of Toryism under subsequent Prime Ministers. Due to these Tories leading the formation of the Conservative Party, members of that party are referred to as Tories. The word Tory derives from the Middle Irish word tóraidhe, modern Irish tóraí, outlaw, robber or brigand, from the Irish word tóir, meaning pursuit and it was originally used to refer to a Rapparee and later applied to Confederates or Cavaliers in arms. The term was originally a term of abuse, an Irish rebel. Towards the end of Charles IIs reign there was debate about whether or not his brother, James, Duke of York. Whigs, originally a reference to Scottish cattle-drivers, was the term directed at those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. Those who were not prepared to exclude James were labelled Abhorrers, the suffix -ism was quickly added to both Whig and Tory to make Whiggism and Toryism, meaning the principles and methods of each faction. Historically, the term Tory has been applied in ways to loyalists of the British monarchy. During the Exclusion Crisis, the word Tory was applied in Kingdom of England as a nickname to the opponents of the bill, the word Tory had connotations of Papist and outlaw derived from its previous use in Ireland. Since 1832, the term Tory is commonly used to refer to the Conservative Party, the term Tory or Loyalist was used in the American Revolution for those who remained loyal to the British Crown. Since early in the 18th century, Tory had described those upholding the right of the King over Parliament, during the war of independence, particularly after the Declaration of Independence in 1776 this use was extended to cover anyone who remained loyal to the British Crown. About 80% of the Loyalists remained in the United States after the war, the 60,000 or so Loyalists who settled in Quebec, the Bahamas, or returned to Great Britain after the American War of Independence are known as United Empire Loyalists
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House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
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Anne, Queen of Great Britain
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Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a sovereign state known as Great Britain. She continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death, Anne was born in the reign of her uncle Charles II, who had no legitimate children. Her father, James, was first in line to the throne and his suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England, and on Charless instructions Anne was raised as an Anglican. Three years after he succeeded Charles, James was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Annes Dutch Protestant brother-in-law and cousin William III became joint monarch with his wife, Annes elder sister Mary II. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Annes finances, status and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Marys accession, William and Mary had no children. After Marys death in 1694, William continued as sole monarch until he was succeeded by Anne upon his death in 1702, as queen, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession and her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, turned sour as the result of political differences. Anne was plagued by ill health throughout her life, from her thirties onwards, she grew increasingly lame and obese. Despite seventeen pregnancies by her husband, Prince George of Denmark, she died without any surviving children and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Anne was born at 11,39 p. m. on 6 February 1665 at St Jamess Palace, London, the child and second daughter of James, Duke of York. At her Anglican baptism in the Chapel Royal at St Jamess, her sister, Mary, was one of her godparents, along with the Duchess of Monmouth. The Duke and Duchess of York had eight children, but Anne, as a child, Anne suffered from an eye condition, which manifested as excessive watering known as defluxion. For medical treatment, she was sent to France, where she lived with her grandmother, Queen Henrietta Maria. Following her grandmothers death in 1669, Anne lived with an aunt, Henrietta Anne, on the sudden death of her aunt in 1670, Anne returned to England. Her mother died the following year, as was traditional in the royal family, Anne and her sister were brought up separated from their father in their own establishment at Richmond, London. On the instructions of Charles II, they were raised as Protestants, placed in the care of Colonel Edward and Lady Frances Villiers, their education was focused on the teachings of the Anglican church. Henry Compton, Bishop of London, was appointed as Annes preceptor, around 1671, Anne first made the acquaintance of Sarah Jennings, who later became her close friend and one of her most influential advisors
25.
States General of the Netherlands
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The States General is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets at the Binnenhof in The Hague, the States General originated in the 15th century as an assembly of all the provincial states of the Burgundian Netherlands. The States General were replaced by the National Assembly after the Batavian Revolution of 1795, only to be restored in 1814, the States General was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives in 1815, with the establishment of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. On exceptional occasions, the two form a joint session known as the United Assembly. The President of the Senate serves as President of the States General during a United Assembly, ankie Broekers-Knol has been President of the Senate since 2013. The archaic Dutch word staten originally related to the classes in which medieval European societies were stratified, the clergy, the nobility. The word eventually came to mean the political body in which the estates were represented. Each province in the Habsburg Netherlands had its own staten and these representative bodies in turn were represented in the assembly that came to be known as Staten-Generaal, or Algemene Staten. The English word states may have a meaning as the Dutch word staten. The English phrases States General is probably a translation of the Dutch word. Historically, the term was used for the name of other national legislatures as, for example, the Catalan and Valencian Generalitat. Several geographic place names are derived from the States General, in 1609, Henry Hudson established Dutch trade in Staten Island, New York City and named the island Staaten Eylandt after the States General. Isla de los Estados, now an Argentine island, was named after this institution. Abel Tasman originally gave the name Staten Landt to what would become New Zealand, Staaten River is a river in the Cape York Peninsula, Australia. Later, regular sessions were held at Coudenberg in Brussels, Brabant, the next important event was the convocation of the States General by the ducal Council for 3 February 1477 after the death of Charles the Bold. In this session the States General forced the grant of the Great Privilege by Mary of Burgundy in which the right of the States General to convene on their own initiative was recognised, in 1576 the States General as a whole, however, openly rebelled against the Spanish crown. In 1579 the States General split as a number of provinces, united in the Union of Arras returned to obedience, while other provinces. After the Act of Abjuration in 1581 the northern States General replaced Philip II as the authority of the northern Netherlands
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Treaty of Utrecht
