We're really not that insular in the UK! Most of us could name the majority of US states, and we're well aware of the different accents and political leanings found in the various American regions.
@@MrJoeshipley Americans forget theyve put their culture on display to the world via hollywood tv and modern media. The world knows everything about them but they know nothing about the world.
@@johnkemp8904 I was trying not to be boastful - honest. The dates aren't as difficult as they sound. All you have to do is remember who only served one term or died in office. Fortunately, there's not too many of them. I can't do British PMs though, far too many non-sequential dates and short-lived administrations!
Most British people have a fairly good idea about the different places in the United States, because we watch a lot of documentaries, TV shows, movies, etc, about that subject. For instance, Garrison Keillor's radio show about Minnesota was quite popular in the UK, so we know about the Scandinavians who live in that area. And also most British people know about the Mormons in Utah, the Quakers in Delaware, the Amish in Pennsylvania, and so on. Not everyone, but quite a high percentage.
I’m from the Shetland Islands! We belong to Scotland, but geographically we are closer to Norway. A lot of our local traditions are Scandinavian as we used to belong to Norway and Denmark, but back many many centuries ago, we were given to Scotland in exchange for something. (Can’t remember what) The Shetland flag is the colours of the Scottish flag (blue and white 🏴), but in the same style as the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark with the off centred cross 🇳🇴🇸🇪🇫🇮🇩🇰) It takes 12-14 hours to reach mainland Scotland by ferry, so is very isolated, but it is very peaceful and a lovely place to live. There is about 25,000 people living here It’s actually quite annoying that we are so far away that on maps of the British Isles, we are often put in a box, or sometimes even just forgotten about! 😂 The main language is English, which everyone speaks, but there is also a variant of it, known as Shetland Dialect, which includes its own accent using some English words, some Norwegian words and some Shetland words!
Don't know why people keep using that trope, "Shetland is closer to Norway" when it is patently obvious from a cursory look at a map to be untrue. (Sumburgh head to Dunnet head in Caithness roughly 160km mainland Shetland to Bergen roughly 300km).
Good Job. Re the Queen's Powers. She actually has considerable powers. Check out "What Powers Does the Queen of England Actually Have?" by 'Today I Found Out.'
The last monarch to use their reserve powers in their own capacity was Queen Anne in 1707 when she withheld Royal Assent to the Scottish Militia Bill. The Queen still theoretically has powers, but it is inconceivable that she would or even could ever use them. She's a glass cannon, incredibly powerful, but if ever used would destroy itself.
@@spencerwilton5831 Nicola Sturgeon or other Nationalist do not hate the English. We hate the fact that we get lumped with leaders (idiots) like Boris Johnson dispite never having a majority tory vote and dragged out of Europe against out will because of English votes. Like it or not both of our countries have completely different views. I'm a Nationalist and one of my very best friends is English we don't want to leave the union we because we don't like the English we want to because the government is corrupt to its core and we believe its best for our country.
The Scottish Government is likely about to go to Court against The UK Government because The UK Government refuses to accept democracy and allow Scotland to hold a vote on Scottish Independence despite the fact that Pro-Independence parties won a Majority in the recent Scottish Election
a good albeit rather rushed explanation, but still a good starting point to learn more. but don't forget the modern UK is the result of over a thousand years of wars, conquest and political manoeuvrings, so the history gets' complicated quickly and there's always some great atrocity to fuel conflict between the groups, but this is rarely seen outside of right wing nationalists and for the most part any sense of "rivalry" is more of the friendly banter variety. (and yes before you all start commenting, im not going into the whole northern Ireland conflict over the last century for the sake of simplicity) its good to see more Americans educating themselves in other countries. "never be ashamed of challenging your ignorance, only accepting it" kind regards from the UK
I always describe us, like the kids in the back of the car, England is the biggest/eldest, so the rest of us gang up on them when we're in the car..... but if someone picks on one of us, we all stand up together. But definitely sports, hyper competitive. Think football is worst, rugby is rough banter. England definitely gets the worst of it in sport though lol 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
@@c0wbag49 Except for cricket, the most English of games, funnily enough. Because none of the other countries have test teams, followers of that sport tend to follow the English test team. Well England and Wales cricket team, as I’m sure you know.
No. the U.K. is pretty much aware of the political, economic and social situations affecting the U.S. Can name most states, many presidents (hell, one of them, his family are from my city here in the U.K., President Woodrow Wilson), most are clued up on American happenings from inception, independence up to the present day, the same with most of Europe, Australasia, the middle east, etc... Much of it is taught in school but we glean a lot from media, etc... We can recognise most accents from the eastern to western seaboards, such as Bostonian, Texan, Californian, etc...
I'd say much of the things between the U.K. and U.S. are similar but, not to offend, I think the way of thinking is where the difference arrives such as healthcare, gun control, religion in politics, how we see ourselves as a nation, how we see ourselves within our nation, how we react to laws (such as we have legally required vehicle inspections each year on our vehicles, many in the U.S. have nothing), but I'd say also how we measure wealth and happiness, work/life balance, etc...
Look up tories laugh at Scottish slavery and Priti Patel using food shipments to the Republic of Ireland as leverage in brexit negotiations 😳 suggesting a new famine is a tool
Well considering around half of Scotland want independence speaks volumes, around 25% of Wales always wants independence and the whole Irish situation is a little too rocky to even think about. Live in Scotland tends to be less hectic than in southern England but it’s all friendly, we don’t hate each other.
The Monarch technically holds a lot of power but this is more of a safeguard as part of our very complicated unwritten constitution. The monarch hands of most of their powers to the elected Government as far as the day to day running of the country goes and does not get involved publicly with politics but she does hold a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss what the Government is up to. The safeguard really comes in the fact that the Monarch is still commander-In-Chief of all the armed forces and all members of the armed forces swear an oath to the Monarch and not the Government so in the unlikely event that a rogue Politician decided to take over the UK as a dictatorship they would be highly unlikely to be able to control the military. There is much more to it than this though and there are some good videos on TH-cam that explain much more about the powers the Queen has but does not use for many reasons.
In response to your statement toward the end of the video, People from the UK tend to know more about the US than people from the US know about the UK. Most people from the UK could at least name probably 30 or so states and point them out on a map and tell you a little something about them. Our news reports on big political goings-on and we see stuff on social media too. The US doesn't really seem to follow stuff outside of the US though. I've run in to USA people that don't even understand what Brexit is lol
To answer your question about how the UK came about, again this is complicated but oversimplified it is as follows. Wales was a Princepality which was invaded by the English and annexed by them after the last Welsh Prince was beaten. Ireland was originally, invaded by Queen Elizabeth the 1st and later invaded again by Oliver Cromwell. Until the 1930s the whole of Ireland was part of the UK but following some very complicated history (a long and bloody story in its own right) Southern Ireland, that is now The Republic of Ireland or Eire became independent whilst the 5 counties in the North remained part of the UK as Northern Ireland. Finally Scotland became part of the Union in the 1760s when the Act of Union was signed by both sides. The addition of Scotland was not from an invasion but arose from the fact that the English Crown had no heirs, so that James the 1st the King of Scotland was invited to take the English Crown and so became James the 6th of England,( He is often referred to as James the 1st and 6th). The Shetland Isles and the Orkneys are officially part of Scotland but their roots are mainly Norwegian with a bit of Scots thrown in. Do we actually hate each other ... no not really, apart from a few people on the fringes. By and large we just get on with things and move freely from place to place without feeling we are not still in the UK. Occasionally, when someone has had too much to drink they might get very nationalistic but usually as long as no one calls a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland national English then everyone's ok. To be fair we also have county rivalries which are not really that much different .... try telling a Yorkshireman that's he's Lancastrian or vice versa and you'll soon get the picture. I'm afraid the answers probably leave you with even more questions but we have had a couple of thousand years to get to today's UK, so it isn't easy to simplify it without losing most of the details. The Union Flag, incidentally comprises the flags of England (Cross of St George .. red on a white background) Scotland (the Saltire, or Cross of St Andrew ... white on a blue background) and the red from the flag of Wales (A Welsh Dragon on a red background). For some reason that I have never known, the flag of Northern Ireland is not in there but they do have their own flag as well as the Union Flag. I can only assume it's because the Union Flag already existed before Northern Ireland came into being. Finally, The Northern Irish refer to themselves as either Northern Irish or British. The Irish are from the independent Republic of Ireland and getting those mixed up or calling an Irishman British or English will definitely upset them. The situation between The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is very complex and very incendiary, a fragile peace now exists but this is not a subject to treat lightly. Hope this helps and apologies for the lengthy reply.
One objection PP - Wales was invaded by the Norman-French. Ireland was 'invaded' first by Norman-French barons at the invitation of an Irish sub-king. The "English" had no say in either invasion.
