2- Trade Organization 3- The geograh! of "cotland #- The geograh! of $ales %- The geograh! of &reland '-The climate of the United Kingdom (-)eograh! *-)o+ernment ,--istor! 10- The Magna Carta Is Signed and a House of Commons Is Born Capital: London Official language: English (de facto) Recognised regional languages: Irish, Ulster Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Welsh, Cornish Ethnic groups: !"#$ White %"&$ South 'sian !"&$ (lac) #"!$ *i+ed &"%$ Chinese &"%$ Other Go,ern-ent: .arlia-entar/ de-ocrac/ and constitutional -onarch/ *onarch: 0ueen Eli1a2eth II .ri-e *inister: Gordon (ro3n Legislature: .arlia-ent Upper 4ouse: 4ouse of Lords Lo3er 4ouse: 4ouse of Co--ons 5or-ation: 'cts of Union #6&6 7# *a/ #6&6 'ct of Union #8&& 7 # 9anuar/ #8&# 'nglo7Irish :reat/ 7 #! 'pril #!! EU accession: # 9anuar/ #6; 'rea: !%%,8!& )-! .opulation: !&& (esti-ate) <#,##;,!&= !&&# consensus =8,68,#% >ensit/: !%<?)-!
:he United @ingdo- of Great (ritain and Aorthern Ireland (co--onl/ )no3n as the United @ingdo-, the U@, or as (ritain) is a so,ereign state located off the north73estern coast of continental Europe"
It is an island countr/ spanning an archipelago including Great (ritain, the north7 eastern part of Ireland, and -an/ s-all islands" Aorthern Ireland is the onl/ part of the U@ 3ith a land 2order, sharing it 3ith the Repu2lic of Ireland" 'part fro- this land 2order, the U@ is surrounded 2/ the 'tlantic Ocean, the Aorth Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea" :he largest island, Great (ritain, is lin)ed to 5rance 2/ the Channel :unnel" :he United @ingdo- is a constitutional -onarch/ and unitar/ state consisting of four countries: England, Aorthern Ireland, Scotland and Wales" It is go,erned 2/ a parlia-entar/ 3ith its seat of go,ern-ent in London, the capital, 2ut 3ith three de,ol,ed national ad-inistrations in (elfast, Cardiff and Edin2urgh, the capitals of Aorthern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respecti,el/ :he Channel Island 2aili3ic)s of 9erse/ and Guernse/, and the Isle of *an are Cro3n >ependencies and are often not considered part of the U@, though the/ are treated as part of it for -an/ purposes including nationalit/" :he U@ has fourteen o,erseas territories all re-nants of the (ritish E-pire, 3hich at its height in #!! enco-passed al-ost a Buarter of the 3orldCs land surface, the largest e-pire in histor/" (ritish influence can continue to 2e o2ser,ed in the language, culture and legal s/ste-s of -an/ of its for-er colonies :he U@ is a de,eloped countr/, 3ith the 3orldCs si+th largest econo-/ 2/ no-inal G>. and the se,enth largest 2/ purchasing po3er parit/" It 3as the 3orldCs first industrialised countr/ and the 3orldCs fore-ost po3er during the #th and earl/ !&th centuries, 2ut the econo-ic cost of t3o 3orld 3ars and the decline of its e-pire in the latter half of the !&th centur/ di-inished its leading role in glo2al affairs" :he U@ ne,ertheless re-ains a -aDor po3er 3ith strong econo-ic, cultural, -ilitar/, scientific and political influence" It is a nuclear po3er and has the fourth highest defence spending in the 3orld" It is a *e-2er State of the European Union, holds a per-anent seat on the United Aations Securit/ Council, and is a -e-2er of the Co--on3ealth of Aations, G8, OEC>, A':O, and the World :rade Organi1ation" :he ph/sical geograph/ of the U@ ,aries greatl/" :he geograph/ of England consists of lo3land terrain, 3ith -ountainous terrain north73est of the :ees E E+e line including the Cu-2rian *ountains of the La)e >istrict, the .ennines and li-estone hills of the .ea) >istrict, E+-oor and >art-oor" :he geograph/ of Scotland is distinguished 2/ the 4ighland (oundar/ 5ault E a geological roc) fracture E 3hich