Europe Today

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Europe Today

• Chapter 7

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The Tower Bridge
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I. United Kingdom

• Great Britain Largest island in Europe
• Most people mistakenly call all of the United
  Kingdom England
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
  Ireland
• 80 of the population lives in England

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A. Four Political Regions

• 1) England
• 2) Wales
• 3) Scotland
• 4) Northern Ireland
• London Capital and most important city in Great
  Britain

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B. National Government

• Has a constitutional monarchy
• Queen Elizabeth II British monarchy who is a
  symbol of power
• Parliament National lawmaking branch of
  government with the real power

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Queen Elizabeth II
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Big Ben Parliament
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C. Two Houses of Gov.t

• House of Lords Made up of nobles who inherit
  their positions
• House of Commons Elected representatives with
  the most power in Britains gov.t
• David Cameron British Prime Minister who lead
  the government

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David Cameron
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Tony Blair at the House of Commons
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D. Regional Governments

• Wales has its own capital, postage stamps,
  national flag, and language
• Want to keep their identity
• 20 - Of people in Wales speak Welsh as their
  first language
• 1999 Both Scotland and Wales created their own
  parliaments

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E. Northern Ireland

• Religious division has led to violence since
  1500s
• Northern Ireland Mostly Protestant
• Republic of Ireland Mostly Catholics
• Both Protestants and Catholics have tried to use
  violence to win control
• Good Friday Accord 1998 Religious groups
  agreed to settle disputes without violence

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F. Cultural Heritage

• William Shakespeare Most influential playwright
  in history
• Great Britain has exported its culture to its
  former colonies around the world
• 1960s Beatles and the Rolling Stones change
  music around the world

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William Shakespeare
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G. British Literature

• Mary Shelly Frankenstein
• Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities, Oliver
  Twist, and A Christmas Carol
• J.K. Rowling Harry Potter

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Charles Dickens
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