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This thesis is an analysis of national identity construction in Cyprus and England in two historical times: the period following the Greek and Turkish military offensives in Cyprus (1974-93), and the period of the Conservative administration in Britain (1979-97). It examines identity formations in history textbooks across the two settings and addresses their relationship with intellectual and political constructs of identity. These periods were moments of a metamorphosis of identity in both settings. This identity reconstruction was firstly materialised in the signifying practices of politicians and intellectuals. As an effect of the emergence ofnew nationalist discourses in the political and intellectual fields was the production of new history textbooks, making it possible for the national image to be also reconstituted in and through them. New identities were articulated in the field of school history but their redefinition varied within and across the two settings. Variations within each setting were primarily determined by the particular features of the social domain in which the construction of identity took place. Across the settings, they were mainly shaped by different genres of school history writing. Despite their differences, the new identities across the two cultural settings and social fields shared certain similar motifs - fragmentation, hybridity and ambivalence. It is therefore suggested that the making of identity in history textbooks cannot be understood by focusing solely on textbooks. Knowledge of the specificities of the historical, the intellectual, the political and the educational layers of the context in which they are embedded as well as the complex linkages between identifications articulated in these layers, is required. Based on this finding, this thesis attempts to formulate a theoretical model that enhances the understanding ofhow national identity is produced, sustained, transformed and dismantled discursively in history textbooks.

The King as figure and image represented in polemical literature is the central focus of the present research. This offers a study in the semiotics of royal representation: a deciphering or de-coding of its imagery, symbolism and iconicity. From the creation of meaning displayed in these representational constructs, a new examination becomes possible of the mechanisms by which the concept and image of kingly power was being re-projected and received at a critical moment of English history. Printed propaganda reveals the King, in his ‘two bodies’, to have been the nerve-point around which a whole constellation of political arguments, powerful emotional stimuli and evocations of national memory, were conjured up and deployed in persuasion and struggle. Tracing representations of the King through the period 1678-83 establishes not only how the language of printed propaganda developed over the period; it also reveals, more surprisingly, a permanent process of oblique or lateral reference which goes to the heart of the quest for national and cultural identity in this period. Similar methodological approaches have been applied fruitfully in research treating Louis XIV and Oliver Cromwell; yet the present study is the first of this type to have been carried out in relation to Charles II and, via this central icon, used to renew our understanding of the Exclusion crisis itself. Beyond this, my thesis, it is hoped, makes a genuine contribution to our wider insight about the character of Restoration England, about kingly power at a time of major phase-change in the political mindset, and about the emergence of ‘politicised media’ recognizable in our contemporary world.

Representations of Britain's colonial history have predominantly been 'official' ones, which tend to focus on well-documented administrative accounts and imply that one 'true' account of the past exists. More recently, white women's accounts have been incorporated, highlighting their participation in Britain's imperial adventure, particularly during and after the World Wars. East Africa provides the context in which this range of narratives will be explored: Its 'racial' hierarchies; its different designation of land as colonies, protectorates and territories; and its active white settler population in Kenya, which of necessity sought a place for its women, all contribute to its interesting past. This thesis first explores the range of historical representations surrounding Britain's colonial relationship with East Africa, and subsequently focuses on the portrayal of white women. This enables an exploration of the ways these women negotiated their positions in both private spheres, as was more commonly expected; but also in public ways that challenged discourses of femininity at the time. Their challenge became increasingly prevalent as greater numbers of women sought independence, the Empire being one place that enabled white women who went there to realise their 'modern' ambitions to 'civilise' and 'develop' the colonial world. These ambitions however, existed in tension with the oppressive nature of colonialism. If traditional historical accounts have stuck to the 'grand narratives' of colonial history, then turning to white women's oral histories reveals more complex historical narratives. These personal stories emphasise the divisions the women lived within and maintained, as well as demonstrating how myth has come to exist through their memories, now sustaining a colonial image of East Africa. Furthermore, these narratives provide challenging examples of how we can interpret the legacies of 'colonialism' in contemporary, 'postcolonial' realities. The contradictions they reveal hold powerful implications for the way that colonial history is represented in Britain today.

