View source for Old Britain | Memory Alpha

You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

The action you have requested is limited to users in one of the groups: Emailconfirmed Users, Fandom Helpers, Wiki Specialists.
This page has been protected to prevent editing or other actions.
You must confirm your email address before editing pages. Please set and validate your email address through your user preferences.

You can view and copy the source of this page.

{{multiple}}
{{Sidebar government
|name               = Old Britain
|image              = National flag of Old Britain, the Union Jack.png
|caption            = National flag of Old Britain
|image2             = Britain and Ireland.jpg
|caption2           = Britain and neighboring Ireland seen from orbit in an alternate 2258
|affiliation        = [[United Nations]]
|location           = [[Western Europe|Western]] [[Europe]], [[Earth]]
|capital            = [[London]]
|head of state      = [[Queen of England|Monarch]]
|head of government = [[Prime Minister]]
|legislature        = 
|judiciary          = 
|major species      = [[Human]]s
|military           = [[Royal Navy]]<br>[[Royal Air Force]]
|intelligence       = [[MI5]]
|language           = [[English language|English]], [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Welsh]]
|currency           = [[British pound|Pound]]
}}
'''Old Britain''' was a historical region of [[Earth]] also known as '''Great Britain''' (abbreviated '''GB''') and the '''United Kingdom''' (abbreviated '''UK'''), which contained [[England]] and [[Scotland]]. <!-- Note that Wales was never mentioned in "canon", so it shouldn't be included here. --><ref>{{e|Our Man Bashir}} called this nation "Great Britain". Great Britain was actually the name of the island that consisted of England, Scotland, and Wales. The latter has never been mentioned in a ''Star Trek'' production, with the only reference being the proper noun [[Welsh rarebit]], although the [[Welsh]] language has been featured. [[Lieutenant]] [[Gen Rhys|Rhys]]' last name also suggests Wales ancestry. The full and correct name of the country, the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", was never mentioned, although the abbreviation "UK", for "United Kingdom", was seen on an [[okudagram]]. The United Kingdom in fact extends beyond Great Britain, also containing Northern Ireland.</ref> The [[country]] played a significant role in Earth history. Residents of Britain were known as [[British]], Britons, or Brits.

Its flag, known as the "Union Flag," <ref>The {{w|Union Jack|Union Flag}} is better known under its popular name, the "Union Jack", and is actually an amalgam of the flags of three of the Union's constituent nations: the Scottish "Cross of Saint Andrew" flag (white X-shaped cross on blue field), the Irish "Cross of Saint Patrick" flag (red X-shaped cross on white field) and the English "Saint George's Cross" flag (red cross on white field). The flag traces it origins back to 1606, when Scotland was united with England, but only became final and officially adopted in 1801, pursuant the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.</ref> was two red crosses superimposed on a white cross on a blue background, and which was also carried on the fighting vessels of its [[Royal Navy]], as was evidenced on the prow of [[Geordi La Forge]]'s [[model]] of {{HMS|Victory}}. ({{ENT|First Flight|Storm Front}}; {{TOS|The Trouble with Tribbles}}; {{TNG|Elementary, Dear Data}}; {{DS9|Our Man Bashir}})

==History==
[[File:London street.jpg|thumb|A [[holographic image]] of [[19th century]] [[London]], capital of Great Britain]]
In  [[16th century|1588]], England defeated the [[Spanish Armada]]. ({{ENT|Future Tense}})

One of the ships of the Royal Navy, the {{HMS|Enterprize}}, was one of the earliest vessels to carry the name ''Enterprise''. ({{ENT|Future Tense}}; {{s|ENT}} opening credits)

Great Britain was an instrumental participant of [[World War II]] against [[Nazi]] [[Germany]], particularly in the [[Battle of Britain]]. ({{DS9|Homefront}}) In [[1941]], [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] of the [[United States of America]] pressured the [[United States Congress]] to send aid to the British. ({{TNG|The Big Goodbye}}) 

