Connected to mainland Europe until 9,000 years ago by aland bridge now known asDoggerland,[8] Great Britain has been inhabited by modern humans for around 30,000 years. In 2011, it had a population of about61 million, making it the world'sthird-most-populous island afterHonshu inJapan andJava inIndonesia,[9][10] and the most populated island outside ofAsia.
Thearchipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years: the term 'British Isles' derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC, Greek geographers were using equivalents ofPrettanikē as a collective name for the British Isles.[12] However, with theRoman conquest of Britain, the Latin termBritannia was used for the island of Great Britain, and laterRoman-occupied Britain south ofCaledonia.[13][14][15]
The earliest known name for Great Britain isAlbion (Greek:Ἀλβιών) orinsula Albionum, from either the Latinalbus meaning "white" (possibly referring to thewhite cliffs of Dover, the first view of Britain from the continent) or the "island of theAlbiones".[16] The oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was byAristotle (384–322 BC), or possibly byPseudo-Aristotle, in his textOn the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, "There are two very large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion andIerne".[17]
The first known written use of the word Britain was anancient Greektransliteration of the original Proto-Celtic term in a work on the travels and discoveries of Pytheas that has not survived. The earliest existing records of the word are quotations of theperiplus by later authors, such as those within Strabo'sGeographica, Pliny'sNatural History and Diodorus of Sicily'sBibliotheca historica.[18]Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79) in hisNatural History records of Great Britain: "Its former name was Albion; but at a later period, all the islands, of which we shall just now briefly make mention, were included under the name of 'Britanniæ.'"[19]
The nameBritain descends from the Latin name for Britain,Britannia orBrittānia, the land of the Britons.[20]Old FrenchBretaigne (whence alsoModern FrenchBretagne) andMiddle EnglishBretayne,Breteyne. The French form replaced theOld EnglishBreoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten (alsoBreoton-lond, Breten-lond). Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the travel writings of Pytheas around 320 BC, which described various islands in the North Atlantic as far north asThule (probablyNorway).
The peoples of these islands ofPrettanike were called the Πρεττανοί,Priteni orPretani.[16]Priteni is the source of theWelsh language termPrydain,Britain, which has the same source as theGoidelic termCruithne used to refer to the earlyBrythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland.[21] The latter were later calledPicts orCaledonians by theRomans. Greek historiansDiodorus of Sicily andStrabo preserved variants ofPrettanike from the work of Greek explorerPytheas ofMassalia, who travelled from his home inHellenistic southernGaul to Britain in the 4th century BC. The term used by Pytheas may derive from a Celtic word meaning "the painted ones" or "the tattooed folk" in reference tobody decorations.[22] According to Strabo, Pytheas referred to Britain asBretannikē, which is treated a feminine noun.[23][24][25][26]Marcian of Heraclea, in hisPeriplus maris exteri, described the island group asαἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι (the Prettanic Isles).[27]
Derivation ofGreat
A 1490 Italian reconstruction of the relevant map ofPtolemy who combined the lines of roads and of the coasting expeditions during the first century of Roman occupation. Two great faults, however, are an eastward-projecting Scotland and none of Ireland seen to be at the same latitude of Wales, which may have been if Ptolemy used Pytheas' measurements of latitude.[28] Whether he did so is a much debated issue. This "copy" appears in blue below.
