The British Empire

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Leggi e ascolta. The British Empire The British Empire was the biggest empire in the history of the world. Large areas of North America, Australia, Africa and Asia were part of it. Britain’s colonisation began in the late 16th century. By the 19th century Britain owned one quarter of the world’s land! People said: ‘The sun never sets on the British Empire’, because it was always day time in one of the British colonies. The British Empire helped to make Britain rich. The British controlled all trade with its colonies. They imported raw materials, made them into manufactured goods and then sold the goods in their colonies. But conditions for the local people in the colonies weren’t good. They had to work long hours and they didn’t earn a lot of money. Local people rarely participated in the political decisions of their countries. For this reason there were often rebellions in the colonies against the British and many people died in the oppression. High Five Level 2 . CLIL History, p. 216 © Oxford University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE At the beginning of the 20th century many British colonies demanded their political and economic independence. Some countries left the Empire peacefully but, for others, years of conflict with Britain began. In India one local leader, Gandhi, became very famous for his peaceful protest against Britain. Gandhi brought the attention of the world to the oppression and injustice of the British occupation of India. By the late 1960s the majority of the British territories were independent. It was the end of the British Empire! Britain changed the countries in its empire. Many people left Britain and went to live in the colonies. They took their religion, language and social structures with them. English became a global language. Today about 1.5 billion people around the world speak English. But the Empire also changed Britain. Many people from the colonies came to live in Britain. Today there are large Indian, African and Caribbean communities in the UK. People from the colonies brought their food, languages and traditions with them. As a result, Britain is a multicultural society. High Five Level 2 . CLIL History, p. 216 © Oxford University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Empire and English Nationalismn
Nations and Nationalism 12 (1), 2006, 1–13. r ASEN 2006 Empire and English nationalismn KRISHAN KUMAR Department of Sociology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA Empire and nation: foes or friends? It is more than pious tribute to the great scholar whom we commemorate today that makes me begin with Ernest Gellner. For Gellner’s influential thinking on nationalism, and specifically of its modernity, is central to the question I wish to consider, the relation between nation and empire, and between imperial and national identity. For Gellner, as for many other commentators, nation and empire were and are antithetical. The great empires of the past belonged to the species of the ‘agro-literate’ society, whose central fact is that ‘almost everything in it militates against the definition of political units in terms of cultural bound- aries’ (Gellner 1983: 11; see also Gellner 1998: 14–24). Power and culture go their separate ways. The political form of empire encloses a vastly differ- entiated and internally hierarchical society in which the cosmopolitan culture of the rulers differs sharply from the myriad local cultures of the subordinate strata. Modern empires, such as the Soviet empire, continue this pattern of disjuncture between the dominant culture of the elites and the national or ethnic cultures of the constituent parts. Nationalism, argues Gellner, closes the gap. It insists that the only legitimate political unit is one in which rulers and ruled share the same culture. Its ideal is one state, one culture. Or, to put it another way, its ideal is the national or the ‘nation-state’, since it conceives of the nation essentially in terms of a shared culture linking all members.
[Show full text]
Imperialism Tate Britain: Colonialism Tate Britain Has Over 500 Pieces of Art That Are Related to British Colonialism. There Ar
Imperialism Tate Britain: Colonialism Tate Britain has over 500 pieces of art that are related to British Colonialism. There are portraits, propaganda and photographs. Mutiny at the Margin: The Indian Uprising of 1857 2007 saw the 150th Anniversary of the Indian Uprising (also known as the ‘Mutiny') of 1857-58. One of the best-known episodes of both British imperial and South Asian history and a seminal event for Anglo-Indian relations, 1857 has yet to be the subject of a substantial revisionist history British Postal Museum and Archive: British Empire Exhibition Great Britain’s first commemorative stamps were issued on 23 April 1924 – this marked the first day of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. British Cartoon Archive: British Empire The British Cartoon Archive has a collection of 280 contemporary cartoons that are related to the British Empire. The Word on the Street: Emigration This contains a collection of 44 ballads that are related to British emigration during the 1800/1900’s. British Pathe: Empire British Pathe has a collection of contemporary newsreels that are related to the empire. Included, for example, is footage from Empire Day celebration in 1933. The British Library: Asians in Britain These webpages trace the long history of Asians in Britain, focusing on the period 1858-1950. They explore the subject through contemporary accounts, posters, pamphlets, diaries, newspapers, political reports and illustrations, all evidence of the diverse and rich contributions Asians have made to British life. The National Archives: British Empire The National Archives has an exhibition that analyses the growth of the British Empire.
