Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter is suspended due to bickering over the peace process.
England, in the south and southwest, occupies the greatest part of the island. Scotland is to the north, and Wales in the west juts out into the Irish Sea. The long eastern coast of Great Britain faces the North Sea; it's western coastline is on the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The Uk has a considerable variety of landscapes, ranging from craggy mountain ranges and tranquil upland lakes in the north, to gently rolling hills and green plains that are characteristic of the south and southeast. Scotland is the most mountainous part of the country. Mainland Scotland has three main regions: the Highlands in the north, the Southern Uplands near the border with England, and in between the flatter, though often hilly, Central Lowlands. It also has several groups of offshore islands: the Shetlands in the far north, the Orkneys, off the northeastern tip of the mainland, and the Inner and Outer Hebrides off the northwestern coast. The most rugged country is in the north, where two granite ranges, the North West Highlands and the Grampians, dominate the scene.
Beginning just south of the Cheviot Hills, and running southward as far as Derbyshire, are the Pennine Mountains, a predominantly limestone range of hills, plateaus, expanses of moorland and soft green valleys, which are often referred to as the Dales. West of the Pennines, and separated from it by the valley of the Eden, are the Cumbrian Mountains, a region of craggy peaks with many lakes. This is England’s famous Lake District. To the east of the Pennines are the elevated expanses of the North York Moors.
South of the Pennines, beginning around the fertile valleys of the Trent and Avon rivers, the countryside becomes flatter and gently undulation, reaching its lowest point in the marshy fen country north of Cambridge.
Wales, which juts out into the Irish Sea to the west of England, is more mountainous, its centre dominated by the Cambrian Mountains, in which the Severn, Britain’s second longest river, rises. Mount Snowdon, in Snowdonia, a large national park in northwest Wales, rises to 1,085 m and is the highest peak in England and Wales.
Northern Ireland is flat for the most part, but to the north of Belfast is the Antrim Plateau, whose basalt cliffs provide some of the country’s most arresting coastal scenery.
Crop cultivation in Britain is concentrated mainly in the east and southeast of the country. Wheat is the principal crop, though potatoes and fruits are widely cultivated. Pasturelands are more common in the west and southwest, where sheep and cattle raising and dairy farming predominate. Although the UK exports much of its produce, it still imports about one-third of its food needs.
The UK has traditioinally relied on coal for its energy resources, and there are still adequate reserves. However, the replacement of most coal-fired power stations with gas-powered facilities in recent years has resulted in the near closure of the coalmining industry. The country also has a number of nuclear power stations that are a continuing subject of controversy. Oil and gas reserves in the North Sea are a major source of revenue, and have helped to make the country self-sufficient in energy.
Manufacturing was once the mainstay of the British economy, with a large proportion of heavy industry centred on industrial cities in the Midlands such as Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Food processing, machinery and textile manufacture are still among the principal manufacturing industries. Motor vehicle and aircraft manufacture are long established core industries, although much of the motor vehicle industry is now owned by foreign interests. Most of the raw materials needed to supply industry have to be imported from other countries.
Britain’s economy is one of the most developed in Western Europe and its people enjoy a high standard of living, although there are considerable variations in levels of affluence. Universal free school education and health systems are maintained by the state, although some social services and the value of state pensions have been sharply cut back in recent years. |
