England,Scotland,Ireland,Wales,Britain,Great Britain,the United Kingdom-why are there so many names for one small country?
This is very confusing,and so it is worth spending some time getting the facts clear.
The officisl name of the country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This name is too long for everyday purposes and is usually abbreviated to the UK.
The UK is made up of four countries(not regions),which are,in decreasing order of size:England,Scotland,Wales and Northern ireland.
Great Britain is actually the name of the main island containing England,Scotland and Wales.
The most common way,however,to refer to the whole country is Britain.
This is not the official name,but most people use it because it is short and convenient.
England,Scotland,Irelandand Wales all developed as separate kingdoms with their own languages and customs.
As England became more powerful,it wanted to extend its control over the three Celtic kingdoms.
It conquered Wales(1282) and Ireland(1652) and became politically united with Scotland(1707).
But Scotland,Wales and Ireland never lost their status as separate countries.
In the early 20th century, Ireland became an independent country known as the Irish Republic(or Eire,in the Irish language).
Six counties in the northeastern corner,however,remained part of Britain,and are known as Northern Ireland.
