United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Great Britain is situated at the north-west part of West Europe. It consists of two large island (Great Britain and Ireland) and about 5 000 smaller ones (such as Isle of Wight, the Hebrides, the Orkney and so on). It is bordered to the south by the English Channel, which separates it from continental Europe, to the east by the North Sea, and to the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its neighbour are Ireland to west and France to south-east. It covers the area of 250 thousand sq. km.
The main mountain regions here are the Cornish Heights, the Cambrian in Wales, the Cambrian Mountains (in Lake District) and the Pennies. The longest rivers are Severn and the Thames. In Great Britain we can found beautiful lakes in Cambria and Highlands of Scotland. Great Britain has about 60 million inhabitants . The density is one of the highest in the world – 232 people to one square kilometre. In England we can find many ethnic groups such as English, Scottish or Irish. The majority of people speaks English
Great Britain is constitutional monarchy with the Queen as the head of state. The Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. British parliament system is one of the oldest in the world, it was developed after King John s signature of Magna Charta in 1215. The head of government is prime minister – now it is Tony Blair – leader of Labour party. Britain is divided into four parts – England with capitol city London, Wales with Cardiff, Scotland with Edinburgh and Northern Ireland with Belfast. Britain is member of all important international organizations – United Nations, European Community or NATO.
The main industries in Great Britain are steel, metals, vehicles, shipbuilding, shipping, chemicals or electronics. 30 percent of land is arable and the main agricultural products are grains, sugar, beet, fruit and vegetables. Britain has resources of coal, oil, gas and lead too. The main Britain s trading partners are Germany, the USA, France and the Netherlands.
So, now I describe some interesting places in Great Britain. I begin with London and its neighbour. There are university towns – Oxford and Cambridge. Near there is Stratford upon Avon – birthplace of William Shakespeare. On cost there is old health resort – Brighton. In southern part of England is situated Canterbury – old town with majestic cathedral. To this town are situated famous Canterbury Tales. Other old cathedral is in Winchester. The Geographical heart of England and second largest city is Birmingham. In Manchester we can visit The Museum of Science and Industry and The Air and Space Museum. The other big cities here are Liverpool, Leeds and York.
Wales is sometimes called the land of castles. I think, it s true, because we really find there many old castles such as Conway or Careworn. The land of Wales is full of mystery and beauty. The biggest cities of this region are Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.
Scotland is a historical and cultural separate country from England. It has its own legal and educational systems and currency. Scotland is the land of many special traditions which cannot be found elsewhere in the world. I can name playing the pipes or wearing kilts made of tartan. The biggest city is Glasgow. This old Victorian is the cultural centre and the hearts of the arts in Scotland. In Scotland we find many lakes (in Scotland called Loch), such as Loch Ness.

History

The Celts arrived 2500 to 3000 ago. Their language survives in Welsh and Gaelic. England was added to the Roman Empire in 43 AD. The Romans built camps, forts and roads through the land and also Hadrian s wall as the protection against the invasion of the Celtic tribes. The Romans towns and forts were connected roads, which was used by British for many centuries. The Jutes, the Angles and the Saxon tribes arrived from German lands. They fought with Danes from the 8th and 11th centuries. The last successful invasion was by French speaking Normans led by William, Duke of Normandy, who became William the Conqueror after defeating the Saxon King Harold in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William the Conqueror established a strong central government and appointed Norman noblemen to high position. The opposition by nobles forced King John to sign Magna Carta in 1215, a guarantee of rights and the rule of law. In 15th century was in state war of the Roses between House of York and House of Lancaster. Religious independence from Rome was secured when the Church of England was separated from the authority of the Pope in 1543 by King Henry VIII. Under Queen Elizabeth I. Britain became a major sea power, leading to the founding of colonies in the new world and the expansion of trade with Europe and the Orient. In 1588 England defeated the Spanish Armada and this. Together with the explorations carried out by Sir Francis Drake, helped established British supremacy on the seas. Scotland was united with England when James VI. Of Scotland was crowned James I. Of England in 1603. The Act of Union in 1707 Scotland with England. A struggle between Parliament and the Stuart kings led to a bloody Civil War. The country was divided between the supporters of Charles I., who wanted to rule absolutely, and the supporters of Parliament. The monarchy was restored in 1660 but the „Glorious revolution“ in 1688 confirmed the Parliament. Technological innovations , such as James Watt with steam engine or steam locomotive by George Stephenson, led to the Industrial Revolution. The 13 North American colonies were lost, but replaced by growing empires in Canada and India. Large parts of Africa and Asia were added to the empire during the reign of Queen Victoria. Through victorious World War I. Britain suffered huge economic losses. The land suffered major bombing damage in World War II., but held out against Germany after the fall of France in 1940. Industrial growth went on in postwar period, but Britain lost its leading position to other powers. Labour governments passed programmers nationalizing some basic industries and expanding social security. The Thatcher conservative government has however increased the role of private enterprise.

