Файл: Great Britain_0816044740.pdf

Canada

There had been early English contact with the northern parts of the Americas, in the voyages of John CABOT and his son Sebastian (1497– 1508) and the developing fur trade through the Hudson’s Bay Company (1670). However, there was extensive French exploration and settlement in the areas to the south around Quebec and in the interior, extending along the valley of the St. Lawrence River into the lakes and the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The rivalry between colonial powers naturally produced conflict, but British influence only became preeminent after the victory of General James WOLFE at Quebec in 1759. In the previous generation the area of Acadia was ceded by treaty (1713) and repopulated and renamed NOVA SCOTIA. But this sort of draconian policy was not feasible for the rest of Canada, and there began a long-term effort at assimilation of the French and English colonial populations, which is still incomplete today.

When the AMERICAN COLONIES rebelled

against British rule, many loyalists migrated to Canada. The refugees from the thirteen colonies joined the multicultural population, which, in the early 19th century, began to experience heavier migrations, especially from SCOTLAND. Canada was a source of minerals, timber, and wheat, but it was an uneasy colony, and GREAT BRITAIN tried several formulas for government in the 19th century. The British North America Act of 1867 seemed to offer a sound solution: a federation of provinces combined with a federal government and a colonial governor-general produced the first of the empire’s DOMINIONs. New provinces were quickly added: the Northwest Territories and Manitoba in 1870, British Columbia in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in 1873. Somewhat later the Arctic Islands (1880), the Yukon (1898), Alberta and Saskatchewan (1905), and NEWFOUNDLAND (1949) entered the federation.

A secession movement among French Canadians gained momentum with their electoral victory in Quebec in 1976, but they failed to win a referendum on secession in 1980. A second

referendum was narrowly defeated in 1995. Meanwhile the discussion of a possible breakup brought added interest to the long-running debate on the nature of the constitution. The Canadian constitution was, like that of Britain, subject to the legislative authority of the PAR- LIAMENT in Westminster. In 1982, after conferring with provincial governments, the Canadian parliament passed a Constitution Act which contained a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a section on the rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada, and a procedure for amending the constitution—by federal approval plus that of two-thirds of the provinces, without any reference to Britain. This act was not opposed by the British government, and it signaled Canada’s formal independence.

In the latter part of the 20th century, the Canadian economy became a much more pressing issue. There was stress resulting from the antagonism between resource-rich western provinces and the historically more populous and powerful eastern ones. There was an attempt, in the North American Free Trade Agreement (1987), to generate more trade, but the economy seemed unable to break out of the grip of high unemployment and low public revenues.

Canning, George (1770–1827) prime minister, 1827

The son of a barrister, Canning was educated at

Eton and OXFORD UNIVERSITY; he entered PARLIA-

MENT in 1794. He served under William PITT, and on two later occasions he was foreign secretary (1807 and 1822). He favored liberal policies such as Catholic emancipation, and in foreign affairs he opposed the European autocracies that had been GREAT BRITAIN’s allies against Napoleon Bonaparte. He supported the developing independent countries in Latin America as well as the movement for Greek independence. He clashed often with colleagues, even fighting a famous duel with Viscount CASTLEREAGH, a fellow CABINET member. He was made prime minister in April 1827 but died in August.

Canterbury

A main tribal center before the Romans, a regional capital during their occupation, and the capital of the pagan kingdom of Kent, this was the place where St. Augustine brought his mission in 597. It thus became the seat of the ARCH- BISHOP of Canterbury, the senior primate of the English church. The cathedral was rebuilt in 1174 after a fire, and it became the destination for pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered there in 1170.

Cape Colony

The main British colony in SOUTH AFRICA, the Cape Colony was seized from the Dutch in 1795, returned and retaken, and finally ceded to GREAT BRITAIN in 1814. The original settlers, the Boers, could not accept British rule, particularly the antislavery policy adopted for the empire in 1833. The Great Trek into NATAL, and then the

TRANSVAAL, and finally the ORANGE FREE STATE,

demonstrated their determination to escape British control, seemingly settled by a war of independence (1880–81). However, the discovery of gold (1867) and diamonds (1886) brought further interference, leading eventually to the BOER WAR and the founding of the Union of SOUTH AFRICA, by which the Cape Colony and the republics were incorporated into a federal government in 1910.

capital punishment

Death, usually by hanging, was the routine sentence for a convicted felon or traitor until the 18th century. From the 17th century, transportation was an alternative punishment, first to

the AMERICAN COLONIES and later to AUSTRALIA.

The number of crimes punishable by death rose dramatically in the 18th century, which caused an increase in hangings, in transportation, and in jury acquittals. There was also growing support for reform of the CRIMINAL LAW, and in the 1840s the number of capital crimes was reduced

to four: murder, treason, piracy, and destruction of arsenals or dockyards. From 1868, executions were no longer in public, and the long debate over the death penalty resulted in the end of capital punishment for murder in 1965.

Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell, seventh earl of (1797–1868)

army officer

A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (1818–37) before succeeding to his title, Cardigan was also a cavalry officer who rose to the rank of major general. He was the commander in the disastrous “charge of the light brigade” in the Battle of Balaclava (1854), an episode in the CRIMEAN WAR that made him famous. His name also was given to the wool jacket or sweater which became popular at the time.

Cardwell, Edward Cardwell, viscount

(1813–1886)

secretary for war, 1868–1874

Son of a merchant in Liverpool, Cardwell attended Balliol College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY; and the

Inner Temple (see INNS OF COURT). A MEMBER OF

PARLIAMENT from the 1840s, he served as secretary for war under WILLIAM GLADSTONE, and he is known for abolishing flogging, ending the sale of officers’ commissions, and implementing a general regimental reorganization. He also introduced shortened terms of enlistment and the subordination of the commander in chief to the secretary of state for war, the civilian head of the army.

Carlyle, Thomas (1795–1881) historian, essayist

Carlyle attended the University of EDINBURGH, but did not take a degree. He worked as a schoolmaster and journalist, and he was instrumental in introducing the English to contemporary German literature (“Life of Schiller,” London Magazine, 1824). He also wrote essays on many

current subjects; his first collection was published as Sartor resartus (1833–34). After moving to London, he began writing historical works and moral essays. His history of The French Revolution appeared in 1837; his essay On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History in 1841. Essays on Chartism (1839) and Past and Present

(1843) were vehicles for his critique of modern capitalist society. He also edited Oliver Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches (2 volumes, 1845) and composed a massive study of Frederick the Great (6 volumes, 1858–65).

Carnarvon, Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, fourth earl of (1831–1890)

colonial secretary

Lord Carnarvon was an advocate of colonial federation, within colonies and between them and Britain. He was colonial secretary when the British North America Act created the federal system in CANADA (1867). A similar effort for SOUTH AFRICA in the 1880s was a failure. He also tried to find this type of solution for IRELAND, when as lord lieutenant he had secret talks with

IRISH HOME RULE leader Charles PARNELL.

Caroline of Brunswick (1768–1821) wife of George IV

Caroline married George, Prince of Wales, in 1795; they separated the following year. She traveled widely and not too discreetly in Europe. When George came to the throne after his father’s death in 1820, she was offered an allowance of £50,000 per year to stay abroad, but she returned to England and attempted to claim her title. The king sought a parliamentary divorce but failed; she in turn tried to enter WESTMINSTER ABBEY for the coronation in 1821, but was denied entry. These events were occasions for large demonstrations against the government, but there was no real danger, which was notable since there had recently been very serious concern raised by the PETERLOO MASSACRE

(1819) and the CATO STREET CONSPIRACY (1820).

Carr, Robert See SOMERSET, ROBERT CARR,

EARL OF.

Carroll, Lewis (1832–1898) author

Pseudonym of Charles Dodgson, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Dodgson had attended Rugby School and Christ Church, OXFORD UNI- VERSITY. He lectured in mathematics there from 1855 to 1881. An ordained minister, he wrote occasional pamphlets on local subjects as well as mathematical works, the main one being Euclid and his Modern Rivals (1879).

Carson, Sir Edward (1854–1935) lawyer, Ulster unionist

Born into a Protestant family in DUBLIN, Carson initially practiced law in IRELAND. He later moved to LONDON, where he became a MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (1892–1921) and a leading figure in the CONSERVATIVE PARTY (solicitor general, 1900–06). He led the Ulster UNIONISTS in 1910, was active in organizing resistance to the third IRISH HOME RULE bill (1912–14), promoted the ULSTER COVENANT in 1912, and enlisted men in the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary group pledged to fight for ULSTER’s continued union with GREAT BRITAIN. He became a member of the war cabinet in 1915 and helped to overthrow Herbert ASQUITH in 1916. By the time Carson resigned as unionist leader in 1921, Ulster had separated from the IRISH FREE STATE and achieved its goal of remaining in the UNITED

KINGDOM.

Carte, Richard D’Oyly (1844–1901) opera promoter

Carte composed operettas and ran a concert agency, produced GILBERT AND SULLIVAN’s works (1875–89), and built the Savoy Theatre (1881) and the Royal English Opera House (1891). The last was not successful, and it became the Palace

Theatre of Varieties. The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company disbanded in 1982, no longer holding the monopoly on the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

Cartwright, John (1740–1824) political reformer

Known as the Major, Cartwright served for some years in the navy, but his rank came from a later position in the Nottinghamshire militia. He had a long career as an advocate of political reform, arguing that English tradition from Saxon times legitimized an open and democratic system. In his first publication, Take Your Choice! (1776), he advocated universal suffrage and annual parliaments. He founded the Society for Constitutional Information in 1780. Although he was out of step with the radicals of the 1790s, who were under the influence of the French Revolution, he returned to active radical politics in the early 19th century, founding the Hampden Club movement, which was made up of local groups discussing reforms. They evaded government interference (1812–17) as long as they were local. When a national meeting was called in 1817, they were suppressed.

