Lachenburg
05-05-2006, 02:11
The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland
United Kingdom - Great Britain
Foreign Ministry Press Release 1895
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/g/gb.gif
Flag Information: The British Flag or "Union Jack" was intially adopted as the official flag of the British state in 1801. The flag itself consists of two major features (St. George's Cross, St. Andrews Cross) along with the colors of both Scotland and England, symbolizing the union between them.
Country Name:
Official Long Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Official Short Name: United Kingdom or Great Britain.
Abbreviation: UK
Total Population (1891): 383,661,200
Great Britain: 33,400,200
Australia: 3,151,500
India: 282,801,000
Canada: 5,026,000
Cape Colony: 4,885,000
Egypt: 9,462,000
Sudan: 5,588,500
Uganda: 3,747,200
Kenya: 1,159,000
Malawi: 624,000
Rhodesia: 692,000
Beauchauland: 96,000
Aden: 2,372,000
Oman: 199,000
Trucial States: 133,000
Malay States: 3,175,000
Singapore: 200,000
Hong Kong: 797,000
Nepal: 3,599,000
Burma: 4,258,000
Bahamas: 67,000
British Minor Carribean Possessions: 84,000
British Honduras: 31,000
Guyana: 280,000
Borneo [Partial]: 8,000,000
Bhutan: 250,000
Cyprus: 221,800
Ceylon: 3,235,000
Nigeria: 15,589,000
Historical Overview: Great Britain, created in 1707 by the Act of the Union between England and Scotland, has remained the dominant power of the world for the past 120 years. With the largest naval force in the world and a vibrant industrial backbone, the British Empire has grown to encompass nearly 25% of the world and more than 300 million subjects. However, with the rise of other industrial powers in Europe and North America, total British dominance may soon be at an end.
Government & Politics:
The United Kingdom is a parlimentary monarchy, with executive power exercised by the Queen. Meanwhile, the cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors).
Currently, the monarch is Head of State. In recent times, the Prime Minister and his cabinet (which first emerged under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Walpole in the previous century) have taken the role of Head of Government, a role tradtionally reserved for the monarch as well. The government is answerable chiefly to the House of Lord or House of Commons and the Prime Minister is drawn from the latter chamber of Parliament by convention. The majority of cabinet members will be from the House of Commons, the rest from the House of Lords.
Executive Branch:
In the United Kingdom the monarch has extensive powers, but his or her role has become increasingly ceremonial in past years. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the "Crown-in-Parliament") and gives Parliament the power to meet and create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the King/Queen (known as Royal Assent), although no monarch has refused assent to a bill that has been approved by Parliament since Queen Anne in 1708).
Legislative Branch:
Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. It is bicameral, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two houses. The House of Commons houses 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members (though this number is not fixed), constituted of hereditary peers, life peers, and bishops of the Church of England.
Type of Government: Parlimentary Monarchy
Seat of Power: London
Head of State: Her Majesty, Victora, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britons, Empress of India.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. [Liberal Coalition]
Foreign Policy & The Empire of 1895:
The current policies and ideologies of European colonial expansion exsisting since the 1870's are often characterised as the "New Imperialism". The period is distinguished by an unprecedented pursuit of what has been termed "empire for empire's sake", aggressive competition for overseas territorial acquisitions and the emergence in colonising countries of doctrines of racial superiority which denied the fitness of subjugated peoples for self-government.
British colonial policy was and is always driven to a large extent by Britain's trading interests. While settler economies develop the infrastructure to support balanced development, some tropical African territories find themselves developed only as raw-material suppliers. British policies based on comparative advantage leave many developing economies dangerously reliant on a single cash crop, with others export to Britain or to overseas British settlements. In recent years, this policy of economic expansion has been accelerated due to the breakdown of the Pax Brittanica and the rise of the industrialized powerhouses in the United States and Germany.
In terms of normal foreign policy, the British Government, in order to allow itself to maintain such a far-flung empire, seeks continued domination of the seas as an attempt to maintain continued strategic superiority against other Imperial powers. Such a policy has lead to continuous friction with the German Reich and its Kaiser's ambitious naval programs, along with Russia who now seeks to challenge British hegemony in Central Asia.
The following listed are the colonies, countries and protectorates of the British Empire of 1895, under the reign of Queen Victoria.
I. Europe
Great Britain
Ireland
Gibraltar
Malta
Cyprus
Channel Islands
Shetland Islands
Isle of Man
II. Africa
Basutoland
Bechuanaland
British Central Africa
British East Africa
British Somaliland
Cape Colony
Egypt
Gambia
Gold Coast
Kenya
Nigeria
Nyasaland
Rhodesia
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Tanganyika
IV. Americas
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
British Guiana
British Honduras
Canada
Dominica
Grenada
Jamaica
Mauritius
Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
III. Asia
Aden
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei
Burma
Ceylon
Hong Kong
India
Liu Kung Tau
Malaya
Maldives
Oman
Singapore
Trucial States
IV. Oceania
Australia
Cook Islands
New Zealand
Solomon Islands
Windward Islands
Economic History & Statistics:
Overview:
The Industrial Revolution saw a rapid transformation in the British economy and society. Previously large industries had to be near forests or rivers for power. The use of coal-fuelled engines allowed them to be placed in large urban centres. These new factories proved far more efficient at producing goods than the cottage industry of a previous era. These manufactured goods were sold around the world, and raw materials and luxury goods were imported to Britain.
