The growing economic and political co-operability between the nations of the British Isles, helped foster the concept of a larger, shared cultural entity that would unite the traditional cultures under one banner, known as ‘Britishness.’ The question of national and local identities has been the concern of eighteenth and nineteenth century historians such as E. A. Freeman and G. M. Trevelyan . Keith Robbins and Linda Colley both interpreted Britishness in starkly different ways, however both authors actively investigated the extent to which a national British identity superseded local cultures.
Colley in her publication ‘Briton;’ presented Britishness as an over-arching identity which was 'superimposed' over a series of older attachments and loyalties, whether these were to a region, a religious denomination, or to one of the subsidiary national identities. Colley produces a compelling argument that British national identity was 'forged' in the period between the Act of Union in 1707 and the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The author’s choice of wording to describe this process is symbolic, as it adopts the cultural theorist Benedict Anderson’s thesis, which argued that nations, rather than being natural and absolute entities, were in fact culturally or intellectually 'imagined'. In particular Anderson hinted towards the rapid spread of novels, newspapers and pamphlets, which in his opinion, aided the teaching of people to think that they were part of a much wider community. Consequently, this thesis can be used to define the relationship between nations and cultures in the British Isles in the eighteenth century, whereby people can 'imagine' themselves as part of a broader community and can be influenced by groups who h...
... middle of paper ...
...ways British identity superseded that of local cultures was via the process 'blending' whereby the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland played an instrumental part in forming a new British identity. The geo-political environment of the British Isles encourages natural cooperation and understanding amongst each nation, forging shared ideas of Britishness. In addition, Paul Ward illustrates how a more flexible, inclusive and pluralist definition of Britishness that involves a diverse number of people across the religious and social divide, ensures broad support for a British identity superseding local cultures. What is evident is the fact local, regional identities have allowed and adopted British identity to supersede for greater economic, social or political aims, thus a British identity has largely superseded local identities during the eighteenth century.
J. Hoppit , 1999 - Parliaments, Nations and Identities in Britain and Ireland, 1660-1850 – Manchester university Press Publishing – Accessed via: http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/ - Quote from Daniel Defoe.
Rose, Sonya O. Which People’s War? National Identity and Citizenship in Wartime Britain 1939-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Henderson, Ailsa. Hierarchies of belonging: National identity and political culture in Scotland and Quebec. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP, 2007.
Great Brittan: Butler & Tanner Ltd, Frome, Somerset., 1984. Print. Loach, Jennifer. “Mary Tudor And The Re-Catholicisation Of England.”
Karner, C, 2011 Negotiating National Identities : Between Globalization, the Past and 'the Other', Ashgate, U.K
C.A.Bayly, Indian Society: and the making of the British Empire,(Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1998
Hollister, C. Warren. The Making of England. 7th ed. A History of England. Ed. Lacey Baldwin Smith. Vol. 1. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath, 1996.
Not a unified and separate country until 1921, Northern Ireland has had cultural, financial, and economic that makes it stand affront from the rest of the Emerald Isles. With its close proximity to England and the immigration all through the 1600s of English and Scottish, Northern Ireland has become more anglicized th...
Being in England was a great experience to see how we as Americans have many similarities to Englishmen as well as many differences. In Kate Fox’s book ‘Watching the English’ she talks about how the English truly are, which in my honest opinion is very contradictory in itself. The English talk about the weather, they enjoy gossip almost as much as we do, yet they are much more reserved than we are, and many more that I will discuss later. Also in this paper I will share some of my experiences which were quite similar to parts of this book, and others that were not.
Carswell, John. The Descent on England; a Study of the English Revolution of 1688 and Its European Background. New York: John Day, 1969. Print.
Julian Barnes uses his postimperial novel, England, England, to critique what England, under Tony Blair’s administration, is moving towards – a recreated Britain, an all-inclusive nation with no appreciation of its history, except that which has been distorted in order be politically correct or somehow profit the country. Through this quote, it becomes evident that Barnes sees England grasping to be defined, not by its rich past, but by other nations – possible tourists, possible residents that may add diversity and, thus, a shift towards breaking old stereotypes and becoming a modernized nation.
Bolt, Christine. “Race and the Victorians,” in British Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century, ed. C.C. Eldridge. St. Martin’s Press: 1984.
Steele, P., & MacDonald, F. (2007). The Miles Kelly book of British history. Essex, Great Britian: Miles Kelly.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (London: 2005). pp. 51, 71-72. Accessed May 3, 2014. http://www.jhud.co.uk/huddleston/uk2005_tcm77-248610.pdf.