English schools of painting: W.Hogarth, J.Reynolds, T.Gainsborough
English Painting has a long and rich history. It is believed that English painting had been influenced by the Celts; however some scholars affirm that real English painting started in the 18th century; this is because the most important painters who worked before in England were foreigners (Hans Holbein the Younger, Anthony van Dyck, etc.), from mainland Europe, and painting was essentially an aristocratic matter (Works from the masters of Italian Renaissance were in the collections of the Earl of Arundel and the Duke of Buckingham). Nineteenth Century, "The Great Century of British Painting", produced a variety of outstanding works. J.M.W. Turner and John Constable influenced not only subsequent generations of British painters, but American and European as well. Portraits and landscape painting have been the great English specialism. In late XIX century, Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, a classical-subject Dutch painter, the most successful of the Victorian era, enriched English painting (in some list he appears as English painter).
William Hogarth (1697 – 1764) was one of the greatest innovators in English art. He was a professional rebel. He found English art sycophantic, and determined to make it independent. Instead of working for a few rich patrons, he evolved the idea of making his living out of popular engravings of his pictures. He believed that the lack of a native school of painting was largely due to the fashions imposed on a credulous public by connoisseurs and critics and he waged continual war on taste and the Old Masters.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (Plympton, Devon 1723- London 1792) was an English Rococo Painter and distinguished member of London's intellectual society. By 1760, Reynolds had become the most popular portrait painter in London. In 1768, he founded with Thomas Gainsborough the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1784, Reynolds was appointed principal royal portrait painter. He was already been knighted since 1769. Reynolds' works show an exceptional combination of emotions and technique. Often portraiture with subjects related to Greek and Roman deities, or men, children and women in a wonderful colorist style. Creativity, diversity and originality is present in his painting. Portrait of Nelly O’Brien (Wallace collection) is considered one of his masterpieces. Since 1912, an statue of him is in the courtyard of the Royal Academy.
Thomas Gainsborough (Sudbury, Suffolk, 1727 – London, 1788) was a landscape and portrait painter, considered one of the great English masters. In the aristocratic spa town of Bath and later in London, he became well-known for portraits like Mrs. Philip Thicknesse (1760), Mary, Countess Howe (about 1763-4), The Blue Boy (exhibited R.A. 1770), and the landscape The Harvest Wagon (exhibited S.A. 1767). In 1768 he became one of the foundation members of the Royal Academy, at which he exhibited annually until 1784. In 1780, Gainsborough painted the King George III and Queen Charlotte, becoming the Royal Family's favorite painter. Before his death in 1788, he turned from portraiture to pictorial compositions, producing in all some 200 landscapes in addition to his prolific output of about 800 portraits of the English aristocracy. Gainsborough is the master of the English Rococo. Sir Joshua Reynolds, President of the Royal Academy, was in painting his most important rival.
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35. BRITISH MUSIC
Much of English musical life is centered in London, but there is considerable activity outside the capital as well. Decentralization is encouraged by the Arts Council of Great Britain, which, since 1946, has been the agency that distributes government subsidies to the arts.
1. Opera.
The two principal opera companies in London are the Royal Opera at Covent Garden and the English National Opera (formerly Sadler's Wells*), which performs in English, at lower prices, and usually without the great international stars, at the Coliseum. There are also more modest companies, such as the English Music Theatre Company, some of which mostly tour outside London.
Opera is a feature of several English festivals, including Camden,* Aldeburgh,* and, most notably, Glyndebourne.* Occasional productions at English universities have helped awaken interest in works outside the standard repertory. Those at Cambridge in the 1920s and 1930s were of particular historical importance in this respect.
2. Performing groups.
Orchestras. London is remarkable for its four major symphony orchestras, the London Symphony (founded in 1904), London Philharmonic (1932), Philharmonia (1945), and Royal Philharmonic (1946). The London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic are the result of the activities of Sir Thomas Beecham (1879-1961). The BBC Symphony (1930) is based in London and gives public concerts. There are several excellent symphony orchestras outside London, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (1840), and the Halle Orchestra of Manchester* (1858).
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Chamber orchestras became an important part of London musical life through such groups as the London Chamber Orchestra (1921) and the Boyd Neel Orchestra (1932). The tradition they began has been carried on by several excellent newer ones, including the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (1959), the English Chamber Orchestra (1960), the London Sinfonietta (1968), which specializes in 20th-century music.
Choruses. Choral performance has been traditional in England for several centuries and remains popular today, although the tendency to have mammoth choruses singing Handel oratorios so much favored in the 19th century, has been somewhat tempered by the changing taste and greater historical consciousness of the 20th. Amateur choral societies are common throughout the country. Among the many in London are the Royal Choral Society (1871), the Bach Choir (1875), and the London Bach Society (1946). London also has several excellent chamber choruses, including the Monteverdi Choir (1964). Cathedral choirs and such well-known bodies as the choir of King's College, Cambridge, are also important elements in English choral music.
Early music. An interest in performing and listening to old music is something of an English tradition, as evidenced by the concerts of the Academy of Ancient Music in 18th-century London, which had hardly a parallel elsewhere in Europe at the time. Arnold Dolmetsch* (1858-1940), the central figure in the beginning of the modern revival of early-music performance, spent most of his career in England and firmly planted the movement there. The work of English musicians, such as David Munrow (1942-76) and his Early Music Consort (1967), was important in arousing audience interest in early music beginning in the 1960s. English activity in this field flourishes at present, with many groups of varied scope, such as the Academy of Ancient Music (1973), which recreates the mid-18th-century orchestra with authentic instruments.
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3. Festivals.
Music festivals have constituted a flourishing tradition in England since the 18th century, and they are at present almost innumerable. The Three Choirs Festival, begun around 1715 and almost certainly one of the oldest in Europe, represents the traditional type of choral festivals, of which several others also survive. Its site alternates among the homes of its choirs, Hereford, Gloucester, and Worcester. Among older English festivals, that at Haslemere was founded by Dolmetsch in 1925 to feature early music, and the Glyndebourne Festival, founded in 1934, early achieved and maintains an international reputation for its production of operas as integrated dramatic works.
Many British festivals began after World War II. They include the Alderburgh Festival (1948), long dominated by the personality of its founder, Benjamin Britten; the Bath Festival (1948), since 1959 similarly associated with Yehudi Menuhin; the English Bach Festival (1963); and the Tilford Bach Festival (1952) and others.
