History UsefulNotes / BritainVersusTheUK

If you refer to a Scot or a Welshman as "British", the vast majority will just accept this, although the more nationalist may insist on a local term – and although on a kind of cultural level this may be correct depending on your point of view, from a strict legal perspective, this is wrong, as Scottish and Welsh people are all British citizens, as are the vast majority of Northern Irish.[[note]]Northern Irish people are automatically citizens of the UK upon birth, but are entitled to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, and some Nationalists might renounce British citizenship and take up exclusive ROI citizenship, hence "mostly." Because of the special relationship between the ROI and UK and their common membership in the EU, this switch is (or was) almost entirely symbolic, as going from one to the other does not deprive you of any rights or grant any particularly significant new ones, other than no longer being subject to the (highly unlikely) conscription and some subtle differences in random foreign countries' visa policies. Things got a lot more complicated when "Brexit" came up though, because, among other things, residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens are still entitled to representation in the European parliament, but Northern Ireland will lose its [=MEPs=]. How exactly Westminster plans on solving that is, as of this writing, still unknown.[[/note]] Whatever happens, "British" is right, and "English" is ''not''. Apart from being separated by borders, this is (as touched upon above) because the Scottish Highlanders and Strathclyde and the Welsh, plus the Irish, Manx (of the Isle of Man), Cornish and extended Cumbric can trace their heritage back to the Celts who inhabited these isles since before the Romans, let alone the 'English', came[[note]](this can be a controversial view: Oppenheimer argues that Germanic people have also been here since pre-Roman times)[[/note]] – whereas the 'English' descend mainly from the consecutive Germanic and Norman ([[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys read: stinkin' French]]) conquests, and can be, and sometimes are, still viewed as "outsiders" and "invaders" by more radical nationalists in Wales or Scotland. Hence ''sassenach'', derived from Scottish Gaelic ''Sasannach'', meaning "Saxon", a derogatory word for the English.[[note]]It cuts both ways – the ancient Brythonic word from which ''Cymru'', the Welsh for "Wales", derived, meant 'friend'; the English term ''Wales'', though, derived from a word meaning 'stranger' or 'enemy'![[/note]] Those of Celtic land now in England (Cornwall, Cumbria, the West Riding) may have a more reasonable chip on their shoulder because of the actual invading that happened to take the land, but also have nationalist ties both ways and so are less likely to be violent. Strathclyde, though in south-west Scotland, often gets lumped with these areas. Lowland Scottish culture is mainly of Germanic origin (south-east Scotland has been Germanic almost as long as England has). The Scots language (distinct from and not to be confused with either Scottish English or Scottish Gaelic) is derived from Middle English (the language spoken in England from the 1000s to the 1400s), making Modern Scots a sister language of Modern English – unlike Scottish Gaelic of the Celtic language family, which is nowadays confined to parts of the Highlands and the Hebrides (an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland). That said, Scots is also spoken in parts of the Highlands despite being quite broadly seen as the Lowland language (e.g. Aberdeen and the surrounding area, which actually has an extremely high concentration of Scots speakers). Also, the far north of Scotland (Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and part of Caithness) has a more Scandinavian heritage – it was, after all, closer for the Vikings to reach – and though its language, Norn, died out in the 19th century, some Orcadians and Shetlanders still insist they are not Scottish.\\

As a geographic term, it includes the area of the Republic of Ireland (which is not 'British'), without implying any territorial claims. However, most Irish people (except Unionists) dislike the term, for understandable reasons. Clunky replacement terms such as the "North-West European Archipelago" have been suggested, but haven't caught on. Modern use in socio-geographical contexts (e.g. in textbooks) may simply refer to the group neutrally under the compound name of its two principal landmasses ''Great Britain and Ireland'', although this neglects those many smaller islands traditionally included in the "British Isles". Politicians when talking of matters concerning both nations generally just say ''these islands''.

The actual legal status of these three micro-states, where the British Government has no authority, yet the King does, is insanely complicated. Some idea of the complexity: the island of Sark, a semi-autonomous part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, was the last remaining feudal state in Europe until 2008. The island has a population of roughly 600.[[note]]Although it is now introducing democracy, a process instigated by resident billionaire twin brothers who own a sub-island, the same men have been accused by some locals of wanting to run it as their own personal fiefdom.[[/note]] The Isle of Man has the world's oldest continuous parliament, and has never been a member of the European Union, and it has its own version of the pound not interchangeable with the British one... having said that, Manx coins will occasionally find their way into the UK proper and be accepted without comment as they look almost identical and are identical in value.[[note]]"Not interchangeable" simply means that the the Manx pound is not legal tender in the UK (though the pound sterling ''is'' legal tender on Man)--that is to say, if you are in, say, London and owe your friend a pound, she is within her rights to refuse if you try to pay it off with a Manx pound coin, but if you try to pay her with a British pound coin, she has to take it in satisfaction of the debt, and you can sue her if she still refuses. The exchange rate has been permanently set at 1 to 1. Theoretically, anyone traveling from the Isle of Man to the mainland is expected to go to an Isle of Man Bank office and exchange their Manx pounds for pounds sterling, but when it comes to coins they often don't bother.[[/note]] And, perhaps most famously, it is popularly thought to have no road speed limits, although it does.[[note]]The Isle of Man actually has speed limits, lots of them. The difference is that the roadsign which in Great Britain means 'national speed limit' (i.e. 60mph, or 70mph if there are multiple lanes), on Man means 'unlimited'. That is the only time there is no speed limit. However, the police can and will pull you over for driving like an idiot regardless of the (lack of) limit. It's like [[UsefulNotes/GermanPeculiarities the Autobahn]], basically. [[/note]]

