title: Neutrino

text: Colgate & White (1966) calculated that neutrinos carry away most of the gravitational energy released during the collapse of massive stars, events now categorized as Type Ib and Ic and Type II supernovae. When such stars collapse, matter densities at the core become so high () that the degeneracy of electrons is not enough to prevent protons and electrons from combining to form a neutron and an electron neutrino. Mann (1997) found a second and more profuse neutrino source is the thermal energy (100 billion kelvins) of the newly formed neutron core, which is dissipated via the formation of neutrino–antineutrino pairs of all flavors.


title: Neutrino

text: Colgate and White's theory of supernova neutrino production was confirmed in 1987, when neutrinos from Supernova 1987A were detected. The water-based detectors Kamiokande II and IMB detected 11 and 8 antineutrinos (lepton number = −1) of thermal origin, respectively, while the scintillator-based Baksan detector found 5 neutrinos (lepton number = +1) of either thermal or electron-capture origin, in a burst less than 13 seconds long. The neutrino signal from the supernova arrived at Earth several hours before the arrival of the first electromagnetic radiation, as expected from the evident fact that the latter emerges along with the shock wave. The exceptionally feeble interaction with normal matter allowed the neutrinos to pass through the churning mass of the exploding star, while the electromagnetic photons were slowed.


title: Neutrino

text: Because neutrinos interact so little with matter, it is thought that a supernova's neutrino emissions carry information about the innermost regions of the explosion. Much of the "visible" light comes from the decay of radioactive elements produced by the supernova shock wave, and even light from the explosion itself is scattered by dense and turbulent gases, and thus delayed. The neutrino burst is expected to reach Earth before any electromagnetic waves, including visible light, gamma rays, or radio waves. The exact time delay of the electromagnetic waves' arrivals depends on the velocity of the shock wave and on the thickness of the outer layer of the star. For a Type II supernova, astronomers expect the neutrino flood to be released seconds after the stellar core collapse, while the first electromagnetic signal may emerge hours later, after the explosion shock wave has had time to reach the surface of the star. The Supernova Early Warning System project uses a network of neutrino detectors to monitor the sky for candidate supernova events; the neutrino signal will provide a useful advance warning of a star exploding in the Milky Way.


title: Neutrino

text: Although neutrinos pass through the outer gases of a supernova without scattering, they provide information about the deeper supernova core with evidence that here, even neutrinos scatter to a significant extent. In a supernova core the densities are those of a neutron star (which is expected to be formed in this type of supernova),


title: Neutrino

text: becoming large enough to influence the duration of the neutrino signal by delaying some neutrinos. The 13 second-long neutrino signal from SN 1987A lasted far longer than it would take for unimpeded neutrinos to cross through the neutrino-generating core of a supernova, expected to be only 3200 kilometers in diameter for SN 1987A.


title: Neutrino

text: The number of neutrinos counted was also consistent with a total neutrino energy of , which was estimated to be nearly all of the total energy of the supernova.


title: Neutrino

text: For an average supernova, approximately 10 (an octodecillion) neutrinos are released, but the actual number detected at a terrestrial detector formula_1 will be far smaller, at the level of


title: Neutrino

text: where formula_3 is the mass of the detector (with e.g. Super Kamiokande having a mass of 50 kton) and formula_4 is the distance to the supernova.


title: Neutrino

text: Hence in practice it will only be possible to detect neutrino bursts from supernovae within or nearby the Milky Way (our own galaxy). In addition to the detection of neutrinos from individual supernovae, it should also be possible to detect the diffuse supernova neutrino background, which originates from all supernovae in the Universe.


title: Neutrino

text: The energy of supernova neutrinos ranges from a few to several tens of MeV. The sites where cosmic rays are accelerated are expected to produce neutrinos that are at least one million times more energetic, produced from turbulent gaseous environments left over by supernova explosions: Supernova remnants. The origin of the cosmic rays was attributed to supernovas by Baade and Zwicky; this hypothesis was refined by Ginzburg and Syrovatsky who attributed the origin to supernova remnants, and supported their claim by the crucial remark, that the cosmic ray losses of the Milky Way is compensated, if the efficiency of acceleration in supernova remnants is about 10 percent. Ginzburg and Syrovatskii's hypothesis is supported by the specific mechanism of "shock wave acceleration" happening in supernova remnants, which is consistent with the original theoretical picture drawn by Enrico Fermi, and is receiving support from observational data. The very high-energy neutrinos are still to be seen, but this branch of neutrino astronomy is just in its infancy. The main existing or forthcoming experiments that aim at observing very-high-energy neutrinos from our galaxy are Baikal, AMANDA, IceCube, ANTARES, NEMO and Nestor. Related information is provided by very-high-energy gamma ray observatories, such as VERITAS, HESS and MAGIC. Indeed, the collisions of cosmic rays are supposed to produce charged pions, whose decay give the neutrinos, neutral pions, and gamma rays the environment of a supernova remnant, which is transparent to both types of radiation.


title: Neutrino

text: Still-higher-energy neutrinos, resulting from the interactions of extragalactic cosmic rays, could be observed with the Pierre Auger Observatory or with the dedicated experiment named ANITA.


title: Neutrino

text: It is thought that, just like the cosmic microwave background radiation leftover from the Big Bang, there is a background of low-energy neutrinos in our Universe. In the 1980s it was proposed that these may be the explanation for the dark matter thought to exist in the universe. Neutrinos have one important advantage over most other dark matter candidates: They are known to exist. This idea also has serious problems.


title: Neutrino

text: From particle experiments, it is known that neutrinos are very light. This means that they easily move at speeds close to the speed of light. For this reason, dark matter made from neutrinos is termed "hot dark matter". The problem is that being fast moving, the neutrinos would tend to have spread out evenly in the universe before cosmological expansion made them cold enough to congregate in clumps. This would cause the part of dark matter made of neutrinos to be smeared out and unable to cause the large galactic structures that we see.


title: Neutrino

text: These same galaxies and groups of galaxies appear to be surrounded by dark matter that is not fast enough to escape from those galaxies. Presumably this matter provided the gravitational nucleus for formation. This implies that neutrinos cannot make up a significant part of the total amount of dark matter.


title: Neutrino

text: From cosmological arguments, relic background neutrinos are estimated to have density of 56 of each type per cubic centimeter and temperature () if they are massless, much colder if their mass exceeds . Although their density is quite high, they have not yet been observed in the laboratory, as their energy is below thresholds of most detection methods, and due to extremely low neutrino interaction cross-sections at sub-eV energies. In contrast, boron-8 solar neutrinos – which are emitted with a higher energy – have been detected definitively despite having a space density that is lower than that of relic neutrinos by some 6 orders of magnitude.


title: Neutrino

text: Neutrinos cannot be detected directly because they do not carry electric charge, which means they do not ionize the materials they pass through. Other ways neutrinos might affect their environment, such as the MSW effect, do not produce traceable radiation. A unique reaction to identify antineutrinos, sometimes referred to as inverse beta decay, as applied by Reines and Cowan (see below), requires a very large detector to detect a significant number of neutrinos. All detection methods require the neutrinos to carry a minimum threshold energy. So far, there is no detection method for low-energy neutrinos, in the sense that potential neutrino interactions (for example by the MSW effect) cannot be uniquely distinguished from other causes. Neutrino detectors are often built underground to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and other background radiation.


title: Neutrino

text: Antineutrinos were first detected in the 1950s near a nuclear reactor. Reines and Cowan used two targets containing a solution of cadmium chloride in water. Two scintillation detectors were placed next to the cadmium targets. Antineutrinos with an energy above the threshold of caused charged current interactions with the protons in the water, producing positrons and neutrons. This is very much like decay, where energy is used to convert a proton into a neutron, a positron () and an electron neutrino () is emitted:


title: Neutrino

text: In the Cowan and Reines experiment, instead of an outgoing neutrino, you have an incoming antineutrino () from a nuclear reactor:


title: Neutrino

text: The resulting positron annihilation with electrons in the detector material created photons with an energy of about . Pairs of photons in coincidence could be detected by the two scintillation detectors above and below the target. The neutrons were captured by cadmium nuclei resulting in gamma rays of about that were detected a few microseconds after the photons from a positron annihilation event.


title: Neutrino

text: Since then, various detection methods have been used. Super Kamiokande is a large volume of water surrounded by photomultiplier tubes that watch for the Cherenkov radiation emitted when an incoming neutrino creates an electron or muon in the water. The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory is similar, but used heavy water as the detecting medium, which uses the same effects, but also allows the additional reaction any-flavor neutrino photo-dissociation of deuterium, resulting in a free neutron which is then detected from gamma radiation after chlorine-capture. Other detectors have consisted of large volumes of chlorine or gallium which are periodically checked for excesses of argon or germanium, respectively, which are created by electron-neutrinos interacting with the original substance. MINOS used a solid plastic scintillator coupled to photomultiplier tubes, while Borexino uses a liquid pseudocumene scintillator also watched by photomultiplier tubes and the NOνA detector uses liquid scintillator watched by avalanche photodiodes. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory uses of the Antarctic ice sheet near the south pole with photomultiplier tubes distributed throughout the volume.


title: Neutrino

text: Neutrinos' low mass and neutral charge mean they interact exceedingly weakly with other particles and fields. This feature of weak interaction interests scientists because it means neutrinos can be used to probe environments that other radiation (such as light or radio waves) cannot penetrate.


