22. 5. 2008
1.
The official name of the stateis the
Geography
The whole state consists of two large islands and about5000 smaller ones (e.g. the Isle of Man,the Isle of Wight – in the EnglishChannel, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrids,the Orkneys, the Shetlands and the Channel Islands – Jersey, Sark).
The area of the kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the
Its closest neighbours are
Each country of the
National anthem is „God, Save the Queen!“
Each part of the kingdom hasits own symbol:
The relief of the kingdom is variable.British mountains are low, the ScottishHighlands are the highest. There is the highest mountain of the BritishIsles -
Riversand: The most famous English river is TheThames. It is 215 miles long. It flows through
Lakes can be found innorth
Climate
oceanic (wet, windy,changeable, the temperatures doesn´t vary), mild, temperate. It winters aremild and summers are not very hot. Thr average temperature ranges from 4°C inwinter to 16°C in summer.
People
Population: 57 milion, densityof 600 persons per square mile (234 per sq km). Some areas are inhabited morethan the others, p.e. parts of the south-east.
Immigration into
Religion
-there is complete religious freedom in
-only the monarch must belong to the Church of England.
TheChurch of England was founded in 1534, when king Henry VIII broke awayfrom the supermacy (nadvláda) of Rome and declared himself head of the new Church
-The Church of England is sometimes referred to as theAnglican Church, in the sentence that it is part of a worldwide communion ofchurches whose practice and beliefs are very similar.
TheChurch of Scotland was created in 1560 by John Knox, who was opposed(čelit)to episcopal (biskupský) rule and belief tht the English Church had notmved sufficiently far from Rome.
-The Scotish church followed the teaching of Calvin.
TheRoman Catholic Church virtualy ceased to exist (přestat existovat) inBritain in the 16th centruy, after the Reformation.
-Toady Catholicism is widely practiced through thecountry, but no Catholic can become monarch.
-There are some Free Churches
Jews in Britain
-the firt grouf of Jews came to Britain at the time ofthe Norman Conquest. Toady the community of Jews has about 330,000 members andis estimated to be the second largest Jewish population in Europe.
National economy
In 1926 the BritishCommonwealth of Nations – a free association of equal states under onesovereign – was declared.
The GB belongs to the G-8 countries. Britain is the member of nearly all importantinternational organizations: UN, NATO,OECD, EU.
It has a very developped agricultural system. The mainproducts are wheat, barley, oats (oves), potatoes, beet (třtina), sugar andflax (len).The animals kept onBritish farms are cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.
The main raw materials are coal, iron, zinc, lead andoil, tin, chalk
Coal1) south-east ® Cent
2) Birmingham ® Sheffiels
3) around Newcastle
4) all the Grampian mountains
5) lowlands in Scotland (Glasgow)
Oil – the Northern Sea® Aberdeen- centre of oil and gas industry
Iron–around Birmingham
The main industries are steel, metals, vehicles, shipbuilding,shipping, banking, textiel, aircraft.
Manufacturing
Steel® around Birmingham,Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgou
Cars® Birmingham,Liverpool, South Wales, Cowentry- RolceRoyce
Ships® Newcastle,Glasgow, Belfast
Textiles® cotton importedfrom USA or Egypt ® Manchester, Leeds
-The north has always been associated with heavyindustries, coalmining, iron, steel and textiles, but these are now decliningand new industries must be developed.
-Scotland is famous for its whisky distilleries.
History
The first inhabitants came between 3,500 B.C. and 3,000B.C. These people came from Europe and lived in the south of England. Stonehenge, a huge circle of standing stones,was built by these early inhabitants
The first known inhabitants were the Celts. They crossed the English Channel many centuries beforethe Christian era. The Celts practiced agriculture and dug up minerals. Theirreligion was Druidism and their priestswere famous for their magic arts.
Roman religion led by Julius Caesar invadedBritain in 55 B.C. The Romansconquered much of the island and ruled it for almost 400 years. They built a lot. The Romans could not controlthe entire island. In the northern part, there lived people called Picts. They attacked Roman settlements.To keep them out, the Roman soldier built great walls with forts and towers.The greatest monument they left is the Hadrians´sWall, between England and Scotland.
The Romans leftBritain at the beggining of the 5th century.And the island was invaded by groups from Germany and Denmark called Angles, Saxons and Jutes. By the 7thcentruy they controlled the most of the island. The tribes united to become theAnglo-Saxons. They set up several small kingdoms. The southern part of Britainsoon became known as England. The people became known as the English. Theyfollowed the Germanic religion.
Pop George I decided to convert the Anglo-Saxons toChristianity. At the end of the 6th century, he sent there a mission of 41monks under the leadership of monk Augustine. By 700 A.D., all England was Chrstian. One of the monks, called Bede, who stayed in England, wrote the first history of English people.
About 835 A.D., bands of Danes began riding the coast ofEngland. The English kingdom decided to resist and as their leader, they chose Alfred, King of Wessex, after known as Alfred the Great. He became the King ofEngland. Afterwards he signed a treaty with Danes and they could rule the northeaspart of the country known as the Danelaw. Alfred was well-educated and hestarted a school.
In 1042 the witan made Edward the Confessor King of England. He died withou an heir. Themost powerful noble Harold becamethe King of England. But William, Dukeof Normandy, a cousin of Edward the Confessor, claimed that before Edwarddied he had promised him the English throne. In 1066 William led an army across the sea to England. They metHarold´s army in battle near Hastings.After the battle, on Christmas Day, William, now known as William the Conqueror, was crowned King of England in WestminsterAbbey.
