British_Isles

context: The British Isles are a group of islands off the north-western coast of continental Europe that consist of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. Situated in the North Atlantic, the islands have a total area of approximately 315,159 km2, and a combined population of just under 70 million. Two sovereign states are located on the islands: Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of the island with the same name) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The British Isles also include three Crown Dependencies: the Isle of Man and, by tradition, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, although the latter are not physically a part of the archipelago.
qas: answers: text: Great Britain, Ireland
question: What is two islands that are part of the British Isles?

answers: text: North Atlantic,
question: Where are the British Isles located?

answers: text: just under 70 million
question: How many people live in the British Isles?

answers: text: Isle of Man
question: What is one of the three Crown Dependencies of the British Isles?

answers: text: in the Channel Islands
question: Where are the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey located?

context: The oldest rocks in the group are in the north west of Scotland, Ireland and North Wales and are 2,700 million years old. During the Silurian period the north-western regions collided with the south-east, which had been part of a separate continental landmass. The topography of the islands is modest in scale by global standards. Ben Nevis rises to an elevation of only 1,344 metres (4,409 ft), and Lough Neagh, which is notably larger than other lakes on the isles, covers 390 square kilometres (151 sq mi). The climate is temperate marine, with mild winters and warm summers. The North Atlantic Drift brings significant moisture and raises temperatures 11 °C (20 °F) above the global average for the latitude. This led to a landscape which was long dominated by temperate rainforest, although human activity has since cleared the vast majority of forest cover. The region was re-inhabited after the last glacial period of Quaternary glaciation, by 12,000 BC when Great Britain was still a peninsula of the European continent. Ireland, which became an island by 12,000 BC, was not inhabited until after 8000 BC. Great Britain became an island by 5600 BC.
qas: answers: text: 2,700 million years old
question: What is the age of the oldest rocks in the north western part of Scotland?

answers: text: 1,344 metres (4,409 ft
question: What is the elevation of Ben Nevis?

answers: text: temperate marine
question: What type of climate does this area have?

answers: text: European continent.
question: Around 12,000 BC, Great Britain was still a peninsula on what continent?

answers: text: after 8000 BC
question: When is it believed that Ireland became inhabited?

context: Hiberni (Ireland), Pictish (northern Britain) and Britons (southern Britain) tribes, all speaking Insular Celtic, inhabited the islands at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. Much of Brittonic-controlled Britain was conquered by the Roman Empire from AD 43. The first Anglo-Saxons arrived as Roman power waned in the 5th century and eventually dominated the bulk of what is now England. Viking invasions began in the 9th century, followed by more permanent settlements and political change—particularly in England. The subsequent Norman conquest of England in 1066 and the later Angevin partial conquest of Ireland from 1169 led to the imposition of a new Norman ruling elite across much of Britain and parts of Ireland. By the Late Middle Ages, Great Britain was separated into the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, while control in Ireland fluxed between Gaelic kingdoms, Hiberno-Norman lords and the English-dominated Lordship of Ireland, soon restricted only to The Pale. The 1603 Union of the Crowns, Acts of Union 1707 and Acts of Union 1800 attempted to consolidate Britain and Ireland into a single political unit, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands remaining as Crown Dependencies. The expansion of the British Empire and migrations following the Irish Famine and Highland Clearances resulted in the distribution of the islands' population and culture throughout the world and a rapid de-population of Ireland in the second half of the 19th century. Most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom after the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty (1919–1922), with six counties remaining in the UK as Northern Ireland.
qas: answers: text: Pictish (northern Britain)
question: Which is one of the tribes that spoke Insular Celtic?

answers: text: beginning of the 1st millennium AD
question: When did the Pictish tribe start to inhabit the islands?

answers: text: Roman Empire
question: Who foreign group conquered Britain around AD 43?

answers: text: 9th century
question: When did the Vikings invade Britain?

answers: text: Northern Ireland
question: What are the six counties in Ireland called that are still part of the United Kingdom?

context: The term British Isles is controversial in Ireland, where there are objections to its usage due to the association of the word British with Ireland. The Government of Ireland does not recognise or use the term and its embassy in London discourages its use. As a result, Britain and Ireland is used as an alternative description, and Atlantic Archipelago has had limited use among a minority in academia, although British Isles is still commonly employed. Within them, they are also sometimes referred to as these islands.
qas: answers: text: association of the word British
question: Why is the name the British Isles disputed in Ireland?

answers: text: does not recognise or use the term
question: Does the Government of Ireland use the British Isle term?

answers: text: Atlantic Archipelago
question: What is the alternative name that Government of Ireland uses instead of British Isles?

answers: text: its embassy in London discourages its use
question: Does the Government of Ireland's London embassy use the name British Isles?

