Great Britain

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Coordinates: 54°N 2°W / 54°N 2°W / 54; -2
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This article is about the island. For the state of which it is a part, see United Kingdom. For the historical state, see Kingdom of Great Britain. For other uses, see Great Britain (disambiguation).

Great Britain
Other native names
  • Breten Veur (
    Scottish Gaelic)
  • Prydain Fawr (Welsh)
  • Albion
Satellite image, 2012, with Ireland to the west and France to the south-east
Location of the island of Great Britain.[a]
Geography
LocationNorth-western Europe
Coordinates54°N 2°W / 54°N 2°W / 54; -2
ArchipelagoBritish Isles
Adjacent toAtlantic Ocean
Area rank9th
Highest elevation1,345 m (4413 ft)
Highest pointBen Nevis, Scotland[1]
Administration
Countries
Largest cityLondon (pop. 8,866,180 in 2022[2])
Demographics
Population65,685,738 (2022)[b][2]
Population rank3rd
Pop. density287/km2 (743/sq mi)
Languages
Ethnic groups
List
Additional information
UTC+1
)

Great Britain is an

maritime climate with narrow temperature differences between seasons. The island of Ireland, with an area 40 per cent that of Great Britain, is to the west – these islands, along with over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks, comprise the British Isles archipelago.[6]

Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by a land bridge now known as Doggerland,[7] Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about 61 million, making it the world's third-most-populous island after Honshu in Japan and Java in Indonesia,[8][9] and the most populated island outside of Asia.

The term "Great Britain" can also refer to the political territory of England, Scotland, and Wales, which includes their offshore islands.[10] This territory, together with Northern Ireland, constitutes the United Kingdom.[1]

Terminology

See also: Terminology of the British Isles

Toponymy

Main article: Britain (place name)

The archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years: the term 'British Isles' derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC, Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a collective name for the British Isles.[11] However, with the Roman conquest of Britain, the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, and later Roman-occupied Britain south of Caledonia.[12][13][14]

The earliest known name for Great Britain is

Ierne".[16]

Pytheas of Massalia

The first known written use of the word Britain was an

Natural History and Diodorus of Sicily's Bibliotheca historica.[17] Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) in his Natural History records of Great Britain: "Its former name was Albion; but at a later period, all the islands, of which we shall just now briefly make mention, were included under the name of 'Britanniæ.'"[18]

The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, the land of the Britons.

Modern French Bretagne) and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten (also Breoton-lond, Breten-lond). Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the travel writings of Pytheas around 320 BC, which described various islands in the North Atlantic as far north as Thule (probably Norway
).

The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί,

body decorations.[21] According to Strabo, Pytheas referred to Britain as Bretannikē, which is treated a feminine noun.[22][23][24][25] Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the island group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι (the Prettanic Isles).[26]

Derivation of Great

A 1490 Italian reconstruction of the relevant map of Ptolemy who combined the lines of roads and of the coasting expeditions during the first century of Roman occupation. Two great faults, however, are an eastward-projecting Scotland and none of Ireland seen to be at the same latitude of Wales, which may have been if Ptolemy used Pytheas' measurements of latitude.[27] Whether he did so is a much debated issue. This "copy" appears in blue below.

The

Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain (μεγάλη Βρεττανία megale Brettania) and to Ireland as little Britain (μικρὰ Βρεττανία mikra Brettania) in his work Almagest (147–148 AD).[28] In his later work, Geography (c. 150 AD), he gave the islands the names Alwion, Iwernia, and Mona (the Isle of Man),[29] suggesting these may have been the names of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writing Almagest.[30] The name Albion appears to have fallen out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain, after which Britain became the more commonplace name for the island.[15]

After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a historical term only. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his pseudohistorical Historia Regum Britanniae (c. 1136) refers to the island of Great Britain as Britannia major ("Greater Britain"), to distinguish it from Britannia minor ("Lesser Britain"), the continental region which approximates to modern

Celtic Briton migrants from Great Britain.[citation needed
]

The term Great Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between

Lord Protector Somerset said that the English and Scots were, "like as twoo brethren of one Islande of great Britaynes again." In 1604, James VI and I styled himself "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland".[31]

