THE BRITISH ISLES
Travail réalisé par les élèves
de 4G et 4H
" option Langue & Civilisation "
année 2008-2009
Merci particulièrement à Juliette, Cécile, Fiona, Mélissa, Héléna, Marianne
THE BRITISH
ISLES
One country ?
What are the British Isles ?
• In the British Isles
there are five
countries :
•
•
•
•
•
- England
- Wales
- Scotland
- Northern Ireland
- The independent
Republic of Ireland.
What is Great Britain ?
• Great Britain or
Britain is an island.
It consists in
- Scotland
- Wales
- England.
What is the United Kingdom ?
• The United Kingdom
consist in 4 countries:
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland.
The capital of UK is
London but it is the
capital of England too.
The UK is situated in the north-west of Europe. It is
surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.
It has a total land area of 244,100 square kilometres. From
north to south it is about 1,000 kilometres long.
The UK comes within 35 km of the northwest of France,
and it is separated by the English Channel.
Ben Nevis 1343
M
The Royal Coat of Arms of the UK is the official coat of
the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II.
In the middle there is a shield divided into 4 parts.
You can see the harp of Ireland on the left, and there
are 3 lions above.
On the left of the shield there is a lion with a crown.
And on the right there is a unicorn, symbolizing
Scotland.
The motto of the English monarchs is «Dieu et mon droit »
The motto of the Order of the Garter is « Honi soit qui mal y pense ».
Help :
Shield : bouclier
Order of the garter: ordre des chevaliers britanniques.
Motto: devise
Unicorn: licorne
HISTORY
The national anthem is God save the Queen.
The first verse:
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to the reign over us,
God save the Queen.
The British National Anthem represents the whole of the UK. However,
Wales and Scotland have other songs that they sing.
Wales, - Hen Wlad Fy Nhadou
Scotland, - Flower of Scotland and Scotland the Brave
The Union Jack is composed of 3 flags in one:
• UK flag:
This is the flag of Wales:
The name
of the red
Dragon is:
Y Ddraig
Goch in
celtic traditions.
TIMELINE
Romans
Saxons
Vikings
Normans
Tudors
Victorians
WW ll
43
450
793
1066
1485
1837
1939
The Roman Empire
The Romans were the first to invade Britain in 55 B.C.
They came to Britain nearly 2000 years ago.
Hadrian’s wall was built in 2000 BC by the
Romans. It is in Scotland.
In 43 AD Julius
Caesar, the famous
emperor tried to
invade England in 55
BC but he didn’t
manage to do it.
By the time the Roman armies left around 410 AD, they had
established medical practice, a language of administration and
law and had created great public buildings and roads.
The Saxons
The Roman army left Britain in about 410 AD. When they had gone there was no strong army
to defend Britain, and tribes called the Angle, Saxon, and Jute (the Anglo-Saxons) invaded the
country. They came from Northern of Europe.
The Vikings
The Vikings’ age in Britain began about 1,200 years
ago, in the 8th century AD and lasted for 300 years.
The Vikings had a lot of different religions.
The Normans
The Middle Ages in Britain cover a huge period. In 1066 William the Conqueror won the
battle of Hastings. Then he stayed for 23 years and imposed French as the official
langage. The Normans built beautiful castles. He lived in the White Tower in London
The Tudors
The Tudors were a Welsh-English family that ruled England from
1485 to 1603. They ruled for 118 years. The first Tudor king was
Henry Vll. He was followed by his son, Henry Vlll. His son,
Edward VII ruled after him, followed by his daughters Mary I and
Elizabeth I.
The Victorians
Victorian times means during Victoria's reign. Britain managed
Henry Vll
to build a huge empire during the Victorian period. In 1837 most
people lived in villages and worked on the land; by 1901, most lived
in towns and worked in offices, shops and factories.
During the 1800s the Industrial Revolution spread throughout Britain.