context: The earliest known references to the islands as a group appeared in the writings of sea-farers from the ancient Greek colony of Massalia. The original records have been lost; however, later writings, e.g. Avienus's Ora maritima, that quoted from the Massaliote Periplus (6th century BC) and from Pytheas's On the Ocean (circa 325–320 BC) have survived. In the 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus has Prettanikē nēsos, "the British Island", and Prettanoi, "the Britons". Strabo used Βρεττανική (Brettanike), and Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, used αἱ Πρεττανικαί νῆσοι (the Prettanic Isles) to refer to the islands. Historians today, though not in absolute agreement, largely agree that these Greek and Latin names were probably drawn from native Celtic-language names for the archipelago. Along these lines, the inhabitants of the islands were called the Πρεττανοί (Priteni or Pretani). The shift from the "P" of Pretannia to the "B" of Britannia by the Romans occurred during the time of Julius Caesar.
qas: answers: text: writings of sea-farers
question: Where did the first known occurrence of the British Isle name appear in written material?

answers: text: Massaliote Periplus (6th century BC)
question: What is one of the earliest surviving records that mention the name British Isles?

answers: text: during the time of Julius Caesar
question: When did the "P" sound of Pretannia change to the "B" sound of Britannia?

answers: text: native Celtic-language
question: What language do most historians agree upon where the Greek names for the British Isles came from?

answers: text: Πρεττανοί (Priteni or Pretani)
question: What did the ancient Greeks call the people that lived in the British Isles?

context: The Greco-Egyptian scientist Claudius Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain (μεγάλης Βρεττανίας - megális Brettanias) and to Ireland as little Britain (μικρής Βρεττανίας - mikris Brettanias) in his work Almagest (147–148 AD). In his later work, Geography (c. 150 AD), he gave these islands the names Alwion, Iwernia, and Mona (the Isle of Man), suggesting these may have been names of the individual islands not known to him at the time of writing Almagest. The name Albion appears to have fallen out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Great Britain, after which Britain became the more commonplace name for the island called Great Britain.
qas: answers: text: little Britain (μικρής Βρεττανίας - mikris Brettanias)
question: What did name did Claudius Ptolemy (Greco-Egyptian scientist) use for Ireland?

answers: text: Alwion, Iwernia, and Mona
question: In later writings, what did Claudius Ptolemy called the British Isles?

answers: text: Great Britain
question: After the Romans conqured the British Isles what became the more common name for the country?

context: The earliest known use of the phrase Brytish Iles in the English language is dated 1577 in a work by John Dee. Today, this name is seen by some as carrying imperialist overtones although it is still commonly used. Other names used to describe the islands include the Anglo-Celtic Isles, Atlantic archipelago, British-Irish Isles, Britain and Ireland, UK and Ireland, and British Isles and Ireland. Owing to political and national associations with the word British, the Government of Ireland does not use the term British Isles and in documents drawn up jointly between the British and Irish governments, the archipelago is referred to simply as "these islands". Nonetheless, British Isles is still the most widely accepted term for the archipelago.
qas: answers: text: a work by John Dee
question: What is the earliest English usage of the term Brytish Illes?

answers: text: 1577
question: When was this Brytish Illes name used in the English language by John Dee?

answers: text: Anglo-Celtic Isles
question: What is another name that is used for the British Isles?

answers: text: "these islands
question: What is the common term that the Government of Ireland uses when documents are written jointly with the British?

context: The British Isles lie at the juncture of several regions with past episodes of tectonic mountain building. These orogenic belts form a complex geology that records a huge and varied span of Earth's history. Of particular note was the Caledonian Orogeny during the Ordovician Period, c. 488–444 Ma and early Silurian period, when the craton Baltica collided with the terrane Avalonia to form the mountains and hills in northern Britain and Ireland. Baltica formed roughly the northwestern half of Ireland and Scotland. Further collisions caused the Variscan orogeny in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, forming the hills of Munster, southwest England, and southern Wales. Over the last 500 million years the land that forms the islands has drifted northwest from around 30°S, crossing the equator around 370 million years ago to reach its present northern latitude.
qas: answers: text: c. 488–444 Ma and early Silurian period
question: When did the Caledonian Orogeny occur?

answers: text: mountains and hills
question: What formed after the craton Baltica and the terrane Avalonia collision?

answers: text: craton Baltica collided with the terrane Avalonia
question: What happened during the c. 488–444 Ma and early Silurian period?

answers: text: Variscan orogeny
question: What formed the hills of Munster and the southern part of Wales?

answers: text: northwest
question: In which direction have the British Isles been drifting?

context: The islands have been shaped by numerous glaciations during the Quaternary Period, the most recent being the Devensian.[citation needed] As this ended, the central Irish Sea was deglaciated and the English Channel flooded, with sea levels rising to current levels some 4,000 to 5,000 years ago, leaving the British Isles in their current form. Whether or not there was a land bridge between Great Britain and Ireland at this time is somewhat disputed, though there was certainly a single ice sheet covering the entire sea.
qas: answers: text: Devensian
question: What was the most recent glaciation that has shaped the British Isles?

answers: text: the English Channel flooded
question: What happened with the Devensian glaciation ended?

answers: text: 4,000 to 5,000 years ago
question: When did sea levels reach their current highth?

