The Norman Conquest

КАФЕДРА АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

«УТВЕРЖДАЮ»___________________

Руководитель ПИ ЮФУ, проф. Мареев В.И.

УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЙ КОМПЛЕКС

ДИСЦИПЛИНЫ

История и культура Великобритании

для студентов заочного отделения ПИ ЮФУ,

обучающихся по специальности

031 201- Теория и методика преподавания иностранных языков и культур

Ростов-на-Дону

Составитель: Абросимова Л.С., кандидат филологических наук, доцент

Учебно-методический комплекс утвержден на заседании кафедры английского языка

протокол №_____от_________________20__г.

Заведующая кафедрой: Погребная И.Ф., доцент

Учебно-методический комплекс принят в фонд учебно-методического управления ПИ ЮФУ

_____________________________________________________20__г.

Учебно-методический комплекс утвержден ученым советом ПИ ЮФУ

Пр. №_____ от________________20__г.

Председатель ученого совета ПИ ЮФУ,

Руководитель ПИ ЮФУ, проф. В.И. Мареев

Структура и содержание программы учебной дисциплины

1. Наименование учебной дисциплины: «История и культура Великобритании»

2. Специальность: 031201 – «Теория и методика преподавания иностранных языков и культур»

3. Курс: 2

4. Форма обучения: заочная

5. Семестр: 4

6. Общее количество часов на 2 курсе - 75, из них аудиторных – 10

Пояснительная записка

Программа составлена в соответствии с требованиями государственного образовательного стандарта Высшего специального профессионального образования к обязательному минимуму содержания и уровню подготовки специалистов по специальности 031201 – «Теория и методика преподавания иностранных языков и культур»

Курс «История и культура стран изучаемого языка» имеет целью изучение и практическое применение системы знаний об этапах исторического развития, социальной действительности и культуры стран изучаемого языка, а также овладение страноведческой и лингвострановедческой компетенцией, необходимой для адекватного владения иностранным языком как средством общения.

Задачами курса «История и культура стран изучаемого языка» являются:

· Ознакомление с основными этапами исторического, политического, культурного и социального развития стран изучаемого языка, а также с их специфическими особенностями.

· Овладение понятийным аппаратом по линии лингвострановедческой тематики

· Приобретение опыта анализа (умение правильно ориентироваться в историческом, политическом и культурном развитии стран изучаемого языка, оценивать явления, события, факты действительности этих стран, ориентироваться во множестве фактов, встречающихся в литературе, публицистических и газетных материалах на иностранных языках).

В связи с вышеперечисленными задачами курс «История и культура стран изучаемого языка» должен преподаваться в тесной связи с другими теоретическими и практическими дисциплинами. Так, координация по линии межпредметных связей проводится с дисциплинами общественно-политического и психолого-педагогического цикла; со смежными науками – историей и географией, с курсом литературы стран изучаемого языка и ее истории. Курс «История и культура стран изучаемого языка» способствует закреплению освоения страноведческой тематики и, таким образом, преподается в тесной связи с курсом практики устной и письменной речи иностранного языка. Курс «История и культура стран изучаемого языка» дает представление о связи истории народов с изменениями в их языке.

Достижение практических задач курса «История и культура стран изучаемого языка» осуществляется путем применения различных методов и приемов работы, таких как: предъявление лекционного материала, практические занятия в группах, просмотр фильмов со страноведческой тематикой и их обсуждение, чтение и анализ лингвострановедческих материалов, тестирование.

На курс преподавания «Истории и культуры стран изучаемого языка» на втором курсе ОЗО отводится 75 часов. Из них - 6 лекционных часов, 4 часа отводится на семинарские занятия, 65 часов - на самостоятельную работу студентов.

При разработке учебной программы образовательное учреждение имеет право вносить дополнительные требования к уровню подготовки специалистов с учетом региональных особенностей, специфики учебного заведения и требований заказчика специалистов.

СОДЕРЖАНИЕ КУРСА

«История и культура стран изучаемого языка»

Модуль 1. Географическое положение Великобритании. Состав территории. Природные условия. Климат. Население. Языки.

1. Остров Великобритания, Ирландия, Гебридские, Шетлендские,

Оркнейские и другие острова. Проливы и моря, омывающие острова.

