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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Eob (talk | contribs) at 01:53, 17 November 2001 (Gathered together the discussion of the acceptibility of the term "British Isles" into a single paragraph with some attempt at NPOV.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The British Isles is a term sometimes used to describe the geographic area consisting of the islands of Britain, Ireland and other related islands.

Many people in Ireland do not like the term "British Isles" because it implies that Ireland is British. They prefer the term "Britain and Ireland", though there are some cases where this term is not accurate because the intent is also to include the smaller islands in the group. People who prefer the term "British Isles" counter that term defines a purely geographic area - not a political area (although the inclusion of the Channel Islands is essentially for political reasons).

These islands are an archipelago off the west coast of Europe (121,674 square miles), consisting of:

• Great Britain

• Ireland

• The Isle of Man

• The Isle of Wight

• The Channel Isles

• The Orkney Isles

• The Shetland Isles

• The Hebrides

• Anglesey

• Arran

and many other smaller islands.