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| An American adventure for Holmes |
Sherlock Holmes said “I am one of those who believes that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.”
This quote from the "Adventure of the Noble Batchelor" by Arthur Conan Doyle describes the the idea of all countries with a British heritage, not just the US and the UK, joining together. This concept arose in 19th century with the idea of an Imperial Federation. This became more popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as the British Empire came under pressure from rising nationalist and anti-colonialist forces.
These like-minded countries can easily be identified because in addition their having very similar cultures of trade and law, they all speak English as their main language. The membership list of this club varies quite considerably depending on who is drawing up the list but at its core are the English-speaking countries of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Each of these was once a British colony and could plausibly be imagined as forming of an alliance of countries united by a shared political and economic culture and Christianity.
This powerful idea of a cooperation agreement across the English speaking world is know as the Anglosphere. The concept of an Anglosphere reflects the long-held belief that Britain’s best interests lie in forging closer relationships with those countries that have broadly similar political structures and systems; and that also tend to cherish the values of parliamentary government, individual liberty, the rule of law and the free market.
Once Britain has left the EU, following the decision in a referendum on June 23rd to do so, it can forge new alliances and trade deals. One possible option is aline itself with countries that have historically been friends and allies, countries who share similarities in culture and religion. Britain could form closer links with its friends.