Introduction
Britain comprises Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) and Northern Ireland, and is one of the 12 member states of the European Community. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Physical Features
Britain constitutes the greater part of the British Isles. The largest of the islands is Great Britain. The next largest comprises Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Western Scotland is fringed by the large archipelago known as the Hebrides and to the north east of the Scottish mainland are Orkney and Shetland. All these have administrative ties with the mainland, but the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands between Great Britain and France are largely self-governing, and are not part of the United Kingdom.
With an area of some 242,500 sq km (93,600 sq miles), Britain is just under 1,000 km (some 600 miles) from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under 500 km (some 300 miles) across in the widest part.
The climate is generally mild and temperate. Prevailing winds are south?westerly and the weather from day to day is mainly influenced by depressions moving eastwards across the Atlantic. It is subject to frequent changes but to few extremes of temperature. It is rarely above 320C (900F) or below -100C (140F). The average annual rainfall is more than 1,600 mm (over 60 inches) in the mountainous areas of the west and north but less than 800 mm (30 inches) over central and eastern parts. Rain is fairly well distributed throughout the year, but, on average, March to June are the driest months and September to January the wettest. During May, June and July (the months of longest daylight) the mean daily duration of sunshine varies from five hours in northern Scotland to eight hours in the Isle of Wight; during the months of shortest daylight (November, December and January) sunshine is at a minimum, with an average of an hour a day in northern Scotland and two hours a day on the south coast of England.
In recent years there have been some notable extremes of weather, including:
- a long period of drought in the southern and eastern areas of England--in January 1992 London experienced its driest January since records began in 1838;
- the highest temperature officially recorded in Britain in August 1990--37.10C (98.80F) at Cheltenham (Gloucestershire); and
- the great storm of October 1987 which in southern England resulted in about 15 million trees being blown down.
Historical Outline
The word 'Britain' derives from Greek and Latin names probably stemming from a Celtic original. Although in the prehistoric timescale the Celts were relatively late arrivals in the British Isles, only with them does Britain emerge into recorded history. The term 'Celtic' is often used rather generally to distinguish the early inhabitants of the British Isles from the later Anglo-Saxon invaders.
England and Wales
Roman rule lasted for over 300 years from AD 43. The final Roman withdrawal in 409 followed a period of increasing disorder during which the island began to he raided by Angles, Saxons and Jutes from northern Europe. It is from the Angles that the name 'England' derives. In the next two centuries the raids turned into settlement and a number of small kingdoms were established. The Britons maintained an independent existence in the areas now known as Wales and Cornwall. Among these kingdoms, more powerful ones emerged, claiming overlordship over the whole country, first in the north (Northumbria), then in the midlands (Mercia) and finally in the south (Wessex). However, further raids and settlement by the Vikings from Scandinavia occurred, although in the tenth century the Wessex dynasty defeated the invading Danes and established a wide-ranging authority in England.
In 1066, the last successful invasion of England took place. Duke William of Normandy defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. Normans and others from France came to settle. French became the language of the nobility for the next three centuries and the legal and, to some extent, social structure was influenced by that prevailing across the Channel.
Wales had remained a Celtic stronghold, although often within the English sphere of influence. However, with the death in battle in 1282 of Prince Llywelyn, Edward I launched a successful campaign to bring Wales under English rule. Continued strong Welsh national feeling was indicated by the rising led by Owain Glyndwr at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 united England and Wales administratively, politically and legally.
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