Great Britain Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! {{Short description|Island northwest of continental Europe}} {{About|the island|the state of which it is a part|United Kingdom|the historical state|Kingdom of Great Britain|other uses}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{pp-move-indef}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use British English|date=November 2010}} <!-- Please do not edit the British English spelling to American English spelling. This is because this topic is British-related and any articles containing British information should be spelt according to British English. --> {{Infobox islands |local_name = {{collapsible list |titlestyle = background:transparent; text-align:center; font-size:9pt; |liststyle = text-align:center; |title = {{resize|9pt|Other native names}} |1={{native name|kw|Breten Veur}} |2={{native name|sco|Great Breetain}} |3={{native name|gd|Breatainn Mhòr}} |4={{native name|cy|Prydain Fawr}} |5=[[Albion]] }} |image_name = File:MODIS - Great Britain - 2012-06-04 during heat wave (cropped).jpg |image_caption = [[Satellite image]], 2012, with [[Ireland]] to the west and [[France]] to the south-east |map_image = Great Britain (orthographic projection).svg |map_size = 220 |location = [[Northwestern Europe|North-western Europe]] |coordinates = {{Coord|54|N|2|W|display=inline,title|type:isle_scale:5000000_region:GB}} |archipelago = [[British Isles]] |waterbody = [[Atlantic Ocean]] |area_km2 = 209331 |area_footnotes = <ref>[http://islands.unep.ch/ICJ.htm#943 ISLAND DIRECTORY] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808080705/http://islands.unep.ch/ICJ.htm#943 |date=8 August 2017 }}, United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved 9 August 2015.</ref> |rank = 9th |highest_mount = {{nowrap|[[Ben Nevis]]}}, [[Lochaber]], Scotland<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/blog/2016/03/britains-tallest-mountain-is-taller/|title=Great Britain's tallest mountain is taller|date=18 March 2016|work=Ordnance Survey Blog}}</ref> |elevation_m = 1345 |country = [[United Kingdom]] |country_admin_divisions_title = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Countries]] |country_admin_divisions = {{Plainlist| *[[England]] *[[Scotland]] *[[Wales]] }} |country_largest_city_type = city |country_largest_city = [[London]] |country_largest_city_population = 8,878,892 |population = 60,800,000 |population_as_of = [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] |population_footnotes = <ref>''[http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/population-and-household-estimates-for-the-united-kingdom/stb-2011-census--population-estimates-for-the-united-kingdom.html 2011 Census: Population Estimates for the United Kingdom]''. In the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]], the population of England, Wales and Scotland was estimated to be approximately 61,370,000; comprising 60,800,000 on Great Britain, and 570,000 on other islands. Retrieved 23 January 2014</ref> |population_rank = 3rd |density_km2 =302 |languages = {{cslist |[[English language|English]] |[[Scots language|Scots]] |[[Welsh language|Welsh]] |[[Scottish Gaelic]] |[[Cornish language|Cornish]] }} |ethnic_groups = {{ubl | 86.8% [[White British|White]] | 7.1% [[British Asian|Asian]] | 3.1% [[Black British|Black]] | 2.0% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]] | 0.3% [[British Arabs|Arab]] | 0.6% Other<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/LC2101EW/view/2092957703?rows=c_ethpuk11&cols=c_age |title=Ethnic Group by Age in England and Wales |publisher=www.nomisweb.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2asbtable2.pdf |title=Ethnic groups, Scotland, 2001 and 2011 |publisher=www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> }} |timezone1 = [[Greenwich Mean Time]] |utc_offset1 = ±0{{!}}UTC |timezone1_DST = [[British Summer Time]] |utc_offset1_DST = +1 }} '''Great Britain''' (commonly shortened to '''Britain''') is an [[island]] in the North [[Atlantic Ocean]] off the north-west coast of [[continental Europe]], consisting of [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]]. With an area of {{convert|209,331|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it is the largest of the [[British Isles]], the [[List of European islands by area|largest European island]] and the [[List of islands by area|ninth-largest island in the world]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm |title=Islands by land area, United Nations Environment Programme |publisher=Islands.unep.ch |access-date=24 February 2012 |archive-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220003634/http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|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 area of {{convert|234,402|km2|sqmi|abbr= on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/administrative/the-countries-of-the-uk/index.html|title = The Countries of the UK|work = Office of National Statistics|date = 6 April 2010|archive-url = http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160108051201/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/beginner-s-guide/administrative/the-countries-of-the-uk/index.html|archive-date = 8 January 2016|access-date = 5 July 2015|url-status = live}}</ref>}} It is dominated by a [[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 [[List of islands of the British Isles|1,000 smaller surrounding islands and named substantial rocks]], form the British Isles [[archipelago]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/didyouknow/howmany/q_14_27.html |title=says 803 islands which have a distinguishable coastline on an Ordnance Survey map, and several thousand more exist which are too small to be shown as anything but a dot |publisher= Mapzone.ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=24 February 2012}}</ref> Connected to [[Continental Europe|mainland Europe]] until 9,000 years ago by a [[landbridge]] now known as [[Doggerland]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nora McGreevy |title=Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-islands-survived-tsunami-almost-separated-britain-europe-study-finds-180976430/ |website=smithsonianmag.com |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=25 April 2022}}</ref> Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about {{nowrap|61 million}}, making it the world's [[List of islands by population|third-most-populous island]] after [[Java]] in Indonesia and [[Honshu]] in [[Japan]],<ref name="ons">{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pop0610.pdf |title=Population Estimates |date=24 June 2010 |work=National Statistics Online |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=24 September 2010 |location=Newport, Wales |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114024259/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/pop0610.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2010 }}</ref><ref>See [http://www.geohive.com/cntry/ Geohive.com Country data] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120921074436/http://www.geohive.com/cntry/ |date=21 September 2012 }}; [http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/kokusei/2000/final/hyodai.htm Japan Census of 2000]; [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ United Kingdom Census of 2001]. The editors of [[List of islands by population]] appear to have used similar data from the relevant statistics bureaux and totalled up the various administrative districts that make up each island, and then done the same for less populous islands. An editor of this article has not repeated that work. Therefore this plausible and eminently reasonable ranking is posted as unsourced [[Wikipedia:Common knowledge|common knowledge]].</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37058920 |title=Who, What, Why: Why is it Team GB, not Team UK? |work=BBC News |date=14 August 2016|access-date=6 August 2018}}</ref> This territory and [[Northern Ireland]] constitute the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Oliver2003">{{cite book|first=Clare|last=Oliver|title=Great Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VZUBixBVBxAC&pg=PA4|year=2003|publisher=Black Rabbit Books|isbn=978-1-58340-204-7|page=4}}</ref> The single [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] resulted from the 1707 [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] between the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]] (which at the time incorporated Wales) and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]]. ==Terminology== {{See also|Terminology of the British Isles}} ===Toponymy=== {{Main|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.<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Rahilly| 1946}}</ref> However, with the [[Roman conquest of Britain]], the Latin term ''[[Britannia]]'' was used for the island of Great Britain, and later [[Roman Britain|Roman-occupied Britain]] south of [[Caledonia]].