title: Neutrino

text: Using neutrinos as a probe was first proposed in the mid-20th century as a way to detect conditions at the core of the Sun. The solar core cannot be imaged directly because electromagnetic radiation (such as light) is diffused by the great amount and density of matter surrounding the core. On the other hand, neutrinos pass through the Sun with few interactions. Whereas photons emitted from the solar core may require 40,000 years to diffuse to the outer layers of the Sun, neutrinos generated in stellar fusion reactions at the core cross this distance practically unimpeded at nearly the speed of light.


title: Neutrino

text: Neutrinos are also useful for probing astrophysical sources beyond the Solar System because they are the only known particles that are not significantly attenuated by their travel through the interstellar medium. Optical photons can be obscured or diffused by dust, gas, and background radiation. High-energy cosmic rays, in the form of swift protons and atomic nuclei, are unable to travel more than about 100 megaparsecs due to the Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuzmin limit (GZK cutoff). Neutrinos, in contrast, can travel even greater distances barely attenuated.


title: Neutrino

text: The galactic core of the Milky Way is fully obscured by dense gas and numerous bright objects. Neutrinos produced in the galactic core might be measurable by Earth-based neutrino telescopes.


title: Neutrino

text: Another important use of the neutrino is in the observation of supernovae, the explosions that end the lives of highly massive stars. The core collapse phase of a supernova is an extremely dense and energetic event. It is so dense that no known particles are able to escape the advancing core front except for neutrinos. Consequently, supernovae are known to release approximately 99% of their radiant energy in a short (10 second) burst of neutrinos. These neutrinos are a very useful probe for core collapse studies.


title: Neutrino

text: The rest mass of the neutrino is an important test of cosmological and astrophysical theories (see "Dark matter"). The neutrino's significance in probing cosmological phenomena is as great as any other method, and is thus a major focus of study in astrophysical communities.


title: Neutrino

text: The study of neutrinos is important in particle physics because neutrinos typically have the lowest mass, and hence are examples of the lowest-energy particles theorized in extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics.


title: Neutrino

text: In November 2012, American scientists used a particle accelerator to send a coherent neutrino message through 780 feet of rock. This marks the first use of neutrinos for communication, and future research may permit binary neutrino messages to be sent immense distances through even the densest materials, such as the Earth's core.


title: Neutrino

text: In July 2018, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory announced that they have traced an extremely-high-energy neutrino that hit their Antarctica-based research station in September 2017 back to its point of origin in the blazar TXS 0506 +056 located 3.7 billion light-years away in the direction of the constellation Orion. This is the first time that a neutrino detector has been used to locate an object in space and that a source of cosmic rays has been identified.


title: Neutrino

text: In November 2022, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory found evidence of high-energy neutrino emission from NGC 1068, also known as Messier 77, an active galaxy in the constellation Cetus and one of the most familiar and well-studied galaxies to date.


title: God of War II

text: God of War II is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). First released for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) console on March 13, 2007, it is the second installment in the "God of War" series, the sixth chronologically, and the sequel to 2005's "God of War". The game is based on Greek mythology and set in ancient Greece, with vengeance as its central motif. The player character is protagonist Kratos, the new God of War who killed the former, Ares. Kratos is betrayed by Zeus, the King of the Olympian gods, who strips him of his godhood and kills him. Slowly dragged to the Underworld, he is saved by the Titan Gaia, who instructs him to find the Sisters of Fate, as they can allow him to travel back in time, avert his betrayal, and take revenge on Zeus.


title: God of War II

text: The gameplay is similar to the previous installment. It focuses on combo-based combat which is achieved through the player's main weapon—Athena's Blades—and secondary weapons acquired throughout the game. It features quick time events (QTEs) that require players to quickly complete various game controller actions to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The player can use up to four magical attacks and a power-enhancing ability as alternative combat options. The game also features puzzles and platforming elements. Compared to its predecessor, "God of War II" features improved puzzles and four times as many bosses.


title: God of War II

text: "God of War II" has been acclaimed as one of the best video games of all time and was 2007's "PlayStation Game of the Year" at the Golden Joystick Awards. In 2009, IGN listed it as the second-best PlayStation 2 game of all time, and both IGN and GameSpot consider it the "swan song" of the PlayStation 2 era. In 2012, "Complex" magazine named "God of War II" the best PlayStation 2 game of all time. It was the best-selling game in the UK during the week of its release and went on to sell 4.24 million copies worldwide, making it the sixteenth-best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time. "God of War II", along with "God of War", was remastered and released on November 17, 2009, as part of the "God of War Collection" for the PlayStation 3 (PS3). The remastered version was re-released on August 28, 2012, as part of the "God of War Saga", also for the PlayStation 3. A novelization of the game was published in February 2013. A sequel, "God of War III", was released on March 16, 2010.


title: God of War II

text: "God of War II" is an action-adventure game with hack and slash elements. It's a third-person single-player video game viewed from a fixed camera perspective. The player controls the character Kratos in combo-based combat, platforming, and puzzle game elements, and battles foes who primarily stem from Greek mythology, including harpies, minotaurs, Gorgons, griffins, cyclopes, cerberuses, Sirens, satyrs, and nymphs. Other monsters were created specifically for the game, including undead legionnaires, ravens, undead barbarians, beast lords, rabid hounds, wild boars, and the army of the Fates, including sentries, guardians, juggernauts, and high priests. Many of the combination attacks used in "God of War" reappear, and the game features more than double the amount of boss fights and more difficult puzzles than the original. Platforming elements require the player to climb walls and ladders, jump across chasms, swing on ropes, and balance across beams to proceed through sections of the game. Some puzzles are simple, such as moving a box so that the player can use it as a jumping-off point to access a pathway unreachable with normal jumping, while others are more complex, such as finding several items across different areas of the game to unlock one door.


title: God of War II

text: In addition to the regular health, magic, and experience chests that are found throughout the game world, there are three Uber Chests to be found. Two of these chests provide an additional increment to the Health and Magic Meters, respectively, and the third chest contains an abundance of red and gold orbs. Several urns are also hidden in the game (e.g., the Urn of Gaia) which, upon completion of the game, unlocks special abilities (e.g., unlimited magic) for use during bonus play.


title: God of War II

text: Kratos' main weapon is a pair of blades attached to chains that are wrapped around the character's wrists and forearms. Called Athena's Blades (also known as the Blades of Athena) in this game, they can be swung offensively in various maneuvers. As the game progresses, Kratos acquires new weapons—the Barbarian Hammer, the Spear of Destiny, and periodically, the Blade of Olympus—offering alternative combat options. Although Kratos begins the game with Athena's Blades and the magic ability Poseidon's Rage (both at maximum power), the blades' power is reduced and the magic is relinquished after an encounter with Zeus (Poseidon's Rage can be regained by obtaining a certain urn). As with previous games, Kratos learns to use up to four magical abilities, such as Typhon's Bane that acts as a bow and arrow for distant targets, giving him a variety of ways to attack and kill enemies. Other new magical abilities include Cronos' Rage, Head of Euryale, and Atlas Quake. The special ability Rage of the Gods featured in the previous game is replaced by Rage of the Titans; unlike the previous game, the Rage meter—which allows usage of the ability—does not have to be full in order to use the ability, and can be switched on and off at will.


title: God of War II

text: Kratos retains the relic Poseidon's Trident from the original installment, and gains new relics; the Amulet of the Fates, the Golden Fleece, and Icarus' Wings, each being required to advance through certain stages of the game. For example, the Amulet of the Fates slows time, but this does not affect Kratos and allows puzzle-solving that can not be achieved in normal game time. The Amulet of the Fates has limited usage before needing to be recharged (which occurs automatically and is represented by the Amulet of the Fates Meter). The Golden Fleece deflects enemy projectiles back at the enemies (used to solve certain puzzles). Icarus' Wings allows Kratos to glide across large chasms that cannot be crossed with normal jumping.


title: God of War II

text: This game's challenge mode is called the Challenge of the Titans (seven trials), and requires players to complete a series of specific tasks (e.g., kill all enemies without being attacked). The player may unlock bonus costumes for Kratos, behind-the-scenes videos, and concept art of the characters and environments, as rewards, as well as usage of the abilities found in the urns during the first playthrough. Completion of each difficulty level unlocks additional rewards, as does collecting twenty eyes from defeated cyclopes. A new mode, called Arena of the Fates, allows players to set difficulty levels and choose their own opponents to improve their skills.


title: God of War II

text: As with its predecessor, "God of War II" is set in an alternate version of ancient Greece, populated by the Olympian gods, Titans, heroes, and other beings of Greek mythology. With the exception of flashbacks, the events are set between those of the games "" (2007) and "God of War III" (2010). Several locations are explored, including a real-world setting in the ancient city of Rhodes, and several fictional locations, including a brief scene in the Underworld, the Lair of Typhon, the Island of Creation and its locales, Tartarus, and a brief scene on Mount Olympus.


title: God of War II

text: Rhodes, its skyline dominated by the massive statue, the Colossus of Rhodes, is a war-torn city under assault by Kratos, the God of War, and his Spartan army. The Lair of Typhon, hidden in an unknown location, is a snow-topped mountain and prison of the Titans Typhon and Prometheus. The Island of Creation is a vast island located at the edge of the world and home to the Sisters of Fate. The island is host to deadly traps, puzzles, and monsters. On the outskirts of the island are the Steeds of Time, and on the island itself are the Temples of Lakhesis and Atropos, and the Bog of the Forgotten, which hides the Gorgon Euryale and is the site of Jason of the Argonauts' last battle. Beyond the Bog are the Lowlands and the Great Chasm: a huge divide that blocks the way to the Palace of the Fates. At the base of the Chasm is the realm of Tartarus—prison of the Titan Atlas, condemned to hold the world on his shoulders. The Temple of the Fates is also filled with traps and monsters, while the final battle occurs on Mount Olympus, home to the gods.