Until the Acts of Union, Scotland and England were separate countries, even though they shared a monarch. James I of England was James VI of Scotland, but apart from that the two countries were governed separately. The Union of England and Scotland came about for mainly economic reasons: After the near bankruptcy of Scotland in the 1690s ("the seven ill years",) an economic union with England became the practical thing to do, and so both nations united under one name "The Kingdom of Great Britain" in 1707, (though Ireland was still a separate kingdom, ruled separately, but by the King of England, and thus by the King of Great Britain. In 1800/1801 , The Acts of Union created 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland', which it remained until 1922 with the establishment of 'The Irish Free State' (and later 'The Republic of Ireland') when it became 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'. BTW - No representation of Wales exists on the Union Flag - it combines The Cross of St George (for England,) The Saltire of St Andrew (for Scotland) and St Patrick's Saltire (to represent the original Kingdom of Ireland.) There is NO REPRESENTATION of Wales on the Union Flag, since Wales is technically a principality, and not a nation in heraldic terms.
Hello, I highly recommend this video. It talks about the entire history of England (yes only England I’m afraid, but when it comes to the ins and outs about the UK, it’s best to start with one and then move to the others.) It starts of 2,000 years again (this is before the Romans) and finishes in modern day. The video is around 2 hours long and there is two parts to it (just to break it up) Part 1: th-cam.com/video/joErUdT-bD0/w-d-xo.html (53:29) Part 2: th-cam.com/video/jgvN5XErjdw/w-d-xo.html (41:00) Obviously it’s long but I do massively recommend you watch it all (either part 1 and then 2, or split them up into your own little parts but please watch) The topics it talks about: - Roman Empire - King Alfred the great - Formation of England - Battle of succession - Scottish, Welsh and Irish invasion - Formation of the British Empire - And so much more! If you have any questions about the history of England or/and the UK then please ask away, I’m happy to help!
Put very simply: Wales was conquered by the Kingdom of England in the 13th Century and formally absorbed into the Nation in the 16th (before becoming recognised as a separate Principality in the 20th century) Scotland and England became linked in Personal Union when James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 but remained distinct and separate Nations. Later, during Queen Anne's reign, Scotland essentially bankrupted itself in a disastrous attempt to build an Empire in Central America (Spain BTFO'd them) - this was the straw that broke the camel's back and Scotland joined England to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Ireland: In 1155 the Pope "gave" Ireland to the English King Henry II in order to bring them under Rome's spiritual leadership, thus beginning centuries of varying levels of English control of Ireland (strong around Dublin, weaker elsewhere). King Henry VIII formally created the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541, but did not control the entire island. This would happen in entirety under Oliver Cromwell (The Lord Protector who ruled the British Isles as a republic following the civil wars) in 1653. Ireland formally became a constituent country of the United Kingdom in 1801. After the First World War, Irish separatist sentiments were so high that Westminster were forced to give them Home Rule following a referendum in 1921 (though the British monarch remained as Head of State technically until 1964). Six counties in Ulster voted to remain in the UK and these counties did not join the newly independent Irish Free State, remaining as the Kingdom of Ireland within the United Kingdom, but it's more commonly referred to as "Northern Ireland". tl;dr - England conquered Wales, Scotland went bankrupt and England bought them out, Northern Ireland voted to remain.
The Scottish Lairds went bankrupt not the country. The famous Burns quote says it all “sold your souls for English gold”. Also the Darian project was a failure for several reasons including English and Dutch blockades.
I'm originally from the Outer Hebrides (islands of the far north west coast of scotland). Life is very different on the islands compared to the mainland (we call great britain the 'mainland'). It's not an ideal place to grow up because opportunities are so limited, however it's incredibly picturesque and if you are into your culture, outdoors, peace and quiet then it would make for a really good holiday. If you can't brace the cold, then I'd recommend coming during summer for that typical 2 week period of sunshine we get out of the year lol. As for relations between different countries of the UK, it's very much sibling attitudes. There is a lot of teasing but it's just banter, though it might look as if we're fighting to anyone who is unfamiliar with our humour lol.
3:33 Generally we 'hate' each other through tribal rivalries and history, usually in jest we 'hate' each other. In real meetings among the clans on holiday we band together. You'll see Brits shoulder to shoulder on popular British foreign destinations.
@@grapeman63 I couldn't agree more but I do think it would be helpful if more Americans realised just how complex and sensitive the situation is. Far too many of them have a very simplistic dewy eyed view of things and because of that tend to rush in where angels fear to tread. In my view the more people are educated about the history and politics of the Northern Ireland/Ireland situation the more chance we have of a lasting peace and the ending of well-intentioned but frequently highly damaging interference.
In the UK we are very educated actually on all things American from young so we do have stereotypes but we tend to actually know that you have the south the north and different accents and cultural things in different parts of America, why because America is the modern day empire the world really knows alot about America plus we get your music, documentaries and films just to name a few things a basic example Americans often seem shocked that Britain has a good number of black population we are not shocked at the racial diversity in America.
Quite right, the US does have many relics of its early "British" period, just remember, if it wasn't for all the folk from the British Isles you'd all be speaking Spanish now! Your language, the basis of your laws, your counties all date back to early British settlers. To this day, almost 20% of US citizens can trace their descent back to the British Isles. Please bear all this in mind the next time that you are tempted to complain about the British not spelling our language properly (lol). Stay safe................................the ancient Englishman.
Curious about the Ireland stuff. Back before people started recording much history... The Irish people descend from Iberia (the west coast of northern spain), their distant ancestors migrated to Ireland whos native population was the beaker people (they went on to die out). The Irish tried to colonise England, attacking out coastal ports, and actually invanding and building settlements in what we now call Northumbria (you can still see some of the remains if you look really hard). The attacks and attempts to colonise eventually forced a response from the English. We invaded and conquered all of the Six Kingdoms of Ireland, uniting them into one nation (Ireland). In 1801 we (GB) created "The united Kingdom" in law with the 1801 Act of Union. So once upon a time the UK map was all of Ireland, not just the NI part. Lots of Irishmen never accepted (or liked) being part of the UK, they considered it subjugation before the Crown. They felt their people were getting a raw deal from the Crown. Irish uprisings etc, and an agreement was reached for them to become an independent nation (1921). Ireland was partitioned to meet the wishes of the Irishmen who lived there, into two nations Eire (only we call it that, you'll call it the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland (locally called Ulster), for the Irish people who wanted to remain 'British'. Republicans never respected the right of the Irishmen who wanted to remain British, and the Irishmen who wanted to remain British treated them awfully for it. Deliberate discrimination against them etc. Eventually the hatred led to people killing each other (Republicans killing Loyalists, and Loyalists killing Republicans). The British government put the British Army onto the streets to 'stand between the warring parties'. That's where 'The Troubles' came from. The Republicans saw it as Britain using the military to maintain control of NI. The Loyalists saw it as Britain stopping them from defending their people. In the end it turned into a hell of a mess, where both sides were happy to kill British soldiers, and each others people. Anyway, in the end they found some adults, and reached compromises that stopped them killings in both directions, and that's kind of where we are today. There are Irishmen who would like all of Ireland to be united as one nation, and their are Irishmen who want to be part of the United Kingdom, and be 'British citizens'. Most of us in England, Scotland, and Wales don't have much of an opinion on what the future of Eire/NI should be, we're mainly of the opinion that it should be what the people who live their want it to be. If that's partitioned to suit those who want to be British, so be it. If it's unifed into a single nation that's fine too. As long as no one is killing people, it's really got nothing much to do with us.
6:22 There are huge tensions in Northern Ireland if The North should stay in the UK or Join The Republic, Generally Catholics support Irish reunification while Protestants support Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK, Following 3 decades of violence peace came in the 90's but earlier this year violence sadly kicked off again.
A sporting anomaly is that Ireland play as All Ireland in the games of rugby Union and cricket. The touring team in Rugby is known as The British and Irish Lions and will tour South Africa in July in what will be a hotly contested series of matches
Let me answer that. Do you have an understanding of California? Not LA, but the whole state? Can you tell me where Redding is without looking it up? Can you tell me about Eureka? As much as we would love to know everything about every place, we just don't. This is our ignorance. And by people shaming us for not knowing, it really puts us off. We are trying to learn. We really appreciate you watching, but come on Simon. Don't lump us in with people who just assume. At least we're trying. Thanks for watching, and cheers!
@@916reactions2 I am not picking on you, but as part of any basic geography, especially your "mother country" I would think knowing that the UK. is 4 country's is understood by everyone. I know this is me being pedantic and picky but I do not call myself British/Brit. Because I don't come from 4 countries, I come from 1 England, I am English. Most Americans just look at me baffled. This is a little island, so not too much to take in. So a massive massive country of 50 States is more of a challenge. Saying that, we pride ourselves on our knowledge of geography, plus with all of the US. TV and movies we know an awful lot about the States.
