Great Britain
Definition
Great Britain is an island that includes England, Scotland, and Wales. It's also often used to refer to the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland. During its height in 19th century, it was considered a global superpower with vast overseas empire.
Analogy
Think of Great Britain as a popular kid at school who has friends (colonies) all over the place. This kid is influential (a global superpower), sets trends (cultural influence), but also gets into fights (wars).
Related terms
British Empire: An empire composed of various territories around world ruled or administered by UK during late 16th to early 20th centuries.
Industrial Revolution: The transition from manual labor to mechanized production that originated in Great Britain during late 18th century and spread throughout Europe and North America.
Parliamentary Democracy: A political system where government is elected by people's representatives (MPs) through an electoral system; this form of governance originated from UK.
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