[Show full text]
The Columbian Exchange: a History of Disease, Food, and Ideas
Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 24, Number 2—Spring 2010—Pages 163–188 The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food, and Ideas Nathan Nunn and Nancy Qian hhee CColumbianolumbian ExchangeExchange refersrefers toto thethe exchangeexchange ofof diseases,diseases, ideas,ideas, foodfood ccrops,rops, aandnd populationspopulations betweenbetween thethe NewNew WorldWorld andand thethe OldOld WWorldorld T ffollowingollowing thethe voyagevoyage ttoo tthehe AAmericasmericas bbyy ChristoChristo ppherher CColumbusolumbus inin 1492.1492. TThehe OldOld WWorld—byorld—by wwhichhich wwee mmeanean nnotot jjustust EEurope,urope, bbutut tthehe eentirentire EEasternastern HHemisphere—gainedemisphere—gained fromfrom tthehe CColumbianolumbian EExchangexchange iinn a nnumberumber ooff wways.ays. DDiscov-iscov- eeriesries ooff nnewew ssuppliesupplies ofof metalsmetals areare perhapsperhaps thethe bestbest kknown.nown. BButut thethe OldOld WWorldorld aalsolso ggainedained newnew staplestaple ccrops,rops, ssuchuch asas potatoes,potatoes, sweetsweet potatoes,potatoes, maize,maize, andand cassava.cassava. LessLess ccalorie-intensivealorie-intensive ffoods,oods, suchsuch asas tomatoes,tomatoes, chilichili peppers,peppers, cacao,cacao, peanuts,peanuts, andand pineap-pineap- pplesles wwereere aalsolso iintroduced,ntroduced, andand areare nownow culinaryculinary centerpiecescenterpieces inin manymany OldOld WorldWorld ccountries,ountries, namelynamely IItaly,taly, GGreece,reece, andand otherother MediterraneanMediterranean countriescountries (tomatoes),(tomatoes),
[Show full text]
Bermudian English: History, Features, Social Role Luke Swartz
Bermudian English: History, Features, Social Role Luke Swartz (Final paper for Linguistics 153) Abstract Bermudian English has been long neglected in linguistic literature. After a brief introduction to the linguistic history of the Bermuda Islands, this paper examines several interesting aspects of English dialects spoken in Bermuda. First, we examine the islands’ lack of an English Creole. Next, we examine phonological features of Bermudian English and their possible origins. Finally, we close with a discussion of Bermudian dialects’ place in education and society at large. 1. Introduction Virginia Bernhard (1999: 1) notes that, just as mariners once avoided Bermuda for fear of wrecking their ships on its coral reefs, “historians of European colonization have also bypassed Bermuda.” She quotes W. F. Craven, who wrote that “the Bermudas have been largely overlooked, the significance of their history for the most part lost to sight” (xiii). Likewise, the language of the Bermudian people has been largely ignored by linguists and historians alike. Few scholars have studied Bermudian English; the last citation of any length dates to 1933. 2 Nevertheless, the Bermuda Islands present an interesting case study of English dialects, in many ways unique among such dialects in the world. Bermudian dialects of English lack a dominant creole, have interesting phonetic features, and command an ambiguous social status. 2. Background Contrary to popular belief, Bermuda is not actually part of the Caribbean. As Caribbean/Latin American Profile points out, “Often, Bermuda is placed erroneously in the West Indies, but in fact is more than 1,000 miles to the north of the Caribbean” (Caribbean Publishing Company: 51).
