Culture of UK

tài liệu thi văn hóa văn minh anh mỹ

North - west coast of Europe -> British Isles

2 islands Largest island: Great Britain

(England, Scotland, Wales)

Other: Ireland

2 states The first state: Republic of Ireland (Eire) The second state (include the whole of

Great Britain, the Northeastern area of Ireland and most of the smaller islands): The UK of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Four nations

The people in Ireland, Wales and highland

Scotland: Celtic race -> spoke Celtic

languages: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and

Welsh

those in England and lowland Scotland: Germanic origin -> spoke Germanic dialects (including the one which has developed into modern English)

1 What do you know about the meanings of the colors and symbols on the UK flag?

Flag description: blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron

UNITED KINGDOMS

saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag; but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories

Description of the United Kingdom (UK) Flag - The Union Jack

 As the above picture of the United Kingdom (UK) Flag indicates the colors of the United Kingdom (UK) Flag, or Union Jack, are red, white and blue - the actual background, or field, is blue

 According to Ancient and Heraldic traditions much symbolism is associated with colors The colors on the United Kingdom (UK) Flag represent the following:

 White - peace and honesty

 Red - hardiness, bravery, strength & valour

 Blue - vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance & justice

 All Flag pictures depict flags flying, from the viewer's point of view, from left to right

 The Union Flag, or Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom

 It is so called because it combines the crosses of the three countries united under one Sovereign - the kingdoms of England and Wales, of Scotland and of Ireland (although since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom)

 The flag consists of three heraldic crosses

 The cross of St George, patron saint of England since the 1270's, is a red cross on

a white ground After James I succeeded to the throne, it was combined with the cross of St Andrew in 1606

 The cross saltire of St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, is a diagonal white cross

2 What is notable on the population distribution on the UK?

1995 England 48.9

3 Can you tell the differences among England, Great Britain and the UK?

The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate

countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (though most of Ireland is now independent) (UK include the whole of Great Britain, the Northeastern area of Ireland and most of the smaller islands)

Great Britain is the largest island of the British Isles Great Britain comprises only England, Scotland and Wales

Therefore, England is part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom The U.K includes England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not independent countries but the United Kingdom is The remaining portion of the island of Ireland (that which is not the U.K.'s Northern Ireland) is an independent country called the Republic of Ireland (Eire)

The actual name of the sovereign state we are talking about is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) The United Kingdom is made up

of the countries England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland The confusion of the terms seems to revolve around the term “country” and the political powers that are perceived based on that word While the four countries that make up the UK are considered separate in the minds of locals, and in certain sporting events, their powers for local law and control are devolved from the UK Think of the 50 states of the United States, while each state has their own set of laws, they all are still under the power of the federal government In the case of the UK, it is somewhat similar, though certain

responsibilities are also implied, like healthcare and education, that are delegated to three of the four countries The responsibilities that are delegated differ from one country

to the next England is the only country in which the UK does not devolve any powers and instead it is legislated directly by the UK government When it comes to international politics, it is the sovereign nation of the UK that is recognized and not any of the four constituent countries

The term “Great Britain” refers to the land mass that comprises England, Scotland, and Wales Something that aids in the confusion as to the difference between Great Britain and the UK is that the term is sometimes internationally used as a synonym for the UK For instance, the UK’s Olympic team competes under the name “Great Britain” and the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) gives the UK the country codes of GB and GBR This can be confusing given that the ISO also codes England, Scotland, and Wales as subdivision countries of the UK but Northern Ireland as

a subdivision province If you’re getting the impression that Northern Ireland is the headed stepchild of the UK, you may be right! (both figuratively and literally, if you believe the current statistics for redheaded populations that is)

red-The confusion over the definition of these four countries, in reference to the UK, is further muddied up in sporting competitions There are several international sporting events, like the commonwealth games, and football competitions, in which each of the four has their own team, and do not compete under a unified national team When competing under these conditions, their nations are referred to as “home nations” Because each team is from a specific home country, it can lead some to think these countries have political autonomy as well Given the inebriated thought processes attained during the enjoyment of these competitions, it’s not too hard to understand where this drunken confusion comes from

