第一篇：a brief history of Britain 英國歷史簡述

A Brief History of Britain

by Pam Barrett

When French and British construction workers met beneath the English Channel in 1990, Britain became linked to Continental Europe for the first time in 7,000 years.For it was then, when the last Ice Age ended, that melting ice flooded the low-lying lands, creating the English Channel and the North Sea and turning Britain into an island.This fact of being “set apart” was one of the two seemingly contradictory factors which would affect every aspect of the country’s subsequent history.The other was a genius for absorbing every invader and immigrant, creating a mongrel breed whose energies would establish an empire incorporating a quarter of the population of the planet.Early settlers: Stone Age people arrived, probably from the Iberian peninsula, in around 3000 BC.They lived by farming but left few traces.The most dramatic ancient monument is Stonehenge in Wiltshire, built during the next 1,000 years.How and why it was built was a mystery, but it must have had religious and political significance.The Beaker people, named after their pottery, were next to arrive.But a more importance wave of immigration, in 700 BC, was that of the Celts from eastern and central Europe.The ancestors of the Highland Scots, the Welsh and the Irish, they left behind a rich legacy of intricate and beautiful metalwork.The Romans: British recorded history began when Julius Caesar first crossed the English Channel in 55 BC.Roman rule continued for nearly 400 years, failing to subjugate only Scottish tribes, whose raiding parties were contained by Emperor Hadrian who built a defended wall right across the north of England.Eventually, threatened by barbarians at the gates of Rome, they abandoned Britain, leaving behind them a network of towns, mostly walled, a superb road system, and a new religion, Christianity.The next wave of invaders from central Europe – Angles, Saxons and Jutes – gradually pushed the native Celts west into Wales and north into Scotland.Anglo-Saxon dominance, too, lasted for four centuries, though it did not extend to Scotland, where a separate kingdom was forged by the Picts and the Scots.Although the Anglo-Saxons were a ferocious bunch, constantly squabbling, they laid the foundations of the English state, dividing the country into shires and devising an effective farming system.Their Teutonic religion, worshipping gods such as Woden and Thor, eclipsed Christianity until, at the end of the 6th century, the monk Augustine(once heard to remark “O Lord, make me chaste, but not yet”)converted the kings and the nobles.Monasteries sprang up, becoming places of learning.Treasures contained in the monasteries were a lure for the Vikings, whose ruthless raids from across the North Sea began in the 9th century.Initially they were defeated at sea by Alfred the Great, founder of the British Navy, but eventually they too were assimilated.Canute, the Danish leader, became king of Britain.The Norman Conquest: Links with Normandy, the part of France settled by the Vikings, were strong, and in 1066 William, Duke of Normandy, claimed the English throne.His triumph at the battle of Hastings decisively changed English history.As W.C.Sellar and R.J.Yeatman put it in their classic humorous history 1066 And All That: “The Norman Conquest was a Good Thing, as from this time onwards England stopped being conquered and thus was able to become top nation.”