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The treaties between several European states, including Spain, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Savoy and the Dutch Republic, helped end the war. They marked the end of French ambitions of hegemony in Europe expressed in the wars of Louis XIV, the War of the Spanish Succession was occasioned by the failure of the Habsburg king, Charles II of Spain, to produce an heir. Dispute followed the death of Charles II in 1700, and fourteen years of war were the result, France and Great Britain had come to terms in October 1711, when the preliminaries of peace had been signed in London. The preliminaries were based on an acceptance of the partition of Spains European possessions. Following this, the Congress of Utrecht opened on 29 January 1712, with the British representatives being John Robinson, Bishop of Bristol, and Thomas Wentworth, Lord Strafford. Reluctantly the United Provinces accepted the preliminaries and sent representatives, and this assurance was given, and so in February the Imperial representatives made their appearance. As Philip was not yet recognized as its king, Spain did not at first send plenipotentiaries, but the Duke of Savoy sent one, and the Kingdom of Portugal was represented by Luís da Cunha. With Great Britain and France having agreed upon a truce, the pace of negotiation now quickened, and the main treaties were finally signed on 11 April 1713. The treaty recognised Louis XIVs grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, as King of Spain, however, Philip was compelled to renounce for himself and his descendants any right to the French throne. In similar fashion various French princelings, including most notably the Duke of Berry, Utrecht marked the rise of Great Britain under Anne and later the House of Hanover, her exploits martial were due to Marlborough. Portugal had its sovereignty recognised over the lands between the Amazon and Oyapock rivers, in Brazil, in 1715, the Portuguese also recovered Colónia do Sacramento, previously taken by Spain in Uruguay. In North America, France ceded to Great Britain its claims to Newfoundland and they also ceded the Acadian colony of Nova Scotia. The formerly partitioned island of Saint Kitts was also ceded in its entirety to Britain, France was required to recognise British suzerainty over the Iroquois and commerce with the Far Indians was to be open to traders of all nations. France retained its other pre-war North American possessions, including Île-Saint-Jean, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, as well as Île Royale, a series of commercial treaties were also signed. The treatys territorial provisions did not go as far as the Whigs in Britain would have liked, considering that the French had made overtures for peace in 1706, the Whigs considered themselves the heirs of the staunch anti-French policies of William III and the Duke of Marlborough. However, in the Parliament of 1710 the Tories had gained control of the House of Commons, Queen Anne and her advisors had also come to agree. The French negotiator Melchior de Polignac taunted the Dutch with the scathing remark de vous, chez vous, sans vous, meaning that negotiations would be held about you, around you, without you. In any case, the Dutch achieved their condominium in the Austrian Netherlands with the Austro-Dutch Barrier Treaty of 1715
27.
Timeline of British diplomatic history
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This timeline covers the main points of British foreign policy from 1485 to the early 21st century. Henry VII becomes king, founding the Tudor dynasty and ending the civil war called Wars of the Roses. His foreign policy involves an alliance with Spain, cemented by the marriage of his son Arthur to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, however, after 5 months, Arthur dies at the age of 15. 1502, Treaty of perpetual peace signed with Scotland, the marriage of King James IV of Scotland to Margaret Tudor will eventually lead to the Stuart succession to the English throne. 1513 English defeat & kill King James IV of Scotland at Battle of Flodden Field,1533, Pope Clement VII excommunicates Henry and annuls his divorce from Catharine 1542, War with Scotland. The Spanish marriage was unpopular even though Philip was to have little or no power and her spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham thwarts numerous plots supported by Spain or France to assassinate the Queen. The long-term English goal becomes a united and Protestant British Isles, through conquest of Ireland, Defence is the mission of a strengthened Royal Navy. 1573, Convention of Nymegen a treaty with Spain promising to end support for raids on Spanish shipping by English privateers such as Drake and Hawkins. 1580–1620s - English merchants form the Levant Company to promote trade with Ottoman Empire, they build a presence in Istanbul and trade grew as the Turks bought arms and cloth. 1585, By the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Netherlands, England supported the Dutch revolt against Spain with soldiers, Spain decides this means war and prepares an armada to invade England. 1588, Massive Spanish invasion thwarted by destruction of Spanish Armada and his Congress system sees the main powers meeting every two years or so to collectively manage European affairs. It resolves the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach, the following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the system had collapsed. During this period, Russia emerges as Britains main enemy, mostly because of associated with the Eastern Question. Anglo-Russian rivalry only ends in the early 20th century,1817, Third Anglo-Maratha War - India 1818, Rush–Bagot Treaty with the United States ends incipient naval race on the Great Lakes. Both powers impose limitations on how many warships they will maintain on the Great Lakes,1833, Slavery Abolition Act 1833 frees slaves in Empire, the owners are paid £20 million. Britain, Germany and other powers guarantee the neutrality of Belgium, Germany violated it in 1914,1839, Syrian War First Anglo-Afghan War 1840, Oriental Crisis. The ambitions of Muhammad Ali, the more or less independent Ottoman governor of Egypt supported by France to take over the Ottoman Empire nearly causes an Anglo-French war,1842, Treaty of Nanking follows military victory in First Opium War with China
28.
Kit-Cat Club
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The first meetings were held at a tavern in Shire Lane run by an innkeeper called Christopher Catt. He gave his name to the mutton pies known as Kit Cats from which the name of the club is derived. The club later moved to the Fountain Tavern on The Strand, and latterly into an especially built for the purpose at Barn Elms. In summer, the club met at the Upper Flask, Hampstead Heath, the origin of the name Kit-Cat Club is unclear. In 1705 Thomas Hearne wrote, The Kit Cat Club got its name from Christopher Catling, using a branch of the theopolyism, other sources give his surname as Catt John Timbs, Ophelia Field, John Macky A nickname for Christopher is Kit. Christopher Catt was the keeper of a pie-house in Shire Lane, by Temple Bar and his famous mutton pies were named after him, and formed a standing dish at meetings of the club, the pie is thus itself sometimes regarded as the origin of the clubs name. It is possible that the club began at the end of the 17th century as the so-called Order of the Toast. Indeed, a characteristic of the Kit-Kat was its toasting-glasses, used for drinking the healths of the reigning beauties of the day. If so, one can place the date before 1699, when Elkanah Settle wrote a poem To the most renowned the President and it was this very habit of toasting that led Dr. From no trim beaus its name it boasts Grey statesmen or green wits But from the pack of toasts Of old Cats. Those objectives were a strong Parliament, a monarchy, resistance to France. Horace Walpole, son of Kit-Cat Robert Walpole, refers to the respectable middle-aged 18th century Kit-Cat club as mentioned as a set of wits. Other notables included Garth, Charles Dartiquenave, Count Saint Germain, Steele, and the Dukes of Grafton, Devonshire, Kingston, Richmond, Manchester, Dorset, of some notoriety were Lord Mohun and the Earl of Berkeley. Many of these portraits currently hang in galleries created in a partnership between the National Portrait Gallery and the National Trust at Beningbrough Hall in Yorkshire. The toasts of the Kit-Kat Club were famous at the time, Hearne, Thomas Ductor historicus, or a short system of universal history 1698—ed. 2, augmented and improvd 1704–05 Field, Ophelia, the Works of Jonathan Swift, D. D. Volume XIII reprinted, Edinburgh, Walter Scott Kit-Cat Club
29.