<ref>[[s:Commentaries on the Gallic War/Book 4#20|4.20]] provides a translation describing Caesar's first invasion, using terms which from [[s:la:Commentarii de bello Gallico/Liber IV|IV.XX]] appear in [[Latin]] as arriving in "Britannia", the inhabitants being "Britanni", and on p30 "principes Britanniae" (i.e., "chiefs of Britannia") is translated as "chiefs of Britain".</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Cunliffe|2002|pp=94–95}}</ref><ref name="sax1">{{cite web | title = Anglo-Saxons | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/ | work = BBC News | access-date = 5 September 2009}}</ref> The earliest known name for Great Britain is ''[[Albion]]'' ({{lang-el|Ἀλβιών}}) or ''insula Albionum'', from either the Latin ''albus'' meaning "white" (possibly referring to the [[white cliffs of Dover]], the first view of Britain from the continent) or the "island of the ''Albiones''".<ref name="snyder">{{Cite book | last = Snyder | first = Christopher A. | title = The Britons | publisher = [[Blackwell Publishing]] | year = 2003 | page = [https://archive.org/details/britons00snyd/page/12 12] | isbn = 978-0-631-22260-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/britons00snyd/page/12 }}</ref> The oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BC), or possibly by [[Pseudo-Aristotle]], in his text ''[[On the Universe]]'', Vol. III. To quote his works, "There are two very large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and [[Ierne (placename)|Ierne]]".<ref>"... ἐν τούτῳ γε μὴν νῆσοι μέγιστοι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι δύο, Βρεττανικαὶ λεγόμεναι, Ἀλβίων καὶ Ἰέρνη, ...", transliteration "... en toutôi ge mên nêsoi megistoi tynchanousin ousai dyo, Brettanikai legomenai, Albiôn kai Iernê, ...", ''Aristotle: On Sophistical Refutations. On Coming-to-be and Passing Away. On the Cosmos.'', 393b, pages 360–361, Loeb Classical Library No. 400, London William Heinemann LTD, Cambridge, Massachusetts University Press MCMLV</ref> [[Image:Pythéas.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ancient Greece|Greek]] geographer, [[Pytheas of Massalia]]]] The first known written use of the word Britain was an [[ancient Greek]] [[transliteration]] of the original Proto-Celtic term in a work on the travels and discoveries of Pytheas that has not survived. The earliest existing records of the word are quotations of the periplus by later authors, such as those within Strabo's ''[[Geographica]]'', Pliny's ''[[Naturalis Historia|Natural History]]'' and Diodorus of Sicily's ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]''.<ref>Book I.4.2–4, Book II.3.5, Book III.2.11 and 4.4, Book IV.2.1, Book IV.4.1, Book IV.5.5, Book VII.3.1</ref> [[Pliny the Elder]] (AD 23–79) in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|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.'"<ref name="PlinyE(4.41)">Pliny the Elder's ''Naturalis Historia'' Book IV. Chapter XLI [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Plin.+Nat.+4.41&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0138 Latin text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D30 English translation], numbered Book 4, Chapter 30, at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref> The name ''Britain'' descends from the Latin name for Britain, ''Britannia'' or ''Brittānia'', the land of the Britons.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why is Britain Called Britain? |url=https://www.these-islands.co.uk/publications/i281/why_is_britain_called_britain.aspx |access-date=25 August 2023 |website=www.these-islands.co.uk}}</ref> [[Old French]] ''Bretaigne'' (whence also [[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, ''[[Priteni]]'' or ''Pretani''.<ref name=snyder/> ''Priteni'' is the source of the [[Welsh language]] term [[Prydain]], ''Britain'', which has the same source as the [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] term [[Cruithne (people)|Cruithne]] used to refer to the early [[Brythonic languages|Brythonic]]-speaking inhabitants of Ireland.<ref>{{Cite book | editor-last = Foster | editor-first = R F | first1 = Donnchadh, Professor of Irish History at University College Cork | last1 = O Corrain | chapter = Chapter 1: ''Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland'' | title = The Oxford History of Ireland | publisher = Oxford University Press | date = 1 November 2001 | isbn = 978-0-19-280202-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryofi00rffo }}</ref> The latter were later called [[Picts]] or [[Caledonians]] by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. Greek historians [[Diodorus of Sicily]] and [[Strabo]] preserved variants of ''Prettanike'' from the work of Greek explorer [[Pytheas]] of [[Marseille|Massalia]], who travelled from his home in [[Hellenistic]] southern [[Gaul]] to Britain in the 4th century BC. The term used by Pytheas may derive from a Celtic word meaning "the painted ones" or "the tattooed folk" in reference to [[woad|body decorations]].<ref>Cunliffe, Barry (2012). ''Britain Begins.'' Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 4, {{ISBN|978-0-19-967945-4}}.</ref> According to Strabo, Pytheas referred to Britain as ''Bretannikē'', which is treated a feminine noun.<ref name=LSJBrettanike>{{LSJ|*bretaniko/s|Βρεττανική|ref}}</ref><ref name=Strabo(1.4.2)>Strabo's ''Geography'' Book I. Chapter IV. Section 2 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D2 Greek text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D2 English translation] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref><ref name=Strabo(4.2.1)>Strabo's ''Geography'' Book IV. Chapter II. Section 1 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 Greek text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D1 English translation] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref><ref name=Strabo(4.4.1)>Strabo's ''Geography'' Book IV. Chapter IV. Section 1 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D1 Greek text] and [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D4%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D1 English translation] at the [[Perseus Project]].</ref> [[Marcian of Heraclea]], in his ''Periplus maris exteri'', described the island group as {{lang|grc|αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι}} (the Prettanic Isles).<ref name=MarcianPeriplus>{{cite book|title=Geographi Graeci Minores|volume= 1|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/geographigraeci03mlgoog#page/n680/mode/2up|author1=[[Marcian of Heraclea|Marcianus Heracleensis]]|last2=Müller|first2=Karl Otfried|author-link2=Karl Otfried Müller|chapter=Periplus Maris Exteri, Liber Prior, Prooemium| pages=516–517|editor1-last=Firmin Didot|editor1-first=Ambrosio|location=Paris|year=1855|publisher= editore Firmin Didot|display-authors=etal}} Greek text and Latin Translation thereof archived at the [[Internet Archive]].</ref> ===Derivation of ''Great''=== [[File:Ptolemy-british-isles.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite journal |first=James J. |last=Tierney |title=Ptolemy's Map of Scotland |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=79 |year=1959 |pages=132–148 |doi=10.2307/627926 |jstor=627926|s2cid=163631018 }}</ref> Whether he did so is a much debated issue. This "copy" appears in blue below.]] The [[Greeks in Egypt|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).<ref>{{cite book|title=Claudii Ptolemaei Opera quae exstant omnia|first=Claudius|last=Ptolemy|author-link=Ptolemy|editor1-last=Heiberg|editor1-first=J.L.|publisher=in aedibus B. G. Teubneri|location=Leipzig|year=1898|volume=1 Syntaxis Mathematica|chapter-url=http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/HeibergAlmagestComplete.pdf|pages=112–113|chapter=Ἕκθεσις τῶν κατὰ παράλληλον ἰδιωμάτων: κβ', κε'}}</ref> In his later work, ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'' ({{Circa|150 AD}}), he gave the islands the names ''[[Albion|Alwion]]'', ''[[Hibernia|Iwernia]]'', and ''Mona'' (the [[Isle of Man]]),<ref>{{cite book|title=Claudii Ptolemaei Geographia|first=Claudius|last=Ptolemy|author-link=Ptolemy|editor1-last=Nobbe|editor1-first=Carolus Fridericus Augustus|publisher=sumptibus et typis Caroli Tauchnitii |location=Leipzig|year=1843|volume=1|chapter-url=http://www.wilbourhall.org/pdfs/ptolemy/Claudii_Ptolemaei_GeographiaVOL_I.pdf|pages=59, 67|chapter=Book II, Prooemium and chapter β', paragraph 12}}</ref> suggesting these may have been the names of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writing ''Almagest''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Freeman |first=Philip |title=Ireland and the classical world |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=2001 |location=Austin, Texas |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSHhfOM-5AEC&pg=PA65 |isbn=978-0-292-72518-8 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="snyder" /> After the Anglo-Saxon period, ''Britain'' was used as a historical term only. [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in his [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorical]] {{Lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} ({{Circa|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 [[Brittany]] and had been settled in the fifth and sixth centuries by [[Celtic Briton]] migrants from Great Britain.