United Kingdom (The UK Stays)

The United Kingdom of England, Wales, Cornwall and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located in the British Isles in Western Europe. The nation shares land borders with the Republic of Scotland, which gained independence in 2024 following a second referendum, and the Republic of Ireland.

Ancient
Settlement of the United Kingdom began by modern humans about 30,000 years ago, and by the end of the region's prehistoric period, the population had a Celtic culture.

In 43 AD, the Romans invaded Britain and controlled England and Wales for 400 years, and then Britain was invaded by Anglo-Saxons. The Celtic culture was now restricted to only Cornwall and Wales. In the 10th Century, most of Anglo-Saxon Britain was united under the Kingdom of England. Gaelic speakers in the north united with the Picts to create the Kingdom of Scotland

Middle Ages
In the year 1066 ,England was invaded by the Kingdom of Normandy, which was led by William I. This brought French influence to the British Isles, though slowly assimilated with the local cultures. The next few hundred years brought conflict as England conquered Wales and also attempted to invade Scotland and France.

Early Modern
The reformation saw the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country. The Principality of Wales was integrated into the Kingdom of England, and Ireland formed a personal union with England. In 1603, the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united under a common king, James VI, who inherited both crowns and moved the court to London, though all of kingdom remained separate.

After a brief civil war, in 1707 the Acts of Union were passed, uniting the Kingdoms of England and Scotland together as the Kingdom of Great Britain. However the new kingdom was not stable. A series of Jacobite Uprisings aimed to reverse the Protestant Hanoverian Succession and place a Catholic Stuart as King. Also, the 13 British Colonies in North America declared independence in 1776, causing Britain to turn its attention towards India and Australia in colonialism

During the 18th century, British ships transported around two million slaves from Africa to the Americas before banning it in 1807. This led to the banning slavery overall in 1833, pressing other nations to do likewise through Anti-Slavery International.

Modern
Ties within the kingdom were further tightened with the Acts of Union 1801 uniting the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Industrial Revolution transformed Britain: the political power shift from the Whig to the Conservative, landowning classes towards the industrialists and alliances leading to the creation of the Liberal Democrats. The Great Reform Act transferred power from the aristocracy to the middle classes, as enclosure of land and urbanisation began.

The UK was the largest naval and imperial power in the world, with London being the largest city around 1830, leading to a period known as Pax Britannica, when the British Empire adopted the role of 'Global Policeman'.

Over the remainder of the century and beginning of the 20th century social change continued. This included home rule for Ireland and Universal Male Suffrage, with the foundation of the Labour Party in 1900. This century brought conflict again, first with Britain, France, Russia (1914-1917) and the US (1917-1918) against Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire in World War I (1914-18), engaging throughout the Empire and Europe. After the war the League of Nations was formed and the UK received LoN mandate over a number of former German and Ottoman colonies, the Empire reaching its greatest extent of one-fifth of the world's land surface and quarter of its population, despite a huge national debt and 2.5 million casualties.

Nationalism and conflict lead to the partition of Ireland in 1921, as the American Great Depression hit Britain and much of the world, with a coalition government formed in 1931. The rise of the German Reich and occupation of many central European nations by Germany lead to the Second World War, with Winston Churchill becoming Prime Minister in 1940 after the fall of Norway. The UK gained hard-fought victories in the Atlantic, North Africa and Burma campaigns and played a major role in the Normandy Landings alongside the US and the commonwealth.

Post-WW2
In the aftermath of World War II in 1945 the UK supposedly became one of the Big Four powers (the USSR, UK, USA and China), who met to plan a post-war world. Britain played a significant role in the formation of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Despite its continued presence in the world, the world wars had left the UK severely weakened and dependent on aid from the USA. Immediately after the war, the Labour government initiated many radical reforms, including mass nationalisation, and the introduction of the Welfare State.

The economic state and rise of nationalism also lead to an decolonisation, with independence granted to India and Pakistan in 1947, with most other colonies of the empire leaving within the next three decades. Many of them became members of the Commonwealth, where Queen Elizabeth II is seen as the leader. Britain's global status, despite becoming the third country to develop nuclear weapons, was further diminished with the Suez Crisis of 1956, when the UK and France were forced to retreat from the Sinai Peninsular and Suez.

Further illustrating the changing nation, the UK government encouraged immigration from Commonwealth countries in the 1950's to reduce shortages of workers. This resulted in the UK became a far more multi-ethnic society, with rising living standards and economic performance. Despite this, European integration was on the way, with the foundation of the EU in 1992.

From the later 1960's Northern Ireland suffered communal and paramilitary violence, occasionally affecting the mainland UK, known as The Troubles. Despite some occasional unrest, the Troubles are considered to have ended with the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement of 1998.

The 1970's saw wide economic and industrial slowdown, leading to the election of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Government of the 1980's, in which Thatcher initiated many radical policies, including regularisation of the financial sector and sale of state-owned companies. While resulting in high unemployment and social unrest, economic growth was ultimately achieved.

The end of the 20th century saw major changes to UK Governance including devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and rising roles in the EU, NATO and UN, though overseas military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq were, and remain to be, controversial. The 2008 global financial crisis severely affected the UK economy, with the coalition government of 2010 introducing austerity.

In 2014, Scotland held its first Independence Referendum, with 55% voting to remain in the UK.

2016-present
On the 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on whether it should remain a member of the European Union. After significant pro-Europe campaigns across the country, a majority of 56% of voters chose "Remain".

Geography
The United Kingdom controls the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain, as well as the northern sixth of the island of Ireland. The country also controls many other islands in the British Isles, such as the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, Jersey and Guernsey.

Dependancies
Main article: British Overseas Territories, Crown Dependancies

The United Kingdom has sovereignty over 15 territories which aren't part of the country itself, these are 12 British Overseas Territories and 3 Crown Dependancies.