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Tyrconnel, Richard Talbot, earl of

(1630–1691)

lord lieutenant of Ireland

An Irish gentleman who escaped from the siege of DROGHEDA in 1649, Tyrconnel served with James, duke of York (later JAMES VII AND II), and was made a colonel (despite his Catholic faith) in 1672. He was imprisoned during the POPISH PLOT (1678). When James acceded to the throne, Tyrconnel was made an earl, commanded the army in IRELAND, and was made LORD LIEUTENANT (1687). He fought in the battles after the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, and he died at Limerick.

Tyrone, Con O’Neill, earl of

(1484–1559)

Gaelic chief

A leader in ULSTER, O’Neill fought the English in the 1520s and ’30s. In 1542 he went to ENGLAND, visited HENRY VIII at Greenwich, and renounced

his title of chief in exchange for the anglicized earldom. He recognized his illegitimate son Matthew as his successor, and in the 1550s his legitimate son Shane O’NEILL disputed the title, and Con was forced to seek refuge in the PALE.

Tyrone, Hugh O’Neill, second earl of

(1550–1616)

Gaelic chief

Raised in ENGLAND, O’Neill was sent to IRELAND in 1568, with hopes that he would take the leadership among quarreling family members. For a time this seemed to work, and his title as EARL was confirmed in 1585, but in 1594 he rebelled against the English, found allies among European states, and won a famous victory at the Yellow Ford. He was finally defeated by Charles MOUNTJOY in 1603. He made his peace with JAMES VI AND I, but in 1607 he fled to the continent with Rory O’DONNELL, earl of Tyrconnel.

See also FLIGHT OF THE EARLS.

Uganda

A British PROTECTORATE in East AFRICA (1894– 1962), during which time native monarchs continued to rule. Self-government was achieved in 1962. In 1971 Idi Amin Dada established a dictatorship which expelled some 30,000 people of Asian origin. An estimated 300,000 deaths have been attributed to the regime. In 1976 a hijacked plane landed in Entebbe, and an Israeli commando raid rescued hundreds of hostages there. Amin invaded TANZANIA in 1978, but a counterattack caused him to flee into exile. There were elections in 1980, and Dr. Milton Obote became president. He was ousted in a coup in 1983, and Yoweri Museveni took power. In the early 1990s AIDS became the country’s most relentless killer (about 100,000 deaths by 1993). In 1993 a constituent assembly was elected to draft a new constitution. Tribal monarchs were restored to limited power, and Museveni was able to get international loans to begin to stabilize the economy.

Ulster

The ancient province of northeastern Ireland. Ulster posed stout resistance to Norse, Danish, and Norman invaders. It was the last region to be subdued by the English, and that process included the settlement of large numbers of English and Scottish settlers in the Ulster PLAN- TATION (1609–13). This process of colonization created the distinctively Protestant culture of the region, preserved in the 20th century by the partition of Ireland in 1920–22.

Ulster Covenant (1911–1912)

When the passage of IRISH HOME RULE became inevitable in 1911, Protestant loyalists composed a covenant, or pact, which vowed to resist the establishment of a home-rule PARLIAMENT, “by all means necessary.” Some 237,000 signed the covenant, and many joined the newly formed militia, the Ulster Volunteers, established to fight against home rule (1912).

Ulster custom

The traditional rights of tenants, including security of tenure (if rent was paid up) and a title to compensation for improvements, in the event tenanted land was sold. These were actually rights found in various parts of IRELAND and not always found in ULSTER. Nevertheless, in the course of debates on landlord-tenant relations in the 19th century, the term came to stand for preferred status, sought for all tenants, in the various IRISH LAND ACTS of the later 19th century (1870–1903).

Ultra secret

The German “Enigma” encoding machine was used for top-secret diplomatic and military transmissions in WORLD WAR II. British agents had seized a machine and had been able to decipher many messages. “Ultra” was the codename for the intercepted and decoded traffic, which was only made available to a select number of high-ranking leaders. The decoding operations were conducted at the intelligence center at Bletchley Park. All personnel were required to

take an oath not to reveal any information regarding their work. The existence of the Ultra secret was not made public until 1978.

uniformity, acts of

Legislation used to establish the liturgy and doctrine of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND and thereby empower courts to enforce obedience. The acts of 1549, 1552, 1559, and 1662 coincided with the issue of a BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, the use of which was to prescribe proper religious worship and belief.

