Ask students around the world, and they will tell you why the British flag looks the way it does. It is a combination of the flags of three of the nations making up the UK: the vertical red cross of St George for England, the diagonal red cross of St Patrick for Northern Ireland, and the saltireA diagonal X-shaped cross, often on a flag. of St Andrew for Scotland.

That might give the impression that these nations just merged harmoniously into one. But the reality is quite different. Ireland was brutally conquered twice by England.¹

Unification with Scotland was peaceful, but before that, England and Scotland were bitter enemies that fought constant battles over the border. 

As for Wales, the reason it was not included on the flag is that it no longer officially existed: it had been forcibly incorporated into England by Henry VIIIThe King of England from 1509 to 1547, best known for his six wives. .

So scratch the surface, and the history of the United Kingdom is not one of harmony and cooperation at all. At least, that is what Union, a new TV series by public historian David Olusoga, is trying to persuade people.

Olusoga says his aim is to teach people British history in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. History, he insists, is not there to make us feel happy or special.

His supporters think that is an important message at a time when the way we think about our history is getting ever more divisive.

Olusoga wasborn in Lagos in 1970 to a White British mother and Nigerian father. He moved to Gateshead, his mother's hometown, when he was a child. 

The family experienced racism from the far right - a brick was thrown through their window, and they had to be rehoused. 

At school too, teachers noticed he was struggling, but refused to get him tested for dyslexiaA common learning difficulty involving reading, writing and spelling. . It was his mother's determination, rather than his teachers', that led to his diagnosis. He went on to study history at the University of Liverpool, and then did a master's degreeAn advanced. academic degree. Master's degrees are taken by people who have already got one degree from a university. . 

He was proud of his Nigerian YorubaA language mainly spoken in southwestern Nigeria and Benin. heritage, and of his mother's White working class GeordiePeople from Tyneside/Newcastle in North East England. background. But he also knew he had a third identity: Black British. "That had no history, no recognition" he recalls. 

As an adult, and by now a renowned historian and presenter, he decided to tell the story of that history himself. 

In 2016, he published Black and British: A Forgotten History, which was then made into a TV series. It goes back as far as the first meeting of the people of Britain and the people of Africa in Roman times, discusses Britain's role in the slave trade and Olusoga's own childhood. 

Last year the state of FloridaA coastal state in the south-east of the US, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Though nicknamed "the sunshine state", it also experiences phenomenal rainstorms. passed a new law that bans schools from making people feel "discomfort" or "guilt" based on their background. Although it does not specify, most people think it is really aimed at preventing schools from teaching students about the history of racism. 

In the UK, the government has taken steps to ban schools from teaching their students concepts like "White privilegeThe idea that White people are advantaged in society due to being protected from any discrimination based on ethnicity or race. " as fact. 

Critics of these measures say people need to be willing to face up to the unpleasant parts of their past, because it makes them more aware of injustices in our present, and gives us the tools to rectify them.

Yes: Any truthful account of history will tell that it is full of conflict and brutality. We have to face up to that because it is what has made the modern world an unjust place.

No: The more we tell ourselves that our history is full of bloodshed and savagery, the less we will trust each other in the present. It is better to focus on the things that unite us.

Or... The problem is that we believe we are defined by our history. Saying our history is full of cruelty feels tantamount to saying that we are too. We should break with our past and define ourselves by the present.