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dissolving PARLIAMENTS, declaring war or states of emergency, and announcing public holidays.

prorogation

Suspension of a session of PARLIAMENT, formerly decided by the sovereign but now usually decided by the PRIME MINISTER. All business except legal action is halted, and bills must be reintroduced. The full termination of a parlia-

ment is a DISSOLUTION.

protectorate

1.The period of republican rule (1653–59) when Oliver CROMWELL dismissed the RUMP

PARLIAMENT and governed under a series of constitutions which made him Lord Protector and allowed for parliaments and other institutions equivalent to their predecessors under the Crown.

2.A territory under the protection of the Crown. This form of colonial status was the result of a negotiated agreement between the British government and a local authority.

3.Rule on behalf of an underage or incompetent

sovereign (e.g., HENRY III, HENRY VI, EDWARD VI).

Prynne, William (1600–1669)

Puritan pamphleteer

The son of a gentleman, Prynne was born near Bath, attended the grammar school there, and went to Oriel College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY; and Lincoln’s Inn (see INNS OF COURT). He began to write PURITAN pamphlets in 1626. He published one that criticized the stage plays much beloved by the queen (Histriomastix, 1633), for which he was punished by the STAR CHAMBER, having his ears cropped. While imprisoned he continued to write, now taking the BISHOPs as a target. Again before the court in 1637, his ears were further trimmed. He was almost equally critical of the ARMY and other regimes in the 1640s and ’50s. He later became royal archivist in the TOWER OF

LONDON.

pub

The public house was an institution before it was set apart in English law as a licensed establishment during the 17th century. The inn had been a way station for travelers. The ale house and the tavern were more devoted to casual trade and were followed in the 19th century with a proliferating number of less-regulated beer houses. All these were licensed by local MAGISTRATES. In the 19th century many pubs had dining rooms, meeting rooms, and locations set aside for entertainment. Brewers acquired pubs to dispense their product, and those became known as “tied” houses. At the time of WORLD WAR I, the hours of operation were limited so as to assist the war effort, and afternoon closing was only lifted in the later years of the century. In 1998 there were more than 77,000 pubs in GREAT BRITAIN.

public school See GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

Purcell, Henry (1659–1695) composer

A choirboy in the chapel royal at Westminster, Purcell was later the organist at the abbey. He composed anthems and odes for special occasions, as well as the opera Dido and Aeneas (1689). His work drew on Italian and French styles, and he was the foremost English composer of his time.

Puritans

Those Protestants who would “purify” the faith and practice of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Many had been exiles in the reign of MARY I and returned from the continent with hopes of making ELIZABETH I’s reign one in which their beliefs were accepted as orthodox. Puritans wanted to purge all traces of Catholic ceremony, ritual, and belief. Elizabeth, however, wanted a traditional church order without papal authority and little Puritan theology. In later years, under ARCH- BISHOP William LAUD, the term was used more

widely to include all who opposed royal religious policy. But there was no coherent body of Puritans, as was clear at the RESTORATION and after the TOLERATION ACT was passed in 1689. Numerous sects had always existed under that banner, united by their resistance to official uniformity of religious practice.

See also BROWNE, ROBERT; BUNYAN JOHN; DIS-

SENTERS; PRYNNE, WILLIAM; WENTWORTH, PETER AND WENTWORTH, PAUL; WINTHROP, JOHN.

Pym, John (1584–1643) politician

Born in Somerset, where his family had held land for generations, Pym attended OXFORD UNI-

VERSITY and was admitted to the Middle Temple (see INNS OF COURT). He was a member of the PARLIAMENTs of the 1620s and thereafter became a strong adversary of royal policy. He had taken

part in the IMPEACHMENT of Lord BUCKINGHAM

(1626), drafted the petition asking the king to summon a parliament in 1640, and led the drive to impeach Lord STRAFFORD and Archbishop LAUD. He pursued even more radical legislative measures, and he was named as one of the five members CHARLES I wanted to arrest in January 1642. He helped to organize the finances for war and to arrange the alliance with the Scots, and thus he was a major figure in the parliamentary victory that came after his death.

Quakers

A sect that originated in the 1650s, the name either derived from visible reactions to preaching or from the admonition of George FOX to a judge that he should “tremble at the word of the Lord.” They called themselves “Friends of Truth” and rejected professional ministry, refused to pay TITHEs, swear oaths, or recognize social distinctions. Their “inner light” was a substitute for liturgy and sacraments, and despite persecution, they were admired for their philanthropy, sobriety, and diligence.

quarter sessions

The regular meetings of the JUSTICES OF THE PEACE of a county, required by a statute of 1362. At quarter session meetings the justices heard presentment of suspected criminals, and from the 16th century they discussed and acted on other matters. Under the TUDORs they came to deal with laws governing prices and wages, roads and bridges, jails and alehouses. In short, they were unpaid agents of local government, and they kept those functions and others until the 19th century. The quarter sessions were abolished in 1971.