* '''Northern Ireland''' (a ''political'' term) takes up, as the name implies, (part of) the northeast of Ireland. It is often referred to as Ulster, though this can be politically sensitive as not all of the old Irish province of that name is actually inside Northern Ireland (although all of Northern Ireland is part of historic Ulster, three of Ulster's nine historic counties are in the Republic).[[note]]To wit, Counties Cavan, Monaghan, and Donegal are in the Republic, while Counties Antrim, (London)Derry, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, and Fermanagh are in NI and thus the UK. The island's northernmost point Malin Head is also, ironically, in the Republic.[[/note]] The people of Northern Ireland are divided about 60/40 between Unionists, mainly Protestant, who feel they are Brits;[[note]]although the proportion of Unionists has started to decline rapidly in the last few years, largely due to a surprising number of Northern Irish now being indifferent to which nation they end up in[[/note]] and Nationalists, mainly Catholic, who feel they are Irish, and currently the ruling coalition mandatorily incorporates parts of both sides. Anyone born in NI can choose to have British, Irish, or dual citizenship since the Good Friday Agreement to stop everyone [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles killing each other]]. [[note]]Northern Irish athletes with dual citizenship can elect to represent either the UK or the Republic of Ireland at the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, for example.[[/note]]

Ah. With devolution (the transferring of certain legislative powers to local governing bodies, the Scottish Parliament, Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and Northern Ireland Assembly) and increasing Scottish and Welsh nationalism, even the English are getting more and more picky about these matters of designation. Many English people get annoyed when people from the UK are either "Scottish" (and occasionally, if they're lucky, "Welsh" or "Northern Irish") or "British", but rarely "English"... at least, not in any positive context. The frustration is that the English are often only separated out when it comes to criticism: for example, Americans may talk about getting independence from "the English" as if the Scots and Welsh had nothing to do with it. There are also more and more English who dislike the use of the UK's Union Flag or national anthem ''God Save [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen The Queen]]'' in relation to purely English matters, for example English sports teams.\\

The actual legal status of these three micro-states, where the British Government has no authority, yet the Queen does, is insanely complicated. Some idea of the complexity: the island of Sark, a semi-autonomous part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, was the last remaining feudal state in Europe until 2008. The island has a population of roughly 600.[[note]]Although it is now introducing democracy, a process instigated by resident billionaire twin brothers who own a sub-island, the same men have been accused by some locals of wanting to run it as their own personal fiefdom.[[/note]] The Isle of Man has the world's oldest continuous parliament, and is not a member of the European Union, and it has its own version of the pound not interchangeable with the British one... having said that, Manx coins will occasionally find their way into the UK proper and be accepted without comment as they look almost identical and are identical in value.[[note]]"Not interchangeable" simply means that the the Manx pound is not legal tender in the UK (though the pound sterling ''is'' legal tender on Man)--that is to say, if you are in, say, London and owe your friend a pound, she is within her rights to refuse if you try to pay it off with a Manx pound coin, but if you try to pay her with a British pound coin, she has to take it in satisfaction of the debt, and you can sue her if she still refuses. The exchange rate has been permanently set at 1 to 1. Theoretically, anyone traveling from the Isle of Man to the mainland is expected to go to an Isle of Man Bank office and exchange their Manx pounds for pounds sterling, but when it comes to coins they often don't bother.[[/note]] And, perhaps most famously, it is popularly thought to have no road speed limits, although it does.[[note]]The Isle of Man actually has speed limits, lots of them. The difference is that the roadsign which in Great Britain means 'national speed limit' (i.e. 60mph, or 70mph if there are multiple lanes), on Man means 'unlimited'. That is the only time there is no speed limit. However, the police can and will pull you over for driving like an idiot regardless of the (lack of) limit. It's like [[UsefulNotes/GermanPeculiarities the Autobahn]], basically. [[/note]]

* '''Northern Ireland''' (a ''political'' term) takes up, as the name implies, (part of) the northeast of Ireland. It is often referred to as Ulster, though this can be politically sensitive as not all of the old Irish province of that name is actually inside Northern Ireland (although all of Northern Ireland is part of historic Ulster, three of Ulster's nine historic counties are in the Republic).[[note]]To wit, Counties Cavan, Monaghan, and Donegal are in the Republic, while Counties Antrim, (London)Derry, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, and Fermanagh are in NI and thus the UK. The island's northernmost point Malin Head is also, ironically, in the Republic.[[/note]] The people of Northern Ireland are divided about 60/40 between Unionists, mainly Protestant, who feel they are Brits;[[note]]although the proportion of Unionists has started to decline rapidly in the last few years[[/note]] and Nationalists, mainly Catholic, who feel they are Irish, and currently the ruling coalition mandatorily incorporates parts of both sides. Anyone born in NI can choose to have British, Irish, or dual citizenship since the Good Friday Agreement to stop everyone [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles killing each other]]. [[note]]Northern Irish athletes with dual citizenship can elect to represent either the UK or the Republic of Ireland at the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, for example.[[/note]]

