The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom (or UK) is an abbreviation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland¹, which is the political name of the country consisting of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes called Ulster²). Sothern Ireland is completely independent state: the Republic of Ireland (also called Eire³).

It took centuries and a lot of armed struggle to form the United Kingdom. In the 15^th century a Welsh prince Henry Tudor, became King Henry VII of England. Then his

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¹ the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern [‘nɔ:ðen] Ireland — Объединенное королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии

² Ulster [’Ʌlstə] — Ольстер

³ Eire [‘Ɛərə] — Эйер

son, Henry VIII united England and Wales under one Parliament in 1536. In Scotland a similar thing happened. The king of Scotland inherited the crown of England and Wales in1603, so he became King James I of England and Wales and King James VI of Scotland. The Parliament of England and Wales were united a century later, in 1707.

The Scottish and Welsh are proud and independent people. In recent years there have been attempts at devolution¹ in two countries, particularly in Scotland were the Scottish Nationalist party was very strong for a while. However, in a referendum in 1978 the majority of the Welsh people rejected devolution, and in 1979 the Scots did the same. Nevertheless, most Welsh and Scots sometimes complain that they are dominated by England, and of course they don’t like referred to as English².

The whole of Ireland was united with Great Britain from1807 till 1921. In 1921 it was divided in to two parts. The larger southern part formed the independent Republic of Ireland (Eire), while Northern Ireland (Ulster) became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and northern Ireland.

QUESTIONS

Which is the full name of the country situated on the British Isles? Which four parts dose the United Kingdom consist of?

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¹ devolution — отделение (от другой страны)

² they don’t like to be referred to as English — они не любят, когда их называют англичанами

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