“Little Englander”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

"Little Englander" was a phrase applied to a wing of the Liberal Party opposed to expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century, who wanted "England" to extend no farther than the borders of English territory, and in full cooperation with Scotland and Wales as part of the United Kingdom. In the late 18th and 19th centuries the term was used for those Englishmen who looked upon the colonies of the British Empire as economically burdensome and wished the granting of self-government as quickly as possible.^[1]

History

The "Little England" movement originated among manufacturers in Manchester and found support among journalists such as Goldwin Smith. The movement objected to the protectionist stance of Canada exemplified by the tariff increase of 1859. The manufacturers resented paying taxes to defend a former colony that took few British goods, but exported so many. Moreover, it was believed that the United States could become a much more important partner as it was already Britain's best customer outside Europe.

There was also a social element to the movement. The Manchester School opposed the Empire for providing sinecures for the sons of the aristocracy when the same money could be used for tax breaks to industrialists at home.^[2]

The Little England stance was adopted by a wing of the Liberal Party typified by William Gladstone (1809–1898), who opposed many of Britain's military adventures in the late 19th century. It is particularly associated with opposition to the Second Boer War (1899–1902). For example, Arthur Ponsonby wrote of the Liberal leader Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's opposition to the Boer War: "The impression one got of him from the Press in those days was … that he was an unpatriotic Little Englander".^[3]

In literature

The term "little England" predates its political usage; the expression "this little England" was used in the Gunpowder Day sermon of the English Puritan preacher Thomas Hooker (5 November 1626).^[4] It is also used in Shakespeare's play Henry VIII (1601), when the Old Lady tells Anne Boleyn: "In faith, for little England / You'd venture an emballing: / I myself would for Carnarvonshire."

Later usage

The term is sometimes used^[5] as a derogatory term for English nationalists or English people who are perceived as xenophobic or overly nationalistic and are accused of being "ignorant" and "boorish". It is sometimes applied to opponents of globalism, multilateralism and internationalism, such as those who are against UK membership of the European Union{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}.

References

1. ^p. 676 Ashman, Patricia Little Englanders in Historical Dictionary of the British Empire, Volume 2 edited by James Stuart Olson and Robert Shadle Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996
2. ^{{cite book | url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nzumalaEe40C&pg=PA24 | pages=24–27 | title=British Businessmen and Canadian Confederation: Constitution Making in an Era of Anglo-Globalization | first=Andrew | last=Smith | publisher = McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP | year=2008 | isbn= 9780773575004}}
3. ^F. W. Hirst, In The Golden Days (London: Frederick Muller, 1947), p. 253.
4. ^p.62 of The Puritans in America: A Narrative Anthology, edited by Alan Heimert and Andrew Delbanco. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. 438 pages.
5. ^{{cite news |last1=Crace |first1=John |title=Who are these 'little Englanders' David Cameron is playing to? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/11/little-englanders-david-cameron-immigration |accessdate=9 February 2019 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=11 June 2013 |quote=In short, it has become a byword for small-minded bigotry.}}