The British Isles

THE BRITISH THE BRITISH ISLESISLES

One country ?

What are the British What are the British Isles ?Isles ?

• In the British Isles In the British Isles there are five there are five countries :countries :

• - England- England• - Wales- Wales• - Scotland- Scotland• - Northern Ireland - Northern Ireland • - The independent - The independent

Republic of Ireland.Republic of Ireland.

What is Great Britain ?What is Great Britain ?

• Great Britain or Great Britain or Britain is an Britain is an island. It consists island. It consists of of - Scotland- Scotland- Wales - Wales - England.- England.

What is the United What is the United Kingdom ?Kingdom ?

• The United Kingdom The United Kingdom consist of 4 consist of 4 countries: countries:

- EnglandEngland- Scotland Scotland - WalesWales- Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland.

The capital of UK is The capital of UK is London but it is the London but it is the capital of England capital of England tootoo..

The UK is situated in the north-west of Europe. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.

It has a total land area of 244,100 square kilometres. From north to south it is about 1,000 kilometres long.

The UK comes within 35 km of the northwest of France, and it is separated by the English Channel.

Ben Nevis 1343 M

The Royal Coat of Arms of the UK is the official coat of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II.In the middle there is a shield divided into 4 parts.You can see the harp of Ireland on the left, and there are 3 lions above.On the left of the shield there is a lion with a crown. And on the right there is a unicorn, symbolizing Scotland.

The motto of the English monarchs is «Dieu et mon droit »

The motto of the Order of the Garter is « Honi soit qui mal y pense ».

Help :

Shield : bouclier

Order of the garter: ordre des chevaliers britanniques.

Motto: devise

Unicorn: licorne

HISTORY

The national anthem is God save the Queen.

The first verse:

God save our gracious Queen!Long live our noble Queen!God save the Queen!Send her victorious,Happy and glorious,Long to the reign over us,God save the Queen.

The British National Anthem represents the whole of the UK. However, Wales and Scotland have other songs that they sing.

Wales, - Hen Wlad Fy NhadouScotland, - Flower of Scotland and Scotland the Brave

• UK flag:

This is the flag of Wales:

The Union Jack is composed of 3 flags in one:

The name of the redDragon is: Y DdraigGoch in celtic tradi-tions.

Romans Saxons Vikings Normans Tudors Victorians WW ll

43 450 793 1066 1485 1837 1939

TIMELINE

The Roman EmpireThe Romans were the first to invade Britain in 55 B.C. They came to Britain nearly 2000 years ago.

By the time the Roman armies left around 410 AD, they had established medical practice, a language of administration and law and had created great public buildings and roads.

Hadrian’s wall was built in 2000 BC by the Romans. It is in Scotland.

In 43 AD Julius Caesar, the famous emperor tried to invade England in 55 BC but he didn’t manage to do it.

The SaxonsThe Roman army left Britain in about 410 AD. When they had gone there was no strong army to defend Britain, and tribes called the Angle, Saxon, and Jute (the Anglo-Saxons) invaded the country. They came from Northern of Europe.

The VikingsThe Vikings’ age in Britain began about 1,200 years ago, in the 8th century AD and lasted for 300 years. The Vikings had a lot of different religions.

The Normans

The Middle Ages in Britain cover a huge period. In 1066 William the Conqueror won the battle of Hastings. Then he stayed for 23 years and imposed French as the official langage. The Normans built beautiful castles. He lived in the White Tower in London

The Tudors

The Tudors were a Welsh-English family that ruled England from 1485 to 1603. They ruled for 118 years. The first Tudor king was Henry Vll. He was followed by his son, Henry Vlll. His son, Edward VII ruled after him, followed by his daughters Mary I and Elizabeth I.

The VictoriansVictorian times means during Victoria's reign. Britain managed to build a huge empire during the Victorian period. In 1837 most people lived in villages and worked on the land; by 1901, most lived in towns and worked in offices, shops and factories. During the 1800s the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Britain.

Famous people :

Henry Vll

Lord Shaftesbury Lewis Carrol Charles Darwin Alexander Graham Charles Dickens Bell

FAMOUS BRITISH KINGS AND QUEENS

William the Conqueror was born in 1027 and he died in 1087. He was known as "William the Bastard" (French: Guillaume le Bâtard) because of the illegitimacy of his birth.

He became Duke of Normandy in 1035 and invaded England in 1066, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold (who died in the conflict) at the Battle of Hastings.He was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey in 1066. William is also referred to as "William I»

It was the Norman Conquest.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR

King Henry VIII Henry was born on June 28 1491.

