Что связывает нас

Король Георгий, Кайзер Вильгельм и Царь Николай были первыми кузенами. Их бабушка была королева Виктория. Когда мы говорим об Восточном Весте, легко забыть, что это в основном относится к холодной войне. «Западный» не белый. Большие идеологические разногласия прошлого века вызвали кровопролитие и беспорядки во всем мире. Должны ли мы иметь монархов? Должны ли мы иметь диктаторов? Должны ли мы придерживаться правила большинства? Должны ли мы дать людям возможность самостоятельно выбирать? Должны ли потребности общин быть поставлены выше потребностей отдельных лиц? Что происходит, когда сталкиваются потребности разных сообществ и отдельных лиц? Государства-нации создали историю, в которой разные места были принципиально разными, с «народом». Стоит разгадать эти подразделения, чтобы увидеть, что нас связывает.

Холодная война

United Arab Emirates

The southern coast of the Persian Gulf was known as the 'Pirate Coast' - although the ruler of Sharjah wrote a book in 1986 entitled 'The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf'. Pearling was a major industry. Some would also make a living by harassing British flagged ships from the 17th to the 19th century. For 150 years, the local rulers had a treaty with Britain as the Trucial States. Britain was expected to protect their authority in exchange for exclusivity rights. The invention of cultured pearls wiped out the industry, but oil finds in Persia (1908) and Mesopotamia (1927) led to eventually successful exploration which changed the game. The first successful boreholes struck black gold in Abu Dhabi in 1950. The Suez Crisis of 1956 is arguably the last time Britain flexed its global authority, and it ended up with a bloody nose. In 1968, unable to afford being a global policeman, Britain decided to withdraw all troops east of Aden. This led to unity negotiations and in 1971, six emirates joined to form the single country of the United Arab Emirates. Each Emirate is governed by an absolute monarch, and one (traditionally the Emir of Abu Dhabi) is selected as President.

Burj Khalifa

World's Tallest Man Made Structure

Tonga

The Lapita were seafarers who lived around 3,000 years ago, exploring islands hundreds of miles apart. Tonga is made up of 169 islands, with 36 of them inhabited. Tongan is a Polynesian language closely connected to that spoken in Hawaii (an 18-hour flight away). The first Europeans visited in 1616 with a brief trading visit from a Dutch vessel. Sovereignty was never given to a foreign power, but it did have 'protected state' status from the United Kingdom from 1900 till 1970. It was only united as a Kingdom in 1845, and (with the help of a missionary) declared a Constitutional Monarchy in 1875 adopting the western royal style. It is the only Pacific nation to maintain its Monarchical government.

Lapita Pottery

England and France

North Sea Empire

Cnut the Great was King of England, Denmark and Norway with his North Sea Empire from 1016-1035. Henry IV was the first King of England (1399-1413) to have English as his mother tongue since the Norman Invasion in 1066. His mother was born in Lincolnshire while most of the previous Monarch's had married on the continent. By 1172, the Angevin Empire was at its greatest extent. A big chunk of what we now know as France and England were under the control of the same family. While the elite was Anglo-Norman with conquerors mixing with the ruling class, the common people were mostly Anglo-Saxon. Englisherie was the legal status given to a person that was slain that could be proved to be English rather than Norman. If the dead person couldn't be proved to be English, the administrative district was fined. If they were English, the fine was excused. King John lost Normandy to the King of France, and a resulting Civil War led to the Magna Carta with reduced powers for the Monarchy. The Hundred Years' War was fought  1337-1453 between the House of Plantagenet and the House of Valois over who had claim to the Throne of France. This war was part of the building of the national identity as two separate rival nations (read ruling families). If you want a war, you need an enemy.

