Ireland

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PREHISTORIC IRELAND

The first humans arrived in Ireland between 7,000 and 6,000 BC after the end of the last ice age. The first Irish people lived by farming, fishing and gathering food such as plants and shellfish. The stone age hunters tended to live on the seashore or on the banks of rivers and lakes where food was plentiful. They hunted animals like deer and wild boar. They also hunted birds and, with harpoons, they hunted seals.

About 4,000 BC farming was introduced to Ireland. The stone age farmers kept sheep, pigs and cattle and raised crops. They probably lived in huts with wooden frames covered with turfs and thatched with rushes. The farmers made tools of stone, bone and antler. They also made pottery. For centuries the farmers and the hunters co-existed but the old hunter-gatherer lifestyle gradually died out.

The stone age farmers were the first people to significantly affect the environment of Ireland as they cleared areas of forest for farming. They were also the first people to leave monuments in the form of burial mounds known as court cairns. The stone age farmers sometimes cremated their dead then buried the remains in stone galleries covered in earth.

They also created burial places called dolmens, which consist of massive vertical stones with horizontal stones on top, and passage graves which have a central passage lined and roofed with stones with burial chambers leading off it. The passage graves were covered with mounds of earth.

CELTIC IRELAND

About 2,000 BC bronze was introduced into Ireland and was used for making tools and weapons. The bronze age people also erected stone circles in Ireland. They also built crannogs or lake dwellings which were easy to defend.

Then about 750 BC the Celts arrived in Ireland. They brought iron tools and weapons with them. The Celts were a warlike people. (According to Roman writers they were passionately fond of fighting) and they built stone forts across Ireland). Ireland was divided into many small kingdoms and warfare between them was frequent. Fighting often took place in chariots.

The priests of the Celts were called Druids and they practised polytheism (worship of many gods).

Celtic society was divided into 3 classes. At the top were the kings and aristocrats. Below them were the freemen who were farmers. They could be well off or could be very poor. At the bottom were slaves. Divorce and remarriage were by no means unusual in Celtic society and polygamy was common among the rich.

CHRISTIANITY COMES TO IRELAND

In the 4th century Christianity spread to Ireland, probably through trade with England and France. In 431 Pope Celestine sent a man named Palladius to Ireland. However he was killed shortly after his arrival.

Then in 432 a man named Patrick arrived in Ireland. Patrick was probably born about 390 or 400. He lived in Western England until he was captured by Irish raiders at the age of 16 and was taken to Ireland as a slave. Patrick was forced to work as a herdsman and so had much time for thinking about religion. After 6 years as a slave Patrick managed to escape back to England.

However he had a vision in which he read a letter asking him to come to Ireland. This he did. Patrick became a missionary to Ireland until his death in 461.

Patrick tried to organise the church in Ireland along 'Roman' lines with Bishops as the leaders. However the Irish church soon changed to a system based on monasteries with Abbots as the leaders.

From 500 to 800 was the golden age of the Irish church. Many monasteries were founded across Ireland and soon the Irish sent missionaries to other parts of Europe such as Scotland and Northern England. Irish monks also kept alive Greek-Roman learning during the Dark Ages. In Irish monasteries learning and the arts flourished. One of the greatest arts was making decorated books called illuminated manuscripts. The most famous of these is the Book Of Kells, which was probably made at the beginning of the 9th century. However this golden age ended with the Viking raids.

THE VIKINGS IN IRELAND

The Vikings first attacked Ireland in 795. They looted monasteries. They also took women and children as slaves. However the Vikings were not only raiders. They were also traders and craftsmen. In the 9th century they founded Ireland's first towns, Dublin, Wexford, Cork and Limerick. They also gave Ireland its name, a combination of the Gaelic word Eire and the Viking word land. In time the Vikings settled down. They intermarried with the Irish and accepted Christianity.

Around 940 the great High King Brian Boru was born. At that time the Danes had conquered much of the kingdom of Munster. Brian defeated them in several battles. In 968 he recaptured Cashel, the capital of Munster. After 976 Brian was king of Munster and in 1002 he became the High King of Ireland. However in 1014 Leinster, the people of Dublin and the Danes joined forces against him. Brian fought and defeated them at the battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014, although he was killed himself. This victory ended the Viking threat to Ireland.

To read more about the Vikings click here.

THE ENGLISH INVASION

During the 11th and 12th centuries the church in Ireland flourished once again. In the early and mid 12th century it was reformed. Synods (church meetings) were held at Cashel in 1101, at Rath Bresail in 1111 and Kells in 1152. The church was reorganised on diocesan lines and bishops became the leaders rather than Abbots. However Pope Adrian IV (actually an Englishman called Nicholas Breakspear) was not satisfied. He was determined to bring the Irish church to heel. In 1155 he gave the English king, Henry II, permission to invade Ireland to sort out the church.

However Henry did not immediately invade Ireland. Instead Dermait MacMurrough, the king of Leinster, brought events to a head. In 1166, another king, Tiernan O'Rourke forced MacMurrough to flee from Ireland. However MacMurrough appealed to the English king Henry II for help. Henry gave him permission to recruit in England. MacMurrough enlisted the support of a man named Richard FitzGilbert de Clare (better known as Strongbow) to help him regain his kingdom. In return MacMurrough promised that Strongbow could marry his daughter and would become king of Leinster after him.

MacMurrough returned to South Leinster in 1167. The first English soldiers arrived in 1169. They landed at Bannow Bay in County Wexford and soon captured the town of Wexford. The High King, Rory O'Connor led an army against the English but Dermait came to terms with him. He agreed to submit to O'Connor as High King.

However the next year, 1170, Strongbow led an army to Ireland and captured Waterford and Dublin. Askluv the king of Dublin sailed away. However the next year he returned with a Norwegian army but some English knights sallied out on horseback and defeated them. Askluv was captured and executed. Next Rory O'Connor led an army to Dublin and laid siege to the town. However the English slipped out and made a surprise attack, routing the Irish.

Henry II became alarmed that Strongbow was becoming too powerful and ordered all English soldiers to return to England by Easter 1171. Strongbow made Henry an offer. He agreed to submit to king Henry and accept him as Lord if he was allowed to continue. Henry decided to accept the offer on condition he could have the towns of Dublin, Waterford and Wexford. In the meantime Dermait died and Strongbow became king of Leinster. The English king Henry landed in Ireland in October 1171. Strongbow submitted to him. So did most of the Irish kings. In 1175 Rory O'Connor submitted to Henry by the treaty of Windsor.

THE ANGLO-IRISH

In the early 13th century the English extended their control over all of Ireland except part of Connacht and Western Ulster. The English also founded the towns of Atheny, Drogheda, Galway and New Ross. The first Irish parliament was called in 1264 but it represented only the Anglo-Irish ruling class.

However after 1250 the English tide ebbed. In 1258 Brian O'Neill led a rebellion. The rebellion failed when O'Neill was defeated and killed in 1260. However the English landowners were gradually absorbed into Irish society. Many of them intermarried and slowly adopted Irish customs. In 1366 the Kilkenny Parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny. The Anglo-Irish were forbidden to marry native Irish. They were also forbidden to speak Gaelic or to play the Irish game of hurling. They were not allowed to wear Irish dress or ride bareback but must use a saddle. However all such attempts to keep the two races separate and distinct failed.

In 1315 the Scots invaded Ireland hoping to open up a second front in their war with the English. Robert the Bruce's brother led the Scottish army with considerable success and was even crowned king of Ireland. However the English sent an army to oppose him and he was defeated and killed in 1318.

In 1394 the English king Richard II led an army to Ireland to try and re-assert English control. The Irish submitted to him but promptly rebelled once he had left. Richard returned in 1399 but he was forced to leave due to trouble at home. From then on English control continued to wane until by the middle of the 15th century the English only ruled Dublin and the surrounding 'Pale'.

THE TUDOR CONQUEST OF IRELAND

Henry VII (1485-1509) tried to bring Ireland to heel. In 1494 he made Sir Edward Poynings Lord-Deputy of Ireland. In 1495 Poyning persuaded the Irish parliament to pass 'Poyning's Law' which stated that the Irish parliament could only meet with the permission of the English king and could only pass laws previously approved by the king and his ministers.

Henry VIII (1509-1547) continued his father's policy to trying to bring Ireland under his control but he adopted a 'softly, softly' approach of trying to win over the Irish by diplomacy. In 1536 the Irish parliament agreed to make Henry head of the Irish church (although the reformation made little headway in Ireland and the country remained overwhelmingly Catholic). In 1541 the Irish parliament agreed to recognise Henry VIII as king of Ireland.

Under Henry's son Edward VI (1547-1553) English policy hardened. The English undertook military campaigns against Irish chiefs in Laois and Offaly who refused to submit to the king. They then made the first attempt to 'plant' loyal English people in Ireland as a way of controlling the country. Land confiscated from the Irish was given to English settlers. However in the face of attacks from the Irish the English colonists were forced to abandon the 'plantation'.

After Edwards death his sister Mary (1553-1558) became queen. She carried out the first successful plantation of Ireland. Again people were settled in Laois and Offaly but this time they were better prepared for war.

Further plantations took place under Elizabeth (1558-1603). From 1579 to 1583 the Earl of Desmond led a rebellion against the English. When the rebellion was finally crushed much of the land in Munster was confiscated and was given to English colonists.

