23. Northern Ireland.

History: Ir. - 8, 000 y. old, the first settlers-traveling from Scandinavia to Scotland (at that time England was linked by land to northern Europe) then across what was a narrow sea gap to Ireland. These early settlers became the Tribes of Firbolg and Tuatha De Dannann, were invaded by the Milesius of Spain =1, 000 B. C. Today's Irish Race= a combination of the three tribes, - the one Celtic Race. The Rom. Empire stopped short of Ireland. The Vikings-invasions in the 9th Cent In 1171 King Henry of England asserted sovereignty with the building of abbey-churches and castles. Later, Henry VIII added the title of "King Of Ireland" although the Reformation falling short of ifs intentions of pure English control. By the mid-16 century, the first plantation policy took effect - lands were confiscated from Catholics and given to Protestant settlers. By the mid- 17th century Charles Cromwell and his puritan forces supervised revengeful destruction of key parts of Ireland. 1800- the Irish parliament was abolished forming the Act of Union which was the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Ireland. The Union gave Ir. seats in UK parliament 1912- Home Rule bill, but was delayed. 1922-the greater part-independ. State, 1949- a republic outside the Commonwealth. The 6 north, counties -seats in UK parliament but their own government. From 1972 UK governments have tried to find a "political-1 solution" to the Northern Irish problem, acceptable to most Catholics and Protestants.

Constitutional convention of N. I. =a deliberative bodywith the majority of unionists, established May 1975, abolished March 1976due to the extremists'activities in N. I. The Irish Republican Army continues its terrorist compaign (for the unification with the Republic of Ir. Geography: made up of the 6 north, counties of the island of Ireland (Antrim (resorts), Down(l of the best farming counties in Ir. , is strongly connected with St Patrick. ), Armagh(the home of Ulster kingsfor 6 cent. , ), Tyrone, Fermagah(as much lake as land), Londonderry=Derry(fine beaches in the north, Sperrin Mountains in the south, fine city wall (1614). N. Ir-the northeastern part of the island. Is surrounded by sea to the north and east, by the republican counties of Donegal to the west, Cavan and monaghan to the south. The landscape-generally low rolling hill country with lakes, some forested areas and the Sperrin and Moume mountain ranges. Ir. is located on an island in the east, part of the North

Atlantic Ocean, on the western fringe of Europe.

23 Belfast-shipbuilding. B. -the administrative and major commercial

centre. Many "National Parks' in N. I. Economy: GDP -74% of the European Union average. Since the beginning of 1997 however, millions of pounds have been invested in Northern Ireland's economy by companies convinced the peace process will work. Outside Belfast and London-deny, Ulster is predominantly rural and has a strong agricultural economy with dairy products and beef both important Poultry production is important. The principal field crops: wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. Also hay, turnips, sugar beets. Belfast and Dublin are connected by a good rail line and trains also connect Ulster's capital with Londonderry and the ferry port of Lame, which links with Stranraer in Scotland. N. I. 's economy based on fanning and on the heavy industries of Belfast, has brought its people a standard of living well above that of the Republic, but lower then UK's. With the decline of shipbuilding-serious unemployment. The official languages are English and Irish or GaelicCuhure. The culture of Ir. has been shaped by the dynamic interplay between the ancient Celtic-derived traditions of the people and those imposed from outside, notably from Britain. Irish culture is best known through its literature, drama, and songs; above all, the Irish are renowned as masters of the art of conversation Jonathan Swift George Augustus Moore, the poet and winner of the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature William Butler Yeats, the author and playwright Samuel Beckett (winner of the Nobel Prize in 1969), the dramatist Sean O'Casey, and the modern prose masters James Joyce, Frank O'Connor, Sean OTaolain, Flann O'Brien, and Liam O'Flaherty Theatre: Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw Music and dance: Irish harp, Irish bagpipes. Irish songs gained wide appeal in Europe in the 19th century, has a long tradition of folk dancing. Solo dancing is characterized by its lightning footwork and high kicks, all executed while the upper body is kept rigidly straight, folk music festivals Painting: the portraitists Sir John Lavery and Roderic O'Conor, and the figurative painters John ("Jack") Yeats (the brother of William Butler Yeats), Paul Henry, William Orpen, followed by modern artists Louis Le Brocquy, the Belfast-born Daniel O'Neill, Norah McGuinness. Miseums: The Ulster Museum, the Transport Mus. , the City Hall-l of the chief landmarks, a number of buildings worth seeing, including the huge Law Courts, the Protestant Cathedral. 3 parks give access to fine scenery and cliff, views across the sea.

