The UK Chat Thread (new house, construction, income)
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I've been a little confused about what is the UK and what is England so I've researched it and I think I've got it down, maybe one of you fine folks here can help out a dumb ass Yank or whatever you guys call Americans.
I get that the UK is a cluster of counties, England, Scotland, parts of Ireland and Wales. So where does the term "British" come from? Why isn't all of Ireland completely separate, why only parts of Ireland part of the UK. Do we call people from England British or English or does it matter as long as you don't call them late for dinner.
Confused
EDIT to add, also, why isn't the UK part of the European union? Or is it. I know it's a separate currency, so I'm assuming it's not part of the EU.
I've been a little confused about what is the UK and what is England so I've researched it and I think I've got it down, maybe one of you fine folks here can help out a dumb ass Yank or whatever you guys call Americans.
I get that the UK is a cluster of counties, England, Scotland, parts of Ireland and Wales. So where does the term "British" come from? Why isn't all of Ireland completely separate, why only parts of Ireland part of the UK. Do we call people from England British or English or does it matter as long as you don't call them late for dinner.
Confused
EDIT to add, also, why isn't the UK part of the European union? Or is it. I know it's a separate currency, so I'm assuming it's not part of the EU.
The full title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK stands for United Kingdom. The two kingdoms that united were England and Scotland. That happened in two stages. Stage one was the union of the crowns when James VI of Scotland became king of England following the death of Elizabeth I. The second stage was the political union in 1707.
Wales was not a kingdom in its own right but a Principality of the English crown. So although Wales is a separate country within the United Kingdom, at the time of union it was part of the Kingdom of England.
The same was true of Ireland. Up until 1921, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. In 1921, the country which is now the Republic of Ireland became independent and formed another country. However, Northern Ireland stayed with the UK (that is a whole other complicated issue that I will not get into here).
Great Britain refers to the island where Wales, Scotland and England are. Hence the title United Kingdom of Great Britain. When referring to the people who live on that island it is often shortened to British. It is perfectly acceptable to call someone from England either English or British.
The UK is part of the European Union but chose not to adopt the Euro (as did Denmark). The two are not the same.
The full title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK stands for United Kingdom. The two kingdoms that united were England and Scotland. That happened in two stages. Stage one was the union of the crowns when James VI of Scotland became king of England following the death of Elizabeth I. The second stage was the political union in 1707.
Wales was not a kingdom in its own right but a Principality of the English crown. So although Wales is a separate country within the United Kingdom, at the time of union it was part of the Kingdom of England.
The same was true of Ireland. Up until 1921, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. In 1921, the country which is now the Republic of Ireland became independent and formed another country. However, Northern Ireland stayed with the UK (that is a whole other complicated issue that I will not get into here).
Great Britain refers to the island where Wales, Scotland and England are. Hence the title United Kingdom of Great Britain. When referring to the people who live on that island it is often shortened to British. It is perfectly acceptable to call someone from England either English or British.
The UK is part of the European Union but chose not to adopt the Euro (as did Denmark). The two are not the same.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the heads up. I never paid much attention to history studies when in school, so some of this stuff is a bit murky at times.
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