During the First Industrial Revolution, the industrialist replaced the merchant as the dominant figure in the capitalist system. In the latter decades of the nineteenth century, when the ultimate control and direction of large industry came into the hands of financiers, industrial capitalism gave way to financial capitalism and the corporation. The establishment of behemoth industrial empires, whose assets were controlled and managed by men divorced from production, was a dominant feature of this third phase.
New products and services were also introduced which greatly increased international trade. Improvements in steam engine design and the wide availability of cheap steel meant that slow, sailing ships could be replaced with steamships, such as Brunel's SS Great Western. Electricity and chemical industries also moved to the forefront. In many of these sectors Britain had far less of an edge than other powers such as Germany and the United States, who both rose to equal and even surpass Britain in economic heft.
Long-term economic trends led Britain, and to a lesser extent, other industrialising nations such as the United States and Germany, to be more receptive to the desires of prospective overseas investment. Through their investments in industry, banks were able to exert a great deal of control over the British economy and politics. Cut-throat competition in the mid-1800s caused the creation of super corportations and conglomerates. Many companies borrowed heavily to achieve the vast sums of money required to takeover their rivals, resulting in a new capitalist stage of development.
By the beginning of the 1890's, the one invincible Economic Lion that was Britain had degraded tremendously. With the rise of industrial capitalism in Germany, North America, and Japan, its finished goods no longer had a comparative or absolute advantage in any other market. Industrialization progressed dynamically in Germany and the United States especially, allowing them to clearly prevail over the "old" French and English capitalisms. The "neo-mercantilist" practices of newly industrializing states such as Germany, the United States, and Japan cut Britain off from outlets and even created competition for Britain in sales to these 'peripheral' areas.
Now the British Empire, although still the reigning superpower of the world, struggles to keep a hold of itself as the 19th Century comes to an end.
Statistics:
Official Currency: Pound-Sterling (£) [Gold Standard]
Primary Exports: machine tools, electric power equipment, industrial equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods.
Primary Imports: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs, exotic items.
[More to Come...]
United Kingdom - Great Britain
Foreign Ministry Press Release 1895
http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/images/g/gb.gif
Flag Information: The British Flag or "Union Jack" was intially adopted as the official flag of the British state in 1801. The flag itself consists of two major features (St. George's Cross, St. Andrews Cross) along with the colors of both Scotland and England, symbolizing the union between them.
Country Name:
Official Long Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Official Short Name: United Kingdom or Great Britain.
Abbreviation: UK
Total Population (1891): 383,661,200
Great Britain: 33,400,200
Australia: 3,151,500
India: 282,801,000
Canada: 5,026,000
Cape Colony: 4,885,000
Egypt: 9,462,000
Sudan: 5,588,500
Uganda: 3,747,200
Kenya: 1,159,000
Malawi: 624,000
Rhodesia: 692,000
Beauchauland: 96,000
Aden: 2,372,000
Oman: 199,000
Trucial States: 133,000
Malay States: 3,175,000
Singapore: 200,000
Hong Kong: 797,000
Nepal: 3,599,000
Burma: 4,258,000
Bahamas: 67,000
British Minor Carribean Possessions: 84,000
British Honduras: 31,000
Guyana: 280,000
Borneo [Partial]: 8,000,000
Bhutan: 250,000
Cyprus: 221,800
Ceylon: 3,235,000
Nigeria: 15,589,000
Historical Overview: Great Britain, created in 1707 by the Act of the Union between England and Scotland, has remained the dominant power of the world for the past 120 years. With the largest naval force in the world and a vibrant industrial backbone, the British Empire has grown to encompass nearly 25% of the world and more than 300 million subjects. However, with the rise of other industrial powers in Europe and North America, total British dominance may soon be at an end.
Government & Politics:
The United Kingdom is a parlimentary monarchy, with executive power exercised by the Queen. Meanwhile, the cabinet, including the Prime Minister, and other ministers collectively make up Her Majesty's Government. These ministers are drawn from and are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be "supreme" (that is, able to legislate on any matter and not bound by decisions of its predecessors).
Currently, the monarch is Head of State. In recent times, the Prime Minister and his cabinet (which first emerged under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Walpole in the previous century) have taken the role of Head of Government, a role tradtionally reserved for the monarch as well. The government is answerable chiefly to the House of Lord or House of Commons and the Prime Minister is drawn from the latter chamber of Parliament by convention. The majority of cabinet members will be from the House of Commons, the rest from the House of Lords.
Executive Branch:
In the United Kingdom the monarch has extensive powers, but his or her role has become increasingly ceremonial in past years. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the "Crown-in-Parliament") and gives Parliament the power to meet and create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the King/Queen (known as Royal Assent), although no monarch has refused assent to a bill that has been approved by Parliament since Queen Anne in 1708).
