Alright, pardon my bad geography but I'm quite confused.
The US is a country, with states.
Britain, England, the UK,
Those are all countries right?
But are England and Britain in the UK?
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I'm not from Europe but this is what I've found from wikipedia:
Quote:
Britain may refer to:
United Kingdom, a sovereign state in north western Europe
Great Britain, the largest island in the British Isles
and
Quote:
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
So Britain and the UK are the same thing, basically an area governed by the Queen and England is a country within that area.
Not sure if I've explained it well. Maybe someone who lives in the UK could do a better job of it?
Britain and the United Kingdom are two different names for the same place which collectively includes three and a half different countries: England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland who are all countries in their own right. Apart from the fact they are actually separate countries not states it is a reasonably similar system to the US state system I think, all of the countries are ultimately governed by England's government (the Queen does nothing more useful than bring in tourism to be honest) however each country has slightly differing laws, powers and policies and such, for example in Scotland university is free, whereas in England it is not.
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Technically, Britain doesn't include Northern Ireland, as Britain is the name of the mainland island. The United Kingdom is the country (including NI).
Scotland, England, Wales and NI are NOT recognised countries in the technical sense. There are several things you have to satisfy in order to be classed as a country, and the constituents of the UK don't. For example, you need to have sovereignty over your own territory, but it is the UK parliament that has that. If you class a country as simply a defined territory (rather than who politically controls that territory), then they could be.
Last edited by The One Who : 07-10-2010 at 12:19 PM.
There are Scottish, Welsh and NI parliaments (or assemblies), but they don't have complete control over everything, only the dissolved policies. The UK government still have sovereignty and control spending and the economy. Whether they are countries really depends on your definition.
Scotland, England, Wales and NI are NOT recognised countries in the technical sense.
I would love to see somebody try and tell that to a Scottish person in the street.
Here's a tip for you though, if you're talking to somebody that's from the UK, don't call them British, call them Scottish, Welsh or English. (I'll leave NI, not sure how keen they guys are on being called Irish over British).
As a Scottish person, and knowing many of them, we would hate to be called British over Scottish, as far as many of us are concerned we have nothing to do with England besides sharing a border with them and that isn't exactly optional.
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Here's a tip for you though, if you're talking to somebody that's from the UK, don't call them British
I'm half Scottish, half English, so I get annoyed if someone says I'm English. I AM BRITISH DAMN IT. Although, yes, if I called any of my Scottish relatives British instead of Scottish, they'd go mental. So I see your point :P
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I'm half Scottish, half English, so I get annoyed if someone says I'm English. I AM BRITISH DAMN IT. Although, yes, if I called any of my Scottish relatives British instead of Scottish, they'd go mental. So I see your point :P
Exactly my point. I am British. I may have an English accent + live in England, but the side of my family who raised is Scottish, and I consider myself British.
Quote:
Originally Posted by control freak
Ahh but what about the Isle of Man? I heard, from top gear, that it has no government? And something about there being no speed limits.
Isle of Man has a government. It has different laws, including no tax + no speed limit(I think?). They're external affairs are taken care of by the UK, though. (As in, they don't have a representative in the EU, or an army, they're covered by us, if that makes sense?) This is right, as far as I'm aware.
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