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} The term ''Great Britain'' was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage between [[Cecily of York|Cecily]], daughter of [[Edward IV of England]], and [[James IV of Scotland|James]], son of [[James III of Scotland]], which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee". The Scottish philosopher and historian, [[John Major (philosopher)|John Major]] (Mair), published his 'History of Great Britain, both England and Scotland' (''Historia majoris Britanniae, tam Angliae quam Scotiae'') in 1521. While promoting a possible royal match in 1548, [[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".<ref>Nicholls, Andrew D., [https://books.google.com/books?id=r5gEbF0yyLMC ''The Jacobean Union: A Reconsideration of British Civil Policies Under the Early Stuarts'', 1999. p. 5.]</ref> ===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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=UK 2005: The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|place=London|publisher=Office for National Statistics|pages=vii|date= 29 November 2004|isbn = 978-0-11-621738-7|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/social-trends-rd/the-official-yearbook-of-the-united-kingdom/2005-edition/index.html|access-date=27 May 2012}}</ref> 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."<ref name=oed>{{citation|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Great-Britain?q=Great+Britain|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004223902/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/Great-Britain?q=Great+Britain|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 October 2013|title=Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|quote=Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom.<br />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.}}</ref><ref name=brock>{{citation|first=Colin|last=Brock|title=Geography of Education: Scale, Space and Location in the Study of Education|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|date=2018|quote=The political territory of Northern Ireland is not part of Britain, but is part of the nation 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' (UK). Great Britain comprises England, Scotland and Wales.}}</ref> Similarly, ''[[Britain (disambiguation)|Britain]]'' can refer to either all islands in Great Britain, the largest island, or the political grouping of countries.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Oxford English Dictionary|quote=Britain:/ˈbrɪt(ə)n/ the island containing England, Wales, and Scotland. The name is broadly synonymous with Great Britain, but the longer form is more usual for the political unit.|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Britain|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722120139/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Britain|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 July 2011|title=Britain}}</ref> There is no clear distinction, even in government documents: the UK government yearbooks have used both ''Britain''<ref>{{Cite book|title=Britain 2001:The Official Yearbook of the United Kingdom, 2001 |place=London |publisher=Office for National Statistics |pages=vii |date=August 2000 |isbn=978-0-11-621278-8 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/britain2001.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313045848/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/britain2001.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2011 }}</ref> and ''United Kingdom''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=UK 2002: The Official Yearbook of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |place=London |publisher=Office for National Statistics |pages=vi |date=August 2001 |isbn=978-0-11-621738-7 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/UK2005/UK2005.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322170244/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/UK2005/UK2005.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2007 }}</ref> ''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:GB|ISO 3166-2]] and [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3]], whilst the [[List of aircraft registration prefixes|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, ''[[Team GB]]'' is used by the [[British Olympic Association]] to represent the [[Great Britain at the Olympics|British Olympic team]]. The [[Olympic Council of Ireland|Olympic Federation of Ireland]] represents the whole [[Ireland|island of Ireland]], and Northern Irish sportspeople may choose to compete for either team,<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/2004/oct/21/olympic-games-participation HL Deb 21 October 2004 vol 665 c99WA] Hansard</ref> most choosing to represent Ireland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19019557|title=Who's who? Meet Northern Ireland's Olympic hopefuls in Team GB and Team IRE|website=[[BBC Online|www.BBC.co.uk]]|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=28 July 2012}}</ref> ===Political definition=== [[File:England, Scotland and Wales within the UK and Europe.svg|thumb|alt=|<div style="font-size:11px; text-align: center;">Political definition of Great Britain (<small>dark green</small>)</div><div style="font-size:11px"> – in [[Europe]] (<small>green & dark grey</small>)</div><div style="font-size:11px"> – in the [[United Kingdom]] (<small>green</small>)</div>]] Politically, ''Great Britain'' refers to the whole of [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]] in combination,<ref name="Key facts about the United Kingdom">{{cite web|title=Key facts about the United Kingdom |publisher=Direct.gov.uk |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 |access-date=11 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081115150128/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 |archive-date=15 November 2008 }}</ref> 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]].<ref name="Key facts about the United Kingdom"/><ref>{{Cite book| last = Ademuni-Odeke | title = Bareboat Charter (ship) Registration | publisher = Martinus Nijhoff Publishers | year = 1998 | page = 367 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=rvIWmznNEGYC&q=great+britain+political+definition+isle+of+man&pg=PA367 | isbn = 978-90-411-0513-4}}</ref> The political union that joined the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] happened in 1707 when the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] ratified the 1706 [[Treaty of Union]] and merged the parliaments of the two nations, forming the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], which covered the entire island. Before this, a [[personal union]] had existed between these two countries since the 1603 [[Union of the Crowns]] under [[James VI of Scotland and I of England]].{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} ==History== ===Prehistoric period=== {{Main|Prehistoric Britain}} Great Britain was probably first inhabited by those who crossed on the [[land bridge]] from the [[European mainland]]. [[Happisburgh footprints|Human footprints]] have been found from over 800,000 years ago in [[Norfolk]]<ref name="bbc-2014-02-07">{{cite news|last=Ghosh|first=Pallab|author-link=Pallab Ghosh |title=Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26025763|work=BBC News|access-date=7 February 2014|date=7 February 2014}}</ref> and traces of [[early humans]] have been found (at [[Boxgrove Quarry]], Sussex) from some 500,000 years ago<ref>{{Cite book|last= Gräslund| first= Bo| title = Early humans and their world|url= https://archive.org/details/earlyhumanstheir00grsl_719|url-access= limited|publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=2005|page=[https://archive.org/details/earlyhumanstheir00grsl_719/page/n70 62]|chapter=Traces of the early humans | isbn=978-0-415-35344-1}}</ref> and [[modern humans]] from about 30,000 years ago. Until about 16,000 years ago, it was connected to [[Ireland]] by only an [[ice bridge]], prior to 9,000 years ago it retained a land connection to the continent, with [[Doggerland|an area of mostly low marshland]] joining it to what are now [[Denmark]] and the [[Netherlands]].<ref name=drowning>Edwards, Robin & al. "[http://www.tara.tcd.ie/bitstream/2262/40560/1/Edwards%26Brooks_INJ08_TARA.pdf The Island of Ireland: Drowning the Myth of an Irish Land-bridge?]" Accessed 15 February 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nora McGreevy |title=Study Rewrites History of Ancient Land Bridge Between Britain and Europe |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tiny-islands-survived-tsunami-almost-separated-britain-europe-study-finds-180976430/ |website=smithsonianmag.com |publisher=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=31 March 2022}}</ref> In [[Cheddar Gorge]], near [[Bristol]], the remains of animal species native to mainland Europe such as [[antelope]]s, [[brown bear]]s, and [[wild horse]]s have been found alongside a human skeleton, '[[Cheddar Man]]', dated to about 7150 BC.