UK vs GB vs England - What's the Difference?

[Monique]

I always wonder how to properly distinguise between the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and England?

 

[jcsd]

England is a (the main) constituent country/kingdom of the UK, the UK is the name of the country covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the largest Island in the British Isles which contains the mainlands of England, Wales and Scotland.

 

[Monique]

ahh, so great britain doesn't include northern ireland? But then I wonder why they write UK in publications as the country of origin.. why don't they say England (or Wales, Scotland, N Ireland for that matter)?

 

[jcsd]

Because the UK is the nation-state, so that is our offical nationality. But you shopuld be careful to make sure that you don't call someone from Wales/Scotland/NI English, as they may take offence.

 

[Monique]

Ah, so you say that the UK is your nationality, but that wouldn't mean that a person from the UK is British right? Since N-Ireland doesn't belong to Great Britain.. so what do you call a person from the UK?

I am ashamed of asking this, since you are my neighbour, but exactly how are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland united in the UK and why does N-Ireland not belong to Great Britain?

 

[jcsd]

No, if your from Northern Ireland your still British, Graet Britain is just the largest Island in the British Isles (though yur not British f your from Ireland).

Tony Blair is the prime minster of the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland recently got there own parliments (though they both still send MPs to Westminster which is the parliament and executive power for the whole of the UK) and have heads of these parliaments. Wales also recently obtained what is calle a 'regional assembly', howevr this has far less powers than the parliments in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Obviously the exact constitutional situation and history is complex to say the least but bascially the UK is governed as one but some powers are devolved to regional instituions.

 

[Monique]

Thanks so much for explaining that, I haven't been in Europe for three years now and kinda lost track of the whole situation :)

 

[selfAdjoint]

I believe that a very long time ago the island that is now called Ireland was known as Little Britain or Lesser Britain, because it was smaller than Great Brittan.

Did you know that Homer wrote of the "pretonic" islands?

 

[Zantra]

Originally posted by jcsd
No, if your from Northern Ireland your still British, Graet Britain is just the largest Island in the British Isles (though yur not British f your from Ireland).

Tony Blair is the prime minster of the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland recently got there own parliments (though they both still send MPs to Westminster which is the parliament and executive power for the whole of the UK) and have heads of these parliaments. Wales also recently obtained what is calle a 'regional assembly', howevr this has far less powers than the parliments in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Obviously the exact constitutional situation and history is complex to say the least but bascially the UK is governed as one but some powers are devolved to regional instituions.

Not at all unusual. We have a 3 tiered system of government in the us, of City government, state(or province if you prefer)government, and federal, or national government. City governments have the least power, federal the most.

 

[plus]

How does the parliament system work in Holland?

Is there any difference between Holland and the Netherlands?

What are the main taxes in Holland?

 

[Monique]

Originally posted by plus
How does the parliament system work in Holland?

Is there any difference between Holland and the Netherlands?

What are the main taxes in Holland?

Those are a lot of questions, let me start out by saying that Holland are just two provinces (north and south) which historically played an important role in the economy of the country.

How does the parliament work.. I have no clue how to explain that in English.. we are based on a Democratic Monarchy, if that term exists. The Queen is the head of the country and chooses the prime minister. That prime minister will choose a bunch of ministers which will form the first chamber. Than there is a second chamber with political figures chosen by the country. Pretty much the same as the UK?

The main taxes? What do you mean?

 

[plus]

In UK, it is a democracy in which politicians are voted for by the public. The prime minister is the leader of the ruling political party. This is not associated with the Queen at all other than for ceremonial reasons only.
The second chamber is the House of Lords, in which Lords are appointed. This gives a bit more stability.

I mean which taxes do you have to pay if you are working in Holland. Which % of wages gets directly paid to the state? What other taxes are there?

 

[Zantra]

So that it is correct that the queen and rest of the royal house have no actual politcal power?

 

[jcsd]

Originally posted by Zantra
So that it is correct that the queen and rest of the royal house have no actual politcal power?

