a brief analysis of British society and culture in the 9th century

1. Introduction Britain, an ancient country that has experienced thousands of years of vicissitudes of life, is a vicissitudes of life wise man who has witnessed mankind's toddler and vigorous growth, and is an indomitable warrior who stands on the Atlantic Ocean and looks forward to the world and the future. He has walked through the evil wind and cold rain, with his heavy memories and his unique temperament and heritage, and is moving forward towards a more brilliant tomorrow without stopping. Looking back suddenly, in that long series of deep and shallow historical footprints, each step tells a different but equally thrilling historical period, or sad, or touching, or thought-provoking, dusting off the dust, opening the heavy historical picture that has slightly yellowed, and the "British Empire", "The Sun never sets" and "Victorian Age" are shining, telling that Britain is in the midst of. In 2119, Britain experienced numerous changes in economy, territory, culture and politics, and grew from a small island country to a great empire whose territory spread all over the world and influenced the world. In the 9th century, it shed blood, shed tears, gained wealth, made progress and was thoroughly remoulded. In the world at that time and even in the whole human history, the British Empire in the 9th century was an insurmountable myth.

second, economic development

(a) the rapid development of industrial production. After 1811, Britain finally won a total victory after the war with France that lasted for 14 years. Britain's Royal Navy controlled the sea power, the foreign trade doubled and the commerce was unprecedentedly prosperous. The victory of the war expanded the scope of the British colony and became the raw material supply place and commodity dumping place of Britain, which not only provided cheap raw materials for the development of British industry and commerce, but also provided a vast market for manufactured goods and created a favorable environment for industrial development. With the constant noise of machines in the factory day and night, the production efficiency in Britain is constantly improving, and the productivity is developing at a speed of several times or even dozens of times. The proportion of industrial output value in Britain's economy is also rising day by day. By the middle of the 19th century, Britain has become the country with the highest degree of industrialization in the world, which has also fundamentally changed Britain's economic status in the world, and London has become the world's financial and trade center. The 1951s and 1971s of 2119 were the heyday of the development of free trade capitalism in Britain, which was called "Victorian Age" in history. During this period, the British industrial revolution has been completed, and British steel production accounts for more than half of the world's total output, and import and export trade accounts for more than 1/3 of the world's total. In 1851, Britain produced 61.2% of the world's coal production, 51.9% of the world's iron production and processed 46.1% of the world's cotton production. This small island country drifting on the vast ocean has become a veritable "world factory" that cannot be underestimated.

(II) Urbanization and population growth Driven and promoted by the rapid development of industry, a large number of industrial cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Grasse have risen rapidly, and a large number of rural people have flocked to cities. The urbanization process in Britain is extremely fast. By 1851, the urban population in Britain had surpassed the rural population, and urbanization had been initially realized. Urbanization civilization has solemnly stepped onto the stage of human historical civilization. Rural civilization gradually drifted away, and the rural lifestyle and life concept gradually faded out of people's sight, replaced by a brand-new lifestyle and concept. The railway network is dotted all over the British land, running through the north and south of the river, making interpersonal communication and information transmission more frequent. In the century of 2119, the total population of Britain increased by three times, while the per capita income increased by four times, which shows that the British society in 2119 is developing forward, and the continuous improvement of productivity makes it full of hope to solve the problem of people's food and clothing and run towards a richer life.

(III) World Expo In the mid-19th century, the rapid development and prosperity of industry made Britain's economic strength and comprehensive national strength in the world in full swing, and the British were extremely proud of their own strength and wealth. In order to show the powerful Britain to the world, the World Expo (also known as the "Crystal Palace Expo") was held on May 1, 1851 in a building made entirely of glass and steel pipes in Rendun Hyde Park. The World Expo, with the theme of world culture and industrial technology, lasted for more than five months from May 1, 1851 to October 11, attracting 6,139,195 visitors. The exhibition hall is about 563 meters long and 1.38 meters wide. It took only nine months to build, and then it was moved and rebuilt in Sedenham, South London, which was later renamed Crystal Palace. More than 11,111 exhibits including tracks, tractors, high-speed steamships, cranes, kitchen utensils, iron products, and harvesters from the United States were exhibited. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert held their industrial and peaceful triumph under the brilliant glass roof. Two days before the opening of the Expo, Queen Victoria wrote in her diary: "We can do anything." This sentence vividly and completely shows the British people's pride and satisfaction in themselves, as well as their full hope and sincere belief in the future and human science.