answers: text: a single ice sheet
question: What covered the sea between Ireland and Great Britian during the last glacier?

context: The islands are at relatively low altitudes, with central Ireland and southern Great Britain particularly low lying: the lowest point in the islands is Holme, Cambridgeshire at −2.75 m (−9.02 ft). The Scottish Highlands in the northern part of Great Britain are mountainous, with Ben Nevis being the highest point on the islands at 1,343 m (4,406 ft). Other mountainous areas include Wales and parts of Ireland, however only seven peaks in these areas reach above 1,000 m (3,281 ft). Lakes on the islands are generally not large, although Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is an exception, covering 150 square miles (390 km2).[citation needed] The largest freshwater body in Great Britain (by area) is Loch Lomond at 27.5 square miles (71 km2), and Loch Ness, by volume whilst Loch Morar is the deepest freshwater body in the British Isles, with a maximum depth of 310 m (1,017 ft). There are a number of major rivers within the British Isles. The longest is the Shannon in Ireland at 224 mi (360 km).[citation needed] The river Severn at 220 mi (354 km)[citation needed] is the longest in Great Britain. The isles have a temperate marine climate. The North Atlantic Drift ("Gulf Stream") which flows from the Gulf of Mexico brings with it significant moisture and raises temperatures 11 °C (20 °F) above the global average for the islands' latitudes. Winters are cool and wet, with summers mild and also wet. Most Atlantic depressions pass to the north of the islands, combined with the general westerly circulation and interactions with the landmass, this imposes an east-west variation in climate.
qas: answers: text: the Shannon
question: What is the longest river in Ireland?

answers: text: Wales and parts of Ireland
question: Where are other mountain areas in the British Isles?

answers: text: Ben Nevis
question: Where is the highest point in the British Isles?

answers: text: Holme, Cambridgeshire at −2.75 m
question: What is the lowest elevation in the British Isles?

answers: text: mild and also wet
question: What is the weather like in the summer time in the British Isles?

context: The islands enjoy a mild climate and varied soils, giving rise to a diverse pattern of vegetation. Animal and plant life is similar to that of the northwestern European continent. There are however, fewer numbers of species, with Ireland having even less. All native flora and fauna in Ireland is made up of species that migrated from elsewhere in Europe, and Great Britain in particular. The only window when this could have occurred was between the end of the last Ice Age (about 12,000 years ago) and when the land bridge connecting the two islands was flooded by sea (about 8,000 years ago).
qas: answers: text: European continent
question: Which continent has similar plant and animal life as the British Isles?

answers: text: Europe, and Great Britain
question: In Ireland where does the native animal and plant species mostly come from?

answers: text: about 8,000 years ago
question: When did the land bridge between Ireland and Britain disappear?

answers: text: about 12,000 years ago
question: When did the last Ice Age end in the British Isles?

context: As with most of Europe, prehistoric Britain and Ireland were covered with forest and swamp. Clearing began around 6000 BC and accelerated in medieval times. Despite this, Britain retained its primeval forests longer than most of Europe due to a small population and later development of trade and industry, and wood shortages were not a problem until the 17th century. By the 18th century, most of Britain's forests were consumed for shipbuilding or manufacturing charcoal and the nation was forced to import lumber from Scandinavia, North America, and the Baltic. Most forest land in Ireland is maintained by state forestation programmes. Almost all land outside urban areas is farmland. However, relatively large areas of forest remain in east and north Scotland and in southeast England. Oak, elm, ash and beech are amongst the most common trees in England. In Scotland, pine and birch are most common. Natural forests in Ireland are mainly oak, ash, wych elm, birch and pine. Beech and lime, though not native to Ireland, are also common there. Farmland hosts a variety of semi-natural vegetation of grasses and flowering plants. Woods, hedgerows, mountain slopes and marshes host heather, wild grasses, gorse and bracken.
qas: answers: text: around 6000 BC
question: When did the clearing of swamp land and forests begin in the British Isles?

answers: text: medieval times
question: When did the clearing of the swamp land and forest begain to rapidly increase?

answers: text: due to a small population
question: Why was Britain able to keep its ancient forests longer than Europe?

answers: text: 17th century
question: When did lumber shortages start to occur in Britain?

answers: text: oak, ash, wych elm
question: What are three of the most typical type of tress that can be found in Ireland?

context: Many larger animals, such as wolf, bear and the European elk are today extinct. However, some species such as red deer are protected. Other small mammals, such as rabbits, foxes, badgers, hares, hedgehogs, and stoats, are very common and the European beaver has been reintroduced in parts of Scotland. Wild boar have also been reintroduced to parts of southern England, following escapes from boar farms and illegal releases. Many rivers contain otters and seals are common on coasts. Over 200 species of bird reside permanently and another 200 migrate. Common types are the common chaffinch, common blackbird, house sparrow and common starling; all small birds. Large birds are declining in number, except for those kept for game such as pheasant, partridge, and red grouse. Fish are abundant in the rivers and lakes, in particular salmon, trout, perch and pike. Sea fish include dogfish, cod, sole, pollock and bass, as well as mussels, crab and oysters along the coast. There are more than 21,000 species of insects.
qas: answers: text: wolf, bear
question: Which two animals became extinct in the British Isles?