William parceled out the land to barons in return for their loyalty, and the barons parceled out land in turn to lesser nobles in return for goods and services.At the bottom were the peasants, whose feudal status resembled slavery – hence the potency of the Robin Hood legend, celebrating the Nottingham outlaw who stole from the rich to give to the poor.Although much of the Norman kings’ energies were devoted to protecting their borders, there was a great flowering of Norman culture, producing many erudite historians and scholars.In 1167 Oxford University was founded.Thanks to the influence of William Shakespeare’s history plays, much of the next period of English history is popularly remembered through his view of the shifting alliances of the Plantagenet and Tudor kings who ruled from 1154 to 1547.During this period of conflict and disease – the Black Death alone killed nearly half the population in 1348-49 – the royal succession was by no means assured.Power struggles propelled to the throne those who could command the greatest military backing from the majority of the rival barons, a process vividly illustrated by the Wars of Roses, the tussles between the House of Lancaster and York between 1455 and 1485.Frequent strife with France(including the intermittent Hundred Years’ War from 1337 to 1453)dominated international relationships.Internally, Wales was subjugated by 1288, though Scottish independence was recognized when Robert Bruce defeated English forces at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.Britain’s most famous king, Henry VIII, is remembered not only for his six wives(two of whom he had beheaded)but also for bringing about the Reformation, making England a Protestant rather than a Catholic country.His quarrel centred on the Pope’s refusal to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who could not oblige him with a male heir.Doctrinal differences aside, however, Henry capitalized on a growing distaste for the church’s excessive privilege and wealth, and was thus able to get away with seizing enough monastic lands and property to finance his rule.Under Henry, Wales was formally united with England in 1536.The Age of Elizabeth: England entered its Golden Age under Elizabeth I, Henry’s daughter by Anne Boleyn.The Elizabethan Age has a swashbuckling ring to it: the Virgin Queen and her dashing courtiers;the defeat of the Spanish Armada;Sir Walter Raleigh’s discovery of tobacco in Virginia;Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world.Poetry, plays and pageantry flourished during her 45-year reign.When Elizabeth, the “Virgin Queen”, died without an heir, the throne passed to James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England, inaugurating the Stuart dynasty and effectively joining together the two kingdoms.The Stuart period was one of conflict between Crown and Parliament.James I, a staunch believer in the Divine Right of Kings, would have preferred no Parliament at all, and Charles I dissolved Parliament and initiated an 11-year period of absolute rule.The upshot was a civil war from 1622 to 1649;Charles lost and was beheaded.A period of republicanism followed, under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, but after his death the monarchy was restored and prospered under Charles II.His brother, who succeeded him as James II, was less circumspect and tried to restore absolute monarchy and the Catholic religion.The newly emerging political parties, growing in confidence, forced him to flee and invited his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, Prince William of Orange, to take the throne.This “Glorious Revolution”, although bloodless, was nonetheless a revolution and paved the way for Parliament’s permanent dominance over the Crown.In 1707 an Act of Union united England and Scotland, although Scotland was allowed to retain its own Church and legislature.Many Scots felt that the union was bulldozed through by English politicians’ intent on improving their international trade prospects, and Scottish pressure to unravel the union is still a political issue.Political pragmatism triumphed again in 1714 when, a reliable Protestant monarch being needed in a hurry, a search through the family tree came up with George I of Hanover in Germany.Although he spoke no English and had little interest in his subjects, he founded a dynasty which was to span 115 years and encompass an expanding empire and an industrial revolution.The age of empire: Despite the loss of its American colonies in 1783, Britain’s trade-driven adventurism was undiminished, giving it control of West Africa and India, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, some Caribbean island, and Australia and New Zealand.At home, farmers embraced more efficient and profitable methods, which led to the eviction of many peasant farmers who either emigrated to the New World, carrying with them a resentment that would bequeathed to future generations, or left the land to find work in the towns, which rapidly became overcrowded.This combination of landowners with surplus capital to invest and laborers in search of a living was one reason why British became the first country to industrialize.Political stability helped too, as did the security of being an island, natural resources, good trade arrangements and a native genius for inventing things.The Scottish inventor James Watt modified and improved the steam engine in the 1770s, opening the way for the efficient powering of trains, ships and factory machinery.The invention of the Spinning Jenny and the power loom created mass production in textiles.The smelting of iron with coke, instead of charcoal, hugely increased the production of iron.A massive building program of railways, roads and canals created a new class of industrialist, whose fortunes rivaled those of the aristocracy.But it also created abominable working conditions in mines and factories, conditions which led to the slow and painful development of trade unionism.Political reforms, seized elsewhere in Europe by revolution, came gradually in Britain.Parliamentary seats were distributed more fairly among the growing new towns, but voting was still based on property ownership and universal suffrage didn’t come until 1918(and even then was scarcely universal since it excluded women under 30).The problem that dominated parliamentary debate during this period was the intractable Irish Question.The resentment over centuries of British rule in Ireland bubbled to the surface after the potato famines of the mid-1840s, when about 20 percent of Ireland’s population died of starvation and more than a million people emigrated to escape a similar fate.Demands for Irish independence grew but they were demands which many English politicians, conscious of the security problems of having an independent and possibly none-too-friendly neighbor to their west, were reluctant to grant.As with today’s IRA campaign, the debate had a backdrop of violence.Today, however, the Victorian Age is remembered as a time of exuberant self-confidence, symbolized by the building in London of the Crystal Palace to showcase Britain’s industrial and technical achievements in the Great Exhibition of 1851.But many of London’s inhabitants might well have wondered when they would benefit from all these accomplishments.For them, the squalor and crime which Charles Dickens portrayed so evocatively in his novels were all too real.Working-class life improved considerably during the last quarter of the 19th century.Many homes had gas lighting and streets were cleaned by the new municipal councils.A new police force contained crime.The music hall provided inexpensive entertainment in towns.Bicycles became a common method of transport, and a trip by train to seaside resorts was for many a highlight of summer.In London, trains in the world’s first underground railway began puffing their way through smoke-filled tunnels between Paddington and Farrington in 1863.Art and drama flourished.By the time of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the country was feeling quite pleased with itself.Britannia ruled the waves, and anything seemed possible.The 20th century: But all good things come to an end.The Boer War of 1900 ended in victory for the British in South Africa but damaged its international reputation.France, Germany and America were becoming powerful competitors for world markets.The newly united German state was flexing its military muscles.The Edwardian era of the early 20th century, seemingly an idyllic time, was built on shifting sands.Dragged into World War I by a complex web of international alliances, Britain faced unimaginable carnage in which more than a million of its young men died.Social unrest at the end of the war, though less devastating than in the defeated Germany, gave more power to women(who had shouldered a heavy burden while the men were at war)and led to a General Strike by dissatisfied workers in 1926.The Irish Question was partly answered with the creation of an independent Irish free State, but six Protestant-dominated counties in the north stayed under UK rule – a time bomb which exploded in 1969.The shock waves from the 1929 New York Stock Market crash plunged Britain into depression, throwing millions out of work, especially in the industrial areas of northern England, south Wales and Clydeside in Scotland.The monarchy was rocked by crisis in 1936 when Edward VIII, who had just become king, decided to marry the twice-divorced Mrs Wallis Simpson.His family, the church and the government opposed the match, forcing him to abdicate.His brother, a reluctant George VI, restored the monarchy’s popularity, not least through the support which he and his wife Elizabeth(later the Queen Mother)gave to their subjects during the German air raids of World War II.Although Britain’s island status saved it from invasion, this war involved civilians in an unprecedented way.Cities like Coventry were devastated by bombing and the Blitz radically changed the face of London for the first time since the Great Fire of 1666.Many children were sent to live in the countryside.Most social inequalities were set aside during the war and, when peace returned in 1945, voters turned to the Labour party in hope that it could develop an even greater egalitarianism.It laid the basis of a welfare state, providing free medical care for everyone as well as financial help for the old, the sick and the unemployed.But the war had left Britain broke.While Germany and Japan rebuilt their industries almost from scratch, helped by international aid, Britain was left to patch together a severely damaged economy.It could no longer sustain an empire, and gradually its colonies became independent.Many former subjects, especially from the Caribbean and the Indian sub-continent, settled in Britain, raising fears of racial conflict that, despite some serious tensions, were never(quite)fulfilled.As the austere 1950s gave way to the ’60s, things started to look up.New universities were built, a motorway network launched, and a reinvigorated culture promoted by a group of writers dubbed “the angry young men”.Much of the explosion of new talent came from the north of England: actors like Albert Finney, playwrights like Alan Sillitoe, and pop groups galore, led by the Beatles.The swinging Sixties, powered by a newly affluent youth, had arrived.Britain’s heavy industry might be in trouble, but in fashion and pop music it led the world.The good times died in the 1970s as inflation and unemployment soared and labour unrest led to endless strikes.Joining the European Community in 1973 seemed to produce few obvious economic benefits and revenues from North Sea oil were quickly spent rather than invested.Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979 promising tough new policies.Her popularity quickly faded, but was revived in 1982 by the Falklands War when an invading Argentinean force was beaten off the South Atlantic islands, remnants of the old empire.Although she went on to win two further elections convincingly, by 1990 her popularity, always firmer abroad than at home, was so shaky that her party, fearing that she would not win them the next election, replaced her with a less combative leader, John Major.He duly won the 1992 election, but a reinvigorated Labour Party under Tony Blair won in 1997.The overall problems did not change, though.The economy remained weak, distrust of the European Community did not abate, nationalism simmered in Wales and Scotland, the conflict in Northern Ireland dragged on, and the Royal Family’s private life continued to obsess the tabloid press.It was business as usual, in fact – which, in a country obsessed by continuity, was immensely reassuring.