Then in 1592, Elizabeth founded the first university in Ireland, Trinity College, Dublin.

Finally in 1593 rebellion broke out in Ulster. Hugh O' Neill the Earl of Tyrone, joined the rebellion in 1595. At first the rebellion was successful. The rebels won a great victory at Yellow Ford in 1598. However O'Neill was severely defeated at the battle of Kinsale in 1601. The rebellion ended in 1603.

IRELAND IN THE 17th CENTURY

After the rebellion O'Neil was, at first, treated leniently. He was allowed to return to his land. However after 1605 English attitudes hardened. In 1607 Hugh O'Neil and Rory O'Donnell, the Earl of Tyrconnell, fled to France with their supporters. This event became known as the flight of the Earls.

Afterwards their land in Ulster was confiscated by King James who decided on a plantation of Ulster. This time the plantation was to be far more thorough. This time Protestant settlers would outnumber the native Irish. Between 1610 and 1613 vast numbers of English and Scots settled in Ulster on confiscated land. Many new towns were founded.

Naturally the native Irish resented the plantation and in 1641 Ulster rose in rebellion. Some massacres of Protestants undoubtedly occurred. However the extent of the massacres was later greatly exaggerated.

In the South in 1642 the Anglo-Irish and the native Irish formed an alliance called the Confederation of Kilkenny. They quickly took over all Ireland except Dublin and some other towns and part of Ulster. Meanwhile in England civil war was raging between the English king and parliament so Ireland was largely left to its own devices for several years. However divisions between the Anglo-Irish and the native Irish weakened the rebellion. Moreover the English civil war ended in 1646. King Charles I was executed in January 1649. Afterwards the English parliament turned its attention to Ireland.

Oliver Cromwell was determined to crush Irish resistance and impose Protestantism on Ireland. He also sought revenge for the massacres of 1641. When Cromwell captured Drogheda in 1649 the defenders were massacred. A similar massacre took place in Wexford. Cromwell left Ireland in 1650 and his Son-in-law took over. By 1651 all of Ireland was in English hands.

In 1653-654 another plantation took place. Land belonging to Irish Catholics was confiscated. Those who could prove they had not taken part in the rebellion of 1641 were given other (less fertile) land west of the Shannon. The confiscated lands were given to Englishmen.

In 1660 Charles II became king of England and Scotland. At first it looked as if he would undo the Cromwellian confiscation of Irish land. However the king soon back-pedalled, fearing a backlash among his own people if he treated Catholics too kindly.

Furthermore during the 1660s the export of cattle from Ireland to England was banned. Yet exports of meat and butter boomed. The population of Ireland also rose rapidly in the late 17th century. English merchants also resented competition from the Irish wool trade. Labour costs were lower in Ireland than in England and Irish wool was exported to many other countries. In 1699 the Irish were forbidden to export wool to any country except England. However the English already charged high import duties on Irish wool and there was little demand for it. So exports of Irish wool were effectively ended.

In 1685 a Catholic, James II, succeeded Charles II. The Irish hoped James would treat them more kindly but he was deposed in 1688 and fled to France. The Dutchman William of Orange and his English wife Mary were invited to come and rule in James's place.

However James was not willing to give up his crown so easily. The Lord-Deputy of Ireland, the Early of Tyrconnell was still loyal to him. So were most of the Irish. In March 1689 James landed at Kinsale and quickly took most of Ireland.

Londonderry was one of the few places that stood by William. In December 1688 Catholic troops attempted to enter but 13 apprentice boys shut the gates against them. In April 1689 James laid siege to Londonderry and his men laid a boom across the River Foyle to prevent supplies reaching it by water. However in July a ship called the Mountjoy broke the boom and relieved the town.

William's army landed in Ireland in August 1689 and on 1 July 1690 the two armies met at the battle of the Boyne near Drogheda. James was decisively defeated. William entered Dublin on 6 July 1690. The next year his army lay siege to Limerick. That town surrendered in October 1691. The treaty of Limerick ended the war in Ireland.

THE PROTESTANT ASCENDANCY

Following the defeat of James II the Irish Protestants passed certain laws to repress the Catholics. In 1695 Catholics were forbidden to carry arms. In 1697 the Banishment Law ordered all bishops and priests to leave Ireland (although many did not). In 1704 Catholic priests were required to register and to swear an oath of allegiance to the king.

Furthermore from 1704 all members of the Irish parliament and all holders of office had to be members of the Church of Ireland. (This Act applied to Presbyterians as well as Catholics. As a result many Presbyterians left Ireland for North America during the 18th century).

Another Act of 1704 stated that Catholics could not buy land. They could not leave their land to a single heir, and they could not inherit land from Protestants. These measures meant that by 1778 only 5% of the land in Ireland was owned by Catholics. Both Catholics and Dissenters (Protestants who did not belong to the Church of Ireland) had to pay tithes to the Church of Ireland which naturally caused great resentment.

An Act of 1719 reaffirmed the British parliaments right to legislate for Ireland. The Irish parliament was made definitely subordinate.

In 1727 Catholics lost the right to vote.

There was a great deal of dire poverty in Ireland, at its worst during the famine of 1741. This disaster killed hundreds of thousands of people.

In the 1760s the grievances of Irish peasants boiled over into violence. In Munster the 'whiteboys', so called because they wore white smocks or shirts to disguise themselves burned buildings and maimed cattle. In the 1770s they were followed in the north by the oak boys and the steel boys.

From 1778 the penal laws were gradually repealed. From that year Catholics were allowed to lease land for 999 years. From 1782 they were allowed to buy land. In 1782 Poyning�s Law is repealed after nearly 300 years. The law of 1719, which gave the British parliament the right to legislate for the Irish, was also repealed. In 1792 Catholics were allowed to practise as lawyers and to marry Protestants. From 1793 Catholics were allowed to vote (but were not allowed to sit as MPs).

In the 18th century a linen industry grew up in Northern Ireland. A Linen Board was formed in Dublin in 1711. However the linen industry soon became concentrated in the north and another Linen Board opened in Belfast in 1782. From the late 18th century Britain began to industrialise. In Ireland industrialisation was limited to the north. The south of Ireland remained agricultural, exporting huge quantities of meat and butter to Britain. During the 18th century the population of Ireland rapidly increased from less than 2 million in 1700 to nearly 5 million in 1800. Trade with Britain boomed and the Bank of Ireland opened in 1783.

However at the end of the 18th century the ideas of the American Revolution and the French Revolution reached Ireland. They influenced a Protestant lawyer, Theobald Wolf Tone who, in 1791, founded the Society of United Irishmen. The society wanted Ireland to become an independent republic with religious toleration for all. In 1794 Britain went to was with France. The United Irishmen were regarded as a dangerous organisation and were suppressed. Wolf Tone fled abroad and tried to persuade the French to invade Ireland. In 1796 they sent a fleet but it was prevented from landing by a storm.

Then in May 1798 risings took place in Wexford, Wicklow and Mayo. However the rebellion was defeated at Vinegar Hill near Enniscorthy on 21 June. French soldiers landed at Killala in August but they were forced to surrender in September. The French sent another fleet but their ships were intercepted by the British navy and most of them were captured. On board one was Wolf Tone. In November he committed suicide in prison.

IRELAND IN THE 19TH CENTURY

The British government then decided that radical reform was needed. They decided the answer was to abolish the Irish parliament and unite Ireland with Britain. In 1800 they managed to persuade the Irish parliament to agree to the measure. It came into effect in 1801.

In 1803 Robert Emmet (1778-1803) and a small group of followers attempted an uprising in Dublin. They killed the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and his nephew but the rising was quickly crushed. Emmet was hung, drawn and quartered.

In the early 19th century a movement to remove remaining restrictions on Catholics was led by Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847). In 1823 he founded the Catholic Association. In 1829 their wishes were granted. The Catholic Emancipation Act allowed Catholics to become MPs and to hold public office.

In 1840 O'Connell began a Repeal Association to demand the repeal of the Act of Union. He arranged 'monster meetings' of his supporters. In 1843 he called for one at Clontarf. However the British government banned the meeting. O'Connell cancelled the meeting and his movement collapsed.

THE POTATO FAMINE

In 1845 a large part of the Irish population lived on potatos and buttermilk. It was an adequate diet but if anything happened to the potato crop there would be disaster. In 1845 potato blight hit Ireland. Peel, the British Prime Minister, appointed a scientific committee to study the disease. Unfortunately they did not understand its true nature.

Faced with famine Peel started relief works to provide work for the starving. (Peel was reluctant to give away free food). The potato blight returned in 1846. By 1847 the situation was so bad that Peel's successor, Lord John Russell realised direct relief was necessary and soup kitchens were set up. Private charity also struggled to cope with the calamity.

However hundreds of thousands of people died each year of starvation and disease such as cholera, typhus and dysentery. (In their weakened condition people had little resistance to disease).

The famine was worst in Southern and Southwest Ireland. The North and the East coast were less affected.

Many people fled aboard. In 1851 alone some 250,000 people emigrated from Ireland. (Many of them died of disease while on board ship). The population of Ireland fell dramatically. From over 8 million in 1841 it fell to about 6 1/2 million in 1851 and it continued to fall. An estimated 1 million people died during the famine. Many others emigrated.

The failure of the British government to deal with the famine caused a lasting bitterness in Ireland.