answers: text: red deer
question: Which species of deer is protected in the British Isles?

answers: text: Over 200 species of bird
question: How many bird species does the British Isles have?

answers: text: chaffinch, common blackbird, house sparrow
question: What are three of the most common birds in the British Isles?

answers: text: salmon, trout, perch and pike
question: What kinds of fish are abundent in the British Isles?

context: Few species of reptiles or amphibians are found in Great Britain or Ireland. Only three snakes are native to Great Britain: the common European adder, the grass snake and the smooth snake; none are native to Ireland. In general, Great Britain has slightly more variation and native wild life, with weasels, polecats, wildcats, most shrews, moles, water voles, roe deer and common toads also being absent from Ireland. This pattern is also true for birds and insects. Notable exceptions include the Kerry slug and certain species of wood lice native to Ireland but not Great Britain.
qas: answers: text: European adder, the grass snake and the smooth snake
question: Which snakes are considered native to the British Isles but not Ireland?

answers: text: Kerry slug
question: What is the name of the slug that is native to both Britain and Ireland?

answers: text: none are native to Ireland
question: Is the grass nake or the smooth snake native to Ireland?

answers: text: water voles, roe deer and common toads
question: What type of wild life are not native to Ireland but are in Britain?

context: The demographics of the British Isles today are characterised by a generally high density of population in England, which accounts for almost 80% of the total population of the islands. In elsewhere on Great Britain and on Ireland, high density of population is limited to areas around, or close to, a few large cities. The largest urban area by far is the Greater London Urban Area with 9 million inhabitants. Other major populations centres include Greater Manchester Urban Area (2.4 million), West Midlands conurbation (2.4 million), West Yorkshire Urban Area (1.6 million) in England, Greater Glasgow (1.2 million) in Scotland and Greater Dublin Area (1.1 million) in Ireland.[citation needed]
qas: answers: text: England
question: Which area in the British Isles is s the most populated?

answers: text: 80%
question: What percentage of the population does England have compared to the other areas in the British Isles?

answers: text: Greater Dublin Area (1.1 million)
question: What is the most populated city in Ireland?

answers: text: 9 million
question: How many people live in the area of London?

answers: text: Greater Manchester Urban Area (2.4 million), West Midlands conurbation (2.4 million)
question: What are two other major populated cities in England?

context: The population of England rose rapidly during the 19th and 20th centuries whereas the populations of Scotland and Wales have shown little increase during the 20th century, with the population of Scotland remaining unchanged since 1951. Ireland for most of its history comprised a population proportionate to its land area (about one third of the total population). However, since the Great Irish Famine, the population of Ireland has fallen to less than one tenth of the population of the British Isles. The famine, which caused a century-long population decline, drastically reduced the Irish population and permanently altered the demographic make-up of the British Isles. On a global scale, this disaster led to the creation of an Irish diaspora that numbers fifteen times the current population of the island.
qas: answers: text: Scotland and Wales
question: Which two areas in the British Isles hasn't experienced a large population growth in the last one hundred years?

answers: text: less than one tenth of the population of the British Isles
question: How does Ireland's population compare to the rest of the British Isles?

answers: text: century-long population decline
question: How long did the Great Irish Famine cause a population decline in Ireland?

answers: text: fifteen times the current population of the island
question: How large is the Irish diaspora that was caused by the Great Irish Famine?

context: The linguistic heritage of the British Isles is rich, with twelve languages from six groups across four branches of the Indo-European family. The Insular Celtic languages of the Goidelic sub-group (Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic) and the Brittonic sub-group (Cornish, Welsh and Breton, spoken in north-western France) are the only remaining Celtic languages—the last of their continental relations becoming extinct before the 7th century. The Norman languages of Guernésiais, Jèrriais and Sarkese spoken in the Channel Islands are similar to French. A cant, called Shelta, is spoken by Irish Travellers, often as a means to conceal meaning from those outside the group. However, English, sometimes in the form of Scots, is the dominant language, with few monoglots remaining in the other languages of the region. The Norn language of Orkney and Shetland became extinct around 1880.
qas: answers: text: six groups
question: How many groups do these languages belong to?

answers: text: Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic
question: What are the three Insular Celtic languages?

answers: text: Cornish, Welsh and Breton
question: What are the remaining Cetic languages that are still used today?

answers: text: Shelta
question: Which cant is often used by Irish Travellers?

context: At the end of the last ice age, what are now the British Isles were joined to the European mainland as a mass of land extending north west from the modern-day northern coastline of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Ice covered almost all of what is now Scotland, most of Ireland and Wales, and the hills of northern England. From 14,000 to 10,000 years ago, as the ice melted, sea levels rose separating Ireland from Great Britain and also creating the Isle of Man. About two to four millennia later, Great Britain became separated from the mainland. Britain probably became repopulated with people before the ice age ended and certainly before it became separated from the mainland. It is likely that Ireland became settled by sea after it had already become an island.
qas: answers: text: European mainland
question: What mainland was the British Isles once connected to?

