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| Etymology and terminology | |
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See also: Name of Britain, Terminology of Great Britain, and Terminology of the British Isles
The name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" was introduced in 1927 by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act to reflect the granting of independence to the Irish Free State in 1922, which left Northern Ireland as the only part of the island of Ireland still within the UK.[21] Prior to this, the Acts of Union 1800, that led to the uniting the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, had given the new state the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain before 1801 is occasionally referred to as the "United Kingdom of Great Britain".[22][23][24][25] However, Section 1 of both of the 1707 Acts of Union declare that England and Scotland are "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".[26][27][note 6] The term united kingdom is found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the new state but only became official with the union with Ireland in 1801.[28]
Although the United Kingdom, as a sovereign state, is a country, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also referred to as countries, whether or not they are sovereign states or have devolved or other self-government.[29][30] The British Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom.[11] With regard to Northern Ireland, the descriptive name used "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences."[31] Other terms used for Northern Ireland include "region" and "province".[32][33]
The United Kingdom is often referred to as Britain. British government sources frequently use the term as a short form for the United Kingdom, whilst media style guides generally allow its use but point out that the longer term Great Britain refers only to England, Scotland and Wales.[34][35][36] However, some foreign usage, particularly in the United States, uses Great Britain as a loose synonym for the United Kingdom.[37][38] Also, the United Kingdom's Olympic team competes under the name "Great Britain" or "Team GB".[39][40] GB and GBR are the standard country codes for the United Kingdom (see ISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) and are consequently commonly used by international organisations to refer to the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
The adjective British is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the United Kingdom. Although the term has no definite legal connotation, it is used in legislation to refer to United Kingdom citizenship.[41] However, British people use a number of different terms to describe their national identity. Some may identify themselves as British only, or British and English, Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish. Others may identify themselves as only English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish and not British. In Northern Ireland, some describe themselves as only Irish.[42][43][44]
Tags:Irish,Welsh,Parliamentary,Ad,Gb,Sovereign State,Country,Great Britain,Ireland,Northern Ireland,England,Scotland,Wales,Devolved,Name Of Britain,Terminology Of The British Isles,Royal And Parliamentary Titles Act,Irish Free State,Acts Of Union 1800,Acts Of Union,Olympic,Standard,Iso 3166-2,Iso 3166-1 Alpha-3,United Kingdom Citizenship,British People,Kingdom Of Great Britain, | |
| Prior to 1707 | |
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Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
Main articles: History of England, History of Wales, History of Scotland, History of Ireland, and History of the formation of the United Kingdom
Settlement by anatomically modern humans of what was to become the United Kingdom occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago.[45] By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged, in the main, to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brythonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland.[46] The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain, was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing the Brythonic area mainly to what was to become Wales.[47] The region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century.[48] Meanwhile, Gaelic-speakers in north west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in the 5th century)[49][50] united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century.[51]
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings and the events leading to it.