Jacobite rising of 1715
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The Jacobite rising of 1715, was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled House of Stuart. The Glorious Revolution of 1688–89 resulted in the Roman Catholic Stuart king, James II of England and VII of Scotland, James daughter and her husband, who was also Jamess nephew, ascended to the British thrones as joint sovereigns William and Mary. In 1690 Presbyterianism was established as the religion of Scotland. The Act of Settlement 1701 settled the succession of the English throne on the Protestant House of Hanover, the Act of Union 1707 applied the Act of Settlement to Scotland. With the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the Elector of Hanover, George I, the accession of George I ushered in the Whig supremacy, with the Tories deprived of all political power. Bolingbroke became the Pretenders Secretary of State and accepted an earldom from him, the Pretender believed the Duke of Marlborough would join him when he landed in Scotland, writing to the Duke of Berwick on 23 August, I think it is now more than ever Now or Never. Despite receiving no commission from James to start the rising, the Earl of Mar sailed from London to Scotland, on 6 September at Braemar Mar raised the standard of James the 8th and 3rd, accompanied by 600 supporters. Some of Mars tenants travelled to Edinburgh to prove their loyalty, in northern Scotland, the Jacobites were successful. They took Inverness, Gordon Castle, Aberdeen and further south, Dundee, in Edinburgh Castle were arms for up to 10,000 men and £100,000 paid to Scotland when she entered the Union with England. Lord Drummond, with 80 Jacobites, tried under the cover of night to take the Castle, by October, Mars forces had taken control of all Scotland above the Firth of Forth, apart from Stirling Castle. However Mar was indecisive and the capture of Perth and the south by 2,000 men were probably decided by subordinates. Mars indecisiveness gave the Hanoverian forces under the command of the Duke of Argyll time to increase their strength, on 22 October Mar received his commission from James appointing him commander of the Jacobite army. The Jacobite army outnumbered Argylls forces by three-to-one and Mar decided to march on Stirling Castle, on 13 November at Sheriffmuir, the two forces joined in battle. The fighting was indecisive but nearing the end of the battle the Jacobites numbered 4,000 men, compared to Argylls 1,000. Mars army began to close in on Argylls forces, who were poorly protected, on the same day as the Battle of Sherrifmuir, Inverness surrendered to Hanoverian forces, and a smaller Jacobite force led by Mackintosh of Borlum was defeated at Preston. Amongst the leaders of a Jacobite conspiracy for a rising in western England were three peers and six MPs, on the night of 2 October the government arrested the leaders and on the following day easily obtained Parliaments permission for these arrests. Included among those arrested was the head of the English Jacobites, the government sent reinforcements to Bristol, Southampton and Plymouth to ensure they did not fall into Jacobite hands. A diversionary rising had been planned in Northumberland to accompany the main rising in the West, the rising in the West was forestalled by prompt Government action, but the rising in Northumberland went ahead on 6 October 1715
30.
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
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Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria was an Archduchess of Austria and the younger sister of Empress Maria Theresa. Maria Amalia was born at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna and she was the last daughter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Like her sister, Maria Anna, her birth was not well received by her father and she died at 19 April 1730, in Vienna. Maria Amalia was the last member of the Austrian Habsburgs, after the death of her father, who had no male heirs, the imperial crown passed to Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, as the husband of Maria Theresa. The Habsburg dynasty of Austria became extinct in the line with the death of Charles VI
31.
Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
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Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, KG, PC, known as Lord Spencer from 1688 to 1702, was an English statesman and nobleman from the Spencer family. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Privy Seal, Lord President of the Council and he was the second son of Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland and Anne Digby, daughter of George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol. On the death of his elder brother Robert in Paris in September 1688, called by John Evelyn a youth of extraordinary hopes, he completed his education at Utrecht, and in 1695 entered the House of Commons as member for Tiverton. This was an important alliance for Sunderland and for his descendants, through it he was introduced to political life, Charles, alerted by his servants, had Clancarty arrested while he was actually in bed with Elizabeth. The result was an uproar which gravely embarrassed their parents. William III treated the matter as a trifle, wondering why everyone teased him about that little spark Clancarty, Elizabeth, who died in Hamburg in 1704, never saw her parents or brother again. His fathers biographer comments that the affair did not show Charles in a good light either as man or brother. Having succeeded to the peerage in 1702, Sunderland was one of the commissioners for the union between England and Scotland, and in 1705, he was sent to Vienna as envoy extraordinary. From 1708 to 1710, he was one of the five Whigs collectively called the Junto, who dominated the government, but he had enemies, the Queen still disliked him. Anne offered him a pension of £3000 a year, but this he refused, when Marlborough protested about the dismissal, the Queen inquired sarcastically whether the Peace of Europe must depend on it. She added that Sunderland was universally unpopular, which was indeed the case, Sunderland continued to take part in public life, and was active in communicating with the court of Hanover about the steps to be taken in view of the approaching death of the queen. He made the acquaintance of George I in 1706, but when the elector became king, in August 1715, he joined the cabinet as Lord Privy Seal. After a visit to George I in Hanover, he secured in April 1717 the position of Secretary of State for the Northern Department and this he retained until March 1718, when he became First Lord of the Treasury, holding also the post of Lord President of the Council. He was now effectively the prime minister, in 1719 he was one of the main subscribers in the Royal Academy of Music, a corporation that produced baroque opera on stage. The bursting of the South Sea Bubble led to his political ruin, in April 1721, he resigned his offices, but he retained his influence with George I until his death on 19 April 1722. Sunderland inherited his fathers passion for intrigue, while his manners were repelling, from his early years he had a great love of books, and he spent his leisure and his wealth in forming the library at Althorp, which in 1703 was described as the finest in Europe. In 1749 part of it was removed to Blenheim Palace, sunderlands second wife died in April 1716, after a career of considerable influence on the political life of her time. In 1717, he married an Irish lady of fortune, Judith Tichborne, daughter of Sir Benjamin Tichborne and she later married Sir Robert Sutton
32.
