What are the characteristics of Britain?

(UK) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

The national flag is a horizontal rectangle with an aspect ratio of 2∶ 1. This is a "meter" flag, which consists of a dark blue background and red and white "meters". The red cross with a white border in the national flag represents St George, the patron saint of England, St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland and St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. This flag was made in 180 1, and it was formed by overlapping the original English white red plus ten flags, the Scottish blue and white cross flag and the Irish white red cross flag.

The national emblem is the symbol of the king. The central pattern is a coat of arms, and the upper left corner and lower right corner of the shield are three golden lions with a red background, symbolizing England; In the upper right corner is a red lion standing on the golden ground, symbolizing Scotland; In the lower left corner is the golden harp on the blue ground, symbolizing Ireland. On both sides of the coat of arms are a lion wearing a crown representing England and a unicorn representing Scotland. There is a motto written in French around the coat of arms, which means "evil is rewarded with evil, and evil with evil"; There is a guardian medal hanging at the bottom, and the ribbon says "God has God, I have rights". At the top of the coat of arms is a gold and silver helmet inlaid with jewels, an imperial crown and a crowned lion.

National anthem "God Save the Queen" (if the incumbent is a male monarch, the national anthem will be changed to "God Save the King").

National flower rose

National bird red-breasted pigeon

Shiguo diamond

The Science Festival 183 1 begins and is held once a year.

Science Week starts from 1994 and is held every March.

Queen Elizabeth II, a national politician, was crowned on February 6, 19521June 2, 1953; On June 27th, 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown succeeded Blair as British Prime Minister.

Physical geography is 244,654.38+00,000 square kilometers (including inland waters), 6,543.8+03,400 square kilometers in England, 78,800 square kilometers in Scotland, 20,800 square kilometers in Wales and 6,543.8+03,600 square kilometers in Northern Ireland.

An island country in western Europe. It consists of Great Britain (including England, Scotland and Wales), northeastern Ireland and some small islands. It faces the European continent across the North Sea, the Dover Strait and the English Channel. Its land borders Ireland and the United States. Total length of coastline11450km. The whole territory is divided into four parts: the plains in southeast England, the mountains in the middle and west, the mountains in Scotland, the highlands in Northern Ireland and the mountains. The main rivers are Severn River (354 km) and Thames River (346 km). Lake Neuer in Northern Ireland (396 square kilometers) ranks first in the country. It has a maritime temperate broad-leaved forest climate, which is mild and humid all year round. Generally, the highest temperature does not exceed 32℃, the lowest temperature is not lower than-10℃, and the average temperature 10 is 65438+4 ~ 7℃ in October and 13 ~ 17℃ in July. It is rainy and foggy, especially in autumn and winter. The average annual precipitation is about 1000 mm. The annual precipitation in the northern and western mountainous areas is more than 2000mm, while that in the central and eastern areas is less than 800mm. It is the driest in February and March every year, and the wettest in the following year 10- 10.

The population is about 60.209 million. The official and common language is English. Welsh is also spoken in northern Wales, and Gaelic is still spoken in parts of the northwest highlands of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Most residents believe in Protestantism, mainly divided into the Church of England (also known as the Anglican Church, whose members account for about 60% of the British adults) and church of scotland (also known as the Presbyterian Church, with 660,000 adults). In addition, there are Catholic churches and larger religious groups, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.

Tower of London bridge

London, the capital; Population: 7.4 million (2004). The hottest month is July and the general temperature is 13℃-22℃. The coldest month is 65438+ 10 month, and the general temperature is 2℃-6℃. In April 2006, Beijing and London became sister cities.

The administrative region is divided into four parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England is divided into 43 counties, Scotland has 29 districts and 3 special administrative regions, Northern Ireland has 26 districts and Wales has 22 districts. The parliaments of Scotland and Wales and their administrative bodies are fully responsible for local affairs, while foreign affairs, national defense, overall economic and monetary policies, employment policies and social security are still controlled by the central government.

London, also known as "Greater London", consists of 32 independent administrative districts and 65,438+0 "London cities". District councils are responsible for the main affairs of each district, but they work with the mayor of Greater London and the Council to deal with matters involving the whole of London. In addition, Britain has 12 dependency.

Big Ben in London

A brief history of the Mediterranean Iberians, cyclists and Celts came to Britain one after another. 1-In the 5th century, the southeast of Great Britain was ruled by the Roman Empire. After the Romans retreated, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in Northern Europe invaded and settled in succession. The feudal system began to form in the 7th century, and many small countries merged into seven kingdoms, contending for hegemony for 200 years, which is known as the "Anglo-Saxon era". In 829, King Egbert of Wessex unified England, which was called "Anglo-Saxon Age" in history. It was invaded by the Danes at the end of the 8th century, and from 10 16 to 1042, it was a part of the Danish pirate empire. Later, under the short-term rule of the British king, the Duke of Normandy crossed the sea to conquer England in 1066 and established the Normandy dynasty. 12 15 King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta and his kingship was suppressed.

