National Name The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
The national flag is a horizontal rectangle, with the ratio of the length of the flag to the width of the flag being 2:1. The flag is a "m" flag, consisting of a dark blue background with red and white "m" letters. The red cross with a white border represents St. George, the patron saint of England, the white cross represents St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, and the red cross represents St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The flag was created in 1801 by overlapping the original red square ten on a white field of England, the white crossed cross on a blue field of Scotland and the red crossed cross on a white field of Ireland.
The coat of arms is the King's Coat of Arms. The central design is a coat of arms, the upper left and lower right corners of the shield for the three golden lions on the red ground, symbolizing England; the upper right corner of the red lion half standing on the gold ground, symbolizing Scotland; the lower left corner of the golden harp on the blue ground, symbolizing Ireland. The coat of arms is supported on each side by a lion wearing a crown, representing England, and a unicorn, representing Scotland. The coat of arms is surrounded by a motto in French, meaning "What goes around comes around"; at the lower end hangs the Order of the Guardian, with a ribbon reading "God in heaven, I have the right". At the top of the coat of arms is a jeweled gold and silver helmet, the Imperial Crown and a lion wearing the crown.
The national anthem, "God save the queen" (if the reigning monarch is male, the anthem is "god save the king")
The national flower, the rose
The national bird, the red-breasted dove
The national stone, the diamond
The Science Festival, which began in 1831, is held once a year
Science Week, which began in 1994, is held once a year. p> Science Week began in 1994 and is held in March each year
National dignitaries Queen Elizabeth II, who took the throne on February 6, 1952, and was crowned on June 2, 1953, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who succeeded Tony Blair on June 27, 2007, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Natural geography 244,100 square kilometers (including inland waters), England 134,400 square kilometers, Scotland 78,800 square kilometers, Wales 20,800 square kilometers, Northern Ireland 13,600 square kilometers.
Island country located in the western part of Europe. By the island of Great Britain (including England, Scotland, Wales), the northeast of the island of Ireland and some small islands. Across the North Sea, the Strait of Dover, the English Channel and the European mainland. Its land border is with Ireland*** and the country. The total length of the coastline is 11,450 kilometers. The territory is divided into four parts: the plains of south-east England, the mountains of the west-central region, the mountains of Scotland, and the highlands and mountains of Northern Ireland. The main rivers are the Severn (354 km) and the Thames (346 km). Northern Ireland's Lough Neagh (396 square kilometers) has the largest area in the country. It has an oceanic temperate broad-leaved forest climate, which is mild and humid all year round. Usually the highest temperature does not exceed 32 ℃, the lowest temperature is not less than -10 ℃, the average temperature in January 4 ~ 7 ℃, July 13 ~ 17 ℃. It is rainy and foggy, especially in fall and winter. The average annual precipitation is about 1000 millimeters. The annual precipitation in the mountainous areas in the north and west exceeds 2,000 millimeters, while that in the center and east is less than 800 millimeters. It is driest from February to March and wettest from October to January.
The population is about 60,209,000. The official and common language is English. Welsh is also spoken in north Wales, and Gaelic is still spoken in the northwestern Highlands of Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland. The population is mostly Protestant, with the Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church, whose members make up about 60% of the adult population) and the Church of Scotland (also known as the Presbyterian Church, with 660,000 adult members). There are also the Catholic Church and larger religious communities such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.
London Tower Bridge
London (london), capital; population: 7.4 million (2004). The hottest month is July, with temperatures ranging from 13°C to 22°C. The coldest month is January, with temperatures ranging from 2°C to 6°C. In April 2006, Beijing and London became sister cities.
The administrative divisions are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England is divided into 43 counties, with 29 districts and 3 special jurisdictions in Scotland, 26 districts in Northern Ireland, and 22 districts in Wales. The Scottish and Welsh assemblies and their administrations have overall responsibility for local affairs, while foreign affairs, defense, general economic and monetary policy, employment policy, and social security remain under the control of the central government.
London, also known as "Greater London" (Greater London), has 32 separate boroughs (London boroughs) and a "financial city" (City of London). The borough councils are responsible for the main affairs of their respective boroughs, but work in conjunction with the Mayor and Council of Greater London to deal with matters relating to the whole of London. In addition, there are 12 dependencies in the UK.
London Big Ben
Brief HistoryBeginning of the Mediterranean Iberians, Bic, Celts, came to Britain. The southeastern part of the island of Great Britain was ruled by the Roman Empire in the 1st-5th centuries AD. After the withdrawal of the Romans, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes in the north of Europe invaded and settled. 7 century began to form a feudal system, many small countries and into seven kingdoms, fighting for 200 years, known as the "Anglo-Saxon era". 829 years Wessex King Egbert In 829, King Egbert of Wessex united England, which was called the "Anglo-Saxon Era", and was invaded by the Danes in the end of the 8th century, and was part of the Danish pirate empire from 1016 to 1042. After a short period of rule by the King of England, the Duke of Normandy conquered England in 1066 and established the Norman dynasty. 1215 King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta, which suppressed the king's power.