Yes, although this is where it maybe gets even ''more'' confusing. "English" was for a long time an accepted generalisation for the whole country, including Scotland and the British parts of Ireland; this is reflected in several foreign names for the nation to this day. The word 'England' (and its foreign equivalents such as ''Angleterre'') derives from ''Angle-land'', after one of the successive waves of Germanic and Norse peoples – the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Angles and Saxons]], Jutes, Frisians, [[HornyVikings Danes and Norwegians]] – who invaded from northern Europe[[note]] the Jutes from Jutland in Denmark, the Angles from Schleswig, the Saxons from Holstein and Lower Saxony, the Frisians from the coast of Lower Saxony in Germany and what is now the province of Frisia in the Netherlands[[/note]] in the centuries of the '[[Main/DarkAgeEurope Dark Ages]]' after the withdrawal and fall of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. Still earlier, though, the tribes who controlled most of the south of the country were the Britons, whom scholars later called the Brythonic Celts: specifically, the Celts of UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}}, Wales, and the aforementioned Brittany in France, to distinguish them from the Goidelic Celts of Scotland (with the exclusion of the Picts, a people who lived in northern and eastern Scotland, and the Damnonii, who lived in southern Scotland, who ''were'' Brythonic Celts), Ireland and the Isle of Man, as well as the various Celtic peoples of the continent (e. g. Cisalpine Gauls in Northern Italy, Transalpine Gauls in what is now France, Celtiberians on the Iberian Peninsula). It is from them that the Romans named the whole island ''Britannia''[[note]] However, they also used the name "Britannia" for their part of the island, referring to the unoccupied part as "Caledonia"[[/note]]. Thus, "British" is much the older idea, and for about the first millennium AD means 'Celtic', and is ''contrasted'' with "English" – for instance, the (probably) legendary Myth/KingArthur was far from being the proto-King of ''England'' many would describe, since the Anglo-Saxons were those very invaders that he and his Brythonic brethren sought to repel.\\
'British' in the modern sense was basically invented when King James VI of Scotland became also [[UsefulNotes/JamesVIAndI James I of England]] when he succeeded [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Elizabeth I]] in 1603 and united the two thrones.

Nowadays, the broad technical usage states that 'Britain' is simply a collective term for everything that can be British; it is now used explicitly as an extension covering everywhere presided over by they who preside over Great Britain and so, technically, places like UsefulNotes/TheFalklandIslands and UsefulNotes/{{Gibraltar}} are ''in'' Britain. This isn't really held up, though, for [[UsefulNotes/TheFalklandsWar obvious reasons]].

Some from the [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms 'Celtic fringe']] of the UK might have different views on identifying as 'British'. Many of those from [[OopNorth the North of England]] like to insist they weren't actually ''conquered'' by the Romans, so can sometimes be bracketed with the Celts in this respect, and because large swaths of the North remained unconquered and Celtic for many centuries thereafter, they may well choose to say they are British even more because of this fact, and reject being called/identifying as English (like the Cornish) - still, some instead invoke this history to reject being British, instead identifying as English, though they are likely from the parts of the North that were conquered by the Angles if not the Romans, like Northumbria and the East of Yorkshire. The North of England is confusing in itself. If you refer to a Scot or a Welshman as "British", the vast majority will just accept this, although the more nationalist may insist on a local term – and although on a kind of cultural level this may be correct depending on your point of view, from a strict legal perspective, this is wrong, as Scottish and Welsh people are all British citizens, as are the vast majority of Northern Irish.[[note]]Northern Irish people are automatically citizens of the UK upon birth, but are entitled to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, and some Nationalists might renounce British citizenship and take up exclusive ROI citizenship, hence "mostly." Because of the special relationship between the ROI and UK and their common membership in the EU, this switch is (or was) almost entirely symbolic, as going from one to the other does not deprive you of any rights or grant any particularly significant new ones, other than no longer being subject to the (highly unlikely) conscription and some subtle differences in random foreign countries' visa policies. Things got a lot more complicated when "Brexit" came up though, because, among other things, residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens are still entitled to representation in the European parliament, but Northern Ireland will lose its [=MEPs=]. How exactly Westminster plans on solving that is, as of this writing, still unknown.[[/note]] Whatever happens, "British" is right, and "English" is ''not''. Apart from being separated by borders, this is (as touched upon above) because the Scottish Highlanders and Strathclyde and the Welsh, plus the Irish, Manx (of the Isle of Man), Cornish and extended Cumbric can trace their heritage back to the Celts who inhabited these isles since before the Romans, let alone the 'English', came[[note]](this can be a controversial view: Oppenheimer argues that Germanic people have also been here since pre-Roman times)[[/note]] – whereas the 'English' descend mainly from the consecutive Germanic and Norman ([[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys read: stinkin' French]]) conquests, and can be, and sometimes are, still viewed as "outsiders" and "invaders" by more radical nationalists in Wales or Scotland. Hence ''sassenach'', derived from Scottish Gaelic ''Sasannach'', meaning "Saxon", a derogatory word for the English.[[note]]It cuts both ways – the ancient Brythonic word from which ''Cymru'', the Welsh for "Wales", derived, meant 'friend'; the English term ''Wales'', though, derived from a word meaning 'stranger' or 'enemy'![[/note]] Those of Celtic land now in England (Cornwall, Cumbria, the West Riding) may have a more reasonable chip on their shoulder because of the actual invading that happened to take the land, but also have nationalist ties both ways and so are less likely to be violent. Strathclyde, though in south-west Scotland, often gets lumped with these areas. Lowland Scottish culture is mainly of Germanic origin (south-east Scotland has been Germanic almost as long as England has). The Scots language (distinct from and not to be confused with Scottish English) is derived from Middle English (the language spoken in England from the 1000s to the 1400s), making Modern Scots a sister language of Modern English – unlike Scottish Gaelic of the Celtic language family, which is nowadays confined to parts of the Highlands and the Hebrides (an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland). That said, Scots is also spoken in parts of the Highlands despite being quite broadly seen as the Lowland language (e.g. Aberdeen and the surrounding area, which actually has an extremely high concentration of Scots speakers). Also, the far north of Scotland (Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and part of Caithness) has a more Scandinavian heritage – it was, after all, closer for the Vikings to reach – and though its language, Norn, died out in the 19th century, some Orcadians and Shetlanders still insist they are not Scottish.\\
Of course, centuries of time and interbreeding have long eroded the 'pure-born' of these races, and focusing on descent is a quick way to commit political suicide and get branded a racist in modern politics, even among nationalists.