A festival of sorts and long a central feature of London summers are the Henry Wood* Promenade Concerts ("Proms") (1895), mostly given at the Royal Albert Hall.
4. Education.
Many aspects of musical activity in England were dominated by foreigners in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and the idea of conservatories and music schools to train native musicians developed slowly. The leading schools are the Royal Academy of Music (1822), the Royal College of Music (1883), both in London, and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (1792). Other important schools include Trinity College of Music (1872) of the University of London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (1880), London.
The first degrees in music known to have been conferred by a university were awarded at Cambridge in the 15th century, and a professorship of music was created there in the 17th. Oxford awarded music degrees from the early 16th century and in the 17th instituted a lectureship that grew into a professorship, but the establishment of music in anything like a regular, systematic, and modern way as part of the university curriculum at any university in England was almost entirely a 20th-century development. About a dozen English universities now have full music programs.
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With Edward Elgar (1857-1934), England produced its first native composer of international importance since Purcell, and in the early 20th century an English nationalist school flowered with Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), Gustav Holst (1874-1934), and others. William Walton (1902-83), Michael Tippett (b. 1905), and Benjamin Britten (1913-76) dominated their generation. Younger composers of achievement include Richard Rodney Bennett (b. 1936), Harrison Birtwhistle (b. 1934), Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1934).
Folk music. Most English folk music is closely related to the songs of the dance. Folk songs are generally syllabic and strophic,* frequently with a refrain. Notable types include the ballad, love songs of various sorts, and songs attached to particular occasions or activities, such as carols,* sea shanties,* children's singing games, and street cries. Two general varieties of folk dance exist: ritual or ceremonial dances, associated with certain seasons of the year and most often performed by costumed groups of men; and country dances, performed at social occasions by both men and women. Ritual dances include sword, morris,* and processional dances. Dance tunes usually come from folk song and are almost always in duple meter. Instruments used in folk music are the pipe and tabor,* the small-pipes (a sort of bagpipe), and, especially today, the fiddle, concertina, or melodeon.*
36.THE 18тн CENTURY–OF WEALTH, TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION AND POWER
The end of the 17th century and the start of the new century, were the periods of wars in Europe. Britain was involved into the Nine Years War (1688-1697) and the War for Spanish Succession (1702-1713). France had become a permanent enemy, and the grand strategy of Britain was to stop the French expansionist policies: to struggle against the French competition in trade, and also to interfere in the affairs of the Spanish Empire.
The Whigs in the British Parliament supported the interventionist foreign policy of William III of Orange and his favourite general – John Churchill who was already theDuke of Marlborough.After the death of Mary and William they were succeeded by Anne (1702-1714). Marlborough was the commander of the Army and was successfully fighting against the French attempts to place a French prince on the Spanish throne. The established Church and also gained free trade with England.
England, Scotland and Wales were united and became Great Britain.
The Tones opposed the military actions of their successful opponents, the Whigs.
The Duchess of Marlborough, who had been very friendly and close to Queen Anne, was replaced by a lady, supporting the Tories. They came to power in 1712 and began negotiating peace with France. The Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 according to which the Crowns of France and Spain were never to be united, Britain gained many advantages–new territories, such as Gibraltar, Minorca, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and the right to sell slaves to the Spanish colonies. Great Britain had became a great European power.
Queen Anne was the last Stuart monarch, she died in 1714; and according to the Act of Settlement, she was succeeded by Protestants ofHanoverian Dynasty.George I (1714-1727) was an elderly and unpreposessing German who could speak no English.
The consequences were thattheWhigs surrounding the King were handed over many of the royal prerogatives and their leader became the Chair man of the King's Council. That was the beginning of the Cabinet system of Government in Great Britain, with a Prim Minister presiding over the Cabinet.
The Whig domination lasted for half a century. It was troubled by the Jacobite Rebellion in 1715 and by the growing National Debt. It had been create to help to pay for war, and by 1713 it had risen to ?54 million.
In 1717 one of the Whig ministers Robert Walpole (later known as the first Prime Minister) introduced "the sinking fund" to be used to paying off the Debt from the taxes.
The South Sea Company, founded in 1711 to trade in slaves, offered to take over a large part of the Debt which was followed by a great rise of the value of its shares. "The South sea bubble" burst up in 1720, collapsed like a pitched bubble and ruined many investors.
Robert Walpole was called to remedy the financial situation in the country. In 1721 he became the first Prime Minister and an outstanding statesman. The main objectives of his policy were peace and prosperity. His motto was "let the sleeping dogs lie". He had been in office for twenty years and stabilized the financial situation with the help of taxes imposed on goods sold within the country.
The taxes on tea and coffee were a success, but the taxes on wine and tobacco aroused protests of his opponents and people in the country.
When George II became king (1727-1760), he continued his father's policy and relied upon R. Walpole as Prime Minister. But the opponents from the Tones were attacking Walpole, especially the young talented politician W. Pitt (the Elder), – and much against his will, the Prime Minister was forced to start a war against Spain. But he didn't direct it properly in the opinion of his Parliamentary critics, and had to resign. But he continued to have an influence on George II. Sir Robert Walpole became a very rich man, had a rich collection of paintings which was sold by his grandson to Catherine the Great of Russia.
1745 was the year of another Jacobite attempt to restore the Stuarts. James, the Old Pretender, had been recognized by the Scottish opposition as JamesIII,toasts had been drunk "for the King beyond the sea", but James was passive and didn't undertake any steps. His son and the grandson of James II, Charles Edward or the Young Pretender, landed in Scotland together with his seven followers. They were enthusiastically greeted by the Highlanders, who revolted in support of this romantic handsome young man and called himBonny Prince Charlie. The Jacobite rebels captured Edinburgh the capital of Scotland but failed to withstand the attacks of the regular English army, they were defeated at the Cullodon Moor and scattered. Charles Edward escaped back to France. The Highlanders were subjected to cruel punishments and repressions. The old clan system was destroyed, it was forbidden to wear a kilt or to play bagpipes. Leaders were executed, many Highland families left the country. The Highlanders were brought under the control of the central Government.
