LECTURE 1.
The introduction
to the History of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The official name of the
country, its territory, status, population, capital, geographical situation,
landscape, climate and weather.
The British Isles, which include Great
Britain, Ireland and a lot of smaller islands, are situated off the north
western coast of Europe and once formed part of that continent. They became
islands when they were separated from it. The separation took place thousands
of years ago, after the last Ice Age, when the ice melted, the level of the
oceans rose and drowned the low-lying coastlands.
Politically the
British Isles are divided into two countries — the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic or Eire. All in all there
are over 5,000 islands in the system of the British Isles which lie on the
continental shelf. The two
main islands are Great Britain (in which are England, Wales and Scotland) to
the east and Ireland (in which are Northern Ireland and the independent Irish
Republic) to the west. They are separated by the Irish Sea.The UK is situated off
the west coast of Europe between the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest and the
North Sea on the east and is separated from the European continent by the
English Channel (or La Manche) and the Strait of Dover.
The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the official name of the state
which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after its major
isle), England (after its major historic part) or the British Isles.The United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) occupies most of the
territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main parts which are:
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London,
Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
The UK is one of the world's smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of some 244,100 square kilometres. The population of the United Kingdom is nearly 59 million people. English is not the only language which people use in the UK. English is the official language. But some people speak Gaelic in western Scotland, Welsh — in parts of northern and central Wales.
The UK is one of the world's smaller countries (it is twice smaller than France or Spain), with an area of some 244,100 square kilometres. The population of the United Kingdom is nearly 59 million people. English is not the only language which people use in the UK. English is the official language. But some people speak Gaelic in western Scotland, Welsh — in parts of northern and central Wales.
The flag of
the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of three crosses. The
upright red cross is the cross of St. George, the patron saint of England. The
white diagonal cross is the cross of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland.
The red diagonal cross is the cross of St. Patrick, the patron saint of
Ireland.
Geographically, the island of Great Britain is subdivided into two main regions
— Lowland Britain and Highland Britain, Lowland Britain comprises southern and
eastern England, Highland Britain consists of Scotland, most of Wales, the
Pennines, and the Lake District. The Pennine Chain extends southward from the
Cheviot Hills into the Midlands, a plains region with low hills and valleys.England is separated from Scotland by the Cheviot
Hills, running from east to west.
The chief
rivers of Great Britain are: the Severn, flowing along the border between
England and Wales, tributaries of which include the Avon famed by Shakespeare;
the Thames, which flows eastward to the port of London and some others.
There are
many lakes in Great Britain. On the northwest side of the Pennine system lies
the Lake District, containing the beautiful lakes which give it its name. This
district is widely known for its association with the history of English
literature and especially with the name of William Wordsworth (1770—1859), the
founder of the Lake School of poets.
The largest cities of
Great Britain are: London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester,
Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, Edinburgh. The most important ports are: London,
Liverpool, Southampton, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff.
MINERAL
RESOURCES.
The rise of Britain as
an industrial nation in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was partly due
to the presence of considerable mineral resources. They provided raw materials
as well as sources of power. She possessed abundant supplies of coal and iron
ore, the two chief minerals on which the Industrial Revolution was based.
Britain had
enough non-ferrous metals — copper, lead, and tin, for example, to meet her
needs for a time. But in the course of the last hundred years or so the
situation has gradually changed. Many of Britain's most valuable and accessible
deposits have been worked out. Moreover, coal had lost some of its former
importance, and such minerals as petroleum and uranium ores have become
essential materials in the modern world.
At the same
lime British industry has been one increasingly orientated towards lighter
industry and the heavier coal-based industries have tended to decrease as the
dependence upon coal as a source of power has declined. The absence in Great
Britain of high-grade iron ore, manganese, chrome, nickel and many other rare
metals makes her economy greatly dependent on imported raw materials.
ENGLAND.
Of the four
parts which make up Great Britain England is the industrial and most densely
populated part of the United Kingdom. Over 48,8 million people of the
population of the UK live in England. The greatest concentrations of population are in
London and northwest industrial cities. The coasts of England are washed by the
North Sea, the Irish Sea, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. No part
of England is more than 120 kilometres from the sea. The opening of the Channel
Tunnel means Britain's railway network is now linked directly to Europe.