title: God of War II

text: The protagonist of the game is Kratos (voiced by Terrence C. Carson), a Spartan warrior who became the God of War after killing the former, Ares. Other characters include Athena (Carole Ruggier), the Goddess of Wisdom; Zeus (Corey Burton), the King of the Gods and the main antagonist; several Titans—including Gaia (Linda Hunt), Atlas (Michael Clarke Duncan), Prometheus (Alan Oppenheimer), Typhon (Fred Tatasciore), and Cronos (Lloyd Sherr)—heroes Theseus (Paul Eiding) and Perseus (Harry Hamlin); the insane Icarus (Bob Joles); the Gorgon Euryale (Jennifer Martin); an undead version of the Barbarian King (Bob Joles); and the Sisters of Fate—Lakhesis (Leigh-Allyn Baker), Atropos (Debi Mae West), and Clotho (Susan Silo). Minor characters include the boat captain (Keith Ferguson) and a loyal Spartan soldier (Josh Keaton; credited as the Last Spartan). Kratos' wife Lysandra, their daughter Calliope, and the Titan Rhea appear in flashbacks. The gods Hades and Poseidon appear in flashbacks of the Great War, and in the final cutscene alongside Zeus, Helios, and Hermes on Olympus.


title: God of War II

text: Kratos, the new God of War following Ares' death, is still haunted by nightmares of his past and is shunned by the other gods for his destructive ways. Ignoring Athena's warnings, Kratos joins the Spartan army in an attack on Rhodes, during which a giant eagle, which Kratos assumes to be Athena, suddenly drains a huge portion of his powers and uses it to animate the Colossus of Rhodes. While battling the statue, Zeus offers Kratos the Blade of Olympus, a mighty sword that Zeus had used to end the Great War, requiring Kratos to infuse the blade with the remainder of his godly power. Although mortal once again, Kratos defeats the Colossus but is mortally wounded. The eagle reveals itself to have been Zeus all along, who states he was forced to intervene as Athena refused to do so. Zeus then grants Kratos a final opportunity to be loyal to the gods, but Kratos refuses. Enraged by his defiance, Zeus kills him with the blade and destroys the Spartan army.


title: God of War II

text: Kratos is slowly dragged to the Underworld, but is saved by the Titan Gaia. Gaia tells Kratos that she once raised the young Zeus, who eventually betrayed the Titans as vengeance for the cruelty inflicted on his siblings by Zeus' father, Cronos. She instructs Kratos to find the Sisters of Fate, who can alter time, prevent his death, and allow him his revenge on Zeus. With the aid of Pegasus, Kratos finds the lair of Gaia's brother Typhon. Imprisoned under a mountain, Typhon is angered at the intrusion and traps Pegasus, forcing Kratos to explore on foot. Kratos encounters the Titan Prometheus, who is chained in mortal form and tortured at Zeus' directive for giving fire to mankind. Prometheus begs to be released from his torment, so Kratos confronts Typhon to steal his magical bow. He blinds the massive Titan with it to escape and then uses it to free Prometheus, who falls into the Flames of Olympus and dies, finally free of eternal torture. The immolation releases the power of the Titans which Kratos absorbs, using it to free Pegasus and then fly to the Island of Creation.


title: God of War II

text: Just before reaching the island, Kratos fights and kills Theseus to awaken the gigantic stone Steeds of Time—a gift to the Sisters of Fate from Cronos in an attempt to change his own fate—which grants Kratos access to the island. There, Kratos encounters and defeats several foes, some of whom are also seeking the Sisters of Fate, including an undead version of his old foe the Barbarian King, the Gorgon Euryale, Perseus, and a deranged Icarus, who throws himself with Kratos into Tartarus. After defeating Icarus, Kratos eventually encounters the imprisoned Titan Atlas, who initially resents Kratos for his current predicament. After Kratos explains his intent, Atlas reveals that Gaia and the other Titans also seek revenge on Zeus for their defeat in the Great War. Atlas also reveals that the Blade of Olympus is the key to defeating Zeus and helps Kratos to reach the Palace of the Fates.


title: God of War II

text: After evading traps and defeating more enemies, Kratos encounters an unseen foe, revealed to be a loyal Spartan soldier also in search of the Sisters. Before he dies, the soldier informs Kratos that Zeus has destroyed Sparta in Kratos' absence. Outraged, Kratos defeats the Kraken and frees a phoenix, riding the creature to the Sisters' stronghold where he confronts two, Lakhesis and Atropos. After they refuse his request to alter time, Kratos battles them. During this, the Sisters try to change the outcome of Kratos' battle with Ares, but Kratos kills them both, then confronts the remaining Sister, Clotho. He kills her using her own traps, and acquires the Loom of Fate in order to return to the point at which Zeus betrayed him.


title: God of War II

text: Kratos surprises Zeus, seizes the Blade of Olympus, and finally incapacitates him. Athena intervenes and implores Kratos to stop, as by killing Zeus, he will destroy Olympus. Kratos ignores her and tries to kill Zeus, but Athena sacrifices herself by impaling herself upon the blade, granting Zeus' escape. Before she dies, Athena reveals that Kratos is actually Zeus' son. Zeus was afraid Kratos would usurp him, just as Zeus had usurped his own father, Cronos. Kratos declares that the rule of the gods is at an end, then travels back in time and rescues the Titans just before their defeat in the Great War. He returns with the Titans to the present, and the gods watch as their former foes climb Mount Olympus. Kratos, standing on the back of Gaia, declares that he has brought the destruction of Olympus.


title: God of War II

text: A sequel to "God of War" was first teased at the end of its credits, which stated, "Kratos Will Return". "God of War II" was officially announced at the 2006 Game Developers Conference (GDC). "God of War" Game Director David Jaffe stepped down and became the Creative Director of its sequel. "God of War"s lead animator Cory Barlog assumed the role of Game Director. In an interview with "Computer and Video Games" ("CVG") in June 2006, Barlog said that while working on the first few drafts of script, he studied the mythology extensively. He said that the mythology is so large that "the real difficulty is picking things that really fit within the story of Kratos as well as being easy to swallow for audiences." Although he loves the idea of teaching things through storytelling (in this case Greek mythology), Barlog said, "you can't let your story get bogged down by that." He said that in the game, players would see "a larger view of Kratos' role within the mythological world." He also said that he liked the idea of a trilogy, but there were no plans "as of right now."


title: God of War II

text: Like "God of War", the game uses Santa Monica's Kinetica engine. Senior combat designer Derek Daniels said that for "God of War II", they were basing the magical attacks on elements (e.g., air and earth). He said the combat system was updated so that it flowed smoothly between attacks and switching between weapons and magic. He said that they were working for a similar balance of puzzle solving, exploration, and combat seen in the first game, and they used elements that worked in that game as a base for the overall balance. Unlike "God of War" where magic had a small role, Daniels said that for "God of War II", their goal was to make magic an integral part of the combat system and to make it more refined. Barlog said the game would feature new creatures and heroes from the mythology, and he wanted to put more boss battles in it. Commenting on multiplayer options, Barlog said that "there are possibilities for that but it is not something we are doing right now." He said that he felt that "God of War" is a single-player experience, and although multiplayer "would be cool," it did not appeal to him to work on. As for a PlayStation Portable (PSP) installment, he said that he thought it "would be freaking awesome," but not something he had time to work on and it was Sony's decision whether or not to make a PSP installment.


title: God of War II

text: In an interview with IGN in February 2007, Barlog said that his goals for "God of War II" were to continue the previous game's story, expand on several elements, and to feature more epic moments as opposed to cinematics during gameplay. He said there were many additions to the game, but they did not differ greatly from the style of the previous game. Set-pieces and large scale epic moments were reworked "so that each battle you have really feels epic and unique." Barlog also hinted that another sequel would be made; he said, "The story has not yet been completed. The end has only just begun."


title: God of War II

text: In another interview with IGN, both Jaffe and Barlog said that they did not view "God of War II" as a sequel, but rather a continuation of the previous game. Jaffe said that they did not want to include the Roman numeral number two (II) in the title for this reason, but they did not want the title to convey the impression it was an expansion pack. Both Jaffe and Barlog said that the reason "God of War II" appeared on the PlayStation 2 instead of the PlayStation 3—which was released four months prior to "God of War II"—was because "there's a 100 million people out there that will be able to play "God of War II" as soon as it launches." Barlog assured that the game would be playable on the newer platform, which at the time, had PlayStation 2 backwards-compatibility.


title: God of War II

text: Four of the voice actors from the previous installment returned to reprise their roles, including Terrence C. Carson and Keith Ferguson, who voiced Kratos and the boat captain, respectively. Linda Hunt returned as the narrator, who was revealed to be the Titan Gaia, and Carole Ruggier returned as Athena; this was her final time voicing the character until a brief cameo in 2018's "God of War". Both Paul Eiding, who had voiced Zeus and the gravedigger, and Fred Tatasciore, who had voiced Poseidon, returned but did not reprise those roles, and instead voiced the characters Theseus and Typhon, respectively. Corey Burton assumed the role of Zeus, having previously voiced the character in the 1998 Disney animated film "" and the subsequent animated series "Hercules". Famed actors Michael Clarke Duncan and Leigh-Allyn Baker lent their voices for the characters Atlas and Lakhesis, respectively. Actor Harry Hamlin was chosen to voice the character Perseus because of his previous portrayal of the same character in the 1981 feature film "Clash of the Titans". Although removed early in the game's development, Cam Clarke is credited for the voice of Hercules. Keythe Farley was the voice director alongside Kris Zimmerman and Gordon Hunt.


