the british empire essay

• Search Menu
• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
• Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
• Archaeology by Region
• Archaeology of Religion
• Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
• Biblical Archaeology
• Contemporary and Public Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• History and Theory of Archaeology
• Industrial Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology
• Mortuary Archaeology
• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Urban Archaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Browse content in Architecture
• Architectural Structure and Design
• History of Architecture
• Residential and Domestic Buildings
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in Art
• Art Subjects and Themes
• History of Art
• Industrial and Commercial Art
• Theory of Art
• Biographical Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical History
• Classical Philosophy
• Classical Mythology
• Classical Literature
• Classical Reception
• Classical Art and Architecture
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Epigraphy
• Greek and Roman Law
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Greek and Roman Papyrology
• Late Antiquity
• Religion in the Ancient World
• Digital Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Emotions
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Theory, Methods, and Historiography
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Learning (Specific Skills)
• Language Teaching Theory and Methods
• Browse content in Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics
• Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
• Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
• History of English
• Language Acquisition
• Language Variation
• Language Families
• Language Evolution
• Language Reference
• Lexicography
• Linguistic Theories
• Linguistic Typology
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Translation and Interpretation
• Writing Systems
• Browse content in Literature
• Bibliography
• Children's Literature Studies
• Literary Studies (Asian)
• Literary Studies (European)
• Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
• Literary Studies (Modernism)
• Literary Studies (Romanticism)
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (British and Irish)
• Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
• Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
• Literary Studies (History of the Book)
• Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
• Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
• Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
• Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
• Literary Studies (War Literature)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Mythology and Folklore
• Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Applied Music
• Dance and Music
• Ethics in Music
• Ethnomusicology
• Gender and Sexuality in Music
• Medicine and Music
• Music Cultures
• Music and Religion
• Music and Culture
• Music and Media
• Music Education and Pedagogy
• Music Theory and Analysis
• Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Performance Practice and Studies
• Race and Ethnicity in Music
• Sound Studies
• Browse content in Performing Arts
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Epistemology
• Feminist Philosophy
• History of Western Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Moral Philosophy
• Non-Western Philosophy
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Action
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Perception
• Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
• Practical Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Browse content in Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Qumran Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Health
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Science
• Religion and Law
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cookery, Food, and Drink
• Cultural Studies
• Customs and Traditions
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
• Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
• Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
• Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
• Sports and Outdoor Recreation
• Technology and Society
• Travel and Holiday
• Visual Culture
• Browse content in Law
• Arbitration
• Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
• Commercial Law
• Company Law
• Browse content in Comparative Law
• Systems of Law
• Competition Law
• Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Government Powers
• Judicial Review
• Local Government Law
• Military and Defence Law
• Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
• Construction Law
• Contract Law
• Browse content in Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Evidence Law
• Sentencing and Punishment
• Employment and Labour Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Browse content in Financial Law
• Banking Law
• Insolvency Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
• Public International Law
• IT and Communications Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Law and Politics
• Law and Society
• Browse content in Legal System and Practice
• Courts and Procedure
• Legal Skills and Practice
• Primary Sources of Law
• Regulation of Legal Profession
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Policing
• Criminal Investigation and Detection
• Police and Security Services
• Police Procedure and Law
• Police Regional Planning
• Browse content in Property Law
• Personal Property Law
• Study and Revision
• Terrorism and National Security Law
• Browse content in Trusts Law
• Wills and Probate or Succession
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Allied Health Professions
• Arts Therapies
• Clinical Science
• Dietetics and Nutrition
• Occupational Therapy
• Operating Department Practice
• Physiotherapy
• Radiography
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Browse content in Anaesthetics
• General Anaesthesia
• Neuroanaesthesia
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Acute Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Clinical Genetics
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology and Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Genito-urinary Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Oncology
• Medical Toxicology
• Pain Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports and Exercise Medicine
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Community Medical Services
• Critical Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Medicine
• Haematology
• History of Medicine
• Browse content in Medical Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
• Surgical Dentistry
• Medical Ethics
• Browse content in Medical Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Communication Skills
• Nursing Skills
• Surgical Skills
• Medical Statistics and Methodology
• Browse content in Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Neuropathology
• Nursing Studies
• Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Gynaecology
• Occupational Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology (ENT)
• Browse content in Paediatrics
• Neonatology
• Browse content in Pathology
• Chemical Pathology
• Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
• Histopathology
• Medical Microbiology and Virology
• Patient Education and Information
• Browse content in Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Browse content in Popular Health
• Caring for Others
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Self-help and Personal Development
• Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Reproduction, Growth and Development
• Primary Care
• Professional Development in Medicine
• Browse content in Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Learning Disabilities
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Radiology
• Clinical Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Oncology
• Reproductive Medicine
• Browse content in Surgery
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
• General Surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Paediatric Surgery
• Peri-operative Care
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Transplant Surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Biological Sciences
• Aquatic Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology and Conservation
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• Natural History
• Plant Sciences and Forestry
• Research Methods in Life Sciences
• Structural Biology
• Systems Biology
• Zoology and Animal Sciences
• Browse content in Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Environmental Chemistry
• Industrial Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Mineralogy and Gems
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Browse content in Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture and Logic Design
• Game Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mathematical Theory of Computation
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Virtual Reality
• Browse content in Computing
• Business Applications
• Computer Security
• Computer Games
• Computer Networking and Communications
• Digital Lifestyle
• Graphical and Digital Media Applications
• Operating Systems
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Geography
• Geology and the Lithosphere
• Maps and Map-making
• Meteorology and Climatology
• Oceanography and Hydrology
• Palaeontology
• Physical Geography and Topography
• Regional Geography
• Soil Science
• Urban Geography
• Browse content in Engineering and Technology
• Agriculture and Farming
• Biological Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Energy Technology
• Engineering (General)
• Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
• History of Engineering and Technology
• Mechanical Engineering and Materials
• Technology of Industrial Chemistry
• Transport Technology and Trades
• Browse content in Environmental Science
• Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
• Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
• Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Materials Science
• Ceramics and Glasses
• Composite Materials
• Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
• Nanotechnology
• Browse content in Mathematics
• Applied Mathematics
• Biomathematics and Statistics
• History of Mathematics
• Mathematical Education
• Mathematical Finance
• Mathematical Analysis
• Numerical and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Pure Mathematics
• Browse content in Neuroscience
• Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
• Development of the Nervous System
• Disorders of the Nervous System
• History of Neuroscience
• Invertebrate Neurobiology
• Molecular and Cellular Systems
• Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
• Neuroscientific Techniques
• Sensory and Motor Systems
• Browse content in Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Biological and Medical Physics
• Classical Mechanics
• Computational Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
• History of Physics
• Mathematical and Statistical Physics
• Measurement Science
• Nuclear Physics
• Particles and Fields
• Plasma Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Relativity and Gravitation
• Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
• Browse content in Psychology
• Affective Sciences
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Criminal and Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Music Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Psychological Assessment and Testing
• Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
• Psychology Professional Development and Training
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Human Evolution
• Medical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Theory and Practice of Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business Strategy
• Business History
• Business Ethics
• Business and Government
• Business and Technology
• Business and the Environment
• Comparative Management
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Management
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial and Employment Relations
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business
• Knowledge Management
• Management and Management Techniques
• Operations Management
• Organizational Theory and Behaviour
• Pensions and Pension Management
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Strategic Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Forms of Crime
• International and Comparative Criminology
• Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
• Development Studies
• Browse content in Economics
• Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
• Asian Economics
• Behavioural Finance
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
• Economic Systems
• Economic Methodology
• Economic History
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• Financial Institutions and Services
• General Economics and Teaching
• Health, Education, and Welfare
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Labour and Demographic Economics
• Law and Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
• Microeconomics
• Public Economics
• Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
• Welfare Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Adult Education and Continuous Learning
• Care and Counselling of Students
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Equipment and Technology
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Organization and Management of Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Schools Studies
• Secondary Education
• Teaching of a Specific Subject
• Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
• Teaching Skills and Techniques
• Browse content in Environment
• Applied Ecology (Social Science)
• Climate Change
• Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environment)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies
• Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
• Browse content in Politics
• African Politics
• Asian Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Elections and Electoral Studies
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Politics
• Human Rights and Politics
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• International Organization (Politics)
• International Political Economy
• Irish Politics
• Latin American Politics
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Methodology
• Political Communication
• Political Philosophy
• Political Sociology
• Political Theory
• Political Behaviour
• Political Economy
• Political Institutions
• Politics and Law
• Public Administration
• Public Policy
• Quantitative Political Methodology
• Regional Political Studies
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• State and Local Government
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Native American Studies
• Scottish Studies
• Browse content in Research and Information
• Research Methods
• Browse content in Social Work
• Addictions and Substance Misuse
• Adoption and Fostering
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Emergency Services
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Sport and Leisure
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Browse content in Warfare and Defence
• Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
• Land Forces and Warfare
• Military Administration
• Military Life and Institutions
• Naval Forces and Warfare
• Other Warfare and Defence Issues
• Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• Weapons and Equipment