House of Hanover
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Upon Victorias death, the British throne passed to her eldest son Edward VII, a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha through his father. The House of Hanover was formally named the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Hanover line, the senior branch became extinct in 1884, and the House of Hanover is now the only surviving branch of the House of Welf, which is the senior branch of the House of Este. The current head of the House of Hanover is Ernst August, George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, is considered the first member of the House of Hanover. When the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg was divided in 1635, George inherited the Principality of Calenberg and his son, Christian Louis inherited the Principality of Lüneburg from Georges brother. Calenberg and Lüneburg were then shared between Georges sons until united in 1705 under his grandson, also called George, who subsequently became George I of Great Britain, all held the title Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. George died in 1641 and was succeeded by, Christian Louis, 1st son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg and he relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg. George William, 2nd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg and he relinquished Calenburg when he became Prince of Lüneburg on the death of his brother, Christian Louis. John Frederick, 3rd son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg, Ernest Augustus, 4th son of Duke George, Prince of Calenberg. He became Prince of Calenberg on the death of his brother John Frederick and he was elevated to prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire in 1692. Ernest Augustuss wife, Sophia of the Palatinate, was declared heiress of the throne of England by the Act of Settlement of 1701, Sophia was at that time the senior eligible Protestant descendant of James I of England. George Louis, son of Duke Ernest Augustus and Sophia, became Elector and Prince of Calenberg in 1698 and he inherited his mothers claim to the throne of Great Britain when she died in 1714. George Louis became the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as George I in 1714, George I, George II, and George III also served as electors and dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, informally, Electors of Hanover. From 1814, when Hanover became a kingdom, the British monarch was also King of Hanover, in 1837, however, the personal union of the thrones of the United Kingdom and Hanover ended. After the death of William IV in 1837, the kings of Hanover continued the dynasty. The 1866 rift between the House of Hanover and the House of Hohenzollern was settled only by the 1913 marriage of Princess Viktoria Luise of Prussia to Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick. At the end of the Thirty Years War, the Peace of Westphalia awarded the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück alternately to a Catholic bishop, since the treaty gave cadets priority over heirs and reigning princes, Osnabrück became a form of appanage of the House of Hanover. In 1884, the branch of the House of Welf became extinct. By a law of 1879, the Duchy of Brunswick established a council of regency to take over at the Dukes death
33.
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope
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James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope PC was a British statesman and soldier who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is probably best remembered for his service during the War of the Spanish Succession and he was also the first British Governor of Minorca, which he had captured from the Spanish, between 1708 and 1711. He was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Oxford, Stanhope accompanied his father, then English Ambassador to Madrid, to Spain in 1690, and obtained some knowledge of that country which was very useful to him in later life. A little later he went to Italy where, as afterwards in Flanders, he served as a volunteer against France, and in 1695 he secured a commission in the English army. In 1701 Stanhope entered the House of Commons, but he continued his career as a soldier and was in Spain, however, at Brihuega he was overwhelmed by the French and was forced to capitulate on 9 December 1710. The defeat proved a setback to Allied ambitions in Spain. He remained a prisoner in Spain for over a year and returned to England in August 1712, once back in Britain he now abandoned his military career and moved wholly into politics. He soon sat for another seat, Wendover, and became one of the leaders of the Whig opposition in the House of Commons. He had his share in establishing the House of Hanover on the throne, in September 1714 he was appointed Secretary of State for the Southern Department, sharing with Walpole the leadership of the House of Commons. He was mainly responsible for the measures which were instrumental in crushing the Jacobite rising of 1715 and he acted as George Is foreign minister, and only just failed to conclude a treaty of alliance with France in 1716. In 1717 there was a schism in the Whig Party with Stanhope and Sunderland forming one grouping while Walpole. In 1717, consequent on changes in the ministry, Stanhope was made First Lord of the Treasury, a year later he returned to his former office of secretary for the southern department. On 3 July 1717, he was created Baron Stanhope of Elvaston and Viscount Stanhope of Mahon and, on 14 April 1718, Earl Stanhope. He was in all but name Prime Minister and is presented as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain. He saw Britains principal foreign policy goals as containing the threat of Spanish and he entered delicate negotiations with Spain which wished for the return of Gibraltar, which he was only prepared to do in exchange for Cuba and Florida. Ultimately the talks broke down, setting the path to the later Thirteenth Siege of Gibraltar, in the ensuing War of the Quadruple Alliance British forces were involved in a campaign to prevent Spanish expansion in Italy. Spain landed troops in Scotland in support of the Jacobites who they hoped to restore to the throne, the expedition was defeated at the Battle of Glen Shiel and in retaliation the British dispatched a force that briefly captured Vigo in October 1719. Domestically, he promoted the bill to limit the membership of the House of Lords a controversial move as it was seen as a directed at his former Whig colleagues led by Walpole
34.
Hanover
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At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become a Kingdom with Hanover as its capital. From 1868 to 1946 Hanover was the capital of the Prussian Province of Hanover and it is now the capital of the Land of Lower Saxony. Since 2001 it has been part of the Hanover district, which is a body made up from the former district. With a population of 518,000, Hanover is a centre of Northern Germany. Hanover also hosts annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair, every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the worlds largest marksmens festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest such festival in Germany. In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000, the Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is of importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport. The city is also a crossing point of railway lines and highways. Hanover is the traditional English spelling, the German spelling is becoming more popular in English, recent editions of encyclopaedias prefer the German spelling, and the local government uses the German spelling on English websites. The traditional English spelling is used in historical contexts, especially when referring to the British House of Hanover. Hanover was founded in times on the east bank of the River Leine. Its original name Honovere may mean high bank, though this is debated, Hanover was a small village of ferrymen and fishermen that became a comparatively large town in the 13th century due to its position at a natural crossroads. As overland travel was difficult, its position on the upper navigable reaches of the river helped it to grow by increasing trade. In the 14th century the churches of Hanover were built. The beginning of industrialization in Germany led to trade in iron and silver from the northern Harz Mountains, in 1636 George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler of the Brunswick-Lüneburg principality of Calenberg, moved his residence to Hanover. The Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg were elevated by the Holy Roman Emperor to the rank of Prince-Elector in 1692, thus the principality was upgraded to the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg, colloquially known as the Electorate of Hanover after Calenbergs capital. Its electors would later become monarchs of Great Britain, the first of these was George I Louis, who acceded to the British throne in 1714. The last British monarch who ruled in Hanover was William IV, semi-Salic law, which required succession by the male line if possible, forbade the accession of Queen Victoria in Hanover
35.
