
Anti-English sentiment, also known as Anglophobia (from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''Anglus'' "English" and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
φόβος, ''phobos'', "fear"), refers to opposition, dislike, fear, hatred, oppression, persecution, and discrimination of
English people
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The Engl ...
and/or
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
[''Oxford Dictionary of English'', ]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2005 It can be observed in various contexts within the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and in countries outside of it. In the UK,
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
and
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
highlighted anti-English sentiments among
Welsh,
Irish, and
Scottish nationalisms. In Scotland, Anglophobia is influenced by
Scottish identity. Football matches and tournaments often see manifestations of anti-English sentiment, including assaults and attacks on English individuals. In
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, historical factors such as
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
imposition and cultural suppression have contributed to anti-English sentiment. In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, anti-English sentiment, arising from complex historical and political dynamics, was exemplified in the
IRA's targeting of England during
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
.
Outside the UK, anti-English sentiment exists in countries like
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. In Australia and New Zealand, stereotypes of English immigrants as complainers have fueled such sentiment. France has historical conflicts with England, like the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, contributing to animosity. In Ireland and, to a lesser extent, the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, anti-English sentiment is rooted in Irish nationalism and hostility towards the Anglo-Irish community. Russia has seen waves of Anglophobia due to historical events and suspicions of British meddling. Argentina's anti-British sentiment is linked to the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
and perceptions of
British imperialism.
Generally, the term is sometimes used more loosely as a synonym for
anti-British sentiment.
Its opposite is
Anglophilia.
Within the United Kingdom
British statesman and Prime Minister
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...
said that the proud English were sprung from "a horde of Baltic pirates who were never heard of in the greater annals of the world." In his essay "
Notes on Nationalism
Notes on Nationalism is an essay completed in May 1945 by George Orwell and published in the first issue of the British magazine '' Polemic'' in October 1945. Political theorist Gregory Claeys has described it as a key source for understanding O ...
", written in May 1945 and published in the first issue of the intellectual magazine ''
Polemic
Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
'' (October 1945),
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...
wrote that "Welsh, Irish and Scottish nationalism have points of difference but are alike in their anti-English orientation".
Scotland
In 1998, 19 year-old apprentice mechanic Mark Ayton was punched to the ground and kicked to death by three youths. Ayton's father explicitly cited his English accent as a factor contributing to the attack. Court proceedings recorded that immediately before the attack, the attackers were singing ''
Flower of Scotland'', which includes the lines "And sent them homeward, Tae think again": an allusion to ridding Scotland of the English.
In 1999, an inspector and race relations officer with
Lothian and Borders Police said that a correlation had been noticed between the establishment of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
and anti-English incidents.
A 2005 study by Hussain and Millar of the Department of Politics at the
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
examined the prevalence of Anglophobia in relation to
Islamophobia
Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
in Scotland. One finding of the report suggested that national "phobias" have common roots, independent of the nations towards whom they are directed. The study states that:
The study goes on to say (of the English living in Scotland): "Few of the English (only 16 per cent) see the conflict between Scots and English as even 'fairly serious'." The study found that Anglophobia was slightly less prevalent than Islamophobia but that, unlike Islamophobia, Anglophobia correlated with a strong sense of Scottish identity.
Hussain and Millar's research suggested that Anglophobia had fallen slightly since the introduction of
devolution
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
.
In 2009, a woman originally from England was assaulted in an allegedly anti-English racially motivated attack. Similar cases have been connected with football matches and tournaments, particularly international tournaments, in which the English and Scottish football teams often compete with each other. There was a spate of anti-English attacks in 2006 during the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
. In one incident a 7-year-old boy wearing an England shirt was punched in the head in an Edinburgh park.
In 2017 Kevin McKenna, former Scottish Journalist of the Year, penned an article in ''The National'' labelling English people living in Scotland as "colonising wankers".