<ref>Lacey, Robert. ''Great Tales from English History''. New York: Little, Brown & Co, 2004. {{ISBN|0-316-10910-X}}.</ref> Great Britain became an island at the end of the [[last glacial period]] when sea levels rose due to the combination of melting [[glacier]]s and the subsequent [[isostatic rebound]] of the crust. Great Britain's [[Iron Age]] inhabitants are known as [[Britons (historic)|Britons]]; they spoke [[Celtic languages]]. ===Roman and medieval period=== {{Main|Roman Britain|Medieval England|Medieval Scotland|Medieval Wales}} [[File:Prima Europe tabula.jpg|thumb|alt=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 [[Hadrian's Wall]] in northern England) and this became the [[Ancient Rome|Ancient Roman]] province of ''[[Roman Britain|Britannia]]''. In the course of the 500 years after the Roman Empire fell, the Britons of the south and east of the island were assimilated or displaced by [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|invading]] [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribes ([[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Saxons]], and [[Jutes]], often referred to collectively as [[Anglo-Saxons]]). At about the same time, [[Gaelic Ireland|Gaelic]] tribes from Ireland invaded the north-west, absorbing both the [[Picts]] and [[Britons (historical)|Britons]] of northern Britain, eventually forming the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. The south-east of Scotland was colonised by the Angles and formed, until 1018, a part of the [[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 [[Wallace (surname)|Wallace]] and in the second syllable of [[Cornwall]]. ''[[Cymry]]'', a name the Britons used to describe themselves, is similarly restricted in modern Welsh to people from Wales, but also survives in English in the place name of [[Cumbria]]. The Britons living in the areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall were not assimilated by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in the [[Celtic language-death in England|survival of Celtic languages]] in these areas into more recent times.<ref name="Ellis1974">{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=Peter Berresford| author-link = Peter Berresford Ellis|title=The Cornish language and its literature|year=1974|publisher= Routledge & Kegan Paul | location=London|isbn=978-0-7100-7928-2|page=20}}</ref> At the time of the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Germanic invasion of southern Britain]], many Britons emigrated to the area now known as [[Brittany]], where [[Breton language|Breton]], a Celtic language closely related to Welsh and [[Cornish language|Cornish]] and descended from the language of the emigrants, is still spoken. In the 9th century, a series of Danish assaults on northern English kingdoms led to them coming under Danish control (an area known as the [[Danelaw]]). In the 10th century, however, all the English kingdoms were unified under one ruler as the kingdom of England when the last constituent kingdom, Northumbria, submitted to [[Edgar I|Edgar]] in 959. In 1066, England was [[Norman Conquest|conquered by the Normans]], who introduced a [[Norman language|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|Early modern Britain}} {{Further|History of the United Kingdom}} On 20 October 1604 [[James VI and I|King James]], who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of England and Scotland, proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittaine, [[France]], and Ireland".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archontology.org/nations/uk/england/king_england/01_kingstyle_1604.php |title=England/Great Britain: Royal Styles: 1604-1707 |publisher=Archontology.org |date=13 March 2010 |access-date=27 April 2013}}</ref> When James died in 1625 and the [[Privy Council of England]] was drafting the proclamation of the new king, Charles I, a Scottish peer, [[Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie]], succeeded in insisting that it use the phrase "King of Great Britain", which James had preferred, rather than King of Scotland and England (or vice versa).<ref>HMC 60, ''Manuscripts of the Earl of Mar and Kellie'', vol.2 (1930), p. 226</ref> While that title was also used by some of James's successors, England and Scotland each remained legally separate countries, each with its own parliament, until 1707, when each parliament passed an [[Act of Union 1707|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|Geography of England|Geography of Scotland|Geography of Wales}} {{See also|Geography of the United Kingdom}} [[File:France manche vue dover.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.35|View of Britain's coast from [[Cap Gris-Nez]] in northern France]] Great Britain lies on the European continental shelf, part of the [[Eurasian Plate]] and off the north-west coast of [[continental Europe]], separated from this European mainland by the [[North Sea]] and by the [[English Channel]], which narrows to {{convert|34|km|nmi mi|abbr=on}} at the [[Straits of Dover]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eosnap.com/?tag=strait-of-dover |title=accessed 14 November 2009 |publisher=Eosnap.com |access-date=24 February 2012 |archive-date=30 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530092024/http://www.eosnap.com/tag/strait-of-dover/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It stretches over about ten degrees of [[latitude]] on its longer, north–south axis and covers {{convert|209,331|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, excluding the much smaller surrounding islands.<ref name="unep">United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Island Directory Tables "Islands By Land Area". Retrieved from http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220003634/http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm |date=20 February 2018 }} on 13 August 2009</ref> The [[North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)|North Channel]], [[Irish Sea]], [[St George's Channel]] and [[Celtic Sea]] separate the island from the island of [[Ireland]] to its west.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition + corrections|year=1971|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|access-date=28 December 2020|page=42 [corrections to page 13]}}</ref> The island is since 1993 joined, via one structure, with continental Europe: the [[Channel Tunnel]], the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world. The island is marked by low, rolling countryside in the east and south, while hills and mountains predominate in the western and northern regions. It is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller [[islands]] and [[islets]]. The greatest distance between two points is {{convert|601+1/2|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} (between [[Land's End]], [[Cornwall]] and [[John o' Groats]], [[Caithness]]), {{convert|838|mi}} by road. The [[English Channel]] is thought to have been created between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago by two catastrophic [[glacial lake outburst flood]]s caused by the breaching of the [[Weald-Artois Anticline]], a ridge that held back a large [[proglacial lake]], now submerged under the North Sea.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gupta |first1=Sanjeev |first2=Jenny S. |last2=Collier |first3=Andy |last3=Palmer-Felgate |first4=Graeme |last4=Potter |year=2007 |title=Catastrophic flooding origin of shelf valley systems in the English Channel |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=448 |issue=7151 |pages=342–5 |doi=10.1038/nature06018 |pmid=17637667 |bibcode=2007Natur.448..342G|s2cid=4408290}} *{{cite news |author=Dave Mosher |date=18 July 2007 |title=Why the rift between Britain and France? |work=[[NBC News]] |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19833064}}</ref> Around 10,000 years ago, during the [[Last glacial period#Named local glaciations|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 {{convert|120|m}} 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.<ref name=gaffney>{{cite web|url=http://livebettermagazine.com/eng/magazine/pdf_docs/2008_01/Global_Warming_Gaffney.pdf |title=Vincent Gaffney, "Global Warming and the Lost European Country" |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310094351/http://livebettermagazine.com/eng/magazine/pdf_docs/2008_01/Global_Warming_Gaffney.