Lecture no 1 THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy in northwestern Europe, whose official name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the largest island in the archipelago known as the British Isles. England is the largest and most populous division of the island of Great Britain, making up the south and east. ales is on the west and !cotland is to the north. "orthern Ireland is located in the northeast corner of Ireland, the second largest island in the British Isles. The capital of the United Kingdom is the city of #ondon, situated near the southeastern tip of England. $eople often confuse the names for this country, and fre%uently make mistakes in using them. United Kingdom, UK, and Britain are all proper terms for the entire nation, although the term Britain is also often used when talking a&out the island of Great Britain. The use of the term Great Britain to refer to the entire nation is now outdated' the term Great Britain, properly used, refers only to the island of Great Britain, which does not include "orthern Ireland. The term England should never &e used to descri&e Britain, &ecause England is only one part of the island. It is always correct to call people from England, !cotland, or ales British, although people from England may also properly &e ales Welsh. called English, people from !cotland Scottish, and people from

The United Kingdom is a small nation in h!"ical "i#e. The country has ()),**+ s% km ,-),(.* s% mi/. It is located rather far north in latitude, &ut, like the rest of northern Europe, it is warmed &y the Gulf !tream flowing out of the "orth 0tlantic 1cean. The climate, in general, is mild, chilly, and often wet. 2ain or overcast skies can &e e3pected for up to 4++ days per year. These conditions make Britain lush and green, with rolling plains in the south and east and rough hills and mountains to the west and north.

5espite its relatively small si6e, Britain is highl!

o ulated, with an estimated

population density of (.+ persons per s% km ,7)8 per s% mi/ in (++.. It is highly developed economically, preeminent in the arts and sciences, sophisticated in technology, and highly prosperous and peaceful. In general, British su&9ects &elong to one of the more affluent states of Europe and en9oy a high standard of living compared to the rest of the world. :any nations around the world have &een influenced &y British history and culture. ith each passing year, English comes closer to &eing a world language for all educated people, as #atin once was. The prominence of English can &e traced to the spread of the British Empire during the last three centuries. In the early (+ th century, a %uarter of the world;s people and a %uarter of the world;s land surface were controlled in some way &y Britain. !ome parts of the world received su&stantial num&ers of British emigrants and developed into what were called daughter nations. These colonies eventually &ecame self< governing areas called dominions. =anada, 0ustralia, and "ew >ealand fit this pattern. ?or a long time India was the most important colony in the British Empire, &ut after a long anticolonial struggle with Britain, independent India today is the world;s most populous democracy. The British Empire once included su&stantial portions of southern, western, and eastern 0frica' important areas in 0sia, such as @ong Kong' a few holdings in the 0mericas' and a large num&er of islands in the $acific. Today most of these are independent nations, &ut many retain some British law, institutions, and customs. E=1"1:A, 02T! 0"5 !=IE"=E!. The UK has an e3tremely productive and highly speciali6ed economy ,manufacturing, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, communication technology, and education and social services/, it is preeminent in the arts ,literature, graphic or performance arts/ and sciences and sophisticated in technology. British citi6ens are &elieved to &elong to one of the more affluent states of Europe and definitely en9oy a high standard of living in comparison to the rest of the world. @I!T12A 0"5 #0"GU0GE. Throughout its evolution, British history has &een a constant source of inspiration for many nations around the world. ith each passing year, the language spoken within its &orders, the English language, comes closer to &eing a world language for all educated people, as #atin once used to &e. The contemporary prominence of English can &e traced &ack to the past spread of the British Empire throughout the last three centuries ,to give 9ust a hint, almost a %uarter of the earth;s land surface was controlled in (

some way &y Bictorian Britain C in the nineteenth century, the British Empire once included =anada, 0ustralia, and "ew >ealand, India*, su&stantial portions of southern, western, and eastern 0frica' important areas in 0sia, such as @ong Kong' a few holdings in the 0mericas' and a large num&er of islands in the $acific/. =#I:0TE. In general, the climate is mild, chilly, and often wet, with fre%uent rains or overcast skies that generally make it green and lush, with rolling plains in the south and east and rugged hills and mountains to the west and north. N$TION$L IDENTIT% THE UNION &L$G. The Union ?lag is a transnational flag im&ued with historical significance as it represents the union of different countries and the growth of a &lock of nations. 0n e3pression of unity as well as diversity, the British flag incorporates the national sym&ols of three distinct countries, England, !cotland and "orthern Ireland. 0lternatively known as the Union Jack, the Union Flag was acknowledged &y the $arliament in the early (+th century. The term Union DEackF possi&ly dates from Gueen 0nne;s time ,r. *H+(<*)/, &ut its origin still remains uncertain. It may come from the D9ack< etF of the English or !cottish soldiers, or from the name of Eames I who originated the first union in *7+4. 0nother alternative is that the name may &e derived from a proclamation &y =harles II that the Union ?lag should &e flown only &y ships of the 2oyal "avy as a 9ack, a small flag at the &owsprit' the term I9ack; once meant small(. The Union flag is a composite design made of the individual flags of the countries united under the !overeign < the countries of England, !cotland and Ireland, thus consisting of the three heraldic crosses of !t. George, !t. 0ndrew and !t. $atrick, as will &e detailed in what follows. The National Flag of England England i" re re"ented '! the flag of (t. George) a red cross on a white &ackground

0fter a long anticolonial struggle with Britain, independent India today is the world;s most populous democracy. ( =f. httpJKKwww.royal.gov.ukK:onarchUKK!ym&olsKUnionEack.asp3, accessed on L

The National Flag of Scotland !cotland is represented &y the flag of !t. 0ndrew, steeped in history and legend. !cotland;s patron saint. The first Union Jack 1n *( 0pril *7+7, the national flags of !cotland and England were united for use at sea, thus making the first Union IEack;. The 0ct of Union of *H+H 9oined England and !cotland together, creating a single kingdom ,called IUnited Kingdom of Great Britain;/ with a single $arliament. England, ales and !cotland were now united together under one monarch and one parliament. 1n (8th Euly, *H+H, during the reign of Gueen 0nne, this flag was &y royal proclamation made the "ational flag of Great Britain, for use ashore and afloat. National Flag of !reland 1n Eanuary *st, *8+*, Ireland was united with Great Britain and it &ecame necessary to have a new "ational ?lag which would contain the visual representation of Ireland. The cross of !t. $atrick was com&ined with the Union ?lag of !t. George and !t. 0ndrew, to create the Union ?lag that has &een flown ever since. * ith a white diagonal cross on a &lue &ackground, it represents the crucifi3ion of the apostle !t. 0ndrew,

The cross of !t. $atrick was inserted so the position given to !t. 0ndrew;s cross in one %uarter was the same as that given to the Irish one in the diagonally opposite %uarter' in heraldry, this phenomenon is known as Dcounter<changingF. National Flag of Wales The elsh dragon does not appear on the flag &ecause, when the ales had already &een united with

first Union ?lag was created in *7+7, England since the *4th century.

Today, the Union ?lag is flown a&ove Buckingham $alace, !andringham when the Gueen is not in residence. )

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