Browse Information / Places /

Great Britain

Great Britain is the largest island of the British Isles. It lies off the western coast of Europe and consists of England, Scotland and Wales, which were once separate countries. However, Wales in the west was united with England in 1536, and Scotland was united with England in 1707.

Great Britain is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland occupies the northeastern part of Ireland, an island to the west of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Its head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who rules with the aid of a parliament. Over two and a half million tourists visit Great Britain every year. It is famous for its historic buildings and traditional way of life. Among the places that tourists visit are the Tower of London and the town of Stratford, where William Shakespeare lived. But Great Britain is also one of the most industrialized countries in the world. Although it is a small country, it has a large population. Britain was one of the first countries to set up industries. Britain once had a very large empire that included Canada, Australia, India and large parts of Africa.

Before the Revolutionary War, most of eastern North America was British. People in many countries that were once British, including the United States, still speak English. Many countries have also kept the British tradition of government by parliament.

Most of The population of Great Britain lives in England. The people of Wales and Scotland, however, are very proud of their history and still keep their own special traditions. In Wales, about a quarter of the people speak Welsh as well as English, and Welsh is taught in many schools. In Scotland, everyone speaks English, but Scottish Law, not English Law, is maintained.

More than three-quarters of the people of Great Britain live in towns or cities and only about 4 people out of every 100 work in agriculture, fishing or forestry. London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is one of the world's largest cities and greatest ports. It is situated in the basin of the Thames River in southeastern England. More than 7,000,000 people live in the Greater London area, which contains industries of many kinds. Many other people live in the great industrial and commercial centers further north, including Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, Liverpool and Manchester in northern England, Birmingham in central England, and Cardiff and Swansea in Wales.

Great Britain's chief source of income comes from its large manufacturing Indus-tries. Textile mills in Leeds, steel works in Sheffield, automobile factories in Dagen-ham and shipyards in Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow all produce goods that are exported all over the world. Rich coal deposits in northeastern England and in Scotland and Wales, provide power for industry in the form of electricity and coal gas. Natural gas is piped from offshore rigs in the North Sea. Britain also has seven atomic power stations in operation and another four are being built. As well as having large industries, Britain is also important as one of the world's commercial centers. The British shipping fleet is one of the largest in the world. London is a center for banking and insurance and the British currency, the pound sterling, is an international currency like the dollar.

Great Britain covers an area of 88,758 square miles. About a third of this area lies in Scotland, a tenth in Wales and the rest in England. Much of Britain is hilly. The northern part of Scotland, called the Highlands, is the most mountainous part of Britain. It covers much of Scotland, but few people live there. Ben Nevis (4,406 feet above sea level) in the Scottish Highlands is the highest mountain in Britain. Between many of the mountains are beautiful lakes called lochs. Mountains in Wales cover the central part of the country, reaching to the English border. Grassy hills cover much of this area and farmers graze sheep and cattle.

A hilly region, the Pennine Chain, runs down the center of England, like a 'backbone'. To the west of the Pennines is a hilly region with many lakes called the Lake District. Central England, called the Midlands, is a rich plain where many crops are grown and where large numbers of cattle graze. It is also an industrial center. East of the Midlands lies East Anglia and the Fenlands, which are low-King, highly fertile regions. Much of the land has been reclaimed from swamp or marshland. Farmers in these areas produce much of England's wheat and sugar beet.

South of London lie hills of chalk and other rocks, separated by rolling plains. Southeastern and south-central England has much good farmland. The Isle of Wight lies south of the great port of Southampton in south-central England. The rocky southwestern peninsula is a wet but generally warm region. Its bleak granite uplands are exposed to the wind and rain. Bristol, another important port, lies on the sheltered estuary of the Severn River in southwestern England. The Severn River is the longest in Britain and it flows 220 miles.

The first known people in Great Britain settled there about 25,000 years ago. At that time Britain was probably still joined to the European mainland. Celts, a people from central Europe, invaded the country about 2,500 years ago. Celtic culture was dominant when the Romans began to conquer it in A.D. 43. The Romans conquered southern Britain, but were unable to conquer Scotland. They called their new province Britannia. The Romans stayed nearly 400 years. Little of Roman civilization or culture, except for their straight, well-built roads, survived after they had gone.

During the mid-400's three German tribes, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded the country. Later the country came to be called Angleland or England, after the Angles. In 827, Egbert, a Saxon, became the first of many kings who claimed to rule England. The authority of his successors was disputed by the other local chiefs. Between the 800's and 1000's Viking raiders from Scandinavia constantly attacked Britain and some of them settled in England. In the 900's the English kings raised a tax, called Danegeld, to pay the Vikings not to raid England. But it was not always successful and for a while, a Viking king ruled England.

In 1066, the Normans, descendants of Vikings living in northern France, invaded England. At the Battle of Hastings, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxons under their king, Harold II, and became King William I. At first the Normans ruled England under the feudal system. One of the purposes of this system was to provide money and men for Norman armies. These armies built castles in many places in England, especially on the borders of Wales and Scotland. Other armies went to fight in France and on crusades (holy wars) in the Holy Land.

In the 1200's, King John lost nearly all the Norman lands in France. In 1215, he tried to force his barons to give him money for another war. Instead, John's barons forced him to accept Magna Carta (the great charter). This document was intended to limit the King's power.

Most kings of England had councils of important men to advise them. In the 1200's, these councils began to include representatives of all parts of the country, and became the ancestor of what is now parliament. In the same period, King Edward I of England defeated Llewelyn ap Griffith, a Welsh leader, and made himself master of Wales. Edward's infant son was made Prince of Wales. The eldest sons of the English monarchs have held this title ever since.

During the 1400 s, two rival families, York and Lancaster, fought civil wars. They were called the Wars of the Roses, from the red and white roses which were the badges of the two families. The Lancastrians won, and in 1485, Henry Tudor, their Welsh leader, became King Henry VII. Under Henry's son, Henry VIII, and his granddaughter, Elizabeth I, England became a rich and powerful country.

In 1603, when Elizabeth I died, the Scottish King fames VI inherited the throne and became James I of England. Scotland, England and Wales then had one king. They formally united in 1707.

James's son, Charles I, tried to rule without parliament and civil war broke out. In 1649, Charles was executed and England became a republic ruled by Oliver Cromwell. He died in 1658, and in 1660, Charles's son became king as Charles II. In 1801, Ireland was joined with Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.