The Thames valley in gen. , betw. Land, andfirist is an area of concentration of high techn. industries, which mcl. electronic engin, microelectronics, data processing industry, etc. This area has bees called the 'Sunrise Strip' due to its specialization on the industries of the future. Brato/(3*4, *00) dominates s. -w. EngL, both as the region's chief seaport and as its Ingest city. Accounts for ab. 2% of the country's trade. Import exceeds export. Dif. ores, timber, grain, fodder are imported. Automobiles, tractors, locomotives, aircraft cement form the export trade. Imports influence the character of local industries. This i» very well seen in the manufacture of tobacco products and chocolate in Bristol and its neighborhood Of greater importance are non-ferrous metallurgy, aircraft and automobile industry, military hardware. The chemical and petrochemical industries are also developing at a rapid pace.

Of me towns situated on me southern fringe of Engl me largest are Plymouth (244, 000), Southampton (204, 000), Portsmouth (179, 000). Brighton (146, 000) and Bournemouth (145, 000).

Plymouth is a major naval base of the Br. navy. Has no major tradit industry and the naval dockyard remains the leading employer of labour, a variety of light engine, indusuies (manufacture of TV acts). The food industry (an importer of fivil and vegetables). Southampton is primarily a seaport, me most imp. 1 on the south coast S. continues to serve as a port clriefty bee. of the development of as freight traffic. Petroleum is me most valuable single item in the imports. Brighton and Bournemouth are me leading and most popular seaside resorts of me south, fringe of Br.

The South is a major agric. region of GB. Agric. specialization is dif in the South W. and Sou* E. and East. Consists of rearing livestock, cattle- the principal farm animals. Dairying U Ihe main farming activity here. Oats and barley make up the princip. cereal In the very «. -w. horticulture is develop, m the very south of me c-try barley is me most imp. grain crop, grown in rotation with other crops, while wheat is produced on the heavier soils. An increasing demand for milk has stimulated dairy fanning.

Cereals occupy an imp. part of the arable farmland m the South E. , with barley and wheat Also fruit (Kent), milk production, the production of vegetables and flowers.

Agric. specialization in me east which consists o(EastAnglia and the Fens, » quite dif. The Fens is me district situated round the Wash. The dimate of this part of the country is more 'continental in character. This has determined the growing of cereal crops, which are the mainstay of the local econ. East Angtia and the Fens are one of the most imp. fanning areas in the Br. Isles, with a spec, emphasis on arable fanning. More than 90% of farmland is occup. with wheat and barley, also sugar beet and potatoes. Market gardening and font fanning are also widespread.

The Miflfasjak The Midlands is situated in Ihe centre of GB betw. the South Industr. and Agric. region in the south and Lancashire and Yorkshire in the north. For the past 200 y. the Midlands was 1 of Br/s lead, industr. regions.

It was the presence of coalfields, esp. the South Staffordshire coalfields, which set the area on the palh of industr. expansion and the development of the great West Midlands conurbation, which »the induatr. focus of the region and includ. Birmingham, Coventry and several other larger towns. Today it is 1 of the chief industry, areas in the UK Quite often it is called the Birmingham 'Blade Country conurbation.

Birmingham itself stands outside the district known as the Black Country, a district lying west and northwest of the city Dur. the XDCth c. the area emerged as a centre of heavy industry, the coalfield towns became most imp. The waste tips, grime and smoke spread tike a blight from mines, furnaces and th district was well named the Black Country. Now me Black Country losing its image. B. is me industr. capital of the Midlands. In population (998, 200) it is the 2nd largest city in Br. Engin. and the finishing of metals are imp to the area, m add. non-ferrous metallurgy developed for finishing and conversion into alloys. Best known for its hardware, also motor industry. Other industries: making guns, the manufacture of articles it gold and silver, jewellery manuf-re became a major industry, and B. remains the country's lead, centre. The city is a major producer of consumer goods, and service industries involved in the distribution of gbods are also developed. Among the food products, cocoa and chocolate occupy a prominent place.

The other major city of the West Midlands conurbation is Cowntfrv, (310, 000). It is the centre of the Br. motor industry. Another major industr. ccntrc is Wolverhimpton (252, 000) where heavy engineering, metal founding, tyre production are developed.

