Comments on Project Britain.com: British or English

In reference to a post about the "Cornish nat...

2010-11-15T22:20:59.498Z

In reference to a post about the "Cornish nation", I too would add that I do not consider myself to be English, but Kentish. An independent nation in its own right for over 400 years before being engulfed by Mercia and later, wessex, I still associate myself more closely with my home land than I do anything to the west or north of its borders.
After this, I would say I'm British, as I live on the British Isles. But never English, and never European.
Its interesting to me (although not surprising) that the Scots and Irish have a lot more to say about their nationalities and how hard done by theyve all been by the English - even if they dont say it in as many words!

i don't really know because i was born in engl...

2010-11-08T18:46:55.556Z

i don't really know because i was born in england however i am from great briton. also i proud to say i am from england or great briton!! :)

I WAS BORN IN ENGLAND SO I AM ENGLISH NOT BRITISH ...

2010-10-06T16:03:06.820+01:00

I WAS BORN IN ENGLAND SO I AM ENGLISH NOT BRITISH THERE IS NO SUCH PLACE AS BRITISH

I would argue there are no people of pure English,...

2010-08-28T08:10:00.186+01:00

I would argue there are no people of pure English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish descent in the UK and it is somewhat tribalistic to describe oneself as English, Scottish etc. My parents were born in England but raised in Scotland. My siblings were born in Scotland. Some of my grandparents were from England, others from Scotland. I wasn't born in the UK. We have lived in both Scotland and England. I consider myself (and every other citizen of this country) to be British, a citizen of the United Kingdom. There is no such thing as English or Scottish citizenship; these terms refer only to ethnicity. Note also the term 'Great Britain' is very rarely if ever used in the UK because it is the name of our largest island and not our country. Americans, Presidents included, often seem to talk about 'Great Britain', we assume because the US gained independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The 'United Kingdom', however, has been the correct name for this country since 1801. Britain is officially the short form for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it is NOT short for Great Britain. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are regions like Alsace, Bavaria or Andalusia, they are NOT COUNTRIES in their own right. There is a good resource at http://www.projectbritain.com/britain.html. The information of Wikipedia also seems to be accurate.

To summarise, Great Britain is an island and not a country. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are regions of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is the only correct name for this country. Citizens of the UK are British.

Britain, or the UK, is a Country made up of old Ki...

2010-08-12T18:08:38.582+01:00

Britain, or the UK, is a Country made up of old Kingdoms. It is not a smaller version of a UN or EU. A Briton is what we truly are, as all other decriptions of Scottish English Welsh or other are made up due to us being effected by overseas invaders. We are not ethnically and genetically different. Our blood is Briton. The fore mentioned Scottish English Welsh hatred of each other is probably down to a shared history of sad conflict, and the fact that deep down we know we are exactly the one and the same people, a very natural real Country, yet we decided to act dis-united. Britain is one of the most natural Country in terms of DNA and history, in the world.

Other Countries have states which have thier own parliaments and governments, unfortunately we failed at having a normal federal system, instead we have expensive asymetric systems (Welsh Assembly, Scottish parliament) in which England has no parliament or government itself. It would probably make sense to split England into two, North and South as they are different from each other in outlook, culture, attitude (does not make them a different people). The North of England has always been the hardest hit part of Britain in history, and should be the most bitter and angry area of the Country, but due to it's hardness, it's not.

Eu has played it's part in trying to break up Britain, and certain bodies in Britain have belittled Britishness and increasingly servile people are falling for this, hence they may say independence for Scotland or England, which is what eurocrats want. The break up of the worlds most succesful nation state would be the biggest disaster, and mistake of all time, and we should all hold our heads in shame of this failure, if it ever happened. Britain would still be my Country.

I would say out of habit that I'm "Englis...

2010-08-09T22:50:15.507+01:00

I would say out of habit that I'm "English" Anyway what on earth happened to the "united" part of the "united kingdom"? It's not united at all anymore. The welsh and Scottish refused in particular to be associated with England, to the point that during the world cup Scotland and Wales only cared that England DID NOT win, I mean we're from the same country! The fact that the Scottish begrudge us so much, I mean 1. We’re not the people who were around 1000's of years ago funnily enough (neither were you actually!) 2. It was mainly the Scottish beating up the Scottish anyway!