answers: text: two to four millennia
question: When did the British Isles area become separated from the European continent?

answers: text: separating Ireland from Great Britain
question: When sea levels rose what occured in the British Isles area?

answers: text: sea levels rose
question: What happened to British Isles area when the ice melted after the last ice age?

answers: text: before the ice age ended
question: Did Britain become populated with people again before or after the ice came to an end?

context: At the time of the Roman Empire, about two thousand years ago, various tribes, which spoke Celtic dialects of the Insular Celtic group, were inhabiting the islands. The Romans expanded their civilisation to control southern Great Britain but were impeded in advancing any further, building Hadrian's Wall to mark the northern frontier of their empire in 122 AD. At that time, Ireland was populated by a people known as Hiberni, the northern third or so of Great Britain by a people known as Picts and the southern two thirds by Britons.
qas: answers: text: Celtic dialects of the Insular Celtic group
question: The people that lived in the British Isles during the Roman Empire era spoke which language?

answers: text: Hadrian's Wall
question: What was the name of the wall that the Romans built to mark their northern territory in the British Isles in 122AD?

answers: text: Hiberni
question: During the Roman Empire occupation in the British Isles, what was the name of the people that lived in Ireland?

answers: text: Picts
question: The northern area of Great Britain was populated by what native people during the Roman Empire occupation?

answers: text: Britons
question: What was the name of the native people that lived in the southern parts of the British Isles during the Roman Empire occupation?

context: Anglo-Saxons arrived as Roman power waned in the 5th century AD. Initially, their arrival seems to have been at the invitation of the Britons as mercenaries to repulse incursions by the Hiberni and Picts. In time, Anglo-Saxon demands on the British became so great that they came to culturally dominate the bulk of southern Great Britain, though recent genetic evidence suggests Britons still formed the bulk of the population. This dominance creating what is now England and leaving culturally British enclaves only in the north of what is now England, in Cornwall and what is now known as Wales. Ireland had been unaffected by the Romans except, significantly, having been Christianised, traditionally by the Romano-Briton, Saint Patrick. As Europe, including Britain, descended into turmoil following the collapse of Roman civilisation, an era known as the Dark Ages, Ireland entered a golden age and responded with missions (first to Great Britain and then to the continent), the founding of monasteries and universities. These were later joined by Anglo-Saxon missions of a similar nature.
qas: answers: text: Anglo-Saxons
question: Which people arrived in the British Isles when the Roman Empire's power was diminishing?

answers: text: southern Great Britain
question: What area did the Anglo-Saxons begin to dominate in the British Isles?

answers: text: the Dark Ages
question: What happened to the British Isles and Europe after the Roman Empire ended?

answers: text: golden age
question: What era did Ireland enter when the Roman Empire ended?

answers: text: monasteries and universities
question: What did the Irish build during the Golden Age?

context: Viking invasions began in the 9th century, followed by more permanent settlements, particularly along the east coast of Ireland, the west coast of modern-day Scotland and the Isle of Man. Though the Vikings were eventually neutralised in Ireland, their influence remained in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Wexford. England however was slowly conquered around the turn of the first millennium AD, and eventually became a feudal possession of Denmark. The relations between the descendants of Vikings in England and counterparts in Normandy, in northern France, lay at the heart of a series of events that led to the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The remnants of the Duchy of Normandy, which conquered England, remain associated to the English Crown as the Channel Islands to this day. A century later the marriage of the future Henry II of England to Eleanor of Aquitaine created the Angevin Empire, partially under the French Crown. At the invitation of a provincial king and under the authority of Pope Adrian IV (the only Englishman to be elected pope), the Angevins invaded Ireland in 1169. Though initially intended to be kept as an independent kingdom, the failure of the Irish High King to ensure the terms of the Treaty of Windsor led Henry II, as King of England, to rule as effective monarch under the title of Lord of Ireland. This title was granted to his younger son but when Henry's heir unexpectedly died the title of King of England and Lord of Ireland became entwined in one person.
qas: answers: text: 9th century
question: When did Viking invasions begin in the British Isles?

answers: text: east coast of Ireland
question: What is one area where the Vikings created a permanent settlement in the British Isles?

answers: text: Denmark
question: England became a possession of which country when it became conquered after the first millennium?

answers: text: 1066
question: When did the Norman Conquest occur?

answers: text: Angevins
question: In 1169, Ireland was invaded by which people?

