The Celtic Involvement in the British Imperial - Essay Example

For quite a long time now, it has been a big problem and even a misconception that British empire and the British blood extends its dominion all throughout the world. It is not a question of power of some sort rather it is a question of identity. Whatever happened then to the consolidation of Welsh, Scotland and Ireland It is known from the very beginning of this consolidation that Scotland in itself is self-sufficient, the rest that were mentioned however can be better described as striving. This boils down to the very significant role of the quest for identity and the point on how the Britons came to finally accept the formal idea of Britons. The vote of the Welsh and Scottish people for devolution though could not be blamed. We are given a picture of an empire that we can say is not dismantled but further enlarged. If we are questioning identity, then perhaps it is not proper to talk about how the empire talks of the great European question rather the commonwealth of these three so called nations if that will be correct. How can such an empire stand if until now, it has still no clear view of what an Empire should be and or how it should be perceived by the surrounding nations. As of now, Canada, Australia and some parts of Africa are seen to be an extension of the empire's blood. In on way or so, it is also proper to say that somehow, empire has an impact in the Britishness of the people. People will ask how exactly did it form an imperial and national ethic and is the wrapping of flag to these three nations even worth it Others say it is just a propaganda, others say the empire is trying and haggling over this goal to reach unity for identity. Dennis Judd from the University of London in his article entitled Britain: The Land Before Hope and Glory stated a very significant message as he tried to describe this longing for identity and the search for unity. To be clear, he said: The Celtic involvement in the British imperial mission was, however, often ambivalent, and sometimes downright obstructive. After all, it was the English who had claimed the hegemony of the British Isles, and who had in one way or another subdued, conquered or incorporated the three Celtic nations. Although Scotland was arguably the most independent and self-sufficient of these, the role was more that of junior partner than equal, despite the apparent willingness with which the Scottish people entered the Union by negotiation in 1707. The Welsh, however, were far more clearly a dispossessed nation, driven from the prosperous lowlands of England by the Anglo-Saxon invaders in the wake of the Roman retreat, and the Irish were even more palpably a conquered people, although here the equation was complicated by the passionate pro-Unionism of the Protestant minority in the northern counties. (Judd, page 1) It is then easier to understand and easier to say that the idea and or ideology of empire is the one that keeps these three united nations kicking and striving for commonwealth. It is also the same ideology that boosts power to gain more in the globalized world. This is the thing they also call as commercial empire, something that the people would understand and know as an advantage and a merit for embracing this ideology. And if in the old years of existence, India was the main source of employment, during the beginning of this imperialization of Britain, there came new chance for people in the area. New jobs and better lives were facing people from their front doors. The Empire has also made known its strong military force that is equivalent to Russia or Germany. Despite all these forms of development which came around the empire, still there are also ideas that came about promoting an opposite term of effect to the imperialism. In one way or at some point, the empire was seen to be spreading its power by first having faithful nationalism and one soul within them. This is not solely for the purpose of attaining peace and unity within a country like the typical saying goes, instead this is to brag around the world that the British power still exists and is still dominating. That is one goal of the empire that seems to be masked by the uniting flag of the United Kingdom. For the rest of the world however, it has gone over the existence of other countries in Europe. Ironically, the Empire clothed with power and change has brought a bit of indifference to its people. The reason perhaps is because the change in this empire is hardly felt by the ones being unified. Judd, also quoted the Historian Keith Robbins saying: The Empire penetrated the emotions of millions. It gave Britain its position among the nations and confirmed a national, not to say racial superiority. Taken together with Britain's insularity, the Empire marked out an island race' as a people set apart, with connections across the globe matched by no other state. British culture' had in these respects a psychological dimension shared by no other European state, not even by France. But in the 20th century, it is when the world has seen its greatest territorial reach. Although the World War had negative effects to the empire, still, there was a sort of re-packaging of the empire to stand again and reach for another peak. This is the idea of empire consolidating national emotion to be progressive. To make the story short, at present time, though the territorialism is still the idea holding back Britain along with the ideology on empire, still it can't be removed that Britain can never be removed from aftermath history of Europe. Identity is already found with its search for unity in the nations that it consolidated. What is acceptable at the moment is the fact that history can never remove the name of Britain from the powerful nations that once ruled several countries. The longing for identity never stops and will continue as long as the Britons don't get satisfied of their fate of being united with the world. SOURCES Judd, D. 2002. Britain: Land beyond Hope and Glory. Magazine Title: History Today. Volume: 49. Issue: 4. Publication Date: April 1999. Gale Group. Wolffe, J. 1994. God and Greater Britain: Religion and National Life in Britain and Ireland, 1843-1945. Routledge. New York. Ireland, C. 2003. Language and Tradition in Ireland: Continuities and Displacements. 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