Modern use of the term Great Britain

Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain. Politically, it may refer to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales, including their smaller offshore islands.[32] It is not technically correct to use the term to refer to the whole of the United Kingdom which includes Northern Ireland, though the Oxford English Dictionary states "...the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."[33][34]

Similarly, Britain can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of countries.[35] There is no clear distinction, even in government documents: the UK government yearbooks have used both Britain[36] and United Kingdom.[37]

GB and GBR are used instead of UK in some international codes to refer to the United Kingdom, including the Universal Postal Union, international sports teams, NATO, and the International Organization for Standardization country codes ISO 3166-2 and ISO 3166-1 alpha-3, whilst the aircraft registration prefix is G.

On the Internet, .uk is the country code top-level domain for the United Kingdom. A .gb top-level domain was used to a limited extent, but is now deprecated; although existing registrations still exist (mainly by government organizations and email providers), the domain name registrar will not take new registrations.

In the Olympics,

Olympic Federation of Ireland represents the whole island of Ireland, and Northern Irish sportspeople may choose to compete for either team,[38] most choosing to represent Ireland.[39]

Political definition

Political definition of Great Britain (dark green)
 – in Europe (green & dark grey)
 – in the United Kingdom (green)

Politically, Great Britain refers to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales in combination,[40] but not Northern Ireland; it includes islands, such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland, that are part of England, Wales, or Scotland. It does not include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.[40][41]

The political union which joined the kingdoms of

King of Scotland. Thereafter, he became James I of England, whilst still reigning as James VI in Scotland.[42]

History

Prehistoric period

Main article: Prehistoric Britain

The oldest evidence for

Neanderthals.[43] Prior to 9,000 years ago Britain retained a land connection to the continent, with an area of mostly low marshland (Doggerland) joining it to what are now Denmark and the Netherlands.[45][46]

During the

Bell Beaker Culture arrived in Britain, which genetic evidence suggests was associated with another episode of nearly complete population replacement.[48] Later significant migration to southern Britain around 1000 BC may have brought the Celtic languages to the island.[49]

During the

Celtic tribes.[50]

Roman and medieval period

Main articles:
Medieval Wales
Ptolomy's historical map of Roman Britain
Prima Europe tabula. A copy of Ptolemy's 2nd-century map of Roman Britain. See notes to image above.

The Romans conquered most of the island (up to

Kingdom of Northumbria. Ultimately, the population of south-east Britain came to be referred to as the English people
, so-named after the Angles.

Germanic speakers referred to Britons as Welsh. This term came to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of what is now Wales, but it also survives in names such as

Edgar in 959. In 1066, England was conquered by the Normans, who introduced a Norman
-speaking administration that was eventually assimilated. Wales came under Anglo-Norman control in 1282, and was officially annexed to England in the 16th century.

Early modern period

Main article: Early modern Britain
Further information: History of the United Kingdom

On 20 October 1604

Act of Union to ratify the Treaty of Union that had been agreed the previous year. This created a single kingdom with one parliament with effect from 1 May 1707. The Treaty of Union specified the name of the new all-island state as "Great Britain", while describing it as "One Kingdom" and "the United Kingdom". To most historians, therefore, the all-island state that existed between 1707 and 1800 is either "Great Britain" or the "Kingdom of Great Britain
".

Geography

Further information: Geography of England, Geography of Scotland, and Geography of Wales
See also: Geography of the United Kingdom
View of Britain's coast from Cap Gris-Nez in northern France

Great Britain lies on the European continental shelf, part of the

islets. The greatest distance between two points is 968.0 km (601+1⁄2 mi) (between Land's End, Cornwall and John o' Groats, Caithness
), 838 miles (1,349 km) by road.