Особенности рельефа, горы, возвышенности, низменности, изрезанность береговой линии.

Климатические условия.

Гидрографическая сеть. Реки, озера, каналы.

Растительный и животный мир.

Минерально-сырьевые ресурсы английской промышленности. Значение залежей нефти и природного газа шельфовой зоны Северного моря. Характеристика основных месторождений угля, железной руды.

Население Великобритании. Этнический состав. Национальные и языковые различия. Численность и рост населения. Этнический состав населения. Формирование английской нации. Размещение населения. Классовая структура населения. География плотности. Основные формы расселения. Городское и сельское население. Преобладание городского типа расселения. Сосредоточение 4/5 населения в городах и в городских агломерациях. Широкий урбанизированный пояс Англии (от Лондона до Ливерпуля) с наибольшей концентрацией населения.

2. Страны, входящие в состав королевства. Понятия Шотландия, Уэльс, Северная Ирландия. Состав территорий, географическое положение. Столицы и города. Особенности рельефа, горы, возвышенности, низменности, изрезанность береговой линии.

Климатические условия стран, входящих в состав королевства.

Гидрографическая сеть. Реки, озера, каналы.

Население Англии, Шотландии, Уэльса, Северной Ирландии.

Этнический состав. Национальные и языковые различия. Численность и рост населения. Этнический состав населения. География плотности. Языки стран, входящих в состав королевства.

3. Особенности образа жизни, культуры и национального характера.

Национальные черты характера британцев. Досуг Британцев. Национальные праздники. Роль традиций. Национальные обычаи всех стран, входящих в состав Королевства. Национальная кухня. Национальные виды спорта. Столица Великобритании, ее история и достопримечательности. Облик городов Великобритании. Деловая часть города.

Особенности быта и повседневной жизни народа Великобритании. Семейный уклад, организация досуга. Религия и церковь.

Комплексная цель (модуль 1):

Систематизация и расширение социокультурных знаний студентов о географическом положении Соединенного королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландии, развитие умений собирать, систематизировать и обрабатывать различные виды страноведческой информации, интерпретировать и использовать ее при решении коммуникативно-познавательных задач, овладение студентами лингвострановедческими компетенциями, развитие коммуникативной культуры и социокультурной образованности студентов, позволяющих общаться на английском языке в социокультурной и учебно-профессиональной сферах.

Краткое проблемное изложение материала:

THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

Physical Background

Britain, formally known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, forms the greater part of the British Isles, a group of islands lying off the north-west coast of Europe. The largest islands are Great Britain and Ireland (comprising Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic).

The United Kingdom is bordered on the south by the English Channel, which separates it from the continent of Europe. It is bordered on the east by the North Sea, and on the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom’s only land border with another nation is between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Isles.

Off the southern coast of England is the Isle of Wight and off the extreme south-west are the Isles of Scilly; off north Wales is Anglesey. Western Scotland is fringed by numerous islands and to the far north are the important groups of the Orkneys and Shetlands. All these have administrative ties with the mainland, but the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands between Great Britain and France have a large measure of administrative autonomy and are not part of England, Wales, Scotland of Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom contains a number of small islands. These include the Isle of Wight, which lies off of England’s southern coast; Anglesey, off the northwest coast of Wales; the Isles of Scilly in the English Channel; the Hebrides archipelago to the west of Scotland, consisting of the Inner and the Outer Hebrides; the Orkney Islands to the northeast of Scotland; and the Shetland Islands farther out into the North Sea from Scotland.

Several dependencies and dependent territories are associated with the United Kingdom. The dependencies, located close to Britain, are the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands off the northern coast of France. These dependencies, while not technically part of the United Kingdom, maintain a special relationship with it. The Channel Islands were once part of the Duchy of Normandy and retain much of their original French culture. The Isle of Man, controlled by Norway during the Middle Ages, came under English rule in the 14th century. Both dependencies are largely self-governing and have their own legislative assemblies and systems of law. Britain is responsible for their international relations and defense.

Natural Regions and Topography.

The Highland Zone

Highland Britain comprises the whole of Scotland, the Lake District in the north-west England, the broad central upland known as the Pennines, almost the whole of Wales, and the South-western, peninsula of England.

