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class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>18th century</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-18th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-19th_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#19th_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>19th century</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-19th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-20th_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#20th_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.3</span> <span>20th century</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-20th_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-21st_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#21st_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>21st century</span> </div> </a> <ul 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interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikiquote.org/wiki/Britaniya" title="Britaniya – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Britaniya" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikiquote.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AF%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF" title="যুক্তরাজ্য – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="যুক্তরাজ্য" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikiquote.org/wiki/Regne_Unit" title="Regne Unit – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Regne Unit" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Spojen%C3%A9_kr%C3%A1lovstv%C3%AD" title="Spojené království – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Spojené království" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Reino_Unido" title="Reino Unido – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Reino Unido" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikiquote.org/wiki/Suurbritannia" title="Suurbritannia – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Suurbritannia" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7" title="بریتانیا – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="بریتانیا" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iso-Britannia" title="Iso-Britannia – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Iso-Britannia" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikiquote.org/wiki/Royaume-Uni" title="Royaume-Uni – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Royaume-Uni" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Regno_Unito" title="Regno Unito – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Regno Unito" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wielka_Brytania" title="Wielka Brytania – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Wielka Brytania" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%98%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%9A%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE_%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%99%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE" title="Уједињено Краљевство – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" 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id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:EU-United_Kingdom.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/EU-United_Kingdom.svg/220px-EU-United_Kingdom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="185" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/EU-United_Kingdom.svg/330px-EU-United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/EU-United_Kingdom.svg/440px-EU-United_Kingdom.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="2045" data-file-height="1720" /></a><figcaption>Map of the United Kingdom</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_(3-5).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/220px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="132" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/330px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/440px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a><figcaption>Britain is a complex harmony, not a male voice choir. ~ <a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:United Kingdom"><b>United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland</b></a> (<b>UK</b>), commonly known as the <b>United Kingdom</b> (<b>UK</b>) or <b>Britain</b>, is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sovereign_state" class="extiw" title="w:sovereign state">sovereign country</a> in north-western <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>, off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain" class="extiw" title="w:Great Britain">Great Britain</a>, the north-eastern part of the island of <a href="/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:List of islands of the United Kingdom">many smaller islands</a> within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles" class="extiw" title="w:British Isles">British Isles</a>. <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> shares <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_border" class="extiw" title="w:Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border">a land border</a> with the <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a>, and Great Britain has road and rail links with <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> via the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Tunnel" class="extiw" title="w:Channel Tunnel">Channel Tunnel</a>. The United Kingdom consists of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:Countries of the United Kingdom">four countries</a>: <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a> and <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>. The capital is <a href="/wiki/London" title="London">London</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/global_city" class="extiw" title="w:global city">global city</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/financial_centre" class="extiw" title="w:financial centre">financial centre</a> with an urban area population of 10.3 million. The national language of the United Kingdom is <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a>. Its current head of state is <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a>, its current head of government is Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Keir_Starmer" title="Keir Starmer">Keir Starmer</a>, and its <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Parliament</a> is currently controlled by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(United_Kingdom)" class="extiw" title="w:Labour Party (United Kingdom)">Labour Party</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Quotes">Quotes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Quotes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(St_Edward%27s_Crown).