Geographical position, landscape, climate and weather

Geographical position: the British isles are situated on the north-west coast of Europe and once formed part of that continent. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, separated by France by the English channel. Comprising of the Island of GB, the island of North-Ireland and smaller islands. Consist of 4 parts: Eng, Scotl, Wales, North-Ireland.

Climate: mild, warmed by Gulf stream, plentiful rainfall all year round. The driest period – March, June.

The wettest – October, January.

3 futures – mild, humid, changeable.

Never too hot or too cold.

Most of the country consist of lowland terrain, with mountainous terrain. Main rivers – Thames, Severn, Humber.

There are many forests.

 

London

The capital of the UK. First called Londinium. Area – 1580 кв. км.

Population – 7,6 million people.London is the financial centre of the UK.

Consist of 4 parts: East End (port, factories), City (financial), West End, West Minster Abbey.

London Heathrow Airport - metropolitan area.

Climate - mild.

Local government - greater London authority consist of 2 parts - mayor of London and London Assembly

 

5.England

Location: the central and the southern part of the island of Great Britain

Population: 51 million

Capital: London

Climate: temperate maritime.

Symbols red rose, oak of St. George

Main cities Manchester, Newcastle, London

Industry: agriculture, fishing, wool industry, shipbuilding, heavy machinery

Flora and Fauna:

Vegetation of grasses and flowering plants, oak, elm, there are few reptiles and amphibians, foxes, hares, rabbits, weasels.

Government: Constitutional monarchy

 

Wales

Location: bordered by England to East, and the Atlantic Ocean, Irish sea

Population: 3 million

Capital: Cardiff

Largest city: Cardiff (320 000 people)

Climate: moderate and oceanic

Symbols: daffodil, leek. Saint Patron – St. David. St. David’s day – is a national holiday.

Industry: coal mining, steel production, engineering

Government: constitutional monarchy

Official lang.: English and Welsh.

 

7. Northern Ireland:

Location: north-east of the island of Ireland

Population: 1,8 million

Capital: Belfast

Industry: heavy industries, shipbuilding, textiles, agriculture, high tech technologies

Largest cities: Londonderry, Lisburn, Armagh

Climate: mild, temperate

Symbols: Harp, Shamrock, white ribbon

Flora and Fauna: flowering plants, oak, elm, hares, hedgehogs, rabbits, weasels, kittiwakes, shags

Government: constitutional monarchy

Area: 84 000 кв.км.

Official language – Irish, English

 

Scotland

Location: the northern third of the island of Great Britain

Population: over 5 million people

Capital: Edinburgh

Industry: Fishing industry, the textile industry, oil recovery, shipbuilding, light industry,the heavy industry

Largest city: Glasgow

Climate: mild, temperate

Symbols: thistle, unicorn, bagpipe

Flora and fauna

Fauna: Lynx, Brown Bear, Wolf, Elk and Walrus. There are important populations of seals and a variety of seabirds such as Gannets. The Golden Eagle (national icon).

The flora: woodland, moorland and tundra species.

Area: about 80 000 кв.км.

Flag: St. Andrew’s cross

 

The Anglo-Saxon

The Anglo-Saxon period lasted from 410 to 1066, and in that time Britain's political landscape had many changes.

The early settlers kept to small tribal groups, forming kingdoms and sub-kingdoms. By the 9th century, the country was divided into four kingdoms - Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia and Wessex.

The Anglo-Saxon settlers were their own masters in a new land and they did little to keep the legacy of the Romans alive. They replaced the Roman stone buildings with their own wooden ones, and spoke their own language, which gave rise to the English spoken today. The Anglo-Saxons also brought their own religious beliefs, but the arrival of Saint Augustine in 597 converted most of the country to Christianity.

Anglo-Saxon rule came to an end in 1066, soon after the death of Edward the Confessor, who had no heir. He is thought to want William of Normandy become the king, but also Harold Godwinson.

Harold was crowned king immediately after Edward died, but William and an invading army crossed the Channel from France to claim the crown for himself. Harold was defeated by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, and thus a new era began.

 

11. Invasions of the Vikings.

A Vikings is one of the North explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas of Europe from the late 8^th to early 11^th centuries. Vikings used their longships travel as far east as Constantinople and the Volga river in Russia and as far west as Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.

This period of Vikings expansion is known as the Viking age, and forms a major part of the medieval history of Scandinavia, Britain, Ireland and the rest of Europe in general.

 

12. Alfred the Great (849 – 899) ruled from 871.

Was one of the best kings ever to rule mankind. He defended Anglo-Saxon England from Viking raids. In 871 AD, Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown. He established a code of laws and a reformed coinage. He reorganised his army and built a series of well-defended settlements across southern England. He is the only English monarch known as 'the Great'.

 

13.Edward the Confessor (1009-1066). Was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066. His reign continued the disintegration of royal power in England and advanced in power of earls. It foreshadowed the country’s domination by the Normans, whose Duke William of Normandy was to defeat Edward’s successor Harold II and take the crown.

The battle of Hastings (14 October 1066) was the Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England. It was fought between the Norman army of Duke William of Normandy and English army led by Harold II.

