Great Britain

Maturitní téma z anglického jazyka

Gymnázium F. X. Šaldy

Hana Kyselová

4.A

It covers an area of 242 429 sq km and the population is 58 295 119 inhabitants. The density is one of the highest in the world. The capital city is London (6 904 600) and the main ethnic groups are: English (80 %), Scottish (10 %), Irish (4 %) and Welsh (2 %). The Great Britain currency is One Great Britain pound sterling (1 GBP), which is 100 pences.

Britain is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II. as a head of the state. In practice she reigns but the “ruler” is the Parliament. Although everybody speaks English in the UK, it is not the same language. English has its own special accents and dialects. Occasionally, people have difficulty in understanding one another because of these accents. One of the most difficult to understand is probably Cockney, the standard London dialect. English is a Germanic language. Besides English, some nations speak their own language as well. Welsh, Scottish and Irish are of Celtic origin. There are 3 varieties of Celtic. Some people in Wales still speak Welsh; Gaelic is spoken in Scotland - mainly in the west Highlands and Islands; Irish Gaelic is the first official language in the Republic of Ireland. There are also dead Celtic languages (e.g. used in old manuscripts) - Cornish and Manx (on the island Man). There is an effort of revival.

Geography: The British Isles are two large islands - Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Ireland (the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland) and lie between North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. There are more than 5 000 smaller islands too (e.g. Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, the Hebrides, the Orkneys, the Shetlands or the Channel Islands).

Great Britain can be divided into two main regions. The highland Britain is the mountainous part and there are e.g. the Highlands of Scotland (Ben Nevis 1 342 m), the Pennines, the Cambrian Mountains or the Cheviots Hills. The lowland Britain are plains hardly ever reaching ¹ 300 m above sea level.

British rivers are not very long but they are quite deep because of frequent rainfalls. The biggest are the Thames (336 km), the Severn (354 km) and the Trent, which are navigable for ocean-going ships from the sea and for small vessels too.

The lakes are to be found in the Lake District in England and in the Highlands of Scotland (called „lochs“). The biggest are Lake Windermere, Lake Derwentwater and Loch Ness.

The biggest cities are London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh etc.

Vegetation, resources: Forests cover only 7% of the land area, yet the landscape looks very wooded. This is because there are many trees in hedgerows and pastures. Britain has always been rich in energy resources, but wanting in food and industrial raw materials. There are a large deposits of coal, oil and natural gas. Agricultural production has risen since World War II., and only one-third of all food needs are now imported, compared with two-thirds before the war.

Climate: Great Britain has a mild, humid climate. There are mild winters, not very hot summers and no extremes of temperature, but frequent changes of the weather. Rain is fairly common throughout the year. It is because of south-west wind blowing from the Atlantic and the Gulf Stream.

History:

• The Pre-Celtic period (about 4 000 - 1 000 BC)

We know only little about people inhabiting the British Isles in pre-historic period - it could be Iberian tribes. They worshipped¹ many gods, believed in immortal and human sacrifices² and their priests were called druids. There have been preserved some monuments, such as Stonehenge or Salisbury which were centre of pre-Celtic civilisation in the Britain.

• The Celtic Period (800 BC - AD 43)

The first Celtic tribes come to the British Isles in about 800 - 700 BC. Two centuries later they were followed by ancient Britons after who the country was called Britain. The most important survival of the Celtic tribes is the existence of three live languages: Welsh, and Irish and Scottish Gaelic. ³

• Roman England (AD 43 - 407)

The first Roman invasion was led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC but England was conquered by Romans in AD 43 like colony Britannica. The Roman occupation lasted nearly 400 years but only few people adopt the Latin and only the English upper tribes (nobility) became roman. The most important monument from this period is the Hadrian*s Wall as a prevent protection against the invasion of the Celtic tribes from the north. With Romans also Christianity came to England.