My knowledge of the subject is Britain is the island, and UK is NI aswell. But the UK has never been that unfortunately "united" we can’t even have the same government the Scottish and welsh have independent parties (plus the Scottish insist on having different rules from us and their own Scottish house - like lords and commons but full of Scotts) and they just hate us so much! JUST GET OVER IT! It was 100's of years ago, just forget about it you weren’t even there!!

This seems to be turning into a rant! But it annoys me so much! Don’t be hating on me I wasn’t there I didn’t hold the sword I didn’t start the war I’ve done nothing wrong! Neither have any English people we're just born here it’s not our fault we didn’t choose it! Just like no one chooses where they are born or wat the country’s history was like! so I’m really sorry but, you're not achieving anything by hating me so get on with ur life, plus if Scotland’s so great and English are so nasty why do you come here and work and get married to English people??? Go home if we’re so bad!

>.< I feel better now. :D

What a credit to you all this website is. I am sur...

2010-08-05T17:55:09.719+01:00

What a credit to you all this website is. I am sure you have learn a lot putting it together.

Stay Well Stay Happy

John

i was born in england, i call my self a Britton, o...

2010-08-02T14:07:29.593+01:00

i was born in england, i call my self a Britton, or a Celt or Pagan.
Not White English nor English.
English is a language,
You Would not call someone from asia "brown asian"
nor would you say the chinese are "yellow chinese", and so on

the uk is made up of scoland england n ireland and...

2010-07-25T13:21:18.275+01:00

the uk is made up of scoland england n ireland and wales they are all separate countries not like the usa who are all the one country but with different states so if your born in scotland and your familys from scotland you would regard yourself as scottish, im scottish born and raised same goes for england..english, n ireland irish, wales welsh but were all separte countries that form the uk

It does seem that everybody is into this kind of s...

2010-07-24T04:26:22.428+01:00

It does seem that everybody is into this kind of stuff lately. Don’t really understand it though, but thanks for trying to explain it. Appreciate you shedding light into this matter. Keep it up

community

The mayority of the UK is made up of England and t...

2010-07-19T14:59:17.673+01:00

The mayority of the UK is made up of England and that is why they are only ruled by the Wesminster government and they have the highest number of seats. Scotland has its own parliament because the Scottish people felt that, as the majority of MPs are from English constiuencies, the Westminster Parliament couldn't understand their needs and they felt that they were also being used as a guinie pig. I am not sure wether this was the truly the case that they were used as one or wether it was the same in Wales and in Notheren Ireland. It was just in refrence to what Graham and others have said. I just think that Scotland, Wales and Nothern Ireland are more likley to become independant than England as Westminster controlls all of the UKs forgien affairs ect. and England orginised the union of the crowns in 1707 in the first place as Queen Elizabeth 1st of England had no other close realatives other than her cousin's (Mary Queen of Scots) son James VI of Scotland and I of England.
Also I am Scottish (and British) and I feel that the Scottish Parliament has benifited Scotland greatly in the few areas that it does control. I do also partly belive in independence for Scotland as I belive that a government in Edinburgh that is closer to home could make better decisions for Scotland

I do not wish to offend anyone with my opinions.

Independence for Scotland! (or failing that more power to the Scottish Government.)

Hi I am Scottish first and Britsh second mainly be...

2010-07-19T14:25:59.559+01:00

Hi
I am Scottish first and Britsh second mainly because I feel more connected to Scotland. I don't think your ancesters particularly matter. I have Scottish, English and Irish ancesters and relitives. I would still be the same person inside wether I am from Scotland, Austria, Norway or the USA and the labels that we give ourselves just divide and opress us. At the end of the day the UK is small country on a small planet. In years to come we will no longer be here, the continents will shift and none of this will matter anymore. We are all the same and should live in peace.

Peace, Emma x

Firstly, I'm from Yorkshire - born in York, so...

2010-07-17T12:49:21.781+01:00

Firstly, I'm from Yorkshire - born in York, so my answer is lad - get an education - look it up in a book at a library. We tell it like it is in Yorkshire.(that was an attempt at a joke by the way).

