Great Britain Hana Kyselová
Great Britain
Maturitní téma z anglického jazyka
Gymnázium F. X. Šaldy
Hana Kyselová
4.A
It covers an area of 242 429 sq km and the population is 58 295 119 inhabitants. The density is one of the highest in the world. The capital city is London (6 904 600) and the main ethnic groups are: English (80 %), Scottish (10 %), Irish (4 %) and Welsh (2 %). The Great Britain currency is One Great Britain pound sterling (1 GBP), which is 100 pences.
Britain is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II. as a head of the state. In practice she reigns but the “ruler” is the Parliament. Although[1] everybody speaks English in the UK, it is not the same language. English has its own special accents and dialects. Occasionally, people have difficulty in understanding one another because of these accents. One of the most difficult to understand is probably Cockney, the standard London dialect. English is a Germanic language. Besides English, some nations speak their own language as well. Welsh, Scottish and Irish are of Celtic origin. There are 3 varieties of Celtic. Some people in Wales still speak Welsh; Gaelic is spoken in Scotland – mainly in the west Highlands and Islands; Irish Gaelic is the first official language in the Republic of Ireland. There are also dead Celtic languages (e.g. used in old manuscripts) – Cornish[2] and Manx[3] (on the island Man). There is an effort of revival[4].
Geography: The British Isles are two large islands - Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Ireland (the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland) and lie between North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. There are more than 5 000 smaller islands too (e.g. Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the Shetlands or the Channel Islands).
Great Britain can be divided into two main regions. The highland Britain is the mountainous part and there are e.g. the Highlands of Scotland (Ben Nevis 1 342 m), the Pennines, the Cambrian Mountains or the Cheviots Hills. The lowland Britain are plains hardly ever reaching 1 300 m above sea level.
British rivers are not very long but they are quite deep because of frequent rainfalls. The biggest are the Thames (336 km), the Severn (354 km) and the Trent, which are navigable[5] for ocean-going[6] ships from the sea and for small vessels[7] too.
The lakes are to be found in the Lake District in England and in the Highlands of Scotland (called „lochs“). The biggest are Lake Windermere, Lake Derwentwater and Loch Ness.
The biggest cities are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh etc.
Vegetation, resources: Forests cover only 7% of the land area, yet[8] the landscape looks very wooded. This is because there are many trees in hedgerows[9] and pastures. Britain has always been rich in energy resources, but wanting in food and industrial raw materials. There are a large deposits of coal, oil and natural gas. Agricultural production has risen since World War II., and only one-third of all food needs are now imported, compared with two-thirds before the war.
Climate: Great Britain has a mild, humid[10] climate. There are mild winters, not very hot summers and no extremes of temperature, but frequent changes of the weather. Rain is fairly common[11] throughout the year. It is because of south-west wind blowing from the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream.
History:
- The Pre-Celtic period (about 4 000 - 1 000 BC)
We know only little about people inhabiting the British Isles in pre-historic period - it could be Iberian tribes. They worshipped1 many gods, believed in immortal and human sacrifices2 and their priests were called druids. There have been preserved some monuments, such as Stonehenge or Salisbury which were centre of pre-Celtic civilisation in the Britain.
- The Celtic Period (800 BC - AD 43)
The first Celtic tribes come to the British Isles in about 800 - 700 BC. Two centuries later they were followed by ancient[12] Britons after who the country was called Britain. The most important survival of the Celtic tribes is the existence of three live languages: Welsh, and Irish and Scottish Gaelic. 3
- Roman England (AD 43 - 407)
The first Roman invasion was led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC but England was conquered by Romans in AD 43 like colony Britannica. The Roman occupation lasted nearly 400 years but only few people adopt the Latin and only the English upper[13] tribes (nobility) became roman. The most important monument from this period is the Hadrian’s Wall as a prevent protection against the invasion of the Celtic tribes from the north. With Romans also Christianity[14] came to England.
