Great Britain is the largest island in Europe. It measures about 600 miles from top to bottom. Three different lands share this one island: England in the south, Scotland in the north, and Wales in the west. For hundreds of years, England and Scotland were separate countries with their own kings and borders. They fought many wars along the line where their lands met. On May 1, 1707, that changed. England and Scotland signed the Acts of Union and became one country called Great Britain. The border between them did not disappear, but it stopped being the edge of two nations. People could now travel freely between England and Scotland without crossing into a foreign land. The island's geography made the union make sense in some ways. Both countries shared rivers, mountain ranges, and coastlines. Trade was easier when ships from Scottish ports could sail to English cities without extra taxes. But geography also created differences. Scotland's highlands in the north are rugged and mountainous, very different from England's flat farmland in the south. These differences in landscape helped create different cultures, accents, and traditions that survive to this day.