Unit 1 a Brief Introduction of the UK.ppt

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1、Unit1aBriefIntroductionoftheUKMajor pointsAcomplicatedcountrywithacomplicatednameandcomplicatedpopulationmake-upTheimperialpastanditseffectsontodaysUKItsclassandraceItsregionsEnglandUKBritishIslesGreatBritain The imperial past and its effects on todays UKItwasaproductoftheAgeofDiscovery,whichbeganwi

2、ththemaritimeexplorationsofthe15thcentury.By1921,Itcoveredabout36.7millionkm,aboutaquarterofEarthstotallandarea.Asaresult,itspolitical,linguisticandculturallegacyiswidespread.Atthepeakofitspower,itwasoftensaidthatthe sun never sets on the British Empirebecauseitsspanacrosstheglobeensuredthatthesunwa

3、salwaysshiningonatleastoneofitsnumerouscoloniesorsubjectnations.the sun never sets on the British EmpireDuringthefivedecadesfollowingWorldWarII,mostoftheterritoriesoftheEmpirebecameindependent.ManywentontojointheCommonwealthofNations,afreeassociationofindependentstates.SomehaveretainedtheBritishmona

4、rchastheirheadofstate.The imperial effects on todays UKCloserelationshipswiththeCommonwealthcountries,whichusedtobeapartoftheBritishEmpireThemake-upoftheBritishpopulation.NowtheUKisamultiracialsociety.TheCommonwealth of NationsTheCommonwealth of Nations,usuallyknownasthe Commonwealth,isavoluntaryass

5、ociationof53independentsovereignstates,mostofwhichareformerBritishcolonies,ordependenciesofthesecolonies(theexceptionsbeingtheUnitedKingdomitselfandMozambique).class structure in the UKBritainisasocietywithaclass-structure,dividedbyeconomicsandculturaldifferences.Itismoreobviousthanothersocieties.He

6、reditaryaristocracyUpper-middleclassMiddleclassLowermiddleclassWorkingclassRegions of the UKEnglandWalesScotlandNorthernIrelandEnglandCapital(andlargestcity):LondonArea:130423sqkmOfficial languages:EnglishPopulation 2008:above50million(UK:about60million)Symbols of EnglandWhat images are associated w

7、ith England?St Georges Flag:Flag of EnglandThreeLionsEmblemPrincessDiana,EnglandsRoseHistory of InvasionsBeforethe1stcenturyAD,BritainwasmadeupofmanytribalkingdomsofCeltic people:apowerfulcultureoriginatingincentralEurope.1.Invasion by RomansIn43AD,Britainwasinvadedbythe Roman Empire,andEnglandandWa

8、lesbecameapartoftheRomanEmpirefornearly400years.TheRomanEmpire2.Invasion by Anglo-SaxonsAstheRomanarmiesandRomanprotectionwerewithdrawnfromBritain,andBritainwasagaindividedintosmallkingdoms,andagainitcameunderthreatfromGermanicpeoples:the Angles,and the Saxon.The Anglo-SaxonssucceededininvadingBrita

9、in,andeitherabsorbtheCelticpeople,orpushedthemtothewesternandnorthernedgesofBritain.3.Invasion by Vikings Fromthelate8thcenturyon,raidersfromScandinavia,the Vikings,threatenedBritainshores.King Alfred,the GreatturnedthetideinthesouthagainsttheVikings.4.Invasion by NormansIn1066,Englandwasinvadedbyth

10、eNormansunderWilliam of Normandy,fromnorthernFrance,whoweredescendantsofVikings.The Battle of Hastings,defeatedanEnglisharmyunderKingHarold,marksthe last time that an army from outside the British Isles succeeded in invading.Thenext300yearsaftertheNormanInvasion,SaxonandEnglish-speakingpopulationhad

11、beenruledbyNormanaristocracy.Robin Hood,the Saxon noblemanoppressedbytheNormans,whobecameanoutlaw,hidintheforestinthenorthmidlandofEngland,andwentouttorobtherichtogivetothepoor.ThenextfewhundredsyearsfollowingNormaninvasioncanbeseenasa process of joining together the various parts of the British isl

12、es under English rules.Atthesametimepowerwasgraduallytransferredfromthemonarchtotheparliament.ScotlandArea:78772km(30414miles),roughly30%oftheareaoftheUKClimate:temperateandverychangeable,butrarelyextremeGeographyPopulation LanguageGeographyThegeography of Scotlandishighlyvaried,fromrurallowlandstob

13、arrenuplands,andfromlargecitiestouninhabitedislands.Scotlandisdividedinto:theHighlandsthecentrallowlandstheSouthernUplands.populationThemoreruggedHighlandregioncontainsthemajorityofScotlandsmountainousterrain,includingthehighestpeak,Ben Nevis,1344m(4409ft).HighlandsofScotlandhavethelowestpopulationd

14、ensityat8inhabitantspersquarekilometerThe HighlandsBenNevisfromBanavievillage BenNevisinWinter The lowland zoneThelowlandzoneareflatterandhometomostofthepopulation.Around70%ofthecountryspopulationliveintheCentralLowlands.GlasgowisthelargestcityinScotland,althoughEdinburghisthecapitalandpoliticalcent

15、reofthecountry.LanguagesinScotlandScotlandsmultiplelinguisticheritageisoneofitsmostdistinctiveculturalfeatures.TheofficiallanguageisEnglish,whichisspokenbythevastmajorityofthepopulation,butLowlandScots.ScottishGaelic,theancientlanguageoftheHighlandsandislands,wasoncedominantthroughoutmuchofthecountr

