Disneyfication of Cornwall — developing a poldark heritage complex

Abstract

Cornwall has undergone rapid change. Traumatic economic crises, from the 1860s to the present agony over South Crofty, the last Cornish mine, have challenged the industrial basis of identity, and over‐fishing has seen the near disappearance of fishing communities. Mass tourism and commodified heritage dominate the scene, if not the economy, and thousands of new residents have been drawn there by this imagery. Cornwall and its people are imagined and represented in bewilderingly diverse ways, from within and without, by native commentators and participants, outside journalists and visitors, artists, writers, film‐makers, holiday promoters and diverse others. Nineteenth‐century narratives of industry, technical achievement and diaspora clash with romantic images of antiquity, Celtic myth and superstition, backwardness, rustication, changelessness and insularity. Images of golden beaches, semi‐tropical gardens and picturesque fishing ports take precedence over those of industrial decline and economic despair.