h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Your probably right about the flag, but you could mention as an aside that the fact wales was considered part of England was the reason it is the only area with its saint not represented on the union jack.

Researcher PSG

British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

As well as those parts that are part of the UK there are parts of
the world that are in some way 'British' British Overseas Territories
(formally known as British Dependent Territories) and Crown
Dependencies.

In British Overseas Territories the United Kingdom is responsible
for foreign affairs and defence-related issues. The executive
authority of the United Kingdom (and the Crown's authority) in most
British Dependencies is represented by Governors, but in some cases
it is by Commissioners, Administrators or Residents.

The following are British Overseas Territories; Anguilla, Bermuda,
British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British
Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar,
Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands, St Helena and its dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da
Cunha) and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Additionally there are two UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus these
are Akrotiri and Dhekelia. A UK Sovereign Base Areas is a British
Overseas Territory the same as any other with a Crown appointed
Administrator except that in this case the Territory is a military
reservation formed from land kept by the UK when a former colony was
granted independence.

Crown Dependencies form part of the British Isles (see below for
what the British Isles are) but are self-governing, they are; the
Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and finally Alderney. Unlike British
Dependencies the government of the United Kingdom in Westminster has
no legal duty or responsibility with respect to the administration or
running of these islands except where agreed by international treaty.
In practice like British Dependencies the British Government takes
care of foreign affairs and defence-related issues, but this it is
done for a small fee instead of out of a legal duty. The UK Crown is
also the head of state in these islands but not in their role as the
British King or Queen. In the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey and
Alderney) it is as the Duke of Normandy, in the Isle of Man it is as
the Lord of Mann.

An important difference between British Overseas Territories and
Crown Dependencies is that Gibraltar, being a British Dependent
Territory and part of Europe is also part of the European Union (EU)
under the UK's Treaty of Accession in 1973, whilst the Channel
Islands and Isle of Man, being Crown Dependencies are not considered
part of the EU apart from customs purposes and for trade in
agricultural commodities. The population of Gibraltar is not large
enough to form a constituency for the European Parliament and they
never had a vote in European elections. In 1999 it was ruled that
their Human Rights had been violated and that they should be allowed
to vote for European elections and plans were made to enable them to
do so. In August 2003 it was announced that Gibraltarians would be
considered part of the South West England European Parliament seat. This will not apply to the UK Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus as they have no indigenous population.

ya might also like to add the following

Citizens of British Overseas Territories (with the exception of those cases where citizenship is connected to Sovereign Base Areas) are entitled to British citizenship, and with it the right of abode in the UK.

cool all added - its looking good even if I say so myself - a really nice bit of collaborative research - the entries I start may be few and far between these days, but I still get a buzz when reading them back to think I wrote/edited/collaborated on them

Cheers

CHawke

it is looking good

but er... post 55 needs to be acted upon (my mistake )

>are entitled to British citizenship, and with it the right of abode in the UK<

I think I understand, they can live and work anywhere controlled by the UK, including the British Isles, right?

Perhaps a footnote might help those of us who have never heard this phrase before.

F S

HappyDude - link corrected and one to the Guide entry on Great Islands (A695414) added.

I think we may have to change that last paragraph FloridaSailor refers to as we use the term "British" which as the whole entry points out is confusing.

How about

"..are entiled to UK citizenship which allows the right to live in the UK" ?

CHawke

love the Turks and Caicos web site (http://www.turksandcaicos.tc/government/) with the photo of the queen as a scanned image of a stamp

CHawke

"I think I understand, they can live and work anywhere controlled by the UK, including the British Isles, right"

er.. no, some British Overseas Territories have very strict immigration regulations. Think of it as dual citizenship, citizenship of the British Overseas Territory or Crown Dependencies that they are from and citizenship of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. If they went to British Overseas Territory other than their own their rights of residency & citizenship would be the same as for any other British citizen.

it is sort of kewl isnt it

"..are entitled to UK citizenship which allows the right to live in the UK"

makes more sense but the legal term for 'UK citizenship' is 'British citizenship'

confusing isn't it

Arggghh !

So leave as is then?

CH

well decide if ya want to be technically correct or if want to make sense

how about

Citizens of British Overseas Territories (with the exception of those cases where citizenship is connected to Sovereign Base Areas) are entitled to British citizenship (in this instance "British" means "of the United Kingdom"), and with it the right of abode in the UK.

Citizens of British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies (with the exception of those cases where citizenship is connected to Sovereign Base Areas) are entitled to British citizenship (in this instance "British" means "of the United Kingdom"), and with it the right of abode in the UK.


to be more exact

The phrase

>the right of abode<

is my real question, it may be a common term in the UK but what it actually means is a bit vague to an American like me.

I was surprised at the free passage between NI and the Republic, and this seems to be the same sort of thing sometimes.

F S

"right of abode"

the right to stay in the UK

"was surprised at the free passage between NI and the Republic, and this seems to be the same sort of thing sometimes"

although different angle here any citizen of Eire has the right of abode in the UK just as does any other citizen of the European Union.

updated and changed title to

"United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - Some history and definitions"

also added this to the paragraph on citizenships

"However British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies do not have to give such rights to British citizens"

That is correct isn't it?

CHawke

As I understand it

2 little nits I think I found;

>Crown Dependencies form part of the British Isles (see below for what the British Isles are) but are self-governing, they are; the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and finally Alderney. <

I believe this sentence should start with;

Some Crown Dependencies...

otherwise the 'they are' bit doesn't read quite right.

in the Sealand section,

&gt which is further than the 3 miles off official territorial waters. It is therefore considered in international waters. <

Might be better as;

which is further than the 3 miles of official territorial waters. It is therefore considered to be in international waters.

F S