England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom – what’s the difference?

Everyone has heard these names and translate english to hindi. But, most likely, he considered it to be one and the same country (state). However, this is not quite true. It is necessary to distinguish the geographical name of the region and the political structure.

The United Kingdom and the full name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an island nation in the north-west of Europe. The state consists of 4 provinces:

England
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland

That is, England is a component and at the same time the largest historical and administrative unit of one of the largest states in Europe. It makes up 2/3 of the entire state. It contains the city of London, which is not only the capital of England, but also the capital of the entire United Kingdom. The population of England is about 84% of the total population of the UK.
Such a state formation resembles the USSR. Only instead of our 15 autonomous republics there are 4 provinces. Moscow, as well as London in Great Britain, was the capital not only of the RSFSR, but of the entire USSR.

In modern terminology, the full name of the country (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is often replaced by the short Great Britain, implying that it includes the entire territory of the islands.

In addition, there is the concept of the British Isles. This includes the entire archipelago (Great Britain and Ireland with the adjacent islands of Anglesey, Man, White, Arran, etc.).
The name British Isles has been used for over 2000 years. When the Romans conquered the area, they gave it the name Britannia, and later Caledonia.
Great Britain is often called Albion, which comes from the Latin “albus” – “white” or from the Celtic root meaning “mountains”), it probably got this name because the white cliffs of Dover are clearly visible from the continent on the island. And next to the adjective “foggy”, it owes its existence to the thick sea fog that constantly envelops the low-lying parts of Great Britain.

Scotland is a country with Edinburgh as its capital and is also a constituent unit of Great Britain. The word Scotland comes from the Latin word Scoti, meaning the Gaels. The Gaels are the inhabitants of the Scottish mountains. Despite the relatively small territory, a lot of land in Scotland is untouched by man.

It is in Scotland that the deep freshwater Loch Ness is located, famous for its monster. According to legend, the monster is represented as a water spirit of the lake in the form of a horse with a long neck and a very small head. Seeing a random traveler, he lured him, substituting his shiny back – as if offering to take him – and dragged the gullible person under water.

Wales, with Cardiff as its capital, is one of the 4 parts of Great Britain. The name “Wales” comes from the English. Wales, and then, in turn, from OE. Wealas, plural of Wealh. The last word is all-Germanic and apparently comes from the name of the Volk tribe, that is, it originally meant all the Celts.

Northern Ireland is another part of the UK with Belfast as its capital. The entire island of Ireland is divided into 4 historical regions: Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught. And only 6 of the 9 counties of Ulster are included in Northern Ireland. After the end of the Anglo-Irish War in 1921, 26 Irish counties were granted independence. But 6 counties of Ulster refused the separation of Great Britain and remained in its composition.