Idéees étudiées : Nationalisme / Frontières (Ireland / Scotland)

1957-brexit (relationship Uk/EU) > What brought about the Brexit ? Impact of it ? Impact on
Scottish independence.

Fresco : Civilisation britannique, Molinari

Unit 1 : The making of the U.K

Unit 2 : Redefining the Borders

Unit 3 : UK& The EEC

Union with Wales : 1536 1543

Scotland 1707

Ireland 1800

The first union was with Wales, based on two acts of union : 1536 and 1543, Scotland 1707, Ireland
1800. Union was achieved by putting these powers under Westminster, and the abolition of powers
existing in those countries. The flag is a mixture of Saint Patrick / George flag. (Yet Wales didn't
have it's flag on it).

Nation =/= State.

It's important to decice if we're dealing with a political concept, or a human one.

State : An organised political community under one government

Nation : a sense of belonging, an "imagined community". It's more subjective as it is a human

Question raised : Is the UK a composite state, or a union one.

There's no "single" people in the U.K despite a centralised government situated in London.
Throughout research done mid 20th, people were found to be feeling strongly Scottish / English /
Irish / Welsh.

It is quite often refered to as a union state, also described as a supranational / multinational state.
Before forming the British parliament, was the English Parliament, and the constitution of the U.K
was marked by the dominance of English institutions. Hence, everything started as English
institutions, and progressively, they were applied (more or less imposed) on other nations and
started including them. England is still the most powerful of the 4 components of the U.K. Which
goes along with the population of the U.K representing 80% of the population.

Nationalist movements have in some cases questionned, contested the legitimacy of such a union
(Such as Ireland, 40year after union with Ireland, at the start of the great famine, nationalists have
attributed it to the union.)

1) Union with Wales

1301 : Edward I made his son Prince of Wales

It was under the reign of Henry the 8th that the two countries were formally united, 1536, a couple
of years after the break with Rome.

He wanted to make sure Wales would be on the side of England, and there were also some concerns
about some Welsh lords being against the break with Rome.

The second union, in 1543, concerned the use of the English language. Welsh was now to be
formerly incoporated in England (27 representatives in parliament )
Welsh language was discouraged.

In this respect, union with Wales is much closer to absorbtion. (Cardiff only became the capital city
of Wales in 1955). Elizabeth 1th asked for a Welsh translation of the bible, helping preserve the
Welsh language. Not much changed since the 19th century.

2 ) Union with Scotland

1603 : Accession of Scottish king James VI to succeed Elizabeth = Union of the Crowns

> Replacement of the Tudor Elizabeth by Stuart James (who becames James the 1st)

This union lasted for a century (aside from Cromwell period)

James 1 / Charles 1 /Cromwell / Charles 2 / James 2 (who was forced to abdicate) and his
daughters and son were invited to invade England, as they did not want a catholic king. 1689 : Bill
of rights (Glorious revolution 1688)

The power of the king was therefore subordinate to parliament (Westsminster). Therefore if they
wanted to reign, they had to agree to follow parliament (hence parliamentary monarchy).

Which put an end to Scottish independence as the Scottish / English (same crown) king obeyed the
English parliament. This made the question of union more pressing.

By getting rid of James II, the parliament had gotten rid of the Stuart Scottish dynasty. Which the
highlanders scarcely liked. > Uprising in 1692, Jacobite (jacobite = James-ist) rising in Scotland
(violently repressed)

Glencoe Massacre

1702 Accession of Queen Anne. Union more pressing for England for 2 reasons :
Many in Scotland favoured a Catholic Stuart to succeed to Anne
Fear of a French alliance with or invasion through Scotland

There was strong resistance in Scotland to such a union. What made it possible for English to force
the Scottish parliament to accept the union, in 1690's, Scotland had accepted to set colonies in
South-America, leading to bankruptcy.

Hence the carrot to agreeing with the union, England would pay them the amount of money they
had lost in the "Darien Adventure"

The stick, was that if they did not agree to a union, England would stop all trades relationship with
Scotland.

The Scottish parliament was asked to vote (an act called by the Scots a treaty of union). The main
articles were : The two kingdoms were to be united into one, common flag, common great seal, and
common coinage.

The two countries were to have only one parliament as well, styled the Parliament of GB (basically
the English one with a few Scottish representatives : 16 peers with the Lords, 45 commoners to the
house of common (72 in the 1990s, 59 since 2005))

Scotland managed to retain its own legal system and its own Church, and education system.

The act of union therefore preserved some of the characteristics of Scotland, and gave security to
England about French/Scots, and gave an opportuniy for economic developpment for Scotland. The
presbyterian church preferd to have this compromise than risk the return of a Stuart (catholic)
dynasty.