 

14. The Norman Conquest. William I the Duke of Normandy (1028 - 1087)

The Norman Conquest in England began in 1066 with invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William (Duke of Normandy) and his victory at the battle of Hastings. This resulted in Norman control of England, which was firmly established during the next few years.

In 1086, William accepted the document that known as the Domesday Book and remains one of the oldest valid legal documents in Britain.

He spent the last months of his reign fighting Philip I, King of France. He died on 9 September 1087 from injuries received when he fell from his horse at the Siege of Mantes.

 

King John Lackland. The Magna Carta.

John Lackland (1166-1216) was king of England from 1199 until his death.

During his lifetime John had 2 nicknames. One of them was «Lackland» because, as his father’s youngest son, he didn’t inherit lands out of his family’s possessions, and because as king he lost significal territory to France.

The other was «Softsword» because he had lack of prowess in battles.

He is best known for giving nobility to the barons of England. He sealed Magna Carta, a document which Limited the power of the crown and extended the power of the barons and which is popularly thought as an early step in the evolution of limited government.

Simon de Montfort. The growth of Parliament.

Simon de Montfort (1208-1265) was a French-English nobleman, the leader of the baronial opposition to King Henry III of England. After the rebellion (1263-64) he became de facto ruler of England and called the 1^st elected parliament in medieval Europe. For this reason de Montfrot is known today as one of the progenitors of modern parliamentary democracy.

 

The Black Death. The peasant revolt (1381)

The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1328-1350. The Black Death killed about 30-60% of Europe’s population.

The peasant’s revolt was one of revolts in late medieval Europe, and is a major event in the history of England. The revolt marked as the beginning of the end of serfdom in medieval England. It increased awareness in the upper classes for the need for the reform of feudalism in England and the misery felt by the lower classes as a result of their near-slavery. The revolt was over when John Ball was hanged.

 

The wars of the Roses

It was the war between 2 families Lancaster – in the north, and York – in the south of Britain for the throne of England. The war ended with the marriage of Lancastrian Henry Tudor with Helen York. Then Henry VII became the King. He founded the House of Tudor which ruled in England and Wales for 118 years.

Conclusion: 1) replacing the family who were at the English throne.

2) Despite the war, the economy was being successfully.

 

19. The triumph of Tudors. The 15th century-the age of industrial...

This century has begun with shipbuilding development. Brazil was opened. People started to publish books. At this time Robin the Hood was published. Developing of trade. The church wasn't now under royalty control. A development of education.

 

Henry VIII

Henry VIII (1491 – 1547) was King of England from 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. He ruled with absolute power. His desire was to provide England with a male heir, because he believed a daughter would be unable to consolidate the Tudor Dynasty. Henry is famously remembered for having six wives—two of whom he had beheaded. Henry declared himself supreme head of the church in England in 1534. This, combined with subsequent actions, eventually resulted in a separated church, the Church of England.

 

Queen Mary I

Mary the first was the Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 1553 until her death in 1558. She was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII. She was the fourth monarch of the Tudor dynasty. During her ruling she decided to restore the Catholic Church in England and reconstruct monasteries. So a lot of Protestants were executed to death. About 300 people were murdered. All this cruelty brought to the Queen a nickname “Bloody”. She was married to Philip, the son of the King Charles V. In the year of 1558 he died, and as she didn’t have any children her successor was her half-sister Elizabeth I.

 

 

Golden Age of Elizabeth

Elizabeth I was the Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603. She inherited the crown after the death of her half-sister Mary I. The time of her reign is known as “the golden age of England”, because during this period there were a lot of cultural achievements. Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. One of her first moves as queen was to support the establishment of an English Protestant church. Elizabeth's reign is famous for the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon. A lot of theatres were built at that time. She died in 1603 at Richmond Palace. As she wasn’t married and didn’t have children just immediately after her death James VI of Scotland was proclaimed as the King James I of England.

 

The Stuarts

The Stuart monarchs, James I, Charles I, Charles II, James II, Mary, who ruled with her husband William III, and Queen Anne, marked the effective end of government by monarchy in England. As the Queen Elizabeth I wasn’t married and didn’t have children just immediately after her death James VI of Scotland was proclaimed as the King James I of England (1603 – 1625). He was the first King of England from the Stuart dynasty. The Stuarts had a lot of difficulties with the English Parliament. During the reign of James I the Parliament was dissolved for 3 times, as it refused to give money to the King and wanted to put the England’s foreign policy under its control. But the Parliament of 1624 got a right to declare impeachment to the officials. The James I’s son – Charles I (1625-1629) continued his father's relationship with Parliament in order to get the right to collect new taxes. Parliament responded with the Petition of Right in 1628. It meant that no taxes of any kind could be allowed without the permission of Parliament. Finally Charles convoked the so-called Short Parliament in 1640, but dismissed it after only three weeks. Then a rebellion broke out in Scotland and Charles was forced to call a new Parliament, the Long Parliament, which officially sat until 1660. Parliament made increasing demands, which the king refused to meet. Finally the English Civil War between the king and the Parliament broke out. The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War on Oliver Cromwell’s initiative. Its soldiers became full-time professionals. They were prohibited from having seats in either the Houses of Lords or Commons. This was to encourage their separation from the political or religious factions among the Parliamentarians.