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| '''Great Britain''' (or simply '''Britain''')<ref>The use of the adjective "Great" derives from the French ''Grande Bretagne'', as distinct from ''Petite Bretagne'' ([[Brittany]]).</ref> is a large [[island]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]], separated from continental [[Europe]] to the south by the [[English Channel]] and from [[Ireland]] to the west by the [[Irish Sea]]. It is the largest island in the [[archipelago]] known as the [[British Isles]], with an area of 218,595 km² (93,282 square miles).<ref>[http://islands.unep.ch/ICJ.htm#943 Islands of the United Kingdom] (UN System-Wide Earthwatch Web Site)</ref> Politically, the island is part of the [[United Kingdom]] (for which "Britain" and "Great Britain" are often used as synonyms), and contains the nations of [[England]], [[Wales]] and the majority of [[Scotland]].
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| ==Geography and geology==
| | '''Great Britain'''<ref>The use of the adjective "Great" derives from the French ''Grande Bretagne'', as distinct from ''Petite Bretagne'' ([[Brittany]]).</ref> is a large [[island]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]], separated from continental [[Europe]] to the south by the [[English Channel]] and from [[Ireland (island)|Ireland]] to the west by the [[Irish Sea]]. It is the largest island in the [[archipelago]] known as the [[British Isles]], with an area of 218,595 km² (93,282 square miles).<ref>[http://islands.unep.ch/ICJ.htm#943 Islands of the United Kingdom] (UN System-Wide Earthwatch Web Site)</ref> Politically, the island is part of the '''[[United Kingdom]] of Great Britain and [[Northern Ireland]]''' (of which the usual abbreviations are "Britain" and "the UK", not the overly formal "Great Britain"), and is made up of the constituent countries [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]]. |
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| ==History and politics==
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| ===Prehistory===
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| ===Britain in the Classical period===
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| Britain was known in the early [[Classics|Classical]] period as a source of [[tin]]. It is likely that the name ''Cassiterides'' or "tin islands", mentioned in the 5th century BC by [[Herodotus]],<ref>[[Herodotus]], ''Histories'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hdt.+3.115.1 3.115]</ref> refs to the British Isles. The Greek explorer [[Pytheas]] of [[Marseille|Massalia]] claimed to have visited the island in the 4th century, and although his own writings are lost, and later classical writers are sceptical, it seems likely that he did so.<ref>Barry Cunliffe, ''The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek'', Penguin, 2002</ref>
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| Britain became part of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]]'s sphere of political influence in the 1st century BC. [[Julius Caesar]], in the course of his conquest of [[Gaul]], made two armed expeditions there in 55 and 54 BC. The first barely gained a foothold on the south-east coast before being forced to return to the continent for winter. The second was more successful, installing a friendly king, [[Mandubracius]] of the [[Trinovantes]], and forcing the submission of his rival [[Cassivellaunus]], but conquered no territory and did not extend beyond the [[Thames Valley]].<ref>[[Julius Caesar]], ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_4#20 4.20-36], [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_5#8 5.8-23]</ref> [[Augustus]] planned invasions in 34, 27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable,<ref>[[Dio Cassius]], ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/49*.html#38 49.38], [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/53*.html#22 53.22], [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/53*.html#25 53.25]</ref> and the relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. [[Strabo]], writing late in Augustus's reign, claims that taxes on trade brought in more annual revenue than any conquest could, and mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''Geography'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/4E*.html 4.5]</ref> Augustus' own ''Res Gestae'' refers to two British kings whom he received as refugees.<ref>[[Augustus]], ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Augustus/Res_Gestae/6*.html#32 32]</ref> Rome appears to have encouraged a balance of power in southern Britain, supporting two powerful kingdoms: the [[Catuvellauni]], ruled by the descendants of [[Tasciovanus]], and the [[Atrebates]], ruled by the descendants of [[Commius]].<ref>John Creighton, ''Coins and power in Late Iron Age Britain'', Cambridge University Press, 2000</ref> Archaeology shows an increase in imported luxury goods in south-eastern Britain, and <ref>Keith Branigan (1987), ''The Catuvellauni''</ref> When some of [[Tiberius]]'s ships were carried to Britain in a storm during his campaigns in [[Germania|Germany]] in AD 16, they were sent back safe and sound by local rulers, telling tall tales of monsters.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_2#24 2.24]</ref> These peaceful relations broke down in AD AD 39 or 40, when [[Caligula]] received an exiled member of the Catuvellaunian dynasty and staged an invasion that collapsed in farcical circumstances.<ref>[[Suetonius]], ''Caligula'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Caligula*.html#44 44-46]; Dio Cassius, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/59*.html#25 59.25]</ref> When [[Claudius]] successfully invaded in 43, it was in aid of another fugitive British ruler, this time [[Verica]] of the Atrebates. The Catuvellaunian territory became the nucleus of a new Roman province, while [[Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus]] was sent up as the client ruler of Atrebatian and other lands.<ref>Dio Cassius, ''Roman History'' [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/60*.html#19 60.19-22]; Tacitus, ''Agricola'' [http://www.wikisource.org/Agricola#14 14]</ref> Over the course of the 1st century Roman control expended west into Wales, then north into Scotland. However, the Roman presence in the north proved untenable, and was withdrawn to the line of [[Hadrian's Wall]] in the 2nd century.
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| ===Sub-Roman Britain===
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| ===Medieval Britain===
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| ===Renaissance and early modern Britain===
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| ===Modern Britain===
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| {{reflist}} | | {{reflist|2}}[[Category:Suggestion Bot Tag]] |
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| [[Category:Geography Workgroup]]
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