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United Kingdom Facts and Travel Information
An Introduction to the British Isles
Every book you read about Great Britain
will begin by saying that its character has been shaped by its geography.
An island constantly, but only once successfully, invaded; it has
withstood wave after wave of immigrants. It has always tended to change
them far more than they change it. It’s an island filled with magic and
fairy tales, with warriors and oft shed blood, and with great kings and
treasonous plots. Great Britain is….. Well, it’s very British.
British Character and Tastes
I have often read and heard that British people are reserved; I’ve not
seen that for myself. A friendlier and more welcoming people I’ve not met
anywhere on this planet. They are great lovers of gardens, horses, sports,
and walking. They also have the most quirky and delightful sense of humor
imaginable; a humor that extends far beyond the telling of jokes to find
its way into their everyday living. You’ll find gardens with odd surprises
tucked in where you least expect or see whole towns turn out to roll
cheeses down a hill, and then chase after them!
The British have found a way to preserve and honor their past to a near
unprecedented degree, all the while welcoming the newest, trendiest, and
most novel that modern life has to offer. It’s not unusual to sit in a
three hundred year old pub, in the center of a world class city of millions,
discussing a cutting edge, and perhaps baffling, modern sculpture exhibit
just attended, while drinking beer brewed just as it has been for
centuries.
Historically
Rome may have conquered the world, but the mark they intended to make on
this small green island was far less than they may have hoped. The Roman
language and culture was quickly overlain, consumed, and disappeared into
the, then British, culture. The Anglo Saxon (English) culture that
followed made its mark before it too disappeared and simply became part of
the bigger picture of Britain. William of Normandy successfully conquered
the island in 1066, and ushered in the Middle Ages and the time of the
Normans.
This period saw the creation of the Magna Carta (1215), an attempt by the
British people to protect themselves from the power of the Church and
arbitrary taxation. The early Church in all her glory and unrivaled power
met its match in the British people. While most of us have heard of King
Henry the Eighth and his conflict with The (Catholic) Church, by 1533 when
he divorced his Catholic wife Catherine of Aragon and formed the Church of
England, he was only the last of the Kings of this isle to fight the
harness the Church tried to impose.
In Modern Times
In more modern times Great Britain has often played a leading role in
fighting the most terrible of our wars in an effort to protect other
lands; it has been bombed and battered endlessly as a result. The long
reigning monarchy has lost much of its power in the last years.
Immigrations continues at an unrelenting pace as people the world over
have their imaginations captured by this land and eagerly arrive to stay
and carve out their own place in British history. The European Union and
its euros and the Chunnel to France have attempted to bring conformity to
this isle. With little effect it seems.
In spite of years of turmoil, war, the constant influx of other cultures,
and modern pressures to conform, Britain remains as always very, very
British.
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