Talk:British Isles/References

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Contents 1 Usage 1.1 Alternate names 1.1.1 Anglo-Celtic isles 1.1.2 Atlantic archipelago 1.1.3 British and Irish Isles 1.1.4 Islands of the North Atlantic

[edit] Usage

• ...I have called the Atlantic archipelago – since the term ‘British Isles’ is one which Irishmen reject and Englishmen decline to take quite seriously.

Pocock, J.G.A. (2005). The Discovery of Islands. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 29. 

• When I refer to the composite monachy ruled over by James VI and I and by King Charles I, it is always described as Britain and Ireland, and I deliberately avoid the politically loaded phrase 'the British Isles' not least because this was not a normal usage in the political discourse of the time.

  Canny, Nicholas (2001). Making Ireland British: 1580-1650. New York: Oxford University Press, p. viii. 

• ...having writen Europe: a history, I was invited to give a lecture at University College, Dublin. After the presentation, someone in the audience asked about my current project. I started to reply that I was thinking of writing a history of 'the British—'. I then realized that in Dublin, of all places, one cannot fairly talk of 'the British Isles'. The Isles ceased to be British precisely fifty years ago when the Republic of Ireland left the Commonwealth, though few people in the British residue have yet cared to notice. Various clumsy alternatives were discussed, such as 'the British and Irish Isles', 'Europe's Offshore Islands', and the 'Anglo-Celtic Archipelago'. In the end, it was decided that the only decent name for the forthcoming book was 'A History of These Islands'. And such was one of several working titles until, after much trial and error, I eventually arrived at The Isles: A History.

  Davies, Norman (1999). The Isles: A History. London: Oxford University Press, p. xxii. 

• ...the term is increasingly unacceptable to Irish historians in particular, for whom the Irish sea is or ought to be a separating rather than a linking element. Sensitive to such susceptibilities, proponents of the idea of a genuine British history, a theme which has come to the fore during the last couple of decades, are plumping for a more neutral term to label the scattered islands peripheral to the two major ones of Great Britain and Ireland.

  Roots, Ivan (1997). "Union or Devolution in Cromwell's Britain". History Review. 

• ...has raised issues of taxonomy (classification). Irish historians find the title `New British History' and the use of terms like `British Isles' problematic. Alternatives have been suggested. John Morrill has tried `the Britannic Isles' in an attempt to find a title which predates Modern and Early Modern Nations. Jane Ohlmeyer has used the term `Three Kingdoms', but this buries Wales within England, and the nature of the distinctiveness of Wales's civil war and revolutions is an important topic. Nicholas Canny has referred to the `Atlantic Archipelago', but this has not caught on either. `Four Nations' has been used too, recognising that the term nation was flexible at the time and could mean both a state and a people. Many others use Britain and Ireland or, in the case of James Scott Wheeler's latest book, Ireland and Britain.

  Bennett, Martyn (2003). "What's in a Name? the Death of the English Civil War: Martyn Bennett Examines How the Terminology We Use about the Great Conflict of the Mid-Seventeenth Century Reflects and Reinforces the Interpretations We Make". History Review. 

• Finding an acceptable shorthand geographical description for the countries which formed the UK before the creation of Eire has proved difficult. Whilst accurate, the term 'Atlantic archipelago' is rather cumbersome so, for convenience, I have used the following as virtual synonyms: the islands of Britain; these islands; the British Isles, and the adjective, British. Without intending to imply any hidden imperial or other agenda, they describe the kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, and England and Wales as they existed in the sixteenth century, following the definition of the British Isles in the Oxford English Dictionary: 'a geographical term for the islands comprising Great Britain and Ireland with all their offshore islands including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands'.

  Dawson, Jane E.A. (2002). The Politics of Religion in the Age of Mary, Queen of Scots: The Earl of Argyll and the Struggle for Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2. 