There are 3 major industrial centres situated to the east and north-east of Coventry. They are Leicester (280, 000) (leading centre of the knitwear industry), Nottingham (271, 000) (knitwear production, the manufacture of knitting machinery, of bicycles, pharmaceutical products and cigarettes) and Derby (216, 000) (an important railway engineering centre, the Rolls Ro> ce factories, textile manuf-re)

At the south-west tip of the Petmines lies a district of the Midlands known as the Potteries with Us major industrial centre Stofce-upon-Trent (260, 000) famous for its pottery and ceramics industry.

hi climate the Midlands . has a midway place between the rather wet area to the west (Wales) and the drier, more 'continental' area to the east (East Angfia). A great deal of mo region is under grass, tamer permanent or in rotation. Largely because of climatic dif-ces, dairy cattle arc more numerous in the mojstcr west But there is a higher proportion of beef cattle towards the east Many sheep are also grazed. Now the principal crops are barley and wheat along with potatoes and sugar beat The demands of roe large industr. centra have given rise to market gardening nearby, and a gr. variety of vegetables is produced.

Lancashire and Yorkshire 2 major industry, regions are situated to the north of the Midland*. They are Lancashire, which is on me west slopes of the Pennmes and Yorkshire on the eastern side. 2 major centres in this region: Merseyside and Greater Manchester.

Merseyside is centred on Liverpool (476, 000) and is regarded as a conurbation Br. 's leading port andtndustr. centre. Most of its industries were typical "port industries' (butkhng and servicing of ships and the processing of imported raw materials such as gram, timber and, later, oil).

The chem. . industry developed, me soap and detergent industries, me motor-car industry (today in decline). Another imp. industry- shipbuilding and ship repairing, the man-re of margarine. Within the Merseyside conurbation, just to the n. -e. of Liverpool glass manufacture developed. In gen. . Merseyside, incL Liv. , has serious difficulties assoc. with dechne. Many districts of liv. suffer from urban decay caused by industrial contraction.

Greater Manchester, like Merseyside, was 1 of the metropoL counties to be fonned in 1974, and incL a number of towns grouped round the upper Mersey. It is more or less the same area formerly known as the conurbation of s -e. Lancashire, standing on me Soum l^n»»hire coatfteld. Today the conurbation also includes me town of Stocfcport.

At the heart of the region is Manchester itself (450, 100). In M. - textile industry, doming manufacture based on cotton and synthetic fibres and food processing, engm. (incL eloctr. engineering) is the princip. employer of labour. Gen. engine, predom. in M. and the surround, towns, rather than coal mining or cotton man-re.

Of the towns situated on the shore of roe Irish Sea most important u Blackpool which is a popular coastal resort m north. EngL

In Yorkshire situated to the east of me Famines we m. distinguish 3 mam industry, centres: the South Yorkshire metropolitan county or conurbation with its Iarg. and most imp. city of Sheffield (532, 300), the West Yorkshire conurbation incL its major cities of Leeds and Bradford. South Yorkshire as a whole lies on roc largest and most productive coalfield m the country.

Sheffield and its neighbourhood produces almost 2/3 of the country's alloy steels, a wide range of steel goods besides cutlery, from hand tools and magnets to wood pulp and paper making machinery. Other industries: food processing, brewing and confectionery manufacture. Like South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire represents a large conurbation, and became 1 of the metropoL counties formed in 1974. It is abo the home of another great industry — the manufacture of woollen goods, and has I large town- Leeds (709, 000). Us main industry is the manufacture of doming, and engineering is abo important Bradford (462, 500) has long been the leading centre of worsted and woollen manufacture. Jh North Yorkshire roe largest town is York (100, 009). Railway engmeermg and the manufacture of confectionery (includtng chocolate).

The economy of Yorkshire was always closely connect with wooL hns is vividly reflected in the development of agric-re. North Yorkshire is mainly a rural fanning region. Farming is mixed and incL cattle rearing and cultivation of root oops such as potatoes, carrots and cereals, mainly barley. In me norm dairy cattle outnumber beef cattle.

Ntrtk EMgtou/North Eng. is situated betw. Lancashire and Yorkshire in the south and ScotL in the norm. Within this econ. region • 2 mam centres of indnstr. activity: 1 situated in the n. -e. ar. the estuaries of me rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees and me other in die northwest in Cumberland (WorWington, Whitehavan, Barrow-in-Fumess). Most impr is the Norm-East, which includes Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sundertand and Teessitle

Basic industries - coalmining, steel making and shipbuilding. The mdustr. structure of the area is weak, unemployment is high and population growth very slow — a far cry from me situation in the South. Among the major tradit industries of the North-East, shipbuilding alone was a finishing industry.