Politely though , England is a country that is part of Great Britain. Wales is a principality not a country and Scotland is a country. The Act of Union with Wales came about by 1543. Wales had previously been under the control of the English Kings since the conquests of Edward I and had been ruled as a principality. Great Britain came into being with the Act of Union 1707 with Scotland. In 1776 of course the American Colonies became independant - the United States, and then you went off and did your own thing.
In 1800 a number of additional acts specifically within and with Ireland came into place and on 01st Jan 1801 the union act came into force and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland came into being. Since then of course Ireland split and became independant EIRE around 1922, Wales has an assembly of its own and growing toward independance one suspects, Scotland has its own Parliament seperate from Westminster (the UK Parliament) and England? - well it has nothing, we don't have anything we are just British as it says on my passport.

The differences are huge and Ireland (specifically Eire of course) are Irish - lomg may that be the case - love the place and the people. Scotlland are Scottish and - they can have it, Wales are Welsh and fantastic and the English are - well thats another story. But I am a Yorkshireman, trace my ancestry back a long way on my mums side - Normans(mostly Norsemen) and on my dads side probably real Norsemen but not Saxon. Romans?, too far back in time to concern me although the ruins around gloucestershire are pretty appealing.

England, Its a great place, a bit wet and windy, dour at times and very dry humoured. Sanguin most of the time but lets not get rilled up as it all becomes a bit messy. We think the US is great but filled with crazy people - but actually really like you a lot - except when you preach. Why do we know that? Its becasue for a few hundred yesr we used to do a lot of that sort of thing ourseleves before we saw the light. England? football, rugby, cricket - thats about it flying the flag - all white with a red cross - mostly though we seem to fly the Union Flag.

Now don't get me started on the US. The USA came into ......

I was born in Lucknow India in 1936 with a Scottis...

2010-07-14T02:29:05.016+01:00

I was born in Lucknow India in 1936 with a Scottish Mother and an Irish Father and I have a British Passport. I hate it when people say to me "Do you have an English Passport". No, I have a British Passport and my birth was NEVER registered in India. My Dad was in the British Army, not the English Army (Cameronians)and my birth was registered in Britain.

Why on Earth are some English commenters saying th...

2010-07-11T23:48:19.661+01:00

Why on Earth are some English commenters saying that they are "not British"??!!! This is absurd in the extreme, and makes me despair about the level of education, or even intelligence, being displayed.

We all have multiple identities - I am 'male', I am also 'human'. They are not interchangeable or comparable, because they are on different levels ('human' is more general than 'male'). Likewise, I am 'English'; I am also 'British'. English and British are not interchangeable because they are not talking about equal-level entities. One is a subset of the other.

With all due respect to those trying to argue that only Celtic people are true 'Britons', you are wrong. First of all, what you are referring to is a group of people who existed many thousands of years ago (such homogeneous groups of people no longer exist due to mixing). Second of all, in 1975 it was agreed that 'Britain' is an acceptable substitute word for the United Kingdom. Therefore if you have United Kingdom Citizenship, you have British Citizenship.

For real, working purposes, a "country" is a political and economic entity. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are countries *in name only*. Devolution issues notwithstanding, there is nothing at all in our written statues that suggests that they are countries at all. None of them have seats on the United Nations. None fight independently in Afghanistan. None have their own Army, Navy or Air Force.

It is NOT an insult to be called 'British' if you are English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish, it is simply a part of your extended identity. If you despise your British Citizenry (which was either earned or was your Birthright), revoke it - see what happens. The Northern Irish have the right to both Irish and British Citizenship. I am English but I do NOT have English Citizenry because that has not meaning at all.

The only cause for taking offense is if you are Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish and someone (usually an American) refers to you as 'English'.

Of course, there is nothing unusual with patriotism for the different UK 'nations' - we all have our patron saints, flags and national days. I am patriotic for England; I am also patriotic for Britain, which is the only entity which has any meaning on the world stage (unless of course the UK ever breaks up).

As I hinted in my first paragraph, if you are English (or Scottish or Northern Irish) but claim to not be British, you are wrong, and you are coming across as profoundly stupid. I feel a lot of this dimness would be avoided if you were aware that 'Britain' now means 'the UK' (Great Britain is only the larger island, a geographical term).

People are saying this is confusing, but it is not complicated at all. As a matter of fact, all of these points I have made can be found within seconds using Google, although really you should have learned them in primary school before you were 11 years old.

So who the heck is the Queen of England that the U...

2010-07-10T08:40:09.466+01:00

So who the heck is the Queen of England that the US media is always talking about. There has not been an English monarch since the early 1700s.

if youre scottish and welsh,does that mean your a ...

