Formation of the UK

How the United Kingdom became united and what countries make up

this British kingdom

The history of the formation of the United Kingdom

• Britain has throughout history exercised dominance and influence over their island neighbors.

• The United Kingdom is the most recent of a number of sovereign states that have been established in Great Britain at different periods in history, in different combinations and under a variety of polities.

• There has been sixteen different states over the past 2000 years.

Short History

• Britain conquered Wales in 1100 AD• Conquered Scotland in 1600 AD• Controlled the island Ireland until 1931 when

Ireland won independence from Britain after centuries of fighting.– Retained part of the island which is now Northern

Ireland.

Wales

Coat of Arms The Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales

which are the historic arms of the Kingdom of Gwynedd are used by Charles, Prince of Wales in his personal standard. They are also the basis for the Royal Badge of Wales issued in 2008 for the use of the National Assembly for Wales.

The Flag– The red dragon is often seen as a shorthand for all

things Welsh, being used by many indigenous public and private institutions

– The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, written around 820, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders.

National Flower

• The daffodil is the national flower of Wales.– Is worn on St David's Day each 1 March.

National Anthem

• Written in January 1856 by Evan James.

Scotland

Flag

• Also known as Saint Andrew's Cross or the Saltire.

• According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross.

• First used in 1503

Coat of Arms

• Was the official coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and was used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland until the Acts of Union of 1707.

National Flower• The thistle• Well, so the story goes, a very long time ago when Scotland was

ravaged by Viking invaders, a group of Scottish fighting men were resting overnight in a field. Unknown to them, a raiding party was preparing to attack this group of Scots, under cover of darkness.As the attacking Vikings approached the encamped Scots, they stood on a patch of Thistles with their barefeet and, of course, let out cries of pain as the thorns dug deep into the soles and toes. The Scots, having been awakened by this rammy, were able to fight off the attackers.So, from that day , the Thistle has been adopted as Scotland ' s National Emblem.

National Anthem

• Scotland has no official national anthem. There are several candidates, however:

• Flower of Scotland is popularly held to be the National Anthem, and is played at events such as football and rugby matches involving the Scotland national teams, and as of 2010 is used for the Scottish team at the Commonwealth Games.

Northern Ireland

• Doesn’t have anything interesting about it at all.

• No National Anthem• No National Flag• No National Coat of Arms• AND NO NATIONAL FLOWER?!

Review

• When did each part of the UK officially become part of Great Britain?

• Describe each country discussing the four things we covered for each country.