Cartwright, Thomas (1535–1603)

Puritan intellectual

A fellow of Trinity College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVER- SITY, in 1562, having been exiled in the reign of MARY I, Cartwright was involved in controversies over the proper position of BISHOPS, the correct vestments for the clergy, and other religious disputes in the reign of Queen ELIZABETH I. When he became the Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity (1569), his lectures advocated replacing bishops with a PRESBYTERIAN system. For his efforts he lost his posts and emigrated to Geneva. He returned to England in 1585, continued to support unorthodox views, was imprisoned twice, and retired to Guernsey in 1595. He was the foremost PURITAN intellectual of his time.

Casement, Sir Roger (1864–1916)

Irish nationalist

Born near DUBLIN, Casement had a distinguished career in the British colonial service. In both the Congo and the Amazon he reported on atrocities by Europeans against native workers, for which he was knighted in 1911. Returning to IRELAND at the height of the prewar agitation for IRISH HOME RULE, he joined the Irish Volunteers in 1913. When WORLD WAR I broke out, he traveled to Berlin and arranged for an arms shipment to Ireland. This was intercepted, and he was arrested in April 1916, on the eve of the EASTER REBELLION. He was tried for treason, convicted, and executed. Diaries attributed to him, with numerous homosexual passages, were circulated by the British Secret Service in order to buffer expected protests from Ireland and from Irish Americans.

castle

Fortified residence designed to defend an area, a route, or a town. Castle construction became increasingly elaborate and costly over the three centuries after the NORMAN CONQUEST in 1066. Early wooden structures were soon replaced with stone, with heavier walls and more elaborate design. Siege engines and mining techniques forced further improvements. Castles were the centers of government and the sites of treasuries, courts, jails, and places of official business. They retained their utility into the age of gunpowder, but apart from the CIVIL WAR of the 1640s, the need for these massive defense structures had passed, and for those who could or would build vast places of residence, they were replaced from the 16th century on by the country house.

Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, second viscount (1769–1822)

politician, foreign secretary

Lord Castlereagh began his career in the Irish Parliament in the 1790s and entered Westmin-

ster in 1794. He became a strong supporter of

union between IRELAND and GREAT BRITAIN. As

chief secretary for Ireland (1798–1801), he was responsible for gaining approval of the law creating the UNITED KINGDOM of Great Britain and Ireland. He served as secretary for war (1805 and 1807) and secured the duke of WELLING- TON’s appointment as commander of British forces in Portugal. His greatest fame results from his service as foreign secretary (1812–22) as he crafted the alliance with Austria, Prussia, and Russia which defeated Napoleon Bonaparte. At the Congress of Vienna (1815) he helped to achieve a moderate settlement against France, and he kept the allies in a series of postwar meetings, known as the “congress system.” When the autocratic states formed a “holy alliance” (Russia, Prussia, and Austria), he became discouraged at the failure of his diplomatic efforts. Seemingly exhausted, he committed suicide in 1822.

cathedral

The principal seat of a BISHOP or ARCHBISHOP. As the great centers of church governance and religious pageantry, cathedrals were usually important examples of the architecture of their period. From the Norman era, only a few elements of original buildings survive, the 12thcentury nave of Durham being the most substantial. Parts of Wells cathedral date from the 13th century; Lincoln, Gloucester, and Salisbury from the 14th. Winchester, CANTERBURY, and York as well as others have all had reconstruction projects, the last (and largest) being in York in the 1970s. In the 17th century, the con-

struction of ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL in LONDON was

a unique effort for that period, arising from the general rebuilding in the capital after the great fire of 1666. From the late 19th century on, there was a revival of new construction (Truro, 1880; Liverpool, 1904; Guildford, 1936; Coventry, 1956). Roman Catholic cathedrals were begun at Westminster (1895), Liverpool (1962), and Bristol (1970).

Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536) queen of England

The daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Catherine married Arthur, the eldest son of HENRY VII (1501); Arthur died five months later. The king obtained a dispensation to allow her to marry his younger son, but that wedding only took place after HENRY VIII came to the throne in 1509. Of their six children, only MARY I survived infancy. Moved by both his desire for a male heir and his love for Anne BOLEYN, Henry sought an annulment of the marriage, attacking the earlier dispensation as invalid. Catherine resisted, and her nephew, Emperor Charles V, put pressure on the pope to deny the annulment. Henry then acted unilaterally. They were separated formally in 1531, he married Anne in 1533, and Catherine lived the rest of her life deprived of her title and forbidden to see her daughter.

Catherine Howard See HOWARD, CATHERINE.

Catherine Parr See PARR, CATHERINE.

Catholic Association

A group organized in 1823 by Daniel O’CONNELL

to pursue the goal of CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. A

mass organization, with dues of a penny a month, the Catholic Association prepared petitions, held public meetings, and brought some discipline to the disenfranchised Catholic majority in IRELAND. The Catholic community had begun to recover from the PENAL LAWS of the early 18th century by the 1770s, and this movement had the potential to complete that process. That was evident when O’Connell won the parliamentary election for County Clare in 1828. Though he was disqualified from sitting because of his religion, O’Connell had defeated a Protestant who favored emancipation, and there was every sign that he would continue to win in the future. Thus the government, led by the duke of WELLINGTON, bowed to the inevitable and allowed Catholic emancipation