Eurostar trains run several times a day from the centre of London to Paris and
Brussels.
It is interesting to note that the sea has been
important in the history of England. It was a good protection against the
attacks of outside peoples. Fishing has always been an important industry,
especially in the east. The sea also has a great effect on England's climate.
England is mostly a lowland country. There
are upland regions in the north and the southwest, but the rest of England is
almost flat. Northern England, Midlands and Southern England—each
part of England is different.
The wool
industry is centred in Leeds and Bradford, the cotton industry in Manchester,
iron ore goes to the steel, heavy machinery and shipbuilding industries of
Newcastle and other cities. The industries of the Midlands, with Birmingham as
its chief city, produce metal goods, from motor cars and railway engines to pins and buttons. The Midland plain makes
good farm land. In Southern England are found some of the oldest British
settlements and traces of ancient monuments such as Stonehenge.
SCOTLAND.
Although
Scotland takes up one third of the territory of the British Isles, its
population is not very big. It is the most northern part of the island of Great
Britain and is not far away from the Arctic Circle.
That's why
it is not densely populated: its population is a little over 5 million people.
The Cheviot Hills mark the boundary between England and Scotland. Apart from
this land link with England, Scotland is surrounded by sea.
Scotland includes the Hebrides off the west coast, and
the Orkney and Shetland Islands off the north coast. It is bounded by the North
Sea on the east. Scotland is divided into three regions: the Highlands, which
is the most northern and the most underpopulated area with a harsh climate, the
Lowlands, which is the most industrial region, with about three quarters of the
population, and the Southern Uplands, with hills, which border on England. The Highlands of Scotland are among the oldest
mountains in the world. They reach their highest point in Ben Nevis (1343 m).
Many
valleys between the hills are filled with lakes, called lochs. The best-known
is Loch Ness where some people think a large monster lives. The most important
city here is Aberdeen which is the oil centre of Scotland. Ships and
helicopters travel from Aberdeen to the North Sea oil rigs. Most of the
population of Scotland is concentrated
in the Lowlands. Here, on the Clyde, is Glasgow, Scotland's biggest city.
Shipbuilding is one of its most important industries, other industries are iron
and steel, heavy and light engineering and coal-mining. It is the centre of the
working-class movement and has glorious revolutionary traditions.
Glasgow was
a grim city because of the greyness of the houses many of which were not
suitable for living and needed repairs or rebuilding. But now this city is
rapidly changing, turning into an important cultural centre. Glasgow Is
sometimes called "the friendly city”. Scotland had been an independent
state and was joined into the UK in 1707, after a long struggle
for its independence. One of the things that people associate with Scotland is
the kilt. The kilt is a relic of the time when the clan system existed in the
Highlands. Everybody in the clan had the same family name, like Mac Donald or
MacGregor (Mac means ‘son of’). The clan had its own territory and was ruled by
a chieftain. Each clan had its own tartan. The national dress for Scotsmen includes a kilt in the
tartan cloth of his clan and the sporran, a pouch worn in front of the kilt.
Edinburgh has been the capital since the 15th century, when its fortified castle was the centre of Scotland’s resistance to its enemies. Edinburgh is the cultural centre of Scotland. It is associated with the names of George Gordon Byron and Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson. Robert Burns and Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. It is also associated with the world-famous Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama.The Festival was first held in 1947 and has been held annually ever since. Its emblem is a thistle.
Edinburgh has been the capital since the 15th century, when its fortified castle was the centre of Scotland’s resistance to its enemies. Edinburgh is the cultural centre of Scotland. It is associated with the names of George Gordon Byron and Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson. Robert Burns and Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes. It is also associated with the world-famous Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama.The Festival was first held in 1947 and has been held annually ever since. Its emblem is a thistle.
WALES.
Another
constituent country of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Northern Ireland is
Wales. It became part of England in 1536 by the Act of Union. Until then it
had been regarded as a separate principality but a dependency of England.
