ABSTRACT
This introduction presents some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores varying theoretical discussions into alternative models of national development. It attempts to evaluate the relative merits of these models in one geographical and historical setting, the British Isles, including Ireland, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries. The book provides an introduction to some of the theoretical issues involved in studying national development, by speculating on some social conditions for ethnic change in peripheral areas. It considers the historical setting in which England began territorial expansion, as well as some consequences of political incorporation for the Celtic lands. The book also considers the consequences of industrialization, with its heightened core–periphery interaction, on several processes. It discusses whether industrialization led to regional economic equality; whether industrialization facilitated the development of a national culture; and the consequences of industrialization upon the political integration of the Celtic lands.
