Summary Britain Chapter 1 - Country and people

Chapter 1 – Country and people
1 Geographically speaking
British Isles = a group of islands off the north-western coast of continental Europe
that consist of:
 the islands of Great Britain
 Ireland
 six thousand smaller isles

The British Isles also include three Crown depencies:
 the Isle of Man
 the Bailiwick of Jersey
 the Bailiwick of Guernsey

, 2 Politically speaking
Two states are located in this area:
 Ireland (a republic which covers roughly five-sixths of the island with the
same name)
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (which includes the
countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Eire = Irish republic, old name for Ireland

Great Britain: combination of England, Scotland and Wales

United Kingdom: includes Great Britain and Northern Island, self-governing but
still in possession of the queen


3 The four nations
Britain  England

Four nations:
 England
 Wales
 Scotland
 Ireland

Dates:
 1707: Great Britain is born, Scotland joins England and Wales  Act of
union
 1800: Political unification of the four nations, the Irish parliament was
joined with the parliament for England, Scotland and Wales, so the whole
area became a single state (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland)
 1922: Southern Ireland left the UK under the Irish Free State Constitution
Act
Republic of Ireland  UK (GB + Northern Ireland)

Celtic: dominant culture of people in Ireland, Wales and Highland
ScotlandCeltic languages
vs.
Germanic: people in England an Lowland Scotland  Germanic dialects

Roman name for:
 England = Albion (refers to GB as a whole, but mostly used for England)
 Wales = Cambria
 Scotland = Caledonia
 Ireland = Hibernia, Erin, The Emerald Isle, Eire
 Area Romans gave their southern British province (England and Wales) =
Brittania