Unit 1 A Brief Introduction to the UK

Major points A complicated country with a complicated name and complicated population make-up The imperial past and its effects on today’s UK Its class and race Its regions

Lead-in questions What do you say “英国人”in English？ What is the full name of “英国” in English？ How many parts does the UK consist of ? What are they? What is the difference between England, Great Britain, UK, and British Isles?

A complicated country with a complicated name The full name of the country: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Complication: English or British? England? Great Britain? UK? British Isles?

Regions of the UK England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

England Great Britain UK British Isles

The imperial past and its effects on today’s UK It was a product of the Age of Discovery, which began with the maritime explorations of the 15th century. By 1921, It covered about 36.7 million km² , about a quarter of Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is widespread.

At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies or subject nations.

"the sun never sets on the British Empire"

During the five decades following World War II, most of the territories of the Empire became independent. Many went on to join the Commonwealth of Nations, a free association of independent states. Some have retained the British monarch as their head of state.

The imperial effects on today’s UK Close relationships with the Commonwealth countries, which used to be a part of the British Empire The make-up of the British population. Now the UK is a multiracial society.

The Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies, or dependencies of these colonies (the exceptions being the United Kingdom itself and Mozambique).

class structure in the UK Britain is a society with a class-structure, divided by economics and cultural differences. It is more obvious than other societies. Hereditary aristocracy Upper-middle class Middle class Lower middle class Working class

Regions of the UK England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

England Capital (and largest city): London Area: 130 423 sqkm Official languages: English Population 2008: above 50 million (UK: about 60 million ) 

Symbols of England What images are associated with England?

St George's Flag: Flag of England Three Lions Emblem

Princess Diana, England's Rose  

History of Invasions Before the 1st century AD, Britain was made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people: a powerful culture originating in central Europe. 1. Invasion by Romans In 43 AD, Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire, and England and Wales became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years.

The Roman Empire

2. Invasion by Anglo-Saxons As the Roman armies and Roman protection were withdrawn from Britain, and Britain was again divided into small kingdoms, and again it came under threat from Germanic peoples: the Angles, and the Saxon. The Anglo-Saxons succeeded in invading Britain, and either absorb the Celtic people, or pushed them to the western and northern edges of Britain.

3. Invasion by Vikings From the late 8th century on, raiders from Scandinavia, the Vikings, threatened Britain shores. King Alfred, the Great turned the tide in the south against the Vikings.

4. Invasion by Normans In 1066, England was invaded by the Normans under William of Normandy, from northern France, who were descendants of Vikings. The Battle of Hastings, defeated an English army under King Harold, marks the last time that an army from outside the British Isles succeeded in invading.

The next 300 years after the Norman Invasion, Saxon and English-speaking population had been ruled by Norman aristocracy. Robin Hood, the Saxon nobleman oppressed by the Normans, who became an outlaw, hid in the forest in the north midland of England, and went out to rob the rich to give to the poor.

The next few hundreds years following Norman invasion can be seen as a process of joining together the various parts of the British isles under English rules. At the same time power was gradually transferred from the monarch to the parliament.

Scotland Area:78 772 km² (30 414 miles²), roughly 30% of the area of the UK Climate: temperate and very changeable, but rarely extreme Geography Population Language

Geography The geography of Scotland is highly varied, from rural lowlands to barren uplands, and from large cities to uninhabited islands. Scotland is divided into: the Highlands the central lowlands the Southern Uplands. population

The Highlands The more rugged Highland region contains the majority of Scotland's mountainous terrain, including the highest peak, Ben Nevis, 1 344 m (4 409 ft) . Highlands of Scotland have the lowest population density at 8 inhabitants per square kilometer

Ben Nevis from Banavie village

Ben Nevis in Winter

The lowland zone The lowland zone are flatter and home to most of the population. Around 70% of the country's population live in the Central Lowlands. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, although Edinburgh is the capital and political centre of the country.

Languages in Scotland Scotland’s multiple linguistic heritage is one of its most distinctive cultural features. The official language is English, which is spoken by the vast majority of the population, but Lowland Scots. Scottish Gaelic, the ancient language of the Highlands and islands, was once dominant throughout much of the country, but is now only spoken by around 60,000 people.

