Download Text A: Ancient Britain

英语国家文化概况(上)
Focus
Section A Before 1714 AD
Section B 1714—1901 AD
Section C 1901 AD—present
Section A Before 1714 AD
2.1 Origin of Britain
2.2 Origin of America
2.3 Origins of Canada, Australia and New
Zealand
2.1 Origin of Britain
Text A: Ancient Britain
Text B: The Making of England in Middle
Ages
Text C: The Building of Early Great Britain
Text A: Ancient Britain
(Before 1066)
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Key Points
The Celtic Conquest
The Roman Conquest
The Anglo-Saxon Conquest
The Norman Conquest
Text A: Ancient Britain
(Before 1066)
One of the most famous prehistoric sites, the
spectacular Stonehenge in Wilshire, England,
shows one of the earliest civilization in former
British isles, which dates mainly from 3000 BC
to 1500 BC.
However, the written record of history might
start with Roman conquest from the year 55 BC.
Text A: Ancient Britain
(Before 1066)
The British isles have long witnessed many
successive movements of peoples arriving as
settlers, refugees，sea pirates or conquerors
from continental Europe mainly on their
southern and eastern coastlines in prehistory.
The Celtic Conquest
One of the earliest invaders might be Celts.
From 700BC to 300 BC, the Celts came from
where present Germany and Netherlands are to
settle down in the southeastern England,
driving the earliest inhabitants such as Iberians
and Picts to the highlands of Wales, Northwest
England and Scotland.
The Roman Conquest
Britain was occupied by the Romans after 43
AD, as a Roman province named Britannia.
Roman civilization had great influence on
Briton’s life and culture.
The Roman Conquest
As there were always some rebellions and
invasions from northern Britannia known as
Scotland now, from 122 AD to 130 AD，the
Roman Emperor Hadrian had a stone wall built
across northwestern Britannia to defend Roman
Empire.
The “Hadrian’s Wall” became the most
impressive defensive frontier work in Roman
Empire.
Cultural Notes：
Britannia: 不列颠，古代拉丁文名，就是现在
Britain在古罗马时代的称呼， 也是后来象征
英国的女神之名: 不列泰尼娅。
Roman Empire: 罗马帝国（公元前27到公元
476年），鼎盛时期，疆土横跨欧亚大陆，
西至英国、德国，南至北非，东至波斯湾等。
The Anglo-Saxon Conquest
The Anglo-Saxons successively conquered
Britain in the 5th and 6th century.
Various kingdoms were established.
Seven kingdoms were united from the 7th to
8th century, the period of which was called
Heptarchy.
Heptarchy : 七国联盟时期（600-800）。
The Norman Conquest
In 1066, the death of Edward the Confessor
met with a conflict between Harold Godwinson
and William, Duke of Normandy in France.
Harold Godwinson, Edward’s brother-in-law,
had assisted Edward for the country all the time.
So after Edward died, he was chosen as the
legal successor—Harold II.
But William，Edward’s cousin, claimed he
had more right to the crown, for Edward the
Confessor once had promised to choose him as
the right heir.
The Norman Conquest
On 14 October, 1066, William won the most
decisive battle in English history.
After that he was crowned
William I at Westminster Abbey
in London, hence the Norman
control throughout the country.
Text B: The Making of England in
Middle Ages (1066--1485)
Key Points
William I and the Beginning of Feudal
System
Henry II and the Common Law
The Great Charter and the Beginning of the
Parliament
The Hundred Years’ War
Wars of the Roses
William I
William I tried great efforts to create a strong
centralized monarchy.
After he succeeded in putting down lots of
rebellions in the country, he made a general
survey about the land ownership in England in
1085 so that all England was recorded and he
could know exactly what his new kingdom had.
William I
He also built lots of castles in England.
The Tower of London on the north bank of the
River Thames was one of the most famous
historic sites.
It first functioned as a fortress to protect
London city, but it was also used as royal
residence by many English kings as well as
prison for important criminals.
The Tower of London
The Beginning of Feudal System
Norman conquest brought great changes in
England, it also marked the beginning of feudal
system in England.
The division of society became remarkable,
people in England began to fall into classes of
serfs, freemen, nobles, clergy and rulers. The
king was at the top.
The Roman Christianity continued to be the
dominant religion, Roman Pope was the overlord.
Henry II and the Common Law
By the year 1154, Henry II (1154-1189), William’s
grandson, inherited the throne and started the rule
of the House of Anjou in England, known as the
House of Plantagenet. The central government
continued to be strengthened.
The development of legal system owed a lot to
Henry II, for he introduced the system of trial by
jury to replace the old system of trial by ordeal,
hence the common law system which laid the
foundation for the legal system in Britain and the
United States later.