• The principle that British history covers Scotland and Wales as well as England is straightforward enough, but the assertion that it covers Ireland too is more contentious. ‘Britain’ encompasses only England, Wales and Scotland, and the habit of using it to include Ireland is very irritating to the Irish, just as the habit of using ‘England’ to include Scotland and Wales irritates the Scots and Welsh; we therefore appreciate how Irish historians can be ‘Brito-sceptics’ (Canny, p. 147). Historians have coined, as an alternative, terms such as ‘the (East) Atlantic archipelago’ and ‘these islands’ to refer collectively to England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Yet, as we have found in editing this book, such terminology is generally too clumsy for convenient use, especially adjectivally; so, like others before us, we have fallen back on the terms ‘British Isles’ and ‘British history’. That does not imply that Ireland is actually subsumed within Britain; but it does reflect the fact that the history of the island of Ireland has been intimately connected with, and in some ways determined by, the history of the island of Britain for well over eight hundred years.

  Grant, Alexander; Keith J. Stringer (1995). Uniting the Kingdom? The Making of British History. New York: Routledge, 5. 

• The very concept of 'the British Isles' is rejected by some Irish historians. In part this reflects the different nuances of the term within the two islands: in nationalist Ireland, 'British' is the antithesis of 'Irish', is frequently synonymous with 'English', and it refers to the modern British state; whereas in Britain it is also frequently used as an 'umbrella' term to describe the peoples of the British Isles collectively without respect to their nationality. There is, however, clearly a need for a term to denote the modern mix of Celtic, Germanic and Romance cultures and peoples and the Anglo-Norman administrative structures which are common to Britain and Ireland. Thus in default of a convenient, neutral, and readily recognizable alternative, the traditional usage must be allowed to stand. Yet the very fact that no single word, analogous to Japan or Indonesia, exists to describe the group of islands dominated by Britain and Ireland is itself significant: the very phrase 'the British Isles' also draws attention to an arrested process of state formation.

  Barber, Sarah G.; Steven G. Ellis (1995). Conquest and Union: Fashioning a British State, 1485-1725. London: Pearson UK, p. 2. 

• I take it that ' Britain', rather than 'the British Isles' would have been the preferred geographical term for the archipelago as the national territory, if this political process had enjoyed wider success. It is of course implied by the development of subcategories (which have had a chequered history) like ' Great Britain', 'North Britain' (for Scotland), 'the British mainland' (with reference to Northern Ireland), and 'West Briton' (now a term of abuse for an Irish person who apes British customs), as also by the earliest (Greek) usage which styled as British both the island of Albion and of Ierna.

  (Barber, 1995, footnote p. 4)

• A refusal to sever ties incorporating the whole island of Ireland into the British state is unthinkingly demonstrated in naming and mapping behaviour. This is most obvious in continued reference to 'the British Isles'. Other phrases in common use include 'mainland Britain' in discussions of Northern Ireland (implying that it is 'offshore Britain'), and 'the Celtic fringe' (of the absent centre, England).

  Walter, Bronwen (2000). Outsiders Inside: Whiteness, Place, and Irish Women. New York: Routledge, p. 107. 

• ...what used to be called the "British Isles," although that is now a politically incorrect term.

  Finnegan, Richard B.; Edward T. McCarron (2000). Ireland: Historical Echoes, Contemporary Politics. Boulder: Westview Press, p. 358. 

• A further and much more effective unionist tactic in countering the nationalist insistence on the territorial integrity of the island of Ireland was to change the geographical frame of reference to that of the whole archipelago of the British Isles. This does not make partition seem more legitimate, but it places the onus for it on the secession of twenty-six counties of Ireland from the United Kingdom rather than on the exclusion of Northern Ireland from the new Irish state.

  Mcgarry, John (2001). Northern Ireland and the Divided World: The Northern Ireland Conflict and the Good Friday Agreement in Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 230. 

• The claim that the British Isles should constitute a single political entity by reason of its map image as a 'natural' unit is at least as strong if not stronger than the geographical case for a united Ireland...the British Isles map image has not been very strongly articulated by any of the parties to the conflict. While use by unionists of the concept has grown, they remain divided on its exploitation, in part because of the fear that it could be used to undercut their own claim to autonomy.

  (Mcgarry, 2001, p. 231)

• However, nationalist opinion remains sensitive to the potential of the British Isles map image, and that is reflected in nationalist rejection of the very description 'British Isles'. Nationalists use the awkward and ambiguous description 'these islands' as an alternative. However, outside the British Isles, or these islands, if preferred, the term British Isles remains quite commonly used.

