United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1801–1922
Flag Royal coat of arms
Anthem "God Save the King/Queen"
Location of  the United Kingdom in 1921  (green) in Europe  (green & grey)
Capital		London 51°30′N 0°7′W / 51.500°N 0.117°W / 51.500; -0.117
Languages		English (official), Scots, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic
Demonym		British, Briton
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Monarch
•	1801–20	George III
•	1820–30	George IV
•	1830–37	William IV
•	1837–1901	Victoria
•	1901–10	Edward VII
•	1910–22	George V
Legislature		Parliament
•	Upper house	House of Lords
•	Lower house	House of Commons
History
•	Acts of Union	1 January 1801
•	Anglo-Irish Treaty	6 December 1921
•	Irish Free State Constitution Act	6 December 1922
•	Titles amended	12 April 1927
Area
•	Total	315,093 km² (121,658 sq mi)
Population
•	1801 est.	16,000,000
Density		50.8 /km²  (131.5 /sq mi)
•	1911 est.	45,370,530
Density		144 /km²  (372.9 /sq mi)
Currency		Pound sterling
Preceded by Succeeded by Great Britain Kingdom of Ireland Irish Free State United Kingdom
Today part of		Republic of Ireland  United Kingdom
a.	^ Monarch of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760.
b.	^ Continued as monarch of the United Kingdom and the Irish Free State until 1936.

in Europe  (green & grey)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was established as a sovereign state on 1 January 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The growing desire for an Irish Republic led to the Irish War of Independence, which resulted in Ireland seceding from the Union and forming the Irish Free State in 1922. Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom, and the state was consequently renamed the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Britain financed the European coalition that defeated France in 1814 in the Napoleonic Wars. The British Empire thereby became the foremost world power for the next century. The Crimean War with Russia and the Boer wars were relatively small operations in a largely peaceful century. Rapid industrialisation that began in the decades prior to the state's formation continued up until the mid-19th century. A devastating famine, exacerbated by government inaction in the mid-19th century, led to demographic collapse in much of Ireland, and increased calls for Irish land reform.

It was an era of rapid economic modernization and growth of industry, trade and finance, in which Britain largely dominated the world economy. Outward migration was heavy to the main colonies and to the United States. Britain also built up a large British Empire in Africa and Asia, which it ruled through a small number of administrators who supervised local elites. India, by far the most important possession, saw a short-lived revolt in 1857. In foreign policy Britain favoured free trade, which enabled its financiers and merchants to operate successfully in many otherwise independent countries, as in South America. Britain formed no permanent military alliances until the early 20th century, when it began to cooperate with Japan, France and Russia, and moved closer to the United States.

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Wikipedia