British, English, Scottish?

What's the difference?

Does it matter anyway to a historian?

Something which often confuses genealogists and amateur historians are the numerous terms which are used to describe the inhabitants of the various parts of the British Isles.

The British Isles is the collective name for Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland (north and south), the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, the Scilly Isles and all other islands in both UK and Irish internationally recognised waters.

Despite attempts by both Scottish and English kings, Scotland and England have always been separate countries. Edward I of England declared Scotland to effectively be a province of England, (something the BBC seems to think when giving news reports and weather forecasts) but this was rebutted by both the Declaration of Arbroath and the defeat of his son Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn. In 1603 the thrones of England and Scotland were united on the death of the last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I. The succession to the English throne went to the Scottish king, James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scots, by virtue of his great grandmother Queen Margaret, wife of James IV, having been Princess Margaret Tudor, elder sister of Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII. Although the thrones combined, James remained VI of Scotland when he became I of England. It was in the reign of his great granddaughter, Queen Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs, that Scotland and England united politically with the Act and Treaty of Union 1707. This brought into existence Great Britain.

Wales had always tried to exert its independence from its much larger neighbour, England and was treated as an independent principality until the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd ap Llywelyn in 1282. Shortly thereafter the same Edward I decided to assume Wales as part of England. Shortly after the birth of his son in Wales in 1284, the future Edward II, he worked on the control of Wales and declared his son the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1301. This title is usually borne by the eldest son of the reigning monarch, but it is granted, not given at birth.

Ireland posed great problems for the English and from the time of Edward I through to the reign of Elizabeth I, the hold over it by the English throne, was to say the least, tenuous. It was subjugated by Henry II, great grandfather of Edward I, on 18th October 1172, when he landed in Ireland and received homage from the Irish kings.

As I have already explained, Great Britain came into existence in 1707 and includes Scotland, England and Wales, together with their respective off-shore islands, but NOT Ireland or the other parts of the British Isles. Although most people say England, when they mean Britain, the Scots are as British as the English.

The United Kingdom came into existence in 1801, when Ireland joined with Great Britain to create it. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. All Ireland was included until the formal creation of the Republic of Ireland on 29th December 1937, when only the six Northern counties remained part of the United Kindom.

The Union Jack is the flag of the United Kingdom and the National Anthem of the United Kingdom is God Save the Queen, although again, while Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use their own separate flags and National Anthems in most sporting events, England continues to cause confusion by using the Union Jack and God Save the Queen in most sporting events, neither of which belong to England which has the St. George's Cross on a white background as its flag and Land of Hope and Glory as its preferred anthem.

Hopefully this will explain some of the confusion. Leading on from this explanation of who the British are, confusion reigns regarding the Civil Wars which have taken place in the British Isles. You can download the entire article to get the full picture.