SCOTTISH IDENTITY

[Abstract of the 4th St Andrews and Caledonian Society Lecture given at the Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre, ancouver,!! Se"tember #$$% by &urray 'ittoc(, 'rofessor of Scottish and )omantic Literature, University of &anchester*+ 1.1 The extent to which identity as a collective concept and experience is written abo t! disc ssed and analysed has increased "reatly since 1#$% in the li"ht o& vario s political and sociolo"ical develop'ents. Decoloni(ation! the end o& the Cold )ar! the brea*down o& established collectivities &ro' trades nions to the &a'ily! the extension o& the bo ndaries o& sex al 'ores! the stress on individ al and special interest "ro p deter'inations o& val e+ all have had their e&&ect within a very short space o& ti'e in 'any societies. ,t one extre'e! identity can al'ost see' a 'atter o& personal choice+ a cons 'erist pheno'enon! where one treats onesel& to bein" a little bit o& this! a little bit o& that. 1.- Yet i& identity is analysed as a choice! it is o&ten experienced as a "iven. .ro' the /altic rep blics thro "h Slovenia to /osnia0Her(e"ovina! &ro' 1osovo to 2ontene"ro and .landers to Catalonia! identity3s i'pact on political! social and c lt ral trans&or'ations has been ' ch 'ore abo t recoverin" the past than inventin" the & t re. 1.4 Theorists o& nationalis' have a stron" pre&erence &or identity as a choice rather than a "iven+ this is one o& the reasons &or the e'er"in" orthodoxy which clai's 5nationalis'3 is a prod ct o& the 6o'antic period or at best the seventeenth cent ry! 5invented3 by print c lt re! conspiratorial elites or reli"io s necessity. Yet altho "h 5nationalis'3 is itsel& a late ei"hteenth cent ry ter'! it sho ld not s rprise s i& 5is'3 words are post0Enli"hten'ent ones. 5Nationalist3is however 1718!3nationality3 1$#1 and 5O& En"land the nacion Es In"lis 'an thar in co'' n3 is 14%%. The politics o& national identity is cent ries older than the 6o'antic era. Theorists o& nationalis' are by and lar"e poor predictors o& chan"e. The history o& Serbia was a ' ch better " ide to the 1##10## con&licts than the persistently 'isplaced &aith in the tr ly invented identity o& Y "oslavia. 1.9 The p rposes o& the present disc ssion are+ i. To reconcile the paradox o& chosen and "iven identities: ii.To do this thro "h exa'ination o& the history and 'odernity o& Scottish identity: iii.To se the Scottish exa'ple as a basis &or a "eneral theory o& national identities. -.1 Scotland has always been a hybrid society o& di&&erent c lt ral "ro ps!and provides a poor basis &or any ethnic nationalis'. There has never been a ti'e when one lan" a"e was spo*en across the whole o& the co ntry3s 'odern territory. -.- The initial i'p lses towards nity were two&old. The &irst was Hadrian3s )all ;5north o& Hadrian3s )all3 is still a &re< ently sed! i& inacc rate! synony' &or 5Scotland3 in En"lish=. The 6o'an province o& /ritannia ;later the basis &or the ter' 5/ritain3= was so th o& the )all !and a di&&erent 6o'ano0 /ritish c lt re developed there. Secondly! Scotland itsel& was al'ost divided in two by the .orth0Clyde line! and early 'ap'a*ers exa""erated the extent to which this split the whole island. The bo ndaries o& 'odern Scotland were lar"ely deter'ined by con&lict between .orth0Clyde and Hadrian3s )all! and ended p ro "hly hal&way between the'. )hen Scotland &o "ht north o& .orth0Clyde! victory ;aided o&ten by landscape= 'ore co''only res lted than was the case so th o& it. -.4 The str ""le to establish a bo ndary between the "eo"raphic barrier at .orth0Clyde ;incl din" the 'oss at Stirlin"= and the c lt ral barrier o& Hadrian3s )all was one o& the *ey deter'inants o& Scotland3s consistent bo ndaries over ti'e ;co'pared with! say! >oland= and also the i'portance o& these bo ndaries as a pri'ary deter'inant o& Scottishness. In the 'ost recent ;-%%$= poll! the 'a?ority o& Scots thin* the best de&inition o& a Scot is so'eone born in Scotland! altho "h do btless Scots are also ready to clai' the hono r and presti"e o& a diaspora as a 'eans o& tryin" to e' late the Irish! who! o& co rse! have their own diaspora in Scotland re" lated by blood rather than birth. Is either alto"ether reliable in the 'odern world @ -.9 .ive proble' cases &or a 5Scottish3 identity+