第二篇：材料學的歷史簡述

姓名：何莞晨

學號：2014012075

材料學的歷史簡述

1.按材料劃分的時代

生活離不開材料，人類的一切生產活動所需的工具都建立在合適的材料的基礎上。同樣，人類社會的發展歷程，也是以材料為主要標志的。材料的進步標志著人類科技的進步，生產能力的增強，以及生活質量的提升。人類對材料的認識和利用能力，決定了社會的形態。考古學家常把材料及其器具作為劃分時代的標志，如石器時代、青銅器時代、鐵器時代、高分子材料時代等等。

一百萬年以前，祖先們便學會了用石頭作為工具，進行狩獵和采集，進入了石器時代。隨著使用技術的提高，充滿智慧的先人開始將天然的粗大石料進行加工、打磨，變成更便于操控的器材，如刀、棍、箭、碗等。先進的工具使人們的生活水平有很大提升。鋒利的刀具可以高效地采摘，還能進行收割，為種植打下了基礎；棍棒、弓箭不僅可以防御猛獸，還能狩獵一些以前無法捕獲的大型動物；石制容器可以儲水，避免了旱災造成的損失。隨后的新石器時代中，祖先們又開始了陶器的使用，這種容易塑造、容易成形的材料，極大提高了儲備物資的能力，使人們的生活水平更進一步。

