About England

FAST FACTS

OFFICIAL NAME: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy with parliamentary government

CAPITAL: London

POPULATION: 65,105,246

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English

MONEY: Pound sterling

AREA: 93,635 square miles (242,514 square kilometers)

MAJOR RIVERS: Thames, Severn, Tyne

The United Kingdom, generally known as the U.K., is a group of islands off Europe’s northwest coast. England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland make form this one-of-a-kind country. Great Britain also includes England, Wales, and Scotland.

High terrain, knife-edged mountain peaks separated by deep valleys cover much of the north and west of the United Kingdom. This topography was formed during the last Ice Age, when the region was blanketed in thick glaciers.

The scenery in the south of England is mostly made up of rolling hills. Lochs are a type of lake found in northwest England and the Scottish Highlands. When the Ice Age glaciers melted, these were left behind. They’re usually long and narrow, with some of them being rather deep. Loch Ness in Scotland is said to be home to a huge creature known as Nessie, according to legend.

Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Normans were among the waves of invaders and migrants who formed the British Empire. People from former Caribbean, African, and Asian colonies flocked to the United Kingdom to work in the 1950s and 1960s.

The United Kingdom’s cultural claims to prominence include sports and literature. Rugby, cricket, boxing, and golf were all invented in the United Kingdom. Many notable writers have come from the United Kingdom, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Robert Burns. J.K. Rowling is a British author who wrote the Harry Potter series.

The United Kingdom’s central region was covered in thick forests about 5,000 years ago. These woodlands were destroyed by ancient farmers thousands of years ago, and today just around 10% of the area is covered with forest.

Because of the UK’s complicated geology, it has a diverse spectrum of landscapes and habitats for its animal and plant life. However, it is a densely populated country with few truly wild areas. Those wildlife species that can coexist with humans are the most successful.

The rocky highlands of Great Britain, such as the Scottish Highlands, provide habitat that is mostly unspoiled by humans. Wildlife such as seabirds and seals can be found along the country’s 7,700 miles (12,429 kilometers) of shoreline, which ranges from tall cliffs to beaches to marshes.

The British political system has evolved over many centuries. Once upon a time, kings reigned with the help of a council of religious leaders and nobles. This council grew into the Parliament, which currently passes all the country’s legislation. The monarch (which can be a king or a queen) no longer has any real power.

For more than 500 years, the United Kingdom has been a major trading nation. In the nineteenth century, British industry contributed to the country’s status as the world’s most powerful nation. Its economy is still one of the most powerful in the planet.

The Picts, who came some 10,000 years ago, were the first Britons (those who live in the United Kingdom). The Celts arrived from Europe in the seventh century B.C. and drove the Picts north into Scotland. The Romans invaded in 43 A.D. and ruled for over 400 years. Roads, bathhouses, sewers, and big residences were created.

Germanic peoples known as Angles, Jutes, and Saxons began to settle in Britain around the sixth century A.D. The Angles named England, and the people of England became known as Anglo-Saxons. England was governed by Viking, Danish, and Norman invasions from the 900s until the 1400s.

Henry Tudor, a Welsh nobleman, claimed the English throne in 1485, becoming Henry VII, the first of five Tudor rulers. There were other major lines of kings and queens after that.

Britain was one of the most powerful nations in the globe by the 1800s. The country amassed a massive global empire because of trade. However, Britain suffered difficulties in the early twentieth century. Because Britain could no longer afford its empire after World Wars I and II, most of its colonies went independent.