Nation, empire and ethnicity

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Foreign Competition ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Victorian Period ◽  
British Press ◽  
A Site

Chapter 3 considers the multiple ways in which the Exhibition can be viewed as a site for exploring issues of national identity in the Victorian period. It showcases documents that speak to the anxieties that British manufacturers had about foreign competition and free trade, to public fears about racial and cultural difference, and to the patriotism that the event instilled in many quarters. The material in this chapter is taken from the British press – who were preoccupied with what became known as ‘The Foreign Question’ – but also from international sources, revealing the ways in which the Exhibition was seen from outside the United Kingdom.

The Little Manx Nation: Antiquarianism, Ethnic Identity, and Home Rule Politics in the Isle of Man, 1880–1918

2000 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Belchem
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
General Meeting ◽  
Irish Sea ◽  
British Politics ◽  
Home Rule ◽  
Isle Of Man ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Victorian Period ◽  
The Irish Sea ◽  
Frank Kermode

As imperial pride flourished in the racial discourse of late Victorian British politics, ethnic revival and Celtic nationalism also gained purchase and resonance. These complex and seemingly competing issues of identity extended beyond the “four nations” of the United Kingdom to the Isle of Man, a crown dependency constitutionally outside the United Kingdom but at the very center of the British Isles. In this “land of home rule,” adrift in the Irish Sea, the juxtaposition of Britishness and Celticism was particularly acute, compounded by the proud persistence of Norse traditions. Manx independence within the Atlantic archipelago was symbolized by the annual Tynwald Day ceremony, a Viking “Thing” or general meeting, at which the year's new legislation was promulgated in both English and Manx Gaelic. In the late Victorian period, as Anglo-Manx business syndicates invested heavily in the “visiting industry,” transforming the island into “one large playground for the operatives of Lancashire and Yorkshire,” gentlemanly antiquarians constructed (and/or invented) the necessary traditions to safeguard Manx cultural distinctiveness and its devolved political status. Through the assertion of Celticism, a project that tended to downgrade Norse contributions to the island's past, the little Manx nation girded itself against cultural anglicization, yet remained unquestionably loyal to the British empire.Slightly other than English, the Manx have displayed what Sir Frank Kermode has described as “mild alienation” and “qualified foreignness,” characteristics that need to be considered in the wider debate about British identity.

scholarly journals An ‘Anti-Sectarian’ Act? Examining the Importance of National Identity to the ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act’

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony May
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
National Identity ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Football Fans ◽  
Threatening Communications ◽  
Scottish Government

The 2010-11 football season in Scotland was affected by many incidents of violence and threatening behaviour. Fans of the two Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers, were involved in the majority of these incidents. Players and officials of Celtic were targeted by Loyalist terrorists and sent bullets through the post. The Scottish government felt that many of the incidents were motivated by religious, ethnic, and national hatred, and introduced an Act of Parliament in order to tackle the problems that had arisen. The ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act’ came into law on 1 March 2012, representing a governmental judgement that Scottish football is negatively affected by inter-communal tension. The Act criminalises violent incidents and threatening behaviour related to the expression of religious hatred towards football fans, players, and officials. It also explicitly targets expressions of hatred on ethnic and national grounds. This is significant because in the contemporary era, much of what is termed ‘sectarianism’ in Scotland is directly related to national identity, particularly British and Irish identities. The modern iconography of Celtic and Rangers has comparatively little to do with religion, and relates to differing visions of Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the island of Ireland. Incidents that are termed ‘sectarian’ are often best examined through the prism of nationalism, for in contemporary Scotland it is national identity that is most significant to those who perpetrate the actions that the Act seeks to tackle.

Civil society in search of a state: Dublin 1898–1922

Urban History ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
CIARÁN WALLACE
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
City Council ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Government Reforms

ABSTRACT:A municipal boundary dispute between Dublin's nationalist city council and its independent unionist suburbs in the early twentieth century was symptomatic of a much deeper disagreement over national identity within the United Kingdom. Considering urban councils as the link between the state and local civil society (or subscriber democracy), and using theories proposed by Graeme Morton, R.J. Morris and Norton E. Long, along with illustrative contrasts from municipal behaviour in Edinburgh, this article examines these relationships in Edwardian Dublin. It argues that the modernization of Irish municipal government in 1898 empowered Dublin in unforeseen ways. By amplifying existing divergent identities, and providing a platform for the nascent Irish state, municipal government reforms contributed significantly to the break-up of the UK in 1922.

The Ties That Bind: Britain’s Use of Scottish Highland Dress

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-254
Author(s):  
David Loranger ◽  
Eulanda A. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
National Identity ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Secondary Literature ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Over Time

For over 300 years, Britain has influenced Scotland’s national identity. Scottish Highland dress, which consists of kilts and tartans has been appropriated, manipulated, and transformed by the British in order to forward political, commercial, and social objectives. Scotland’s national dress has contributed to a more cohesive identity within the United Kingdom. However, available research only examines specific instances of British influence on—and usage of—kilts and tartans. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore a sample of key figures and historical events that illustrate the use of Scottish Highland dress to forward British interests. The researchers triangulated databases and secondary literature along with extant objects and materials, with the aim of developing a more holistic understanding of appropriation, manipulation, and transformation. Findings indicate how the context and usage of Scottish Highland dress was transformed over time.

Brexit will be damaging for UK-EU services trade

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Services Trade ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Trade Deals ◽  
The Eu

Significance Even if it succeeds, this will have a greater disruptive impact on the trade in services than goods, because the EU’s single market enables greater cross-border services trade than is typical of other free trade agreements (FTAs). This is likely to cut the volume of EU-UK services trade, in which the United Kingdom currently enjoys a substantial surplus. Impacts The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU will diminish its appeal for multinationals over the next few years, at least. The new UK immigration system could result in staff shortages in low-skilled services sectors. The imperative of tackling COVID-19 will likely delay the conclusion of new trade deals with non-EU countries.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document