THE HOME RULE MOVEMENT

In 1842 an organisation called Young Ireland was formed to campaign for Irish independence. (They were called 'Young Ireland' because they were opposed to O'Connell's 'Old Ireland', which advocated peaceful methods. In 1848 Young Ireland attempted an uprising. Led by William Smith O'Brien 1803-64 a group of Irish peasants fought with 46 members of the Irish Constabulary at Ballingary in County Tipperary. The skirmish later became known as 'the battle of the Widow McCormack's cabbage patch'. Afterwards O'Brien was arrested. He was sentenced to death but instead was transported to Tasmania.

In 1858 another movement called the Fenians was formed. In 1867 they attempted a rising in England, which did not succeed. In 1870 they were banned by the Catholic Church but they continued to operate.

Also in 1870 a lawyer named Isaac Butt (1813-1879) founded the Irish Home Government Association. The aim was to gain MPs in the British parliament and fight for independence. The Association was a success in that it soon gained a large number of MPs but Butt was regarded as too moderate. He soon lost control of the movement to a Protestant Lawyer called Charles Steward Parnell (1846-1891).

THE LAND WAR

In the late 1870s Irish agriculture entered a recession and many tenant farmers were evicted. Then in 1879 a Fenian called Michael Davitt (1846-1906) founded the Irish National Land League to demand land reform. He asked Parnell to lead the movement. The land war of 1879-1882 followed. Rents were withheld until the last moment. Anyone who took the land of an evicted tenant was boycotted. This word came from a Captain Charles Boycott. He managed an estate in Mayo. Local people refused to work for him but in 1880 50 labourers from Ulster, protected by troops, were sent to harvest his farm. However life was made so unpleasant for Boycott he was forced to leave.

During the land war some people became violent. As a result in 1881 the British government passed the Coercion Act, which allowed them to imprison people without trial. The leaders of the land league were arrested. At the same time Gladstone passed another land act. Tenants could apply to a special land court for a fair rent. Gladstone's land acts of 1881 and 1882 also gave tenant farmers greater security of tenure.

The land war ended with an agreement called the Kilmainham Treaty. The government released the leaders and agreed to some more concessions and the violence died down (although the Chief Secretary for Ireland Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Under Secretary were murdered in Phoenix Park, Dublin).

THE HOME RULE BILLS

In 1886 Gladstone introduced his first Home Rule bill but it was rejected by the House of Commons. Gladstone introduced a second Home Rule bill in 1893. This one was passed by the House of Commons but it was rejected by the House of Lords.

Gladstone introduced a second Home Rule bill in 1893. The House of Commons passed this one but the House of Lords rejected it. Nevertheless some reforms were made to land ownership. In 1885 money was made available for leaseholders to borrow to buy their land. The loans were repaid at low rates of interest. The loan system was extended in 1891. More land acts were passed in 1903 and 1909. As a result many thousands of tenant farmers purchased their land.

In 1893 the Gaelic League was founded to make Gaelic the main language of Ireland once again.

Meanwhile Protestant opposition to Home Rule was growing. The Ulster Unionist Party was formed in 1886. Other unionist organisations were also formed at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

However Sinn Fein (Gaelic 'we ourselves') was formed in 1905.

In the 1900s Ireland moved towards civil war. The Ulster Volunteer Force was formed in 1913. In the South Nationalists formed the Irish Volunteers. Both sides obtained arms.

Finally a Home Rule Bill received the Royal Assent on 15 September 1914. However it was put on hold for the duration of the First World War. The war split opinion in Ireland. Some people were willing to wait for the end of the war believing that Ireland would then become independent. Some were not. The Irish Volunteers split. About 12,000 men broke away but kept the name Irish Volunteers. The rest (0ver 100,000 men called themselves the Irish National Volunteers).

THE EASTER RISING

In the early years of the 20th century the Irish Republican Brotherhood remained a powerful secret organisation. Many of them joined the Irish Volunteers. In May 1915 the IRB formed a military council. In January 1916 they planned an uprising and set Easter Day (April 24) as the date. MacNeill, the leader of the Irish Volunteers, wa sonly informed about the planned uprising on 21 April. At first he agreed to co-operate. He ordered the Volunteers to mobilise on 24 April. However a German ship called the Aud, which was carrying rifles to Ireland was intercepted by the British Navy and her captain scuttled her. MacNeill changed his mind and cancelled the Volunteer Movements. As a result the uprising was confined almost entirely to Dublin and therefore had no chance of success.

The insurgents occupied the Post Office in O'Connell Street where their leader Patrick Pearse announced an Irish Republic. However the British crushed the rebellion and the insurgents surrendered on 29 April. The British then court-martialed the insurgents and 15 of them were executed. Public opinion was appalled and alientated by the executions.

THE FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE

In December 1918 a general election was held and Sinn Fein won 73 seats. However the Sinn Fein MPs refused to sit in the Britsh parliament. Instead they formed their own parliament called the Daill Eirann, which met in Dublin.

In January 1919 the Irish Volunteers renamed themselves the IRA the IRA began a guerilla war when they shot two RIC men. The guerilla war continued through 1920 and 1921. The British recruited a force of ex-soldiers called the Black and Tans to support the RIC. The Black and Tans were sent to Ireland in March 1920. They undertook reprisals against the IRA by burning buildings. In Dublin on 21 November 1921 they fired upon a crowd watching a football match killing 12 people. Shortly afterwards the Black and Tans burned part of Cork city centre.

The war continued into 1921. On 25 May 1921 the IRA burned Dublin Customs House However 5 of them were killed and 80 were captured. Shortly afterwards, in July 1921, the war ended.

Meanwhile in 1920 the British government passed the Government of Ireland Act. By it there would be 2 parliaments in Ireland, one in the north and one in the south. However both parliaments would be subordinate to the British parliament. An election was held for the southern Irish parliament in May 1921. Sinn Fein won almost all the seats but their MPs refused to sit in the new parliament. Instead the Dail continued to meet.

Then in October 1921 a group of 5 men were appointed by the Dail to negotiate with the British. The British prime minister demanded that Ireland be partioned and he threatened the delegates with war if they did not sign a treaty. Therefore they did so.

The Dail approved the treaty on 7 January 1922. However opinion split over the treaty with some people willing to accept it as a temporary measure and some people bitterly opposed. Fighting broke out between the IRA and the National Army. Michael Collins was killed in an embush on 22 August 1922. The civil war lasted until May 1923.

IRELAND IN THE EARLY 20th CENTURY

During the 1920s and 1930s unemployment was high in Ireland. Furthermore many people lived in overcrowded conditions. As a result emigration continued. However things slowly improved. In the years 1925-1929 the government created a hydro-electricity scheme called the Shannon scheme. By 1943 all the towns in Ireland had electricity. So did most of the villages. In the 1930s the government tried to help the unemployed with a road-building scheme. Furthermore some industry developed in Ireland at that time.

In 1937 a new constitution made an elected president head of state. Furthermore the name 'Irish Free State' was replaced with either Eire or Ireland. Then in 1948 Ireland was made a republic and the last ties with Britain were cut.

In the 1930s Ireland fought an 'economic war' with Britain. Before 1922 many tenant farmers borrowed money from the British government to buy their farms. As part of the treaty of 1922 the Irish state was to collect this money and pass it on to the British. However in 1932 de Valera stopped paying. In response the British imposed a tariff of 20% on Irish goods. This caused great harm to the Irish cattle trade. However de Valera imposed import duties on British goods such as coal. He hoped Ireland would become economically self-sufficient and Irish industries would develop. In reality the war hurt both sides. In 1935 they made a coal-cattle pact, which made trade in the two commodities easier. In 1938 a general trade treaty brought the economic war to an end.

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

In 1949 an Industrial Development Authority was founded to promote industrialisation and from the late 1950s the Irish economy developed rapidly. During the 1960s and 1970s the Irish economy grew an average of 4% per year. The first Irish motorway opened in 1962. Also in 1962 Irish television began broadcasting.

However Irish people continued to emigrate abroad during the 1950s and 1960s. Despite emigration the population of Ireland rose in the 1960s and 1970s (for the first time since the mid-19th century.

In 1973 Ireland joined the EEC (forerunner of the EU). Membership brought great benefit to Ireland both in direct aid and in investment by foreign companies.

During the 1980s the Irish economy was in the doldrums. Unemployment was only 7% in 1979 but it rose to 17% in 1990. Then in the 1990s the situation changed completely. The Irish economy boomed and it became known as the Celtic Tiger. By 2000 unemployment in the Irish Republic had fallen to less than 4%. In 2002 Ireland joined the euro.

Irish society also changed rapidly in the last years of the 20th century. Mary Robinson was elected the first woman president in 1990. In 1995 the Irish people voted in a referendum to allow divorce.

In the early 21st century the Irish economy grew rapidly. In 2008 Ireland entered a recession. Nevertheless Ireland is a prosperous country with a bright future.

Today the population of Ireland is 4.2 million.

Iceland

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History


The first people known to have inhabitated Iceland were Irish monks or hermits who came in the eighth century, but left with the arrival of the pagan Norsemen, who systematically settled Iceland in the period 870 - 930 A.D. Iceland was thus the last European country to be settled.

