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Tony Blair (Paul O’Driscoll/Getty Images)

was by far the most influential treatment of the COMMON LAW, for its own time and later. He also was a member of parliament and a justice in the

courts of COMMON PLEAS and KING’S BENCH.

Blair, Anthony (1953– ) prime minister, 1997–

Born in EDINBURGH, Tony Blair’s grandparents were English and Irish. He attended Fettes School and OXFORD UNIVERSITY, but only joined the LABOUR PARTY after leaving university. He was admitted to the bar from Lincoln’s Inn in 1976. He was first elected to PARLIAMENT in 1983 for Sedgefield, a constituency in Durham in a

former mining area. He advocated a brand of progressive populism somewhat at odds with traditional Labour Party policies, and he pushed this direction on the party at large after becoming leader in 1994. In the general election of 1997 Labour won 418 seats, for a record majority of 177. This margin enabled them to put forward a stunning series of reforms, including assemblies for SCOTLAND and WALES and dismantling of the ancient HOUSE OF LORDS. Blair led his party to a second sweeping victory in June 2001, the first time that Labour won two consecutive parliamentary majorities.

Blake, Robert (1599–1657) admiral

Blake served with the parliamentary army (1642–49) and was named admiral in 1649. During the CIVIL WAR he defeated the royalist naval forces and captured a treasure fleet returning from Brazil. He also scored several victories over the Dutch in the first Anglo-Dutch war (1652–54; see DUTCH WARS). Together with civilian administrators, he helped establish a permanent naval force in place of the old system of requisitioning private vessels.

Blake, William (1757–1827) poet, artist

Trained in school and an apprenticeship to an engraver, Blake combined his art with a lifelong love of poetic expression and an evolving mystical philosophy. He studied at the ROYAL ACADEMY (1778) and was a partner in a printseller’s shop. The death of his younger brother in 1787 marked a turn in his art. He developed a method of etching illustrations with text, which he called “illuminated printing.” He was critical of 18thcentury rationalism and industrialism. His earlier works included Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794). His visionary work began with The Book of Thel (1789–94). Ignored by most contemporaries, Blake’s work attained a high stature among 20th-century critics.

Blenheim, Battle of (1704)

Victory of John Churchill, first duke of MARLBOR-

OUGH, in the War of SPANISH SUCCESSION, in which

the French and Bavarian forces threatening to capture Vienna were soundly defeated. The palace in Oxfordshire given to Marlborough in thanks for this victory is named after the site of the battle, and it was the birthplace of Winston

CHURCHILL.

Bligh, William (1754–1817) naval officer

Bligh served in the last voyage of Captain James COOK. In 1787 he commanded the voyage of the HMS Bounty, and when the crew mutinied, he was put in an open boat with 18 men. They drifted for 41 days and nearly 4,000 miles. Upon his return, he was court-martialled; cleared, he resumed his naval career. He later served as governor of New South Wales but was ousted by his subordinates in the so-called Rum Rebellion when he tried to force the end of the use of rum as currency (1808).

Blitz (1940–1941)

During WORLD WAR II, the first concentrated air assault on civilian population centers was launched by Germany in 1940. LONDON was the primary target, where over 40,000 lives were lost in the period between July 1940 and June 1941. Other cities targeted were Plymouth, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield, as well as BELFAST, Glasgow, Hull, and Coventry. The term was derived from the German word blitzkreig, or lightning war, an expression coined to describe a concentrated and overwhelming assault.

Bloody Assizes (1685)

When James Scott, the duke of Monmouth, led the failed MONMOUTH’S REBELLION against the accession of JAMES VII AND II in 1685, the main disturbances were in the western counties. In September that year, Chief Justice George JEF-

FREYS and his colleagues presided over the trials (ASSIZEs) of 1,300 prisoners for treason. The mass convictions and sentencings were followed by several hundred executions, carried out in many towns in the region. The condemned were drawn and quartered, and parts of the corpses were put on display. Those not executed were transported to the West Indies. All of these procedures were within the law, but the scale of punishment was exceptional.

Bloody Sunday (1887, 1920, 1972)

1.November 13, 1887: In Trafalgar Square an illegal demonstration by socialists and radicals was suppressed by police and troops, with numerous injuries and two deaths.