• < Previous chapter

(page 129) p. 129 Conclusion

• Published: May 2013
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

• GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]
• Google Scholar Indexing

Personal account

• Sign in with email/username & password
• Get email alerts
• Save searches
• Purchase content
• Activate your purchase/trial code

Institutional access

• Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
• Institutional account management
• Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

• Click Sign in through your institution.
• Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
• When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
• Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

• Click Sign in through society site.
• When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

• View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
• View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Rights and permissions
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

BRITANNIA: Review/Essay of The Rise & Fall of the British Empire (L. James)

This book is the definitive history of the Rise and Fall of the British Empire-by one of England's most admired historians. Although this book does cover the Fall in its final 19 chapters, its emphasis is on the Rise (1600 to 1914: 23 chapters); so, initially, I thought I might supplement the Empire's decline with another fine history: "After the Victorians: the Decline of Britain" by A. N. Wilson (2005). However, I discovered that Wilson's book focused more on England than its empire, so I restricted myself to the principal book that actually does do a better job on the positive Rise than the negative Fall, as readers might have guessed. This book presents a very interesting story. This is the tale of the world's greatest empire between those of Rome and the United States of America. This is a fascinating blend of risk-taking merchants and aristocratic militarists that developed an Empire, (with minimal design) that evolved into a spread of people (colonies) and culture (laws and language). This essay will quickly alert readers to the major social movement of the last 400 years, still impacting today, all over the world.

Related Papers

Garabet K Moumdjian, Ph.D.

For almost four hundred years Britain ruled substantial areas of the world outside Europe. In the first 150 years, from 1600 to 1750, expansion was a matter of setting up small but prosperous trading posts and settlements very close to the sea, supported by naval strength and close contact with friends in England. After 1750 imperial rule began to move inland and for the next 170 years, up to the end of the First World War, a steadily increasing part of the earth's surface was ruled from London. The naval and industrial power which made this possible also meant that Britain could exert a great deal of influence in the world outside the empire, but this was a matter of diplomacy rather than direct rule. Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century British expansion can be seen as an important but secondary part of the overseas expansion of Europe which began with Columbus's discovery of the route to the Americas in 1492. Spain took the lead, closely followed by Portugal; France, England and the Netherlands became involved about a hundred years later. Until 1800 these five European countries all ruled overseas empires. Between 1790 and 1830 all of the other European empires were seriously weakened so that by middle of the nineteenth century the British Empire was not only the largest empire the world had ever seen, it was the only flourishing and functioning empire in existence.

Journal of The Economic and Social History of The Orient

Spencer Leonard

Paul Mulvey

From the founding of the colonies in North America and the West Indies in the seventeenth century to the reversion of Hong Kong to China at the end of the twentieth, British imperialism was a catalyst for far-reaching change. British domination of indigenous peoples in North America, Asia, and Africa can now be seen more clearly as part of the larger and dynamic interaction of European and non-western societies. Though the subject remains ideologically charged, the passions aroused by British imperialism have so lessened that we are now better placed than ever to see the course of the Empire steadily and to see it whole. At this distance in time the Empire's legacy from earlier centuries can be assessed, in ethics and economics as well as politics, with greater discrimination. At the close of the twentieth century, the interpretation of the dissolution of the Empire can benefit from evolving perspectives on, for example, the end of the cold war. In still larger sweep, the Oxford History of the British Empire as a comprehensive study helps us to understand the end of the Empire in relation to its beginning, the meaning of British imperialism for the ruled as well as the rulers, and the significance of the British Empire as a theme in world history.

Sidrah Rehman

Tony Ballantyne

Melissa BARRY

The British Empire occupies a central place in the history of the world. Indeed, at the height of its expansion, it covered more than a quarter of the earth's surface, and its political, economic and cultural aspects have exercised a great influence on the shaping of the modern world. More importantly, it also helped shape British identity and civilisation. Indeed, the possession of an overseas Empire fostered national pride and even today, tales of the British Empire have the power to conjure up memories of former British glory, when Britain was the greatest world-power on earth. Many memorials erected to commemorate the heroes of the Empire are still visible today all around Britain. However, the way Europeans consider their imperial past today is marked by a profound sense of post-colonial guilt, as we have come to question and reject racial hierarchies and the moral right of a 'superior' and more-civilised nation to rule it over peoples reputed as 'inferior', 'backward' and in need of European support and guidance. Moreover, we now recognise that every nation should be able to decide for itself and shape its own destiny. That idea already played a major role in the final dissolution of the Empire in the 2 nd half of the 20th century. Today, many aspects of the history of the British Empire, such as slavery, are very shocking to us and hurt our modern sensibilities. Since the fall of the Empire, Britain has been striving to find a new role in world politics. This can be shown by its connection with the United States, sometimes ambiguous and tinged with apprehension, but also by its membership of and relationships with the European Union, although this attempt came to a brutal end with the outcome of the 'Brexit' referendum. According to the journalist, Britain's former imperial status is still determining its foreign policies (such as its involvement in Iraq), its economy and its sense of identity. Use of the word 'Britons' to designate the British people: original Celtic inhabitants of Britain, was part of George III's propaganda during the Seven Years' War, found its way into the famous patriotic song 'Rule Britannia' (brochure, p. 8-9) and was also used to express a sense of British descent at the outset of the American War of Independence, for example by Governor Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut who remarked that the Americans were the 'descendents of Britons'.

Journal of World-Systems Research

Thomas D Hall

Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews

Georgi Derluguian

RELATED PAPERS

Renata Luna

Irene Mello

Zahra Tootian

Rini Marwati

Andrew Gideon

Revista Árvore

Luis E Sánchez

Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings

Christophe Lorrette

Perspectivas da Educação Matemática

Wagner Marques

Journal of the Optical Society of America A

luis bernardo

Latin American Research Review

Micol Seigel

Physics Letters B

Alessandro Bettini

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Neda Saraygord-Afshari

Daouda Sawadogo

Proceedings of The 16th Russian National Congress with International Participation «OCCUPATION and HEALTH», 21-24 September 2021, Vladivostok

Liliya Fatkhutdinova

Current Topics in Chirality - From Chemistry to Biology

Ishfaq Rather

Revista Trabalho Necessário

Fernanda Willers

Moroccan Journal of Chemistry

dalila khlaifia

Sauerländer eBooks

Emil Wettstein

Knowledge-Based Systems

Bogdan Gabrys

DANIEL SLOANE

European Journal of Paediatric Neurology

Mirjana Perkovic Benedik

Journal de Radiologie

OLIVIER DUTOUR

Giovanni Avogadri

M S-medecine Sciences

Nathalie Rouach

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

ESSAY SAUCE

FOR STUDENTS : ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD ESSAY

Essay: The Rise And Fall Of The British Empire

Essay details and download:.

• Subject area(s): History essays
• Reading time: 15 minutes
• Price: Free download
• Published: 16 June 2012*
• File format: Text
• Words: 4,362 (approx)
• Number of pages: 18 (approx)

Text preview of this essay:

This page of the essay has 4,362 words. Download the full version above.

The Rise And Fall Of The British Empire

Perhaps the biggest legacy of the British empire is linguistic influence over the world making me, living in a country far from the former empire’s borders and born almost fifty years after its collapse, do a research paper in a language which is not my native tongue. Or perhaps it is the making of the foundation to the globalised world as we recognise it today that is the heritage’s most important component. This essay is a compilation study of the British empire with an emphasis of the decline. With the help of the literature and lectures of the subject it clarifies and comprises the withdrawal from India as well as the Suez crisis as the most crucial elements of the fall. The report also takes on the rise and the darkest moments of Britain’s history. The British Empire was in fact the largest in the history of mankind, spreading over and influenced the whole world. Leaving it as a completely different place than it was before, the legacy of which we can see today.

1. Background History as a subject has always been one of my interests, and when a got the assignment in which I were to write about an English-speaking country the subject was obvious. Since I do not know that much about the British empire, especially the decline of which, I decided that this should be the subject of my research.

2. Aim and questions The purpose of this study is to compile the literature of the history of the British empire with an emphasis on its fall. The questions that I want to answer is: How did the British empire rise, and fall? What is the legacy of the British empire?

3. Method For this study I have used a quantitative method by collecting information from earlier studies, literature and lectures, which I thought was the most suitable method for this type of study. To find the needed data I used the online search engine Google-books and chose the ones that suited the essay’s aim. However there was a falloff; I could only use the books which was available for online reading since English non-fiction literature is not very accessible at my local library. Nevertheless, Google-books provided a copious amount of literature so my limited resources did not affect the outcome of the study. Other sources used in this research is lectures, also online, from Gresham college.