The most important opponent of Sir R. Walpole was William Pitt "the Elder", later Lord Chatham who was determined to strengthen the economic power of Britain and to defeat France in the trade competition overseas. He agreed with Daniel Defoe the author of Robinson Crusoe, who had written in 1728 "Trade is the wealth of the world, trade makes the difference between rich and poor, between one nation and another".
When Lord Chatham became the secretary of state he directed British efforts at destroying French trade and driving the French from North America; that policy culminated in the capture of Quebec, Montreal and other triumphs of the "Year of Victory" (1759). In India the British became the masters of Bengal. India became the "jewel of the Crown" of Britain's foreign possessions. In 1760 George II was succeeded by his grandsonGeorge III (1760-1820). He was the first Hanoverian to be born in Britain. He declared himself Patriot King and was determined to take a more active part in the government of the country. His Government, his Cabinet included the Tones who were described as King's Friends.
William Pitt, the Elder, had resigned as his new military plans did not find an understanding of the young King, who wanted to make peace with France (1763) and other European countries.
Meanwhile there were deteriorations in the relations with North American colonies. The colonists objected to the taxation from Westminster declaring their demands – "No taxation without representation". The King's new minister Lord North didn't stop George III from mismanaging the affairs in North American colonies.
The Boston Tea Party in 1773 was the protest against the Stamps for tea taxes, when the colonists threw the East India Company'stea into the harbour. The Parliament undertook repressions though the opposition of Whigs were against this disastrous policy.
There were military conflicts near Lexington and Concord near Boston. The Congress of the United Colonies at Philadelphia electedGeorge Washington,of Virginia commander of their armed forces (1775). A year later, on the 4 of July, 1776, the Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.
The English army was defeated in the battle of Saratoga and was forced to surrender. The war of Independence was won by the American forces supported by the French and when the Peace treaty was signed in 1782 in Paris, thirteen North American colonies transformed themselves into the United States of America with George Washington as their first President.
The defeat of Britain in North America ended the period of George III personal rule. The new Tories were his only hope, and in 1783 the King invited William Pitt, the younger, Lord Chatham's twenty-four year oldson toform a Cabinet.
The reign of George III was the period of the great activity of the Literary Club, headed by the literary and linguistic dictator Dr. S. Johnson among whose members were Sir Joshua Reynolds, Goldsmith, Burke, Fox, Gainsborough, Sheridan and Adam Smith. The book by Adam Smith "The Wealth of Nations" appeared in the year of the Declaration of Independence; in it the great economist presented the first classical system of economic activities of people. James Watt in 1782 improved the steam engines and his inventions made possible the Industrial Revolution.
The technological Revolution was a new breakthrough in the economic and social development of Great Britain. It was a British way of bourgeois development, in contrast to the French Revolution. Chronologically its beginning is referred to the middle of the 18th century; and the first achievements were in the production of agricultural products due to the new farming techniques.
Mechanical inventions facilitated the unprecidented growth of iron and coal production. By 1800 Britain was producing four times as much coal as it had done in 1700 and eight times as much iron. John Wilkinson was making iron bridges, an iron chapel, iron boats.James Wattmade a steam engine in 1769. In 1764 a spinning machine was invented that could do the work of several people. The machines for spinning and weaving revolutionized the cloth making industry and transformed it from a cottage industry into a factory industry which was run and controlled by factory owners. Cotton textiles played the leading part in Britain's economic expansion.
Britain was importing raw cotton from its colonies and exporting the finished cotton cloth to sell in Europe and in the colonies as well. Manchester became the centre of the cotton textile industry.
In the Midlands manufacturing of china goods was developing successfully and large quantities of bone china were exported. The most famous factory was one started by master potter Josiah Wedgwood. His high quality bone china and blue china became popular, and now Wedgwood is the trade mark of most exquisite English china. The area of this industry's location is known as "the Potteries".
The industrial revolution involved a revolution in transport. Man-made canals together with rivers linked the main ports of England, roads were improved and a service of post coaches was started in 1784.
The end of the 18th century was the period of social disintegration – the wealth of the few was growing while the misery and poverty of the majority of people were increasing equally rapidly. Deprived of the means of production workers had lived in slums and worked long hours for very low wages in factories and mines. The country was splitting into two nations – the rich and the poor.
There were many reasons for discontent in Britain, but the Revolution in France in 1789 was first welcomed in England by liberals, but it was becoming ferocious and bloody, the British ruling classes were frightened that similar events might happen in Britain. The Book by E. Burke "Reflections on the Revolution in France" was a serious warning of the dangers of radicalism. The Government took tough measures against the working class movement and organisations that were appearing: mass meetings were forbidden, associations of workers were declared illegal.
Pitt had been Prime minister after 1784 almost all his life. But the King (George III) was an old sick man, who was not always in his right mind, so the position of the P. M. was extremely important. Pitt was determined to maintain peace, but Revolutionary France declared war in 1793. The British troops were defeated in the Netherlands and the French West India, and the situation became more dangerous when a New French general appeared on the political scene – Napoleon.
The British were rescued by their Navy. The commander of the British fleet, admiralHoratio Nelson won brilliant victories over the French navy, near the coast of Egypt, at Copenhagen and near Spain. At the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 Nelson destroyed the French-Spanish fleet, but was killed by a sniper. He became one of Britain's greatest national heroes. His words to the English fleet before the battle of Trafalgar "England expects that every man will do his duty" are preserved in the memory of the nation as a historic example of partiotic duty in the time of danger.
The greatest general of the British army in the actions against Napoleon became the Duke of Wellington (Sir Arthur Wellesley 1769-1852).
The Congress of the European Powers held at Vienna made peace and Britain emerged from the "Napoleonic Wars" a great empire: to Canada, Australia and most of India she added Cape Colony (South Africa), Ceylon and Guinea as well as a number of small provinces.
But this newly enlarged great power was suffering from internal problems: political and economic reforms had been long overdue, the years of the war had been a period of repressions, and the position of the workers and the poor had deteriorated.
The first political measure of the Government was a Corn Law prohibiting the import of cheap foreign grain. It was followed by riots and more repressions, some demonstrators were killed in the "Massacre of Peterloo" in Manchester. The people had their progressive champions who criticized the established institutions and created "new settlements of the greatest happiness of the greatest number".Robert Owen, the philanthropic factory owner and a theorist of Utopian socialism, who influenced the development of the working class movements–cooperative retail societies and trade unionism was one of them.
