INTRODUCTION

In the first of these two lectures I will be talking about the question; What is class? And the British the class system, After the break I will talk about education in Britain and the canals in Britain.

To begin with though, what is culture?

Can you answer the question:

WHAT IS CULTURE?

Perhaps not as it is a complicated question.

It has however been said that……….

"Culture is the "glue" that binds a group of people together." 
(Douglas-Brown- 1994).

AND that……..

"Culture" is a broad concept that embraces all aspects of human life. It includes everything people learn to do. It is everything humans have learned. Culture shapes our thoughts and actions, and often does so with a heavy hand" (Seelye- 1984-1993).

Japanese culture is everything typical in Japan that makes Japanese people feel together. It is everything that binds (musubu) or joins British people together and everything that binds French people together, or any nation’s peoples together.

THINGS THAT BIND PEOPLE TOGETHER ARE:

1. Communication

(agreeing about things, the British love to talk about the weather, or football people like o talk about football, common /shared meanings)

1. Festivals  

Sometimes the festivals are the same in Japan and Britain (birthdays??) Usually however the festivals are different in different countries. Christmas is very different in Britain and Japan.

1. Behaviour/action

‘I think that she is a good senpai’ you would NEVER here this in a British university.

1. Food

Would you miss sushi, the taste of Japan, and typical Japanese food if you go to Britain for a holiday?

Whatever the typical things are, which bind people together they are examples of CULTURE.

Big or Small?

Culture can be SMALL, like the culture of a university or a company (Todai culture, GPWU culture, Toshiba culture) or BIG like a whole country such as Japan or America. Small scale or large scale.

Inherited OR LEARNED?

When sociologists refer to culture they are concerned with the aspects of human behaviour that are LEARNED NOT INHERTED

Japanese people learn to Bow in Japan, this is learned behaviour

Blinking is automatic, it is inherited behaviour

Visable & Invisible

Culture consists of intangible (invisible) aspects such as beliefs, ideas and values, which are the basis of culture,

‘I think eating McDonalds while walking along the street talking to my friend is ok’ is a belief. We cannot see people’s beliefs.

and

RULES and BEHAVIOUR which are tangible (visible).

‘You must queue when waiting to but things’ is a rule.

Queuing to buy lotto 6 tickets is a rule. Many countries do not queue, but fight to get to the front.

THE CCC MODEL OF CULTURE

Culture is.............

convention,

connotation

conditioning.

1. Convention: this is what people think is normal. How people in a given culture typically behave in common, everyday situations. (=VALUES).

2. Connotation: these are the important meanings that are associated with words. (=COMMUNICATION).

3. Conditioning: this is the way people are made to behave socially. There are rules in countries or ‘NORMS’), and people are culturally conditioned.

Values and Norms

All cultures have ideas which are considered important, such as 'university education is good', the 'individual is more important than the group'. These are the values of society.

Norms are the rules of behaviour which reflect (show) the values of a society. For example making students study hard at school because education is valuable. Japanese value politeness or hospitality is very important, and there are social norms or rules of giving gifts ochugen, otoshidama etc. Britain values individuality more than Japan, and there are individual norms of behaviour, for example British university students would never speak to each other in terms of a senpai/kohai relationship.

Some individuals or groups might not agree with these values and create their own small cultural groups, such as Yankees in Japan or the Hippies in Britain in the 1960-1970's in prefer a traditional religion, others might prefer modern religions.

Japan is a mainly homogenous society and it is easier to think about what is ‘typically Japanese’. HOWEVER, Britain, America

, Australia are multi cultural countries and it is MUCH more difficult to say what is typically British. For example, if you were born in Britain and are British and your parents came from India maybe you speak Indian as your first language and eat Indian food more than ‘British’ food.

Changing Values and Norms

Is it acceptable to live with your boyfriend (dosei) before getting married? It is perfectly okay in Britain, and perhaps more so in Japan. But not fifty years ago. It would have been socially impossible in Britain fifty years ago. It is okay to live together now in Britain because people; values (what they think about this) has led to a change in behaviour (norms). Living together is an example of a changing norm.

