| The UK is made up of four countries --
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland -- which have widely differing
cultures and languages. Wales was the first country to fall under English control, in the late 16th-century. The Welsh were never actually defeated by the English. Instead, they realized that unity with their bigger neighbor was the only way to end the almost continuous state of war that existed between the two countries. Since unity, England and Wales have had the same systems of law, education and government. The situation between Scotland and England was very different. They fought fierce wars for centuries, each invading each other, whenever the situation seemed in their favour. This came to an end in the 17th-century when King James Vi of Scotland inherited the throne(王位) of England, after Queen Elizabeth I died without children. In 1707, Scotland and England were brought together in an Act of Union. This took away much of the Scots' control of their own affairs, but they kept their own systems of law and education. For the three countries, union resulted in peace. But England's occupation of Ireland has always been characterized by violence. Ireland was slowly brought under English control in the 16th- and 17th-centuries. But it retained its own government until 1801, when it was brought together with the Parliament at Westminster. However, Britain was under pressure to leave Ireland by 1920. In 1921, an agreement was signed whereby a separate Irish Free State (today called the Irish Republic) was created. This did not, however, include the six counties of Northern Ireland, which remain part of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". |