BLOQUE 1: TEMA 1 UK

UK, Britain, Great Britain, The British Isles, England → What’s the difference?

1. The Country’s title

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The country’s title for constitutional and political purposes is the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
With the short forms UK and ‘Britain’ being used for convenience.

2. British Isles (geographical concept)

A number of islands lying off the north-west coast of continental Europe. These Islands are
often known geographically as the British Isles.

British Isles:
A collection of large and smaller islands, which are totally surrounded by sea (the North Sea,
the English Channel, the Irish Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean).
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has thousands of islands within
its territory.
Smaller island like, Anglesey, the Isle of Wight, the Orkneys, Shetlands, Hebrides, and
Scillies, are also part of the British political union.
3. Crown Dependencies
The Isle of Man in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands off the north coast of France are
not part of the United Kingdom.
They each have their own identities, legal, systems, legislatures and administrative
structures and are selfgoverning Crown Dependencies which have a historical relationship
with the British Crown.
However, the British government is responsible for their defence and foreign relations and
can intervene if good administration is not maintained.

4. Countries
The United Kingdom (UK) is made up of 4 countries:
-Scotland
-Wales
-England
-Northern Ireland

On general level, many people in the island may identify themselves with the larger British
national unit and respond to a sense of Britishness.
On a smaller lever of geographical and national identification, Britain is divided into:
-Scotland
-Wales
-England
-Northern Ireland

Scottish Parliament (Holyrood)

Architect: Enric Miralles
Scotland’s Parliament sits at the foot of Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile in front of the
spectacular Holyrood Park and Salisbury Crags. Constructed from a mixture of steel, oak,
and granite, the complex building was hailed on opening as one of the most innovative
designs in Britain today.
Drawing inspiration from the surrounding landscape, the flower paintings by Charles
Rennie Mackintosh and the upturned boats on the seashore, Enric Miralles, one of the
world’s premier architects, developed a design that he said was a building “growing out of
the land”.
England was not included in this devolution process. This reform seems to have provoked
a greater awareness among the English of their own separate identity.
England has no devolved national legislature or government.
Regions
Used for statistical and some administrative purposes (assistance and development areas;
service locations for supplies of gas, water and electricity, etc).

Following devolution, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland became self-governing

‘national’ units rather than ‘regions’.

Capital cities
5. Cities
Identity: On a smaller level, localism is important in British life as cultural, identifying
factor:
-country structures
-cities
-towns
-villages

Manchester – Liverpool – Newcastle – Birmingham – Glasgow – Edinburgh – Belfast –

London – Swansea – Cardig – etc.

Island mentality?
Being an island has affected Britain’s history and the British people’s attitude to the rest of
Europe.
The sea is a barrier which has deterred invaders and kept Britain apart from the rest of
Europe.
It forced the British to become a seafaring people who built up a strong navy for defence
and sent merchant ships to trade goods around the world.