Legislative Branch:
Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. It is bicameral, composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is the more powerful of the two houses. The House of Commons houses 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members (though this number is not fixed), constituted of hereditary peers, life peers, and bishops of the Church of England.
Type of Government: Parlimentary Monarchy
Seat of Power: London
Head of State: Her Majesty, Victora, by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britons, Empress of India.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. [Liberal Coalition]
Foreign Policy & The Empire of 1895:
The current policies and ideologies of European colonial expansion exsisting since the 1870's are often characterised as the "New Imperialism". The period is distinguished by an unprecedented pursuit of what has been termed "empire for empire's sake", aggressive competition for overseas territorial acquisitions and the emergence in colonising countries of doctrines of racial superiority which denied the fitness of subjugated peoples for self-government.
British colonial policy was and is always driven to a large extent by Britain's trading interests. While settler economies develop the infrastructure to support balanced development, some tropical African territories find themselves developed only as raw-material suppliers. British policies based on comparative advantage leave many developing economies dangerously reliant on a single cash crop, with others export to Britain or to overseas British settlements. In recent years, this policy of economic expansion has been accelerated due to the breakdown of the Pax Brittanica and the rise of the industrialized powerhouses in the United States and Germany.
In terms of normal foreign policy, the British Government, in order to allow itself to maintain such a far-flung empire, seeks continued domination of the seas as an attempt to maintain continued strategic superiority against other Imperial powers. Such a policy has lead to continuous friction with the German Reich and its Kaiser's ambitious naval programs, along with Russia who now seeks to challenge British hegemony in Central Asia.
The following listed are the colonies, countries and protectorates of the British Empire of 1895, under the reign of Queen Victoria.
I. Europe
Great Britain
Ireland
Gibraltar
Malta
Cyprus
Channel Islands
Shetland Islands
Isle of Man
II. Africa
Basutoland
Bechuanaland
British Central Africa
British East Africa
British Somaliland
Cape Colony
Egypt
Gambia
Gold Coast
Kenya
Nigeria
Nyasaland
Rhodesia
Sierra Leone
Sudan
Tanganyika
IV. Americas
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
British Guiana
British Honduras
Canada
Dominica
Grenada
Jamaica
Mauritius
Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
III. Asia
Aden
British Indian Ocean Territory
Brunei
Burma
Ceylon
Hong Kong
India
Liu Kung Tau
Malaya
Maldives
Oman
Singapore
Trucial States
IV. Oceania
Australia
Cook Islands
New Zealand
Solomon Islands
Windward Islands
Economic History & Statistics:
Overview:
The Industrial Revolution saw a rapid transformation in the British economy and society. Previously large industries had to be near forests or rivers for power. The use of coal-fuelled engines allowed them to be placed in large urban centres. These new factories proved far more efficient at producing goods than the cottage industry of a previous era. These manufactured goods were sold around the world, and raw materials and luxury goods were imported to Britain.
During the First Industrial Revolution, the industrialist replaced the merchant as the dominant figure in the capitalist system. In the latter decades of the nineteenth century, when the ultimate control and direction of large industry came into the hands of financiers, industrial capitalism gave way to financial capitalism and the corporation. The establishment of behemoth industrial empires, whose assets were controlled and managed by men divorced from production, was a dominant feature of this third phase.
New products and services were also introduced which greatly increased international trade. Improvements in steam engine design and the wide availability of cheap steel meant that slow, sailing ships could be replaced with steamships, such as Brunel's SS Great Western. Electricity and chemical industries also moved to the forefront. In many of these sectors Britain had far less of an edge than other powers such as Germany and the United States, who both rose to equal and even surpass Britain in economic heft.
Long-term economic trends led Britain, and to a lesser extent, other industrialising nations such as the United States and Germany, to be more receptive to the desires of prospective overseas investment. Through their investments in industry, banks were able to exert a great deal of control over the British economy and politics. Cut-throat competition in the mid-1800s caused the creation of super corportations and conglomerates. Many companies borrowed heavily to achieve the vast sums of money required to takeover their rivals, resulting in a new capitalist stage of development.
By the beginning of the 1890's, the one invincible Economic Lion that was Britain had degraded tremendously. With the rise of industrial capitalism in Germany, North America, and Japan, its finished goods no longer had a comparative or absolute advantage in any other market. Industrialization progressed dynamically in Germany and the United States especially, allowing them to clearly prevail over the "old" French and English capitalisms. The "neo-mercantilist" practices of newly industrializing states such as Germany, the United States, and Japan cut Britain off from outlets and even created competition for Britain in sales to these 'peripheral' areas.
Now the British Empire, although still the reigning superpower of the world, struggles to keep a hold of itself as the 19th Century comes to an end.
Statistics:
Official Currency: Pound-Sterling (£) [Gold Standard]
Primary Exports: machine tools, electric power equipment, industrial equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods.
Primary Imports: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs, exotic items.
[More to Come...]