NationStates Jolt Archive

Do you consider your selves British, because apart from indigenous people and small minorities of Dutch in new Zealand and French in Canada, the peoples of these countries are undoubtedly British, from the historical sense to pubs right down to parliaments.

and if so why not.

I'm not from any of those countries, but why should they consider themselves British? They have their own countries, traditions, and histories that are yes, tied to Great Britain's, but they aren't the same.

Under your assumption that they should consider themselves British, would Americans have been considered British after breaking off from the British Empire? Great Britain's imperialistic ways left a lot of its culture in other countries, from the ones you mentioned to places like South Africa and India. Yet they are still individual countries.

Blood is thicker than the constitution :)

I'm not from any of those countries, but why should they consider themselves British? They have their own countries, traditions, and histories that are yes, tied to Great Britain's, but they aren't the same.

Under your assumption that they should consider themselves British, would Americans have been considered British after breaking off from the British Empire? Great Britain's imperialistic ways left a lot of its culture in other countries, from the ones you mentioned to places like South Africa and India. Yet they are still individual countries.

Well Some Americans might consider them selves British, the founding fathers did and thought they were setting an example for England and basically caring on what Cromwell had started, but America is now made up of immigrants from all over, were as these 3 countries are all most entirely British colonists. Canadian, Australian or New Zealander, then British

I'm half canadian.......but forgive me if i'm wrong but didn't canadians ceom mostly from France? At least i know my dads side of the family is originally from france......so i don't consider myself british. although, i love the accent. Thanks to Monty Python...he he he.

I. Am. Canadian.

I'm half canadian.......but forgive me if i'm wrong but didn't canadians ceom mostly from France? At least i know my dads side of the family is originally from france......so i don't consider myself british. although, i love the accent. Thanks to Monty Python...he he he.
First came the French, then a war broke out, the British won. Then a lot of british came. Then we kinda let everyone and their family come.

So, to answer the original question: No, I do not consider myself British. It's been too long since the british came to colonize. We developped our own culture and customs. We kept the best ones, though. :)

Blood is thicker than the constitution :)

I don't quite get that...I am mostly Polish, but I am American, first and foremost. I don't think that heritage should play a bigger role than your nationality. It contributes to the breakdown of a nation and that nations culture; its happening in America everyday. We talked about it in my government class last semester in regards to the Hispanic population.

I'm Australian.

Yes, most of our culture was until about WWII primarily English but times have changed. I do not consider myself a "Brit".

Probably because I don't complain enough to be a Pom.

by that logic, most British people would have to call themselves Vikings? or Angles? or Saxons?

I am Australian. And the history of migration to Australia is much more diverse than just from from the UK.

Of course they don't think of themselves as British. They don't live in Britain, and they haven't for some time. Their cultures , while similar, are not homogenous with British culture.
They are only connected to the UK by the Commonwealth, which is really a terribly weak link.

Of course they don't think of themselves as British. They don't live in Britain, and they haven't for some time. Their cultures , while similar, are not homogenous with British culture.
They are only connected to the UK by the Commonwealth, which is really a terribly weak link.

I just find it really odd, if you detached the north and sailed it a couple of thousand miles away would it be any less british.

Nope I'm not british. Canada is a blend of Britain and France, and with our open-door immigration system, a ton of other countries. Recognizing this, there's only one word for a blend this eclectic- Canadian.

I just find it really odd, if you detached the north and sailed it a couple of thousand miles away would it be any less british.
No, you'd have to wait a while for the culture to diverge, but diverge it would. There's a different climate and other factors affecting people's lives, which has an effect on their behaviour.

I'm Canadian, I don't consider myself british.

I just find it really odd, if you detached the north and sailed it a couple of thousand miles away would it be any less british.
With their own laws and constitutions? In a few generations, yes.
If the start an agressive immigration policy, they could even be an islamic nation in as little as 20 years.

French have been in canada for 300 years, tough to consider yourself british, when alot of us can trace family trees in canada back 300 years...