The Great Charter
Since the 13th century, the power of the monarch
has been reduced. As King John (1199-1216)
often violated the common law and imposed
heavy taxes, in June 1215, he was forced by the
furious barons at Runnymede to sign the Magna
Carta, a document granting English political and
civil liberties.
It limited royal rights but offered the barons
greater power. The charter is the basis of the
British Constitution today.
Cultural Notes:
Magna Carta: 大宪章, 1215年6月英国国王约
翰在拉尼米德被迫签署的保障公民（主要
是贵族）的政治和人身自由权的宪章。
The Beginning of the Parliament
During the reign of Henry III (1216-1272), the
Great Council, the assembly of barons was
intensified. In 1258, Henry III was also forced
by the barons to have a regular meeting with
them.
The regular meeting was called Parliament.
Moreover, the king had to meet with the
representatives from the counties to raise taxes.
The barons formed the House of Lords, and
the common people from the counties
comprised the House of Commons.
The Hundred Years’ War
(1337-1453)
The Hundred Years’ War was a series of wars
over territorial rights and the issue of succession
to the French throne from 1337 to 1453.
The immediate cause of the war was the French
throne. When the French king Charles IV (12941328) died without an heir in 1328, English King
Edward III (1327-1377), whose mother was the
sister of Charles IV, claimed that he had the right
to ascend the throne.
The Hundred Years’ War
(1337-1453)
The war caused enormous suffering in both
countries, especially France.
It contributed a lot to the decline of the feudalism,
the feudal nobility was destroyed, but a new
social order was established.
Although England ended its status as a power on
the continent, it began its expansion at sea.
Wars of the Roses
The throne of England had always been the
crucial issue for the royal families in history,
especially in the 15th century.
Right after the Hundred Years’ War, England
continued to witness a series of civil war from
1455 to 1485.
The wars were fought between two royal
families: the House of Lancaster and the
House of York.
 Cultural Notes:
 House of Lancaster: 兰卡斯特家族，英格兰皇室家
族，其族徽为红玫瑰图案。
 House of York：约克家族，英格兰皇室家族，其
族徽为白玫瑰图案。
Wars of the Roses
While the House of Lancaster’s emblem was a
red rose, the House of York was a white rose,
two families’ wars were called Wars of the
Roses.
Finally, the forces of the House of Lancaster
won, their leader, Henry Tudor, became Henry
VII (1457-1509).
Henry VII united the Lancasterians and
Yorkists by marriage, thus began the Tudor
Dynasty.
Text C: The Building of Early Great
Britain (1485-1714)
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Key Points
England under the Tudors
The English Reformation
Elizabethan Era
English Civil Wars
Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Rights
England under the Tudors
 Starting from Henry VII, together with his descendents
Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, the
Tudor dynasty experienced the great transition of
England from a medieval country to a modern state.
 The feudal economy was transformed into a capitalist
one, as shown in the woolen textile industry and the
Enclosure Movement.
 It was not only a remarkable period of Renaissance in art,
architecture, literature and learning in England, but also
a special period of the Reformation of the English
Church and that of the rise of England as a naval power.
Cultural Notes:
Enclosure Movement: 圈地运动。 由于英国
羊毛纺织业的兴起，羊毛需求量大增。很多
地主就把大量的可耕地变为牧场，以生产更
多的羊毛，这种运动就叫圈地运动。该运动
始于12世纪，盛于15世纪中期到17世纪中期。
The English Reformation
There has always been a conflict between the
Roman Catholic Pope and the English
monarchs since the 12th century.
Influenced by the European reformation,
England also underwent the religious
reformation in the 16th century.
The immediate cause was Henry VIII’s effort
to get a divorce from his first wife, for he
desired to have a male heir. So he broke with
Roman Catholic Church and made himself
head of the Church in England.
The English Reformation
Henry VIII’s two daughters Mary and
Elizabeth later became English monarchs
successively.
Mary was a sincere Catholic, while Elizabeth
was a strong Protestant.
Elizabeth had suffered a lot from Mary I’s
severe persecution before she came to the
throne.
Therefore, Mary earned her nickname ‘Bloody
Mary’.
Elizabethan Era
The long reign of Elizabeth I
(1558-1603) not only saw the
significant scientific progress, but
also the height of Renaissance in
art and literature, especially
English literature with William
Shakespeare’s great works of
drama and poetry, as well as some
other famous men of letters. It was
the time of flourished economy
and life in luxury.
Elizabethan Era
In addition to the successful religious
settlement in reformation, Elizabeth also
succeeded in the naval exploration and
colonization in North America and Caribbean.
Francis Drake was the first English navigator
who circumnavigated the globe and was
famous for his expedition against Spain, the
Spanish Armada was decisively defeated in
1588.
