Countries+of+Great+Britain

=Countries of Great Britain = England might be the dominant country of the British isles. Here is a presentation of the other nations there: Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Ireland.

=Scotland = Scotland is a part of United Kingdom and shares border with England and Scotland’s head of the state is currently Queen Elizabeth II. There are approximately 5, 2 million people in Scotland. The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh, which is Scotland’s second largest city and one of Europe’s financial centers. 1. may 1707 Scotland got united with England and formed the United Kingdom, but Scotland’s still considered a independent country. Scotland has it's own school system and it's own state church.

First written history begins with the roman invasion. The Romans controlled mostly Wales and England, but for a short period they also controlled southern parts of Scotland. The Romans build Hadrian’s Wall to control tribes on both sides of the wall, but the Caledonians did strong resistance against the Romans, and almost wiped out the whole roman army. The extent of Roman military occupation of any significant part of northern Scotland was limited to a total of about 40 years, because of the strong resistance. And In the following years Kingdom of the Scott's expanded gradually from a little area called Moray into, what we today call Scotland.

With the treaty of union in 1701, The trade tariffs with England was now abolished and the trade bloomed. The treaty also gave Scottish merchants access to the English colonies in America. The tobacco lords made fortunes by trading tobacco in from North America.

Northern Ireland is one out of four countries of The United Kingdom. The country is located in the North of the island Ireland and shares border with the Republic of Ireland. The country has about 1.8 million inhabitants whereof 99,15 % is white. The capital is Belfast and is located in the northeast of the island.
 * Northern Ireland **[[image:UNKG0103.GIF width="266" height="165" align="right"]]

Northern Ireland consists of four out of nine counties of the Irish province of Ulster. It was created as a distinct division of the United Kingdom on 3.may.1921. Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict called the Troubles. The conflict was caused by the division between Nationalist and Unionist. The Unionists wanted Northern Ireland to stay as a part of the United Kingdom, while the Nationalists wanted to free themselves from British rule and be more independent.In 1922 the Irish Civil War broke out between Irish nationalists and Provisional Government. The Irish nationalists won the war and the Irish free state was established as an entity independent from the United kingdom within the British empire.

Wales is a part of both Great Britain, the United Kingdom and an island country in north-west Europe. Wales is placed on the western side of Great Britain. The country borders to England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, St George's Channel in the west and the Irish Sea to the north.
 * Wales **

The capital of Wales is Cardiff, which is one of the biggest cities along with Swansea and  Newport. 2,918,700 people are spread outwards the 20 779 square kilometers that constitute the country. Their official languages are English and Welsh. The Anthem of the people is //Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau// which means //Land Of My Fathers.// The population of Wales has two main religions, Anglicanism and Methodism. The official animal is dragon, so it is not surprisng that the flag is a red dragon on a green and white field.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Industry <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">The main source in the mountains is sheep farming and around the coast it is mostly dairy farming. Heavy industries was very important in earlier times, but Cardiff, the capital city, declined this industry-work in Wales.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">History <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">The oldest son of the king of England, the prince, is the one who is set to rule in Wales. Ever since Wales was conquered by King Edward of England in 1282, England has influenced Wales politically speaking. The country got their National Assembly in 1999, but despite this they do not have the authority to decide what currency to use or control any armed force. This is controlled by the national government of the United Kingdom.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ireland is part of an island consisting of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, while the Republic of Ireland is independent and makes up most of the island area. The capital of Ireland is the city of Dublin. In 2008, the population was approximately 6,2 million.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16pt;">Ireland **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Irish flag is made of the colours green, white and orange. Green symbolizes the Catholic majority, the orange represents the minority of Protestants and the white stands for hope for peace and unity between the two groups.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 14pt;">If you are to visit The Emerald Isle, you'll most likely want to visit "Dublin's fair city" were you can go shopping or see were the first Vikings settled. If you fancy scenic attractions, the Giant' Causeway is something you can't miss.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scotland <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span class="wiki_link_ext">http://www1.american.edu/ted/images4/czhadwall.gif <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span class="wiki_link_ext">http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skottland <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"><span class="wiki_link_ext">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland#Roman_influence

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">Image source: <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/europe/uk/scotland/

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Northern Ireland <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Image Source: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.flags.net/NOIR.htm

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wales <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> http://schools.keldysh.ru/school1413/eng/egorova_ks/str2.html <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/britain/wales.htm

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Image source: <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-wa-hs.html

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> Ireland

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland
<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">Image sources: <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;"> http://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/ireland-flag.html