From 1338 to 1453, Britain and France fought a "hundred-year war", and Britain won first and then lost. 1536 merger of England and Wales. 1588 defeated the Spanish "Armada" and established maritime hegemony. 1640, Britain was the first bourgeois revolution in the world and became the pioneer of bourgeois revolution. 1May 649 19, the Republic of China was proclaimed. 1660 restored the dynasty, 1668 witnessed a "glorious revolution" and established a constitutional monarchy. England 1707 merged with Scotland, 180 1 merged with Ireland. /kloc-from the second half of the 8th century to the first half of the 9th century, it became the first country in the world to complete the industrial revolution.

/kloc-the 0/9th century was the heyday of the British Empire. 19 14 years, the occupied colony was11times larger than the mainland, and it was the first colonial power, claiming to be "imperial". It began to decline after the First World War. Britain established Northern Ireland in 1920, and allowed Southern Ireland to break away from its rule, from 192 1 to 1922. Twenty-six counties in the south have established a "free state", and six counties in the north still belong to Britain. 193 1 year promulgated the Westminster act, which forced the autonomous territories to be independent in internal affairs and diplomacy, and the colonial system of the British empire was shaken. After the First World War, Britain began to decline, and the world hegemony was gradually replaced by the United States. In World War II, the economic strength was greatly weakened and the political status declined. With the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, the British colonial system began to collapse, but Britain is still an ally of the 53 member countries of the Commonwealth. At present, there are still 13 overseas territories in Britain. . 1973 65438+ 10 joined the European body in October.

◆ The question of Gibraltar

Gibraltar is located at the southern tip of Iberian Peninsula, on the north bank of Gibraltar Strait, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and its strategic position is very important. Gibraltar covers an area of nearly 6 square kilometers and has a population of about 30,000. The Strait of Gibraltar is 90km long and12km to 43km wide. It is the only sea passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Gibraltar was incorporated into Spanish territory in 150 1. 1702, France and Austria fought for the succession to the Spanish throne, and Britain, the Netherlands and Austria formed an alliance. 1704, their allies conquered Gibraltar and established a military fortress. 17 13, Spain and Britain signed the Anglo-Spanish Treaty, ceding Gibraltar to Britain. From 65438 to 0830, Gibraltar became a British colony and a major naval base. Since then, all military and political affairs in Gibraltar have been under the control of the Governor appointed by the British royal family.

196 1 year, Britain and Spain started a dialogue on Gibraltar. 1984, the foreign ministers of the two countries reached an agreement on this issue, and Spain agreed to completely open the border of Gibraltar from 1985.

1991March 18, Britain officially handed over the defense of Gibraltar to a team composed of local people, thus ending the British military presence in this area for 287 years. Two years later, the foreign ministers of Britain and Spain began to discuss the future status of Gibraltar.

◆ Northern Ireland issue

Northern Ireland is located in the northeast of Ireland Island, with an area of 1, 4 1.20 square kilometers. The population of Belfast, the capital, is about10.6 million, of which 60% are descendants of British immigrants who believe in Protestantism, and the remaining 40% are descendants of Irish aborigines who believe in Catholicism. For a long time, they lived in different communities and were far away from each other. On the issue of the ownership of Northern Ireland, the former advocates staying in Britain, while the latter insists on returning to Ireland.

Northern Ireland was originally an Irish territory. Irish, descendants of Celtic, lived on the island of Ireland for generations and accepted Roman Catholicism in the 6th century. /kloc-In the middle of 0/2nd century, Britain began to invade Ireland. 180 1 year, according to the treaty of alliance between Britain and Ireland, Ireland was formally incorporated into the British territory, and the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" was established. Britain completed the annexation of Ireland, and Ireland became the first British colony, which was deeply oppressed in politics, economy, culture and religion. The Irish people took part in many wars for national independence and resisted the colonialists. From 1886 to 1893, riots broke out in Belfast, and violent confrontation between two ethnic groups with different beliefs and political views caused hundreds of deaths. 19 16 Easter Uprising broke out in Dublin. The uprising was led by the radical Sinn Fein Party, with the aim of fighting for Irish independence. Due to the armed suppression by the British army, the uprising finally failed and thousands of insurgents died. So the Irish problem has existed in Britain for 700 years.