Yeah not really. The day means nothing to the average brit. No event that happened then is important enough to raise a single eye brow. As another poster pointed out much of the world celebrated something similar on some day in a year.
I guess the cultural significance likely isn’t too massive and I suppose that at first glance the date might not even stand out. I would put money though that more Brits know what happened on the 4th of July though than say the 16th of August. As I mentioned in another comment the events of American Independence happened far earlier than any of the other colonies and under massively different circumstances which were much less voluntary on the British side. How many of the other colonies successfully gained independence through a war with the British empire at the peak of its power rather than due to treaties passed in an era with massive public sentiment against imperialism.
Yeah we all know its significance in the US. Because US movies and media are a huge export.
It is just not considered significant when making any plans.
In the UK the whole US UK war was the act of a mad King. Our parliment at the time refused to fund it. And the war bankrupted the royal family. Sorta leading to our current odd funding. Where parliment profits from royal land. And funds the monarch in exchange.
So the events have more historical significance then average brits recognise. But we don’t tend to treat the date any differently beyond the odd. “Oh the yanks will be on holiday.”
I will concede the point that there are a lot of days and it would be impractical to avoid all of them for elections. However, there is a pretty massive outlier. Most of those countries that were colonies gained independence after WW2 (Iraq and Afghanistan being notable exceptions) due to a strong shift in public sentiment against imperialism. The US on the other hand gained independence 200 years before any of the other countries on that list in a war between colonists and what at the time was one of the most powerful empires in the world. Culturally speaking I’m sure that even if they don’t care too much, British citizens are much more aware of the history of American Independence than most of the other countries on the list since it was a much more dramatic affair. I will say Irish independence would likely be more relevant to British citizens and come with a higher level of historical awareness and even emotional attachment.
EDIT: I will add that the US also has massive cultural significance on a global scale. How many people in the UK watch shows, movies, and listen to music from Egypt compared to from the states? If you look at the music charts in the UK they’re dominated by American artists.
Possibly off topic, but doesn’t it seem to be an interesting choice to hold a British election on July 4th?
Yeah not really. The day means nothing to the average brit. No event that happened then is important enough to raise a single eye brow. As another poster pointed out much of the world celebrated something similar on some day in a year.
I guess the cultural significance likely isn’t too massive and I suppose that at first glance the date might not even stand out. I would put money though that more Brits know what happened on the 4th of July though than say the 16th of August. As I mentioned in another comment the events of American Independence happened far earlier than any of the other colonies and under massively different circumstances which were much less voluntary on the British side. How many of the other colonies successfully gained independence through a war with the British empire at the peak of its power rather than due to treaties passed in an era with massive public sentiment against imperialism.
Yeah we all know its significance in the US. Because US movies and media are a huge export.
It is just not considered significant when making any plans.
In the UK the whole US UK war was the act of a mad King. Our parliment at the time refused to fund it. And the war bankrupted the royal family. Sorta leading to our current odd funding. Where parliment profits from royal land. And funds the monarch in exchange.
So the events have more historical significance then average brits recognise. But we don’t tend to treat the date any differently beyond the odd. “Oh the yanks will be on holiday.”
That makes sense. Thanks!
Why is that interesting, is one of these countries more important than the others?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_that_have_gained_independence_from_the_United_Kingdom
I will concede the point that there are a lot of days and it would be impractical to avoid all of them for elections. However, there is a pretty massive outlier. Most of those countries that were colonies gained independence after WW2 (Iraq and Afghanistan being notable exceptions) due to a strong shift in public sentiment against imperialism. The US on the other hand gained independence 200 years before any of the other countries on that list in a war between colonists and what at the time was one of the most powerful empires in the world. Culturally speaking I’m sure that even if they don’t care too much, British citizens are much more aware of the history of American Independence than most of the other countries on the list since it was a much more dramatic affair. I will say Irish independence would likely be more relevant to British citizens and come with a higher level of historical awareness and even emotional attachment.
EDIT: I will add that the US also has massive cultural significance on a global scale. How many people in the UK watch shows, movies, and listen to music from Egypt compared to from the states? If you look at the music charts in the UK they’re dominated by American artists.
It’s generally considered poor form to visit a UK community and say that the US is more important.
What’s the chances the reform party uses it