England" and "English.

views updated

"England" and "English."

"ENGLAND" AND "ENGLISH." Strictly speaking, England is that part of the British Isles excluding Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the inhabitants of which cannot properly be called "Englishmen." The modern meaning of Britain derives from the union of England (and Wales) with Scotland in 1701. "British" forces in the War of American Independence were an amalgam of English, Scottish, Irish, Loyalists (Tories), Native Americans (Indians), and Germans (Hessians).

SEE ALSO German Auxiliaries.

                      revised by Harold E. Selesky

More From encyclopedia.com