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2012 }}</ref> ===Geology=== {{Main|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 [[Geological structure of Great Britain|its geological structure]] with major faulting and folding being a legacy of each [[orogeny]] (mountain-building period), often associated with [[volcanism|volcanic]] activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As a result of this eventful geological history, the island shows a rich variety of [[landscape]]s. The oldest rocks in Great Britain are the [[Lewisian gneiss]]es, 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 {{Abbreviation|My|million years}} ago. South of the gneisses are a complex mixture of rocks forming the North West [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]] and [[Grampian]] Highlands in Scotland. These are essentially the remains of folded [[sedimentary rock]]s 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 [[glacial rebound|as a result of]] the weight of Devensian ice being lifted. Counterbalanced, the south and east is sinking, generally estimated at 1 mm ({{frac|1|25}} inch) per year, with the London area sinking at double this partly due to the continuing [[Compaction (geology)|compaction]] of the recent clay deposits. ===Fauna=== {{Main|Fauna of Great Britain}} [[File:Robin, Leighton Moss January 2009.jpg|right|thumb|alt=European robin on a branch facing left, tan plumage with orange face and throat|The [[European robin|robin]] is popularly known as "Britain's favourite bird".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Robin – Britain's Favourite Bird|url=http://www.britishbirdlovers.co.uk/articles/the-robin-britains-favourite-bird.html|publisher=BritishBirdLovers.co.uk|access-date=15 August 2011}}</ref>]] Animal [[Biodiversity|diversity]] is modest, as a result of factors including the island's small land area, the relatively recent age of the habitats developed since the [[last glacial period]] and the island's physical separation from [[continental Europe]], and the effects of seasonal variability.<ref>{{cite web|title=Decaying Wood: An Overview of Its Status and Ecology in the United Kingdom and Europe|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/gtr-181/004_Butler.pdf|publisher=FS.fed.us|access-date=15 August 2011}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> Great Britain also experienced early [[industrialisation]] and is subject to continuing [[urbanisation]], which have contributed towards the overall loss of species.<ref name="animals">{{cite web|title=A Short History of the British Mammal Fauna |url=http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/history.shtml |publisher=ABDN.ac.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060211110344/http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/history.shtml |archive-date=11 February 2006 |url-status=dead }} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> A [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|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]].<!--<ref>[[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|DEFRA]], 2006</ref> False reference.--> However, some species, such as the [[brown rat]], [[red fox]], and introduced [[eastern gray squirrel|grey squirrel]], are well adapted to urban areas. [[Rodents]] make up 40% of the [[List of mammals of Great Britain|mammal species]].{{Citation needed|reason=data source?|date=January 2017}} These include [[squirrel]]s, [[mice]], [[vole]]s, [[rat]]s and the recently reintroduced [[European beaver]].<ref name="animals" /> There is also an abundance of [[European rabbit]], [[European hare]], [[shrews]], [[European mole]] and several species of [[bat]].<ref name="animals" /> Carnivorous mammals include the [[red fox]], [[Eurasian badger]], [[Eurasian otter]], [[weasel]], [[stoat]] and elusive [[Scottish wildcat]].<ref name="else">Else, ''Great Britain'', 85.</ref> Various species of [[pinniped|seal]], [[whale]] and [[dolphin]] are found on or around British shores and coastlines. The largest land-based wild animals today are [[deer]]. The [[red deer]] is the largest species, with [[roe deer]] and [[fallow deer]] also prominent; the latter was introduced by the [[Normans]].<ref name="else" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php |title=The Fallow Deer Project, University of Nottingham |publisher=Nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315225356/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/archaeology/research/plants_fallow.php |archive-date=15 March 2008 }}</ref> [[Sika deer]] and two more species of smaller deer, [[muntjac]] and [[Chinese water deer]], have been introduced, muntjac becoming widespread in England and parts of Wales while Chinese water deer are restricted mainly to East Anglia. Habitat loss has affected many species. [[List of extinct animals of Britain|Extinct large mammals]] include the [[brown bear]], [[grey wolf]] and [[wild boar]]; the latter has had a limited reintroduction in recent times.<ref name="animals" /> There is a wealth of [[List of birds of Great Britain|birdlife]], with 628 species recorded,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McInerny |first1=Christopher |title=The British List: A Checklist of Birds of Britain (10th edition) |journal=Ibis |year=2022 |volume=164 |issue=3 |pages=860–910 |publisher=British Ornithologist's Union|doi=10.1111/ibi.13065 |doi-access=free }}</ref> of which 258 breed on the island or remain during winter.<ref>{{cite web|title= Birds of Britain|date= 16 July 2010 |url= http://www.bto.org/birdfacts/ |publisher=BTO.org}} Retrieved on 16 February 2009.</ref> Because of its mild winters for its latitude, Great Britain hosts important numbers of many wintering species, particularly [[wader]]s, [[duck]]s, [[goose|geese]] and [[swan]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balmer |first1=Dawn |title=Bird Atlas 2007-2011: The Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland. |date=2013 |publisher=BTO Books |location=Thetford}}</ref> Other well known bird species include the [[golden eagle]], [[grey heron]], [[common kingfisher]], [[common wood pigeon]], [[house sparrow]], [[European robin]], [[grey partridge]], and various species of [[crow]], [[finch]], [[gull]], [[auk]], [[grouse]], [[owl]] and [[falcon]].<ref name="birds">{{cite web|title=Birds |url=http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/birdindex.html |publisher=NatureGrid.org.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630083140/http://www.naturegrid.org.uk/biodiversity/birdindex.html |archive-date=30 June 2009 }} Retrieved on 16 February 2009.</ref> There are six species of [[List of reptiles of Great Britain|reptile]] on the island; three [[snakes]] and three [[lizards]] including the legless [[slowworm]]. One snake, the [[Vipera berus|adder]], is venomous but rarely deadly.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Adder's Byte|url=http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/the1.htm|publisher=CountySideInfo.co.uk}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> [[List of amphibians of Great Britain|Amphibians]] present are [[common frog|frogs]], [[common toad|toads]] and [[Smooth newt|newts]].<ref name="animals" /> There are also several introduced species of reptile and amphibian.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/identification.asp|title = Species Identification|website = Reptiles & Amphibians of the UK}}</ref> ===Flora=== {{See also|List of the vascular plants of Britain and Ireland}} [[File:Heather (Highlands).jpg|right|thumb|alt=purple heather in meadow showing flower spikes|[[Calluna vulgaris|Heather]] growing wild in the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]] at [[Dornoch]]]] In a similar sense to fauna, and for similar reasons, the flora consists of fewer species compared to much larger continental Europe.<ref name="floraa">{{cite web|title=Plants of the Pacific Northwest in Western Europe|url=http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben195.html|publisher=Botanical Electric News}} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref> The flora comprises 3,354 [[vascular plant]] species, of which 2,297 are native and 1,057 have been introduced.<ref name="frodin">Frodin, ''Guide to Standard Floras of the World'', 599.</ref> The island has a wide variety of [[trees of Britain and Ireland|trees]], including native species of [[birch]], [[beech]], [[fraxinus|ash]], [[Crataegus|hawthorn]], [[elm]], [[oak]], [[Common yew|yew]], [[pine]], [[cherry tree|cherry]] and [[apple tree|apple]].<ref name="tree">{{cite web|title=Checklist of British Plants|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/plants-fungi/postcode-plants/checklist-british-plants.html|publisher=Natural History Museum}} Retrieved on 2 March 2009.</ref> Other trees have been naturalised, introduced especially from other parts of Europe (particularly Norway) and North America. Introduced trees include several varieties of pine, [[Sweet chestnut|chestnut]], [[Acer platanoides|maple]], [[Norway spruce|spruce]], [[Acer pseudoplatanus|sycamore]] and [[fir]], as well as [[Prunus cerasifera|cherry plum]] and [[European Pear|pear trees]].