Oh yes, the national sporting situation is predictably complicated. Demonstrating the density of this whole naming confusion, the UK's Olympic team competes under the name "Great Britain and Northern Ireland", but its International Olympic Committee country code is just GBR, and it is routinely referred to as merely "Team GB" – just the sort of reductive continuum that helps perpetuate the whole confusion that necessitates this page. In UsefulNotes/{{cricket}} the 'England' team technically represent England and Wales, while there is for instance a separate Ireland team that nonetheless sees not infrequent shifts of player loyalties to England (which is objectively a much better side, owing to the greater enthusiasm and thus funding and resources for cricket in England). In UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball meanwhile, the 'Home Nations' of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – and the Republic of Ireland – play as separate teams. In the sports of rugby union and rugby league, the various Irish issues are cut admirably straight through: a single unified Ireland team represents the whole island, featuring players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic. In deference to the political divide, they have their own anthem in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland%27s_Call "Ireland's Call"]], which was written specially for the rugby team in the 90s. When they play in the Republic (almost always in Dublin), they play the Republic's anthem followed by "Ireland's Call"; elsewhere (including very rare home matches in Northern Ireland), they play only "Ireland's Call". In addition, a super-unified British and Irish Lions rugby union team assembles every four years, [[Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} Avengers-style]], to tour the countries of the sport's Southern Hemisphere superpowers[[note]], rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa[[/note]]. In the likes of tennis (for Davis Cup etc.) and – as noted – the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames there is a combined British (i.e. UK) team.

Ah. With devolution (the transferring of certain legislative powers to local governing bodies, the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Northern Ireland Assembly) and increasing Scottish and Welsh nationalism, even the English are getting more and more picky about these matters of designation. Many English people get annoyed when people from the UK are either "Scottish" (and occasionally, if they're lucky, "Welsh" or "Northern Irish") or "British", but rarely "English"... at least, not in any positive context. The frustration is that the English are often only separated out when it comes to criticism: for example, Americans may talk about getting independence from "the English" as if the Scots and Welsh had nothing to do with it. There are also more and more English who dislike the use of the UK's Union Flag or national anthem ''God Save [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen The Queen]]'' in relation to purely English matters, for example English sports teams.\\
Let's not even get started on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Lothian_question "West Lothian question"]]: the idea that a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish member (MP) of the UK Parliament in London can still vote on policies that, since devolution, purely concern England and not their home region if responsibility for the policy area (e.g. health, education) is devolved there to a regional legislative body. That is, when such policy is separately governed locally by the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly or Northern Irish Assembly, these [=MPs=]' decisions can ''not affect their own'' constituents — yet they ''can'' still affect the electorate in English [=MPs=]' constituencies, even though the reverse is not possible. This tramples on the Great British Sense of Fair Play™. Who knows how much of this you'll be able to disregard if and when Brexit comes to pass.

Before we delve into details, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10 C. G. P. Grey]] has a good (if slightly wrong) summary of the issue, as well as an introduction to the relationship between all of these, the Crown, the [[UsefulNotes/TheChannelIslands Crown]] [[UsefulNotes/IsleOfMan Dependencies]], the [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire Overseas Territories]], the Commonwealth Realms, and {{God}}. Yes, God.

'British' in the modern sense was basically invented when King James VI of Scotland became also [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart James I of England]] when he succeeded [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Elizabeth I]] in 1603 and united the two thrones.

Hmmm. Ish. Even using the terms "British" or (say) "Scottish" isn't always enough, even when they're both correct. You've got to use the right term ''in context''. Many Scots, nationalists or otherwise, can get really infuriated with English sports commentators when they refer to an athlete as ''"bringing the gold home for Britain!"'' yet conversely to the same athlete as ''"the plucky Scot, coming in fifth..."''. Received wisdom says that the predominantly London-based media hail any Scot's – or Welsh or Northern Irish person's – sporting success as "British", but (possibly unconsciously) shunt the same person off into the ghetto marked 'Scottish', 'Welsh' etc. should they trail in last. This subtrope is traditionally personified by tennis player [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Murray Andy Murray]] (the joke/complaint goes that he is invariably referred to as British when he wins and Scottish when he loses), or Creator/OscarWilde[[labelnote:*]]who predates the Irish state[[/labelnote]] (who's a "great British author", or an "Irish homosexual pervert"!)

Oh yes, the national sporting situation is predictably complicated. Demonstrating the density of this whole naming confusion, the UK's Olympic team competes under the name "Great Britain and Northern Ireland", but its International Olympic Committee country code is just GBR, and it is routinely referred to as merely "Team GB" – just the sort of reductive continuum that helps perpetuate the whole confusion that necessitates this page. In UsefulNotes/{{cricket}} the 'England' team technically represent England and Wales, while there is for instance a separate Ireland team that nonetheless sees not infrequent shifts of player loyalties to England (which is objectively a much better side, owing to the greater enthusiasm and thus funding and resources for cricket in England). In UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball meanwhile, the 'Home Nations' of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – and the Republic of Ireland – play as separate teams. In the sports of rugby union and rugby league, the various Irish issues are cut admirably straight through: a single unified Ireland team represents the whole island, featuring players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic. In deference to the political divide, they also play neither national anthem, instead using [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland%27s_Call "Ireland's Call"]], which was written specially for the rugby team in the 90s. In addition, a super-unified British and Irish Lions rugby union team assembles every four years, [[Film/{{The Avengers|2012}} Avengers-style]], to tour the countries of the sport's Southern Hemisphere superpowers[[note]], rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa[[/note]]. In the likes of tennis (for Davis Cup etc.) and – as noted – the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames there is a combined British (i.e. UK) team.