  (Mcgarry, 2001, p. 231)
• quoting Terence O'Neill

  It is very difficult to be Anglo-Irish. In the first place, if you have an Irish name you are romantically involved with Ireland even if you do not speak with an Irish accent. And yet you are brought up to believe that London is the capital of the British Isles and that the Monarch is the Head of your State.

  Mulholland, Marc (2000). Northern Ireland at the Crossroads: Ulster Unionism in the O'Neill Years, 1960-9. Basingstoke: Macmillan, p. 86. 
• again quoting O'Neill

  Maybe it will be a different kind of association from that enjoyed by the parliaments for the north east and north west but nevertheless the kind of association that would mean the British Isles becoming the British Isles again.

  (Mulholland, 2000, p.169)

[edit] Alternate names

[edit] Anglo-Celtic isles

• The British-Irish Council is a current constitutional innovation of great significance to pan-Celticism, a potential shift of the geopolitical centre of gravity of the Anglo-Celtic isles for the first time since the establishment of the Irish Republic.

  Harvey, David C.; Rhys Jones, Neil Mcinroy, Christine Milligan (2001). Celtic Geographies: Old Culture, New Times. New York: Routledge, p. 241. 

• The emergence, partly as a response to the 9th century Viking assaults, of new national monarchies in England and Ireland, and to a lesser degree Scotland, was having political consequences affecting the Scandinavian settlements in the Anglo-Celtic Isles as a whole.

  Dolley, Michael (1976-11-19). "The Anglo-Danish and Anglo-Norse coinages of York". R A Hall ed. Viking Age York and the North; CBA Research Report No 27: pp. 26-31, Council for British Archaeology. Retrieved on 2006-07-20. 

[edit] Atlantic archipelago

• In an attempt to coin a term that avoided the 'British Isles' - a term often offensive to Irish sensibilities - Pocock suggested a neutral geographical term for the collection of islands located off the northwest coast of continental Europe which included Britain and Ireland: the Atlantic archipelago...For historians like Raphael Samuel, the term 'the Atlantic archipelago' has 'a subtly, and no doubt unconscious, anti-European bias'. Partly for this reason and partly for reasons of intelligibility, most historians have steered clear of the term, although it does occur sporadically in the historiography.

  Lambert, Peter; Phillipp Schofield (2004). Making History: An Introduction to the History and Practices of a Discipline. New York: Routledge, p. 217. 

[edit] British and Irish Isles

• History seemed to have brought the natural geographical entity, the British and Irish Isles, to a common-sense political conclusion.

  Sawyer, Roger (1993). We Are but Women: Women in Ireland's History. New York: Routledge, p.86. 

[edit] Islands of the North Atlantic

• Revolutionary Unionism is based on the need for the countries comprising the British Isles to unite and give themselves a voice that guarantees that it is their values that will prevail within the European Union. It is not the first time the concept of a common home has been mooted. In 1980, Sir John Biggs-Davison, the former Conservative front-bench spokesman on Northern Ireland, suggested a loose linkage of the United Kingdom, the Republic, Isle of Man and Channel Islands to form the Islands of North Atlantic (IONA). In reality, the only political grouping representing these values that could have any effective and meaningful voice in Europe is the British Commonwealth of nations. Revolutionary Unionism's all-Ireland scenario would see the Republic rejoining the British Commonwealth with the Monarchy as head of state. The countries which formed the geographical British Isles would be ruled by a Council of the Isles.

  Coulter, John. "Revolutionary Unionism", Open Republic Magazine, Open Republic Institute, Summer, 2005. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

• The Agreement established a British-Irish Council (BIC) comprising representatives of the British and Irish Governments and the newly devolved institutions of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales together with representatives of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The purpose of the BIC was to consult on a wide range of matters of mutual interest and suitable issues were identified such as transport links, agriculture, the environment and approaches to EU issues. The procedures were to be entirely consensual but members could either opt out if they so wished or they could develop bilateral arrangements. The BIC was to meet twice a year at summit level and more regularly in specific sectoral formats. The BIC was seen as an East/West balance to the North/South Ministerial Council and therefore a concession to unionist concern about the need for a British dimension to the Agreement. The UUP had long been interested in such an overarching Council of the British Isles and it had also been an idea that inspired British Conservatives like Sir John Biggs-Davison who had earlier coined the acronym IONA, Isles of the North Atlantic, for a similar vision. In this shape it represented an intellectual counter-attack against the familiar thesis of Irish nationalism that the demise of the Union was inevitable.

