History 2186A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Royal Military Canal, Glossary Of Patience Terms, George Tomkyns Chesney
5 Dec 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Threats to the Nation
Midterm
- Identify and the historical significance of 5: identify the item, indicate who or what it is, and
when and where it is situated (8-10 to choose from), include dates and location, explain its
significance in a broader sense, what was the impact on the course of events? Why is it
critical in understanding this part of history?
- Can know dates in relative terms
- Only covers last 3 lectures
- Example: Kipper-und Wippezeit, Dr. John Snow
- 11:30-12:15
- Each question worth 20
- Some terms from readings
Intro
• The invasion scare: if your enemy is on the other side of the border with masses of heavily
armed soldiers, panicking can actually be pretty rational
• Not really paranoia but good thinking
• Examples in history where the prospect of an invasion was fictitious and yet panic was
produced non the less
England Under Siege
• Most European countries had been invaded dozens of times over centuries
• England has been invaded 4 times though: first by the Romans in 43AD, Germanic tribes
450-750, the Vikings 870, and finally by the Normans in 1066
• There have also been many planned invasions but they have not been successful because of
water
• Crossing that water and landing on a hostile coast is very different than crossing land
• 3 episodes where the threat of the invasion was real but in none of those instances we have
seen broad panic:
• In the three periods where Britain was in greatest danger, there was no serious panic
• Why not panic:
1. There is lots of time to prepare in each of these invasions – know what is facing
them because they can all see it and they have lots of time for preparation
2. Trust – faith in the system that will work for you, in each of these three instances,
England was lucky enough to have supreme leaders in which everyone had
enormous faith
The Spanish Armada, 1588
• England had broken away from the Roman Catholic church meaning popish plots arose –
anti-Catholicism generated panic in England for hundreds of years
• Most of this panic was without cause because the chances of England being taken over from
within were relatively slim but by the same token, the chances of England being invaded by
pirates from the continent was very real
• England right in thinking that Catholic pirates wanted to invade – Catholic
• England’s two greatest enemies the French and Spanish were quite keen to take up the
challenge
• Spanish King, Philip II, was keen to invade England on behalf of Spain and the Catholic
Church, so he looked for the Popes support and the Pope said yes, that he would pay for it,
and he would give his blessing (so the English were right that the Pope was willing to
finance invasions of England)
• Created the Army of Flanders in 1588 – the most powerful, most equipped army in Europe
• Led by the Duke of Parma, who was respected and feared across the continent for his skill
as a soldier
• Began to collect ships, sailors, soldiers, artillery, and stock pile them on the continental side
of the English Channel in preparation for a massive invasion
• Got up to 56,000 soldiers, a massive army at the time
• Knows that English defenses are poor at best and the post is defended by volunteers who
are poorly trained
• Attacked by the English navy, Spanish ships scattered and tried to come back together to be
attacked again
• Eventually, realizing that their escape route south where they came from in Portugal was
blocked so they tried to escape north to Scotland and as they were coming past Ireland they
were hit by savage storms
• By the time the last of the fleet returned to Portugal, half of the original Armada was gone
and 15,000 soldiers had been lost
• This great threat turned out to lead to nothing
• Despite the fact there were this enormous Catholic army a few miles away from England,
there was no evident panic, but calm in England
• Elizabeth I was the leader at the time and she had the countries hearts and minds so she had
everyone’s trust, thus causing no panic
o In 1588 she made a famous speech in the East of England at Tilbury (Tilbury
Speech)
o Doesn’t take long for news of this speech to move around quickly, having a powerful
impact on restoring confidence and faith
o Elizabeth’s speech had a huge impact on maintaining a level of calm
o This is a time when people believe that monarchs rule by divine right so when the
Queen says something, you take it seriously because they are actually speaking with
the sanction of God so you believe when she says they will throw the Spaniard’s into
the sea
Napoleon Bonaparte
• 1800 – Britain and France had been at war for 10 years and they decided to come to a truce
• Bonaparte saw this truce as a pause, as he had big plans to make himself the leader of
Europe
• Had already taken control of France and wanted to become the King of Europe
• Determined to crush any country that stood in his way –regarded England as his most
dangerous enemy, their peace was irrelevant to him
• Created a vast invading army in France with up to 200,000 soldiers – well trained, well
equipped, experience
Document Summary
England under siege: most european countries had been invaded dozens of times over centuries, england has been invaded 4 times though: first by the romans in 43ad, germanic tribes. England was lucky enough to have supreme leaders in which everyone had enormous faith. Queen says something, you take it seriously because they are actually speaking with the sanction of god so you believe when she says they will throw the spaniard"s into the sea. Invasion literature: the battle of dorking: george chesney published in 1871 kicked off the whole invasion scare, told from the future: old soldier reminiscing to his grandson about the day that. Brown on the battle of dorking where a lady assumes the battle of dorking is a news report not fiction. Just means that rumours and fear mongering can be spread more quickly than ever before.