i. , is born in Scotland o& ,'erican parents in the oil ind stry! and leaves the sa'e year: ii. / is born o& Scottish0born parents in Aondon! b t never lives in Scotland: iii. C is called 2acDonald+ born in )innipe"! she has no relatives or &riends in Scotland! a co ntry her "reat0"rand&ather le&t in 1#%#: iv. D is born in /erwic*! and bears the na'e o& ,r'stron". Her &a'ily have lived in the town since at least 1$%%. v. E co'es &ro' >a*istan to Blas"ow at three 'onths old: both his parents are &ro' >a*istan. O& these ;i= < ali&ies by birth: ;ii= and ;iii= by blood: ;iv= by neither! b t s ch people not in&re< ently identi&y as 5Scots3: ;v= by neither! b t he is the only one who spends his li&e in Scotland. Can 5blood3 or 5soil3 identi&iers s rvive in a"e o& 'obility! diversity and ' ltic lt ralis' @ 4.1 Scotland is well placed to be a test case &or this! beca se its lon"standin" c lt ral and lin" istic diversity is 'atched by a history o& hybrid instit tions. Scotland3s society was ori"inally or"ani(ed alon" 5Irish3 lines with a hi"h *in" and nder0*in"s at di&&erent levels ;the 'ost senior bein" the 5'or'aers3=. .ro' the twel&th cent ry at least! this hybridi(ed with an ,n"lo0Nor'an 'odel! b t one which did not si"ni&icantly disr pt the i'portance o& re"ional power0bases and &a'ily connexions. The Chie&s o& the Na'e co'bined the two! so'eti'es in their very title ;D *e o& Bordon=. Those who depended on the' o&ten too* their na'e or responded to it. The 5clan syste'3 ;a nineteenth0cent ry ter'= is a 'isleadin" s ''ary o& so'e ele'ents o& this practice! which wea*ened at di&&erent speeds in di&&erent parts o& Scotland a&ter 18%%. 4.- Distinctive social str ct res lin*ed to the 'onarchy were i'portant: so was the separateness o& the Scottish Ch rch! which! li*e the 'onarchy! str ""led &or its soverei"n independence a"ainst En"lish clai's &or cent ries. 1in"s bent on ni&yin" Scotland in the early period ;,edCn 2acBabrCin! Oen" s 'ac .or" so= had ;or were rep ted to have= a stron" relationship with the Ch rch! which in its relations with the 'onarchy provided a ni&yin" principle+ 5St ,ndrew be leader o& the co'patriot Scots3. In #%#! accordin" to the ,nnals o& Dlster! the ,lbanaich nited as one people nder the 5'iracle0wor*in" standard3 o& Col 'ba. 4.4 >l rality o& peoples in Scotland ;and even their distinctive le"al practices= was reco"ni(ed in early charters. Scots with pri'ary interests in En"land or who had not s pported /r ce co ld be viewed as aliens in C19+ the nity o& Ch rch and State as the &o ndation &or Scottish identity developed si"ni&icantly as a res lt o& the )ars o& Independence. 4.9 The canoni(ation o& St 2ar"aret in C14 rein&orced both Ch rch and Crown. In the 1$#%s! St 2ar"aret3s &east day was chan"ed to 1% E ne! the birthday o& the St art clai'ant Ea'es FIII!indicatin" the persistin" < ality o& this *ey relationship. 4.8 .ro' 14%%! a historio"raphy developed which saw the 1in"do' o& Scots and its instit tions as loc*ed in a str ""le &or liberty a"ainst all co'ers. The develop'ent o& other instit tions ;e.". the law= in the Stewart period provided a broadenin" basis &or a Scottish identity derived principally &ro' the co ntry3s instit tions. 9.1 Cli'ate chan"e ca sed serio s proble's to Scotland between 14%% and 18$%! and in this context! Scotland was relatively overb rdened with reli"io s ho ses! the scale and cost o& which evidenced the Ch rch0Crown relationship. 9.- 6e&or'ation was ar" ably in part a response to chan"in" econo'ic conditions. 2elville3s 5twa *in"s! twa *in"do's3 doctrine overt rned the core relationship o& the Scottish state and ch rch. In this sense the 6e&or'ation was a Year Gero+ and 'any o& its 'ore (ealo s adherents ca'e to discard the pre06e&or'ation Scottish past. 9.4 The Stewarts ;later St arts= atte'pted to preserve the lin* which had lon" nderpinned the Scottish polity+ hence their s pport &or the Episcopal interest in the 1ir*! which was ideolo"ically ;i& not so ' ch theolo"ically= close to the pre06e&or'ation Ch rch0Crown lin*. In the 1$4%s! Charles I3s "overn'ent tried to restore Celtic saints3 days: in 1$H#!the Episcopal Ch rch co ld not accept )illia' beca se he was not the native heir! the tr e representative o& the 5*in" and law3o& Scotland.