4. The world shaped by Empire The colossal territorial empire ruled by the British extended over a large part of the North America, much of the Caribbean, great portions of Africa south of Sahara, the whole of the Indian subcontinent and Australasia, South-East Asian and pacific dominions, and even the Middle East for some time. The British empire deeply shaped the modern world, many of the today’s non-European countries owe their existence to empires, especially to the British. Boundaries where fixed by conquest and partition treaties, and the ethnic composition of many countries was determined by the empire. Once the indigenous people had been displaced, societies became overwhelmingly European, especially the North American and Australasian. The British empire were also the major carriers of the estimated eleven million Africans transported to America as slaves. Most of those carried by the British went to Britain’s own Caribbean colonies, whose present population are for the most part the consequence of that involuntary migration. There were also a large number of Indian and Chinese people, whom in the middle of the nineteenth century went to labour in colonies ruled by Britain. Their descendants make up a large part of the population of many countries in South-East Asia.1

The influences by the British can be noticed in various degrees throughout the globe; the governmental systems, religious adherence, educational structure, the towns and cities layouts, sports and cultural tastes. English as virtually a universal language in the contemporary world is partly a reflection of the United States’ power, but the fact that the United States is an English-speaking nation is a consequence of the British empire; so are many other countries. The empire did not only change the people but the land in which they lived. The land and its resources were used in new ways due to new structures of farming, mining and manufacturing. The environmental change was sometimes rapid and dramatic as when islands, previously forested, were inverted into sugar plantations; the full effect of others related to the colonial period have only become unmistakable in present times.2 The contemporary world is sharply divided between rich and poor. The legacy of empire has played a part in bringing about this divide, although it is not a part that is easy to interpret. Some ex-imperial countries are rich; some are very poor.3

5. The rise of an empire The rise of the British empire can be traced back to the colonization of Ireland in 1494 But the empire as we know it started to take its form in the sixteenth century when the idea of territorial expansion of America began. John Dee, urged the expansion ‘Brytish Impire’ and drew the English claim to an North Atlantic empire. Richard Hakluyt later joined Dee, Hakluyt was the editor of volumes of reports of explorations by Englishmen, his ‘discourse of western planting’ (as the colonies were called) was issued 1584 which summed up the statements of justifications for the colonizations of America; it would increase the possibility for trading, and military and naval resources. Colonies would would be strategic for Britain’s defence against the French and the Spanish. They would act as a destination for England’s excess population and act as a religious sanctuary for British fleeing from the wicked catholic powers (Spain, France). The first attempt to colonize America took place in 1583, but first relatively successfully colony was not established until 1607 Jamestown Virginia. The planters were driven by greed, although some were impelled to bring God to the natives, as the Puritan’s ‘Great Migration’ of the 1630s to Massachusetts with the intention to establish a theocracy. Another example is the Quakers, which wanted economic improvement as well as freedom of religion when they established Pennsylvania, as did the Catholic Lord Baltimore as he guaranteed that Maryland was to become a refuge for Catholics. The West Indies, however, was all about natures resources such as sugar, and Newfoundland began as a settlement for fishing. All of these settlements were actually a result of private enterprise, and when Cromwell’s Parliament tried to claim the control of the colonies with the argument that they originally were established by the state, all of the colonies, whatever their political or religious sympathies might have been, contested this claim. But as the conflicts of Europe were transmitted to the colonies the government had to get more involved. The seven years’ war, also known as the French and Indian war, of 1756 to 1763 began in the continent of North America, France claimed Quebec and a large part of the Mississippi Valley. As a result of this war Great Britain took a hold of the huge French colony of Quebec. The national debt of Britain’s had grown into an enormous amount during the war, which led to a tax-reform regulated by the parliament to pay off the debt as well as to pay for the military protection of its colonies in North America and West Indies. The British regime believed that the colonies should help to pay for their own protection, and for the first time the parliament imposed taxes on the colonies, all earlier duties had been customs and excise taxes. But as the colonists not being able to vote refused to pay the taxes, the British position hardened which encouraged the development of the conflict into an outbreak of a war. Britain was, at the same time, fighting Spain, France and the Netherlands, both on land and sea, so the resources were need more urgently elsewhere, thus the outcome of the American Revolution was not so much an American victory but Britain’s inability to maintain control. The loss of the American thirteen colonies was a profound economic loss, as well as a great blow to Britain’s prestige, which brought to an end of the First British Empire.4

The rest of the empire not only remained intact but continued to grow. The British colonies in the West Indies and those from which modern Canada later emerged did not defect. Twenty to thirty million Indian people were already living under British rule, most of them in the very rich province of Bengal. Britain was by far the largest naval power in Europe. The loss of America did little damage to Britain’s overseas trade. Britain was still the major distribution point through which the products of non-European world, such as tobacco, tea, sugar, silk, or cotton cloth, passed to Europe and elsewhere. Within a few years after 1783 the value of British exports to the new United States of America would comfortably exceed the highest totals for the colonial period there. Britain also remained the biggest carrier of slaves from Africa to the Americas.5

5.1 The transatlantic slavery During the 15th an 16th centuries, the European traders began to involve in the Slave Trade. The traders had previously been interested in African nations and kingdoms due to their refined trading networks, but soon the traders saw the profit in trading humans. The enslaved people were taken from Africa to Europe and the Americas, at first in a quite small scale but the trade grew during the 17th and 18th century, due to the European countries conquests of many of the Caribbean islands and much of the North and South America. The European settlers in the Americas were enticed by the idea of owning their own land and were unwilling to work for others. At first European convicts were sent to work in the plantations but there were never enough so, the tremendous demand for labour could never be satisfied, so the planters purchased slaves.6 The Atlantic slave trade, is now believed, dispatched 11,863,000 Africans to America and the West Indies. Fewer actually arrived in the New World, the death toll on the fifty-one-day ‘middle passage’ across the Atlantic being on average about 15 per cent. During the eighteenth century, Britain became the major contributor to the traffic, shipping a total of about 30,000 slaves every year in the hundred years before abolition in 1807.7

6. New imperialism and the Scramble for Africa In the turn of 1880s only small regions of Africa was under European rule, and those areas were largely limited to the coast and short distance inland along major rivers. The Berlin Conference was convened in late 1884, which had been summoned by Germany’s Prince Bismark , sought to colour in the map of what was commonly known as the ‘dark continent’. According to the act of the Berlin Conference, Africa was to be partitioned among five primary European national contestants ‘ Britain (red), France (blue), Germany (green), Portugal (yellow), and Italy (brown) ‘ and King Leopold II of Belgium (purple).8 By the turn of the century there were only two independent African nations; Liberia and Abyssinia (gray). Britain controlled most of the highway of land from the Cape to Cairo as well as the old colonies on the west coast, Kenya, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast.9

7 The collapse of an empire The World War Two had a devastating impact on the British imperial power. Its financial and economic independent, the imperial system’s foundation were destroyed due to the catastrophic British defeats in both Europe and Asia between 1940 and 1942. Not only did the war change the Britain’s economy, but it wiped out the balance of the world’s power in which Britain’s security had largely depended, both home and abroad. Despite the fact that Britain was a part of the victorious allies, the defeat of Germany was mainly due to America and Soviet. Britain recovered their dominions lost during the war, but the imperial authority, prestige, and wealth was gravely decreased. 10

7.1 Withdrawal from India The retraction from India in 1947 was the first evidence of Britain empires recent weakening. Britain had mobilized India’s resources for their imperial effort during the World War Two, crushing Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress’ attempt to ‘quit India’ in 1942. However, in an earlier attempt to win the Congress’ support, Britain made the crucial promised that once the war was over, Britain would declare India’s full independence. After the war, it was obvious that Britain lacked the strength to stand against a revived mass attack by the Congress, but yet the British government was desperate to keep India, and its army, since the colony was an important part of ‘imperial defence’-system. For apparent reasons Britain.11 But by the time Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last governor, arrived in India by the end of March 1947 it was too late. The last viceroy Field-Marshal Wavell had been removed by Atlee for his pessimistic attitude towards the facing mounting disorder during 1946. Within months these disorders had escalated into erosions of morale of Indian servicemen, which stunningly was demonstrated by a four-day mutiny by 7000 ratings of the Royal Indian Navy. The trouble began on a frigate, whose commanding officer frequently addressed his men as ‘black buggers’, ‘coolie bastards’ or ‘ jungli Indians’, which given to the tension in India was bound to provoke a violent reaction. This mutiny soon spread to other other ships and the attempts to suppress the revolts led to serious rioting onshore. The British and Mahratha restored the order and their troops left 223 dead and over 1,000 wounded. The mutiny followed by ‘strikes’ by the Royal Indian Air Force, mutiny by 75 signallers at Allahabad, a strike by 300 policemen in Dehli, as well as desertions of Indian troops. These incidents made the defense committee of the cabinet to decide that the resignation of India could be made unless the Indian army reconciled. There were in fact rumors that the Soviet was behind the agitations which lead to the uprising 12