Fair play. What may really cook your noodle, is that I am Native American, and there are over 500 Nations residing in this giant hunk of land, so I weirdly enough get where you're coming from. I am so delighted that you watched and enjoyed this video. Sorry I was quick to get defensive. Also, I have Welsh ancestry, too. I think the word "yank" got to me a bit. My bad, homie. Again, thank you so much for watching. Now I feel bad for calling you out, LOL. Cheers! Keep watching! I'm sure I'll find a w ay to offend you, again lol
This is quite inaccurate in regards that for the most part everyone is happy living together. All countries do like each other. The UK was not forced upon anyone.
@@Tom-bs1em Because you're quite inaccurate. When the Act of Union between England and Scotland happened in 1707, 75% of the Scottish population disagreed with it, but it was forced upon them against their will..
I prefer to call myself British coz i was born in England but grandparents were Highland nd Lowland Scotts. C Culturally i am Scottish and Georde which is viking area.
The man in the street really doesn’t care about commonwealth or conquered nations. We just want to live our lives and meet new people, like yourselves. We’re quite nice, actually.
The Queen technically holds a lot of power as she is the Head of State & Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces however for a few centuries now the Monarch has gave the power to elected representatives i.e. Parliament & ultimately the Government.
@@richardlyd7450 Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith is slightly long winded though.
Most confusion just seems really a case of "geographic vs political". He explained it really nicely. When talking about a country I guess technically we shouldn't be using for example "Great Britain".
You said how do northern ireland and the rest of ireland feel about each other,well thats not where the tension and conflict is its between the two ethno religious communities within northern ireland.I am from the republic and we do kind of think of them up there as mad,but we have more of an effinity with the nationalist/catholic community than the unionist/ protestant community that said the divide is still more within northern ireland and to a lesser extent between the unionist protestant community and the rest of ireland particularly in the context of a growing debate about Unification
We don't like each other from a social standpoint. It's exactly that silly rivalry thing but it stems from serious hatred hundreds of years ago. There is hatred from some now but nowhere near as much... Unless you count Ireland and some of Northern Ireland😂
In general we don't like each other as nations, but it goes further than that. We also dislike other counties. Yorkshire and Lancashire are a good example. You ask about Ireland the same there. Scotland wants to leave the Union, not new been like it since they joined, Shetland and Orkney are part of Scotland. If Scotland leaves the Union they will leave Scotland . Just on going rivalries from the dawn of time. You ask about Northern Ireland best left to them. In the North there are Republicans and Nationalists. Republicans want a united Ireland the Nationalists want to remain in UK. So you have two communities in one place, they don't get on. That also applies in Scotland, but more peaceful. In Northern Ireland the two communities have terrorist organisations related to the two factions. So watch the news as an ongoing issue.
That's some rubbish you've written. Some people in Scotland want to leave the UK, around 45% or so of the population which is the highest it's ever been.If Scotland wanted to leave it would have done so in 2014, the majority chose to remain.How do you get that Shetland and Orkney will leave Scotland? The Nationalists in Northern Ireland definitely do not want to remain in the UK, the Unionists do.
It's not true - he's just trying to sound 'smart.' In 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne as James I on the death of Elizabeth I. (They remained two separate kingdoms) James I/VI was king of Great Britain. In 1707, England and Scotland were united under one parliament to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1801, the kingdom of Ireland entered the union to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. All government business in the UK is carried out in the name of Her Majesty by Her Majesty's Government. The Queen receives daily reports from the government and no legislation is legal until it has received her signature. The Prime Minister has a private meeting with the Queen every week.
I think we in the UK think that no one has electric kettles in America, and that no one can make what we class as a proper cup of tea. I think your version of scones confuse us too as ours come with clotted cream and jam if sweet and with cheese if savoury.
I’ve been to Great Britain about a dozen times, mostly for concerts. I’ve seen Sparks, The Long Ryders, Adam Ant, Mott The Hoople, and Ian Hunter in concert over there. I belonged to an internet music forum and have friends from Scotland and England and we have all gotten together in London and Edinburgh. They don’t hate each other but they do rub each other. Example: none of my friends like Rod Stewart. My Scot friends claim Rod is English and my English friends claim Rod is a Scot. There is always a lot of friendly ribbing between them. They both dislike Pakistanis. I haven’t been over since 2012. I hear the Muslims have taken over large parts of London which is why a couple of friends of mine have moved to places like Sheffield and Newcastle in north England.
It's difficult to answer questions like "how do the four countries feel about each other" when there's such a broad range of opinions among the populations of each country.
The Queen doesn't really do much and is mainly just a traditional figure head so to speak its mainly a culture thing now a days kinda like our appendix it's not needed to run our body anymore but it's there to symbolise our past it's nothing like the president of USA who actively gets involved with affairs we have the cobra team or something like that.
It's an okay breakdown but there are some aspects that are wrong or out of date: - Ireland IS a country. Basically, there are "two Irelands" - the island of Ireland and the country of Ireland. The island of Ireland is the one west of Great Britain. The area coloured in green is a country rather confusingly but also officially named "Ireland". However, it is often called the "Republic of Ireland" to differentiate it from the island of Ireland. As CGP Grey says, the Republic of Ireland is an independent country separate from the UK. - When he said "Like it or not, (the people of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are all British citizens", that is not technically true. The English, Scottish and Welsh are British citizens but the Northern Irish can be British or Irish or both British/Irish citizens. This was mentioned in the recent Geography Now! Ireland video you guys watched. - He says the Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom are both members of the European Union (EU). This is no longer true as the UK left the EU in 2020. Ireland remained a part of the EU. The EU is a collection of 27 European countries (28 before the UK left) that work together with free movement of people and trade; as well as laws and a shared currency in some cases. Now to clear up some of your confusion: - British Isles: A collection of islands north-west of Europe - Great Britain (also just known as Britain): The largest island of the British isles - Ireland (island): The second largest island of the British isles - United Kingdom / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / UK: An independent country like the United States that covers the entirety of Britain and the north-eastern part of Northern Ireland as well as small islands nearby (coloured purple in the video). The British monarchy is the head of state and the British Prime Minister rules the country. The UK is a country made up of "constituent countries (often shorted to country) - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These act a little bit like US states (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can decide some of their own local laws). However, England, Scotland and Wales were once separate independent countries that joined or "united" together as one in 1707. In 1801, all of Ireland was added. However in 1922, most of Ireland broke away to form the country of Ireland. The north-eastern part remained with the UK and became Northern Ireland. As England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have complex histories and sense of identities, many consider themselves by their home nationality (English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish) despite all being part of the same country. - Ireland (country): An independent country that covers most of the island of Ireland and highlighted in green in the video. The Irish President is head of state and the Irish Prime Minister (known as the Taoiseach, pronounced "Tea-shock") is the ruler of the country. The country is often called the Republic of Ireland to differentiate it from the island of Ireland. If the UK is like the US, think of Ireland as being like Canada. Two completely separate countries. The entire island of Ireland used to be part of the UK but most of Ireland broke away and became independent in 1922 while Northern Ireland remained part of the UK. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland don't have a feud. The Republic of Ireland do not agree with British rule. Some people in Northern Ireland want to unite with the rest of Ireland, some want to stay in the UK and others have more complicated feelings. It caused decades of conflict. British Commonwealth Countries: Countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand. These countries are completely independent, each with their own separate rulers but the British monarch (or "Crown") is their head of state. The Crown has no power in these countries but the British royals will do tours of these countries to keep relations friendly and "celebrate their historic ties". The Queen and British symbolism might appear on money, government documents etc. but it's all surface stuff. These countries are in charge of themselves. British Crown Dependencies: These 3 countries (Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey) are not independent as the UK is in charge of their defence, international representation and some nationality laws but the countries themselves are largely in charge of everything that happens internally within their country. British Overseas Territories: These 14 territories are the last parts of the British Empire (the only parts that remained under British rule while other countries became independent). They are very similar to Crown Dependencies except the British have a little more control over the internal affairs of the territory. I hope that makes it all clearer!
The monarchy does have power, except that under normal times they exercise this power through the form of Her Majesties Government, which is what the people elect, kinda. We elect MPs, the party with the most seats wins the election, and the head of that party becomes Prime minister, at the request of the Queen. I'm from Sheffield, and there's some great videos walking around the city. You get a good handle on day to day lives. It's same as every developed nation. You get up, you go to work, you come home.. eat sleep repeat. 🤣😂
We’re all cool with being in the UK together but we often insult others for jokes, humour, breaking the ice. Each has their own stereotypes used in the insults/banter.
Scotland last had an independence vote in 2014 with narrow majority voting to remain part of the UK. Lots of history with Ireland. And no lots of hate each other. The Queen has total power approving all prime ministers, laws and the army/police swear allegiance to the Queen. Many of our services are the Queens like tax collection and prisons.