Yes, the Queen's power is ceremonial only and none of the royals can even vote in an election and re also forbidden (this isn't a law more like a self-enforced set of guidline) from making any statements that could be construed as political.

 

[Andy]

The royal family could get rid of the governement if they wanted too, but the likelyhood of that happening is very very slim.

 

[Monique]

Originally posted by plus
I mean which taxes do you have to pay if you are working in Holland. Which % of wages gets directly paid to the state? What other taxes are there?

Well, good question.. I had some small jobs to get me through college and the taxes are automatically paid for those, I never paid much attention to that. I got my real first job in the United States and have been dealing with the taxes over there.. City, State, Federal.

 

[quantumdude]

Originally posted by selfAdjoint
Did you know that Homer wrote of the "pretonic" islands?

Hmmmm, I don't ever recall seeing the episode where the Simpsons go to the UK...

 

[sp]

England, Britain, UK

It annoys me how much people use Great Britain, England UK etc to all mean the same thing, and have you ever noticed the difference between a British and UK flag?

 

[jimmy p]

Yeah i actually prefer to be called english than British tho British is much more correct seeing as i am half Gibraltarian. However thre is technically no 'British' Flag. On the Union Flag (it is not really called the union jack) there is the English Cross and the Scottish Flag on there. No Welsh flag or N.I flag. In fact the N.I flag is just the St. Georges Cross with a crown and some hand in the middle which shows they pledge loyalty to England and not Britain...how odd

 

[dduardo]

Originally posted by Andy
The royal family could get rid of the governement if they wanted too, but the likelyhood of that happening is very very slim.

Yeah, haven't you seen the movie Johnny English?

 

[Monique]

Actually, I met a Scottish woman a few weeks ago. She was introduced to be as been Brittish, with a lot of emphasis :) Then the introducer jokingly told me that they used to introduce her as been english, which she didn't used to appreciate. I guess there is a lot of confusion out there on this matter, I am glad I cleared it up for myself :)

 

[Monique]

Joke:

Three guys, one Irish, one English, and one Scottish, are out walking along the beach together one day. They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it. "I will give you each one wish, that's three wishes in total", says the Genie.

The Scottish guy says, "I am a fisherman, my Dad's a fisherman, his Dad was a fisherman and my son will be one too. I want all the oceans full of fish for all eternity." So, with a blink of the Genie's eye "FOOM" the oceans were teaming with fish.

The Englishman was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around England, protecting her, so that no one will get in for all eternity. Again, with a blink of the Genie's eye "POOF" there was a huge wall around England.

The Irishman asks, "I'm very curious. Please tell me more about this wall." The Genie explains, "well, it's about 150 feet high, 50 feet thick, protecting England so that nothing can get in or out."

The Irishman says, "Fill it up with water."

 

[jimmy p]

Lol usually the Scottish are adamant that they are SCOTTISH and not British...its strange how some ppl class themselves...most english people are happy to say they are British (except when ANY World Cup is on) but the other countries are too proud to admit it...except of course the scottish woman u met Monique lol

Lets see if i have a joke for you!

Three men are sitting in the maternity ward of a hospital waiting for the imminent birth of their respective children. One is an Englishman, one a Welshman and the other a West Indian. They are all very nervous and pacing the floor - as you do in these situations.

All of a sudden the doctor bursts through the double doors saying

"Gentlemen you won't believe this but your wives have all had their babies within 5 minutes of each other."

The men are beside themselves with happiness and joy.

"And", said the doctor, "They have all had little boys."

The fathers are ecstatic and congratulate each other over and over.

"However we do have one slight problem," the doctor said. "In all the confusion we may have mixed the babies up getting them to the nursery and would be grateful if you could join us there to try and help identify them."

With that the Englishman raced past the doctor and bolted to the nursery. Once inside he picked up a dark skinned infant with dreadlocks saying,"There's no doubt about it, this boy is mine!"