Norms and values can be altered by governments as well. Think about the Nakasone government of 1986 and YUTORI KYOIKU. A report by the Koizumi government of 2000 determined that in a Japan which is facing recession, rising crime, and unemployment that Japanese people needed to let go of some traditional values of conformity and inequality. The report concluded that there is an ‘excessive degree of homogeneity and uniformity’ in Japan (cited in Giddens, 2001).The government concluded that Japan needs to change its values in order to meet the changes of the 21st century. The intervention of the government is an example of a deliberate attempt to change social values and norms, or an example of social engineering.

NOW………

A Cultural Quiz:

Think about Britain and Japan and choose the odd ones:

1. a) Earthquakes b) Sushi restaurants c) Snow d) High level of education

2. a) joining university clubs b) writing reports c) asking questions in class

3. a) playing computer games b) believing that individuals are more important than the group c) listening to music

4 a) free hospitals b) good doctors c) ambulances

 THE BRITISH CLASS SYSTEM

In Britain there are differences between the classes, and these differences are cultural differences. This means different ways of communicating, different ways of behaving .For example: Middle class people value education and university very highly. Working class people do not. If you look at figures the majority of students (80-90 %?) are middle class.

THE 3 CLASSES

In Britain there are 3 classes;

1. The Upper Class: this is people with inherited wealth, and includes some of the oldest families, with many of them being titled aristocrats. The upper classes are defined by their title, but also by their education, and their pastimes which includes the traditional sporting life involving hunting, shooting and fishing, as well as a great deal of horse riding for both leisure and as a competitive pursuit.

1. The Middle Class: this is professionals such as teachers and doctors, businesspeople and shop owners.

1. The working class: people who are mostly shop workers, farm labourers and factory workers.

IN JAPAN

In Japan everybody is middle class right? No. There is a growing working class in Japan.

In Japan, in the early 1990s, you could meet hundreds of Japanese people who would tell you they were part of the middle class. Nobody was poor; nobody was rich. Everybody said they were middle class. Belonging to the middle class came into vogue with the economic boom of the 1970s and 80s. People all across Japan understood each other using what they called ‘ishindenshin’, to understand each other without talking. The recession of the 1990s came, and the myth of the middle class began to fade. The more the recession continued, the more the myth faded.      

Japanese people today no longer all say they belong to the middle class. The Japanese underclass is growing as the recession continues and single mother families increase.

A survey by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, (2006) said that.....

1. In 1987 75% said they were middle class (during the "bubble" economy).
2. In 2006 54% of Japanese believed they were middle-class
3. In 1987 20% believed they were working class
4. In 2006 37% believe they were in the lower class (working class)

MORE...

1. 33% of workers in Japan now have part-time jobs (Aaron, 2009)
2. While some freeters do not want permanent jobs, many of them do. Facing their own problems due to the recession, many businesses have let go many irregular workers. Many people in their 20s and 30s cannot find permanent work.
3. It has been said that large companies prefer to hire part-time workers as they are cheaper-this means that large companies are helping to create the new working class.

In 2007 45,500,000 million people worked in Japan.

1. 3.66 million people earned ¥1,000,000 yen or less.
2.  10,320,000 people earned under ¥2,000,000 million yen for the year, a very small sum in Japan. As the economy has continued to decline, the number is probably much greater now.

In Japan the class debate is not yet such a big issue. In Britain it is a big debate in Britain………….

 Many people in Britain think they are working class.

This BBC survey asked 1,178 people of different ages questions on social class.        

To the question "Which class do you feel you belong to?"...

• 55% said working class,
• 41% said middle class
• and 1% said upper.

HOWEVER:

The director the research said that using REAL population statistics, (which divide people into social classes according to their professions, qualifications and status).

