The United Kingdom, or Great Britain, is the four united states: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Consequently, the main peoples of Great Britain are the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish. All peoples have different roots, and everyone is proud of their history, culture and language, trying to protect them. This is especially true of the Scots, Welsh and Irish, who do not like to be called English. Below in the article we will consider from which peoples the peoples of Great Britain originated, and their main occupations.
English
Modern English are the descendants of the assimilated Anglo-Saxons and Normans, from whom they adopted the language, customs, traditions, culture and standard of living. Today they live in England itself, most of Wales and in the south of Scotland. According to the population census,conducted in 2011, approximately 45 million English people live in the UK.
The professed religion is Protestantism in the form of Anglicanism. The family structure remains patriarchal.
When they talk about the British, they first of all remember their restraint towards new people, their unwillingness to change the old for the new and their confidence in their superiority over other peoples. Today, such a characterization is nothing more than a stereotype, since the degree of individuality of the British is no higher than that of any other people on Earth.
Scots
Scots are associated all over the world with bagpipes, kilts and playing tweed. Today they are the most numerous of all the peoples inhabiting Great Britain. The northwest of the island and the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland Islands adjacent to the coast are the territory of their residence. In total, approximately 5 million Scots live in the UK today.
The Scots are in many ways different from the English people: they have their own language, culture, laws, government, school system, currency and church, despite the fact that they are part of the same country. The Scottish struggle for independence from the English throne continues to this day, which is currently led by the Scottish National Party within the European community.
The Scots, like other peoples inhabiting the UK, are doing everything possible to preserve their language, which is a mixture of the northern dialects of the Anglo-Saxon language, Gaulish and Scandinavian languages. The phonetics and vocabulary of Scottish differ from standard English.
The main religion of the Scots is Presbyterianism, but there are also Anglicans among them. The family, unlike the British, is more equal.
The national symbol of the country is the thistle.
Welsh (Welsh)
The Welsh, or Welsh, consider themselves the true British and are the oldest of all peoples in the British Isles. But quantitatively, they are far behind the British and Scots - only 2.8 million people.
The Welsh, like the Scots and the Irish, are also fighting England for independence - the main tasks of the nationalist party "Plyde Camry" is the self-government of Wales, the preservation of original culture and language. By the way, the Welsh have the oldest language in Europe, and they do everything possible to preserve it - TV and radio programs are broadcast in their native language, all inscriptions in Wales are written in Welsh, music festivals are held annually, it is taught in schools, office work in state authorities must be bilingual, with knowledge of Welsh mandatory for teachers and social workers.
Today, according to the latest census data, 1.5 million Welsh live in the UK, most of whom live in rural areas. The Welsh, like the British, profess Anglicanism. The family way of life of the Welsh has remained traditional.
The symbol of Wales is the daffodil.
Irish
The ancestors of the Irish are the Celts. Today they speak their native language - Gaelic - and cherish their culture and traditions. Many world-famous representatives of English literature were of Irish origin: D. Swift, O. Wilde, D. B. Show.
Today, there are very few people who consider themselves Irish in the UK - only 1.5 million people living in Northern Ireland. In addition, on its territory, immigrants from Scotland and the British. All three groups are hostile to each other, and the authorities, albeit unofficially, encourage this split.
Ireland has its own parliament.
The main religion of the people is Catholicism. The family was patriarchal. This trend is especially observed in rural areas.
The symbol of Northern Ireland is the shamrock.
Ulster
Ulsterians live in Northern Ireland. Despite the fact that they are descended from the English and the Scots, they do not consider themselves to be either one or the other. Relations between the Ulsters and the Irish were of a formal nature, mixed marriages were more the exception than the rule. These peoples of Great Britain, despite living on the same territory, developed independently, the enmity between them was no exception. The last time it aggravated occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, when the Irish again began the struggle for independence from the English throne, and the Ulsters did not support it, choosing an alliance with Great Britain.
Bigpart of the believers are Protestants, in contrast to the Irish Catholics.
Gales
The Gaels live in the north of Scotland in the highlands. They speak the ancient Gaelic (Celtic) language, but according to the latest data, it will soon be superseded by English and Anglo-Scots. The English call the Gaels Highlanders (Highlanders). This is a very poor people, today many Gaels are moving from the highlands to Scotland.
Most Gaels are Catholic.
Migrants
The peoples of Great Britain are not only the British, Scots, Welsh and Irish, but also other peoples, which are less in the country than the main ones. Most of them are migrants from Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean, Eastern and Central Europe, the total number of which is 3 million people. For migrants, Great Britain, peoples and their occupations are interesting not so much from a cultural point of view, but from an economic one, as many leave their homeland in search of a better life. According to the United Nations, the UK ranks 5th in terms of the number of migrants after the US, Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia. So, what peoples inhabit the UK from among the migrants?
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2014 alone, about 90 thousand Chinese came to the country for long-term residence. The second largest (about 86 thousand) are Indians. Citizens of the United States occupy the third place - approximately 36 thousand people. About 21,000 Australians also changed their place of residence to Britishislands. They are followed by immigrants from Saudi Arabia - about 18 thousand people. Approximately as many people are people with Pakistani citizenship. Seventh on the list are Nigerians - their number does not exceed 17 thousand people. Slightly fewer migrants are Russians (15,000), Turks (13,000) and Filipinos (12,000).
Classes
According to the above-mentioned 2011 census, most of the English working-age population is employed in such areas as industry, trade and services. In smaller numbers you can meet the British in the field of agriculture.
The main activity of the Scots is the service sector and industry, to a lesser extent - sheep breeding.
Most of the Welsh live in rural areas, so their main activity is agriculture. The situation is somewhat different in South Wales, where, thanks to the mines that have survived in the south, the population is also involved in coal mining.
Most of the Irish live in rural areas and are engaged in animal husbandry.
The sphere of employment of migrants, like the indigenous population, is very different. African Americans, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Indians and Filipinos are employed in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs. As for the rest of the migrants, they are representatives of business and intellectual labor.
It is worth mentioning the spiritual life of migrants. As noted above, the vast majority of the population are members of the Anglican Church. What other religions doesUnited Kingdom? The peoples inhabiting the country have the opportunity to profess religions other than the official one - Islam, Buddhism, Judaism.
Conclusion
Thus, we can say that the peoples inhabiting the UK are not only the indigenous population, but also a large number of migrants who influence its culture and history.
