unionist nationalism

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  • Created by: Anya
  • Created on: 12-12-14 11:09

In this period national identity was expressed by loyalty, affection and identification with the nation, however it was governed.

It is argued in an influential book by Linda Colley that by the beginning of Queen Victoria's long reign in 1837, a strong sense of British national identity dominated in Scotland. Yet in the Edwardian and Victorian Era, loyalty to the British state coexsited alongisde a sense of Scottish nationalism - this can be described with a term coined by Graeme Norton - 'Unionist-Nationalism'.

British patriotism had matured in Scotland in the years following the Great Reform Act in 1832 however this did not come at the price of Scottish national identity.

1. Marriage between British patriorism and Scottish National identity.

There had been examples of radicalism, republicanism and romanicism in Scottish national identity prior to Victoria's accession:

  1. The republicans supporting DAVID ERSKINE constructed an impressive monument of Sir William Wallace in Drysburgh.
  2. The bloodthirsty rallying cry to the memory of Wallace, written by Robert Burns, was used to inspire through the period of unrest 1817-19 and the Radical War of 1820.
  3. In 1821 and 1822 George IV was the first Hanoverian monarch to step foot in Scotland and Ireland and his visit was arranged by Walter Scott and instigated the laying down of the foundation stone to the National Monument in Scotland commemorating the British dead in the Napoloenic Wars.

Victoria's link with her Celtic domains would also prove significant during her reign.

These events and processes did much to contribute to the marriage between British patriotism and Scottish national identity.

Victoria acquired the Highland estate of Balmoral in 1848, cementing the passion between the gentry and elites for sport, leisure and society in the Highlands.

Victoria displayed a great affection for the highlanders in her employ at the Balmoral, commissioning watercolours…

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