During the [[1960s]], Great Britain was involved in the [[Earth Cold War]]. ({{DS9|Our Man Bashir}})

British [[school]]s had a core [[curriculum]], which, in [[Malcolm Reed]]'s opinion, gave [[student]]s a well-rounded [[education]]. ({{ENT|Shuttlepod One}})

[[2024]] saw the [[Irish Unification of 2024|reunification of]] nearby [[Ireland]] as a result of violence used as a political instrument, rather than through peaceful negotiation. ({{TNG|The High Ground}}) 
{{bginfo|It is not spelled out whether this event involved {{w|Northern Ireland}} (which was never mentioned in canon) leaving the United Kingdom, or the {{w|Republic of Ireland}} rejoining the United Kingdom after the reinstatement of the {{w|Anglo-Irish treaty}}.}}

In [[2024]], Great Britain was an early participant in the [[Europa Mission]] ({{PIC|Watcher}}), but was no longer involved by the time of the mission launch ({{PIC|Fly Me to the Moon}}).

In [[2032]], Great Britain took part in the ''[[Ares IV]]'' mission. ({{VOY|One Small Step}})
{{bginfo|The British flag could be seen on the ''Ares IV'' model, among others.}}

The [[Royal Academy]] in Old Britain [[stellar cartography|mapped]] areas of space well into the [[2060s]], including [[Sherman's Planet]] in [[2067]]. ({{ENT|In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II}}; {{TOS|The Trouble with Tribbles}})

In [[2143]], the [[Ariane 1]] [[assignment patch]], which was on display in the [[602 Club]], bore the flag of [[European Space Agency|ESA]] member United Kingdom. ({{ENT|First Flight}})

{{bginfo|According to the ''[[Star Trek Fact Files]]'', Great Britain was a member of the [[International Space Agency]] in the early 21st century.}}

==Alternate, parallel, and imaginary Britains==
In an alternate version of [[1944]], caused by activities within the [[Temporal Cold War]], after [[England]] <!-- note - this is what was stated in the episode, no matter how "real world" incorrect it may be. --> was taken over by Nazi Germany, [[Prime Minister]] [[Winston Churchill]] urged all Britons to continue to fight for either [[anarchy]] or order in World War II. These events were witnessed by {{EnterpriseNX}}. ({{ENT|Storm Front}})

In a World War II holoprogram used on the {{USS|Voyager}}, [[MI5|British intelligence]] was in contact with the [[French Resistance]] in [[Sainte Claire]]. ({{VOY|The Killing Game}})

In the holoprogram ''[[Julian Bashir, Secret Agent]]'', set during the Cold War, the government of Great Britain paid for every item and luxury that secret agent [[Julian Bashir]] would need for his espionage and intelligence gathering duties. [[Elim Garak|Garak]] was incredulous that a government would even pay a [[spy]] for trivial items such as an apartment and weapons. ({{DS9|Our Man Bashir}})

==Geographical details==
Great Britain included Scotland and England. ({{VOY|Year of Hell}}) It was separated from [[Europe]] by the [[English Channel]]. ({{DS9|Homefront}})

===Settlements===
;England
* [[Dover]]
* [[Ipswich]]
* [[Liverpool]]
* [[London]]
* [[Nottingham]]
* [[Malmesbury]]
{{bginfo|Furthermore, the city of [[Bristol]] was referenced indirectly through the [[Nautical terms#Phrases|phrase]] ""Shipshape and Bristol fashion".}}
;Scotland
* [[Aberdeen]]
* [[Edinburgh]]
* [[Glasgow]]

=== Other locations ===
* [[Cambridge University]]
* [[Devonshire]]
* [[English Channel]]
* [[Glamis Castle]]
* [[Hertfordshire]]
* [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]]
* [[Loch Ness]]
* [[Sherwood Forest]]
* [[Solentshire]]
* [[Stonehenge]]
* [[River Thames|Thames]]
* [[Wiltshire]]

