THE UNITED KINGDOM

“When people say England, the sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the British Isles but never England” George Hites.

WHAT ARE THE BRITISH ISLES?

The British Isles includes many islands not even part of UK. The British Isles includes Great Britain and Ireland and 5000 small islands.
They are the archipelago located northwest of the European coast. They are separated from continental Europe by the North Sea by the English Channel to the south, by the west and the north it limits to the Atlantic ocean.
The British Isles are occupied by two nations:
1. UNITED KINGDOM
2. REPUBLIC OF IRELAND


WHAT IS UK?

The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate countries: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES and NORTHERN IRELAND. The UK full and official name is the “United kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland”.
HISTORY OF THE MAKING OF THE UK
1536-Act of union joins England and Wales.
1707-Act of union unites Scotland, England and Wales form the kingdom of Great Britain
1801-The Kingdom of Great Britain becomes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1922-Name changed to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland when most of the southern counties of Ireland choose independence.
The capital is London, which is among the world's leading commercial, financial, and cultural centers. Other major cities include Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester in England, Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Swansea and Cardiff in Wales.
Before 1922 the UK included Ireland in the definition, but when the Irish Free State ceased to be part of the Union the title changed to include 'Northern Ireland'.
The United Kingdom (UK) was formed in on January 1, 1801 and constitutes the greater part of the British Isles.
The Union Flag, popularly known as the *Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag. It is called the Union Flag because it symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the countries of 'England, of 'Scotland' and of 'Northern Ireland' (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.
English is the official language of the UK and the first language of the vast majority of the population. Both Wales and Scotland land have their own languages but English is spoken in both countries more.


WHAT IS GREAT BRITAIN?

Great Britain is the official name given to the two kingdoms of England and Scotland and Wales. Great Britain is divided into small regions called counties.

Great Britain is the largest European island and the ninth-largest in the world. In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the world's third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, and together these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands, comprise the British Isles archipelago
The term Great Britain was first used during the reign of King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) in 1603, to refer to the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland. on the same landmass, that were ruled over by the same monarch. Despite having the same monarch, both kingdoms kept their own parliaments.
 
GREAT BRITAIN IS NOT THE SAME AS THE UK

UK includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Great Britain not includes Northern Ireland.
Great Britain is very often, but incorrectly, used as a synonym for the sovereign state properly known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the UK for short. If you look at the full name of the UK, you will see that the UK includes "Great Britain AND Northern Ireland".


Map of Great Britain                                                                       Map of UK

                                  

    
           




                                  

WHAT IS SCOTLAND?

Shares a land border to the south with England and is bounded by the North Sea on the east and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Its capital city is Edinburgh. Scotland has some 790 islands and 130 inhabited.

Scotland is in north-west Europe and is part of Great Britain, an island country and the United Kingdom (UK) .It is also famous for its lakes, clans, kilts, medieval castles, as well as poetry and songs of Robert Burns.

Interesting things about Edinburgh was the first city in the world which had its own fire-brigade.

Edinburgh – the capital of Scotland, like Rome, was built on seven hills.

Until 1603, Scotland (like England) had its own Monarch. In 1603, the King of Scotland became also the King of England ruling both countries.

WHAT IS BRITAIN?

England is the biggest country in the UK, is a country in the UK and occupies most of the southern two thirds of Great Britain England used to be known as Engla land, meaning the land of the Angles and it contains about 84% of the UK population.

The capital, seat of government, and the largest city in the United Kingdom is London. London is also is the capital of England. As it names suggest, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language from England, where it remains the principal tongue today.

WHAT IS WALES?

Wales is a mountainous country on the western side of Great Britain.

It is bordered by England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, St George's Channel in the west, and the Irish Sea to the north. Wales has not been politically independent since 1282, when it was conquered by King Edward I of England. Until 1999, Wales was ruled directly from London; that year saw the first elections to the National Assembly of Wales. Wales does not issue its own currency and is not in control of any armed forces. These are the powers of the national government of the UK. The national game of Wales is Rugby.

WHAT IS NORTHERN IRELAND?

It is variously described as a country, province, region, or "part" of the United Kingdom, amongst other terms. Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863,constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population.

DAILY LIFE

Learn about British daily life.

BRITAIN TODAY

Let's have a look at what is Britain today with its main identity, languages spoken, symbols, religion and many others things such as their famous cars.

SPORTS

What sports are the British good at?

Here you have information of the most important sports played in Great Britain.

THE MAKING OF THE UK

This is a country full of very important people along the centuries.

BRITISH LITERATURE

Learn a little bit of why British literature is considered one of the most outstanding ones in the world.

BRITISH HISTORY

What do you know about British history?

FESTIVALS

Here we have the most outstanding festivals through Britain.

EDUCATION

What are the differences between the British educational system and the Spanish one?