Cours civilisation uk

British civilization

I- The road to the United Kingdom:

A) The British Isles:

All the British Isles refer to different entities. England is a country; its capital city is London. It constitutes with Scotland and Wales. To become the UK, Great Britain needs Northern Ireland. The rest of the island is the republic of Ireland. It’s an archipelago made of 5,000 islands. The UK is situated in the North of Europe.

• Wales:

Capital city: Cardiff

3 million inhabitants

20% Welsh speakers.

Wales was conquered by the English in 1282. In 1536, England and Wales have the same parliament.

• Scotland:

It’s the northern most country. It’s quite famous for its cold weather. But there are also lakes. It’s quite populated: 5,3 million inhabitants. In 1603, they have the same King, James I. In 1707, there is the Act of Union. The capital city is Edinburgh.

• Northern Ireland:

Like Scotland and Wales, it has an important legacy. It can be found in literature and language. Northern Ireland is both catholic and protestant. Most of the protestant live in Northern Ireland. After centuries of political conflicts, there were the Anglo-Irish treaty in 1921. 2 million inhabitants: half oh these are catholic.

• England:

It’s the centre of politics and power. England has always been a monarchy. It was a very prosperous time during the British Empire. London is the capital city.

• Flags:

Scotland has the white cross of St Andrew on the blue background. Northern Island has a red cross on the white background, it’s St Patrick cross. The Union Jack is an important symbol of patriotism.

B) Geography:

Its total area surface is 240,000 square miles. The terrain is quite flat, there are mountains. Wales is quite hilly. Scotland, England and Northern Ireland are made of plateau. The weather is mid, temperate, with a lot of precipitations. In terms of natural resources, there are a lot of mines. UK has a lot of harbours. Since 1994, London is connected to Paris thanks to the Eurotunnel.

C) Demography:

England is the most populated country with 55,2 million inhabitants. Then there are Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland England has the highest density and Scotland has the lowest.

• Regional demography:

The South East and London are the most populated areas. The North has suffered from massive depopulations, while big cities kept growing. People are so confronted with a lot of problems such as housing problems (in London the flats are very expensive), overpopulation, homelessness and unsatisfying. For instance, in 2011, Greater London rises 8,7 million inhabitants. There are also positive aspects: London is a very diverse city, multicultural, multireligious.

• Fluxes:

Despite to baby booms in the 40s and the 60s, there is a decreasing infant. The British population is aged, because life expectancy has been increasing. During the baby booms, there is a high fertility rate. Thanks to the progress of science and medicine, the infant mortality rate decreased. The number of births decreased since the end of the baby booms. In 1961, the contraceptive pill has been legal. However, the rate of teenage pregnancy is quite high in UK. Immigration is an important feature of UK. People from the UK has always emigrated. The territory welcomes refugees from other parts of Europe. For instance, Jews during the 2GM escaped and tried to live in the UK. During the cold war, a lot of eastern Europeans emigrated to the UK. From the 1950s, most of the emigration comes from the countries of the Commonwealth (Caribbean, East and West Africa…). Immigration provided cheap and labour force. Those people were ready to take any job. But they were quite cheap, and they didn’t earn a lot of money. As a result, today, Polish and Indians are the two most common non-British nationalities in UK. In the 60s and especially in 1962, the government wanted to change the Commonwealth’s members civil rights. Citizens from the CON had a work permit, they could work in the UK. After that, in the 80s, more restrictive laws ended the mass emigration. The majority of immigrants were workers, but there are also a lot of students. Some of them have family members in the UK and they emigrated. This has created the bone of contention. In 2001, almost 8% people are non- white. Britain is considered as a multicultural and multi-ethnic society. July 2005: Terrorist attack in London.

D) A real union?

• Devolution:

Devolution is sometimes called Home Rule. The Parliament is based in Westminster, it makes laws for England and for the other nations of the UK. Executive used to be centralized in London. Within the Parliament, there are Wales. From the 1960s, there has been a growing support for the devolution in power: decentralization or transfer of power, from London to elected bodies of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. People were more and more supporting. Wales and Scotland used to be totally independent. Before 1536 for Wales and 1707 (Act of Union). The main difference is that Wales has very close links with England, unlike Scotland. Wales was under English rules in its early age. In 1301, it was decided that the heir to the English throne should bear the title of Prince of Wales. Wales has always been politically attached to England, and aware that it cannot survive economically as an independent country. Nevertheless, Wales has a very strong success culturally. For instance, Welsh is taught at school. Scotland is more attached to its political autonomy. It doesn’t fear its independence. It has never been successfully an entire conquest by the English. In 1603, they have the same King and they have the Act of Union in 1707. They are more politically and socially independent. For instance, the Scots have their own educational system and their own church. This church is still important today. In 1973, a royal commission recommended the creation of regional assembles and so, they tried to make a new law about it. That was to be the 1978 Scotland Act and the 1979 Wales Act. Scotland was in favour and Wales was against. Basically, those who were in favour had to wait twenty years. The Labour Party elected its minister during the election campaign. Tony Blair won, which allowed him to hold a new referendum in Scotland and Wales in September 1997. The turnout was much bigger: 15% in Wales voted and 60% in Scotland. Both countries voted in favour of devolution. They voted in favour of a separate Welsh and Scottish Parliament. 1998: The Government of Wales Act. This act established the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff. They are allowed to debate and modify laws that only concern regional matters (ex: education, housing, culture, tourism, etc). They’re not allowed to raise taxes. They have their secretary. Since 1998, the Secretary of State was reduced a lot. In 1998: Scotland Act, it created the Scottish Parliament. It’s allowed and debate and vote on domestic issues. In 2007, the country voted for a free university tuition fees student under 25. They’re allowed to raise taxes. They have their own Parliament, there are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament. Something like the Constitution defends security for affairs. Those issues are still debated and voted in the Parliament in Westminster only.

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