From fish and chips to tennis, iconic ‘British’ traditions which are imported… or ‘culturally appropriated’
WHEN is it appropriate to appropriate?
Adele borrowed from Caribbean and African culture to wear a Jamaica- flag bra top, knotted hair and feathers in tribute to Notting Hill Carnival – then slapped down claims of “cultural appropriation”.
Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker has now weighed into the row – saying he plans to invite a refugee to live in his home, and insisting the best of British is from overseas.
He said: “Most things we think of as British are often brought in. Even St George is Turkish.”
Not wrong, Gary. So much, from fish and chips, tennis and double-decker buses, is imported – or culturally appropriated.
Katy Doherty traces the roots of some iconic “British” traditions . . .
FRIED FISH – PORTUGAL AND SPAIN: One half of our beloved fish and chips, this was shared with the world by Jews from Portugal and Spain who later emigrated here from Holland.
Jewish immigrant Joseph Malin set up a chippie in London’s East End in 1860, and Northerner John Lees in Lancashire in 1863.
KETCHUP – CHINA: It gets its name from the Mandarin for fish sauce, kê-tsiap. The Chinese made the sauce from fermented fish brine and it got popular in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Brits brought the tea-time favourite here in the 1700s and later added tomato to the recipe.
MINCE PIES – MIDDLE EAST: In the 1200s, Crusaders returned from the Middle East with exciting new foods containing fruit and spices.
The Tudors’ meat suet and fruit Shrid Pies were transformed by the new ingredients. But in the 17th century Oliver Cromwell banned the festive treats for being too show-off.
SANDWICHES – GREECE AND TURKEY: The 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, is said to have invented the sarnie after getting peckish during a poker game.
But it is believed it was actually inspired by Montagu’s travels in Turkey and Greece where he tasted mezze platters – a mix of bread with meats, cheese and veg.
BEEF WELLINGTON – AMERICA: The dish is said to have been knocked up to celebrate the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
But the first recorded mention was in the Los Angeles Times in 1903.
The pastry-encrusted beef was popularised in Sixties America by TV chef Julia Child.
BANGERS – THE ROMANS: They brought us the sausage some time around 400AD. The word is from the Latin salsus, meaning salty.
But it was Brits who had the excellent idea of putting links in bangers – and combining them with mash.
FOOTBALL – CHINA: Second-century game cuju, meaning kickball, is the earliest form of footie, says today’s world governing body, Fifa.
For just over 1,000 years, the Chinese played with a feather-stuffed ball they tried to kick into a goal.
Football was first recorded in England in the 1300s and turned into a professional sport in 1885.
TENNIS – FRANCE: Wimbledon may be, for many, the home of tennis. But in the 12th century, the French played handball game paume, which eventually involved racquets.
Tennis-mad King Henry VIII built one of England’s first courts at Hampton Court Palace in the 1530s.
SNOOKER – INDIA: The game was invented by Brits – but in India.
Colonials stationed in Jabalpur devised a crude version in the 1770s – and it was named after the slang term for an inexperienced cadet.
HORSE RACING – CENTRAL ASIA: This can be traced to 4500BC, when nomads tamed the animals. There is evidence of competitions in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmen-istan, and Uzbekistan.
Racing finally made its way to Britain when the Jockey Club was founded in 1750.
BOXING – EGYPT: We might have given the world Tyson Fury, Amir Khan and Anthony Joshua but boxing is by no means a British sport.
Historic artworks show Egyptians at it as early as 3000BC – and it was included in the ancient Greeks’ Olympics in 700BC.
TV SOAPS – AMERICAN: Although Corrie may seem like it’s been around for ever, the first TV series considered a soap opera was broadcast across the Pond. Painted Dreams aired five days a week on Chicago radio station WGN from 1930.
PUNCH AND JUDY – ITALY: A trip to the seaside is not the same without this bit of fun and games. But the combative puppet show first kicked off during 16th century comedy shows in Italy.
Punch was called Pulcinella then later Punchinello – and finally Punch when adopted by Britain in 1662.
ROCK MUSIC – SPAIN/AFRICA/US: While the likes of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones dominate charts history, these Brits would not have had much success without the guitar.
Its predecessor emerged in medieval Spain, and in the 1850s guitar-maker Antonio de Torres Jurado boosted its popularity.
Black musicians in America’s Deep South embraced it and turned slave songs into blues music – which paved the way for modern pop and rock.
THE MINI – TURKEY/GERMANY: The iconic Sixties car was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, from Turkey.
German firm BMW bought the name in the Noughties and redesigned the car – but it is still considered so very British.
TOPSHOP – LITHUANIAN: The high-street fashion chain’s parent company was started by Jewish refugee Meshe Osinsky, who fled Russia for Yorkshire.
In 1903 the Lithuanian changed his name to Montague Maurice Burton and set up a tailoring business.
The Burton Group, later named Arcadia, became official suit supplier to the England football team who won the 1966 World Cup.
HACKNEY CABS – FRANCE: You may think black cabs are called after the East London borough – but the name comes from Norman-French hacquenee, meaning to hire a horse.
The first horse-drawn hackney carriages, in the 1600s, carried Queen Elizabeth I.
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DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES – FRANCE: They adorn many a tourist postcard here but the red London bus is a French invention.
Parisian Stanislas Baudry got the idea for two-storey horse-drawn transport in 1828. He got English coachmaker George Shillibeer to build his omnibus, which the designer later pinched and brought to London.
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PARKING TICKETS – IRAQ: They may seem uniquely British but date to 700BC Iraq – first dished out in ancient Assyria, where folk were forbidden by the king to park chariots on “royal” roads.
Punishment was death followed by impaling.
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