The Welsh call their country Cymru, and
themselves they call Cymru, a word which has the same root as 'comrader'
(friend, or comrade). The population of Wales is over 3 million people. About
75 percent of the people of Wales live in towns and urban districts. South
Wales has a rich tradition of struggle for more jobs and better working
conditions in mines. Wales is a highland country of old, hard rocks. North
Wales is a country of mountains and deep valleys. South Wales is a land of high
hills and wide valleys. The pride of Wales in scenery is Snowdonia, a region of
high mountains. Snowdon is the highest mountain in England and Wales. Except
for coal, mineral resources are limited, and include gold, silver, lead and
copper. South Wales is more developed: coal-mining, steel production,
electronics, electrical engineering can be found here.
The capital of Wales is Cardiff, the largest city of
Wales. Cardiff is situated near the mouth of the Taff River. It is an important
industrial city and a port. It is also an administrative and educational
centre. The second largest city in Wales is Swansea where mainly steel
production can be found. Since World War II there has been intensive
development in the metals industries especially in the south and southeast.
The Welsh people, especially in rural areas, are fond
of folk music, singing, poetry and drama. Welsh literature is one of the oldest
in Europe. There are many choirs in Wales, the standard of singing is high and
the love of good music is widespread. Now there is a growing movement of
revival of Welsh culture from which sprang the revival of Eisteddfod.
Eisteddfod in the form of a gathering of bards had occasionally been held in
the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Now
Eisteddfod is a festival of Welsh culture. It includes competitions in prose,
poetry and singing. Wales has its own
flag called the Welsh dragon.
NORTHERN IRELAND.
Northern
Ireland is the smallest component of the United Kingdom. It occupies the
northeast of the island of Ireland, only one-sixth of its territory. Northern
Ireland contains six of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster'
and that is why the name 'Ulster' is sometimes used as equivalent to Northern
Ireland. Its capital city is Belfast.
For seven
centuries Ireland was a colony of Britain. Due to the colonial policy of Great
Britain the Irish nation was forcefully partitioned. As a result of the hard
struggle of the Irish people for independence the larger part of Ireland gained the status of a British dominion in
1921. Much later, in 1949 it was officially proclaimed an independent state,
the Irish Free State of Eire. The industrial northeast (Northern Ireland with
its 6 counties) was retained by Great Britain as its smallest component. But
certain forces of both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland are for the
reunification of the country, against social deprivation which is at its worst
among Catholics. They believe that British withdrawal from Ireland is the only
way to achieve peace. The Protestants in Nothern Ireland wish to retain her
links with Britain.
There are low
hills and peaks of rocks in the northwest, while the northeast sector of the
island is a plateau. The Mourne Mountains in the southeast slope down to Lough
Neagh, the largest lake m the British
isles. The rivers of Ireland are short but deep. The largest river is the
Shannon. The population of Northern Ireland is over 1.5 million people. 53
percent of the total population live in urban areas. The whole economy of
Northern Ireland is closely integrated with that of Great Britain. It has its
roots in three basic industries—agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding. The
largest industry is agriculture conducted for the most part on small family
farms. It occupies about 72 per cent of the land area.
Belfast, the capital of Northern Irelands is the
leading industrial centre and a large port. Its chief industries are the
production of linen and other textiles, clothing, shipbuilding, engineering. In
Ireland the national musical instrument is the harp.
POPULATION.
The population of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland is nearly 59 million people. The population lives mostly
in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in
towns. The distribution of the population is rather uneven.
Over 48.8 million people live in England, over 3 million in Wales, a little
over 5 million in Scotland and about 1.5 million in Northern Ireland.
Greater London, the south and the southeast are the
most densely populated areas, London's population is nearly 7 million. Most of
the mountainous parts of the UK including much of Scotland, Wales. Northern
Ireland and the Pennine Chain in northern England are very sparsely populated.
The UK is inhabited by the English, the Scots, the
Welsh, and the Irish' who constitute the British nation. The British are the
descendants of different peoples who settled in the British Isles at different
times. The earliest known people of Britain were of Iberian
origin. Then followed a long succession of invaders including the Celts, the
Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Danes and at last in 1066 the Normans. It was the
last time Britain was invaded.
Now there are also many people of all colors and races
in the UK. These are mostly former inhabitants of the former British colonies.
