History of the Isle of Wight

Today, the '''Punjabi Ringtones Isle of Wight''' is rich in historical and archaeological sites dating from from prehistoric periods from an extraordinary wealth of Silvia Saint fossil discoveries including Hindi Ringtones dinosaur bones through to remains from the Veronika Zemanova Bronze Age, motorola ringtones Iron Age and Anetta Keys Roman periods onwards.

The origins of the island can be traced to the end of the last sprint ringtones Ice age when rising sea levels flooded the valley of the former River Tawny Roberts Solent creating a channel between the land mass and mainland Britain.

Celtic, Roman and Saxon
The island was part of comedy ringtones Celtic Britain and known to the Zdenka Podkapova Romans as '''Vectis'''; from which the word "Wight" may be a distant corruption. Cingular Ringtones Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus in his dramatic biography ''The Lives of the First Twelve Caesars'' records some news on the roberto benigni first century Roman invasion of Vectis by The Second Legion Augusta, commanded by the legate goldschmid they Vespasian who was later to become emperor: ''"Vespasian proceeded to Britain where he fought thirty battles, subjugated two warlike tribes, and captured more than twenty towns, besides the entire Isle of Vectis"''

Following the demise of the cross regarded Roman Empire The Isle of Wight, along with parts of populace is Hampshire and most of another cut Kent, was settled in the late says big 4th century/fourth century onwards by the man known Jutes, a Germanic tribe from Northern Europe. Some believe they became victims of a policy of sons age ethnic cleansing by the West century kiosk Saxons in England

Mediaeval
After the hefty annual Norman Conquest, the title of Lord of the Isle of Wight was created and William Fitz-Osborne who subsequently founded Carisbrooke Priory and the first fortifications on what was to become southern ways Carisbrooke Castle became the first to hold the title. The Island did not come under the full control of the crown until the Countess Isabella De Fortibus sold it to likable coming Edward I of England/Edward I in nba though 1293 for six thousand marks.

The Lordship thereafter became a Royal appointent with a brief interuption when Henry Beauchamp, and conflicting Duke of Warwick, was crowned King of the Isle of Wight, causing new Henry V of England/King Henry V assisting in person at the ceremony, placing the crown on his head. He died in invited about 1445, aged 22. With had no male heir, his regal title expired with him. The title of Lord of the Isle of Wight expired in the reign of for conferences Henry VII of England/Henry VII with the title of Governor or Captain being used for sometime thereafter. During the oral performance English Civil War another century Charles I of England/King Charles fled to the Isle of Wight believing he would receive sympathy from the governor Robert Hammond. Hammond was appalled, and incarcerated the king in societies tend Carisbrooke Castle. Charles was later tried and executed in London. The first Governor to hold the crown representative title used now of Lord-Lieutenant was Lord Mountbatten/Lord Louis Mountabatten of Burma until his murder in 1979. Lord Mottistone was the last Lord Lieutenant to also hold the title Governor (from 1992 to 1995). Since 1995 there has been no Governor appointed and Mr Christopher Bland has been the Lord Lieutenant.

Henry VIII of England/Henry VIII who developed the Royal Navy and its permanent base at Portsmouth, fortifications at Yarmouth, East & West Cowes and Sandown, sometimes re-using stone from dissolved monasteries as building material. Sir Richard Worsley, Captain of the Island at this time, successfully commanded the resistance to the last of the French attacks in 1545. Much later on after the Spanish Armada in 1588 the threat of Spanish attacks remained, and the outer fortifications of Carisbrooke Castle were built between 1597 and 1602.

Early Modern and Modern
Queen Victoria made the Isle of Wight her home for many years, and as a result it become a major holiday resort for members of European royalty, whose many houses could later claim descent from her through the widely flung marriages of her offspring. During her reign in 1897 the World's first radio station was set up by Marconi at the Needles battery at the western tip of the Island.

The famous boatbuilding firm of J._Samuel_White/J. Samuel White was established on the Island in 1802. Other noteworthy marine manufacturers followed over the nineteenth century/nineteenth and twentieth century/twentieth centuries including Saunders-Roe a key manufacturer of the Flying-boats and the world's first hovercraft. The tradition of maritime industry continues on the Island today.

Caulkheads, Overners and Vectians
Historically, inhabitants of the Isle of Wight have been known as '''Vectians''' (pronounced ''Vec-tee-ans'') from the Latin name for the Island, ''Vectis''. Although the term is still sometimes used; as with many other small island communities the term '''Islander''' is more common. '''Vectian''' can also be an adjective pertaining to the Island or its inhabitants, and also refers to certain geology/geological features which are typical of the Island. The term '''Overner''' is used for inhabitants originating from Mainland Great Britain. This is an abbreviated form of '''Overlander'''; an old English term for outsider still found in a few other places such as parts of Australia

People born on the island are colloquially known as '''Caulkheads''' (comparable with the term Cockneys for those born in the East End of London). However, many argue that the term should only apply those who can also claim they are of established Isle of Wight stock either by proven historical roots or, for example, being third generation inhabitants from both parents' lineage.