The

Devensian glaciation with its lower sea level, Great Britain was not an island, but an upland region of continental north-western Europe, lying partially underneath the Eurasian ice sheet. The sea level was about 120 metres (390 ft) lower than today, and the bed of the North Sea was dry and acted as a land bridge, now known as Doggerland, to the Continent. It is generally thought that as sea levels gradually rose after the end of the last glacial period of the current ice age, Doggerland reflooded cutting off what was the British peninsula from the European mainland by around 6500 BC.[58]

Geology

Main article: Geology of Great Britain

Great Britain has been subject to a variety of

plate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, whilst successive continental collisions have affected its geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each orogeny (mountain-building period), often associated with volcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As a result of this eventful geological history, the island shows a rich variety of landscapes
.

The oldest rocks in Great Britain are the

Lewisian gneisses, metamorphic rocks found in the far north west of the island and in the Hebrides (with a few small outcrops elsewhere), which date from at least 2,700 My ago. South of the gneisses are a complex mixture of rocks forming the North West Highlands and Grampian Highlands in Scotland. These are essentially the remains of folded sedimentary rocks that were deposited between 1,000 My and 670 My ago over the gneiss on what was then the floor of the Iapetus Ocean
.

In the current era the north of the island is rising

as a result of the weight of Devensian ice being lifted. Counterbalanced, the south and east is sinking, generally estimated at 1 mm (1⁄25 inch) per year, with the London area sinking at double this partly due to the continuing compaction
of the recent clay deposits.

Fauna

Main article: Fauna of Great Britain
European robin on a branch facing left, tan plumage with orange face and throat
The robin, voted in polls as "Britain's favourite bird".[59]

Animal

urbanisation, which have contributed towards the overall loss of species.[61] A DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) study from 2006 suggested that 100 species have become extinct in the UK during the 20th century, about 100 times the background extinction rate. However, some species, such as the brown rat, red fox, and introduced grey squirrel
, are well adapted to urban areas.

grey wolf and wild boar; the latter has had a limited reintroduction in recent times.[61]

There is a wealth of

adder, is venomous but rarely deadly.[68] Amphibians present are frogs, toads and newts.[61] There are also several introduced species of reptile and amphibian.[69]

Flora

See also:
List of the vascular plants of Britain and Ireland
Heather growing wild in the Scottish Highlands at Dornoch
in Scotland

In a similar sense to fauna, and for similar reasons, the flora consists of fewer species compared to much larger continental Europe.

pear trees.[72] The tallest species are the Douglas firs; two specimens have been recorded measuring 65 metres or 212 feet.[73] The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire is the oldest tree in Europe.[74]

There are at least 1,500 different species of wildflower.[75] Some 107 species are particularly rare or vulnerable and are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is illegal to uproot any wildflowers without the landowner's permission.[75][76] A vote in 2002 nominated various wildflowers to represent specific counties.

heather and many more.[78][79][80][81]

There is also more than 1000 species of
liverworts and 4 hornworts.[82]

Fungi

There are many species of

fungi including lichen-forming species, and the mycobiota is less poorly known than in many other parts of the world. The most recent checklist of Basidiomycota (bracket fungi, jelly fungi, mushrooms and toadstools, puffballs, rusts and smuts), published in 2005, accepts over 3600 species.[83] The most recent checklist of Ascomycota (cup fungi and their allies, including most lichen-forming fungi), published in 1985, accepts another 5100 species.[84] These two lists did not include conidial
fungi (fungi mostly with affinities in the Ascomycota but known only in their asexual state) or any of the other main fungal groups (Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota). The number of fungal species known very probably exceeds 10,000. There is widespread agreement among mycologists that many others are yet to be discovered.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of the United Kingdom
Further information: Demographics of England, Demographics of Scotland, Demographics of Northern Ireland, and Demographics of Wales

Settlements

Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Cardiff is the capital city of Wales, and is the seat of the Welsh Government
.

