Effects of the storage conditions on the stability of natural and synthetic cannabis in biological matrices for forensic toxicology analysis: An update from the literature
The United Kingdom Portal
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, a total area of 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2). Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The country had an estimated population of 67,596,281 people in 2022. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is London, whose wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. The cities of Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively.
The lands of the UK have been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic. In AD 43 the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement. In 1066, the Normans conquered England. With the end of the Wars of the Roses the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales, the domination of Scotland, and the establishment of the British Empire. Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War. In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State, and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.
The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the "Pax Britannica" between 1815 and 1914. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history. However, its involvement in the First World War and the Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (Full article...)
Featured article
British anti-invasion preparations of World War II entailed a large scale programme of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The army needed to recover from the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force in France and one and a half million men were enrolled as part-time soldiers in the Home Guard. The rapid construction of field fortifications transformed much of Britain, especially southern England, into a prepared battlefield. Short of heavy weapons and equipment, the British had to make the best use of whatever was available. The German invasion plan, known to English speakers as Operation Sealion, was never taken beyond the preliminary assembly of forces stage. Today, very little remains of Britain's anti-invasion preparations. Only reinforced concrete structures such as pillboxes are common and even these have, until very recently, been unappreciated as historical monuments. (Full article...)
Featured biography
Joseph Priestley was an 18th-century British theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works. He is usually credited with the discovery of oxygen gas, although Carl Wilhelm Scheele and Antoine Lavoisier also have such a claim. During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of soda water, his writings on electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famous being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). However, Priestley's determination to reject what would become the chemical revolution and to cling to phlogiston theory eventually left him isolated within the scientific community. Priestley's science was integral to his theology, and he consistently tried to fuse Enlightenment rationalism with Christian theism. In his metaphysical texts, Priestley attempted to combine theism, materialism, and determinism, a project that has been called "audacious and original". The controversial nature of Priestley's publications combined with his outspoken support of the French Revolution aroused public and governmental suspicion; he was eventually forced to flee to the United States after a mob burned down his home and church in 1791. (Full article...)
General images -
Subportals
WikiProjects
Things you can do
- Visit the British Wikipedians' notice board.
- The noticeboard is the central forum for information and discussion on editing related to the United Kingdom.
- Comment at the British deletion sorting page.
- This page lists deletion discussions on topics relating to the United Kingdom.
Featured pictures
Did you know -
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that Phil Fletcher as Hacker T. Dog caused Lauren Layfield to make the "most famous snort" in the United Kingdom in 2016?
- ... that when Sarah Jane Baker was released after 30 years, she was the United Kingdom's longest serving transgender prisoner?
- ... that Change UK had eleven elected members of Parliament despite never actually winning an election?
- ... that the 1st Armoured Division of the British Army chose a white rhinoceros on a black oval as their insignia?
- ... that before Michael Shanks became Member of Parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, he ran along all of Glasgow's 6,143 streets?
- ... that Graham Fraser pioneered cochlear implantation in the United Kingdom?
In the news
- 3 September 2024 – English Channel migrant crossings
- At least 12 illegal immigrants drown when the people-smugglers' boat they are crossing the English Channel in breaks apart and capsizes. (Sky News)
- 23 August 2024 – 2024 United Kingdom riots
- The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommends that the United Kingdom implement bans and auditing of hate speech, xenophobia, and far-right rhetoric by politicians, in addition to prohibiting the strip-searching of children and addressing the over-policing of schools, following widespread destructive anti-immigration protests exacerbated by remarks made by public figures and politicians. (Reuters) (The Guardian)
- 21 August 2024 – 2023–2024 mpox epidemic
- Several suspected cases of mpox clade 1b are reported in Somerset, England, United Kingdom. (Devon Live)
- 21 August 2024 –
- Four people, including three children, are killed in a house fire in Bradford, England, United Kingdom. Police say that the fire was started deliberately and that a suspect has been arrested under suspicion of murder. (BBC News)
- 19 August 2024 –
- One person is killed and fifteen others are rescued when the United Kingdom-flagged superyacht Bayesian sinks near Palermo, Italy, due to a waterspout. Six others remain missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch. (AP)
- A rocket engine for Rocket Factory Augsburg's launch vehicle RFA One explodes during a test launch at the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, United Kingdom. (BBC News)
Categories
Other UK-connected Wikipedias
Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
-
-
-
-
-
Random portal