2.November 21, 1920: In Dublin the IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY murdered 14 British officers in their homes or hotels. In reprisal, BLACK

AND TAN troops fired on a football crowd at Croke Park and killed 12 spectators.

3.January 30, 1972: A banned civil rights march in Londonderry ended in a confrontation in which 13 demonstrators were killed and 17 wounded by the British ARMY. This ended Catholic support for the British army presence in NORTHERN IRELAND, and it was soon followed by increased violence and the imposition of direct rule by the British government.

Bloomsbury Group

A group of writers, artists and intellectuals who used to meet in the area of central LONDON near the BRITISH MUSEUM. They rejected Victorian standards and were an important expression of more modern cultural and social views. The core of the group included Clive and Vanessa Bell and Leonard and Virginia WOOLF. Other members included E. M. FORSTER, John Maynard KEYNES, and Lytton STRACHEY.

Blount, Charles See MOUNTJOY, CHARLES

BLOUNT, BARON.

blue book

The common name for parliamentary papers, printed in blue paper covers. Reports of parliamentary committees and ROYAL COMMISSIONs were important commentaries on current problems and remain as vital sources of data and contemporary opinions for social historians.

Blunt, Anthony (1907–1983) art historian, spy

Educated at Trinity College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVER- SITY, Blunt lectured on art at the Courtauld Institute, 1935–47, during which time he recruited agents for the Soviet Union. He worked in MI 5 during WORLD WAR II and passed information to the Russians. Afterward he became the surveyor of the king’s pictures and the head of the Courtauld Institute. He received numerous British and French honors for his work. In 1964 he admitted privately that he had been a spy for 30 years, and he was given immunity for this confession. His admission was confirmed by the PRIME MINISTER in 1979, at which point he lost his knighthood.

Board of Trade

With colonial trade increasing in the late 17th century, the Board of Trade was established in 1696 to advise the PRIVY COUNCIL on trade matters. It was especially important in connection with the AMERICAN COLONIES. When they became independent, and the government was seeking measures of economical reform, the board was abolished in 1782. It was soon necessary to create a new committee to do the same sort of work, and over the course of the next two centuries, the new Board of Trade emerged as a key department of state. In 1970 it became the Department of Trade and Industry.

Bodley, Sir Thomas (1545–1613)

Sir Thomas Bodley was educated at Geneva, where his parents were in exile. He went on to

study at Magdalen College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY, and later held several posts at the university. He went on diplomatic missions to Denmark and France, and he served as ambassador to the Netherlands (1589–96). He promoted the formation of the Bodleian Library, which opened in 1603 and for which he gave an endowment in 1611.

Boer War 1899–1902

The Boers (South African farmers of Dutch ancestry) were the first colonial settlers, and when

GREAT BRITAIN seized the CAPE COLONY in 1806, a

fundamental division occurred. The colonists migrated northward and founded two republics

(the TRANSVAAL and ORANGE FREE STATE) indepen-

dent of British rule. Discovery of gold in the Transvaal in 1886 made control of the area a more serious proposition. The possibility of a strong rival in the region put pressure on British leaders, some of whom advocated aggression. In 1899 fighting began, and the Boer army was initially very successful, advancing into enemy territory and placing several towns under siege. But with reinforcements the British turned the tide and defeated the Boers by 1902. In the later stages, the British evacuated the Boer civilian population and placed them in concentration camps, where the incidence of disease proved deadly. These policies caused deep divisions at home, not really offset by the formation of a Union of SOUTH AFRICA (1910) as a new self-governing DOMINION.

Boleyn, Anne (1507–1536) queen of England, 1533–1536

Introduced to the English royal court in 1521, Anne Boleyn had many admirers, including HENRY VIII. Their affair probably began in 1526, when the king was seeking a divorce from CATHERINE OF ARAGON. By 1531 they were openly living together, and in January 1533 the king arranged a secret marriage. Anne was declared queen in May that year after the divorce from Catherine was proclaimed unilaterally by the

ARCHBISHOP of CANTERBURY, Thomas CRANMER.

Her first child was the princess Elizabeth, born in December 1533. Her inability to bear Henry a son endangered her position, and in 1536 she was accused of adultery, divorced by Henry, and executed along with her accused lovers. Her daughter became Queen ELIZABETH I.

See also CROMWELL, THOMAS; REFORMATION;

WOLSEY, THOMAS, CARDINAL.

Bolingbroke, Henry See HENRY IV.

Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, viscount

(1678–1751) politician

Viscount Bolingbroke entered PARLIAMENT in 1701 and held the posts of secretary at war (1704–08) and SECRETARY OF STATE (1710–14). He managed the negotiations for the Treaty of UTRECHT, but he was increasingly hostile to the chief minister, Robert HARLEY. Dismissed by GEORGE I, he was impeached and attainted. Fleeing to France, he briefly worked for the exiled JACOBITE court. After being pardoned in 1723, he returned to England and wrote many pamphlets and essays for the TORY party.

Bonnie Prince Charlie See STUART,

CHARLES EDWARD.

Book of Common Prayer

In 1549 the first Book of Common Prayer was adopted for uniform worship in the CHURCH OF ENGLAND. A second version, published in 1552, showed more influence of continental reformers. Archbishop Thomas CRANMER is credited with the main authorship, and these books were the sole authorized form of prayer for the Church of England. Later modifications were made in 1559, 1662, 1928, and 1965. In 1980 an

Alternate Service Book was issued to meet the desire for modernization of the liturgy.

Booth, Charles (1840–1916) social reformer

Booth was a wealthy businessman who made the first scientific investigation of poverty. Doubting official statistics and the estimates of radical groups, he developed statistical techniques which he applied in his main work, Life and Labour of the People in London (1886–1903). This task filled 17 volumes, and it showed that over 30 percent were living in poverty, caused by low wages, high unemployment, and old age. His work provided ammunition for the early social reforms of old-age pensions and NATIONAL INSURANCE.

Booth, William (1829–1912)

Salvation Army founder

Booth grew up in Nottingham, where he entered the Methodist ministry. Finding that most middleclass churches failed to meet the needs of the people, he and his wife, Catherine, founded a mission in London’s East End in 1865. They later organized the SALVATION ARMY, an authoritarian and disciplined form of mission, with Booth as its “general.” He grew more convinced of the material obstacles to salvation, and his book In Darkest England and the Way Out (1890) gave a disturbing picture of poverty and a strong argument for social reform.

borough

Broadly speaking, a borough is a settlement with urban features and/or fortification. Its meaning has shifted, from the Anglo-Saxon burh (fortified place) to the Norman burgus (town) to the medieval borough (a community with certain privileges, often in a charter). Later boroughs were apt to have special courts, taxes, or trading rights; and, after the 13th century, the right to choose members of PARLIAMENT. The officials (mayor, aldermen, councillors, burgesses) operated under the terms of their charter, which was subject to royal revision or legal challenge, and later, in the 19th century, to statutory reform.

See also BURGH; MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS;

LONDON.

Boston

The state capital of Massachusetts, named after the port city in Lincolnshire. In colonial times, Massachusetts Bay, as it was then called, was home to some of the colonies’ most radical patriots, and it was the focal point of early resistance to British control. The Boston Massacre of 1770 was a clash between British troops and a crowd in which five people died, an event which aroused great indignation among American colonists. The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was a methodical protest against customs duties as “taxation without representation.” Several hundred chests of tea were thrown into the harbor, provoking the government’s passage of the

(1774), which closed the port, altered the colonial government, and removed trials of soldiers from the Massachusetts Bay colonial courts.

See also AMERICAN COLONIES.

Boswell, James (1740–1795) diarist

The son of a Scottish judge, Boswell was introduced to Samuel JOHNSON in 1763. Their friendship was recorded in detail in Boswell’s journals. In 1773 they made a tour that was described in Boswell’s Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides (1785). His Life of Johnson (1791) was a highly successful and pioneering biography. Boswell’s journals were not published in full until the 20th century.

Bosworth, Battle of (1485)

Henry Tudor defeated RICHARD III, thus securing the throne and establishing the TUDOR dynasty. Coming from exile in France, Henry had landed with a small army in WALES and marched into ENGLAND. When the king’s army came to meet him at BOSWORTH, some of its leaders defected, others refused to fight, and Richard himself was killed.

Botany Bay

A harbor on the east coast of AUSTRALIA, discovered by Captain COOK in 1770. It was supposed

to be the site of the first penal colony in New South Wales, but when the first fleet landed there in 1778, it was decided to move the settlement north to what became Sydney harbor.

