CHAPTER 3: FROM THE GUNPOWDER PLOT TO GLOBAL WARMING

The Execution of a King: On 4th November 1605, Guy Fawkes hid under the Houses of Parliament with at least 20 barrels of gunpowder, he was angry because he tough that King’s laws were unfair to people of his religion. He was arrested on 5th November.

Charles became king, and he wanted the King to be more important than the Government.
The Civil War began in 1642. It divided the country between the Royalists (supported King Charles) and the Protestants leader. Cromwell won and Charles was beheaded.

Christmas is cancelled: From 1649 to 1660 there was any queen or king in England. Cromwell became “Lord Protector” . He took an army to Ireland and killed a lot Irish people. Cromwell’s actions were the start of the twentieth-century problems between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. In England Protestants were very strict about religion, Christmas was banned by limiting Christmas celebrations.

Plague, Fire and Revolution: Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II became a king. During his reign there were 2 terrible events. The first was the “Great Plague” and the second was the “Great Fire of London”.
After the died of Charles, Parliament became unhappy with James II.

England/Wales/Scotland & Ireland:Anne became Queen. During her reign, two political parties developed in Parliament: Whigs and Tories. This was these tart of the modern British political system.
Two important acts: - No Roman Catholic could be king or queen (Act of Settlement)
- England and Scotland were 1 country (Act of Union)

Anne died, without any children, so Britain had to look for a Protestant king, George, was the start of the Georgian Age in Britain.
During the reign of George III, Britain lost its colonies in America.
In 1801, the government introduced the Act of Union with Ireland.

The industrial Revolution:In the eighteenth century the Industrial Revolution began in Britain. People began to move from the country to find work in big s¡cities.
The Industrial revolution, made Britain rich, but it also created problems: the workers conditions were unhealthy, children had to work.
Coal was the main fuel of the revolution.

The Victore Age:1834 a young woman, Eighteen years old, became a queen of Britain. During her reign, many British became world-famous.
There were many changes in society: children work’s became illegal, education became free and the industrial cities were healthier.
The British Empire grew to include parts of Africa and Asia. But also had many problems: “Great Potato Famine”. From 1854 to 1856 there was a war with Russia.
At the end of the period, there were electric lights, telephones, the London underground...

The Twentieth Century: The country was involved in two world wars.
In 1921 the south of Ireland became independent.
After the second world war, countries in the British empire became independent. In 1960 was great social change: Teenagers had more freedom, the role of women began tho change and the rules of society were relaxed. This was the time of Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Into the Twenty-first Century: The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly make those nations more independent. People face the problem of global warming.
From 2008 there gave been economic problems.