Largest urban areas
See also: List of urban areas in the United Kingdom
Rank City-region Built-up area[85] Country Population
(2011 Census) 		Area
(km2) 		Density
(people/km2)
1 London
Greater London
 England 9,787,426 1,737.9 5,630
2 Manchester–Salford
Greater Manchester
 England 2,553,379 630.3 4,051
3 Birmingham–Wolverhampton
West Midlands
 England 2,440,986 598.9 4,076
4 Leeds–Bradford
West Yorkshire
 England 1,777,934 487.8 3,645
5 Glasgow Greater Glasgow Scotland 1,209,143 368.5 3,390
6 Liverpool
Liverpool
 England 864,122 199.6 4,329
7 Southampton–Portsmouth South Hampshire England 855,569 192.0 4,455
8
Sunderland
 Tyneside England 774,891 180.5 4,292
9 Nottingham Nottingham England 729,977 176.4 4,139
10 Sheffield
Sheffield
 England 685,368 167.5 4,092

Language

Further information:
Languages of England, Languages of Scotland, and Languages of Wales
See also: Languages of the United Kingdom
Dual–language signage in Scotland displaying English and Scottish Gaelic

Celtic languages originated in the Hallstatt culture.[86][87][88][89][90]

All the modern Brythonic languages (Breton, Cornish, Welsh) are generally considered to derive from a common ancestral language termed Brittonic, British, Common Brythonic, Old Brythonic or Proto-Brythonic, which is thought to have developed from

Southern Britain (AD 43 to c. 410), Common Brythonic borrowed a large stock of Latin
words. Approximately 800 of these Latin loan-words have survived in the three modern Brythonic languages. Romano-British is the name for the Latinised form of the language used by Roman authors.

British English is spoken in the present day across the island, and developed from the Old English brought to the island by Anglo-Saxon settlers from the mid 5th century. Some 1.5 million people speak Scots—which was indigenous language of Scotland and has become closer to English over centuries.[92][93] An estimated 700,000 people speak Welsh,[94] an official language in Wales.[95] In parts of north west Scotland, Scottish Gaelic remains widely spoken. There are various regional dialects of English, and numerous languages spoken by some immigrant populations.

Religion

Further information: Religion in England, Religion in Scotland, and Religion in Wales
See also: Religion in the United Kingdom
stone cathedral oblique view showing two west towers and central tower
Canterbury Cathedral, seat of the Church of England, Great Britain's largest denomination

Scotland,[98] although fewer than a million Catholics regularly attend mass.[99]

black weathered stone cathedral showing west front stained glass window
Glasgow Cathedral, a meeting place of the Church of Scotland

The

Romano-British period, condemned to death for his faith and sacrificed to the pagan gods.[105] In more recent times, some have suggested the adoption of St Aidan as another patron saint of Britain.[106] From Ireland, he worked at Iona amongst the Dál Riata and then Lindisfarne where he restored Christianity to Northumbria.[106]

The three constituent countries of the United Kingdom have patron saints:

Columba, Patrick, Margaret, Edward the Confessor, Mungo, Thomas More, Petroc, Bede, and Thomas Becket.[108]

Numerous other religions are practised.[109] The 2011 census recorded that Islam had around 2.7 million adherents (excluding Scotland with about 76,000).[110] More than 1.4 million people (excluding Scotland's about 38,000) believe in Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism—religions that developed in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.[110] Judaism figured slightly more than Buddhism at the 2011 census, having 263,000 adherents (excluding Scotland's about 6000).[110] Jews have inhabited Britain since 1070. However, those resident and open about their religion were expelled from England in 1290, replicated in some other Catholic countries of the era. Jews were permitted to re-establish settlement as of 1656, in the interregnum which was a peak of anti-Catholicism.[111] Most Jews in Great Britain have ancestors who fled for their lives, particularly from 19th century Lithuania and the territories occupied by Nazi Germany.[112]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The term "Great Britain" in political contexts would include its off-shore islands
  2. ^ The political area of Great Britain, including offshore islands
  3. ^ Scotland held its census a year later after England and Wales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the data shown is from two separate years.
  4. ^ The political definition of Great Britain – that is, England, Scotland, and Wales combined – includes a number of offshore islands such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, and Shetland, which are not part of the geographical island of Great Britain. Those three countries combined have a total land area of 228,948 km2 (88,397 sq mi).[2]

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    Great Britain is the name of the island that comprises England, Scotland, and Wales, although the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a political unit that includes these countries and Northern Ireland. The British Isles is a geographical term that refers to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and surrounding smaller islands such as the Hebrides and the Channel Islands.
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Bibliography
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