The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (though most of Ireland is now independent).
The United Kingdom
| History of the making of the UK Лорды присоединяли Уэльс по частям, отмечая свои владения строительством укрепленных замков. Последним сильным королем Северного Уэльса был Ллевелин Великий (ум. 1240). Его внук погиб в 1283 г. и Уэльс вошел в состав земель английской короны. При этом до 1536 г. он сохранял автономию. С 1301 наследники английского престола носят титул «принц Уэльский». Последнее крупное восстание под предводительством Оуэна Глин Дора разразилось в 1400-1415 гг. Scotland and England had separate Monarchs until 1603, when Queen Elizabeth I died without any heirs. The next in line of succession to the English throne was James VI, King of Scots who became known as James I in England. James was also King of Ireland and of France at the same time. He is the King that Guy Fawkes and the other members of the Gunpowder plot tried to kill on November 5th 1605, which is why we remember on Guy Fawkes night. Scotland and England, together with Wales united by the Act of union passed by the Scottish Parliament and Westminster in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Irish Parliament voted to join the Union in 1801 when the then Kingdom of Great Britain became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The full name of the UK then changed in 1922 when most of the Southern counties in Ireland choose independence and ultimately became what is now the Republic of Ireland, leaving the UK as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. |
Between 1993 and 2013 the foreign-born population in the UK more than doubled from 3.8 million to around 7.8 million. During the same period, the number of foreign citizens increased from nearly 2 million to nearly 5 million. London has the greatest number of migrants (2.8 million foreign-born people in 2013) among all regions with comparable data in the UK. In 2013, the UK population was 12.5% foreign-born (up from 7% in 1993) and 7.9% foreign citizens (up from 4% in 1993). Foreign-born people constituted 37% of Inner London’s population in 2013 (the highest share among all regions with comparable data). India is the most common country of birth among the foreign-born, but Poland tops the list of foreign citizens in the UK.
India is the most common country of birth among the foreign-born, but Poland tops list of foreign citizens in the UK India, Poland, and Pakistan are the top three countries of birth for the foreign-born (Table 3) accounting respectively for 9.4, 8.7 and 6.4% of the total, followed by Ireland and Germany. India and Poland remain the top two countries of citizenship of foreign citizens, with Poles being the biggest group, accounting for about 13% of the total.
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Those born in India constitute the biggest group among the foreign-born population in London India is the country of birth for 8.6% of all foreign-born persons living in London (Figure 5). Other Asian countries such as Pakistan (4.3%), Bangladesh (3.7%), and Sri Lanka (2.7%) are also in the top-ten countries of birth of migrants in London. Poland, Ireland, Italy and Romania are the four European countries in the top ten. With the exception of Italy, Romania and and Jamaica, the remaining top-ten countries of birth for migrants in London are also top-ten countries at the UK level.
1497‒1783: The first British Empire
English seamen sailed and traded all over the world:
· In 1497, only five years after Christopher Columbus sailed to the West Indies, the Italian explorer John Cabot, financed by English merchants, discovered new lands in Canada.
· After 1612, the East India Company began to build up a small empire of trading posts in India.
The first English colonies were formed in north America:
· In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh organised a small settlement at Roanoke in Virginia, but it failed.
· In 1607, Captain John Smith founded a permanent colony at Jamestown in Virginia.
The first successful English colonies in the West Indies were founded in the 1620s:
· The settlers set up sugar and tobacco plantations, and used slave labour.
In the 18th century, Britain fought a number of wars against France, taking over colonies established by the French:
· Victories by Robert Clive, especially the Battle of Plassey in 1757, drove out the French and established British control in India.
· During the Seven Years' War (1756‒1763) the British won Canada from the French with a notable victory coming from General James Wolfe's capture of Quebec in 1759.
By 1783, Britain had established an empire which comprised:
· Colonies in Canada, America and the West Indies.
· Trading posts in India.
· Naval bases in the Mediterranean - Gibraltar and Minorca.
But:
· Britain's defeat in the American War of Independence (1775‒1783) meant the loss of the American colonies and the end of the 'first British Empire'.
