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A comment on Scottish Parliament Backs Independence Vote and Defies U.K. Parent comment

Re:Scottish Parliament Backs Independence Vote and Defies U.K by dragonwriter on Tuesday March 28, 2017 @07:32PM (#13981867)
> Man, what happened to the people that created the British Empire?

They died. Like, a long time ago.

> Is this what Great Britain is now? Just the bottom half of a tiny island in the North Sea?

No, Great Britain is, and always has been, the island itself, whether or not it happens to be politically unified (which, most of the time that name has been around, it hasn't.)

It comes from the French name (Grand-Bretagne) which distinguishes the island from Brittany (Bretagne) in France.

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Re:Scottish Parliament Backs Independence Vote and Defies U.K by ralfd on Tuesday March 28, 2017 @07:43PM (#13981931)
Other way around. Bretagne in France was named after (celtic) britonic settlers from Great Britain who fled the invading (germanic) anglo-saxons. The "Great" denotes that the Island is larger than Ireland (which is "little" Britain).

Wikipedia: > The Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain (μεγάλης Βρεττανίας - megális Brettanias) and to Ireland as little Britain (μικρής Βρεττανίας - mikris Brettanias)

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