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28St_Edward%27s_Crown%29.svg/220px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28St_Edward%27s_Crown%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="213" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28St_Edward%27s_Crown%29.svg/330px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28St_Edward%27s_Crown%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28St_Edward%27s_Crown%29.svg/440px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28St_Edward%27s_Crown%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1550" data-file-height="1500" /></a><figcaption>If Great Britain were defeated in war I hoped we should find a Hitler to lead us back to our rightful position among the nations. ~ <a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg/220px-Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg/330px-Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg/440px-Houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1800" data-file-height="1351" /></a><figcaption>Dear land of hope, thy hope is crowned! God make thee mightier yet! ~ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Benson" class="extiw" title="w:A. C. Benson">Arthur Benson</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial,_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial%2C_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg/220px-Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial%2C_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="279" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial%2C_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg/330px-Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial%2C_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial%2C_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg/440px-Britannia_on_Armada_Memorial%2C_Plymouth_Hoe.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2848" data-file-height="3606" /></a><figcaption>Land of hope and glory, mother of the free! How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee? God, who made thee mighty? Make thee mightier yet. ~ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Benson" class="extiw" title="w:A. C. Benson">Arthur Christopher Benson</a> </figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg/220px-HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="275" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg/330px-HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg/440px-HM_Queen_Elizabeth_II.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="1000" /></a><figcaption>Great Britain is a republic with a hereditary president. ~ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knoxville_Journal" class="extiw" title="w:The Knoxville Journal"><i>The Knoxville Journal</i></a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg/220px-HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="289" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg/330px-HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg/440px-HMS_Victory_-_bow.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2250" data-file-height="2952" /></a><figcaption>When Britain first, at heaven's command. Arose from out of the azure main! This was the charter of the land. ~ <a href="/wiki/James_Thomson_(poet)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="James Thomson (poet)">James Thomson</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_City_London.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/The_City_London.jpg/220px-The_City_London.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="120" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/The_City_London.jpg/330px-The_City_London.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/The_City_London.jpg/440px-The_City_London.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4370" data-file-height="2383" /></a><figcaption>In today's Britain, the idea that there could be a Constitution more powerful than any crowned head or elected politician is thought of as a breathtakingly new and daring idea. ~ <a href="/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:London_Library_(4706652036).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/London_Library_%284706652036%29.jpg/220px-London_Library_%284706652036%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/London_Library_%284706652036%29.jpg/330px-London_Library_%284706652036%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/London_Library_%284706652036%29.jpg/440px-London_Library_%284706652036%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2304" data-file-height="3072" /></a><figcaption>Five generations ago, Britain was ashamed to write books in her own tongue. Now her language is spoken in all quarters of the globe. ~ <a href="/wiki/Frederick_Douglass" title="Frederick Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_(3).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_%283%29.jpg/220px-Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_%283%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="118" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_%283%29.jpg/330px-Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_%283%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_%283%29.jpg/440px-Gay_Pride_march_in_London_1999_%283%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="688" /></a><figcaption>Britain still thinks it's 1999. ~ <a href="/wiki/Irwin_M._Stelzer" class="mw-redirect" title="Irwin M. Stelzer">Irwin M. Stelzer</a></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg/220px-40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="176" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg/330px-40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg/440px-40_Commando_irrigation_ditch.