The main source of information about the settlement period in Iceland is the Landnαmabσk (Book of Settlements), written in the 12th century, which gives a detailed account of the first settlers. According to this book Ingσlfur Arnarson was the first settler. He was a chieftain from Norway, arriving in Iceland with his family and dependents in 874. He built his farm in Reykjavνk, the site of the present capital. During the next 60 years or so, viking settlers from Scandinavia, bringing some Celtic people with them, spread their homesteads over the habitable areas. In the year 930, at the end of the Settlement period, a constitutional law code was accepted and Alώingi established. The judicial power of Alώingi was distributed between four local courts and a type of a Supreme Court held annually at the national assembly at ήingvellir.

In the year 1000 Christianity was peacefully adopted by the Icelanders at Alώingi, which met for two weeks every summer, attracting a large proportion of the population. The first bishopric was established at Skαlholt in South Iceland in 1056, and a second at Hσlar in the north in 1106. Both became the country's main centres of learning.

In the late tenth century Greenland was discovered and colonized by Icelanders under the leadership of Eirik the Red, and around the year 1000 Icelanders were the first Europeans to set foot on the American continent, 500 years before Columbus, although their attempts to settle in the New World failed.

In 1262-64 internal feuds, amounting to a civil war, led to submission to the King of Norway and a new monarchial code in 1271. When Norway and Denmark formed the Kalmar Union in 1397, Iceland fell under the sovereignty of the King of Denmark. After the "Golden Age" of Iceland's independence had ended, the situation went from bad to worse. The Danish kings brought about the Reformation of the Church in 1551, which resulted in Danish control over the Church, and confiscation of its great wealth. They replaced the Hansa and English trade with an oppressive Danish trade monopoly, and established absolute monarchy in 1662, thus transfering all governing power to Copenhagen. While this arrangement was very profitable for the Danish Crown, these changes were disastrous for the Icelandic economy. Further problems arose in the food supply due to cooling of the climate during the 16th and 17th centuries.

The eighteenth century marked the most tragic age in Iceland's history. In 1703, when the first complete census was taken, the population was approximately 50,000, of whom about 20% were beggars and dependents. From 1707 to 1709 the population declined to about 35,000 because of a devastating smallpox epidemic. Twice more the population declined below 40,000, both during the years 1752-57 and 1783-85, due to a series of famines and natural disasters.

At the end of the 18th century Alώingi had been dissolved and the old diocese replaced by one bishop residing in Reykjavνk. As a consequence of the plight of the populace the trade monopoly was modified in 1783 and all subjects of the Danish king given the right to trade in Iceland.

In 1843 Alώingi was reinstituted as a consultative assembly. In 1854 trade monopoly was abolished entirely. In 1874, when Iceland celebrated the millenium of the first settlement, it received a constitution from the Danish king and control of its own finances.

In 1904 Iceland received home rule and finally in 1918 sovereignty, but was united with Denmark under the Danish crown. In 1940 Iceland was occupied by British forces, which were replaced in 1941 by American troops by special agreement between the Icelandic and American governments. Finally, on 17 June 1944, the Republic of Iceland was formally proclaimed at ήingvellir.

Hungary

Alphabet

A a : aw sound in law
Á á : a sound in father
B b : b sound in bat
C c : ts sound in bits
CS cs : ch sound in chat
D d : d sound in dog
DZ dz : sounds like 'ds' in deeds
DZS dzs : sounds like 'j' in job
E e : e sound in red
É é : e sound in prey
F f : f sound in far
G g : g sound in gap
GY gy : dy sound like 'd' in adulation
H h : h sound in hot
I i : i sound in fit
Í í : ee sound in bee
J j : y sound in yes
K k : k sound in kit
L l : l sound in lip
LY ly : y sound like 'y' in yes (silent 'l')
M m : m sound in mat
N n : n sound in nut
NY ny : ny sound like 'n' in onion
O o : o sound in hole
Ó ó : o sound in rode
Ö ö : e sound in her
Ő ő : e sound in her (elongated)
P p : p sound in pin
R r : r sound in rat (always rolled)
S s : sh sound in ship
SZ sz : s sound in sun
T t : t sound in top
TY ty : ty sound like 'tu' in situation
U u : u sound in push
Ú ú : oo sound in fool
Ü ü : u sound in début
Ű ű : u sound in début (elongated)
V v : v sound in vat
Z z : z sound in zip
ZS zs : sounds like 's' in treasure
Qq, Ww, Xx, Yy in foreign words only

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History

By 14 B.C., western Hungary was part of the Roman Empire's provinces of Pannonia and Dacia. The area east of the Danube was never part of the Roman Empire and was largely occupied by various Germanic and Asiatic peoples. In 896 all of Hungary was invaded by the Magyars, who founded a kingdom. Christianity was accepted during the reign of Stephen I (St. Stephen), 977–1038. A devastating invasion by the Mongols killed half of Hungary's population in 1241.

The peak of Hungary's great period of medieval power came during the reign of Louis I the Great (1342–1382), whose dominions touched the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean seas. War with the Turks broke out in 1389, and for more than 100 years the Turks advanced through the Balkans. When the Turks smashed a Hungarian army in 1526, western and northern Hungary accepted Hapsburg rule to escape Turkish occupation. Transylvania became independent under Hungarian princes. Intermittent war with the Turks was waged until a peace treaty was signed in 1699.

After the suppression of the 1848 revolt, led by Louis Kossuth, against Hapsburg rule, the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was set up in 1867. The dual monarchy was defeated, along with the other Central Powers, in World War I. After a short-lived republic in 1918, the chaotic Communist rule of 1919 under Béla Kun ended with the Romanians occupying Budapest on Aug. 4, 1919. When the Romanians left, Adm. Nicholas Horthy entered the capital with a national army. The Treaty of Trianon of June 4, 1920, by which the Allies parceled out Hungarian territories, cost Hungary 68% of its land and 58% of its population.

In World War II, Hungary allied with Germany, which aided the country in recovering lost territories. Following the German invasion of Russia on June 22, 1941, Hungary joined the attack against the Soviet Union, but withdrew in defeat from the eastern front by May 1943. Germany occupied the country for the remainder of the war and set up a puppet government. Hungarian Jews and Gypsies were sent to death camps. The German regime was driven out by the Soviets in 1944–1945.

By the Treaty of Paris (1947), Hungary had to give up all territory it had acquired since 1937 and to pay $300 million in reparations to the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. In 1948, the Communist Party, with the support of Soviet troops, seized control. Hungary was proclaimed a People's Republic and one-party state in 1949. Industry was nationalized, the land collectivized into state farms, and the opposition terrorized by the secret police.

The terror, modeled after that of the USSR, reached its height with the trial and life imprisonment of József Cardinal Mindszenty, the leader of Hungary's Roman Catholics, in 1948. On Oct. 23, 1956, an anti-Communist revolution broke out in Budapest. To cope with it, the Communists set up a coalition government and called former prime minister Imre Nagy back to head the government. But he and most of his ministers sympathized with the anti-Communist opposition, and he declared Hungary a neutral power, withdrawing from the Warsaw Treaty and appealing to the United Nations for help. One of his ministers, János Kádár, established a counterregime and asked the USSR to send in military power. Soviet troops and tanks suppressed the revolution in bloody fighting after 190,000 people had fled the country.

Under Kádár (1956–1988), Communist Hungary maintained more liberal policies in the economic and cultural spheres, and Hungary became the most liberal of the Soviet-bloc nations of eastern Europe. Continuing his program of national reconciliation, Kádár emptied prisons, reformed the secret police, and eased travel restrictions.

In 1989, Hungary's Communists abandoned their monopoly on power voluntarily, and the constitution was amended in Oct. 1989 to allow for a multiparty state. The last Soviet troops left Hungary in June 1991, thereby ending almost 47 years of military presence. The transition to a market economy proved difficult. In April 1999, Hungary became part of NATO, and in May 2004, it joined the EU.
(Source: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia "Hungary: History.")

Finland

Alphabet

A aa
B bee
C see
D dee
E ee
F äf
G gee
H hoo
I ii
J jii
K koo
L äl
M äm
N än
O oo
P pee
Q kuu
R är
S äs
T tee
U uu
V vee
W kaksoisvee
X äks
Y yy
Z tseta
Å ruotsalainen
Ä ää
Ö öö

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History

ANCIENT FINLAND

The first humans arrived in Finland about 7,000 BC after the end of the last ice age. The earliest Finns were stone-age hunters and gatherers. Over the millennia successive waves of people entered Finland. After 2,500 BC people in Finland lived by farming. About 1,500 BC they learned to make tools and weapons from bronze. About 500 BC people in Finland learned to use iron. However the Finns had little or no contact with the classical civilisations of Greece and Rome.

FINLAND IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The recorded history of Finland began in the 12th century. By 1120 Christian missionaries were operating there. They were prepared to use force to convert Finland! The Swedish king Eric led a crusade in 1157. An Englishman, Bishop Henry of Uppsala, assisted him. Henry stayed after the Swedish soldiers left and he was martyred. Later he became the patron saint of Finland. However in 1172 the Pope said that the Finns would convert then renounce their faith as soon as their enemies had left. He advised the Swedes to subject the Finns by permanently manning fortresses in Finland.

However the Swedes had rivals in Finland. The Danes invaded Finland twice, in 1191 and in 1202. Furthermore the Novgorodians (from part of what is now Russia) hoped to control Finland and convert the people to the Eastern Orthodox Church. They fought the Swedes at the River Neva in 1240 and won a decisive victory. However the Swedes returned in 1249. Earl Birger led this second crusade. He succeeded in conquering Hame and built a castle at Hameelinna.

