Файл: Great Britain_0816044740.pdf

Malawi

An independent central African republic in the Commonwealth, formerly called Nyasaland. The area was reached by British missions in the mid19th century, and later the British South Africa company developed its resources. After 1945 there was growing agitation for self-rule. Dr. Hastings Banda became the first premier, and independence was proclaimed in 1964, with Banda elected president in 1966. He soon took dictatorial power, but in 1993 a referendum on the constitution led to democratic elections in 1994.

Malaysia

An elective monarchical federation within the Commonwealth, Malaysia includes the 11 states of the Federation of Malaya plus Sabah and Sarawak. Each state has a separate ruler and constitution, but the rather powerful federal system (established in 1963) has a leader chosen from among the 13 state leaders, alternating every five years. The major exports are rubber and tin.

Malta

The island of Malta, only 58 miles from Sicily, is a republic and a member of the Commonwealth. The medieval rulers were Normans, but the Knights of St. John established a government that lasted from 1530 to 1798. British annexation came during the NAPOLEONIC WARS (1814), and the island became a major base for the British fleet. Self-government was granted in 1947, and after much unrest, independence was granted in 1964.

Malthus, Thomas (1766–1834) economist

Malthus was the second son of a gentleman who was a follower of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Taught by tutors, he attended Warrington Academy and then Jesus College, CAMBRIDGE UNI-

VERSITY. After ordination, he became a Fellow of the college. He took a post as professor of history and political economy at the EAST INDIA COM- PANY’s college at Haileybury in 1805. Prompted by William GODWIN’s Political Justice, Malthus argued that human perfectibility would be limited by an increase in population. His Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) established him as a pioneer in demography. His basic argument, that population grew geometrically and food supply only arithmetically, was later refined somewhat. But the thrust of it was that only preventive checks (fewer births) or positive checks (famine, war) could adjust the balance. This grim prospect helps to explain the 19th-century view of poor relief as a source of population pressure. Although Malthus opposed contraception, his name was used by the Malthusian League (1861), which advocated birth control. As he failed to see, improving living standards were going to exercise a strong restraining influence on family size.

Man, Isle of See ISLE OF MAN.

Manchester, Edward Montagu, earl of (1602–1671)

general

A leader of the parliamentary armies in the early stages of the CIVIL WAR, Manchester commanded at the Battle of MARSTON MOOR (1644), but his tactics and temperament were too moderate for the increasingly radical ARMY leaders. He was denounced by Oliver CROMWELL and forced to

resign by the SELF-DENYING ORDINANCE of 1645.

He retired, but later assisted at the RESTORATION of CHARLES II and served in that king’s court.

Manchester school

The economists and politicians noted for their

support of LAISSEZ FAIRE and FREE TRADE in the

1840s. The name was coined by Benjamin DIS- RAELI, with a touch of scorn for the northern

manufacturing towns and their residents. Among the members of the group were John

BRIGHT and Richard COBDEN.

Manning, Henry, Cardinal (1808–1892) archbishop of Westminster, 1865–1892

Manning’s father was a MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT and a governor of the BANK OF ENGLAND. Manning was educated at Harrow and Balliol College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY. Ordained in 1833, he was persuaded by much of the work of John NEWMAN, and he was appalled at the increasing amount of state interference in the government of the church. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1851, and he was a major supporter of papal infallibility at the Vatican Council in 1869–70. An active champion of the poor and a strong advocate of IRISH HOME RULE, Manning was made cardinal in 1875.

manor

The typical unit of property and jurisdiction in medieval and early modern ENGLAND. Once thought to be a Norman institution, manors probably existed earlier and were given the new name after 1066. The property was held by a lord, and it might include his own land, that of his tenants, and some common land and one or more villages. It would also have courts and officials responsible to the lord of the manor. It was their job to regulate the economy and supervise the residents, both serfs or villeins (unfree) and free tenants. New manors were not created after the 13th century, and existing manors declined in importance from the 16th century, but many of their features were visible down to the 19th century. The title “lord of the manor,” though no longer of any practical significance, is still in use today.