The parts of England in the highland zone include the Pennine Chain of mountains, extending down into northern England and into the southwestern peninsula. The Pennine Chain is sometimes called the backbone of England. It is a massive upland area extending 260 km (160 mi) north to south, starting at the Cheviot Hills on England’s border with Scotland and ending in the Midlands of central England.

To the west of the northern Pennines are the Cumbrian Mountains, which include Scafell Pike (in the Lake District, Cumberland) 3,210 feet (978 meters), England’s highest peak. This region contains the Lake District, famous for its lakes and scenic beauty.

The Grampian Mountains are in central Scotland. The highest point in Britain is Ben Nevis at 1,343 m (4,406 ft), located in the Highlands of Scotland. The highland zone is cooler than the lowland zone, and receives more rainfall and less sunlight. In many places farming is impossible. The western portion of the Highlands contains most of Scotland’s famous lochs, or large lakes.

North of the Cheviot Hills, in Scotland, are the Southern Uplands, an area of rounded hills and broad valleys. The maximum elevation here is 850 m (2,800 ft), and much of the area consists of moorlands used for grazing sheep. North of the Uplands is a broad valley known variously as the Central Lowlands, the Scottish Lowlands, or the Midland Valley. This valley is sandwiched between two areas of uplands and contains most of Scotland’s urban centers, industries, and mines.

Northern Ireland consists of hilly highlands similar to those of Scotland. Most of Northern Ireland is situated in a large valley formed from an old lava plateau. In the center of the valley is Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles, which is 29 km (18 mi) long and 18 km (11 mi) wide. The highest part of Northern Ireland is the Mourne Mountains in the southeast, which reach a maximum elevation of 852 m (2,796 ft) above sea level. The narrowest point between the islands of Britain and Ireland is a distance of only 21 km (13 mi), between Tor on the coast of Northern Ireland to Mull of Kintyre on the Scottish coast.

The peninsula of Wales is almost entirely covered by mountains. The Cambrian Mountains extend roughly from northeast to southeast across the peninsula. They contain the highest peak in Wales, the huge mountain called Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa Fawr in Welsh), which rises to 1,085 m (3,560 ft) above sea level. In southern Wales lower and less rugged mountains, the Brecon Beacons, extend in a roughly east-west direction. The lowland region of southeastern Wales contains the largest cities and industrial establishments in Wales. Coal mines in the mountains just to the north of this southern lowland were of great importance to the Welsh economy for many years.

The Lowland Zone

Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern Britain. Hills hardly ever reach a thousand feet (305 meters) above sea level.

Most of Britain’s population lives densely packed into the lowland zone, which covers most of England. It has been extensively inhabited, farmed, and grazed for thousands of years. The metropolis of London and most of Britain’s large cities are located in the lowland zone. The flattest lands in the lowland zone are in the eastern area called East Anglia.

Rivers

Britain is rich in waterways. Almost every town stands on its river, every village upon its stream. We can see it from the names: Burton-on-Trent, Stratford-on-Avon, Kingston-upon-Thames and so on. From the times of the Romans until the 17-th century Britain's seas and rivers were more important than roads for the transport of goods and people. Road transport was difficult and expensive. The growing population of the country required more food, and the industries - more coal. So the first canals were built to meet special needs.

The Thames and the Severn are the longest rivers in Britain and are almost equal in length. Other important rivers in England are the Mersey, which enters the Irish Sea at Liverpool; the River Humber on the east coast, into which the Trent River and several other rivers flow; and the Tyne River in northern England, which flows past Newcastle upon Tyne to the North Sea.

The chief rivers in Scotland are the Clyde, the Tay, the Forth, and the Tweed. Glasgow is situated on the Firth of the Clyde, Edinburgh on the Firth of the Forth.

The most important rivers in Northern Ireland are the Lagan, the Bann, and the Foyle.

Ireland's chief river is the Shannon with a course of 386 km, the longest river in the British Isles.

Lakes.

The Lake District in the north-west of England is known for its scenic beauty. The Lakes are of various sizes, such as Lake Windermere, over 16 km (10 miles) long,

In the Highlands of Scotland there are a great many sea lochs (lakes) and freshwater lochs bordered by wild mountains. Loch Neagh (is situated in Ireland - the largest freshwater lake in the UK.