The doctor looked bewildered and said, "Well sir of all the babies I would have thought that maybe this child could be of West Indian descent."

"Maybe", said the Englishman, "but one of the other two is f**cking Welsh and I'm not taking the risk."

Nothin like a little tension between the countries isn't there?

 

[Andy]

Nice one jimmyp,

Yeah, haven't you seen the movie Johnny English?

I'm afraid not.

 

[Robert Zaleski]

Aren't the Scottish, Welsh and Irish the original inhabitants of the British Isles? I seem to recall that they have a genetic relationship with the Basque, while the English are predominately Germanic, i.e., Norman and Saxon.

 

[jimmy p]

Well originally the peoples of The British Isle (not counting any of Ireland) were i suppose all the same race really... the celts, but when England was invaded by the Saxons and Jutes so there was a bit of inter-racial breeding (and later the Normans). But then again the Scots would most likely have had some meetings with the vikings and Danes because they invaded the north. In fact u could say the welsh are the only ones that have stayed true to their race...but then again look at them nowadays.. all inbreds hehehehe I am joking!

But then again who are we to say who is what nationality or what, when the first 'humans' came from Africa.

 

[jcsd]

Originally posted by Robert Zaleski
Aren't the Scottish, Welsh and Irish the original inhabitants of the British Isles? I seem to recall that they have a genetic relationship with the Basque, while the English are predominately Germanic, i.e., Norman and Saxon.

The Celts arrived in the British isles about 500 BC as one of the many Indo European waves of settlemnt (which include Germanic, Lati, Greek and Slavic waves, as all these group[s speak related languages)Before the dark ages and the Anglo-Saxon invasion the Brtish isles were inhabited by three broad groups: the Brythonic Celts in what is England and Wales (as well as parts of Southern Scotland), the Goidelic Celts in Ireland and the Picts in Sctoland (the Picts might of been Goidelic or Brythonic celts or may of represented a pre-Celtic British culture).

The Anglo-Saxons arrived from what is now the low countries, southern Denmark and northern Germany and they supplanted the Brythonic Celts in (basically) all but two areas: Wales and Cornwall. Meanwhile up in what is now Scotland Goidelic invaders known as the Scots (as Scotia was a Roman term for what is now Ireland) from Ireland started to colonize this area and after a long struggle they united with the Picts to form the kingdom of Scotland.

The Basques are thought to be one of the last surving enclaves of pre-Indo-European European culture as such are not thought to be related to any of the groups in Britain (thopugh it has been theorized they might be related to the Picts), though it is thought that the Goidelic Celts of Irlenad may of arrived there from Spain, which was once inhabited by Celts.

 

[Robert Zaleski]

JCSD, Y-chromosome analysis indicates close genetic relationship among Irish, Scottish, Cornish and Basque. Overall DNA analysis is another story.


www.racearchives.com/calc/ - 12k

 

[jono]

Ahem

*Welshman joins the conversation*

<This is the welsh flag btw.

 

[Monique]

You didn't mind the baby joke, did you jono? :)

 

[jono]

Of course not. I now live in england, and my accent means I get constantly bombarded by wales-based humour, especially sheep related.

Fortunately my appearence means that I don't get a great deal of trouble with violence and stuff (many of my welsh friends who have left the "welsh nest" do).

I'm used to it. It's not so baaaaa-d.


Jonathan

 

[jimmy p]

lol that is ok then, wouldn't mean to offend, its just too easy. However it makes a change from the Irish being the brunt of jokes (englishman, irishman, scotsman) or 'Paddy n Murphy'. i like it when foreign people can accept a joke about their country cos that shows that SOME ppl in their country have a sense of humour instead of a strong desire to remove ur teeth with their shoe!

 

[Adrian Baker]

What I find annoying is meeting Americans descended originally from Great Britain. They love to claim to be 'Irish Americans' (no 1 choice), 'Scottish Americans' (no 2 choice) or occasionally 'Welsh Americans' (no 3 choice).