Mansfield, William Murray, earl of

(1705–1793)

chief justice of King’s Bench, 1756–1788

Born at Scone, the ancient capital of SCOTLAND, Lord Mansfield was the son of a minor JACOBITE

peer. He came to ENGLAND in 1718 and studied as Westminster School and Christ Church, OXFORD UNIVERSITY. Called to the bar in 1730, he became one of the leading BARRISTERs of his day. As solicitor general (1742) and attorney general (1754), he had a seat in the HOUSE OF COMMONS, and he was an important member of the duke of NEWCASTLE’s government. A powerful and controversial judge, Mansfield retained a seat in the CABINET after his elevation to the bench, causing some of the attacks on his conduct, especially in the letters of JUNIUS. His judicial work was of the greatest importance because he reformed procedures and developed bodies of precedent in the fields of commercial law, copyright, patents, and contract.

Mar, John Erskine, earl of (1675–1732) politician

A leading Scottish politician, Lord Mar helped to achieve the UNION of 1707, and he was one of the representative peers chosen under that new constitution. But he soon changed his mind and proposed repeal of the union. Dismissed by GEORGE I, he returned to Scotland, where his ineffective leadership played a part in the failure of the JACOBITES’ uprising in 1715.

March, earls of See MORTIMER FAMILY.

marches

The term march denotes a border area, particularly ENGLAND’s northern border with SCOTLAND and its western frontier with WALES. On the Anglo-Scottish border the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland had wardens appointed by the Crown to control incursions from either side. The Scottish border counties also had special officers. These marches were abolished with the union of the kingdoms under JAMES VI AND I in 1603.

In Wales the marches and their marcher lords separated English shires from Welsh tribal kingdoms. The Welsh marcher lordships were

numerous and fluctuated in area. A Council of the March was established under EDWARD IV, and the lordships were aborted into Englishstyle counties by the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1543. Yet marcher lords continued to hold their lands and to exercise authority, though in a new framework.

Margaret of Anjou (1430–1482) queen of England, 1445–1460

Married to HENRY VI, Margaret of Anjou faced the dual challenge of a weak husband and her own French ancestry, neither of which were great assets in the final stages of the HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR with France. The birth of her only son, Prince Edward, in 1453 coincided with the king’s mental collapse and the opening maneuvers of the Wars of the ROSES. She became the leader of the court faction opposing Richard of YORK, who claimed the protectorate on behalf of the ailing king. Fighting in the next few years led to her defeat, the capture of Henry, and the seizure of the throne by Richard of York’s son, EDWARD IV. Margaret thereafter was in exile, briefly returning in 1470–71, when her son was killed in the Battle of TEWKESBURY (1471), and she was imprisoned. She was allowed to return to France in 1476.

See also ST. ALBANS, BATTLES OF.

Margaret Tudor See TUDOR, MARGARET.

Marlborough, John Churchill, duke of (1650–1722)

general

A courtier and soldier, Marlborough’s career rose under the patronage of JAMES VII AND II, especially after he routed the rebels under the duke of Monmouth in 1685 (see MONMOUTH’S REBELLION). Nevertheless, he was responsible for many of the defections among the officers of the king in 1688. He served WILLIAM III well in IRELAND in 1690, but he was dismissed in 1691. Recalled in 1700, he took command of British forces in the low countries (today’s Netherlands and Belgium), and his

authority was affirmed by Queen ANNE in 1702. He won a remarkable series of battles (BLENHEIM, 1704; RAMILLIES 1706; Oudenarde, 1708; and Malplaquet, 1709). With her allies, GREAT BRITAIN had defeated France and was rewarded at the Treaty of UTRECHT (1713), but Marlborough had been dismissed again in 1711, the victim of party feuds. He was reinstated by GEORGE I, supervised the defeat of the JACOBITES, and resigned in 1718.

