2. Aims
►Extend your knowledge on British history
and culture
►Improve your language skills by:
• Listening
• Speaking
• Giving presentations
• Writing essays and summaries
3. The United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
General information
7. Wales / Welsh: Cymru
►Capital: Cardiff
►Flag: Dragon of Cadwallar
►Symbol: Leek/Daffodil
►Colour: red
8. Scotland / Scottish Gaelic: Alba
►Capital: Edinburgh
►Symbol: Thistle
►Flag: St. Andrew’s Cross
►Patron saint: St. Andrew
►Colour: blue
9. Northern Ireland / Irish: Tuaisceart
Éireann, Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann
►Capital: Belfast
►Symbol: daffodil
►Flag: St. Patrick’s Cross
►Patron saint: St. Patrick
►Colour: green
10. Independence
► a unified entity since the 10th century;
► The union between England and Wales began in 1284 with
the Statute of Rhuddlan,but was not formalized until 1536
with an Act of Union;
► In another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland
agreed to permanently join as Great Britain;
► The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was
implemented in 1801 with the adoption of the name the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;
► The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of
Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the
United Kingdom as Northern Ireland;
► The current name of the country, the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
11. The Flag
► Designed in 1601;
► blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England)
edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick
(patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white
cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as
the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack
12. Languages
►English
►Recognized regional languages:
• Scots (about 30% of the population of
Scotland),
• Scottish Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland),
Welsh (about 20% of the population of
Wales),
• Irish (about 10% of the population of
Northern Ireland),
• Cornish (some 2,000 to 3,000 in Cornwall)
14. Devolved government
►Scottish Parliament – 1999
►Scottish Government – 2007
►Northern Ireland Assembly – 1998
►Northern Ireland Executive – 1998
►National Assembly for Wales - 1999
15. Crown dependencies
►Channel Islands
►Isle of Man
• independently administered
jurisdictions,not part of the UK;
• ruled by a Lieutenant Governor,
appointed by the British government
16. Commonwealth of Nations
► An intergovernmental organization of 54 independent
member states. All but two of these countries were
formerly part of the British Empire.
► The member states co-operate within a framework of
common values and goals as outlined in the Singapore
Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy,
human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual
liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world
peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an
intergovernmental organisation through which countries
with diverse social, political and economic backgrounds are
regarded as equal in status.
17. Some historical and poetic names
► Albion - given by the Romans, from albus – white,
probably because of the white cliffs of Dover;
► Doggerland - a name given by archaeologists and
geologists to the former landmass in the southern North
Sea that connected the island of Great Britain to mainland
Europe during and after the last Ice Age;
► Caledonia – Roman name for Scotland;
► Cambria – Roman name for Wales;
► Hibernia – Roman name for Ireland;
► Britannia - the female embodiment of Britain;
► Erin – a poetic name for Ireland
► Blighty – a British English slang term for Britain, used as a
term of endearment by the expatriate British community,
or those on holiday to refer to home.
18. Round-up
► What countries does the UK consist of?
► Great Britain includes ……
► The British flag is called …… but it’s better known
as ……
► What is the Commonwealth of Nations and why
was it established?
► Who is the head of state in the UK?
► Which are the two houses of the British
Parliament?