He was 17 years old when he became king in 1509, after his father died. When he became king, most people belonged to the Catholic Church, which was headed by the Pope, in Rome. In 1534, Henry broke away from the Catholic Church because he wanted to get divorced and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England.

Queen Elizabeth She was the Queen of

England and Ireland. She was born on 7th of September 1553 and died on 24 march 1603. She reigned from 1558 until her death. She was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Her mother was Anne Boleyn and her father was Henry Vlll.

King Edward VI

Edward was born on 12 October 1537. He became king of England and Ireland on 28 January 1547 at the age of nine, when his father died. His nickname was “ The Boy King ”. Edward’s reign was marked by economics problems. Edward died at the age of 16 in 1553.

Queen Victoria

Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 and she became Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was 18 when she came to the throne. Her reign as Queen lasted 63 years and seven month. Victoria’s reign was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire by the Industrial revolution, period economic and technological change. She arranged marriages for her nine children and forty-two grandchildren. Her nickname was “ the grandmother of Europe ”. She died the 22 January 1901.

FAMOUS BRITISH PEOPLE

400 years ago !!!

William Shakespeare.He was the greatest British poet and playwright. He was born on 23 April 1564 in Stratford upon Avon and he died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He wrote Romeo and Juliet and 37 other famous histories, tragedies and comedies.

Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister during World War II.

He was a writer too.

The Beatles was and still is one of the most famous British groups. They were famous in the 60s and had millions of fans in the world.Some of their hits were : Yesterday – Yellow submarine -

In the 40s

In the 60s

Lady Diana was Prince Charles’ first wife. They got married in 1981 and had two sons : William and Harry. But they divorced a few years later and she died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

She was very popular

Tony Blair was the British Prime minister for 10 years, from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007.

In the 80s - 90s

POPULATION

Population in Great Britain. There are 60.2 million inhabitants in Great Britain.

Great Britain is the twentieth most populated country in the world

50.4 millioninhabitants in England. 3 million

inhabitants

in Wales.

5.1 million inhabitants in Scotland.

Population density

Less than 50

More than 200 inhabitants/km²

From 100 to 200

From 50 to 100

City more than 5 million inhabitants : LONDON

From 1 to 5 million

From 200 000 to 1 million

New cities

Migration

England has the most important density and Scotland has the smallest.

WHO IS THE BRITISH QUEEN ?

The British Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family• The surname of the British Royal

Family is Windsor.• They changed their name from Saxe-

Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917 .• They are members of the Church of

England and they live at Buckingham Palace.

• Members of family :• Queen Elizabeth II of England .• Her husband is Prince Philip, Duke of

Edinburgh .• Her children are: Prince Andrew, Duke

of York - Prince Charles of Wales - Princess Royal Anne - Edward Earl of Wessex .

• She has got 8 grandchildren : Prince William of Wales, Prince Harry of Wales; Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips; Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of York; Lady Louise Windsor, Viscount Servern.

The British Royal Family TreeThe British Royal Family TreeQueen

Elizabeth IIShe was born in

1926

Charles Prince of Wales

He was born in1948

Anne Princess Royal

She was born in1950

Andrew Duke of York

He was born in1960

Edward Earl of Wessex

He was born in1964

Prince Williamof WalesHe was born in1982

Prince Harry of WalesHe was born in1984

Peter Phillips He was born in

1977

Zara Phillips

She was born in

1981

Princess Beatrice of

YorkShe was born

in 1988

Princess Eugenie Of York

She was born in 1990

Lady Louise Windsor

She was born in 2003

Viscount SevernHe was born in2007

Commonwealth•She is the head of the Commonwealth. It’s an organization of former British colonies.•Her role•She can't create rules, she can't choose anything in economic and politic life of England.•At Christmas, for her birthday and for Prince Phillip’s birthday, she talks to the British people on TV.

•Queen Elizabeth represents the British Islands in other countries.•She is the head of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.•Only the queen can declare a war or stop it. The queen is the head of the army forces.•Elizabeth II is the head of the Church of England.

Sometimes, the queen organises Royal Garden parties. It’s a big party because 8000 people are invited

Who runs the country ?

How is Britain governed ? Today the Prime Minister is

David Cameron. Traditionally the residence of the Prime Minister is at 10 Downing street in London.

In Great Britain there are two major parties :

The Labour Party and the Conservative Party.

David Cameron is the leader of the Conservative Party.

In the House of Lords, there are 675 members and in the House of Commons there 659 members. 

House of Lords House of Commons.