1783‒1924: The age of empire
In the century 1815–1914, 10 million square miles of territory and 400 million people were added to the British Empire. By the British Empire Exhibition of 1924 Britain was the 'Mother Country' of a worldwide empire which covered a fifth of the land in the world, and Britannia 'ruled the waves'.
| Captain James Cook claimed New Zealand for the British crown. | |
| First shipment of transported prisoners to Australia. | |
| The Opium War forced China to allow British traders to sell the drug opium into China. | |
| There was a rebellion in India (the Indian Mutiny). The government took over rule of India from the East India Company. | |
| Canada was given ' dominion ' (self-governing) status, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1907. | |
| Queen Victoria was declared 'Empress of India'. | |
| 1881‒1919 | The 'Scramble for Africa' – Britain acquired colonies in Africa stretching from Cairo to Cape Town. |
| 1899‒1902 | The Second Boer War – the British conquered South Africa |
| The Treaty of Versailles gave Germany's colonies as 'mandates' for Britain and France to administer. | |
| The British Empire Exhibition at Wembley Stadium. The Empire looked happy and strong. |
Attitudes of Empire
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· Britain regarded itself as 'ruler of the waves'. The songs 'Rule Britannia' and 'Land of Hope and Glory' show this.
· British people thought that they were doing the world a favour by taking the British, government and Christianity to the rest of the world, ending slavery and barbaric traditions, bringing 'civilisation' and an international 'Pax Britannica', or 'British peace'.
Late 19th century: first applied to the period of 1890–1907 when Britain pursued a policy of diplomatic and commercial non-involvement]
by the end of the 19th century Britain wanted nothing to do with you
we were quite happy on our own do not mincing
around this time you can see from the map the british empire covered
about a third of the globe used to say
the Sun never sets on the British empire
that was Britain's focus
that as long as nobody threatened that we were perfectly happy
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everybody to fight themselves as long as it did not cost of the top of the tree
from controlling those countries in that map
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when France signed the alliance with Russia
Britain was concerned that these countries might threaten its empire
0:54
it's not true friend which Germany they did not have a big overseas empire and
so therefore was not a threat to British empires.
and also the German and British well families with related to queen Victoria
sso there was some blood link
However, one thing Germany does making a big mistake
if ever you want to stay on the right side Britain you must never toucht he Navy
you must never threatened the Navy
Germany starts to build up its own eighty
there is no doubt that Britain wanted to be friends with Germany
when they start to threaten Britain's position around the world by having
as large as I try to have as large Navy is Britain we are put off by being Germany
the final nail in the coffin to German-British relations was South Africa Britain
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«Блестящая изоляция» (англ. Splendid isolation) — термин, употребляемый для обозначения общего курса внешней политики Великобритании 2-й половины 19 века, выражавшегося в отказе от заключения длительных международных союзов. Островное положение, огромные колониальные владения, сильнейший в мире военный флот, а главное — промышленное и финансовое превосходство над другими державами позволяли Англии сохранять свободу действий на международной арене. Используя противоречия между европейскими государствами, Англия стремилась к расширению и укреплению своего международного влияния. Политика «Блестящей изоляции» не мешала Англии заключать временные соглашения, способствовавшие осуществлению её экспансионистских целей. С наступлением эпохи империализма, в связи с быстрым развитием экономики и усилением военной мощи других держав, позиции Англии стали более уязвимы, что особенно проявилось в ходе англо-бурской войны 1899—1902. Резкое обострение отношений с Германией и другими европейскими державами грозило Англии вынужденной изоляцией. В1902 году Англия заключила длительный союз с Японией, направленный против России, а в 1904 году — соглашение с Францией, что означало конец политики «Блестящей изоляции».
The Great Game was an intense rivalry between the British and Russian Empires in Central Asia, beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing through 1907. Britain sought influence or control in much of Central Asia, to buffer the "crown jewel" of its empire - British India.
Tsarist Russia, meanwhile, sought to expand its territory and sphere of influence, in order to create one of history's largest land-based empires. The Russians would have been quite happy to wrest control of India away from Britain, as well.
As Britain solidified its hold on India (including what is now Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh), Russia conquered Central Asian khanates and tribes on its southern borders. The front line between the two empires ended up running through Afghanistan, Tibet and Persia.
Britain's attempts to conquer Afghanistan ended in humiliation, but the independent nation held as a buffer between Russia and India. In Tibet, Britain established control for just two years after the Younghusband Expedition of 1903-04, before being displaced by Qin China.
The Chinese emperor fell just seven years later, allowing Tibet to rule itself once more.
