Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents

by Home Office

There was also support for James in Scotland. An attempt at an armed rebellion in support of James was quickly defeated at Killiecrankie. All Scottish clans were required formally to accept William as king by taking an oath. The MacDonalds of Glencoe were late in taking the oath and were all killed.

James’ supporters became known as Jacobites.

the Bill of Rights At the coronation of William and Mary, a Declaration of Rights was read. This confirmed that the king would no longer be able to raise taxes or administer justice without agreement from Parliament.

The Bill of Rights, 1689, confirmed the rights of Parliament and the limits of the king’s power.

five years).

This was also an important time for the development of a free press (newspapers and other publications which are not controlled by the government). From 1695, newspapers were allowed to operate without a government licence.

‘constitutional monarchy’.

Only men who owned property of a certain value were able to vote. No women at all had the vote. Some constituencies were controlled by a single wealthy family. These were called ‘pocket boroughs’. Other constituencies had hardly any voters and were called ‘rotten boroughs’.

many people left Britain and Ireland to settle in new colonies in America and elsewhere, but others came to live in Britain.

Between 1680 and 1720 many refugees called Huguenots came from France.

They were Protestants and had been persecuted for...

Queen Anne, had no surviving children.

The Act of Union, known as the Treaty of Union in Scotland, was therefore agreed in 1707, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Although Scotland was no longer an independent country, it kept its own legal and education syst...

When Queen Anne died in 1714, Parliament chose a German, George I, to be the next king, because he was Anne’s nearest Protestant relative.

The first man to be called this was Sir Robert Walpole, who was Prime Minister from 1721 to 1742.

Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie), the grandson of James II, landed in Scotland. He was supported by clansmen from the Scottish highlands and raised an army. Charles initially had some successes but was defeated by George II’s army at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.

‘Highland Clearances’. Many Scottish landlords destroyed individual small farms (known as ‘crofts’) to make space for large flocks of sheep and cattle.

Many Scottish people left for North America at this time.

‘The Bard’, Robert Burns was a Scottish

Auld Lang Syne, which is sung by people in the UK and other countries when they are celebrating the New Year (or Hogmanay as it is called in Scotland).

18th century, new ideas about politics, philosophy and science were developed. This is often called ‘the Enlightenment’.

Adam Smith developed ideas about economics which are still referred to today.

David Hume’s ideas about human nature continue to influ...

James Watt’s work on steam power, helped the progress of the Indus...

Before the 18th century, agriculture was the biggest source of employment in Britain.

Many people moved from the countryside and started working in the mining and manufacturing industries.

The development of the Bessemer process for the mass production of steel led to the development of the shipbuilding industry and the railways. Manufacturing jobs became the main source of employment in Britain.

Arkwright is particularly remembered for the efficient and profitable way that he ran his factories.

Richard Arkwright’s carding machine

Canals were built to link the factories to towns and cities and to the ports,

increased colonisation overseas.

Captain James Cook mapped the coast of Australia

Britain gained control over Canada, and the East India Company, originally set up to trade, gained control of large parts of India. Colonies beg...

Sugar and tobacco came from North America and the West Indies;

textiles, tea and spices came from India and the area that is today called Indonesia. Trading

In 1810 he opened the Hindoostane Coffee House in George Street, London. It was the first curry house to open in Britain. Mahomet and his wife also introduced ‘shampooing’, the Indian art of head massage, to Britain.

While slavery was illegal within Britain itself, by the 18th century it was a fully established overseas industry, dominated by Britain and the American colonies.

Slaves came primarily from West Africa.

they were taken to America and the Caribbean, where they were made to work on tobac...

The first formal anti-slavery groups were set up by the Quakers in the late 1700s,

William Wilberforce, an evangelical Christian and a member of Parliament, also played an important part in changing the law. Along with other abolitionists (people who supported the abolition of slavery), he succeeded in turning public opinion against the slave trade. In 1807, it became illegal to trade slaves in British ships or from British ports, and in 1833 the Emancipation Act abolished slavery throughout the British Empire.

After 1833, 2 million Indian and Chinese workers were employed to replace the freed slaves.

In 1776, 13 American colonies declared their independence, stating that people had a right to establish their own governments.

defeated the British army and Britain recognised the colonies’ independence in 1783.

During the 18th century, Britain fought a number of wars with France.

Britain’s navy fought against combined French and Spanish fleets, winning the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Admiral Nelson was in charge of the British fleet at Trafalgar and was killed in the battle.

Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square, London, is a monument to him. His ship, HMS Victory, can be visited in Portsmouth.

In 1815, the French Wars ended with the defeat of the Emperor Napoleon by the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo. Wellington was known as the ...

Although Ireland had had the same monarch as England and Wales since Henry VIII, it had remained a separate country. In 1801, Ireland became unified with England, Scotland and Wales after the Act of Union of 1800.