History of English language, culture and society

History, Culture and Society in English-speaking Countries

By Andrea Madrid García

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INDEX

Modern English 1750 - Present

Early History ? - 450 A.D.

Early Modern English 1450 - 1750

Old English 450 - 1066

Middle English 1066 - 1450

Early History From ¿? B.C. to 450 A.D.

"Early History" is the period of human history we know the least about. - We could say that this period starts with the first findings from the Iron Age, but the exact date is dificult to indicate. This period ends with the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons to Britain, around 450 A.D. - The main languages spoken were British and Goidelic, both from Proto-Celtic origins. They were influenced by latin language when Romans arrived to the islands.

We can separate this period into two parts, they could be: - The Iron Age. (From ¿? B.C. when they started to work with iron - 43 A.D. when romans arrived to Britain). In this part of the period, people worked making iron tools, jewelry, sew clothes... They also were farmers, potters, carpenters, metal workers... - Roman Imperium. (From 43 A.D. when romans arrived to Britain - 450 A.D. when romans left Britain). Romans only could conquered the south and east of the islands. Queen Boudicea was the greatest figure of the resistence of England. Last romans left Britain when the visigoths invaded Rome.

Old English. From 450 A.D. - 1066 A.D.

- This period starts when the Anglo-Saxons invaded the islands in 450 A.D., and it ends when the Normands conquered Britain. - Ad we said in the last pages, language was influencied by Latin language of the Romans. After that, arrived the Anglo-Saxons to Britain, who spoke a Germanic language influenced by Celtics, which was the most important in next Centuries. Finally, Vikings arrived, they spoke Old-Norse dialects, which were an important influence in the lands they controlled (East and North of England). - As we said, the Germanic dialects of Anglo-Saxons had the biggest influence in nexts languages, and it was because of the Kingdom of Wessex, that Kingdom unified most of the kingdoms at the 9th Century.

We can also separate this period into two parts: - Anglo-Saxons (From 450 A.D. - To 800 A.D.). When Romans left the islands, tribes from Denmark, Norway and Germany arrived and conquered England, dividing the country into 7 kingdoms. - In this period we saw a hierarchical society, formed by the king, the nobles at the top, the peasants in the middle, and agricultural workers and slaves.- Angles, Saxons, and Jutes wrote with runes, but some Centuries later, they started to write in Latin. An important literary text of this period was Beowulf, an epic Anglo-Saxon poem.- About religion, Pope Gregory sent Agustine of Canterbury to convert the king Aethelbert, who renounced to his Anglo-Saxon pagan customs. And it was the beginning of many conversions.

- Vikings (From 800 A.D. - To 1066 A.D.). The viking period started in 793 A.D. when vikings landed in Lindisfarne to loot the monastery and kill the monks. Kings of England had to pay to vikings to avoid their attacks. King Alfred fortificated the cities to protect them; and some decades after, thanks to King Athelstan, they could kept the vikings out. Until the King Canute conquered Britain again, but he married with the Queen Emma, and they become The English' Kings. In the battle of Stamford Bridge, in 1066, English defeated the last Viking attack. This year, when the English King dead, the Duke William of Normandy defeated the king's sucessor and he become the new King, starting the Norman period. Vikings spoke 'Old Nordic', and some words were transmitted to he English language. They also used runic alphabet until the spread of the Latin alphabet.

Middle English From 1066 A.D. - 1450 A.D.

This period starts when William conquered England in 1066 and he formed a government with french nobles. Normans had Viking origin, as they came from the King Rollo, brother of the famous Ragnar Lodbrok, who conquered Paris some centuries before. With William at the throne, England were unificated again, disappearing the little kingdoms. He stablished the feudal system for having control in all the contry through the landowners of the different counties. - They used three languages: French - The nobles, English - The low class, and Latin - The Church. - About religion, it was very important in this period. The King stablished Church Courts to punish religious crimes.

