Coat Of Arms Of Great Britain
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Coat Of Arms Of Great Britain |
United Kingdom (this article is in Russian — Великобритания), great Britain, United Kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) — government[ru] in the North-West of Europe, on British Isles (the largest — the island of Britain), North-Eastern part of the island Ireland, island of man, island of Wight, channel and other small Islands. It is separated from the continent by the English channel and the Pas-de-Calais. The area is 244.11 thousand km2. The population of 60.7 million people (2007). The Capital Is London.
Great Britain was formed on may 1, 1707 as a result of the Anglo-Scottish Union. In English historiography, the Act of Union is sometimes referred to as the" Union of parliaments", since England and Scotland were United in a single Parliament of great Britain.
Major cities and agglomerations in the United Kingdom: Greater London, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield, Bradford, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Bristol.
Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy (but there is no formal Constitution, and there are a number of main legislative acts). The head of state is the Queen. Legislative power is exercised by the Queen and a bicameral Parliament (the House of lords and the house of Commons). The Executive branch is headed by the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the party that received the most votes in the house of Commons elections and forms the government. The United Kingdom heads the Commonwealth, which includes 53 countries.
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The state consists of four administrative and political parts (historical national regions): England (39 counties, 6 Metropolitan counties and a special administrative division — Greater London), Wales (8 counties), Scotland (12 regions: 9 districts and 3 island territories) and Northern Ireland (26 districts).
The Isle of man and the channel Islands are separate administrative divisions. British possessions: in Europe-Gibraltar, in America[ru] — Anguilla, Bermuda, the British virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), in Africa — Saint Helena island, in Oceania — Pitcairn island.
About 80% of the UK population are English, 15% are Scottish, Welsh (Welsh), Cornish and Irish; about 5% of the population are immigrants from Commonwealth countries. The English are descendants of the Anglo-Saxons and Normans; the Scots, Irish, Welsh, and Cornish are descendants of the Celts. The official language is English.
The English are adherents of the Anglican state Church, the Scots, mostly Presbyterians, and the Irish, mostly Catholics. A small number of Catholics and adherents of the High Church close to Catholicism are also among the English. The most densely populated areas are Central and South-East England, and the least populated areas are Northern Scotland and Central Wales. There is a high degree of urbanization; 89.4% of the population lives in cities. Almost 1/2 of the population lives in large cities (with a population of more than 100 people). On the territory of the country, 8 large urban conurbations with a population of more than 1 million people have been formed, in which more than 1/3 of the country's population is concentrated. The average population density is 245.5 people/km2 (according to 2003 data).
Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic ocean and its seas — the Northern and Irish, the English channel, the Pas de Calais, the Northern and St. George's. The coastline is strongly divided by bays (fjords in the North and estuaries in the South), forming the significant peninsulas of Wales and Cornwall. There are also significant geographical differences between the four historical regions. Scotland and Northern England are mountainous and geographically represent High Britain — the North Scottish highlands (g. Ben Nevis, 1343 m, the highest point of great Britain), the South Scottish highlands, the Pennine and Cambrian mountains, the lake district in North-West England. Flattened plateform peaks, gently sloping slopes are characteristic, and glacial landforms have been preserved in the North.
Low Britain is separated from High Britain By a conventional line that runs in a South-westerly direction from Newcastle at the mouth of the river Tyne to Exeter at the mouth of the river Tyne. Ex in the South of Devon. In the South and South-East of Low Britain-rolling plains (London basin, etc.), framed by Bush ridges, a typical landscape of "good old England". The climate is moderate oceanic, humid, with mild winters and cool summers (influenced by the Gulf stream). Average temperatures in January are 3-7 °C, July 11-17 °C. Precipitation on the plains is 600-750 mm, in the mountains 1000-3000 mm per year, frequent drizzling rains and fogs. The Western part of the country receives slightly more precipitation than the Eastern part.
A dense network of deep rivers (Thames, Severn, etc.), many of which are connected by channels, often outdated. There are many lakes in Scotland and Ireland (Loch ness, Loch Lomond in Scotland, etc., and Loch Ney in Northern Ireland). The mountains are dominated by peatlands, heaths used as pastures for sheep. Forests (oak, beech, birch) cover 9% of the country's territory. The plains are occupied by arable land and meadows and are densely populated. There are numerous national nature reserves and parks for recreational use (the Peak district, Snowdonia, etc.).
