Ever since its creation in 1707, the United Kingdom of Great Britain has been a powerful union of many different nations and identities, including the English, Scots, Welsh and later Irish. From the Middle Ages until the Second World War this union had not only fortified its domestic political power but also expanded its reign across the entire world, resulting in the world’s largest and mightiest empire, the British Empire. This great achievement of the union was mainly due to the remarkable sense of unity of its people who considered themselves primarily as British and secondly as Scots, Welsh or Irish. By the end of the Second World War, however, the domestic governance stability also threatened to collapse as many foreign colonies of …show more content…
According to Linda Colley (2003), national identities are, in a historical context, in general contingent and relational (cf. p. 275). They have, so to say, developed over time when being compared to “the other” and are not to be considered as fixed things. She argues that in the case of the English national identity it was not sooner than in the aftermath of the Second World War that the English started critically examining their own identity. This was during a period as other nations within the UK started demanding for more political independence by naming themselves as Scots, Welsh or even Irish. Anthropologically, Fox (2004) stresses that there are some unspoken rules which govern the behavior of the English and that these rules clearly distinguish them from other nations. Rules such as the good know English fair play, courtesy and humor that have evolved throughout time. Consequently, he suggests there is indeed such a thing as an English national identity which is mainly set on unwritten codes or rules of behavior in all the social layers. Others, like Robert Colls (2002), try to answer the emergence of the English national identity by stressing that the fundaments of the English national identity were already present and set during the 14th century. The main instrument which produced this English national identity was the law and above all the common law which all the
Stuart Hall defines identity as an ‘already accomplished fact, which the new cultural practices then represent’. We should think instead of ‘identity as a ‘production’ which is never complete, always in process, and always constituted within, not outside, representation’ (Hall 1994 p.392). An individual’s sense of belonging to a particular group, thinking, feelings and behaviour can also be referred to as identity. One’s cultural image can construct identity; such features as hair, skin tone and height. History shapes our identity.
Present day Australia is met with the issue of outlining a sense of a nationwide community, after the breakdown of the British race patriot idea in the mid-1960s with the introduction of multiculturalism. The Euro-centric perception of Australia was annulled and it was incapable in playing a significant part in Australian policies and priorities. It triggered a calamity of national identity and meaning. The credence that Australian’s were apart of Britain, united by history, tradition and blood needed to be revised. A people who had recognized themselves so strongly with the British race now had to accede their race awareness and apprehend the notion of being a now multicultural society. The dawn of multiculturalism also provoked a quandary for balancing a respect of the British heritage with the abating relevance of the British connection and to construct a new language of community from the residues of the old British ways.
Under the tyranny of Great Britain the colonist faced many hardships placed onto them by the parliament. Unconstitutional taxes were implemented for no reason other than to increase Britain’s revenue. In addition laws that disregarded man's’ natural rights were enforced by Britain onto the colonists. And because of these reasons the American colonist were justified for separating from Great Britain by declaring independence.
Great Britain is a country founded by a union, the Act of Union, of 1707, states that England and Scotland should be united into one kingdom which they named Great Britain! Even though it has been many years since the 19th and 20th century many facts have not changed from that time. Great Britain till this day is part of the greatest powers of allies of the world. In this paper we are going to talk about the alliance system and about the new imperialism in Great Britain by answering a few questions. First, what alliances did Great Britain belong to and who were their primarily allies and what were
The nature of Australian’s national identity has been an ongoing debate for many years. It involves how Australians see themselves, and how other countries view Australia as a whole. Throughout the country’s history, the national identity has not remained constant, and currently it is a debate to what Australian’s true national identity is.
