Great Britain (Alternatively)

  

Republic of Great Britain
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: No Man a King
Anthem:  Land of Hope and Glory
Capital and	London 51°30′N 0°7′W
Official languages	English (de-facto)
Recognised regional languages	Scots Welsh Cornish Gaelic (Scottish) French British Sign Language
Ethnic groups	84% White 10% Asian 5% South Asian 3 % West Asian 2 % East Asian 3% Black 2% Mixed 1% other
Religion (2024)	90% Christianity 45% Anglicanism 40% Catholicism 5% Other 8% Islam 1% Irreligion 1% other
Demonym(s)	British Briton Brit (colloquial)
Government	Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Benedict Cumberbatch (Republican)
• Prime Minister	Benjamin Elton (Labour)
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	House of Councillors
• Lower house	House of Commons
Establishment
• Commonwealth of England	19 May 1649
• British Revolution	5 May 1787
• Current constitution	1 January 1936
Area
• Total	209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi)
Population
• 2024 estimate	66,971,395 (22nd)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$3.872 trillion (9th)
• Per capita	$56,836 (30th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$3.332 trillion (6th)
• Per capita	$48,913 (23rd)
Currency	Pound sterling (£) (GBP)
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT)
ISO 3166 code	GB

The Republic of Great Britain is a federal semi-presidential constitutional republic in the seas of Northwestern Europe, of the coast of the mainland. It shares a sea border with Ireland, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The total area of the Republic of Great Britain is around 209,331km2, with a population estimated at around 67 million.

The modern day Republic of Great Britain grew from a series of annexations, unions, revolutions, and other events, with the oldest known incarnation of the country being the Kingdom of England. The English Civil War saw it's transformation into the Commonwealth of England, which expanded to encompass British Isles of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, commonly known as the Protectorate. Puritan rule would continue for a few more decades, before transitioning into the Republic of Great Britain following the Canadian Revolutionary War and the British Revolution. The Republic of Great Britain also included the island of Ireland until the Irish War of Independence in 1935, it was around this time that the Republic transitioned into a federal form of government.

Great Britain became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the "Pax Britannica" between the early 1800's and 1900's. Great Britain is a federal semi-presidential constitutional republic, consisting of seven nations. The capital and largest city, as well as the capital of England, is London; the cities of Edinburgh, Cardiff, Truro, Douglas, St. Peter Port, and St. Helier are respectively the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. Other major cities include Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, and Leeds.

Name

Etymology

43 AD, Britannia referred to the Roman province that encompassed modern England and Wales. Great Britain encompassed the whole island, taking in the land north of the River Forth known to the Romans as Caledonia in modern Scotland (i.e. "greater" Britain). In the Middle Ages, the name "Britain" was also applied to a small part of France now known as Brittany. As a result, Great Britain (likely from the French "Grande Bretagne") came into use to refer specifically to the island, with Brittany often referred to as "Little Britain".

Terminology

The adjective "British" is commonly used to refer to matters relating to the Republic and is used in law to refer to British citizenship and matters to do with nationality. People use several different terms to describe their national identity and may identify themselves as being British, English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, or Manx, or Channel Islander; or as having a combination of different national identities. The official designation for a citizen of the Republic of Great Britain is "British citizen".

Geography

The total area of Great Britain is approximately 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi). The country occupies the major part of the British Isles archipelago and some smaller surrounding islands. It lies between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea with the southeast coast coming within 22 miles (35 km) of the coast of northern France, from which it is separated by the English Channel.

Climate

Most of Great Britain has a temperate climate, with generally cool temperatures and plentiful rainfall all year round. The temperature varies with the seasons seldom dropping below 0 °C (32 °F) or rising above 30 °C (86 °F). Some parts, away from the coast, of upland England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, experience a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc). Higher elevations in Scotland experience a continental subarctic climate (Dfc) and the mountains experience a tundra climate (ET).

Ecology

Great Britain contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Celtic broadleaf forests, English Lowlands beech forests, North Atlantic moist mixed forests, and Caledon conifer forests. The area of woodland in the UK in 2023 is estimated to be 3.25 million hectares, which represents 13% of the total land area in the Islands.

History

Prior to the Commonwealth

Settlement by Cro-Magnons of Great Britain occurred in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago. By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population is thought to have belonged largely to a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brittonic Britain and Gaelic Ireland.

The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain, was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing the Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales, Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic-speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in the 5th century) united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century.

In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England, they seized large parts of Wales, conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with, the local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and tried unsuccessfully to annex Scotland. Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England.

The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years' War, while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. The English Reformation ushered in political, constitutional, social and cultural change in the 16th century and established the Church of England. Moreover, it defined a national identity for England and slowly, but profoundly, changed people's religious beliefs. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England, and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.

In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions.

