Englishness And The English Identity - First Ideas
We are looking at the concept of Englishness. It is fair to say that England is a special nation with something of a national identity crisis. The English are often puzzled when asked if to choose between describing themselves as ‘English’ or ‘British’. It seems as though the English have no national identity.
The country of England co-exists with Wales and Scotland on the island of Britain, with England being the largest country of the three. Together with the people of Northern Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland in total constitute the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, i.e. the UK. The nation of the British people is Britain. However, not all British citizens live on the island of Britain. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom and its people are British. Geographically Northern Ireland occupies a small part of Ireland. Physically speaking the majority of Ireland is the territory of the Irish Republic, i.e. Eire. Thus England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, more commonly known as the UK. Note that technically speaking Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom but not part of Great Britain..
Historically the English are an ethnic group who are native to the land of England, who speak the English language. It was during the early medieval period that the specific identity of the English as a people is thought to have arisen. Genetically speaking the English are a mix of Northern European invaders and settlers including the Angles, the Saxons the Jutes and the Vikings, who co-existed with the indigenous Britons. Southern Europeans came with the Romans and the Norman invasion of 1066 has left a French legacy. Migrants from Wales, Scotland and Ireland also came to England. In later centuries there were influxes from many other countries, particularly from the Commonwealth and other European nations. These peoples and these events created what was to become known as England and all ultimately contribute to that mix of values known as Englishness. However it is not just our mixed roots that give this identity crisis however but that is the subject of another article.
