Abstract
Why are the British not European? Various explanations are on offer, one of the most popular being that the British are an island nation on the outer edge of Europe. The main variations of the island story are examined, as well as the question why this story holds such a wide appeal. It is often suggested that living on an island gives people special characteristics, but this physical essentialism has no basis in fact. The British island story is a retrospective invention to lend substance to an idea of Anglo-European separation which is the product of various culture-shaping events such as the English Reformation and the Tudor ascendancy.
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© 2015 Menno Spiering
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Spiering, M. (2015). The Island Story. In: A Cultural History of British Euroscepticism. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137447555_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137447555_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-49623-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-44755-5
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