So a project requires me to go on a spree of reading numerous Wikipedia articles on countries of the world, and after a couple, I notice some countries were said to gain independence from “the British Empire”, while some says “United Kingdoms” and a couple have “Great Britain”
Accuracy-wise, is it important to get the exact name right?
Are the three equivalent?
It’s quite likely that British Empire does not equate to the United Kingdoms; so should countries which gain independence from the British Empire be relabeled. Or does one simply use whatever name was in use at that time?
Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles, consisting of Scotland, England and Wales. Ireland gained independence from Great Britain then, in this sense (whilst Northern Ireland remains part of the British Isles.)
All other countries gained independence from the British Empire whilst it existed, so the term is correct for this context. I would personally prefer that over Great Britain (which is interchangeable with United Kingdom, they’re both shortenings of the same thing). The United Kingdom is not the same thing as the British Empire though, the United Kingdom of Great Britain was part of the British Empire, just to clarify.
hmm think it’s the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No, the British Isles consist of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (and Isle of Man etc).
No, all of Ireland remains part of the British Isles. The British isles is more of a geographic term than a political one denoting the islands that lie in the region.
I think the confusion here arises from the fact that the Republic of Ireland left the United Kingdom to gain its independence while other former British colonies gained independence from the Empire. The United Kingdom didn’t include India, Pakistan and the various British African colonies but the Empire did.
Apart from the case of Ireland, as An Gadaí notes, I think “British Empire” is fine in the context of countries gaining independence, but the other alternatives are not incorrect.
Geographical terms:
Great Britain - the largest island of the archipelago (but see below)
Ireland - the second largest island
British Isles - term used in Britain for the entire archipelago
Political terms:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom - abbreviation of the above
Great Britain - Abbreviation of the above
Britain - Abbreviation of the above
England , Scotland, Wales - countries that occupy the island of Great Britain, and are part of the UK
Northern Ireland - country on the island of Ireland that forms part of the UK
Ireland - independent country occupying most of the island of Ireland
The British Empire - old term for Britain and its territories during the colonial era. Term fell out of use ca. 1960.
The phrase ‘united kingdoms’ can be correct, but only in the terms of a phrase like ‘The united kingdoms of Scotland and England.’ Note the lack of capitalisation.
But that’s not what I meant. Great Britain is not the same thing as the British Isles. Great Britain is the largest of the islands that make up the British Isles. (i.e. I meant Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales.)
The United Kingdom of Great Britain did not include Northern Ireland exclusively until 1921. That’s a long time after America gained independence for example, so it would be incorrect to say. ‘America gained independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.’ Pedantic I know, but hey.
In the last sentence I wrote, I meant Ireland gained independence from the UK of Great Britain, apologies.
Only a pedant would call that incorrect. As noted, even the British often refer to the country, not just the island, as Great Britain. As long as Obama doesn’t call it “England”, I’m fine with that ;). President Bush also usually referred to the country as Great Britain, nothing wrong with that.
I’m not surprised or disappointed. I had a laugh when an American documentary (possibly Dogfights) proudly labelled all of the British Isles as “England”
Just like the WW2 German song “We March On England”. This must of been of great comfort to the residents of Wales and Scotland who it seems were not included in the invasion plans!
Athletes from Northern Ireland are able to opt to represent the British Olympic Asswociation or the Irish Olympic Association, and sports affiliated to the latter operate on an all-Ireland basis.
America gained independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain (which by then controlled Ireland), and Ireland gained independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Easier to just say ‘from Britain’!
Yes, the Irish don’t like the archipelago consisting of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man being called the “British Isles”, presumably because they don’t think the Irish are British. However, I’m not sure what they want to call it.
No – the British Empire became the British Commonwealth (or the Commonwealth) over a period starting in 1947 with the independence of India (which became two countries, India and Pakistan). Some Commonwealth countries had become independent earlier, starting with Canada in 1867, but they were regarded as part of the British Empire until that became the Commonwealth.
The formal use of ‘Emporer/Empress of India’ disappeared after Indian independence. The British Empire was an umbrella term for various overseas territories - colonies, protectorates, dominions, and so on - but didn’t have a formal designation. The relationship between the United Kingdom and places such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands was extended to other territories, and still exists with outposts such as Bermuda and the Falklands.
Technically, the English aren’t British either. At least, the original usage of that word referred to the Welsh and the Cornish in opposition to the English. That changed around the time of the union with Scotland, to the point that now “British” is often used to mean English to the exclusion of the Welsh.
The English Civil War was before the union with Scotland, but a lot of it took place in Wales. In other words, the England / England-and-Wales / Great Britain / U.K. confusion goes back a long, long, long way.
On another note, why isn’t the United Kingdom considered an empire anymore? London governs several different nations with their own histories, cultures, languages etc. What is an empire if that isn’t it? Or is it just that they’re too embarassed to call it “a small empire”?
