1. Where is Britain?

a) Western Europe

b) Eastern Europe

c) Scandinavia

d) America

Where is Britain?

Britain lies off the west coast of mainland Europe.

Britain (UK) is part of the European Union (yellow).

2. What does EU stand for?

a) Environmental Unit

b) Eastern Union

c) European Union

d) Everything Undone

Where is Britain?

Britain lies off the west coast of mainland Europe.

Britain (UK) is part of the European Union (yellow).

3. The United Kingdom is…

a) England, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland

b) England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland

c) England, Wales, Germany, Scotland

d) England, Denmark, France, Germany

What is “Britain”?

The United Kingdom is the name for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

This is a “political” name for those countries ruled from London.

4. The British Climate is…

a) Just like Taiwan

b) Generally mild

c) Very cold and wet

d) Tropical

The British Climate

Very variable – changes so frequently that it is difficult to forecast.

Britain does not experience “extreme” weather. Not “very” hot – not “very” cold.

Summers generally cool. Winters mild Does not rain all the time. September to

January are wettest. 4 distinct seasons

The British Climate: Rainfall

The British Climate: Winter Temperatures

The British Climate:Summer Temperatures

5. Which is correct?

a) Shire < Region < County

b) Region > Country > County

c) County < Region < Country

d) County > Region > Country

Today

Today’s counties are a mix of the old shires and the old counties.

Boundaries have changed a lot.

Some old shires and counties have disappeared.

There are some “new” counties

Regions of England

North West

West Midlands

South West

North East

Yorkshire

East Midlands

East of England

Greater London

South East

What is “Britain”?

The United Kingdom is the name for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

This is a “political” name for those countries ruled from London.

6. Where would you find Derby?

a) Derbyshire

b) Devonshire

c) Derby Town

d) France

Some Counties still retain the name “shire” as a suffix.

E.g. the city of Nottingham is in the county of Nottinghamshire

e.g. Nottinghamshire

7. The capital of the UK is…

a) England

b) Roman

c) London

d) Leeds

London

London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England.

Worldwide influence and a major financial centre. Population of Greater London is 7,421,228 (a

population of over 12 million in the wider metropolitan area).

The largest city in the European Union. A very diverse range of peoples, cultures, and

religions. It has a great number of important buildings,

including world-famous museums, theatres, concert halls, airports, railway stations, palaces, and offices.

8. Scotland is…

a) East of England

b) Beside Wales

c) North of England

d) Below Ireland

Scotland

Consists of a mainland area and several island groups, including Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides

3 main geographical areas make up the mainland: From north to south

1. The mountainous Highlands.

2. The low-lying Central Belt.

3. The hilly Southern Uplands.

9. In order of size…

a) Wales > England > Scotland

b) Scotland > Wales > England

c) England > Wales > Scotland

d) England > Scotland > Wales

Side by side

10. The capital of Ireland is…

a) Dublin

b) Belfast

c) London

d) Leeds

Ireland

Northern Ireland is unofficially known as 'Ulster'. Northern Ireland is a region of the United Kingdom.

The Republic of Ireland, with its capital in Dublin. This state is also called "Ireland" or "Éire".

11. The Thistle is the symbol of…

a) England

b) Wales

c) Scotland

d) France

Flags & Symbols - Scotland

The cross of St Andrew

The Scotch Thistle

12. The Flag of Scotland is…

a) a white cross on blue

b) a red cross on white

c) a white cross on red

d) a red dragon on green and white

Flags & Symbols - Scotland

The cross of St Andrew

The Scotch Thistle

13. The population of the UK is about…

a) 39,000,000

b) 49,000,000

c) 59,000,000

d) 69,000,000

Demographics

Part Population %

England 50,093,800 83.7

Scotland 5,078,400 8.5

Wales 2,952,500 4.9

Northern Ireland 1,710,300 2.9

United Kingdom 59,834,900 100

14. Most people in England…

a) were born overseas

b) were born in the UK

c) are from India

d) are from Ireland

Demographics

Population (England)– male: 23,922,144 – female: 24,216,687 – total: 49,138,831

Place of birth – UK: 90.7% – EU: 2.3% – Outside EU: 6.9%

Ethnicity – White: 90.9% – Indian: 2.1% – Pakistani: 1.4% – Mixed: 1.4% – Black Caribbean: 1.1% – Black African: 0.9% – Chinese: 0.4% – Black Other: 0.2%

15. Most foreigners in Britain live…

a) overseas

b) in the South West

c) in the South East

d) in Ireland

7.5% of people living in Britain were born abroad.

