British Economy

The United Kingdom was the first country in the world which became highly industrialized. Dur­ing the rapid industrialization of the 19^th century, one of the most important factors was that coal deposits were situated near the ground surface, which made mining easy. Coal mining is one of the most developed industries in Great Britain. The biggest coal and iron mines are in the north-east ofEngland, near Newcastle, in Lancashire and Yorkshire; in Scotland near Glasgow; in Wales near Cardiff and Bristol.

Until recent times, Britain’s heavy industry was mainly concentrated in the centre of England and in the London region. Such towns as Birmingham, Coventry and Sheffield produced heavy machines, railway carriages and motor-cars. In the 20^th century new branches of industry have appeared: electronics, radio, chemical industry and others.

Of great importance for Britain is ship-building industry. It is concentrated in London, Glasgow Newcastle, Liverpool and Belfast.

Great Britain produces a lot of wool, and woolen industry is developed in Yorkshire. British woolen products are exported to many countries.

Sea-ports play a great role in the life of the country. London, Liverpool and Glasgow are the biggest English ports, from which big liners go to all parts of the world. Great Britain exports industrial products to other countries and imports food and some other products.

Sheep-farming, cattle-farming and dairy-farming are also important branches of Great Britain's econ­omy. Chicken farms produce a great number of chick­ens and eggs for the population.

The south of England is often called the "Garden of England", because there are many gardens and orchards there. In the orchards people grow apples, pears, cherries, plums and other fruits, and there are also large plantations of different berries.

Mineral Resources

Great Britain is rich in coal. There are rich coal basins in Northumberland, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, North Wales and near Glasgow.

Among other mineral resources, iron ores found alongside coal layers are of primary importance, but the iron content of most of the ores is very low.

There are tin and copper mines in Cornwall and Devonshire, copper and lead mines in England.

Lead and silver ores are also mined in Derbyshire and Cumberland and Lancashire.

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The British Commonwealth of Nations¹

For centuries British sailors and merchants travelled all over the world, discovered new lands andclaimed them for England. Large territories in North America, Africa, the whole continent of Australia, New Zealand, India and a lot of islands in the ocean got under British rule. Thus, gradually, in the course of centuries, the huge British Empire came into being. After World War II, with the growth of national liberation movement in the world, the coun­tries which were dependent on Great Britain and formed parts of the British Empire, began claiming independence. As a result of this movement, the British Empire fell apart. However, centuries-long economic, cultural and political ties of these former colonies and dominions with Great Britain were too strong for them to completely break away from each other, and it was found advisable to maintain the old ties. A new organization was established: the British Commonwealth of Nations, including about 50 inde­pendent states which were formerly parts of the Brit­ish Empire. The British Commonwealth of Nations encourages trade and friendly relations among its members. The Queen is the official head of the Com­monwealth.

¹The British Commonwealth of Nations (Британское содружество наций)

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Date: 2015-10-19; view: 1112; Нарушение авторских прав