England
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| − | For a variety of complex and largely justified reasons, a lot of people hate the English, a sentiment | + | For a variety of complex and largely justified reasons, a lot of people hate the English, a sentiment felt and reciprocated by some Englanders. |
*Scottish people - the acts of Union in 1707 which united the Kingdom of England (which at the time included the Principality of Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland. | *Scottish people - the acts of Union in 1707 which united the Kingdom of England (which at the time included the Principality of Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland. | ||
*Welsh people - for incorporating Wales into England and repressing the Welsh language. | *Welsh people - for incorporating Wales into England and repressing the Welsh language. | ||
Revision as of 15:53, 31 March 2011
England is the largest constituent country of the United Kingdom, and the largest country on the island of Great Britain. It is the home of football, Monty Python, fish and chips, and Helena Bonham Carter, and is known for being wetter than the Atlantic Ocean. It's also the birthplace of the language you're reading in, which is commonly spoken elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Contents |
England in the United Kingdom
England holds a role in the United Kingdom as home to the capital city of the multinational state, London. It is the only non-Celtic nation located in the British Isles, with white Englanders historically being descended from European Anglo-Saxons and Normans,[1] leading to the playful nickname for the English from neighbouring Celts as "bastard Norman offspring." Home Nation rivalry[2] in sporting events often takes the shape of "the English are bastards" for a variety of reasons, the most notable one being that the English are bastards. Despite the rivalry, which depending on ones personal views can vary from playful to "get out of my country, English, or I'll wipe the floor with your face", England has been united with Wales and Scotland since 1707, and with Ireland since 1801, though the latter seceded in the 20th century to form the breakaway Republic of Ireland, with Northern Ireland remaining in the Union.
Naming conventions
"England" is sometimes incorrectly used by some to refer to the United Kingdom, or Great Britain, which is analogous to thinking that "Massachusetts," "the United States" and "North America" are interchangeable. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all individual countries which collectively form the political entity and multinational state the United Kingdom, with none of the member nations holding any superior position over the others. Great Britain is the island on which England, Scotland and Wales are located. The confusion with naming conventions may have arisen from any of several factors:
- England is the largest country of the United Kingdom and Great Britain and contains London, capital city of both England and the UK
- The primary government buildings of the United Kingdom (the Houses of Parliament, the Home and Foreign Offices) are located in London
- The first home of the reigning monarch of the UK (currently Queen Elizabeth II) is Buckingham Palace, located in Westminster, London
- English is the primary language of the United Kingdom
- The British Empire arose from English colonies
If you are still in doubt as to the status of England within the UK, tell a Scots, Welsh or Irishman that they're English and see what kind of response you get.
Politics
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For those of you in the mood, RationalWiki has a fun article about England. |
England, like the rest of the UK, is presided over by the government of the United Kingdom. There are 532 voting constituencies in England, out of the total 650 in the UK. In a general election, each of these constituencies elects a Member of Parliament to the House of Commons,[3] and the party with an absolute majority (taking into account votes from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) forms a government.
Nationalism
At the turn of the twentieth century, varying degrees of self-government were permitted to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: Scotland received a devolved Parliament following the Scotland Act of 1998,[4] likewise with the Welsh Assembly following Acts in 1998[5] and 2006[6] and a new Northern Ireland Assembly following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.[7] While these devolved governments ultimately answer to the State Parliament of the UK, they leave England as the only member nation of the UK with no self-governing rights, answering immediately to the UK government. Self-government in other parts of the UK, along with factors such as immigration, the West Lothian question,[8] political correctness taken to extremes, recession, the lack of a national anthem for England[9] and careful race baiting by British tabloids such as the Sun, the Daily Express, and the Daily Mail, has seen a significant rise in English nationalism in the 21st century.[10]
Anglophobia
For a variety of complex and largely justified reasons, a lot of people hate the English, a sentiment felt and reciprocated by some Englanders.
- Scottish people - the acts of Union in 1707 which united the Kingdom of England (which at the time included the Principality of Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland.
- Welsh people - for incorporating Wales into England and repressing the Welsh language.
- Irish people - for hundreds of years of political and religious repression on behalf of the British state.
- Cornish people - for not being Celtic but nonetheless incorporating Cornwall in England.
- Northern English people - hate Southern English people for being "fucking southern fairies" and having stupid regional accents.[11]
- Southern English people - hate Northern English people for being "fucking northern monkeys" and having stupid regional accents.[11]
- Non-English Britons in general - for complaining about a lack of self-government rights, for not being Celtic, and for being shit at football while still flying the St George's Cross at every World Cup and Euro tournament.
- North Americans - for colonising them, the Wars of Independence, and for not being American.
- French people - for laughing at them in WWII.[12]
- German people - for English obsession with British victory in both World Wars and the 1966 World Cup, as demonstrated in the football chant "Two World Wars and One World Cup."[13]
- Argentine people - for the Falklands War, the 1986 World Cup, and later football rivalries in general.
See also
- Scotland
- Wales
- Northern Ireland
- United Kingdom
- United States, the home of New England, which is, um, newer than England.
Footnotes
- ↑ although given that the Normans arrived in South West Britannia a millennia ago, and the Angles and Saxons several centuries before that, it is basically impossible for the average white Englander to know if they are really descended from these groups, or rather other white immigrants.
- ↑ "Home Nations" referring to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and sometimes the Republic of Ireland.
- ↑ The lower house of Parliament, the upper house being the unelected House of Lords.
- ↑ Scotland Act 1998 - www.legislation.gov.uk
- ↑ - Government of Wales Act 1998 - www.legislation.gov.uk,
- ↑ - Government of Wales Act 2006 - www.legislation.gov.uk
- ↑ The Agreement - www.nio.gov.uk
- ↑ in which Scottish and Welsh MPs are allowed to vote on matters affecting England only, with English MPs holding no equivalent right. English nationalism 'threat to UK' - www.bbc.co.uk
- ↑ England uses the British national anthem, while Wales has its own (Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau), Scotland unofficially uses Flower of Scotland and Scotland the Brave as de facto anthems, and Northern Ireland uses Londonderry Air.
- ↑ "Britain wants UK break up, poll shows" - Telegraph, Nov '06
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 See: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
- ↑ Although almost every other country involved in that War are also guilty of this.
- ↑ Two World Wars and One World Cup - www.spiegel.de