History of invasion Scotland was not conquered by the Romans, though they did try to, and for a while occupied as far as the edge of the northern highland zone. Nor was most of Scotland conquered by the Anglo-Saxons.

British Celts occupied the area around what is now Glasgow. Around the 6th century AD, people from northern Ireland invaded the south-west. They were called the Scots, and it is they that gave the modern country of Scotland its name. The original Scottish Celts, called the Picts, were left the highland zone.

Being an independent country It was the pressure from the Viking invaders that led to Scottish king to unify, forming an independent singular Scottish state. However, there were frequent wars between England and Scotland. For example, William Wallace’s uprising in 1298. (see movie Braveheart) But only a few years later, the Scots, under the leadership of Robert the Bruce, were victorious at the battle of Bannockburn, leading to 300 years of full independence.

Uniting with England In 1603, James the sixth of Scotland became James the First of England, uniting the two thrones: Scotland and England. But for another hundred years Scotland maintained its separate political identity. In 1707 by agreement of the England and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the union. But today the dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished.

Wales Population: estimate 3 million in 2008 Area:20 776 sqkm Capital city (also largest city): Cardiff Languages: welsh, English, The Red Dragon, a popular Welsh symbol

Geography Much of Wales' diverse landscape is mountainous, particularly in the north and central regions. The highest mountain in Wales are in Snowdonia and include Snowdon , which, at 1085 m (3,560 ft) is the highest peak in Wales. Though it is hillier and more rugged than England, there is no natural boundary. So Wales has been dominated by England longer than the other nations of the union.

Snowdon

Economy Yesterday and Today It had rich coal deposits in the southern area, so the coal-mining became the key industry for the Welsh. The South Wales Valleys were the heart of the Welsh mining and steel industry, although now very little of the heavy industry is left. Wales' economy is now primarily serviced-based. Tourism plays an important part of the Welsh economy. It is practically important in the coastal regions of North and West Wales as well as around Snowdonia.

History Before the arrival of the Roman Empire, Wales was a land of Celtic peoples, living in a number of small tribal kingdoms. However, Wales was conquered by the Romans eventually. When the Romans left Britain, Wales was again a Celtic land, though again divided into separate kingdoms, it did not fall to the Anglo-Saxons invaders of the 5th century.

The unifying of Wales Wales was always under pressure from its English neighbors, particularly after the Norman conquest. Thus there was a need to unify Wales to successfully resist the English. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd brought a large a portion of Wales under his rule, and by military campaign forced the English king to acknowledge him as Prince of Wales in 1267.

But when he died, the English king, Edward the First, set about conquering Wales, building a series of great stone castles there from which to control the population. These castles stand today as one of Wales greatest tourist attractions.

Beaumaris, begun in 1295, was the last and largest of the castles built by King Edward I in Wales.

on the eastern edge of town, Beaumaris, Anglesey, north Wales

Beaumaris Castle Beaumaris Castle on the Island of Anglesey is the great unfinished masterpiece. It was built as one of the 'iron ring' of North Wales castles by the English monarch Edward I, to stamp his authority on the Welsh. But it was never finished, money and supplies ran out before the fortifications reached their full height.

Prince of Wales Edward the First named his son the Prince of Wales, and the first son of the monarch has held that title ever since (including Prince Charles).

Wales and Britain In 1536, Wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. The close relationship means that modern Wales lack some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. Its legal system and its education system is exactly the same as in England. The key markers of the difference is the Welsh language.

Languages in Wales English is spoken by almost all people in Wales and is therefore the main language. However, northern and western Wales retain many areas where Welsh is spoken as a first language by the majority of the population and English is learnt as a second language.

21.7% of the Welsh population is able to speak or read Welsh to some degree (based on the 2001 census), although only 16% claim to be able to speak, read and write it. Road signs in Wales are generally in both English and Welsh; where place names differ in the two languages, both versions are used (e.g. "Cardiff" and "Caerdydd").

Review geography History Languages The relationship with Britain England, Scotland, Wales

The UK flag consists of three elements: the cross of St. George (red on white) for England, the cross of St. Andrew (white diagonal on blue) for Scotland, and the cross of St. Patrick (red diagonal on white) for Ireland.