United Kingdom (UK)

United Kingdom, an island country located off the northwest coast of continental
Europe. The United Kingdom comprises the entire island of Great Britain, which
contains England, Wales and Scotland, as well as the northern part of the island of
Ireland. The name Great Britain is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom
as a whole. The capital is London, which is among the main commercial, financial
and cultural centers of the world. Other major cities include Birmingham,
Liverpool and Manchester in England, Belfast and Londonderry in Northern
Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and Swansea and Cardiff in Wales.

The UK's origins date back to the time of the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan, who in
the early tenth century ce ensured the loyalty of the neighboring Celtic kingdoms
and became "the first to rule over what many kings formerly shared among
themselves" in the words of a contemporary chronicle. Through subsequent
conquest over the following centuries, the farthest kingdoms came under English
rule. Wales, a group of Celtic kingdoms found in southwestern Britain, formally
joined England by the Union Acts of 1536 and 1542. Scotland, ruled from London
since 1603, formally joined England and Wales in 1707 to form the United
Kingdom of Great Britain (The adjective "British" was used at this time to refer to
all the peoples of the kingdom.) Ireland came under English control during the
17th century and was formally united with Britain through the Union Act of 1800.
The Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922, but six of Ulster's nine
counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. The relations
between these constituent states and England have been marked by controversy
and, at times, open rebellion and even war. These tensions relaxed somewhat in
the late 20th century, when delegate assemblies were introduced in Northern
Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. However, even with the establishment of a power-
sharing assembly after the referendums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic
of Ireland, relations between Northern Ireland unionists (who favor British
sovereignty continues over Northern Ireland) and the nationalists (who favor
unification with the Republic of Ireland) remained tense until the 21st century.
For centuries, people have migrated to the British Isles from many parts of the
world, some to avoid political or religious persecution, others to find a better way
of life or escape poverty. In historical times, immigrants from the European
continent joined the indigenous population of Great Britain during the Roman
Empire and during invasions by Anglos, Saxons, jute, Danes, and Normans. The
Irish have made homes in Britain for a long time. Many Jews came to Britain in the
late 19th century and in the 1930s.

All of the traditional languages spoken in the UK ultimately derive from a common
Indo-European origin, a language so ancient that it has, over the millennia, been
divided into a variety of languages, each with its own peculiarities in sounds,
grammar and vocabulary. . The various languages in what became the United
Kingdom originated when the languages of the European continent developed
independently in the British Isles, without regular communication with their
primary languages.