title: God of War II

text: "God of War II" was released in North America on March 13, 2007, in Europe on April 27, and May 3 in Australia. It was released in Japan on October 25 by Capcom, under the title . The North American version was packaged in a two-disc set. The first disc was the PlayStation 2 game disc and the second disc was a DVD documentary of the game's development. The European/Australian PAL version was released as two different editions: a single-disc standard edition and a two-disc "Special Edition" with different box art and a bonus DVD. On April 6, 2008, it became available in the PlayStation 2 line up of Greatest Hits. Upon release, the game was banned in the United Arab Emirates due to "one topless scene".


title: God of War II

text: Upon release, "God of War II" was commercially successful in multiple markets. In North America, it sold 833,209 copies by the end of March 2007, twice as many copies as the next-best selling game. It was the best-selling game in the UK in the first week of release. It sold over one million copies in the first three months after release, and in June 2012, Sony reported it sold more than 4.24 million copies worldwide.


title: God of War II

text: As a pre-order incentive, the demo disc of "God of War II" was made available to all customers who pre-ordered the game. On March 1, 2007, Sony held a media event that featured scantily clad women and a dead goat in Athens as part of the game's marketing campaign. The following month, the "Daily Mail" learned of the event from the UK "Official PlayStation Magazine", called it a "depraved promotion stunt", and reported that Member of Parliament and anti-video game violence campaigner Keith Vaz said he would understand if the incident resulted in a boycott of Sony products. In response, Sony said the event had been sensationalized with hyperbole and that the article contained several inaccuracies, but apologized for the event.


title: God of War II

text: The game and its predecessor, "God of War", were released in North America on November 17, 2009, as part of the "God of War Collection", featuring remastered ports of both games for the PlayStation 3 platform, with upscaled graphics and support for PlayStation 3 Trophies. It became available in Japan on March 18, 2010, Australia on April 29, and the UK on April 30. The "God of War II Bonus Materials"—content included on the second disc of the original North American PlayStation 2 version—was included with the retail version of the collection. "God of War Collection" was released as a digital download on the PlayStation Store on November 2, 2010, and was the first product containing PlayStation 2 software available via download. PlayStation Plus subscribers could download a one-hour trial of each game. The bonus materials, however, are not included in the digital download version.<ref name="GoWC 11/2"></ref> A PlayStation Vita version of "God of War Collection" was released on May 6, 2014. By June 2012, "God of War Collection" had sold more than 2.4 million copies worldwide. On August 28, 2012, "God of War Collection", "God of War III", and "" were included in the "God of War Saga" under Sony's line of PlayStation Collections for the PlayStation 3 in North America.


title: God of War II

text: "God of War II: Original Soundtrack from the Video Game", composed by Gerard K. Marino, Ron Fish, Mike Reagan, and Cris Velasco, was released on CD by Sony Computer Entertainment on April 10, 2007. Dave Valentine of Square Enix Music Online gave the soundtrack an 8 out of 10, and said that it features a wide variety of ominous orchestral pieces, and each composer's contributions seem slightly more distinctive than the previous installment. Spence D. of IGN wrote that the score "is an impressive orchestral accomplishment within the ever-growing and constantly changing arena of videogame composition," but that it was aimed more towards the gaming experience of "God of War II", rather than being a stand-alone musical experience. At the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, the score was nominated for "Best Original Score". In March 2010, the soundtrack was released as downloadable content as part of the "God of War Trilogy Soundtrack" in the "God of War III Ultimate Edition".


title: God of War II

text: An official novelization of the game, titled "God of War II", was announced in July 2009, along with a novelization of the original "God of War". It was written by Robert E. Vardeman and published on February 12, 2013, by Del Rey Books in North America, and on February 19, 2013, in Europe by Titan Books. It is available in paperback, Kindle, and audio formats. The novel recounts the events of the game and adds even more layers than what the first book did in relation to the first game. The Sisters of Fate are given more story instead of only being the next to last boss fight of the game. They are introduced in Chapter 2 and have several chapters dedicated to what they were doing throughout Kratos' journey. For example, they allowed the Titans to come back due to their boredom and Lahkesis in particular liked to toy with Kratos. Due to how much the Sisters dabbled with Kratos' fate, it allowed him to make it as far as he did and also allowed him to act on his own will due to the many alterations to his life thread.


title: God of War II

text: The intentions of some characters actions are also explained, and some characters are given more backstory. The Titan Typhon did not want to help Kratos because if he failed, Zeus would kill Typhon's wife Echidna and their children, who Zeus had allowed to live in freedom while Typhon was imprisoned. Theseus, the King of Athens, wanted the Sisters to give the god Dionysus a new lover so that he could have Ariadne back, and wanted to revive his father Aegus, who committed suicide as he thought Theseus had died. Theseus had the Aegean Sea named after his father. Jason of the Argonauts had stolen the Golden Fleece from Aeëtes of Colchis. He also loved a witch named Medea, who helped him steal the Fleece by killing her own brother. She also convinced Jason's nieces to murder his uncle Pelias and eat him as Pelias was going to betray Jason due to a false prophecy. Jason forsook Medea and married the daughter of King Creon, Creus, who was killed by Medea, along with their children. Despite this, Jason wanted Medea back because Creus did not truly love him. Jason died by Kratos' hand instead of the cerberus' as Jason tried to kill Kratos to get the Fleece back. Perseus was also given some backstory. He had fought the Graeae, a trio of witches. He fought the Gorgons and killed a monster that King Cepheus had tried to appease with a sacrifice. He wanted the Sisters to revive Andromeda, who was not explicitly mentioned in the game.


title: God of War II

text: The novel introduced some characters who were not present in the game, or any other game. The goddesses Demeter and Hestia both made a very brief appearance just prior to Kratos joining the Spartans in Rhodes where Kratos overheard them discussing their displeasure of the endless war in Greece. Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow and an occasional messenger, was another new character and had a more substantial role. Atropos contacted Iris and had her lie to Zeus about Kratos on several instances, and was the cause of distrust among the Olympians due to her rumor spreading and half-truths. She eventually replaced Hermes as the Messenger of the Gods. She also told Zeus that he would need to appoint a new God of War. Zeus pondered about making Hercules the new God of War. Athena wished Kratos to be returned as the God of War, thinking by doing so, it would stop the chaos and dissension between the gods. Hermes had thought to suggest Perseus as the new God of War and gifted him his invisibility helmet. Hermes eventually regained his position as the Messenger of the Gods when he finally convinced Zeus that Iris had been lying to him about Kratos. Iris was subsequently banished from Olympus, only to appear at sunrise and sunset, and when it rained.


title: God of War II

text: The novel also explained that the Titans Rhea, Themis, Iapetus, and Mnemosyne, along with Hyperion, were banished to Tartarus after the Great War. At the end of the novel, the Titan Atlas was one of the Titans brought back from the past to reignite the Great War; in the game, Atlas was not brought back. Also in the game, Kratos and Theseus' fight was to determine who was the greatest warrior in all of Greece. This was not the bases for their fight in the novel. Another omission is that during Kratos' fight with the Barbarian King, the Boat Captain was not summoned to fight Kratos. Kratos also did not keep Euryale's head as a weapon. The first book omitted Kratos receiving the Blades of Athena; this book did not explain how he received them as he already had them at the start of the novel.


title: God of War II

text: Regarded as one of the best PlayStation 2 and action games of all time, "God of War II" received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator Metacritic. It has been praised for its story and improvements over its predecessor, such as gameplay and graphics. Chris Roper of IGN said that "God of War II" is "one of gaming's most intense and engaging experiences available." He said it "is practically devoid" of the minor flaws of the original, citing an example that players can now quickly navigate wall climbing, such as being able to vertically slide down walls. Furthering his praise of the gameplay, he said that it is one of the most "polished and refined experiences...in gaming." Although he said that the combat mechanics were practically identical to the original, he had no complaints, stating it is "for good reason as it was already perfect the first time out."


title: God of War II

text: Kristan Reed of Eurogamer said that ""God of War II" sports one of the most satisfyingly honed game designs we've ever come across." He said that it would not overwhelm players and that it motivates them to improve their skills. He said that the balance "always feels spot-on," and the "learning curve is just right," adding that the magic attacks are more useful than those in "God of War". He also said that "God of War II"s gameplay, like the original, "finds a comfortable middle ground" between hardcore and casual players. Alex Navarro of GameSpot praised the pace of the game and the puzzle designs, and said the "scale of some of the levels is unbelievably massive." He also said that the story is interesting because it is more about what happens around Kratos, than what happens to him. Matt Leone of 1UP said that the strongest aspect "is how it excels as both a story and an action game," and it is the story that "allows the game to feel like a true sequel." Roper praised the scale of the levels, as well as the variety in environments, in comparison to the original installment, and said the art direction is "once again absolutely outstanding."