  Aughey, Arthur (2005). The Politics of Northern Ireland: Beyond the Belfast Agreement. New York: Routledge, p. 91. 

• Mr Denis Canavan (Falkirk West)...It was important the Body put forward views on how a parliamentary tier should develop, and there was merit in such a tier being associated with an intergovernmental tier. A parliamentary tier would enable more freedom of expression and a more frank and robust debate; it should comprise members of the Oireachtas, the British Parliament, the Northern Ireland and the Welsh Assemblies and the Scottish Parliament. He understood that the concept of a Council of the Isles had been put forward by the Ulster Unionists and was referred to as a "Council for the British Isles" by David Trimble. This would cause offence to Irish colleagues; he suggested as an acronym IONA-Islands of the North Atlantic.

  15th Plenary Session Minutes. British Irish Inter-Parliametary Body (1998-03-30). Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

• What is it that the people of this kingdom are being offered? There will be a Parliament for Scotland--quite an ambitious and wide-ranging Parliament--with significant powers. There will be an assembly for Wales, with fewer significant powers. There will be a new devolved body for Northern Ireland. I am sure that that will have its merits in the context of the Northern Ireland peace process. In the same context, there will be a council of the isles. I think that some people are calling it IONA--the islands of the north Atlantic, from which England, by definition, will be excluded. I have no objection to that exclusion. I think that the proposal is the right course for the Northern Ireland peace process to pursue.

  House of Commons Debate, Mr. Peter Luff (Mid-Worcestershire) (1998-01-16). Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

• The agreement proposes the formation of a "British Irish Council" that will bring together representatives of England and Ireland and the devolved parliaments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands included. This macro island community has been referred to in the peace agreement as "the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands." The new confederation of "Islands of the North Atlantic" or IONA for short is also the name of a tiny island off Scotland settled by Columba and a band of Irish monks.

  Barry, Kevin. "Resiliency, Tolerance and Avoidance in Northern Ireland". Journal of Pastoral Counseling XXXIII. 

• note: unsure which author is the subject of the footnote

  Invited as editor of NLR to give a twenty-five minute lecture on 'socialism' on Channel Four in the run-up to the 1987 election, I urged that English socialists and republicans should work for the break-up of the United Kingdom and should respond positively to Charles Haughey's proposal of iona, a federation of the 'Islands of the North Atlantic', comprising the independent republics of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. This talk was published in The Listener in January 1987 as "Socialism and Britain's Ancien Régime".

  Blackburn, Robin; et al. (1995). "New Left Podsnappery: The British Left and Ireland". New Left Review (212): footnote 8, p.154. 

• note: discussing the island

  Iona is a powerful symbol of relationships between these islands, with its ethos of service not dominion. Iona also radiated out towards the Europe of the Dark Ages, not to mention Pagan England at Lindisfarne. The British-Irish Council is the expression of a relationship that at the origin of the Anglo-Irish process in 1981 was sometimes given the name Iona, islands of the North Atlantic, and sometimes Council of the Isles, with its evocation of the Lords of the Isles of the 14th and 15th centuries who spanned the North Channel. In the 17th century, Highland warriors and persecuted Presbyterian Ministers criss-crossed the North Channel.

  Ahern, Bertie (1998-10-29). Address at 'The Lothian European Lecture' - Edinburgh. Department of the Taoiseach, Taoiseach's Speeches Archive 1998. Retrieved on 2006-07-28.

• Several British commentators, alert to a more amplified European perspective, are proposing a new social geography and history of these islands according to which the ‘Irish’ and ‘British’ nations may be reconceived as binary constructs of a larger whole. Viewed from this more inclusive perspective—variously called the ‘Britannic melting pot’, the ‘British-Irish archipelago’ or ‘Islands of the North Atlantic’(IONA)—the different peoples of these islands are shown to be ‘mixed-up’ with each other at many levels, cultural, ethnic, linguistic.

  Kearney, Richard (1997). Postnationalist Ireland: Politics, Culture, Philosophy. London: Routledge, p. 179.