FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE TO THE
COMMONWEALTH
I.Introduction.
Great Britain, also known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland, had once been the center of world for centuries and made great contributionto human civilization. However, in the late 19th century, with the rise ofother countries, Britain began to fall in the fierce competition among capitalist countries. Afterwards, suffering great loss in the two world wars, Britain became less powerful and thecolonies won independence one after another. The Great Britain Empire gradually transformed itself to a friendly and harmonious Commonwealth. II.Background: The Rise of The British Empire.
a)Industrial Revolution and Expansion
The British Industrial Revolution, which took place in 1700s, resulted in great development of the British society.Hand production methods could no longer meet the need of products.The newly-invented machines simplified the process of production and greatly increased the productivity.And the well-known steam engine provided new source of power, thanks to which, fast development also took place in other important fields such as transportation, steel industry and coal industry.
The industrial revolution marked the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind.
In 1588, the Spanish Armada was defeated by the Great Britain, which marked Great Britain’s gaining of sea supremacy, and paved the way for the expansion.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, British citizens were encouraged to trade abroad,or even plunder and colonize through sailing. Weaker countries’ door s were first knocked open with commerce, and it was often followed by occupation and colonization backed withstrong military force.
With advanced technology and broad market, bourgeoisie of Britain started their accumulation of capital, and the country started to lead theworld.
b)The Sun-never-set Empire
The British Empire became the “workshop of the world”, and London became the financial center. For over a century, it was the principal naval and imperial power, and almost unchallenged at seaand in territory. In the early 1900s, it ruled a population of over 500 million and occupied more than one fifth of the Earth’s total land ar ea.
Because of its expanse around the globe, the sun could shine on at least one of its territories at any time. P eople call it “the empire on which the sun never sets”.
III.Transformation to the Commonwealth.
a)The Proposal of Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth II once declared that the confederation of Canada on 1st July 1867 marked “the beginning of that free association of independent states which is now known as the Commonwealth of Nations".In 1884, Lord Rosebery, while visiting Australia, described the changing British Empireas some of its colonies became more
independentas a "Commonwealth of Nations".
In 1917, a specific proposal was presented by Jan Smuts,at that time a member of the British Imperial War Cabinet, when he brought up the term "the British Commonwealth of Nations". The term first received imperial statutory recognition in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, which concluded the Irish War of Independence, when the term “British Commonwealth of Nations” was substituted for “British Empire” in the wording of the oath taken by the parliament of the Irish Free State.
b)Falling Empire
The two Industrial Revolutions pushed more countries to develop bourgeoisie and look for foreign markets and raw materials.Therefore, the competition became fiercer. Newly-emerging powers, especially Germany, struggled for a repartition of market and land, while the British Empire had to fight to defend the acquired benefits.
The First World War broke out in 1914 and lasted about four years, during which nearly every country suffered from it except America.
Although Britain was one of the victorious nations and won many new colonies from the Germans, it could n’t afford to the great expenses for maintainingsuch a huge https://www.doczj.com/doc/3916277762.html,lions of people died, economy suffered, and Britain became a debtor, rather than creditor. At the same time, independence movements in thecolonies were running high.The empire was losing its control of the colonies. The international financial center transferred to New York. All of these deprived the Empire of its hegemonic position.
c)Transformation
The Balfour Declaration, issued by the 1926 Imperial Conference, declared that the United Kingdom and the Dominions are
...autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. ...
The declaration accepted the fact that the dominions were having growing independence in internal and external affairs in the years after World War I, and became the basis of the Statute of Westminster 1931.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom passed Statute of Westminster in 1931. It is a statutory embodiment and formalization of the principles of equality and allegiance to the Crown, which were brought up in the Balfour Declaration. Until today, the Statute of Westminster still serves as a basis of the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown.
d)Postwar Changes
After World War II, the situation of the world changed profoundly. Europe, a continent that had dominated the whole world for several centuries, was in ruins. The United States and Soviet Union held the super power, while Britain was left bankrupt.
In this period, anti-colonial movements were on the rise in the colonies of European nations.