The Angevin Empire - 1172

Norman Possessions - 12th Century

Qatar

Qatar has a population of 2.6 million of which 313,000 are citizens, and the rest are expatriates. An Expatriate is someone temporarily or permanently living outside of their native country. I am not sure what the difference is from an Immigrant, other than perhaps intent. Is the relationship of an Expat purely commercial? With 90% of the population Expats, Qatar has the highest GDP per capita in the world at about $125,000 per person. Although a small country by population and size, it has the world's third-largest reserves of natural-gas. Qatar took part in the Arab Revolt that helped defeat the Ottoman Empire in World War I. The United Kingdom then gave recognition to the hereditary title of Sheikh Abdullah as leader of a 'Trucial State'. The area had previously been known as the Pirate Coast. The British controlled foreign policy, defence, and arbitration. Independence came in 1971. Qatar did not join the also newly formed federation of the United Arab Emirates.

Doha

Maldives

Middle Eastern seafarers began to take over the Indian Ocean trade routes in the 10th century.  The Maldives islands were converted to Islam in the 12th century, and developed strong cultural and trading links with Africa and Asia as a Sultanate. In 1153, the previously Buddhist King converted to Islam. The King had been convinced by Arab traders and started a line of six Islamic dynasties which continued till 1932 when the Sultanate became elective. The Crusades and the Byzantine Empire had been crushed by the mid-15th century and the Western Europeans started looking for sea routes to China instead. In 1558 the Portuguese arrived in the Maldives and attempted to impose Christianity. They were driven out by a local revolt. The Dutch later became the dominant trading power in the mid-17th century until they were expelled by the British. The Sultan accepted British control of foreign affairs and defence, in exchange for support in maintaining 'home-rule'. As part of British Decolonisation, a vote was taken in 1968 on whether to be a Constitutional Monarchy or a Republic. 93% voted in favour of ending the 853-year-old monarchy. 98% of the population is Islamic.

Copper-plate book from 1194 AD

El Salvador

Land is often used as a tool to define nations. Several different Mesoamerican nations lived in the area we now call the nation of El Salvador before moving on (e.g. Cuzcatlecs, the Lenca and the Maya). The area was conquered and incorporated into the 'Viceroyalty of New Spain'. A viceroyalty is a 'sub-nation' run in the name of a monarch from somewhere else. A foreign sovereign person. It was then part of the Mexican Empire, before that dissolved, and part of the Federal Republic of Central America before that dissolved. In 1841, it became a sovereign state. From 1895-1898 it had a short-lived union with Nicaragua and Honduras called 'The Greater Republic of Central America'. Then that dissolved. In Empires, sovereignty rested in a person and that person wanted more people. To have 'sovereign nations', you have to define a permanent homogenous group of people who want the same thing. Good luck with that. All agreements are temporary.

Independence Protests

Colombia

The Spanish conquests on Colombian soil began in 1499 with permanent settlements by 1514. They first gained footholds on the coasts, with Santa Marta (1525) and then Cartagena (1533), before pushing into the interior. Rivers were used as quicker entry and exit points. The indigenous people formed a loose confederation of different rulers. Conquistadors were tasked by the Spanish and Portuguese Empires to conquer territory and open trade routes. The Magdalena River is the main artery of the Andean region and was used by these fortune-seeking soldiers to conquer the inland powers and establish what is now the capital of Colombia (Bogota... called Bacatá before that) as the capital of the Kingdom of Granada in 1538. Colombia declared independence in 1810. After the Napoleonic Wars, Ferdinand VII attempted to reclaim the areas but a fierce rebellion led to renewed independence in 1819.

The Magdalena River

Brunei

Brunei is a sovereign state, with just less than half a million people, on the north coast of Borneo. Two-thirds of the population are Malay, and the country is surrounded by Malaysia (bar the coast). After centuries of religious conflict with Spain, the larger island of Borneo had driven out the Spanish but was rife with internal Civil War over who should rule. In 1888, Britain made a treaty with a Sultan taking control of its foreign affairs. It 'could not cede or lease any territory to foreign powers without British consent'. Providing muscle to the ruler. Oil was discovered in 1929 becoming the basis of a century of development. The whole of Borneo was occupied by Japan during WWII. The British had anticipated this, but the war in Europe meant they didn't have resources to do anything about it. The Japanese surrendered in 1945. Brunei gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. Brunei is an absolute Hereditary Monarchy (one of six left). It has a parliament, but the last elections were held in 1962 and the Sultan has full executive authority. 

