In what year was the name of Great Britain first used?

Answer 1

The term Britain was derived from the Roman - Brittania, the name for the Island containing modern England Wales and Scotland. As Angles Saxons Jutes Norse etc invaded the Island the native population of Britons was either assimilated or pushed outwards. Part of this movement was the displacement of some Britons to what is now a region of France - Brittany. Greater Britain (Britannia Major) was first used to distinguish the mainland island from Lesser Britain (Britannia Minor) or Brittany by Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britannia (1136). The term "Great Britain" was first used officially in 1474 in a marriage proposal between Edward IV of England and James (son of James III of Scotland) "this Nobill Isle, callit Gret Britanee". It was next used formally when the Kingdoms of Scotland and England merged under King James VI and I who proclaimed himself as 'King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland' in 1604 but politically it was not until the Union of the Parliaments in 1707 that the title Great Britain was used. Note It should be noted that Great Britain only refers to the mainland Island and not to Ireland. The "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" was the full title from 1801 until 1922 when it became the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" when the Irish Free State was formed (now Eire or Ireland). The UK or British refers to all four countries (England Wales Scotland and Northern Ireland). Geographically the British Isles refers to both Islands including all of Ireland (north and south). Answer the term was first used as a political expression in 1547 when Henry V111 wanted to Unite England and Scotland under one crown. The Scots were not impressed.