You can’t cross
the same river twice. This statement is from an old, no ancient
Greek philosopher Heraclitus in 4th Century BCE. I think
this is an apt way to look at the upcoming Brexit or UK Independence
Day celebrations. We are not going back to the 1980s but forward to
the 2020s.
The idea of
Heraclitus’s point is that both the river and the man crossing it
are in a perpetual state of change. The river itself changes from
moment to moment as the water rushes through its courses and meanders
and rocks, sand and silt are moved and moving. Each second people
change physically and mentally. We are growing older and learning new
things by experiences, thoughts, ideas and situations. There is no
way to halt the forward progression of time and its inevitable
consequences of change.
Being a historian of
sorts I like to look back on previous similar situations and draw
conclusions. The separation of a territory from a greater political
block is almost the definition of the British politic for the
mid-to-late 20th Century. The expansion and contraction of
the British Empire has been the basis of study from high school
onwards to highest levels of government around the world. At no point
has the expansion or contraction pleased all people and distressed
none. Britain has not been the only European power to enjoy this
phenomenon. France, Spain and Portugal have all had a go at it, but
it is Britain who has been able to recover the best from a
contraction of both physical and political power.
England’s first
serious and successful attempt at expansion was Ireland. Under the
reign of Henry II, England moved to overtake its fellow island
companion under the guise of crushing the Celtic Church which was
considered to hold heretical beliefs from that of the Roman Catholic
Church. In truth it was a power grab by Henry. It was all politics.
It always is. England, later the United Kingdom, has fought long and
hard to hold on to this verdant island. From the first real invasion
in 1171 to the Anglo-Irish Treaty 1922 to the Good Friday Agreement
1998, the issue of Ireland has blessed, plagued and educated both the
Crown and the government as how one should best handle expansion and
contraction. Do I need state that the mistakes were innumerable?
The Tudor,
Elizabethan and Stuart Periods saw England expand her lands and,
hence, her international reputation and power. It would set the stage
for many further expansions and wars. The best, worst and indifferent example would be the American Colonies. As an American, this whole period
had been the main focus of my historical education from Kindergarten
through High School. It was both a political education and an
indoctrination. A fuller and more balanced view came during my
university years.
Through a series of
political mistakes and misunderstandings, Crown and Parliament failed
to meet what would be considered a sensible level of political
judgement and administration which ultimately ended with the Colonies
declaring war against Crown and Parliament. Even during this
conflict, Parliament never really considered the situation to be of
that much importance. They were far more concerned with France and
Austria, with a dash of Spain on the side. The Americas were just a
nuisance. Parliament had a standing English Army in the Colonies which
they supplemented with firstly the Irish, who within in 18 months had
changed sides and joined the Americans, and then secondly the
Hussars, who would happily fight as long as they were getting paid.
Although not considered a major war by European standards, it became
far more important when Britain's arch-enemy, France, came to
support the Americans. That was not to be tolerated and then, and
only then, did it become serious to Parliament. However, it was too
late.
The War For
Independence, a/k/a The Revolutionary War, was won by the defeat of
Cornwallis’s Army at Yorktown on 3 September 1783. Cornwallis was a
great and decorated general of high esteem, and he could see that war
fought 3000 miles from home in a mixed terrain against a guerrilla
force with uninterested soldiers after 8 years warfare was not a
winning plan. When Cornwallis surrendered with dignity, the population
of the Colonies was roughly 3,184,000. Of that total population, a
group of 750,000, or 25%, of the colonists packed up and went back to
England. They were not happy at the change of government. This was a
huge number of refugees.
So what happened?
Firstly the majority of the Colonial Refugees were not welcomed. In
spite of being English, they were not “English”. They had
changed. They had a different view and perspectives on society and
politics. They did not have the same cultural behaviours. They spoke
differently. They moved differently in business. They were considered
crass at best and, if you were not wealthy, an untermench of sorts.
It is figured that half of the refugees returned to the colonies or
to Canada and provided the beginning of the western expansion. They
did not such much cross a river back but built a bridge to the
future.
