The United Kingdom is a smallnation in Western Europe witha history of colonization.

British economic, political, andcultural traditions have influencednations around the world.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

TERMS & NAMESLondonsecedeGood Friday

AccordCharles Dickens

The UnitedKingdomThe UnitedKingdom

They did it! Manchester

United won the triple

crown of soccer. The

British fans here are

going wild, and their

excitement is easy to

understand. Manchester

United is only the third

soccer team to win its

league championship, cup

titles, and the Champions

League final.

Football, or “soccer”

as Americans call it, is the

world’s most popular

sport. The British

invented a form of the

game, called “mob foot-

ball,” in the 1300s. Back

then, the playing field

was the size of a small

town, and there might

have been as many as 500

players. A set of rules for

the game was developed

in 1863. Today, football is

the national pastime in

the United Kingdom.

BARCELONA, SPAIN, MAY 30, 1999

Region • Manchester United celebrates

after winning soccer’s triple crown. �

TAKING NOTES

UnitedKingdom

Sweden

Country GovernmentPhysical

Geography

Use your chart to take notes about Europe today.

Europe Today 173

A Kingdom of Four Political RegionsThe United Kingdom is a small island nation of WesternEurope. Its culture has had an enormous impact on the world.The nation’s official name is the United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland. London, located in southeasternEngland, is the capital.

Wales

Northern Ireland

Scotland

England

United Kingdom Four different political regions make up the UnitedKingdom: Scotland, England, Wales, and NorthernIreland (see the map below). The British monarchyhas ruled over the four regions for hundreds of years.

National Government Today, the government ofthe United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.The British monarch is a symbol of power ratherthan an actual ruler. The power to govern belongs toParliament, which is the national lawmaking body.

The British Parliament has two parts. The Houseof Lords is made up of nobles. Elected representa-tives make up the House of Commons. The Houseof Commons is the more powerful of the two houses.

The prime minister leads the government. He orshe is usually the leader of the political party thatwins the most seats in the House of Commons. Theother political parties go into “opposition,” whichmeans their role is to question government policies.

Regional Government in Great Britain Recently,the national government of the United Kingdom hasreturned some self-rule to some regions of GreatBritain. In the late 1990s, voters in Wales approved

plans for their ownassembly, or body oflawmakers. Also at thistime, the Scots voted tocreate their own parlia-ment. Both Wales’sassembly and Scotland’sparliament met for thefirst time in 1999.

174 CHAPTER 7

Vocabulary

monarchy:government byking or queen

THE

PE

NN

INE

S

CumbrianMts.

CotswoldHills

ChevoitHills

Grampian Mts.

Highlands

CambrianMts.

Clyde

Thames

Shan

non

Severn

Dee

Dee

Twee d

Wye

Swale

Humber River

North Sea

Celtic Sea

IrishSea

MorayFirth

CardiganBay

Firth ofForth

Strait ofDover

St.G

eorg

e's

Chann

el

EnglishChann

el

NORTHATLANTIC

OCEAN

ShetlandIslands

OrkneyIslands

Isle ofWight

Isle ofMan

He

br

i de

s

Cambridge

Canterbury

Dover

Durham

Carlisle

Oxford

Cardiff

Plymouth

Southampton

Aberdeen

Dundee

Inverness

BelfastLondonderry

CorkBirmingham

BradfordLeeds

LiverpoolManchester

Sheffield

EdinburghGlasgow

London

Dublin

WALES

SCOTLAND

ENGLAND

NORTHERNIRELAND

IRELAND

NETH.

GERM

ANY

NORWAY

BELGIUM

FRANCE LUX.

8°W12°W 4°W 4°E

N

N

59°N

0°

National boundary

Regional boundary

National capital

Other city

N

0

0 50 100 kilometers

50 100 miles

GEOGRAPHYSKILLBUILDER:Interpreting a Map1. Location • Which region of

the United Kingdom is on a different island?

2. Location • Which body ofwater separates the UnitedKingdom from France?

The United Kingdom Today

A. ClarifyingWho is the head ofgovernment in theUnited Kingdom?

The clock tower that holdsBig Ben is 316 feet high.

Parliament The Houses of Parliament have been used bythe British government since 1547. The buildings arelocated in London, alongside the River Thames (tehmz).They include the House of Commons, the House of Lords,and Westminster Hall. One of the most famous parts of thiscomplex is the clock tower. Commonly called “Big Ben,”this is actually the name of the 13-ton bell inside the tower, not the tower itself.

In 1834, a fire destroyed much of the original buildings. The reconstruction by architect Sir Charles Barry was completed in 1860. The Houses of Parliament are visited and photographed by tourists from around the world.