Union, Acts of

Wales: In 1536 and 1543, laws annexed WALES to ENGLAND, created shires (see COUNTY), gave them members in the English PARLIAMENT, and extended the COMMON LAW to Wales, along with the use of English for official business and a new court structure.

Scotland: In 1707 a treaty between English and Scottish commissioners was ratified by the English and Scottish parliaments. It created

the UNITED KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN, abol-

ished the Scottish parliament, and added Scottish members to the HOUSE OF LORDS (16) and HOUSE OF COMMONS (45) of England. The act kept separate the two countries’ church establishments and legal systems, but it made provisions to integrate their economies and administrations.

Ireland: In 1801 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and IRELAND was created. The parliament of Ireland was abolished, and 32 peers and 100 commoners were sent from Ireland to the Parliament in Westminster. A plan for

was rejected, but otherwise inclusive measures were made for the economy, religion, and administration of Ireland.

Unionists

The political label for Protestants in NORTHERN IRELAND who support the continued union with

GREAT BRITAIN. The term emerged in the 19th century as a description of those who opposed IRISH HOME RULE, and it was applied to the main Northern Ireland political party after the creation of the separate PARLIAMENT there in 1920. For the next half-century, that party governed without opposition, due to the Catholic boycott of the institutions created in the 1920s.

Union of South Africa See SOUTH AFRICA.

Unitarians

DISSENTERS who deny the trinity and the divinity of Christ. A sect formed in the course of the REFORMATION, Unitarians only appeared in significant numbers in ENGLAND in the 17th century, forming congregations in the 18th century. Prominent rationalists and deists like Joseph PRIESTLEY helped to bring about the legalization of the group in 1813.

United Irishmen

A nonsectarian radical group formed in 1791, promoting parliamentary reform and religious equality. Increasingly influenced by the French revolution, the United Irishmen moved toward revolutionary republican ideas, and thus hostility to English rule. This trend was paralleled by sectarian division in the later 1790s. They had joined with like-minded reformers and radicals in GREAT BRITAIN (1792–95), but their “conventions” were suppressed, and many were tried for

SEDITION. Their role in the IRISH REBELLION of

1798 led to the suppression of the group.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the British state since 1921, when the IRISH FREE STATE was created. With that alteration in the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (formed in 1801), a dual administration was created, with a PARLIAMENT and a

PRIME MINISTER in NORTHERN IRELAND. That region

continued to send elected members to the Parliament in Westminster, along with those from

ENGLAND, WALES, AND SCOTLAND. In addition, sep-

arate administrative offices and COURTS OF LAW characterized the different regions, and over the course of the later 20th century, those distinctions tended to increase. The most recent extension was the creation of separate national assemblies for Wales and Scotland (1999) and the attempted reestablishment of a Catholic/Protestant legislative assembly in Northern Ireland.

United Scotsmen

A group that imitated the UNITED IRISHMEN (1793–99), the United Scotsmen grew out of the repressive atmosphere of the early 1790s, and a small uprising of republicans in 1797 brought arrests and suppression acts. These were further strengthened after the IRISH REBELLION in 1798, and the group was terminated by an act of 1799.

universities

The 12th century institutions were no more than communities of scholars, teaching small groups of students, mainly prospective members of the clergy. They grew into elite institutions for the aristocracy by the 17th century. When OXFORD

UNIVERSITY and CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY were

finally joined by a new university in LONDON (1828), an entirely different trend had begun. The education of an expanding middle class demanded more capacity, and in the 19th century the “red brick” universities began to appear. There were several types: university colleges, municipal colleges, an extension movement to provide courses for women, all active before 1914. A lull followed, but after 1945 there was

renewed growth, with new institutions and promotion of many others to university rank.

The University Grants Committee was established in 1919 “to inquire into the financial needs of university education in the United Kingdom” and further to advise on the distribution of “grants that might be made by parliament.” Government grants were added to fees and gifts and endowments. After 1945 government policy was generous in adding to the funding for what became nearly 100 university-level institutions by 1990. But in the 1980s a new and stringent policy was applied, and funding was shifted to a new Higher Education Funding Council more directly under ministerial control.

utilitarianism

The central tenet of the philosophic radicals, followers of Jeremy BENTHAM, that society should afford the “greatest happiness for the greatest number,” which they called the principle of utility. The idea was an important factor in the many reform efforts of the 19th century, and it was defined more fully in John Stuart MILL’s essay Utilitarianism in 1861.