Nope I'm not british. Canada is a blend of Britain and France, and with our open-door immigration system, a ton of other countries. Recognizing this, there's only one word for a blend this eclectic- Canadian.

So do we, but i have many friends who are origniall from india or africa, but would consider them selves as british as i am, cant really refute that either, yes i agree its more culture as some one said but could that much cultural differance occur over only 100 years at most.

So do we, but i have many friends who are origniall from india or africa, but would consider them selves as british as i am, cant really refute that either, yes i agree its more culture as some one said but could that much cultural differance occur over only 100 years at most.


umm try 300 years

With their own laws and constitutions? In a few generations, yes.
If the start an agressive immigration policy, they could even be an islamic nation in as little as 20 years.

But their constitution(allthough more formal) and legal system is a carbon copy of ours.

But their constitution(allthough more formal) and legal system is a carbon copy of ours.
Yes at the beginning. After the separation, it starts to drift apart inexorably. One country bans one kind of medecine, the other does not. One country changes immigration laws, it's not the same political party in power, so changes will occur differently in the two states.

Soon, they will not see themselves as British, just like your Indian friend does not see himself as an Indian, but a British.

Why don't we re-phrase the question?

A man is to construct a building for occupancy. He begins by gathering a large number of other people to help him build it. These people are to become the new occupants of this building, and they begin, but it is lacking completion. The people brought to build it agree to take over, and finish it into an amazing and very productive building for work etc., and become the residents of the new building. As a stipulation of the buildings ownership, the workers agree to maintain ties to the original builder out of good will, but have paid for and have complete ownership of the building. So the builders tout this building as a great building, and proclaim it theirs and a product of their construction. The other people living in that building rejoice and proclaim themselves members of it, as residents of the building they came from no longer. The original man disagrees, these people were once members of his building, and because he started this new one, and because it has ties to him and thus the former building these people occupied - they are by proxy residents of his building still. To which person does the building belong? And to which building do the people belong?

Yes at the beginning. After the separation, it starts to drift apart inexorably. One country bans one kind of medecine, the other does not. One country changes immigration laws, it's not the same political party in power, so changes will occur differently in the two states.

Soon, they will not see themselves as British, just like your Indian friend does not see himself as an Indian, but a British.

I just find it really odd, if the british empire had considted of adjoined land mass it would be quite a diffrent story apprenlty.

As soon as you give a piece of your empire independance (no matter if it's an island or a province on a land mass), they will stop to consider themselves true British real soon.

I am Canadian. I love Britian, but I am a Canadian.

Canada now is too diverse for people to think of being British anymore (unless, of course, you are). It doesn't matter if Canada is still part of the British Commonwealth, we are made up of far too many other cultures and nationalities to be considered British anymore.

My thought is that Canada is an alloy. We are made up of so many other metals that we become something new. Therefore, we are made up of parts of an element, but we have become our own product.

Oh: and btw, my history is largely Italian, my father was an American until he recieved his Canadian citizenship... He considers himself a Canadian, not an American, despite where he was born (rightfully so in my opinion) and I, despite my heritage, also consider myself a Canadian - there is no blood in me that is British... how could I even come close to considering myself as such? Do any of us consider ourselves Roman? Germanic? and on and on and on... Britain was not the first country to colonize or occupy space, and not the first to have weight on the development of policy etc. Certainly not the first to have remaining ties (which eventually break, sorry!)

Do you consider your selves British, because apart from indigenous people and small minorities of Dutch in new Zealand and French in Canada, the peoples of these countries are undoubtedly British, from the historical sense to pubs right down to parliaments.

and if so why not.

:headbang: You Idiot. We are quite definitely not British. As proof...

Look at our cricketing skills. :D

I. Am. Canadian.

Beer commercials, Canadian patriotism in a can.


And since the largest single ethnicity in my blood is Acadian (French), and I'm Canadian, I don't consider myself British.
So, I beat your poll by not being British in the first place!

"We are one, but we are many, and from all the lands on Earth we come. We share a dream and sing in one voice; I am, you are, we are Australian"

Nope, I don't see any mention of us being British.