George II of Great Britain
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George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death. George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain, he was born, after the deaths of Sophia and Anne, Queen of Great Britain, in 1714, his father George I, Elector of Hanover, inherited the British throne. In the first years of his fathers reign as king, George was associated with opposition politicians, as king from 1727, George exercised little control over British domestic policy, which was largely controlled by the Parliament of Great Britain. As elector, he spent twelve summers in Hanover, where he had direct control over government policy. He had a relationship with his eldest son, Frederick. During the War of the Austrian Succession, George participated at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, Frederick died unexpectedly in 1751, nine years before his father, and so George II was ultimately succeeded by his grandson, George III. For two centuries after George IIs death, history tended to him with disdain, concentrating on his mistresses, short temper. Since then, most scholars have reassessed his legacy and conclude that he held and exercised influence in foreign policy and military appointments. George was born in the city of Hanover in Germany, and was the son of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, both of Georges parents committed adultery, and in 1694 their marriage was dissolved on the pretext that Sophia had abandoned her husband. She was confined to Ahlden House and denied access to her two children, George and his sister Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, who never saw their mother again. George spoke only French, the language of diplomacy and the court, until the age of four, after which he was taught German by one of his tutors, Johann Hilmar Holstein. In addition to French and German, he was schooled in English and Italian. Georges second cousin once removed, Queen Anne, ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1702, consequently, after his grandmother and father, George was third in line to succeed Anne in two of her three realms. England and Scotland united in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, Georges father did not want his son to enter into a loveless arranged marriage as he had, and wanted him to have the opportunity of meeting his bride before any formal arrangements were made. Negotiations from 1702 for the hand of Princess Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, Dowager Duchess and regent of Holstein-Gottorp, the English envoy to Hanover, Edmund Poley, reported that George was so taken by the good character he had of her that he would not think of anybody else. A marriage contract was concluded by the end of July, on 22 August /2 September 1705O. S. /N. S. Caroline arrived in Hanover for her wedding, which was held the evening in the chapel at Herrenhausen. George was keen to participate in the war against France in Flanders, in early 1707, Georges hopes were fulfilled when Caroline gave birth to a son, Frederick
36.
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
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Lord Lieutenant was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 till the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the office, under its various names, was often more generally known as the viceroy, from the French vice roi or deputy king, and his wife was known as the vicereine. The government of Ireland in practice was usually in the hands of the Lord Deputy up to the 17th century, although in the Middle Ages some Lords Deputy were Irish noblemen, only men from Great Britain, usually peers, were appointed to the office of Lord Lieutenant. The Kings representative possessed a number of overlapping roles and he was the representative of the King, the head of the executive in Ireland, a member of the English or British Cabinet, the font of mercy, justice and patronage, commander-in-chief in Ireland. His Government exercised effective control of parliament through the exercise of the powers of patronage, namely the awarding of peerages, baronetcies. Critics accused successive viceroys of using their power as a corrupt means of controlling parliament. On one day in July 1777, Lord Buckinghamshire as Lord Lieutenant promoted 5 viscounts to earls,7 barons to viscounts, under-Secretary for Ireland, The head of the civil service in Ireland. Lord Justices, Three office-holders who acted in the Lord Lieutenants stead during his absence, the Lord Justices were before 1800 the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh as Primate of All Ireland. Lords Lieutenant were appointed for no set term but served for His/Her Majestys pleasure, in reality that meant for as long as wished by the British Government. Where a ministry fell, the Lord Lieutenant was usually replaced by a supporter of the new ministry, until the 16th century, Irish or Anglo-Irish noblemen such as the 8th Earl of Kildare and the 9th Earl of Kildare traditionally held the post of Justiciar or Lord Deputy. Following the plantations, however, noblemen from Great Britain were given the post, the last Irish Catholic to hold the position was Lord Tyrconnell from 1685–91, during the brief Catholic Ascendancy in the reign of James II that was ended by the Williamite war in Ireland. Until 1767 none of the latter lived full-time in Ireland, instead they resided in Ireland during meetings of the Irish Parliament. However the British cabinet decided in 1765 that full-time residency should be required to enable the Lord Lieutenant to keep a eye on public affairs in Ireland. The office was restricted to members of the Anglican faith, the first Catholic appointed to the post since the reign of the Catholic King James II was in fact the last viceroy, Lord FitzAlan of Derwent, in April 1921. His appointment was possible because the Government of Ireland Act 1920 ended the prohibition on Catholics being appointed to the position, FitzAlan was also the only Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ever to hold office when the former Ireland was partitioned into Southern Ireland and Northern Ireland. The post ebbed and flowed in importance, being used on occasion as a form of exile for prominent British politicians who had fallen foul of the Court of St. Jamess or Westminster, on other occasions it was a stepping stone to a future career. Two Lords Lieutenant, Lord Hartington and the Duke of Portland, instead it was the Chief Secretary for Ireland who became central, with he, not the Lord Lieutenant, sitting on occasion in the British cabinet. The official residence of the Lord Lieutenant was the Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle, the Geraldine Lords Deputy, the 8th Earl of Kildare and the 9th Earl of Kildare, being native Irish, both lived in, among other locations, their castle in Maynooth, County Kildare
37.
