Jessica noles

Jessica Noles October 22, 2012 World Civ. 1110-01 Country Comparison Essay England Located in Northwest Europe, England, also known as Great Britain, is one of the most industrialized countries in the world. Although England is one of the most successful countries, it is also one of the smallest in land size. Only containing around 50, 362 square miles, England is about the size of Alabama. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a queen and a parliament that has two houses. For many centuries, the basic unit of English local government was the county or shire, and these remained largely unchanged from the 900s to 1974. The chief official of the shire was the shire reeve or sheriff. When the English immigrated to America, they brought the county system with them. Most of English history took place before science and technology gave us the revolutions in agricultural and industrial production that created the modern world. Throughout the period to 1688, agriculture was extremely bad. The vast majority of the population was involved in food production, and very little surplus was produced. Even minor climatic declines led to famine. As a consequence, populations were very low. The population of England and Wales did not exceed ten million until after the Industrial Revolution. England may be one of the smallest countries but with great power and triumph over the centuries, it has proven to be one of the most culturally influenced areas as well as strong. As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. There has not been a Government of England since 1707, when the Acts of Union 1707, putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union, joined England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Before the union England was ruled by its monarch and the Parliament of England.(Roberts) Today England is governed directly by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, although other countries of the United Kingdom have devolved governments. In the House of Commons which is the lower house of the British Parliament based at the Palace of Westminster, there are 532 Members of Parliament for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total. In the United Kingdom general election, 2010 the Conservative Party had won an absolute majority in England’s 532 contested seats with 61 seats more than all other parties combined. However, taking Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales into account this was not enough to secure an overall majority, resulting in a hung parliament. In order to achieve a majority the Conservative party, headed by David Cameron, entered into a coalition agreement with the third largest party, the Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg. Subsequently the Labor Party leader, Gordon Brown was forced to step down as prime minister and leader of the Labor party, now led by Ed Miliband. Philosophy in Britain has for hundreds of years been distinguished by its empirical approach to philosophical questions. Empirical philosophers accept the evidence of their senses as the only trustworthy source of knowledge. They try to look openly, without preconceived notions, at what is happening before deciding what it means.(Burns) They concern themselves with the ways in which man obtains knowledge and decides how reliable it is. British philosophers in the Middles Ages shared the same concerns as philosophers in other countries of Europe. Scholars who were also priests studied philosophy in universities such as Oxford and Paris.(Burns) Irish monasteries were known throughout Europe as centers of learning. One of the earliest Irish philosophers was Johannes Scotus Erigena. He tried to reconcile Christian doctrines with philosophical ideas based on the teaching of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Since 1900, many philosophers have turned towards realism, the effort to describe what is experienced without preconceived theories or extreme skepticism. Realism is a new kind of empiricism. Its leaders have been George Moore and Bertrand Russell. Russell worked on mathematics and logic with Alfred North Whitehead and went on directly to the analysis of language.(Roberts) Philosophy values have changed and have become different throughout centuries. The history of England has always varied from those surrounding it and has nonetheless proven to be just as powerful. Through past centuries up until this present day, England has seemed to always keep a part of its old traditional values and customs. Having a successful economy and population give England an upper hand at becoming one of the most abundant countries and gives them the control throughout Europe. Holding some of the most famous universities and institutes, England is flourishing with unique country sides and architectural findings. England is truly a country of great importance. Works Cited Roberts, Clayton , David Roberts. A History of England, 1688 to the Present. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: 1980. Print. Burns, William E. Great Britain. New York, NY: 2010. Print.