• "51% would do the sort of jobs that put them in the working class strata. This corresponds to the results of the poll, in which 55% said they belonged to the working class.
• "Statistics say that 22% of people in Britain, as a result of their professions and status, belong to the upper class.

But in the poll, this came out as only 1%."

Upper Class people do not want to be thought of as upper class because the upper classes (the aristocracy) are seen as too rich and too lucky, lazy and living from other people.

• This means that according to official statistics 27% are middle class, and MOST people in Britain are working class.

What is also clear from the survey is that people have substantially different views of their own class to those which market researchers use.

In Britain, people in general are quite uncomfortable when the issue of social class is talked about. Instead people often say "class no longer exists" or ‘things are changing’. This view is expressed by a lot of politicians in particular. John Major, a former Prime Minister told us that "we are all classless now". And Tony Blair, soon after becoming Prime Minister, declared that one of the aims of his government was to "make everybody middle class". At this year's Labour Party conference, Tony Blair announced that "the class war is over".

Why do they say this? This is because there are 2 main political parties in Britain, the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The Labour Party has always traditionally been the party of working class people, and the Conservative Party has always traditionally been the party of Middle class people. Things are not so simple now and many working class people vote for the Conservative Party, and many middle class people vote for the Labour Party. Politicians need votes, and tell us that class no longer exists.

If you look for class differences in Britain, you will find them.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the class system is alive and well. Indeed, MOST people believe that nothing has changed in Britain in terms of class.

Britain's class system 'alive and well',

(Independent newspaper, 2009)

Britain's class system is still alive and well, despite a rise in living standards and a record number of working class people going to university, new research (2009) suggests.

• Only 13 per cent of people from working-class backgrounds go to university, compared to 44 per cent of people from middle-class backgrounds 
• In 1997, then prime minister Tony Blair pledged to create a "classless society" in which no group of people would prevail over another.

In recent years, social mobility, the expanding tertiary education sector and greater job flexibility have all been cited as examples of how "class" is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

However Dr Will Atkinson, (from the University of Bristol), argues that the middle classes are still securing the best jobs and the best education.

His claims are backed up by a Government report earlier this week which concluded that the professions are becoming more and not less dominated by children of the wealthiest families.

He discovered that even though the number of working class people at university had increased in the last 20 years, they are still relatively under-represented.

Only 13 per cent of people from working-class backgrounds go to university, compared to 44 per cent of people from middle-class backgrounds.

"The precise characteristics of the classes in terms of occupations, educational experiences and work life experiences has shifted with the social changes of the late 20th century," Dr Atkinson will say.

"But the fact that some are better educated, with more choice in their lives and with more money still persists, and this maintains class differences that are as wide as they were in the 1970s."

Controversially, Dr Atkinson argues that those with working-class parents miss out on the help with schoolwork provided by well-educated middle-class parents, and therefore tend to value more practical skills such as woodwork and sports.

He also claims that people with middle-class parents are more likely to develop a love of learning because of the extra time and money their parents devote to their education.

WHAT CLASS ARE YOU?

Modern definitions of class in Britain are based on occupation.

 Cultural reproduction

iF YOUR PARENTS ARE MIDDLE CLASS-SO ARE YOU

SOME CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CLASSES

‘CULTURAL clues’

CULTURAL SIGNALS-CLASS AND LANGUAGE IN BRITAIN

One of the big differences between the classed is the way we speak. As soon as someone speaks we can determine if they are rich or poor, working class or middle class. It takes about 0.01 seconds. Another thing about the classes is that they usually stick together. Working class people mix with working class people and middle class people mix with middle class people. Middle class often people feel uncomfortable with working class people (perhaps they feel privileged), and working class people often feel insecure with middle class people, (perhaps they feel unequal).