The Commonwealth and Protectorate

Following Parliamentary concerns over the King's authority to dissolve Parliament, a series of connected wars would be waged in mid-17th century, after which point the monarchy was overthrown, King Charles I executed, and the rest of the royal family exiled into what is now Caraqua. After a minor conflict in parliament between moderates and radicals, the latter, lead by Oliver Cromwell, would take over parliament. As Lord Protector, Cromwell would enact an anti-Catholic, pro-Puritan agenda that would come to dominate the commonwealth for years to come, and would unite England with Scotland and Ireland. This was the beginning of the protectorate, which, while largely regarded as a dictatorship, helped lay the ground for constitutional rule in the burgeoning Republic.

The Commonwealth and Protectorate would see continued colonization of North America, with much of the area being organized as the Colony of Canada. However, tensions would over taxation and religious persecution, as the Puritans maintained a strong grip over religious matters in the empire. In the late 18th century, protests over Puritan rule would be organized in New England. In 1770, British soldiers would be ordered to open fire on peaceful protestors in Boston. The next year, an uprising in the city of Monterrey would lead to the Canadian Revolutionary War, and eventually, North American independence. British imperial ambition turned towards Asia, particularly to India.

Britain played a leading part in the Atlantic slave trade, mainly between 1662 and 1807 when British or British-colonial slave ships transported nearly 3.3 million slaves from Africa. The slaves were taken to work on plantations, principally in the Caribbean but also North America. Slavery coupled with the Caribbean sugar industry had a significant role in strengthening the British economy in the 18th century. However, with pressure from the abolitionism movement, Parliament banned the trade in 1807, banned slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and Britain took a role in the movement to abolish slavery worldwide through the blockade of Africa and pressing other nations to end their trade with a series of treaties.

The British Revolution

With the failure of the Puritanical government to prevent the Canadian Revolution, many anti-puritan forces began to conspire against the protectorate. These forces, lead by Thomas Paine would march on London in 1800, deposing the Commonwealth and setting up the Republic of Great Britain. The leaders of the revolution would go on to found the British Republican Party. This revolution saw many restrictions placed by the commonwealth government repealed and drafted a new constitution, which would codify many of the laws and aspects of the Republic. The Parliament set up a new upper house, the House of Councillors, and began supporting the regional languages of the Islands.

During the Reform Wars of the United Kingdom, Great Britain intervene in favor of the parliamentary factions. Great Britain would often clash with Franco-Spanish forces during this time, most notably during the Battle of the English Channel. In the 1800's, Great Britain become a superpower, with London the largest city in the world from about 1830. The period of dominance was later described as Pax Britannica ("British Peace"). With the defeat of the absolutist factions in the Reform wars, Great Britain would become unchallenged in the seas. Political attitudes favoured free trade and laissez-faire policies, as well as a gradual widening of the voting franchise, with the 1882 Reform Act granting suffrage to a majority of males for the first time. The British population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, causing significant social and economic stresses.

Politics

Government

Great Britain is a Federal, semi-presidential republic in which British Parliament is sovereign. Parliament is made up of three parts, the House of Commons, the House of Councilors, and the President. Together, all three are popularly elected, and work together in order to define the laws of the Republic. The main business of parliament takes place in the two houses, but presidential approval is required for a bill to become an act of parliament, aka statute law. The Supreme Court recognises a number of principles underlying the British constitution, such as parliamentary sovereignty, the rule of law, democracy, and upholding international law. For general elections, Great Britain is currently divided into 325 constituencies, each of which is represented by two members of Commons (MC) and one Councillor, each elected by the first-past-the-post system. MCs hold office for up to five years and must then stand for re-election if they wish to continue to be an MC; Councillor hold office for six years.

Law and justice

Uniquely, Great Britain doesn't have a federal legal code. Instead, the various nations of the have seperate codes. Both English law and Welsh law are based on common-law principles. The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal cases). Scots, Cornish, Manx, and Channel Islander law is a hybrid system based on common-law and civil-law principles. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of Great Britain serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases.

Political divisions

The republic is divided into seven nations. These nations have a seperate constitutional, parliament, and First minister. After that, there are a variety of sub-nations divisions for the seven nations: England is divided into 9 regions, which are further divided into several counties, Scot is divided into 32 council areas, Wales is divided into 22 provinces, Cornwall is divided into several municipalities and the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man is divided into six sheadings and seventeen parishes, while Guernsey and Jersey are divided into twelve parishes each.

Naation	Flag	Population	Area	Capital	Parliament	First Minister
United Regions of England		55,921,590	126,717 km2	London	Parliament of England	Suzy Eddie Izzard (English Labour)
Commonwealth of Scotland		5,436,600	77,933 km2	Edinburgh	Scottish Parliament	Humza Yousaf (Scottish Labour)
Welsh Nation		3,267,501	20,779 km2	Cardiff	Senedd Cymru	Mark Drakeford (Welsh Labour)
County of Cornwall		568,210	3,562 km2	Truro	Senedh Kernow	Dick Cole (Cornish Nationalist Party)
Isle of Man		84,069	572 km2	Douglas	Tynwald	Alfred Cannan (Manx Republicans)
Bailiwick of Guernsey		67,334	78 km2	St. Peter Port	States of Deliberation	Woody Milroy (Guernsey Republicans)
Bailiwick of Jersey		103,267	119.62	St. Helier	States Assembly	Lyndon Farnham (Independant)

