The Difference between Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and England

[Santa Wally]

Will that be on the FINAL EXAM ???

[Danwell]

The Animaniacs listed Kampuchea, Zaire, Czechoslovakia and Transylvania. Ever so slightly outdated!

[ForresterModern]

Clear as mother's milk now.

Thanks Ron, it was to say the least interesting.

[sydnie7]

Great stuff, thanks for the link!

[Clansmen]

Even though there are a couple of points of dissention, this had me in fits of laughter, thank you for sharing this

[Rob]

If folks are confused by the definitions of such terms as England, United Kingdom, and Great Britain, then what about the constituent parts of Great Britain? Are the names England, Wales, and Scotland really descriptive of the lands that have been given these names?

Surely Scotland is a good descriptive name? Well, perhaps not. It implies that it is the land of the Scots, but the term ‘Scots’ came from the Irish tribe (referred to by the Romans as the ‘Scotti’) who migrated to the region now known as Argyll in the 5th century AD. However, a large majority of the current population of Scotland are descended from early Britons whose ancestors migrated to northern Britain from northern Iberia sometime between the end of the last Ice Age and the Bronze Age, and are not descended from the Scotti tribe.

What about Wales? The terms ‘Wales’ and ‘Welsh’ derive from the Anglo-Saxon term ‘wealas’, meaning ‘foreigner’. Surely this is an inaccurate and insulting name, as it is an undisputed fact that the vast majority (about 83%) of the Welsh are also descendents of the early Britons who migrated from northern Iberia, so in no way could they legitimately be referred to as foreigners in their homeland by the 5th/6th century Anglo-Saxons, who were the true ‘foreigners’ at that time.

On the other hand, the name ‘England’ must surely be an accurate descriptive term for the land, which we have all been told was almost entirely taken over and massively occupied by the Anglo-Saxons from northwest Germany in the 5th/6th centuries. Well, yet again common knowledge turns out to be far from the truth, as it has been shown from population genetics studies that the 5th/6th century Anglo-Saxon incursions account for a mere 5-6% of modern English ancestry. Yet again the majority (about 66%) derive from the same early Britons who migrated from northern Iberia in prehistoric times. So just as with the names Scotland and Wales, the name England turns out to be inaccurate as a historical descriptor of its people.

It is too late to change any of these names now, but these facts should be borne in mind when considering who the people of Great Britain really are.

[Riverkilt]

Which is why SCANDANAVIAN DNA runs in my veins inherited from my ancestors who lived in Uig and Staffin on the Trotternish Peninsula of Skye...and Clan Donald was founded by Sommerled.

I do believe the guy doing the gig was speaking geographically, not culturally though.

[Mike_Oettle]

A correction here for O’Callaghan: Crown dependency is the correct term for the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
They are not represented in the Westminster Parliament, but fall directly under the Queen.
The Isle of Man has its own parliament, the Tynwald, the world’s oldest existing legislature. The Tynwald is made up of the House of Keys and the Legislative Council.
The Channel Islands comprise two bailiwicks, Jersey and Guernsey. Its legislatures are called the States of Jersey and the States of Guernsey.
Sark and Alderney both fall under the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
When Westminster proposed privatising the Post Office in the 1970s, the States (of both bailiwicks) and the Tynwald disagreed, and were allowed to form their own postal services separate from Royal Mail.
This is why these islands then ceased issuing regional postage stamps (bearing the Queen’s head but no country inscription) and instead issued their own stamps, inscribed Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.
Stamps have occasionally also been issued for Alderney by the Guernsey Post Office.
Private issues of locally valid stamps have been made for Herm island (also part of Guernsey), but these have had no official or international recognition.
During the Second World War, the Channel Islands were the only British soil to be occupied by Nazi German forces.
With permission from King George VI, the island authorities issued their own postage stamps during that time.
Regards,
Mike

[Jack Daw]

So, if the U.S. wanted to buy the province of Alberta, who do we pay?

[ABG0819]

Have you ever thought "that would be interesting to know." until you see an odd little video explaining it. "Maybe I didn't want to know that bad." LOL Great video and a LOT of information in a small amount of time.