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Everyone knows that the sense of being separate from the rest of Europe is rather strong in the British Isles , however knowledge of the subject as it relates to Scandinavia doesn't seem to be as widespread ...
Which very much begs the question , after all much of Scandinavia is geographically cut off from the rest of the European continent much like the British Isles , and ( much more importantly ) most Scandinavian countries ( except for Sweden ) have been rather peripheral players in European affairs throughout history in contrast with the British Isles ...
I'm also going to be adding a poll to this thread , so please feel free to vote .
P.S. I used the term Brits for the sake of making the thread title shorter , as opposed to wanting to lump all British Isles folk into one basket .
Most of my family is Norwegian, though I was born and mostly raised in the US. I can't speak for Norwegians in general, but growing up, many members of my family descibed Europe as something apart from Norway comparable to the way some British people distinguish themselves from "continental Europe".
Obviously Norway is geographically part of the continent of Europe and intrinsically tied into the culture and history Europe, albeit at the extreme margin, to the point of being terra incognita to most Europeans.
To wit, it was not unusual for me in the 1980s and '90s to hear people say things like, "I am going to Europe on business." or "That style is very European, no one would wear that in Norway." and stuff like that.
It was not meant to be a literal assertion that Norway is not European in a broad sense, but that there is a distance between them and the core of continental Europe which was seen to have tighter cultural relationships with each other while Scandinavian countries are closer to each other than the continental countries.
Finally, most of the people who I have heard speaking this way are in their early 40s to late 70s now. The younger generations may well have a different attitude, and it is a different time, as well.
Most of my family is Norwegian, though I was born and mostly raised in the US. I can't speak for Norwegians in general, but growing up, many members of my family descibed Europe as something apart from Norway comparable to the way some British people distinguish themselves from "continental Europe".
Obviously Norway is geographically part of the continent of Europe and intrinsically tied into the culture and history Europe, albeit at the extreme margin, to the point of being terra incognita to most Europeans.
To wit, it was not unusual for me in the 1980s and '90s to hear people say things like, "I am going to Europe on business." or "That style is very European, no one would wear that in Norway." and stuff like that.
It was not meant to be a literal assertion that Norway is not European in a broad sense, but that there is a distance between them and the core of continental Europe which was seen to have tighter cultural relationships with each other while Scandinavian countries are closer to each other than the continental countries.
Finally, most of the people who I have heard speaking this way are in their early 40s to late 70s now. The younger generations may well have a different attitude, and it is a different time, as well.
Interesting ...
Would you say the fact that Norway still isn't part of the EU has anything to do with this phenomenon ?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Khan Vozdig
Everyone knows that the sense of being separate from the rest of Europe is rather strong in the British Isles , however knowledge of the subject as it relates to Scandinavia doesn't seem to be as widespread ...
Which very much begs the question , after all much of Scandinavia is geographically cut off from the rest of the European continent much like the British Isles , and ( much more importantly ) most Scandinavian countries ( except for Sweden ) have been rather peripheral players in European affairs throughout history in contrast with the British Isles ...
I'm also going to be adding a poll to this thread , so please feel free to vote .
P.S. I used the term Brits for the sake of making the thread title shorter , as opposed to wanting to lump all British Isles folk into one basket .
I think you will find London and other British cities are very cosmopolitan and that the UK has no problem with Europe, indeed the EU is a political entity rather than geographic one. The UK has historically been a maritime nation and has traded with the entire world including Empire, and the countrty is full of ports welcoming ships from across the globe.
London to Paris is just over 2 hours by train and the UK has excellent connections to Europe and most European nations have a sense of self identity and national pride. It's also woth noting that the British Isles has seen numerous invasion and war from Europe and the English Channel has often served as a defensive moat.
Or as William Shakespeare wrote in his 1595 work Richard II -
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
Not a Scandiavian here but my wifes folks go back in Sweden to the days of running around with horns on their head[joke].
They have NEVER thought of themselves as European.
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