On the whole, England during this period was a
powerful and well-off country with a strong
centralized government.
English Civil Wars
Due to their abuse of privilege, Charles I in
particular, the English monarchs were often in
conflict with Parliament.
From 1642 to 1651, a series of civil wars broke
out between the Parliamentarians (Roundheads)
and the Royalists (Cavaliers). Charles I was
finally beheaded in 1649 and his son Charles II
was exiled in 1651.
English Civil Wars
A republican government, Commonwealth of
England was established from 1649 to 1653
uniting England (including Wales), Scotland and
Ireland. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became Lord
Protector of England and began his protectorate.
The wars were also called English Revolution
which marked the beginning of the priority of
Parliament over the divine right of British
monarchs.
Glorious Revolution
James II (1685–1688) was an absolute
Catholic and very unpopular among his people
because of his severe persecution of the
Protestants.
Quite unsatisfied with James II, the
oppositional leaders especially the
Parliamentarians invited James II’s daughter
Mary (1662–1694) and her husband William
III (1650–1702) to bring an army to overthrow
the king in 1688.
Glorious Revolution
Without a battle, James II was forced to flee to
France. As both Mary and William III were
Protestants, they were asked to jointly rule
England on the basis of Bill of Rights.
The bloodless revolution was called ‘Glorious
Revolution’.
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights placed restrictions on the
monarch’s sovereign power but gave political
supremacy to Parliament.
It became one of the basic statutes of the later
British Constitution and Constitutional
Monarchy.
It also has made a significant impact on U.S.
law, with many of its provisions becoming part
of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
2.2 Origin of America
 Text A: Discovery of New Land and
British Colonization
Text A: Discovery of New Land and
British Colonization
Key Points
Discovery of New Land
The First English Permanent Settlement
Discovery of New Land
About 10000 years ago, the earliest aboriginal
inhabitants in American continents probably
began to emigrate from Asia perhaps via
Bering Land Bridge. In 1492, after sailing
from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean, the great
Italian explorer Christopher Columbus landed
in the “new world” of America, and mistakenly
regarded it as India in Asia.
Since then, these aboriginal people have been
called American Indians or Native Americans.
The First English Permanent
Settlement
England’s first American colony was in
Jamestown, Virginia. Jamestown was first
permanently inhabited by over 100 English
colonists in 1607.
This expedition was organized by London
Company with a charter granted by James I.
Both the town and the river there were named
after the King James I. Under the leadership
of Captain John Smith and another colonist
John Rolfe later, the English colonists
managed to survive.
2.3 Canada, Australia and New
Zealand
Text A: Origin of Canada
Text B: Origin of Australia
Text C: Origin of New Zealand
Text A: Origin of Canada
Key Points
Native People
English Colonization
French Colonization
Colonial Wars
Native People in Canada
The original Indians-- First Nations.
Inuit – mainly in North America, especially
Arctic Canada and Greenland.
English Colonization
In 1497, under the patent granted by English
King Henry VII，an Italian explorer John Cabot
discovered the North American coast in today’s
Canada which is later called Newfoundland.
Cabot claimed the Newfoundland for England.
Since then, the English permanent settlements
have begun to be established in North America.
French Colonization
Later in 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier
began his exploration of Canada for France.
The earliest small French settlement was in
Acadia in 1604. But in 1629, the first Scottish
settlement was made in Acadia. Hence the
region was later called Nova Scotia, meaning
the new land of the Scots.
However, there was a continuous conflict
between France and England over the claming
right to this area. In 1713, the mainland Nova
Scotia became a British colony.
Colonial Wars
In order to compete with France for territory
and trading centers, the British set up the
Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670 against the
French company in New France，the present
Quebec area.
The British-French fierce competition for the
control of the colonies in North America lasted
almost a century, known as the Colonial Wars.
Text B: Origin of Australia and New
Zealand
Key Points
 Origin of Australia
 Origin of New Zealand
Origin of Australia
About more than 42,000 years ago, the
Indigenous Australians came to the Australian
mainland probably via land bridges and short
sea-crossings from present-day South-east Asia.
Most of these people lived by hunting and
foraging with a belief in the Dreamtime.
Cultural Notes:
Dreamtime: 梦创时代，澳大利亚土著神话中
的开天辟地时期，包含了很多神话故事和传
说，也构成了世界独特的土著绘画艺术。这
些土著人相信大千世界始于梦境： 世界由神
创造，神由巨蟒化身而来，巨蟒熟睡后，梦
见土地、太阳和人，因此出现了世间万物。
土著人对这种现实和梦境循环交融的信仰，
体现的是他们对神灵和自然的敬畏。
Origin of Australia
The name “Australia” derives from the Latin
Australis meaning “of the south”，as people in
Roman time, didn’t know this continent, they
just called it “an unknown land of the south”.