TheGreco-Egyptian scientistPtolemy referred to the larger island asgreat Britain (μεγάλη Βρεττανίαmegale Brettania) and to Ireland aslittle Britain (μικρὰ Βρεττανίαmikra Brettania) in his workAlmagest (147–148 AD).[29] In his later work,Geography (c. 150 AD), he gave the islands the namesAlwion,Iwernia, andMona (theIsle of Man),[30] suggesting these may have been the names of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writingAlmagest.[31] The nameAlbion appears to have fallen out of use sometime after theRoman conquest of Britain, after whichBritain became the more commonplace name for the island.[16]
The termGreat Britain was first used officially in 1474, in the instrument drawing up the proposal for a marriage betweenCecily, daughter ofEdward IV of England, andJames, son ofJames III of Scotland, which described it as "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee". The Scottish philosopher and historian,John Major (Mair), published his 'History of Great Britain, both England and Scotland' (Historia majoris Britanniae, tam Angliae quam Scotiae) in 1521. While promoting a possible royal match in 1548,Lord Protector Somerset said that the English and Scots were, "like as twoo brethren of one Islande of great Britaynes again." In 1604,James VI and I styled himself "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland".[32]
Modern use of the termGreat Britain
Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain. Politically, it may refer to the whole ofEngland,Scotland andWales, including their smaller offshore islands.[33] It is not technically correct to use the term to refer to the whole of theUnited Kingdom which includesNorthern Ireland, though theOxford English Dictionary states "...the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom."[34][35]
Similarly,Britain can refer to the island of Great Britain, to the island of Great Britain together with the other islands of England, Scotland, and Wales, or to the United Kingdom as a whole.[36][37] There is no clear distinction, even in government documents: the UK government yearbooks have used bothBritain[38] andUnited Kingdom.[39]
On the Internet,.uk is thecountry code top-level domain for the United Kingdom. A.gb top-level domain was used to a limited extent, but is now deprecated. Although existing registrations still exist (mainly by government organisations and email providers), this domain name registrar will not take new registrations.[40]
The oldest evidence forarchaic humans in Britain are theHappisburgh footprints and associated stone tools found inNorfolk, dating to around 950–850,000 years ago.[46] Prior to 450,000 years ago, Britain formed a peninsular extension of mainland Europe until catastrophic flooding between then and 130,000 years ago resulted in the creation of theEnglish Channel and Britain becoming an island during warminterglacial periods like theLast Interglacial/Eemian (130–115,000 years ago), though it remained connected to mainland Europe duringglacial periods when sea levels were low.[47][46] Archaic humans repeatedly occupied Britain before abandoning the area during cooler periods.[46]Modern humans arrived in Britain about 40,000 years ago, as evidenced by remains found inKents Cavern in Devon, following the disappearance ofNeanderthals.[46] Prior to 9,000 years ago Britain retained a land connection to the continent, with an area of mostly low marshland (Doggerland) joining it to what are nowDenmark and theNetherlands.[48][49]
During theMesolithic period, Britain was inhabited by hunter gatherers.Neolithic farmers, ofAnatolian origin, arrived in Britain around 4000 BC, replacing the pre-existing hunter gatherers.[50] Around 2000 BC, theBronze AgeBell Beaker Culture arrived in Britain, which genetic evidence suggests was associated with another episode of nearly complete population replacement.[51] Later significant migration to southern Britain around 1000 BC may have brought theCeltic languages to the island.[52]
Prima Europe tabula. A copy ofPtolemy's 2nd-century map of Roman Britain. See notes to image above.
The Romans conquered most of the island (up toHadrian's Wall in northern England) and this became theAncient Roman province ofBritannia. In the course of the 500 years after the Roman Empire fell, theBritons of the south and east of the island were assimilated or displaced byinvadingGermanic tribes (Angles,Saxons, andJutes, often referred to collectively asAnglo-Saxons). At about the same time,Gaelic tribes from Ireland invaded the north-west, absorbing both thePicts andBritons of northern Britain, eventually forming the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century. The south-east of Scotland was colonised by the Angles and formed, until 1018, a part of theKingdom of Northumbria. Ultimately, the population of south-east Britain came to be referred to as theEnglish people, so-named after the Angles.