- We have to separate this period in a second part. It was from 1399 A.D. when the King Henry IV, after more than 300 years, re-established English as the official language. - The most important book of this period could be "The Canterbury Tales", by Geoffrey Chaucer, one of the first books written in English.

Another important events of the period were: - The Scottish freedom: After the death of the Scottish King Alexander III in 1286, King Edward I of England sees an opportunity to dominate those lands as well, imposing a King who would act as his puppet, and english nobles who would dominate each county. The wars of Scottish independence arise; where the figure of the Scottish hero William Wallace stands out.

- The Black Death, was the deadliest pandemic in recorded human history, resulting in the deaths of up to 200 million people, from Eurasia to North Africa, and reaching its peak in Europe from 1347 to 1351. - The 100 Years War (From 1337 to 1453): It is the longest war in Europe lasting 116 years. The war began when Edward III of England claimed the throne of France over Phillip IV of France, four successors inherit this conflict until the French victory at the battle of Castillon in 1453.

Early Modern English From 1450 A.D. - 1750 A.D.

This period begins at the end of the Middle Ages, specifically in 1450. We are going to see great advances in different areas, such as literature, art, philosophy, science, politics, religion... - Rennaissance. In this period, it is obligatory to highlight the effects of the Renaissance. which, it's a cultural phenomenon that takes the principles of classical antiquity and updates them through Humanism. In addition, great advances were achieved in many areas.

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- Literature, where Shakespeare stands out as the main figure, other phenomena such as Robert Cawdrey's dictionary, or the arrival of the first printing press by William Caxton. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616): is an English playwright, poet and actor, and he is considered the greatest English writer.Some of his greatest works were: Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet...Robert Cawdrey, was a school teacher and clergyman, who wrote "The Table Alphabeticall" in 1604. It contained 2500 words in alphabetical order, and it explained the words in a way that was easy to understand.William Caxton known because in 1476 he brought the first printing press to England and was the first printer in the country. He printed and edited more than one hundred books, most of them translations of French works. Some of the most important works printed by Caxton were Thomas Malory's The Death of Arthur and Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.

- In the political theme, it is represented with the figure of Queen Elizabeth I, of the Tudor dinasty. She was the Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603.

In the religious environment, we can highlight the Reformation, a religious crisis fueled by the ideas of Martin Luther, criticizing the Catholic Church. The first English Bible came in 1611 with the King James' version. With this movement the language of the people and that of the nobility become closer, creating that new Early Modern English.

Modern English From 1750 A.D. - Present

This period can be divided into several parts: First of them, called as the Age of Reason, it contains more scientific and political news. And a second part from the 19th century, which is the Romanticism, it was more focused on an intellectual, literary and artistic movement; with great advances throughout the 20th century in medicine and technology.

Industrial Revolution (From 1760 to 1840) It was the greatest technological leap in the history of humanity, where we went from a time whose work was based on agriculture and manufacturing, to an industrialization and mechanization of processes. Multiplying quantity of production and decreasing production times; causing an incredible increase in the wealth of the country.

This time also had effects in other areas such as: Literature: Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist, which mistraba the reality of the time in the country. The Philological Society of London decided, to made an agreement with the Oxford University Press and James A.H. Murray to work on a New English Dictionary called "The Oxford English Dictionary" and Murray publish the first part in 1884.

Language: In the 19th and 20th centuries, a large number of new words were added to the English language, related to this technological process. Although the grammar and pronunciation of the language did not change in this period, many new words were added. Culture: As we have mentioned, this industrial improvement arises that leads to the creation of factories, as well as improvements in technology and in society.In this period the two world wars arrived. And nowadays technology and progress go hand in hand with consumerism.

19th century In the British Empire, the Law abolishing slavery emerged in 1833. The abuse of women and children in the factories is prohibited, and campaigns arise demanding women's suffrage. The Commonwealth was created for the entire British Empire. The steam locomotive is used for the first time as a way of transport. The first part of the Oxford University Dictionary is published. The first newspaper is printed.