Surprised he didn't mention isle of man,Isle of scilly, India, and territory such as Cyprus and the USA (yes the USA gave the UK an island or part of it extremely close to the USA)
Ireland partitioned into Northern Ireland and republic of Ireland in 1921 because at the time Republicans wanted independence from Britain but there was a protestant majority in Northern Ireland who preferred to remain under British rule. Then between the 60s to the late 90s there was a civil war in Northern Ireland between Unionists and Nationalists. (Unionists want to remain under British rule and are mostly protestant) (Nationalists want a United Ireland and are mostly catholic). This war was better known as (The troubles) which consisted of paramilitary groups (gangs/terrorists/illegal organisations) planting bombs in areas all of the UK and Ireland to get what they wanted. The most known groups are the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and the IRA (Irish Republican Army). The IRA fought for a United Ireland whilst the UVF fought against that to keep NI as part of the UK. This lead to dozens of horrific catastrophes killing thousands of people until the late 90s when there was a peace arrangement created called (The Good Friday Agreement) which decided that if a majority of people in Northern Ireland wanted to unite the ROI then the option was there to vote for it. But as part of the agreement any prisoners from the paramilitary groups were also to be set free. Since then Northern Ireland has been a lot more peaceful but there is still that division between communities today. There are peace walls separating Catholic and Protestant communities from each other to prevent riots. Most people these days however are not really religious, being considered a Catholic or a Prod is used more to describe someone's ethnical background rather than a religion as if you live in a certain community, that community has a specific political loyalty. (For example if you grew up in a protestant area you are most likely of British origin and have a Unionist political opinion). There are videos about the troubles if you ever want to look into it, they're on TH-cam :)
We have a rivalry between each country in GB. I wouldn't say hate, although I'm sure a few bigots will. I'm not Irish but basically the country was split between catholic (Eire or the Rupublic of Ireland) and protestant (Northern Ireland). Their have been many troubles out there in both countries with killing, bombing, etc and this spilled into England, but that has calmed down now. UK has since come out of EU although we are still part of the European continent. EU is an economic community. Where trade deals are made around the world on behalf of all countries in the EU. It was thought that as they will bulk buy it would be cheaper. However, there are lots of rules and regulations and it takes for ever to get anything done. As seen in the Covid injection programme. We are very much ahead of Europe in jabs completed. Hope this helps. We appreciate you trying to learn more about the world. When we see plenty of US programs showing different age groups not even knowing the difference between countries and continents and calling capital cities, countries. You think wow. Also you get a lot of misinformation in US, for example National Health Service. Be good to hear your views on it. Tell us about your gun laws. Rest of the world just don't get it. If you want to find out more about towns and cities in the UK a good starting place, believebit or not is Wikipedia UK version. Tupe in a town and you will get information about it that you can investigate. Each town has it's own local government website you can visit that tells you everything you need to know. Hope this helps.
Scotland has never been part of England. It was a Scottish King who United Scotland with England & Ireland when he took the British throne. Wales was once classed as England hence why they have no representation on the Union flag and Ireland was under English rule. So Scotland joined (well our King) voluntarily.
I’m English and we most definitely do not hate each other, sports they all hate England.. we have a bumpy history no thanks to the English I will say that, but now for the most part we all love each other really! And maybe this may help.. one of our prime minister’s who was Scottish labelled The uk not as a country but as a multi national state. Which makes sense to me as we don’t identify as British for the most part. I’m English and I would say I’m English no British, my ex girlfriend was Scottish she would say she is Scottish not British too. I hope this helps some what ☺️
The empire with its immense wealth and power ‘papered over cracks’ that were always there. Once empire was on the decline a Scottish independence movement re-emerged. Ireland was always an unwilling party and when the empire started to crack they fought for their independence.
He missed off the fact the Queen and now King is also the Head of the forces. The Commander in Chief as it were. We are no longer part of the EU since Brexit.
You want to find out how Northern Ireland feels about the Republic of Ireland? If you do, please let us know- a century after partition and nobody has been able to find a definitive answer! You'll get a different response from depending on which end of some of the more infamous streets someone comes from. I don't think there will ever be a consensus.
With some sort of a go at an answer to your question... Yes we are. No they're not.. Yes we can be and they are not all as one and separate. We do like each other but not all if you ask ni how they feel about island of Ireland depends who you ask as to your answer.. Not hard really 🤔😜
Yeah this video is a bit wrong, Nth Irish, Welsh and Scottish all get on, we all have that banter with the English though where we say we don't like them. The Queen is the one with the "power" not any of the rest of the Royal Family. The Queen as he's said is more of a figurehead, yes, she does have some power but doesn't really act on it, although all new bills need to be passed via her for approval before becoming law. Although to be honest I don't think the Queen has really stopped any bills passing through government. Not this one anyway. Could be wrong but we don't really hear of any that she may have stopped.
The USA is 50 federal states in a country. The UK is 4 devolved* countries in a state. * England is not devolved and has no parliament but it is an easy soundbite. The video is great. Just 2 minor correction.. The UK is a Commonwealth Realm. We are all independent nation states recognised by the UN, we just all have the same head of state. The Commonwealth Realms are not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Nations (COMM), which is an alliance of mostly ex British Empire countries. The USA and the Republic of Ireland being the 2 most noticeable absentees. Whilst Mozambique is in COMM and not a former colony. All are independent nation states, though the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories can be represented individually sometimes. Most members are republics and tas of 2022 the largest economy is India and not the UK. Geographically the Channel Isles are not in the the British Isles but are a part of France.
We're really not that insular in the UK! Most of us could name the majority of US states, and we're well aware of the different accents and political leanings found in the various American regions.
Hell, some of us can name all the US Presidents. But maybe that's a little boastful...
The insular people exist here too, fortunately you seem to have evaded them.
@@MrJoeshipley Americans forget theyve put their culture on display to the world via hollywood tv and modern media. The world knows everything about them but they know nothing about the world.
@@grapeman63 So can I with all the dates so not the slightest bit boastful!
@@johnkemp8904 I was trying not to be boastful - honest. The dates aren't as difficult as they sound. All you have to do is remember who only served one term or died in office. Fortunately, there's not too many of them.
I can't do British PMs though, far too many non-sequential dates and short-lived administrations!
"Don't treat us like stereotypical Americans" says the grown man wearing a baseball cap, and indoors!
Thanks for the view
Shhh! Spencer, When a Gentleman is wearing a hat indoors it’s best not to mention it.😳
Of course that video is now out of date, because the UK has now left the European Union.
Also, Barbados is about to leave the Commonwealth realm to become a republic.
Most British people have a fairly good idea about the different places in the United States, because we watch a lot of documentaries, TV shows, movies, etc, about that subject. For instance, Garrison Keillor's radio show about Minnesota was quite popular in the UK, so we know about the Scandinavians who live in that area. And also most British people know about the Mormons in Utah, the Quakers in Delaware, the Amish in Pennsylvania, and so on. Not everyone, but quite a high percentage.
Can u not speak for British people cause idk what ur talking about
@@OTB2002 😂😂😂
Wtf is this guy on about. We know the states, cos we are taught fkin geography.
Most British have never heard of Garrison Kellor, either 👍🏴
And because we get American tv shows here too. I was like 7 when I learned about the Amish and it was through watching My Name Is Earl lol.
We taught in school. Geography
I’m from the Shetland Islands! We belong to Scotland, but geographically we are closer to Norway. A lot of our local traditions are Scandinavian as we used to belong to Norway and Denmark, but back many many centuries ago, we were given to Scotland in exchange for something. (Can’t remember what) The Shetland flag is the colours of the Scottish flag (blue and white 🏴), but in the same style as the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark with the off centred cross 🇳🇴🇸🇪🇫🇮🇩🇰)
It takes 12-14 hours to reach mainland Scotland by ferry, so is very isolated, but it is very peaceful and a lovely place to live. There is about 25,000 people living here
It’s actually quite annoying that we are so far away that on maps of the British Isles, we are often put in a box, or sometimes even just forgotten about! 😂
The main language is English, which everyone speaks, but there is also a variant of it, known as Shetland Dialect, which includes its own accent using some English words, some Norwegian words and some Shetland words!
Don't know why people keep using that trope, "Shetland is closer to Norway" when it is patently obvious from a cursory look at a map to be untrue.
(Sumburgh head to Dunnet head in Caithness roughly 160km mainland Shetland to Bergen roughly 300km).
Good Job. Re the Queen's Powers. She actually has considerable powers. Check out "What Powers Does the Queen of England Actually Have?" by 'Today I Found Out.'
I was going to suggest this one too. You will be surprised.
Yeah, this one.
No such person as queen of England she is queen of Britain
The last monarch to use their reserve powers in their own capacity was Queen Anne in 1707 when she withheld Royal Assent to the Scottish Militia Bill. The Queen still theoretically has powers, but it is inconceivable that she would or even could ever use them. She's a glass cannon, incredibly powerful, but if ever used would destroy itself.