• The Anglo-Saxon period (middle of 5^th century - 1066)

In the middle of the 5^th century three Germanic tribes - the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes - invaded from the Continent conquered the Celts and pressed up them to Wales and Scotland. England under the rule of the Anglo-Saxons was divided into several kingdoms. One of the first best-known King of England was Alfred the Great (* 901), who stopped the Scandinavian invasion to England and made a peace with the Danes. But after his death England became part of the Danish Empire.

• The period of feudalism (1066 - 15^th century)

William Duke of Normandy invaded England and defeated the Saxon king Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was proclaimed himself as the King of England and became known as William the Conqueror. The Norman had a big influence for the development of Britain and the English language because they brought feudalism and the Norman language into this country - the modern English nation and language became rising ^4*.

Richard, the Lion-Heart (1189-99) was warlike and anxious ⁵ to rescue the Holy Land from the Egyptian ruler, Saladin. He returned to England in 1194 to suppress baronial opposition. His brother John I. lost almost all the English possessions in France and he was forced to sign the Magna Carta Libertatum in 1215. It limited the absolute power of king, and giving guarantee of rights and the rule of law to opposite noblemen. During this period English parliamentary system was developed.

There was The Hundred Year*s War between England and France (1338-1453) in this period because of Flanders in France. At the end French led by Joan d*Arc changed the situation and England definitely lost its power in France.

The winner of the Wars of Roses (1455-85) between the House of York (white rose) and the House of Lancaster (red rose) was Henry Tudor (as king Henry VII) who joined two houses of Roses and founded a new dynasty.

• The Tudor Period (1485 - 1603)

In this period England became to be a world leader in trade and sea power. It was especially because of the great geographical discoveries and expansion. Henry VIII, who is well-known for his six wives, but also for his ambition and brutality, carried out⁶ the Reformation in 1534. He broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and founded the Church of England (Anglican Church), of witch he proclaimed himself the head. His daughter Queen Elizabeth I, after who the second half of the 16^th century is called *the Elizabethan Age*, defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 and her pirate Sir Francis Drake helped that Britain became the leading power on the sea.

• The Stuarts and the English Revolution (1603 - 1688)

Elizabeth I. died without an heir ⁷ and to the English throne access the new dynasty - the Stuarts - represented by James, King of Scotland (James I. as the King of England). The Stuarts finished the long alliance between monarchy and the bourgeoisie, which dominated Parliament. The conflict came to the top under Charles I and in 1640 the bloody Civil war broke out. There were two groups - The Royalists (King*s party) and the Puritans, which were split into two wings: The Presbyterians (ready to compromise with the King) and the Independents (want to fight to the end) which leader was Oliver Cromwell. He reorganised the army and called it *the New Model Army* (because it was all democratised). This Army forced the King to surrender ⁸. In 1649 Charles I was sentenced to death and executed.

After the execution the House of Lords were abolished ⁹ and England was declared as the republic - The Commonwealth, where O. Cromwell had title *Lord Protector*. In 1660, after Cromwell*s death, there was restore the monarchy by Charles II. In Parliament there was founded two new political parties - the Tories (aristocracy) and the Whigs (bourgeoisie).

In 1668 James II attempted to restore Catholicism and absolute monarchy so parliament leaders decided to depose him ¹¹ and offer the crown to William of Orange (as William III) and his wife Mary (sister of Charles II, as Mary II). The English called this events *The Glorious Revolution* (revolution without any bloodshed ¹² ) and its definitely confirmed ¹³ the sovereign of the Parliament.

• Colonial expansion and industrial revolution (1688-1850)

In the Seven Years War (1756-63) Britain defeated France and Spain and received Canada, Florida, Gibraltar, Minorca and another settlements in Mediterranean and Africa.

Colonial expansion continued very quickly but in 1776 the British colonial Empire suffered a great loss¹⁴ : the 13 North American colonies proclaimed their independence and founded the USA.

Also the situation in Ireland - after many centuries of fighting between England and Irish - was very bad in 18^th century and there were several serious rebellions against British rule.

Britain was in the Napoleonic Wars with France between 1803-15. In October 1805 the British fleet under Admiral Nelson celebrated the great victory because they defeated the Spanish and French fleets near the Cape Trafalgar.