Famous people :
Lord Shaftesbury
Lewis Carrol
Charles Darwin
Alexander Graham
Bell
Charles Dickens
FAMOUS BRITISH KINGS
AND QUEENS
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
William the Conqueror was born in 1027 and he
died in 1087. He was known as "William the
Bastard" (French: Guillaume le Bâtard)
because of the illegitimacy of his birth.
He became Duke of Normandy in 1035 and
invaded England in 1066, leading an army of
Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon
forces of Harold (who died in the conflict) at
the Battle of Hastings.
He was crowned King of England in
Westminster Abbey in 1066. William is also
referred to as "William I»
It was the Norman Conquest.
King Henry VIII
Henry was born on June 28 1491.
He was 17 years old when he
became king in 1509, after his
father died.
When he became
king, most
people belonged to the Catholic
Church, which was headed by the
Pope, in Rome.
In 1534, Henry broke away from
the Catholic Church because he
wanted to get divorced and
proclaimed himself head of the
Church of England.
King Edward VI
Edward was born on 12 October
1537. He became king of
England and Ireland on 28
January 1547 at the age of nine,
when his father died. His
nickname was “ The Boy King ”.
Edward’s reign was marked by
economics problems. Edward
died at the age of 16 in 1553.
Queen Elizabeth
She was the Queen of England
and Ireland. She was born on
7th of September 1553 and
died on 24 march 1603. She
reigned from 1558 until her
death. She was the fifth and
last monarch of the Tudor
dynasty. Her mother was Anne
Boleyn and her father was
Henry Vlll.
Queen Victoria
Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 and she became
Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was 18
when she came to the throne. Her reign as Queen
lasted 63 years and seven month. Victoria’s reign
was marked by a great expansion of the British
Empire by the Industrial revolution, period
economic and technological change. She arranged
marriages for her nine children and forty-two
grandchildren.
Her
nickname was
“
the
grandmother of Europe ”. She died the 22 January
1901.
FAMOUS BRITISH PEOPLE
400 years ago !!!
William Shakespeare.
He was the greatest British poet and
playwright. He was born on 23 April 1564
in Stratford upon Avon and he died on 23
April 1616, at the age of 52. He wrote
Romeo and Juliet and 37 other famous
histories, tragedies and comedies.
In the 40s
Winston Churchill was the British Prime
Minister during World War II.
He was a writer too.
In the 60s
The Beatles was and still is one of the most
famous British groups. They were famous in
the 60s and had millions of fans in the world.
Some of their hits were : Yesterday – Yellow
submarine -
In the 80s - 90s
Lady Diana was Prince Charles’ first wife.
They got married in 1981 and had two
sons : William and Harry. But they
divorced a few years later and she died
in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
She was very popular
Tony Blair was the British Prime minister
for 10 years, from 2 May 1997 to 27 June
2007.
POPULATION
Population in Great Britain.
There are 60.2 million inhabitants in Great Britain.
Great Britain is the twentieth most populated country in the world
50.4 million
inhabitants
in England.
3 million
inhabitants
in Wales.
5.1 million
inhabitants
in Scotland.
Total Population in April
2001
Minority ethnic population
per cent
Thousands
per cent
54,154
677
92.1
1.2
14.6
1,053
747
283
248
1.8
1.3
0.5
0.4
22.7
16.1
6.1
5.3
All minority ethnic population
566
485
98
247
231
4,635
1.0
0.8
0.2
0.4
0.4
7.9
12.2
10.5
2.1
5.3
5.0
100
All population
58,789
100
White
Mixed
Asian or Asian British
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Other Asian
Black or Black British
Black Caribbean
Black african
Black other
Chinese
Other
LONDON
London, Capital of England and the UK, is the most
populated city in the European Union, with over 7
million residents. More than 250 languages are
spoken and there are lots of different cultures.
Britain and London became a mixed race society
because a lot of immigrants left the former
British colonies to find a job in Britain.