The first use of the word “Australia” in English
was in the 17th century.
Origin of New Zealand
The first inhabitants were
believed to be Maoris
from other islands of
Polynesia who settled by
the 8th century.
Origin of New Zealand
In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman
sighted the west coast of South Island, but
didn’t land. This island was named “New
Zealand” by the Dutch.
It was until the 18th century that the British
explorers visited the islands and began to settle
down permanently in the 19th century.
Section B 1714—1901 AD
2.4 From Great Britain to UK
2.5 United States of America
2.6 Canada, Australia and New Zealand
2.4 From Great Britain to UK
Text A The Rise of the British Empire
Text B The Industrial Revolution
Text C The Victorian Era
Text A: The Rise of
the British Empire
Key Points
 Colonial Wars
 The Opium Wars
 Act of Union
Colonial Wars
 From late 17th century to the 18th century, the
great rivalry between Great Britain and France
over the colonies in North America resulted in a
series of colonial wars between the two
countries.
Colonial Wars
The famous French and Indian War which
started from 1754 to 1763.
The British finally won the war by successfully
conquering all of New France near Mississippi
River as well as Spanish Florida, thus gained
control of Canada.
The Treaty of Paris finally ended the war in
1763 in favor of Britain. Thus New France
(today’s Quebec), east of the Mississippi was
ceded to the British.
The Opium Wars
In order to ensure the British East India
Company to sell opium to China, the British
launched the Opium Wars against China in
1840.
The war ended with the unfair Treaty of
Nanjing in 1842, which opened more ports of
China besides the four ports of Guangzhou,
Jinmen, Fuzhou, Ningbo. Moreover, the Qing
government was forced to cede Hong Kong to
the UK.
The Opium Wars
Then followed the second Opium War between
China and the UK together with some other
western countries from 1856 to 1860.
A series of other unfair treaties such as the
Treaty of Tianjin were signed for more China
concessions.
Act of Union
Having crushed the Irish Rising of 1798, on 2
July, 1800, Great Britain successfully had the
Act of Union passed to unite the Parliaments of
Ireland and Great Britain, thus Kingdom of
Ireland and Great Britain were unified as
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
shortened as UK.
The Act came into force on 1st January 1801,
so it was also called the Act of Union 1801.
Text B: The Industrial Revolution
As the 18th century wore on, an industrial
revolution first took place in Britain mainly
from 1760 to 1830 then spread to Belgium，
France and some other countries in Europe.
This revolution is a process of changes from an
agrarian, handicraft economy to industrial one
featuring machinery manufacture.
Text C: The Victorian Era
Key Points
 Queen Victoria
 A People’s Charter
 Trade Unions and Socialists
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria came
to the throne at the
age of 18 years old in
1837.
She ruled for 63 years
until 1901, and was
the longest reigning
monarch of the
United Kingdom.
Queen Victoria
Victoria was a very popular monarch due to
her devotion to the country.
She valued strict religious morality,
responsibilities for the families and the loyal
duty to the country.
Besides, she set a good example of family
life for the people in the UK. She had a
happy marriage with 9 children, about 40
grandchildren, many of whom were married
into almost all the royal families of Europe.
A People’s Charter
Though the reform Act of 1832 gave the voting
right to more people and more new industrial
cities, there were still some restrictions on the
qualification of the voting right, and not every
one was allowed to vote.
Therefore, between 1838 and 1848, the working
people known as the Chartists presented a
“People’s Charter” to Parliament.
A People’s Charter
They demanded that all adult men should have
the voting right, anyone could be voted as a
Member of Parliament，and the ballots should
be secret.
Though the charter was rejected by the
Parliament, further political democratic reforms
were pushed through later.
The third Reform Act of 1885 allowed all the
working people to have the voting right.
2.5 United States of America
Text A American Revolution
Text B American Civil War
Text C Territorial Acquisitions and Gold
Rush
Text A: American Revolution
Key Points
 Boston Tea Party
 Intolerable Acts
 War of Independence
Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party is a protest by the American
colonies against East India Company’s
monopolistic trading on tea. East India
Company, the British chartered company, was
allowed by the British government to sell its
surplus tea to the American colonies at much
lower prices than those offered by American
merchants and smugglers in the colonies.
Thus these American merchants suffered a
great loss.
Boston Tea Party
On the night of 16 December, Thursday, 1773, a
group of angry colonists disguised themselves as
Native American Indians, boarded the British
company’s ships and dumped 342 crates of tea
into Boston harbor before the tea was landed.
Intolerable Acts
The British government responded by
passing four laws known as the “Intolerable
Acts”，also called as “ Coercive Acts ” or
“ Punitive Acts”.