The social and political changes in the world involved a revolution in the arts. A brilliant galaxy of writers and poets looked for inspiration to nature, to emotions and to the spirit of freedom. Lyrical Ballads of Wordsworth and Coleridge were published in 1798. The works of Byron, Shelly and Keats were romantic and emotional. Jane Austen was not carried away by the Romantic Movement and in her domestic miniatures described the adventures of young lovers in the English country houses.
Painting was equal to the achievements of poetry. Landscape painting produced two greatbut very different geniuses – Turner and Constable.
The old King (George III, 1760-1820), blind, insane, died in 1820 and was succeeded by little respected George IV (1820-1830) who had been Prince Regent for the last nine years of his father's life (1811-1820).
37.American primary and secondary education
Pre-school and elementary education includes nursery schools and kindergartens which are for children at the age of 4-6. Most of them are private. Many public schools have kindergartens attached, for the age group between 5 and 6. These kindergartens do not charge any money.
Compulsory education starts at the age of 6. Both elementary and secondary education is comprehensive in the U.S.A. - it means that there is no selection for various types of schools (every school learns the same subjects). Years are called "Grades" in the U.S.A. Elementary school lasts between 6 and 11 years of age. It is from the first till the fifth grade. The children at elementary schools learn to read, write, and do arithmetic, elementary science, history, geography, arts and crafts, physical education and music.
The atmosphere at elementary schools is usually friendly. Teachers keep to the idea that children's happiness and interest are the two most important things.
SECONDARY EDUCATION
Secondary education is based on the ideal of mass education with equal opportunity for all.
Over 90 per cent of students continue in school until the age of 18. Secondary education is provided by Middle Schools (from 11 to 14 years of age - sixth, seventh and eighth grade) in the areas where they exist, or by High Schools which are often divided into Junior High School (at the age 11 to 14 - sixth to eighth grade) and Senior High School (at the age of 15 to 18 - ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade). Where the population is very big, Junior and Senior High schools can be separate institutions.
In large towns or communities there may be a wide choice of secondary schools. In some places you may have the opportunity to attend a specialized school, such as a school for science, a school for the performing arts or a high school for the navy, or to go to the central high school in the area. If a student chooses to remain at the central high school, he or she, again, may have an opportunity to choose among a variety of subjects from traditional ones such as English, modern languages, mathematics, science, history, geography, civics, physical education and from many elective subjects (European history, world political issues, Business education, Foreign languages, Music, Driver education, Health, Computer skills, home management, Black history...).
Some schools may also offer different programs of study; some give an opportunity to choose a level of academic study which is known as a "track". The entrance to the most difficult programs or tracks, usually academic, depends upon what one would like to study in the future and upon one's marks which are also called in the USA "grades". If one has high grades and is interested in a certain field of study, one may enter the higher class, such as advanced biology or physics. On the other hand it is possible to study all subjects, but the level of instruction will not be as high.
Students should take on average 17 subjects during their studies. Those who want to enter university should take over 20 subjects.
High schools generally organize much activity outside the classroom; many of them have
football, basketball and baseball teams, an orchestra, a choir or a jazz band, and various clubs and societies.
High schools in the USA are comprehensive, coeducational secondary schools. The secondary school system does not include specialized vocational schools as in the Czech Republic, butsome high schools may offer specialized courses or subjects, such as business, computer science, running a shop, or music and film appreciation.
Secondary education
As part of education in the United States, secondary education usually covers grades 6 through 9 or 10 through 12.Junior and senior high school
Middle school and Junior high school include the grade levels intermediate between elementary school and senior high school. "Middle school" usually includes sixth, seventh and eighth grade; "Junior high" typically includes seventh through ninth grade. The range defined by either is often based on demographic factors, such as an increase or decrease in the relative numbers of younger or older students, with the aim of maintaining stable school populations.[40] At this time, students are given more independence, moving to different classrooms for different subjects, and being allowed to choose some of their class subjects (electives). Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student’s official transcript. Future employers or colleges may want to see steady improvement in grades and a good attendance record on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encouraged to take much more responsibility for their education.
Senior high school is a school attended after junior high school. High school is often used instead of senior high school and distinguished from junior high school. High school usually runs either from 9th through 12th, or 10th through 12th grade. The students in these grades are commonly referred to as freshmen (grade 9), sophomores (grade 10), juniors (grade 11) and seniors (grade 12).
Basic curricular structure
Generally, at the high school level, students take a broad variety of classes without special emphasis in any particular subject. Curricula vary widely in quality and rigidity; for example, some states consider 65 (on a 100-point scale) a passing grade, while others consider it to be as low as 60 or as high as 75. Students are required to take a certain minimum number of mandatory subjects, but may choose additional subjects ("electives") to fill out their required hours of learning.
The following minimum courses of study in mandatory subjects are required in nearly all U.S. high schools:
• Science (usually three years minimum, normally biology, chemistry and physics)
• Mathematics (usually four years minimum, normally including algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, statistics, andeven calculus)
• English (usually four years minimum, including literature, humanities, composition, oral languages, etc.)
• Social sciences (usually three years minimum, including various history, government/economics courses)[41]
• Physical education (at least two years)
Many states require a "health" course in which students learn about anatomy, nutrition, first aid, sexuality, drug awareness and birth control. Anti-drug use programs are also usually part of health courses. In many cases, however, options are provided for students to "test out" of this requirement or complete independent study to meet it. Foreign language and some form of art education are also a mandatory part of the curriculum in some schools.Education in the United States
Common types of electives include:
• Computers (word processing, programming, graphic design)
• Athletics (cross country, football, baseball, basketball, track and field, swimming, tennis, gymnastics, water polo,soccer, softball, wrestling, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, crew, boxing, skiing/snowboarding, golf)
• Career and Technical Education (Agriculture/Agriscience, Business/Marketing, Family and Consumer Science, Health Occupations, and Technology Education, including Publishing (journalism/student newspaper, yearbook/annual, literary magazine))
• Performing Arts/Visual Arts, (choir, band, orchestra, drama, art, ceramics, photography, and dance)
• Foreign languages (Spanish and French are common; Chinese, Latin, Greek, German, Italian, Arabic, and Japanese are less common)[42]
• Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
38.The growth of parlamient
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced what, in later centuries, became referred to as a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief (a person who held land) and ecclesiastics before making laws. In 1215, the tenants-in-chief secured Magna Carta from King John, which established that the king may not levy or collect any taxes (except the feudal taxes to which they were hitherto accustomed), save with the consent of his royal council, which gradually developed into a parliament.