These people, called 'the coloureds', came to the UK in search of better living
standards.
English is the official language of the UK. Besides
standard literary English there are many regional and social dialects. A
well-known example is the cockney of East Londoners. The Scottish and Irish
forms of Gaelic survive in some parts of Scotland and Ireland. Wales is officially bilingual, Welsh is spoken by
about a fifth of its population. Welsh is the first language in most of the
western counties of Wales and at least formally has the same status as English.
Nowadays there is a growing movement in Wales and Scotland for a revival of
national culture and languages.
CLIMATE.
The climate in the UK is generally mild and temperate
due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. The southwestern winds carry the warmth
and moisture into Britain. The climate in Britain is usually described as cool,
temperate and humid. As the weather changes with the wind, and Britain is
visited by winds from different parts of the world, the most characteristic
feature of Britain's weather is its variability. The English also say that they have three variants of
weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when
it rains all day long. Sometimes it rains so heavily that they say 'It's
raining cats and dogs''.
Rainfall is more or less even throughout the year. In
the mountains there is heavier rainfall than in the plains of the south and
cast. The driest period is from March to June and the wettest months are from
October to January. The average range of temperature (from winter to summer) is
from 5 to 23 degrees above zero. During a normal summer the temperature
sometimes rises above 30 degrees in the south. Winter temperatures below 10
degrees are rare. It seldom snows heavily in winter, frost is rare. January and
February are usually the coldest months, July and August the warmest. Still the
wind may bring winter cold in spring or summer days. Sometimes it brings
whirlwinds or hurricanes. Droughts are rare.
So, we may say that the British climate has three main
features: it is mild, humid and changeable. That means that it is never too hot
or too cold. Winters are extremely mild. Snow may come but it melts quickly. In
winter the cold is a humid cold, not dry. This humid and mild climate is good
for plants. Trees and flowers begin to blossom early in spring.
VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE.
The humid and mild climate of Great Britain is good
for plants and flowers. Some of them have become symbols in the UK, Probably
you know that the poppy is the symbol of peace, the red rose is the national
emblem of England, the thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and the
Edinburgh International Festival. The daffodils and the leek are the emblems of
Wales, the shamrock (a kind of clover) is the emblem of Ireland.
The UK was originally a land of vast forests, mainly
oak and beech in the Lowlands and pine and birch in the Highlands, with great
stretches of marshland and smaller areas of moors. In the course of time, much
forest land was cleared and almost all the Lowlands outside the industrial
areas were put under cultivation. Today only about six per cent of the total
land area remains wooded.
Extensive forests remain in eastern and northern
Scotland and in southeastern and western England. Oak, elm, ash, and beech are
the commonest trees in England, while Scotland has much pine and birch. The
Highlands with thin soil are largely moorland with heather and grasses. In the
cultivated areas that make up most of Britain there are many wild flowers,
flowering plants and grasses.
The fauna or animal life of the UK is much like that
of northwestern Europe, to which it was once joined. Many larger mammals such
as bear and wolf have been hunted to extinction, others are now protected by
law. About 50 land mammals are still found in the UK. There are many foxes.
Otters are common along rivers and streams, and seals live along pans of the
coast. Hedgehogs, hares, rabbits, rats and mice are numerous. Deer live in some
of the forests in the Highlands of Scotland and in England. There are several
small lizards, two or three kinds of snakes, and several kinds of frogs and
toads.
Some 230 kinds of birds live in the UK, another 200
are regular visitors, and many are songbirds. The most numerous are blackbird,
sparrow and starling. Robin Redbreast is the national bird of the UK. The
number of ducks, geese and other water fowl has diminished during recent years.
Pheasants and other large and rare birds are protected by law. Gulls and other
sea birds nest near the coast.
There are many threats to
wildlife and ecological balance around the coast. The biggest threat to the
coastline is pollution. Even much-loved Blackpool is not officially safe. More
than 3.500 million tons of industrial waste were pumped into the North Sea
every year. 'We cannot continue to use our seas as a dustbin and expect our
coastline to survive', says Greenpeace. Many other ecological problems may be
caused by privatization of the coast.