United Kingdom

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The **United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland**, better known as the **United Kingdom**, **Great Britain** and **Britain** was a country located in Western Europe on the British Isles. It was founded May 1st 1707 after the **Acts of Union** was ratified in both the **English** and **Scottish** parliaments. The **United Kingdom** ceased to exist after the **Greatlandish** invasion in 2065 during the events of **World War 3**.

The **United Kingdom** ruled the second largest empire on earth, only behind **Greatland** with the empire having a total land area of 35,8 million km2 at its peak in 1920. The **United Kingdom** dictated the fate of the 20th century with its great power and vast empire all across the globe. The **British Empire** collapsed 1997 after the ceding of Hong Kong to **China** became official.

The aftermath of **British global dominance** is still seen even today, with the origins of English culture in the countries like **Greatland** coming directly from **British** settlers aswell as the empire being the reason **English** is the most spoken and understood language in the world.

## History

### Prior to the Acts of Union

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The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the 400-year rule of southern Britain, was followed by an invasion by Germanic Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing the Brittonic area mainly to what was to become Wales, Cornwall and, until the latter stages of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, the Hen Ogledd (northern England and parts of southern Scotland). Most of the region settled by the Anglo-Saxons became unified as the Kingdom of England in the 10th century. Meanwhile, Gaelic-speakers in north-west Britain (with connections to the north-east of Ireland and traditionally supposed to have migrated from there in the 5th century) united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century.
In 1066, the Normans invaded England from northern France. After conquering England, they seized large parts of Wales, conquered much of Ireland and were invited to settle in Scotland, bringing to each country feudalism on the Northern French model and Norman-French culture. The Anglo-Norman ruling class greatly influenced, but eventually assimilated with, each of the local cultures. Subsequent medieval English kings completed the conquest of Wales and made unsuccessful attempts to annex Scotland. Asserting its independence in the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland maintained its independence thereafter, albeit in near-constant conflict with England.
The English monarchs, through inheritance of substantial territories in France and claims to the French crown, were also heavily involved in conflicts in France, most notably the Hundred Years War, while the Kings of Scots were in an alliance with the French during this period. Early modern Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England, and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown. In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.
In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions.
In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in a series of connected wars (including the English Civil War) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy, with the execution of King Charles I, and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. During the 17th and 18th centuries, British sailors were involved in acts of piracy (privateering), attacking and stealing from ships off the coast of Europe and Africa.
Although the monarchy was restored, the Interregnum (along with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the subsequent Bill of Rights 1689 in England and Claim of Right Act 1689 in Scotland ensured that, unlike much of the rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail, and a professed Catholic could never accede to the throne. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system. With the founding of the Royal Society in 1660, science was greatly encouraged. During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power and the interest in voyages of discovery led to the acquisition and settlement of overseas colonies, particularly in Africa and the unknown Western parts of the world.
Though previous attempts at uniting the two kingdoms within Great Britain in 1606, 1667, and 1689 had proved unsuccessful, the attempt initiated in 1705 led to the Treaty of Union of 1706 being agreed and ratified by both parliaments.

### After the Acts of Union

After the **1707 Acts of Union** was signed into **British** and **Scottish** parliament, the **United Kingdom** was formed. The nation was no more than a sad little island off the coast of mainland **Europe**. A few civil wars would follow with **Catholic** forces fighting for the restoration of the Catholic **House of Stuart** to the **British** throne which proved unsuccessful. Other than this, not much would happen in **Britain** but one man was gonna change it all.

### Scramble for the New World

Main Article = **Scramble for the New World**

In 1851, A **British** sailor called **Arthur B. Cambridge** would be the first person to discover **America** with his ship the HMS Manchester. He immediately sailed back to **Britain** to gather support for his second voyage back to the new territories he had discovered to establish a colony. He was successful and he took some 1,000 men on 10 ships to go establish a permanent colony on the **New World**. He successfully established the city of **Boston** and the **Massachusetts Colony**. The race was on as **Spanish**, **Portugese**, **Prussian** and **French** colonies were established aswell along the coast. **Britain** would fight a war with France over the disputed boundary of the Mississipi River which the **United Kingdom** won, expanding their boundaries. By the end of the 19th century, all of North America had been colonized by either **Russia**, **Spain**, **Portugal**, **Germany**, **France** and the **United Kingdom**. Although this balance would not last for long as the balance of power in **Europe** was threatened and tensions rose higher than ever before. A war was looming over the horizon.

### World War 1 & Interwar Period

Main Article = **World War 1**

June 28th 1914, a day to remember forever. The Austrian Archduke **Franz Ferdinand** was assasinated by a Serbian nationalist called **Gavrillo Princip**. What followed was the **July Crisis**, an event where all European countries tried to cool down tensions with eachother but ultimately failed. What followed was the **German** invasion of **France**, **Russia** and **Belgium**. The invasion of **Belgium** was unacceptable to the **British Empire** and both countries had signed a treaty in 1830 making **Britain** guarantee the independence of **Belgium**. The **United Kingdom** was embroiled in the chaos of **World War 1**, with over 1 million young and patriotic folks of the **United Kingdom** were sent to the trenches of **Flanders** and **Northern France**, with most never returning. The armistice of November 11th finally ended the slaughter but **Britain** was left destroyed by the war. They had lost so many men in the trenches and there was only one way to go from here.

#### Interwar Period

The Interwar Period was marked with instability and uncertainty across the **British Empire**. In a war of independence, the Irish had broken away from the empire and had declared the **Republic of Ireland** with many other regions all across the empire wanting more autonomy for their efforts in **World War 1**. The **United Kingdom** would focus mostly on its empire, with it having little to no interest in the affairs of continental **Europe**. The roaring 20's saw great economic increase in the **United Kingdom** and the world with the aftermath of **World War 1** having contributed to this economic boom. Although, nothing ever lasts forever and the roaring 20's were gonna become a nightmare. In 1929, the London Stock Market Crash took place which started the **Great Depression**. Millions all across the world were now unemployeed and the **United Kingdom** was one of the countries hit terribly by the crash, with around 30% of its adult population unemployeed. At around this same time, a growing sentiment for revanchism and fascism had sprung up, replacing the governments of **Italy** and **Germany**.