Over the centuries, the English Parliament progressively limited the power of the English monarchy which arguably culminated in the English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I in 1649. After the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, and the subsequent Glorious Revolution of 1688, the supremacy of Parliament was a settled principle and all future English and later British sovereigns were restricted to the role of constitutional monarchs with limited executive authority. The Act of Union 1707 merged the English Parliament with the Parliament of Scotland to form the Parliament of Great Britain. When the Parliament of Ireland was abolished in 1801, its former members were merged into what was now called the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
History
Under a monarchical system of government, the monarch usually must consult and seek a measure of acceptance for his policies if he is to enjoy the broad cooperation of his subjects. Early kings of England had no standing army or police, and so depended on the support of powerful subjects. The monarchy had agents in every part of the country. However, under the feudal system that evolved in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the laws of the Crown could not have been upheld without the support of the nobility and the clergy. The former had economic and military power bases of their own through major ownership of land and the feudal obligations of their tenants (some of whom held lands on condition of military service). The Church was virtually a law unto itself in this period as it had its own system of religious law courts.
In order to seek consultation and consent from the nobility and the senior clergy on major decisions, post-Norman Conquest English monarchs called Great Councils. A typical Great Council would consist of archbishops, bishops, abbots, barons and earls, the pillars of the feudal system.
When this system of consultation and consent broke down, it often became impossible for government to function effectively. The most prominent instances of this prior to the reign of Henry III are the disagreements between Thomas Becket and Henry II and between King John and the barons.
Becket, who served as Archbishop of Canterbury between 1162 and 1170, was murdered following a long running dispute with Henry II over the jurisdiction of the Church. John, who was king from 1199 to 1216, aroused such hostility from many leading noblemen that they forced him to agree to Magna Carta in 1215. John's refusal to adhere to this charter led to civil war (see First Barons' War).
The Great Council evolved into the Parliament of England. The term itself came into use during the early 13th century, deriving from the Latin and French words for discussion and speaking. The word first appears in official documents in the 1230s. As a result of the work by historians G. O. Sayles and H. G. Richardson, it is widely believed that the early parliaments had a judicial as well as a legislative function.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the kings began to call Knights of the Shire to meet when the monarch saw it as necessary. A notable example of this was in 1254 when sheriffs of counties were instructed to send Knights of the Shire to parliament to advise the king on finance.
Initially, parliaments were mostly summoned when the king needed to raise money through taxes. Following the Magna Carta this became a convention. This was due in no small part to the fact that King John died in 1216 and was succeeded by his young son Henry III. Leading peers and clergy governed on Henry's behalf until he came of age, giving them a taste for power that they would prove unwilling to relinquish. Among other things, they made sure that Magna Carta would be reaffirmed by the young king.
Parliament in the reign of Henry III
A parliament consisting of representatives of the realm was the logical way for Montfort to establish his authority. In calling this parliament, in a bid to gain popular support, he summoned knights and burgesses from the emerging gentry class, thus turning to his advantage the fact that most of the nobility had abandoned his movement. This parliament was summoned on 14 December 1264. It first met on 20 January 1265 in Westminster Hall[1] and was dissolved on 15 February 1265. It is not certain who actually attended this parliament. Nonetheless, Montfort's scheme was formally adopted by Edward I in the so-called "Model Parliament" of 1295. The attendance at parliament of knights and burgesses historically became known as the summoning of "the Commons", a term derived from the Norman French word "commune", literally translated as the "community of the realm".
Following Edward's escape from captivity, Montfort was defeated and killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. Henry's authority was restored and the Provisions of Oxford were forgotten, but this was nonetheless a turning point in the history of the Parliament of England. Although he was not obliged by statute to do so, Henry summoned the Commons to parliament three times between September 1268 and April 1270. However, this was not a significant turning point in the history of parliamentary democracy. Subsequently, very little is known about how representatives were selected because, at this time, being sent to parliament was not a prestigious undertaking. But Montfort's decision to summon knights of the shires and burgesses to his parliament did mark the irreversible emergence of the landed gentry as a force in politics. From then on, monarchs could not ignore them, which explains Henry's decision to summon the Commons to several of his post-1265 parliaments.
Even though many peers who had supported the Provisions of Oxford remained active in English public life throughout Henry's reign, the conditions they had laid down for regular parliaments were largely forgotten, as if to symbolise the historical development of the English Parliament via convention rather than statutes and written constitutions.
The emergence of parliament as an institution
A 16th-century depiction of Edward's parliament
During the reign of Edward I, which began in 1272, the role of Parliament in the government of the English kingdom increased due to Edward's determination to unite England, Wales and Scotland under his rule by force. He was also keen to unite his subjects in order to restore his authority and not face rebellion as was his father's fate. Edward therefore encouraged all sectors of society to submit petitions to parliament detailing their grievances in order for them to be resolved. This seemingly gave all of Edward's subjects a potential role in government and this helped Edward assert his authority.
As the number of petitions being submitted to parliament increased, they came to be dealt with, and often ignored, more and more by ministers of the Crown so as not to block the passage of government business through parliament. However the emergence of petitioning is significant because it is some of the earliest evidence of parliament being used as a forum to address the general grievances of ordinary people. Submitting a petition to parliament is a tradition that continues to this day in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and in most Commonwealth realms.
These developments symbolise the fact that parliament and government were by no means the same thing by this point. If monarchs were going to impose their will on their kingdom, they would have to control parliament rather than be subservient to it.
From Edward's reign onwards, the authority of the English Parliament would depend on the strength or weakness of the incumbent monarch. When the king or queen was strong he or she would wield enough influence to pass their legislation through parliament without much trouble. Some strong monarchs even bypassed it completely, although this was not often possible in the case of financial legislation due to the post-Magna Carta convention of parliament granting taxes. When weak monarchs governed, parliament often became the centre of opposition against them. Subsequently, the composition of parliaments in this period varied depending on the decisions that needed to be taken in them. The nobility and senior clergy were always summoned. From 1265 onwards, when the monarch needed to raise money through taxes, it was usual for knights and burgesses to be summoned too. However, when the king was merely seeking advice, he often only summoned the nobility and the clergy, sometimes with and sometimes without the knights of the shires. On some occasions the Commons were summoned and sent home again once the monarch was finished with them, allowing parliament to continue without them. It was not until the mid-14th century that summoning representatives of the shires and the boroughs became the norm for all parliaments.