If you’re curious when these unions between the countries that comprise the UK came about, it happened as follows: England and Wales were joined in 1536 Scotland and England were joined together in 1707, along with the previously joined Wales, to officially form the Kingdom of Great Britain Ireland decided to join up in 1801, at which point the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed In 1922, however, many of the Southern counties of Ireland decided to remove themselves from the union and the UK changed their name to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

So in summary:

 Great Britain = England, Scotland, and Wales

 UK = England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (and the full name is the

“United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”)

 England = Just the part of the island that is England

4 How did Britain gain an Empire (đế chế)?

An Empire is a large collection of countries all ruled by one single country – e.g Britain, making that country very powerful

The British turned out to be the best Empire builders in History

The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was completed on January 1,

1801, under the name of the UK However, armed struggle for independence continued sporadically into the 20th century The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State, which subsequently left the Commonwealth and becam a republic after World War II Six northern, predominantly, Irish counties have remained part of the UK

b Power to the world

At its peak, the British Empire was the largest formal empire that the world had ever known As such, its power and influence stretched all over the globe; shaping it in all manner of ways This site is dedicated to analysing the history of the British Empire: The triumphs, the humiliations, the good that it brought and the bad that it inflicted For better or worse the British Empire had a massive impact on the history of the world It is for this reason that this site tries to bring to life the peoples, cultures, adventures and domination that made the Empire such a powerful institution It is neither an apology for, nor a nostalgic reminiscince of the institution that so dominated the world for over two centuries Rather, it analyses and describes the vast institution that so influenced the shape of the world that we see today

The most important reason why Britain gained an Empire is because of political and military reasons An example is “Britain gained colonies to stop other European

nations from taking them over” This is the most important because taking Over countries gave Britain more power and it stopped other European countries from getting powerful and rivalling Britain’s power

At the end of the 19th century Britain’s position as the world's greatest imperialist power was uncontested, and the expression "the sun never sets on the British Empire" was coined – meaning, literally, there was always some part of the empire on which the sun was shining, and, figuratively, that the empire would never end One can understand the thought – after all, between 1880 and 1900 new colonies were added to the empire, and the population of the empire had grown by a third Through its colonies and dominions, Britain exercised authority over one fifth of the world's entire population

How did Britain manage to acquire such an empire? It is a complicated story and there are no easy “reasons” or “causes” One thing is certain: at no time did the government in London sit down and look at a map of the world and say “We want that…and that…that.” Instead, the empire grew in fits and starts Three basic factors

made it possible:people, skills, and resources

The people who built the empire often did not mean to: they were simply involved

in a whole range of activities which took them overseas to new lands Explorers explored Traders traded Ship-owners and sailors carried trade to and from harbours all over the world Britain was the world’s leading trader, and even after about 1870 when the USA

and Germany had overtaken Britain as industrial nations, Britain continued to be the

world’s leading trading nation Bankers invested money in trading projects Above all, people emigrated From 1800 to 1900 Britain’s own population increased fourfold Earlier, it was feared that emigration might deprive Britain of the people it needed No one worried about this with such a huge population increase at home Between 1815 and

1880, about 12 million Britons emigrated, most of them either to British colonies or to

The skills were primarily sailing skills, financial skills, medical skills and

technological skills Sailing skills made it possible to reach places all over the world Financial skills allowed the City of London to lend money to traders and others Medical skills reduced the dangers of tropical diseases Technological skills – notably the production of trains, steamships and underwater and overland telegraph – shortened distances that had once seemed unmanageable

The resources were ships to cross oceans and steamboats to sail up rivers and

money that could be invested by the City of London in all sorts of commercial operations – England was the first country to develop a modern financial and banking system The industrial revolution gave Britain low-cost, factory-made goods for which it wanted world markets If and when things got difficult, there were military resources to protect the British traders: a navy that was the world’s strongest, and soldiers that could be stationed overseas

