Patricia Alonzo; Lecture 1-18-10

The purpose of today’s lecture was to give a little bit of history and basic information about the United Kingdom. Formally known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland it consists of Scotland, Wales, England, and North Ireland. The lecturer, professor Bob Craig, went through the history of the United Kingdom as a whole and each country separately.

Twelve to fourteen thousand years ago Great Britain was actually not and Island but a part of Europe. Today Scotland, with about 10% of the population and 33% of the landmass, is almost completely independent. England, which makes up the highest population of the United Kingdom, is known for warm beer, standing in line, the monarchy, and living it the past. Wales, which has two languages; Welsh and English, is split in two; North Wales and South Wales. North Ireland the only country not on the island of Great Britain has two clashing religious views, Catholic and Protestant.

I think it was very interesting how professor Craig did his whole lecture centered on the question of how united the United Kingdom really is. The culture differences between countries are huge, and something that always made me wonder how the United Kingdom makes it work. The fact that the majority of British people feel more connected to their own individual countries, Scotland, Wales, England, and North Ireland, instead of the United Kingdom should be a very concerning subject for government.

I liked this lecture because as a criminal justice and political science major I am very interested in government and history. I was able to relate the situation of the United Kingdom and its countries to federal government and state government in America. For example the federal government did not take any action when California approved medical marijuana. It would be interesting to see what the United Kingdom would do if one of the countries approved something that the United Kingdom has not.