Great Britain is an island situated at the crossroads of four bodies of water: Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, Irish Sea and English Channel. It encompasses England, Scotland Wales Northern Ireland as well as some 1,000 smaller islands.
British English, Scots, and numerous regional variants of English can all be heard spoken across this landmass. Religiously, England and Scotland feature separate branches of Christianity with nonconformist pacifism as well as secularism influencing them both.
Unification of England and Scotland
Great Britain is often used as a generic term, however this term refers to all of Britain – including England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as other islands and territories worldwide. This geographical designation actually refers to the entirety of British Isles which collectively make up what we refer to as United Kingdom today.
Great Britain is a land of conquest and political union. England was always dominant within Britain, yet was unable to fully conquer and subjugate Wales and Scotland before 1707. Only after this union did all four nations come under England’s control.
England and Scotland were two distinct countries with unique cultures, traditions, histories and histories that were brought together through an agreement known as the Acts of Union, creating one parliament and unifying them both into what became known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
This was an intricate and crucial agreement that brought numerous advantages to both Scotland and England. For Scotland, this meant protecting Presbyterianism against Catholic Stuart line power regaining power while counteracting France’s growing influence as it threatened war with England.
England was worried that Scotland might support France against it during the War of Spanish Succession and saw union as an opportunity to strengthen Scotland’s economy by opening up trade with English colonies. In return for these concessions, Scottish parliament ratified union with only minor modifications; this occurred on January 30, 1707 and became effective May 1.
Additionally, this act established a common law court to settle disputes between Scotland and England, helping ease tensions while preventing separate, competing courts in each nation from emerging. Since people living on one large island share many interests and concerns in common, separate, competing countries were never going to make sense for Scotland and England.
The 1600s
The 1600s span from 1 January 1600 to 31 December 1609. Commonly referred to as “sixteen-hundreds,” these years marked dramatic changes across Britain including political and cultural evolution; European colonialism; as well as scientific advancements by Galileo and Johannes Kepler.
In 1707, following ratification of the Treaty of Union by both Parliaments in England and Scotland, Great Britain came into being. This new state united England (which included Wales) and Scotland but retained their individual legal systems; furthermore it also included territories belonging to Crown of Ireland and Isle of Man while remaining under his rule; excepting Isle of Wight and Channel Islands which remained subject to separate monarchies.
From its inception until the close of the 19th century, Great Britain was the dominant world power. As its rival France faltered and crumbled, Great Britain expanded economically and militarily. This period culminated with its loss of thirteen colonies during the American Revolution; this marked an end of first phase imperial development which had followed mercantilist policies; Adam Smith’s work, The Wealth of Nations became widely read, shifting focus toward free trade instead of political control.
Today, “Britain” refers to the entire United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, its historical name of Great Britain still applies when used alone without reference to other parts of Britain.
English has long been the official language of Great Britain; however, regional dialects and languages such as Scottish Gaelic and Welsh may still be spoken there. Additionally, many people in England also speak a form of Standard English that developed from Old English brought over by Anglo-Saxon settlers to Britain.
The Empire
England (later, Great Britain) emerged as one of the world’s dominant powers during the 18th century. It ruled British colonies across North America and India, established the East India Company to control trade with Asia, and engaged in several wars against France to increase its global reach. By its end of century empire had covered over one quarter of global population.
As soon as Britain lost its Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution, its focus shifted toward Asia and Africa. Over time, Britain established an extensive colonial network that stretched from Pacific Ocean to India that by 1900 governed over one-quarter of humanity worldwide. Adam Smith’s 1776 book, “The Wealth of Nations”, inspired Britain’s rapid expansion; his argument suggested that free trade, rather than political control of countries was essential to economic prosperity.
Britain spent much of its 20th-century budget fighting and recovering from World Wars I and II, leading it to allocate less funds on overseas interests – prompting several colonies to push for independence. This period of decolonization lasted until 1950s, when more than 50 former colonies gained independence.
Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), the record label owner on Empire, learns he has ALS and plans on passing away within six months. To prepare his estate after his passing away, he begins grooming one of his sons – Andre, rapper Jamal or entrepreneur Hakeem – as potential successors; but this division among family members leads Lucious to attempt pitting them all against each other to run his empire successfully after his passing away.
The 20th century
The 20th century marked an extraordinary period in British Isles history. Millions died during two world wars and multiple smaller conflicts; millions more perished under dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot in genocide campaigns led by them; terrible weapons comprising nuclear, chemical and biological materials were employed against both battleground combatants as well as civilian populations.
By the early 1950s, Britain had emerged from the Depression into relative prosperity. The Labour Party, established in 1900 and elected with an agenda of nationalisation and Welfare State legislation in 1945, won election that year and by mid-1950 most households could afford cars, washing machines and fridges; although country houses had become less affordable.
In the 1960s, Commonwealth immigration from India and Pakistan began altering Britain’s racial composition. Heavy industry declined as university education quickly increased. Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives broke with postwar consensus by privatising national industries starting with British Telecom in the early 1970s.
British colonies saw the rise of an entirely new generation of writers such as Olive Schreiner from South Africa and Katherine Mansfield from New Zealand, who would portray with great sensitivity James’s upper class corruption through subtle yet concise late fiction. They all shared one feature – their works expressed a powerful moral disapproval at its depiction by James.
In Britain, the 21st century has seen increasing political instability and economic decline. As part of the postwar territorial carve-up, Britain acquired mandates over former German and Ottoman territories in Europe; however, its Thirteen Colonies were lost and Irish independence became possible by 1922. Attempts by Edward VIII to appease Hitler resulted in a constitutional crisis during the 1930s, leading him to abdicate in favor of George VI as monarch. Britain fought both a long and expensive war in the Far East and Korea, and played an essential role in defeating Germany with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Additionally, Britain also participated in fighting communism during the Cold War.