What are the British Isles called?

What are the British Isles called?

British Isles, group of islands off the northwestern coast of Europe. The group consists of two main islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and numerous smaller islands and island groups, including the Hebrides, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Man.

How did the British Isles come to be known as England?

In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Romans maintained control of their province of Britannia until the early 5th century. The end of Roman rule in Britain facilitated the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, which historians often regard as the origin of England and of the English people.

What is the sea that lies between the British Isles and Scandinavia?

North Sea, shallow, northeastern arm of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the British Isles and the mainland of northwestern Europe and covering an area of 220,000 square miles (570,000 square km).

What was the British Isles called before?

Albion, the earliest-known name for the island of Britain. It was used by ancient Greek geographers from the 4th century bc and even earlier, who distinguished “Albion” from Ierne (Ireland) and from smaller members of the British Isles. The Greeks and Romans probably received the name from the Gauls or the Celts.

Which sea separates Europe from Africa?

Mediterranean Sea
iss062e005579 (Feb. 11, 2020) — The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain on the European continent from Morocco on the African continent.

When did the Scandinavians invade the British Isles?

This was a qualitative change which was to have lasting consequences for the peoples of the British Isles. From this point onwards the Scandinavians are known as Vikings, a term deriving either from Frisian wic ‘settlement’ or Old Norse vik ‘bay’. The earliest attacks were on Lindisfarne and Jarrow in 793-4.

Are there two sovereign states in the British Isles?

There are two sovereign states in the isles: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Ireland, sometimes called the Republic of Ireland, governs five sixths of the island of Ireland, with the remainder of the island forming Northern Ireland.

Where are the British Isles located in the world?

The British Isles are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe that consist of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and over six thousand smaller isles.

When did the Romans colonize the British Isles?

Hiberni (Ireland), Pictish (northern Britain) and Britons (southern Britain) tribes, all speaking Insular Celtic, inhabited the islands at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Much of Brittonic-occupied Britain was conquered by the Roman Empire from AD 43.