Germanic speakers referred to Britons asWelsh. This term came to be applied exclusively to the inhabitants of what is now Wales, but it also survives in names such asWallace and in the second syllable ofCornwall.Cymry, a name the Britons used to describe themselves, is similarly restricted in modern Welsh to people from Wales, but also survives in English in the place name ofCumbria. The Britons living in the areas now known as Wales, Cumbria and Cornwall were not assimilated by the Germanic tribes, a fact reflected in thesurvival of Celtic languages in these areas into more recent times.[54] At the time of theGermanic invasion of southern Britain, many Britons emigrated to the area now known asBrittany, whereBreton, a Celtic language closely related to Welsh andCornish and descended from the language of the emigrants, is still spoken. In the 9th century, a series of Danish assaults on northern English kingdoms led to them coming under Danish control (an area known as theDanelaw). In the 10th century, however, all the English kingdoms were unified under one ruler as the kingdom of England when the last constituent kingdom, Northumbria, submitted toEdgar in 959. In 1066, England wasconquered by the Normans, who introduced aNorman-speaking administration that was eventually assimilated. Wales came under Anglo-Norman control in 1282, and was officially annexed to England in the 16th century.
On 20 October 1604King James, who had succeeded separately to the two thrones of England and Scotland, proclaimed himself "King of Great Brittaine,France, and Ireland".[55] When James died in 1625 and thePrivy Council of England was drafting the proclamation of the new king, Charles I, a Scottish peer,Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie, succeeded in insisting that it use the phrase "King of Great Britain", which James had preferred, rather than King of Scotland and England (or vice versa).[56] While that title was also used by some of James's successors, England and Scotland each remained legally separate countries, each with its own parliament, until 1707, when each parliament passed anAct of Union to ratify theTreaty of Union that had been agreed the previous year. This created a single kingdom with one parliament with effect from 1 May 1707. The Treaty of Union specified the name of the new all-island state as "Great Britain", while describing it as "One Kingdom" and "the United Kingdom". To most historians, therefore, the all-island state that existed between 1707 and 1800 is either "Great Britain" or the "Kingdom of Great Britain".
View of Britain's coast fromCap Gris-Nez in northern France
Great Britain lies on the European continental shelf, part of theEurasian Plate and off the north-west coast ofcontinental Europe, separated from this European mainland by theNorth Sea and by theEnglish Channel, which narrows to 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) at theStraits of Dover.[57] It stretches over about ten degrees oflatitude on its longer, north–south axis and covers 209,331 km2 (80,823 sq mi), excluding the much smaller surrounding islands.[58] TheNorth Channel,Irish Sea,St George's Channel andCeltic Sea separate the island from the island ofIreland to its west.[59] The island is since 1993 joined, via one structure, with continental Europe: theChannel Tunnel, the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world. The island is marked by low, rolling countryside in the east and south, while hills and mountains predominate in the western and northern regions. It is surrounded by over 1,000 smallerislands andislets. The greatest distance between two points is 968.0 km (601+1⁄2 mi) (betweenLand's End,Cornwall andJohn o' Groats,Caithness), 838 miles (1,349 km) by road.
TheEnglish Channel is thought to have been created between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago by two catastrophicglacial lake outburst floods caused by the breaching of theWeald-Artois Anticline, a ridge that held back a largeproglacial lake, now submerged under the North Sea.[60] Around 10,000 years ago, during theDevensian glaciation with its lowersea level, Great Britain was not an island, but an upland region of continental north-western Europe, lying partially underneath the Eurasian ice sheet. The sea level was about 120 metres (390 ft) lower than today, and the bed of the North Sea was dry and acted as a land bridge, now known asDoggerland, to the Continent. It is generally thought that as sea levels gradually rose after the end of the last glacial period of the current ice age, Doggerland reflooded cutting off what was the British peninsula from the European mainland by around 6500 BC.[61]
Great Britain has been subject to a variety ofplate tectonic processes over a very extended period of time. Changing latitude and sea levels have been important factors in the nature of sedimentary sequences, whilst successive continental collisions have affectedits geological structure with major faulting and folding being a legacy of eachorogeny (mountain-building period), often associated withvolcanic activity and the metamorphism of existing rock sequences. As a result of this eventful geological history, the island shows a rich variety oflandscapes.