I am a Canadian, and just a Candian. I hope that when the next monarch takes over from Elizabeth Canada will do what it sould have done ages ago: end its symbolic subordination to the British Royaly.
We brought home the constitution, its time to establish and endorse our own national symbols, not those of an otmoded empire. I've got nothing against England, and i appreciate the history, but they've got little to do with my country today.

I was born in Canada, raised in Canada. I believe in Canadian Idea's and Canadian way of life. I will give my life to save Canada if need be, but will not do the same for Britian.

In short, I AM CANADIAN.

The fact I carry a Canadian passport and birth certificate means Iam Canadian. Iam not british. If I was anything at all I'd be scottish, or ever German. Definitely not british.

I am a Canadian, and just a Candian. I hope that when the next monarch takes over from Elizabeth Canada will do what it sould have done ages ago: end its symbolic subordination to the British Royaly.
We brought home the constitution, its time to establish and endorse our own national symbols, not those of an otmoded empire. I've got nothing against England, and i appreciate the history, but they've got little to do with my country today.

I agree. I am Canadian, and NOT British. I don't have a single drop of British blood in me, and zero loyalty to the reality show that is the royal family. If I were ever in charge of anything, I would refuse to appoint a new Governor General, because she is a drain on taxpayer money.

My parents were born in Britain; my grandparents were born in Britain; my greatgrandparents were born in Britain; all my great, great grandparents except one (Irish) were born in Britain; after that we don't know about some of them (but most of the one's we know about were born in Britain) ---- so I'm Canadian because I was born here ----- but after that I think I'm rather British.

Why would we consider ourselves British? :confused: I mean, I know we're commonwealth, and our head of state is the queen, but it doesn't define our identity.

Yes the queen once diposed an entire australian government (whitlam), i say away with the old monarchs and onward to a republic! I am Australian! :)

I'm 12th generation Canadian, from British, Scottish, Irish and French stock. I consider myself to be any of the above whenever it suits me.

Oh, but I am told I am about as Norwegian looking as you can be (damned Vikings always raping and pillaging).

So I guess if you are talking about ethnicity I simply consider myself northwestern European, but as far as nationality goes, I am 100% Canadian.

I'm not British, quite frankly I can't wait til we're a republic.

Seems by the logic of the first post, we should all consider ourselves African. Isn't that where humanity is borne?

I'm Australian. Nothing else.

I am Canadian but my Mom was a Brit. So pip, pip, cheerio, and all that rot!!

I agree. I am Canadian, and NOT British. I don't have a single drop of British blood in me, and zero loyalty to the reality show that is the royal family. If I were ever in charge of anything, I would refuse to appoint a new Governor General, because she is a drain on taxpayer money.


That parasitic gluttonous beyotch lives a higher lifestyle than the Queen herself :mad: and I along with 30 million other suckers are paying for her extravagance. Makes me wanna be ill.

Same goes for the Aussie Governer-General, he sucks. The last one got forced into retirement over rape charges, (he was ex-priest).

I doubt many Canadians consider themselves British...

I don't =). Oh Canada!

Same goes for the Aussie Governer-General, he sucks. The last one got forced into retirement over rape charges, (he was ex-priest).

That's not quite true. He didn't actually rape anyone, but he knew about cases where it had happened, and covered them up.

Hell no. I don't even list myself as 'New Zealand European' on the census.

I for one don't think of myself as belonging to a country I have never been to and always thrash at cricket. I am Australian and nothing else.

In the 70's there was harmony between the people of NZ now we have to look out for peoples feelings and its actually caused more problems.Figure that out. :confused:
In the 70s id say pure NZ know id rather be British!

I live in the Uk but primarily define myself as Scottish. being British is a political term, not a cultural one.

Hell no. I don't even list myself as 'New Zealand European' on the census.

Probably not on the census
OVERSTAYER!!!!!1!

I for one don't think of myself as belonging to a country I have never been to and always thrash at cricket. I am Australian and nothing else.