Utrecht, Treaty of (1713)

The settlement of the War of the SPANISH SUCCES- SION, the Treaty of Utrecht recognized the house of HANOVER as rulers of GREAT BRITAIN. In addition, Philip V of Spain renounced his claim to the French throne, parts of the low countries (pre- sent-day Belgium and the Netherlands) were ceded by Spain to the Holy Roman emperor, and Britain took some French territories in North America, plus Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain. This first international treaty was composed in French rather than Latin.

vaccination

Edward JENNER developed the process of injecting a small dose of cowpox, which gave humans immunity to smallpox. The first successful use was in 1796. Free vaccination was made available after 1840, and compulsory use was decreed in 1853. The last smallpox epidemic was in 1871, and the disease was declared eradicated in 1979.

valor ecclesiasticus

The record of church property required by an act of 1534. It was aimed at determining the amounts owed to the Crown when it took over the annates (first year’s profits from a benefice) payable to Rome. The document was used as a guide by the Crown’s agents in the DISSOLUTION of the monasteries.

Vane, Sir Henry, the elder (1589–1655) councillor

One of the councillors of CHARLES I, Vane took part in the IMPEACHMENT of Lord STRAFFORD, lost the confidence of the king, and was thereafter a supporter of the revolution. He sat in the RUMP PARLIAMENT and was a member of the COMMIT- TEE OF BOTH KINGDOMS, an Anglo-Scottish executive established in 1644.

Vane, Sir Henry, the younger

(1613–1662)

Son of Sir Henry VANE, the elder, Vane was a PURITAN and governor of Massachusetts (1636–37), but he resigned in a religious controversy and returned to ENGLAND. A member of

the LONG PARLIAMENT, he opposed Oliver CROMWELL’s grasping for power, but remained an important figure during the

ENGLAND. He was excepted from pardon in 1660 and executed in 1662.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph (1872–1958) composer

A leading figure in 20th-century British music, Vaughan Williams used folk music and that of early English composers as material for his compositions. His major works included Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis (1909), his song cycle On Wenlock Edge (1909), nine symphonies, and a number of film scores.

Vauxhall Gardens

A park or “pleasure ground” in South LONDON, opened in the RESTORATION era and closed in 1859. A place of entertainments, decorated walks, and buildings, entry cost one shilling from 1730, a rather high figure. Nevertheless, it became a site of rowdy behavior, and after it was shut down, the area was used for new construction in the later 19th century.

Vernon, Edward (1684–1757) admiral

Vernon fought in the war with Spain in 1739, capturing Porto Bello in Panama and thus becoming a national hero. Entering PARLIAMENT on his return, he became a loud critic of the ADMIRALTY. He led a fleet to block French aid to the JACOBITES in 1745, but his continued criti-

cism caused him to be dismissed from the service in 1746.

Versailles, Treaty of (1919)

The Paris Peace Conference composed five treaties with the defeated powers of WORLD WAR I. The Versailles treaty was the principal agreement, settling the terms on Germany. It was designed to prevent Germany from starting another war: she surrendered Alsace and Lorraine to France, accepted the demilitarization of the Rhineland, and ceded eastern lands to the new state of Poland. Rearmament was prohibited, and REPARATIONS were to be paid to the victims of German aggression.

vicar

A parish priest appointed to perform parochial duties, while the revenues went to the rector. In cases where a monastery or college had the TITHES of a PARISH, a vicar was appointed to conduct services and minister to the parish.

viceroy

Acting governor of a country, province, or region, under the authority of the Crown. The title was used in imperial government, especially for the Crown’s agents in IRELAND and in INDIA. It had intimations of royal authority beyond the more mundane executive rank of governor-general.

