Topic 2. England and Political Union

 Topic 2. England and Political Union

• In what way the UK is united ?
  
  

> A United Kingdom ? → A monarchy, it's a Kingdom.

• Middle Ages → there is 2 kingdoms : → Kingdom of England, and Kingdom of Scotland. Then form a unified Kingdom. More or less they correspond to the Kingdom we have today.

• 16^th C.

  → Kingdom of England (Elisabeth I) :

  - Wales, “Principality”. Becomes a territory ruled by a Prince of England (the eldest son).

  - King of Ireland, 1541 (Henri VIII) → The English come and take the title.

  → Kingdom of Scotland (James VI). As Elizabeth I, Queen of England, had never been married, there is a problem of succession. So in 1603 when she died her closest family had to become the monarch : it's the son of her cousin, James VI, a.k.a.the king of Scotland. So James VI becomes King of England too and change his name for James I (because there were no James before in the history of Kings of England). It's the union of Crowns, a little beginning for the « Great Britain ». England and Scotland share a single monarch but they remain two kingdoms.

> Acts of Unions.

• Acts of Union : Wales

  → 1284 Statute of Wales (Edward I)

  → 1536/1543 Acts of Union (Henry VIII) passed by the English Parliament which literally annex Wales : it's no longer exist as a political identity, Wales is England now.

• Acts of Union : Scotland

  → War of Independence : William Wallace leads it.

  → 1314 Bannock burn. The Scotland win. Scotland is recognized as a Kingdom → 2 separates countries, religions,...

  → 1707 Act of Union passed by 2 parliaments (Scotland and England) for a new political parliament. Both parliaments disappear for create a new one : British Parliament. « Great Britain » is borne. They created the UK parliament, the Westminster. The power is concentrated in London., but there is not two parliaments anymore.

• Acts of Union : Ireland.

  → Colonization. 12^th C., 16^th -17^th C (waves of colonization). Two opposing forces : Irish and British. There is a religious distinction between the Irish Catholics and the English Protestants. Revolt by the Irish, repression by the British.

  → 1801 Act of Union, to stop the Irish insurrection.

  → The United Kingdom is created.

  → 1920 Partition : Northern Ireland (protestant) and Irish Free State (catholic), which gets its own flag :

• Britishness = British Identity

• England = Strong English Kingdom. And England domination is during in time. A new country is formed : the UK. We perhaps still confuse England and UK, because England is the most dominant country in the UK. In term of national identity it's a problem.