LECTURE 2:

BRITISHNESS
Lecturer: Dr. Rim Letaief
Who are the British people?

Watch the Video and write down the names of the

different ancestors of the British people.
The Celts
▪ Around 700 BC, the Celts arrived to
Britain. They were tall, had fair or red
hair and blue eyes. They probably came
from central Europe or further east from
Southern Russia, and had moved slowly
westwards in earlier centuries.
▪ The Celts were technically advanced.
They knew how to work with iron and
could make good weapons.
▪ The Celts are important in British history
because they are the ancestors of many
of the people in Highland Scotland,
Wales and Ireland.
The Romans

▪ The Romans had invaded because the Celts of

Britain were working with the Celts of Gaul
against them. There was another reason. Under
the Celts, Britain had become an important food
producer because of its mild climate.
▪ The Romans brought the skills of reading and
writing to Britain. The written word was
important for spreading ideas and also for
establishing power. They established a
Romano-British culture across the southern half
of Britain.
▪ The Romans could not conquer Caledonia, as
they called Scotland, although they spent over
a century trying to do so.
The Anglo-Saxons

▪ Starting from 30 AD, Germanic tribes coming from Germany, Southern Denmark and
Holland began to arrive to Britain. They were called the Anglo-Saxons.
▪ They were the first people to be called English.
▪ The strength of Anglo-Saxon culture is obvious even today. Days of the week were
named after Germanic Gods: Tig (Tuesday), Wodin (Wednesday), Thor (Thursday),
Frei (Friday).
▪ The Anglo-Saxons established a number of kingdoms, some of which still exist in
county or regional names to this day: Essex (East Saxons), Sussex (South Saxons)
and others.
▪ The Saxons created institutions which made the English state strong for the next 500
years. One of these institutions was the king’s council, called the Witan.
Additionally, Anglo-Saxon technology changed the shape of English agriculture.
 The Vikings

Towards the end of the eighth

century, new raiders were tempted by
Britain’s wealth. These were the
Vikings, a word which probably
means either “pirates” or “the people
of the sea inlets”, and they came
from Norway and Denmark.
They had a noticeable impact on the
English language: many English
words, such
as anger, ball, egg, got, knife, take,
are Scandinavian in origin.
The Normans

▪ The Norman invasion of England in 1066 ended

Anglo-Saxon and Danish rule of England as the
new French speaking Norman elite came to replace the
Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and church leaders.
▪ After the conquest, "English" was used to designate all
natives of England, whether they were of Anglo-Saxon,
Scandinavian or Celtic ancestry, to distinguish them
from the Norman invaders, who were perceived as
"Norman" even if they were born in England, for a
generation or two after the Conquest.
▪ Many sources suggest that within 50 years of the
invasion, the majority of the Normans outside the
royal court started to speak English, with Anglo-
Norman remaining the prestigious language of
government and law.
▪ The different people who invaded Britain
left their mark on the British land and
they, together, contributed to the
formation of the British character.
▪ The idea of Britishness came as a result
of the unification of England with the
three other constituent countries of
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
▪ The idea of a shared British identity was
further developed during the 18th
century and early 19th century when
Britain got engaged in some global
face-offs with France, and further
evolved during the Victorian era.
The Role of the British Empire in Shaping Britishness

▪ The British empire played a significant role in developing British

identity.
▪ It created a sense of nationalism and patriotism at home and in the
different colonies and made the idea of Britishness a source of
pride.
▪ During the period of empire, the British identity was a marker of
superiority, civilization and progress.
▪ It helped the British to propagate the English language in the world.
▪ The English educational system, political institutions and cultural
norms were disseminated in the different colonies.
Current Perceptions of Britishness

▪ The end of the British empire and the subsequent surge of immigrants from former
British colonies brought changes to the idea of Britishness.

▪ Watch the video and cite the two bases upon which British identity is built.
▪ Today, there are two conceptions of British national identity:
➢Civic aspect: refers to being a citizen of the UK, speaking English and
respecting British political institutions, common laws and the values of
democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and tolerance.
➢Ethnic aspect: having British ancestry, being a Protestant and sharing
British traditions and customs.
▪ Tying Britishness to a specific ethnicity can alienate minority groups in
the UK, especially that most of them come from non-English origins.
▪ In recent years, there has been a growing wave of racism, whereby
Britishness has been associated with Whiteness.
The Fragmentation of Britishness along National Lines

▪ The devolutions that took place between 1999 and 2000 resulted in weakening the
idea of Britishness.
▪ The Welsh, the Scottish and the Northern Irish started to feel disenchanted with the
English hegemony and to cling to their national identities.
▪ In Scotland, there have been calls for the revival of Scottish dialects such as Gaelic,
the Scots Language and Scottish English. Under the Scottish National Party, more
and more Scots are identifying themselves as Scottish rather than British.
▪ In recent years, Wales has also witnessed a nationalism wave that sought to revive
the Welsh language and flag.
▪ There are some calls for Welsh independence from the UK but they are not as strong
as those found in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Fragmentation of Britishness along National Lines

▪ The Northern Irish Party Sinn Fein is

trying to forge a separate national
identity for Northern Ireland and they
are calling for their country’s
independence from the UK, especially
after Brexit.
▪ Britain’s exit from the EU has caused a
major problem for Northern Ireland,
forcing it to have border checks along
its Irish borders, a measure that was
rejected by the majority of the Irish.
The Fragmentation of Britishness along Regional
Lines

Affiliation in Britain is strongly

regional and local. People
often have a particular affinity
to their particular cities, towns
and rural areas than to Britain
as a homogenous unit.
Different British regions have
different preferences for sports,
food, celebrations, etc, which
makes it hard to have a
common set of British cultural
artifacts or customs.
The Fragmentation of Britishness along Ethnic Lines

▪ Given the increase in the number of

ethnicities in the UK, being British is
often seen as a mutli-ethnic, multi-racial,
multi-cultural and multi-faith thing.
▪ This fact makes Britishness loom as a
very open identity which many people of
entirely different backgrounds can
share.
Conclusion

▪ Britishness is a term that is hard to define.

▪ It has been affected by the different groups that settled in the country
and by the British imperial past.
▪ The definition of British national identity depends on ethnicity,
national as well as regional belonging, which makes the idea of
Britishness weak and fragmented.
▪ British identity is heterogenous rather than being a homogenous one.