British History in Credo: Early Modern Era

1775–83, struggle by which the Thirteen Colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of North America won independence from Great Britain and became the United States. It is also called the American War of Independence.The casualty rate was roughly 120 in 10,000, the second heaviest of any large-scale American war. One way or another everybody within what became the United States took part in the conflict and felt its effects: Natives; Africans; patriots; loyalists; neutrals; Northerners; Southerners; and backcountry folk, both men and women.

Empire covering, at its height in the 1920s, about a sixth of the landmass of the Earth, all of its lands recognizing the United Kingdom (UK) as their leader.

Term applied to the mainstream of thought of 18th-century Europe and America. The Enlightenment, a philosophical movement, rejected traditional social, religious, and political ideas and adopted rational thinking as a way to develop new theories accounting for human behavior and feelings. These new explanations were then applied to the social and political spheres, changing the way people viewed and thought about government, and directly influencing the development of the modern world. The scientific and intellectual developments of the 17th century fostered the belief in natural law and universal order and the confidence in human reason that spread to influence all of 18th-century society.

The pace of technological and social change, as well as economic development, accelerated exponentially in the latter 18th and 19th centuries with the Industrial Revolution. The traditional agricultural economy was replaced by one dominated by machinery and manufacturing, made possible through technical advances such as the steam engine.

Armed conflict between the United States and Great Britain, fought chiefly along the Canadian border from 1812–15; also called the Anglo-American War. The war was ostensibly fought for freedom of the seas, to end impressment, and for territory in Canada; yet the eventual peace treaty changed these circumstances little.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which French interests played a primary role.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(Oct. 21, 1805) Naval engagement in the Napoleonic Wars that established British naval supremacy in Europe. It was fought west of Cape Trafalgar, Spain, between a Franco-Spanish fleet of 33 ships under Pierre de Villeneuve (1763–1806) and a British fleet of 27 ships under Horatio Nelson. Near the end of the battle, Nelson was mortally wounded by a sniper. No British ships were lost, and Napoleon abandoned his plan to invade England.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1600–1874, company chartered by Queen Elizabeth I for trade with Asia. The original object of the group of merchants involved was to break the Dutch monopoly of the spice trade with the East Indies.

From Chambers Dictionary of World History
British-controlled and officered military force in India in which the rank and file were recruited from the native populace, although some purely European regiments existed until 1860. The Indian Army served abroad as well as in India, and was a mainstay of the Pax Britannica.

British statesman, b. Ireland. Entering the Irish Parliament in 1790 and the British Parliament in 1794, he was acting chief secretary for Ireland at the time of the Irish rebellion of 1798.

British soldier and administrator who established British rule in India by victories over French troops at Arcot and over the nawab (prince) of Bengal at Plassey in 1757.

British navigator and explorer who commanded three major voyages of discovery, charting and naming many islands of the Pacific Ocean.

Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa, the first European to cross the African continent.

British admiral. The most famous of Britain's naval heroes, he is commemorated by the celebrated Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London.

Popular name in England for the speculation in the South Sea Company, which failed disastrously in 1720. The company was formed in 1711 by Robert Harley, who needed allies to carry through the peace negotiations to end the War of the Spanish Succession.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Treaty negotiated in New Zealand in 1840 between the British government and the indigenous Maori. The treaty guaranteed the Maori their own territory and gave them British citizenship.

British naturalist who revolutionized the study of biology with his theory of evolution based on natural selection. His most famous works include Origin of Species (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871). One of the greatest naturalists who ever lived. He was not only the father of evolution but also a remarkable scientist whose ideas and discoveries about the earth's history resulted in new areas for ongoing research in geology, paleontology, biology, and anthropology.

English author, born in Portsmouth, one of the world's most popular, prolific, and skilled novelists. His most famous works include A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Hard Times.

The English painter and landscape draftsman Thomas Gainsborough was born at Sudbury in Suffolk.

Hume was born David Home on 7 May 1711 in Edinburgh, and died there on 25 August 1776. When David Home (as his name was spelled then) entered the University of Edinburgh in 1723-25, his family expected him to pursue a career in the law. Hume, however, soon turned his attention to philosophy.

Locke was born on 29 August 1632 at Wrington, Somerset, into a Puritan family of the minor gentry.

British philosopher and economist; born in London on 20 May 1806 and died on 7 May 1873 in Avignon, in a house next to the cemetery where his wife was buried. Known especially for his interpretations of empiricism and utilitarianism. His many works include A System of Logic (1843), Principles of Political Economy (1848), and The Subjection of Women (1869).

English physicist and mathematician who is regarded as one of the greatest scientists ever to have lived. Invented differential calculus and formulated the theory of universal gravitation, a theory about the nature of light, and three laws of motion that bear his name and was the first to explain gravitation, clearly defining the nature of mass, weight, force, inertia, and acceleration.

Radical British democratic movement, mainly of the working classes, which flourished around 1838 to 1848. It derived its name from the People's Charter, a six-point programme comprising universal male suffrage, equal electoral districts, secret ballot, annual parliaments, and abolition of the property qualification for, and payment of, members of Parliament.

Use of the young as workers in factories, farms, and mines. Child labor was first recognized as a social problem with the introduction of the factory system in late 18th-century Great Britain.

From 1853-56, a war between Russia on the one hand and the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France, and Sardinia on the other.

British Conservative (Tory) politician and novelist; prime minister (1868; 1874-80). He gave coherence to the Tory principles of protectionism and imperialism. Authored the novel trilogy Coningsby, Sybil, and Tancred (1847).

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In Britain, an act of Parliament which governs conditions of work, hours of labour, safety, and sanitary provision in factories and workshops.

British statesman, the dominant personality of the Liberal party from 1868 until 1894. A great orator and a master of finance, he was deeply religious and brought a highly moralistic tone to politics.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1837–1901) and empress of India (1876–1901).

Or Reform Bills, in British history, name given to three major measures that liberalized representation in Parliament in the 19th century.

From Encyclopedia of the Early 20th Century
Also known as: Anglo-Boer War; Great Boer War; South African War. A conflict between Great Britain and the Boers, or Dutch settlers, in South Africa. The Boers were mostly farmers who had settled as early as the 18th century in South Africa. The British wanted to unify their Cape Colony and Natal colonies and the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. The discovery of gold in Transvaal in 1886 led more English settlers to South Africa. These new settlers, called Uitlanders by the Boers, raised Boer concerns over the possible loss of valuable farmland to the English, who were predominantly interested in the mineral resources of South Africa.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Waterway of Egypt extending from Port Said to Port Tawfiq (near Suez) and connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and thence with the Red Sea. The canal is somewhat more than 100 mi (160 km) long.