Hassanal Bolkiah

Sultan of Brunei

Bahrain

Although we conquered the seas long ago (ask the Polynesians), islands and water are useful tools for otherwise purely imaginary borders. Bahrain is an island country situated between the Qatar peninsula and Saudi Arabia. It has a similar size population to Swaziland but is about 1/3rd the size. Bahrain declared independence from the United Kingdom in 1971, and Swaziland in 1968. Both are still monarchies. The Al Khalifa family moved from Qatar to Bahrain in 1799. In 1820, they were recognised as rulers of the island by Britain. After discovery of oil in 1931 (which brought rapid modernisation), the British Royal Navy moved its entire middle eastern command to Bahrain in 1935. With the United States taking the baton as world power after WWII, Bahrain is now the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

U.S. Fifth Fleet

Personal Rule

Modern Income Tax was introduced in 1799 to the United Kingdom to pay for the French Revolutionary War. Nations of 'the People' v Monarchs. Before that, Parliaments were summoned when the Monarch needed money. The 'Long Parliament' (1640-1660) followed a concession which required agreement to be dissolved. This came after the 'Short Parliament' which lasted only 3 weeks, after an 11 year attempt at personal rule, before King Charles I dissolved it because he couldn't get what he wanted. PAYE is a withholding tax. This, and bond markets, made it much easier for Governments to raise and spend. Pool the money, and make 'central decisions' about how to spend it. A Universal Basic Income would be different. It doesn't make 'the' people sovereign. It makes people sovereign. It doesn't enable group decisions. It empowers personal decisions. A UBI would not replace government. The messy work of coming to common understanding is still required. It just gives everyone a genuine seat at the table. Participating in a contribution based UBI scheme is analogous to those with Privilege ending their personal rule, while giving everyone personal sovereignty. 

King Charles I

executed in 1649

Sweden

When Sovereignty shifted from Kings and Nobility to 'the people' with the birth of Nationalism, this was problematic for the definition of the people. The 'Divine Right of Kings' put the Monarch above the people. Nobility had 'blue blood' and marriages were a way of building Kingdoms. A class above. Elizabeth I, whose blue veins gave an artist difficulty painting a life-like picture, died without issue. This joined the English & Scottish throne under the personal union of James I and VI in 1603. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish crowns were joined in a personal union called the 'Kalmar Union' from 1397-1523. There was a struggle between the Monarch who wanted union and the nobles who preferred local power. The Union was in part to counter the strength of the Hanseatic League - a confederation of commercial merchant guilds and market towns. After the Kalmar Union, Sweden was in Union with Norway from 1814-1905. It started by force, but ended in a peaceful divorce. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, but isn't part of the Eurozone.

Blue Blood Elizabeth I

Kalmar Union

Hanseatic League

Nepal

In about 500 BC, some small Kingdoms arose in the area of Nepal. A prince of one of these renounced his wealth to lead an ascetic life. He became known as the Buddha. Small Kingdoms rose and fell with the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Nepal eventually coming into conflict over annexing smaller states - resulting in Nepal's Anglo-Somebody war (also known as the Gurkha War in 1815/16). There has been rapid change in the last two decades with an executive monarchy under the King in 1990, and now a new 2015 constitution forming a seven state federal democratic republic under President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Bidya Devi Bhandari

Nepali President

Saudi-Arabia

Large Scale Governments were originally forged through force and conquest. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932 after 30 years of conquest bringing together four regions. It is one of the few remaining Absolute Monarchies with hereditary power. Saudi Arabia is home to the two holiest places within Islam - Medina and Mecca. Muhammad was requested to come to Medina to act as a peace maker between bitter warring tribes. Thought to be the world's first, the constitution of Medina committed the tribes to mutual co-operation under his leadership. Mecca is home to the Kaaba and is the direction Muslims face during prayer. More than 15 million pilgrims visit the spiritual focal point each year.

The Kaaba

Remaining Monarchies in the World

Red (Absolute) Orange (Semi-Constitutional)

Dark Green (Constitutional), Light Green (Commonwealth)

Pink (Sub-national Monarchies)