2010-07-09T17:53:19.487+01:00

if youre scottish and welsh,does that mean your a squelch ?????

We should all be proud to be from the unnited King...

2010-07-05T03:24:20.254+01:00

We should all be proud to be from the unnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland. The small island of countrys that offered the world so much, and lets not forget our ansestors who fort for this great union of four countrys under the union flag. Acording to the dictionary british referse to anything or any one from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nothern Ireland.Yes Northern Ireland hard for some to accept. I dont see the point in this arguing. I was born in England and call my self both English and British depends on the confersation. Just as i would say i am European because the UK is in the continent of Europe. The rest of the world know us as the United Kingdom of GB & NI lets be proud and LONG LIVE THE QUEEN! Also do you all realy think that as seperate countrys we could go alone. For example if we where seperate countrys during world war 2 do you think we could have done it. I dont think so we are a island nation and our UK armed forces do a great job of defending our United Kingdom!

Wow! This has become very complicated and confusin...

2010-06-30T22:10:26.092+01:00

Wow! This has become very complicated and confusing for some people. My parents and Grandparents and possibly they're Grandparents were born in Scotland as I was.I regard myself as Scottish, I couldn't be classed as anything else, other than British. I am British because of the 'Act of Union' signed and agreed in 1707, over 300 years ago where the Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of England united as one Kingdom. Some people will argue that from a Scottish perpective the Act was not something the majority of people in Scotland either agreed, needed or wanted but was agreed by the 'nobles' of Scotland for the benefit of their own prosperity and wealth (they were bribed). Nonetheless, 300 years on, I am in my 45 year and have no other way of knowing whether this has been a good or bad thing for the current people of Scotland, but do not feel as if I have suffered any more for it as I have known no other way of living.I feel overall the Union has been more good than bad, I can see no benefit to split the Union and as far as I am concerned I may be Scottish but I am definately British and proud.

Hi all, I look forward to English independence and...

2010-06-15T13:02:53.688+01:00

Hi all,
I look forward to English independence and the day when we have our own parliament.
The sooner that happens the freer I’ll be. For over 300 years there has not been an English parliament and we have been ruled by members of parliament who have not been elected by or for the English nation.
Home rule for England!
Home rule for all!
Good luck to all the constituent nations in this aim.

I was born in England, to an English mother and an...

2010-05-24T10:47:38.461+01:00

I was born in England, to an English mother and an Irish father. My dad was not from Northern Ireland, he was from the republic. Also, for long periods of time, I have lived in EIRE, England and Scotland. My accent supports this as its a mixutre of the 3. Because of all this I like to call myself Britsh, simply because it sums up the factors that make me who I am. I dont like saying I am English, beucase I prefere people not to think I am just Enlish and nothing else! I know Republic of Ireland is not in the UK, but its easier to say "British" to let others know I consiser myself to be a mix of nationalities. If you were born in England, of English blood, and grew up for the majority of your life there, I would consider them to be English. The same goes for NI, Scotland and Wales.

Northern Ireland is part of island, Ireland, not on the island of what the romans dubbed as Britannica. However it IS still part of the UK. If it wasnt, it would be a republic as it wouldnt have a monarch, like the rest of the island of Ireland. So why would it be considered not to be part of EIRE? Because it IS part of the UK. So I would say Northern Irish folk have just as much right to call themself British.... because they are! For Americans, I would compare it to Hawaii and Alaska, although it is not part of the main piece of land that forms the USA (with the understanding that Alaska is on the same continent) people from there are Hawaiian/Alaskan but are still Americans! People from Northern Ireland are Northern Irish, but are a still British.

I also, like many others, hate the fact many consider 'Britain' or 'The UK' to be England only. I think we should either be one big country called Britain (with no England or Scotland, etc), or be the complete separate, individual countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In either of these cases, I think Northern Ireland should be given a choice of either being given back its independance to become part of the island's republic, be its own separate country (in the case that the rest of the UK become their own separate countries) or just become part of one country called Britain.

I hope I havent offended anyone one in anyway, but I just thought Id share my views!

Graham the Uk government does NOT just govern engl...

