The "British people" (or informally, Brits) are the subjects of
the United Kingdom. They usually call themselves English,
Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish/Irish referring to which
constituent country of the UK they self-identify with. In
Northern Ireland "British" is usually associated with the
Unionist community, with nationalists and republicans generally
regarding themselves as exclusively Irish. Until the 1960s the
the word "English" was commonly used instead of "British." This
annoyed the Scots and Irish so much that "English" is today more
narrowly confined to the language and to the country of England
(which comprises most of the British population). Historically,
the British Empire from 1600 to 1997 was the largest empire the
world has ever seen, administered from London. British
settlements and dependencies --usually called "colonies"--were
established all over the world. There was never any doubt that
the British were the rulers and the locals were mere subjects.
In terms of size it peaked in the 1