Most of the large lakes in the United Kingdom are located in the upland areas of Scotland and northern England, although Lough Neagh (368 sq. km) in Northern Ireland is the largest lake in the United Kingdom. The largest and most beautiful of Scotland's lakes are Loch Lomond (near Glasgow) (37 km (23 mi) long and from 1.6 to 8 km (1 to 5 mi) wide and Loch Ness. Lake Windermere is the largest of the 15 major lakes in the famous Lake District of northwestern England. It is about 1.6 km (1 mi) wide and more than 16 km (10 mi) long. Lake Derwentwater, called the “Queen of Lakes” is the loveliest of Cumbria’s lakes. Other lakes are tiny, as Brothers Water, less than a mile in length, Lakeland's smallest lake.

Coastline

Great Britain’s coastline is highly irregular, with many bays and inlets that provide harbors and shelters for ships and boats. The coastline is about 8,000 km (about 5,000 mi) long and affords some of the best scenery in Britain.

Climate

Britain has a generally mild and temperate climate. The outstanding features of the climate of Britain are its humidity, its mildness and its variability. The prevailing winds are south-westerly and the weather from day to day is controlled be the Atlantic Ocean, across which flows the warm current of the Gulf Stream. As these winds blow from the Ocean, they are mild in winter and cool in summer.

People of Britain

Britain ranks about 14-th in the world in terms of population and 75-th place by its territory.

The United Kingdom has a population of 59,778,002 (2002 estimate), with an average population density of 245 persons per sq km (634 per sq mi). The population density of the United Kingdom is one of the highest in the world, exceeding most Asian and European nations.

Britain occupies the 4-th place as to its density after Japan, Belgium and Holland.

The movement of the population from the country to towns was at its height in the 19-th century with the development of capitalist industry.

Great Britain is inhabited by the English who constitute 81 % of the total population, the Scots - 10 %, the Irish - 2,5 % and Welshmen who live in Wales.

Languages.

English is the official language of the United Kingdom and is the first language of the vast majority of its citizens. Scottish people appreciate the Scottish accent so much they insist the BBC carry programs with Scottish-accented speakers. The Celtic language (Gaelic), an ancient tongue, continues to be spoken in Scotland by some people, usually those in the more remote fringes of the country, especially in the Hebrides Islands. Approximately 80,000 Scots speak Scottish Gaelic, a type of Celtic language.

English is the predominant language in Northern Ireland, although at least some of the Roman Catholic minority speak Irish, another Gaelic dialect, as a second language.

The ancient Celtic language of Wales is strongly tied to the cultural nationalism of the region. In 1993, after long and considerable agitation by Welsh nationalists, the government made Welsh a joint official language with English in Wales for use in the courts, the civil service, and other aspects of the public sector

Проектное задание 1:

Цель: развитие умений интерпретировать схематическую и образную страноведческую информацию на английском языке.

Задание: Нарисуйте карту Соединенного королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландии и близлежащих островов. Отметьте водоемы, горы, крупные города. Покажите деление Великобритании согласно рельефных особенностей (Highlands and Lowlands).Подготовьте описание вашей карты на английском языке.

Проектное задание 2:

Цель: развитие умений составлять и интерпретировать схематическую и образную страноведческую информацию на английском языке.

Задание: Заполнить сравнительную таблицу. Подготовить ее описание на английском языке.

	Territory	Capital	Population	Rivers	Mountains	Cities	Industries
England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland

Проектное задание 3:

Подготовьте презентацию по теме «Государственные праздники в Великобритании» (20 слайдов)

Тест рубежного контроля:

Test № 1. “REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION OF THE UK”

(“The History and Culture of the UK”)

Рекомендуемая литература:

Тимановская Н.А. Взгляд на англоговорящие страны. 4-е изд. – Тула: Автограф, 2000.

Токарева Н.Д. Страницы истории Великобритании и США. Пособие по страноведению на англ. яз: Для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз.-М.:Высш. Шк., 1985.

Великобритания. Лингвострановедческий словарь. А.Р.У.Рум,

Л.В.Колесников и др. – М.: Рус. Яз., 1978.

Абросимова Л.С. История и культура стран изучаемого языка. Ч. 1. История и

культура Великобритании. – Ростов-на-Дону, 2007.

Голицинский Ю.Great Britain. - С-П.: КАРО, 1999.