tra,erses the Scottish -ainland fro- 4elens2urgh to Stoneha,en" :he fault line separates the t3o distincti,el/ different regions of the 4ighlands to the north and 3est and the lo3lands to the south and east" :he geograph/ of Wales is -ostl/ -ountainous, though south Wales is less -ountainous than north and -id Wales" :he geograph/ of Ireland includes the *ourne *ountains as 3ell as Lough Aeagh, at ;88 sBuare )ilo-etres (#=& sB -i), the largest 2od/ of 3ater in the U@ and Ireland" :he o,erall geo-orpholog/ of the U@ 3as shaped 2/ the co-2ined forces of tectonics and cli-ate change, in particular glaciations" :he e+act centre of the island of Great (ritain is disputed" >epending upon ho3 it is calculated it can 2e either 4alt3histle in Aorthu-2erland, or >unsop (ridge in Lancashire" :he cli-ate of the United @ingdo- is classified as a -id7latitude oceanic cli-ate, 3ith 3ar- su--ers, cool 3inters and plentiful precipitation throughout the /ear" 4o3e,er a plausi2le argu-ent can 2e -ade that so-e parts of East F South7East England (for e+a-ple, Esse+) actuall/ ha,e a se-i7arid cli-ate through ,irtue of ha,ing less than =&&-- a,erage annual rainfall" :he principal factors that influence the countr/Cs cli-ate include its northerl/ latitude (3hich ranges fro- =&G to <&G A), the close pro+i-it/ to the 'tlantic Ocean, and the 3ar-ing of the surrounding 3aters 2/ the Gulf Strea-" :he 3eather can 2e notoriousl/ changea2le fro- one da/ to the ne+t 2ut te-perature ,ariations throughout the /ear are relati,el/ s-all" :he 2oundar/ of con,ergence 2et3een the 3ar- tropical air and the cold polar air lies o,er the United @ingdo-" In this area, the large te-perature ,ariation creates insta2ilit/ and this is a -aDor factor that influences the often unsettled 3eather the countr/ e+periences, 3here -an/ t/pes of 3eather can 2e e+perienced in a single da/" Regional cli-ates in the United @ingdo- are influenced 2/ the 'tlantic Ocean and latitude" Aorthern Ireland, Wales and 3estern parts of England and Scotland, 2eing closest to the 'tlantic, are generall/ the -ildest, 3ettest and 3indiest regions of the U@, and te-perature ranges here are seldo- e+tre-e" Eastern areas are drier, cooler, less 3ind/ and also e+perience the greatest dail/ and seasonal te-perature ,ariations" Aorthern areas are generall/ cooler, 3etter and ha,e a s-aller te-perature range than southern areas" :hough the U@ is -ostl/ under the influence of the -ariti-e tropical air -ass fro- the south73est, different regions are -ore suscepti2le than others 3hen different air -asses affect the countr/: Aorthern Ireland and the 3est of Scotland are the -ost e+posed to the -ariti-e polar air -ass 3hich 2rings cool -oist airH the east of Scotland and north7east England are -ore e+posed to the continental polar air -ass 3hich 2rings cold dr/ airH the south and south7east of England are -ore e+posed to the continental tropical air -ass 3hich 2rings 3ar- dr/ airH Wales and the south73est of England are the -ost e+posed to the -ariti-e tropical air -ass 3hich 2rings 3ar- -oist air"
Geography The United Kingdom, consisting of Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland ) and Northern Ireland , is tice the si!e of Ne "or# State$ England, in the so%theast part of the British Isles, is separated from Scotland on the north &y the granite 'he(iot )ills* from them the +ennine chain of %plands e,tends so%th thro%gh the center of England, reaching its highest point in the -a#e .istrict in the northest$ To the est along the &order of Wales/a land of steep hills and (alleys /are the 'am&rian 0o%ntains, hile the 'otsolds, a range of hills in Glo%cestershire, e,tend into the s%rro%nding shires$ Important ri(ers floing into the North Sea are the