EMPIRE & DEMOCRACY

THE BRITISH ISLES

One country?

The British Isles is the name for a collection of about 4000 islands, including Great Britain and Ireland. The name of British Isles is usually only seen on maps.

Great Britain, known as Britain or GB, is the name for the largest of the islands in the British Isles. It includes England, Scotland and Wales. It does not include Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. You see the abbreviation GB on driving licences of people who live in England, Scotland and Wales.

The United Kingdom or UK is a political term which includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All of these countries are represented in parliament in London and the abbreviation UK is used on most official documents produced by Parliament.

Everybody from the UK is British, but be careful: only people from England are English. People from Wales think of themselves as Welsh; people from Scotland as Scottish; people from the Republic of Ireland as Irish and people from Northern Ireland as either British or Irish.

What’s a county?

Britain is split up into counties. The word county describes an area with its own local government. County councils are elected to run things, such as education, housing, town planning, rubbish disposal. They look after things like roads, libraries and swimming pools.

Many counties, like Yorkshire, Berkshire and Lancashire, contain the word shire, which is an old word for county. In writing, it is usual to abbreviate the names of counties containing the word shire: Lancashire becomes Lancs; Wiltshire becomes Wilts; South Yorkshire becomes S. Yorks. But Essex stays Essex and Durham stays Durham.

Flags and saints

The Saint George’s cross is the Englishflag. Saint George the patron saint of England. He was a soldier famous for saving the Princess Cleolinda from being eaten by a dragon. He wounded the dragon and took it back to the city of Silene on a lead like a dog. Saint George’s Day is celebrated on 23 April. Saint George is also the patron saint of Germany, Portugal and

Greece.

The Saint Patrick’s cross is the former flag of Ireland. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.

He was born about AD 390. He converted the Irish to Christianity and is supposed to have got

rid of all the snakes in Ireland. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on 17 March.

The Saint Andrew’s cross is the Scottish flag. Saint Andrew, a fisherman, was one

of the twelve apostles who followed Jesus Christ. Paintings of Saint Andrew often

show him being killed on an X-shaped cross. Saint Andrew’s Day is celebrated on 30

November. He is the patron saint of both Scotland and Russia.

The Welsh flag shows a dragon. Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, started a number of monasteries

in the country. Paintings of Saint David normally show him with a dove on his shoulder. His relics are now

in Saint David’s Cathedral in Wales. Saint David’s Day is celebrated on 1 March.

The British flag, known as the Union Jack, is a combination of three flags: the Saint Andrew’s cross, the

Saint Patrick’s cross and the Saint George’s cross.

1. Correct the sentences that are false.

a) If you hold a British passport, you are from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.

b) Someone from Scotland can represent GB in the Olympic Games.

c) A person from the Republic of Ireland is British.

2. Look at the map of the British Isles. Correct the sentences that are false.

a) The capital of Wales is Swansea.

b) The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

c) It is more mountainous in the south than in the north of Britain.

d) The highest mountain in England is Ben Nevis.

e) The river which runs through Oxford and London is the Thames.

3. Complete the sentences.

f) London is in the ……… -east of Britain.

g) Birmingham is …………… of London, in a part of Britain called the Midlands.

h) Bristol is in the ……… -west of Britain.

4. What is the equivalent of county in Russia?

5. a) Which British country is not represented on the Union Jack?

b) What does Russian flag represent?

c) Who is the patron saint in Russia? Why is he famous?

d) What awards connected with the names of patron saints are known in Russia?

Chapter 2

EMPIRE & DEMOCRACY

Henry VIII and the Church

Henry VIII (1491-1547) is famous for his six wives and his ambitions. He married Catherine

of Aragon, niece of Emperor Charles V, ruler of most of Europe and the Americas. They had one daughter, but not the son and heir Henry wanted. When his mistress, Anne Boleyn, became pregnant, Henry asked the pope for a divorce. The Pope did not answer, so Henry got a divorce from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry then made the Church in England independent of

Rome. Parliament’s Act of Supremacy in 1534 made the king Head of the Church of England, which became Protestant. This was popular with many English people who were already Protestant.

The Pope gave the title Fidei Defender, Defender of the Faith, to Henry VIII. Henry kept this title, in spite of divorcing the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church. Queen Elizabeth II still holds this title today and the abbreviation F.D. is printed on every coin.

It was Henry’s second daughter, Elizabeth I, who became one of the England’s greatest monarchs. During her reign (1558-1603), England’s sailors captured many Spanish ships bringing treasure from the Americas. King Philip of Spain, encouraged by the Pope, who wanted to restore Catholicism to England, sent the Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 ships, to invade England in 1588. It was defeated. England became the most important Protestant power in Europe.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 913