David McDowall. Britain in Close-Up. Longman, 1993.

Bamber Gascoigne. Encyclopedia of Britain.

UK 2003. The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

S. Sheerin, J.Seath. Spotlight on Britain. Oxford, OUP

P. Harvey, R. Jones. Britain Explored. Longman

R. Musman, D'Arcy Adrian-Vallance. Britain Today. Longman

V.F. Satinova. Read and Speak about Britain and the British. - Минск, "Вышэйшая школа", 1997

Тенсон И.А. Войтова Г.А. Habits and Ways in Great Britain and the United States. – М.: Междунар. отношения, 1978.

В. Ощепкова, А. Булкин. Страна Великобритания: люди и традиции., М., "РТ-Пресс", 2000 (рус.-англ.)

Модуль 2. Историческое развитие Великобритании (завоевания, войны, революции, колониальные завоевания)

Первые поселенцы Британских островов. Иберийцы – древнейшее население Британских островов. Кельтские племена – Скоты, Кельты, Пикты и др. Их образ жизни. Римское завоевание Британских островов и его влияние. Влияние языка Римлян. Древнегерманские племена англов, саксов, ютов и фризов. Англо-саксонские королевства. Объединение Англии.

Датские набеги. Борьба с германскими племенами. Нормандское завоевание. Битва при Гастингсе. Вильгельм Завоеватель и его реформы. Столетняя война с Францией. Войны Роз. Английская буржуазная революция ХУII в. (1640-1660). Победа парламента. Движение народных масс. Компромисс между верхушкой буржуазии и земель. ной аристократией. Особенности экономического развития страны после буржуазной революции. Оливер Кромвелл. Восстановление монархии. Провозглашение конституционной монархии. Боль о правах 1689 г. Промышленная революция Великие географические открытия. Начало формирования колониальной империи и расширение Британских владений к концу XVIII века. Создание капиталистической промышленности; кардинальные изменения структуры хозяйства. Положение рабочего класса, возникновение и нарастание рабочего движения. Первоначальные формы борьбы английского пролетариата против эксплуатации. Англия середины XIX века - ведущая промышленная держава мира. Создание английской колониальной империи. Колониальные владения. Англия в эпоху империализма. Потеря Англией мирового промышленного первенства. Основные черты экономики и географии хозяйства в период общего кризиса капитализма. Вторая мировая война, ее экономические и по­литические последствия для Великобритании. Обострение внутренних и внешних противоречий. Кризис английского колониализма, распад Британской империи. «Содружество», его экономическая и политическая сущность.

Комплексная цель (модуль 2):

Систематизация и расширение социокультурных знаний студентов об историческом развитии Соединенного королевства Великобритании и Северной Ирландии, развитие умений собирать, систематизировать и обрабатывать различные виды страноведческой информации, интерпретировать и использовать ее при решении коммуникативно-познавательных задач, овладение студентами лингвострановедческими компетенциями, развитие коммуникативной культуры и социокультурной образованности студентов, позволяющих общаться на английском языке в социокультурной и учебно-профессиональной сферах.

Краткое проблемное изложение материала:

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Many thousands years ago the land we now call England was not separated from the continent of Europe by the English Channel and the North Sea. There were plains and thick forests there. Between 3,000 BO and 2,000 ВС tribal groups coming from the Iberian peninsula (now comprising Spain and Portugal) settled in Britain near the coasts of south and West Britain, as well as in Ireland.

The Iberians used stone weapons and tools.

The Celts

During the period from the 6-th to the 3-d century ВС people called the Celts spread across Europe from the east to the West.

The Celts had no towns.; they lived in villages. They were acquainted with the use of copper, tin and iron and they kept large herds of cattle and sheep. Their clothing was made of wool. The Welsh who live in Wales are of Celtic origin. People in most parts of Wales speak Welsh, a Celtic tongue. Irish is also a language of Celtic origin.

The Roman Empire

Two thousand years ago the Romans were the most powerful people in the world. In 55 ВС a Roman army of 10,000 men crossed the Channel and invaded Britain but the Celts attacked the Romans and the well-armed Romans had to return to Gaul. In 54 ВС the Romans tried to conquer Britain again, this time with larger forces (25,000 men). The Celts fought bravely for their independence but they failed. Some of the chiefs and promised to pay tribute to Rome. Caesar went back to Rome to complete his conquest on the Continent. But although Julius Caesar came to Britain twice in the course of two years, he was not able, really, to conquer it. The promised tribute was not paid and the real conquest of Britain by the Romans began nearly a hundred years after Caesar's visits to the island.