South Sea Company
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The South Sea Company was a British joint-stock company founded in 1711, created as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of national debt. The company was granted a monopoly to trade with South America. At the time it was created, Britain was involved in the War of the Spanish Succession, there was no realistic prospect that trade would take place and the company never realised any significant profit from its monopoly. The Bubble Act 1720, which forbade the creation of joint-stock companies without royal charter, was promoted by the South Sea company itself before its collapse. In Great Britain, a number of people were ruined by the share collapse. The founders of the scheme engaged in trading, using their advance knowledge of when national debt was to be consolidated to make large profits from purchasing debt in advance. Huge bribes were given to politicians to support the Acts of Parliament necessary for the scheme, Company money was used to deal in its own shares, and selected individuals purchasing shares were given loans backed by those same shares to spend on purchasing more shares. The expectation of vast wealth from trade with South America was used to encourage the public to purchase shares, the only significant trade that did take place was in slaves, but the company failed to manage this profitably. A parliamentary enquiry was held after the crash to discover its causes, a number of politicians were disgraced, and people found to have profited unlawfully from the company had assets confiscated proportionate to their gains. The company was restructured and continued to operate for more than a century after the Bubble, the headquarters were in Threadneedle Street at the centre of the financial district in London, today the Bank of England has headquarters on Threadneedle Street. At the time of events the Bank of England also was a private company dealing in national debt. In August 1710 Robert Harley was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in a government of commission, the government at this time had become reliant on the Bank of England. This was a privately owned company, chartered 16 years previously, the government had become dissatisfied with the service it was receiving and Harley was actively seeking new ways to improve the national finances. The committee included Harley himself, the two Auditors of the Imprests, whose task was to investigate government spending, Harleys brother Edward, Harleys first concern was to find £300,000 for the next quarters pay for the British army operating in Europe under Marlborough. This was provided by a consortium of Edward Gibbon, George Caswall. The Bank of England had been operating a state lottery on behalf of the government, but this had not been successful in 1710. This too was performing poorly, so Harley granted authority to sell tickets to John Blunt, a director of the Hollow Sword Blade Company, with sales commencing on 3 March 1711, tickets had completely sold out by the 7th. This was the first truly successful English state lottery, marketing was handled by members of the Sword Blade syndicate, Gibbon selling £200,000 of tickets and earning £4,500 commission, and Blunt selling £993,000
38.
First Lord of the Treasury
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The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is now always also the Prime Minister. As of the beginning of the 17th century, the running of the Treasury was frequently entrusted to a commission, as of 1714, it has permanently been in commission. The commissioners have always since that date been referred to as Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, the term Prime Minister was initially, but decreasingly, used as a term of derogation, it was first used officially in a royal warrant only in 1905. William Pitt the Younger once opined that the Prime Minister ought to be the person at the head of the finances, as of 1827, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has always been Second Lord of the Treasury when he was not also Prime Minister. By convention, the other Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are also Government Whips in the House of Commons,10 Downing Street is the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, and not of the Prime Minister. As all modern prime ministers have simultaneously been First Lord of the Treasury, thereafter the posts of First Lord of the Treasury and Prime Minister have continually been held by the same person, see the list of 20th century British prime ministers. Chief Baron of the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury List of Lords Commissioners of the Treasury E. B, roy, ed. Handbook of British Chronology, 3rd Edition Haydn, Joseph Timothy. The Book of Dignities HM Government, First Lord of the Treasury
39.
Chancellor of the Exchequer
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The office is a British Cabinet-level position. The chancellor is responsible for all economic and financial matters, equivalent to the role of Secretary of the Treasury or Minister of Finance in other nations. The position is considered one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is now always Second Lord of the Treasury as one of the Lords Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Treasurer. Formerly, in cases when the Chancellorship was vacant, the Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench would act as Chancellor pro tempore, the last Lord Chief Justice to serve in this way was Lord Denman in 1834. The earliest surviving records which are the results of the audit, date from 1129–30 under King Henry I. The Chancellor controlled monetary policy as well as fiscal policy until 1997, the Chancellor also has oversight of public spending across Government departments. The current Chancellor of the Exchequer is Philip Hammond and he is entrusted with a certain amount of misery which it is his duty to distribute as fairly as he can. The Chancellor has considerable control over other departments as it is the Treasury which sets Departmental Expenditure Limits, the amount of power this gives to an individual Chancellor depends on his personal forcefulness, his status within his party and his relationship with the Prime Minister. Gordon Brown, who became Chancellor when Labour came into Government in 1997, had a personal power base in the party. One part of the Chancellors key roles involves the framing of the annual year budget, as of 2017, the first is the Autumn Budget, also known as Budget Day which forecasts government spending in the next financial year and also announces new financial measures. The second is a Spring Statement, also known as a mini-Budget, britains tax year has retained the old Julian end of year,24 March /5 April. From 1993, the Budget was in spring, preceded by an annual autumn statement. This was then called Pre-Budget Report, the Autumn Statement usually took place in November or December. The 1997,2001,2002,2003,2006,2007,2008,2012 and 2016 Budgets were all delivered on a Wednesday, although the Bank of England is responsible for setting interest rates, the Chancellor also plays an important part in the monetary policy structure. He sets the target which the Bank must set interest rates to meet. Under the Bank of England Act 1998 the Chancellor has the power of appointment of four out of nine members of the Banks Monetary Policy Committee – the so-called external members. The Act also provides that the Government has the power to give instructions to the Bank on interest rates for a period in extreme circumstances. This power has never officially used. At HM Treasury the Chancellor is supported by a team of four junior ministers
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Francis Atterbury
