How did an island become such a behemoth empire? The Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the kingdoms of England (comprising modern-day England and Wales) and Scotland in 1707. In 1801, the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the British state being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