Intolerable Acts
Boston Port Act (波士顿港口法)
Quartering Act (提供住宿法)
Massachusetts Government Act
(马萨诸塞州政府法)
Administration of Justice Act
(司法管理法)
War of Independence
In September 1774, the First Continental
Congress, a meeting attended by 55
representatives of 12 colonies except
Georgia, was held in Philadelphia.
The first battle in Lexington and Concord
on 19 April, 1775, touched off the War of
Independence.
War of Independence
A second Continental Congress in
Philadelphia set up a Continental Army and
Navy with General George Washington as the
commander.
On 4 July, 1776, the Congress issued
Declaration of Independence，drafted
mainly by Thomas Jefferson and joined by
Benjamin Franklin.
It officially proclaimed the freedom and the
independence of 13 North American colonies.
War of Independence
The Declaration is the most important of all
American historical documents.
These concepts of individual rights and
freedom, equality as well as limited
governments have had a strong effect on US
laws and politics, a classic example is the
principles of the US Constitution in 1787
and the “Bill of Rights” added to the
Constitution in 1791.
War of Independence
The final battle was at Yorktown in 1781.
The American Revolution was greatly
assisted by French troops.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 officially ended
the war and Britain had to recognize the
independence of the United States (the US),
hence the new born of a nation in the North
America.
Text B: American Civil War
Key Points
 Cause
 Civil War
Cause
In the middle of 19th century, there was a
growing conflict between the North and the
South.
The disputes were over the issues of slavery,
tariffs and trade.
The Industrial North asserted the slavery
system should be abolished, while the South,
economy of which mainly depended on the
Plantation, strongly favored the slavery system.
Civil War
The Civil War broke out on 12 April, 1861,
when the Confederate states attacked the Fort
Sumter in the Charleston harbor, South
Carolina.
On 22 September, 1862, Lincoln announced
the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that
all the slaves in all the states including the
South were freed and were welcome to join the
Federal Army.
Civil War
In July 1863, the Union victory at Gettysburg
in Pennsylvania marked a decisive turning
point in the civil war. Four months later, on 19
November, Lincoln delivered the famous
Gettysburg Address there at the Soldiers’
National Cemetery.
The war ended with the surrender of General
Robert Lee to the American General Ulysses
Grant in Appomattox.
Civil War
After the Civil War, the slavery was abolished.
The Congress passed the Thirteen, Fourteenth
and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitutions
which offered equal rights and votes for the
African Americans.
What’s more important, the United States
underwent a full development of its economy
with a strong central government in the 20th
century.
Text C: Territorial Acquisitions and
Gold Rush
Key Points
Territories
Acquisitions and
Westward
Expansion
Gold Rush
Territorial Acquisitions
The 19th century also marked industrialization,
territorial acquisitions as Westward Expansion,
Gold Rush, and the influx of millions of
immigrants in the United States.
Territorial Acquisitions
After its independence, the US gradually tried
every effort to gain territories. Some territories
were purchased.
One of the famous territorial acquisitions is
Louisiana Purchase.
Finally, about fifteen states were formed
within that region.
Gold Rush
 A Gold Rush refers to a period of feverish
fortune seekers into the newly discovered gold
deposits.
 Several gold rushes occurred throughout the
19th century in North America, South America,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South
Africa. Gold rushes played a significant part in
exploiting these areas, especially the North
American and Australian frontier，thus
stimulating the economy there.
2.6 Canada, Australia and New
Zealand
 Text A: The Founding of British Colonies
in Canada
 Text B: The Founding of British Colonies
in Australia
 Text C: The Founding of British Colonies
in New Zealand
Text A: The Founding of British
Colonies in Canada
Key Points
 Quebec Act
 Dominion of Canada
Quebec Act
Though Quebec belonged to the British Empire
after the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French
influence has remained dominant.
The French residents of Quebec strongly
opposed the treaty, and most of them were
Catholics.
In order to pacify the French community, the
British Parliament passed the Quebec Act in
1774, giving the French Canadians complete
religious freedom and restoring the French
form of civil law.
Quebec Act
What’s more, the act also extended Quebec’s
border to the Ohio River on the south and to
the Mississippi River on the west.
As the act was in favor of those French
Canadians, they were kept loyal to the British
Crown.
Quebec Act
But as far as the 13 colonies in the former
United States were concerned, this law was
intolerable, for this act gave Quebec too much
control of the interior north of the Ohio River,
and what’s more, most American colonists were
Protestants who also didn’t like the French
Catholics there.
So this act, together with other four Coercive
Acts regarded by the American colonists,
provoked the famous American Revolutionary.
Dominion of Canada
On 29 March, 1867, the Parliament of the UK
passed British North America Act to unite Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario as
one Dominion under the name of Canada.