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="2400" /></a><figcaption>Some talk of Alexander, and some of Hercules. Of Hector and Lysander, and such great names as these. But of all the world's great heroes, there's none that can compare with the tow-row-row-row-row-row of the British grenadiers! ~ "<a href="/wiki/File:British_Grenadiers.ogg" title="File:British Grenadiers.ogg">The British Grenadiers</a>"</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="18th_century">18th century</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: 18th century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>When Britain first, at heaven's command, <br />Arose from out of the azure main, <br />This was the charter of the land, <br />And guardian angels sung this strain: <br />“Rule, Britannia, rule the waves; <br />Britons never will be slaves.” <ul><li><a href="/wiki/James_Thomson_(poet)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="James Thomson (poet)">James Thomson</a>, "Rule, Britannia", from <i>Alfred: a Masque</i> (1740), II, V</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Some talk of <a href="/wiki/Alexander_the_Great" title="Alexander the Great">Alexander</a>, and some of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules" class="extiw" title="w:Hercules">Hercules</a>.<br />Of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector" class="extiw" title="w:Hector">Hector</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysander" class="extiw" title="w:Lysander">Lysander</a>, and such great names as these.<br />But of all the world's brave heroes, there's none that can compare<br />With a tow, row, row, row, row, row, to the British grenadiers! <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_British_Grenadiers" class="extiw" title="w:The British Grenadiers">"The British Grenadiers"</a> (1750)</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="19th_century">19th century</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: 19th century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>... the twelve or fifteen millions in the <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>, who, while they possess no electoral rights, are yet persuaded they are freemen, and who are mystified into the notion that they are not political bondmen, by that great juggle of the ‘<i>English Constitution</i>’—a thing of monopolies, and Church-craft, and sinecures, armorial hocus-pocus, primogeniture, and pageantry! <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Richard_Cobden" title="Richard Cobden">Richard Cobden</a>, letter to F. Cobden (11 September 1838), quoted in John Morley, <i>The Life of Richard Cobden</i> (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1905), p. 130</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>We have been told, to-day, that it was a woman that agitated Great Britain to its very centre, before emancipation could be effected in her colonies. Woman must go hand in hand with man in every great and noble cause, if success would be insured. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ernestine_Rose" title="Ernestine Rose">Ernestine Rose</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://speakingwhilefemale.co/anti-slavery-rose1/">Speech</a> (August 4, 1853) at the Anniversary of West Indian Emancipation</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Look at <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, whose mighty power is now felt, and for centuries has been felt, all around the world. It is worthy of special remark, that precisely those parts of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain" class="extiw" title="w:Great Britain">that proud island</a> which have received the largest and most diversified populations, are to day the parts most distinguished for industry, enterprise, invention and general enlightenment. In <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>, and in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Highlands" class="extiw" title="w:Scottish Highlands">Highlands of Scotland</a> the boast is made of their pure blood, and that they were never conquered, but no man can contemplate them without wishing they had been conquered. They are far in the rear of every other part of the English realm in all the comforts and conveniences of life, as well as in mental and physical development. Neither law nor learning descends to us from the mountains of Wales or from the Highlands of <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Britons" class="extiw" title="w:Celtic Britons">ancient Briton</a>, whom <a href="/wiki/Julius_Caesar" title="Julius Caesar">Julius Caesar</a> would not have as a <a href="/wiki/Slavery" title="Slavery">slave</a>, is not to be compared with the round, burly, amplitudinous <a href="/wiki/English_people" title="English people">Englishman</a> in many of his qualities of desirable manhood. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Frederick_Douglass" title="Frederick Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/our-composite-nationality/">"Our Composite Nationality"</a> (7 December 1869), Boston, Massachusetts</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Five generations ago, Britain was ashamed to write books in her own tongue. Now <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">her language</a> is spoken in all quarters of the globe. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Frederick_Douglass" title="Frederick Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/self-made-men/">"Self-Made Men"</a> (1872)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Great Britain is a <a href="/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">republic</a> with a hereditary <a href="/wiki/President" title="President">president</a>, while the United States is a <a href="/wiki/Monarchy" title="Monarchy">monarchy</a> with an elective <a href="/wiki/King" title="King">king</a>. <ul><li><i>The Knoxville Journal</i> (9 February 1896), as quoted in <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wwzqAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=peter+hays+gries&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HwpZVazmK_LW7Qan_YH4CQ&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=peter%20hays%20gries&f=false">"The Politics of American Foreign Policy"</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Heys_Gries" class="extiw" title="w:Peter Heys Gries">Peter Heys Gries</a>, p. 170</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="20th_century">20th century</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: 20th century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Dear land of <a href="/wiki/Hope" title="Hope">hope</a>, thy