整個石器時代持續了約三百萬年的時間，直到人類發現了優秀的金屬材料——銅。早在四千多年前的新石器時代晚期，人類已開始加工和使用金屬，最先進行加工使用的金屬是銅。人們在采集石料的時候偶然發現與石料性質完全不同的材料，它不像石料那樣容易劈裂剝落，反而有優越的延展性，并有光澤，還具有足夠的硬度。人類便這樣開始接觸并使用銅。考古學的證據表明1，早在公元前二十一世紀，我國就掌握了煉銅工藝，進入了青銅器時代。相傳禹統治時期便“以銅為兵”，“禹鑄九鼎”2。青銅器的出現，對提高社會生產力起了劃時代的作用。青銅器由于其優秀的強度和鑄造性，被廣泛的應用于食器、樂器、兵器、工具、貨幣、銅鏡等各領域的制造。

青銅器時代持續了數千年之久。隨著金屬冶煉技術的提高，比青銅器更加優秀的鐵器，逐漸被人類所使用。鐵比銅合金硬度更大，能用來制作更加鋒利的器材。直到今天，鐵以及它的衍生產品——鋼，仍舊是人類發展無法取代的材料之一，廣泛地被使用于建筑、能源、汽車、國防、電器、機械裝備領域，并且需求量巨大。

時至今日，越來越多的新型材料被研制出來，人們進入了多種材料共同發展、共同統治世界的時期。高分子材料塑料、橡膠、纖維已成為現代工業的支柱之一，各種性能優越的合金被應用于各類制造業，硅材料成為高新技術產業中不可或缺的元素??人類的生活質量也隨著各種新型材料的應用日益提高。

2.金屬材料的發展史

如果說材料標志著人類社會的進步，那金屬材料的使用就標志著人類工業水平的發展。二十世紀之前，受到金屬冶煉技術的限制，人類對于金屬材料的利用順序幾乎完全按照它們的活動性由低到高的次序。最為惰性，也是最為昂貴的金屬之一，金，在公元前六千年就被人類所使用3。金光澤燦爛，幾乎不受腐蝕，置地較軟便于加工，又因為其數量稀少，一直以來都被用做貴重的飾品。

銅、銀、鉛等較為惰性的金屬，在公元前四千年左右依次被人類所利用。人類銅的使用的意義是巨大的，銅器是人類使用的第一種金屬工具。人類對使用銅的鼎盛時期是中國青銅器時代，從夏、商、西周時期直到春秋及戰國早期，持續時間約一千六百余年。這個時期的青銅器主要分為禮樂器、兵器及雜器。直到秦漢末年，青銅器的社會地位逐漸下降，開始被陶瓷、鐵器所取代。同時代的銀起著和金 同樣的作用，象征著財富，而鉛 由于其高韌性、延展性和耐腐蝕性，被大量用作管道材料，其化合物直到今天還被用做顏料。

汞的出現可追溯到公元前1500年，埃及人已經在古墓中使用汞。在古代中國。汞 基本處于被誤用的狀態，人們普遍迷信汞的醫療功效，而不知道其毒性。今天人類已經在各個領域開始禁用含汞材料，并尋找汞的替代品。

人類很早就開始對鐵進行加工利用了，但是鋼鐵的大規模發展，還是上個世紀的事。鋼鐵可以說是人類現代工業的支柱。現代鋼鐵工業始建于19世紀初期，至今已有百年歷史。但直到第二次世界大戰前，鋼鐵工業發展緩慢，產量有限，生產國不多，且分布十分集中。二戰后，世界鋼鐵工業迅猛發展。全球鋼鐵產量在1950年僅一億多噸，到2013年，已經達到十六億多噸4。在人類目前所使用的金屬材料中，鋼鐵由于強度較大，價格較低，礦產豐富且便于冶煉，在建筑、機械、汽車、造船、鐵道、石油、家電、集裝箱等行業中有著極其廣泛的應用，至今仍然是不可替代的金屬材料。

隨著科技的發展，人類對金屬材料的性能要求也在不斷提高，對質量更輕、強度更大的金屬的需求越來越迫切。鋁合金、鈦合金等性能較鋼鐵更為優秀的合金被研制出來，它們的作用和意義及其重大。鋁合金的突出特點是密度小、強度高，廣泛應用于制造飛機、艦艇和載重汽車等，可增加它們的載重量以及提高運行速度，并具有抗海水侵蝕，避磁性等特點。而鈦合金主要用于制作飛機發動機壓氣機部件，其次為火箭、導彈和高速飛機的結構件。這些合金的使用極大地推動了我國工業的發展。

