PROFESSOR: DR. VAEZ ZADEH

NAME. FAMILY NAME: REZA SHIRZAD

NAME OF THE COURSE: BRITISH HISTORY

DATE: MEHR 1392

BRITISH NATIONALISM

British Nationalism

British nationalism is a kind of nationalism which holds that the people of the British Isles are a nation (the British) that includes the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish.

It promotes Britishness as a collective national identity for these people and is closely associated with British unionism

British Nationalism

British nationalism

emphasizes both

cohesion and

diversity of the

people of the

British Isles and

its former

colonies.

How British Nationalism Started

The changing economic situation in the world

A rise of anti-colonial movements in territories

North America formed a federation

Six Australian states united

South Africa formed a great Union

The growth in the self-government and individuality of the

various British peoples.

How British Nationalism Started

Union was not affected with the view of breaking away from the

Empire. However;

The financial condition meant that the costs of maintaining the

empire were unable to be sustained.

There was a fear that the colonies might take themselves off

and leave Great Britain to a lonely sovereignty.

The Growth of British Nationalism

In Britain, politicians used the Empire to unite the British people in a common cause

The new discourse will incorporate elements of imperial discourse and merge them with a nationalist discourse.

The mission of the nation is an important factor in imperial identity and provides the link between national and imperial identity.

In its growth two things were considered necessary

1. The self-government and the equality of the separate commonwealths are alike necessary.

2. This equality must carry with it a complete sharing of

responsibilities.

What British Nationalism is & is not

The Empire is not an English Empire and the English are only one of many people in it

No state, really free, is going to cut itself off from the supporting brotherhood of other free states.

No Parliament controls them all. If Canada was told that she must remain within the British Empire she would probably assert her liberty and go out.

The British commonwealths stand together for security and not for trade advantages.

How the British achieved it

1. The British had to discard the old idea of a colony treated as an appanage and instead to look upon the colony as an integral part of the Empire

2. They admitted that an Empire to last must be governed not by self-imposed authority

3. They let the dominions make their own commercial arrangements

Why did this unity continue living?

The Empire was held together by

strong ties of affection, mutual

interest and conviction in the justice

and benevolence of British rule.

Though there are different types,

they have the unity of a family.

It doesn’t aim at racial supremacy.

Nationalism & Liberty

Nationalism is the fruit of Liberty. It is less a creation than a growth.

The growth of nationalism does not mean the break-up but the strengthening of this Empire, for Liberty unites and Nationalism is just the expression of Liberty.

What did Britain Learn?

Experience taught British statesmen that:

1. There could be no permanent connection between the parent state and a colony unless it was the same relation that ought to exist between parents and children.

2. Autonomy was not inconsistent with imperial unity.

Post colonial nationalism

This form of nationalism came about during the decolonization of the post war period.

It was a reaction mainly in Africa and Asia against being subdued by foreign powers.

Third world nationalisms occur in those nations that have been colonized and exploited.

Process of Decolonization and Nation- Building

Surge of anti-colonial nationalism after 1945.

Three patterns:

1. Civil war (China)

2. Negotiated independence (India and much of Africa)

3. Incomplete de-colonization (Palestine, Algeria and Southern Africa, Vietnam)

Process of Decolonization and Nation- Building

Indian Independence: Growth of Indian national

identity presented grievances to the British.

Mohandas Gandhi and other western educated lawyers led peaceful alternative.

Nation-wide protest against colonialism through boycotts and campaigns of civil resistance.

Process of Decolonization and Nation- Building

Egypt: Gamal Abdel

Nasser= symbol of pan-Arab nationalism.

Africa: By 1963, all of

British ruled Africa, except Southern Rhodesia, was independent.

Nationalism & Imperialism

At the basic level imperialism is about the pursuit, maintenance and defence of empire.

The term “Imperial Nationalism” is used by Krishnan Kumar to describe English nationalism.

The antagonistic relationship between imperialism and nationalism

Imperial nationalism involves proposals to reform imperial government for the benefit of the nation and the empire.

Conclusion

As a result of the collapse of the Empire, the supremacy

of the Britain on the world stage was at risk.

By performing the policy of Nationalism narrowly the British Empire

escaped the fate of all previous great empires such as Greece and

Rome.

The only way that Scotland and Canada could gain

the prestige of power was through the powerful British

Empire.

References

Ends of British Imperialism(2006) by Wm Rodger Louis

The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power by Niall Ferguson (2004)

The Growth of Nationalism in the British Empire by George M. Wrong, The American Historical Review, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Oct., 1916), pp. 45-57

http://hdl.handle.net/1842/2228, Edinburgh Research Archive

Nationalism in the British Empire, by A. Maurice Low, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 10, No. 2, Part 1 (May, 1916), pp. 223-234

http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/faculty/wimmer/HiersWimmerFinal.pdf, Cambridge University Press 2012

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationalism

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kenanderson/histempsequel/

http://inspiredawakenings.com/ros/nationalism.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_nationalism#Post_colonial_nationalism