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Francis Atterbury was an English man of letters, politician and bishop. A High Church Tory and Jacobite, he gained patronage under Queen Anne, but was mistrusted by the Hanoverian Whig ministries and he was a noted wit and a gifted preacher. He was born at Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, where his father was rector and he was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he became a tutor. In 1682, he published a translation of Absalom and Achitophel into Latin verse with neither the nor the versification typical of the Augustan age. After the Glorious Revolution, Atterbury readily swore fealty to the new government and he had taken holy orders in 1687, preached occasionally in London with an eloquence which raised his reputation, and was soon appointed one of the royal chaplains. He ordinarily lived at Oxford, where he was the adviser and assistant of Henry Aldrich. He was figured by Swift in the Battle of the Books as the Apollo who directed the fight, Atterbury was soon occupied in a dispute about matters still more important and exciting. High Church and Low Church divided the nation, the majority of the clergy were on the High Church side, the majority of King Williams bishops were inclined to latitudinarianism. In 1701 the Convocation, of which the house was overwhelmingly Tory. Atterbury threw himself with characteristic energy into the controversy, publishing a series of treatises, many regarded him as the most intrepid champion that had ever defended the rights of the clergy against the oligarchy of Erastian prelates. In 1701 he became Archdeacon of Totnes and received a prebend in Exeter Cathedral, in 1710, the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell produced a formidable explosion of High Church fanaticism. At such a moment Atterbury could not fail to be conspicuous and his inordinate zeal for the body to which he belonged and his rare talents for agitation and for controversy were again displayed. During the troubled and anxious months which followed the trial, Atterbury was among the most active of those pamphleteers who inflamed the nation against the Whig ministry, when the ministry changed and the parliament was dissolved, rewards were showered upon him. At Oxford he was as conspicuous a failure as he had been at Carlisle, in 1713 he was removed to the bishopric of Rochester, which was then always united with the deanery of Westminster. Still higher dignities seemed to be him, for though there were many able men on the episcopal bench. Had his party continued in power it is not improbable that he would have raised to the archbishopric of Canterbury. But his servility was requited with cold contempt, he became the most factious and pertinacious of all the opponents of the government. In the House of Lords his oratory, of old, pointed, lively and set off with grace of pronunciation and of gesture
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Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke
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Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his antireligious views, in 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the new king George I. Escaping to France he became minister for the Pretender. He was attainted for treason, but reversed course and was allowed to return to England in 1723 and he is best known as the philosopher of the Country Party. Henry St John was most likely born at Lydiard Tregoze, the seat in Wiltshire. St John was the son of Sir Henry St John, 4th Baronet later 1st Viscount St John and it is possible he was educated at a Dissenting academy. He travelled to France, Switzerland and Italy during 1698 and 1699, oliver Goldsmith reported that he had been seen to run naked through the park in a state of intoxication. Swift, his friend, said that he wanted to be thought the Alcibiades or Petronius of his age. In 1700, he married Frances, daughter of Sir Henry Winchcombe of Bucklebury, Berkshire and he became a Member of Parliament in 1701, representing the family borough of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, as a Tory. His seat was Lydiard Park at Lydiard Tregoze, now in the Borough of Swindon, in March 1702, he was chosen commissioner for taking the public accounts. After Queen Annes accession, St John supported the bills in 1702 and 1704 against occasional conformity, and took a leading part in the disputes which arose between the two Houses. In 1704, St John took office with Harley as secretary at war, thus being brought into relations with John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. He supported the bill for requiring a property qualification for a seat in parliament. In 1712, he was the author of the bill taxing newspapers, because of the diversity of aims among the allies, St John was induced to enter into separate and secret negotiations with France for the security of English interests. In May 1712, he ordered the Duke of Ormonde, who had succeeded Marlborough in command, subsequently, St John received the congratulations of the French foreign minister, de Torcy, on the French victory over Prince Eugene at Denain. In June 1712, St Johns commercial treaty with France, establishing trade with that country, was rejected by the House of Commons. The treaty was presented in the Commons by Arthur Moore as St John had been created Viscount Bolingbroke earlier that year, at least 40 or so from the Tories voted to reject the treaty. In August 1712, Bolingbroke went to France and signed an armistice between England and France for four months, in March 1711, when the Marquis de Guiscard made an attempt on Harleys life, Bolingbroke assumed temporary leadership of the ministrys affairs
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John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville
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The family of Carteret was settled in the Channel Islands, and was of Norman descent. John was the son of George Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret, by his marriage with Lady Grace Granville, daughter of John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. On his mothers side of the family he was a descendant of the Elizabethan admiral Sir Richard Grenville, John was Seigneur of Sark from 1715 to 1720 when he sold the fief. He held the office of Bailiff of Jersey from 1715, John Carteret was educated at Westminster School, and at Christ Church, Oxford. Jonathan Swift says that with a singularity scarce to be justified he carried away more Greek, Latin, throughout life Carteret not only showed a keen love of the classics, but a taste for and knowledge of modern languages and literature. He was almost the only English nobleman of his time who knew German, walter Harte, the author of the Life of Gustavus Adolphus, acknowledged the aid which Carteret had given him. On 17 October 1710 Carteret married Lady Frances Worsley at Longleat House and she was the granddaughter of the first Viscount Weymouth. One of their daughters, Georgiana Caroline Carteret Spencer, became the grandmother of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, upon reaching his majority, Lord Carteret took his seat in the House of Lords on 25 May 1711. Though his family, on sides, had been devoted to the House of Stuart, Carteret was a steady adherent of the Hanoverian dynasty. He was a friend of the Whig leaders Stanhope and Sunderland, Carterets interests were however in foreign, and not in domestic policy. His serious work in life began with his appointment, early in 1719. During this and the year he was employed in saving Sweden from the attacks of Peter the Great. But he was not qualified to hold his own in the intrigues of Court, named Secretary of State for the Southern Department on his return home, he soon became helplessly in conflict with the intrigues of Townshend and Sir Robert Walpole. To Walpole, who looked upon every able colleague or subordinate as an enemy to be removed and his capacity to speak German with the King would alone have made Sir Robert detest him. When, therefore, the violent agitation in Ireland against Woods halfpence made it necessary to replace the Duke of Grafton as Lord Lieutenant and he landed in Dublin on 23 October 1724, and remained there till 1730. In the first months of his tenure of office he had to deal with the opposition to Woods halfpence. The Lord Lieutenant had a personal liking for Swift, who was also a friend of Lady Carterets family. Woods patent was withdrawn, and Ireland settled down
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Anglo-Austrian Alliance
