The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the name of a state situated on the British Isles. A capital city of The UK is London.

Geography

The UK is situated on the two big isles: Great Britain and Ireland. Also the many smaller islands include the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the Isle of Wight. Its winters are mild and summers are not very hot, it rains a lot and the grass is greener than in Central Europe. In Britain there aren’t many forests but there are many lakes. The highest mountains in the British Isles are The Scottish Highlands with Ben Nevis (1,343 m).

People, cities, languages…

60 million inhabitants live there. There are the biggest number of the Englishmen and the Welsh, the Scots, the Irish and the Jews. But many people are from other countries of the world. If many people live there, everybody speaks English. But there are many different accents. Oxford English is the most easily and is taught to foreigners. On the other hands, Cockney is dialect spoken in London and it is very difficult. Then they speak them native languages like the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish.

People live in big cities like London or in industrial cities like Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

History

The first people, who lived there, were Celts. They came from Spain and France in about 1200 B. C. In 55 the Romans occupied the Britain. When they left, the Germans tribes came from Germany and Denmark. And then the Vikings invaded from Scandinavia in 9th century.

When in 1066 William the Conqueror defeated Harold II at battle of Hastings and he became king of Britain, the future of England was changed.

The next important king was Henry VIII. He built the biggest and most powerful navy he established his own church.

His daughter Elizabeth I became one of the greatest monarchs of England. Her corsairs stole many gold from the Spanish ships. Then they defeated Spain in the Sea battle in the English Channel.

The English built a colony in North America, too. They carried the slaves to work from Africa and English in America became rich. But later Americans defeated them in War of Independente. But United Kingdom had the more colonies in America but also in India, Australia and Africa. World War II Britain lost the all colonies and its importance has fallen.

London

The capital city of the UK is London. It is situated on the River Thames. London, with population of about seven million, is the biggest city in UK and also in Europe.

London is very historical city and many landmarks are there. The Tower of London was a royal palace, fortress, a prison, royal ZOO, a mint and an arsenal. It was built in 1066 by William the Conqueror. It is the best known as the prison. Many famous people were locked or executed there. There is a Crown Jewel today.

Near the castle over the river Thames is located Tower Bridge. It is one of the best and the best known bridges on the world. It was built in 1894 next to Tower of London. It can be raised in just over the minute.

The other place of interest is London Eye. The British Airways London Eye or Millennium Wheel is the highest observation wheel on the world. It is 135 m high. The arbour was made in the Czech Republic by Skoda.

In London we can find four international airports and 480 international banks. There 300 000 people work. And so the City is the largest financial and commercial centre in Europe and.

Queen’ residence is Buckingham Palace. The first queen, which lives there, was Queen Victoria since 1837. The Palace has 600 rooms, cinema, swimming pool and its own police station and post office. 400 people work there. About 50 000 people visit the Palace every year.

The system of government

Today the Queen of England is Elizabeth II but she doesn’t really rule. The state is controlled by Parliament and the Government. The country is lead by Prime Minister, today there is David Cameron. Parliament is divided to the Cabinet. i.e. and the Opposition. The Opposition critics government policies and it present an alternative program.

The Government consists of the House of Commons ant the House of Lords.

Even if the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is not the most important country of the world, it is one of the most important and most developed countries and yet it is a member of UN Security Council, nuclear power and member of the G8. This is the fifth largest economy in the world. It is such an important political, economic and military power.