[Show full text]
British Dominions and Foreign Relations Herbert A
Cornell Law Review Volume 12 Article 1 Issue 1 December 1926 British Dominions and Foreign Relations Herbert A. Smith Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Herbert A. Smith, British Dominions and Foreign Relations , 12 Cornell L. Rev. 1 (1926) Available at: http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol12/iss1/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Cornell Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Cornell Law: A Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Cornell Law Quarterly VOLU1E XII DECEMBER, 1926 NUMBER 1 The British Dominions and Foreign Relations* HERBERT A. SMITHt If there is any truth at all in the common statement that the British Constitution is "unwritten" it is a truth which needs some- what careful explanation. In point of fact, practically the whole operation of government, both in the mother country and abroad, is at the present time carried on under express statutory powers. In a few instances, of which the most important is the conduct of foreign affairs, executive action is based upon the ancient common law pre- rogative of the Crown, but in all cases, whatever is done, is done in virtue of some definite law capable of ascertainment in the courts. To define the exact legal powers of any organ of government is seldom more difficult, and is usually much easier, in the British Empire than under the highly intricate federal system of the United States.
[Show full text]
Spain and Britain's Informal Empire, 1808 to 1936
Spain and Britain’s Informal Empire, 1808 to 1936 Nick Sharman November 2015 Spain and Britain’s Informal Empire, 1808 to 1936 By Nick Sharman Nick Sharman is a PhD student at the University of Nottingham whose area of research is Anglo-Spanish economic relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 2 Introduction For a century and a half after its defeat in the Napoleonic Wars Spain lay in the shadow of Britain’s Empire and its industrial revolution. Like many other parts of the world, notably East Asia and South America, it was never part of the formal Empire but like them, it was subject to Britain’s hegemonic domination of world trade, finance and investment. This paper argues that seeing Spain’s development in terms of informal empire and colonial domination helps to explain both its fitful path to industrialisation and the contested forms of nationalism that were to end in the bloody catastrophe of Civil War. We can also see many parallels with the relationships that have developed in the post-World War Two period between dependent nations and the ‘informal empires’ of the US and European Union. The Growth of Britain’s Informal Empire The Napoleonic Wars were a calamity for Spain. At Trafalgar, the Spanish fleet, vital to the defence of its far flung empire in East Asia, the Caribbean and South America, was destroyed. Spain itself was extensively fought over during the devastating and costly Peninsular War. Meanwhile the country’s fiscally vital South American colonies rose in revolt. After Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna restored the divisive and reactionary Bourbon king, Ferdinand, who had been held hostage in France.
[Show full text]
Public Health and the British Empire: from Colonization to Decolonization
Public Health and the British Empire: From Colonization to Decolonization Alexandra Jones Abstract This article traces the process of how colonization and eventual decolonization within the British Empire affected the development of public health infrastructure within British India versus British East Africa, and why these countries have developed differently into the public health systems today. Even though each nation was colonized by the same nation, they have developed different levels of health care services offered, as well as have differing degrees of influence from international organizations like the World Health Organization. In 1947, India became the first of the colonies to fight for and receive their independence from the British Empire. Almost 40 years later in 1976, the Maldives would become the last. Following the end of World War II, nations that had previously been colonized began to see a new wave of nationalism and efforts toward independence among their citizens. Nations such as France, Britain, and others, who had once been influential powers on the world stage and holders of colonies around the globe, slowly began the process of decolonization following the war. The process was not immediate for most and some movements resulted in violence and revolt before their independence was gained. Colonization by the British came much earlier for India, as was the case with most territories under British colonial rule. Upon colonization, British officials and military were highly affected by the spread of the cholera epidemic. Cholera, a water- born illness that originated in India, is an extremely virulent disease that kills its victims within hours of people showing symptoms.
