Ольга Кравцова - Английский язык для специальных и академических целей: Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

James VI — who finally effected 1a Union of Crowns, bringing under his single rule in 1603 his own kingdom, Scotland, the kingdoms of Ireland and England, and the principality of Wales.

In the short term the Union of Crowns produced neither royal stability nor unity. In 1643 James's son and successor, Charles I, was executed in public and Britain became briefly a republic. Monarchy returned in 1660; but in 1688 a grandson and namesake of James was driven off the throne to be replaced by a Dutch prince William of Orange and his wife Mary 16 16 To effect (formal) — to cause (something) to happen, bring about 17 17 the sister of James II . There was another change of dynasty in 1714, when the English-born Queen Anne died without direct heirs, and was replaced by George of Hanover, a German prince 18 18 The German dynasty assumed the English name of Windsor in 1917 . As all this suggests, the apparent antiquity of monarchy in these islands masks considerable discontinuities in terms of evolution and the dynasties involved.

At the same time, while monarchy has often functioned as a national cement and emblem, it has also served to connect all or sections of these islands with other parts of the world. The British Empire, for instance, pivoted ideologically and organisationally on the monarchy. In legal theory, anyone born in the British monarch's dominions anywhere in the world — regardless of religion, race or ancestry — was potentially a British subject, who owed the monarch allegiance and was owed protection in return. The present Queen's position as head of the Commonwealth is in part a pale survival of this previous system and theory of empire-wide British subjecthood.

The sovereign of the United Kingdom is also Supreme Governor of the Church of England, from the late seventeenth century the monarchy was widely viewed as a guarantor and symbol of the prominent Protestantism of Great Britain as a whole, and of the Protestant supremacy in Ireland. It was because the House of Hanover was a Protestant dynasty that most Britons — though not all — were prepared to accept its import and accession to the British throne in 1714. Moreover, as Britain subsequently increased in power and wealth, it became more common for men and women to view it as a new Israel, a chosen land.

Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the idea that the monarchy was integral to Britain's providential destiny and prosperity ceased to be identified so powerfully with Protestants, and was strengthened by a course of events. In harsh reality the British monarchy was the beneficiary of successive global crises that were almost entirely outside its control. Had the United Kingdom been defeated and/or invaded during the Napoleonic Wars before 1815, or had it been overwhelmed in the First World War or the Second, then monarchy here — as in many other parts of Europe — might well have collapsed or been irredeemably tarnished. As it was, victory in all three of these massive conflicts helped to secure the monarchy's existence, and bestowed 19 19 To bestow sth on/upon sb (formal) — to give someone something of great value or importance on it a kind of superstitious attraction and charisma.

British monarchs reigning for especially long periods have contributed to political stability, and shaped opinion in another respect. They have helped to conceal from their nominal subjects the full disturbing extent of change, or at least helped them to sustain it. Thus the sheer length of Queen Victoria's reign — from 1837 to 1901 — almost certainly made it easier for some British and even Irish men and women to come to terms with what was then an unparalleled rate of urban, demographic and technological change. Elizabeth II's reign, which commenced in 1952, is almost as long as Victoria's, and she too has served to conceal change by way of her own apparent changelessness. Never in history has a polity given up ruling as many diverse parts of the globe as rapidly as the United Kingdom has been obliged to do since 1952. Some of its inhabitants, however, may have found this brutal descent from global power easier to bear — and even possible to ignore — because of the present Queen's reassuringly durable reign.

There may be further changes in the future for the monarchy to strive to gloss over. As we have seen, in the past, individual monarchs often ruled over different and distinct kingdoms, and helped to forge connections between them. We may be on the verge of the revival of this system. The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, has said that if Scottish voters opt for the independence in the 2014 Referendum, he wants the House of Windsor to act as monarchs of Scotland. This would be in tandem with, but distinct from, their role as head of state of the rest of the United Kingdom.

If in the future a member of the House of Windsor does serve as a sovereign of an independent Scotland — while also maintaining his or her state in England, Wales and Northern Ireland — this will merely underline monarchy's capacity to cover over sharp political change and to create a semblance of continuity where little really exists.

1. Walter Bagehot (/'b^d^t/ 3 February 1826 — 24 March 1877) was a British journalist, businessman, and essayist, who wrote extensively about government, economics, and literature. In 1867, Bagehot wrote The English Constitution, a book that explores the nature of the constitution of the United Kingdom, specifically its Parliament and monarchy. It appeared at the same time that Parliament enacted the Reform Act of 1867, requiring Bagehot to write an extended introduction to the second edition, which appeared in 1872.

2. James VI and I (19 June 1566 — 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until his death. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were individual sovereign states, with their own parliaments, judiciary, and laws, though both were ruled by James in personal union.

3. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 — 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India.

Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no legitimate, surviving children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality.

1. ... we [Britons] retain... affection for a system which appears to be at odds with the meritocratic principles of a modern liberal democracy.

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

2. ... the 1950s were ... a period in which the country [UK] was anxious about how global, institutional and social change might threaten its identity.

3. ... the values and traditions which underpinned family and community life were also changing rapidly.

4. Monarchy represented a bulwark against rapid and scary change.

5. As colonial power and the riches of empire declined, there was an increasing desire to define greatness as something other than wealth and territory. Britain wanted to believe it was special.

6. The monarchy is living history, a pageant of our past that remains relevant in the present and will continue to do so in the future. Constitutionally, it is the guarantor of stability .

7. Although the monarchy undoubtedly represents value for money, its true worth cannot be expressed in financial terms.

8. It [monarchy] is the personification of the [British] nation, the embodiment of the national identity.

1. What, according to Walter Bagehot, made the British monarchy a perfect political system?

2. When, in his opinion, was support for the monarchy likely to decline?

3. Has the monarchy provided continuity and stability throughout the country's history?

4. In what ways did the crown cement the nation before the 19 thcentury?

5. What part did the monarchy play in the evolution of the British Empire?

6. What was the effect of Britain's victory in the major wars of the 19 th-20 thcenturies on the monarchy?

7. In what way have the long-reigning monarchs (Queen Victoria, Elisabeth II) contributed to the political stability in the country?

8. What would have been the significance of the British monarch serving as a sovereign of independent Scotland (should Scotland have become independent)?

1. Do you agree with the author's opinion that the British monarchy has survived because it has always provided the people with a sense of stability and security?

2. Does the British monarchy have anything else going for it?

3. Do you think it is likely to be abolished in a foreseeable future?

1. able to become strong, happy, or successful again after a difficult situation or event

2. continuing to have a lot of influence for a long time

3. to guess about the possible causes or effects of something, without knowing all the facts or details

4. coming or following one after the other

5. to depend on or be based on one important thing, event, or idea

6. loyalty to a leader, country, belief, etc.

7. after an event in the past

8. forming a necessary part of something

9. to defeat completely and decisively

10. to make or become less valuable or respected (Participle II in the text)

11. unusually large, powerful, or damaging

12. a particular form of political or government organization, or a condition of society in which political organization exists