None of these factors – people, skills, resources – alone explains the growth of the empire, and most historians today reject the belief that a single theory can account for the growth of the British empire; instead, they study the edges and corners of the empire and recognise how different the story was in different places

Ruling the waves

Trade and naval power went hand in hand in the sense that the navy could send a warship to any British “interests” that were in trouble, or two warships, or a garrison of soldiers who could build a fort This was the period when Britain’s navy “ruled the waves” and could control sea traffic almost anywhere in the world, fighting off competitors like Holland and France, and at times using a form of piracy, such as when warships were sent up Chinese rivers to force China to import opium The best example

of empire building is India, where, until the 1850s, trade was organised and protected by

a series of arrangements with local elites by which the East India trading company “ran” parts of India Britain chose to take over the government of India after 1858, when the Indian Mutiny collapsed India became the most important colony – the “jewel” in the imperial crown To ensure safe access to India, Britain established control over a series of ports and islands on the sea route This, too, was typical.Many outposts of the empire were established to protect trading routes and to provide coaling-stations for naval ships

Once direct imperialism was the chosen policy for any part of the world, it was not half-hearted British officials took over government; British engineers took over major construction projects such as sewage systems for towns and railway systems; British administrators organised local government, and so on Clearly, with this sort of commitment, Britain’s impact on its colonies was enormous and lasting

To fully appreciate the significance of the Commonwealth, Britain's global position, it is important to understand its origins from the British Empire Technically, there have been three empires, the first in France, lost by 1558; the second in North America, which became the United States of America after 1776; and the third was global, which became the modern Commonwealth of Nations after 1949 Each one being larger than the one before.

That's something of a distillation of the Britannic heritage of the Commonwealth

It is striking that when one looks around the world at the most successful countries, many

of them have British colonial roots - Canada, United States, Australia, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, the various peaceable Caribbean islands Given the diversity of cultures, histories and languages, it is the "commonwealth" values of peace, order and good government that have set those disparate nations on the path to success*.

 Quote from Father Raymond J De Souza, National Post, 27 October 2011

The origins of the British Empire can be seen as going back to the Middle Ages with the beginning of the conquest of Ireland (1172) and conquest of much of France during the Hundred Years' War However, the modern British Empire can be considered having started in 1497 with John Cabot's claim to Newfoundland The British Empire was the largest Empire in history; At it's zenith, it held sway over a population of nearly 500 million people - roughly a quarter of the world's population - and covered about 14.3 million square miles (17.4 million including Antarctic claims), almost a third of the world's total land area During the mid-19th century Britain was the sole developed hyper-power, enjoying unparalleled prosperity Britain was "the work-shop of the world," and even by 1870 she still was producing well over 30% of the global industrial output, no other nation coming even close to her production superiority In 1885 America and Germany can be considered as having become industrialised, but Britain was still the world's most developed nation until around 1913 when she was surpassed by America Due to the supremacy of the Royal Navy, Britain truly did rule the waves for centuries With territories scattered across every continent and ocean and in every time- zone, the "Empire Under Palm and Pine" was accurately described as "the empire on which the sun never sets." The Empire facilitated the spread of British technology, commerce, language, and government around much of the globe through Pax Britannica and British Imperial hegemony The contributions the British Empire made to the world, the technology, philosophy, literature, medicine, investment, institutions, and plain advancements of mankind have left a profound legacy.

The British Empire consisted of various territories all over the world conquered or colonized by Britain from about 1600 It was expanded by commerce, trade, colonisation, and sometimes conquest Over all the Empire was built on commerce, not conquest There were colonies conquered, but they were done for a reason For instance, France hired the Mughal Empire to fight Britain Britain then fought back and conquered the Mughal Empire which made up the Northwest corner of present day India The 19th century saw the largest expansion of the Empire as the British took many former French possessions in the West Indies and began to settle in large numbers in Australia in the early part of the century and later competed fiercely with other European powers for territory in Africa At the same time, there was serious expansion in Asia, notably the acquisition of Singapore (1824), Hong Kong (1841), and Burma (1886), and the South Pacific, particularly the settlement of New Zealand (1840) The final big expansion of

the empire was following World War I, when former German and Turkish territories were mandated to Britain and the Dominions The only serious loss of territory was the loss of the 13 American colonies in the American Revolution of 1776 – 1783, which became the United States of America The British Empire was at its largest territorial expansion after the First World War – after 1918, until the 1940’s, consisting of over 25% of the world's population and 30% of its area