hope is crowned! <a href="/wiki/God" title="God">God</a> make thee mightier yet... By truth maintained, thine <a href="/wiki/Empire" title="Empire">empire</a> shall be strong... Land of hope and glory, mother of the free! How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee? God, who made thee mighty? Make thee mightier yet. <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Benson" class="extiw" title="w:A. C. Benson">Arthur Benson</a>, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_Hope_and_Glory" class="extiw" title="w:Land of Hope and Glory">Land of Hope and Glory</a>" (1902)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>I have always said that if <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:United Kingdom">Great Britain</a> were defeated in war I hoped we should find a <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Hitler</a> to lead us back to our rightful position among the nations. I am sorry, however, that he has not been mellowed by the great success that has attended him. The whole world would rejoice to see the Hitler of <a href="/wiki/Peace" title="Peace">peace</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tolerance" title="Tolerance">tolerance</a>, and nothing would adorn his name in world history so much as acts of <a href="/wiki/Magnanimity" title="Magnanimity">magnanimity</a> and of <a href="/wiki/Mercy" title="Mercy">mercy</a> and of <a href="/wiki/Pity" title="Pity">pity</a> to the forlorn and friendless, to the weak and poor. ... Let this great man search his own heart and conscience before he accuses anyone of being a warmonger. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, "Mr. Churchill's Reply" in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times" class="extiw" title="w:The Times">The Times</a></i> (7 November 1938)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:United Kingdom">Britain</a> and <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> had to choose between war and dishonour. They chose dishonour. They will have war. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain" title="Neville Chamberlain">Neville Chamberlain</a> in the House of Commons, after the Munich accords (1938)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a>, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Navy" title="Royal Navy">British Fleet</a>, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the <a href="/wiki/New_World" class="mw-redirect" title="New World">New World</a>, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, speech in the House of Commons (4 June 1940)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>When I warned them that Britain would fight on alone whatever they did, their generals told <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Reynaud" class="extiw" title="w:Paul Reynaud">their Prime Minister</a> and his divided Cabinet, 'In three weeks <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> will have her neck wrung like a <a href="/wiki/Chickens" title="Chickens">chicken</a>'. Some chicken! Some neck! <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, speech to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa (30 December 1941), as quoted in <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0300107986"><i>The Yale Book of Quotations</i></a>, by Fred R. Shapiro, Yale University Press (2006), p. 153</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>England is an amazing and paradoxical country; there are, in spite of the great emphasis upon "<a href="/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a>," all indications of the existence of an <a href="/wiki/Aristocracy" title="Aristocracy">aristocratic</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oligarchy" title="Oligarchy">oligarchic</a> rule, yet this generally recognized fact caused little if any human resentment among the <i>lower</i> classes. [...] The tacit and genuine, human <i>acceptance</i> of aristocratic or at least <a href="/wiki/Ruling_class" title="Ruling class">upper class leadership</a> gives Britain the right to call itself a "democracy" without being one in reality. Hierarchic feelings always were very strong in England, but the extreme elasticity of the class system has always mitigated the apprehensions if aroused. Nowhere are classes more receptive to new elements, nowhere is it easier to rise socially, yet nowhere are the differences between the classes so marked as in England (with the exception of India and certain sections of the United States). <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Erik_von_Kuehnelt-Leddihn" title="Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn">Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn</a>, <i>The Menace of the Herd</i> (1943), p. 218</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>British democracy approves the principles of movable party heads and unwaggable national tails. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>, address to a joint session of Congress, Washington, D.C. (17 January 1952); reported in <i>Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, 1897–1963</i>, ed. Robert Rhodes James (1974), vol. 8, p. 8,326</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The British <a href="/wiki/Tourism" title="Tourism">tourist</a> is always happy abroad as long as the natives are waiters. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Morley" title="Robert Morley">Robert Morley</a>, <i>The Observer</i> (20 April 1958), as quoted in <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=OdBEAAAAYAAJ&q=%22The+British+tourist+is+always+happy+abroad+as+long+as+the+natives+are+waiters.%22&dq=%22The+British+tourist+is+always+happy+abroad+as+long+as+the+natives+are+waiters.%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AmQVVcLmHs7YggTFxYHYCw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBQ"><i>More Caviar</i></a> (1959), by Art Buchwald. Harper, p. 54</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>We shall have to learn again to be one nation, or one day we shall be no nation. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103926">Conservative Party television broadcast “Winter of Discontent” (January 17, 1979)</a></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>I can't bear Britain in decline. I just can't. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a>, Interviewed by Michael Cockerell for BBC TV's <i>Campaign '79</i> (27 April, 1979).