In 2020, groups of Scottish nationalists picketed the English border, airports and railway stations sporting hazmat suits and dogs, intent on stopping English people from crossing the England-Scotland border. The Scottish Secretary
Alistair Jack accused Scotland's First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...
of having incited the incident by inaccurately using COVID statistics to stoke anti-English sentiment
Wales
The
Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542
The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 () or the Acts of Union (), were Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), acts of the Parliament of England under King Henry VIII of England, causing Wales to be incorporated into the realm of the Kingdom of Engl ...
, also known as the "Acts of Union", passed by the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...
, annexed Wales to the
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...
and replaced the
Welsh language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...
and
Welsh law with the
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
and
English law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
.
Section 20 of the 1535 Act made English the only language of the
law courts and stated that those who used Welsh would not be appointed to any
public office in Wales.
The Welsh language was supplanted in many public spheres. Much later, the
Welsh Not was used in some schools to suppress the use of the Welsh language. This was never government policy, and was later described as a symbol of English cultural oppression.
Since the
Glyndŵr Rising Glyndŵr, also spelled Glyndwr, may refer to:
* Owain Glyndŵr – Medieval Welsh prince and leader
** Glyndŵr rebellion – 15th century Welsh uprising
* Glyndŵr (district) – District of Wales (1974–1996)
** Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr ( ...
of the early 15th century, Welsh nationalism has been primarily non-violent.
[Kivisto, P. (2002). Multiculturalism in a global society. Oxford. p.129] The Welsh militant group
Meibion Glyndŵr () were responsible for arson attacks on English-owned second homes in Wales from 1979 to 1994, motivated by cultural anti-English sentiment.
Meibion Glyndŵr also attempted arson against several estate agents in Wales and England and against the offices of the
Conservative Party in London.
In 2000, the Chairman of
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
Bay Race Equality Council said that "Devolution has brought a definite increase in anti-English behaviour", citing three women who believed that they were being discriminated against in their careers because they could not speak Welsh. In 2001
Dafydd Elis-Thomas
Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, (; 18 October 1946 – 7 February 2025) was a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 199 ...
, a former leader of
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
, said that there was an anti-English strand to Welsh nationalism.
On 21 April 2023, it was reported that
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...
councillor, Terry Davies had been suspended for a rant of discriminatory xenophobia. Davies referred to two colleagues as "outsiders" after telling them that "Wales is for Welsh people."
On 11 January 2024, It was reported that a note had been sent to an address in
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...
, in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
, with racial slurs about English people from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. The note called for
Brummies to "go back home to Brummyland". It also called the
West Midlands accent "vomit-inducing", and urged the occupant to "take a few thousand other people back with them".
Dyfed-Powys Police treated the note as a
hate crime
Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...
. It read: "Iorwerth Ave was once a nice, quiet, pleasant residential area until a load of
eoplefrom the
Midlands
The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...
hit", and "Low-life like you should be forced to live in fenced in sites, preferably back where you came from."
Northern Ireland
During
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA) mainly attacked targets in Northern Ireland and England, not Scotland or Wales, although the IRA planted a bomb at
Sullom Voe Terminal in
Shetland
Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
during a visit by the Queen in May 1981. The ancestry of most people in the Loyalist and Unionist communities is
Scottish rather than English. In the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
community, the English are identified with British politicians and are sometimes resented for their perceived abandonment of loyalist communities.
Outside the United Kingdom
In his 1859 essay ''
A Few Words on Non-Intervention'',
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...
notes that England "finds itself, in respect of its foreign policy, held up to obloquy as the type of egoism and selfishness; as a nation which thinks of nothing but of out-witting and out-generalling its neighbours" and urges his fellow countrymen against "the mania of professing to act from meaner motives than those by which we are really actuated".
