1. England
The largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated of the four countries, which form
up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). ). It covers an area of
130,395 km² occupying the south-eastern portion of the island of Great Britain. The population is
around 49,000,000 and the capital city is London.
England has not been an independent nation since 1707 when the modern Great Britain was
established.
Geography
England comprises most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore
islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the
west by Wales. Most of England consists of rolling hills, but it is more mountainous in the north.
The Tees-Exe line usually indicates the dividing line between terrain types. There is also an area
of flat, low-lying marshland in the east, much of which has been drained for agricultural use.
Major rivers are the Thames, the Severn, the Trent, the Humber, the Yorkshire Ouse, the Tyne,
the Mersey and the Dee. England's six largest cities are; London, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield,
Liverpool, and Manchester. Other major cities are Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Derby, Kingston
upon Hull, Leicester, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Nottingham, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent and
Wolverhampton.
Languages
English
The English language is spoken by millions of people around the world. It originated as the
language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially
enshrined as such). A Germanic family, it is closely related to Dutch, suggesting geographic
proximity between the ancient Dutch and ancient Anglo-Saxons before the latter invaded Britain.
Used by all levels of society before the Norman Conquest, English was displaced by the Norman
French language of the new Anglo-French aristocracy. English was confined primarily to the
lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French.
Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all
classes but showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. English is
remarkable for its ability to incorporate foreign-influenced words. The law does not recognise
any language as being official, but English is the only language used in England for general
official business.
Cornish
The only other native language in England is the nearly extinct Cornish language, a Celtic
2. language spoken in Cornwall. It is closely related to Welsh and Breton but died out in the late
19th or early 20th Century, although Cornish fishermen still counted their catches in Cornish till
late in the 20th century. Fortunately, enough words and grammar were documented and recorded
and it was revived during the 20th Century and is now spoken by around 3,500 people and
interest in reviving the language is slowly gaining ground. The language has no official status
and is not required for official use. It is supported by national and local government under the
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornish exists in place names, and a
knowledge of the language helps to read the landscape. Many Cornish names are still used for
children, pets, houses and boats.
Industry
The United Kingdom is the fourth largest economy in the world and is one of the largest
economies of Western Europe. The UK economy is also one of the strongest in Europe; inflation,
interest rates, and unemployment remain low. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil
reserves and energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any
industrial nation. Due to North Sea oil the UK is a net hydrocarbon exporter, and the second
largest producer of oil in Western Europe after Norway. Around about 80% of UK electricity is
currently generated from fossil fuels. Nuclear power and an increasing contribution from wind
turbines make up the bulk of the remainder. Service industries, particularly banking, insurance,
and business services (mainly centered in London, Manchester and Birmingham), account for the
largest proportion of GDP and employ around 70% of the working population. Manufacturing
continues to decline in importance. Tourism is the 6th largest industry in the UK, contributing 76
billion pounds to the economy. It employs 6.1% of the working population Agriculture is
intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food
needs with only 1% of the labour force. It contributes around 2% of GDP. Around two-thirds of
production is devoted to livestock, one-third to arable crops.
History
When the geographical region we call "England" was invaded by Julius Caesar in 55 BC, and
then again the next century by the Emperor Claudius, it was inhabited by Celtic tribes
collectively called "Britons." The whole southern part of the island (roughly corresponding to
modern day England and Wales) became a part of the Roman Empire until finally abandoned
early in the 5th century. Unaided by Roman legions, Roman Britannia could not resist the
Germanic tribes who arrived in the 5th and 6th centuries, pushing the Britons back into modern-
day Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall. The invaders fell into three main groups: the Jutes, the
Saxons, and the Angles. As they became more civilized, several large Kingdoms formed and
began to merge with one another. From time to time throughout this period, one Anglo-Saxon
king was recognized as the "Bretwalda" or High King by other rulers and had effective control of
all or most of the English. Real unity came as a response to the Danish Viking incursions, which
occupied the eastern half of "England" in the 8th century. Egbert, King of Wessex (d. 839) is
often regarded as the first king of all the English, although the title "King of England" was first
adopted, two generations later, by Alfred the Great (ruled 871-899). In 1066 Duke William of
Normandy killed the last Saxon King, Harold Godwinson, at the Battle of Hastings and took
control of the country, killing or removing most of the Saxon leaders and giving large estates to
his followers. For several centuries, Norman French became the language of the ruling elite,
although the majority of the population continued to use their own native languages. But
3. although he unquestionably engineered a pivotal moment in the country's history, William the
Conqueror did not "found" or "unify" the country; he took over a pre-existing England and gave
it a Norman-French administration and nobility who gradually adopted the language and customs
of the English over the succeeding centuries.
From the late 13th century, the neighbouring principality of Wales was joined to England, and
came to be a part of that kingdom for most legal purposes when King Edward I defeated the last
welsh Prince of Wales. The history of England as an independent country stretches on through
the Middle Ages and renaissance to the reign of Elizabeth I, notable both for its culture and
mercantile success which resulted in a great expansion of territory in many parts of the World.
Elizabeth's successor, James I was already king of Scotland (as James VI); and this personal
union of the two crowns was followed a century later by the Act of Union 1707 which finally
joined England and Scotland into the present-day United Kingdom.
