One for the Americans, why is it most Americans refer to Britain as "England"?

Question

Is it because of the American Revolution? that we only sent English troops out there? Or is it something else? I'm not having a go at you for it, It's just something I've noticed.

Ok, not just a question for the Americans, but for people from outside Britain and its boundries

Just for the record, I always have, and always will, regardless of what others think, see myself as British.

Answer 1

Perhaps it has something to do with the way our ancestors identified themselves. My grandfather was born in England and if asked would say he was English. I would assume that saying one is British suggests a genealogical link to the ancient Brits, so those descended from Vikings, Angles, Saxons, Normans and Celts might not see themselves as British as much as English.

The Brits/English seem to have a lot of ways to refer to their homeland. The post office uses UK as the designation for United Kingdom, including England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Cornwall (for those of us who feel that the Cornish deserve national recognition).

Wikipedia has a page with terminology for geographical and ethnic designations in the British Isles. I do not see any reference to the American Revolution in their article, and I have never heard anyone here make a distinction based on political differences or past conflicts. We in American tend to look upon the people of England as our cousins and allies. At the conclusion of the War of 1812, all hostilities between our nations ended and we have had the good fortune to be on the same side ever since.

Answer 2

I think it has to due with a misunderstanding of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a country. Since the English run Britain, it just seems easier to use the words English and Britain as having the same meaning. I know that by doing this, it is an oversimplification of the Nature of Britain and must just P*#s -off the Scots, Welsh and Irish to no end.

The American philosophy is also of the melting-pot. Everyone is supposed to be mixed into the society at large so, having more than one nation inside the boarders of a state is a hard concept for people to understand unless they travel around a country like Great Britain.

I think this is why you will find highly educated Americans making the mistake of using England to describe the State of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Answer 3

It can be confusing:

England
Britain (England, Scotland & Wales)
Great Britain (same as Britain, but a more political title)
The U.K. (Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
The British Isles (The geographic group of the U.K. plus Eire and the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man and any other dots in the sea that are laid claim to nearby, e.g. Rockall).


All the names listed are valid, but all mean something different. It can be a challenge to find this country on a lengthy alphabetical website country listing, depending on which "meaning" is used.

To answer your question: ignorant habit.
In the same way Brits (and many others) refer to the country south of Canada as "America". Call it the USA, the US, even "the States" but technically not America, which refers to a much larger land mass (not a single country), which includes Canada and others.

Canadians abroad tend to bristle if they are taken to be "Americans", or worse sometimes: "you people".

If the missuse of "England" is to be corrected, the onus should come from the British to get others to use the correct label; people are not likely to change of their own volition. Perhaps standardization on just one term might help. The country is The United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to give it it's full title) or The UK for short.

Note that places like Gibraltar are not part of the UK, unlike the French who consider their "outremer" protectorates as much a part of French soil as the Champs Élysées

Some might even say that, in these days of political correctness, as long as Elizabeth II is on the throne, it should be called The UQ.

I once asked a Scotsman (in Canada) if he was offended by the use of "England" to mean the UK.
"Definitely". was his stern answer, "It's a bloody disgrace!".

Perhaps less so than in the past, but it is conceivable that an inhabitant of The Duchy of Cornwall might be offended at being told he/she was from England.

An Englishman will usually say he is "British" when abroad, but if there's an international football (soccer) match at stake, he is most definitely from England!

Now, try asking someone from Northen Ireland if they are from Ulster...

Answer 4

Part of it has to do with history.

Most Americans aren't aware of the name change either, and most think that Britain and England mean the same thing. Britain in still in the same area on the map as England once was. As an American, I get confused when British types get angry for calling their home "England".

Most Americans do see England, Nothern Ireland, Southern Ireland (aka "Ireland"), Scotland, & Wales as separate countries, not as a united front.

Answer 5

I guess it depends on whether they are referring to the United Kingdom, Great Britain or England. Keep in mind the Premier league is the English Premier league not the British premier league. So the English do it too.

Just for the record is your question for Americans (including Mexicans and Candians, Central and South America), or those of us in the US?

Answer 6

It's like the Rest of the World calling people from the USA "Americans" when in fact "Americans" could mean Canadians or South Americans.

Answer 7

I'm English and I call it England. There's no such place as Britain! Every atlas I've seen refers to the country as England. Britain seems to be used as a collective term for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Answer 8

Whilst my husband worked in Nigeria, there was a lot of Americans there who only knew wales existed because of Princess Diana-showed what she did for our country- but were shocked we had our own language, they knew of NI, because of the IRA- a lot of the IRA monies comes from the US- but not Scotland! But since Diana's death, we are all England again!
Bl**dy annoying if you ask me, but I will hold my Welsh head high and continue speaking the mother tongue anyway!

Answer 9

I was under the impression it was the exact opposite. They refer to england as Britain? The one's I've met do anyways.

Answer 10

From an Englishman.
Because they are probably talking about England and not about Scotland ,Ireland or Wales.