General Introduction
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DEMOCRATIC AND POPULAR REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research University Oran 2 Mohamed Ben Ahmed Faculty of Foreign Languages Department of English Doctoral School 2014 A Dissertation submitted to the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Magister Dissertation InBritish Civilisation Devolution, Britain between Unitarianism and Federalism Supervised by: Presented by: Pr. Rachida YACINE SoumiaRAHLI Board of Examiners: President: Pr. Z.MOSTEFA University of Oran 2, Mohamed Ben Ahmed Supervisor: Pr. R.YACINE University of Oran 2, Mohamed Ben Ahmed Supervisor: Dr. A.BOUGUEDRA University of Oran 2, Mohamed Ben Ahmed Academic Year: 2015-2016 Acknowledgments Prima facea, Iam grateful to god for the good health and wellbeing that were necessary to complete this dissertation, which couldn’t be accomplished without the support of my respectful teachers to whom I owe a lot. I wish to express my honest and sincere gratitude to my supervisor Professor Yacine Rachida, The director of the doctoral School for her tutelage and guidance throughout this work. And I address my special thanks for the teachers who afforded us a special knowledge and for their continuous encouragement, without forgetting those who supported me throughout my post-graduation career, to whom I am gratefully beholden. Dedications It is with joy and pleasure that I dedicate my humble dissertation to first my family Members, particularly to my lovely parents; my father Belkacem and my mother Boudjahfa khadidja, special respect and gratitude to my lovely husband Henni Chebra Ahmed and to my two beloved children, Houssam and Haitham who did bear my moments of wrath and stress, to my dearest sisters and brothers—Asmaa Nahid, Fatima Zahra, yasmine, Abdel Aziz, and Mohamed el Hadi-- who strongly helped me in difficult moments . it is dedicated to all my respectful teachers of my BA degree and to my teachers of doctoral school. To Professor YacineRachida, to Dr.Ghenim Neema, Professor Bouhadiba Zoulikha,to Dr. Abd El Madjid Bouguedra, to Mr.TeguiaCherif, to Mrs.Boudjahfa Sihem, to Miss Fali Wafaa, to Mrs.Chami Nidhal, and to the loveliest Amel, assistant of the doctoral school In brief, it is dedicated To all those who generously supported me to do this work. I ABSTRACT Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a constitutional monarch, known for its prestige and pragmatism, an archipelago encompassing four countries: Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England. Over centuries Kings and Queens were careful to keep this unity tight and stringent for showing its respect and admiration all over the world; however, with the emersion of the industrial revolution, life conditions on these islands were worse than in England, adding to that the First and the Second World Wars which by consequence exacerbated poverty, misery and crimes. Thus, it was axiomatic that people needed to strike and to claim what they were deprived from. In the twentieth century the economy of Great Britain decreased, in Northern Ireland misery increased and people died, in Wales and Scotland workers in the mines were overwhelmed from poor salaries they were paid… these sufferings were not, but a prelude to devolution. Hence, this thesis traces the movements and parties which were created to defend those people who started to think of disunion from England and beginning to revolt in masses mainly in Ireland for the religious schism. For Scotland, in the richest parts people endured and suffered too, the thing which triggered the sense of Nationalism that led by the way towards calling for full independence. The 2014’s referendum in Scotland headed by the SNP, resulted with a number of 46% for “yes”; these statistics were to be a threat for the union, as it will probably outrage a continuum of allegations for the independence by the other countries (Wales, Northern Ireland). Actually, all those events did turn upside down the politics of Great Britain, to make it living until nowadays in a thorny spiral. In this regard, this work will develop whether Scotland as a major economic component for the British union, will hold its integrity and economy, and whether will be there a United Kingdom without Scotland? Or whether is there a possibility that UK will become a federal state? These questions or problematic are strongly linked to the ‘British Constitution’, and to the Scottish independence. II Résumé Bretagne, signifie officiellement la réunion de Grande-Bretagne et’ Irlande du Nord, c’est une monarchie constitutionnelle connu pour son prestige et son pragmatisme, c’est un archipel qui englobe quatre pays : Pays de Galles, Ecosse, l’Irlande du nord, et l’Angleterre. Au cours des siècles les rois et les reines ont pris soin de sauvegarder cette unité rigoureusement, ceci pour garder intact son prestige et sa puissance dans le monde, mais avec l’Emergence de la révolution industrielle, les conditions de vie des habitants de ces îles étaient moins bonnes qu'en Angleterre, ajouter à cela les conséquences des deux dernières guerres mondiales, particulièrement la seconde guerre mondiale qui a considérablement exacerbé la pauvreté et la misère, les crimes étant devenus un moyen de gagne sa vie. Ainsi, les travailleurs recouraient systématiquement à la grève pour réclamer de meilleures conditions de vie. Au XXe siècle, l'économie de la Grande-Bretagne a diminué, dans le nord de l'Irlande, la misère s’était accrue et les gens mourraient de faim. Au Pays de Galles et en Ecosse les travailleurs des mines étaient sous-payés. Alors, tous ces souffrances étaient un prélude pour la ‘devolution’. De là, ce mémoire tracera les mouvements et les partis qui ont été créés pour défendre les pauvres, principalement en Irlande pour le schisme religieux. Pour l’écosse, les plus riches ont également souffert de la misère. Ce qui a par la suite déclenché le sentiment de nationalisme. La consultation des Ecossais en 2014, dirigé par le parti national Ecossais a failli entraîner la sortie de ce pays de l’union, presque la moitié de la population de ce pays s’étaient prononcé en faveur de la rupture avec l’union, puisque 46% de "oui"; ont été enregistrés lors le dépouillement des urnes.Reste à savoir si l’économie de l’écosse survivrait a une éventuelle rupture avec le Royaume Uni, s’il y aura un Royaume uni dépourvu de l’Ecosse, ou bien, y aura-t-il un Royaume Uni fédéral ? Cette dissertation, alors, tente de répondre à ces questions qui sont fortement liées à la constitution Britannique et à la probabilité d’établir une Ecosse indépendante. III Table of Contents Acknowledgements Dedications ............................................................................................................................. I Abstract ............................................................................................................................... II Resumé………………………... ........................................................................................ III Contents ............................................................................................................................... IV General introduction ............................................................................................................ 2 Chapter one: Britain and the Union Introduction.............................................................................................................................9 1. Historical Overview of the British Monarchy ................................................................ 9 2. England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom: ...................................................... 15 3. England’s continental annexation:................................................................................ 18 3.1 Wales .............................................................................................................................. 19 3.2 Ireland ............................................................................................................................. 20 3.3 Scotland and England ..................................................................................................... 21 4. The Acts of Union: .......................................................................................................... 26 4.1 The state and the nation; what makes different? …………………………………..28 4.2. Functional Integration ................................................................................................ 31 4.2.1 The theory of modernization ....................................................................................... 31 4.2.2 The Economics of the Union ....................................................................................... 33 5. After the union ................................................................................................................ 33 5.1. Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the early twentieth century: .................................. 36 5.1.1 Wales: .......................................................................................................................... 36 5.1.2 Scotland: ...................................................................................................................... 37 5.1.3 Ireland: ......................................................................................................................... 38 Conclusion..................................................................................................................38