The Capital Gang - People Whose Last Names Are National Capitals

[Steve M.]

Denzel Washington
Julie London
Mica Paris (pop singer)
David Moscow (played the 13-year-old Josh in Big)
Irving Berlin
Morey Amsterdam
Miguel de la Madrid (president of Mexico, 1982 to 1988)
Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (defeated Napoleon at Waterloo)*
Dan Bern (folk rock singer)**
Joseph Santiago (former New Jersey State Police chief)+

*Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.
** Bern is the capital of Switzerland.
+Chile, not that you asked.

[stella]

Originally Posted by Steve M.

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (defeated Napoleon at Waterloo)*
*Wellington is the capital of New Zealand.

If you are going to use such an example, then don't forget Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.

[stella]

Sports radio talk show host Jim Rome.

[stella]

Queen Victoria and Victoria, Seychelles.

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by stella

If you are going to use such an example, then don't forget Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.

Tough call. Scotland isn't exactly an independent country anymore - hasn't been since 1603. Ask Sean Connery.

[stella]

Originally Posted by Steve M.

Tough call. Scotland isn't exactly an independent country anymore - hasn't been since 1603. Ask Sean Connery.

That is something that has confused me for a very long time. I've heard conflicting stories about this. Some people say that England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can be considered countries in themselves. And in some international events such as the World Cup, England and Scotland have sent separate teams. But others have said that those four entities are not countries by themselves and instead, are part of the country known as the United Kingdom.

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by stella

That is something that has confused me for a very long time. I've heard conflicting stories about this. Some people say that England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can be considered countries in themselves. And in some international events such as the World Cup, England and Scotland have sent separate teams. But others have said that those four entities are not countries by themselves and instead, are part of the country known as the United Kingdom.

England annexed Wales and Ireland early in the second millenium. It united with Scotland in 1603 when King James VI of Scotland succeeded his distant cousin Elizabeth on the English throne and became James I of England. The formal union of the British Isles was declared under an act of Parliament in 1707 creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Each country had limited autonomy but real power rested with the English in London. Ireland waged a civil war froim 1917 to 1921 for independence. The thirty-two counties voted on the question of independence, but the British made it a case of county by county, not one man, one vote. Six counties, heavily Protestant, decided to remain in the U.K. The other twenty-six overwhlemingly Catholic counties formed the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland. Attempts - peaceful and unpeaceful - have been made to unite all of Ireland, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have gotten their own parliaments - though the queen and Tony Blair are reconized as the leaders of the whole "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

[stella]

Originally Posted by Steve M.

England annexed Wales and Ireland early in the second millenium. It united with Scotland in 1603 when King James VI of Scotland succeeded his distant cousin Elizabeth on the English throne and became James I of England. The formal union of the British Isles was declared under an act of Parliament in 1707 creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Each country had limited autonomy but real power rested with the English in London. Ireland waged a civil war froim 1917 to 1921 for independence. The thirty-two counties voted on the question of independence, but the British made it a case of county by county, not one man, one vote. Six counties, heavily Protestant, decided to remain in the U.K. The other twenty-six overwhlemingly Catholic counties formed the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland. Attempts - peaceful and unpeaceful - have been made to unite all of Ireland, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have gotten their own parliaments - though the queen and Tony Blair are reconized as the leaders of the whole "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

So, would you say that the relationship of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales vs. the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is analogous to the Provinces of Canada and the States of America? Each state in America has its own state government which makes its own state laws, but there is still a federal government that makes federal laws. But I think those four entities probably have more autonomy than U.S. states, so perhaps a better comparison might be to use territories and other regions that have more autonomy. Such examples might be Hong Kong vs. China and Greenland vs. Denmark. In the recent Winter Olympics, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong all sent separate teams, while the four entities all competed as the UK.

[Steve M.]

Originally Posted by stella

So, would you say that the relationship of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales vs. the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is analogous to the Provinces of Canada and the states of the USA? Each state in America has its own state government which makes its own state laws, but there is still a federal government that makes federal laws. But I think those four entities probably have more autonomy than U.S. states, so perhaps a better comparison might be to use territories and other regions that have more autonomy. Such examples might be Hong Kong vs. China and Greenland vs. Denmark. In the recent Winter Olympics, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong all sent separate teams, while the four entities all competed as the UK.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own parliaments, but each country recognizes Tony Blair as its prime minister and Queen Elizabeth II as its titular head of state. Northern Ireland has more local government in deference to the Catholics. The countries that made up the old Soviet Union actually had more autonomy. Scots particularly feel like they're living under colonial oppression, because even though a Scottish king united Britain, the House of Stuart (the last Scottish royal family) was eventually overthrown in 1688 by William of Orange, who, with his wife Queen Mary II (the College of William and Mary are named for them), consolidated power in London.