People from different classes have different accents. A working class person has a working class accent, and a middle class person has a middle class accent and an upper class person has an upper class accent. A member of the working class would typically drop his or her h’s as so that house becomes 'ouse. They will also drop th sounds, and replace them with an f sound, so that three becomes free. Such accents can disadvantage the speaker in a middle class world of work as the speakers may not be seen as employable people. Similarly, the language of many working class families may not include that language of thought and debate which is more common in the communication of the middle classes, and hence the working classes are disadvantaged in education. In your classes some people are better at speaking English than you, this is cultural and similar.

In the working classes typical features are:

1. T glottalling: the use of a glottal stop for syllable-final /t/ before consonants in e.g. Bo??le

2. h dropping: so that house becomes ‘ouse, and head becomes ‘ead.

The upper classes have their own accent, which is Received Pronunciation, or RP. This is a prestige accent and is the accent off the rich, and the often called ‘BBC English’ (although not now) or ‘the Queen’s English’. ONLY SPOKEN BY ABOUT 3-5% OF THE POPULATION.

Features of RP include..........

1. CURE lowering: in words like sure, cure, pure, tour, Europe, etc.

2. /r/ the use of linking and intrusive /r/ in phrases like far/r/ away, India/r/ and China, withdraw/r/al.

4. the use of the affricates /t/ and /d/ for /tj/ and /dj/ in stressed syllables, making Tuesday sound like choose-day and dune like June.

5. T voicing: the use of a voiced tap for intervocalic /t/ in e.g. British, a lot of.

UPPER CLASS

A: Would you like to towa of yorupe?

B: I’m not really showa. It is so faraway. I prefer Indiar.

A: By the way do you have a little cat at home?

B: Oh yes, a very little cat.

A: I’ve left me ‘at in me ‘ouse

B: I’ve got free, I’ll lend ya one.

A: Cheers, I’ll get ya a bo?le .

vocabulary differences.

SO WHAT? WHO CARES?-LIFE CHANCES

The idea of "life chances" is a very important one in the context of class.  The concept of life chances was originally developed by Max. Weber, a sociologist, and he said ‘life chances’ means:

"a supply of goods, living conditions and personal

life experiences".

This was during the Industrial revolution when most people did not have enough food to eat and 4 year old children worked in factories.

A modern interpretation of the idea of life chances (by Haralambos) is that people should have………….

• the chance to stay alive during the first year after birth
• the chance to view fine arts
• the chance to remain healthy and grow tall, and if sick to get well again quickly,
• the chance to avoid becoming a young criminal
• and most importantly, the chance to complete an intermediary or higher educational grade".

If people do not have these chances they are not having proper lives. The ‘lower classes’ have fewer life chances, and this is why class is important.

EDUCATION

Working class background has always been thought of as having fewer life chances, especially in education.

In education there is no question that family, class and education are all connected, educational success (going to university etc.) can be affected by the social background of the student. For example the language of the lecturer is middle class language which takes a lot of getting used to by the working class student, this puts them at a disadvantage.

• In the study of (Atkinson, 2009) cited above, only 13 per cent of people from working-class backgrounds go to university, compared to 44 per cent of people from middle-class backgrounds.
• Dr Atkinson also argues that those with working-class parents miss out on the help with schoolwork provided by well-educated middle-class parents, and therefore tend to value more practical skills such as woodwork and sports.
• He also claims that people with middle-class parents are more likely to develop a love of learning because of the extra time and money their parents devote to their education.

• Middle class pupils in large green suburbs with in large houses with large gardens have SPACE and less different home pressures than working class kids.
• Working class people live in small houses, with no gardens in big cities, or a 1DK. Less space= less thinking time
• Children in working class families do not expect to go to university.

EDUCATION IN BRITAIN

In many ways the educational systems in Britain and Japan are the same, that is at a macro level, and in terms of the philosophy of education, that is to say YUTORI education or not. There is the same debate in Britain, and always has been.

To begin with though, there are some structural differences between the two educational systems.