3:45...he's actually overstating things for comedy effect, we get on fine. The piss taking between the countries is 'mostly' just good natured banter.
I don't think Nicola Sturgeon got that memo..
@@spencerwilton5831 I think she's just upset her career with The Krankies went down the pooper.
@@spencerwilton5831 Nicola Sturgeon or other Nationalist do not hate the English. We hate the fact that we get lumped with leaders (idiots) like Boris Johnson dispite never having a majority tory vote and dragged out of Europe against out will because of English votes. Like it or not both of our countries have completely different views. I'm a Nationalist and one of my very best friends is English we don't want to leave the union we because we don't like the English we want to because the government is corrupt to its core and we believe its best for our country.
The Scottish Government is likely about to go to Court against The UK Government because The UK Government refuses to accept democracy and allow Scotland to hold a vote on Scottish Independence despite the fact that Pro-Independence parties won a Majority in the recent Scottish Election
@@19McCloy91 Exactly! I'm half English and love England yet I support our Independence
a good albeit rather rushed explanation, but still a good starting point to learn more. but don't forget the modern UK is the result of over a thousand years of wars, conquest and political manoeuvrings, so the history gets' complicated quickly and there's always some great atrocity to fuel conflict between the groups, but this is rarely seen outside of right wing nationalists and for the most part any sense of "rivalry" is more of the friendly banter variety. (and yes before you all start commenting, im not going into the whole northern Ireland conflict over the last century for the sake of simplicity)
its good to see more Americans educating themselves in other countries.
"never be ashamed of challenging your ignorance, only accepting it"
kind regards from the UK
It's not really true we don't like each other. It's just friendly banter, or at worst, sibling rivalry.
Also when it comes to sports...lol..but we are a major force if we pull together...we have everyone back!...
I always describe us, like the kids in the back of the car, England is the biggest/eldest, so the rest of us gang up on them when we're in the car..... but if someone picks on one of us, we all stand up together.
But definitely sports, hyper competitive. Think football is worst, rugby is rough banter.
England definitely gets the worst of it in sport though lol
🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
@@c0wbag49 Except for cricket, the most English of games, funnily enough. Because none of the other countries have test teams, followers of that sport tend to follow the English test team. Well England and Wales cricket team, as I’m sure you know.
@@achloist in the words of Frankie Boyle: “cricket is practiced in Scotland as a homosexual martial art” 😂😂
Scottish independence and Irish reunification on the horizon suggests its not all pinky swears and hugs
We tend to get along with each as a nation until it comes to sport, (especially football or as you say soccer).
That makes so much sense. Thanks for watching!
The monarchy have a lot of power they can theoretically use but the Queen doesn't use those powers and stays out of the political arena.
You will get alot of people saying the queen has no real power, ignore them its not true. The queen has alot of power she just doesn't use it.
No. the U.K. is pretty much aware of the political, economic and social situations affecting the U.S.
Can name most states, many presidents (hell, one of them, his family are from my city here in the U.K., President Woodrow Wilson), most are clued up on American happenings from inception, independence up to the present day, the same with most of Europe, Australasia, the middle east, etc...
Much of it is taught in school but we glean a lot from media, etc...
We can recognise most accents from the eastern to western seaboards, such as Bostonian, Texan, Californian, etc...
I'd say much of the things between the U.K. and U.S. are similar but, not to offend, I think the way of thinking is where the difference arrives such as healthcare, gun control, religion in politics, how we see ourselves as a nation, how we see ourselves within our nation, how we react to laws (such as we have legally required vehicle inspections each year on our vehicles, many in the U.S. have nothing), but I'd say also how we measure wealth and happiness, work/life balance, etc...
It's not true that the countries of the UK dislike each other. There is a playful rivalry. We are all friends really.
Look up tories laugh at Scottish slavery and Priti Patel using food shipments to the Republic of Ireland as leverage in brexit negotiations 😳 suggesting a new famine is a tool
We do all like eachother it's more of a rivalry thing
Well considering around half of Scotland want independence speaks volumes, around 25% of Wales always wants independence and the whole Irish situation is a little too rocky to even think about.
Live in Scotland tends to be less hectic than in southern England but it’s all friendly, we don’t hate each other.
The Monarch technically holds a lot of power but this is more of a safeguard as part of our very complicated unwritten constitution. The monarch hands of most of their powers to the elected Government as far as the day to day running of the country goes and does not get involved publicly with politics but she does hold a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss what the Government is up to. The safeguard really comes in the fact that the Monarch is still commander-In-Chief of all the armed forces and all members of the armed forces swear an oath to the Monarch and not the Government so in the unlikely event that a rogue Politician decided to take over the UK as a dictatorship they would be highly unlikely to be able to control the military. There is much more to it than this though and there are some good videos on TH-cam that explain much more about the powers the Queen has but does not use for many reasons.
In response to your statement toward the end of the video, People from the UK tend to know more about the US than people from the US know about the UK. Most people from the UK could at least name probably 30 or so states and point them out on a map and tell you a little something about them. Our news reports on big political goings-on and we see stuff on social media too. The US doesn't really seem to follow stuff outside of the US though. I've run in to USA people that don't even understand what Brexit is lol
No we can’t name up to 30 stop speaking for all of us
@Dank Waifu Most people I've asked maxed out at 10, so I can attest to this.
Now you’ve watched this you should react to
‘How many countries England has invaded visualised’
&
‘What powers does the queen have’
Or any of Al Murray's stuff.
To answer your question about how the UK came about, again this is complicated but oversimplified it is as follows. Wales was a Princepality which was invaded by the English and annexed by them after the last Welsh Prince was beaten. Ireland was originally, invaded by Queen Elizabeth the 1st and later invaded again by Oliver Cromwell. Until the 1930s the whole of Ireland was part of the UK but following some very complicated history (a long and bloody story in its own right) Southern Ireland, that is now The Republic of Ireland or Eire became independent whilst the 5 counties in the North remained part of the UK as Northern Ireland. Finally Scotland became part of the Union in the 1760s when the Act of Union was signed by both sides. The addition of Scotland was not from an invasion but arose from the fact that the English Crown had no heirs, so that James the 1st the King of Scotland was invited to take the English Crown and so became James the 6th of England,( He is often referred to as James the 1st and 6th). The Shetland Isles and the Orkneys are officially part of Scotland but their roots are mainly Norwegian with a bit of Scots thrown in.
Do we actually hate each other ... no not really, apart from a few people on the fringes. By and large we just get on with things and move freely from place to place without feeling we are not still in the UK. Occasionally, when someone has had too much to drink they might get very nationalistic but usually as long as no one calls a Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland national English then everyone's ok. To be fair we also have county rivalries which are not really that much different .... try telling a Yorkshireman that's he's Lancastrian or vice versa and you'll soon get the picture.
I'm afraid the answers probably leave you with even more questions but we have had a couple of thousand years to get to today's UK, so it isn't easy to simplify it without losing most of the details.
The Union Flag, incidentally comprises the flags of England (Cross of St George .. red on a white background) Scotland (the Saltire, or Cross of St Andrew ... white on a blue background) and the red from the flag of Wales (A Welsh Dragon on a red background). For some reason that I have never known, the flag of Northern Ireland is not in there but they do have their own flag as well as the Union Flag. I can only assume it's because the Union Flag already existed before Northern Ireland came into being.
Finally, The Northern Irish refer to themselves as either Northern Irish or British. The Irish are from the independent Republic of Ireland and getting those mixed up or calling an Irishman British or English will definitely upset them.
The situation between The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is very complex and very incendiary, a fragile peace now exists but this is not a subject to treat lightly.
Hope this helps and apologies for the lengthy reply.
1707 was the act of the union? But apart from that pretty nice
One objection PP - Wales was invaded by the Norman-French. Ireland was 'invaded' first by Norman-French barons at the invitation of an Irish sub-king.
The "English" had no say in either invasion.
Until the Acts of Union, Scotland and England were separate countries, even though they shared a monarch. James I of England was James VI of Scotland, but apart from that the two countries were governed separately.
The Union of England and Scotland came about for mainly economic reasons: After the near bankruptcy of Scotland in the 1690s ("the seven ill years",) an economic union with England became the practical thing to do, and so both nations united under one name "The Kingdom of Great Britain" in 1707, (though Ireland was still a separate kingdom, ruled separately, but by the King of England, and thus by the King of Great Britain. In 1800/1801 , The Acts of Union created 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland', which it remained until 1922 with the establishment of 'The Irish Free State' (and later 'The Republic of Ireland') when it became 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.
BTW - No representation of Wales exists on the Union Flag - it combines The Cross of St George (for England,) The Saltire of St Andrew (for Scotland) and St Patrick's Saltire (to represent the original Kingdom of Ireland.) There is NO REPRESENTATION of Wales on the Union Flag, since Wales is technically a principality, and not a nation in heraldic terms.
