“For Wales, see England” - this oft-quoted entry in the index to the original edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica elegantly sums up the centuries of suppression of the Welsh identity by the English parliament. Llywr James, a worker at the National History Museum of Wales, told me with passion in his voice how he dreams of the day when the Embassy of Wales will be opened in Washington D.C. “And it will happen during my lifetime,” he emphatically added. “Independence is simply not in the interests of Wales. We do not have enough money without the subsidy from Westminster,” said Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales when I asked him his personal opinion on the independence of Wales from the UK. Contrast the two radically opposing views and you begin to scratch the surface of the immensely complex issue of Welsh independence. The Welsh devolution referendum of 2011 saw the National Assembly of Wales gain powers to make laws on all matters in the 20 subjects in Schedule 5 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and can be seen as another step towards the “independence” of Wales (Government of Wales Act 2006, 2012). While such a transfer of power from Westminster to Cardiff is in the best interest of Wales, total independence from the UK would result in dire financial, economic, political and identity problems.
Wikipedia defines independence as “a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory” (Independence 2012). By these parameters, Wales has not existed as an independent state since 1282 when Edward I, the King of England, marched into Gwynedd and forced Llywelyn's submission (Bremner 2011). The Act of Un...
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• Harris, J (2012, February 1). Could Wales leave the United Kingdom? Retrieved April 27, 2012 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/feb/01/could-walesleave-united-kingdom
• Independence. (2012, April 7). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:13, April 27, 2012, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Independence&oldid=486000692
• Morgan, P (1986). Keeping the Legends Alive, Wales: The Imagined Nation, ed. Tony Curtis (Bridgend: Poetry Wales Press), 17-42.
• The revolt of Owain Glyndwr (2012). Retrieved April 27, 2012, fromhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/guide/ch10_revolt_of_owain_glyndwr.shtml
• Welsh devolution referendum, 1979. (2012, March 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 05:33, April 27, 2012, fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welsh_devolution_referendum,_1979&oldid=484020528
A century ago, Canada was under control by the British Empire. The battles we fought the treaties we signed and the disputes we solved all helped us gain independence from our mother country “Britain”. Canadians fought a long battle protecting others, and from these battles we gained our peaceful reputation and our independence from Britain. Canada became a nation on July, 1st 1867. Although we were an independent country, our affairs and treaties were all still signed by Britain. In the next years Canada would establish its own government, and lead its own affairs. Many important events led to Canada’s independence, one of the earliest signals that Canada wanted to establish autonomy was the Chanak affair of 1921. In addition the battle of Normandy, which occurred on June 6 1944, contributed to the autonomy of Canada. The Suez Canal Crisis, which took place in the year 1956, earned Canada a place in the media spotlight, displaying Canada as a peaceful country that deserves the right to be independent. One of the final steps that aided with Canada’s independence from Britain was the Canada Act of 1982. Independence from Britain steadily increased throughout the 20th century because of political decisions made in Canada.
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...
The Declaration of Independence was written on July 4, 1776. On that day the 13 Colonies became free and Independent states. The Declaration of Independence states this “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to...
I declare independence, from independence. Independence has many problems for people throughout the years. I dislike continuously having independence, it has been a source of huge stress in my life. We all wanted our independence from an oppressive tyrant, but we don’t like the stress that comes with it. Being independent goes against my very nature, caused me unnecessary stress, and forced me to grow up.
Scottish devolution, with its advantages and disadvantages, is the best example of how great political and social changes can be achieved not through bloody revolution but with the patience, intelligence and hard work of a united country but is still a work in progress.
Campbell, Joseph. Mythic Worlds, Modern Words: On the Art of James Joyce. New York: Harper Collins, 1993.
...y rule for independence. So to answer the question if seceding would be legal, the answer is unclear. It is not possible to know before there is a majority vote to secede that would result in the House of Commons determining it.
Though still geographically in a state of change, Wales could now be said to exist. At this point, the racial mix in Wales was probably little different from that to the east, where Saxon numbers were small, but Wales was held together by the people's resistance to the Saxons. The Welsh started to refer to themselves as Cymry (fellow countrymen), not by the Saxon term used by English-speakers today, which is generally thought to mean either foreigners or Romanized people.
in The United Kingdom has increased at an alarming rate over the past few decades. There are some issues, which should not be ignored and should not be disregarded, for instance
In 2014, the country of Scotland, prominent legislative members and citizens desired to leave the United Kingdom. This was controversial in many aspects, and I would like to analyze this referendum through the scope of two schools of thought, realism and liberalism, and the economic results of Scotland staying and leaving the UK. I will show that in liberalism that Scotland’s independence referendum was influenced by political actors, and can help Scotland have a bigger voice in the international world. I will show that this can also have a negative effect on Scotland in the international world as a result of rules and regulations prolong Scotland’ independence. I will show through realism how independence can hurt Great Britain and Scotland’s overall power it the world. Finally, I will explain from an economic standpoint the benefits and costs to Scotland and the UK when they split. This can lead to damaged relationships and overall slower economic growth. My goal is to expand upon the principles we learned in our political science class.
Damrosch, David, et al., ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Vol. B. Compact ed. New York: Longman - Addison Wesley Longman, 2000.
The most significant and challenge to the traditional view of parliamentary sovereignty was Britain’s membership of the European Community in 1972. The European Communities Act 1972 brought with it the requirement that European Law be given priority over domestic courts over conflicting issues of national law. This notion was a direct affront to parliamentary sovereignty, which required that if a later statute, contradicted and earlier statute, which sought to incorporate European Law into English Law, then the later statute should impliedly repeal the earlier statute. Therefore the European Communities act imposed a substantive limit on the legislative ability of subsequent Parliaments.
Darwin, John. 2011. BBC - History - British History in depth: Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire, 3 March 2011. Accessed 11 April 2014. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml.
On the one hand, without international relations from the EU, Britain is economically and socially vulnerable. While Britain’s exit from the EU may define Britain’s power according to British citizens, the type of power that matters is relative power, which is the power when it is being compared to other states. If the other states do not recognize Britain as a force of power, then its exit from the EU is pointless. On the other hand, by discontinuing the benefits granted by the EU, Britain declines the assistance that could have helped the country to become more powerful. In other words, Brexit decreases a source of gathering power for Britain, since the EU not only offers economic opportunities, but it also provides useful information so that the member states can behave accordingly. Overall, realism suggests that while Brexit increases Britain’s confidence in being powerful, it also decreases the country’s power in a way.
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.