title: God of War II

text: Reed praised the amount of detail and said that "at no stage did we ever see even a hint of frame-rate drop or v-syncing glitches." He also said that playing the game on the PS3 sharpens up the visuals. Navarro said that both the sound and graphics were "superb" and the technical graphics are impressive for the PlayStation 2. GameTrailers said that in terms of visuals, "there aren't that many PlayStation 2 games in the same league as "God of War II"." GameZone said that despite the issue of clipping, the game is "unbelievably gorgeous".


title: God of War II

text: Roper said that there were a couple of puzzles "that seemed a little rough around the edges and whose otherwise straightforward solution suffered a bit from imperfect implementation." He also criticized the difficulty of unlocking some of the bonus content, as some requirements are "punishingly hard for most everyone." Reed, however, said if players can find any flaws, they are based on "personal taste", but also stated that regardless of refinement, "you can never quite replicate the wow factor of the original—even if it ends up being a better game." Navarro said that at times, the combat is "overly straightforward ... and still prone to button mashing," and said that it was "a bit disappointing" that more was not done to the combat system. He criticized the cliffhanger ending and said a few of the bonus challenges "aren't all that great." GameTrailers criticized the invisible walls, stating that "There are places you should be able to go that you simply can't." They also cited inconsistency issues in regards to navigation. Leone said his "only real" disappointment is that he did not feel the game was evolving the series.


title: God of War II

text: Both IGN and GameSpot consider "God of War II" to be the "swan song" of the PlayStation 2 era. In 2007, it was awarded "PlayStation Game of the Year" at the 25th annual Golden Joystick Awards, and UGO awarded it "PS2 Game of the Year". At the 2007 Spike Video Game Awards, it was a nominee for "Best Action Game" and "Best Original Score". At the 12th Satellite Awards, "God of War II" received the Outstanding Platform Action/Adventure Game award. At the 2007 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Video Game Awards, "God of War II" received the "Story and Character" and "Technical Achievement" awards, and was a nominee for "Action and Adventure", "Original Score", and "Use of Audio". In 2009, IGN named "God of War II" the second-best PlayStation 2 game of all time—five ahead of its predecessor. In November 2012, "Complex" magazine named "God of War II" the best PlayStation 2 game of all time—where "God of War" was named the eleventh-best—and also considered it better than its successor, "God of War III".


title: Andy Carroll

text: Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Championship side Reading. He has played in the Premier League and English Football League for Newcastle United, Preston North End, Liverpool, West Ham United, and West Bromwich Albion, and has nine caps for the England national team, scoring two goals.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll began his professional career with Newcastle United in 2006, before spending a brief period on loan with Preston North End, during which time he scored his first league goal. He established himself as a regular in the Newcastle first team by 2008, and following Newcastle's relegation from the Premier League to the Championship in 2009, scored 17 goals in 39 appearances to help Newcastle finish first in the league, earning immediate promotion in the process. The following season he scored 11 goals in 19 appearances, before leaving for Liverpool on transfer deadline day in January, signing for a fee of £35 million, at the time the record for a British footballer.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Despite two goals on his injury-delayed debut, Carroll struggled for goals at Liverpool, moving on a season-long loan to West Ham United in 2012, made permanent a year later for a fee of £15 million. He spent six injury-impacted years at West Ham, and was released in 2019 at the end of his contract. Carroll then re-signed for Newcastle, spending two years at the club until being released at the end of his contract in 2021. Carroll then moved to Reading on a short term deal.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll played nine matches for England between 2010 and 2012, scoring twice, including one goal at UEFA Euro 2012.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll, an occasional scorer in Newcastle United's reserve team, signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2006. He made his first-team debut on 2 November 2006 at the age of 17 years and 300 days in a 1–0 UEFA Cup win over Palermo, coming on as a late substitute for Nolberto Solano. In doing so, he became the youngest ever player to represent Newcastle in Europe.


title: Andy Carroll

text: He made his FA Cup debut on 17 January 2007, appearing as substitute for the last ten minutes in the 5–1 home defeat by Birmingham City. On 25 February 2007, Carroll made his Premier League debut for Newcastle, coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute in the 1–0 defeat by Wigan Athletic, almost scoring in the process; only a good save from Wigan goalkeeper John Filan prevented him from scoring his first Newcastle goal.


title: Andy Carroll

text: In 2007, he was the recipient of the Wor Jackie Milburn Trophy, awarded every year to the rising star of North-East football, chosen from among Newcastle players.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 29 July 2007, Carroll scored his first senior goal with a left-foot shot in a 2–0 win over Juventus in a friendly match. After the match, Carroll received praise from Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who tipped Carroll to have a big future.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 14 August 2007, Carroll began a six-month loan with Preston North End, and made his debut for them in the League Cup against Morecambe on the same day. Carroll received his first red card of his professional career playing for Preston against Scunthorpe United on 18 September. He scored his first Championship goal, and his first English league goal, against Leicester City on 6 November.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll made his first appearance for Newcastle in the 2008–09 season on 20 October, coming on as a substitute for Shola Ameobi at home to Manchester City. Carroll scored his first competitive goal for Newcastle on his first ever home start with a header against West Ham United in a 2–2 draw on 10 January 2009. He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract on 12 March 2009, in theory keeping him at Newcastle until 2012.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Following Newcastle's relegation, and the departures of first-team strikers, Michael Owen, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins, Carroll was paired with Shola Ameobi in attack for Newcastle at the start of the new season. His first league goal in the Championship came on 16 September 2009 against Blackpool with a header. By 2010, Carroll was playing almost every match, in a new strike partnership with Peter Løvenkrands. This partnership accounted for more than half of the club's goals in 2010. Carroll finished the season as Newcastle's top scorer, with 19 goals in all competitions, 17 in the league.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll was given squad number 9 for the 2010–11 season, a number with great significance for Newcastle United supporters, as it has been worn in the past for Newcastle by the likes of Jackie Milburn, Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Shearer. Carroll scored his first career hat-trick against Aston Villa in their 6–0 win in the Premier League on 22 August 2010. Carroll captained Newcastle for the first time on 3 October 2010 when he came on as a substitute for Kevin Nolan against Manchester City. In October 2010, Carroll signed a new five-year contract, on paper keeping him at the club until 2015. Carroll scored Newcastle's third in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool at St James' Park on 11 December 2010, with a low 25-yard drive.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 31 January 2011, Liverpool put in a bid of £30 million for Carroll, which was rejected. Newcastle then accepted a bid of £35 million and, following the agreement of personal terms and a medical, the transfer was completed shortly before the 11:00 pm deadline.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll insisted he was forced out of Newcastle, but United claimed he had handed in a transfer request after they turned down Liverpool's £30 million bid. Liverpool confirmed that Carroll would wear the number 9 jersey previously worn by Fernando Torres, who left Anfield for Chelsea on the same evening for £50 million. The transfer made Carroll the eighth overall most expensive footballer at the time, and also the most expensive British footballer at the time. He also became the second most expensive footballer playing for a British club, after Torres. However, due to an injury he sustained while with Newcastle, it was announced that Carroll would have to wait some time before his Liverpool debut.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll finally made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in the 3–1 win against Manchester United on 6 March 2011. On 10 March, he appeared in his first European match for Liverpool in a 1–0 loss at Braga in the UEFA Europa League, appearing as a substitute after half-time. In the return leg a week later, he made his first Liverpool start, although the match finished 0–0, leading to Liverpool going out of the competition losing 1–0 on aggregate. On 20 March, he made his first Premier League start for Liverpool at the Stadium of Light in a 2–0 victory against Sunderland. On 11 April, Carroll scored his first goals for Liverpool in a 3–0 victory against Manchester City at Anfield, scoring his first with a long-range strike and his second with a header. He played several more times that season, but did not score any more goals.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 24 August 2011, he scored his first goal of the new season with a 20-yard drive against Exeter City to make the score 3–0 in the second round of the League Cup. On 1 October 2011, he scored his first league goal of the 2011–12 season during a 2–0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park. His third goal of the season came in a 2–0 win away at West Bromwich Albion. He scored his first goal of 2012 in a 5–1 third-round FA Cup victory against Oldham Athletic. He would go on to create the Dirk Kuyt goal that would secure victory in the 88th minute over Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on 28 January, before marking the first anniversary of his signing with Liverpool with his fifth goal of the season in a 3–0 victory away at Wolverhampton Wanderers on 31 January. He later scored, and set up teammate Luis Suárez, during Liverpool's 6–1 thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion in the fifth round of the FA Cup.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 26 February, he won his first trophy with Liverpool as they won the League Cup, beating Cardiff City in the final. On 10 April, he headed an injury-time winner against Blackburn Rovers to end Liverpool's run of four matches without a win. Four days later, he headed in another late winner, this time in a 2–1 victory against Everton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, to take Liverpool through to the final on his 50th appearance for Liverpool. Carroll described his match-winning goal as "the best feeling ever", with teammate Jamie Carragher saying the goal was "worth £35 million in itself" and that Carroll would "be remembered forever". He also scored in the final, which Liverpool lost 2–1 to Chelsea.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 30 August 2012, it was agreed that Carroll would spend the 2012–13 season on loan to fellow Premier League club West Ham United, who were newly promoted to the division at the time. Liverpool initially wanted a £17 million option for a permanent transfer written into the loan deal, but dropped the demand to facilitate the deal, and West Ham ultimately paid a £2 million loan arrangement fee and also all of Carroll's £80,000-a-week Liverpool wages.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll made his debut on 1 September, setting-up two goals in a 3–0 home win against Fulham. He scored his first goal on 25 November 2012 in a 3–1 away defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. After making his first start since November due to injury, Carroll scored the only goal in a home win against Swansea City on 2 February 2013. Carroll ended the loan spell with seven goals in 24 appearances.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 21 May 2013, West Ham and Liverpool agreed a fee of around £15 million to make the loan move permanent, pending Carroll agreeing to the move, and then to personal terms. Carroll signed a six-year contract with West Ham on 19 June 2013 for a then club record transfer fee of £15 million.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll started the 2013–14 season injured with a heel problem picked up in the final match of the previous season. He made his first appearance of the season on 12 January 2014, as a substitute in the 72nd minute of a 2–0 victory over Cardiff, assisting Mark Noble for West Ham's second goal. On 31 March, he was named man of the match by Sky Sports for his performance in a 2–1 win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in which he scored one and assisted the other of the Hammers' goals. Carroll ended the 2013–14 Premier League season with two goals from 18 appearances.