The Great Game officially ended with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which divided Persia into a Russian-controlled northern zone, a nominally independent central zone, and a British-controlled southern zone. The Convention also specified a border line between the two empires running from the eastern point of Persia to Afghanistan, and declared Afghanistan an official protectorate of Britain.
Relations between the two European powers continued to be strained until they allied against the Central Powers in World War I. The term "Great Game" is attributed to British intelligence officer Arthur Conolly, and was popularized by Rudyard Kipling.
Historical Background
The metaphor of “the Great Game” describes the power competition between Russia and Great Britain in the 19th century over the future of Central Asia. It describes a period of Russian expansion and the moves made by Britain to counter what they thought was Russian aggression in the region. Indeed, the Great Game had a stake that was much greater than Central Asia. The stake was India. There was a perception that Russia’s ambition would not limited to incorporating Central Asia. Central Asia was the gateway into Afghanistan, and Afghanistan was the gateway into India (via Khyber Pass for example).
A lot has been said by the British about the viability of such a conquest. There was, in fact, a lot of war hysteria and ignorance on both sides. Ignorance can be seen in the Russo-phobic publications in 19th century in which the authors had no idea of the terrain of Central Asia. The actual terrain of Central Asia is barren and rough. In fact, the Russians had attempted to enter this area in numerous occasions in the 18th century and failed, mainly due to weather.
There are a number of reasons why the Russians wanted to move southward into Central Asia. First, there was an economic reason, that is, to create markets for Russian goods. This motive became even more acute in 1860s as a result of the U.S. Civil War, when the south was isolated and cotton was in short supply. Cotton was a prime motive not only in initiating expansion, but also to consolidating the territory of the Russian political and economic system as rapidly as possible.
The Russians also saw the expansion into the east and the south as their civilizing mission, their version of “Manifest Destiny,” in order to bring the savages of the Central Asian people under control.
There is also an issue of slavery. Certain Khanates had regularly raided in the Russian area around the Caspian Sea. They brought back Russians and sold them as slaves. This was the public motive to justify the expansion in Central Asia. This is something that the British had caught on to and actually vigorously lobbied for the release of the Russians.
The Russian administration of Turkestan at the time was actually quite similar to the strategies employed by the European powers. One similarity is the military was in charge of the territory and politically organized them. But this created tension between authorities in Moscow and regional commanders who always wanted military solutions and expansion. It is unclear how much tension there was in India between the two. The over-zealous aggressive military (by local commanders) was an excellent excuse for politicians in St. Petersburg to apologize to the world when they conquered new territory. It must be remembered that communication in that period was poor. Military governors could do all they wanted to do in their communities.
In the British side of the equation, the British were split between the Hawks who favored forward strategies in the region as a mean to preempting any Russian maneuvers; and there were defensive positionalists who believed these strategies might do more harm. The basic concern here is the Russian had gained a foothold in Central Asia, and hence they had gained a foothold into Afghanistan, the critical buffer state. Cities like Herat, Kandahar, and Kabul were considered to be key cities. In the two Afghan Wars (1840s and 1870s), the British attempted to dethrone the then Afghan regime and installing a compliant puppet that would ally with them rather than the Russians. However, the British were forced out.
Persia or Iran was the second component in the Great Game. Persia was also served as a link to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The British were concerned the Russians would do deals with the shah. The Russians also had concerns over the British over a few incidences; one of which was the Persian venture into Afghanistan. This was the prelude to the first Afghan War.
The Great Game came into a dramatic halt in the early 20th century as a result of external events, one of which is the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-5. The Japanese destroyed the Russian navy, but also damaged the Russian pride and prestige in the international community. Also, with the outbreak of WWI, the Russians and British were fighting as allies against the Germans and so forth. With the new geo-political alignment, the antagonism and the rivalry created by the Great Game was no longer productive for either side. They switched their focus from Central Asia to Europe.