Population by ages in United Kingdom:
All ages
58.8 million
Under 16
11.9 million
Men 16-64
Women 16-59
36.1 million
Men 65+
Women 60+
10.8 million
Males
28.6
Females
30.2 million
Population
density
More than 200 inhabitants/km²
From 100 to 200
From 50 to 100
Less than 50
City more than 5 million
inhabitants : LONDON
From 1 to 5 million
From 200 000 to 1 million
New cities
Migration
England has the most important density and Scotland has the smallest.
WHO IS THE BRITISH QUEEN ?
The British Royal Family
• The surname of the British Royal Family is
Windsor.
• They changed their name from SaxeCoburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917 .
• They are members of the Church of
England and they live at Buckingham
Palace.
• Members of family :
• Queen Elizabeth II of England .
• Her husband is Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh .
• Her children are: Prince Andrew, Duke of
York - Prince Charles of Wales - Princess
Royal Anne - Edward Earl of Wessex .
• She has got 8 grandchildren : Prince
William of Wales, Prince Harry of Wales;
Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips; Princess
Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of
York; Lady Louise Windsor, Viscount
Servern.
The British Royal Family Tree
Queen
Elizabeth II
She was
born in
1926
Charles Prince
of Wales
He was
born in
1948
Prince
Prince Harry
William
of Wales
of Wales
He was
He was
born in
born in
1984
1982
Anne
Princess Royal
She was
born in
1950
Peter
Phillips
He was
born in
1977
Zara
Phillips
She was
born in
1981
Andrew
Duke of York
He was
born in
1960
Edward
Earl of Wessex
He was
born in
1964
Princess Princess Eugenie
Beatrice of
Of York Lady Louise
York
She was
Windsor
She was born born in She was born
in 1988
1990
in 2003
Viscount
Severn
He was
born in
2007
•She is the head of the Commonwealth. It’s an
organization of former British colonies.
Commonwealth
•Her role
•She can't create rules, she can't choose anything in
economic and politic life of England.
•At Christmas, for her birthday and for Prince Phillip’s
birthday, she talks to the British people on TV.
•Queen Elizabeth represents the British Islands in other
countries.
•She is the head of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland.
•Only the queen can declare a war or stop it. The queen is
the head of the army forces.
•Elizabeth II is the head of the Church of England.
Sometimes, the queen organises
Royal Garden parties. It’s a big party
because 8000 people are invited
Who runs the country ?
How is Britain governed
?
Today the Prime Minister
is
Gordon
Brown.
Traditionally
the
residence of the Prime
Minister is at 10 Downing
street in London.
In Great Britain there
are two major parties :
The Labour Party and
the Conservative Party.
Gordon Brown is the
head of the Labour party.
•
Gordon Brown chooses a
team of people in the
parliament to run the
country with him.
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary
democracy. The Queen’s powers are
limited. She reigns but she does not
govern.
In the House of Lords, there
are 675 members and in the
House of Commons there
659 members.
House of Lords
The House of Commons
and the House of Lords
meet in the House of
Parliament
near
the
river
Tames.
The
building is very large,
and beautiful there are
more than a thousand
rooms.
House of Commons.
Religion in the British Isles
There are lots of religions in the British Isles. The main religion
is Christianism (72%). The other religions are: Muslim, Hindu,
Sikh, Jewish and Buddhists.
15% of the population don’t have religion and 1.4% have
another religion.
buddhists
Muslim
christianism
jewish
Hindu
A BIT OF HISTORY
In 1553, Henry VIII (the king) wanted to divorce
because he wanted a son and the queen (his wife)
couldn’t have a child. He asked the Pope for the
permission to divorce but the Pope refused. Henry
VIII was very angry and created his own church,
the Anglicans (protestants).
In 1558, Elisabeth I changed the Anglican church
back to christianism and this religion became the
official religion of England.
Religious holidays
CHRISTIANISM:
MUSLIM:
JEWISH :
15 March: St Patrick’s day.
23 April: St George’s day.
10 January: Al Hijra (Islamic new
year).