The London Declaration was issued by the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. It is considered a milestone in the history of the modern Commonwealth.The declaration allowed the Commonwealth to admit and retain members that were not Dominions, and it changed the name of the organization from the “British Commonwealth of Nations”to the “Commonwealth of Nations”. The dropping of the word “British” reflects the major changes.
After London Declaration, the colonies gained their independence and new members from different continents joined the Commonwealth.
Finally, the handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997 marked the end of the long decolonization process, as well as the empire.
https://www.doczj.com/doc/3916277762.html,monwealth Today.
The Commonwealth of Nations is an voluntary intergovernmental organization of
52 independent member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire.
Although they acknowledge the British Monarch as the symbolic head of the Commonwealth, they have no obligation to each other and have full autonomy on their own internal and external affairs. They are united by language, history, culture and their shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
Commonwealth countries interact with each other outside governmentwith various non-governmental organizations of different fields, such as sport, culture, education, law and charity.
The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organization, resourced by Commonwealth governments. It aims to strengthen civil society in the
achievement of Commonwealth priorities: democracy and good governance, respect for human rights and gender equality, poverty eradication, people-centered and sustainable development, and to promote arts and culture.
The Commonwealth games is the third largest multi-sport event in the world.
Being held every four years, the games include sports particularly popular in Commonwealth countries, such as netball and rugby sevens. The games were designed with the goal of promoting relations between Commonwealth countries and celebrating their shared sporting and cultural heritage.
V.Conclusion.
History witnessed the rise and fall of the British Empire and its transformation to the Commonwealth of Nations.From the history, there’s much we can learn.
The rise of the British Empire from the Industrial Revolution can help us realize the importance of science and technology. With advanced technology, a little effort can produce great achievement.
The lack of ability and power to control the large area of colonies can remind us that we should pre-estimate the situation, in order that what we wouldn’t cause results that we cannot control.
The self-transformation to a loose commonwealth can also enlighten us that we should always follow the historical trend and that being against the trend is not a wise option.
Unit 1 UK 著名景点 Big Ben 大本钟2、Tower Bridge(crosses the River Thames; close to the Tower of London; symbol of London ) 3、Westminster Abbey ( Gothic church in the City of Westminster,London; Coronation and burial site for British monarchs.) 4、Red Double Decker Bus (mass transit) 英国基本知识 1、constituent parts ? England/ Scotland/ Northern Ireland/ Wales(国旗) 2、the national anthem(国歌)? God save the queen 3、The national Emblem? 4、National flower? Rose (Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster ( red rose) and the royal house of York (white rose).) 5、地理位置 6、Full name?The "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".（The British Isles不列颠岛; Great Britain; UK ; Commonwealth） 7、Three political divisions（行政区域）: England, Scotland, and Wales. 8、Commonwealth? A free association of sovereign states comprising Great Britain and a number of its former dependencies ; united as ?free and equal members‘. 9、Capital England(London); Scotland(Edinburgh); Wales(Cardiff); Northern Ireland(Belfast) 10、Backbone of England? Pennine 11、Ben Nevis? the highest mountain in UK. 1343m 12、North Ireland? National flower: Irish clover (三叶草)；Lough Neagh (the largest lake in UK) ; industrious; agricultural 13、Rivers and lakes?1. The Severn River(longest river; from the mountain of Wales to the Bristol Channel) 2. The Thames River (Main source of London‘s water supply;Second longest river in Britain; Costwold Hills--North Sea)3. The Clyde River (The most important river in Scotland)4. Lake District 5. Lough Neagh（The largest lake in Britain (396 square kilometers), Northern Ireland.） 14、The climate in Britain?pea souper 超级浓雾 Unit2 UK 1、the first settler? The Iberian(伊比利亚人) 2、Stonehenge(巨石阵)?was a place of healing center；The most important monument left by Iberian；There are about 80 stones, and each is five meters tall. 3、The Celtic language? the basis of both Welsh and Gaelic(盖尔语) (Irish,Scotish). 4、Hadrian ‘s Wall 5、7th century Heptarchy（七国联盟）?(Wessex; Sussex; Kent; Essex; East Anglia; Mercia; Northumbria) 6、Viking pirates(维京海盗) ? Vikings from Denmark；established some small kingdoms；Northern and eastern England 7、The Norman Conquest(1066)? The Normans that invaded England in 1066 came from Normandy in Northern France.