面對21世紀人類科技雖然已推進到太空時代，電子資訊時代，各種新興的材料如高分子材料，半導體材料。光電材料的白熱化競爭，金屬材料卻未因而失去其魅力，反之在電腦、程控、材料等科技的支援下，金屬材料不斷在新的領域應用，仍是充滿著無限發展的生命力。

近一二十年來，金屬材料的發展受到了巨大的壓力，這種壓力來自外部和內部兩個方面。就外部來講，材料領域從金屬材料的一統天下轉變為金屬、陶瓷、高分子材料三足鼎立的新格局。從內部來講主要是能源、資源和環境三個方面。這些問題對金屬材料今后的發展提出了有力的挑戰。

3.材料科學成為一門學科

雖然人類對材料的研究與利用自古以來就在進行，但是材料科學成為一門獨立的學科還是上個世紀（20世紀）的事5。這很大程度上時因為人類對于材料性質的本質的了解逐漸加深的緣故。

20世紀以來，人們在物理、化學、力學、生物學等學科上取得了卓越的成就，對物質結構、材料的理化性質和力學性能都有了更深入的了解，愈發認識到了對材料進行更深入研究的重要性，而不是僅停留在合成與利用層面上。與此同時，金屬金屬學、冶金學、工程陶瓷技術、高分子科學、半導體科學、復合材料科學以及納米技術等新科學的發展促使了一系列新型材料的誕生，推進了人們對于材料的結構、生產工藝、性能以及相互作用的研究，這些前沿科學也為材料的設計、制造、加工與合理使用提供了充分的科學依據。現代的材料科學在以往的基礎上，加強了對于復合材料、納米材料的制備和創新，對于設計具有不同性能要求的材料復合工藝和納米材料的凝聚過程，以及各類材料之間的相互滲透和交叉的性能以及綜合性能的研究給予了更多的重視。現代材料科學不僅在材料的本質與其理化性能、力學性能放面有深入的研究，還對材料的加工過程有較高要求，于是材料科學還涉及到了工程技術學科以及制造加工材料的工程學科。在此基礎上，“材料科學與工程”逐步形成學科，并發展成為一門獨立的一級學科。作為一級學科的“材料科學與工程”下分三個二級學科：材料物理、材料化學、材料加工工程6。

在20世紀中期及以前，世界上的大學中研究材料的專業多只有冶金專業，可見當時人們對金屬材料的重視。但隨著性能卓越的無機非金屬材料、高分子復合材料的出現和應用，金屬之外的材料受到的重視程度越來越高。1955年，美國西北大學設立了世界上第一個材料科學與工程系7。美國麻省理工學院在1967年設立了材料科學與工程系8，由原來的冶金專業改名而來，現在已處于世界材料科學的領袖地位9。到今天，材料科學與工程已成為一門改變世界的學科，其受重視程度已與當年不可同日而語。

4.清華大學的材料專業

材料科學與工程系建于1988年，由原工程物理系材料物理教研組，原機械工程系金屬材料教研組和化學工程系無機非金屬材料教研組組建而成10。清華大學材料科學與工程系建于1988年，由化學工程系的無機非金屬材料專業、工程物理系的材料物理專業、原機械工程系的金屬材料專業組成。20多年來，建成了一支高水平的師資隊伍，做出了一批高水平的科研成果，培養了一批優秀的人才，大大提升了清華大學材料學科的實力、學術聲譽、國內和國際影響力。

2012年12月27日，經學校批準，由原材料科學與工程系、原機械工程系材料加工學科組建了材料學院。下設材料物理與化學系、材料加工工程系、無機非金屬材料系、金屬材料系、復合材料系。清華大學的材料專業雖然成立時間較短，但專業排名已經居于全國第一的水平11，世界排名也名列前茅12。

學院瞄準材料科學前沿、國民經濟主戰場和國家重大需求開展研究，注重學科交叉，形成了材料微結構及表征、計算材料科學及工程仿真、材料制備工藝及加工工程、新型信息功能材料、新型能源材料、環境友好材料、再生醫學及仿生材料、極端條件材料等有特色和在國內外有影響力的研究方向。近年來，在Nature、Science等刊物上發表了大量學術論文，獲得了多項國家級獎勵。據ISI統計，本學科近10年發表的SCI論文數量和被引用次數居全球高校前列13。

5.國內材料科學的前沿以及現狀簡述

目前材料科學的前沿領域主要有各類電池、石墨烯等高強度的復合材料、高溫超導材料、與電子信息行業密不可分的硅材料、高分子聚合物、生物材料等等。在這些領域能否實現突破基本上決定了我國能否繼續在科技、軍事方面處于國際社會的領先地位。正是由于受到了復合材料、硅材料等的限制，使中國一直以來不能在大型飛機、航空母艦以及信息技術領域取得成就。

