Scarica Educazione civica in inglese. livello minimo B1-B2. e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! BRITISH HISTORY Britain has played a dominant role in world history. In the 19th century, it was the richest nation in the world and it had an enormous empire. Two world wars and a failure to keep pace with industrial advances have reduced Britain's position on the world stage. ● 700 BC Celtic people arrive from continental Europe. ● 43 AD-410 AD The Romans invade and conquer most of England and Wales ● 410-1066 Anglo-Saxon tribes from north-western Europe invade and settle in England and southern Scotland. This is followed by the Viking conquest. ● 1066-1485 The Normans invade Britain from France. William the Conqueror becomes King William I of England. Soon England, Wales and the eastern part of Ireland are under Norman rule. ● 16th century Henry 8th separates from the Roman Catholic Church and becomes the head of the 'Church of England'. Wales is joined to England under one administration. During the reign of Elizabeth I, Britain becomes a rich and powerful country. ● 17th century James VI, becomes James I of England and Ireland. He is the first monarch to be called the king of Great Britain. Parliament establishes its supremacy over the monarchy in Britain, The Church of England becomes stronger. ● 18th century Britain expands its Empire in the Americas, along the west African coast and in India, Increased trade and technical innovations lead to the Industrial Revolution. ● 19th century With the Act of Union in 1801, Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The UK, with Queen Victoria, controls the largest empire in the world and has enormous economic power. ● 20th century Britain loses part of its economic power. The Empire gradually collapses and becomes the Commonwealth. Northern Ireland is created in 1920, leading to tension and conflict there. Britain becomes part of the European Community (1973). ● 21th century Peace and political stability is restored in Northern Ireland. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland take over control of their domestic affairs. Scotland holds an independence referendum, but the population decides to remain part of the UK British people vote to leave the EU in another referendum. The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution which goes from 1760 and finishes in 1830, started in Britain, because of the existing conditions in England. A system of internal waterways and the absence of physical barriers made the transport of goods less difficult than in other nations. Coalfield s1 and forests, close to deposits of metal ore s2, provided fuel to power the factories that produced iron ore. Another important factor in the process of industrialization was the invention of new technologies. Britain pioneered the development of new steam−poweredmachines3such as the spinning jenny 4 and the power loom5. At the same time, advances in agriculture meant that farms were able to produce food with fewer workers. The process of urbanization started when unemployed workers migrated to new industrial areas in the Midlands and the North of England and many large towns and cities, such as Birmingham and Manchester grew up. London became a centre of banking and a mercantile and professional class were established. coalfield :❑ 1 bacino carbonifero spinning jenny :❑ 4 filatoio multiplo metal ore :❑ 2 minerale metallico power loom :❑ 5 telaio meccanico steam− poweredmac ineℎ :❑ 3 macchina a vapore The United States The United States of America is part of the North American continent. It is the world's fourth largest country and it has six different time-zones. When it is 9 a.m. in New York, it is only 6 a.m. in Los Angeles. The country is bordered to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the north by Canada and to the south by Mexico. It is divided into 50 independent states, 16 territories and one district, the District of Columbia. Two of the states, Alaska and Hawaii, are not part of the contiguous USA. ● the capital city is Washington DC. ● the highest mountain is Mount Denali in Alaska and it is 6190m high. ● the lowest point is the Death Valley, which is 86 m below sea level. ● the longest river is The Missouri, it is 3767km long. ● the largest lake is Lake Superior, it is 82.103km² big.
