witnessed the spread of the Industrial Revolution into
hitherto nonindustrialized areas such as China and India. The
technological and economic aspects of the Industrial
Revolution brought about significant sociocultural changes.
In its initial stages it seemed to deepen labourers’ poverty
and misery. Their employment and subsistence became
dependent on costly means of production that few people
could afford to own. Job security was lacking: workers were
frequently displaced by technological improvements and a
large labour pool. Lack of worker protections and regulations
meant long work hours for miserable wages, living in
unsanitary tenements, and exploitation and abuse in the
workplace. But even as problems arose, so too did new ideas
that aimed to address them. These ideas pushed innovations
and regulations that provided people with more material
conveniences while also enabling them to produce more,
travel faster, and communicate more rapidly.
http://www.britannica.com/event/Industrial-Revolution/The-first-
Industrial-Revolution
[ 62 ]The English Civil Wars were a devastating series of
conflicts fought in the middle of the 17 th century. They
centred around a titanic struggle for power between King
Charles I and Parliament, with battle lines drawn over deep-
seated and complex divisions in politics, religion and
economic policy. Families and communities at all levels of
society were drawn into the conflict, and many suffered great
losses. At the heart of the upheaval was a radical challenge to
the absolute power of the monarch – one which resulted in
the only ever execution of a British monarch and the sole
period of Republican rule in British history. The wars forever
altered the relationship between monarch and Parliament,
stirring questions of power and democracy that led to the
long, slow rise of Parliament as the main instrument of power
in the land. We focus here on the three wars fought in
England between those loyal to Charles I and those
supporting Parliament, in 1642 – 6 , 1648 and 1649 – 51. But
the English Civil Wars were part of a wider conflict that also
involved Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and known as the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms. English, Scottish, Welsh and
Irish soldiers fought in all the conflicts. Read on to explore
the fractious political landscape of the early 17 th century and
follow the descent into war, the conflicts themselves, and
their aftermath. http://www.english-
heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/the-english-civil-wars-history-
and-stories/the-english-civil-wars/
[ 63 ]The Glorious Revolution 1688. James Stuart, the
seventh James to rule Scotland and the second to rule
England, was fated to be the last Stuart king ever to sit on the
British throne. Perhaps ironically it was the Stuart monarchy
that first ruled over both nations when Elizabeth I died in
March 1603 , and James VI of Scotland also became James I
of England. Yet somehow, not even 100 years later, this
proud Royal house was finished. But what really happened to
change the face of these great countries’ history all those
centuries ago? James’ ascendancy upon the death of Charles
II in 1685 was greeted with great enthusiasm in both England
and Scotland. However, merely 3 years later his son-in-law
had assumed his place in history. James became unpopular in
the months following his coronation due to a number of
factors: he favoured a more arbitrary approach to government,
he was quick to try and increase the power of the monarchy
and even to rule without Parliament. James did manage to
put down a rebellion within that time and retained the throne
despite the Duke of Monmouth’s attempt to overthrow him
which ended at the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685. However,
arguably the main issue with James’ rule in England was that
he was a Catholic and stubbornly so. England was not and
James’ elevating of Catholics to positions of power within
politics and the military only succeeded in further alienating
the people. By June 1688 many nobles had had enough of
James’ tyranny and invited William of Orange to England.
Although, at the time, to do what was not exactly clear. Some
wanted William to replace James outright as William was a
Protestant, others thought he could help right the ship and
steer James along a much more conciliatory path. Others
wanted the fear of an invasion by William to essentially scare
James into ruling more collaboratively. However, many did
not want to replace James at all; indeed there was widespread
fear of a return to civil war. There was still, within living
memory, the pain and chaos of civil war, and a return to the
bloody mess that had previously put a Stuart king back on
the throne was not desired, simply to oust another! William
of Orange was not only invited to intervene because he was a
Protestant prince who could help the country, but because he
was married to James’ daughter Mary. This lent legitimacy to
William and also an idea of continuity. James was painfully
aware of his growing unpopularity and by June 30 th 1688 his
policies of arbitrary government and ‘popery’ were so
unappetising to the nation that a letter was sent to Holland, to
bring William and his army to England. William duly began
preparations. During this time James was suffering terrible
nose bleeds and spent an inordinate amount of time
bemoaning the lack of the country’s affection for him in
letters to his daughters, each one more maudlin than the rest.
Indeed, it was several months before William eventually
arrived in England; he landed, unopposed, at Brixham,
Devon on 5 th November. It would be several more months
before he and his wife Mary were eventually anointed King
and Queen of England, on 11 th April 1689. http://www.historic-
uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Glorious-
Revolution- 1688 /