Victoria (1819–1901)

queen of Great Britain and Ireland, 1837–1901

The daughter of the fourth son of GEORGE III, the duke of Kent, Victoria succeeded her uncle WILLIAM IV in 1837. Her father had died when she was an infant, and she was raised in her German mother’s female household in Kensington Palace. She was tutored in politics by her uncle, King Leopold of Belgium; and by Lord

MELBOURNE, her first PRIME MINISTER. In 1839

her uncle sent a visitor—Prince Albert of Saxe-

Queen Victoria (Hulton/Archive)

Coburg. The cousins quickly became engaged, married in 1840, and soon had the first of their nine children. Their clan would become occupants of many of the thrones of Europe. In GREAT BRITAIN, the royal pair took an active part in government, but after Albert’s death in 1861, Victoria went into prolonged mourning, even declining to attend opening sessions of PARLIA- MENT. When she emerged in the 1870s, it was to a much-diminished role in government, though a greatly enhanced role as a ceremonial figure. Her creation as empress of INDIA (1877) and her JUBILEE (1887 and 1897) were powerful symbols of the place of the British sovereign and the power of her public persona. Victoria was at the center of the world’s greatest empire, she restored the dignity of the royal family, and she lent her name to a period of prosperous, proper, and proud achievement.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Built with the profits of the GREAT EXHIBITION of 1851, the Victoria and Albert Museum has been located in South Kensington since 1857. A new structure was opened in 1908. First arranged by crafts, it was reorganized to display exhibits in chronological sequence in 1948. It stands as one of the world’s leading collections of industrial artifacts.

Vienna, Congress of (1814–1815)

This meeting at the conclusion of the NAPOLEONIC WARS redrew the map of Europe after its convulsions in the previous quarter-century of warfare. One guiding principle was the restoration of legitimate rulers (as opposed to upstart dictators). Another was compensation from France, to be assured by an army of occupation. GREAT BRITAIN received a number of additional colonies (CEY- LON, Trinidad, Tobago, MALTA). The major powers (Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia) formed a Quadruple Alliance to meet regularly and maintain European peace. Although the congress had begun in September 1814, Napoleon’s return to France temporarily disrupted the proceedings. After his defeat at the Battle of WATERLOO, the congress completed its work in November 1815.

viscount

The rank in the peerage below EARL and above BARON. The name derived from the county offi-

cial, a deputy to an earl (Latin: vicecomes). In 1440 the first of the peers by this title was created.

vote of confidence

In CABINET government, when a ministry wishes to affirm its control of the legislature, it will announce that a particular vote will be taken as a vote of confidence in the ministers. This calls upon supporters to vote with their leaders in order to keep them in power. When such a vote fails, or the margin is uncomfortably close, the PRIME MINISTER will resign and either form a new government (for example, Ramsay MACDONALD in 1931), defer to another to do so (Neville CHAM- BERLAIN in 1940), or call an election (Edward HEATH in 1974).

v-weapons

The German rockets (V-1 and V-2) launched against GREAT BRITAIN and liberated France in 1944 and 1945. About 1,600 V-1 unmanned aircraft were used, and a large proportion were shot down. But the V-2 had a longer range, carried more explosives, and could not be intercepted. About 2,000 of these primitive missiles were fired at Britain in the last six months of the war.

Wade, George (1673–1748) general

Wade fought in the wars of WILLIAM III and the War of the SPANISH SUCCESSION. He took command in SCOTLAND in 1724 and was effective in disarming CLANS of the HIGHLANDS and building a network of 250 miles of ROADS. He took command of the ARMY in face of the JACOBITE revolt in 1745, but when the rebels successfully invaded ENGLAND, he was replaced by the king’s son, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, the duke of Cumberland.

Wakefield, Edward Gibbon (1796–1862) colonial reformer

A troubled early life was marked by scandal, especially when Wakefield abducted and eloped with an heiress. After a three-year jail term, he was sent to AUSTRALIA. When he became involved in colonial administration, he opposed the policy of free land grants, advocating what he called “systematic colonization.” He helped to found South Australia, and he served with Lord DURHAM in CANADA, where he was a major influence in the drafting of the Durham Report on responsible government. Becoming agent for the NEW ZEALAND Land Company in 1839, he emigrated to that territory in 1852, preceded by two brothers who were important figures in early colonization there.

