Civilisation Anglaise : The creation of the UK

TOPIC 1. The creation of the UK, its nations and its identities

1. What is Britain & who are the British?

2. A Brief Early History: Britain’s origins

3. The Creation of the United Kingdom

4. Statistics about Britain & the British population

5. National Identities

• How British are the British?

• The 4 nations

• Ethnic and religious diversity

1. What is Britain and who are the British?

• What is the difference between….

- The United Kingdom

- Great Britain

- The British Isles

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland : England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland

Great Britain : England, Scotland and Wales

The British Isles : all the islands (Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man).

• The adjective « British » refers to people from the UK, Great Britain and the British Isles

• Confusion between the terms « English » and « British »

• It is important to differentiate between English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and British

2. Early History Where do Britain and the British people originate from?

Some key dates

700 BC: Celtic invasions.

43 AD: Roman conquest of England and Wales:

└> named the province Britannia

└> trade and commerce

└> Roman towns (York, London, St Albans…)

410-1066 : The Anglo-Saxon Period

5th century: Anglo-Saxon invasions of south-east England

→ England named after the Angles

6th Century

• St Augustine arrives from Rome

• Anglo-Saxons converted to Roman Catholicism

• The first Christian church built in Canterbury.

The early Middle Ages

1066: The Norman Conquest

• William the Conqueror, defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

Influence of the Normans

• Feudalism

•Domesday Book (1086)

•Influence of the Norman French language

• The 3 main influences on the Language

└> Celtic (Welsh, Scottish and Irish Gaelic today)

└> Anglo-Saxon

└> Norman French

Main points

Britain is made up of a VARIETY of origins

└>  Celts

└> Romans

└> Anglo-Saxons

└> Norman French

Religion: The Separation of the Church of England from Rome

1534-40: The Reformation : Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church.

└> rise of Protestantism

3. Towards the creation of the United Kingdom

1st stage

The Act of Union 1707 joined England (and Wales) and Scotland.

→ Great Britain was formed.

2nd Stage

The 1801 Act of Union joined Great Britain and Ireland.

→ The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed.

3rd Stage

1920 : Government of Ireland Act

→ creation of Northern Ireland

1922 : Southern Ireland became the Irish Free State.

1927 : The UK became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The future of the United Kingdom in question…

• 2014 : Referendum on Scottish Independence

• Election of 56 Scottish Nationalist MPs to the Westminster Parliament in 2015

• Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum

4. Information and statistics about the UK and the British population

• Population 64m

• Densely populated (particularly south

east)

• 80% live in urban areas

• Life expectancy increasing

• 14% come from ethnic minorities

5. National Identities

How British do the British feel?

• Younger generation, Britons of ethnic background are more likely to identify themselves as British

• Older Britons, of white ethnicity are more likely to describe themselves as English (or Scottish or Welsh) than British

History of devolution in the UK

The process of de-centralization of powers from the Westminster Parliament to the different countries of the UK

• Referendums in 1997

• Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly set up in 1998

• Northern Ireland Assembly set up in 1999

• Since referendum on Scottish independence more powers have been transferred to the Scottish Parliament

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