The Invalidity of the so-clled Unions imposed on the Celtic Nations of the British Isles.

In my view a bona fide Union between two (or more) nations is a harmonious alliance between them, voluntarily entered into by both nations and having the following characteristics:

1. The Union is formed without coercion, i.e., entirely by the agreement of both nations.
2. The two nations must have equal status in all respects within the Union.
3. The establishment of the Union must have the decisive and unequivocal consent of the people of both nations in a referendum – before the Union is formed, with its formation not proceeding if this is not forthcoming.
4. The Union must permit both nations to retain, promote (internally) and have pride in their own national identity, culture, language and traditions – there is no doubt that the people of each nation would be overwhelmingly in favour of this within the Union.
5. The form of government chosen for the Union must be by mutual agreement and must guarantee that the interests of both nations are given equal weight and importance, with very effective safeguards to ensure that the nation having the smaller population cannot be dominated in any way by the larger one.
6. There must be arrangements in place for both nations to reconsider the Union’s existence (every 20 – 25 years, say) with provision for it to be terminated if either nation supports this course of action in a referendum.

The so-called Union of England and Wales.

This was the direct result of the long-term incursions, invasion and ultimately conquest of Wales by England (1282).  In legal terms (meaning English Law, of course) the Union was first enacted by the 1284 Statute of Westminster which stated:  “To put the country of Wales and her inhabitants under feudal authority” and “to annex and unify the said country with the crown of the Kingdom (of England) ………in one (political) body“.  In other words Wales was to be swallowed up by England and, certainly, none of the above 6 characteristics were satisfied.  The Welsh people were thereafter expected to believe that England + Wales = England.

This take-over was reinforced by the English Parliament’s “Incorporation” Acts of 1536 and 1543 that – as well as banning the Welsh language from public life –  proclaimed “The Country or Dominion of Wales shall be, stand and continue forever from henceforth incorporated, united and annexed to and with the Realm of England”.  The Acts decreed that the Welsh people were to pretend they were English.  Of course, none of the above 6 characteristics were satisfied.  These Acts were finally repealed in the Welsh Language Act of 1993.

The so-called Union of England and Scotland (1707) – formation of the “British” nation/state/country.

There were dozens of battles between England and Scotland from 937 AD until the Union (and several thereafter).  Because its population and army were far larger than Scotland’s, England inevitably got the upper hand.  This led to the Crowns of England and Scotland being joined in 1603 when James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well.  The Scottish people were, of course, not consulted on the matter.

Thereafter English Ministers increasingly put immense pressure on the Scottish Parliament to agree to an “Incorporating Union” between the two countries.  In February 1705 they passed the punitive “Alien Act” to operate after Christmas 1705 unless the Scottish Parliament acceded to the Union.  The Act stipulated that:

• Scots living in England would be treated as aliens,
• All Scottish estates in England would be seized.
• Major Scottish exports to England would be barred.

The Scottish Parliament therefore had little choice but to yield to this intense English political bullying and agreed (by 107 – 67 votes) to the two Parliaments uniting.  The Scottish people were, of course, not consulted on the issue and the decision provoked massive opposition – it has been estimated that less than 1% of Scots favoured the Union.  Of course, none of the above 6 characteristics were satisfied.  Scotland held an Independence Referendum in 2014, i.e., to leave the Union.  This was, of course, after the Scottish people had been subjected to 3 centuries of intense unionist government-led indoctrination, exalting the benefits of the Union and denigrating Scottish Independence.  Even so, the Independence cause was only narrowly lost.  Of course, there was no referendum when Scotland was forced to join the Union in1707.

The so-called United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801 – 1922).

From the 13^th Century Ireland was continually invaded by England and conquered to varying degrees.  It effectively became an English colony.  However, Ireland had possessed its own parliament for several centuries but it was effectively a puppet of the Westminster parliament.  In the 1780s British Prime Minister, William Pitt, and his government were intent on absorbing Ireland into a Union with Britain.  Eventually the Irish Parliament was bullied into submission by military means.  Consequently, the Union of Great Britain and Ireland was formed in January 1801 – with none of the above 6 characteristics satisfied, of course.  A new nation/country/state is then supposed to have been formed “Britain & Ireland”!

1922 – Present; the so-called United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

After the Easter Rising of 1916 in Dublin and the resulting war of independence, 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland gained independence as the Irish Free State (which became the Republic of Ireland in 1949). Yet another union, i.e., a new nation/country/state, is now supposed to have been born – “Great Britain & Northern Ireland”!

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Conclusion.

                      Each of the 3 Celtic countries was thus taken over by England aggressively – by force, or the threat of it, not only without the consent of the people but very much against their will.  Unless one believes that it is right and proper for an aggressor to be rewarded for invasion, conquest and colonization, THIS AMOUNTS TO VERY COMPELLING EVIDENCE THAT THE “UNIONS” BETWEEN ENGLAND AND THE CELTIC COUNTRIES WERE BASELESS, INVALID AND TOTALLY UNJUST. 

Gwyn Hopkins