Portal:United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or United Kingdom, (Welsh: Y Deyrnas Unedig), (Scots Gaelic: An Rìoghachd Aonaichte), (Cornish: Rywvaneth Unys), (Irish: An Ríocht Aontaithe), (Scots: Unitit Kinrick) is a country in western Europe. It is a Commonwealth Realm, and a member of the European Union and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom or the UK, it is also often inaccurately called Great Britain, Britain or England (the most populous of the home nations). The UK is situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe, and has a land border with the Republic of Ireland, but is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, the Irish Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.

The UK has four constituent parts, three of which — the ancient nations of England, Wales and Scotland — are located on the island of Great Britain. The fourth part is Northern Ireland, which is located on the island of Ireland.

The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland forms the United Kingdom's principal international land border, although there is also a nominal frontier with France in the middle of the Channel Tunnel. The UK also has overseas territories throughout the world, and relationships with several Crown dependencies.

The United Kingdom was formed by Acts of Union 1707 which united the Kingdom of England (which included Wales as a principality) with the Kingdom of Scotland and later the Kingdom of Ireland as a single state under the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The modern "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" was the result of the partition of Ireland in 1922 between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom. Until 1949, the British monarch was also King of Ireland.

The UK has a highly developed economy, the fifth largest in the world, making it one of the major powers. It is one of the more populous member states of the European Union, a founding partner of both the UN (with a permanent seat on the Security Council) and NATO.

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England	Northern Ireland	Scotland	Wales

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The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in northwest Wales, including the Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda, the Dinorwic Quarry near Llanberis, the Nantlle Valley quarries, and Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the slate was mined rather than quarried. Penrhyn and Dinorwig were the two largest slate quarries in the world, and the Oakeley mine at Blaenau Ffestiniog was the largest slate mine in the world. Slate is mainly used for roofing, but is also produced as thicker slab for a variety of uses including flooring, worktops and headstones.

Up to the end of the 18th century, slate was extracted on a small scale by groups of quarrymen who paid a royalty to the landlord, carted slate to the ports, and then shipped it to England, Ireland and sometimes France. Towards the close of the century, the landowners began to operate the quarries themselves, on a larger scale. After the government abolished slate duty in 1831, rapid expansion was propelled by the building of narrow gauge railways to transport the slates to the ports. (more...)

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George Fox (July 1624 – January 13, 1691) was an English Dissenter and a major early figure — usually considered the founder — of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers. Living in a time of great social upheaval, he rebelled against the religious and political consensus by proposing an unusual and uncompromising approach to the Christian faith. His journal is a text known even among non-Quakers for its vivid account of his personal journey. (more...)

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• ...that George Pocock invented a kite-drawn carriage which could outstrip the horse-drawn mail coach?
• ...that the The Bull Ring is a henge which was built in the late Neolithic period near Dove Holes in Derbyshire?
• ...that despite being illiterate, Duncan Bàn MacIntyre became one of the most famous Scottish Gaelic poets?
• ...that British Labour politician Fiona Jones was disqualified from the House of Commons when she was convicted for submitting fraudulent election expense returns, but was later reinstated?

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Isle of Man	Ireland	Europe	European Union

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Robert Hooke's drawing of a flea in his Micrographia, a book of observations through various lenses published in 1644. The book demonstrated the tremendous power of the new microscope. On completing the book, Samuel Pepys described it as: "the most ingenious book that I ever read in my life."

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• April 7 - Cambridge defeat Oxford in the 153rd Boat Race.
• April 5 - The sailors held by Iran are released and return to the UK.
• March 31 - The U.S. rules out releasing 5 Iranian officials captured in January in Iraq in exchange for the 15 British sailors held by Iran.
• March 30 - Network Rail is fined £4m for safety breaches leading to the Ladbroke Grove rail crash.

More current events...

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• UK geography
• UK subdivisions
• British Government
• Scotland
• London
• Peerage
• Baronetcies
• Clans of Scotland
• British military history
• Falklands War
• Football Clubs
• Cricket
• Sherlock Holmes
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld

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