Queen of the United Kingdom II. The whole world was shocked by Elizabeth’s death. Or from Great Britain or England? Actually, both terms are correct. However, this causes some confusion. All these names befit the British monarch but England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not the same thing.
To understand what each of these names mean, it’s important to look at the world map and find the British Isles region. These islands are part of an archipelago in northwest Europe, separated from the mainland by the English Channel.
There are several small islands and two large islands in this archipelago. On the right, Great Britain. And another smaller one on the left, the island of Ireland. Basically, England is a country, Great Britain is an island (made up of Wales and Scotland), and the United Kingdom is the larger part of them all (includes all the countries of Great Britain and Northern Ireland). But let’s go.
Geographical Differences:
The full name of the United Kingdom is “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, which helps to understand its formation. Its composition consists of countries located in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), the largest island on the right, and Northern Ireland, the northern part of the island on the left. As well as being the capital of England, London is also the capital of the United Kingdom. Capitals of other countries are Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast respectively.
The British monarch, in this case now Charles III, besides being King of England, is also the head of state of the United Kingdom. Each country also has its own governments, but the power of these governments is delegated by the UK parliament.
England is a country located on the island of Great Britain and belonging to the United Kingdom. England is technically the country that started it all. It borders Wales and Scotland. Unlike other countries in the UK, the UK does not have its own government. It is governed directly by the British parliament. In addition to being accountable to this parliament, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also have local governments that report to it.
The UK has a large majority in this parliament. Out of a total of 650 seats in the House of Commons, 532 are reserved for representatives of the House of Commons.
political differences
But in addition to geography, there are also political differences that are decisive for these regional and naming distinctions. According to Leonardo Paz, a researcher at Fundação Getúlio Vargas’s International Intelligence Core (FGV), the definition of the United Kingdom is more political than geographic.
“The United Kingdom is a political category. England is the original country of it. It conquered other countries, and then a logic of kingdom, of political unity was created. At the end of the day, the United Kingdom is an empire, just like England. The empire spread to many other countries in the world,” explained Leonardo.
The Isle of Great Britain derives its name from a long cultural continuity with Brittany, a peninsula in northern France. The Celtic peoples of this region were divided between those living in Brittany and Great Britain, later known as Great Britain. Gustavo Blum, PhD in Geography from UFPR and professor of International Relations at PUC-Campinas, says that in the past the term has been used to name an entire region.
“We use this name to talk about the country because in 1707, when the crowns of England and Scotland were united, only one state came to control all the islands. This state was renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, the Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922. “The official name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” explains Blum.
And Ireland?
The Ireland we usually refer to is the more famous of the two, the Republic of Ireland, whose capital is the city of Dublin. This country was founded in 1922 after a long war of independence against the United Kingdom as a result of the First World War. However, Ireland’s Northern Territory still had Britain’s strongest influence and chose to remain in the kingdom. This led to the Republic of Ireland (south of the island) and Northern Ireland, which is still attached to the United Kingdom.
source: Noticias
