Late Modern and contemporary

Late Modern and contemporary

Saltaire, West Yorkshire, is a model mill town from the Industrial Revolution, and a World Heritage Site.

Under the newly formed Kingdom of Great Britain, output from the Royal Society and other English initiatives combined with the Scottish Enlightenment to create innovations in science and engineering. This paved the way for the establishment of the British Empire, which became the largest in history.[62] Domestically it drove the Industrial Revolution, a period of profound change in the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of England, resulting in industrialised agriculture, manufacture, engineering and mining, as well as new and pioneering road, rail and water networks to facilitate their expansion and development.[62] The opening of northwest England's Bridgewater Canal in 1761 ushered in the canal age in Britain.[66][67] In 1825 the world's first permanent steam locomotive-hauled passenger railway—the Stockton and Darlington Railway—opened to the public.[66]

During the Industrial Revolution, many workers moved from England's countryside to new and expanding urban industrial areas to work in factories, for instance at Manchester and Birmingham, dubbed "Warehouse City" and "Workshop of the World" respectively.[68][69] England maintained relative stability throughout the French Revolution; William Pitt the Younger was British Prime Minister for the reign of George III. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon Bonaparte planned to invade from the south-east. However this failed to manifest and the Napoleonic forces were defeated by the British at sea by Lord Nelson and on land by the Duke of Wellington.[62] The Napoleonic Wars fostered a concept of Britishness and a united national British people, shared with the Scots and Welsh.[70]

The Cenotaph at Whitehall is a memorial to members of the British Armed Forces who died during the two World Wars.

London became the largest and most populous metropolitan area in the world during the Victorian era, and trade within the British Empire—as well as the standing of the British military and navy—was prestigious.[71] Political agitation at home from radicals such as the Chartists and the suffragettes enabled legislative reform and universal suffrage.[62] Power shifts in east-central Europe led to World War I; thousands of English soldiers died in trenches fighting for the United Kingdom as part of the Allies.[71] Two decades later, in World War II, the United Kingdom again fought for the Allies. Winston Churchill was the wartime Prime Minister.[72] Developments in warfare technology saw many cities damaged by air-raids during The Blitz.[72] Following the war the British Empire experienced rapid decolonisation, as well as a series of technological innovations; automobiles became the primary means of transport and Frank Whittle's development of the jet engine led to wider air travel.[72] Residential patterns were altered in England by private motoring, and by the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. England's NHS provided publicly funded health care to all UK permanent residents free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation. Combined, these changes prompted the reform of local government in England in the mid-20th century.[73][74]

Since the 20th century there has been significant population movement to England, mostly from other parts of the British Isles, but also from the Commonwealth, particularly the Indian subcontinent.[75] Since the 1970s there has been a large move away from manufacturing and an increasing emphasis on the service industry.[76] As part of the United Kingdom, the area joined a common market initiative called the European Economic Community which became the European Union. Since the late 20th century the administration of the United Kingdom has moved towards devolved governance in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[77] England and Wales continues to exist as a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom.[78] Devolution has stimulated a greater emphasis on a more English-specific identity and patriotism.[79][80] There is no devolved English government, but an attempt to create a similar system on a sub-regional basis was rejected by referendum.[81]







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