>Well, uh, but, I would have sworn "Great Britain" was an >island, not a country. Mea culpa, but see the other gazetteer thread for the correction. >Things were happening in Plymouth Colony and in Virginia >before the UK existed (170-something wasn't it?) so you >can't claim that John Rolfe's child was born in Virginia UK, >England or Great Britain. Virginia was a stand-alone real >estate scam until 1625 when it became a Crown Colony. If >saying something happened in 1616 in Virginia USA is wrong, >so is saying it happened in 1616 in Virginia Great Britain >or Virginia UK. At least by saying USA you put people on >the right continent. No sneezable trick these days. The point being? Sounds like you're in the camp that wants to label all locations with their modern hierarchies. I won't argue against that. A lot of people want to do that. Some people want more accuracy.

Tom Wetmore wrote: >> Well, uh, but, I would have sworn "Great Britain" was an >> island, not a country. > > Mea culpa, but see the other gazetteer thread for the correction. > >> Things were happening in Plymouth Colony and in Virginia >> before the UK existed (170-something wasn't it?) so you >> can't claim that John Rolfe's child was born in Virginia UK, >> England or Great Britain. Virginia was a stand-alone real >> estate scam until 1625 when it became a Crown Colony. If >> saying something happened in 1616 in Virginia USA is wrong, >> so is saying it happened in 1616 in Virginia Great Britain >> or Virginia UK. At least by saying USA you put people on >> the right continent. No sneezable trick these days. > > The point being? Sounds like you're in the camp that wants to > label all locations with their modern hierarchies. I won't argue > against that. A lot of people want to do that. No, Tom, I'm not. I'm saying that there is considerable question about "correct" is on this side of the Atlantic. However, you /are/ arguing against it when you say it's wrong. To be technically correct, that 1616 event happened in Virginia. Period. End of locale, unless you want to tack on North America. > Some people want more accuracy. First, one needs to agree on what constitutes ACCURACY. Then, we can argue over whether accurate but foggy trumps inaccurate but clear. Is Greenland "Greenland" or "Denmark"? You can't call either of them "wrong" unless there is consensus on which is "correct".