ʬ The Kingdom of Great Britain /ɡreɪt ˈbrɪ.tən/ was a sovereign state in north-west Europe that existed from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. The state came into being with the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland. With the Treaty of Union of 1706, ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, it was agreed to create a single, united kingdom, encompassing the island of Great Britain and its minor outlying islands. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm under the newly created British crown. A single parliament and government, based at Westminster, controlled the new kingdom. The former kingdoms had shared the same monarch since James VI, King of Scots, became King of England in 1603 following the death of Queen Elizabeth I, bringing about a "Union of the Crowns". On 1 January 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom, and the state was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be "United into one Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The websites of the UK parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, and others, including the Historical Association, refer to the state created on 1 May 1707 as the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Additionally, the term united kingdom is found in informal use during the 18th century to describe the state. However, the state created by the union of England and Scotland in 1707 is named in the treaty as Great Britain; and is usually referred to by that name or as the Kingdom of Great Britain. Extent The new state created in 1707 included the island of Great Britain, together with the many smaller islands that were part of the kingdoms of England and Scotland. The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man were never part of the kingdom of Great Britain, although by the Isle of Man Purchase Act 1765 the British Crown acquired suzerainty over the island from Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl. Political structure The kingdoms of England and Scotland, both in existence from the 9th century, were separate states until 1707. However, they had come into a personal union in 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded his cousin Elizabeth I as King of England under the name of James I. This Union of the Crowns under the House of Stuart meant that the whole of the island of Great Britain was now ruled by a single monarch, who by virtue of holding the English crown also ruled over the Kingdom of Ireland. Each of the three kingdoms maintained its own parliament and laws (although there was a brief attempted union during the Interregnum in the mid-17th century). This disposition changed dramatically when the Acts of Union 1707 came into force, with a single unified Crown of Great Britain and a single unified parliament. Ireland remained formally separate, with its own parliament, until the Acts of Union 1801. The Treaty of Union provided that succession to the British throne (and that of Ireland) would be in accordance with the English Act of Settlement of 1701; rather than Scotland's Act of Security of 1704, which ceased to have effect. The Act of Settlement required that the heir to the English throne be a descendant of the Electress Sophia of Hanover who was not a "Papist"; this brought about the Hanoverian succession only a few years after the Union. Legislative power was vested in the Parliament of Great Britain, which replaced both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In practice it was a continuation of the English parliament, sitting at the same location in Westminster, expanded to include representation from Scotland. ʬ A Closer Look To The Kingdom of Great Britain YouTubeʬ The Kingdom of Great Britain /ɡreɪt ˈbrɪ.tən/ was a sovereign state in north-west Europe that existed from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. The state came ... ʬ Scotland, Scottish Gaelic: Alba [ˈal̪ˠapə] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ʬ The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America founded between 1607 (Virginia) and 1733 (Georgia). Individual ... ʬ Plantronics is an electronics company producing audio communications equipment for business and consumers. Its products support unified communications, ... ʬ The term Founding Fathers of the United States of America refers broadly to those individuals of the Thirteen British Colonies in North America who led the ...

• published: 15 Aug 2015
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