Chapter 15—British Isles and Nordic Nations

• Ore: a rocky material containing a valuable mineral

• Moor: broad, treeless, rolling land, often poorly drained and having patches of marsh and peat bog
• Bog: an area of wet, spongy ground
• Glen: a narrow valley
• Peat: spongy material containing waterlogged and decaying mosses and plants, sometimes dried and
used as fuel
• Blight: a plant disease

1. How do the regional physical characteristics of England affect the economy?

• Rural England—green, rolling meadows, peaceful rivers, neat farms
o Highlands
 Band of hills running the length of England’s west coast
 Old rock formations worn down by centuries of weathering—even so, some peaks rise to
3,000 ft and the land is difficult to farm
o Midlands
 Here lies coal that fueled the Industrial Revolution
 Factory towns darken the air with fumes from their mills
 Heavy industrial development—England’s highest population densities
o Lowlands
 Land slopes gently toward the English Channel and elevations rarely top 1,000 ft
 Soil tends to be fertile—younger, softer rocks lie beneath the earth’s surface
 Most productive farmers are here—grow wheat, vegetables, and other crops
 Set aside larger parcels of land for pasture
 Cool, moist weather of marine west coast climate is perfect for raising sheep, dairy, and
beef cattle
• Goods sold in the UK and other European Union nations
2. Why did London become one of the greatest commercial and shipping centers in the world?
• The hills along the English Channel drop sharply, forming steep cliffs that plunge straight down to the
water—in contrast, London is located along the Thames river—ships can sail directly up to the port of
London
• Even before industrialization, England’s farms produced surplus goods for export—trade within England
and with other European nations fostered the growth of cities along rivers and the coast
3. What nickname did Britain earn due to its creation and trading of goods?
• “workshop of the world”
4. What impact did technological innovations have on the British economy?
• First innovations used in factories that produced textiles/cloth
• Manufacturers first used water power to run spinning machines but later switched to coal as a source of
power for the steam engine
• Britain possessed large reserves of iron ore—inventors improved methods of melting iron ore and using
it in the production of steel
• Towns of Birmingham, Sheffield, and Newcastle grew dramatically in size as nearby coal fields made
them centers of manufacturing
• Coal supplies were so plentiful that the phrase “carrying coals to Newcastle” developed to describe an
unnecessary action
5. How did the Industrial Revolution change and expand economic activities in the United Kingdom?
• Brought wealth to Britain, but factories and mines also changed the landscape—“dark, Satanic mills”
spoiled “England’s green and pleasant land”—there was noise “beyond description” and the filth was
“sickening”
• Much of the area’s coal supply was used up during the Industrial Revolution—Britain had to turn to oil
and gas deposits beneath the floor of the North Sea as a source for fuel
6. Why did the British government encourage the growth of tertiary economic activities?
 • To offset the loss of heavy industries—much of the area’s coal supply was used up during the Industrial
Revolution
7. Describe Scotland’s physical characteristics.
• Occupies 1/3 of the land are in the UK, but less than 10% of the nation’s pop. Live there
• Landscape is rugged—bears the marks of heavy glaciers that moved across the N. part of Great Britain
during the last ice age
• Cheviot Hills and Tweed River—physical features that separate Scotland from England
• Northern Highlands
o Large, high plateau with many lakes (called lochs) which were carved by retreating glaciers
o Grampian Mountains—cut across the region with peaks reaching past 4,000 ft
o Both coasts etched deeply by the sea with inlets called firths
o Covered with moors—which are dotted with bogs
o Steady winds off the Atlantic Ocean bring abundant rainfall to the moors—the dampness of the
soil limits plant growth to grasses and low shrubs such as purple heather
o Land water, + climate of the Highlands—well suited to the economies of fishing and sheep
herding
• Central Lowlands
o 75% of Scotland’s people live in the region (which stretches between Glasgow and Edinburgh)
o Clyde River near Glasgow great into a huge shipbuilding center—played a major role in
establishing the United Kingdom as the world’s leading naval power
o Loss of jobs has caused more than 1/3 of Glasgow’s residents to leave since 1960
• Southern Uplands
o Closest to the English border—sheep-raising region
o Tweed River valley woolen mills—kept well supplied with wool by area farmers
o Cheviot Hills—highest in the area, give way to rolling plateaus worn down by glaciers
o Medieval abbeys and low, hilly landscapes—draw many visitors to the region
8. How are the Scottish and Welch trying to maintain their cultural heritages?
• Scotland
o When the Scottish and English parliaments were united through the Act of Union in 1707,
Scotland kept important trading and political rights
o Many Scots also remained members of the Presbyterian Church, rather than joining the Church
of England
o In 1997, Scottish voters approved the creating of a new Scottish parliament
• Wales
o Has its own capital city, postage stamps, flag, and language
o Most of its 2.9 million people speak English, but nearly 20% still speak Welsh as their first
language
o Welsh—spoken mainly in the mountains of N. Wales-handed down from the Celtic peoples who
lived in Wales for 1,000’s of years
o 1980’s—Welsh patriots fought for and won the right to broadcast television programs entirely in
Welsh
9. Describe the Welch economy.
• Similar to that of England and Scotland
• Late 1800’s and early 1900’s—industry + coal mining changed the landscape + economy of S. Wales
• Mines in the Rhondda Valley became some of Britain’s biggest coal producers
• Mid-1900’s—heavy industries had fallen behind in technology
• 1980’s—most of the coal mines in the Rhondda Valley had closed—unemployment rates soared, and
many students leaving high school could not find jobs despite the arrival of new petroleum refineries
• 1990’s—situation improved as foreign investment provided new jobs in high-tech industries
• Some people promoted tourism for those interested in seeing the traditional Welsh way of life
