Little Englander

For other uses, see Little England (disambiguation).

The Little Englanders were a British political movement who opposed empire-building and advocated complete independence for Britain's existing colonies.[1][2] The ideas of Little Englandism first began to gain popularity in the late 18th century after the loss of the American colonies, but later came to be strongly associated as a reference to members of the Liberal Party who opposed further expansion of the British Empire.[3] The term "Little Englander" itself was first recorded in 1833, and was usually derogatory.[4].

Since the 2010s, especially after the 2016 Brexit referendum,[5] the term has become a popular derogatory epithet for an English chauvinist[2] who mistrusts the European Union, international cooperation, and foreigners in general.[6] "Gammon" has been used similarly in British political culture since 2012.[7]

  1. ^ Galbraith, John S. (October 1961). "Myths of the "Little England" Era". The American Historical Review. 67 (1). doi:10.2307/1846260.
  2. ^ a b Chotiner, Isaac. "From Little Englanders to Brexiteers". The New Yorker.
  3. ^ Olson, James S.; Shadle, Robert, eds. (1996). Historical Dictionary of the British Empire, Volume 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 676, 677.
  4. ^ "Little Englander". Oxford English Dictionary. (Entry "Little Englanders" authored by Patricia Ashman.)
  5. ^ Irving, Clive (October 15, 2016). "The Rise of Hateful Little England" – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  6. ^ "little Englander | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org.
  7. ^ "Is the EU really plotting to switch Britain to 'Berlin Time'?". Metro. 5 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.