At the start of the 19^th century England definitely took the leader in European commerce and trade and prepared the way to the Industrial Revolution. There were many innovations in Britain - in 1769 steam engine by James Watt, steam locomotive by George Stephenson in 1814 etc.

• The Victorian Era (2^nd half of the 19^th century)

This period is called after Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) and was full of great changes and reforms (e. g. Darwinism, Marxism). Britain became the absolutely strongest world power and between 1840-60 there were the golden period of the manufactures. There were formed successors of Tory and Whigs, The Conservative Party and The Liberal Party. India, Australia, New Zealand and many Africans and Asiatic areas were joined to the Empire.

• 20^th Century

The First World War (1914-18) between the Central Powers and Alliance had caused human casualties ¹⁵ on all fronts - from 9 million died over 1 million were British - but big economic looses too.

The British 1930s were the policy of appeasement with Hitler. In 1938 British PM Neville Chamberlain with other European representatives signed a pact with Hitler in Munich allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland in CR and later the rest of Bohemia and Moravia. The biggest British personality during the Second World War was the British PM sir Winston Spencer Churchill (* 1965) under who Britain fought for survival. The air battle - Battle of Britain in 1940 - gone down into history (many of British pilots were from Czechoslovakia and become the British national heroes). In the Second World War about 390 000 British people lost their lives. In the Post-World-War period - Cold War - Great Britain was one of the founding members of OSN and NATO in the end of 1940s. During the 1960s Britain had to recognise the independence of the majority of its colonies. Between 1979-92 there was the first women Prime Minister - *iron lady* - Lady Margaret Thacher who fought against Argentina in 1982 because of Falklands Islands. In the spring 1997 The Labour Party won the elections and Tony Blair became the British PM.

At the end of August 1997 Great Britain and whole the world suffered the big disaster ¹⁶ when Lady Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales, who was one of the most favourite and most famous personality in the world, died after the car crash.

There is also about 47 per cent of the British now, who are suppose that the monarchy is hangover and who are for the republic.

Places of interest:

There are many interesting places in UK besides its capital London. One of the most popular tourist attraction is Stratfort-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. The top attraction is the house in Henley Street where Shakespeare was born. In the Holy Trinity Church we can see the Shakespeare*s grave. Very spectacular ³ place is Stonehenge, where is the very old prehistoric megalithic monuments dating about 3 000 BC. The ruins stand in the centre of a huge circle 98 m in diameter. The ruins consist of two stone circles and a horseshoes. The purpose of these is unknown but it may be ritual sanctuary⁴ probably used like an astronomical *calendar*. Quite similar ruins are near the Salisbury but there is also magnificent Cathedral of Saint Mary (13^th century). Interesting are Oxford and Cambridge which are well-known for one of the most prestige universities. The first of these was founded in 12^th century and has 34 colleges now. The second one is from 13^th century. Canterbury is the seat of the Archbishop and there is a magnificent cathedral which oldest part is from 11^th century. It is the place where the first convent on the British Isles was established by St. Augustine who convert England to Christianity. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered there in the cathedral in 1170 by order the king. Winchester is the ancient Roman town with a majestic cathedral which oldest parts dates back to the 7^th century. It is the longest church in Europe and has 170 m. Bath is worth seeing for the remains of the Roman bath built 2 000 years ago. Hastings is near the battlefield where William the Conqueror defeated the Anglo-Saxons in 1066. Hadrian*s Wall is a remain of the Roman fortifications built between 122-26 AD to protect England against the Celtic*s invasion. Whole the English countryside is full of peaceful ports with sandy beaches, fishing boats, yachts etc. Scotland is interesting for its traditions - playing the pipes, wearing kilts made of tartan and for Scotch whisky (in Gaelic it is *uisge beatha* - the water of life).

Economy:

British was the first country in the world to become highly industrialised and it belongs to the G-7 countries. The main natural resources are: high quality coal ⁵ (Newcastle), petroleum and natural gas (North Sea), there are reserves of tin⁶, clay⁷ and limestone⁸ too. In GB is mainly the steel, vehicles (ships and planes) and traditional textile industry. This country has well-developed agriculture system which is concentrated on cattle and sheep breeding ⁹ .