Quebec Act (1774)

This law was passed at the time of the INTOLER- ABLE ACTS, which was a response to the BOSTON Tea Party. The fall of Quebec in 1759 had left a number of issues to be resolved in CANADA. In this act, the British recognized the Catholic church, acknowledged the use of French civil law in the territory, and extended the boundary

of the province to the Ohio River. Each of these terms caused great resentment in the neighboring AMERICAN COLONIES, thus contributing to the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Queen Anne’s Bounty

A fund established by Queen ANNE in 1703. The revenues came from the “first fruits and tenths,” or the first year’s income from church livings, traditionally owing to the papacy (until 1532) and then to the Crown. The money was to be disbursed to poor clergy, at first those who held livings worth less than £10 per annum. This also helped to pay for 50 new parish churches in LONDON. The fund was augmented by parliamentary grants from 1809.

Queen’s Bench See KING’S BENCH, COURT OF.

Queensberry, John Sholto Douglas, marquis of (1844–1900)

sportsman

A Scottish peer and an amateur boxer, the marquis of Queensbury helped to draw up the Queensberry Rules for that sport (1867). His personal life was very troubled, one element being the friendship that his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, cultivated with Oscar WILDE, which led to Wilde’s conviction for homosexual practices.

quo warranto

A legal proceeding, first used by Edward I in 1272. A WRIT beginning with these words

(meaning “by what warrant?”) was sent to holders of private courts, obliging them to prove the validity of their jurisdiction. The device was used by and to recall the

charters of BOROUGHs, so that they might be reissued in such a way as to alter the parliamentary electorate. Such usage was denounced in the

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS in 1689.

radar

Radar (the name comes from radio detection and ranging), is used to detect the range and bearing of distant objects, including ships and aircraft. The system was developed by Sir Robert Watson Watt and a team of British scientists. A network of radar stations was begun along the east and south coast of GREAT BRITAIN in 1936, and this device was an extremely important tool in the victory over the Luftwaffe in the Battle of BRITAIN.

radicalism

The pursuit of fundamental change in institu- tions—political, economic, or social—by constitutional means. Such an agenda emerged toward the end of the 18th century, when American and French upheaval stimulated critical views of institutions. The strand of political REFORM ACTS (meaning the reform of parliamentary FRAN- CHISEs) came first. Proposals for modest changes in franchises (by William PITT, Christopher WYVILL, and others) were followed by the sweeping critiques of John CARTWRIGHT, Thomas PAINE, and Henry HUNT. They helped to widen the agenda to include a free press and other civil liberties. By the 1830s there were political unions in most large towns advocating reform. The Great Reform Act of 1832 created many new voters and new constituencies, but the population at large was not satisfied, and radicals such as William LOVETT and Feargus O’CONNOR supported the People’s Charter as a way of further expanding the electorate and the political process. Its goals were largely met by the early 20th century, even before the final chapter of parlia-

mentary reform—universal suffrage for men (1918) and women (1928).

In economics, radicals wanted markets free of government controls (Adam SMITH, David RICARDO), campaigned for the abolition of slavery (Thomas CLARKSON, William WILBERFORCE), and soon ventured into the workplace to demand regulation of factories and working hours. Meanwhile, the MANCHESTER SCHOOL (Richard COBDEN, John BRIGHT) continued the campaign to reduce the role of government, promoting free trade and, in particular, fighting for repeal of the

CORN LAWS.

The radical view of society was best captured by the “philosophic radicals,” those followers of Jeremy BENTHAM (including James MILL, Henry BROUGHAM, John Stuart MILL) whose credo of utility brought a new and rational bearing to social questions. That view was reflected in the analysis of Thomas MALTHUS and in the ideas of Joseph HUME and others.

The radicals were contemporary with, but alien to, the early socialists, and the ideas of the latter would overtake and supplant radicalism toward the end of the 19th century. Thus Robert OWEN, Thomas Spence, and Charles KINGSLEY were advocates of even more fundamental change, to whom the thoughts and plans of radicals were mild, middle class remedies which did not cure the real ills of society.

