Топик: Great Britain and Kazakhstan

I Great Britain

1. London

2. Birmingham

3. Liverpool

4. Manchester

II Sights of London

1. Westminster Palace or Houses of Parliament

2. Buckingham Palace

3. Saint James`s Palace

4. National Gallery

5. Hyde Park

III Kazakhstan

1. The new capital

2. The Commercial capital

3. Nuclear zone

4. Space center

5. Caviar capital

6. Jewel of the Caspian Sea

7. The heart of Kazakhstan

I Great Britain

1. London

London is the capital of Great Britain, SE England, on both sides of the Thames River. Greater London (1991 pop. 6,378,600), c.620 sq mi (1,610 sq km), consists of the Corporation of the City of London and the following 32 boroughs: Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark, Lambeth, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea (the inner boroughs); Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Newham, Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Sutton, Merton, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Barnet, Haringey, and Enfield (the outer boroughs). Greater London includes the area of the former county of London, most of the former county of Middlesex, and areas that were formerly in Surrey, Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire. Each of the boroughs of Greater London elects a council. The Corporation of the City (1991 pop. 4,000), 1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), the core of London historically and commercially, elects a lord mayor, aldermen, and councilmen.

Economy

London is one of the world's foremost financial, commercial, industrial, and cultural centers. The Bank of England, Lloyd's, and numerous banks and investment companies have their headquarters there, primarily in the City. It is a center for international finance, especially for large investment houses looking for a strong foothold in the European Community. London is one of the world's greatest ports. It exports manufactured goods and imports petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat. London is also a great manufacturing city. Many London area workers are employed in manufacturing. Clothing, furniture, precision instruments, jewelry, cement, chemicals, and stationery are produced. Engineering and scientific research are also important. London is rich in artistic and cultural activity with numerous theaters, cinemas, museums, galleries, and opera and concert halls. London also has an ethnically and culturally diverse population, with large groups of immigrants from Commonwealth nations.

Points of Interest

The best-known streets of London are Fleet Street, the Strand, Piccadilly, Whitehall, Pall Mall, Downing Street, Lombard Street, and Bond and Regent streets (noted for their shops). Municipal parks include Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and Regent's Park. Besides the British Museum, the art galleries and museums of London include the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery, and the Tate Gallery. The Univ. of London is the largest in Great Britain. The new Lloyd's building was opened in 1986. Among the more recent developments is the Canary Wharf office complex, which is only partially completed.

History

Little is known of London prior to A.D. 61, when, according to the Roman historian Tacitus, the followers of Queen Boadicea rebelled and slaughtered the inhabitants of the Roman fort Londinium. Roman authority was soon restored, and the first city walls were built, remnants of which still exist. After the final withdrawal of the Roman legions in the 5th cent., London was lost in obscurity. Celts, Saxons, and Danes contested the general area, and it was not until 886 that London again emerged as an important town under the firm control of King Alfred, who rebuilt the defenses against the Danes and gave the city a government.

London put up some resistance to William I in 1066, but he subsequently treated the city well. During his reign the White Tower, the nucleus of the Tower of London, was built just east of the city wall. Under the Normans and Plantagenets (see Great Britain), the city grew commercially and politically and during the reign of Richard I (1189–99) obtained a form of municipal government from which the modern City Corporation developed. In 1215, King John granted the city the right to elect a mayor annually.

The guilds of the Middle Ages gained control of civic affairs and grew sufficiently strong to restrict trade to freemen of the city. The guilds survive today in 80 livery companies, of which members were once the voters in London's municipal elections. Medieval London saw the foundation of the Inns of Court and the construction of Westminster Abbey. By the 14th cent. London had become the political capital of England. It played no active role in the Wars of the Roses (15th cent.).

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