English and French national identity: comparisons and contrasts*
Krishan Kumar
ABSTRACT. The English and the French are both former imperial peoples, to that extent they share certain features of national identity common peoples who have had empires. That includes a ‘missionary’ sense themselves, feeling have, or had, purpose in world wider than concerns non‐imperial nations. I argue nevertheless diverged substantially their self‐conceptions. This put down differing experience empire, especially among British were more successful ventures. also contrasting domestic histories – evolutionary case, revolutionary significantly coloured identities two countries. These factors taken together, argue, produced intense nationhood stronger consciousness English.
Nations and Nationalism