context: By the Late Middle Ages, Great Britain was separated into the Kingdoms of England and Scotland. Power in Ireland fluxed between Gaelic kingdoms, Hiberno-Norman lords and the English-dominated Lordship of Ireland. A similar situation existed in the Principality of Wales, which was slowly being annexed into the Kingdom of England by a series of laws. During the course of the 15th century, the Crown of England would assert a claim to the Crown of France, thereby also releasing the King of England as from being vassal of the King of France. In 1534, King Henry VIII, at first having been a strong defender of Roman Catholicism in the face of the Reformation, separated from the Roman Church after failing to secure a divorce from the Pope. His response was to place the King of England as "the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England", thereby removing the authority of the Pope from the affairs of the English Church. Ireland, which had been held by the King of England as Lord of Ireland, but which strictly speaking had been a feudal possession of the Pope since the Norman invasion was declared a separate kingdom in personal union with England.
qas: answers: text: the Pope
question: Since the Norman invasion who had feudal possession of Ireland?

answers: text: Kingdoms of England and Scotland
question: During the end of the Middle Ages which two kingdoms was Great Britain divided into?

answers: text: Church of England
question: What was the name of the church that King Henry VIII founded?

answers: text: King Henry VIII
question: Which king failed to receive a divorce from the Pope in 1534?

context: Scotland, meanwhile had remained an independent Kingdom. In 1603, that changed when the King of Scotland inherited the Crown of England, and consequently the Crown of Ireland also. The subsequent 17th century was one of political upheaval, religious division and war. English colonialism in Ireland of the 16th century was extended by large-scale Scottish and English colonies in Ulster. Religious division heightened and the King in England came into conflict with parliament. A prime issue was, inter alia, over his policy of tolerance towards Catholicism. The resulting English Civil War or War of the Three Kingdoms led to a revolutionary republic in England. Ireland, largely Catholic was mainly loyal to the king. Following defeat to the parliaments army, large scale land distributions from loyalist Irish nobility to English commoners in the service of the parliamentary army created the beginnings a new Ascendancy class which over the next hundred years would obliterate the English (Hiberno-Norman) and Gaelic Irish nobility in Ireland. The new ruling class was Protestant and British, whilst the common people were largely Catholic and Irish. This theme would influence Irish politics for centuries to come. When the monarchy was restored in England, the king found it politically impossible to restore all the lands of former land-owners in Ireland. The "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 repeated similar themes: a Catholic king pushing for religious tolerance in opposition to a Protestant parliament in England. The king's army was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne and at the militarily crucial Battle of Aughrim in Ireland. Resistance held out, and a guarantee of religious tolerance was a cornerstone of the Treaty of Limerick. However, in the evolving political climate, the terms of Limerick were superseded, a new monarchy was installed, and the new Irish parliament was packed with the new elite which legislated increasing intolerant Penal Laws, which discommoded both Dissenters and Catholics.
qas: answers: text: Crown of England
question: Which crown did the King of Scotland inherit in 1603?

answers: text: his policy of tolerance towards Catholicism
question: Why did the King of England have issues with parliment in the 17th century?

answers: text: political upheaval, religious division and war
question: What happened to Britain during the 17th century?

answers: text: Protestant and British
question: Who where the ruling class after the revolutionary republic was created?

answers: text: revolutionary republic in England
question: The English Civil War brought about what change to Britain?

context: The Kingdoms of England and Scotland were unified in 1707 creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. Following an attempted republican revolution in Ireland in 1798, the Kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain were unified in 1801, creating the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands remaining outside of the United Kingdom but with their ultimate good governance being the responsibility of the British Crown (effectively the British government). Although, the colonies of North American that would become the United States of America were lost by the start of the 19th century, the British Empire expanded rapidly elsewhere. A century later it would cover one third of the globe. Poverty in the United Kingdom remained desperate however and industrialisation in England led to terrible condition for the working class. Mass migrations following the Irish Famine and Highland Clearances resulted in the distribution of the islands' population and culture throughout the world and a rapid de-population of Ireland in the second-half of the 19th century. Most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom after the Irish War of Independence and the subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty (1919–1922), with the six counties that formed Northern Ireland remaining as an autonomous region of the UK.
qas: answers: text: 1707
question: In what year was the Kingdom of Great Britain founded?

answers: text: 1801
question: When did the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland unite?

answers: text: one third of the globe
question: How large did the British Empire become by the beginning of the 20th century?

answers: text: terrible condition for the working class
question: What negative factor occurred as a result of the Industrial Revolution in England?

answers: text: Most of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom
question: What was the result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1919-1922?

context: There are two sovereign states in the isles: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ireland, sometimes called the Republic of Ireland, governs five sixths of the island of Ireland, with the remainder of the island forming Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, usually shortened to simply the United Kingdom, which governs the remainder of the archipelago with the exception of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The Isle of Man and the two states of the Channel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey, are known as the Crown Dependencies. They exercise constitutional rights of self-government and judicial independence; responsibility for international representation rests largely upon the UK (in consultation with the respective governments); and responsibility for defence is reserved by the UK. The United Kingdom is made up of four constituent parts: England, Scotland and Wales, forming Great Britain, and Northern Ireland in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Of these, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have "devolved" governments meaning that they have their own parliaments/assemblies and are self-governing with respect to certain areas set down by law. For judicial purposes, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England and Wales (the latter being one entity) form separate legal jurisdiction, with there being no single law for the UK as a whole.
qas: answers: text: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
question: What are the names of the two states that are sovereign in the British Isles today?