Since 1949, the British Empire was replaced by the Commonwealth of Nations Most colonies are now independent; today’s Commonwealth is composed of former and remaining territories of the British Empire and a few non former British Empire countries which once belonged to other powers such as Portugal, France and Belgium The Commonwealth is a loose, voluntary organisation dedicated to preserving human rights and democracy and is held together by a desire for membership and the English language as well as history.

An Overview of the British Empire

Size, Extent and People — The British Empire included all those parts of the world

whose inhabitants owed allegiance to the British sovereign It comprised more than a quarter of the land area of the globe—about 13,355,000 square miles (34,590,000 square km) of territory Unlike most of the great empires of the past, the British Empire was made up of many widely separated countries and territories, varying in, size from Canada, with her vast area of over 3,600,000 square miles (9,324,000 square km), to Gibraltar, two square miles (5 square km) in extent British lands were found in every continent British islands dotted every ocean The empire extended from farthest north to farthest south, from farthest east to farthest west, girdling the globe with lands over which flew the Union Jack Within the Empire was found every kind of scenery, from the snow-capped summits of the Rockies and the Himalayas to the sun-scorched plains of Australia There was every variety of climate, from the hot, humid air of the Guinea Coast to the clear atmosphere and biting cold of the Polar Isles Every type of plant grew somewhere on British soil, from the lowly moss and lichen of the tundra to the stately teak of Burma Every kind of useful animal was found somewhere within its borders, from the dog of the Inuit to the camel of the Arabs Under the Union Jack lived members of all the races of the world All told, the inhabitants of the British Empire numbered 500,000,000 — more than a quarter of all the people in the world at that time

The Empire and the Sea.—The British Empire was largely a Maritime Empire For the

most part, it was won by hardy British sailors, who pushed their way into the uttermost corners of the world and brought country after country under the sway of Britain It was held largely by the power of the British Royal Navy, which had long controlled the sea- ways of the world By far the greater part of its enormous commerce was carried in British merchant vessels, which linked port to port and country to country, enabling the wheat of Canada, the wool of Australia, the tea of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and the apples of New Zealand to reach the markets of the United Kingdom Without the free use of the sea, the Empire could not live So it was that, although railways and other land communications played a great part, they were secondary in importance to the sea communications of the Empire The merchant fleet of Britain herself was the largest and most efficient in the world, while that belonging to the great colonies was far from small These ships were the most important material bond uniting the far-flung dominions

of the King-Emperor To enable both the navy and the merchant fleet to accomplish their tasks, Britain had secured coaling-stations all over the world As a vessel could not steam much more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) without replenishing her bunkers, there had to be coaling-stations at intervals of 3,000 miles (4,800 km) or so along the great ocean trade- routes

The Empire possessed the most complete system of such stations in the world A British ship was sure of finding a supply of coal at almost any of the principal ports of the British Isles, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, British Africa, or India In addition, there were facilities for coaling vessels at St Helena, Ascension, or the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic; at Jamaica or Bermuda in the North Atlantic, at Gibraltar, Malta, and Port Said in the Mediterranean; at Aden, on the Gulf of Aden; at Colombo in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); at Singapore; and at Labuan in the China Sea; at Hong Kong on the Chinese coast; at Chagos, Seychelles, or Mauritius in the Indian Ocean; at Thursday Island and Suva, Fiji in the South Pacific; nor did these exhaust the list Many coaling-stations were small and apparently insignificant islands, but they played no small part in the life of the Empire The most important coaling-stations were fortified and garrisoned to protect them from attack At many of them dockyards had been built, so that ships may be repaired in time of need The countries of the Empire were also kept in close communication by submarine cables