我認為，中國在材料領域所以無法取得進一步突破，有以下幾點原因。首先，中國對高級人才的重視程度不夠，這導致國家培育出的尖端人才大量外流，無法為科研力量注入新鮮血液；其次，國家對材料領域的投入也不夠，太急于求成，導致很多研究由于經費的不足而無法繼續進行，這也使國內的科研項目充滿了水分，無法取得實際進展；第三，中國的技術創新意識薄弱，在技術層面創新較少，從實驗器材到設計，無處不依賴著進口。這使得中國在材料科學領域與世界頂尖水平還存在著一定的差距。

我國的對于材料的研究與應用還任重道遠。想要取得重大突破，既需要國家的大力支持，也需要我國材料科學工作者們的共同努力。作為一名材料學院的學生，我學業有成后，也會奮力投入到祖國的材料事業建設當中，爭取至少為祖國健康工作50年，為祖國的發展添力！

字數統計：4092 參考：

1.《考古學報》 1960年02期

2.“我國有色金屬生產發展史話”

周越先

3.http://neon.mems.cmu.edu/cramb/Processing/history.html 4.World Steel Statistics data 2013.World Steel Association.23 January 2014 [4 February 2014] http://

第三篇：城管歷史簡述

城管歷史簡述

產生形成階段：20世紀80年代初

整頓規范階段：《行政訴訟法》，《城建監察規定》

全面發展階段：《行政處罰法》，《城建監察規定》

制度創新階段： 城市管理綜合執法《行政處罰法》第16條

1956～1977基本杜絕流動攤販沒有統一執法機構

1978～1996農村人口逐漸進入城市謀生建立臨時的執法機構

1996～2006農村人口、下崗職工加入到攤販隊伍中相對集中處罰權制度確立 2006～“崔英杰”案件后，流動攤販不減反增城市管理方式亟待變革

第四篇：簡述英國議會的形成

簡述英國議會的形成

議會是英國政治的中心舞臺，是英國的最高立法機關。政府從議會中產生，并對其負責。國會為兩院制，由上院和下院組成。它的形成反映了英國民主進程。

英國民主化進程中重要的一步是英王約翰被迫簽署的憲法性的《大憲章》。《大憲章》是英國憲法的基礎，創造了“法治”這一理念。時至今日，《大憲章》中的3個條款目前仍然有效，包括保證英國教會的自由，確認倫敦金融城及其他城鎮的特權，以及所有人都必須有合法的審判才能被監禁。1215年大憲章中最為重要的條文是第六十一條，即所謂“安全法”。根據該條的規定，由二十五名貴族組成的委員會有權隨時召開會議，具有否決國王命令的權力；并且可以使用武力，占據國王的城堡和財產。這種權力是出自中古時期的一種法律程序，但加之于國王卻是史無前例。它所最為關注的是對貴族、自由民的財產保障和人身保障。這是它的核心，也即為，它以明文的方式對自由民的財產權利和人身權利作出了規定。《自由大憲章》共63條，其中就有21條論述財產權。自此之后，無論是《權利請愿書》還是《權利法案》都未忽略這一點，就是排斥國王對于私人財產權的可能的侵害。“風能進，雨能進，國王不能進”的諺語體現了財產權首先應該使不受政治權力侵犯的權利“普遍的、平等的、個人化的財產權與專橫的政治權力是完全對立的。承認每個人的財產權就意味著統治者的權力要從根本上受到節制。”

1258年，約翰兒子亨利三世再次被迫接受“貴族請愿書”，即《牛津條約》，承認了議會獨立于國王并定期開會的法定存在。郡法庭設4名騎士組成陪審小組；由貴族組成一個永久性的15人會議，參與國家管理，國王在處理國務的時候必須遵從勸導，大會有權利指定首席法官、秘書長和財政大臣；每年舉行三次大會議，沒有大會議同意，國王不得增加新稅，不得沒收、分配、監護土地。亨利三世不得不接受條例，向教會屈服，1260年以后他基本上沒有執行大憲章和牛津條例的內容，從而引起了貴族的分裂。