answers: text: Republic of Ireland
question: What is another name that Ireland is also called?

answers: text: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
question: Northern Ireland is part of which country?

answers: text: United Kingdom
question: What is another name for the  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?

answers: text: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
question: Which three states in the United Kingdom have devolved governements?

context: Ireland, the United Kingdom and the three Crown Dependencies are all parliamentary democracies, with their own separate parliaments. All parts of the United Kingdom return members to parliament in London. In addition to this, voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland return members to a parliament in Edinburgh and to assemblies in Cardiff and Belfast respectively. Governance in the norm is by majority rule, however, Northern Ireland uses a system of power sharing whereby unionists and nationalists share executive posts proportionately and where the assent of both groups are required for the Northern Ireland Assembly to make certain decisions. (In the context of Northern Ireland, unionists are those who want Northern Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom and nationalists are those who want Northern Ireland join with the rest of Ireland.) The British monarch is the head of state for all parts of the isles except for the Republic of Ireland, where the head of state is the President of Ireland.
qas: answers: text: Scotland
question: Which state send members to the parliament in Edinburgh?

answers: text: parliamentary democracies
question: What type of government does the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies have?

answers: text: unionists and nationalists
question: Who shares power in Northern Ireland?

answers: text: United Kingdom
question: Unionists in Northern Ireland want to remain part of which country?

answers: text: the rest of Ireland
question: Nationalist in Northern Ireland want to join which country?

context: Ireland and the United Kingdom are both part of the European Union (EU). The Crown Dependencies are not a part of the EU however do participate in certain aspects that were negotiated as a part of the UK's accession to the EU. Neither the United Kingdom or Ireland are part of the Schengen area, that allow passport-free travel between EU members states. However, since the partition of Ireland, an informal free-travel area had existed across the region. In 1997, this area required formal recognition during the course of negotiations for the Amsterdam Treaty of the European Union and is now known as the Common Travel Area.
qas: answers: text: European Union (EU)
question: The United Kingdom is part of what union?

answers: text: passport-free travel between EU members states
question: What does the Schengen area allow in the European Union?

answers: text: 1997
question: When was a free-travel area created betwen Northern Ireland and Ireland?

answers: text: Common Travel Area
question: This free-travel area in Ireland is now called what?

context: Reciprocal arrangements allow British and Irish citizens to full voting rights in the two states. Exceptions to this are presidential elections and constitutional referendums in the Republic of Ireland, for which there is no comparable franchise in the other states. In the United Kingdom, these pre-date European Union law, and in both jurisdictions go further than that required by European Union law. Other EU nationals may only vote in local and European Parliament elections while resident in either the UK or Ireland. In 2008, a UK Ministry of Justice report investigating how to strengthen the British sense of citizenship proposed to end this arrangement arguing that, "the right to vote is one of the hallmarks of the political status of citizens; it is not a means of expressing closeness between countries."
qas: answers: text: presidential elections and constitutional referendums
question: What are the two exceptions to the voting rights in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelandand Britain?

answers: text: local and European Parliament elections
question: In what elections are other Europeans who are living in the United Kingdom or Ireland, allowed to vote in?

answers: text: UK Ministry of Justice
question: Which ministry wants to end this type of voting of EU nationals?

answers: text: Reciprocal arrangements
question: What type of arrangement let British and Irish citizens vote in each other's elections?

context: The Northern Ireland Peace Process has led to a number of unusual arrangements between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. For example, citizens of Northern Ireland are entitled to the choice of Irish or British citizenship or both and the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom consult on matters not devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. The Northern Ireland Executive and the Government of Ireland also meet as the North/South Ministerial Council to develop policies common across the island of Ireland. These arrangements were made following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
qas: answers: text: The Northern Ireland Peace Process
question: What has caused several uncommon arrangements between the various states in the United Kingdom?

answers: text: choice of Irish or British citizenship or both
question: What type of citizenship can Northern Ireland people have?

answers: text: Government of Ireland
question: The Northern Ireland Executive meets with what other government to develop policies for the island of Ireland?

answers: text: policies common across the island of Ireland
question: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement resulted in what arrangement?

context: Another body established under the Good Friday Agreement, the British–Irish Council, is made up of all of the states and territories of the British Isles. The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly (Irish: Tionól Pharlaiminteach na Breataine agus na hÉireann) predates the British–Irish Council and was established in 1990. Originally it comprised 25 members of the Oireachtas, the Irish parliament, and 25 members of the parliament of the United Kingdom, with the purpose of building mutual understanding between members of both legislatures. Since then the role and scope of the body has been expanded to include representatives from the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the States of Jersey, the States of Guernsey and the High Court of Tynwald (Isle of Man).
qas: answers: text: British–Irish Council
question: What was one of organizations that was founded because of the Good Friday Agreement?