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Cromlech. Stonehenge. Salisbury, United Kingdom. The first buildings of primitive man were associated with religious beliefs. The first structures of architecture — megaliths-were large blocks of stone, roughly processed or not processed at all, arranged in a certain order. Cromlechs are stone slabs or pillars that form one or more concentric circles up to 100 m in diameter. In a circle, they are blocked by powerful stone blocks, tightly fitted to the pillars with the help of cut spikes and nests. Today, there is no exact information about what these amazing ancient architectural structures were: a temple, a necropolis, an Observatory.
Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. Over the past 20 years, the English economy has undergone the following transformations: the public sector has been reduced; tax rates for individuals and businesses have been reduced; the economy has been deregulated (while reducing public spending). GDP per capita 31800 dollars (2006). GDP in 2006 (at purchasing power parity) was $ 1,930 billion. In terms of energy resources, it is the 1st largest producer of oil and gas in Europe (production is carried out on the North sea shelf using the most advanced methods on platforms; the British sector has about 1/3 of the reliable reserves in Europe) and coal. Oil production of 124 million tons in 2000 (main fields Brent, Fortis), gas 89.9 billion m3 (operated 17 fields, the largest-Lehman Bank, Brent, Morkham). British Petroleum and the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch/Shell are among the leaders in their market segment. Historically, very important coal mining is constantly declining.
In the UK manufacturing industry, priority is given to such industries as transport engineering (12.4% of total industrial production), including automotive (national companies and branches of foreign companies Rover, Ford, Jaguar, Vauxhall, Pegeout-Talbot, Honda, Nissan, Toyota); shipbuilding; aerospace industry — the third in the world after the United States and France, producing civil and military aircraft (British Aerospace, Harrier, Tornado, Eurofighter), aircraft engines "rolls-Royce-Royce, equipment for the European Airbus industry concern; food processing (12.5% of total production); General engineering: agricultural machinery and machine tools, including textile machinery (the UK is the world's seventh largest manufacturer of machine tools); electronics and electrical engineering; computers, processors and supercomputers (including manufacturers such as IBM and Compaq); software; telecommunications (fiber optics, radars, etc.); medical equipment; household appliances.
The chemical industry accounts for 11% of total production. These are: pharmaceuticals (the UK is the world's fourth largest drug manufacturer); agrochemicals; perfumes; new materials and biotechnologies. The development of modern industry in the UK is determined by the level of development of high technologies. The UK has the highest scientific and technical potential in Europe. Research expenditures amount to more than 2% of GDP per year, including more than 35% of all research activities funded by the state. Traditionally, textile engineering was important (confined to the old textile districts of Lancashire and Yorkshire). The oldest branch of English industry — textile-has now lost its former significance (the main areas of production of the cotton industry-Lancashire, wool-Yorkshire, knitwear-East Midlands, linen-Northern Ireland). Large food industry (production of food concentrates, confectionery and tobacco products, beverages (about 1/5 of the world's export of alcoholic beverages, mainly Scotch whiskey and English gin).
Agricultural production is highly intensive, and half of the country's food needs are met. In agriculture, 24.8% of the country's territory is used (2005) (including St. 60% — under arable land, 35% — cultivated meadows), pastures occupy 45.9%, under forest — 10.4%. The main branch of agriculture is animal husbandry. It was significantly damaged in the late 1990s by epidemics of cow rabies (spongiform encephalitis) and foot-and-mouth disease. About 1/3 of the arable land is occupied by cereals, mainly wheat and barley. The main agricultural areas are East and South-East England.
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25% of the country's GDP is generated by the financial services sector. It employs 12% of the country's labor reserves, and London is the world's financial center, the financial capital of the planet[ru]. Financial services include banking (in addition to British banks, the world's 50 largest banks are represented in London), insurance, the derivatives market (futures, options, global Depositary receipts), the bond market (Eurobonds), the foreign exchange market (operations with Euro currencies), financial leasing, trust operations with foreign shares, and operations with precious metals. In addition to London, major financial centers are Manchester, Cardiff, Liverpool, and Edinburgh.