Australia and New Zealand
"
Pommy" or "Pom" (acronym for 'Prisoner of
erMajesty) is a common
Australasia
Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
n and
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n slang word for the English, often combined with "whing
ng" (complaining) to make the expression "whingeing Pom" – an English immigrant who
stereotypically complains about everything. Although the term is sometimes applied to British immigrants generally, it is usually applied specifically to the English, by both
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
ns and
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
ers. From the 19th century, there were feelings among established Australians that many immigrants from England were poorly skilled, unwanted by their home country and unappreciative of the benefits of their new country.
In recent years, complaints about two newspaper articles blaming English tourists for littering a local beach and calling the English "Filthy Poms" in the headlines and "Poms fill the summer of our discontent", were accepted as complaints and settled through conciliation by the
Australian Human Rights Commission when the newspapers published apologies. Letters and articles which referred to English people as "Poms" or "Pommies" did not meet the threshold for racial hatred. In 2007 a complaint to Australia's Advertising Standards Bureau about a
television commercial
A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
using the term "Pom" was upheld and the commercial was withdrawn.
France
After the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
of 1066,
Anglo-Norman French
Anglo-Norman (; ), also known as Anglo-Norman French, was a dialect of Old Norman that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, other places in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period.
Origin
The term "Anglo-Norman" har ...
replaced
Old English
Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
as the official language of England. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the
Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angev ...
kings of England lost most of their possessions in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, began to consider England to be their primary domain and turned to the English language. King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...
, when issuing writs for summoning parliament in 1295, claimed that the
King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
planned to invade England and extinguish the English language, "a truly detestable plan which may God avert". In 1346,
Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
exhibited in Parliament a
forged ordinance, in which
Philip VI of France
Philip VI (; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (), the Catholic (''le Catholique'') and of Valois (''de Valois''), was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign w ...
would have called for the destruction of the English nation and country. The
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
(1337–1453) between England and France changed societies on both sides of the
Channel.
The English and French were engaged in numerous wars in the following centuries. England's conflict with Scotland provided France with an opportunity to destabilise England and there was a firm friendship (known as the
Auld Alliance) between France and Scotland from the late-thirteenth century to the mid-sixteenth century. The alliance eventually foundered because of growing
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
in Scotland. Opposition to Protestantism became a major feature of later French Anglophobia (and conversely, fear of
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
was a hallmark of
Francophobia
Anti-French sentiment (Francophobia or Gallophobia) is the fear of, discrimination against, prejudice of, or hatred towards France, the French people, French culture, the French government or the Francophonie (set of political entities that use Fr ...
).
Antipathy
Antipathy is a dislike for something or somebody, the opposite of sympathy. While antipathy may be induced by experience, it sometimes exists without a rational cause-and-effect explanation being present to the individuals involved.
Thus, the ori ...
and intermittent hostilities between France and Britain, as distinct from England, continued during later centuries.
Ireland
There is a long tradition of Anglophobia within
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
. Much of this was grounded in the hostility felt by the largely Catholic Irish for the
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
people, which was mainly
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
. In Ireland before the
Great Famine, anti-English hostility was deep-seated and was manifested in increased anti-English hostility organised by
United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...
. In post-famine Ireland, anti-English hostility was adopted into the philosophy and foundation of the Irish nationalist movement. At the turn of the 20th century, the
Celtic Revival
The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...
movement associated the search for a cultural and national identity with an increasing anti-colonial and anti-English sentiment. Anti-English themes manifested in national organisations seen as promoting native Irish values, with the emergence of groups like
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
. One popular nationalist slogan was "
England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity" and the well-known anti-World-War-I song "
Who is Ireland's Enemy?" used past events to conclude that it was England, and furthermore that Irish people ought to "pay those devils back".
The
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
(GAA) was founded in 1884 as a counter-measure against the Anglo-Irish Athletic Association, which promoted and supervised British sports such as English
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
in Ireland. The GAA was founded in the anti-English ideas of
Thomas Croke, Archbishop of
Cashel and Emly. From 1886 to 1971 the GAA focused national pride into distinctly non-English activities. Members were forbidden to belong to organisations that played "English" games and the organisation countered the Anglicisation in Irish society. With the development in Ireland of Irish games and the arts, the Celtic revivalists and nationalists identified characteristics of what they defined as the "Irish Race". A nationalistic identity developed, as the opposite of the Anglo-Saxons and untainted by the
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
. A sense of national identity and Irish distinctiveness as well as an anti-English assertiveness was reinforced to Catholics by teachers in
hedge schools.
A feeling of anti-English sentiment intensified within Irish nationalism during the
Boer Wars, leading to xenophobia underlined by Anglophobia. Two units of
Irish commandos fought with the
Boer
Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
against British forces during the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
(1899–1902). J. Donnolly, a member of the brigade, wrote to the editor of the ''Irish News'' in 1901:
It was not for the love of the Boer we were fighting; it was for the hatred of the English. (J. Donnolly letter to the ''Irish News'', 1901)
The pro-Boer movement gained widespread support in Ireland, and over 20,000 supporters demonstrated in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
in 1899 where Irish nationalism, anti-English and pro-Boer attitudes were one and the same. There was a pro-Boer movement in England as well but the English pro-Boer movement was not based on anti-English sentiments. These opposing views and animosity led the English and Irish pro-Boer groups to maintain a distance from one another. Despite this, far more Irishmen joined various Irish Regiments of the British Army during this time, more so than pro-Boer commandos.
The
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
play ''
The Countess Cathleen
''The Countess Cathleen'' is a verse drama by William Butler Yeats in blank verse (with some lyrics). It was dedicated to Maud Gonne, the object of his affections for many years.
Editions and revisions
The play was first published in 1892 in ...
'', written in 1892, has anti-English overtones comparing the English gentry to demons who come for Irish souls. Films set during the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
, such as ''
The Informer'' (1935) and the ''
Plough and the Stars'' (1936), were criticised by the
BBFC
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (su ...
for the director
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
's anti-English content and in recent years, ''
Michael Collins'' and ''
The Wind That Shakes the Barley'' (despite being a joint British-Irish production) have led to accusations of Anglophobia in the British press. In 2006,
Antony Booth, the father-in-law of
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
, claimed he was the victim of anti-English vandalism and discrimination while living in
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
, Ireland, with his wife.
In August 2008 an English pipe fitter based in Dublin was awarded €20,000 for the racial abuse and discrimination he received at his workplace.
In 2011, tensions and anti-English or anti-British feelings flared in relation to the proposed visit of
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, the first
British monarch
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British con ...
to visit Ireland in 100 years. The invitation by the
President of Ireland
The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...
,
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...
, and the
Irish government
The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...
, was hailed by the Irish press as a historic visit but was criticised by
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
President
Gerry Adams
Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...
.
An anti-Queen demonstration was held at the GPO Dublin by a small group of Irish Republicans on 26 February 2011, and a mock
trial
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...
and
decapitation
Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...
of an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II were carried out by socialist republican group
ÉirÃgÃ
ÉirÃgà (), officially ÉirÃgà For A New Republic, is a socialist republican political party in Ireland. The party name, , means "Arise" or "Rise Up" in Irish, and is a reference to the slogan "The great only appear great because we are ...
. Other protests included one Dublin publican (the father of
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
player
Anthony Stokes) hanging a banner declaring "the Queen will never be welcome in this country".
In 2018, the Irish author and journalist
Megan Nolan wrote an opinion piece for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' that detailed how she had come to hate
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
English people
The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language in England, English language, a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The Engl ...
.
Russia
After the
Anglo-Russian War, during which Britain plundered Russian shipping and raided the coast, the alliance against Napoleon was renewed. Despite this,
the Great Game gave rise to a wave of widespread Anglophobia in Russia, accompanied by fear of English interference and intervention. Which is what
happened later. During the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
, there was a sentiment in Russia that England was behind Japan's militarism against Russia in the Far East, leading to a strained relationship between Britain and Russia. The UK and Russia were allies in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
until the Bolshevik Revolution of 1918, after which the British
again attacked Russian soil and the capitalist West became the target of the new
Communist International
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
("Comintern"). In 1924, these tensions were briefly cooled when the Labour government of Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
formally recognized the Soviet Union and established diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two were allies again starting in 1941. During the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, Britain firmly sided with the West against the Soviet Union and the relationship between the two continues to remain dubious even today. Before
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
, there had been controversies regarding Anglophobia in Russia.
United States
In the early years of the Republic, Anglophobia was particularly associated with the
Jeffersonian Republicans in the 1790s, who warned that close ties with Great Britain were especially dangerous because that nation was an enemy of American Republicanism. By contrast, the opposing
Federalist Party
The Federalist Party was a conservativeMultiple sources:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* and nationalist American political party and the first political party in the United States. It dominated the national government under Alexander Hamilton from 17 ...
warned that the Jeffersonians were too sympathetic to the radicalism of the French Revolution. The
Origins of the War of 1812
The origins of the War of 1812 (1812–1815), between the United States and the British Empire and its First Nations in Canada, First Nation allies, have been long debated. The War of 1812 was caused by multiple factors and ultimately led to th ...
involved claimed violations against American neutrality by the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars. The
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
, ratified in 1815 and ending the War of 1812, established peaceful relations for the two countries that has lasted more than two centuries, though this was stressed at times in the years following the treaty by events such as the
Trent Affair of 1861 and the
Fenian Raids in 1866–1871.
In the final days of the 1888 presidential campaign, a Republican operative claiming to be a British immigrant in America named Charles F. Murchison
tricked the British ambassador
Lord Sackville-West into indicating Britain's support for the Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland. The deliberatly fabricated act forced Sackville-west to return to Britain.
The Great Rapprochement was the convergence of social and political objectives between the United Kingdom and the United States from 1895 until World War I began in 1914. The most notable sign of improving relations during the Great Rapprochement was Britain's actions during the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
(started 1898). Initially Britain supported the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
and its
colonial rule
Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an imperialist project, colonialism can also take ...
over
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, since the perceived threat of American occupation and a territorial acquisition of Cuba by the United States might harm British trade and commercial interests within its own imperial possessions in the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. However, after the United States made genuine assurances that it would grant Cuba's independence (which eventually occurred in 1902 under the terms dictated in the
Platt Amendment), the British abandoned this policy and ultimately sided with the United States, unlike most other European powers who supported Spain. In return the US government supported Britain during the
Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
, although many Americans favoured the Boers.
In 2002, academic John Moser said that, although Anglophobia is now "almost completely absent" from American society, this was not always the case. He stated that "there were strains of Anglophobia present in virtually every
populist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries," with the
Populist Party, for example, "referring to England as a 'monster' that had 'seized upon the fresh energy of America and is steadily fixing its fangs into our social life.'"
Reasons suggested for the faltering of Anglophobia included the impact of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and reduced political support for Irish nationalist movements compared with that in earlier periods. Moser also said:
The
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...
is widely perceived to give a British nationality to a disproportionate number of villains.
Anglophobia in the Irish-American community
The
Irish-American
Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry.
Irish immigration to the United States
From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
community in the United States has historically shown antipathy towards Britain for its role in controlling Ireland. The large Irish Catholic element provided a major base for demands for Irish independence, and occasioned anti-British rhetoric, especially at election time. Anglophobia thus has been a defining feature of the Irish-American experience. Bolstered by their support of Irish nationalism, Irish-American communities have been staunchly anti-English since the 1850s, and this sentiment is fostered within the Irish-American identity.
[Simon James Potter, ''Newspapers and Empire in Ireland and Britain: Reporting the British Empire, c.1857-1921''. (Four Courts Press, 2004), p.216] Irish immigrants arrived poor and within a generation or two prospered. Many subscribed cash from their weekly wage to keep up the anti-English agitation. Anglophobia was a common theme in Democratic Party politics. Irish-American newspapers, like the pro-Catholic ''Truth Teller'' which was founded in 1825 by an anti-English priest, were influential in the identity of the community.
Anti-English feelings among Irish-Americans spread to American culture through Irish-American performers in popular
blackface
Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
minstrel show
The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...
s. These imparted both elements of the Irish-American performers' own national bias, and the popular stereotypical image that the English people were bourgeois, aloof, or upper class. Sentiments quickly turned into direct and violent action when in the 1860s the
Fenian Brotherhood Society invaded
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to provoke a United States-British war in hope it would lead to Irish independence.
[Patrick J. Buchanan, ''A Republic, Not an Empire: Reclaiming America's Destiny'', p.334. ]Regnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947. In December 2023, Regnery was acquired from Salem Media Group by Skyhorse Publishing, with Skyhorse ...
(2002) Violence is said to have included direct action by Fenian sympathisers, with the assassination of
Thomas D'Arcy McGee, himself an
Irish Canadian and Irish nationalist who was against the invasion, although he was very critical of the
Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
, and it has long been suspected they were his true killers.
Goldwin Smith, professor at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, wrote in the ''
North American Review
The ''North American Review'' (''NAR'') was the first literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in Boston in 1815 by journalist Nathan Hale (journalist), Nathan Hale and others. It was published continuously until 1940, after which i ...
'' that "hatred of England" was used as a tool to win the Irish-American vote. A similar observation was made in 1900 by U.S. Secretary of State
John Hay
John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...
, who criticised the
Prairie Populist and his own
Democratic party's political pandering to attract the support of the Irish diaspora:
Well into the early 20th century anti-English sentiment was increasing with famine memorials in the Irish-American communities, which "served as a wellspring for their obsessive and often corrosive antipathy," as noted in the British Parliament in 1915:
Some newspapers, including the ''San Francisco Leader'' and the ''New York Irish World'', first published in 1823, were renowned for their anti-English articles. The ''Irish World'' blamed the mainland United Kingdom for the depopulation and desolate state of Ireland's industries.
[Arthur Gribben, ''The Great Famine and the Irish Diaspora in America. ]University of Massachusetts Press
The University of Massachusetts Press is a university press that is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The press was founded in 1963, publishing scholarly books and non-fiction. The press imprint is overseen by an interdisciplinar ...
(1999), p.228 One newspaper, the ''
Gaelic American'', called a student performance of the
British national anthem by some girls of Irish heritage from a convent school an act of disloyalty, where they were taught to reverence the traditions of the hereditary enemy of their race and religion.
A commemorative stamp by
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
on a century of peace between America and Great Britain was criticised by the Irish-American press.
In recent years American political commentators, such as
Pat Buchanan, have highlighted the anti-English stance of the
Irish Diaspora
The Irish diaspora () refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland.
The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven (2017). The Irish ...
in the United States of America.
Argentina
In 1982 the two countries fought a small short conflict in the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, decisively won by the UK. Relations have become friendly since then.
Anglophobia in Argentina has been studied by the historian Ema Cibotti in "Dear Enemies. From Beresford to Maradona, the true story of relations between the English and Argentines". In its prologue, entitled "Against the English it is better", the social historian states
That feeling has not been constant or unanimous. Characters such as
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José JoaquÃn del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...
, who had faced the
English invasions of Buenos Aires in 1806 and 1807 or Mariano Moreno, among the independence leaders, supported policies similar to those of the British and the dispute over the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...
did not sour relations. The 1929 crisis and the coup that overthrew
Hipólito Yrigoyen in
1930, with the fall in export prices, will be the determining factors in the appearance of an Anglophobic sentiment linked to the rejection of neo-colonialism or British imperialism. This is what the Spanish pedagogue
Lorenzo Luzuriaga observed upon arriving in Argentina in 1940, who in a letter to
Américo Castro analysed the different attitudes towards the outbreak of the World War
Philosopher
Mario Bunge
Mario Augusto Bunge ( ; ; September 21, 1919 – February 24, 2020) was an Argentine-Canadian philosopher and physicist. His philosophical writings combined scientific realism, systemism, materialism, emergentism, and other principles.
He was a ...
, in an interview granted to Jorge Fontevecchia on May 4, 2008, collected in Reportajes 2, alluded to the spread of Anglophobic sentiment in the years of the conflict, explainable "because many of the companies had been owned by the English" and attributed to this feeling the approach to Nazism of
Carlos Astrada, introducer of existentialist philosophy in Argentina. But it will be with the
Falklands War
The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
in 1982 when Anglophobic sentiment spread to a good part of society.
India
Anglophobic sentiment in India is rooted in the colonial legacy of British rule, starting with the
rule of the British East India Company and continuing under the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
. Oppressive and exploitative practices, the imposition of British culture, language, and education, along with economic policies that favoured British interests at the expense of Indian welfare, fuelled a sense of injustice and subjugation among Indians. Key events such as the
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...
, the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, and the economic hardships imposed by British policies during events like the
Bengal famine of 1943 intensified this animosity. Post-independence, Anglophobia has persisted in various forms, often manifesting as resistance to Western cultural dominance and the lingering impact of colonial attitudes in modern Indian society. This historical context has fostered a complex relationship with the English language and British cultural elements, where they are both integrated into Indian society and simultaneously viewed with suspicion or disdain by some. The legacy of colonial exploitation has left a deep imprint on India's collective memory, contributing to a continued wariness of British influence in both political and cultural spheres.
See also
*
Anglophile
*
Racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
*
Anti-Canadian sentiment § Quebec - where anti-
Anglophone
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...
sentiment is often described as Anglophobia
*
List of phobias
*
Perfidious Albion
*
Views of Lyndon LaRouche and the LaRouche movement
*
Stereotypes of British people
References
Further reading
France
*
Acomb, Frances Dorothy. ''Anglophobia in France, 1763–1789: an essay in the history of constitutionalism and nationalism'' (Duke University Press, 1950)
* Bell, Philip J. ''France and Britain, 1900–1940. Entente and Estrangement'' (Longman, 1996)
* Berthon, Simon. ''Allies at War: The Bitter Rivalry among Churchill, Roosevelt, and de Gaulle'' (2001). 356 pp.
* Black, Jeremy. ''Natural and Necessary Enemies: Anglo-French Relations in the Eighteenth Century'' (1986)
* Brunschwig, Henri. ''Anglophobia and French African Policy'' (Yale University Press, 1971).
* Gibson, Robert. ''The Best of Enemies: Anglo-French Relations Since the Norman Conquest'' (2nd ed. 2011) major scholarly stud
excerpt and text search* Horne, Alistair, ''Friend or Foe: An Anglo-Saxon History of France'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005).
* Johnson, Douglas, et al. '' Britain and France: Ten Centuries'' (1980
table of contents* Newman, Gerald. "Anti-French Propaganda and British Liberal Nationalism in the Early Nineteenth Century: Suggestions Toward a General Interpretation." ''Victorian Studies'' (1975): 385–418
in JSTOR* Otte, T. G. "From "War-in-Sight" to Nearly War: Anglo–French Relations in the Age of High Imperialism, 1875–1898." ''Diplomacy and Statecraft'' (2006) 17#4 pp: 693–714.
* Pickles, Dorothy. ''The Uneasy Entente. French Foreign Policy and Franco-British Misunderstandings'' (1966)
* Schmidt, H. D. "The Idea and Slogan of 'Perfidious Albion'" ''Journal of the History of Ideas'' (1953) pp: 604–616
in JSTOR on French distrust of "Albion" (i.e. England)
* Tombs, R. P. and I. Tombs, ''That Sweet Enemy: Britain and France, the History of a Love-Hate Relationship'' (Pimlico, 2007)
Germany
* Frederick, Suzanne Y. "The Anglo-German Rivalry, 1890–1914," pp. 306–336 in William R. Thompson, ed. ''Great power rivalries'' (1999
online* Geppert, Dominik, and Robert Gerwarth, eds. ''Wilhelmine Germany and Edwardian Britain: Essays on Cultural Affinity'' (2009)
* Görtemaker, Manfred. ''Britain and Germany in the Twentieth Century'' (2005)
* Hoerber, Thomas. "Prevail or perish: Anglo-German naval competition at the beginning of the twentieth century," ''European Security'' (2011) 20#1, pp. 65–79.
* Kennedy, Paul M. "Idealists and realists: British views of Germany, 1864–1939," ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'' 25 (1975) pp: 137–56; compares the views of idealists (pro-German) and realists (anti-German)
* Kennedy, Paul. ''The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism 1860–1914'' (London, 1980
excerpt and text search influential synthesis
* Major, Patrick. "Britain and Germany: A Love-Hate Relationship?" ''German History,'' October 2008, Vol. 26 Issue 4, pp. 457–468.
* Milton, Richard. ''Best of Enemies: Britain and Germany: 100 Years of Truth and Lies'' (2004), popular history covers 1845–1945 focusing on public opinion and propaganda; 368p
excerpt and text search* Ramsden, John. ''Don’t Mention the War: The British and the Germans since 1890'' (London, 2006).
* Rüger, Jan. "Revisiting the Anglo-German Antagonism," ''Journal of Modern History'' (2011) 83#3, pp. 579–61
in JSTOR* Scully, Richard. ''British Images of Germany: Admiration, Antagonism, and Ambivalence, 1860–1914'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012) 375pp
United States
* Cook, James G. ''Anglophobia: An Analysis of Anti-British Prejudice in the United States'' (1919
online* Crapol, Edward P. ''America for Americans: Economic Nationalism and Anglophobia in the Late Nineteenth Century'' (Greenwood, 1973)
* Frost, Jennifer. "Dissent and Consent in the" Good War": Hedda Hopper, Hollywood Gossip, and World War II Isolationism." ''Film History: An International Journal'' 22#2 (2010): 170–181.
* Ellis, Sylvia. ''Historical Dictionary of Anglo-American Relations'' (2009
and text search* Foreman, Amanda. ''A World on Fire: Britain’s Crucial Role in the American Civil War'' (Random House, 2011), 958 pp.
** Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "How the British Nearly Supported the Confederacy," ''New York Times Sunday Book Review'
* Gleason, Mark C. ''From Associates to Antagonists: The United States, Great Britain, the First World War, and the Origins of War Plan Red, 1914–1919'' (PhD. Dissertation University of North Texas, 2012)
Online "War Plan Red" was the American Army's plan for war against Great Britain.
* Haynes, Sam W. ''Unfinished Revolution: The Early American Republic in a British World'' (2010)
* Louis, William Roger; ''Imperialism at Bay: The United States and the Decolonization of the British Empire, 1941–1945'' (1978)
* Moser, John E. ''Twisting the Lion's Tail: American Anglophobia between the World Wars'' (New York University Press, 1999)
* Perkins, Bradford. ''Prologue to war: England and the United States, 1805–1812 '' (1961
full text online* Peskin, Lawrence A. "Conspiratorial Anglophobia and the War of 1812." ''Journal of American History'' 98#3 (2011): 647–669
online* Tuffnell, Stephen. ""Uncle Sam is to be Sacrificed": Anglophobia in Late Nineteenth-Century Politics and Culture." ''American Nineteenth Century History'' 12#1 (2011): 77–99.
Anglophobic publications
* Gelli, Frank Julian. ''The Dark Side of England'', (London, 2014, {{ASIN, B00QJ19TXI)
Anti-British sentiment