Euroscepticism and History Education in Britain－An Analysis of Key Stage 3 History Textbooks for England and Wales－

Euroscepticism and History Education in Britain－An Analysis of Key Stage 3 History Textbooks for England and Wales－

This article, by analysing the European content in the most recent Key Stage 3 history textbooks for England and Wales － the KS3 History by Aaron Wilkes series from Oxford University Press and the Making Sense of History series from Hodder Education － seeks to demonstrate a link between euroscepticism and history education in Britain and argues that the omission of European history in the context of the education of British history is a gross misrepresentation of essential facts which fundamentally does not allow the student to understand the full picture as to why British history has evolved the way that it has. Despite the 1215 signing of Magna Carta as a result of medieval England’s defeats in its attempt to establish an anti-French alliance on the continent in order to maintain military pressure on the French and thus strengthen its control of the key ports in Northern France for the security of English shores, the two textbooks make no mention of the security reasons behind the English desire to maintain control of northern France. Furthermore, the textbooks fail to mention that the outbreak of the Hundred Years" War was not so much a result of Philip VI trying to grab whatever English possessions he could get his hands on simply to satisfy his own rapacious desires, but more a result of Philip reacting to the problem of Edward III"s opportunistic volte-face in abandoning his intial oath as a loyal vassal of France. For the period from 1509 to 1745, the textbooks fail to mention that Henry Ⅷ’s failure to become Holy Roman Emperor was a contributing factor the English Reformation, that England’s “Financial Revolution” under William Ⅲ occurred due to the king’s preoccupation with continental European affairs, and that the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland was undertaken as a response to the French threat of a possible Stuart succession in Edinburgh. For the period from 1745 to 1901, the textbooks do not talk about the changes in British administrations due to their failures to deal with European matters, the introduction of Britain’s first income tax because of Britain’s need for funds in fighting Revolutionary France, the 1801 Act of Union with Ireland that came about as a result of the 1798 Irish Rebellion that was assisted by Revolutionary France, the repeal of the Corn Laws and the passage of the 1867 Reform Act which were implemented with the intention of strengthening liberalism in Britain and ensuring peace in the international arena in the face of challenges in Europe. Finally, in regards to the 20th century, the textbooks greatly emphasize fascism and the actions of Nazi Germany while providing almost no information on the historical process of European integration.

This article, by analysing the European content in the most recent Key Stage 3 history textbooks for England and Wales － the KS3 History by Aaron Wilkes series from Oxford University Press and the Making Sense of History series from Hodder Education － seeks to demonstrate a link between euroscepticism and history education in Britain and argues that the omission of European history in the context of the education of British history is a gross misrepresentation of essential facts which fundamentally does not allow the student to understand the full picture as to why British history has evolved the way that it has. Despite the 1215 signing of Magna Carta as a result of medieval England’s defeats in its attempt to establish an anti-French alliance on the continent in order to maintain military pressure on the French and thus strengthen its control of the key ports in Northern France for the security of English shores, the two textbooks make no mention of the security reasons behind the English desire to maintain control of northern France. Furthermore, the textbooks fail to mention that the outbreak of the Hundred Years" War was not so much a result of Philip VI trying to grab whatever English possessions he could get his hands on simply to satisfy his own rapacious desires, but more a result of Philip reacting to the problem of Edward III"s opportunistic volte-face in abandoning his intial oath as a loyal vassal of France. For the period from 1509 to 1745, the textbooks fail to mention that Henry Ⅷ’s failure to become Holy Roman Emperor was a contributing factor the English Reformation, that England’s “Financial Revolution” under William Ⅲ occurred due to the king’s preoccupation with continental European affairs, and that the 1707 Act of Union with Scotland was undertaken as a response to the French threat of a possible Stuart succession in Edinburgh. For the period from 1745 to 1901, the textbooks do not talk about the changes in British administrations due to their failures to deal with European matters, the introduction of Britain’s first income tax because of Britain’s need for funds in fighting Revolutionary France, the 1801 Act of Union with Ireland that came about as a result of the 1798 Irish Rebellion that was assisted by Revolutionary France, the repeal of the Corn Laws and the passage of the 1867 Reform Act which were implemented with the intention of strengthening liberalism in Britain and ensuring peace in the international arena in the face of challenges in Europe. Finally, in regards to the 20th century, the textbooks greatly emphasize fascism and the actions of Nazi Germany while providing almost no information on the historical process of European integration.