The confederation of the four provinces came
into effect on 1 July, 1867 which became Canada
Day later.
Dominion of Canada
This first and most important law of the series
of BNA (1867-1975) dealing with the
government of Canada, is also called
Constitution Act, 1867, for it served as the
constitution until it was replaced by Canada Act
in 1982.
The Act allowed the four provinces lots of
autonomy within a federal system.
Text B: The Founding of British
Colonies in Australia
Key Points
 Convict
Transportation
 Gold Rush
 Commonwealth of
Australia
Convict Transportation
The first large-scale British settlement was
made after Captain James Cook reached
Botany Bay in 1770, and claimed the coast of
Cape York for Great Britain.
It began in 1788 at Port Jackson, present
Sydney, which was first used as a penal colony
for Great Britain.
Gold Rush
In 1851, soon after the California Gold Rush, a
large gold rush, known as Victoria Gold Rush,
started in the region of Victoria, thus it brought in
lots of crazy gold diggers with various
nationalities and cultures.
The Gold Rush imposed a great impact on the
economy of Victoria and its present capital
Melbourne. Many railways and telegraphs were
built to meet the needs of these people.
Gold Rush
But due to the settlement of the various
immigrants with different religious beliefs and
ethnic diversity，both multiculturalism and
racism occurred which the former became the
feature of modern Australia, while the latter
remained a critical issue in this country
especially in the early 20th century，when lots
of Chinese from Canton rushed in.
Commonwealth of Australia
In 1901, the Parliament of the UK passed an act
to reunite such six separate colonies as New
South Wales (NSW) , Victoria, Queensland,
South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania
into one commonwealth, within which each
colony remained self-government with its own
colonial parliament.
But the British monarch still remained as its
political head.
Text C: The Founding of British
Colonies in New Zealand
Key Points
Treaty of
Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
At Waitangi in February 1840, the British
government, represented by Captain William
Hobson, signed the Treaty of Waitangi with
most Maori Chiefs.
The British claimed sovereignty over the
region and established their first permanent
settlement there. Since the treaty guaranteed
that the Maoris had the full possession of their
land, it not only laid a foundation for New
Zealand as a nation but also is revered by the
Maori as a guarantee of their rights.
Section C 1901 AD—present
2.7 The UK
2.8 The United States
2.9 Canada, Australia and New Zealand
2.7 The UK
 Text A Edwardian Period and World War I
 Text B Great Britain in World War II
 Text C The Fall of British Empire
Text A: Edwardian Period and World
War I
Key Points
 Edwardian Period
 Great Britain in World War I
Edwardian Period
After the death of
Victoria, her son
Edward (1841-1910)
came to the throne in
1901 and became
Edward VII.
Since then, Great
Britain has entered the
modern times.
Edwardian Period
Edwardian era or period was noted for elegance,
fashion, luxury and leisure sports among the
rich and powerful class.
With the rapid industrialization, there was an
increasing number of economic opportunities
for the social mobility, people became more and
more liberal.
So it was also the period that the class system
was most rigid on one hand, the socialism began
to be advocated in the working class movement
on the other hand.
World War I
Known as the largest global Great War, World
War I took place mainly in Europe from 1914
to 1918 among most of the great Western
powers.
It was the war between the Allied Powers or
the Triple Entente originally consisting of
Great Britain, France, Russian, Canada, Italy
and the United States (from 1917) and the
Central Powers or the Triple Alliance mainly
made up of Austria-Hungary, German Empire
and the Ottoman Empire.
World War I
The war finally ended in the defeat of Central
Powers as well as the disintegration of the
three empires together with Russian Empire.
About 10 million soldiers and civilians died in
the war，over 20 million were wounded.
Great Britain at War
After Great Britain entered the war, it received a
strong domestic support for the war at the
beginning. Almost all the young men were
encouraged to serve in the army.
Many women themselves actively entered the
workforce to replace the men fighting in the war.
In 1917, the royal family with King George V
changed its name to the current name, the House
of Windsor.
Britain suffered an enormous loss both in
economy and in population.
Text B: Great Britain in World War II
Key Points




World War II
Cause and Outbreak
Great Britain at War
Consequences
World War II
The Second World War was fought between
1939 and 1945 involving almost every country
in the world especially those major powers.
These countries fell into two sides: the Allied
Powers and the Axis Powers.
While the Axis Powers consisted of Germany,
Italy, and Japan, the Allies were chiefly made up
of Great Britain, France, the United States and
the Soviet Union.
World War II
The war spread throughout the world. It ended
in the defeat of the Axis.