Oh yes, the national sporting situation is predictably complicated. Demonstrating the density of this whole naming confusion, the UK's Olympic team competes under the name "Great Britain and Northern Ireland", but its International Olympic Committee country code is just GBR, and it is routinely referred to as merely "Team GB" – just the sort of reductive continuum that helps perpetuate the whole confusion that necessitates this page. In UsefulNotes/{{cricket}} the 'England' team technically represent England and Wales, while there is for instance a separate Ireland team that nonetheless sees not infrequent shifts of player loyalties to England (which is objectively a much better side, owing to the greater enthusiasm and thus funding and resources for cricket in England). In UsefulNotes/AssociationFootball meanwhile, the 'Home Nations' of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – and the Republic of Ireland – play as separate teams. In the sports of rugby union and rugby league, the various Irish issues are cut admirably straight through: a single unified Ireland team represents the whole island, featuring players from both Northern Ireland and the Republic. In deference to the political divide, they also play neither national anthem, instead using [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland%27s_Call "Ireland's Call"]], which was written specially for the rugby team in the 90s. In addition, a super-unified British and Irish Lions rugby union team assembles every four years, [[Film/AvengersAssemble Avengers-style]], to tour the countries of the sport's Southern Hemisphere superpowers[[note]], rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa[[/note]]. In the likes of tennis (for Davis Cup etc.) and – as noted – the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames there is a combined British (i.e. UK) team.

Yes, although this is where it maybe gets even ''more'' confusing. "English" was for a long time an accepted generalisation for the whole country, including Scotland and the British parts of Ireland; this is reflected in several foreign names for the nation to this day. The word 'England' (and its foreign equivalents such as ''Angleterre'') derives from ''Angle-land'', after one of the successive waves of Germanic and Norse peoples – the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Angles and Saxons]], Jutes, Frisians, [[HornyVikings Danes and Norwegians]] – who invaded from northern Europe[[note]] the Jutes from Jutland in Denmark, the Angles from Schleswig, the Saxons from Holstein and Lower Saxony, the Frisians from the coast of Lower Saxony in Germany and what is now the province of Frisia in the Netherlands[[/note]] in the centuries of the '[[Main/DarkAgeEurope Dark Ages]]' after the withdrawal and fall of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. Still earlier, though, the tribes who controlled most of the south of the country were the Britons, whom scholars later called the Brythonic Celts: specifically, the Celts of UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}}, Wales, and the aforementioned Brittany in France, to distinguish them from the Goidelic Celts of Scotland (with the exclusion of the Picts, a people who lived in northern and eastern Scotland who ''were'' Brythonic Celts), Ireland and the Isle of Man, as well as the various Celtic peoples of the continent (e. g. Cisalpine Gauls in Northern Italy, Transalpine Gauls in what is now France, Celtiberians on the Iberian Peninsula). It is from them that the Romans named the whole island ''Britannia''[[note]] However, they also used the name "Britannia" for their part of the island, referring to the unoccupied part as "Caledonia"[[/note]]. Thus, "British" is much the older idea, and for about the first millennium AD means 'Celtic', and is ''contrasted'' with "English" – for instance, the (probably) legendary Myth/KingArthur was far from being the proto-King of ''England'' many would describe, since the Anglo-Saxons were those very invaders that he and his Brythonic brethren sought to repel.\\

Yes, although this is where it maybe gets even ''more'' confusing. "English" was for a long time an accepted generalisation for the whole country, including Scotland and the British parts of Ireland; this is reflected in several foreign names for the nation to this day. The word 'England' (and its foreign equivalents such as ''Angleterre'') derives from ''Angle-land'', after one of the successive waves of Germanic and Norse peoples – the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Angles and Saxons]], Jutes, Frisians, [[HornyVikings Danes and Norwegians]] – who invaded from northern Europe[[note]] the Jutes from Jutland in Denmark, the Angles from Schleswig, the Saxons from Holstein and Lower Saxony, the Frisians from the coast of Lower Saxony in Germany and what is now the province of Frisia in the Netherlands[[/note]] in the centuries of the '[[Main/DarkAgeEurope Dark Ages]]' after the withdrawal and fall of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. Still earlier, though, the tribes who controlled most of the south of the country were the Britons, whom scholars later called the Brythonic Celts: specifically, the Celts of UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}}, Wales, and the aforementioned Brittany in France, to distinguish them from the Goidelic Celts of Scotland (with the exclusion of the Picts, who ''were'' Brythonic Celts), Ireland and the Isle of Man, as well as the various Celtic peoples of the continent (e. g. Cisalpine Gauls in Northern Italy, Transalpine Gauls in what is now France, Celtiberians on the Iberian Peninsula). It is from them that the Romans named the whole island ''Britannia''[[note]] However, they also used the name "Britannia" for their part of the island, referring to the unoccupied part as "Caledonia"[[/note]]. Thus, "British" is much the older idea, and for about the first millennium AD means 'Celtic', and is ''contrasted'' with "English" – for instance, the (probably) legendary Myth/KingArthur was far from being the proto-King of ''England'' many would describe, since the Anglo-Saxons were those very invaders that he and his Brythonic brethren sought to repel.\\

Yes, although this is where it maybe gets even ''more'' confusing. "English" was for a long time an accepted generalisation for the whole country, including Scotland and the British parts of Ireland; this is reflected in several foreign names for the nation to this day. The word 'England' (and its foreign equivalents such as ''Angleterre'') derives from ''Angle-land'', after one of the successive waves of Germanic and Norse peoples – the [[UsefulNotes/AngloSaxons Angles and Saxons]], Jutes, Frisians, [[HornyVikings Danes and Norwegians]] – who invaded from northern Europe[[note]] the Jutes from Jutland in Denmark, the Angles from Schleswig, the Saxons from Holstein and Lower Saxony, the Frisians from the coast of Lower Saxony in Germany and what is now the province of Frisia in the Netherlands[[/note]] in the centuries of the '[[Main/DarkAgeEurope Dark Ages]]' after the withdrawal and fall of UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire. Still earlier, though, the tribes who controlled most of the south of the country were the Britons, whom scholars later called the Brythonic Celts: specifically, the Celts of UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}} and Wales (and the aforementioned Brittany in France), to distinguish them from the Gaelic Celts of Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man as well as the various Celtic peoples of the continent (e. g. Cisalpine Gauls in Northern Italy, Transalpine Gauls in what is now France, Celtiberians on the Iberian Peninsula). It is from them that the Romans named the whole island ''Britannia''[[note]] However, they also used the name "Britannia" for their part of the island, referring to the unoccupied part as "Caledonia"[[/note]]. Thus, "British" is much the older idea, and for about the first millennium AD means 'Celtic', and is ''contrasted'' with "English" – for instance, the (probably) legendary Myth/KingArthur was far from being the proto-King of ''England'' many would describe, since the Anglo-Saxons were those very invaders that he and his Brythonic brethren sought to repel.\\