One of the moments that marked the emergence of parliament as a true institution in England was the deposition of Edward II. Even though it is debatable whether Edward II was deposed in parliament or by parliament, this remarkable sequence of events consolidated the importance of parliament in the English unwritten constitution. Parliament was also crucial in establishing the legitimacy of the king who replaced Edward II: his son Edward III.
In 1341 the Commons met separately from the nobility and clergy for the first time, creating what was effectively an Upper Chamber and a Lower Chamber, with the knights and burgesses sitting in the latter. This Upper Chamber became known as the House of Lords from 1544 onward, and the Lower Chamber became known as the House of Commons, collectively known as the Houses of Parliament.
The authority of parliament grew under Edward III; it was established that no law could be made, nor any tax levied, without the consent of both Houses and the Sovereign. This development occurred during the reign of Edward III because he was involved in the Hundred Years' War and needed finances. During his conduct of the war, Edward tried to circumvent parliament as much as possible, which caused this edict to be passed.
The Commons came to act with increasing boldness during this period. During the Good Parliament (1376), the Presiding Officer of the lower chamber, Sir Peter de la Mare, complained of heavy taxes, demanded an accounting of the royal expenditures, and criticised the king's management of the military. The Commons even proceeded to impeach some of the king's ministers. The bold Speaker was imprisoned, but was soon released after the death of Edward III. During the reign of the next monarch, Richard II, the Commons once again began to impeach errant ministers of the Crown. They insisted that they could not only control taxation, but also public expenditure. Despite such gains in authority, however, the Commons still remained much less powerful than the House of Lords and the Crown.
This period also saw the introduction of a franchise which limited the number of people who could vote in elections for the House of Commons. From 1430 onwards, the franchise was limited to Forty Shilling Freeholders, that is men who owned freehold property worth forty shillings or more. The Parliament of England legislated the new uniform county franchise, in the statute 8 Hen. 6, c. 7. The Chronological Table of the Statutes does not mention such a 1430 law, as it was included in the Consolidated Statutes as a recital in the Electors of Knights of the Shire Act 1432 (10 Hen. 6, c. 2), which amended and re-enacted the 1430 law to make clear that the resident of a county had to have a forty shilling freehold in that county to be a voter there.
King, Lords, and Commons
It was during the reign of the Tudor monarchs that the modern structure of the English Parliament began to be created. The Tudor monarchy was powerful and there were often periods of several years when parliament did not sit at all. However the Tudor monarchs were astute enough to realise that they needed parliament to legitimise many of their decisions, mostly out of a need to raise money through taxation legitimately without causing discontent. Thus they consolidated the state of affairs whereby monarchs would call and close parliament as and when they needed it.
By the time Henry Tudor (Henry VII) came to the throne in 1485 the monarch was not a member of either the Upper Chamber or the Lower Chamber. Consequently, the monarch would have to make his or her feelings known to Parliament through his or her supporters in both houses. Proceedings were regulated by the presiding officer in either chamber. From the 1540s the presiding officer in the House of Commons became formally known as the "Speaker", having previously been referred to as the "prolocutor" or "parlour" (a semi-official position, often nominated by the monarch, that had existed ever since Peter de Montfort had acted as the presiding officer of the Oxford Parliament of 1258). This was not an enviable job. When the House of Commons was unhappy it was the Speaker who had to deliver this news to the monarch. This began the tradition whereby the Speaker of the House of Commons is dragged to the Speaker's Chair by other members once elected.
A member of either chamber could present a "bill" to parliament. Bills supported by the monarch were often proposed by members of the Privy Council who sat in parliament. In order for a bill to become law it would have to be approved by a majority of both Houses of Parliament before it passed to the monarch for royal assent or veto. The royal veto was applied several times during the 16th and 17th centuries and it is still the right of the monarch of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms to veto legislation today, although it has not been exercised since 1707 (today such exercise would presumably precipitate a constitutional crisis).
When a bill was enacted into law, this process gave it the approval of each estate of the realm: the King, Lords, and Commons. In reality, this was not a democratic process. The Parliament of England was far from being a democratically representative institution in this period. It was possible to assemble the entire peerage and senior clergy of the realm in one place to form the estate of the Upper Chamber. However, the voting franchise for the House of Commons was small; some historians estimate that it was as little as three per cent of the adult male population; and there was no secret ballot. This meant that elections could be controlled by local grandees, because in many boroughs a majority of voters were in some way dependent on a powerful individual, or else could be bought by money or concessions. If these grandees were supporters of the incumbent monarch, this gave the Crown and its ministers considerable influence over the business of parliament. Many of the men elected to parliament did not relish the prospect of having to act in the interests of others. So a law was enacted, still on the statute book today, whereby it became unlawful for members of the House of Commons to resign their seat unless they were granted a position directly within the patronage of the monarchy (today this latter restriction leads to a legal fiction allowing de facto resignation despite the prohibition, but nevertheless it is a resignation which needs the permission of the Crown). However, it must be emphasised that while several elections to parliament in this period were in some way corrupt by modern standards, many elections involved genuine contests between rival candidates, even though the ballot was not secret.
It was in this period that the Palace of Westminster was established as the seat of the English Parliament. In 1548, the House of Commons was granted a regular meeting place by the Crown, St Stephen's Chapel. This had been a royal chapel. It was made into a debating chamber after Henry VIII became the last monarch to use the Palace of Westminster as a place of residence and following the suppression of the college there. This room became the home of the House of Commons until it was destroyed by fire in 1834, although the interior was altered several times up until then. The structure of this room was pivotal in the development of the Parliament of England. While most modern legislatures sit in a circular chamber, the benches of the British Houses of Parliament are laid out in the form of choir stalls in a chapel, simply because this is the part of the original room that the members of the House of Commons utilised when they were granted use of St Stephen's Chapel. This structure took on a new significance with the emergence of political parties in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as the tradition began whereby the members of the governing party would sit on the benches to the right of the Speaker and the opposition members on the benches to the left. It is said that the Speaker's chair was placed in front of the chapel's altar. As Members came and went they observed the custom of bowing to the altar and continued to do so, even when it had been taken away, thus then bowing to the Chair, as is still the custom today.[citation needed]
The numbers of the Lords Spiritual diminished under Henry VIII, who commanded the Dissolution of the Monasteries, thereby depriving the abbots and priors of their seats in the Upper House. For the first time, the Lords Temporal were more numerous than the Lords Spiritual. Currently, the Lords Spiritual consist of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, and twenty-one other English diocesan bishops in seniority of appointment to a diocese.