Tyneside was so depend, on shipbuilding, ship repairing, marine engineering and associated industries that the district suffered considerably dur. the worid econ. crisis of the 1930s, m the 1950s there was some revival in shipbuilding, but another decline followed in the 1970s. New industries have been attracted to die area, esp. ar. die Tyne and die Wear. They included electr. engin. and engine, assoc. with construction work for the production of North Sea oiL

Teewside, which incL 6 town*. (382, 000) is an industry, area where the decline m the tiadit industries has been less marked Hum in die rest of die North-East. This area recently formed die new county of Cleveland, therefore may be also called die Cleveland area. It is one of die leading iron and steel manufacturing areas in Britain. Middlesbrough (149, 000), the chief town, iron works, shipbuilding, iron and steeL

Induatr. development in die North-West is less extern, than in die Nordi-East It is mainly concentrated in die Whitehaven — Wellington area and in die Fiimess district around Barrow. Iron and steel industry, engineering. Whitohaven has a chemical industry. The von and steel industry also developed at Barrorw-in-FuroeRs (75, 000), shipbuilding, engineering is an important associated industry. Abundance of water, due to die heavy rainfall, is one of the chief natural resources of die region. This was an important factor in building a nuclear power station.

Agric-re in the North-West is strictly affected by environmental factors, Le. the relief and climate. The Lake District has die highest mountains in EngL Rainfall is heavy. The region is sparsely populated, and sheep rearing is die main occupation of die fanners. Arable farm, is more or less limited to valley bot

UK(24) Main Economic Districts of England

Region, dif-ces in the country's economy are essential despite its small ter-ry. Hist-ly EngL proper is divided into die foil. econ. regions: the South Industrial and Agricultural region. Central England or the Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Norm England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also regarded as indep. Econ. regions of the UK. Hence, the whole country consists of 8 econ. regions.

A more up-to-date division is: Greater London and the Sonth-East region, South-West EngL, East Angb'a, West Midlands, East Midlands, North-West Engl. Yorkshire and l*ika«hire, Northern EngL

1 of the main problems to emerge in Br. dur. die XX c- the imbalance of econ. activity betw. indiv. regions. This is the result of the decline of the tradition, indratr. structure, based largely on the coalfield* and its replacement by a new structure more closely related to accessibility and the transport network. Attempts have been made to slow down, or even reverse mis process but diey have failed and Br. has witnessed me emergence of what has been called the 2 Nations- 1 char-ized by comparative econ. activity (especially of the so-called 'new industries'), population growth and a strong industrial base, the other, which includes most of the coalfields, marked by declining industries, decaying towns and cities, and high rates of emigration. Die outlying national regions of the UK such as Wales, Scot and esp. NI are most depressive.

Manufact industry which has borne the brunt of the recession, and employment m this sector of the economy has actually declined. In many cases production has declined to such an extent mat the very existence of some of the country's major industries is now threatened. These include, sev. of the industries upon which die UK had trad-ly depended for prosperity — such as iron and steel, shipbuilding, textiles. Emphasis has been put recently on the development of high techn. industries — in an attempt to overcome the problems of the country.

Tkt South Industrial and Agricultural Region. This is the most import, region in the country in terms of industry, agric-re and popul. The region incL all me South of England, bom the South East and the South West Its north, border runs from the Bristol Channel to the Wash. The South is a region of various industries and of intensive agric-re. Al the centre of earthing Ufe city of Lond. and its influence became so widespread mat the South East has, wim some justification, been called die London City Region.

Land, handles me largest part of me country's overseas trade. The onportance of Lend, as an industr. centre depends largely upon its situation at the centre of a vast nation, and alternation, network of communtu. Industries are varied: doming, furniture making, jewellery, processing imported raw "^K oil refining stcebnalcing, cement mamif-re, paper-making, dectr. engineering, precision instrument production, radio engin-rmg, aircraft production, manuf-re of electronics equipment the motor car industry. The chemicals and munitions industries, pharmaccut. products are also developed. Service industries - more man half of nation, labour force employed in banking and insurance, the civil service and scientific research, work in Lond.

Land, is a city of social contrasts. Problems: overcrowding, contrast betw. rich and poor, traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, the growing crime rate.

Other towns and cities, situated to the north of the Thames, and closely connect with the capital in industr. specialization are Chtford, Cambridge and Luton. Oxford was 1st mentioned in recorded history in the 10m c. It was a bridging point of the Thames, which made it an imp. trade centre in medieval times. Oxford (98, 000) also a leading educ. Centre. More rapid development came with the establishment of a large motor works. Cambridge (90, 000) is also best known for its ancient university. Its industries, concerned wim electronics — incL die manufacture of radio and TV sets and scientific instruments — and printing have links wim the univ-ty, which has an intonation. Reputation. Luton (164, 000) became me country's leading hat-making town. But me demand has shrunk greatly in recent years. The motor works is the chief employer. As well as the manufacture of electrical appliances, roller bearings, etc. Nearby there is also 1 of the largest brickworks in West. Eur.