Britannia in Brief (eBook)

So Where Are We Anyway?

England? Britain? UK? What's the Difference?

First things first: England, Great Britain, UK? All the same thing? These terms, which are so often used interchangeably, actually refer to distinct geographical and, frequently, political entities. Should you still think these distinctions are inconsequential after reading these pages, we invite you to visit, let's say, a bar in Scotland and inform the boys just how cute their English pub is. By the time your bruises and scars have healed, you will have had ample time to mull over the weightiness of these distinctions.

Scotland, England, and Wales are three separate nations all inhabiting the island of Britain.

What do we mean by 'nation'? It is not our intention to burden you with medieval history and constitutional arcana, so suffice it to say, at one point Scotland and Wales were separate kingdoms, which at different points in time, and with varying degrees of resistance, fell sway to English rule through 'Acts of Union.' Lest you think this all sounds like a one-way transaction, it should be pointed out that such great 'English' dynasties as the Stuarts and the Tudors had their roots in Scotland and Wales respectively.

The United Kingdom, or UK, is officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain (the big island) and Northern Ireland (the predominantly Protestant northeast quarter of the island of Ireland, distinct from the predominantly Catholic Republic of Ireland).

Broadly speaking, the inhabitants of the UK are called 'the British' (and definitely not 'the Uniteds' or 'the Kingdoms'). So, while both a Welshman and a Scotsman are British, neither is English. Generally, though, people of the UK are more likely to describe themselves as Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, or English than as British. A Scotsman, by the way, is a Scot, and not Scotch, a term considered derogatory and best used only in America when ordering what in Scotland is simply called whisky (in the US spelled 'whiskey').

We now offer you the exclusive 'Peoples of the UK' Venn diagram:

Vital Statistics

Many of the cultural differences between the US and UK begin with the basic fact that the UK is much smaller than the US.

UK Population in 2007: 60,975,000

US Population in 2007: 301,140,000

UK total land: 94,251 square miles (244,110 square kilometers, smaller than Oregon)

US total land: 3,619,969 square miles (9,375,720 square kilometers)

General British FAQs

Is the UK a part of the European Union?

Yes, though you'd think it had been imposed at gunpoint by some Franco-German mob to hear how people talk about it. Actually, in 1973 the British voted in a referendum and joined what was then known as the European Economic Community. Conservatives argue that the UK joined a free-trade zone that has become a superstate where unelected bureaucrats in Brussels dictate what the British can and cannot do. The more liberal argument is that after two world wars ripped the continent apart in the last century, the EU has helped usher in the longest period of peace in European history.

Then why doesn't the UK use the euro like other EU countries do?

Because the UK delayed joining the economic and monetary union within the EU, and kept their own currency. There is still some lively debate in the UK about whether they should trade their sterling for euros. Another EU country that chose to forgo the euro is Denmark, where in 2000 voters said 'no' in a referendum to adopting the euro--so the Danish krone is still used. It would be enormously difficult for any British prime minister to commit the UK to joining the 'eurozone'...