British imperialism lasted for hundreds of years and has had staggering effects in India that we can still see today. Britain initially became interested in India in the 1600’s; the government set up trading posts around the country because it was interested in the raw materials and resources available. At first Britain used indirect rule through Sepoys -- Indian soldiers -- but after the Sepoy Rebellion Britain had to step in to rule directly. Although British imperialism had positive effects such as eradicating immoral customs and paving the way for modern India, it also had numerous negative effects, such as by creating laws to better control Indians which left their government negatively impacted, taking from India with no concern for the
Australia has never had a definable national identity prescribed by institutions or politicians; rather, most of the identities are tied to folklores and models (Hogue 2005). For over 150 years during colonization, Australia was widely identified as a British nation. Additionally, the Australian residents did not have valid citizenship until 1948. Before that period, all people born within the country were regarded as British citizens and were expected to uphold their values. At one time, authors described the residents as anonymous, nothing-men, and featureless. However, Australia had always had underlying national identities
For approximately two hundred years Britain ruled over India, allowing them almost no control of their own country. This is what imperialism was like for many countries. Initially India was colonized for its natural resources by the East India company but the companies hold on India became compromised after the sepoy rebellion in 1857 so the English government took control in a time of crisis. After decades of British Imperialism India finally gained independence in 1947. Brittain helped develop India by creating a government, education, and millions of jobs, however they negatively affected India by using the government and its powerful army to control and suppress the Indians along with Britain's unfair policies which
The study of British colonialism is a rather new field with much to discuss and a lot more to debate. The recent recognition of new nation-states that were once under the control of Britain was a growing phenomenon and one that continues to play a large role in today’s global politics. Since the rather recent period of these new nations, new study’s have been done into the history of a) the peoples that inhabited the land before Britain, b) the way Britain occupied and control and land, and now c) post-Britain. This is a growing topic in the historical field because seventy-five years ago there was no thought that Britain would relieve control of India or Nigeria. That is why post-British colonialism is important to today, because it is a
The national identity of Australians has been one of the most debated issues among the country. Since the British's attack in 1788, the Anglo-Saxon legacy had unavoidably prompted the creation of "Britishness" and "whiteness" as one of the focal points for national identity of Australians. Robinson explains that “whiteness” isn't a fundamental protest that was socially developed. Rather the idea 'white' signifies simply skin color. It is the Indigenous 'other' who is the concentration of rationalization and its effects (Robinson 2008).
The Act of Union of 1707 brought together the two independent nations of Scotland and England to create a new United Kingdom. This new Kingdom in the opinion of the English ensured political and military stability on the Island of Great Britain, neutralizing the Scottish MP’s by absorbing them into the Westminster system.
Nationalism is the idea that a people who have much in common, such as language, culture and geographic proximity ought to organize in such a way that it creates a stable and enduring state. Nationalism is tied to patriotism, and it is the driving force behind the identity of a culture. Nationalism had many effects in Europe from 1815, The Congress of Vienna and beyond. In the following essay I will describe many of the consequences of nationalism on European identity, as well as some of the conflicts that it created.
The United Kingdom is a country located in the North West of Europe that has four parts, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The capital city is London, which the River Thames flows through from Thames Head to 140 miles later at Teddington Lock where it ends. Compared to the United States, the United Kingdom is quite small in fact it is approximately the size of New England. Despite being diminutive in size, there is layer upon layer of cultures and history. Also, it has geographic diversity, from the moors of Devon to the swamps in the southeast to the highlands of Scotland. Although dwindling, many native languages survived and still spoken to this day. Some of those are Celtic, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh.
A legend like the United Kingdom is not simply created, it was foraged through hardships and tribulations in order to become an unstoppable force of nature. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica after many conquests by an Anglo-Saxon king, Ireland fell under English rule and formally joined Great Britain in 1800 with the Act of Union. Though Ireland later regained its independence in 1922 but two thirds of the country stayed apart of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom who was no longer a "Kingdom" but now part of a growing monarchy has endured many throughout the years. According to FiveforThrity, “The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a queen and a parliament that has two houses: The House of Lords and House of Commons.” FiveforThrity also states “Supreme legislative power is vested in parliament, which sits for five years unless dissolved sooner as well as the fact that The House of Lords was stripped of most of its power in 1911, and now its main function is to revise legislation.”
The United Kingdom consists of four different countries. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This is an island nation in Northwestern Europe. Located at 55.371°N, 3.4360°W, this island is 93,628 mi2. This is Europe’s largest island. The official language of the island is English and the capital is London. The major religion is Christianity then Islam and Hinduism. There are multiple different ethnic groups in the United Kingdom some are British African, White/black British, Mixed, and Irish to name a few of them (United Kingdom).