Question

Why the case of britain was strange


For 5 marks

Answer 1

The strange case of Britain:

• The transformation of Great Britain into a nation state was not a sudden process. There was no one British nation before the eighteenth century.

• People residing in the British Isles were mainly English, Welsh, Scots and Irish. These ethnic groups had distinct political and social traditions.

• As the English nation grew in wealth and power, it began to dominate the other islands.

• In 1688, the English Parliament seized power from the monarchy. The Parliament passed the Act of Union, 1707, by which England and Scotland were unified resulting in the formation of the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’.

• The Parliament was dominated by the English, and the political and cultural identities of the Scots were systematically suppressed. The Catholics in Scotland were brutally suppressed whenever they wanted to regain their independence.

Answer 2

Answer:

In Britain the formation of the nation state was not the result of a sudden upheaval or revolution. It was the result of a long drawn out process. The English parliament which had seized power from the monarchy in 1688 forged a nation state with England at its center. The act of Union between England and Scotland in 1707 resulted in the formation of United Kingdom of Great Britain.