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'''British''' is the adjective that refers to a person being a citizen of Britain--historically to Great Britain and today to the [[United Kingdom]]. It is not usually used as an expression of nationality by British citizens, as many will prefer to use the expressions ''[[English]]'', ''[[Scottish]]'', ''[[Welsh]]'' or ''Northern Irish''/''[[Irish]]'' referring to which constituent country of the UK they self-identify with. In [[Northern Ireland]] "British" is usually associated with the [[Unionist]] community, with [[nationalists]] and [[republicans]] generally regarding themselves as exclusively ''Irish''.

HistoricallyThe "British people" (or informally, '''Brits''') are the subjects<ref> The term "citizen" is increasingly used for the more technically correct "subject."</ref> of the [[United Kingdom]]. They usually call themselves ''[[English]]'', ''[[Scottish]]'', ''[[Welsh]]'' or ''Northern Irish''/''[[Irish]]'' referring to which constituent country of the UK they self-identify with. In [[Northern Ireland]] "British" is usually associated with the [[Unionist]] community, with [[nationalists]] and [[republicans]] generally regarding themselves as exclusively '' Irish''.  Until the 1960s the the word "English" was also commonly used instead of "British." This annoyed the name given Scots and Irish so much that "English" is today more narrowly confined to the language and to the country of England (which comprises most of the British population).==British Empire==Historically, the [[British Empire]] from 1600 to 1997 was the largest empire the world has ever seen, administered in the United Kingdom in the name of the British monarchfrom London. British settlements and dependencies --usually called "colonies "--were established all over the world. There was never any doubt that the British were the rulers and the locals were mere subjects. In terms of size it peaked in the 1920s, covering roughly a quarter of the world's land surface area in 1921, even . Most of the growth came after 1783 when Britain lost America after losing much of its North American territory after the [[American Revolutionary War]]. The large empire was possible because Britain "ruled the seas" through the strong domination of the [[Royal Navy]], and used this to ensure free trading for British interests. With up to a quarter of the world as British subjects, the Empire was also the world's foremost military power. For many centuries, populations lived under a period of relative peace and prosperity that was the ''Pax Brittannica'', though from a modern perspective, the methods used to control and ensure this superiority on occasion were on occasion particularly vicious.