Tourism employs 7% of the working-age population, and the annual income exceeds 8 billion dollars. London is the largest tourist center in the world. A significant part of GDP is provided by education in world-famous schools and universities. The monetary unit is the pound sterling.
Traces of settlements of primitive people are found in the British Isles almost everywhere. Of the pre-Celtic population, the most well-known is the plemeplemya, a type of ethnic community and social organization of primitive society. Characteristic: blood relationship between its members, division into clans and phratries, common territory, some elements of economy, self-awareness and self-naming, customs and cults, for the later stage — self-government, consisting of a tribal Council, military and civil leaders. The formation of tribal unions, conquests and migrations led to the mixing of tribes and the emergence of larger ethnic communities. The tribal organization is maintained in some cultures and in the modern era. Picts who lived[ru] in Scotland. In the 1st Millennium BC, the Celts came here. After one of the tribes, the Britons, the country was named Britain. The first Roman to land here was Julius Caesar, but soon left the island. His successors established Roman settlements here, but they could not conquer the entire territory and did not try to move North. With the weakening of Rome, the Britons formed their own kingdoms.
In the 5th-6th centuries, during the Great migration of peoples, England was conquered by the Anglo-Saxons, who formed several kingdoms here: Mercia, Wessex, Sussex, Kent, and Northumbria. They were United by king Alfred the Great (late 9th century). He compiled the first set of common English laws. The Anglo-Saxons faced Viking attacks and, starting from the 9th century, paid them tribute-danegeld. One of the Viking kings, Knud I the Mighty, incorporated England into his Empire (2nd half of the 11th century), but after his death[ru], the Anglo-Saxons regained their independence. Their last king, Harold II, fell in battle with Duke William of Normandy in 1066.
The Norman conquest United the country, and the formation of the English nation began. In 1212, a revolt of the barons, supported by all the estates, forced king John the Landless to sign the Magna Carta. This marked the beginning of the development of the English monarchy as a class, that is, based on all the estates of the country. From the end of the 13th century, Wales passed to the English crown. The hundred years ' war of 1337-1453 with France led to the loss of the possessions of the English kings on the continent. In Scotland, an independent Kingdom emerged around the 9th century and often came into conflict with England. The English conquest of Ireland began in the 12th century.
During the war of The roses (1455-1485) in England, the old family nobility was largely destroyed. The new nobility (gentry) increased their holdings by fencing (driving farmers from the land), willingly participated in various types of commercial and industrial enterprises. In the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603), England, having defeated the Spanish fleet, achieved dominance of the sea. Elizabeth was replaced by kings from the Scottish dynasty of the Stuarts, Scotland United with England in a personal Union (and since 1707 United officially and deprived of independence).
On March 12, 1609, Bermuda became a British colony.
The English revolution of the 17th century ended with the establishment of a parliamentary monarchy. The long struggle with France for trade and colonial hegemony ended in the 18th century with the victory of great Britain; huge possessions were captured in India and North America, and the colonization of Australia and New Zealand began. In the 1760s, an industrial revolution began in England. By the mid-19th century, it accounted for half of world production. Scotland and Ireland (the Union of 1801 eliminated the remnants of autonomy) developed much more slowly. During the 19th century. Britain expanded its Empire, although it lost the United States of America. Vast territories were captured in Burma and South Africa, the capture of India, Cyprus, and Egypt was completed, and wars were waged against China.
On January 9, 1799, British Prime Minister William pitt the Younger introduced the first income tax in the world-2 shillings per pound.
On August 29, 1842, the Treaty of Nanking was concluded between China and great Britain, as a result of China's defeat in the First opium war. Under this agreement, China paid a contribution of about us $ 21 million to the UK.
In 1867, the colonies in Canada were transformed into the 1st dominion, then the dominion became Australia and some other colonies. During the 19th century, the system "the king reigns, but does not rule"was finally formed. The struggle for power since the 17th century was waged by two parties-the tories and Whigs. Since the mid-19th century, the tories have been transformed into the conservative party, and the Whigs into the liberals.
On March 23, 1806, the British Parliament passed an act prohibiting the slave trade.
On September 29, 1829, the civil police, later called Scotland Yard, was established in London by order of the home Secretary, Robert peel.