See also CHARTIST MOVEMENT.

radio

With James Clerk Maxwell’s discovery of electromagnetic waves, wireless communication became

possible, and by 1901 there were radio transmissions across the Atlantic. The invention of a means to use radio waves for voice communication came before WORLD WAR I, and it was developed significantly during the war. Regular radio programming began in the 1920s, and the BRITISH

BROADCASTING CORPORATION (BBC; initially the

British Broadcasting Company) was created in 1922. The BBC dominated radio in GREAT BRITAIN until the 1960s, when pirate stations began competing, and in the 1970s new stations were authorized under an Independent Broadcasting Authority. Radio marked the first of the communications revolutions of the 20th century.

Raffles, Sir Thomas Stamford

(1781–1826) founder of Singapore

Raffles joined the EAST INDIA COMPANY in 1795. He was sent to Penang, an island in the straits of Molucca, in 1805. When in 1810 he was assigned to the Malay states, he began to prepare an invasion of Java. When that succeeded, he became lieutenant governor there until 1815. He had to return to GREAT BRITAIN to undergo an inquiry into his administration, but when he returned he convinced the Company to acquire SINGAPORE island, then only thinly inhabited, and began its development into one of the major ports and stations in Asia. A prominent oriental scholar and zoologist, Raffles founded the Zoological Society in LONDON (1825).

railways

The steam locomotive was developed in 1804 by Richard TREVITHICK, but the first railway opened to the public only in 1825 (Stockton to Darlington). Turnpike ROADS and canals had been improving transportation for over 50 years, but this new addition was a giant step forward. Spurts of railway construction (1836, 1840, 1844) brought hazards: a maze of competing companies, no uniform gauge of track, and a host of safety concerns came along with the

7,000 miles of rail track laid by the 1850s. But this development transformed travel, linking all the major cities of the UNITED KINGDOM with a peak mileage of 21,000 by the 1920s. The challenge of the LORRY and motor car reduced that number to 12,000 in 1970. The railway was a natural target of government regulation and intervention, and, in the years after 1945, a period of nationalization until the 1990s.

Raleigh, Sir Walter (1554–1618) courtier, explorer

An enterprising courtier of Queen ELIZABETH I, Raleigh sailed in a number of colonizing ventures in America. When he married one of the queen’s principal ladies, Elizabeth expelled him from the Court. A few years later Raleigh launched an expedition in search of Eldorado (in Guiana), and he participated in an attack on Cádiz. But he was out of favor with JAMES VI AND I and convicted of

Sir Walter Raleigh (Library of Congress)

being a part of a plot against the king. In the TOWER OF LONDON until 1617, Raleigh wrote his History of the World (1614). When released, he made one more voyage to find Eldorado, in the course of which he destroyed a Spanish settlement, and on his return he was executed.

Ramillies, Battle of (1706)

During the War of SPANISH SUCCESSION, the duke of MARLBOROUGH was campaigning against Louis XIV in the Spanish Netherlands when he intercepted a French army, killing 15,000 (and losing 5,000 of the British and Dutch force). Most of the rest of the province then surrendered. The French threat to the Netherlands was ended, and the British had gained the initiative.

Ramsay, James See DALHOUSIE, JAMES

RAMSAY, MARQUIS.

Reading, Rufus Isaacs, marquis of

(1860–1935) lawyer, politician

Isaacs began life in East London; his father was a fruit merchant. He tried various business careers before reading law. Called to the bar in 1887, he became a successful BARRISTER. He was elected to PARLIAMENT in 1904, became solicitor general and then attorney general (1910–11). He was made LORD CHIEF JUSTICE in 1913, served as ambassador to the United States in 1918–19 and then as VICEROY of INDIA (1921–26). He served as foreign secretary in 1931.

Rebecca riots (1838–1844)

In West WALES there were attacks on turnpike toll houses as distressed farmers and others claimed they were being ruined by the high toll charges. Blackening their faces and wearing women’s clothes, the protesters called themselves the “daughters of Rebecca,” probably referring to the passage in Genesis which said,

“the seed of Rebecca shall possess the gates of her enemies.” There were also attacks on workhouses, and after an official inquiry, the government ordered a reduction in tolls.

recusants

The Catholics (and some Protestants) who refused to attend the services of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND—called recusants—were required to pay a fine under the acts of UNIFORMITY (1552, 1559, 1662). More severe penalties were enacted (fines, forfeitures, and imprisonment and possible execution for treason) and enforced at times of the greatest tension. By the later 17th century, such punishments were reduced, first by DECLA-

RATIONS OF INDULGENCE, then by the TOLERATION

ACT (1689), which excluded Catholics but brought de facto toleration. The age of uniformity ended with CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION in 1829.