There were, in the whole world, about 300,000 miles (480,000 km) of submarine cables Of these, almost ahalf - 140,000 miles (225,000 km) — were British property By this immense and far-reaching cable system the governments of various parts of the Empire were in constant touch with one another; commercial transactions were greatly facilitated; and in time of war valuable information was quickly sent to its proper destination The protection of the cable system was one of the duties of the Imperial Royal Navy Nothing brought home the great extent of the Empire more forcibly than to trace the "All-British cable" route around the world Leaving the British Isles, it crossed the Atlantic, coming ashore at Trinity Bay, Newfoundland From there it was carried overland across Newfoundland, thence by sea again to Sydney, Cape Breton Island, and from there to Halifax, which had direct communication with Vancouver upon the Pacific coast From Vancouver Island a cable ran by way of Fanning Island, Fiji, and Norfolk Island to Auckland in New Zealand and to Brisbane in Australia The latter city had telegraphic connection with the cities of Albany and Perth, from which a cable traversed the Indian Ocean by way of Cocos, Colombo, Madras, Bombay, and Aden From Aden the route lay through the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, by way of Suez, Port Said, Malta, Gibraltar, and London There were several loops or extensions along the route An important one from Cocos Island connected Mauritius, Durban, Cape Town, St Helena, Ascension, and Sierra Leone Nearly all these places and very many others were also equipped with wireless installations, which supplemented the cables and added materially to the speed and safety with which messages could besent The commerce of the Empire followed certain routes, all centring upon the British Isles The following were the chief: 1 From the British Isles across the Atlantic to Canada, thence by either the Canadian National or the Canadian Pacific across Canada, and from there across the Pacific Ocean to Hong Kong, Singapore, and India, or to New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and Australia 2 From the British Isles across the Atlantic

to the Panama Canal, and thence to New Zealand and Australia 3 From the British Isles

to the East by way of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean 4 From the British Isles along the west coast of Africa to Cape Town, and thence across the Indian Ocean to India and to Australia and New Zealand

Government — The countries of the Empire, aside from the United Kingdom, were

divided into five groups, as far as government was concerned: (1) The Dominions, (2) The Indian Empire, (3) The Crown Colonies, (4) The Protectorates, (5) The Mandated

Territories

After Acts of Union between England and Scotland as Great Britain in 1707 and between Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, the United Kingdom was a unitary state of the British Isles Until 1920, it was the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with only one parliament at Westminster for the whole nation which then included all of Great Britain and Ireland In 1920, a separate parliament was set up in Northern Ireland, overseen by a Governor, though it continued to be represented at Westminster also In

1921, the southern part of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom to become the Irish Free State – a self-governing Dominion In 1927, the United Kingdom was restyled as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to reflect these changes Great Britain continued to be governed under a single parliament at Westminster while Northern Ireland had self-government The Irish Free State was renamed as Eire in

1937 as it had adopted a quasi-republican constitution In 1949, it became the Republic

of Ireland and it severed all links with the British Empire In 1972, owing to an escalating violent situation, self-government in Northern Ireland was suspended and replaced with direct rule from Westminster The United Kingdom had once again become

a single unitary state with only one parliament at Westminster This changed in 1999, in

a response to growing nationalist aspirations, as self-government was restored to Northern Ireland and given to Scotland and Wales For the first time since 1707, Scotland was given a full parliament while Wales and Northern Ireland received less powerful assemblies However, they all continued to be represented in the United Kingdom parliament at Westminster also The United Kingdom, though officially still a unitary state, is now looking more like a federation, though England still does not have its own self-government

The Dominion of Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, and the sovereign state of Eire (Irish Free State) were self-governing Dominions under the Crown Northern Ireland was also self- governing, but it differed from its sister Dominions in that it sent elected representatives

to the Imperial Parliament at London In the Dominions the government was modelled after that of the United Kingdom, the King being represented by a Governor-General or

a Governor Each had a Parliament consisting of two Houses The Parliament of each Dominion was supreme, but all owed allegiance to the King of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Newfoundland was a self-governing Dominion until 1933 when it