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Great Britain (commonly shortened to Britain) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland and Wales. With an area of 209,331 km (80,823 sq mi), it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world.
The history of the United Kingdom began in the early eighteenth century with the Treaty of Union and Acts of Union. The core of the United Kingdom as a unified state came into being in 1707 with the political union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, into a new unitary state called Great Britain.
The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,354 square miles (244,376 km 2 ), [e] [12] with an estimated population of nearly 67.6 million people in 2022. [13] In 1707, the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.
England, which had subsumed Wales in the 16th century under Henry VIII, united with Scotland in 1707 to form a new sovereign state called Great Britain. [8] [9] [10] Following the Industrial Revolution, which started in England, Great Britain ruled a colonial Empire, the largest in recorded history.
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- The Birth of The United Kingdom
- 19th Century
- 21st Century
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Acts of Union 1707
The first step towards political unification were taken on 1 May 1707, when the parliaments of Scotland and England approved Acts of Unionwhich combined the two parliaments and the two royal titles. Perhaps the greatest single benefit to Scotland of the Union was that Scotland could enjoy free tradewith England and her colonies overseas. For England's part, a possible ally for European states that were hostile to England had been neutralized. Certain aspect of the former independent kingdoms...
Ireland joins with the Act of Union
The second stage in the development of the United Kingdom took effect on 1 January 1801, when Great Britain merged with the Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was completed under the Act of Union 1800. The country's name was changed to "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". The Act was passed in the British and therefore unrepresentative Irish Parliament with substantial majorities achieved in part (accor...
Napoleonic wars
Hostilities between Great Britain and France recommenced on 18 May 1803. The Coalition war-aims changed over the course of the conflict: a general desire to restore the French monarchy became closely linked to the struggle to stop Napoleon.The Napoleonic conflict had reached the point at which subsequent historians could talk of a "world war". Only the Seven Years' Waroffered a precedent for widespread conflict on such a scale.
Victorian era
The Victorian era marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. Although commonly used to refer to the period of Queen Victoria's rule between 1837 and 1901, scholars debate whether the Victorian period–as defined by a variety of sensibilities and political concerns that have come to be associated with the Victorians–actually begins with the passage of Reform Act 1832. The era was preceded by the Regency era and succeeded by the Edwardian period. T...
In the 2001 General Election, the Labour Party won a second successive victory. Despite huge anti-war marches being held in London and Glasgow, Tony Blair gave strong support to the United State's invasion of Iraqin 2003. Forty-six thousand British troops, one-third of the total strength of the British Army (land forces), were active to assist with...
¹ The term "United Kingdom" was first used in the Union with Scotland Act 1706. However it is generally seen as a descriptive term, indicating that the kingdoms were freely united rather than through conquest. It is not seen as being actual nameof the new United Kingdom, which was (by article one) "Great Britain". The "United Kingdom" as a name is ...
Info Britain.co.uk Archived 2011-02-24 at the Wayback MachineText of 1800 Act of Union Archived 2004-08-16 at the Wayback Machine2 days ago · Together England, Wales, and Scotland constitute Great Britain, the larger of the two principal islands, while Northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland constitute the second largest island, Ireland. England, occupying most of southern Great Britain, includes the Isles of Scilly off the southwest coast and the Isle of Wight off
hide. Beginning. Political definition. History. More reading. References. Great Britain. Satellite image, 2002. The island of Great Britain, shown in red. Great Britain is an island in the north-west Atlantic Ocean, one of the British Isles. It is the biggest European island, off the coast of Continental Europe.
