Civilisation britannique
13584 mots
55 pages
Civilisation BritanniqueCHAPITRE 1: Introduction to contemporary Britain:
Problematic: Is the UK becoming a « divided realm »?
Britain is today a crowded island and has a population of almost 61,8 million. Because of its geographical status, Britain has always been a multi-ethnic nation. Immigrant arrived for diverse reasons such as religious persecution or economic reasons. More recently, immigration has become a hot political issue.
To start with, we are going to deal with a series of definitions:
What is Great Britain? Which countries are in Great Britain? What is the United Kingdom?
Where the name “United kingdom” does comes from? What countries make up the United Kingdom? What is the difference between England, Great Britain and the UK? What do we mean by “the British isles”, “the Commonwealth”, and “the British Empire”?
I – The British Isles
The British Isles is the name of a collection of about 4 000 islands including Great Britain and Ireland. The name “the British isles” is usually only seen on maps. Great Britain, known as Britain or GB, is the name for the largest of the islands. It includes England, Scotland and Wales, but it does not include Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
“The British Isles” is a geographical term that refers to Great Britain, the whole of Ireland (Northern and Southern), the Channel Island and all the offshore islands, most notably the Isles of Man. The United Kingdom does not include the Isles of Man (which lies between GB and the island of Ireland) and the Channel Islands (which lie off the North Coast of France). The Isle of Man, otherwise known simply Mann, is a self-governing British Crown Dependency.
The head of state is Queen Elisabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The lord of Mann is represented by a lieutenant governor. The island is not part of the UK, but its foreign relations and defense are the responsibility of the UK Government. It is important to remember that Southern