Hello, I highly recommend this video. It talks about the entire history of England (yes only England I’m afraid, but when it comes to the ins and outs about the UK, it’s best to start with one and then move to the others.)
It starts of 2,000 years again (this is before the Romans) and finishes in modern day. The video is around 2 hours long and there is two parts to it (just to break it up)
Part 1: th-cam.com/video/joErUdT-bD0/w-d-xo.html (53:29)
Part 2: th-cam.com/video/jgvN5XErjdw/w-d-xo.html (41:00)
Obviously it’s long but I do massively recommend you watch it all (either part 1 and then 2, or split them up into your own little parts but please watch)
The topics it talks about:
- Roman Empire
- King Alfred the great
- Formation of England
- Battle of succession
- Scottish, Welsh and Irish invasion
- Formation of the British Empire
- And so much more!
If you have any questions about the history of England or/and the UK then please ask away, I’m happy to help!
Think of it more of a siblings fighting when the cards are down we stand together
i am scottish living in england ,we get on really well its judt banter especially about football
Put very simply: Wales was conquered by the Kingdom of England in the 13th Century and formally absorbed into the Nation in the 16th (before becoming recognised as a separate Principality in the 20th century)
Scotland and England became linked in Personal Union when James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603 but remained distinct and separate Nations. Later, during Queen Anne's reign, Scotland essentially bankrupted itself in a disastrous attempt to build an Empire in Central America (Spain BTFO'd them) - this was the straw that broke the camel's back and Scotland joined England to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Ireland: In 1155 the Pope "gave" Ireland to the English King Henry II in order to bring them under Rome's spiritual leadership, thus beginning centuries of varying levels of English control of Ireland (strong around Dublin, weaker elsewhere). King Henry VIII formally created the Kingdom of Ireland in 1541, but did not control the entire island. This would happen in entirety under Oliver Cromwell (The Lord Protector who ruled the British Isles as a republic following the civil wars) in 1653.
Ireland formally became a constituent country of the United Kingdom in 1801. After the First World War, Irish separatist sentiments were so high that Westminster were forced to give them Home Rule following a referendum in 1921 (though the British monarch remained as Head of State technically until 1964). Six counties in Ulster voted to remain in the UK and these counties did not join the newly independent Irish Free State, remaining as the Kingdom of Ireland within the United Kingdom, but it's more commonly referred to as "Northern Ireland".
tl;dr - England conquered Wales, Scotland went bankrupt and England bought them out, Northern Ireland voted to remain.
Great explanation
The Scottish Lairds went bankrupt not the country. The famous Burns quote says it all “sold your souls for English gold”. Also the Darian project was a failure for several reasons including English and Dutch blockades.
I'm originally from the Outer Hebrides (islands of the far north west coast of scotland). Life is very different on the islands compared to the mainland (we call great britain the 'mainland').
It's not an ideal place to grow up because opportunities are so limited, however it's incredibly picturesque and if you are into your culture, outdoors, peace and quiet then it would make for a really good holiday.
If you can't brace the cold, then I'd recommend coming during summer for that typical 2 week period of sunshine we get out of the year lol.
As for relations between different countries of the UK, it's very much sibling attitudes. There is a lot of teasing but it's just banter, though it might look as if we're fighting to anyone who is unfamiliar with our humour lol.
The Queen has an unbelievable amount of power.
Hi, being born in Gibraltar means that you are automatically a British citizen. So you will be able to claim British citizenship or dual citizenship.
3:33 Generally we 'hate' each other through tribal rivalries and history, usually in jest we 'hate' each other. In real meetings among the clans on holiday we band together. You'll see Brits shoulder to shoulder on popular British foreign destinations.
Yet you will see the Irish and Scottish joined at the hip with a sprinkling of northern English.
You should definitely react to 101 Facts about the UK. You may need to do it in two parts, but it will be so worth it!
Oh by all means please find out how Northern Ireland feels about the Republic of Ireland and vice versa. This is a very complex topic.
Yes please do, it's far more complex than many Americans realise.
To miss quote Al Murray, Just explaining it can cause problems.
My thought when she said that was "Now that's a real can of worms."
@@grapeman63 I couldn't agree more but I do think it would be helpful if more Americans realised just how complex and sensitive the situation is. Far too many of them have a very simplistic dewy eyed view of things and because of that tend to rush in where angels fear to tread.
In my view the more people are educated about the history and politics of the Northern Ireland/Ireland situation the more chance we have of a lasting peace and the ending of well-intentioned but frequently highly damaging interference.
In the UK we are very educated actually on all things American from young so we do have stereotypes but we tend to actually know that you have the south the north and different accents and cultural things in different parts of America, why because America is the modern day empire the world really knows alot about America plus we get your music, documentaries and films just to name a few things a basic example Americans often seem shocked that Britain has a good number of black population we are not shocked at the racial diversity in America.
Quite right, the US does have many relics of its early "British" period, just remember, if it wasn't for all the folk from the British Isles you'd all be
speaking Spanish now! Your language, the basis of your laws, your counties all date back to early British settlers. To this day, almost 20% of
US citizens can trace their descent back to the British Isles. Please bear all this in mind the next time that you are tempted to complain about
the British not spelling our language properly (lol). Stay safe................................the ancient Englishman.
Curious about the Ireland stuff.
Back before people started recording much history...
The Irish people descend from Iberia (the west coast of northern spain), their distant ancestors migrated to Ireland whos native population was the beaker people (they went on to die out).
The Irish tried to colonise England, attacking out coastal ports, and actually invanding and building settlements in what we now call Northumbria (you can still see some of the remains if you look really hard).
The attacks and attempts to colonise eventually forced a response from the English.
We invaded and conquered all of the Six Kingdoms of Ireland, uniting them into one nation (Ireland).
In 1801 we (GB) created "The united Kingdom" in law with the 1801 Act of Union.
So once upon a time the UK map was all of Ireland, not just the NI part.
Lots of Irishmen never accepted (or liked) being part of the UK, they considered it subjugation before the Crown. They felt their people were getting a raw deal from the Crown. Irish uprisings etc, and an agreement was reached for them to become an independent nation (1921).
Ireland was partitioned to meet the wishes of the Irishmen who lived there, into two nations Eire (only we call it that, you'll call it the Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland (locally called Ulster), for the Irish people who wanted to remain 'British'.
Republicans never respected the right of the Irishmen who wanted to remain British, and the Irishmen who wanted to remain British treated them awfully for it. Deliberate discrimination against them etc.
Eventually the hatred led to people killing each other (Republicans killing Loyalists, and Loyalists killing Republicans).
The British government put the British Army onto the streets to 'stand between the warring parties'. That's where 'The Troubles' came from. The Republicans saw it as Britain using the military to maintain control of NI. The Loyalists saw it as Britain stopping them from defending their people. In the end it turned into a hell of a mess, where both sides were happy to kill British soldiers, and each others people.
Anyway, in the end they found some adults, and reached compromises that stopped them killings in both directions, and that's kind of where we are today.
There are Irishmen who would like all of Ireland to be united as one nation, and their are Irishmen who want to be part of the United Kingdom, and be 'British citizens'.
Most of us in England, Scotland, and Wales don't have much of an opinion on what the future of Eire/NI should be, we're mainly of the opinion that it should be what the people who live their want it to be. If that's partitioned to suit those who want to be British, so be it. If it's unifed into a single nation that's fine too. As long as no one is killing people, it's really got nothing much to do with us.
We love you zanny Californians. You are such friendly good humoured people. ❤ thank you for taking an interest in us.
6:22 There are huge tensions in Northern Ireland if The North should stay in the UK or Join The Republic, Generally Catholics support Irish reunification while Protestants support Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK, Following 3 decades of violence peace came in the 90's but earlier this year violence sadly kicked off again.
You should definitely react to more Irish videos particularly on 'The Troubles'
A sporting anomaly is that Ireland play as All Ireland in the games of rugby Union and cricket. The touring team in Rugby is known as The British and Irish Lions and will tour South Africa in July in what will be a hotly contested series of matches
I am very impressed with your guys knowledge of the British Isles
I love the differences between us! So interesting and fun to know. Makes travel to other countries even better.
How come yanks don't even have a basic understanding of UK/Britain. Calling Scotland England is a big no no, and they don't even know Wales exists.
Let me answer that. Do you have an understanding of California? Not LA, but the whole state? Can you tell me where Redding is without looking it up? Can you tell me about Eureka? As much as we would love to know everything about every place, we just don't. This is our ignorance. And by people shaming us for not knowing, it really puts us off. We are trying to learn. We really appreciate you watching, but come on Simon. Don't lump us in with people who just assume. At least we're trying. Thanks for watching, and cheers!
@@916reactions2 I am not picking on you, but as part of any basic geography, especially your "mother country" I would think knowing that the UK. is 4 country's is understood by everyone.