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The Anglo-Austrian Alliance connected the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Habsburg monarchy during the first half of the 18th century. It was largely the work of the British statesman Duke of Newcastle and it lasted from 1731 to 1756 and formed part of the stately quadrille by which the Great Powers of Europe continually shifted their alliances to try to maintain the balance of power in Europe. Its collapse during the Diplomatic Revolution ultimately led to the Seven Years War, in 1725 Austria had signed the Treaty of Vienna, offering material support to the Spanish in their efforts to try to take back Gibraltar from the British. Britain was then allied to France, but their relationship was slowly declining, when, in 1727, the Spanish besieged Gibraltar during the Anglo-Spanish War, British diplomats persuaded the Austrians not to assist the Spanish by offering a number of concessions. A humiliated Spain was forced to break off the siege and make peace and they received a boost when the greatest opponent of Austria, Lord Townshend was forced to resign from office in 1730. That cleared the way for a rapprochement between London and Vienna and gave the Duke of Newcastle more control over British foreign policy. He was strongly convinced that an alliance with Austria was essential, in 1727, the Austrians had agreed to suspend the Ostend Company, whose overseas trading had been a constant source of tension with the British. That laid the groundwork for the Treaty of Vienna, which instituted a formal alliance between the two powers and it was signed on 16 March 1731 by Count Zinzendorf and the Earl of Chesterfield. One immediate result was the disbandment of the Ostend Company. Britain and Austria gave each other a reciprocal guarantee against aggression, the Alliance was sometimes severely strained. The Austrians believed the British had done little to prevent France from occupying Brussels in 1746, the worst was during the Congress of Breda, aimed at negotiating an end to the war and leading to the eventual settlement at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. The British, hoping for a conclusion, were annoyed by Austrias slow progress in agreeing the terms. They eventually threatened to sign the treaty alone if Austria did not agree to it three weeks. It was particularly disturbed to have little material gains for their efforts in the war, in spite of that, the omens looked good for the alliance. The Austrians had an enthusiastic supporter in Newcastle and apparently had no other major ally to turn to, the British regarded the alliance as part of the Newcastle System to maintain the security of Germany by creating an alliance between Britain, Hanover, Austria and the Dutch Republic. In Austria there remained amongst some nagging suspicion that the British were not fully committed to the alliance. They highlighted Britains absence from the War of the Polish Succession and its failure to insist on a return of Silesia to Austria at the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, essentially, they believed, Britain was interested in the alliance only when it suited their own goals. One of the leading anti-British influences was Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz, Britain, left out in the cold, made a hasty alliance with Prussia, hoping that the new balance of power would prevent war
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Alexander Pope
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Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet. He is best known for his verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare, Alexander Pope was born to Alexander Pope Senior, a linen merchant of Plough Court, Lombard Street, London, and his wife Edith, who were both Catholics. Ediths sister Christiana was the wife of the miniature painter Samuel Cooper. Pope was taught to read by his aunt, and went to Twyford School in about 1698/99 and he then went to two Catholic schools in London. Such schools, while illegal, were tolerated in some areas, in 1700, his family moved to a small estate at Popeswood in Binfield, Berkshire, close to the royal Windsor Forest. This was due to strong anti-Catholic sentiment and a statute preventing Catholics from living within 10 miles of either London or Westminster, Pope would later describe the countryside around the house in his poem Windsor Forest. He also studied languages and read works by English, French, Italian, Latin. After five years of study, Pope came into contact with figures from the London literary society such as William Wycherley, William Congreve, Samuel Garth, William Trumbull, at Binfield, he also began to make many important friends. One of them, John Caryll, was twenty years older than the poet and had many acquaintances in the London literary world. He introduced the young Pope to the ageing playwright William Wycherley and to William Walsh, a minor poet and he also met the Blount sisters, Teresa and Martha, both of whom would remain lifelong friends. From the age of 12, he suffered health problems, such as Potts disease. His tuberculosis infection caused other problems including respiratory difficulties, high fevers, inflamed eyes. He grew to a height of only 1.37 m. Pope was already removed from society because he was Catholic, although he never married, he had many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters. Allegedly, his lifelong friend Martha Blount was his lover, in May,1709, Popes Pastorals was published in the sixth part of Tonsons Poetical Miscellanies. This brought Pope instant fame, and was followed by An Essay on Criticism, published in May 1711, around 1711, Pope made friends with Tory writers John Gay, Jonathan Swift, Thomas Parnell and John Arbuthnot, who together formed the satirical Scriblerus Club. The aim of the club was to satirise ignorance and pedantry in the form of the fictional scholar Martinus Scriblerus and he also made friends with Whig writers Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. In March 1713, Windsor Forest was published to great acclaim, during Popes friendship with Joseph Addison, he contributed to Addisons play Cato, as well as writing for The Guardian and The Spectator
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Jethro Tull (agriculturist)
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Viscount Jethro Tull was an English agricultural pioneer from Berkshire who helped bring about the British Agricultural Revolution. He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill in 1700 that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows and he later developed a horse-drawn hoe. Tulls methods were adopted by many landowners and helped to provide the basis for modern agriculture. Tull was born in Basildon, Berkshire, to Jethro Tull, Sr and his wife Dorothy and he was baptised there on 30 March 1674. He grew up in Bradfield, Berkshire and matriculated at St Johns College and he was educated for the legal profession, but appears not to have taken a degree. He became a member of Staple Inn, and was called to the bar on 11 December 1693, Tull married Susanna Smith of Burton Dassett, Warwickshire. They settled on his fathers farm at Howberry, near Crowmarsh Gifford, soon after his call to the bar, Tull became ill with a pulmonary disorder and travelled to Europe in search of a cure. He was for a period at Montpellier in the south of France. Finding that they did not approve of dunging their vineyards, Tull readily adduced the fact in favour of his own favourite theory, that manuring soil is an unnecessary operation. At a later period, Jethro Tull devoted all his energies to promote the introduction of this machine, Tull died in 1741 at Prosperous Farm at Hungerford. He is buried in the churchyard of St Bartholomews Church, Lower Basildon, Berkshire and his gravestone bears the burial date 9 March 1740 using the Old Style calendar, which is equivalent to the modern date 20 March 1740. In his travels, Tull found himself seeking more knowledge of agriculture, influenced by the early Age of Enlightenment, he is considered to be one of the early proponents of a scientific approach to agriculture. He helped transform agricultural practices by inventing or improving numerous implements, Jethro Tull made early advances in planting crops with his seed drill — a mechanical seeder that sowed efficiently at the correct depth and spacing and then covered the seed so that it could grow. In his 1731 publication Tull described how the motivation for developing the seed-drill arose from conflict with his servants and he had struggled to enforce his new methods upon them, in part because they resisted the threat to their position as labourers and skill with the plough. Jethro Tull invented some machinery for the purpose of carrying out his system of drill husbandry and his first invention was a drill-plough to sow wheat and turnip seed in drills, three rows at a time. There were two boxes for the seed, and these, with the coulters, were placed one set behind the other, a harrow to cover in the seed was attached behind. Tull also invented a turnip-drill somewhat similar to the other in general arrangement, when desirable to turn the machine, the harrow was to be lifted and the feeding would stop. The manner of delivering the seeds to the funnels in both the above drills was by notched barrels, and Tull was the first to use cavities in the surfaces of solid cylinders for the feeding
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Townshend, Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount". Encyclopædia Britannica. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 112. This cites:
Rigg, James McMullen (1899). "