In 1291 a native Finn was made bishop of Turku.

However the Swedes were keen to conquer Karelia. In 1293 they sent an expedition under Marshal Torgils Knutsson. At first they were successful but in 1381 the Novgorodians counterattacked. The two sides made peace in 1323. Karelia remained in Novgorodian hands.

Meanwhile Swedish colonists migrated to Finland in large numbers and after 1323 Finland became a province of Sweden. Swedish law came to apply in Finland (although it was tempered by Finnish custom). In 1362 the Swedes allowed the Finns to participate in the election of a Swedish king. Then, in 1397, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Finland). The Union broke up in 1523.

FINLAND 1500-1800

Helsinki was founded in 1550.

The reformation in Finland was led by Mikael Agricola who became bishop of Turku in 1554. When he died in 1557 Finland was firmly Lutheran.

In 1581 Finland was made a Grand Duchy.

In 1596-97 Finnish peasants rose in rebellion in the Club War (so called because the peasants were armed with clubs). The nobles ruthlessly suppressed the rebellion. Afterwards the peasants condition did not improve but Finland became an integral part of Sweden.

The end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th were years of hardship for the Finns. In 1696-97 there was a severe famine. Malnutrition and disease reduced the population of Finland by about a third.

Then came the Great Northern War of 1709-21. In 1713 the Russians invaded Finland and marched across it. The Swedish-Finnish army made a last stand at Storkyro but was defeated. The Russian occupation from 1713 to 1721 is known as the Great Wrath. Wealthy Finns fled to Sweden but peasants could not escape. King Charles XII ordered the Finns to start guerrilla warfare against the Russians, which naturally led to reprisals. In 1721 peace was made but Charles XII had to surrender the south-eastern part of Finland to Russia.

Meanwhile in 1710 plague reached Helsinki and devastated the population.

War broke out again between Sweden-Finland and Russia in 1741. The Swedes were defeated at Villmanstrand. The Russian army occupied the whole of Finland but the treaty of Albo, which ended the war in 1743 left the status quo unchanged except that Russia took a small part of Finland.

War broke out again in 1788. This time a man named Magnus Sprengporten led a separatist movement. However he attracted few followers and the war ended in 1790.

FINLAND IN THE 19th CENTURY

Finland was finally detached from Sweden in 1809. The Russians invaded Finland on 21 February 1808. The Russians captured a fortress at Sveaborg in May but the Swedish-Finnish army won a victory at Lapua in July. However in September 1808 the Russians won a decisive victory at Oravainen. Swedish troops then abandoned Finland and left to their own devices the Finns made peace with the Tsar. During the 18th century Sweden was declining and Russia was growing more and more powerful so the Finns bowed to the inevitable.

In March 1809 the Finnish Diet (a form of parliament) accepted Tsar Alexander as their ruler. He agreed that Finland would become a Grand Duchy rather than a part of Russia and he promised to respect Finnish laws. In 1812 the Tsar moved the capital of Finland from Turku to Helsinki.

Little changed in Finland in the early 19th century. Then in 1856 the Saimaa canal was built. It enabled the Finns to export timber from their great forests to western Europe more easily.

In the late 19th century Finnish nationalism began to grow. As early as 1835 Elias Lonnrot published a collection of Finnish folk poems called Kalevala. After 1850 interest in the Finnish language and culture grew stronger. In 1858 the first Finnish speaking grammar school opened. By 1889 half of the grammar schools in Finland spoke only Finnish.

However at the end of the 19th century Tsar Nicholas II tried to clamp down on Finnish nationalism. In 1899 he issued a manifesto which said he had the power to make laws for Finland, without the consent of the Finnish Diet if those laws affected Russian interests.

FINLAND IN EARLY THE 20th CENTURY

The pendulum then swung the other way. In 1902 Finnish was made an official language along with Swedish and in 1905 the Tsar withdrew the manifesto of 1899. In 1907 a new assembly was elected to replace the old Diet. This time all men were allowed to vote.

Finnish women were also allowed to vote. Finland was the first European country and the third in the world, after New Zealand and Australia to allow women to vote in national elections. Furthermore in 1907 Finnish women became the first in the world to win seats in a national parliament.

However in 1910 the Tsar severely restricted the power of the Finnish legislature. He declared that he had the power to pass laws for Finland if its effects are not limited to the internal affairs of that region.

But the reign of the Tsar was soon over. He abdicated in March 1917. In July 1917 the Finnish Diet declared that it had authority in all matters except foreign policy. Then on 6 December 1917 the Diet declared Finland an independent Republic.

Meanwhile in October 1917 a conservative government was elected in Finland. The far left decided to try and take power by force. The Red Finns seized Helsinki and other towns. However General Gustaf Mannerheim led the White Finns. In April 1918 they captured Tampere. Meanwhile the Germans intervened. German troops captured Helsinki. By the middle of May the rebellion had been crushed. Subsequently 8,000 reds were executed. Another 12,000 died in prison camps.

In October 1918 a German Prince, Charles Frederick of Hesse was made king of Finland. However his reign was extremely short. After Germany signed the armistice on 11 November 1918 Mannerheim was made regent. Shortly afterwards, in 1919 Finland gained a new constitution. In July 1919 Finlands first president K J Stahlberg replaced Mannerheim. Finland became a republic.

Following Finnish independence farming was reformed. In the years 1918-1992 many lease holders became small holders.

In 1929 the Communists demonstrated in Lapua. As a result right-wingers foamed an anti-Communist movement called the Lapua movement. In February 1932 the Lapua movement tried to seize power in Mantsala. President Stahlberg defeated the rebellion but the rebels were treated leniently.

Finland became involved in the Second World War. In 1939 Stalin feared attack from the west. He wanted to take territory from Finland to protect his northern flank. Stalin offered to give Finland other territory in exchange but the Finnish government refused so Stalin decided to use force.

The Winter War began on 30 November 1939. The Finns were heavily outnumbered but they fought bravely. The Russians invaded north of Lake Lagoda but they were defeated at Tolvajari and Suomussalmi. Meanwhile along the Karelian Isthmus Finland was protected by the Mannerheim line, a network of forts and concrete bunkers and trenches. The Russians tried to break through but the Finns held them up for several weeks.

However on 14th February 1940 the Russians penetrated the Mannerheim line and Finland was forced to seek peace. The war ended with the Treaty of Moscow on 12 March 1940. Afterwards Finland was forced to surrender the southeast including the city of Viipuri (Vyborg) and more territory north of Lake Lagoda. About 22,000 Finns died in the Winter War.

In June 1941 Finland joined with Germany in attacking Russia. The Finns called it the Continuation War. The Finns quickly recaptured their territory. However in December 1941 Britain declared war on Finland and after the German defeat at Stalingrad in 1943 the Finns realised they must leave the war.

Negotiations began in March 1944 but Finland rejected the Russian demands. However defeat was inevitable and Finland made a cease fire with Russia on 5 September 1944.

After the war Finland was forced to surrender large amounts of territory to Russia. The Finns also had to pay reparations. The Continuation War cost 85,000 Finnish lives.

A final peace treaty was made with Russia in 1947.

MODERN FINLAND

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the treaty of 1947 was replaced by a new treaty in 1992 in which both sides agreed to settle their differences in a friendly manner.

There were about 450,000 refugees from the territory taken by the Russians, which added to the strain on Finlands economy. However Finland slowly recovered from the war. By the early 1970s the Finnish economy was booming. However in the late 1970s it declined. In the mid and late 1980s Finland enjoyed rapid economic growth but it ended with recession in the early 1990s. There was mass unemployment. However at the end of the century Finland recovered and it is now a prosperous country.

Before the Second World War the main occupation in Finland was agriculture. Since 1945 metalworking, engineering and electronics industries have grown but Finland is still less industrialised than the other Scandinavian countries. The main resource of Finland is timber.

In 1995 Finland joined the EU and in 2002 the Finnish currency was replaced by the euro.

Meanwhile in 2000 Tara Halonen was elected the first woman President of Finland. In the same year Helsinki celebrated its 450th anniversary.

Today the population of Finland is 5.2 million.

India

Alphabet

Vowels and vowel diacritics



Consonants



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Map



History

THE INDUS VALLEY

The first Indian civilisation arose in the Indus valley about 2,600 BC. It actually straddled modern India and Pakistan. By 6,500 BC the people of the area had begun farming. By 5,500 BC they had invented pottery. By about 2,600 BC a prosperous farming society had grown up. The farmers used bronze tools. They grew wheat, barley and peas. They also raised cattle, goats and sheep. Water buffalo were used to pull carts. The people spun cotton and they traded with other cultures such as modern day Iraq. Some of the people of the Indus Valley began to live in towns. The two largest were at Mohenjo-daro and Harrapa.

Mohenjo-daro probably had a population of 35-50,000. By the standards of the ancient world it was very large. It consisted of two parts. One part was a citadel. It contained a public bath and assembly halls. It also held a granary where grain was stored. The lower part of the town had streets laid out in a grid pattern. The houses were 2 or even 3 stories and were made of brick as stone was uncommon in the area. Bricks were of a standard size and the Indus Valley civilisation had standard weights and measures. The streets had networks of drains.