Scotland

Scotland fills the northern third of the main British island and many surrounding islands (Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetland Islands).

Scotland can be geologically divided into 3 parts:

• Southern Uplands

• Lowlands - most fertile, industrial and densely settled part

• Highlands - in the north with the peaks over 1300 m; mountains Grampians - the highest and largest mountains in Scotland with the highest peak of GB - Ben Nevis (1343 m)

The cost is lined with many bays (firth). The rivers are short. The biggest are Dee and Tweed, the most important are Clyde and Tay. Scotland is famous through lakes (lochs) - Loch Ness, Loch Lomond. The climate is temperate with many rainfalls. The Scottish national flower is the thistle. The patron is St. Andrew. Scotland has its own parliament from 1999, own banking system and bank notes and coins. Scotland is the native place of many famous people (Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A.G. Bell,...)

Distilleries in the Highlands and the north-east produce the whiskey for which Scotland is internationally famous. Whiskey also spelled WHISKY, any of several distilled liquors made from a fermented mash of cereal grains. Whiskey is always aged in wooden containers, usually of white oak. The earliest direct account of whiskey making is found in Scottish records dating from 1494. Famous names of whiskey are for example Johnny Walker, Teachers, Bell's.

What else is typical for Scotland - curling, golf, whiskey, kilt, clan (family) with own tartans, Mac/Mc - the person is of Scottish origin, Scotland's national dish (minced heart, lungs and liver of a sheep, boiled in a sheep's stomach with oatmeal). Another important sport is tossing the caber.

Scottish people love to have a good time, especially when dancing and drinking whisky. Red hair, pale skin and a strong accent are characteristic features. Even the neighbouring English cannot understand Scots sometimes if they speak in heavy dialect. „Ken“ means know, a „bonnie wee lass“ is a pretty young girl, a „glen“ is a valley, „a burn“ is a river and, of course, a „loch“ is a lake as in Loch Ness. Some of the people still speak Gaelic, the ancient Celtic language of Scotland.

Cities:

• Edinburgh - the capital of Scotland; industrial, financial and cultural centre

• Glasgow - the biggest city of Scotland; centre of business and industry

• Aberdeen - the third biggest city; famous fishing port; shipping industry

• Perth - former capital of Scotland

Wales

Wales is the smallest of the three parts of the United Kingdom. The capital is Cardiff (other cities are Newport, Swansea). It is divided into 12 countries. It is bounded by England in the east and on the other sides by sea. Original name for Wales is Cymru. It is a land of Medieval castles built by the Romans for dominate to English caernarfons (= castles).

Wales is characterised by its mountains in the north and its valleys in the south. It is covered with forests and moors. There are big areas of pastures land for pasture cattle. The highest mountain in Snowdon (1085m) in the Cambrians.

Most people speak Welsh and English. Welsh is believed to be the oldest living language in Europe and shares its roots with the other Celtic languages - Gaelic, Breton and Cornish.

People are proud of the national heritage. National sport is rugby.

The patron of Wales is St. David and the national symbol is dragon (he is also on the flag). National flower is daffodil and leek.

Northern Ireland

Ireland as such was the first British county. Here is a clean air from Atlantic.

Cities:

Dublin was established by Vikings. Second largest city is Londonderry.

Geography:

Ireland is famed its rains and its rich green grass, its romance and its mists.

People:

It has a population of over 1,6 million. It consists of six counties, the biggest county is Ulster. 50% of the people are Protestants, about 40% Roman Catholics. The Protestants are descendants of Scots or English settlers (17^th century). The Roman Catholics are of Irish origin.

The Irish do not like the British. They fought for independence. In 1921 Ireland was divided into IFS (the Irish Republic) - 26 counties and into Northern Ireland - 6 counties.

