UK travel guide

But losing the American Revolutionary War marked a turning point, as Britain, with the British East India Company leading the way, pivoted towards Asia and later Africa. A new British Empire was on the horizon, and it reached the height of its powers during the reign of Queen Victoria, who took the throne in 1837. By now, Britain ruled the waves – and soon a good proportion of the world, including India, much of Asia, parts of Africa, Canada and Australia. Victoria’s reign was for the most part peaceful and prosperous… for the British at least. Empire and colonialism came soaked in blood, with any rebellions forcefully suppressed. It’s a legacy that the UK is still grappling with today.

In the late 19th century, the United Kingdom took control of the Suez Canal in Egypt, a major link in the Silk Road prompting vast growth in trade between Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The empire was strong and secure. Then in 1914 came World War I, a bloody conflict that saw Britain introduce conscription. Victory left a country weakened and battle-scarred, and was followed in 1916 by the Easter Rising, a violent precursor to Irish independence. In 1921 the island was divided into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, which remained part of the UK.

World War II, in which the UK played a leading role against the fascist Nazi Germany, was a hard-fought victory and came at great cost. India finally gained its independence, controversially partitioned into India and Pakistan, and with the loss of what it considered its greatest jewel, the sun finally began to set on the British Empire. Weakened by the cost of war, the UK joined NATO and entered into a ‘special relationship’ with the USA. It’s a relationship that endures today, though how special it actually is does rather depend on who you ask, and who’s in charge.

By the time of the Suez debacle in 1956, when the UK joined Israel and France on an ill-fated invasion of Egypt, the UK’s global stature was slipping. Wealth dwindling, it gave independence back to most of its remaining colonies, many of which went on to form the Commonwealth and have near-total autonomy.

Then in the 1960s, the Troubles began in Northern Ireland, between Unionists (usually Protestant) who wanted to stay a part of the UK and Irish Nationalists (predominantly Catholic) who wanted to join the rest of Ireland in independence. The conflict spread to the rest of the UK, and thousands of civilians had died by the time the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998, bringing an end to hostilities.

The UK had joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1976, which became a part of the European Union (EU) in 1993. Ever-greater concentration of political power in the European Parliament, perceived by many as unaccountable, rankled with some in the UK. That hostility would bubble away consistently for years, fuelled by exaggerations (bendy bananas) and outright untruths among some media and politicians. Finally, a referendum was held in 2016 to decide the matter once and for all.

The ‘Leavers’ won the referendum by a margin of less than four percent, and a previously divided country now came together in a great spirit of reconciliation to help make ‘Brexit’ a resounding success. Or something like that, anyway. One sticking point was that because the Irish Republic is a member of the EU, and as the UK had (apparently) voted to leave the European Single Market as well, a new hard border was required. The implementation of that border is threatening the shaky peace in Northern Ireland, with Unionists saying they are being treated differently to the rest of the UK.

Today the UK feels less united than ever before. Brexit has prompted growing calls for a second Scottish independence referendum, as well as murmurs about independence in Wales. The next few decades could prove decisive for the UK. Will it forge a new path, recreating its buccaneering past freed from the shackles of the EU? Or will it turn in on itself, become ever more divided and lose ever more relevance on the world stage?