The non-native-born population tends to be strongly attracted to London and the South East region

1.7 million foreign-born live in London, representing 25% of the city's total population, although 52% of Wembley's population was born abroad.

Location of foreign-born population

16. Where is the Gaelic language spoken?

a) England & Scotland

b) Scotland & Ireland

c) Ireland & Wales

d) Wales & England

Regional Languages

Welsh is spoken by about 20% of the population of Wales (~600,000 speakers).

However, not all speakers are 100% fluent. Many Welsh people are proud to speak Welsh.

Scottish Gaelic has about 60,000 speakers (~1% of Scotland). In Northern Ireland, ~7% speak Irish Gaelic (~110,000 speakers)

and 2% speak Scots (~ 30,000 speakers). Cornish is spoken by ~3,500 people (0.6% of Cornwall). Scots is spoken by 30% of Scottish people (~ 1.5 million).

British Sign Language (for the deaf) is understood by less than 0.1% of the total population of the UK.

17. The correct order is…

a) Bronze age Neolithic Iron age

b) Iron age Bronze age Neolithic

c) Neolithic Iron age Bronze age

d) Neolithic Bronze age Iron age

Overview of Early British History

Stone Age – The Neolithic Bronze Age Iron Age The Romans The Invasions – Anglo Saxon, Jutes, Vikings

18. The Romans left Britain because

a) Rome was under attack

b) The Britons made them leave

c) It was too cold

d) All of the above

Roman departure from Britain

Because Rome was being invaded, the Roman soldiers were moved from Britain to defend Rome

The Romans had left Britain by 410.

The inhabitants were forced to look to their own defences and government

19. Britain was invaded by…

a) Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Romans

b) Spanish, Vikings, Welsh

c) Anglo-Saxons, English, Normans

d) Vikings, Normans, Irish

The Romans Britain is a land of agricultural

and mineral wealth In 43AD, the Roman Emperor

Claudius invaded Britain with approximately 50,000 men.

They quickly occupied the South East and then moved inland.

Within 25 years much of England and Wales had been absorbed into the province of Britannia.

Anglo-Saxons

They left their homelands in northern Germany, Denmark and northern Holland and rowed across the North Sea in wooden boats.

The Angle, Saxon, and Jute tribes who invaded Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries are known as the Anglo-Saxons.

Vikings

Many Vikings were great travellers and sailed all over Europe and the north Atlantic Ocean in their longships.

Some went as fierce pirate raiders: they stole treasure and attacked local people.

But most Vikings who sailed overseas were simply searching for better land for their farms.

The Viking Age began about 1,200 years ago in the 8th Century AD and lasted for 300 years.

The Vikings came from three countries in Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

They were also known as the Norse people. They were mostly farmers, but some worked as craftsmen or traders.

20. The Normans invaded in…

a) 1056 AD

b) 1066 AD

c) 1076 AD

d) 1086 AD

The Norman Conquest (1066) In 1066 the Anglo-Saxon King of England

died without an heir

Two people claimed the Kingdom:1. Harold, The Earl of Wessex2. William, The Duke of Normandy

Harold had himself crowned King but his position was not secure.

By August 1066 William had assembled a force of about 5,000 knights for invasion

William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings (Oct 14 1066).

This resulted in profound political, administrative, and social changes in the British Isles.

21. The Normans brought with them…

a) Religion, French

b) Feudalism, Religion

c) French, Feudalism

d) Feudalism, Ice-cream

What the Normans did… There were considerable changes

in the social structure of the British kingdoms as a new aristocracy was introduced

However, the Anglo-Saxon central and local governments and judicial system were retained

The “English” language disappeared in official documents, it was replaced by Latin, then by Norman-French.

Written English slowly reappeared in the 13th century.

Knights & Feudalism Feudalism originated in France, and was brought to England by the Normans

The obligations and relations between lord, vassal and fief form the basis of feudalism

1. Lords (Land owners), 2. Vassals (Knights)3. Fiefs (Land).

In exchange for use of the fief, the vassal would provide military service to the lord.

Knights were supported by peasants who worked to produce food and ideologically supported by the church.

