歐洲:
英国 United Kingdom 爱尔兰 Ireland 比利时 Belgium 荷兰 Netherlands 法国 France 西班牙 Spain 葡萄牙 Portugal 意大利 Italy 希腊 Greece 奥地利 Austria 匈牙利 Hungary 德国 Germany 瑞士 Switzerland 罗马尼亚 Romania 俄罗斯 Russia 波兰 Poland 克罗地亚 Croatia (Hrvatska) 捷克 Czech 芬兰 Finland 瑞典 Sweden 挪威 Norway 冰岛 Iceland 土耳其 Turkey 丹麦 Denmark 阿尔巴尼亚 Albania 爱沙尼亚 Republic of Estonia 安道尔 Andorra 白俄罗斯 Belarus 保加利亚 The Republic of Bulgaria 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那 Bosnia and Herzegovina 梵蒂冈 Vatican City State (Holy See) 黑山 The Republic of Montenegro 拉脱维亚 Latvia 立陶宛 Republic of Lithuania 列支敦士登 Liechtenstein 卢森堡 Luxembourg 马耳他 Republic of Malta 马其顿 The Republic of Macedonia 摩尔多瓦 The Republic of Moldova 摩纳哥 Monaco 塞尔维亚 the Republic of Serbia 斯洛伐克 The Slovak Republic 斯洛文尼亚 the Republic of Slovenia 圣马力诺 San Marino 乌克兰 Ukraine | ||||
英國 United Kingdom
首都:倫敦 國家代碼: uk
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 英国 英国國旗：呈橫長方形，長與寬之比為2∶1。為“米”字旗，由深藍底色和紅、白色“米”字組成。旗中帶白邊的紅色正十字代表英格蘭守護神聖喬治，白色交叉十字代表蘇格蘭守護神聖安德魯，紅色交叉十字代表愛爾蘭守護神聖帕特裏剋。此旗産生於1801年，是由原英格蘭的白地紅色正十旗、蘇格蘭的藍地白色交叉十字旗和愛爾蘭的白地紅色交叉十字旗重疊而成。 國徽：即英王徽。中心圖案為一枚盾徽，盾面上左上角和右下角為紅地上三衹金獅，象徵英格蘭；右上角為金地上半站立的紅獅，象徵蘇格蘭；左下角為藍地上金黃色竪琴，象徵北愛爾蘭。盾徽兩側各由一隻頭戴王冠、代表英格蘭的獅子和一隻代表蘇格蘭的獨角獸支扶着。盾徽周圍用法文寫着一句格言，意為“惡有惡報”；下端懸挂着嘉德勳章，飾帶上寫着“天有上帝，我有權利”。盾徽上端為鑲有珠寶的金銀色頭盔、帝國王冠和頭戴王冠的獅子。 國歌：《天佑女王》 "god save the queen"（如在位的是男性君主，國歌改為"god save the king"） 面積：243600 平方公裏 人口：6020萬（2005年6月），2006年統計，英國人口大約有6060萬，現在英國人口總數約六千零七十八萬人。其中英格蘭4918萬人，威爾士290萬人，蘇格蘭506萬人，北愛爾蘭169萬人(2001年中)。官方和通用語均為英語。威爾士北部還使用威爾士語，蘇格蘭西北高地及北愛爾蘭部分地區仍使用蓋爾語。居民多信奉基督教新教，主要分英格蘭教會（亦稱英國國教聖公會，其成員約占英成人的60％）和蘇格蘭教會（亦稱長老會，有成年教徒66萬）。另有天主教會和佛教、印度教、猶太教及伊斯蘭教等較大的宗教社團。 英國君主 伊麗莎白二世 (Queen Elizabeth II) ，全稱為“大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國與其他國土和領地之女王，聯邦的元首”。１９２６年４月２１日生於倫敦，原名為伊麗莎白·亞歷山德拉·瑪麗 (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary)，是英國溫莎王朝第四代君主、英王喬治六世的長女。自幼在皇宮內接受教育，主修憲法史和法律。她在歷史、語言和音樂方面有造詣，能流利地講法語、西班牙語和德語。第二次世界大戰後期參加英國本土輔助部隊，接受駕駛和維修摩托車的訓練。１９４７年７月９日，她與遠房表兄、希臘和丹麥親王菲利普· 蒙巴頓中尉（現為愛丁堡公爵，菲利普親王）訂婚，同年１１月２０日結婚。 伊麗莎白二世於１９５１年開始代表英王喬治六世出席各種正式場合。１９５２年２月６日國王逝世，她繼承王位。１９５３年６月２日加冕。２００３年１２月，伊麗莎白二世在倫敦愛德華七世醫院接受臉部和膝部外科手術。醫生切除了女王臉部的一塊壞皮與左膝蓋中的破碎軟骨。女王是英國世襲國傢元首，除英國外，女王同時也是澳大利亞、新西亞、加拿大等國傢的元首。伊麗莎白二世有三子一女。長子查爾斯王子為王位繼承人、次子安德魯、三子愛德華、女兒艾麗斯·路易絲公主。伊麗莎白二世於１９８６年１０月訪問中國，是英國歷史上第一位來華訪問的國傢元首。 6月17日，在英國首都倫敦，英國女王伊麗莎白二世（左）與丈夫菲利普親王乘坐馬車駛出白金漢宮，前往參加自己的80歲生日慶典。伊麗莎白二世的生日是4月21日。按照慣例，英國官方通常選擇6月份的一個星期六為其舉行生日慶典。 首都：倫敦(London)；人口：7,172,036 （2001年）。最熱月份為7月，一般氣溫在13℃~22℃；最冷月份為1月，一般氣溫在2℃~6℃。2006年4月，北京與倫敦結為友好城市。倫敦是全國的政治中心，是英國王室、政府、議會以及各政黨總部的所在地。威斯敏斯特宮是英國議會上、下兩院的活動場所，故又稱為議會大廳。議會廣場南邊的威斯敏斯特大教堂，１０６５年建成後一直是英國國王或女王加冕及王室成員舉行婚禮的地方。內有２０多個英國國王、著名政治傢、軍事傢以及牛頓、達爾文、狄更斯、哈代等科學家、文學家和藝術傢的墓地。白金漢宮是英國王宮，坐落在西倫敦的中心區域，東接聖詹姆斯公園，西接海德公園，是英國王室成員生活和工作的地方，也是英國重大國事活動的場所。 英國城市 伯明翰是英國文化最多元化的城市，約200萬總人口。根據2001年的統計，29.7%的人口不是白種人，有許多從加勒比地區、南亞和愛爾蘭來的移民，是牙買加以外牙買加黑人基督教徒最多的地區，愛爾蘭人慶祝“聖·帕特裏剋”節遊行，在伯明翰規模僅次於都柏林和紐約，為世界第三。印度人在伯明翰發明的“巴拉提”咖喱烹飪法已經流行到各地。 伯明翰每年接待大約22百萬遊客，商業中心繁華程度僅次於倫敦西區。 伯明翰市中心有60公裏長的河道，在工業革命時期，這些河道是工業的交通命脈，但現在衹有旅遊用途了，人們經常說伯明翰的河道比威尼斯的還要長，威尼斯衹有43公裏，實際上伯明翰要比威尼斯範圍大多了，所以河流比例沒有威尼斯大。 在二戰期間，伯明翰受到猛烈的轟炸，維多利亞時代的建築已毀壞殆盡，目前都是20世紀50和60年代重新建設的，所以伯明翰成為英國最“醜陋”的城市，經常被人們稱為“混凝土森林”。 近年來，城市中心經過大力改造，恢復了許多舊的街道，並建了許多廣場。 歷史 伯明翰原來衹是一個小村莊，14世紀成為一個大鎮，工業革命後，由於附近發現煤礦，城市迅速發展起來，城市人口1800年為75000人，1900年為65萬，1889年纔被列入英國城市名錄。 國慶節：英國沒有傳統意義上的國慶節，衹有女王的“官方生日”。英國女王伊麗莎白二世的真正生日是1926年4月21日，而其“官方生日”則定在每年靠近6月11日的那個星期六。每年的這個時候，一嚮有“霧都”之稱的倫敦天氣也比較好。其主要活動，是由女王親自檢閱“軍旗敬禮分列式”。由於星期六本來就不是工作日，因而這一天也不在假日之列。 國傢政要：國傢元首為女王伊麗莎白二世；政府首腦為工黨領袖戈登·布朗 國花：玫瑰花 國鳥：紅胸鴿 國石：鑽石 地理環境 概況:由大不列顛島上的英格蘭、蘇格蘭和威爾士，以及愛爾蘭島東北部的北愛爾蘭共同組成的島國，還包括一些英國海外領地。英國本土位於歐洲大陸西北面的不列顛群島 ，被北海、英吉利海峽、凱爾特海、愛爾蘭海和大西洋包圍。24.36萬平方公裏（包括內陸水域），英格蘭地區13. 04萬平方公裏，蘇格蘭7. 88萬平方公裏，威爾士2. 08萬平方公裏，北愛爾蘭1. 36萬平方公裏。位於歐洲西部的島國。由大不列顛島（包括英格蘭、蘇格蘭、威爾士）、愛爾蘭島東北部和一些小島組成。隔北海、多佛爾海峽、英吉利海峽與歐洲大陸相望。它的陸界與愛爾蘭共和國接壤。海岸綫總長11450公裏。全境分為四部分：英格蘭東南部平原、中西部山區、蘇格蘭山區、北愛爾蘭高原和山區。 河流:塞文河（354公裏）和泰晤士河（346公裏）。北愛爾蘭的內伊湖the lough neagh（396平方公裏）面積居全國之首。 氣候:屬海洋性溫帶闊葉林氣候，終年溫和濕潤。通常最高氣溫不超過32℃，最低氣溫不低於－10℃，平均氣溫1月4～7℃，7月13～17℃。多雨霧，秋鼕尤甚。年平均降水量約1000毫米。北部和西部山區的年降水量超過2000毫米，中部和東部則少於800毫米。每年二月至三月最為乾燥，十月至來年一月最為濕潤。全國氣候類型為溫帶海洋性氣候。 時差:經過倫敦格林尼治天文臺原址的本初子午綫的所在時區為零時區。比北京時間晚8小時 氣候:溫帶海洋性氣候 英國生活習俗 生活中的數字 在英國，成人平均每周22小時從事全日工作或全日教育，並以相同數量的時間用於傢務勞動。而從事傢務勞動的人的性別仍以婦女為最高。但婦女參加工作的越來越多。據國傢統計局最新統計，婦女參加工作的比例45%。在非體力工作部門，婦女占一半。而在服務行業，婦女則占一半多，可謂"半邊天"！ 追求簡單、舒適的生活 西服仍稱得上是英國的國服，但是，雖然上班族西裝革履，甚至在重要場合，男士着燕尾服，女士着低胸晚禮服，但是，很多老百姓日常喜歡穿休閑服，式樣簡單、舒服合體。 英國人的飲食習慣亦式樣簡單，註重營養。早餐通常是麥片粥衝牛奶或一杯果汁，塗上黃油的烤面包片，熏鹹肉或煎香腸、雞蛋。中午，孩子們在學校吃午餐，大人的午餐就在工作地點附近買上一份三明治，就一杯咖啡，打發了事。衹有到周末，英國人的飯桌上纔會豐盛一番。通常主菜是肉類，如烤雞肉、烤牛肉、烤魚等。蔬菜品種繁多，象捲心菜、新鮮豌豆、土豆、鬍蘿蔔等。蔬菜一般都不再加工，裝在盤裏，澆上從超市買回的現成調料便食用。主菜之後總有一道易消化的甜食，如燒煮水果、果料布丁、奶酪、冰激凌等。 公園與緑地 英國氣候溫和、濕潤。一年四季適合各種花草樹木的生長。政府在製定市區規劃時，幾乎在每一個生活小區都專門規劃出一大塊緑地或公園，供人們休息或散步，為孩子們嬉戲提供空間。 由於鼕季陰雨多霧，使夏天的太陽對英國人來說變的特別寶貴。在陽光燦爛的周末，假日，公園裏，沙灘上到處躺滿了享受太陽浴的人們。更有英國人以把自己的皮膚曬成棕色發亮為時髦。 自己動手做 英國人喜歡在周末假日裏自己動手修繕房屋，製作傢具，裝修房間，修整花園。甚至自己製作陶瓷工藝品，幾乎無所不能。這不僅僅出於經濟考慮，而是把此看作是培養個人技能，陶冶個人情操，也是休閑的生活方式之一。通過自己動手做，能使自己的居室更加舒適，更具個性化。 酷愛運動 據英國國傢統計局最新統計，在1996至1997年間,有占總人口72%的男公民和57%的女公民，在4周之內，至少參加一體育運動。青少年參加校外體育活動的比例更高。 在衆多的體育運動項目中，騎自行車、踢足球、打司諾剋球、打網球、遊泳和滑旱冰鞋，是衆多男女共同愛好的項目。而每天散步兩英裏或更長的距離，一直是流行的運動。 豐富多彩的假日 每年外出旅遊度假對大多數英國百姓來說，無論時間長短，國內或國外，都是生活中必不可少的。據英國旅遊機構調查，1996年，英國居民度過4夜或4夜以上假期的人共計5,900萬，超過了英國人口的總數，而1997年英國居民離傢度假超過一夜的人達7,080萬。 除旅遊外，英國人在周末、銀行節、復活節等五花八門的假日中的娛樂和消遣節目更是豐富多采：環境優雅的電影院、音樂廳、歌劇院和夏季露天音樂會更為不同階層、不同年齡和不同口味的人們準備了各式各樣的節目。數目衆多的博物館、名勝古跡更為人們提供了最佳休閑去處。 如饑似渴的讀者 在英國242,500平方公裏的國土上，遍布圖書館和閱覽室約5,000所(包括專業圖書館、院校圖書館300多所)。無論白天或晚上，圖書館內常常是座無虛席。藉書、查閱資料、瀏覽報紙、寫文章的人有學生、老人、公司雇員，乃至工人。很多圖書館和閱覽室提供IT。 近代英國歷史 資産階級革命勝利後,資本原始積纍更加迅速。議會法令使圈地合法化,圈地規模迅速擴大。在廣大被圈占土地上建立起資本主義農場或牧場，被剝奪生産資料的農民成為"自由"勞動力。國內市場擴大。1689～1763年間，英法為爭奪殖民地屢開戰端。法國資産階級革命爆發後，英國政府在1793～1815年期間，積極組織並參加反法聯盟。在整個18世紀，英國成為販賣黑奴的國際中心。在國內，政府實行保護關稅政策，高關稅阻止外國商品輸入，奬勵本國工業品出口，以低稅保護本國工商業發展。以上種種原始積纍手段為工業生産的變革提供了前提。18世紀後半葉，在工業生産中出現並開始使用機器，這標志着工業革命的開始。變革首先發生在棉紡織業。1733年織機中開始采用飛梭，60～70年代紡紗機普遍采用；80年代，蒸汽機投入使用。隨着蒸汽機采用範圍的擴大,特別是機器製造業的出現,工業革命迅速擴展到各部門。到19世紀30～40年代，各主要工業部門都采用機器，大機器生産在紡織業中已占主導地位。英國從農業國發展成工業國，工業革命至此基本完成。工業革命改變了英國的經濟地理面貌，西北地區興起一批工業大城市,人口也嚮那裏集中。19世紀中葉,英國已成為世界上第1個工業強國。工業革命造就了兩個新階級——工業資産階級和工業無産階級，他們之間的對立和鬥爭成為英國工業資本主義社會的基本矛盾。 國傢政治 英國沒有成文憲法，英國的憲法不同於絶大多數國傢的憲法，並不是一個獨立的文件，它是由成文法、習慣法、慣例組成。主要有大憲章（1215年）、人身保護法（1679年）、權利法案（1689年）、議會法（1911、1949年）以及歷次修改的選舉法、市自治法、郡議會法等。蘇格蘭另有自己獨立的法律體係。政體為君主立憲製。國王是國傢元首、最高司法長官、武裝部隊總司令和英國聖公會的“最高領袖”，形式上有權任免首相、各部大臣、高級法官、軍官、各屬地的總督、外交官、主教及英國聖公會的高級神職人員等，並有召集、停止和解散議會，批準法律，宣戰媾和等權力，但實權在內閣。議會是最高司法和立法機構，由國王、上院和下院組成。上院（貴族院）包括王室後裔、世襲貴族、新封貴族、上訴法院法官和教會大主教及主教組成。1999年11月，上院改革法案通過，除92名留任外，600多名世襲貴族失去上院議員資格，非政治任命的上院議員將由專門的皇傢委員會推薦。下院也叫平民院，議員由普選産生，采取最多票當選的小選區選舉制度，任期5年。但政府可决定提前大選。政府實行內閣製，由女王任命在議會選舉中獲多數席位的政黨領袖出任首相並組閣，嚮議會負責。英國陪審團的歷史可以追溯到中世紀，至今已經是其刑事法製根深蒂固的組成部分了。從價值選擇來看，不難發現，這實際上也是人為地將法理與情理結合在一起的制度設計。法律固然是社會關係的調節器，但“法有限而情無窮”的固有矛盾從未消失過；法官固然是精通法律的，但存在着機械執法、無視情理的可能性。來自社會的陪審員們雖然不懂法律，卻懂社會情理。一個人難以代表復雜的社會心理，但來自方方面面的１２個人應當說差不多了。知曉情理的陪審團和精通法理的法官結合在一起，這不能不說是一個巧妙的組合。這不等於詬病沒有陪審團的訴訟模式，更不等於說不設陪審制度就必然會出現情與法的衝突。那麽多大陸法係國傢都沒有陪審團，不照樣好好的嗎？沒有陪審團，定然有別的結合方式，比如制度層面和操作層面。形式可以多種多樣，但理念應是相近的，即剛性之法和柔性之理的統籌兼顧。有一點還需註意，情理是柔性的和不具體的，但吸納情理的途徑和範圍應是剛性的和具體的，嚴防情對法的隨意侵蝕。 政黨： （1）工黨（Labour Party）：執政黨。1900年成立，原名勞工代表委員會，1906年改用現名。該黨曾於1924，1929~1931，1945~1951年，1964~1970年，1974~1979年上臺執政。1997年大選獲勝，2001年6月大選後蟬聯執政。工黨近年來更多傾嚮於中産階級的利益，與工會關係有所疏遠。布萊爾當選工黨領袖後，政治上提出“新工黨、新英國”的口號，取消黨章中有關公有製的第四條款，經濟上主張減少政府幹預，嚴格控製公共開支，保持宏觀經濟穩定增長，建立現代福利制度。對外主張積極參與國際合作，對歐洲一體化持積極態度，主張加入歐元，主張同美國保持特殊關係。現有黨員近40萬名，是英國第一大黨。 （2）保守黨（Conservative Party): 主要反對黨。前身為1679年成立的托利黨，1833年改稱現名。該黨從1979至1997年4次連續執政，成為20世紀在英國占主導地位的政黨。在1997年5月和2001年6月兩次大選中慘敗於工黨。保守黨的支持者一般來自企業界和富裕階層，主張自由市場經濟。通過嚴格控製貨幣供應量和減少公共開支等措施來壓低通貨膨脹。主張限製工會權利，加強“法律”和“秩序”。 近年來，提出實行“富有同情心的保守主義”，關註教育、醫療、貧睏等社會問題。強調維護英國主權，反對“聯邦歐洲”，反對加入歐元，主張建立“大西洋共同體”以加強英美特殊關係。強調北約仍是英國安全與防務的基石。現有黨員30多萬名。 （3）自由民主黨(The Liberal Democrat Party)：1988年3月由原自由黨和社會民主黨內支持同自由黨合併的多數派組成。主張繼續維持與工黨的合作關係，推動工黨在地方選舉及下院選舉中實行比例代表製，在公共服務、社會公正、環境保護等問題上采取比工黨更“進步”的政策。現有黨員約10萬名，是英國第三大黨。 英國議會 一、立法立法是英國議會的第一項職責。所謂議會的至尊地位就是指議會的立法權。從理論上講，議會有權製定和廢除憲法以下的任何一項法律；此外，英國法律補承認任何人和單位有權推翻或廢棄議會所通過的法律。從這個意義上說，議會是英國“權力的基礎”，英國中央的一切憲政權力皆由選民賦予了議會，然後議會再將行政權授予政府，將司法權授予法院，而自己直接行使立法權。議會集三權於一身，高於政府和法院。它通過掌握立法權來體現自己的地位，同時也是藉助於立法來實現對政府和法院的約束。不過實踐中，政府是議會立法工作的組織者和領導者，議會在立法過程中沒有主動權，以至於由學者指出：現代英國議會的立法工作不過是對政府提出議案予以“審議、批評、批準”。 英國的立法過程大體有三個環節：準備並提出議案；審議並通過議案；批準議案使之成為法律。議會審議的議案分三種：公議案、私議案和混合議案。公議案可以提交給兩院中的任何一個，私議案通常由經授權的當事人的代理人提出，混合議案由一個特別委員會處理。所有這些議案在經過了議會兩院的各個階段後，即呈送國王批準，由國王頒發特許證書，再交由議長在兩院宣佈。 （一）政府議案絶大多數公議案都是政府議案。政府議案在議會審議時有優先地位。由於執政黨通常在下院中占有多數議席，所以政府議案一般能夠通過。這時，議會所起的作用實際上並不是“立法”而是將政府法案宣佈為合法。但是，沒有下院的同意，任何議案都不能成為法律。 內閣對法案起草工作實行統一控製。起草工作由專門的法案起草室完成，起草室設在財政部內。政府立法計劃內的重要議案，由國王在11月份議會開幕式的講話中公佈，隨後送到兩院中的任何一個審議，通常情況下是限送到下院。正常情況下，政府議案要經兩院通過；但主要是涉及財政事務的議案永恆由下院審議通過。議會法還規定，在特定環境下，下院可不經過上院而通過議案。兩院通過法案的過程相似。 （二）普通議員議案普通議員議案占英國議會下院每年審議議案的10％。而且這種議案的通過率也比較低，但仍有其重要價值。這種議案起到了對政府議案拾遺補缺的作用。此外還體現了民主憲政精神，起到了調節政府與議會之間憲政關係的作用。 普通議員議案在下院審議時受到一定程度的歧視，它們職能在議會開會時間的每星期五（抽簽决定）被討論。普通議員議案也可以利用“10分鐘規則”和“普通提交法”提出。在審議普通議員議案的過程中，提案者不能指望黨紀保甲，衹能依靠議員個人努力來說服全院接受。 （三）私議案私議案由議會外的個人、團體、地方政府提出，通常是由地方政府提出。具體操作是由提出私議案的代理人來進行，代理人要將議案提交下院私議案辦公室。私議案大部分轉給上院處理，其審議程序與公議案相近，衹不過多數工作由委員會完成。 （四）混合法案混合法案沿革來說是公議案，衹不過其中某些條款影響了私人的權利，包含着一些私議案的性質。一項議案是否屬於混合議案，由下院私議案辦公室裁决或由議長裁决。混合議案一般提交給一個特別委員會處理，其程序與審議私議案大同小異。 （五）委托立法這種制度就是，議會通過的法案衹規定一般的原則，而授權給內閣大臣或得放行政部門去規定細則而成為法令。實行這種制度主要是為了減少議會的壓力，也適應了內閣權力不斷擴大的進程。議會通常將權力委托給那些直接嚮議會負責的部門，且保留確認或宣佈委托立法無效的機會。兩院設立一個聯合委員會來報告製定中的法令的進度情況。為了節省全院大會的時間，下院利用常務委員會來辯論法令的價值，評判决定實際上是在全院委員會上作出。在上院，對法令的辯論是在全院大會上進行的。上院授權給一個審查委員會來考察被授權的機構是否正確行使了權力。 二、監控財政英國議會的歷史與爭奪控製財政權分不開。議會就是通過掌握財政來控製政府的政策和工作的。1911年的議會法頒布後，議會對政府財政的監控權完全轉移到了下院，上院無權通過和否决財政議案，衹能對下院的决定表示同意。不過議會對財政大權的控製衹是理論上的。議會對政府財政控製的效果令議員們失望，反倒是政府真正控製了財政大權。任何財政議案必須由政府提出，下院方可受理。將財政提議權授予政府是與英國憲政制度的特點密切相關。責任內閣製要求內閣擁有决策權，而財政决策是各種國事决策中最首要的决策，這就决定了必須由政府掌握財政决策權，而議會應該維護政府作出的財政决策。但這並不等於議會在財政問題上無所作為。議會仍可以對政府的財政事務進行監控，主要體現在：第一，任何財政提案必須首先嚮議會下院提出，由下院審議、表决；第二，任何財政議案必須轉化為立法，纔具有法律效力。議會監控財政的機構分兩個層次，即全院大會和委員會。全院大會監控手段有三：辯論、質詢和立法。委員會的監控主要側重於跟蹤相應的政府部門的工作和政策，並通過聯絡委員會嚮全院大會報告所獲得的情況。在委員會中，起作用最大的是國傢帳目委員會。議會監控財政的渠道主要有兩條：一是監控財政收入，而是監控財政支出。 英國憲法 英國憲法與絶大多數國傢憲法不同，不是一個獨立的文件，它由成文法、習慣法、慣例組成。主要有大憲章（1215年）、人身保護法（1679年）、權利法案（1689年）、議會法（1911、1949年）以及歷次修改的選舉法、市自治法、郡議會法等。政體為君主立憲製。君主是國傢元首、最高司法長官、武裝部隊總司令和英國聖公會的“最高領袖”，形式上有權任免首相、各部大臣、高級法官、軍官、各屬地的總督、外交官、主教及英國聖公會的高級神職人員等，並有召集、停止和解散議會，批準法律，宣戰媾和等權力，但實權在內閣。蘇格蘭有自己獨立的法律體係。 全世界第一個成文憲法出自美國，然而其法治精神卻來自英國母體。大憲章共65條，其內容分三部分：第一部分為國王與領主關係規定；第二部分為國王施政方針與程序規定；第三部分為國王與領主爭端處理規定。按照大憲章的規定，國王要保障貴族和騎士的封建繼承權，不得違例嚮封建主徵收高額捐稅，不得任意逮捕、監禁、放逐自由人或沒收他們的財産，承認倫敦等城市的自治權。為了保證憲章不落空，由25名男爵組成一個委員會，對國王進行監督，如果憲章遭到破壞，封建領主有權以軍事手段強迫國王履約。英國以後的憲政，追根溯源即來自大憲章，其基本精神即王權有限和個人自由。有的學者如斯托布斯就認為，整個英國憲政史，實際上是大憲章的註釋史。 司法： 有三種不同的法律體係：英格蘭和威爾士實行普通法係，蘇格蘭實行民法法係，北愛爾蘭實行與英格蘭相似的法律制度。司法機構分民事法庭和刑事法庭兩個係統。在英格蘭和威爾士，民事審理機構按級分為郡法院、高等法院、上訴法院民事庭、上院。刑事審理機構按級分為地方法院、刑事法院、上訴法院刑事庭、上院。英國最高司法機關為上院，它是民、刑案件的最終上訴機關。1986年成立皇傢檢察院，隸屬於國傢政府機關，負責受理所有的由英格蘭和威爾士警察機關提交的刑事訴訟案。總檢察長和副總檢察長是英政府的主要法律顧問並在某些國內和國際案件中代表王室。英國陪審團的歷史可以追溯到中世紀，至今已經是其刑事法製根深蒂固的組成部分了。從價值選擇來看，不難發現，這實際上也是人為地將法理與情理結合在一起的制度設計。法律固然是社會關係的調節器，但“法有限而情無窮”的固有矛盾從未消失過；法官固然是精通法律的，但存在着機械執法、無視情理的可能性。來自社會的陪審員們雖然不懂法律，卻懂社會情理。一個人難以代表復雜的社會心理，但來自方方面面的１２個人應當說差不多了。知曉情理的陪審團和精通法理的法官結合在一起，這不能不說是一個巧妙的組合。 這不等於詬病沒有陪審團的訴訟模式，更不等於說不設陪審制度就必然會出現情與法的衝突。那麽多大陸法係國傢都沒有陪審團，不照樣好好的嗎？沒有陪審團，定然有別的結合方式，比如制度層面和操作層面。形式可以多種多樣，但理念應是相近的，即剛性之法和柔性之理的統籌兼顧。有一點還需註意，情理是柔性的和不具體的，但吸納情理的途徑和範圍應是剛性的和具體的，嚴防情對法的隨意侵蝕。 國傢經濟 英國是世界經濟強國之一，其2007年國內生産總值位居世界第五。英國製造業在國民經濟中的比重有所下降；服務業和能源所占的比重不斷增大，其中商業、金融業和保險業發展較快。 旅遊業是英最重要的經濟部門之一。年産值700多億英鎊，旅遊收入占世界旅遊收入的5％左右。與以風光旅遊為主的國傢不同，英國的王室文化和博物館文化是旅遊業的最大看點。主要旅遊點有倫敦、愛丁堡、加的夫、布賴頓、格林威治、斯特拉福、牛津、劍橋等。