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,
Terminology of the British Isles until 1949), is an association of independent states roughly corresponding to the former British Empire. (This has no connection with the Commonwealth of England, a short-lived republic replacing the previous kingdoms during the English Interregnum (1649–1660).) The adjectives used to describe the contents and attributes of the various constituent parts of the British Isles also cause confusion. In the absence of a single adjective to refer to the United Kingdom, "British" is generally used to refer to the United Kingdom as a whole. However, in a specifically physical geographical sense, "British" is used to refer to the island of Great