"Such A Parcel Of Rogues In A Nation" (1791, Robert Burns)

O would, or I had seen the day

3 – Union With Ireland

The king at the time was an Anglo-Norman (Henry II, 1133), and was asked to intervene in Ireland.
One of the kings of Ireland asked the English king for help. Which Henry accepted, hoping to gain
land in the process.
The military strength of the Anglo-Normans forced the High king of Ireland to accept the
overlordship of England.

Henry VII was not very favorable to the mixing of all this, and passed acts of parliaments to be sure
there could be no mixed unions (no gaelic names for their children). A religious element was
introduced under the reigh of Henry VIII > Anglicane church, yet Ireland had remained a Roman
Catholic country.
The Anglicanism created by Henry VIII was quite close to Catholicism.

1560 (under Elizabeth) : establishment of a Protestant "Church of Ireland" which this time was
imposed on Irish people.

The "Church of Ireland for the next 3 centuries was in fact the Anglicane church, what with a
different name. It was an established church, which concretly meant that people had to attend
masses, and pay taxes for a church they did not believe in. That also explains why there were so
many uprisings. And everytime a rebellion failed, land was seized from those who had rebelled.

The part of Ireland that resisted longest to colonisation was the North( Ulster). The resistance was
more organised, led by some powerful aristocrats.

England at the time was under the threat of invasion, wars. There were constant plots against the
queen. Her Scotch cousin Mary was beheaded for taking part in a plot against her.

A policy was adopted : forcing Northern Ireland to submit by destroying everything (corps, cattle,
houses) > starving into submission.

Early 17th c. : Ulster Plantation

In 18th century, Irish people became second class citizens.

1798 uprising organised by Wolfe Tone (leader of the united Irishmen) (context : French
revolution ) > Ireland lost her separate Pt and was merged into the UK by the Act of union, 1800.

(Oh right, that's the messy period with the Catholic unionist / Protestant Unionists / Catholic
Nationalists / Protestant nationalists)

That uprising led the prime minister, as the union with Scotland went well, to go for a similar union
with Ireland.

Prime minister William pit, and the king, decided to vote an act of union between Ireland and
England. Once more, the main motivation was to avoid Ireland's union with France.

The clergy was also afraid of revolutionary ideas, which contributed by a Yes vote. Irel then lost its
parliament and was merged.

As in the case of Scotland, Ireland was allowed to send representatives to the house of commons /
Lords.

So, the unions didn't happen the same, though the motivation was quite similar (France danger,
control etc.)

Unit 2 : Redefining the Borders

1-Ireland

Two borders have been defined, and redefined : Borders between Ireland / UK, and the border
between Northern / Southern Ireland.
No sooner the act of union was voted, some started to contest its legitimacy.

Early 19th c. : Campagin led by Daniel O'Connel for the Repeal of the Act of Union.

What then contributed to a violent kind of nationalism, and anti English nationalism was the Great
Famine. Before the famine, the nationalists were peaceful, they wanted to do it constitutionnally.
But with the Great Famine, a different kind, more violent, of nationalism appeared. It lead to the
creation of groups :

The Fenians (Irish Republication Brotherhood)

Late 19th- early 20th c.: Gaelic revival.

The Gaelic revival was a movement mostly lead by the elite that aimed at reviving the Gaelic
culture (language, place, litterature, names, sports)

There was at that stage more pressure for independence. (Two failed homerule bill).Rich north
Ireland, poor south Ireland (so no desire to leave from the North.). This is when, increasingly,
nationalism came to be associated with catholicism.

When a third homerule bill was voted, in 1914, by the British parliament, there was a huge
opposition by Ulster. (Home Rule = Devolution)

This homerule bill was passed, and at that stage, Ulster protestants immediately threatened the
government with civil war.

WWI averted the civil war, when it broke out in August.

1916 Easter rising : "England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity"

They were seen as traitors and not supported by the population, and the raising was crushed by the
British, and the leaders were executed.

Dec 1918 > massive vote for Sinn Féin.

They set their own parliament (named Dàil, pronounced doll) in Dublin, an army (so illegal by
British constitution)

1919-21 Irish War of independence.

This war came to a stop when truce was called by the British government, and Sinn Féin accepted,
as they were very weakened, few weapons left, negociations took place. Signature of the Anglo-
Irish treaty in 1921 > Division of Ireland.

North, despite not asking for it, ended up with their own executive&parliament.

In the 1940/50's, the situation was better, tensions were not as obvious. In the 1960's, following the
example of the Civil rights movement (for Black americans), a civil right movement happened as
well.
So 20-30 tensions
40-50 quite okay
60 – Civil right movement (equal right for catholics and protestants), which make the protestants
felt threatened.