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Contents 1 England 1.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.1.1 PREHISTORIC BRITAIN . . . .

1.1.2 ROMAN BRITAIN . . . . . . . .

1.1.3 ANGLO-SAXON BRITAIN . . .

1.1.4 VIKING BRITAIN . . . . . . . .

1.1.5 THE MIDDLE AGES- NORMAN 1.1.6 TUDOR BRITAIN . . . . . . . .

1.1.7 STUART BRITAIN . . . . . . .

1.1.8 GEORGIAN BRITAIN . . . . . .

1.1.9 VICTORIAN BRITAIN . . . . .

1.1.10 MODERN BRITAIN . . . . . . .

1.2 Geography of England . . . . . . . . . .

1.3 Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.4 Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.5 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.6 Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 Scotland 2.1 History . .

2.2 Geography 2.3 Climate .

2.4 Population 2.5 Religion .

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BRITAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 Wales 13 3.1 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3.2 Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 1

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CONTENTS 3.3 3.4 3.5

Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4 Northern Ireland 4.1 History . . . .

4.2 Geography . .

4.3 Climate . . .

4.4 Population . .

4.5 Religion . . .

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Chapter 1 England 1.1

History

1.1.1

PREHISTORIC BRITAIN

Thousands of years ago, Great Britain was joined to Europe and was covered with ice. About 15,000 years ago, the weather became warmer so the ice melted and the sea level rose. Great Britain became an island about 8,000 years ago. The first men and women came to Britain from Europe over two and a half million years ago. They were hunters and gatherers of food who used simple stone tools and weapons. Much of Britain was covered in forests.

During the New Stone Age farming people arrived from Europe and erected the first stone circles, like the famous Stonehenge. People learnt to make bronze weapons and tools.

Five hundred years before Christ Celtic people called Britons arrived from Central Europe. They were warriors in fact they fought against the people of Britain and other Celtic tribes. The Celtics were farmers and skilled Figure 1.1: Stonehenge metal workers. They built villages and hill forts and used iron weapons and tools.

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find out more

1.1.2

ROMAN BRITAIN

The Romans came to Britain 2,0000 years ago. Even today the ruins of Roman buildings, forts, roads and baths can be found all over Britain. Britain was part of the Roman Empire for almost 400 years. The Romans established medical practice, a language of administration and law and created great public buildings and roads. They divided England into four areas centred by the following towns London, Cirencester, York and Lincoln. Many English words are derived from the Latin language of the Romans.

1.1.3

ANGLO-SAXON BRITAIN

The Roman army left Britain around 410 AD. There was no strong army to defend Britain so tribes called the Angle, Saxon and Jute (the AngloSaxons) invaded. They left their homelands in northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland and rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats.

The Anglo-Saxons divided England into several kingdoms. In those ages missionaries brought Christianity to England from Rome. .

1.1.4

VIKING BRITAIN

In the 8th Century AD in Britain began the Viking Age and lasted for 300 years. The city of York became Yorvik, the Viking capital in England.

1.1.

HISTORY

1.1.5

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THE MIDDLE AGES- NORMAN BRITAIN

The Middle Ages in Britain were a huge period. They began with the shock of the Norman Conquest in 1066 when the invading Normans defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. William of Normandy defeated and killed Harold II with a lucky shot and became King of England. In 1348 the Black Death(bubonic plague) arrived in England and killed nearly half of the population. In the aftermath of the catastrophic Black Death, agricultural workers were in demand but landlords were reluctant to pay higher wages or allow migration for work. Coupled with heavy taxation and an unpopular government, it caused an uprising. In that period began also the Hundred Years’ War with France. It finished in 1453. In 1455 began a Civil War called the War of Roses between two branches of the royal family (York and Lancaster). This war lasted intermittently until 1485.

1.1.6

TUDOR BRITAIN

From 1485 to 1603 a Welsh-English family, the Tudors, ruled England. They came to power when Henry Tudor defeated Yorkist king Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. In 1528 king Henry VIII asked the Pope to annul his marriage with Caterine of Aragon so that he could marry Ann Boleyn. The Pope denied so Henry VIII made the Act of Supremacy and formed the Church of England separating England from the Roman Catholic Church.

Henry became the head of the English Church. In 1536 there was the Act of Union which joined England and Wales. The Tudor dynasty ended when Henry’s granddaughter Elizabeth I died childless.

1.1.7

STUART BRITAIN

The throne passed to their cousins, the Scottish Stuart, unifying England and Scotland. In 1603 James VI of Scotland was crowned James I of England uniting the two kingdoms. James’s accession meant that the three separate kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were now united, for the first time, under a single monarch. In 1664 the Great Plague of London killed more than 100,000 people died. By the time the epidemic finished in December 1665, a quarter of the capital’s inhabitants had perished. In 1689 there was the English Bill of Rights so from that date England’s monarchs ruled in partnership with Parliament. In 1707 England and Scotland officially became

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one country, Great Britain.

