Questions and Answers Britain

BRITAIN: REVIEW QUESTIONS

Below you will find a list of questions on Britain which can be used to test yourself on the weekly reading assignments. They are meant as self-study aids; several of the questions may well be used in the exam, in one form or another. The answers are –evidently – in the book.

Questions on chapter 1

1. What are ‘Crown dependencies’? Mention one example. Crown dependencies are two small parts of the British Isles which have special political arrangements. An example is the Isle of Man. 2. Who / what is Britannia? Britannia is the name that the Romans gave to their southern British province (now England). It is also the name given to the female embodiment of Britain, always shown wearing a helmet and holding a trident. Hence the patriot song which begins ‘Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves’. 3. What does Albion refer to? Albion is a word used in some poetic or rhetorical contexts to refer to England. Is was the original Roman name for Britain. 4. Which nations are part of the British Isles? How distinct are those nations nowadays? England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Welsh, Scottish and Irish people feel their identity very strongly. 5. When do you use the word ‘Briton’? Briton is a word used in official contexts and in formal writing to describe a citizen of the U.K. 6. Mention two examples which illustrate the dominance of England over the other nations. 1. Supply of money in Britain is controlled by ‘the Bank of England’. 2. The present queen of the country is universally known as ‘Elizabeth the Second’, even though Scotland and Northern Ireland have never had an ‘Elizabeth the First’. 7. Which flags together constitute the Union Jack? The Union Jack is the national flag of the U.K.. It is a combination of the cross of St. George, the cross of St. Andrew and the cross of St. Patrick.

Questions on chapter 2

1. During the 5th century, Britain was invaded and settled by a number of tribes from the European continent. Give the names of two of these tribes. Angels and Saxons 2. The ‘Wars of the Roses’ were a struggle for power between which two groups? Between the Lancastrians (red rose) and the Yorkists (white rose). The first supported the descendants of the Duke of Lancaster. The second supported the descendants of the Duke of York. 3. What happened during the Norman Conquest? The Norman’s introduced a strong system of government tot Britain. 4. The Civil War (1642-1649) was a conflict between Royalists and Parliamentarians. Who was the leader of the Parliamentarians? Oliver Cromwell. 5. What was the other name of the Parliamentarians? ‘Roundheads’, because of the style of their haircuts. 6. Which party won the Civil War? The parliamentary forces. 7. What happened in the ‘Glorious Revolution’? The Glorious Revolution was bloodless. Prince William of Orange, ruler of the Netherlands, and his Stuart wife Mary, accepted the Parliament’s invitation to become king and queen. 8. Why is it an important event in English history? In this way it was established that a monarch could rule only with the support of Parliament. 9. Why was the ‘Glorious Revolution’ called ‘Glorious’? Because it was a bloodless revolution. 10. What was the outcome of the Battle of the Boyne? William III and the Ulster Protestants defeated James II and the Irish Catholics. This resulted in the right to practise a religion freely. 11. Name the two most important political groups in the 18th century. The Whigs (the political ‘descendants’ of the parliamentarians) and the Tories. 12. In the 18th century, the newly emerging industrial mode of production caused a great upheaval in the pattern of everyday life. In what way did it change? Landowners incorporated land into their increasingly large and more efficient farms. Hundreds of thousands of people moved from rural areas into new towns and cities. 13. Why did London in this period come to dominate as a city? London became a business and trading centre with a growing population. 14. What is a ‘country seat’? Why did it become popular in the 18th century? A country seat is a gracious country mansion with land attached. Social power and prestige rested on the possession of land in the countryside. 15. What was an important consequence of the potato crop failure in Ireland in the 1840s? Almost the whole of the remaining population were using English as their first language. 16. What were the most important possessions of the British Empire in the 19th century? Their colonies Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and several other colonies in Africa and South America. 17. Why did the civil service become such an important institution at the time? The civil service used to govern India. 18. What was the name of the highest representative of the British government in India in those days? Viceroy (governor) 19. How did the aims of colonisation change in the course of the 19th century? By the end of the century, colonization was seen as a matter of destiny. There was an enormous increase in wealth during the century, so that Britain became the world’s foremost economic power. This, together with long years of political stability unequalled anywhere else in Europe, gave the British a sense of supreme confidence, even arrogance, about their culture and civilization. 20. What was ‘the white man’s burden’? The British came to see themselves as having a duty to spread this culture and civilization around the world. Seeing the rulers of an empire was therefore a matter of moral obligation. It was known as ‘the white man’s burden’. 21. Give some examples of the Victorian set of values. …so they established a set of values which emphasized hard work, thrift, religious observance, family life, an awareness of one’s duty, absolute honesty in public life and extreme respectability in sexual matters. This is the set of values which we now call Victorian. 22. Give the name of the greatest English writer of the Victorian age. Charles Dickens. 23. What was the Suffragettes’ major claim? The right to vote for women. 24. Name the most important political groups in the period around 1900. The Labour Party and Conservatives. 25. What is the Trades Union Congress? The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a voluntary association of the country’s trade unions. From the 1930’s until the 1980’s the TUC was probably the single most powerful political force outside the institutions of government and Parliament.