30 September :Rosh Hashanah.
1 October: New year’s day.
BUDDHIST: 8
February: New year’s day.
3
September: Ganesh’s day
HINDU:
ECONOMY
Economy and industries in England
The united kingdom is the fourth largest economic
power in the world. The City is the most famous
place in Europe
English people trade all over the world because
it’s easier with English language. They can export
with farming lots of cereals, oilseed, potatoes and
vegetables . Farming in England today is easy
because machines are very sophisticated .With
industry population goes to England
Tourism is also very important to the British
economy.
London is Europe's largest
financial centre and one of
the world's largest financial
centres alongside New
York andTokyo
WOULD YOU LIKE
TO VISIT THE
BRITISH ISLES ?
How can you get to Great Britain?
To go to England, you can travel by train,
plane or ferry
You can take a ferry in Calais, Boulogne,St.
Malo, Caen, Roscoff and Cherbourg
If you leave from Paris,Calais or Lille,
You can get the Eurostar to go to London and
you will arrive in St Pancras Station.
It goes under the Channel.
You can take a plane from anywhere in
France.
Transports and shopping
In England, there are lots of means of transport. You can travel by car on the motorways
: there are 225,000 miles ( 326 km ) of roads.
You can take the bus, trains, taxis or walk !!! In London, there are beautiful red doubledeckers but the quickest way to visit London is the underground (The Tube).
Shopping day, for the British, is on Saturday. There are generally shopping centres with
lots of shops ( Marks et Spencer, John Levis, house of Fraser, ). If you visit London,
don’t forget to visit Harrods’s. It’s very big and very beautiful, but very expensive too !
PUBS AND ACCOMODATIONS
What is a pub ? A pub is a small public house.
Pubs, for British, are a part of their lives. There are
the places where they can discuss and meet new
friends
You can sleep in a B&B ( bed and breakfast ). They
are very comfortable .
But for families, villages holidays are also very well
with swimming-pool, sports centres, …
PLACES TO SEE
Retour
PALACES AND CASTLES
St James’s Palace
It was built between 1532 and 1540 by Henry
VIII. It became the official residence of the
British sovereign after the death of William III
in 1837. This castle is in London.
Buckingham Palace
It was built in 1837 by the duke
Buckingham for his wife. This is the
residence of the Queen. Buckingham
Palace is in London.
Balmoral Castle
It was built by William the Conqueror in
1080.This is the largest castle in the world.
This is the oldest royal home in Britain.
Balmoral Castle is in Scotland
Windsor Castle
It was built by William the Conqueror
in 1080.This is the largest castle in the
world. This is the oldest royal home in
Britain. It is in the South Est of England.
TOWER OF LONDON
Retour
_ This royal fortress was built by William
the Conqueror, following his successful invasion in 1066
.
SAINT PAUL’S CATHEDRALE
Retour
The dome of St Paul's Cathedral is the second biggest dome in the world.
The first St Paul's Cathedral was built in 604 AD but burnt down in 675. The rebuilt
cathedral was again burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Retour
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture.
The museum illustrates the story of human culture from it’s
beginning to the present.
THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER
Retour
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the houses
of Parliament or Westminster Palace.
CAMBRIDGE
KINGS COLLEGE
Henry VI founded Kings College in 1441. It’s
situated in Cambridge.
Retour
BLACKPOOL TOWER
Retour
Blackpool tower is an attraction
for the tourist.
It looks much like the Eiffel
tower.
STONEHENGE
Stonehenge means “suspended stones” .
Stonehenge is the most famous prehistoric monument in Britain.
It’s located near Salisbury.
Retour
HADRIAN’S WALL
Retour
Hadrian Wall is a stone wall built by the Roman Empire to
prevent military raids on Roman Britain by the Pictish tribes
(ancient inhabitants of Scotland ).
Today, It’s the most popular tourist attraction in Northern
England.