Quote:
Originally Posted by Plethon
So you wish to say, if I understood you correctly, that a Pakistani or a Nigerian can be British, because "British" is not a nation, but merely a non-ethnic state defined mostly by citizenship, but no Pakistani can ever be an Englishman, because English is ethnicity?
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Mynydd has already answered for me, but let me add a few words. "Britain" is the beginning of empire -- empire in its embryonic form. The Welsh, Scots, and Irish were forcibly made to join a "union" that was all about English hegemony over the British Isles. Of course, the passing of the centuries has never meant they became reconciled to the idea -- as one can see if one ventures to Wales or Scotland or Northern Ireland. So to me, being "British" refers to citizenship of a state, and not an ethnicity. In fairness, many so-called "nations" (most?) start life artificially, and the state has to enforce common language and customs. I think it was this way with France, and even England involved a mingling of Celts, Saxons, and Normans (the last really being Danes). The very idea of "nation" (and by implication, "nationalism") is of relatively recent provenance, emerging (I think) roughly after the Thirty Years' War and the Treaty of Westphalia. Most of us were just chattels and serfs belonging to lands that were parts of changing kingdoms and noble estates. Anyway, this is a long-winded, meandering, and possibly irrelevant response to why Pakistanis might think of themselves as "British" but not "English."