The Laws in Wales Acts of 1535–42 annexed Wales as part of England and this brought Welsh representatives into the Parliament of England, first elected in 1542.
39.Higher Education
There are about 3,000 colleges and universities, both private and public, in the United States. Students have to pay to go both private and State universities. Private universities are generally smaller but very expensive, which means that the tuition fees are extremely high. State colleges and universities are not that expensive, the tuition fees are usually lower, and if the students are State residents, they pay much less.
Every young person who enters a higher educational institution can get financial assistance. If a student is offered a loan, he should repay it (with interest) after he has left the college. Needy students are awarded grants which they do not have to repay. Scholarships are given when a student is doing exceptionally well at school.
American universities and colleges are usually built as a separate complex, called “campus”, with teaching blocks, libraries, dormitories, and many other facilities grouped together on one site, often on the outskirts of the city. Some universities are comprised of many campuses. The University of California, for example, has 9 campuses, the biggest being Berkeley (founded in 1868), San Francisco (1873), Los Angeles (1919), Santa Barbara (1944), Santa Cruz (1965).
All the universities are independent, offering their own choice of studies, setting their own admission standards and deciding which students meet their standards. The greater the prestige of the university, the higher the credits and grades required.
The terms “college” and “university” are often used interchangeably, as “college” is used to refer to all undergraduate education; and the our-year undergraduate program, leading to a bachelor’s degree, can be followed at either college or university. Universities tend to be larger than colleges and also have graduate schools where students can receive post-graduate education. Advanced or graduate university degrees include law and medicine.
Most colleges and universities undergraduate courses last for four years. During the first two years students usually follow general courses in the art or sciences and then choose a major – the subject or area of studies in which they concentrate. The other subjects are called minors. Credits (with grades) are awarded for the successful completion of each course. These credits are often transferable, so students ho have not done well in high school can choose a junior college (or community college), which offers a two-year “transfer” program preparing students for degree-granting institutions. Community colleges also offer two-year courses of vocational nature, leading to technical and semi-professional occupations, such as journalism.
There are no final examinations at colleges and universities, and students receive a degree if they have collected enough credits in a particular subject. The traditional degree which crowns the undergraduate course is that of a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or a Bachelor of Science (B.C.) The lower level of graduate school is for obtaining the Master’s Degree (M.A. or M.C.), and the upper level is for the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2044/Higher-Education-in-United-States.html
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
40.the geoagraphy of the uk
The British Isles, which include Great Britain, Ireland and a lot of smaller islands, are situated off the north western coast of Europe and once formed part of that continent. They became islands when they were separated from it. The separation took place thousands of years ago, after the last Ice Age, when the ice melted, the level of the oceans rose and drowned the low-lying coastlands.
Politically the British Isles are divided into two countries — the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic or Eire. All in all there are over 5,000 islands in the system of the British Isles which lie on the continental shelf. The two main islands are Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland) to the east and Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the independent Irish Republic) to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.The UK is situated off the west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and the North Sea on the east and is separated from the European continent by the English Channel (or La Manche) and the Strait of Dover.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after its major isle), England (after its major historic part) or the British Isles.The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies most of the territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main parts which are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The UK is one of the world's smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of some 244,100 square kilometres. The population of the United Kingdom is nearly 59 million people. English is not the only language which people use in the UK. English is the official language. But some people speak Gaelic in western Scotland, Welsh — in parts of northern and central Wales.
Union Jack The flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The upright red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
Geographically, the island of Great Britain is subdivided into two main regions — Lowland Britain and Highland Britain, Lowland Britain comprises southern and eastern England, Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the Pennines, and the Lake District. The Pennine Chain extends southward from the Cheviot Hills into the Midlands, a plains region with low hills and valleys.England is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot Hills, running from east to west.
The chief rivers of Great Britain are: the Severn, flowing along the border between England and Wales, tributaries of which include the Avon famed by Shakespeare; the Thames, which flows eastward to the port of London and some others.
There are many lakes in Great Britain. On the northwest side of the Pennine system lies the Lake District, containing the beautiful lakes which give it its name. This district is widely known for its association with the history of English literature and especially with the name of William Wordsworth (1770—1859), the founder of the Lake School of poets.
The largest cities of Great Britain are: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh. The most important ports are: London, Liverpool, Southampton, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.
MINERAL RESOURCES.
The rise of Britain as an industrial nation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was partly due to the presence of considerable mineral resources. They provided raw materials as well as sources of power. She possessed abundant supplies of coal and iron ore, the two chief minerals on which the Industrial Revolution was based.
Britain had enough non-ferrous metals — copper, lead, and tin, for example, to meet her needs for a time. But in the course of the last hundred years or so the situation has gradually changed. Many of Britain's most valuable and accessible deposits have been worked out. Moreover, coal had lost some of its former importance, and such minerals as petroleum and uranium ores have become essential materials in the modern world.
At the same lime British industry has been one increasingly orientated towards lighter industry and the heavier coal-based industries have tended to decrease as the dependence upon coal as a source of power has declined. The absence in Great Britain of high-grade iron ore, manganese, chrome, nickel and many other rare metals makes her economy greatly dependent on imported raw materials.
ENGLAND.
Of the four parts which make up Great Britain England is the industrial and most densely populated part of the United Kingdom. Over 48,8 million people of the population of the UK live in England. The greatest concentrations of population are in London and northwest industrial cities. The coasts of England are washed by the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. No part of England is more than 120 kilometres from the sea. The opening of the Channel Tunnel means Britain's railway network is now linked directly to Europe. Eurostar trains run several times a day from the centre of London to Paris and Brussels.
It is interesting to note that the sea has been important in the history of England. It was a good protection against the attacks of outside peoples. Fishing has always been an important industry, especially in the east. The sea also has a great effect on England's climate.