On may 31, 1859, the main clock in London and England — big Ben, designed by Edmund Beckett-began to count down. Strictly speaking, big Ben is not a clock on the English Parliament building in Westminster or a tower, but one of the five bells of the" Great clock tower " weighing 13 tons. There are two versions of the origin of the name big Ben: it is either the name of the Chairman of the parliamentary Commission, Benjamin Hall, who at that time managed the construction, or the name of the famous boxer, Benjamin count. The battle of big Ben is considered a symbol of great Britain, and can be heard as a precise time signal on the BBC radio network.
On may 4, 1896, the first issue of the DAILY MAIL was published. The newspaper is the UK's most popular daily newspaper. The newspaper was one of the first British Newspapers for the middle class and today is the only one with more than 50% of its readers[ru] being women.
On April 3, 1911, the results of the population census in great Britain were summed up. In ten years the population increased by 9.1% and amounted to 45 216 665 residents.
When Britain entered the First world war in 1914, thousands of women took up jobs left by men. Women worked in transport, in the police, as firefighters, as Bank employees, and also filled factories for the production of artillery guns, gas masks, tanks, ships, planes, mines and various ammunition. The work was not only stressful and difficult, it was dangerous.
On November 5, 1914, great Britain decided the fate of Cyprus unilaterally by declaring its annexation.
After First World War[ru] The UK received a significant part of the former German possession in Africa and b. part of the territories taken from Turkey. The labour (workers') party gained a great influence in domestic politics. After World War II[ru], the bombed-out Britain took a back seat to the United States on the international stage. In the 1940s and 1970s, almost all the British colonies became independent. The labour party ousted the liberal party and after the Second world war, the government was alternately formed by labour and the conservatives.
On April 25, 1940, during the Second world war, the occupying British government approved the use of the Merkida for Faroese vessels, and since then, on April 25, the Faroese celebrate the national holiday Flaggdagur-flag Day.
On April 24, 1941, during world war II, great Britain began evacuating its troops from Greece.
On June 8, 1946, the London Victory parade was held — a British parade in honor of the victory over Nazi Germany and Japan in world war II.
On July 31, 1965, cigarette advertising on television was banned in the United Kingdom.
On May 4, 1979, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of great Britain — the first and only female Prime Minister of great Britain.
Under the conservative government of the "iron lady" Margaret Thatcher, most public sector enterprises were privatized, and a course was taken to reorient traditional coal-mining regions.
As one of the leading members of the European Union since its inception, the UK has been pursuing an independent policy towards other European countries, focusing more on the US. Traditional English conservatism did not allow the labour government of Tony Blair to switch to a common European currency, although this is what the country's business community wants. In 2007, Blair left the post of Prime Minister, losing to his party colleague Gordon brown.
On August 27, 1980, the number of unemployed people in the UK exceeded 2 million.
On June 8, 2017, early parliamentary elections were held in the UK, and a new government was formed later.
On June 23, 2016, the UK held a referendum on EU membership. 51.9 percent of voters voted to leave the European Union. Shortly after the results of the vote were announced, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his decision to resign. "I fought as best I could, spoke directly and sincerely about what I felt, put my heart[ru] and soul into it," he said. — But the British have decided to go the other way. Therefore, I believe that the country needs a new leader who will lead it in this direction."
National UK holiday — birthday the Queen (is celebrated not in true birthday It Majesty and under the decision of government usually one Saturday of the first half of June).
9 Feb in the UK is celebrated on the day of the Bagel.
On April 12, 1606, the new flak "UNION JACK"was introduced. The flag was introduced by decree of king James I, who was simultaneously the ruler of England and Scotland. Since these countries were independent States at that time, the flag was used as an additional one on ships. Later, the flag was used only as a Huys (the ship's forward flag). The main purpose of the flag was to show that both England and Scotland serve the same sovereign. After that, the flag was changed several times and received its final appearance on 1 January, 1801.
The flag of great Britain was adopted on 1 January 1801. It is a blue cloth, crossed by two diagonal lines of red with a white outline and placed on top of them a wider red cross with a white outline. The flag is often called the Union Jack.