(D) Problems in the development of capitalist economy "Every coin has two sides." The initial development of the economy is often a double-edged sword, with both advantages and disadvantages. In Britain in the 9th century, economic development and industrial development were quite rapid, and people didn't realize or come up with appropriate strategies to adapt to and solve various problems brought about by economic development. The following were the two main problems at that time:

1. Class exploitation In the development of capitalism, the working class is the mainstay of capitalist economic development, but it is also a vulnerable group deeply oppressed by exploitation. "Sweatshops" have appeared frequently, and the living conditions of the working class, especially the middle and lower working classes, have not benefited much from economic and social development. The distribution of social wealth is unfair, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, the problem of poverty has not been solved for a long time, and the number of urban poor remains high. It is no exaggeration to describe their lives as "miserable".

2. The "three wastes" from environmental pollution factories make the ecological environment devastated. The land of London is full of "big smoke pipes", and smoke billows into the sky day and night. These smoke turns into fog when it meets water vapor, and London has become a "world-famous" "fog capital" in the 19 th century. At that time, a British engineer described the situation of iron smelting industry in western England, saying: The whole earth seems to be turned inside out, all its internal organs are dug out and thrown everywhere, and the whole earth is full of cinders.

(5) The outbreak of the first capitalist economic crisis The cyclical economic crisis is an important feature of the capitalist economy. Whenever the economy develops to a certain degree and state, the economic crisis will sweep through. Britain, as a country with the earliest industrial revolution and the highest degree of industrialization, the first economic crisis naturally broke out in Britain.

1. Causes and background of the outbreak The development of capitalist machine industry is an important reason for the cyclical economic crisis. At the end of 2118 and the beginning of 2119, there were many overproduction phenomena in Britain, but the crisis was limited to local regions and departments because the development of capitalist machinery was not sufficient at that time. Before 1825, Britain experienced a short period of industrial upsurge. The industrial output value in 1825 increased by about 1/3 compared with that in 1821. At that time, the production level of pig iron increased by 58% and cotton consumption increased by 39%. However, the domestic and international markets have not expanded accordingly. At that time, shortly after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, coupled with the poor agricultural harvest in Europe, the European market shrank and was in a depression. The phenomenon of local overproduction and oversupply has changed into a periodic and universal overproduction crisis. As the book "Cyclical Economy of Capitalism" said: "The British commodity sales in the European market encountered great difficulties, and the export volume dropped from 26.9 million pounds in 1814 to 14.6 million pounds in 1825. Exports to the United States and Central and South America also decreased from 15.8 million pounds in 1815 to 13.4 million pounds. At the same time, the domestic market is greatly restricted by the decline of workers' real wages. During the period from 1824 to 1825, the actual wages of workers were only about 4/5 of that in 1792. The serious disconnect between production and sales made the economic crisis inevitably break out. "

2. Economic losses caused by the economic crisis In this economic crisis, British industrial production and foreign trade suffered a heavy blow. 3,549 enterprises and 81 banks went bankrupt, and the gold reserves of the Bank of England plummeted from 13.9 million pounds in March 1824 to 1.2 million pounds in February 1825. The consumption of cotton, wool, raw silk and coal decreased sharply, and the export volume decreased by 16%. The unemployment rate suddenly rose, which led to the outflow of people. But at that time, the industrial revolutions in Germany, France, the United States and other countries had not been fully launched, so the economic crisis in 1825 was not cyclical.

Second, three parliamentary reforms in politics

(1) Parliamentary reform in 1832

1. The background of the first parliamentary reform

At the beginning of p>19, the framework of the responsibility cabinet system in Britain was initially formed. However, before 1832, the king still enjoyed certain sovereignty in the election of prime minister and cabinet members (for example, in 1827, the appointment of Prime Minister Canning Godric and in 1828, the appointment of Prime Minister Wellington were all his own choices. ）。 During George IV's reign, the British Cabinet became more and more independent of the royal power and moved closer to the House of Commons. In fact, the Cabinet was only 7 at that time. Especially when Prime Minister Rockingham and Prime Minister Fox were in power, they never regarded the king as the "master of a country" or regarded themselves as the "servant" of the king. The Prime Minister has changed from the "head butler" of the king to the real master of Britain. The subtle and close relationship between the Prime Minister and the Cabinet makes them share interests and take risks, while the king with royal blood is increasingly alienated. In 1831, under the influence of the "July Revolution" in France, the democratic movement swept across Europe with overwhelming force. From the end of 1831 to the beginning of 1831, the upper and lower houses received a total of 645 petitions from all over the country. However, the Tories, headed by the Duke of Wellington, think that the current system is very perfect, and even openly declare that they are firmly opposed to reform and will not budge. At that time, the voice of reform among the people in Britain was loud, which doomed the Tories to a fiasco in the same year's election.