William introduced feudalisminto England. He seized (vzal) the land of English nobels and divided themamong Norman nobels. The nobles became William´s vassals (poddaný). DuringWilliam´s rule England learns Norman customs. The wealthy built castles,cathedrals....
After king Richaredcalled Lionheart died, his brother John started to rule. He increased thetaxes and ignored the law. The nobles angry and forced John to sign the Magna Charta. It lessened the king´spower and increased that of the nobles. The Magna Charta brought step towardsdemocracy.
Englishhistory is connected with the dynasty of Tudors.
The first member on the throne was Hentry VII. His sonbecame one of the most known from the family.
Henry VIII was born at the end of the15th centruy. He has an outstanding position among English monarchs. As a youngboy, he was strong, generous, talented and skilled in artistic activities. Herealized the changes taking place in Europe and he wanted to be a powerfulmonarch to achieve his goals. His teacher was Thomas More, whom Henry made Lord Chancellor. More was executed,because he didn´t accept Henry´s second marriage with Anne Boleyn.
The most well known fact aboutHentry VIII is that he had six wives.
1. Catherine of Aragon – widow of Henry´s elder brother Arthur. Shewas not able to give him a son, a male heir. He convinced himself that thismust be because the marriage is invalid in the eyes of God. Henry wanted an annulement. But it couldcome only from Pope, unfortunately who was under the unfluence of Catherin´snephew. Henry´s request led to a conflict with Rome, which resulted in theestablishment of the Church of England.
They had a daughter – Mary I.
2. Ann Boleyn, who was later found quilty for adultery (cizoložství)and was executed.
hey had a daughter – Elisabeth I. and a son – Edward VI
3. Jane Seymour died while giving birth
4. Anne of Claves – Henry divorced her (their marriage was arrangedonly on the base of a portrait)
5. Catherine Howard – executed
6. Catherine Parr outlived him
Henry VIII´s Children
Mary I
-born in 1516, daughter of henry and Catherin of Aragon
-she was declared as a bastard, when Henry repudiated(zavrdl) her mother
-during her brother´s reign she came under the pressureto conform to the Protestant faith.
-when she came to the throne, she devoted herself tothe restoration of what she saw as the true religion.
-her marriage with King Philip provoked a rebellionamong the Protestant gentry of Kent.
-during her reign, two bishops and one arcibishop wereburnt at the stake (na hranici). There were among a total of 300 Protestantsvictims. Her policy earned her the name BloodyMary.
-in the closing months of her reign, the English lost Calais in today´sFrance.
Elisabeth I
-was born on 7th September 1533 to Henry and AnneBoleyn
-she never married and she died at the age of 70 (in1603) as the last of the Tudors
-she reign 44 years very succesfully and this period iscalled The Golden Age of English History
-she was very talented and educated a lot. She couldspeak five languages.
-After her mother was executed, the marriage of herparents was annulled and she became a royalbastard. Henry died when she was only 13 and she became an orphan.
-Elizabeth was second in line to the throne after Mary.Her brother died in 1553 and Mary became the Queen of England.
-Elizabeth was implicatedin a dangerous political plot and she was taken into the prison to theTower of Londen. At Phillip´s behest (příkaz) she was allowed to return andMary accepted her as a heiress.
-Elizabeth was crownedQueen on the 15 January 1559 and she became Supreme Governor of Church ofEngland. She wanted to rule not byforce, but by female democracy. She never married in order to protect hercountry from others kings and on the other hand in order to keep goodrelationships with all the empires around.
-During her reign, great voyages of discovery openedthe world to english trade and conquest. SirWalter Raleigh explored the eastern coast of North America and foundedthere the first British colony and called it Virginia in honour of the Queen.
-For political purposes she travelled around thecountry. Her reign was the golden age of literature, drama, art and music.
-Elizabeth I died in 1603 naming James VI of Scotland,the son of Mary Stuart, her successor.
Edward VI
-the only son of Henry VIII was a sickly child and diedat the age of 10 of tuberculosis or of over-medication.
Queen Victoria
-she came to the throne in 1837 at the age of 18
-during her reign the British Empire grew and grew andthe queen was the symbol of the continuity and stability of the British way oflife.
-The Victorian age was remarkable forthe expansion in wealth and power in Britain. Many changes were taken place ® industry was replacing agriculture, theold aristocracy lost tjeir power to the new middle class.
-She reigned for64 years, longer than any other sovereign in English history
-She was the first monarch to live in Buckingham Palace
Interesting places
Oxfordand Cambridge are the old university towns
Stratford-upon-Avon – the birthplaceof William Shakespeare and the place where his plays are performed at the ShakespeareMemorial Theatre.
Canterbury – an ancient townwith a majestic cathedral. It is famous for Geoffrey Chaucer´s CanterburyTales.
LakeDistrict – National Park, popular with many tourists and painters.
Bath: remarkablywell-preserved Roman baths and unique architectural beuties
Brighton: famous seasidetown
Plymouth: an ancient port,famous naval base and modern resort with one of the finest natural harbours inthe world.
Stonehange: built about 2,000B.C. on Salibury Plain, is thought to be a temple for the worship (uctívání) ofthe sun
Cities
In England:
London
Birmingham – the mostindustrial city
Leeds
Sheffield–steel industry
Manchaster
Bristol
On the south-east coast, thereare ports.
In Scotland: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen
NewCastle – industrial city – building ships