Life in Mohenjo-daro was obviously highly civilised and ordered although most of the people of the Indus Valley civilisation were farmers outside the towns. The Indus Valley civilisation had a form of writing but unfortunately it has not been deciphered so nothing is known of their political system or their religion. However many engraved seals and terracotta figurines have been found. The Indus Valley civilisation was at its peak in the years 2,300-1,700 BC. Then after 1,700 BC it declined.

The reasons for this are not clear. Perhaps there was a climatic changed and the area grew cooler and drier. It has also been suggested that rivers changed course. In those days less rainfall or a changed in the course of a river would have had severe consequences for farming and of course, like all early civilisations the Indus Valley depended on farming. Civilisation was only possible if the farmers made a surplus. They could exchange their surplus with craftsmen for manufactured goods. They could also exchange some for goods from far away. However if the farmers no longer made a surplus they could no longer support the craftsmen who lived in the towns. The populations of the towns would drift away to the countryside. Trade and commerce would decline.

As society grew less prosperous people would return to a simpler way of life and the invention of writing would disappear. The Indus Valley civilisation vanished and it was forgotten. It was not rediscovered until the 1920s.

THE ARYANS

After the collapse of the Indus Valley civilisation a new wave of people entered India. The Aryans came from central Asia and they probably entered India through Afghanistan after 1500 BC. There were probably waves of invasions over a period of time rather than just one. The Aryans were a semi-nomadic race of pastoralists.

At first they wandered about with their herds of cattle rather than live in one place. They had 2-wheeled chariots which allowed them to subdue the native people. By 1,000 BC they had learned to use iron. However in time the Aryans settled down and became farmers.

Slowly a more ordered and settled society evolved. Tribes became kingdoms. The Aryans became the priests, rulers and warriors, free peasants and merchants. The subdued people became the slaves, labourers and artisans. In time this stratified society crystallised into the caste system.

The Hindu religion also evolved at this time. The sacred literature called The Vedas was created. (At first they were orally transmitted. Later they were written down.)

In time the Aryans learned to farm rice rather than crops like barley. By 600 BC rice cultivation was flourishing in India. With a more settled and ordered society trade and commerce flourished. In time people began to live in towns again and writing was re-invented. By 600 BC a highly civilised society had emerged in India.

Although Buddha was born in India about 483 BC the religion he founded failed to take root in the country. At approximately the same time the Persians captured the extreme North-west of India. Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire and penetrated the far North-west of India.

However after his death in 317 BC the Greeks withdrew. The Persians and Greeks had little affect on Indian civilisation. The various Indian kingdoms had begun to conquer one another and after 322 BC the first great empire arose.

THE MAURYAN EMPIRE

In 322 BC Chandragupta Maurya became king of the powerful and highly centralised state of Magadha in the North of India. Aided by his able advisor Kautilya Chandragupta created an empire. After Alexander the Great died his empire had split up. Seleucos took the eastern part. He attempted to reclaim the Indian provinces one ruled by Alexander.

However his army was stopped by Chandragupta in 305 BC. Seleucos was then forced to cede most of Afghanistan to Chandragupta, who also conquered parts of central India.

This new empire was rich and trade thrived. Its capital was one of the largest cities in the ancient world. In 296 Chandragupta abdicated in favour of his son Bindusara who pushed the frontier of the empire further south.

The greatest Mauryan ruler was Ashoka or Asoka (269-232 BC). He conquered Kalinga (modern day Orissa). Afterwards he declared he was appalled by the suffering caused by war and decided against any further conquest.

Asoka also converted to Buddhism. He decreed that the Buddhist principles of right conduct should be engraved in stone pillars or on rocks throughout his kingdom to teach the people how to live. Asoka set about pacifying and consolidating his empire. However despite his conversion to Buddhism Mauryan rule was authoritarian and punishments for wrongdoers were severe.

After his death the Mauryan empire declined, as all empires do. It suffered an economic decline and political instability as different brothers strived to become king. A general assassinated the last Mauryan ruler in 185 BC. The general then took over running the empire and founded the Shunga dynasty. However in 73 BC the last Shunga ruler was, in turn, assassinated. They were replaced by the Kanva dynasty which ruled from 73-28BC.

The influence of the Mauryans penetrated into Southern India. In the time of the Mauryans the farmers there became more advanced. By the first century BC organised kingdoms had grown up and trade and commerce were flourishing there.

THE INDO-GREEKS

After Alexander the Great's death his empire was split between his generals. The various successor states fought each other until a strong state emerged in Bactria (roughly modern Afghanistan). The Greek rulers of Bactria attempted to control Northwest India.

About 185 BC King Demetrius invaded India. About 160 BC one of his successors, King Menander conquered most of northern India. However after the death of Menander this empire broke up into separate states and Indian civilisation developed without European influence.

THE KUSHAN

India now faced a new invader. Nomads from Central Asia conquered Bactria in about 120 BC. They then settled down and gave up their nomadic lifestyle. They were split into 5 tribes. One of the tribes, the Kushanas conquered the others. They then turned their attention to Northern India. Gradually they conquered more and more territory. Successive kings carved out a bigger and bigger empire in Northern India.

The Kushan Empire reached its peak under King Kanishka (about 78 AD to 114 AD. During his reign Northern India was prosperous and did much trade with the Roman Empire. Kanishka was also a patron of the arts, which flourished. However after his death the empire declined and broke up. By the early 3rd century AD India was once again split into small states.

THE GUPTA EMPIRE

A new empire was founded early in the 4th century AD by Ghandragupta. After his death in 335 AD his son Samudragupta (335-375) conquered the whole of Northern India and much of Central India. India once again became prosperous and stable and much trade was done with China. Mathematics, astronomy and medicine flourished. Literature also blossomed. This was the age of the great poet Kaidasa.

However Gupta rule was less strict then Mauryan rule. Punishments were less harsh and provinces of the empire were given some autonomy. The Gupta Empire reached a peak under Chandragupta II 375-415 AD. However it then went into decline. The Gupta Empire broke up in the early 6th century.

THE HUNS

In the mid 5th century AD, the Huns, a fierce and warlike people from Central Asia invaded Northwest India. However about 460 AD they were repulsed by Skandagupta (454-467). Nevertheless the Huns returned at the end of the 5th century. This time they conquered most of North-western India.

However their rule lasted no more than about 30 years. About 528 AD the Indians, led by a ruler called Yashodharman defeated them in battle and drove them out.

HARSHAVARDANA

The next great ruler in Indian history was king Harshavardhana (606-647). He created an empire to rival the Guptas. Harsha began as ruler of the kingdom of Thanesar, north of India. He then carved out an empire in Northern India. However in 630, when he attempted to conquer Southern India he was severely defeated by a king called Pulakesin (610-643). (By this time the South of India was definitely equal to the North).

Despite this setback Harsha remained a powerful ruler. During his reign his biography was written. It was called the Harschacharita. Nevertheless Harsha's kingdom really depended on his personality to hold it together. After his death it quickly broke up.

India once again became a land of several kingdoms, which were frequently at war with each other. The three most important dynasties were the Rajputs, the Pallavas and the Chalukyas. However in the 9th century a new empire arose in Southern India - the Cholas.

THE CHOLAS

In the late 10th century the Chola king Rajaraja I began to expand his kingdom. He conquered his neighbours and took Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The next king, Rajenda I took more territory including the Ganges and the Andaman Islands. The Chola was a prosperous empire with many merchants organised into guilds to protect their interests. Trade with Southeast Asia thrived. So did trade with the Arabs.

The empire of the Cholas, although powerful, was less centralised than older empires such as the Gupta. Rulers, once conquered were often reinstated as vassals called samantas and they were allowed a certain amount of autonomy. In some ways this political system resembles European feudalism. Of course there was always a risk that a samanta would rebel!

THE TURKS

In the 10th century Turks from central Asia conquered Afghanistan. Under their ruler Mahmud 971-1030 they conquered Punjab. He led raids deep into India and plundered temples. The Turks returned in 1191, this time as conquerors not raiders. They were led by Sultan Muhammad. He was defeated in 1191 at the battle of Tarain but he returned the following year. This time he prevailed. The Turks were able to conquer large parts of Northern India and they created a powerful state - the Delhi Sultanate

THE DEHLI SULTANATE

Under the Sultans Qutubuddin 1206-1211 and Iltumish 1211-1236 the Sultanate flourished. However Iltumish was succeeded by his daughter Raziyyat. She reigned for only 3 years before she was deposed and later murdered. The Sultanate reached a peak under Alauddin 1296-1316. In 1298 he conquered Gurjarat. In 1309 he invaded Southern India. He looted southern cities and forced rulers there to submit to him and become vassals.

Meanwhile a new threat came from the North - the Mongols. In 1296-97 they raided Northwest India. The Mongols returned in 1299. This time they penetrated as far as Delhi then, like a swarm of locusts they disappeared. The Mongols returned in 1306 but this time they were repulsed.

Muhammad Tughluq 1324-1351 extended the Sultanate still further. He decided he wanted a new, more central capital and he moved it to Daulatabad. However he was later forced to move his capital back to Delhi. The Sultanate of Delhi declined rapidly in the late 14th century.

The final blow came in 1498 when Timurlane, a descendent of Genghis Khan sacked Delhi and massacred many of the inhabitants. In the early 15th century independent Sultanates appeared and the Delhi Sultanate became one of several. Under Sultans Bhalul 1451-1489 and Sikander Lohdi 1489-1517 Delhi revived to a certain extent but it never regained its former importance. Meanwhile another empire arose in the South - the Vijayangar.

