The United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK,

or Britain)

The UK

Great Britain

England

The UK - Great Britain -England

ScotlandWales

- Northern Ireland

Geography

- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in Western Europe.

- It comprises the island of Great Britain (most of England, Scotland and Wales) and the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland), together with many smaller islands.

The capitals of the United Kingdom'sconstituent countries are:

Belfast (Northern Ireland) Cardiff (Wales) Edinburgh (Scotland) London (England)

The UK is situated on the British Isles.

The British Isles consisting of 2 main islands:

- the bigger is GB, - the smaller is Ireland

(Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland/Irish Republic)

British history has been a history of invasions.

4th century BC: Britain = Briton, and the people here were called Britons.

They belong to the Celtic race

1st century AD (43): Briton was invaded by the Roman Empire.

They found valuable metals so they decided to settle down.

4th century AD: invasion of a group of barbaric people all over Europe.

The Romans had to return to Rome to protect their own country

5th century AD (410): Anglo-Saxon invasion - Germanic peoples: the Angles, and the Saxon.

They were powerful → They divided the country into 2 parts:

- Anglo-Saxon area in England - Celtic area in Wales, Scotland, and

Ireland.

The Welsh:

escaped to the wild mountains of Wales to defend their freedom for 1000 years.

In 1536, they were conquered by the English

The Scottish

Scotland was not conquered by the Romans or the Anglo-Saxons

In 1314, the Scottish defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, leading to 300 years of full independence.

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First of England died childless → James the Sixth of Scotland became James the First of England → uniting the two thrones.

For another hundred years Scotland maintained its separate political identity.

In 1707 the English and Scottish parliaments decided to form a union based on agreement → Great Britain was established

The Irish:

In 17th century, English and Scottish Protestants were sent to Northern Ireland to stop Irish Catholics from causing trouble.

Fighting: English and Scottish Protestants

against Irish Catholics

The Irish Protestants helped the English and Scottish Protestants → Irish Catholics were defeated → had to escape to the South (Republic of Ireland)

In 1801 Ireland became part of UK

Until 1921 the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland".

The Irish desired for an independent Irish state.

In 1921, Ireland was divided into 2 parts:

- Northern Ireland: belonging to UK

- Republic of Ireland/Irish Republic: independent

In 1066, other invaders were the Normans, from northern France → the Norman Conquest → in the Battle of Hastings, they defeated the English army.

The Normans imported a ruling class.

The next 300 years: a Norman (and French-speaking) aristocracy ruling Saxon and English-speaking population.