ABSTRACT
The British Isles are situated off the north-west coast of Europe. At one time they were part of the European landmass, but following the last great ice age the level of the sea rose, and the land area became separated from the rest of the continent by a stretch of water. It is true that at its narrowest point this water is only some twenty miles wide, but those twenty miles have had a great effect on the development of Britain, for the gap is not only physical, but psychological too. Britain is at the same time part of, but separate from, Europe, and this has had farreaching implications for the development of all aspects of life-social, political, economic and linguistic.