Events to highlight from these centuries:

20th centuryThis century stands out for two terrible events: - The First World War began in 1914, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

After that, the Triple Alliance formed by the Central Powers: the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, and on the other hand, the Triple Entente, formed by the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire, faced each other. In addition to other countries that later joined these sides. The war ended in 1918 with the German armistice. More than nine million combatants and seven million civilians lost their lives, which meant 1% of the world population.

20th centuryThis century stands out for two terrible events: - The First World War began in 1914, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

After that, the Triple Alliance formed by the Central Powers: the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, and on the other hand, the Triple Entente, formed by the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire, faced each other. In addition to other countries that later joined these sides. The war ended in 1918 with the German armistice. More than nine million combatants and seven million civilians lost their lives, which meant 1% of the world population.

- The Second World War began in 1939 with the German invasion of the Polish city of Gdansk, after that, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany. Another war that was opened later, was in the Pacific Ocean, by Japan and its expansive intentions, which the United States refused.

The war ended in 1945 after the Soviet victory in Berlin, and the American bombardment of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The war ended with 70 million deaths, representing 2.5% of the world population.

Late 20th Century and 21th century We know the 21st century as the century of digitization and also as the information age. We can highlight the use of the Internet to have connectivity with the rest of the world with a simple click, and currently the global use of social networks. This digital period began in the 1980s with the appearance of the Internet, and later, another important step was taken with the first smartphones, in the 21st century.

W.A.S.P. (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants)

The expression WASP or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant is used to refer to North Americans originating from northern Europe. This expression was coined in the sixties by E. Digby Baltzell, a writer from Philadelphia. It is a pejorative term for members of this ethnic and religious group, who are considered the most powerful, privileged, and influential in the United States. This term is also used by extension to refer to any white, middle-class person who is descended from early settlers and who believes in traditional American values.

Bibliographic References

• Winthrop, J. (1825). The history of New England from 1630 to 1649 (Vol. 1). Phelps and Farnham.
• Fuller, T. (2015). The history of the worthies of England (Vol. 1). Cambridge University Press.
• Simple history. (1/19/17). La Revolución Industrial (siglo XVIII-XIX). [Video] Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhNP0qp38Q&ab_channel=SimpleHistory.
• Memorias de pez. (14/12/20). La historia de REINO UNIDO y el IMPERIO BRITÁNICO en 12 minutos | Resumen rápido y fácil . [Video] Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcB1SQhAor0&ab_channel=MemoriasdePez.
• Pero eso es historia. (23/04/21). Historia de INGLATERRA ANTIGUA Y MEDIEVAL – Sajones, Normandos, Plantagenet, Guerra de las Rosas. [Video]. Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CbOH845T2U&ab_channel=PeroesoesotraHistoria.

Bibliographic References

• Cuaderno de historia. (26/08/19). Historia de Inglaterra - Resumen | Desde sus orígenes hasta la Revolución Industrial. [Video]. Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoYskemL7vc&ab_channel=CuadernodeHistoria.
• Pero eso es otra historia. (17/12/20). INGLATERRA ANTIGUA: Prehistoria y Britania Romana - Celtas y Britanos (Documental resumen Historia). [Video]. Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uUQ4ljo0e0&ab_channel=PeroesoesotraHistoria.
• El mapa de Sebas. (04/06/19). 🇬🇧HISTORIA del IMPERIO BRITÁNICO en (casi) 16 minutos🇬🇧 - El Mapa de Sebas. [Video]. Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7cKNXc60O0&ab_channel=ElMapadeSebas.
• Memorias de pez. (17/12/20). Diferencias entre GRAN BRETAÑA, REINO UNIDO e INGLATERRA. [Video]. Recuperado de: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o5XfSFTOfM&ab_channel=MemoriasdePez.