查理一世登基。他繼任后，英國與西班牙、與法國之間宗教戰爭使國庫空虛，財政緊張。為了維持戰事，查理一世想到的最主要的手段就是增加稅收。但是自《大憲章》簽署開始，開征新稅的權力就屬于議會。國王要想征收新稅，必須得到議會的批準。議會向國王提交了一份《權利請愿書》，規定國王不經議會同意不得征收新稅。查理一世卻對文意加以曲解，并且瞞著議會征收新稅。于是議會號召民眾不再向國王納稅，作為回應，國王強行解散了議會。直到1640年，英國沒有再召開議會，這段時期稱之為“無議會時期”。在此時期，查理一世強行征收各種名目的賦稅，引起了民眾的強烈不滿，加上因宗教問題而反抗國王的蘇格蘭，迫使查理一世在1640年11月重新召開議會，這屆議會斷斷續續一直持續到1653年，史稱“長期議會”。議會召開之初，向國王遞交了一份《大抗議書》，重申了議會的要求。國王立刻親率人馬逮捕反對者，卻遭到強有力的回擊，查理一世被迫離開倫敦，并于1642年8月22日向議會宣戰，拉開了內戰的序幕。

這時的英國擁有廣大殖民地的海上強國。市場不斷擴大，財富隨之增加，同時國內工場手工業也已經有了很大的發展。資本主義經濟的發展大大加強了資產階級和新貴族的勢力。當時英國的封建經濟基礎瓦解了，但是保護它的上層階級卻不愿自動退出歷史舞臺，這成為資本主義進一步發展的最大阻礙。也是英國爆發資產階級革命的根本原因之一。

蘇格蘭國王詹姆士·斯圖亞特繼承后英國王位并不斷鼓吹"君權神授'的說法，聲稱國王是上帝派到人間的最高權威，有無限的權力。他不把議會放在眼里，曾三次解散議會；他不關心英國的海上貿易，不重視建設海軍；這些政策大大阻礙了英國資本主義的發展，引起了資產階級和新貴族的強烈不滿。查理一世繼位后，大肆搜刮錢財，仍然獨斷專行，由于議會不同意他隨意收稅，他竟多次解散議會，結果形成多年無議會統治的局面。此時的英國，一方面王室生活極度腐化，揮霍無度，國家處在無序之中；另一方面國王征收各種苛捐雜稅，壓榨勞動人民，大量工人失業，反對壓迫的農民要求取消地租，獲得土地，革命運動隨之逐漸蓬勃興起，越演越烈。城市平民和失業的手工業者為生活所迫時常暴動，查理一世的專制統治使英國社會的各種矛盾迅速激化。

英國資產階級革命時期的內戰共有兩次，第一次內戰分為兩個階段：第一階段從1642年到1644年夏，軍事主動權基本上掌握在國王手中，議會當時主要處于防守地位。第二階段從1644年夏到1646年，軍事主動權完全轉到議會手中。英國革命確立了“議會制君主立憲制”、“內閣制”，頒布《權利法案》。以法律形式對國王的權力進行制約，人類社會由專制轉向民主，由人治轉向法制。該法案體現了國王的權力受到議會牽制的宗旨，明確了“議會至上”的原則，把國王的權力轉移到了議會。更進一步的是，他們使內閣向議會負責，即國王必須提請獲得議會多數的政黨來組閣，若議會不信任，內閣必須辭職，或者解散議會。但若新選出的議會仍然不信任內閣，則內閣必須辭職。于是，英國的君主立憲政治通過這次不流血的革命而正式確立下來。這是人類憲政民主史上的一個關鍵轉折點。“光榮革命”后建立起來的議會權力超過君主的立憲君主制度以及兩黨制度，不僅對英國以后的歷史發展，而且對歐美許多國家的政治都產生了重要影響。英國的政治制度及由此而萌發的政治思想，對歐洲絕對君主專制制度是一個沉重的打擊，而對一些民主、進步的思想家，如18世紀法國的啟蒙思想家孟德斯鳩、伏爾泰等則起了巨大的鼓舞作用，從某種意義上，可以說是法國大革命的一針催化劑。同時，對亞洲的中國也產生了巨大影響，中國的維新派在為改革而奮斗的時候，就常常引用英國的民主政治制度作為楷模。也使一些封建專制的國家陷入害怕和擔憂。但是英國革命畢竟是不徹底革命，沒有從政治制度上徹底鏟除舊的毒瘤。但對1789年法國大革命影響卻是顯而易見的。而且英國通過革命推翻了君主專制，推動了歷史的進程，是世界近代史的開端。