I know this is me being pedantic and picky but I do not call myself British/Brit. Because I don't come from 4 countries, I come from 1 England, I am English. Most Americans just look at me baffled.
This is a little island, so not too much to take in. So a massive massive country of 50 States is more of a challenge. Saying that, we pride ourselves on our knowledge of geography, plus with all of the US. TV and movies we know an awful lot about the States.
Fair play. What may really cook your noodle, is that I am Native American, and there are over 500 Nations residing in this giant hunk of land, so I weirdly enough get where you're coming from. I am so delighted that you watched and enjoyed this video. Sorry I was quick to get defensive. Also, I have Welsh ancestry, too. I think the word "yank" got to me a bit. My bad, homie. Again, thank you so much for watching. Now I feel bad for calling you out, LOL. Cheers! Keep watching! I'm sure I'll find a w ay to offend you, again lol
People will disagree but at the end of the day it's very similar to sibling rivalry.
I'm a typical Englishman with an Irish (Republic of Ireland) father and Welsh mother with English and Cornish grand parents
This is quite inaccurate in regards that for the most part everyone is happy living together. All countries do like each other. The UK was not forced upon anyone.
LOL!
@@dcanmore don’t know what is so funny
@@Tom-bs1em Because you're quite inaccurate. When the Act of Union between England and Scotland happened in 1707, 75% of the Scottish population disagreed with it, but it was forced upon them against their will..
@@Derry_Aire ah yes I know that. However I am not inaccurate because technically it was voted on.
@@Derry_Aire It was the Scottish that pushed for the union! 🇬🇧
Why Ireland split into the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland - th-cam.com/video/dCJMQgfHXNI/w-d-xo.html
I prefer to call myself British coz i was born in England but grandparents were Highland nd Lowland Scotts. C Culturally i am Scottish and Georde which is viking area.
I feel you. My family is Native American from New Mexico, but I'm Californian through and through. Cheers and thanks for watching!
The man in the street really doesn’t care about commonwealth or conquered nations. We just want to live our lives and meet new people, like yourselves. We’re quite nice, actually.
The Queen technically holds a lot of power as she is the Head of State & Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces however for a few centuries now the Monarch has gave the power to elected representatives i.e. Parliament & ultimately the Government.
I would recommend video "What Powers Does the Queen of England Actually Have" to answer your question about powers of the queen.
She's not the queen of England...?...that's not her official title?
@@richardlyd7450 Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith is slightly long winded though.
Most confusion just seems really a case of "geographic vs political".
He explained it really nicely.
When talking about a country I guess technically we shouldn't be using for example "Great Britain".
Short Answer, Conquest
One video ‘What powers does the queen actually have’. She is a law of her own.
You said how do northern ireland and the rest of ireland feel about each other,well thats not where the tension and conflict is its between the two ethno religious communities within northern ireland.I am from the republic and we do kind of think of them up there as mad,but we have more of an effinity with the nationalist/catholic community than the unionist/ protestant community that said the divide is still more within northern ireland and to a lesser extent between the unionist protestant community and the rest of ireland particularly in the context of a growing debate about Unification
Canada only officially became officially independent in like 1984.
I am British look forward to more from you
We don't like each other from a social standpoint. It's exactly that silly rivalry thing but it stems from serious hatred hundreds of years ago. There is hatred from some now but nowhere near as much... Unless you count Ireland and some of Northern Ireland😂
In general we don't like each other as nations, but it goes further than that. We also dislike other counties. Yorkshire and Lancashire are a good example. You ask about Ireland the same there. Scotland wants to leave the Union, not new been like it since they joined, Shetland and Orkney are part of Scotland. If Scotland leaves the Union they will leave Scotland . Just on going rivalries from the dawn of time. You ask about Northern Ireland best left to them. In the North there are Republicans and Nationalists. Republicans want a united Ireland the Nationalists want to remain in UK. So you have two communities in one place, they don't get on. That also applies in Scotland, but more peaceful. In Northern Ireland the two communities have terrorist organisations related to the two factions. So watch the news as an ongoing issue.
That's some rubbish you've written. Some people in Scotland want to leave the UK, around 45% or so of the population which is the highest it's ever been.If Scotland wanted to leave it would have done so in 2014, the majority chose to remain.How do you get that Shetland and Orkney will leave Scotland?
The Nationalists in Northern Ireland definitely do not want to remain in the UK, the Unionists do.
Queen is sort of a figurehead but still has enoumous amount of power, check out what power does the queen of England have. That will give you an idea.
The success of Hollywood over the last 100 years has given the world a lot of information on American geography, politics, accents etc..
There is a video on here outlining and explaining the power the queen, you will be surprised.
It's not true - he's just trying to sound 'smart.'
In 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne as James I on the death of Elizabeth I. (They remained two separate kingdoms) James I/VI was king of Great Britain.
In 1707, England and Scotland were united under one parliament to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
In 1801, the kingdom of Ireland entered the union to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
All government business in the UK is carried out in the name of Her Majesty by Her Majesty's Government. The Queen receives daily reports from the government and no legislation is legal until it has received her signature. The Prime Minister has a private meeting with the Queen every week.
This is great! This is what I was looking for! Thanks for watching!
so nice sharing my dear Big Likes from Explore and Learn How to.
I think we in the UK think that no one has electric kettles in America, and that no one can make what we class as a proper cup of tea. I think your version of scones confuse us too as ours come with clotted cream and jam if sweet and with cheese if savoury.
Sibling rivalry is a good time to use for the relationship the UK but like any good family we can fight with each nobody outside car
Great analogy! Thanks for watching!
I’ve been to Great Britain about a dozen times, mostly for concerts. I’ve seen Sparks, The Long Ryders, Adam Ant, Mott The Hoople, and Ian Hunter in concert over there. I belonged to an internet music forum and have friends from Scotland and England and we have all gotten together in London and Edinburgh. They don’t hate each other but they do rub each other. Example: none of my friends like Rod Stewart. My Scot friends claim Rod is English and my English friends claim Rod is a Scot. There is always a lot of friendly ribbing between them. They both dislike Pakistanis. I haven’t been over since 2012. I hear the Muslims have taken over large parts of London which is why a couple of friends of mine have moved to places like Sheffield and Newcastle in north England.
We're like Texans liking people from California or the other way round or east coast v west coast 🤣
It's difficult to answer questions like "how do the four countries feel about each other" when there's such a broad range of opinions among the populations of each country.
The Queen doesn't really do much and is mainly just a traditional figure head so to speak its mainly a culture thing now a days kinda like our appendix it's not needed to run our body anymore but it's there to symbolise our past it's nothing like the president of USA who actively gets involved with affairs we have the cobra team or something like that.
It's an okay breakdown but there are some aspects that are wrong or out of date:
- Ireland IS a country. Basically, there are "two Irelands" - the island of Ireland and the country of Ireland. The island of Ireland is the one west of Great Britain. The area coloured in green is a country rather confusingly but also officially named "Ireland". However, it is often called the "Republic of Ireland" to differentiate it from the island of Ireland. As CGP Grey says, the Republic of Ireland is an independent country separate from the UK.
- When he said "Like it or not, (the people of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are all British citizens", that is not technically true. The English, Scottish and Welsh are British citizens but the Northern Irish can be British or Irish or both British/Irish citizens. This was mentioned in the recent Geography Now! Ireland video you guys watched.
- He says the Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom are both members of the European Union (EU). This is no longer true as the UK left the EU in 2020. Ireland remained a part of the EU. The EU is a collection of 27 European countries (28 before the UK left) that work together with free movement of people and trade; as well as laws and a shared currency in some cases.
Now to clear up some of your confusion:
- British Isles: A collection of islands north-west of Europe
- Great Britain (also just known as Britain): The largest island of the British isles
- Ireland (island): The second largest island of the British isles
- United Kingdom / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / UK: An independent country like the United States that covers the entirety of Britain and the north-eastern part of Northern Ireland as well as small islands nearby (coloured purple in the video). The British monarchy is the head of state and the British Prime Minister rules the country. The UK is a country made up of "constituent countries (often shorted to country) - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These act a little bit like US states (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can decide some of their own local laws). However, England, Scotland and Wales were once separate independent countries that joined or "united" together as one in 1707. In 1801, all of Ireland was added. However in 1922, most of Ireland broke away to form the country of Ireland. The north-eastern part remained with the UK and became Northern Ireland. As England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have complex histories and sense of identities, many consider themselves by their home nationality (English, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish) despite all being part of the same country.