title: Andy Carroll

text: During a pre-season tour of New Zealand, Carroll sustained an ankle ligament injury which prevented him from appearing during West Ham's first eleven Premier League matches. Carroll returned to the team on 8 November 2014, coming on as a substitute for Mark Noble in a 0–0 home draw with Aston Villa.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 7 December 2014, he scored his first two goals of the season against Swansea in a 3–1 home win; these were also his first goals scored at Upton Park since March 2013. On 20 December, Carroll scored the 50th league goal of his career in West Ham's 2–0 defeat of Leicester. From December 2014 to January 2015, he went on a run of five goals in eight league appearances.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 11 February 2015, Carroll was substituted in the second half of a 0–0 draw against Southampton with a tear in his medial ligament on the side of his knee. Two days later, West Ham's website announced Carroll was set to have surgery the following week and that he expected to miss the remainder of the 2014–15 season. He did not play again after February and made only 14 league appearances in the 2014–15 season, scoring five goals; three against Swansea City and one each against Hull City and Leicester.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll returned to the first team on 14 September 2015, making his first appearance of the season as an 88th-minute substitute for Victor Moses in a 2–0 home win against his former club, Newcastle.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 24 October, Carroll scored his first goal in nine months, coming on as a substitute and heading in Aaron Cresswell's cross to defeat champions Chelsea 2–1 in a Premier League fixture at Upton Park. Following several goalless matches, Carroll suffered a groin injury while training for West Ham's 7 December match against Swansea, sidelining him for several weeks. He returned to action as a half-time substitute in a 2–1 win against Southampton. Carroll scored the winning goal via header after a shot from Michail Antonio had rebounded off of the crossbar. This marked Carroll's first goal since the match against Chelsea, and just his third of the year.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 2 January 2016, Carroll started for West Ham against his former club Liverpool, in a 2–0 victory with Carroll scoring again from a header following a cross from Mark Noble. This was the first time Carroll had scored in consecutive matches in nearly 12 months, and was his first goal against Liverpool since leaving the club in 2013. On 9 April, Carroll scored his first hat-trick with West Ham, in a 3–3 draw against Arsenal. On 20 April, Carroll scored in his third consecutive Premier League match for the first time in his career as West Ham beat Watford 3–1 at the Boleyn Ground.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll played the full 90 minutes in West Ham's 2–1 defeat against Chelsea in the first match of the season, on 15 August. On 18 August, Carroll came on at the 63rd minute in a 1–1 draw against Astra Giurgiu in the first leg of the Europa League playoffs, and sustained a knee injury. While initial estimates put his recovery time at six weeks, it saw him sidelined for over three months.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 3 December, he returned to action, scoring as a 73rd-minute substitute in a 1–5 home loss against Arsenal. On 14 January 2017, Carroll scored what he admitted to be "the best goal I've scored" with a bicycle kick in a 3–0 win against Crystal Palace at London Stadium. The goal was named Goal of the Month for January by the Premier League on 10 February.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 1 April, Carroll scored the 50th Premier League goal of his career in a 2–1 loss at Hull City, captaining West Ham for the first time.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll played only 14 games in the 2018–19 season, scoring just the one goal in the FA Cup, before being ruled out in April 2019 for the remainder of the season following ankle surgery. He was released by West Ham at the end of the 2018–19 season.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll re-signed for Premier League club Newcastle United on 8 August 2019, signing a one-year contract. He made his return debut on 21 September as a substitute for Jetro Willems in the 82nd minute of a 0–0 draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. In June 2020, Carroll agreed a one-year extension to his contract. On 3 January 2021, Carroll scored his first goal for the Magpies since his return to the club in a 1–2 home league defeat by Leicester City. He left Newcastle in July 2021 after spending two seasons at the club.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 15 November 2021, Reading announced the signing of Carroll on a short-term contract until mid-January 2022. He made his Reading debut on 20 November in a 1–1 draw with Nottingham Forest coming on as a 61st minute substitute for Liam Moore and playing a role in the build-up to their second-half equaliser from Scott Dann. He scored his first goal for the club on 27 November in a 3–2 win against Swansea City. Following a 2–1 away defeat to Middlesbrough on 15 January 2022, in which Carroll scored his second goal for Reading, his contract with the club ended.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 28 January 2022, West Bromwich Albion announced the signing of Carroll on a short-term contract until the end of the season. He made his debut the following day in a 2–0 away defeat against Millwall. On 12 March 2022, Carroll scored his first goal for the club netting the equaliser in the 85th minute during a 2–2 home draw against Huddersfield Town.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 15 September 2022, Carroll returned to Reading, signing a four-month contract with the club, until the middle of January 2023 and taking the vacant number two squad number in the process.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 11 September 2007, Carroll made his England under-19 debut against Belarus, scoring in the 4–0 victory. On 12 March 2009, Carroll was called up to the England under-20s for a match against Italy, but was withdrawn from the squad and replaced by Hal Robson-Kanu.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll received his first call up to the England under-21s on 5 August 2009. He made his debut on 11 August 2009 against the Netherlands, coming on as a second-half substitute. On his second cap with the under-21 team, on 9 October 2009 against Macedonia, he scored two goals and assisted another as England won 6–3.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll's performances for Newcastle United earned him a call-up to the England squad for the friendly against France on 17 November 2010. He passed a late fitness test to start the match. He scored his first senior goal for England, a low left-foot drive into the bottom corner, on 29 March 2011 in a friendly against Ghana which ended 1–1. On 15 May 2012, Carroll was included in the squad for UEFA Euro 2012. He opened the scoring for England with a powerful header in their second group match against Sweden, which England went on to win 3–2.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll has been compared to Newcastle's record goalscorer Alan Shearer, Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and former Italy forward Christian Vieri. He has also been referred to as a classic centre forward, owing to his strength, powerful shot and excellent heading ability. Former Newcastle manager and Liverpool player Kevin Keegan stated "he is probably in the top three headers of a ball I have ever seen in football". After Newcastle's 2–0 victory at home to Blackpool in September 2010, in which Carroll scored the second goal and was instrumental in creating the first, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway described Carroll as "the best striker in the Premier League". A strong and very physical centre-forward, Carroll is distinguished by his powerful aerial abilities, with former West Ham manager Slaven Bilić claiming that he is "the best in the world at heading a football".


title: Andy Carroll

text: Born in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, Carroll attended Brighton Avenue Primary School and Joseph Swan School. He is a model for clothing retail company H&M and has fronted a campaign led by fashion designer Alexander Wang. In November 2014, Carroll became engaged to reality TV star Billi Mucklow. The couple live in Essex. Their son, Arlo, was born in June 2015. He has two children from a previous relationship. In November 2017, Mucklow and Carroll had a second child.


title: Andy Carroll

text: In November 2016, Carroll was approached by two men on motorcycles while driving near his home in Brentwood, Essex. Armed with a handgun, they attempted to steal his £22,000 watch but failed. Carroll was then chased in his car for about 20 minutes as he drove back to West Ham's training ground in Rush Green to get help from security staff. In September 2017, 22-year-old Jack O'Brien was found guilty of the attempted robbery. He was sentenced to six years in prison for the offence.


title: Andy Carroll

text: In May 2019, Carroll was listed as the 14th-wealthiest sports person aged 30 or under in The Sunday Times Rich List, his personal wealth having increased to £19m.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll has been involved in many off-the-pitch incidents in his career. On 14 September 2008, he was arrested by police in Newcastle, and later accepted a police caution.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 7 December 2009, he was arrested in the aftermath of a nightclub fight, again in Newcastle, accused of smashing glass in a man's face. He was charged with assault and in October 2010 he pleaded guilty to common assault and was fined £1,000. He was also ordered to pay £2,500 compensation.


title: Andy Carroll

text: While on international duty with the England U-19s, Carroll and teammates Scott Sinclair and Ryan Bertrand were sent home from the squad after breaking a curfew on 14 October 2007 during preparation for a match against Romania U-19s.


title: Andy Carroll

text: During training in March 2010, Carroll was allegedly involved in an altercation with teammate Steven Taylor, which left Taylor with a broken jaw. Carroll reportedly suffered a broken hand in the incident, and shortly afterwards he was photographed at a concert with bandages to both hands. Newcastle manager Chris Hughton, club representatives and both players then declined to comment any further on the incident and no charges were pressed.


