As a Brit that would offend most Brits since we see your states like bigger versions of our counties, so it feel like to us your calling our countries, counties. Since we see your states as different like you see our countries as different I suppose. I think our main reason for seeing them as proper countries despite not being sovereign because they’re all were sovereign at some point. We did all used to be proper independent countries at some point so that idea never really left. Unlike the states which never were independent countries before hand

@@pipercharms7374 I see it from the standpoint that they all have laws that don’t necessarily apply to the other countries like how some states have legal weed and others it’s still a criminal offense. I understand that at one point they were all sovereign countries but it’s not like the Germans are making trade deals with just wales it’s often the whole uk, similarly Japan wouldn’t make a deal with just Oregon Texas and California were both independent nations at one pojnt

@@josephharrison5639 4 states were sovereign and independent entities prior to joining the USA (I’m not counting the ambiguous status of the first 13 states under the articles of Confederation which predated the modern federal government) - but one of the 4 is not (was not) like the others. California was independent for about a month, and Texas for about a decade. Vermont was independent for 14 years. Hawaiʻi was a sovereign kingdom for almost a century (several centuries if the pre unification period is included). Vermont and California were never even recognized as sovereign by others (California there was never enough time to of potentially done so). Texas, IIRC, was only recognized by Mexico and the U.S. meanwhile Hawaiʻi had full international relations with countries all around the world (and pre unification the king of one individual island even entered into a protectorate-like status with the Russian Tsar.) Yet if Americans are asked which states were previously sovereign states, if they can name any at all, it’s always just two of the short lived & non (or minimally) recognized states- California and Texas.

@@josephharrison5639 Scotland was sovereign 900 something until 1700s Same with England. I haven’t looked up enough about Wales. Their history is a bit more complicated since they were annexed into England fairly early on So there is far more history and culture that comes from traditions and the past that I believe still makes us call ourselves countries. Which I doubt the states that were independent were that for very long, not enough to think back and see traditions and cultures, language even preserved from when your country used to be sovereign.

As Brits we consider England, Scotland, Wales as countries mainly due to the history and culture behind them, they all have their own languages, culture and all used to be independent countries. We tend to have different views on Northern Ireland though and don’t really agree what it is, due to complications of us having Ireland and not anymore, now we only have Northern Ireland. So it didn’t used to be an independent country before hand, so no one really knows what to call Northern Ireland to be honest. But not thinking about Northern Ireland, since England, Wales and Scotland are seen to be independent countries before hand, have their own languages and all have the right to leave the UK if there is enough votes for it and become their own independent countries (though for Northern Ireland this isn’t a option since it just has the option to become part of Ireland again) While with England it’s a bit difficult since it doesn’t have its dissolved government/parliment but in practice if we voted for a dissolved government, we could then leave but it be far more difficult 😅 the UK government would then likely need to move to Scotland or wales even Northern Ireland which would be kind of funny and ironic. There are often complaints that the UK government is too focused on England and helping England that the other countries.

@@pipercharms7374 thanks for the reply. My understanding is that folks there have the choice to personally self-identify with either being “British” or being which ever of the constituent countries they are of “English/Welsh/Scottish”. Is there any kind of statistics on how many choose to identify as “British” over the other? Then Northern Ireland is even more complex with the third valid option of identifying as “British”, “Northern Irish” (ill defined as you make it sound), or outright “Irish” - but also how a lot of that can also be tied into religion (and of course the violent history 😔). There’s another KZfaq channel I follow of a couple from the Channel Island of Jersey - she’s a local girl and he’s a transplant from England. They’ve never directly spoken about the issue or about their identity, but it’s interesting to note when they have indirectly identified or talked to foreigners in passing about where they are from. He mostly seems to self identify as “English/England”. Her, I’ve never heard identify as “Jèrriais” but seems more 50/50 on using “British/Britain” vs. “English/England”.

