The term ‘internal colonialisism’ comes from a work by Hechter (1999) who wished to describe the development of nationalism in Celtic areas of Britain. The text was first published in 1975 and set against a background of social and political change in America and elsewhere in the 1960s and 1970s. Central to Hechter’s argument is the notion of ‘core’ and ‘peripheral’ regions in modern European states (inspired by work conducted by Wallerstein (1976)). Hechter describes how most modern states are made up of several distinct cultural groups.
The ‘core’ region is where central government was first established, and over time the ‘core’ group of people establish cultural and economic dominance as well as political leadership. In contrast the ‘peripheral’ regions have distinct cultural practices, sometimes language, religion, and beliefs. In a process of national development local peripheral cultures are subsumed by those of the dominant core group. In some states, this cultural assimilation process is far from successful and complete. Here, Hechter cites the examples of Belgium and the United Kingdom (Hechter 1999, 8).
As an alternative development to cultural assimilation, a situation of ‘internal colonialism’ can develop. In an internal colonial model, modernisation and industrialisation take place in different ways and at different rates across the core and peripheral regions. As the core region is modernised first, it has a leader’s advantage in the labour market and becomes more economically advantaged. Politically advantageous roles in the state are reserved for those who have most access to economic capital and prestige, denying those in peripheral regions. The peripheral regions lag behind in economic development and political power, which leads to greater disadvantage. If industrialisation takes place in peripheral regions, it typically involves industries dependent on the core, and suited to the export market. The economy of the periphery is therefore subject to fluctuations in the international market. Instead of eventual cultural and economic homogeneity, the internal colonial model suggests that regions can become increasingly divergent. Internal colonialism may eventually result in the growth of a nationalist movement and calls for independence of the peripheral region(s).
In the introduction to the second edition of this work, Hechter admits that the example of Scotland is not a clear-cut internal colonial model. Instead of merely being a peripheral region, Scotland had its own industrial revolution and distinct cultural and economic development pattern (Hechter 1999, xix). This point is also made in Connell (2004). However, considering the Highlands and Islands compared to the rest of Scotland (leaving aside England for the moment), the internal colonial model does have striking relevance. For example, a feature of the economic development of island communities was their dependence firstly on exporting kelp, and then exporting wool. These industries were subject to the fluctuations of the international markets and these fluctuations had several significant effects on local social and economic development (see Section 3.3.1). In support of the view that the Highlands and Islands were considered ‘other’ and to some extent ‘colonial’ compared to the Lowlands of Scotland is the inclusion of a full-scale model Highland village at the Empire Exhibition of 1938 in Glasgow. This exhibition aimed to showcase the British Empire in industry, achievement and power. One of the highlights of the 1938 exhibition was ‘An Clachan’, a model Highland village including post office, blacksmith’s forge, a ruined church, and a land owner’s castle. ‘Real-life’ Highlanders had to live in the village as exhibits in the large-scale museum of imperial power the Exhibition represented (McArthur 1986; Lorimer 1999).
Similarly, the use of English to educate young people in Gaelic-speaking areas at the expense of their native language is reminiscent of discussions of language use in post-colonial contexts around the world (e.g. Fanon (1986); wa Thiong’o (1994)). Fanon (1986) describes
how he feels that his native Martinique Creole is a powerful part of his self identity, but colonialisation has given the islanders an ‘inferiority complex in the soul’ (Fanon 1986, 19). Part of this inferiority complex is achieved through the imposition of French as the language of education, and children in school are taught to avoid creolisms and avoid creole usage. Fanon describes how black men must ‘become white’ and speak the language of white people (French) in order to become accepted in mainland France. Wa Thiong’o, a Kenyan writer, discusses the effects of being educated in English (1994). He states that the ‘biggest weapon of imperialism’ is a ‘cultural bomb’, a range of methods of cultural domination including the imposition of a colonial language (wa Thiong’o 1994, 3). As a child, wa Thiongo’s native G˜ik˜uy˜u (his spelling) was stigmatised at school, and all lessons were taught in English. He sees the use of English as a powerful form of cultural domination and its usage in schooling leads to children accepting their own culture is inferior from their earliest years (wa Thiong’o 1994, 18).
Noticeable social and geographical distinctions between the Highlands and the Lowlands remain to this day, firstly in the commonly made distinction between the two regions. As explained above this distinction was first made in medieval times along linguistic lines, but persists in popular perception as well as administrative boundaries to this day (Withers 1984, 22). The social geography of the Highland and Island region is also distinct from the Lowlands. Chalmers & Danson (2006, 240) report that the Highlands and Islands is one of the least
densely populated regions in the EU, with an average of 9 people per km2, compared to the
EU average of 116/km2. A report by the European Union statistics agency on data from 2009
found that the Highlands and Islands is one of the poorer regions of the EU, compared to neighbouring North-East Scotland which is the 14th richest region in the EU (Eurostat 2012). The consequences for Gaelic of this distinct local geography and socioeconomic disadvantage are predictable: all models of language loss and revitalisation suggest a language is unlikely to gain speaker numbers unless socioeconomic equality is achieved (Fishman 1991; Thomason 2001). The history of the Gaelic language, and changes occurring in synchronic Gaelic, must be considered with this social and historical background in mind.