1 a Brief Introduction of the UK.ppt

Regions of the UK England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland England Capital (and largest city): London Area: 130 423 sqkm Official languages: English Population 2008: above 50 million (UK: about 60 million )? Symbols of England What images are associated with England? History of Invasions Before the 1st century AD, Britain was made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people: a powerful culture originating in central Europe. 1. Invasion by Romans In 43 AD, Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire, and England and Wales became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years. 2. Invasion by Anglo-Saxons As the Roman armies and Roman protection were withdrawn from Britain, and Britain was again divided into small kingdoms, and again it came under threat from Germanic peoples: the Angles, and the Saxon. The Anglo-Saxons succeeded in invading Britain, and either absorb the Celtic people, or pushed them to the western and northern edges of Britain. 3. Invasion by Vikings From the late 8th century on, raiders from Scandinavia, the Vikings, threatened Britain shores. King Alfred, the Great turned the tide in the south against the Vikings. 4. Invasion by Normans In 1066, England was invaded by the Normans under William of Normandy, from northern France, who were descendants of Vikings. The Battle of Hastings, defeated an English army under King Harold, marks the last time that an army from outside the British Isles succeeded in invading. The next 300 years after the Norman Invasion, Saxon and English-speaking population had been ruled by Norman aristocracy. Robin Hood, the Saxon nobleman oppressed by the Normans, who became an outlaw, hid in the forest in the north midland of England, and went out to rob the rich to give to the poor. The next few hundreds years following Norman invasion can be seen as a process of joining together the various parts of the British isles under English rules. At the same time power was gradually transferred from the