title: Andy Carroll

text: On 18 October 2010, Carroll was charged with assault in an incident with his ex-girlfriend. Claiming self-defence, and having given a local hotel as his address, Carroll was granted bail on the condition that he resided with Newcastle's then captain Kevin Nolan until the case resumed in January. The charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence. Two days following his bail, Carroll's car was set on fire while parked on Nolan's driveway, with the club captain's garage door also being daubed with obscenities.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Following England's 1–1 draw with Ghana on 29 March 2011, England manager Fabio Capello told Carroll to curtail his drinking habits. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish responded by saying, "Well he's never bought me a drink. I've been with him at Boyzone concerts and he's still never bought me a drink!"


title: Andy Carroll

text: In an interview in April 2012, Carroll admitted that he had gained a reputation for drinking and socialising during his time at Newcastle, but that since joining Liverpool in January 2011 he had "settled down" and changed his lifestyle.


title: Andy Carroll

text: Carroll's time at West Ham United was blighted by many injuries. His former manager Sam Allardyce said this was partly caused by Carroll failing to look after himself and not doing the required rehabilitation work to keep himself fit.


title: British people

text: British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies. British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which can be acquired, for instance, by descent from British nationals. When used in a historical context, "British" or "Britons" can refer to the Ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain and Brittany, whose surviving members are the modern Welsh people, Cornish people, and Bretons. It also refers to citizens of the former British Empire, who settled in the country prior to 1973, and hold neither UK citizenship nor nationality.


title: British people

text: Though early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 triggered a sense of British national identity. The notion of Britishness and a shared British identity was forged during the 18th century and early 19th century when Britain engaged in several global conflicts with France, and developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in Great Britain and Ireland; Britishness became "superimposed on much older identities", of English, Scots, Welsh, and Irish cultures, whose distinctiveness still resists notions of a homogenised British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions, British identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but it is held with strong conviction by Unionists.


title: British people

text: Modern Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic groups that settled in Great Britain in and before the 11th century: Prehistoric, Brittonic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Normans. The progressive political unification of the British Isles facilitated migration, cultural and linguistic exchange, and intermarriage between the peoples of England, Scotland and Wales during the late Middle Ages, early modern period and beyond. Since 1922 and earlier, there has been immigration to the United Kingdom by people from what is now the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, mainland Europe and elsewhere; they and their descendants are mostly British citizens, with some assuming a British, dual or hyphenated identity. This includes the groups Black British and Asian British people, which together constitute around 10% of the British population.


title: British people

text: The British are a diverse, multinational, multicultural and multilingual people, with "strong regional accents, expressions and identities". The social structure of the United Kingdom has changed radically since the 19th century, with a decline in religious observance, enlargement of the middle class, and increased ethnic diversity, particularly since the 1950s, when citizens of the British Empire were encouraged to immigrate to Britain to work as part of the recovery from World War II. The population of the UK stands at around 66 million, with a British diaspora of around 140 million concentrated in the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, with smaller concentrations in the Republic of Ireland, Chile, South Africa, and parts of the Caribbean.


title: British people

text: The earliest known reference to the inhabitants of Great Britain may have come from 4th century BC records of the voyage of Pytheas, a Greek geographer who made a voyage of exploration around the British Isles. Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to them. Pytheas called the islands collectively ("hai Brettaniai"), which has been translated as the "Brittanic Isles", and the peoples of what are today England, Wales, Scotland and the Isle of Man of "Prettanike" were called the ("Prettanoi"), "Priteni", "Pritani" or "Pretani".


title: British people

text: The group included Ireland, which was referred to as "Ierne" ("Insula sacra" "sacred island" as the Greeks interpreted it) "inhabited by the different race of "Hiberni"" ("gens hibernorum"), and Britain as "insula Albionum", "island of the Albions". The term "Pritani" may have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who possibly used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands.


title: British people

text: Greek and Roman writers, in the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, name the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland as the "Priteni", the origin of the Latin word "Britanni". It has been suggested that this name derives from a Gaulish description translated as "people of the forms", referring to the custom of tattooing or painting their bodies with blue woad made from "Isatis tinctoria". Parthenius, a 1st-century Ancient Greek grammarian, and the "Etymologicum Genuinum", a 9th-century lexical encyclopaedia, mention a mythical character Bretannus (the Latinised form of the , "Brettanós") as the father of Celtine, mother of Celtus, the eponymous ancestor of the Celts.


title: British people

text: By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of "Prettanikē" as a collective name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term "Britannia" was used for the island of Great Britain, and later Roman-occupied Britain south of Caledonia (modern day Scotland north of the rivers Forth & Clyde), although the people of Caledonia and the north were also the self same Britons during the Roman period, the Gaels arriving four centuries later. Following the end of Roman rule in Britain, the island of Great Britain was left open to invasion by pagan, seafaring warriors such as Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons and Jutes from Continental Europe, who gained control in areas around the south east, and to Middle Irish-speaking people migrating from what is today Northern Ireland to the north of Great Britain (modern Scotland), founding Gaelic kingdoms such as Dál Riata and Alba, which would eventually subsume the native Brittonic and Pictish kingdoms and become Scotland.


title: British people

text: In this sub-Roman Britain, as Anglo-Saxon culture spread across southern and eastern Britain and Gaelic through much of the north, the demonym "Briton" became restricted to the Brittonic-speaking inhabitants of what would later be called Wales, Cornwall, North West England (Cumbria), and a southern part of Scotland(Strathclyde). In addition the term was also applied to Brittany in what is today France and Britonia in north west Spain, both regions having been colonised by Britons in the 5th century fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasions. However, the term Britannia persisted as the Latin name for the island. The "Historia Brittonum" claimed legendary origins as a prestigious genealogy for Brittonic kings, followed by the "Historia Regum Britanniae" which popularised this pseudo-history to support the claims of the Kings of England.


title: British people

text: During the Middle Ages, and particularly in the Tudor period, the term "British" was used to refer to the Welsh people and Cornish people. At that time, it was "the long held belief that these were the remaining descendants of the Britons and that they spoke 'the British tongue. This notion was supported by texts such as the "Historia Regum Britanniae", a pseudohistorical account of ancient British history, written in the mid-12th century by Geoffrey of Monmouth. The "Historia Regum Britanniae" chronicled the lives of legendary kings of the Britons in a narrative spanning 2000 years, beginning with the Trojans founding the ancient British nation and continuing until the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 7th century forced the Britons to the west, i.e. Wales and Cornwall, and north, i.e. Cumbria, Strathclyde and northern Scotland. This legendary Celtic history of Great Britain is known as the Matter of Britain. The Matter of Britain, a national myth, was retold or reinterpreted in works by Gerald of Wales, a Cambro-Norman chronicler who in the 12th and 13th centuries used the term British to refer to the people later known as the Welsh.


title: British people

text: The indigenous people of the British Isles have a combination of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Norman ancestry.


title: British people

text: Between the 8th and 11th centuries, "three major cultural divisions" had emerged in Great Britain: the English, the Scots and the Welsh, the earlier Brittonic Celtic polities in what are today England and Scotland having finally been absorbed into Anglo-Saxon England and Gaelic Scotland by the early 11th century. The English had been unified under a single nation state in 937 by King Athelstan of Wessex after the Battle of Brunanburh. Before then, the English (known then in Old English as the "Anglecynn") were under the governance of independent Anglo-Saxon petty kingdoms which gradually coalesced into a Heptarchy of seven powerful states, the most powerful of which were Mercia and Wessex. Scottish historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver said that the Battle of Brunanburh would "define the shape of Britain into the modern era", it was a "showdown for two very different ethnic identities – a Norse Celtic alliance versus Anglo Saxon. It aimed to settle once and for all whether Britain would be controlled by a single imperial power or remain several separate independent kingdoms, a split in perceptions which is still very much with us today". However, historian Simon Schama suggested that it was Edward I of England who was solely "responsible for provoking the peoples of Britain into an awareness of their nationhood" in the 13th century. Schama hypothesised that Scottish national identity, "a complex amalgam" of Gaelic, Brittonic, Pictish, Norsemen and Anglo-Norman origins, was not finally forged until the Wars of Scottish Independence against the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.


title: British people

text: Though Wales was conquered by England, and its legal system replaced by that of the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, the Welsh endured as a nation distinct from the English, and to some degree the Cornish people, although conquered into England by the 11th century, also retained a distinct Brittonic identity and language. Later, with both an English Reformation and a Scottish Reformation, Edward VI of England, under the counsel of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, advocated a union with the Kingdom of Scotland, joining England, Wales, and Scotland in a united Protestant Great Britain. The Duke of Somerset supported the unification of the English, Welsh and Scots under the "indifferent old name of Britons" on the basis that their monarchies "both derived from a Pre-Roman British monarchy".


title: British people

text: Following the death of Elizabeth I of England in 1603, the throne of England was inherited by James VI, King of Scots, so that the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united in a personal union under James VI of Scotland and I of England, an event referred to as the Union of the Crowns. King James advocated full political union between England and Scotland, and on 20 October 1604 proclaimed his assumption of the style "King of Great Britain", though this title was rejected by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland, and so had no basis in either English law or Scots law.


title: British people

text: Despite centuries of military and religious conflict, the Kingdoms of England and Scotland had been "drawing increasingly together" since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and the Union of the Crowns in 1603. A broadly shared language, island, monarch, religion and Bible (the Authorized King James Version) further contributed to a growing cultural alliance between the two sovereign realms and their peoples. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 resulted in a pair of Acts of the English and Scottish legislatures—the Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 respectively—which ensured that the shared constitutional monarchy of England and Scotland was held only by Protestants. Despite this, although popular with the monarchy and much of the aristocracy, attempts to unite the two states by Acts of Parliament in 1606, 1667, and 1689 were unsuccessful; increased political management of Scottish affairs from England had led to "criticism", and strained Anglo-Scottish relations.


