The

culture of the United Kingdom The culture of the United Kingdom is influenced by its History of the United Kingdom, combined nations' history, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the individual diverse cultures of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and ...

has been shaped throughout history by the various groups of the British Isles and influences from continental Europe, with the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and modern globalisation resulting in mixture with other cultures in recent centuries.

Ancient era

Throughout its history, the culture of Great Britain has primarily consisted of the separate native traditions of England, Scotland and Wales. With regard to cultural influences, prior to the expansion of the British Empire, the island had been most notably influenced by French culture (via the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

), Scandinavian culture (via the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

) and

Italian culture The culture of Italy encompasses the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, and customs of the Italian peninsula throughout history. Italy has been a pivotal center of civilisation, playing a crucial role in the development of Western culture. I ...

(via the Romans). The arrival of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

and Germanic tribes influenced Britain's early development. The Celtic peoples introduced unique languages, traditions, and social structures. The ancient

Roman occupation of Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caesa ...

, lasting almost 400 years, also impacted the linguistic and cultural identity of Great Britain. Subsequently, the migrations of Germanic tribes, such as the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

, further influenced the cultural landscape.

Medieval era

Modern era

British Empire

The British Empire played an ever-increasing role in British life from the late 18th century onwards, as the economic impact and travel opportunities of colonialism saw greater British integration into the world. These encounters with the world had a debated impact on the formation of British national identity. British culture dispersed across the world and was absorbed into the colonies in various ways, some of which gradually undermined and eventually helped to disband the empire.

Industrial Revolution

World Wars

Contemporary era

Throughout the imperial era and with the decline of the British Empire after World War II, Britain developed a more diverse cultural landscape through higher levels of immigration. The decline of imperial power also impacted society and culture; for example, cricket, which had been the most popular British sport for centuries and which had become identified with the imperial vision, lost ground to football. After the war ended, a sense of ease returned to society, though quality of life was still somewhat low in the 1950s. Television and Americanisation led to greater cultural fluidity as well as fears of change. The social history of the nation also began to be studied more intensely.

Post-Cold War

Following the

Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

in 1989 and EU enlargement in 2004 and 2007, the UK experienced a significant rise in immigration from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. Today, the UK has a sizable immigrant population, and encompasses the cultures of British people from various backgrounds, with

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, Continental European, African and

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

descent being most prevalent.

References

{{United Kingdom topics *