Political parties

Party name	Founded	Position	Ideaology	Leader
Federal
Conservative and Tory Party	1678	Centre-right to right wing	Fiscal conservatism Conservatism Soft Euroscepticism	Rishi Sunak
Republican Whig Party	1778	center-right to centre	British Republicanism British Federalism Pan-Europeanism	Carol Lever
Labour Co-operative Party	1834	centre-left to left wing	Social democracy	Benjamin Elton
Monarchist Whig Party	1778	right wing to far-right	Monarchism Hard Euroscepticism Anti-federalism	James Churchill
Imperialist Party of the British Isles	1930	far-right	Hard Euroscepticism Anti-federalism Anti-celticism	Adam Walker
National
Scottish National Party	1934	Big tent	Scottish nationalism	Humza Yousaf

Military

The Republic's Armed Forces consists of three main branches: the Grand Navy of the Republic (including the Republican Marines), the British Army, and the Independant Air Force. The Armed forces of the republic are managed by the Minister of Defense, lead by the Minister of Defense. The Commander-in-Chief is the President, to whom members of the forces swear an oath of allegiance.

Diplomacy

Great Britain is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and is a founding member of the United Nations.

Economy

Great Britain has a partially regulated market economy. Based on market exchange rates, Great Britain is the sixth-largest economy in the world and the second-largest in Europe by nominal GDP. Great britain London is the world capital for foreign exchange trading, with a global market share of 38.1% in 2022 of the daily $7.5 trillion global turnover. The Treasury, led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Bank of England is the central bank and is responsible for issuing notes and coins in the pound sterling. Banks in Scotland and Wales retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover their issue.

Education and healthcare

Education in Great Britain is not a federal matter, with each nations having a separate education system. About 38 per cent of Great Britain population has a university or college degree, which is the highest percentage in Europe, and among the highest percentages in the world. The United Kingdom is home to many universities, including the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge which often achieve first place on global rankings.

The modern-system of universal publicly funded in the United Kingdom has its origins in the creation of the United Health Services (UHS) in 1949 which still exists to this day and is the primary healthcare provider in Great Britain. The widespread popularity of the NHS has led to it being described as a "federal religion". Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a national matter and each nation has its own system of universal publicly funded healthcare, although private healthcare is also available. Public healthcare is provided to all permanent residents and is mostly free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation.

Energy

In 2021, Great Britain was the world's 14th-largest consumer of energy and the 22nd-largest producer. The island is home to many large energy companies, including two of the six major oil and gas companies – BP Amoco and Dutch Shell.

Transportation

A radial road network totals 29,145 miles (46,904 km) of main roads, 2,173 miles (3,497 km) of motorways and 213,750 miles (344,000 km) of paved roads. The M25, encircling London, is the largest and busiest bypass in the world. In 2022, there were a total of 40.8 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain.

Science and technology

England and Scotland were leading centres of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century. Great Britain led the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century, and has continued to produce scientists and engineers credited with important advances. Major theorists from the 17th and 18th centuries include Isaac Newton, whose laws of motion and illumination of gravity have been seen as a keystone of modern science; from the 19th century Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution by natural selection was fundamental to the development of modern biology, and James Clerk Maxwell, who formulated classical electromagnetic theory; and more recently Stephen Hawking, who advanced major theories in the fields of cosmology, quantum gravity and the investigation of black holes.

Culture

Media

Television and radio broadcasting is regulated by the United Broadcasting Authority (UBA).

The public broadcaster of Great Britain is the British Broadcasting Corporation, officially abbreviated as the BBC. It is the largest and oldest public broadcaster in the world, and runs many services in radio, television, even the internet. It gets most of its funding from Television license fees. The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest of any kind. It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages. The second player in television is the ITV network. Founded in the 1960's, ITV is a federation of 14 regional broadcasters, most of whom also known several commercial radio stations, several digital original channels, and the internet service ITV-i. Channel 4 for reserved for Indigenous services outside of England, where the Channel 4 network was created and only available in until the digital television transition. A fifth channel, Channel 5 was launched at a later date.

Main terrestrial channels

#	Name	Owner (Parent)	Viewer %
1	BBC One	British Federal Government (British Broadcasting Corporation)	21.65
2	BBC Two		10.12
3	ITV	15 Licensees (see page for full list)	14.76
4	Channel 4	Public shareholders (Channel 4 Limited)	7.5
	S4C	Welsh Government (S4C Authority)	9.1
	K4K	Cornwall Cultural Foundation (K4K Broadcasting)	5.3
	Telebhisean Alba	Gaelic Foundation	8.2
	Chelvaneraghin Vannin	Isle of Man Treasury (Manx Radio and Television)	4.7
	Canal Français	Government of Jersey Government of Guernsey	5.1
5	Channel 5	CBS Corporation (Cabotia Broadcasting System) Virgin Group (Virgin Media)	7

Cinema

Cinema in Great Britain is dominated by five companies, The Rank Organization, Associated British Cinema, Goldcrest, Hammer Studios and London Cinema.

Holidays

This page uses material from the Wikipedia page United Kingdom, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).