Helen Keller Zhang Chu (09yingjiao1-35) Abstract：This passage shows about a blind deaf author and educator—Helen Keller. When she was half a year old, an unexpected disaster happened to her which made her forfeit the instinct for living. After that, this little girl became isolated to the vivid and dramatic world. However, in the darkness and a lonely world, she didn't give up and never surrendered to fate. With the help and encouragement from her teacher Anne Sullivan, she overcame all the sufferings caused by the physical defects tenaciously. She learned to speak and study, and began to communicate with others. When she was 24, she graduated from Radcliffe College, Harvard University and became a knowledgeable famous writer and educator, who got hold of five languages. Helen’s life is extraordinary and she gave us great encouragement. She taught us to cherish our health and this wonderful time. Key words: Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, love, encourage, breakthrough, success 1. Introduction The background of Helen Keller’s family and education did a beneficial foundation for Helen Keller’s success. 1.1Family Background Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her family lived on a homestead, Ivy Green, which Helen's grandfather had built decades earlier. Helen's father, Arthur H. Keller, spent many years as an editor for the Tuscumbia North Alabamian and had served as a captain for the Confederate Army. Helen's mother, Kate Adams,was the daughter of Charles Adams. Helen's paternal grandmother was the second cousin of Robert E. Lee. In a word, hose in Helen’s family members had extraordinary position, which gave a superior foundation for Helen’s success in defeating the suff erings. Helen's father's lineage can be traced to Casper Keller, a native of Switzerland. Coincidentally, one of Helen's Swiss ancestors was the first teacher for the deaf in Zurich. It might be another helpful factor for her to overcome the troubles.(1998:1-2) 1.2Education background
Comparison of the Politics in Britain and United States Abstract: The system that British established in 19 century has a profound effect not only on its own country’s society developments of politics and history but also on other counties’ modern institution, politics and history. British is the mother of world capitalist constitutionalism. As a powerful capitalistic country, US’system is also based on the British’s system and set a prefect system after some reforms. Even so, the systems of the two countries still have many differences. Both of the two countries have powerful political systems in the world. Keywords: constitution, party systems, electoral system 1. Introduction: (political institution is superstructure, generally refers to the state power organs and the basic system which adapted with the social nature. "Political system, as same as the various systems of the human society, is the product of history development, branding with time and space.”) After the English bourgeois revolution, democratic politics was gradually established. The constitution was promulgated and constitutionalism was gradually be taken. Capitalism got a considerable development in Britain. Britain built the first set of the capitalist system, which is known as the source and model of Western political system. British and US political systems have the same theoretical basis: the principle of "separation of powers” and the theory of “human rights”; the concrete content includes the parliamentary system, the electoral system, the judicial system, and the political party system, etc; these are all considered to be the elements of "people's democracy", Regimes implemented the principles of separation of powers and check and balance and the "rule of law". And most fundamentally,as two typical representatives of capitalist countries’ political systems, Britain and USA have the same nature in the maintenance of bourgeois interests and the private capitalist system, the implementation of other aspects of bourgeois dictatorship. But in the specific political system level, they present different characteristics, the paper only compare British and American political system from three aspects of the Constitution, the party system, the electoral system. 2. Comparison of constitutions Britain is typical of countries with unwritten constitution, there is no unified, complete written form, and its constitutional system is extremely complex which is constituted by a variety of written and unwritten customary law, jurisprudence and constitutional practices constituted. British constitution can not be listed by one or several pieces of documents, nor strict distinct by the time, it lacks rigorous and explicit content, consistent and complete system。 The United States Constitution is the first written constitution in the world. In the course of its development, the United States Constitution formed the four main principles: the separation of powers and checks and balances, federalism, limited the powers of the government and judicial review. The US Constitution carried thorough the separation of powers which provide the separation of the legislative, judicial and administrative. Congress, the Federal Court and the President perform their respective duties, and the division of labor between federal, state and local governments is also very clear. Federal Court is an important weight in the separation of powers and checks and balances in the United States, in addition to the administrative function and legislative function, the most important function is the supervisory function and judicial function. Judges enjoy constitutional status and was appointed guardian to uphold the Constitution; the