In the current era the north of the island is risingas a result of the weight of Devensian ice being lifted. Counterbalanced, the south and east is sinking, generally estimated at 1 mm (1⁄25 inch) per year, with the London area sinking at double this partly due to the continuingcompaction of the recent clay deposits.
Therobin, voted in polls as "Britain's favourite bird".[62]
Animaldiversity is modest, as a result of factors including the island's small land area, the relatively recent age of the habitats developed since thelast glacial period and the island's physical separation fromcontinental Europe, and the effects of seasonal variability.[63] Great Britain also experienced earlyindustrialisation and is subject to continuingurbanisation, which have contributed towards the overall loss of species.[64] ADEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) study from 2006 suggested that 100 species have become extinct in the UK during the 20th century, about 100 times thebackground extinction rate. However, some species, such as thebrown rat,red fox, and introducedgrey squirrel, are well adapted to urban areas.
In a similar sense to fauna, and for similar reasons, the flora consists of fewer species compared to much larger continental Europe.[73] The flora comprises 3,354vascular plant species, of which 2,297 are native and 1,057 have been introduced.[74] The island has a wide variety oftrees, including native species ofbirch,beech,ash,hawthorn,elm,oak,yew,pine,cherry andapple.[75] Other trees have been naturalised, introduced especially from other parts of Europe (particularly Norway) and North America. Introduced trees include several varieties of pine,chestnut,maple,spruce,sycamore andfir, as well ascherry plum andpear trees.[75] The tallest species are theDouglas firs; two specimens have been recorded measuring 65 metres or 212 feet.[76] TheFortingall Yew inPerthshire is the oldest tree in Europe.[77]
There are many species offungi includinglichen-forming species, and the mycobiota is less poorly known than in many other parts of the world. The most recent checklist of Basidiomycota (bracket fungi, jelly fungi, mushrooms and toadstools, puffballs, rusts and smuts), published in 2005, accepts over 3600 species.[86] The most recent checklist of Ascomycota (cup fungi and their allies, including most lichen-forming fungi), published in 1985, accepts another 5100 species.[87] These two lists did not includeconidial fungi (fungi mostly with affinities in the Ascomycota but known only in their asexual state) or any of the other main fungal groups (Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota). The number of fungal species known very probably exceeds 10,000. There is widespread agreement among mycologists that many others are yet to be discovered.
All the modern Brythonic languages (Breton, Cornish, Welsh) are generally considered to derive from a common ancestral language termedBrittonic,British,Common Brythonic,Old Brythonic orProto-Brythonic, which is thought to have developed fromProto-Celtic or earlyInsular Celtic by the 6th century AD.[94] Brythonic languages were probably spoken before the Roman invasion at least in the majority of Great Britain south of the riversForth andClyde, though theIsle of Man later had a Goidelic language,Manx. Northern Scotland mainly spokePritennic, which becamePictish, which may have been a Brythonic language. During the period of the Roman occupation ofSouthern Britain (AD 43 toc. 410), Common Brythonic borrowed a large stock ofLatin words. Approximately 800 of these Latin loan-words have survived in the three modern Brythonic languages.Romano-British is the name for the Latinised form of the language used by Roman authors.
British English is spoken in the present day across the island, and developed from theOld English brought to the island byAnglo-Saxon settlers from the mid 5th century. Some 1.5 million people speakScots—which was indigenous language of Scotland and has become closer to English over centuries.[95][96] An estimated 700,000 people speakWelsh,[97] an official language inWales.[98] In parts of north west Scotland,Scottish Gaelic remains widely spoken. There are various regional dialects of English, and numerous languages spoken by some immigrant populations.
