The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, comprising England,
Ireland, Scotland and Wales. London is the capital, and George V, since
1910, has been King of Great Britain and Emperor of India. The coast
line measures about twenty-eight hundred miles, and the English navy is
equal to any other two. "The sun never sets on her colonial
possessions," and her world-trade is the largest of any nation.
Manufacturing is the leading industry. Most of the large cities are near
the coal-fields in the north central part. London, Liverpool and
Edinburgh are the principal ports.
England has no fear of losing India, but does not look with favor on
Russia's Balkan ambitions. At the same time she is opposed to the spread
of a great German empire from Holland to the AEgean Sea, which would
upset the English doctrine of small independent states and the "balance
of power" in Europe.