During the summer of 1946 the cabinet mission met with the Indian Congress and the Muslim League to construct the constitution of independent India, at first acquiescing, but soon the old mutual suspicions proved to deep-rooted, which led to a demand from the Muslim League of an independent Pakistan. Religious riots followed in Calcutta, in four days 4,000 were killed and 10,000 wounded. The news of the riot spread to Bombay were 1,000 died and over 13,000 were wounded, and in Bihar Hindus murdered 150 Muslim refugees. India appeared to be on the verge of a civil war and Wavell drew up plans to evacuate all British civilians and servicemen. Atlee was determined to prevent this political disaster, thus the replacement of governors and Mountbatten was installed. The date on which Britain would hand over the power was brought forward from June 1948 to August 1947. As the aggressions worsened Britain was forced to recognize the partition of India and Pakistan, which they had tried to prevent almost any cost, not only because a united India could come in hand, but to the fact that Pakistan borders to Afghanistan which also is a neighbour of Soviet’s. Unfortunately the officials who drew the borders did not pay very much attention to the regions within the country and bisected the Punjab, home to a substantial portion of India’s Sikhs. By late spring Punjab was wrecked by massacres, counter-massacres, looting and arson. Soon Britain left India and the bloodshed which occurred across northern India after the partition is well known 13 7.2 Repairing Britain This more or less dignified exit followed by an immense sense of relieve as Britain could disguise the fact that the end of Raj was an enormous blow to British world power, leaving the empire kneeling. India had provided Britain with much of its military strength east of Suez, as well as acting as a supplier of soldiers to much of Britain’s own army. The empire was both weaker and poorer than before the war as the burden of its defence altered back to Britain.

Clement Atlee, Britain’s Prime Minister, at the time, and his colleague in the cabinet Ernest Bevin, believed Britain’s economic recovery, and the survival of sterling as a great trading currency, needed closer interactions between Britain and its old white dominions, meaning Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The empire, Commonwealth and a few other countries composing the sterling area, which during the early post-war years stood for almost half of the world’s trade. Britain was in desperate need for dollars and was determined do exploit colonies for coveted goods. 14 Britain’s new threat Soviet required air bases strategically located from which they could bomb Southern Russia, which meant a prolonging stay in the Middle East even after Britain lost the control over the region in 1948, Britain insisted on to hang on to their bases in Iraq, Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf, including the huge Suez canal zone. Britain saw Europe as a economic and political impotence and that it was Britain’s overseas assets that would help to defend it. British leaders, across the whole range of party opinion, had no doubt that Britain must uphold its status as the third great power, and that it could only do so by upholding its empire and the Commonwealth link.15 7.3 Suez Crisis British governments attempted to accomplish a post-war imperial vision in the 1950s. The Commonwealth had already been recreated in 1949 in order to let India proceed as a republic, the old rule that the head of state in a Commonwealth country must be a British monarch had been overturned. The government recognized the demand to grant an increasing self-government and later independence to a few of their most valuable colonies with the agreement that they stayed in the British domain of financial and strategic influence.16 But things were not going well, by the end of the decade Britain’s stay in the Middle East had led to a confrontation with the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the disastrous decision to, in coalition with Israel and France, seek to overthrow him by force. The Suez Crisis in 1956 brutally revealed Britain’s financial and military weakness and obliterated much of the remaining of Britain’s influence in the Middle East. The Suez war itself was a success, Nasser did not expect Israel to join Britain in their attempt to crush the Egyptian uprising, as the Israeli irruption took Nasser by surprise slicing through the Egyptian army, Britain and France ‘issued an ultimatum’ giving both sides twelve hours to stop fighting, which of course was ignored. Britain and France began their attacks on October 29th but the next day the United States and other nations, such as Britain’s old colony Australia, supported the United Nation’s motion for all the belligerents to an immediate ceasefire. Britain bargained for time and insisted that the only way they could agree to a truce was if the United Nations forces took control of the Canal, in the meantime hurrying forward the deadline for the invasion. British and French troops landed in November 5th and 6th, disregarding two further calls for truce by the UN. Within hours the forces had taken possession Port Said and a 23-mile-long section of the canal, and on the evening of November 6th Britain and French complied the United Nation. The consequences of the successful operation were, however crucial for the British empire’s existence, causing a huge rumpus throughout not only the nation, but all around the world. The invasion of Egypt coincided with the final stages of suppression of the Hungarian uprising by the Soviet, Nikita Kruschev used this to his advantage and accused Britain and France for doing the same thing in Egypt. The United States, whose public exposure of Soviet brutality was greatly undermined by the action of their allies. Soon the world’s wrath, which should have been concentrating on Soviet was diverted to Britain and France and a hate Britain campaign was launched all over the world. Meanwhile, having agreed to an armistice, Britain insisted that the Anglo-French units should remain in Egypt and form a part of the United Nation’s army which would take over the control of the canal. This was rejected, especially by the United States whose moral was on discussion, demanding an unconditional evacuation. What followed was a test of wills, which lead to an exposure of Britain’s financial weakness. When the Suez crisis began, foreign dominion holders of the sterling, especially in the Middle East were extremely nervy due to the fear of having their assets frozen like Egypt if they stepped the wrong way. During August 1956 ‘129 million was withdrawn from sterling accounts, when the situation worsened another ’85 million was removed and when the invasion began ‘279 million was lost to dollar or gold. The desperate Britain appealed for $560 million from the International Monetary Fund but the American government refused, relenting only when British forces are pulled out of Egypt. Britain was forced to accept and in December 10th $1,300 million was placed at Britain’s disposal.17 A wide resistance and reinforced nationalist movements aroused in the colonial territories, making it much harder for Britain to control the political changes, especially where the presence of settlers (as in Rhodesia and Kenya) intensified the conflicts. Britain, as a great world-power, was threatened by the revival of France and West Germany who together commanded over the new European Economic Community (EEC.) Britain could no longer take American support for granted and Britain’s own economy was far from accelerating.18

7.5 Loss of the Colonies With the new conditions, it had become more and more challenging for Britain to hold up or even the appear as a world power. Hoping partly to startle its stagnant economy, partly to crush the Franco-German ‘alliance’, Britain tried to enter the EEC and failed twice. Britain backed out of most of the remaining colonies with carelessly haste to avert being cornered in a costly conflict with local nationalist movements as they did in India. In 1959, the British authorities went public with the scheduled withdrawal from Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika and all became self-governed between 1961 and 1963. But the British leader insisted that Britain would remain a world power and assured this with nuclear deterrent and a continuing influence in the ex-colonial world. But it was not that easy. In 1965 the white settler revolted in Southern Rhodesia and Britain’s failing attempts to stop it was hugely embarrassing and brought furious condemnation from many of the new states within the Commonwealth. It got more and more costly to protecting the new federation of Malaysia against Indonesian aggression in South East Asia. The burden became unsustainable when British economy staggered from crisis to crisis, ending in the devaluation of the pound in November 1967 and the withdraw Britain’s military presence east of Suez followed within weeks.19 7.6 End of Empire The lines of imperial age had been drawn when Britain finally entered the EEC in 1973. But it is rarely a tidy affair when an empire comes to an end. The rebellions in Rhodesia proceeded until the late 1970s. As late as 1982 Britain fought a war to retain their colony Falkland Islands and, with the tacit Chinese agreement, Hong Kong continued as a British state until 1997. Apart from these issues Britain now had to come to terms with the large inflow of migrants, mostly from South Asia, an unforeseen legacy of their imperial past. Old imperial links still survive In the 21st century, particularly those based on language and law, which may assume growing importance in a globalized world.20

Discussion The rise of the British empire can be traced back to the colonization of Ireland during the end of the fifteenth century, but the empire as we think of it today did not begin its expansion until the colonization of America in 1607, about a hundred years after the colonization of Ireland. The colonies expanded over the years to include every continent in the world, hence the legacy of the empire can be found in various places throughout the globe. The World War Two had a devastating effect on Britain and its empire, its financial and economic independence was destroyed and the impact on Britain’s security-system were severely injured, the balance of power in the world faltered. Britain could no longer could hold on to the dominions and India, the most important colony partitioned with the empire acted as a starting signal for the decolonisation of the British empire. But the imperial demography hindered the decolonisation as no one was concerned about ethnic, racial, tribal or religious groups while drawing the frontiers of the empire, which also set the boundaries of the future independent states. The these antagonisms became apparent and the imperial administration backed by police and military could contain them. But when the empire fell these divergences, which previously had been frozen by the empire began to thaw, as in India, and the new independent governments of the colonies were left with a shattered population in conflict with one another, and to provide for the continuing safety of their vulnerable minorities. But the legacy of the British empire is not only genocides and people scattered around the world due to slave-trade, it also spread the industrial revolution and was the starting point of the globalisation that makes today’s world to look more and more like a global village.

