The British Territories

There are 14 British Overseas Territories formerly known as British Dependent territories, the United Kingdom is responsible for foreign affairs and defence-related issues. Most of these lands were taken over during the growth of the British Empire during the 17th and 18th centuries:

• 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.

Each country has its own executive authority which forms the day to day running as well as its own social and economical political objectives and thus it remains largely free of Westminster Parliament. Although part of Britain you are still required to show a valid British Passport when visiting these countries, something that you do not have to do if you are travelling from England to Wales for example. If you are flying however it is recommended for you to carry official photo identification on domestic flights.

Crown Dependencies are geographically part of the British but are autonomous states with a more fragile political link to the UK. They are the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the three independent jurisdictions of 'Guernsey, Alderney and Sark' that comprise the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Westminster has no legal duty or responsibility with respect to the administration or running of Crown Dependencies. The island to however have treaties with the UK for some polices. In practice, as in with British Overseas Territories, the British Government takes care of foreign affairs and security related issues, but in this case it is done through fees that are levied instead of out of a legal duty. The United Kingdom Monarch is in principle the head of state in these islands but not the traditional role as the British King or Queen, largely in more of a figural sense.

The term “British Isles” and the “British Islands” is often used to describe all the islands around mainland Britain and is a geographical term as oppose to a political label. The United Kingdom has several large habitable islands all around the main land such as the Isle of White in the south coast to the Shetland Islands north of the coast of Scotland.

There is no real significance in all the terminology or labels used to describe each of the islands and countries but due to the historical and cultural links there is a very strong identity that has meant that British Citizenship has continued. British Territories are testaments to the sweeping changes brought by the British Empire in the previous two centuries and while most of the countries eventually chose the path for independence, they all have a rich, complex and often bloody shared history that ties them all together.