The Guinness Encyclopedia

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ The Guinness Encyclopedia / The Guinness Encyclopedia - Wayzata Technology (3221-1B) (Disc 2) (1995).iso / countrie / countrie.s / card_49773.xml < prev next >

Wrap

Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 20KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>49773</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>UNITED KINGDOMOfficial name: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandMember of: UN, EU/EC, NATO, G7, OECD, OSCE, WEU, CommonwealthArea: 244088 km2 (94242 sq mi)Population: 58080000 (1993 est)Capital: London (see below)Languages: English (over 98% as a first language), various languages of the Indian subcontinent (under 2% as a first language), Welsh (0.05%), Gaelic (0.014%)Religions: Anglican (55% nominal; 4% practising), Roman Catholic (9%), Presbyterian (3%, including Church of Scotland), Methodist (2%), various other Christian Churches (4%), Sunni Islam (2%)ENGLANDArea: 130439 km2 (50 363 sq mi)Population: 47 837 300 (1992 est)Capital: London 7926000 (London Urban Area; Greater London 6803000; 1992 est) Other major cities: Birmingham 2360000 (West Midlands Urban Area; city 1009000; Dudley 305000; Walsall 263000; Wolverhampton 248000; Solihull 201000), Manchester 2337000 (Greater Manchester Urban Area; city 43500; Stockport 289000; Bolton 264000; Salford 230000; Oldham 220000; Rochdale 206000), Leeds-Bradford 1581000 (West Yorkshire Urban Area; Leeds 772000, Bradford 478000), Newcastle-upon-Tyne 797000 (Tyneside Urban Area; city 282000; Gateshead 203000), Liverpool 690000 (Urban Area; city 479000), Sheffield 673000 (Urban Area; city 531000), Nottingham 631000 (Urban Area; city 283000), Bristol 568000 (Urban Area; city 397000), Brighton 495000 (Brighton-Worthing Urban Area; Brighton town 155000), Portsmouth 476000 (Urban Area; city 190000), Leicester 423000 (Urban Area; city 285000), Stoke-on-Trent 389000 (The Potteries Urban Area; city 253000), Middlesbrough 380000 (Teesside Urban Area; town 146000), Bournemouth 376000 (Urban Area; town 159000), Coventry 348000 (Urban Area; city 305000), Hull 331000 (Kingston-upon-Hull Urban Area; city 269000), Southampton 322000 (Southampton-Eastleigh Urban Area; city 208000), Preston 320000 (Urban Area; town 131000), Southend 299000 (Urban Area; town 165000), Blackpool 293000 (Urban Area; town 152000), Birkenhead 279000 (Wirral Urban Area; town 99000), Plymouth 258000 (Urban Area and city), Rochester 247000 (Medway Towns Urban Area; city 148000) (figures are for urban areas ΓÇô cities and their agglomerations ΓÇô not for local government areas; 1992 est)NORTHERN IRELANDArea: 14122 km2 (5453 sq mi) of which 13483 km2 (5205 sq mi) is landPopulation: 1610000 (1992 est)Capital: Belfast 437000 (Urban Area; city 288000; Newtownabbey 75000; Castlereagh 62000; 1992 est)Other major towns and cities: Derry/Londonderry 96000, Craigavon-Portadown-Lisburn 77000, Bangor 35000 (figures are for urban areas ΓÇô towns and their agglomerations ΓÇô not for local government areas; 1992 est)SCOTLANDArea: 78 759 km2 (30409 sq mi)Population: 5111000 (1992 est)Capital: Edinburgh 527000 (Urban Area; city 439000; 1992 est)Other major towns and cities: Glasgow 1648000 (Central Clydeside Urban Area; city 684000; Motherwell 144000; Paisley 84000; Hamilton 52000), Aberdeen 231000 (Urban Area; city 217000), Dundee 172000 (Urban Area and city), Greenock 91000 (Urban Area; town 58000), Falkirk 74000 (Urban Area; town 36000), Ayr 62000 (Urban Area; town 52000) (figures are for urban areas ΓÇô towns and their agglomerations ΓÇô not for local government areas; 1992 est)WALESArea: 20768 km2 (8019 sq mi)Population: 2899000 (1992 est)Capital: Cardiff 326000 (Urban Area; city 296000; 1992 est)Other major towns and cities: Swansea 289000 (Urban Area; city 188000), Newport 137000 (Urban Area and town), Rhondda-Pontypridd 128000 (Urban Area; Rhondda 79000), Wrexham 80000 (Urban Area; town 40000), Merthyr Tydfil 60000 (Urban Area and town), Aberdare 55000 (Urban Area; town 32000), Pontypool 50000 (Urban Area; town 36000), Bridgend 50000 (Urban Area; town 31000) (figures are for urban areas ΓÇô towns and their agglomerations ΓÇô not for local government areas; 1992 est)DEPENDENCIESCrown Dependencies associated with but not part of the UK (with areas, populations and capitals):Guernsey and Dependencies (Alderney and Sark) ΓÇô 78.5 km2 (30 sq mi), 61600 (1991 census), St Peter Port.Isle of Man ΓÇô 572 km2 (221 sq mi), 70000 (1991 census), Douglas.Jersey