I have NEVER yet met an 'English American' just Greek, Jewish, Italian, Hispanic, Nordic etc... What is it with you guys? Do you need a bit of Celt or European heritage to feel special?

Has anyone ever met an 'English American'?


Rant over

 

[jimmy p]

Lol i agree. 'Gee u guys have so much history here in England for such a tiny island' well if they are so proud of our history why arent they proud to be 'english americans' instead of irish american or japanese american or russian american or whatever. and its only in america. u don't get indian-british or french-british people..or hispanic-brits... lol

Part 2 of rant oveer

 

[Monique]

Well.. maybe they are so proud of their own country that they don't emmigrate? Just a thought.. hehe

 

[jimmy p]

lol...why don't the others say they are british-american? after they protest about everything being 'english' n not british so we make the effort to make it british...they have their own parliament but are useless so rely on westminister to make the decisions..,FOOLS ILL CRUSH THEM! lol

 

[gnome]

Has anyone ever met an 'English American'?

Who'd ever admit to that?

 

[Adrian Baker]

Originally posted by gnome
Who'd ever admit to that?

It is true that the Americans I've met are very selective in 'choosing' their heritage. That many claim that they are directly descended from the 'founding fathers on the Mayflower' that it must have been bigger than the QE2! (and made three return journeys!)

 

[plus]

Originally posted by Adrian Baker
It is true that the Americans I've met are very selective in 'choosing' their heritage. That many claim that they are directly descended from the 'founding fathers on the Mayflower' that it must have been bigger than the QE2! (and made three return journeys!)

No. The Mayflower sailed over 23 generations ago. Even with an average 2 children per person starting with 10 people on that ship (and obviously others already there or came later for mating purposes), that gives over 80 million people descended from the people on that boat.

 

[Andy]

Whats the population of The U,S and have you taken into account how many of the descendants would have died already?

 

[Monique]

Population US: 290,342,554 (July 2003 est.)

 

[Njorl]

The reason for no "English Americans" is that few English people emigrated in the last 150 years. There were waves of Irish, German, Italian, Chinese and Poles, amongst others. After a few generations, you are generally just an "American". There are plenty of Irish, for example, who had all 4 grandparents born in the US, who don't consider themselves Irish Americans, except on March 17th.

Part of the identity of these immigrant groups is because they were violently rejected by society at large. In the 19th century, new immigrants generally didn't have access to the police, law courts or schools, and had to fend for themselves. The English never faced this exclusion.

Njorl

 

[selfAdjoint]

Originally posted by Adrian Baker
What I find annoying is meeting Americans descended originally from Great Britain. They love to claim to be 'Irish Americans' (no 1 choice), 'Scottish Americans' (no 2 choice) or occasionally 'Welsh Americans' (no 3 choice).

I have NEVER yet met an 'English American' just Greek, Jewish, Italian, Hispanic, Nordic etc... What is it with you guys? Do you need a bit of Celt or European heritage to feel special?

Has anyone ever met an 'English American'?


Rant over

Well, I am over half English descended, the rest being Scotch-Irish (no, not "Scots") and one Irishman. Scotch-Irish is a population of Scots who were settled in N.I. in the 17th century and took the first opportunity to sail to the Americas. They distinguish themselves carefully from both Scots and Irish and I'll bet if you did their genetics you'd find out they were basically Picts.

And don't forget that US caste WASP, for "white Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant" (I guess to distinguish from all those black, Jewish Anglo-Saxons).

 

[Monique]

I really wonder though, why is it so important to distinguish themselves to such great lengths? I mean.. 17th century.. If I were to immigrate to another country I would identify myself as Dutch, my children would identify themselves as having some Dutch heritage, but that is where it ends.

I mean, I have no clue what my family history is besides the fact that me and my parents grew up in Amsterdam, it wouldn't really matter :)

So yeah, maybe for the first and second generation there is a point, but the rest..