United Kingdom

HISTORY OF UK

Original inhabitants were Celts

- 100 – 400 – the Romans occupy England and Wales

- 400 – 1066 – the Anglo-Saxons - driving the native British westwards

- 800 AD – Vikings – on the north of England and parts of Scotland and Ireland

- 1066 – the Normans – brought the French language and new words into English

13th century – MAGNA CARTA

= King John

- restricted the power of ruler and recognized the rights

- very important and influential – became an important part of English law

The Hundred Years’ War – 1337 – 1453

- rulers of the Kingdom of England x rulers of the Kingdom of France

1347 – the black death killed a third of the population

15th century – WAR OF ROSES

- two English noble houses wanted the crown: The Lancasters and The Yorks

- lasted for 30 years

- the last battle – 1485 at Bosworth Field

- The Lancasters wins

- Henry Tudor married Princess Elizabeth and brought peace to the country

17th - 18th CENTURY
- 1558 – 1603 the ELISABETH ERA - England becomes wealthier cause of the wool trade

- Britain – naval power

- William Shakespeare

- 1642 – 1651 the English Civil War – between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists

- 1707 – the Act of Union

18th – 19th CENTURY

- BRITISH EMPIRE – 18th

- Industrial Revolution – late 18th = people begin to move into the cities and work in factories

- 19th – BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805) – Spain x Britain (Napoleon lost at Waterloo and Britain continued her colonial expansion)

19th – 20th CENTURY

- the VICTORIAN ERA – society becomes more repressed and religious

- 1918 – end of the First World War

- RAF – The Royal British Airforce

- World War II – 1 million houses were destroyed and 40 000 civilians were killed

- POLITICAL STABILITY – after WWII – gained political and financial stability; UK is member of NATO and since 1973 member of the European Union

GEOGRAPHY

LOCATION

BRITISH ISLES – are situated off the north-west coast of the Continent of Europe

- it lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea

- English Channel separated B.I. and France

- the UK consists of 4 parts – England (London), Scotland (Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff), Northern Ireland (Belfast)

- island: Hebridies, Orkney, Shetland – on the north

- Channel islands – own legislative

- population: 63 million

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

- Climate – temperate and oceanic (lot of rain)

- Gulf Stream – don’t freeze, climate is influenced by the warm Gulf Stream

- extreme temperatures – mild winters, coldly rainy summer

- weather is extremely changeable

FAUNA AND FLORA

- small variety – not enough time since the last Ice age

- quite similar to Czech Republic

- animals: red deer, badger, hedgehog, fox, red squirrel

POPULATION

- rich variety of ethnicity (Celts, Romans, Normans.. )

- long history of immigration: Africans, Chinese, Irish, Poles

LANGUAGES

- England – English

- Scotland – Scottish Gaelic

- Wales – Welsh

- Ireland – Irish Gaelic

GEOGRAPHY