Union of Scotland and England
The British today
Despite opposition from within both Scotland and England, a Treaty of Union was agreed in 1706 and was then ratified by the parliaments of both countries with the passing of the Acts of Union 1707. With effect from 1 May 1707, this created a new sovereign state called the "Kingdom of Great Britain". This kingdom "began as a hostile merger", but led to a "full partnership in the most powerful going concern in the world"; historian Simon Schama stated that "it was one of the most astonishing transformations in European history".
After 1707, a British national identity began to develop, though it was initially resisted, particularly by the English. The peoples of Great Britain had by the 1750s begun to assume a "layered identity": to think of themselves as simultaneously British and also Scottish, English, or Welsh.
The terms North Briton and South Briton were devised for the Scots and the English respectively, with the former gaining some preference in Scotland, particularly by the economists and philosophers of the Scottish Enlightenment. Indeed, it was the "Scots [who] played key roles in shaping the contours of British identity"; "their scepticism about the Union allowed the Scots the space and time in which to dominate the construction of Britishness in its early crucial years", drawing upon the notion of a shared "spirit of liberty common to both Saxon and Celt ... against the usurpation of the Church of Rome". James Thomson was a poet and playwright born to a Church of Scotland minister in the Scottish Lowlands in 1700 who was interested in forging a common British culture and national identity in this way. In collaboration with Thomas Arne, they wrote Alfred, an opera about Alfred the Great's victory against the Vikings performed to Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1740 to commemorate the accession of George I and the birthday of Princess Augusta. "Rule, Britannia!" was the climactic piece of the opera and quickly became a "jingoistic" British patriotic song celebrating "Britain's supremacy offshore". An island country with a series of victories for the Royal Navy associated empire and naval warfare "inextricably with ideals of Britishness and Britain's place in the world".
Britannia, the new national personification of Great Britain, was established in the 1750s as a representation of "nation and empire rather than any single national hero". On Britannia and British identity, historian Peter Borsay wrote:
Up until 1797 Britannia was conventionally depicted holding a spear, but as a consequence of the increasingly prominent role of the Royal Navy in the war against the French, and of several spectacular victories, the spear was replaced by a trident... The navy had come to be seen...as the very bulwark of British liberty and the essence of what it was to be British.
From the Union of 1707 through to the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Great Britain was "involved in successive, very dangerous wars with Catholic France", but which "all brought enough military and naval victories ... to flatter British pride". As the Napoleonic Wars with the First French Empire advanced, "the English and Scottish learned to define themselves as similar primarily by virtue of not being French or Catholic". In combination with sea power and empire, the notion of Britishness became more "closely bound up with Protestantism", a cultural commonality through which the English, Scots and Welsh became "fused together, and remain[ed] so, despite their many cultural divergences".
The neo-classical monuments that proliferated at the end of the 18th century and the start of the 19th, such as The Kymin at Monmouth, were attempts to meld the concepts of Britishness with the Greco-Roman empires of classical antiquity. The new and expanding British Empire provided "unprecedented opportunities for upward mobility and the accumulations of wealth", and so the "Scottish, Welsh and Irish populations were prepared to suppress nationalist issues on pragmatic grounds". The British Empire was "crucial to the idea of a British identity and to the self-image of Britishness". Indeed, the Scottish welcomed Britishness during the 19th century "for it offered a context within which they could hold on to their own identity whilst participating in, and benefiting from, the expansion of the [British] Empire". Similarly, the "new emphasis of Britishness was broadly welcomed by the Welsh who considered themselves to be the lineal descendants of the ancient Britons – a word that was still used to refer exclusively to the Welsh". For the English, however, by the Victorian era their enthusiastic adoption of Britishness had meant that, for them, Britishness "meant the same as 'Englishness'", so much so that "Englishness and Britishness" and "'England' and 'Britain' were used interchangeably in a variety of contexts". Britishness came to borrow heavily from English political history because England had "always been the dominant component of the British Isles in terms of size, population and power"; Magna Carta, common law and hostility to continental Europe were English factors that influenced British sensibilities.
Union with Ireland
The political union in 1800 of the predominantly Catholic Kingdom of Ireland with Great Britain, coupled with the outbreak of peace with France in the early 19th century, challenged the previous century's concept of militant Protestant Britishness. The new, expanded United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland meant that the state had to re-evaluate its position on the civil rights of Catholics, and extend its definition of Britishness to the Irish people. Like the terms that had been invented at the time of the Acts of Union 1707, "West Briton" was introduced for the Irish after 1800. In 1832 Daniel O'Connell, an Irish politician who campaigned for Catholic Emancipation, stated in Britain's House of Commons:
The people of Ireland are ready to become a portion of the British Empire, provided they be made so in reality and not in name alone; they are ready to become a kind of West Briton if made so in benefits and justice; but if not, we are Irishmen again.