Numerous other religions are practised.[112] The 2011 census recorded thatIslam had around 2.7 million adherents (excluding Scotland with about 76,000).[113] More than 1.4 million people (excluding Scotland's about 38,000) believe inHinduism,Sikhism, orBuddhism—religions that developed in theIndian subcontinent andSoutheast Asia.[113]Judaism figured slightly more than Buddhism at the 2011 census, having 263,000 adherents (excluding Scotland's about 6000).[113] Jews have inhabited Britain since 1070. However, those resident and open about their religion wereexpelled from England in 1290, replicated in some other Catholic countries of the era. Jews were permitted to re-establish settlement as of 1656, in the interregnum which was a peak of anti-Catholicism.[114]Most Jews in Great Britain have ancestors whofled for their lives, particularly from 19th centuryLithuania and the territories occupied byNazi Germany.[115]
^The term "Great Britain" in political contexts would include its off-shore islands.
^The political area of Great Britain, including offshore islands
^Scotland held its census a year later after England and Wales due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the data shown is from two separate years.
^The political definition of Great Britain – that is, England, Scotland, and Wales combined – includes a number of offshore islands such as theIsle of Wight,Anglesey, andShetland, which are not part of the geographical island of Great Britain. Those three countries combined have a total land area of 228,948 km2 (88,397 sq mi).[3]
^"Population Estimates"(PDF).National Statistics Online. Newport, Wales: Office for National Statistics. 24 June 2010. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 14 November 2010. Retrieved24 September 2010.
^4.20 provides a translation describing Caesar's first invasion, using terms which fromIV.XX appear inLatin as arriving in "Britannia", the inhabitants being "Britanni", and on p30 "principes Britanniae" (i.e., "chiefs of Britannia") is translated as "chiefs of Britain".
^O Corrain, Donnchadh, Professor of Irish History at University College Cork (1 November 2001). "Chapter 1:Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland". In Foster, R F (ed.).The Oxford History of Ireland. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-280202-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Cunliffe, Barry (2012).Britain Begins. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 4,ISBN978-0-19-967945-4.
^Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, archived fromthe original on 4 October 2013,Great Britain: England, Wales, and Scotland considered as a unit. The name is also often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. Great Britain is the name of the island that comprises England, Scotland, and Wales, although the term is also used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a political unit that includes these countries and Northern Ireland. The British Isles is a geographical term that refers to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and surrounding smaller islands such as the Hebrides and the Channel Islands.
^Brock, Colin (2018),Geography of Education: Scale, Space and Location in the Study of Education, London: Bloomsbury,The political territory of Northern Ireland is not part of Britain, but is part of the nation 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' (UK). Great Britain comprises England, Scotland and Wales.
^Britain, Oxford English Dictionary, archived fromthe original on 22 July 2011,Britain:/ˈbrɪt(ə)n/ the island containing England, Wales, and Scotland. The name is broadly synonymous with Great Britain, but the longer form is more usual for the political unit.
^Koch, John T. (2007).An Atlas for Celtic Studies. Oxford: Oxbow Books.ISBN978-1-84217-309-1.
^Scotland's Census 2011 – Language, All people aged 3 and over. Out of the 60,815,385 residents of the UK over the age of three, 1,541,693 (2.5%) can speak Scots.
^A.J. Aitken inThe Oxford Companion to the English Language, Oxford University Press 1992. p.894
Massey, Gerald (2007).A Book of the Beginnings, Vol. 1. Cosimo.ISBN978-1-60206-829-2.
Taylor, Isaac (2008).Names and Their Histories: A Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature. BiblioBazaar.ISBN978-0-559-29667-3.
Legon, N.W.; Henrici, A. (2005).Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.ISBN978-1-84246-121-1.
Cannon, P.F.; Hawksworth, D.L.; M.A., Sherwood-Pike (1985).The British Ascomycotina. An Annotated Checklist. Commonwealth Mycological Institute & British Mycological Society.ISBN978-0-85198-546-6.
O'Rahilly, T. F. (1946).Early Irish History and Mythology (reprinted 1964, 1971, 1984 ed.). Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.ISBN0-901282-29-4.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
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