[Show full text]
The Rights of Cypriot Nationals in the Uk After
THE RIGHTS OF CYPRIOT Presented at the Conference ‘BREXIT and its Implications for Cyprus’, Nicosia, Cyprus NATIONALS IN THE UK AFTER BREXIT 1 CYPRUS & THE UK: A BIT OF HISTORY • 1878-1914: Cyprus was a British protectorate (informally integrated into the British Empire) • 1914-1925: Cyprus was unilaterally annexed into the British Empire (but under military administration status) • 1925-1960: Cyprus was a British Crown colony • 16 August 1960: Cyprus became an independent state, forming the Republic of Cyprus • Since then, there has been a close relationship between the 2 countries: • UK: Sovereign Base Areas in Akrotiri and Dhekelia • UK: signatory to the Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Establishment • UK is Cyprus’s second largest trading partner & over 1/3 of tourists in Cyprus come from the UK 2 MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS UN 1960 1945 COMMONWEALTH 1961 1931 CoE 1961 1949 EU 2004 1973 WTO 1995 1995 3 CYPRIOTS & CITIZENSHIP • 1878-1914: British Protected Persons • 1914-1960: Citizens of the UK and Colonies • 1960-onwards: Citizens of the Republic of Cyprus • but some could maintain status of UK citizen and/or acquire other types of British nationality, provided they satisfied certain conditions/requirements • 2004-onwards: Citizens of the Republic of Cyprus & EU citizens 4 CYPRIOTS IN THE UK: BEFORE THE EU ACCESSION OF CYPRUS • Cypriots started emigrating to the UK and other countries after World War I • Since 1914, as citizens of the UK and Colonies, Cypriots were allowed to enter, reside and work in the UK
[Show full text]
Bound in Bermuda and Virginia: the First Century of Slave Laws and Customs
Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses Winter 2017 Bound in Bermuda and Virginia: the First Century of Slave Laws and Customs Max Tiffany Central Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the African History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Tiffany, Max, "Bound in Bermuda and Virginia: the First Century of Slave Laws and Customs" (2017). All Master's Theses. 600. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/600 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BOUND IN BERMUDA AND VIRGINIA: THE FIRST CENTURY OF SLAVE LAWS AND CUSTOMS A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty Central Washington University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Master of Arts History by Max Loren Tiffany February 2017 CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Graduate Studies We hereby approve the thesis of Max Loren Tiffany Candidate for the degree of Master of Arts APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY ______________ _________________________________________ Dr. Brian Carroll, Committee Chair ______________ _________________________________________ Dr. Jason Knirck ______________ _________________________________________ Dr. Daniel Herman ______________ _________________________________________ Dean of Graduate Studies ii ABSTRACT BOUND IN BERMUDA AND VIRGINIA: THE FIRST CENTURY OF SLAVE LAW AND CUSTOMS by Max Loren Tiffany February 2017 This study looks at the differing early slave societies of colonial Virginia and Bermuda. Specifically, this study looks at how the first century of slave laws and customs in the respective colonies varied so greatly.