Been following the test in progress in NZ? Shit, its possible, that theres a chance, that we might not lose. Marshall is teh shit.

by that logic, most British people would have to call themselves Vikings? or Angles? or Saxons?

I am Australian. And the history of migration to Australia is much more diverse than just from from the UK.

Actually, lots of brits do consider themselves Vikings. Or Celts. And the traditional english way to refer to traditionally english things is as "Anglo Saxon". If you listen to racist bigots, or even just reasonable conservatives, they will bang on about AngloSaxon this and AngloSaxon that, particularly in regard to immigration.

Which is ironic when you consider that...

"the Saxons are made up of three peoples from different parts of Germany. Saxons are people from north west Germany or Old Saxony as it is sometimes known. Angles are people from the Germany/Denmark border."

http://www.battle1066.com/saxons.shtml

On the topic of australian diversity, I've been struck by the number of greeks in ozzie soaps.

Yes, we are home to many a wog. (Fun fact: Melbourne has the second largest Greek population in the world, second only to Athens!)

Yes, we are home to many a wog. (Fun fact: Melbourne has the second largest Greek population in the world, second only to Athens!)

can you define wog? how offensive is it in oz? in britain it means, and is as offensive as, the N word.

Really?! In Oz it's a pretty non-offensive word these days. I had no idea it was regarded as so offensive in other countries. Hell, we even have a movie called "The Wog Boy".

I'm Welsh and I don't consider myself Btritish. Even though my race were the first Britons.

I have both Australian and New Zealand citizenship, and have been to the UK 3 times. If I could get my hands on a British Passport, I'd be very happy.

Alas, I can't think of myself as "British" in the sense that I can't get British Citizenship (short of marrying a British girl, which won't happen, since I've been with my girlfriend here for 4 years and have no intention of leaving her), but I do hold onto a lot of (older) British ideals and culture (Imperialism, Sportsmanship, Monty Python, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, to name a few).

Oh, and "Wog" has a very different meaning in New Zealand.

In Australia, a Wog refers to anyone of Lebanese or Greek/Italian extraction. It's not considered an offensive word at all. In fact, I'm surprised it's not an official box on the census for people to tick.

In New Zealand, however, a Wog is someone from somewhere like Egypt or the Middle East. People from Italy or Greece would be considered Wops.

Whilst they're not racist words in NZ (at least, they weren't when I lived there until 5 years ago), they weren't the sort of thing you could safely say in polite company.

I'm going to take this oppurtunity to say that NZ is full of tree-hugging lefty peacenik hippies, and I couldn't get out of there fast enough once I turned 18.

Hint: Disbanding the Combat wing of your Airforce will NOT make the country a better or safer place!!!

In Australia we call people pretty much anything
Wog, Pom no one seems to really care, if you call an Australian anything refering to Australia and they will take it as a complement :)

Well Some Americans might consider themselves British, the founding fathers did
Are you sure about that? If they considered themselves British, why did they want to break away?

Hint: Disbanding the Combat wing of your Airforce will NOT make the country a better or safer place!!!
Why not? Who's going to attack New Zealand? Even Canada has a higher chance of getting attacked.

Actually, lots of brits do consider themselves Vikings. Or Celts. And the traditional english way to refer to traditionally english things is as "Anglo Saxon". If you listen to racist bigots, or even just reasonable conservatives, they will bang on about AngloSaxon this and AngloSaxon that, particularly in regard to immigration.

<snip>


It's not just a conservative thing to refer to English traditions and cultures as Anglo Saxon. It's also done to distinguish the ordinary English from those Norman ponces and Celtic wierdos.

Really?! In Oz it's a pretty non-offensive word these days. I had no idea it was regarded as so offensive in other countries. Hell, we even have a movie called "The Wog Boy".

no way. here it is a contraction of "golliwog" and so applies to african descended black persons. it is enormously offensive.

It's not just a conservative thing to refer to English traditions and cultures as Anglo Saxon. It's also done to distinguish the ordinary English from those Norman ponces and Celtic wierdos.

you mean ordinary germans

I'm not from any of those countries, but why should they consider themselves British? They have their own countries, traditions, and histories that are yes, tied to Great Britain's, but they aren't the same.

