Knowing you, knowing me
What is a true Brit? The truth is that it's very difficult to tell. We're not a homogenous lot. We've always been a land of diverse peoples. Over thousands of years, different ethnic groups have migrated to, invaded or settled the islands we call home. If you're British, your ancestry has contributed to the complex story of our multicultural identity, whatever your colour, race or religion. It's all part of the Blighty experience.
Early Migration
There are no direct descendants of the Stone Age people who wandered this part of the earth 10,000 years ago. Too many different peoples have arrived since. During the first millennium BC, early Indo-European people known as Celts drifted to the British Isles from continental Europe. The Romans pushed them to Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. After Rome left Britain to its own devices, Angles, Saxons and Vikings all settled in Britain. Then, in 1066, the Normans invaded, adding another strand of DNA to the mix.
Serving Rome
The first Black people to live in Britain were African soldiers serving with the Romans. Jewish people began arriving in Britain after 1066. The first Muslims to settle in Britain were sailors who made ports such as Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow and London their homes in the 18th century. During the first half of the 20th century, many Europeans fled to Britain to escape persecution on the continent. After the Second World War, immigrants from across the Commonwealth arrived in Britain to help rebuild the nation.
Today's Britain
An estimated 8 per cent of the British population (around 4.3 million people) belongs to an ethnic minority, according to the office for National Statistics. Of those, around half describe themselves as Asian or British Asian. About 28 per cent are Black or Black British. Twelve per cent are Mixed and 4 per cent are Chinese. Other ethnicities account for the remaining 6 per cent.
A Nation at Prayer
Christianity is still by far the nation's most observed religion: 71.6 per cent of the population regard themselves as Christians. The next most popular religion is Islam, which is practiced by 2.7 per cent of the population. Hindus make up 1.5 per cent of the population, Sikhs 0.6 per cent, Jews 0.5 per cent and Buddhists 0.3 per cent.
Fusion food
Our culinary tastes reflect our rich cultural heritage. Walk along a city high street and you're embarking on a mouth-watering world tour. We're famous for fish and chips but, typically, this traditionally “British” fare reflects our diverse history. Historians now believe the dish is a 19th-century fusion of a Jewish method of frying fish and the French or Belgian habit of frying chipped potatoes.
Wot, No Gravy?
Our other national favourite, chicken tikka masala, has equally eclectic origins. It's certainly not a traditional part of South Asian cuisine. Urban myth has it that the dish was invented in a Glasgow curry house during the 1960s. A diner complained that his traditionally prepared chicken tikka (spiced, roasted chicken chunks) was too dry. So a bemused chef rustled up an emergency gravy of tomato soup, yoghurt and spices. The result has become the nation's most popular dish. No one knows whether this story is true. But it reveals an essential truth about modern Britain: we are a mixed bunch. And that's what makes Blighty such a great place to be!
There are no direct descendants of the Stone Age people who wandered this part of the earth 10,000 years ago. Too many different peoples have arrived since. During the first millennium BC, early Indo-European people known as Celts drifted to the British Isles from continental Europe. The Romans pushed them to Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. After Rome left Britain to its own devices, Angles, Saxons and Vikings all settled in Britain. Then, in 1066, the Normans invaded, adding another strand of DNA to the mix.
Serving Rome
The first Black people to live in Britain were African soldiers serving with the Romans. Jewish people began arriving in Britain after 1066. The first Muslims to settle in Britain were sailors who made ports such as Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow and London their homes in the 18th century. During the first half of the 20th century, many Europeans fled to Britain to escape persecution on the continent. After the Second World War, immigrants from across the Commonwealth arrived in Britain to help rebuild the nation.
Today's Britain
An estimated 8 per cent of the British population (around 4.3 million people) belongs to an ethnic minority, according to the office for National Statistics. Of those, around half describe themselves as Asian or British Asian. About 28 per cent are Black or Black British. Twelve per cent are Mixed and 4 per cent are Chinese. Other ethnicities account for the remaining 6 per cent.
A Nation at Prayer
Christianity is still by far the nation's most observed religion: 71.6 per cent of the population regard themselves as Christians. The next most popular religion is Islam, which is practiced by 2.7 per cent of the population. Hindus make up 1.5 per cent of the population, Sikhs 0.6 per cent, Jews 0.5 per cent and Buddhists 0.3 per cent.
Fusion food
Our culinary tastes reflect our rich cultural heritage. Walk along a city high street and you're embarking on a mouth-watering world tour. We're famous for fish and chips but, typically, this traditionally “British” fare reflects our diverse history. Historians now believe the dish is a 19th-century fusion of a Jewish method of frying fish and the French or Belgian habit of frying chipped potatoes.
Wot, No Gravy?
Our other national favourite, chicken tikka masala, has equally eclectic origins. It's certainly not a traditional part of South Asian cuisine. Urban myth has it that the dish was invented in a Glasgow curry house during the 1960s. A diner complained that his traditionally prepared chicken tikka (spiced, roasted chicken chunks) was too dry. So a bemused chef rustled up an emergency gravy of tomato soup, yoghurt and spices. The result has become the nation's most popular dish. No one knows whether this story is true. But it reveals an essential truth about modern Britain: we are a mixed bunch. And that's what makes Blighty such a great place to be!
Your Comments
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KevinD47478
wrote on 22 Mar 2009 at 12:55 PM
I just wanted to comment on the 'Nation at Prayer' section.
The statistics quoted are from 2001, and although about 72% told the Census that they were Christian, 66% of the population have no actual connection to any religion or church, despite what they tend to write down on official forms.
Religion has continued to decline since then. Since 1979 half of all Christians stopped going to church on a Sunday and now only about 7% of British people go to church. Less than half of us still believe in God and there are now millions of humanists, atheists and agnostics in the UK, with their numbers rapidly growing as religious faith declines, particularly amongst the young.
Recognising this fall in religious observance in the UK is important for programme makers as we are clearly no longer a 'nation at prayer'.
Consequently, there is no evidence to suggest that religious programmes would be popular despite the lobbying of faith organisations.
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