Marlowe, Christopher (1564–1593) dramatist

The son of a shoemaker, Marlowe was educated at King’s School, CANTERBURY; and Corpus Christi College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. His curious career included working as a government spy, but his lasting fame rests on powerful dramatic works that probed the human psyche: Tamburlaine (1587), Edward II (1594), and Doctor Faustus (1604) were published after his death. He was killed in a tavern brawl.

marprelate tracts (1588–1589)

Essays written from an extreme PURITAN viewpoint, attacking the episcopal hierarchy. The anonymous author’s aim was to “mar” the “prelates” by satirical attacks. Suspected authors were tortured, several were executed, but the real author was probably Job Throckmorton, who was never punished.

marquess (marquis)

The title of marquess (or marquis) ranks second in the PEERAGE, behind that of DUKE. It was the last of the new creations, used for the first time in 1385. Employed sparingly, it was introduced to the Scottish peerage a century later.

Married Women’s Property Acts

In English law a woman’s property was merged with her husband’s at marriage. In an act of 1870, married women could retain earnings from property, and in 1882 they were entitled to

keep property held prior to or after the marriage. These measures were part of the WOMEN’S MOVE- MENT toward legal equality.

Marshalsea

A London prison in Southwark, serving the court of the same name, which had jurisdiction over cases in the royal household. Marshalsea was one of the prisons attacked in the Peasants’ Revolt (1381) and in CADE’S REBELLION (1450). It subsequently became a debtor’s prison and closed in 1842.

Marston Moor, Battle of (1644)

In the largest battle of the CIVIL WAR, King CHAR- LES I’s forces, under Prince RUPERT, were caught in Yorkshire between the Scottish army of Alexander LESLIE and the armies of PARLIAMENT under General Thomas FAIRFAX, his cavalry commander Oliver CROMWELL, and the earl of MANCHESTER. The royalists lost 4,000 men, and the king lost control of Northern ENGLAND.

martial law

Originally the law administered by the court of the king’s CONSTABLE and the marshal. It means the law enforced by military authorities, either in occupied territory or, under extreme conditions, in the state during war, rebellion, or civil unrest. Today the term does not mean the law applied to the armed forces (as it did at first). That term is now “military law.” The other modern equivalent is “emergency powers,” a status much more likely to be enacted by PARLIAMENT.

Martineau, Harriet (1802–1876) writer

Martineau was from a Huguenot family in Norwich. Her father’s clothmaking business collapsed at the end of the war in 1815. She began a career as a writer, and her first success was a set of 24 stories based on the ideas of classical economists,

Illustrations of Political Economy (1832). After she

traveled to America, she published Society in America (1837). She also wrote a History of England during the Thirty Years’ Peace, 1816–1846 (1849). In later life she wrote children’s books and adult novels. Her work covered a very wide range, and her Autobiography was published in 1877.

Marx, Karl (1818–1883) political theorist

Born in Germany, the author of Communist Manifesto went into exile in ENGLAND in 1849 and lived the rest of his life there. Studying and writing in the BRITISH MUSEUM, Marx produced his master work Das Kapital, which described the capitalist system and its flaws, arguing that it would undermine itself and give way to SOCIALISM and then communism. Personally Marx was not a major political figure, and his main political activity was in organizing the unsuccessful International Working Men’s Association (1864–72). Further, he and his work had little impact on British politics in his lifetime. Indeed, since his work was not translated until 1887, the earliest impact came from Henry HYNDMAN’s borrowed rendition

(England for All, 1881) and his SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC

FEDERATION. Marxism became very influential in the 20th century, less so in GREAT BRITAIN than in revolutionary regimes in Europe and elsewhere.

