British people are proud of
colonialism and the British
Empire, poll finds
-
Jon Stone
The Empire's history is not widely taught in detail in British schools
The British public are generally proud
of their country’s role in colonialism
and the British Empire, according to a
new poll.
At its height in 1922 the British
Empire governed a fifth of the
world’s population and a quarter of
the world’s total land area, but
its legacy divides opinion.
Common criticisms of the empire
include its policies causing millions of
famine deaths in British India, its
Kenyan Mau Mau suspects in a British detention camp in
running of brutal detention camps in 1953
occupied territories, and massacres of
civilians by imperial troops.
The British Empire was also a dominant slave-trading power until the practice was outlawed
in 1807, after which the Empire played key a role in ending the practice internationally.
The Empire’s proponents say it brought economic development to parts of the world and
benefited the countries it controlled.
David Cameron has previously said the Empire
should be “celebrated”.
YouGov found 44 per cent were proud of
Britain’s history of colonialism while only 21
per cent regretted that it happened. 23 per cent
held neither view.
The same poll also asked about whether the British Empire was a good thing or a bad thing:
43 per cent said it was good, while only 19 per cent said it was bad. 25 per cent responded
that it was “neither”.
In 2006 Tony Blair apologised for the empire’s early role in the slave trade, describing the
practice as a “crime against humanity”.
Mr Cameron has struck a different tone, however – refusing the apologise for the Amritsar
massacre of 1919 in which nearly 400 innocent Indians were killed by imperial troops.
He has also refused to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond of British crown jewels to the country.
“I think there is an enormous amount to be proud of in what the British Empire did and was
responsible for,” Mr Cameron said in 2013 on a visit to India.
“But of course there were bad events as well as good events. The bad events we should learn
from and the good events we should celebrate
“In terms of our relationship with India is our past a help or a handicap? I would say, net-net,
it is a help, because of the shared history, culture, and the things we share and the
contributions that Indians talk about that we have made.”
The British Empire is not widely taught in detail in British schools, with history lessons
tending to focus on other areas.
Former education secretary Michael Gove has said the British Empire should be taught in
schools, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said children should also be taught about the
suffering it caused
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/british-people-are-proud-of-colonialism-andthe-british-empire-poll-finds-a6821206.html