It was the largest and cruelest war in human
history in the world. The death toll exceeded
over 60 million, but nearly two-thirds of those
killed in the war were civilians, especially in
the notorious Holocaust in Eastern Europe and
the Nanking Massacre.
Cause and Outbreak
With the anxiety to regain its power and
expand its territory, the German invaded
Poland on 1st September, 1939, provoking
Great Britain and France to declare war on
Germany on 3rd September, hence the
outbreak of the global war.
Great Britain at War
In the winter of 1940-1941, German launched
a Blitz, violent bombing offensive, destroying
many British major cities as well as one-sixth
of the housing in London.
However, British resistance was not weakened
but strengthened.
Great Britain at War
Under the leadership of Winston Churchill, the
British played an important role in defeating
Germany later.
British Commonwealth forces also joined the
naval and imperial war against Italy.
The British joined the Americans in declaring
war on Japan in 1941 after the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbour. The drop of the American atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945
ended the great world war.
Consequences
The consequences of the war were far-reaching.
The global war transformed the international
political balance.
The power shifted to the United States and the
Soviet Union.
British Empire began disintegrated. Most
British Commonwealth countries became
independent. Communism spread over most of
Eurasia.
Text C: The Fall of British Empire
Key Points
The Independence of Republic of Ireland
British Commonwealth and Commonwealth
of Nations
The Independence of
Republic of Ireland
The Irish had been longing for home rule for a
hundred years.
It was on Easter Monday, 24 April, 1916 that an
uprising took place in Dublin, Ireland against
British rule.
The rebels took over the Dublin Post Office and
proclaimed a republic. But the uprising was
crushed by the British army.
The Independence of
Republic of Ireland
At the general election of 1917, the republican
party Sinn Féin won a historic victory.
The uprising was called Easter Rising 1916.
Sinn Féin was one of the leading Roman
Catholic parties in Northern Ireland.
In 1919, a ruthless guerrilla organization, the
Irish Republican Army ( IRA) was established
to fight the British.
The Independence of
Republic of Ireland
In 1920, Ireland was split into two, the southern
part was in favor of partition from the UK and
supported the Irish unification while most of the
northern part insisted on union with the UK.
In 1949 the Irish Free State became the fully
independent Republic of Ireland.
Thus the UK was renamed as the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
British Commonwealth and
Commonwealth of Nations
British Commonwealth was formally established.
The current Commonwealth turns into a free
association of sovereign or independent states
which have chosen to maintain ties of friendship
and cooperation.
Its name changed to Commonwealth of Nations.
The British monarch serves as its symbolic head.
In 1973，the UK joined European Economy
Community.
2.8 The United States
Text A Great Depression and New Deal
Text B The US in Two World Wars
Text C Postwar Period
Text A: Great Depression and New
Deal
Key Points
 Great Depression
 New Deal
Great Depression
Great Depression was an economic recession,
a time of economic downturn that lasted from
1929 to 1939.
It began in the United States then quickly
spread to Europe and the rest of the World.
It was the longest and most severe and
widespread depression in American history.
Great Depression
On 29 October, 1929, the New York Stock
Exchange on Wall Street suffered one of the
most devastating stock market crashes in
history.
The crash, also known as Wall Street Crash of
1929, marked the beginning of the one-decadelong Great Depression.
New Deal
After President Roosevelt took office in 1933,
he introduced a series of government programs
and policies to promote economic recovery
and social reform during the Great Depression.
These federally-supported public works and
social reform programs are collectively known
as New Deal.
Text B: The US in Two World Wars
Key Points
 The US in World War I
 The US in World War II
The US in World War I
After Civil War, the power of federal government
of the US was enlarged and strengthened. At the
beginning of World War I, the US didn’t not want
to get involved in the war and tried to keep
neutral. Instead, it enjoyed the trade on the arms
and ammunitions.
But after German army sank the American
merchant ships and its attempt to ask Mexico to
attack the US was disclosed, the US declared war
on Germany.
American Expeditionary Forces made vital
contributions to Germany’s defeat later.
The US in World War II
While the totalitarian regimes in Japan, Germany
and Italy were busy expanding their territories in
the 1930s, the US still remained neutral. However,
as the second global war became intensified in
Europe, the US was gradually drawn closer to the
war by the force of event.
On 14 August, 1941, President Roosevelt and
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on the
high seas jointly signed the Atlantic Charter. The
charter expressed idealistic objectives for a
peaceful postwar world.
The US in World War II
But soon after the sign of the charter, on
Sunday, 7 December, 1941, Japan launched a
surprise attack on Peal Harbor, the American
naval base in Hawaii.
Thus American efforts to reach a peaceful
settlement were ended. The US entered the war
the following day and began to fight against
Japan.
Finally, on 6th August, 1945, the Americans
helped end the great global war by dropping
two atomic bombs in Japan.