Ireland, from 1801 to 1923, was marked by a succession of economic and political mismanagement and neglect, which marginalised the Irish, and advanced Irish nationalism. In the forty years that followed the Union, successive British governments grappled with the problems of governing a country which had as Benjamin Disraeli, a staunch anti-Irish and anti-Catholic member of the Conservative party with a virulent racial and religious prejudice towards Ireland put it in 1844, "a starving population, an absentee aristocracy, and an alien Church, and in addition the weakest executive in the world". Although the vast majority of Unionists in Ireland proclaimed themselves "simultaneously Irish and British", even for them there was a strain upon the adoption of Britishness after the Great Famine.
War continued to be a unifying factor for the people of Great Britain: British jingoism re-emerged during the Boer Wars in southern Africa. The experience of military, political and economic power from the rise of the British Empire led to a very specific drive in artistic technique, taste and sensibility for Britishness. In 1887, Frederic Harrison wrote:
Morally, we Britons plant the British flag on every peak and pass; and wherever the Union Jack floats there we place the cardinal British institutions—tea, tubs, sanitary appliances, lawn tennis, and churches.
The Catholic Relief Act 1829 reflected a "marked change in attitudes" in Great Britain towards Catholics and Catholicism. A "significant" example of this was the collaboration between Augustus Welby Pugin, an "ardent Roman Catholic" and son of a Frenchman, and Sir Charles Barry, "a confirmed Protestant", in redesigning the Palace of Westminster—"the building that most enshrines ... Britain's national and imperial pre-tensions". Protestantism gave way to imperialism as the leading element of British national identity during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and as such, a series of royal, imperial and national celebrations were introduced to the British people to assert imperial British culture and give themselves a sense of uniqueness, superiority and national consciousness. Empire Day and jubilees of Queen Victoria were introduced to the British middle class, but quickly "merged into a national 'tradition'".
The UK represents people of many different origins and cultures. From before Roman times to the present, a succession of conquerors and refugees have settled in Britain.
Traditionally the early inhabitants of Britain are thought to have been Celts. They are the ancestors of many of the people in Highland Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Cornwall today.
Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans – all came to Britain in search of gain. Each wave of invaders was in due course assimilated. But differences remained in language, culture and their particular national character.
The British.
The four parts of the UK represent four nations which are distinct from each other in almost every aspect of life. They were different racially. The people of Ireland, Wales and highland Scotland belonged to the Celtic race, those in England and lowland Scotland were mainly of Germanic origin. The difference was reflected in the languages they spoke, in their different economic, social and legal systems. The long centuries of contact between the people of the four nations of the British Isles have limited their significant differences. But they have not completely disappeared, and the Welsh, Scottish and Irish people feel their identity very strongly.
England has always played the most powerful role in the history of the British Isles. That is why foreigners usually call all British people “English”. But this irritates the 5,3 million people who live in Scotland, the 3,2 million people in Wales and 1,8 million in Northern Ireland who are not English and who still feel different from the English. The British have a strong sense of being different from others. They don’t agree to change from driving on the left-hand side of the road to driving on the right. They continue to use double-deckers. They stick to their own measurement system and continue to measure distances in miles, and yards. They buy cheese in pounds and ounces, milk in pints, petrol in gallons.
The English
The English are mainly Anglo-Saxon in origin. The Anglo-Saxons gave England its mane – “the land of Angles”. They were conquered in turn by the Normans, and it was from the union of the Norman conquerors and the defeated Anglo-Saxons that the English people and the English language was born.
With ruthless force the Normans submitted England to their will, crushing every sign of opposition, imposing upon the land their Norman law and Norman government, and where necessary their language. The French influence grew so strong that many aspects of England’s social and cultural life became totally French.
The victory of the Normans in 1066 opened England to a new civilization, more complicated, more advanced in material culture and intellectual outlook, and with far more varied interests than anything which the Anglo-Saxon civilization had offered. The way of living, the language, the habits and customs of English society – all were to change.
Since that time the English people have devoted their own character and personality. They retain traditions of dance, food and music from their mixed origins and are generally tolerant of new ideas and influences.
Traditionally, the English are thought to be reserved, shy of strangers, suspicious of change and slow to accept new ideas, responsible and honest, disliking any show of emotion and believing that they are superior to any other people on earth.
This stereotype picture is far from true, especially in today’s world. The English are as individual as people as any other peoples who came and settled in England at different times.
The Scots
The Scots have a strong sense of national identity, of their own distinct values, and traditions. This is partly due to history.
Scotland’s history is a history of endless battles against the English for independence, and Scots have many national heroes who fought in these battles. The well-known Scotsman’s fierce independence and pride are rooted in a long story of struggle.
Scotland is a country with an intense national tradition, with its own national dances, its own songs, its poetry, its own national food and drink, sports and manners.
To many foreigners, the image of Scotland is a cliché. Kilts, tartans, bagpipes, and tweed play an important role in it.