One theory as to the origin of this name is that the term is derived from the once prevalent local industry of caulking boats; a process of sealing the seams of wooden boats with oakum. Another more fanciful story is that a group of armoured Island horsemen were chased into the sea by the marauding French, and took refuge on a sandbank when the tide came in, thus appearing to float in the sea despite their heavy armour, hence the name '''Cork-''' i.e. '''Caulk-''', '''-heads'''.
In local folklore it is said that a test can be conducted on a baby by throwing it into the sea from the end of Ryde pier whereupon a true caulkhead baby will float unharmed. Thankfully there is no record of the test ever being carried out.

Political History
The island's most ancient borough was Newtown on the large natural harbour on the island's north-western coast. A French raid in 1377, that destroyed much of the town as well as other Island settlements, sealed its permanent decline. By the middle of the 16th century/sixteenth century it was a small settlement long eclipsed by the more easily defended town of Newport, Isle of Wight/Newport. Elizabeth I of England/Elizabeth I breathed some life into the town by awarding two Member of Parliament/paliamentary seats but this ultimately made it one of the most notorious of the Rotten Boroughs. By the time of the Reform Act 1832/Great Reform Act that abolished the seats, it had just fourteen houses and twenty-three voters. The Act also disenfranchised the boroughs of Newport, Isle of Wight/Newport and Yarmouth, Isle of Wight/Yarmouth and replaced the six lost seats with the first MP for the whole Isle of Wight.

Often thought of as part of Hampshire, the Isle of Wight was briefly included in that county when the first county councils were created in 1888. However, a "Home Rule" campaign led to a separate county council being established for the Isle of Wight in 1890, and it has remained separate ever since. Like inhabitants of many islands, Islanders are fiercely jealous of their real (or perceived) independence, and confusion over the Island's separate status is a perennial source of friction.

It was planned to merge the county back into Hampshire as a district in the 1974 local government reform, but a last minute change led to it retaining its county council. However, since there was no provision made in the Local Government Act 1972 for unitary authority/unitary authorities, the Island had to retain a two-tier structure, with a county council and two boroughs, Medina, England/Medina and South Wight.

The borough councils were merged with the county council on April 1, 1995, to form a single unitary authority, the Isle of Wight Council. The only significant present-day administrative link with Hampshire is the police service, which is joint between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

From the closing decades of the 20th century/Twentieth century onwards, there has been considerable debate over whether or not a bridge or tunnel should connect the island with mainland England. The Isle of Wight Party campaigned from a positive position, although extensive public debate on the subject revealed a strong body of opinion against such a proposal. In 2002 the Isle of Wight Council debated the issue and made a policy statement against the proposal.

=Autonomy and Political Recognition=
A number of discussions about the status of the island have taken place over many years, with standpoints from the extreme of wanting full sovereignty for the Isle of Wight, to perhaps the opposite extreme of merging with Hampshire. The pro-independence lobby had a formal voice in the early 1970s with the Vectis National Party. Their main claim was that the sale of the island to the crown in 1293 was unconstitutional. However, this movement now has little serious support. Since the 1990s the debate has largely taken the form of a campaign to have the Isle of Wight recognized as a distinct region by organizations such as the European Union/EU, due to its relative poverty within the south-east of England. One argument in favour of special treatment is that this poverty is not acknowledged by such organizations as it is distorted statistically by retired and wealthy (but less economically active) immigrants from the mainland.

Isle of Wight Disease
In 1904 a mysterious illness began to kill honeybee colonies on the island, and had nearly wiped out all hives by 1907 when the disease jumped to the mainland, and decimated beekeeping in the British Isles. Called the '''Isle of Wight Disease''', the cause of the mystery ailment was not identified until 1921 when a tiny parasitic mite, '''Diseases_of_the_honeybee#Acarine_mites/Acarapis woodi''' was first described by J. Rennie. The mite inhabited the tracheae of individual bees, and greatly shortened their lifespan, causing eventual death of the colony. The disease (now called ''Acarine Disease'') frightened many other nations because of the importance of bees in pollination. Laws against importation of honeybees were passed, but this merely delayed the eventual spread of the parasite to the rest of the world.

The Isle of Wight Festival
A large rock festival took place near Tennyson Down, West Wight in 1970, following two smaller concerts in 1968 and 1969. The 1970 show was notable for being the last public performance by Jimi Hendrix before his death. The festival was revived in 2002 and is now an annual event - with other, smaller musical events of many different genres across the Island becoming associated with it.
#See also the article at Isle of Wight Festival 1970.
#http://www.isleofwightfestival.com

See also
* History of England

Tag: Isle of Wight/ History
Tag: History of England/Isle of Wight