英國是世界第四大貿易國，貿易額占世界貿易總額的5％以上，商品和勞務出口約占國內生産總值的25％。 英主要出口機械、汽車、航空設備、電器和電子産品、化工産品和石油，主要進口原材料和食品。英國還是世界第六大海外投資國和第六大對外援助國。倫敦是世界性金融和貿易中心。旅遊業是英最重要的經濟部門之一。 2001年，旅遊業産值達728億英鎊；從旅遊收入上計算，2001年，英國是世界第七大旅遊國，收入占世界旅遊收入的3.4％。2002年3月，從業人員205.6萬，其中自由職業者約為14.8萬人。2001年英國國內旅遊産值約595億英鎊。2001年，到英國的外國遊客達2280萬，比2000年減少9％。其中西歐遊客比上年減少8%，為1287萬人，北美遊客比上年減少13％，達423萬人，其他地區遊客減少9%，達375萬，海外旅遊總收入為 113億英鎊。商務旅遊收入34億英鎊，占海外旅遊總收入的30％，並有繼續發展趨勢。2001年，國內遊客收入595億英鎊。2000年，全英酒店業總營業額為566億英鎊，比2000年增長7.2%。2001年，全英有各類旅館6萬多傢；註册餐飲業企業有51500傢，總營業額為182億英鎊，比 2000年增長12.1%；各類酒館共有約49500傢，自1990年以來減少8%。2001年2月瘋牛病的爆發和“9·11事件”嚴重影響英國旅遊業，損失達150億英鎊。主要旅遊地區有：倫敦、愛丁堡、加的夫、布賴頓、格林威治、斯特拉福、牛津、劍橋等。主要觀光景點有：歌劇院、博物館、美術館、古建築物、主題公園和商店等。約50%的海外遊客主要在倫敦參觀遊覽。服務業包括金融保險業、零售業、旅遊業和商業服務（提供法律及咨詢服務等）。近年來發展迅速，到2001年底從業人員達2280萬，占總就業人口的77.5％。2001年總産值比2000年增加1%，其增加值占國內總産值增加值的71.4％。倫敦是世界著名金融中心，從事跨國銀行藉貸、外匯交易、國際債券發行、基金投資等業務，同時也是世界最大保險市場，最大黃金現貨交易市場及船貸市場以及重要非貴重金屬交易中心。金融業是英國貿易平衡的主力，産值占國內生産總值的5％以上，從業人員100多萬，達到創紀錄的132億英鎊。工黨政府執政後首次進行金融監管改革，並於1998年6月成立了金融服務管理局，取代原先英格蘭銀行的監管職能。英國政府鼓勵外國嚮英國投資，並將其視為引進新技術、新産品、新的管理方法和提高就業、增加出口的有效途徑。近年來，英國成為外商在歐洲投資的首選地。2001年，英國吸引外國投資總額538億美元，居世界第三位。美國是英國的最大投資國，投資額占48.4%，其次是德國、加拿大和日本，分別占8.2%、6.4%和5.9%。投資領域包括汽車、通訊、信息、電子、醫療設備、金融服務、食品、飲料等。投資形式為收購、兼併現有企業、擴建已有生産廠、建立科研基地或跨國公司區域總部等。2000年，外國在英直接投資862億英鎊，證券投資1746億英鎊，其他投資2818億英鎊。截止到2000年底，外國在英纍積直接投資額為3235億英鎊，證券投資總額10321億英鎊，其他投資額16853億英鎊，總額30408億英鎊。 英國品牌 Giorgio Armani 巴寶莉 尊尼獲加 帝舵 登喜路 芝華士 555香煙 匯豐 英國公共交通 交通基礎設施較齊全。陸路、鐵路、水路、航空運輸均較發達。倫敦有十分發達的地鐵網。1994年英法海底隧道貫通，將英國的鐵路係統與歐洲大陸的鐵路係統連接起來。工黨政府目前正探討製定綜合交通政策，以解决交通擁擠和污染問題。近年來的交通運輸情況： 鐵路：1997年完成私有化。鐵路總長3.2萬公裏。2000年鐵路運輸增長2.0%，輕軌鐵路運輸也呈上升趨勢。2000-2001年客運量為470億人公裏。2002年1月，英政府宣佈新的戰略性鐵路10年改革計劃，以緩解運輸壓力，提高運營質量。政府投入335億英鎊，其餘所需635億英鎊將嚮私人投資者籌集。 公路：到2000年，公路總長達 39.2萬公裏，其中3500公裏為高速公路。2001年，公路總運輸量約6790億人公裏。到2001年底止，註册的機動車輛總數為2974.7萬輛，其中小汽車2389.9萬輛（240萬輛為公司所有），貨車422萬輛,各類摩托車88.2萬輛，公共汽車8.9萬輛。 水運：內河航運綫總長3200公裏，主要用於遊覽及改善自然環境，部分用於貨運。截止2001年底，共有100噸以上商船594艘，總噸位為1200萬噸。海運承擔了95%（載重）的對外貿易運輸。2001年，英國航船業收入37億英鎊，其中貨運收入28億英鎊。英國有大小港口300多個，其中70個為重要商業港口。2001年英國港口出口2.36億噸，進口3.29億噸,其中52個主要港口總吞吐量達5.48億噸，，其餘每年吞吐量100萬噸以下的小港吞吐總量為1600萬噸。吞吐量超過1000萬噸的港口有：倫敦、蒂斯－哈特浦爾、格裏姆斯比-因明翰、福斯、南安普頓、薩侖沃、利物浦、菲利剋斯托、米爾福德-黑文、多佛等。 空運：英國的所有航空公司和許多機場都是私營企業。2000年有航空飛機約889架（不包括直升機），2001年從業人員93000餘人。國際航綫總長4.6億公裏。2000年，英國各航班共飛行15.12億公裏，為歷來最長，比1990年高出78.8%。2001年民航班機客運量1.04億人次，貨運量92.5萬噸。共有150多個註册民用機場，年客流量在10萬人次以上的占1/4，主要有：希思羅（世界最繁忙機場之一）、蓋特威剋、曼徹斯特、格拉斯哥、伯明翰、愛丁堡等。英國航空公司 (British Airways)是英國最大的航空公司，也是世界最大航空公司之一。2001-2002年該公司營業額為83億英鎊。2001年“9.11”事件以來，英國民航受明顯衝擊，為預防劫機事件發生，政府加強了民航安全保障工作。 貨幣：英鎊（Pound） 工業:航空航天、電子、石化、核能、汽車、紡織、冶金、機械、造船等 農業:大麥、小麥、燕麥、甜菜、馬鈴薯等 礦産:煤、鐵、石油、天然氣等 國傢軍事 建軍時間約在17世紀中期。女王為英軍名義上的最高統帥。最高軍事决策機構是“國防與海外政策委員會”，首相任主席，成員有國防大臣、外交大臣、內政大臣、財政大臣等；必要時國防參謀長和三軍參謀長列席會議。國防部為國防執行機構，既是政府行政部門，又是軍事最高司令部。英國是北約集團的創始國和主要成員國，擁有獨立的核力量，國傢戰略的核心是：積極參與世界事務，維護英國的國際地位；依靠和藉助北約集體防務力量來保衛歐洲和英國本土的安全，並擴大英國在歐洲的影響；積極加強與英聯邦國傢的聯繫，保護其廣泛的海外利益。2004年7月，英國政府公佈了近十幾年來規模最大的一次軍事調整計劃，對陸、海、空三軍兵種結構及軍事裝備進行調整，以增加部隊在遠程作戰中的靈活機動能力，從而更好適應現代戰爭的需要及有效應對21世紀的全球性威脅。據英國防部提供的數字，英軍現有總兵力約為20．56萬人，其中陸軍10．95萬，海軍4．24萬，空軍5．37萬。2004~2005財政年度的國防預算約為297億英鎊，2007~2008財政年度有望增長到334億英鎊。 文化教育 教育： 實行5~16歲義務教育制度。1998／1999財政年度教育經費占國內生産總值的4．9％。公立學校學生免交學費。私立學校師資條件與教學設備都較好，但收費高，學生多為富傢子弟。著名的高等學校有牛津大學、劍橋大學、倫敦政治經濟學院、愛丁堡大學。 世界首個國傢博物館——大英博物館 英國博物館：文化體驗“不買票” 英國國立博物館免費開放有招數。 新聞出版：英國報紙的人均銷量比任何發達國傢的都多。全國共有約1350種報紙，7000種周刊和雜志：《每日快報》、《每日郵報》、《每日鏡報》、《每日星報》、《太陽報》、《金融時報》、《每日電訊報》、《衛報》、《獨立報》、《泰晤士報》、《世界新聞》、《星期日快報》、《星期日鏡報》、《星期日郵報》、《人民報》、《星期日電訊報》、《觀察傢報》和《星期日泰晤士報》。通訊社主要有3傢：（1）路透社：1850年成立，集體合營，世界重要通訊社之一，總部設在倫敦。（2）新聞聯合社：1868年創辦，由PA新聞、PA體育、PA檢索和PA數據設計4傢公司聯合經營，專門為英國和加拿大的企業提供公關和投資信息。（3）AFX新聞有限公司：由法新社與金融時報聯合經營，嚮歐洲的金融及企業界提供信息和服務，在歐洲12個國傢、美國及日本設立分支機構，總部在倫敦。英國廣播公司（無綫電廣播網）（BBCNetwork Radio）於1922年創辦。 節日： 1、聖誕節：英國的聖誕節是最重要的家庭節日。12月25日和26日兩天是國傢法定節日。 2、新年：1月1日也是公共節日。在新年前夜人們通常會熬到深夜，迎接新年的到來。在蘇格蘭，新年前夜被看作是大年夜，甚至是比聖誕節更有節日氣氛的時候。 3、復活節：復活節沒有固定的日期，是在3月末和4月中旬之間。公共假期從星期五一直到復活節後的星期一，這時候又有特別的宗教活動，孩子們會收到巧剋力彩蛋。在復活節當天，城鎮有復活節遊行。在復活節前的星期四，女王每年會訪問一座不同的大教堂，送當地居民一些金錢，被稱為濯足節救濟金，作為象徵性的禮物。 體育： 1.英國是現代足球的發祥地,是現代網球,羽毛球,乒乓球的誕生地(不是發源地哦) 2.1966年舉辦世界杯，英格蘭隊本土奪冠。 3.1996年成功舉辦歐洲杯 4.倫敦於2006年7月6日成功申辦將於2012年舉辦的夏季奧運會 5.每年7月份將在倫敦南部的溫布爾頓舉行溫布爾頓網球公開賽，這是網球四大滿貫賽事中的一項。 對外關係 英國為聯合國安理會常任理事國，是世界五個核大國之一，是歐盟、北約、英聯邦、西歐聯盟等120個國際組織的重要成員國。主張同美國加強關係，重視發展與其他大國的關係，努力改善同中、俄、印、日等大國的關係。努力維係同英聯邦國傢的傳統聯繫，保持和擴大在發展中國傢的影響。積極參與全球事務，保持強大的國防力量、強調自由貿易。加強在環境保護、人權、可持續發展等問題上的國際合作。將人權問題作為其外交政策的核心。 與中國關係 1997年7月1日，中英順利完成香港回歸的政權交接。1998年，兩國政府首腦成功互訪，並建立了全面夥伴關係。1999年10月，江澤民主席對英國進行國事訪問，這是中國國傢主席首次訪問英國。2004年5月，溫傢寶總理對英國進行正式訪問，兩國發表聯合聲明。2005年9月，布萊爾首相訪問中國。2005年11月，國傢主席鬍錦濤對英國進行國事訪問。 中英聯合聲明 中華人民共和國國務院總理溫傢寶閣下於2004年5月10日正式訪問英國期間，與大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國首相托尼·布萊爾在倫敦舉行會晤。 溫傢寶總理和托尼·布萊爾首相今天對中英建立全面戰略夥伴關係表示歡迎。雙方承諾共同致力於發展這一夥伴關係，使其造福於兩國，並推動建立一個更加安全、繁榮和開放的世界。 中英在雙邊、多邊和全球問題上開展合作符合雙方利益。我們均把兩國關係視為各自對外關係的重點之一。 中國經濟的持續增長和發展，及其日益上升的全球經濟大國地位，使中英夥伴關係近年取得了長足發展。雙方在環境、教育、發展、科技等衆多領域的關係蓬勃發展。 我們一致認為，自從我們2003年7月會晤以來，中英合作取得了重要進展。英國將於2005年擔任歐盟主席國。我們期待在2004年和2005年中國-歐盟領導人年度會晤以及我們業已同意建立的兩國政府領導人年度會晤期間，繼續這種高層對話。 布萊爾首相去年訪華後，我們决定成立雙邊關係互動小組，以促進兩國關係快速發展。該小組彙聚了社會各界的智慧，在貿易與投資、金融、能源、教育文化、科學技術、環境包括氣候變化和可持續發展等領域提出了新的建議（見附件）。我們對雙方小組主席約翰·普雷斯科特副首相和唐傢璇國務委員以及小組成員所做工作表示感謝。 雙方小組的建議，以及兩國在包括環境治理和保護、能源、防擴散、反恐、打擊有組織犯罪等一係列國際問題上日益增強的合作，體現了中英關係的廣度和深度。 我們同意加強兩國在以下雙邊和多邊領域的合作： 一、鞏固和加強雙邊關係。 （一）我們同意增加高層互訪。兩國政府領導人和外長將進行年度互訪，以加強並擴大雙方在戰略安全、防擴散等領域的雙邊政治合作。 （二）兩國同意根據雙邊關係互動小組的有關建議（見附件），通過經貿聯委會加強在貿易和投資領域的廣泛合作。 （三）雙方還將根據雙邊關係互動小組的建議，加強在科學、技術、教育、文化和環保領域的合作。在溫總理訪問期間，雙方簽署了一係列諒解備忘錄，以推動上述各領域的合作。 （四）我們註意到“中英論壇”在雙邊關係中發揮的重要作用。建議“論壇”參照雙邊關係互動小組的建議，就未來它在工業、金融服務、科學技術和環境領域應發揮的作用進行研究。 我們就有關香港的問題友好、坦誠地交換了意見。我們重申兩國政府共同致力於貫徹《中英關於香港問題的聯合聲明》，認為按照“一國兩製”原則和基本法維護和促進香港的繁榮與穩定符合雙方的利益。我們同意繼續就這些問題交換意見。 英國重申1972年中英互換大使聯合公報中關於臺灣問題的一貫立場，即：承認中國政府關於臺灣是中國一個省的立場，承認中華人民共和國政府是中國的唯一合法政府。 我們高度重視中英人權對話，將繼續在平等和相互尊重的基礎上開展這一交流。雙方一致認為，所有國傢都應尊重和保護人權。英方歡迎中方最近將尊重和保護人權寫入憲法。下一輪中英人權對話將於2004年5月舉行，這將為兩國開展人權領域的具體合作提供良機。 二、鞏固和加強兩國在多邊機製內就雙方和國際關註的問題開展的合作。 兩國將加強在聯合國的協調，推動聯合國改革，使其能夠應對21世紀的挑戰，並確保《聯合國憲章》和國際法進一步得到尊重。雙方將擴大在聯合國維和框架內的合作。中國願與英國就中東和伊拉剋等問題加強磋商。 我們重申打擊恐怖主義的决心。兩國政府將啓動中英反恐對話機製，加強在反恐領域的交流與合作。 我們重申在推動防擴散問題上的决心。英國歡迎中國在防擴散問題上所做的承諾和為此采取的行動，特別歡迎中國為加強與防擴散出口控製機製的關係所采取的措施。中國贊賞英國在國際原子能機構框架內為推動伊朗執行《不擴散核武器條約》保障監督協議、以及說服利比亞放棄大規模殺傷性武器計劃所做的努力。英國歡迎中國在朝鮮半島核問題六方會談中發揮的領導作用。雙方將加強在安全、軍控、裁軍和防擴散領域的交流與合作。 我們重申將合作打擊非法移民。兩國政府簽署了《關於便利人員合法往來和打擊非法移民活動諒解備忘錄》。 雙方决定密切警務合作，同意根據《聯合國打擊跨國有組織犯罪公約》等國際法律文書，加強信息交流和執法合作，共同合作打擊跨國犯罪。 雙方高度評價亞歐會議在促進亞歐平等夥伴關係方面取得的積極成就，表示願進一步加強在亞歐會議上的合作。 三、中英兩國承諾增進在國際經濟問題上的合作，促進可持續發展。 雙方將共同努力實現“聯合國千年發展目標”，包括消除貧睏、饑餓、疾病、環境惡化、文盲和歧視婦女。通過可持續發展委員會，在各層次實現聯合國可持續發展世界首腦會議所做的承諾。 雙方都致力於國際貿易自由化，將繼續推動多哈發展議程的談判。雙方一致認為，能否實現發展目標是“多哈回合”談判成功與否的關鍵。雙方同意，“多哈回合” 早日結束並取得均衡結果符合世界貿易組織所有成員的利益。雙方將努力爭取談判在2004年達成框架協議。中英同意就此保持對話。 雙方都認識到有效保護知識産權的重要性，以及保護知識産權在促進外國投資和營造良好商業環境方面的重要作用。雙方同意在保護知識産權方面加強雙邊合作。中國將遵守加入的國際知識産權公約或協議的承諾，並根據有關國內法保護知識産權所有者的權益。 中英重申支持《聯合國氣候變化框架公約》，敦促尚未批準《京都議定書》的各方盡早批準該議定書。雙方同時敦促所有國傢最有效地利用能源，呼籲所有簽署公約附件一的國傢帶頭采取一致行動，減少溫室氣體的排放，實現該公約製定的目標。 中英認識到《裏約環境和發展宣言》原則十所強調的各項規定的重要性，如：信息公開、公衆參與决策和環境問題司法公正。雙方同意分享科學和經濟方面的經驗，以利於雙方共同努力實現低碳經濟和可持續發展，通過“可再生能源和有效利用能源夥伴關係”等，加速開發對氣候有益技術的全球市場。 雙方重申願意就包括氣候變化、自然資源可持續管理、森林執法(製止非法采伐)、水資源保護、空氣質量改善和污染控製等環境問題所采取的措施加強交流，在環境立法、監督和人員培訓方面互相學習。 雙方將共同努力幫助發展中國傢解决貧睏和其他與發展有關的問題，更好地應對全球化帶來的挑戰。雙方特別強調和平與安全以及非洲防治艾滋病和實現可持續發展問題，並將盡全力支持非洲國傢為實現“千年發展目標”所做的努力。 中英聯合聲明附件 雙邊關係互動小組關於發展雙邊合作的建議: 貿易與投資 ●我們將在能源、金融服務、信息通信技術、衛生保健和水資源等五個方面開展雙邊合作，並將此作為雙方在貿易與投資領域開展廣泛合作的重點。上述各方面的合作計劃將與産業相結合，明確商業成果。經貿聯委會的作用將通過兩國輪流舉辦部級年會的方式得以加強。上述年會將涉及貿易與投資政策問題。 ●英國對華貿易與投資戰略。英國貿易與投資局將在現有貿易促進、重點領域以及遍布英國和中國各地商業服務網絡的基礎上，製定一個新的對華貿易與投資戰略。 ●雙方將鼓勵英國企業到中國投資，同時鼓勵中國企業到英國投資。 ●雙方將促進兩國中小企業開展交流與合作。 金融 ● 雙方期待着“中英財政金融對話”機製下一輪部長級磋商，此次磋商將在北京舉行，並提升為正部級。財金對話為雙方繼續加強和重點開展金融領域的交流與合作提供了框架，特別是在宏觀經濟政策、産業結構調整、公共財政管理、創造就業、競爭和監管政策、環境治理和環境保護等問題上的交流與合作。雙方鼓勵英國銀行業參與中國銀行業的改革。 信息通訊技術 ●雙方歡迎有關2004年9月在中國舉行“信息通訊技術周”的建議。 能源 雙方重視能源領域的合作，願通過各種方式在能源政策、能源改革和發展等領域進行交流與合作。同時，雙方願意在能源管理、能源效率和可再生能源的利用等領域共享信息，聯合開展活動。中英重視可持續的全球能源安全，重視減輕並在可能情況下改變氣候變化的影響。雙方高興地註意到，此訪期間，中英簽訂了多項與能源有關的商業合同。 教育 ● 中英輪流舉行兩國教育部年度部級會晤。● 中國教育部與英國教育和技能部同意共同努力，提供奬學金機會，資助中英研究生進行交流，到對方大學開展研究。 ●英國將與中國共同努力，增進英國對當代中國的理解。在此方面，校際交流項目將發揮有效作用。 ● 開展商業性項目，鼓勵教育與産業相結合，為工程技術等人員提供商業經驗和實踐知識。 科技 ●2005年1月將在中國舉辦“英國科技年”活動，增進中國對英國科學研究與科技政策的瞭解。 ●雙方願就如何在知識産權領域有效工作組織一係列交流活動。建立有效的知識産權保護機製可以為科學技術發展提供有力支持。英國願在幫助中國建立一個符合世界貿易組織和其他要求的知識産權保護機製方面與中國分享經驗，同時願意瞭解中國在這方面的工作重點。為保證雙方的長遠收益，可考慮在科技各領域建立研究夥伴關係。 ●建立中英科技創業園指導委員會，指導和支持科技孵化器的工作。雙方同意在傳染病及流行病研究與防治領域開展合作，加強信息共享和交流。 環境與可持續發展 ● 建立中英氣候變化工作組。 ● 開展有針對性的項目，支持中國建立環境影響評估係統和戰略環境評估係統。 ●建立可持續發展對話機製。中英是發展問題的夥伴國，雙方同意通過開展有非政府利益相關組織廣泛參與的可持續發展高層對話，交流經驗。文化 ●雙方同意加強文化交流與合作，支持2004年在英國舉辦中國文化節。 ●雙方歡迎近期在努力達成關於文化中心的協議方面所取得的進展，重申對早日成功簽署該協議的决心。 中英在戰略安全、外交政策、人權、軍控、環保等廣泛領域建立並保持了磋商及對話機製。目前，我3個省和35個城市分別與英國的3個郡和35個城市建立了38對友城（省、郡、區）關係。 England became a unified state in the year 927 and takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled there during the 5th and 6th centuries. The capital of England is London, the largest urban area in Great Britain, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most, but not all, measures. England ranks amongst the world's most influential and far-reaching centres of cultural development. It is the place of origin of the English language and the Church of England, and English law forms the basis of the legal systems of many countries; in addition, London was the centre of the British Empire, and the country was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. England was the first country in the world to become industrialised. England is home to the Royal Society, which laid the foundations of modern experimental science. England was the world's first modern parliamentary democracy and consequently many constitutional, governmental and legal innovations that had their origin in England have been widely adopted by other nations. The Kingdom of England was a separate state, including the Principality of Wales, until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. Etymology and usage England is named after the Angles, the largest of the Germanic tribes who settled in England in the 5th and 6th centuries, and who are believed to have originated in the peninsula of Angeln, in what is now Denmark and northern Germany. (The further etymology of this tribe's name remains uncertain, although a popular theory holds that it need be sought no further than the word angle itself, and refers to a fish-hook-shaped region of Holstein. The Angles' name has had various spellings. The earliest known reference to these people is under the Latinised version Anglii used by Tacitus in chapter 40 of his Germania, written around 98 AD. He gives no precise indication of their geographical position within Germania, but states that, with six other tribes, they worshipped a goddess named Nerthus, whose sanctuary was situated on "an island in the Ocean". The early 8th century historian Bede, in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People), refers to the English people as Angelfolc (in English) or Angli (in Latin). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known usage of "England" referring to the southern part of the island of Great Britain was in 897, with the modern spelling first used in 1538, The word "England" is often used colloquially—and incorrectly—to refer to Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole. There are many instances of this usage in history, where references to England are actually intended to include Scotland and Wales as well. The term is used throughout the world and even by English people; the usage is problematic and causes offence in many parts of Britain. England is officially defined as "subject to any alteration of boundaries under Part IV of the Local Government Act 1972, the area consisting of the counties established by section 1 of that Act, Greater London and the Isles of Scilly." History Prehistory Stonehenge, a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire, thought to have been erected c. 2000–2500 BCBones and flint tools found in Norfolk and Suffolk show that Homo erectus lived in what is now England about 700,000 years ago. At this time, England was joined to mainland Europe by a large land bridge. The current position of the English Channel was a large river flowing westwards and fed by tributaries that would later become the Thames and the Seine. This area was greatly depopulated during the period of the last major ice age, as were other regions of the British Isles. In the subsequent recolonisation, after the thawing of the ice, genetic research shows that present-day England was the last area of the British Isles to be repopulated, about 13,000 years ago. The migrants arriving during this period contrast with the other of the inhabitants of the British Isles, coming across lands from the south east of Europe, whereas earlier arriving inhabitants came north along a coastal route from Iberia. These migrants would later adopt the Celtic culture that came to dominate much of western Europe. Roman conquest of Britain By AD 43, the time of the main Roman invasion, Britain had already been the target of frequent invasions, planned and actual, by forces of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. It was first invaded by the Roman dictator Julius Caesar in 55 BC, but it was conquered more fully by the Emperor Claudius in 43 AD. Like other regions on the edge of the empire, Britain had long enjoyed trading links with the Romans, and their economic and cultural influence was a significant part of the British late pre-Roman Iron Age, especially in the south. With the fall of the Roman Empire 400 years later, the Romans left England. Anglo-Saxons An Anglo-Saxon helmet found at Sutton HooThe History of Anglo-Saxon England covers the history of early mediaeval England from the end of Roman Britain and the establishment of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 5th century until the Conquest by the Normans in 1066. Fragmentary knowledge of Anglo-Saxon England in the 5th and 6th centuries comes from the British writer Gildas (6th century) the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (a history of the English people begun in the 9th century), saints' lives, poetry, archaeological findings, and place-name studies. The dominant themes of the seventh to tenth centuries were the spread of Christianity and the political unification of England. Christianity is thought to have come from three directions—from Rome to the south, and Scotland and Ireland to the north and west. From about 500, England was divided (it is believed) into seven petty kingdoms, known as the Heptarchy: Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Wessex. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms tended to coalesce by means of warfare. As early as the time of Ethelbert of Kent, one king could be recognised as Bretwalda ("Lord of Britain"). Generally speaking, the title fell in the 7th century to the kings of Northumbria, in the 8th to those of Mercia, and in the 9th, to Egbert of Wessex, who in 825 defeated the Mercians at the Battle of Ellendun. In the next century his family came to rule all England. Kingdom of England Statue of Alfred the Great at WinchesterOriginally, England (or Englaland) was a geographical term to describe the part of Britain occupied by the Anglo-Saxons, rather than a name of an individual nation-state. It became politically united through the expansion of the kingdom of Wessex, whose king Athelstan brought the whole of England under one ruler for the first time in 927, although unification did not become permanent until 954, when Edred defeated Eric Bloodaxe and became King of England. In 1016 England was conquered by the Danish king Canute the Great, and became the centre of government for his short-lived empire which included Denmark and Norway. In 1042 England became a separate kingdom again with the accession of Edward the Confessor, heir of the native English dynasty. The Kingdom of England (including Wales) continued to exist as an independent nation-state right through to the Acts of Union. However the political ties and direction of England were changed forever by the Norman Conquest in 1066. Middle Ages The signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. It was one of the first steps towards the idea of modern democracy. Fifteenth-century miniature depicting the English victory over France at the Battle of Agincourt.The next few hundred years saw England as a major part of expanding and dwindling empires based in France, with the "Kings of England" using England as a source of troops to enlarge their personal holdings in France for many years (Hundred Years' War) ; in fact the English crown did not relinquish its last foothold on mainland France until Calais was lost during the reign of Mary Tudor (the Channel Islands are still crown dependencies, though not part of the UK). In the 13th century, through conquest Wales (the remaining Romano-Celts) was brought under the control of English monarchs. This was formalised in the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, by which Wales became part of the Kingdom of England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Wales shared a legal identity with England as the joint entity originally called England and later England and Wales. An epidemic of catastrophic proportions, the Black Death first reached England in the summer of 1348. The Black Death is estimated to have killed between a third and two-thirds of Europe's population. England alone lost as much as 70% of its population, which passed from seven million to two million in 1400. The plague repeatedly returned to haunt England throughout the 14th to 17th centuries. The Great Plague of London in 1665–1666 was the last plague outbreak. Reformation Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I made to commemorate the English victory over the Spanish Armada (1588)During the English Reformation in the 16th century, the external authority of the Roman Catholic Church in England was abolished and replaced with Royal Supremacy and ultimately describes the establishment of a Church of England, outside the Roman Catholic Church, under the Supreme Governance of the English monarch. The English Reformation differed from its European counterparts in that it was a political, rather than purely theological, dispute at root. The break with Rome started in the reign of Henry VIII. The English Reformation paved the way for the spread of Anglicanism in the church and other institutions. Civil War Cromwell at Dunbar. Oliver Cromwell united the whole of the British Isles by force and created the Commonwealth of England.The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. The first (1642–1645) and second (1648–1649) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war (1649–1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The Civil War ended with the Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651. The Civil War led to the trial and execution of Charles I, the exile of his son Charles II and the replacement of the English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England (1649–1653) and then with a Protectorate (1653–1659) : the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell. After a brief return to Commonwealth rule, in 1660 The Crown was restored and Charles II accepted Convention Parliament's invitation to return to England. During the interregnum the monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England came to an end, and the victors consolidated the already-established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally, the wars established a precedent that British monarchs could not govern without the consent of Parliament although this would not be cemented until the Glorious Revolution later in the century. Great Britain and the United Kingdom England United Kingdom Although embattled for centuries, the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland had been drawing increasingly together since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and after 1603, when the two countries became linked by a personal union, being ruled by the same Stuart dynasty. Following a number of attempts to unite the Kingdoms, on 1 May 1707, the Acts of Union resulted in a political union between the states creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Ireland later joined this union to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland changed its name to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927 to reflect its reduced territory following the secession of southern Ireland as the Irish Free State in 1922. Throughout these changes, England (including Wales) retained a separate legal identity from its partners, with a separate legal system (English law) from those in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland law) and Scotland (Scots law). (See subdivisions of the United Kingdom) Wales had already been made part of the Kingdom of England by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, and it was legally incorporated into England by the Wales and Berwick Act 1746, making laws passed in England automatically applicable to Wales. This was reversed by the Welsh Language Act 1967, which thus effectively gave Wales a separate identity from England. Since then, legal and political terminology refers to "England and Wales". The county of Monmouthshire has long been an ambiguous area, its legal identity passing between England and Wales at various periods. In the Local Government Act 1972 it was made part of Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 also referred to the formerly Scottish burgh of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The border town changed hands several times and was last conquered by England in 1482, but was not officially incorporated into England. Contention about whether Berwick was in England or Scotland was ended by the union of the two in 1707. Berwick remains within the English legal system and so is regarded today as part of England though there has been some suggestion in Scotland that Berwick should be invited to 'return to the fold'. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are Crown dependencies and are not part of England or of the United Kingdom. Government and politics A Mediaeval manuscript, showing the Parliament of England in front of the king c. 1300Main articles: Government of England and Politics of England There has not been a Government of England since 1707, when the Kingdom of England merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, although both kingdoms have been ruled by a single monarch since 1603. Before the Acts of Union of 1707, England was ruled by a monarch and the Parliament of England. Following the establishment of devolved government for Scotland and Wales in 1999, England was left as the only country within the United Kingdom still governed in all matters by the UK government and the UK parliament in London. (Those, like Mebyon Kernow, who claim that Cornwall should be viewed as having a distinct national identity and who campaign for a Cornish assembly along Welsh lines may dispute this claim.) The Palace of Westminster, Parliament of the United KingdomSince Westminster is the UK parliament but also legislates on matters that affect England alone, devolution of national matters to parliament/assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has refocused attention on the anomaly called the West Lothian question. The "Question" is that Scottish and Welsh MPs continue to be able to vote on legislation relating only to England in the post devolution era while English MPs have no equivalent right to legislate on devolved matters. (Of course, Scottish and Welsh MPs are also unable to vote on devolved issues affecting their own constituencies.) This 'problem' is exacerbated by an over-representation of Scottish MPs in the government, sometimes referred to as the Scottish mafia; as of September 2006, seven of the twenty-three Cabinet members represent Scottish constituencies, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Defence Secretary. In addition, Scotland traditionally benefited from moderate malapportionment in its favour, increasing its representation to a degree disproportionate to its population. In 2004 the Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 was passed which rectified this to a degree, reducing the number of MPs representing Scottish constituencies from 73 to 59 and brought the number of voters per constituency closer to that in England. This change was implemented in the 2005 General Election. There are calls for a devolved English Parliament, and certain English parties go further by calling for the dissolution of the Union entirely. However, the approach favoured by the current Labour government was (on the basis that England is too large to be governed as a single sub-state entity) to propose the devolution of power to the Regions of England. Lord Falconer claimed a devolved English parliament would dwarf the rest of the United Kingdom. In terms of national administration, therefore, England's affairs are managed by a combination of the UK government, the UK parliament and England-specific quangos such as English Heritage. Subdivisions and local government The top tier of local administration within England are the Regions of England. London voted for a London Assembly and the plan was to hold further referenda in other regions to determine whether people wanted directly elected regional assemblies to watch over the work of the non-elected Regional Development Agencies. A referendum on a proposed directly elected North East Assembly was held in November 2004. During the campaign, a common criticism of the proposals was that England did not need "another tier of bureaucracy". On the other hand, many said that they were not decentralising enough, and amounted not to devolution, but to little more than local government reorganisation, with no real power being removed from central government, and no real power given to the regions, which would not even gain the limited powers of the Welsh Assembly, much less the tax-varying and legislative powers of the Scottish Parliament (but Welsh powers are now being expanded). They said that power was simply re-allocated within the region, with little new resource allocation and no real prospects of Assemblies being able to change the pattern of regional aid. Late in the process, responsibility for regional transport was added to the proposals. This was perhaps crucial in the North East, where resentment at the Barnett Formula, which delivers greater public spending per head to adjacent Scotland, was a significant impetus for the North East devolution campaign. The voters rejected the proposal, and plans for referendums in other Regions were shelved. Historically, the highest level of local government in England was the county. These have their origin in the shires, the subdivisions of the kingdom of Wessex, which were extended over the rest of England as Wessex expanded to unite the country in the ninth and tenth centuries. Some of these new shires, particularly in the south-east of England, retained the extent and names of the kingdoms or subdivisions of kingdoms that had existed there before, such as Sussex and Kent, but most were new creations, named after their principal town with the suffix "-shire" added, for example Warwickshire from Warwick. In the far north of England, the system took longer to become regularised and County Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland and Westmorland emerged after the Norman Conquest. The counties each had a county town. Since these historical county lines were drawn up before the Industrial Revolution and the mass urbanisation of England, the changes in the distribution of population and the demands on local administration resulting from those developments have led to a series of local government reorganisations since the latter part of the 19th century. The solution to the emergence of large urban areas was the creation of large metropolitan counties centred on cities (an example being Greater Manchester). The creation of unitary authorities, where districts gained the administrative status of a county, began with the 1990s reform of local government. Today, some confusion exists between the ceremonial counties (which do not necessarily form an administrative unit) and the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. Non-metropolitan counties (or "shire counties") are divided into one or more districts. At the lowest level, England is divided into parishes, although these are not found everywhere (many urban areas for example are unparished). Parishes are prohibited from existing in Greater London. Geography Until 1998, the Humber Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world.Main articles: Geography of the United Kingdom and Geography of England England comprises the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, plus offshore islands of which the largest is the Isle of Wight. It is bordered to the north by Scotland and to the west by Wales. It is closer to continental Europe than any other part of Britain, divided from France only by a 24-statute mile (52 km or 21 nautical mile) sea gap. The Channel Tunnel, near Folkestone, directly links England to the European mainland. The English/French border is halfway along the tunnel. Much of England consists of rolling hills, but it is generally more mountainous in the north with a chain of low mountains, the Pennines, dividing east and west. Other hilly areas in the north and Midlands are the Lake District, the North York Moors, and the Peak District. The approximate dividing line between terrain types is often indicated by the Tees-Exe line. To the south of that line, there are larger areas of flatter land, including East Anglia and the Fens, although hilly areas include the Cotswolds, the Chilterns, the North and South Downs, Dartmoor and Exmoor. The largest natural harbour in England is at Poole, on the south-central coast. Some regard it as the second largest harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia, although this fact is disputed (see harbours for a list of other large natural harbour). Climate England has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round, although the seasons are quite variable in temperature. However, temperatures rarely fall below −5 °C (23 °F) or rise above 30 °C (86 °F). The prevailing wind is from the south-west, bringing mild and wet weather to England regularly from the Atlantic Ocean. It is driest in the east and warmest in the south, which is closest to the European mainland. Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring, although it is not that common away from high ground. The highest temperature recorded in England is 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) on August 10, 2003 at Brogdale, near Faversham, in Kent. The lowest temperature recorded in England is −26.1 °C (−15.0 °F) on January 10, 1982 at Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire. Major rivers The River Severn viewed from Shrewsbury Castle in ShropshireMain article: Waterways in the United Kingdom Severn (the longest river and largest river basin in Great Britain) Tees Thames Trent Humber Tyne Wear Ribble Ouse Mersey Dee Aire Avon Medway Major conurbations London is the largest urban area in England, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.Main article: List of English cities by population London is by far the largest urban area in England and one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. Other cities, mainly in central and northern England, are of substantial size and influence. The list of England's largest cities or urban areas is open to debate because, although the normal meaning of city is "a continuously built-up urban area", this can be hard to define, particularly because administrative areas in England often do not correspond with the limits of urban development, and many towns and cities have, over the centuries, grown to form complex urban agglomerations. Various definitions of cities can be used. For the official definition of a UK (and therefore English) city, see City status in the United Kingdom. Birmingham Manchester Liverpool's skyline Leeds - Bridgewater Place According to the ONS urban area populations for continuous built-up areas, these are the 15 largest conurbations (population figures from the 2001 census): Rank Urban Area Population (2001 Census) Localities Major localities 1 Greater London Urban Area 8,278,251 67 Croydon, Barnet, Ealing, Bromley 2 West Midlands Urban Area 2,284,093 22 Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall 3 Greater Manchester Urban Area 2,240,230 57 Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Stockport, Oldham 4 West Yorkshire Urban Area 1,499,465 26 Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield 5 Tyneside 879,996 25 Newcastle upon Tyne, North Shields, South Shields, Gateshead, Jarrow 6 Liverpool Urban Area 816,216 8 Liverpool, St Helens, Bootle, Huyton-with-Roby 7 Nottingham Urban Area 666,358 15 Nottingham, Beeston and Stapleford, Carlton, Long Eaton 8 Sheffield Urban Area 640,720 7 Sheffield, Rotherham, Chapeltown, Mosborough/Highlane 9 Bristol Urban Area 551,066 7 Bristol, Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Stoke Gifford 10 Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton 461,181 10 Brighton, Worthing, Hove, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Lancing 11 Portsmouth Urban Area 442,252 7 Portsmouth, Gosport, Waterlooville, Fareham 12 Leicester Urban