If you refer to someone from The Republic of Ireland as British... well, don't. Just don't. Aside from being demographically incorrect, as the ROI does not have anywhere near the concentration of British-descended persons in its population as Northern Ireland does, it's mainly because... well... it's a completely different country, it's considered impolite. At best.[[note]]Think of it like calling a Canadian "American", or vice versa, although considering the history it is more similar to calling a Polish person "German".[[/note]] Using "English" is no better, for the reasons above re: Scottish and Welsh people. Many Irish people, and the Irish government, object to the geographic term "The British Isles" as well, seeing it as implies Ireland is politically "British" (i.e. part of the UK), and prefer either "The British and Irish Isles" or just avoiding the phrase altogether.[[note]]And on a historical note, it's also misleading - the Irish, historically, are not Britons, in any sense. They're not descended from the aforementioned Welsh (Brythonic) Celts at all, but Goidelic (Gaelic) Celts, a different branch of the language/culture family.[[/note]]

If you refer to someone from The Republic of Ireland as British... well, don't. Just don't. Aside from being demographically incorrect, as the ROI does not have anywhere near the concentration of British-descended persons in its population as Northern Ireland does, it's mainly because... well... it's a completely different country, it's considered impolite. At best.[[note]]Think of it like calling a Canadian "American", or vice versa, although considering the history it is more similar to calling a Polish person "German".[[/note]] Using "English" is no better, for the reasons above re: Scots and Welsh people. Many Irish people, and the Irish government, object to the geographic term "The British Isles" as well, seeing it as implies Ireland is politically "British" (i.e. part of the UK), and prefer either "The British and Irish Isles" or just avoiding the phrase altogether.[[note]]And on a historical note, it's also misleading - the Irish, historically, are not Britons, in any sense. They're not descended from the aforementioned Welsh (Brythonic) Celts at all, but Goidelic (Gaelic) Celts, a different branch of the language/culture family.[[/note]]

Some from the [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms 'Celtic fringe']] of the UK might have different views on identifying as 'British'. Many of those from [[OopNorth the North of England]] like to insist they weren't actually ''conquered'' by the Romans, so can sometimes be bracketed with the Celts in this respect, and because large swaths of the North remained unconquered and Celtic for many centuries thereafter, they may well choose to say they are British even more because of this fact, and reject being called/identifying as English (like the Cornish) - still, some instead invoke this history to reject being British, instead identifying as English, though they are likely from the parts of the North that were conquered by the Angles if not the Romans, like Northumbria and the East of Yorkshire. The North of England is confusing in itself. If you refer to a Scot or a Welshman as "British", the vast majority will just accept this, although the more nationalist may insist on a local term – and although on a kind of cultural level this may be correct depending on your point of view, from a strict legal perspective, this is wrong, as Scottish and Welsh people are all British citizens, as are the vast majority of Northern Irish.[[note]]Northern Irish people are automatically citizens of the UK upon birth, but are entitled to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, and some Nationalists might renounce British citizenship and take up exclusive ROI citizenship, hence "mostly." Because of the special relationship between the ROI and UK and their common membership in the EU, this switch is (or was) almost entirely symbolic, as going from one to the other does not deprive you of any rights or grant any particularly significant new ones, other than no longer being subject to the (highly unlikely) conscription and some subtle differences in random foreign countries' visa policies. Things got a lot more complicated when "Brexit" came up though, because, among other things, residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens are still entitled to representation in the European parliament, but Northern Ireland will lose its [=MEPs=]. How exactly Westminster plans on solving that is, as of this writing, still unknown.[[/note]] Whatever happens, "British" is right, and "English" is ''not''. Apart from being separated by borders, this is (as touched upon above) because the Scottish Highlanders and Strathclyde and the Welsh, plus the Irish, Manx (of the Isle of Man), Cornish and extended Cumbric can trace their heritage back to the Celts who inhabited these isles since before the Romans, let alone the 'English', came[[note]](this can be a controversial view: Oppenheimer argues that Germanic people have also been here since pre-Roman times)[[/note]] – whereas the 'English' descend mainly from the consecutive Germanic and Norman ([[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys read: stinkin' French]]) conquests, and can be, and sometimes are, still viewed as "outsiders" and "invaders" by more radical nationalists in Wales or Scotland. Hence ''sassenach'', derived from Scottish Gaelic ''Sasannach'', meaning "Saxon", a derogatory word for the English.[[note]]It cuts both ways – the ancient Brythonic word from which ''Cymru'', the Welsh for "Wales", derived, meant 'friend'; the English term ''Wales'', though, derived from a word meaning 'stranger' or 'enemy'![[/note]] Those of Celtic land now in England (Cornwall, Cumbria, the West Riding) may have a more reasonable chip on their shoulder because of the actual invading that happened to take the land, but also have nationalist ties both ways and so are less likely to be violent. Strathclyde, though in south-west Scotland, often gets lumped with these areas. Lowland Scottish culture is mainly of Germanic origin (south-east Scotland has been Germanic almost as long as England has). The Scots language (distinct from and not to be confused with Scottish English) is derived from Middle English (the language spoken in England from the 1000s to the 1400s), making Modern Scots a sister language of Modern English – unlike Scottish Gaelic of the Celtoc language family, which is nowadays confined to parts of the Highlands and the Hebrides (an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland). That said, Scots is also spoken in parts of the Highlands despite being quite broadly seen as the Lowland language (e.g. Aberdeen and the surrounding area, which actually has an extremely high concentration of Scots speakers). Also, the far north of Scotland (Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and part of Caithness) has a more Scandinavian heritage – it was, after all, closer for the Vikings to reach – and though its language, Norn, died out in the 19th century, some Orcadians and Shetlanders still insist they are not Scottish.\\