10. How have invasions impacted Irish history?
• 300 B.C.—Celtic tribes from Europe first settled in Ireland and repeatedly defended themselves from
Viking raids
 • 800 to 1014 A.D.—Viking raids
• 1066—Norman invaders from France conquered England—some Normans also seized large tracts of
land in Ireland, built castles to protect themselves, and tried to control the Celts
o They forbade marriage between Normans and Celts, banned use of the Celtic language (AKA
Gaelic), and even outlawed Celtic harp music
• 1711—King Henry II of England declared himself Lord of Ireland and tried unsuccessfully to force
Norman lords to obey him—English rulers who followed him began thinking of Ireland as a possession
11. Describe the religious conflict in Ireland.
• In the early 1500’s, groups in Europe tried to change some of the Roman Catholic Church’s practices
and started a reform movement known as the Reformation.
• Many of the reformers, called Protestants, broke with the Roman Catholic Church and formed new
Christian churches.
• Most of the English people became Protestants—the Irish remained Catholics
• This division led to bitter conflicts between Irish Catholics and landlords sent from England—economics
played a major part
• The Protestant minority controlled much of the wealth—Irish Catholics were poor
• This conflict led to cultural divergence—deliberate efforts to keep the cultures separate
12. How did the Potato Famine impact Ireland?
• Blight (plant disease)—destroyed the potato crop every year—which most of the people relied on as
their major source of nutrition
• As a result, about 1 million Irish died of starvation/disease
• This crisis further inflamed anti-British feelings because many Irish Catholics blamed England for not
providing enough aid
• Pushed from the island by famine, nearly 2 million Irish emigrated in just 7 years
• Pulled by lure of jobs, most immigrated to the US’
13. How has Ireland’s economy changed in recent years?
• Government invested in education and telecommunications
• Offered tax incentives that persuaded foreign high-tech companies to locate administrative offices in
Ireland
o Plan so successful—Irish economic growth was the highest in Europe between 1994 and 2000
o Per capita income increased dramatically and unemployment fell to 3.8%—1 of Europe’s lowest
unemployment rates
o New economic climate pulled many immigrants to Ireland
• 1999—Ireland adopted the euro—inflation rose to 6.2%, triple the European average—housing costs
skyrocketed
• Some people worry about growing income gap between workers in the new economy and those in
traditional service industries
14. What physical characteristics define the Nordic nations as a region?
• A Varied Landscape
o Region is a collection of peninsulas + islands separated by seas, gulfs, + oceans
o Most continuous landmasses—Scandinavian + Jutland peninsulas
o Terrain varies dramatically—Denmark’s highest point is 600 f, whereas Norway is 1 of the most
mountainous nations in Europe
• Environmental Change
o Glaciers carved out thousands of lakes across the Scandinavian Peninsula—removed topsoil +
other materials and deposited them in Denmark and other parts of W. Europe—as a result,
much of the soil in Scandinavia remains rocky + difficult to farm
• Natural Resources
o Iceland—volcanoes + glaciers exist side by side
o Icelanders have learned to take advantage of the island’s geology to produce geothermal
energy
• Long Winters, Short Summers
o Norden’s location to the far north results in long winters and short summers—at midwinter the
sun may sine only 2/3 hours a day; in midsummer—sun shines for more than 20 hours
 o During winter aurora borealis (northern lights) shine most brightly in the Nordic nations
 Occurs when atomic particles from the sun, attracted by the magnetic fields of the North
Pole, break through the N. atmosphere
• The Ocean and Climate
o Despite the length of winter, the climate can be surprisingly mild—the warm currents of the N.
Atlantic Drift moderate the weather and keep the coast free of ice
o Coldest areas in Norden lie just east of a mountain chain that runs N.E. to S.W. through Norway
—this range prevents the warm, moist ocean winds from reaching the rest of the Scandinavian
Peninsula—results in a cold, dry, sub arctic climate
15. What kind of historic, cultural, and economic bonds do the Nordic nations share?
• Historic
o From around A.D. 800 to 1050, Vikings sailed out of the fjords and inlets of S. Norden to raid
much of W. Europe
o Queen Margrethe of Denmark joined the 5 lands under 1 crown in 1397—union ended in 1523
when Sweden (which included Finland) withdrew
o Denmark, Norway, + Iceland remained united for several centuries more—Sweden and Finland
were united until the early 1800’s, when Sweden ceded Finland to Russia
• Cultural
o Most Nordic peoples belong to the Lutheran Church, first established during the Reformation
o Nordic languages have common roots
o Finland is bilingual, and most Finns have a working knowledge of Swedish, Finland’s second
language
o Nordic schools require students to learn English, which helps bridge any linguistic differences
• Economic
o All 5 of the Nordic nations are democracies, and their economic systems are mixed economies
(systems combining different degrees of government regulation)—practice a mixture of free
enterprise and socialism
o Nordic governments guarantee certain goods + services to everyone and operate some
industries that are privately run in the US
 Denmark + Sweden have state-run day-care centers and state-supported medical care
o Nordic nations—politically neutral in foreign affairs
 Norway refuses to open its excellent harbors for military use—also forbids the storage of
nuclear weapons on its territory
 Denmark + Sweden actively promote peaceful solutions to international crises
16. How have the Nordic nations used their natural resources to pursue a variety of economic activities?
• Denmark + S. Sweden have flat land and a mild climate suitable for agriculture
• Denmark uses 60% of its land for farming and in recent years produced more than 3 times the amount
of food needed to feed its people
• Fishing is almost important to Norwegians—they compare it to farmland and call their offshore waters
the Blue Meadow
• The region also profits from oil + gas production, high-grade ores, and vast expanses of forest