Area 441,213 12 Leicester, Wigston, Oadby, Birstall 13 Bournemouth Urban Area 383,713 5 Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, New Milton 14 Reading/Wokingham Urban Area 369,804 5 Reading, Bracknell, Wokingham, Crowthorne 15 Teesside 365,323 7 Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham Economics The City of London is a major business and commercial centre, ranking alongside New York City and Tokyo as the leading centre of global finance.Main article: Economy of England England's economy is the second largest in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. It follows the Anglo-Saxon economic model. England's economy is the largest of the four economies of the United Kingdom, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations based in London. As part of the United Kingdom, England is a major centre of world economics. One of the world's most highly industrialised countries, England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry and the manufacturing side of the software industry. The Bullring shopping complex in Birmingham city centre attracted 36.5 million visitors in its début year upon opening in 2003.London exports mainly manufactured goods and imports materials such as petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat. England exported more than 30,000 tons of beef last year, worth around £75,000,000, with France, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain being the largest importers of beef from England. The central bank of the United Kingdom, which sets interest rates and implements monetary policy, is the Bank of England in London. London is also home to the London Stock Exchange, the main stock exchange in the UK and the largest in Europe. London is one of the international leaders in finance and the largest financial centre in Europe. Traditional heavy and manufacturing industries have declined sharply in England in recent decades, as they have in the United Kingdom as a whole. At the same time, service industries have grown in importance. For example, tourism is the sixth largest industry in the UK, contributing 76 billion pounds to the economy. It employs 1,800,000 full-time equivalent people—6.1% of the working population (2002 figures). The largest centre for tourism is London, which attracts millions of international tourists every year. As part of the United Kingdom, England's official currency is the Pound Sterling (also known as the British pound or GBP). Demography This section may stray from the topic of the article into the topic of another article, United Kingdom. Please help improve this section or discuss this issue on the talk page. (help) Demography of EnglandWith 50,431,700 inhabitants, or 84% of the UK's total, England is the most populous nation in the United Kingdom; as well as being the most ethnically diverse. England would have the fourth largest population in the European Union and would be the 25th largest country by population if it were a sovereign state. The country's population is 'ageing', with a declining percentage of the population under age 16 and a rising one of over 65. Population continues to rise and in every year since 1901, with the exception of 1976, there have been more births than deaths. England is one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, with 383 people per square kilometre (992/sq mi) , making it second only to the Netherlands. The generally accepted view is that the ethnic background of the English populace, before 19th- and 20th century immigration, was a mixed European one deriving from historical waves of Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Norman invasions, along with the possible survival of pre-Celtic ancestry. Genetic studies have shown that the modern-day English gene pool contains more than 50% Germanic Y-chromosomes. The economic prosperity of England has also made it a destination for economic migrants from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This was particularly true during the Industrial Revolution. Since the fall of the British Empire, many denizens of former colonies have migrated to Britain including the Indian sub-continent and the British Caribbean. A BBC-published report of the 2001 census, by the Institute for Public Policy Research stated that the vast majority of immigrants settled in London and the South East of England. The largest groups of residents born in other countries were from the Republic of Ireland, India, Pakistan, Germany, and the Caribbean. Although Germany was high on the list, this was mainly the result of children being born to British forces personnel stationed in that country. About half the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to foreign-born immigration. In 2004 the number of people who became British citizens rose to a record 140,795—a rise of 12% on the previous year. The number had risen dramatically since 2000. The overwhelming majority of new citizens come from Africa (32%) and Asia (40%), the largest two groups being people from India and Pakistan. One in five babies in the UK are born to immigrant mothers, according to official statistics released in 2007. 21.9% of all births in the UK in 2006 were to mothers born outside the United Kingdom compared with just 12.8% in 1995. In 2006, an estimated 591,000 migrants arrived to live in the UK for at least a year, while 400,000 people emigrated from the UK for a year or more, with Australia, Spain, France, New Zealand and the U.S. most popular destinations. Largest group of arrivals were people from the Indian subcontinent who accounted for two-thirds of net immigration, mainly fuelled by family reunion. One in six were from Eastern European countries. They were outnumbered by immigrants from New Commonwealth countries. The European Union allows free movement between the member states. While France and Germany put in place controls to curb Eastern European migration, the UK and Ireland did not impose restrictions. Following Poland's entry into the EU in May 2004 it is estimated that by the start of 2007 about 375,000 Poles have registered to work in the UK, although the total Polish population in the UK is believed to be 750,000. Many Poles work in seasonal occupations and a large number is likely to move back and forth including between Ireland and other EU Western nations. A quarter of Eastern European migrants, often young and well-educated, plan to stay in Britain permanently. Most of them had originally intended to go home but have changed their minds after living there. Culture England has a vast and influential culture that encompasses elements both old and new. The modern culture of England is sometimes difficult to identify and separate clearly from the culture of the wider United Kingdom, so intertwined are its composite nations. However, the traditional and historic culture of England is more clearly defined. English Heritage is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. London's British Museum, British Library and National Gallery contain some of the finest collections in the world. The English have played a significant role in the development of the arts and sciences. Many of the most important figures in the history of modern western scientific and philosophical thought were either born in, or at one time or other resided in, England. Major English thinkers of international significance include scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, Charles Darwin and New Zealand-born Ernest Rutherford, philosophers such as John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Hobbes, and economists such as David Ricardo, and John Maynard Keynes. Karl Marx wrote most of his important works, including Das Kapital, while in exile in Manchester, and the team that developed the first atomic bomb began their work in England, under the wartime codename tube alloys. Architecture The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral designed by Sir Christopher WrenEngland has played a significant part in the advancement of Western architecture. It is home to some of the finest mediaeval castles and forts in the world, including Warwick Castle, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle (the largest inhabited castle in the world and the oldest in continuous occupation). It is known for its numerous grand country houses, and for its many mediaeval and later churches and cathedrals. English architects have contributed to many styles over the centuries, including Tudor architecture, English Baroque, the Georgian style and Victorian movements such as Gothic Revival. Among the best-known contemporary English architects are Norman Foster and Richard Rogers. Cuisine Main article: English cuisine Although highly regarded in the Middle Ages, English cuisine later became a source of fun among Britain's French and European neighbours, being viewed until the late 20th century as crude and unsophisticated by comparison with continental tastes. However, with the influx of non-European immigrants (particularly those of south and east Asian origins) from the 1950s onwards, the English diet was transformed. Indian and Chinese cuisine in particular were absorbed into British culinary life, with restaurants and takeaways appearing in almost every town in Britain, and 'going for an Indian' becoming a regular part of British social life. A distinct hybrid food style composed of dishes of Asian origin, but adapted to British tastes, emerged and was subsequently exported to other parts of the world. Many of the well-known Indian dishes in the western world, such as Tikka Masala and Balti, are in fact dishes of this sort. Dishes forming part of the old tradition of English food include: Apple pie Bangers and mash Bedfordshire clanger Bubble and Squeak Cornish pasty Cottage pie Devonshire Cream Tea Faggot and peas Fish and chips Full English breakfast Gravy Jellied eels Lancashire hotpot Lincolnshire sausage Mince pies Pie and mash Ploughman's lunch Pork pie Scouse Shepherd's pie Spotted Dick Steak and kidney pie Sunday roast Toad in the hole Yorkshire pudding Engineering and innovation As birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, England was home to many significant inventors during the late 18th and early 19th century. Famous English engineers include Isambard Kingdom Brunel, best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges, hence revolutionising public transport and modern-day engineering. Other notable English figures in the fields of engineering and innovation include: Richard Arkwright – inventor of the first industrial spinning machine Charles Babbage – inventor of the first computer (in the 19th century) Tim Berners-Lee – inventor of the World Wide Web, http, html, and many of the other technologies on which the Web is based James Blundell – who performed the first blood transfusion Hubert Cecil Booth – inventor of the Vacuum cleaner Edwin Beard Budding – inventor of the lawnmower George Cayley – inventor of the seat belt Christopher Cockerell – inventor of the hovercraft John Dalton – pioneer of