Otázka: Great Britain
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Lucie
General information
– Official name:
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain
Countries:
- England – London
- Scotland – Edinburgh
- Wales – Cardiff
- Northern Ireland- Belfast
– Population: inhabitants 62 mil.
– System of government: constitutional monarchy
– Currency: £ 1 -> 100 pence
Geography
– Location: Britain is located in the north-west of Europe on the British Isles.
– Oceans and seas: (Britain is surrounded by = obklopena: )
- The Atlantic Ocean
- The Irish Sea (in the west)
- The Celtic Sea
- The North Sea (in the east)
- The English Channel (La Manche) – between England and France
- The Strait of Dover – between England and France
– Groups of islands:
- The Hebrides
- The Orkneys (in the north)
- The Shetlands
– Islands:
- The Isle of Man
- The Isle of Wight
- The Channel Islands (near Normandy)
– Mountain ranges (=pohoří)
- The Scottish Highlands
- The Grampians
- The Pennies = backbone of England
- The Cambrians
- Ben Nevis – nejvyššíhora 1 343 m.n.m.
– Rivers:
- The Thames
- The Severn – the longest
- The Avon
- The Trent
- The Tyne
- The Mersey (Liverpool)
– Lakes:
- Loch Lomond – the biggest lake (Skotskéjezero)
- Loch Ness
- Lake District – about 80 lakes
– Cities:
- Birmingham (industrial)
- Sheffield (coal=uhlí)
- Manchester (textile)
- Liverpool
- The Beatles
- Liver Building (nejznámějšístavba)
- Port
- Portsmouth
- Spinnaker Tower
- Victory (ship)
- Port
- Brighton
- Royal Pavilion (oriental style)
- Sea aquarium
- Dover
- Leeds (industrial)
- Nottingham
- The oldest pub in England
- Robin Hood
- Oxford
- The oldest university 12th century
- Cambridge
- University 1206
- Winchester
- The longest nave (loď v katedrále) – 180 m
- Chichester
- Salisbury
- The tallest tover
- Canterbury
- Newcastle
- York
- Whitey city walls
- Válkarůží
- Stratford
- Shakespeare’s birth place
- Hastings
- Battle in 1066 (VilémDobyvatelvítěz)
– Other interesting places:
- Stonehenge
- Stone circle which is about 600 years old
- It was used for rituals
– Castles:
- Warwick [worik]
- Many castles are located in Wales (Conway)
- Blenheim [blenem] Palace
- Birth place of Winston Churchill
– Scotland:
- Production of whisky
- Kilt – typical skirt won by men
- Bagpipes = dudy
- Thitle = bodlák
- Glasgow
- The biggest city in Scotland
- Famous university
- Edinburgh
- Capital of Scotland
- Castle (ghotic)
Political system
– Constitutional monarchy
– (the) Constitution is unwritten
- Is based (založena) on traditions
– The formal head of state is Queen/King – now Elisabeth the IInd(since 1952)
– Three branches (složky) of power (moci)
- Executive power (výkonnámoc)
- Prime minister PM (10 Downing Street) – number 10
- Now David Cameron
- He’s had of the cabinet=government
- Prime minister PM (10 Downing Street) – number 10
- Legislative power (zákonodárnámoc)
- The Parliament:
- House of Commons – 650 MPs (members of parliament) – general election
- House of Lords – about 700 – dedičné+jmenovaní
- The Parliament:
- Judicial power
- The Royal Court of Justice (nejvyššísoud)
– Main political parties:
- Conservative party (Tory) (right-wing)
- Liberal Democrats (Whigs)
- Labour parts (left-wing)
– National symbols:
- Anthem (hymna) – God Save the Queen (King)
- Flag – Union Jack
- St. George’s Cross – England
- St. Andrew’s Cross – Scotland
- St. Patrick’s Cross – Ireland (původní)
History
– 600 BC : Arrival of the original inhabitants – Celts
– Caesar se pokusildobít Br., ale neuspěl
– Emperor Claudius conquered (dobil) Br.
- Britain part of Roman Empire
- Londonium (u Temžě->výhodná poloha)
– Hadrian’s Wall
- Located between today‘s E and Scotland
- Now there are only some ruins
– Romains left Britain forever
- Towns and cities which end with –chester used to be Romans camps
– Arrival of Germanic tribes
- Angles, Saxons, Jutes => 7 kingdom
- Legendary king Arthur
– Vikings (from Scandinavia) -> many conflicts
– 9thcentury: Beginnings of England (sjednocené)
– Danes colonized a part of England
– 1066: End of Anglo-Saxon England – invasion from Normandy
- William the Conqueror (dobyvatel) defeated (porazil) the last A-S king Harold II. in the battle of Hastings
– 12thcentury: House of Plantagenet
- Richard the Lionheart
- John the Lackland (bezzemek, ztratilúzemíveFrancii)
- he signed 1215 Magna Carta (it limited the power of king)
- beginnings of parliament
– 1337: Hundred Year’s War (E X F) -> F won
– 1346: Battle of Crecy (Kresčak) (†John of Luxembourg)
– John Wycliffe – he criticized Catholic Church (he was inspiration for Jan Hus)
– 15thcentury: War of roses (House of Lancaster X York)
– House of Tudor
- Henri VIII.
- Had 6 wives – 2 of them was executed (popraveny)
- He established the Church of England (protest) because he wante to devorce
- Elisabeth I.
- Virgin Queen (because he never married)
- Age of Shakespeare
– Civil War: Charles I. X Oliver Cromwell (Parliament)
- Charles I. was executed
- Republic (1649-1660)
– 1707: Great Britain (E+S)
– Canada and Australia became colonies
– Napoleonic Wars:
- Battle of Trafalgar (†H.Nelson)
- Battle of Waterloo (Wellington)
– 1784: J. Watt (parnístroj)
– 1825: G. Stephenson (lokomotiva)
– 1837-1901: Victoria
- Golden times of Br. Empire
- GB was the most powerful country in the World
– 1914-1918: World War I.
- Br.+F+Russia+USA
– House of Windsor
– 1939-1945: World War II.
– Winston Churchill – PM
- Battle of Britain – Royal air force (Czechoslovak pilots) X Luftwaffe
– 1952: Elisabeth II. (60 year)
– 1973: European Community – EU
– 1979-1990: PM – Margaret Thatcher = Iron Lady
– 1996-2007: T.Blair
– 2010-? : D. Cameron