THE TYPES OF SCHOOLS IN BRITAIN:

1 STATE SCHOOLS

In the UK about 90% of the children in England and Wales go to State schools or ‘comprehensive schools’ (=public schools in Japan), as they are known. ‘state’ (=government) schools are FREE and non fee-paying, andnon-selective schools. This means that they are funded from taxes, and that anyone can go to these schools, (if they live in the same area).A PROBLEM:If rich people live in rich areas, and poor people live in poor Areas, does this mean the schools are better in poor areas and better in rich areas?YES-usually the case.  

2 GRAMMAR SCHOOLS90% go to state schools, and 6% of this 90% of children go to grammar schools, which are selective state schools. 

 3 PRIVATE SCHOOLS (Independent/public schools). The remaining 4% (or so)of the children who do not go to state schools go to independent schools. These are also called "private schools" or "public schools". These are outside of the government system.

THE EXAMS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

O’levels.These are taken IN the secondary schools. From 14 to 16, pupils are taught in special classes for their GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education). The student choose these subjects at the age of 13, USUALLY ABOUT 6 O’levels. It is a very big decision, if you make a mistake it is difficult to choose.The GCSE final exams are taken at the age of 16.Compulsory education ends at 16, but pupils may stay on to do A’levels if they want to go to university.  A’levels.At 16-18 Pupils study for their A-levels. These are the qualifications needed for university, and are traditional subjects like French, Physics and History. The grades which students get, A, B, or C, determines which university the student can go to. For example Oxford University would require AAA or AAB  Students choose their A’ levels before they finish their O’levels. USUALLY 3 A’levels which are similar to the Strongest O’levels, and  in a group, e.g. Physics/maths/chemistry, or English Literature/French/and Spanish.   The A-level course of study is usually spread over a two year period (ages 16-18) with the final examination being sat in the second year in the SAME SCHOOL. Two E grades or more at A-level mean that the student can go to University.

A’levels.

At 16-18 Pupils study for their A-levels. These are the

qualifications needed for university, and are traditional

subjects like French, Physics and History.

The grades which students get, A, B, or C, determines which

university the student can go to. For example

Oxford University would require AAA or AAB  

Students choose their A’ levels before they finish their

O’levels. USUALLY 3 A’levels which are similar to the

Strongest O’levels, and  in a group, e.g.

Physics/maths/chemistry, or English Literature/French/and Spanish.  The A-level course of study is usually spread over a two year period (ages 16-18) with the final examination being sat in the second year in the SAME SCHOOL. Two E grades or more at A-level mean that the student can go to University.

IN BRITAIN WE HAVE ‘THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM’

This was introduced in 1998. What is taught in state schools is set by the government.

The main aim of the National Curriculum is to raise standards, making sure all children have a broad and balanced education up to the age of 16 and to ensure that schools in all parts of the country are following the same courses.

The Principal aims and purposes of the

National Curriculum

There are 6 aims  set out in the National Curriculum documentation:

1. Aim 1: The school curriculum should aim to provide opportunities for

all pupils to learn and to achieve.

1. Aim 2: The school curriculum should aim to promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare all

pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.

1. Aim 3: To establish an sense of belonging to Britain

2. Aim 4: To establish standards

3. Aim 5: To promote continuity and coherence

4. Aim 6: To promote public understanding

Yutori education (ゆとり教育 yutori-kyōiku^?) is a 

Japanese education policy which reduces the hours and

the content of the curriculum in primary education. In recent

years, the mass media in Japan have used this phrase to criticize

drops in scholastic ability.

WHY YUTORI?

In 1970s, school violence and the collapse of classroom discipline

became a big problem in junior high schools.

WHY? I imagine this was the result of a dehumanizing education system based on memory.

Therefore the Japanese  government revised the

teaching guideline in 1977. The main purpose was to reduce

education stress and to introduce relaxed classes called

Rest Periods (ゆとりの時間 Yutori no jikan^?). In 1996, when

the 15th Central Council for Education (中央教育審議会 

Chūō Kyōiku Shingikai^?) was asked about what the Japanese education of the 21st century should be like, it submitted a report suggesting that

eduation should be:

                                   "the ability to survive"

"The ability to survive" is defined as a principle that tries to

keep the balance of intellectual, moral, and physical education.