Text C: Postwar Period
Key Points
Cold War
Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
NATO
Cold War
The open but
restricted Cold War
started form the end
of World War II to
the early 1990s.
Cold War
It generally refers to the political and diplomatic
rivalry and hostility mainly between the Soviet
Union and the United States and their respective
allies.
The Soviet Union and the US turned into the
two superpowers while the wartime alliance in
Europe soon fell apart after the World War II.
The Cold War ended with the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991.
Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
As a new superpower, the US started to change
its foreign policy from isolation or neutrality to
intervention to keep the balance-of-power of
the world.
In 1947, President Harry Truman advocated the
Truman Doctrine to offer economic and military
assistance to Europe for anti-Communism.
In the same year, the American government put
forward the Marshall Plan, known as the
European Recovery Act, to help the economic
recovery of Europe.
Cultural Notes:
Marshall Plan: 马歇尔计划, 也称欧洲经济复
兴法，1947年由当时美国国务卿马歇尔·乔
治提出的一份计划，以帮助恢复战后西欧
的经济和遏制共产主义在欧洲的发展。
NATO
In order to guarantee its new role as the leader
of the West in European peace-keeping, the US
joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) with United Kingdom, Canada and
other 10 countries in 1949.
This organization was supposed to be a military
security alliance against the Communist Soviet
Union Expansion in Europe.
It has 26 members in total until in 2004.
2.9 Canada, Australia and New
Zealand
 Text A: The Independence and
Development of Canada
 Text B: The Independence and
Development of Australia
 Text C: The Independence and
Development of New Zealand
Text A: The Independence and
Development of Canada
Key Points
 Canada in the Two World Wars
 Postwar Social Changes
Canada in the Two World Wars
Canada followed Great Britain after it entered
the First World War in 1914 by sending many
volunteers.
As the war dragged on, more and more
soldiers were killed and wounded, people
began to lose confidence in the war, not so
many men would like to be volunteers any
more.
Canada in the Two World Wars
In order to send enough soldiers to the war, the
conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden
had to bring in conscription, compulsory
military service against the objection of those
French-Canadians in 1917.
But this conscription resulted in strong
opposition from both the English Canadians
and French Canadians. This was known as
Conscription Crisis of 1917.
Postwar Social Changes
The postwar prosperity and economic growth
led to a baby boom and a large immigration in
the country. Many social problems such as
racism or racial discrimination arose.
Therefore, great efforts were taken by the
federal government to deal with these problems.
The Immigration Acts
The policy of Multiculturalism
Universal Health Care
Canada Pension Plan
Canada Student Loans
Text B: The Independence and
Development of Australia
Key Points
 Australia in the Two World Wars
 The White Australia Policy
Australia in the Two World Wars
In 1911, Australia joined Britain together with
New Zealand in the two World Wars willingly.
The two troops were formed into one, known as
the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
Nevertheless, Australia benefited a lot from the
wartime economy because of the great demand
for agricultural and dairy products as well as
the manufactured goods.
The power of the Commonwealth government
was strengthened too.
The White Australia Policy
From 1901 to 1973, Australia adopted White
Australia Policy in order to encourage more
European immigrants instead of non-White ones.
The key legislation was the Immigration
Restriction Act passed by Parliament of Australia
in 1901.
This act limited immigration to Australia,
particularly from China and India. The restrictions
on immigration started with anti-Chinese policy
during the Australian Gold Rushes in the 1850s.
The White Australia Policy
After the Labor party won the election in 1972,
the government established many more
independent foreign policies except the
fundamental alliance policy with the US. It
developed its diplomatic relationship to the
People’s Republic of China, and officially
ended the White Australian Policy in 1973.
Since then, non-British and non-white
immigrants have been encouraged to the
country.
Text C: The Independence and
Development of New Zealand
Key Points
 New Zealand in the Two World Wars
 Postwar Social Changes
New Zealand in the Two World Wars
Though New Zealand became a British
Dominion with self-government in 1907, it
still relied on the United Kingdom for
protection to deal with its foreign affairs.
It was until 1947 that New Zealand adopted
the Statute of Westminster of 1931.
From then on, it has become a complete
independent and equal nation within the
Commonwealth.
New Zealand in the Two World Wars
Together with Australia, New Zealand played
an active role in fighting on the side of the
Allies by sending soldiers to ANZACs in the
two World Wars.
Postwar Social Changes
Great social changes have taken place after the
two World Wars in New Zealand.
Like those Americans in the 1960s and 1970s,
people began to hate the war and many young
people developed counterculture.
New Zealand has made great contributions to
the social legislation.
It was the first country to grant women the
voting right in 1893. Since then, women have
come to enjoy more and more rights.
The Reflection to Unit 2