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This is a study of traditional Thai historiography and its=nineteenth-century decline. It divides into two main parts. Part One consists of two'chapters, and deals with traditional Thai historiography centring on the'tamnän and the phongsawadän, which are the chief sources'-of early Thai history. With regard to tamnä. n, "religious", histories, it concentrates on the'works of the old Län-Nä Thai kingdom (Cl3th-1558). Italso points out the intimate"relationship between Buddhist myths and local history, and the complexities of tamnän historiography. In doing this, it identifies the dominant themes from the Mahävamsa and the influences of Burman/Mgn-derived traditions in the northern Thai chronicles. In his assesment, the writer expresses his doubt about their historical value. Phongsäwadän historiography is the subject of Chapter Two.. Secular in nature, the phongsäwadän, "dynastic", histories, were compiled to bolster the image of the Siamese kings in the light of a Hindu-Buddhist "God-King" cult. It is suggested that phongsäwadän histories, compiled during the Ayutthaya period (c. 1351-1767), are generally more reliable than the post- Ayutthaya recensions. In connection with this evaluation, the writer supports his claim by a detailed analysis of the narrative style and chronological patterns of all the known phongsäwadän concerning the Ayutthaya period. Part Two of the thesis is devoted to discussion of the decline of traditional Thai scholarship in general, and traditional Thai historiography in particular. It draws heavily on contemporary literary sources to show that during the 1830xa process of change in the Siamese world-view and perception of the past had already taken place as a result of Siamese acceptance of Western ideas. The intellectual impact of the West and the constant threat of Western imperialism in the second half of the 19th century helped to create a national consciousness amongst the-Thai, and led to the creation of a Thai nation-state. It was against this background that national historiography was conceived, and traditional historiography became a-thing of, the past

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The thesis attempts to examine the author's aims and methods and assess the Serum Scoticarum Historia as a whole. The controversial relationship between Buchanan and Mary Queen of Scots is discussed. After information on Buchanan's career, the intellectual background of the sixteenth century and the work of his predecessors is given consideration. The conclusion is proposed that the Historia was a serious piece of historical work and that, although at times openly prejudiced, it represented an advance in historiography in that, by comparison with the more rhetorical approach of Boece, it showed closer interest in understanding the real causes behind events.

This thesis examines of the role of Bede in the creation of an English national identity by considering the use, re-use and transmission of the Historia Ecclesiastica across the Anglo-Saxon period. Bede's exemplary and providential history had created an image of an idealised past to inspire change in the present, and these models resonated with writers throughout this period. This study engages with the legacy of Bede's text by surveying a wide range of case studies from across Anglo-Saxon England with attention to a broad spectrum of generic, geographical and political contexts from the eighth to the early eleventh centuries, in Latin and vernacular English. Written in Latin as historical prose narrative in early eighth-century Northumbria, we see the work being used later in that century in a very similar context by Alcuin in his York Poem. In the ninth century the use of the text followed the shifting political hegemony of Anglo-Saxon England south through Mercia, where it was probably translated into English, and into Wessex where it was mined as a source for the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. In both of these texts, we see the Historia being used to respond to viking invasion in distinct ways, as the vernacular narrative emphasises teaching and evangelism while the annals promote the military and political successes of Wessex. In the late tenth century, the Latin history is used as an important source in the vernacular homilies and hagiography of Aelfric. Using and supplementing Bede's pantheon of saints from across England, Aelfric's work prescribes a nationalised Christianity, which mirrors the growth of English identity, as the West Saxon cultural and political hegemony expands more deeply into the geographical and conceptual collective of peoples and kingdoms known to him as Engla land. These case studies demonstrate that Bede's work remained influential throughout the period, with later writers consistently returning to the original text, re-interpreting his work to suit their own contexts and ideological needs.