England - like Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, England is a political division of the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom - the name of the country.
Great Britian - the name of the island that contains the political divisions knows as Scotland, England and Wales. So called because it is the largest of the British Isles. (Could Ireland be called Lesser Britian? 
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Zev Steinhardt
No…Brittany is Lesser Britain.
I think you want an answer to this question:
Even after the invention of the buns-a-polooza that is grid iron football do the British still think you’re revolting? If you asked them nicely would they come over and spank you until you screamed? The way English actors always play baddies in American films makes it seem like that’s something you really want.
Why did I say that? Why? Why?
That exactly what I want.
My history teacher used to insist that the American War of Independence was really no such thing. He maintained that it was just a continuation of Britain and France’s internecine disputes by other means and that the local colonists were pretty peripherial to the whole issue.
Any thoughts?
The British may not care much about the American Revolution but it seems to me that some of them, anyway, are still rather sensitive about the Irish one. Witness the tabloid outrage last year when Ireland held state funerals for Kevin Barry and several others who were executed by the British during the war of independence. The idea that men who fought and died for Ireland’s freedom are considered heroes in this country seemed to be taken as a personal affront by the Mail, the Sun, etc.
And yes, I’m considering the source, but the tabloids do represent public opinion of at least a segment of the population.
[hijack]
I was in Dublin on the Sunday of the state funeral for the IRA members, and picked up a copy of The Mirror. The first few pages were filled with anti-British jingoistic outrage (so it’s not just the British red-tops who get up to this monkey business). On returning to the UK, I picked up the British edition of The Mirror; the paper was exactly the same (obviously) apart from the fact that the first few pages now expressed anti-IRA jingoistic outrage.
Now, we all know that papers pander to the local feeling, but seeing two editions of exactly the same paper expressing such opposite views kind of brought home how shallow a tabloid’s “outrage” really is.
One day the editor is going to press the wrong button and send the wrong outrage to the wrong country.
[/hijack]
Late 1960s, my mother, British, left wing and witty (and living reluctantly in California), had a verbal and humorous battle with the manager of the local Safeway, American, right wing and witty, over British Food, manners, politics etc…
Her moment of glory came when the manager greeted her in late November with the quip, ’
Thanksgiving next week. No turkey for you then?’
to which she replied
‘Thanksgiving in November, no; we celebrate it on the 4th of July!’
Touche 
Patrick Stewart did a similar thing on Leno once, being asked on his feelings (and the rest of England’s) about American Independence Day… His response:
“We don’t really celebrate it – it’s not as if we can say, ‘Oh well, we didn’t want that continent anyway.’”
Yeah, it’s basically ancient history, though there’s obviously some sour grapes about not ruling most of the world any more.
Mainly it’s an excuse for jokes like “Did you know the Americans are revolting.”
Jazzmine: I’ve already lowered the tone in this little patch of Manhattanland. I’m not mentioning Jessica Lange.
Because Britain has been America’s most staunch ally for such a long time your average British person probably sees Independence day as vaguely amusing. Those with a knowledge of history would probably point out that England intended to end slavery and allow the Indians to retain half the country. Independence got in the way of both those things.