</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The British have always fought, to be sure. No <a href="/wiki/Nations" title="Nations">nation</a> on <a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a> can be taken seriously in historical circles unless it has had at least one <a href="/wiki/War" title="War">war</a> with the British; it's like not having an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Express" class="extiw" title="w:American Express">American Express</a> card. And yet the very idea of Britain in a contemporary war is a shock. Britain, one feels, fights in <a href="/wiki/History" title="History">history</a> <a href="/wiki/Books" title="Books">books</a> and not on <a href="/wiki/Television" title="Television">TV</a>. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gene_Wolfe" title="Gene Wolfe">Gene Wolfe</a>, "A Few Points About knife Throwing", <i>Fantasy Newsletter</i> (1983), as reprinted in Gene Wolfe, <i>Castle of Days</i> (1992)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>I came to office with one deliberate intent: to change Britain from a dependent to a self-reliant society – from a give-it-to-me, to a do-it-yourself nation. A get-up-and-go, instead of a sit-back-and-wait-for-it Britain. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=105617">Speech to Small Business Bureau Conference (8 February 1984)</a>.</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:monarchy of the United Kingdom">British monarchy</a> inculcates unthinking <a href="/wiki/Credulity" title="Credulity">credulity</a> and <a href="/wiki/Servility" title="Servility">servility</a>. It forms a heavy layer on the general encrustation of our unreformed political institutions. It is the gilded peg from which our unlovely system of social distinction and hierarchy depends. It is an obstacle to the objective public discussion of our own history. It tribalises politics. It entrenches the absurdity of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereditary_monarchy" class="extiw" title="w:Hereditary monarchy">hereditary principle</a>. It contributes to what sometimes looks like an enfeeblement of the national intelligence, drawing from our <a href="/wiki/Press" title="Press">press</a> and even from some of our <a href="/wiki/Poets" title="Poets">poets</a> the sort of degrading and abnegating <a href="/wiki/Propaganda" title="Propaganda">propaganda</a> that would arouse contempt if displayed in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cults_of_personality#Zaire" class="extiw" title="w:List of cults of personality">Zaire</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu%27s_cult_of_personality" class="extiw" title="w:Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality">Romania</a>. It is, in short, neither dignified nor efficient... The United States, for example, has never had a <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President</a> as bad as <a href="/wiki/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="George III of the United Kingdom">George III</a>, but neither has Britain had a king as admirable as <a href="/wiki/George_Washington" title="George Washington">George Washington</a> (of whom <a href="/wiki/William_Makepeace_Thackeray" title="William Makepeace Thackeray">William Thackeray</a> rightly said that 'his glory will descend to remotest ages' while the memory of the sovereign went the other way). <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a>, <i><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=stfi0I6zcXwC&lpg=PP1&dq=the%20monarchy%20a%20critique&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=the%20monarchy%20a%20critique&f=false">The Monarchy: A Critique of Britain's Favourite Fetish</a></i> (1990), Random House</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>In today's Britain, the idea that there could be a Constitution more powerful – and even sacrosanct – than any crowned head or elected politician (thus abolishing the false antithesis between hereditary monarchs and capricious presidents) is thought of as a breathtakingly new and daring idea... Too many crucial things about this country turn out to be highly recommended because they are 'invisible'. There is the '<a href="/wiki/Invisible_hand" title="Invisible hand">hidden hand'</a> of the free market, the 'unwritten' <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="w:Constitution of the United Kingdom">Constitution</a>, the 'invisible earnings' of the financial service sector, the 'magic' of monarchy and the 'mystery' of the <a href="/wiki/Church_of_England" title="Church of England">Church</a> and its claim to the interpretation of revealed truth. When we do get as far as the visible or the palpable, too much of it is deemed secret. How right it is that senior ministers, having kissed hands with the monarch, are sworn to the cult of secrecy by '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_Allegiance_(United_Kingdom)#Privy_Counsellor_oath" class="extiw" title="w:Oath of Allegiance (United Kingdom)">The Privy Council Oath</a>'. How right it is that our major foreign alliance – the '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/special_relationship" class="extiw" title="w:special relationship">special relationship</a>' with the United States – is codified by no known treaty and regulated by no known Parliamentary instrument. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a>, <i>The Monarchy: A Critique of Britain's Favourite Fetish</i> (1990), "Chatto Counterblasts"</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>I am constantly filled with admiration at this – at the way you can wander through a town like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford" class="extiw" title="w:Oxford">Oxford</a> and in the space of a few hundred yards pass the home of <a href="/wiki/Christopher_Wren" title="Christopher Wren">Christopher Wren</a>, the buildings where <a href="/wiki/Edmond_Halley" title="Edmond Halley">Halley</a> found <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_comet" class="extiw" title="w:Halley's comet">his comet</a> and <a href="/wiki/Robert_Boyle" title="Robert Boyle">Boyle</a> his first law, the track where <a href="/wiki/Roger_Bannister" title="Roger Bannister">Roger Banister</a> ran the first sub-four minute mile, the meadow where <a href="/wiki/Lewis_Carroll" title="Lewis Carroll">Lewis Carroll</a> strolled; or how you can stand on Snow's Hill at Windsor and see, in a single sweep, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle" class="extiw" title="w:Windsor