1690年，英國議會的《財政法案》將國王的財政權進行限制；1694年的《三年法案》限制了國王召集、解散議會的隨意性；1701年頒布的《王位繼承法》旨在通過規定王位繼承問題，實現資產階級對王權的控制。同時又規定，國王無權干涉立法和司法，無權赦免議會彈劾的案件，這就意味著司法權與行政權的分立，即司法獨立。1714年，喬治一世即位，因不通英語，逐漸不出席內閣會議，而由內閣中一名大臣負責主持內閣會議。1721年，下院多數黨領袖、內閣首席大臣兼財政大臣沃波爾取代國王成為內閣首腦。沃波爾內閣是英國首屆正規內閣。1742年，沃波爾因失去議會的支持而辭職，他這一行為開創了內閣得不到議會信任時必須辭職的先例，1784年小皮特首相遭到議會下院反對時，提請國王解散下院，提前大選，獲勝后仍繼續任職。他的做法也成為慣例。經過一個多世紀的變革，到1832年議會改革后，議會不但成為實際的最高立法機關，而且也取得了決定內閣人選，監督內閣施政，決定內閣去留及干預司法工作的大權。國王的行政權力被剝奪殆盡，成為“統而不治”的君王，議會制度正式宣告形成。

英國的資產階級改革之所以能夠成功是歷史的必然。英國在資產階級革命以前就已經將革命后要建立制度和思想建立起來了。這是英國商品經濟和資本主義經濟發展的結果。資產階級革命前的英國社會是一個具有相當資本主義經濟成分的被資本主義化了的封建君主專制社會。它早已具備了資產階級革命和改革的條件和基礎,并且隨著資本主義經濟不斷的發展壯大,這種革命和改革的條件和基礎變成了一種需要。正是這樣,資產階級革命在轟轟烈烈地爆發以后不久便停頓下來,接著發生了沒有流血和犧牲的資產階級改良。這種改良完成了各民古誒有完成的任務--建立了資本主義君主立憲制。可以這樣說,英國的資產階級革命是改革中的革命,革命是改良的先鋒的前兆,而改良則是革命的繼續和發展。英國特有的國情和決定了英國所走的這一條有革命向改良過度的道路,并且決定了它的成功。

第五篇：簡述 怎么在英國寫論文

大學四年都讀下來了，怎么可能連作業都不會做?但是，在英國讀書，中國學生碰到最大的問題就是：如何寫論文?怎樣準備口頭答辯?很多在英國留學的同學經常為了作業通宵達旦。

英國老師布置的作業一般有論文、口頭答辯和案例分析三種。老師在學期開始就會給每個學生一個教學大綱。教學大綱首頁一定清楚寫了這科的目的、在學期結束以后學生要達到的要求、科目教學的內容、教學方式和作業題目。看看每節課前要求閱讀的參考書清單，準會傻眼：少則10本，多則20本。每本書都有“雜志的面子，字典的肚子”，要求一個星期內讀完。很多學生偷懶不讀書，上課時“如入迷霧”，不知老師所云。聽不懂老師的課也就不知道如何做作業了。所以，在英國讀書首先要學會如何閱讀。要學會抓住重點，做好筆記，那一天讀一本書是沒有問題的。

另外，對作業的形式也要了解清楚。論文通常分6大部分：介紹、背景、研究的問題、影響問題的因素、解決方法和總結。寫的時候，最好有大標題、小標題，把每一個觀點闡述得清晰明了。其中，介紹和總結是最重要的，因為有的老師，只看介紹就知道你文章的思路，看總結就知道你研究的結果。所以，在介紹的章節中要清楚寫出你寫這篇文章的原因，你將如何寫，文章分幾部分。一個好的開始往往能給你贏得很多印象分。在總結中，應提出你對這個領域的未來展望，最好有屬于自己的建議，不必擔心是否可行，但一定要有創造性。口頭答辯是中國學生的弱項。中國學生喜歡預先寫好發言稿，然后將它背下來。可是，答辯分成兩部分，一是發言，二是提問。你往講臺上背完發言稿，同學和老師就會針對你剛剛發言的疑點，逐一問問題。結果常常站在講臺上張口結舌，無“還招之力”。

其實，不少外國學生在口頭答辯中，不一定表現得比中國學生好，但是，他們發言從來不背發言稿，而是準備一張張小卡片，上面寫了主要的論點。他們一邊看提示論點，一邊將相關例子，用自己的語言講出來。至于應付提問環節，他們會化被動為主動：在發言的最后，自己先準備好一條到兩條的問題，問在場同學，同學們就只能按照你的思路提問。

至于案例分析，通常要你針對一個公司，或一件事，發表你個人的觀點。比如商科案例分析，要掌握資料，首先可以上網搜尋，一般在網上已經可以找到公司背景介紹、公司的營運和資產負債表、公司的策略這幾項內容。然后，再通過書本和雜志的分析找到一些關于這個行業的大環境和公司的內部結構、公司存在的問題的一些文章。最后，你還可以打電話和公司公關部門的人聯系，如果能約一個采訪，那拿到的資料更多;如果不行就在電話上采訪，了解公司策略，案例分析就可以做得十分不錯了。同樣的作業，我在中國也做過。只是，到了英國，用不同的方法做得更好。