22. The bubonic plague…

a) started the industrial revolution

b) was invented by the French

c) is good for acne

d) killed many people

The Black Death (1348)

In 1348, the bubonic plague arrived in Britain through the southern coast ports.

Known as the Black Death, the disease was spread by fleas living in the fur of rats.

The plague reached London by September 1348 and Scotland, Wales and Ireland in the winter of 1349.

Between 10-30% of the population died

The plague returned periodically until the seventeenth century. The first few outbreaks severely reduced the fertility and density of the population.

Labour became scarcer Poorer land was simply abandoned,

and many villages were never re-occupied.

23. Henry VIII started…

a) a new fashion in hats

b) break dancing

c) the Church of England

d) running for fun

Tudors (1485 – 1602) Known as the “Early Modern” period of British

history.

The Tudors ruled in England and the Stuarts in Scotland. In both realms, as the century progressed, there were new ways of approaching old problems.

Henry VIII of England and James IV of Scotland were both cultured, educated Renaissance princes with a love of learning and architectural splendour.

Henry broke away from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England (of which he had himself proclaimed Head).

The early modern period was an era where women exercised more influence:Catherine de Medici in France, Elizabeth and Mary in England and Mary in Scotland ruled as their male counterparts had done before them.

24. Francis Drake is famous because…

a) he became King

b) he sailed around the world

c) he invented printing

d) he discovered America

Circumnavigation of the globe 1578 - 1580 On 13 December 1577, Francis Drake,

on board his ship the Pelican, left Plymouth on a voyage that would take him round the world.

In August 1578, Drake passed through the Magellan Strait (the south of South America) and entered the Pacific Ocean.

By June 1579, Drake had landed on the coast of modern California (which he claimed for England as 'New Albion').

On 26 September 1580, the navigator returned to Plymouth in his ship, renamed as the Golden Hind.

The following April, Drake was knighted by Elizabeth I on board ship.

25. The Industrial Revolution began in Britain…

a) because of the cold weather

b) because it is in Western Europe

c) because France was too busy

d) because of its many natural resources

Why the Industrial Revolution started in Britain

Britain was able to succeed in the Industrial Revolution because of its plentiful resources.

Britain had a dense population for its small geographical size. The agricultural revolution made a supply of labour readily

available (urbanisation).

Local supplies of coal, iron, lead, copper, tin, limestone and water power, resulted in excellent conditions for the development and expansion of industry.

The stable political situation in Great Britain from around 1688

26. World War I started in…

a) 1913

b) 1914

c) 1915

d) 1916

What Started World War I ? World War I was

sparked by a single event…

On June 28, 1914 Serbian fanatic, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

Archduke Franz-Ferdinand was heir to the Austrian thrown

27. World War I started because…

a) Germans don’t like ice-cream

b) Austria hates England

c) an Archduke was assassinated

d) Serbia wanted to be in the EU

What Started World War I ?

World War I was sparked by a single event…

On June 28, 1914 Serbian fanatic, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo.

Archduke Franz-Ferdinand was heir to the Austrian thrown

28. The “Blitz” was…

a) the bombing of England by Germany

b) the end of World War II

c) the Battle of Britain

d) a new kind of ice-cream

The Blitz

The Blitz killed ~43,000 people and destroyed over a million houses

It failed to achieve the Germans' objectives of knocking Britain out of the war or rendering it unable to resist an invasion.

The Blitz was the sustained and intensive bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during 1940–1941.

It was carried out by the Luftwaffe against a range of targets across the UK, particularly concentrating on London.

29. The Allied leaders during WW2 were…

a) Thatcher, Hitler, Stalin

b) Roosevelt, Stalin, Bush

c) Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin

d) Stalin, Churchill, Hitler

In June 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, thereby making war on two fronts.

The war increased in December 1941 when America declared war on the Japanese after they bombed Pearl Harbour.

World War 2

Hitler's declaration of war on America was his big mistake.

With American entry, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill felt sure of victory.

ChurchillRoosevelt

Stalin

30. India became independent in…

a) 1937

b) 1947

c) 1957

d) 1967

India and Pakistan gain Independence 1947 India was the most valuable part

of the British Empire, its possession was proof of British world power.

The war had strained Britain's ability to govern its empire so it was decided that India would self-govern.

However the two factions in India (the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League) could not agree on a constitution.

As a result, India was divided into the modern states of India and Pakistan.