In 1066, the Normans invaded England and after its conquest, seized large parts of Wales, conquered much of Ireland and settled in Scotland bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture.[52] The Norman elites greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with, each of the local cultures.[53] Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and made an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to annex Scotland. Thereafter, Scotland maintained its independence, albeit in near-constant conflict with England. The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years War.[54]
The early modern period saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country.[55] Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England,[56] and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown.[57] In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and land given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.[58] In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political institutions.[59][60] In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in a series of connected wars (including the English Civil War) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.[61][62] Although the monarchy was restored, it ensured (with the Glorious Revolution of 1688) that, unlike much of the rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system.[63] During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power (and the interest in voyages of discovery) led to the acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies, particularly in North America.[64][65]
Tags:Scots,Unitary,Constitutional Monarchy,Parliamentary System,London,Edinburgh,Nato,Stonehenge,Wiltshire,History Of England,History Of Wales,History Of Scotland,History Of Ireland,Anatomically Modern Humans,In Waves Beginning By About 30,000 Years Ago,Region's Prehistoric Period,Insular Celtic,Brythonic Britain,Gaelic Ireland,Roman Conquest,Rule Of Southern Britain,Germanic,Anglo-saxon,Region Settled By The Anglo-saxons,Kingdom Of England,Gaelic-speakers In North West Britain,Picts,Kingdom Of Scotland,Bayeux Tapestry,Battle Of Hastings,Normans,Its Conquest,Large Parts Of Wales,Conquered Much Of Ireland,Settled In Scotland,Feudalism,Norman-french,Norman Elites,Medieval English Kings,Conquest Of Wales,Attempt To Annex Scotland, | |
| Since the Acts of Union of 1707 | |
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Main article: History of the United Kingdom
The Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
On 1 May 1707, a new kingdom of Great Britain came into being, created by the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland in accordance with the Treaty of Union that had been negotiated the previous year and ratified by the English and Scottish Parliaments passing Acts of Union.[66][67][68]
In the 18th century, the country played an important role in developing Western ideas of the parliamentary system as well as making significant contributions to literature, the arts, and science.[18] The British-led Industrial Revolution transformed the country and fuelled the growing British Empire. During this time Britain, like other great powers, was involved in colonial exploitation, including the Atlantic slave trade, although with the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 the United Kingdom took a leading role in battling the trade in slaves.[69] The colonies in North America had been the main focus of British colonial activity. However, with their loss following the American War of Independence, imperial ambition turned to other parts of the globe, particularly India.[70]
In 1800, while the wars with France still raged, the Parliaments of Great Britain and of Ireland each passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms and creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which came into being on 1 January 1801.[71]
The Battle of Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the start of Pax Britannica.
After the defeat of France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815), the United Kingdom emerged as the principal naval and economic power of the 19th century (with London the largest city in the world from about 1830 to 1930)[72] and remained a foremost power into the mid-20th century.[73] Unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted the role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica.[74] It was also a period of rapid economic, colonial, and industrial growth. Britain was described as the "workshop of the world",[75] and the British Empire grew to include India, large parts of Africa, and many other territories across the world. Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries, such as China, Argentina and Siam.[76][77] Domestically, there was a shift to free trade and laissez-faire policies and a very significant widening of the voting franchise. The country saw a huge population increase during the century, accompanied by rapid urbanization, resulting in significant social and economic stresses.[78] By the end of the century, other states began to challenge Britain's industrial dominance.[79]
Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme. More than 885,000 British soldiers lost their lives on the battlefields of World War I.
The UK, along with Russia, France and (after 1917) the USA, was one of the major powers opposing the German Empire and its allies in World War I (1914–18).[80] The UK armed forces grew to over five million people[81] engaged across much of its empire and several regions of Europe, and increasingly took a major role on the Western front. The nation suffered an estimated two and a half million casualties and finished the war with a huge national debt.[81] After the war the United Kingdom received the League of Nations mandate over former German and Ottoman colonies, and the British Empire had expanded to its greatest extent, covering a fifth of the world's land surface and a quarter of its population.[82] However, the rise of Irish Nationalism and disputes within Ireland over the terms of Irish Home Rule led eventually to the partition of the island in 1921,[83] with the Irish Free State becoming independent with Dominion status in 1922, and Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom.[84] The Great Depression (1929–32) occurred at a time when the UK was still far from having recovered from the effects of the war, and led to hardship as well as political and social unrest.[85]
The United Kingdom was one of the three main Allies of World War II.[citation needed] Following the defeat of its European allies in the first year of the war, the United Kingdom continued the fight against Germany, notably in the Battle of Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic. After the victory, the UK was one of the Big Three powers that met to plan the post-war world. The war left the United Kingdom financially damaged. However, Marshall Aid and loans from both the United States and Canada helped the UK on the road to recovery.[86]
Territories that were at one time part of the British Empire. Current British Overseas Territories are underlined in red.
The Labour government in the immediate post-war years initiated a radical programme of changes having a significant impact on British society for the following decades.[87] Domestically, major industries and public utilities were nationalized, a Welfare State was established, and a comprehensive publicly funded healthcare system, the National Health Service, was created.[8 Tags:Overseas Territories,British Empire,Foremost Power,Great Power, | |
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