Questions on chapter 3

1. What is the capital of Wales ? Cardiff. 2. What is the most important city in the Midlands? Birmingham. 3. Give the name of two mountainous areas in England Highlands and Pennines (klopt niet helemaal??) 4. In what part of Britain are the Grampian Mountains? Scotland (North, below the highlands) 5. Does London have more annual rainfall than Milan, or less? Less. 6. Great Britain has a ‘vanishing coastline’. Explain Britain is a island under constant attack from the surrounding sea. Every year, little bits of the east coast vanish into the North Sea. Sometimes the land slips away slowly, but at other times it slips away very suddenly. 7. Give the name of the largest city in the North of England. Glasgow. 8. Why have cities in England and Wales on the whole been built outwards rather than upwards? Because of their desire for privacy and their love of the countryside, the English and the Welsh don’t like living in blocks of flats in city centres. 9. What are ‘pea-soupers’? Thick smogs. In the nineteenth century London’s ‘pea-soupers’ became famous through description of them in the works of Charles Dickens and in the Sherlock Holmes stories. 10. How big is the City of London? The largest city in Europe. About seven times larger than any other city in the country. Over 500.000 inhabitants, more then 1500 persons per square kilometre. 11. What is the West End known for? West end is known for its many theatres, cinemas and expensive shops. 12. What is the East End known for? East end is known as the poorer residential area of central London. 13. What county is known as the ‘Garden of England’? The country of Kent. 14. What are the Downs? The Downs is a serie of hills in a horseshoe shape to the south of London. 15. Why is the West Midlands known as the Black Country? During the Industrial Revolution, Birmingham and the surrounding area of the West Midlands (Black Country) developed into the country’s major engineering centre. (voor de machines werd steenkool gebruikt……) 16. What is Nottingham often associated with? The legend of Robin Hood. 17. What is Stratford-upon-Avon famous for? Shakespeare’s birthplace. 18. Mention three important industrial cities in Northern England. Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool. 19. What is the largest National Park of Britain? The area around Mount Snowdon is the largest National Park in Britain. 20. What are Scotland’s two major cities? Glasgow and Edinburgh. 21. The Gorbals is a notorious district of what British city? Glasgow. 22. Why is Edinburgh sometimes called the ‘Athens of the north’? It is the capital of Scotland and is associated with scholarship, the law and administration. This reputation, together with its many fine historic buildings and also perhaps its topography has led to its being called ‘the Athens of the north’. 23. What used to be the most important economic activity in southern Wales? Coal mines. 24. Is Northern Ireland largely industrial or agricultural? Agricultural.

Questions on chapter 7

1. What is the family name of the British royal family? Windsor. 2. When did the royal family adopt this name, and for what reason? (It was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) During the First World War it was thought better for the king not to have a German-sounding name. 3. What does the state opening of Parliament involve? A speech of the Queen, in it she says what ‘my government’ intents to do in the coming year. 4. What formal powers does the Queen have? The Queen has all the power, she is above the law. 5. How does this differ in practice? In reality the Queen has almost no power at all. 6. What is the Honours List? A list of people who are knighted by the Queen. 7. What is the value of the monarchy for the people of Britain today? The Queen is the symbol of government; gives British people a symbol of continuity, and a harmless outlet for the expression of national pride. 8. What is the Civil List? The Civil List is the money which the Queen and some of her relatives get from Parliament each year so that they can carry out their public duties. 9. What is the title given to the heir to the throne? Prince of Wales. 10. Which of the two Houses of Parliament is the elected chamber? ?? 11. What is the economic importance of the monarchy in Britain? The Queen had been reported to be the richest woman in the world. 12. What was the story of Edward and Mrs Simpson? Edward VIII was forced to abdicate (give up the throne). This because he wanted to marry an American woman (Mrs. Simpson) who had divorced twice. He married her and gave up the throne. They lived happily abroad. (……don’t they all??? () 13. Why did the Queen speak of 1992 as an annus horribilis? The separation of Charles and Diana, the fire at Windsor Castle and the news that Australia was intending to break its ties with the ‘old country’ and become a republic. (Annus horribilis means: a horrible year)