01 – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
verze 2

Situation: Great Britain or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the north-west part of Europe. Great Britain occupies many of islands there are between 5 thousands, so the biggest of them is Great Britain and next are for example Irish island with Northern Ireland, isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland, Shetlands islands, Orkneys and Hebrides or Isle of Wight. Great Britain is separated of continental Europe by English Channel (Channel la Manche) on the south, western coast is dipped by the Irish sea, eastern cost by the North sea and northern part of Great Britain by the Atlantic ocean. Great Britain is the insular country, so they have any real neighbours and it has nature border lines created by sea or channel.
Basic facts: Great Britain covers more then 250 000 square kilometers and has population of about 58 millions, so density is quite high around 240 people per square kilometer, it is one the biggest in Europe. Great Britain is divided into four parts England ? the biggest, Scotland, Wales ? these are three historical parts and Northern Ireland, which was connected to Great Britain in year 1921 in national referendum. But there were big problems with it, because in Northern Ireland live two religions groups: one group ascribe catholic religion and second are protestants. Catholics group wanted to separate from Great Britain and situation was not optimal especially in the 70?s, when there were many terrorist attacks in Belfast. In this time is quite peace, Northern Ireland has own representatives in British Senate. Great Britain is country of one nation, more then 90 percent of people are British origin. But in this time there live many immigrants from anothers countries. They want to a British citizenship and have a use a social benefit or allowance. England has difficult political rules for immigrants.
History: First mention about Great Britain can we find in The Old Ages, when ancient Roma occupied this area, Julius Caesar led invasion about 55 years BC. From this time come first mentions about village named Londonium, which became capital city later. For next time periods was England leading state in Europe and of the world. It was always mighty monarchy with strong king. In 17th and 18th century was Great Britain state number one of the world thanks own colonies. In 20 century lost this position and many of colonies became independent state. Great Britain is a leader state of British Commonwealth Countries (group of states).
Political system: Great Britain is constitution monarchy. Head of state is queen Elizabeth II, but she has not real power. Queen is represented by Prime Minister Tony Blair from Labour party, who lives in Downing street number 10.
The surface: Great Britain has various surface with Central lowlands on the south and with highlands on the north (Scotland). There are for example the Cornish Heights, the Cambrian in Wales, the Pennies in the central Britain, the Cambrick Highlands in Scotland and the Scottish highlands with the highest peak Ben Nevis (1342 m) and the Grampians.
Rivers: Great Britain has a lot of short and long rivers, so river network is quite dense. The most important of them are The River Thames, it flows through London, The River Mersey, it flows through Liverpool and the River Clyde or Dee in Scotland.
The climate: Great Britain lies in temperate climate zone, climate is determinated by ocean. There are not big differences in temperature between winter and summer and there is enough rainy allocation.
Towns: Capital city of Great Britain is London ? it is one of the largest city of the world, it has population about 8 mil. people. It is remarkable city, where is connected old Victorian architecture style with modern and progressive style.
Liverpool is famous as a cradle of music genius called Beatles, it is old industry town with many factories and air pollution. Similar describes is used for Manchester ? center of textile industry. Capital city of Wales is Cardiff ? old historical town, center of industry. Capital city in Scotland is Edinburgh ? tradition Scottish town and seat of kings, bigger then Edinburgh is Glasgow ? industry town, center of commerce and services.
Industry: Great Britain is one of the richest country of the world and has very developed economy. During 20th century can we notice that British industry changed from heavy industry with traditional branches as shipbuilding, car and train building, engineering. In this dominate chemical industry and production of consumable electronics (televisions, radios, equipment for home).
Natural resources: Thanks to long intensive mine activities there are a little law materials. Important are coal, petrol, natural gas, gold, zinc, steel, oil, metals etc.
Agriculture: Only 2 percent of British people work in agriculture. There are important production of wheat, corn, vegetables and strawberries on south-west part. Ground is not too fertile, so for Great Britain is very important cattle breeding and production of meat.
Major partners for Great Britain are Germany, France, Netherlands and the others countries of European Union.
Sports: British love sport. Sports matches are important social events. The most popular are football ? the highest football competition is called Premier League, next popular sports are tennis (Wimbledon), cricket, polo.