[Show full text]
The Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire Flag of New Spain (Cross of Burgundy) Raymond Hickey, English Linguistics, University of Duisburg and Essen 1 The European colonial powers Red: The five early powers (15c/16c onwards), mainly involved in the Carribean and South America, but also Asia. Blue: Later powers (19c), mainly involved in Africa and South-West Pacific. Green: Involved later (Italy) or not significantly at an earlier date (Denmark). 2 Spain in the late 15th century Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand V of Aragón marriedin 1469 to become the couple The Iberian peninsula known as the ReinosCatólicosand joint and the north-west of rulers of their source regions in the 1470s. Africa in the mid 15th century Various events took place in their reigns, notably the Inquisition (1478-) and the Cortes de Toledo consolidating royal power in Castile. A ten-year war against Grenada (the last Moorish stronghold in Spain) ended with its fall in 1492 and the subsequent conversion and or explusion of both the Jews and Muslims. In this same year, Isabella granted support to a project by an Italian living in Spain, called Cristoforo Colombo (Cristóbal Colón), a seemingly minor matter. 3 Letter by Columbus seeking support from Isabella for his expedition to discover a shorter route to India. 4 European involvement with the Caribbean began in 1492 when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, landing on Cuba and the island of Hispaniola (from Española) on his quest for a shorter route to India. Hence the inaccurate but popular term West Indies for the Caribbean. 5 Columbus sailed with Columbus takes three ships, the main possession of land in Santa Maria and the the Caribbean (later smaller Niňa and Pinta romantic picture) 6 The Voyages of Columbus to the New World 7 The Voyages of Columbus to the New World 8 Cortés, Hernán(1485-1547), Spanish explorer and conqueror of the Aztec empire in Mexico under Montezuma II (1519).
[Show full text]
The British Impact on India, 1700–1900
WORLD HISTORY: 1750–1914 The British Impact on India, 1700–1900 By Fritz BlaCKWell A military procession in India. Image source: The British Battles Web site at http://www.britishbattles.com/ﬁrst-sikh-war/ferozeshah.htm. he period 1700 to 1900 saw the beginnings, and the develop- The blurb goes on to state that the video “examines the complex- ment, of the British Empire in India. Empire was not planned, ities, contradictions, and legacies of empire, both positive and nega- Tat least not in the early stages. In a sense, it just happened. The tive.”1 To a degree, such is the intent of this article. Only to a degree, for first British in India came for trade, not territory; they were business- an article this brief on a topic as complex and intricate as the British im- men, not conquerors. It can be argued that they came from a culture pact on India cannot be complete and faces the danger of becoming that was inferior, and a political entity that was weaker, than that into simply an inventory. which they ventured, and they came hat-in-hand. They would not have Trade and Power been viewed as a threat by the Indians—who most certainly would not In 1600, a group of English merchants secured a royal charter for pur- have thought of themselves as “Indian,” at least in any political sense. poses of trading in the East Indies. The Dutch, however, had fairly well National identity was to be established much later, during the Inde- sealed off trade in what is now Indonesia, and the merchants’ company, pendence Movement (which, indeed, was also known as the National- which was to become known as the East India Company (the Com- ist Movement).
[Show full text]
Britain As the “Empire of the Air” －Air Power and Defence of the British Empire, 1918-68－ Masao Shinozaki
Masao Shinozaki Britain as the “Empire of the Air” －Air Power and Defence of the British Empire, 1918-68－ Masao Shinozaki Introduction In January 1904, Halford Mackinder delivered a lecture which attached weight to land power, challenging Alfred Mahan‟s emphasis on sea power at the Royal Geographical Society. After the lecture, a young journalist rose to speak. He elaborated: Both the sea and the railway are going in the future – it may be near, or it may be somewhat remote – to be supplemented by the air as a means of locomotion, and when we come to that … a great deal of this geographical distribution must lose its importance, and the successful powers will be those who have the greatest industrial basis. It will not matter whether they are in the centre of a continent or on an island; those people who have the industrial power of invention and of science will be able to defeat all others1. It was only five weeks after the first flight of the Wright brothers in December 1903. A young man by the name of Leo Amery made this prescient comment when he was 30 years old. He was also an imperialist. He later established a political career and climbed up to the Secretary of State for India and Burma in the Churchill Cabinet during the Second World War. However, he depended on the aid of others with more power to get his ideas adopted. It often depended not on his official position but on the strength of non-official 86 Britain as the “Empire of the Air” relationships with friends who had the official power to do what Amery wanted, the most important being Winston Churchill.2 The British Empire3 is often understood as the “Empire of the Sea.”4 However, Britain established the independent Air Force as the first country to recognise the importance of air power.
[Show full text]