Botha, Louis (1862–1919) prime minister of South Africa

Born in NATAL, Botha worked on a farm and campaigned against the ZULU in 1884. He raised volunteers to respond to the JAMESON RAID in 1895. In the BOER WAR he was the assistant general of the army of TRANSVAAL and won the battles of Colenso and Spion Kop. After the loss of Johannesburg and Pretoria, he led his troops in guerilla warfare for two years. At the end of the war, he supported reconciliation with Britain. He became the first prime minister of Transvaal (1907) and, after the union convention, the first prime minister of the Union of SOUTH AFRICA (1910–19). He

supported GREAT BRITAIN during WORLD WAR I, but

he faced a rebellion of pro-German Boers in 1914. He attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and he died upon his return to Pretoria.

Bothwell, James Hepburn, fourth earl of (ca. 1535–1578)

A Protestant Scottish nobleman, but one opposed to the leaders of his group (the LORDS OF THE CON- GREGATION), Earl Bothwell assisted MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, with the murder of her second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord DARNLEY, in 1567. He then divorced his wife and married Mary. Only a month later the couple was defeated in a confrontation with an aroused populace. She was made a captive in Lochleven Castle, but he fled the country. He was captured in Denmark and imprisoned there for the rest of his life.

Botswana

A landlocked country, the former PROTECTORATE of BECHUANALAND, and now an independent state, Botswana became a republic in 1966. Its neighbors are NAMIBIA to the west and north, Zimbabwe (formerly RHODESIA) to the north and

east, and SOUTH AFRICA to the South. South Africa was the dominant force in the affairs of the protectorate and state until the end of apartheid.

Boulton, Matthew (1728–1809) engineer

A manufacturer in Birmingham, Boulton built works at Soho, a large factory with 600 workers operating water-powered machines making iron, copper, and silver products such as chains and buttons. In 1775 he entered a partnership with James WATT and secured a share in the patent of the improved steam engine. The engines were not profitable for some time, but he continued to subsidize their development. After 1786 they were widely used in coal mining, mills, and coin presses.

Bow Street Runners

When Henry FIELDING was MAGISTRATE at the Bow Street POLICE office in LONDON, he established a number of CONSTABLEs to investigate and pursue suspected criminals. This sort of work was previously done by “thief takers,” who were independent entrepreneurs. After Fielding’s experiment, the model was applied in other London police offices by legislation in 1792, but a metropolitan police organization was not created until 1829.

Boxer Rebellion (1900)

Increasing European influence in China prompted a revolt in 1900. When a secret society (the Harmonious Fists) attacked foreigners, an international military expedition was sent to Beijing (Peking), where unrest had led to the death of the German ambassador. The relief forces engaged in reprisals and looting, and the affair had a powerful influence on nationalist feeling in China.

Boycott, Charles (1832–1897) estate manager

A retired army captain, Boycott came to IRELAND and served as land agent for Lord Erne in County

Mayo. In 1880, with unrest growing over the LAND question, Charles PARNELL directed his followers to ostracize anyone who evicted tenants. Boycott was the first target of this campaign, and his crops had to be harvested by a special group of volunteers under military guard. In speeches and newspaper accounts, his name became synonymous with collective resistance.

Boyle, Robert (1627–1691) natural philosopher

Son of Richard Boyle, the earl of Cork, Robert Boyle was educated at Eton and on the continent. He built a laboratory at OXFORD UNIVERSITY, and he joined other members of the early scientific community in forming the ROYAL SOCIETY. With Robert HOOKE, he developed an air pump and he formulated a new law of gas pressure and volume.

Boyne, Battle of the (1690)

After his expulsion in the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION (1688), JAMES VII AND II raised an army in France and landed in IRELAND in 1689, where support for him remained strong. WILLIAM III dispatched an army, and he himself came to Ireland in 1690. James had campaigned in the north, but he had failed to capture Derry. His army met that of William at the Boyne river, 30 miles north of DUBLIN, on July 12, 1690. The battle itself was inconclusive, but James returned to France and William took Dublin. Ever since, the victory has been commemorated by Protestants in ULSTER as marking their ascendancy over Catholic rule.

Boy Scouts

The youth organization founded by Robert BADEN-POWELL in 1907 was inspired in part by the Boys Brigade, founded in SCOTLAND by William Alexander Smith in 1883. The Brigade was a military-style religious organization. Baden-Powell’s effort was to strengthen moral and physical attributes of youth; his Scouting for