ΓÇô 116 km2 (45 sq mi), 84000 (1991 census), St Helier.Dependencies (with areas, populations and capitals):Anguilla ΓÇô 96 km2 (37 sq mi), 9000 (1992 est), The Valley.Bermuda ΓÇô 54 km2 (21 sq mi), 60500 (1991 est), Hamilton.British Antarctic Territory ΓÇô 1800000 km2 (700000 sq mi); no permanent population.British Indian Ocean Territory ΓÇô 60 km2 (23 sq mi); no permanent civilian population.British Virgin Islands ΓÇô 153 km2 (59 sq mi), 16700 (1991 census), Road Town.Cayman Islands ΓÇô 259 km2 (100 sq mi), 27000 (1989 census), George Town.Falkland Islands ΓÇô 12 170 km2 (4698 sq mi), 2100 (1991 census; excluding military personnel), Port Stanley.Gibraltar ΓÇô 6.5 km2 (2.5 sq mi), 31300 (1990 est), Gibraltar.Hong Kong ΓÇô 1045 km2 (403 sq mi), 6019000 (1993 est), Victoria.Montserrat ΓÇô 98 km2 (38 sq mi), 12400 (1989 est), Plymouth.Pitcairn Islands ΓÇô 44 km2 (17 sq mi), 67 (1992 est), Adamstown.St Helena and Dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha) ΓÇô 411 km2 (159 sq mi), 7100 (1992 est), Jamestown.South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands ΓÇô 4091 km2 (1580 sq mi), no permanent population.Turks and Caicos Islands ΓÇô 430 km2 (166 sq mi), 12400 (1990 census), Cockburn Town.GOVERNMENTThe UK is a constitutional monarchy without a written constitution. The House of Lords ΓÇô the Upper (non-elected) House of Parliament ΓÇô comprises over 750 hereditary peers and peeresses, over 20 Lords of Appeal (non-hereditary peers), over 370 life peers, and 2 archbishops and 24 bishops of the Church of England. The House of Commons consists of 651 members elected for five years by universal adult suffrage. The sovereign appoints a Prime Minister who commands a majority in the Commons.GEOGRAPHYThe UK comprises the island of Great Britain, the northeast part of Ireland plus over 4000 other islands. Lowland Britain occupies the south, east and center of England. Clay valleys and river basins ΓÇô including those of the Thames and the Trent ΓÇô separate relatively low ridges of hills, including the limestone Cotswolds and Cleveland Hills, and the chalk North and South Downs and the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Wolds. In the east, low-lying Fenland is largely reclaimed marshland. The flat landscape of East Anglia is covered by glacial soils. The northwest coastal plain of Lancashire and Cheshire is the only other major lowland in England. A peninsula in the southwest ΓÇô Devon and Cornwall ΓÇô contains granitic uplands, including Dartmoor and Exmoor. The limestone Pennines form a moorland backbone running through northern England. The Lake District (Cumbria) is a mountainous dome rising to Scafell Pike, the highest point in England at 978 m (3210 ft).Wales is a highland block, formed by a series of plateau above which rise the Brecon Beacons in the south, Cader Idris and the Berwyn range in the center, and Snowdonia in the north, where Snowdon reaches 1085 m (3560 ft).In Scotland, the Highlands in the north and the Southern Uplands are separated by the rift valley of the Central Lowlands, where the majority of ScotlandΓÇÖs population, agriculture and industry are to be found. The Highlands are divided by the Great Glen in which lies Loch Ness. Although Ben Nevis is the highest point at 1392 m (4406 ft), the most prominent range of the Highlands is the Cairngorm Mountains. The Southern Uplands lie below 853 m (2800 ft). Scottish lowlands include Buchan in the northeast, Caithness in the north and a coastal plain around the Moray Firth. To the west of Scotland are the many islands of the Inner and Outer Hebrides, while to the north are the Orkney and Shetland Islands.Uplands in Northern Ireland include the Sperrin Mountains in the northwest, the uplands in County Antrim, and the Mourne Mountains rising to Slieve Donard at 852 m (2796 ft). Lough Neagh ΓÇô at the center of Northern Ireland ΓÇô is the UKΓÇÖs largest lake.Principal rivers: Severn 345 km (220 mi), Thames (with Churn) 346 km (215 mi), Trent-Humber 297 km (185 mi), Aire (with Ouse) 259 km (161 mi).Climate: The temperate climate of the UK is warmed by the North Atlantic Drift. There is considerable local variety, particularly in rainfall totals, which range from just over 500 mm (20 in) in the southeast to 5000 mm (200 in) in northwest Scotland.ECONOMYAbout one sixth of the British labor force is involved in manufacturing. The principal industries include iron and steel, motor vehicles, electronics and electrical engineering, textiles and clothing, and