So what did Britain
do now that she was suffering from her first real contraction of size
and power? She went on the offensive and found new lands to expand
into – Australia, New Zealand, Canada (the ANZACs), Africa and
the Middle East. Ultimately she took over the Indian Sub-Continent.
The British Empire spanned the globe. It was impressive. She was the
Queen of World Power. Then there was the 20th Century.
World War I, the Depression, World War II and the Crisis of the
Middle East along with pressure from the United States, saw Britain
slowly dissolve her Empire and create a Commonwealth of Countries.
Britain's contraction was historically fast but politically slow.
It was, by and large, successful. Yet another bridge built across an
ever-changing river.
The rise of the
economic situations in the 1980s saw the need for closer European
ties. Britain had joined the European Economic Community (EEC) or as
more popularly known, the Common Market in 1973. This laid the
groundwork for what would become the European Union – a massive
political and trade group which was to challenge American economic
and political domination which has arisen after World War II. This
would also guarantee that the European Countries would no longer fall
into horrendous wars like that of the early 20th Century.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) would still be
implemented to keep the Soviet Union under control and at bay. With
The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 creating the European Union and the
further implementation of a Common Currency (the Euro) in 1999,
France and Germany, along with Britain, were the central power
houses. That being said, Britain was always the reluctant cousin in
this new family of nations. We looked at the river and wasn’t sure
we wanted to get wet.
This history lesson
may be boring to those of us who have lived it, but for the last 25
years a whole generation of young people have grown up under it and
do not like the current changes. They do not know of a time when UK
Courts and not Brussels had the final say on UK laws, jurisdictions
and rights. They are of a generation where it is being publicly
questioned and debated about schools teaching World War I and II
because of the emotional affect these wars and the subsequent outcomes may have
on the pupils psychological state. Others in the
political-educational realm feel that this chunk of 20th
Century history will only breed dislike or hatred for various
European nationalities. There is a push to teach that we are all one
and that history such as this is unnecessary.
Not knowing history
is sure way to repeat it.
So what do I see
happening at 11:01 on 31 January 2020? Everything and nothing. I am
quite sure that the sun will rise in the morning. I am quite sure
that my horses, then my children, will require feeding. I am sure
that the weather will be typically English. I am sure that there are
people who will be unhappy. One thing I know for sure is that we will
not be returning to the Great Britain of the 1980s. That water has
long flowed down the Thames and will not be returning ever.
The Great Britain of
the 2020s will be a new creation. She will have the historical ties
to her past: The Crown, Parliament, Common Law, Language, history,
music and football. She will have new opportunities to become what she
would like to be. She is no longer married to a politic she doesn’t
love. All her children are grown and can deal with things for
themselves but she is freer to be the mother state she should be
without external interference from a pushy step-parent.
Those of you who
wish to leave and live in Europe, please take a note of what happened
in the 1780s. Take a look at what happened to American Slaves in
Liberia in the 1860s, the German POWs in the UK in 1946, the Russian
ex-pats upon their return in the 1990s. The home you think you are
returning to is gone. By 1 February 2020 the Europe we know today
will be different. Time has marched on. You will not be able to walk
in that river again.
A major political
change of this magnitude achieved with no bloodshed, no war, is a
sign of just how far we as humans have come. We may argue with each
other but we have not resorted to the level of violence our
forefathers would have implemented. It has been done with respect. We
should be able to shake hands and say that we gave it our best shot,
but it just didn’t work for us. Politics should be rational and not
emotional. I do want the best for our European brothers and sisters,
but I don’t want to be in that relationship. I want a different
one. We can have a different one.
The 31st
will have people celebrating and people crying. Perhaps also on the
1st and 2nd of February, but on Monday the 3rd
let us come together and start sorting out the problems that affect
us in the UK the most – education, the NHS, the welfare state,
mental health and homelessness. Let us stop trying to recross many
old rivers, and look for the next one to jump into and have a good
splash around in.
Humm…. I think I
have just changed a bit.