List of reference Burk Kathleen, 2006, The rise and fall of the British empire, Gresham College, lecture (http://vimeo.com/53672607) BBC, Britain the Commonwealth and the End of Empire, Dr John Darwin, 2011 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml Abolition, The arrival of European Traders (web page) http://abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_42.html 1996, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press Harlow Barbara & Carter Mia, 2003, Archives of Empire: Volume 2. The Scramble for Africa, Duke University Press Hyam Ronald, 2010, Understanding the British empire, Cambridge University Press John Darwin The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World-System, 1830’1970, Cambridge University Press Lawrence James 1994, The Rise And Fall Of The British Empire, Little Brown and Company

...(download the rest of the essay above)

About this essay:

If you use part of this page in your own work, you need to provide a citation, as follows:

Essay Sauce, The Rise And Fall Of The British Empire . Available from:<https://www.essaysauce.com/history-essays/rise-fall-british-empire/> [Accessed 24-04-24].

These History essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies.

* This essay may have been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date.

Essay Categories:

• Accounting essays
• Architecture essays
• Business essays
• Computer science essays
• Criminology essays
• Economics essays
• Education essays
• Engineering essays
• English language essays
• Environmental studies essays
• Essay examples
• Finance essays
• Geography essays
• Health essays
• History essays
• Hospitality and tourism essays
• Human rights essays
• Information technology essays
• International relations
• Leadership essays
• Linguistics essays
• Literature essays
• Management essays
• Marketing essays
• Mathematics essays
• Media essays
• Medicine essays
• Military essays
• Miscellaneous essays
• Music Essays
• Nursing essays
• Philosophy essays
• Photography and arts essays
• Politics essays
• Project management essays
• Psychology essays
• Religious studies and theology essays
• Sample essays
• Science essays
• Social work essays
• Sociology essays
• Sports essays
• Types of essay
• Zoology essays

79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best british empire topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 simple & easy british empire essay titles, 👍 good essay topics on british empire, ❓ british empire essay questions.

• History of British Empire Well, as exposited in this paper, the Second World War, anti-colonial movements, the United States, the United Nations declaration, the Cold War and the USSR were the main forces behind the decolonization while the end […]
• “Slavery and the British Empire: From Africa to America” by Morgan Kenneth Slavery has for a very long time attracted the attention of many history scholars.”Morgan Kenneth, in his book Slavery and the British Empire gives a deep in site of how the British came to embrace […] We will write a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts 808 writers online Learn More
• The Presence of the British Empire on Tibet The article ‘”Truth”, Perception, and Politics: The British Construction of an Image of Tibet by Alex McKay focuses on the presence of the British Empire on Tibet and the perception of the latter.
• British Empire and Imperial Culture The British Empire was the largest in the entire world and its power and influence were universally felt. The desire to gain more power and become the most powerful nation in the world led to […]
• Internal Colonization and Slavery in British Empire The act of alienating Ireland in the development process brought the distinction in the collaboration. Slave trade contributed to the growth of the economy of the British Empire via the production of the raw materials […]
• Rising to Prominence: The History of the British Empire The British Empire was the strongest empire between the 16th and the 20th centuries. The British Empire was the biggest empire at its peak, between the end of the 16th century and the 18th century.
• British Empire in India and the Far East Cody traces the emergence of British imperialism to the East to its mercantile trade decline in the late 19th century when the abolition of slavery and the labialisation of trade that greatly diminished its wealth.
• The British Empire and International Affairs Even though, Britain lost most of its colonies during the American Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, its economic policies rose above the United States as well as other European powers in the international affairs. This […]
• British Empire Adventure Fiction – Cosmopolitanism/Citizenship The Boys’ Literature and the Idea of Empire, 1870- 1914, one of the adventures literatures tried to argue that; boys as the role model of Britons “are you proud to be a Briton?”. Overtime, the […]
• Trade and Commerce in the Development of the British Empire
• Colonial Revenue Extraction and Modern Day Government Quality in the British Empire
• British Empire Industrial Revolution
• Prime Minister Robert Borden and Canada’s Role in the British Empire
• Symbiosis: Trade and the British Empire
• Historical Development of Education in the British Empire
• Financial System of the British Empire Fail in the Face of Adversity
• The Idea Behind the ‘Taxation Without Representation’ in the British Empire
• The Most Important Factors in the Growth of the British Empire
• Imperialism: British Empire and Imperialist Powers Spheres
• The Rise and Fall of the British Empire
• British Empire and the Union of South Africa
• British Empire’s Influences and Actions in Africa – Good or Bad?
• The British Empire and the British Industrial Revolution
• Patriotic Trade, Ethnicity, and Market in the 1930s British Empire
• The British Empire and the War for North America
• The British Empire Against the Emperor of Ethiopia
• British Empire and East India Company
• Technological Advancements During the 18th Century of the British Empire
• Significance of Slave Trade In the Growth of the British Empire
• Conflict Between the Colonies and British Empire
• British Empire and Winston Churchill
• The Anglo Cluster: Legacy of the British Empire
• Large Scale Institutional Changes: Land Demarcation Within the British Empire
• The Second World War as a Catalyst for the Loss of Colonial Power in the British Empire
• The British Empire and the Colonial Crisis
• The Sun Never Sets on the British Empire – A World Map in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
• Queen Victoria’s Influential Reign Over the British Empire
• The Reason the British Empire Gave up Imperial Control
• British Empire and American Revolution
• Preparation, Assimilation, Force: Education in the British Empire
• British Empire and Central American Slave
• The Benefits and Harms Caused by the British Empire
• American Colonists and the British Empire
• Taxation, Authority, and Social Conditions in the British Empire
• British Empire’s Origins and Demise
• The Ancient Roman Empire and the British Empire: Diffusion of Roman and English Law Throughout the World
• Imperialism: British Empire and Small Islands
• The British Empire in 1870-1914: A Waste of Money
• Comparison Between the British Empire and the Roman Empire
• Why Did the British Empire Fall?
• How Did the British Empire Impact the World?
• Do You Agree That Britain’s Imperial Defence Strategies Provided Only ‘The Illusion of Security’ for Her Eastern Empire in the Two Decades After 1921?
• What Was the Most Important Factor in the Growth of the British Empire?
• How Did America Win Her Independence From the British Empire?
• Did the British Empire Improve Lives in Africa?
• Why Was the British Empire So Successful?
• How Did the British Empire Consolidation and Its Consequences up to 1774 Affect the American Colonist’s Way of Life?
• Was Losing the American Colonies a Failure of the British Empire?
• How Did Trade and Commerce Contribute to the Development of the British Empire in 1680?
• Was the British Empire a Force for Good or for Evil?
• How Was Significant Slave Trade in the Growth of the British Empire?
• Was Trade the Most Important Factor of the British Empire?
• How Did the British Empire Try to Enforce Obedience Through Taxation?
• Were the British Empire’s Influences and Actions in Africa Good or Bad?
• What Was Rudyard Kipling’s Attitude Towards the British Empire?
• Why Was the British Empire Unique History?
• Was the ‘New Imperialism’ of the Late Nineteenth Century a Symptom of British Strength or British Weakness?
• Were Britain’s Relations With Her Colonies and Dominions Fundamentally Transformed in the Inter-War Period?
• To What Extent Did Domestic Considerations Affect British Policy Towards Empire and Commonwealth Lands?
• What Effect Did the Empire Have On British Policy in the Two World Wars?
• Was the British Empire Lost on the Playing Fields of Haileybury?
• In What Ways and to What Extent Did Changes in the Domestic Political Arena Affect the Process of British Decolonisation?
• Why Did Most British Colonies Not Follow India Into Independence Until the 1960s?
• How Was the British Empire Controlled?
• Has There Been Any Significant Difference Between the Attitudes of Labour and Conservative Governments to the British Empire and Commonwealth?
• Was the Falklands Conflict of 1982 an Imperial War?
• What Significance Does the Commonwealth Possess?
• Has the End of the British Empire Provided for the End of Great Britain?
• What Countries Were in the British Empire?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, January 20). 79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/british-empire-essay-topics/

"79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." IvyPanda , 20 Jan. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/british-empire-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples'. 20 January.

IvyPanda . 2023. "79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." January 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/british-empire-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." January 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/british-empire-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "79 British Empire Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." January 20, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/british-empire-essay-topics/.