2. The process and content of the bill

King William IV (1831-1837) appointed Whig leader Gray to form a cabinet. Gray's cabinet set up a four-member team headed by Lord Russell in October, 1831, responsible for drafting the reform bill, which was approved by the king and became law on June 7 of the same year. The content roughly includes three aspects: First, adjust the allocation of seats. The seats in 56 "declining constituencies" with a population of less than 2,111 were abolished, and 31 constituencies with a population of 2,111 to 4,111 were reduced by one seat, leaving 143 seats for large industrial cities and larger counties, while the total number of members of the House of Commons remained unchanged. Second, the property qualification of voters has been redefined. After lowering the property qualification of voters, in addition to big bankers, big businessmen and big factory owners, a large number of manual workshop owners, small businessmen and partial tenant farmers also got the right to vote. Third, the voter registration procedure was stipulated, which shortened the time. The election time was shortened from 15 to 2 days.

3. Significance

The parliamentary reform in p>1832 can be described as loud thunder and little rain. After repeated setbacks in such a large-scale movement, the reform achieved little effect. Marx also criticized: "I'm afraid never has a people's movement as powerful as this one, which seems to be successful, achieved such insignificant superficial results." Although Worker 8 is the main force of the reform movement, the reform has not changed the hard life of workers and brought them real democratic power. Nevertheless, the parliamentary reform in 1832 still has an indelible historical significance 2. This reform weakened the power of kings, nobles and lords, promoted the perfection of party organizations and the formation of two-party system, and was a major turning point in the development of British parliamentary monarchy. It has inspired people's confidence and determination to go deep into the election and reform, and a new power relationship between the cabinet and the king, political parties, public opinion and the upper and lower houses has gradually formed.

(II) Parliamentary reform in 1867

1. The background of the second parliamentary reform

After the 1961s, the political enthusiasm of the working class rose again, and the parliamentary reform ignited new hopes. In 1861, trade unions all over Britain demanded reform of the system. In 1864, the First International, which actively supported British workers in their struggle for the right to vote, was founded in London. In 1865, the National Reform Alliance was established to reform the electoral system. Marx also actively supported the workers' struggle for the right to vote. He believed that the time was not yet ripe to end the monopoly rule of the bourgeoisie, and the practical goal was to maximize bourgeois democracy. With the support of First International, National Reform Alliance and Marx, the large-scale reform movement has been vigorously launched in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and other major cities in Britain. The reform team with a huge voice marched in the streets and parks, and the reform of parliament has become the general trend and imperative.

2. The process and content of the promulgation of the bill. At that time, the Prime Minister was the Derby of the Conservative Party who opposed the reform. However, Benjamin Disraeli, the Finance Minister with high political prestige and status, judged the situation and knew that he who knows the times is a hero and should conform to the natural situation and public opinion. So Benjamin played a reformist to win people's hearts. On March 8, 1867, he proposed a reform proposal to the House of Commons. After making some amendments, it was approved by the House of Lords in August and signed by Queen Victoria (1837-1911) 9. The reform bill of 1867 adjusted the seats in parliament again, canceling 46 "failing constituencies" and leaving 52 constituencies for big industrial cities and counties. The seats in Birmingham, Manchester, London and other medium-sized cities have increased. The reform bill basically removed the "declining constituencies", and the petty bourgeoisie and the upper working class gained the right to vote.

3. Significance Although the vast number of urban lower-class workers and the entire agricultural population have not obtained the right to vote, the democratization task of the parliamentary election system is considered to be over, but the situation of most workers has improved. The parliamentary reform in 1867 has far-reaching significance in the history of bourgeois democratic revolution.

(3) the third parliamentary reform

1. The background of the second parliamentary reform

A serious outbreak occurred in Britain from 1881 to 1885.