Some from the [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms 'Celtic fringe']] of the UK might have different views on identifying as 'British'. Many of those from [[OopNorth the North of England]] like to insist they weren't actually ''conquered'' by the Romans, so can sometimes be bracketed with the Celts in this respect, and because large swaths of the North remained unconquered and Celtic for many centuries thereafter, they may well choose to say they are British even more because of this fact, and reject being called/identifying as English (like the Cornish) - still, some instead invoke this history to reject being British, instead identifying as English, though they are likely from the parts of the North that were conquered by the Angles if not the Romans, like Northumbria and the East of Yorkshire. The North of England is confusing in itself. If you refer to a Scot or a Welshman as "British", the vast majority will just accept this, although the more nationalist may insist on a local term – and although on a kind of cultural level this may be correct depending on your point of view, from a strict legal perspective, this is wrong, as Scottish and Welsh people are all British citizens, as are the vast majority of Northern Irish.[[note]]Northern Irish people are automatically citizens of the UK upon birth, but are entitled to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, and some Nationalists might renounce British citizenship and take up exclusive ROI citizenship, hence "mostly." Because of the special relationship between the ROI and UK and their common membership in the EU, this switch is (or was) almost entirely symbolic, as going from one to the other does not deprive you of any rights or grant any particularly significant new ones, other than no longer being subject to the (highly unlikely) conscription and some subtle differences in random foreign countries' visa policies. Things got a lot more complicated when "Brexit" came up though, because, among other things, residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens are still entitled to representation in the European parliament, but Northern Ireland will lose its [=MEPs=]. How exactly Westminster plans on solving that is, as of this writing, still unknown.[[/note]] Whatever happens, "British" is right, and "English" is ''not''. Apart from being separated by borders, this is (as touched upon above) because the Scottish Highlanders and Strathclyde and the Welsh, plus the Irish, Manx (of the Isle of Man), Cornish and extended Cumbric can trace their heritage back to the Celts who inhabited these isles since before the Romans, let alone the 'English', came[[note]](this can be a controversial view: Oppenheimer argues that Germanic people have also been here since pre-Roman times)[[/note]] – whereas the 'English' descend mainly from the consecutive Germanic and Norman ([[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys read: stinkin' French]]) conquests, and can be, and sometimes are, still viewed as "outsiders" and "invaders" by more radical nationalists in Wales or Scotland. Hence ''sassenach'', derived from Scottish Gaelic ''Sasannach'', meaning "Saxon", a derogatory word for the English.[[note]]It cuts both ways – the ancient Brythonic word from which ''Cymru'', the Welsh for "Wales", derived, meant 'friend'; the English term ''Wales'', though, derived from a word meaning 'stranger' or 'enemy'![[/note]] Those of Celtic land now in England (Cornwall, Cumbria, the West Riding) may have a more reasonable chip on their shoulder because of the actual invading that happened to take the land, but also have nationalist ties both ways and so are less likely to be violent. Strathclyde, though in south-west Scotland, often gets lumped with these areas. Lowland Scottish culture is mainly of Germanic origin (south-east Scotland has been Germanic almost as long as England has). The Scots language (distinct from Scottish English) is derived from Middle English (the language spoken England from the 1000s to the 1400s), making Modern Scots a sister language of Modern English – unlike Scottish Gaelic of the Celtoc language family, which is nowadays confined to parts of the Highlands and the Hebrides (an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland). That said, Scots is also spoken in parts of the Highlands despite being quite broadly seen as the Lowland language (e.g. Aberdeen and the surrounding area, which actually has an extremely high concentration of Scots speakers). Also, the far north of Scotland (Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and part of Caithness) has a more Scandinavian heritage – it was, after all, closer for the Vikings to reach – and though its language, Norn, died out in the 19th century, some Orcadians and Shetlanders still insist they are not Scottish.\\

