Originally Posted by Wolfgang

Thankyou Steve, it is very illuminating - I hope you didn't get that off Wikipedia though!

Originally Posted by Cypher

I don't understand all of the political implications, but I am sure that MarkyB is exactly correct. My passport tells me that I am a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, i.e. a UK citizen (or a British citizen), and I am sure this would be the same for someone from Northern Ireland. In this context there has been some discussion recently on one the TV news programmes about the Union Flag which embodies the flags of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not Wales... and some of the Welsh apparently think it time that this was corrected!

Cypher

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

I find this highly amusing. We often cannot decide which films are British, and now we cannot even decide which countries are British!

Originally Posted by foha80

I have noticed that the terms British and English seem to be interchangeable with some people especially in the media,this is a very lazy habit.Even the title of this thread is inaccurate,United Kingdom,Great Britain two different terms.

Terry

Originally Posted by christoph404

The habit of interchanging England and Britain is something our American cousins do all the time and for some reason it seems to be catching on in the UK as well! In the USA, it would seem Britain and the UK is referred to as England ,and Wales, Scotland and Ireland are counties in England.So in the USA ,actors such as Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Pierce Brosnan and Anthony Hopkins are "English" actors, even Sean Connery has been called English but god help any hapless journo who says that to his face! Even US government spokespeople when talking about the various middle east conflicts, (Kuwait and Iraq) almost always refer to "English forces". "Englsh casuaties", "Englsh Allies" etc etc. I think that lazy habit is catching on here in Britain, I prefer the term British, if someone asks me where Im from I say I am British, in the USA that reply is met with...."ah...so you're from England"....

Originally Posted by Steve Crook

I think it's always been a lazy habit used by some people here as well. I don't think it's really being imported from the States or anywhere else.

It is particularly bad amongst sports journalists when any British competitor who does well is often referred to as English - but when they lose they can be Scottish or Welsh

Steve

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

I find this highly amusing. We often cannot decide which films are British, and now we cannot even decide which countries are British!

Originally Posted by Steve Crook

Ireland was a kingdom way back in the dim and distant. There are many Kings of Ireland in history.

There are two different ways of looking at it, geographically and politically.

England and Scotland had existed as separate sovereign and independent states with their own monarchs and political structures since the 9th century. The once independent Principality of Wales fell under the control of English monarchs from the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284.

Under the Acts of Union 1707, England (including Wales) and Scotland, which had been in personal union since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, agreed to a political union in the form of a unified Kingdom of Great Britain.

The Act of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, which had been gradually brought under English control between 1541 and 1691, to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.

Independence for the Irish Free State in 1922 followed the partition of the island of Ireland two years previously, with six of the nine counties of the province of Ulster remaining within the UK, which then changed to the current name in 1927 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.



The island of Ireland contains the Republic of Ireland (The Irish name Éire can refer to the Republic or the whole island) and the six counties of Northern Ireland.

Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of England, Scotland and Wales plus Northern Ireland.

The term "Britain" is widely used as a political synonym for the United Kingdom.

The British Isles are made up of Great Britain, plus Ireland plus all the other islands like the Isle of Man and the Channel Island (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark etc)


Confusing, isn't it?
And you're right. A lot of these terms are misused

Steve

Originally Posted by Marky B

I once asked a question in a quiz:"What was the last battle to be fought on British soil?" and whereas I had the answer of "Culloden",a few people put down the Falkland Islands. In a way they were right,but I stuck to my guns and only accepted Culloden.
Ta Ta
Marky B

Originally Posted by Harleybloke

I know it's 'Britmovie' but I see myself as ENGLISH, not British. I was born in ENGLAND. I see St.Georges flag as 'MY' flag. Not the Union flag.

Originally Posted by Steve Crook

But the usual answer is Culloden

Steve

Originally Posted by Steve Crook

It could be argued that you were wrong anyway
The Battle of Culloden was in 1746.

There were some 1,400 Napoleonic troops that landed in Pembrokeshire in 1796 and were defeated in battle (although without a shot being fired because they surrendered so quickly).

Or you could count the Battle of Graveney Marsh (September 1940) where the crew of a Junkers 88 that was damaged by AA fire landed safely. The crew moved away from the plane and holed up. As soldiers arrived on the scene the Germans opened fire on them. They surrendered quite quickly after that but it counts as the last time shots were exchanged in a battle (not counting street or criminal gangs shooting at each other)

Or you could count the Battle of Britain as being fought on British soil - that's where quite a few of them ended up even though the fighting took place in the skies above it.

But the usual answer is Culloden

Steve