This is similar to the aims of the National Curriculum Britain.

HOWEVER:

Around 1999, a decline in the academic abilities of university 

students became a serious concern. Elementary and secondary

education started to be reconsidered, and criticism focused

on the new teaching guidelines of yutori, and aroused controversy.

In 2007, a National Scholarship Test for Elementary and Junior

High School Students(全国小中学生学力テスト 

Zenkoku Shōchūgakusei Gakuryoku Test^?) was created.

RACE DIFFERENCES IN BRITISH EDUCATION

A MICRO LEVEL PROBLEM

Essentially students from ethnic backgrounds do not achieve (succeed) as well as white students. This issue of race or ‘ethnicity’ in education is very, very complicated, and I am only touching on it here. There are different stories for Black students (African and Caribbean origins) and for Indian, Pakistani and Chinese students.

For example………

FACTS

Early years and school

1. On average, Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani pupils perform less well than White pupils throughout compulsory schooling.

1. Many children from minority ethnic groups are from lower socio-economic groups: over 30 percent of Pakistani and Black pupils are eligible for free school meals and over 50 percent of Bangladeshi, Gypsy/Roma pupils. This means poor therefore working class culture, and a working class approach to education. However, the picture is more complicated in the case of ethnic minorities.

Higher Education-UNIVERSITY

1. While minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold degree level qualifications compared to white people, class of degree varies, with minority ethnic groups less likely to obtain a first or upper second class degree

(Minority Ethnic Attainment and Participation in Education and Training: The Evidence , Bhattacharyya, Ison, Blair, 2003).

Black Students

It has been suggested however, that in addition to being members of the working class, students from black backgrounds have to deal with the matter of racism within British education.

Black pupils 'are routinely marked down by teachers'

(Independent Newspaper, 2010)

Teachers' assessment of children's ability is undermined by stereotyping, says research.

Black children are being systematically marked down by their teachers who are unconsciously stereotyping them, it has been revealed. Stereotyping means that is black students are thought of as ‘stupid’ or not as clever as white students.

Academics looked at the marks given to thousands of children at age 11. They compared their results in Sats, nationally set tests marked remotely, with the assessments made by teachers in the classroom and in internal tests. The findings suggest that low expectations are damaging children's prospects.

The study concludes that black pupils perform consistently better in external exams than in teacher assessment.

1. The opposite is true for Indian and Chinese children, who tend to be "over-assessed" by teachers.
2. The research also finds that white children from very poor neighbourhoods were under-assessed when compared with their better-off peers.

"What is worrying is that if students do not feel that a teacher appreciates them or understands them, then they are not going to try so hard," said Simon Burgess, professor of economics at the University of Bristol and co-author of the report.

His study finds that the differences are a result of stereotyping, as opposed to other factors, and are particularly pronounced in areas where there are fewer black children – or fewer children from very poor estates.

Gloria Hyatt, a former secondary school head teacher of Black-Caribbean and Irish heritage, said the "robust" study confirmed a longstanding complaint made by ethnic minority groups. She now works as an education consultant helping schools to get the best potential out of those who might be "deemed as failures".

She said that even though there was no clear agreement that discriminatory, culturally-biased testing or pupil behaviour were the reason for this outcome, teachers needed training in not "consciously or unconsciously" sustaining this practice.

She said she had met teachers who believed "all black children are great at sport" and less able in "English, maths and science". She argued that training was needed. "Equal opportunities legislation will not fix this."

What do Japanese teachers think about American and British teachers? I wonder. Incidentally the issue of racism in British education is believed to exist by many many students and teachers of ethnic backgrounds.

