What’s in a name? Plenty, if you’re trying to puzzle out the difference between the UK, Great Britain, and England. Bottom line: they’re not the same things at all.
The official name of the UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK is a nation-state composed of four countries:
- England
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
Great Britain, though, is the landmass that’s home to only three of those countries: England, Scotland, and Wales. These three countries form the political union called the United Kingdom.
With its capital city of London, England continues to remain the largest and most powerful politically. However, the three countries have a long and complex history, full of changing political status. In fact, the citizens of Wales and Scotland have shown a keen interest in breaking away from the UK to become independent nations, although this hasn’t happened yet.
So, what’s different about Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland isn’t part of Great Britain because it’s located at the northern tip of another island, Ireland, which sits to the west of Great Britain. Aside from the geographical borders of the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean, there’s also a political border that stretches across the island.
The political border lies between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland gained its independence from the British crown in 1922 after centuries of war and hesitant peace. However, Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom.
On a map, Great Britain is the large island off the northwestern coast of Europe. The entire island (sometimes just called “Britain”) is the largest island off the mainland European coast.
Think you’ve got it now? Then what do the “British Isles” refer to?
The term refers to all the islands off the northwest coast of Europe, including the big ones we’ve discussed, Great Britain and Ireland. Beyond the mainland of Britain, though, lies a whole bunch of smaller islands.
This whole group of islands, several thousands of them, are termed the British Isles. They include the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Isles of Scilly, and many more.
What’s important to note is that the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey, among others, aren’t actually part of the UK. They have political ties, but they’re technically distinct.
Aside from the geographical confusion, there’s the problem of governance. The United Kingdom is a nation-state, or “sovereign state,” made up of four countries, but none of them are fully independent entities.
In many ways, it’s helpful to think of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as the equivalent of states in the United States. Parliament, in London, acts like the federal government in Washington, DC.
But the state analogy falls short of the full complexity, which includes the thousand-plus years of invasions, empires, and royal wranglings.
For example, in 1707, Scotland joined England and Wales to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Before that, Scotland had most of its own monarchs, its own parliament, and independent self-governance. For the last three hundred years, though, Scotland’s only claim to self-rule was sending their local representatives to Parliament in London.
Scotland only regained some measure of local governmental control in 1999, when the Scottish Parliament was finally restored. It was the same year that Wales launched its own National Assembly — like a parliament, but with less political power. The Northern Ireland Assembly was formed in 1998, just a year earlier, as part of the Good Friday Agreement.
England, strangely enough, has no sovereign legislature of its own. So, until 25 years ago, none of the member countries of the UK had independent lawmaking bodies outside of Parliament, and England still doesn’t.
Union Jack, the flag of the United Kingdom, is a good example of the complexity of the situation. The flag is itself a “union” of the three flags of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Since Wales was never officially a kingdom, its flag was left out.
What about national identity?
The issue of national identity is probably the biggest mistake Americans make when speaking with those from across the pond.
Here goes. All citizens of the United Kingdom are considered British, whether they live on the actual isle of Great Britain or not. So, technically, it’s okay to call someone from Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland “British.”
However, whether they identify as British is another issue.
A person from Scotland would probably say, ‘I’m Scottish first and British second,’ and the Welsh might do the same. However, the English are more likely to say they’re British first and English second because of the historical subjugation of those other countries.
The English, who were the ruling power, consider themselves to be British, whereas the Scots and Welsh want to preserve their original national identity. Scotland held a national referendum on gaining full independence from the UK in 2014, but it didn’t pass. A second referendum is widely anticipated.
So, the bottom line is, don’t call someone “English” if they’re not from England. “British” is the acceptable term.
And what about those who claim Charles III is not the King of England? Technically, it’s true. The newly coronated monarch is King of the United Kingdom, not just England. In addition, he’s still recognized as the king of 14 Commonwealth nations that had been part of the British Empire, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Jamaica.
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