Great Britain.Population and Economic Activities.

Population. The majority of the population of Great Britain are Englishmen. The modern English language is the descendant of the Anglo-Saxon, the language of the Germanic tribes—the An­gles and Saxons. A large number of French words have also found their way into the language. The ancient inhabitants of Great Bri­tain, the Celts, are still to be found in Northern Ireland Wales and Scotland, but they almost all speak English today
The comparatively small territory of Great Britain (244 000 square kilometres) is very densely populated (53,000,000 people) The average density of population is very high: about 220 persons to the square kilometre. Only the mountainous regions, the Northern Highlands in particular, are sparsely populated (less than 25 per­sons to the square kilometre). In no other country of the world is there such a predominance of urban population over rural. Eighty per cent of the inhabitants live in cities and towns. Great Britain is a country of numerous cities, some of them numbering over a million inhabitants. The greater part of the population is made up of workers and employees. The capitalist exploiters constitute only 4 per cent of the population. This small group of bankers, manu­facturers and merchants rules over the country, however.
In the course of the last few centuries many 'Englishmen have emigrated oversea—to North America and Australia in particular. Today the English language is predominant in those countries Economic Activities. Great Britain is a highly developed capi­talist country. It has accumulated great wealth from the plunder of its colonies and dependencies. Great Britain was the first to use, power-driven machinery, the first to have large factories and plants Great Britain is a great producer of coal and steel. It builds ships and manufactures machinery, chemicals and textiles.
The industries are concentrated mainly in the central part of the country, south of the Pennines. Here coal is mined, and near by there is iron ore, salt and clay. This is the so-called 'Black Country' almost completely covered with factories and mills. The sky is clouded with smoke and soot, which settle to the ground in a layer of dirt. The earth is pitted with mines, and everything around is covered with coal dust. Birmingham is the largest manu­facturing centre in this district and the second largest city in Great Britain (over l,100;000 inhabitants). It is prominent for its high-quality steel, metalware and machinery, e.g., automobiles aircraft and electrotechnical equipment. Side by side with new up-to-date plants stand little backward factories and shops—relics of the past.
On the plains of south-eastern England there are almost no minerals. There is less rain there, more sun, more fertile soil. This part of the country facing Europe is an old commercial and agricul­tural region and is called 'Green England' for its meadows, fields of wheat, barley, oats and other grasses suitable for Fodder. There are many market gardens and or­chards. Factories and plants, however, are also numerous in 'Green Eng­land'.
London (Figs. 61, 62), the capital of Great Britain and the largest city in Europe, is situated on the Thames in this part of the country. It numbers 8.300,000 inhabitants to­gether with its suburbs. The traffic on its main streets is very great: mo­tor-cars, buses, trolley-buses
rush along in an endless stream. The banks and commercial offices are concentrated in the centre of London, called the City. From all parts of London and it"- suburbs, bank and commercial clerks hurry here in the morning. Their work over in the evening, they leave for home and the City remains deserted. There are many parks, theatres, museums, and clubs in London. The rich live in splendid mansions and lead a life of luxury. What a contrast to the dirty streets and tumbledown houses of the poor!
London is the greatest and busiest port in the country. Wharves and storehouses stretch down the banks of the Thames for dozens of kilometres. There are numerous factories and plants on the outskirts of the city.
Great Britain exports motor-cars, aircraft and other machines, as well as electrotechnical apparatus, chemicals, cotton and woollen fabrics. It imports oil and oil-products, ores and metals, timber, cotton, wool, crude rubber and enormous quantities of food-stuffs: grain, meat, butter, tea, etc. With the exception of fish which it exports abroad, Great Britain is unable to meet the demands of its population in food.

Fig. 61. London: Geographical position. The City is shown in the centre of London. Westminster is the site of the government of­fices. In Greenwich is the Greenwich Ob­servatory, the official point from which longitude is reckoned (longitude 0°). Along the Thames are the docks (wharfs).
Great Britain is an old naval and industrial power. In the past it had managed to seize many colonies and military bases in all parts of the world. Today Great Britain together with its dominions and remaining colonies form the British Commonwealth of Nations, or Greater Britain. From its possessions Great Britain receives goods of all kinds at low prices. As a result of the national liberation movement following World War II, many of its former possessions have rid themselves of colonial rule and taken the path of independence (India and many countries of Africa, for example). The colonial empire of Great Britain is in a state of collapse today.

Fig. 62. London: The Thames is seen in the background. In the foreground are the government offices.

Questions and Assignments.
1.  Compare 'Green England' and the 'Black Country' under the headings:

Use the textbook and map (Fig. 61) to describe London.

• Mark on the outline map the cities of Great Britain known to you.
• Locate on the political map the African colonies of Great Bri­tain and its dominions: New Zealand, Canada and the Common wealth of Australia. (A dominion is one of the self-governing coun­tries of the British Commonwealth.)