House of Commons Chamber

When Parliament is in session, theUnion Jack flies from Victoria Tower.

House of Lords Chamber

Westminster Hall is more than900 years old.

The roots ofdivision inNorthern Irelandgo back to at leastthe 1600s, whenEnglish and Scottishcolonists settledthere. TheseProtestant settlerstook over the landsof Irish Catholics.

Governing Northern Ireland Throughout the 20th century,there were conflicts in Northern Ireland between Irish Catholicnationalists and Irish Protestants who supported the governmentof the United Kingdom. In fact, during the 1960s, many IrishCatholics wanted Northern Ireland to secede, or withdraw from,the United Kingdom. They hoped to unite Northern Ireland withthe Republic of Ireland. Irish Protestants—a majority in theregion—generally wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

In 1969, riots broke out, and the British government sent introops to stop them. Violence between groups of Protestants andCatholics continued for almost 30 years. In 1998, representativesfrom both sides signed the Good Friday Accord. This agreementset up the Northern Ireland Assembly, which represents bothCatholic and Protestant voters. For this government to succeed inNorthern Ireland, however, the former enemies will need to worktogether.

Cultural HeritageThe United Kingdom has a rich cultural heritage that includesthe great Renaissance playwright William Shakespeare. With along history as an imperial power, the nation has been exportingits culture around the world for hundreds of years. For example,India, Canada, and other former British colonies modeled theirgovernments on the British parliamentary system. British culturehas also set trends in sports, music, and literature.

Music British music influenced the early music of Canada andthe United States, both former British colonies. One British tunelong familiar to people in the United States is “God Save theQueen.” You probably know it as “My Country, ’Tis of Thee.”

Several countries have put the words oftheir national anthems to this traditionalBritish melody.

During the 1960s, many Britishmusical groups—including the Beatlesand the Rolling Stones—dominatedmusic charts around the world. In laterdecades, other British singers, includingElton John, Sting, and Dido, becamepopular favorites.

Literature The best-known culturalexport of the United Kingdom, asidefrom the English language itself, may beliterature. In the 19th century, MaryShelley dreamed up Frankenstein’s mon-ster, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle firstwrote about Sherlock Holmes. Anotherpopular author of the time was CharlesDickens (1812–1870), who wrote OliverTwist and A Christmas Carol.

Region • In theearly 1960s, theBeatles becamewildly popular,not only in theUnited Kingdom,but also aroundthe world. �

Region •London’s NewGlobe Theater is a replica of the 17th-century playhouse thatoriginally hosted WilliamShakespeare’sworks. �

Reread the information about British football from the “Dateline” feature that opens the section.Write a description of a sport that interests you.

SECTION ASSESSMENT

Using Graphics2. Use a chart like this one to

describe the major aspects of theUnited Kingdom’s modern govern-ment, economy, and culture.

Main Ideas3. (a) Identify the four regions that

make up the United Kingdom.

(b) What role does the Britishmonarch play in the govern-ment of the modern UnitedKingdom?

(c) What impact has the culture ofthe United Kingdom had on itscolonies and on other parts ofthe world?

Critical Thinking4. Analyzing Issues

Why do you think the conflict inNorthern Ireland is so difficult toresolve?

Think About◆ differences in religious beliefs◆ recent changes in British regional

governments◆ the long period of continued

violence

Terms & Names1. Explain the significance of: (a) London (b) secede

(c) Good Friday Accord (d) Charles Dickens

Government

Economy

Culture

Modern United Kingdom

Two gifted British writers of the20th century are Virginia Woolf andGeorge Orwell. Modern British au-thors have also given the world manypopular stories for young people. Theyinclude C. S. Lewis, who wrote TheChronicles of Narnia, and J. K. Rowling,who created the Harry Potter books.

The British EconomyThe United Kingdom is an importanttrading and financial center. ManyBritish citizens also make their living in mining and manufactur-ing. Factories in the United Kingdom turn out a variety of prod-ucts ranging from china to sports cars. The nation has plenty ofcoal, natural gas, and oil to fuel its factories, but it has few othernatural resources.

The need for imported goods makes trade another major indus-try of the United Kingdom. The nation imports many raw materi-als used in manufacturing. It also imports food, because the farmsof this nation produce only enough to feed about two-thirds of itslarge population.

Europe Today 177

B. RecognizingImportantDetails Why was the UnitedKingdom able tospread Britishculture across the world?

Region • J. K.Rowling’s HarryPotter bookshave capturedthe imaginationsof children worldwide. �