History of the British Isles coalition with the Northern Irish unionist party, the DUP in order to have a working majority in the House of Commons. History of the British Isles The British Isles have witnessed intermittent periods of competition and cooperation between the people that occupy the various parts of Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Ireland, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the smaller adjacent islands. Today, the British Isles contain two sovereign states: the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. There are also three Crown dependencies: Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. The United Kingdom comprises England,
Glossary of names for the British to denote 'English'. Southeast Asian Hokkien and Teochew speakers also call the British angmor lang (紅毛人), which literally means 'red-haired people'. One possible origin of this term is the association of red-haired people with the British Isles. The following terms are used to mean 'Britain' or 'British' and use etymologies mostly unrelated to "Britain": These terms are also used to refer to England in unofficial contexts. More formal names also exist, such as the Chinese Liánhéwángguó and Japanese Rengōōkoku literally meaning 'United Kingdom'. Separate words exist in all of these languages for each of the constituent parts of the UK,