United Kingdom

Country Briefs: Known for its enchanting natural beauty (peaceful lakes, wild moors and mountains, stark beaches), vibrant cities, busy towns, quaint villages, castles, cathedrals, mansions, abbeys, and nightlife and countless other lure, United Kingdom is a distinguished country that is perhaps unknown to none. Spreading over an area of 244,820 square kilometers from Stonehenge and Tower Bridge to Eton and Oxford, UK is brimming with exclusive icons of the past era. 

United Kingdom is one of the two sovereign states occupying the British Isles in the northwestern Europe and the Republic of Ireland. Most of the UK is nestled on the island of Great Britain and it shares its borders with the Republic of Ireland, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. 

The approximate population of UK is 59,834,300 out of which around 860,000 people reside in its largest and capital city, London. At present London is the most populous city in the European Union. London is also one of the hottest vacation destinations in the entire world. Though London is a timeless tourist center, few of its attractions close or reduce their opening hours in winter.

Besides its wonderful cities, towns and other pulls, one of the most outstanding aspects of United Kingdom is its history. According to historians the foremost settlers in the region were small bands of hunters. Around 4000 BC the Stone Age immigrants arrived here and farmed the chalk hills of Salisbury Plain, constructing the mystifying stone circles at Stonehenge and Averbury. Around 800 BC the Bronze Age Celts arrived in this region.

In AD 43 Romans invaded England and occupied most of its region. During the Roman period Christianity fused in the region and England witnessed great development in every sphere. But Romans faced constant attacks from the Brits, as a consequence of which the Roman Empire lost power and declined around AD 410.

Over the years the Celts were replaced by various tribes such as Angles, Jutes and Saxons. These tribes developed their local fiefdoms and were classified as English collectively. By the 7^th century these fiefdoms transformed in to a series of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Around 9^th century the Vikings attempted to invade the eastern part of England. However the English managed to tackle the Vikings’ military.

In 1066 the William of Normandy came to prominence as he endeavored to invade the south coast. William emerged victorious at the Battle of Hastings and so replaced the English aristocrats with the French-speaking Normans. In 16^th century Henry made himself the head of the Church of England.

In mid-17^th century the power struggle between monarchy and parliament led to the Civil War between the royalists and Protestant parliamentarians. The Protestants emerged victorious but due to the atrocities of Cromwell, monarchy was abolished in the region in 1660.

Soon England adopted the policy of expansionism as a result of which it made almost half of the entire world its colony. But the English received a setback in 1781 when the American colonies won their war of independence.

By 1837 the Kingdom of Britain had become the world’s greatest power. However the first half of the 20^th century saw UK’s strength gravely wrecked by the effects of first and second world war. During the second half the Empire was dismantled and the UK did rebuild itself into a modern and prosperous nation.

At present United Kingdom is a member of European Union, a highly developed economy, and the fourth largest in the world. It is also a partner of both UN and NATO.

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