consumer goods. British industry relies heavily upon imports of raw materials. The UK is self-sufficient in petroleum (from the North Sea) and has important reserves of natural gas. The coal industry declined as seams became uneconomic. As Britain is a major trading nation, London is one of the worldΓÇÖs leading banking, financial and insurance centers, and the ΓÇÿinvisible earningsΓÇÖ from these services make an important contribution to exports. Tourism is another major foreign-currency earner. Agriculture involves about 1% of the labor force and is principally concerned with raising sheep and cattle. Arable farming is widespread in the east, where the main crops are barley, wheat, potatoes and sugar beet. Economic problems have included repeated crises of confidence in the value of the pound, credit squeezes and high rates of unemployment. Since 1980 most major nationalized industries have been privatized. Currency: Pound sterling.HISTORYPre-Roman Britain was inhabited by the Celts (see pp. 374ΓÇô75). Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55ΓÇô54 BC, although wholesale conquest and Romanization did not occur until after AD 43. The Roman province of Britannia ΓÇô covering the area south of HadrianΓÇÖs Wall ΓÇô lasted until the 5th century AD. The Scots from northeast Ireland invaded north Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, and when their king also became king of the Picts (843) the foundations of a Scottish state were laid. From the 6th century, Wales was divided into small kingdoms, which by the 12th century had been reduced to Gywnedd (in the north), Powys (center) and Deheubarth (the south). The Anglo-Saxons first invaded England in the 5th century, and by the 7th and 8th centuries had established a fluctuating number of kingdoms. Mercia and Northumbria were dominant until the rise of Wessex to supremacy in the 9th century, and in the 950s King Edgar of Wessex united England. However, from the 8th century Vikings raided the country, and, although partly repulsed by King Alfred in the 9th century, they established kingdoms in the east. After the short-lived Anglo-Danish kingdom of Cnut and his sons, the Normans invaded in 1066.The Normans established a strong centralized monarchy. At first England was just part of the Anglo-Norman state, but soon became the dominant force in an empire that included much of France. Throughout the Middle Ages England waged war to retain possessions in France. Scotland came increasingly under English influence from the 11th century, and Edward I (reigned 1272ΓÇô1307) attempted to dominate Scotland at a time of disputed succession. After the Battle of Bannockburn (1314), Scottish independence was asserted by Robert the Bruce (reigned 1306ΓÇô29), whose grandson was the first Stewart (Stuart) king of Scotland. Henry II of England (reigned 1154ΓÇô89) became overlord of Ireland in 1171, but English control of the north was limited until Protestant settlers arrived in great numbers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Wales was gradually absorbed by England, despite the attempt by Llywelyn II of Gwynedd to establish an independent Welsh nation in the 13th century.In the Middle Ages succession to the English throne was often contested, most notably in the civil war between the Houses of York and Lancaster (the Wars of the Roses, 1455ΓÇô85). The development of the English state was aided by the emergence of the Houses of Parliament, but conflicts between the Crown and overmighty nobles were common. In 1215 King John (reigned 1199ΓÇô1216) was forced to grant considerable powers to the nobles. By the time Henry VII (reigned 1485ΓÇô1509) seized the throne to establish the Tudor dynasty the numbers and strength of the nobility were diminished, and England was poised to emerge as a leading power. Under Henry VIII (reigned 1509ΓÇô47) the English Reformation began. Under his daughter Elizabeth I (reigned 1558ΓÇô1603) a religious settlement was achieved and the countryΓÇÖs colonial history began when English explorers challenged Spain in the New World.The succession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England in 1603 united the crowns of the two realms, although full integration did not occur until ScotlandΓÇÖs Parliament was abolished by the Act of Union in 1707. Under Charles I (reigned 1625ΓÇô49) the English Civil War (1640ΓÇô60) was prompted by arguments over the precise nature of the Protestant religion to which his subjects should adhere, as much as by conflicts over parliamentary