<ref name="tree" /> The tallest species are the [[Douglas fir]]s; two specimens have been recorded measuring 65 metres or 212 feet.<ref>{{cite web|title=Facts About Britain's Trees |url=http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_about_britains_trees |publisher=WildAboutBritain.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429191609/http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_about_britains_trees |archive-date=29 April 2009 |url-status=dead }} Retrieved on 2 March 2009.</ref> The [[Fortingall Yew]] in [[Perthshire]] is the oldest tree in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Fortingall Yew | date=27 June 2016 |url=http://www.perthshirebigtreecountry.co.uk/index.asp?pg=26|publisher=PerthshireBigTreeCountry.co.uk}} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref> There are at least 1,500 different species of [[wildflower]].<ref name="flowepow">{{cite web|title=Facts and Figures about Wildflowers |url=http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_and_figures_about_wildflowers |publisher=WildAboutFlowers.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226093303/http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_and_figures_about_wildflowers |archive-date=26 February 2008 |url-status=dead }} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref> 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.<ref name="flowepow" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Endangered British Wild Flowers|url=http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/hort/edgrflwr.htm|publisher=CountryLovers.co.uk|access-date=23 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081016231754/http://www.countrylovers.co.uk/hort/edgrflwr.htm|archive-date=16 October 2008|url-status=dead}} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref> A vote in 2002 nominated various wildflowers to represent specific counties.<ref>{{cite web|title=County Flowers of Great Britain |url=http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/county_flowers_great_britain |publisher=WildAboutFlowers.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427194140/http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/county_flowers_great_britain |archive-date=27 April 2009 |url-status=dead }} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref> These include [[Common poppy|red poppies]], [[Common bluebell|bluebells]], [[Bellis perennis|daisies]], [[Narcissus (genus)|daffodils]], [[Bog rosemary|rosemary]], [[gorse]], [[iris (plant)|iris]], [[ivy]], [[Mentha|mint]], [[orchid]]s, [[bramble]]s, [[thistle]]s, [[buttercup]]s, [[primula vulgaris|primrose]], [[thyme]], [[tulips]], [[viola (plant)|violets]], [[Primula veris|cowslip]], [[Calluna vulgaris|heather]] and many more.<ref name="flora">{{cite web|title=People and Plants: Mapping the UK's wild flora |url=http://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/assets/saving-species/saving-species-publications/People-and-plants-mapping-the-UKs-flora.pdf |publisher=PlantLife.org.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107065620/http://www.plantlife.org.uk//uk/assets/saving-species/saving-species-publications/People-and-plants-mapping-the-UKs-flora.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2007 }} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=British Wildflower Images|url=http://www.map-reading.co.uk/wildflowers/|publisher=Map-Reading.co.uk|access-date=23 August 2009|archive-date=28 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428135945/http://www.map-reading.co.uk/wildflowers/|url-status=dead}} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=List of British Wildlfowers by Common Name |url=http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/wildflower/common-names |publisher=WildAboutBritain.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429191609/http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/facts_about_britains_trees |archive-date=29 April 2009 |url-status=dead }} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=British Plants and algae|url=http://www.arkive.org/british-species/plants-and-algae/|publisher=Arkive.org|access-date=23 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090812214546/http://www.arkive.org/british-species/plants-and-algae/|archive-date=12 August 2009|url-status=dead}} Retrieved on 23 February 2009.</ref> <br />There is also more than 1000 species of [[bryophyte]] including [[algae]] and [[mosses]] across the island. The currently known species include 767 mosses, 298 [[liverworts]] and 4 [[hornwort]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 June 2022 |title=New atlas reveals spread of British bryophytes in response to cleaner air |url=https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/new-atlas-reveals-spread-british-bryophytes-response-cleaner-air#:~:text=The%20British%20Isles%20support%20a,and%20767%20mosses)%20currently%20known. |access-date=18 June 2022 |website=[[UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology]]}}</ref> ===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.<ref name="legon & henrici">Legon & Henrici, ''Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota''</ref> The most recent checklist of Ascomycota (cup fungi and their allies, including most lichen-forming fungi), published in 1985, accepts another 5100 species.<ref name="cannon, hawskworth & sherwood-pike">Cannon, Hawksworth & Sherwood-Pike, ''The British Ascomycotina. An Annotated Checklist''</ref> These two lists did not include [[conidium|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|Demographics of the United Kingdom}} ===Settlements=== [[London]] is the capital of [[England]] and the [[United Kingdom]] as a whole, and is the seat of the [[Government of the United Kingdom|United Kingdom's government]]. [[Edinburgh]] is the capital city of [[Scotland]], and is the seat of the [[Scottish Government]] as well as the [[Courts of Scotland|highest courts in Scotland]]. The [[Palace of Holyroodhouse]] in Edinburgh is the [[official residence]] of the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|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}} {|class="wikitable sortable" !Rank !City-region !Built-up area<ref name="BUA">{{cite web | url=http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/747.aspx|title=2011 Census - Built-up areas| publisher=[[Office for National Statistics|ONS]] | access-date=12 July 2015}}</ref> !Population<br />(2011 Census) !Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>) !Density<br />(people/km<sup>2</sup>) |- !1 |[[London]] |[[Greater London Urban Area|Greater London]] |9,787,426 |1,737.9 |5,630 |- !2 |[[Manchester]]–[[Salford]] |[[Greater Manchester Urban Area|Greater Manchester]] |2,553,379 |630.3 |4,051 |- !3 |[[Birmingham]]–[[Wolverhampton]] |[[West Midlands Urban Area|West Midlands]] |2,440,986 |598.9 |4,076 |- !4 |[[Leeds]]–[[Bradford]] |[[West Yorkshire Urban Area|West Yorkshire]] |1,777,934 |487.8 |3,645 |- !5 |[[Glasgow]] |[[Greater Glasgow]] |1,209,143 |368.5 |3,390 |- !6 |[[Liverpool]] |[[Liverpool Urban Area|Liverpool]] |864,122 |199.6 |4,329 |- !7 |[[Southampton]]–[[Portsmouth]] |[[South Hampshire]] |855,569 |192.0 |4,455 |- !8 |[[Newcastle upon Tyne]]–[[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] |[[Tyneside]] |774,891 |180.5 |4,292 |- !9 |[[Nottingham]] |[[Nottingham Urban Area|Nottingham]] |729,977 |176.4 |4,139 |- !10 |[[Sheffield]] |[[Sheffield Urban Area|Sheffield]] |685,368 |167.5 |4,092 |} ===Language=== {{Further|Languages of England|Languages of Scotland|Languages of Wales}} {{See also|Languages of the United Kingdom}} In the Late Bronze Age, Britain was part of a culture called the [[Atlantic Bronze Age]], held together by maritime trading, which also included Ireland, France, Spain and Portugal. In contrast to the generally accepted view<ref name=Eska2013>{{cite journal|last1=Eska|first1=Joseph F.|title=Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2013.12.35|url=http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2013/2013-12-35.html|journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review|access-date=2 September 2014|date=December 2013}}</ref> that [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] originated in the context of the [[Hallstatt culture]], since 2009, [[John T. Koch]] and others have proposed that the origins of the Celtic languages are to be sought in Bronze Age Western Europe, especially the Iberian Peninsula.<ref>[http://www.aber.ac.uk/aberonline/en/archive/2008/05/au7608/ Aberystwyth University - News]. Aber.ac.uk. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.