- The Anglo-Saxon period (middle of 5th century - 1066)
In the middle of the 5th century three Germanic tribes - the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes - invaded from the Continent conquered[15] the Celts and pressed up[16] them to Wales and Scotland. England under the rule of the Anglo-Saxons was divided into several kingdoms. One of the first best-known King of England was Alfred the Great († 901), who stopped the Scandinavian invasion to England and made a peace with the Danes. But after his death England became part of the Danish Empire.
- The period of feudalism (1066 - 15th century)
William Duke of Normandy invaded[17] England and defeated the Saxon king Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was proclaimed[18] himself as the King of England and became known as William the Conqueror. The Norman had a big influence for the development of Britain and the English language because they brought feudalism and the Norman language into this country - the modern English nation and language became rising 4 .
Richard, the Lion-Heart (1189-99) was warlike and anxious 5 to rescue the Holy Land from the Egyptian ruler, Saladin. He returned to England in 1194 to suppress[19] baronial opposition. His brother John I. lost almost all the English possessions in France and he was forced to sign the Magna Carta Libertatum in 1215. It limited the absolute power of king, and giving guarantee of rights and the rule of law to opposite noblemen[20]. During this period English parliamentary system was developed.
There was The Hundred Year’s War between England and France (1338-1453) in this period because of Flanders in France. At the end French led by Joan d’Arc changed the situation and England definitely lost its power in France.
The winner of the Wars of Roses (1455-85) between the House of York (white rose) and the House of Lancaster (red rose) was Henry Tudor (as king Henry VII) who joined two houses of Roses and founded a new dynasty.
- The Tudor Period (1485 - 1603)
In this period England became to be a world leader in trade and sea power. It was especially because of the great geographical discoveries and expansion. Henry VIII, who is well-known for his six wives, but also for his ambition and brutality, carried out6 the Reformation in 1534. He broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and founded the Church of England (Anglican Church), of witch he proclaimed himself the head. His daughter Queen Elizabeth I, after who the second half of the 16th century is called ‘the Elizabethan Age’, defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 and her pirate Sir Francis Drake helped that Britain became the leading power on the sea.
- The Stuarts and the English Revolution (1603 - 1688)
Elizabeth I. died without an heir 7 and to the English throne[21] access the new dynasty - the Stuarts - represented by James, King of Scotland (James I. as the King of England). The Stuarts finished the long alliance between monarchy and the bourgeoisie, which dominated Parliament. The conflict came to the top under Charles I and in 1640 the bloody Civil war broke out. There were two groups - The Royalists (King’s party) and the Puritans, which were split into two wings: The Presbyterians (ready to compromise with the King) and the Independents (want to fight to the end) which leader was Oliver Cromwell. He reorganised the army and called it ‘the New Model Army’ (because it was all democratised). This Army forced the King to surrender 8. In 1649 Charles I was sentenced to death and executed.
After the execution the House of Lords were abolished 9 and England was declared as the republic - The Commonwealth, where O. Cromwell had title ‘Lord Protector’. In 1660, after Cromwell’s death, there was restore[22] the monarchy by Charles II. In Parliament there was founded two new political parties - the Tories (aristocracy) and the Whigs (bourgeoisie).
In 1668 James II attempted to restore Catholicism and absolute monarchy so parliament leaders decided to depose him 11 and offer the crown to William of Orange (as William III) and his wife Mary (sister of Charles II, as Mary II). The English called this events ‘The Glorious Revolution’ (revolution without any bloodshed 12 ) and its definitely confirmed 13 the sovereign of the Parliament.
- Colonial expansion and industrial revolution (1688-1850)
In the Seven Years War (1756-63) Britain defeated France and Spain and received Canada, Florida, Gibraltar, Minorca and another settlements in Mediterranean and Africa.
Colonial expansion continued very quickly but in 1776 the British colonial Empire suffered a great loss14 : the 13 North American colonies proclaimed their independence and founded the USA.
Also the situation in Ireland - after many centuries of fighting between England and Irish - was very bad in 18th century and there were several serious rebellions against British rule.
Britain was in the Napoleonic Wars with France between 1803-15. In October 1805 the British fleet[23]...
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