Castle">Windsor Castle</a>, the playing fields of Eton, the churchyard where <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Gray" title="Thomas Gray">Gray</a> wrote his 'Elegy,' the site <i><a href="/wiki/The_Merry_Wives_of_Windsor" title="The Merry Wives of Windsor">The Merry Wives of Windsor</a></i> was first performed. Can there anywhere on earth be, in such a modest span, a landscape more packed with centuries of busy, productive attainment? <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bill_Bryson" title="Bill Bryson">Bill Bryson</a>, as quoted in <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_from_a_Small_Island" class="extiw" title="w:Notes from a Small Island">Notes from a Small Island</a></i> (1995)</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="21st_century">21st century</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: 21st century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Britain still thinks it's 1999. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Irwin_Stelzer" title="Irwin Stelzer">Irwin Stelzer</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050725003941/http://www.weeklystandard.com:80/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/005/871kbaxp.asp">"Letter from Londonistan"</a> (1 August 2005), <i>The Weekly Standard</i></li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>The sound of modern Britain is a complex harmony, not a male voice choir. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/dec/16/conservatives.liberaldemocrats">speech aimed at Liberal Democrats: join me in my mission</a> (16 December 2005)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>I want to help try and build a more responsible society here in Britain, one where we don't just ask what are my entitlements but what are my responsibilities, one where we don't ask what am I just owed but more what can I give, and a guide for that society that those that can should and those who can't we will always help. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a>, first speech as Prime Minister, at 10 Downing Street (11 May 2010)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Britain is blessed with a functioning political culture. It is dominated by people who live in <a href="/wiki/London" title="London">London</a> and who have often known each other since prep school. This makes it gossipy and often incestuous. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/David_Brooks_(journalist)" title="David Brooks (journalist)">David Brooks</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/opinion/24brooks.html?_r=1">"Britain Is Working"</a>, <i>The New York Times</i> (23 May 2011)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>Britain is a special country. We have so many great advantages: a <a href="/wiki/Parliamentary_system" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary democracy</a> where we resolve great issues about our future through peaceful debate; a great trading nation with our <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a> and <a href="/wiki/Art" title="Art">arts</a>, our <a href="/wiki/Engineering" title="Engineering">engineering</a> and our <a href="/wiki/Creativity" title="Creativity">creativity</a>, respected the world over. And while we are not perfect, I do believe we can be a model of a multiracial, multifaith <a href="/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a> where people can come and make a contribution, and rise to the very highest that their talent allows. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/davidcameronresignationspeech.htm">Resignation Speech</a>, 24 June 2016</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>(On Britain’s tilt to the Indo-Pacific: ‘Old theme park’) You know, here’s our old friend – what’s his name – the <a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">British prime minister</a> waxing lyrical down there in <a href="/wiki/Cornwall" title="Cornwall">Cornwall</a>. I mean, <b>Britain is like an old theme park sliding into the <a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic</a> compared to modern <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a>. China is just going to be huge.</b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Paul_Keating" title="Paul Keating">Paul Keating</a>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/10/it-would-make-a-cat-laugh-key-moments-from-paul-keatings-national-press-club-appearance">'It would make a cat laugh’: key moments from Paul Keating’s National Press Club appearance, <i>The Guardian</i></a> (November 10, 2021)</li></ul></li></ul> <ul><li>We weren’t taught <a href="/wiki/Shakespeare" class="mw-redirect" title="Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a> or <a href="/wiki/Milton" class="mw-redirect" title="Milton">Milton</a> in order to understand our own situation—they were taught as the jewels in <a href="/wiki/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Victoria of the United Kingdom">Queen Victoria</a>’s crown. The point of the <a href="/wiki/Colonialism" title="Colonialism">colonial enterprise</a> was that it had all these people to control. Our education was about imprinting on us the greatness of England, the idea that the people who could produce these works were of a superior kind of people...I came to understand that I should separate Shakespeare and all of the rest from <a href="/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli" title="Benjamin Disraeli">Disraeli</a> and <a href="/wiki/Horatio_Nelson" title="Horatio Nelson">Horatio Nelson</a>—that the British Empire is one thing and literature another. I’ll take everything except <a href="/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling" title="Rudyard Kipling">Kipling</a>. <a href="/wiki/Wordsworth" class="mw-redirect" title="Wordsworth">Wordsworth</a> would have been very upset to know that his wonderful <a href="/wiki/Poetry" title="Poetry">poems</a> were being used as a weapon of empire. <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Jamaica_Kincaid" title="Jamaica Kincaid">Jamaica Kincaid</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://theparisreview.org/interviews/7879/the-art-of-fiction-no-252-jamaica-kincaid">Interview</a> with <i>The Paris Review</i> (2022)</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="noprint" style="clear: right; border: solid #aaa 1px; 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