• Monarchy Research Topics
• European History Essay Titles
• Colonization Essay Ideas
• Catholic Church Titles
• Imperialism Questions
• European Union Topics
• Christianity Topics
• International Politics Questions
• Genocide Essay Titles
• Orientalism Titles
• Brexit Questions
• Fascism Questions
• Growth Strategy Titles
• Colonialism Essay Ideas
• Slavery Ideas

Was the British Empire a force for good?

In Al Murray: Why Does Everyone Hate the British Empire , comedian and historian Al Murray travels to India, Jamaica, South Africa and Australia to learn about the origins of British rule, its impact upon each country and its legacy. The show premiers Monday, 23 October on Sky HISTORY.

Debates about the British Empire used to be pretty much nonexistent outside academic circles. Now, thanks to a combination of social media, and a growing awareness of Britain's colonial past and its impact on not just the UK but the world, it’s a subject that’s brought up on a regular basis.

Where once the empire was a source of unquestioning pride in Britain, public opinion has now shifted as more and more people question Britain's dark past of colonialism. But was the British Empire all bad, and is it possible to acknowledge some of the good things it achieved while condemning the bad when Britannia truly did rule the waves?

Read more about Women's history

Lakshmi Bai and the Indian Rebellion of 1857

The abolition of slavery.

Britain’s decision to abolish the international slave trade in 1807 and outlaw it throughout its overseas territories in 1833 is now, quite rightly, seen as one of the important acts ever undertaken by the British Empire.

Thanks to its overwhelming superiority at sea, Britain was able to back up its words with action. For those who would have preferred the trade to carry on, the empire used its vast navy to make life for slavers virtually impossible. Britain’s West African Squadron, for example, was specifically set up to catch ships carrying slaves to colonies in the Americas, and throughout its time patrolling the seas the squadron managed to free an estimated 150,000 slaves.

Read more about Black History

The blockade of Africa: The West African Squadron

By 1888, through both diplomacy and strong-arm tactics, Britain and her allies had all but wiped the trade out, with Brazil the last country to abolish slavery in that year. The British Empire entered the 19th Century second only to Portugal as the main slaving nation in the Atlantic. By the end of the century, slavery was illegal throughout Europe and the Americas. The practise was declared illegal throughout the world in 1948, with Mauritania becoming the last nation to declare slavery illegal in 1981.

The Banning of Suttee

The British presence in India stretched from the early 17th Century to just after the Second World War, and the ferocious debate over whether the empire’s rule was a good or a bad thing overall will undoubtedly go on forever. Something undeniably good that did come out of British rule in India was the banning of suttee. Suttee was the practice whereby Hindu widows were burned alive atop the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands.

Read more about British History

The Battle of Isandlwana and the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879

At first, the East India Company tolerated the practice, but the protestations of Christian missionaries changed the authorities’ minds and by 1829 the practice was officially banned. Further legislation followed throughout the 19th Century that strengthened the law, and the practice was all but wiped out by the 1870s. Unfortunately, the practice reared its ugly head at the end of the 20th Century, leading to a clampdown by Indian authorities in the 1980s.

Read more about Battles

10 facts about the Battle of Waterloo you didn't learn in school

The spread of the english language.

One of the positive byproducts of an empire that spanned the globe was the spread of the English language. Today, English is the largest language by terms of speakers in the world and the third most spoken native language. This has made global communication much easier as even those without a good command of English can get by in it remarkably well in a way they cannot in, say French or Mandarin.

Churchill and Gandhi's epic rivalry

Today, English is either the leading language or one of the most commonly used languages in fields such as science, law, navigation and diplomacy, as well as being the principal language used on the Internet. The spread of English also led to the distribution of English culture, in particular English Literature, which has had a long-lasting impact on the literary cultures of other countries such as the United States. It also makes it rather handy for the notoriously second language-phobic British and Americans when they go on holiday.

Mother of nations

Like all colonisers, Britain gave birth to many nations around the world. Not all of them were successful, and several descended into civil war and bloodshed after the British packed up and left - sometimes with indecent speed. For instance with India, Britain's wish to drop its former Jewel in the Crown as quickly as possible after the Second World War led to partition along religious lines and the bloodbath that followed. Tensions in some former British colonies stretch into the present day.

Read more about Modern History

Gandhi's Salt March, the protest that changed Indian history

There are, however, a number of nations that began as British colonies that evolved into some of the wealthiest and most successful countries on the planet. The United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were forged in the fire of empire and they are today some of the country’s strongest allies and friends.

India, meanwhile, is now the world’s fifth-largest economy and is developing rapidly into one of the 21st Century’s economic powerhouses and cities such as Singapore and Hong Kong lie at the heart of global finance.

World War I

The outbreak of World War I saw the end of what was known as ‘Pax Britannica’. This was a near hundred-year period of relative peace and stability in Europe following the defeat of Napoleon and the normalisation of relations with the United States following the war of 1812. The stability of Pax Britannica afforded the empire the chance to expand its reach, grow new markets and stabilise trade routes throughout the world, stamp out the slave trade in the Atlantic, clamp down on piracy around the most important trade routes and spread the fruits of the Industrial Revolution throughout the empire and beyond.

Read more about WW1

How the British Empire made WW1 possible

Invention after invention burst forth into the world not just from Britain, but from other rapidly industrialising nations to the extent that within a hundred years, Western Europe, in particular, was unrecognisable. However, this rapid advancement would eventually lead to a form of warfare the world had never witnessed before as the Pax Britannica was brought to an abrupt and bloody end.

The First World War of 1914-1918 was the first mechanised war and the slaughter that was on an industrial scale touched every village, town and city in Britain and beyond. The sheer size of the British Empire meant it was able to meet the demands of this new type of warfare with an almost inexhaustible supply of troops and material, and after four years of carnage, the empire, along with its allies, emerged victoriously. By the end of the war, the British Empire was battered but still standing, whereas the Ottoman, Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian Empires had all collapsed.

World War II

The British Empire was the only belligerent to fight the entirety of the Second World War. From the last man standing against Nazi tyranny in 1940 to facing the fiery death of Imperial Japan in 1945, the empire was a vital cog in the Allied war machine. Troops from Britain and its empire fought in both the European and Pacific theatres in all branches of the armed forces, from Canadian pilots in the Battle of Britain to Indian troops handing the Japanese Army her first-ever defeat at the Battles of Kohima and Imphal in 1944. The resources the empire could draw upon were immense. At the war’s end, over eight and a half million men from Britain, the empire and the Dominions had served.

The Caribbean, Indian and African RAF pilots of WW2

Nearly 400,000 would never see their homelands again. Thanks to the United States, the Soviet Union and the British Empire, both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan would see their plans for world domination spectacularly thwarted. The war crippled Britain financially and fundamentally changed its status in the world. The new superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union overtook the empire’s dominant position in the world which led directly to the end of the British Empire itself. The age of the European empires was over, and Britain can take a huge portion of the credit for ushering in their demise - including the demise of its own.

The UK today

Perhaps the most enduring positive legacy of the British Empire is what happened to the United Kingdom itself. With colonies spread far and wide across the globe, many former subjects saw Britain as the ‘mother country’, and so it was natural that when their thoughts turned to making a better life for themselves and their families, it was to their former colonial master that they travelled.

Toussaint Louverture and the birth of Haiti

Some, such as the West Indians of the 1940s and the Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis of the 1970s were invited to work and settled in Britain, carving out distinctive communities for themselves in not only the capital city but also in Britain’s industrial towns and cities such as Manchester, Leicester, Bradford and Birmingham. Others sought refuge in Britain such as the Indians expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin in the 1970s; others still came for economic and cultural reason, such as the steady influx of Australians who emigrated to a country that seemed youthful, diverse and alive. With these immigrants came their own arts, cultures, religions and cuisines, and this has led to a transformation that has not been replicated anywhere else in Europe.

Thanks to the empire, Britain today is a multicultural melting-pot, forever changed by wave after wave of immigration, not just from former colonies, but those from Europe who came to the UK, after Britain entered the Common Market in 1973. Of course, not everyone is happy about immigration and the effect it has had on many aspects of British life, and they’ll tell you all about how unhappy they are over a plate of Chicken Tikka Masala washed down with a few pints of Foster’s!

Most Recent

Was the A6 Murderer innocent or guilty?

12 most important Norse gods and goddesses in Viking mythology

History of the Chelsea Flower Show

Darrell Miklos discusses his hunt for stolen Nazi treasure

More from history.

11 unusual nicknames for British kings and queens

3 worst succession crises from British history

Significant records from UK general elections

Keep reading.

How would we remember Churchill's legacy If it wasn't for WWII?

How Thatcher broke the miners' strike

A Beginner's Guide to the EU and Brexit

History of Liverpool

You might be interested in.