1.1.8

GEORGIAN BRITAIN

In 1714 George of Hanover succeeded Queen Anne to the Throne. America declared independence from Britain on July 4th 1776. In 1780’s Industrial Revolution began. In 1793 Britain went to war with France. War continued until the final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. On January 1st 1800 the Act of Union created the United Kingdom: Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales ) and Ireland were formally joined under the Act of Union to create the United Kingdom in 1801.

1.1.9

VICTORIAN BRITAIN

In 1837 Victoria became Queen at the age of 18 after the death of her uncle, William IV. Victoria reigned for more than 60 years. Her reign was a period of significant social, economic and technological change, which saw the expansion of Britain’s industrial power and of the British empire. In 1837 most people lived in villages and worked on the land; by 1901, most lived in towns and worked in offices, shops and factories. In 1901 Victoria died and was succeeded by her eldest son Edward VII. Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight at the age of 81.

1.1.10

MODERN BRITAIN

On August 4th 1914 Britain declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Belgium: it was the First World War. In 1918 World War One ended when Germany signed an armistice. In 1920 Republic of Ireland gained independence. In 1939 Britain declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland: it was the Second World War. In 1940 Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the coalition government. On August 15th 1945 the victory over Japan marked the end of World War Two. In 1947 India gained independence from Britain. On February 6th 1952 Elizabeth II succeeded her father, George VI. Her reign was longer than any other British monarch because she is steel the Queen.

1.2.

1.2

GEOGRAPHY OF ENGLAND

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Geography of England

England is located in the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain. They are part of England also the islands to the south of Britain: the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. England is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west with Wales, the Irish Sea and the Celtic Sea, while to the east is washed by the North Sea. To the south the English Channel separating it from continental Europe. The territory is hilly; north there are some mountainous areas while to the east lies a flat area. England is rich of rivers. The most important river is the River Thames, 323 km long, while the longest is the Severn along 354 km. Other English rivers Trent, Humber and Ouse.

1.3

Climate

The climate in England is temperate maritime. England is famous for its rain.

The coldest months are December, January and February, with temperatures of 3 and 6 C. In July and August, the temperature is between 16 and 21 C. The Weather in England can change very quickly. In the parts closest to the Atlantic Ocean. The month with most sunshine is July. The south coast has the clearest skies.

1.4

Population

The population in England is 53.870.000 people, the 89% of the total is in he United Kingdom. In the southern and eastern England there is the biggest concentration of population. The lowest population is in North west of England. England is the most populated nation of the United Kingdom and with more Ethnic groups. After the Brexit a record number of migrants (650.000) has come to England to search work. If England’s population were measured separately from the United Kingdom’s, it would be the 25th largest country in the world by population and the fifth largest in Europe. The 84% of the population of UK live in England. London has the highest population growth. The population in London is approximately 8.600.000. it is the 3rd largest city in Europe and the 22nd in the world. The 2nd city for population in England is Birmingham, with 1.037.000 people. In 2011 the population

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size recorder that 85% of England’s population was white, 7.8% Asian, 3.5% black, 2.3% Mixed, 0.45% Chinese and 0.44% from another ethnic group.

1.5

Religion

Predominantly religion in england it’s Christian (Church of england, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist); Muslim, Sikh, Jewis and Hindu are minorities. Around 15% of the population have no religion The Anglicanism is a religion that originated in the sixteenth century after the separation of the Church of England and the Catholic Church during the Reign of Henry VIII. This religion arises in half-way between Catholic and Protestant Christianity. It is based on the gospel and the traditions of the Apostolic Church.

During the Reign of Elizabeth I this new religion becomes independent from the pope and consequently the English dynasty feels the need to separate from the Catholic Church.

The English monarch became the Supreme Governor of the Anglican Church, very symbolic title. The primate of the Anglican Church, is the archbishop of Canterbury. The Anglican church is based on four fundamental principles 1. The scriptures 2. Confessions of faith 3. Sacraments 4 apostolic succession The first most important text is the Book of Common Prayer, written by the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer in 1549. In this text is shown the liturgy and the principles shared by all Anglican Churches. important is the Anglican Chant as a form of prayer

1.6

Language

English as almost everyone knows not only speaks in his native England. In time for reasons the British historian policies has become the lingua franca of the world’s spoken almost everywhere in various forms. It ’began to be used more than 1,500 years ago as the Anglo-Saxon. There are about 300 million people who are native English speakers and 300 million who use English as a second language and another 100 million who use it as a foreign language.

And ’the language of science, economics, aviation, computing, diplomacy, tourism and many other disciplines is English. And ’it indicated as the official language of over 45 countries and is spoken widely in others. Both in England and in America all say they speak English, but the language that is

1.6. LANGUAGE spoken in the United States, is very different from that across the ocean.

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CHAPTER 1. ENGLAND

Chapter 2 Scotland 2.1

History

2.2

Geography

2.3

Climate

2.4

Population

2.5

Religion

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12

CHAPTER 2. SCOTLAND

Chapter 3 Wales 3.1

History

3.2

Geography

3.3

Climate

3.4

Population

3.5

Religion

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CHAPTER 3. WALES

Chapter 4 Northern Ireland 4.1

History

4.2

Geography

4.3

Climate

4.4

Population

4.5

Religion

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