The British flag symbolizes the unity of different regions of Britain. The straight broad red cross (St George's cross) is the symbol of England. The white oblique cross (St Andrew's cross) is the symbol of Scotland. On the Scottish flag, it is depicted on a blue background, which has also switched to the flag of great Britain. On top of the white diagonal cross is placed the symbol of Ireland — a red diagonal cross (St. Patrick's cross). The English and Scottish flags appeared in the 13th and 14th centuries. After the Union of England and Scotland, the Union flag was created, with the red cross of St George and the white cross of St Andrew on a blue field.
On April 13, 1917, the British government, under pressure from king George V, abandoned the plan to grant asylum to Nicholas II and his family. Georg motivated the change in his position by his unwillingness to go against public opinion. In fact, he feared that the maintenance of the Romanovs, deprived of their entire fortune, would cost the English court too much.
On March 5, 2000, British scientists performed a successful cloning operation for the first time in the world.
On April 14, 2018, US President Donald Trump[ru] announced the launch of "targeted strikes" on Syria from the air and water. Great Britain and France joined the operation. Trump explained that the strikes are a "direct result" of Russia's[ru] inability to keep Assad from using chemical weapons. The missiles were launched from the submarine USS John Warner (SSN-765) and the missile cruiser USS Monterey.
From the RAF, four Tornado planes took part in the attack, firing Storm Shadow missiles without entering Syrian airspace. The range of these projectiles is about 450 km. The British Astute-class submarine was supposed to participate in the launch of cruise missiles on Syria. Instead, she had to get away from two Russian submarines and two frigates of the Russian Navy in the Eastern Mediterranean. At the same time, the British submarine was assisted by an American anti-submarine aircraft P-8, which tracked the movement of vessels of the Russian Navy.
The Syrian air defense systems S-125, S-200, Buk and Kvadrat were used to repel the Western missile strike. These air defense systems were produced more than 30 years ago in the Soviet Union. American Tomahawk missiles, which were used to strike Syria, were also developed more than 30 years ago and have been in service with the us army since 1983. The US and its satellites have fired more than 100 cruise missiles and air — to-ground missiles at Syria. The us military claims that the missiles were fired at three targets — one within Damascus and two near HOMS. The Syrian air defense system managed to intercept a significant part of the missiles. Syria's air defense shot down some missiles, while others damaged several army bases and a research center.
In the UK, it is forbidden to kiss at train stations. Under the official pretext that couples in love are delaying the departure of the train.
In the UK, there is a tradition on new year's[ru] eve to open the back door first, and then the front door of the house. The back door is opened with the first stroke of the clock[ru], and thus the old year is seen off, and the front door is opened with the last stroke, inviting the new one to the threshold.
How long does the new year's holiday last in the UK?
Holidays during official public holidays in England are usually not paid for. In December, residents of the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland walk for two days at Christmas and one day at New year. Since December 25, 2016 and January 1, 2017 fall on a Sunday, the following Mondays are also declared weekends. And in the case of Christmas, the weekend was also Tuesday, so the British got a wonderful four-day weekend.
Ernest Rutherford (30 August 1871, spring grove, near Brightwater, South island, New Zealand — 19 October 1937, Cambridge) — was a British physicist of new Zealand origin, bachelor of arts, master of arts, bachelor of science and doctor of science.
William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874, Paris — 16 December 1965, cap ferré, France) — was an English novelist, one of the most successful novelists of the 1930s, the author of 78 books, and an agent of British intelligence.
Winston Churchill (full name and surname Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill) (30 November 1874, Blenheim, Oxfordshire — 24 January 1965, London) — was a statesman, Prime Minister of great Britain in 1940-1945 and 1951-1955, one of the leaders who made a significant contribution to the defeat of Hitler's Germany. Military (Colonel), journalist and writer.
Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881, Ayrshire — 11 March 1955, London) — was a bacteriologist who discovered the first antibiotic penicillin. Works on immunology, General bacteriology, and chemotherapy. He discovered lysozyme in 1922; in 1929, he established that one of the types of mold fungus secretes an antibacterial substance — penicillin. The Nobel prize (1945, together with pathologist Howard Walter Florey and biochemist Ernst Boris chain).
Edward Benjamin Britten (22 November 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England — 4 December 1976, Oldenburg, Suffolk) — was a composer, pianist, conductor, and musical[ru] public figure. The largest representative of English music. One of the greatest English composers of the XX century.