</ref><ref name=Koch>{{cite web| url= http://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Research/ODonnell.pdf| work =O'Donnell Lecture | year = 2008 | title = Appendix | access-date = 15 August 2011}}</ref><ref name= Koch2009>{{Cite journal| last = Koch | first = John | title = Tartessian: Celtic from the Southwest at the Dawn of History in Acta Palaeohispanica X Palaeohispanica 9 | journal = Palaeohispánica: Revista Sobre Lenguas y Culturas de la Hispania Antigua | publisher = Palaeohispanica | year = 2009 | pages = 339–51 | url = http://ifc.dpz.es/recursos/publicaciones/29/54/26koch.pdf | issn = 1578-5386 | access-date = 17 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=2146413465|title=New research suggests Welsh Celtic roots lie in Spain and Portugal|last=Koch|first=John|access-date=10 May 2010}}</ref> Koch et al.'s proposal has failed to find wide acceptance among experts on the Celtic languages.<ref name=Eska2013/> 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 [[Proto-Celtic]] or early [[Insular Celtic]] by the 6th century AD.<ref>{{cite book| title=An Atlas for Celtic Studies| first=John T.| last=Koch| publisher=Oxbow Books| location=Oxford| year=2007| isbn=978-1-84217-309-1}}</ref> Brythonic languages were probably spoken before the Roman invasion at least in the majority of Great Britain south of the rivers [[River Forth|Forth]] and [[River Clyde|Clyde]], though the [[Isle of Man]] later had a Goidelic language, [[Manx language|Manx]]. Northern Scotland mainly spoke [[Pritennic]], which became [[Pictish]], which may have been a Brythonic language. During the period of the Roman occupation of [[Southern Britain]] (AD 43 to {{Circa|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 settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxon settlers]] from the mid 5th century. Some 1.5 million people speak [[Scots language|Scots]]—which was indigenous language of Scotland and has become closer to English over centuries.<ref name=SCOTSCENSUS>Scotland's Census 2011 – Language, All people aged 3 and over. Out of the 60,815,385 residents of the UK over the age of three, 1,541,693 (2.5%) can speak Scots.</ref><ref name="English Language 1992. p.894">[[A.J. Aitken]] in ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'', Oxford University Press 1992. p.894</ref> An estimated 700,000 people speak [[Welsh language|Welsh]],<ref name=WelshStatOverview>[https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20120330040554/http://www.byig-wlb.org.uk/English/publications/Publications/A%20statistical%20overview%20of%20the%20Welsh%20languagef2.pdf Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg, A statistical overview of the Welsh language], by Hywel M Jones, page 115, 13.5.1.6, England. Published February 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.</ref> an official language in [[Wales]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/mwa/2011/1/section/1/enacted |publisher=[[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]] |work=[[legislation.gov.uk]] |title=Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 |access-date=30 May 2016 }}</ref> 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|Religion in England|Religion in Scotland|Religion in Wales}} {{See also|Religion in the United Kingdom}} [[File:Canterbury Cathedral - Portal Nave Cross-spire.jpeg|thumb|alt=stone cathedral oblique view showing two west towers and central tower|[[Canterbury Cathedral]], seat of the [[Church of England]] – the island's largest denomination]] [[Christianity]] has been the largest religion by number of adherents since the [[Early Middle Ages]]: it was introduced under the ancient Romans, developing as [[Celtic Christianity]]. According to tradition, Christianity arrived in the [[Christianity in the 1st century|1st]] or [[Christianity in the 2nd century|2nd century]]. The most popular form is [[Anglicanism]] (known as [[Scottish Episcopal Church|Episcopalism]] in Scotland). Dating from the 16th-century [[English Reformation|Reformation]], it regards itself as both [[Catholic]] and [[Reformed church|Reformed]]. The Head of the Church is the monarch of the United Kingdom, as the [[Supreme Governor of the Church of England|Supreme Governor]]. It has the status of [[established church]] in England. There are just over 26 million adherents to Anglicanism in Britain today,<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Anglicanism at a Crossroads|url=http://pewresearch.org/pubs/896/global-anglicanism-at-a-crossroads|publisher=PewResearch.org|access-date=15 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813045413/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/896/global-anglicanism-at-a-crossroads|archive-date=13 August 2011|date=19 June 2008}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> although only around one million regularly attend services. The second largest Christian practice is the [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]], which traces its history to the 6th century with [[Augustine of Canterbury]] and the [[Gregorian mission]]. It was the main religion for around a thousand years. There are over 5 million adherents today, 4.5 million [[Catholic Church in England and Wales|Catholics in England and Wales]]<ref>{{Cite news|title=People here 'must obey the laws of the land'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578212/People-here-must-obey-the-laws-of-the-land.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1578212/People-here-must-obey-the-laws-of-the-land.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | location=London | date=9 February 2008 | access-date=4 May 2010}}{{cbignore}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> and 750,000 in [[Roman Catholic Church in Scotland|Scotland]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Cardinal not much altered by his new job|url=http://living.scotsman.com/features/Cardinal-not-much-altered-by.2573781.jp|publisher=Living Scotsman|access-date=15 August 2011}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> although fewer than a million Catholics regularly attend [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]].<ref>{{cite news|title=How many Catholics are there in Britain?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11297461|publisher=BBC|access-date=15 September 2010|date=15 September 2010}} Retrieved on 17 October 2011.</ref> [[File:Glasgow-cathedral-may-2007.jpg|upright=0.8|left|thumb|alt=black weathered stone cathedral showing west front stained glass window|[[Glasgow Cathedral]], a meeting place of the [[Church of Scotland]]]] The [[Church of Scotland]], a form of [[Protestantism]] with a [[Presbyterian]] system of ecclesiastical [[polity]], is the third most numerous on the island with around 2.1 million members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Analysis of Religion in the 2001 Census – Current Religion in Scotland|url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/02/20757/53570|publisher=Scotland.gov.uk|access-date=15 August 2011|date=28 February 2005}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> Introduced in Scotland by clergyman [[John Knox]], it has the status of national church in Scotland. The monarch of the United Kingdom is represented by a [[Lord High Commissioner]]. [[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodism]] is the fourth largest and grew out of Anglicanism through [[John Wesley]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Methodist Church|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/methodist_1.shtml|publisher=BBC.co.uk}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> It gained popularity in the old mill towns of [[Lancashire]] and [[Yorkshire]], also amongst tin miners in [[Cornwall]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Methodism in Britain |url=http://www.goffsoakmethodistchurch.co.uk/page4.html |publisher=GoffsOakMethodistChurch.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131203811/http://www.goffsoakmethodistchurch.co.uk/page4.html |archive-date=31 January 2009 }} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> The [[Presbyterian Church of Wales]], which follows [[Calvinistic Methodism]], is the largest denomination in [[Wales]]. There are other [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] minorities, such as [[Baptists]], [[Quakers]], the [[United Reformed Church]] (a union of [[Congregational church|Congregationalists]] and [[English Presbyterianism|English Presbyterians]]), [[Unitarianism|Unitarians]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Cambridge History of Christianity |url=http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521815000&ss=exc |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721000044/http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521815000&ss=exc |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 July 2012 |publisher=Hugh McLeod }} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> The first [[patron saint]] of Great Britain was [[Saint Alban]].<ref>Dawkins, ''The Shakespeare Enigma'', 343.</ref> He was the first Christian martyr dating from the [[Romano-British]] period, condemned to death for his faith and sacrificed to the [[Roman mythology|pagan gods]].<ref>Butler, ''Butler's Lives of the Saints'', 141.</ref> In more recent times, some have suggested the adoption of [[Aidan of Lindisfarne|St Aidan]] as another patron saint of Britain.