The war with Napoleon

In 1783 Britain went to war with France. The British decided to fight the French at sea because they had a stronger navy with admiral Horatio Nelson at the head of it. He won some brilliant victories over the Spanish and French navy. The last one was at Trafalgar in 1805.

In 1805 the British army landed in Portugal to fight the French. The army was commanded by Arthur Wellington. With the help of the Prussian army the British finally defeated the French at Waterloo in 1815.

Britain in 19^th century

Britain’s international and home policy

After the war with France Britain was strong in industry, trade and the navy. At home the contradictions between the rich and the poor were grown. During the war Britain’s factories had produced a lot of war supplies. After the war there was no longer such a need for factory made goods and many workers lost their jobs. Besides 300,000 men from Britain’s army and navy had returned home and were looking for jobs. The situation in country side was as bad as in the towns. The poor people didn’t receive enough help from the government. The Whigs and The Tories understood the need to reform the laws in order to improve social conditions. In 1832 the Reform Bill was adopted. In gave some rights to many people.

In 1846 Robert Peel Prime Minister abolished the Corn Law which had kept the price of corn higher than necessary. As a result the prices of many foodstuffs dropped down.

Industrial Power

In the 19^th century Britain was producing more iron than the rest of the world together. Britain’s cloth was cheap and was exported to different countries. Britain had the largest fleet in the world. The pride of Britain was railway system. Prices fell by 40 per cent. Real wages doubled. Most homes had gas. The new industrial cities started building universities. The new thinkers and writers published their works. Among them were: Adam Smith, Robert Owen, Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin.

The United States of America

Geographical features

Geographical position

The US territory consists of three separate parts:

1. The main part, the United States proper with an area of 7,800,000 square kilometres. It borders on Canada in the North and on Mexico in the South. It is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the West, the Atlantic Ocean in the East and the Gulf of Mexico in the South-East.

2. Alaska, which occupies the North-Western part of North America included a lot of islands.

3. Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean