"Scotland, Scottishness, British Integration and ...." Topic

….the Royal Navy, 1793-1815.

"With few exceptions, existing research in British social and maritime history has never focused on the presence and role of Scotsmen in the Royal Navy of the French Wars era (1793-1815), on their identification and self-presentation within this institution, and on attitudes towards naval warfare in Scotland more generally. Situating the problem within current debates on ‘four nations' history and the development of British identity, this article aims to fill this gap. It will consider, in turn, the Navy's institutional language and practices, individual experiences, and, chiefly employing as a case study the 1797 victory of Camperdown, achieved by the Scottish Admiral Duncan, public representations in the Scottish press. This will help to illustrate the often ambiguous relationship that Scots in the Navy – and particularly on the quarterdeck – could have with their homeland, and the powerful attraction, reinforced by the naval environment and administrative structures, which Englishness exerted on them. More broadly, it will be shown how the late Hanoverian Navy, as a markedly Anglo-centric institution, acted as a key instrument of cultural, social and political assimilation of Scots into Britain, thus offering a valuable case study for an investigation of patterns of British integration."
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Amicalement
Armand

One of the first monuments to Lord Nelson stands in the small town of Forres, in the north of Scotland. It was paid for by public subscription, suggesting at least some of the local people identified with this British national hero. It is still well maintained and open to visitors.

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Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

Cochrane was Scottish … But then, recall the Admiralty bias against him.

What we have to remember is the division of history into eras or periods is a modern construct, to the people taking part history is seamless. The '45 is within living memory for some, or at least generational anecdote. It is more recent than WW2 or no more distant than Korea, Canal Zone or perhaps Borneo is today. That must have cast a shadow in some institutions.