IRA - Irish Republican Army - illegal organisation whose aimed to united Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland. They were trying to pursue their targets with the help of weapons. During the history (after WW II) it cost a lot of trouble. Because of this violence London sent there their soldiers.

SINN FEIN (= we ourselves) - Irish political organisation that wishes Northern Ireland to became part of the Republic of Ireland (leader Gerry Adams)

Interests:

Ireland is home for many of famous people like Oscar Wilde, G. B .Sahw, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce and Bram Stoker - author of Dracula. Irish coffee is Irish whiskey and cream.

Children are typical for their features that are red hair, freckles and blue eyes.

Here is a lot of clerics (nuns and priest) because here is the highest concentration of clerical population outside Rome.

Names of Irish people started with O'.

All state school pupils must study Irish. Although only 30,000 people have it as their first language, about 780,000 (a quarter of the population) consider themselves Gaelic speakers. It is a requirement for university entry.

Government legislation is in Irish and English and all citizens in court have the right to be heard in Gaelic.

Irish, Gaelic or Goedelic is an ancient tongue derived from the language of the Celts, who arrived in Ireland by the 3^rd century BC. They were skilled farmers and excellent warriors, feared even by the Romans.

They were very religious, led in worship by the semi-divine druids, who also ran the education system and enforced legal decisions. Bards celebrated brave deeds in epic verse, but most of these stories have been lost because they were passed on orally rather than written. The earliest known manuscript in Irish - Lebor na InUidre or The Book of the Dun Cow was written down by Christian. St. Patrick was born in England but then taken to Ireland as a slave at the age of ten. He became a bishop in Europe and then returned to Ireland to convert the people to Christianity. He built more than fifty churches in the country and, according to legend, drove all snakes from Ireland which is why there are no snakes there today. (17^th March). Guinness is the most famous stout a dark beer with a white head. It has been brewed in Dublin since 1759 in what is now the biggest brewery in Europe. The brewery runs tours for visitors in Dublin. According to company policy a glass should be filled 3/4 of the way to the top, left to rest 45 seconds and then topped up the perfect drink.

National plant is threeleaf clover - shamrock. Ireland is also called Emerald Island.

přestože

cornwallština

„manština“

snaha o oživení

¹ málokdy přesahující

splavný

zaoceánský

vessel - plavidlo; nádoba

avšak, nicméně

živý plot

mírné vlhké klima

docela častý

¹ uctívali

² nesmrtelnost a lidské oběti

starověký

³ gaelic - galský

vyšší

křesťanství

podrobený

zatlačit

vpadl, vtrhl

prohlásil

^4* vznikal, formoval se

⁵ bojechtivý a dychtivý

potlačit, zastavit

šlechta

⁶ provedl, uskutečnil

⁷ dědic

trůn, moc, vláda

⁸ donutila krále vzdát se

⁹ zrušen (rozpuštěn)

obnovit

¹¹ rozhodli sesadit ho

¹² krveprolití

¹³ upevnilo, posílilo

¹⁴ impérium utrpělo velkou ztrátu

loďstvo, flotila

obchod

¹⁵ způsobila ztráty na životech

„politika uklidnění“

¹⁶ utrpěl velké neštěstí

přežitek

³ atraktivní, pozoruhodný ke shlédnutí

průměr

⁴ svatyně

klášter

významný

opevnění

přístavní města

hraní na trubku

skotská sukně

⁵ uhlí

⁶ cín

⁷ jíl

⁸ vápenec

⁹ chov dobytka a ovcí

úrodný

zátoka, ústí řeky

bodlák

lihovary, palírny

destilát, tvrdý alkohol, alkoholický nápoj

zrno

druh látky

házení dřevěnou kládou

bývalý

ohraničený

vřesoviště

pastviny

narcis

pórek

hrabství

potomek

provádět, uskutečňovat

cíle

násilí

zpěváci a básníci

skutky, činy

předávat

šedohnědý

BrA - černé pivo (Guinness e.g.)

pivní pěna

připravovat, vařit

pivovar

dolít, doplnit

jetel

Great Britain Hana Kyselová

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