<ref name="aiden">{{cite news|title=Cry God for Harry, Britain and... St Aidan |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/homegrown-holy-man-cry-god-for-harry-britain-and-st-aidan-814057.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023202402/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/homegrown-holy-man-cry-god-for-harry-britain-and-st-aidan-814057.html |archive-date=23 October 2012 |location=London |date=23 April 2008 |url-status=dead }} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> From Ireland, he worked at [[Iona]] amongst the Dál Riata and then [[Lindisfarne]] where he restored Christianity to [[Northumbria]].<ref name="aiden" /> The three constituent countries of the United Kingdom have patron saints: [[Saint George]] and [[Saint Andrew]] are represented in the flags of [[Flag of England|England]] and [[Flag of Scotland|Scotland]] respectively.<ref name="flaghistory">{{cite web|title=United Kingdom – History of the Flag|url=http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-hist.html|publisher=FlagSpot.net}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> These two flags combined to form the basis of the Great Britain royal flag of 1604.<ref name="flaghistory" /> [[Saint David]] is the patron saint of Wales.<ref name="britsaints" /> There are many other British saints. Some of the best known are [[Cuthbert of Lindisfarne|Cuthbert]], [[Saint Columba|Columba]], [[Saint Patrick|Patrick]], [[Saint Margaret of Scotland|Margaret]], [[Edward the Confessor]], [[Saint Mungo|Mungo]], [[Thomas More]], [[Saint Petroc|Petroc]], [[Bede]], and [[Thomas Becket]].<ref name="britsaints">{{cite web|title=Saints|url=http://www.britsattheirbest.com/heroes_adventurers/h_saints.htm|publisher=Brits at their Best}} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> Numerous other religions are practised.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/religion/page/0,,818217,00.html |work=The Guardian |title=Guide to religions in the UK |location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123210954/http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/page/0%2C%2C818217%2C00.html |archive-date=23 January 2011 }} Retrieved on 16 August 2011</ref> The 2011 census recorded that [[Islam]] had around 2.7 million adherents (excluding Scotland with about 76,000).<ref name=latestcen>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/articles/religioninenglandandwales2011/2012-12-11|title = Religion in England and Wales 2011 - Office for National Statistics}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=latestcen/> [[Judaism]] figured slightly more than Buddhism at the 2011 census, having 263,000 adherents (excluding Scotland's about 6000).<ref name=latestcen/> Jews have inhabited Britain since 1070. However, those resident and open about their religion were [[Edict of Expulsion|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.<ref name="jews">{{cite web|title=From Expulsion (1290) to Readmission (1656): Jews and England |url=http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/history/350th-anniversary.pdf |publisher=Goldsmiths.ac.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626062306/http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/history/350th-anniversary.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2008 }} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> [[History of the Jews in Scotland|Most Jews in Great Britain have ancestors]] who [[refugee|fled for their lives]], particularly from 19th century [[Lithuania]] and the territories occupied by [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Jews in Scotland |url=http://www.british-jewry.org.uk/britishjewry/geography/scotland.htm |publisher=British-Jewry.org.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050509134139/http://british-jewry.org.uk/britishjewry/geography/scotland.htm |archive-date=9 May 2005 }} Retrieved on 1 February 2009.</ref> ==See also== {{Portal|United Kingdom|Islands}} * [[List of islands of England]] * [[List of islands of Scotland]] * [[List of islands of Wales]] ==Notes== {{Reflist|group=note}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book|title=Natural History |last= [[Pliny the Elder]] (translated by Rackham, Harris)|year=1938 |publisher=Harvard University Press|title-link= Natural History (Pliny)}} * {{Cite book|title=The Celtic Languages |first= Martin John |last=Ball|year=1994|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-01035-1}} * {{Cite book|title=Butler's Lives of the Saints |last= Butler|first= Alban|author-link=Alban Butler|year=1997 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-86012-255-5}} * {{Cite book|title=Guide to Standard Floras of the World |last= Frodin|first=D. G.|year=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-79077-2}} * {{Cite book|title= British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History |last= Spencer|first=Colin|year=2003|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-13110-0}} * {{Cite book|title=The Rough Guide to Britain|last= Andrews|first=Robert|year=2004 |publisher=Rough Guides Ltd|isbn=978-1-84353-301-6}} * {{Cite book|title=The Shakespeare Enigma|last= Dawkins|first=Peter|year=2004 |publisher=Polair Publishing|isbn=978-0-9545389-4-1}} * {{Cite book|title=History in Quotations|last=Major |first=John|year=2004|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-35387-3}} * {{Cite book|title= Great Britain |last=Else|first=David|year=2005|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74059-921-4}} * {{Cite book|title=Britain and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History |last1=Kaufman|first1=Will |last2= Slettedahl |first2= Heidi Macpherson | year=2005 |publisher=ABC-Clio| isbn=978-1-85109-431-8}} * {{Cite book|title=Origins of the British|author-link=Stephen Oppenheimer|last=Oppenheimer|first=Stephen|year=2006|publisher=Carroll & Graf|isbn=978-0-7867-1890-0|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780786718900}} * {{Cite book|title= Placenames of the World|last=Room|first=Adrian|year=2006|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2248-7}} * {{Cite book|title= A Book of the Beginnings, Vol. 1|last=Massey|first=Gerald|year=2007|publisher=Cosimo|isbn=978-1-60206-829-2}} * {{Cite book|title=Names and Their Histories: A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature |last=Taylor |first=Isaac|year=2008|publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=978-0-559-29667-3}} * {{Cite book|title=Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota. |last1=Legon|first1=N.W. |last2= Henrici |first2=A. | year=2005 |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew| isbn=978-1-84246-121-1}} * {{Cite book|title=The British Ascomycotina. An Annotated Checklist |last1=Cannon|first1=P.F. |last2= Hawksworth |first2= D.L. |first3=Sherwood-Pike|last3=M.A. | year=1985 |publisher=Commonwealth Mycological Institute & British Mycological Society| isbn=978-0-85198-546-6}} * {{Cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Barry |author-link=Barry Cunliffe |year=2002 |title=The extraordinary voyage of Pytheas the Greek |place=New York |publisher=Walker & Co |edition=revised |isbn=0-14-029784-7 |oclc=49692050}} * {{Cite book |last=O'Rahilly |first=T. F. |author-link=T. F. O'Rahilly |year=1946 |title=Early Irish History and Mythology |place=Dublin |publisher=Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |edition=reprinted 1964, 1971, 1984 |isbn=0-901282-29-4}} {{Refend}} ==External links== {{sisterprojectlinks}} * [https://www.bbc.co.uk/coast Coast] – the BBC explores the coast of Great Britain. * [http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/britishisles/ The British Isles] * [http://www.200towns.co.uk/ 200 major towns and cities in the British Isles] ===Video links=== * [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74946 Pathe travelogue, 1960, ''Journey through Britain''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104111813/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74946 |date=4 November 2011 }} * [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74948 Pathe newsreel, 1960, ''Know the British''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104202317/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=74948 |date=4 November 2011 }} <!-- two more reels on same site --> * [http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=33400 Pathe newsreel, 1950, Festival of Britain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105020306/http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=33400 |date=5 November 2011 }} {{British Isles}} {{United Kingdom topics}} {{World's largest islands}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Great Britain| Britain, Great]] [[Category:British Isles]] [[Category:Metropolitan or continental parts of states]] Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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