However,

Tony Sewell claims that "more than racism, I firmly believe that the main problem holding black boys back academically is their overfeminised upbringing" (2010). This refers to the increased numbers of lone (single) mothers and the absence of fathers among black families in Britain ("59% of black Caribbean children live in lone-parent households, compared with 22% of white children"), He thinks this reason is more significant than the wider problems of institutional racism that black boys (and black girls) encounter in the educational systems.

CONVERSELY

Tracey Reynolds (2010) says that the evidence shows that black mothers and fathers are doing their utmost to provide their children with the best opportunities, despite experiencing issues of economic disadvantage and social exclusion. Regardless of whether black children live in lone-mother or married/partnered households, she says the vast majority of black kids are being raised in loving, caring and stable family environments.

Reynold’s research shows that many non-resident black fathers are actively involved in parenting and family life, fully committed to their fathering role, despite the statistical data officially recording them as "absent".

In fact, the views of the fathers themselves are rarely, if ever, heard in this debate. Most public knowledge about absent black fathers is based on myths, folklore and sensationalised media images, with little known about the way they engage with their children.

This means that a black problem is a black problem and the debate about education for black people has exclusively focused on the negative impact of black fathers' absence on children's lives. Single parent families may be a part of the problem but I would agree with the argument that a black problem is a white problem, and that we need to look to the British education system (specifically the English education system) as the cause of ethnic under achievement.

THE CANALS IN BRITAIN

What is a canal?

• The canals were constructed to transport the goods of the businesses of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
• They were built from between 1759-1815, the Georgian Period.
• The Edo period was from1603 to 1868 and both were periods of economic growth in Japan and Britain.
• They are used today by British people for holidays.

Now Watch the video from start to Glovers & the WOMEN.

The History of Canals,

Canal Mania: The Eighteenth Century 1759-1815.

• In the 1750’s England was bursting with commerce.
• Manufacturing was changing from local craftsmen making local goods to large factories producing for large towns and overseas.

• Good communications became necessary to move the raw materials to the factories and the products from the factories to the customers, in Britain and overseas. More roads were being built and improved but they couldn’t handle the heavy materials like coal, or fragile materials like pottery.
• A wealthy young man Francis Egerton, (the third Duke of Bridgewater), had been to Europe where he had seen the Canal Du Midi in France. He decided in 1759 to build a short canal to take the coal from his coal mine directly to Manchester and also to Liverpool. His coal prices were halved; he became an even richer man.
• After this another two thousand miles (about 4000kms.) of canals were built
• Whole areas (prefectures) like Staffordshire and the midlands became rich because of their canals.
• Most British canals were completed by 1815.

The End of the Canals CAME IN THE 1800’S BECAUSE OF THE RailwayS

• At first the canals and railways coexisted, the railways concentrating on passengers and light goods and the canals on bulk goods. But by the middle of the nineteenth century railways formed a national network, forcing canal tolls down and sending them into a decline that lasted for over a hundred years. Lucky canals, like the Shropshire Union, were taken over and supported by railway companies.

New Canals: The Twentieth Century   

• The canals were nationalized in1947 along with the railways, BUT were exhausted from years of neglect and the damage caused by the Second World War.
• In the fifties and sixties there was increased interest in leisure use of canals and the Inland Waterways Association was formed to rebuild the canals.
•  A number of derelict canals were re-opened, including the South Stratford and Kennet and Avon, and restoration projects are now underway on others like the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow Canal that have been closed for over fifty years.
• Volunteers, including those with the Waterways Recovery Group have been centrally involved in reconstruction work on a number of closed canals.
• British Waterways, the government department responsible for the waterways, spent over £17 million in 1998 on maintenance projects.
• Most commercial traffic is now on just a few canals, like the River Weaver and the Sheffield and South Yorkshire canal. The rest of the system is used by private pleasure boats, hire (rental) cruisers, hotel boats and day trip boats.
• There are more boats on British canals now than there ever were during the 1700’s