(fl. from 596; d. 26 May between 604 and 609). A monk in Rome, Augustine was chosen by Pope Gregory the Great (596) to lead a Christian mission to the Anglo‐Saxon kingdoms. In 597, he and companions landed in KENT (SE England), where King ÆTHELBERT permitted them to preach. Soon afterwards Augustine was consecrated bishop (in Francia).
In 601 Gregory appointed Augustine as archbishop (effectively first archbishop of CANTERBURY) and instructed him to consecrate 12 bishops for southern England and one for YORK. (Only two consecrations happened.) Augustine sought co‐operation with British bishops, meeting them twice (near R. Severn) and asking them to adopt certain Roman customs. They refused. See also CONVERSION OF ANGLO‐SAXONS.
AULD ALLIANCEsee SCOTTISH–FRENCH ALLIANCEAUSTEN, JANE(b. 16 Dec. 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire, England; d. 18 July 1817 at Winchester, Hampshire, aged 41). A clergyman’s daughter who lived mainly in rural England, Austen began writing in 1787. She wrote six major novels, generally considered literary masterpieces. Four were published anonymously in her lifetime (from 1811), the others posthumously. They portray, in a gently comic way, the world of minor GENTRY (including single women and professional men), exploring restrictions and opportunities within their social stratum. See also ENGLISH LITERATURE, ENGLAND.AUSTRALIA
A former British DOMINION in the SW Pacific. James COOK annexed Australia’s E coast for Great Britain in 1770, naming it NEW SOUTH WALES. It became a colony in 1788, initially for transported convicts (see TRANSPORTATION), and included eastern and C Australia.
Some convicts chose to remain, settlement spread, and free settlers arrived in significant numbers from the 1830s. Pastoral farming became prominent. Parts of New South Wales were demarcated as separate colonies: VAN DIEMEN’S LAND (1825), SOUTH AUSTRALIA (1842), VICTORIA (1851), and QUEENSLAND (1859). Other areas were also developed: NORTHERN TERRITORY from 1824, WESTERN AUSTRALIA from 1826 (colony from 1829). After 1850 colonies established RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT, although aborigines did not secure full citizenship rights until 1967. The mid 19th century witnessed exploration of the interior, while gold rushes from 1851 stimulated immigration and economic growth. AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION in 1901 united six colonies as the Commonwealth of Australia (capital at Canberra from 1913).
A ‘White Australia Policy' determined immigration controls 1902–74. During WORLD WAR I (1914–18), 300,000 Australians fought in Europe as volunteers, notably at GALLIPOLI. Approx. population in 1921: 5,436,000. The Statute of WESTMINSTER (1931) confirmed Australia’s equality with Britain within the Empire. During WORLD WAR II (1939–45) Australia sent troops to Europe, N Africa, Malaya, and New Guinea. Japan bombed Northern Territory and Western Australia. An appeal to the USA for military assistance (Dec. 1941) marked a shift away from an exclusive Anglo‐Australian relationship.
In the later 20th century, the expansion of Australian industry and British membership of the EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY redirected trade towards E Asia. The 1986 Australia Act of the UK Parliament removed the vestiges of British legal authority, though the British monarch remained sovereign. See also MENZIES, ROBERT.
AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION
The process in the later 19th century whereby Great Britain’s six Australian colonies (NEW SOUTH WALES, VICTORIA, QUEENSLAND, TASMANIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA) united to create the Commonwealth of AUSTRALIA, a DOMINION within the British Empire. The move reflected growing Australian patriotism, concern to control defence and immigration, and desire for continental free trade. Victoria was keen but New South Wales was wary.
Conventions in Australia in 1891 and 1897–8 negotiated a federal constitution which was approved in referendums, except that NEW ZEALAND decided against joining. The Commonwealth was established by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act passed by the UK Parliament in 1900, and instituted on 1 Jan. 1901. The colonies became states, and the Commonwealth was provided with a governor‐general, bicameral Parliament, government and High Court. See also DEAKIN, ALFRED; NORTHERN TERRITORY.
AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION, WAR OF THE
A complex European war, 1740–8, when countries sought to partition the Austrian HABSBURG EMPIRE following the accession of Empress Maria Theresa. Great Britain was concerned to counter the power of France (an imperial and naval rival) and of Spain.
Britain was already at war with Spain (see JENKINS’ EAR, WAR OF). It now subsidized the empress’s forces, organized an allied army against France in the Austrian Netherlands, and challenged Franco‐Spanish naval activity. On 16 June 1743 an allied army (British, Austrian, Dutch and some German troops), led by King GEORGE II, defeated the French at Dettingen in Germany. But in 1745 allied forces were defeated by the French (30 April) at Fontenoy (in Austrian Netherlands), and British forces were withdrawn to confront the JACOBITE REBELLION.
British naval forces were successful against the French in 1747: off Cape Finisterre, Spain (3 May), and off Belle Île, France (Oct.). The war was ended by the treaty of AIX‐LA‐CHAPELLE. See also CARTERET, LORD; NEWCASTLE, DUKE OF; HARRINGTON, EARL OF; DIPLOMATIC REVOLUTION.
AUTARKYTerm meaning ‘self‐sufficiency’, often applied to self‐contained national economies. It was used to characterize the economic policy of southern Ireland 1932–late 1950s. Pioneered by the FIANNA FÁIL government of Éamon DE VALERA, it included the imposition of tariffs and import quotas, and legislation to preserve Irish ownership of industry (1932, 1934). See also SOUTHERN IRELAND FROM 1922.AVEBURYA monument complex of the Late NEOLITHIC (i.e., c. 2800 BC) at the head of the Kennet Valley in Wiltshire, S England. It comprises a massive HENGE enclosure with internal stone arrangements, and avenues that link the monument to others such as the Sanctuary. Nearby are contemporaneous monuments such as SILBURY HILL and older sites such as West Kennet LONG BARROW and Windmill Hill CAUSEWAYED ENCLOSURE. The scale of the complex suggests use for periodic social gatherings, rites of passage and important political events.AXE INDUSTRY, PREHISTORIC BRITAINThe making of ground and polished axes of flint and stone was an important activity during the NEOLITHIC (c.4300– c.2300 BC). Made at flint mines and highland stone sources, these practical tools also circulated between communities as tokens of identity and value.AXE INDUSTRY, PREHISTORIC IRELANDA range of stone and rock sources were used to make axeheads in NEOLITHIC Ireland (i.e., c.3800– c.2500 BC). Porcellanite was the single most important source. Two known porcellanite axe quarry sites are at Tievebulliagh and Brockley on Rathlin Island, both in Co. Antrim (NE Ireland).
B
BABBAGE, CHARLESsee COMPUTINGBACON, ANTHONY(b. 1718, probably at London, England; d. 21 Jan. 1786