英语国家概况考试题型如下： 1.选择题（30 X 1’） 2.填空题（20 X 1’） 3.简答（10 X 2’）--必须回答完整的句子 4.分析题（6 X 5’）-- 必须回答完整的句子 总分100 分 主要内容包括： 一．U.S. Geography 1.Full name of U.S.. 2.Number of States: 50 states. 3.After President Jefferson brought the Louisiana territory from France there was a desire for territorial expansion among many frontier men. 4.The U.S. has a land area of 9.3 million square kilometers. The fourth largest countries. 5.Taxas is the largest mainland state of the U.S.. Alaska is the largest state of the U.S.. 6.Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. 7.America’s movies are mostly made in Hollywood near the city of Los Angeles in south California. 二．U.S. People 1.The largest of the racial and ethnic minorities in the US is the Blacks (Afriican-Americans). 2.The “first Americans” were the Indians. 3.The Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the United States. 4.The first permanent settlement in North America was established in today’s V erginia in the year of 1607. 5.The “Three Faiths” in the U.S. refer to: ?Protestan ?Catholic ?Jewish 6.The majority of the Catholics in the U.S. are descendants of immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland. 7.American society is a stratified one in which power, wealth and pestige are unequally distributed among the population. 8.WASP stands for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
The Sports Culture of the United Kingdom ---An Introduction to the UK 姓名：谢宏桥 学号：2012213047 班级：七班 分数： 2013 年 12 月20 日 When it comes to the United Kingdom, People will always think of the British gentlemen with traditional hat and cane. In fact, sports are as traditional as gentlemen in Britain. The United Kingdom, a traditional and strong country not only in the area of industry and comprehensive national strength, but also in the area of sports, has a long history for playing sports. A lot of major sports originated in the UK, including association football, golf, tennis, boxing, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, field hockey, snooker, billiards, squash, curling and badminton, all of which are popular in Britain. Even the table tennis and baseball, the Chinese and American national sports, originated from Britain. Now British sports not only affect the social context at home, but also have a great impact outside home. We even can regard the sports as a reflection of British culture. Let’s know about Britain from its sports culture. 1. Various important sports originating in the UK 1.1 Association football. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a very important sport originated in his traditional home—England in the 19th century. The laws of the game were originally codified in England by the Football
英语国家概况（阅读） 1、Which of the following statements is NOT true? C.The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a very important political party in Britain 2、Which of the following statements is NOT correct? D.Parliament has no power to change the terms of the Constitution. 3、To get a bachelor’s degree, an American undergraduate student is required to do the following except ____. C.taking certain subjects such as history, language and philosophy 4、Which of the following is the only branch that can make federal laws, and levy federal taxes? B.The legislative. 5、Which one of the following is NOT particularly British Christmas tradition? C.Eating chocolate eggs on Easter Day. 6、Which of the following statements is NOT true about blacks after the 1960s? A.Blacks felt that they could be fully integrated into the mainstream of American life. 7、The New Deal was started by ___. A.Franklin Roosevelt. 8、Which of the following is NOT based on the fact? A.Members of Parliament elect the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. 9、Three of the following are characteristics of London, Which of the four is the EXCEPTION? C.London is not only the largest city in Britain, but also the largest in the world 10、In order to go to university, secondary school students in the US must meet the following requirements except that ___. D.They pass the college entrance examinations 11、Which of the following statements is NOT correct? When the War of Independence was over, ___. D.the relationships between the states and the national government were clearly defined. 12、Which of the following about the tabloids is not true? A.They are big format newspapers. 13、In the 17th century,the English government encouraged people from Scotland and Northern England to emigrate to the north of Ireland, because ____. A.they wanted to increase its control over Ireland 14、The largest religion in the US is ___. B.Christianity 15、Which of the following is NOT a feature of the House of Lords? C.The lords are expected to represent the interests of the public.
