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United Kingdom CultureGramsTM World Edition 2017 United Kingdom into their empire and stayed until 410, when two Germanic BACKGROUND tribes—the Angles and the Saxons—drove them out. Vikings raided the islands in the late eighth century and Land and Climate dominated Britain for two centuries. Other groups also Located in the British Isles, northwest of continental Europe, invaded. The last invasion was in 1066, when William of the United Kingdom (UK) is slightly larger than Uganda and Normandy won the Battle of Hastings. The Norman Conquest about the same size as the U.S. state of Oregon. The UK ushered in a new period of great political and social change. encompasses the entire island of Great Britain (England, Through acts of union, Wales (1535), Scotland (1707), and Scotland, and Wales) and an area in the northeastern part of Ireland (1801) joined England in a political union that became the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland). The Republic of known as the United Kingdom. England established itself as a Ireland, an independent country, makes up the rest of the great naval power by defeating the mighty Spanish Armada in island. The Scottish Highlands are home to the country's 1588. In 1689, Parliament passed the Bill of Rights, which highest peak, Ben Nevis, which extends 4,408 feet (1,344 established a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary meters), as well as the country’s deepest lake, Loch Morar, limits on the king and queen. which is over 1,000 feet (310 meters) deep. The UK is bound The Colonial Era and World Wars by several bodies of water, including the North Sea, the Irish The first nation to industrialize and one of the first to acquire Sea, and the English Channel. Northern Ireland's coastline colonies around the globe, Britain became the most powerful loses 714 acres (300 hectares) to erosion every year. country in the world. Although Britain lost its U.S. colonies The climate, which is moderated by Gulf Stream currents, in 1776, it subsequently acquired new lands in the is temperate and wet. Weather changes are frequent. In the Mediterranean, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, winter, temperatures rarely drop much below freezing, and and Oceania. The vastness of the empire during Queen summer temperatures average 60 to 70°F (15–21°C). Victoria's reign (1837–1901) was reflected in the saying “The Humidity levels, ranging from medium to high, can make it sun never sets on the British Empire.” seem colder or warmer than temperatures indicate. After World War I, most British colonial expansion stopped. During World War II, under the leadership of Prime History Minister Winston Churchill, the British withstood intense Foreign Invasions and the United Kingdom Nazi bombings. After the war, the UK acceded to the The earliest signs of human presence in Britain date back to demands of most of its colonies for independence and formed 5000 BC; the oldest remaining structures (stone monuments, the Commonwealth of Nations. The majority of colonies etc.) date back to 3000 BC. After reaching Britain in 55 BC remained voluntarily in the Commonwealth, and some even and invading it in AD 43, the Romans incorporated the area chose to retain Queen Elizabeth II as a nominal head of state. 1 TM CultureGrams United Kingdom The UK was a founding member of the North Atlantic remain in the EU, resigned in July and was replaced by Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949. It joined the precursor Theresa May, who will oversee Brexit. No other country has to the European Union (EU) in 1973. The UK established ever left the EU before, and if the UK leaves, it would be itself as a modern welfare state between 1945 and 1951. difficult for it to rejoin. Irish Conflict •Manchester bombing: In May 2017, a terrorist attack hit a In the late 1960s, Northern Ireland entered a prolonged period concert in Manchester, killing at least 22 people and injuring of violence known as “The Troubles.” Essentially, this was an dozens more. The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility intensification of a longstanding conflict between Catholics in for the suicide bombing. Prime Minister May raised the Northern Ireland who wanted to unite with the Republic of nation's terrorism threat level from severe to critical in Ireland (Irish Republicans, or Nationalists) and Protestants response to the attack, which was the deadliest to strike the who supported the existing union with the UK (Unionists, or UK since the London bombings in 2005. Loyalists). With no peace in sight, the British government began ruling Northern Ireland directly in 1972. After many failed negotiations between the two sides, the THE PEOPLE Good Friday Agreement in 1998 brought relative calm to the region along with the potential of a devolved power-sharing Population government. In 2005, the main Republican paramilitary group The United Kingdom is a highly urbanized nation. Although (the Irish Republican Army, or IRA) took the significant step the population is still predominantly Caucasian (87 percent), of declaring an end to its armed campaign. In 2007, the IRA's the UK's colonial heritage has brought many ethnicities political wing, Sinn Féin, and the main Unionist party, the together, especially in cities like London, Birmingham, and Democratic Unionists, agreed to share power. Bradford. The biggest minority populations include black (3 Recent Politics and Economic Problems percent), Indian (2 percent), and Pakistani (2 percent). The Under the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher UK’s membership in the European Union (EU) has also and John Major, the UK placed greater emphasis on the contributed to its diverse population; as the EU expanded to private sector. Elections in May 1997 brought Tony Blair's include more countries, many immigrants from Eastern New Labour Party to power, ending 18 years of Conservative Europe moved to the UK. However, as in other Western rule. Blair's decision to enter the war in Iraq and help the European countries, the government has recently passed laws United States occupy Afghanistan was highly controversial in to limit immigration. the UK. These conflicts have been very unpopular and costly. The majority of the UK's inhabitants live in England. Gordon Brown took Blair's place as prime minister in 2007. Scotland has the next largest population, followed by Wales The UK is still healing from the bombings of 7 July 2005, and Northern Ireland. London is the capital of the UK, while when suicide bombers with al-Qaeda connections attacked the regional capitals are Edinburgh (Scotland), Cardiff three subway trains and a bus, killing over 50 people and (Wales), and Belfast (Northern Ireland). More than 10 million injuring 700. people live in London. The 2008 global financial crisis hit the UK hard; in January 2009, the country's economy was officially declared Language to be in recession for the first time in 18 years. In 2010, English is the official language of the United Kingdom. It Conservative leader David Cameron became prime minister often differs from the English used in the United States in and led a coalition (the first since World War II) with the terms of spelling, pronunciation, idiom, and intonation. A Liberal Democrats; his coalition implemented large-scale standard pronunciation—what is formally known as Received public-spending cuts to reduce the deficit, but these cuts came Pronunciation—has become much less common, as people at considerable cost to public services. In 2015, Cameron’s now feel comfortable using their regional accents and Conservative Party won a majority of seats in Parliament as dialects, of which there are hundreds. Many Britons have Cameron promised to give more power to local governments come to prefer the authenticity of a local accent. in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. He also promised to In addition to English, various regional languages are hold a referendum on whether the UK should stay in the EU. spoken: Welsh (Cymraeg) in Wales, Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge) in Recent Events and Trends Northern Ireland, and Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) and Scots in •Chunnel delays: In July 2015, large groups of migrants Scotland. In general, these are first languages only among a attempted to enter the train tunnel connecting France to small percentage of the rural population, though a growing England in an effort to reach the UK. The migrants have number of people are choosing to learn them as second disrupted traffic entering and exiting France and the UK, languages. Scots, however, is spoken widely and often heightening tensions between the countries over how to interchangeably with English in Scotland. handle the growing influx of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East. Religion •Brexit: In June 2016, the British voted to leave the EU in a In the 16th century, during the reign of Henry VIII, England national referendum, though Scotland and Northern Ireland split from the Roman Catholic Church to form the Church of voted to stay. The UK's exit from the EU, known as Brexit, is England (Anglican Church). The Church of England no not immediate, as negotiations for withdrawal will take time. longer has political power, but the monarch is still officially Following the vote, Prime Minister Cameron, who wanted to the head of the church. The monarch does not, however, head 2 TM CultureGrams United Kingdom the Church of Wales (an Anglican church with its own often are kissed lightly (by men and women) on one or both archbishop) or the Church of Scotland (a Presbyterian cheeks, though Scots tend to be less demonstrative. Hugging church). has become quite common between friends and family of Today, Anglicans and other Christians make up the both sexes. Younger males often greet each other with majority of the population.
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