Thames, )%m&er, Tees, and Tyne$ In the est are the Se(ern and Wye, hich empty into the Bristol 'hannel and are na(iga&le, as are the 0ersey and 1i&&le$ Go(ernment The United Kingdom is a constit%tional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, ith a 2%een and a parliament that has to ho%ses3 the )o%se of -ords, ith 456 life peers, 78 hereditary peers, and 89 &ishops* and the )o%se of 'ommons, hich has 94: pop%larly elected mem&ers$ S%preme legislati(e poer is (ested in parliament, hich sits for fi(e years %nless dissol(ed sooner$ The )o%se of -ords as stripped of most of its poer in :7::, and no its main f%nction is to re(ise legislation$ In No($ :777, h%ndreds of hereditary peers ere e,pelled in an effort to ma#e the &ody more democratic$ The e,ec%ti(e poer of the 'ron is e,ercised &y the ca&inet, headed &y the prime minister$ England has e,isted as a %nified entity since the :;th cent%ry* the %nion &eteen England and Wales, &eg%n in :8<6 ith the Stat%te of 1h%ddlan, as not formali!ed %ntil :4=9 ith an >ct of Union* in another >ct of Union in :5;5, England and Scotland agreed to permanently ?oin as Great Britain * the legislati(e %nion of Great Britain and Ireland as implemented in :<;:, ith the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland* the >nglo@Irish treaty of :78: formali!ed a partition of Ireland* si, northern Irish co%nties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the c%rrent name of the co%ntry, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as adopted in :785$ )istory Stonehenge and other e,amples of prehistoric c%lt%re are all that remain of the earliest inha&itants of Britain$ 'eltic peoples folloed$ 1oman in(asions of the :st cent%ry B$'$ &ro%ght Britain into contact ith continental E%rope$ When the 1oman legions ithdre in the 4th cent%ry >$.$ , Britain fell easy prey to the in(ading hordes of >ngles, Sa,ons, and A%tes from Scandina(ia and the -o 'o%ntries$ The in(asions had little effect on the 'eltic peoples of Wales and Scotland$ Se(en large >nglo@Sa,on #ingdoms ere esta&lished, and the original Britons ere forced into Wales and Scotland$ It as not %ntil the :;th cent%ry that the co%ntry finally &ecame %nited %nder the #ings of Wesse,$ Bolloing the death of Edard the 'onfessor (:;99), a disp%te a&o%t the s%ccession arose, and William, .%#e of Normandy, in(aded England, defeating the Sa,on #ing, )arold II, at the Battle of )astings (:;99)$ The Norman con2%est introd%ced Norman Brench la and fe%dalism$ The .agna /arta &s "igned and a -ouse of /ommons &s 0orn The reign of )enry II (::46C::<7), first of the +lantagenets, sa an increasing centrali!ation of royal poer at the e,pense of the no&les, &%t in :8:4 King Aohn (::77C:8:9) as forced to sign the 0agna 'arta, hich aarded the people, especially the no&les, certain &asic rights$ Edard I (:858C:=;5) contin%ed the con2%est of Ireland, red%ced Wales to s%&?ection, and made some gains in Scotland$ In :=:6, hoe(er, English forces led &y Edard II ere o%sted from Scotland after the Battle of Bannoc#&%rn$ The late :=th and early :6th cent%ries sa the de(elopment of a separate )o%se of 'ommons ith ta,@raising poers$ Edard IIIDs claim to the throne of Brance led to the )%ndred "earsD War (:==<C:64=) and the loss of almost all the large English territory in Brance$ In England, the great po(erty and discontent ca%sed &y the ar ere intensified &y the Blac# .eath, a plag%e that red%ced the pop%lation &y a&o%t one@third$ The Wars of the 1oses (:644C:6<4), a str%ggle for the throne &eteen the )o%se of "or# and the )o%se of -ancaster, ended in the (ictory of )enry T%dor ()enry EII) at Bosorth Bield (:6<4)$ (i2liograph/: http:??333"Wi)ipedia"org http://www.infoplease.com 333"a-a1on"co-