Geneapedia
The British Isles, Great Britain and the United Kingdom
There exists quite a lot of confusion around the meanings of these three designations. They are distinct designations for quite different entities.
The British Isles and Great Britain
These are both geographical rather than national designations. The British Isles refers a group of islands off the coast of Europe. The two largest of these islands are Great Britain, containing mainland Scotland, England and Wales, and the island of Ireland containing Northern Ireland and Eire (Ireland). There are many smaller islands that also make up a part of the British Isles such as the Orkney Islands (part of Scotland), the Islands of Scilly (part of England) and the Channel Islands, which have their own independent legislature.
The United Kingdom and Ireland
The United Kingdom is the shortened form for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The formation of the United Kingdom as an entity began with the Anglo-Norman conquest of Wales in the 13th century and the formal union of England and Wales in 1536.
After Queen Elizabeth I of England died childless in 1603 her second cousin, twice removed, King James VI of Scotland, inherited the English throne, becoming King James I of England. This was called the 'Union of the Crowns'. However, although England (and Wales) and Scotland shared a single monarch they continued to be independent states until the Acts of Union in 1707 during the reign of Queen Anne. On 1 May 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain, was created by the political union of the Kingdom of England (which included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland. Great Britain is a geographical term that refers to the larger of the two main British Isles (the island of Ireland being the other) and contains the countries of England, Scotland and Wales.
Although politically united with England and Wales the terms of the Treaty of Union with England in 1707 guaranteed the continued existence of a separate legal system in Scotland from that of England and Wales, a situation which continues to the present day.
English monarchs have claimed lordship over Ireland since the Anglo-Norman invasions of the 12th century and managed to have the claim ratified by two successive Popes of the period. However, when Henry VIII broke with Rome and formed the Church of England, he had himself proclaimed King of the 'Kingdom of Ireland' by getting the Irish Parliament to pass the Crown of Ireland Act 1542. However, English control of Ireland between the 12th and 16th centuries was patchy and violently contested by the Irish people. It wasn't until the end of the 16th century that the whole of the island came under English dominion.
Although the throne of Ireland became occupied by the reigning sovereign of England, they had two seperate Parliaments. In 1801 the Act of Union of the Irish Parliament was passed to merge the Kingdom of Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a single Parliament.
Longstanding discontent in Ireland led to the partition of the island in 1920, with Northern Ireland opting to remain under the jurisdiction of the UK while the Irish Free State became an English dominion with it's own parliament. Northern Ireland is composed of the north eastern portion of the Irish island and includes the counties of Antrim, Londonderry, Tyrone, Fermangh, Armagh and Down. In 1922 the Irish Free State won complete independence from the UK. In 1927, the formal name of the UK was changed to its current name, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1937 the name of the Irish Free State to was changed to Éire, though in the English language it is still called Ireland.
Crown dependancies
There are also two sets of islands that form part of the British Isles but are self-governing, though their legislation is subject to Royal assent by the British sovereign. The two dependancies are the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands are made up of the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark.
Timeline
1536 - unification of England and Wales
1542 - unilateral English declaration of sovereignity over Ireland by
the English crown
1603 - union of Scottish and English crowns
1707 - union with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain
1801 - union with Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland
1920 - Partition of Ireland into Northern Ireland and the Irish Free
State
1922 - Irish Free State wins independence
1927 - UK's name changed to United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland
1937 - Irish Free State's name changed to Éire
