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 British, 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 descended, and their main occupations.
The British
Modern English are descendants of 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 a census conducted in 2011, approximately 45 million British live in the UK.
The religion professed is Protestantism in the form of Anglicanism. Family life remains patriarchal.
When talking about the British, they primarily remember their restraint in relation to new people, their reluctance to change the old to the new and confidence in their superiority over other nations. Today, such a characteristic is nothing more than a stereotype, since the degree of individuality of the British is not higher than that of any other people on Earth.
Scots
Scots are associated worldwide with bagpipes, kilts and tweed. Today they are the largest of all the peoples inhabiting the UK. The northwest of the island and the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetland Islands adjacent to the coast are their territory of residence. In total, approximately 5 million Scots live in Britain today.
The Scots are in many ways a different people from the British: they have their own language, culture, laws, governing bodies, the school system, currency and the church, despite the fact that they are part of one country. The Scottish struggle for independence from the English throne continues to this day, which is currently being waged by the Scottish National Party within the European community.
The Scots, like other peoples living in the UK, are doing everything possible to preserve their language, which is a mixture of northern dialects of the Anglo-Saxon language, Gallic and Scandinavian languages. The phonetics and vocabulary of Scottish are different from literary English.
The main religion of the Scots is Presbyterianism, but there are 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 true British and are the oldest of all peoples on the British Isles. But quantitatively they are far behind the British and Scots - only 2.8 million people.
The Welsh, as well as the Scots and the Irish, also fight with England for independence - the main tasks of the nationalist party “Play Camry” are the self-government of Wales, the preservation of the original culture and language. By the way, the Welsh people have the oldest language in Europe, and for their preservation they do everything possible - on television and radio broadcasts in their native language, all the inscriptions in Wales are written in Welsh, music festivals are held annually, it is taught in schools, and paperwork in state authorities must be bilingual; knowledge of Welsh is mandatory for teachers and social workers.
Today, according to the latest census data, 1.5 million Welsh people live in the UK, most of whom live in rural areas. The Welsh, like the English, profess Anglicanism. The family lifestyle of the Welsh remained traditional.
The symbol of Wales is the daffodil.
Irish
The ancestors of the Irish are Celts. Today they speak their native language - Gaelic - and take care of their culture and traditions. Many world-famous representatives of English literature were Irish in origin: D. Swift, O. Wilde, DB Show.
Today, there are very few people who consider themselves Irish in the UK - just 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 government, albeit informally, encourages this split.
Ireland has its own parliament.
The main religion of the people is Catholicism. The family preserved the patriarchal system. Especially this trend is observed in rural areas.
The symbol of Northern Ireland is a shamrock.
Ulstercy
The Ulsterians live in Northern Ireland. Despite the fact that they come from the British and Scots, they do not relate to either one or the other. Relations between the Ulsterians and the Irish were formal, mixed marriages were more the exception than the rule. These peoples of Great Britain, despite living on the same territory, developed independently, hostility between them was no exception. The last time its aggravation occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, when the Irish again began the struggle for independence from the English throne, and the Ulster did not support it, choosing an alliance with Great Britain.
Most believers are Protestants, unlike Irish Catholics.
Gels
The Gauls live in the north of Scotland in the mountains. They speak the ancient Gaelic (Celtic) language, but according to recent reports, it will soon be supplanted by English and Anglo-Scottish. The British call the Gauls Highlanders (Highlanders). This is a very poor people, today many Gels migrate from the mountains to Scotland.
Most of the Gels profess Catholicism.
Migrants
The peoples of Great Britain are not only the British, Scots, Welsh and Irish, but also other nations, which are fewer in the country than the main ones. Most of them are migrants from Africa, South Asia, from the Caribbean, from Eastern and Central Europe, the total number of which is 3 million people. For migrants, the UK, peoples and their activities are interesting not so much from a cultural point of view, but from an economic point of view, as many leave their homeland in search of a better life. According to the UN, the UK ranks 5th in terms of the number of migrants after the United States, Germany, Russia and Saudi Arabia. So, what kind of people are migrants in Britain?
According to the National Statistics Office, in 2014 alone, about 90 thousand Chinese came to the country for long-term stays. The second largest (approximately 86 thousand) are Indians. US citizens take third place - about 36 thousand people. About 21 thousand Australians also changed their place of residence to the British Isles. They are followed by immigrants from Saudi Arabia - about 18 thousand people. About as many people are people with Pakistani citizenship. Seventh on the list are Nigerians - their number does not exceed 17 thousand people. Among Russians migrants (15 thousand), Turks (13 thousand) and Filipinos (12 thousand) are a little less.
Classes
According to the 2011 census, the majority of the British from the working population are involved in areas such 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 preserved in the south, the population is also involved in coal mining.
Most Irish live in rural areas and livestock.
The scope of employment of migrants, as well as the indigenous population, is very diverse. African Americans, Pakistanis, Bengalis, Indians and Filipinos are employed in unskilled and semi-skilled jobs. As for the rest of the migrants, these are representatives of business and intellectual labor.
It is worth saying about the spiritual life of migrants. As noted above, the vast majority of the population are parishioners of the Church of England. What other religions does the UK have? The peoples inhabiting the country have the opportunity to profess other religions except the official one - Islam, Buddhism, Judaism.
Output
Thus, it can be said that the peoples living in Great Britain are not only the indigenous population, but also a large number of migrants who influence its culture and history.