Hadrian's Wall and the River Eden

How a Viking laid the groundwork for the King of England

The Battle of Britain

The strange and unlikely history of St George

A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Shooting an Elephant’ is a 1936 essay by George Orwell (1903-50), about his time as a young policeman in Burma, which was then part of the British empire. The essay explores an apparent paradox about the behaviour of Europeans, who supposedly have the power over their colonial subjects.

Before we offer an analysis of Orwell’s essay, it might be worth providing a short summary of ‘Shooting an Elephant’, which you can read here .

Orwell begins by relating some of his memories from his time as a young police officer working in Burma. Although the extent to which the essay is autobiographical has been disputed, we will refer to the narrator as Orwell himself, for ease of reference.

He, like other British and European people in imperial Burma, was held in contempt by the native populace, with Burmese men tripping him up during football matches between the Europeans and Burmans, and the local Buddhist priests loudly insulting their European colonisers on the streets.

Orwell tells us that these experiences instilled in him two things: it confirmed his view, which he had already formed, that imperialism was evil, but it also inspired a hatred of the enmity between the European imperialists and their native subjects. Of course, these two things are related, and Orwell understands why the Buddhist priests hate living under European rule. He is sympathetic towards such a view, but it isn’t pleasant when you yourself are personally the object of ridicule or contempt.

He finds himself caught in the middle between ‘hatred of the empire’ he served and his ‘rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make [his] job impossible’.

The main story which Orwell relates takes place in Moulmein, in Lower Burma. An elephant, one of the tame elephants which the locals own and use, has given its rider or mahout the slip, and has been wreaking havoc throughout the bazaar. It has destroyed a hut, killed a cow, and raided some fruit stalls for food. Orwell picks up his rifle and gets on his pony to go and see what he can do.

He knows the rifle won’t be good enough to kill the elephant, but he hopes that firing the gun might scare the animal. Orwell discovers that the elephant has just trampled a man, a coolie or native labourer, to the ground, killing him. Orwell sends his pony away and calls for an elephant rifle which would be more effective against such a big animal. Going in search of the elephant, Orwell finds it coolly eating some grass, looking as harmless as a cow.

It has calmed down, but by this point a crowd of thousands of local Burmese people has amassed, and is watching Orwell intently. Even though he sees no need to kill the animal now it no longer poses a threat to anyone, he realises that the locals expect him to dispatch it, and he will lose ‘face’ – both personally and as an imperial representative – if he does not do what the crowd expects.

So he shoots the elephant from a safe distance, marvelling at how long the animal takes to die. He acknowledges at the end of the essay that he only shot the elephant because he did not wish to look like a fool.

‘Shooting an Elephant’ is obviously about more than Orwell’s killing of the elephant: the whole incident was, he tells us, ‘a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism – the real motives for which despotic governments act.’

The surprise is that despotic governments don’t merely impose their iron boot upon people without caring what their poor subjects think of them, but rather that despots do care about how they are judged and viewed by their subjects.

Among other things, then, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ is about how those in power act when they are aware that they have an audience. It is about how so much of our behaviour is shaped, not by what we want to do, nor even by what we think is the right thing to do, but by what others will think of us .

Orwell confesses that he had spent his whole life trying to avoid being laughed at, and this is one of his key motivations when dealing with the elephant: not to invite ridicule or laughter from the Burmese people watching him.

To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing – no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.

Note how ‘my whole life’ immediately widens to ‘every white man’s life in the East’: this is not just Orwell’s psychology but the psychology of every imperial agent. Orwell goes on to imagine what grisly death he would face if he shot the elephant and missed, and he was trampled like the hapless coolie the elephant had killed: ‘And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That would never do.’

The stiff upper lip of this final phrase is British imperialism personified. Being trampled to death by the elephant might be something that Orwell could live with (as it were); but being laughed at? And, worse still, laughed at by the ‘natives’? Unthinkable …

And from this point, Orwell extrapolates his own experience to consider the colonial experience at large: the white European may think he is in charge of his colonial subjects, but ironically – even paradoxically – the coloniser loses his own freedom when he takes it upon himself to subjugate and rule another people:

I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the ‘natives,’ and so in every crisis he has got to do what the ‘natives’ expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.

So, at the heart of ‘Shooting an Elephant’ are two intriguing paradoxes: imperial rulers and despots actually care deeply about how their colonised subjects view them (even if they don’t care about those subjects), and the one who colonises loses his own freedom when he takes away the freedom of his colonial subjects, because he is forced to play the role of the ‘sahib’ or gentleman, setting an example for the ‘natives’, and, indeed, ‘trying to impress’ them. He is the alien in their land, which helps to explain this second paradox, but the first is more elusive.

However, even this paradox is perhaps explicable. As Orwell says, aware of the absurdity of the scene: ‘Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd – seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind.’

The Burmese natives are the ones with the real power in this scene, both because they are the natives and because they outnumber the lone policeman, by several thousand to one. He may have a gun, but they have the numbers. He is performing for a crowd, and the most powerful elephant gun in the world wouldn’t be enough to give him power over the situation.

There is a certain inevitability conveyed by Orwell’s clever repetitions (‘I did not in the least want to shoot him … They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant … I had no intention of shooting the elephant … I did not in the least want to shoot him … But I did not want to shoot the elephant’), which show how the idea of shooting the elephant gradually becomes apparent to the young Orwell.

These repetitions also convey how powerless he feels over what is happening, even though he acknowledges it to be unjust (when the elephant no longer poses a threat to anyone) as well as financially wasteful (Orwell also draws attention to the pragmatic fact that the elephant while alive is worth around a hundred pounds, whereas his tusks would only fetch around five pounds).

But he does it anyway, in an act that is purely for show, and which goes against his own will and instinct.

Discover more about Orwell’s non-fiction with our analysis of his ‘A Hanging’ , our discussion of his essay on political language , and our thoughts on his autobiographical essay, ‘Why I Write’ .

8 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’”

Absolutely fascinating and very though provoking. Thank you.

Thanks, Caroline! Very kind

One biographer claimed that the incident never took place and is pure fiction created to make the points you mention. Is there any proof that it actually happened ?

• Pingback: 10 of the Best Works by George Orwell – Interesting Literature
• Pingback: The Best George Orwell Essays Everyone Should Read – Interesting Literature

Circuses – it still goes on, tragically. https://robinsaikia.org/2021/04/04/elephants-in-venice-1954/

Hmm now I make another connection here. A degree of the hypocrisy of human society. In a sense, the Burmese were ‘owned’ by their imperial masters – personified by Orwell – but the Elephant was owned by the Burmese. the Burmese hate Orwell for being the imperialist and yet they expect him to shoot their elephant who is itself forced into a role it clearly didn’t like. I know it is all very post-modernist to consider things from a non-human point of view, but there seems a very obvious mirroring here.

• Pingback: A Summary and Analysis of George Orwell’s ‘A Hanging’ – Interesting Literature

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from interesting literature.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

Introduction, the rise of the british empire, the decline of the british empire.

The 16th and 17th centuries saw the emergence of the British Empire that affected world politics considerably before its fall in the 20th century. Particularly, the development of the British Empire required Britain to establish overseas colonies to safeguard its political and economic interests. The British Empire traversed global boundaries as Britain took over the political administration of countries with colonies in America, Australia, New Zealand, and various African countries (Coates, 2014).

Before the integration of the British administration in the various colonies, many delineated landmasses, as well as small islands, were characterized by dullness and the lack of inspiration. Delineating here is used to denote the act of marking boundaries around an area. The entry of the British administration in the various colonies sought to bring about a new era of politics at the global stage besides fostering the unification of countries by a common language.

In addition, factors such as globalization, naval capabilities, trade, and communication improvements favored the rise of the British Empire. However, as the paper reveals, the rise of nationalist movements in the various colonies, especially the ones in Africa and Asia, led to the decline of the British Empire. In this respect, this study offers a detailed discussion of the rise and fall of the British Empire.

An array of factors prompted Britain to expand its administration in different colonies globally. The notable factors range from the geographical location of Britain that fostered the development of its naval capabilities. Just like Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands, Britain’s location ensured that Britons enjoyed proximity to the seas (Kaul, 2013). Thus, they could easily adapt to marine life. Britain strategically delineated various regions to help in attaining its imperial agenda.

In politics and the economy, world regions are delineated with the goal of facilitating certain connections between places. Hence, for the British Empire, the need to explore the lands overseas, as well as the knowledge in sailing the seas using sophisticated ships, enhanced the capability of Britain to send its representatives in different parts of the world to identify opportunities that could help the country to persuade its imperial motivations. Therefore, the availability of adequate human resources that could help Britain to man ships sailing to distant places favored the development of the British Empire.

