Britain. The Country and its People

1.

Britain.
The Country
and its People

2.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland is an insular country situated on
the British Isles.
The British Isles are a group of islands off
the northwest coast of continental Europe that
include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland
and over five thousand smaller isles.
There are two sovereign states located on
the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the
United Kingdom, the UK or Great Britain, Britain)
and the Republic of Ireland (often called Ireland).

3.

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK
that shares a land border with another state–
the Republic of Ireland.
Apart from this land border the UK is
surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North
Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
As you know there are four parts,
representing the four nations within Great
Britain:
England ( London ), Scotland ( Edinburgh ),
Wales ( Cardiff ) and Ireland ( Belfast ).

4. Where is the UK situated?

The UK is
situated on the
British Isles – a
large group of
islands lying off
the northwestern coast
of Europe.

5.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland is a highly centralized
and unitary state — the country which has
acquired this official name since 1922.
The United Kingdom is an entity of
less than 300 years old — the state which
emerged from the union of the ancient
separate kingdoms of England, Scotland,
Wales and Ireland.

6.

Little is known about the ancient population
of the British Isles. Archeological remains which
have been uncovered date back to about 8500
BC. At that time Britain was peopled by small
groups of hunters and fishers.
In the course of time, different groups of
people kept arriving in Britain, bringing their
customs and skills.
About 500–600 BC new people–the Celts
appeared in Britain. They crossed the English
Channel from the territory of the present-day
France. The Romans called these people Britons
and the island – Britannia.

7.

In the course of centuries the Brightons
partly killed the native population, partly mixed
with it. They were polysthetic and believed in
different gods which lived in the thickest and
the darkest parts of the forests. Some
historians think that the Brightons were
governed by a class of priests called Druids
who had great power over them. Stonehenge,
a well-known prehistoric stone structure in the
county of Wiltshire, South West England, is
considered the temple of the Druids, who were
known for their cruelty and cruel ways of
worshipping their gods.

8. What is the official name of the UK?

The official name
of the country is
the "United
Kingdom of Great
Britain and
Northern Ireland".

9. What islands do the British Isles consist of?

The British Isles
made up of:
• Great Britain
• Northern Ireland
• about 5000 small
islands
is

10.

What countries make up
the United Kingdom?

11. Great Britain

Which countries are in
Great Britain?
Great Britain

12.

England is the largest
country in Great Britain
and the UK. It is
sometimes,
wrongly,
used in reference to
the
whole
United
Kingdom,
the
entire
island of Great Britain,
or indeed the British
Isles. This is not only
incorrect but can cause
offence to people from
other parts of the UK.

13. England

Up until the seventeenth century
there had been four 'countries' in
the British Isles:
England
Scotland
Wales
Ireland

14.

Each one had its own separate
sense of identity, its own history,
even its own language. There was
no such word as British. People
were
simply
either
English,
Scottish, Welsh or Irish.

15. How and why was the UK formed?

The United Kingdom was formed in
1801 when the Irish parliament was
joined with the parliament for
England, Wales and Scotland in
London, and the whole of the British
Isles became a single state. However,
in 1922 the south of Ireland became
the Irish Free State and, in 1949, a
completely independent republic.

16. How is the national flag called?

The present Union Flag, popularly known as the
Union Jack, represents the political union of three
kingdoms
• England
• Scotland
• Ireland (Ulster)
The Union Jack is made up of the individual flags
of three of the Kingdom’s countries.
As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it
could not be included on the flag.
The Welsh Dragon

17. England is represented by the flag of St George

The Union Jack is made of 3 flags.
Do you know what these are?
England
is represented
by the flag of
St George
Scotland
is represented
by the flag of
St Andrew
Ireland
is represented
by the flag of
St Patrick
The Union Jack

18. What is the symbol of the UK?

Britannia

19.

The national anthem is the oldest in the
world, established in 1745 and based on a
song of the 17th century. The beginning of it
runs as follows:
• God save our gracious Queen,
• God save our noble Queen,
• God save the Queen!
• Send her victorious,
• Happy and glorious Long to reign over us.
• God save the Queen!

20. What are the national identities of the people living in Great Britain?

Although everyone in the UK has a British citizenship,
they have different nationalities.
British citizens, do not regard themselves as British
and prefer to state their national identity as English,
Scottish or Welsh.
This is because different groups of people tend to
develop their own customs and way of life.

21. What is the official language of the UK?

English is the official language of the UK and
the first language of the vast majority of
the population. The English language is a
West Germanic language, originating from
England. People in Wales speak a completely
different language. About 25% of the people
there still speak in their native Celtic tongue
called Welsh. In some regions of Scotland,
Gaelic is used as a first language
(particularly in the Highlands and the
Western Isles). Although Wales and Scotland
have their own languages, English is spoken in
both countries more.

22. A fictional character who is supposed to personify Englishness is John Bull.

23.

Floral emblems of the UK
Each country within
the United Kingdom
has
a
national
emblem, as well as
its own flag.

24. What is the national flower of England?

The Tudor rose is the national floral
emblem of England. It symbolizes the
end of the Wars of the Roses.

25.

The red rose became the emblem of
England after the Wars of the Roses (1455—
1485) which was the war of the dynasties for
the English throne. All rivalry between the
Roses ended by the marriage of Henry VII
Tudor (the Lancastrian whose emblem was
the red rose) with Princess Elizabeth, the
daughter of Edward IV (the Yolkiest whose
emblem was the white rose). The red rose
has since become the national emblem of
England.

26. What is the Scottish national flower?

The national flower of Scotland is the
thistle.
Thistle is a prickly-leaved purple flower which
was first used in the 15th century as a symbol
of defence. The thistle has been a Scottish
symbol for more than 500 years.

27.

The thistle, the national emblem of Scotland, was
chosen as such, because it saved the country from
the enemy. This is what a legend says about it. In
ancient times the Norsemen raided the east coast of
Scotland intending to plunder it and settle in the
country. The Scots took their stations behind the
river Tay, the largest in Scotland. Not expecting the
enemy before the next day and being weary and
tired after a long march they pitched their camp and
were resting. The Norsemen saw that no guards
protected the camp so they crossed the river
intending to take the Scots by surprise.

28.

The Norsemen saw that no guards protected
the camp so they crossed the river intending
to take the Scots by surprise. On coming quite
near they took off their shoes not to make
noise. But one of the Norsemen stepped on a
thistle and shrieked with pain. The alarm was
given in the Scots camp and the Norsemen
were put to flight. Scots, thankful for timely
help, chose the thistle as their national
emblem.

29. What is the Welsh national flower?

The national flower of Wales is the
daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St.
David’s Day.

30.

• The leek or daffodil is Welshmen's national
emblem. Welshmen all over the world celebrate
(on March 1st) St. David's Day by wearing either
leeks or daffodils. St. David is supposed to have
lived for several years on bread and wild leeks,
so the link between the leek and St. David is a
strong one.
• The daffodil is also closely associated with St.
David's Day due to the belief that it flowers on
that very day. It became an alternative to the
leek as a Welsh emblem in the present century,
because some thought the leek vulgar.

31. What is the national flower of Northern Ireland?

The national flower of Northern Ireland
is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant
similar to clover. It is a symbol of trinity

32.

• The shamrock, the national emblem
of the Irish, is proudly worn on St.
Patrick's Day, March 17. It is worn in
memory of Ireland's patron saint,
who when preaching the doctrine of
the Trinity to the pagan Irish used the
shamrock (a small white clover with
three leaves on one stem) as an
illustration of the mystery.

33.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plAvFL9E02g
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