The National (Hippo)Drama: Empire and the Nineteenth-Century Scottish Touring Circus

This article demonstrates how nineteenth-century Scottish touring circus sits at the intersection of National Drama and imperial spectacle circus. It offers a timely analysis (inter)nationalism nation formation were interwoven with imperialist discourse in popular public imaginaries. By analysing deployment investment Unionist-nationalist imagery playbills, newspapers, life-writing accounts, archives this newly brings to light, I argue two things: firstly, that continuities between rural metropolitan permanent circuses helped bridge historic cultural ethnic divide Highland Lowland communities; secondly, creation unified identity engendered reflected an (inter)nationalist sentiment diverse audiences. article, therefore, complicates current conceptions historiographies nationalism which overlook commitment Unionism empire was often prerequisite for nationalist feeling.