The Hundred Years' War was fought between Britain and France from 1338 to 1453, with Britain winning and then losing. 1536 saw the merger of England and Wales, and 1588 saw the defeat of Spain's Invincible Armada, establishing maritime hegemony. 1640 saw the first bourgeois revolution in the world. In 1640 Britain was the first country in the world to break out in the bourgeois revolution and became the pioneer of the bourgeois revolution. 1649 On May 19, the establishment of the State of **** was proclaimed. 1660 saw the restoration of the dynasty. 1668 saw the "Glorious Revolution", which led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchical system. 1707 saw the amalgamation of England and Scotland, and 1801 saw the amalgamation of England and Ireland. From the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, England became the first country in the world to complete the Industrial Revolution.
The 19th century was the heyday of the British Empire. In 1914, the British Empire occupied a colony 111 times larger than the mainland, and was the first colonial power, calling itself the "Empire of the Sunset". It began to decline after the First World War. Britain set up the County of Northern Ireland in 1920 and allowed the southern part of Ireland to break away from its rule from 1921 to 1922. 26 counties in the south were set up as the "Free State", while the 6 counties in the north were still returned to Britain. 1931 saw the promulgation of the Westminster Act, which forced the government to recognize the independence of its self-governing territories in terms of internal affairs and foreign affairs, thus shaking the colonial system of the British Empire. The colonial system of the British Empire was shaken from then on. After the First World War, Britain began to decline, and its world hegemony was gradually replaced by the United States. In the Second World War its economic power was greatly weakened and its political status declined. With the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, the British colonial system began to disintegrate, but Britain is still the leader of the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth. At present, Britain still has 13 overseas territories. In January 1973, it joined the Eu*****ean Union.
◆ The Question of Gibraltar
Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the north shore of the Strait of Gibraltar, strangling the throat of the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the strategic position is very important. Gibraltar has an area of nearly 6 square kilometers and a population of about 30,000 people. The Strait of Gibraltar is 90 kilometers long and 12 kilometers to 43 kilometers wide, is the only sea passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Gibraltar was incorporated into Spain in 1501. in 1702, France and Austria resorted to war over the succession to the Spanish throne, and Britain, the Netherlands, and Austria allied themselves, and their allied armies conquered Gibraltar in 1704 and established a military fortress. in 1713, Spain signed the Anglo-Spanish Treaty with Britain, ceding Gibraltar to the United Kingdom. in 1830. Gibraltar became a British colony and a major naval base. In 1830, Gibraltar became a British colony and a major naval base. Since then, all military and political affairs in Gibraltar have been under the control of the British Crown appointed Governor.
In 1961, Britain and Spain began a dialogue on Gibraltar, and in 1984, the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries reached an agreement on the issue, with Spain agreeing to fully open Gibraltar's borders from 1985.
On March 18, 1991, Britain formally handed over the defense of Gibraltar to a team of locals, ending a 287-year British military presence in the area. Two years later, the British and Spanish foreign ministers began discussing the future status of Gibraltar.
◆ The Northern Ireland Question
Northern Ireland is located in the north-east of the island of Ireland and covers an area of 14,120 square kilometers, with a capital city of Belfast and a population of about 1.6 million people, 60% of whom are descended from British immigrants who practiced Protestant Christianity, and the remaining 40% of whom are descended from the indigenous people of the island of Ireland who practiced Catholicism. For a long time, they have been living in separate clusters and not interacting with each other. On the issue of belonging to Northern Ireland, the former advocate to stay in Britain, the latter insisted on returning to Ireland.
Northern Ireland was originally the territory of Ireland. The Irish are the descendants of the Celts, generations of people living on the island of Ireland, the 6th century when the acceptance of Roman Catholicism. 12 century, the British began to invade Ireland. 1801, according to the "Anglo-Irish Treaty of Alliance", Ireland was formally incorporated into the British version of the territory of the United Kingdom, set up the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", the United Kingdom to complete the annexation of Ireland, Ireland became the The annexation of Ireland was completed, and Ireland became the first colony of Britain, and was oppressed in all aspects of politics, economy, culture and religion. The Irish fought many wars of national independence against the colonizers. Between 1886 and 1893, riots occurred continuously in Belfast, and the violent confrontation between the two nationalities with different beliefs and political views cost the lives of hundreds of people; the Easter Rising in Dublin broke out in 1916, which was led by radical Sinn Féin and aimed at striving for the independence of Ireland, and was ultimately defeated due to the armed suppression by the British army, and thousands of people rose up. It ultimately failed and thousands of insurgents died. As a result, the Irish Question has existed in Britain for 700 years.