Did England get the idea to name itself United Kingdom from the United States?

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Mark

The United Kingdom is NOT England. The United States was proclaimed by The Kingdom of Great Britain; the United Kingdom did not exist until 1800.

The United Kingdom consists of four 'nations' (technically, "constituent countries"), which are England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

These nations were previously independent sovereign states in their own right (except Northern Ireland, which was part of the Kingdom of Ireland), known as Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland and Principality of Wales. England invaded Wales in the 1200's and annexed it in the 1500's, before England (and Wales) itself merged crown and monarch with Scotland in 1707 to become the "Kingdom of Great Britain", ruling over England (inc Wales), and Scotland.

The Kingdom of Ireland was later annexed in 1800, forming the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", although the British monarch had ruled over Ireland prior to that date.

Irish partition occured in the early 20th Century, whereby five-sixths of Ireland became independent from the UK, and named itself "Irish Free State"; later and currently "Republic of Ireland". The remaining sixth of Ireland remained with the UK and was named "Northern Ireland". Therefore, the country today which exists is now known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are parts (similar to US "states") of the sovereign state ("country"), United Kingdom of GB and NI. The term "Great Britain" just refers to the island of England, Wales and Scotland only. It has not been a sovereign state since 1800.

Therefore answering your question; after Great Britain and Ireland merged in 1801, what else were they meant to call the country? "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" was the only name which actually described the country; a "UNITED" Kingdom, and the presence of the United States was irrelevent. The 13 colonies which became the United States were colonies of "Great Britain", and therefore the name would have been given to them by Great Britain.

United Kingdom/United States It is not copying; they simply describes the country they are, "United KINGDOM" and "United STATES"! What else would you have suggested for both parties?

Deasel98

England is NOT the United Kingdom. England is part of the UK. The UK is made up of England, Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland (I think). It has been around since 1707, so No, the idea didn't come from the US. If I had to guess, I'd say the United States got the idea from the UK

davidrufus1701

no the acts of union 1652 and 1707, when england, ireland, wales and scotland were properly amalgamated into one country

Lomax

England did NOT re-name itself the United Kingdom.

In 1603, Elizabeth I, Queen of England died childless. She was succeeed on the throne by James VI of Scotland, who also became James I of England - in other words, the two kingdoms became united. Get the idea?

There was a specific Act of Parliament (the Act of Union) in 1707 (back when the thirteen colonies were still crown possessions). There was a second Act of Union in 1803 by which Ireland was added.

The UK's full name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

younosygit

Firstly, England is NOT the United Kingdom, it is PART of the United Kingdom - calling the whole country "England" is as stupid as calling California "the United States".

Secondly, while "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and (Northern) Ireland" has only been the formal name of the country since 1801 (from 1707, not including Ireland, it was the "Kingdom of Great Britain", and before that it was the separate "Kingdom of England" and "Kingdom of Scotland"), the term "united kingdom" or "united crowns" was used by King James VI of Scotland when he became James I of England in 1603, so the term is much older than the USA.

Michael M

Like davidruf afterwards but the United Kingdoms are not one country but 4 seperate countries in a union.

paul g

United Kingdom has been around for ages. I suspect we even had Great Britian before the states became united.
Great Britian DOESNT inlcude N Ireland buy the way whereas United Kingdom does

Buzz

ENGLAND IS NOT THE UNITED KINGDOM!!!! Scotland, Wales and Ireland are separate countries, united with England to form the United Kingdom (as we have the same queen). And America hasn't been around for a shorter time - it was just discovered more recently.

The United Kingdom is so called, as I said, because it's 4 countries united under the same king (or queen). The United States are so called because they are different states united under the same president. It is two completely different things - just because they both have united in the title doesn't mean one is copying the other. The queen didn't think, "Ooo, our flash cousins in America have called themselves the United States. United is a nice word. Let's unite ourselves as a Kingdom". The same goes for the United Arab Emirates - they didn't copy us, or the US, or anyone. It just seemed right for the country. And the Dominican Republic didn't copy the Czech Republic.

Leaders do what they think is bvest for their country (in theory). Thank crunchie you're not a world leader - you don't quite seem to have a grip on it.

Angel

England is just England,
The UK is England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland altogether.

j star

the uk was discovered before america so i doubt that the uk copied america

Ploymorous

The UK has been the UK since long before America was even separated into separate States.

josh 111

hilarious, firstly you just answered your own question, the British Isles were discovered way before the USA, therefore how could we COPY the USA's name? And UK refers to the Great Britain, not just England.

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