英语国家概况 名词解释 1. The civil rights movement (1955–1968) refers to the reform movements in the United States aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring suffrage in Southern states. 2. A federal system A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts with some rights reserved to each. 3. King Arthur It is said that he was the King of England in the 5th century and united the British and drove the Saxons back with his magical sword, Excalibur. His real existence is in doubt. He is the central figure of many legends. 4. The Anglo-Saxons They were two groups of Germanic peoples who settled down in England from the 5th century. They were regarded as the ancestors of the English and the founders of England. 5. Riverdance Riverdance is a very popular form of dancing based on I reland’s intricate folk dances which are rearranged and modernized and adapted onto current stage performance. Dancing is traditionally part of Irish culture. It is usually accompanied by the Irish pipe and fiddle. The music usually sounds fast and furious. Most of the action is from the waist down, with the arms held rigidly at the sides. 6. The House of Commons The House of Commons is the real centre of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives (Members of Parliament) make and debate policy. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of people who vote for them. 7. The Commonwealth It is a voluntary association of states which is made up of Britain and mostly of former British colonies. There are 54 members of the Commonwealth including one currently suspended member: many of these are developing countries like India and Cyprus; others are developed nations like Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The Commonwealth was set up as a forum for continued cooperation and as a sort of support network. 8. Maoritanga Maoritanga means ―Maori culture‖. It refers to all the elements of the rich cultural heritage of the indigenous people in New Zealand, including their language, customs and traditions. 9. The “Washminster” form polity The ―Washminster‖form of polity is adopted by the Australian government. It is a mixture of the US Washington system of government and the British Westminster system. This means that the political
A comparative study on the structure of British and American Governments The structure of American Governments The main government of the united states is the Federal government.It has three branches:The Legislature,The Executive and The Judiciary. Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government and it consists of two houses:the Senate and the House of Representative.the senate has 100voting member.2 from each of the 50 states.a senator must be over 30 years old.the House of Representative has 435 voting members,a Representatives must be at least 25years old.Congress helps to pass laws of the Union There are 15 departments and many independent agencies in executive branch.the President is the chief of the executive branch,who has the power to manage national affairs and the working of the federal government.Cabinet is under the President in the administration branch,which serves the president as a presidential council. The judicial branch consists of 3 main courts:the supreme courts,the courts of appeals and the district courts.the supreme courts is the highest court of the United states.the courts of appeals is set up to share the burden of the Supreme Court.The district courts serves for local government ,and every state has its own judicial system. The structure of the British Governments The main 3 parts of the British Governments is the Legislature,the Executive and The Judiciary. Parliament is the law-making body of Britain,which is made of the Crown,the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The government is made up of the Prime Minister,the Cabinet ministers and assistants to the ministers.the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in Parliament.The Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body in the British government.the Cabinet follow the principle of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility.In fact,the Prime Minister is the most powerful leader in Britain.
2011英语国家概况期末考 1 of 100 Whose speech is closest to BBC English? A Cockney Southerners in England northerners in England A Welsh 2 of 100 The two newest states which joined the United States are _____. Alaska and Hawaii California and New Mexico Alaska and Florida Hawaii and Oregon 3 of 100
Which of the following is NOT one of the general standards for admission into an institution of higher learning in the U. S. A.? ACTP GPA MBA SAT 4 of 100 Britain's longest rivers are _____. the Severn and the Thames the Thames and the Clyde the Clyde and the Humber the Severn and the Clyde 5 of 100 New Englanders were originally known as _______. Yankees German farmers
Fishermen from Scandinavia English Puritans 6 of 100 The Constitution of the United States provides that _____ shall be President of the Senate. the Chief Justice the Secretary of State the Vice President the President 7 of 100 Which of the following is NOT one of the clauses in Magna Carta? There should be the same weights and measures throughout the country. The principle of parliamentary supremacy should be confirmed and free speech in Parliament should be guaranteed.