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Definition: Great Britain from A Glossary of UK Government and Politics

The largest island of the British Isles. Lying to the northwest of continental Europe, it makes up the larger part of the territory of the United Kingdom (UK). It is the largest island in Europe, the eighth largest in the world. It is surrounded by over 100 smaller islands and islets. The UK Government officially distinguishes between Great Britain and the United Kingdom, but the former term (or more often simply Britain) is widely used as a synonym for the latter.

Great Britain

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 65,397,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. Technically, Great Britain comprises England (1991 pop. 46,382,050), 50,334 sq mi (130,365 sq km); Wales (1991 pop. 2,798,200), 8,016 sq mi (20,761 sq km); and Scotland (1991 pop. 4,957,000), 30,414 sq mi (78,772 sq km) on the island of Great Britain, while the United Kingdom includes Great Britain as well as Northern Ireland (1991 pop. 1,577,836), 5,462 sq mi (14,146 sq km) on the island of Ireland. The Isle of Man (1991 pop. 69,788), 227 sq mi (588 sq km), in the Irish Sea and the Channel Islands (1991 pop. 145,821), 75 sq mi (195 sq km), in the English Channel, are dependencies of the crown, with their own systems of government. For physical geography and local administrative divisions, see England , Wales , Scotland , and Ireland, Northern . The…
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Full text Article Fact Check: do tourists visit Britain because of the royal family? (Mar. 2018)

From The Conversation: An Independent Source of Analysis from Academic Researchers
The royals draw millions of tourists every year. The Daily Mail, November 20, 2017. The Royal family are so important for tourism in London. A spokesperson for VisitBritain, quoted in the International Business Times, November 27, 2017. Regardless of whether you are a royalist or not, the royal…
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Full text Article Fact Check: are there over a million foreigners living illegally in Britain? (Mar. 2018)

From The Conversation: An Independent Source of Analysis from Academic Researchers
There are probably over a million foreigners here illegally at the moment. There’s a large number, so no one could ever remove those really. David Wood, former director general of immigration enforcement, Home Office, speaking to MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee on October 10. Details on the…
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Full text Article Great Britain

From Brewer's Britain and Ireland
A political entity consisting of ENGLAND , SCOTLAND and WALES , which together with NORTHERN IRELAND makes up the UNITED KINGDOM . It came into de facto existence at the beginning of the 17th century, when the crowns of England and Scotland were united under James VI and I ( see below ). From the…
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Full text Article Great Britain

From The Edinburgh International Encyclopaedia of Psychoanalysis
The origins of psychoanalysis in Britain can be traced to a few people, most notably, Jones, the brothers James and Edward Glover, and James Strachey with the help of his wife Alix. In 1916 Jones and Edward Glover were responsible for founding the British Psycho-Analytical Society and setting up its…
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Full text Article Great Britain.

From The Oxford Companion to British History
The geographical term Great Britain was used to distinguish the largest of the British Isles from Brittany, or Little Britain. As early as the reign of Edward IV, when a marriage alliance with the future James IV was in negotiation, the advantages of a union of England and Scotland as Great Britain…
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Full text Article Great Britain

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2015 est. pop. 65,397,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. Technically, Great Britain comprises England (1991 pop. …
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Full text Article GREAT BRITAIN

From Historical Dictionary of International Intelligence
Although Great Britain's various intelligence organizations can be traced back to the Elizabethan era, the modern security and intelligence structure is based on the separation of responsibilities established during World War I, when the Home and Foreign Departments of the Secret Service Bureau…
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Full text Article Great Britain.

From The Oxford Companion to British History
was the second of three highly innovative steamships designed by I. K. *Brunel . It was intended by the Great Western Steamship Company as a sister ship to Brunel's Great Western , which had been launched in Bristol as a wooden-hulled paddle steamer in 1837 and became the first steamship to enter…
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Full text Article GREAT BRITAIN

From International Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family
Many countries have experienced very significant changes in patterns of family formation and family structure. Great Britain is one of the countries where these changes have been particularly marked, with the result that British families have become less stable and more diverse. The roles of women…
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Full text Article Great Britain

From The Christmas Encyclopedia
A Puritan forbids Father Christmas to enter his...
Three countries, England, Scotland, and Wales, comprise the island of Great Britain; with Northern Ireland, they form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For purposes of discussion, however, this entry focuses on the countries of Great Britain alone; Irish customs are detailed…
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