THE VIJAYANGAR

The Vijayangar Empire was founded by 2 brothers, Harihara and Bukka. According to legend they were officers of Muhammad Tughluq. They were sent to crush a rebellion in the South. Instead they broke away and founded their own kingdom. Harihara was crowned king in 1346. His brother Bukka I ruled after him, 1357-1377. The Vijayanagar Empire is named after its capital city (Its name means city of victory). The rulers of Vijayanager gradually conquered more and more territory and the empire reached a peak early in the 16th century. However in 1564 Vijayngar was utterly defeated in battle. By then a new empire had arisen - the Mughals.

THE RISE OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

This great empire was founded by Babur 1483-1530, a descendant of Genghis Khan. From 1504 he was ruler of part of what is now Afghanistan. From the Turks he had learned to use cannons and muskets. Guns enabled him to win great victories over the Indians who were still using traditional methods of warfare. He had also learned new cavalry tactics from the Turks. Instead of charging straight at the enemy Babur's cavalry rode round their flanks and attacked from the rear.

Babur first raided India in 1517. In 1525 he invaded. In 1526 Babur crushed the army of Ibrahim Lhodi at the battle of Panipat. Babur made a barricade of carts. Behind them he positioned his cannons and musketeers. The enemy attacked but they faced withering cannon and musket fire. Babur's cavalry then rode around the enemy army and attacked from the rear. The Indians were routed.

Other Indian rulers now united against Babur but they were crushed at the battle of Khanau in 1527. Babur placed his cannons and guns behind ramparts. The Indians attacked on horseback again and again but were mowed down. Babur then became ruler of Northern India.

He was succeeded by his son Humayan 1508-1556. However in the 1530s an Afghan ruler named Sher Shah attacked the empire. By 1540 Sher Shah prevailed and made himself ruler of much of Northern India. Humayan went into exile and wandered from place to place. Then in 1542 his son Akbar was born. Humayan then moved to Persia. Sher Shah died in battle in 1545 and his empire split up. Humayan was then able, with Persian help to re-conquer the Mughal empire.He invaded India in 1554 and by 1556 was in control of the North. Unfortunately he died after falling down some stairs.

However his son Akbar 1556-1605 was, perhaps, the greatest Mughal ruler. He took Gujarat in 1574, Bengal in 1576, Kashmir in 1586, Orissa in 1592 and Baluchistan in 1595. Akbar also reorganised the government and he created an efficient civil service. Akbar was a Muslim but he was tolerant in matters of religion. He abolished a tax previous rulers levied on non-Muslims. He also gave Hindus high office.

Akbar admired Persian culture and promoted it in India. Persian language literature flourished in India during his reign (although Hindi literature flowered too). Persian and Hindu styles of painting merged to form a new style of Mughal painting.

Akbar was succeeded by his son Selim, who called himself Jahangir. Under him Mughal influence in the South of India increased and the empire flourished. His wife was named Mehrunissa (later she was called Nur Jahan or light of the world). She was Persian and because of her Persian culture became even more influential in the Mughal realms. During the reign of Jahangir the arts continued to flourish. An elaborate and intricate school of painting existed. It was also a great age for architecture. When Jahangir died in 1627 his wife was forced into retirement but she occupied herself by building a magnificent mausoleum for her father in Agra.

THE MUGHAL EMPIRE AT ITS PEAK

The Mughal Empire reached its zenith in the 17th century its only weakness being powers struggles among the ruling family and occasional rebellions. Shah Jahan became ruler in 1627. Under him the empire prospered. He is famous for building the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It was erected as a memorial to his queen Mumatz Mahal 1594-1630. Shah Jehan was devastated when she died. After her death he began building the Taj Mahal. It took an 'army' of 20, craftsmen and labourers 22 years to build. It was begun in 1631 and completed in 1653.

Aurngzeb (1658-1707) greatly expanded the empire. He conquered almost all of southern India by 1687. Under him the empire became so vast it was difficult for one man to rule. However he undid the religious toleration of his predecessors. In 1664 he banned the repair of Hindu temples and in 1669 he banned his subjects from building new ones. Also, in 1679 he reintroduced a poll tax on Hindus called the jizira. Aurangzeb also taxed his subjects heavily. The result was a series of rebellions.

Aurangzeb's greatest enemy was Shivaji, leader of the Marathas in southern India. Shivaji led a form of guerrilla warfare. His bases were in mountains but mounted on horses his men could raid caravans then fell back to the mountains.

In 664 his men raided the port of Surat. Aurangzeb sent an army to intimidate Shivaji then invited him to the capital, Delhi and tried to come to terms with him by offering him a post in the empire. However the two men fell out and Shivaji escaped from Delhi by hiding in a basket. He then returned to raiding. Shivaji was succeeded by his son Sambhaji. He was captured by the Mughals and executed in 1689 but the guerrilla war went on.

THE DECLINE OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

Aurangzeb was succeeded by his son Bahadur Shah 1707-1712. By his time cracks were appearing in the empire. Oppressive taxation caused more and more rebellions. After 1712 powerful nobles in the empire began to break away and form virtually independent states.

Meanwhile the old enemy, the Marathas attacked the Mughal Empire led by a man named Baji Rao. The Mughals were forced to cede territory to them. Then in 1739 disaster struck when the Persians launched an attack on the Mughal Empire. They sacked Delhi. The empire continued but its power was rapidly fading. Delhi was sacked again in 1761, this time by an Afghan kingdom.

EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM IN INDIA

The decline of the Mughal Empire caused a vacuum into which the Europeans moved. The first Europeans to reach India by sea were the Portuguese who arrived in 1498 and began importing spices from India. They formed a base at Goa in 1510. However in the 17th century the Portuguese declined and the English and Dutch took their place.

The English East India Company was formed in 1600 to trade with India. In 1639 the English established a trading base in India. Itgrew into Madras. In 1662 the English king married a Portuguese princess and he was given Bombay. In 1668 it was sold to the East India Company. In 1690 the English established a base in Bengal, which grew into Calcutta. In the late 17th century the Dutch also declined and the French replaced them. In 1673 the French established a base at Pondicherry.

In the 18th century French and English became bitter rivals and they both began to interfere in Indian politics.

The Seven Years war between Britain and France began in 1756. With the outbreak of war the Nawab (ruler) of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula captured the British base at Calcutta. Notoriously he forced captives into a small cell and most of them suffocated overnight. This became known as the Black Hole of Calcutta. The East India Company sent a force led by Robert Clive (1725-1774) to recapture Calcutta. They soon did so.

However Clive was not satisfied and he decided to take the whole of Bengal. Clive won a great victory at Plassey in June 1757. (The battle was won largely because one of the commanders of the Bengali army, Mir Jafar, changed sides and refused to join the battle). Clive then overthrew the ruler of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daula and replaced him with Mir Jafar. However Mir Jafar was only a puppet.

In 1765 the company began to rule Bengal directly. Clive's victory at Plassey ensured that India would eventually become a British colony not a French one. However the Company did not take over India straight away. It was a gradual process, which took several decades. The East India Company eliminated French influence in India and began to subdue other Indian states.

British imperialism was bitterly resisted by the state of Mysore under the two rulers Haidar Ali 1761-1782 and Tipu Sultan 1782-1799. The army of Mysore was formidable fighting force. A series of wars were fought in the years 1767-1769, 1780-1784, 1790-1792 and 1799. The resistance of Mysore finally ended in 1799 and Mysore was forced to hand over half its territory.

The British then took over more territory in India. Indian states were forced to accept British 'protection'. One state, Hyderabad made a treaty with the British in 1798 and retained some independence but other states were forced to accept British rule.

In 1803 war broke out between the British and the Marathas. The British were led by Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). Wellesley was Governor General 1798-1805 and he was an unashamed imperialist. In 1803 the chiefs of the Marathas were disunited and the British were able to make some gains. They took Agra and Delhi. (At that time Delhi was still ruled by the last Mughal. When the British took the city the Mughal Empire was finally extinguished).

However in 1804 the British suffered some defeats and they made peace. Another war broke out in 1817. This time the Maratha chiefs were all defeated and they were forced to accept British rule. By 1819 the East India Company was in control of most of India except the North West.

Assam was annexed in stages between 1826 and 1838. There were revolts in parts of India between 1819 and 1839 but most of it was at peace. The British now began to impose their culture on India. In 1829 the custom of suttee or sati, which involved a widow throwing herself onto her husbands funeral pyre was abolished. In 1835 English was made the official language of Government and education.

Outside British control was a powerful Sikh kingdom. However the leader of the Sikhs, Ranjit Singh, died in 1839 and fighting began over the succession. In 1845-46 the British fought a war against the Sikhs. After bitter fighting they captures Lahore. The Sikhs were forced to surrender Kashmir and parts of the Punjab. However a second war was fought in 1848-49. The fighting was bitter but in March 1849 the East India Company took control of all of Punjab.

THE INDIAN MUTINY

The East India Company had long employed Indians as soldiers. There were supposed to be not more than 4 Indian soldiers to every British one. However the British had withdrawn troops to serve in conflicts elsewhere. By 1857 there were only 40,000 British troops in India and 311,000 Indians. The mutiny began on 10 May 1857. The spark that lit the fire was the fact that soldiers were issued with a new rifle - the Enfield. It was said that the cartridge was greased with fat from a cow (sacred to Hindus) or pigs (unclean to Muslims).