atomic theory James Dyson – inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner Michael Faraday – inventor of the electric motor Thomas Fowler – inventor of the thermosiphon Robert Hooke – Hooke's law of elasticity E. Purnell Hooley – inventor of tarmac Thomas Newcomen – inventor of the first practical steam engine Isaac Newton – defining Universal gravitation, Newtonian mechanics, Infinitesimal calculus Stephen Perry – inventor of the rubber band Thomas Savery – inventor of the steam engine Percy Shaw – inventor of the "cat's eye" road safety device George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson – railway pioneers (father and son) Joseph Swan – developer of the light bulb Richard Trevithick – builder of the earliest steam locomotive Jethro Tull – inventor of the seed drill Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers – inventors of the modern computer and its associated concepts and technologies Frank Whittle – inventor of the jet engine Joseph Whitworth – inventor of many of the modern techniques and technologies of precision engineering Folklore English folklore is rich and diverse. Many of the land's oldest legends share themes and sources with the Celtic folklore of Wales, Scotland and Ireland, a typical example being the legend of Herne the Hunter, which shares many similarities with the traditional Welsh legend of Gwyn ap Nudd. Successive waves of pre-Norman invaders and settlers, from the Romans onwards, via Saxons, Jutes, Angles, Norse to the Norman Conquest have all influenced the myth and legend of England. Some tales, such as that of The Lambton Wyrm show a distinct Norse influence, while others, particularly some of the events and characters associated with the Arthurian legends show a distinct Romano-Gaulic slant. Among the most famous English folk-tales are the legends of King Arthur, although it would be wrong to regard these stories as purely English in origin as they also concern Wales and, to a lesser extent, Ireland and Scotland. They should therefore be considered as part of the folklore of the British Isles as a whole. Post-Norman stories include the tales of Robin Hood, which exists in many forms, and stories of other folk heroes such as Hereward the Wake and Fulk FitzWarin who, although being based on historical characters, have grown to become legends in their own right. Literature William Shakespeare; an English poet and playwright widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, as well as one of the greatest in Western literature.Main article: English literature The English language has a rich and prominent literary heritage. England has produced a wealth of significant literary figures including playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, as well as writers Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, H. G. Wells, George Eliot, Rudyard Kipling, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell and Harold Pinter. Others, such as J. K. Rowling, Enid Blyton and Agatha Christie have been among the best-selling novelists of the last century. Among the poets, Geoffrey Chaucer, Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sydney, Thomas Kyd, John Donne, Andrew Marvell, Alexander Pope, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, John Keats, John Milton, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, T. S. Eliot (American-born, but a British subject from 1927) and many others remain read and studied around the world. Among men of letters, Samuel Johnson, William Hazlitt and George Orwell are some of the most famous. England continues to produce writers working in all branches of literature, and in a wide range of styles; contemporary English literary writers attracting international attention include Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and Zadie Smith. Music The composer Sir Edward Elgar is primarily remembered for his orchestral music, some of which develops patriotic themes.Composers from England have not achieved recognition as broad as that earned by their literary counterparts, and, particularly during the 19th century, were overshadowed in international reputation by other European composers; however, many works of earlier composers such as Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, and Henry Purcell are still frequently performed throughout the world today. A revival of England's musical status began during the 20th century with the prominence of composers such as Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, William Walton, Eric Coates, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frederick Delius and Benjamin Britten. In popular music, however, English bands and solo artists have been cited as the most influential and best-selling musicians of all time. Acts such as The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Queen, and The Rolling Stones are among the highest selling in the world. England is also credited with being the birthplace of many musical genres and movements such as hard rock, British invasion, heavy metal, britpop, glam rock, drum and bass, progressive rock, punk rock, gothic rock, shoegazing, acid house, UK garage, trip hop and dubstep. Science and philosophy Prominent English figures from the field of science and mathematics include Sir Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, J. J. Thomson, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Wren, Alan Turing, Francis Crick, Joseph Lister, Tim Berners-Lee, Andrew Wiles and Richard Dawkins. Some experts claim that the earliest concept of a Metric system was invented by John Wilkins, first secretary of the Royal Society in 1668. England played a major role in the development of Western philosophy, particularly during the Enlightenment. Jeremy Bentham, leader of the Philosophical Radicals, and his school are recognised as the men who unknowingly laid down the doctrines for Socialism. Bentham's impact on English law is also considerable. Aside from Bentham, major English philosophers include Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Thomas Paine, John Stuart Mill, and Bernard Williams. Sport Several modern sports were codified in England during the 19th century, among them cricket, rugby union and rugby league, football, tennis and badminton. Of these, association football, rugby and cricket remain the country's most popular spectator sports. England contains more UEFA 5 star and 4 star rated stadia than any other country, and is home to some of the sport's top clubs. Among these, Aston Villa, Liverpool FC, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest have won the European Cup. The England national football team are considered one of the game's superpowers (currently ranked 11th by FIFA and 8th by Elo), having won the World Cup in 1966 when it was hosted in England. Since then, however, they have failed to reach a final of a major international tournament, although they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1990 and the quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006 and Euro 2004. More recently, England failed to qualify for the Euro 2008 championships when it lost 2–3 to Croatia on November 21, 2007 in its final qualifying match. England, playing at home at Wembley Stadium, needed just a draw to ensure qualification. This is the first time since the 1994 World Cup that England has failed to qualify for a major football championship and first time since 1984 that the team will miss the Euros. On November 22, 2007, the day after the defeat to Croatia, England fired its football coach, Steve McClaren and his assistant Terry Venables, ostensibly as a direct consequence of its failure to qualify for Euro 2008. The England national rugby union team and England cricket team are often among the best performing in the world, with the rugby union team winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup (and finishing as runners-up in 2007), and the cricket team winning The Ashes in 2005, and being ranked the second best Test nation in the world. Rugby union clubs such as Leicester Tigers, London Wasps and the Northampton Saints have had success in the Europe-wide Heineken Cup. At rugby league, the England national rugby league team are to compete more regularly after 2006, when England will become a full test nation in lieu of the Great Britain national rugby league team, when that team is retired after the 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations. Sport England is the governing body responsible for distributing funds and providing strategic guidance for sporting activity in England. The 2012 Summer Olympics are to be hosted by London, England. It will run from 26 July to 12 August 2012. London will become the first city to have hosted the modern Olympic Games three times, having previously done so in 1908 and 1948. Language Places in the world where English language is spoken. Countries are dark blue where English is an official language, de facto official language, or national language. Countries are light blue where it is an official, non-primary language or non-official primary language. Beowulf is one of the oldest surviving epic poems in what is identifiable as a form of the English language.As its name suggests, the English language, today spoken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, originated as the language of England, where it remains the principal tongue today (although not officially designated as such). An Indo-European language in the Anglo-Frisian branch of the Germanic family, it is closely related to Scots and the Frisian languages. As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms merged into England, "Old English" emerged; some of its literature and poetry has survived. Used by aristocracy and commoners alike before the Norman Conquest (1066), English was displaced in cultured contexts under the new regime by the Norman French language of the new Anglo-Norman aristocracy. Its use was confined primarily to the lower social classes while official business was conducted in a mixture of Latin and French. Over the following centuries, however, English gradually came back into fashion among all classes and for all official business except certain traditional ceremonies, some of which survive to this day. Although, Middle English, as it had by now become, showed many signs of French influence, both in vocabulary and spelling. During the Renaissance, many words were coined from Latin and Greek origins; and more recent years, Modern English has extended this custom, willing to incorporate foreign-influenced words. It is most commonly accepted that—thanks in large part to the British Empire, and now the United States—the English language is now the world's unofficial lingua franca, while English common law is also the foundation of many legal systems throughout the English-speaking countries of the world. English language learning and teaching is an important economic sector, including language schools, tourism spending, and publishing houses. Additional languages UK legislation does not