Text 2 the story of the united kingdom

(1) The country's full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, although most people just refer to it as United Kingdom or the UK. How was the United Kingdom formed? This took centuries and a lot of armed struggle was involved.

Before 17th Century. England, the biggest country on the islands, used to be known as Angla land, meaning the land of the Angles, people from continental Germany, who began to invade Britain in the late 5th century, along with the Saxons and Jute.

(2) Up until the 17th century there had been four 'countries' in the British Isles: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland. Each one had its own separate sense of identity, its own history, even its own language. There was no such word as British. People were simply either English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish..

(3) End of 18th Century. By the end of the eighteenth century, all this changed. The word British was used for the first time, ‘Rule Britannia’* song was composed and the Union Flag created. Though the word ‘Britain’ existed long before: ‘Britain’ was the name made popular by the Romans when they came to the British Islands.

(4) England and Wales. In 1543, during the Tudor times*, England and Wales were united as one country. Scotland and Ireland remained separate kingdoms, with their own parliaments and laws until the much later.

(5) England and Scotland. In 1603 England and Scotland shared the same king. King James VI of Scotland became also James I of England. James I was very keen to be King of Great Britain, and from 1606 Scots were officially called English citizens. However, it wasn't until 1652, that the two countries were united together through force by Oliver Cromwell. The Scots had never accepted this action.

(6) Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1707 the Act of Union* meant that Scotland lost her Parliament and her independence and became part of a new country to be called 'Kingdom of Great Britain'.

(7) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1801 a second Act of Union was passed, creating yet another new country, the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland'.

(8) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The whole of Ireland was united with Great Britain from 1801 up until 1921. The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 removed mainland Ireland from the UK. In that year the independent Republic of Ireland was formed in the South. Six northern Irish counties (Northern Ireland) remained part of the UK. The current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927.

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*‘Rule Britannia’ - «Правь, Британия, морями!» - патриотическая песня Великобритании

*Tudor times - эпоха правления династии Тюдоров (1485–1603)

*Act of Union - Акт о соединении с Шотландией (1707) и с Ирландией (1800)

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