The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
It has a total population of just under 67 million people.
The
United Kingdom
is centrally governed, but gives Wales and Scotland extensive rights of self-determination.
In the
history of
the United Kingdom has long been the leading world power.
The United Kingdom was among the victors of World War I and II.
London - On November 21, 1806 the so-called continental
blockade of
the French emperor
Napoleon was imposed
.
In doing so, he blocked the trade between continental Europe and the British Isles.
As a result, the
UK turned
increasingly to other overseas trading partners.
United Kingdom: From the beginning of history to the Hundred Years War
The
United Kingdom
was
first colonized
by various Celtic tribes.
You were in constant contact with Gauls in continental Europe.
55 BC
The Romans under
Caesar
undertook
a successful campaign on the British Isles.
They occupy Britain, but could not conquer Scotland.
The Romans ruled Britain for four centuries.
After ancient times, Jutes, Saxony and Angling populated what is now the United Kingdom.
In the 10th century the
Kingdom of England was
established, at the same time the
Kingdom of Scotland was established
by the Picts and Scots.
From 1066 the French Normans conquered England under their Duke
William II The Conquerer
.
At the Battle of Hastings, he conquered England.
He established a feudal state structure.
The Norman kings were able to conquer Wales but not Scotland.
In the following centuries there were numerous wars with France.
The Kingdom of England and France fought for various inheritance claims, especially fiefdoms and the right to occupy the French throne.
These conflicts escalated in the Hundred Years War, which was fought from 1337 to 1453.
Scotland sided with France to protect its sovereignty.
United Kingdom: From the end of the Middle Ages to the Reformation
As in all European countries, the
history of
the
United Kingdom
in the sixteenth century was marked by religious conflicts between the Catholic Church and reformers.
Under the
Tudor King Henry VIII
there were serious conflicts with the Pope, which resulted in the establishment of the Protestant Anglican Church.
On February 11, 1531, the country's most important bishops declared that they now saw the English king as their head.
In 1541 England secured rulership over Catholic Ireland.
Northern Ireland was occupied in order to resettle Protestant British.
From that time on, the United Kingdom initially consisted of the three kingdoms of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
During the 17th century, revolts broke out in all three empires that led to the temporary abolition of the monarchy.
This era ended with the re-establishment of royal rule in 1660.
United Kingdom: From the 17th to the 19th centuries
In contrast to France and other continental European countries, the
United Kingdom
did not
develop
into an absolutist
state
.
Rather, a parliamentary system of government established itself within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.
During this period, the Kingdom of Scotland was also successfully integrated into the United Kingdom: from 1603 England and Scotland were ruled by a single king.
In 1707 the kingdoms of England and Scotland were united to form the
Kingdom of Great Britain
by the so-called first Act of Union.
In the 18th century the engineering sciences developed rapidly, leading to early industrialization in the United Kingdom.
Britain also achieved growing importance as a maritime and colonial power.
Another Act of Union was signed in 1800.
With this treaty Ireland was integrated, so that a
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
was created.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the French
Emperor Napoleon
sought to
limit British world power, including by imposing a continental
blockade
.
However, these efforts were unsuccessful.
At the height of its power, the UK ruled roughly 40 percent of the earth's surface and was by far the largest colonial empire in the world.
The United Kingdom was also the leading world power economically, scientifically and culturally.
United Kingdom: From World War I to the Present
The
United Kingdom
fought together with Russia, France and the USA against the German Empire and its allies during World War I.
After the victory of the Entente, the victorious powers regulated the post-war European order in the Treaty of Versailles.
In the period after the First World War, Catholic Ireland turned away from the United Kingdom: in 1922, 26 Irish counties founded their own free state.
During World War II, the United Kingdom fought
against Nazi Germany
under the leadership of
Winston Churchill
.
He succeeded in preventing an occupation of England by air raids.
Together with the USA and Russia, the German Wehrmacht was defeated.
After the end of World War II, the United Kingdom lost a large part of its colonies and the status of a world power.
In 1952
Elisabeth II was
crowned Queen and thus head of state.
In contrast to the USA and Germany, the British economy did not experience a major upturn.
Nevertheless, there was an increase in immigration, especially from these countries that previously belonged to the colonial empire:
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Kenya
In the decades after the war, there were several serious crises, in particular:
Suez crisis (1956/57)
Northern Ireland Civil War Between Catholics and Protestants (1969-1998)
severe economic crises due to de-industrialization (1970s / 1980s)
The UK joined the EC in 1973. In 2016, the majority of Britons eligible to vote decided to leave the EU.
Since then, an agreement on future relations between the EU and Great Britain has been struggled under the catchphrase "Brexit" (British Exit).
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.
The monarch appoints the prime minister.
This is usually the leader of the party that won the House of Commons elections.
The prime minister leads his cabinet.
Boris Johnson has
been Prime Minister
since July 2019
.
Great Britain does not have a written constitution, but is constituted on the basis of customary law.
The
state
is governed centrally, but Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have extensive autonomous rights.
The British Parliament has two chambers, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
Only the lower house is relevant for the government of the country, its deputies are elected in free and secret elections.
The British political system is dominated by two camps, the Conservative Party and the Left Labor Party.
United Kingdom: population, language and large cities
There are currently almost 67 million people in
the UK
.
The
population
no longer be 84 percent to England to almost five percent to Wales as well as almost three percent to Northern Ireland and to eight percent to Scotland.
As the capital, London is the political, but also the economic and cultural center of the country.
The
city
has over eight million inhabitants.
In addition, with Birmingham there is only one other megacity and six major cities with half a million inhabitants or more:
Glasgow
Liverpool
Bristol
Manchester
Sheffield
Leeds
English is the de facto official language, and many residents of the UK speak other
languages
such as Welsh.
United Kingdom: geography
The land area of the
United Kingdom
covers an area of nearly 250,000 square kilometers.
While the
geography of
England is dominated by vast plains, Scotland is mountainous.
Northern Ireland lies in a hill country, Wales in a low mountain range.
Originally, the entire United Kingdom was densely forested.
After centuries of deforestation, the country only has a forest area of less than ten percent.