The army composed of three nations: British soldiers' multi-faceted identities in the long eighteenth century

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13559
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: History of Europe and America
• Research Institution: Gifu University
• Principal Investigator: Tsujimoto Satoshi 岐阜大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (50706934)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: イギリス陸軍 / 長い18世紀 / 複合国家 / アイデンティティ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project examined the multinational composition of the British army in the long eighteenth century and its effect on the soldiers' collective identities. The exhaustive analysis of the relevant sources, both public and private records, showed that the eighteenth century witnessed a growing multinationalisation of the British army, and accordingly nationality worked as a bond among the soldiers of the same national origin. At the same time, active comradeship was also developed in the individual regiments, and it encouraged different nationalities to have a common sense of belonging. Thus, this project suggested, by the end of the long eighteenth century, soldiers of the British army had formed an overarching common identity which helped ‘the army composed of three nations’ to be united effectively.

Free Research Field

人文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、近年のイギリス史研究における複合国家論の成果をふまえつつ、その議論の中に陸軍を位置づけようとする試みである。これまで軍事史の観点から考察されることのなかった複合国家論に新たな視角を提供したことは、本研究の重要な成果といえる。またアイルランド将兵の分析を通じて、従来の研究において国民意識の核とみなされてきたプロテスタンティズムに依らない連帯意識（≒国民意識）がイギリス陸軍内において成立していたことが示された。