rights. After the Commonwealth (1649ΓÇô60), the restored Charles II (reigned 1660ΓÇô85) attempted to establish an absolutist monarchy. The efforts of James II to reimpose Catholicism ended in his flight and the invasion of William (III) of Orange (reigned 1688ΓÇô1702) in the Glorious Revolution. William III and his successor Queen Anne (reigned 1702ΓÇô14) fought the ambitions of Louis XIV of France, and an involvement in European wars continued after the (German) Hanoverian monarchs came to the throne in 1714. Colonial wars against the Dutch in the 17th century and the French in the 18th century saw a notable expansion of the British Empire. The American colonies were lost in 1783, although Canada and West Indian islands were retained. As if to compensate for the loss, British interest turned almost simultaneously to India, where much of the subcontinent had come under the sway of the East India Company. The United Kingdom ΓÇô formed in 1801 through the union of Great Britain and Ireland ΓÇô fought almost continuous wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France (1789ΓÇô1815), and emerged from the wars with further colonial gains.The reign of Queen Victoria (1837ΓÇô1901) witnessed the height of British power. Britain ΓÇô the first country to undergo an industrial revolution ΓÇô dominated world trade. British statesmen ΓÇô including PMs Sir Robert Peel (1788ΓÇô1850), Lord Palmerston (1784ΓÇô1865), William Ewart Gladstone (1809ΓÇô98) and Benjamin Disraeli (1804ΓÇô81) ΓÇô dominated the world stage. The British Empire included much of Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Australasia. Parliamentary democracy increased with the gradual extension of the right to vote, starting with the Reform Act of 1832. Representative government was granted to distant colonies, beginning with Canada and Australia, but was denied to Ireland, where nationalist sentiment was stirring. By 1900 BritainΓÇÖs economic dominance was being challenged by the USA and, more particularly, by Germany. Rivalry with Imperial Germany was but one factor contributing to the causes of World War I. PM Herbert Asquith (1852ΓÇô1928) led a reforming Liberal Government from 1908 to 1916 but ΓÇô after criticism of his conduct of the war ΓÇô he was replaced by David Lloyd George (1863ΓÇô1945), who as Chancellor of the Exchequer had introduced health and unemployment insurance.The ΓÇÿold dominionsΓÇÖ ΓÇô Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa ΓÇô emerged from the war as autonomous countries, and their independent status was confirmed by the Statute of Westminster (1931). The Easter Rising in Ireland (1916) led to the partition of the island in 1922. Only Northern Ireland ΓÇô the area with a Protestant majority ΓÇô stayed within the United Kingdom, but from 1968 to 1994 bitter conflict resurfaced in the province as Roman Catholic republicans ΓÇô seeking unity with the Republic of Ireland ΓÇô clashed with Protestant Loyalists intent upon preserving the link with Britain. British troops were stationed in Northern Ireland to keep order and to defeat the terrorist violence of the IRA and Loyalist illegal organizations. In 1994 the terrorist organizations declared a ceasefire and the Northern Ireland peace process began.In World War II Britain ΓÇô led by PM Sir Winston Churchill (1874ΓÇô1965), who had strenuously opposed appeasement in the 1930s ΓÇô played a major role in the defeat of the Axis powers, and from 1940 to 1941 the UK stood alone against an apparently invincible Germany. Following the war, the Labor government of Clement Attlee (1883ΓÇô1967) established the ΓÇÿwelfare stateΓÇÖ. At the same time, the British Empire began its transformation into a Commonwealth of some 50 independent states, starting with the independence of India in 1947 (see pp. 448ΓÇô49). By the late 1980s Britain was no longer a world power, although a British nuclear deterrent was retained. By the 1970s the UK was involved in restructuring its domestic economy and, consequently, its welfare state ΓÇô from 1979 to 1990 under the Conservative premiership of Margaret Thatcher (1925ΓÇô ). The country has also joined (1973) and has attempted to come to terms with the EU/EC. Britain has resisted European federalism, in particular moves to introduce a common currency and the Social Charter. In 1994-95 the question of devolution of government to Scotland and Wales, which had been a major issue of the later 1970s, resurfaced.</text> </content> <name>United Kingdom</name> <script></script> </card>