英美概况(英国部分)笔记.docVIP

An Outline Introduction to Britain Lecture 1: The country and the people Names and positions The British Isles., the largest one: Great Britain. often shortened to Britain; 1,000 kilo-meters from south to north, the widest part, about 500 km from west to east. total area of the U. K. is only a little more than 240,000 square km population: 57.4 million (1990). Three political areas, also known as three countries: England, Scotland, Wales. England: largest and most developed, more than 130,000 square km, nearly 60% of the whole island.Its population is more than 47 million and makes up 85% of the countrys whole population. To the west of Great Britain is the second largest island known as Ireland. Ireland was once an independent country and there had emerged many kingdoms before the Anglo-Norman invaders conquered it in the 13th century. Henry VIII was the first king to bring Ireland under control. In 1610 many Scottish immigrants came and establish a colony in Ulster (northern Ireland). Since most of the English Protestant settlers refused to separate themselves from their home country, they occupied the northeast corner, about 14,000 square kilometers, of the island and kept it within the United Kingdom, which thus became known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland, also known as Ulster, has a population of 1.5 million. About one-third of them are Roman Catholics who are opposed to the unification of Northern Ireland with Great Britain. The Catholic extremists organized the Irish Republican Army in 1916 when an uprising was suppressed in Dublin. At first it fought for the independence of Ireland, but now it uses terrorism in an effort to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. Their terrorism has caused many deaths and injuries. Since they can get some help from abroad, even from American Catholics, the problem has become a serious headache for the British government. Now the British Government and the