title: British people

text: While English maritime explorations during the Age of Discovery gave new-found imperial power and wealth to the English and Welsh at the end of the 17th century, Scotland suffered from a long-standing weak economy. In response, the Scottish kingdom, in opposition to William II of Scotland (III of England), commenced the Darien Scheme, an attempt to establish a Scottish imperial outlet—the colony of New Caledonia—on the isthmus of Panama. However, through a combination of disease, Spanish hostility, Scottish mismanagement and opposition to the scheme by the East India Company and the English government (who did not want to provoke the Spanish into war) this imperial venture ended in "catastrophic failure" with an estimated "25% of Scotland's total liquid capital" lost.


title: British people

text: The events of the Darien Scheme, and the passing by the English Parliament of the Act of Settlement 1701 asserting the right to choose the order of succession for English, Scottish and Irish thrones, escalated political hostilities between England and Scotland, and neutralised calls for a united British people. The Parliament of Scotland responded by passing the Act of Security 1704, allowing it to appoint a different monarch to succeed to the Scottish crown from that of England, if it so wished. The English political perspective was that the appointment of a Jacobite monarchy in Scotland opened up the possibility of a Franco-Scottish military conquest of England during the Second Hundred Years' War and War of the Spanish Succession. The Parliament of England passed the Alien Act 1705, which provided that Scottish nationals in England were to be treated as aliens and estates held by Scots would be treated as alien property, whilst also restricting the import of Scottish products into England and its colonies (about half of Scotland's trade). However, the Act contained a provision that it would be suspended if the Parliament of Scotland entered into negotiations regarding the creation of a unified Parliament of Great Britain, which in turn would refund Scottish financial losses on the Darien Scheme.


title: British people

text: Despite opposition from within both Scotland and England, a Treaty of Union was agreed in 1706 and was then ratified by the parliaments of both countries with the passing of the Acts of Union 1707. With effect from 1 May 1707, this created a new sovereign state called the "Kingdom of Great Britain". This kingdom "began as a hostile merger", but led to a "full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world"; historian Simon Schama stated that "it was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history".


title: British people

text: After 1707, a British national identity began to develop, though it was initially resisted, particularly by the English. The peoples of Great Britain had by the 1750s begun to assume a "layered identity": to think of themselves as simultaneously British and also Scottish, English, or Welsh.


title: British people

text: The terms North Briton and South Briton were devised for the Scots and the English respectively, with the former gaining some preference in Scotland, particularly by the economists and philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment. Indeed, it was the "Scots [who] played key roles in shaping the contours of British identity"; "their scepticism about the Union allowed the Scots the space and time in which


title: British people

text: to dominate the construction of Britishness in its early crucial years", drawing upon the notion of a shared "spirit of liberty common to both Saxon and Celt ... against the usurpation of the Church of Rome". James Thomson was a poet and playwright born to a Church of Scotland minister in the Scottish Lowlands in 1700 who was interested in forging a common British culture and national identity in this way. In collaboration with Thomas Arne, they wrote "Alfred", an opera about Alfred the Great's victory against the Vikings performed to Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1740 to commemorate the accession of George I and the birthday of Princess Augusta. "Rule, Britannia!" was the climactic piece of the opera and quickly became a "jingoistic" British patriotic song celebrating "Britain's supremacy offshore". An island country with a series of victories for the Royal Navy associated empire and naval warfare "inextricably with ideals of Britishness and Britain's place in the world".


title: British people

text: Britannia, the new national personification of Great Britain, was established in the 1750s as a representation of "nation and empire rather than any single national hero". On Britannia and British identity, historian Peter Borsay wrote:


title: British people

text: From the Union of 1707 through to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Great Britain was "involved in successive, very dangerous wars with Catholic France", but which "all brought enough military and naval victories ... to flatter British pride". As the Napoleonic Wars with the First French Empire advanced, "the English and Scottish learned to define themselves as similar primarily by virtue of not being French or Catholic". In combination with sea power and empire, the notion of Britishness became more "closely bound up with Protestantism", a cultural commonality through which the English, Scots and Welsh became "fused together, and remain[ed] so, despite their many cultural divergences".


title: British people

text: The neo-classical monuments that proliferated at the end of the 18th century and the start of the 19th century, such as The Kymin at Monmouth, were attempts to meld the concepts of Britishness with the Greco-Roman empires of classical antiquity. The new and expanding British Empire provided "unprecedented opportunities for upward mobility and the accumulations of wealth", and so the "Scottish, Welsh and Irish populations were prepared to suppress nationalist issues on pragmatic grounds". The British Empire was "crucial to the idea of a British identity and to the self-image of Britishness". Indeed, the Scottish welcomed Britishness during the 19th century "for it offered a context within which they could hold on to their own identity whilst participating in, and benefiting from, the expansion of the [British] Empire". Similarly, the "new emphasis of Britishness was broadly welcomed by the Welsh who considered themselves to be the lineal descendants of the ancient Britons – a word that was still used to refer exclusively to the Welsh". For the English, however, by the Victorian era their enthusiastic adoption of Britishness had meant that, for them, Britishness "meant the same as 'Englishness'", so much so that "Englishness and Britishness" and "'England' and 'Britain' were used interchangeably in a variety of contexts". Britishness came to borrow heavily from English political history because England had "always been the dominant component of the British Isles in terms of size, population and power"; Magna Carta, common law and hostility to continental Europe were English factors that influenced British sensibilities.


title: British people

text: The political union in 1800 of the predominantly Catholic Kingdom of Ireland with Great Britain, coupled with the outbreak of peace with France in the early 19th century, challenged the previous century's concept of militant Protestant Britishness. The new, expanded United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland meant that the state had to re-evaluate its position on the civil rights of Catholics, and extend its definition of Britishness to the Irish people. Like the terms that had been invented at the time of the Acts of Union 1707, "West Briton" was introduced for the Irish after 1800. In 1832 Daniel O'Connell, an Irish politician who campaigned for Catholic Emancipation, stated in Britain's House of Commons:


title: British people

text: Ireland, from 1801 to 1923, was marked by a succession of economic and political mismanagement and neglect, which marginalised the Irish, and advanced Irish nationalism. In the forty years that followed the Union, successive British governments grappled with the problems of governing a country which had as Benjamin Disraeli, a staunch anti-Irish and anti-Catholic member of the Conservative party with a virulent racial and religious prejudice towards Ireland put it in 1844, "a starving population, an absentee aristocracy, and an alien Church, and in addition the weakest executive in the world". Although the vast majority of Unionists in Ireland proclaimed themselves "simultaneously Irish and British", even for them there was a strain upon the adoption of Britishness after the Great Famine.


title: British people

text: War continued to be a unifying factor for the people of Great Britain: British jingoism re-emerged during the Boer Wars in southern Africa. The experience of military, political and economic power from the rise of the British Empire led to a very specific drive in artistic technique, taste and sensibility for Britishness. In 1887, Frederic Harrison wrote:


title: British people

text: The Catholic Relief Act 1829 reflected a "marked change in attitudes" in Great Britain towards Catholics and Catholicism. A "significant" example of this was the collaboration between Augustus Welby Pugin, an "ardent Roman Catholic" and son of a Frenchman, and Sir Charles Barry, "a confirmed Protestant", in redesigning the Palace of Westminster—"the building that most enshrines ... Britain's national and imperial pre-tensions". Protestantism gave way to imperialism as the leading element of British national identity during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and as such, a series of royal, imperial and national celebrations were introduced to the British people to assert imperial British culture and give themselves a sense of uniqueness, superiority and national consciousness. Empire Day and jubilees of Queen Victoria were introduced to the British middle class, but quickly "merged into a national 'tradition'".


title: British people

text: The First World War "reinforced the sense of Britishness" and patriotism in the early 20th century. Through war service (including conscription in Great Britain), "the English, Welsh, Scots and Irish fought as British". The aftermath of the war institutionalised British national commemoration through Remembrance Sunday and the Poppy Appeal. The Second World War had a similar unifying effect upon the British people, however, its outcome was to recondition Britishness on a basis of democratic values and its marked contrast to Europeanism. Notions that the British "constituted an Island race, and that it stood for democracy were reinforced during the war and they were circulated in the country through Winston Churchill's speeches, history books and newspapers".


title: British people

text: At its international zenith, "Britishness joined peoples around the world in shared traditions and common loyalties that were strenuously maintained". But following the two world wars, the British Empire experienced rapid decolonisation. The secession of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom meant that Britishness had lost "its Irish dimension" in 1922, and the shrinking empire supplanted by independence movements dwindled the appeal of British identity in the Commonwealth of Nations during the mid-20th century.


title: British people

text: Since the British Nationality Act 1948 and the subsequent mass immigration to the United Kingdom from the Commonwealth and elsewhere in the world, "the expression and experience of cultural life in Britain has become fragmented and reshaped by the influences of gender, ethnicity, class and region". Furthermore, the United Kingdom's membership of the European Economic Community in 1973 eroded the concept of Britishness as distinct from continental Europe. As such, since the 1970s "there has been a sense of crisis about what it has meant to be British", exacerbated by growing demands for greater political autonomy for Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.