Change in Early Modern Britain (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

The Early Modern Period starts in 1500 and ends in 1750. It was a period of significant change in many areas, including trade, technology and religion

Britain began to trade and interact more with the wider world. It also began to establish its Empire and become involved in a trade in humans known as the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The control of the people and resources of other nations brought new products to the British people and helped make Britain a wealthy country.

There were great technological advances during the Early Modern Period, such as the development of the printing press, the steam engine and the microscope.

Britain became a Protestant country, breaking away from the influence of the Catholic Church, and the British people became free to read and interpret the Bible in English.

In other areas, particularly in understanding the causes of disease, there was little or no progress. Towns and cities experienced rapid population growth during this time, and became more deadly places than ever.

Cultural, social & economic change in Early Modern Britain

Changes in population

• The population of Britain doubled during the Early Modern Period

  • It grew from around 3 million in 1500 to around 6 million in 1750

• The population increase led to greater demand for food

  • Improvements in agriculture meant that far fewer people went hungry

Changes in religion

• The Church lost much of its power, wealth and influence in Britain during the Early Modern Period

• People continued to believe in the Christian religion, but in 1536, Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church in Rome

  • England became a Protestant country

  • All abbeys and monasteries, that had been so important in medieval Britain, were closed

• The monks and nuns were made homeless, the treasures and lands sold off and the buildings allowed to fall into ruin

Industry

• Wool continued to be England's major industry for most of this period

• Many people worked in the manufacture of woollen cloth

  • Most people dressed in similar clothes to those worn in the medieval period

  • However, increased trade led to materials like cotton and silk becoming more common

Changes in Trade

• Britain established colonies in North America during this time

• Sugar and tobacco were grown on these colonies and sold in Europe for enormous profits

• Britain became heavily involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade

  • Millions of African people were forcibly taken to America

  • They were enslaved and made to work on enormous farms called plantations

  • As well as sugar, tobacco, cotton and silk, other new products became available and popular in Britain for the first time

    • These included spices, potatoes, tomatoes, tea, coffee and chocolate

Changes in Society

• Drinking beer or ale had been very common throughout the medieval period, mainly because it was safer to drink than water

• The number of alehouses increased enormously during the Early Modern period as drinking alcohol became a social activity

  • From the 1650s onwards, drinking strong alcoholic spirits - especially gin - became very popular

    • This caused enormous social problems

Changes in Technology

• Innovations in technology during this time included the printing press and the steam engine

The Newcomen steam engine was a common sight in mining areas of Britain by 1750

• The Newcomen steam engine was invented in 1712 and was used to pump water out of mine shafts

  • It was not until later that steam engines were installed in factories and locomotives to power what became known as the Industrial Revolution

• The printing press arrived in Britain at the end of the 1400s

• It had a significant impact during the Early Modern period

  • Books could now be made much more quickly and cheaply than hand-copied books

  • Information and ideas spread far more quickly

  • Scientists were able to share and build on each other's ideas

  • Information was also far more difficult to control

    • Translations of the Bible - which the Church had successfully banned for centuries - spread quickly

Growth of towns in early modern Britain

• Populations of towns and cities increased rapidly during the Early Modern Period

• London's population tripled during this time

  • It became the biggest city in Europe

• All towns and cities experienced rapid expansion and developed overcrowded suburbs beyond their medieval walls

• By 1750, around 1 in 5 British people lived in towns compared to around 1 in 10 during the medieval period

  • The increased urban populations made towns even less healthy places to live