- Ireland (country): An independent country that covers most of the island of Ireland and highlighted in green in the video. The Irish President is head of state and the Irish Prime Minister (known as the Taoiseach, pronounced "Tea-shock") is the ruler of the country. The country is often called the Republic of Ireland to differentiate it from the island of Ireland. If the UK is like the US, think of Ireland as being like Canada. Two completely separate countries. The entire island of Ireland used to be part of the UK but most of Ireland broke away and became independent in 1922 while Northern Ireland remained part of the UK. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland don't have a feud. The Republic of Ireland do not agree with British rule. Some people in Northern Ireland want to unite with the rest of Ireland, some want to stay in the UK and others have more complicated feelings. It caused decades of conflict.
British Commonwealth Countries: Countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand. These countries are completely independent, each with their own separate rulers but the British monarch (or "Crown") is their head of state. The Crown has no power in these countries but the British royals will do tours of these countries to keep relations friendly and "celebrate their historic ties". The Queen and British symbolism might appear on money, government documents etc. but it's all surface stuff. These countries are in charge of themselves.
British Crown Dependencies: These 3 countries (Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey) are not independent as the UK is in charge of their defence, international representation and some nationality laws but the countries themselves are largely in charge of everything that happens internally within their country.
British Overseas Territories: These 14 territories are the last parts of the British Empire (the only parts that remained under British rule while other countries became independent). They are very similar to Crown Dependencies except the British have a little more control over the internal affairs of the territory.
I hope that makes it all clearer!
The monarchy does have power, except that under normal times they exercise this power through the form of Her Majesties Government, which is what the people elect, kinda.
We elect MPs, the party with the most seats wins the election, and the head of that party becomes Prime minister, at the request of the Queen.
I'm from Sheffield, and there's some great videos walking around the city. You get a good handle on day to day lives. It's same as every developed nation.
You get up, you go to work, you come home.. eat sleep repeat. 🤣😂
Our Queen is the power in England, still today.
Prince andrew hasn't been questioned nevermind arrested. Thats how much power.
The power is Constitutional and is formalised and the Queen has to Act within the constitution
We keep telling Americans stop calling us British.
I'm English not British... lol
We’re all cool with being in the UK together but we often insult others for jokes, humour, breaking the ice. Each has their own stereotypes used in the insults/banter.
The current borders of England itself, as outlined, has remained the same since the year 898 AD...or thereabouts.
Scotland last had an independence vote in 2014 with narrow majority voting to remain part of the UK.
Lots of history with Ireland. And no lots of hate each other.
The Queen has total power approving all prime ministers, laws and the army/police swear allegiance to the Queen. Many of our services are the Queens like tax collection and prisons.
Was not a narrow majority was a massive vote against independence. and stay part of the U.K.
Surprised he didn't mention isle of man,Isle of scilly, India, and territory such as Cyprus and the USA (yes the USA gave the UK an island or part of it extremely close to the USA)
Ireland partitioned into Northern Ireland and republic of Ireland in 1921 because at the time Republicans wanted independence from Britain but there was a protestant majority in Northern Ireland who preferred to remain under British rule.
Then between the 60s to the late 90s there was a civil war in Northern Ireland between Unionists and Nationalists. (Unionists want to remain under British rule and are mostly protestant) (Nationalists want a United Ireland and are mostly catholic). This war was better known as (The troubles) which consisted of paramilitary groups (gangs/terrorists/illegal organisations) planting bombs in areas all of the UK and Ireland to get what they wanted.
The most known groups are the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and the IRA (Irish Republican Army). The IRA fought for a United Ireland whilst the UVF fought against that to keep NI as part of the UK. This lead to dozens of horrific catastrophes killing thousands of people until the late 90s when there was a peace arrangement created called (The Good Friday Agreement) which decided that if a majority of people in Northern Ireland wanted to unite the ROI then the option was there to vote for it. But as part of the agreement any prisoners from the paramilitary groups were also to be set free. Since then Northern Ireland has been a lot more peaceful but there is still that division between communities today.
There are peace walls separating Catholic and Protestant communities from each other to prevent riots. Most people these days however are not really religious, being considered a Catholic or a Prod is used more to describe someone's ethnical background rather than a religion as if you live in a certain community, that community has a specific political loyalty. (For example if you grew up in a protestant area you are most likely of British origin and have a Unionist political opinion).
There are videos about the troubles if you ever want to look into it, they're on TH-cam :)
We have a rivalry between each country in GB. I wouldn't say hate, although I'm sure a few bigots will. I'm not Irish but basically the country was split between catholic (Eire or the Rupublic of Ireland) and protestant (Northern Ireland). Their have been many troubles out there in both countries with killing, bombing, etc and this spilled into England, but that has calmed down now. UK has since come out of EU although we are still part of the European continent. EU is an economic community. Where trade deals are made around the world on behalf of all countries in the EU. It was thought that as they will bulk buy it would be cheaper. However, there are lots of rules and regulations and it takes for ever to get anything done. As seen in the Covid injection programme. We are very much ahead of Europe in jabs completed. Hope this helps. We appreciate you trying to learn more about the world. When we see plenty of US programs showing different age groups not even knowing the difference between countries and continents and calling capital cities, countries. You think wow. Also you get a lot of misinformation in US, for example National Health Service. Be good to hear your views on it. Tell us about your gun laws. Rest of the world just don't get it. If you want to find out more about towns and cities in the UK a good starting place, believebit or not is Wikipedia UK version. Tupe in a town and you will get information about it that you can investigate. Each town has it's own local government website you can visit that tells you everything you need to know. Hope this helps.
these vids are great, but do wish the narrater wouldnt speak so bloody fast lol.
Watch one about the NHS in the U.K.
Thanks for making an effort👍
Made me laugh. You're not wrong, lol. Trying, brotha.
Scotland has never been part of England. It was a Scottish King who United Scotland with England & Ireland when he took the British throne. Wales was once classed as England hence why they have no representation on the Union flag and Ireland was under English rule. So Scotland joined (well our King) voluntarily.
The Queen has more power than people realise.
The Queen is head of the Church of England (Anglican) only, not the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian).
Technically, the Queen does. She just chooses to delegate her power to the Prime Minister. All laws still require her approval and she can still veto.
BASED Barbados is kicking out their Monarchy and will be a fellow republic at the end of this month.
I’m English and we most definitely do not hate each other, sports they all hate England.. we have a bumpy history no thanks to the English I will say that, but now for the most part we all love each other really! And maybe this may help.. one of our prime minister’s who was Scottish labelled The uk not as a country but as a multi national state. Which makes sense to me as we don’t identify as British for the most part. I’m English and I would say I’m English no British, my ex girlfriend was Scottish she would say she is Scottish not British too. I hope this helps some what ☺️
Sorry thanks to the English 🤣 we caused the problems just to clarify 🤣
The empire with its immense wealth and power ‘papered over cracks’ that were always there. Once empire was on the decline a Scottish independence movement re-emerged. Ireland was always an unwilling party and when the empire started to crack they fought for their independence.
He missed off the fact the Queen and now King is also the Head of the forces. The Commander in Chief as it were. We are no longer part of the EU since Brexit.
The Normans (The French) conquered Wales but England paid for Scotland with Gold and NI was created in 1922
Think of the UK more of a island off the east coast of America rathan than a island off mainland europe
government through parliament only exists because the monarch allows it
You want to find out how Northern Ireland feels about the Republic of Ireland? If you do, please let us know- a century after partition and nobody has been able to find a definitive answer! You'll get a different response from depending on which end of some of the more infamous streets someone comes from. I don't think there will ever be a consensus.
With some sort of a go at an answer to your question... Yes we are. No they're not.. Yes we can be and they are not all as one and separate. We do like each other but not all if you ask ni how they feel about island of Ireland depends who you ask as to your answer.. Not hard really 🤔😜
You could say why do Texans hate most states in America especially California or any Democrat state and all states hate Texas 😂😂
Yeah this video is a bit wrong, Nth Irish, Welsh and Scottish all get on, we all have that banter with the English though where we say we don't like them. The Queen is the one with the "power" not any of the rest of the Royal Family. The Queen as he's said is more of a figurehead, yes, she does have some power but doesn't really act on it, although all new bills need to be passed via her for approval before becoming law. Although to be honest I don't think the Queen has really stopped any bills passing through government. Not this one anyway. Could be wrong but we don't really hear of any that she may have stopped.
The USA is 50 federal states in a country.
The UK is 4 devolved* countries in a state.
* England is not devolved and has no parliament but it is an easy soundbite.
The video is great. Just 2 minor correction..
The UK is a Commonwealth Realm. We are all independent nation states recognised by the UN, we just all have the same head of state.
The Commonwealth Realms are not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Nations (COMM), which is an alliance of mostly ex British Empire countries. The USA and the Republic of Ireland being the 2 most noticeable absentees. Whilst Mozambique is in COMM and not a former colony. All are independent nation states, though the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories can be represented individually sometimes. Most members are republics and tas of 2022 the largest economy is India and not the UK.
Geographically the Channel Isles are not in the the British Isles but are a part of France.
Being born in Gibraltar, this video is interesting for sure