The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707, when England, Scotland, and Wales were united by the Act of Union.
But the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was not formed until 1801.
In 1945, 24 years after most of Ireland had won its independence, Great Britain’s official name became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The the five longest rivers are: 1. Nile, Africa 2. Amazon, South America 3. Mississippi, Missouri, United States 4. Yangtze, China 5. Ob, Irtysh, USSR
In the traditional list, there are seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. However, Europe and Asia are sometimes considered a single continent, Eurasia, making only six. Asia is the largest continent, comprising about 17 million square miles. Australia is the smallest, comprising only about 3 million square miles.
The United Arab Emirates are a federation of seven Arab states on the Persian Gulf: Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Qaiwain. Independent since 1971, they should be distinguished from the United Arab Republic, which was formed when Egypt and Syria united in 1958. Syria seceded from the union in 1961,…
Luxembourg is a tiny country, also known as a Grand Duchy since 1815. It covers 998 square miles, an area slightly smaller than Rhode Island. Its 1980 population was about 350,000. Luxembourg is sandwiched between Belgium, France, and West Germany.
The Antilles, the islands of this chain of Caribbean islands are divided into two groups, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The islands of the Greater Antilles are: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico. Those of the Lesser Antilles are: the Virgin Islands, the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands,…
In 1535, the sight of what is now Baja California in Mexico evoked for Spanish conquistador Hernin Cortes an imaginary island and its female black ruler, Calafia, in a popular Spanish novel. In September 1542, when Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo stepped onshore from San Diego Bay, the entire Pacific coast had been named California.