Great Britain

In the north-west coast of Europe there are what we know as the British Isles. The largest island is Great Britain. The other one is called Ireland. In the British isles, there are two states. One if them governs most of the island of Ireland called The Republic of Ireland or also called Eire. The other one governs the rest of the British Isles which includes Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England. This is known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The crown dependencies have special political arrangements. They are the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, each one with internal self-government including its own Parliament and its own tax system. Both are ruled by a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the British Government.

The four nations

The political unification of the four nations that belong to the UK was a gradual process that took several years. It was completed in 1800 , but in 1922 most of Ireland became a separate state.

Ulster is the name used to describe the part of Ireland that belongs to the UK. There is a political reason why it is just the north part of Great Britain. It is because the animosity between the Catholics and the Protestants. When the government divided the country into the north-Protestants- and the south-Catholics-, each other with some control of its affairs, it was not enough for the south. A war followed and the result was the independence of the south form Britain.

There are some historical and poetic names for Great Britain and its four nations. ALBION is used to refer to England.BRITANNIA is the name that the Romans gave to their southern province which now covers the area of present day England. CALEDONIA, CAMBRIA and HIBERNIA were the roman names for Scotland, Wales and Ireland. ERIN is a poetic name for Ireland.

The four nations were very different from each other in almost every aspect of life. Firstly, they were different racially. People in Ireland, Wales and Highland Scotland belonged to the Celtic race, those in England and lowland Scotland were of Germanic Origin. This difference was reflected in the languages they spoke. They also had different economic, social and legal systems.

England

Identifying Symbols Flag St. George´s Cross

Colour Plant Rose

Patron Saint St. George

Wales

Identifying Symbols Flag Dragon of Cadwallader

Colour

Plant Leek/Daffodil

Patron Saint St David

Scotland

Identifying Symbols Flag St. Andrew´s Cross

Colour

Plant Thistle

Patron Saint St. Andrew

Ireland

Identifying Symbols Flag St. Patrick´s Cross

Colour

Plant Shamrock

Patron saint St. Patrick

The Union Jack

It is the national flag of the UK. It is a combination of the cross of St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick

John Bull

It is a fictional character who personifies Englishness and certain English virtues. His appearance is typical of an eighteenth century country gentleman evoking an idyllic rural past.

Britannia

It is the name given to the female embodiment of Britain , always shown holding a trident and wearing a helmet .

It can not be denied that England dominates most of the culture in Britain. If we see most of the people live in England and it is common to hear people from other countries and continents referring to Great Britain as England.

Population of the UK

England 51,987,579 Scotland 5,198,378 Wales 3,015,532 Northern Ireland 1,788,900 The UK 68,008,048