Under your assumption that they should consider themselves British, would Americans have been considered British after breaking off from the British Empire? Great Britain's imperialistic ways left a lot of its culture in other countries, from the ones you mentioned to places like South Africa and India. Yet they are still individual countries.


one big thing missing for the Kiwi, Canucks and Aussies: they had no revolution. Canada for one is a Dominion, still under the overall blanket of the British commonwealth. Thus I am Canadien then a member of said commonwealth.

you mean ordinary germans
No, that would be our royal family. (Do keep up! :p )

No, that would be our royal family. (Do keep up! :p )

no wonder they love the anglo saxon thing so much. hitler needn't have bothered - we're already a german colony. lawks!

Americans are decended from British as well, does that mean Americans consider themselves British?

Canada is no longer a British colony, we have very little ties left except for the Queen and even that is only symbolic. We have our flag and our own leaders, who conduct our affairs independantly from that of Britain. Like for example, Britain joined the war in Iraq, Canada refused. If we were part of Britain, we'd have no choice but to join.

Why not? Who's going to attack New Zealand? Even Canada has a higher chance of getting attacked.

Hey, if I had my own country in RL, I'D attack NZ for being full of tree-hugging hippies.

Seriously though, it's about pulling your weight and backing up your neighbours and allies. Simply saying "No-one will attack us! They have to get past Australia first!" is asking for trouble- it's just like Canada saying "We don't need an Army... the Americans will save us if someone attacks!"

I'm not saying you need several squadrons of iF-22s and some Commanche Attack Choppers, but when the combat wing of your Airforce is reduced to a couple of Iroquois with some M-60s, you have problems. And more importantly, what kind of 1st world, civilised country doesn't have an airforce? Even Angola has jetfighters, for crying out loud!

The way the British spread throughout the world is thus:

They sent the crazy ones to Australia and New Zealand, and the "Normal" ones to Canada. :D


*America? We got stuck with the arrogant, self centred ones. Don't believe me? Ask a Canadian :p *

British Columbian first and foremost then Canadian then British

No Australian should consider themselves British. And we have an extraordinary amount of immigrants here - we are 'multicultural' (apparently, anyway) now.

In response to Big Jim P the Canuck, the colonists they sent to Canada must have really been hated and repulsed, because they sent them to board with the French :P

Hey, if I had my own country in RL, I'D attack NZ for being full of tree-hugging hippies.

I'm not saying you need several squadrons of iF-22s and some Commanche Attack Choppers, but when the combat wing of your Airforce is reduced to a couple of Iroquois with some M-60s, you have problems. And more importantly, what kind of 1st world, civilised country doesn't have an airforce? Even Angola has jetfighters, for crying out loud!
Yeah lets keep the Skyhawks in service theyve only been in storage for 5 years now its taken longer to sell them than to get the Anti smoking laws thru which was around the same time.

The Aermachi training planes wre like brand new.
I think its sad one of the finest Bomber squadrons of WWII efectivly dosent exist anymore.

But if we have/had 2 full squadrons of Orions patroling ours and the pacifics seas id be happy.

In Australia, a Wog refers to anyone of Lebanese or Greek/Italian extraction. It's not considered an offensive word at all. In fact, I'm surprised it's not an official box on the census for people to tick.



People from Portugal, Spain and Eastern Europe would also be considered wogs (or at least people from those countries did at my school)

Why not? Who's going to attack New Zealand? Even Canada has a higher chance of getting attacked.

We realised that 16 30 year old fighters weren't going to be much use. We were pulling our weight on the world stage (peace keeping etc) without them fine. The fact that after we disbanded the force, no one bought them suggests how crap the planes are. In a country with only 2-3 million tax payers, its kind of hard to buy flash up to date planes that we're never going to use.

Well, Canada was a Dominion until a few years ago, and, even if I wasn't born, I consider myself a little British (for instance, Canadians can go to UK without visa).