In 43 AD a Roman Army invaded Britain and conquered the south-east. Other parts of the country was taken from time to time the next 40 years.

The Romans remained in Britain for about four centuries. In the 3-d and 4-th centuries the power of the Roman Empire gradually weakened.

Early in the 5-th century (407) the Roman legions were recalled from Britain to defend the central provinces of the Roman Empire from the attacks of barbarian tribes. They did not return to Britain.

Germanic Tribes

After the Roman legions left Britain at the beginning of the 5-th
century, the Celts remained independent but not for long.

In the 5-th century, first the Jutes, and then other Germanic tribes the Saxons and the Angles began to migrate to Britain. In 449 the Jutes landed in Kent and this was the beginning of the conquest. The British natives fought fiercely against the invaders and it took more than a hundred and fifty years for the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes to conquer the country.

By the end of the 6-th and the beginning of the 7-th century several kingdoms were formed on the territory of Britain conquered by the Germanic tribes. (This territory later on became England proper).

The new settlers didn't like towns preferring to love in small villages. In the course of the conquest they destroyed the Roman towns and villas. The roads were broken up.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms waged a constant struggle against one another for predominance over the country. The greatest and most important kingdoms were Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex. At the beginning of the 9-th century Wessex became the strongest state. In 829 Egbert, the King of Wessex, was acknоwledged by Kent, Mercia and Northumbria. This was really the beginning of the united kingdom of England. Wessex never again lost its supremacy and King Egbert of Wessexbecame the first King of England. Under his rule, all the small Anglo-Saxonkingdoms were united to form one kingdom which was called England from that time on.

The Danes

From the end of the 8-th century and during the 9-th and 10-th centuries Western Europe was troubled by a new wave of barbarian attacks. In different countries the Northmen were known as the Vikings, the Normans, the Danes. But more often the British Isles were raided from Denmark, and the invaders came to be known in English history as the Danes. The Danes were well-armed with swords, spears bottle-axes. They were bold and skilful men.

In 793 the Danes carried out their first raids on Britain. In later years large Danish fleets (more than 300 ships) brought large armies to conquer and settle in the new lands. Thus began the fourth conquest of Britain.The Danish raids were successful because the kingdom of England had neither a regular army nor a fleet in the North Sea to meet them.

Northumbria and East Anglia suffered most from the Danish raids. At last all England north of the Thames was in their hands. Only Wessex was left to face the enemy. In 835 King Egbert defeated them. In 871 The Danes invaded Wessex again. Then Wessex united the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and under the reign of Egbert's grandson, King Alfred (871-899) who became known in English history as Alfred the Great, Wessex became the centre of resistance against the invaders. During the reign of Alfred the Great the first British navy was built.

The Anglo-Saxons won several victories over the Danes. The Danes settled in the north-eastern part of England, a region which was from that time called the Danelaw, because it was ruled according to the law of the Danes.

During the reign of King Alfred the Great builders and scholars were invited from the Continent. The monasteries and Churches which had been burnt by the Danes were rebuilt and schools were set up in the monasteries. King Alfred demanded that all the priests and state officials should learn Latin. Some books were translated from Latin by.King Alfred himself. Among others he translated Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

Alfred ordered that the learned men should begin to write a history of England. Thus was written a history of England called the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which was continued for 250 years after the death of Alfred by monks. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is on view now at the British Museum.

In the second half of the 10-th century the Anglo-Saxons won several victories over the Danes, took away the Danelaw and ruled over the whole of England. But the Danes influenced the development of the country greatly. They were good sailors and traders and they favoured the growth of towns and the development of trade in England. They were skilful shipbuilders.

Many Scandinavian words came into the English language at that time, such adjectives as happy, low, ill, ugly, weak; such verbs as to take, to die, to call; nouns like sister, husband, sky, fellow, law, window, leg, wing, harbour.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST

By the 11-th century the descendants of the Northmen who had settled in northern France in the 9-th century, became the new conquerors of England.