recognise any language as being official, but English is the only language used in England for general official business. The other national languages of the UK (Welsh, Irish, Scots and Scottish Gaelic) are confined to their respective nations, except Welsh to some degree. The only non-Anglic native spoken language in England is the Cornish language, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, which became extinct in the 19th century but has been revived and is spoken in various degrees of fluency, currently by about 2,000 people. This has no official status (unlike Welsh) and is not required for official use, but is nonetheless supported by national and local government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Cornwall County Council has produced a draft strategy to develop these plans. There is, however, no programme as yet for public bodies to actively promote the language. Scots is spoken by some adjacent to the Anglo-Scottish Border, and Welsh is still spoken by some natives around Oswestry, Shropshire, on the Welsh border. Most deaf people within England speak British sign language (BSL), a sign language native to Britain. The British Deaf Association estimates that 250,000 people throughout the UK speak BSL as their first or preferred language, but does not give statistics specific to England. BSL is not an official language of the UK and most British government departments and hospitals have limited facilities for deaf people. The BBC broadcasts several of its programmes with BSL interpreters. Different languages from around the world, especially from the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations, have been brought to England by immigrants. Many of these are widely spoken within ethnic minority communities, with Bengali, Hindi, Sinhala, Tamil, Punjabi, Urdu, Gujarati, Polish, Greek, Turkish and Cantonese being the most common languages that people living in Britain consider their first language. These are often used by official bodies to communicate with the relevant sections of the community, particularly in large cities, but this occurs on an "as needed" basis rather than as the result of specific legislative ordinances. Other languages have also traditionally been spoken by minority populations in England, including Romany. Despite the relatively small size of the nation, there are many distinct English regional accents. Those with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood elsewhere in the country. Use of foreign non-standard varieties of English (such as Caribbean English) is also increasingly widespread, mainly because of the effects of immigration. Religion Due to immigration in the past decades, there is an enormous diversity of religious belief in England, as well as a growing percentage that have no religious affiliation. Levels of attendance in various denominations have begun to decline[citation needed]. England is classed largely as a secular country even allowing for the following affiliation percentages : Christianity: 71.6%, Islam: 3.1%, Hindu: 1.1%, Sikh: 0.7%, Jewish: 0.5%, and Buddhist: 0.3%, No Faith: 22.3%. The EU Eurobarometer poll of 2005 shows that only 38% of people in the UK believe in a god, while 40% believe in "some sort of spirit or life force" and 20% do not believe in either. Christianity Stained glass from Rochester Cathedral in Kent, England, incorporating the Flag of EnglandChristianity reached England through missionaries from Scotland and from Continental Europe; the era of St. Augustine (the first Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Celtic Christian missionaries in the north (notably St. Aidan and St. Cuthbert). The Synod of Whitby in 664 ultimately led to the English Church being fully part of Roman Catholicism. Early English Christian documents surviving from this time include the 7th century illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels and the historical accounts written by the Venerable Bede. England has many early cathedrals, most notably York Minster (1080), Durham Cathedral (1093) and Salisbury Cathedral (1220), In 1536, the Church was split from Rome over the issue of the divorce of King Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon. The split led to the emergence of a separate ecclesiastical authority, and later the influence of the Reformation, resulting in the Church of England and Anglicanism. Unlike the other three constituent countries of the UK, the Church of England is an established church (although the Church of Scotland is a 'national church' recognised in law). Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England, a significant worldwide Christian denomination.The 16th century break with Rome under the reign of King Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries had major consequences for the Church (as well as for politics). The Church of England remains the largest Christian church in England; it is part of the Anglican Communion. Many of the Church of England's cathedrals and parish churches are historic buildings of significant architectural importance. Other major Christian Protestant denominations in England include the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church and the United Reformed Church. Smaller denominations, but not insignificant, include the Religious Society of Friends (the "Quakers") and the Salvation Army—both founded in England. There are also Afro-Caribbean Churches, especially in the London area. The Roman Catholic Church re-established a hierarchy in England in the 19th century. Attendances were considerably boosted by immigration, especially from Ireland and more recently Poland. The Church of England is still the official state church. Other religions Throughout the second half of the 20th century, immigration from many colonial countries, often from South Asia and the Middle East have resulted in a considerable growth in Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism in England. Cities and towns with large Muslim communities include Birmingham, Blackburn, Coventry, Bolton, Bradford, Leicester, London, Luton, Manchester, Oldham and Sheffield. Cities and towns with large Sikh communities include London, Slough, Staines, Hounslow, Southall, Reading, Ilford, Barking, Dagenham, Leicester, Leeds, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and others. The Jewish community in England is mainly in the Greater London area, particularly the north west suburbs such as Golders Green; although Manchester, Leeds and Gateshead also have significant Jewish communities. Education The chapel of King's College, Cambridge UniversityMain article: Education in England There is a long history of the promotion of education in England in schools, colleges and universities. England is home to the oldest existing schools in the English speaking world: The King's School, Canterbury and The King's School, Rochester, believed to be founded in the 6th and 7th century respectively. At least eight existing schools in England were founded in the first millennium. Most of these ancient institutions are fee-paying schools, however some state schools are also very old, most notably Beverley Grammar School founded in 700. Other notable English schools include Winchester College (founded 1382), Eton College (1440), St Paul's School (London) (1509), Tonbridge School (1553), Rugby School (1567), Harrow School (1572), Charterhouse School (1611), and Sherborne School, which was granted an official charter in 1550, but due to its attachment to Sherborne Abbey, which has been a place of scholarship since 705, it stakes a good claim to being among the oldest educational establishments in the country, and Radley College (1847). The oldest surviving girls' school in England is Red Maids' School founded in 1634. England is also home to the two oldest universities in the English speaking world: Oxford University (12th century) and Cambridge University (early 13th century). More than 90 universities are in England and many of these (most notably the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London) consist of autonomous colleges, many of which are world famous in their own right, for example University College, Oxford (founded 1249), Peterhouse, Cambridge (1284) Imperial College London and the London School of Economics (1895). The education system in England is run by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The education is split into two main types; State schools funded through taxation and free to all, and private schools, which provide a paid-for education on top of taxes (also confusingly known as "Public" or "Independent" schools). The level of education in England is maintained by regular Government inspections of State run schools, and Ofsted inspections of private schools. Healthcare The NHS Logo for EnglandThe National Health Service (NHS) is the publicly funded healthcare system in England responsible for provided the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS provides most services free at the point of use for the patient though there are charges associated with eye tests, dental care, prescriptions, and many aspects of personal care. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the National Health Service Act 1946. (The Act originally set up the NHS in England and Wales but Wales was split off in the 1960s – see NHS Wales.)Private health care has continued parallel to the NHS, paid for largely by private insurance, but it is used by less than 8% of the population, and generally as a top-up to NHS services. Recently the private sector has been increasingly used to increase NHS capacity despite a large proportion of the public opposing such involvement. The NHS is largely funded from general taxation (including a proportion from National Insurance payments). The UK government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, headed by the Secretary of State for Health (Health Secretary), who sits in the British Cabinet. Most of the expenditure of The Department of Health (£98.6 billion in 2008-9) is spent on the NHS. Transport Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of numbers of international passengersLondon Heathrow Airport is England's largest airport, the largest airport by traffic volume in Europe and one of the world's busiest airports, and London Gatwick Airport is England's second largest, followed by Manchester Airport. Other major airports include London Stansted Airport in Essex, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) north of London, Coventry Airport and Birmingham International Airport. The growth in private car ownership in the latter half of the 20th century led to major road-building programmes. Important trunk roads built include the A1 Great North Road from London to Newcastle and Edinburgh, and the A580 "East Lancs." road between Liverpool and Manchester. The M6 motorway is the country's longest motorway running from Rugby through North West England to the Scottish border. Other major roads include the M1 motorway from London to Leeds up the east of the country, the