Cycnos | Numéros | Volume 25.2 - Britishness - Whence and Whither?

Résumé :

When discussing identity, particularly perceptions of identity, one immediately enters into something of an academic minefield.  This article sets out to challenge many of the prevailing assumptions pertaining to Scottish, British and, to a lesser extent, English identity in the early modern period. Taking as a starting point the infamous Jacobite Rising of 1745, it reviews particular episodes which reveal the Highlanders concerned as loyal Hanoverian Britons and with Lowlanders as the main Jacobite insurgents at given times. Having thus exposed alternative possibilities pertaining to Scottish and British identity in the mid-eighteenth century, the article returns to the roots of Britishness and the role of Scots in formulating it. Fresh research is injected into the ongoing and often heated debate surrounding British identity resulting in some alternative and refreshing insights into Anglo-Scottish relations. Perhaps surprisingly these were not as hostile as often portrayed, even during time when the populations of Scotland and England found themselves at war.

Mots-clés : Scotland, Jacobites, Britishness, Anglo-Scottish relations

Date de publication : 2010-03-11