In 1066 William the Duke of Normandy, began to gather an army to invade Britain. William landed in the south of England and the battle between the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons took place on the 14-th of October 1066 at a little village near the town now, called Hastings.

The Norman conquest was accompanied by the introduction ofNorman law and feudalism, and gave a medieval England a social structure very similar to the rest of Europe.

By the 14-th century most English towns had freed themselves from feudal restrictions and were self-governing and independent. England had two strong institutions, a strong monarchy and a Parliament, in which many towns were represented by their leading citizens.

London was the greatest and most powerful English city because of its
position as a port. It was the port from which first English wool and then English cloth was shipped to the Low Countries. Wool was the foundation of the country's commercial greatness.

One of the aims of the English in the Hundred Years’ War with France (14-th to 15-th century) was to obtain free access to the markets of the Low Countries.

England passed through a period of social disorder in the 15-th century as a result of civil wars. The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) was a dynastic struggle between groups of nobles, the supporters of the House of York and the House of Lancaster. (Ланкастр - алая, Йорки - белая розы)

These wars gave rise to a good deal of insecurity. A middle class that was increasing in prosperity owing to the expansion of the cloth trade, finally saved itself by supporting the Tudor Kings (Lancastrians).

Great social changes took place under the Tudors between 1485-1603. In 1485 Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian.

The reign of Elizabeth I was renowned for the great expansion of England's overseas exploration and trading activities. The discovery of America and the sea route to India and Africa greatly stimulated the growth of the English merchant fleet. It was the age when joint stock companies first became a feature of English commerce.

The Elizabethan period expressed a great European movement, the Renaissance, which on the Continent was by the late 16-th century almost at an end. It was Shakespeare who gave the fullest literary expression to the humanism of the Renaissance.

After Elizabeth's death in 1603 came the Union of the crowns of Scotland and England, countries which had been at war with one another from the end of the eleventh century.

The outstanding events of the Bourgeois Revolution of the 17-th century were: the civil wars (1642-1649); the Commonwealth with Oliver Cromwell at its head as Lord Protector (1649 - 1660); the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The compromise between different sections of the ruling classes marked the end of the Bourgeois Revolution. According to the Bill of Rights (1689) Parliament was to be the supreme power in the state, controlling finance, the army and the appointment of judges. This meant the victory of constitutional monarchy and capitalism in England.

The second half of the 18-th century is usually regarded as the period of the early beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. All though the 18-th century there was growing competition between, on the one hand, the old woollen cloth trade, and on the other, the cotton manufacturing industry for which raw materials were available in the now much expanded overseas empire, and in North America.

At that time England was in secure possession of India and Canada.

As a result of the development Great Britain also became the first classic imperialist power.

In 1860 the colonial possessions of Britain covered about 6,472,000 square kilometres with 145 mln inhabitants; in 1899 - 30,031,000 square kilometres with 345 mln inhabitants. By the year 1899 the division of the world among the great colonising powers was almost complete.

Britain's relatively peaceful development and isolation from European issues ended in the year 1914. Britain entered World War I after the invasion of Belgium by the German Armies. Britain wanted to retain the privileged position of the leading sea-power and to extend her colonial domination and ensure markets for her industry.

World War П was a great trial of the bravery of the British people and the British economy. When most of Europe was overrun by the German armies, the British people stood alone and carried the burden of the war on their shoulders. London was bombed for 76 nights. At sea the British Navy battled bravely against German submarines. Hitler did not risk an invasion of the British Isles.

An important consequence of the war for Britain was the disintegration of the Colonial system. Under the influence of a strong wave of national liberation movements in Asia and Africa, Britain was forced to renounce most of her colonies. Such rich store-houses of raw materials, foodstuffs and cheap labour as India, Kenya, Ceylon and other countriesbecame independent states. Following Asia's example, many African countries gradually freed themselves from Britain and entered the road of non-capitalist development.

The History of Great Britain continues in a world where each nation can make its own contribution to the preservation of peace and the development of real progress.

Проектное задание:

Задание: Заполнить сравнительную таблицу. Подготовить ее описание на английском языке.

	Period	Territory	Language	Way of life	Leaders	Influence
Celts
Roman Invasion
Anglo-Saxon invasion
Scandinavian invasion
Norman conquest

Тест рубежного контроля:

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26