Beyond its own shores lay Britain’s empire, a vast sprawl of territories and possessions on which ‘the sun never sets’. The empire spanned 35 million square kilometres, or a quarter of the globe; its showpiece colonies of India, Australia, Canada and South Africa were the envy of the world. During the 1870s Britain began to acquire even more territory, as British settlers and invaders employed new technologies, like railways and improved weapons, in their pursuit of colonisation. Most of the gains in this period were in Africa, where Britain acquired new colonial possessions: from Egypt in the north, to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the south. Colonisers dreamed of an Africa controlled by Britons, from Cairo in the north to the southern Cape. Plans were even drawn up for a British railway running the entire north-south length of the African continent. This vast British Empire was, first and foremost, an economic concern. The colonies supplied a wealth of raw materials and produce, such as gold and silver, other metals, diamonds, cotton and wool, meat and grain, timber and tea. Britain’s domination of foreign trade was matched by its naval power, with the Royal Navy the world’s largest naval force through most of the 1800s. The showpiece of British progress was the Great Exhibition of 1851. Held in the Crystal Palace, a gigantic glass building in London, the exhibition was attended by more than six million people and featured more than 13,000 exhibits.
Britain was not without its problems, both domestic and imperial. Rapid industrial growth during the 1800s had lined the pockets of the middle- and upper-classes – but the industrial working classes toiled for long hours in difficult conditions, with no rights or protections. Industrialisation and rapid urban growth spawned all manner of social problems: poverty, crime, prostitution, child labour, urban living conditions, inadequate sewage, poor sanitation and disease were rampant in British cities, particularly London. Writers like Charles Dickens highlighted the social ills of the age, while reformers like Henry Mayhew and Matthew Arnold urged fundamental social and economic change. There were also demands for political reform. The British parliament was democratically elected, but only those with a minimum amount of property were entitled to vote (by the mid-1800s this was only around one in seven males). In 1819 a crowd of 70,000 gathered in St Peter’s Square, Manchester to demand political reform. They were charged by soldiers on horseback and more than a dozen were killed; the event became known as the Peterloo Massacre. In the 1840s a working-class movement called Chartism began demanding universal suffrage, the secret ballot and other reforms. The British union movement began to take shape in the 1850s, seeking to improve the rights of workers. A left-wing group, the Fabian Society, emerged towards the end of the 1800s. Members of this group participated in the formation of the British Labour Party in 1900.
“At the dawn of the 20th century Great Britain remained a commercial and maritime empire without equal… But the ‘weary titan’ faced new challenges, as British vulnerabilities became apparent, forcing a major diplomatic realignment. The Boer War, which dragged on from 1899 to 1902, had demonstrated the dangers of diplomatic isolation and revealed the inefficiency of its army. Even more serious for an empire whose survival depended on command of the sea was the building of strong navies by the United States, Japan and Germany.”
Roy Arnold Prete, historian
Despite Britain’s industrial and naval strength, its politicians generally avoided war for most of the 1800s, adopting a foreign policy of ‘splendid isolation’. Its main imperial rival during the 19th century was Russia. London and St Petersburg competed for territory and influence in a number of regions, particularly China and Central Asia. In 1853 the two went to war in the Crimea, southern Russia, as London attempted to prevent the expansion of Russian naval power into the Mediterranean. Britain emerged victorious: the Crimean War would be her only major conflict of the 19th century. Relations between England and Russia remained sour for the rest of the century, the pair reaching the brink of war several times. Only the emergence of a new rivalry eased Anglo-Russian tensions.
The unification of Germany in 1871 re-focused British suspicion and paranoia. London’s foreign policy analysts soon realised that Germany, driven by its strong nationalism, rapidly growing industrial economy and powerful military, might come to dominate continental Europe. The 1888 coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a hot-headed young man with imperialist ambitions, strengthened this paranoia. The rise of Germany and its imperial ambitions coincided with internal problems in Britain’s own empire. Dutch-speaking South African farmers challenged British authority, leading to the Boer War (1899-1902); Britain was victorious in this conflict, though at great cost. The turn of the century also saw the federation and independence of Britain’s Australian colonies, plus growing Irish demands for home rule. By the start of the 1900s, Britain had abandoned its policy of European neutrality and began to play a hand in the ‘great game of alliance’. British diplomats forged the Entente Cordiale with France, another continental power with whom Britain was previously on hostile terms. In 1907 Britain and Russia reached a successful agreement on territorial disputes. That same year produced the Triple Entente, a three-way alliance between France, Britain and Russia.
End of empire
The expense of World War One destroyed British global pre-eminence. Territorially the British empire was larger than ever. In the Middle East, Britain and France had divided most of the former Ottoman Empire between them. But the underlying reality was that Britain could no longer afford to build the bases or ships to defend its empire as it had before 1914.
It was the United States' overwhelming industrial might that had swung the balance against Germany during the war, and it was the American president whose ideas defined the peace.