16、y,butisnowonlyspokenbyaround60,000people.HistoryofinvasionScotlandwasnotconqueredbytheRomans,thoughtheydidtryto,andforawhileoccupiedasfarastheedgeofthenorthernhighlandzone.NorwasmostofScotlandconqueredbytheAnglo-Saxons.British CeltsoccupiedtheareaaroundwhatisnowGlasgow.Aroundthe6thcenturyAD,people f

17、rom northern Irelandinvadedthesouth-west.They were called the Scots,anditistheythatgavethemoderncountryofScotlanditsname.TheoriginalScottishCelts,calledthePicts,wereleftthehighlandzone.Being an independent countryItwasthe pressure from the Viking invadersthatledtoScottishkingtounify,forminganindepen

18、dentsingularScottishstate.However,therewerefrequentwarsbetweenEnglandandScotland.Forexample,WilliamWallacesuprisingin1298.(seemovieBraveheart)Butonlyafewyearslater,theScots,undertheleadershipofRobert the Bruce,werevictoriousatthebattleofBannockburn,leadingto300yearsoffullindependence.Uniting with En

19、glandIn1603,James the sixth of ScotlandbecameJames the First of England,unitingthetwothrones:ScotlandandEngland.ButforanotherhundredyearsScotlandmaintaineditsseparatepoliticalidentity.In 1707 by agreement of the England and Scottish parliaments,Scotland joined the union.Buttodaythedreamofanindepende

20、ntScotlandhasnotvanished.WalesPopulation:estimate3millionin2008Area:20776sqkmCapitalcity(alsolargestcity):CardiffLanguages:welsh,English,TheRedDragon,apopularWelshsymbolGeographyMuchofWalesdiverselandscapeismountainous,particularlyinthenorthandcentralregions.ThehighestmountaininWalesareinSnowdoniaan

21、dincludeSnowdon,which,at1085m(3,560ft)isthehighestpeakinWales.ThoughitishillierandmoreruggedthanEngland,thereisnonaturalboundary.SoWaleshasbeendominatedbyEnglandlongerthantheothernationsoftheunion.SnowdonEconomy Yesterday and TodayIthadrichcoaldepositsinthesouthernarea,sothecoal-miningbecamethekeyin

22、dustryfortheWelsh.TheSouthWalesValleysweretheheartoftheWelshminingandsteelindustry,althoughnowverylittleoftheheavyindustryisleft.Waleseconomyisnowprimarilyserviced-based.TourismplaysanimportantpartoftheWelsheconomy.ItispracticallyimportantinthecoastalregionsofNorthandWestWalesaswellasaroundSnowdonia

23、.HistoryBeforethearrivaloftheRomanEmpire,WaleswasalandofCelticpeoples,livinginanumberofsmalltribalkingdoms.However,WaleswasconqueredbytheRomanseventually.WhentheRomansleftBritain,WaleswasagainaCelticland,thoughagaindividedintoseparatekingdoms,itdidnotfalltotheAnglo-Saxonsinvadersofthe5thcentury.The

24、unifying of WalesWaleswasalwaysunderpressurefromitsEnglishneighbors,particularlyaftertheNormanconquest.ThustherewasaneedtounifyWalestosuccessfullyresisttheEnglish.Llywelyn ap GruffuddbroughtalargeaportionofWalesunderhisrule,andbymilitarycampaignforcedtheEnglishkingtoacknowledgehimasPrince of Walesin

25、1267.Butwhenhedied,theEnglishking,Edward the First,setaboutconqueringWales,buildingaseriesofgreatstonecastlestherefromwhichtocontrolthepopulation.ThesecastlesstandtodayasoneofWalesgreatesttouristattractions.Beaumaris,begunin1295,wasthelastandlargestofthecastlesbuiltbyKingEdwardIinWales.ontheeasterne

26、dgeoftown,Beaumaris,Anglesey,northWales Beaumaris CastleBeaumaris CastleontheIslandofAngleseyisthegreatunfinishedmasterpiece.ItwasbuiltasoneoftheironringofNorthWalescastlesbytheEnglishmonarchEdward I,tostamphisauthorityontheWelsh.Butitwasneverfinished,moneyandsuppliesranoutbeforethefortificationsrea

27、chedtheirfullheight.Prince of WalesEdward the Firstnamed his son the Prince of Wales,andthefirstsonofthemonarchhasheldthattitleeversince(includingPrinceCharles).In 1536,Wales was brought legally,administratively,and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament.Thecloserelationshipmean

28、sthatmodernWaleslacksomeoftheoutwardsignsofdifferencewhichScotlandpossesses.ItslegalsystemanditseducationsystemisexactlythesameasinEngland.ThekeymarkersofthedifferenceistheWelshlanguage.Wales and BritainLanguages in WalesEnglishisspokenbyalmostallpeopleinWalesandisthereforethemainlanguage.However,no

29、rthernandwesternWalesretainmanyareaswhereWelshisspokenasafirstlanguagebythemajorityofthepopulationandEnglishislearntasasecondlanguage.21.7%oftheWelshpopulationisabletospeakorreadWelshtosomedegree(basedonthe2001census),althoughonly16%claimtobeabletospeak,readandwriteit.RoadsignsinWalesaregenerallyinb

30、othEnglishandWelsh;whereplacenamesdifferinthetwolanguages,bothversionsareused(e.g.CardiffandCaerdydd).ReviewgeographyHistoryLanguagesTherelationshipwithBritainEngland,Scotland,Wales TheUKflagconsistsofthreeelements:thecrossofSt.George(redonwhite)forEngland,thecrossofSt.Andrew(whitediagonalonblue)forScotland,andthecrossofSt.Patrick(reddiagonalonwhite)forIreland.此此课件下件下载可自行可自行编辑修改，修改，仅供参考！供参考！感感谢您的支持，我您的支持，我们努力做得更好！努力做得更好！谢谢!