British. An Attempt at a Definition.
‘Like or similar to the Britons’.
This does not seem to take the reader any further.
To understand what ‘British’ is necessitates an examination of the nature of ‘Britain’ and also the term ‘British’.
Name (s)
Britain is actually not the name by which the Islands were known.
The actual names of Britain are.
Bretannikē, Britania, The Isles, The isles of Merlin, Melite, The Islands of Honey, Ynys Prydain, Britanniae, Insula Albionum, Prettanikē nēsos, Brettanikai nēsoi, Alwion and Iwernia, the Prettanic Isles, Albu, Albion, Alba, Albain, Nalbain, Brittia and Brettania, Bryttania, Britain, Greater Britainny, Great Britain, The United Kingdoms, The United Kingdom, GB, UK.
Geography.
Britain is connected to Ireland and also the continent by submerged land bridges.
It is not a true island, it is part of Europe.
Location
The location of ‘Britain’ at the time of Ptolemy was partly mythical.
It has returned to myth each time its name has changed.
The name of its location is currently 54°N 4°W which without knowing what the world is remains mythical and so meaningless.
Form
Britain is not one Island. Britain is a collection of Islands. More precisely it is made up of some 6, 289 islands offshore, inshore and inlands including 137 inhabited islands.
Source of island numbers: http://www.sovereignty.org.uk/features/articles/uk6.html
People
Just as the names, locations and form of Britain are not one thing its people are not one state or nation in anything other than documentation.
The first written description of a ‘British’ people occurs in 58 to 50 BC. Prior to this the evidence is one of occupation debris examined as archaeology
Sovereigns
If a state and nation are embodied in the sovereign then the ‘British’, should be clearly embodied in its past and current sovereigns. However if the origins of the sovereigns that have ruled over ‘Britain’ are examined they have a Germanic, Danish, French, Scandinavian and Multi – European origin.
Law
The law of ‘Britain’ is written in Latin and Norman French. Not a language originating in ‘Britain’.
It embodies European languages and principles.
Parliament.
This applies, debates, and where necessary evolves the laws of ‘Britain’.
It once applied its powers through the will of the sovereign, which was the application of European languages and laws of ruling groups of European aristocracy.
It later applied its powers through the will of military republicanism, but this again used European languages and laws.
It has for the past approximately one hundred years applied its powers through the will of the people by voting in a democratic parliamentary system; based on Greek democracy; but this also uses European languages and laws.
Language.
The language of ‘Britain’ would be casually stated to be English. English is however formed from Latin, Norman, Viking, French, German, Mediterranean, Greek and Archaic languages. It is totally European. The term ‘English’ is also of West Germanic origin.
Britain is not a one country language. It uses 11 indigenous languages, 3 Germanic languages, 5 Celtic languages and 3 Romance Languages.
In 2011 the census reported that, after English, the second most spoken language was Polish followed by Panjabi and Urdu.
Religions
Britain is purported to be a Christian Nation. It is not. In the census of 2011. It had a Christian majority in its population followed by Atheism, unknown beliefs, Islam, Hinduism and other religions.
One odd result in the 2001 census, driven through a campaign, even caused the census to indicate that the movie myth ‘Jedi’ had become a faith in Britain.
Money.
This carries the symbols of the state and Nation but is traded for multiple currencies world-wide.
It is mostly made up of mythical values, not actual metal and paper. It is not representative of a ‘Britain’ or a ‘British’.
Needs, Values, Qualities, Appreciation of Beauty, Cultures and Society.
These are shared by the whole population. They are therefore a guide to the nature of ‘British’.
The population Need food, water, health care, shelter, security and belief.
The population have values of state and national law and order, free and fair elections, personal participation in the nation and state, protection, education and health care by the nation and state.
The population can have varying quality levels that allow multiple appreciations of beauty and so a diverse culture in a society of democratic diversity.
Conclusions
‘British’ is nothing to do with name, location, geography, form, people, law, sovereigns, parliament, language, religions or money.
To be ‘British’ is to be a society democratically formed from people who come to these islands from all over the planet. It is a nation and state that excels at toleration due to its ongoing need for import and export as a group of islands. Not only goods and services but cultures have always been encouraged and welcomed to enter this nation state.
‘British’ can only be determined therefore through our constant, multi-cultural, communication and evaluation of the Needs, Values, Qualities, Appreciation of Beauty and Cultures that form Britain as a democratic, diverse, evolving , self-deprecating, self-evangelizing society.
Ian K Whittaker
Websites:
https://sites.google.com/site/architecturearticles
Email: iankwhittaker@gmail.com
24/01/2015
14/10/2020
856 words over 3 pages