The Devolution in the UK
Uploaded by mfarrit on Apr 19, 2004
Devolution is a process of taking power from a central authority or government and giving it to smaller and more local religions.
In our situation, the central authority in the UK is England; smaller religions are Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Scotland = Caledonia
Scotland fought with England until the beginning of the17th century, when Scottish king James VI became James I, king of England. He united England and Scotland in a personal union. In 1707 Queen Anne established formal union of England and Scotland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain originated.
The best known Scottish heroes were William Wallace and Rob Roy.
In 1997 there was a referendum in Scotland and the nation decided by 70% for autonomy. In 1999 their regional government and parliament were created.
In 2008 the football world cup will take place here. 5 million Scots live in Scotland, 28 million Scots live abroad. 80% of computers in Europe are made in Scotland. Scotland has many famous persons, for example S. Connery, W. Scott, R. Burns, J. Watt, and I. Welsch. It also has many inventions, e.g. TV, penicillin, telephone and whisky.
Northern Ireland = Hibernia
The Irish united with GB by the Act of Union in 1800. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established.
There were quarrels between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, and in 1969 they culminated. England then sent soldiers to calm them down. There were fights in streets and many victims, so many people immigrated. One of them is Seamus Heaney, an Irish poet. In his poem Digging he wrote that his father’s gun was spade, but his gun was a pen.
Wales = Cymru
There was a referendum in 1997 and only 50% were for autonomy, so they established The Welsh National Assembly. Just 16, 3% of Welsh can speak Welsh. They learned it as a second language at school. Dylan Thomas, the national bard, is sometimes called as a traitor, because he can’t speak Welsh at all. Welsh have the political party Plaid Cymru, which motto is “Wales for Welsh”.