M25 motorway which encircles London, the M60 motorway which encircles Manchester, the M4 motorway from London to South Wales, the M62 motorway from Liverpool to Manchester and Yorkshire, and the M5 motorway from Birmingham to Bristol and the South West. Most of the British National Rail network of 16,116 route km (10,072 route miles) lies in England. Urban rail networks are also well developed in London and several other cities, including the Manchester Metrolink and the London Underground. The London Underground is the oldest and most extensive underground railway in the world, and as of 2007 consists of 407 km (253 mi) of line and serves 275 stations. There are around 7,100 km (4,400 mi) of navigable waterways in England, of which roughly half is owned by British Waterways. An estimated 165 million journeys are made by people on Britain's waterways annually. The Thames is the major waterway in England, with imports and exports focused at Tilbury, one of the three major ports in the UK. Ports in the UK handled over 560 million tonnes of domestic and international freight in 2005. The government department overseeing transport is the Department for Transport. People The ancestry of the English, considered as an ethnic group, is mixed; it can be traced to the mostly Celtic Romano-Britons, to the eponymous Anglo-Saxons, the Danish-Vikings that formed the Danelaw during the time of Alfred the Great and the Normans, among others. The 19th and 20th centuries, furthermore, brought much new immigration to England. Ethnicity aside, the simplest view is that an English person is someone who was born in England and holds British nationality, regardless of his or her racial origin. It has, however, been a notoriously complicated, emotive and controversial identity to delimit. Centuries of English dominance within the United Kingdom has created a situation where to be English is, as a linguist would put it, an "unmarked" state. The English frequently include themselves and their neighbours in the wider term of "British", while the Scots and Welsh tend to be more forward about referring to themselves by one of those more specific terms. This reflects a more subtle form of English-specific patriotism in England; St George's Day, the country's national day, is barely celebrated. The celebrations have increased year on year over the past five years. Modern celebration of English identity is often found around its sports, one field in which the British Home Nations often compete individually. The English Association football team, rugby union team and cricket team often cause increases in the popularity of celebrating Englishness. Nomenclature The country is named after the Angles, one of several Germanic tribes who settled the country in the fifth and sixth centuries. There are two distinct linguistic patterns for the name of the country. Most European languages use names similar to "England": "Anglie" (Czech) "Anglicko" (Slovak) "England" (Danish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Luxembourgish) "Engeland" (Dutch) "Inglismaa" (Estonian) "Angleterre" (French) "Англия" (Angliya) (Russian, Bulgarian) "Anglaterra" (Catalan) "Inghilterra" (Italian) "Ingilterra" (Maltese, Egyptian) "Inglaterra" (Spanish, Portuguese, Galician) "İngiltere" (Turkish) "Anglia" (Latin, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Albanian) "Anglija" (Slovene, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ukrainian) "Engleska" (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian) "Αγγλία" ("Aglía") (Greek) "Englanti" (Finnish) "Ingalaterra" (Basque) "ინგლისი" ("inglisi") (Georgian) The Celtic names are quite different, referring to the Saxons, another family of Germanic tribes that arrived at about the same time as the Angles. "Bro-Saoz" (Breton) "Pow Sows" (Cornish) "Sasana" (Irish) "Sostyn" (Manx) "Sasainn" (Scottish Gaelic) "Lloegr" (Welsh), an ancient geographic term and not Saxon-related; but the inhabitants are referred to as "Saeson". The names in Asian languages: "إنجلترا" (Ingiltra) or "إنكلترا" (Inkiltra) (Arabic) "ইংল্যান্ড" (Ingland) (Bangla) "انگلستان" (Inglistan) (Hindi, Persian) "אנגליה" (Anglia) (Hebrew) "イングランド" (Ingurando) (Japanese) "Engalaantha" (Sri Lankans (Sinhalese)) "இங்கிலாந்து" (In-gi-laan-dhu) (Tamil) "Anh Quôc" (Vietnamese) "Inggris" (Indonesian) "อังกฤษ" (Ang-grit) (Thai) "英格蘭" (Yīnggélán) (Chinese) "잉글랜드" (Ing-geul-laen-deu) (Korean) "eng-ge-re-ji" ( Punjabi languages ) "英倫" (Ying-lun)(Cantonese) Names in other languages: "Uingereza"(Ou-I-ng'e-re-za) (Swahili) Alternative names include: The slang "Blighty", from the Hindustani "bila yati" meaning "foreign" (which coincidentally resembles "Britain") "Albion", an ancient name, supposedly referring to the white (Latin alba) cliffs of Dover. Although it refers to the whole island of Great Britain, it is occasionally, and incorrectly, used for England. Following the Roman conquest of Britain, the term contracted to mean only the area north of Roman control and is today a relative of Alba, the Celtic languages name for Scotland. More poetically, England has been called "this sceptred isle...this other Eden" and "this green and pleasant land", quotations respectively from the poetry of William Shakespeare (in Richard II) and William Blake (And did those feet in ancient time). Slang terms sometimes used for the people of England include "Sassenachs" or "Sasanachs" (from the Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic respectively, both originally meaning "Saxon", and originally a Scottish Highland term for Lowland Scots), "Limeys" (in reference to the citrus fruits carried aboard English sailing vessels to prevent scurvy) and "Pom/Pommy" (used in Australian English and New Zealand English), but these may be perceived as offensive. Also see alternative words for British. National symbols, insignia and anthems The two main traditional symbols of England are the St George's Cross (the English flag), and the Three Lions coat of arms. Other national symbols exist, but have varying degrees of official usage, such as the oak tree and the rose. England's National Day is St George's Day (Saint George being the patron saint), which is on 23 April. A one-pound coin with an English oak tree A one-pound coin with the three lions of England Saint George and the Dragon, Paolo Uccello, c. 1470. This small dragon has the look of a griffin or a wyvern. The English rose at the border of Wales and England St George's Cross The St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background and is the national flag of England. It is believed to have been adopted for the uniform of English soldiers during the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. From about 1277 it became the national flag of England. St George's Cross was originally the flag of Genoa and was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the powerful Genoese fleet. The maritime Republic of Genoa was rising and going to become, with its rival Venice, one of the most important powers in the world. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege. The cross of St George would become the official Flag of England. A red cross acted as a symbol for many Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries. It became associated with St George and England, along with other countries and cities (such as Georgia, Milan and the Republic of Genoa), which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. It remained in national use until 1707, when the Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack, especially at sea) which English and Scottish ships had used at sea since 1606, was adopted for all purposes to unite the whole of Great Britain under a common flag. The flag of England no longer has much of an official role, but it is widely flown by Church of England properties and at sporting events. Until recently, the flag was not commonly flown in England with the British Union Flag being used instead. This was certainly evident at the 1966 football World Cup when English fans predominantly flew the latter. However, since devolution in the United Kingdom, the St George Cross has experienced a growth in popularity and is now the predominant flag used in English sporting events. Three Lions The arms of England are gules, three lions passant guardant or; the earliest surviving record of their use was by Richard I (Richard the Lionheart) in the late 12th century. Since union with Scotland and Northern Ireland, the arms of England are no longer used on their own; instead they form a part of the conjoined Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom. However, both the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board use logos based on the three lions. In recent years, it has been common to see banners of the arms flown at English football matches, in the same way the Lion Rampant is flown in Scotland. In 1996, Three Lions was the official song of the England football team for the 1996 European Football Championship, which were held in England. Rose The Tudor rose is the national floral emblem of England, and was adopted as a national emblem of England around the time of the Wars of the Roses. The rose is used in a variety of contexts in its use for England's representation. The Rose of England is a Royal Badge, and is a Tudor, or half-red-half-white rose, symbolising the end of the Wars of the Roses and the subsequent marriage between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. This symbolism is reflected in the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom and the crest of the FA. However, the rose of England is often displayed as a red rose (which also symbolises Lancashire), such as the badge of the England national rugby union team. A white rose (which also symbolises Yorkshire) is also used on different occasions. Anthem England does not have an official designated national anthem, as the United Kingdom as a whole has "God Save the Queen". However, the following are often considered unofficial English national anthems: "I Vow to Thee, My Country" "Land of Hope and Glory" "Nimrod" "Jerusalem" "Heart of Oak" "God Save the Queen" is usually played for English sporting events, such as football matches, against teams from outside the UK, although "Land of Hope and Glory" was used as the English anthem for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Since 2004, "Jerusalem" has been sung before England cricket matches, and "Rule Britannia" (Britannia being the Roman name for Great Britain, a personification of the United Kingdom) was often used in the past for the English national football team when they played against another of the home nations but more recently "God Save the Queen" has been used by the rugby union and football teams. Gallery Durham Cathedral Tower of London, London. The Palace of Westminster – the political centre of the United Kingdom. Stonehenge – a Neolithic and Bronze Age megalithic monument in Wiltshire. Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol. |
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