- [Voiceover] An island nation, Britain has long been
an iconoclast among European nations.
In fact, in many ways Britain
is hardly a European nation at all,
having more in common culturally with countries
like Australia, Canada, and even the United States.
Given this status and with a history unlike that
of most of Europe, there was just no way
we could get away with not bringing you
the 10 things you didn't know about Britain.
Everyone has heard of London.
It's one of the great cities of the world.
And if you've never been there,
you probably have a certain picture of what it's like.
You know, sophisticated Englishmen sipping tea
and savvy Cockney-speaking taxi drivers.
But the truth is London is incredibly diverse
composed of people from all over the world,
many of them not even English.
In fact, there's been a phenomenon called "white flight"
which has been ongoing for years.
This describes the departure of traditional white Britains
from London to suburban areas and places outside of London
because they feel alienated by what they perceive
to be an increasingly foreign population.
In 2013, experts actually measured the effects
and came to the striking conclusion
that only 45% of London is white British
versus 58% in 2001,
and this trend is likely to continue unabated.
The United Kingdom is one of the most Eurosceptical
countries in Europe.
Britain has often been called the "awkward partner"
in the EU, and countless polls and surveys have shown this.
And with the Brexit referendum coming up
this shouldn't surprise anyone.
But the real question is why this is the case.
The United Kingdom has had a history of going its own way,
from the creation of the Church of England
to its truly unique style of governance,
and culturally it has more in common
with other English-speaking countries.
This special relationship with other countries,
in particular, the United States and Australia,
is often cited by British Eurosceptics as a reason to leave
and establish its own rules
with which to deal and trade with them.
But perhaps the essence of British opposition to the EU
lies in its parliamentarian history
and respect for order and the rule of law
and the participation of the public,
which goes back as far as the Magna Carta in 1215,
as the EU has shown itself to be greatly undemocratic
allowing unelected officials to create laws for any country
but without any public input.
Most people have heard of Wales,
which is part of the United Kingdom bordering the Irish Sea.
But many people don't know that the Welsh
are actually the descendants of the ancient Britons
who were present after the last Roman legion had departed
and who had been in Britain centuries before Caesar
first landed his ships in 55 BCE.
Some people even know that the ancient Britons
invited over the infamous Anglo-Saxons and Jutes
to aid them in conflicts with the fierce Picts
in exchange for a promise of land,
which was followed by betrayal, conquest,
and destruction at the hands of the people
who would later become the English.
But most people don't know that the name Wales
and the term Welsh are the final insult added to injury
given to the Welsh people by the English.
The name Welsh is derived from the old English word "wealh"
meaning "foreigner" and sometimes "slave",
which means in modern English
Wales literally is the land of the slaves.
This word can also be recognized in the German word
"Kauderwelsch", which means "gibberish",
originally a reference to words
spoken by non-Germanic foreigners.
King Arthur is a legend around the world.
When you think of a legend, you tend to think
of a shiny knight and the magical sword Excalibur
fighting evil.
But most people do not know that King Arthur
was probably based on a real person.
Writing in the 6th century CE, the British monk Gildas
describes the battle of Mount Badon
where Roman descendant war leader
named Ambrosius Aurelianus
defeated the opposing Anglo-Saxon force in a great victory.
That might have been the historical Arthur,
but the real legend began when the Welsh cleric
Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the Historia Regum Britanniae,
or the History of the Kings of Britain, in the 12th century.
Considered a literary work of national myth
rather than an actual history,
it features cryptic prophecies by the wizard Merlin
implying the messianic return of King Arthur,
the so-called once and future king
who will rise to redeem the true British.
And who knows, maybe Arthur will come back one day
to liberate the British people.
But for now, David Cameron probably isn't going anywhere
anytime soon.
Britain is a First World European nation,
yet it's also a nation with the youngest parents.
Everyone knows about the phenomenon of teenage pregnancy,
but the United Kingdom is breaking records
in this exciting new field all the time.
The title of an article from 2015 reads:
"Britain's youngest mum who became pregnant
"when she was just 11 was back at school
"within six weeks and is getting top marks."
Her mother, the proud grandmother, was just 28 at the time.
Another story reads: "Killer convict
"to become Britain's youngest grandad aged just 27."
The British government has made various attempts
to limit the number of teen pregnancies
but with little success.
So it's unlikely that this trend will stop anytime soon,
but you know what they say, kids just want to have fun.
The laws of motion.
You all know them and who discovered them.
Isaac Newton.
Regarded either as the developer or co-developer of calculus
alongside the German Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz,
no one can deny the Englishman's genius
and scientific contributions.
Without Isaac Newton it's quite possible
many aspects of modern technology and civilization
would ultimately not exist,
such as flight and computer technology.
But Newton wasn't just a scientist.
In fact, he was a little bit mad in the head, as well.
A fanatical student of the occult
and a literalist believer in the Bible,
Newton spent many an hour in candlelight
interpreting Biblical prophecy and its impact on the world,
as well as practicing the pseudoscience of alchemy.
Scripture was more important to Newton than science
and he saw the physical world he studied
as a reflection of God's design.
This is not exactly the most rational view,
but you don't get to be famous without your course.
Puritan Englishman Oliver Cromwell is a name
that surely rings the bell.
Catholic cleanser, military dictator,
and unstoppable zealot, he is best known
for his responsibility for the English Civil War
that was born of his opposition to the English crown,
then Charles the First, as a staunch parlametarian.
But many people don't know that the Englishman
had just as much impact in Ireland,
if not more so than in England.
In fact, even to this day Oliver Cromwell
is the national villain of Ireland.
Cromwell's legacy in Ireland is that of terror,
oppression, murder, and destruction.
After the Irish Catholic Confederation
had taken control of Ireland, Cromwell launched a crusade
against Ireland characterized by unmatched ferocity.
Not even civilians were spared as Cromwell marched
ever onwards in massacre after massacre.
In a short time Cromwell had managed
to conquer all of Ireland merging it into the Commonwealth
of England, Scotland and Ireland, which led
to the desctruction of the Irish Catholic land-owning class
replaced by Puritan Englishmen
loyal to Cromwell's cause.
The brutality of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
is still remembered to this day
and has often stoke the fires of Irish nationalism
against English influence and imperialism.
Although most people can only think of blood pudding
and fish and chips when they think of British food,
the United Kingdom is home to a surprising number of sweets.
Ranging from confectionery to pastries,
from jelly babies to Pontefract Cakes and flapjacks,
the UK's food isn't just the bland stuff
you may think you know,
and in fact, offers a wide range of foods
to please the sweet tooth.
Maybe you've heard of haggis,
which is a famous national Scottish dish.
But you might not want to know what it's made of.
Haggis is typically made of sheep heart, liver, and lungs
minced with onion and spices wrapped in the animal stomach.
Suffice to say, haggis has an acquired taste.
But the really is that the food stands from a time
of the Scottish highlands when there were limited resources
and the highlanders had to make do
with what they could find,
which was sheep in great abundance.
Today, haggis has a national standing,
but it's a little odd when you consider its humble origins.
The ownership of England has changed hence many times.
But what most people don't know
is that half of England was occupied by Denmark
of all countries for two hundred years.
This area called the Danelaw, which is to say
where the Danes had legal jurisdiction,
was the culmination of many forays into England
on the part of the vikings starting the late 8th century,
which later resulted in a full-on conflict
between the English and the Danish,
which lasted until finally establishing a piece settlement.
Many English cities and settlements
actually have viking names as a result.
Places such as York, Derby, Whitby, and many more.
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