Furthermore, the reign of King Henry VII spanning between 1485 and 1509 facilitated the establishment of various maritime policies that favored the persuasion of Britain’s imperial ambitions. Particularly, King Henry VII focused on enhancing the creation of a new age of English Merchant Marine systems that would foster the expansion of English shipbuilding, as well as seafaring. Moreover, maritime policies led to the creation of the Merchant Marine framework as a move that was geared towards reforming the financial position of Britain.

Besides, financial reforms that were underwritten by Henry sought to expand the size of the Royal Navy as denoted by the construction of a dry dock situated at Portsmouth (Kaul, 2013). The efforts of King Henry VII towards reinforcing the naval capabilities of Britain saw him collaborate with John Cabot, an Italian mariner, between 1496 and 1497. The move resulted in the capturing of Britain’s first overseas colony, Newfoundland, a Canadian island.

The successor of King Henry VII, King Henry VIII, played a considerable part in enhancing the development of the Royal Navy. Importantly, King VIII upheld the relevance of expanding the English warships besides pioneering the construction of vessels that were mounted with heavy ammunition. The leader ensured that the Royal Navy acquired a centralized and formal administrative system characterized by the development of modern docks, the installation of network beacons, and lighthouses. These developments led to the easy navigation of Britain and foreign merchant sailors. Importantly, the munitions-based Royal Navy favored the dominance of Britain’s merchant sailors as denoted by the neutralization of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The passing of the Act for Kingly Title by the parliament of Ireland in 1541 marked the beginning of Britain’s imperial ambitions. The statute helped Ireland to secure its autonomy from the English monarchy to form its distinct kingdom (Coates, 2014). The event triggered Britain to consider the re-conquest of Ireland as a way of enlarging the country’s territory. Eventually, Britain adopted a colonization policy by 1550, a move that led to the development of the Plantation of Ulster (Kaul, 2013). The plantation acted as the model that would facilitate the development of the British Empire. Individuals such as Francis Drake and Humphrey Walter Raleigh who took part in the Ireland re-conquest also participated in the annexation of North America

The establishment of English Navigation Acts in 1651 played an instrumental role in fostering the expansion of the British Empire (Nanni, 2012). Particularly, the policies sought to limit the trading activities between Britain and its colonies. Such policies ensured that Britain took advantage of the resources available in its colonies, thus fostering colonial developments in its favor. As a result, Britain could not engage in direct colonial trade with France and the Netherlands, including other European countries.

Furthermore, the renewal of the original ordinance of 1651 through the Restoration by Acts of 1660 and 1663 provided a legal framework that guided the trading activities of Britain in its overseas colonies (Thompson, 2014). By so doing, Britain merchant sailors could engage in trading activities in different continents to support the financial and imperial ambitions of the growing empire.

The economic interest of Britons also bolstered the rise of the British Empire. Notably, the need to safeguard the financial interests of British-chartered companies influenced the growth of the British Empire in different countries. In 1600, the founding of the British East India Company to secure the financial interests of Britain played a significant role in fostering the annexation of India. For this reason, India became the empire’s largest source of revenue. Importantly, the British East India Company helped Britain to create its Asian territory that favored its trade privileges (Dawson, 2013). Additionally, the operations of British companies such as the British South Africa Company and the United Africa Company in the African continent ensured that Britain acquired adequate revenues to facilitate the running of its empire.

The Industrial Revolution motivated Britain to spread its imperial ideas in different countries, owing to the emergence of new technologies. Notably, the Industrial Revolution influenced Britain’s informal empire by providing it with essential tools, including the Gatling gun, steamship, and the railway. These tools presented by the revolution made it easy for Britain to conquer countries that were experiencing weak industrialization (Coates, 2014). For this reason, Britain realized a remarkable economic leadership against rivals such as France besides the dominance of the Royal Navy in the international seas. Further, the free-trade environment supported by the Industrial Revolution promoted the expansion of the economic and political influence of the informal empire.

During the Industrial Revolution, the informal British Empire valued the essence of identifying new markets that would foster its economic stability. Notably, the 1875 depression prompted Britain to venture into new markets as a strategy for fostering its economic stability amid the economic turbulences experienced globally (Nanni, 2012). In this respect, Britain saw the economic potential of countries that it had found easy to colonize, thus expanding its operations in such places. The outcome of the strategy fostered the colonization of different countries globally, thereby leading to the growth of the British Empire during the 19th century. Other European powers such as France, Spain, and Portugal followed the footsteps of Britain and acquired colonies to realize similar economic benefits.

The scramble for Africa among European nations, including Britain, France, Germany, and Portugal, contributed to the growth of the British Empire in the later years of the 19th century. Britain’s move towards securing parts of the African continent such as Egypt and South Africa among other countries sought to increase the wealth of its empire. The racism factor created the perception that blacks stood as inferior beings compared to whites (Dawson, 2013).

For this reason, Britain took over the political authority of South Africa in 1899 to foster the realization of economic gains from its overseas colonies. Cecil Rhodes led the expansion of the British Empire in South Africa as denoted by the establishment of the British South Africa Company. Besides, Rhodes spearheaded the creation of Rhodesia, north of South Africa, to stamp the authority of British colonial administration in Africa. Britain also took over the political administration of Egypt since it saw the importance of controlling the economic activities along the Suez Canal. Britain gained control of 30% of the African population as an outcome of the scramble and partitioning of Africa (Levine, 2013). Nonetheless, the 19th and 20th centuries witnessed the decline of the British Empire, owing to an array of factors, including decolonization.

The middle years of the 20th century were marked by a significant decline of the British Empire as its domination of the economic and political aspects of different parts of the world reduced. The decline paved the way for a reduction of injustices and divisions that had been caused by the policies of the British colonial power in different countries around the globe. The former colonies of Britain attained independence, thereby promoting the realization of socio-economic and political justice after periods of exploitation spearheaded by capitalistic interests and racism under the British administration.

The onset of the Second World War affected the stability of the British Empire to a considerable extent. Particularly, the capture of Singapore by Japan in 1942 denoted the invincibility of Britain. Thus, changing the status quo was viewed as a possibility after the global war. Furthermore, an agreement between the British government and the Indian Independence Movement provided room for the loyalty of the Indians during the Second World War after which they would be granted sovereignty. The successful attainment of independence by India inspired many other colonies of Britain to push for decolonization after the Second World War.

The fall of British rule in Ireland further showed the declining authority of the British Empire. Besides, the setting of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921 created an opportunity for Ireland to develop structures that would liberate it from the British rule. In 1948, Ireland secured its independence from the United Kingdom to mark a new chapter of the country’s political and economic development (Dawson, 2013). As such, the British Empire was required to withdraw its Royal Navy from the Irish ports.

The emergence of anti-colonial movements in the various African colonies of Britain played a key role in undermining the power of the British Empire (Coates, 2014). Important to note, nationalist movements pushed for decolonization when they organized uprisings that sought to liberate the masses from social, political, and economic unfairness (Plank, 2015). For instance, nationalist movements in Ghana and Kenya prompted British administrators in the colonies to halt their operations to pave the way for independence. Besides, national movements in the Caribbean and Asia also applied a considerable pressure on Britain to rethink its commercial and imperial ambitions in the region (Dawson, 2013).

Surprisingly, in most cases, Britain hardly fought to retain its authority in its overseas colonies. Eventually, the British Empire lost its authority over many colonies it had ruled for decades, owing to the financial and military constraints it faced under the pressing need for decolonization.

The British Empire played a significant role in shaping the political, social, and economic position of different colonies, which it administered. The factors accountable for the emergence of the British Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries include naval capabilities, commercial interests, and the industrial revolution among other influences. However, the British Empire declined in the middle years of the 20th century as the push for decolonization by nationalist movements gained momentum. The Second World War also uncovered the invincibility of Britain. Thus, more countries sought their liberation from its authority.

Coates, D. (2014). America in the shadow of empires . New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Dawson, G. (2013). Soldier heroes: British adventure, empire and the imagining of masculinities . London, England: Routledge.

Kaul, C. (2013). Media and the British empire . New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Levine, P. (2013). The British empire: Sunrise to sunset . London, England: Routledge.

Nanni, G. (2012). The colonization of time: Ritual, routine and resistance in the British empire . Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.

Plank, G. (2015). Rebellion and savagery: The Jacobite rising of 1745 and the British empire . Pennsylvania, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Thompson, A. S. (2014). Imperial Britain: The empire in British politics, c. 1880-1932 . London, England: Routledge.

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2021, January 10). The Rise and Fall of the British Empire. https://studycorgi.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/

"The Rise and Fall of the British Empire." StudyCorgi , 10 Jan. 2021, studycorgi.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/.

StudyCorgi . (2021) 'The Rise and Fall of the British Empire'. 10 January.

1. StudyCorgi . "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire." January 10, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire." January 10, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire." January 10, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-british-empire/.

This paper, “The Rise and Fall of the British Empire”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: April 14, 2021 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.