The mutiny began at Meerut or Mirat 60 miles from Delhi.The soldiers massacred the British and the uprising spread rapidly. The rebels took Delhi and proclaimed the restoration of the old Mughal Empire. The rebellion spread across Central and Northern India but the south did not rise. Soldiers in Madras and Bombay stayed loyal to the British. Eventually the British were able to re-establish control.

Rebels besieged the British in Cawnpore and Lucknow. The British in Cawnpore surrendered on 27 June 1857. They were then massacred. However the British quickly sent reinforcements to India. Sir Henry Havelock led a force to relieve Lucknow. He defeated the rebel leader Hana Sahib at Cawnpore on 16 July 1857. Havelock reached Lucknow on 25 September 1857. However he then found himself besieged by the rebels. A relief force was sent under Sir Colin Campbell (1792-1863). He reached Lucknow on 16 November and the garrison escaped. Campbell decisively defeated a rebel force outside Cawnpore on 6 December.

Meanwhile the British recaptured Delhi in September. The British recaptured Lucknow in March 1858. Sir Hugh Rose took the rebel stronghold of Jahnsi on 3 April. He decisively defeated a rebel leader, Tantia Topi, on 19 June 1858 at the battle of Gwalior. This blow broke the back of the rebellion. The British then 'mopped up' the remaining rebels. By the end of 1858 the rebellion was over. However the East India Company lost control of India. On 1 September 1858 control was transferred to the British government.

INDIA IN THE LATE 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURIES

After the lesson of the Indian Mutiny the British became a little more respectful of Indian culture. However the desire for independence did not die. On the contrary it slowly grew. The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885. The Muslim League was founded in 1906.

In 1861 legislative bodies was formed for India. However the members were not elected. They were appointed by the governor-general or by provincial governors. Most of their members were British. Furthermore after the mutiny the ratio of British soldiers to Indians was increased. In 1877 Queen Victoria was made Empress of India.

In the late 19th century the British created a network of railways in India. By 1900 there were 25,000 miles of railway in India. The first train made in India was built in Bombay in 1865. The British also built new roads across India. Improved communications meant the different parts of India were bought closer together and Indians began to feel a greater sense of national identity. In the late 19th century many newspapers were founded and they helped to mobilise public opinion.

In 1905 the British divided Bengal. They did this to make it easier to rule. This move provoked unrest in Bengal. People demonstrated and boycotted British goods.

In the late 19th century India was an agricultural society. Jute, raw cotton and tea and coffee were exported to Britain. In return textiles and other manufactured goods were imported from there. The Indian textile industry could not compete with cheap, mass produced British goods. However in the early 20th century Indian industries began to develop. It was still an overwhelmingly agricultural country but it was just beginning to change.

At the same time Britain was in decline. In the mid-19th century Britain was the most powerful country in the world but by the end of the century other powers such as Germany and the USA had caught up. Britain was weakened by the first world and continued to decline in the 1920's and 1930's. As Britain declined Indian nationalist feeling grew stronger.

Indian public opinion was embittered by the Amristar massacre, which took place on 13 April 1919. A crowd of thousands gathered in a square named Jallianwalla Bagh to protest against recent legislation. General Reginald Dyer decided on a show of force. Dyer told his men to open fire. They did so, killing 379 people and wounding about 1200 more.

At this point a remarkable individual rose to be the leader of the struggle for independence. This was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948). Gandhi was a lawyer. For a time he lived in South Africa and became the leader of the Indians in that country. In 1915 he returned to India and soon emerged as the leader of the nationalists. In 1920 he launched a campaign of non-co-operation with the British. This included boycotting British textiles and their schools. Against Gandhi's wishes some people turned to violence. Gandhi was arrested in 1922 and remained in prison for 2 years.

Not everyone agreed with Gandhi's desire for peaceful campaigning. Nevertheless his skill as a politician and his personal charisma ensured that he became the leader of the independence movement. In 1930 he began a campaign to end the governments monopoly of salt production. He led a march to the sea to collect salt. The British arrested Gandhi and tens of thousands of others. However in 1931 they were forced to back down. They released Gandhi and most (not all) of the other prisoners. They also allowed people to make salt for their own personal use. In 1932 the army began to recruit Indian officers.

In 1931 the capital of India was moved from Calcutta to New Delhi.

Gandhi continued campaigning. He was arrested again in 1932 and in 1933 but both times was soon released. By 1935 the British realised that Indian independence was inevitable, sooner or later. In that year they granted a new constitution. When it came in effect, in 1937, Indians were allowed to elect provincial assemblies. (Although the British retained control of central government).

In 1939 the Viceroy of India declared war on Germany, without consulting the Indians, much to their chagrin.

INDIAN INDEPENDENCE

By 1940 the Muslims demanded their own separate state made up of those provinces where Muslims were the majority.

In 1942 the National Congress demanded that the British quit India. The British responded by imprisoning their leaders, including Gandhi, who was released in 1944.

In 1946 the Viceroy appointed an interim cabinet with Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister. However the divide between Muslims and Hindus had become unbridgeable. The leader of the Muslims, M A Jinnah declared a 'day of action' on 16 August 1946. In Calcutta the 'day of action' led to violence between Muslims and Hindus. About 5,000 people were killed in what became known as 'The Great Killing'.

Mountbatten was then made viceroy. He quickly realised the Muslims must be granted their own state (modern Pakistan and Bangladesh). India and Pakistan became independent on A4 August 1947. Mountbatten agreed to stay in India as Governor-general for an interim period.

Unfortunately some provinces had mixed populations of Muslims and Hindus and violence broke out between them. Many Hindus fled to India and Muslims fled to Pakistan but about half a million people died in the violence.

The violence threatened to overwhelm New Delhi but Gandhi managed to prevent it by fasting and threatening to fast to death unless the violence stopped. It did but some extreme Hindus became angry with Gandhi. One of them murdered Gandhi on 30 January 1948.

In December 1946 a Constituent Assembly met to draw up a constitution for India. The new constitution came into force in January 1950. India became a secular state. Prime minister Nehru made the economy a 'mixed economy' of some state owned industry and some private enterprise. Industry was strictly regulated. Unfortunately this restricted free enterprise.

Nevertheless in the 1950s a series of 5 year plans were devised. The first increase irrigation and boosted agriculture. The second and third plans boosted industry. On the other hand India's population grew rapidly. Poverty and illiteracy remained common.

INDIA IN THE LATE 20th CENTURY

In the 1960s India fought two wars. In 1962 there was a conflict with China. There were clashes along the border between India and Tibet in the late 1950s. The on 20 October 1962 Chinese troops attacked along the North-eastern border of India. They quickly captured key mountain passes and redrew the border. On 21 November the Chinese declared a ceasefire.

India also fought a war with Pakistan in 1965. The two countries always disagreed over the border. On 1 September 1965 Pakistani troops attempted to capture Kashmir. However the Indians won a tank battle and drove them back. On 27 September both sides agreed to a ceasefire.

Nehru died in 1964 and Indira Gandhi became prime minister in 1966. At first she proved to be a popular politician.

In 1971 India fought another war with Pakistan. At that time Pakistan was divided into two parts, West and East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh). Then in March 1971 East Pakistan broke away and declared its independence. West Pakistan refused to accept the move and sent troops to force the East to submit. Refugees flooded into India.

Then on 3 December 1971 the Pakistani air force attacked air bases in North West India. Pakistani ground forces attacked but were unable to make much headway. Meanwhile on 4 December Indian troops entered East Pakistan. The Pakistani forces in the East, under General Niazi surrendered on 16 December. Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on 17 December 1971. Bangladesh then became independent.

In 1974 India exploded an atomic bomb.

However in 1973 oil prices rose sharply triggering rapid inflation in India. That harmed agriculture by making fertiliser much more expensive. Indian industry also entered a recession. Growing discontent in India led to strikes such as a railway strike in 1974.

Then a High Court declared that Mrs Gandhi's election in 1971 was invalid because of election malpractice. However Mrs Gandhi persuaded the president to declare a state of emergency on 17 June 1975. Civil liberties were suspended and Mrs Gandhi's opponents were arrested. Her son Sanjay led a mass sterilisation campaign in Northern India to combat the population explosion. The emergency was lifted in January 1977. During it inflation was curbed and industry revived.

Elections were due to be held in 1976 but they were delayed until March 1977. However Mrs Gandhi lost anyway. The Janata party held power from 1977 to 1980 when Mrs Gandhi returned.

In the early 1980s India, like the rest of the world, entered a recession. Worse was to come. Sikhs in Punjab were demanding independence. A man named Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale (1947-1984) and his supporters took over the Golden Temple in Amristar. Then in May 1984 the Indian army surrounded the temple. They attacked the fundamentalists in the temple but in the process they destroyed the holiest place in the Sikh religion. Two of Mrs Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards killed her in revenge.

She was succeeded by her son Rajiv. He started to deregulate industry and the Indian economy began to grow rapidly. However Rajiv was assassinated in 1991.

In the 1990s the Indian economy was deregulated further and today it is booming. There is still considerable poverty in India but there is every reason to be optimistic and to believe that India is becoming another 'tiger economy'. Between 1997 and 2007 the Indian economy grew at a rate of over 7% a year

Today the population of India is 1,148 million.