9.9 The Dnion and the de&eat o& Eacobitis'+ how did Scotland s rvive @ 8.1 , separate p blic sphere s rvived! in part thro "h the very instit tions whose preservation was " aranteed by the Dnion. Aocal control o& the pro&essions contin ed! and Scottish cl bs and societies had a distinctive cast in the a"e o& Enli"hten'ent. 8.- Scottish other0'indedness+ alter'entality+ resisted incorporation.Three 'odes o& resistance+ i.,r'edI,ctive ;Eacobitis'= ii. De&ensiveIC lt ral ;6a'say to the Scottish .ootball ,ssociation= iii.>assive ;cl bsIsocieties with Scottish 'ode o& operation even when they had a /ritish a"enda=. 8.4.The diasporic act+ Scottishness retained &or export. The creation o& Scottish societies abroad was a political act a&ter 17%7! no 'atter how wea*ly or passively. 8.9 The in&lection o& "enre+ the hybridi(ation o& Scottish with classical ' sic! the preservation o& Scottish 'odes in literat re and architect re. 8.8 The develop'ent o& an international /ritishness. Scotland only be"an to be ter'ed a 5re"ion3 in Breat /ritain a&ter 1#98! when e'pire declined and /ritishness t rned inwards and ins lar! beco'in" less international and 'ore En"lish. $.1 )hat bro "ht on the chan"es we have seen since the 1#$%s @ In 1#7#! 4HJ o& those do'iciled in Scotland sel&0identi&ied as Scottish rather than /ritish: by -%%1! H9J. The pheno'enon o& 5,sian Scots3 ca ses disco'&it re a'on" the advocates o& 5,sian /ritishness3 as recent debates ;e.". at Yor* in -%%-= have bro "ht to li"ht. $.- The 1#$%s are the *ey decade! when a co'bination o& an overtly re"ionali(ed ind strial policy evidenced Scottish econo'ic wea*ness! while the withdrawal west o& S e( saw the end o& e'pire! and occ rred at ? st abo t the sa'e ti'e as the rise o& the SN>. International /ritishness was lost with the /ritish E'pire: at the sa'e ti'e! an increasin"ly centrali(ed set o& political priorities in the p blic sector be"an to create a /ritish e'ploy'ent 'ar*et in Scotland. This process was accelerated by "lobali(ation+ these develop'ents challen"ed the existence o& a distinctive Scottish p blic sphere. $.4 Scotland re'ained hybrid! and increasin"ly &ro' the 1#H%s ' ltic lt ral. / t there was also an accent on 5Scottishness3+ was this a paradox! or evidence o& racis' @ So'eti'es! ndo btedly+ b t the *ey i'portance o& 5Scottishness3 beca'e one o& an 5accent o& the 'ind3 ;6A Stevenson=! o&ten shortened to 5accent3. It beca'e ar" ably easier &or those with a Scottish accent to be inte"rated 5Scots3 than &or those whose accent was not 5Scottish3! irrespective o& bac*"ro nd. ,ccent beca'e code &or loyalty to a co'' nity and its instit tions and associations+ the p blic sphere. This loyalty had been o& lon"standin" i'portance+ >atric* Dove o& the National ,ssociation &or the Findication o& Scottish 6i"hts ;1H84=+ 5)hoever0whatever 'an0be he blac*! white! red! or yellow! the 'o'ent he identi&ies with the instit tions o& Scotland! that 'o'ent he beca'e a 'e'ber o& the Scottish nation3. Co'' nity and instit tions the *ey in a hybrid polity. 7.1 Scottishness as a basis &or a theory o& nationality. Scotland is a 5de&ensive3 nation! see*in" to preserve a sel& on which 5adoptive3 nations encroach ;Ber'any and Den'ar*I, stria: .rance and Swit(erland: 5En"lish3 literat re and the appropriation o& other literat res=. 7.- 5,doptive3 nations cate"ori(e 5de&ensive3 ones as ethnically partic larist in contrast to their own diversity! and essentiali(e the' as ndi&&erentiated. 7.4 Scotland3s case is not that o& an ethnic nation in these ter's. Instead! altho "h descent and birth ;in co'bination and delin*ed &ro' the politics o& blood or colo r= will always be central to nationality! acc lt ration ;that 5accent o& the 'ind3= is critical &or nderstandin" national identity! and &or escapin" &ro' 5blood and soil3 cate"ories which are at odds with the 'odern world! as well as bein" inherently dan"ero s. Scotland has been a 5'odern world3 society in this sense &or cent ries+ hybrid! poly"lot! dependent &or identity on its instit tions and c lt re. 7.9 It is acc lt ration also ;rather than na'e or re'ote descent= that 'a*e the Scottish diaspora

Scottish+ the retention o& c lt re ;e.". Baelic in Nova Scotia= in a stran"e land a"ainst odds. ,r" ably the 'ore "eo"raphically re'ote &ro' Scotland the per&or'ance o& Scottish c lt re is! the 'ore it is a tr e si"ni&ier o& desire &or the retention o& sel&. 7.8 C lt ral a&&iliation and con&lict ;e.". over lan" a"e! reli"ion or c sto'= is what lti'ately drives 'ost iss es o& identity politics in the 'odern world! whether in the S dan! /osnia0Her(e"ovina or Catalonia. These are iss es o& c lt ral inheritance+ acc lt ration is there&ore central to o r nderstandin" o& nationality! its internal diversity! and the poro sness or otherwise o& its c lt ral borders with its nei"hbo rs. The process o& acc lt ration! its date o& e&&ective co''ence'ent in childhood! the details o& its dialo" es and trans'issions! sho ld all be core to o r nderstandin" o& nationality and to & t re research. In that "eneral &ield o& in< iry! the Scottish case is an o tstandin"ly appropriate exa'ple! a synecdoche &or the & nction o& c lt re as an expression o& nationality.