Some from the [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms 'Celtic fringe']] of the UK might have different views on identifying as 'British'. Many of those from [[OopNorth the North of England]] like to insist they weren't actually ''conquered'' by the Romans, so can sometimes be bracketed with the Celts in this respect, and because large swaths of the North remained unconquered and Celtic for many centuries thereafter, they may well choose to say they are British even more because of this fact, and reject being called/identifying as English (like the Cornish) - still, some instead invoke this history to reject being British, instead identifying as English, though they are likely from the parts of the North that were conquered by the Angles if not the Romans, like Northumbria and the East of Yorkshire. The North of England is confusing in itself. If you refer to a Scot or a Welshman as "British", the vast majority will just accept this, although the more nationalist may insist on a local term – and although on a kind of cultural level this may be correct depending on your point of view, from a strict legal perspective, this is wrong, as Scottish and Welsh people are all British citizens, as are the vast majority of Northern Irish.[[note]]Northern Irish people are automatically citizens of the UK upon birth, but are entitled to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, and some Nationalists might renounce British citizenship and take up exclusive ROI citizenship, hence "mostly." Because of the special relationship between the ROI and UK and their common membership in the EU, this switch is (or was) almost entirely symbolic, as going from one to the other does not deprive you of any rights or grant any particularly significant new ones, other than no longer being subject to the (highly unlikely) conscription and some subtle differences in random foreign countries' visa policies. Things got a lot more complicated when "Brexit" came up though, because, among other things, residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens are still entitled to representation in the European parliament, but Northern Ireland will lose its [=MEPs=]. How exactly Westminster plans on solving that is, as of this writing, still unknown.[[/note]] Whatever happens, "British" is right, and "English" is ''not''. Apart from being separated by borders, this is (as touched upon above) because the Scottish Highlanders and Strathclyde and the Welsh, plus the Irish, Manx (of the Isle of Man), Cornish and extended Cumbric can trace their heritage back to the Celts who inhabited these isles since before the Romans, let alone the 'English', came[[note]](this can be a controversial view: Oppenheimer argues that Germanic people have also been here since pre-Roman times)[[/note]] – whereas the 'English' descend mainly from the consecutive Germanic and Norman ([[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys read: stinkin' French]]) conquests, and can be, and sometimes are, still viewed as "outsiders" and "invaders" by more radical nationalists in Wales or Scotland. Hence ''sassenach'', derived from Scottish Gaelic ''Sasannach'', meaning "Saxon", a derogatory word for the English.[[note]]It cuts both ways – the ancient Brythonic word from which ''Cymru'', the Welsh for "Wales", derived, meant 'friend'; the English term ''Wales'', though, derived from a word meaning 'stranger' or 'enemy'![[/note]] Those of Celtic land now in England (Cornwall, Cumbria, the West Riding) may have a more reasonable chip on their shoulder because of the actual invading that happened to take the land, but also have nationalist ties both ways and so are less likely to be violent. Strathclyde, though in south-west Scotland, often gets lumped with these areas. Lowland Scottish culture is mainly of Germanic origin (south-east Scotland has been Germanic as long as England has), and the dialect, [[UsefulNotes/ScottishEnglish Scots]], is from English – unlike Gaelic, which used to be the Highland language, and is still spoken in a few areas. Also, the far north of Scotland (Orkney, Shetland and part of Caithness) has a more Scandinavian heritage – it was, after all, closer for the Vikings to reach – and though its language, Norn, died out in the 19th century, some Orcadians and Shetlanders still insist they are not Scottish.\\

Some from the [[UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms 'Celtic fringe']] of the UK might have different views on identifying as 'British'. Many of those from [[OopNorth the North of England]] like to insist they weren't actually ''conquered'' by the Romans, so can sometimes be bracketed with the Celts in this respect, and because large swaths of the North remained unconquered and Celtic for many centuries thereafter, they may well choose to say they are British even more because of this fact, and reject being called/identifying as English (like the Cornish) - still, some instead invoke this history to reject being British, instead identifying as English, though they are likely from the parts of the North that were conquered by the Angles if not the Romans, like Northumbria and the East of Yorkshire. The North of England is confusing in itself. If you refer to a Scot or a Welshman as "British", the vast majority will just accept this, although the more nationalist may insist on a local term – and although on a kind of cultural level this may be correct depending on your point of view, from a strict legal perspective, this is wrong, as Scottish and Welsh people are all British citizens, as are the vast majority of Northern Irish.[[note]]Northern Irish people are automatically citizens of the UK upon birth, but are entitled to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland, and some Nationalists might renounce British citizenship and take up exclusive ROI citizenship, hence "mostly." Because of the special relationship between the ROI and UK and their common membership in the EU, this switch is (or was) almost entirely symbolic, as going from one to the other does not deprive you of any rights or grant any particularly significant new ones, other than no longer being subject to the (highly unlikely) conscription and some subtle differences in random foreign countries' visa policies. Things got a lot more complicated when "Brexit" came up though, because, among other things, residents of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens are still entitled to representation in the European parliament, but Northern Ireland will lose its [=MEPs=]. How exactly Westminster plans on solving that is, as of this writing, still unknown.[[/note]] Whatever happens, "British" is right, and "English" is ''not''. Apart from being separated by borders, this is (as touched upon above) because the Scottish Highlanders and Strathclyde and the Welsh, plus the Irish, Manx (of the Isle of Man), Cornish and extended Cumbric can trace their heritage back to the Celts who inhabited these isles since before the Romans, let alone the 'English', came[[note]](this can be a controversial view: Oppenheimer argues that Germanic people have also been here since pre-Roman times)[[/note]] – whereas the 'English' descend mainly from the consecutive Germanic and Norman ([[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys read: stinkin' French]]) conquests, and can be, and sometimes are, still viewed as "outsiders" and "invaders" by more radical nationalists in Wales or Scotland. Hence ''sassenach'', derived from Scottish Gaelic ''Sasannach'', meaning "Saxon", a derogatory word for English person.[[note]]It cuts both ways – the ancient Brythonic word from which ''Cymru'', the Welsh for "Wales", derived, meant 'friend'; the English term ''Wales'', though, derived from a word meaning 'stranger' or 'enemy'![[/note]] Those of Celtic land now in England (Cornwall, Cumbria, the West Riding) may have a more reasonable chip on their shoulder because of the actual invading that happened to take the land, but also have nationalist ties both ways and so are less likely to be violent. Strathclyde, though in south-west Scotland, often gets lumped with these areas. Lowland Scottish culture is mainly of Germanic origin (south-east Scotland has been Germanic as long as England has), and the dialect, [[UsefulNotes/ScottishEnglish Scots]], is from English – unlike Gaelic, which used to be the Highland language, and is still spoken in a few areas. Also, the far north of Scotland (Orkney, Shetland and part of Caithness) has a more Scandinavian heritage – it was, after all, closer for the Vikings to reach – and though its language, Norn, died out in the 19th century, some Orcadians and Shetlanders still insist they are not Scottish.\\