Although a part of the UK, to this day Scots law is different and many important aspects from English law, and Scotland retains her own Church and institutions, as well as its own educational system, its own banknotes and now its own one pound coin.
The Welsh
The Welsh pride themselves on being the true Britons: their forefathers believed themselves to have grown out of the ground, since they were the oldest people on the island. Twenty percent of them still speak Welsh, the oldest language in Europe.
Wales was inhabited from ancient times. The mysterious standing stones and tombs which dot the Welsh landscape bear witness to the presence of prehistoric man on the land.
The roman invasion left its mark on Wales where the Romans had their major military centers in Britain.
From the 6th century the Welsh fiercely resisted the attacks of the Anglo-Saxons into their land. The Anglo-Saxons christened their opponents ‘the Welsh’, a name which means ‘stranger, foreigner’, but the ‘Cymru’, the Celtic word for the welsh, derives from the word for ‘friend’.
The Welsh fought for many years against the English to win their freedom but they were defeated in 1282.
The Welsh are proud of their culture, traditions and their language. They are really gifted in the art of self-expression in words, they are not afraid of being poetic in speech, of using bright and pictorial descriptions of men and events in ordinary conversations.
There is much literary, musical and dramatic activity in modern Wales. Special festivals are held to encourage Welsh literature and music. Wales has been called ‘The Land of Song’. The Welsh people are renowned for their good voices and it is rare to find a village without at least one choir competing in arts festivals.
The Irish people (Irish: Muintir na hÉireann or Na hÉireannaigh) are a nation and ethnic group native to the island of Ireland, who share a common Irish ancestry, identity and culture. Ireland has been inhabited for about 9,000 years according to archaeological studies (see Prehistoric Ireland). For most of Ireland's recorded history, the Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people (see Gaelic Ireland). Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland in the 12th century, while England's 16th/17th century (re)conquest and colonization of Ireland brought a large number of English and Lowland Scots to parts of the island, especially the north. Today, Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland (an independent state), and the smaller Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom). The people of Northern Ireland hold various national identities; including Irish, Northern Irish, British, or some combination thereof.
The Irish have their own customs, language, music, dance, sports, cuisine, and mythology. Although Irish (Gaelic) was their main language in the past, today most Irish people speak English. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans, and the Irish also had their own religion, law code and style of dress.
There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. After Ireland's conversion to Christianity, Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, and the Irish came to be seen as a nation of "saints and scholars". The 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the "fathers of Europe",followed by saints Cillian and Fergal. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the "father of chemistry", and Robert Mallet one of the "fathers of seismology". Famous Irish writers include Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker and James Joyce. Notable Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Robert McClure, Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides; and an Irishman was the first European to set foot on American soil in Columbus' expedition of 1492. Many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry.
The population of Ireland is about 6.3 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have Irish forebears; making the Irish diaspora one of the biggest of any nation. Historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. There are also significant numbers in Argentina and Mexico. The United States has the most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic forebears.
The 2001 UK Census classified ethnicity into several groups: White, Black, Asian, Mixed, Chinese and Other. These categories formed the basis for all National Statistics ethnicity statistics until the 2011 Census results were issued. The 1991 UK census was the first to include a question on ethnicity. A number of academics have pointed out that the ethnicity classification employed in the census and other official statistics in the UK since 1991 involve confusion between the concepts of ethnicity and race. David I. Kertzer and Dominique Arel argue that this is the case in many censuses, and that "the case of Britain is illuminative of the recurring failure to distinguish race from ethnicity".` User consultation undertaken for the purpose of planning the 2011 census revealed that some participants thought the "use of colour (White and Black) to define ethnicity is confusing or unacceptable".
According to the 2011 Census, the ethnic composition of the United Kingdom was as set out in the table below.
| Ethnic group | Population (2011) | Percentage of total population[17] |
| White: Total | 55,010,359 | 87.1 |
| Gypsy/Traveller/ Irish Traveller: Total | 63,193 | 0.1 |
| Asian or Asian British: Indian | 1,451,862 | 2.3 |
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 1,174,983 | 1.9 |
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 451,529 | 0.7 |
| Asian or Asian British: Chinese | 433,150 | 0.7 |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 861,815 | 1.4 |
| Asian or Asian British: Total | 4,373,339 | 6.9 |
| Black or Black British: Total[note 1] | 1,904,684 | 3.0 |
| Mixed or Multiple: Total | 1,250,229 | 2.0 |
| Other Ethnic Group: Total | 580,374 | 0.9 |
| Total | 63,182,178 |
For the purpose of harmonising results to make them comparable across the UK, the ONS includes individuals in Scotland who classified themselves in the "African" category (29,638 people), which in the Scottish version of the census is separate from "Caribbean or Black" (6,540 people),[18] in this grouping. The ONS note that "the African categories used in Scotland could potentially capture White/Asian/Other African in addition to Black identities".