answers: text: all of the states and territories of the British Isles
question: Which states belong to the British-Irish Council?

answers: text: 25
question: How many Oireachtas members where there in the original British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly?

answers: text: 25
question: How many members of the United Kingdom Parliament were in the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly originally?

answers: text: Scottish Parliament
question: The British-Irish Council has added representatives from which parliament?

context: The Council does not have executive powers but meets biannually to discuss issues of mutual importance. Similarly, the Parliamentary Assembly has no legislative powers but investigates and collects witness evidence from the public on matters of mutual concern to its members. Reports on its findings are presented to the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom. During the February 2008 meeting of the British–Irish Council, it was agreed to set up a standing secretariat that would serve as a permanent 'civil service' for the Council. Leading on from developments in the British–Irish Council, the chair of the British–Irish Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Niall Blaney, has suggested that the body should shadow the British–Irish Council's work.
qas: answers: text: no
question: Does the Parliamentary Assembly had any kinds of legislative authority?

answers: text: issues of mutual importance
question: What does the British-Irish Council discuss?

answers: text: investigates and collects witness evidence
question: What does the British-Irish Council do?

answers: text: biannually
question: How often does the British-Irish Council meet?

answers: text: Niall Blaney
question: Who recommended that the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Assembly should look very closely at the work that the British-Irish Council does?

context: The United Kingdom and Ireland have separate media, although British television, newspapers and magazines are widely available in Ireland, giving people in Ireland a high level of familiarity with cultural matters in the United Kingdom. Irish newspapers are also available in the UK, and Irish state and private television is widely available in Northern Ireland.[citation needed] Certain reality TV shows have embraced the whole of the islands, for example The X Factor, seasons 3, 4 and 7 of which featured auditions in Dublin and were open to Irish voters, whilst the show previously known as Britain's Next Top Model became Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model in 2011. A few cultural events are organised for the island group as a whole. For example, the Costa Book Awards are awarded to authors resident in the UK or Ireland. The Man Booker Prize is awarded to authors from the Commonwealth of Nations and Ireland. The Mercury Music Prize is handed out every year to the best album from a British or Irish musician or group.
qas: answers: text: British television, newspapers and magazines
question: What types of media give the people of Ireland information about what is going on in Britain?

answers: text: private television
question: What is available to the people in Northern Ireland so they have access to the media?

answers: text: The X Factor
question: What is one of the most popoular television shows in the United Kingdom?

answers: text: authors resident in the UK or Ireland
question: Who can receive the Costa Book Award?

context: Many globally popular sports had modern rules codified in the British Isles, including golf, association football, cricket, rugby, snooker and darts, as well as many minor sports such as croquet, bowls, pitch and putt, water polo and handball. A number of sports are popular throughout the British Isles, the most prominent of which is association football. While this is organised separately in different national associations, leagues and national teams, even within the UK, it is a common passion in all parts of the islands. Rugby union is also widely enjoyed across the islands with four national teams from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The British and Irish Lions is a team chosen from each national team and undertakes tours of the southern hemisphere rugby playing nations every four years. Ireland play as a united team, represented by players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic. These national rugby teams play each other each year for the Triple Crown as part of the Six Nations Championship. Also since 2001 the professional club teams of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy compete against each other in the RaboDirect Pro12.
qas: answers: text: croquet, bowls, pitch and putt
question: What are some of the minor sports in the United Kingdom?

answers: text: association football
question: What is the most popular sport in the United Kingdom?

answers: text: four
question: How many national Ruby teams are there in the United Kingdom?

answers: text: southern hemisphere
question: In which hemisphere do the rugby playing countries meet once every four years?

answers: text: each year
question: How often do the national rugby teams play for the Triple Crown?

context: The idea of building a tunnel under the Irish Sea has been raised since 1895, when it was first investigated. Several potential Irish Sea tunnel projects have been proposed, most recently the Tusker Tunnel between the ports of Rosslare and Fishguard proposed by The Institute of Engineers of Ireland in 2004. A rail tunnel was proposed in 1997 on a different route, between Dublin and Holyhead, by British engineering firm Symonds. Either tunnel, at 50 mi (80 km), would be by far the longest in the world, and would cost an estimated £15 billion or €20 billion. A proposal in 2007, estimated the cost of building a bridge from County Antrim in Northern Ireland to Galloway in Scotland at £3.5bn (€5bn).
qas: answers: text: 1895
question: The Irish Sea tunnel was first purposed in what year?

answers: text: Tusker Tunnel
question: What is the name of the recent proposal of a tunnel between Rosslare and Fishguard ports?

answers: text: The Institute of Engineers of Ireland
question: Who proposed the Tusker Tunnel?

answers: text: £15 billion or €20 billion
question: What is the estimated cost to build the Tusker Tunnel?

answers: text: 2007
question: In what year was a bridge proposed between County Antrim in Northern Ireland to Galloway, Scotland?