Cornish 'Assimilation'

[Guest Curnow]

Hi all

Like a lot of people who were born and educated in Cornwall and approaching sixty, I can agree to Mr Hart’s statement on the ‘Cornish Identity’ topic that the National Curriculum doesn’t include Cornish history, and Cornish historian, John Angarrack’s well researched and fully referenced book ‘Our Future is History’ states that;

‘The National Curriculum Guide lines prompt teachers to instruct pupils in the mechanics of; Roman conquest and resistance to ‘Roman rule’,’ Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain’ or ‘Anglo-Saxon resistance to Viking encroachment’.

The Anglo-Saxon usurpation of Britain is presented as a peaceful settlement. There is no parallel prompt for teachers to educate children in the well-documented violence of Anglo-Saxon usurpation, or the equally well documented centuries of Celtic resistance to the Anglo-Saxon aggression. It is clearly obvious what is happening. Removal of the Celtic Cornish dimension helps fabricate homogeny and achieve assimilation of the Cornish. By removing the supposed ‘worthless’ Cornish past, and replacing it with the glorification of an English past, it is hoped that the Cornish will throw their lot in with the English and adopt their ethnicity.

This is in total contravention of Article 5, of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities that states: ‘The parties shall refrain from policies or practices aimed at assimilation of persons belonging to national minorities against their will’.

Yet our Cornish history is ‘air-brushed’ from the English Curriculum. A history that pre-dates the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and long before the term ‘Angle Land’ came into being is totally ignored - the Anglo-centric version of history is imposed upon Cornish children.

Just how successful the Anglo–centric version has been in assimilating the Cornish into becoming English is difficult to measure.

Cornish people – as Graham Hart did some years ago - should ask themselves as to how open minded or receptive they are of their own history and culture and then maybe recognise that the 'taught' English curriculum version is not for them. Not easy after being indoctrinated for many years, but perhaps this article written by Howard Curnow for the Cornish World magazine may help.

“Some claim to have traced their family back through the centuries and found that all their ancestors came from Cornwall. Many found themselves sent here in a military or a civilian job –they met a ‘local’, got married and now fight to protect their children’s identity as being Cornish.

Yet other couples crossed the border to find a better place to live and then had their children in Cornwall. They also, are keen to claim Cornishness for their offspring. That’s good, I put a letter in a newspaper at the time of the 2001 census, asking people who felt their heart was in Cornwall to tick ‘Cornish’ on the census return (unfortunately it was not quite that easy, hopefully in 2011 there’ll be a box labeled ‘Cornish’)

In fact, today there are four different groups of people living in Cornwall.

GROUP ONE go around wearing kilts, waving flags, attending rallies and protest meetings. Let’s call them the Cornish Cornish.

At the opposite end of the spectrum there are people who move down from England but refuse to acknowledge that they have crossed a genuine border, fixed by royal decree in 936 AD – quote: “The border between my land of England and the land of Cornwall shall for ever be the eastern bank of the river Tamar!” – medieval maps showed Britain as four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. These good people assume they are living in an English county (how many English counties have their own recognised language?) and treat everyone and everything around them as though they were still living in Surrey. That’s GROUP TWO: We’ll call them English English.

Then there are the hybrids. English folk who come to Cornwall, embrace the culture and traditions, try to learn the language and work hard to support everything that is Cornish. They are the Cornish English, GROUP THREE.

Last, but by no means least, in GROUP FOUR, are the English Cornish. Friends and relatives of every Cornish family, they have the same attitude as Group Two, English English. It is hard to blame them because that is the way a lot of Cornish people were brought up, including the Cornish Cornish. The difficulty comes when an individual is challenged to discard what they learned at their mother’s knee and what they were taught at school, to re-learn the facts of history of Cornwall. That is not easy and, unfortunately, a few of these people find themselves in positions of power and authority in business, committees and councils all over Cornwall.”

I would be Group One

But what group mostly describes ‘you’ ?

http://www.magakernow.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=38569

:smiley20:

[Coopsie]

Ah, another history lesson.. Interesting, but it's history..

At the opposite end of the spectrum there are people who move down from England but refuse to acknowledge that they have crossed a genuine border, fixed by royal decree in 936 AD – quote: “The border between my land of England and the land of Cornwall shall for ever be the eastern bank of the river Tamar!” – medieval maps showed Britain as four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall.

My memory may not be what it was, but I think I must have been off school on that day in 936 AD .. Nice to know what the medieval maps say though.. Tell me, what do TODAYS maps say?. ..

Honestly Curnow, Sir, your post REALLY was interesting. I'm in no way deriding it. I'm simply responding with my own opinion, which is based upon nothing other than how the land lies TODAY...

Is that fair enough?.

[The Villains]

Hi all

Like a lot of people who were born and educated in Cornwall and approaching sixty, I can agree to Mr Hart’s statement on the ‘Cornish Identity’ topic that the National Curriculum doesn’t include Cornish history, and Cornish historian, John Angarrack’s well researched and fully referenced book ‘Our Future is History’ states that;

‘The National Curriculum Guide lines prompt teachers to instruct pupils in the mechanics of; Roman conquest and resistance to ‘Roman rule’,’ Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain’ or ‘Anglo-Saxon resistance to Viking encroachment’.