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587) queen of Scots, 1542–1567

Sent to France in 1548, the daughter of JAMES V and MARY OF GUISE was married to Francis I, the heir to the French throne, in 1558. He succeeded a year later and died a year after that. Mary returned to her native country, a confirmed Roman Catholic and one who had spent most of her life outside of SCOTLAND. She had to confront a hostile Protestant faction, which with English help had ousted her mother and the occupying French advisers. But Mary was probably driven by her hope of succeeding ELIZABETH I on the English throne. If that was her objective, the path she chose could hardly have been more unlucky. Her marriage to Henry Stewart, Lord DARNLEY,

did produce a son, the future JAMES VI AND I, but it was otherwise a disaster. He was involved in the murder of her Italian courtier, David RIZZIO,

in 1566. In February 1567, Darnley was murdered, and Mary was soon in the company of one of his assassins, the earl of BOTHWELL. They were

married later in 1567, and that act cost Mary much of her support. She was forced to abdicate, and she chose to flee to ENGLAND. There she was taken into custody, and from that point was suspected as a Catholic plotter intent on seizing the throne. After a series of incidents, she was accused of treason, tried, and executed in 1587.

Mary I (1516–1558)

queen of England and Ireland, 1553–1558

The daughter of HENRY VIII and CATHERINE OF

ARAGON, Mary was declared illegitimate when her parents’ marriage was annulled in 1533. Continued loyalty to her mother and devotion to her faith meant that she was not only out of favor but in some danger, especially during the reign of her brother, EDWARD VI. Before he died, he designated Lady Jane GREY as his successor, but this plan fell apart, and Mary was able to quickly take power. Her main objectives were to reconcile ENGLAND to the Roman Catholic church and to marry and produce an heir. To achieve the first, she removed BISHOPs like Thomas CRANMER and Nicholas RIDLEY and restored Stephen GARDI- NER and other loyal Catholics. She also acknowledged the authority of Rome, and she began the work of removing the statutes on which the CHURCH OF ENGLAND rested. Her second policy produced the plan to marry Philip II of Spain, which in turn triggered Sir Thomas WYATT’s rebellion. The supression of rebels led to harsher policy against Protestants and eventually the execution of about 300, which earned the queen the nickname “Bloody Mary.” But both of Mary’s plans failed, as a phantom pregnancy in 1558 turned out to be stomach cancer. At her death, Princess Elizabeth became Queen ELIZABETH I and reversed the Catholic restoration.

Mary II (1662–1694)

queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1689–1694

Mary was the eldest daughter of James, duke of York (later JAMES VII AND II), and Anne Hyde, his

first wife. When her brother died in 1671, she became heir to the throne after her father. In 1677 her uncle CHARLES II arranged her marriage to William of Orange (later WILLIAM III). The couple had no children. When William invaded ENGLAND in 1688, the succession passed to Mary and William jointly. Mary acted as regent on her husband’s continental expeditions, but she died of smallpox in 1694. Her sister ANNE succeeded William to the throne in 1702.

Mary of Guise (1515–1560) queen of Scots, 1538–1542

Married to JAMES V in 1538, Mary of Guise bore him three children, but only the princess Mary survived, and she was born a week before her father died in 1542. The queen was thus placed in the position of trying to manage the realm for her daughter, being formally made regent only in 1554. She sponsored the marriage of her daughter to Francis I (1558), but his untimely death in 1560 coincided with rising Protestant opposition in SCOTLAND supported by English intervention. Mary was besieged and died in EDINBURGH Castle.

Massachusetts Bay Company

The company chartered in 1629 to supervise the PURITAN settlement in New England (North America). The government was altered locally to favor the dominant religion, and it produced offshoots in Connecticut and Rhode Island. The charter was revoked in 1684 and replaced in 1691. Massachusetts, with its tradition of vigorous independence, was a leading center of rebellion in the AMERICAN COLONIES in the 18th century.

Master of the Rolls

An assistant to the LORD CHANCELLOR, in charge of the records kept on rolls of parchment. The Master of the Rolls became the second judge in the court of CHANCERY, and is now a judge in the Court of APPEAL.