The House of Commons and the House of Lords meet in the House of Parliament near the river Tames. The building is very large, and beautiful there are more than a thousand rooms.

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy. The Queen’s powers are limited. She reigns but she does not govern.

Religion in the British Isles There are lots of religions in the British Isles. The main religion is Christianism (72%). The other religions are: Muslim, Hindu,

Sikh, Jewish and Buddhists. 15% of the population don’t have religion and 1.4% have

another religion.

buddhists Muslim christianism jewish Hindu

A BIT OF HISTORY In 1553, Henry VIII (the king) wanted to divorce because he wanted a son and the queen (his wife) couldn’t have a child. He asked the Pope for the permission to divorce but the Pope refused. Henry VIII was very angry and created his own church, the Anglicans (protestants).

In 1558, Elisabeth I changed the Anglican church back to christianism and this religion became the official religion of England.

CHRISTIANISM: 15 March: St Patrick’s day.23 April: St George’s day.

  MUSLIM: 10 January: Al Hijra (Islamic new

year). 

JEWISH : 30 September :Rosh Hashanah.1 October: New year’s day.

  BUDDHIST: 8 February: New year’s day.

  HINDU: 3 September: Ganesh’s day

Religious holidays

ECONOMY

Economy and industries in England

The united kingdom is the fourth largest economic power in the world. The City is the most famous place in EuropeEnglish people trade all over the world because it’s easier with English language. They can export with farming lots of cereals, oilseed, potatoes and vegetables . Farming in England today is easy because machines are very sophisticated .With industry population goes to EnglandTourism is also very important to the British

economy.

London is Europe's largest financial centre and one of the world's largest financial centres alongside New York andTokyo

WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT THE

BRITISH ISLES ?

To go to England, you can travel by train, plane or ferryYou can take a ferry in Calais, Boulogne,St. Malo, Caen, Roscoff and Cherbourg

If you leave from Paris,Calais or Lille, You can get the Eurostar to go to London and you will arrive in St Pancras Station.It goes under the Channel.

You can take a plane from anywhere in France. 

How can you get to Great Britain?

In England, there are lots of means of transport. You can travel by car on the motorways : there are 225,000 miles ( 326 km ) of roads. You can take the bus, trains, taxis or walk !!! In London, there are beautiful red double-deckers but the quickest way to visit London is the underground (The Tube).

Shopping day, for the British, is on Saturday. There are generally shopping centres with lots of shops ( Marks et Spencer, John Levis, house of Fraser, ). If you visit London, don’t forget to visit Harrods’s. It’s very big and very beautiful, but very expensive too !

Transports and shopping

What is a pub ? A pub is a small public house. Pubs, for British, are a part of their lives. There are the places where they can discuss and meet new friends 

You can sleep in a B&B ( bed and breakfast ). They are very comfortable .  

But for families, villages holidays are also very well with swimming-pool, sports centres, …

PUBS AND ACCOMODATIONS

PLACES TO SEE

Retour

PALACES AND CASTLES

St James’s Palace

It was built between 1532 and 1540 by Henry VIII. It became the official residence of the British sovereign after the death of William III in 1837. This castle is in London.

Buckingham Palace

It was built in 1837 by the duke Buckingham for his wife. This is the residence of the Queen. Buckingham Palace is in London.

Balmoral Castle

It was built by William the Conqueror in 1080.This is the largest castle in the world. This is the oldest royal home in Britain. Balmoral Castle is in Scotland

Windsor Castle

It was built by William the Conqueror in 1080.This is the largest castle in the world. This is the oldest royal home in Britain. It is in the South Est of England.

TOWER OF LONDON

_ This royal fortress was built by William the Conqueror, following his successful invasion in 1066

.

SAINT PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

The dome of St Paul's Cathedral is the second biggest dome in the world.

The first St Paul's Cathedral was built in 604 AD but burnt down in 675. The rebuilt cathedral was again burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture.

The museum illustrates the story of human culture from it’s beginning to the present.

THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace.

CAMBRIDGE

KINGS COLLEGE

Henry VI founded Kings College in 1441. It’s situated in Cambridge.

BLACKPOOL TOWER

Blackpool tower is an attraction for the tourist.

It looks much like the Eiffel tower.

STONEHENGE

Stonehenge means “suspended stones” . Stonehenge is the most famous prehistoric monument in Britain. It’s located near Salisbury. 

HADRIAN’S WALL

Hadrian Wall is a stone wall built by the Roman Empire to prevent military raids on Roman Britain by the Pictish tribes (ancient inhabitants of Scotland ). Today, It’s the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England.