The British Empire
“The sun never sets on the British Empire”, is a well-used phrase about the old British Empire, where Britain ruled almost one-quarter of the world’s population. They had colonies in all the continents in the world. How did Britain manage to get all these colonies? And why did they suddenly lose the whole Empire? What have the coloni zation had to say for the countries involved? And does the old British Empire still have any effect on Britain and the world today? Well hold your chair tight, because we are going to take a ride into the rise and fall of the British Empire and discuss the positive and negative consequences it has had on the countries involved. In my conclusion I will also give a short sketch of the present-day situation.
In the sixteenth century British ships set out to conquer the world. They were amongst the countries to colonize the newfound America. Like many other European countries they entered a foreign country and claimed it as theirs with no regards of the people already living there. When we talk about the British Empire, we actually have two different Empires. The first Empire was from 1450-1800, and the main focus was on America. The colonies were then seen as places to trade, not as markets which produced raw materials. The second Empire came after the industrial revolution and lasted from 1800-1945 with the main focus on India and the Far East. In this period there was a huge need for raw materials, and the colonies were
Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, imperialism affected numerous societies across the world such as Africa, Japan, Great Britain, Korea, and Asia. Imperialism extends and influences a country’s power to gain territory and effects society with the inventions of education, transportation with roads, bridges, and canals, and communication with the telegraph. Great Britain has all the natural resources (raw materials), markets, and cheap labors that others lack such as Japan. Joseph Chamberlain believed colonies were valuable to Great Britain because they would increase the demand for goods, develop new markets, and would give an opportunity to extend influence and control over Africa (Doc 1).
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the British government was in control of the North American colonies. The prime reason for the British government to control the English colonies was so Britain could trade with the colonies. The English colonies had crops like sugar and tobacco that couldn’t be grown in England so the British relied on the colonies to ship these products to them. The colonies were able to use the British ships in trade for the colonies’ crops. With the policy of mercantilism developing in the 17th century, Britain said they could help the English colonies become a strong country by trading, even though the trading mostly helped the British.
2) The British Government exercised over its colonies during the 17th and 18th century in a variety of ways. The British strongly believed in the economic theory of mercantilism. This theory stated that a countries economic wealth could be measured by the amount of gold and silver in its coffers. In Britain’s eyes, the colonies were meant to supply the crown with raw materials.
The British had many different ways of trying to establish control over the colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Out of the 13 colonies, only Georgia was planted by the British parliament. The other colonies were started by companies, land speculators, religions, and more. The British were now in serious debt after the Seven Year’s War, or the French and Indian War, ended. This French and Indian war involved the British trying to gain the Ohio Valley.
Throughout 1750 to 1950 many societies fell under the control of the imperialistic societies. Several of the societies that fell under the control of empires were terribly effected by the extreme expectations and lived in terrible poverty and fear. Many of the original natives that lived in the lands suffered after their land was conquered. In the late nineteenth century, the British took hold of both Australia and New Zealand leaving negative effects.
Throughout the course of history, Britain and its colony in America were never truly one united being leading to major alterations after the French and Indian War. Firstly, the roots of the major alterations can be traced to the early days of the colonies. Many colonies were founded off people who believed that they would have a better life in an unknown land, showing their desperateness. Slightly further into colonial history, Britain would dump its prisoners in the American colonies. Because of this, it can be seen that Britain saw the American colonies as a garbage dump of the ‘failures of England’.
The American Revolution arose in 1775 and was an issue that involved a multi-national effort by most of the world. This report will discuss how Great Britain struggled to find itself an alliance within the American War their own alliance countries were countries were fighting against Great Britain. League of Armed Neutrality are created by Russia which neutrality aid the American Rebels. The essay will talk about how the Loyalists affected the course of the war and what happened to Loyalists and the Loyalists slaves and their freedom after the war.
Imperialism In the 19th and 20th centuries, various powerful nations sent colonizers to dominate weaker nations and expand their influence. This domination is called imperialism, which is still practiced today in moderation. Among the many countries shaped by imperialism were India and China. These two large countries were both colonized by the British who were one of the greatest imperialistic powers at that time.
This leads to the fact that this empire could be a bigger thing. This leads to my second reason; the British Empire was important because it was a big part of history.
At the start of the 18th century Britain begun to explore foreign lands to expand the breadth of its empire further than its present conquests. The reasons for Britain’s newfound desire to expand its empire are numerous and varied, but can be categorized into three groups: economic, religious and military. It is important to first understand these broad reasons for Britain’s expansionist objectives because they underscore how it was that they came to become, by the early nineteenth century, the largest empire in the world. Economic, religious and military constructs of the British empire are especially clear in Linda Colley’s historical biography, The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh, where the characters present in Marsh’s life, including herself, come in contact with Britain’s imperialist endeavors. By telling the story of Elizabeth Marsh, Colley is able to tell the story of others greatly affected by globalization and British imperialism both positively and negatively.
At its peak the British Empire was the largest formal empire that world had ever witnessed. ¼ of the world’s landmass and population was under British control. For better or worse, the British Empire had a massive impact of world history. At this time, they supplied their colonies with the British culture and the English language. Today we find that many of the old British colonies have English as their first language or as one of their official languages.
According to alphahistory.com “Imperialism is a system where a powerful nation controls and exploits one or more colonies”. Toward the end of the 1800s, several imperial powers existed. The British empire was the largest. Both France and Britain had many colonies in Africa and Asia.
The island known today as Great Britain has always been in some way conquered by others, and there was always a complete debate over who would be in control. The indigenous people were first pushed by the Romans, then secondly by the Anglo-Saxons, who were the first to have the great power to push Great Britain into what we know it as today. The Anglo-Saxons, beginning with brothers Henigst and Horsa, held the most power over the islands and were the most successful. It is true Romans held some sort of power over the province they called “Britannia” (History 320 Lecture, 8/26). Julius Caesar was the first to arrive, but failed to conquer the lands completely.
There is an old saying about the British Empire. “The sun never sets on the British Empire”. A phrase originally meant for all the expansive European Empires, quickly became sinuous with only the British Empire. The British Empire has existed for centuries, spanning most of the continents around the globe. Hence the phrase since the British colonies were operational at all hours of the due to their varying locations around the world.
The British first came to India not only because of the abundance of raw materials, but also the mass potential they seen. The British East India Company, took advantage of the collapsing Mughal Empire, and broke away from their control to flourished their company. In 1857 the Sepoy army rebelled and that caused the British to come in guns blazing and take over the country. The British rule demolished India through, taxation on anything made in India, and the exportation of raw materials, which caused a plentiful amount of famine,and throughout all of this, the British kept most on India uneducated, and those they did educate, most were forced to become interpreters for the benefits it would make in taking over India and keeping the British in control. Political Paragraph British imperialism had a negative effect on the politics of India because of the corrupt justice system, and the utter lack of respect that killed masses of innocent people.