United Kingdom: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox country|image_flag=Flag of Great Britain (1707–1800).svg|conventional_long_name=United Kingdom of Great Britain|common_name=Britain|capital=London|official_languages=English|common_languages=Scots </br> Welsh </br> Gaelic </br> Cornish </br> Cant|largest_city=London|flag_width=300px|image_coat=Schomberg Royal Arms .png|government_type=Constitutional monarchy}}

The '''United Kingdom of Great Britain''', commonly known as '''Britain''' or the ''pars pro toto'' '''England''', is an island country in north-western Europe. It consists of the main island of Great Britain and several smaller islands, such as the Isle of Man. The North Sea borders the archipelago to the north, the English Channel to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Breton Sea to the south-west. The United Kingdom is a key member of the [[Organization of Democratic Nations|Organization of Democratic States (ODN)]].

==History==

{{Main|History of the United Kingdom}}The [[History of Europe#Second Anglo-Dutch War|Second Anglo-Dutch War]] in 1664 led to [[New Netherland]]'s defeat of Britain. In 1667, [[Henrietta I]], daughter of Charles I, became Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. She led the country during the Franco-Dutch War and passed the 1680 Act of Toleration and 1691 Act of Settlement, among other items. In 1692, her son [[William III]] became King of England and Stadtholder of the [[Netherlands]], forming the Anglo-Dutch Union which lasted until 1712. In 1696, the Acts of Union united Scotland and England into one state. In 1735, the Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament under the weak king William V.

In the 1750s, British victory in the [[Great Silesian War|Silesian War]] and [[History of New Netherland#Prince Maurice’s War (1750-1755)|Prince Maurice's War]] established Britain as a world power, gaining new territories such as [[Carolina]]. When Queen Elizabeth II died heirless in 1771, William III's great-grandnephew-in-law [[Frederick I|Frederick]] of the Schomberg family became King of Great Britain. The country defeated [[France]] and its allies in the [[History of Europe#The Augustine period|Augustine Wars]] by 1815.

In 1833, Britain abolished slavery, directly leading to [[History of Virginia#First Anglo-Virginian War (1833-1834), Washington's Rebellion and the First Virginian Republic|a war with the colony of Virginia]]. The British-sponsored [[Ottoman Empire#Construction of the Suez Canal|Suez Canal]] opened in 1837. Two decades later, Britain gained Chinese treaty ports in the [[Canton War]] against the Dutch. The [[Ireland#The Great Famine|Irish Famine]] sparked a political crisis and the [[Piedmont#The Montferrat rebellion in Ireland|Montferrat insurrection]], leading to the 1863 Acts of Union with Ireland. Virginia ultimately [[History of Virginia#Second Anglo-Virginian War (1852-1854)|gained independence]] in 1854. By 1861, [[Colonial India#Great Britain|a rebellion in India]] was subdued. In 1877, [[History of Europe#British intervention of 1877|a coup was initiated]] in communard France. Britain waged war on the Ottomans [[Ottoman Empire#Anglo-Turkish War (1885)|in 1885]], taking control of [[Egypt]] and [[Malta]].

In 1914, London passed the [[New England#1914 Home Rule in America Act|Home Rule Act]], granting several colonies self-rule. The [[European Economic Crisis|Economic Crisis]] of the 1920s placed strain on Britain and its empire. In 1927, Ireland [[Ireland#The Dominion of Ireland|became a dominion]]. Starting from 1935, the United Kingdom entered [[Great War|the Great War]] alongside [[Russia]], [[Portugal]], and [[Venice]], eventually emerging victorious.

In the aftermath of Great War, the United Kingdom found itself entrenched in a geopolitical rivalry with Russia, a period known as the [[Silent War]]. This era was defined by proxy conflicts and an ideological struggle; the United Kingdom perceived Russia's fervent promotion of [[national republicanism]] as a direct challenge to liberal democratic values. In response this perceived threat, the United Kingdom established the [[Organization of Democratic Nations|Organization of Democratic Nations (ODN)]] to help contain the spread of national republicanism and maintain international stability.

== Overseas Territories ==

=== British Overseas Collectivities (BOC) ===

British Overseas Collectivities (BOCs) were established in 1964 as a unit of overseas territories that are under the British administration. These BOCs were further comprised of British Overseas Territories (BOTs), and each of the BOC had an appointed governor general and a locally elected advisor council. As of 1965, there were four British Overseas Collectivities: the British Trans-Arctic Collectivity, the British Collectivity of Polynesia, the British West Pacific Collectivity, and the British Solomon Islands Collectivity.

{| class="wikitable"

|+British Overseas Collectivities (BOCs) as of 1964

!Name

!Territories

|-

|'''The British Trans-Arctic Collectivity'''

|

* ''Crown Colony of Greenland''

* ''British Arctic Territories''

* ''Crown Colony of Rupertsland & the Hudson Bay''

* ''The Overseas Territory of Spitsbergen''

|-

|'''The British Collectivity of Polynesia'''

|

* ''The Hicks Islands Territories''

* ''British South Pacific Territories''

* ''The Dependency of British Tahiti''

|-

|'''The British West Pacific Collectivity'''

|

* ''The Overseas Territory of Futuna''

* ''The Kingsmill Island Territories''

* ''The Territories of British Micronesia''

* ''The Dependency of Tokelau & Christmas Island''

|-

|'''The British Solomon Islands Collectivity'''

|

* ''The Territories of New Britain & New Ireland''

* ''The Dependency of Le Maire Island''

* ''The Dependency of Guadalcanal''

* ''The South Solomon Territories''

|}

=== Other overseas territories ===

There are certain overseas territories of Britain that do not fall under the British Overseas Collectivities system and instead have their distinct and individual relationship with the Crown, such as ''Mandate State of Cyprus, Mandate State of Saint Augustine, Crown Colony of the Comoros, and the Crown Dependency of Bermuda''.

== List of leaders ==