@@gregweatherup9596 no problem :) I think the problem is we all see identifying as British differently. Some will see it in a more factual manner. Everyone who is part of the UK is British because that’s what being a citizen of the UK is called. Everyone in the UK has British on their passport no matter what country they are in. “I am British because that’s what it says on my passport” However others believe saying they are “British” means that they are pro union. So if they are not pro the union they will likely call themselves, Scottish, Welsh, northern Irish or English and they will reject being called British. Another reason can also be they see British as a identity that they must feel an attachment too and if they don’t feel attachment to it or don’t feel like they relate to the other countries, they also will less likely to call themselves British, no matter how they feel about the union. Talking to foreigners there is also a different reason to tell someone they are Scottish, Welsh or northern Irish, because unfortunately British is often mistaken for English. I am English so this mistake won’t relate to me since people think Britain/England or British/english so they can’t really get it wrong with me if they are talking about my nationality however I have seen it multiple times with people from the other countries. So even if the person from abroad says British or Britain, to make sure they definitely mean the UK and they aren’t thinking of JUST England, they will introduce themselves as Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish. To make sure the foreigner knows that they are NOT English as this can be quite insulting. It’s not a nice feeling, thinking your countries being dismissed by someone or just forgotten. Others will see themselves as British and Scottish or British and English but may place more importance on one identity or they might just swap between them. While I see myself as a English person first, I will introduce myself as British first because I place more importance on the union and feel like it’s more important for them to know I am British rather than English though they probably be able to tell by the accent I suppose. So yeah there are a lot of reasons as to why someone will indentify as one but not the other or identify as both even and randomly swap or it might depend who they are talking too. So yeah hope this was informative! :)

@@pipercharms7374 interesting …. Lots of factors (some I already knew, some I didn’t) and not necessarily as much a binary as I had been thinking of it. I suppose it’s akin to how in US history most Americans (especially pre world wars) identified with their state more so than with being “American” (nowadays, asides from maybe Texas, that’s never really the case. And maybe California, but that’s more because Cali gets ragged-on so much by the rest.). Though with our ever increasing political divide that sentiment might be resurgent, or at least it seems so on one side of the political spectrum 🫨. Internationally our citizenship is legally that of American, but domestic laws occasionally talk about both American citizenship and some illegal defined residential citizenship of our respective states. Personally my views might be changing. I was born in one state, raised and spent my formative years in a second state, and now live in a third. Even though I’ve lived in this third state half of my entire life at this point, I STILL don’t feel like I belong here and would gladly leave if I could afford to. Heck, I feel more connection to a fourth state which my parents are from which I’ve never lived in but have visited extensively, than I do to the state I currently live in. Also many Americans might associate almost as much with a (often vaguely or arbitrarily defined) ethnic background but others view that as just a subset.

@@gregweatherup9596 I suppose you could see it like that :) I would warn you against comparing states to our countries though if you are talking to a Brit since many Brits view the US states as similar to our counties. So to them it will feel like you are comparing their home, which they see as a proper country (despite it lacking sovereignty) to a county which they’ll likely feel offended by. A lot of us don’t realise how much autonomy the US states actually have and how much laws differ, so we tend to see them as bigger versions of our counties 😅

We call them (if you want to be technical) home countries Though not Northern Ireland, no one is really sure what to call Northern Ireland even us Brits 🤣

@@pipercharms7374 I saw someone online who said he's from Northern Ireland and called himself "Irish." I can imagine that would have been provocative to Unionists during The Troubles. Aside from perhaps a few extremists, do you know whether that would upset people today?

@@JPMadden If he calls himself Irish that’s fine, he lives in Northern Ireland, it’s up to him but it’s not a good idea for someone to call someone Irish if you’re not from there due to the past. Just stick with Irish if they are from the Republic of Ireland which we sometimes call just Ireland and northern Irish if they are from Northern Ireland. I don’t think it’s as touchy subject as it used to be but we always think it’s best to be on the safe side.