== Culture ==
*'''Languages'''
**[[English language]]
**[[Irish language]]
**[[Scots language]]
**[[Welsh]]
*'''Literature'''
**''[[A Christmas Carol]]'' ([[Charles Dickens]])
**''{{dis|Frankenstein|film}}'' ([[Mary Shelley]])
**''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]'' (Charles Dickens)
**''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'' ([[Arthur Conan Doyle]])
**''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' ([[H.G. Wells]])
*'''Music'''
**''[[HMS Pinafore]]'' ("{{revname|A|British Tar}}") ([[Gilbert and Sullivan]])
**''{{revname|The|Pirates of Penzance}}'' (Gilbert and Sullivan)
**"[[Yr Hufen Melyn]]"
*'''Food'''
**[[Yorkshire pudding]]

== Appendices ==
=== See also ===
* [[British Radio Network]]
* [[House of Hanover]]
* {{RMS|Queen Elizabeth 2}}
* {{RMS|Titanic}}

=== Background information ===
In the real world, the "Kingdom of Great Britain" merged with Ireland in 1801 to become the "United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland" (or UK), later called the "United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland". The term "Great Britain" was used once, in {{e|Our Man Bashir}}. It was referred to as "Old Britain" by [[Spock]] in {{e|The Trouble with Tribbles}}.

Dialogue from "Our Man Bashir" and "The Trouble with Tribbles" implies that Britain no longer exists as a sovereign country in the [[23rd century|23rd]] and [[24th century]]. It may have lost its sovereignty by joining the [[European Alliance]] or [[United Earth]]. However, this may depend upon the internal political functioning of both the [[United Earth]] and the [[European Alliance]].

The script of the {{s|DS9}} episode {{e|To the Death}} described the position of the {{USS|Defiant|2370}}'s [[security officer]]s facing the [[Jem'Hadar]] on the [[transporter platform]] as being "like British infantry". Later in the script, the rogue Jem'Hadar's weapons were described as being "like a cross between the {{w|halberd}}s used by British {{w|Yeomen Warders|beefeaters}} and Japanese {{w|naginata}}s."

===Footnotes===
<references />

==External links==
*{{mbeta|Great Britain}}
*{{wikipedia|Great Britain}}

[[cs:Velká Británie]]
[[de:Vereinigtes Königreich]]
[[fr:Royaume-Uni]]
[[ja:イギリス]]
[[nl:Groot Brittannië]]
[[Category:Earth countries]]

Templates used on this page:

Template:Article type (view source) (protected)
Template:Article type/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Bginfo (view source) (protected)
Template:Bginfo/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:DS9 (view source) (protected)
Template:Dis (view source)
Template:E (view source) (protected)
Template:ENT (view source) (protected)
Template:EnterpriseNX (view source)
Template:Episode (view source) (protected)
Template:F (view source)
Template:Fandom (view source)
Template:HMS (view source)
Template:Linktip (view source) (semi-protected)
Template:Mbeta (view source)
Template:Multiple (view source) (protected)
Template:NX (view source)
Template:PIC (view source)
Template:RMS (view source)
Template:Revname (view source)
Template:S (view source)
Template:Series (view source) (protected)
Template:Ship (view source)
Template:Sidebar government (view source)
Template:Sidebar image portable (view source)
Template:TNG (view source) (protected)
Template:TOS (view source) (protected)
Template:Titles (view source) (protected)
Template:Titles/S (view source) (protected)
Template:USS (view source) (protected)
Template:VOY (view source) (protected)
Template:W (view source) (protected)
Template:Wikipedia (view source)
Module:EpisodeData (view source) (protected)
Module:EpisodeData/A (view source) (protected)
Module:EpisodeData/N (view source) (protected)

Return to Old Britain.