Přednášky - britské studie

1649-1660

• Commonwealth period

• The country was led by the Parliament

Oliver Cromwell

• All men were equal, but some were more equal than others

• Lord protecting the law

• England was isolated

• 1659 he died

Charles II.

• 1660 – Parliament invited Charles II. – executed son of the king Charles I. – back on the throne – he was in Netherlands

• Parliament had a few conditions – Complete amnesty and no institution of property

• Agreed

• He came back to England, had the corps of Oliver Cromwell undug and had his body hang in front of the Parliament – nowdays there is a statue

• He opened up theatres and brought women on stage (he saw it in France, it was an unusual thing for England back then, theatres were for men players only)

• He married Portuguese princess – Catherine

• She brought English people tea

James II.

• Charlese’s brother – he didn’t have an official son

• He tried to ? England – he forgot what happened to his father

• 1688 – the Parliament obligated James to resign and run away

• Mary (son of James) took the throne

Mary Stuart

• Married William of Orange

• The king rules, but does not gather

• The birth of actual political system

• Prime minister

• William + Marry had a children but it died

• 1701 – Act of settlement – Only Anglican could rule

• 1707 – Parliament of Scotland voted unification with England

• Scotland didn’t have any fleet or sea power, and colonies, they had to go with London, otherwise it was impossible

Queen Ann

• She wasn’t able to have any male kids (15 pregnancies)

• George – German cousin from Hannover (George I., II., III.)

• George wasn’t even able to speak English

• Prime minister Robert Walpole

• Royalty decreased in power more and more

• George II. – mentally sick > Prime minister William Pitt – Lost all American colonies

1800

Romanticism

• Second half of the 17. Century up to 1837 when Victoria became a queen

• Enlightenment – Reason was the key to life, only with reason we can change the life for the better > strong pessimism

• Romanticism was the opposite – feelings, positive outlook on life

• Reality was perceived as disgusting – it only creates melancholy, sadness and disappointment

• Escape to the nature, countryside, history, love, myths, drugs, ..

• There was a big issue of selling own kids to rich families (weddings for money)

• Cause of the sadness – Industrial revolution (1760-1840)

• In the Industrial revolution – Men were all allowed to have a helper – not only animal, but also human

James Watt

• Physicist

• Stream machine/engine – helping human to use less own force, letting machines work for us

• It was something unusual and unnatural

• Winners x Losers (The rich X the workers who lost their jobs due to the technical improvement)

• High level of despair > movement – Luddites

• Then comes the brit. Romanticism

4th July 1799

• This revolution was not radical enough

• They admired the Great French Revolution

• French poets were enthusiastic until the terror came

• They worked 24H a day

• They wanted to find the guilty

• Brits used guillotine as a manner of execution