Redmond, John (1856–1918)

Irish nationalist

Redmond joined the Irish nationalists in PARLIA- MENT in 1881, became the leader of the Charles PARNELL faction after that leader’s fall (1890), and reunited the party in 1900. He supported IRISH HOME RULE, but he was outflanked by the events that followed the introduction of the third home rule bill in 1912. The Ulster Volunteers challenged the basic policy, and in the South the Irish Volunteers were a militant force which Redmond had to try to control. At the same time he was obliged to support the war in 1914, and in the next few years, especially after the EASTER REBELLION in 1916, that loyal position became untenable. His party shrank and was overtaken by SINN FÉIN by 1918.

reform acts

While the term is widely used to encompass many areas and specific measures of reform, the most common usage refers to the major statutes that opened up the electoral system in 1832,

1867, and 1884–85. The first act came after several years of agitation, a general election, and a promise by the king to create enough peers to put it through the HOUSE OF LORDS. The Great Reform Act created a uniform FRANCHISE: those who held property of £10 annual value were entitled to vote. The act removed a large number of ROTTEN BOROUGHs (where there was a tiny electorate or none at all) and gave representation to a number of large new industrial towns. In all it meant a 50 percent increase in the size of the electorate. There was a companion measure for SCOTLAND and one for IRELAND. The Scottish act resulted in the largest increase (from 4,500 voters to 65,000), while the Irish act made little numerical change, as the number of voters there had been reduced

when CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION was granted. In

1867 the electorate was increased from a little over 1 million to 2 million. In boroughs all £10 householders and renters could vote; in counties leaseholders (£5) and occupiers (£12) were admitted. In 1884 county householders were added, increasing the total from 3 million to 5 million. In 1885 all districts were made singlemember and redistributed to equalize the number of votes in each. From this point, the ultimate democratic goal was clear: in 1918 all males aged 21 could vote (13 million) as well as women over 30 (8.5 million). In 1928 women 21 years or older (an added 5 million) completed the process. In 1969 the voting age was lowered to 18, adding another 3 million. In addition to these changes, there were many related reforms. To note only the most significant, in 1872 the SECRET BALLOT was introduced; and in 1883 a strict ban on corrupt and illegal practices put controls on election expenditure. Besides the reform of PARLIAMENT, progressive changes also reformed the election of local authorities between 1835 and 1894.

Reformation

In the 16th century the European movement to reform the Roman Catholic Church grew out of humanist and anticlerical criticism, sometimes manipulated by heads of state, and ended with the secession of large numbers of “protestant”

heretics/reformers. In ENGLAND, HENRY VIII was quite hostile to reformers, but his desire for a divorce from CATHERINE OF ARAGON triggered a royal takeover of the church in England, which in turn was part of the reason for annexing WALES (1536), dissolving monasteries (1536), and proclaiming a royal title in IRELAND (1541). The same acts made a statement of ROYAL SUPREMACY necessary, which engaged PARLIAMENT in important constitutional definitions and in many ways altered the course of English politics.

In SCOTLAND, reformation was a very different story. In a country that was firmly Catholic until 1560, the turmoil which saw the end of French occupation, the intrusion of English influence, and the return of MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS, created a fluid situation in which a group of Scottish nobles and reformers began to lay the foundation for a PRESBYTERIAN church—that is, a Protestant church made in a near vacuum of royal authority. JAMES VI tried very hard to overcome this tendency by restoring episcopal authority, but the Presbyterian core was preserved, emerging with force in the 1630s and ’40s and becoming the new establishment in 1690.

In Ireland, the Reformation was always the project of the ruling minority. Most native Irish and some old English were Catholic, and they remained so despite efforts to apply an Englishstyle settlement. Thus the wars of the 17th century became Ireland’s wars of religion, and they ended with a stern system of PENAL LAWS imposed on the majority. The papacy was not idle in these times, with church councils promoting a Counter Reformation, fostering the work of militant orders such as the Society of Jesus (JESUITS) to recapture lost heretic communities.

In general, the Reformation brought out the worst in both sides—persecuting laws, systems of uniformity, and brutal punishments for the enemy. There can be no accurate tally, but it seems that the TUDORs killed thousands of enemies, political and religious. The STUARTs and their rebellious subjects gave many more lives in decades of skirmishes, pogroms, and CIVIL WAR. In the end, the Reformation produced a multiplicity of established churches and dissenting