Talk:England

Country

I previously deleted the sentence about England not being a country on the grounds that it was untrue. It has been put back.

One of the definitions of "country" is "territory possessing its own language, people, culture, etc" (Concise Oxford Dictionary). The English are a different people from the Welsh and Scots. They have their own culture. And their language (although it has spread to other countries, as many other national languages have) is English. The English legal system is separate from the Scottish. English common law does not apply in Scotland. Wales has its own national language (which exists alongside English).

From the geographical appendix to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (9th): "England, country [in] S Great Britain".

• From the English language Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England "England is the largest, the most populous, and the most densely populated nation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

English language Wikipedia also says: "Sometimes, parts of states with a distinct history or culture are called 'lands' or 'countries': England, Scotland and Wales – the three nations on the island of Great Britain – are sometimes called countries, even though they are administrative components of the State of the United Kingdom. The terms country, nation, state and land are often used as synonyms, but in a more strict usage they are distinguished:

* country is the geographical area

* nation designates a people, however national and international both confusingly refer as well to matters pertaining to what are strictly states, as in national capital, international law

* state is about government, and an entity in international law" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/country )

Note: Wikipedia's distinctions of "strict" usage clearly imply that "country" is the most accurate name for England. England isn't a people, nor is it a government. But it is the geographical area in which the English live.

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It's important to note that England does not have a national anthem, and that Britain is a single country and nation. (I am English.)WikiUser 19:27, 29 Jan 2005 (UTC)

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Note on population figure: The population of the UK is approx. 60 million, but the population of England is nearer 50 million.

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The thing at the top is wrong

It says the UK is found on a island called Great Britain, this isn't true. The United Kingdom's full name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Island. Great Britian is the geographical term that refers to the Island which has most of England, Scotland and Wales on, and is a part of the United Kingdom as a whole. It's not the other way around.

One-eyed account

We have a one-eyed account, which goes on about rulers and says nothing about global exploration and trade, the British Empire, modern science, agriculture, railways, the industrial revolution, the development of modern representative democracy... In all these developments England was deeply involved. In some of them, such as the industrial revolution, England was the place that modern developments first occurred. In the last 300 years, monarchs of the UK have made little contribution to any of these achievements. Macdonald-ross (talk) 18:15, 26 March 2017 (UTC)

Copied

I believe the historical section was substantially copied from an unacknowledged source without adequate simplification or acknowledgement. I have partly rewritten it. Macdonald-ross (talk) 12:48, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

Removed history

@Macdonald-ross You've really deleted all mention of the Romans and Anglo-Saxons from the article on England? I understand that some of the prehistorical artefacts might be too much detail, but it's quite strange to jump directly into the medieval era. Lights and freedom (talk) 16:48, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

That is a fair point. I've started by reinstating some pre-history of the islands.

By the way, a page titled "England" should strictly speaking just deal with England. Another page, say British Isles should really carry the pre-history. The is no "England" before Athelstan, or possibly before the Romans. I'll continue to think about the points you make. I need to re-read several other pages to see what they say. Macdonald-ross (talk) 07:24, 4 April 2023 (UTC)