2010-05-05T00:18:07.744+01:00

Graham the Uk government does NOT just govern england it governs the whole of the UK in regards to defense and foreign policy, it also dictates many powers that are not yet devolved to scotland, wales or N. Ireland. Typical misinformation that proves the point that some english people do have trouble telling the difference between the UK and england. The Government in London is the UK government made up of MPs elected from all parts of the UK not just england, rightly or wrongly england does not have its own parliament. The only way to end all of this confusion is seperation of the UK this would allow all the countries to be equal and we would all get along a lot better as a result. Finally I'm scottish not British, I'll always be scottish and never will class myself as british.

OK, Please let me clarify this for everyone once a...

2010-05-02T06:36:06.958+01:00

OK, Please let me clarify this for everyone once and for all. Since many people on here seem to be mistaken or have incorrect information. People from anywhere on the island of Ireland that goes for the independent country of The Republic of Ireland or Eire and Northen Ireland, yes Northern Ireland ARE NOT BRITISH. Follow, British refers to those people from Great Britain (like one poster said, though not nescerarly just because you are born there). Now, for the borders of Great Britain or what constitutes Great Britain. Great Britain is (made up of) one & only one single island. It is the island that consists of the autonomus territories England, Scotland, & Wales and nothing more than that. This means that NORTHERN IRELAND IS NOT (A) PART OF GREAT BRITAIN (IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FASHION), NO MATTER HOW YOU MAY TRY AND MAKE IT SO. IT IS NOT! Now I may be ignorant here so please explain to me, how is someone from Northern Ireland an autonomus location that is in no way shape or form part of Great Britain, how are they British? How can someone who is not from Britian all of a sudden British (unless of course they liniage is from Britain ie there parents, grandparents ect. . .). Simple they can't be and they are not British. I just don't understand how many people on here are saying that people from Northern Ireland are British. I do not know where they are getting there facts and or information from? However, if you are still having trouble with what I say or have said on here or you are still doubting me, by all means don't take my word check it out for yourselves. Check out the links I am providing. Google this yourself. Ask people. By all means find out for yourself.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/britain/britain.htm

http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-great-britain-and-the-united-kingdom/

http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzuk.htm

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/nationality.htm

Hello, first of all alan where do you get that the...

2010-05-02T05:30:31.133+01:00

Hello, first of all alan where do you get that the UK is not a coutry? Maybe you should check or recheck your facts again. Then again, maybe you just got (it) confused with England, which is the one that is said along with Scotland not to be(considered) countries? Everything that I have red says unequivocally that the U.K. is. Next, I am sorry to burst many of your bubbles here especially those of you from Northern Ireland who posted on here, but maybe you too need to go and recheck your facts or at least the history of your country. "British" or the Term "British" refers to someone who is or comes from Great Britain, meaning one of the "countries" that make up Great Britian. This is even though people more often associate it with people from England and that people from England call themselves or use the term to describe themselves more often than people from other Great Britain Nations. Now People, in clarification especially to those of you from Northern Ireland who wrote a comment here, Northern Ireland IS NOT PART OF GREAT BRITAIN. Therefore, one cannot be British if they are not from Great Britain. Using simple logic (for lack of a better term) here, since Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain, people from Northern Ireland are not British. However, you too might have gotten confused here. Where Northern Ireland IS (a) part of the United Kingdom, it is not part of Great Britian. Let's take a (closer) look here. First, another clarification here. Great Britain, which is where the term British comes from is not the same as the United Kingdom. Great Britian, The United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Whales, and Northern Ireland are not the same. They each refer to a different Geographic area or location, although one may be part of another. Now, just incase you feel the need to dispute this (fact) with me, lets start by looking at its complete name, "The United Kingdom of Great Britian AND NORTHERN IRELAND". If Northern Ireland, and its people as the people from Northern Ireland who posted on here said or claim, is in fact part of Britain making them British, why does the name of the nation say "Great Britain & Northern Ireland," where it so very clearly states Northern Ireland as a seperate nation or entity, rather than including it under Great Britain and calling the nation The United Kingdom of Great Britain? Well, just incase this is not fact, proof, or satisfactory enough for you check out the following websites and some information a got from them". "Great Britain is the name of the island northwest of France and east of Ireland that consists of three somewhat autonomous regions: England, Wales and Scotland".

http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzuk.htm

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/nationality.htm

http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-great-britain-and-the-united-kingdom/

I am british because i have a british passport i a...

2010-04-26T19:51:02.034+01:00

I am british because i have a british passport i am also english because i was born in england
the uk is england n.ireland scotland and wales.
england is the bottom half
and britian does not include n.ireland