1. The British Isles and Nordic Nations
Chapter 15
The British Isles and Nordic Nations

2. Sect. 1 - England Great Britain - Island the size of Minnesota
U.K. - 3 formerly independent nations (England, Scotland, and Wales) plus N. Ireland
80% of the people live in England

3. England - cont. (sect. 1) Landscape of England: NE to SW
Highlands, lowlands, and mid-land Highlands- on the Atlantic coast
NE to SW
Midlands - SE to Manchester
Lowlands - fertile SE corner
Relative location - London (70 miles from Europe) located on the Thames river
Important port (1500s)

4. Sect. 1 cont.
Industrial revolution - factories for manufacturing goods (workshop of the world)
Pennine Mt. - coal fields along the edge
Iron Ore - rocky material containing a valuable mineral - used to make steel and furthered the Industrial Revolution
U.S. and Germany passed Britain in the 1900s and today Britain relies heavily on imports

5. The Chunnel Underground tunnel from the U.K. to France
31 miles long, 23 miles underground
20 minutes to cross the English channel
Paris to London - 3 hours
7,000 workers -seven years
3 tunnels finished in 1994
$14 billion to complete

6. Section 2 - Scotland and Wales
Scotland 1/3 of the land of the U.K. but less than 10% of the population
Capital - Edinburgh
Cheviot hills and Tweed river - separated Scotland and England
Scotland - physical geography
N. Highlands
C. Lowlands
S. Uplands

7. Highlands Large, high plateau Moors - broad treeless plains
Bogs - cover the moors , wet spongy ground
3 types of veg. - grass, low shrubs and heather - purple flowers
Loch - Lake carved from glaciers
Loch ness - lock 90 miles west of Aberdeen
Nessie - supposed monster that lives in Loch Ness
Economic activity - fishing and sheep
Tweed - type of woolen cloth

8. Lowlands and Uplands Lowlands - 75% of the population live here
Industrial region
Glasgow - shipbuilding
Southern Uplands -
Sheep raising
Clyde valley - “Silicon Glen” - narrow valley (computer technology)
Oil discovered in the N. Sea far off of NE Scotland
Act of Union Scotland and England united
Scotland kept important trade and political rights
Scotland - Presbyterian English - Church of England

9. Wales Wales has some independence but closely connected to England
Highland area in North, Lowlands in the South, and the Cambrian Mt. in the center
Wales - more rain than England
Welsh rep. have sat in parliament and 20% have retained their language
Coal mines near Cardiff were used up in the 80’s. Rely heavily on foreign investment and some tourism

10. Two Irelands Marine West Coast
Terrain - rolling interior plains surrounded by rugged hills and low mts.
West coast - sea cliffs
Ireland - DUBLIN N. Ireland - Belfast
Catholic Protestant (Church of England)

11. Physical Emerald Isle - green vegetation
Peat - spongy material containing waterlogged mosses and plants
-decays and forms a brownish matter , used for a resource - 1/4 of electricity
Covers 1/6 of Ireland

12. Culture Celtic tribes - first to settle in Ireland (300 B.C.)
Gaelic - Celtic language
Norman invaders from France conquered Europe
Took over England and ruled the Celtic people
King Henry II of England tried to take over Ireland
Protestants vs. Catholic Church of England started by Henry VIII
U.K. annexed Ireland so France wouldn’t get it

13. Sect. 3 continued 1921 - Ireland was divided
Republic of Ireland was formed
potato famine hit Ireland and many immigrated to the U.S.
Shannon Airport - refueling center
Ireland uses the Euro

14. Comparing Ireland and Northern Ireland
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
91 % catholic
Want to see a united Ireland
Poor
full independence from U.K.
Connections to the IRA (terrorist group)
What is the IRA - terrorists that want to see Britain out of Ireland completely
-catholic members
N. IRELAND
Protestant majority
Wealthy
U.K. controlled
IRA members have infiltrated the Gov.
Sinn Fein - political group with links to the IRA
Catholics in the North - (want to see Ireland together)
Protestants in the North
(loyal to Britain)

15. Shared Added to Britain in 1798 Marine West coast climate Emerald Isle
Bowl shaped landscape/ good for protection against invaders
Cattle ranching
Less impact on agriculture
Use peat as a resource

16. Section 4 - Nordic nations
Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark
Norden “Northlands” - Europeans call their land this
Danish (Denmark ) - “Flatlanders”
Impact of land from glaciers
1. Created many lakes and rivers
2. Took top soil from the Scandinavian Peninsula and deposited into parts of Denmark
3. Carved valleys along the coast
4. Fjords - flooded glacial valleys

17. Sect. 4 cont.
Impact of the location to the North latitudes - long winters / short summers
Land of the Midnight Sun
Winter - 3 hours of sun
Summer - 20 hours of sun
White nights - long twilight hours
Many celebrations are planned around these hours

18. Sect. 4 - cultural bonds 1397 - all nations were united
Sweden withdrew
Sweden and Finland were united until the 1800s
Religion - majority are protestant
Democracies - mixed economies (socialism and free enterprise)
Denmark and Sweden are the most socialized - state run day-care, health care, and elderly care

19. Iceland Land of fire and ice - volcanoes and glaciers
Geothermal energy is huge
One of the highest literacy rates in the world

20. Other
Finland - plywood deforestation has become a large problem so the Gov. has taken control.
large Asian population
Denmark - constitutional monarchy
Cooperative farms, controls Greenland
Norway - 3 % arable land
Oil and natural gas in the North Sea
Hydroelectricity
Sweden - constitutional monarchy
Socialist - hospitals, education