Wales

Western region of GREAT BRITAIN populated by Celtic tribes, speaking a dialect common to Northern Britain but different from IRELAND. The Roman occupation had limited impact here, the Saxon migrations almost none. At the Norman

Conquest, the border between ENGLAND and Wales was entrusted to “marcher lords,” powerful vassals of the king, who were granted large tracts of LAND and extensive lordship rights, in exchange for keeping the frontier secure. Native rulers in Wales were in frequent conflict, with each other and with English rulers. Edward I of England imposed his authority on Wales at the end of the 13th century, and he created a large, western region as a “principality” of the Crown, the remainder of the lands being held as marcher lordships. The authority of native Welsh princes was thereby extinguished. At the same time, Edward invested his son and heir with the title PRINCE OF WALES. A council was created to be the governing authority in Wales and the marches (border lands), either under the English prince or an agent of the Crown. After the experience of Owen GLENDOWER’s rebellion (1405–10), and spurred by the events of the REFORMATION, the government of Wales was annexed to that of England under HENRY VIII (1536–43). Lordships were merged into counties, represented in PAR- LIAMENT. English law and language were prescribed, and Wales became—from the Crown’s point of view—a part of England. But the Welsh language remained, and indeed it was fostered by its use to translate scripture in the 16th century. Customs and communities were preserved, even through the upheavals of the 17th century.

Wales was a center of Methodist revival in the 18th century and industrial development in the 19th century, both colored by the unique culture of the region. The special features of Welsh life did not find full expression in a nationalist movement until the 20th century, by which time heavy English immigration and powerful

centralizing forces in society and government in Britain prevented any strong effort for home rule. But by the end of the 20th century there was a Welsh Office (1964), the language was being used in legal proceedings and legal documents, and a WELSH ASSEMBLY was created (first elected in May 1999).

Waller, Sir William (1598–1668) general

Son of the lieutenant of Dover, Waller was educated at Magdalen College, OXFORD UNIVERSITY. He fought in the Thirty Years’ War on the continent (1618–48), then served in the parliamentary army during the CIVIL WAR, winning several battles in the west country. Nicknamed William “the conqueror,” he later suffered defeats at Roundway Down (1643) and Cropredy Bridge (1644), and he was forced to resign by the SELF- DENYING ORDINANCE (1645). He became a strong PRESBYTERIAN supporter, and the ARMY ordered his imprisonment (1648–51). He was involved with a royalist plot in 1659, and he sat in the CONVENTION Parliament of 1660.

Wallis, John (1616–1703) mathematician

Wallis’s father was a clergyman in Kent, and Wallis was educated at Felsted School and Emmanuel College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. Professor of geometry at OXFORD UNIVERSITY, he decoded messages for the PARLIAMENT forces during the CIVIL WAR, and he served as secretary to the WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY. He helped to found the ROYAL SOCIETY in 1660 and wrote books on geometry, algebra, and mechanics, also translating some works of Archimedes.

Walpole, Horace, fourth earl of Orford

(1717–1797) writer

The youngest son of Robert WALPOLE, Horace Walpole served in PARLIAMENT (1741–68) without distinction. He rebuilt a villa, Strawberry

Hill, outside LONDON, in a Gothic style. He installed a printing press there and published editions of classic works plus his own writing, which included Anecdotes of Painting in England

(1762); a novel, The Castle of Otranto (1764); and

Historic Doubts on Richard III (1768). His Memoirs were published posthumously (1822, 1845), and his voluminous correspondence appeared in a massive 42-volume edition (1937–81).

Walpole, Robert, first earl of Orford

(1676–1745)

prime minister, 1721–1742

One of 19 children born into a family of Norfolk GENTRY, Walpole was educated at Eton and King’s College, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. Although he sometimes renounced the title, he was seen as the first PRIME MINISTER, and he was clearly the most durable of the leading 18th-century politicians.

He was a MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT from 1701. A

Whig, he was secretary at war (1708) and treasurer of the NAVY (1710). When the TORY Party came into office, he was impeached for corruption, imprisoned, and expelled from PARLIAMENT. This was not entirely unusual for this period of intense party warfare, and when the WHIGS returned after the HANOVER succession (1714), Walpole was restored. By 1715 he had become first lord of the TREASURY. There followed a period of party maneuvering, after which he emerged as sole leader in 1721. Probably some earlier leading figures were eligible for the label of “prime” minister, but Walpole’s financial acumen plus his durability over two decades and two reigns (GEORGE I and GEORGE II) gave him a strong claim on the title. Walpole combined administrative ability and political skill, and he is credited with the evolution of the CABINET system. He also reinforced the importance of the HOUSE OF COMMONS, declining a PEERAGE until after his resignation from office. His policy was generally to avoid foreign wars and thus reduce or restrain taxation. On occasion he faced serious opposition: an EXCISE scheme in 1733; unrest in SCOTLAND in 1736; and the developing War of JENKINS’ EAR (1739), which ultimately led to his downfall in 1742.