I am still thinking on this subject at the moment and I guess i am moving on a little to remembered social history and international relations.
When I paid for my troll bracelet, I go to choose which country from the EU I lived in and I was intrigued to notice that although the UK was listed, individual parts of the UK were listed as well. How bizarre, that a foreign country should be so careful of the social boundaries within my home land. How bizarre that they should be so much more careful than perhaps we sometimes are ourselves.
Maybe countries on the continent do not have the same relationship with all parts of the UK. Ireland is cool and funky and has the shared link of catholicism to many other countries. Scotland, I learnt recently, actually fought with France against the English. Cornwall has strong links to Brittany on France thanks to celtic blood and pilgrammage routes. It is odd when you think about it....
England chose to become Christian through political necessity in many ways. It meant they were part of catholic Europe and shared the protection of the Pope. somehow though we have always been separate and not entirely popular, despite our desire to be in the club. The nations England conquered and forced into our form of Christianity are often more catholic than the English are now. Strange how the wheel turns. They are also more popular with those we saught to join our fates with.
So why does Europe dislike the English and I do mean English, I don't think they feel the same towards the Scots, Welsh, Cornish or Irish. is it because Britannia ruled the waves? Is it because had a huge empire? Is it because of past battles with Napoleon? The Spanish Armada? Hitler? The Cold War? Is it because of trade? Is it because we sit between Europe and America? Why?
England has joined the European Union in an odd way. We do everything by the letter, implement all the laws, pay lots of money. But we are not part of the family. is that just because we didn't take the currency?
I have looked at a few threads online and it seems that it is football hooligans and tourists not interested in learning anything of the place they are in or adapting to it's culture that they dislike. I have never found any problems abroad really... And I don't like hooligans or ignorant tourists...
I guess the thing is, although the continent is only a few miles over the sea, i feel closer to Australia, Canada and America than I do to Europe right now. I guess blogland hellps this - not many Europeans on my blog roll. I feel close to the other celtic nations though as well, their blood runs in my veins too after all. Am I Celt or English? I am both.... My blood left and moved to Australia, Canada and America too. How much of my blood moved to the continent or came from it?
The New Cottagesmallholder HQ
5 months ago
I don't think many moved to Europe in the days of re-settlement. Australia and America were the new countries with lots of opportunities. Didn't know that you had family here in Australia, which part?
ReplyDeleteand I think if you could trace back thousands of years.. we would all have ancestors somewhere in Europe...
The immigration mostly seems to have flowed to or through Britain. In the world wars we had a huge flow of people.
ReplyDeleteBack in the days of my forefathers there was a lot fewer people in Britain and a lot of them left for Australia or the Americas. I am bound to be related to people who left - there are people who vanish on our family tree but on the broader tree, some cousin somewhere would have gone....
I do have more recent relatives in Oz though. A cousin of my dad's and her family. Not sure if they are in Adelaide or Perth... He is in contact but I have only met them a couple of times and not in a long time.
The reasons you suggest for the English not being liked sound very similar to the reasons why Americans aren't liked -- with the exception of hooliganism -- I suppose you could substitute 'generally loud and obnoxious'. It's a stereotype with minimal roots in reality -- the reason it's a stereotype is that those people make the biggest impression -- you always remember the obnoxious person, not always the nice ones.
ReplyDeleteI suppose foreign policy is an issue too...why many people don't like 'Americans' -- which is entirely unfair. Likely the same for the English...
I wonder if the influence of all those ancient years of tribalism ever left the British Isles...think of how long it took to unite the country...you wonder how tight those bonds truly are...
xo