England is mostly a lowland country. There are upland regions in the north and the southwest, but the rest of England is almost flat. Northern England, Midlands and Southern England—each part of England is different.
The wool industry is centred in Leeds and Bradford, the cotton industry in Manchester, iron ore goes to the steel, heavy machinery and shipbuilding industries of Newcastle and other cities. The industries of the Midlands, with Birmingham as its chief city, produce metal goods, from motor cars and railway engines to pins and buttons. The Midland plain makes good farm land. In Southern England are found some of the oldest British settlements and traces of ancient monuments such as Stonehenge.
SCOTLAND.
Although Scotland takes up one third of the territory of the British Isles, its population is not very big. It is the most northern part of the island of Great Britain and is not far away from the Arctic Circle.
That's why it is not densely populated: its population is a little over 5 million people. The Cheviot Hills mark the boundary between England and Scotland. Apart from this land link with England, Scotland is surrounded by sea.
Scotland includes the Hebrides off the west coast, and the Orkney and Shetland Islands off the north coast. It is bounded by the North Sea on the east. Scotland is divided into three regions: the Highlands, which is the most northern and the most underpopulated area with a harsh climate, the Lowlands, which is the most industrial region, with about three quarters of the population, and the Southern Uplands, with hills, which border on England. The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest mountains in the world. They reach their highest point in Ben Nevis (1343 m).
Many valleys between the hills are filled with lakes, called lochs. The best-known is Loch Ness where some people think a large monster lives. The most important city here is Aberdeen which is the oil centre of Scotland. Ships and helicopters travel from Aberdeen to the North Sea oil rigs. Most of the population of Scotland is concentrated in the Lowlands. Here, on the Clyde, is Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city. Shipbuilding is one of its most important industries, other industries are iron and steel, heavy and light engineering and coal-mining. It is the centre of the working-class movement and has glorious revolutionary traditions.
Glasgow was a grim city because of the greyness of the houses many of which were not suitable for living and needed repairs or rebuilding. But now this city is rapidly changing, turning into an important cultural centre. Glasgow Is sometimes called "the friendly city”. Scotland had been an independent state and was joined into the UK in 1707, after a long struggle for its independence. One of the things that people associate with Scotland is the kilt. The kilt is a relic of the time when the clan system existed in the Highlands. Everybody in the clan had the same family name, like Mac Donald or MacGregor (Mac means ‘son of’). The clan had its own territory and was ruled by a chieftain. Each clan had its own tartan. The national dress for Scotsmen includes a kilt in the tartan cloth of his clan and the sporran, a pouch worn in front of the kilt.
Edinburgh has been the capital since the 15th century, when its fortified castle was the centre of Scotland’s resistance to its enemies. Edinburgh is the cultural centre of Scotland. It is associated with the names of George Gordon Byron and Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson. Robert Burns and Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. It is also associated with the world-famous Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama.The Festival was first held in 1947 and has been held annually ever since. Its emblem is a thistle.
WALES.
Another constituent country of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Northern Ireland is Wales. It became part of England in 1536 by the Act of Union. Until then it had been regarded as a separate principality but a dependency of England.
The Welsh call their country Cymru, and themselves they call Cymru, a word which has the same root as 'comrader' (friend, or comrade). The population of Wales is over 3 million people. About 75 percent of the people of Wales live in towns and urban districts. South Wales has a rich tradition of struggle for more jobs and better working conditions in mines. Wales is a highland country of old, hard rocks. North Wales is a country of mountains and deep valleys. South Wales is a land of high hills and wide valleys. The pride of Wales in scenery is Snowdonia, a region of high mountains. Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales. Except for coal, mineral resources are limited, and include gold, silver, lead and copper. South Wales is more developed: coal-mining, steel production, electronics, electrical engineering can be found here.
The capital of Wales is Cardiff, the largest city of Wales. Cardiff is situated near the mouth of the Taff River. It is an important industrial city and a port. It is also an administrative and educational centre. The second largest city in Wales is Swansea where mainly steel production can be found. Since World War II there has been intensive development in the metals industries especially in the south and southeast.
The Welsh people, especially in rural areas, are fond of folk music, singing, poetry and drama. Welsh literature is one of the oldest in Europe. There are many choirs in Wales, the standard of singing is high and the love of good music is widespread. Now there is a growing movement of revival of Welsh culture from which sprang the revival of Eisteddfod. Eisteddfod in the form of a gathering of bards had occasionally been held in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Now Eisteddfod is a festival of Welsh culture. It includes competitions in prose, poetry and singing. Wales has its own flag called the Welsh dragon.
NORTHERN IRELAND.
Northern Ireland is the smallest component of the United Kingdom. It occupies the northeast of the island of Ireland, only one-sixth of its territory. Northern Ireland contains six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster' and that is why the name 'Ulster' is sometimes used as equivalent to Northern Ireland. Its capital city is Belfast.
For seven centuries Ireland was a colony of Britain. Due to the colonial policy of Great Britain the Irish nation was forcefully partitioned. As a result of the hard struggle of the Irish people for independence the larger part of Ireland gained the status of a British dominion in 1921. Much later, in 1949 it was officially proclaimed an independent state, the Irish Free State of Eire. The industrial northeast (Northern Ireland with its 6 counties) was retained by Great Britain as its smallest component. But certain forces of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are for the reunification of the country, against social deprivation which is at its worst among Catholics. They believe that British withdrawal from Ireland is the only way to achieve peace. The Protestants in Nothern Ireland wish to retain her links with Britain.
There are low hills and peaks of rocks in the northwest, while the northeast sector of the island is a plateau. The Mourne Mountains in the southeast slope down to Lough Neagh, the largest lake m the British isles. The rivers of Ireland are short but deep. The largest river is the Shannon. The population of Northern Ireland is over 1.5 million people. 53 percent of the total population live in urban areas. The whole economy of Northern Ireland is closely integrated with that of Great Britain. It has its roots in three basic industries—agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding. The largest industry is agriculture conducted for the most part on small family farms. It occupies about 72 per cent of the land area.
Belfast, the capital of Northern Irelands is the leading industrial centre and a large port. Its chief industries are the production of linen and other textiles, clothing, shipbuilding, engineering. In Ireland the national musical instrument is the harp.
American School of Painting.
American painting encompasses a wide variety of paintings, including portraits, landscapes and still life, created in America since its colonization.
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