The Anglo-Saxon usurpation of Britain is presented as a peaceful settlement. There is no parallel prompt for teachers to educate children in the well-documented violence of Anglo-Saxon usurpation, or the equally well documented centuries of Celtic resistance to the Anglo-Saxon aggression. It is clearly obvious what is happening. Removal of the Celtic Cornish dimension helps fabricate homogeny and achieve assimilation of the Cornish. By removing the supposed ‘worthless’ Cornish past, and replacing it with the glorification of an English past, it is hoped that the Cornish will throw their lot in with the English and adopt their ethnicity.

This is in total contravention of Article 5, of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities that states: ‘The parties shall refrain from policies or practices aimed at assimilation of persons belonging to national minorities against their will’.

Yet our Cornish history is ‘air-brushed’ from the English Curriculum. A history that pre-dates the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and long before the term ‘Angle Land’ came into being is totally ignored - the Anglo-centric version of history is imposed upon Cornish children.

Just how successful the Anglo–centric version has been in assimilating the Cornish into becoming English is difficult to measure.

Cornish people – as Graham Hart did some years ago - should ask themselves as to how open minded or receptive they are of their own history and culture and then maybe recognise that the 'taught' English curriculum version is not for them. Not easy after being indoctrinated for many years, but perhaps this article written by Howard Curnow for the Cornish World magazine may help.

“Some claim to have traced their family back through the centuries and found that all their ancestors came from Cornwall. Many found themselves sent here in a military or a civilian job –they met a ‘local’, got married and now fight to protect their children’s identity as being Cornish.

Yet other couples crossed the border to find a better place to live and then had their children in Cornwall. They also, are keen to claim Cornishness for their offspring. That’s good, I put a letter in a newspaper at the time of the 2001 census, asking people who felt their heart was in Cornwall to tick ‘Cornish’ on the census return (unfortunately it was not quite that easy, hopefully in 2011 there’ll be a box labeled ‘Cornish’)

In fact, today there are four different groups of people living in Cornwall.

GROUP ONE go around wearing kilts, waving flags, attending rallies and protest meetings. Let’s call them the Cornish Cornish.

At the opposite end of the spectrum there are people who move down from England but refuse to acknowledge that they have crossed a genuine border, fixed by royal decree in 936 AD – quote: “The border between my land of England and the land of Cornwall shall for ever be the eastern bank of the river Tamar!” – medieval maps showed Britain as four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. These good people assume they are living in an English county (how many English counties have their own recognised language?) and treat everyone and everything around them as though they were still living in Surrey. That’s GROUP TWO: We’ll call them English English.

Then there are the hybrids. English folk who come to Cornwall, embrace the culture and traditions, try to learn the language and work hard to support everything that is Cornish. They are the Cornish English, GROUP THREE.

Last, but by no means least, in GROUP FOUR, are the English Cornish. Friends and relatives of every Cornish family, they have the same attitude as Group Two, English English. It is hard to blame them because that is the way a lot of Cornish people were brought up, including the Cornish Cornish. The difficulty comes when an individual is challenged to discard what they learned at their mother’s knee and what they were taught at school, to re-learn the facts of history of Cornwall. That is not easy and, unfortunately, a few of these people find themselves in positions of power and authority in business, committees and councils all over Cornwall.”

I would be Group One

But what group mostly describes ‘you’ ?

http://www.magakernow.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=38569

Are these groups made up by you?

Your either in Group 1 or your not! (looks like your sitting on the border, i mean fence).

So theres only 3 groups then, as you stated group 4 is the same as group 2!

[Scooby]

I'm Sorry but is this not the Non-Cornish Football Forum or as it seems to have become the Non-Football Cornish Forum?.....Let's Talk Football please and stop this dragging on!

[Coopsie]

I'm Sorry but is this not the Non-Cornish Football Forum or as it seems to have become the Non-Football Cornish Forum?.....Let's Talk Football please and stop this dragging on!

But is that what you REALLY want Scooby?. Are you not intrigued by, or remotely interested in all the "Cornwall is a Country" nonsense?. ..

If only other members would cotton to the FACT that's how most people feel, we'd be able to have our forum back, and talk nonsense about football, rather than utter nonsense about days of olde, and long lost civilisations ..

By the way, just because I HAVE TO have the last word.. The deluded amongst us, say that Cornwall is it's own country because it's seperated by the Tamar river. Tell me how the Isles of Scilly are part of England, even though they are seperated from the tip of England by some 20 miles or so??.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of the Isles of Scilly were the most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 32% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.

[Martin Eddy]

was that swimming from one island to the other because the ferry broke down :wacko:

[Lee_]

I'm Sorry but is this not the Non-Cornish Football Forum or as it seems to have become the Non-Football Cornish Forum?.....Let's Talk Football please and stop this dragging on!

I agree, this should have been tacked on the back of the other thread.

[bluestorm]

This forum has turned into a party political braodcast on behalf of the Cornish numpty Nationalist party, come back Judge (your far more interesting)